This time around

There are a couple of things that I've learned from my experience in motherhood. There are some things that I feel like we figured it out with Nolan and I want to do it the same. Then there's other things that I've realized, "Wow, if I had to do it again, I'd..." Poor Nolan, nothing like being the guinea pig when it comes to your childhood. Isn't that what we all are though, more or less?

One thing I learned to approach a different way is potty training. To put it lightly, it was H.E.L.L with Nolan. We were right in the middle of it when we brought Campbell into the world. Every book on potty training says to not do it when there's a big change in the home, but you know me, I think I can do it anyway. My doctor finally told me with boys to just plan on it not happening until he's 3, and if it happens before then, that I'm one of the lucky ones. I think I just needed to hear that and then I chilled out. Sure enough, on Nolan's 3rd birthday, it was like he was sprinkled with magical potty dust and it all clicked for him.

I've already decided that I'm not even going to push it with Campbell after all that I went through with Nolan. He's way more interested in it than Nolan ever was at this age though. He's seen Nolan use the potty and even sits down on the potty. We just smile and say good job and he's proud of himself just for sitting. The other night he "tried" going potty and I was about to go give him a bath so I didn't put a diaper on him. Can you see where this is going? You guessed it, he gave me a nice little surprise right on the floor. Now he keeps saying, "No poo poo on the floor. Poo poo on the potty."

So tonight we were out playing in the yard with a little inflatable pool for the boys. They were LOVING it. Then we saw Campbell's potty face and I knew we had to get him out of the pool quick. So not having time to put a diaper on him (plus he was soaked),  I ran him to the potty more out of convenience than anything else, and 5 seconds later, he poops in the potty! I started screaming because it surprised me so much. I think I scared him to death! Then when he realized I was happy screaming, he was just beaming and so proud of himself. He runs outside naked and tells his daddy, "Poo poo in potty!" Just goes to show you how different each child is when it comes to potty training.

I think it was all just timing on this one, and we have still have a loooong road ahead, but I was just so proud of him. I might just have to potty train him outside this whole summer... it seemed to work! Maybe this time around, I'll be one of the lucky ones my doctor talked about. Wishful thinking...

Nightmare on Museum St.

Oh boy. Where do I even start? My sister and oldest niece helped me watch the boys on my last day of school so I didn't have to pay for a week of daycare when I only needed help one day of childcare. My sister, in return, needed my help watching her youngest two later on in the week. It sounded like a good trade to me, especially because her two are way less maintenance than mine! I said it was a good trade...not a fair trade.

We bought a family pass for the children's museum here back at Spring Break. So I decided that would be good entertainment for four kids all by myself. This was our third time and I've pretty much seen the same things the last two times I went, so I wanted to venture to another part of the museum. After visiting the new exhibit on Leonardo de Vinci and the cattle part of the museum, we decided to go to Energy Blast of the exhibit. Who would see any harm in learning about natural gas and fossil fuels? I guess the first clue should have been the 3D glasses they handed us. I thought it was just part of the exhibit we were seeing. Then we walked into a theater - an interactive and way-too-scary-for-anyone-under-12 theater. I can't believe that someone didn't stop me before I went in there!

So I sit down with Campbell on my left knee, Nolan on my right knee and we're sandwiched between my two nieces, Adalyn and Avery. Lights go out and I'm already hearing murmurings of "Mooommmmmy?" That should have been my second clue. The theater seats moved like roller-coaster seats and when insects were on the screen something would grab at your feet, cold air would blast on your face and water would squirt on your face....sounds lovely for toddlers and 4-year-olds doesn't it? We lasted about 3 minutes in the movie and that was after a million times of saying, "It's not real honey" and "Don't look, just put your face in my shoulder." Next was the straw the broke the camels back. A huge T-Rex popped on the screen and roared. It's all just a blur now but I'm sure both my children could describe in detail what it looked like. It more or less looked like this, but imagine it with more saliva than a Saint Bernard stretched between his upper and lower jaw....in 3D and looking like it wants to eat you.

Aaaaaannnnd that's when the surround sound crying began. Volume 10. Picture this, I'm trying to get off a roller-coaster in the middle of the ride with two kids on each of my knees and neither kid will let me put them down, wearing 3D glasses and I'm trying to corral two other children to find the nearest exit possible....oh I can't forget to pick up my stroller on the way and not disturb others' movie watching experience.

Yep, another Mom of the Year moment for me again. Nolan would NOT stop talking about it.  He told everyone about it at Vacation Bible School at church and poor Campbell keeps saying "dinsaur cary (scary)" I've totally traumatized my children! HELLO people...it's a CHILDREN'S MUSEUM!?! Guess I better break out the bad dream spray tonight!

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First things first

This pretty much sums up the beginning of my summer so far. So much for my to-do list I had already started. This one takes precedence over all of them. Wow. I didn't realize how much kids could actually fight over ALL.DAY.LONG! It might be a loooooooooong summer, people.

My boys are so used to being go-go-go on the weekends, that this morning when I woke up and had nothing to do but piddle around the house, Nolan kept saying, "Where are we going today?" and Campbell said, "Go bye-bye mama?" I'm either going to be exhausted from running them around (talk about mad mom in a minivan) or I've got to come up with some good activities at home to keep them occupied. The good thing about being on-the-go...there's not as much fighting! I might be moving into my van this summer.

Our lunch bandit

Embarrassingly enough, Nolan's teacher told me a couple of weeks ago that Nolan has been eating other kids' lunches. I asked him about it and sure enough he admitted it and said, "I'm just really hungry, mommy." So now I'm the mom starving her kid. Oh great. You better believe that I packed the biggest lunch ever the next day.

Here is a video of me talking to him about it. Check out how expressive he is and how he talks with his hands. I can't imagine where he got that.

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You know it's summer in Texas when...

The only time you can stand to be outside is when you're in a pool. We started off the Memorial Day weekend with Nolan's t-ball game at 10:00. You would think that it would be safe that early in the morning from the heat. Think again. Within 10 minutes, I had knee sweat running down my legs. Tell me again what I was thinking signing Nolan up for an outdoor sport through the end of June?

Nolan scored his first homeroom! WOOHOO! I'm loving t-ball more than soccer already (minus the heat). He did lap the kid ahead of him though and beat him to home. Talk about hustling!

We decided to celebrate the holiday on Saturday with the family so we could all have a nice relaxing Monday. We headed to our neighborhood pool. Could our boys be any different when it comes to swimming? Nolan, our cautious one,  had a floatie on nearly every appendage of his body. We've already gone swimming three times and by the end of the third day, he got rid of the ring and the noodle and was swimming with just his arm floaties. I think he's just building up his confidence and I'm glad that he'll be taking lessons again this summer.

 Nolan in the land of floaties

Campbell, on the other hand, OH.MY.GOODNESS! This boy has ZERO fear. He was jumping into the pool without floaties (we were right there to catch him) and going underwater like he's half fish. He scared me to death so many times, that I went out yesterday and bought him a nerdy life vest. I decided that if I'm going to go with both of them this summer by myself, it would give me more peace of mind to get both of them one.

 Campbell taking it all in

Could he be any happier at the pool?

Sorry for the blur but he's SOOO fast!

nothing but trouble...where does he get these faces?

Pools scare me to death...heard too many horror stories. So much for laying out by the pool and relaxing. Those days are long gone for years. Maybe I just need to bring a lot of snacks.

We had some great quality time with my parents, my sister and her girls. We had some yummy watermelon (how does my mom ALWAYS pick out the sweetest watermelon?) and corn on the cob...both of which the boys were big fans of. The boys are so crazy about their cousins. They blew bubbles, played with chalk outside and ran around.

Campbell giving some of his Campbell cuddles to his cousin Madison.

Bubble fun!

one of my favorites...

When that tongue is out...you know he's up to something.

I think I might talk them into hanging out with me a lot this summer...instant entertainment and they are such great help for me with the boys. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend!

Playground dedication

Finally, our church has a playground! This may not seem like a big deal, but for our church it is. Since one of our youth kids was 2, he wanted a playground at church. Now he's 12 and we finally have it! Better late than never, right? Appropriately enough, Trent was the one who got to cut the ribbon at our playground dedication.

 Trent getting his wish 10 years later

 love this picture so much with the congregation holding hands getting ready to pray around the kids

The boys get so excited every Sunday when we pull up to church. It's just another physical reminder that our church is growing with families. It's so exciting!

And they're off!

look at these arms...oh my rolly goodness! 

Already in three weeks, we've gotten good use out of...even by our minister!

Tattletale

Oh how I'm going to miss stories about the boys' school that they come home and tell me. Nolan tells me all about who got in trouble even when it's himself. He's incredibly honest in that aspect.

Campbell has a little girl in his class named Maricela that has got to be the cutest thing I've ever seen. She's always so well behaved and mild mannered and her mom dresses her in the cutest outfits. Apparently, she had a bad day a couple of weeks ago and Campbell came home and told me all about it.

There is something about the way that he says "trouble" that just cracks me up.

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