My kids talk in their sleep. There. That's my nightmare. It kind of freaks me out! But in all seriousness they have conversations in their sleep. Mollie scolds her dollies in her sleep, Nikki argues with her friends, and it's really funny when they can hear each other because they sometimes argue with each other when they are asleep (not realizing they are arguing with a sleeping person while they themselves are asleep......yeah it's weird). It actually freaked out one of our babysitters. The first time she baby sat for us the kids went down to bed like a half hour after we left.
Then it began.
Let's just say she was a little reluctant to come back the next time. They thought our kids were possessed.
The only one who doesn't really talk in their sleep is Lukas. He occasionally will say something, but nothing to the extent of Nikki and Mollie. So last night when he started talking it took me a while to realize that he wasn't asleep. It started with a
"Daaaaad?"
and me half asleep trying to make sense of the whole thing. "Go to bed Lukas."
"But Dad, um, can you come and cuddle me?"
Me still half asleep, "No, it's time to go to bed."
"OK"
silence
a few minutes later, and with a little more desperation in his voice, "Dad can you PLEASE cuddle with me?"
Ok something is up, and I thought, I bet he's scared. Now Lukas is a tough kid. He won't just come right out and say that he's scared, or hurt physically or emotionally. You have to ask him directly, and even then he won't always say it. So I went and picked him up and we went and cuddled and I asked him if he was scared.
"Well, yeah, just a little bit."
"Did you have a nightmare?"
nods
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
nods
"There was a monster, and the monster was going to eat Molls (his nickname for Mollie)."
"Really, what did you do?"
"I punched the monster in the face and he died!"
"Wow, did you save Mollie?"
Nods
"Were you scared?"
Nods
"And you killed the monster anyway?"
"Yeah, and then Mollie was safe."
The thing that is really significant here, is that Lukas isn't scared of Monsters. Well, not anymore. When he was two Monsters Inc scared the living crap out of him. But now he loves em and is not scared at all. What scared him was Mollie getting eaten. He absolutely loves that little girl so much. She is his best friend, amigo, buddy, whatever. Sure they fight, but they play so well together. He is an AWESOME big brother!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
This just in....
So I was in the middle of writing a post on how Lukas is pretty much resistant to pain, when Mollie happened. Here is the scenario.
The kids were watching Dinosaur Train in our Living Room/Kitchen/Playroom (Student housing). Mollie had found a green elastic workout band thing and had begun to flick it back and forth, annoying Lukas but generally harmless....but not really. I did not realize that she had put a glass of milk on the TV stand and was trying to whip it off with her elastic (no more Indiana Jones for the kids...not that they watch that or anything......sorry Kara).
The problem happened when she finally succeeded, and milk went FLYING everywhere. On the TV, the DVD player, the Rocku, the VCR (yes we still have one. You wouldn't believe the video selection at Deseret Industries), and all over the floor. Mollie screams out "My MILK!" And I inwardly scream a swear word. I grab a rag and begin cleaning up, and Mollie comes up to me and says "Daddy, can I have some more milk?"
The kids were watching Dinosaur Train in our Living Room/Kitchen/Playroom (Student housing). Mollie had found a green elastic workout band thing and had begun to flick it back and forth, annoying Lukas but generally harmless....but not really. I did not realize that she had put a glass of milk on the TV stand and was trying to whip it off with her elastic (no more Indiana Jones for the kids...not that they watch that or anything......sorry Kara).
The problem happened when she finally succeeded, and milk went FLYING everywhere. On the TV, the DVD player, the Rocku, the VCR (yes we still have one. You wouldn't believe the video selection at Deseret Industries), and all over the floor. Mollie screams out "My MILK!" And I inwardly scream a swear word. I grab a rag and begin cleaning up, and Mollie comes up to me and says "Daddy, can I have some more milk?"
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Lukas scored a goal!
A lot has happened. Christmas, New Years, a new semester, all that fun stuff, and right now we are back in the thrill of things. I know this is a stupid excuse for not writing, because I see this on so many blogs (like I actually read them) but the excuse of being so busy. I could use that excuse but in reality I've actually just been lazy with writing. I kind of didn't want to do it for a while so I didn't. There I said it. I feel better.
To make this easier for me, I am trying to do shorter blog posts, so I don't have to mull over every sentence and try and make everything witty. Sometimes when I write I use a voice in my head, not actual voices, it's actually my thoughts but I think them in the voice of someone else. It's usually Jim Gaffigan's but for some strange reason tonight it's the fat guy's from modern family. I don't know his actual name but I think he's funny. So while you are reading this, imagine it's him reading it to you.
So we signed Lukas up for Soccer. It's a really fun league where they spend the first twenty minutes having a practice and teaching them some fundamentals (like kicking the ball, very important I must say). After that they have a thirty minute game, and when I say game, I mean a free for all where the ball occasionally lands in the net if it doesn't accidentally hit the "goalie" at the time. It's the whole swarm mentality with the exception that no one is working together. At least that is how it was the first few times. Lately the players have noticed that there are other players on their team, and have kind of helped each other out, or at least have stopped stealing the ball from them.... sometimes.
Lukas is halfway through the "season" and he was getting real discouraged because up until today none of his kicks have managed to find themselves in the goal, despite the fact that he has told me multiple times that he is the best soccer player ever. But today, today was the day of miracles. It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was... good timing.
Here's how it all went down. 30 seconds were left in the game, the score was... tied, and it was time to sub in new players (they sub every two minutes so the kids can rest and watch Despicable Me on my Microsoft Surface). The red opposing team (Lukas is on Green, the Sharks is their official mascot, we call him Jaws) has just finished substitutions and the game has started, but they have come to an impasse as to who will play goalie. No one on the red team is willing to sacrifice their last few minutes of soccer time to play goalie. The whistle is blown, the game begins, and the red team is still arguing, with the ball right in front of the goal. Lukas sees his opportunity, and ever so quietly (like a Shark) runs full throttle towards the ball and kicks it into the goal, without any opposition, or goalie. The red team is absolutely stunned and shocked, and from the opposite end of the field, the crowd of onlooking parents and fan (Mollie) explode in applause and congratulations. Lukas turns towards the noise, waves, and suddenly realizes his goal counted. He jumps up and down, ecstatic, runs over to me just as the whistle is blown, ending the game. Lukas calls his mom, triumphant and confident, and proclaims "Hey Mom, guess what? I scored! That's all, now you can talk to Daddy."
To make this easier for me, I am trying to do shorter blog posts, so I don't have to mull over every sentence and try and make everything witty. Sometimes when I write I use a voice in my head, not actual voices, it's actually my thoughts but I think them in the voice of someone else. It's usually Jim Gaffigan's but for some strange reason tonight it's the fat guy's from modern family. I don't know his actual name but I think he's funny. So while you are reading this, imagine it's him reading it to you.
So we signed Lukas up for Soccer. It's a really fun league where they spend the first twenty minutes having a practice and teaching them some fundamentals (like kicking the ball, very important I must say). After that they have a thirty minute game, and when I say game, I mean a free for all where the ball occasionally lands in the net if it doesn't accidentally hit the "goalie" at the time. It's the whole swarm mentality with the exception that no one is working together. At least that is how it was the first few times. Lately the players have noticed that there are other players on their team, and have kind of helped each other out, or at least have stopped stealing the ball from them.... sometimes.
Lukas is halfway through the "season" and he was getting real discouraged because up until today none of his kicks have managed to find themselves in the goal, despite the fact that he has told me multiple times that he is the best soccer player ever. But today, today was the day of miracles. It was amazing, it was brilliant, it was... good timing.
Here's how it all went down. 30 seconds were left in the game, the score was... tied, and it was time to sub in new players (they sub every two minutes so the kids can rest and watch Despicable Me on my Microsoft Surface). The red opposing team (Lukas is on Green, the Sharks is their official mascot, we call him Jaws) has just finished substitutions and the game has started, but they have come to an impasse as to who will play goalie. No one on the red team is willing to sacrifice their last few minutes of soccer time to play goalie. The whistle is blown, the game begins, and the red team is still arguing, with the ball right in front of the goal. Lukas sees his opportunity, and ever so quietly (like a Shark) runs full throttle towards the ball and kicks it into the goal, without any opposition, or goalie. The red team is absolutely stunned and shocked, and from the opposite end of the field, the crowd of onlooking parents and fan (Mollie) explode in applause and congratulations. Lukas turns towards the noise, waves, and suddenly realizes his goal counted. He jumps up and down, ecstatic, runs over to me just as the whistle is blown, ending the game. Lukas calls his mom, triumphant and confident, and proclaims "Hey Mom, guess what? I scored! That's all, now you can talk to Daddy."
Monday, November 25, 2013
Potty Training Mollie
I've been putting it off, and putting it off, and secretly hoping that Kara will do it while I'm away on a race. But no such luck. It is time to teach Mollie how to consistently use the potty.
I don't remember anything of potty training the first two kids, because I didn't do it. I came home from work/school and Kara had done it. I was in more of a supporting role at the time. I put Nikki and Lukas on the potty when they needed to go, but the hard part was done, and that was these two communicating when they needed to go, and them figuring out that they need to go, before they are in the act of going.
This is where I stand with Mollie. In Puddles. Four of them to be exact, in our living room. I had a plan this morning, started off by a huge success by Mollie herself. She started by taking off her pajamas by herself (half the battle) then her diaper, and then sitting on the potty and pooping four little turds by herself this morning. My wife was so proud of her that she gave her a sticker and put her in big girl panties to start the day off, which starts me off on a worrisome day.
My plan was to put Mollie on the potty every 30 minutes whether she needed to go or not. It worked the first time, and she actually peed. She was so excited. Almost as excited as she was this morning when she pooped. She was very proud. She called in Lukas and Nikki to show off what she had done. Nikki played the part well and so did Lukas, both congratulating their little sister on her success.
The success was short lived.
Here we are now, Mollie is back in a diaper, because all of her panties are now wet. I tried the whole put them on every half hour, but I think Mollie was on to me, because she would wet her panties every 25 minutes. So I moved it to every 25 minutes, and she pees at 20 minutes. Her bladder is against me.
The hard thing is that she really wants to go on the potty, she knows how to do it, she knows how to wipe, and she washes her hands. She knows everything about the potty, except for recognizing when she actually needs to pee, until she's actually peeing. She'll get there though, but not today, because I have some laundry to do.
I don't remember anything of potty training the first two kids, because I didn't do it. I came home from work/school and Kara had done it. I was in more of a supporting role at the time. I put Nikki and Lukas on the potty when they needed to go, but the hard part was done, and that was these two communicating when they needed to go, and them figuring out that they need to go, before they are in the act of going.
This is where I stand with Mollie. In Puddles. Four of them to be exact, in our living room. I had a plan this morning, started off by a huge success by Mollie herself. She started by taking off her pajamas by herself (half the battle) then her diaper, and then sitting on the potty and pooping four little turds by herself this morning. My wife was so proud of her that she gave her a sticker and put her in big girl panties to start the day off, which starts me off on a worrisome day.
My plan was to put Mollie on the potty every 30 minutes whether she needed to go or not. It worked the first time, and she actually peed. She was so excited. Almost as excited as she was this morning when she pooped. She was very proud. She called in Lukas and Nikki to show off what she had done. Nikki played the part well and so did Lukas, both congratulating their little sister on her success.
The success was short lived.
Here we are now, Mollie is back in a diaper, because all of her panties are now wet. I tried the whole put them on every half hour, but I think Mollie was on to me, because she would wet her panties every 25 minutes. So I moved it to every 25 minutes, and she pees at 20 minutes. Her bladder is against me.
The hard thing is that she really wants to go on the potty, she knows how to do it, she knows how to wipe, and she washes her hands. She knows everything about the potty, except for recognizing when she actually needs to pee, until she's actually peeing. She'll get there though, but not today, because I have some laundry to do.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
It's All You!
There was nothing to read in the bathroom, except one of Kara's magazines, All You. We got it for free because I ordered something manly like Sports Illustrated, or Home Handyman, or Outdoor Photographer. But I picked it up and I started to flip through it.
One of the reasons why this was the only thing in the bathroom is because I just barely cleaned it and when I clean I usually throw out any magazines left in the bathroom. With Lukas starting to stand up while he pees, and Mollie potty training herself, this is a necessity. Left over magazines are just gross.
Anyway, so I was flipping through the magazine, and it's a holiday special magazine, and so naturally, there are holiday recipes, and I actually was getting excited, and planning on making some of them.
.
.
What the crap is happening to me?
Seriously, I'm looking at recipes and starting to taste them in my head. Kara has had this talent for years, and I have never been able to do it, until now. Let me explain, after you have stayed at home for a while with kids, you get real sick of the same stuff over and over again. My "gourmet" top ramen doesn't really taste gourmet to me anymore. The kids still eat it, because, well it's top ramen with a hard boiled egg in it. Organic Mac N Cheese is still better than the other stuff, and the kids still eat it, but in the end it's still powdered cheese over noodles.
I've attempted multiple other dishes and have been successful at several. I'm good at Spaghetti, my breakfast food makes iHop look like it's run by amateurs (seriously, you have to try my German pancakes), and Meatloaf. But here's the crazy thing. Spaghetti is easy now. Meatloaf is easy. I have the recipe for German pancakes memorized and I know how to make it fluffy or flat, how to give it that little salty kick that pairs so well with powdered sugar and carmelized apples...
So the crazy thing is that all this has given me confidence in the kitchen. Confidence to try new things. I look at a recipe now and I automatically know if I have the ingredients in my kitchen and what I need to buy. I feel empowered, and yet a little bit weirded out.
There was an article a little while ago in GQ magazine (not one of my manly magazines, or a free one, Kara forwarded it to me). It was talking about the new trend of the SAHD (Stay At Home Dad) and how great of a gig it was. Here's a quote from the article:
"Think tech jobs are booming? Visit a playground on a weekday afternoon and observe the newest wave of the American workforce: the stay-at-home dad. He's got flexible hours, the freedom to explore his own interests, a pretty relaxed dress code, and a sweet home office. If you can stomach the sleep deprivation and mild feeling of emasculation, what's not to like?"
I can completely relate to the article. Later it talks about how ten months into it, he finally starts to get the hang of it (seriously I still have like 4 more months till I reach that point).
Now if I can only figure out how Mollie is potty training herself, I will have a real advantage.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Tums
Mollie loves candy. And donuts. And make up. And Nikki's room. Today I caught her in my room eating Kara's tums. I knew she was doing something wrong when I couldn't hear her. Silence is golden, but with a two year old, it's also very very dangerous.
I found her with a tums already in her mouth and when I asked her what she had, she just casually shrugged her shoulders as if nothing were the matter, and then casually started towards the door, avoiding eye contact (imagine a two year old trying to act natural, and that's Mollie in this moment in time).
I stop her, and tell her to spit it out
"uh, uh" from a tight lipped Mollie.
Now.
"mnof" ( translation, no)
I plug Mollies nose to get her to open her mouth. She finally makes eye contact with me. The battle of wills has begun. For a full thirty seconds Mollie stares me down, and I return the gaze. Her lips pucker, then crack slightly. It's the opening I need. I jam my finger inside, and fish out the remnants of a red tums.
Mollie is not happy, and voices her displeasure.
Call to poison control averted. That particular phone call comes under Kara's watch... also Mollie.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
St George!
I've decided, today's the day I'm gonna blog. Also my wife keeps dropping hints that I need to. So here I go again. Usually an update is in the works after a long absence of blogging. Let's see if I can get you all up to speed as to where we are right now.
Kara is pregnant... still.
I'm at home with the kids.... still
My job on the weekends is slowing down....
Left my laptop charger in Lubbock Texas so I have a total of 1.5 hours of battery life every day because Kara thinks that she needs her laptop charger for her laptop. Selfish
Mollie has begun potty training.... herself.
I hate Thursdays, especially when I have to drive Car-Pool
And Halloween is done and over and no we do not have our Christmas tree up. It would take up half the house.
So let's expound on some of these things. First off Kara is STILL pregnant. I thought the first pregnancy was long, and then the second, and Mollie's was even longer, but this one seems like Kara's been pregnant forever. I am now starting to realize what it was like for her when I was in grad school. She wakes up and leaves everyday at 7:30 am unless I can convince her that she's sick, or that one of the kids sick (they usually reserve that special treat for her on Fridays when I'm not here. Thanks kids, I owe you a solid.) Except for this last weekend.
Anyway
For some strange reason, the kids have this uncanny ability to sense when Kara and I are going to be out of town... alone, because right before it's time to drop them off at Grandma's house they start vomiting. I'm not repeating a previous blog post, ya know the one about Kara's birthday (see the blog post around June, the one where I literally start crying during the post). No I am talking about this last weekend.
I have been signed up to run the snow canyon half marathon for like two months, give or take a month. So Kara decided to be real nice to me and make a little trip out of it for just the two of us. We got a room at a bed and breakfast, we rented a Fiat to drive down (cheaper than taking the mini-van trust me) and then the day before guess who throws up on the freshly shampooed carpet? I'll give you a hint, Mollie.
Not only does she throw up but in multiple places on the carpet. We have little vomit patches everywhere. It's like she was aiming for specific parts of the floor, targets if you will. This was Thursday, and we are set to leave for st George on Friday. I'm ready to cry again ( no wonder moms do it so much). Later that night, guess who is also feeling sick. Lukas. Oh boy, it looks like we are about to repeat Kara's birthday all over again.
Kara is pregnant... still.
I'm at home with the kids.... still
My job on the weekends is slowing down....
Left my laptop charger in Lubbock Texas so I have a total of 1.5 hours of battery life every day because Kara thinks that she needs her laptop charger for her laptop. Selfish
Mollie has begun potty training.... herself.
I hate Thursdays, especially when I have to drive Car-Pool
And Halloween is done and over and no we do not have our Christmas tree up. It would take up half the house.
So let's expound on some of these things. First off Kara is STILL pregnant. I thought the first pregnancy was long, and then the second, and Mollie's was even longer, but this one seems like Kara's been pregnant forever. I am now starting to realize what it was like for her when I was in grad school. She wakes up and leaves everyday at 7:30 am unless I can convince her that she's sick, or that one of the kids sick (they usually reserve that special treat for her on Fridays when I'm not here. Thanks kids, I owe you a solid.) Except for this last weekend.
Anyway
For some strange reason, the kids have this uncanny ability to sense when Kara and I are going to be out of town... alone, because right before it's time to drop them off at Grandma's house they start vomiting. I'm not repeating a previous blog post, ya know the one about Kara's birthday (see the blog post around June, the one where I literally start crying during the post). No I am talking about this last weekend.
I have been signed up to run the snow canyon half marathon for like two months, give or take a month. So Kara decided to be real nice to me and make a little trip out of it for just the two of us. We got a room at a bed and breakfast, we rented a Fiat to drive down (cheaper than taking the mini-van trust me) and then the day before guess who throws up on the freshly shampooed carpet? I'll give you a hint, Mollie.
Not only does she throw up but in multiple places on the carpet. We have little vomit patches everywhere. It's like she was aiming for specific parts of the floor, targets if you will. This was Thursday, and we are set to leave for st George on Friday. I'm ready to cry again ( no wonder moms do it so much). Later that night, guess who is also feeling sick. Lukas. Oh boy, it looks like we are about to repeat Kara's birthday all over again.
But, by 2 pm, guess who's feeling better, and by feeling better I mean is back to " washing the dishes" and putting on make up, and bossing everyone around. No its not Kara, it's Mollie! This means that whatever the kids have its only like a four hour bug. I almost drive to Nikki's school to bring her home to infect her with it so that she can be over it by tomorrow (I'm such a good dad.)
Well, we made it to St George, I ran my race, and afterwards I couldn't walk for a week, let alone go down stairs. We finally got a vacation, and now we're back... And it seems like we never left.
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