some more sawyer

after laughing repeatedly at the other sawyer video that i posted, i just needed to share this one too. it's song #2 on the greatest hits cd.

his cut off t-shirt, tight blue jeans, and cowboy boots are glorious.

his shoulder shimmying makes me swoon.

i am thoroughly impressed with the whole band dance choreography.

too bad he cut off his mullet in this video.

all joking aside, i honestly do think he has a nice voice. and i really do love this greatest hits cd.

sleepy time blues

bryan: how'd you sleep last night?
me: not too great. asher woke up and got in our bed. he was flippy flopping all night. and the baby nate woke up once or twice too.
bryan: i'm sorry, love.
me: it's ok. it won't be long before they'll be teenagers and we'll be dragging them out of the bed.
bryan: yep. we'll say, "asher john! get outta that bed,boy, or you're gonna be late for school!"
asher: nooooooooooo! (as he's jumping up and down on our bed)
bryan: and that's exactly what he'll say!

hahaha!

shower surprises

we're trying to avoid letting asher be around when i'm taking a shower just because he's getting older and starting to ask questions like "what are those, mommy?" innocent questions, of course, but i would prefer him not to be explaining the intricacies of mommy's anatomy to the person behind us in the grocery store line...and knowing the stinker, it could happen! that being said, sometimes he barges in the bathroom while i'm showering anyways.

asher: hey mommy!
me: oh! hey bud!
asher: whatcha do?
me: taking a shower. why don't you go play with daddy until i'm done?
asher: nope.
*despite his negative response, he leaves. then returns a few seconds later
asher: here ya go, mama! you need a truck!
*he pulls the curtain back and drops a truck in the tub.
me: oh, wow! thank you!
asher: you're welcome, mommy.
*he leaves again and comes right back with a starwars ship thingy (i don't know anything about starwars. my husb tells me i'm going to have to learn because i have 2 boys who will be into that kind of stuff. that's fine, however, i think i've still got a few more years of bob the builder and thomas the train before i need to familiarize myself with the galaxy far, far away. that's starwars, right? or is that startrek? anyways...)
me: oh! more stuff? thank you, asher!

by the time he's finished delivering his treasures, i am taking a shower with a toy 4-wheeler, the starwars thingy, a toy truck, and a seed shaker percussion instrument. i guess because he gets to take baths with cool toys, he thinks mommy needs them too.

not so pearly whites

asher had his very first dentist appointment on monday and did SO GOOD! the dentist said his teeth looked great and just to make sure to help him brush them good before bed. i was helping him brush his teeth tonight and...

asher: wanna brush mama's teeth too?
me: ok.
*he swipes my two front teeth with his toothbrush and giggles.
me: thank you!
asher: you're welcome...mommy's teeth are yellow!
me: what color are they?
asher: yellow, mommy. yellow teeth.
me: hahahaha! wow, thanks bud.

he's a charmer, that boy.

how NOT to reverse psychologize

bryan: asher, are you ready to take a bath?
asher: nope!
bryan: i bet judahbear is ready to take a bath!
me: what? husb, judahbear can't take a bath. he can't get wet.
bryan: wifey, i'm trying to reverse psychologize! i'm just taking your lead!
me: yeah, but it doesn't work unless it's something that judahbear can actually do...

my husb is the funniest person i know.

and then some girls do

ashley king, who is a wonderful friend, sent me a digital copy of sawyer brown's greatest hits 1990-1995 for my birthday after reading my post about neeeeeeding it. once i downloaded it, bry turned on the first song, the lovely "some girls do," so that we could take a listen. i, of course, immediately start dancing and singing and bry is watching me from the corner of his eye, smiling.

*i lean over and kiss him on the cheek
me: is that what you wanted?
bry: nope.
me: why are looking at me like that?
bry: because i'm waiting on the chorus...
me: why? so you can sing too?
bry: nope.
*the chorus starts
bry: so i can do this!
*he jumps on top of the coffee table and starts dancing like a mad man
me: ahhhh hahaha! like sawyer brown on top of the washing machines!!!
*i laugh hysterically because usually i am the one who spontaneously and ridiculously dances and not my silly husb. he jumps down after the chorus.
me: that was so funny, husb!
bry: haha! thanks...
*we both chuckle
bry: i really thought i might break our coffee table...

THANKS, ashley king, for inspiring my husb to dance on the coffee table!

p.s. does sawyer brown dance on top of washing machines in that video? i know he dances on top of something and for some reason i remember washing machines...maybe it's tables?? does anyone know?!

thanks for finding THIS, kelly pritchett!

apparently, he dances on everything BUT washing machines...my childhood memory deceived me. but let's be honest ladies, with that hair and outfit and those smokin' hot dance moves, it's not hard to believe i had a crush on him as a girl, is it?!

world of warcraftery

if you're not familiar with the online video game "world of warcraft" you can ignore this post. it will probably mean nothing to you. my husb likes to play it.
i, myself, do not like this game.
it never ends.
it goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and...
you get the point.
on to the convo!

me: husb...wait! did you just start fighting that overgrown bat thing right after i said "husb" knowing that i was about to tell you it was time to get off?!
bryan: no, wifey. clearly, that thing is a gargoyle. and i was already in combat before you said that.
me: ok, well when you finish combatting, can you get off?
bryan: can i finish fighting those other 2 first?
me: yes, if that's the only thing you're going to do. are you sure you don't mean that you're really going to fight those other 2 and then go talk to this guy and then trade this stuff and then send gold to another character and then get on under that character and buy something with the gold you sent and then send that something back to the first character? because that's usually what you mean.
bryan: no, i just need to fight these 2...and then go and talk to the guy i did the quest for, but then i'm really done.
me: i knew it was more than just those 2!

my husb is not as nerdy as this post may make him seem. i just like to tease him about world of warcraft...because it's pretty nerdy.

reverse stinker psychology

me: alright, bud. it's time for bed.

asher: nope!

*he runs off in the exact opposite direction of his bedroom. i go the other way to his bedroom and say very loudly

me: oh! well, hello there, judahbear! you look like you're ready for bed! would you like to read some books with mommy?? you would? ok. how about the caterpillar book? and what about this one with all the animals?

*i hear little toddler feet pitter pattering hurriedly down the hall (have i mentioned that i love that sound?)

me: hey, asher! mommy and judahbear are reading books. would you like to join us?

asher: ok! yes, mommy! asher wanna read books too.

*he climbs into his bed

and that's how ya do it! reverse psychology...stinker style!

how to treat your woman

here's yet another story from the book i'm currently reading (God on Sex: The Creator's Ideas About Love, Intimacy, and Marriage by Daniel Akin). i just can't help myself from sharing again.

The 8-Cow Wife
by: Norman Wright
When I married my wife, we both were insecure and she did everything she could to try to please me. I didn't realize how dominating and uncaring I was toward her. My actions in our early marriage caused her to withdraw even more. I wanted her to be self-assured, to hold her head high, and her shoulders back. I wanted her to be feminine and sensual. 


The more I wanted her to change, the more withdrawn and insecure she felt. I was causing her to be the opposite of what I wanted her to be. I began to realize the demands I was putting on her, not so much by words but by body language. 


By God's grace I learned that I must love the woman I married, not the woman of my fantasies. I made a commitment to love Susan for who she was-who God created her to be.


The change came about in a very interesting way. During a trip to Atlanta I read an article in Reader's Digest. I made a copy of it and have kept it in my heart and mind ever since.


It was the story of Johnny Lingo, a man who lived in the South Pacific. The islanders all spoke highly of this man, but when it came time for him to find a wife the people shook their heads in disbelief. In order to obtain a wife you paid for her by giving her father cows. Four to six cows was considered a high price. But the woman Johnny Lingo chose was plain, skinny, and walked with her shoulders hunched and her head down. She was very hesitant and shy. What surprised everyone was Johnny's offer-he gave eight cows for her! Everyone chuckled about it, since they believed his father-in-law put one over on him.


Several months after the wedding, a visitor from the U.S. came to the islands to trade and heard the story about Johnny Lingo and his eight-cow wife. Upon meeting Johnny and his wife the visitor was totally taken back, since this wasn't a shy, plain and hesitant woman but one who was beautiful, poised and confident. The visitor asked about the transformation, and Johnny Lingo's response was very simple.


"I wanted an eight-cow woman, and when I paid that for her and treated her in that fashion, she began to believe that she was an eight-cow woman. She discovered she was worth more than any other woman in the islands. And what matters most is what a woman thinks about herself."

confession #5: i never wanted to be a stay-at-home mom

it's true. i always imagined i'd get a couple of degrees so that i could get a good money-making job so that our family could enjoy the material comfort that i thought desirable. i did not picture myself squeezing every last penny out of a tightly budgeted, way below poverty-level income so that we could barely pay all of our bills and maybe splurge on micky d's dollar menu as a treat once in a bazillion years. however, after i had nate, it just made more sense for me to stay at home with the boys. i found myself beginning to feel worthless and aimless as a stay-at-home mom. i thought that surely God created me for more than doing house chores and changing poopy diapers. i'm a pretty smart girl. i could get a few more degrees and contribute to society in a pretty significant way, right? my friends have cool degrees then got cool jobs that came with really cool salaries. why shouldn't i?!

despite my initial self-pitying, whiner baby mood, i have thankfully, through different books, speakers, and seminary classes, learned the importance of mommyhood and homemaking. through these different means, i learned that being a wife and a mother is a very high calling indeed. making sure the home is a place of refuge where everyone feels loved, encouraged, and comfortable is a tough job, but it produces wonderful, life lasting results for husband, wife, and children. this article, entitled "Motherhood" by Dale Hanson Bourke, pretty much sums it up:
Time is running out for my friend.

We are sitting at lunch when she casually mentions that she and her husband are thinking of "starting a family." What she means is that her biological clock has begun its countdown and she is considering the prospect of motherhood.

"We're taking a survey," she says, half jokingly. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say carefully.

"I know," she says. "No more sleeping in on Saturdays, no more spontaneous vacations..."

But that is not what I mean at all.

I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of childbirth heal, but that becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be forever vulnerable.

I consider warning her that she will never read a newspaper again without asking "What if that had been my child?" That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will look at the mothers and wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die.

I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think she should know that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will immediately reduce her to the primitive level. That a slightly urgent call of "Mom!" will cause her to drop her best crystal without a moment's hesitation.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might successfully arrange for child care, but one day she will be waiting to go into an important business meeting, and she will think about her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure he is all right.

I want my friend to know that everyday routine decisions will no longer be routine. That a visit to Mc Donald's and a five year old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's room will become a major dilemma. That right there, in the midst of clattering trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that danger may be lurking in the rest room.

I want her to know that however decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother. Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the pounds of pregnancy, but will never feel the same about herself. That her life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. That she would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years, not so much to accomplish her own dreams, but to watch her child accomplish his.

I want her to know that a cesarean scar or stretch marks will become badges of honor.

My friend's relationship with her husband will change, but not in the ways she thinks. I wish she could understand how much more you can love a man who is always careful to powder the baby or who never hesitates to play with his son. I think she should know that she will fall in love with her husband again for reasons she would never have imagined.

I wish my modern friend could sense the bond she will feel with other women throughout history who have tried desperately to stop war and prejudice and drunk driving.

I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your son learn to hit a baseball. I want to capture for her the laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real that it hurts.

My friend's quizzical look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes.

"You'll never regret it," I say finally.

for all of the luxuries and financial security that a career could bring, i will never regret being a full time mommy.

a story that brought a smile to my face...then a tear to my eye

next weekend bryan and i are taking a marriage and family class taught by the man himself, dr. danny akin. as part of the class, i have to read dr. akin's book, God on Sex: The Creator's Ideas About Love, Intimacy, and Marriage. This book has been amazing thus far and i highly recommend it for married and about-to-be-married couples. in one part of the book, dr. akin is discussing the natural, God-given differences between men and women. as he writes about these differences in the area of parenting, he shares the following story:

"several years ago i was doing a family life conference in south florida. i had talked about the fact that a mother really does become something of a bear protecting her cub whenever her children are in trouble. after the conference a man came up to me and said, 'what you said this morning is absolutely the truth. let me tell you what happened down here recently.' he then relayed to me the story of a family that was in their backyard down in the everglades. while they were out playing and doing things, an alligator came up out of the bush and grabbed their small child and began to run back in to the bush toward the water. the father and mother both saw what was happening. the father, being the typical male, quickly looked for something that he might grab as a weapon to go and attack the alligator. the mother, however, looked for nothing. she immediately went into a sprint, leaped upon the alligator, and began to bite it, hit it, kick it, and scream at it. finally, bruised and battered, the alligator let go of the small child and made its way quickly back into the safety of the water! the mother stood up, realized what she had just done, and immediately passed out there in the backyard!"

dr. akin goes on to say that he believes the mother acted this way, not because she loved her child more than the father, but because women act from the heart first and then use their heads whereas men use their heads first and then their heart. 

my initial reaction to this story was to smile and think "that poor, sweet, crazy mama literally bit an alligator to save her baby. and it worked!" 

and then about .032 seconds later, tears sprung up in my eyes because i thought, "i would've done the EXACT same thing had it been asher or nate. i would've made that alligator bleed. he would've paid for messing with my baby. after it was over, right before i passed out, i would've yelled something like 'that's right! run away! and if i EVER catch you around here again, i will do more than bite, sir! i will personally skin you with my teeth and take your nasty hide and make me a nice pair of alligator skin boots! and then every time i walk in those things i will laugh at your feeble attempt to come between a mama and her babies! booyah!' 

i would be that poor, sweet, crazy, alligator-biting mama. and i am SO ok with that. 

p.s. i will post a sunday confession later today that was inspired by another story from this same book. i don't have time to get it all out now, but stay tuned! 

the good ol' days...

me: OMG!!!! husb! i just found something that i neeeeeeeeed!
bry: what?
me: sawyer brown has a greatest hits album!!! with all the best songs on it!!
bry: *eye roll
me: when we have money again, remind me to buy it!

i love me some good 90's country...i used to have a crush on sawyer when i was a little girl...

it's a perpetual problem...

i have this problem, see. it's a little, scratchy thing i like to unaffectionately call leg hair...and pit hair too! no matter how often i shave or how many quadruple doople razors i use, my legs are prickly again in a matter of hours. it's tedious and frustrating and sandpapery.
i've written about my dislike for shaving before...
and about how my legs get furry in the winter because i don't have to shave...
and since i saw a segment on that doctor's tv show the other afternoon...
i've become inspired!

me: i decided that i'm using next year's tax return to get laser hair removal!
bryan: wow. really?
me: yep. maybe i'll just do the pits because that will be cheaper...
bryan: what if you could only afford to do your pits and just one leg. would you still do it?
me: ABSOLUTELY! then that's only one leg i have to shave!
bryan: hahaha!

i don't know why he laughed. that would be 3/4 of my perpetual, prickly problem solved. i'll take that.

of course, i'm not really using tax return money to get hair removal done. it's just baby soft smooth wishful thinking...

to narnia...

*asher is hiding under the kitchen cabinet.

bryan: hey! get outta there. what are you doing?
asher: bye, daddy.
bryan: are you going to narnia in there?
asher: yeah! to narnia! bye.

no fair. asher gets to hang out with aslan.

Da Very Hongee Cadapidder by Eric Carle (as told by Asher)

this probably isn't very amusing unless you know the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar pretty well, but it was fun watching him turn the pages and "read." (i tried to type it the way it sounded!)
asher: wanna read cadapidder book, mommy.
me: ok.
asher: der's one eggy and one moon. and den POP a cadapidder! and den de sun. and den dat hongee cadapidder need some food. some owanges, and trawberries, and two pears. and some chocate cake, ice cweam, pickle, cheese, sawami, woddipop...um, what's dat, mommy?
me: cherry pie.
asher: yeah, cherwy pie, sausage, cake, and a watermelon! a watermelon, mommy!
me: i see that watermelon!
asher: oh, and den de cadapidder.
*he licks the ice cream cone in the book
me: ew! don't do that!
asher: i wike it ice cweam, mama.
me: let's keep reading.
asher: ok. a cadapidder and a weaf. and den...what's dat?
me: a cocoon.
asher: yep. dat's a cocoon. and den dat cadapdder turn into a budderfwy!!
me: yes! a beautiful butterfly! good job reading, asher!

boy's world

bry and asher are hiding in a "tent" (under the blanket on the bed) while i'm trying to get ready to run to the grocery store.

bry: should mama get in the tent?
me: mama needs to get going so she can get back!
asher: yeah! mama get in tent!
me: ugh! that's a boy tent! are there girl things under there like tiny puppies and glitter?
bry: nope! you're living in a boys world baby! you better get used to it. you're outnumbered 3 to 1!
*i get in the tent
me: one day we'll have to get a real tent. asher would love spending the night in the back yard!
bry: that means i would be spending the night in the back yard...
me: yep. boys' world.
*pause
bry: can we fit the air mattress in the tent?

helpful husb

when bry got home from work this morning, i got ready and ran to the grocery store. here's the convo we had before i left.

me: can you give baby nate a bath while i'm gone?

bry: uhhh...that's tough to do alone.

me: yes and i do it by myself all the time!

bry: yeah, but i don't wanna...

me: since you're not gonna give the babes a bath, can you grab the trash out of the bathrooms?

bry: ugh! this is getting sooo haaaard!

me: really? quit whiner babying!

when i got home-

bry: go smell your baby's head!

me: you gave him a bath?!!

bry: yep!

he also got the trash AND did the laundry while i was gone. such a helpful husb!

stinker dance

*i hear asher, who is supposed to be eating his PB&J, slide out of his chair and i jump up to intercept him before he reaches the living room. he knows he's not supposed to get down until he's all clean!

me: eh! eh! eh! get back in there and let me wash your hands!
asher: hehe!

*he literally hehe's and does what i like to affectionately call "the stinker dance"...ok, so i just came up with that title, but from now on i will enjoy affectionately calling it "the stinker dance."

*he also manages to swipe a couple of walls and kitchen appliances with sticky PB&Jness during his spaz-out...

*i sigh and try not to smile at my crazy toddler (so as to maintain my firm, mommy demeanor) who is so much like me sometimes that it's scary...and i get him cleaned up...along with my PB&Jed kitchen.

confession #4: NOT a size small

it's been a while since a confession. i was out of town for a week and then i just got behind. i've been mulling over a few different ones over the weeks and may try to catch up this week, but for now here's the most recent one.


it's true. i am no longer a size small. i realized that was something i needed to deal with when i began to notice myself getting a little depressed when a size small shirt didn't fit. ridiculous thoughts would swirl through my head:

"am i getting fat? no, you're not that fat. although, you could stand to lose some of that arm flab. and those love handles! sheesh, woman! you've really let yourself go.  no wonder you don't fit into that dainty size small! do they make a size 'blob'?!"

okay, so maybe they weren't that ridiculous, but they were pretty close. i actually found myself getting a little depressed that i may need to buy a medium (or heaven forbid, a large?!) shirt. this past time my brain took off in this direction, this thought hit me:

"what in the world am i doing to myself? i'm definitely not a size small and i'm OKAY with that. i've had two sweet babies and babies do strange things to a woman's body. they makes things bigger and droopier and flabbier and stretch-markier and not-a-size-small-anymoreier and that's OKAY. i will never again look like i did as a sixteen-year-old-bikini-wearing-spring-breaker and that's OKAY. i am not a teenage girl anymore. i am a woman and it's OKAY to have a woman's body!"

tis strange the body issues that women come up with. i don't think i've ever met a woman that was completely happy with her body.  it may not be a weight issue, but there's always that mole that shouldn't be there. or her hair color isn't quite as lovely as that other lady's. or her teeth are just so minutely crooked that it's just hideous! i have those kinds of issues too. and they are just as ridiculous as my flabby ones.

here's where i'm going with all of this: what do these crazy thoughts say about our Creator? the sweet, intentional, work of His hand is being repeatedly bashed by my silly insecurities. to say i'm not happy with myself is to say i'm not happy with who HE created me to be. i wonder what He has to say about all of this? psalm 139:13-16 come to mind. letting those destructive thoughts creep in is definitely NOT praising my Creator for how wonderfully i am made.

 

they make me think of my own sweet "creations" and how much i love and cherish their "imperfections." how those differences make them more special and unique to me. how angry i would be if anyone made fun of my sweet stinker's adorable squished pug nose, or his precious little lisp, or his humongo toddler feet. those are MY BABY's features and because they are his they are lovely and right and perfect for him.



i have a feeling that Our Sweet Creator feels the same way. because He has made us and because He loves us, we are lovely just the way we are...flab and all.

baby bath

bryan: alright, baby nate. your head is starting to smell like armpit again. time for a bath!

baby nate is, well, a baby. he doesn't really get dirty or sweaty, so in order not to dry out his delicate, baby-soft skin, i try give him a bath every other day instead of every day.

luckily, bryan has a pretty accurate baby-need-a-bath-o-meter gauge.

cwean!

*as i'm changing asher's poopy diaper
asher: all done!
me: nope! you have to let me get you all clean first, bud.
asher: ok!
me: alright, now you're all done.
asher: kank kou, mommy! good job! dat's a cwean diddle! kank kou for dat cwean diddle!

although he's a stinker, he appreciates the value of a clean diddle.

supportive

*as i'm nursing nate
me: you know, i read somewhere that breastfeeding is really good for babies not only because of the nutrients, but also because it helps ease the stress of being outside of the womb. snuggled up nursing with mommy is about as close as a baby can get to being back in the womb.
bryan: yep. you know what they say...breast is best!
me: yeah? wow.
bryan: i came up with that all on my own!
me: mmhmm. good.
*pause
bryan: ...i'm glad we're so supportive of each other.

hehehe.

cold drum

bryan: wanna play the djembe drum, asher?
asher: ok! yeah!
*they play the drum for a while
asher: that's cold, daddy.
bryan: what, bud?
asher: playing the drum is cold.
bryan: you mean, it's cool?
asher: yeah! it's cold.

apparently, playing the drum is so cool that it's cold. i like it.

asher's new game

asher: how bout fall off the bed again, daddy?
bryan: fall off the bed again?!
*bryan rolls off of the bed onto the floor for about the 467th time...i may have helped a little by pushing his booty with my foot...
asher: oh! you ok, daddy? you alright?
bryan: no! i need some help, bud.
asher: ok, daddy!
*asher pulls bryan up by the hands. he makes a really cute grunty noise while he's doing it indicating that he's really working hard to get daddy off of the floor!
bryan: thanks, bud!
asher: you made it, daddy! you're welcome!
me: yaaaay! you saved daddy!
*we all clap & cheer
bryan: isn't it mama's turn to fall off of the bed?
asher: yeah!

thanks, husb. thanks a lot.

i love my husb.

*i'm getting ready to wash dishes and i hear a bang
bryan: dang it!
me: what happened?
bryan: i'm an insufferable idiot!
me: ok...but, seriously, what happened?
bryan: i hit my head! and knocked this picture off and the frame broke!
me: oh, ok. well, stuff like that happens, husb. i don't think that's a good enough reason to call yourself an "insufferable idiot"...
*silence
me: ...although, that's a pretty good adjective to come up with on the fly! haha!
bryan: shut it.
me: hahahaha! you thought it was funny! i saw you smile!
bryan: yeah, but laughing makes me grumpy right now!

we're perfect for each other. really, we are. i love him and his grumpy self so!

food fight

me: would you like to eat some noodles and cheese for lunch?
asher: no! how about...cookies! and cheese!
me: nope. you can't have cookies for lunch. how about noodles and cheese?
asher: nooooooooo! how bout cookies?
me: how about peanut butter and jelly?
asher: ok! peanut butter and jelly...and cookies!

my sweet stinker of a toddler has become a very picky eater. pb&j is a staple in our house. chicken and french fries are usually eaten up well as long as he gets to have ketchup too (that boy looooves him some ketchup!). he likes spaghetti ok. on occasion i can get him to eat scrambled eggs. and he will eat bits of cheese if it's shredded, but not in any other form. he likes mandarin oranges, applesauce, and sometimes bananas.

anyway, the point is that a lot of times he won't eat what we're having for dinner. he just turned 2 in january, so it's hard to reason with him and make him eat. i've tried making him stay in his chair until he eats something, bribing him with yogurt (oh, he likes yogurt too!) if he'll just take 1 bite, eating a bite off of his plate and making a big deal about how delicious it is, among others things. should i just wait until he gets a little older to have this food fight? or should i keep trying to nip it in the bud now?

m.i.a.

my phone is missing. i remember getting it out of the bedroom this morning so that bry could go to sleep and i wouldn't have to disturb him to get to it, but that's where the memory line stops. i've looked all over all morning and just can't find it. as i'm puzzling over where i could have put it, i say out loud

me: where is mommy's phone?
**asher, who is hiding under the table whining about not wanting to eat lunch yet, pops his head out and says
asher: hmm, i not know, mommy.
me: you don't know either, huh?
asher: no, i not know....but i put it right here on the table.

hmmmmm, suddenly the problem has gone from trying to think of all the places where i could have possibly left my phone to all the places where my toddler son could have possibly put my phone.

it could be absolutely anywhere.

he stuffed bath towels in the toilet once, you know.

i have a stinker problem.

old wives' tale?

me: i just found a gray hair!!!
gg: don't pluck it out!
mom: too late. she already did.
me: why not?
gg: because two will grow back in its place!
me: that's not true is it? that's just an old wives' tale.
gg: yeah, well, i guess we'll see.
mom: yep.

i know how you feel, leah. i will soon be telling tales of my own because, apparently, i am becoming an old wife.

sc recap

as previously stated, the baby boys and i went to greer, sc for a week to visit family. here are a few of my favorite things from that trip...

-Bucky's BBQ
yummmm...if you live in the greater greenville area then do yourself a favor and chow down on some Bucky's. i'm warning you though, once you try it you'll never want to eat BBQ from any other place ever. it's that good.

-The Chocolate Shoppe
yummmm again. the best cookies ever. AND they always have their chocolate chip cookies BOGO. go here and indulge. it's so worth it.

-Papa and Asher time
since sweet baby nate was born, asher hasn't gotten to spend a lot of time playing outside. he and i used to go for walks almost everyday together, but that got a little harder to do with an infant. papa and gangee have a wonderfully big yard complete with a turtle shaped sandbox and a jungle gym with swings and a slide. it's like a toddler dream world. and thankfully, papa was more than willing to spend several hours a day outside chasing asher all around the world and back. it was lovely.

-Gangee and Nate time

while papa was loving having his asher around to play with, gangee was loving snuggling with the little buddy. it was nice to be able to rest and know that both my boys were in good, loving hands. gangee also spent some good time with asher. he made her jump a lot. hehe.

-GG rocks
literally, she rocks. my grandma (the boys' GG) rocks some babies to sleep like no other. she's got that special grandma touch and babies instantly snuggle up and fall asleep in her arms. asher got to experience her magical powers on an almost daily basis when he was an infant. little nate got to get a taste this past week.

this is owen, but i just wanted to show you the magic in action!

-Churl and Stachi time

stachi accompanied me to the outlets one day AND she let me tag along to hang out with her and her friends. good, good times. churl introduced me to some awesome music and let me borrow a sewing machine. plus both of them are hilarious and they both love my babies a lot. 

-MY NEPHEWBABY!

i got to meet my sweet nephewbaby for the very first time ever! he was born the day after nate and i've been dying to get my hands on him ever since. don't let his adorable pictures fool you, somehow he's even cuter in person! i'm not sure how it's possible, but it is. it was so good hang out with amber and marcus too, but baby owen takes the cake! i've decided he shall call me Auntie LuLu.

seein' double budddddddiiiiiiieeeeeeessssss!

i love life here in wake forest, but i sho' do miss that sweet family o' mine!

asher's current favorites

these are some of asher's favorite phrases at the moment:

"yeah, ok, yeah. chure! chure!" (chure=sure)
when he agrees to do something, he really agrees.

"kank kou, mama, kank kou!"
he has really good manners. he says this for every little thing you do for him. he will "kank kou" to death.

"no idea!"
for reasons unbeknownst to me, he uses this phrase for food he doesn't like. he'll try it, make a disgusted face, and then say "no, mama! no idea!"

"no! i need it!"
this is his argument for everything.

<<seriously, he needs that camera. can't you tell?

what i missed

i was in sc for a week without my husb. here's the kind of convos i missed whilst away:

me: mmm. i love this pizza because the crust is so crispy-crunchy.
bry: that's the only thing i don't like about it.
me: ohhhh yummy! it's like eating a cracker pizza!
*i make ridiculous kissy faces and noises at my pizza
bry: ok, you're, like, making out with your pizza...don't lick it! you'll burn your tongue! that stuff is like molten lava until it cools.
*despite his warning, i proceed to lick the pizza
me: ahhhhh! *sputters pieces of lava pizza back onto my plate
bry: i told you...molten.
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me: i missed you, husb.
bry: i missed you too.
me: there's just no one as funny as you and no one understands me like you do...
bry: ...and you don't like to aggravate anyone else to death like you do me.
me: yeah! it's just not as fun aggravating the crap out of anyone else! i missed you.
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me: i thought you might clean up after yourself a little bit better while i was gone...
bry: i did! kind of...but honestly, it was tough while y'all were away. i just felt like there was no reason to do much of anything without you and the boys.
me: no reason to even wash your dirty pizza pan that you left in the sink...
bry: yeah, but then you came home and i remembered why i do things again...
me: aw, yeah.
bry: ...because my wife is a straight up butts to me if i don't!
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hahahaha! i seriously love that husb o' mine. i sure did miss him!

papa and gangee's house

papa: ready to eat breakfast, asher?
asher: no!
papa: wanna eat a waffle?
asher: no!
papa: want an eggy? or cereal?
asher: no, papa!
papa: well, what are you gonna eat then?
asher: no, papa! wanna play choo-choo trains!

papa has a cool train table at his house that asher is mildly obsessed with. it's the first thing he goes to in the mornings and the last thing he asks about before bed. it is difficult to pull his attention away from it even at meal times.

heavy metal nator

bryan: me and the nator were listening to skillet and he liked it. he was kind of smiling.
me: oh, cool.
bryan: yeah, and then i put on that new rocketeer song and he didn't like it so much.
me: oh, ok.
bryan: so that means he's probably gonna like heavy metal too! just like his dad!
me: yeah! he's a baby after his daddy's own heart, husb.

i'm gonna miss my silly husb this week. i don't think we've been apart for a whole week since we've been married.

asher will miss his tackle buddy daddy.
and nate will miss his music buddy daddy.
and mama will miss her sweet refuge of a husb.

but we can do it if we can just find our inner strengfff cause we got tiger blood and adonis DNA and we are winning! duh. (that was for you, husb.)

he's too little to be talking so big

*asher rummaging around in the pantry

asher: oh!! look at dat! awesome!
me: what'd you find?
asher: asher find oranges, mommy!
me: oh, wow!
asher: yeah...oranges...awesome.

isn't the adjective "awesome" reserved for cool dudes over the age of 6?? i just feel like it sounds so old coming out of my baby's mouth. here's another one:

*after i accidentally bump asher
me: oh! i'm sorry, bud.
asher: yeah. dat's cool, mommy. dat's ok.
me: ok, bud.

ok, i KNOW "that's cool" used as an acceptance of apology is reserved for ages 6 and up, right? where did he even learn that? why is this so perplexingly adorable (because it sounds so sweet coming from his little toddler mouth) and heart-wrenchingly tragic (because he's still my baby and he CANNOT grow up yet) at the same time?

he's definitely too little to be talking so big. get outta here with your 6 year old talk, dude.

brothers

*as i was in asher's bedroom trying to pack for SC trip, asher comes running in the bedroom
asher: mama! mama! baby nate crying for me.
me: he's crying for you?
asher: yeah, he cry for asher. but...but i no pick him up. (he shrugs his precious, little shoulders)
me: you can't pick him up?
asher: yep, mama. no pick him up. he crying for me.


nate was sleeping in his bouncy, but he wiggled around and whimpered for a minute before he settled down. asher thought that the whimpering meant that nate just needed his big brother. he was probably right. sometimes sweet, little buddy baby brothers just need their sweet, little stinker big brothers.

peanut, peanut butter and cookies!

i know that's not how the song goes. even asher knows you have to say "and jelly!!" but i needed a clever title to talk about making peanut butter cookies today, so BOOYAH jelly. get outta here.

so asher and i tried to make peanut butter cookies today. i'm not sure why i keep trying to make them because they always turn out too gooey and pasty and just wrong. like maybe-they-need-to-cook-a-little-longer-because-they're-still-globs-of-goo-except-the-bottoms-are-already-burning-so-i-have-to-take-them-out-but-maybe-once-they-cool-they'll-look-like-cookies-but-they-never-do wrong. did you get all that? this happens every time i attempt pb cookies. i long for chewy, slightly crispy edged goodness and get blobs. regardless, i have an insatiable cookie tooth (it's kinda like a sweet tooth) and since i only had the ingredients to make peanut butter cookies, i hoped for better results. alas, i was once again disappointed (and a little nauseous from eating too much cookie dough). however, my sweet boy did not disappoint with his ridiculousness...

*i turn around from washing up some used baking utensils to find asher has ever so sneakily gotten ahold of the dough bowl and is trying to eat from it

me: hey! what are you doing?

asher: (i startle him and he jumps. a good sign he's up to no good) asher need it, mommy. i eatin'.

me: no, sir. you can't eat that. we have to cook it. (i take the bowl away)

asher: noooooooooo, mama! stop it!!!!! (he uses his whiniest whiner baby voice and swats his little cookie dough covered hand in my general direction)

me: no, YOU, stop it!! goofball!! (bryan makes fun of me because i use the line "YOU, no!" or "YOU stop it!" with asher a lot. just fightin' fire with fire, baby.)

asher: noooooo, mama! i neeeeeeeeeed it! (did i mention he's whiner babying?)

me: sorry, bud.

asher: mama! mama! i neeeeeeed it! (by this point he's boohooing and doing a dance)

i'm debating about whether or not to admit that i gave him a taste after all this settled down. would you think me a bad parent if i did? because i did. just a little one. it was just because he neeeeeeeeded it. he told me so. 

mommy to the rescue

*asher falls down (or more likely takes a tumble on purpose from the couch or coffee table or any other surface he deems suitable for acrobatic tricks)

asher: woah! what happened, mommy!
me: you fell down, bud.
asher: yeah! asher fall down, mommy!
me: yep.
asher: get hand, mommy! get asher's hand!
*he holds out his hand to me
me: ok!
*i help him up
asher: oh, thank you, mama!!
me: you're welcome, stinker.

we have this conversation multiple times a day. "mommy to the rescue" is one of his new favorite games.

where does he get this stuff?

*bry walks in from class
asher: daddy! daddy! how's it going, daddy?
bryan: it's going good, bud.
*asher gets off the couch and goes to his daddy
bryan: oh, do i get a hug?
*he gives bry a hug
asher: how's it going, daddy?
*he shakes bryan's hand
bryan: did you just see that?
me: yep.
bryan: he shook my hand. where did he even learn that?
me: i have no idea!

what can i say? our stinker is so amusing. speaking of things that he's learned and we have no idea from whence they came...

asher: HAAAAAAAAA-YAH!
*super duper karate kick to whatever is within range of his foot

we're not sure where that came from either, but it happens quite often these days.

where's mommy?

*i hear asher's door slam
asher: mommy? where you at?
*silence
asher: i find mommy!
me: (i hear his sweet,little, socky feet running down the hall to the living room. just so you know, there's nothing more adorable than the sound of my baby's sweet, little, socky feet pattering around the house.)
asher: mommy? where are you, mommy?
*silence
me: (i get out of the bed to see what he's up to)
asher: (quietly playing with his trucks in the floor) OH! DER YOU ARE, MOMMY!!

most mornings, i can hear asher coming. he usually slams his bedroom door, comes into our room, and then slams ours. this morning, he woke up a little later than normal so the sun was actually up (usually he is a pre-dawn waker). i think he saw the light coming in through the sliding glass door and assumed i was already awake and in the living room.

asher's skills

asher: gonna watch back 'ardigans, mommy.
me: ok.
asher: WAIT!!!
me: what's wrong??!
asher: gotta get trucks first, mama.

asher has taught himself how to turn on the DVD player, take out the old DVD, put in the new one, close the player, and then push the play button. all by himself. i'm both amused and disturbed by this. i mean, he's only two and already his technological skills are better than my mom's.

p.s. i love you, mom.