Tooth Fairy

Noah lost his first baby tooth just before his birthday back in January. He lost his second one just a few weeks after the first. They both already have "grown up" teeth in their place.
Yesterday, Noah lost his third baby tooth. Last night we had to leave a note in the bottom bunk so the tooth fairy would know to look on the top bunk since Noah now sleeps up there.
This morning, Noah found two dollars from the tooth fairy under his pillow. (I think there may have been some miscommunication between the fairies as to who was leaving money!)
All that to say this...Noah has yet to see a dentist. I am planning on taking him next week. He is really scared. Any tips on taking a child to see the dentist for the first time?

We Have A Problem

My baby has a serious problem. His nursing time is interfering with his smiling time. Or maybe it is that his smiling time is interfering with his nursing time. Whatever the case may be, it is definitely a problem. It just is not possible to smile and nurse at the same time. Trust me, if it were possible he would have figured it out by now because he tries his best to do both at the same time. I would post a video of the process (as it is quite humorous to watch) but while I may be comfortable enough to nurse my baby in just about any situation, posting videos or pictures of it seems to cross the line somehow. So while you don't get a picture of the said problem, you do get a picture of his smile.This smile seems to be permanently attached to his face. That smile (combined with the squeals and coos and sounds of delight that he makes) keeps me smiling all day as well.

Daniel Boone

Daniel Boone was a man,

Yes, a big man!

With an eye like an eagle

And as tall as a mountain was he!

From the coonskin cap on the top of ol' Dan

To the heel of his rawhide shoe;

The rippin'est,roarin'est, fightin'est man

The frontier ever knew!

Privacy Fence

Our backyard is STILL not fully fenced! Joe has really been working hard to get it done, but there are so many other pressing needs that the fence keeps getting pushed to the back burner. Most of it is finished though and it should only take one more full day of working to get it complete.
Thus far, I have only discovered one flaw in the fence design. Six foot is about a foot too high. The problem with a privacy fence is that I can not see what my neighbors are doing. Once again I say that I am not a nosy neighbor, it would drive anyone crazy to hear voices or a tractor out in the field and not be able to see what is going on!
Joe thinks it is hilarious because he is tall enough to see over the fence and I can't. This would not bother me except for the fact that he won't use his God given height to look over and tell me what the neighbors are doing out there.
However, my husband is very ingenious. Remember the solution he invented to my trash can dilemma? Well he has come up with yet another redneck solution. He bought two wooden ladders at the auction and has propped them up against the privacy fence so that I can climb up and look over.
Why two ladders? I'm so very glad you asked! He says he plans to put boards up between them to create a type of scaffolding so that I can walk back and forth along the fence line checking things out. I seriously doubt that will ever happen as I really am not a nosy neighbor. However, if you happen to drive by and see a head sticking up over my fence, don't worry it is just me trying out my new ladders!

Communion

This post really isn't about communion at all, but rather about Noah. However, you may need a little background info in order to understand the post.
Our church has communion every Sunday. Although many parents allow their children to take communion before they have made a firm decision for Christ, Joe and I believe that communion is for believers and will not allow our children to partake until they have publicly accepted Jesus as their savior. (We may be wrong, very possibly are, but it is our life, our kids, our faith, and our decision.) That being said, it is difficult to explain communion to small children who just see that they don't get to have "juice and cookies" during church.
We have been discussing the plan of salvation with Noah for a while, but I don't think that he fully understands. I mean, I know he is ONLY five, but we try to answer all of his questions honestly, pray for him daily, and prepare him for the day that he feels the tugging of his spirit. We are very conscious of the fact that this has to be Noah's decision, made in God's time. (I don't think I did a very good job explaining that, but I am in a hurry...hopefully you get the drift.)
On our way to church yesterday morning, Noah leaned forward and whispered to me...

Momma, I need to tell you something.
Go ahead Noah, tell me what it is.
I'm ready to ask Jesus to live in my heart.
Noah that is great, do you want to pray right now?
Yeah, I'm really hungry and I think I am going to need that juice and cookies in church today!

After a long discussion about the fact that partaking in communion was not the reason that you should ask Jesus into your heart, Noah decided he wanted to wait for a while anyway. Ah, the joys of motherhood and trying to figure out the workings of a child's mind.

Daddy & Me & Me & Me

Happy Father's Day to all of the Dads out there. I am so blessed to say that my children have one of the best fathers in the world. There is nothing Joe would not do for our children and the love that he showers on them is like nothing I ever could have imagined. Our boys are Daddy's boys indeed! They each have a special relationship with him and he makes sure that he nourishes those relationships every chance he gets. Because of that, he is their hero.
Joe has done more than his fair share of changing dirty diapers, wiping noses, picking up toys, and drying tears. Because of that, he is my hero! He never complains about the responsibility that comes with being a Daddy to three boys, he just digs in and gets it done. He really does deserve his own day of honor. (Too bad this year we have to share the day...my birthday falls on Father's Day.) Anyway, Happy Father's Day Joseph. We love you lots and lots and lots and lots.

One Brave Woman

Those are the words I would use to describe my mother, (who was so gracious to come over and watch my children tonight so Joe could take me out ALONE to celebrate my birthday) since she is the one who was brave enough to attempt this photo this evening. A nearly twenty month old wearing a crazy hat and wielding a bat is not my idea of a good photo opportunity.

That is not however why I wanted to post this particular picture. I am posting the picture to show what happens when a nearly twenty month old dives off of the couch head first onto a cardboard box. Luckily it did not actually hurt his eye, just banged up the area under and around his eye. I don't think that "cautious" is a word we will ever use in describing Jonah, and I still think we should invest in some good protective head gear.

Tumbles

Mom, come quick...Jonah just went head over head over toes!!!
Translation: Jonah just did a somersault off of the coffee table.

Top Bunk Drama

As much as Jonah loves to climb to the highest spot possible, Noah is terrified of heights. Noah climbs up just fine, but when he gets to the top of something, he freezes and can not come down. He has a mental fear, but it causes a real physical reaction. His whole body starts to shake and I think he is on the verge of hyperventilating. I always feel bad watching him on playgrounds because he will never climb anything higher than two steps. Just an example of how bad it is; When he has a doctor's visit, he is more worried about getting down from the examination table than anything else.
Noah and Jonah's rooms are connected with a Jack and Jill bathroom. Noah's room has bunk beds and Jonah's room houses the crib. Micah is still in the bassinet in the master bedroom. The original plan (when Micah outgrows the bassinet) was to move Noah and Jonah in together (Noah on top and Jonah on bottom), and put Micah in the crib in Jonah's old room. We were beginning to think that would never work. Noah got to the point that he could climb to his top bunk, but still could not get down. There were times when I was pregnant that he would get up there and be too afraid to get down by himself. I could NOT lift an eighty pound child down from the top bunk, so he would literally have to sit up there until Joe came home from work. It is amazing that we never had any bathroom emergencies during that time...but I digress. Jonah would have been glad to take the top bunk, but I am not comfortable with putting a nineteen month old on the top bunk. Can you imagine me trying to explain that one at the ER in the middle of the night? Our other option was to put each boy in his own room, since we have a beautifully decorated spare bedroom junk room and bath on the far end of the house. However, I really wanted to have all of the kids together.
Anyway, all of that to say this...Noah decided on his own that he was old enough to conquer this fear and climbed up to his top bunk and started cleaning it off throwing everything (jackets, blankets, toys) off and all over his room. He even climbed down all by himself. He was SO proud! Last night he begged us to let him sleep up there. We relented and he did great!
I will probably wait to move Jonah until a couple of weeks before we move Micah. Right now it looks like we have a couple of months before we have to move Micah, but phase one of our plan is in effect!

To Home School Or Not?

That is the question we (Joe and myself) find ourselves faced with right now. I have put off writing this post because I was not sure which direction my thoughts were headed. Now here I am writing it, hoping that I will figure out where my thoughts are headed.
I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching Noah at home for K4 but I find myself with conflicting emotions about next year. I wonder how I will be able to fit in being a Kindergarten teacher while adequately parenting my two younger boys. I am a stay at home Mom because that is what I desire to be and that is what works best for our family. I love being here for all of my children's 'firsts', their 'in-betweens', and most definitely their 'lasts'. I fear that I will neglect my younger two by spending so much time teaching Noah or that I will neglect giving Noah the education that he deserves because I am too focused on meeting the needs of Jonah and Micah. Both scenarios are unacceptable. So do I send Noah to school somewhere else?
So there you have it...my confusion. Do any of you have thoughts on this issue? I am at a loss. I know that everyone has to take into account their own situation and do what is best for their family, but right now I really just need some general advice...what worked for you?

Attn: Aunt Holly & Uncle Tj

I don't know how on earth this happened, but I have something that I think must belong to you. Sure, I gave birth to Jonah...I have pictures and a scar to prove it. But in light of recent developments, I think there must be some mistake.

1) He has Uncle Tj's "evil-knievel" tendencies. Recently I caught him sitting on the lazy susan that is built into my dining table. He was having Noah spin him around and around as fast as it would go. Every time Noah stopped spinning the table, Jonah started screaming.

2) He has Aunt Holly's mild/moderate case of OCD. If a room has a door, it HAS to be shut.

3) He has Aunt Holly's middle child syndrome. Although he could have gotten that from Joe.

4) Look at these pictures and tell me that he doesn't look exactly like Uncle Tj's baby pics!

Even though all of this evidence points to that fact that he must be yours, don't even think about coming to collect him. You will never be able to afford my finders fee. We will allow visitation anytime, provided you don't influence him any more than you have already done!

Important Dates

This is too funny not to share.
Joe got a speeding ticket a few weeks ago. (Not the funny part.) He HAS to go to court to see the judge. (Again, not the funny part.) Anyway, the court date is July 21st.
I was telling him that he needed to make sure that he told the crew that he would be taking off July 21st because he has to go to Springfield, GA for court. He got this strange look on his face and said, "I think there is something else going on that day. For some reason that date sounds familiar. I'm not sure what it is but I am sure that I'm not supposed to forget it."
This is the funny part!! See, I know why July 21st sounds familiar. Some of you reading this also know why July 21st is familiar. Joe's ex-fiance's birthday is July 21st. (Gasp! Yes, Joe was engaged to someone else before me!) I'm sure at one point in his life this was a very important date and he drilled it into his memory banks so as to never forget it.
I was trying my best not to laugh (and figure out a way to use this to my advantage) as he struggled to remember what was so important about that date. I could tell from his expression the minute he realized what that date was. He then tried to play it off by saying, "Oh, it probably had something to do with the water festival...I'm sure it wasn't that important." I couldn't stop the laughter. I had to confess to him that I had known all along. He then joined in and we both had a good laugh.
We have come to realize that it is the past that makes us who we are. It forever scars shapes us and we don't really have to forget it and move on, but rather appreciate it for what we learned. If we can do that and still have humor, all the better. I mean you really have to find humor in our situation. My husband's ex-fiance's sister married my brother, who was once engaged to my husband's cousin, who also happens to be the cousin of my brother's wife and the cousin of my husband's ex-fiance. In the end, I think we all can agree that we wound up married to the mate that God had picked for each of us. However grateful I am of that fact, I still find our convoluted process of getting there quite funny!

Back To Work

Thursday was my first day back to work since having Micah. I was not sure that I would even have a job to go back to since there have been recent layoffs. However, my boss called a few weeks ago and asked if I would be willing to come back. I did not really have a strong desire to return to work, but was not vehemently opposed to it either, so I decided to return for one day a week.
One day week is not really even enough to classify as a real job. I'm not even sure how long it will last. I do enjoy getting out of the house for a few hours without the kids, but I still maintain that my real job is being a Mom.
Noah and Jonah love their new sitter. Micah has not complained, so I guess that means that he is okay with her as well. The best part is that after spending nine hours with my three boys, the sitter was willing to come back this Thursday so that I could go to work again!

Customer Service...Take Two

Sorry to take so long to post again, but I do have a good excuse! The day after I posted about my luck with customer service, my Internet went out again. This time nothing I tried brought it back up. When I called the ISP, they said they were really backed up (How does that happen when they had four people willing to come out and fix the problem just the day before?) and would not get someone out to my area until the next week...AKA today. The repairman installed a new modem, seems mine had fried. I will try to update everyone on what has been happening this past week but it may have to wait until the kids are in bed tonight. Speaking of bed....Both Noah and Jonah are putting themselves to sleep, in their very own beds, before 8:30 every night, and sleeping ALL night!!! Micah still needs some help getting to sleep, but once he is down, he too sleeps ALL night. Whoo Hoo!

Customer Service

I usually have the worst luck when dealing with customer service. Actually I think it has less to do with my bad luck and more to do with the general lack of competence in today's workforce, but that is a topic for a whole other post.
I was having problems with my Internet connection, so I called the ISP 24 hour help desk. The gentleman on the other end of the line tried everything he knew to get my Internet working but to no avail. After an hour of trying, he told me he was going to have to send in a work order for someone to come out and check the connection. I left the computer up and went about my day as usual.
Less than 20 minutes later, the phone rang. It was the local service center wanting to set up a time to come out. I was shocked they had responded so quickly. He asked me exactly what error I was getting when I tried to connect, but when I went to the computer and tried, the Internet came right up! I did nothing different and we could not figure out why it had started working, but he gave me a local number to call if I had any more problems and hung up.
About an hour later, I got another phone call. The local service center was calling again to try and fix my Internet. I thanked them but explained that it was working and I did not need anyone to come out. Twice more before lunch they called and twice more I explained that I REALLY DID NOT NEED ASSISTANCE! I figured they had gotten the idea when the calls finally ceased.
I had just gotten Jonah down for his afternoon nap when I heard a knock at the door. When I opened the door, I could not believe my eyes. There on my steps was a repairman from the service center. He said, "I'm from PRTC. I was in the area and we received a work order to fix your Internet." I wanted to scream. I mean really, why is it that they are at my beck and call when they AREN'T needed??

Punishment

Me: Noah I told you to stand in the corner. Now get in that corner until I tell you to come out!
Noah: But my Daddy doesn't make me stand in the corner for this long.
Me: Well Daddy isn't here now is he?
Noah: No, but I wish...
Me: Noah, don't you dare say you wish your Daddy was here instead of me!
Noah: I wasn't even going to wish that.
Me: Then what were you wishing for?
Noah: I wished you were more like my Daddy.

AAKK! What to do? Where does brutal honesty cross the line to just having a smart mouth and how do I encourage one while discouraging the other?