Welcome to the Party Station

We Ain't Foolin' No more Droolin'

Sorry for the lame tittle I just had this cute picture of Owen finally bib free

Slobber Buckets

I realize this is a random milestone to mark but it must be documented none the less. When Linus was a baby I would often see other mother's with bibs on their babies all the time and I would scoff...why on earth would you purposefully cover up a cute baby outfit with a frumpy bib: not my child. I suspect God heard my prideful heart and sent me my sweet little drool baby. The child could drool through a fresh onsie before I had it over his head.

But I believe that we are officially past the drool stages. He still slobbers an unnatural quantity but I think I can begin to pack away those unsightly bibs that never quite matched his outfits.

ringing in three with a bang...

Our "Big Boy!"

its party time...

Linus Turns Three

For Linus' 3rd birthday we had a Thomas the Train birthday party. I started planning quite awhile in advance but of course I didn't actually get around to making any of the decorations until the day before...always a bad idea. Luckily, Grandma Cece saved the day by finishing everything including a five car train cake. The cool thing is that now days it is ridiculously easy to steal other peoples birthday ideas off line. I just googled: Train Party, and found that there are actually whole sites where people describe everything they did for a particular party. So the day of the party I was able to sit back kick up my heals and smile serenely while taking credit for other peoples ideas and my sweet mother in laws labor.

On the day of the party we moved the dining room table out and pushed the couches to the side of the room, then we set up a bunch of stations. We had two train tables. A reading corner with lots of train books, a coloring table with train coloring pages and craft supplies for making train tunnels out of shoe boxes (which no one did) and we also had a Thomas pop up tent. We had adult food on the counter (with an electric train circling it), and then we set up a low table with kid snacks ( fruit, pb&j, juice, raisins, goldfish, and sippy cups). We didn't plan any games since most of the kids were too young. There were enough things to do that the kids just wandered from one station (no pun intended) to the next and for the most part the adults were able just to sit back and visit.
Disclaimer: This may or may not be my party description...I may have just cut and pasted from a party site :)

More Birthday Fun....

I am technologically challenged I can't figure out how to upload more than 4 pics to a post, so here is the party in parts...you get the idea

Cross Little Engine

It is a well known fact that Linus love trains, and since Thomas and his "cheeky" little engine friends seem to have a monopoly on the toy train industry we have embraced their wacky antics. For those of you who have had the "privilege" of viewing one the the countless poor quality videos with tangential plot lines and questionable moral content, you know that they are irresistible to the average toddler. There are a host of "cheeky engines," who are constantly getting miffed or "cross" with each other in their quest to be "really useful engines." If you haven't watched any of Thomas videos I would suggest starting the journey with "Ten Years of Thomas." I will gladly give you our copy. You will get a smattering of grimy inarticulate children and their parents spouting Thomas propaganda sandwiched between grainy Thomas episodes-delightful!

Okay, all cynicism aside, our boy loves his trains and it has been so fun to watch his play blossom in creativity with his little trains. It started with a lot of assistance from adults in building tracks on the floor, then last year when Owen was born we got a train table at a garage sale. This has been the one enduring toy that Linus never tires of. Each time we come to get him up in the morning he runs out to his trains. If we change his tracks or set up new people or animals while he is napping we are greeted with the chorus of "Oh my goodness.... My Special Tracks....Oh, I love it!" when he emerges from his room. As he has aged his trains and their relationships have become more complex...sometimes they crash, or tell each other they are not being nice, sometimes they hit things on the track and still other times they rescue each other.

For about the last month each morning Linus informs us of what engine we will be. Not surprisingly he is usually Thomas. Owen is always Percy. I am most often James but when I try to convince Linus to let me be a girl engine I am often demoted to Cranky the railroad crane and forced to lift Linus and his toys out of countless predicaments until my back is aching. Andy is usually Toby or Gordon on a good day.

What makes me laugh about this game is that we continue in character throughout the day. If I accidentally call him by his name I am quickly corrected. Linus seamlessly weaves the imaginary into reality. If I want him to take a bath I tell him we are going to the bath station where all useful engines need to get a proper wash down. If Owen gets into his things Linus (or I should say Thomas) will Shriek..."James!! Move Percy he is getting my stuff." He doesn't even change rolls when whining. Today when we came home from church the house was a mess (as it often is-I know shocking), and Linus asked me who made the mess. I told him the "Percy" did it. Laughing he slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead and responded "oh no Percy you can't make a mess, you are making me a very cross engine! I am a very cross Thomas!"

Perfect Parenting

Today I took the kids to the Library. I had the great idea that I would zip in check out a few train books for Linus's birthday party, let Linus play around in the little reading area, run some errands and then be home in time for lunch...Yeah right! I quickly came to the conclusion that the library is a mother with two tiny children's worst nightmare. First of all I attempted to keep Linus occupied so that I could type in with one hand while attempting to balance and alternately restrain Owen away from the key board...after some minutes back came my keyword search results for "train..." Now all I need do is keep my three year old within arms or I should probably say "arm" length because I had Owen in the other arm, and attempt to write down the author and title of each of the books while Owen screamed and grabbed at the pencil. After I had managed to write down several authors I thought I was home free. Have you ever attempted to cajole a three year old up and down rows of books in search of Alphabetised last names...McCloud,McCreedy,...McCurses. After doing this for no less than four authors without I single book actually being where it was supposed to be according to the trusty computer I was definitely ready to cursing. It was at this point that Linus decided to throw his book down and refuse to pick it up. I informed him that if he did not pick it up he would have to go to the naughty spot. He refused and I found a corner and sat him there. While I was waiting for him to see reason I perused the shelves around me to discover I had placed in time out in the parenting section! There I spied a book tittled "Perfect Parenting: The Dictionary of 1,000 Parenting Tips" The answer to all my prayers was right there before me. This manual will no doubt teach me how to get my child to walk quietly beside me up and down rows of books, possibly carrying my books for me, and pausing to tell my how much he loves me and how glad he is to be at the library basking in the written word. In a matter of days I am confident that I will be the perfect parent. I will even post some tips so that all two people who read my blog can become perfect parents as well...We're on our way but first I need to go lose my tempter and yell at my kid who refuses to take his nap this afternoon!

Rock Stars

I'm not exactly sure what is going on in this picture...Linus is over-dressed and Owen is clearly under dressed. I guess I just need something to remind me that they are cute because today they have been sick, snotty, whinny, and have tried my patience.

My Nose

Linus: "My nose is coming out..."

Sick Day

I just need a quick rant today or I will pull all my hair out. The past few days have been really ridiculous.

Owen got sick first. He started throwing up every time we put him down for a nap which translated into me having to wash his blankets four times in a 24 hour period and to bath him that same number of times.

The next day Linus starting getting a really awful cough and runny nose along with a fever. Today Owen hasn't thrown up just diarrhea diapers a few times and his nose has started to run. Neither of the boys have been napping well, and they haven't slept at the same time for three days during which time I have also been sick.

I feel like I am about to lose it...
Now time to Rant:
Both my children got sick suspicious two days after having been in the church nursery. Tell me, Who are these evil parents who care so little about other peoples' children that they stick their children who have been throwing up and having diarrhea in the nursery. Seriously!!! Or who puts their toddler in Sunday school with a fever and cough that racks their whole body.

I can't tell you how many times I have repeated this cycle. Go to church or some other public place...two days later kids fall deathly ill. Stay home, deal with cranky irritable kids, miss work, pump kids full of juice and pedialite for two weeks, go nowhere. Then finally they are well enough to leave the house...hurray! No more cabin fever...for two more days until we repeat the same cycle all over again.

Once a Decade

We have lived in Bend for over five years now, and I had never gone skiing until Monday. Andy has only been snowboarding a few times and doesn't consider himself very good, so the fact that I was not exactly an expert skier sort of made it less than tempting for us to go together. Couple that with the fact that an adult season pass goes for just under $1000 and the fact that we have no gear...well, the fact is we've never gone.
So, my baby sister bought me a ticket for Christmas and we went up on Monday. The conditions were a little icy but the day was beautiful clear and ridiculously warm. We were actually way over dressed. It was great fun.

Guetto Birthday

Today was Linus' 3rd Birthday. I can't believe he is that old. Andy was in Portland for his Ministry Class, so I was left to my own devices in figuring out how to celebrate (we are going to have a party for him later this month so I will save my sentimental posts for later). I made him some not too stellar cup cakes, and Hannah and I took him to Pappy's Pizza for dinner. He spent the entire time holding a germ infested gun pretending to shoot unsuspecting wildlife on some weird hunting game.
When we got home I couldn't even find a proper birthday candle...