Bananas

Long story short: Hudson loves to peel bananas but he doesn't usually finish them. Today he gave it to Avery (hey...points for sharing!) and for some reason, she thought it would be a good idea to smear it all over her hair and pants. 

I'm just glad it wasn't on my carpet!

April Fools' Day

Jamie has always loved a good prank.

He is notorious for playing tricks on his family growing up.  Among the most memorable and frequently-told are:

1. Plastic wrap covering the toilet bowl so when his unsuspecting little sister came in to use the bathroom in the morning...well...there was a mess.
2. Rubber band around the sink sprayer, pointed straight out, so when his dear mom turned on the sink, she got soaked.
(Pretty sure he had to clean both of these messes up, but I'm sure it was worth it to him.)

So this year when he told me he had some good ideas for April Fools jokes on the boys, I rolled my eyes a little and said that was fine, but with one very important reminder: YOU BETTER NOT TRY TO PRANK ME!

This is what he had up his sleeve for today: Last night he bought some individual chip bags.  He opened a few of them, switched the chips, and glued them back shut.  I think Boston will love that when he opens his lunch today.

He also put a drop of food coloring in the bottom of the boys' bowls and then poured the cereal on top. When he added the milk, they got a green surprise!

We also switched the boys to different beds last night after they went to sleep.  They are both such sound sleepers, it was easy to pull off.  At some point Boston crawled back up the ladder to his own bed, and Cade ended up in our bed in the middle of the night.  We didn't get quite the reaction we were looking for this morning, but both boys did think it was funny and admitted that they thought they were sleep-walking and ended up in the wrong bed! 

Love/Hate

From a Friday night walk:

I looked down and melted when I saw her arm around his shoulders. It gave me a little glimmer of hope that one day they will be best friends. That they'll settle closer to the love end of the love/hate relationship they have now. 

But then she scratched his face as she was pulling her hand away, and it all went downhill from there. He started hitting, and she was swinging away too. Our sweet little moment was over as soon as it started, and the whole walk ended with me pushing two screaming children home. 

Not best friends yet!

Naughty, Naughty!

Leave these two alone for a few minutes and there's no telling the trouble they will create together.  

Sunday it was my jar of face cream.  Not sure how it went down.  I know Hudson was the one who opened the lid, but Avery incriminated herself with the dirtiest hands.  Luckily it didn't burn her eyes, and her face is even more soft and sweet now!

Quiet

This is what I find immediately after I say to myself, "it's too quiet..."

Messes, Loving Multiple Children, and a Phone Dump

When I was pregnant with Cade, I worried a lot about being able to split my time and attention between two kids.  I couldn't imagine how I would be able to love and take care of both babies.

Fast forward to today. Four kids, lots going on at all times.  It seems like there's always someone needing something. Or someone getting into mischief.

Take today for example.  Cade came out of the bathroom complaining that the hems of his jeans were wet. "Why is the bathroom floor wet?" I asked.  Never a good sign.  I figured Hudson was the culprit and imagined some kind of water-logged-bath-toy shenanigan.

It was worse.  Much worse.

I walked into the bathroom to find him dipping a formula scoop into the toilet bowl water and taking a nice long sip.  He looked rather pleased with himself.  I was thoroughly grossed out, but also a little impressed by his resourcefulness.  Is that weird?

Also, yesterday Cade asked me for help unscrewing the lid from a water bottle so he could fill it up with water from the door of the fridge.  A few minutes later he came back into my room with a sigh.  "Mom, the water just went on the floor, not in my water bottle," he huffed.  I finished what I was doing and went to help him fill up the bottle.

The sound of running water as I got closer to the fridge was concerning.  Cade had actually wedged his water bottle in such a way that the water was running straight onto the floor.  In his defense, Cade had gotten two hand towels and put them down (which were sopping wet already) but I do wish he would have conveyed a little more urgency in his request!

So even though some days are long and there are a lot of messes, there is never a shortage of love to go around.  And while a few years ago I couldn't imagine how I could split my love between more than one child, now I know the secret:

I grew a new heart for each of them.

And it feels like my heart will burst some days.  



Phone dump, shall we?

Boston loves taking pictures of Avery:

And he makes sure to get every angle:

Spring Break Highlights: (I really should post about that on its own...what a fun-filled week we had!)

Headbandz in the hotel

Carousel with cousins:

Bathtime hugs: 

(not pictured: bathtime fights.)

Sealife Aquarium with Manny and Papa

(7 children under 7 in a crowded aquarium...it's not for the faint of heart.)

 

Supporting Cade at t-ball practice (he is doing much better so far this season!)

Avery, 5 months, enjoying the sunshine: 

The key to grocery shopping with 3 kids: bribe with treats and keep the popcorn and soda flowing continuously.  (Grocery shopping is one errand I try to avoid at all costs when I have the kids with me--which is almost always--but it couldn't be avoided this week. I'm happy to report I survived with only one spill--"Popcorn clean up on aisle 12"--and 4 people remarking how I had my hands full.)

And lastly, downloading pictures from my phone tonight, I found 51 self-portraits and 7 self-videos of my favorite 6 year old.  I didn't delete a single one.  

Digging for Treasure

Who needs toys...

When you have Manny's underwear drawer?

(Obviously he wasn't thrilled about having it stuck around his neck!)

While The Cat's Away...

Ashley was away at an enrichment meeting tonight so it was just Boston and I at home. We have been trying to let Boston's hair grow out, but it just didn't look as good as we were hoping. So tonight I gave Boston a hair cut. This is what we ended up with...








This is Boston flexing his muscles. GRRRR!!!!



Boston just kept looking in the mirror grinning from ear to ear...I guess that means he likes it. We will see what his mom says.

Someone call for a handyman?

Today was a good day. We got a ton of chores and projects done around the house, which I love. The day started with Jamie deciding to fix a few things in our bathroom. As soon as Boston saw what he was doing he BOLTED for his room to get his tools and had to be right by Jamie's side while he worked.

The rest of the day I cleaned and did a bunch of random projects. Boston was so good to just play in whatever room I was working in and he was a big helper too. He carried my swiffer duster and his step stool around all day and dusted whatever I asked him...it was awesome!

Tonight after dinner we went to Target. I saw Boston pick something up off the ground and examine it. Before I could even get a word out, he popped it in his mouth. I made him spit it out right away and it was a mushy blueberry! Sick!