My Little Men

In our home, it's been a novelty for the children to take over Mom & Dad's Master Bathroom.  It's also been a season that has taught Mom & Dad patience!

Well, we hit the jack pot when Mitchell recently found a discarded bathroom sign that says, "Men".  We have put it on display in the hall bathroom that we want the kids to use, and fortunately it is starting to do the trick.

The other day, I couldn't find Emmett, and I was walking around the house calling his name, when I heard a muffled reply through a closed door, "I'M IN THE MEN'S!"  It just made me giggle - he and Tyson both just cringe whenever I haul them into a women's bathroom in public because I'm a paranoid mom about public bathrooms and their safety.  I'm glad that somewhere he can go into the "Men's" bathroom now.  

Miles, also, is gaining ownership of this new place.  Sometimes when he asks for help using the lavatory, he will say, "My want boys bafroom," or sometimes we'll be brushing his teeth and he points to the sign, "Look, Mom!  Boys bafroom!"

The ONLY downside to this is that the boys look at me funny if the Master bathroom is occupied, and I walk into their bathroom now.  Even if I'm just getting tissue for my nose, the kids say, "Hey!  What are you doing in the Men's?"

Oh well - it's a small price to pay to have full access of the Master Bath - it's such a beautiful thing to be able to put on my make-up in peace now that they have some real ownership of their restroom. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are a few things my "Little Men" have been up to:

 Yes.  Those ARE chonies you see on their heads.  They can't be serious when we fold & put away laundry.  Sometimes they put socks on their hands...this time they put clean underwear on like beanies...good times!

 About a week ago, my husband had to work on a Saturday, and we got a phone call to meet him and my parents at Five Guys Burgers.  We had to take a picture with Miles, because the last time I was at that location, we had JUST found out that he was going to be a boy.  That was the only pregnancy I truly believed I would have a girl - seriously...WITH ALL MY HEART...I KNEW Miles was going to a girl, and then I was shocked by the ultrasound.  So Mitch took me to lunch afterwards and - don't get me wrong, I was excited to have another boy, but I still cried through the entire lunch hour, and I laughed, too, because people were staring at me.  

Now look at this little boy - he's SO CUTE.  How could I EVER NEED a little girl instead, when I have a darling little guy like that? I would NEVER change it!  He made a big mess of the peanuts by the way.

Miles has been really possessive lately.  He calls Mitch, "MINE DAD."  To Miles, Mitchell is NOT ALLOWED to be anyone else's dad - he is ONLY his dad.  It's hilarious.

This is Emmett at preschool - he was SO PROUD to show of this cardboard box that he colored - he made little tents for his cars to drive into.  He spent a good hour making it, and you can tell how much he loved his home-made invention by the beaming smile on his face.

I was going to wait until Valentine's Day to get the boys scooters...normally they just get candy and cards, but we only owned 1 scooter that was still working.  Well...Emmett & Miles kept crying about sharing the one scooter, and finally I just got fed up & said to Emmett:  "If you JUST GIVE THAT to Miles, I will buy you a new scooter tonight!"  That solved the fighting, but I also had to fork out the dough that evening.  We went to WalMart & found a Spiderman scooter for Miles, and a shiny blue Razor for Emmett, and now they ride scooters in peace...and they ride them ALL THE TIME.  Miles is especially proud of his new scooter & helmet, and he was such a ham the night we brought it home.  "Mom!  Take a picture!"  

He's still a ham for pictures.

Last weekend the boys wanted to make a Lemonade Stand.  Mitch is the best dad ever - he helped them contact neighbors for lemons, he helped them squeeze the lemon juice, and they made Strawberry Lemonade and regular.

The kids SOLD OUT of their TWO GALLONS that they made!

I think they got like $15 when the cups they sold were only about 25 or 50 cents each. 

They are so rich!

By the way, Tyson and Emmett told Mitch they were earning the money "For Chicks."

He just laughed.

They meant they want to buy baby chicks.  ...We're going to have to gear up some energy for that.

Miles was waving at all the cars!

Aunt Erin & Hudson & Lexi came by - and of course we were standing in direct sun light, so it's an awesome picture.

Right now, life is going great for my "Little Men".

Apparently Boys Have Feelings

Apparently boys have feelings - who knew?!

About 5 years ago, my cousin had a fund raiser.  She wanted to travel to Romania, meet her birth family, and take them gifts along with food, clothing, and blankets to survive the winter.  Her story (found here) was beautiful & I followed it at every turn.  Part of that fund raiser was an online vinyl sale, and I had a hay-day purchasing vinyl to make crafts for gifts and to decorate my house.  At the time I had only a 2 year old and a baby boy, so they had no say in what I used to decorate their room.  I happened to find a definition that made me laugh:

Boys (n): a noise with dirt on it

I liked this saying better than the "snakes & snails and puppy dog tails" rhyme, because it was fresh & clever, and I didn't feel bad at all purchasing it, because boys are noisy & get dirt all over their faces - not to mention, buying the vinyl would benefit a noble cause. The grammar side of me wondered if I should peel off the 's' in "boys", or if I should just leave the sign as is, because no one would really care. 

Much to our surprise (a mere 5 years later), Mitchell and I have come to find out that there are little people in our household who DO CARE about that sign that's been hanging on the wall.

Monday night, Mitchell was putting the kids to bed.  It was a normal routine: putting on pajamas, brushing teeth, reading a scripture, telling a story, and saying prayers. Finally, he left to shower himself because he had had a long day at work & hadn't changed yet.  Suddenly, while he was still cleaning up & showering, Tyson began urgently POUNDING on the bathroom door to get Mitchell's attention.  Then Tyson slid the sign under the door.  Mitch saw the sign being shoved under the door - "What are you doing, kids? Go back to bed!  When I'm done, I'll hang that sign back up for you."

When Mitch was finished getting ready for bed himself, he took the sign back to the kids' room, and found them sitting up in bed all upset.  Tyson had noticed the sign because it had been hanging crooked & he read it to Emmett.  They didn't like the sign in the slightest.  Now that they realized it was there, they couldn't sleep because of it!  Tyson asked Mitch, "WHY WOULD MOM DO THIS TO US?!"

Mitch just explained it was a silly decoration and made light of it:  "You know, we're boys; we get loud sometimes when we're having fun, and we get dirty, and it's okay."  But the more they talked about it, the more distraught the boys became.

They were actually HORRIFIED.  Emmett was especially offended, and LITERALLY BURST INTO TEARS!  "WHY ARE YOU BEING MEAN TO ALL THE BOYS IN THE WORLD?"

That's when I got a phone call.  I had left when Mitch started the bed time routine to finish up some work I hadn't finished earlier that day.  Mitch explained what happened, told me they wanted to destroy the sign, and then handed the phone to the boys.  Emmett was still sad and crying, "Mom!  I just want to take that sign and chop it up into SO MANY PIECES that NOT EVEN A BUG CAN SEE IT!"

Tyson chimed in, "I WANT TO BURN IT!"

I tried to explain that it was just a joke, and that I didn't mean to hurt their feelings at all by having that sign in their room.  I even said to Tyson & Emmett - "Come on, isn't it a little bit true? Just last week, you didn't shower for 3 days - don't you like to be dirty sometimes since you don't shower?"

Emmett reiterated, "No!  It's just mean to all the boys!"

Then I was like - "Well, don't you guys get loud & crazy & noisy when you play sometimes?"

But my efforts weren't good enough.  Tyson was emphatic, "I don't want that on my wall!  It's obviously a RUDE sign, and it's hanging on the wall crooked, so everyone who walks in will notice it!"

To prove to them that I cared more about their feelings than a silly sign I made, I gave them permission to destroy it, but not that night - in the next day or two when their dad could help them so they didn't get hurt with his tools and everything.  Tuesday evening, Mitchell was busy helping with an Eagle Project, and it about killed the boys to wait until Wednesday - by Wednesday, we were sure that we couldn't make them wait any longer - their little hearts and souls were still weighed down by the rudeness of this stereotypical notion that boys are just noisy & dirty all the time.  

Well, Wednesday came & Dad was ready after work to help this noble effort. Boy oh boy, was it satisfying for them as they showed that sign who's boss.  The boys wanted to destroy it so many ways, "Burn it, then karate chop it, then blow it up then run over it"  Mitch decided to make a list so that everything could be done to it.  After all, burning it first would not allow it to be karate chopped second.  After a list ENDING with pyromania was made, the boys (and Dad) set out to destroy the offensive sign.

We discussed with the kids that they could only destroy the sign because I gave them permission, and that sometimes in life they'll have to just be tough in a different way if they come across someone or something that they disagree with.  But all in all, I think this experience will only lend to MY advantage.  For example, if ever they're tempted to make stereotypical chauvinistic comments about women, I'll be able to refer back to the time that I respected their feelings & let them destroy the stereotype that bothered them about boys. :)   

Mitch & I are really glad that our cute little boys were able to use all the loud and noisy ways they could think of to make a dirty mess of destruction of that sign - we still laugh that in their minds, they feel their methods effectively proved that boys are not just "a noise with dirt on it".  :)

The Saga Continues...

We were delayed THIRTY minutes this morning by a seat belt FIASCO--of COURSE the fiasco happened to MILES.  

If it weren't for the choking incident that happened a couple weeks ago (click here), something like this seat belt issue could have "ruined" my day.  But let's face it, the world is an entirely different place when you're just grateful everyone is alive.  

There was a day when Miles was my easiest, and calmest child - the one I didn't have to worry about.  Now I'm realizing that perhaps that moment in time was merely the calm before the storm.    

For those who haven't followed the recent saga, here's my father's 12/26/14 facebook recap of Miles' holiday vacation:

We just finished the best Christmas ever! Strangely though, it coincided with Miles' week from Hell... This poor little grandson had to have the Heimlich maneuver performed on him, literally in the middle lane of Christmas rush traffic. Then he split his eyelid open at the park. Then he had two of his fingers smashed by his brothers in the Arcadia door and had to go to Urgent Care on Christmas Eve for x-rays of his poor deformed hand, and then today has a temperature of 103 with strep throat... Anything else this poor little guy has to endure? Merry Christmas Miles!

This morning, the saga continued!  Before we left for the day, I was lingering in the driveway with the car running.  When the kids loaded, Miles thought it would be funny to sit in his older brother's car seat. I asked Emmett to help his little brother move, but Miles still didn't budge from that chair.  I got out of the car to figure out what was going on, and much to my dismay, I found the shoulder strap seat belt was twisted around Miles' middle.  How he even got all wrapped up in it was beyond me.  All I know is that the seat belt began to tighten, and the more we tried to get him out of it, the tighter it became.  I thought having him stand up would help. It didn't.  I thought moving the car seat out from under him would help.  It didn't.  The more I tried to help him, the worse the situation became.  I was ready to cut the seat belt, or call the fire department.  I knew if we were to safely get Miles out and avoid cutting the seat belt, that I would need another set of hands.  After a few unlucky phone calls, I got a hold of my parents who just happened to still be on the roads in town before heading out to a property.  I told them Miles was tangled in a seat belt and they were like, "What?  Say that again?"  At any rate, they arrived with my little brother, Taylor, and they all had the same shock I had experienced as they inspected the twisted belt loop around his middle.  You can't see it from the picture, but the seat belt crisscrossed & made a loop behind him - he was literally tied up in it.

After a little maneuvering, a few anxious cries from my toddler, who was afraid to move, because he could feel the seat belt getting tighter, my brother came in from the trunk, and my dad crawled into the mini van to help from the middle.  They were able to convince Miles to squeeze his head under the shoulder strap that was next to the window.  Then they untangled him by twisting him and rolling him around - his feet went over his head a couple times very carefully.  When he was liberated, he had the sweetest, most joyous smile on his face, and we all cheered!

There's a blessing to be seen & lesson to be learned from my 30 minute delay this morning. It's a blessing this happened in our driveway.  Miles learned his lesson, because later in the day, he didn't try to pull a fast one and sit in his older brother's car seat, again - he went straight to his own chair. :)  As for me - even though I knew that 5 point harnesses are the best for the little tykes, I realized in a much deeper way that if a toddler can get twisted up in a shoulder strap in your drive way then we don't even want to imagine the damage an accidentally twisted seat belt like that could have on a little kid during an accident.

Emmett's classic photo bomb!

When it was over - I looked at the clock & just shook my head - never a dull moment around here!  If I had known what a handful my 3rd little boy would be - maybe we would have thought twice about having a 4th!  Haha - the joke is on me since we are already committed.  I'm going to start praying now that the drama slows down before this baby is born!  Heaven help us...the crazy thing is that I know angels from Heaven already are helping us - I think we've been wearing them out lately.  I'd better not stop praying, now, though - we need all the help we can get!

You know, speaking of angels - when he falls asleep, he looks like an angel and I wonder "How could he get into any trouble?"  That's what I think every night when I see my boys sleeping--but the daylight inevitably comes, and I'm always in for a whirlwind!

Holiday Mishaps

Sometimes when the kids say something in an incorrect way, I purposely don't correct them, because I think it's cute...sometimes it's hilarious, and all too soon they'll say their words the right way, anyway.  Then there are other times that you have to correct them or they'll be humiliated when they realize what they actually said. At any rate all my kids have had a speaking mishap or two in the last month.  Here are 4 of my favorites (they get better as the list goes on):

MILES

One cold night, we went walking around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights, and my mom made soup for us.  When we got back, Miles had just woken up from a late afternoon nap, and saw us eating.  We asked him if he was hungry and if he would like some soup, when he promptly replied,

"No thanks!  My need ice cream."

We thought it was so funny, but it got better.  We told him he couldn't have ice cream until he ate some dinner.  When it was all said and done, he really just wanted to dip chips in the Sour Cream...the joke was on him!  I think he thought the sour cream really was ice cream on the table, but it's not even close to the same! 



EMMETT

Emmett has been fixing his hair on his own lately.  We were getting ready to go somewhere for the holidays, and he asked me, "Mom, where is the Hair Jell-O?"


Emmett is also a spontaneously musical kind of guy.  We'll find him singing at random times, and because it was Christmas, he had heard me playing Handel's Messiah.  Every time he sings the Hallelujah Chorus at the top of his lungs, I just giggle with his own innocent variation:

"Hal-le-YUMA....Hal-le-YUMA....Halleyuma, Halleyuma, HAL-LE-YUMA!"



TYSON

Last, but certainly not least, on the day of the Christmas program, our church building was decorated so beautifully for the service.  The boys were admiring the changes in the chapel, when Tyson leans over to Mitch and tells his dad,

"Wow!  Look at all those PLACENTAS!" 

Mitch was entirely confused...in his head, he was thinking...are there a lot of pregnant women around here or something...why would he say that?  So he asked Tyson, "What are you talking about?" 


And Tyson said, "You know!  All those beautiful red flowers!"


.....Placenta....Poinsettia...same difference, right? 

Using the Heimlich & Finding Gratitude for My Blessings

This morning I woke up to laughter as Mitchell made breakfast with the boys.  Mitch gave instructions - "Okay...get over here Miles MacGillicutty Borden, and Tyson Jax Adorable Borden, and Borden Joseph Emmett...." and the boys just ate up the attention.  All the commotion in the kitchen made me smile, but it made me cry, too.  If yesterday's miracles hadn't happened, we wouldn't have been sharing so much joy & laughter this morning.

Thursday night Tyson & I made some candy trains to give to his schoolmates.  It was fun, and he was so impressed by the idea that I got from my mom when I was a kid.

After school, Tyson had 6 left over candy trains, and we gave some to the friends we carpool with, and we headed off for a few errands and a play date.  I had a car full of kids - my 3 boys, and our 2 best girl-friends, Emily & Megan.  We headed to the post office listening to Christmas tunes.  We were all singing along, and the kids chowed down on chocolate and gum.  Holiday traffic was a bear:  3 schools within a mile radius of where we were had just been released from school on a half-day, it's Christmas time & the roads are crazy anyway, and it was still the lunch hour.  As we left the post office commercials came on the radio.  The noise of commercials irritate me so I turned off the radio to eliminate noise.

Little did I know that was the first miracle that happened.

As I crossed over a main road intersection, I heard a small gagging noise.  Glancing back I saw Miles in distress, reaching into his mouth with his fingers.  I wasn't sure if his fingers were the problem or not, but he never does that, and I started to panic, "Is he choking?!"  The kids confirmed, and I started to feel frantic.

I tried to find a safe place to turn off, but there were none.  I pulled into the 1st turn lane I could find to try to turn left.  But turning left anywhere during this time of year can take minutes.  We didn't have minutes.  There were 2 small pauses that I considered taking, but we could have been hit if I had risked it.  I had 3 major lanes on my right going the direction we were driving, and there were 3 lanes of traffic on the left coming towards us.  And there was no break in traffic.  Knowing I couldn't wait any longer, I angled my car just slightly, and jumped out to run around leaving the driver's side door open.

That was the 2nd miracle that happened.

When I ran around to the passenger side, I tried to open the doors, but they wouldn't open.  I pounded on the sliding door to get the kids' attention and yelled to open the door from the inside.  They tried and tried, but the car was running, so the child locks were on, and the doors wouldn't open.  All the while I could see Miles through the window - still unable to breathe or make noise - still trying to gag out whatever was lodged in his throat.  I was so scared.  I ran back around and realized several people were lined up behind me now, trying to turn. I pushed the unlock button, ran around to the passenger side, and was finally able to open the door - by this time Tyson had also been able to get over the seat & try to help unlock it, too.  I flung open the door & the kids said, "What do we do now?"

"Just pray!  Just pray!"

I unleashed Miles from his car seat and flipped him upside down - I was equally afraid of him choking to death, and of getting hit by the cars in traffic, but I had no choice.  As I pushed on his belly with my left hand, and hit his back with my right hand, I saw he started to spit up.  I thought it was working, and that he was going to be okay.  But it was only saliva that had been gathering in his mouth, and when I lifted him up, he still couldn't breathe, make noise, and his face was in shock as he was still trying to move his little tongue.  I turned him over again, pushed harder on his stomach & hit his back harder, and finally after a while of pounding, out flew a peppermint.

Staring at the toys he had been holding and the peppermint on the asphalt, I started to cry.  I didn't even know he had a peppermint, or that he could open the package on his own. Then I remembered we were still in danger & told the kids to stay buckled & re-buckle because we were in a dangerous part of traffic.  I snapped Miles in, got in the car, and as I entered the driver's side door, I realized the lady behind me was still trying to make a U.  I don't even know if she realized what was happening - I think it's possible she just thought I was a crazy woman.  Of the 5 cars behind me, only 1 followed to make sure we were okay as we parked in the closest parking lot.

The lady that followed was named Diane.  She rolled down her window and asked if she needed to call 9-1-1.  I told her my son had been choking, but I thought he was okay - she didn't leave until we pulled him out of the car again to double check.  By now he was talking and breathing normally, so she believed me that we didn't need to call the paramedics, and she asked if he needed water.   She pulled out a tall bottle of water that she had just recently opened and told me she was sorry it was opened, but she wasn't sick.  I just hugged her and cried and said, "I don't care even if you are sick!  I'm just glad my son's alive!"

Diane stayed with me - she was such an angel - I needed comfort more than anything, even though it was all "okay".  She made me laugh when she said, "Oh my gosh - are you pregnant, too?"  I must have looked like such a mess - I had 5 kids in the car, it was pajama day at school so all the kids were still in pajamas at 1:15 or whenever it was - and even though I was "dressed", my hair hadn't been fixed and my make up wasn't done for the day, and I was crying like crazy!  Haha!  It had been a traumatic situation & she told me to calm down before I started to drive again.  We wished each other a Merry Christmas, and when we she left, I stood at the van with the kids, and we said a prayer to thank Heavenly Father that Miles was okay, and that we also didn't get hit by oncoming traffic as we tried to save him from choking.


Miles returned to his usual self much faster than I did.  I went to bed so tired yesterday.  Even today, I'm different because of what happened.  His sweet little innocent mind just doesn't realize how scary that was.  I realized, also, that in 7 1/2 years of parenting, all the times I "thought" my kids were choking were nothing compared to this - this was the real deal, and if we hadn't had all the little blessings the Lord sent, we would have had a much different scenario yesterday.  I never thought I would be grateful for radio commercials, but if I hadn't had a reason to turn off the sound, I probably wouldn't have heard anything to alert me of Miles' distress.  I'm also grateful that I left my car door open - if it had shut while the engine was running, it would have locked, and we would have lost more time trying to get the vehicle doors to open.  I'm so grateful the Heimlich worked.  I'm so grateful the kids prayed.  I'm so grateful we didn't have to pay for a hospital visit.  I'm so grateful there was at least 1 person who stopped to check on us and to help comfort me, and I'm so grateful we can still plan to celebrate Christmas this year with our sweet little Miles.

EVERYTHING has been back to normal since then - we went to the park to "recover" and Miles bashed his head on the slide, splitting his skin open a little bit on his eye-lid.  I dropped my cell phone AND video camera yesterday & cracked the screens - my phone works, but my video camera is now broken.  The kids still cry over things. They still need to be reminded to use their manners.  They still need reminders picking up after themselves.  They still need help sharing.  But now I have a happier heart through all of their usual joys & struggles - I'm so grateful to be a parent and to have each little moment with my kids - every moment is a gift.

Who the Greatest Man in the World Will Be....

Meet Emmett.

He's notorious for photo-bombing, making jokes, playing tricks, getting his way, sucking his thumb, and getting mad for being called "cute".  He loves all things that are awesome, he HATES girl stuff, refuses to eat vegetables, and gives sincere (although hilariously funny) prayers.  He has more emotional ups and downs than the other kids, and consequently gives mom & dad a run for their money.  Just a tip: don't EVER try to kiss his face - he's quicker at moving his head than you think.  Emmett is now 5, though, and we have noticed a true maturing of this child as he grows up into a big boy - although he will tell you he was NEVER LITTLE, ever in his whole life.

On Monday night, Emmett's little brother, Miles, was waking up from a late nap so we could go to an Egg Nog Party.  Of course, it was the wrong time for Miles to wake up and he was crying like crazy.  All of a sudden, Emmett started singing an original and amazing song to his little brother to try and help him be happy (You'd better believe this is now copyrighted):

"You will be the greatest man in the world...
....After lots of birthdays....
You will like girls, and girls will like you....
...All the girls will like you!

You will pick one and get married.
You will only like good girls...
...not aliens or bad girls. 
And you won't marry dead people.

And you will like boy stuff.
And she will like girl stuff.

And YOU will be the GREATEST MAN in the WORLD!"

I held my breath the entire time he was singing - I knew if I laughed he would quit, and I knew if I asked him to sing louder he would stop.  All I could do was hang on every word I could possibly hear. WHAT I WOULD GIVE to know what he said on the lines that were sung just too softly for me to hear - his song was almost 5 minutes long - I'm telling you it was so good I couldn't concentrate on anything else!

When he was done singing, I asked him, 
"Were you singing that song for Miles?
Emmett responded, "Yeah, I was!"
"You're such a nice brother," I assured him.
With no hesitation of confidence he replied, "Yeah, I really am!"


I asked him to sing the song again, but he said he forgot it.  So he made up another for Miles on the ride to the party....

"When you grow up, you will have fun
And you will do what you want to!
You will have fun every day & every year!
EVERY SINGLE DAY AND YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAR!"

Miles better feel pretty special - his big brother has high hopes & dreams for his destiny.  I'm pretty sure if they turn out like their daddy - all three of these boys...and their soon to be 4th brother, will be the GREATEST MEN IN THE WORLD! :)