Duncanisms

D has been cracking us up lately with his "Duncanisms".

Here is what I mean:

As Duncan was jumping off of the bed, Patrick said "Be careful" and he said "No, I'll be Spiderman"

When Duncan is doing something he should not be doing, say hitting his brother, I will tell him to stop and explain that we do not hit. He will look up at me and say "but I did not say poop or penis."

Duncan can spot a bad mood from a mile away (maybe because he can get in some pretty foul moods himself). When Wip is having a bad mood moment and then later is back to normal, Duncan will look at him and say "you happy now?" (insert your favorite reggae song voice as you say it:)

Finally, if you ask him what kind of toothpaste he has...click here for the answer (it is Ninja Turtles in case you are struggling to understand:)

Fairy Godmother

I am pretty lucky. I have a fairy godmother. She is a friend who owns a children's boutique and also happens to have three boys. One morning I got a text that she had left some of the boys clothes on my front porch. It was two full bags with some really nice clothes, and I am pretty sure that Wip and Duncan will receive best dressed at least through the second grade:)

The other day I had to bring Duncan to my 6th grade class that I teach on Tuesday and Thursday. Duncan came into the class and introduced himself and told everyone his age. One of my students (who also happens to be one of the sweet boys of my friend) raised his hand. When I called on him he said "is that my old belt?"....and in fact it was his old belt getting put to good use!  It was hilarious.

Hello November!

Wip's class project

November has started with a bang! From hanging with cousins at the Alumni BBQ to celebrating sweet Anna's birthday to the surprise birth of baby Ellis to helping to make sure an elementary school has a playground...it was a busy weekend.

Sadly, my phone battery died so I did not get a "cousin" picture. But I piled all four boys in the car and headed to KCD for some BBQ and bouncy fun. Duncan was not being very cooperative with getting dressed, so I just gave up...he literally put every piece of clothing on himself in the photo above.

We also got to celebrate "sweet" Anna's 2nd birthday. Duncan literally thinks that her name is "sweet" Anna and I have no intentions of correcting him. She is in fact sweet and minus Duncan being asleep on my shoulder for pretty much the entire party, it could not have been more precious. 

Not waiting anymore!

Me and Kristen so excited for the Lenihan family:)

Saturday was busy and thankfully Grams and Poppy came to hang out with the boys so that I could go to my dear friends baby shower and Patrick could go to the Homecoming dance at KCD. I was a little bummed to be going to the "couples" shower without my other half. As I was walking in, I saw one of the hosts on his cell phone. I overheard him say "so it is a healthy baby boy?!?". Being extremely nosy, I asked "who just had a healthy baby boy?" to which he replied "Kathryn!". Well this just happenend to be who the shower was for...Ellis decided he wanted to come a little early. She went to the hospital at 4:30 and he was born at 6:30 (she pushed for 15 minutes). I am SO excited for this sweet couple and simply can't wait to meet the little man:)

Wip was happy

My little monkeys

Little bird fun before heading home

D wanted to "ride" all of the birds

When my friend Emily asked me if I was interested in running a 5K to help raise money needed for playground equipment at Engelhard Elementary I was all about it. I packed up the boys and we headed downtown on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I might not have run the entire time, but the boys sure did get excited to run to the finish line. Click here to see what I mean. It was a great event for a great cause that also made me realize just how lucky I am to work at a school with such amazing resources. #blessed.

Goodbye October

Getting everyone ready for the annual shot

D decided to stay on the playground

Parading around the neighborhood

The Speiden's used to live near Hillcrest (a.k.a. the Halloween street in Louisville). Beth was brave enough to host a very large playdate that included a parade down Hillcrest to see all of the decorations. Fast forward to a new home/neighborhood, and many new additions (brothers and sisters), the Speiden's are still carrying on the fun tradition. It is crazy, chaotic, and I look forward to every year.

Having a little halloween snack

Story time

This mother really outdid herself on the snack (I brought cheeseballs for Wip's class)

Instead of peeling the orange...D just sunk his teeth in

When Ms. Charlene explained that the class would be having a snack and reading a story, Wip raised his hand in excitement and said "my mommy brought my favorite book...Hoodwinked!". My face turned a shade of red and I had to explain to Wip that I forgot the book. I told him I was sure that Ms. Charlene had a equally fun Halloween story to read. Then, Ms. Charlene asked about the snack (which I was in charge of bringing) it was nowhere to be found and I thought that Patrick might have forgotten to bring it in that morning. After a quick text exchange it was found in D's classroom. I was really feeling like 'mother of the year' so I stepped it up and read the story and helped with the Halloween Bingo game. Everything turned out great and Wip showed me all around his classroom and introduced me to all of his friends. At the end of the party he tugged at my shirt and said "mommy, I really liked the snack that you brought". It was almost his little way of telling me not to feel so bad because he really appreciated me. Soon after the party I came across this video. Maybe I should not be so hard on myself?

On Halloween night the Amin family came over. Mother nature was not very kind to all of the little ghosts and goblins. The neighborhood canceled trick or treating on Halloween night and moved it to the next day. We already had plans for Friday, so we braved it and went to the two lonely homes with lights on. The kids did not seem to mind and the couple of "trick or treat!" that they got to shout out seemed to work out just fine (and this means that I do not have to look at a bag full of candy which also means that it is less candy to steal from my children). Win, win. Speaking of candy, the boys LOVE Dum Dum lollipops which is why I loved learning about the mystery flavor, click here to see what I mean.

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.