Mistaken Identity?

Here is a precious conversation I had with Jonathan the other day:
Jonathan: "When I get bigger I want to be a mommy like you!"
(yes...this is one of those oh so precious moments that sustains us for a long time through the not so precious moments)
Me: "Only Girls can be mommies and boys can be daddies. So when you grow up you will be a daddy like dad!"
Jonathan turns to Trent and says excitedly: "I can be a daddy like you when I grow up!"

I was thinking this was the end of this precious conversation until the next day, when things take a little twisty turn:

Jonathan: "When I grow up I want to be a mommy like you!"
Me: "Remember Jonathan...only girls can be mommy's and boys can be daddy's."
Jonathan: "When I grow up, I want to be a girl!"

Uh oh...That conversation didn't go as well as it should have. He proudly tells every person that we run across that when he grows up he wants to be a girl. Needless to say...we get some weird looks.

The other day he said, "When I grow up, I want to be black!"
Not sure where that came from, but this little guy sure keeps me on my toes!

Yummy Sweet-tarts

Trent loves Sweet-tarts. Santa brought Trent a bunch of those tasty morsels for Christmas. Trent was laying in bed, and Jonathan was sitting next to him on the bed feeding Trent some sweet-tarts. Jonathan loves doing things like that for Trent. Trent will usually make lots of funny noises indicating just how much he loves whatever Jonathan is feeding him, and Jonathan will laugh and laugh.

I went back in the bedroom to get something while Jonathan was feeding Trent those Sweet Tarts, and all of a sudden, Trent makes this noise and spits something pink out of his mouth and starts making wierd sounds, like he is thoroughly distgusted or something. Jonathan on the other hand is just tickled with himself and is giggling and giggling. I finally pick up what it was that Trent had spit out of his mouth, and realized that Jonathan had gotten into my drawer next to my bed and pulled out one of my pink earplugs that I wear at night, and fed it to Trent. Ewwwwwww! Nothing like getting a big ole dose of yummy earwax, and to top it off...it is not even your Own earwax. Jonathan knew exactly what he was doing, and was loving every...single...second of it. What a hoot. I think we are in for quite the ride with this kid. Only 2 and pulling off a really good practical joke. Way to go Jonathan!

Hey kid!

Jonathan has started something new, and I think it is to just drive Nathan crazy.
He'll say/yell to Nathan:
"Hey Kid! What's your name?"

It is really funny. We all know that he knows Nathan's name, but he just will do it over and over through-out the day. What a crack up. In fact, he use to always call Nathan "Nay-Nay" which was absolutely adorable. But now he calls him "Nay-fen" Too cute. I sure love my boys.

Eeeewwww Stinker!

As Jonathan and I are in the shampoo aisle of Walmart, my toddler says (yells) to me:
"Eeewwww...Mama...stinker!" "Mama STINK-er.....Eeeeewwwwww!" "stinky mama!" Over and Over again he is chanting this down the aisles. Huh...wish I would have actually let a big ole stinker so I could at least bask in the pride of such praise!

As we got to the front to pay, he changed his chant (thank goodness!) to:
"Need choc-o-late mama pleeeeeeeease" over and over. Now that's my boy!

I "heart" Garage Sales

I have never been much of a garage saler type of gal. I have seen many "professional" garage salers in my neighborhood. I have always wondered what makes them get up early every Friday morning to go and scrounge the neighborhoods for sales so they can dig through someone's "junk" (the really serious ones check the newspaper beforehand!). Well my friends, I am not quite the "professional" garage saler, but my oponions have changed. My friend Robin has introduced me to this secret world of goodness and delight. There is nothing quite as thrilling as going to a garage sale and finding a kid treasure that is only 25 cents. "You'll sell me the whole bin of hot wheels cars for 5 bucks?" You bet. "Every book is only 50 cents each?" Hook me up! "My goodness...kids clothes for a quarter each?" Back my car up and I'll buy the whole table. Wow...I am no longer blind....for now I see. Garage Sales are a gift from heaven. I hit the jackpot one day last week and now Jonathan's (and part of Nathans) christmas is complete...all for under 20 bucks. I am feeling the garage sale love people. Here is a video of one of my purchases. I've already gotten my money's worth out of it. Five bucks for endless hours of entertainment? Priceless people...absolutely priceless!

Just Fortin around

Trent and Jonathan having some "fort" time. This is their version of building forts. Trent would tell Jonathan stories in the fort, and every now and then Jonathan would poke his head out to tell me what they were talking about. It is a very exciting time I tell ya. It is just so cute to watch.

Matchy Match

A few years ago, Trent and I were able to go on a cruise to Hawaii! We had a great time, even though I was 3 months pregnant, and still pretty nauseous! We saw these outfits and fell in love with them. Of course, everything seems like a good idea when you're on vacation right? We have never had the "opportunity" to wear them until recently. Trent's friend was having a big 30th birthday Hawaiian Luau, with a DJ, dinner and everything. Huh...I didn't know that people did cool stuff like that unless you have been married 50 years or something.

So...here is the perfect opportunity to don our Hawaiian apparel. We were feeling so festive in our outfits. As we arrived, people started making comments to us. "Cute...you guys match". "Hey, you guys are matching", "You both have the same Hawaiian print on....cool." "Where'd you find matching outfits?" And so on...and so on...and so on. It was then that I realized that I had turned into one of "those" married couples. Ya know...the ones that wear matching shirts, and outfits? The ones that I swore I would never become. How did this happen without even realizing that it is not cool to be matchy matchy? I guess 15 years of marriage clouds your "coolness"....besides...who cares anyways? As much as I love our outfits, I think we will refrain from wearing them at the same time from now on. :)

Nathan's wedding day

Anytime we attend a wedding reception, Nathan cracks me up. He just makes himself at home hitting all the food tables. That kid LOVES going to those things...especially when they have a chocolate fountain...jackpot! The groom at this reception wanted to sing to his new bride. The dad joked that his son didn't have that good of a voice, but it came from the heart. He sang the song by George Strait, "Cross my Heart". Very sweet. In the middle of it, Nathan leans over to me and says...
"Man...he's not very good"
Me: "That doesn't really matter, it is very sweet that he is singing to her. Just think...on your wedding day, you can sing to your wife."
Nathan: "I am NOT going to do that"
Me: "Yes you will, and your new wife will LOVE it!. It'd be so sweet"
Nathan: "I'm totally not doing that" rolling his eyes, and feeling disgusted. Girls still have cooties don't ya know? :)
Me: "We'll see. It would sure be sweet"
Nathan: "Well..I'm singing "Eye of the Tiger" then." He busts into the song with gusto...'risin up...back on the streets...did my time...took my chances....'

What can I say? He's 9. Serenading his new bride with with the Rocky theme song? Why not.

My New Career

While we were driving in the car, Nathan asked me if I could have any career in the world what would it be. I first said, "Being a stay home mom, that's the best job in the world" (What can I say?, I was feeling all warm and fuzzy, the kids were pretty good today)

Nathan then said that the best job for me would be one that is from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. (We joke all the time that I am a day person. Not a night or an early morning person...but a day person. My best hours are from 10:00am -1:00pm...after that it is all down hill...heh heh)

Then he had an idea that he was tickled about. He said, "Mom...I got it...your perfect career would be taking naps!" (that immediately got my undivided attention) "You could be a bed tester and take naps on them" (That's my boy) "And then Jonathan could be a crib tester, and he could nap when you nap"

I never thought I would find a perfect career, but I have to admit, that would pretty much be THE perfect career. Getting to take naps everyday....AND getting paid for doing it. My kid is so stinkin smart. So if you see me in your local home department store, and I am snoozing and drooling all over the bed...don't disturb me...I'm working.

Care for a shovel anyone?

I love watching toddlers in their whole discovery process. Every day they are learning something new and experiencing new things. Jonathan has recently learned something that he is utterly and completely fascinated with. It is rare that you don't see him fine tuning this new skill. I think from his personality he is very detail oriented, because once he learns something, he practices it over and over and over again. What is this new skill? What is my brilliant toddler doing these days to delight us? This picture speaks for itself.
Yeah...ain't he brilliant? I swear he is a stinkin genius. At least he lovingly brings each nasty gooey booger to me instead of eating them. That has to be a sign of brilliant-ness right? Care for a shovel anyone? The Digging for gold has begun.
A picture with his cousin Shayla...the finger rarely strays from the nostril these days.

Utah or bust

I...am...outta here! Well at least Jonathan and I are. I am heading to Utah for a family reunion. It should be fun since I haven't seen some of these cousins since I was in middle school. They are hilarious. So...you all hold tight for a week or so and I'll catch ya later!

Care to dust anyone?

My friend was over a while back and we were sitting in the living room talking. She was telling me of this wonderful place that she likes to go. She was describing where it was at, but I just could not wrap my brain around it. I am so geographically challenged. So she leans forward, puts her finger on my coffee table and begins to trace out the directions.....in the layer of dust. As she is talking, I am thinking to myself, "Man...how did there get that much dust on my table? And when is the last time I dusted? A few days?....no...A week? Possibly a couple of weeks? I can not even remember the last time I dusted". She keeps drawing, and drawing a pretty detailed map. I can see it perfectly because my table is dark, and there is so much....dust! Wow...that is embarrassing. She finishes her sketch, and we keep talking as if nothing happened.

After she left, did I immediately go and dust that table? No. I thought about it a lot though...does that count? I did learn a few things though. 1.) I have a cool friend who didn't even bat an eye at the thick layer of dust on the table and 2.) If I know that someone is coming over, just swipe a little cloth over that one table to freshen up the room a little and make it look as if I am the Happy Homemaker. :)

Drama

Every morning on the way out the door to the school bus, Nathan gives us a hug. Well...we lovingly make him give us a hug. As he was giving me his hug he says,
"Now I pause........for dramatic effect"
Huh...I thought I had to have girls to get the "drama". Guess I was wrong. At least we don't have to endure the whole menstrating thing. Phew...dodged that emotional bullet. I barely survived all my sisters. I love having boys.

The poet

On Sunday, in primary (age 3-12 which I am the pianist for...LOVE this calling...I absolutley love being able to show up for church not having to prepare for anything and just being able to sit behind the piano and listen to the kids sing...it is the BEST!), the kids were asked to write a poem about mothers, and then asked for volunteers to read them. Of course Nathan was ecstatic to share his. Here it is:

Awesome Cook
Super Woman
Loves Me
Drives me
WICKED Awesome

He put a lot of emphasis on shouting the "Wicked" part. All the leaders got a good chuckle out of that one. (Speaking of Wicked...have any of you seen the Broadway musical Wicked? It is coming back here. If not...you should...I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!)

Ding Dong Doorbell WHAT?

Last night we thought it would be fun to leave a treat at my friends house. She introduced me to a new heavenly treat...Mini Cadberry milk chocolate Eggs. Oh my heavenly goodness! She mentioned how we could buy some and split the bag. I bought the bag a few days ago and continued to eat one every time I passed the bag before I had the chance to give her, her half. Oops...only a few left. So, instead of just giving it to her, we decided to Ding Dong Doorbell Ditch. Nathan was ECSTATIC!! He could hardly contain his excitement at doing such a crazy thing. The poor kid...guess his life is pretty boring. It was great fun as he rang the doorbell, jumped off the rock wall thingie, and into our van as we sped away. Good times. Gooood times.

I have never been very good at those little diddy's like, "What would a woodchuck, chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood" type of things. So in my effort to say Ding Dong Doorbell Ditch in my excited state, I mispoke one of the words.

Let's do a Ding Dong Doorbell B*****. Oops. Big difference between Ditch and B****. :) Dull moments around here? Never!

Childhood Ruined?

Conversation with Nathan tonight
"Hey Nathan, could you please take this jug down to the recycle...." and he interrupts before I can finish my sentence

"Mom....are you trying to ruin my childhood?"

"What? How would taking the recycle down to the curb in the morning ruin your childhood?" (and now I am laughing, because it just struck me as such a funny statement)

"Oh...I thought you wanted me to take it down right now (as he is standing in his underwear before bedtime), and that would definitely ruin my childhood!"

Yep...that makes more sense. No one wants to take out the garbage in their underwear. What a funny kid.

Cats and Kids

Cats and kids...kids and cats....what does that mean? Hours of entertainment for Jonathan. It was Deee-vine! It is so great to go to Idaho, because Jonathan is in love with their cat Jake. He chased him all over the place. Jake is an outside cat, but this week, he was loving all the inside activity. I bet he is traumatized after the week of being indoors now that he is banished back outside. Sue has 4 boys so Jonathan fits right in. I actually had time to read 3...yes I said, THREE books that week. Lovin that. Jonathan is feeding Jake above, and what am I doing in the background? Laying in front of the window in the sun. I use to do that every Sunday in front of those exact windows growing up. Good times...Gooood times.

My brother Rob playing with Jonathan

Aaron and Jonathan

Justin and Jonathan

I realized I didn't get any pictures with Jonathan and Jordan and Brayden. Oops..too busy reading I guess. The rest are some videos with the cat, and one is with Aaron pulling Jonathan around in the laundry basket, and pushing him on the scooter. Endless hours of free entertainment that I didn't have to provide. It was a beautiful thing. It was "almost" as beautiful as when Sue and I went to Cancun! I KNOW...that was AWESOME! What did we do on our girls only trip? Nothing...absolutely nothing. I was 6 months pregnant with Jonathan. We sat on our lounge chairs on the beach and read books for 7 days...literally...just sat around and read. We got in the water up to our ankles, and we did walk to a store (across the street) to buy souvenirs and get our Mexican vanilla...but that was about the extent of it. It was one of the best vacations I have ever been on....here is a photo...endless virgin strawberry coladas...it's still hard to believe we actually did something like that...

Thank heavens for cats and kids...at least while I am in Idaho that is.

Idaho

Jonathan and I at the Restaurant after a long day

I recently returned from a week long trip to Idaho for some rest and relaxation. It's the next best thing to laying on a beach drinkin pina coladas, but for 1/4 of the price. You do...whatcha gotta do. I flew into Salt Lake for my sisters baptism (long story). My sister Michelle picked Jonathan and I up, and we drove to Heber for the baptism. Jonathan was getting pretty antsy by then. We started out the day leaving for the airport at 7 am. It was now 3:00. It was the first time in years that all six of us siblings have been together. It was AWESOME! We went to a restaurant afterwards and had a good time. We all laughed. That is one thing my family have always been able to do...is laugh. We have some issues, but we can laugh about them. Or should I say that everyone else had a good time? By then, Jonathan was DONE! I spent most of the time walking around the restaurant entertaining a 20 month old, because it was butt cold outside. You know, the kind where your nose hairs freeze together? Just about that cold.

Scott and Keri, the "babies" of the family

My Mom and Dad, and of course Keri "crashing" the picture

My sister Kyndra and her baby

My sister Michelle and her husband Greg

After the restaurant we went to Kyndras house so Sue and Kyndra could get a quick cut from Keri, the Hair stylist.

Then we had to drive 3 hours up to my brothers house. We were exhausted by the time we pulled into the driveway at 10:00 that night. As I was getting everything situated and ready for bed, Sue played some basketball with Jonathan. Very cute.

Whoa Dude

Today Jonathan said something that caused Trent and I to look at each other in amazement. He was just playing with some toys and said, "Whoa Dude". I looked at Trent and asked, "Did he just say "Whoa dude?". Yeah...that is exactly what it sounded like. It is so funny to hear him say things out of the blue like that, and something so random too. Quite the jump from "love you" to "whoa dude". You can tell how we talk around here. "Dude" is part of our vocabulary I guess. I can predict that his next word will be "crap" or "fart". :)

Nathan-isms

Nathan will come up with some funny stuff...he is so random sometimes. I love it. Yesterday he was standing over the garbage smashing two very ripe pears together. I had asked him to throw them away.
I asked him, "What are you doing?"
Nathan: "This segment is called, "Playing with Pears".
OK...random.

The other day he was talking about those drug commercials with the lists of all the side effects, and he started talking as if he was doing a commercial. "This drug will help your allergies. The big risk is that you can get Cancer. And a lot of other side effects that you don't -even -want- to know about.". It struck me as so funny. I laughed and laughed. I love that kid. (school is cancelled today...by the end of the day, he'll have driven me crazy "I'm bored", "what can I do?" where I list several things that he is more than welcome to do...clean the bathrooms, his room....)
P.S. We went to the Maynes last night and Nathan said something else that was funny. She made some homemade alfredo sauce and he said, "This is the best alfredo sauce that I have ever had in my whole alfredo sauce life". Amen!