The World is Jack's Urinal

Guest post #2 on the blog. Another story that has to be told in the first person. I am an avid outdoors man who enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Much to my enjoyment, both of the boys have taken a liking to going on "adventures" with their dad.

Every spring (usually in February) male deer drop their antlers and begin growing them back for the fall breeding season in order to fight for the females. There is a window of a few weeks after the antlers are dropped before the forest turns green again. It is a perfect time to head into the timber with the boys and hunt for deer antlers with Jack and Tommy.

This particular Sunday, Grandpa Boddicker and I loaded our pockets up with snacks and bottled water and headed into the woods with Jack and Tommy. After about an hour of hiking through the woods Jack announced that he had to pee and wanted to head back to the house and find a toilet. Grandpa Mike and I explained to Jack that when boys are in the woods, they can pee on a tree or in the bushes. Jack dropped his pants to his ankles and got a big kick out of peeing in the woods. We headed back to the house empty handed. Alison rolled her eyes about Jack "going in the woods" but the life lesson had to be learned. And now the story starts....

The following day, Alison had an appointment at the doctor's office. I made it home from the office early to relieve Grandpa Mike Darby of his babysitting duties. The kids were hopped up and acting like maniacs. We made some small talk and Mike started laughing and informed me he had a story to tell.

"After Alison left everyone was playing in the backyard on the swingset." Mike said. "I was pushing Tommy on the swing while Jack was running around the yard. Next thing I know, Jack drops his pants to his ankles and started  peeing on the lawn."

I told Mike the about the hike in the woods and had to sit Jack down and explain the difference between peeing in the woods and peeing in the middle of the yard. Alison was mortified. I, on the other hand, could not stop laughing about the whole situation. Three months later and we have yet to have a repeat.

Corey

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was delightful and good for the soul.  Corey got up with the kids in the middle of the night (all three kids have been battling pneumonia for the past week) and he let me sleep in!  I woke up to the glorious smell of bacon and french toast!  What else could a girl ask for?  With a little coaching I'm sure, the boys each told me Happy Mother's Day and smooched me up!  I laughed at my card which pictured a mother drinking out of a LARGE wine glass....hmmmm, my family knows me too well!  We took turns going to church and mass was particularly humbling because I had yelled at the boys just prior to church about being kind to each other and keeping their hands to themselves...typical stuff that I didn't think I needed to remind them about on Mother's Day.  Right..., they are 2 and 3, they will need to reminded of these simple rules until they are at least 29 and 30.  Later in the day Jack and I went to pick out flowers to plant in the urns on our front porch and we had a ball eating complimentary popcorn at Suburban Lawn and Garden.  When we returned home from our outing, I walked inside to find Corey asleep on the couch while Thomas and Caroline were napping.  Naturally, I took his picture and sent it to a few family members wishing them Happy Mother's Day!  We wrapped up the day eating a delicious dinner outside prepared by Aunt Steph and Aunt Boo!  I am a very blessed mother and I was certainly reminded of that this Mother's Day!

Dress like a Lady

During this fourth pregnancy I have resorted to wearing comfy clothes probably a little too often and my hair and make up routine have reached an all time low. Ponytails and concealer, that's about it. I feel pretty good if I shower by noon, and I feel pretty darn proud of myself if I slap on a little bit of mascara once a week. Corey is so lucky! So today, I woke up feeling like I had a little more pep in my step and I actually showered early, put on a maxi dress, dabbed a bit of make up on, and threw on some Stella & Dot jewels! When I came downstairs...the boys looked at me with pure astonishment. Jack even said, "Mom, are you getting married today? I said, "no, why do you ask?" He said, "well you are wearing a dress, you never wear dresses." I smiled and laughed and kissed him on the forehead. Even my three-year-old has noticed how my appearance has suffered lately. OUCH.

Life is busy and wonderful this Spring!

The Boddicker kids are making great strides!

Thomas is doing great with his new glasses!

Jack has mastered the fine art of Ziploc painting!

Thomas tried on his "fancy" dress shoes for Aunt Steph's wedding! He loved them!

I walk out of the room for 10 seconds and Caroline has managed to rip out half of the baby wipes! Excellent!

Surprise, we can't take a normal family picture on Easter! This was the best we could do...

Thomas was more than a little disheveled after Mass.

Caroline loved Easter...mainly because she was fed candy all day!

Easter Egg Hunt the day before Easter...Some children were more willing to participate than others!

Even Caroline was not on her best behavior!

Family Picture with Grandpa...thanks Jack for joining us!

Thomas tackles the toddler bed

I walked into Thomas's room last night around bedtime to find Corey and the boys converting Thomas's crib into a toddler bed. My first thought was, "boooooo," simply because Thomas is the kind of child who needed to be contained otherwise he would be running around like a wild man when he should be sleeping. My second thought was, "ok, it's time, he is 2.5 years old."

Last night Thomas was a little uncertain about sleeping in his bed that looked so different than his familiar crib but he was quite the trooper. When I went in his room this morning around 6:30 he said, "I slept all last night, Mommy!" In all actuality, he woke up once, but that is pretty typical! I'm pretty proud of him for staying in the bed! Looking forward to seeing how naptime goes today! Good thing Grandpa Darby will be here for that one while I am at the doctor!!! Good luck Grandpa! I hope Thomas stays in the bed during his nap!