New Year, new season

Basketball is in full swing at our house.  University of Utah games and Elliott and Wyatt are both playing junior jazz this year.  Both boys are having excellent seasons. Ross is coaching both boys teams and Coach Karl is helping out with Elliott's.

Wyatt is still playing in the "developmental" league, so no real practices until next season.  No score board, either.  But, the kids do a pretty good job of keeping score all on their own.  Wyatt's team is pretty good and he has managed to score during every single game.  And, he looks good.  He always makes sure that from head to toe - hair to shoes, he is on fleek.  (Is "On Fleek" still a thing?)

Elliott's team is doing great this year.  So far, they are undefeated in their league, and seem to be the team to beat.  Uncle Willie gave him some Dennis Rodman socks for Christmas and they seem to be bringing him a lot of luck.  He has become a rebounding machine and not a single kid that defends him knows how to stop someone who shoots a left handed lay-up.  One game before Christmas was pretty intense and Coach Karl yelled at the opposing coach, "Shut up, Dude!" but otherwise, good sportsmanship abounds.

It's fun to watch the boys play every Saturday and I am one mama who is very happy her boys LOVE basketball!

back to school, day two

Elliott's first day of school was a roaring success.  He came running to the car so excited to tell me everything that had happened.  He really liked his Spanish teacher, Sra. Asensio but he loved his English teacher, Mrs. Maples.  Both teachers contacted us several times the week before school started via e-mail, phone, and a post card in the mail.  Elliott really likes school, but never have I seem him this excited!  It's a great feeling as a parent to see your kid like his teachers so much.




Wyatt's first day of first grade was yesterday.  Wyatt threw me a loophole I wasn't prepared for when we were driving to school.  I was planning on parking the car, and walking to his line, like every other mom, dad, and grandma of a first grader but, he didn't need me.  "I want Elliott to walk me to where I line up" he said to me, oozing a confidence I wasn't prepared for.

Dagger to the heart!  I wasn't prepared for that one.  I thought for sure I could at least still be his mom the first day of school.  But, I was wrong.  He's always been a confident little fart, I just didn't know how confident I guess.




I have to be honest, I was a completely worried mess all day long.  I spent the whole morning reminding him to go to the bathroom, not run around too much, to eat his lunch quickly and stay away from kids with peanut butter in their lunches and on and on and on.  I worry about this boy of mine.  But, if he is confident enough to walk to class mom-less, I suppose he can handle himself in the lunch room alright.  It's good that he's afraid of food and such a picky eater, he'll never go near anyone else's lunch.

When it was time to head to the school to pick up the boys, I was so excited.  Quinn and I had ourselves a good day, but we missed our boys.  It felt like it took them extra long to walk to the car and I was so nervous and anxious and couldn't wait to hear about Wyatt's first full day of school.  The smiles on their faces walking to the car let me know that both had a pretty good day.




Wyatt didn't have a lot to tell me.  He made a couple new friends, and a little girl from his primary class is in his class so that seemed to clear all his jitters.  He was proud of himself for surviving lunch, remembering his backpack, and remembering to use the bathroom.  Of course, he had much more to tell his dad when Ross got home from work, than he had to tell me, but that's okay.  I don't mind...too much.



Suddenly, these boys of mine are growing up a little bit faster than I was prepared for.  Pretty soon, they are going to be teenagers.  I already feel pretty useless except when they need clean laundry and food....hopefully they will at least bring their friends home so I can feed them, too.

The end of baseball

The boys baseball season this year lasted nearly 12 weeks.  They started in the Spring, when it was so bitterly cold we wore hats and gloves and coats and scarves to each of the games, with hand and feet warmers on standby.  The middle of the season was wrought with rainstorms and rain outs.  I think, just guessing, overall that we probably had, between both boys, nearly 10 games that had to be rescheduled because of rain.  Then of course, the season ended last week in the sweltering heat.  Wyatt's game last Friday clocked in at 102 degrees at 5:15 pm - start time.

Elliott's team lost two games in the regular season and tied for first place overall.  They handily won their first tournament game, but faced an angry foe in their second...the team they had beaten twice during the season that was not only out for blood, but they thought they were playing in the world series.  It was an unfortunate scenario, that of course, ended ugly.  The coaches on each team, so desperate to fulfill their season long agendas, argued every single play; every single batter.  At the end of our 90 minutes of regulation, the boys had only played 3 innings, when they usually get six.  Elliott's team lost an ugly battle 3-0.  The boys were sad.  My boy was sad.  I was however, ready for baseball to end.  I really didn't like Elliott's coaches this year, one angry bully in particular, and was happy for my boy to have a little bit of free time on his hands.



I always tell my boys that no matter the outcome, they need to end a game knowing that they did their absolute best.  That they were ready to play and came out swinging.  Well, my boy, in that star crossed game, was THE ONLY kid on his team to get a hit at bat, and he got two.  Every other kid struck out or walked.  No one scored.

Wyatt's team however held on until the end.  They took second in their league and after a tough loss in the first game of their tournament they rallied to take second in the consolation bracket and work their way through three more teams.  They played on their home field, and played great.  Their next game, his team was stood up - the opposing team let the league know the night before that they would not be showing up to play, but in true "baseball is run by ding dong" fashion, no one bothered to communicate that to the coaches on Wyatt's team until five minutes after it was time to start and there wasn't a team to play.  All the dads who were present however stepped in, and the kids had a great batting practice.

Wyatt's last game was last Friday.  They lost by 4 runs, but played a great game.  Especially in spite of the horrendous heat on a field where they were facing the sun and there wasn't shade for miles.  Wyatt got a trophy and his picture taken a bunch of times.  And we went to Habit burger after the game.  AND, the Waffle Love truck was parked at the park by our house so we got waffles to boot.  He was happy.



I know that my boys learn so much from participating in sports - things that as their parent, I just really cannot teach them.  There will always be things about organized sports, especially for the 12 and under set, that really bug me, even make me angry at times, but I wouldn't trade it out.  Elliott especially, grew a lot this season.  He became a better and stronger kid, and a very good first baseman.  Wyatt learned that you don't cry and you try hard and you run fast and you shake hands at the end of the game.  Those are important lessons for a 6 year old.

Until next season...whatever that season may hold.

Sleepless in Arizona

While on our trip, we had a hotel room that called itself a "suite" but we had five people, two queen beds and a pull out sofa...not sweet.  Not so spacious when you add all our sweaty bodies.  Since there were only two beds, Quinn was assigned the fold out sofa and then one bed would be occupied by Ross and myself and the other by the big boys.

Mistake numero uno!

On our first night at the hotel, the boys fought and fought and fought at bed time.  Now, not your regular argument about covers, but actual fist fights because "he's touching me!"  "He is breathing on me!"  I'm going to pound you sorts of stuff.  After A LOT of muffled yelling from mom and dad (we were in a hotel after all) the big boys fell asleep and while Ross was getting Quinn to settle down, I started to crash out.  Just as I was drifting to never land, I heard a muffled scream.  A muffled blood curdling scream.  The kind of scream that comes from Wyatt at least three times a day.  I opened my eyes to find him on the floor, completely wrapped and suffocating in the comforter of the hotel bed.  I unwrapped him in the dark, told him to quit screaming and plopped him in bed with me because at the time, I sort of assumed Elliott may have kicked him or pushed him and didn't think that sending him back was a good idea.

By the time Ross got Quinn to sleep, Wyatt and I were out cold in our bed so rather than move Wyatt, he just got in the bed with Elliott.

Mistake numero dos!

Never sleep with your insane sleeper children.  At several points throughout the night, Elliott started talking and mumbling LOUDLY, or, laughing a  pretty noisy hyena-like laugh.  He did it most of the night while flipping and flapping in bed with his dad like a seal, kicking and flopping.  Ross didn't sleep much.

I didn't fare much better with Wyatt.  At least three times in the night he got up on his knees, like a meerkat or prairie dog to survey the land.  He was wiggly enough that it woke me up and I just watched him.  He'd get high on his knees, pull his hands up limply to his face, look around, and then just dead weight collapse back into the bed - on top of me in some sort of tangled and painful way.

When Ross and I woke up, exhausted, on Saturday morning, we vowed never to do that again.

Fast forward a couple nights to the night Ross' brother hosted us at his home.  We'd had a great day playing, a great meal prepared by my sister-in-law and a very cooperative bed time routine.  That was, until it was time to go to bed.  The air mattress that the boys were sleeping on had lost some air - when there are 6 little boys jumping on it, that tends to happen.   The deflation, plus the weight difference in the boys, and their general sour attitudes made a recipe for disaster.  After hours of lying in bed wide awake myself I got up around 1:30 and took a pill.  Okay, a xanex because I was freaking out a little.  When I came back to bed, Quinn was awake and Ross fed him a bottle.  Once Ross came back to bed and we settled in, we heard Wyatt.  It wasn't a good sound.  It actually sounded like he was throwing up.

I was the first into the room with the boys and as I got down onto my knees to see their faces I realized that no, there was no puke.  Instead, Elliott had a look of terror in his face as his younger brother was screaming at him, chocking him around the neck.  Yes, apparently Wyatt had rolled over onto Elliott and even though he was asleep, Elliott hit or pushed Wyatt away and that woke Wyatt up, sent him over the edge, and he tried to injure his brother.

I was angry.

We got them separated and calmed down.  We lectured and whisper yelled.  They finally went back to sleep.  Ross went back to sleep and I eventually drifted into a drug induced coma.  At 5:30, Quinn woke up again (I think he was waking up to clue us in to his brothers), Ross fed him a bottle and just as he finished, threw him on the bed with me to run to break up the second air mattress brawl of the night.  Same thing - boys on top of each other - but this time, no choking.

Ross got smart and brought Wyatt into the room with us.

Quinn and I were on the bed.

Wyatt was on the crib mattress on the floor.

Ross was sleeping on the floor.

Elliott was in the other room, sunk into the middle of the coffin air mattress.

Not our best night as a family.

By the time we checked into our hotel again for our final night's stay, I wised up and had one boy under the sheet and one boy on top so technically.....

they weren't touching. 

Hungry

Boys, what do you want for breakfast?

Nothing.
Nothing.

But you need to eat breakfast before you go to school so what do you want? 

Um, I'll just have a toaster waffle and a banana and maybe some yogurt, too.  But I'm not that hungry.
I'll have chocolate toast!

Boys, what do you want for lunch?

I don't know.
I don't know!

But boys, it's time for lunch so let's eat.

Okay, then I'll have a ham sandwich and some chips and some cuties and a cookie.
I'll have a frozen pretzel in the microwave with extra salt.  

Mom, can I have a snack?
Mom, can I have a snack?
MOM, CAN I HAVE A SNACK, PLEASE!!!!!!!

What would you like?
 A cookie and a piece of toast with jam and an apple.
2 cookies, please.  And some fruit snacks and goldfish crackers?

(30 minutes later....)

Mom, can I have a snack?
Mom, can I have a snack?
MOM, CAN I HAVE A SNACK, PLEASE!!!!!!!

No more snacks.  It's after four o'clock and it's too close to dinner.  Sorry, Charlie.

But I am so hungry.
But I am starving. 
 
Mom, what are we having for dinner anyway?

Pork chops and rice.  And pineapple and garlic bread.  (must go to the grocery store for more cohesive dinner foods)


But I don't like pork chops and rice.
I want a pepperoni pizza. I only eat pizza.  If I don't have pizza I won't eat dinner ever again.  But maybe I'll have a yogurt, too.

(Begrudgingly eat dinner....)
(15 minutes after dinner.....)

Mom, what's for dessert?

Waxing Philosopical....in the car

 

Driving home the other day, we had a deep conversation.  It went something like this.

Wyatt:  Mom, can we add riding the Trax train to our list of summer things to do.

Mom:  Yeah, that's a great idea.  Where do you want to ride the train to?

Wyatt:  Maybe to the children's museum?

Elliott:  Or maybe we could just go for a ride?

Mom: Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.  I guess we have to decide which is more important, the destination or the journey.

****

Elliott looks at me like I'm speaking a foreign language and Wyatt looks out the window.

*****

Mom:  Elliott do you know what I'm talking about?  What is a destination?

Elliott:  It's the place your going to.

Mom:  Okay, Wyatt, what is a journey? (Silent stares out the window)

Elliott:  It's the time it takes you to get to your destination.

Mom:  Very good, Elliott.  So,  then what does it mean when I said we have to decide which is more important, the destination or the journey?

Elliott:  It means we have to decide if it's more fun to ride the Trax train to a place, or if we want to ride it just for fun!

Mom:  Excellent my boy!  Very good.  So, do you want the destination or the journey?

Wyatt:  I want the journey!

Elliott:  I think I want the destination!

******

A funny little conversation with my boys and me.  I think that it's pretty telling that Wyatt picked the journey, and Elliott the destination.  And, you have to admit that it's pretty cool my kid figured the whole thing out....he's a pretty smart little fart.  And #2, I was shocked that Wyatt was even really listening....talk about wanting the journey.

Before I forget

For as much as I lament about January, February is pretty cool.  Probably it's cool because it's so short and it's not two degrees outside.  I mean, when you actually see some blue sky and the car thermometer hits 44?  That's pretty wicked awesome.

Lately, I've been feeling like a bit of a failure in the mom to two older boys department.  I do my best to hang out with them and hug them and love them and not get too grumpy at them but I'm failing.  Little squishy babies take up so much time, don't they?  And, my boys are getting so much bigger and so much more independent that it's just all going by so quickly.

The other night while Elliott was in the shower, Wyatt and I were laying on my bed.  He climbed up and burrowed into me and we were just hanging out.  I was tickling his toes and he was jabbering on about a lynx or something like that.  While we were talking I said, "Wyatt, what was your favorite part of the day today?" and he turned and looked at me and said, "Right now mom.  This is my favorite part of the day."

Melted my heart I tell ya.  Lying with him on the bed was probably my favorite part of the day, too.  I need to make sure to seize more of those moments with me and my boys before they are too cool to have me be their favorite part of the day.

Both big boys have had parent teacher conferences in the last three two weeks and both boys had wonderful reports from their teachers.  

Elliott got all "E" grades, which is the kindergarten equivalent of an "A".  He is also reading on a first grade level, and I think is nearly finished with the kindergarten reading books.  He passes off a book a day in school, except for Friday's when they do PE instead of reading.  His teacher, Mrs. Easton, told us that he is an exceptional student, is kind to all his classmates, is helpful and a great kid to have in class.  The couple of times I've been able to go and volunteer I've been so proud of him.  He is a champion student, and I'm pretty sure, also after volunteering, that he is one of the smartest, if not the smartest kid in his class.

Two weeks ago he was the Friday VIP.  That meant that we got to make him a poster and he got to talk about himself, his poster, and pass out treats at school.  When we were getting ready for his VIP and talking about all the different things he could do or take as a treat, he was very specific about what he wanted.  He wanted his dad to take him to buy doughnuts before school.  He wanted his dad to come and watch him do his VIP presentation.  He did not want his mom, or his baby brother (Wyatt was at school) to come and interfere.  He wanted it to just be something special for him and his dad.  Thank heavens Ross' morning was open and it all worked out.  When I picked him up from school that day, he was beaming from ear to ear.

And Wyatt?  Remarkably, he does well in school, too.  His teacher, Mrs Anderson said that he too is kind to others and a good classmate, that he follows rules, and that he is a meticulous student.  She showed me his writing samples and some of his work and he is surprisingly good at coloring in the lines, cutting straight lines and writing his name.  When we did his valentines, he would only write the "tt" for his name, but at school, he writes his whole name very well.  She also told me that he is the only kid in his class who can count to 20 and beyond without skipping a number and knows all the days of the week and months of the year.  Good for him.

I have good boys.  And, I love them a lot!

a Quickie....

Our summers the last four years have been consumed by shaved ice.  Because we are so tied down to the summer business, we don't seem to have the opportunity to do much that requires we be gone for more than 12 minutes.  Compounded by the fact that in a few short weeks we'll be a party of five, I've been itching to get away.  Anywhere.

Enter Vernal, UT.

A quick trip to Dinosaur land was just what we needed.  We were gone a little over 24 hours, had a fun time, ate some good food, and got that little travel itch out of my system.  You see, my feet and ankles were not happy to sit in the car and by the time we got home Sunday night, were actually burning a bit.

But, my boys had a great time.  They love dinosaurs.  Heck, I don't even mind dinosaurs and pride myself on knowing the names and major characteristics of at least a dozen or more.  I can totally get into the Dino conversations of my boys and it makes me pretty cool.

Our trip was dominated by food, of course.  The dad in our house was in charge of where we went to eat, and even though it was just three meals, he made sure they were the best he could find.  El Chubasco in Park City, the Country Grub in Naples, UT for dinner and the Naples Cafe for breakfast on Sunday morning.

After a few quick visits to the Field museum in Vernal and Dinosaur National park visitors center and wall of fossils, we were on our way home.  But, whenever you get to stay in a hotel (especially when you finally have two little boys who will sleep in a hotel room), it's always fun.  I love not having to make three beds in the morning.

And, whenever I get to spend time with all three of my boys, even if two of them are super crazy and one occasionally ignores me for a date with his headphones, there aren't any people I'd rather hang out with.

And now....lots of pictures.

El Chubasco - with a monstrous salsa bar that has at least 15 different salsa's to choose from.

And, by the way, Vernal? You have the most amazing and beautiful main street flowers I've ever seen anywhere in my whole life. I was totally jealous.

a week....

For as boring as life feels sometimes, it's generally quite the opposite.  Four weeks ago, as Memorial Day hit, I made a list of summer activities to do with the boys.  You know, the typical list of places to go, people to see, that sort of thing.

Well, Elliott starts kindergarten in 4 weeks.  Our list?  I lost it.  I cannot say that we are really hitting all (or any for that matter) the things I'd planned to do but we sure are busy and seem to be having a great time.

Wyatt is officially in a big boy bed and after almost a week, still hasn't wiped the smile off his face. He is IN LOVE with his bed, is sleeping like a champ, won't get out by himself in the morning, and is doing better than we'd ever have imagined. The crib is down for a few short weeks to be sanded and repainted (too many bite marks) and then the big boys will be sharing a room while the new baby gets his own.

We've spend a lot of time at Toys R Us lately, perusing the merchandise and picking up a few things for summer like a sandbox and lots of bubbles. You'd think the boys were at Disneyland, not a toy store but it works.

We wrapped up our first session of swimming lessons today. Elliott is an absolute fish and almost passed off two levels in a mere 8 lessons. Wyatt, not so much. The kid is not a fan of putting his face in the water and so we'll try swimming lessons again next year. Elliott had such a great time that I'm signing him up again and we'll be ready for round two next week. Now, we just need to get ourselves some time in Great Grandpa's pool.

T-ball is back in full swing two nights a week, two hours a night. Both boys are playing, dad is coaching both teams, and when Wyatt isn't crying because he didn't field the ball first or hit the ball far enough off the tee, he's really having fun. Elliott is doing so well his dad finally convinced him to bat left handed and he got some great hits. His dad may have even shed a tear at the first hit as a lefty.

And, perhaps most important, our cousin Isaac from Arizona has been here visiting for the week and the three boys have had some great cousin time.

And, what week would be complete with out some time with our other cousins, Molly-wog and Jackity Jack. Oh, we love playing with these guys too.

So I guess, it seems like we're pretty busy after all...

in a nutshell....

Last week, with help of course, I took the little monsters to the zoo. We had a grand time. Thank you, helpers.

Though during the week they seem to be okay, the last couple of weekends have been spent with terribly swollen ankles. Ankles so swollen that my feet tingle and send sharp pains up my legs. Welcome to my least favorite part of this whole, waiting for a baby experience.

She'll get her own blog post soon, by my amazing and beautiful cousin Meranda (also MK also Rwanda) is leaving in two weeks on an LDS mission to Paraguay. The boys and I love her so very much and will miss her. I made 6 batches of NY style crumb cake for the open house. It was yummy but so much work.

What else?????

Snuggles with baby Jack, lost teeth, lots of mom school, and the start of swimming lessons. This summer is getting off to a great and busy start.

Thanksgiving

I know a lot of people who do Thanksgiving Trees with their families during the month of November.  I loved the idea but wanted to do something  a little bit different that could really involve my kids.  Before the end of October, Elliott helped me make 24 little envelopes, staple them to ribbon, and hang them across the window.  Then, starting November 1st we set out every single night after dinner to write down the things that we are thankful for.

Us mom and dad?  Our stuff has been pretty standard.  Elliott has really tried hard to be thoughtful.  Wyatt?  Well, lets just say he's really thankful for his butt.

Anyway, I love the kids thoughts so much I thought I'd share a few here.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Elliott is thankful for:
* having a good day
* a new month of November
* playing in the snow
* have a good day
* ears
* learning a new letter at school
* taco night for dinner
* for mom
* Grandpa Huber
* I got to play with Cy
* Dad could come home kind of early
* fun days at school
* humidifier helped me sleep
* grandma and grandpa
* food to eat
* humidifier is helping my cough
* lights on the Christmas Tree
* toys to play with
* things to eat
* participate in the primary program
* Santa brings presents
* school

The Chick Monster is thankful for:
* I'm thankful for I'm tired
* I like to pick songs (at singing class)
* Old McDonald on moms pink phone
* snow and boogers
* my nose and my eyeball
* how about my butt!
* thankful for my bum
* Doritos
* the big hamster at the pet store
* ice cream
* naps ("I'm just so sleepy")
* moms pink phone
* fruit loops
* my nose
* Mac the truck
* ears
* pasta for dinner
* super bouncy sky ball
* the zoo and the baby elephant and the rhino can poop
* grandma's pasta
* shoots balls
* toe, bed, my friend spot the dog

Dance Dance Revolution

It's been a while since my boys and their amazing dance moves have graced the blog.

You wouldn't know it by looking at the dazzling moves and high spirits in the video that shortly after, literally within minutes, both boys were screaming slobbering messes and went to bed early.

It's a holiday week.

Go figure.

Oh, there is music in the background even though you cannot hear it. I have no idea what the group was but when I asked Ross he said, "two white guys who think they are black."

You can try and figure out who that is.

In a nutshell...

My Internet has been craptastic this week.  Seriously.  It hasn't worked a lick, unless I want to wait a really long time and then throw something.  Even then it still doesn't work.  I guess because our internet didn't work we had to try harder to entertain ourselves.  When there is no pbskids.org to play, things have to get creative.  Here's a sampling of the week.

My little boy thinks he's a dog.  The older brother says, "Wyatt, fetch" and said little boy chases after the thrown item panting and retrieves it like a good little puppy.



Life is better now and I'm on the mend, but I was really sick (sinus infection, allergies, cold) for two freaking weeks.  That's a lot of bright green and brown snot rocketing in case you were concerned. Because I didn't feel good I copped out on fixing lunch this week and went the easy route - thank you in-and-out and chick-fil-a. We did eat strawberries with our burgers so that makes it healthy I think.

We played outside even though it was kind of cold and even though playing outside really means that bikes were crashed, screams were let loose, and moms called time-out. Also, my bulbs are starting to bloom and they are so pretty.

We watched the gas company tear up the yard between two houses right next to us.  Those homes were evacuated.  We were not.  There were 6 trucks and a bulldozer working into the night to fix a gas leak...maybe that explains my headaches.

We got a table centerpiece and I braved IKEA (ALONE) with two munchkins who fight to scan everything. I don't know why I'm dumb enough to go there alone all the time. Dumb.

We went shopping for Easter clothes. Next year I better remember that if I want to have a good selection of khakis, shirts and sweater vests that I'd better Easter shop in February, not April because all the stuff is gone. While shopping I had to get the older boy some new shoes - he'd worn holes through the toes of his old ones. The younger boy, as part of a silent and not so silent protest, has been wearing the new shoes non stop. Me thinks I'll be heading back to the store for a pair in size Chick.

What else did we do?

We sat on the floor and watched lunch cook. Those mini pizzas just weren't fast enough.

One of us watched "Dino Dan" and "Wild Kratts" from his cage. Believe it or not, this is one of his favorite places to hang out....with about 12 blankets.

And, just because you wanted to know, today I got paid to make cupcakes. I love it when that happens. They were pink lemonade, came with an accompanying cute little pink cake, and I hope that the party people like them. I love it when I get paid to bake.

How was your week?