Happy Halloween

From Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3.

We are headed down to Wichita Mountains for a day of hiking. More photos & stories to come.

Before I forget...

Conner just celebrated his fifth birthday. It was so fun watching him all day and listening to him talk on the phone to everyone. The first words out of his mouth in the morning were "I've got myself in a situation here. Landon is chasing me with a stick" (he says while running down the hall). I laid in bed smiling thinking about way he has always been with words. Then his first phone call with his dad (Nathan had left before he woke up) brought a smile to my face. I had told Conner when he woke up that Nathan had said to me "Have a fun day with Conner". And Conner on the phone had to thank him for it and told him he wished he could be at home with him. The boy loves his dad dearly. Then while talking to my sister Kelsey he says "Yeah, I just keep getting older" (in the tone of a thirty-something). And he had to tell everyone the three meals he chose for the day (apple-cinnamon pancakes, hotdogs & pizza for dinner). While telling his grandpa Tom about the pancakes, grandpa had responded "Well I want some pancakes" so Conner told him he should make some. Tom said "well I don't know how". Conner replies "Grandpa, sure you can make them, you are a good cook". Tom then says "no I'm not, grandma is the good cook". Conner than says "Grandpa, you need to learn how to cook. If you don't start now, you'll never learn". I was laughing pretty hard listening to that conversation. Anyway, the Connerisms just kept coming, one after another. I wish I could follow him around with a recorder so I could one day listen to them. But such is life, it will all soon fade away. I need to journal more. Hence the reason for yet another 'dear diary' post. I figure why not combine journaling with blogging.

The boys have really been thriving in the imagination department. It's been such a pleasure listening to them play together. They are in "bad guy" mode big time. Today they were all three running to the window to shoot the bad guy (aka the guy mowing the lawn next door). I'm sure he was wondering what was going on as he watched three boys pointing fake guns at him from the window.

The kids & I took a road trip back to Indiana a couple weeks ago. It was a last minute decision and I'm so thankful I seized the moment because it was so worth it. Lots of laughs and good conversation with my family, more memories at the farm (my in-laws) and lots and lots of outdoor play time for the boys. I barely took any photos but just soaked in all the time. It was lovely. My parents have chickens and I brought back with me a couple dozen eggs. I have just a few eggs remaining and I'm so bummed. It's been so fun cracking each of them open with their hard shells & bright orange yolks. And it brings back the memories of the boys getting excited watching them graze my folks backyard and nibbling on scrarps. I really need to find a local egg source. That or buy some land and get me some chickens (kidding Nater). Nathan's mom sent me back with a bunch of peppers. If we only lived closer (15 hours) I could be mooching off of them alllllll the time.

The weather has been perfect for outdoor time and leaving the windows open until dusk. Then we shut up the house (except for our bedroom) and I put on my sweaters and wrap up with a blanket. It's the perfect 70's and sunny during the day and 40's at night.

Landon is fully potty trained during the day but wearing diapers at night. Unfortunately that is when he does the nasty duty of pooping. Like most children, I still face the crappy task of getting him to actually start pooping on potty. He tells me every time he has to pee but he has zero desire to go no.2. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Meanwhile, I'm loving the fact that he's running around in undies during the day. We are slowly on our way to a diaper free house!!

Biruk has been "Buddy" free for a couple months now. For those of you who are unaware, Buddy was his yellow doll that he has been attached to since he got home from Ethiopia. We feared the day we'd lose Buddy. But with Buddy came the finger sucking. Every time Biruk had Buddy, his pointer finger was in his mouth. Causing quite the overbite and surely a visit to the orthodontist as he got older. Well one day B couldn't find Buddy. Nathan and I had him go to bed that night without him and he survived. A couple days passed and I found Buddy in the guest room so I quickly tucked him away for Biruk's memory box. He asked about him for a couple weeks and now he occasionally mentions him. The day Buddy disappeared is the day B quit sucking his finger. The callous on his pointer is slowly going shrinking. And B is doing fabulous without him! In fact, I think he's needing him mama a little more (instead of running to find Buddy when he got hurt). I'm enjoying the cuddle time as a result :)

Well my eyes are burning and my tea is getting cold. Speaking of tea, I've tried Nathan's several times and never liked it. My mom was drinking it one night while I was home and I tried a sip. And I loved it. Just simple green tea. I'm hooked!! So now I have my coffee in the morning and the evenings for tea. Life is splendid! Night all...

Dear Diary

As the boys have grown I've had moments of panic here and there of how fast they are growing but this past week it's hit me much harder than normal. So to deal with it I've been obsessed with not missing a moment, recording video for several minutes at at a time, taking (hundreds) of photos and spending hours watching them play at the park. As a result my house was a disaster by tonight which resulted in a late night cleaning spree. But back to the boys, the sadness of them aging has not left. I wish I would have journaled more and documented every minute of their life. How much did they weigh each month? How tall were they? What were their first words? When did they take their first step? And so on... I know it doesn't matter, but somehow it all seems so blurry. While I may not of been good at documenting everything via words I am so thankful for the thousands of photos and hours of video I am left with. And I know they are only 2,3 & 4 (nearly five) years old but they just seem so big!! Watching the three of them play and listening to their conversations only confirms how much they are growing up! And the bond that has developed is all that I had hoped for and more. One of the many things I love about these boys is when one of them is in trouble the other two chime in "Moooooooom, Daaaaaaaaaaad", all the while thinking 'how dare you punish him'. It's the cutest thing. And I love when one of them is upset and another brings them their favorite toy, blanket, etc. Or the encouraging pats on the back and the most recent phrase of all "you my best friend ____". That's been a popular one as of late. And "you are so funny". Which reminds me, Conner told Nathan & I the other night that we were "hilarious" and "two peas in a pod". While different stories, it's the same thing most families live through day to day. I guess with this grasp on motherhood (finally) has come such a great appreciation and gratitude for being able to be a mom. While I am sad for the time that has passed I am so grateful for the mother I've finally become. Not that I was a bad mother. I was a mom of three kiddos in less than 3 years. And miles away from family & friends. And desperate. And sometimes lonely. And maybe all of that has made me appreciate my time with the boys this past year even more. I still have my moments, I'm far from perfect, but I no longer feel like I'm drowning. So if there are any struggling mama's out there I promise it does get better. While you might be gasping for air right now, one day you'll float. And maybe like me, you'll think 'so this is what it's all about'. I like this!

Thanks for being such patient, forgiving, funny and loving boys...

October - the month of meals

I've been meaning to get on since the first of the months to announce to my readers (aka my siblings) that I'm challenging myself the month of October to make dinner every night. I've been wanting to get back into cooking mode and I figured this was the perfect way to challenge myself. And announcing it to the internet makes it seem more official. So far I'm five for five and I've made 2 new meals that we've never had before. I'm hoping it will spark some hidden chef inside me (not likely). I even successfully made dinner rolls, followed by cinnamon rolls the next morning with the leftover dough. It's been fun and has me excited for what lies ahead. We've been doing picnic lunch most days and it's been fun coming up with ideas for those. Tonight I stayed up to make granola bars for our treat tomorrow. YUMMERS :) Wish me luck....

Eating my words

It happens every. single. time.
Terrible threes are lovely :)

Fall Bliss

I think fall just might my be favorite season. All of them are magical in their own way but there is something so wonderful about fall. You have the change in color on the trees, the cold breeze blowing through your house (and the sound that goes with it), windows wide open, cold nights, campfires, sweaters, pumkins, crunchy leaves, and on and on. It's perfect in so many ways. With the departure of the heat we're back to picnic lunches on the patio or at the park (the boys are partaking in one right now). In the past week we've been to five parks and had three picnics. Saturday we spent the day at a local beach and came home with cold boys so we had a campfire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows. We watched the stars come out. All was right with the world. And with this weather comes a feeling of peacefulness. It's nice to have the hectic summer behind us and an empty schedule for the months to come. We do better with this sort of lifestyle. Right now the boys are outside throwing frisbees and eating strawberries. There hasn't been a single fight today and motherhood feels so natural at the moment. It's the kind of day that....AND CUT. Biruk is now in timeout for throwing dirt and is screaming his head off. The ear piercing, nails on a chalkboard scream. Reality check! I guess it's things like this that make us appreciate the peaceful moments all the more. Happy fall!!!