Cleanup & Mickey

We have a seven year old boxer named Duncan. Duncan is a messy eater. He likes to take a big mouthful of food and ends up spilling a good portion of it on the floor. Because Duncan is a messy eater we keep his food and water bowls in the laundry room. Tonight while I was making dinner, John was playing on the deck and Gillian was trying to sweep the kitchen floor with my broom. All of a sudden I heard little plinks and plunks. Gillian was picking up Duncan's food and was putting it back into his bowl. I asked her what she was doing and she replied "cleanup!"

John and Gillian were really good for Mommy tonight. As a special treat I put on an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Gillian is just starting to watch TV and actually enjoy what she is watching. As the opening started, I heard John say to Gillian "it's magic. You need to say the magic words." Gillian wasn't capable of say Meeska Mooksa Mickey Mouse, but by the end of the episode she was able to say "Toodles" and "Mickey." Amazing how quickly they learn.

Unusual Monday

We are having unusually warm weather in New Jersey.  Daddy picked up the kids from school and gave me a quick call.  He was wondering if I was going to be on time today.  He had brought the kids to a local park to enjoy some of the nice weather.  I was out the door on time and found them still playing on the playground.  Gillian came running towards me and wouldn't let me out of her sight.  John on the other hand waved from the top of the slide.  Daddy told me to put Gillian down and let her climb the jungle gym.  The second I put her down she would cry.  She just wanted Mommy. 

I took her to the top of the jungle gym and tried to get her to go down the slide.  She wouldn't go.  I sat down and we went down the slide together.  She giggled and loved it.  As I got off the slide, Daddy stopped me and showed me the video below of Gillian.  I guess my little lady is brave and adventurous.  She just wanted Mommy to go up and down the slide with her. 

While Gillian and I were going down the slide, John was having "a race."  Which basically meant that he would start at one end of the jungle gym and go through all the obstacles and then end up going down the slide.  I loved watching him go down the slide.  The slide was plastic and was super staticky and his hair would get all spiky when he went down.  The video below is of John finishing his race and going down the slide.   
 

What a pleasant way to start our week.  



Good boy?

Today Daddy and I wanted to go to the mall and do a little shopping. We decided that we would take two strollers to help eliminate any whining. We told John that if he was really good while we were in the mall then he could go on a ride. Unfortunately we left the mall without a ride. But we did agree that John was a very good boy and should get rewarded for his good behavior. We stopped at Petsmart and picked him up a couple of new neon fish. Daddy let him hold the bag on our way home. We were almost home and we could hear him talking to the fish. I asked what was going on. And he replied "the fish are sad." When we asked him why, he quickly responded with "they are going to miss their friends." He then started talking right to the fish telling them that they would be ok and that they would have new things to play with in the big tank. I just love his little heart.

Later tonight, John was sitting next to me on the couch reading a book. Gillian wanted the book and before I realized it John took the book and pushed it against Gillian's head. I immediately sent him to timeout. On his way there he threw Travis the turtle on the floor. He did his time and when he got released he said "Travis needs to stay in timeout for five minutes. He was bad. He told me to do it!" What am I supposed to do with that?

The Jokester

John told us some jokes tonight. Listed below are a few of John's jokes.

How does an ice pop turn into a tiger?
It eats stripes.

How does a couch turn into a door?
Because they are both made out of wood.

How does a dog turn into a people?
He eats lettuce.

How does a night turn into a house?
Because it's dark outside...and dark inside.

How does a clown turn into a doorknob?
Because they are both made out of gold.

How does an ice pop turn into a house?
They are both the same color!

He started with the first one listed above and I have to admit I was laughing so hard I got the hiccups and I started to cry. After seeing my reaction before he would tell his next joke he would say "this is my joke and it is super duper duper silly!"

Italian Ice

We had another beautiful day in Jersey. Daddy and I had decided earlier in the day that we would treat the family to Italian ices if it was still nice after dinner. I picked up the kids from school. I didn't mention the possibility of a treat. But on our way home we drive past Ralph's Italian Ices. As we drive past, John says "wait a minute. Mommy go back." I said what's the matter John, what did you see? He says, "I saw the ice cream place. Mommy, I was playing outside today. And I got really hot. Maybe we could get ice cream today." I can't believe this little guy. He certainly knows how negotiate. We got home and he and Gillian played outside on the swing set while I made dinner. After dinner we went to Ralph's and had our first Italian ice of the season. Everyone enjoyed it.

Outside

It was another beautiful day in Jersey today. I picked up the kids and before we got out of the parking lot, John rolled down his window. As he rolled the window down, he said "it's a nice day today, that means we get to have the windows open." We got home an had a picnic dinner and played outside. We had bubbles and chalk on the deck. John wanted me to blow bubbles so he could "karate chop" them. I wish I got it on video. I would blow a bubble and he would spin around to chop them or kick his fee. At one point he had his arms sticking straight out and spun around in a circle. As I was laughing at my silly boy, I looked up and saw two beautiful cardinals flying around the backyard. I hope they enjoyed watching John as much as I did.

Cookie Helper

John always wants to help me make cookies or decorate cookies. Today Aunt Betty came to visit. She wanted to visit with the kids and also help me with decorating St. Patty's day cookies. As I was getting the icing ready there was a little ruckus behind me. John decided to make a bowl a hat and hit his hat with a wish. Check out the pictures below of my silly kids.

I got the icing ready and set John and Aunt Betty with green icing and the shamrocks. I gave them a brief lesson and I left them for a moment to put Gillian down for a nap. By the time I was back, John had enough. He didn't like putting the icing on and only wanted to help with the sprinkles. The sprinkles entertained him for a little but and then he wanted to do what mommy was doing. I was working on the beards for the leprechaun cookies. "But Mommy I never did that before!" And then he was quiet for a little bit and I look over at him. He had a huge smile on his face and he had a green mustache. Aunt Betty asked him what he was eating. Grinning ear to ear he says "green sprinkles!" I guess a big part of being a cookie helper is eating all the sprinkles and asking if the cookies are dry.