I love watching my boys play ball.

Having my kids home all day cracks me up. I mean literally, by 5:30, when my husband gets home, I’m a little cracked in the head.

But I love it. I do.

What do you do on the lazy days of Spring break? Well, for any parent who decides to stay home with the kiddos during their week off of school, these are definitely not lazy days. Duh, right?

But it’s still fun. I cooked 3 meals yesterday. Do you think anyone will notice if I only “cook” 2 today?

Daniel helped me make last night’s dinner. He even helped come up with a recipe.

“Mom, can we have a bowl of carrots for dinner?”

“Um, well…”

“And bwocowi! Bwocowi and carwats for supper. Nothing else.”

“Um, well…we do need to have some kind of meat. Chicken, maybe?”

“No. How about if you put the meat in with the bwocowi and the carwots, all in 1 big bowl?”

“Hmmm. Yes, that sounds good. How about this sausage?”

“Yes! Yes.”

helping me bake his cake….Actually, at this point he was lickin’ the bowl.

So Daniel and I made a delicious dinner that, believe it or not, was heartily consumed by all SIX residents of the House of Tiny Men.  Here’s the recipe. Alan made me write it down.

So I typed it out for you to print for yourself.

Just click on the link below to download and print the recipe.

Daniel’s Sort of Gazpacho

Okay, it may not be that pretty, but I promise it was yummy. Even my picky eaters did eat it, believe it or not.

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Daniel tries to hang out with the neighborhood boys, who are all 2 to 3 years older than he is. They are Caleb’s age, and as far as they are concerned, Daniel is just Caleb’s little brother. Daniel has been persona non grata to them.

I told Caleb he was going to have to tell them we can’t play if they can’t include Daniel.

Yesterday I sent them out to play, and I asked Caleb later how it went.

“Oh, I told ’em, ‘If you guys can’t accept the little guy, I’m going to turn you into rotten flesh.”

!!!!!??????

“Ew, Caleb! What does that even mean???”

“It’s from Minecraft.”

“What did they say?”

Caleb made a face that looked sort of like this          8 /

Nothing more was said. So no one said anything unwelcoming to Daniel. Raising boys is apparently not for the easily offended or overly refined….

__________________________

The leprechaun came to John David’s class. I asked him who the leprechaun was. He said, “Jesus!” I couldn’t help it. I busted out laughing before I tried to explain Jesus isn’t the leprechaun.

It’s been a fun week so far. Lots of driveway basketball, Lego Star Wars video games, and popcorn eating has taken place.

Caleb’s genius plan for spring break was announced on Day 1:

“Let’s make a rest schedule for this week.”

I laughed, but he appears to be sticking to it.

JD loves playing with the magnet letters he got from my friend Amy. Also, JD loves pajamas. He changes back into his pjs the moment he re-enters the house. Sometimes, when I’m going somewhere in the afternoon, I don’t even have time to change him for the 3rd time that day and he picks up his big bros in his pjs.

People probably think I never dress him. hehehe

Hope y’all had a great week too!

SaveSave

The post Spring Break Part II: Funny Stuff They Said with Daniel’s Recipe Printable appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Ya’ll. This boy! It’s like he’s good at everything I want to be good at. He leaves me with my mouth hanging wide open all the time. That little Daniel amazes me at every turn.

I want to be just like him!

Today I picked him up at school, and his teacher told me she thought he was getting sick.

I waved it off. He’s still getting over this cold they had.

“Mom,” he said, while he waited on the playground for his brothers to get out of school, “I need to go to the bathroom.” I sent him back into school to go to the bathroom.

20 minutes later, I was all, “Geesh, Daniel. You were in there forever.”

What a clueless mom I am.

Daniel handled it all like a champ. He came in, changed his clothes, and packed his suitcase all by himself because he’s going to Nana and Granddaddy’s house this weekend.

I forgot all about his teacher’s warning. I thoroughly didn’t have a clue.

Meanwhile, his fever was getting higher, and he was suffering from some sort of stomach virus.

Finally, he came into my room, laid on my bed, and said, “Mommy. My stomach hurts so bad. I don’t feel good. I might throw up.”

Boy, nothing gets your attention like that sentence does!

I felt him. He was on fire. I took his temp. Yep. Fever. I gave him Tylenol and a smidge of food and drink. I let him lie in bed and watch Home.

I look at his gigantic blue puppy dog eyes and adorable carrot top, and I just think, “Wow. Daniel. I want to be like you.”

I can’t tell you how often I stumble upon Daniel in a room, washing the mirrors or sweeping the floor. Not even kidding. This boy is better than me.

Yes, he is.

He’s a server. He loves to help people. He accomplishes all of his tasks to the best of his ability, and if he is ever lazy, I promise you he must be sleepy or sick.

So yes, I want to be just like him. He’s bold too. There’s a girl in his class that he likes. Does he torture her by pulling her hair and calling her names? Oh but no. Instead, he told her he wants to marry her and always sits by her. Thankfully, she is still his friend! Ha!

I love all my children the same. Adore them. They fill my heart with so much love and pride, and I see so much of myself in them. Every bit of shyness. That’s me. Every bit of laziness. Also me. Every bit of hiding in their room to read. So extremely me. Temper? Me.

But this? This sweet, loving, serving, hard-working little leprechaun? Maybe someday. Maybe someday that will be me too.

I love you, Daniel. Feel better soon.

The post Why I want to be just like my kindergartener when I grow up appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

YES, I KNOW.  It’s just too much cuteness.

So today Daniel graduated from Pre-school. We are a low-drama family, I think. Okay, well, we are 5/6ths low drama, plus me. I bring the emotions, for sure. They started out the ceremony with this video of painting the nursery and the baby gradually getting bigger and bigger, and yes, I was crying.

Mr. Comedy

Daniel came strutting out like a rooster when they called his name. It was pretty hilarious, but then he got on stage and went silent on us. Our kids definitely get the stage fright. I feel their pain. I used to get it too.

His teachers coached them well on how to pose for photos when they receive their diploma.

We love our Dan man. And yes, of course, JD took his shoes off during the ceremony. He and I have a thing about wearing shoes.

I was thrilled on our trip home, when Caleb got Daniel to sing one of his graduation songs for us and even caught it all on video.

This video is extremely sweet, and listen closely because Caleb has one well-timed funny line at the end. Watch it. You’ll be glad you did.:

For those of you reading via email, here’s the link: April’sblogvideo

And now we are all so FREE! Alan has been completely done with his thesis, even with approvals of the thing, for a week now. Joshua finished his school year today. Caleb finished his school year yesterday. Dan graduated. Now I have only to finish up my grade book and report cards, pick out a new house, and move out of this one. Bring it on, y’all! I still can’t believe it’s all really happening!

The post Daniel Sings the Gospel Fuzzies (And it’s ADORABLE.) appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

You couldn’t find a more scenic route!

I thought it was so exciting to participate in such a huge event! People come from all around the world to run in the Big Sur Marathon. But did you know? There’s also a half marathon, a 5K, and a 3K, that are all a part of it.

Silly me. I volunteered to go at Daniel’s pace, so rest assured, there was no running for me.

Truly a pleasure to run with you, Dan.

So why am I still so gosh darn proud of the Dan Man? Well, most of the 4-year-olds there were riding in strollers for a while, walking a bit, riding in strollers, walking a bit, and so on. Not Dan. I only brought the single jogger, and the two-year-old lays a solid claim to that. Therefore, Dan ran and walked, and occasionally sat down in the middle of the road and said, “I can’t go on!” through the whole thing.

But he did! He did go on. He even beat one other 4-year-old. That’s right. It took us 45 minutes. Ha!

The big boys beat us by, I don’t know, a lot. See how well they warmed up:

We even brought along one of their friends, which drove the fun factor even higher.

See the Big Sur International Marathon signs behind us?

warming up

Oh, and there you have it, the new hair cut. Whoops! Didn’t really mean to chop off quite that much, but it is only hair, right?

Now, onto the next race….

The post Daniel’s First Race: The Big Sur Marathon Kids’ 3K appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

How cute are they, eating together at the picnic table? JD stole this show, but tonight let’s talk about Dan. Daniel, oh Daniel. The Dan Man

This little booger is so precious. He makes us laugh and smile all day long, and I adore it. I’ve been writing down some things he has said lately, just for the blog:

“Him want to go him house, Mom.  This ours house, Mom?”

***********

Me:  “You just made bread, Daniel!!!”

Dan: very serious:  “You too!”

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Alan walked through the kitchen wearing nice clothing.

Dan asked, “Mommy, Daddy going to church?”

I explained that that’s actually what Daddy wears to class. You don’t wear a military uniform to graduate school.

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The other day, Daniel was playing Legos with Caleb and Joshua’s creations, on the dining room table. He gets in so much trouble with his brothers for this. Poor thing. However, they weren’t in the room, so he was having a good ol’ time. He held up a little Chima Alligator-Man and said, “Mom, him going to the bafroom. Watch Mom.”

Once he said, “Watch Mom.” I got so tickled, I really couldn’t stop laughing. Oh come on, ya’ll!!  First, he had designated a Lego building as a bathroom–of all things– and second, he felt that I should watch this.  I’m telling you–boys think soooo differently.

Later on, Caleb was back to playing with those same Legos, and Daniel said something about the alligator. I turned to Caleb and said, “Yeah, Daniel played with them,but he played nicely and didn’t break anything.” Then I said, incredulously, “He kept making the alligator go to the bathroom.”

Caleb didn’t skip a beat, “Oh yeah, ‘cuz the bathroom’s right there.”

Right.

I mean, of course, where else would it be?

*********

Okay, I just thought this one was so precious: Daniel keeps picking up random books around the house, calling them Bibles and then singing from them. One day he actually had a very small children’s Christmas carol book, illustrated by Norman Rockwell.

I should also mention that he sings more on key than I do. This little boy CAN SING. I know. I know. I’m his mother, but I’ve never posted that about my other children, have I? Trust me. At the very least, Daniel will one day be doing special music at church.

His songs of choice:

“Oh, Lord,God! Sit in the bed, Oh Lord, God! Sit in the bed.”

…..and at the time, I had to keep a STRAIGHT FACE so the boy wouldn’t quit this new found delightful little hobby.

He moved on:

“Oh, Lord, God!!  Oh, Lord, God.  It’s Christmas. Oh, Lord, God. It’s Christmas!!  O, Lord!!!”

“Oh, Lord, God, Oh Loooooooooooord. Oh, Lord, God.”

*****************

“Dan, what’s your favorite thing we’ve done at school?”

“When I made the alligator. This is big alligator. Him live underwater. Alligators eat trash.”

“I think they eat fish.”

“Yep. Those eat fish.”

…..In case you’re wondering, Joshua’s favorite thing is “lunch and recess and a little bit of grammar.”  Caleb’s favorite is “when we get to eat at recess and then I play when I’m done with it and math.”

************

I wish I could just follow this little fellow around all day and write down everything he says because it’s all so stinkin’ adorable. The improper use of we/yours/us/ours makes him even more irresistible.

Do you know where he sleeps every night? He has the biggest bedroom in the house, and he sleeps in his doorway in the floor. Every night he drags his pillow and his blanket to the doorway so he can see us. Isn’t that sweet/pitiful?

He calls Joshua “Josh” now, and he just adores it when they include him in things.  Tonight all the boys had homework. Yes, I assign homework OCCASIONALLY. Anyway, Daniel wanted homework too, so I gave him a little worksheet on the letter A for him to trace the Aa and trace his name. Of course, he did a great job.

one of my favorite old photos, of Daniel hugging me and JD

I love each one of these boys of mine so incredibly much. Looking at Daniel reminds me how much I need to get those Xanga posts all downloaded before they are gone forever. That’s where all my Joshua and Caleb toddler memories are. You can just never get those chubby, little dimpled hands back, you know? You have to enjoy every sweet little moment, and in 20 years I can have all the clean carpets I want. For now, I’d rather have this.

The post Daniel’s Songs appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I have a ton of photos of beautiful places and precious people that we’ve seen here in Alabama and Georgia. It will take a while for me to get those photos all uploaded and cropped just how I like them, so check back in just a couple of days–maybe even tomorrow!!

For now, let me tell you why I will never have a dog.

Tonight I was giving Dan and JD their bath. I got JD out, dressed him, and all of that, when I heard Daniel calling me back to the bathroom.

There was my three-year-old, standing in the bathtub, along with 3 toy cars, a toy man, and two floating logs. I screamed a little–not words–I didn’t scream words–just Aaaaaaaaaughhhhhhh!!!  That’s right. He pooped in the tub.

Don’t like reading about poop? Well, imagine how I felt about cleaning it up. Oh, it gets worse. I took Dan out of the water, only to discover that some of it had fallen off of him….onto the mat. I screamed again. Joshua and Caleb immediately came running to see. Then they started whooping and carrying on because boys think there is nothing funnier in this world than poop.

I put Dan on the potty, went to clean him up, but he said, “NO! More poop.”

“You aren’t done!?”

“No.”

Yes, I washed the mat in hot water. Yes, I eventually got Daniel all cleaned up. Yes, I disinfected the bathtub from all of the e-coli.

This is my job. This is also why I will never ever have a dog.

We could use one to clean up under the high chair and help my boys over their fear of canines, but I don’t care. If I have to clean up fecal matter from another single living organism, I will hurl. I see those people walking their dogs with those little plastic baggies, and I shudder. At least with the diapers, I don’t have to feel like I’m scooping it up with my hands….until someone poops in the tub. This is only the 2nd time this has happened to me, and ew ew ew!!  I feel a little bit violated.

It’s amazing how much this still grosses me out, even after 8 years of taking care of little ones, but it does.

If you ever feel sad about missing ‘the baby phase’ or wish you still had a chubby little cherub running around your house–just think about the days of floaters and e coli.

Now I hate for you to leave my blog feeling as grossed out as I did, sooooo I’m going to leave you with a happy image to take with you:

The post Why I will never have a dog appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

These videos crack me up. It’s just so Daniel. He’s “reading” a book about John Smith, the best leader that the Jamestown settlement had. He kept focusing on the photo of John Smith, wounded in the Indian camp. Daniel read it as, “Him dead. Him died. meh meh meh meh meh….” Perhaps a lot of what I say to Daniel is simply translated as something from Charlie Brown’s teacher.

To get the full story, you ‘gotta’ watch both movies! 😉

I thought Joshua’s, completely oblivious to his surroundings, comments were also funny!

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