Monday, April 20, 2009

The Circus

Or maybe more appropriately the circus that is living with Master Kyler. Sometimes I don't know if I should laugh or cry. That kid usually has the household in an uproar to one degree or another. I could give blow by blow accounts of the day, but that would consume novels, so just a highlight or two from the last few days of recent memory should make the point:

On Thursday we got home from somewhere. He rarely follows me into the house from the car willingly, so after hauling in whatever I had, I headed back out to collect him. He had his pants/underwear around his ankles and was standing up straight. This isn't necessarily unusual in itself - however, he said that he was pooping. That is far more unacceptable than what he would normally be doing in that situation, and I proceeded to march him into the house. As of yet there were no deposits from him. He hooted and howled all the way, and did leave one small snippet before we got to the pot. After filling it up, he got to go back and retrieve his mishap.

Friday: something earlier in the week possessed me to brave the circus - without Dean. Normally such a feat would be unthinkable, but I figured it would be cheap entertainment for the evening. I had free passes for the boys, and bought my ticket in advance for $12. Dean said on the phone that he couldn't believe I was doing it on my own - neither could I by the time it was over. So, on the way there, Kyler decides to pee his pants, in the car. The kid has been perfectly potty trained for nearly a year and a half, since he was 27 months. That hasn't stopped him from just letting loose about every 6 months or so for no good reason (that isn't often enough for me to think about keeping spare clothes in the car). My options were to forget about the circus and just go back home, as there wasn't enough time to go home, then make it to the circus, nor was there time to stop anywhere on the way and just buy something to wear (even a diaper with no pants wouldn't have bothered me, but alas no time). So, I got to smell him all the way there, and all throughout the circus, and all the way back... Then, to add insult to injury, I had to take the carseat out of the car, and figure out how to take it apart to get the cover off and wash it. That is always a terrible ordeal, but it got done.







The circus was excellent, by the way, with all the excitement one would hope for, such as the motorcycle guys in the cage, the guy being fired out of a cannon, girls hanging from and doing acrobatics by their hair, and much more. I stuck to my guns and didn't drop an additional cent, as their objective is to separate you from all your money. I didn't even pay for parking, and we all got a little exercise to boot by walking a bit!


Saturday, we went with some friends to an awesome aquarium that is about 45 minutes away. That was lots of fun, and Kyler wasn't terrible there - just the typical running away and such. When we got home, once again he didn't come inside, so I went out to retrieve him. He was on top of the car jumping up and down as though it was a trampoline. I've been telling him lately to not climb the car - the kid climbs anything and everything, and if it isn't hurting anything I usually let him - he's never fallen yet. But the car is a different story. So I marched him to his room for a time out.

Hunter is getting up close and personal with the pelican in the first picture; Kyler would be the one hanging from the viewer. I happened to be standing very close to where the pelican is in the picture when it decided to come over and land (I was momentarily concerned that it might land on me or do a dirty deed on my head). I assume it was looking for handouts, but it was amazing to see it so close and friendly. Hunter and his little friend were so cute holding hands on the nature trail.

Today, Sunday, we went to church as usual. I sat behind a friend who has kids Kyler's age and younger, with whom he loves to play. That seat happened to be open, as we don't ever get to church on time, so that's why we sat there - I do know better than to put such a temptation right in front of him. He proceeded to act like he was on fire or something, gyrating uncontrollably and being terrible. I wanted to nip that in the bud, so I marched him right out to his car seat and locked him in for a few minutes until he decided he wanted to be good and come back in. The rest of the meeting was unexceptional, although he never was perfectly still or quiet (far from it, but at least under control). I sent him and Hunter off to Primary after Sacrament Meeting, and apparently they both went there just fine. But after the three hour block of classes, the Primary Secretary brought the boys to me and was very apologetic and said that he had apparently left primary shortly after it started (it is for 3-11 year-old children) and went to the Nursery (for 18 month -3yo children). He is well aware of how much fun Nursery is, and that it is stocked with toys and snacks and endless play. With the right attitude, Primary can be fun, as they sing songs and have interactive lessons and such, but apparently the temptation was just too great today, and off he went, apparently unnoticed. Oh, and did I mention that he peed on his bedroom floor this morning before we went to church, just for grins?

He can be the sweetest little devil, and is full of hugs and kisses all day, and loves to rub my ever-growing belly and talk about the baby. He is terribly cute and good looking, and is funny and occasionally obedient. We do love him to pieces, and life would be dull without him. I'm re-reading John Rosemond right now, figuring out what I'm doing wrong. So, slowly I am making progress. He is starting to listen more the first time, as the consequences are happening immediately now, rather than useless threats, bribes or pleas.

Anyway, that's my boy!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Welcome Spring



In moving to North Carolina we expected warmish weather most of the year, and indeed it was pretty mild through about Christmas. Since then it's been mostly cold, with an occasional warm sunny day. Of course people in the North East or midwest would beg to differ about the meaning of "cold", but it has been cold enough to warrant a coat, and to keep me from wanting to go outside much.






Last week it was my turn to plan a playgroup that we attend with other ladies from church, so we had a little Easter egg hunt in the backyard, then quickly came back inside where it was warm. The kids had fun, and Dean, being home for the week, was a good sport and even mowed the lawn the day before and hid the eggs for the kiddos. Since it was a school day, only the little guys were participating. In this picture Kyler is picking up his eggs that escaped from his basket.








And, in case you're interested, here I am six and a half months preggers. I don't feel like I'm nearly as big as I look in the picture, but perhaps the proof is in the puddin'. The clothes I wear make all the difference, and that blouse happens to make me look very large. Although, on Saturday someone asked how far along I was, then proceeded to ask if I was carrying twins. Ha ha. That's a first for me. The OB says I'm carrying high, which she said the old wives' tales say means it's a boy, which indeed baby is a boy...










So Dean has always been on me for Easter and other such holidays to do more of the festive stuff like color eggs and carve pumpkins and all that. I'm not sure why, but that stuff is never terribly appealing to me. Actually, I think it has a lot to do with just having so little energy for some many years. I just don't feel "up" to the non-essential things in life. However, after being treated by the naturopathic physician last year, I actually wanted to decorate the Christmas tree, so that's progress! But being in the third trimester of a pregnancy will zap most anyone's energy, so that's my excuse right now.



Anyway, Dean usually ends up doing the kid stuff, and I usually don't even manage to get pictures. So on Saturday, he had been here a week and was preparing to leave again on Easter Sunday for another two weeks of training in Texas. He wanted to color eggs with the boys. I had hard cooked seven eggs earlier in the day, as I needed some for a potato salad we were taking to a get together. So there were three eggs left. So in the evening when we were home, he started to get worked up about coloring eggs yada yada, and I said that we had three eggs. Of course that seemed ridiculous to him, but I said they didn't need to do dozens to have the experience - three ought to be enough. So, I pulled the food coloring and vinegar out of the cupboard and he went to town with the boys. I had to run get gas, as the car was on fumes just before the Sabbath. So, I wasn't involved, and there are no pictures for evidence, but they did it.



Also on Saturday, Hunter finally wiggled out his two front teeth that have been loose for ages. He won't eat apples these days because he always has loose teeth. I am not one to harass him and threaten to yank them out. I figure they will come out when they are good and ready. Apparently he was good and ready, and must have helped them a bit himself. He told us that a kid at school says that the tooth fairy brings a whole lot of money (like $6) when one loses two teeth. That sounded a little rich to me. Since Dean was here he took care of all that business, to the tune of $4. His mouth has been bleeding since Saturday, from losing the teeth, because of his hemophilia. So I found his medication that is specifically for mouth bleeds in hemophiliacs. It helps to keep a clot intact if one forms. I gave him some before bed tonight. It is quite a bit expired, but hopefully will still help. There was a much newer bottle of the stuff from his tonsillectomy last summer, but I couldn't find it. I don't remember if we used it all up or what. It was kind of pitiful this evening to see small bits blood on his chicken sandwich while he ate dinner.



Dean was wanting to hide Easter eggs Saturday night for the morning hunt, but by the time we went to bed it was late and we were tired, and decided it could wait until morning. However, Hunter got up bright and early, and searched high and low for Easter eggs, and came to report to us that apparently the Easter bunny hadn't left any. Dean was awfully frustrated and was grunting and thinking and wondering what to do about such a predicament. I asked him what was the matter, and he would only say "nothing", but he was obviously upset. So, I called to Hunter and asked if he wanted to get in bed with me. He always wants to, but I usually don't allow such an intrusion. He was delighted to climb in, and of course the stipulation is always that he must tickle my back. So, Dean took the cue and ran outside and hid eggs for the boys, then came back and told Hunter that the Easter bunny must have hid them outside so that he wouldn't run into the tooth fairy inside, as that just wouldn't be right. Hunter said that that was what he had thought. We told him he had to wait until Kyler was awake, so he promptly ran upstairs and woke him up for the excitement. Dean escorted them out while I stayed in bed a few more minutes, hence no pictures. Kyler, being a quick observer, noticed that the eggs were the same eggs he had hunted earlier in the week with the play group, and he was none too happy about it. Dean and I thought that was pretty darn funny. Hunter had no idea what he was talking about, fortunately. So, somehow it all went off without a hitch, and we more or less covered all the silly Easter bases.



And, I've been contemplating what to do as far as Easter gifts. I am of the opinion that it just doesn't seem right that a bunny should be giving eggs and presents because Jesus was resurrected. I don't want the focus of Easter in our home to be eggs, plastic grass, bunnies, candy and presents. But then is that hypocritical if we celebrate Christmas as the Savior's birth, and have candy and presents? I definitely didn't want to lavish them with presents by any means and support the commercial nature of the Holy Day, but I did get the "game" Hullabaloo on sale recently, and figured this would be as good a time as any to give it to them, along with a couple of things from the dollar store (card games and sidewalk chalk). We told them it was from us.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Laid the Baby


I have to tell a funny on Hunter before I forget. He is six and a half. By the way, Kyler claimed to be six and a half for a good year or so as a two and three year old; now when asked, he does say that he is three. Anyway, last night Hunter came downstairs and was concerned. He told Dean that he thought I must have laid the baby somewhere, as he could hear a baby crying. I had no idea what he was talking about, but Dean knew exactly. Hunter's only experience with "babies" coming into the world are the chicks and ducklings we used to incubate and hatch in Albuquerque. So Dean explained to Hunter that people don't "lay" babies... they give birth.

It turned out that the neighbors were playing with some remote control cars or something outside, which kind of had a squeal like a baby.