May...The Cliff's Note Version

May was a great month. The weather finally warmed up, the shorts and short sleeve shirts were dug out, and we played hard. Played really hard. Here are some (ok, a lot) of pics from our adventures.

First picnic of 2011 - dinner on Dad's truck at Grandma & Grandpas.
Mac-n-cheese never tasted so good:

The first of many many playground visits.

Exploring the trails at Grandma & Grandpas for the first time since the snow melted. These pics really remind me of the old "Joe, Jerry & George" stories my dad used to tell me, minus the sound effects. Love it!
Fairbanks city wide clean up day. Sam was my big helper this year.
Alaska Rail Road open house with free train rides and trains to explore.
The boys (and Grandma) had a blast.


When the weather is too nice to stay inside and build forts, what do you do?
Build a fort outside, of course.
Not wasting the warm hot tub water as we syphoned in out for the summer.
Smart boys.
Samsquatch

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work is always more fun when you hide
A few of the days we actually spent at home



Apparently, when you see this face . . .Run!!!!

Wes took Bo & Sam out on the boat one night after work and to say they had a good time is an understatement. They didn't get home until almost midnight and it was worth every minute of the cranky next day.

Memorial Day Weekend - Camping at 45 mile CHSR with our new friends Amy, Jason, Lola & Reece.

WTF?!

Finding a 2.5 year old in the bathtub with an entire container of Vaseline and a trail of grease that stretches from the tub to the sink smothering everything in its path.

Needless to say, the boys were unable to brush their teeth tonight or brush their hair or cut their fingernails or apply Neosporin or Oragel, if so inclined.

And that my friends is how we play WTF?!

Food Fights

I don't know about other parents out there but I really struggle with food. I despise meal time at our house. It's down right draining. As soon as one meal is done, another is looming and then there's the dishes and the food bubble. Yes, the food bubble. About a 3 foot radius around each kid where stepping is not advised and any starving child could possibly consider it a buffet. Man I miss our dog.

But a lot of the problem is that the boys don't like the same things and none of them like to eat what I eat. And then there's Wes who also doesn't like to eat what I eat or what the boys eat so basically meal times SUCK. So annoying!

I know a lot of it is me and my eating issues of the past (ok ok, I still have some) but the idea of anyone making me eat something I don't want to REALLY bothers me. And so I have a very tough time forcing my kids to eat something they don't want to. I once read something somewhere that said "Make Dinner, Not War" and that's pretty much how I roll. It's not worth the battle or the stress. Food has always been a point of stress for me and the last thing I want is for it to be the same for my kids.

Don't get me wrong, I still push fruits and vegies and healthy eating but I definitely cater to their wants as well. I have friends who make their kids eat what's cooked or go hungry and I just CAN NOT do that. I can't! Absolutely no way. The idea of my child being hungry stresses me out more than having to cook multiple things.

The other problem is that I am a snacker. I like to eat little amounts all the time and my kids are no different. They LOVE their snacks. Things even taste better if I call it a "snack" instead of "lunch" or "dinner." Who knew?! So basically my 3 time a day meal battle is in all actuality an all day drag-out fight. (Please refer to the sections on: "Cons to Being a SAHM" and "How Many Granola Bars Can One Boy Eat In A Day")

I know I should probably put them on a schedule, but hell, I want to eat when I'm hungry, not when someone tells me it's time so why should I make it any different for them. Kind of goes back to the newborn breast feeding phase of "on demand feeding." Feed when hungry. It's that simple. Same goes for my boys.

Oh, and the mere thought of forcing them to finish everything on their plate makes me cringe. And people wonder why America has a weight problem. Geeze!! Really folks? Come on. It would be different if the boys were older but they don't know to eat when bored or sad or while watching 'The Biggest Loser'. They are kids and they eat when they are hungry. Simple as that.

But back to the foods themselves. For example, tonight I asked Bo & Sam each what we should have for dinner. Here's what they had to say:

Bo: "muffins, pancakes, mac-n-cheese"
Sam: "bacon, hotdogs, chicken"

They couldn't be more opposite. So I compromised. (And no, I don't usually ask them what they want but it's Friday). We had blueberry muffins hold the blueberries add grated carrots (anything to help me feel better about the retarded meal I was preparing), macaroni-n-cheese, turkey bacon, & green beans (MY addition).

Here's how it went down. Bo ate 2 muffins, half his mac-n-cheese and one green bean.
Sam ate 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1 muffin, half his mac-n-cheese, and 2 green beans. Max mushed his muffin (que food bubble music), ate all of his green beans, half a slice of bacon and stole all the tomatoes off my salad.

But you know what, they were excited about dinner and all sat at the table like civilized little boys, minus the few minutes when Sam decided to do a Cirque de Soleil routine on his chair and Max crawled across the table to get Bo's iTouch, but that's neither here nor there. We had a very nice dinner with very nice toddler conversation and very nice green bean mustaches.

I consider myself victorious but better quit blogging and go rest up. Breakfast is only 8 hours away.

WTF?!

As the boys grow older I am finding myself saying "WTF" to myself more and more so I figured it only fitting to start a new series of posts titled just that. And I'm starting off with a doozey that is so wrong on so many different levels . . .

Yesterday Sam tried to pick Bo's nose but stuck his finger so far up it he made it bleed.

And that ladies and gentlemen is how we play "WTF?!"

It's Happening Again

19 months, 21 days. That’s it. That’s all you got? Really? COME ON! I am so not ready for this. So incredibly, whole heartedly, emotionally not ready for this. Totally not cool dude. Not cool. You are supposed to be nice to me. You are the baby. My easy to put to bed baby. My super stubborn strong willed easy to put to bed baby. . .at least you were until yesterday.

Why? Why? WHY????? Why must you do this to me? Do you enjoy torturing me or do you just love me so much that you have to be with me at all times? Either way, I’d prefer you to just be a 19 moth old boy that doesn’t crawl out of his crib.
But instead you have forced me to put my game face on. Oh yeah. You are not my first escape artist mister. Your older two brothers were no joke and I am no rookie. So Mr. Maxy. "Bring it", I say. Because just as you think you can get a leg up, I will build higher and higher. Don’t under estimate the power of duct tape. However, I would be more than willing to call a truce, turn your crib back around, slide it out of the corner and move the dresser away from the side if you will agree to stay the F in there. It’s up to you.

End of School Picnic

Bo's school had it's end of year picnic last week at Fun Time Park and it was just that. Grandma and I took the boys and we all had a great time.

Bo & his best friend Zach

Bo & Zach

We Love Pickles!!