On our way home from school today, Logan was picking on Cael...just really annoying him. At one point, Logan pinched Cael on the arm. Cael was wearing his winter coat, so it certainly didn't hurt him, but he immediately began to whine about it.

Cael: [whining] Mooooom, Logan pinched me.

Me: Cael, what do you need to do before you tattle to me?

Cael: Pinch him back?!

(In case you are curious, the "correct" answer was that Cael needed to tell Logan, "Please stop pinching me. I don't like it when you do that." But, hey...pinching him back sounds like a better option, doesn't it?! I was cracking up. Cael just sounded so hopeful when he said it, like he knew that wasn't the right answer, but it was what he really wanted to do.)

Yesterday morning Ben woke up with a serious case of bed-head. I mean, it was sticking up like crazy everywhere. He was standing in the hallway and I was in our bathroom putting makeup on.

Ben: "What's that?" Pointing at the wall

Me: "That's your shadow."

Ben: "No. What's that?"

Me: "That's called your shadow Ben. The light makes it."

Ben: "No. It's a monster."

I cracked up. He thought it was a monster on the wall because of the way his hair was sticking up!

I detailed what has to be done for me to leave for church in a blog for last Sunday. So this Sunday while I was going through all that again I ended leaving for church wearing the following:

Pants with tea splashed on them as I helped Ben walk up the steps.

Tanktop with breastmilk splotches because Eli sometimes stops nursing and lets the last mouthful of milk drip out out of his mouth.

Shirt with spit-up on the shoulder from burping Eli.

(In my defense, the tea spots were down by my shins so you couldn't see them, the tanktop was under my shirt anyway so that wasn't visible although a little damp, and I scrubbed the spit-up so it was not too noticeable)

The boys were watching "Ice Age" yesterday. During the opening credits, they show cave painting representations of the characters in the movie. The following "conversation" took place between the boys...

[drawing of Manny appears]
Logan: Manny
Cael: Manny
[drawing of Sid appears]
Logan: Sid
Cael: Sid
[drawing of cave man appears]
Logan: Cro-Magnon man
Cael: Cro-Magnet man

I was impressed that Logan knew such a sophisticated term for "cave man",
and what Cael repeated was just so cute. :)

I've never been the kind of person who worries about getting older.  That doesn't mean I don't wear wrinkle cream (I certainly do) or try to stay current on fashion trends (even though I don't participate in them).  I guess I've always thought it would be better to focus my energy on things I CAN change.   Maybe that's why turning 30 this past weekend wasn't something I was dreading. 

I had friends ask me, "Do you feel 30?  Do you feel different?"   And actually, I do feel different.  The feeling didn't come overnight.  It is a feeling of growth and change that has been building inside me over the past year.  I know more about who I am and I'm more comfortable in my own skin.  I've realized that I will become the woman, wife, mother, sister, ...

A random collection of recent conversations with the boys...

We were all shopping at Target. Todd and the boys were looking at action figures. Each boy had chosen a few that they wanted. One of the figures was just really ugly and creepy looking. Realizing that I shouldn't say, "Do you really want this ugly one?"...because I know that I don't want to teach them to value worth based on physical appearance... I merely asked Logan, "Are you sure you want this guy?" Without missing a beat, he said to me, "Of course I do. What's a hero without a bad guy." Who was I to argue with that logic?!

****************

Last night, as I was putting the boys to bed, I told them to both go to the bathroom. Logan said to me, "To be honest with you, I don't have to go right now." (The funny part is, that is a phrase I realized that I use myself fairly often...altho ...

This was the first day that we took Eli to church. Sundays are a little crazy here because Andrew has to be at church at 8:30 for worship practice, but church doesn't start until 10:30. During my life before Eli it wasn't a big deal, sort of annoying, but nothing to get your panties in a knot over. Ben and I would drop him off and then we'd go to Target, hit Starbucks and just kind of chill until it was time for church.

Now, there is no chilling. Maybe chill days will come again, but for now they're gone. So this Sunday was the first Sunday that we were trying to get everyone out of the house in time. We knew that I was going to have to come back to the house after dropping Andrew off because a) Target is not a leisurely trip anymore and b) I haven't yet mastered corraling two children and a coffee cup and c) I wasn't ready. So, we all pile in the car, take Andrew to church and then the boys and I come home.

During my time at home which when counting in travel ...

I've started talking to Ben about what food does for his body...carrots help you see, chicken makes you strong, etc. So he was drinking some water the other day and I couldn't think of anything specific to say so I just told him that "water is good for your body". He gave me a confused look and then said, "water is good for my MOUTH"...

Ben was running around today and he tripped. He sat up and said, "I dropped me."

Ben was sitting on the potty and had just finished peeing. I said, "How about some poop?" And he said, "How about no?"

The directions were to make bold whichever ones you have done, so this is what I've done.

 1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo

The directions were to make bold whichever ones you have done, so this is what I've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11 ...