Deployment Update

Jim was in Kuwait for a few weeks. He thought he was going to be pretty busy but it turned out NOT to be busy. He complained about a schedule that went a little like this:

work out
breakfast
coffee
read or watch tv
lunch
work a bit
dinner
watch tv
goof off

Then he got word he was finally leaving to his base or FOB I think is what they call it a few days ago. He hasn't updated me much since he's started working. I know he was warned it was going to be very busy so I imagine he's learning to ropes right now and getting into the grove of things. He promises that he will update the blog often even if it's posting his e-mails. We'll keep everyone posted!!!

For Giggles

Coop loves to try and put these goggles on that are too tight. He cracks up with immense joy when they pop off!

Momma's Shoes

I am forever finding one of the boys inside my closet and bringing out a pair of my shoes. I find pairs of my shoes ALL over the house these days!

January Visit

We got so lucky and got to visit Jim while he was in Arlington for some training in January. The boys did so amazing on this trip and we had a great visit with Daddy.

This picture cracks me up. I told Jim to look at me like he loved me- so he took this deep breath and gave me this cheese.
The boys have been adjusted to sleeping in hotel rooms. I thought this was TOO cute.


This is the picture when I thought the camera had broken again. Literally I've broken 3 cameras in 3 years. Although this one Bear did something to the lens so that whenever I focus the lens it makes this crazy shuttering noise. No stealth photos with this camera!

Jim's Deployment Ceremony Pictures

Snow Days

This is our playground in the back yard.


This is the view from our back patio.





We had such a blast with our first real snow down here in North Kakalaki. We had two full days of playing in the snow and the boys loved attempting snow men, throwing snow balls, shoveling, and making snow angels. They've been asking to go skiing a lot so I'm trying to coordinate with Poppi.

Quotables

The boys were taking their bath tonight and Coop was pulling on his tongue. He was so amused with it. I asked, "Whatcha got there Coop?"
He responded, "It's my tongue! Let me see your tongue momma."
I showed him my tongue.
He then said, "Let me see your nose."
I pointed to my nose.
"Hmmmm," he said. "Let me see your eyes."
I blinked my eyes a few times.
"Ok Momma let me see your penis!"
After a few sputters I said, "I don't have one of those honey."
"OH NO MOMMA YOUR PENIS IS MISSING!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO???"

The Nap Tug of War

January has come and gone and we have been in a little tornado it feels like. We've been busy unpacking and organizing and cleaning. One of the interesting changes happened about 2 weeks ago. I was attempting to take a nap while the boys were taking a nap. I had put my book down and I heard some rustling. I thought it was odd and then heard some tinkering and I just KNEW that someone was out of their bed. I walked in and this is what I found!

This meant that Cooper had quietly pulled the stool up to Bear's crib and helped him out and they were totally playing quietly together. When I opened the door they had "oh crap" looks and I just couldn't help but run and grab the camera.

Some days they both want a nap and others they fight it tooth and nail. One day I couldn't take Bear's fussing so he had a nap at 4 pm and Cooper just crawled up on the couch and fell asleep too all the while telling me he wasn't tired.

First Day of Pre-School

It's a new day in the Monihan house! Today the boys went to pre-school for the first time!!! Of course we had a sprinkle of snow last night and there was a 2 hour delay. Being new to how all of that works I still showed up right at 9 to a dark center where I learned they follow the county closings so we traipsed off to the gym and then back to the pre-school.

It's a half day program from 9-1. We are planning on 2 days a week - for now. I was mildly concerned over the whole allergy "thing" and them not eating the snack they provide. I even brought their digestive enzymes and just prayed they would be flexible and give them to the boys. Imagine my DELIGHT when they said oh yeah another boy here takes his digestives before he eats. And lingering concerns I had flew out the window. They both ran into their perspective rooms and promptly forgot about me. Coop did yell, "Wait!" and jumped up and ran to give me a kiss and then headed back.

I got myself a lovely cup of coffee and planned to do NOTHING. I have plenty of times to run errands and do things, today I just wanted to be in peace. When I got home Debbie our babysitter/house cleaner was finishing up and I have to admit- I had no clue what to do with myself. There wasn't a load of dishes to do, she had cleaned the play room and made their beds. I could have folded laundry but instead I sat on the couch, drank my coffee and surfed the internet. It was delightful.

When I picked them up I found the boys in the same room together for some reason. They explained as Coop was leaving the science room he saw Bear and had to play with him. Both of their teachers glowed about them and gave me the weeks activities and what they would be learning. The digestives were no big deal and the food was no biggie either. The new thermoses I had purchased worked like a charm.

They are now in their cribs NOT wanting to take a nap. I thought they would be tuckered out but it seems I may be wrong. Regardless the first day of pre-school was AWESOME!!

Row Row Row Your Boat

This box became our pirate ship for a while!

New Game

I've been on a quest for new games to keep the boys having fun and challenged. Bebba suggested getting them some corn meal and some sifting toys and stuff. I found a bunch of things at the dollar store and they have loved playing with it. The only thing I didn't count on was the MESS! Luckily Coop loves to help with the vacuum cleaner.

Testing

Everyone has been asking how the boys are doing. They have been doing very well. Daddy calls as often as he can and the boys have taken to saying, "Give me a big hug Daddy!" They will wrap their arms around the phone and then give it a big kiss. It's so adorable I need to get it on video.

They are getting into a routine and I feel like I've kept things as consistent as possible. They are doing a good job at helping clean up- well attempting to help! They are loving jumping on all the nice new pillows I bought. I couldn't even attempt to stop them they were having so much fun. They love to play hide and go seek under them.

They are both testing right now. They do an amazing job but man they are trying out saying, "No!" to me. Coop has told me a few times, "I'm very busy momma!" or "Not yet momma go to your room!" Bear is quick to scream and yell, and yell loudly, especially when Coop has hurt him. Coop seems to be in a bit more of an aggressive phase. I caught him trying to close the toy chest lid on top of Bear today and there was a lot of pushing between the two. I think we've all been a bit more cooped up in the house while I'm unpacking and organizing.

So I decided to bite the bullet and sign them up for pre-school this week. We spent a lot of time last week interviewing all the local centers and doing the tours and they will be starting on Wednesday! I know with a little bit of time to myself during the day I will be much more available to them and hopefully that will help this testing phase we are in.

Quotables

At 5:41 am I awoke to some horrible screaming on Bear's part. He wakes up from time to time lets out a scream and then goes back to sleep. These screams didn't stop so I went rushing in to find him with his arms up begging to get out of his crib. I try very hard to keep the morning snuggle sessions to after 7 am. If you've ever tried to sleep with these kids you'd understand why. But for some reason I said ok. Cooper popped up and said, "I go with you." I gave them the warning if they didn't go to sleep they would be going back to their own beds. I changed their diapers and as we snuggled in Cooper said, "Momma you miss Daddy?" I smiled and said, "Yes honey I miss Daddy." He was quiet for a minute and said, "Did you lose him?" I told him that, "No I hadn't lost him he was just at work for a while." He seemed to be ok with that and then they proceeded to kick and toss and turn and annoy me so they got booted back to their own beds. (I'm sure you can imagine how well that went over!)

Quotables

Me: "Coop when you are done going potty get back in the bed to finish your nap please."
Cooper: "No."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Cooper: "Momma I'm very busy with Thomas on the train tracks."

Interesting Tidbits

I had to throw out my old (and I mean old) gorilla slippers so now I wear my dainty slippers I wore on my wedding day. (Yes I wore slippers and not shoes!)

I bought myself a pint size drill/screwdriver and decided I could build all the things that needed to be built. (Except the bed- we paid someone to do that I've not lost all my sanity yet.)

I sold almost all of my old Creative Memories stock- it felt so good to watch her pile all of that in her car- and it felt good to hold the cash too of course.

My new screwdriver prompted me to clean out the entire toolbox- I mean really do we need 50 screwdrivers now? I used my new spice jars (haven't put the spices in them yet) to organize the nails and screws.

I broke off a lightbulb inside it's socket. I improvised and used an apple to unscrew it.

I've realized I am a blanket whore. We have one entire linen closet packed to the brim with blankets. We never need another blanket for the rest of our lives and probably my grand-children's lives.

The boys love their playroom. The toys still keep getting strewn around the house but it still holds the bulk of it which is a nice turn of pace.

I was determined not to play any kids shows on the living room tv for a while but yesterday I caved and the boys brought me a blanket and asked to cuddle and watch a show. It was lovely.

The house is still a work in progress. We don't have a desk or entertainment center yet. While it's still in a state of somewhat organized chaos I am seeing that in a few days, ok really weeks we will be much more settled in.

Cooper and Bear and picked up on GiGi's love of a good jam session. They have a drawer full of musical instruments and one of them will bring the other two of us instruments and say, "Let's jam."

We were at The Castle and they were playing Prince. Bear asked to get out of the cart and started dancing. I asked him if he was dancing and he said, "No Momma I'm jammin!"

That manicure I got for our anniversary looks like crap. It's been so long since I've done my nails I don't have any nail polish remover!

Whenever Bear drops something or is bummed about something he now says, "Oh crapit."

Yesterday they banded together and refused to take a nap. Coop pushed the stool up to Bear's crib allowing him to escape. Imagine my surprise when I found all of the stuffed animals all over their room and not just Coop's head over the couch headed toward me but two! When I said, "Get back in your beds right now!" I saw two little heads about face and scurry back to their rooms. I watched Bear climb up his two step stool and nose dive into his crib.

Our blind guy, aka the contractor, that installed our blinds is now my favorite ever. It's nice to have privacy but mostly it's made it look like home.

I now have 8 empty plastic tubs. Who would have thunk it! It's so nice to be cleaning out and letting go of things. We literally donated an ENTIRE pod to a local charity. It was so wonderful to see them take that POD away the other day. We now have a driveway again!

We still haven't gotten into our grove yet with our schedule but I'm sure that will come. The boys are adapting quite nicely and fight over a picture of daddy that's on the fridge daily. Coop says, "No that's MY daddy!"

My computer has spazzed out and I've lost all of the programs that allow me to read the photos off my camera. So I've got to get that figured out but in the mean time I won't be posting any pics.

Had my first "Oh Crapit" moment. Opened up the washer to find the remains of TWO diapers everywhere. I closed it quickly and said, "Not today!" Luckily today the diapers were up front and one wash later all is well again.

The boys tried to boycott the nap again today but I removed said stool and the stuffed animals and I hear nice steady snores on the monitor. Oops just sneezed and Coop said, "Bless you."