Merrry Christmas!

John and Jack made sugar cookies on Christmas Eve. Wy made a few pit stops at the cookie making station, but he was only interested in eating cookie dough or playing with the dishes. My other fellas had a great time cutting out cookies and drizzling them with homemade icing. Each of the boys picked out a cookie to leave for Santa. Wy ate most of the cookie he selected while Jack drank all of Santa's milk. They did leave the plate, one and a half cookies and an empty glass of milk on the hearth. I'm sure Santa understood. (And yes,that is a spaghetti noodle spoon that Wyatt is brandishing. He loves large utensils.)



For the last few weeks I have been explaining to Jack that Santa brings presents and kids get to ask Santa for something they want. I told him kids don't always get what they ask for, but it never hurts to ask. I would let him think about this and then ask if he wanted to ask Santa for anything special. He would ignore me or chatter about something I couldn't understand. Well, we were at the grocery on Christmas Eve and the cashier asked Jack what he wanted Santa to bring for him. Without missing a beat Jack whispered "A canny cane!" Wouldn't you know that Santa left a candy cane in Jack's stocking? He also left candy canes on the Christmas tree. Jack thought that was wonderful! Just so you know, he also got a mini "tape wedger" in his stocking. It is the cutest little tape measure on a key ring. The thing even has a belt clip and he can hook it on his pants. He is really funny running around with his tape measure on his waist band. He won't even let me borrow it.

Late in the afternoon on Christmas day, John and Jack were upstairs doing who knows what. I was hanging out on the couch trying to take a nap. Wy started fussing. I didn't think anything of it. The fussing continued. It didn't sound serious so I still didn't think anything of it. The fussing continued and became a bit frantic. After about a total of 5 minutes I finally got up to see what he was fussing about. He wasn't at the computer, his desk or on the stairs but I could tell he was downstairs. I couldn't quite figure out where the fussing was coming from. I opened the bathroom door and there was Wy, precariously perched in the sink. We have a teeny tiny wall-mount sink in that bathroom. The basin is barely big enough for me to wash my hands in it and here is Wy semi sitting in the sink. His feet are in the basin, his knees are hanging over the front edge, his left hand is on top of the toilet and his right hand is gripping the faucet. I can see quite clearly that it is taking everything that boy has in him to keep from toppling out of the sink. Now, if I hadn't been worried about him and his delicate position, I would have grabbed the camera and taken a picture for you. But let me tell you, that baby was in a pickle - so you will simply have to picture it in your mind. I did (only for a millisecond) think about having him recreate the scene...

The biggest hit of Christmas Day was the not so little red wagon waiting in the living room. The boys lined the wagon with the pillows Santa brought for them and had us pull them around the house. Every time the wagon started moving Wy got a great big grin on his face. The fellas spent most of the rest of the day hanging out in the wagon. They sat in there and played with tractors and fire engines. They sat in there and watched movies. Jack even tried to HIDE in the wagon at bedtime. He had been cozied up in the wagon watching a movie when I said it was bed time. He surreptitiously pulled the blankets up over his head to completely cover himself. Then he laid there stock still and silent as if I had no idea where he was. He was very upset when I pulled him out of the wagon to head up to bed.

The boys have not been much for coloring, but I picked up this fun little easle and they have both shown interest in coloring on the oversized Blues Clues pages I have put up for them. Hopefully Wy will become more interested in actually coloring than in just eating crayons...
Ok, dear friends, I am blogged out. Happy late Christmas, Merry New Year and I'll see you all again, next week!

Holy Moses!

STOP THE PRESSES!!! Wyatt ate a vegetable! I repeat, Wyatt ate a vegetable! There was no subterfuge involved. He willingly ate a cherry tomato. I cut it in half. I handed a piece to him. He put it in his mouth. He chewed for a second. He spit it out. He looked at it. HE PUT IT BACK IN HIS MOUTH AND ATE IT. Then he went over to Jack's plate and STOLE a cherry tomato from Jack and ate it too! There is hope!

Wyatt is wearing 24 month clothes now. He is just barely 19 months but the 18 months clothes are just too small. And I swear he was only in those for about 3 months. Fortunately I have Jack's old things or I would have to head out and pick up a new wardrobe for Wy. The weird thing is: I can only find a FRACTION of Jack's 24 mo & 2T clothes. He had an avalanche of clothes - but I can't find half of them. That is making me crazy because I can find ANYTHING. Jack is stuck in the middle of 3Ts and 4Ts. 3T pants are just about too short. 4T pants are too big in the waist. All of his 3Ts had little adjustable straps in the waistband like maternity pants. I haven't seen any 4Ts with those little straps. Argh.

Jack is into burping. He has figured out how to make himself burp by sucking some air into his throat. Suck, burp, suck, burp, suck, burp...it goes on and on. It makes John a little bit insane.

Holy Moses - Jack is going to be a STAR!!! The Rep (where John works) is getting ready to do The Glass Menagerie and they want to have some video segments of one of the characters as a little boy. Well, the Christmas Carol kids were too big so they thought of Jack. The shoot was on Monday. John took Jack to the costume shop at 9:30 where they gave him different boots, mittens, scarf and hat. Then they went over to the location for the shoot. Jack and another actor played around for the director and the camera. They are supposed to look like father and son. I was so sad I couldn't go. (I had shows on Monday.) Anyway, John says it all went off without a hitch and that Jack was great - even when he had to give back his costume. I don't think the video is going to be that long in the show, but I'll report back after we see it!

Speaking of Moses...My 3 fellas went to a Christmas party with me the other week. I took the boys upstairs (we were on a tour of the house). The homeowner was showing us this incredibly huge and hidden closet. Jack stepped inside, took one look and said "Ho-we Moses, mommy!" At first I was mortified. Then I thought I would rather have him repeat "Holy Moses" than a slew of other things that are out there. Later in the week we took the boys out for a drive around town to look at Christmas lights. Instead of putting on coats and shoes, I bundled everyone up in jammies and an armload of blankets. Jack insisted on listening to the soundtrack to The Happy Elf (a Harry Connick Jr. show we did last Christmas). The cd I have is 4 songs long and then 18 tracks of very short incidental music. This means we listen to the 4 songs ad nausium. Anyway, one of the songs is called Bluesville and you guessed it, it is sung in a very blues-y style. From the back seat we hear Jack singing along like some gravelly voiced blues vet. John and I nearly lost it when at the end of the song Jack sang "Bluesville, Bluesville, Bluesville...BLUESVILLE!" It could have been an audition.

The other night I was putting the boys to bed and while Jack was in the bathroom, Wy saw his opportunity. He stealthily climbed into Jack's bed, slipped under the covers and pulled them up to his chin. Then he slipped his arms out so he could be nice and tucked in. He laid there for a second enjoying the moment, then this sneaky little grin spread across his face. He knew Jack was going to come in and find him. Jack walked in, took one look at Wyatt and said "Heyyyy, what have we got here?" Wy snuggled in to show he wasn't going anywhere and grinned. It was too much for me. I had to step out.

Mom crochets and the boys are in love with her yarn. The other day ma cut a super long strand of yarn for Jack and wound it up into a ball. He loves this thing and constantly throws it all over the house then wants it wound up again. It was long enough to wrap around the living room, dinging room and kitchen almost twice. I was tired of being tied up/trapped by the string so I cut it to about 6 feet long. Jack was very upset. "You broke it! You fix it! I get a hammer!"

The other night Jack woke up and had to go to the bathroom. I went in with him and when he was done he asked "Where are we going?" I said "Well, you can go to your bed or you can come to bed with mommy." Jack tromped on back to his room so I went to bed. A minute later I hear the saddest little wail "What did I do?" Pause. Sniffles. Sad crying "What did I do?" It just about broke my heart that he thought I had banished him to his room and he had no idea why. I gathered him up and tucked him in bed with us.

OK - that does it for the week. Gimme another day or so and I will have our Christmas day post up for you! Love to everyone of you from Owenland Park!

Hey! What have we here?

Jack has recently started to wipe off my kisses - and Wy is starting to follow suit. Jack will wipe his cheek and say "Jax has to wipe it off." One day I told him it hurt my feelings when he wipes off my kisses. "NO, mommy. You have to say no." I said "Jack, I have to say 'no, don't wipe off my kisses." He kept telling me I had to say "no." Back and forth we went with Jack getting more and more upset. I finally realized he was upset because I said he hurt my feelings. He didn't want to have hurt my feelings, but he didn't want me to kiss him either.

Wy is totally into stacking things. As soon as I come home from the grocery he is rummaging through the bags looking for cans & jars to stack them up. Then he gets very upset with me if I try to put things away. He used to riffle through the bags looking for something to eat (as if I never feed him), now he just wants to build things.

Wy woke up sick one morning this week. He was standing in his crib crying "Cry, cry, cry, cry..." It was so sad. I picked him up and we sat down in the rocker and he just told me all about it "cry, cry, cry...cry, cry, crrryyyyy." I nearly cried.

On Monday I took the boys to get their picture taken with Santa. We had spent a few days watching Santa movies so Jack wouldn't be freaked out. He was excited to go see Santa and desperate to see a reindeer. Surprisingly, Jack was not afraid of Santa. Although he wouldn't sit with Santa, he told him all about the Santa movies we had been watching. Wy put a death grip on me when I tried to introduce him to Santa. So I thought "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em..." Santa was even kind enough to ask me what I wanted for Christmas!

Before seeing Santa, you can frolic through the little play space of things to climb over, through, under and around. At the very end is a big slide that looks like a box of Crayola crayons. The boys had so much fun going up and down the slide forwards and backwards. I tried and tried to get a picture of the two of them going down that slide together, but these boys are fast. The best shot I got was of their backsides as they climbed back up the slide.

I was wrapping gifts at the table a few days ago and the boys were everywhere. Wyatt wanted everything on the table. OK, he really wanted to be ON the table, playing with everything. Jack just wanted to know the play by play of what I was doing. I finally told him "I'm trying to keep Wyatt off the table and down from the chair so he doesn't fall off, bonk his head and have to go to the hospital for stitches." Jack spent the rest of the afternoon running around telling everyone that we were "not going to the hostipitle."

I had packages to mail over the weekend and asked mom to go with me so I could keep a handle on the packages and the boys. In line ahead of us was an adorable little 3 year old boy named Lyndon. He and Jack made fast friends. Within minutes there was so much chatter going on it sounded like a little hen party. They were talking about mommies, cars, trains, Santa, rocks, snow...they had a blast. I was thoroughly embarrassed over Jack's speech quirks. He loves to play with the cardboard tubes from the center of the roll of wrapping paper. He calls them "tubas." I have not corrected this because I thought it was cute, but that little Lyndon - his speech was so clear and he was so outgoing. Then Jack picks up a large cardboard tube for mailing whatever it is you mail in a cardboard tube and starts talking about tubas. Lyndon was confused, the dad looked at me funny. I have spent the rest of the week trying to figure out how much I should try to correct, if I should correct...

Jack is in love with John's tape measure. He loves seeing how far he can send out the tape without having it bend. He loves to count off the numbers. On the days when John takes the boys to Beth's house, the first thing Jack says when he climbs up in John's truck is "Where's my tape wedger?" He used to ask for his "numbers" and that confused and confounded John and I for a few days. Then John understood what Jack was after. John's 'tape wedger' is a 25 footer I think, so it can be a bit unwieldy. Mom found an adorable pint sized tape measure on a keychain at the Dollar store. So I have told Jack to ask Santa for his very own 'tape wedger'. We'll see if he winds up with one in his stocking!

I thought parents agonized over ethical dilemas, education, how to discipline. Who knew I would agonize over hostipitles, tubas and tape wedgers? Whether we feed him too much cereal or too many hot dogs? How I can get him to poop in a pot - cause tempting him with pizza ain't cuttin it folks. OK - back to the boys...

I often hear Jack pipe up from the backseat "Hey! What do we have here?" as we pass some fun Christmas decoration that he likes. Two of his favorites are an inflatable Santa in a train and an inflatable snowman. We were passing the snowman a few days ago and I thought - 'maybe this isn't where the snowman is?' Then from the backseat Jack holler out "OH NO, MOMMY! HE CRASH!" Sure enough, the snowman was in an uninflated heap on the grass.

Friends - that does it for me this week. We'll see you all again after Christmas. May God bless you with a safe and happy holiday. Love, from Owenland Park!

Not your average Nativity Scene

Jack has a large plastic fire truck. He came running through the kitchen with his truck and told me "Jax has people in mine truck." I was intrigued. So I fished out one of his people. It looked strangely like one of the Three Wise Men from the Nativity in the dining room. I fished out a handful of passengers and came up with a sheep, a donkey, an angel, the Blessed Virgin and the Baby Jesus. I thought "At least they are traveling in a safety vehicle..."

John and the boys put together the Christmas tree while I was at work on Saturday. He says Jack put the top on the tree and he acted like it is something he has been doing every Christmas.


The grandparents had been gone all weekend and when they came home on Sunday Jack started yelling "Poppy, there is a TREE! IT'S IN THE HOUSE. POPPY, A TREE'S IN THE HOUSE!" The boys helped Grandpa wrap a few lights around the tree. It didn't take long for them to get bored and decide to go downstairs to watch Robin Hood.


A little while later they helped Mommy put ornaments on the tree. (Wyatt was really trying to help take the ornaments off.) Putting ornaments was much more exciting than wrapping lights around the tree. We let Jack put the star on the top. We normally put an angel on top but Jack had an argument with Daddy saying we had to put a star on top. John suggested we make a star out of foil and put it near the top, thus keeping the angel. Gammy just so happens to have a big soft spot for Jack so the star won out.

Jack has insisted that Wy and I hop in bed with him the past few nights. Has anyone ever tried to get comfortable in a toddler bed? Now think about adding 2 children to that picture. The bed is just long enough for me to sit up and stretch out my legs - so I sit down and cover up, then haul Wy up into my lap. Next Jack climbs in beside me, and there is barely enough room across for the two of us. Now the boys start playing with each other, pinching and tickling, giggling and flopping around till I snap at everyone. The boys finally settle down and I manage to play some sudoku while the boys fall asleep. As uncomfortable as this all is, I have somehow managed to fall asleep both nights. I'm surprised I don't have a lump on the back of my head from the tiny headboard.

Wyatt counts to three. I'm not sure he knows he is counting and I don't think he understands the sequence but he counts "one, two, fee". He also drives his trains and makes 'driving' noises or he says "car, car, caaaaarrrrr" as they drive along. I came into the dining room this morning to find Wyatt eating grapes. There is nothing wrong with that. Then I notice he is using a comb/pick combination to stab the grapes and feed them to himself. He is still in love with books. He is currently fixated on a Sesame Street book. He points out the characters when I ask "Where is Big Bird?" Or "Where is Elmo?"

My kids won't eat Mac n cheese. Wyatt actually acts as if we are trying to do him physical harm if we put a plate of mac n cheese in front of him. He screams and claws his way away from the table. Jack simply refuses to eat it. What American children do not eat noodles?

Jack loves to read letters on store fronts. However, he has recently started to read the letters backwards. Instead of reading B*I*G*K on the K-Mart, he reads K*G*I*B. Which makes me think it is some weird Russian store. He also identifies stores by their colors. The Wal*mart is the "Blue store" because their letters are blue. The grocery is the "Green store" because their letters are green. K-Mart is actually "K-Mart" but that is because they have too many colors in their sign. And I think he calls the Dollar Store the "Brick store" even though they have a sign - so I don't know what is up with that. I will tell Jack we are going shopping and he will ask "Are we going to a Blue store?" or he will tell me "Jacks go to a green store, mommy."

OK friends, that does it for me this week. God bless you all and I may see some of you this Sunday at the Burnell family Christmas gathering! Blessings from Owenland Park!

Lions and Tigers and Wong-Bat Bears, oh my!

I don't know how it all happened, but Wy fell on his face and cut his lip open last weekend. John said he took Wy upstairs to clean him up and try to get him settled down. In the 10 minutes John was upstairs, Jack got hold of the camera and took about 100 pictures... This one is called "Self Portrait #83."

I am working on getting Wy off the pacifier. It is not going well. We really had no trouble getting away from it during the day. I just made sure he had something to focus on. After a while he only wanted it when he saw it. I think I started the problem by saying "That is for nighttime" and holding out my hand. He would hand it over and I would put it in the crib. Well, Wy is NOT having me take away the bink at nap or bedtime. His life is fine until he is placed in the crib. Once he is in, he starts digging through blankets and under pillows until he finds the bink. The longer the search, the more frantic he gets, blankets and pillows flying everywhere. He will not rest until he finds his dear friend. He and I have gone through more than one prolonged battle. I did not emerge victorious from any of those skirmishes. You would think he would wear himself out, but Wy seems to draw strength from the battle. Then once he has the bink, he is out like a rock in .5 seconds yet sucking so hard you think the front teeth will cave in. I guess I should say I WAS working on getting Wy off the bink, but he wore me down and I gave up.

Jack loves to watch The Rescuers Down Under. Near the top of the "noovie" a little boy is running through the outback. He is being followed by a small throng of his animal friends. For the longest time I thought three of these little furry creatures were funny looking moles. Jack was calling them bears. I knew they weren't bears and I thought surely they must be something more Australian than funny looking moles. One day I suggested to Jack that they might be wombats. Jack exclaimed "YES! WONG-BAT BEARS, MOMMY!!!" A few days later we were watching the show again and I thought, maybe those little guys are wallabies. I must have said it out loud because Jack got very cross and said "NO! Is WonG-bat bears, mommy!" Then we argued over whether or not the little guys were wombats or wallabies. I finally said we were going to look it up on line. Jack is always down for "checkin my e-mail" so he hopped over to the computer with me. It only took a few clicks to figure out that the little furry creatures were indeed "wong-bat bears". Jack doesn't know enough to rub it in when he wins an agument. That is fine by me, because it didn't do much for my ego to lose an argument about Australian mamals to a three year old.

You all know that Wy is a climber. Well, I can't keep that boy off the piano. Every time I turn around he is on the piano bench. This week he has decided it isn't enough to be on the piano bench. I have caught him actually walking on the keys. I step out of the room to fill a sippy cup and he makes a break for it. I turn around long enough to clear the dishes off of the table and he is on top of the piano. We move the bench and he stealthily scoots a chair close enough to climb Mount Piano. He will not quit.

Wy is working on his vocabulary and has discovered the word "cry." He loves to walk into a room, look at you, declare "CRY!" then throw himself on the floor and cry a good fake cry. He has also discovered property and everything is "My my my!" He is the sweetest lovebug. He loves to cuddle and when I ask him for a kiss, more often than not, I get a 5 minute festival of kisses. Kiss and run away. Kiss and cuddle. Kiss and watch some TV, kiss and talk to the cat, kiss, kiss, kiss and another kiss to boot. It is pretty wonderful.

Earlier in the week I told Jack it was time to cut his toenails. He was ok with everything until I took hold of his foot and picked up the nail cippers - then he started twisting and turning (like an alligator dragging their pray into the water) and grunting "I gotta get outta here!"

He is really struggling for independence. Anything we have to do "Jax not do it!" "Jackson say no!" "I not! I not!"

Jack has taken to clicking his tongue. It is rather odd to wake up at 3:00 in the morning because someone is clucking their tongue 3" from your face and staring straight into your eyeballs...

I am trying really hard not to refer to Jack's underwear as panties. They are so small that they qualify as panties - but I don't think Jack should be running around talking about his panties.

Jack is starting to sing along with his cds and to familiar songs on the radio. One of his favorites is on the Jungle Book cd. The song has an easy beat to follow and Jack sings OOH-AH-OOH, OOH-AH-OOH along with the music. He doesn't sing the lyrics of the song, he just throws down the beat. I could hardly drive a few days ago when he was wearing my sunglasses and singing OOH-AH-OOH, OOH-AH-OOH and bouncing his head with the music.

Finally, we love to play "Canny-land". Jack gets excited about his turns and Wy just wants to run trains and trucks along the path on the gameboard.

Until next week, love from Owenland Park!

Cheese

At left are some of the kids having a wonderful time at the piano (which is so out of tune I should be SHOT) on Thanksgiving! At right is Wy refusing to share his grandpa with Noah. He saw Poppie holding Noah and DEMANDED that he be held too. Then Noah tried to hug him and he refused to be hugged. He wouldn't even LOOK at Noah.

Watching a movie with Jack is very much like watching Monday night football. Football games have announcers and now I have one as well. Jack comments upon and questions virtually every second of every show we watch: "What's he doin', mommy? Ooooh, he's finding a nest. Oh, NO! He's scared. Is a bird. Jackson see a bird, mommy. What's he doin?...What's he doin?...What's he doin?...What's he doin, mommy? That bird has a feaver (feather). He is so sad. Jackson's not sad. Is a bug! He's fwyin (flyin). Where's a nest? Oh, no! It's gone! What's he doin? What's he doin? What's he doin, mommy? What's he doin?..." It's like the song that never ends, "it just goes on and on my friends..."

Beth bought a mini basketball for the boys this week. John and Jack were playing catch with the ball. John was doing his best to ensure Jack would catch the ball. About every 4th or 5th toss, Jack would miss the ball. He would immediately say "Oh, no! Jackson's NEVER gonna catch it!" He would then put his head in his hands, look at the floor and shake his head. John and I couldn't even control ourselves. We just sat there and laughed.

Jack is making teeny tiny baby steps in the potty training department. Twice now he has walked up to me to TELL me "I poop my pants, mommy!" Oh the pride in his voice... At least he is becoming aware of the poop. Isn't that part of a 12 step program? To be able to admit you have a problem?

Yesterday he was all about John's belt. I don't know what triggered it, but all Jack wanted to do was play with John's belt. John had enough and asked Jack if he wanted his own belt. Jack thought this was a pretty cool idea so they went up to the boys' room to find a belt. John let Jack pick which one he wanted and showed him how to put it on. Then Jack proudly declared "Yook at mine seat belt, daddy!" He has since been showing off his "seat belt" to anyone who will look.

Jack has decided this box is actually a boat. He and Wy love to sit in this boat and be dragged around the house. Jack uses Wy's little broom as a sort of rudder and begs John or I to pull them through the house. Jack sometimes pulls Wyatt, but pretends he can't do it when you pay attention to them.

Wy is now in love with cheese. He demands cheese, or rather he demands "Chee! Chee! Chee! Chee!" He is despondent when he doesn't get cheese. As far as Wyatt is concerned, it isn't "chee" unless it is yellow and shredded. I tried tearing up a string cheese and slipping to to him with shredded cheddar. He would be chewing along and unerringly spit out the one little piece of mozzarella. I tried buying a brick of cheddar cheese and he freaked out when I offered him a slice. Why, you ask? Because it wasn't shredded. Then I tried to shred the slice I had given him...no dice people. He wasn't having it. I had to shred the cheese in private.

When I left for work this morning it was snowing. Wy was sleeping in his crib. John and Jack were downstairs playing Candyland. Just before I left, Jack drew a card with 2 orange squares on it. As I was walking out the door he called out "Jackson got TWO ononge! Jackson SO HAPPY!"

Until next week, love from Owenland Park!

Splishin and a splashin

I had to wash the car seat covers the other day. As I was replacing the covers and putting the seats back in the car, I heard the boys giggling and squealing with delight. It should come as no surprise to me by now that squealing laughter from these two boys means they are up to no good. Sure enough, they were having all kinds of questionable fun while I was wrestling with car seats. By the time I made it back upstairs the bathroom was bathed in toilet water. They had splished and splashed all over the bathroom. There was a party goin' on in there. Mysteriously Jack was not very wet, yet Wy was drenched, the walls and floors were sopping wet, the towels were soaked and the Thomas book was dripping. It was a big ole mess...Yeah, me.

Wyatt is coming more and more to the belief that he doesn't necessarily have to listen to what mommy says. For instance, when mommy says "Wyatt! You put that down!" He may or may not look at mommy. He may or may not put down whatever it is he has his hands on. He may or may not simply walk away with said object in his hands as if nothing had ever been said. There have even been occasions when Wy backs away from me as I approach to take something away from him. On other occasions, he simply turns and makes a run for it. And so, Wy has had to sit on the naughty step a few times this week. At the moment, he doesn't understand the naughty step. He simply doesn't like it when I don't let him get up.

Jack got a new winter coat a few weeks ago. It has a little Tigger patch on the front. One of the price tags had a picture of Winnie-the-Pooh on it. Wy is OBSESSED with this tag. He refuses to give it up. Every time I think "Wow - I haven't seen that nasty little tag in a few days," Wy comes trotting around the corner with this mangled scrap of paper. He shoves it at you and says "POOH! POOH! POOH!" Then you have to sit and admire it with him. Now, Wyatt is the destroyer of books. He loves them. He destroys them. For as many books as he destroys, I'm amazed that this little bit of paper has survived our Hurricane Wyatt.

Sometimes Jack will cock an eyebrow at me. I asked him to lift one of his eyebrows for a picture and this is what I got...He is actually lifting up his eyebrow. He can now button and unbutton his buttons. He runs all over the place with an "esascope" (a toy stethoscope) and tries to chase down the cats so he can listen to their heartbeats. He chases Libby all over the house calling "Yibby, swow down!"

Earlier in the week I took the boys out to have lunch with Gammy. As we were heading back to the car, we were passing piles and piles of leaves. I asked Jack if he wanted to run through the leaves and he started jumping around "YES! YES! YES, PLEASE!" So I said "Go run through the leaves, tiger." He looked at me and said "OK!" Then he took off at a run yelling "RRRAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" as he plowed through each pile.

Jack has had a bit of a scratchy voice this week. One morning my mom asked "Jack, do you have a frog in your throat?" Jack said "No. Is a dinosaur in my pants." To which I said, "Well, OK then." He went running past me and I saw he had on a pair of underwear with a little stegosaurus on the backside.

Here are the boys just hanging with Poppy. Well, friends, that does it for me this week. I hope you are all blessed in large and small ways this week. Until next weekend, much love from Owenland Park!

Oh, poo...

It has been a bit of a week friends. Early in the week Jack started getting pretty sassy about what he would and would not eat. He would refuse lunch but demand his favorite yummy snacks. He would refuse dinner and expect ice cream before bedtime. One day he looked at Beth and rather crossly declared "JAX NOT EAT THAT." I decided we couldn't run around being held hostage by a three year old so Beth and I started the policy of "you don't eat lunch, you don't get snacks." He refused his lunch and Beth said "OK - but no snacks." He didn't care until snack time. He wanted a snack and she offered him the lunch he had refused. He still refused the lunch. On the way home he kept pointing out fast food places and telling Beth "Jax go to that house." Beth told him "No, you didn't eat your lunch." He would say "Jax likes fries and chicken." She held her ground. Good job, Beth!

I made potato soup for dinner that night, but he refused to eat it. He demanded bread, he demanded fish sticks, he was cross. I just kept telling him he could have bread if he ate some soup. He just kept playing with the food. I wonder if he thought "if I play with it long enough, it will LOOK like I ate some..." That plan didn't work. He played so long that it was bedtime. I gave him one last chance and he flung a spoonful of soup onto the table. I just picked him up and took him up to bed.

The next morning I knew he would be hungry so I gave him a sippy cup of milk while I made scrambled eggs (a sure hit.) He slammed down the milk and then picked at his eggs. I thought his little tummy was full from drinking the milk too fast. Well, who knows what was going on in his tummy but as we were heading out the door he puked in Wyatt's diaper bag and all over the outside of his own bag. That's right friends - both bags full of puke. It was on the floor, the carpet, the chair, Jack, the bags...it was a nightmare. John put together two new bags while Mom and I cleaned everything up. You know when something is so disgusting that all you can do is sit there and laugh? That was me: sitting on the floor barely able to clean up the mess and laughing hysterically. By the time all was said and done, we were 45 minutes late. Jack seemed to not have any troubles the rest of the day. I did rearrange dinner plans to make sure there was something Jack would eat without catering to him. Meanwhile, Wy eats about everything in sight, unless it is a vegetable.

Since we are doing Seussical, I had John bring the boys to opening night. I thought it would be perfect because mom and dad would be there to help out if the boys got crazy. Well, neither of the boys made it through the whole show. John and Wy stepped out about a third of the way through. John left Jack with our house manager Areli, who is in love with Jack. Areli had to take Jack out about 10 minutes before the play was over because he was flopping around on the floor and calling out "Ribbit! Ribbit!" (There are no frogs in Seussical.)

On opening nights, the theatre hosts a reception for the cast and audience. We provide food and drinks and many times the Coterie puts out pizza. This was the case Friday night. I got in line and piled some fruit and veggies on my plate and then I grabbed some pizza. Poor Jack stood at the table with the crossest look on his face. He kept asking me for pizza and I just kept telling him that he could have some as soon as he pooped in the pot. Then he stood there looking at me with his eyebrows scrunched together and stomping his foot every few seconds. He was not happy.

Well, Jack got some pizza Saturday night. Mom thinks he played us, but I'm not sure. I can honestly see it from a few different angles. Just so you know, I thought about taking a picture of the tiny sludge in the pot, but I decided you would rather I didn't. Anyway, I made a huge deal over the little bit in the pot and since I never quantified the poo in the poopin' for pizza rule, John and I put a pizza in the oven. Now, let me tell you that 5 MINUTES LATER there was a nice sized package in the backside of Jack's pants. Do you know how badly I wanted to revoke the pizza? After a few minutes of thought I decided to go ahead and give him the pizza. I never told him that ALL the poo had to be in the pot. I just told him he had to poo in the pot.

The next morning Jack started telling me all about how he pooped in the pot last night and wants pizza for breakfast. I told him he had to poop in the pot today - and that ALL the poo had to be in the pot - No pizza if he pooped in his pants. We'll see what happens and how long this one takes... Last night John said to Jack "I would give Wyatt pizza if he pooped in the pot." Jack grabbed Wy and sad "Wyatt! You get pizza for poop in the pot! Come on, Wyatt!"

OK - now for the random stuff...

I'm trying to get Jack to brush all of his teeth not just the ones in the front. He was brushing the other morning and I told him he needed to brush the other side so he turns away from me. We go through this 3 more times with Jack turning away from me in different directions until I realize he thinks I'm telling him he has to turn around to brush his teeth.

I have officially joined the ranks of 'mothers with children whose favorite toys are missing.' For as much money as has been sunk into all the Thomas trains around here - only about 15 of them can be found. I have looked in bags, under furniture, in cars, in and under over and behind - these babies are M.I.A.

Wy time: Little Wy wants to do everything Jack does. Mom took them on a walk yesterday and when Jack ran through the leaves, Wyatt followed. When Jack found a stick to use as a walking stick, Wy found a stick to carry too. When Jack looked at flowers, Wy did too.

When he gets excited Wy dances: he stamps his feet and pants hu-uh-hu-uh-hu-uh-hu with a huge grin on his face. Sometimes the stamping turns him in circles and then he has to look around for you because you mysteriously disappeared from view...

Wy loves to sit at their little kid table, open the drawer, stick his hand in and close the drawer. He completely freaks out when his hand is stuck in there but doesn't understand he is closing the drawer. And finally, the boy has no fear. He climbs everything in sight. He likes to climb a chair behind the sofa, wiggle up over the back of the sofa then fling himself down onto the seat of the sofa. As far as language is concerned, he is only interested in the names of trains. I thought he was saying "mama" but it turns out he is desperately trying to wrap his mouth around Mighty Mac.

OK, friends, I know there are no photos this week. It was a bit nutty. I apologize and promise to get some shots in the next edition, which I hope will be back to Friday! Until then, God bless and keep you all!

Love, A, J, J & Little Wy guy

Puppy rollers, pots and pans...my life in a nutshell

Folks, the last week and a half flew by in the blink of an eye. The boys and I hung out together in the morning and I spent the afternoons and evenings in rehearsals. Life is back to 'normal' now that we went into performances today. (Except that we will be doing 2 extra shows each week to accommodate the holiday demand. Since I haven't had much time with the boys last week, I have tried to keep our time fun...

I volunteered to look for a prop at my local Toys R Us and I took the boys with me. They had no idea I was working as I just said "Hey! Do you wanna go to a store with just TOYS?" Jack was thrilled to say the least. Up and down the aisles and I'm handing toys to the boys to play with, pulling out discarded toys and putting them on the shelves in the WRONG places. I'm sure I was the mom that all Toys R Us employees HATE. But, I was on a timeline and the boys were having fun so...

Anyway, after a while Jack starts shouting "Puppy roller! Puppy roller!" I had no idea whathe was flipping out about. I had to look around for a minute to even figure it out. He had seen a small stuffed puppy on wheels. I pulled Jack out of the cart and handed him the leash on this little "puppy roller" and he walked that dog all over the store. He turned a corner and the puppy caught on something and fell over. I called his attention to it and he turned around said "OH! So sorry, puppy!" and righted the little fella and off they went again. (This was taken on my cell phone - I can't make it appear any larger than this oddly sized little thumbnail - sorry.)

I took the boys to the park one morning. That wasn't a very well thought out plan as it rained and rained the night before. Oh well, the boys came home with wet pants from the slides. They didn't care. They had so much fun on the swings and slides.

We did spend some time just hanging around the house playing with fire trucks and such... Jack calls pineapple "apple pie." He is desperately trying to assert his independence by refusing to eat things, wetting his pants when he walks into the bathroom and a number of other things. Poor kid - it must really be hard being 3. I should tell him it isn't any easier being 35, but I don't think he will care.


Wy has added a few more words to his little collection - Either I speak mommy or if you listen carefully and know a little bit about the Thomas trains - you can figure out who he is talking about. "Dee-eh teh!" is Diesel 10 and so forth.Here is the little guy Wy playing on the pots and pans - one of his new favorite activities

Little Bear thought he was pretty boss when I was trying to put his car seat back in the car. He clambered up into the seat while I went to get his chair. Then he refused to budge when I tried to get him to move over so I could put the seat in. He thought this was a wonderful game and protested loudly when I finally moved him out of the way.

OK friends, overdue and overtired. I may or may not get one out to you this weekend - All I can say is I love you and I will try.

Concession Speech

Friends-

I must apologize for my tardiness in getting this message to you, but I had no choice. I write to you now from an undisclosed location as I am in hiding. I know that must sound odd to you, but you have no idea of the enormity of this situation. I am sure you are unaware of the shocking displays of prejudice at the polls on Tuesday. Ladies and Gentlemen, Zombies were turned away from each and every voting booth in the country. When the Zombies learned they were not going to be able to vote in this historical election they galvanized and set out for my house. They picked up more and more Zombies as they made their way slowly across the country, state, county, city and finally into my neighborhood. The Zombies were just down the street when we truly understood they had turned against us. Fortunately my family had time to pack and make a few plans for getting safely away before the undead made it half way down the block. Please know that we are safe. Please do no try to find us. We will find you when the coast is clear.

You may think this unfortunate turn of events has turned me against Zombies. Not so, friends, not so. What kind of country are we living in when a dead man is not allowed to vote? I will not give up the fight for Zombie rights. I know the Zombies will not rest until they can vote, adopt babies, get married and set up e-bay and face book accounts just like the rest of us. You can rest assured that I will not rest until Zombies are granted these rights and are able to rest in peace!

Now, I feel I must take a moment to congratulate Senator Obama on his victory after this long campaign. Congratulations, Senator Obama. (One-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, moment over.) I thank the many people who supported my campaign and I offer my condolences to the McCain campaign-in-my - excuse me, to the McCain campaign. Normally I would take a few minutes to talk about how great Barack is and how I plan to support him and his administration, but I can't be online too long: the Zombies are tracing my connection as I write...they are very technologically advanced, you know.

Unfortunately our campaign didn't get us into the White House and that is something I, you, we are going to have to accept. And so I ask that you not go out and start up riots on behalf of the Zombie community or against the Zombies on my behalf. Instead I ask that you consider this simple prayer:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Friends - we can make a difference, if we just keep fighting the good fight. God bless you all and remember, Zombies are people too.

With serenity, courage and wisdom:
My name is Amy M. Abels Owen and I approve this message.

Get over it...

The biggest news friends? Wyatt is no longer a baby. It happened Saturday while I was at work. Yes in the space of less than 8 hours my baby became a toddler. I came home from work and we were sitting at the table and I noticed he was different. At first I thought someone trimmed his bangs. That was not it. The feeling reminded me of the scene from the Robin Williams Peter Pan movie - when the grandma says Wendy has gotten her "kiss". I can't put my finger on how he changed, but he did. I can see it in his face.

I had the rents take the boys to church on Sunday as I had to work. The boys and I were heading out to the grocery store yesterday and here is Wy as I was trying to reinstall his car seat. He thought he was so grown up and funny by refusing to budge. He honestly thought I would just buckle him up as is...

I'm ready to lose my mind over potty training, people. Sadly, I have become very short tempered with Jack about the whole thing this week. I know my temper is not going to amount to a hill of beans in regards to whether or not that boy does his business in a pot or in his pants. So I am picking a new outlet. I have started praying to St. Jude. You might think I am praying that he will help Jack get on the pot. Not quite. I have decided to pray to St. Jude to help me find patience with Jack while he moseys his way through this process. I'm asking St. Jude to remind me to be nice and kind and to think before I open my mouth. That being said, Jack woke up a few days ago, stepped out of bed, gestured to his SOAKING sheets and said "Mommy, Jax peed in MY bed." It was an odd combination of disbelief and pride.

Earlier this week Wyatt started insisting we take his sox off before he goes to sleep. He can't quite do it himself so he sits or lies there tugging and tugging and screaching at his sox. He sometimes even gets his teeth involved. It is pretty funny and sad to watch him rolling around with sox in his teeth. The poor baby just can't get them off by himself and has fits until they come off.

I have started to notice that sometimes when the boys and I lay down for a group nap that Wy will slip his arm under my neck. I thought this was pretty funny until I looked at it from his perspective: I always put my arm under his neck and snuggle him up. I think this is him returning the snuggling up favour.

You have all seen Jack in his kitty mask. And I believe you have all seen him in his doggy mask. But have you seen Jack the CAT DOG? Terrifying!!!

Last weekend we were in Omaha. One evening we (mom, dad, John the boys and I) were having dinner with my aunts Sr. Johnanna & Sr. Jean and Sr. Jean's brother Fr. Charlie. The ladies set out a large platter of fruit for dessert and Fr. Charlie was teasing Jack saying that I should peel grapes for Jack. I whispered to Jack "say, "get over it, Charlie." Well, I was sure this was one of those times that Jack would clam up and not do what I told him. Without missing a beat Jack says to the priest "Get over it, Char-die."

I took the boys to the bank on Thursday and the teller gave us 2 lollipops. Each lolly had a Kleenex covering it with a rubber band wrapped around the stem and a little face drawn on to make them look like Ghosts. Jack was not havin’ it. He did not like the ghosts. Once I showed him the lolly underneath, he was cool with the whole thing. Wyatt however just about went insane. He was reaching and straining to get out of his seat calling "CA-EE! CA-EE!"

I had John get the boys dressed in their costumes and come visit rehearsal for a few minutes Friday night. Mom says before the boys left the house, Wy was very interested in the kids coming to the door. She said he KNEW what was in the bowl and he was VERY upset that she was giving candy to other kids and not to him. She said she would hadn out some candy and little Wy would lie down with his face on the floor and sort of roll back and forth a bit.

John and the boys got to the theatre about 5 minutes before we were done for the day and everyone thought they were adorable tromping in in their little matching Thomas outfits. John opened the door and when Wy saw all the people, he freaked out. Jack ran right in, stopped, crouched down a bit and hollered "Ribbit! Ribbit!" It was the first time I ever knew trains ribbited...

OK - I know I am late getting this out to you all, but the Suess is keeping me busy. Have patience with me this week as well - I'm going to be up to my eyeballs till about next Tuesday. Until next time, God bless and keep you!

Love from Owenland Park!

Vote, Vote, Vote!

Friends-

While at the polls early this morning I saw a sign on the door. It said:

"NOTICE:
Please remember to wear tennis shoes"

My immediate reaction was one of outrage. I checked my voter registration card, it said nothing about wearing tennis shoes. This was a blatant example of voter intimidation and I started to charge down the long line of voters to speak to the election volunteers. As I started my charge I took one more glance at the sign and noticed that the very next line said:

"while playing games in the gymnasium."

Friends, let me tell you how fortunate those election volunteers are: They narrowly escaped a scathing piece of my mind. Just imagine if I had never seen the second portion of that sign...

Friends, let's not waste time on things that did not come to pass. In this time of National Crisis - yes I say it with capital letters, I wanted to take a few moments to remind you what I am fighting for, what you are fighting for, what WE are fighting for:

WE are fighting for the letter "u" in words like favour and colour.
WE are fighting for 30 hour work weeks.
WE are fighting for a daily siesta and light early evening fiestas.
WE are fighting for afternoon tea and crumpets.
WE are fighting for hot breakfast for everyone, not just elementary kids.
WE are fighting for the elimination of calories from pastries and chocolate.
WE are fighting for the rights of Zombies everywhere.

And remember all those times when you looked at your watch and thought "HOLY MOSES! Where did the time go?!" WE are fighting for those hours. I want you to know, that a vote for Amy M. Abels Owen is a vote to find those lost hours. A vote for A.M.A.O. is a vote to give those hours back to the people they rightfully belong to. A vote for A.M.A.O. is a vote for time on your side, time for you to enjoy a few of life's pleasures, time for you to releax, time for you to actually find your missing sox (Yes we are also fighting for the correct spelling to be sox)- if that is how you want to spend your time, and time for you to do whatever it is you do with the time you have.

In conclsuion, don't let the election volunteers intimidate you just because they are all wearing the colour red. You heard me friends, every last one of them wearing the colour red. There were not wearing red, white and blue. They were wearing red - and telling us we can't wear political signs or buttons and yet they all wear red. So go out there in bright colours. That's right, go out there in as many colours as you can manage. Go out there and show them we won't be denied colour choices, we won't be denied selection: We are Americans and we wear what we want.

Now, get out there and VOTE!
I am Amy M. Abels Owen and I approve this message.

Wy, oh Wy...

Wy spends the day running around with his tongue sticking out. Either the tip is just sitting out there for the world to see or he has it sticking straight out like an arrow. That boy has the longest, skinniest, pointiest tongue I have ever seen.

He is a little particular about kisses. If you ask for a kiss during the day - he offers his forehead, just like Jack. Bedtime is a different story: at bedtime Wy gives real kisses.

Poor little Wy found an empty candy bar wrapper and brought it to me the other day. I told him it was empty and put it in the trash. Oh, that boy CRIED. He pulled the wrapper back out of the trash and handed it to me. Again I said, "Baby, it's all gone" and put it in the trash. He looked at me as if I were the meanest thing on earth and he cried real tears. Then he did his "I'm so sad you WILL feel sorry for me" bit and tucked his head and kept right on crying. He does this same sort of head tuck when he is in trouble. For instance: if Mama finds him touching her laptop she says in a loud deep voice "Wyatt Cole, NO!" He immediately steps away and ducks his head for a few seconds. He may or may not put his head in his hands to emphasize his shame. Then it is as if he never heard the warning and he heads right back for the computer.

Wy guy was taking a nap on Monday while Jack and I were putting away the boys' clothes. I don't remember why, but I pretended to cry. Jack walked over to me, looked me in the eye and said "Take a breaf, mommy. I'm sorry you upset but mumble mumble mumble..." I couldn't make out anything else. It was so hard not to smile or laugh. I cried some more and asked him if I could have a kiss. He said "No. I'm sorry you upset. Take a breaf." He turned around and walked off. Now, I'm pleased to know that I'm helping him learn how to handle being upset, but I want it on the record that I never say "take a breath" followed by walking away.

We try to get the boys involved in daily tasks around here. Jack is expected to put his plate, silverware and cup in the sink when he is done eating. I ask him to put those items in the left side of the sink so he doesn't get food on any clean plates. John texted me today to say Wy was running back and forth in the kitchen and then there was a thunk that caught John's attention. Wy had decided he was done with his cereal so he was putting each piece of cereal on the sink ledge and then put his own bowl in the sink - on the left side.

Wy plays with Jack's trains constantly. He loves to hook them together and hold them aloft to see how much weight they can hold. He drives them around. He carries them all over the house. And this is the nuttiest thing: remember how Jack used to line up his trains end to end, then side by side...Wy is doing the same thing. It is funny and creepy in a weird deja vu sort of way. He is NEVER without a train in one hand.

Since Wy loves trains so much, I thought I would try to find a James or Gordon outfit. I didn't scour the Universe or anything, but had no luck. I did find a toddler Thomas costume. Jack has a Thomas outfit left from last year that still fits him. I thought they would be cute in little matching outfits. (What have I become?)

Jack has been running around the house the last few days in his Thomas the Tank Engine 'costume' getting ready for Halloween. "I'm wearing Thomas, Daddy. I'm wearing Thomas." He likes his costume, but he says Thomas and Percy are "skeered of Havoveen, but Thomas yikes canny." I am going to have John get the boys in their train get ups and bring them out to the theatre that night for like the last 20 minutes of rehearsal. It will do us all some good to see a couple of cuties!

John and I were trying to wake up the boys yesterday morning. I said "Good morning, Jack!" His response? "Is not."

Jack watches "noovies" and has taken to wearing a do rag this week."

OK friends, that is it for this week. Send me some good vibes that I can fit in a little update next week - rehearsals are going to be crazy! We love and send blessings to all of you!

a, j, j & wy!

No pizza till when?!

Hello again dear friends and family! The boys have been great this week. Wy is experimenting with new words. I am worried that he isn't saying full words, just the first syllable. On the other hand, his vocabulary is growing rapidly and if you listen carefully you can understand what he is saying. He loves to sit in someone's lap to have a book read to him. He knows when to turn the page and after doing so he will clap his little hands and say "Yay! Yay! Yay!"

He was looking at mom's computer the other day. (Her wallpaper is a hodge-podge of family photos.) Wy kept pointing and saying something over and over. I kept trying to move him so I could check my e-mail, but he would not be moved. I finally realized he was pointing to a picture of John and saying "Da-ee! Da-ee! Da-ee!" I told him he was just right and did a great job! He says "Key! Key! Key!" whenever he sees the cats. He has learned about the color "bwu-bwu-bwu." He can say and point to his "shoe, shoe, shoe." And if you say "OK!" he will reply with "K! K! K!" And I pray no one hears him when he does that.

The boys got their flu shots yesterday. Wyatt knew something bad was going down the second Gammy took his pants off. He was not having it and began to throw a fit. I sent Gammy to grab a few lollipops from the nurse's desk. Mama and I were waving lollies all around the place as the boys were getting shots. Let me tell you, there may have been screaming coming from the other rooms (it was a flu shot drive at the dr.'s office) but there was minimal crying from our little cubby! Mommy's diversionary tactics win again!!!

Have I told you that the wrasslin has begun? So far these two like to wrassle in the middle of a love fest. Hugs and kisses abound and then they start tickling each other and 3 seconds later there is virtual body slamming and they are squealing with delight. I'm just waiting for someone's head to split open...

Jack has finally accepted the fact that "I'm free!" and displays 3 fingers proudly. We have been working all week on "What is your name?" "Where do you live?" and "What is Mommy's phone number?" He has some success with our address: it comes out something like "aa-ee-aa firty one Ha-yee!"

Jack now likes to eat "popScorn" and asks to have candy or ice cream for breakfast. I simply suggest cereal or eggs. He looked at me the other day and said "Mommy, Wyatt's a siddy goose" and walked off. He has also found a tiny toy camera (the viewfinder kind that comes with a happy meal) and has started walking around the house taking pictures: "Smile!" click. "Say cheese!" click. And "Smile 20, Mommy." (I don't understand that one at all so we are all out of luck.)

He has also taken to being a ghost. He loves to toss a blanket over his head and walk around saying "I need a yetter BEEEEEEE!" in a VERY convincing ghost voice. I had no idea what the "letter B" business was about until someone at work started chanting it. He said there is a ghost on Sesame Street who searches for letters.

I must tell you it is really funny to hear a three year old say "Awesommmmme..."

Finally I come to the pizza portion of the evening. I am almost at wit's end. I have no idea what else to do about getting Jack to fully use the potty chair and do it consistently. I have tried having him go around naked - but after about 30 minutes he goes and puts on a pair of pull ups and says "I DID IT!" I have finally given in and switched to the cloth "unaware" (as Jack calls them) and plastic panties. I have tried to avoid this route because I just can't deal with cleaning out 'unaware' every hour... But I hear that being a mommy isn't always about what mommy likes and doesn't like and so we are switching to cloth panties. That doesn't really mean anything to Jack. What he doesn't really understand yet is that I have decreed that Jack shall not have pizza till he "poops in the potty chair." This is a pretty big deal at my house. Because of this, everyone is now chanting about poop at my house. "Jack, do you have to poop?" "Jack, do you want to poop?" "Jack let's try to poop." Every other word at my house is poop.

To be honest, I was surprised when no one said my tactic was too harsh. It is just the only thing I can think of that might actually MOTIVATE him to go somewhere other than in his pants. (I'm sure one day he will read these and be horrified with me.) Anyway, with all the poop talk going on this week I have been running around thinking "poopin for pizza" like it's a game show or something.

Dear friends, every week I think to myself "just a short one today." And it seems to never fail that I write a mini novel. Well, I hope we bring a little sunlight to your otherwise drab day! Some of you we will see sooner than others, but we wish God's blessings on each and every one of you.

love, a, j, j & y

Oh, I Just Can't Wait...!

My Fellow Americans,

First let me apologize if I disapointed any of you by not participating in last night's Presidential debate. I spent last night with The Lion King, Mufasa, his beautiful wife, Queen Sarabi and their delightful son, Prince Simba. I do not believe it would have been very politic of me to cancel our engagement in order to banter with a couple of Senators.

I caught up with bits and pieces of last night's debate by listening to NPR this morning. Though I did cringe, gasp and chuckle at some of the arrows our esteemed Senators shot at each other, I must confess, I was not moved to tears by their words. I was however moved to tears of wonder, joy and amazement as I observed His Highness and the amazing animals of his kingdom. What magnificent creatures; except for Prince Scar and his entourage of hyenas. That last comment is sctrictly entrez nous.

Although I did not meet Joe the Plumber, I frequently have dinner with John the Shop Foreman and he is a very nice fellow. He is the kind of guy who just wants to provide for his kids and get them a shot at a good education while still being able to take care of himself and his wife in their retirement.

Finally, Vice Presidential hopeful Meghann Henry left me a message last night. (I did not take her call as I thought it would be rude to do so in front of royal hosts.) She wanted to ask my opinion about the laundering of Zombie outer wear. I firmly believe Zombies are entitled to have their clothes laundered if they so desire. I fully support Zombie integration. I mean, Zombies are people after all, or at least they were, now they are Zombies. Any one of us could potentially become a Zombie some day. That being said, I want to point out that this ticket is the only party fighting for the rights of Zombies. This grassroots movement was abandoned late last year, but my party has picked up the bloody stump that was left to decay and we are marching forward, for liberty and justice for all!

Oh, I just can't wait to be Queen! I mean King! I mean President!!!

Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of FUN!

Well friends,
Another post means I cannot believe the week has gone by so quickly yet again.

Watching this week's Presidential debate between the other two candidates was something I opted against. As we all know, I'm leading the numbers in the grassroots polling - so why bother with the other fellas? Instead of watching the debate, the boys and I hung out with my girlfriend Kelly and her boys Sawyer and Maxwell. Oh the fun was had by one and all. Jack is STILL talking about the buckets of balls he and the other boys played with. I must say the fun was had by one and all as bucket after bucket of balls was hauled to the top of the stairs only to be tossed one by one or by the bucket-load down the stairs. The boys even took turns sitting in the buckets of balls. I cannot describe to you the joyous time had by the boys. The funny thing is: they all had fun even when picking the balls up - and I think it was because they understood the balls were just being picked up so they could be tossed back down again.

Wy is working so hard on his vocabulary. He says all kinds of things, but never the full word - everything is first syllable only. (OK - he says "car" but that is the only full word on his plate right now.) "Tray!" train. "Heh!" Henry. "Day!" Daisy. "Pa!" Pappy. "Cah!" Cat. It seems that every day he is adding another word to his vocabulary. I am really amazed at how much I understand him for all of this one syllable business.

Beth took a class this week so my house manager's mama watched the boys at the theatre. In one hour she taught Jack how to count to 10 in Spanish (he can't do it on his own, but he can say all the words and knows what they mean), how to say hello, goodbye and thank you! He didn't want to go home that day so I had to bribe him by telling him we would give Daddy a surprise. Jackie-paper wasn't too convinced that counting in Spanish was going to be a big surprise, but Daddy was very impressed!


Poor Jack fell off of an office chair yesterday and is sporting a black eye. Here he is posing his eye for you.

The only other thing worth note is that all of Wyatt's food must pass a squish test. If he doesn't recognize the food product he must squish it before putting it in his mouth. If he can squish it sufficiently, he will try it. If it is vegetable it is bad. If it is meat, sweet or snacky - it is good.

All week long Jack has been asking to have eggs for breakfast and we haven't had any. As a treat for the boys, I ran out really early this morning and picked up eggs. I came home and fixed up some breakfast. When I heard Jack I told him I had a surprise for him. He saw his eggs, took my hand and said "That's so NICE, Mommy!"

OK - John and I are seeing Night of the Living Dead tonight. We are going to a wedding tomorrow, I get to see The Lion King next week. We may be going to Omaha at the end of the month and John just picked up tickets for us to go see Niel Diamond in December - I suddenly feel like I have a social life again!

Dear friends, have a blessed week and look for more fun & adventures next week! Love, A, J, J, & Y