When the cat's away...

This is what I find when I come back from running upstairs. A box of triscuits, a gallon of milk, some hershey's syrup and three giggling kiddos.... Seriously gone maybe three minutes!!!

Where does the time go?

Something has shifted. I don't know when it happened... but it is definitely very real to me. I remember when the boys were babies, I would look at the clock after a lifetime of entertaining two infants and melt in desperation as I realized I still had 12 hours to go before bedtime. The hours seemed so very long to me. Don't get me wrong. I savored those moments, long as they were, and still felt like the boys were growing too quickly... changing too suddenly. But, now...

Now, I blink and a day has gone by. I'm not glancing at the clock anymore... I'm glancing at the calendar and wondering where last week went. The children are growing and changing, far too quickly for me... and we're all so busy! It's not even the sort of busy that results from a calendar of social engagements or outside commitments... we're just busy living life. There's games and activities, meals and clean-up, naps and storytime... and before I know it, another month has flown by. The memories I want to hold onto are gone before I can grab my camera, or jot down a note. Where's the pause button?

The other day, I returned from working upstairs to find the boys peeling and chopping garlic. They were quietly plotting a fantastic culinary creation and were filled with pride at the melange of flavors they were creating. My two little gourmands carefully poured their clumsily chopped garlic into a mixing bowl, along with left-over turkey from the fridge, bread from the countertop, a jaw-breaker from Halloween, Penzeys southwest seasoning and a few toy mushrooms for good measure. They told me how delicious their garlic soup was going to be and pleaded with me to sample a bite with them. Sadly, I refused, but was treated to quite a show of the two of them tasting their first original recipe. Luckily, one taste left them more than satisfied. :)

Shea sang her first musical composition today. She tenderly picked up her teddy bear and sang, "Rock, rock, boo ba (teddy bear)... Rock, rock, Daddy, Mommy, Baby, Ga-goo (Dexter and/or Jaxon)...Rock, rock. Bye-bye!" She was pretty pleased with herself, especially when the boys gave her their own standing ovation.

Below, a few pics from the past few weeks...How many boys can you fit in a galactic enforcer? I think four is the limit! The boys with their cousins, Jake and Henry. And, yes, we finally said good-bye to the giant cardboard box.

1 giant ball + Uncle Chad = way too much fun

Dex, getting ready to blast off

Jax, posing as our confused superhero...

Jax, pre-haircut

Silly Dex

coloring at breakfast

Dex, playing mad scienties with colored water and an eye dropper. So fun to see the boys experimenting!

Jax and Shea. Jax thought it was just absolutely hilarious that Shea wanted to dress up, too!

Love the hugs

Oh so proud of herself...

Dex

Pretty sure this is Jaxon :)

Dex-left, Jax-right

More hugs

This photo make me laugh. The boys were so goofy on this particular morning. They kept pretending they were sleeping cats and they wanted Shea and me to pretend we were mice and try to creep past them without waking them up. Naturally, it just evolved into a giant game of chase Mommy and Shea, which Shea totally and completely loved.

Odds and Ends

A pre-Halloween shot of an almost-finished astronaut helmet and a great jedi-training duel.

Jax-left, Dex-right

Jaxon

The boys decided to take a couple of giant cardboard boxes and construct their own little spaceship, which they deemed the Galactic Enforcer. They were so happy when M came over to help them paint it. It has since been a very LARGE part of our living room for nearly five weeks, now. The current debate is whether it should myseriously disappear or whether the boys will be able to part with it willingly.... eek!

Dex, M and Jax

They seriously stayed in their for nearly a half hour. Too funny!

A few weeks ago, we had a family movie night. Jaxon and Shea decided to watch the movie inside their spaceship (we had been to an apple orchard, where Shea's face was painted... only a little paint remained on her nose!).

Jaxon

Dex and Daddy wisely stayed close to the popcorn.

I gave the boys the challenge of trying to make playdough boats that would float. Jaxon diligently worked until he successfully got a little boat to float. Dex, however, decided to build a spaceship. What can you do!! This was a great opportunity to talk about why boats float. Ever since, the boys are very interested in air and have many great questions.

A floating boat!

... and a goofy little spaceship. Dex kept calling it Palpatine's ship. I am almost positive that's a Star Wars reference...

Little Updates

A few pics from our family trip to the waterpark.

The boys ooh and aah over the waterpark from the hotel entrance....

Jax-left, Dex-right... playing in their bunk beds

A few pics from my week-end in Madison

The kiddos with my brothers. The boys cannot stop talking about their uncles and can't wait to see them again sometime soon.

Jaxon, Seth, Dexter, Jonathan

Shea gets pushed along by her big brothers

Mom and Mimi perform a duet

Daddy and Dexter at the Timberwolves game

Mommy and Jaxon at the game!

I over heard the funniest thing the other day...

After several minutes of watching Dex and Jax play on the couch very quietly together, Jax walked into the kitchen and said:

Jax: Dex has a cough.

Me: Oh, poor Dex. I didn't know he had a cough! (Faining concern, as Dex did not, in fact, have a cough.)

Jax: He does have a cough. A bad guy gave it to him.

Me: Oh, that's horrible! What should we do?

Jax: I put him in the hospital... for three weeks. He's really sick, because he has a cough. I think he has the flu. This is really serious.

Me: Oh, I see. Is the couch the hospital? (I look over to see Dex tucked nicely under a pile of blankets.)

Jax: Yes, you can visit him. He's really sad because he doesn't like being sick. Poor Dex. It's too bad he has the flu. (walks over to Dexter) Don't be sad, Dex! Here's a toy! You'll be okay. I'll stay with you for awhile.

Dex: But I'm all better! I think YOU have the flu!

Jax: No, I don't!

Dex: Here, let me check. I'm a doctor. (getting up and looking in Jaxon's ear) Yes, there's a flu in there. You really have the flu.

Jax: What?! (Reaching in his ears with his fingers) There! I took it out! Now I don't have the flu!

Really, it's the non-stop conversations like this one that keep me giggling. Today was another one of those days... really great with tons of giggles.

Like this morning, I overheard the boys chanting, "Five little jedis jumping on the bed! One fell off and bumped his head! Mama called the doctor and the doctor said, 'Dexter, eat the jedis!!!" They were cracking each other up at their own silliness, and, I have to admit, it made me laugh, too.

As far as Shea goes, she is getting more and more adept and communicating what she wants (or doesn't want!), which is both helpful and frustrating. :) Favorite words these days are: more, water, Dexter/Jaxon, Mommy, Daddy, dog, baby, ball, car, me, help, pop , no and toe. I LOVE that she will nod "yes," which makes guessing games so much easier! Unlike the boys, she has been much more selective about what she will eat. Apparently, this is to teach me humility, as it is clear the boys' wonderful eating habits had nothing to do with my parenting and everything to do with the fact that they simply must have had hearty appetites. :) Of course, like the boys, she has almost no interest in carbs. Forget cheerios or bread, she spits them right out. Surprisingly, however, she ADORES spinach! I made a spinach phyllo pie last week and the boys were quick to refuse it. Shea, however, out-ate both D.R. and me for all three meals for which it lasted. Hilarious!

She continues to chase the boys everyplace, she dances nonstop, and seems quite entertained to empty containers/drawers/laundry baskets and carefully carry the contents one item at a time to another locale of her choosing. We get such a kick out of watching her "organize" everything.

What can I do?

A little play-by-play of one of the boys' many light saber duels... I keep trying to remind myself that they will outgrow these activities and that, one day, I will truly miss them. In the meantime, I continue to work on patience and understanding as they just have this uncontrollable need to be dueling/wrestling/racing through the house so much of the time. Of course, they're also capable of endearing story times and quiet play... and can be so sweet and cuddly...

I especially get a kick out of Shea watching the whole duel from a kitchen chair!!

Dex... our little Luke Skywalker

Halloween

Spaceman Dex... just look at that helmet I slaved over!!! :)

Our little Shea bug.

Totally dead set on wearing a gold birthday hat with her costume.

Jax-spiderman, Dex-astronaut

Showing me their fancy moves

Interestingly enough, Shea is becoming the handful of my three little energy balls. She WILL NOT sit still for photos and is rarely interested in doing what we want her to do! Hopefully, this will be a very short phase (oh please!).

This is how most games/stories/activities end up.... in a giant pile of giggles on the floor.

Complete with jet pack

This is one of the only photos I have with Jaxon in his mask!! I think it's pretty cute how little he looks with Mike.

Yes, our astronaut felt the need to initiate frequent light saber duels!!

Dex, Haley, Jax and Taylor

Out bumble-babies (okay, toddlers), Shea and Carter