Remembering Yellow

There's nothing quite like the bond between a boy and his dog.

We'll never forget you, Yellow.

Ethan's buddy
December 2007 - September 2011

Confessions of a Not-So-Perfect Mother

I love my boys with a ferocity that I would never have guessed before I became a mother ... but sometimes they make me want to rock in the corner, with my eyes closed, while humming tunelessly.

There is very little sweeter than little-boy arms wrapped around your neck, that little bundle on your lap, or a bigger boy nestled against you ... but sometimes I read their bedtime story at the table because I can't stand the thought of anyone touching me.

The first "mama!" is a wonderful sound ... days of unending "mama! mama! mama!" occasionally make me wish for earplugs.

I love that they all enjoy books ... but sometimes I hide the one we've read three times a day for a week.

Their sleepy faces, with pillow creases still on their cheeks, delight me every morning. But when the morning is spent squabbling, whining, and/or sobbing hysterically about every wrong (both real and imagined) naptime is a most welcome time of day.

I love the sound of their voices, their laughs, the ideas and stories and questions that flow in an endless stream from their minds ... but sometimes I need them to just. be. quiet.

I used to think that parenting was all about teaching my children. I've come to believe that God also gives us children to show us the flaws in ourselves, so that He can gently shape and grow us in those areas. How can I think parenting is all about them when it shows me so clearly my own selfishness, impatience, and unkindness?

My boys are a wonderful gift ... even when they are loud, or naughty, or clingy. And part of that gift is the very fact that my reaction to their loudness, naughtiness, or clinging reveals areas I need to change. I can see that clearly tonight. Remind me tomorrow, okay?

Pushing Buttons

Pictures can tell a story. This one - to me - tells about how sweet Benny is, how busy and active and happy.


This one tells a story of two brothers who snuggled up together so one could "read" a story to the other ... good friends and good brothers.


Here we have a spontaneous dance. They're both loving it, and enjoying playing with each other.


But pictures don't tell the whole story. Those pictures don't tell the story of how both Alex and Ben have an innate ability to know how to push buttons ... or how much the like to do just that.

Especially to each other.

And so I have a story to tell that will belie the sweet innocence you see in the pictures above ... but it is just as accurate as the stories those pictures tell.

Alex has a bike with training wheels that he refers to as his "rocket bike". Since he has gotten big enough for this big boy bike, Benny usually uses Alex's cast-off tricycle. But Benny likes the rocket bike, too, despite the fact that he's incapable of riding it. We gently encourage Alex to let Benny sit on it when Alex is busy with something else anyway.

Alex left the house one day to find Benny sitting on his bike. Mindful of our instruction, he didn't tell Benny to get off of it, but he did darkly warn that Benny needed to keep it on the driveway. Sensing a button-pushing opportunity, Benny promptly hopped off and wheeled it into the grass.

Alex promptly started scolding him. "Benny, no! Keep it on the driveway!"

At that, Benny decided to push that button a little harder. Smiling angelically, he informed Alex that he was going to give the bike to the neighbor. And then he started for their yard, struggling to push the bike along through the grass.

Alex. Flipped. Out.

He immediately ran screeching into the garage to tell Dad what was going on. Dad, upon hearing that Benny was giving the bike away, tried to calm Alex down. After all, Benny wasn't really giving the bike to the neighbors, right? He went out to talk to Benny.

And found him half-way across the neighbors' yard, sing-songing as he went, "Going to the neighbor's!"

Luke quickly got Benny back in our yard. He started telling Benny how he shouldn't be doing that, but Benny just replied with all the virtue he could summon, "Sharing. Sharing is nice. Sharing with the neighbors."

And that, my friends, is why you shouldn't always believe what you see in pictures.

A Great Cause

Many of you already know that Luke and Trisha have been waiting on several things ... bringing home their son from Thailand, and getting their book (on waiting, of course!) published. The book is now available! And if you purchase a copy from this website, the profits will go to support their adoption. We can't wait to meet him!

Alex is 4!

Our "middlest" boy is four! He was so excited about his birthday this year ... we had his party the day before his actual birthday, because that's when Grandma and Grandpa could be here. He eagerly counted the days all week while he waited!



He decided he wanted a crocodile cake around the time of Ethan's birthday in January, and he never changed his mind. He actually picked one out that was made of cupcakes and covered in swampy-green colored frosting.



He didn't get the cupcake one for two reasons. First, we eat green frosting nearly every birthday between animal cakes and vehicle cakes and little boys who all love the color green. White frosting, with whipped chocolate ganache filling, sounded so much more appealing! Second, I've been wanting to try a new decorating technique. So I was a bad mama and did what I wanted ... but Alex was thrilled with the crocodile, and he enjoyed eating him!


Then of course there were presents!


Grandmas and grandpas give the best presents!


On his actual birthday, he went with Dad to the store for a balloon and donuts for breakfast ... a cherished tradition that they all look forward to!


Happy Birthday, Alex! We are so glad you're part of our family. You are truly a gift in our lives!

From Point A to Point B

Sitting on the tractor, in the wagon, rocking back and forth to propel the wagon is probably not the most efficient way to move. Then again, he always has had his own ideas about how to get around.

Sprinkler Fun

We finally had some nice hot weather for Memorial Day, so we celebrated by getting the sprinkler out!


Ben was pretty pleased with the whole arrangement, it seemed.


Alex has decided to have a cheesy grin whenever you take his picture.


They got their hair cut Monday, too ... nice short summer cuts. It makes checking for ticks so much easier! And they like to rub their heads - both their own and each other's. Benny's never had his this short in front, but I really like it.


And of course, one of the benefits of being the big brother is chasing the little brothers around with the sprinkler! They all thought that was a great game.

Painting

The Chaney family rules for painting:

1. Concentration is required.
2. Shirts are optional.


3. The more tools for applying paint, the better.
4. Mom gets to clean all the tools, so use as many as possible.


5. Washable paint is important.
6. Paint is cold, so it really is best to use paper as your canvas rather than your skin.


7. Spill-proof cups are invaluable.
8. If you get your brush wet enough, you can make all your colors run together into a lovely brownish-grey color.

Alex has wanted to "do school" this year, because he wants to do everything his big brother does. When I've been organized enough to have supplies and activities ready, we've done preschool. (And yes, that does mean it's been sporadic!) But he knows all the letters (although he hasn't learned to sing the alphabet song) and the first sounds they make. He's also been very interested in writing letters ... on the day I took this picture he came inside from playing for a few minutes because he had seen Ethan with a whiteboard. He wanted a turn, and he wrote his name all by himself!



He was rather annoyed with his mother for wanting to take his picture ... he was ready to head back out to play ... so I got this fake smile!

Born Teacher

Ethan has decided, of his own volition, to teach Alex some math. When I told him that Alex doesn't recognize all the numbers from 1-10, he decided to write his own math program using symbols. This morning, before breakfast, they sat down together to do some "Mummy Math".

Worth the Effort

Last spring one of Luke's coworkers gave us some pepper and tomato seedlings. Since we don't eat fresh tomatoes here, I used the tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce to freeze. It was a long, messy, putzy process - partly because the tomatoes weren't the type of tomatoes typically used to make sauces with. When I finished, I had serious doubts about whether I wanted to plant tomatoes again - it seemed like an awful lot of work for the amount of spaghetti sauce I got.

After eating the homemade spaghetti sauce all winter, seeing the boys take seconds and thirds every time we had it, and learning from my friend Cheryl that Roma-type tomatoes are better for sauce, we decided to go ahead and try again.





I guess those happy grins and messy faces are worth the effort!

Jet Packs

A while back I saw instructions for a simple rocket pack on this blog, and thought it would be fun for the boys. We covered ours with paper so they could decorate them with markers, but we added tin foil accents. Benny seems to think he's pretty awesome, don't you think?


They raced up and down the hallway ... note the multipurpose space/police helmets.


And who would go into space unarmed? Certainly not Ethan!




Balloon break! (Benny told me today that he "wuvs pink".)


Ethan and Alex teamed up to explore space, only to be stranded on Planet X. Thankfully they made it back before lunch.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We usually start our school day off with Ethan selecting a book from the book basket and reading for 20 minutes. The books coordinate roughly with the era of history we're studying, and it's a nicer beginning to his day than starting with something like math. The other day I had told him to begin his reading while I was cleaning up the kitchen. I glanced into the living room and found all three of the boys doing their morning reading. Benny is reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan ... yes, he's pretty advanced for a two-year-old!


Alex selected Uncle Remus Stories.



And Ethan was reading G.A. Henty's In Virginia with Lee.

Play-dough

Alex and Ben have been favoring play-dough this week. They got out the cans of play-doh and found that they don't like it as well as the homemade version. The homemade playdough (if kept in the refrigerator) lasts longer, is nicer to work with, and doesn't leave quite so many crumbles all over the floor.


They don't always use their play-dough toys with it ... sometimes they prefer just rolling pins, cookie cutters, and various toys to stick into it. This week they've wanted to use our bucket of play-dough toys, though.


Benny wanted to wear a tie to church Sunday, but he didn't decide that until we were on our way out the door. To compensate for being told "no", he decided to wear one Monday. Along with his Thomas underwear and no pants. He's quite the trendsetter, that boy.


I love that this can keep them occupied for an hour or more these days.


More pictures here.

Ethan's birthday

Ethan turned nine in January! He was up at 5:00 in the morning, excited to go with Dad to get donuts and come back to open gifts.



Monopoly Jr looks like fun ...


But what's this?


A totally cool robot that is the envy of his little brothers. Alex keeps asking if he'll get one on his birthday.


Lunch at Grandma and Grandpa's, a flag cake, and the AWANA Fair rounded out the day.


Happy Birthday, Ethan! We're proud of the young man you're becoming!

Reading

Alex-isms

As we were standing in line at Walmart, waiting to check out, he turned to me and said, "Know what would be really cool, Mom? If I could turn into a big vacuum and suck up all the frosting and pie. And also muffins."

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He's recently discovered Go, Diego, Go! I was sitting with him as he was watching an episode on Saturday. If you've never seen the show, they encourage children to participate by answering questions, doing motions, and so on. He wasn't participating much, and I thought maybe if I answered the questions he'd be more comfortable doing so as well. I had responded a couple of times, and at the next opportunity to do so I started to answer again. Without even looking at me, he said, "Not gonna happen."

I stifled a laugh and asked, "You don't want to answer the questions?"

He still didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Nope."

All righty then.

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When he's being affectionate. he likes to pat me and say, "Mama, you're too adorable."

Benny's Birthday

Benny's birthday was back in December (yes, I know ... I've been terrible about getting anything posted lately!). We started the day with our tradition of Dad taking the birthday boy to Piggly Wiggly to get donuts and a birthday balloon.


His birthday was on a Friday, and we went down to the N.E.W. Zoo that evening to see their special Christmas displays and take a horse-drawn sleigh-ride. It was cold, but everyone enjoyed the evening!


The next day we had a birthday lunch with Grandma and Grandpa ... and presents! Alex was a very willing helper when it came to opening gifts. He and Ethan had picked out a rubber snake for Benny.


Grandma and Grandpa got him a basket of babies, which he loves!



We got him a ramp racer ... two-sided ramp racer to minimize fighting over it and maximize playing together.


Maybe it should have been three-sided!

The birthday boy and the froggy cake he wanted:


He loves blowing candles out!


It's so hard to believe he's two already. We're so thankful for his lively, funny, entertaining presence in our lives!