Have a good cry

Today was one of those days. I didn't feel well - I was sick yesterday, threw up and everything and today I was in recovery mode and was very tired. My children were extra rambuncious and wild and fighting and making messes like crazy. Then came the moment when I "snapped". The boys know that they are supposed to keep drinks in the kitchen - but you know kids, they will try to get away with whatever they can. Tom poured some soda in a glass, I saw him with it and reminded him to stay in the kitchen. I went down the hall to my bedroom and a moment later I heard a thud and Tom started to cry. He had gone downstairs with his drink and got tripped up or something and bumped into the wall on the landing. Of course his soda spilled everywhere. He said he had hurt himself, but I was too mad about the soda everywhere to care about him at the moment. I sent him to his room. Then Charlie did something or other, and I yelled at him and to top it all off Becca came by me whining and crying while I was trying to clean up the steps. I sat on the steps and started crying, feeling like such a mean mom - yelling at my kids and being so mad. When ever Becca hears me cry she starts crying. This brought the boys out to see what we were crying about and then Tom started to cry. "Why are you crying mommy?" he kept asking, but I couldn't say anything yet, I was still too emotional. So the three of us were crying and Charlie comes over and gives me a hug. So all the children are gathered around me and most of us are crying - and at that moment I felt love, and the anger and the frustration left and I was thankful to my children for gathering around me in my moment of need. And for about the next five minutes they were as good as gold.

File Folders

I also found a great site that has lots of file folder activities and games to have on hand.

Sculptures of Christ

The St. George Visitors Center has on display an amazing sculpture display of various scenes from the Bible of Christ. The artist is a woman, Angela Johnson, from Arizona, who took up sculpting just 10 years ago. Her artwork is amazing. Click on her name to go to her website where you can view these pieces, or if you click on the visitors center you can see the pieces that are on display here. Seeing them on the internet is nothing compared with seeing them in person. The piece titled "Come Unto Me" is a life size sculpture of Christ, akin to the Christus, and when I stood in front of it and looked up into His eyes it was like I was truly looking into Christ's eyes - they were kind and loving and healing.

Our new pet

This is Thumper, our new pet bunny. My cousin Jacy has bunnies, and the boys loved holding them. I felt bad that the boys have been begging for a dog, but I just can't commit to that. A bunny seemed a much better option. So far the only problem is the boys love it too much. They are always carrying it around and are fighting over whose turn it is. Thumper puts up with the boys affection, but I don't think he really likes it. I think he prefers to stay in his cage, away from loving arms of little boys, but I am impressed with how patient the bunny is and how tolerant he is.

Charlie and Tom do everything with the bunny. They love to hold him and watch tv. I thought this camera moment was so cute when I walked by and saw the boys reading a book to their bunny. They would love to sleep with the bunny, but I draw the line there, mostly for the sake of the bunny. In fact, today I announced it a day of rest for the bunny and only let the boys have the bunny out for a short time. I think if the bunny is going to survive the love of my boys, I'm going to have to impose time limits.

Becca is a true Taysom

Becca is a true Taysom because she loves to ride on a tractor with daddy just as much or more than the boys do. This was expected with the boys - that they would love boy things, such as tractors and dirt. However, I didn't expect Becca to love tractors so much.
Yesterday Jeremy borrowed a tractor to grade our backyard (I'm hoping we'll be ready for grass in the next couple of weeks). Becca was helping me with the garden, but kept wandering off towards the tractor. Finally Jeremy stopped and let her sit behind him on the seat. For some reason the motion of the tractor always puts our kids to sleep. Soon enough her head was bobbing around and Jeremy stopped so I could get her and put her down. I got her into her bed and she seemed like she was going to stay asleep, but a minute later she was wide awake and I took her back in the yard with me. She wanted on the tractor again, and after 10 minutes or so she was asleep again. This time I just laid her down in the yard to let her keep sleeping. But again, after a minute she woke up. She wanted back into the tractor again. This third time, when she fell asleep again we just let her stay in the tractor and sleep bobbing around as Jeremy kept working.

It's a Girl!

Well, I never did post the result of the poll - boy or girl?, or say what my prediction was, so here's the recap.
I did think it was going to be a girl - so the voting was even - 3 said boy, and counting me 3 said girl.
The ultrasound showed the baby to be developing well and everything looks like it should. He showed the face in 3D and it was so cute to watch the baby opening her mouth and kept sucking at her fist.
I am exactly halfway today - 20 weeks and that is exactly what the baby measures. The due date is September 1.
One reason I'm so excited about a girl is because she and Becca will be so close in age - 21 months apart, the same as Tom and Charlie. There is a bigger gap between Tom and Becca, 2 1/2 years.

Now the next thing we have to do is come up with a name. What are some girl names?

Happy Birthday to me

Yesterday was my birthday - number 32. We have a fun tradition we've started in our family - Jeremy started it last year on my birthday. He got the table cloth and party hats and balloons and set it up in the morning. Then he came in my room with the plastic princess tiara and wand and the boys told me that I was a princess. We went out the decorated table and had birthday cake for breakfast. The kids loved it so much that we did it on their birthdays. Now they think that it isn't a birthday unless you've had cake for breakfast. It's a fun way to start the day, but maybe not so nutritious. So this year I made muffins and then frosted them - to kids that is a cupcake - it looks like one, and it still has the most important part - the frosting.Becca joined in on the fun early and assumed her normal favorite spot on top of the table. The table cloth got rearranged a few times until I got her strapped in her high chair.
Charlie refused to smile - I can't remember why, but I do remember Jeremy asking him if he would smile and Charlie said "no".
The fun thing with doing cupcakes is that everyone gets one to blow out. Right after this picture was taken I put one cupcake in front of each of the kids so they could blow it out. I remember when I was a kid and my little brother Mike always had to blow out the candles, no matter whose birthday it was. So the candles would get lit one time for the birthday person and then re-lit for Mike to have a turn. This way - with cupcakes everyone gets a turn at the same time.
Becca loved the frosting. After she had licked it all off she wanted another cupcake.
The boys wanted to get me a dog for my birthday - they were sure that would be the best present ever. I assured them I did not want a dog. Jeremy was trying to appease the boys so he bought this birthday card that had a picture of a dog. Tom carried that card around all day.
This is Charlie's stuffed animal, Sasha (Charlie and Tom call him Tasha). Charlie decided that it was Sasha's birthday too and that Sasha was turning 6 years old. He made me give a cupcake for Sasha to blow out. Happy Birthday Sasha. ( If we were actually counting from when we got Sasha she is actually 9. I say she, because when Jeremy and I bought her at Costco I thought she was a girl bear and named her Sasha. When Charlie was two or three he took over on Sasha and called it a he and calls him Tasha. I still call it Sasha, which is a Russian name that is a boys name and a girls name. Poor Sasha, I hope he/she isn't too confused.)

Pigtails

My cousin, Jacy, watched Tom and Becca while I helped at Charlie's preschool today. When I went to pick them up she had done Becca's hair. Jacy has two girls and has had much practice at girl hair. I told Jacy I would be over every day to have her do Becca's hair. Actually I just need her to teach me a few tricks of the trade. Becca looks so cute with her hair up in pigtails.
These pigtails were much cuter before her nap, but Becca fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I wasn't able to get a picture until after her nap. The kids had a fun time playing at Jacy's house. They have a dog and rabbits and goats - everything for animal lovers like my kids. At some point I need to get an animal of some kind - I'm thinking rabbits. Tom held their bunny most of the time he was there and was very reluctant to give it up when we left. Even Becca wasn't afraid to touch. Most animals she loves from a distance, but if they get too close she gets scared.

Char at the park

Charlie - the master of the spinners.

Charlie loves to do this type of monkey bars. There are three wheels in a row and the angle of the wheel pulls him down to the next and to the last one. He will spend a half hour or more doing it again and again. I think he loves the challenge of trying to get all three spinners - he has a hard time getting the last one. It's fun to watch his determination and his persistence.

Charlie the firefighter

Charlie's preschool went to the fire station today to learn all about fire fighters.
In his own words, what they did:

"We got to go in the fire house and we got to go in the fire truck. We watched a movie that showed what fire fighters do. There was a man that showed us how fast he could put on his suit. We got fire fighter hats.
I liked everything about going there - it was fun."