Blessed by Ethan

My mom watched Ethan and Chezney yesterday while Danissa was in school and I was taking Cohen to get x-rays. When I came back, mom and I were chatting when Ethan walked over and sneezed right on her. She said "Ethan! Yuck! Do you know what you just did?" He said "Yeah...I blessed on you." Have you been blessed today?

Carmeled Apples and Pumpkin Painting

Last night was the annual Carmel apple melt and pumpkin paint for the kids at my sisters house. Here's a couple of the pics. The lighting isn't great in any home in the evening so bear with it....

Mini-me

Chezney's getting ready for work this morning...

Look Mommy

At the advice of my sister, I decided to post a funny story that happened a couple of days ago. We went window shopping as a family, and I saw these cute scarves in a Maurices store, so I went in to look. Mike stayed outside with the babies and the older two came in with me. Walking by the bras, Ethan said "Look mommy....you can buy some boobies!!!"....I think everyone in the store was quietly smirking....

Punkin Dada

My parents came over for a long overdue pizza and conversation. We've missed seeing them this summer/fall and tonight didn't even seem long enough. While they were here, my dad noticed the bite sized pumpkin that we have as decoration. There are a few gnaw marks in it and it's starting to wilt from the twins torment. Dad mentioned how this could be a potential choking hazard and since it's wilting anyway, I thew it in the garbage.
Later, we were getting the twins ready for bed, and then they grabbed their dirty diapers and headed to the garbage can to throw them away. (well trained, aren't they!?!) Chezney returned, diaper in one hand, and little tiny wilted pumpkin in the other. She headed Mikes way and said "Punk'in dada, punk'in!" Soooo needless to say...our little wilted pumpkin once again regained its spot on our desk as decor ;)

Sleepovers

Tonight is the first night Danissa is staying the night with a friend. Consequently, Ethan threw a huge fit and Teri was kind enough to let him stay the night with them so we are down two kids tonight. Mikes best friend from childhood is also in town so they are having a video game night and paintballing weekend which puts me down a husband, so our family of six is now down to three. We'll see how long that lasts though...I'm expecting middle of the night phone calls from two sweet but slightly attached-at-the-hip kiddos.

First Day Of Daycare

Today was the first day that the twins AND Ethan have ever set foot in a daycare. Funny enough, the twins went in great, I left and they did great, I got in the car and Ethan FELL APART. Apparently, daycare is the cool place to be now, and he was pretty upset that he had to go to school first, and THEN go to daycare. So, by the time we got to school (which is about 3 blocks away) he hadn't calmed down yet. It took a wrestling match to get him into his classroom, and the teacher had to hold him there while I pulled myself away from his grip and left. I sat outside for about 5 minutes waiting to hear reports from parents coming out of the building, on if he was settling down or not. Finally I got the go-ahead to leave and when the time finally came for him to get a ride with Cathy to daycare, he was more than happy to go....
When I came to pick them up, Ethan hid, Chezney ran to my daycare lady's husband and reached for him to hold her =( and Cohen was the only one that wanted Mommy....I've already been replaced!

Flashback

When Danissa was two years old, she was a very clear speaker and had a lot on her mind. She was rarely misunderstood and presented herself well. Sometimes I felt like I had a midget teenager. One day, when we were working on her learning to clean up after herself, I had presented a new rule...if you don't get the playroom clean in a reasonable amount of time, I will come through with a black garbage bag and anything left uncared for on the floor will go away with the garbage man. This worked for awhile....
Then one day, I sent Danissa in to clean up a rather sizable mess, and she was gone maybe two minutes at the most, when she wandered back down the hall and said "Mom....I think you might just want to go ahead and get the garbage bag....".

Eat and Tell

Mike and I were playing board games and eating Halloween candy (that will surely have to be replenished before the actual holiday) and Ethan was watching and sniffling for a piece. Finally Mike gave in but told him to keep it quiet and not tell Danissa and our honorary niece and nephew that he'd had had a piece. He knew that if they found out, all the kids would obviously want a piece of candy and we didn't want to encourage too many sugar highs in one night.
So what do you think happened? Danissa comes upstairs and Ethan immediately blurts out "I had a piece of candy!!!". Then, inevitably, Danissa asked for a piece as well. Mike decided to tell a little white lie: "It was only a bite of mine, Danissa. He barely had any." And of course, then Ethan shouts out "No I didn't! I had a whole piece all to myself!!!". Oh....the look on her face....and yet, she still never did get a piece.

Growing Up

So it finally happened. Danissa was getting out the shower and called me to help her because I always wring her hair out for her. This time, she kept the curtain drawn, reached out a hand and told me she didn't want me to see her naked but still needed my help, and took the towel from me. She dried off, wrapped the towel around herself and then stepped out to let me wring her hair out with a separate towel. As I am typing this, she's running from room to room trying to escape the other three siblings so she can change clothes in privacy....she hasn't figured out the bathroom locks yet ;)

Attack of the Desitin

Every once in awhile, I want to do little flashback stories, since I have two older children that have stories that have missed being added to this collection. My Aunt Deb just reminded me of one such story...Danissa was 2 and Ethan was only about 3 months old. One night, we put the kids to bed (in the same room) and had assumed they had fallen asleep. Mike and I were watching TV when Danissa came down the hall covered in Desitin cream. I was irritated because she had just had a bath and now she smelled horrible. Then I realized the Desitin had been in the crib. I ran to the bedroom and found Ethan with Desitin all over his face, plugging his nostrils, INSIDE his eyelids, and she had even taken out his pacifier and put it in his mouth and then replaced the pacifier. I had to call poison control and flush his eyes with water...and until the flushing started, he had slept through the entire thing! I was so furious with her that I just dealt with Ethan and let Mike take care of Danissa. Now that the years have gone by, it's more of a funny story than it had been at the time....

Saturday Morning Cartoons

The whole family was up at 6:15am which is nothing out of the ordinary...it's normally somewhere between 5:45 and 6:30 that we're up. This morning, instead of switching the channel to Playhouse Disney, Mike decided to set the TV for Cartoon Network, which the kids have rarely seen. Ethan watched completed entranced by the change of pace. After awhile, the cartoon switched and Ethan looked at Mike and said "Hey! Put the "Rat and the Cat" back on!!!"....he had been talking about Tom and Jerry =)

I added some pumpkin patch pictures if you want to scroll down....

Naughty Boy

I wanted to get some fall yard work done before it gets too damp outside to do much...so I put in a movie for the older two while the younger two slept. This is what I came in to see...perminent marker on my carpet. Ethan is in SOOO much trouble....and now we are waiting on our carpet cleaner to bail us out...

Blog addresses

*Quick note*....if you have a blog and don't see your address on the right side of my blog, please leave it for me in comments so I can get it up there! =)

The Laughter is Returning...

Two funny things happened simultaneously tonight. First, I was wrestling with Ethan and had been biting his foot. I told him I wanted a foot sandwich and asked him to go get me some bread, so giggling, he ran off to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, I turned my sights on Chezney and started playing with her. I looked up at Mike and said "I just love her so much! Her giggle is so sweet and she's so fun to play with!" Right then, Chezney clocked me square in the forehead with her sippy cup- HARD. We were both laughing at the irony of it. Then Mike remember Ethan running off to the kitchen and suggested that I go check on him and see what he's up to.

I went into the kitchen and there my clever son was...bread loaf out, a slice on the counter, and he had found a foot shaped cookie cutter and was making a foot sandwich! So funny!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we had our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Malaga. So much fun! The kids had a blast picking out the pumpkins they wanted to paint and carve and of course mom and dad got one to carve as well. I asked the kids to find me 4-5 nice decorative gourds and we ended up with a grocery bag full. Those kids just loved picking them and everytime we turned around, there they were with another colorful gourd in hand. Oh well! More to decorate with! The kids went through a corn maze and we also were able to hitch a ride on a horse-drawn wagon. We just love going there and every year it is such a great kickoff for fall. Now, Mike and I are about to sit down and have some chili, cornbread, and a great flick: White Christmas. I know...strange doing pumpkins and then watching christmas but....Bing Crosby...how can you go wrong?!?

Jailbird

While I was away at school tonight, Mike was watching the kids. He cleaned up after dinner, got them into jammies, and then tucked them into bed. He was telling me about his night and said that Danissa came out of the room to tell him that Chezney had gotten out of her crib. This being a first for her, he was a little confused and then saw Chezney walking down the hall pointing at the bedroom, like she was tattling about something. Mike went into the bedroom only to find that she had removed a screw and swung the crib wall open like a door. What a little sneak!

A Little Sentiment

I don't know....this is a little sentimental, but my my kids have spent the last two evenings with my mom, once for just a short visit, and once to be watched for a couple of hours. Both nights, I have brought them home and tucked them into bed and noticed that they smell like my moms perfume. Holding Chezney or Cohen and tucking them in smelling like my moms perfume makes me think...this was me...small and smelling like my moms perfume years ago. I don't know....totally sentimental but I know my parents would appreciate the moment ;)

Cider Works

After church, all six of us headed out to the Orondo Cider Works for some fresh apples, newly made cider, and a fun apple bin train ride. I thought it was so much fun when I had bought only two tickets for the bin train and Mike had been disappointed that the twins and us adults weren't going.....soooo I bought two more tickets (the twins were free) and all six of us loaded up into the bin train. All four kids loved it (and Mike and I had a bit of fun, too!) =) We also lucked out and were able to watch our dozen pumpkin donuts as they were placed into the deep fryer, and then put into our bag still hot. Yummmm! Isn't fall tasty?! Since I forgot my camera, I am adding a picture of Danissas class on the bin train for her 1st grade field trip to Cider Works last week.

Say What?

Ethan and I were in the car having a nice little conversation that went as follows:
Ethan: "Hey! I have an idea! Daddy is your daddy and Danissa's daddy, and I am Chezney and Cohens daddy!!!"
Me: "Do you think you're old enough to be a daddy?"
Ethan: "I'm bigger then them!"
Mom: "well....ok....but do you have a job? Are you going to pay for them? Are you going to take them to the doctor, or feed them, and change them, or get up with them at night?"
Ethan: "MOM!!! I'm not a doctor, I'm a WORKER! I have tools!"
Me: "Okay, but will you take them to the doctor when they get sick?"
*Ethan changes the subject*
Ethan: "Mom guess what?"
Me: "What?"
Ethan: "Did you know that the moon is made from throw up?"
*where did this child come from?!?!*

Apostles Creed

Danissa learned the song "Apostles Creed" in Kindergarten last year. It was so much fun watching her teach it to Ethan over the summer and now, despite it being a fairly long song with no repetitive verses, he knows it by heart.
Just imagine my joy, now, hearing Chezney singing the tune! All she can say is the beginning "I believe...." but she still mumbles the next two or three phrases with little flaw in tune (and then skips the rest of the song). Her "I believe" sounds more like "Aw bal-eee" but it's one of the most adorable things I've ever heard.

Sleepless Nights

Ethan has gotten into our bed every night for as far back as I can remember. Recently we've been telling him that he's a big boy now and his visits to our bed are going to become less frequent. Last night, I finally put my foot down and told him that I've had enough and it's time to get back in his bed. Needless to say...this didn't go over very well. After about 45 minutes of pure terrified screaming from his room, and three trips to put other kids back to sleep, Danissa and Chezney ended up in our bed. This obviously was defeating the purpose. Now we have four people in our bed and 5 people in the family awake (Cohen slept through the entire episode). Two hours later, after long talks and moving things in the room to prove they are shadows, we gave in and made a bed on the floor of our room....which lasted about 15 minutes before Ethan was back in our bed.....Maybe we'll just let him outgrow it. Last night definitely didn't get anything accomplished and it just made 5 very cranky and tired family members.

Double Trouble Strikes Again!

So it won't take my blog readers long to realize that this sort of mischief is very common in my home. Today, Cohen had an unhappy sort of leak out the side of his diaper and *so happy about this...* on my shirt. As I was in the bathroom getting him into the tub and taking care of things, I figured it's been about enough time that I should now check on Chezney. Leaving Cohen for a brief moment alone in the tub (he's 18 months mind you), I went to check on Chezney, since I had just heard a little giggle coming from my bedroom. There she was, getting into my well hidden (so I had thought) art supplies for the kids, and she had a red ink pad in hand and the red was EVERYWHERE. So...I hauled her off to the tub to join her brother. I spared myself the picture of Cohen at his worst, but here is what Chez looked like when it was all said and done....