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.