Potatoes and Pumpkins

A few weeks ago, my very good friends John and Vickie lost their dad.  During our college years and my single days, I spent many a weekend/vacation with all of them, so when the opportunity arose to attend Gary's memorial in Oregon, I went.  Since the memorial was in Burns, OR - or as I like to call it, the middle of nowhere, we flew into Idaho.  This is my best attempt at a self-portrait at the Boise airport with the colorful "teepee" in the background.  I must say that the concentration face is not necessarily my best look.

Lainie and John brought their two beautiful children, Riley and Mykayla.  Vickie, Brent, Nancy, and Mr. Marth made up the rest of the Idaho crew.  We travelled the four hours between Boise and Burns at a very slow pace due to Miss Mykalya's hunger schedule and Riley's potty schedule.  It was a fabulous time.  I loved spending time with all of my pals.  We talked about real stuff and random stuff, and it was so great to have the opportunity to visit with everyone.  Anne, Tobin, Sam, & Lane drove over from Bend, and other than missing my boys, it was a wonderful time with everyone.  This is a self-portrait I took at a mid-mountain potty/feeding spot.  I think it kind of looks like I photoshopped myself in.

While I was gone, Kathy and Jim stepped up and helped Bob with the boys.  Bob told me that poor Kathy was beat after the first day with the kids, but I think she got back in her groove pretty quickly.  When I came home, the house was spotless and there were cupcakes.  The boys played rock band with Daddy (Ryan is obsessed with rock band - luckily, we've been able to convince him that he's playing rock band when there is a band on TV - unfortunately, he's decided that drumming is done best in the nude and definitely must be done shirtless).

One of the big things we were looking forward to was the fall festival/pumpkin patch at the church we've been going to.  Bob had somewhat of a rough morning with the suburban failing to start after a 20 minute jump, moving the carseats from the suburban to the van, sending the grandparents off to the festival, and having to wait for AAA to come rescue him from the driveway.  

From the pictures he sent me, despite the rough start, I'm pretty sure the kids had a great time.  Michael sported his signature hat and admired the multicolored pumpkins.

 James and Ryan check out that fence.  The previous week at church, the boys "helped" put the fence up.

 James goes exploring for pumpkins.

Looks like he found one just his size.  Each of the kids got a small pumpkin of their own, and a little closer to Halloween, we'll get a big one from Wal-Mart to carve.

Grandpa gets in on the hay action.  Nothing like a good hay fight to get the brotherly love going.

Ryan runs amok.  There was a bounce house that James and Michael spent most of their time in.  Ryan chose to play the games and win prizes.  I hear he hauled in some pennies and a little candy, too. 

Grandpa demonstrates the correct way to throw the hay.  Somehow, I wonder whether those grandparents try to teach the kids what they are supposed to do or what they are NOT supposed to do.

 Michael gets up close and personal with the hay.

 Ryan gives Michael a little hay bath.

I'm pretty sure Michael is about to sling some hay of his own.

Armed and ready for action.

My sweet little turkey is such a camera hog.  He loves to watch himself on video chats and is constantly taking pictures and saying "cheese."  He is nothing if not photogenic.  When Bob sent me this picture, it made me feel torn - I had such a good time with my buddies in Oregon, and it was great to hear all those stories about Gary, but I sure did miss my boys.  I spent a large part of my time on my own looking for souvenirs for the kids.  I was surprised how difficult it was to find one good two year old souvenir much less three.  I was so happy to see my babies, and I think they were happy to see me, too (although with video chatting, it certainly made the separation much easier for me).  Maybe next time we can get all of our kids together and watch the fun unfold.

Hibachi and Hair Cups

A couple of weeks ago, Bob and I tried to find a place to take the kids for hibachi lunch.  Do not try this during the week - it was a fiasco, but we came back the next week on a Saturday for lunch.  The boys had a great time.  Ryan loved it.  He was fascinated by everything.  Michael didn't enjoy the show too much, but he loved the food, and James went from sitting straight up in his chair to leaning below the table.  Once I held him, he enjoyed the show somewhat, but all three of them loved the food (as did their mommy).  I think we'll go back again in a couple of months.  Since I haven't found a Mexican food restaurant here (where the hell do we live?), I might have to switch nationalities and go for the Japanese.

After our "tasty delicious" (Michael's new description of good food) lunch, we decided we had to go get the boys hair cut before they were no longer able to see.  I have to say, I do like the shaggy look, but every once in a while, you need a hair cut.  I called several places to see if they had openings and how much kids hair cuts were.  We found a shop that had no wait, and we headed over.  To say that we were the only pasty people to enter the doors of said "salon" this year is probably an understatement, but since we were there, we plopped the kids in the seats and said have at it.  One of the stylists little boys was amazed by the kids hair.  He kept calling it gold and touching it.  It was pretty funny.  The first time we got the boys hair cut, the stylist told the kids that he was going to use a race car to cut their hair and let the kids feel the vibration of the clippers.  Ryan was pretty nervous about the buzzing, so I told him the clippers were a race car.  He now walks around and tells people he got his "hair cup with a race car."  

After the hair cut, I pulled out an old picture of my dad.  The new hair do made me think of it.  I'm not sure if it's just me, but I think my James looks a wee bit like Robin Cain.  They definitely have the same smile and ears (although James did not cooperate with my attempt to take his picture with his grandpa and smile).  When I pulled the picture out, both Ryan and Michael pointed at it and said "James."  Michael looks a lot like Bob (especially those distinctive eyebrows), and I'm not sure who Ryan looks most like - I guess it depends on the day.

As my husband will attest, I have a somewhat obsessive personality.  Currently my obsession concerns the perfect Christmas ornaments to get for the boys (I have tried to get something unique each year so that when they grow up, they've got a collection of ornaments from their childhood - Bob swears they are not going to care - which is probably true, but maybe their wives will care - or at least I'll have them on my tree).  My previous obsession was our Halloween attire.  I know my time with costume selection is short, so I'm trying to make the most of it.  I like to have a "theme" because I'm a giant dork.  Their first Halloween was three dog night, last year was African Safari, and this year my intentions were to have a Florida theme complete with alligator, buccaneer, and rocket (NASA you live on in our hearts).

The pirate is by far the most popular costume.  All of the boys love pirates (I think it comes from being male and our book "Pirate Potty").

The alligator is also quite popular, and they love to put the head portion on and off.  I wish it was a little longer or had pants to go with it, but endless hours of ebay searching told me this was the best gator I could find.

The rocket was not my first choice.  I originally wanted to get the shark costume from Old Navy.  When I went to get it, they were out of the kids size, so I had to wait until the next week.  In the mean time, we went to Target, and James was attracted by the rocket ship.  He tried it on and refused to take it off, so it came home with us.  As soon as I cut off the tags, the boys started refusing to wear it.  It slides on and off so easily that they don't wear it for long.  Ryan (always on the move) was in the process of escaping the rocket during picture time.  

Due to the unknown performance of the rocket on the big day, I purchased a spare costume from ebay.  Here Michael models the fireman which is also popular amongst all three.  Ryan loves fire trucks, so I can see him choosing fireman over rocket, but who knows what the actual line up will be.  

Despite hair cups and costumes, the biggest thing happening in our world is the World Series.  Last year, Bob and I had a chance to go.  We would love to have gone this year, but it's MUCH cheaper to watch it on TV.  At the game we went to, we went on a shopping frenzy that could have easily made a car payment.  Ironically, we both decided to purchase stuff only for the kids.  We got them antlers, a Rangers outfit that has been worn to pieces, and three kid size jerseys.  I pulled out the antlers and jerseys for the World Series.  The kids love the antlers.  James especially likes to spin around watching them flap in the breeze.  Tonight, he wore the antlers to bed.  Go Rangers!

The Backyard Gang

Last Sunday after church, Bob and I attempted to take some pictures of the kids for an address change card.  Let's just say the photo shoot was less than inspired and full of crying.  I was unable to procure a picture in the Klein/Gabriel school - in the box wearing job/location appropriate attire.  Oh well, maybe for our next move.

James consented to sit in the box but only with an English Muffin in hand.  A boy has his priorities, and toast is a BIG player in this house.

 Michael contemplates closing James inside the box...

...but decides to just steal the box instead.

Ryan refuses to get inside the box at all, & don't even think about making him wear a hat that is not a Rangers hat.

Since it's been pretty rainy here this month, we've had to find several indoor activities that are not watching TV (primarily the Lion King or PBSkids).  James and Michael really liked painting.  They did several pictures each.  Thanks to Tawnya & Courtney, we have lots of cool paints to use.

James is a very intense painter.  I'm pretty sure he is gonna be more famous than Van Gogh (hopefully he will retain both his ears, though).

Michael is also a great painter, but he prefers to paint his hands and face.  Maybe he's going to be a mime or a clown.  Either way, he's going to be brilliant.  He can say all the letters in his name without any prompting with the exception of H which he says is an L.  He's always reading and can identify all of the basic colors - we are currently working on gray.  His favorite color is yellow, and he likes to read "yellow books."  

Ryan is still obsessed with this stool and with washing his hands.  While his brothers painted, he watched the Lion King (shocking, I know) and ate some "corns."  He must have his corns in a bowl, place them on the tall end table, and pull his stool up for optimum popcorn pleasure.

When it's not raining, we spend a lot of time outside.  The boys love all of the outdoor wonders of Florida.  The other day, we found a small green frog outside.  I didn't have a proper jar to keep him in, so I grabbed a juicy juice container.  James carried his frog around repeating "how cute, how cute" every time it jumped.  Then he "hopped" around like the frog.  

James knows that frogs like to be entertained.  Here he is preparing to take his new friend on the slide.  Sadly, the frog hopped out of his container as he and James slid headfirst down the slide.  Oh well, I'm sure we'll find another new friend soon.

Ryan is telling us all about those acorns he found.  They are seeds from that tree over there.  Thanks Cat in the Hat for teaching us about seeds.

Michael tries to hang up his old swing.  The boys love the new swing set, but they do miss their old swings.  I'm trying to figure out if we can find a cheap A-frame to hang them from so that they can all swing at the same time again.  Hello craigslist, remember me?

Ryan attempts to play both golf and fly through the air on his swing.  

Michael (after splashing around in the water collected in various receptacles around the yard) takes his turn on the swing.

James sporting his swinging skills.  He can't get much height, but he sure does spend LOTS of time soaring through the air both semi-upright and prone.

My sweet little Michael likes to put all kinds of crazy disgusting things in his mouth.  He routinely eats sand and here he is pretending (thankfully) to drink rainwater out of his splash table.  After he would put his face near the water, he would stand up and say...

"tasty delicious!!"  He also likes to pretend he's the cookie monster and eat his food like a maniac.

Ryan rides his bike.  Recently, this bike made it into the house, and Ryan rode it everywhere.  Lately, he has been making me put his train in the bed with him at nap time.  I guess he's a man who needs to be close to his motor vehicles.

James is working on his "golf swing."

This is Michael's "ta da" pose.  I can't remember what exactly he had accomplished, but I'm sure that it was amazing.

Ryan relaxing on the couch after a long day of playing outside.  Now that we're Floridians, the bug spray is a staple of outdoor fun (there are several cases of West Nile around here - one of Bob's former co-workers thinks she might have had West Nile - she's still waiting on test results to let her know officially).  The kids love to get a spray.  They laugh and say "it tickles."  I'm hoping this bodes well for spray on sunscreen which they tend to freak out when I attempt to apply it.  I guess next time we go to the beach, I'll pull it out and see what happens.

The Five Floridians

 Not everyone can be banana cool about moving like my James, but the Newhouses are adjusting to our new Florida status.  Our new house is much smaller, so we've had to consolidate somewhat.  The garage is still a mess, but the house is starting to look like home (we need some pictures on the walls and such to give it that Newhouse charm, but it's getting there).  The boys playroom has really come together as I found a few steals at the local target and walmart.  It's nice to have everyone so close together (I don't miss trying to heard the kids upstairs for nap time one bit).

We spend most of our days watching PBS, playing, and going outside.  The boys love the new fridge as they are able to open it and reach their milk.  I miss our old black beauty that is in the garage.  It is currently cooling my diet cokes (which I'm pretty sure I would go to extreme lengths to procure - some people are crack heads, I'm a diet coke head).  I hate that a thousand times a day, I have to redirect Ryan from the freezer and his endless quest for ice cream, but it has made the kids more independent in finding their beverages.  Also, the water here is pretty tasty, and the kids will all drink water much more readily than they did in Haslet.

When we first got here, we attempted for a couple of days to go without crib tents as the boys had destroyed the ones we used in Texas.  It was hell.  I'm not gonna lie.  At the point where I had spent my 6 or 7th continual nap/bed time putting kids back in bed for an hour or more, we ordered new crib tents, the boys were so excited to have their crib tents back and we haven't had a problem with sleeping ever since.  On the few days we did go without, all of the boys wandered out into the house looking for us.  Poor Michael got lost, couldn't find us, and spent who knows how much of the night sleeping in this chair.  Bob came out in the morning and found him just like this.  Pretty sweet, but much safer (and more restful for us) to have the monkeys confined in their beds.

The boys still love their plane, but the back yard is a plethora of new and exciting things like bugs, lizards, frogs, mushrooms, acorns, a big slide with a swing you can "fly" in.  I don't think I've seen anyone go in their house in a couple of weeks.  There is just too much to explore.

One of the things that this house has taught me is that I do not like fake wood floors.  They are impossible to make look clean with three two year olds, they are slippery (the number of falls that we have on an average day is just ridiculous), and I have only mastered mopping on my hands and knees which makes for a very long and unfortunate cleaning session.  Michael likes to use the rug in front of the TV as a blanket.  I probably should have rolled it up and put it up since it slips and slides all over the place, but he enjoys taking a "nap" with the rug so much that I haven't had the heart to put it up.

When we were in Haslet, Ryan was my resident nudist.  Since we've moved, Michael has taken over that illustrious position.  Although I did have to go rescue Ryan who was stuck in his shirt this week during nap time, Michael takes every opportunity to get naked.  Once he has achieved his freedom from clothing, he runs around announcing his nudity as though it is the greatest thing ever.   

 James is still my pacifier boy, but I've found it much harder to keep track of them here in Florida.  The other day, I found two pacifiers out in the yard along with an electric toothbrush, a water cup, and a myriad of dog poop.

The palmettos outside are so much fun to hide in.  Sadly, Bob's Florida work friends have freaked me out about palmetto bugs, snakes, and west nile virus.  We no longer play in the backyard with bare feet as we did in our Texas yard.  The weeds are just amazing in the variety and number of them.  I'm pretty sure we will spend the cash to weed and feed the yard so that the spring will be a little better, but it's not the Texas grass I'm used to at all.  The wildlife in the backyard is somewhat impressive.  The other day, the boys followed around (no lie) a 4 inch (not counting legs) grasshopper for at least an hour.  It jumped and hit my shoe causing me to freak out.  Everything is NOT bigger in Texas.  Florida has the bug market cornered as far as I can tell.

 In the neighbor's yard, there is an oak tree that occasionally gives us the gift of acorns much to the delight of young Michael.  He loves acorns, and I have found them in various and sundry places throughout our home.

One thing that has remained the same is the boys love of their toys.  Now, instead of being spread all over the house, we have limited the toys to their playroom (this is not to say that James doesn't drag the train table over to be in front of the TV or that the horse doesn't move positions to make it easier for Michael to do his bull riding dismount that he learned from watching rodeos with Papa Joe), but it does mean that for the three hours between when the kids go to bed and we pick up until we go to bed, the toys are all put away (unless of course, I'm feeling lazy and they just stay there, and I hope not to kill myself if I need to go check on the kids in the middle of the night by tripping over some random toy).

While the list of things about our old house and Texas is somewhat endless (this doesn't mean I'm not happy here, just that I miss what we used to have and where we used to live), one of the main things I miss is our pantry.  Now we have a tiny cabinet in the corner of the kitchen which the boys can get into and doesn't have much room at all.  Here by popular demand, we are having milk and animal crackers before breakfast (Daddy was out of town) on the kitchen floor.

One of the main purposes our old pantry served was holding the kitchen step stool in a somewhat safe location.  Ryan now opens the stool up and drags it where ever he wants to go.  Here he is in the midst of a hand washing, bowl filling, water spilling festival of joy.  He does love it so, and most of the time I find it adorable, but in illustration of my mixed feelings about this stool, I offer the following anecdote.  Michael was at Jim and Kathy's house, so it was just Ryan, James, and I.  We'd gone out to the library, the park, Chic-fil-a for lunch, and I was making a restroom pit stop before putting them in bed.  I closed the door and settled down on the toilet when the dynamic duo busted in with Duke and Emma.  Ryan drug the stool in and began to wash his hands - at one point, he poured a cup of water on Emma's head and she left (smart cat).  While this was occurring, James came over, took my phone out of my pocket, hopped up on my lap and began to play his horse racing game.  It is very difficult to get toilet business of any kind done with such an audience, but when you add to it, Duke attempting to lick the remnants of James' lunch off his face, and Ryan's very helpful attempts to wipe my bottom despite my protestations of being able to do it myself, it's just not a very fun bathroom trip.  Bob wonders why I always run to the bathroom AFTER I put the boys down for a nap.  I'm pretty sure my reluctance to relieve myself is justified.

As of yet, I have not made it out in the real world to meet people.  As I sit at Chic-fil-a and watch the kids, the ladies there with friends chatting it up while their kids play make me a wee bit desperate for a fellow mom to visit with.  I am sure that in time, I'll make friends, but my initial shyness and awkwardness left over from a childhood filled with being the last one picked for kickball have kept me somewhat isolated.  We are still looking for a church, and I keep thinking that maybe I'll join a mom's club.  I'm sure friends are in my future, but in the words of my sweet Dee, I might be in a post-move funk.  I need someone to come over to me, say "you've got a big butt like me, wanna go work out" then promptly take ourselves to Souper Salad to fill up on workout energy.  Dee, are you sure that you guys don't want to move to Jacksonville?  I miss my Texas friends and family.  Bob has been talking about watching the Marlin's next year (not loving them like the Rangers, but "paying attention" to them).  Just the thought makes me tear up.  I might have a Florida driver's license, but my heart is still in Texas.  Go Rangers.