Repetition is the Key

I had a few funny moments this month where I found myself repeating a key phrase that I never would have expected. If you keep reading, you'll see why.
I took all the kids with me to vote. I feel it's an important lesson and I gave the kids each an American Flag to wave and off we went to the polling place. While I was in the middle of filling out my ballot, I started to smell a particular smell. So I called out to the kids "Is everyone clean and dry?" Jonny called back "I am. SEE!" When I turned around, there he was standing with his pants and pullup around his ankles showing me just how dry he was. "Put your pants on!" I shouted with a surprise. Maybe if I'd kept my head and said it quiet, everyone wouldn't have turned around to stare.
The next week, I was getting the Jonny and Simon ready for the bath when JIMMY came running out of the bathroom, dripping wet from his own bath. "Look Mom!" he cried. "Knee knockers- Grandma would be so proud!" Grandma would have been very proud of his authentic knee knocking- if she had been there and IF he had been wearing a stitch of clothes. I found myself again shouting in surprise "PUT YOUR PANTS ON!!!" ( I wrote Jimmy super big because I had to repeat the name for Gary 3 times before he believed me.)

Helpful Hands

Jonny and Amelia have been my great helpers in these last few days in unique ways.

Amelia "hooved" a placemat at school (read weave, but she can't remember that word.) So I decided to include her in my latest weaving project. My last weaving project took place for Mother's Day in 2001. Jimmy was a few months old and I wove a small basket for my mother and mother in law. So it's been a while. We have no Thanksgiving decorations and since Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, I decided to try to weave a cornucopia to be more festive. I think perhaps I should have looked at a picture of a cornucopia before I started or maybe found a pattern or something. But here it is: a kind of wonky looking cornucopia filled with pictures of things Jonny is thankful for (his family night lesson)

Jonny was kind of glum and didn't want to do any of his usual activities, so I offered to let him help me sew. He loves to help me sew. He helped me sew a couple of quilt tops for a veteran's hospital (a pet project of a woman in my ward.) Today he helped me hem up some pants. I put him in charge of the pedal to make the machine go. I don't think I realized just how fast a sewing machine could go until I had a 3 year old at the controls!

Friends beware...

Amelia and Jonny tend to get a little carried away when friends come over. They plot ways to set traps for their friends while they anticipate their arrival. Usually, its something along the lines of "let's put a candy bar on a string and pull it when he tries to grab it" or "let's tickle him" or "let's trap him so he can't go home." I try to discourage this activity. I find it a little disturbing.
Last night at dinner time, their past time took a deranged twist.
"I'm gonna set a trap for Santa Claus," Amelia grinned.
The kids got carried away, shouting out all of the various tricks and traps they could pull on poor old Santa. Suggestions ranged from
"Let's fill our stockings with rats" to "let's poison his hot chocolate." (not poison, sleeping powder- I draw the line at poisoning Santa Claus, or anyone else for that matter.)
I couldn't believe their dastardly plans. I think I'll put up a sign warning Santa to stay away this year.

Thankful

I am thankful for ticklish kids! What are you thankful for?

It's Just a Phase

My babies have all gone through a certain phase where they love to sneak in to cupboards and drawers and steal things. I call it the "raiding phase." Jimmy used to sneak the condiments out of the fridge and line them up in his play tent. Simon loves to line up the hot sauce and tabasco. Every last one of them has loved to play in my dresser drawer, sauntering around the house in the "spoils."

I debated for a few days whether or not to post this photo. I finally decided that it perfectly documents the raiding phase and the joy which with the raiding is carried out:

Here's Simon after one of his latest raids. He's a little fuzzy because he's in the middle of a happy dance.

Copy Cat Post

A few weeks ago, my sister made a cute blog page on a Saturday afternoon. She went around the house, taking pictures of her husband and children doing whatever they happened to be doing. One was in the sand box. Another was reading a book. Hubby was mowing the lawn. Domestic bliss.
Yesterday, I found myself alone on the main floor of "the kiddodiddo ranch." This NEVER happens. (My kids feel the need to be within arm's reach at all times. I don't know why.) The house was quiet for several minutes. "AH!" I thought to myself. "Here's my chance to document my children in their natural habitat." So I grabbed the camera and ran through the house snapping photos. Here's what I found:


Simon. He was on the main floor after all, but he was quiet because he was eatting stickers. Notice cheeks full of stickers.
Put the camera down, unload cheeks and then continue on... Here's Jonny.
Just as I arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he starts walking down the stairs, hollering "MOM! MOM! MOM!" and eatting a box of Nerds. So much for finding him in his natural habitat.

I continued up the stairs and found Amelia, in her room. As soon as I walked through the door, she pulled the blanket down tight, to hid the fact that she had taken her Halloween candy to bed with her "for a little nap." ( no, you can't actually see her in the picture. The Ariel blanket/cave is in the way)
By the time I got back to the bottom of the stairs again, I found Jimmy, waving a sword and kicking a soccer ball at the front door. What you can't see is that his mouth is bright blue on the inside because it's stuffed with Jolly ranchers. (yes that's a campaign sticker on his shirt)

My last attempt to catch my children in their natural habitat ended here, at the kitchen table, where you can see the boys sharing a box of Nerds. (yes that's more campaign literature on the table. sigh.)

Now I know what it takes to get 5 minutes of peace and quiet- Halloween candy.

Fall Photos

Here's a few photos from the last month.

I guess this photo requires some explaination. I don't hang around in my wedding dress, but the kids were looking through a photo album of our wedding and asked if I still had the dress. So I put it on. Jimmy surprised me by being the most impressed with the dress . He took this picture when I wasn't looking. He loves taking pictures.

I've enjoyed watching this tree from my living room window. I love fall!

Here's a hat I made for Amelia. A friend of mine asked for help to make a beanie cap, and here's what I came up with. I wonder what she's thinking about.

Amelia went to a pumpkin patch with her school and got to bring home a pie pumpkin (yum!) She drew a face on it and I carved it for her. We carved the big one as a group.

Here's a better view- I love the freckles and rosy cheeks!

Try as I might, I could not get a decent picture of the kids in their Halloween costumes. This is as close as I got this year. Jimmy was Iron Man (You know the guy on the underpants- that's what he told me when he chose it out. Everyone ELSE seemed to know who or what Iron Man is) Jonny was a candy corn. Simon wore the sheep suit (here he is, minus the hat) and Amelia is Mulan. Too bad she's wearing her coat. The dress was very pretty.

Here's the real reason Halloween photos never ended up on the blog last Halloween: I accidently cut off Gary's head. (Jimmy was a bat, Simon was a jack o lantern, Amelia was a princess and Jonny was a dinosaur)

I'm so glad that I did get one shot with Gary's head in it. Aren't he and Simon so cute?!

Here's my last Halloween photo, a reminder of what happens when you rub a wet sucker through your hair:

Swimmer

Yesterday, Amelia and Gary had a Traumatic Experience.

Amelia was trying to play with her baby dolls and Jimmy and Jonny were playing "kidnapping pirates." Unfortunatly, the two games did not go so well together. At one point, I heard Jonny yell "Ha Ha I flushed Purple Amelia down the toilet!" (Amelia named her baby after herself)

Thanks, Gary for playing the part of Purple Amelia's dashing hero. I wish Crismon Shedds had come along!

I never saw the actual event. I was putting the very unrepentant Jonny to bed early while he playfully yelled things like "I can flush a ball down the toilet I can flush the world down the toilet!"

Perfect Fall Day

Today was a day off from school. I have no idea why. I thought it would be nice to get out and enjoy the weather before the winter chill. I am sorry I forgot my camera. I took the kids on a picnic lunch to the Dinosaur Park. It's our local favorite. It was stunning! It is situated in a wooded area and the trees were colored in autumn glory. Orange, yellow and red. Crunchy leaves everywhere we stepped. As we ate lunch, I thought to myself that it looked SO MUCH like autumn that it almost didn't seem real. The kids ran and we frolicked in the leaves and explored the trails around the park. We found a little stream and threw sticks in it. Then we used bigger sticks to fish them out. At one point Jimmy fell in. (Thankfully it was not too cold to go around with wet shoes.) I think this is my favorite way to spend an afternoon.

Politics

Last week, I had the little boys with me at the auto repair shop. While we were in the waiting room, the Martha Stewart Show was playing and Martha was calling on all parents everywhere to get their children to vote, because this election would be decided "by the youth". So for a joke, I told Jonny to make sure he votes and asked him who he would vote for. Here's the response I got:
John McCain! John McCain! (jumps up and down)
John McCain! John McCain! (growly voice)
(About this time I was thinking this would make a cute little advertisement.)
John McCain! (spins in circles)
Barak Obama is a MURDERER!

I think my jaw hit the floor when I heard that last part. And I hoped against hope that his intelligability is not as good as I think it is.

With a red face I explained that Barak Obama never murdered anybody.