Trying to be as cool as Dad.

I loved being away, it was exactly what I needed. Travis loved being with the boys, it was exactly what the 4 of them needed. Now that I'm home again and we are back to our "normal" routine it's hard. If I hear one more time, "that's not the way Dad did it", "Dad didn't make the eggs like that", or "Dad let us do it another way" I may have to scream. In an effort to start fresh, I decided today was outside day. As much as possible is going to be done in the backyard! The older 2 have set up a "house" with the blanket, animals, and some favorite books. Maddox went straight for the dirt. My thought is... I do the laundry, I'm going to be doing the baths, what's the big deal.

Home, and almost normal.

I've got the 3rd load of laundry in the dryer, Maddox down for a nap, the boys comfy on the couch with a movie, and am almost unpacked. I figure, it shouldn't be much longer before the house is back to normal.
Now, if I could get my dog normal... Tallie seems to have somehow gotten an injury while I've been away. Her tail is limp. When I touch the base of it she whimpers and yelps. Thankfully I was able to make an appointment with the vet for this afternoon. Hopefully it's nothing, but with our luck, that's probably not the case. When I was talking to Travis earlier today he said he had read about "limp tail" after cold baths. He gave her a bath with the hose yesterday afternoon after she dug in the freshly spread mulch, we are hoping that's all it is. (Usually she's the pampered pet and gets baths with wam water in the tub.)

The things I learned today... (Part 2)

Look! I think that's Mommy coming to see me!

Not quite, but ALMOST!!

T-2.5 hours until Sheri arrives at the STL airport. I have had more fun than originally planned with my boys, and I got more accomplished than I thought I would. Plus, I can tell Sheri had the time of her life, because I only got 3 phone calls the entire time she was gone. Usually I get more than 3 phone calls a day, so I figure it's "Mission Accomplished" all the way around.

As for the things I learned over the 2nd half of the vacation:

1) It is still possible to have fun on rainy days. We colored, put puzzles together, watched a movie with ice cream, played Xbox, made Mommy a "Welcome Home" sign, etc. You just have to use your imagination.

2) When Mommy's not around, Maddox is a snuggle-bug!! I loved every minute of this. I know Sheri tires of endlessly picking Maddox up whenever he wants, but it's been 4 days now and I've not tired of it yet; and mostly due to the newness, there isn't any end in sight!!

3) If you plan ahead, church on Sunday is possible. I got the diaper bag and the outfits together the night before. But Sunday morning, I still had to get myself and all 3 children fed, showered, dressed, one down for a nap, the kitchen cleaned up, and still be at church an hour early to open the building and set up for the service. It's still a bit of a blur, but I now know what Sheri means when she says, "I feel like I was wearing my Supergirl cape today!" (Except, I don't cross-dress.)

4) I need to clone my wife! Hey, we back up things that are important to us, our mp3's, pictures, data, we even build a financial "safety net". I think having a Sheri backup is just smart planning. I survived this weekend, but only because there was an end in sight. Don't get me wrong-- I'd do this again in a heartbeat, but I would not enjoy doing this on a full time basis. I don't mind helping around the house, but I loathe doing it alone.

The things I learned today...

Usually, people wait until after an event to pause and reflect on the things learned. However, 1 man going it alone with 2 dogs and 3 boys for 4 days can learn a lot even 1/2 way thru. Here is just a sampling of what I've learned so far.

1) It takes roughly 30 minutes sans mom for the word, penis, to be uttered in conversation. After dropping Sheri off at the airport, we didn't get back to the house until 5:30pm. So, we "called an audible" and decided to take advantage of Cecil Witticars Tues & Thurs pizza special. It was during this meal that Nelson declares, "Dad, wouldn't it be funny if God made boys without penises?" Perhaps it's the 6 years of parenting that helped me keep pop from going up my nose and reply with a straight face, "He already does, we call them girls."

2) Taking the kids to Grant's Farm does not help the headache you woke up with. Neither does the 2 free Bacardi's you had while there. Enough said on that one.

3) When kids are entertained, they forget about eating a snack. Kids who don't get a snack eat as much as men. Probably due to my headache, I got carried away with the peanut butter and ended up with 7 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me and the boys. I added 2 ziplock bags of chips, and drinks for the kids. I came home with a hand full of chip crumbs. Maddox ate 1 entire sandwich, and countless chips. Cooper, Nelson, and myself each had 2 sandwiches and the rest of the chips, along with the beverages.

4) A magical ingredient can make naps longer. No, I'm not talking Benedryl, or some other sedative, I'm talking the magical ingredient of Mommy and Daddy's bed. Maddox fell asleep before we left the Grant's Farm parking lot at 12:15. I was still struggling with my headache when we got home 45 minutes later and Maddox thought he was finished resting. So, I put in a movie for the older 2 boys, and hopped in bed with Maddox. He woke me at 4pm saying, "Na" (snack) and, "mmph" (milk/drink).

Now with my headache gone and Maddox fully energized, we should be able to have fun with Xbox after dinner.

If this is vacation, send me back to work!!

I love my wife, but I was looking forward to having her gone. I couldn't wait to spend Thursday night, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and all day Monday with my boys. We were going to wrestle, go to Grant's Farm, have a picnic, play outside, play Xbox, watch a movie, laugh at fake fart noises, etc, etc. But most of all, I was looking forward to dropping my honey-do-list, and finally knock some stuff off MY to-do list.

Then, I remembered, oh wait. All that free time I thought I had would now be spent making breakfast, cleaning up breakfast, making lunch, cleaning up lunch, making dinner, cleaning up dinner, and that's just the must-do, survival-mode stuff. I'm hoping to convince my wife that nothing says welcome home like a laundry room full of clothes, but I can pretty much guess that it will go over like a lead balloon. Considering the condition of the house after just one day, I figure my best bet is to apologize early, apologize often, and proudly declare that all 3 of her children are not only alive, but all in one piece!

So, how did my "vacation" day go? Well, I'm glad to say that I did it. On my vacation day, I not only did the above, but I also showered... twice. And as any stay-at-home mom can attest, one shower alone makes a day successful. But I also mowed the lawn, cleaned out the inside of the van, (finding my phone charger, and a small order of french fries in the process) shoveled and moved 20 wheelbarrows full of mulch around our yard filling in holes so I don't roll my ankle again, put Maddox down for 2 naps, took pictures of it all, introduced Nelson to worms, kept the boys so busy that they only fought once, gave myself and Cooper a slight sunburn, ran errands to Lowe's and Target, watched a movie with the boys, ate ice cream, and put them to bed.

I'm sore.

I'm also going to bed early. Grant's Farm is on the agenda tomorrow, and then I'll have to clean the mud off the kitchen floor from 4 boys playing in mulch all day. So I'm going to bed, but I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of the boys, touting their new haircuts and helping daddy today.

God, Superman, and a little boy

Today, I learned just how different a Father-Son relationship is from it's Mother-Son counterpart. Hopefully, Cooper learned about his inner "Clark Kent."

I received a call at work, detailing Coop-dill's heartbreaking 2nd to last day of school, how he got off the bus, broke out in tears, and spilled his heart to his mom about all the mean things that his best friend said to him that day. But when I get home, Cooper says nothing about his day. When I pointedly ask, he non-chalantly says, "Harley' was mean to me today." Knowing the back-story from Sheri, I comfortingly asked him to tell me about it.

His 1 sentence reply made me realize that I parent a man in little boy shoes. His school was my work, and just like every other man, we talk about work while at work. We don't like talking about work at home. Is this innate? Can this behavior be learned so young? And how about the stark contrast in conversation between a son to his father vs. the same to his mother?

Hoping to equip my son with the training necessary to keep his self-esteem aloft despite the barage of piercing verbal missiles, I wrestle with the difficulty of breaking this concept into something a 6 year old little man can comprehend.

I paused a moment, and asked him if he thought Superman's outfit was cool. With bright eyes, he gave me a resounding, "YEAH!" Then, I asked him if Clark Kent was cool. Now it was his turn to ponder, and after a moment, he finally came to his own conclusion that if Superman was cool, and Clark Kent is Superman, therefore Clark Kent must be cool too!

That's when I told him, "Cooper, the Bible tells us that people look at the outside, but God looks at the heart. Clark Kent is cool, because he's really Superman on the inside, whether he is wearing his Superman outifit, or his Clark Kent suit. The same is true for you. You are cool, because of who you are on the inside, not because of the clothes you wear."

May we all take a lesson from God, Superman, and a little boy, and not only find, but hold on to our inner Clark Kent...

...Up, Up, and Away!!

My poor Cooper.

He has grown and changed so much this past year!!! I can't believe tomorrow is his last day of kindergarten and that he will then be a big 1st grader. He has loved school, struggled thru subjects, but stayed a happy kid. 2 things never changed this year, his love for the bus and his love for "Harley" the cool kid in his class.
Both of those things changed today, he got off the bus, and before he was up the driveway I saw the huge tears rolling down his face. I did what any mom would do, I pulled him onto my lap, wrapped my arms around him, and we sat in the middle of the driveway while he cried into my shoulder.
He finally calmed down and told me that "Harley" was no longer his bestest friend. (Travis and I have struggled with this "friendship" all year, we don't really like what this kid says or does and what Cooper says or does after time with him) Secretly I was doing a dance of joy over this news, one less nussance! However, I was also crushed for Cooper, he really thinks this kid is his best friend! Sometime today "Harley" told Cooper he wasn't cool enough to be his friend. "Harley" had a long list of what was wrong with Cooper: He had a silly name (Harley's real name isn't conventional by any means), his hair wasn't right, he didn't wear the right clothes, his shoes looked dumb... The list went on and on. Poor Cooper remembered it all.
After that story he told me he was never riding the bus again. A kid from the neighborhood, who he sat with everyday told him that "Harley" told him not to sit with Cooper anymore. Cooper is now convinced his only friends are his cousins who live in Chicago. He would like to live there this summer and go to school with them next year. His reasoning, they tell him he's cool and they don't have to ever ride a bus.
I'm thinking the reason this bothers me so much is not becasue my son had his feelings hurt; that's part of life. It's almost expected. It bothers me becasue I know EXACTLY how he feels. All through school (grade school, junior high, high school, and college) I always felt like I was on the fringe. Not a complete outcast but not part of the inner circle either. I know what it's like to over hear parties being planned and not be included, to hear about weekend plans but never get the covetted invite, and to hear about fantastic summer excursions just to be left out.
I'm all of a sudden very thankful tomorrow is the last day of school! I can't wait to just enjoy our summer.

Pre-K graduation in pictures

The promised pictures.

The token Mother's Day picture a week late. I always think I look like my mom, then I realize it's all an illusion... I'm 2-3 Xs the size of my mom, at least when pregnant!
All of the cousins that were able to make it to St. Louis for Layna's party. (Eric, I want to hear all about the interview in OH.) Nelson, Sophie, Maddox, Cooper, Layna, and Ryne

To those of you who are wondering... Yes, Maddox and Layna are roughly the same size.

Clint's way of dealing with family parties, 32 oz of beer. I like the way he thinks...

Big Weekend, give way to big day...

My parents came in on Thursday night, to surprise me! They weren't supposed to be in until Friday afternoon. You don't know how happy I am that I cleaned on Thursday!!! Friday was spent running around and entertaining Layna while her parents prepared for her 1st birthday on Saturday.
Saturday we took my parents to look at a house... More on that later, we are still talking, processing, and praying.
The party was Saturday afternoon and evening! Talk about fun!!! Karl and Jenna sure know how to throw a party. The food was amazing, Sheila and her family drove down, and the neighbors showed up! The neighbors aren't a big deal until they pulled out the nacho machine!!!! YUMMO.
Sunday we had church, gyros (from the new Chicago Taste restaurant), naps, and then Travis and I had an AMAZING date. We went for Thia food and then to see the final showing of Jersey Boys. It was great!!!! I loved the music, the time out, and the fact that my parents were so willing to watch all 3 boys for us!!!
Today, ah, big day... Nelson graduates from pre-K. My parents are going to graduation with us and then heading back north. (The good news is, I get to see them again in 3 weeks for Nelson's birhtday party) Thursday afternoon I will be the mom of a Kindergartener and a 1st grader!
There are tons of pictures from this weekend, they will be posted this afternoon and tomorrow, I have to sort thru them.

No more denial...

There is a baby coming in less than 4 months whether we are ready or not. I've been putting off getting the room ready, getting the clothes organized, and just general baby stuff for quite a while. I realized this past weekend, this is about the time that I went on bedrest with Maddox for 2 months. After a few strong contractions last night we decided it was time to come back to reality and start planning for this baby. Tonight Travis and I are meeting at Babies R Us to just wander (without kids because Caroline is the best last-minute babysitter around!) and see what we "need" before this one comes. I did go to the cosignment shop today and pick up a new baby monitor since our boys managed to break the last one. I also took the changing pad and diaper pail out of the room and cleaned them. (No, Maddox isn't potty trained or anywhere near it! We don't use the pad anymore, we just change him on his bed). Their room looks like a real "big boy" room. No more baby stuff... It was kind of bitter sweet. I also started looking at "coming home" outfits. If it's a boy, we have plenty, if it turns out to be a girl... YIKES, I've got nothing!!!!
*Sheila, you may have to come down with Mom in August. You know what I'm growing and I know you've been shopping.

Mommy's little helper.

Maddox managed to do all of this "help" before 8AM this morning... I can't wait until he really is a help, I won't know what to do with all my free time.

We are trying to teach Maddox to clean up after himself. He really enjoys wiping things. He purposely spilled the dogs' water bowl this morning, grabbed the kitchen towel and started wiping up the mess. He then tried to rehang the towel and gave himself a handclap.

Maddox thinks it's necessary to sit on the table. Maybe he thinks otherwise it will float away. He found my pen and pad of paper and was helping me with my grocery list for the week.

Happy Mother's Day!

Sunday was our new pastor's first Sunday at our church. We had a welcome/Mother's Day lunch immediately after the service. I was so grateful for Travis! He assembled the entire luch so that I wouldn't have to be in the kitchen at all. (Usually chuch lunches are my "job") After lunch and clean up (which all the men did) we came home for naps. I slept almost 2 hrs, it was great! I woke up to Travis and the boys cleaning the family room and putting laundry away. All the boys (including Travis) then took me out to dinner at O'Charleys. I had ribs and steak, they were amazing!!!! We came home, put the boys to bed. and our friends came over for X-box/visiting time. We had french silk pie, made fun of the boys lack of shooting skill while playing Ghost Recon and called it a night.
The Gifts... I know you want to hear about those. The boys each made me a coffee mug in Sunday School. They took white mugs and put stickers all over them, I drank coffee out of them all day yesterday. The boys also gave me my final baby charm for my necklace. I had to laugh when I oppened it... It was an August baby (We are due Sept 2) and it was a girl. Cooper told Travis they had to get the girl one because they don't have a baby sister yet. He thinks if we buy girl things it will make the baby a girl... I guess he's going to have to wait another 16 weeks to find out if his theory is right. Travis got me tickets to see the final showing of Jersey Boys next Sunday night. He even arranged babysitting for the boys! All I have to do is get dressed up and decide where we are going to dinner before the show. I'm very excited that he planned the enitre date, leaving no detail hanging.

Cooper and Nelson giving me a Mother's Day hug. I had countless hugs from them and loved all of them!!!!

Maddox and Daddy enjoying their Mother's Day dinner. We discovered shortly after I took this picture that Maddox doesn't like drinking out of his sippy cup when the other boys have straws. He kept trying to trade cups with them. Now we'll have to get him a "big boy" drink when we go out and leave the sippy cups for home and in the car.

Family Day at the Park

In an effort to spend more time together and try to compensate/balance the extra time we have been giving to the church the last 7 months, we have declared Sundays Ferris Family Day! After church (and the all important nap) we will do a family activity until bedtime. This past Sunday, the weather was beautiful, we decided to pack a picnic and go to the neighborhood park. Cooper enjoyed using is Heely shoes and skating after Travis, who was on his rollerblades for the first time in almost 8 yrs. Nelson just enjoyed jumping around and chasing after Travis and Cooper. Maddox managed to inturrupt every basketball game that neighborhood kids had going on by going up to them and pointing and saying "ball, ball, ball". (Some of the poeple were even nice enough to stop their games and give him the ball for a while.) I didn't get pictures of the rollerblading and bouncing around, because I was too busy anticipating and worrying about injuries and Sunday evening trips to the ER. I did get pictures of all the fun after dinner.

Maddox is fearless! He climbed all the steps up and went down this slide without a second thought!

The older boys discovered the excitement of trees! We had a really hard time getting them out to go home.

Maddox enjoying the grapes (the only part of dinner that he ate).