A Load of Crap!

Today, the cost of me taking a shower was greater than what the shower was worth....  Usually, the boys just play in their room, and come up with all kinds of imaginary things to do- sometimes they empty their dresser in the process, but they use their minds and get along pretty well so I can't complain TOO much.  Many times, it makes me smile with the things they come up with.  Well, this morning was quite the exception.  The boys must have heard me coming, 'cause as I headed down the hall to their room, trying to anticipate what creativity they had come up with, I hear Darren shout out:  "Mom, Joseph pooped!"  He's been potty training the last couple weeks, so my little bottle of spot cleaner has frequently been seen in my hands.  I just about made a detour to go grab it, but decided to see "just how bad" it was first.  I was NOT prepared for what I saw.......

 

The pictures don't do it justice, but Joseph had pooped alright!  In fact, he was naked, smiling - quite proud of himself, and covered from head to toe.  Seriously.  I'm not exaggurating!  It was in his hair, on his face, between his toes, all over his hands, and everywhere in between.  His room didn't fare much better....  I wanted to throw up!  How can so much poop come from 1 little (adorable?) 2 year old?!   It was so gross.  Poor Darren was hanging out in the closet (fully clothed and clean), because he didn't want any to end up on him - smart boy!  He only came out when I offered to help guide him through the maze of poopy prints all over the floor.  I think he wanted to throw up too, and was actually fairly upset that Joseph had made such a stinky, disgusting mess in his room (the boys share a room).  It probably could go without saying, but Joseph was immediately wisked off to a bath.  While bathing Joseph (still wanting to puke)  Matt came home from PT.  Darren immediately told him all about the mess, so naturally, he came upstairs to investigate.  He was a bit speechless too!  While I finished up with Joseph, Matt called his supervisor to say he wasn't going to be back to work on time, and got busy with the clean up (what a great guy!).  I was not expecting that reaction from Matt, but I was really grateful to not have to clean it up by myself!  We borrowed a carpet steam cleaner (thank you, Jessica), and Matt went to town.   

A couple hours later, their room looked and smelled MUCH better!  I'm really grateful for a sanitary cycle on my washer (did I mention there was feces on their bedding, too?), so I can feel confident that everything got truly cleaned.  The boys now have freshly cleaned sheets, blankets, and pillows, sanitzed furniture, walls, blinds, and windows.  When Matt got home from work tonight, he steamed the carpet again, to be double sure we got all the nastiness out.  I think it's safe to say that the boys now have the cleanest room in the house.  I wonder how long it will stay that way?.....  At least 10 hours - while they're sleeping!  

The First of Many......

This week we received Darren's very first school pictures!   He is in preschool this year, and LOVING it!  He's the youngest kid in his class by about 6 months, but he seems to doing pretty well and keeping up.  His teacher always (well, almost always) has positive things to say about him.  Of course, that makes a Mom proud!  My boy is growing up.  So far, he has learned to identify all of his letters and numbers, and can spell/write his name!  He is much better at following instructions, and using his words to tell what he's feeling.  He is a good friend to those around him, and loves to make other people smile and laugh. 

I peeked into his class one day, and watched for a minute - Darren was oblivious to my presence.  The kids were sitting on the floor in a circle singing a song about the colors each of them were wearing.  When it was a specific child's turn, they got to go to the front and jump, dance, or whatever (most just jumped), while their friends sang about them.  On Darren's turn.... he jumped, flapped his arms like a bird, spun in circles, etc. and REALLY hammed it up!  His friends were pointing and laughing so hard, they could barely sing the song.  His teacher was even cracking up!  Darren was quite pleased with his little "performance" based on the HUGE grin he had on his face!  I should also insert here that when his turn was over, he went right back to his place on the floor and remained on task!  I was pleased with that.  He is obviously developing a love of performing.  For show and tell a couple weeks ago (topic: letter O), HE chose to sing "Once There Was A Snowman" in front of his whole class.  There is one other little girl in his class that we know from church, and he had her sing with him.  They were so brave, and the teachers were impressed!  Tomorrow, his class is putting on a little Thanksgiving program, and he has been so excited about it, he has taught Joseph the songs, and sings them all day.  And, he's excited to dress up like a turkey.  I can't wait to see it!   

So, back to my original topic.... school pictures.  While I think his picture is a bit washed out (not sure if it's the lighting, or the fair skin/toe head blonde, light colored shirt against a white background issue), I think the photographer did an excellent job of capturing Darren's fun-loving, energetic, happy personality.  I will say the actual print is not quite as washed out, so looks better - I used our scanner to get this on the computer. 

Here is his class picture....

I love my fun, sweet, daring Darren! 

Things That Make Me Smile....

This is just a simple little post of some recent pics that make me smile.  Most of them are just from our normal everyday life......

I LOVE this picture of my sweet, mischievous, independent Joseph.  He asked me to take this picture.

1 very happy, exhausted, jet lagged Daddy, 2 very excited little boys.  Matt seriously gets attacked and has 2 (okay, 3) little shadows for a few days when he returns from long work trips. 

Snuggle time.  

I never know what this kid is going to do next......  He makes me laugh everyday!  

I went to check on the boys before going to bed a couple nights ago, and this is what I saw......

...... How he managed to stay asleep like that, I don't know. 

These 2 brothers have such a deep love for each other, and want to be together all the time - even when sleeping.... 

The boys dumped out a glass of water, and laughed about making footprints and had a blast jumping in their "puddle!"   

Darren INSISTED he wasn't tired, but didn't even last 10 minutes into his movie!   

Of course, this handsome man won me over with his smile a long time ago, and I smile because I am the lucky girl that gets to spend forever with him! 

I should add that there are many other things that make me smile too, so this is just a small little sample.  :)

Introducing......

The debut performance of Darren Coleman:

Conducting and singing an excerpt from:

Beethoven's 9th Symphony, movement 4 (Ode to Joy)

Latest Project

Our kitchen chairs are gradually breaking.  So, in an effort to conserve money, we found some on Craigslist for a good deal.  However, the seats were in desperate need of being re-upholstered.  They were hideous, and covered in cat hair.  GROSS!  I've never done anything like this before, so I was a little nervous about my attempt.  I went to the fabric store and picked out some upholstery I liked (plus it was on sale for 50% off - definitely a bonus!), and some clear plastic to put over top - a necessity when small children are in the home!  Anyway, I love the new fabric, but I think it looks a bit tacky with the plastic over it.  But, I'll live with it, because I don't want to redo the seats again in a couple months!  Maybe we'll end up restaining them, too.  Who knows.  They don't match our table color, but we've talked about refinishing that, too.  We'll see what happens.  For now, here's what the "new" chairs look like:

Before....

After.....

I've also been attempting to master the art of making homemade whole wheat bread - sometimes made by milling my own flour.  Here's my latest batch (which just has regular store bought wheat flour).......

Silly Boyz!

Yesterday evening, my silly boys thought it would be funny to swap clothes.  So they did - all by themselves.  I thought it was too funny to not grab a picture.... or three! 

All proud of themselves!  If D moved at ALL, we could see his belly button.

J actually walks on his toes like that.  It makes me hurt just watching him.  And, classic D - with a car in hand.  Mid-air works for a road when you have a 4 year old imagination!  

Classic J!  Thumb in the mouth, with hand down his shirt. 

I love my boys!

A Young Patriot

I have a little patriot!  Since he's been in school, he has learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and takes every opportunity to say it.  To the degree that we will be driving somewhere, and all of a sudden he starts saying it.  Sometimes I have to look around to find the flag he's looking at.  While walking, he stops, puts his hand in the general vicinity of his heart (sometimes closer to his tummy or shoulder), and has to say it.  On 9-11, he asked why all the flags were broken and not all the way up.  I had to explain in very brief, watered down terms what happened that day.  Too many details would have been too traumatic for his imaginitive, sensitive mind.  He already seems to have a great love for our country and our planet.  I'm proud of my little boy, and the patriotism he demonstrates already.  Here's a little video clip of him saying the pledge: