bubba the artist...

how was your valentines day? good i hope. mine was (while i hate to brag) but it kind of kicked ass.

to start the day off, i got to sleep in until almost 10am. then the boys {with b's help} presented me with the cutest valentines day card ever. it involved a lot of cut out hearts and a lot of glue. following the card, was a brand new necklace from thevintagepearl.com. this one, but with bubba, pooks and peanuts' names on it.

love, love, love it! i've been wanting a necklace from them for forever and B decided it was time, i guess. yay!

so after the gift exchange {the kids and I gave B a coffee mug with their valentine's photo on it, filled with m&ms, and a photo desk calendar for his office at work} we ate lunch.

after lunch, i didn't feel so good. since we ate chicken noodle soup with grilled cheese...i didn't think i was sick from lunch. around 1:30 i was still feeling pretty nauseous with no end in sight. this lead me to think that maybe, just maybe, we got lucky with our trying to conceive efforts. so i ran upstairs and took a home pregnancy test. this was the result:

 

see that super super super faint pink line to the right of the dark pink line? (you can click on the pic) yeah, well i wasn't sure that i was REALLY seeing it either. so i ran downstairs and made B look. (nevermind that he was eating) he said that he kinda saw a line too. well the pamplet says that ANY line, regardless how faint is positive. well since i wasn't sure if we were really seeing it or if we were really wanting to see it, i ran and bought another test. this time digital. i waited over 2 hours to pee again, and then took that one...it was much more clear:

WE ARE PREGNANT! i could barely believe it! i tested early...3 days early. and i had no signs of ovulating this month at all (my "sign" is usually unbearable pain/cramps) so i was beyond shocked. yesterday, i went to Dr. P's office to have it confirmed. after having blood drawn and anxiously waiting 10 minutes theirs too, was positive! so i got to walk down the hall and schedule my first appt and find out my due date: none other than auntie michelle's birthday, October 23, 2010. so if sweetcheeks* arrives like his/her brothers all have {2-4 weeks early} we'll have a newborn by then! do i know how to give the coolest birthday gifts or what?!

*for now at least, baby #4 shall be blog named sweetcheeks. i may change this, a ton.

we immediately told the boys, explaining that mommy had a teeny tiny baby growing in my tummy. and that each day the baby would grow a little and my tummy would grow a little and by halloween, they would have a new brother or sister. both bubba and pooks are thrilled, and surprisingly really seem to 'get' it. peanut, well he's a man of few words and while it will be a big adjustment for him, i'm sure he'll do just fine. bubba swears that ''there is just one baby girl in there mommy'' and man oh man do i hope he's right! shortly after telling them the news, he wanted to color me a picture.

 yeah, thats me. with 2 left feet and a big ol' baby in my tummy. i freaking ♥ that kid!

busy, busy, busy!

we have been so busy over the last week that blogging has been pushed to the back of the pile. sorry! between the kiddos, the weather, valentines day, going out of town to visit the in-laws, and the normal day to day stuff like cooking, cleaning and laundry--i've been too tired to blog at the end of it all! so whats up with us? well, we've all adjusted to our new routine that now includes dropping bubba off at pre-school each morning. it took about 3 weeks but the boys are finally used to hurrying in the mornings instead of going snail-pace while watching cartoons.

while he's in class, peanut, pooks and i usually run errands or go to storytime at the library...they love storytime! we usually go to the toddler class on wednesday and while peanut is a little young for it, he does pretty well. last week during a puppet show he was laughing so hard at the puppets that all the other kids (and moms) were turning around to look at him and smiling. he just thought it was hysterical and had that really deep belly laugh that was contagious. he is adorable. ornery but adorable!

he is now almost 15mos old and is so active! he's so smart too! he loves to play itsy bitsy spider and even tries to mimic the hand motions. he knows his belly, ear, head and hair and will point to them when asked. he claps, blows kisses, runs and is starting to climb! his newest (and cutest) trait is saying "yes" or "na-na-na" while shaking or nodding his head. you can ask him if he wants to eat/is tired/wants to play/needs milk and he just answers you now. talk about being easier! he'll have a well baby check-up next monday and it will be interesting to see how big he is. i'm guessing at least 24lbs--he has gotten SO heavy. all of his clothes are 18-24mos--which is unheard of for my kids! never have one of the boys been in a size that is older than their age. bubba is almost 4 and some of his tshirts are still 2T!

speaking of bubba, he is doing well. he loves school! while he's still super shy, he did tell me that he made a friend. and that girls chased him. and that some other kid chased him back. oh the drama of preschool, lol. his counting has improved tremendously; both counting out loud and recognizing the numbers in print. he loves doing his homework and looks forward to going each day. he'll be four years old next month--can you even believe that!? he chose to have a scooby doo party and is really excited for it. since figuring out all of his allergies last year, this winter has been so much easier. he hasn't (knock on wood) gotten sick, other than the sniffles. i cannot even tell you the last time that he needed a breathing treatment! it's really amazing. his eczema is much better too!

now pooks, oh sweet little pooks. he's nuts, lol. adorable, cuddly, imaginative and smart but totally nuts. okay, okay maybe not nuts. fearless is a better word. he loves jumping off of the couch into a pile of pillows. it's his new favorite thing. he's still a climber. his vocabulary is insane. (or at least seems insane compared to bubba's speech at this age.) this was a situation and conversation that occured yesterday:

bubba: mommy [pooks] colored on our kitchen.
me: pooks? did you use a crayon on your kitchen?
pooks: yes!
me: where?
pooks: right over here. takes me straight to the side of the refridgerator and points to the bright red crayon
me: pooks! what were you thinking? you know crayons are only for paper. i guess i'll have to take your crayons away.
pooks: no, no mommy! i color only on paper. i not color my kitchen no more.
i proceed to use my sleeve to rub the crayon markings off--washable crayons on a coated surface wasn't as bad as i thought! 
me: pooks, where is the crayon?
pooks: huh?
me: where is the crayon now? the crayon you colored with?
pooks: looks at me. looks at his kitchen. looks at my sleeve. mom. its on your shirt.
me: stunned expression on my face. not that crayon. where is the red crayon that you used to scribble with?
pooks: i don't know. dat was a yoooooong (long) time ago mommy.

seriously?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

i think we did pretty good, eh? it took 3 different ''photo shoots'' on 3 different days but we got it!
oh and to compare--here is last years:

how to get your kids to eat broccoli, no really!

okay, may i please present the very first:

 

i think for the very first post, i'm going to talk about veggies. i have 3 young boys and veggies are by far, the trickiest things to get them to eat. but by sneaking a little into meals that they love, they'll get the nutrition and be none the wiser. i will warn that some of my suggestions will involve lying. if you can't outright make a teeny tiny white lie to your toddler about what they are eating, well then maybe this post isn't for you. i for one have no problem lying about the little things. "oh man. dang it! dora the explorer isn't on right now, sorry hon." has been said a few times around my house. "if you don't hurry up and get your shoes on, i will leave without you" has possibly been threatened as well.

but, i'm digressing. my point is that if you want your picky toddler to eat the things that are good for him, well sometimes you have to trick him. here are some tricks and tips that i use regularly with my kiddos and so far, they have been fool proof. 

my first choice is obviously to just have them EAT the veggie. and if the veggie of the meal is potatoes or corn (and sometimes peas), i usually have no problem. {luckily peanut eats absolutely anything, broccoli is his favorite food} but getting the older boys to eat anything else is like pulling teeth. this only leaves me a few options:

1. force them to sit there until they eat their veggies which ultimately ends in at least one meltdown and sometimes it's mommy
2. only feed them corn and potatoes
3. lie about what they are eating. (we'll get to this in a minute)
4. sneak the veggies into food that they WILL eat *ding!ding!ding!*

i sneak veggies in, well a lot of foods. and i'm sure if B reads this post he'll be like ''WHAT?!" but it's true. no one can tell the difference. the absolute easiest thing to sneak veggies into is hands down, spaghetti sauce. first off i will say that i without a doubt always buy Ragu ''Robusto" "Organic" or "Chunky" sauce. it's super cheap, often 10/$10.  and there is more than a full serving of veggies in just 1/2 cup of sauce and that's based on an adults caloric intake, so for kids it's slightly more! that's the first part, buy veggie loaded from the get go. will the kids always eat the chunks of veggies? no. but they are getting some and that's a start. 

so what to sneak? how about carrots or broccoli? easy-peasy. i actually discovered this when pooks was a baby but if you drop 2 cubes of pureed carrots {or one jar of stage 2 baby food carrots} into the sauce while it's simmering--no one will notice! no one. not even your husband. it really doesn't change the flavor, but they're in there! on the same note, i've even made the good ol' blue box mac and cheese and added a cube of pureed carrots. the kids ate it up and never even questioned that anything was different.broccoli is also fairly easy to sneak. while your spaghetti sauce is simmering, chop up some broccoli florets (fresh or frozen) and mince then up til they are tiny. (like the size of minced garlic) add the broccoli to the sauce and viola, your kid is eating broccoli! it's so tiny they don't see it or complain--in all honesty they probably don't even taste it!

other easy veggies to sneak are onions and celery because while they have flavor, if sauteed until slightly translucent, they are clear and hard for little eyes to spot. i saute onions and celery and then use it in homemade soups (both potato and chicken and noodle). you can also do this and then add spaghetti sauce.

the second and easiest way to sneak to veggies: buy juice that is both fruit and veggie. juicy juice has a "healthy harvest" juice that, in 8oz has a full serving of fruit AND a full serving of veggies. (the veggies are carrots and sweet potatoes) V8 also has a "V-Fusion" (veggies include carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets) 

which is the same concept but they offer more flavors. now 2 things to be prepared for if you buy these: first of all, they are kinda pricey...over $3 a bottle and it doesn't last long if you have more than one kiddo but it's worth it if you can't get veggies in any other way. and secondly, do NOT give them this juice and then sneak veggies in the same day. WAY TOO MUCH FIBER FOR LITTLE BUTTS. no joke, it will be an epic blowout. i never give my kids the full 8oz for fear of this happening again. 

also buying healthier versions of things they do like. instead of frozen french fries, try frozen sweet potato fries. rather than buying potato chips, try these veggie chips. 

(various brands, usually in the organic or "natural" section of the super market.)

and along those same lines are these "chips" by Frito-Lay called Flat Earth. they are delicious and addicting. and they are 1/2 serving of veggies in every once. i think we've tried every flavor and they rock. seriously addicting.

my last suggestion is, mix it up a bit and lie when needed. okay maybe not lie, but don't offer too much info. (and really this goes for ANY food question they may have.) for example when my mom makes fried rice she uses shredded carrots. shredded carrots look like shredded cheese. kids like cheese. so when your curious little 3 year old says ''is dis cheese?" well, just smile and nod. no joke my kids ate carrots for a long time thinking they were cheese because of this. bubba is now wiser and realizes that they are carrots but also knows that they are ''super yummy'' so he now eats them. shredded carrots = good. sometimes you just have to make veggies more appealing.

try it out and let me know what you think and how it works. until next week!

"dis is da sofa, dis is da kitchen,.."

the other night after supper peanut and bubba proceeded to "take a walk" around the house. well, around the downstairs at least. shortly pooks joined in the fun and i could resist taking pictures. they were holding hands and walking around pointing different things out of peanut {as if he didn't know}. saying things like ''dis is da living room", ''dis is da sofa'', "dis is our kitchen and dat is mommy's kitchen" etc.

 

(pooks liked walking, but not being dragged by bubba)

''and dat is our kitchen"

going on walks (even inside) is fun with your brothers

and what to do after a long walk? well ya take a bath of course! due to their eczema, during the winter they get bathes every other night and they insist on getting bathed all at the same time. they can get pretty freaking wild in there with there splashing and squirting but it's almost always fun.

 

YAY! a simple pleasure--all 3 boys looking at the camera :)