Oh hey.... It's been almost a month...

I never said I would be a die hard blogger.  I really just wanted to share my stories with friends and family.  I know there have been many stories to share because some days have been plum crazy.  Crazy.  But I guess there really hasn't been much notable for a while.

Yes, Charlie had a "month day" sometime in there....
Yes, Charlie had some poop explosions sometime in there....
Yes, Wyatt said some of the darnedest things sometime in there....

All pretty normal occurrences I guess.

Probably the most notable out of the last month was our family vacation to SAN DIEGO!  It was absolutely wonderful and we had an amazing time.

Last year, we went to San Diego when I was pregnant with Charlie.  That was the first time for all of us.  My parents had rented a house on the beach and invited family to join.  Last year I said, this is great, but we probably won't come back next year because I will have a little Charlie and that's just too much.  My parents made similar arrangements to get a house on the beach and asked if we would come and I said, no, I said we wouldn't be coming last year so I'm sticking to it!

And then we said yes.  Because it's a beach house in San Diego. 

So I suppose that is some of the reason I was absent from posting.  Because when you go on vacation with two kids and your husband, it takes you 7 weeks to get ready.  Not really.  But it did take quite a lot of time and planning and shopping and packing. 

We were perfectly organized when travel time came.  We had four bags to check which I think is completely reasonable for being gone from Monday to Friday with three kids and a carseat.  And a stroller.  Nothing got lost!  The kids were wonderful on the flight.  No one had any issues. 

San Diego time was fun.  Because Wyatt usually wakes up at 6:30 at home... so of course that meant he woke up at 4:30 in San Diego.  But we made do and our kids didn't have any meltdowns.  If they did, I have blocked them from my memories.

We had some family from Texas in San Diego also and getting together with all of them and those kids was wonderful!  S'mores on the beach...?!  Definitely a memory.

Our plans were to leave on the 8:25 flight Friday morning.  After a quick discussion and several calls to the airline, we decided not to leave until Saturday morning, 7 am.  What would that matter?  We were up at the crack of dawn with kids anyway so we would be ready and we would get back into KC around noon.  Wonderful.

Of course, that day we had to wake our kids up.  Of course, the 7 am plane had mechanical issues and wasn't leaving the gate.  Then we boarded a new plane about 45 minutes later and began to taxi away from the gate.  A few minutes later we pulled right back into the gate and, of course, that plane had mechanical issues and wasn't going anywhere.  So then around 9 am we got on another plane and amazingly enough were able to leave on that one.  All of this with our two little ones.

I usually like to have an adult beverage on a plane... A little treat for me.  When we planned a 7 am flight I figured I would just have a juice or Diet Coke since it was so early.  By the 9 am flight I was more than ready for an ice cold beer.  Bonus:  With all of our flight trouble, we weren't charged for any beverages. 

Home, sweet home.  Just a few hours late.  We were blessed with landing into a lovely 70 degree day in Kansas City.  Which is really hard to believe in late July.  Loved it.  And goodness I was happy to be home.  San Diego was beautiful.  The house was beautiful.  The company was amazing.  I will treasure it forever.  But I was SO pleased to be able to put Charlie down on our carpet at home and not worry about him picking up who knows what or slicing his head open on that ridiculously sharp table in the living room!

Thank you SO MUCH, Mom and Dad, for making this a possibility for us.  I won't ever forget it.

*Pictures to follow in additional post.  :)

Lust: Houseplans.com

We live in a sweet little house.  It's pretty old and pretty tiny.  When I first moved to town and told the townsfolk where I was living, every different individual told me "I knew that place when so-and-so lived there!" And every person told me a different name. 

Seth bought the farm and house and soon it became his "bachelor pad".  I believe he moved in with everything that had been left from previous owners... and I wouldn't be surprised if some of those priceless relics still existed in the attic or back porch. 

He enjoyed the cold winters here with only one or two functioning baseboard heaters and kept company with the mice he fed in the kitchen.

He spent very few hours in the house during the summer and those hours were spent with one window unit in the bedroom.

And then I showed up.  :)

We now have fully functioning heating and cooling... and we pay for it.  We also have added on a master suite which has allowed us to stay in this house in a much more comfortable position.  Seth even built a beautiful little deck and pergola that has added so much character to the house.

We have also tried to kick out each and every little critter that dares to shows it ugly little mug in this house.  So far... so good... See you later bugs, spiders, mice, rats..., frogs.... Die.  Tell your buddies.  Don't come a knockin'.

We have turned this little pieced together house into the home that I will never forget as my first "home" with my own family.  Seth proposed to me on the living room floor.  We discovered we were having our first and second child in this house.  We brought both of those children home from the hospital to their now comfy bedrooms.  The house is small; but it is our home.  It's filled with things we love and have been handed down to us from both of our families.

Obviously, all that being said, we don't plan on this being our forever house.  We would personally like a house with a basement and maybe an upstairs.... and more storage... and something that didn't apparently get knocked off its foundation by a tornado back in the day...  I would like the dirt that resides with us to be all just OUR dirt.... Not something that was left behind by so-and-so's second cousin, twice removed.

In the past few days Seth has been bringing up houses and plans.  So, of course, I've spent almost every spare second I have scouring house plans and home décor ideas.  I am an old pro at this.  I stumbled upon my "dream home" probably 5 years ago.... I'm not sure if that dream will become a reality... but we are looking into it.

I have no idea what and I have no idea where... but WHEN we are finally able to build, I'm going to be ready! 

Again, I'll be sad to leave this place and can only imagine how the boys will react when we go to our new home.  I know they'll miss this little place.  Amazingly enough, I will, too.

Well... Poop.

Something to check off of the list... Overflowing toilet.... Definitely not my bucket list....

When it hits the fan and mass hysteria strikes, 9 times out of 10, your kids will be running amuck/fussing/crying and it'll be right before bedtime. True story.

Last night, I had just finished feeding Charlie and came out to find Wyatt running out of the bathroom 'Oh no. Can't go poopy!' What?.... I walked into the kids' bathroom to find the toilet overflowing and filling the bathroom with about an inch of water. Toilet water... Wyatt had apparently already gone to the bathroom and flushed when something clogged and the handle was stuck down causing the bowl to runneth over....

Oh. My. Gravy. Panic sets in knowing that dirty toilet water is filling your bathroom and threatening the hallway. In the meantime, Mr. Charlie wasn't happy when I just plopped him on the living room floor to attend to the mess... Wyatt's crying in concern. Charlie's crying in abandonment. I'm darting around so quickly that I can't even focus my eyes.

8:15 and I sent out approximately 12 SOS calls to the husband. I can handle a lot on my own... But when it came to that moment, I desperately needed another adult to help contain the situation. When Seth called back I think the panic in my voice made it pretty obvious I needed help. STAT!

But go figure, by the time he got home, the bathroom smelled of bleach, Charlie was happily bouncing in the jumper, Wyatt was enjoying a nice little show on TV and I was having a beverage. If only he could've seen the chaos 45 minutes earlier.

So, no worries, friends. Dirty toilet water no longer resides here. For now. And hopefully not ever again.

Interview with a two year old...

Charlie was napping.  I was sunning myself and attempting to read a book (which I haven't done since probably last summer - when I was pregnant and morning sick and sunning with a younger Wyatt).  Wyatt was enjoying his baby pool and washing off his tractor, truck and gator.  I decided to take a second to enjoy this time with my little boy.  Because this time seems to fade fast.  He's growing up more and more every day.  Same with Charlie, of course.  But this was my time with Wyatt.

What's your name?
-Super Wyatt
How old are you?
-Two.  Just two.
What's your favorite color?
-Pah pah puppy.  Puppy puppy.
What's your favorite COLOR?
-My name Panky.
No, Wyatt.  What's your favorite color...?! Like red, orange, blue, green...
-Orange.  Orange mine favorite color.
Who are your friends?
-May. Puppy at mine park last time. Joe. Panky. Daddy. Papa. Papa Fred. Papa Fred. Joe.
What's your favorite show?
-Super Why. Daniel Tiger. Daniel Tiger mine friend.
What's your favorite food?
-Pah pah.
No, Wyatt... What do you like to eat...?
-Like to eat macky!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
-Ride in big tractor and the little tractor!

Clearly, Wyatt likes the letter P. Pah pah.

We seem to be missing poop in our stories here lately.  And guess what..?  I'm totally cool with that.

New Word of the Day

Cop-a-bird.

We have a little dog that showed up stray at our house about 4 years ago. She's a sweet little white dog who has since become a part of our family. Even though she's sometimes a neurotic, anxiety-ridden guard dog... She's a part of our group. Little orphan Annie.

She showed up one Sunday afternoon barking at our front door. I opened the door and she took off running! About 30 minutes later she showed up barking again. I lured her in with some lunch meat and sat outside with her for a while. She was tiny and covered in fleas. We put her on Pet Patrol on the radio and took her to neighbors and also two local vets. No hits. We haven't ever wanted an indoor dog and thought about giving her up.

The day Annie showed up.

About a week later I came down with a horrible flu. The swine. Or H1N1 as my husband insists. I was stuck on the couch and sleeping in a separate bedroom trying to keep from getting Seth sick. Who did I cuddle with....? Annie. That was it. We were bonded. We became the proud parents of a little girl who we suddenly realized required a trip to the groomer every 6 weeks. Fabulous...

This little dog is no priss. She likes to explore the farm. She loves when we have cows around... Ew, I don't need to elaborate on the savory treats the cows leave for her. She also loves running through wet grass that on a normal dog just covers their paws but on an Annie-dog comes up past her belly!

But one of the. most. maddening. things. ever..... Is our word of the day.

Cop-a-bird.

We have an abundance of cockleburs somewhere on our property. And Annie is proficient at finding them and becoming a walking pin cushion. She then comes in the house and picks them off of herself at random spots around the house. Thus, we have little Annie land mines throughout the house. Cockleburs. Wyatt has learned to recognize this little boobie traps and exclaims "cop-a-bird!" as he picks one off of his foot or out of the carpet.

Sometimes we would like to make an orphan of Annie again.  The cop-a-birds all over the place, random fits on midnight barking, mysterious prizes left in the hallway from time to time.... But she's such a fun sweet little dog and the kids love her.  Oh, Annie-dog.

"Got gross on me...!"

One of Wyatt's new favorite places of all time is Dean's shop.  Dean has a pile of the best old farm tractors and implements, ever.  Wyatt could spend all day just digging through this pile of treasures, hooking and unhooking each and every piece of equipment. 

Dean doesn't live very close to us, but very near a couple of fields that Seth farms.  He's very gracious and provides storage for our tractor, or planter, or mower, whenever the conditions kick Seth out of the field.  Which is quite often here lately. 

Wyatt rode with Seth one morning this weekend to go deliver something to Dean and Wyatt spent his time digging through the treasure pile.  But somehow he managed to get covered in grease... It's amazing how little boys find these hidden stashes of grease.  Magnets for messes.

Wyatt came home with grease all over his clothes and some remaining spots speckled all over his body.  But Wyatt hasn't mastered the word 'grease' just yet.  During lunch he proceeded to tell me how he got "gross" all over!  "Gross all on mine pants! Gross all on mine mouth! Gross all on mine hands! Dean clean gross off mine hands."

True story, Wyatt.  Grease is gross.  I am becoming proficient in nasty laundry.  Just in time for three boys to take over my life.

Charlie: Five Months

Big Charlie is five months old today! Every day he is so sweet and jolly. And quite ticklish! Tickles bring giggles. Giggles bring hiccups. Hiccups bring spit up. I have this sneaking suspicion that Charlie will be the boy who spins in circles after dinner and makes himself sick...

Yesterday, I wrote about Wyatt and how much he talks. I spend most of the day listening to Wyatt trying to meet his word quota.  I am excited for Charlie to find his words and start conversing with Wyatt. The conversations those boys will have... I know we will get a lot of laughs. But. I so enjoy the silence of Charlie. The sweet, quiet, breathy sounds coming from him are enough to warm my heart. Babies are just so sweet and pure and innocent.

And my how time flies. Charlie is almost half way through his first year and I wouldn't do anything to change what he has become for our family. He loves Wyatt and is always watching him. When Wyatt comes in for a good night hug and kiss Charlie smiles and giggles.

I always wanted a girl and was fairly bummed to find out Charlie was another boy. I wouldn't change a thing. I'm quite partial to boys. My boys. 

Interview with a two year old...

Little Wyatt is really starting to talk. He can put words together into complete thoughts and is making nice, choppy sentences. Most of these revolve around his favorite boots and some piece of equipment that is "broke down". So while swinging the other day, I decided to ask some random questions and write them down. I'm excited to do this often to see how he changes...!

How old are you?
-Two.
What's your name?
-Wyatt. Super Wyatt.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
-Farmer man.
Where do you want to live when you grow up?
-Live in a tractor over there.
What do you think will be the first thing you drive?
-Green tractor.
What's your favorite letter?
-Pah pah (P says pah, thanks leap frog)
What's your favorite food?
-Ham
Who are your friends?
-May. (I was very confused by this until I realized he was talking about a little puppy who visited.)
-I like dogs in the tractor. (Random.)
What does your little brother do?
-Good dog chartah.
And our interview concluded when Wyatt realized....
- Shadow back! My shadow over there! So happy. Tooted.

Oh, to be a two year old boy.
What a gooseberry.

No News Is Good News....

I guess when you have a blog all about poop and hiccups and you have nothing to say... No news IS good news!

All seems to be going well with potty training!  Wyatt has very few accidents now and has gone on several outings in only big boy underwear!  I am so proud of and so impressed with Wyatt and how he has picked up on potty training.  He still sleeps in a diaper, just in case, but amazingly enough, wakes up dry every morning!  He wakes up at 5:45 every morning.... dry.  I wouldn't mind him waking up wet at 6:15.  Only kidding.  I'm proud of him and mornings start early around here.  Special thanks goes out to my baby daddy, Seth, for being in charge of Wyatt in the morning.

Don't be mistaken.  There is still plenty of poop around here.  And hiccups for that matter.  Just not many have been noteworthy.

I have a nursing 4 month old.  That's a messy job and I have ended up with Charlie's poop on MY pants twice in the last week.  I took a picture of one of these messes and sent to a friend who doesn't have children.  She was fairly disgusted, I think.  Thanks to her delayed response to my first poop-on-my-own-leg picture, I was reminded that I had Charlie's poop on my pants AGAIN!  By the way... it's still there. 

Talk again soon... I need to go change my pants.

Charlie: The Stats. And a study in durability.

Charlie's four month check-up was today. Drum roll please............

And in the red corner.... Weighing in at 23 pounds and 4 ounces... And measuring at 28 inches long.... Heavyweight champion of the four month olds.... Charlie "Steamroller" Tyre!!!

Don't worry friends, babies.... He is gentle as could be and happy as a clam. Harmless fella.

He does seem to be somewhat indestructible. He has already taken a couple of intense tumbles. When Charlie was just about a week old, big brother Wyatt decided to help me give Charlie a bath. I asked him to go get his stool but he must have thought Charlie's name was stool because when I came around the corner to get Charlie, I saw my tiny baby laying face down on the floor. That is a pretty scary feeling... Luckily he wasn't crying, acted normal all day and was scheduled to see the doctor the next day anyway. All is well.

Another nice little tumble happened when Charlie was about 3 months and he managed to do a complete flip off of a small bookshelf while he was strapped into his carseat. Don't ask me how... I was standing right next to him, holding on to the seat. Let's just say 2 year olds are crazy, and I'm not talking about Wyatt.....

Finally, this wasn't a tumble but an exercise in brotherly love and testing the durability of a four month old. I put Wyatt in the crib with Charlie and turned to get clothes out of his dresser. While away I heard Wyatt saying "ride Charlie, ride Charlie" and came back to find Wyatt straddling little, big Charlie. Wyatt!!

The doctor told me after the first incident that second children make you realize just how sturdy babies are really. Nonetheless, I don't like the durability tests we've already put Charlie through. Fortunately, he has passed with flying colors and, so far, remains unharmed.

Charlie: Four Months

My littlest pumpkin is four months today! Everyone knows that time flies... But somehow I think it goes even faster with your second baby.

We won't be going to the doctor until May 1st so I don't have exact measurements at this time but be prepared to be blown away, I'm sure. I estimate him at 20+ pounds. He is not a small fella...!

Charlie is big. Charlie is strong. He is smiley, sweet and loud - I think he's my social baby! I couldn't imagine a better child to add to our family.

New Word of the Day

Delicious.

Bathtime is a favorite time around here. It probably is at most houses with children.

Wyatt tries to drink the bathtub water constantly. We are always on him to stop and that it is dirty! Especially if Wyatt and Charlie are sharing a bath. You cannot trust a four month old.

Last night, Wyatt was enjoying a bath after a Sunday of playing outside at Ettie's house. And so comes the new word of the day. Delicious. I cannot believe how clear and how adorable this word is coming out of Wyatt's mouth. Even if it is in reference to dirty bath water.

New Word of the Day

Wind blower.

Last Saturday I had the chance to go to Columbia for a nice little day of shopping. After realizing my husband would be working around the house most of the day, I decided to stay home and mow... The first mow of the season! I do love to mow. I am pretty good at it... And have been mowing for about 15 years maybe....

I shattered our dining room window. Fantastic. We had a tree taken out and another trimmed. Apparently the lawn mower picked up a piece of wood no bigger than a pickle and launched it into the window! This was the first major incident of my mowing career.

Wyatt is obsessed with this mishap and that a man is going to have to fix it!

Which leads us to the word of the day: wind blower.

Wyatt now points to our window and says "Wind blower. Momma broke. Man fix it."

If you ask me, calling it a wind blower and not a window is actually pretty witty and spot on.

Potty Training, Poop and Hiccups

Adventures in potty training have begun at our house. Wyatt was just two in January so this seemed like a good time to start some casual training. After chit-chat with several friends, I decided to go straight to nice big boy underwear complete with the great Cars characters, Thomas the Train and all that jazz. Wyatt seems to have picked up on the idea pretty well and after a couple of accidents he is figuring out you can't just "go" anytime you want now.
Today, Wyatt was sitting playing near me and all of a sudden got a worried look on his face.  "Toot.....", he said shaking his head back and forth. I asked if he needed to go potty and off we went! He was a little concerned... I think he thought he wasn't going to make it.  SUCCESS!!! Wyatt POOPed in the potty! I was so tickled and made a fool of myself rejoicing in his success. As a reward, Wyatt got a sucker and a new little train for his set. Happy mom. Tickled.
A little later, I was feeding little brother Charlie and had been in the midst of getting everything ready for a trip to church and visit with my mom for the afternoon. Wyatt came into my room and had a little accident but not much, he was just a little wet, so I quickly put Charlie down and got ready to get Wyatt in the bathroom. Again, he was VERY concerned that he wasn't going to make it on time! So I pulled the big boy pants off of Wyatt and PLOP! Out came a nice fresh mound of, well, POOP. (Sorry....) OH!! NO!!! To make matters worse, Wyatt's little bare foot came right down on top of the POOP. OMGravy! So here sits little Wyatt on the toilet with a foot covered in POOP and a nice little pile on my bedroom rug. Accidents happen. It's part of the training process.
Whew. After all was said and done I went back to feeding Charlie. Little did I know that one of life's little HICCUPS was right around the corner. About 5 minutes later, Wyatt walked back into my room in his church clothes...covered in baby powder! He had pulled Charlie's diapering basket off of the changing table and apparently dumped powder all over himself. I, calmly of course, instructed Wyatt to go to his room and play while I finished getting Charlie ready for church. "Do NOT get into anything else messy!" Two minutes after that Wyatt came out of the bathroom carrying a bathtub cup (complete with a little dribbling hole) full of water through the house! We had some words... It is Sunday and I did pray for forgiveness.
In the end, we all survived. We all made it to church, on time even.

Another little nugget....

One of the first days of potty training, Wyatt actually just spent a good amount of time just hanging out half naked.  This made it easier for me to just plop him onto the potty every 15-30 minutes to try and go. 

Wyatt's "bathroom" is his bedroom.  He usually goes into his bedroom, shuts the door and POOPs while leaning over his little train table.  Knowing this, I was especially watchful whenever he wandered that direction. 

At one point during the day, Wyatt wandered into his bedroom and shut the door.  A couple minutes after I walked in to find.... Wyatt reaching behind him to his bottom and catching a nice little nugget of, again, sorry... POOP from his bare bottom!!!  OMGoodness!  I was thinking, good thing he caught it, otherwise we would've had POOP on the floor and a big mess!  Little did I know a few days later this would become a nice, disgusting reality.

Wyatt followed my instructions, carried the little nugget into the bathroom and dumped it into the potty.  I sat him on the toilet and he was able to go more.  Half success.....?  I suppose so.

Welcome.

After saying to myself, on more than one occasion, 'I couldn't make this stuff up'... I decided maybe it was time to properly document some things. So here we are. Be prepared to hear stories of poop and other little hiccups of life. Don't worry I won't be toooo disgusting. I will just share some of the precious gems from my parenting experiences. Welcome!