the simple life

"gimme" holidays

Julian and Annabelle were naming all of their favorite holidays as we were Trick-or-Treating the other night.  Christmas, Halloween, Birthdays, Easter, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving...

Realizing that Thanksgiving wasn't really a holiday where they received gifts or candy, I asked Julian what he liked about Thanksgiving.  Was it the family time, and seeing loved ones that we only saw during the holidays?  Was it time spent with favorite cousins?  

"Dessert," he said.  "We always get TONS of desserts at Thanksgiving".  

That's my boy.

super juju

Not everybody is so lucky as to live with a Superhero.

I just so happen to be a lucky one.  I have, sleeping upstairs at this very moment, a living, breathing, superhero living in my house. 

SUPER JUJU!

Super Juju doesn't have one particular specialty.  He isn't limited to flying or being invisible or having X-ray vision.  He can do it all.  Although, he'll have you know, that flying is his favorite.

 

Once he dons his pillow case cape, look out bad guys.  And he doesn't just fight crime.  Oh no, he fights monsters under beds and boogie men and anything else that might give you bad dreams.

Earlier tonight, as I sat at my desk, Julian came in to tell me that he would be going to bed soon.  He gave me a hug and said, "Mama, if you fall asleep and start to have a bad dream, you just call my name and I'll come down here and take care of you.  I'll give you some snuggles, and you'll be okay.  Alright?"

Oh yes, a girl can rest easy with  Super Juju on duty.

hamburger haters

  

At our Dentist office last week, Julian noticed signs similar to these three, posted near the door.

He asked, 'Mommy, that means that you can't talk on a phone in here.  And that means you can't smoke in here.  Why are little kids smoking, anyway?"

I explained that even though this dentist was for little kids, the sign was for parents, and while most parents know that it's not okay to smoke in the dentist office, the sign is just there in case somebody doesn't remember the rules.

He said, "Oh.  So no phones, and no smoking.   Why do they hate hamburgers?"

first day

no time to blog  yet, but a few pictures for the grandparents.  :) 

the one where i complain about McDonald's

Several months ago, we were in the habit of picking up McD's Happy Meals on Wednesday nights for dinner.  Their Happy Meals (in our area) are half price on Wednesdays, and cheap meals + my lack of enthusiasm for cooking = a good deal for Mama.  (I justified the routine by the fact that the kids get apples and apple juice for their sides, instead of fries and sodas, but I honestly don't think I would have cared either way as long as I didn't have to cook)

Well, after a few months of this, we had a few stupid experiences at the McD's closest to our house.  Once, on our way to a soccer game, we picked up dinner and they forgot to give me our apple juices.  I stopped by with our receipt on our way home to pick up said juices, and they balked at me not returning earlier.  I explained that we were late for our soccer game and didn't realize until we got there and had nothing to drink.  They gave me that look, like I was lying and reluctantly turned over the apple juices that I had paid for 2 hours earlier.

Countless times they got our order wrong, and we would have to return to have it fixed, which is such a pain with 3 hungry kids and one cranky Mama around dinner time.  Remember, this is supposed to make my life easier, right? 

The final straw was one week when the kids were SO excited about the toys in the meals.  We got our order (after a little confusion during an apparent shift change), got home, unloaded kids and food, sat to eat, and there were no toys in any of them.  I wanted to shrug it off, but the kids were so disappointed, so we loaded back up, took the meals with us, returned and waited in line and found a new boy working at the window.

He asked to see receipts.  He asked to see our meals.  He said, "I KNOW you got your toys because I packed the meals myself."

I stared at him and said, "Are you actually accusing me of LYING to get free cheap toys??" 

He shrugged.

I told him that it was a WOMAN who packed our meals and handed them to us out the window, and that I didn't go through this complicated ordeal of waiting 15 minutes to order, loading and unloading kids and food multiple times for a couple of cheap toys.

He just smirked and walked away from the window.  The original woman walked back to the window and apologized for her co-worker, and I left so angry.

I wrote a letter to McD's customer service, got a reply that they forwarded the complaint to the manager and I never heard another word again.  No apology, nothing.

Goodbye McDonald's. 

SO in an effort to explain to the kids why our Wednesday ritual was over, I let them know about the boys rude behavior, and then explained that we could make our own Happy Meals at home if they'd like.  I explained that fast food wasn't really good for us anyway, so we weren't really missing out. 

Julian, who was the most invested in this Wednesday night tradition, said, "Mama, couldn't you just take us to Wendy's?"

I asked, 'Why Wendy's?"  as we never really go there.

Julian replied in a commercial "voice over" tone,

"Because 'It's More than just fast food, it's WENDY'S!"

(one of Wendy's advertising slogans)

Apparently Wendy's advertises on Nick Jr.  And my son is the exact reason why.

when toddlers attack.

Julian's pre-K teacher came over yesterday.  They do "home visits" 2 or 3 times during the year, and it was time for the  "end of year" visit.  :)

Her birthday was today, so Julian asked if I would make cupcakes for her.  I assured him that I would, but the night before the meeting was also Annabelle's music program at school so I wasn't able to  make it to the store.

I woke up to a very disgruntled 5 year old who insisted that I whip up  cupcakes from something in the kitchen.  We ended up finishing these strawberry cupcakes as she knocked at the front door.  We even made lemonade, because when it's 85 degrees outside and humid (and your home's air conditioner and car's air conditioner are broken), well, you deserve to have as much ice cold lemonade as you can stand.

Ms. E. was very surprised.  :)

It's a strange thing to have your child's teacher in your home.  I found that even though her stay would be less than 20 minutes, I cleaned the house in a frenzy.  I was afraid for her to see the crumbs beside the stove in the kitchen (the kitchen that she didn't once enter).  I even hid the dirty laundry in the downstairs bedroom.  You know, in case she decided to give herself a tour of our home.  (she did not)

Everything was going well, and I looked like the world's perfect mother/hostess, and then Ezra walked up with a pink water pistol (no idea where it came from), pointed it directly into the teacher's face and shot her repeatedly with his best set of "angry eyes" in place.  You know the ones:

Thankfully, it was empty.  I don't have a strong stance on toy guns, though we don't usually keep them in the house.  I did feel like my 2-year old's  enthusiasm for shooting Ms. E. in the face brought the June Cleaver ambiance that I had created down a few notches.

And then Ms. E. told me that Julian was one of the most creative children she had ever taught.  Okay, that may seem like blatant bragging, but if I were bragging, I would tell you that she actually said, THE MOST CREATIVE" child she has ever taught.  See?  I wasn't really bragging at all! 

After that, she basically threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't continue to encourage that creativity in him as he grew up.  Fearing for my life, I assured her that I would.  I then vowed to myself to never buy the generic 97 cent box of colored pencils ever again.  It's only the high dollar stuff from here on out.  Look out Crayola, here we come!  ; )

I would dare say that aside from the assaulting 2 year old tyrant, I walked away from the meeting convinced that we're not doing such a bad job of raising these monkeys at all.  
Thank goodness she didn't ask to see the rest of the house.

Julian's first day of school

Last Summer, I mailed in an application to a local preschool for Julian to attend.  I never heard anything from them, so I let it go and just thought "Annabelle didn't go to preschool and she's doing great".

2 weeks ago, I received a postcard informing me that a spot had opened up and Julian was the next name on the waiting list. 

Waiting list?  We've been on a waiting list for 8 months?  I had no idea.

Julian was thrilled with the idea of starting school 4 days later, and honestly, so was I .

He LOVES it.  Everything about it.  It's only a half day preschool, and it's in the opposite direction of Annabelle's school, so it's been a challenge to juggle drop off's and pick up's, (especially since I have to be presentable in the mornings now, as I have to walk Julian into his classroom every day.)

(Presentable means that I have to wear real clothes and not pajamas.  Also: a bra.  No more hiding under a big coat in the drive-thru drop off for Annabelle.)

All  in all, it's 100% worth it.  He is the happiest boy on school days, and is so grateful for every bit of his special school time.  He is going to rock Kindergarten, I'm sure of it now. 

"KEEP OUTTA THE VULVA!!!!!"

This is what my son SHOUTED in the middle of Target today. 

There are red lines painted on the floor, all over the store, and Julian and Annabelle were pretending that the lines were "LAVA" from a volcano. Only, Julian couldn't pronounce volcano properly, so we were carefully saying "VOL-CAN-O" as he repeated it. 

He finally got "Volcano", and then shouted, "OH NO!!! There's more vulva!!! KEEP OUTTA THE VULVA!!!" 

I. 
nearly. 
died. 

(he realized that he was saying it wrong, but after all the "volcano" practice, he couldn't remember the word "lava". )

I doubled over in laughter, as did the lady walking behind us.  Ezra took that moment to let go of my hand and sprint through the jewelry department as Annabelle was yelling "It's not "VULVA"!  It's LAVA!"  (she doesn't know what "vulva" is either, but she does know that it's not lava!) 

So, have your kids mortified you in public lately?  

Lulu goes to "French"

One of Julian's birthday presents this year was a big "art box". 
He loves to create and we have a special art time every day during Ezra's nap.  He can cut and glue and staple and draw with markers for up to 2 hours every day, and he uses the ENTIRE 2 hours to make art.

He fights me over every single thing that I attempt to "recycle", b/c he can find some way to use it in one of his projects.

On this particular day, he made a "dress" for Annabelle's puppy Lulu.

It's a simple green construction paper smock, and he said that this is her "dress for wearing at home", and the other dress (the one that came with the dog) is for her to wear "When she goes to French."  (France)

I think he would be an excellent contestant on Project Runway in 15-20 years, don't you think?  :)

(his lips are terribly chapped, although they aren't the shocking shade of pink that they were last week.  poor boy)

spy kid

Juju:  "Mama, I was trying to learn how to make a magnifying glass.  Do you know how to make a magnifying glass?"

Mama:  "No Juju, I don't.  Maybe daddy could help you."

Juju:  "Oh, well, I wanted a magnifying glass because I want to learn how to be a SPY!  Do you know how to be a spy?"

Mama: "Nope, I don't have much spying experience."

Juju:  "Well, isn't there a SPY.COM you could go to and learn how to be a spy???"

Mama:  (chuckling) “Juju, you're probably right.  I’m sure there is a spy.com to teach you to be a spy.  We’ll look it up when we get home."

I love Julian's simple reasoning.  There must be a "dot com" for everything, and there usually is. 
We learned that he needed binoculars, a magnifying glass, a secret video camera, a special listening device, a fingerprint kit, and a secret notebook, among other things. 

He's pretty sneaky, I have a feeling he would make an excellent spy. 

crackin out

Dustin said, "I think the scale in the bathroom is wrong.  If it's right, I've gained about 10 pounds this month".   (not possible for Dustin.  for me?  I could gain 10 pounds in two days.  Dustin will probably never weigh 10 pounds more than he is now.)

I excitedly ran and got a new battery, inserted it into the scale, and weighed myself.

It showed that I weighed 4 pounds MORE than what it said with the old battery.

I put the old battery back into the scale.  It was working just fine, thank you very much.

In other news, Julian said this week:

"Mama, when you were in your chair, I saw your butt....it was crackin out."

(I was bending over to tie Ezra's shoe, and apparently he saw my butt crack.  Or, saw my butt "crackin out". )

Dustin and I have laughed about that for days.  :)

my hooman beeyeen

I mentioned a few days ago that Annabelle loves the cartoon, "Word Girl".

Well, Julian's most recent favorite is "Sid the Science Kid".

He just loves science and experiments, and creating inventions.  

Like Annabelle, he loves to try out new words and ideas on me.

Last week he walked into my office and said, "Mama, know what I am?  I'm a "homeo sampien". 

"A homeo sampien, eh?  Do you mean "homo sapien"? I asked.

"Lep (yep), I mean "homeo sampien".  That means I'm a hooman beeyeen".

He recently added "scientist" to his list of things to be when he grows up.

Julian at age 4 1/2  wants to be:

• a scientist
• a farmer
• a "bakerier"  (his new title for "bakery shop guy")
• a chef

a short story, by Julian

Julian made this book a few weeks ago.

He obviously didn't put a whole lot of thought into the plot, but he guarantees non-stop action.

"The GI JOE Finds the Ghost"

by Julian Bartell 

  4 years old

 

 

a few Juju-isms

Just a few things about Julian that I don't want to forget:

*a chihuahua is a "Chiwala"
*he "weeds" things, as opposed to "needs" things
*weed-eater is a "meat eater"
*he still calls crafts "craps".  he no longer likes to play with the "crap box", b/c all that is left is pom poms and a few googly eyes.  he now prefers "Arting"  (painting)

 

Julian made this for me out of sculpey.  It's "Mermaid Mama".

(1)   One day Julian told me that he likes oranges because "they have vitamins and midrals in them"
Annabelle smirked and said, "Mama, he means minitrals". 

(2)  When I asked him what I should do about his sneaky behavior, he suggested that I take him to the doctor and let them look at him with a "bone TV".  After much explanation, I gather that a "bone TV" is an X-Ray machine.

 

(3)  I was writing an e-mail and Julian walked into the office and said, "Hey, whatcha writin?"

I told him that I was writing an e-mail, and then switched tabs to upload a photo to the blog.

He said, "Are you going to a different dot com?  And what does a 'dot com' mean anyway??"

For the record, I have NEVER used the words "dot com" to Julian, so I have no idea why he would know that terminology.

(4)  I came upstairs to find Julian walking to the trash can with an empty marshmallow bag in his hand.  When he saw me, he stopped, put on a very concerned face, and held up the bag for me to see. 
"Look what that sneaky Ezra did! I guess he can climb on the counters now."

(I know full well that Ezra cannot climb on the counters, nor open the cabinet and reach the highest shelf to get the marshmallows)

 

Julian made these "opera glasses"  (how the heck did he know what opera glasses are???) out of two ink pens, a small umbrella holder attachment, a bendy straw and some tape.

(5)  We were driving to Julian's soccer game last night, and Ezra got his feelings hurt and started doing a little fake cry/pouting noise.   Julian said, "Awww, Ezra's breakin my heart!" 

This is a phrase that I use a lot when Ezra's crying, and it was so cute to hear Julian use it too. 

I love this kid.  :) 

a close up of the "opera glasses"

soccer nights

So far, soccer is going really well!

Julian's absolute favorite part (besides snack time, where he often gets drinks that Mama would never normally allow him to have) is that this is HIS thing.  Nobody else in our family gets to play soccer, and when we go as a family to cheer him on, he just beams the entire night.  He loves the special attention that he gets on soccer night. 

Julian doesn't have the best "focus", and spends much of the time running from one end of the court to the other, dropping to his knees and SLIIIIIIIIIIDING as far as he can.  It's hilarious to watch, especially mixed in with one teammate who spends much of his time break dancing, and another who has a habit of pulling his shorts up so high that you can see his undies. 

3 and 4 year old soccer is the BEST IDEA EVER.

Julian has shocked us by scoring a few goals during his games. 
Some of them have even been for OUR team!  Go JUJU!  :D 

This photo is of a "break away" that Julian made to score his first goal in a game.  (This is the one for our team!)

Have you ever seen such a serious face?  
He's just so darn handsome.  Makes me a little nervous.  ;)

 

he's gonna be a socca playa (said in my best Adam Sandler voice)

He was nervous, and declared that he changed his mind and NEVER wants to play soccer, EVER. 
He quickly changed his mind.

It's his new favorite thing, and the hardest part was keeping Ezra off the court, and convincing Julian that it was time to leave.  I can tell that my soccer nights are going to be exhausting.

 

the kids after practice.  I bribed Ezra (during practice) with Juicy Juice, granola bars and a few smarties candies.  I can tell that this will become a habit.
look at that picture.  don't you want to gobble them?  i do.  often.

muscular bones

A couple of days ago, I had to make a trip to the store after school, and Annabelle fell asleep in the car while I was driving.

Julian was tired and grouchy and continually shoved Annabelle's head off of his tiny shoulder, with grunts and whining outbursts.

"Bella's head is SO HEAVY! I want Bella's head to GET OFF ME!"

I thought I would make him feel like a good big brother, by telling him how sweet he was.

"Julian, that's what boys do for girls sometimes.  Boys are so strong and have nice strong muscles, and it's sweet when they let a girl rest their heads on their shoulders sometimes.  Daddy lets me rest my head on his shoulders all of the time.  It's a sweet thing for strong boys to do!"

I glanced in the rear view mirror to see if my sappy praise was working. 

I saw his eyes, squinting in the sun.  His little scowl and pouty lips.  He looked at Bella's head, heavier than ever on his tiny frame and said,
"yeah.  only they're not muscles, they're BONES AND THEY REALLY HURT!"

it's tough being such a little guy sometimes.

our sneaky ways

oh my dear Julian. 
he is such a sneaky little boy.  we've had several really good months with him, so i should have seen this coming, but i didn't.  i foolishly thought that he had just grown out of his typical boyish ways.

i know that's silly, because he's, well, a BOY. 

in one day he did the following:
*cut his hair.
*cut Annabelle's Barbie's hair.
*got a can of Comet and took it outside and covered a tree stump with it, and was attempting to pour water all over it to make a mush to play in (FORTUNATELY I caught him before he took the water outside and explained to him that it was POISON and to never touch it again)
*got into the paintbrushes in the basement and dipped one in lotion, and proceeded to paint around the house with the lotion.
*found a bag of mini marshmallows and hid under my covers eating them while watching morning cartoons
*went to put sandals on him this morning to find that he had painted his toenails PURPLE
*found my purse, took out the cash and hid it.
*bent debit card in HALF. 
*"re-arranged" his bedroom by dumping all of his clothes out of his dressers and stuffing them into baskets to make more room for toys in his dresser.

and that is ONE DAY PEOPLE. 

to be fair, i was sick on this particular day, and fell asleep in the recliner during Ezra's nap, so he was taking full advantage of Mama being "off duty", but still.  ONE DAY.    i don't have time to record all that he has gotten into this week.

So anyways, at bedtime, he asks me to pray for him and he likes me to pray prety much the same prayer every night.  But on THIS night, I deviated from the standard prayer and added a little "earmark" (watching lots of politics right now) of my own.

so standard prayer...yadda yadda, "....and Jesus, help Julian to make good decisions so that he can be healthy and safe.  and help him to not be sneaky and ruin other people's things.  Amen".

Julian raised an eyebrow and said,  "Mama.  Those last two things aren't gonna happen. "

I just laughed and left the room.  My brother called that night and I confessed to what I prayed and what Julian's response was.

He said something like, "Oh Mindi, that was some hard core Catholic mother guilt!" 

He's right, and I know better, but at least I know that I have to save the guilt for Annabelle, it's not working on Julian.  :)

Julian with his favorite goofy teeth, and new "hair cut".

dinosaurs in space

Julian gave me a little science lesson while we were waiting to pick up Annabelle today.

(julian) "Mama, did you know that where we live used to be all water!? 
And dinosaurs lived here!  Dinosaurs lived everywhere!
But now they're all extinct.
They don't live here anymore, they all went to space.  On a different planek".

(me)  "A different planek, eh?  I think you mean PLANET."  (as though that would clear up the confusion!)

(julian)  "Oh, yeah, well they live in space and there are SCARY BEARS in space, but they are like balloons just floating around.  They're pretty afraid that the dinosaurs are going to eat them or pop them."

Julian and Jocelyn   Aug. 08

ezra's morning snack

yesterday I left a box of berry cheerios on the counter after fixing a bowl for each of the kids for breakfast.

about an hour later, i heard somebody, presumably Julian, pouring the cereal into a bowl.

he kept pouring....and pouring...and pouring...and finally I yelled, "Julian!  ENOUGH CEREAL!"

Julian yelled from my bedroom, "I'm not doing anything!" and I realized suddenly that  Ezra can now reach most anything left on the counter.

look at that bowl! i guess it was Ezra's turn to make the morning snack.  

sorry Uncle, no naps for you

it was really cute how Uncle CJ thought that grown ups got to take naps in the middle of the day, in the MIDDLE OF THE LIVING ROOM. 

the kids quickly corrected him. 

despite his lack of beauty rest, he still managed to be ridiculously good looking when he was awake. 

a place for everything

julian 2, originally uploaded by mindibartell.

*sorry for the old photo, i have none on mom's computer so i swiped this one from flickr*

i've mentioned before that Julian is a big fan of organization.

he enjoys cleaning his room, although much less cleaning is done than i would hope, as much of Julian's attention is focused on "arranging things".

since being in Arkansas, Mom said that she comes home from work each day to inspect the house, looking for objects that have been "organized". she has found things that were hidden in the deepest, darkest cabinets that she was sure was out of the kids reach, now plainly on display. my Mom, a confessed pack rat, has sadly announced defeat, telling Dad that she has no more hiding places, all being found by Julian in the name of organization.

if the bathroom mats look good in the bathroom, imagine how great they will look around the bed in the guest room!

why are you hiding this gigantic jar of change? we can display it proudly on the entertainment center, with handfuls of coins lying around it to sparkle gloriously!

objects from the fridge have been moved to cabinets under the sink, bathroom cleaners moved to dressers, everything should have a home and Julian has spent much of his time here finding BETTER homes for everything. EVERYTHING.

he really outdid himself today though. since my parents don't have a fenced yard, Charlie has been placed on a long line, that is located at the front of the house, alongside a dog house and several bowls of water. this morning, before everyone was awake, Julian busied himself feeding and watering Charlie, playing games with his new dog toys, and just being a big helper.

30 minutes later, Annabelle walked outside to play with Charlie, only to return near tears, exclaiming "Charlie's GONE! GONE!! He's not in his house, his chain isnt even there anymore!!!!!"

After searching frantically, sure he had run away, we found Charlie, toward the back of the house, with his line wrapped around a tree, food and water relocated to a cooler part of the yard. When we questioned Julian he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Charlie just looks better there."

little tiny questions

tonight i was putting Annabelle to bed, and she said she wanted to ask me about something.

about two weeks ago, we were in the post office and we saw a tiny little lady, so small that she rode a tiny scooter around instead of walking. 

fortunately, Annabelle hadn't commented, just glanced at her a few times, and she finally remembered her tonight as she was going to bed.

"how did that lady get so little?"  she asked.

i explained in basic terms that some people just have very small bodies, and then commended her for not making inappropriate comments or staring when she saw her.  i told her that if she ever sees anybody that looks different, that she should never say anything until we are alone, and then she can ask me questions.  it's all about being polite and not hurting feelings.

she said, "i know mama.  thank you for saying that i was good.  i learned to do better when i was 3.  remember that time at the bookstore (Barnes and Noble)?"

i ran through a hundred scenarios and had no idea what she was talking about.  seeing the puzzled look on my face, Annabelle helped me to remember by saying,
"When i called that big man a Fatty?"

aaaaaah.  and the terrible memory of my very loud and precocious 3 year old pointing at the "great big fatty" man at the bookstore, not 2 feet away from him, came rushing back.

if only Julian would catch on to the whole "maturity" thing.  the last time he saw a little person, he stopped, pointed and started laughing as loud as possible.  he thought the person was wearing a costume.

baby birdie blue

when i was a wee kid, we lived out in the country on "Buddy Lane".  my dad's sister and her family lived on Buddy Lane also, and we spent nearly every day together, making the short walk from our house to theirs and vice versa. 

on these walks we found everything from turtles to lizards to stray dogs, that i immediately claimed as my own.  aside from the dogs, the animals were all very easy to care for. just take the turtle/frog/lizard and place it in a shoebox, with holes punched in the lid.  add grass, a stick, some dirt (to recreate their environment!) and a few crumbs of bread, and Viola!  Instant animal home.  :) 

(please don't ask how long any of these animals lived.  everybody knows the average life span of a frog is less than 2 days, right?)

anyways, i have been re-living some of my experiences with my kids this month, as an assortment of animals have come across our path.

one night a couple of weeks ago, Dustin was walking through the garage and found the tiniest baby bird on top of our lawn mower.  the door to the garage was up, and we can only imagine that the bird fell or was kicked out of the nest close to our garage.  (there are several around our house)

it was about 1am, and we couldn't find the nest, so he brought the bird inside and we tried to do whatever we could to protect him from the harsh rainy conditions of the night.

step 1:  find a shoe box.

seriously.  i put that baby bird in a shoe box, just until we could find his mommy in the morning.  i was tempted to throw a stick in there for good measure, but decided against it.

i tried to talk dustin into chewing up an earthworm and spitting it into the bird's tiny mouth, but he didn't go for that idea.  we did try our best to find something the baby bird would eat, but nothing seemed to entice him.

the next morning, the kids woke up and saw this baby bird and went bananas over his tiny cuteness.  as they looked at the baby bird (LOOK BUT DO NOT TOUCH!) i hopped on the computer to see how we should go about getting baby bird back home.

STEP 1:  DO NOT TOUCH  A BABY BIRD EVER.
STEP 2:  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED A BABY BIRD. 

Apparently a baby bird needs to eat every 15-20 MINUTES.  seriously.  i felt so bad that we were about to unknowingly kill this little guy in our ignorant attempt to save him. 

i jumped up and grabbed the shoebox and raced outside to find the nest.   the website insisted that if i placed him on the ground or on a branch or bush near the nest, the mother would be able to find him and care for him. 

and then the wailing started.  apparently Julian thought this was his new pet.  he cried and raged and stomped and insisted, "I DON'T EVEN LIKE CHARLIE!!!  I WANT "BABY BIRDIE BLUE"!!!   (apparently baby bird was named in the ten minutes that Julian knew him).

 Julian throws a lot of fits, but he was seriously heartbroken.  he usually gets over things pretty quickly, but he ran downstairs and cried to Dustin for nearly 30 minutes and spent the rest of the morning in a sour mood.  he wasn't angry as much as he was disappointed at the loss of his beloved "pet". 

he was finally brightened up at the idea that this Baby Birdie Blue would be raised by his parents, but would stay close as our "yard" pet.  later that afternoon, a bird flew up to our living room window, and just poked his head around peeping inside.  I pointed the bird out to Julian and he started grinning. 

he said, "That's Baby Birdie Blue's mama.  i think she's tellin us 'thank you'."

i'm pretty sure he was right.

stay tuned for a second animal we found this week, that we did NOT consider keeping as a pet....hiss hiss

things that are still missing

have you seen my can opener?
my kitchen knives?
the mustard?
where are the light bulbs?
did we pack ALL of the kids socks separately from the rest of their clothes?
why does everybody only have ONE rain boot?
where's the rest of the towels?
have you seen the sugar?

oh wait...there's my sugar. 

man, i really need to find my can opener.

iowa and the lizard hunter

we are moving to Iowa.  in less than one month.
life is a bit chaotic right now, to say the least.

i was sitting at the computer yesterday, searching frantically for rental houses and elementary schools, when it hit me that we are not prepared for Iowa weather.  yes, we have winter clothing, but our winter clothing is for TEXAS WINTERS.  not iowa winters, where it is currently snowing/sleeting.
i was reading a newsletter from the school that Bella will probably be attending and it mentioned that the kids were really enjoying some new sleds at recess that somebody donated to the Kindergarten class. 

sleds?  at recess?  these kids don't just go to school on snow days, but they venture OUTSIDE AT RECESS? 

while reading that newsletter, the kids were outside playing in the dirt, wearing tank tops, shorts and sandals.  my patio door was open, letting in a nice breeze with the loveliest hint of rain.  and somewhere in Iowa, kids were sledding at recess.  CRAZY.

frantic rental home hunting has turned into frantic winter clothes shopping.  does anybody in texas sell snow boots?  i don't think so.  the best i could find were rain boots, and boy are we ever equipped for rain.  i bought Julian some really cute shark rain boots from Gymboree today.  he went crazy over them, wearing nothing to dinner tonight but Shark rainboots and Nemo undies.  man i love that kid.

check out this lizard he was so proud to catch this week:

see the lizard on his shirt?  and his proud little face. 

big tall pants

oh i have fun and happy things to post, but my pictures aren't ready...so, instead you get a shorty about my little juju.

we were going to the bank yesterday. 
well, first, let me just say that my Dustin is a very friendly man.  he makes friends very easily, everywhere we go, so when we walked into the bank everybody there was asking me about Dustin.  so now Julian thinks the bank is a place that "smells so fresh" and where "all of Daddy's friends live". cute.

anyways, he came into the living room, dressed to go to the bank, and bless his little heart.  his pants came up to his shins.  i sent him back to the daunting task of removing shoes and pants, and
putting on a different pair of pants.  this is a daunting task, b/c as we all know by the pictures, julian hates to be dressed.  hates to put clothes on, hates to change clothes, really dislikes doing anything that requires wearing anything but underwear.

he comes in with his second pair of pants on, a new pair he received around Christmas time, and they are right at, maybe slightly above his ankles.  and the adjustable waistband was as loose as possible.  now, these are only size 3 jeans, b/c my Juju is a little guy, but to grow so quickly is just crazy. 

so we went to Old Navy. 
found 2 pairs, headed to dressing room, left the door open a crack (so i could stay outside with Ezra) and he complained that somebody might see him naked.  by naked, he means "in his undies".  as if he doesn't parade around the open windows, and streak outside on the front porch in his undies all day, every day. 

he had enough patience to try on both pairs, decide he liked them both, put them in the buggy and "get outta here".  it was very much like shopping with my Dad. 

he did thank me over and over for his new "big tall pants" when we got in the car though. 

so here's a cutie of Juju in his new big tall pants.

i'm a bit partial, but i think he looks like a little stud. 

the big guns

thank you all so much for the support and advice.  i know it is a big deal, but after thinking about it all day, i kept worrying that i was making too much out of it. 

i took annabelle into class this morning (the boys in tow, of course) and spoke with her teacher.  Ms. Y. is VERY anti-bullying and assured me that annabelle would be safe and the boy would be talked to.

after picking up annabelle from school, Ms. Y.  told me it was taken care of. 

1. she spoke with the boys 3rd grade teacher.  we found out that he does indeed have a twin brother. as to whether i spoke with both of the boys yesterday, or only one pretending to be two, we don't know, but it doesn't matter at this point. i am glad that though i thought it, i didn't accuse him of lying (to his face) and spoke to him as though it really were his twin brother that had been hurting annabelle.  i would have felt terrible if i had told the innocent brother that he was a big fat liar.  :-) 

2. they spoke with the principal, and learned that one of the two brothers has previous records of bullying smaller kids.

3. they will be speaking with his parents.

4. Ms. Y. spoke to the boy during lunch time (after Annabelle pointed him out to her).

5. the boy will no longer be allowed outside during "lunch walk" with the smaller kids.  (after lunch all of the kids walk a large trail around the school for about 10-15 minutes.  it was during this time that annabelle and some of her friends were being bullied by him). 

that was the biggest thing that surprised me.  i would have been completely happy if they did all of these things  and then just promised to keep an eye on him during the lunch walk, but to keep him inside while the smaller kids were doing their walk makes annabelle and me feel so much more safe.

annabelle had a great day.  she was a little worried at lunch time, and "coincidentally" spent an extra long amount of time finishing her lunch (to have as little time outside with the boy as possible, i think).  she was so surprised when she went outside and the only kids there were pre-K, K and 1st grades.  she was definitely relieved, and came home very "enthusiastic" about her day.  ("enthusiastic" is apparently a new word that she's  learned, and is using it as often as possible).

overall, i'm very pleased with how it was handled and feel so much more confident knowing that there is now very little chance that Annabelle will ever have to be anywhere near this older boy again.

but we WERE prepared to bring out the "big guns"  if things didn't get taken care of today...

have you got YOUR tickets to the "gun show"???

#4

this little man turned celebrated his 4th birthday today!!!!!
i started the morning with a birthday song and the decision that anything (within reason) that he asked for would be met with a resounding "YES!". 

so when he asked for 3 different breakfasts this morning, I cheerily replied, "Of course, it's your birthday!"

Shortly after Ezra laid down for a nap, Julian started watching "Cars" in the living room.  However, he kept running back and forth, torn between playing and the movie.  So I dug our car's DVD player out of the closet, hooked it up and placed it on Annabelle's dresser.  Problem solved.

Only, after I did this, Julian thought he needed to make the room into a "movie theater".  We shut off all the lights, closed the curtains and doors, and since it was rainy and grey outside, the room became completely dark.  These are my pathetic attempts to take a few "movie" pictures.

He would have been completely content to watch the movie in peace with his new Cars p.j.'s and glow wormish type buddy, but i took him a small handful of Raisinets, and a small mug of his favorite Rocky Road ice cream.  He was in heaven!  Check out that sweet thumbs up!

His cars really enjoyed watching themselves on the movie as well.  Welcome to the drive-in!

After his choice for lunch (quesadilla from Taco Bell and some pink lemonade), we headed to his favorite place, Barnes and Noble.  Ezra enjoyed playing trains with his big brother, and then spent the rest of the trip absorbed in a Rachel Ray Kids Cookbook.  Silly baby.

We picked up Bella for school, headed to Target (of course) for a few last minute party things, and then got ready for the party!

The pictures here start to seem a little repetitive, but you MUST check out his hilarious little facial expressions.  This is one thing that all the kids got from Dustin, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!  Very silly facial expressions.

This is Julian getting the party started right, with a quick outburst of his favorite song, "Everybody Dance NOW!"
  Seriously, this is one of his all time favorite songs, and he sings it at least once a day.  Oh you should see how he shakes his little bum to the music.  :)

This one I am posting to show my brother CJ.  CJ and I have always thought Julian looks like little DJ from "Roseanne".  This picture is a perfect example.  Look at that sneaky little smile.

and of course, he tossed in a handful of cross-eyed poses.

we opened lots and lots of presents.  i was really impressed, as two packages full of gifts arrived yesterday morning from my parents.  Julian didn't ask ONE time to open them, and we didn't open them until around 5:30 pm tonight.  i was fully prepared to give in and let him open one or two if he asked, but he didn't.  nice willpower, juju.

Poppy, Ezra sends his sincere thanks for the idea of sending small boxes of sweet cereal for the kids play kitchen.  Ezra worked his way through a box of Corn Pops and Apple Jacks, totally unnoticed, while Julian and Annabelle were absorbed with opening gifts.  He LOVED them. (see large mouthful of Honey Smacks in above photo).

And Julian was so tickled that he had his OWN little box of "Amy's cereal".  (Fruit Loops)

we feasted on cupcakes and Julian's birthday dinner choices of Macaroni and Cheese and cheese/spinach tortelloni.  he didn't mind that they were both pastas, they're his favorites.

I was really worried that his birthday would be a disappointment, with Dustin out of town, and no Chuckee Cheese (next week) and not going to Arkansas for a party, but he was on cloud 9 all day.  maybe it was all the sugar!  but i really believe that he had a fantastic day, and his thankful attitude made it all 100% worth it. 

I sure love my little Julian Mark, and look forward to so many more birthdays with him in the future.

hangy down thingy's

there is a tiny body part, that has confused people since the beginning of time. 

the correct name, i found out after googling it, is "uvula".  sounds dirty doesn't it?

but we have always just called it what our mom called it, "your hangy down thingy".

you know, that little thingy in the back of your throat?

when i googled it, i found out that most people refer to it as their "hangy ball", which sounds even grosser than "uvula". 

but today, Julian gave it the best name yet.  it is his "drip".

he handed me a flashlight and said, "can you see my drip?"  and opened his mouth wide. 

"your drip?"  i asked, not sure what i was looking for.

"yeah, that thingy in my throat that looks like a big drip".

my sweet child.  i bet he's gonna be a doctor.   :)

crap stuff

(julian)  *big sigh*  "Mama, i just love crap stuff."

(mama) *stifling giggle* "Juju, i just love CRAFT stuff too."

the kids are really enjoying decorating the house for different holidays.  we seem to be on a "retail store" schedule and are working on Valentine's Day and a few Easter things already.  (with a handful of birthday's thrown in too)
the kids worked diligently and made about 30 pipe cleaner hearts yesterday.  i'm looking for a creative way to display them.

this is what they came up with on the spur of the moment.

and finally, Julian decided that his Christmas letter to Santa went over so well, he would create another one for his birthday (i swear he came up with this on his own, i didn't encourage him to write a birthday wish list at all).

this time, however, he addressed it to Poppy and Tata.  he realized that they always come through for him better than Santa ever could.  :)

a basic interpretation of this list is something like this:
Dear Poppy and Tata,
we really need boxes of cereal food for our new kitchen.
and crackers too.
i really want toy christmas lights for my kitchen.
and i want the "tire guy lightning mcqueen car, and the tractor guy and the mean road guy"
and a glow worm family.
i love you.
*JULILAN <---how he pronounces his full name, used for such serious letters as these, when Juju just won't do.  i love how he adds the extra "L".

p.s.   if you read this blog through google reader or bloglines or something like that, click through and see the new blog colors.  i think it will stay this way, at least through Valentine's day :) 
i keep finding quirky little issues with it,  and finally have it looking normal through firefox, but i'm not sure about internet explorer or safari.  if you see anything that looks off, please let me know so i can fix it :) thanks so much!

dinner cake

i'm going through and adding a few photos to the Christmas posts below, since I couldn't add any from my mom's computer.  so check those out if you missed them :)

i forgot a funny story from Christmas Eve.
my brother had made this amazing dinner.  amazing. 
he followed it up with a small but delicious (apparently, as i didn't get any) carrot cake. 

the kids were so excited for dessert, of course, and as they sat to eat, somebody mentioned that it was a "carrot cake". 

julian wrinkled up his nose and ran out of the kitchen. 
"I don't WANT any of that yucky cake.  I don't LIKE DINNER CAKE."

"dinner cake?  what's a dinner cake?"  I asked, confused.

"Dinner cake.  cake with vegetables in it.  YUCK."

Julian has had and enjoyed carrot cake on many occasions, as it is one of my FAVORITE cakes ever.  I, however, simply call it cake, as I had a similar disgruntled experience with Julian last year after making "carrot cupcakes". 

regardless of how delicious it was, he was very disappointed that such a yummy looking dessert could have such a crummy name. 

big big people

julian and amy, making christmas cookies and indulging in a little sugar. 

i was talking to julian about how he was born.  i told him that there was a time when mama didn't have any babies.  mama worked and played with friends and just did stuff by herself. 

he wanted to know what he and annabelle and ezra were doing while i was doing stuff by myself.  i tried to explain that he hadn't been born yet, but the thought was foreign to him.

i then told him that mama and daddy made him.  and bella and ezra.

he smiled big.  he told me that we had done a good job making them.

then i told him that amy and salomon had made jocelyn.  another good job.

then he asked about poppy and tata.
i told him that they made mommy and amy and uncle CJ.

he thought for a minute and said, "I bet Tata was REALLY BIG with those big big people in her bellies."

the thought of mama and uncle CJ and amy as babies  was more foreign to him than his not existing a few years ago.

on the 12th day before Christmas...

i got this fun idea from Marie to document the 12 days leading up to Christmas.  Today is the 12th day before Christmas and we...

decorated a Juju tree! 

our combination of a small apartment and a small kid vetoed our Christmas tree (for the 4th year in a row.  i'm hoping to have a Christmas tree by Dec. 2009! then i'll have a 3 year old, a 5 year old and a 7 year old.  that should be a little better) 

until then, this is the best we can do :)

(i convinced him to wear pants for this picture ;-) )

this is the look i got when the paint dried.  he thought it would stay on forever since we didn't wash it off before it dried.

bleshoos

julian (said with a nasal little raspy voice)  "Mama, i'm gettin a cold.  i know cause i got lots of bleshoos."

mama:  "You've got lots of what?"

julian:  "Bleshoos"

mama:  "bleshoos?"

(julian suddenly sneezes twice)

mama:  "Bless you Juju"

julian:  "yeah, those.  bleshoos.  i've got lots of those so i'm gettin a cold."

mama: "Bless you's?  baby, do you mean you have lots of "sneezes"? 

julian:  "yeah.  i've got lots of sneezes, so i'm gettin a cold."

well, that wasn't exactly "chipper".

we never know how our kids are going to wake up in the morning, or after a nap.  some days they are excited and ready to take off at full speed.  other days they are a little sleepy and lazy and just want to watch a cartoon and eat some yogurt.  and some days, they are just miserable little turkeys.

julian is the most extreme of all.  when his door opens after a nap, i NEVER know what to expect.

yesterday, he came bouncing out of his room, excited to pick up Annabelle from school, full of hugs for me and Ezra, and asking for some fruit snacks.

this afternoon, the door opened and i felt like i was in a horror movie.  he stared at me from his dark bedroom, with the angriest look on his face.  i walked in with a smile on my face and in a cheery voice, i said,
"Good nap Julian!  It's already time to pick up sister!"

his reply:  "You look like diarrhea." 

to the rescue...

his  costume was a top only, no pants came with it...so we improvised.  check out his red undies over his blue sweat pants!  :) 

this one goes out to all the "old grandmas"

julian and i were walking out of HEB yesterday, talking about trick-or-treating, and costumes and everything.

2 very old ladies (one could barely walk) were walking into HEB, quite slowly, and Julian shouted,
"HA!  Those ladies were dressed up like Meme!!  They were dressed up like old grandmas!!!" 

he thought they were already wearing their Halloween costumes. 

as to which Meme he was thinking of, we don't quite know (Dustin's grandma and  mine, are both called Meme, just pronounced a little differently.  both of them, however, have no problems walking.)

p.s. Julian let me take pictures of him yesterday, which is very rare.  I will probably season every post for the next few days with pictures of him wearing the same outfit.  i assure you that they are all from the same day and i just love them too much to pick one for sharing.  :)

i miss my jujee bujee

i love that little tongue poking out in concentration.



julian's little bandaged hand.  we were painting hearts on his pumpkin.

4 more days until we go get our baby bear cub and bring him home!!!

he's really loving being in preschool.
he's only had two little things that bothered him (that he's told us about).  one is that the bigger kids (in the older classes) have told him that he's too little to play with them and that "made him cry".

the other is that a kid called him "doo doo".   not "juju".  "doo doo". 

my little peace loving pacifist, Annabelle, promptly replied with, "I wanna go kill that kid."

my sentiments exactly.  but i did the good, motherly thing and told her that killing was wrong...but we could think of other ways to make him regret ever calling our boy "doo doo".   like a good, old fashioned wedgie.  that should "doo" the trick.

doo doo boy aside, he is loving preschool.  we were checking out a few preschools in our  area, and decided that for $1300 a month, we may just wait for kindergarten. 

or employ the free one hour of supervised play at IKEA.  that's a little retreat that I'll gladly take.

the quiet

julian is at my parent's house for 2 weeks. the longest he has EVER been away.  especially without annabelle.

i'm sitting at the computer while ezra sleeps and bella is at school.

i don't know if i should embrace the quiet, or be disturbed by it. 

i'll blog some funny stories from this weekend later....right now it's just too darn quiet.

minor facial deformities

annabelle lost her first tooth!  she has a second that is loose.  ezra got 2 new teeth this week, so he's up to 6.  it's like they are in a race.  julian feels very left out and continues to tug on teeth, trying to find one that will magically fall out and earn him some money and a little recognition.

when my dad asked her how her tooth came out, she told him, "Mama twisted it around and round until it just broke off".  it didn't quite happen like that, but this is the story she is telling.  hopefully not to the entire kindergarten class.

in other news of bartell children's facial deformities:

julian has a black eye.  he was chasing himself around the living room when he tripped and fell onto either a basket or the TV cabinet.  (annabelle was at school and ezra was napping, so he was literally chasing himself, like a dog chases his own tail)

ezra fell off of the bed (under dustin's watch, this time) and has a big bruise on his forehead.  he also scraped his cheek across a chair and has a big red welp.

it has gotten to the point where i am literally afraid of taking the 3 of them out in public together.  one or two kids with bumps and scrapes is acceptable.  but when all 3 of them look like they've just stepped out of the boxing ring, people have to start being suspicious. 

i finally made those cupcakes this weekend.  like i mentioned before, annabelle has been upset about having a "boring" holiday, so i was determined to do something fun each day, even if it was exhausting and frustrating and required me to take all 3 of them out in public and risk having CPS called on us.

*the first day was a big trip to the library.  we also made a trip to Chick-fil-a for "ice dream cones".
**the second day consisted of me dragging the art easel, table and chairs and watercolor paints outside and letting the kids paint until they grew tired of being outside.  we also got popcorn and lemonade from Target, Julian's FAVORITE thing.
***the third day, rain spoiled my swimming plans, so Monday found annabelle and i in the kitchen, baking cupcakes.  i even let her use my beloved green kitchenaid mixer, who i lovingly dubbed "Martha", after the queen of domesticity herself.  i let them eat cupcakes before bedtime, which is UNHEARD of around here. 

after all of this, my Mom called to check on the kids and Annabelle's first declaration was, "We're not having any fun.  We're not doing ANYTHING."

i've thrown my hands in the air.  that is the answer she gives when we actually don't do anything.  so next holiday, i'm going to do exactly what I want to do.  lock the kids in their bedrooms with 2 big feather pillows,  (and the vacuum, so they can clean up after themselves when they are finished) and let them knock each other around until they are exhausted enough to go to bed without my persuading and pleading and threatening.  I, on the other hand, will make fresh lime margaritas and watch episodes of Big Brother, uninterrupted.   and i can guarantee that there will be chocolate somewhere in that scenario.

batteries

today, julian was all alone in picking up the toys in his bedroom.  normally he messes around until bella has finished 98% of it, and then runs in announcing, "We're done!!!" 

he had no fun at all picking up his toys, so i went to sit with him and count each book that he put back onto the bookshelf.

around book 17, he collapsed in a heap on the floor.  i told him to finish, we were half-way finished.
with eyes closed and a bit of a smirk on his face, he murmured, "I'm...all...out...of....batteries."

i quickly recharged his batteries by placing a small  toy just inside the waistband of his underwear, and he was good to go again!

chocolate hair

julian is a very emotional/passionate/sincere little boy.  because of this, he seems to feel all emotions so strongly.  i think this part of why/how he gets upset or angry so quickly.

but the other side of it, is just oh so precious.

when my parents were here, he made comment after comment that just melted us all.

he was trying to thank my mom for a package that she had sent the kids a couple of weeks earlier, and then tried to thank her for every package she had ever sent.  he just couldn't find the words to thank her properly and he kept tripping over his words and sounding so confusing.

"tata, thanks for, thank you, for, i like, i really liked, that package, that school supplies, i, thanks for that, easter, lightning mcqueen, thanks for that.....tata.  i miss you."

later, mom sat in the floor and julian just kept touching her hair.  this is a little pet peeve of mom's, so i told julian to stop, but mom said it was okay.  so he kept petting her head and finally he said, "Tata.  i really like your hair.  it's just like...chocolate."

at one point, we were dropping my dad off at their hotel room for a nap (while we went to do a little shopping).  as dad got out of the car, Julian said in his most sincere, little nasal voice, "Awww.  I'm just  really gonna miss you guy." 

the whole visit was full of random "i love you's" and "i miss you's" and "i'm having so much fun's" and "thank you's". 

i know the drive was long and the visit too short and a little emotional, but i like to think that julian's sincerity and love was payment enough for their sacrifice last weekend. 

we love you poppy and tata, and now that you know where our house is, you'll have to visit again soon.

day 2...

Day 2...so far, so good...

making silly faces

her humor is definitely a product of dustin and me.  this is a perfect mix of dustin's and my funny face.

she enjoyed day 2 more than the first.  she made a good friend, a little girl who sits at her desk.
her name is Hannah.

she told me, "I liked her name because it is like 'hannah and rachael', my cousins" (canadian cousins that she has met, maybe twice, but remembers them fondly).

she played lots of games and read lots of stories today. 
she came home singing 3 new songs that i didn't know, and saying cute little phrases that she learned from other kids.

tonight, julian yelled from the bedroom, "MAMA!!!! BELLA'S SAYING MEAN WORDS!!!!"

I asked, "Annabelle, what mean words are you using?"
She shrugged and said, "I don't know what he's talking about."
So I asked Julian.
He thrust his lower lip out in a cute little pout and said, "She said, 'criss cross, applesauce'". 
apparently he thought she was making fun of him.

God bless you, Food Network.

so, the kids have been quiet for the past hour.

ezra is napping, but the other two...well, i don't quite know where they are.  sure to find a big naughty mess somewhere in the house, i leave the kitchen, (amidst my baking fury) and find them in the living room.
they have made a pallet on the floor, and are lying peacefully, side by side, watching....the Food Network. 

one hour.  of the food network.  approximately one hour of Rachel Ray and Paula Deen.  Lord help us.  i can't stomach 2 minutes of either of these women, but to a kid, I can see how Rachel Ray and her childlike annoyance "charm" could seem like one was watching the host of a really obnoxious children's show. 

and Paula Deen.  what can i say about Paula Deen?  well, i'm sure she is the nicest of ladies, but oh. my. gosh.  that woman drives me crazy with her overkill accent and her eyeroll everytime she takes a bite of her butter-laden food.  her near orgasmic groans are enough to make me think i should "parental block" this channel.
but to a kid?  awesome, i'm sure, to see a lady make cookies using 18 cups of "shuuu-gah", and 12 sticks of "buuuutttt-ah". 

although, if i was going to parental block this channel, it would probably be less b/c of paula deen, and more because of miss giada's cleavage.  i couldn't tell you what she cooked yesterday, but i can tell you that she wore a peach color top that revealed about 7 inches of  boobage.

i can't really block this channel though.  i am addicted.  i spend a lovely time each day with annabelle and the barefoot contessa.  we are constantly in awe over that woman's home and garden and her way with baked goods.   
since annabelle starts school next week, i have replaced her daily naptime with "Barefoot Contessa" time.  we both really enjoy it.

*****DISCLAIMER:
my annoyance with these celeb chef's, is in no way related to my love for some of their food.  all three of these women could cook for me any day of the week and i would be a happy woman.  as long as i could omit the word, "yummo!" from rachel ray's vocabulary for that day.

juju the photographer

juju got the coolest fisher price camera for christmas last year.  however, all the fisher price toys that we got are TERRIBLE with battery power.  so most of the pictures that he's taken have been "pretend", since the batteries are always dead. 

this week, dustin brought home a screwdriver and a jumbo pack of AA batteries.  Julian has loved having his camera back, and i finally have had enough battery power to upload his pictures to the computer.  here is a little collage of Juju's view of the world  these are the best out of about 100 pictures, most of them were of toys, the carpet, the new vacuum (which he LOVES) or a close up of his nose as he attempted about 80 self portraits...just like his mama.  :-) 

i love my little budding photographer. 

**disclaimer:  there were a few pictures of dustin, but they were all of him sleeping, and dustin doesn't like pictures where he doesn't get to make funny faces, so i didn't post any of them. 

i was surprised to see lots of pictures of dustin and i in bed (asleep of course).  apparently, julian is up much earlier than the rest of us, and uses that time to take very very unflattering pictures of us all (bella included) drooling on our pillows. 

i am afraid to admit that julian may use his special photography talents to become a papparazzi photographer. 

the magic toolbox

i was recently reading about something called an "emotional toolbox", and how you can teach children that they have this "toolbox" that is full of all the "tools" that they need to deal with their problems. 

after reading the article, i thought it was a little over my kids heads, so i didn't think anything about it again until this week.

julian and annabelle are fighting like crazy.  lots of yelling and hitting and hurt feelings.  so yesterday, after the 2nd fight, i sent julian to my bed and annabelle to her bed.  when i was talking to julian, i thought, maybe i can modify that whole "toolbox" scenario to help him deal with annabelle.

i explained to him that he has a special "toolbox".  it is full of "tools" that he can use to help him fix his problems.
i told him that if annabelle is being bossy, and he hits her, that it doesn't fix the problem, it just makes it worse.
then i told him that if he looked in his toolbox, he would find a tool called, "Just walk away".  (this is something that we've really been telling him a lot lately, as he can't just leave a fight, he always has to fight to the death).

i said, "If annabelle is being bossy, you can dig in your toolbox and find this "Just walk away" tool, and it can help that problem go away."

then i said, "there is another tool in your toolbox that you can use, and it's called, 'let's talk about it'."

i told him that if annabelle was not sharing with him, or being selfish, maybe he could use this tool, and say, "Annabelle, let's talk about this", and then they can work out a deal where they are both happy.

Julian, being the tool lover that he is, grinned at the thought of his very own toolbox full of tools.

At this point, I thought, "I'm a genius.  This is really working for him." 
Then I asked, "Julian, can you think of any other tools that you can use if you are having a problem with annabelle?"

He thought for a few seconds and then replied without hesitation, "A HAMMER!" 

So maybe it is over his head a little...

****
Later in the day, Ezra was screaming at the top of his lungs as I was trying to prepare the enchiladas for dinner.  I said, "Ezra PLEASE!  Stop screaming!!"

Julian walked up to Ezra, patted him on the shoulder and offered helpfully, "Ezra...Just WALK AWAY." 

fuzzy bear

julian is a hairy child.  his back is covered in a soft brown layer of fuzz, like a little teddy bear. it's really cute, although we are hoping that it will be gone before he enters high school.  i mean, there is a point when hairy backs become pretty gross. 

today, he covered his left arm entirely in stickers. 
he started to peel one sticker off, and cried out in pain,
"OUUUUUCCCCHHHH!!!!!  MAMA!!!  it's tearing off my FUR!"

i love this kid.

the Target game

like dogs, they chase each other breathlessly around the living room.
back and forth, around the coffee table,  along the path into the bedroom and back into the living room.
finally, she catches him.
"why are you running?"  she demands.
"because...you're... chasing... me.." he gasps.
revelation hits.
"oh.  i'm not trying to get you.  i'm just going to Target."
"oh, okay.  let me get my money." 
and they continue along the trail that they've created from the bedroom to the living room, only at a calmer pace, and discussing all of their purchases along the way.

the next time you think somebody might be trying to "get you",  you may just check to see if they are actually wanting to carpool to Target together.  no need to jump to conclusions.

funny kids. 

Sorrrrrryyyy

ezra woke up with a really stinky stinky diaper.
after changing him, i threw it into a plastic bag and then into the trash can.

shortly after, dustin stumbled into the kitchen to make his coffee, and as he opened the laundry room door (where our trash can is) he cried out,
"OH MAN!  What is that SMELL???" 

Julian, sitting at the table eating blueberries, sheepishly replies, "Sorrrrrryyy". 

i guess juju is just used to the fact that the stinky smell in the house is usually him.