Family Photos and I am a "didiot"

We had a BLAST having family photos done on Sunday! Here are a few. Chase, who really dreaded the entire thing became America's Next Top Model striking poses before being asked. Noel could occasionally be bribed to stay in the shot with gummies. I can't believe how grown up and handsome my two fun sons are.

I fully intended the photos to be the bulk of the blog today, but on the way home, out of the blue, Noel said, "I can't talk to you mom you're a diditot." As I was thinking to myself 'did he just call me an idiot', he repeated "you're a didiot, mom". After some gentle correction, I was informed that Little Foot (character on Land Before Time) says it all the time, but I have my doubts.

More Profound Wisdom from the 9 yr, old

We are in the thick of potty training at our house. This is version, oh, 4.0 at least. Noel is doing great this go round, peepeeing very consistently and 3 poopoos in the potty, thank you very much. He should be, the entire thing has been on his terms, but I digress.
The real motivator of late is the big boy underwear. This morning Chase was supervising as I was getting Noel dressed. When it was underwear time, Noel became ecstatic and began to dance and chant about his drawers. Chase turned to me and matter of factly observed, "Give a kid some big boy pants, and they think they rule the world."

Snowy Forecast

Well, the forecast is calling for snow-AGAIN. So, in honor of that I am posting some photos from Snowpocalypse 2011. Our week of snow was a lot of fun. However I am fairly certain Chase will lose his mind if they have to make up another day of school. His school decided to go on MLK day and he pitched such a fit, you'd have thought HE marched in Montgomery! He is all for a snow day, but totally does not get the concept that those days have to be made up.

Speaking of Chase, he did his vision therapy tonight without complaint and spoke of the times when he complained about it for hours on end as far in the past. We had such a great conversation together during the therapy that it brought tears to my eyes because he was talking to me so maturely. I am totally amazed he was in such a good mood considering today was "Red Day" at his school and in his words he was the "only person at his school who was not wearing red." Oh well, he was at school, dressed and on time so I don't plan to lose any sleep tonight.

A no good, very bad day (week, month)?

The plague swept through our house the past week and a half. It started with Chris having the flu, the mid-point was Chase contracting strep, and lastly I came down with the flu and then a secondary bacterial infection. As is usually the case, mom got it the worst and the longest. I was literally in bed from Tuesday through Friday, and still wasn't too hot the entire weekend.
It was a horrible feeling on top of feeling horrible. Noel, who thankfully escaped the germs, was constantly trying to sneak into the bedroom where I was. He is currently obsessed with all things dinosaur, including The Land Before Time, and at one point I could here the characters singing a song about missing their families. In a matter of minutes, Noelly is trying to sneak into my bed. Chris and to come get him and he sobbed and sobbed like his little heart was breaking, and, of course, so did I.
Now that I am on the road to recovery, I am having a really hard time getting back on track. So is the family. At least I hope that is our problem. I am not, by nature, a positive person. I have to make a concerted effort to see the glass as half full. I have, in my adulthood, just come to recognize this as my personality and I do make that concerted effort. I fear Chase has inherited some of the less desireable traits of my personality and this is one of them. One "off" thing, no matter how minor can throw him into a downward spiral.
Last night the thing was he had written the date as 1-32-11 on his paper. I told him this couldn't be correct as no month has more then 31 days. Who would think this minor, really cute, little error could lead to a major meltdown? It did complete with tears, threatening punishments, etc. It seems his teacher did not change their classroom calendar, and he just could not admit or accept his responsibility and change the date. Have a I mentioned he is strong-willed? Remember those less than desireable traits from me...
Once we FINALLY got past the fact the date was February 1st and it would indeed have to be changed on the paper, Chase proceeded to throw a full-blown pity party about everything he percieved to be wrong in his life, including but not limited to: his vision therapy (another post), homework, the brevity of his summer vacation, the fact we do not spend enough time together as a family, and him mom is the only one who works outside the home. Ultimately, the discussion and fallout was ended by bedtime and things were back to semi-normal this morning.
I will admit it did open a floodgate of guilt, emotion, and questions. I will also admit this is one of many similar incidents. Am I raising a brat? Should I quit my job and stay home? Is Chase's rotten attitude my fault somehow? Or, is it what Chris suggested, just a bad day?

A Tale of Two Beds

So, sometime in, say, mid-September, we finally took down Noel's crib. This was NOT a lightly made decision as Noel loved his crib and slept in it so well. But let's face it, the kid is huge and he had totally outgrown his crib. We pulled the molded firetruck bed out of the basement, Noel was thrilled, and the first few days went deceptively well. Then reality set in. The child would not stay in his bed. And we aren't talking sit in the floor and look at books or play with toys. We are talking constantly getting up and traipsing into the living room. If he heard us coming, he would sprint to his room and slam the door. This would go on until late into the night, way past when Chris and I would want to go to sleep.

Eventually, we just started letting him sleep with Chase, as I am a big believer in whatever works for everyone to get a good night's sleep. They both seemed happy as clams with the arrangement so we decided to invest in a set of bunk beds. Finally we were able to pick them up in early December, and to say the boys were excited is a total understatement. Even now, more than a month later they switch from top to bottom bunk until they finally settle down in one. Nevermind, the fact we chose a twin over full model thinking they would at least sleep downstairs if they chose to sleep together, they are always two peas in a pod.

I am not naieve enough to think this brotherly love will last, but for now it warms my heart.

Semi-Silent Saturday

My resolution is not off to a banging start. I had decided to at least try to post one blog a week which makes this one a day late. Today we finally transferred our Christmas photos from the camera to the computer so today's theme is: Christmas Retrospective.

Noel turned three! We had cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday, but his big party comes in May when we celebrate his adoption.

I am fairly certain Noel's favorite part of Christmas was the cookies. He had one in had constantly for approx. 4 days.

Chase was thrilled with most of his gifts this particular one was a new Wii game from Grandma and Papa.

Santa was good to the boys as usual bringing new bedding for their bunk beds, which were an early Christmas gift in a way. Noel asked Santa for Dinosaur toys and a big shark for the bathtub. Chase wanted Legos, a new DVD player for the van, and surprises. Santa came through. And the last and most exciting Christmas surprise was a white Christmas. It snowed all day, huge wet flakes. Our Christmas dinner turned into a Christmas lunch so my brother could and Chris' family could come and go safely.

Semi Wordless Wednesday

Given this is the third snow day in a row, I had to do a little extra thinking about what day it was. This will be my first attempt at uploading a video to the blog. It is a little long, but if you hang on until the end you will see some totally sweet dance moves by one Noel Lammers at the end. This is our Gingerbread House attempt a few days before Christmas. You will have to follow the link because blogger would NOT let me upload here ; (
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=580905479112&saved