Big Boys: Big Beds

The boys have officially moved out of our storage room, into their new big boy bedroom.  And although after looking at these pictures, I'm now fully convinced that I need a new camera (yeah right).... they at least give some semblance of what it looks like in person (which is totally better in my opinion).   Guess you all just have to come over and visit me now to Really see it.

This one took a bit longer than the one weekend that we originally planned.  You get two artsey people together in a room... and ideas start magnifying themselves until one of us (usually level headed Kevin) puts the breaks on my crazy "but we could do that in an hour" ideas.  However he is the one who ever so lovingly made little Thomas and Percy the Trains come to life.  And they say that doodling is worthless.  

Now if we could only get Charlie to stop falling out of bed every night, things would seem perfect.  And don't worry all you crazy safety mothers, I am one too.  I just took off the bed rails for the picture because it looked more like a hospital recovery room than a cute little boy's room.  Nevertheless.. Charlie Still falls out.  Bed rails and all! 

Oh yes, and the most exciting thing that we learned from the room?   As I tried to skimp with cheeper accessories because I had gotten the quilts from Pottery Barn (once you fall in love... there's just no going back)... I got the window hardware from Walmart.  To which I'm pretty sure Kevin almost had a nervous breakdown putting up.  Apparently going cheep isn't always the best way.  They don't find it necessary to include the right size anchors for the specific screws at that store.  BUT, my redo friends, then it got magical. 

As Kevin later put up the cute little wall light that I got on super sale at Pottery Barn Kids... he was convinced.  I think it was the easiest set up that we've ever done.  Not an eyebrow in sight.  And so, right then and there, I got a confession from my skeptical re-doing husband that yes, indeed, things purchased at Pottery Barn are worth the sale price.  They find it very necessary to include perfect anchors with perfect screws.  Quality, pure, good looking quality.  Even though I don't have the go ahead to purchase every item in their catalogue like I would dream of... at least I have a little bit less convincing to do if I should ever want to order something fabulous again from them.

And I must give one final acknowledgement to his chalk board skills too.  I asked for Jack and Charlie super hero's.. and Kevin produced a master piece.  We thought getting them familiar with toilets by staring at a cool one every morning and night would perhaps help with the potty training process?   We can only dream, I guess. 

Enjoy the pictures!


Before: Messy Chaos




I'm the painter... Kevin's the creator




Progress




Chalk board paint... for those home schooling days to come:)


 





Tracey: attention to shelf... we still have it displayed!



Mostly happy boys, in thier new room

"Chuck and Jack meet Mr. Flusher"

OOPS! We Did It AGAIN

So this title would have been completely better if we would have found out that we were having twins again.... but then I would have lost my mind instead of losing a good title.  I'll take my mind; thank you very much.

Luckily, since we knew that having twins WAS a possibility (I'm not going to get into our fertility issues)... once we found the two lines on the test, I immediately called my doctor and asked for an ultrasound, please.  I needed to know from the get go what we were in for.  Kevin claims that he wouldn't have cared if two babies showed up on that monitor... but I'm pretty sure that a huge sigh of relief crossed both of our faces when just one little heartbeat was there.

So it's on to number four.  Callie's excited, although doesn't fully understand why Mommy is allowed to have chips at any time, while she has to stick to her normal diet.  ("Mommy's baby needs them").  And she is requesting a sister.  Although I explained to her that I can't guarantee anything, and it's up to God what he gives us, I am almost positive from the McDonald's breakfast burrito cravings, and the large amounts of back-fat that I already have at 10 weeks... that she has a good chance of getting her wish.  Seriously, my boys vs girls craved different things in utero.. and this one is like Callie is back in the saddle; so to speak. 

So from here it's almost "See Ya" to the first trimester.  Which I am very much looking forward to not missing.  I'll enjoy having my energy back just in time for warmer weather... and for that Master Bathroom redo project that I am convincing Kevin should most certainly be done... before the baby.  Because if there is anything that my super husband knows about his crazy pregnant wife... it's that there is no time like pregnancy to take on a project.  There is something about being large and out of breath that really makes me want to crush drywall.  And I promised him, (after he made fun of me yesterday) that if wood work must be painted (with oil), that I would wear a mask:).  Jack and Charlie turned out Ok so far, right?

And thanks to Brittany Spears.  I've been waiting two years to use that wonderful song title for this post.  Oh Happy Day!

A Book Review

I, self-admittedly am not an avid reader.  I do enjoy it from time to time, but most of the times that I start, I am usually snoozing within 20 minutes.  Meaning, I have about 5 books going now, all about two thirds in, giving in to my short attention span. 
However: I just finished one, which I'm going to blog about now.  That, in itself being an accomplishment, is not the point of this post.  But please, I'm not ashamed to take some praise.  This one was finished because it made me mad, confused, a bit inspired, and a whole lot of hating the the author. 

If you're into the current news cycle (I am, but usually only politics).. you've probably heard of the "Tiger Mother" concept.  I hadn't, until my Father in Law sent me the book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother."  It's all about the comparison of Chinese parenting versus our apparently lazy Western approach.  The secret to how Asian kids get accepted into great Universities, and their intense journey to get there.  It lacks nothing in terms of insulting the west, (although the author was born here)... and esteeming the gut wrenching, heartbreaking way that these stereotypical Chinese parents "encourage" their children.

That's about as much detail as I will go into about the actual premises of the book.  You can read it for yourself if you haven't fallen asleep already by the first two paragraphs of this post.  And I Would recommend it.  Yet, my recommendation comes for reasons not already argued through a slew of fired up mom's in the New York Times.  My thought is this.  Either way one chooses to parent, how does it look through the eyes of a Christian.  If Amy Chua, the author and star in the book, would have approached her girls through the eyes of a redeemed believer, how might she have done it differently?  I'm pretty sure she wouldn't have called her kids, (and I'm quoting), "Garbage"... but I'm also sure she wouldn't have let them become passive like she correctly accuses Westerners of doing. 
In the words of Francis Schaeffer, "How Should we Then Live?..."  what is our role, as American, Christian, parents?  How do we teach our kids to become like Salt in a subjective, anything goes culture, yet build up their hearts as well?  How do we teach them the importance of hard work and committment because of what Jesus did for us, rather than for the praise of man? (Forgive me, this is NOT a typical post for me!).  

I don't know.  My oldest is 4.  But it's a question worth thinking about, especially at their young age.  Now they are sponges, later they will simply think that we know nothing.  For us, I think we take the approach to our Christian parenting life by reviewing the life of our personal star... Jesus Christ.  Jesus was all loving, yet Always Truthful.  He would never have insulted someone to the core of their being, yet He also never accepted laziness as an answer.  He always demanded change where change had to be done.  But he always did it with love.  (The Woman at the Well, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, ect.).  But He also never said it would be easy.  I'm sure Jesus would have liked to use a few concepts of the Tiger Mother on his disciples some days. 

So I guess that's my answer to Amy Chua.  Your kids might end up being smarter than mine because they were forced into a work ethic by fear.  But I hope that my kids work out their Salvation with "Fear and Trembling"... and if they become concert pianists on their way to Harvard in the meantime... then so be it.  If they follow the hardest working, most honest, smartest leader in history, then I'm sure that they will find a reason to complete their homework.  If they realize that Jesus values commitment, then they will be more likely to keep theirs. 

Read the book.... it's worth the week long turmoil within your brain.  My only thought though... get it from the library.  Don't increase this woman's pride and bank account any more than it is already.

A Valentine's Lesson

Listen up Dad's.   If you want to have an impact on your daughters life, especially when she begins to enter the terrifying years of middle school and high school, then I would hope that Valentine's Day is not treated cynically as a Hallmark takeover of love, but rather as a special day that you can show her what a boy's love should look like. 

For as long as I can remember, my Dad spoiled us on Valentines Day.   When we would come downstairs in the morning, three bouquets of flowers, gift cards to our favorite clothing store, and some chocolates would be waiting for his girls.  (My mom always got a separate, appropriately bigger, bouquet:).  For a high school age girl, even at a Christian school, this day was full of pressure, full of wondering who would get the most roses in the school giveaway, and who might be a secret admirer that year. 

So whether he planned it to be or not, it was an incredible lesson to us girls that I have shared with Kevin to teach little Callie.  You see, when your Dad sets the standard... you tend to not search for the wrong kind of love in high school boys.  It tells insecure girls that any love they find should measure up to the kind of love that their Dad showed them. 

No surprise that my sisters and I all seemed to get that message loud and clear by the time we were half way through high school, seeing as we ALL married boys that we found there.  And they are all wonderful husbands who treat us just like our Dad did on Valentine's Day. 
So this year, because I think she's old enough to realize how much her Daddy loves her, we started the tradition with Callie.  She had a basket full of chocolates, Plat-o, and a Cinderella T-shirt waiting for her in the morning.  No need to go and search for it from one of those four year old boys in the preschool class.  She had all the love she needed right at home. 

I find that people are greatly irritated by this holiday.  Too much materialism, commercialism, and pressure.  But what would it be like if we embraced it and used it as a day to emphasize what we try to convey all year long?  Especially to our little girls.  Who no doubt will some day be hoping to get just one rose from that special boy.  Let's just hope it's the kind of boy that we hope it will be. 

You Know You're Old When....

I've been M.I.B.W. (That's, "Missing in Blog World") for all you confused readers... but I'm back, with my 10 minutes before bath time write up. 
There has been a lot of excitement around here lately:  For starters, my sister Sarah surprised us all with an impromptu trip home from France last week.  Which meant we all collided at my parents house for a week of fun, filled with 7 children under the age of 5.  Insane, that's pretty much how it went.  It was fun, but throw in the flu for me, a few kids, and an unlucky husband... and this gal is feelin' like 28 is the new 55. 
I'll post pictures later of the trip.  But this post is past that. 
I've been feeling pretty tired lately, which in turn makes one feel older than the birth certificate claims.  Like.. 10 years older.  But I guess three kids could do that too.  Correction: Three kids who have decided that play time during night time is the new, daytime.  (did you get that?). 
Callie prefers to puke every few days around 4am.  Which we think we are narrowing down to a food allergy. (weird, yes).  And the boys are saddled down with such a cough that their light sleeping mother is awoken every hour or so by a little one and a coughing fit. 
Needless to say.. I'm beginning to feel outnumbered more than ever, even with my tall side kick helping every step of the way with puke buckets, Vicks vapor rub... and the occasional "We'll get through it" snore.
So it came to be that a much needed date night was in store for this Saturday.  To which I called my newest favorite sitter (since my old fav. decided to have a kid of her own:).... and booked her.  Until 10pm, that is. 
You see, she's young, she's hip, and she's got no kids with a boyfriend, good thing. 
So when I ask if she is busy with a hot date the Saturday before Valentines Day, she responds, "oh, we will go out later."  Later?  Like, after we get home, later?  Like, later than 9:30?  Do people do that anymore?  To which I responded, "Ha!  No problem honey".  This Mom will be in her footie pj's come 10pm... night club unneeded. 
But my favorite was Kevin's response.... "We need to be home anyway in order to watch Dateline". 
Yep, and that, folks, is how you know, when you are getting old.