Stay for a Spell

A few weeks ago I found a Harry Potter magic wand that I'd gotten in a book order when I taught school. I gave it to Caleb and he's been casting lots of spells ever since.

One night, I asked him to take out his dirty diaper (the garbage is just outside the back door in the garage). I didn't hear the door open so I came to see if I could help. Caleb was standing there with the diaper in one hand and his magic wand in the other. He was saying, "alowah homora" (who knows how to spell it?). That is the spell Hermione uses to open locked doors. The door was locked! So I unlocked it. Caleb ignored me and acted like his spell had done the trick! So funny.

One of Caleb's favorite favorite spells is "expecto patronum". Just lately he also likes Ron's "eat slugs" spell. (He especially likes it when we pretend to spit up slugs.) But the other night he really surprised us when he pointed his wand at Liam's nose and said, "Eww...Troll Boogies!" We all broke out laughing. I think his brothers are responsible for teaching him many of the spells, but it sure is cute coming out of a two-year-old's mouth!

Liam Laughs

Daniel was talking to Liam and said, "My headache is driving me nuts!"
Liam's response, "It's driving me squirrels!"

Tonight Liam told me that he loves me more that his dinosaur shirt and his stuffed animals. That is pretty satisfying knowing Liam.

A Cough Named Steve...

And then came Chuck (first name Up)

Last night Daniel had some asthma and started coughing. When Nathan got home he explained, "I got rid of my old cough, this one is new. It's name is Steve." Nathan and I exchanged a look and tried to muffle our laughs. Where does this crazy kid come up with this stuff?

His asthma kept him (and me) up most of the night and increased his cough. This morning he was still coughing. I emailed his Dr. and he ordered a new inhaler for him. When we went to pick it up this afternoon, all Daniel had stomached was lots of juice. Unfortunately, the coughing started up again. I asked for a bag, just in case, but before the lady could find one, Daniel coughed/threw up all of the liquids I'd had him downing.

That is when I did something that I really can't explain--it's a mom reflex. I cupped my hands and tried to catch all the said regurgitated liquids. Why do I do this? I've done it before. Gross. I would never have done this before I had children. Most people take a step back when such things happen. Has my mind really turned to mush? I guess at home it would make more sense because I am the haz mat crew in charge of the aftermath. Anyway, they did everything in their power to help us leave. (Apparently, we made our point and they didn't want it repeated.) Hopefully Steve is gone and doesn't come back.

Liam's Kindergarten Requirements

This morning I went to register Liam for kindergarten. Wow! It's a little strange to think that Liam is old enough for school. Anyway, as I filled out the paperwork I found myself writing William over and over again. Liam's full name is William, but we've never called him that. (We don't even use it when we use his 'whole name' to 'add emphsis'.) At the doctor's office it always takes me a second when they call for William and I realize that that is Liam. I found myself wondering if Liam even remembered that his first name is William. So I asked him if he knew his first name. He said, "Liam", so I told him that he needs to learn his name before kindergarten so he'll know if the teacher calls William. The principal walked by at that moment and started laughing. I guess it is kind of funny to think that I'm worried about teaching my son his first name before he starts kindergarten--I mean most people worry about teaching letters and numbers! I guess knowing your first name should be a kindergarten requirement.

Liver (Rubeus Hagrid) the Fish Who Lived

Daniel doesn't like change. When I started rearranging his room to fit Caleb's big bed he was a little worried. So we made a deal. We would rearrange and clean things out, but we would make room for a betta fish. I know what many of you are thinking...that's just what that house needs--another fish! But it's not a dog--not yet! Another great thing about betta is that they don't get along with other betta so it's just one fish!

Nathan takes hunting for the perfect fish very seriously. He called a big fish store to find out when they'd get a new shipment of betta in so there'd be lots of beautiful fish to pick from. That night we met Nathan at work downtown so the boys could have their pick.

They were so excited. Nathan picked out a bunch of really beautiful fish while the boys watched turtles swim and looked at other aquariums. Then the boys looked at the 10 or 12 that Nathan had narrowed it down to. They both liked one, but Liam wasn't sure it was his absolute favorite. We sealed the deal by letting Liam pick out a crocodile bubbler to put in the tank.

On the way home Daniel held the fish in the cup (Liam held the croc bubbler). It had a little air hole on top and a little water got out. Daniel was so worried that the fish wouldn't live through the car ride. He kept telling us to drive slowly. We talked about what they wanted to name their new fish. Liam said his nick name should be Rubeus Hagrid (quite a nick name!). Daniel decided when we got home that his name should be Liver. I thought that was a little strange until he explained that he was Liver because he had lived through the bumpy car ride. I can't imagine a better name for a fish.

Liver is a beautiful fish!

Three's a Crowd-ed Bedroom!

BEFORE

I put off taking down the crib and setting up a 'big-boy-bed' for Caleb for lots of reasons. First of all, I knew it would be a squeeze to fit another big bed in that room. (All three of my boys share a room and yes, three's a crowd.) Secondly, I was comfortable with our routine and dreaded teaching Caleb to stay in bed at night. He is such a monkey, I was quite sure it would be harder than it was with his two big brothers. Also I knew that I would have to refinnish the bed that's been sitting in our garage for the past year and half. (We inherited it from our neighbors.) I've never done that so there was a little fear of the unknown.

But when I found that Caleb was crawling out of his crib and onto the dresser, I knew it was time. (Quick! Before he brakes a leg or arm!) So just after Christmas, I took it out and sanded it down. It is a captain's bed with drawers underneath. I'd never actually seen it put together, but it was the right price ($0) so I figured I'd like it well enough. I did want to change the color from the old oak stain (a little too orangey) to a dark chocolate. (Ok, I admit it I'm a little obsessed with dark chocolate, but it is my favorite treat as well as a great paint color.)

BEFORE (Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture until I took down the crib which was in the corner in front of the tree.)

I took down the crib when I decided to jump into this project, which was likely a mistake because it was a multi-day project. I also removed most of the baby blankets (except the ones my boys are most attached to-that I made or Grandma made), some extra sheets, and lots of baby stuff. How strange--that's the first time the crib's been down since we moved here. We had to teach Caleb to stay in bed laying on a matress on his floor. Actually, that was the easiest part--I had dreaded it for so long, but Nathan only had to get after Caleb 2 or 3 times (about staying in bed at night), and we haven't had a problem since!

I think I chose the coldest days of the year to work out in the garage. It took me a day or so to get it all sanded. I caught a cold and it triggered my asthma, which still hasn't calmed down. I guess following up the cold and dust with a few coats of paint and then poly urethane (again in the cold) didn't help. Oh well.

AFTER

Once we got the 'new' bed reassembled we realized that the beds fit best in an L shape making the drawers inaccessible. I guess the drawer part will remain in the garage until we move (some day??). It's just as well because the drawers didn't go all the way back and we need to utilize all of the storage space we can. The bed is very high up off the ground. (About half way between the bottom bunk and the top bunk. Caleb climbs from Liam's bed onto his.)

I'm pretty content with the storage containers that we found to fit the space. The Star Wars and the Legos boxes are readily accessible and clean-up is pretty easy. The laundry hamper is no longer the dress-up (there was too much for a good fit), now it is the gun and lightsaber hamper (of course-what else would a hamper be used for in a boys' room!). Nathan is remaking a table top, to better fit the space, for the trains. He also replaced the broken fan-light in the room. Caleb's clothes are now under Liam's bed in containers like Daniel's. So now we use the plastic drawers in the closet for more toys. I was actually able to get the toy storage down to one box in the living room! I still need to reconfigure pictures on the wall, make Caleb a new quilt, and fix the bench drawer etc. But at least most of the sorting, and heavy lifting is done. I really like the feeling of having the room organized.

Caleb is thrilled to have a "big-boy-bed". He tells everyone who'll listen about it. Some days he says that Santa gave it to him.

Actually, I wish the bunk beds were the dark chocolate color as well, but I don't know if I'll feel up to more sanding, paint, and poly urethane for a while.

Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!

One Christmas Eve tradition we have is giving the boys new PJs. This year Daniel's are Star Wars (no surprise--why is he straddling the Christmas tree??), Liam's are T-Rex (so, of course, he turned into one), and Caleb calls his stinky chippy (meaning squirrel). Actually, Caleb's are a skunk that is saying, "bedtime stinks". These boys are cute...and they were very excited for Christmas. They knew that Santa only comes when you are asleep, so they went to bed early!!!! They were in bed by 8:00. Santa is quite a motivator.

On Christmas Eve we finish reading our stories about Jesus' life. The boys were so proud of the wall of pictures that they put up. When I suggested that it was time to take it down, Caleb got upset and told me keep Jesus. (That is a golden mommy moment. He had me hold him up to look at and talk about each of the pictures. Wow. 2-year-olds do get something out of the stories we tell--even when they seem totally distracted. Caleb has started praying about Jesus' owes on his hands and "toes" (feet). We've prompted him to add that he has owies because he loves us.)

So the boys went to bed really early, which was great, but Daniel came in to our room at 11:30 PM and asked if it was time to get up yet. Luckily, we were done. We assured him that Santa hadn't come yet and couldn't if he was out of bed. Good thing he couldn't see down the hall!

Christmas morning may be the only morning that Daniel is the first up. He quickly woke up his brothers. They have to line up youngest to oldest to go out to the living room.

Look what Santa brought Caleb. Now he is a Jedi with his own light saber--not just one of his brothers'. His even lights up and does cool sounds! Initially, Caleb just wanted Santa to bring him a ball, so Santa brought a little nerf hoop and ball too. Really, Caleb would have been totally satisfied without the hassle of opening up any more presents. We were worried that we hadn't gotten him much, and bought a few last minute things to even it out. In the end, Caleb didn't want to open stuff, he just wanted to play with the couple of things he got right at first. In fact, he had a pile to open when everyone else was done. Daniel didn't understand why he was finished and Caleb still had things unopened.

Daniel asked Santa to leave him a picture of himself. Santa left him two pictures. Daniel knows that some Santas are just helpers, but now he can actually see that the Santa that comes to the capital is the genuine article! Daniel keeps Santa's pictures in his treasure box now. Santa brought Daniel a Razor scooter. He immediately started riding it around the kitchen. He can fly on that thing! So I made sure he knew it was an 'outside toy'--Moms are no fun! Daniel also asked Santa to fix up his green bike. Santa did a great job. The bike looks totally new!
Liam also got a scooter from Santa and a 'big boy' camera. I'm sure there will be many great pictures from him soon.

Each year my boys earn money around the house so they can buy each other presents at the dollar store. It is one of my favorite parts of Christmas, to see the boys so excited to watch their brothers open the gift they bought. There's always a big hug...

Some hugs are more appreciated than others. (Hee-hee!) Lots of love!

Daniel picked out a jet for Nathan because he knew he'd love it.

No more cold feet! I told Nathan I wanted some warm fuzzy socks to keep my feet warm around the house and he came through! Caleb helped him pick out the awesome pink-striped monkey-toe socks.)Grandma Bohman found some awesome puppets for the boys. Liam's crocodile went everywhere with him on Christmas and bit us all. Now it has a special place on Liam's pillow, when he's not being played with. This was a Star Wars Christmas. The boys were spoiled by Grandma and Papa Brady with some huge Star Wars lego sets. Caleb got a Star Wars lunch box and some Star Wars figures. They got me some Star Wars pancake molds and cookie cutters! A perfect gift for the mother of these Jedi.

Don't the boys look awesome in their new winter hats?!! They wanted hats like Ron (Weesley).

Daniel got me a Mommy Minnie Mouse Mug. It was a good thing, because all of the boys got Star Wars mugs. Daniel is always making sure I get something that is 'girlie'. We all used them for hot cocoa with our Christmas breakfast.

Liam hunted down a used copy of the Three Amigoes for Nathan. He knew it would be perfect because they'd watched a bit of it on TV and they had laughed and laughed.

Daniel looked out the back window while we were getting breakfast and asked what was sitting out the back door. Grandma and Grandpa Bohman helped us get this one. It took over a week to find a day with good enough weather and Daddy home to assemble the trampoline!

Daniel spent much of the day riding his scooter up and down the street and yelling Merry Christmas to the neighbors.

Caleb spent much of the day outside as well playing with his lightsaber, mostly. Lightsabers are versitile. I'm not sure there are many Jedi that can ride their lightsabers. (I asked him if it was his horsie, but he said he was Harry Potter--apparently it was a broom. My mistake.)

Caleb inherited the old starter scooter from his brothers. No more fighting over it.

Liam tried out his scooter too.

He also took pitures of lots of things. Mostly things that needed to be cleaned up. Thanks a lot for documenting that.

I laughed when I saw Daniel take a scooter break to pick grass and dirt out of the sidewalk cracks. Why do we try to buy entertainment?? All these boys want is a pile of dirt.

And where, you ask, was Nathan??? He had lots of lego assembly going on.

It's our family tradition to go to the temple on Christmas and see the Nativity. It is a good reminder of what this season is really all about. This year it was raining cats and dogs for most of the late afternoon/evening. We decided to go the next day before Church.

Daniel and Liam took a few pictures of us.

What a great Christmas.