Beach Movie

This past weekend Zach's family came in for a visit. It was tons of fun and we wish they could have stayed longer. While here, we went to Half Moon Bay. The following is a documentation of the good times had there.

In case you were wondering, there was enough sand in the boys diapers to build a small castle. Not that we tried.

Sticky Pawed Squirrel

This squirrel looks very similar to the shifty-eyed sciuridae
that turned our day in the park into a crime scene.

Today, after picking up some well priced produce at the store, we headed over to the park to enjoy some sunshine.

After a while of playing, I happened to glance up at the very moment a squirrel was hoping out of the bottom of our stroller. With one of our delicious fuji apples in it's dirty little paws! I started to stomp towards it, clearly not thinking clearly. I got within about three feet and had to stop because I had no plan of how to go about taking an apple back from a squirrel. And would I really want to eat it at that point anyway? Well, in my brief moment of hesitation, the squirrel jumped into a tree and proceeded to eat our apple on one of the lower branches in plain sight. To taunt us. Sam and I yelled at him, told him he was mean for taking our apple, and made our angry faces at him. All of which left him completely unperturbed.

It's a sad day when families can't go out in broad daylight, for fear of being harrased and robbed by squirrel thugs. What is this world coming to?

rainy day craftiness

We've been getting a lot of rain these days. A whole lot. And the boys and I have been house bound, which has resulted in me trying to clean, and the boys undoing my cleanliness, and me getting distracted in the middle of a cleaning/organizing project and leaving the house all the messier.

So, it was time for crafts.

I am a person who enjoys a good craft. As long as it doesn't involve raffia, overly cute drawings, or the Footprints poem, which is where I draw the line. But, I haven't done too many (read: ANY) crafts with the boys, because I was too scared. And, I think, justifiable so. The boys have a tendency to throw objects without warning, taste things to check if the taste like chocolate, and to run off, dragging their hands along the walls, to go and get one of their toys. Paint, glue, and glitter don't seem to mesh well with these behaviors.

And yet, in spite of this, I decided it was time to bite the bullet, temporarily forget about the several cleaning operations I had stopped around the house, and break out the paints. Mostly, because I want to be cool like my fellow mother's (here's lookin' at you Jodie).

So here goes. Operation SpyGlass has commenced!

Here's what we started with. The long tube is from the Ikea rug the boys got for Christmas. Of course I saved it. Sturdy tubes are hard to come by.

Sam, painting the inside of the tube. Ben, touching the sponge brush.

Shenanigans.

Ben's painty hands.

Sam: "Ah, yes. Genius! I can just roll the paint onto my tummy."

Ben: "I prefer the hand application myself. I think it keeps me in touch with my roots."

Sam, taking the spyglass for a test drive.

Sam: "HahaheeheehohoHahaheehahohee. I love life."

Around this point I decided that enough paint had been flung in the general direction of the tubes, and we headed to the tub.

After the bath we added stickers to our masterpieces.

And here are the finished pieces.

Lessons we can take away from this:

• Two sheets of newspaper? Are you serious?
  
• Sponge brushes and toddlers don't mix (*Reminder: Buy new sponge brush)
• Don't do your own project. And especially don't expect to do it well.
  
• Keep the water away from the toddlers.
• I mean, honestly! Two sheets?! What was I thinking?
• Turn on the music before you have paint on your hands.
• Make sure you have a brush for each member of the craft group.
  
• This may be a time to invest in some paper towels.
• Also, some cheap finger paints.
  
• Yes, they will need a bath. Definitely.

jumping off...

In case you are wondering, Ben is the one in the diaper, and Sam is wearing the turtleneck. They are both pretending to be He-man.

Also, that's the Muppet Show in the background. Highly enjoyable.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Small Talk

Sam

Due to popular demand, I am providing the world with more actual transcripts of conversations we have in our house with our little people. I apologize that it takes me so long to get these out, but there is something of a weeding process, because while the majority of what the boys say is funny, it doesn't often transcribe well, due to a fair amount of gibberish and He-man references. So, thank you for your patience, and now for your reward:

Ben: Sam bit me on my finger.
Katie: Did you bite Ben on the finger?
Sam: (nods)
Katie: That is not okay! You need to say you're sorry.
Sam: Sorry, Ben. (Goes in for a hug)
Ben: (who is wearing a firefighter hat) No! I'm a firefighter!
Sam: Sorry, firefighter!
(They hug)
Ben: It's okay.
_____________________________

Ben: Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!
(I hear a sound in the other room)
Katie: Hey, what's that sound?
Ben: Me!
_____________________________

This conversation is between Sam and Sam talking as the spoon.
Spoon Sam: Hey Sam?
Sam: What Spoon?
Spoon Sam: It's gonna get me!
Sam: (starts to sing)
Katie: Whose gonna get the spoon?
Sam: Cereal!
_____________________________

Ben: We're having a party Mommy! Do you want some cake?
Katie: Yes, please! (Gobbling sounds)
Ben: Jesus is coming to our party!
Katie: Oh is Jesus coming?
Ben: Yes, he's gonna save the day!
_____________________________

This one needs a small introduction. Zach loves doing the "hey, what's this in your ear?" trick where he pulls something out of the boys ears and occasionally nose. The boys think he is the most magical and amazing Daddy in the world.

Ben: Hey, Daddy!
Zach: What, Ben?
Ben: There's something in my ear!
Zach: Oh? What's in your ear?
Ben: Candy!!

Ben

Photography: A Toddlers Art

Ben has recently taken up a new hobby: photography. When he asked to use the camera he says, "I wanna say cheese!" Yep, that's the cuteness we are dealing with here, people. Unfortunately, because of how seriously Ben takes his work, he can sometimes be a little rough with the camera, so his time with it is limited. Anyway, here are some a Ben's great works. We're thinking of hanging them, gallery style, in our living room.

Head and Shadow
(Ben's head as he looks at the camera)

The Anguish of Soul
(Zach's feet, a cereal bowl, and our ugly, ugly carpet)

Power Play
(My leg and arm while sitting on the couch)

Blue of Life

(Sam sitting on Daddy's lap holding a Playmobil pirate)

Precarious
(Books balancing on the shelf, Barcelona map, and thermostat)

Stillness and Action
(Zach and Sam playing)

Ben isn't fooling around here, folks. I mean, he's already bought a beret.

Dresser Dilemma

One of those pesky New Year's resolutions that I mentioned before is to finish decorating and organizing the house. I'm pretty sure that it will be a perpetual task, but I'm just looking for some progress. So, that brings us to The Dresser. There are several pieces of furniture that have made the rounds through my family. This is one of them. This dresser used to be my brother Cory's, then it was my brother Jonathan's, then it was mine, then it was my sister's Carina and she used it for her son, Jackson. Then they moved and we got it again. Now it is Ben and Sam's. See? It has made the rounds. There may even be a couple other family members thrown in there somewhere that I do not remember.

Now, here comes the dilemma. My parents always encouraged our creative sides and what not, and this is why, while Cory had it in his possession, he Sharpied it.

Sharpied Dresser as it is today.
(note: The top of this dresser has never, ever been this tidy before. That's why I took the picture today.)

Now, I really like the squiggles. I always thought they, and Cory, were pretty awesome. So much so, that when Carina had it in her and Jackson's possession and wanted to paint it, I protested.

Squiggly details

I think this is why I ended up with the dresser in the (possible) end. Now some of the ink is fading and it doesn't really match the boys room decor (Decor: Little Boy) and I am wondering if I should paint it, in spite of my previous stink.

more details

So, what think ye people? Should I paint it, or leave it as a memorial to artistic idealism? If I did paint it, I was thinking of doing something like these pictures below, except in different colors. Also, I wouldn't be able to do the cut-outs because the drawers are not flush like those below.

Possible Paint Ideas

Well? What do you think? I'm also open to suggestions, but nothing too cutesy or kitschy please. What would be the most awesome solution? Because that's what we're going for here, people. And we will settle for nothing less. Unless it's too hard. Then, well... we'll just settle.

Discoveries

From time to time I find one of the boys' stashes. Ya know, somewhere that they have consciously or inadvertently put all kinds of things. It's always pretty exciting. A while ago I decided I should cover up the opening in the radiator, because I had seen the boys drop a toy car into it and I didn't want anything else to get lost.

Well, I tried to pick it up with a magnet on a string, but it just kept sticking to the sides (I also felt pretty stupid). I ended up just taking the whole front off of it with a wrench. And this is what was inside:

Inside were three toy cars, a piece of a frame, a Care bear, tweezers, a Tide stick (no cap), two rubber balls, a medicine spoon, a seahorse, a metal thing I find everywhere but don't know what it is, a Pharaoh, two pins, a piece of driftwood, a train wheel, and a Euro five cent piece.

It's a good thing the magnet didn't work.