Nickels

B came out of quiet time holding a quarter and a penny. (He found the treasure under his bed.)
He said, "Can people swallow these?"
"No!" I exclaimed, "People don't eat money."
He said, "But CAN they?"
"No", I said, "I don't think people want to AND I don't think that they CAN."
"Well, I think they can, 'cause I swallowed the nickel."

"WHAT?! You did what? You wanted to swallow a nickel?! (lots of exclamation points)"
"No, but I DID swallow a nickel."

Apparently, the kid put a nickel in his mouth (to see what it tasted like), and then he accidentally swallowed it.

I panicked a little, thinking of the fact that he could have choked to death with me right in the next room, not at all aware of the danger.

B's Turn

It is B's turn to be re-introduced. I am, again, going to help you to see who he is by telling a few, short stories:

We "splurged" at McDonalds for K's birthday: We got Happy Meals the kids and something not on the Dollar Menu for us.

We might have picked another place to celebrate, but the Chinese restaurant waitresses are crabby, and no other restaurant will entertain our kids for us (with an indoor playground) for up to two hours at a time. What better birthday present could you get?!

So, B was still hungry and asked for another order of chicken nuggets. I, (being the health-conscious mom that I am) said, "Do you want a cookie or more chicken nuggets?"
The kid answered, "A cookie. AND more chicken nuggets."

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On Tuesday, S spent most of her morning crying. B said, "Mom, S is whining ALOT today. Can she go to her room or something?"
S said, "B! I WAS going to get a treat today for earning five stars (which is lost if she whines), and I WAS going to share some of my treat with YOU. Now I won't be able to."
B paused, and then said, "Mom, I think S has been so good today. She didn't whine or cry or hit or anything. She was just nice all day."

Huh.

Last story:
B broke the GLASS (who thought of this preschool craft anyway?!) Christmas ornament that he made at MOPS. He dropped it on our tile floor. It shattered. He walked over to Z, all calm, and said, "I dropped my ornament. You didn't want yours, did you?"
Z looked at his ornament adoringly, and said, "Um, you can have it if you want, B."
And B held out his hand in expectation.

So, in case you haven't gathered it so far, B knows how to get what he wants. Or at least he tries. He is creative in his problem-solving. He takes charge of situations. He is assertive. He makes the most of every opportunity.

Right now, I have to struggle to remember that one day, when he is just a little bit older and less narcissistic, these will all be very, very good traits to possess.

Then and Now

Although it may not look like it from this picture, the scarf was much further away from the baby's nose and mouth than it looked. He COULD breathe. We love you, Baby M! :)

When I was young, we spent alot of time swinging over a giant ravine (complete with poky branches and sharp rocks on the bottom) on a long, long piece of rope. A rope swing. Remember those? My sister Kathi and my cousin left my other sister in the middle, alone and basically trapped, "for hours" (according to her) one day. They were sick of playing with her, I guess. She helplessly hung there until they came to retrieve her.

We had snowmobiles in the winter, and we would be gone (far away in the woods) for most of the day. I remember playing tag with my cousins. We'd chase each other at full speed and try to pull each other off of our machines. Whoever was laying on the ground (with the riderless snowmobile in front of them somewhere) was not the winner.

We also had a sledding hill. It was huge. And really dangerous. There were trees on both sides, and it dropped off similarly to that of a scary roller coaster. I think someone broke their leg (or an arm?) on that hill.

We loved it.

Today's sledding experience reminded me of my own childhood and how much I want our kids to experience those kinds of things. Outdoor things. Good, old-fashioned fun. Fun that doesn't require batteries. Experiences that get the adrenaline going.

All of that without getting hurt, of course.

S, also reintroduced

See that necklace? Z made that for S. Who else in the world, besides a girl with three brothers, gets to wear a necklace lovingly made out of army tank wheel parts? The bright flowers and the black go together well, no?

I promised a while ago to reintroduce you to the kids.

Today is S's day.

The girl is girly. Her papa says she is way girlier now than I ever have been or ever will be in my life. She is obsessed with Barbie (not given to her by me), Polly Pocket (ditto), princess movies (ditto again), and beautiful dress-up gowns and jewelry (geez, are we horrible parents, because I have to say ditto AGAIN!) I just am not girly. At all. I have a dress, but I haven't worn it since before I got pregnant in 2003. (Think Rachel's wedding, Ange!)

She is compliant to the point of getting her feelings hurt when we correct her. Today, she said, "More milk..." and I said, "Could you ask for milk in any other way? Like maybe more politely?" and her lip quivered as she said, "Milk please?"and then, "I'm sorry I asked like that."

She is a helper:

I was drying my hair in the bathroom. The girl came in, and said, "Ohhh. I am so tired. (Wiping fake sweat off her forehead). Man, gettin' those boys ready is a LOT of work!"
Later, I passed S in the hallway. She was leading Z to his room by his elbow, exclaiming, "Now, it just doesn't make sense that you aren't dressed yet."
And while I would usually object to S being the "parent", I was running late that morning, and I was just grateful that someone was directing "those boys".

She is a wimp! I mean, um, safety-conscious? I wouldn't mention this, except that we just put up her new loft bed, and I wondered if we would even be able to talk her into sleeping there.
Surprisingly, she learned rather quickly how to convince her feet (rather shakily) to "just keep going one-by-one".

She is social. She knows WAY more people's names than I do, everywhere we go. If I have a question about someone at church, I only need to find S, and she will tell me who it is. She just wants people around. I found her crying once, in her bed, and when asked what was wrong, she said, "How come B and Z have a room together, and you and Papa have a room together, and I am stuck in here with no one. I want someone to talk to in here!" We got her a Fur-real Pig (temporary fix) and promised that when the baby came, she would also have a room partner (more permanent fix).
Today is the day for the permanent fix! M has been sleeping through the night for about a week now (10 hours last night! Woohoo!), and he has earned a place underneath his big sister's bed. She is elated. "Someone to talk to at last!"

Good Times

B came across some old Creative Memory books that I had started for the kids when they were born. I have about 2 1/2 years worth.

They are mammoth.

But then I started blogging and completely "forgot" about the books. Who wouldn't "forget" when blogging is so much easier!? No cutting out paper, pasting, trimming photos to fit the page, buying expensive embellishments...

But the kids thoroughly enjoyed paging through the books, and so I started to feel guilty...like I should be putting alot more work into documenting our lives together.

In the end, I swayed my guilt by simply uploading a few photos of old times (ones that haven't been posted before) and calling it good. Here ya go, kids. I love you.

Side note: Is anyone else worried about our kids not being able to access our blogs some day? All this writing and they won't even be able to read it? I do happen to save mine to CD, but what if those are obsolete too by the time they are old enough to care?