blog homes, that is.

Visit us at http://pellyeah.blogspot.com

Until I figure out how to export all our archives on this blog to the other, I’ll be keeping this one up, but not adding to it.

(Anybody with knowledge of how to do that, email me.)

For now, we’ll be keeping One Pell of a Year and Thunder\’s Daily Boom at wordpress.

We were all out of sorts and feeling displaced yesterday because the previously flooded kitchen floor was finally being replaced. I did like the old floor better. It was darker, warmer and more comforting. Can a kitchen floor really be described like that? I guess it can because I just did. My only choices were white or tan so I made the obvious tan choice. Even though we are renting, I think I should have had more options. This especially because we will most likely be footing the bill unless God sends a miracle and our insurance can find a “your child threw a toy down the toilet and caused horrific damage” clause.

A positive way to look at our flooring experience would be that the two nice men who came to work on our kitchen entertained the boys all day long. At one point during the day, Luke went upstairs to draw and came down with a drawing of the lead guy. He graciously accepted the drawing and I saw it peeking out of his inner coat pocket as he left. I’m also pretty sure Luke asked them fifty million questions and they gave him fifty million answers. That’s one positive way to look at it, but I don’t want to, I’m feeling negative after yesterday’s unfortunate events.

Naptime came and went without Luke or Jack ever closing their eyes. I should have taken that as a clue because I can’t even remember when Jack hasn’t slept during the day. After about a half an hour of giggling, toys being thrown and blinds being crunched, I decided it was time to go in and lay down the law. When I came into the room, I saw the expected toy and book mess on the ground but then my eyes rose to Blue’s fish tank.  There was an inch of fish food floating on top of the water and it was strewn all about the bookshelf and floor. Jack took the blame for it but Luke told me later he himself was the culprit. What a good little brother!

With naptime missed I knew I needed to be prepared for the evening. I was so proud of myself when I carried out the plan of cleaning up the house earlier than usual then doing the bedtime routine prematurely. The boys were jammied up and teeth-brushed by 7:30 (bedtime is at 8, which normally turns into 8:30 or 9). I added seven storybooks to our Bible reading in hopes that they would get calmed down and maybe even fall asleep before I finished reading. No such luck but there was no fight when the lights turned out.

I walked out of their room patting myself on the back and headed downstairs for some tea and unwind time. A little later I heard a plop on the floor and assumed Ping, our cat, jumped down from her normal perch on the washing machine. When I went upstairs an hour or so later to do the normal rearrange of sleepy boy body parts and tuck-in I stepped on some damp carpet as the Ping raced out of the room. That’s strange. I turned the light on and found Blue, our brand new beta laying on the carpet with cat sized chomp marks on his body. The tank had been pushed off the bookshelf and overturned. Somehow that genius cat also figured out how to unsnap the lid to the tank.

I called Tim at work and was forever grateful when he promised to be the one who would break the news that the boys’ beloved Blue was gone. The stupid fish didn’t even last a full week!

R.I.P. Blue

You will be missed.
To your watery grave you go.
We will find solace in the knowledge
that you will be now keeping company
with Jack’s flushable playthings.

likes to steal the camera to take self portraits

and pictures of his own drawings.

This guy.

The smell of Pert Plus shampoo.

The oily smell of creosote from the logs in the backyard.

The fresh, clean smell of anything that came out of the linen closet. I loved going to sleep on a pillowcase newly grabbed from that closet. Just opening the doors made that smell waft into the hallway.

The smell of wet dirt and grass will always remind me of softball season.

The taste and crunch of snap peas picked off the vine in the summer.  I don’t remember going inside for lunch or snacks much when the garden vegies were in season.

The taste of sweet plump cherries picked off the tree in our backyard. And the headrush from hanging on the tree swing.

The nasty, yeasty smell of a band-aid that’s been on too long reminds me of the horrible patch I used to have to wear on my eye. Then that reminds me of how my dad drew pictures on my patch everyday and then took me to Toys R Us to buy anything I wanted after I was done wearing it. That promised trip was the only motivation that kept me from ripping it off each day.

The taste of my mom’s cookie dough. I always knew that when I heard the tap tap tap of the measuring cup on the mixing bowl, she was putting the flour in and it was almost “dough time!” Our cookie container was NEVER empty growing up.

The sound of boys’ giggling reminds me of how Ryna and I used to start giggling and couldn’t stop.

The smell of chlorine in a hot tub always reminds me of hanging out with Mama Addie and Papa Dickey. Black coffee in the morning also reminds me of them.

The smell of the salt water and the feel of polar bear swims remind me of hanging out at Camano with Mama Rene and Papa Roy.

I could go on and on but then I would probably be boring you, if I haven’t already. What reminds you of your childhood? What do you think your kids will remember?

p.s. Don’t ya just love my glasses!!!

Meet Blue:

She’s our new fish.

Jack named him.

Luke and Jack love him and he’s found his new home on top of their bookshelf.

Pre-Breakfast: Skyped with Meemaw and Papa, then with Papa. Opened presents.

Breakfast: Krispy Kreme

Mid-Morning: Jumping around at Monkey Bizness.

Lunch: Chili’s, of course, for Mac n Cheese.

After Lunch: Home for cake and a long nap.

Afternoon: Luke requested to watch WALL-E and he got to even though it was a “no cartoon day.” He also got a sweet phone call from Asher, who gave him insight on what it’s like to be a five year old. Uncle John, Auntie Sarah, Emma and Johnny also called to wish their awesome nephew and cousin a Happy Birthday.

Evening: Skype with Nana, Papa and Auntie Ryna and a little football in the living room.

Whew!

(playing at the bouncy houses)

Here is the birthday interview with Luke:

How old are you today? Four.

What happens when you’re four? I grow.

How much are you going to grow? Four years old.

What’s the most important thing about your birthday? Soccer.

What is your favorite food? Macaroni and cheese and pizza.

What is your favorite movie? WALL-E

What is your favorite thing to do? To play in the bath with Jack.

What is your favorite book? The Cat in the Hat.

What are your thoughts about the health care reform bill potentially not being passed? (A boo and a hiss and an ugly face from Mom and Dad) What does that mean? I don’t know.

Who is your best friend? Jackie

Who are the coolest people you know? He points to Daddy and Mommy.

What is your favorite band? AC/DC

What is your favorite song? Michael Jackson Mama-say-mama-saw-mamak-u-saw (Wanna be Startin Something).

What is your favorite toy? WALL-E.

What is your favorite shirt? AC/DC shirt. (He wears it whenever it’s clean)

Who is your favorite pet? Clementine AND Ping.

Where do you want to work when you get older? T-Mobile.

What do you want to do when you grow up? Be a teacher.

Who do you think should be the president of the United States next term? Ummmm….Barack Obama.

Do you think we should pay a little more so people less fortunate than us can go to the doctor? Yeah.

What is your favorite hairstyle? A mohawk.

How does it feel being four? I actually don’t feel like four, I still feel like three.

My awesome, cool, crazy first born turns 4 today.

Holy moly!!!

Those are the adjectives Luke likes to refer to himself as.

He’s perfectly accurate.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

This is what I saw when I looked out into the backyard.

I just watched them for a while because I wanted to see what they would think of next.

I don’t know if that makes me a horrible mother, but I was just curious.

This is what was going on here:

#1 Luke and Jack managed to roll the tug boat over and lift it up to rest against the house.

#2 Clementine is trying to enter the house through the window.

#3 It’s 11 o’clock and they are still in their jammies. I just put their winter gear on so they could play outside.

#4 Jack was unable to climb up the tugboat so he decided to try and use the window as a way up to the roof. If you know how accident-prone Jack is, you’ll be relieved to find out all his attempts were unsuccessful.

#5 Luke was successful in his mission to get up to the roof. I asked him later why he wanted to do that. Apparently he was trying to get to outer space. I decided to go out to get him down after he called out to the dog, “Clementine, can you rescue me?’