Bedtime Biology Lessons, and Other Conversations

M has been wearing this "hat" pretty much non stop for a week now

M: When John Paul comes out, then what baby you have in your tummy?
Ash: Um, no babies. That's kind of the point. At least for a while!
upon reflection I realized I have been pregnant for half of his life, and for 18+ of the last 24 months... so yeah, I guess it would seem like the status quo for him

playing with the dregs of his cereal
M: Look Mama, I'm stirring this into bread! Just like you!
(yep, if I'm mixing something in a bowl bread is a good guess!)

while I'm on my way out the door to teach a class
M: Bye! Have a good class! I love you! Be careful! There's a lot of bumps outside, you better be careful of the bumps!

at bedtime tonight, after songs when he is supposed to be cuddling quietly
M: Mama, snuggle me on my bed.
Ash: I can't lie on your bed right now, John Paul is in the way. Soon I'll be able to lie on your bed again.
M: When John Paul gets out?
Ash: Yes, when John Paul gets out.
M: after thinking for a moment Who's in Daddy's tummy?
Ash: Daddy doesn't have anyone in his tummy.
M: Not big boys, but little boys?
Ash: No, boys can't have babies in their tummies. Only mamas have babies in their tummies.
M: Who's in Grandma's tummy?
Ash: Grandma doesn't have a baby in her tummy.
M: Who's in Dene's tummy?
Ash: Can you tell me?
M: No you tell me.
Ash: Baby Rosser is in Dene's tummy!
M: in his most incredulous tone Baby Rosser?! And who's in your tummy?
Ash: You know who's in my tummy!
M: No you know.
Ash: John Paul is in my tummy.
M: in the same incredulous tone John Paul?!
Ash: Okay Michael, it's time to be quiet and go to sleep now.
M: And who's in trains?
Ash: Goodnight Michael.

Liam would like you to know that he says things every bit as clever/funny/ridiculous as Michael does,
and it is not his fault that no one understands him beyond "Da!" and "Toh!"

Because I am a dutiful wife...

Alex told me the other day that his only complaint about my blog is that I don't post enough pictures of myself.

So. Because I am a dutiful wife who does what she is told, and because I have not posted any bump pictures this pregnancy, I present to you a blurry phone selfie:

Yeah... not the best. But I had to take advantage of a mirror large enough for the purpose which did not reflect a huge mess of my own making (which has ruled out all mirrors at home for the last couple months).

I much prefer this one from Christmas:

Baby at 29 weeks = so much more flattering (and comfortable!) than baby at 37 weeks!  Also, I feel like this picture does a good job of communicating our family life right now.  Busy toddler, goofy preschooler, lots of work, lots of joy.

Attention Deficit Nesting

So, Jen is hosting another 7 posts in 7 days challenge.  I had a lot of fun doing this last year, but I also wasn't bumping (get it?) up against my due date while trying to write a post every day last year.  But I figure I have at least 7 pictures/videos/stories of the boys that I've been meaning to post, so if all else fails I can just throw up a picture or a couple Michael quotes each day and call it good.

Since pregnancy has been a leetle all-consuming lately (am I going into labor? was that a real contraction? this is my 3rd baby, why am I still asking these questions? why haven't I packed my hospital bag? why don't the boys have any clean clothes to pack in their overnight bag?), I'll start the week off with a confession: I suffer from Attention Deficit Nesting (ADN).  Allow me to demonstrate (with pictures from last weekend... because I intended to write this post 9 days ago... but... ADN. So there.)

This is what I initially saw and intended to deal with when we got home from getting groceries.

Not pictured: a floor in desperate need of sweeping and mopping, and groceries needing to be put away.

This also needed immediate attention: homework to grade for all three of my Biblical School classes, as well as midterm quizzes to grade for two of classes, as well as lectures to be planned for the upcoming week.  All of which needed to be completed ASAP because my sister was arriving the following day for a quick visit and I didn't want to waste any of my precious time with her grading homework!

Also crying out for attention: clean laundry to be folded.

Not pictured: piles of dirty laundry on my bedroom floor waiting to be washed.

Also not pictured: three bathrooms in rather desperate need of cleaning (you're welcome).

What I decided to do first: organize the spice cupboard.  Why?  I don't know.  I had been meaning to organize it ever since I unpacked the spices and tossed them in there rather haphazardly when we moved in.  Was it pretty?  Not particularly.  Was it functional?  Absolutely.  Was the reorg necessary?  Absolutely not.  But wow did it feel nice to have an organized spice cupboard when I was done.

And then I cleaned the kitchen.  And I did clean the bathrooms, too (before Dene' arrived, don't worry).  And the laundry got folded (eventually).  And the grading got done (more or less on time).

And now I am operating off a very long and detailed to-do list of everything I can think of that needs to happen (or should happen, or I want to happen) before John Paul arrives.  And by the grace of God and with a lot of help from Alex I am somehow crossing things off the list slightly faster than I am adding to it.  Hooray!

Okay, tune in tomorrow for... something.

Bob the Cow, and Other Conversations

At dinner the other night:
M: What is Liam eating?
Ash: Cheese.
M: Where the cheese come from?
Ash: From this bag right here.
M: But where the cheese come from?
Alex: From a cow.
M: A cow?
Alex: Yes, a cow.  He came to our door during nap time to drop off the cheese.
M: What cow?
Alex: (ignoring the "what in the world are you telling our son?!" looks)  Bob.  Bob the cow.
M: Bob the cow?
Alex: Yes, Bob the cow.  But he didn't come in.  This is a house, not a barn.

a few minutes later, after a change of topic
M: (to Ash) What the cow's name?
Ash: completely loses it
M: Why is Mama crying?
Alex: She's not crying, she's laughing.
M: Why?
Ash: Never mind.

At Mass the next day:
M: (pointing at a boy a couple pews ahead) What's his name?
Alex: I don't know his name. He's a little boy just like you.
M: What's the cow's name?

Overheard while Michael was playing with his castle, knight and horse:
"We are knights!" "You are knights?"  "Yes we are. We save princesses!"
"Hello princesses! We are your emergency!"

(I have no idea where the princess-saving mentality came from--maybe the influence of our female cousin friends?--but right on, buddy)

While getting situated in the car this morning:
Ash: Michael, I need you to buckle up, please.
M: No, you do it!
Ash: Pretty soon Mama's going to have three boys to buckle into car seats, and I need your help because you're the biggest!
M: Mama, please meet John Paul now?
Ash: No, we can't meet John Paul right now.
M: Oh, he's still a little bit little?
Ash: Yes, he's still too little to come out.  (and labor was totally not in the game plan for today... a couple more weeks buddy, then you can all meet each other)

In the middle of a conversation about how he's a big boy and needs to be going potty in his potty chair and not in his pull-up:
M: Please climb the wall? (as he hugs the corner of the wall and tries to find a foothold)

7 Quick Takes (vol. 34)

--- 1 ---

All day yesterday I kept thinking "I need to grab my camera and get my Theme Thursday shot... in like, five minutes."  Finally after dinner I grabbed my camera and enlisted Alex's help to get the boys to pose (ha!) for my perfect barn shot.  Nope.

Castle > Barn

Rare moment of attention for the barn aaaaaaaaaand Liam photo bomb

They just kept moving too dang fast for me to get the shot I wanted (I don't even know exactly what I wanted, but it was going to look more like art and less like a snapshot of my kids playing on the floor).

Poor, neglected barn.

But I was determined.  I had been planning on this all day, and by golly I was going to get a Theme Thursday picture no matter what--even if I ended up with just some plain ol' shot with the barn in the background without any composition or whatnot.  Does that totally defeat the purpose, to take a picture just for the sake of taking a picture?

Who cares, linking up with Cari a day late anyway because I still can!  (Besides, cute kids=win regardless of composition or lack thereof).

--- 2 ---

What's that you say?  It's cheating to use a quick take to link up with another link up?  Too bad.  I also thought of designating five of the takes as my favorites and linking up with Hallie just to make myself feel even more accomplished and productive, but I resisted the temptation.  This time.

--- 3 ---

The castle which so obviously trumps the barn for current plaything of choice (for both boys) is a new addition to our household, thanks to Michael's recent 3rd birthday.  It's a Mike the Knight castle, and our little Michael the Knight-Superhero-Drummer-Boy has hardly stopped playing with it since he got (thank you Kari, Josh & Abby!)  

The only drawback is that it makes noises.  Lots of noises.  Lots of loud noises.  The box advertises 20 sound effects, and I'm not sorry to admit that we didn't leave it turned on long enough to experience the full range.  I was doing dishes in the kitchen (obviously, where else does one generally do dishes?) while Michael was playing with his castle two rooms away, and I felt like it was too loud for me.  After 20 minutes of hearing "Be a knight and do it right!" shouted at the top of Mike the Knight's mechanical lungs I decided that if Mike couldn't use his inside voice then he just needed to do it right by doing it silently.  

Michael took the no-fun-mommy decision very graciously, I'm thankful to say.

--- 4 ---

And yes, Liam does have a black eye in that last picture.  And no, no one punched him--just one of the hazards of being mobile.  Last Friday he fell and hit his eye right on the corner of one of the several boxes still decorating our den.  His brow was red and really swollen that first night (and he violently resisted all attempts to mitigate the damage with ice), and it has turned various shades of awful since then.  I think he looks like quite the hooligan with his little black eye.  And I'm also afraid to take him out in public and be judged until it fades even more... 

--- 5 ---

The previously unforeseen dangers of the handful of boxes still waiting to be unpacked may or may not have triggered some much-needed nesting this week.  Or at least some thoughts of nesting.  Honestly, the stupid nesting instinct just feels like a cruel joke right now.  There are things that need to get done.  I want to get them done.  But I have absolutely zero energy to get them done.  How totally unfair is it to have the desire but not the motivation?  Does that even make sense?

Today my half-baked nesting instinct manifested itself by inspiring me to start at least three desperately needed projects and then quit about five minutes into each one.  One of those projects was laundry... whoops.  Thankfully Alex had the day off and took charge of all three meals today, so at least we've been eating.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of lack of follow-through...something, something, segue... I had a really productive day Wednesday, including baking bread, folding laundry, play date with some friends (and therefore actually getting dressed and putting on makeup), cleaning the kitchen, doing some grading for class, and probably making dinner (although I don't remember what it was).  And then Thursday I felt absolutely and completely incapable of doing anything, and so I pretty much didn't.  Obviously I need to pace myself on the whole productivity thing.

--- 7 ---

We have our oldest niece for a sleepover tonight, and I feel a little guilty.  It's supposed to be some special godparent/goddaughter bonding time, but mostly I feel like I have a free babysitter.  I told Alex I think we need an eight year old, and his response was that that in five years we will have an eight year old... and a six year old, and a five year old, and probably a two year old and a one year old.  Not what I meant, and not helpful.  Not at all.

Go see Jen and the rest for more Quick Takes!  
Happy Friday :)