Zoo Boo

Our little monsters enjoyed a cool evening at the Zoo. Krista went from wanting to be a ballerina, to a princess, and settled on being a cat. Gabriel said he wanted to be a duck, but we couldn't find a costume... so he ended up being a bee (recycled costume from Krista a couple years ago). They both walked through the zoo path and got their treats. Gabriel was even thanking everyone who put something in his bag - they both did a great job!

The Dead Squirrel

It began as a bad smell in the basement on Saturday night. Josh and I assumed it was the cat box smell that just needed to be cleaned out or that Crocket did her duty outside the box in the laundry room. We watched a movie, enduring the odd smell mixed with the smell of the dinner we cooked that night. We went to bed, oblivious to what was lurking in our basement. It grew in the night and we were unaware. We woke up, we went to church.

An hour later we returned home and Krista was the first one in the house.

K: I smell something that smells bad.

T: Me too.

J: We need to find out where it's coming from.

T: Hopefully nothing died in our exhaust spout on the roof or in our basement, like a mouse or squirrel or something. We don't want to deal with a dead squirrel.

K: Mommy, where's the dead squirrel at?

We began the search and our noses brought us to the basement, where we initially smelled the bad smell. It wasn't in the laundry room with the cat box. It wasn't in the family room. Oh, bam, there it is - like a smack in the face - in the toy room. We tried pinpointing the smell, but it was elusive.

K: Where's the dead squirrel?

I smelled in the closet, but nothing was there. Of course, this is the room with piles of toys on the floor, a doll house, toy kitchen, vanity, and other child accouterments - so the smell avoids detection of the source, for a while. I get on my knees to smell around the bookcase, suddenly my knees are wet. Ah ha, the floor, the carpet is the culprit. That's right, no dead squirrels this time, it's nice, wet and moldy carpeting and it smells awful.

A couple hours later and we pulled the carpet up in strips and thrown it outside. The source of the water was a detached gutter downspout outside and the water leaked in from the foundation with all the rain we had last week. We mopped the floor with bleach water and we waited. We left the house, picked up the kids from Aunt Angie's, and entered the front door again. The smell is gone, hooray! Plus, we now have incentive to paint and get a new piece of carpeting for the tiny room.

K: Did you get the dead squirrel?

Hello World

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, but the last month of pregnancy and the first month with a newborn are exhausting. We welcomed to the world our newest addition, Logan John, on September 27th. A large boy, weighing in at 9lbs 10oz, he even exceeded my large birth weight. A payback of sorts, I'm sure. He is a surprisingly blonde child, with tons of hair like his brother and sister. He likes to eat, sleep and poop - like all normal newborns. I'm working on getting a normal schedule instilled in him, so he sleeps at night and is awake during the day. All is going well, especially since I found out he loves a pacifier as much as his big brother does.

Krista loves being the helpful big sister. Although, she has sworn off assisting with dirty diapers and will not touch them to even bring them to the trash. She wants to hold Logan, touch Logan and soothe him, "Oh, it's okay honey." She thinks he needs Barbie dolls surrounding him when he's sleeping.

Gabriel, for the most part, largely ignores his baby brother. He does like to stroke his hair. He also tries to squeeze his head and poke him in the eyes. He is a good helper with the diapers his sister refuses to touch and throws them all in the trash for me.

Well we have one bloody Gabriel nose, crying and a need for lunch and a nap - so gotta run!

Clothes Hamper

Gabriel is at the "good helper" stage. If you ask him to get his diapers and wipes, he will bring them to you. If you ask him to throw away a dirty diaper or a tissue, he will. If you ask him to put a toy in the toy bin, he will. When he accomplishes his task he comes back into the room, clapping his hands along the way and saying, "yaaay."

His wires get crossed on certain tasks and he just can't get them right. Every time I ask him to bring a piece of dirty clothes to the clothes hamper (in his room), he does the same thing. It doesn't matter if it's a shirt or pants or socks. Here, Gabriel, bring this shirt to the clothes hamper in your room! Off he goes and a moment later he is coming around the corner clapping his hands. BUT.... I later find the shirt stuffed into the tiny bathroom trash bin. I've even tried correcting him and telling him that the trash is the wrong place and demonstrating where the shirt is supposed to go.

Last night I found a tiny blue sock stuffed into the bathroom trash and we had a pretty good laugh about it, while the kids were in bed. The hilarity is compounded because he is SO proud of himself when he does it! I guess I should be happy that he doesn't stuff them in the toilet.

Oh, NO!

The time I've been dreading is here: Gabriel has hit his terrible two's early. We easily skipped this stage with Krista and did not miss it one bit. But, we are not so lucky with the little man. The last few days he has learned how to say, "NO," quite effectively. For three days straight, this word had rung in my head as he learns to assert himself and tell us what he wants. I'm already done with it and I believe the road is going to be a long one. He's already been briefed on the time-out system for previous minor offenses, but has only been there about 3 times total. This number may drastically increase throughout the rest of this week. He's a smart little bugger, so I'm hoping he learns the lesson quickly. I don't mind the assertion of the "no," I just won't accept the tantrum or frustrated hand swatting/hitting he does when he doesn't get what he wants. Let the fun begin!