Top Twelve.

A list of my favorite things. In no particular order.

1. That first sip of hot coffee in the morning. I'm such a nicer person when I've had my coffee.
2. Bedtime snuggles from my boys.
3. Crisp, cool sheets. 
4. Tulips.
5. Watching Anthony smother Matthew with hugs and head-butts first thin in the morning, and hearing them giggle.
6. The smell of fresh-cut grass.
7. A hug; the kind that lets you know everything will be ok. 
8. A glass of red wine.
9. Finding the perfect pair of jeans. On sale.
10. Belting out "Sweet Caroline" with the car window open and wind in my hair on a 70 degree day.
11. Breakfast at Grumpy's.
12. Getting packages in the mail.

The teacher becomes the student.

A while ago we had a little issue with the way Matthew would sometimes act toward Anthony, especially when (he thought) no one was looking. Nothing major...he would squeeze his hand a little too hard, nudge him until he tumbled over, just acted a little rough. Sometimes it wasn't intentional. Sometimes it clearly was. So this was problem A. Problem B - If they were alone in a room or just out of sight from one of us and Anthony would start crying, I'd go in and just ask what happened. I never accused Matthew of doing anything, simply wanted to know what happened. I started getting this reply: "I didn't do nuffin, I didn't hurt him, I didn't make him cry." Hmm, ok.

Every once in a while, I would linger, or quietly check on them. And I would actually see him trying to hurt him. And again: "I didn't do nuffin, I didn't hurt him, I didn't make him cry." Right. I did our usual discipline dance, told him how we tell each other the truth, we don't hurt each other, blah, blah, blah...it didn't seem to work. So I sought the advice of my mommy friends and one of them told me about Pinocchio - how she would tell her child that her nose was going to grow a little every time she fibbed. Brilliant! Yes, I was going to teach my child to tell the truth by telling him a lie. Don't judge me.

That night, it happened...say it with me now: "I didn't do nuffin, I didn't hurt him, I didn't make him cry." Even though I saw him. So I tried it. He grabbed his nose as a look of panic came over his face. And he told me that he pushed Anthony and he fell. And he did it "not on accident". I thanked him for telling me the truth and he walked to time out holding his nose.

There's a point to this, I promise!

Fast forward to tonight. I'm getting Anthony ready for bed and bumped his head on the dresser by accident. He starts crying, Matthew comes over to see what's wrong. With the most serious look on his face, arms crossed, he says, "Mommy! What did you do to Hampy?!" I bumped his head on the dresser. "We don't hurt each other! Let me see your nose!!" All I could do was laugh. I asked him if my nose grew and he said no. Then he told me to say sorry to Hampy, which I did. And we all hugged.

Hey, you gotta be able to dish it out and take it I suppose.

 www.imagesdisney.com

(By the way, problems A and B are few and far between these days.)

Yo Gabba What?

Matthew has started to like Nick Jr. lately. I was diggin' the refreshing change from Disney Channel. A human being can only go through so many Mouskatools and 3 Special Steps in one day. I was happy to get to know Franklin, Little Bill (I heart Little Bill), sassy Olivia, and the rest of the Nick Jr. crew. Then I sat through an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba for the first time. Oh my word. That show I could do without. It is BIZARRE! The robot, the fuzzy green guy (or girl?)...and they all live in a boom box? And come to life in a diorama. Okaaaay. DJ Lance Rock. I...he...why....yeah no. It's one of those shows that you raise an eyebrow at and think "what on earth were they thinking?". But you watch it because your kid likes it so whatever. I know it's a big hit with many parents of toddlers/preschoolers. And I don't mean to offend if you love the show. Heck I don't care if you or your hubby dress up in a skin-tight orange jumpsuit, slap a big fuzzy hat on your head and dance on your coffee table to techno tunes...whatever gets the kids to smile (if you DO do this, please tell me you have kids...). It's just not my cup of tea, and I usually like all sorts of tea.

Love is in the air...

I had the pleasure of spending Valentine's Day with my boys. Oh if you could spend 5 minutes with us first thing in the morning, you would know what love is. You would hear Matthew say "Ah! I think Hampy's awakens!!" (and if you know us, you know the story behind "Hampy"). And when the two of them are in our bed, oh the love. Make your heart melt, give you tingles in your toes kind of love. Brotherly love, through and through. They cuddle, they laugh, they head-butt...that is the universal sign for "I love you", is it not??

And for just a moment, it felt like Spring was in the air, too. If you looked past the mounds of snow, the still-frozen-gutters, or just closed your eyes for 3 seconds, you smelled Spring. Wishful thinking I suppose...soon enough, soon enough...

Flashback Friday

Can't you just feel the sun on your face? This is the splash pad at our local park. I can't wait to get back there this summer. I just want to feel WARM again! And want to see both of my boys having this much fun.