"Everything Is Sometimes, Always Easy"

When William was trying to undertake a daunting task this morning, this little nugget of wisdom was given by his older, wiser brother, "William, everything is sometimes, always easy." I made myself a mental note to really listen to this advice from my sweet little boy. What a way to approach tricky things in life! You may see this quote on those little inspirational desk calendars one day and you will know "the rest of the story".
This past weekend we had a visit from Nana and Poppa Wreck. It was a wonderful visit and despite the yucky weather, we all had a great time. William was feeling under the weather Saturday (fitting considering the rain and cold) so I checked his ears with my trusty odoscope (thanks Mom!) and discovered he had an ear infection. Poor little guy - his first ear infection and he was miserable. I do want to say though, that despite being sick and feeling terrible, he is still so sweet and loving. I guess it's his nature to be such a little love bug (my nick name for him is "love bug" and couldn't be more fitting). So, we made our first visit to Cook's Urgent Care (lots of firsts this past weekend) and they verified my "mommy diagnosis" and sent us home with a prescription for antibiotics. We're still working on getting better but it will take a few days to clear up. In the meantime, I'm showering him with hugs, love, and cuddles which, I believe, is the very best medicine. I still long for those things from my mom when I'm sick despite being an adult mother of two! Oh goodness, I'm not even sick and now I'm longing for my mom...
Updates:
William has been watching "Letter Factory" with Jackson and has picked up on about 1/2 of the letter sounds. The music goes something like this... "The A says Ah, the B says Buh, the C says Cuh and the D says Duh..." I noticed him repeating the sounds in response to the DBD with no prompting from me. I have since started practicing with him when we are not watching the DVD. It's amazing how much he can absorb and respond. I don't want to get ahead of myself but we may have a little genius on our hands!! *As an aside, this is a great DVD for children*
Jackson has embraced his role as "Bubba" to William. He's begun saying, "Come to Bubba, William" or "Come play with Bubba." I can see how proud he is when he says this. It is a title he holds very well and I think William would agree - most of the time...

If Only My Life Were A Reality Show...

*Jackson's Valentine's Party at School*

If cameras followed me around, then I could possibly catch some of the hilarious (often outrageous) things that are said in our house. Instead I'm forced to blog about it, which loses over half of the joke because you've missed the spontaneity. That said, I will still attempt to chronicle one of the funniest "episodes" in the Little House.

Scene: Daddy has fixed mommy a Valentine's meal and after both parents get up and down a few times to take care of kid demands, they finally sit down to eat...
Dialogue-
Jackson (who is not eating his dinner, as usual): I'm cold.
Mommy: Finish your dinner and you can sit by the fire.
Jackson: I need a blanket.
Mommy: You are always cold when you are sitting at the table and don't want to eat dinner. Eat and you can get down to sit by the fire.
A minute later...
Jackson: I have to go potty.
Daddy: I just took you to the potty before we sat down. You do not need to go, you're just avoiding dinner time.
Jackson starts to fidget.
Mommy: Are you going to pee pee in your pants?
Jackson: No but I'm pooping in my pants right now.
Daddy: Let's go to the bathroom, now!!

Mommy laughs and laughs. Then finally finishes her cold dinner.

So, you see, life is never boring with two little boys around. I sometimes try to remember how quiet and still things were when David and I lived by ourselves. That seems like a monastery life to me... those were the simple days when I only had to prepare one meal an evening instead of 3. No one pooped their pants at the dinner table. My clothes were not constantly stained with some type of food, excrement, etc. I actually had intimate moments with my husband (sorry but its true). And I actually got presents from my husband on Valentine's Day and not silly cards. I had no clue what Nick Jr., PBS and KERA meant much less had my TV tuned to those channels 99% of the time. A conversation with my husband didn't involve screaming over wrestling toddlers or whispering over a 3 year old sleeping between us...

Yes, life has definitely changed - for the better of course!

Love Is in the Air

Mimi and Jackson playing trains during her visit... We loved having her!

To all you love birds, I wish you a wonderful valentine's day. If you're old and married like me (these terms are relative so let me feel old), you probably just want a nice meal cooked for you without the hassle of putting on fancy clothes, makeup, perfume and fighting the crowds of blissfully happy unmarried couples who are way too excited it's Valentine's Day. So, I'm putting this note in here in the hopes that my boys will take notice - mommy wants a tasty dinner (take-out is just fine), no dirty dishes in the sink when I go to bed, and a long hot bubble bath with a smutty celebrity gossip magazine. That's not too much to ask, right?!

In a tribute to Valentine's Day, I want to write about some of the wonderful things I LOVE about my boys:
The smell of William's hair after a bath. Jackson's laugh, especially when he's not faking it. When my husband nuzzles my neck in the morning after he's gotten up early with the boys so I can sleep in. The boys wrestling with each other - before it becomes too rough, which it always does after about 30 seconds. When Jackson holds my hand. William's tongue kisses - he doesn't understand that you kiss with your lips and not your entire tongue. Reading a book, any book, to them and watching their little faces as they get lost in the story or pictures. Rocking William - which I still do for every naptime and bedtime - and singing "You Are My Sunshine" to him. Snuggling with Jackson in my bed at night; especially when he puts his head on my chest and falls asleep. Smelling David's cologne on me and in the house after he's left in the morning. Bike rides with William on the bike seat of my bicycle and Jackson riding on Daddy's bike - this image will always remind me of Sunday afternoons. Seeing both boys light up when David walks through the door after work in the evenings; and watching their Daddy's face as they jump in his arms. When they say "Mommy" in the sweet, little, innocent voice of a child...

Finally, some quick updates:
William is working on two new words this week. He will point to the sky and say "up!" He has also mastered "uh oh" when he drops something (usually his sippee cup or his pacifier). His hair is getting longer and lighter, and I just love it! He has also developed an obsession with lip balm (an eos mint balm to be exact). He will thrown things, hit things, scream and hold his breath until someone opens it for him. When we open it, he proceeds to attempt putting it on his lips but ends up licking it. Nice, I know... I'm hoping to get a video posted of this little tantrum over mint lip balm - it's hilarious!
Jackson signed his name to a picture from school his week and the J was almost legible. I knew exactly what it was, but that takes some talent and experience in preschool handwriting. We're working hard on learning the letters to his name!