Where I've been

I realized I haven't blogged in about 2 weeks. And this will be short. I am SWAMPED with school work! I have a huge paper due at the end of this week and have only had a week and a half to work on it, thanks to my teacher only letting us know of the deadline a week and a half ago. Grr. Plus I have book review due for another class on Friday as well. I am still frantically trying to get the book read. I can only work on school work while the boys are sleeping so I have been up late every night and letting housework go out the window as I am hitting the books during nap times. And I am sick. Life is hard to say the least. Tired, tired, tired. I just need to survived until the end of the month when one of my classes ends. Say a prayer for me!

On Dancing with my Sons

Turn up the music

I love this song

Hold me, hold me

Bounce and sway

Socks on linoleum

Twirl and spin

Hold on tight

Again, again

Laugh and coo

Head on my shoulder

Tender kiss

The melody surrounds us

And this moment lingers

Like honey on the tongue

Potty Seat

I guess I am writing a lot about potties lately....

I bought a potty seat today. You know, the ones that fit on top of the regular toilet seat? It is soft and has ducks on it. :) I know the boys are only 16 months old but hear me out. I have been having them sit on the potty to poop since they were about 7 months old. Micah has really taken to it and really likes to sit on the potty. Benjamin, not so much. Micah, on the other hand, wants to sit on the toilet at least once a day, sometimes more. 

On Saturday, Micah started grunting and went into the bathroom and starting banging the toilet lid up and down. Aaron asked him if he wanted to poop and Micah got all excited. So, Aaron helped him sit on the toilet. I don't think he pooped- just had some gas. But he's got the idea. So, I bought our first potty seat today. Sniff! My little boys are growing up. 

25 Random Things

Ok, so everyone is doing 25 Random Things about themselves on facebook. I couldn't miss out on the fun so here is my note. 

25 Random Things

Potty Humor

I knew it was only a matter of time....

I was doing the dishes this morning and realized that the boys had been awfully quiet. I decided to investigate and discovered Benjamin in the bathroom with the toilet paper all unrolled. Thankfully it was the end of the roll. He was standing in the bathroom between the toilet and the wall holding a remote control. Thank goodness the toilet lid was down! And he had thrown the toilet brush out into the hall. LOL! Oh, I love my kiddos! :) I don't know what hand Micah had in this escapade. He was sitting happily in the living room. I guess I'll never know...until next time! 

That darn tooth!

Benjamin had a terrible day yesterday. Aaron brought him to our bed for me to nurse. He nursed for FOREVER! I am down to two nursings a day and usually they only nurse for about 5 minutes or so. But Benji probably nursed for 15 minutes. And he felt really warm. We took his temperature at it was 102.8! Poor  boy! Aaron loves to snuggle with the boys when they don't feel well so Benji had lots of  Daddy snuggles yesterday. His nose and eyes were poring all day long. I was planning on going to our weekly play group at 10:30 that morning but that idea was kicked to the curb because I was sure that Benji was coming down with some terrible sickness. He didn't even sleep very well during naps and would wake up wailing. We didn't give him any tylenol or ibuprofen because I wanted to let the fever "fight" whatever germs were "attacking" his body. Aaron was wonderful enough to stay home with both boys while I went out to lunch with Candace. We had planned the lunch date earlier in the week and had a great time at Applebee's. YUM!

By that evening the fever reduced and Benji seemed to be feeling a little better. On a whim, I felt inside his mouth and lo and behold, his second tooth had popped through his gum. Poor baby! I let him suffer all day with the fever and pain and it was all because of a tooth! Teething is hard work--for baby and for mom and dad. I hope Micah's come in without incident. He has yet to cut is first tooth. 

Good Weekend

Aaron and I have this weird radar between the two of us--food/restaurant cravings! One of us will say (usually too late) "I feel like Texas Road House/Chinese/Subway etc" and the other one will say "Me too! Why didn't you say something?"

Well, after sleeping in on Saturday morning (the boys were gracious and didn't make a peep until 9am! Amazing!) I got up and ate a bowl of cereal. I then got the boys up and nursed them. They started to play and I told Aaron, "Today would be a good day to go to IHOP. Too bad I just ate breakfast." And of course he said, "I was just thinking about going to IHOP! Do you want to go?" So we hurried and got the boys ready and I threw my hair into a pony tail and off we went. We had a WONDERFUL time! The boys sat in the high chairs and flirted with the waitresses as they came in and out of the kitchen. And they put away some FOOD! They ate a stack of 3 pancakes and scrambled eggs between the two of them, plus cherrios while we were waiting for the food. Micah couldn't get bites in fast enough. He is a very fierce eater! That boy is serious about his food! I got the Country omlette- yum! And Aaron had eggs, bacon, pancakes, etc. Are you hungry yet? We were there for an hour and the boys did great. 

The boys took a good nap when we got home and Aaron and I enjoyed a fire in our fireplace all day long. Mmmmmm. It was 3 degrees when we went to IHOP. Brrrrr!!!!!

Sunday morning I officially taught my first lesson as the Senior High Sunday School teacher. It went really well. I hope to build even better relationships with the kids as the weeks go by. 

After church we had a couple and their baby over for lunch. Jay, Tracey and Adalie are the only other couple in our church that our our age and have a child the boys' age. Micah, Benji and Adalie are good friends. She gets so excited whenever they come into the nursery and they all play together really well. For lunch today, I made Italian potato, sausage and kale soup and homemade key lime pie (key limes compliments of Aaron's dad who brought them up from Florida!) Everything turned out deliciously! We had a great visit with them even though Adalie didn't get to play with her "boyfriends" during lunch--they always conk out after church. 

Little Monkey (and other news!)

Micah and Benjamin have been getting really talkative lately. The latest super cute thing that Micah has been doing is making animal sounds. We have this little stuffed monkey that he pulled off his mobile. I say "What does the monkey say?" and then I say "Oooo, ahh, ahh ahh!" (oh the things you do for your kids). Micah then squeals over and over again while waving the monkey over his head. He also points to a monkey in one of his books and squeals. TOO CUTE!

Micah also has been saying "ni-night" on a regular basis. 

Benji's favorite words are "ball" and "book" (or "ba!" and "Bu!") and of course, "Da-da!"

Both the boys learned the sign for "please" on Wednesday and we try to have them use it when they want snacks, a drink, etc. 

Weight update: As of Wednesday, Micah weighs 17 lbs 5 oz and Benjamin weighs 15 lbs 6 oz. SKINNY boys! 

LONG week

Well, I survived my Bibliography and Research intensive. It was actually a really good class and I SO enjoyed being back with my fellow English majors, as weird as we might be. We were able to have some great discussions about literature, language, the duty of a Christian critic, and the qualities of "good" writing.

The class was slightly overwhelming- so much information in one week. We had about 4 hours of lecture in the morning and then did research/ group meetings in the afternoons. I was gone every day from about 8am-4pm. My mom said the boys were angels for her! I am so glad. But as soon as I walked in the door it was "whine, whine," cling, cling, "mama, mama." Which lets me know that I was missed but hard at the end of a long day. It really wasn't as hard as I thought to be away from them. This was the longest time that I had ever been away since they were born. 

It was nice to feel like an intellectual woman for a change instead of just a mommy. Motherhood is rewarding, but it is nice to have a real conversation that doesn't include the words "juice," "all done?" "stinky," or "sit!"

My master's degree is going to be a lot of fun and a LOT of work. I hope I can balance it all without having an emotional breakdown or be stressed out all the time. Say a prayer for me as I start my regular classes this coming week! I am taking TR classes. Tuesdays will be 5:10p-6:25p and 6:30p-9:30p (ug!) and Thursdays will be 5:10p-6:25p. I am taking Classic Greek Literature and Non-Fiction Writing. Should be lots of fun! 

Back in my Element

I am back in school! I have officially started my M.A. in English yesterday. I am taking a research and bibliography intensive this week from 8am-4:30pm. It is so nice to be with my fellow English majors again. I have really enjoyed the discussion and literature. I really feel like I am back in my element. I know this is the right program for me. :) The only down side is that I am really tired at the end of the day and now have lots of reading and homework.

The other downside is that I am away from the boys. This is the longest I have ever been away from them. My mom is here from KS taking care of them during the day. It is nice to have her here. She has even been doing things like the laundry and changing sheets. She says that the boys have been great. In her words, "These have been some of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time." YEA! I'm glad the boys have been angels. Only three days left! This is a really busy week for us. We have a busy weekend at church this weekend too. Whew! My regular classes start next Tuesday.