"Those Troublesome Trucks!"

For my mom friends who spend more time reading "Thomas the Train" than your Bible, I just wanted to let you know I often find that I have more quotes from Dr. Seuss memorized than scripture these days! If you do read "Thomas" as often as I do then you know the "troublesome trucks" and the mischief they cause the trains. This past month we have nicknamed Judah and Ezra "the troublesome trucks." About three weeks ago I was quite sick. Manon and Henna needed to be in town for dance class so Monty said, "how 'bout if I take the girls and you stay here with the boys and just rest." It sounded like a great idea considering how I felt so I took him up on it. Here is how my "rest day" went. . .Ezra started the day out by chasing Judah and crying until Judah gave him whatever he was playing with. When Judah moved on to another toy Ezra cried until he had that too. I told Judah to play with toys he did not want so that when Ezra asked for them he could give them up easier. I thought that would solve the problem but it seemed to lead to more screaming. Okay, plan B - snack time! I got out a snack for the boys and asked Judah to divide it. Ezra threw a fit because he did not think Judah was dividing it fairly! The crying went on and on and louder and louder. Plan C - play outside time! I was inside cleaning up the remnants from the mornings toy wars when I heard thunder and realized it was raining. I did not rush outside to call the boys in because I was sure they would come under the porch and stay dry - was I wrong? I went out to find them under the corner of the house where all the water runs off soaking wet. Plan D - bath time! I stripped their wet clothes off and put them in a nice warm bubble bath with lots of toys (to occupy them for at least 30 minutes while I finished a phone conversation with a good friend in San Francisco). As I am sitting just outside the bathroom door so I can keep my eye on the boys, I hear Judah yell, "Mommy, Ezra poo-pooed in the bath!" And poo-poo he did - all over everything. So, the phone conversation was cut short while I ran the boys outside to rinse off with the water hose (making sure no poo-poo was on their bodies). Plan E - movie time! I don't let my kids have a video time each week. They are doing good to get a movie night once a month but desperate times call for desperate measures. So, I got the boys dried off, changed and sat them down for a Thomas DVD while I bleached the tub/bath toys and picked chunks out of the drain that were clogging it up (pausing in between to vomit into the toilet). I realized once the boys were down for their nap that I had not brushed my teeth or combed my hair all day (and it was almost 3pm). I am not a super mom by any means but I must say that I have not had a day like this in ages. These days, I brush my teeth, comb my hair and even put on a little make-up (most days) before 7:30 a.m. The morning with the "troublesome trucks" reminded me of the days when Manon was 2 and Henna was a baby. It seemed that if I could get dressed before dinner, then I was having a great day! I kept thinking, "what has changed and made the difference?" I realized a huge blessing is that Judah and Ezra have two older sisters who are willing to drop their activities and come and read a book or play a game with them. I really believe having a new baby gets easier the more children you have.

Here are a few more fun pictures of my boys.

The Superhero's are ready to fight the bad guys! Actually, recently Judah told me he likes to fight the baby bad guys and train them to be good guys. Nice strategy!

Is Ezra not the cutest thing! He still lets me dress him but he chooses his own accessories to go with the outfit. I love the cowboy hat. He wears it daily and works in the garden with "Bib Momma."
In this photo he is playing with his brother's cat, "Mow Mow" (Judah named him). This was a little scrawny cat from the village but it has proved to be quite a nice companion for the kids.
Here is Judah at a local birthday party with icing all over his face. The game at parties here is to smear icing all over the birthday girl or boy's face. Judah just focused on making sure the icing was covering his own face.