And the Answer Is....

A zebra! Who guess correctly? Did anyone guess correctly in their head who didn't venture a guess on a comment? Well, that doesn't count, and your vote is disqualified. Next time, speak up! Who knows, you just might win my eternal love and respect and (if you're lucky) a hand-drawn picture of a zebra.

Pictures

Can you guess what Patrick drew? It's an animal you can find at the zoo, but it isn't orange. Answer to come tomorrow. Sorry it's so wrinkled, it was on the table while Eli was 'Bustin.

Clean Sweep

Eli, well... he's not your typical male. Eli really likes to clean. If I get out the broom to sweep up a little spilled cereal, he wants to sweep the whole kitchen. If I get out the vaccum, we'd better be vacuuming top to bottom, stairs included. I sure do love my Dyson, but top to bottom? Every day, just because I opened the closet where the vacuum is stored with the coats that we still need? (Thanks for nothing, late March- the only reason you're going out like a lamb is because you were both covered with a fluff of white! SNOW!) No, thank you. I started giving Eli the Dust Buster so he could complete his own vacuuming projects and I could enjoy sitting on my rear watching (and taking photos). Unfortunately, his favorite thing to Bust is the coffee table, which needs picking up, yes, a nice polish of glass cleaner and furniture wax, yes, but vacuuming? Not so much. Still, can't blame a guy for trying.

Three's a crowd

Caroline enjoys spending a little time under her "tripod," which spins and sings sweet songs and has lights and hangy-down-dillies... with all those gizmos, who wouldn't like it?! And with a little sister included, what big brother could resist? Well, certainly neither of these two could.

I was right

I was pretty sure Patrick wanted to be a dinosaur, and I was right. He found exactly the tool he needed in the backyard to become a Triceratops (his cousin Kalena's favorite dino, in case she needed another reason to like him). Fitting that he should be wearing a dino shirt... Then his nose spike quickly transformed into a stegosaurus tail to whack Eli around. Then, tools abandoned, Eli picked up the project and became a kung-fu Triceratops.

Remember the boot?

How could you forget? It's only a few posts down. Now when Patrick gets a boot Eli runs to get his own, and it's a little drinking party. Sometimes it's nice to have a sibling to up the ante on weirdness. Interesting that they both chose righties....

Welcome Back

Today I went to the gym, and it felt like there was a big "Welcome Back!" sign hanging over the eliptical machines. This might sound weird, but I REALLY enjoy working out. You might say I love it. The trick is, I love working out at the gym, not really anywhere else. I love the cardio machines, the calorie counters, the magasines, the weight machines, the warm-up-cool-down stretching area, I like how the rubber floor mats are kinda bouncy. I like it all!

I got into working out in high school where I took a weight class for an easy A (NOT easy, the school started doing the "Bigger, Faster, Stronger" program that semester and it kicked my butt) and also lifted weights for the swim team, a prerequisit to being on Varsity. In college I worked out a lot, taking advantage of random hours between classes that would otherwise be filled wandering aimlessly around campus. When we had Patrick I joined a gym with childcare just so I could get some alone time and I worked out until I got pregnant with Eli... and I haven't been to the gym since. It's been over 2 years! Oh, sweet gym, how I've missed you!

Caroline turned 3 months old yesterday (the minimum age for kids to go to daycare at this gym), so I hit the ground running this morning and sent all the kids to daycare at the gym. It was so great! The eliptical welcomed me back with wide-open oversized foot pedals. The bike didn't mind me getting its seat all sweaty. The stair climber, though, tried to kill me (as usual). I was SO HAPPY to be back to working out, though! To add to my sense of pride there is a write-up on the wall about what a workout is, and it was EXACTLY how I feel! I wanted to get a copy, but forgot to ask... but the jist is that a workout is 25% perspiration, 75% dedication. Just showing up is the greatest part of the battle! By showing up you have conquered laziness and procrastination. A workout helps you look better, feel better, and BE better. Working out gives you confidence to do things you wouldn't have done before. Working out is a statement that you care and that you want to be better today than you were yesterday. THAT'S a workout! And maybe that's why I like it so much - for all of those reasons and more (like bouncy rubber floors).

The added bonus: I may finally fit into the greater portion of the clothes in my closet. People weren't lying when they said it was tougher to bounce back after their third baby... tough, but not impossible! I'm taking it one workout at a time.

16 months ago...

We had a party for Patrick when Eli was born - I was worried that he would have a tough time transitioning to big-brotherhood and have some jealousy issues with a new baby around. Fortunately, that wasn't the case! But we partied anyway. Joe bought him a dump truck, which he put to good use pushing around newborn Eli. Now, 16 months later, things haven't changed much. The difference is that now Eli can climb in by himself. Sometimes they switch and Eli does the pushing, and sometimes Eli just wants to drive himself around! Brrrrrm, brrrrrrm! I guess Eli needed sunglasses, too.

Wardrobe malfunction

Patrick's wardrobe malfunctions are pretty typical for a toddler who dresses himself, I guess, but I love them every single time! Seeing the combinations never gets old. Thank goodness for the rain boots, it's so wet outside! And the coat, it's BARELY 65 degrees! The sunglasses, though, I have to give him credit for - it WAS really sunny.

I'm not a morning person, but...

Today I have:
- cooked a hearty breakfast of french toast
-fed all the kids, plus myself (we tend to not eat at the same time since I get SO ANNOYED at not getting 2 consecutive bites because I'm playing butler and getting drinks, napkins, new forks, more syrup, WHATEVER. )
-Put Caroline down for a nap
-cleaned up the breakfast dishes and run the dishwasher
-cleaned the entire kitchen
-washed, dried, and folded 2 loads of laundry
-vacuumed the living room
-rearranged all the living room furniture
-taken a shower
.... and it's BARELY 9 A.M.!!

What the heck?!? This is gonna be a long day...

He's a drinker, to boot!

In order to help Patrick sleep through the night when he was about 1 year old we started giving him smoothies in a sippy cup before bed - lots of filling yogurt, milk, and fruit. Although we rarely make smoothies anymore, he's been attached to his sippy cups ever since - we have about 6 with varying designs, but they're all silicone-straw sippies and he practically refuses to drink from anything else. Lately he has also begun refusing to drink from these cups unless they are in a shoe, preferrably a boot (we're assuming its for their coozie-quality warmth feature, as his favorite drink is hot chocolate). This morning he tried his cup in any different number of shoes, even his church shoes, but eventually went and got his trusty snow boot. What a weirdo, we love him to death.

We are WELL! Hooray!

Seems like it took the entire month to get better, but the kids' colds lifted on Saturday and we've managed to hang on to health for a whole 5 days now! Except for Caroline, who got the cough later than the boys, but it hardly bothers her and she sleeps all day anyway, so I don't even notice. ANYWAY. We had doctors appointments today for Patrick and Caroline, shots included, and it was the least screaming I've ever heard! Caroline cried, but didn't scream, and Patrick hardly had time to whimper before the shot was done and he could proudly proclaim "I was so very brave!"


All in all, I have very average kids. They both fell in the 50-60th percentile on everything. Of course, they're not average to me, they just happen to be my whole WORLD, and I've been taking lots of pictures and videos lately. I can't get enough of Patrick theses days, so they're mostly of him - he's so fun to watch and listen to! I try to sneak and listen in on his playtime whenever I can, he can go for DAYS with his own dinosaur dialogue. I know kids go through phases of obsession, and I though by now dinosaurs would pass, but he's still completely in love with 'em.

I think he wants to be one. He was bothering other kids in nursery by roaring at them like a dinosaur and Sister Frank explained to the kids that "sometimes Patrick likes to act like a dinosaur," and Patrick corrected her: "I ALWAYS want to act like a dinosaur!"

We found these lined up like a little dinosaur army at his command. Too bad the commander was passed out!
Here he was narrating his own little dinosaur world. The camera's shaky because I was trying to be sneaky and non-chalant.