Friday, February 27, 2009

Fun & Not so Fun Conversations

Leaving the post office the other day this is the conversation I had with Seth:

Seth: "Mom you are shrinking"
Me: "No, you are just getting taller"
Seth: "Nope, you are definately shrinking"

In contrast this is the conversation I had with Chase last night:

I have a heating pad that I use for my abdomen sometimes for pain and Chase wanted to use it last nite & I said no because I needed it. He says why do you use it anyway...I told him it helped me when my belly hurt, so this is what he says after thinking for a moment:

Chase: " Mom you can only see the top of your belly and it doesn't look big to you, but if you looked at yourself straight on you would see your belly is big, it looks like you are pregnant"
Me: weeping, wailing, nashing of teeth!!!!

*sigh* No girl ever wants to hear that...even from a 5 year old! Better get back on that Wii fit eh?

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Remembering

Today CJ was home to witness the FULL craziness of our dog! He believed me, he just isn't home that often to REALLY see him at his best or should I say worst! When CJ is home, the dog is all about him, they play & wrestle and it is so picture perfect (insert music here) they LOVE each other CJ & the dog (I can't even say his name I am so frustrated). Anyway, he was here to see him jump up and knock over Chase's FULL bowl of cereal! Chase just went to the bathroom, I was getting ready for church, is nothing sacred around here anymore? That was QUITE the mess, not sure if my kitchen chair will ever fully recover (thank the Lord for warranty plans).

So I think I have at least convince CJ to buy a "zone" system. It is discs you put in areas you do NOT want your dog to go....like on TOP of the kitchen table, and if they do, they get a little shock...I mean, we are talking little here, but enough that I am hoping he will get the picture! I will keep you up to date on the progress of that purchase! I need it for my sanity, I think, or to save the dog, cuz I am ready to take his collar off & "oops" leave the gate open......J/K well, ok, not really anywho...
onto remembering. This all makes me think of Seth. The dog was still little little puppy, I had just let him inside and was closing the sliding glass door, when I hear "TAKE THAT PUPPY" and then I hear the front door of the house slam shut. I go into the living room and there is Seth getting back to his game...and no dog. I open the front door & the dog is already to to the top of my street--near the BUSY road. I mean he is LITTLE at this point, so he isn't coming or responding to his name! We both almost got run over.....maybe in hindsight I should have just let the puppy keep on going...well, no, how horrible is that of me to even think.
Apparently, Seth was very frustrated with the puppy. He would not leave Seth alone and kept playing with him, which involved nipping at him, and Seth was just all done and thought, I will show him...and decided to set him free...
I am beginning to think, Seth may have had the right idea;-)
As badly as I am annoyed & frustrated with this pooch, I do have to admit, he is cute. He has been fun, the boys really love him, we have had fun playing with him, teaching him to catch and jump, man can he jump high! He does snuggle with me and not CJ when we are both home watching TV. Grudgingly I do have to admit, he is apart of our family now, and I would miss him if he were gone, well, not that much, but at least a little....

Friday, February 20, 2009

A Small World After All


I love getting cards. Especially from my hubby. He tells me he loves me every day, multiple times a day, but in his cards, he just has a way with words. He really writes his feelings down and I love it. I think I have saved every card he has ever written. Well, when the restaurant opened and his work hours became increasingly more, it became more difficult for him to find time to go to a store and buy a card, and it also became more difficult for him to remember, lets be honest here:) So a few occasions go by, no card, I am sad, I try to understand, but he realizes how important it was to me. Then he discovered E-Cards! He didn't have to go anywhere, he could send them to me from work even and better yet, for FREE:) I love it, because, I get to still hear his feelings and press print and continue to save them and be a sap:)


Well, on our anniversary, he tried to send me a card, but he sent it to my old email account. A little bummer, but honest mistake. So here come valentine's day and he is determined not to make the same mistake. So that nite on his way home from work he calls and asks me if I liked the card...what card I say? So he tells me know I sent it to this address...nope, honey, I couldn't used my name kerry.johnston, it was taken remember? So he sent it to someone else completely. He was so bummed.


The next day the lady sends him an email saying she thought he had the wrong address. He replied, yes, I am sorry, but my wife thinks it is funny, to which he then gets another reply....


"i was a little confused. my husband's name is also Christopher Johnston and he also goes by CJ"


She was nice enough to forward it back & ended up with my card after all...and once I read it...now she knows how much CJ loves me:)


Such a small world. The spelling of my name isn't all that common, but there is another Kerry and Christopher Johnston out there living in PA! And we found them, thanks to cupid! Ha. I just thought that was one for the blog....

The prettiest girl in the world


Last night both of the boys ended up in my bed for a little while. I was pooped, I tried to put them to bed at 7:30 which didn't work out so well, so we hung out in my bed for a while. Seth passed out relatively quickly but Chase & I were talking. I wish I could remember what we were talking about but somehow we started talking about girls who were pretty. He had his list....
Chase: "Granny, Aunt Fara, Gramma, Kimberly(my cousin), Miss Lauren(thier fav babysitter)"
When he said Miss Lauren he got this funny smile and giggled a little. So I asked him was she the prettiest.
Chase: "Oh no, the prettiest girl of all is my Granny, for sure!"
Me: "aww Chase that is so sweet! You are so sweet! Why is Granny the prettiest?"
Chase: "because she is so nice to us, she loves me & Seth so much, she plays with us and hugs us, and I can ask her anything and tell her anything, she helps me with anything I need, like going crazy with the post card collection, she is just the prettiest girl in the world. Besides she has really pretty hair"
Me: speechless because I am too busy crying and hugging my five year old who, I think, recognizes true beauty, inside & out!
Chase: " mom you are the next prettiest girl...if you were nicer to us like Granny, then you would be the prettiest"
Me: now crying from laughter "its ok Chase, I don't need to be the prettiest girl, because I am the luckiest girl in the world to have you for my son!"
I am so blessed and privelaged that my boys have a Granny is who is so special & who loves them so much! Not all kids have that. I think it is so cool that they adore her so much and not just because she gives them things ;-) It makes my heart smile!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Shugy


What is a Shugy you ask? Well it isn't a what it is a who? Shugy is Seth's new friend. New monster friend who likes to drink Seth's milk. The other nite Seth had taken a nap late in the day, so he was awake pretty late at nite. He was laying in his bed, watching a movie, drinking his milk. A few minutes go by & he comes into my bedroom & says he needed more milk because a monster drank his milk. But he assured me it was a nice monster who "growled the other bad monsters away from our room". Then we had about a 20 minute conversation about Shugy. I learned his name, that he is an orange monster with a green belly & yellow spots. He has little ears & little feet & little hands. He likes to hang out with Seth at nite & watch movies, but the only problem is....he likes milk, and apparently every nite drinks Seth's milk. It was so funny, I was cracking up laughing. The next day Seth told me Shugy had left for the day and would be back at bed time. Apparently during the day Shugy hangs out at Chuck E. Cheese.


Ahh...his imagination! I love it!


Why My Dog Drives Me Crazy


Need I say more? I was upstairs...folding clothes or Facebooking...not sure:) I hear a crash, thump, boom...so I come downstairs to find my children playing the Wii(I told Chase he could play after his homework was done...see the table? homework was done, just not put away) and they were oblivious to the fact that the dog had jumped up on the table & knocked over a soda(notice the stains on the chair in the corner) My first instinct was to throw Jazz out the door. But I had to get proof! It doesn't matter what I do or how I discipline him...he still gets into everything & now...knows how to get on top of my kitchen table. Gross! Yes, I have disinfected it!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

My funny valentines


So today is valentine's day. I know I know some people say it is a "hallmark" holiday and we should take everyday to show the people that we love, we love them. I do agree, yet, I am a mushy, sentimental, sap, period the end. I love these days. And having 2 kids, only makes it worse. I love shopping for them. Finding things I know they will love, or put a smile on thier faces. They are still only 3 & 5, so it doesn't take much...but, it is still so fun! This year was especially fun because they are both at the age that they love to do crafts. Sometimes, I get stressed out by the messed that are made during these activities...but this year was so fun. We celebrated Valentine's Day all week long.


My husband works in the restaurant industry, so for us, Valentine's Day does have to happen on another day. So they boys & I started off the week making cupcakes & a heart shaped cake for daddy. (I should have taken a picture--but still new at this blogging) They also traced thier feet, cut them out, decorated them with glitter & wrote cheesy sayings on them for daddy. Fun.


Then we did Valentine's for thier classmates & teachers. We had fun coming up with creative ideas for thier teachers. They cut out thier hands & taped it on little bottles of lotion with, again cheesy sayings on them. They turned out so cute. You just have to trust me on that one. I again did not get a picture.


We had fun going through all the valentine's cards they received from thier classmates. They both got A LOT!


Last evening, Valentine's Day Eve, the kids & I ate at the restaurant and Chase begins with "mommy what did you get us for Valentine's Day" I lovingly told him I was getting him hugs, kisses & my heart. And he rolled his eyes. So this morning when they got up, the look on thier faces when they saw thier favorite candies and a new cup was priceless. Chase says "mommy you do love us". I don't if I should be worried by that statement or not? Does my love have to be shown in material ways Chase?


When I get out of the shower Chase had made me a Valentine. Cut out a heart all by himself and it was the best Valentine I ever got:)


We had a birthday party to go to today. Then we went & visited with my parents & my sister. Chase calls my mom to tell her we were headed to her house and he says to his Granny " Valentine are your ready for your hugs & kisses Valentine" You see now why this blog's title is funny valentine's?


My sister arrives and Chase was anxiously awaiting his surprise. Well, my sister brought a Chuck E Cheese coupon to give to them(they love the Chuck E Cheese) Well, I think that was Chase's favorite Valentine of them all. He carried around that coupon, he wanted to go to bed with that coupon, and now the coupon is on the fridge as a reminder...we need to go to Chuck E Cheese.


We had a fun day. I have the best Valentine's in the world! I got lots of hugs & kisses today! And I loved every second! And as I went in to check on them tonite and kiss them one more time...I found them in bed together! And that makes my heart smile. They are brothers, competitive, brothers. But in the end...the love each other! I pray they will always be the best of friends!


Happy Valentine's Day! <3

Friday, February 13, 2009

My dad is...


a funny man:) This is where I want to write memories...so I thought it would be fun to write about my dad. My pastor dad! My boys adore him. He does magic tricks with them & tells knock knock jokes with them! He always tells them how much he loves them and how proud he is of them. Chase wants my dad to "bap-ti-tize" him! How cool is that? Anyway, he & my mother are their 2 most favorite people in the world. When anything important happens to the boys, they want to call Granny & Grandpa. Well, we live about an hour from my folks and the boys and I are going to be down their way tomorrow so I told my dad today, "I asked mom if you guys were having a hot & heavy date tomorrow(it is valetine's day) because we are going to be in the area & thought we might come & see you" to which my dad replied...."at our age it isn't so hot & heavy anymore it is more luke warm & slim fast" I am still laughing....so I thought I would blog about it! My dad always comes up with something funny to say:) And as my sister put it "that is out of control"


Thursday, February 12, 2009

Chase



So, my Chase, my oldest son, he is in kindergarten. His class celebrated the 100th day of school this week. They came home with a project --to collect 100 things. All 100 things had to fit into a zip lock baggie. Well, my son, he likes to be creative. He likes to be different. He has to be the only one in his class doing whatever. On his "letter" days, they have a brown paper bag & have to bring in something that begins with that letter, he always tries to be the one who stumps his teacher. Like for P he brought a frying pan, a one egg, real frying pan....he loved that his teacher couldn't believe a frying pan fit in his brown paper bag...or the H day when he was the only one with a harmonica, and he got to demonstrate how it worked, on on the F day he took a picture of his Aunt F ara...NO ONE guessed that;) I love that he is creative...I love that he wants to be different, because during this school year, I have seen how peer pressure has affected him, even down to the clothes he wears, so the fact that some individualism is remaining, I think is a good thing. So try desperately to encourage his creativity. And sometimes it is just what he & I need to reconnect. He has discovered his attitude and we have been having a rough go of things lately, it seems I am always "nagging" him to obey or watch how he talks to me, it gets exhausting, so when these projects come up, we both have fun doing them. So...back to his 100 things, this was no exception. My parents took a trip over the summer to Niagara Falls and had sent him & Seth a bunch of post cards. My sister also sent them post cards from her trip to New York. All of these are displayed on their mirror, so he sees them & says, Hey I want to bring 100 post cards. This was no small feet....he only had about 10. I had some saved from my trip to Alaska when I was in high school, so with those we had about 30. So I sent out an email to our family and friends asking if anyone sees any post cards could they please mail them. I only had about a weeks notice. Boy oh boy. Did our friends & family come through! He got WAY over 100 post cards. And it was so fun to get the mail everyday to see where & from whom they would come! I think I have counted he got post cards from 10 different states! And my mom went crazy...she sent him 45 postcards...and not in one big envelope, she sent them individually & wrote them all out! That was so fun reading them all to him! Our favorite was when she wrote "chase my hand is getting tired writing all of these post cards" Or they got a big kick out of her story about me. She sent a Star Wars one, and told them about when they took me at the age of 3 to see Star Wars & R2D2 fell in the water & Luke was frantically looking for him...I yelled loudly in the theatre "he's in the water Luke". Chase & Seth both are still talking about that one:) It was such a fun project. I am so proud of him for his determination & creativity! Although I am afraid that one day he will get disappointed, because up until now, whatever he has set his mind to, he has gotten & then some...one day I am afraid it won't be so. But until then! I feel so blessed to have such a smart, creative little boy! Now our new project will be pulling out a map & showing him all the different states he got the post cards from! I love it! His class had a "circus" on the 100th day. Admittance was his 100 things & they could dress in costumes...something from a circus. He dressed as a ring master...and looked quite handsome! As much as I miss him during the day, I also love seeing him grow & learn.




While I am on the subject of Chase and not doing things the easy way. I have to write about his Bike-a-Thon for St. Jude's. Lest I forget in about 20 years...I don't think I will, but hey, you never know. Last year his preschool participated in a trike a thon to raise money for St. Jude's. He was so excited to hear he would be able to ride his bike at school with his friends, and raise money for sick kids. So he told me he wanted to raise $1000. Well I discouraged him, I didn't want him to get his hopes up. So I said let's try for $100 and go from there. Well, within a day he raised $250. Then we realized there was a conflict. My mother in law had planned to take him & Seth to ride on Thomas the Train...the real one, the same day of the bike ride. So I told him bud you have done a great thing, lets turn in your money & you can go with Gramma & Pop Pop to Thomas. And he said no, he had to "earn" the money he raised by riding his bike. Which of course made me cry. He was barely 5 at the time! So, at the urging of a friend we made a video of him telling people what he was doing! And that video got passed along to people I didn't even know...and before I know it, he raise $1170! One third of what the entire preschool raised! Oh, how excited he was!!!! He rode his bike 22 laps! My parent drove up & surprised him and watched him ride! I still cry thinking about his compassionate heart! We still to this day read about the children at St. Jude's & he says, that is who I helped! What an amazing lesson we learned from our little boy, and what a great thing the preschool did to help us teach him about giving. So... Chase is my go getter! I am excited to see the man he will become. I pray daily that most of all he will Love the Lord with all his heart, all his mind, and all his soul and be a young man on his knees!!!!




Thank you Lord for the blessing of children!




So yeah, I think my kids are great...but who wouldn't with a kid like Chase:)

Oh my Seth

....yesterday when I dropped him off at preschool...he said he would see me in 10months. I leave chuckling every time I drop him off! But now when I pick him up I wonder what did he do today? He has apparently gotten comfortable with his teachers. Yesterday he refused to say the pledge of allegiance and just sat down...oye!

Monday, February 9, 2009

More kid sayings

The previous post mentioned Seth wanting to be like Chase and how he says goodbye when I drop him off at school. The little things are what makes me smile the most. Today when I dropped him off at preschool he said he would see me in 6months! Ahhh...one day I will have to sit the child down and talk about time, days, weeks, months, years....but until then, I get a good laugh at least 2 mornings a week:)

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Kids say fun things


My boys never cease to amaze me with the things they come up with to say. At 3 Chase's favorite was was "apparently". Now he says things like, "it seems as though..." like he is all grown up. Well every morning when Chase gets out of the car at school he says, "OK, see you in 6 hours" he likes knowing exactly how long he will be gone from home. So Seth hears this every morning. Seth goes to preschool 2 mornings a week, so he, wanting to be like his brother is trying to say goodbye the same way, he just doesn't get it the concept of time...so Monday at drop off he says "OK, see you tomorrow" and today when I dropped him off he says " OK see you in like 3 weeks" I just say OK, and crack up laughing...oh 3 year old minds...I love it. I love that he wants to be like his big brother, I love seeing his brain work. Or when he just waltzes in to my room one day and says "mom I need to have a talk with you" I said "about what" his reply was "i don't know we just need to have a talk" Or when he was at my mom's this past weekend she asked him how many times she needed to ask him to do something his reply was "ummm four?" he was dead serious, she had already asked him 2 times...needless to say, Seth thinks he is funny cuz my dad couldn't contain his laughter.


Kids say fun fun things! It is so fun to wake up everyday and not know what journey I am going to take with my boys. I do know that everyday I am going to wake up and one of them, if not both of them is going to make me laugh at least once that day...but probably more! I love it, I love laughing with them, at their innocence, I love seeing life through their eyes!


It is so good to laugh....I feel as though I spend too much time say no, don't do that, why did you do that, go to your room, please stop, that wasn't nice, don't hit the dog, get out of the dogs cage, you get the picture. It is nice to stop & just laugh with the boys, and it is really theraputic to write about it, to remember, I really do have some great kids. Smart, funny, amazing boys! I am blessed beyond measure, even when they test me to my limit & beyond!


I love my boys!