Thursday, May 24, 2007

Brothers or Bandits....Both!!


"Mommy, Bebe and I are just being silly," says Keagan who's running out from his room where I've been hearing roaring laughter from my two boys. I love it when the boys are laughing together and having fun instead of fighting, hitting, or screaming at each other. This week, however, they have brought things to whole other level.

I peeked in at the laughter I heard. Keagan was handing Cayden a foamy duckie he had obtained from elsewhere in the house. "Bite it," he said. Cadie, always looking for a good time, of course, did. Keagan brakes into roars....Cadie does too. I can almost see the wheels now spinning in Cayden's little head. They were saying, "Someone thinks I'm funny, someone thinks I'm cool. Must repeat being funny and cool." Another bite. More laughter. After several minutes, the laughter ceases. The two boys come running out of the room, one following the other, on to their next point of interest. Needless to say, the poor duckie did not survive this ordeal and I'm still finding little remains around the house. In my mommy mind I'm thinking, "What's a little duckie compared to sharing funny moments with your brother?" I can spare a duckie or two if it creates some type of brotherhood.


Well, this week the brotherhood has banded-in full force. No longer do I call them brothers--I call them bandits.

The next day their project was going into mommy and daddy's bathroom. They decided to get all of mommy's make-up out and get into Daddy's drawer and eat his deodorant stick. YUM! Keagan, of course did not try this, but I can only bet his was cheering his little bandit bro on as he did. You'd think that might have ended the quest. After having a "taste" of manhood and smelling like a old man for a few hours, you'd think they would learn.

Exit mommy. After a day of that--constantly monitoring as they got all into the kitchen cupboards, craft shelves, etc.--I went for a break.

Enter mommy. I arrived home from Walmart(where there are helpful smiles down every isle, they just might not have all their teeth around here)to a very frustrated daddy. He said, "While I turned my back for a minute the boys...." (Here is where I kind of laugh because Mark thinks he has to give me excuses about not being with them for a minute or two when something happens. And I let him. But, truth be told, I live this, so I know you can't be right there each and every second).

Round 2 went to the bandits(that was, until the spanker arrived). The boys decided they liked the bathroom gig so much, they'd try it again. This time, opening each and every little bottle of makeup, lotion, etc., and squeezing the contents out. I found my deodorant bit to shreds, my facial powder everywhere, chap stick broken and smeared on the floor.

Thus far, they haven't gone back to the bathroom. Well--they did try to today. But mommy's got her boxing gloves on.

This has been they way of our world this week. You really want to laugh. But as it goes, you give an inch to two brothers and they turn into bandits and take a mile!

Tiffany

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Our 3 Gems

Kyra, Keagan, and Cayden.
It's usually this time of night when I can sit down and say, "Wow, my kids are cool." Then I go in their rooms and peak in on them and smile at their sweet sleeping faces. The rest of the 24 hours of our lives is full of movement, noise, and a lot of chaos. Much of those moments I feel like I'm just trying to not be the "mean mommy" or the "got to have it all together mommy." Instead I'm trying to remind myself to learn, play and experience joy as a family via the lens of a 1 1/2 , 2 1/2, and 41/2 year old. Mark and I are compelling each other in this direction, but sometimes we are like two rocks in an ocean who are trying to keep each other a float. I decided to start this fun little spot because I like many of the things it allows. I like to write (I'm much better via text than in front of your face), I like that I can keep better track of what our 3 gems are learning, saying, and doing, and I like that it offers an outlet for me to keep family and friends updated on our adventures so I don't have to feel guilty about not being better about that!Since moving to Arkansas has been a really hard and good type of experience, I liken it to my blog title, "A needle in a Haystack." It has, in many ways, been that for me. And as I remind myself to make a daily effort to find that needle in the haystack, I am finding that God always has one for me to find, and cherish. So, I hope too that this spot of mine(ours), will at times be that needle in the haystack for you too. If nothing else, at least you can see (0nce I figure out how to do all this) picture of our cuties!
Here's to blogging,
Tiffany