Turning Back the Clock

Ethan came downstairs this morning and seemed a little out of sorts.  We asked him if he could go up and get dressed for school and this is the conversation that ensued.

Steve - E, go get dressed for school and then you can eat breakfast.

Ethan - (voice a little wobbly) But I already went to school.

Steve - What?  You haven't gone to school.  You just woke up!

Ethan - (now with a tremor in his voice)  But I did already go to school, Dad!

Steve - What?!?!?!

Ethan - (chin totally quivering now!!!)  I did, Dad!!!  I did go to school.  Then I went to bed.  Then I woke up.  And then the clock just started going backwards!!!!  I'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUG THIS WHOLE DAY!!!!

Steve - Oh, like Groundhog Day?

Ethan - (now crying in confusion and frustration, climbs on my lap and whimpers) I already DID today!!!!

Poor kid!  Apparently we've been watching too many Christmas specials with Huey, Duey & Louie getting stuck on Christmas Day...or other cheesy Christmas movies!!!   My poor kiddo was beside himself with confusion!!!  It did make for a pretty funny conversation though!  He was convinced that he had seen the clock turn backwards!!!

Funny, how I kept thinking how NICE it would be to have an extra day to get a few things done!!!  Maybe that should be my Christmas wish!!!

A Compliment......well, almost!

Olivia - (coming down the stairs) Awwwww!  Mom!  You look soooo cute!
Me - (relishing in the compliment for about 0.2 seconds)
Olivia - Well, actually?   You look kinda cute!


Thanks.  Thanks a lot!

Secrets

How do you say it?

Today Olivia and I were driving to the library.  She was telling me all about the books she was going to be getting!  I for one was just happy she was talking about getting something other than those silly little fairy chapter books that she is convinced that she can read!  She grabs those chapter books by the stacks - usually only the pink and purple covered ones...unless it's a fairy who has cute hair...and then she'll 'read' that one too!  She's such a girl! But, she'll get a bunch of those and will sit for a good 20 minutes reading to herself, flipping through pages and telling some random story line!  So funny!

But today she was convinced that she could remember right where she had found the Waldo books on our last trip to the library.  She was planning on grabbing a couple this time - though I totally suspect that was so she wouldn't have to share with Ethan!  But she couldn't quite remember what they were called...although she was pretty confident in her substitution for a few minutes.

O - Mom...I can't wait to get the Loser Waldo book.

Me - Uh, what book?

O -  (slightly exasperated at my not hearing) Loser Waldo...you know!!!

Me - (now laughing really hard!)  Loser Waldo????

O - Uh yeah??!?!?  Wait...that's not what it's called, is it?

Me - Nope.  It's "Where's Waldo".  

O - Oh yeah...WHERE'S Waldo!  That's what I meant!

Biker

So, this Little Miss is official now.

She decided she wanted to ride her bike...and she did it.  After just a few minutes with Steve one night, the next day she hopped right on and took off!  She was a daredevil, in true Livvy fashion, from the moment she started.  The same day she learned how to ride...she mastered pedaling while standing, closing her eyes and riding, one handed steering, both feet sticking out...you get the picture!  

So proud of her!!!

Last Day

So, I know these are EXTREMELY out of order...but as that completely captures how my brain has been working the last few months, I'm just going to roll with it.  Here are a few pics from the last day of school.  

Garrett wanted soooo badly to cut his hair into a mohawk...and being the amazing mom that I am, I decided to allow the blatant breaking of all school rules and oblige!  So here he is...with an incredibly long mohawk that lasted just a few days...until we headed off to a family reunion!  Poor kid still is a little annoyed with me that I made him cut it off!

So here they are...my NOW 5th grader and 1st grader!  How did the year fly by so quickly!?!?!?!?  Love these boys!

New Record

So, a certain 6 year old that I love and adore dearly has an uncanny ability to spill and/or wipe almost anything on his shirt.  So imagine my amusement/amazement when I pick up this adorable kiddo from soccer camp a few weeks ago and he hands me this...

"Here Mom!  Look, we got new t-shirts at camp!"  And to make it even better...he says this all while dripping popsicle down his chin and on his t-shirt he's actually wearing and all the way down to his shoes!  Love this kid!

Sharing

The other day we made cookies.  There were just two left the next day, when Ethan and Olivia asked if they could have one.  I told them they could...but they had to break off some to share with Garrett since there wasn't enough for everyone!  They said okay...broke their cookies...and went outside to enjoy their chocolate chip deliciousness.  A while later...this is what I find as Garrett's portion...

Poor guy!  He laughed so hard when he saw his part!  Apparently, sharing is a bit lacking in our family!!!

Birthday!!!

Olivia is now 4 year old...and she has left me reeling, trying to figure out where exactly the time has gone?!?!?  

How we love this little girl!  

Craziness

Summer break...the season for catching up on all those millions of things I've been meaning to get to, right?!? 

So, as I am attempting a new laundry tactic to wash my pillows, I asked Garrett to help me with a few things...gather a few tennis balls, wrap them in socks, etc.  After a few of these tasks, he looked at me and said, 

"Uh Mom?  Are you sure they aren't just making you do these things to make you look crazy?  You're going to have to comment on that blog and say that it didn't work and they're just going to laugh at you for even trying it!"

  

Apparently tennis balls in the dryer...wrapped in socks...is not an appropriate way to fluff pillows in the mind of my 10 year old!  He probably thinks Pinterest is silly too!  Maybe he's on to something!

LOVE this kid!  

Nah....

Me - Hey Liv!  Make sure you brush your teeth before bed!

Liv - (turning to walk in her room) Nah!  I'll just brush 'em twice tomorrow.

But don't worry...she's in brushing right now...or at least I think she is!  

Funny, funny (destined-for-cavities) little girl!

Bad Dreams

Last night, I had the extreme privilege of accompanying Olivia at 2 am as she was scared out of her mind from a bad dream.  Poor girl.  She cried the whole time we walked back to her room, cried the whole time I tried to talk to her and calm her down and shrieked hysterically as I tried to leave the room to go back to bed.  She was completely terrified.  

When I finally got her calmed down a bit and able to talk about what her dream was about, I about fell off the bed laughing.   Apparently, she was attacked by Tinkerbell.  But not just any Tinkerbell...a BAD Tinkerbell.  That's what she kept muttering over and over and over...BAD TINKERBELL!!! And she was scared out of her mind that this bad Tinkerbell was going to come back.  She was even convinced that Ethan told Tink where her room was.  Poor girl, she thought her big brother sold her out to the evil fairy.  She talked about Bad Tinkerbell for a good 1/2 hour as we both laid on her bed trying to fall asleep.

So, now I'm just praying that no bad faeries come to our house tonight.  We all need a good night sleep!

Our Ballerina

Olivia had her first ballet recital last weekend and it was a smashing success!  We had plenty of jitters beforehand, but she came through in the end!  Love that girl!!!

She's the second from the left in the back row.  :)

Who's the Boss?

The other day, I asked Olivia to pick up her toys.  She looks at me and walks out of the room.  I'll admit it, I naively thought for a split second that my sassy, Little Miss was going to obey...on the first time asked!!!  What???  Unheard of these days!

I should have known better though, because this is what I hear her chanting as she walks away...quietly at first and then singing it loud and proud for all to hear.

"You're not the boss...Daddy is the boss!  You're not the boss...Daddy is the boss!  YOU'RE NOT THE BOSS...DADDY IS THE BOSS!

Seriously, where does this little girl come from???  She is HILARIOUS!

Warning: Falling in Love Might Occur

The other day Steve got home from work and gave me a huge hug.  I was in the middle of making dinner...but liked my new option much better than stirring food over the stove, so I soaked in every minute of it!  I clung to his neck, selfishly hoping to soak in a bit of extra not-recently-tested patience levels so I could make it through the rest of the evening!  After a few seconds of the hug, we hear a little voice at our knees.  

"You guys better watch out!"  said Olivia in her Know-It-All/I'm-Always-Right voice as she peered up at us.

"Watch out for what?"  I replied...all while still hugging tightly.

"You better watch out...'cuz you might fall in love!" she retorts.

Hate to break it to you Little Miss...already fell...completely.  :)

Easter Mugshot

Well...since our blog header picture is from Easter...2 YEARS AGO, I thought I should give you all a slightly more recent Easter shot.

Here is a pic taken just days ago...and it actually catches each kiddo in their true personality.

So, Happy (belated) Easter to everyone from 'Eager-to-Please' Garrett, 'Too-Cool-for-Pics' Ethan and 'Goofball/Prankster/Never-Serious' Olivia!!!

Rewind to Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving last year, we took off on an adventure.  We rented a cabin in Arkansas's Ozarks and spent our Thanksgiving week exploring and enjoying doing nothing but being together!  

We hiked, boated, built a campfire or two (or ten, if you're Garrett!).  We played frisbee golf and horseshoes and had a Star Wars marathon (only the old 4, 5 and 6...the new ones are not worth watching!).  We  cooked a super yummy Thanksgiving dinner, played board games galore, drove the tractor, threw rocks in the lake and caught leaves as they were endlessly falling from the trees, watched the wildlife outside our window(especially the yellow-bellied sap sucker!)...and a million other things!  The cabin was perfect and being hundreds of miles away from any responsibility was exactly what our little family needed!

It was honestly the most wonderful week...and the greatest memory-making trip ever!  Wish we could go back!

100

100th day of school???  Well, of course, one must dress up like they are 100 years old to sufficiently celebrate, right?

Ethan, my little old man, donned the mustache, put on the glasses, sprayed his hair gray (which you kinda can't really tell in these pics!) and even did the unthinkable...he tucked in his shirt and wore a belt in his attempts to look 100!  Yep...cutest little old guy I've ever seen!  

Nightly Movies

Liv - Mom!  Guess What?????

Me - What?

Liv - I watched a movie all night last night.

Me - Huh?  You watched a movie?

Liv - Yep.  When I closed my eyes last night, a movie started behind my eyes and I just watched it all night.  Isn't that funny?

Me - Wow!  That sounds exciting!

Liv - Yep.  It was a good movie.