hair like daddy

i was planning on trimming up the boys' hair tonight. maddux decided that he wanted to go short "like daddy." daddy was so moved that he wanted to do the clipping himself. well, maybe "moved" isn't the right word - "giddy" might be more appropriate. love.

before

a delighted after

ninjas ready for spring

the boys decided that they were ready to wear shorts again. if they can layer short-sleeves over long-sleeves, why not layer shorts over pants? right? mom loves to do laundry so why not double up? maddux told me that he was wearing two pairs of underwear too. just shaking my head. love.

maddux is never boring

the boys were off from preschool thursday and friday because of parent/teacher conferences (they run all day). i told them to pack up a few books and crayons to keep them busy during manning's swimming lessons. maddux thought that bug goggles were essential. love.

bugging out at swimming lessons

snow day in a snowsuit

another week in january, another day off of school. yep, another snow day. a couple of inches so we went out to play in the falling snow after breakfast. and i was able to get manning into his snowsuit! he wore his snow bibs, snow boots and winter coat. i could not talk him into the mittens though. he just wore some knit gloves and they just didn't last long for him before they were too wet and caked with snow to offer any warmth. 

it was nice to have a win. he did love how his feet stayed dry and warm in his boots. love.

sunday afternoon snooze

i never get a nap, but my bed sees some napping action every now and then. these two took a little snooze after their fun in the snow. 

i was showing these pictures to the boys after dinner. maddux thought that they were pretty cute (with an "awww") and was showing manning how he could tell that it was him.

"manning, see your shirt matches."
"no."
"yeah, see it matches the shirt you are wearing right now."
"no, it doesn't."
"what?"
"see? my hair matches."

how he recognized his hair before his shirt, i am not quite sure. love.

daddy wins

not only did daddy build the best snow wall, but he set me up for an ambush! and that is why he is the winner. love.

karate kids

this was their first week wearing their new outfits and belts (i don't know what it is called) and they could not have been more excited. i was working on stuff for sunday and missed most of the class but i got to catch maddux practicing escaping from the grasp of a much larger boy. the pictures are blurry but you can see how awesome he feels. love.

frozen friday

madelyn's school had "pajama day" today. her friends have been playing "frozen" all week, making costumes out of paper apparently, so she knew exactly which jammies she was going to wear today. and just by coincidence manning decided to wear an olaf shirt today. since "elsa made olaf" (per madelyn), we had to get a picture of the two of them (and madelyn's fancy side-braid/ponytail to make her look 'like elsa'). we didn't get any great pictures of the two of them though. love. 

"ah-ah's big day"

for some reason manning wanted to bring his monkey, "ah-ah," with us to the store. and then he wanted "ah-ah"to ride on his lap - he was quite proud of this. and he brothers were very encouraging. maddux asked excitedly, "is it ah-ah's bid day, manning? is it?" love these boys. love.

manning's first swimming lesson - finally

we finally made it. manning's first swimming lesson. we were alone in the locker room so i took a quick picture - breaking the rules - because i couldn't miss his delight (which is why the picture is so blurry). we were five minutes late (i have 24 minutes from the time madelyn gets on the bus to drive the boys to preschool, drive to the ymca and get manning stripped down and ready for swimming). and much to my surprise, there was only one other kid in the class. there are just two of them with two instructors. we lucked in to some private lessons. he had a great time and can't wait to go back again. and happily told everyone who would listen about kicking his legs and playing with toys. love.

pretty snow

the past two days have had such pretty snowfalls - big flakes, steady and sticky/wet. not even half an inch fell yesterday so i let manning go stand in the falling snow when it was time to go pick up the boys. he was pretty excited about it. generally, he doesn't get to be in the snow because he refuses to wear the clothing items that would keep him from getting soaked.

but today, today we had a beautiful three inches. madelyn had to go to school when there was about an inch on the ground. the boys and i were able to enjoy watching the snow fall all morning. i offered to take them out in the falling snow, but they opted to wait until after lunch (i think they were happy to keep wearing their jammies).

i never get tired of looking out the window at a fresh snow.

every time i get the kids ready to go out in the snow (snow pants, waterproof gloves, heavy coats, etc.), manning and i disagree about what it good for him to wear until he cries and goes to his room to take a nap instead. today, i decided that he could wear whatever he wants - although i did explain that wearing his favorite shoes would mean that he could not wear them later in the day. he could not have been happier! seriously, the kid thought running around int he snow was the greatest thing ever! until he realized that he was wet, cold and in pain that is... he went inside crying and had peeled off all of his outerwear by the time i got into the house after him. and then he went to sleep. we will see if it was a lesson learned the next time i suggest snow gear.

the big boys and i were outside for at least two hours. they were quite the riot. they were pelting each other with snow, rolling in it, running all over and laughing almost the entire time. you would have thought that they would have fought or cried watching them play so rough, but they were having the best time. while they played, i shoveled. and shoveled. being on a corner is great until it comes to clearing snow! we have a snow blower, but i don't quite know how to work it and the shovel is slower and gives the kids more time to play. the city snow plow driver must have felt bad for me because he said, "i can't clear the whole thing but i can help you out a little," and then cleared the bottom of our driveway! that is always the worst part because it is usually heavily iced and high with snow because of the road being cleared.

before we headed in, i snapped a quick picture of the happy two boys. love.

we all make mistakes

lest you think that i have it all together by the way i only post events that are picture worthy (i mean really, who takes pictures of failures), here is a shining moment of failure. and i would have a picture, but you aren't allowed to use cameras or phones in the locker room...

so manning is super, super excited to have his first swimming lesson. he was really sad when his first one was cancelled due to weather and gets sad that he doesn't get to swim with the big boys when they go to lessons on tuesdays. we were both really excited last thursday when he was actually going to get to have his first lesson! he was telling (and showing) me that he was going to kick his legs.

the plan was for me to drop him off for his lesson in the 'small pool' and then i would swim laps in the 'large pool' while i waited for him - only 30 minutes. wednesday night i packed up all of our swim supplies (suits, swim diapers, towels, etc.) and shower gear for afterwards before double-checking the lesson time. i had it in my head that lessons were at 9am so i was really glad that i double-checked because the calendar showed 9:45am and then i confirmed that there were adult laps open during his class. yes, we were all set.

in the morning we got everyone off to school and were at the ymca by 9:05am. since we were pretty early, we went up to the "block room" where they have lots of foam blocks for the little ones to play. we had the place to ourselves and manning was a little sad to leave for swimming until i told him that it was time for swimming and he couldn't get down there fast enough.

i was a little embarrassed to sit on the bleachers and wait for class in my suit since all of the other parents would be dressed, but was excited to get to swim a few laps. he was just beaming in his suit and with his towel draped around his neck. i wanted to take a picture but remembered that i couldn't take one in the locker room and had no pockets to take my phone with me to the pool since i was wearing a swimsuit too. i would just have to get one after class.

when we went out of the locker room to the pool, i saw that all of the parents were in suits.  what are the chances that all of the other parents planned on swimming laps? not great. and then i thought that maybe this was a mommy and me style class and i had just missed that in the description. possibly. yes, this was a mommy and me class, just not ours. we had missed his class! it was at 9am. somehow it was wrong on my calendar. i was just relieved that he didn't cry as we left. we were both very disappointed as we took off our dry suits and bundled back up to head into the cold.

oh well. at least i won't get the time wrong next week! love.

tuesday tip - getting rid of "that smell"

so i have been meaning to post this one for a while. it is so simple. do you have clothes (usually from the gym) or towels (usually from being towels) that have "that smell"? the one that is somewhere between corn chips and mildew? then you have to at least try this before you toss them.

add one cup of white vinegar to your wash instead of detergent and run at your hottest water temperature. my washer has a "sanitary" cycle that i use for this but i have also had success in a regular cycle and "hot" water setting. and that is it. dry them and let your nose be amazed. here are the complete instructions, if you think this sounds too easy. love.

wreck it ralph

wreck it ralph was such a hit the other night when we watched it as a family that they asked to watch it again today. i think they liked it. love.

dressed for danger

our little ninjas finally got their 'outfits' today. they were pretty excited! love.

snow markers

the kids talked me into going out after madelyn got home from school to try their snow markers. i tired to talk them into waiting for fresh snow, but they could not wait a single moment longer. i wasn't super impressed with these 'markers' but the kids had a great time coloring up the yard. love.

cutie olaf

we were just waiting for the big boys to start swimming lessons and i looked over and saw this cutie grinning away. this is the most winter gear he is willing to wear - even on the below zero days. (well, he will put on gloves on occasion.) he really loves his olaf hat! love.

snow on a snow day!

the kids have been waiting and waiting for this day - a 'snow day' where it actually snowed and they could play in it! the weather was rain to snow this morning with a decent ice accumulation (which is why school was cancelled) but then there was at least two inches of fresh snow on top of that - and it was warm enough to be outside.

once again, manning opted for a nap after lunch instead of putting on gear to go outside. that silly boy.

the rest of us headed out for some fun! i am not an expert on snow but i think today was pretty perfect snow conditions. it was super 'sticky' without being slush. it rolled off the yard like a carpet - just look at the trail maddux made down to the grass!

the kids made way more snowmen than i could photograph (i was shoveling the snow and ice off the driveway and sidewalk). they kept building them and then destroying them. and having a blast!

the boys were just rolling snow boulders (i think they had at least eight at one point). when i went to take their picture, i realized that this arrangement looked a little like a mouse - totally unintentional.

it was really nice to have a snow day to spend outside for a change. love.

snuggle bugs

this picture isn't great, but the moment was too sweet not to share. manning and maddux were watching cartoons (and 'reading' maddux' new look and find book) in the morning - a snow day from school. they were snuggled together and maddux was resting his head on manning's shoulder. these two love each other so much. love.

getting comfortable

madelyn liked my suggestion to read her book while warming up with some hot chocolate. when she finished warming up, i found her like this. i suggested that she might be more comfortable on the couch or in her bed with a blanket, but she said she was fine like she was - without looking up from her book. this series has been so much fun! she has been reading them and i have been listening to the audio version while cleaning, cooking, etc. so that we can discuss them. it is the whatever after series from scholastic - a girl and her brother go into fairy tales, mess them up and then try to fix them. we got her the box set of the first five books for christmas (there is a sixth based on frozen/ice queen that we just ordered and a seventh releasing this year). i would recommend it to any other little readers. love.

hitting the snow

we have had a few inches of snow on the ground for a while, but the weather has just been SO cold that they haven't been able to get out and play in it at all. this has been a major bummer after getting a new sled, snow forms and snow markers for christmas. but today was going to be warm enough to have a little fun. (manning chose to take a nap instead. he absolutely refuses to wear warm clothes - he just doesn't think it is cold out. crazy kid!)

the big kids had a wonderful time and played until the sun started to go down (because then it just got really cold). the snow was still a little too dry for packing or snowballs, but they did manage to get a few snow bricks to come out of the forms - and then kicked them to bits. love. 

karate kids

if i haven't mentioned it before, mason wants to be a ninja. really. maddux, being influenced by his big brother, also thinks that being a ninja is pretty awesome. ever since seeing his cousin breaking boards in her martial arts class, mason has been asking to go to karate.  we put him off during soccer season, because he had soccer. but without a sport this winter, he has picked up his requests.

i remembered seeing a flier on karate at church and picked one up. both boys could go to class together on saturdays and i could use that time to work on preparing our hallway ready for sunday morning - it was a win-win.

today was going to be their first class. or was it? with madelyn's swimming lessons cancelled, we weren't too sure if karate would be held or not.  we took a leap of faith and headed out. yes, class would go on as planned! the boys grinned the entire time. they were beside themselves with joy at the whole experience. i only saw the first and last 15 minutes - because i went to do my work. after class i asked them what their favorite part was and mason said that he was having so much fun that the entire class was his favorite.

i did get a few videos of them kicking and punching, but they have asked that i not show anyone. they want to keep their training a secret. like true ninjas. love.

another home day

and the call came at 5:30am - no school today either! poor daddy doesn't get a day off of work and he had to make a very long drive today. boo. i felt a little guilty about getting to sleep in and hang out at home all safe and warm. today was a little more low key after all of yesterday's excitement. we played, painted, made soft pretzels and watched a few movies.

not having grown up with the possibility of "snow days," i was not familiar with all of the rituals required in creating a day off from school. first comes the wearing of pjs inside out and backwards. the kids have been doing this for four days now. i guess madelyn's teacher suggested it and she shared this wisdom with her brothers. second is flushing ice cubes down the toilet. apparently, one of madelyn's classmates flushed a popsicle and not an ice cube on tuesday night and that is why they had school on wednesday - it only works with ice cubes. next come a whole list of others that they covered on the news last night - a penny under your pillow, a spoon under your pillow, running around your kitchen table backwards, etc. who knew?

it did occur to me that the kids went four or five weeks after christmas break before they had a full five-days of school last year because of weather and holidays. so we will see what next week brings us. tomorrow is going to be by far the coldest, -20 with wind chill at 8am. we just got a call canceling swimming lessons for madelyn in the morning.

it is nice to be told to stay home and warm. love.

too cold!

yesterday afternoon, as i was waiting for the bus to bring madelyn home, the school district cancelled school for today. madelyn skipped all the way into the house after i shared the good news. we had a feeling that it might be coming this week since the wind chills were below zero. and the kids and i had big plans. the house was clean, we were well stocked on groceries and there were lots of christmas gifts to still be explored. staying home was not a problem at all. the only bummer was that today was going to manning's first ever swimming lesson. oh well. next week.

the kids all let me sleep until 8am - which was a very rare (like never) and wonderful occurrence. i had told them that i would make them anything they wanted for breakfast. they came up with "muffins on a pancake." so i baked two dozen banana chocolate chip muffins and a triple batch or oat bran chocolate chip pancakes to feed the masses. they told me it was like having an edible plate (although i still insisted on a real plate under their pancake plates). 

then we got out several art and science kits and got to work.

madelyn's crystal growing set is pretty involved and she will have to wait a week to see if we have been successful. she was very excited about the safety glasses and wore them most of the day.

madelyn made this play dough 'honeycomb' but the really impressive part is the "honey bear" above it that she made without any reference. it has been at least a year, and more likely longer, since we have had a honey bear in the house.

we had three hot meals, fresh cookies and baked apples for dessert too. a very satisfying day at home. not to mention that it was a cloudless, sunny day outside. but will they have school tomorrow? love.

frozen at school

back to school with head to toe frozen apparel. love.