Labor Day

Since Labor Day is a holiday to honor American workers, I had to giggle when Wip came home from school today reciting the pledge of allegiance (his version, of course)...enjoy!

Babies

When I pick up Duncan and Wip in the afternoon Ms. Charolette always greets me with Duncan in her arms and says "you are going to make me have another baby!".  My favorite part is that she has a new reason every day.  One day it was the way Duncan smelled, another day it was because Duncan recognized her in the hallway and gave the "Duncan salute", the next day was the precious outfit he was wearing.

Duncan LOVES school

This got me thinking...what is it about babies?  

This morning I got to love on my sweet nephew Hunter and I did not want to put him down.  The way he smiled at me with those few teeth coming in...I could just eat him up (of course Lucas was equally adorable). I left wanting to have another baby.

The other day I had to say goodbye to William for an entire month!  While a little cold prevented me from loving on him, I had to take a picture because I know that he will change a million times in that short month.  His facial expressions crack me up and every time I get my hands on him...yep, you guessed it, it makes me want to have another baby (good thing he just lives down the street:).

William Creason at 12 weeks

Carousels

We have read this book a lot lately (like every night).  It is overdue and I know that we will just be rechecking it out tomorrow at the library. Maybe at the 54th time that I read the story to Wip I looked at him and said "you should make a carousel with your animals".  Of course I learned quickly the animals that he had and the animals that he would need to make this happen.  

Here is the finished product and while it is a very makeshift effort, he was SO proud of it.  Tonight another favorite babysitter came over (I think that they are all his favorite), but when I told him that Caroline was coming to play he said "big Caroline or small Caroline?", I said "big" he then told me how much she was going to like his carousel.  I think he was right:)

Softer Side

Wip had an agenda today.  

Step 1.  Go to Auntie's to help her with the pack n play

Step 2.  Talk to Santa on the phone (thank you Granddaddy for making this possible)

Step 3.  Find animals for a carousel

Step 4. Get lunch at Chick-fil-a (of course roadblock...it is closed on Sunday)

Step 5. Watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and then quiet time while Duncan sleeps

Step 6. Go to Mimi and Granddaddy's for dinner

He probably repeated this agenda 20 times today making it clear to me that my son likes a routine.  He thrives when he knows what the "next" will be.  

Which leads me to the point of this post.  Wip's Christmas List. I have no idea where this came from but he is obsessed with telling me what he wants to tell Santa his "wants" for Christmas...have the decorations gone up already and I am oblivious?  

Wip has plenty of dinosaurs, clothes, trains (really he has plenty of everything).  He does love his animals which is why I am trying to create a copy of his dinosaur cave (which he plays with all of the time).  Soft animals rather than those hard-big-obnoxious "boy" toys. 

The post-it note taking as he "talked" through what he wanted

We talked at length about what he would like for Santa to bring him (only if he was a good boy, of course).  Here is what he came up with:

1.  A Woody doll (like Caroline's)

2.  A Buzz doll (like the one in Duncan's classroom)

3. Farm animals from Bla Bla Dolls (these are the one's he picked out...he really went back and forth between farm and zoo, it was cracking me up).

Horse

Cow

Dog

Cat

Bunny

Donkey

Sheep

4.  Finally, he wants a companion for his Mr. Potato Head.  He informed me that there is a Mrs. and she would like to keep his Mr. Potato Head company.

*Please note that this is August and this list could change a million times between now and Christmas 

Mamaw

My Mamaw was a pretty talented lady.  In fact I know if she were still living today and made it as a contestant on Project Runway everyone would know Thelma Rigsby's name. She could crochet, sew, and was a master at making quilts.  I just wish I had a smidgen of her ability, but I don't.

Me and Mamaw (before I knew you could get your eyebrows waxed:)

After she passed, her sewing machine was passed on to me and has been collecting dust.  I decided to put it to good use and make Wip some dinosaur socks. While the first attempt was pretty disastrous (I did not even know what a bobbin was:), I think I am going to stick with it and see what I come up with. 

Another day of 1st's

Today was another day of 1st's in the Mulloy/Li household.

David's first day of his freshman year at KCD (and in America!).  He was so nervous the night before with a million questions for us (between getting his books and knowing where to go).  He said he had a GREAT day and really enjoyed his classes.

The other first came tonight during my debut coaching for my first girls varsity soccer team (Coach Shartzer was at her sister's rehearsal dinner).  It was a very evenly matched group of girls, but the Bearcats came to win.  And win we did!  I was so proud of each girl on the team for not only fighting the tiredness from the first day of school, the heat (which made us play 4, 20 minute quarters with 10 minutes in between...uggg), and my nervous nelly behavior.  We are now 3-1 and I could not be more proud.

1st Day of School

Just like the Olympics we had the closing ceremonies of summer last night.  

Today the boys had the first day of school at Temple.  

They started the 2012-13 year off with tears and grumbles in the morning but by the time they got to school it was smiles and skipping.  

Wip showing Duncan the ropes in Morning Room

When I picked them up Duncan could hardly keep his head up and Wip was so excited to tell me all about his day (and get home to his animals).  It is going to be a good year.

Wip in his cow class (that is Casper eating his shirt:)

Duncan in the bunny chair after a wardrobe malfunction (spilled milk)

See everyone tomorrow!

Officially Outnumbered

Still so far so good with David in our lives.  He continues to amaze me with his curiosity and excitement.

Tonight it hit me and it hit me hard. I am outnumbered.  If I want "girl time" it will not be happening in this house. David wanted to learn more about the sport of football so Patrick found a preseason game to show him the ropes. He said "it is a good thing that they wear helmets!".

At lunch on Saturday I noticed that David really enjoyed his pizza. Last night the Mulloy's were kind enough to host David and his parents for Sunday night dinner and I once again observed that the boy likes to eat.  Tonight at dinner we usually have over half of a spaghetti pie left over and as you can see it was less than 1/4 left. I guess this experience will prepare me for the teenage boy appetite.

There will be less leftovers at the Mulloy house

We are family

End of Summer Thoughts

This summer I started jotting down some random thoughts, here is what I came up with...

1.  Well behaved children are essential on airplanes.
There was a little girl on our flight to Paris.  She was running around everywhere, demanding that the flight attendants bring her bread, and talking to passengers that clearly did not want anything to do with her. When she finally fell asleep all of the passengers around her took a deep breath.

2.  When I am old I will do my best not to complain about everything. 
While we were on the boat I witnessed lots of angry old people. I have never seen so many people so upset about not having a safe in their room.  It was a lesson to treat people kindly no matter what your age.

3.  I want Wip and Duncan to learn how to fish. 
We watched Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Not the greatest movie of all time, but it made me think about fishing and all of the lessons that can come from it. Patience, fulfillment, and a little nature.

4. I am obsessed with Blake Lively.
She should get on my nerves with her "I don't need a stylist, check me out on the cover of most magazines, and I date guys like Leo for a week and then I am over it" attitude.  But it doesn't get on my nerves. For some reason if I could go back to my 20's I would want to be her.

5. I miss Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys.  

Ok, I know that you can't really miss someone that you don't know, but I have been listening to Beastie Boys music that I have never listened to before (Hot Sauce Committee Part 2) and it is so good!  Ahhh, the fond memories of my childhood and the Beastie Boys...Paul Revere anyone?

6.  Travel light.

We have so much "stuff". When I pack the boys up to go to the pool you would think that we are moving in. Between the snacks, changes of clothes, toys, and more snacks it is absurd how much we pack up when we go anywhere.  In Ukraine I would see families walking on the boardwalk with a child in one hand and a towel in the other.  That is it. They would hang out all day with just each other to keep company.  It was a life changing moment for me.

Packed in like sardines and loving every minute of it

7.  Learn how to speak a different language.

Just like my obsession with Blake, I am a little obsessed right now with the French culture. I am reading Bringing Up Bebe and not only is it an interesting read about raising children, but it also makes me want to move to Paris! With all of the resources at my finger tips (Rosetta Stone, many French teachers at school) I am going to make this my Mid-Year resolution.

8. When you are not around your kids all you seem to think about is your kids.

I will say that this was true 60% of the time when I was away.  I did feel that we had a healthy balance between missing the boys and having a great time being away from the boys. It did make me laugh when we would be sitting at dinner talking about what else?  The boys:)

What is it about these fellas?

9. I heart our babysitter.

Cat G. came over last night to watch the boys so we could celebrate Mimi's birthday. I have a postcard on the bulletin board of Kate Middleton and Prince William. She told me that she had to look closely at the picture because she thought it was of me and Patrick.  What made it extra cute was her rational of how I look like Kate and Patrick looks like William. Love that girl.

10. Boys love their mamma no matter what culture you live in.

Yesterday I took David's parents around the city. We went to lunch, checked out some of the parks, and walked along the waterfront. I noticed during the day that while David's dad is great he really has a special relationship with his mother. It made me smile.

David

We have been telling Wip often that we are going to have a friend come and live with us.  We would explain that he is from China and he will be staying in the basement. All that Wip could really get from that is that David is staying in the basement and he will be watching the T.V. that is down there. I was a little nervous of David's arrival and Wip's reaction to the chain of events.

David and his parents arrived tonight and things could not have gone more smoothly.  We showed him his room, gave a tour of the house, and got his parents settled at their hotel. Wip was SO excited and wanted to show David all of his toys and books (and got a little extension on the bed time...bonus!).  What was even more surprising is David's mother reaching for Duncan (who is at the age of I will just be with my daddy thank you very much) and Duncan not only reaching for her but allowing her to hold him throughout the house and not really jazzed when I took him back.

While I know that this is going to get chaotic at times I am really looking forward to this adventure. David could not be sweeter and I know that he is going to be a wonderful addition to our family.

Moving in!

Big Kids Day

Today we left the little ones with sitters and took a trip with our friends John and Preston up to Columbus, Indiana. It was great. The children's museum was located right in the heart of the adorable downtown area. It was cheap (only $12 for both of us) and fun! We then headed to a giant indoor playground across the street where the boys climbed to the top of the pirate ship and then had a little trouble getting down. After learning and playing...we shopped. The Crewcuts outlet was a hit as well as the ice cream:)  It was a great day with great friends.

Making BIG bubbles

Workin on their fitness

Is that Aunt Fe Fe in a huge commode? 

Playground time!

Check out that ship!

Friends 

Mental Note

Arriving at the zoo at exactly 5:00 (the doors were closing behind me with only one hour to roam) made for a pretty nice afternoon.  The weather was perfect, most of the animals were out, and there was nobody there.  Wip was in heaven and I don't think Duncan moved the entire 52 minutes that we were there. Mental note...head to the zoo at closing time.

S'mores!

I could not let the summer go by without introducing the boys to s'mores....yummy!

Waiting patiently

Roasting up the marshmellows

Dig in!

Don't mind if I do

Good work boys!