Sold Out

I wrote on an earlier post that Matthew is his brother's biggest fan. This is still true, but he's also probably the one who gets Michael in trouble the most.

Wednesday night, Michael did not make it to the bathroom in time in the middle of the night. Michael is very good about not having bedtime accidents. I can't even remember the last time he did it. Thursday morning, M went to wake the boys up to get them ready for school. The boys were not in the bed that we put them in. They moved over to the bunk bed in Michael's room. M asked them why they moved and without hesitation, Matthew said, "Michael peed in the bed."

Had Matthew not sold him out, we would have not known that anything out of the ordinary happened because Michael did a pretty good job at covering it up. He changed his underwear, but left his the same pair pants on so that we wouldn't know he changed.

Happy Friday!

Water Fun

I was looking through some old pictures and came across these. These are from almost 2 years ago when the Hoppes invited us out to the lake on their boat. I was really not looking forward to spending time in a small watercraft bobbing along on a lake for a few reasons:

1. I get seasick
2. I am not the greatest swimmer
3. Did I mention I get seasick?
4. I don’t swim very well

Michael convinced me to go because it’s something we’ve never done before, and it would be so much fun for the kids. And we did have a lot of fun, including myself. The kids got to experience tubing for the first time and I had a great time watching them enjoy themselves. I didn’t even get seasick, a huge bonus.

Michael & Sydney enjoying the view from the boat

Matthew & Daddy tubing

Michael & Sydney ready to go

Here they go!

Getting suited up for a swim

These Boys

These boys are the love of my life and I can’t imagine not having them around. They make me laugh, cry and tear my hair out. But mostly, they make me realize that I am the luckiest woman in the world to have been blessed with two wonderfully energetic, healthy, and loving boys.

Chocolate Strawberries

We dipped some red ripe strawberries in chocolate.

Michael double-fisting

I think Matthew likes it.

In less than 10 minutes, this was all that was left.

The Good and the Bad

I was not a very good mother this past weekend and for that, I have to apologize to my babies. It was a very difficult weekend and it did not have to be that way. I lost my temper too many times. Even though they were extra whine-y and extra stubborn, I should have had more self control as an adult and a parent to redirect them to better behavior. I swear I made that last sentence up myself without consulting a self-help book.

Anyway, our weekend did have some fun moments. Michael invited his friend Brody over to have a swim and they had a great time. They decided to play “King of the Hill” with some other children there. I was a little nervous about this but decided to let them be boys. Of course Matthew decided that he wanted to play too, but every time someone tried to push him into the pool, he would tell them, “No, you can’t push me in. I can’t swim!” He had no problem doing the pushing or jumping in the water on his own though.

Everyday, Matthew says or does something that cracks me up. Yesterday, I told Michael that he was crazy. Matthew must have overheard me and looks up me and said, “No, Michael is not crazy. He’s smart.” Matthew has always been Michael’s biggest fan and it’s such a joy to watch. Whenever Michael is playing on the Wii, Matthew sits there and watches Michael play like he’s the greatest Wii player ever. He’ll sit there and constantly praise his big bro. “Wow, Michael. You are so good.” Once in a while, Michael will need reinforcement and asks Matthew, “Am I good or what?” and Matthew would respond with “Oh, you’re good.” Cracks me up!

This was taken at Stewart Creek in Allen this past weekend.

Friday, Friday

I am so happy today it is Friday. It is payday and we have a long weekend coming up. What else can we ask for? OK, maybe awesome weather, but we have that today too. I’m in the process of planning a birthday party for my little Matthew. This will be his 1st birthday party and I want to make it really special for him. He wanted to have it at Pump It Up like his big brother, but we will be having it at a local spray park. It will be in June and it’ll be nice outside so I think the kids will have a blast playing in the water fountains. Plus, the spray park is free.

I wish I had more to write about but it’s been a pretty uneventful week. Most of my weeks are uneventful, but this week especially. We’ve got a lot of activities coming up for Michael towards the end of the school year. We have the end of year celebration where he will be getting an award and then there’s the end of the year party which should be a lot of fun for him.

Fish News and Such

Man, the fish just keep dropping like flies in our house. Yup, another one just bit the dust today. Well, not officially yet, but it was really struggling this morning. Poor Turtwig. When I went to feed the fish this morning, he kept swimming up to try to get the food but missed it all completely like he was blind or dazed and confused. Can a fish get high? Never mind. I don’t know what happened. I feed them twice a day and sometimes 3.

So now, we have 1 fish left. Good ole’ Hotdog-Hotdog is still sticking around for now. We’ve decided to not tell Michael anything unless he asks because he got so upset when Spot died. Not going that route again.

We had a pretty good weekend. I’m pleased to tell y’all that I’ve found a way to for the kids to let me sleep in. The answer is Dunkin’ Donuts (yes, I’m a traitor because I should not get donuts from anywhere else except O’Henry’s). Sunday morning the kids crawled into my bed and asked if we can have Dunkin’ Donuts for breakfast. It was 6:30 in the morning. Usually, I’m up at 6:30, but I stayed up late Saturday night watching Hilary Duff flick called “The Perfect Man.” It was terrible, but somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to turn it off.

I told them if they let me sleep until 8:00, I will take them to Dunkin’ Donuts. So they took themselves off to the living room and turned on Cartoon Network. Every time they came back into my room, all I had to say was 8 o’clock and they went back to their TV. Thank you Dunkin’ Donuts and the Cartoon Network (specifically, the creators of Johnny Test)!

Our neighborhood pool is now open so of course Michael and Matthew wanted to go swimming Sunday. We met the neighbor kids at the pool. The water was freezing but Michael and Matthew did not care. They stuck it out for about 15 minutes and spent the rest of the time hanging out with Max and the Chen girls playing rocket ship with the lawn chairs.

Flip-floppin' Around

Michael started wearing flip flops for the first time and actually liked it. Michael took the boys shoe shopping last weekend and came home with a pair for each boy. The first time they wore the flip flops out, Michael said to me, “Mommy, Matthew walks like he pooped in his pants.” Little did he know, he was walking the same way.

He now insists on wearing the flip flops to school everyday. That’s his new thing. His Crocs have now been replaced. Poor Crocs. It’s been his loyal footwear companion for most of his life. He got his first pair while vacationing with Daddy in Puerto Vallarta when he was only 3. He’s been wearing Crocs almost everyday since then. Well, up until now. Now it’s all about the flip flops.

Speaking of vacation, Michael will be in Cancun this weekend for Kris’ wedding so it’ll be me and the boys. I’m hoping they won’t send me over the edge. I don’t have specific plans, but you can bet there will be lots of outside time if the weather cooperates. The less they are in the house, the less picking up I have to do. I just realized that next weekend is a 3-day weekend. Yippee! It’s Friday, and my thought are very random. With that said, I’d better sign off. Adios!

Can We Slow Things Down?

Everyday, I am amazed at how much my boys have grown and how they’ve changed over the short course of their lives. I’ve seen Michael change from a very aggressive toddler into a more reserved and shy little boy. In Matthew, I’ve seen him change from an easy-going baby into a demanding, hot-tempered 3 year-old (OK, almost 4). I don’t know if these changes are for better or worse. It’s probably neither.

All I know is I miss their baby and toddler years. I want to see them toddling around, unsure of what to do with their arms and legs. I miss the toothless smiles, and the drool-y kisses. I miss not understanding their senseless babbling. I miss their baby smells. I miss their smallness.

With a blink of an eye, my Michael is now almost finished with Kindergarten, and in 4 short weeks, he will officially be a 1st grader. He’s learned how to read, tells me about how plants grow, and talks to me about our solar system and the affects of gravity. He’s even described one of his classmates as “sassy.”

Matthew turns four in a month and 4 days, but who’s counting, right? He has grown to be a boy with a bigger than life personality. He loves big, gets mad big, eats big, and plays hard. He knows what he wants and you cannot distract him. Fortunately, bribery still works, but if he wants waffles for breakfast, there’s no convincing him otherwise. Well, unless you bribe him with something better.

How did this happen? How can time move so fast? I’m not asking for time to stop. I’m just asking that he or she slow down to a leisurely stroll.

Matthew turning 1 year old

This picture was taken in December 08 only 2 1/2 years later.

Mother's Day Weekend Recap

I had a very nice Mother’s Day. Like most Hallmark holidays, it was pretty uneventful for our family. Not to take anything away from Mother’s Day, but it’s a holiday that I can do with or without.

I do, however, enjoy and look forward to getting the handmade gifts that the children bring home from school. This year, Michael made me a recipe book with all the recipes created by his classmates at school. His recipe in the book was Chompin’ Chocolate Chip Cookies made with 100 pieces of chocolate chips, 20 teaspoon of flour, and 20 lb. of sugar. Along with the recipes, there were notes from each child on why their mommy is special to them. I’m very flattered to know that Michael thinks I’m special because I let him play the Wii. Not because I kiss his boo-boos or give him all the love in the world, but it’s because I let him play the Wii.

Michael and the boys also got me a lovely heart-shaped bracelet charm inscribed with “Mom,” which was totally unexpected because, like I said, Mother’s Day is not such a big deal here.

The boys and I spent some time on Sunday making chocolate dipped strawberries which they proceeded to stuff their face with after we finished dipping. It was a delicious, messy affair.

I took the boys to our neighborhood playground since it was pretty warm outside on Saturday. It was the first time they realized that they can race each other on the bicycle. Matthew thought he won every race and did his victory dance, chanting, “I won. Oh, yeah. I get a trophy. I’m the winner!” Victory dance included some hip-gyrating moves and lots of face contortions that just cracks me up. All in all, it was a very nice Mother’s Day weekend.

Another Scratch

Matthew just gave Michael another bad scratch down the whole right side of his face. It’s on the same side where Michael still has a scar from when Matthew scratched him about 2 years ago. I got so upset when I saw it that I yelled out at Matthew. Michael, being the protective big brother says to me, “Mommy, don’t yell at him. All he’s going to do is cry.” Michael hates it when his brother cries. When Matthew does not get his way and cries, big brother comes to the rescue and says, “Just give it to him.”

I’ve known for awhile that Matthew has a volatile personality (for all those who know us, we can guess who he gets that from; not the Chinese side of the family), so I sometimes bend over backwards to appease him. I think that strategy has backfired. I’m not sure how to handle him. He was so easy going until he turned 3. Everyone talks about the terrible twos, but with Matthew, it’s the terrible threes. He scratches, hits, and throws all kinds of tantrums. I think by watching me trying to accommodate Matthew, Michael has learned to do the same. For example, this morning at breakfast, Michael wanted the last box of Cocoa Rice Krispies. Matthew had a fit and started screaming that he wanted the Rice Krispies. What does Michael do? Gave Matthew the Rice Krispies.

I’m so tempted to tell Michael that if Matthew hurts him, he can do the same to Matthew. I want him to stand up to his brother and to anybody else who bullies him. So what this all boils down to is that I have been setting a bad example and I should stop. I get that. I just need to do it now, which is easier blogged than done.

Who's the Boss?

We had a pretty uneventful day yesterday which is a big change from Saturday. Our Saturday was packed. We had Michael’s soccer at 8 in the MORNING, Spring Bash at Riley’s and Jacob’s house, and then dinner with the Hoppes. Thanks to the Hoppes for introducing me to chicken fried steak. I am still getting over the idea that it’s not really chicken, but steak. In batter. Deep fried. Like chicken. But, not chicken. Then why not just call it fried steak? Why add the chicken?

Sorry, I digressed.

On Sunday, there was lots of lounging, and game playing, and TV watching. In general, not a whole lot was accomplished. I did have an interesting conversation with Matthew that scares me a little.

Me: Matthew, why are you so mean to me sometimes?

Matthew: When you don’t listen to what I say, I will be mean to you.

Me: I’m the mommy. You should listen to me because I’m the boss.

Matthew: No. You have to do what I say, then you can be the boss.

Gee, thanks for the opportunity...

Stinky Business

I am a little embarrassed to say that with less than 46 more days until his 4th birthday, Matthew still needs a pull-up at night. Probably not as embarrassed as him when he’s old enough to read this, but pretty embarrassed. He’s good with the potty thing all day. I can’t remember the last time he had an “accident,” but at night, he’s a poopin’ machine. I’m starting to think that he holds it until we put a pull-up on him. We’ve tried threatening, shaming, and all sorts of bribery to make him tell us when he needs to go do his business so we can put him on the potty. No cigar.

I think there is something wrong when a kid comes up to me and tells me that I “need to change his diaper because it’s starting to itch.” Don’t you? Don’t you think that if he can tell you that effects of his stinkiness, he should be able to do the stinkiness where the stinkiness belongs? I think so.

So, this weekend, we will no longer support stinkiness outside the toilet! This weekend is when we take our authority back as parents and stop this madness! This weekend, we will ask Matthew to pretty please don’t poop in your pants when we take away your pull-ups. With cherry on top?