Frogs

I was mowing the lawn today, when Quinn frantically ushered me over to the front sidewalk. I saw that he was pointing to a frog lying there, and gave him a thumbs up sign and a smile. "How cute that he wants to show me a frog!" I thought. He kept mouthing something, so I finally turned off the lawn mower. "MOM!" he cried. "WHAT IS THAT???" "A frog, silly". "No it's not," he said. "Yes, Quinn... that's a frog." "But it doesn't have a mouth!" he said. I then went to stand by Quinn, who was looking at the frog from the front. OHHHHHH. There was no mouth, because there was no HEAD. Obviously, this frog had been a victim of my lawn mowing. GROSSSSSSS.

Life with my boys

Aunt Teena sent this, and it made me smile, because I LIVE this every single day... times two!

The Key to Getting Them to Eat Dinner

5:00 pm
Mom: "Time for dinner!!"
Boys: "YUCK! I don't want casserole!"

6:30 pm
Mom: "Time for dinner!!"
Boys: "YUCK! I don't want casserole!"

9:30 pm
Boys: "Mom, I'm hungry!"
Mom: "Eat some casserole."
Boys: "Mom, can I have some casserole now?"

YES! Starvation has it's benefits. They even ate BROCCOLI. I'll just have to keep myself awake long enough for them to get REALLY hungry.

Superheros Defined

Again doing our daily pick up of the boys' room. The boys are getting very creative with their excuses as to why they are unable to help.

Mom: "I'll make your bed and you pick up the playroom."
Quinn: "What? I can't do that! I'm not a super-hero!"

By that definition, I must be the mightiest super-hero alive....

Kalani Sandwich

Our neighbor Kalani came over to play tonight. I try to use him as a good example of how BIG BOYS WEAR CLOTHES, but that doesn't seem to be sinking in at all. They came up with this "Kalani Sandwich Slide" game tonight. Pretty funny....

Tickle Time

Rob was tickling Quinn's belly tonight. This was his response:
Quinn: "Dad! Don't tickle my belly! It makes the baby in there cry!"
Yes. We must be very careful around those pregnant male three year olds....

The Rules

I usually eventually separate the boys for naps, as together only spells T.R.O.U.B.L.E. We try, every day, though, to see if they can sleep in the same room, because they really want to, and ask every day to try. I feel like it's a good lesson in self-control, so we try. Today, as I put them in the guest room (the "purple bed" as they call it), we reviewed the ground rules.

Mom: "If you want to stay in here together, what are the rules?"
Quinn: "No jumping"
Colby: "No fighting"
Quinn: "No getting out of bed"
Colby: "No talking"
Quinn: "No eating ice cream"
Colby: "No going to grandma and grandpa's house".

Uhhhh... I don't remember setting those last two, but... yes. No eating ice cream and no going to grandma and grandpa's house at nap-time. As I'm typing this, I hear them breaking rules #1-4, so I guess self-control is out the window for another day, and it's time to go be Mean Mommy. Surprisingly, their additional rules seem to be the only ones they can keep!

New Teaching Experience

So here's something new and exciting we got to teach the boys last night on our way to a barbecue... how to meet a policeman up close and personal!! This is what you do, in order to give YOUR kids the same thrilling experience ours had.... forget to pay your licenseplate registration, and then drive slowly in front of a policeman who has nothing better to do than look at the little color of the sticker on your license plate. Try not to swear loudly when you see lights flashing behind you, and drive a full mile before finding an appropriate spot to pull over, all the time having your spouse say "what did I do wrong? I wasn't speeding! I didn't run a red light!" Mutter under your breath as you frantically search in your purse for proof of insurance and registration... find your OLD tabs that you forgot to put on several months ago, and realize that... oh, those are now expired, too!!! Tell your children, when they ask why we aren't moving any more, that "we have to wait for the nice policeman to give us a ticket!" Smile when the boys are very excited to get a ticket... thinking it's the same kind of ticket used at the fair or on carnival rides. Frantically explain to your spouse in hushed whispers, so as not to alarm the children, that you THOUGHT you paid the registration, but obviously.... can I blame it on pregnancy brain again????? Probably not. Arrive 40 minutes late for said barbecue, in not-so-pleasant moods.

Cleaning

We've been trying to clean the boys' room in the morning before going down to breakfast. This morning, I asked Quinn to help me pick up books and put them back on the shelf.

Q: "I can't".
Mom: "Why can't you pick up books?"
Q: "I'm too little".
Mom: "No, you're just the right size for picking up books."
Q: "Picking up books makes me very sad."
Mom: "Sad?"
Q: "Yes. It makes me cry."

Whatever.