Like Brothers

Bennett comes over to our house on Thursdays. Here's a conversation on the way home from taking Cobb to school:

B(talking to me): Mommy?
R: No, Mommy!
B: Mommy
R: MMMY mommy
B: mommy
R (louder) MOOOOOMMMMMY!
Me(attempting to settle the disagreement from the driver's seat): Ridge, be sweet! Bennett, you can call me Haley.
B: Mommy
R(with a slight grin): Hayee
B: Mommy
R(laughing now): Hayee
B(laughing): Mommy
R(laughing loudly): Hayee, Hayee, Hayee, Hayee

I love those boys. They can be competing one moment, and laughing another. They are just like brothers. I have to confess: sometimes I do not correct people when they assume the boys are twins. That's lying isn't it? Oh well.

Ridge Cleans Up

Last night, Ridge was so proud that he cleaned up all of his cars.



See, aren't they neatly lined up??

Go get one today!

I had a Peppermint Chocolate Mint Milkshake today from Chick Fil A and it is AMAZING! If you are reading this, stop now, go to Chick Fil A and get one. You'll thank me... unless you're on a diet... then you'll hate me.

Ridgerisms

At 22 months, Ridge says and does the funniest things.

1. He sings: He sings himself to sleep, and often sings throughout the day. He picks up on songs that his sister sings. He hums mostly, but when Charly sings "Part of Your World," he fills in the blanks:
C: look at this stuff, isn't it
R: neat
C: Wouldn't you say my collection's complete. Wouldn't you say, I'm a girl, a girl who has
R: E-ting
and so on. . .


2. He has picked up "I don't want to:"
R: No, I ohn wan to! I play cars!
or
R: No, I ohn wan to! I stay you!
or
R: No, I ohn wan to! I down. I run! (this, of course, is when I need to be carrying him)

3. He says, "oh man!"
Last night, we read a story before bed. After reading it once, he said, "Gin!!" So we read it again. Then he said, "Gin!" I said, "no, it's bedtime." He leaned against me and said, "ahhhhh. Oh man!" But thankfully, he went willingly to bed. He's good like that.

4. He says, "oh shoot."
This morning he was walking in the kitchen with two cars in one hand and milk in the other.
R: Where milk? (starts turning in circles and looking down)
R: Oh shoot, where milk?
Me: Ridge, it's in your hand.
R: Oh. (starts, laughing out loud at himself)
R: No thank you (gives milk to me)

5. He knows how to use "please" to his benefit:
R: I batman show mommy (hands me Cobb's Lego Batman game)
Me: No baby, no shows
R: I Cobby show mommy!
Me: No, Ridge, no show
R: Why?
Me: Because it's rest time
R: Why?
Me: Because I said so
R: oh
silence
R: please? (eyes become puppy dog eyes and he holds out the game)
He still didn't get to watch anything, but we laughed together at his cuteness


6. He's obsessed with the moon: One time driving in the car we had this conversation.
R: Where moon? Mommy, where moon?
Me: I don't know Ridge, I can't see it.
R (much more emphatically): Where MOON mommy? where moon?
Me: I'm so sorry Ridge. I think it is hiding.
R: Why?
Me: Clouds are covering it.
R: Why?
Me: Because there are clouds tonight
R: Why?
Me: It might rain
R: Why?
Me(giving up pre-maturely): Just because
R: Oh
I find myself saying, "just because" or "because I said so" more to R than either of the other two. I wonder if it's because he takes it so well or if it's because he asks "why" more than the others do. Truly, it's a toss up.

Gutter Book Shelves

My gutter book shelves are finally up(see bottom of Soccer, Candy, & Gutters for reference)! Stacey & I made them tonight (thanks Stacey!!). The most difficult part was cutting them to size. You need a partner, a good saw, strong muscles, & sharp scissors. After cutting them, we drilled holes in the back, then took them upstairs to apply them to the wall with anchored screws. And here they are:


Who knew that gutters would make such great bookshelves!

Soon that chair in the back will be replaced by comfy pillows, creating more of a reading corner that all three of my kids can enjoy. It was Stacey's idea, and she got the idea from the Small Notebook Blog. Again, thanks Stacey for helping me be creative.

An Hour Early. . .

Yes, we forgot to set our clocks back. We were an hour early for
church, so we made a pitstop at the Bux, a family favorite.

Halloween Night

We had hotdogs over at Nana's before all the trick or treating began. Here's a pic of the cousins that were there.

Then we came back to our house to trick or treat. C was always one step ahead of us running full force in his Robin costume.

Ch & R were hitting the houses together just behind C.

R could not get enough of it. He loved it! He even wanted to keep going after C was completely burnt out & wanting to be done.

Here's R with his best friend Bennett. We got to walk around with them for a little while & ended by hanging at their house.

On the way to go vote:

Charly: Mommy, I'm a girl. Can girls vote?
Me: Yes, girls can vote. Some women fought very hard to be able to do that, and now we can do it easily.
Charly: So can I vote?
Me: No, you have to be 18, but you can help me vote.
Ridge: I vote
Me: No, baby, you have to be 18.
Cobb: But you aren't 18 Mom
Me: No, but you have to be over 18. I'm 35 so I am over 18.
Cobb: Mom, you aren't 35. You are 36!
(Is it a bad sign that my 5 year old knows my age better than I do??)

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

So we did end up making those muffins today. We substituted chocolate chips instead of cinnamon chips. And we added a shake or two of cinnamon to the batter. They turned out pretty good, but we decided they needed a little bit of icing. We made some homemade butter icing and colored it orange. Cobb and Charly both got great hand workouts sifting the powdered sugar(good for fine motor/handwriting!)

The best part is eating what you created. YUM!

Timmy the Pumpkin

Well, we carved our pumpkin last night! The kids had fun opening it, and cleaning it out. We separated the "guts" and the seeds. After a little bit, Charly went inside to get some wipes so we could have a "cleaning station." We roasted the seeds, and I'm looking for a recipe to use our pumpkin "guts." This could be a possibility and, this site has some pumpkin seed recipes.


After Ridge went to bed (he turned into a little grump at 6:30), Daddy drew some different faces on paper for the big kids to choose. Then they carved it together.

The kids were so proud! They named it Timmy. And Daddy has a special "Timmy Dance" that the kids are still talking about this morning. Maybe we can get that on video?? What do you think?

See how it glows!

Cobb wanted to light it again this morning at 6 a.m. After lighting it, he blew it out right away. He just wanted to show me "how cool" it was.