Fearless

Saxon has always been my fearless child.

If he says he's too afraid to do something, 

it's usually because he's just trying to get out of doing it,

 not because he's actually afraid of it.

Everything the big boys did at the lake, he wanted to do.

Tubing.

Wakeboarding.

Wake Surfing.

Kneeboarding.

Kneeboarding quickly became his favorite.

It's not that hard, and he feels like he's really doing something cool.

Mostly he would just stay on his tummy on the board and cross back and forth over the wake.

One time, the boys suggested to him that he should try to get up.  They explained how to loosen the straps, get your knees in place, and then velcro yourself it.  I figured that it was too many instructions for a 5 year old and I thought he would just ignore them.

In fact, at one point, he got so sick of everyone shouting advice to him from the back of the boat that he started saying,

"I'm just going to do this however I want!  Don't tell me to do things."

So, after the latest instructions, my little guy was off behind the boat getting ready.

Then he shouts "Hit it!"

And we're off.

At first he just stays on his belly.  Then he holds the rope with one hand as he starts to loosen the strap.  Then we see his little bum go up in the air and he tries to maneuver his knees under him.  And then he had it!  He was up on his knees, in the right spot, knee boarding.  He was really doing it!  He even strapped himself in.  He adjusted the velcro over his knees and got himself all snugged in.  It was the cutest thing ever!  He looked so little out there.

Not only was he knee boarding, but he was doing an amazing job.  

He had great balance and great control.

After a while my little brother asked,

"What will happen when he falls, now that he's all strapped in?  Will he get trapped under water?"

Silence.

What will happen?  Now we were a little nervous.  If he were to have a huge wipe out, it would probably knock him out of the board, but what if he just tipped over?

One of the boys suggested that we start pulling him in so that we can get him close and then stop the boat and just pull him in.  It sounded like a good idea, so the boys started pulling him closer.  While they were pulling him, my mom was slowing the boat.

It seemed to be working until the boat got too slow and he tipped over.

The knee board flipped over and trapped him, all strapped in, underneath.

I think my heart stopped.

My 13 year old brother Kasen immediately jumped in the water and started swimming towards him.  A second later his friend Wyatt jumped in too.  

Saxon some how managed to get his body through the straps and it ended up around his waist.  He could get his head above water just long enough to take a breath and cry out and then the board would push him down again.

It was probably only a minute before Kasen reached him and flipped him over.  The two boys untangled him and towed him in.

When they got him to the swim step, I pulled him in, wrapped him in a towel and hugged him.  He told me how he couldn't breathe and how he was stuck.  We gave him his own Diet Coke to make him feel better (I know, I know...but it was the best I could come up with in the moment...) and then my mom let him help her drive the boat.

After we got back to shore I asked him if he was scared.

I should have known better.

He's not scared...he's mad!  How dare those stupid straps trap him like that...next time, he wants someone to take off those straps and throw them away so he can knee board without getting stuck.

Like I said...

Fearless.

Life with Boys

I cannot tell you how many times a day I hear:

"Three boys!  Are you going to keep trying until you get a girl?"

or

"Wow!  You sure have your hands full!"

I think that's the polite way of saying that we are making a huge scene wherever we are.

Yes, I do have my hands full...but I try (apparently unsuccessfully) not to make it so obvious. 

I never know how to answer that first questions.

I usually just laugh.

We will have as many kids as we feel good about.

If they're all boys, so be it.

If the next time around is a girl, it doesn't mean we'll stop because we finally did it.

So, I don't know...

But for now, I'm enjoying having all boys.

Being super-girly myself, I'm always surprised (and horrified) about the things that they say and do. 

Here's some recent ones:

 

 -Bridger: "MOM!!!  (giggles) We all sat on the toilet and put our feet in!"

 -Me:  "That is so gross!  What were you thinking?!?"

 -Bridger:  "Why is it gross?  There was no poops and no pees in the toilet."

And few minutes later Saxon picked up Nate's beard trimmer and started combing his hair with it.  Then he asks "What would happen if I turned it on?"  Then he turned it on.  Now he is missing a chunk of hair.

-Saxon: "Mom, my friend at the park today, she said BUTT!"

-Me: "We don't say butt, we say bum."

-Saxon: "I didn't say BUTT, she said BUTT, so I'm just telling you that she said BUTT because I know we can't say BUTT.  She did Mom.  She really said BUTT.  But I didn't say BUTT."

(This is his new sneaky way of saying "potty words"...by quoting them to me.)

Yesterday, I happened to be walking by the bathroom when I saw Saxon barely make it to the toilet in time, and in his haste, overshot and hit the shower curtain.

-Me: "SAXON!  You just peed on the shower curtain!"

-Saxon: "Sorry Mom.  That happens a lot."

I've also learned that boys are born warriors.

They fight.

They defend each other.

And they learn to be boys so fast! 

At the Scottish Festival on Friday, we let Saxon and Bridger "fight the giant."

We were the last ones there as it was getting dark, so the guy in charge handed Dalton a sword and asked "You too?"

The baby boy didn't waste any time running out there to battle the giant.

Sword swinging and kilt blowing in the wind.

He is fearless (except for puppies, he's terrified of those), and can't stand to be left out.

If the big boys were going to fight the giant, then so was he!

Having all boys definitely makes life interesting :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I hope everyone is having a great day so far...

Last night we made a Leprechaun Trap Cake:

I mixed up a cake mix and divided it into 6 bowls (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) and layered them into a bundt pan.

Then we mixed up some green frosting.

Once the cake was cool, we turned it over onto a cutting board and started squirting on green frosting on it to make it look like grass.

We put pretzel sticks over the opening and gold coins on top.

Then the boys drew a picture of a rainbow to let the Leprechauns know that there was a rainbow inside.  We were hoping that the Leprechaun would climb up to get the coins, and fall through the pretzels and we'd catch him in the middle of the cake.

We left it on the table over night...

But that sneaky little Leprechaun ate his way out of the trap...

Rainbow cake:

The boys woke up really early to check their trap.

They discovered that the Leprechaun had eaten his way out of the cake and left a trail of gold coins all the way to the door.

They boys got up before us and so Saxon appointed himself the leader and suggested that since the trap didn't work, they might as well enjoy the cake!

So he used the bamboo skewer and cut a huge section out of the cake and they ate it with their hands.

Then they ate all of the chocolate out of the gold coins but left the gold wrappers exactly where they found them (in a trail to the door).

We became aware of their self-sufficiency when Dalton came into our room covered in green frosting...

They somehow decided that since the cake didn't work as a trap...it might as well be a toy.  I got out of the shower to find Luke Skywalker and Han Solo waist deep in rainbow cake:

Boys...I don't know what else to say...

I hope you're having a great St. Patrick's Day!

Valentines

Did anyone else spend all weekend making Valentines?

This cute little face may look like he was happily cooperating with writing his name on 24 THOR Valentines...but don't be fooled.

It was an all day battle to get this project done...

He wanted THOR Valentines, for his class, but also wanted candy.

Which left us writing his name on two dozen THOR Valentine's cards and taping them to two dozen packs of Fun Dip.

His name started off looking like this:

But when left to his own devises 

(while I cleaned up 1000 lego pieces off the carpet),

the majority of the Valentine's looked more like this:

I give up.  I taped them all on looking like that and called it a night.

How was your weekend?

Circus

Guess who's thinking of running away and joining the circus?

Last night my cousins invited us to go to the circus with them.

Saxon and Dalton got their faces painted:

And Bridger almost fell off the elephant.

Saxon put his arms around him to keep him from sliding all the way off.

I thought it was scary.

They thought it was awesome!

On a different note...

Does anyone know the recipe to Disneyland's Vegetarian Gumbo?

My sister and I had it on our trip to Disneyland and I've been dreaming about it ever since.

I've googled it, but I didn't come up with anything that sounded right.

Any suggestions?

*Don't forget that today is the last day to enter the giveaway from Through the Eyes of the Mrs....

And I thought it would be simple...

Do you ever think "I'll just do _________ real quick..."

I need to start remembering that nothing is "real quick" when my kids are involved.

The other night Brittany and I decided that we would take the kids on a quick walk.

We wanted to walk over to the grocery store and return a redbox that we had rented before 9:00 p.m.

(we didn't want to pay for an extra day).

So, it went a little something like this:

7:45 p.m. - "We should go for a walk..." Good idea!  So we start gathering everything that is "necessary" to take with us when we bring the kids on a walk.  Brittany and I changed into sweats because it was freezing outside!

8:00 p.m. - We started getting the kids in sweats and beanies and slippers and layers, etc.  We tried putting Uggs on Saxon and he told me that his toe hurt. I tried putting socks on him first to make him feel better.  It didn't make him feel better.  I suggested a bandaid.  He suggested a bandaid with neosporin.  We tried again.  His toe was still too sore for shoes.  He settled on wearing Brittany's Uggs instead.

8:15 p.m. Bridger has to poop

8:20 p.m. -"WIPE ME!!!!"

8:25 p.m. - We finally make it downstairs with the blankets, the pillow pets, the sweatshirts, the beanies, the portable DVD players, the sippy cups, the snacks, and all 3 kids.

8:30 p.m. - Loading all of the kids in.  Bridger lost a slipper.  Dalton threw off his beanie.  They didn't want the movie that we brought for the DVD player.  Saxon has to arrange his blankets in a certain way (the fuzzy one of the bottom, the quilt on top...) Bridger is thirsty...again...

 

8:45 p.m. - We finally start walking down the road and Saxon says "I'm all wet!"  What do you mean you are all wet!?  He spilled his sippy all over his blankets.  Great.

9:00 p.m. - Back on the road.  The redbox is late. sigh...I should have known better than to think that I can get anything done "quickly".

What adventures have you had lately?

DIY Phineas and Ferb Costumes

Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb is a HUGE hit at my house.

And, I'll admit it...I like it too.

They remind me of Saxon and Bridger.

I looked online for some costumes, but all they had were huge Phineas and Ferb heads, where the face opening is in Phineas and Ferb's neck.  They were really expensive and not cute.  We decided to make our own.

After a trip to Wal-mart and a trip to Goodwill, I found everything that I needed to transform Saxon and Bridger into Phineas and Ferb.  And of course Dalton has got to be Agent P.

Here's what you need:

Cowboy accessory kit from Wal-mart ($4.98)

White polo from Wal-mart ($5)

Perry the Platypus shirt from Wal-mart ($7)

Girl's purple sweats from Wal-mart ($4)

Orange striped shirt - already had from Target during the summer.  

(I did see some at Wal-mart though...)

Blue shorts from Goodwill ($1)

yellow/orange tights and ducky feet

(borrowed from a friend who bought the baby chicken costume from costco)

Colored hair spray from Wal-mart ($1.29)

Black ribbon, safety pins, hot glue (already had but can get from anywhere)

-I started by wrapping the black ribbon around the cowboy had to make the Agent P hat.

-Then I measured the sweats on Saxon to the length that I wanted and cut them off.  Since sweats don't fray, I didn't even hem them :)

-I bought Dalton's Perry shirt in Saxon's size so that Saxon could wear it after we use it for Halloween.  There are lots of tutorials about how to turn a shirt into a romper, but since I wanted to keep the shirt, I just rolled it up between his legs and pinned it from the inside with a big safety pin.

And now, I'd like to present:

FERB

PHINEAS

PERRY the PLATYPUS

and the whole cast...

These were the perfect costumes for them.

Two crazy, smart, adventurous brothers

pretending to be

two crazy smart adventurous brothers.

Perfect!

Of course since we were at the park, we had to act out the cartoon.

I was assigned to be Candace and Aunt Brittany was assigned to be Isabella.

Every time they tried something new, I was required to scream

"You are SO BUSTED!"

Onlookers were probably starting to wonder about us...(LOL)

And Baby Dalton/Perry the Platypus had to keep up with all the action.

 

 So...what do you think?

Also, be sure to check out "Where I Link" to find where this post is linked up to.

Brothers

I came across this quote a few weeks ago and fell in love...

It reminds me of my little guys...
Being a brother is better than being a superhero! 

The boys have a constant best friend, 
someone to play with, 
someone to fight with, 
someone to keep up with,
someone to look out for you,
someone to blame it on,
someone to scheme with,
someone who understands that boys simply can't aim in the toilet, 
someone to help you make it out of the deep end,
someone to help you climb up the cupboards and reach the treats,
someone to help you watch out for cars,
someone to help you team up against mom, 
someone to love you no matter what.


There's nothing else like a brother.

It is now the newest addition to my shop.

Visit cait + create on etsy to check it out :) 
(Also linked up on Tatertots and Jello and Tip Junkie)

What we wore...RAINBOOTS

Has anyone else had CRAZY weather this year?

One day it is in the high 80's...

the next day it's in the 40's.

Cold. Wet. Rainy.

The perfect day for: RAINBOOTS

What I wore:

Rainboots: Target clearance $6

Jeans: IT hand-me-downs - FREE

White shirt: Forever 21 $3

Black Sweater: hand-me-down - FREE

Necklace: Love Stitched - gift - FREE

What Saxon wore:

Rainboots: Target sale $10

Shirt: ELEMENT from Ross $8

Jeans: H & M - $9

Hat: Gap "hats, gloves, scarfs, sale" $5

What Bridger wore:

Rainboots: Target - gift :) - FREE

Jeans: H & M - $9

Shirt: Old Navy sale

Hat: Macy's $14.99

What Dalton wore:

Jeans: Crazy 8's end of summer sale - $10

Shirt: Crazy 8's end of summer sale - $5

Shoes: Jack & Lily from Costco - $14 

(Photos by Love Stitched)

We'll be linking up at:

The Pleated Poppy

Momma Go Round

No Model Lady

G.U.M.

Currently, the bane of my existence is spelled G.U.M.

Let me give you a little background...

I'm not a gum chewer.

I never have been.

I don't like feeling like I'm constantly talking with food in my mouth.

My husband...he's a gum chewer.

He doesn't just chew, he smacks.

I didn't say anything while we were dating, but once we were married, I addressed the issue. Now, neither of us are gum chewers. :)

(What a great husband, right?)

I never let Saxon chew gum as a little kid.

One day we were at my friend's house and she gave her kids gum.

I caved, because I didn't want him to feel left out.

But, I drilled it into his head

"We don't swallow gum, we don't swallow gum, we don't swallow gum..."

Like a good little guy, when he was done, he didn't swallow his gum.

He stuck it in his pocket.

Yep.

Ruined the pants.

I renewed my resolve to be a non-gum-chewing household.

Now there's Bridger.

He's a snacker.

If there's a snack to be found in the house, he will find it.

I can't buy snacks because he will constantly sneak them.

I started to worry, so I re-evaluated my gum theory.

Maybe, just maybe, he would snack less if he chewed gum.

So, I broke down, and bought some sugar-free gum and gave it a shot.

Well, it kind of worked.

He doesn't dig for snacks anymore, but he is always begging for gum.

I have gum stuck to my sheets.

There is gum stuck to their comforter on their bed.

And there are piles of gum in every trash can.

Not to mention that they can't seem to leave it in their mouths!

The other day, Dalton walked out of the bathroom smacking.

SMACKING, like he's chewing gum.

I tried to get into his mouth to pull out whatever it was, but he clamped down his little jaw.

Finally, Nate tipped him upside down to make him laugh and I snatched it out.

G.U.M.

He had gone into the bathroom and fished an already been chewed piece of gum out of the trash can and was smacking on it.

GROSS!

I went into the kitchen to dispose of the nasty gum and came back out and Dalton is smacking!  Again!

The kid only has a few teeth.

How can he possibly be chewing gum?

He had gone back into the bathroom and found another piece of gum.

Thoroughly exasperated, I gave Nate the look that said "fix this please."

He took out all of the trashes in the house.

 

 Today, before church, I wanted to take a picture of the kids because they all looked so cute and ready for Halloween (Saxon's tie has skulls on it).

This is what I ended up with...GUM.

Even Dalton had a piece and swallowed it before I could snatch it out of his mouth.

(sigh)

What can I do?

Do you let you kids chew gum?