Neurology Appointment

Hello All,  I deleted my last blog post about having Arnold Chiari Type 1 Malformation because my wonderful husband said he would prefer having all the facts before sharing it with everyone on the internet.

I had my Neurology appointment today.  I was slightly optimistic when he first read my file because he said Chiari Malformations are over diagnosed these days.  After looking at the MRI results, he did confirm I have it.  It is a condition, where part of the cerebellum (the tonsils) hang farther down than normal, going through the base of the skull.  The further down the hang, the increased chance of it restricting the flow of the cerebral spinal fluid.  He says that mine appears to be a mild case, and that the MRI shows that the cerebral spinal fluid is flowing freely everywhere it needs to be so it's not at all obstructed at this point.  I asked why this didn't show up years ago when I got an MRI.  In most cases of Chiari, you are born with it, but it doesn't manifest itself until later in life.  He says most likely it was just because MRI's have obviously gotten more advanced over the years and pick up more now.

He also said, it may never progress any further, or it might.  We just need to monitor it yearly, or sooner if I notice a worsening of symptoms.  In the mean time I just need to restrict high impact sports (not a problem), running (rarely a problem- unless I'm being chased), roller coasters (bummer), and heavy lifting.  All of those things can potentially cause symptoms to worsen.  The symptoms that I do have are fairly minor other than the ringing in the ears, which I will just need to learn to live with.  And since I've been dealing with migraines for the last 20 years,  we've got a pretty good plan in place for that. Most of my migraines, by the way, are not related to this, as they usually are in the front of my head and Chiari headaches are usually in the back.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'll try to answer them!  Thanks for the support!

"Baby" Ben

The other way on the way home from swim lessons, we were discussing the fact that Ben is becoming such a big boy.   Chris said, "Ben, are you a big boy?"  His response was "NO, I a Baby!"  Chris insisted again and said "No, you are a big boy!" and he said, "No, I'm Baby Ben!"

So fast forward a few days, and I am reading him his stories before bed.  I said "I love you Ben!  Do you love mommy?"  He laid his head down on my  lap and said, I still baby Ben."  "Baby loves you."

And then I dissolved into a puddle of goo and read him like 5 extra books.

Hi, I'm Mommy and I'll be your cruise director...

I don't really feel like we put our children into too many activities.  The ones that they participate in are all areas where their interests lie, and/or it's good for them.  It's just the fact that we have four children participating in different activities, that kind of bogs us down.  It's funny, now that all four kids are in school during the week, Chris was wondering what I will do with all of my free time.  It is nice, i have to admit.  I have 4 hours, three days a week to myself!  My big plans are exercise, cleaning the house and going grocery shopping.  By myself!  But other than that, here's our schedule.

Monday:  School, Michael-OT, Sam- Tae Kwon Do
Tuesday: School/Preschool, Molly- Ballet/Tap
Wednesday: School/Preschool, Molly-Soccer Practice, Sam- Tae Kwon Do
Thursday: School/Preschool, Michael- Gymnastics, Sam, Cub Scouts 2x per month
Friday:  School for the big kids,  but other than that, NOTHING.  Thank goodness!
Saturday:  Sam Tae Kwon Do, Molly Soccer

You may notice that Ben has no extracurriculars.  That's because he's the fourth born, and his extracurricular activity is watching his siblings participate in extracurricular activities.  And he is becoming quite the little tap dancing ninja who likes to kick balls!

Back to school

Well, it's official!  All four kids are in school!  First we have the big second grader who is really enjoying this year so far.  Unfortunately, he's enjoying bossing M&M around on the bus a little too much-  he says he just wants to be sure that they follow the rules.  Most likely a future safety patrol in training!

Next we have Michael-  very eager to start Kindergarten, mostly because he gets to ride the bus.  He likes his teacher and has no complaints so far.  He's definitely tired by the end of the day.  Too much structured activity most likely!

Next, Molly!  She was also super exited to start Kindergarten but a little nervous about being in a different classroom from Michael.  She's loved it so far though, and is very excited that there are a lot of girls in her class this year!  

Here is a photo of all three-  before the bus time battles ensued.  I told them that they all didn't have to sit together,  but they always do,  every time.  

And last, but certainly not least is Ben!  He is going to preschool for three days a week.  He is a little hesitant to go in, but never hesitant to go, so he must like it.  Ironically he isn't talking much in school,  which is interesting because he won't stop talking at home!  He tells me all about his day the whole ride home,  though I only understand about 25% of it.

So far so good!  Though homework hasn't started yet.  Talk to me in a few weeks!

Knee Deep In the Water Somewhere...

So-  another big thing happened this summer!  Thanks to Chris's parents, with help from his sister Stephanie, we were able to leave the kids for a few days to celebrate our 10th Wedding Anniversary! 

This was the first time we were away from our kids (for more than an overnight), in four years!  It was much needed. We went to Secrets Silversands Resort, in Puerta Morelos, Mexico.  Since all we really wanted to do was relax and enjoy each others company, we thought this would be a great choice since it was all inclusive, and we didn't have to worry about anything.  We truly just slept in, relaxed by the pool, ate good food, drank lots of foof drinks, and decompressed.  And it was AWESOME.  Though both of us admit, that after  5 days of doing nothing, we had reached our limit of laziness. And Margaritas.

Here are a few pictures of the trip!

Radio Silence: Summer Camp Edition

Uh, so, I guess you can say that the kids have been keeping me busy?  Wow.  What a summer.  Michael and Molly have been out of preschool since the Friday before Memorial day, and Sam has been out since June 19th. 

We decided for my sanity and theirs, they could each do one camp per month (big kids), and then Ben would also do a camp at his preschool in August- kind of like a prep class.  Actually, by default, Michael and Molly got two camps in June, one before Sam got out, and one after (because they really wanted to do the one Sam was doing, but it wasn't offered earlier in the month).   So-  Gymnastics Camp!  They were a little uncertain starting it, because it wasn't terribly structured, but they really enjoyed it.  So much so- that Michael states he'd like to take classes.  Yay! We really want Michael to find something that he enjoys.  He did Tae Kwon Do for a while because Sam did it.  But he didn't really enjoy it...  He just wanted to do what big brother did.  And be a Ninja.  And then he really wanted to do Ice Skating lessons, but once he actually started, he decided that it really hurts when you fall.  And although he was super proud of the ribbon that he got for completing the classes, he said "he never wanted to skate again."  Since then, he's expressed interest in Gymnastics and we figured camp would be a good way to figure out if he'd actually like it or not.  Hopefully it will be something that he enjoys, and either way it will definitely be good for his strength and coordination.

The second camp that Sam, Michael, and Molly did was a farm camp at Frying Pan Park.  Michael and Molly really wanted to do it because Sam had so much fun last year.  Sam wanted to do it again, and as a special bonus, cousins' Will and Jack were going to participate too!  The problem was, Michael and Molly are in a younger age group- so their camp session was 9-1, whereas Sam's was 9-4.  Wow.  I severely underestimated how painful it would be making trips to the farm three times a day.  But they all had a fun time.  They got to milk the cow a couple times, ride on the carousel, and each day, the older group gets to cook a snack using ingredients from the farm.  Sam, the picky eater, really enjoyed the food they made-  cheese straws, pumpkin cookies (or muffins-  I forget), shortbread cookies, and oatmeal cookies.  The only thing he didn't like, ironically, was the ice cream.  The whole tonsillectomy has really turned him off from ice cream in any way, shape or form.

The month of July brought Lego Camp and Vacation Bible School for Molly.  Again, good in theory, but rough in execution.  Because Michael and Sam were in different age groups, Michael's camp was 9-12, and Sam's was 1-4.  Oh, and Molly's VBS was from 9-12:15, in a close, but different location.  So it was a tad hectic running between locations and getting everyone where they needed to be.  But they all seemed to really like it, and we only had one near miss on the W& OD trail where Michael almost got run over by a mean spirited biker, that proceeded to yell at him and tell him to "pay attention to the stop sign before someone gets hurt!"  He was too busy telling his siblings about what he had built that day to pay attention  to the stop sign.  That and the fact that he's five and can't read.  I was about to return fire, when another parent, a man, who was picking up his son said "What a Dick!" loud enough for him to hear.  He then tried to back peddle and make excuses for his behavior.

The month of August brought different camps... Sam was very excited to do his Catch Some Fun and Sun Camp at Lake Fairfax.  They did nature hikes, boat rides, and other activities in the morning but the draw is that they get to go to the Watermine water park in the afternoon.  He really enjoyed it again this year, but I think he'll like it even more next year, when his siblings are old enough to participate.  Molly, Michael, and Ben are in camp this week at M&M's old, and Ben's new Preschool.  I was very nervous as to how Ben would do, but he has really enjoyed it!  He hasn't cried once.  He marches right in every morning and seems to have fun.  He has cried twice- once because he saw Michael and Molly leaving the playground as he was coming on, and he wanted them to stay, and the other time because he didn't want to go inside when Water Day play outside was over.  All in all, I'd say very successful.  Michael and Molly have also enjoyed seeing some friends from school again!

Oh wait.  I forgot the most well received camp of all.  Sam decided that he was going to have camp for his siblings at home!  We sat down and came up with themes, and with some help from Pinterest, picked a snack and craft activity for each theme.  He also found coloring pages online, a book to read to them each day that went along with the theme, and thought of a game or activity for each as well.  It was quite fun, and they all really had fun with it. Sam really enjoyed being in charge, as any first born does.  As I told a friend, Sam had the vision, mommy did the grunt work.  But it was a success!  Next summer, they each want to host a camp!  I wonder if Molly will have the boys dancing ballet for her week? I'll leave you with some pics from  Sam Camp, since that's obviously the only camp that i attended...

Monday:  Lego Theme

Tuesday:  Dog theme

Wednesday:  Bug Theme

Thursday:  Colors theme

Friday:  Under the Sea Theme-  which included the grand finale of camp-  the water slide!

I think they really enjoyed it!  And I verified that I could never ever have the patience for home schooling.  

The Captain is BUSTED!

So today was a nice lazy Saturday for a change, after running around to Soccer and Tae Kwon Do this morning, we had absolutely nothing planned for the afternoon.  Sam went over to play at a friends house, and Ben was napping, so I decided this would be the perfect time to go to the grocery store.  Chris was playing Lego's with Michael when I left and was going to go play with Molly in her room after Michael had his daddy time.

I come home from the store to find Michael and Molly outside in the garage with the refrigerator and freezer open.  I asked them what they were doing, and Michael said, "Mommy!  You're home!  We had our very worst nightmare come true.  We couldn't find daddy anywhere.  We looked all over, but then we found him in his bed having a rest."  I said, "so what are you guys doing out here?"  They had decided that they needed another snack, and were trying to reach the push up pops in the freezer.  After I assisted them with that, I carried the groceries into the kitchen, where I found an empty yogurt cup in the trash and a spoon on the counter.  I said "who had the yogurt?"  and of course, Michael said "me!"  I said "so what, you can't find daddy, so you just decided to forage for food?"  And Michael said "yes mommy, and if we didn't get our own push up pops, we might die!"  Chris came downstairs a few minutes later when I was getting the rest of the groceries inside and I told him that they had totally squealed on him.

On another note:  A special Congratulations to my hard working husband on screening for Captain!  Molly is excited for the impending pay raise (even though it's at least a year away), because she thinks we can use the extra money to go back  to Disney World.  I am excited because I can teach the kids to call Chris "The Captain."  So when they get upset because daddy won't let them do something, I can just say "The Captain has spoken!"  We love you Chris!

                                        Twin cuteness....  I didn't even notice they were holding
                                         hands until someone pointed out!

All things Michael

Michael.  He's such an extraordinary kid.  I feel like he often struggles to find his place in this family.  He has so much fun playing with Molly, but I've noticed lately, when they do arts and craft type material, he sees just how neat Molly is, and how messy his is, and gets frustrated.  This makes me certain that splitting them up in Kindergarten is for the best.  I don't want him to compare himself to her.

He wants to be JUST like big brother Sam. Whatever show Sam likes is Michael's favorite too.  Whatever Sam enjoys playing with, Michael plays with. Currently the favorite thing to play with is Legos.  But while Sam insists on building things step by step, and saving completed models forever (or until Michael or Ben crush them), Michael gets really bored building them.  He plays with them for a bit, but they inevitably break, and then he creates even cooler things out of the pieces.  He has such an unbelievable imagination.  A lot of the things that come easily to Sam, don't come easily for Michael.  He tried Tae Kwon Do, because Sam was doing it, but he didn't really like it.  He doesn't have a real desire to do any other sports, but when we went to Skate night for Sam's school, he really clicked with ice skating, and wanted to do it again.  SOLD!  We signed him up for lessons, knowing it was probably going to be challenging.  But it was something he was interested in.  I actually haven't gone to watch yet, because he really seems to enjoy his solo daddy time.  Chris says it's really hard for him.  But he's the most determined kid out there.  He cries when he falls, but he never gives up.  Of course Molly and Sam now want to take skate lessons.  I told Chris that before anyone else goes skating again, we need to let Michael get really good, so he can be proud and show off a little.

Up until very recently, Michael has kind of tolerated Ben, much like Sam tolerated him when he was little.  He mostly sees him as a lego breaking, drawing crumpling, glasses grabbing, pest.  The funny thing- is that they are *so* much alike, personality wise.  The past couple of weeks, Michael has started playing with Ben. And Ben LOVES it.  He is totally soaking it up. He follows Michael around and does exactly what he does.    If Michael walks across the room and steps on a pillow along the way, Ben is sure to step on the pillow also.  If he stands up on the couch and jumps off, so does Ben.  It's so cute to watch, and I'm so happy that Michael is finally embracing him.  I'm thinking we're in trouble when Ben is a little older and the two put their minds together.  Surely it can't be worse than twin powers, right?  We'll see.

Anyways-  I'll close with this, which was my whole reason for initially starting this post.  Michael's favorite breakfast treat is Banana Bread, heavy on the butter.  I usually comply, because, well, I used to eat pats of butter from restaurants as a child, so who am I to judge?  He was eating some today, just randomly nibbling, and this was what was leftover when he was done.

I mean, is that a pretty good Virginia or what?  Maybe I should sell it on ebay.  What an extraordinary kid!

Update on Sam

So, Sam's surgery went great on Monday, all things considered.  He was a little nervous to begin with, but I was allowed with him in the surgery room until he went to sleep (along with his trusty pal Mud Bud- who got his tonsils out too, as far as Sam knows).  The surgery was over in about 30 minutes and we were allowed to see him 5 minutes later.

The first thing he said to us was "when are they going to take out my tonsils?"  He didn't even realize it was over.  Then he snuggled up on my lap and went back to sleep. The only thing that bothered him was the iv in his hand.  He slept for about an hour and a half until he stirred when the ice machine woke him up.  He was fine when he woke up and wanted to try every flavor of popsicles, per doctor order.  He had two green and one blue when suddenly it was like we were in the recovery room of horrors.  Supposedly, the older you get, the harder it is on you.  Across from us was a teenage girl who couldn't stop puking.  Then they wheeled in a teenage boy.  He was quiet for a bit, then he just started screaming, "MY THROAT HURTS!" It was about that time, that Sam said "I'm ready to go home!" The nurse said he was the cutest patient ever, and she'd like to take him home with her, but we wouldn't let her.

Since then he's been convalescing.  Day one was the easiest, it's hurt gradually more each day.  Day one he was starving.  He ate about 4-5 yogurt sticks, a vanilla frosty, and some jello.  Day two he was already tired of the soft food and begging for rice krispie treats, etc.  He settled for a pancake, more yogurt, another frosty, and some marshmallows.  He is drinking more water, which is a relief.

Day three, today, he is feeling the worst. I can't get him to eat anything, but he is drinking water, so I guess that's what is most important.  Hopefully he'll eat something in a bit.  From what I read, day three and four are the worst, and then it starts to improve.  I hope that holds true for Sam!

Who needs em' anyways?

So- Sam is getting his tonsils and adenoids out on Monday.  This is great!  We've been trying to get this done since he was three.  Not that I want him under the knife or anything, but he gets strep throat ALL the time ( eight times in the past year), misses school,  and generally feels miserable.  Then the antibiotics cause tummy troubles, and even after he's feeling better, he's a different kind of miserable.  I can't wait to start a hopefully healthier chapter in his life.  People caution me and say that he could still get Strep. Hey, I'm cool with that.  If we even cut down the cases in half, it'd make such a huge difference.  

He's not really nervous about the surgery at all.  I, on the other hand am slightly freaking out.  For one, it's kind of bad timing.  I know it's a good idea to do this over spring break to minimize the number of absences from school, but, what was I thinking?  That also means, Michael and Molly will be home from school.  I'm worried about how Sam will be able to rest, and heal, with those two running around.  Luckily, my mom is coming to help me, and will at least keep Ben occupied.  I may have to bribe the other two.  Second of all, it worries me that Sam is such a picky eater.  And the vast majority of what he does eat is crunchy.  So the soft food diet for two weeks, is going to be challenging.  He'll be eating lots of yogurt, ice cream, popsicles, bananas and pancakes, I have a feeling.  Any other ideas?  Please share!  I'm really sweating this.  And finally, NEVER, I repeat, NEVER google tonsillectomy in 7 year old.  You don't want to read the horror stories.  I'm probably not going to sleep until he's at least two weeks post op.

So, in conclusion, for those who do, please say a prayer for Sam and our family, that the surgery goes well, there are no complications, and the recovery is quick and as painless as possible.  I'll update when I can.

The Ooo's have it!

I love toddler talk. Ben currently ends almost every word with oo. Here are a few examples...
-col-oo for color
-show-oo for shower
-buh-oo for bubble
-wah-oo for where are you
-cer-oo for cereal

It's adorable. What's not cute is the fact that he decided to climb out of his crib yesterday. Not ready for that at all!

Deep thoughts by Molly...

We had a snow day yesterday and today, since school was two hours late for Sam, the twins are home again today.  I decided to take advantage of not having Sam with us, and we decided to go to Target today to pick out a birthday gift for Sam (from the twins and Ben).  I can't believe that he will be seven next week, but that's another story.  So we were pointing out various trucks to Ben, and we saw a bus.  I said "that's a city bus, like we rode at Disney World.  It's for grown ups and kids."  They wanted to get on it to go to Disney World.  Then when I told them that the city bus takes people places that they need to go around town, if they don't have a car to get there, they wanted to know where it went.  I told them that it went places like the mall, to grocery stores, to Target, etc.  Molly asked "And to China?"  I told her no, she'd probably have to fly an airplane there.

Now we are home and Michael and Molly are playing in the basement.  It's always funny to see what they come up with when they are home and playing together.  They are so creative! When Sam is home, it's definitely a different kind of play.  He's definitely the first born, and wants everything to go according to his plan.  When it's just the twins, they just have such an imagination and they just come up with this elaborate world of make believe.  A few minutes ago Michael came out of the basement wanting me to put his Jango Fett costume on.  Then Molly came up.  She wanted her pretty flower tutu tied in a bow on the back.  She said "Mommy, this is my suit of armor."  Then she picked up her wooden bread knife from our Melissa and Doug wooden foods set and said "and THIS is my knife to fight the bad guys."

Clearly Michael couldn't find Jango Fett's helmet!

Radio Silence, and Baby Ben Babble

Sorry for the lack of posts...  We've had sick kids/school holidays for the past 3 weeks, and I have been much less productive.  Sam is currently on day 3 of a random fever.

Ben has become such a talker lately.  He's always talked, but now he's repeating everything and making sentences.  Once, a few weeks ago Michael saw a ton of snow geese in a yard as we drove past and said, "look, that's a quack party""  We call them quacks because that's Ben's word for ducks, geese, etc.

So yesterday we were driving to pick up M&M from preschool and there were a bunch of geese at this little pond that we drive past.  He of course said; "It's a quack party!"  Then later, he had gathered his angry birds up and put them all on the upper deck of Molly's Barbie Cruise Ship and said "It's a birdie party!"  I'm a bit concerned that he is such a fan of parties at such a young age, but  we'll worry about that much more as we approach 21.

Also, thanks to our XBOX 360, Ben thinks he can talk to it and get a command.  So if we have the xbox on for a movie, or if the boys are playing video games, Ben will yell out "XBOX, play monster trucks!"  Or "XBOX play Queen (Lightning Mcqueen)."  I'm not sure just how powerful he thinks the XBOX is though.  This morning, I was getting ready in my bedroom as he played and chatted away in his crib.  First he would say "Momma, wah ooo (where are you)?" and after my not coming to get him in a timly fashion, he said "XBOX, UP!"  Someday Ben, I'm sure technology will make that available.  For now, you've just got to wait on your momma!

Oops, gotta run.  Ben is looking for me, saying "momma, I want a book."  I can never resist that request!

Why are bus drivers late?

You know, I'm sickly with the flu right now, so I generally wait until the last minute to get Sam off the bus-  It's freezing, especially to a feverish, achy person.  So I get outside at 1:08, and his bus comes at 1:10 on Mondays because it's a half day.  It didn't come until 1:25!  I asked Sam why his bus was so late and his reply was "I think the bus driver was in Florida!"

The sickly Michael...

So, Michael has the flu.  In retrospect it should have been obvious that he was feverish when a couple nights ago, he was sleep walking (well running) around in circles while screaming.  When Chris tried to put him back to bed he started squealing with laughter.  Finally Chris gave up and left and he quieted back down and didn't make another peep.  Until the next morning that is,  when he was feverish, achy, and fatigued.  After a diagnosis of Flu, we came home for rest, fluids, and fever reducer.  This was obviously all he needed.  Last night after bath, while Chris was reading a book to Sam, Michael stuck his naked bum in the air and started singing "who let the butt out!"  It's really hard not to react to his antics, because he really is a funny guy.

This morning when he woke up, he was fever free already!  So I guess the flu shot did help to some degree.  I decided that since he didn't eat much yesterday, I'd make him a breakfast that would be relatively easy on his tummy, that I knew he liked- cinnamon sugar toast.  He saw it, and said "I don't want this, I want jelly toast!"  I explained to him, that I would gladly make him jelly toast tomorrow, but I wasn't going to waste the breakfast that I had already made- he could eat that, or be excused from the table.  His response?  Chanting "Jelly Toast, Jelly Toast, Jelly Toast, Jelly Toast" OVER and OVER for what seemed like ten minutes.  It probably was one.  I told him that I wasn't going to discuss it anymore, he could have jelly toast with his lunch if he wanted, but this was his breakfast.  He finally begrudgingly ate it, but then he had to get the last word in and said "Tomorrow I want jelly toast for breakfast, jelly toast for lunch, and jelly toast for dinner."  Incidentally, I made it today for lunch-  he didn't take ONE bite.  I wonder if he'll ask for it for breakfast?

So- he spent the day home from school convalescing.  By convalescing, I mean making a volcano out of pillows, dressing his dinosaur pillow pet, giving his pet toys to play with, putting his eggs in a nest, and planning his surprise birthday party.  Of course, we had to wait to have dinosaur pillow pet's(Triceratopsy) birthday after Molly and Sam got home for school, but he busied himself preparing while he waited.  He gathered balloons, prepared a lovely Melissa and Doug wooden cake, made goody bags, and planned a party activity (making stuffed sharks).  He whispered to me when discussing it so Triceratopsy wouldn't hear.   I think he thoroughly enjoyed his sick day.  Michael is so amazing.  He has an imagination that is unparalleled.  I think I'll keep him home again tomorrow just to see what he can come up with.  Laundry can be fluffed indefinitely right?

Todays notables

A few cute things today...

When our computer screen saver comes on, it just runs through our pictures.  Molly was watching them as she got dressed for ballet and said-  "mommy, was that daddy on his fifth birthday?"  I turned around expecting to see a picture of him as a kid that we had scanned in for some reason, or a picture of Sam at that age maybe.  No, it was a picture of Chris, approximately 41 years old, with a birthday cake that had a number 5 candle on it.  I guess it must have been the only candle we could find at the time.  Molly must have thought her dad was a giant at age five!

Also, it was beautiful today so we were able to get out of the house and play outside.  Michael heard a noise and said "is that a distance?"  I said, "Oh, you mean the airplane?  I hear it too..."  He says "oh, it's just a plane?  I thought it was a distance."  Evidently someone had explained planes at a distance before and he thought that the "distance" was making the noise, not a plane.  He's so flippin' cute.

And not something cute that he said, but cute in general.  Ben was EXHAUSTED today due to a short nap for the sitter.  So I figured he would go right to sleep, when he went down at his usual bedtime of 8.  WRONG.  He has approximately 8-10 angry birds and pigs in his bead which he fondly calls "birdies."  He was making a ton of noise, so finally at about 9, I went up there to see what was going on.  He was sitting up, in his crib, and had lined up all of his birds in two rows on his pillow and was playing with them.  He chatted with them for a few more minutes before passing out.

Extinct!

Michael and Molly have been learning about dinosaurs at school this week.  On the way home from school we were discussing all that they had learned.  Triceratops was Michael's favorite, and he also liked one that "had spikes all over, and a rock underneath his tail that he used to kill all the baby dinosaurs." Molly was just pissed that they had to devote a whole week to this subject matter.  Anyways, this is where the conversation took us:

Michael:  Mommy, I wish we could have a pet dinosaur.

Me: Well, we can't have one, because they are extinct.  That means that there are no more dinosaurs,
they all died.

Michael:  I bet they all died because the dinosaur with the spikes on his tail killed all the babies, and the T-Rex ate all the other ones.

Me:  Maybe!

Michael:  Did you ever see a dinosaur when you were a little girl?

Me:  Nope, they were extinct a long time before mommy was even born.   Even before Dodie (my mom) was born!

Michael:  Were they extinct even before we were in your tummy?

Me:  Yes definitely before then....

Molly:  Were they extinct before you and daddy got married?

Me:  Hey, did you know it's going to snow today?
     

Snow Day!

Due to one inch of snow (are you kidding me?) Sam has a two hour delay today and Michael and Molly have no preschool.  Of course Sam is mad that he has to go, and Michael and Molly are mad that they can't go (their teacher was bringing them a special treat for snack today).

So anyways, Michael and Molly are playing upstairs together.  They made a castle in their bedroom which is quite a fortress (aka mess).   See?

Anyways, I just overheard Molly say:  

"Don't shoot me, I'm just a Mermaid!"

Barbie doesn't have a chance in this house...

Sam walked past Molly's Barbie cruise ship where Molly had abandoned several Barbie dolls while she was in the process of changing their outfits. His response?

"Hey, who wants to see Barbie's butt?"

Batman saves Jasmine!

Molly and Michael are playing in the playroom.  Molly didn't want to play with Michael, but I convinced her that maybe she could play princess and he could play batman.  Batman could SAVE Princess Jasmine from the bad guys.  This is how the play appears to be going.

Molly:  Don't I look beautiful in my wedding dress good guy?

Michael: Watch out for the bad guy!

Molly:  Hey good guy, do you want to see all of my pretty clothes?

Michael:  OK!  Cannon Ball!  The good guys is going down the waterfall!

Molly:  Oh, I think that's a water slide.

Michael:  Stay away from the castle!  It's time to go to sleep.

Molly: But where can I sleep?

Michael: Sleep in that cave.

Michael:  Time to wake up!  There was a big storm.

Molly:  Help Help Help!

Michael:  She got sucked into the hole and it took her allllll the way to the fire department.


Batman doesn't seem to be doing much to save Jasmine from harms way....

Mispronunciations I don't want to forget

•  Sam says "togeger" instead of together
• Michael says "skeleskin" instead of skeleton
• Michael says "camputer" instead of computer
• Molly says "againg" instead of again
• Sam and Michael say "Qui Jon Do" instead of Tae Kwon Do.  I think this is just a result of watching too much Star Wars.  Though Chris would argue there is no such thing as too much Star Wars...
• Michael was discussing his recent bout of Strep on his buttocks, and said "Hey mommy, remember when I had Shrek Butt?"
• Michael says "smamich" instead of sandwich.  
• Sam says "resternant" instead of restaurant.
• Molly says "anunner"  instead of another.
• Michael says "yesternight" instead of....  I'm not even sure what.  Either yesterday or last night.
• Sam used to say (and I was reminded of it today) "beeyana" instead of banana.

Cheerios are good for the heart!

Michael at dinner tonight stated: "I love Cheerios so much I'm going to marry them, and they are going to be plain with two blueberry eyes and then I'm going to eat them up!"

The butt of every joke

So, I had Michael, Molly, and Sam at their swim lessons today.  All of the lessons end at the same time, so there are about 10 parents waiting around the door to give their kids towels when they came out.  Michael came out first, and when Sam came out, the conversation went like this:

Michael:  Sam, did you see me on the whale (float they all hold onto as a class and practice kicks)
Sam:  Yes!  Did you see me?
Michael: Yes!  Did you see my butt?
(all parents laugh)
Me:  Michael, that's not really appropriate, buddy...
Michael: Oh, sorry mommy.  Did you see my bum?

What am I, chopped liver?

I don't talk much about what Ben says, because, he's only two and doesn't talk much.  But after having his daddy and siblings home for Christmas vacation, it's been a bit of a transition this week when they all went back to work and school.  This was our conversation after Sam got on the bus and we dropped M&M off at preschool.

Ben:  Where Molly go?
Me:  She's at school.  Remember we just dropped her off?

Ben:  Where  Michael go?
Me:  He's at school with Molly.

Ben:  Where Sam go?
Me:  He got on the bus and went to school too!

Ben: Where daddy go?
Me:  Daddy's at work.

Ben:  Where papa go?
Me:  He's at papa's house.

Clearly, I am not sufficient entertainment for the kid.  

Calcium... the miracle cure?

This is an oldie but goody conversation I had with Michael earlier this school year on the way home from Preschool:

Scene:  Molly is singing, quite loudly, on the way home from preschool, as she does most of the time when she is in the car

Michael:  Mommy, Molly is singing and it is giving me a headache because I don't have any calcium!

Me:  We will be sure to have some milk and yogurt for a snack when we get home, bud and that should fix you right up.

Welcome to my new blog!

Welcome to my new blog!  I realized that I don't write down nearly enough of the things that my children say.  And they are pretty darn funny!  So for my New Year's resolution in 2013, I'm going to try and record these conversations so that we can all look back on them one day and have a good laugh.  I may even try and do some back tracking from old Facebook posts to see what I can find there.  To start off though, here is the scene.  We were measuring Michael, Molly, and Ben on our piece of wood to see how much they have grown in the last year, since they all recently had birthdays.  Molly was a little sad because she thought that Michael was taller, but it was determined that they are pretty much the same height.   So in an effort to cheer her up, Michael ran into her bedroom and said:

"Molly, we are still twins because we are the same height!  Do you know what that means?  We can still be friends!"