Bathtime

 Who doesn't love a bubble bath?

Nicholas and Joey were having a grand time taking a bubble bath together.

A funny story about this bath.  I was getting ready to leave and go have dinner with some friends. So, after I took these pictures I headed for the door.  Matthew came running out and said that Joey started giggling in the bathtub and gave Nicholas a mischevious grin.  I guess right at that moment, he pooped in the tub!

Nicholas jumped out of the tub quickly and jumped into the shower leaving Joey in the tub(no worries..Darryl was right there).  So, upon hearing this from Matthew I ran out of the house into the car pretending I didn't know..lol...  I know...not the proudest mommy moment, but so funny!

I called Darryl a couple of minutes later and he informed me he was cleaning the tub.  He also said he's never seen someone with sausage toes(my feet are really swollen from the pregnancy) move so fast!

I thought it was hilarious!

Things I never would have thought...

I never would have thought that if you run out of soap, instead of getting another bar of soap to wash your body, your Toms of Maine deodorant can take it's place.

While I was cleaning the boys bathroom last week, I noticed they had no soap in the shower.  So, I asked them why they had no soap.  They both replied they just hadn't gotten a new one and were using their deodorant to wash their bodies(and I'm guessing their hair since I noticed they were out of shampoo as well).
I  never would have guessed that this was something I had to check on...
Crazy, I know.....

Nicholas and Matthew's birthday continued...

Nicholas and Matthew's 10th Birthday Party

The boys turned 10 a couple of weeks ago...ugghh..the time goes by way too fast.  I really wanted to make their birthday special this year, being that they turned double digits and all...

So, we had a spy themed birthday party!

We invited some of their friends to come and join us and had 9 boys celebrating with us and 4 spend the night. 

First, the boys had to get a code name for their spy adventures.  I had two bags with different names and they each picked a name from each bag.

Matthew picked Black Rattler

Nicholas was Slick Lightning

They all loved their names and I made name tags that had their real name, code name and special spy skill-

Then we headed outside for a spy themed scavenger hunt.

Of course, spy training wouldn't be complete without disguises...

The scavenger hunt was a challenge for the boys and I separated them into two teams.  There were prizes for both teams.  First place got a box of candy, a huge magnifying glass and a spy fingerprint kit.  Second place got the box of candy and spy kit.

The boys exclaimed this was the best birthday party ever~

We then played an observation game.  I took random objects and set them on the table.  I then had the boys close their eyes and I would take objects away and they had to write down what I took away.  We did it elimination style-I started with one object and progressively moved to more objects..it was hard!

Slick Lightning...

Black Rattler...

Even Peanut had a good time!

We played a couple more games and then had a taco bar for dinner and then ice cream sundaes for dessert(the boys don't like cake).  We had every topping imaginable and the boys all had their fill!

We then watched Spy Kids-the movie...

It was a great party and the boys all had a great time!

Happy 10th Birthday my sweet boys!

Superheros and a test in mama's attention span...

The boys have gained an interest(really an obsession) in superheros lately.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that for the last two days, I have listened to HOURS upon HOURS of superhero talk.  Superheros they want to be, Superheros they like, Superheros that do cool things, etc.  Nicholas wants to be like Spiderman and has for two days tried to figure out how to make himself like him.  He has pondered and talked with me about how he can make the costume and Spidey hands.  He has talked so much about it his throat is sore.  He keeps asking me if he's boring me, and of course, I say no.  Superheros are definitely not my thing.  And to be honest,  I don't even have the slightest interest in Superheros.  But, I am intersested in my sons and I love seeing the joy in their faces as they try and figure out how to make costumes for themselves.  Today, they want to be a new Superhero and rescue and save people.  And today, I've listened as well.  Nicholas has even followed me around the house as I do lesson plans and asked me specifically if he could still talk with me about Superheros.  I find that so charming and cute!  Of course, I'll listen with open ears and an attentive face because I know that listening today, he will want to talk with me in the future as well.  I hope to always have an open dialogue and hope he knows he can always share his dreams(no matter how far fetched) they are and I will be there..listening and enjoying my time with my son...

Big brother, little brother...

Love.

Blessed

                       Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
                                                                   Psalm 127:3

Is there anything better?

Is there anything sweeter than flowers picked for mama from sweet little boys?

Webkinz obsession continues...

A trip to the local Cracker Barrel wouldn't be complete without visiting the Webkinz.  Nicholas said he was bringing every one of these puppies home and Matthew was in love with the shark.  Well, we ate our meal and left saying that we weren't going to purchase any Webkinz but it's something the boys could ask for Christmas.  Matthew was in tears saying he kissed the shark and he was scared he was lonely.  They discussed if they wanted to spend their money on buying them since we weren't going too...

Well, we got down the road a bit and Matthew was still crying and crying for shark because he was so lonely in the store without Matthew so they decided they wanted to buy them with their money.  So, we turned back around to the store and Matthew bought shark, aka Sharky and Nicholas bought TWO puppies..he says they are twins named Muddy and Mucky...

My boys...

Cuddliest kid in America...

I told you he was the cuddliest kid in America. Yes, I might be a bit biased...but he's mine and he's soooo cuddly. He tricks me into laying down with him so that I'll fall asleep in his bed(really both the boys are guilty of this) they try and trick Darryl too. With their sweet cheeks, warm bodies, kisses and hugs..they both even love to play with my hair...
Yes, I fell asleep...I can't help it...

Just Because....

Because I'm often taking pictures of them sleeping...because they look so precious...because I love them...



Matthew...aka..Angel face...aka...my baby doll...

Nicholas..aka..Nini-ba-nini...aka...Cuddliest kid in America(we even have a song we made up about him being so cuddly-he secretly loves it!!)

Webkinz

My boys love Webkinz! I guess it's the age but they talk about Webkinz constantly. And what is so sweet is that they buy each other Webkinz with their allowance money. Nicholas got in a bit of trouble a couple of weeks ago and had to stay home with me while Daddy and Matthew went to a fun event. Well, Matthew felt so bad, he asked his Daddy to stop at the store and bought Nicholas a Webkinz. It was so sweet to see that brotherly love(my sister and I would have NEVER done that-which I guess is sad in it's own right but that's a different post). So, now Nicholas wants to buy Matthew the brand new German Shepard Webkinz. It's really hard to find and every night he's asked Darryl or me to look on the computer to try and find it for his brother...it's so sweet.
At night they set up their Webkinz in different configurations. Sometimes they are in a fort camping, sometimes in a pyramid, sometimes cuddled in bed with the boys.
Here they are on the floor in blankets(because it's cold of course!) watching over the boys while they sleep.

And here is just a bonus picture of my sweet Nicholas with my Koala bear from childhood and his much loved Bear. Can you ever get enough of children and babies sleeping? I think not!

Crisis averted...

For now...
Nicholas just told me Bear is in his backpack that he's bringing to his friend's house...I knew he couldn't leave Bear...

We have reached a sad milestone...

Nicholas and Matthew are spending the night at a friend's house tonight because I'm having surgery in the morning. Well, Nicholas doesn't want to bring Bear. Bear is his teddy bear from babyhood and he is missing most of his hair and has bandages all over because his stuffing is coming out. So, I just heard Nicholas tell Bear he couldn't come tonight because he was scared his friend would make fun of Bear and he didn't want to be embarrassed. I know Nicholas is really concerned with his *image* but that makes me sad that he wouldn't bring his most beloved possession, just because he was scared of being made fun of by others. What do I say to that? I want him to be strong enough to not care what others think, especially at the expense of a *family member*. I know that he is struggling with this... I hope that he will reconsider...I'll keep you updated...

Piano Recital

The boys winter piano recital was this past Saturday. It was a combined recital with three other teachers so there were alot of students. Matthew was nervous but was o.k. Nicholas was not. This is him in the picture below. He was so nervous he couldn't get up there at first. The boys were supposed to do a solo and a duet. Well, Matthew did his solo and Nicholas couldn't do it. At first, I'll be honest, I didn't have any compassion for him. He could get up there and be silly but not do a performance? But, then I started to realize he genuinely was petrified. We finally convinced him to perform after he saw everyone else perform. They were ending the program and he went up to the teacher and asked if he could play. He raced through the performance and left the stage in tears running for me, I started to get teary for him. He grabbed me so hard and cried and cried. I really think this was really hard for him but we expressed how impressed we were that he overcame his fear and do this. He was really brave. Little Nini...I just love him..


Here he is with that petrified look on his face looking out at all the people behind us...
Here he is playing his song.
This is Nicholas again..if you look close you can see him starting to well up. I felt so sad for him but I was so proud of him that he did it.
Here is Matthew playing his solo...he did a great job as well.

A New Obsession

The boys are really into skateboarding right now(and of course baseball) but they are constantly on them lately. They look so cute!

Apparantly, I still mix the boys up. Nicholas is sleeping in my bed, not Matthew.