Backseat Conversation

When not in conversation, this is a typical scene from the backseat mid-afternoon

On our way home Wip asked me about the wedding picture on the shelf at the top of the stairs. He asked me if we went to a wedding and was curious if he and Duncan went to Grams and Poppy's house. I explained that the wedding was our wedding and it was before he was born. His wheels started turning and he said "oh! I was in your belly!" (not exactly, kid). He reminded me of a story I told him about getting sick. He said "remember when I was in your belly and I did not like the chick fil a". This was a story I told him probably years ago...how does he remember this stuff. Trust me, I will never forget being 9 months pregnant and getting sick from chick fil a....not my finest hour.

I am really weird. If something gets in my head while I am driving in the car, I usually just belt it out. While out running errands with D, we drove past Fan Outfitter store. It made me think of basketball season and I just started chanting..."whats your favorite color baby?"....this was Duncan's version.

Wip has had a pretty busy social calendar lately...from baking class to playdates it is not unusual for me to just pick up D from school. The other day, it was just me and D, as we were pulling out of the parking lot I hear D say "ah, man we forgot about Wip"...I tried to get a reenactment here

Halloween Spirit

In the spirit of Halloween, this weekend, we headed to a family friendly Halloween party, went to the Fall Ball at the Temple, and ended the weekend with a Pumpkin Carving Party on a farm.

It was a struggle to get the boys excited to put their costumes on because they have both changed their minds (no less than 10 times). They wanted to be Batman and Ironman...sorry boys, a giraffe and a moose it is going to have to be . Once we got to the party the costumes came off, but it did not stop the fun. Need proof? Check out Wip's moves on the dance floor here and here.

Trying to get D to put on his costume a.k.a. bribing with 2 lollipops and a chocolate treat.

So a moose and a giraffe walk into this Halloween party...

I love how D would not take his eye off of the dessert

Ninja turtle and moose unite!

So at the end of the night D was alternating between a chicken finger and a lollipop...pretty genius. 

Wip hanging with his buddy Is at the Temple Fall Ball

Duncan followed this sweet dog everywhere

Time to start carving

Daddy working hard 

There was a lot of good carving going on

D on a John Deer

Hanging with the Easley boys

Pretty much sums up the weekend

Learning

I am always learning. 

I am learning that I don't always have it together to put my clothes away...and while it drives me crazy, sometimes my section of the room is "messy".

I am learning that Wip is happiest right before bed. He is typically a happy kid, but there is something about when he gets out of the bath to get his jammies on.

source

I am learning that a squeaky clean face might not be the best thing. Click here for the article.

  

Wip sees Duncan

Duncan runs to Wip

Love

I am learning how Wip and Duncan are more than brothers, they are best friends. As I have said before, Duncan's teacher LOOOOOVES to send pictures. The other day I got the series above.

I am learning about the serious issue of bullying. I watched this documentary on Netflix, and did not stop crying the entire time. It was so bad that when I saw my father in law at the gym the next morning, he asked me what was wrong because my eyes were still so puffy. It is hard to watch, but it is very powerful. 

Teachable Moment

The demon finally went to sleep

We had a young man babysit the boys last Friday night. Before he arrived he texted Patrick and asked if he should bring any board games (so sweet). Upon arrival he informed me that he packed his favorite childhood DVD's for the boys to enjoy (super sweet). When we got home from our evening out, I could tell this young man was a little frazzled. Duncan had yet to go to sleep (it was 10pm) and he said that they just kept asking to watch more Loony Toon cartoons. I told him that as long as the children were still alive, everything was fine. On his way out the door he informed me that he was keeping the Loony Toons DVD here because he promised Wip it would be here when he woke up (super duper sweet).

When the boys woke up the next day, I asked Wip if he had fun with the new babysitter and he looked at me and said "mommy, he looked different...his hair was different". This was my teachable moment. The young man is kind, loving, and happens to be African American. I told Wip that we need to be kind to everyone, even when they look different. I tried to tell him if we all looked the same it would be pretty boring world that we live in. Finally, I yelled for Patrick to come up in case I was missing something or if he had anything to add:). Those teachable moments can creep up on you in this job of being a parent. I have often heard that folks want their children to be "colorblind" and if it could only be that easy. I want to teach my children to be kind human beings no matter how similar or different someone might be.

Wip was pretty excited that he left the Loony Toons DVD for him! Loony Toons and Fruit Loops, could a Saturday morning get any better?

Brothers Don't Shake Hands...

Brothers gotta hug.

Cracking Me Up

If you have never watched Parks and Recreation...shame on you! We have been fans for a while and it never disappoints. With a recent episode that we watched titled "Halloween Surprise", we literally could not stop laughing...especially at this part. Cracking. Me. Up.

So the photo above is cracking me up because of daddy's caption in his text when I was at a conference... "mommy, enjoy your trust fall". This video is cracking me up. This video is cracking me up even more.

http://ohhappyday.com/2013/10/homemade-halloween-fashion-icons-part-1/

This photo is making me wish I had a girl with attitude...I mean seriously cracking me up!

This is Wip's version of a triceratops...cracking me up.

This is Duncan in his Spiderman underpants (yes, we have started potty training). It has to crack me up because the last time I did this, it almost did me in!

This picture cracks me up because it is so hard for me to believe that Tanner and Duncan are old enough to walk and talk...for some reason in my head I feel like they will always be the babies (but they are both proving otherwise:).

This picture is cracking me up because it is Duncan on a fire truck looking precious...we all know the truth:)

This picture is cracking me up because the boy loves to go, go, go, but he still needs his beauty sleep...still trying to find that balance!

Finally, my little vampires in their Bruce Springsteen t-shirts are cracking me up for no other reason than wearing "Bruce" shirts and vampire teeth. Hope you have enjoyed this segment of "cracking me up!". 

Bad Boys

I know that the boys have been sick, but I also can't seem to get the song Bad Boys out of my head when I think of them!

Let's start with Duncan...the other day I was putting laundry away and the boys were playing upstairs. I completely forgot that I left my make up on the dresser...the above picture is what I found. He had taken my lipstick and dipped it into my cream blush. The funny part is that he knew exactly where to put it, unfortunately it really was not his color (ha!). I also overheard Duncan say "you shut up" to Wip while I was on the phone. I politely excused myself from the conversation to scold him and let him know that those are not kind words. When I asked him where he learned those words (secretly praying that he would not say "mommy") he promptly said "Dumbo". Thanks Walt.

On to Wip. Let me start by saying that Wip has improved SOOOO much. Everyone has a bad day, but we are pretty much done with the whining, taking of toys, not using nice words (basically everything that a two year old does:). When I told Wip that he was going to be taking a cooking class with his friends from school, he replied "but I don't want to take a cooking class at school, I want to take a cooking class at the beach" -side note, he had a cooking class this summer down at the beach and loved it. Wip needed a lesson on being grateful. I looked at him and said "Wip you are a very loved, very special little boy, but you need to be grateful for the love that people show you. I went on (and on) to say when Duncan hands you a toy, you need to say "thank you Duncan, this is just the toy that I want". When Mimi takes you to lunch you need to tell her "this was a delicious lunch, thank you so much". When Grams reads you a story, you need to say "thank you for taking the time to read me that great story". Yes, I really went on and on and on and on. When Patrick got home that evening, Wip looked up at him and said "from now on when Duncan gives me a toy, I am going to tell him that is the exact toy that I want". At least the first part sunk in:)

So after the not kind words, grumbles about cooking class, ruining my make up (and much, much, more), Wip was playing with his sticker book and after working for what seemed like a long time, he walked up and said "mommy, look what I made for you!". OK, everyone is forgiven.

The Worst Scenario

Duncan before getting sick...looking thrilled

This weekend we went to an engagement party for a great couple (that my SIL set up!). It was also the chance for us to catch up with our #neighbors4life (the Sherrard's). We were talking about children getting sick and how the biggest fear she has about starting a family is the "children getting sick part". Instead of trying to sugar coat it, I went a different angle and told her that it really only happens maybe 1-2 times per year (at most) and it is really not that bad.

Fast forward a day later when me and the boys went to Lexington to visit my dad (he is doing great after a rough patch). I hung with my pops in the hospital, while the boys hung with Grams at their house. When I called to check in she told me that Wip had thrown up, but seemed fine. I went to pick up the boys and sure enough they were playing, happy, and (of course) did not want to leave.

We got in the car to drive back and my mom handed me a "just in case" container with a wet wash cloth. We were not 3 minutes from her house when that container came in handy. In the pouring rain, I stopped the car, dumped what I needed to dump, and had Wip sip on a few sips of water to at least get the taste out of his mouth. It was only about 8 minutes later that Duncan was also throwing up, but unfortunately he is a little young to understand the meaning of aiming in a container. Awesome. Two sick boys, one parent in the car, an hour drive, and pouring rain...the worst scenario.

Seriously, what would you do? I had a few choices...head back to my parents, stop each time to clean up each child, or put the petal to the metal and get home. I went for the latter. Going about 95 the entire way, I could have cared less if a cop pulled up behind me...I probably would have kept going. Poor Duncan fell asleep, woke up throwing up (which by instinct made him put his little hand over his mouth) he started choking and I am screaming from the driver seat to "JUST LET IT OUT...GET YOUR HAND OFF OF YOUR MOUTH!" (while driving very, very fast).

We made it home. The car smelled really bad. I took the boys up to get bathed and get in bed. Both had low grade fevers, but nothing major. Duncan continued to throw up a couple of times, but Wip seemed to have "let it all out". After the boys were sleeping, I poured a tall glass of wine (Patrick was sweet enough to clean up the car/car seats when he got home) and hoped that it would not catch me. So far, so good. Shoooo, so much for "not being that bad"...I am eating my words!

Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Halloween...

Halloween Oliblocks (I think I am addicted to making these things)

Today is October 6th and we are already in major Halloween mode at the Mulloy house. I think it is Wip's favorite holiday because he gets SOOOO excited about anything that has to do with Halloween (dressing up, seeing a pumpkin on a front porch, getting candy, etc.).

So this is how the month has started...

A while back Wip told me he wanted to be a moose and Duncan wanted to be a giraffe (of course this has changed about a gazillion times), but once the costumes were made the boys were super excited. I decided to just purchase masks and make capes so that it would be easy to get on and off and the boys would not have to worry about being to hot or cold because October is definitely the funny weather month.

I had a soccer game so Patrick took the boys to the Halloween Zoo Party. He said Duncan kept his costume on for about 2 minutes. Either way, they had a great time.

Last year, I made Halloween paper dolls that I found from the Mr. Printable blog (super cute) and Wip LOVED them. I had to make a new set for this year because he literally wore the other set out. Click here for a little sneak peak of Wip playing with the dolls (in his Christmas pj's:).

Throwback Thursday

The other night at dinner I served the boys chicken.

Wip looked at his plate and said "chick-en".

It stopped me in my tracks and made me remember this video.

Can they just stay little forever, please?

Whatever He Wants, He Gets

The other night I was reading Goodnight Washington D.C. to Wip and when we got to the above page he said "that is mommy, daddy, Duncan, my sister, and Emma". When I asked him where he was he replied "I am in that building, getting something to eat".

Because I get Wip whatever he wants, I picked up a sister for him (jk, she is my friend's little girl). When I picked up Cooper from school and asked if she wanted to come home with Wip and Duncan to play for a while, she replied "yes! I need to be their babysitter!"

It was a beautiful afternoon so we had lunch at the park, ice cream cones on the back patio, and those three seriously played just like she was their sister. When it was time to take Cooper home, she said "but, I thought I was spending the night?!". I told her that she was going to have to come over and play again soon. They were too cute.