Our eldest child . . .

Haven't blogged in a few days because we've been dealing with our injured 4-legged child. It was cold enough to get a bit icy the other night and Gavin slipped while jumping onto our deck. Matt said he went all splay-legged Bambi style. He gave himself a soft-tissue injury of some sort and has been quite a mess the last couple of days. He wouldn't sit or lie down for almost 48 hours. Very nearly drove us all crazy. The meds appear to have finally kicked in and he is finally resting, but he's still sore. Poor old guy. He's eleven now and we've had him for eight years! I actually had to hook up the scanner for some of the older pictures.He was a 65lb. bag of bones named Okie Ridge when we adopted him in Oct. of 2000. Now he hovers around 80lbs.

We call this his "vulture dog" look.

Using Luke-in-utero as a pillow.

Holding hands with Michael (don't call the SIDS police).

How he looks most of the time. We're so glad he's feeling better.

Lukism of the day . . .

In the bathroom:

Me: You know, Luke, soon you'll be old enough to wipe yourself.
Luke: Yeah. Hey Mommy, when I'm 4 years old and I have a robot neck, I'll be able to turn my head all the way around and see my back.

Two Halloween Parties

Yesterday, we were double-booked for Halloween parties. First, we went to Matilda's house for a cookie-decorating party. Matilda is one of Luke's classmates. Luke looked positively goth after eating a cookie with black frosting. Michael wanted nothing to do with the cookies, he wouldn't leave the train table.














Then it was on to Buckeye Village and a costume party hosted by the Sperles (aka The Yummy-Yummy Eli family). There was a pinata, a lot of sugar and a whole lot of wrastlin.' On the way home, Luke said "I really love my friends." Once again, I rely on Alyssa to take better pictures than me.

Love Jackson and Amelia (Pippi) in this shot.

Mid-wrestle, the boys decided to pause for some "belly time."

Dried Green Tomatoes

So the frost finally killed the tomato plants this week, they were still full of green tomatoes. In a burst of Martha Stewart-like inspiration, I dried them in the oven like I've been doing with the ripe ones. They actually taste pretty much the same.

What Luke wants for Christmas

So we're starting to think about what we might ask Santa to bring the boys for xmas.

Me (as Luke jumps on the couch): Luke, would you like a trampoline for Christmas?
Luke: Yeah.
Me: A small one, like they have at school?
Luke: Yeah.
Matt (not a fan of the trampoline idea): Hey Luke, would you like a lump of coal for Christmas?
Luke: What?
Matt: A lump of coal.
Luke: Yeah. What's a lump of coal?
Me: It's a black rock.
Luke: Yeah. I'd like that.

A Typical Day

7:30 am--I decide to get up--Matt is already up with Son #1. I hear Son #2 stirring. He had a bad night last night and has slept late--not a good sign on a day when I need to get him down for an early nap.

7:32am--Come downstairs holding Son #2. Son #1 immediately asks me to "make some ghosts." I pour some coffee and make some ghosts out of kleenex and cotton balls. I am finishing the faces when Son #1 says "I need a robot." I ask "what about the ghosts?" Son #1 clarifies "I need ghosts AND a robot." Matt offers up several robots from the toy bin. "No, I need to make a robot from a craft." Translate: I want mommy to build a robot.

8am--Oatmeal is on the stove, but Son #2 can't possibly wait and has caught sight of eggs in the refridgerator. Wild shrieking ensues. I scramble an egg while trying to envision a fast, easy, homemade robot.

8:05am--Son #2 settles into his egg. I find a toy metal spatula which I transform into a robot using pipe cleaners and brads. It's not pretty. I'm not crafty mom. But Son #1 is satisfied.

8:15am--I go upstairs to get dressed and get clothes for the kids, shouting "Stir the oatmeal!!" to Matt about a hundred times. Has anyone fed the dog?

8:20am--The Great Battle to Get Dressed begins with much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

8:30am--a lull in the battle. Half dressed children eat oatmeal. Matt goes to shower.

8:45am--with a combination of screaming, pleading and outright bribery, a truce is negotiated in the Battle to Get Dressed. Son #1 will wear hat and mittens, but no coat. Matt takes kids for walk with dog.

9am--Matt goes to work. Jennie calls. She's running late (yay!! me too!!).

9:15am--The Battle of the Car begins.

9:25am--we finally leave, stopping at the bank and drive 15 minutes to Lynd's to pick apples with the Jennies. On the way, Son #1 says we should get "a hundred dollars apples." I tell him $16 for 20 lbs is more than enough. He then spends the next ten minutes talking about the Jennies: He likes mommy Jennie. He likes little Jennie. Little Jennie is a very nice girl. Both Jennies are girls. Why are Jennies girls? Mommy, tell me a story about the Jennies.

9:50am--arrive at Lynd's for a short apple-picking playdate with the Jennies. Son #1 still refuses coat and so will only pick apples in sun. Son #2 keeps tripping on apples on ground. Son #1 eats several bites from and then discards about a dozen apples.

10:20am--Twenty pounds of apples in a plastic bag is REALLY heavy. There's more traffic than you'd expect in an apple orchard. Paying for twenty pounds of apples in traffic with a toddler and two preschoolers is challenging--even with two adults! Time to peruse the tent filled with produce and goodies--perhaps "peruse" is not the right word. How about "watch in horror as the three children tear around the place like it's a racetrack?" That's about right. Hey, nothing got broken.

10:40am--Say goodbye to the Jennies. Drive home. Wonder if Michael has done enough to be able to take an early nap. Son #1 asks me to make apple crisp when we get home. Stupidly, I reply "Sure, I think we have time for that." We do not have time for that. We listen to "C is for Cookie" about five thousand times on the way home.

11am--arrive at home. Feed Son #2 fast lunch (read: non-nutritious, fake Italian chef, something-a-roni). Start peeling apples. Realize I haven't showered. Regret agreeing to make apple crisp. Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet.

11:20am--Take Son #2 upstairs with bottle for nap. Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet. Come back down and chop apples. Why am I making apple crisp?

11:35am--Realize Son #2 is still awake. Suspect poop. Yep. Change diaper--hmm, not enough here. Suspect there will be a second event later in the day. Nap, take 2. Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet.

11:45am--Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet. Make crumb topping for apple crisp. Why am I making apple crisp?

noon--Put apple crisp in oven. Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet. Make chicken nuggets for Son #1 (hey, they're from Trader Joes, so they must be ok, right?). Turn on Sesame Street. I pretend not to hear that Son #2 is still awake. I go to shower.

12:01pm--Son #1 opens bathroom door and starts bringing me "surprises" while I shower. He drops trucks and animals into the bathtub. He lets in cold air. Have you ever tried to shave your legs with goosebumps? Loads of fun.

12:15pm--Get dressed in work clothes. Say prayer to St. Jude that there won't be any major messes for the next hour. Son #1 asks if apple crisp is ready yet. I hear maniacal laughter coming from the nursery. Son #2 is not asleep. I calculate the nap ratio and figure if he falls asleep in the next fifteen minutes, it's still worth it.

12:30pm--I come downstairs. Son #1 asks "Mommy are you 39?" Sigh. I wish he had asked about apple crisp.

12:45pm--The laughter has become screaming upstairs. I calculate the nap ratio--no longer worth it. I go into the nursery. Son #2 has taken off his pants and socks. I am hit by a smell that tells me all of the apples have taken effect. Change another diaper. Son #1 comes upstairs to ask if the apple crisp is ready yet.

12:50pm--Bring Son #2 downstairs. Remove apple crisp from oven. Why did I make apple crisp? Scarf bagel. Dash to computer to print notes for class. What am I teaching today? I can't staple my notes because I took the staples out of the stapler so that Son #1 could play with it, now I can't remember where I put them. Son #1 comes downstairs to ask if the apple crisp is ready yet. YES!!!! THE FREAKING APPLE CRISP IS READY!!! The Battle of the Potty begins--but the promise of apple crisp ensures that it is only a minor revolt.

1pm--Children eat apple crisp and watch Caillou. I hate Caillou. I go upstairs to pull myself together--hair up, makeup on, slippers off, boots on.

1:15pm--I'm feeling remarkably ready to go--then I remember an ungraded paper. CRAP! I track down the paper, let out the dog, grade the paper while standing at the back door waiting for the dog. CLONK--the sound of the napless Son #2's head striking the corner of the table. DOUBLE CRAP! Now I have to hold the toddler and finish the paper.

1:25pm--The Second Battle of the Car begins.

1:35pm--We leave for ODU. Son #1 has noticed the shiny pin on my lapel. He wants to know why he doesn't have one. He wants a story about a shiny pin. My patience is gone and my sanity is slipping.

1:50pm--Arrive ODU. Matt meets me in parking lot. I get out of car. He gets into car. I tell him Son #2 is napless and wish him luck! I can't remember what else we said.

1:53pm--Crossing the street, I try to figure out if I have time to go the office. 7 minutes. Nope. I settle for the mailroom. I staple my notes. I stand at the table there and try to remember everything I know about the Albigensian Crusade. It's hard to think about the Albigensian Crusade when you're still humming a song about sidewalk chalk.

2pm--Go to my classroom. It is sparsely populated. Too sparsely populated. Grrrr. Half my class is not there. I berate those who are there. They ask me to cancel class. I vacillate. I compromise. They will endure an hour on the Albigensian Crusade, then I will let them go early. I promise to include LOTS about the Albigensian Crusade on the next quiz.

3pm-- I let them go. I walk to the office. I sneak past open doors. I shut the door behind me. I unzip my boots. Matt doesn't expect me home until 5pm. I check email. I check the Moms' Board. I blog.

4:30pm--Time to go home. There will be the usual evening chaos waiting for me. But I think I miss my boys!

Teacher visit

This morning Chelsea, one of Luke's teachers, came to visit us. There are 18 kids in Luke's class and 3 teachers. Each teacher picks 6 kids to visit at home. It's strictly playtime, no parent-teacher chit chat (much to my frustration as I'd love to hear more about how Luke is doing). Last year, he was a little bit shy with his teacher, Molly, but today he was full of ideas and of games to play. They played a ball game he invented and pretended to be knights. Then, I was surprised to look out and see Chelsea had climbed to the top of the play structure with Luke. Brave woman.

Luke's world

Here are some of the 42 shots that Luke took with the camera while I wasn't paying attention. Some of them are almost artsy.

Lukism of the day

I was a very sensitive kid. I used to cry at the Flintstones and Jetsons if the episode involved Dino or Astro being sad (in fact, I got bit by my terrier one time trying to hug him after an Astro episode). Luke appears to have inherited this. Tonight we were watching the news and a commercial for Ambien (a sleeping pill) came on that featured a rooster walking around by himself in the middle of the night. Next thing I know, Luke is crying:

Luke:"Why is the rooster awake in the middle of the night?"
Me: "I don't know. He's just out for a walk."
Luke: "But he's all by himself!"
Me: "Maybe he can't sleep and just needs a little walk to get tired."
Luke:"But he's sad. He needs to go home with the other roosters!"
Me: "I'm sure he's on his way home. The other roosters will wait for him."

Michaelism of the day

We went for a hike this morning and the almost full moon was out in the daytime sky. Michael looked up, started pointing and yelled "ball!"

Benedict's Baptism

We became godparents to little Benedict Raymond Dougherty today. Benedict didn't even wake up when they poured water on him. Not sure why the Catholic churches always insist on baptisms after the final mass--right at naptime. Fortunately, there were no major meltdowns, but Michael was pretty squirmy and squealy. Many thanks to our friends, Larry and Joyce, who spent the whole baptism chasing our kids as well their own toddler. The baptism was a good excuse to get the kids dressed up. Michael got a sportcoat for his birthday from his grandparents and we finally got a chance to use it before he outgrows it.

Boo at the Zoo 2008

This evening we went to Boo at the Zoo, the annual Halloween event at the Columbus zoo. It was our first costume event of the season. There is at least one party and trick or treating still to come. Luke is a wizard and Michael is his dragon. I am really happy with the costumes, ordered fairly cheaply from Old Navy. The boys didn't see many animals at the zoo. They were more interested in the playground, treat stations and seeing the Batman show--well, Luke was interested in the Batman show. Michael just wanted to go eat dinner.

A rather sullen wizard with his eggbeater wand riding a komodo dragon.

He then does a magical dance and. . .

. . . a different kind of dragon arrives.

He is truly a fearsome dragon.

Apparently, dragons and skunks make good company.

Alas, the wizard could not ride his dragon home, so they made do with the wagon.

See, I knew I built a fort!

My mom and John found the picture I was thinking of-- my lawn chair fort. I think I have Luke beat, but judging from the very new Macbeth the puppy (the black blur next to the frisbee), I would say I'm about 7 in this picture. When Luke is 7, I'm sure he'll be able to outfort me any day of the week.

Packages and Forts

Today, Luke and Michael got a package in the mail from Poppy and Nan. Luke loves getting his very own mail. Inside were Halloween books! Then Luke built a fort out of lawn chairs. I can remember building one of these myself. I seem to think there's even a photo of it somewhere in Boulder. Perhaps a kind stepdad will seek it out and scan it, so I can compare lawn chair forts.

Apple Picking

Yesterday we went to Lynd's Fruit Farm to pick apples and pumpkins. Michael carried around the same apple the whole time and spent 2 hours eating it. Of course, if I give him an apple at home, he won't touch it. No corn maze this year, but the hayride was still fun!

Family Breakfast

Well, this morning was Family Breakfast morning at Luke's school. Matt canceled a class, so we picked him up on the way and all went together. We had so much fun eating with the other families and showing Daddy around the classroom. Then we dropped Matt back at work and walked around ODU for a little while. There would have been a lot of really cute pictures, BUT in the chaos of trying to grab muffins and snack mix for 18 kids and their parents plus sippie cups plus jackets plus Luke and Michael, I forgot the freakin' camera. GRRRRR!!!

Michaelism of the day

A-nin = again, and he also uses it for "more." A-din = all done. They sound pretty much exactly the same. But, God help you if you mistake one for the other at meal time. If you think he said "a-nin" when he really meant "a-din" and you put more food on his tray, you will be rewarded with flying sausage, oranges or eggs. If you think he said "a-din" when he really meant "a-nin" and you try to take him out of the high chair, you will be rewarded with a flailing tantrum. Ah, the joys of an 18-month-old.

Daddy's Birthday

Today is Matt's 35th birthday! This morning I asked Luke what he wanted to get Daddy for his birthday. He said "a dragon robot with a button you can push." I said, "No, Luke, that's a present for you. This is a present for Daddy. What do you think Daddy might like?" He said, "Daddy needs a blanket." So he got Matt a red blanket. Mommy cried because it was just about the cutest thing ever. The cake is not going to be making the cover of Martha Stewart any time soon, but it's what Matt wanted: frosted angel food cake with Smarties on top. In Canada, Smarties are like M&Ms only in the full rainbow of colors, Matt had to make do with M&Ms because they don't sell them here. By the way, if you're wondering, the little tart candies that we call Smarties are called Rockets in Canada. Michael got extra cake because he turned 18 months old on Monday!

When Matt was Luke's age . . .

My moms' board is posting pictures of the dads at 3. These are the pics of Matt that I scanned. I actually think he's about 2 in these shots, right between Luke and Michael's ages.

Matt and big brother Jon.

With their mom in matching rompers, so seventies and so cute!

Chili Party

Last night was the annual Van Ausdal Family Chili Party. The kids had fun, despite Michael faceplanting on the cement, and the food was delicious. Alyssa always makes a huge batch of chili and then you can eat it however you want--on rice, on pasta, on mashed potatoes. Somewhat sacrilegious for a Colorado girl, where we eat our chili straight up, but pretty tasty! Michael kept stealing all of the yummy focaccia, homemade by the breadmasters (aka the Chapman family). Luke didn't eat much--instead he spent a very long time tying up an inflatable baseball bat with Jennie and then stuffing himself into an overcrowded sandbox with the other boys.