More Fun in February

There's always a surprise in our home!
O decided to pull up his two crib sheets. The same two sheets I put on there to make it nice and snug. He then pulled back his waterproof mattress pad. Oh, and the fun didn't stop there. He decided to rip apart his actual mattress with his bare hands.

And then...he thought it would be hilarious to rip out a fist full of foam.
HAHAHA!! Isn't that GREAT?!

We then housed a little mermaid who refused to walk like a human. Getting to the breakfast table was a tad tricky.

W is obsessed with all tools and feels it is his right to seize all that come into sight.

O is now wanting to be like big sis and work on her computer when he thinks she's not around. With this brings shouts of pure joy and sudden frolicking through the house. If you listen, S, I'm sure you can hear them in Virginia...I love it.

This actually was really funny. We had a night of bubble blowing and all the kids went wild. Daddy was helping O vigorously kung fu all the bubbles...bubbles you can barely see in the picture.

Wild I tell ya.

I Don't Like Crayons in The Laundry

In the past, I have washed several crayons, but there was no damage due to cold water and the great discovery of them before the dryer. Well, my luck ran out. Somewhere in the massive load of fairly new children's clothing and a pinch of daddy's work clothes, there were two crayons hidden within a pocket enclosed with velcro. I opened the dryer door and just about fainted.

CRAYON!! EVERYWHERE!!

BLUE AND MAGENTA!

The entire dryer drum was covered with melted crayon.

Smeared all over the doors.

Sucked into the vent holes and plastered all over the fuzzy drum lining.

Not pretty. I rummaged through the magenta stained clothing in total disbelief and searched for the crayons. All the clothes were ruined! Not only did they turn pink, but they had huge melted crayon streaks everywhere.

The culprits.

We had to find a way to clean our dryer. The first idea that was presented by the internet was WD-40. Spray it on a rag and rub away, then wash down the dryer when done. But that's flammable and I was hesitant to wipe it all over the DRYER. My dad said it would be ok because the dryer is ventilated and I would wash it down. So, I did it. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. But after 15 minutes of hard elbow grease, I realized not much crayon was coming off.
Time to wash down the drum. I used dish soap and scrubbed away. I was surprised to see my rag appear pink with each scrub down. Hours were passing and I was exhausted. It's extremely awkward and difficult to wash inside a dryer.
The next idea was toothpaste. Yes, toothpaste. Heat the dryer for 5-10 minutes. Slather the crayon spots, or in my case, the entire drum with toothpaste. Run the dryer again for about 10 minutes to allow the toothpaste to dry. Then scrape it off with a flat tool. I used a plastic putty knife, or was it a paint scraper? I don't know. It was hot and still awkward and difficult to scrape off the toothpaste, but the crayon was actually coming off! Hooray!

A white door!

Look how clean that is!!

There is just a tiny hint of pink now....great improvement.

The blue didn't quite come off as well as the magenta, but wow, what a difference.

It took a VERY long time to get it looking like this. We're very pleased.

As far as the clothes, I tried washing them again, but there was no change. So I bought a bleach for colors and that did the trick...for the most part. Some clothes still have pink stains and crayon streaks, but they're salvageable. Phew!
Laundry is hard work. This one load took me almost a week to finish!!

During The Snow Storm

While E played in the snow, the boys were playing their own game...of dismantling the exercauser. I don't know why we still have the exercauser out and about. They don't really play in it anymore, but they do play with it and on it. Today they...well, O decided to yank the seat clean out of the center.

I mean, he just pulled it right off!

W looks like he's helping, but he didn't do much. He was helping O remove the seat though.

Here is where it got even more interesting. Normal really. W held the discarded seat as O climbed up on the exercauser. He looked as if to say watch this. I know from experience that when boys say watch this (or grown men for that matter) it's usually not good.

There ya have it, folks. Within a split second, he's down through the middle.

Realizing the not-so-great-decision and the pain searing through his arm...well, let me rephrase that. He does realize the pain, but knowing my son, he probably didn't realized the not-so-good-decision. That's just me hoping he did.

W quickly putting the seat back in place, hoping he won't get hurt like his brother.

Running to mom for comfort.

I kid you not...10 seconds after being comforted, they were back at it again.
Boys...

The Next Big Storm Of January

Another storm rolled through Carolina and left us with another 8-9 inches. It was a beautiful winter wonderland. This time we didn't even bother bundling up the boys. It was way too much effort to put a million layers on them, only to enjoy the snow for about 2 minutes. E loved it, yet again!

A lot of rolling around and pretending with friends.

Unearthing her tricycles.

It lightly snowed the entire time E played on the back porch. Then within a split second, a small blizzard surrounded E and panic set in. Fight or flight? It's a quick flight, my friends. But look, even when she squints, she can barely see her way to the back door. ;)

HELP!
She was fine...a little rattled, but fine. She undressed in disbelief of what just happened. "Whoa," she said. "I need hot chocolate."

Winter Song

Awhile back we had our first big snow storm of the winter season. Everyone loved it for the first 10 minutes, but then the boys changed their minds.

Three cheers for short, cozy snow storms!

Playing Basketball

E loves Daddy.
Daddy watches basketball, E watches basketball.
Daddy plays basketball, E plays basketball.
Daddy goes to play at the church, E goes with him.

Daddy began playing another season of men's basketball at church and E wants everything to do with it. E usually watches basketball on tv with Daddy and when she realized he was playing, she became a basketball player herself.

Stretching...lots of stretching before the big game.

Make sure everyone knows the rules.

We play for a bit and then after the loud beep, the game stops. We wipe our faces with towels and walk down the hallway for water (towards the washer and dryer).
Beep! We play again. Run!

Shoot the ball! Score!

The boys got the basketball goal for Christmas and we've kept it in the kitchen for all to enjoy. The boys love to throw the ball through the hoop, especially while standing on mommy's kitchen bench.

Here's O on the bench. He's not playing ball right now...he's fixing the net with a screwdriver.

Slowly

Things are slowly starting to calm down over here. It could be a mix between maturing, our extreme devotion to the classical music station, and the beginning of child labor. Hmmm...

W really does love the vacuum. He begs to vacuum every time I bring it out of the closet. If I open and close the closet door without getting the vacuum out, W will no doubt protest in some fashion. Tears are often involved. He follows me from room to room, turning it on and off, pulling on the cord, or taking the attachments. He can hardly stand to wait for his turn. He's finally content when I relinquish the vacuum. I have to admit...he's pretty good...and he can actually plug it in, push the vacuum, place the attachments on correctly, and vacuum most of the room.

O has been taking an interest in putting the dishes away. He takes the silverware from the dishwasher and plops them into the drawer. E is there to help organize. O has also done a better job at putting things away (books on the shelf, toys in the bins, or trash in the sink...yeah...we're still working on that).

I mean...look at this. This deserves documentation. I think this was the first time the boys actually sat down and nicely played together...quietly too. I had time to take a few pictures and video this momentous occasion. That is... before the mood changed. Yeah, it didn't last too long. O decided W's potato head was better and had to have it. W then swiped O's head. Pieces were thrown and the task was quickly abandoned. I'm glad I got it on video. Not only is it funny, but I've got proof of their shining moment of togetherness.

On a side note, Santa brought E a bike for Christmas and she learned to ride it in just a few tries. She even coasted backwards down our driveway!
She dressed herself this day, and yes, those are swim shoes. Cutie pie.

Oh...not only do I believe that classical music has calmed our household, but there are even more benefits! My kids dance to the music and E can recognize specific instruments as well as the mood of the song.
Pretty spiffy, eh?

Happy Birthday!

We celebrated Daddy's birthday and E was excited to help make the requested white cake with chocolate icing.

Here's the man. It's his special day and doesn't he look good?

O was excited to sing! We all know he's got some lungs, so it's a good thing he can sing in tune.

Dig in!

We love you Daddy.