A Whistle and a Striped Shirt

I've decided that I may embark on a new fashion statement for mothers of more than one child: referee attire. It isn't news to me that neither of my children are the "laid back" type, but the amount of wrangling over toys is astounding. Jonathan loves Caleb dearly, and always seems to want Caleb's participation in play time. However, he wants Caleb's participation on his terms. Caleb wants to grab and destroy any attempts at imaginative play. Result: frustration, yelling, pushing...

And, so it goes: my job as a mother AND referee AND all sorts of other things.

I take solace in the fact that countless generations of children before mine have fought and fought, and still remained friends (my sister and I, as a perfect example). I remember picking on her endlessly, just for the fun of it. Definitely not very nice. We are now the best of friends. I'm praying the same for my two munchkins. I'm also praying for lots of patience.

And, possibly a whistle for desperate times.

The Kitchen

In the humdrum of winter I entirely forgot to post about the completion of the boys' kitchen. We finished it in February, and it has had many "meals" prepared on the stove and lots of dishes "washed" in the sink since then.

Before

The dishwasher and sink

The oven and stovetop

Their kitchen, overlooking a picturesque scene on a golf course.

We decided against putting curtains on the window and a couple of other things that would have made it a little "girlier". The boys love to cook, and Jamie wanted to make sure this was a boys' kitchen.

Thanks to Cassie's blog for the great idea!!

Sarah

ALLI!

We had several visitors two weeks ago... Grandpa Maynard and Grandma Judy and the wonderful, fabulous, playmate Alli. Jonathan has said multiple times, "I think that my friend, Alli, should come and see us again, soon."

A fast and furious game of Zingo

Alli and Caleb

Jonathan and Alli making "objects"

Signs of Spring

Several signs of spring have emerged:

~ We have spent several nights this week conversing with our neighbors in the front yard. We have to reconnect every spring after not having seen them all winter. (the weather over the weekend has been dismal, but it looks to improve soon)

~ We play outside AFTER dinner. It is still daylight outside at 7:00pm and this is delightful.

~ We observed some flies, a wasp and a mosquito outside today. The downside to warmer weather: our insect friends.

~ There are buds on the trees.

~ All of the wonderful array of jellybeans are in stores in anticipation of Easter. We love jellybeans!

Welcome spring!!!

Jamie's parents and niece, Alli, visited last weekend and I have lots of photos to post from the fun time with them. I also have some other random photos, and I'll try to get them posted soon.

Much betterly

Jonathan uses the "ly" on the end of words pretty well, but he has added an "ly" to the end of a phrase where it doesn't fit.

"I'm going to do this much betterly, Mom."

Good try, kiddo. However, it's too adorable to correct.

Today was an amazing 70 degree day and we had a wonderful time at the park, the library, on a walk... spring is coming!!

Golf, Wrestling and Store

Grampie and Grammie are willing participants in most games that the boys dream up to play. The weekend included games of "store", wrestling matches and some golf practice in the front yard.

Happy Birthday, Grampie!

Grampie and Grammie came a week and a half ago to visit for a few days and to celebrate Grampie's birthday. Jonathan, as previously stated, thinks the best part about birthdays is the cake. Grampie got to have two birthday cakes: one play dough cake made with love by Jonathan and one from the Cupcakery.

The deliciously edible cupcake

Handcrafted birthday cake with straws for candles