Buddy Boy and the Green Shirt

So, you know how two-year-olds are famous for their stubbornness? As you already know, we experience this daily, but yesterday was a new low (or a high, depending on who you are in the story). Buddy is obsessed with wearing green. He only has three green shirts and he wants to keep one of them on at all times. Well, yesterday, they weren't so easy to find (blame the laundry!) so Superman had to force him, amidst much screaming and carrying on, to wear a different shirt. Well, Superman reported that he cried and screamed so much in the car on the way to day care that Superman eventually pulled over, stripped the kid clean of his shirt, and took him to day care shirt-less. That is how strong-willed my cute little boy is. Can anyone say "trouble ahead?" :)

Garage Sale Madness

So we had our first garage sale. VERY exciting. CBC and I got up early to get everything organized--I had no idea how important this was to her until she started selling :) Seriously, the kid talked to anyone and everyone, encouraging them to buy this and that, marking things down price-wise, and offering them deals. It was very entertaining! My favorite part of the whole deal was when she would comment on our things to people, such as "yeah, that toy doesn't really work that well" or "that toy is really annoying; that's why my mom wants to sell it" or "well, it's kind of broken, but you can fix it really easily." LOVED IT and LOVE HER! She's so much fun! Anyway, we made $100, got rid of some stuff, and happily took two boxes to Goodwill. Super success!

Buddy, though, was not so helpful. He wanted to keep his toys, so he kept getting everything down, playing and scattering toys. He eventually threw (figuratively) a tantrum and threw (literally) toys at visiting shoppers. That was exciting, too :)

Planner Extraordinaire

Superman has officially been recognized for all his hard work in Enumclaw with a title change--he is now the Planner (versus one of two Assistant Planners) for the city! We are so proud of him--he has sacrificed a lot of family time for work in the last 6 months and he definitely deserved this. Super job, Superman!! :)

Potty success and Take Your Kid to Work

So Buddy boy is a success with potty training! And he knows he's successful--he loves to go to the bathroom and then tell you what a big boy he is :) He's also quick at demanding a sucker in return for his good behavior.

In other news, Take Your Daughter or Son to Work Day was April 22nd this year. CBC got to enjoy a half-day at the University of Washington. We put her to work shredding, which showed her office expertise, and then she did an office supply scavenger hunt. She was a pretty cute employee, and it was obviously a highly successful event, since she still couldn't tell anyone what I do for a living, but she could definitely say she wanted to work for the University of Washington!

THE DOG

I kept thinking I was forgetting something when I was writing last night. I forgot to update about the dog! If you're following this blog at all, you'll know that CBC wants a dog more than almost anything else. So Superman had until the weekend of April 24th to report back to CBC--and he said she could get a dog!! (BIG shocker--go Superman!!!) CBC has until Christmas to earn enough money to buy her own dog. We are paying her to do chores around the house, and can I just say that I should've been doing this for years?! Neither Superman nor myself did the allowance thing growing up, so this is kind of a test run, but it's working so well! I get help with the dishes and the laundry and cleaning and everything. Love it! Anyway, she also has to read a book picked out by Superman by Christmas, but if she follows through, we're going to get a dog. So exciting! Now if we could just find the right one. We need a hypo-allergenic dog since Superman is super allergic, and we really want a poodle mix--like the labradoodle or the goldendoodle. So far, I keep hearing they're $1,000 so I'm thinking that's not going to happen. I don't think CBC could ever do enough chores to earn that much money! If anyone has any leads on a poodle mix, please pass them on!!

Buddy using his big vocab and his painting skills

Where does the time go?

How did May sneak up on me? I am somehow surprised by May's arrival, without all the nice sunny weather I am wishing for. I've been trying to eat healthier than normal (which for me would mean eating a vegetable a month or cutting down to 4 Dr. Pepper's a day--okay, slight exaggeration but you get the point). Anyway, I've joined a gym that I visit occasionally (and if any of you have suggestions on how to get by on less than 5 hours of sleep a night successfully, I would love to hear them!) and I go jogging with a good friend at least twice a week during my lunch break, but I am seeing no results at all. Makes me super frustrated, and then apathetic, followed by wanting to go back to my old habits. Ah, whatever.

This post is probably going to be a long one 'cause we've been SUPER busy at our house. Two weeks ago Superman got sort-of fancy tickets to the Mariners, so we enjoyed them (see pics). Kids were pretty great most of the time and it was fun to see them get so excited. Food was good, too :)

Then we decided to dig into another painting project, so we painted our great room (kitchen and living room combo). Coincidentally, the color we agreed upon was "Twilight"--I personally find that pretty darn hilarious. Once we put it on a wall, we realized that was a crazy color for so much space, so we went back and had them darken it. You can check the contrast out between our original wall color and the new one in these pictures. Let me know what you think! All I know is my husband is the bomb and is seriously able to do pretty much anything--I can honestly say I am amazed at his skills and talents. I am also jealous, but being the lackey comes with perks--I'm in charge of Buddy, so I get to take 3 hour naps with him to keep him out of Superman's hair :) I LOVE our new color; hope you do, too! And I hope you enjoy the funny pics of the kids painting. Buddy was killing me in his tidey-whiteys today after church :)

In other news, CBC was picked to be included in a music program within our school district, so she'll actually be attending a new elementary school next year where they will teach her to play the violin. We are so excited!! She and I checked the classroom out this week and enjoyed having some extra Mom/Daughter time. Her OCD has been affecting her again, and manifesting in different frustrating ways. Makes me feel bad for her, and I really need to remember to be way more patient. This new school is a definite blessing because she's been having boy/girl issues with her best friend that have been painful. Those of us who are tomboys can relate to how painful that is--it's not our fault when we can do things better than the boys! She's started reading a Choose Your Own Adventure Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew from my collection, and is really enjoying it. She also jumped off the diving board again in swimming lessons. Fun!

Buddy's vocabulary is increasing daily. This week, he came in from the ride home from school and said "I missed you!" to me before I had said anything else. Absolutely made my day. So cute!! I'm not so great with the video in this blog, but I'll try to put one in that shows him talking. Funny!!! He is responding to something CBC said about him not being stupid. He's doing well potty-training and has found a new love--Trix cereal. This morning, he ate three bowls, which is really a lot for Buddy, who can get by on one gogurt a day.

Last thing--next week is the Mother's Day program in church, and I will be playing the piano for the kids in sacrament. I have a feeling it will be entertaining for all :)

Okay, a couple more funnies

This weekend we had a lot of fun together as a family and a few funny stories came out of it.

First of all, I have to admit that sometimes I forget how enjoyable it is to watch kids learn new things. Buddy has picked up on size differences, and is really doing his best to make sure we don't treat him like a baby. We had pizza yesterday for dinner, and Superman fixed Buddy's plate with a half-size piece. Upon seeing the pizza, Buddy got kind of agitated, wouldn't take it, and kept saying, "NO! BIG one." So Superman gave him a large piece, which satisfied him.

Then this morning, CBC called me from the car and asked me why I picked a job that makes me leave so early in the morning. Kind of threw me for a minute. Then she asked if she could take her Book of Mormon to school to show her friends, which made me feel like a successful mother for about 3 minutes. Then I began to worry that somehow I'd get a call from the principal regarding religious materials at school. Guess we'll see how it goes :)

But most importantly, CBC had "the talk" with Superman about what she needs to do so that she can get a dog. She gave him until Friday to decide, but then asked if she could have his decision right then :) We had to remind her that he had the whole week to think about it. She is so excited about being reponsible enough to have her own dog again! When asked why she needs a dog, she said she wants a friend that is always there for her, that she would like a toy that she can always play with (!), and that everyone else has one. We nixed the last one for a reason, so she then came up with that she would teach Buddy not to be afraid of dogs.

A few choice selections :)

The other night the kids were taking a shower (okay, they were just playing in the warm waterfall). Buddy didn't want to get out, and cried and cried. I was trying to console him by keeping him occupied, and CBC announced that "some kids just feel like they don't have a life." Hmmm . . .

A few weeks ago, I bought New Moon (the movie) and let CBC watch it. It's now her favorite movie and she is definitely on Team Jacob. At the part where Bella crashes the motorcycle and Jacob takes off his shirt, CBC said, "Boys always do that" (making me think, which boys are you hanging out with??)

And then after the second or third time we watched New Moon, she informed me that she thinks her roommates in college are going to love her because she has her own copy of the movie. I'm sure they're going to love her for a whole lot of other reasons, but the movie definitely won't hurt :)

One of the funniest this week was when CBC commented on my new role at church--I am the new primary pianist (all the kids between 3 and 12). She wanted to know why in the world the primary would need a . . . um . . . shall I just say that we've used this other word a lot in potty-training Buddy? :) Of course I had to explain the difference between the two words which really DO sound similar!

And, finally, a word from little Buddy. UHWATT. Huh? He repeated it over and over until I finally got it: "A LOT." He uses it whenever you give him drinks--he wants more in his cup, not just a "baby" amount. Sheesh, who knew 2-yr-olds already had a clue that someone was getting more than they were?

How to Train Your Dragon

We went to the movies this weekend and saw How to Train Your Dragon (super fun movie for anyone interested). All four of us enjoyed it, excepting the part with the huge dragon--Buddy actually hid behind the seats in front of us so he couldn't see the dragon anymore. My favorite part of the after-movie discussion was when CBC said she loved the name "Night Fury" and she suggested we name Kid #3 (don't get excited folks, she's just planning far, far ahead) Night Fury. Which, after being up from 3-5 this morning with CBC, I acknowledge would be a perfect name for any of my kids. I keep chuckling about it--can't you just picture a little redhead named Night Fury Close?

Now if I could just figure out how to train my dragons :)

The joys of responsibility

Okay, I know I mentioned that CBC wants a dog. Really badly. Um, pretty much to die for. So it's kind of bad that after the puppy at Easter, she is now on Spring Break and spending time with friends who all seem to have dogs, too. She came home on Monday, crying her ever-loving eyes out about how "I want a dog," and "why can't I have a dog?" and "I just really want a dog." It went on until I couldn't take it any longer, so I suggested she talk to Superman about it and then try to prove to him she could be responsible. We talked about how responsibility means going to bed on time without a fight, and sleeping in her bed the whole night, and brushing her teeth without fussing, etc. And responsibility is working so awesomely! She is really trying to be responsible, including with her things and her little brother. I love it! My favorite is all the little reminders she gives me of how she is being responsible. If dad's not around, she makes sure to ask me to tell him how responsible she is. So now I guess we just need to start working on dad :)

Mr. Independent

Wow, there are really parts of the 2-yr-old psyche that drive me crazy, but I really have a love/hate relationship with independence. I think it's great that Buddy wants to open doors, close doors, take his diaper off, put his diaper on, dress himself, feed himself, and everything else. But I really have a hard time with the messes he inevitably makes while changing his diaper, in particular :) Buddy also loves helping me do the laundry, which usually consists of dumping all the clean clothes out on the floor. SO not my favorite.

We've been working on potty training--should I admit that he's pretty much totally potty-trained at school because they're the ones who have been working on it? :) Anyway, the other night he came home from school with his underwear still on (such a good boy!!) I wanted him to go to the bathroom before we left the house to run errands, but he was not so amenable. So I bribed him by telling him I would take him to McDonald's. And it worked!! Hoping he would forget about McDonald's, I just drove home but as soon as I pulled into the subdivision, he started shouting, "Donald's!!!" So we detoured back out and headed to the yellow arches. We ordered our food, and had barely started eating when the inevitable happened. And of course I didn't have any extra pants for him! So I pulled my t-shirt off and wrapped it around him like a loin cloth, and we finished dinner. The big problem at this point was our plans to go to the gym after McDonald's (and yes, I ate fast food and then worked out). Lucky for us, there was a Goodwill across the street, so we rushed over, bought some HOT shorts, and worked out. The kids had a blast at the gym's playroom.

Crazy blogging

Should I explain the nicknames I gave us? A friend of mine said that you should use psuedonyms to protect your kids' identities online. So I spent all of 2 seconds to think of ours, but they make me laugh every time I type them. The kids' nicknames--CBC and Buddy--are real, but no one really calls me Lois, nor the spouse Superman (although it is appropriate). In case you don't know, Morfar and Mormor are Norwegian for Grandfather and Grandmother, and so refer to my parents. Blogging is really pretty fun! (And, yes, I get carried away with the labels!)

Also, does anyone know--since I am a perfectionist, I go back and edit these posts repeatedly. I also add several posts at a time. If anyone is "following" this blog, will they get repeated emails from me saying I entered a new post? Sorry!

Puppy Dog Tails

Everyone who knows us knows this, but CBC wants a dog more than pretty much anything else. (She's been pushing for a little sister lately; when asked if she would rather have a little sister or a dog, she thought about three seconds and then picked the dog!) So when a puppy was brought to our house for an Easter visit, she was pretty much in heaven. And when Superman allowed the puppy to inhabit CBC's room during its visit, it just got that much better.

A little history here--we actually have a dog. But it lives at Mormor and Morfar's house. We bought Sprinklers (CBC picked the name) when we lived in Arizona--she's a toy poodle and maybe the dumbest dog I've ever met. Plus, she's afraid of almost everything. So combine an over-enthusiastic CBC and a fearful Sprinklers and you get a lot of shaking and hiding from the dog, and a lot of dragging and pulling from the kid. So when we moved to an apartment in Washington, we asked Morfar and Mormor to keep the dog for us "until we moved into a house." Well, the dog still lives with them and we live in our house. (They are VERY patient and loving grandparents.) CBC misses Sprinklers something fierce, while Superman and I definitely don't. But I do love dogs, so we're working on Superman to see if we can find a labradoodle or a goldenoodle (sp?) that doesn't upset his allergies but has enough energy to keep up with CBC and not drive me crazy. This will be the perfect dog :)

Okay, back to the story. So she loved this puppy that came to play, and came running over to me crying about how she really wants a dog, and gave me an ultimatum--"you can either buy me a dog tomorrow or on my next birthday!" I told her to go ask Superman and see what he says since he's the hold out, which she did. She came running back out to me, still crying, and repeated the ultimatum. I asked her what Superman said. She said, "I can't remember what he said, but it was 'something something no'!" Just about fell over laughing--I'm pretty sure if "no" was included, his intention was definitely no :)

To explain the title of the post--Superman told me later that I needed to wash her sheets because they smelled like puppy. I thought they smelled like little boy, which reminded me of the nursery rhyme about little boys being made of "frogs and snails and puppy dog tails." To add to the funny--Buddy is pretty afraid of dogs, ever since one jumped our fallen fence and came running over to him, and CBC deserted him while running as fast as she could from the attacking monster. But even HE loved that puppy :)

Easter

Well, we managed to miss both the community and church Easter egg hunts this year. The church one we missed because I got pulled over on the way and got a speeding ticket (nice one, Lois! My first in over 10 years) and the police officer took such a long time that we missed the egg hunt. Then the community one was at the same time as CBC's first swimming lesson in her new class, so we went to swimming instead of the egg hunt. SOOO . . . when one of Superman's sisters suggested we have Easter dinner at our house with the whole family, we agreed, and planned an Easter egg hunt with all the kids. This occasion was a great example to me on how different my kids are from each other--CBC raced right off to find eggs, and Buddy couldn't handle everyone getting eggs he could see, so he cried most of the hunt. Even when one of my nephews was helping him, he would stop crying, reach for an egg, see someone else pick up a nearby egg, and start crying again. Kind of funny, actually :) CBC is in the white coat with the pink pants and Buddy is in the white hoodie.

Cooking Part 2

My cousin Korbi "commented" on my earlier cooking post, and in the comment she gave me a recipe. I am reporting on that recipe--it was awesome!! The whole family liked it, which says a whole lot, and we even ate the leftovers. Absolutely shocking--thank you so much, Korbi!

Music Program at the Elementary School

Good times at CBC's elementary school. Buddy and I arrived late, so we had to stand in the corner of the packed gymnasium for the music program. CBC got really into the music, to put it mildly. A few people came up to us afterward and commented that they enjoyed watching her having fun. (A different person came up to her and told her she was beautiful, which she did not like--she said she would have much rathered "pretty" than "beautiful.") If you can't spot her, she's to the right of the conductor and in a white shirt.

Those little boys. . .

I am quickly learning how amazing boys are. Well, amazing and super crazy, all at the same time. AND how boyish they are. So here's a picture of Buddy watching TV with his hands in his pockets--his "at ease" stance.

The Hair Cut

Check out these pictures of Buddy's first real hair cut--wow, does he look like a different kid! Pictures are taken one week apart. Crazy!

The One

CBC and I were watching one of her favorite shows last week when there was a commercial with teenagers discussing what it means to find "the one." CBC looks over at me and says, "I know who 'the one' is for me." Taken aback, I asked who her "one" is (assuming she's going to tell me it's one of her two best guy friends). She says she can't remember his name, but she goes on to describe . . . The ROCK! She is definitely my kid :)