Nicer Days

I took this picture two days ago when it was 80 degrees outside.

The boys love being outside and even had a picnic in the yard for dinner.

Today I woke up to a snow covered yard.

Please don't cheer

Last night was Joseph's first t-ball game. I was at Emily's game so I did not get to see it, but I got many great reports and pictures from the fan club that did attend.

They said that one of the most entertaining parts was when they placed the batting helmet on Joseph's head.......... he fell back off the bench.
In t-ball they play by different rules. The way you know it is the next teams turn to bat is when all of the players on the first team have a chance to bat. So the last batter gets a home run.


Since the batters could not hit the ball past the pitchers mound Joseph's coach lined the players up and had them take turns getting the ball and throwing it to first base. Joseph was able to get the ball and throw it 4 times

After the game Grandma and I asked Joe about the game. He said he liked hitting the ball and running the basses but he did not like everyone cheering for him.

He said "When you yell my name and words to me that is cheering. I don't like it when you cheer because it makes me nervous" (neeervousss)



Grandma asked Joe if he did not want so many people to come to his games. Joseph said he likes everyone to come to his games, he just doesn't like people to cheer.

Scrapbook Expo or Bust

Twice a year I desert my family for an entire day and head to the scrapbook expo. (Thanks Ryan) This last Friday Tracy and I went to our 5th Expo and it was fabulous. This year we were joined by my friend Jenny and My sister-in-law Jenny. That made it even more fun.

We arrived a little after 6:00am and waited in line for 3 hours visiting and planning our day. When the doors opened we hurried to our regular spot and got it. (that's why we go so early)


Then we started shopping. Anyone who knows me knows that I love scrapbooking and a great deal. The Expo is like heaven to me because I can always find the things I need for a great deal. This time I was looking for paper in the primary colors and little flowers for my stash. I was able to find both.......plus a few other things. Around 3:30pm we had spent most of our money and finally sat down to scrapbook.




Both Jenny's had to leave early but Tracy and I stayed until midnight. I finished 6 layouts (a record for me at the Expo), but Tracy was on fire and I think she finished at least 10 pages.

The next Expo is on September 19th and I am already making plans. Tracy will not be able to come so I am on the look out for another crazy person like me, who will stay the entire day. Anyone up for the challenge?

The Bummies

After the Spider Pig Post, Ryan told me that I should explain why we call our boys "The Bummies" I am sure that everyone can come up with their own reasons why we probably do this, but there is actually a funny story behind it. (no pun intended)

To really understand it we need to go back a few years...

The first Christmas Ryan and I spent together he introduced me to "The Twisted Christmas" CD, and to the song "The Buttcracker Suite," done to the tune of "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Ferries."

Joseph does not have much of a bum or hips so when he wears pants they always end up sliding down and giving him a plumbers bum. So to make light of it we would sing this to him as we would walk over and pull his pants up....

"See the plumber. What a bummer. Slippy slip, slippy slip, slippy slippy slip. Say it isn't so."

(A line from the song mentioned above.)

I don't think the words are in the right order for the song but that is how we would sing it. (We usually didn't sing it in public.)

As Joseph got older he could pull his own pants up when they slipped down, but we usually had to mention something to him (we still do.) Sometimes I would just simply sing "What a bummer" and Joseph would pull his pants up while he finished singing the song. I new this was kind of silly but it got the point across while making it fun right? (I know we scarred him for life.)

On Valentine's Day 2007. Grandma and Grandpa Bolander had stopped by to drop off Valentines and visit. After a while they had to leave, and as usual the kids followed them to the door to say good bye. Joseph likes to yell goodbye as loud as he can after them until they drive away. During this exchange of goodbyes Joseph suddenly called out "Goodbye Bummies!"

I was a little shocked and instantly told him that it was not a nice thing to call someone , the whole time wondering where this word might have come from. (I later decided that he concocted the word Bummie from the word bummer in the song.)

Grandma tried really hard not to laugh but Joseph caught on and knew that it was funny. So the next time he saw Grandma he yelled out "Hello Bummie!", and she yelled back "Hello Bummie."

The name Bummie has stuck, and because Josh is Joseph's Partner in Crime he has adopted the name too. So when we refer to the Bummies just know it is a term of endearment.

Keeping Busy In The Outfield

For the last couple of years Emily has been playing soccer. She likes it all right but she really only likes being the goalie. She does not think it is very fun running up and down the field all of the time. Emily is a great goalie and is not afraid to get in the way of a ball even if a foot is coming with it. One of her coaches nick named her the octopus because she did such a good job blocking the ball.


She also has a good time playing catch with her Grandpa and does a pretty good job throwing and catching the ball. So when It came time to sign up for spring sports we suggested that she might like to try baseball instead of soccer. I told her that if she is not afraid of a ball coming at her and she likes to run, just not all of the time, softball might be just the thing. With the game and practice schedules there is not enough time to do both so I told her to choose and let me know.

She ended up choosing Softball and last night was her first game.

When she went up to bat she hit the ball and got to first base. She was tagged out with the next hit, but the ball was hit straight to second base.

When the other team was up to bat Emily was positioned in the left field (between 2nd and 3rd base.) Not many balls made it her way, but she watched every hit to make sure she didn't need to go after it.
So when you have nothing better to do and you have to stay in one place you might as well find something to entertain yourself. I shot this video of Emily making the best of it. (Sorry the camera moves so much I was trying to watch what the boys were up to at the same time)

Spider Pig

On Easter Sunday Joseph entertained the family with a rendition of "Spider Pig." A few days later Aunt Tracy posted The original clip of "Spider pig" from The Simpson's Movie on her blog and dedicated it to Joe. Today as Josh was playing with his toys I heard a familiar tune coming from his mouth. So this is for you Tracy. Love The Bummies.

This Two Shall Pass

At two a child is at a point where they understand a lot, and have more emotion and feelings, but they have not quite figured out how to express it so that the people around them will do what the child wants.

They are realizing that they can do many things on their own and that they have a choice (so they think) about how they want things. They start to try new things like helping mom water the plants and put soap in the dishwasher. The world becomes and even bigger place to explore and that can often result in big messes. No matter how baby proof your house is a two year old has learned to climb on things to get to the higher spots, they have learned to open the child locks and even use the DVD player. Your house is no longer safe.

If as a parent you tell them no or stop them from doing whatever it is they are doing then they will start to throw a fit. This unfortunately has also moved to the next level. Instead of just crying they throw themselves to the floor and scream as loud as they can no matter where you are. This can be triggered by simply putting their drink in the wrong cup, and if the child is tired these fits will come more often.

I started noticing signs of the terrible two's around 18 months, but we have definitely entered them now. All of my children have gone through this phase and it has not lasted too long. Emily and Joseph were a little cautious about where they threw them selves. Emily would usually just stomp her feet and scream, but Josh will throw himself down no matter where he is.

I thought after he threw himself down on the hard cement the other day that this might slow the fits down a little, but it has not. I try to just ignore them or pick him up and continue on our way, but sometimes I have no choice but to sit and wait for him to finish. Even though you cannot hear or really see it he is throwing a fit in this picture. It was one of those times where I just had to wait it out so I decided to document it with pictures. I got a few glares from other mothers while I did this, but the flash of the camera distracted Josh and the fit did not last long. This has to be my least favorite part of the terrible two's but like they say "This two shall pass."