Gavin just told me that he is going to be all done with school, he doesn't want to go anymore. I asked him if he's going to be a preschool drop-out and he replied, "yes, I am going to drop school and go to the roof at the church and get in a rocket ship. I'm going to go to outer space and then go back to the dump."
OK.

Stop fighting or I'm calling Santa!!

We had just gotten home from school and the boys were in the garage playing at the train table. I was in the kitchen washing dishes & could hear them fighting and bickering, to which I paid no attention. A couple minutes into the argument I heard Connor start wailing and Gavin ran in the kitchen frantic. "Mom", he said, "DO NOT TELL SANTA, but I just pushed Connor off the train table and he is going to need some ice!".

We were having story time and I decided to ask the kids about their day at school b/c they were losing interest in the story. Gavin told me that he had gotten married that day at school. I asked him where he got married and who he got married to and he told me, "I married 'Little' Addison. We got married in the pink castle. I have a baby in my belly. It's a girl named Olivia and she's not ready to come out yet because she's not ready yet."
Connor got all upset and started whining. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I don't want to get married!". I told him I didn't want him to get married anyways, but he could have a girlfriend if he wanted. Crisis averted.

The new 'hood

Another day in the new hood, still quite perplexed as to what I am doing here. I'm waiting for the morning when I wake up and feel like I really do live here. Watched boys tag along with the 'big' kids this evening. They watched in awe as one of the boys jumped over a plastic pool, filled with water of course, on his bike. I really don't think it took more than two seconds for Gavin to grab the skateboard and blurt out that he wanted to do that too. With all his might, my little Ethiopian threw down the skateboard, flopped onto his belly and hit the (maybe 2 ft) ramp with just enough speed to roll up to the top and right back down. I was glad he wasn't strong enough, but have a feeling very soon his determination will override his physical strength. It will happen. And his brother will be right behind him. Connor was on the ramp before he saw it done, he was way into it. And he is such a stubborn little shit I know he will do it in no time and be really good at it...

I was cringing every second of them riding their bikes, racing their scooters down the hill, trying to skate up a ramp on the stomachs, and all of course with no helmets and flip flops. I figured we live closer to the ER now so no biggie. I just watched and tried to coach when they went out of bounds, and then of course, the big incident of the night... Connor stepped on a thorn that went into his foot right after he took his shoes off, which I told him NOT to do. The trauma was over after an ice cream sandwich and a short, hot soak in the sink- and a threat that if he didn't let me get it out then I would take him to the hospital. Poor guy shoved his food at me in a panic and I popped the thing out. Maybe I won't have to nag at him to wear his shoes now? Yah right.
Met new neighbors, trying to remember names, locations, etc. Babysitters galore, quiet, safe... but I'm still not buying it here. Maybe tomorrow?

Butt Beans

Today I was making a salad with my sous chef, Gavie, and he was very intrigued by the bags of beans sitting on the counter. He grabbed the bag of kidney beans and screamed "beans, beans!", he is absolutely in love with them. He could probably eat an entire can at every meal and be perfectly content, er, stinky and content. After wolfing down a handful of kidneys, he grabbed the garbanzo beans and looked quite perplexed. I asked him what they were and after a second he looked up at me, held up the bag, and said, "butts!". Again, I am convinced my child is a genius.

MINE!

Mine. It's all mine. All those educational DVD's that we have collected through the years, that have been gathering dust, have become the hot ticket. Connor actually requests them, "Bee DVD, bee DVD!” They are painful to listen to, worse to watch. They make Baby Einstein look like they were directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Yet they are touted as miracle DVD’s that not only teach your kids to talk, they teach them shapes, colors, and Connor’s favorite, opposites. Yes, he is now fascinated with the concept of yours and mine, fast and slow, up and down, on and off. He has his own stool in the hallway so he can turn the lights on and off as he pleases, announcing each time he flips the switch. It must be mighty empowering to be two years old and turn on a light just because you feel like it.

Taquitos are Gavin's favorite thing in the world. I can’t make them fast enough for him to shovel into his bottomless pit of a stomach. Today he inhaled his first round of taquitos in 5. 2 seconds, and when he noticed his brother still had some on his plate, he didn’t hesitate to swipe what was left. “MINE, Momma, MINE!”, “NO Gagin, MINE!” Ha! Connor got what was coming; he always steals Gavie’s toys. Usually Gavie doesn’t put up much of a fight, but these were taquitos! What killed me, was that not only did Connor use what he learned on his super educational DVD, but he used it correctly. My child is a genius.

What goes in this hole?

Good Lord. What else is there to say? These boys are now fascinated with every orafice that God has given them. But it's kinda hard to stick a bean up your butt when you are sitting in your highchair. Noses are so easy, so convenient, right there just waiting to be filled with some ingenious discovery. Black beans are tasty and so perfectly sized for a two year old's nostril.





Justin said it looked like Gavin had a bean in his nose, I didn't flinch. But it's so dark up there, how can you tell if the object is black? He kept trying to stick his finger in there and giggling- busted! As I held him down on the kitchen floor, arms pinned to his side, Justin went to get a pen light and tweezers. Apparently a black bean in your nose is quite funny, as Gavie started laughing and out flew the bean. Crisis averted.