Motoring

I bought this Dora 4 wheeler at a yard sale for $12 last spring. It was worth every penny and then some. Ty likes to pretend it's his ride-on lawn mower. He calls mowing the grass "motoring." He gets out his motoring hat, which looks just like Daddy's mowing hat, and gets busy.
When we lived in Rockvale and it took several hours for Jon to cut the grass, Ty would be out there motoring with him the entire time. It amazes me how long he can ride on this thing! He would yell, "Good job, Daddy! Looks good!" He would take water breaks and act like it was really tiring. It would be better if his 4 wheeler was actually cutting the grass, though. Jon could pass that job onto Ty!

Another Language

Maggie was helping me cut out poocons (coupons) today. Then, we picked up Donald's and had a picwic at the playground before going to the libarry. As she chased after Ty, she yelled, "My tumming, Ty!" (I'm coming) No wonder Grandmar has such a hard time understanding her on the phone! Fortunately, I speak Maggie!

Nobody

Ty and Maggie are really playing well together these days. I love to watch them and listen to their conversations. They played outside in the backyard while I was cooking dinner for 45 minutes. I couldn't believe there was no crying or tattling. But he got mad at her the other day, and was yelling, "NOBODY!" And she responded, "YES BUDDY!" This made him furious! They continued to yell nobody, yes buddy back and forth until I had to separate them. I had to laugh (and share)!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It's been a few weeks since my last Not Me! Monday, so I decided to make myself do one this week.

When I was a teacher, I used to feel so sorry for the kids who were playing on the playground without jackets. I imagined their parents too busy to even notice that they were sending their children off to freeze for 30 minutes while watching the other children playing and having fun...WARM! I am not that parent. I did not send my children to school on Friday without jackets. Ty's teacher did not ask him if his mommy sent a jacket when he told her that he was cold. Only non-caring parents do that, and that's not me!

I didn't wear the same clothes two days in a row twice last week that looked identical. Jon did not question me on Wednesday if I was still wearing the same outfit from Monday. I had just taken a shower, and it was different - the one from Monday/Tuesday was a gray College of Charleston shirt with black capri sweatpants. The outfit on Wednesday/Thursday was a gray College of Charleston alumni shirt with black yoga pants. Totally different outfits! And I definitely did not wear the shirts to sleep in! Nope, not me!

I did not wake up during the night to find myself sleeping on a magazine that I read two nights earlier. And I did not wake up a few hours later because I rolled over on a pen that Ty had used several days earlier. When I woke up the next morning, I did not find two shirts and a sweatshirt on top of the comforter, exactly where I had not laid them two nights earlier.

Kleenex 101

Whenever we get home from the grocery store, Ty and Maggie are eager to help. Several weeks ago, I gave them the task of refilling the tissue holders in each of the 3 bathrooms. They were gone a LONG time. This is what it looked like.

Each holder was stuffed with individual tissues that they had pulled out of the box. I guess I needed to show them how to place the holder on top of the box of Kleenex before I asked them to do the task.

Last week, I bought some backup Kleenex in preparation for the cold and flu season. I asked Ty to place one box under the sink in each bathroom. He was gone a LONG time. When I went looking for him, I found a torn open box of Kleenex on the floor.
Oh no, not again! When I walked into my bathroom, I found this under the sink.

And when I walked into their bathroom, I found this.

I guess when I think about it, you open a box to get a product out. That's all he was doing, right? I had to reteach Kleenex 101. I'm assuming that Kleenex 101 will be taught again next month, but this time it will be before I hand him the Kleenex, not after.

The Halloween Stand

Ty is a busy boy and always has a new idea. So I didn't think much when he asked me to write "Halloween" on this picture. But he had me intrigued when I saw him set up on the sidewalk like this.
He told me that he was having a Halloween Stand to sell some Halloween items he didn't want anymore. The upside down dump truck was the table holding a "witch's" broom and 2 Halloween frisbees. When I asked him how much he was selling each item for, he said that the broom was $4 and the frisbees were $6! He held up the sign when people drove by or rode by on bikes. He was VERY disappointed when no one stopped to buy anything. He had me change the sign to say "It's Halloween Selling Day" hoping that would help his sales. Although people slowed down to take a closer look, unfortunately, there were no takers.

Cherish These Days

When I actually stop to take a moment, I realize how fast they are growing. I want to remember some of the funny moments that they share together.

Ty was helping Maggie clean up the terrible mess she had made with the Lite Brite. He was doing a great job, while she was throwing the pegs at him. He kept yelling at her, "God says be nice, Maggie!" It was priceless.

Maggie asked where Daddy was today. Ty said, "He's at work." Maggie asked, "At the hospital?" Ty responded, "Yes. He's trolling. He's trolling the money."

Whenever Ty and I pick up Maggie from MDO, Ty says in the sweetest voice, "How was your day, Moo?" He also asks Jon about his day when he gets home. He'll even ask him what he's working on. He genuinely cares!

Maggie has a hard time listening to other children crying, whether it's a classmate, a baby at the grocery store or her big brother. She is so sympathetic! Her teacher told me she cried for 20 minutes when a new girl started in her class and was crying for her mom. But she really has a hard time when Ty is upset. She comes to tell me about it. Then she tries to find out what's wrong with him and comfort him, if possible.

Ty is at a point now that he wants to include Maggie in a lot of his activities. They came out of the garage the other day riding the Dora 4 wheeler together! I was shocked! He lets her play with his Batcave and other Batman toys. He did get upset yesterday when she came to tell me that she had put Robin and Penguin to sleep. He said, "They don't sleep, they work!"

At the Crack of Dawn

Maggie is now removing all of her clothing, including her diaper, every time I turn my back... literally.She just prefers to be naked.

She is doing this from the time she wakes up until she gets in the bath at night.

No matter how many times I redress her, she still ends up like this. And if she isn't having any accidents, is it really that bad????

Whoopee Cushion Fun

I was cleaning out Sarah Catherine's dresser and found an old, probably never been used whoopee cushion. It had been a long rainy week. Jon was working Saturday morning and driving to Chattanooga on Sunday. Would the kids be entertained with this simple toy? Let's just say that they spent several hours on Saturday and Sunday having more fun than I had seen in awhile.
Ty would squeeze it or sit on it. (Nothing happened when Maggie sat on it!)

Then he would say, "Excuse me!" Maggie would respond each time without fail, "Shoo wee! Stinky, stinky!"

What had I done?! I was so worried that they would go to preschool on Monday imitating all the fun they had at home over the weekend. The whoopee cushion has been put away...at least for now.

More Hot Sauce, Pease!

I know that it's hard to believe that a little girl so cute and so sweet could be so cheeky. Oh is she cheeky!

Several weeks ago, a few different friends on Facebook had posted that they had used a dab of hot sauce on the tongue as punishment for talking back. Every person that commented said how great it worked. So, I decided to start threatening Ty with this. The threats really worked! Unfortunately, Maggie was paying attention. When I told her to go to timeout for misbehaving, she said she wanted hot sauce. I hadn't planned on using it on her, but what the heck! I put a dab on my finger, then put my finger on her tongue. I cringed as I waited for the screaming and crying. I was shocked to hear, "Ummy! More hot sauce, pease?" She continued to beg for more for about 5 minutes. I could have died! What 2 year old thinks straight hot sauce is yummy? Needless to say, the hot sauce has never been used as a threat again.

Pop Goes the Weasel

The "Weasel" was the greatest gift idea for a creative boy like Ty. You may call it an easel, but Ty calls it a weasel. Here he is the night it was set up in the playroom, painting the first of many masterpieces. The next morning is when my week started off with a bang.

Maggie woke up to see the weasel set up with paints and an assortment of paintbrushes. She was told not to ever touch it. While I was getting breakfast ready, I realized how quiet Maggie was. I go into the playroom to find her, the dry erase board of the weasel and the floor COVERED in thick red and yellow paint. WHAT A MESS, I wish I had taken a picture, but I was in a state of shock and didn't think of that at the time. After spending 20 minutes cleaning the mess up, I realized that the wood around the weasel was now stained red, and Maggie's legs were now stained yellow. Her pajamas and socks were no longer pink.

That afternoon, I decided to move the weasel to Ty's room, where the door can be closed off from the destructive little sister. I got it all set up after rearranging some furniture, and all I had left to bring up was the paint. Ty had taken the lids off the no-spill cups and put the jumbo paintbrushes inside. This made it a little more difficult for me to carry them. As I get into his room, The blue paint and brush fly across the room and land on the off-white carpet, leaving a trail about 2.5-3 feet long. WHAT A MESS, I wish I had taken a picture, but I was in a state of shock and didn't think of that at the time. After 20 minutes of scrubbing with cleaner, I decided that the stain could not be removed. Washable? I think not!

Despite all this, Ty is still eager to paint his masterpieces. He just has to do it with his door closed or when Maggie is sleeping.