It's a Wonderful Life

Christmas Eve--one of the best days of the year. So much excitement and anticipation, hurried finishing of presents and surprises, mixed with lazing around the house. I thought we were more done than we ended up being, but we got things taken care of by dinner time and then were able to relax with Chinese take out and It's a Wonderful Life. 

I'm so glad that our kids love that movie as much as we do because it's a must-see movie every year in our house. I cry every single time, and this year, I think Peanut got a lot more out of it than he has in the past. He was a little choked up at the end, and then was so sweet when he told us, "It really makes you think how much every person matters. How everyone's life is important." It was such a sincere realization.  Something good for each of us to remember, all the time. He came and snuggled with me for several minutes after that.

After that, we made a fire, read the story of Christ's birth from the bible, sang Silent Night with Bug accompanying us on the piano, and listened to Daddy-o read An Aussie Night Before Christmas, which just might be our favorite rendition of the poem.

Then, it was time for cookies and milk for Santa (and carrots for the reindeer, of course!) and off to bed. 

Sweer Sixteen

I don't know how it's been 16 years!

We decided to celebrate Bean's birthday on Saturday because her actual birthday was Father's Day and we wanted to give her a day that was all about her. She woke up to some of her favorite snacks and candies in poster form, her favorite breakfast (rice cereal) and a lazy morning before we got to have some fun.

Friends of ours were so kind to share their backyard pool while they were out of town this weekend, so we spent several hours swimming and lounging.

Bean and Bug practiced their water polo skills, while Peanut spent 90% of the time in the hot tub, haha.

I'm so glad these two have each other, now more than ever! They've been able to provide some of the much needed peer interaction.

(And Daddy-o and I have gotten to be Peanut's peers often during quarantine. So many imaginative games!)

We picked up pizza on the way home, played round after round of Nerts, and had cake and ice cream to finish off the night. She requested chocolate mint cake and Tillamook Cookies'n'Cream--so good!

We've been reading the blog together most weeks, starting from the beginning because Peanut wants to learn all about the family time before he was born and all the years he can't remember, and we just came across one of Bean's earlier birthdays when I had asked her about some favorites, so we thought it would be fun to do it again:

Favorite color: Teal
Favorite food: "There's too many--I can't choose."
Favorite thing to do: "Be outside"
Favorite book: "I have a lot of favorites--Wonder, Boys in the Boat, The War That Saved My Life, The War I Finally Won, The Giver, The Book Thief, Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Vanderbeekers series, Trumpet of the Swan, The Wild Robot, All Quiet on the Western Front, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Little Prince"
Favorite song: "I listen to too much music--I don't know."
Favorite Desserts: "Any dessert I'm eating at the moment is my favorite.)
Favorite TV show:  Gilmore Girls!
Favorite Animals:  "My bunny and guinea pigs"
Favorite Movies: It's a Wonderful Life, any musical, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman Homecoming

Favorite Sport : Water polo

She still loves the outside, and has a hard time picking favorites, haha. 

Happy Birthday, Bean!

Highs and Lows

Today's highs and lows:

High: A 6 mile hike with both gorgeous forest and wide open hilltop views

Low: Two of the three kids potentially touching poison oak (we're still waiting to see what happens)

High: Seeing a beautiful Cooper's hawk and being able to follow him through the canyon for about 10 minutes

Low: Seeing at least a couple dozen people who seem to think that the 6 foot rule is a joke. It was amazing how few people even tried to give as much space as possible on the trail.

High: Moments of pure joy and laughter as a family. Bean and Bug are getting along pretty well these days and seem to be enjoying each other's company like they used to. Peanut spent most of the return hike telling jokes he'd made up. 

My favorite: What does a leaf do when he gets excited?

Answer: Leaves don't get excited.

Low: Tears and short tempers brought on by fear and stress. We're all feeling a little cooped up, a little lonely, and a little worried about lots of different things.

High: Peanut's laughs during our family movie night--The Sandlot

Low: Peanut's screams when things didn't go the way he wanted.

High: Take out from our favorite Thai restaurant, which we feel like we were able to safely transfer to our plates without contamination.

Low: The fact that we have to worry about contamination in our food, and the fact that even though we didn't cook dinner, there are still dirty dishes in the that didn't get washed up.

High: A long zoom call with a friend.

Low: I realized this morning that I didn't feel like my social life has been that affected by this whole shelter at home situation because I don't have many social things I go to for me. I get to hang out with the other moms at our park day each week, but that's about it. Apparently I just haven't prioritized friend time since moving to CA and I no longer have a book club, running partner, knitting group, or any of the other things I used to do. Something to work on once we're allowed to gather again.

This whole sheltering thing is weird. We're isolated, and yet, when I go out and do see people, it makes me nervous and uncomfortable. We're lonely, but never actually get to be alone because everyone is home all the time (well, the kids are--Daddy-o still goes to work every day, so that hasn't changed.) We're getting lots of family time, which is awesome and mostly been enjoyable. But we don't seem to have all the extra time that people keep posting about on social media, so it's not like we're doing anything amazing. Honestly, other than sports, nothing was actually cancelled, so we still have lessons and homework and piano practice. And I've tried to make up for the lack of sports with long hikes and daily walks, so we're still gone for a couple hours most days.

 We're only 2 weeks into this, with over a month before school and other life will possibly resume. Bean informed me that according to someone who's lived through this in China, weeks 3 and 4 are when depression sets in, so we'll have to be on the lookout for that.

I'll just end with a few pictures from our hike. Nature therapy is real. I'm going to keep doing it until they order us inside, and then I'll hang out in my backyard.

Four People Down

This picture pretty much sums up our week.

Bug started the week with a really bad head cold, and then, Wednesday morning, Peanut came down with a stomach bug. By Thursday, both Bean and I had scratchy throats and head aches. NOT a fun week. At least Daddy-o didn't get sick this week so someone has been able to keep up with the dishes.

Luckily, Peanut was done throwing up by the time I started feeling sick, but he missed 3 days of school because he still wasn't feeling 100%. In fact, I feel like it's a toss up for which is worse--throwing up Peanut; or cranky, starting-to-get better-but-not-actually-well Peanut. But I wouldn't wish him on his sweet teacher for anything. We are all practicing patience this week.

On a funnier note, Peanut is hilarious when he takes naps while sick. He 1/2 woke up two different times and, while looking completely awake, started talking about what he must have been dreaming about. It actually freaked me out a little in the moment because he looked so wide awake, but was definitely not talking about real things.

The first one was after he'd fallen asleep while watching a Curious George about frogs:

Me: How are you feeling, Bud?

P: Ok. I did move all the tadpoles from the lake.

Me: That's great. Good job, buddy!

(The other two kids and I were trying, and failing, not to laugh, which enraged Peanut, but he dozed back off and when he woke up for real, he was fine.)

The second one was following up a marathon session of watching Wild Kratts (which if you've seen, you'll know what the Tortuga is):

Me: Did you have a good nap?

Peanut: I wasn't sleeping!

Me: Ok, ok.

Peanut: I just want to make a disc in the kitchen of the Tortuga!

Me: Ok, sure. (Kids laughing)

Peanut: Quit laughing! It's not funny! 

Me: It's okay, I think you were just dreaming.

Peanut: I'm not dreaming! 

It was nice having a little bit of entertainment in what has otherwise been a rough week. We missed a field trip to Sacramento for an education rally, Bean had to push through her first high school swim meet after missing two days of practice and not feeling well, I continued to walk and feed my doggy clients, but was so grateful that one of them cancelled for Thursday and Friday because I was so not up to it. That's one problem with having a job where people are counting on you and there isn't anyone else to pick up the slack--I'd have to be confined to my bed before I would feel comfortable calling in sick.

So that's pretty much sums up our week. I'm really hoping that we can all kick the colds quickly and get back to normal. We're wasting the beautiful spring weather that started this week!

From the Peanut Gallery

I've been compiling this list of funny things this boy says for the last couple months. I have records of the other two that we love to go back and read, and realized awhile back that I haven't written down as many of this boys' funny insights, even though we laugh about the things he says daily. So here are a few that I remembered.


When walking with me:

Peanut: You and me, we're both kind of like Dory sometimes.
Me: Yeah, kind of.
Peanut: I need to start writing down what I do each day so I can tell me kids about my childhood.

Peanut, to Daddy-o: If you aren't here tomorrow, who's going to put on my bandaid?!
Daddy-o: Someone else can do it. I'm a terrible daddy.
Peanut: You're a great daddy! You spoiled me!

Peanut, riding in Daddy-o's car the week before school starts: This is the last time I get to ride with you since I'll be going to second grade.  [Pause] I hope they give me a few days off for Christmas!

During his nighttime prayer:
Thank you for laminators. Thank you for laminator paper. Thank you for other humans.
(No one can say his prayers are rote.)

Me: I'm going to hold onto this drawing while you go get your PJs on.
Peanut: Yay! So I don't get distracted?

At a children's museum:
Peanut, running over from a computer: Check your phone!
Me: My phone?
Peanut: Yeah, look for a picture from me!
Me: What do you mean?
Peanut: They let me take a picture and then asked for an email to send it to.
Me: What email did you enter?
Peanut: Kim
(Haha--I then explained about email addresses and helped him take another photo and send it to my actual email.)

Some of the words he uses that make me smile:
"literally", "actually", "pasketti" (spaghetti), "cretzels" (pretzels), kitar (guitar), egg-zactly

I love this kid, even with all his fussiness.

Bean at 10

I was just looking back at our first month in Charlotte and found the questions I asked my 4 year old Bean on her birthday.  I thought I'd ask the same ones now, 6 years later:

Favorite color: Light Purple!
Favorite food: Mac and Cheese and Ravioli
Favorite thing to do: "Write and play outside."
Favorite book: "Oh, this is really hard!   Hasty Pudding (a colonial cookbook) and Top Secret (book about spies)."
Favorite song: "I can't decide!"  (A few that she likes--Beautiful Day (U2), Bring the World His Truth (church song), Everything is Awesome (Lego Movie), Let It Go (Frozen)


And a few new ones:

Favorite Desserts: Pie, and anything with chocolate or cinnamon.  (Although it's tough for her to narrow it down to even that.)
Favorite TV show:  Curious George.  She says she knows that's weird for her age, but she just loves it.  (I do, too.  He's a funny monkey.  And the man with the yellow hat has got to be one of the most patient parent examples ever.)
Favorite Animals:  Wolves, dogs, and horses
Favorite Movies: Polar Express
Favorite Sport : Swim Team

Fewer exclamations in her answers these days.  Guess that's part of growing up.

Peanut-isms

Peanut is at that age where he cracks us up every day.  A lot of it is his little voice, his mis-pronunciations, and the fact that he is still trying to figure out pronouns, so for awhile, he called himself "me" in every context, and now it's "I", as in "Can you read a book to I?"  Whatever it is that is making us laugh, we're sure going to miss all these funny conversations.  Here's a few from the last couple months:

I don't want to be happy!

********

Please go here, Mama.  Mama, please put your hand here.  No, right here!  (He's gotten very bossy, lately, but he's so polite about it with lots of pleases and thank yous, that it's hard to mind.)

********

Me:  Why did you color your hands orange?
P:  Just 'cause I want to.

********

Random talks before bed:

While I'm trying to sing to him before naptime:
P:  Mama go night-night?
Me:  Sure, Mama will go take a nap, too.  (He loves to make sure we are all going to bed anytime he has to go to bed.)
P:  Move the clothes off your bed first.  (guess he noticed the piles!)
A moment later
P:  I like this song!

*********

After I'd left the room:
P:  Mama!  Mama!  Mama!
Me:  Yes?
P:  Mama talk.
Me:  You want to talk to me?
P:  No, Mama talk to me!

Recent Funnies

Bean, while explaining the game she was playing:  "And this bunny is in the hospital because she ate plants sprayed with DDT."  (That's my little environmentalist!)

Bug, on our way to the doctor, "So, nothing is going to get poked into my body today?"

Bug, explaining the difference between sherrifs and police officers, "The sheriffs don't drive.  There are always 2 people in the car.  The police drive the sheriff around."

The Ugly Truth

According to our 5 year old. . .

"Werewolves are ugly wolves that have had their feet shaved bald and then they turn into werewolves."

"If a meteor makes a mouth on the Man in the Moon, then it will be ugly and I won't ever look at a full moon again."

"There is a gnome in magic land with the 1st name Henry and the last name Ford."

This was our snacktime conversation today.  The funny thing is it is all said so seriously and if you try to dispute any of it, he is ADAMANT that this is the truth.  I guess in his world. . .

3 Months

 No official stats, but by our rough estimates, Peanut is around 11 pounds, and 26.5 inches long.  I'm glad he's getting longer or I'd worry that he's not eating enough, but he eats when he wants and is happy and content, just must have a fast metabolism.  His longest stretch at night has been 7.5 hours, but we've been getting lots of nights where he goes from about 8 until 1:30 or 2:30--sure beats every 3 hours!

 Peanut has started rolling over from his front to his back, only by accident, and it always startles him, but I don't think he's too far from figuring out how to do it on purpose.  It would probably happen faster if he liked tummy time for more than about 5 minutes, but that's usually his max.
 He's also talking, smiling, and laughing a lot--so fun!  When he smiles at us, he usually gets his whole body involved and does a cute little squirm that I love.  And he lights up when he sees Bean or Bugaboo--which is really helpful in the car because he still doesn't like to sleep in his carseat, but they can at least keep him occupied until he gets to the point where he's really tired.  Then things get a little noisy.

 I think he is going to be our blanket sucker. He's our only one who wouldn't take a paci, but it doesn't stop him from wanting to suck on things.  So far, its mostly our clothes or his, but when he can manage to get his little dog lovey into his mouth, he's happy to suck on it.  He also really likes looking at its face, and any toys with faces on them.  He smiles and talks to a little bear that hangs down from his bouncy seat all the time.

Look at those long chicken legs! 

We've mostly got his reflux under control.  I've eliminated dairy and soy proteins and it cleared up pretty well--not much more in the way of gurgles, or wet hiccups, or mucousy, green poops.  I'm currently trying no eggs as well, because he had a little flare up when I'd accidently eaten a tiny bit of dairy, but I'd also had a bunch of eggs those couple days, so not sure which thing it was.  I'm hoping it was just the dairy--it gets tricky finding substitutes for everything I can't eat, and expensive, too.

We love this little guy--its so hard to imagine our family without him.  We just hope he doesn't grow up too fast.

Growing Up Too Fast

These kids want to grow up for some reason. 

This morning, Bug came into our room to show us his loose tooth--and was devastated when Daddy-o told him it wasn't really loose, and that was actually a good thing because its better to not loose your teeth when you are 4.

Then, Bean showed up and within the next 5 minutes, had made these comments:

"I consider myself 7 now,"  and "Peanut, I'm your doubly big sister!"  (Meaning she is a big sister twice since she has 2 little brothers.)

And then the kids proceeded to ask me hold old Peanut would be when they are various important ages--like when they go to college, or are 30, or 49.

At least this little guy is still small--only I know its not going to last long enough.

Funny Bug

"My good brain killed my bad brain."  (The bad brain is what tells him to do things he shouldn't do.  He used to tell us, "My bad brain made me do it!")

While Peanut was eating:  "He sounds like a piggy when he drinks."  (He's right--the little Peanut can do some pretty impressive snorting.  And burps.  He's got all the sound effects down.)

 Bug started making food and utensils from his Legos the other day.  Above?  A chicken leg--"It's for a first communion!"  Guess the chicken they served last weekend at the party for our neighbor's first communion really stood out to him.

And finally, as Daddy-o and Bug were leaving to run some errands today:  "Daddy, do you remember when you used to go to work?"  Bugaboo is LOVING having so much time with his daddy each day.

And finally, just because he's so cute--

(And speaking of sleeping--he's still doing quite a bit of it, although he isn't going down for naps quite so easily, but last night, he actually did two 3 hour stretches in his bed!  I could get used to this!)

Conversations That Make Me Smile

Listening to my 6 year old explain "Video Killed the Radio Star" to her 4 year old brother.

Two 4 year olds discussing why we got a dog, "Because you had a lot of dog food?"

All the "You don't know because that is in Magic Land and grown ups can't go there" discussions.  Magic Land is apparently kid heaven and the solution for everything.

Odd and Even

A little backstory:  Awhile ago, in order to cutdown on the arguements over who's turn it was to [open the garage door/get the mail/say the prayer/pick the TV show] we instituted odd and even days.  Odd days are Bean's day, even are Buggy's.  And for the record, this has failed miserably.  Maybe because I can never remember what the date is, so we get to argue about that first. Maybe because our kids just like to fight. Who knows. It hasn't been the magic answer. But that has nothing to do with this story.

At bedtime, we were getting ready to say a prayer and I asked, "Is it odd or even today?"

Bugaboo chimes in, "Mama, is odd a boy or girl?"

Me:  Neither.  Odd and even aren't boy or girl.

Bugaboo:  No, the real odd and even.  Are they boys or girls?

Me:  They aren't.  They are just numbers and numbers aren't boys or girls.

This went back and forth a few more times, with Bugaboo getting more and more upset each time he asked.

Finally, Bug asked:  The odd and even that Jesus sent down first!  Are they a boy or girl?!!!

It took me a second, and then I realized, "Oh!  You mean Adam and Eve?"

I started laughing so hard, it took me a minute before I could tell him which one was the boy and which was the girl.

I love the word mixups at this age!

"B" is for Bugaboo

Funny Bug:  I like Ball (his blanket).  I like Backyardigans.  I like breakfast!

This little Bug has been giving us a run for our money this last week or so.  It started last weekend, when he missed his nap Saturday, went to be late that night, and then woke up at 5 in morning.  9 a.m. church was an absolute nightmare.  We had to take him out repeatedly and when he went to Primary, where they were trying to reherse for their upcoming program, he completely lost it when one of the teachers told him where to sit.

Unfortunately, getting more sleep didn't seem to help, and he's been waking up extra early most mornings anway.  In 2 days time, we had to leave a produce stand, grocery store, and the library all empty handed as he screamed, cried, and tried to bite and hit me.

Then, yesterday was the final rehersal for the childrens' program and pizza party at the church.  Daddy-o and I had been looking forward to going out to brunch while the kids were occupied, but when we got there, Bugaboo totally lost it again.  For a moment, I was watching our plans fly out the window, and was starting to get desperate, but after threats of spending the rest of the day in his room, he finally agreed to go back in.  Luckily, he snapped out of it and was very cooperative the rest of the morning.

So, needless to say, we were a little worried about what was going to happen this morning for the actual program.  And he didn't dissappoint.  He started thrashing around and whining and had to be taken out within about 10 minutes of the service starting.  Daddy-o brought him back in time for the children's part, but he wasn't calmed down and had to be half dragged/half carried into the room, and they didn't make it past the front pews.

  This is his first year being old enough to participate.  Basically, the kids all get to sit up on the stand, they sing a bunch of songs, and in between each song, the different classes go up to the microphone for their speaking parts.  Bug's was only one sentence, but he wouldn't even go up on the stand.  They sang the first song, his class got up, the leaders even motioned for him to come on up, but he wasn't having any of it.

Then, about halfway through, they started singing a song he liked, and he decided he was ready to go on up.  He fidgited, stretched, got up and down, sometimes pretend to be singing (and even sang the last song for real), and grinned at us for the next 20 minutes.  And then, at the very end of the program, they gave him a chance to go up to the microphone and so after the kids shared how they know God loves them, the program ended with, 

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." 

It was actually really sweet, and as many of these people have been able to witness all the craziness he's been pulling out the last couple weeks, I think everyone appreciated that he finally made it up there.

And now I just hope this is a very short lived phase.  I want my sweet boy back!

Sweet Teeth

 

Guess who lost another tooth today?

Her smile is looking pretty sweet right now.  And speaking of sweet teeth, last night, as she ate her second dessert of the evening, she told us, "All my teeth are sweet teeth."

Today was the childrens' program at church, and Bean really wanted to keep her tooth until after she did her talk, in case she couldn't say her "S's".  She did fabulous and then let Daddy-o pull the tooth out when we got home, so this one didn't get lost.  But now that she actually has one of her teeth in her hand, she doesn't want to give it up.  Here's the note she wrote for the tooth fairy:

(Please leave my tooth there and the money.  I want to keep it because I'm finding a box to put it in.  If my tooth {the permanent one} falls out, I can put it back in.)

She's a planner.

In The Middle

of a passionate argument:

Bugaboo: I like to google much! (I love that google is Buggy's favorite number--he talks about it all the time.)

Bean: I like to more!

Bugaboo: (suddenly very calm) How much?

Bean: More!

Bugaboo: That's not a number.

Another homeschool day at the Latta Plantation--this one focused on the spring sheep shearing and crop planting. I was surprised at how entranced my two kiddos were by the sheep shearing. We were easily there for an hour.

My favorite line of the day--about 5 minutes after the men had pinned the sheep down and started clipping, a little girl who was about 9 asks, in a very polite voice, "Excuse me sir, I want to ask a question. Have you cut off his head?" Guess the little nick they'd made on one leg and the fact that one of the guys had the sheep's head pinned down left her wondering.

What a Night!

Bugaboo: I don't love Daddy--he's not a real girl like you.


You know your kids are still young when you have to referee fights over who's turn it is to do dishes, because they BOTH want to do them.

Bean: "Mommy, I want to see if Santa comes again. I'm putting out graham crackers and milk."

Things you want to hear: "Mama, I love you so much! Give me some more lovin'!"

Things you don't want to hear: After your kid has climbed all over your lap and rolled around and slid up and down your legs, "Mama, I peed on my pants.

Primary Principles

Today was the Primary Program at church. That means that the main service is put on by the kids ages 3-11 and their teachers and leaders--so a lot of cute singing and mumbled lines that only the parents who have been rehersing with their kids have a chance of understanding. But its really fun to see them up there, and Bean gets so excited for it all. She managed to say her line in her normal voice this year and sang the songs, and even made an effort to move out from behind other kids so we could actually see her.

But my favorite part of the whole thing happened yesterday when we were on our way to the church for the rehersal. I asked Bean if she remembered her line and she rattled off, "Heavenly Father loves me and has a plan for me." Then, after a short pause she added her own part, "Me, me, me!" Reminded me of the the Jan and Marcia Brady line, "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" only if Marcia was the one saying it. I know we believe that God loves us and that we're important to Him, but I feel like she might be taking that teaching it a little far. Luckily, she left it out during the real thing.