The World's Smallest Lawyer?

This is my first born... my first miracle. I waited over 10 years for this precious child... and only 5 short years after his birth he has already learned to outsmart his mother.

I can say without question... I am pretty darn sure this one might become the first lawyer in the family.

The Back-Story:

For a few months now Zach has been sneaking into our bed at night. This would not be a problem, except that he 'channels' Mike Tyson when he's sleeping. He thrashes, and kicks us- and occasionally punches his poor unsuspecting parents... and that's on a good night!

I have been struggling with making a "Stay Outta Our Bed" rule, because I figure maybe he really needs us during the night for some emotional reason, and I just can't deny him.

My most important rule as a Super-Mom is to ALWAYS sacrifice my needs for those of the children. In this case, it's my very valuable sleep and comfortable bed. I have been ending up on the couch most of these nights... and it's getting exhausting.

The Unexpected Solution:

During a commercial, I hear the boys screaming at the TV... they are so animated about this new pillow-pet. It's a stuffed animal, that unfastens into a pillow... very desirable to the little people in this house. There are several different pets, and just as many requests to have one.

I figure this is my opportunity to solve all our problems for $19.95 plus shipping and handling.

I say with authority "If you start sleeping in your own bed at night, Mommy will get you one."

Groan, whine, complain... "But Mom, that's soooo hard."

The Moment of Impact:

We were on our way to school this morning, and the boys were arguing about their walkie talkies. And I hear Zach use a term I've never heard before...

"Kyle, your such a smart ass."

I stopped the van... "Zach, what did you say?"

"Mom... he's such a smart ass."

"Zach, where did you hear that word?"

"I don't know Mom, just around the house."

"Okay Zach, well, how bout we make a deal? If you don't say it anymore... then neither will Mommy or Daddy. That word can get you into trouble at school, okay?"

The Counter Offer:

"Well Mom... how bout I don't say that word anymore and you get me a Pillow Pet? That sounds like a good solution to our problem... right Mom?"

The Only Card I had to play:

"No Zach, that's not a solution that works for me. You'll get your pillow when you stay in your bed. And don't call your brother names... because I said so."

Ugh, really? Because I said so? That's the best argument I can come up with...

Perhaps I should be sleeping in the top bunk...

I think his Pawn just knocked the Queen off the board. I believe he just outsmarted his Mom and I'm quite proud of him for doing so!

First Ice Cream cone of the Season!

It was about 70 degrees here today. It was gorgeous... slight breeze... birds chirping... a hint of the orange blossoms in the air.
It was the OFFICIAL FIRST ICE CREAM CONE OF THE SEASON! As you can tell it was chocolate.

The container might have said Foo Man Choo flavor... but I could have sworn it said chocolate.

Life is good...

I asked him to make a silly face, this is what he came up with. Can you tell he was pouting a bit? He was a grumpy Gus yesterday... I suppose everyone is entitled to those kinds of days, even little people.
That is the broken trampoline in the background... John was disassembling it yesterday. I was hoping he was going to get rid of it... you know how my hubby likes to keep spare parts! And the way Kyle snagged those extra springs, I think he's a chip off the ol' block. If the boys had their way, they would be decorating my Christmas tree with them...

I must admit... life is great right now. The boys are growing like weeds, and everyone's been healthy. My grandma is out of the hospital. I found out about a retirement account I didn't know we had! The weather has been beautiful...

It's been raining this week... but last weekend and this weekend are going to be sunny- close to 80 degrees!!

That means we are making lots of progress on the home front. John has been building his new shed, and I've been preparing our bedroom for a new coat of paint. Actually, like the rest of the house it's getting a makeover too.

And, if things couldn't get any better...

I asked John about our bathroom... and if we could do some updating in there. He said no.

I was shocked, but said fine... I would live with it.

Then 5 minutes later, he suggested when we add on to our bedroom next year, that we just 'go ahead and build a whole new bathroom.'

I said, Well... okay... but what do we do with the old one?

(And this is why I love him soooo much:)

He said "We could make it into a walk in closet."

God I love that guy.

Life is good.

My boys...

Early this week... poor Zach had a rough day. He had a little melt down in the school bathroom... but what gave it a positive outcome was how I watched my boys interact with each other.When Zach was crying in the locked bathroom stall, it was Kyle who went underneath the door while proclaiming "I'll save you brother!"

And when we sat on the bench, it was Kyle who gently patted his brothers leg, telling him it was okay. After we left Zach at school, and Kyle was buckled back into his car seat, he said "We saved the day Ma, we da Baer family."

That's right baby boy... we da Baer family.

Zach and his morning...

It's got to be rough to be a kindergartner. One day your on top of the world... your growing up fast- and life is moving along smoothly. Then the next day, the world crumbles down upon you- all because you didn't take care of business before you left the house.

Zach has been moving by leaps and bounds the last few weeks. He decided to ride his bike without training wheels, he has picked out which clothes to wear- and puts them on by himself. He also decided he didn't need his goodnight diaper at night... and he has slept two nights without even a small accident!

He's sounding out words... and reading them on his own. He even sent a few text messages on his Uncle Joey's phone!

I've been bragging on him...

Then this morning I took him to school, and as he got out of the van he announced he needed to go #2. I told him to hurry to the bathroom, and don't forget to wipe good and wash his hands. I got back in the van, and watched him run across the playground towards the bathroom.

I pulled into traffic and then heard a little voice in my head- it was telling me to park the van. I pulled into the parking lot and looked across the playground... and seen Zach coming out of the bathroom. He was far enough away that I couldn't see his face- but I could tell the way a couple of the boys walked up to him that something was wrong.

I grabbed Kyle and we walked across the playground. I hollered at him from the bathroom door- but he was hysterical and wouldn't say anything clear enough I could understand. I went into the little boys bathroom (hoping a play yard lady wouldn't blow her whistle at me) and discovered him sitting on the toilet, crying... and the door locked.

He wouldn't get up to unlock it, and I didn't know what was the matter. I finally had Kyle crawl under to unlock the door, and once I got in there I discovered a little boy that was trying his best to be a big boy.

For whatever reason, Zach has always been afraid to go to the bathroom in public places. I guess it's the acoustics of them, or that it's unfamiliar territory. It might have just been a bad morning, but the thought of him doing his business in the school bathroom was just too much to handle.

And the poor little fellow fell apart.

We got him cleaned up, and went outside to cuddle for a few minutes before the bell rang. His teachers came over to check on him- they had been unaware of the drama unfolding in the bathroom I guess.

I walked him to class, and he was still hanging on to me tightly. It occurred to me, that he must be in such a scary place. He's growing up, and becoming more independent each day. He's discovering there is a big world out there, and Mom isn't there all the time. It's hard for a child that is just learning his problem solving skills are going to be all that's going to help him some days.

I don't know what went through his mind this morning, but I am so thankful my radar went off.

I think this afternoon I am going to pack some crayons and coloring books... and we'll spend the afternoon being kids for a while. I'll let him decide whether to stay in the lines or venture outside of them...

He-whoah?

He-whoah? (Translation: I am feeling rather cute, and I know I'm getting a good laugh out of my mom and dad.)

It's not the first time he's done funny things for attention... that's just how he rolls.

As for the rest of us 'not-so-funny' Baers, we've been keeping busy. It's been raining- so that made a rough few days for Mom and her trapped cubs. I tried keeping them busy with activities, but their energy level versus my creative thinking gave them an unfair advantage.

Monday finally rolled around and we got back to our normal schedule... and that helped. It also made for a very tired Mom, because getting up for kindergarten by 6:45 isn't easy on a 37 year old! I don't think I've ever looked forward to a summer vacation as much as I do this year.

Although, our summer calendar sure is filling up fast. I'm sure I'll be thankful when school starts up again in September... if last week was any indication.

The really great thing about this summer is that we are not stuck in the house doing construction... we are going to be out enjoying our family time. Unless you count John's new storage shed, and the screened in deck we are building... lol. At least those are outdoor things, right? I'm afraid we've damaged the children beyond repair- last week Zach asked me "So Mom, where are we moving the kitchen to next?"

Ummm... Hawaii?

Where's my springy-eye picture?

On Easter morning, I took lots of pictures. When I posted them on the blog, I have to choose and sometimes narrow down the pictures. I don't normally have to answer to anyone for this, since I am the photographer AND the editor.
This morning was different... when Zach came over to look at the pictures he giggled when he seen the picture of Kyle and his Slinky Eyes. Then he asked "Where's my springy-eye picture?" Ummm... I didn't have an answer, and more importantly, I didn't have a picture of him posted!
So here it is to rectify the situation- and get mom out of the hot seat!

Phew....

As for our first "Spring-Break" it is going along well. I got excused from Jury Duty on Monday, then spent the rest of the day cleaning the house since John was home. We also got their new trampoline set up Monday night. If you recall, their first one was blown away in the storm, practically bent in two. Somehow, I got VERY lucky and found the exact same one on clearance for $150! Whoop whoop!
Then this morning, I woke up to a clean house, and enjoyed a HOT cup of coffee. I didn't have a single person to shuttle off to school- and as a matter of fact, we were in our jammies until almost noon!

Ahhh.... I could get used to this.

Easter Fun

On Saturday, the kids colored their eggs. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we ventured outside. (For those of you that don't know her, that is Danielle. She is our neighbor and our honorary daughter. She has been leaving all sorts of notes around the house to let us know how much she loves us... very sweet! She can also eat you out of house and home.)Not sure what they are doing to their egg... but it's not uncommon for those two to have their heads together in some sort of project. The funniest thing that happened was that Zach dropped one of his eggs in the cup with the blue color. I focused on the egg breaking... but when I looked up I seen that Zach and Danielle had blue spots all over their faces! Lucky for Danielle it didn't show too much... poor Zach's skin stained immediately! (I was laughing too hard to get any pictures- because they both just froze- wide eyed and afraid to move!)

Kyle had no problem coloring his eggs... the problem was he wanted them all his favorite color... green. Our good weather had faded by Easter morning. It was forecasted to rain, but it was windy and cool. I knew it wouldn't take these two very long, so we ventured outdoors to hunt.
And luckily the Easter bunny left eggs EVERYWHERE!

Zach was so incredibly sweet natured. If he and Kyle spotted an egg at the same time, he would pick it up and put it in his brother's basket! "Here ya go Ky..."

And at the end, I thought he was bragging when he declared "I got the MOST eggs!" However, he would follow it up with "And Kyle got the MOST too!"

It worked... and I felt no need to correct him. ;)

If you look closely, poor Kyle has tears... he smacked his head on the playground. The Easter bunny had hidden their big buckets with treats by the sandbox... and forgot to warn them about low head clearance. :/However, things change when you locate a slinky in your basket.... and those frowns get turned upside down!
And it doesn't hurt to have a little chocolate before 10 a.m. either!

After our morning fun, we headed to my brother's in-laws. As usual, the food was fabulous- as was the company! It doesn't hurt that there is a real bartender in the family... hee hee!

We were also tickled to have John's brother come along with us. The boys love spending time with him, and he was helping them play the Wii... so they were in heaven!

It was also my brother's birthday... and we ended the evening with a yummy cheesecake!

Really... is there any better way to spend Easter?