Texting

Last night Isabelle told Brenton that she was texting her sister Kayla. WHAT! We are in serious trouble with that girl. No worries, there is no sister, unless she is prophetic.

How do they...?

I got the question today from Jacob that I knew he would eventually would ask. I thought I would have a better answer, but here is how it played out:

Jacob: "Isabelle, do you remember when you were in Mommy's tunny?"
Isabelle: "No"
Jacob: "Mommy, do you remember when I was in your tummy?"
Me: "yes, I remember when all of you were in my tummy"
Jacob: "Mommy, how did I get out of your tummy?"
Me: "The Dr. takes you out." (Hoping that answer is good enough and trying hard to distract them by changing the subject)
Jacob: "But mommy, how does the Dr. get the baby out."
Me: "Well, mommy's have to work really hard and push hard to get the baby out and the Dr. takes the baby out."
Jacob: "Oh, so you had to work really hard to get us out when we were babies? Can we go downstairs not and watch Mickey's clubhouse?"
Me: "Yes honey, let's get up."

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Today we were listening to a song called "In Christ Alone" and I asked the kids if they knew what 'Christ' means. Quickly, Jacob said, "Jesus." I told him he was right and then Izzy said enthusiastically, "And pizza!"

Christ = Jesus = Pizza

Pretty sure that is not theologically correct but it did give us a good laugh.

A new boy band

I never really got into video games and couldn't figure out what the draw was to them, but while we hung out with our friends that had gotten some kind of rock band game, we neglected the children for a few hours with all our attention on the tv screen trying not to get booed off the stage. It was SOOO fun! I was hooked. After a while, the boys decided they would make their own band in the basement with Dustin's band equipment. It was adorable- a lot of off beats and off key singing. Watch out Backstreet Boys, there is a new boy band emerging.

Thanks Margaret and Dustin for all the entertainment!

The voice of an angel

Whenever we are in the car, the kids love listening to other kids singing. We have been listening to this specific tape since June and it's a Christmas show. Jake is singing right along with her in the back. (Side note...Isabelle does have a seat belt on, but she always tucks it behind her...what a stinker).

Cheese Head

I guess you don't need to live in Wisconsin to be a cheese head!

First attempt

Our Christmas card pictures are not going so well. Here is a sample of the first attempt today!

Growth Spurt

I think Jacob has been growing...or there might be a flood coming?

Changing buds

When Jacob was little he would eat every and anything! It was so nice to not have a picky eater. Same with Izzy and now Andrew, but lately it seems like someone somewhere told them things were disgusting, gross, and not worth trying. Little things like sausage pizza which he loved is not gross and he only wants cheese-huh? Well this morning, I reheated some Chicken Pot pie for breakfast (yea, yea I know it's not breakfast food, but why??? That's an entirely different blog entry). Jacob has eaten this before and loved it. So this morning when he insisted that he didn't like it I made him at least try it before he could have some orange slices. Well, it finally happened, he gagged 3 times and then it was all over... up came the juice from earlier. He was scared that I was going to come down on him (which I didn't) and ran into the bathroom. He could have swallowed the bite, but he let it sit in his mouth and didn't want to chew or swallow. Ironically he didn't puke out the bite, so he continued to chew it up and swallow it- that stinker!

Did this happen to other kids? Do their taste buds change or something? Why does he eat anything one day and another day he won't. I must admit Jacob is still a great eater- he usually clears his plate and wants more, but it is usually the same old thing. I like to cook and create different things, but when Brenton and I are the only ones to eat them, it's kind of a waste. Any suggestions?

A boy after nana's own heart

Recently Andrew has discovered independence! It's usually a bad thing because it entails lots of whining, fussing and frustration from both of us. This however is the blessing of the independence- he wants to do everything everyone else does. It's as if he needs to prove to us that he is a big boy and able to do things. I won't complain- I could their 6 extra hands to keep things clean. ***My apologies for the bad lighting

Politically Incorrect

It's hard to know all the time what our kids are learning through what they observe, hear, or are taught in different places. It's also difficult to know when they are going to share their insights with me or with others in public. Most often than not, when our kids see or observe something new, they get excited about sharing it with Brenton or I, and need assurance that they were the first ones to ever discover that new thing. We all remember Isabelle's "Pirate" comment a couple months back and now Jacob has had a couple of not so politically correct statments over the past couple weeks...

First, as we were sitting down eating, a woman (greatly over weight) sat down by us. I noticed Jacob staring at her, so I tried to distract him, and explain it isn't nice to stare at people in a quiet whisper. Then in his loud 4 year old voice says, "Mommy, that lady has a fat belly! Is that why I shouldn't stare at her?" We never use the word "fat" in our home, so I shocked and mortified at the same time because I am sure she heard him. We quickly finished our food, and got out of there.

Then, a week or so back we were searching for something at Target, and like a good Target employee, a woman asked if we needed help finding anything. Ironically, I did need help finding this item so she graciously said she would walk us over to the isle where is was. As she turned around to lead the way, Jake said, "Mommy, that lady has something disgusting on her teeth, what is wrong with them?" Again, I wanted to crawl in a hole from embarrassment. The lady did have extremely serious dental issues, most of them missing and stained with something black, but I am sure she already knew that and didn't need my child to know what the cause was.

I know that it's very important how I deal with kids in these situations. These are major teaching moments about respecting others. About not saying unkind things, and about some people being different than other people. Jacob tells me that it's not nice to talk about the lady with the bad teeth and we don't talk about fat belly's, as if he was the one teaching me. I have to laugh and reassure him that he is right, at least I know he is listening!

Please tell me some of the politically incorrect things your kids have said...they make me laugh!

Backwards Underwear

Don't know if this has been blogged before, but it's funny so I'll take the risk of double posting.

Jacob walked out of the bathroom today with his pants and underwear around his ankles. As he was struggling to get it all pulled back up I saw that his undies were on backwards. I told him about the issue and he told me that he knew that, in fact, that is how he wanted to wear them.

I don't have any idea how that is comfortable, but apparently having Mater's face (from the movie Cars) in front is preferable over comfort for a 4 year old.

A Question I'll Ask God

Someday I will ask God...

"God, why, when they have a 50% chance of getting their shoes on the right feet, do my kids get it wrong 80% of the time?"

AAARRRRR

We made the weekly stop at Sam's Club after church today. We love walking around and getting all the free samples, and picking up some cheap lunch. Today there was a worker behind the food counter who had a black patch over his left eye that was taking the many orders of hot dogs and pop. When Isabelle and Brenton got to the front of the line, Isabelle, with much happiness and delight in her voice, pointed and said, "Daddy, a Pirate!"

Brenton gently explained to her that the man was not a pirate, he had an ouie on his eye and that patch was protecting it. The man behind the counter didn't find it as funny as I did. As we sat down she continued to point and say it was a pirate. I had to laugh as she would say pirate with a aaarrr sound in her voice. It's the beauty of kids, you never know what they are going to say.

Snuggles the bear

What is it about kids and clean folded laundry? I swear they have a radar that tells them when it's time to fold laundry. All my kids see to jump in the pile when it's right out of the dryer, and then once it's folded, they become creative beings that come up with new ways to destroy all the hard work I have done. Andrew really loves the laundry. I should stop getting him toys and just fill a basket full of folded clothes and let him pull each item out, it would keep him entertained for hours!

Lil Diva

Isabelle came down stairs today in her robe (from when she was a baby) and her dress up heels insisting that I take her picture. She was so cute! Then she stomped off, did a little dance and collapsed on the floor in dramatic Isabelle style.
Girls are so different from boys. It's really starting to come through in her. Usually she will just chase Jake around and wrestle with Him, Andrew and daddy. But lately she has been wanting to play more with her dolls, dress up, and put mommy's makeup on. It's fun having a girl and a boy near the same age because I really get to see the different ways each acts without me having to prompt them to do so.

Mom my ride

Ainsley posted this on her blog. It's a sad fact that my van has seen days like this!

Three of a kind

I swore I would never dress all my kids in the same clothes, but as you can see it has happened. They were all so cute today- at church everyone knew that we were a family. I will admit it was starting to freak me out a little at dinner because I thought I was seeing twins or triplets! I don't know how much I will doing this in the future. I can see Andrew and Jacob having matching clothes, but I think Isabelle will be safe from that.

Dinner table conversation

"Jacob, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"Ummmm, I want to be a dog like Clifford."
"You can't be a dog, you are a boy."
"Ok, then I want to be a fire fighter."

"Isabelle, what do you want to be?"
"I want to be a cowboy!"

And that is what my children are aspiring to be. You've got to love it!

Who's the BOSS?

I loved the show, Who's the Boss, unfortunately that is not what I am referring to. Jacob our 3 year old is in the stage of believing he is the boss of everyone. I find him constantly telling Isabelle what she can and can not do. He likes to believe he has the authority to discipline her as well. He likes to think he can tell me what to do, but he is rudely awaken by the reality that mom is in charge. Here is the conversation exchanged between us...

J- "I am the boss Isabelle and I said you can't do that." (put the tops on the dot paints)
M- "Jacob, you are not the boss, mom is, and if you don't like something that Isabelle is doing then you need to tell me."
J-"No, I am the boss"
M-"No, you are not, Mommy and Daddy are in charge of you, Isabelle and Andrew so you need to listen and obey what we say. Do you understand?"
J-"Mom, you are the boss, not daddy!"

At that I needed to laugh and say, yes you are right!