My Handsome Boys and a Cake Thrown In

So I heard from my sister Katy, via my parents, that this blog is no good unless it has pictures. I think I may agree. Who wants to read lame old words anyway? Pictures of cute kids are way better. Here's for you, Katy:

 Little monkeys and little dare devils the two of them.

And here is for me:

Oh, yeah . . .  What a hunk.  The beard is being grown specially for the opera Collin is involved in.  He joined the chorus for La Boheme that will be performed in the first week of June.  He even gets to sing a solo that is translated:  "Over there."  "Whats in the basket?"  "Move along."  And he will wear a coat with tails and brass buttons and a sergeant cap.  Cool, eh?  So several people asked me at church today what I think of the beard.  Pretty much goes like this:  I think it's incredibly hot and manly.  Hate kissing it, though. 

P.S. on Collin.  I promised my brothers and Dad I would post this for them to watch again.

Don't know if you can read what's on the hat.  Gramps (Collin's dad) got these hats and shirts a few years ago for the Lambourne clan, in honor of his kids graduating from Lambourne University.  I have an honorary degree, I think, after 5 years.  The grandkids are working on theirs.

Last cake of the cake class.  Davy's friend Laura is turning three this week, so I got to make a nice cake but not have it around the house torturing me and my children, thank goodness.  Foist the junk food off on someone else, that's my new philosophy.  Anyway, I'm happy with the way it turned out.  Fun to learn to make the little roses on the spinny rose nail thing and I remembered to spell all the words right in the cake.  Laura was so adorable when I dropped it off.  Her mom told me today that she has to wait until Wednesday to eat it, but takes it carefully out of the fridge five or six times a day to look at it.  Best compliment there is.

Funny quick anecdote about cake class.  Mostly old (middle aged) ladies taking it, but one teenager with her mom.  The teacher called her 'kidlet' as a nickname one time and the 13 year old asked why she was called that.  The teacher said, "Because you are the youngest here." The girl then said, "What about Rachel?  How old is she?"  I was flattered and embarrassed and said, "Let's put it this way.  I have two kids and I am twice your age."  Says more about the cute teenager and her perception of age than about me, but funny anyway.

Yesterday while Collin was at opera rehearsal, the boys and I explored a nearby town called Acton.  Cute little town.  Awesome houses and yards!  We found a church thrift store that was open and popped in to check it out.  As we were walking up to the store front Davy looked at the big cross on the front of the church and said loudly for all the world to hear, "Hey Mom!  It's a huge sword!  Can we buy a sword at this store?"  Yes, so apparently all that discussion on the crucifixion and resurrection a few weeks ago at Easter did not include a good explanation of the cross symbolism.  We'll keep trying!

To report:  there were no "swords"--real or crosses--for sale at the thrift store, but we did come away with an inflatable globe, Curious George book, Olivia board book in pristine condition, a bouncy ball that was clenched in Eddy's fist and would have caused an earthquake to remove, a wavy flag for Davy, a hand made cross stitch wall hanging, and a horse ornament.  Guess how much I spent?  (Collin hates this game.  I make him play it several times a month and I think he's getting pretty good, but he still doesn't like it.  Wonder why?)  $5.05!  Bet you didn't guess that.  Now the real fun is telling Collin all the things I didn't buy.  You know, like in Anne of Green Gables when she says, "If you only knew how many things I want to say and don't."  Same thing.  (Aside.  For my dad it was, if you only knew how many chocolate things I wanted to eat and didn't.  We all have our own things, I'm sure.  Or maybe it just runs in my family?)  An awesome $15 chair (we really don't need any more chairs, even an awesome one), another milk glass vase for a buck, a mosaic flower pot but I don't remember how much that one was.  Anyway, you get the idea.  I'm learning to keep my list of "didn't buy" to three or under.  Collin is so patient.  And so are you, if you made it to the end of this paragraph!

Back to the real reason for this blog:

Eddy needs a few minutes of spot light.  I want to put up a whole list of words all organized like I did for Davy, but that's just not happening.  So I'll just post a few of the words I love to hear from Eddy.

More, back, all gone, ball, dog, woof, baa, neigh (horse), hi, bye, Maddie, Daddy, Mommy, Davy, peek-a-boo, hand (for help getting down stairs), book, diaper, potty, yuck, no, yes (mostly head shakes for this one, in varying degrees of enthusiasm), whee, scooter, button (belly button), up, down, in, out, chocolate, yay, outside, shoe, sock, hat, water (both to drink and to swim in), choo-choo, cheese, bread, slide, swing, run run run, bed, hug, okay, soap, jump, kick, door, uh-oh, bath, balloon, here, God (for I Am a Child of God song), star, moon, prayer, plane, car.  I'm sure there are more.  He understands so much and can do so much with his pudgy little hands.  I love that boy to bits.

This picture below was Eddy's favorite when I was showing him all the photos I took on Friday.  Guess why?  Because you can see the ball in it, of course!  He's holding it in almost all of them, but I just cropped it out of my frame.  It's so much a part of him, though, I should let it in the picture more often.

I got a glimpse of how impossible it will be to get a good picture of three kids when I tried with Maddie in the mix.  It's hard enough with two (which is why you rarely see the brothers together in my photos), but three?  Forget it.

Eddy's graduated to a regular chair.  He refused to eat safely in his highchair enough times in a row, and then refused to get in at all, so now we're in a booster.  The books were a temporary fix one morning when Collin was up while I lazed about in bed.  The books were Twilight and Eclipse, so I'm thinking Collin wouldn't have minded much if milk had spilled all over them.  ;)

My Job

Earlier this week the kiddos and I spent the morning at the MFA in Boston.  We paid our respects to the statue of Menkaura, saw the other mummies, strolled through some Greek and Roman exhibits, found a short cut to the Chinese horses, and generally had a great hour.  We were getting ready to leave when Davy looked at the museum map and said he wanted to go to the boat room.  We had been to the model ship gallery previously with a special art bag and had fun with that.  This time we just wanted to revisit because of the pull out drawers.  We love peeking at things, and being able to touch something is a nice break from the museum rule of no touching, too.

A little aside here: anyone who knows me at all knows that I am a rule keeper.  For example, I almost never went to the restroom in elementary school because I was freaked out about all the rules involved in taking a hall pass, and once my dad offered to pay me to get a grade lower than an A so I would stop crying over third grade homework every night.  I am a little paranoid about getting in trouble about things or causing other people inconveniences.  One college friend told me I had the guiltiest conscience of any person mostly innocent that she had met.  I try to anticipate problems before they happen (yikes, that sounds like my dad.  Sorry, Dad, for giving you a hard time about your over-protectiveness!  I had no idea how much energy and patience went into your parenting!).  So all this to say that if anyone does imply that I am breaking a rule when I am trying very hard to keep them I get a tiny bit defensive. We have been followed around by various museum gallery guards before and had them tell us to get our kids to stop leaning on the glass or running or other things.  One even told us off for like three minutes about how the alarm would go off and get finger prints on the glass and other stuff while Davy was standing there leaning on the glass.  Collin and I were like, "We're doing our best, but could you give us a second to talk with our son to solve the problem here?"  In general, though, I have to say, unbiasedly, that our three year old behaves better than some adults I have seen.

Back to the MFA.  So there we are pulling out the drawers carefully one at a time to see the ship tools and carved whale tusks and other treasures.  We finish and I am about to get the boys ready to head out to the elevator and car when the security guard comes over and says, "I'll need you to stop that boy from opening the drawers now."  I stop wrestling Eddy back into the stroller for a minute to look over and see Davy pulling open another drawer.  The lady continues, "The rule is only one time per person."  That gets up my feathers and I say, "Okay, well, we did open them all once."  She says, "I've been watching.  That boy already opened all the drawers and now he is opening them again.  My job is to make sure you only open them once."  I reply, annoyed, "I don't see that rule posted any where."  She says, "I know, I said that is my job to tell you.  Otherwise the drawers will break if they are opened more than once."  Then I say, really annoyed, "Well, there are three of us, so we can open them three times, I guess."  (I know, very mature.)  "And if we break them I will take care of that."  The security guard says, getting a little heated, "No, just make him stop now."  So I say a very sarcastic "thank you" (I don't think she caught the sarcasm as she said, "you're welcome" back) and got the boys out.  (Eddy was screaming but I kind of took my time hoping that would annoy the guard.  Again, such passive aggressive behavior is so not mature.  Not my proudest moment, but I freely admit it.)  My blood was pretty pumpy by that point and I huffed all the way out of the museum and home, thinking of all the things I could have said or done to really tell that lady off, or alternately, handle it better and nicer.

I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was going around in circles about the conversation and different outcomes.  Finally I hit on the perfect response that I will use from now on.  I know there will be many more times that I will have security people tell me to get my kids in line, and I am not going to stop going to museums--or the grocery store or church for that matter.  When some one comes up to me with a command to control my children I will simply reply calmly with a sincere smile, "Thank you for doing your job.  Now please let me do mine."

Attack of the Robot

I came in to see all the books in a heaping pile on the floor, not on their shelf.  I asked, "Who did this?" Davy replied, "It was Eddy and a robot."  Hmm-mmm.  A little while later we were baking in the kitchen and I turned around to see the entire contents of the salt shaker all over the boys and floor.  "Davy, did you pour out the salt?"  "Oh, no, Mom, it was Eddy and the robot."  Okay, time to get out of the house and run the kiddos (and that blasted, trouble-making robot) outside.  Also, figure how to rephrase those questions.  When they are written down like that they make me realize that I may not be asking the right way to get the answer I'm looking for!

First, on Monday morning we trekked to the Old North Bridge in Concord to catch the"Shot Heard 'Round the World" reenactment and parade for Patriot's Day.  The boys turned sticks into muskets and shot at targets, admired the Minute Man costumes and horses, and jumped at every canon or musket firing.  It was great!

Tuesday morning we drove down to the Blue Hills conservation land in Milton, MA.  I still had the jogging stroller in the trunk and thought it might be a nice little stroll through the woods kind of thing.  Nope.  Full on hike directly from the parking lot.  I'd loaned out my Ergo carrier but wished I had it so Eddy could take a ride while Davy and I climbed . . . next time.   Davy was an awesome mountain goat-esque climber.  He was way ahead of Edward and me the whole way and entertained himself well with sticks and rocks when I yelled up for him to wait a minute.  He's a fantastic listener, actually, after all our practice walking and scooting to the library and back.  I have few problems with him rushing too far ahead or starting off again before all of us are together.  The Blue Hills Reservation also has a small woodland animal "zoo" with an otter, turtles, ducks and geese, etc.  The boys loved watching the otter frolic and the turtles hang out.  The little museum was perfect and hands-on.  Davy made a friend just his age and they made up some sort of game involving the binoculars, hollowed-out log tunnel slide, and Native American hut--and round and round again!  Eddy loved watching the bee window where he could see real bees going in and out of a glass panel and making their honey comb.

Collin's comment:  "Look at that perfect quarterback form!"

Davy said yesterday as we were walking to a park that, "Aachoo!  That sunshine made me sneeze!"

Eddy is trying so hard to be a big kid.  He's practicing putting on his own pants and gets very frustrated if I attempt to help.  If only he could wear skirts he would have it down.  Here he is working on it:

Let's see, what else did we do this week?  We went to the big slide park and played and wandered for two hours. We went to the USS Constitution ship and museum in Charlestown on Friday because Davy did not have playgroup.  We peeked through the peep holes, felt the different types and sizes of rope, looked way way up through the rigging to the top mast, wanted to climb on the canons but remembered that the sign said no, got a finger pinched in a seal-pressing machine (bad mom moment), and walked a long way back to our parking place with a grumpy attitude that was finally appeased by the promise of Junie B. Jones stories in the car.  I love how I use the royal we.  Normally so tacky, but as a mom of little kids it is so true that whatever is happening to one child is happening to the whole group.  We all struggle through the issue or revel in the success together!

We also walked four miles to return cousin Maddie to her house on Thursday.  It was "just past the library" but that last little way was quite a stretch.  Both boys were troopers.  Eddy loves to run run run just for the pure joy of it.  Quite inspirational.  And cute!  I'm sure he walked/ran at least a mile and a half and resisted getting back in the stroller every time I insisted.  The extra wonderful thing was that there were no yucky mosquitoes at Clay Pond, on the way back from Maddie's house, so we thoroughly enjoyed strolling along the bank of the pond, finding magic tree houses and pretending to have adventures with dinosaurs and knights.

Helping make cupcakes for my decorating class:

Wow, I'm showing up twice in a row!  Better not make this a habit.

Fish, Bugs, and Teletubbies

I'm indulging in a cake decorating class from Michael's.  You know, that one everyone (i.e. the ladies at church) seems to have taken at some point.  I've seen this banal fish all over the Internet, but with an amazing degree of creativity and individuality all the same!  I'm learning some cool tips and easy tricks to use in future, and Collin loves having the practice cakes around the house.

I asked Collin which picture to use--the one with the cute feet or the cuter face.  Both was the answer from him, which I know will be seconded by the aunts.  Eddy's first real sit-down show.  Teletubbies.  Those people knew what they were doing producing that show that drives adults crazy but enraptures babies!

The distressed face often comes after Davy takes his ball.  Edward liked to have two little whiffle golf balls in his hands at all times this week.

Davy was invited to a friend's birthday party on Saturday.  For a favor he received an insect container and little plastic bugs, a magnifying glass and a net.  Man, those little toys have been the hit of the weekend.  They've gone everywhere with us.  I love to watch Davy carefully line up all the bugs, crouch down with his magnifier and identify each of them or ask me questions about them in a teacher-voice.

We're thinking of nicknaming Davy "Darth Davy."  The hood, kid, what's with the hood?

Easter 2012

Happy Easter!  One of my favorite holidays.  Candy, spring, little girls in new dresses.  Telling and hearing stories of Jesus, feelings of peace and love from the Holy Ghost, a joyful Easter feast.  Definitely some of my favorite things. 

I'll give a quick run through of our activities, then put some pictures up.

We've celebrated long and hard this week.  The boys and I joined some friends at a state park reservoir for a picnic and some "saying yes to getting dirty" time.  The boys relished the sunshine and the opportunity to climb rocks, throw rocks, and play in the sand and freezing water.  The Easter bunny also had a dress rehearsal and hid lots of eggs in the woods for the kids to find.  Lots of good fun.

Yesterday we went to the annual Belmont town egg hunt.  Crazy amounts of eggs spread across a soccer field.  Over in ten seconds flat.  Davy got two eggs, Eddy found a few more in the toddler sticker section.  Our friends came two minutes after the hour and didn't get any so we (reluctantly at first) shared.

The Easter bunny hopped on into our house and left some goodies.  Some gosling books for Eddy, a New Testament Scripture Scouts CD for the family, and Thomas the Train legos for Davy.  Candy for me and Collin.  'Cause we're so grown-up and mature.

Dyed eggs.  Davy was careful.  Drew "hieroglyphs" on the eggs with crayons before they wen tin the vinegar dye.  Eddy broke two and counting.  Grandma sent some yummy cookies in a bunny box.  Already gone.  I made a lamb cake from a vintage lamb pan I found on eBay.  Kind of creepy.  But from-scratch tasty and a good way to break my Lenten chocolate fast.

Wrestled boys into nice church clothes and combed hair. Not too much yelling on either side.  Ties stayed on the entire day, gasp! Collin and I sang in the choir, two Easter pieces.  I read a passage from the scriptures.  I did Sharing Time in Primary.  Eddy went to nursery for the first time for real.  Davy gave the opening prayer in the microphone all by himself and did a really fabulous job.  Collin was ordained the Elders Quorum President.  Really busy day.  Really wonderful day.

Had our fish and honeycomb Easter dinner.  Davy told us the story of the resurrection.  Eddy said a spontaneous and enthusiastic thank you for raisins.  Candles graced our Sunday table.  Everything was special, simple, and sacred.

And now onto the picture dump already.  Sorry out of order.  You'll just have to match description with image--or not!  Enjoy.

 

"Put your hand on the chair, Davy, please."

"No, don't touch my chair!"

"Now I'm going to make a sad face."

"Can I see my sad face?"

"What happens if I drop this egg?"

"Oh."