Day 2 Florida Vacay - Legoland

The boys woke up Monday morning and it was like a scene out of a movie.  "Can we go to Legoland?!?  Can we go to Legoland?!? Can we go to Legoland?!?"  You catch my drift.

We arrived at the park and they gasped with excitement.  We had arrived.

After we were about 5 steps into the park, they started to see all of the stores pimping out Lego merchandise.  The next chant became, "Can we buy something?  How much money can we spend? Can we get a Lego set now?"

By the time we got to the first ride, they had their eye on the prize.  Nothing would satisfy their souls except a new Lego set.  Tensions were high.

So we handled it like any rational thinking parent in a busy theme park in 90 degree heat with 3 screaming children. We put them in time out and told them that we weren't buying them a thing and they would have to  earn their toy priviledge back through good behavior - that little dose of reality snapped 'em right out of it.

We got home and Cole settled in for his soon-to-be nightly routine of snuggling with the family dog Kelty.  Luckily she was just as happy to have a snuggle buddy and the rest is history.

That night, Phil and I snuck out to Whiskey Joe's for drinks and seafood on the water.  After many cocktails we ended up on the beach posing in the lifeguard stand.  Okay so it was just me posing in the lifeguard stand, whatever.

We arrived home to find our boys peacefully snoozing away with the dog barrier working wonders.



And for the record, we did buy them each a Lego set at the end of the park because of good behavior. Also because we are suckers.

Puppet Show

Not only was the delivery of bunk beds an exciting time here in Kerper land - almost equally as cool was the arrival of the mattresses.  Because they came in a really. big. box.  And boxes are fun for little kids.

The boys asked me to turn it into a puppet show theater - or "Pubd show" as phonetically spelled by our master decorator Cole.

Cole worked dilligently on his puppet - a groundhog named "Groundhog."  The kid's got talent and originality.  Nice.

From there they fought over who would put on the show and who would watch, the puppet's real name (Cole insisted it was "Groundhog" but Ry wasn't buying it), whether the audience (me) should clap before or after the performance, etc. etc. 

So here's all of my hard work (I even gave it a door with a knob) quarantined in the kitchen because I couldn't stand to hear anymore fighting.

Family bonding at its finest. 



Sunshine On My Shoulders Makes Me Happy

Today was Mother's Day and it was filled with it's share of ups and downs.

Down: Phil had to work.

Up: He didn't start until 10 am so he got to hang out this morning. Before he left he took this pic of my boys on the front porch with the flowering bush in full bloom. Happiness.


Down: He called about 5 minutes after he left to let me know that his car died, it needed to get towed, and I'd have to drive him to work. In the city. With 4 antsy kids. And the potential thought of having to buy a new car.


Up: We picked Phil up from work and had dinner at Ruby's Diner. On the way home we stopped at the Brandywine Battlefield to watch the sunset. Wrapped up in a blanket with my boys on a bench watching the sun go down...a spontaneous moment remembered for a lifetime.

We're Living Here In Allentown

Today was Shaye's First Holy Communion. Seeing her in her princess dress and hairsprayed curls made me realize how quickly time flies by...it literally feels like yesterday that she was toddling around and snuggling in my lap.

My crazy kids have a way of snapping me right out of my sentimental mood. Almost two hours in the car makes for four very antsy boys, and poor Aunt Lori's house took a hit from their energy.

Not only was the stuffed monkey a hit (I'm still not sure why that was hanging from the ceiling...), so was the gigantic yard. All I had to do was kick a ball as far as I could, and they chased after it time and time again. Score.

The day was going so well until Ryan called stomachache. I tried to tell him that eating approximately 75,000 pieces of chocolate wouldn't be a good idea in the long run, but he chose to take his own path.

Ry eventually rebounded (when the cake was served) and we tried for another feeble attempt at a family picture. At least Shaye looks cute...congrats to my girl. Love you loads.

Have Mercy

I was telling a story about Cole today and the people I was talking to were cracking up. It never really struck me as out of the ordinary that he likes to pretend he's a cat named Princess and play fetch with a Mickey Mouse PEZ dispenser, but I guess it is sort of odd.

This kids is a character, to say the least.

For the record, he had a "boo-boo" on his middle finger and was showing it to me all day on Sunday. This included the church service when he was in the front row with said boo-boo finger sticking straight up in the air. Lord, have mercy.

My Life Before 8 am

People ask me all the time what my mornings look like. To me it all seems very normal and manageable – until you throw in the inevitable tantrum or have to spend 10 minutes convincing your almost-4-year-old that his legs are not broken and he CAN get out of bed if he would just try (true story - see bullet #6).

For all of you who have asked, here is my account of a typical morning (this morning, to be exact):

• Woke up and scanned work emails for any overnight drama. More importantly, played my turns on Words With Friends


• Folded laundry/put in new load (truthfully I just needed clean socks, I'm usually not that motivated)


• Threw together dinner and revved up the crock pot


• Got myself showered, dressed, and presentable for work


• Woke up #1 and #2 out of Daylight Savings coma


• Convinced #2 that his legs were not broken, he was just tired. Got #1 and #2 dressed, teeth brushed, wrestled with cowlicks


• Woke up #3. Dressed, teeth brushed, wrestled with cold medicine


• Woke up #4. Changed clothes, fed bottle, wrestled with reflux medicine


• Reflux medicine rebelled. #4 puked on me – back to the closet to change shirt


• Brief moment of scowling due to the fact that I really liked how I looked in the now-puked-filled shirt


• Hustled all kids downstairs for granola bars and juice


• Crawled around on hands & knees searching for the stuffed hippo so #2 could bring something grey to show & tell. Finally located said hippo in pantry


• Corralled #2 and #3 into van. Drove to daycare


• Dropped kids off, completely forgot that #3 is out of diapers


• Drove to drug store, picked up overly priced diapers. Drove back to daycare to drop them off


• Back into van, convinced myself to ignore the gas light and wait until after work to fill up


• Drove to the Q to start my second job. Settled into desk at 8 am


• Sipped lukewarm tea in peace and quiet. Ohm.
  
  

Working 9 To 5, What A Way To Make A Living

When I left for work this morning, Cole had a rare moment of clinginess (i.e. he stood at the door crying and screaming, “Mommy I want to go with you!!”). And in an even rarer moment of sympathy, I ran back inside to scoop him up and give him extra hugs. Sigh.

Luckily, I have this hanging up on my wall at work. It’s been there since “Ryan” wrote it over 5 years ago - I read it every morning and it sure came in handy today.

They're. Stir. Crazy. Get. Me. Out. Of. Here.

Is it Spring yet?

These boys have officially lost their minds. They're itching to run around - fortunately (or unfortunately, I'm not sure) our house is a big circle, so sometimes they just end up chasing each other around and around. And around.

Part of Stir Craziness 2011 involves Ry handing me the camera every night and asking me to take pictures of him. He could use some help as Art Director, but right now I'm just letting him do his thing.

So tonight they were playing Sheriff Woody and poor Charlie got caught in the crossfires. I didn't know whether to laugh (Ry and Cole) or cry (Cha) so I just kept snapping.

The countdown to Spring is on.