Ramble On...

..and now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song. Sorry, couldn't resist a Led Zeppelin plug because this song is totally awesome.

I really don't have anything special to post today, but I HAD to post something since I won't be able to post on February 29th for another four years! So here's a bunch of jumbled thoughts and a little Anderson recap of what's going on right now.

- It's in the mid-sixties today. Rock! It's also insanely windy, which is really saying something for this part of the state.

- Eli continues to be a complete rockstar when it comes to potty training.

- Although Cole would never mention it, I will.......he got a promotion!!!!!! His new position begins tomorrow. I'm super duper proud of him!!!!!!!

- Tomorrow my nephew, Evan, turns 10 years old. I can NOT believe it!!!! I remember the day he was born.....it was ridiculously cold and sleeting. He was so perfect though, I really didn't care what the weather was like.

- This morning the boys dumped my entire 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle all over the floor while I was drying my hair. Not. Cool.

- Eli just bit Ian on the back, and I had to take a break from typing to administer a little Time Out.

- We ate lunch with Cole today since I had to be out and about doing our monthly banking.

- I became "that woman" today. That's right, I walked my kids on leashes. We are in a difficult stage where the stroller is "for babies" and the danger of fasting moving automobiles isn't understood. I felt ridiculous, but I was able to safely take the boys to downtown Champaign without a stroller so......... Whatever.

- We are getting geared up for the preschool touring blitz next month. My dream school for Ian: Metamorphosis Montessori.

- Cole has been battling an ear infection for weeks now. Considering this is the third time he's been sick since we started dating a little over nine years ago, I'd say he's got a pretty healthy record.

- This weekend I'm fleeing the role of motherhood to spend a day with my good friend/college roomie, Jenna. It's going to be awesome, and I'm totally jazzed.

- I have Mom's group tomorrow....always a good time.

- Over the weekend Cole and I painted a gallon's worth of trim. It was exhausting, but it looks SO nice. Too bad we are only half way done.

- We also bought interior doors, but they don't fit because whoever built our house a zillion years ago was totally wack-a-doo and NOTHING is a standard size. Damn old houses with "character."

- This month we have to get passports for the boys and Cole and mine has to be reissued with my married name. I'm not looking forward to the cost process.

- I finally figured out how to break Ian of the disgusting habit of saying "Shut-Up"....not even sure where he picked it up, but it drives me insane that he can be so rude. A little drop of vinegar on the tongue.......after four doses the word has been eliminated from his vocabulary.

- We are going to see "The Lorax" this weekend!!!!!! This has been one of our favorite books for about six months, and Eli even went through a phase where he believed a picture of The Lorax was him.

- Today at lunch I said to Cole, "Where did my twenties go?" To which Ian replied, "They're nowhere to be found." Astute.

- I still adore my role as stay-at-home-mom, and I'm not taking a class this semester so I devote all of my time and energy to the boys. I think it's safe to say, I have NEVER been happier in my entire life! :)

The Best $6.99 I've Ever Spent

This all started eleven months ago on our trip to Houston. We decided to drive all night so the boys would be asleep the entire time, but as things with children often do, the trip went awry. At 2:30 in the morning, after eight hours of driving with six more to go, Eli woke up in the car. He wailed and screamed and threw one massive fit. It was like the real life version of "Don't Wake the Dragon." Cole and I did everything we could to make sure he didn't wake up Ian, including giving Eli Ian's beloved bear, Teddy.

Ian has had Teddy since he was born. My mom was absolutely scandalized that I didn't have a Teddy Bear for Ian so she bought one for him. Teddy has been Ian's trusty sidekick since we switched him to a toddler bed.  We did not realize what a GIGANTIC mistake we were making by letting Eli hold Teddy. Ian soon woke up and for the next two and a half HOURS we heard nothing but ear piercing screams from both of the boys in an epic battle for Teddy. It was horrific.

Over the course of the next week, I scoured Houston, TX, the fourth largest city on the United States, for another Teddy for Eli. No luck. How could it possibly be that in the fourth largest city in the U.S. not a single Teddy replica existed? Everything is bigger in Texas.....except the plush toy selection. I was SO desperate to find another bear. I knew that we had another 16 hour car ride, and I couldn't bear the thought of another screaming battle for Teddy. Every time we saw stuffed animals for sale I would excitedly present the closest option to Teddy and Eli would just shove it away.

We eventually made it home, with years shaved off of our life expectancies, but we made it. Ever since that trip Eli has been trying his hardest to become the sole proprietor of Teddy, and Ian has resisted every step of the way.

The other day I was shopping and out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. It was a glorious sight that sent me running through the mall, completely unfazed by the 80 pounds of stroller/kids I was pushing. We got into the store and Eli followed my gaze as I reached toward a shelf.

"Teddy!!!" he shouted.

That was all I needed to hear. He isn't exactly like Ian's Teddy, but he's close enough for Eli which means he's close enough for me. The best part, he was only $6.99 + tax. (I honestly would have paid up to $200.00 had I found one while we were in Houston. The situation was that dire.) Eli wouldn't even let go of his Teddy for the cashier to ring him up, but we figured it out.

We got in the car, Eli snuggled Teddy to his cheek and said, "I need to go to sleep." And so he did.

When we got home, Eli quickly forgot ALL about his previous bedtime buddies. It kind of broke my heart. I'm attached to Eli's rhino because it's what I used to wean him off of his pacifier just over a year ago. I owe a lot to rhino. I expected at least some kind of attachment from Eli to rhino. I was so wrong. But, I am so happy for Eli. It's clear to me that his heart really, really, really has wanted his own Teddy, and he wasn't just tormenting his brother. Eli adores his new Teddy, drags him all over the house, and snuggles him SO tightly for nap time and bedtime.

So, I must say, "Welcome to the family, Teddy. You are SO very loved!!!"

The Joy of New

So, we've been in simplification mode for a while now, and we got to see the true benefit the other night. After we cut the toys down to well less than half of the original amount, the boys rediscovered the fun of playing with Little People. The Little People collection had been in the basement for a while, in kind of a holding pattern. Do we donate, do we keep? I had decided to bring them back upstairs because I thought it would be nice to mix things up.

Once they were back upstairs, I decided it was a good time to bust out a toy Eli had received for CHRISTMAS that was still in the original packaging. We have several toys from Christmas that are still in their original packages because Cole and I like to phase them in slowly to insure everything is played with and explored and truly appreciated, not just tossed aside and forgotten.

Here is the "new" toy.....

Eli received this Little People Car Wash set from his Aunt Heather. When I brought it into the living room the boys started crawling all over me as I opened it in order to get a better look. They were SO, SO, SO excited for their new toy! They were totally engrossed in their play, and when Cole and I finally called bedtime over an hour later, they still weren't ready to move on to something else. It absolutely warmed my heart to see the boys so excited and in love with their new toy. I was so glad that they truly appreciated the gift and didn't just toss it aside to see "what's next?!" as they would have if we opened it on Christmas day.

Thank you, Aunt Heather! The boys love their new toys, and they love you, too!!!

Simplicity Parenting: Rhythm

The next section of Simplicity Parenting is Rhythm. Cole and I have had schedules and routines out the wazoo since the day we brought Ian home from the hospital. We've been doing it for so long that we know the other's next move and never need to say a word to get the job done. We're like LeBron James and.....LeBron James' teammate. We thrive when we stick to our daily routine, and we all feel the frustrations of a day that is anything but routine. We followed a strict routine because it made life easier for ALL of us and because routine is so vital to creating a sense of security for your children. Overall, this section just made me even happier that we have such steadfast routines for the boys, especially at bedtime. We have NEVER had sleep struggles, and I think that regular bedtimes and the nightly routine is a big reason why.

But, there were still plenty of helpful ideas to make our lives even easier. Most of the changes (for us) center around meal time. It is highly suggested that you involve your kids in food prep. I don't feel comfortable doing this just yet. When the boys get a little older, I will do it. Or, if I only had one crazy toddler, I would do it. Instead I am getting the boys into the habit of setting the table for me. The author talks about how difficult it is to get kids to come to the table at meal time. It's nearly impossible to tear them away from play time, sit them around the table, and expect them to instantly calm down and eat. The book states that by engaging kids in food/table prep it helps to create a transition period from play time. Kids unwind from play time and start preparing themselves for meal time.

It is also suggested that absolutely everyone in the family helps to clean up after a meal. It should just be a part of the evening ritual that everyone cleans up together to help keep the family from scattering and each person doing their own thing. The act of working together keeps everyone focused on family time, and it becomes more natural to just keep the family time going after dinner. Our kids aren't yet old enough to "scatter" after dinner each night, but I want to start this process now so it is just how things are at our house.

The last suggestion that I hope to put into place is about meal planning. The book suggests that meals become predictable. Instead of trying to come up with new things to feed the fam and ultimately just getting carry out instead, the author encourages planning "by night." Monday - Italian, Tuesday - Soup and Sandwiches, etc. This doesn't mean we are going to eat spaghetti every Monday from now to the end of eternity. "Italian Night" is FULL of possibilities. We are definitely going to try this. I frequently get to a point where I don't want to come up with another meal idea for at least six months (I never actually go that long), and the entire point of this suggestion is to ease the burden of the family cook so I am totally into this.

The last thing I took away from this chapter is something I really, REALLY loved to hear. I always turn on the radio first thing in the morning. I love music and just don't think there is a better way to start the day. The book strongly encourages music first thing in the morning because it gets all of the neurons in your brain's creativity center firing like crazy! How great is that?! I was already doing something really beneficial for the whole family, and I didn't have a clue!

If you are more of a "fly by the seat of your pants" kind of person who would like to become a bit more routined, this chapter offers TONS of suggestions on how to create a family rhythm one baby step at a time. It felt really good to know that our solution to happy days (extremely controlled routines) are such a wonderful thing to have and not just a sign of a controlling personality. Although in my case, it's probably a little of both.

More Simplicity Parenting

To finish off simplifying our environment, we reduced the number of books available to each of the boys from well over 100 to only five or six each. I was stunned whenever I read this recommendation in the book, but after I read all of the reasoning behind the suggestion I was totally on board. The author says that parents think they are doing the right thing by giving kids tons of books (I know I did.), but in reality young children are SO overwhelmed by that many options that a large variety is in no way beneficial to them. The author also states that there are many benefits to reading the same story every day for months on end. It develops a sense of security in children since they can always count on the same happy ending, the story becomes such a part of them that they will begin acting it out like a play, and it helps develop a love of reading books for pleasure and not consuming books just for the sake of saying, "I've read all 30 books in the ______ series."

Just like with the toys, you don't have to get rid of the books (unless they are not age-appropriate), but instead you just store them away, out of sight out of mind, and wait until your child tires of the current selection and then refresh it.

Ian's book selection

Eli's book selection - The Lorax is also in the mix, but I couldn't find it.......hmmmm.

Initially, this was really, REALLY, REALLY weird to me, but after reading all of the author's reasoning behind the suggestion and thinking about the fact that the boys really only ask for five or six different stories at nap time/bed time, I was totally sold. Whenever the boys request a new book, I will be beyond thrilled to switch up the mix.

To round out simplifying your environment, there is also a section on wardrobes, but we already did everything in the wardrobe section, so there were no changes for us there.

Again, I highly recommend Simplicity Parenting SO strongly for any family that ever feels a little overwhelmed with all that parenting entails. Many of the steps the author gives in the book, we already did naturally, but I still took so much away from it.

Next up: Rhythm. While our days have always been very routine, sometimes even too routine for our own good, I got some GREAT ideas from the Rhythm section (haha) to make things even easier for us. So, keep reading!

Simplicity Parenting

I recently purchased a book called Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids upon the praises of a mom in my Mom's group. She is the mother of three little boys, and while I'm not sure of their ages, I believe they are something along the lines of 6, 4, and 2. Uh, can you say, "Chaos?!" All I have to say is, God bless her. The thought of adding another boy to the line up at our house is, quite frankly, terrifying!!!!! So, if she felt as though the book helped their family, I was sure it would help ours.

The book offers advice on four aspects of everyday life, Environment, Rhythm, Schedules, and Filtering Out the Adult World. (For now the section on schedules does not apply to us because our kids are not old enough for structured activities/lessons.) The author gives very simple "guidelines" for how to simplify all aspects of life to create a calm, happy lifestyle for your entire family.

Let's start with environment. Now, I must say, that in comparison to many families we have very few toys. We really don't like "stuff" for our kids, we want them to have experiences. Cole and I have a "maximum capacity" rule when it comes to toys in order to keep the madness under control. Plus, we don't allow toys in the bedrooms. Most points made in the Environment chapter are things that we have done since Ian was born, but after reading the book I still gathered that our kids had WAY too many choices when it came to toys so I simplified. And to be quite honest, this INSTANTLY made me feel as if an enormous weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

This is it.  This in the entire toy selection available to the boys.

Each of the bins contains one category of toys.  I DON'T mix toys!!!! The bins contain stuffed animals, tractors, trains, Little People, cars and trucks, a hunting play set. Both of the plastic bins contain building blocks, Lego Duplo and Fisher Price Trio. We now have a toy library in the basement, and in order to have toys stored in the basement, the boys must be willing to trade one of the categories of toys currently at their disposal for the desired toys in the basement.

This is a box of quiet toys: puzzles, flash cards, lacing cards. This box has a lid but is readily available to the boys. I mainly put this together so I can easily provide Ian with quiet activities on the days he won't take a nap (a.k.a 29 days of any given month except February).

I am SO happy to be making these changes in our lives! Having an excess of stuff in this house makes it so easy to become totally overwhelmed in a very short time frame. If you noticed, we have NO electronic toys in the mix. I find them to be TOTALLY overwhelming, and why isn't there a law about the maximum volume a toy can have? Manufacturers make them SO damn loud!!!!

Simplifying GREATLY minimized the mess that can be made on a daily basis, and guess what. I already knew what the boys will play with in great depth, so those are the toys I kept, and they really don't even care the other toys are gone. This change makes Cole and me MUCH happier, and in turn, much better parents to be able to sit and play with the boys without being freaked out by the amount of crap accumulating in the course of a play session. There is a fairly decent chance that a couple of these bins may go down to the basement to simplify even further.

I paid less than $10.00 for a used copy of Simplicity Parenting plus shipping, and it was worth every last cent. I think that every parent should invest in this book, especially if you are a stay-at-home-mom in the midst of chaos everyday. We are going to be implementing MORE changes, but you'll have to wait until later to hear about those.  :-)

Before & After

Don't you just love a good Before & After?  I do.  Here's one for today.  Here is Eli's sock drawer before...

And here is Eli's sock drawer after.

Did you see the difference?  Yes!  It now contains big boy underwear, or as boys say, "skibbies."  And aren't they the cutest!

Ian wears Pull-Ups at night, but I have a feeling not for much longer.  He is consistently waking up to use the restroom during the night or waking up dry in the morning.  Yahoo!  Eli wants to be just like his big brother and always wants to wear a Pull-Up too.  Saturday Eli wanted to wear a Pull-Up, and I told him that if he used the potty, he could wear a Pull-Up.  Lo and behold, the kid hopped right up on the potty and earned his Pull-Up privileges.

I told Cole, "I bet I could potty train, Eli."

To which Cole responded, "Then why don't you?"

Huh.  Good point.

I had just bought a brand new box of diapers last week, and still have a full box in the closet, so I decided I would return the new box and buy some skibbies for Li-Li.  I asked Eli if he wanted to buy skibbies and he got the most hysterical look on his face and yelled, "Holy cow!"  I took that as a 'yes', and Sunday we went to Target to make the transaction.  Eli was allowed to choose his own undies, and he picked a very manly Thomas set.

Monday was considered the first official day of potty training.  He wore a Pull-Up under his skibbies for the first couple of hours of the day, and after the third successful trip to the bathroom, he refused to put the Pull-Up back on.  (You haven't lived until you've tried to make Eli do something he doesn't want to do.)  So, I gave him the old "You have to use the potty or you'll get your skivvies all wet, so you have to tell me when you need to go."  And you know what?  He did!  Totally not kidding or exaggerating; we did not have a single accident yesterday and he never went in the Pull-Up either!  We had a few false alarms, which I absolutely prefer to accidents, and at the end of the day, his skivvies were totally unscathed.  Yipee-ky-yie-yay!!!

I am in absolute shock at how easy this was.  I mean, Eli is frighteningly smart, but he is a bit of a firecracker, so I expected more of a fight.  But he is Ian's self-appointed Bathroom Aide so he was much, much, much more familiar with the process than Ian was when I started his potty training.  He asks to use the restroom, he uses it when we go in, and I am already basking in the glow of a diaper free life!  It is slightly bittersweet, as this was the last phase of "babyhood" remaining in our house.  Bottles and pacifiers have been gone for long over a year, two naps a day disappeared about 9 months ago, and I can't remember the last time the boys needed to be fed a meal.

This is so surreal to me.  We have two potty trained children, and the second one was an absolute BREEZE!!!!  I no longer need to buy diapers, and I must say that Eli's little hieney in a pair of skibbies?  Probably the cutest little thing I've seen in a while.  :-)

Bonding

After Cole and I put the boys to bed every night, we hang out on the couch together and yap about all of the funny things the boys said/did that day.  We basically just take ten to fifteen minutes to pat ourselves on the back for somehow managing to create the most perfect human beings in the world.  ; -)  Anyway, as we talked last night the conversation just worked itself around to the fact that Cole and the boys get very, very, very little time to bond, just the guys.  Obviously, someone has to put food on the table, and in order to do so Cole leaves the house around 7:30 each morning and comes home around 6:00 every evening.  By the time we are finished eating which is 6:30 at the earliest (our children are the SLOWEST eaters on the planet - Eli can easily draw a meal out to over an hour), we have 30-45 minutes of family time, depending on temperament, before bath time which is immediately followed by reading and rocking.

Cole and I agreed that we need to find a way to make sure that the boys are getting one-on-one, or more accurately two-on-one, time with their dad every day.  And to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't mind a few minutes in my day without a thirty pound body tightly attached to one of my legs.  Say what?!?!  Yep, it's true.

My mom got a copy of The Mother's Almanac for me when I was pregnant with Ian, and she bought The Father's Almanac for Cole.  These books are great!  They were first published in the 70's (Cole and I both have the original editions), so I'm not sure how much has changed in the Revised edition, but I'm guessing that some of the recipes that involve raw eggs (not kidding) have been removed. One of the things about having the older version is that it does not address computers/video games.  This isn't really an issue for us now because we don't have video games, don't let the boys use the computer, and have literally two electronic toys that are used only in the car.

This morning I busted out The Father's Almanac to see if some of the activities outlined would be a good fit for the bonding time we are looking to prioritize for Cole and the boys.  The book is 375 pages, and it covers a variety of topics in twelve chapters: The Grand Arrival, Babies, Job, Family, Providing, Every Day, Special Events, Teaching and Discipline, Learning with Kids, Playing with Kids, Working with Kids, Keeping a Record. 

It has been a while since I last looked through the book, and I was blown away by all of the suggestions that are now age appropriate for our boys.  There are all kinds of science experiments, tons of "nature" activities, 14 pages on homemade toys, shadow puppets, and so, so, so many more.  (I feel like Will Ferrell in Stepbrothers: "So many activities!")  I'm not sure which project/activity I'm going to plan first (I'll have to gather all of the needed supplies before Cole gets home), but I'm sure whatever we choose, the boys will just have a grand old time getting to do a special project with just dad.

Builda, Build On

One of the best things about having children, other than having the privilege of calling most wonderful little humans in the world "mine", is getting to play with toys again.  It's true, maybe a little immature, but totally true. I am SO glad that we have boys because we play with building blocks ALL the time!  I was never really into dolls, although I did have a pretty hard core Troll obsession.  When I was little I was always building with Legos.  Of course, mine were made by Tyco, were purple, pink, teal, baby blue, and white, and were called Dream Builders.  They were awesome and occupied me for hours.  I'm so jazzed that Lego has started a line of girl Legos, and I will DEFINITELY be investing in some sets for myself nieces.

Anyway, the boys LOVE building blocks.  We currently play with Lego Duplo blocks, courtesy of "The Godfather" (Kenneth) and his lovely wife, Lisa, and Fisher Price Trio blocks every single day.  My favorite thing about the blocks is that there is no actual toy or scenario.  It is all a product of imagination and the possibilities are positively endless.  If it were up to me, we could get rid of every single toy (other than the trains) and exist with nothing other than massive amounts of blocks.  This morning we rocked out to my Pure 80s CD and let our creativity run wild.

Two Happy Chums

Imaginations at Work

Eli wears the sunglasses ALL the time, but rarely over his eyes

Check out the make-shift "blinds" over the door windows.....Steak 'n Shake coupons and Eli's teeth brushing chart.  Tacky, yes......but this morning they served their purpose.

Little Bro admiring Big Bro

I will NEVER be able to live in a house without gigantic windows ever again.  7 ft X 7 ft windows are heavenly