Shower Power

Friends and Family, while I still have yet to write about our AWESOME adventure to Arbuckel Wildlife Park, I have to share what happened tonight.  First of all lets rewind a bit so I can tell you that last night I had a near mental breakdown, between a crying Iz that I could not put down without one of her brothers harassing her into screams, DJ flipping his dinner plate onto his lap (grilled chicken, couscous, and salad with ranch), Asher tossing my camera onto the floor, and a very rainy day that started at 6am (after I had a night of 5 total hours sleep and not consecutively) with no coffee to be had because I desperately needed to go grocery shopping, I was pretty much a mess when J got home at 6.  J walked in and I took Iz and walked out, where to you ask, why to the walmart of course to do the desperate grocery shopping... but at least I was out of the house and away from my naughty naughty boys; mommy needed a break.  When I got home J put all the groceries away, I put Iz to bed and was in bed myself at 9:30, only one feeding last night and no getting up from the boys until around 6:30 this morning which was fine because today was the glorious mothers day out!!!  I did nothing all morning, got my hair done after lunch (its fab by the way) before I went to pick up the boys completely recharged.  After a lovely dinner (by the way is it 8pm now and Iz has been asleep since 4pm and yes she is alive because I keep going in to poke her but I will not wake a sleeping baby) I gave Asher a bath while DJ took trash out with Daddy and just for kicks I asked DJ if he would like to shower instead of take a bath, to my surprise he said yes and was stripped down and in my shower before I could say boo.  I turned the water on for him and went to get the baby soap and when I returned to the bathroom he was already "cleaning himself" with J's bar of soap "like a big boy."  DJ then informed me that it was time to shave and he needed his shaver, I just so happen to have one of those "razors" that has no blade so I gave it to him, then he pointed to J's shaving cream and said "Mama, that too!" so I put a little on his cheeks and melted into a puddle as he began to shave, I ran to get J and my camera and when I came back this is what I found

Head to toe shaving cream!!!

It was SO AWESOME!  Then of course Asher came in to see all the commotion and had to shave his face too!

Have I ever mentioned that I love being the mom of boys?!

Football Sunday

Every football coaches dream come true!

Asher

AKA: Sher Sher and Ashey (which J does not think should have a y but I do and its my blog so there!)

I realized I have given Iz her own post and DJ his own post, so before I post about how my sweet family was stargazing in my bedroom in the middle of the day or about the adventure we are about to have tomorrow, it is my pleasure to write a bit about my sweet Ashey.  Born when DJ was 17months old I was so scared, how could another baby possibly hold a candle to DJ who melted the hearts of all who came with in a 2 foot radius of him.  Could we possibly love another child as much?  The answer was, those are stupid questions!  Asher is a different child, he cannot be compared to his brother because there is no comparison, he is his own very special brand of amazing, the same way we all are, the way that God created us to be.  Asher had colic which  means that from the moment he was 2 weeks old until the day he turned 12 weeks old he did nothing but cry, all day, all night, cry.  For some reason I think this made me love him ferociously, I knew that no one but his mommy could accept and deal with this unbelievable crying and so I never fully trusted anyone to be with him for any extended period of time, including his daddy.  So it was the two of us fighting the storm of colic together, sleeping together every night and holding him on my hip every day.  Thank the Good Lord for my mom and her husband who let me move in with them while J was away 2 of those three months.  I know I would not have made it on my own!  Now Asher is the sweetest most loving little boy I have ever even heard of.  He hugs and kisses, cuddles and giggles ALL the time.  He is beginning to enter the terrible twos but even in his outright defiance I grin because he is so stinkin cute.  Asher attends a mothers day out program and his teachers wrote on his daily report yesterday, "Asher is such a great boy, so sweet, and we love him so much!"  Asher has been in school a total of 4 days so far, and they love him so much, that is definitely one of my boys.  I hope that they are melting hearts like this forever.  There are so many things that I love about my Asher I can only list a few here;  I love that when he smiles his eyes close because his cheeks are so fat, I love the way he says "mommy, mommy, mommy" always three times before he can get the actual words out, I love that when we hold him he rubs the back of our necks with his chubby hand, and I love the way he gives us all 100 unsolicited kisses a day.  My sweet man is about to be two and I can't wait to discover all of the other millions of things I will love about him.

To Be Continued...

My DJ

Just a little word about my little man... my first born.  Getting pregnant with DJ was an answer to a prayer, once we found out he was a boy I prayed that he would be healthy and that he would have the heart of King David for whom he would be named.  King David in the Bible had a heart that mirrored that of God and what could be a bigger blessing than to have a son who worshiped God with all that he was, who was a warrior, who sang and danced, who fessed up when he messed up (not always right away but eventually).  God has answered all of those prayers and I am in awe every day of how DJ exemplifies King David.  I am not saying this is easy, it is hard to have a three-year-old warrior at playgroup.  We have yet to discover the secret to getting DJ to pray from his heart openly and willingly.  He loves music, but hates when I sing (I think that has more to do with my lovely voice).  And DJ is completely run by desire and emotion, he puts very little thought into consequences.  But it is not all hard, when DJ does something wrong he always admits it straight away and takes punishment without question; and he is FUNNY, DJ makes me laugh like no one else. 

DJ likes to vote for the underdog, when he plays dinosaurs the T-Rex is the bigger and the meaner but somehow or another the Stegosaurus always wins.  In his favorite (for the week) book the page with "L is for Ladybugs" shows 4 huge ladybugs surrounding a little green bug who DJ always insists that they want to eat, and in the next breath he tells you how this little green bug won't go down without a fight (David and Goliath anyone?). 

We signed him up for drum lessons hoping to combine his love for music with his desire to hit things, and I also bought a DVD to teach him some dance moves and get some energy out since it is too hot to be outside.  But DJ's favorite inside game?  Wooden spoon sword fights with Daddy, J actually knighted him today! 

This week my funny little man brought his "Stinky" out of bed, big no no, and when I said I would put "Stinky" up on a shelf he held the bear up and in his highest pitch said "oh no mama, don't put me up!"  When I asked him to finish his dinner tonight he looked at me and said "are you serious? That's ridiculous!" 

When I ask him to help his brother or sister his answer is always "I sure can!" and if he wants something he always starts the sentence with "Mama, I have a great idea!"  My son is always showing me how fast he is, how strong he is, or how tough he is, he lives for my approval and acknowledgement, and I live to give it to him.  I love him so much my heart could burst just writing this out, and I just needed to say a few things about my little king.

The First Day of "school"

Yesterday was the first day of "school" and I say "school" in quotes because its really a mothers-day-out program not school per say, and that little disclaimer is for my hubby who could have cared less that "school" started yesterday because it was not real.  Emotions have been running high for a lot of the moms I know this week, little ones off to preschool for the first time, or full time kindergarten.  Facebook is full of pics of the kids in their new school attire and backpacks.  At our house this week was sweet relief, school was back, yeehaw!  I tried in vain to get some cute pics of the boys before we left the house...

As you can see the best pic is the one of the boys lunch boxes ready to go.  The new backpacks aren't ready yet (I am making them out of old flight suits) and lunch was the most exciting thing going yesterday morning, in fact this is the only pic of DJ without the lunchbox in front of his face, and he is striking a pose.  The most miraculous thing of all was that we got to the school on time, and I was not in pajamas, no makeup but no pajamas either, even Iz was dressed.  I dropped each boy off in his own classroom, no small feat since each boy had...
 a lunch box,
a backpack,
a mat for sleeping on and a blanket,
DJ had a bear (NOT stinky) and Asher his blankie and paci (he calls them gugu and bite),
tissue boxes
and wipes for the classroom. 
There were no tears, not from the boys and surly not from Mama.  As I drove away looking at the moms still sitting in their cars unable to leave their babies I wondered if there may be something wrong with me that I felt so, well, giddy.  SO, if yesterday was the first day of school, why am I writing this post today instead of yesterday when I only had Iz around the house?  The answer my friend is that I literally did not sit down one time yesterday.  Dropped the boys off, had a dentist appointment, came home to nurse Iz and shovel some food in my face, cut coupons, went grocery shopping, went to post office, time to pick up boys, came home, put Iz to sleep and a snack for the boys so I can put groceries away, nurse Iz again, make dinner, feed family, bath, bedtime, laundry.  SERIOUSLY!!! 

And that is why even "stay-at-home" moms need a mothers day out!

Most Loved Girl in the World!

My daughter happens to be the most loved girl in the world, I am pretty sure. This afternoon she spit up while I was holding her and Asher grabbed the bottom of my shirt (that I was wearing) and wiped her mouth off with it. Every day is a battle between the brothers to see who can kiss her more, who can make her smile bigger, and even who gets to throw away her stinky diapers. When her Daddy comes home all he wants is to hold and kiss her sweet face, even if it means he might wake her up and he will have to face the wrath of Mama! I watch in awe as Iz experiences what every girl desires, she captivates the men around her. They love her fiercely and with all that they have they will protect her and console her and most of all let her know that she is special. God knew what he was doing when He gave us our Iz, she will be something special that is for sure, how could she not with love like this all around her.

Mornings

This morning was great, as great as any morning can be at 7am after each of the three kids woke up at least once through the night. It began with my three-year-olds face pressed up against mine with a HUGE grin and enthusiastic "Good morning Mama!" He then promptly climbed into bed carrying ALL things from his bed to include 2 blankets and his Stinky (a bear that he has had since he was 6 months old dubbed stinky because he chews on its ear and it stinks no matter how often I wash it). Then I hear the one year old yell "Mommy? Daddy? (pronounced Dayyyi)" and my husband quickly ran off to retrieve him from crib prison. My boys and I cuddled and kissed and watched Daddy finish getting ready for work and when he was out the door we were off... Change Asher, take DJ potty, let the dog out to potty, feed the cat, feed the dog, ask the boys what they want for breakfast; DJ says "NO, NO BREAKFAST!" and Ashey smiles and says "food?" then of course DJ has an opinion, this morning it was cereal. The boys clung to my legs between me and the counter, as I tried to pour bowls of cereal, arguing over who got which bowl (the bowls by the way, completely identical). I trip over them to get to the table and set the bowls down when Ashey immediately demands "poon!!" and DJ says "Mama, you forgot the milk!" Quickly as I can I grab milk and spoons and sippy cups (because I know that is the next request) and go to retrieve Iz who has been sweetly cooing in her crib for 10 minutes but is beginning to cry. I change her and bring her to the kitchen where both boys beg for hugs and kisses from their bubbie (AKA Iz), I pour myself a cup of coffee and sit to nurse sweet Iz, I look across the table at my messy boys faces and into the adoring eyes of my baby girl I thank God that this is my morning, every morning.