A Lesson in Economics

In our home, the Daddy Tax Rule is widely enforced. Whenever the kiddos are munching on something that appeals to their dad, he swoops in, proclaims "Daddy Tax!" and snitches a piece of whatever they are enjoying.

On Tuesday night, the three adults in this household devoured a pineapple... a failed attempt at inducing labor. But I made sure to set some aside for the boys in the morning; pineapple is one of Lucian's favorite foods in the world, and one of the few words he can pronounce perfectly. I knew he would be heartbroken if he discovered he had missed out on the pineapple that he saw in our cart at Costco. Sure enough, the next morning he got up bright and early (even before Daddy left for work) and came down to scope out the kitchen. He looked in the garbage can and found the empty pineapple hull... and immediately began a chorus of "Pine, apple, peas? Pine, apple, peas?" Thank goodness for the stash we had stored away; it would have been a loooooong morning without it!

I set him up at the table with a plate of pineapple and a bowl of cereal. Soon after, Daddy came in for the kill. "Daddy Tax!" Thankfully, he was kind and only took a small nibble of Lucian's prized pineapple. Louie giggled and probably inwardly heaved a huge sigh of relief that the damage wasn't greater.

Half an hour later, Daddy was at work, Lucian was finished with his breakfast, and Max was just sitting down to enjoy his pineapple and cereal. Before I even knew what was happening, Louie climbed up on the chair next to Max, proclaimed "Yay-Yay Tax!" and swiped a slice of Max's pineapple, shoveling it in before anyone could object!

Being the easy-going kid that he is, Max barely batted an eyelash and went on eating the remainder of his pineapple. I managed to stop Louie before he helped himself to a second round of taxation, and we had a little chat about taking other people's food. But if Daddy can do it... why can't Yay-Yay?

Why indeed?

Here Comes the Sun

Nothing like 6 hours in the swimming pool to give a kid his first sunburn of the year! No, I am not joking- last Wednesday, Max spent six hours in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, taking breaks only to use the bathroom and eat a super-quick lunch. Even with several reapplications of sunscreen, the rays still got through... but for how fair Max's skin is, I think we did ok.

The big development this year is that Max's toes can touch the bottom of the pool! This opens up a whole new world for him; we put up the rope to separate the shallow from the deep, and he is free to do as he pleases! What fun! Understandably, he was a total zombie after his six hour swim, and the next day he was still tired. But by Saturday, he was ready to go at it again! This time he "only" swam for four hours, and Sunday he was back in for another three. Thirteen hours of swimming in five days?? I think this week was a preview of the next three months. I am so thankful for the access my kids have to the water!

Poor Lucian missed two of the three days of swimming because of his marathon afternoon naps, but I'm excited to get him in the pool more this year! When he did swim, he worked up the courage to jump off the side of the pool into my arms! This is the same kid that would barely leave the steps last summer. I think with his big brother as an example, he may very well turn into a fish too.

I didn't get any swimming photos this week, just the rosy aftermath. But next time I'll be sure to snap some good ones!

Hopefully next time you hear from me, it will be with baby news... but so far, nothing to report!

Lucianese, the answers

So you thought you could translate my language, did you? Haha!

Well, thanks to the brave few who were willing to make their attempts public! It was a valiant effort- and, in fact, I was surprised at how many right answers there were. For the win, there was a tie between Grandma R and Auntie Monica- way to go!

Here is the full list of answers, I hope you enjoy!

1. "Mo, Gacky!" = No, Macky!
   One of the most commonly heard phrases in this household, it still baffles me. Why does he choose to pronounce his brother's name with a 'G' while the word 'no' is pronounced with an 'M'? We know you can say your 'M' sound, Louie, just pick the right word!


2. "Yay-Yay, a-yelf." = Louie, by myself
   Mr. Independent whips this phrase out at least a handful of times each day. From buckling himself into his own carseast to crawling into his crib, there's nothing he won't try to do 'a-yelf'. But if he's unsuccessful, he's quick to ask for 'Elp, peas!'

3. "Uh-rul" = Cereal
   No morning is complete without a bowl of 'uh-rul' and 'goke'. I am careful to keep the pantry well stocked, because it's not a pretty morning if we're out of cheerios!

4. "Goke, peas" = Milk, please
  Another staple that causes chaos if we run out, milk is Lucian's beverage of choice. I have been known to make many runs to Jim's Market up the street for nothing but a gallon of milk.

5. "Uh Yum go?" = Where did Liam go?
  The name is interchangeable..."Uh Papa go?" is another favorite. But I just love how he says his uncle's name. Yum! It's perfect.

6. "Mee-mee!" = Excuse me!
   This phrase is most commonly heard when the boys are getting into the van. Lucian likes to climb in after his brother and politely say, "Mee-mee, Gax!" as he pushes past to his own carseat.

7. "Yuk-a-tah" = Liquor store
   So this is not actually a common phrase, but I couldn't resist adding it to the list! When we were out running errands one day, we stopped by the liquor store so Paul could run in and grab a bottle of wine. When we explained where Daddy was, Lucian picked up on it and started telling us about the "yuk-a-tah".

8. "Buss beef" = Brush teeth
   Lucian is obsessed with brushing his teeth. Any time he is in the bathroom, he asks to "buss" his "beef"; I think he'd do it ten times a day if I let him!

9. "You-yoff" = Shoes off
   Also commonly heard is the opposite, "you-yon". I really need to get him some Crocs so I can stop bending over to help him with his shoes. That's getting harder every day!

10. "Cookie"
   One of his first fully recognizable words. He's a little obsessed with cookies!

So there you have it, folks, a peek into the language of Lucian. I'm getting pretty good at understanding him myself, but there are still at least a handful of times each day that I stare at him blankly as he tries in vain to tell me something. Poor kid, but I'm doing my best!

Lucianese, part 2 (The Quiz)

Louie has been learning more words every day, but most people other than myself have no idea what he's saying most of the time! I thought it might be fun to put together a little quiz to see if you can guess what some of his commonly used words or phrases actually mean. I'll do my best to type them as he pronounces them. You can respond in the comments or email me, and I'll post the answers in a few days.

Good luck to you, you'll need it!

1. "Mo, Gacky!"

2. "Yay-Yay, a-yelf."

3. "Uh-rul"

4. "Goke, peas"

5. "Uh Yum go?"

6. "Mee-mee!"

7. "Yuk-a-tah"

8. "Buss beef"

9. "You-yoff"

10. "Cookie"

Ok, so that last one doesn't count-  but it's not too surprising that it would be one of the few words Lucian can say completely clearly! It's funny, I'm getting so used to his goofy pronunciations that it throws me off when he actually pronounces a word perfectly. Part of me will be a little sad when he outgrows this phase.

Happy guessing!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Paul's sister Megan graduated from college last weekend! I can NOT believe she is done already. Paul was able to join the rest of his family in North Carolina for the celebration, but alas, I am too pregnant to fly... so the boys and I hunkered down at my parents' house for the weekend. I sure missed being there for the graduation festivities, but it ended up being a fun and relaxing weekend with Grandma and Grandpa.

We dropped Daddy off at the airport on Thursday evening after dinner and then drove to Grandma and Grandpa's house to begin our long weekend away from home. The boys stayed up long enough to read some stories with Grandpa, but the real fun began the next morning with... you guessed it... pirate pancakes! It's become so much of a tradition when the boys sleep over that during bedtime prayers that night Max said he was thankful for "the pirate pancakes Grandpa is going to make tomorrow!" (As if there was any doubt.)

Friday, Max helped Grandma plant some flowers, we went to a few garage sales on a hunt for little girl clothes (success!) and we went on a walk around the neighborhood... cut short by the imminent rain and my inability to walk more than two-tenths of a mile without nearly falling over.

We were greeted Saturday morning by doughnuts from Grandpa, and then Max literally spent the entire day playing in the back yard. For dinner, we grilled hot dogs and cooked marshmallows over the fire pit, then Grandma and Grandpa put the boys to bed so I could have a "sibling date" with Ben. Yeah, believe it or not (I barely do), I was out in downtown Minneapolis on a Saturday night! Crazy, right?

Sunday (Mother's Day) we had a lazy morning, with more pirate pancakes. We went to Mass at 11:00, then in a repeat performance of the day before, Max explored Grandma's beautiful backyard for the entire afternoon. Come evening, my mom and I met up with Ben for dinner and a show, leaving my dad with the boys, some buckets and a hose. Oh my, did they ever have a good time. The show was great, things went smoothly at home, and Grandpa and the boys picked up Daddy from the airport at 8:45. We all met back at our house around 9:00, when I walked in the door to find Max and Lucian with plastic daggers clenched in their teeth! Auntie Kelley had decided to deck out her nephews with pirate goodies, and they were wired!

We said goodbye to my parents, settled the boys down and got ready for bed. It was a great weekend, but it's sure nice to have my husband home. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for taking such good care of us!

Snapshots

My boys are polar opposites when it comes to getting their photos taken. If Lucian even notices the camera is in the room, he starts posing like a GapKids model. If I dare to try putting the camera away, he points and yells, "YEEEZZ! YEEEZ!" (cheese!) until I snap one last picture. He loves it! He'd stand there all day.

"Cheese!"

"Cheese!"

"Cheese!" 

"Cheese!"

But Max? Oh Max... it's as if there is something repelling him from looking at the camera lens and smiling simultaneously! The only time I have ever caught a genuine smile on film was when I took him completely off-guard. But as soon as he notices Mom trying to snap a picture, he puts on a series of ridiculous expressions... really anything but a real smile! Over the course of about a minute, I snapped this series of pictures in an unsuccessful attempt to capture a smile.

"Yesssss, masterrrrr..."

"What did I do?"

"Uhhh..."

"To be or not to be..."

"Seriously, Mom? Still at it?"

"Fine. Just to make you stop, here's a decent one."

I must say, he's got quite the repertoire of expressions already. With Louie, I will never want for happy, smiley photos to chronicle his childhood. But Max definitely adds a new dimension to every picture that he is in! He's a testament to the fact that mothering is imperfect and messy... and we really can't make our children do anything. I am reminded of that each time I reach for my camera.

Walking the Plank

What are you lookin' at?

Hang on to your hats, we now have bunk beds.

With baby #3 on the way, we knew we would need more sleeping space, so we used the Easter full house as an opportunity to set up bunk beds in the boys' room. By the time Baby Girl is old enough to need Louie's crib, Max will be more than ready for a top bunk, but the novelty of the new furniture addition has already caused me some major headaches!

Take last week, for instance. I was folding laundry in the guest room upstairs while the boys were playing loudly in their bedroom. In general, loud equals safe in our household; if I can hear them, I know they're not getting into trouble. Apparently, this is no longer the case when the top bunk is in play! I found out later that the bunk beds had been transformed into a pirate ship- the top bunk was the deck and the bottom bunk was the hold.

On a whim, I peeked into the room to see what they were doing and, to my horror, witnessed Max standing inches from the edge of the top bunk, Lucian directly behind him. Max yelled, "I'm walking the plank!" as Lucian gave him a nice piratey shove on the back. As I promptly died of a heart attack, Max managed to fall backward onto the safety of the mattress.

Several strong words and new rules later, both kids were safely on the floor. We've now gone about a week without incident (I think I may have put some healthy fear into their hearts) but I know it's only a matter of time until the first major injury. I would appreciate any advice from bunk-bed-owning families about how to keep your children alive once this treacherous item of furniture has entered the picture! Is there anything I can do, or am I staring at the inevitability of a broken arm?

I think I'm going to put the ER on speed dial...

**As my husband reminded me in the comments, I did unintentionally leave out the crowning jewel of this story. How could I have forgotten to mention Max's response to being taken down from his ship? Those words... I must have put them out of my head. I didn't think I'd hear them for at least another eight years! When he realized his cavorting on the deck was finished, at least for the day, he turned to me and whined (in his very best teenager voice) "Ahh! You ruined my pirate life!!" **

Counting Cars

Car...

We love our home. There are very few things I would change about it (yes, a second bathroom would be stellar), but the one thing I really wish we could change is the one thing we cannot change: the street we live on. The street in front of our house has fairly consistent traffic, and although the speed limit is low, I would never send the kids out front to play without me. That's a hard-and-fast rule in our house. Backyard, fair game. Front yard, not so much.

Car...

But there is one upside to our location that we would not be able to experience if we lived on a nice, quiet, residential road, and that is car-watching! Often in nice weather, we sit on the front step and wave at cars, counting how many wave back at us. It's heartening to see that nearly every driver who notices us lights up and waves back enthusiastically! People really do respond well to a smiling kid.

Car...

In colder weather, we don't make it to the curb very often, but sometimes we'll sit at the front window and watch for big trucks to pass. Our street happens to be a bus route, plus there are several restaurants and a grocery store that get regular deliveries, so it seems we never have to wait too long for a reeeealy big one.

Car...

So we watch and wait, and Lucian narrates the experience: "Ca... ca......... ca..... ca... YUCK!!!" (if you need a translation, that's "car... car......... car.... car.... TRUCK!"). And the icing on the cake is the occasional ambulance or police car that zooms past with sirens blaring.

Truck!!!

On hot summer nights, I grumble as speeding motorcycles roar past our open window, but so far we have managed to make the most of the traffic. Someday we hope to live on a zero-traffic, tree-lined street where the kids can learn to ride bikes out in front of the house, but I think a very small part of me will miss watching cars with the boys.

Whew, that's hard work!

At Home

It's official. I have become a homebody. Within the last six months I have finally made the transition from needing desperately to leave the house at least once a day to being content to stick around the home front for several days in a row. Don't get me wrong, I love getting out! (Especially without my two adorable cling-ons.) I still really enjoy our trips to the library and play dates with friends, but I no longer feel like I need these outings in order to function properly. Our home life has fallen into such a rhythm that I actually look forward to days that we have nowhere to go.

I'll take you through a quick tour of my change of heart. When Max was born, I don't think I left the house without Paul for a full two weeks. I think I was afraid that if I took him anywhere, I would suddenly drive off a cliff or spontaneously combust or something. But I ached to get out and get around! As soon as I got over my initial fear, I took him everywhere. Then when Lucian came and I began to stay home full-time, I tried to find excuses to leave the house every day: grocery shopping, visits to the library, even just driving around the neighborhood... I had to get out or I would go crazy! It stayed like this for quite some time, and although I managed to suffer through the days that we were home-bound, I didn't enjoy them. I counted down the minutes until Paul came home, thinking that if I didn't talk to an adult soon, I might lose all cognitive function! Ok, so I still follow him around like a puppy when he gets home- things are just better when he's around- but I no longer mentally wait at the door for him.

If I had to put it into words, I think the change began with Max's increased interest in learning and doing organized activities. When he just wanted to play pirates or Duplos with me all day, I wanted to pull my hair out. I used to feel really guilty about this. I mean, am I not supposed to love playing with my children? In moderation, I don't mind building Duplo robots or sailing the seven seas looking for treasure, but it was wearing on me. Then I suddenly realized that Max was old enough to do crafts and activities, bake with me, learn some early literacy skills... and the days began to fly by!

Now we do a "project" of some sort almost every morning. We love baking cookies and muffins, Max is memorizing the names of all of the bones in his body, we do simple "science experiments" around the house, and we are taking time to enter into the liturgical seasons. Instead of waiting for the day to end, there are many days that I feel like we can't fit everything in! Yes, we still have those days that can't end fast enough, but I can honestly say that I love being at home with my boys.

Part of me worries that when our baby girl comes, everything will be turned on its head and I'll be clawing at the doors again. But I think that maybe... maybe it's not just Max that has changed. Maybe my heart is really, truly, finally in my home. And when our baby is born, maybe this time the transition will be easier because I've discovered that everything I need to be happy (and sane) is right here. At home.

Snow Day Baking

My mom's neighbor coined a phrase this morning that perfectly describes our current experience: we are "slushed-in"! West St. Paul is usually right on top of things when it comes to plowing, but I guess they decided it wasn't really worth it today. Our alley hasn't even been touched, and that's usually the first to be cleared! So it turned into a nice, quiet day at home, watching the pretty flakes fall... and then melt as they land... turning into messy slop on the roads. Well, at least the trees are beautiful!

One of my new favorite morning activities to do with the boys is baking. I love baked goods, and the boys love getting their hands dirty. Win-win. This morning, we decided on cinnamon-vanilla scones with vanilla glaze. (drooooool...) I gathered the ingredients and utensils on the kitchen table, and we went to town! Max has become quite a good little helper, and Lucian... well... he tries. As Max carefully measured flour into the bowl, Lucian scooped it right back out with a wooden spoon. After Max whisked an egg in a measuring cup, Lucian promptly knocked the cup over, spilling egg all over the table!

I tried to include him as much as I could, but it's a little bit of a wonder our batter turned out at all. I was helping him measure a teaspoon of baking powder, but he got so frustrated that I wouldn't let him do it himself that he flung the teaspoon up in the air, half of the powder landing in our already-measured flour and sugar. I estimated the correct amounts from there and attempted to keep him at arms length until the kneading began. That he was able to do just fine! The boys "smooshed" and "lumped" the dough, and I formed and cut it. We let the scones bake, glazed them, and my oh my were they good!

In case you want to try these yourself, we found the super easy recipe here. The glaze I added was just 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with a couple tablespoons of milk (keep adding until it's the right consistency) and a splash of vanilla. We drizzled the scones with glaze after they cooled. Honestly, that was the hardest part of the whole process: waiting for the darn things to cool. But patience is a virtue... and they were worth the wait!

Lent for Little Ones

The season of Lent has officially begun, and we are all in! We began our Lenten journey with Ash Wednesday Mass and some tuna noodle casserole. (of course.) Lent has brought with it an interesting new challenge this year- I have a four year old son who asks questions about everything. I find myself fielding a continuous stream of "Why?" questions from the time he wakes up to the time he closes his eyes. Lots of his questions are easy, many of them are great, some are so silly I just fire them right back at him. Often he comes up with some pretty creative answers to his own questions.

But when it comes to questions of the faith, I try my very best to give straightforward answers that he can digest. NOT an easy task! And in a season that focuses on the suffering and death of our Savior, simple answers are even harder to come by. When he asks me, "Why did the soldiers put a crown of thorns on Jesus' head?" where do I even start? How do I explain sin and evil to a boy who still doesn't think anyone would ever purposely harm anyone?

So I'm putting it in God's hands, and I'm tossing up lots of quick prayers to the Holy Spirit for wisdom in those moments. And instead of focusing only on the pain and suffering that Jesus endured for us, we are focusing on the little things we can do to relieve His pain.

That's where this craft comes in. Together we made a Crown of Thorns, an idea that I first heard from some Catholic friends a few years ago and was reintroduced to just a few days ago. The baking directions I used are found here, and it was a simple project that both boys could be totally involved in. The idea is this: we made a braided crown out of salt dough, covered it in "thorns" (toothpicks), and baked it. Surprisingly (or maybe not...) I was the only one who managed to stab myself with a toothpick!

Throughout Lent, whenever the boys do something kind for someone or make a small sacrifice, they can remove a thorn from the crown. By Easter, we hope the thorns will all be removed, and we plan to paint the crown gold and decorate it with jewels to represent Jesus' triumph! Max is, of course, already stoked about this crown becoming a real King's crown, and every time he sees the crown he asks me for ideas of how to remove another thorn.

It's looking to be a very fruitful Lent!

Lucianese

"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?"

Right around his second birthday, Louie's language skills started to explode! However, you might not really notice it unless you're around him as much as I am, because most of his words are basically incomprehensible. I think they're adorable, I just hope he's not still talking like this as a teenager. Some of the most common new words and phrases are as follows:

mo! = no!
guk = milk
wups = grapes
eh-wul = cereal
eh-woah! = hello!
eh-go, Mama! = here you go, Mama!
ehhh-bee... = heavy
bupper = diaper
bup = bum/bottom
bop! = stop! (or 'go away!' or 'move!'... usually directed at Max)

Many of these words are used so often, they've started to creep into our daily language. Phrases like, "Do you want water or guk, Louie?" and "Let's go change your bupper!" have become commonplace. Even Max gets in on the fun, preferring to say "Mo!" instead of "No!" and "Bop!" whenever Lucian comes near his stuff.

Oh, and I almost forgot! Max's nickname has evolved from Mackie to Gax. For some reason, that is what Lucian has decided to call him, and it has stuck! He can say "Mama" and "Dada" clear as a bell, but his big brother's name is firmly ingrained as "Gax". And himself, he has dubbed  "Yay-Yay". Close enough, right?