The Thankful Thingy

Last year, Jacin and I made a Thankful Tree with Jackson (Levi was there, but still a baby-baby). We collected twigs from the yard, cut out leaves from construction paper, and wrote down things we were thankful for. Here's a pic from last November:

This year, I was ready to do the same thing, thus making it a tradition. (Right? I mean if you do it for more than 1 year in a row, it qualifies as a tradition?) I got out the mason jar, filled it with acorns, and was intending to find some twigs later in the day. It never happened. The jar only sat on the buffet table for a grand total of 3 hours because Levi pulled it down about every 20 minutes. I quickly decided that we would have to make an alteration to the Thankful Tree tradition. So... this year we did a Thankful Garland. Over the past few days, Jacin has had trouble remembering the word garland, so he calls it our "Thankful Thingy."

I hot-glued a line of twine across our mantle, then printed leaf outlines on various patterned scrapbook paper. I had the leaf papers laminated before cutting them out (that way we'll be able to write on them with dry erase marker and use them again and again for years to come! TRADITION, remember?). Then we gathered together as a family, brainstormed things we were thankful for, wrote the ideas on leaves, and pinned them on the twine with tiny clothespins.

Admittedly, I was hoping this experience would be a type of kumbaya moment where we bonded as a family and really spent time digging deep and expressing heartfelt thanks to God. It didn't happen. Here's what DID happen:  Jackson scrambled around the den hauling chairs and blankets in, trying to build a fort while shouting out random things he was thankful.  Meanwhile, Levi toddled in circles swinging rubber caterpillars around like nunchucks.

Caterpillar Nunchucks

Nunchucks stolen and fort building in progress

Not really a kumbaya moment. But I was impressed that the 1st thing Bird gave thanks for was "God because He made us and died on that cross for us." (I'm a proud Momma!!)

Other things on Jackson's "thankful list":
hot dogs and waffles (cause that's basically all he eats)
jeans and boots (cause that's really all he wears)
legs for running and tools for building (cause that's all he does)
Wevi (AKA his brother Levi)
cocounts and leaves (he calls acorns coconuts - not sure why)
helicopters and planes (?? not sure where that one came from)

Jackson was also in charge of helping us think what Levi might be thankful for. Bird suggested:
Mickey Mouse (Levi LOVES to watch Mickey Mouse)
His paci (seemingly a permanent fixture in the kid's mouth)
Snoopy (his stuffed animal sleep snuggly friend)
Food - all types (cause, unlike his brother, Levi eats ANYTHING & EVERYTHING)
Me! (of course Levi would be thankful for his older brother, despite the MANY things suffered at his hands)

Among many other things, Jacin and I added leaves to our Thankful Thingy representing our thankfulness for our busy little boys, coffee, naptime, and Jesus.

3rd Annual Burns' PCB Vacation

This year was the 3rd year Jacin's parents have graciously taken us on a fall week-long vacation to Panama City Beach, Florida. Just like the previous 2 years, this year's beach trip was awesome!

Everybody went, and by that I mean Granny & PawPaw (Jacin's parents), Uncle Jared & Aunta Yaya (Jacin's brother & sister), and our little family of 4.

It was great to get away and be together. And for me, it was truly a time of rest and relaxation. For everyone else... well, you'll just have to ask them. Let me explain:

Somehow, when I signed up for stay-at-home motherhood, I didn't realize that I was accepting a job with no off hours. You see, stay-at-home moms never clock out. The work day doesn't begin and end. The job of mom is perpetual and never-ending, in more ways than one. In some jobs, you have specific office hours and then leave for the day. Not so with motherhood. In the work-a-day world, you might get a lunch or coffee break every now and then when you can gather your thoughts or spend time with a friend. Not so for a stay-at-home mom. For many employees, a big job perk is working with fun and creative adults. Adults? At home, you're working with (sometimes )fun and (potentially dangerous) creative KIDS. Big difference. And the deadlines and to-do lists some may have in the office? Forget it. Although stay-at-home moms may check off some things on their own to-do list, those things never really have a definite ending. (Even when you empty the dishwasher or fold and put away clean clothes, there will ALWAYS be dirty dishes or clothes awaiting you.) So you get my point. Motherhood is a 24/7 job that is cyclical and constant.

So back to vacation... taking a family trip means, first of all, that I have other ADULTS to talk to during the day!! Second, taking a family vacation means that I have other adults to HELP ME entertain and take care of the wahoos! What's not to like about this situation? And (let me just brag a bit here...) every single day of our PCB vacation last week, my precious hubster got the boys up, took them downstairs, and fed them while I slept in until 8:30 or 9am!!! At meal times, other family members besides myself helped feed the boys meals. On the beach, the boys had so many playmates and snugglers that they hardly needed me! And the last night of our week there, Granny & PawPaw took the boys while Jacin and I went out to eat by ourselves!! This was a week when I was truly free to relax (while Jackson shot everything that moved and Levi ate anything that didn't).

Now, Jacin, on the other hand, may not have experienced the same level of relaxation. Several times I heard him mumble, "Gosh! It's too much work to take 2 kids down to the beach!" And I do understand how sunscreening 2 wild things can be a bit tiring. And Granny & PawPaw? I am completely confident that they thoroughly enjoyed their time with the grandboys. But, I'm equally sure they're wishing they had some additional time off to recover from the week of "vacation" with us.

All in all, it was a great trip. The weather was great, and the company even better. I'm so thankful for the many blessings we get to partake of through God's generosity to our families.

And have I mentioned that I love my 2 little buddies?!

Even without a vacation, I would never trade my stay-at-home moments with my 2 littles for anything in the world.

Daddy Said I Could!

A few nights ago, we were all in the kitchen cleaning up from dinner. No sooner had I noticed Bird's absence than he came swaggering back into the kitchen, zipping the fly of his jeans as he walked.

"Guess what?" he said proudly.
"What?" I asked, with great trepidation.
"I just pee-peed. And you know where I did it?"
"Where?" I asked, stealing a side glance at Jacin.
"In the shower," he said, smiling.
"In the shower? Why did you do that?" I asked, with a sense of partial relief, realizing that the chosen location could have been much worse.
"Daddy told me I could!" Bird answered, nodding his head and pointing at Jacin.

I looked over at Jacin, who was standing with his mouth open, mumbling, "uhhh, when did I say that?"

I felt the need to help remind him.
"You guys were bathing in our shower the other day. Did you happen to tell him then that he could pee in the shower?" I asked Jacin.

Jacin rubbed his head, tried to look confused, and then smiled.
"Oh. Yeah, I guess I did."

I turned back to Bird. "Buddy, I think what Daddy meant to tell you was that he thinks it's ok for you to pee down the shower drain only when you are already in the shower rinsing off." Then I turned to Jacin. "Is that what you meant?"

Jacin nodded wordlessly, and I turned back to Bird.
"And what Daddy forgot to say is that he will now take over responsibility for cleaning the showers."

This actually worked out quite well for me, because I despise cleaning the bathrooms.

Levi the Leg Leech

If you've been with our family at all over the last 12 months or so, you've observed that Levi is a Momma's Boy. And that's an understatement. The boy loves his Momma. If I'm in the room, he's not interested in being with anyone else. He loves snuggling with Momma. And after he wakes up from a nap in the afternoons, he expects me to either hold him while I do my housework or sit down and play with him on the floor. Either way, he wants 100% my undivided attention. Many evenings, you'll find me trying to fix dinner in the kitchen, stumbling along with Levi the Leech attached to my leg.

The other adult in the house (I won't name names) is oh so helpful at times like these. He says things like, "Good grief! All that baby does is cry!" or "Gosh Almighty. I can't even think straight with all that crying!" or my favorite.... "Well, get him, Baby! He just wants you!" As if I needed these things pointed out to me.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love my little Leech Momma's Boy.  Most of the time, he's happy and content. And if his big brother is around to give him attention and play with him, he can be distracted away from me. But during Arsenic Hour (the term we use for the time period between awakening from nap and eating dinner), no one else but Momma will satisfy. And while I appreciate this passionate display of love, it would really be dreamy to fix dinner without a leech firmly fixed to my leg. Just sayin.

Back to School in Style

Last year, Bird started going to "prek" two mornings a week at the local First Baptist Church. He (and I) loved it. It was such a success that we signed him up to go again this year. When we recently started telling him school time was coming up, he wasn't too excited. He was also puzzled as to why he would have a new teacher and classroom. All the anxiety ended, however, when we went to orientation last week. When Bird walked into his new classroom, he looked around, did a fist pump, and said, "YES!!" The room is chock-full of awesome "big boy toys" like firetrucks, cars, tractors, and trains, and a few babydolls for the girls. No doubt sharing will be a hot topic this year in class.

So Tuesday was his first day of 3 year old PreK. Like most parents tend to do, we had a special outfit chosen for the first day of school. It was a cute solid blue shirt with plaid shorts that his Granny bought him. We washed it and set it out the night before. Tuesday morning, Bird got up and dressed without any complaints. He even agreed to wear his extra cute tan loafers instead of his tennis shoes! I fixed his breakfast and showered while he ate. When I finished, I went to check on him in the kitchen and found that he had completely changed his wardrobe. No longer was he wearing his cute plaid shorts and tan loafers. Instead, he had put on a dirty pair of jeans and his "work boots." And his nice, clean, ironed blue shirt now had chocolate milk spilled down the front of it.

Now, let's pause for a moment so I can give you some backstory. All spring and summer long, I have STRUGGLED to get Bird to wear shorts. He LOVES jeans and hates shorts. It's a battle I've fought EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. of warm weather. And basically, any outfit I choose for him is a loser. Now, you're caught up.

So Tuesday morning when he appeared in his jeans and boots, and I saw the determined look in his eyes, I decided I was done fighting. I've come to the conclusion that I have better things to do than argue with a 3 year old about his wardrobe. So, with that explanation, here's our "First Day of 3 Year PreK" picture. Now you understand why my kid looks like he chose clothes fresh from the dirty clothes pile. It's because he did. And because of that cute little smile - I'm ok with it.

Now I Totally Get It

As a kid, I can vividly remember my Mom or Dad saying to me, "Hailey, let's just be quiet and enjoy the radio for a few minutes." I remember thinking What? Enjoy the radio? Why? We've got important things to talk about here! It just seemed silly to sit together in the car silently and listen to some faceless voice talk or sing through the car speakers.

Now, I totally get it. In fact, I even found myself saying the EXACT. SAME. WORDS. to Bird today. We were driving to Rome to run errands and then meet some friends for a playdate. He was excited and was even more talkative than usual. About 10 minutes down the road, I just couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was being bombarded with pellets of constant chatter. I marveled that his breathing could keep up with such a breakneck talking pace. He kept firing questions at machine-gun speed, and he would even resume talking before I could finish answering a question!  I worried my ears might spontaneously combust and melt off my head.

While stopped at a redlight, I turned around and tried to get his attention. Bird was talking so hard it took 3 repetitions of his name (each gradually louder than the last) before he quieted enough to realize I was talking. "Jackson - be quiet and listen to me, please. My ears are hurting, and I really think we need to just all be quiet for a few minutes and listen to some music."

After quietly listening to me for (what must have been an excruciatingly long) 3 seconds, Bird started right back at it. "Why are your eaws huwting, Momma? Do you have a bat flying around in there? Them bats are mean." I turned up the radio and loudly announced, "Bird, I can't hear you anymore. Let's just be quiet."

With the music at full blast and Levi sound asleep, the only other thing I could hear from the back seat was an occasional "NEVER.... EVER.... UGLY....." From what I gathered, Bird was raising his voice at designated intervals to emphasize that I should "Never ever again be ugly to him and tell him to stop talking." Duly noted.

Levi's 1st Birthday Party

The fun started Friday, July 26th when Meme & Rayray arrived in town. We spent the day playing at the playground, grilling out, and opening some of little Levi's birthday gifts.

Then, on Saturday, friends & family came over to celebrate. We partied with a "Hungry Caterpillar" theme since Levi is my little bug. Meme made Levi a beautiful quilt, and of course made his party shirt and hat. The cake, which was SUPER yummy, was from Kroger.

We served sandwiches for lunch and let the littles play in the sprinkler and kiddie pool.

Levi had lots of help from his cousins opening gifts.

But he wasn't too thrilled about his birthday cupcake. My theory? He wanted a CAKE, not a miniature version.

After the party and a L O N G nap, the boys spent the rest of the day hanging out with Meme & Rayray and riding Levi's new motorcyle from Granny & Pawpaw.

It's hard to believe that an entire year has already gone by. Happy 1st birthday, little Levi Bug! You're really not so little anymore, but I love every single one of your 25 pounds of chubby tubby muscle! Thanks for bringing us so much joy!