That's what you do when you are four

Sunday morning, Sam was sitting at the counter eating his Lucky Charms. I asked him if he slept well. "Uh huh" was the response I got. Then I recalled hearing someone in the bathroom during the night. I didn't think it was TJ. He is afraid of the dark and loudly closes and locks the bathroom door so that the dark can't get him while he's going potty in the middle of the night. And he NEVER remembers to flush. But I was certain I had heard the toilet flush. So, I asked Sam if he had gotten up in the middle of the night.

Sam looked surprised and a little apologetic. "Yes, I had to go potty. Was I noisy?" I told him that he wasn't noisy at all, and that I really appreciated the fact that he would get up all by himself and use the bathroom.

He looked surprised again and responded, "But Mom, I'm four. That's what you do when you are four."

I laughed. His big brother only recently stopped waking me up at night. And many four-year-olds aren't even potty trained at night. I do appreciate Sam's independence, and I appreciate his sweetness even more.

Time to get up?

As I mentioned earlier, Nolan is Mr. Responsible when it comes to turning off his night light, sound machine, etc. when he gets up the morning. But I've discovered a slight problem...Nolan doesn't know how to tell time. Either that, or he sleep walks.

More than once this month, I've awakened to the sensation that something isn't right (if you are a mother, I suspect you also have this ability. Fathers do not seem to have this). Saturday night I woke up and immediately sensed that someone was out of bed. Then I heard a slight sigh from the hallway. I hurried out there and found Nolan, standing quietly in the pitch dark hallway. I picked him up and asked him if he was okay. Yes, he was fine. I walked him back in his room and discovered he had turned everything off, as if it was time to get up. Only the clock said 3:45 a.m. I laid him back in bed, told him to go back to sleep, turned his nightlight, sound machine, and humidifier back on, and slipped out of the room.

No tears. No arguments. Just another sigh from a sleepy and confused little boy.

SWB Energy (a new competitor for DTE Energy)

Worried about those high gas bills this winter? Sick of listening to your furnace run? Looking forward to summer when your utility bills are more affordable?

You've come to the right place! Sam Baron, owner, operator, and sole employee of SWB Energy wants to help! He is very concerned about homes being 'too warm' this winter and will gladly close every vent in your house. He will also fret about the possibility of duct work randomly poking up through the floor boards (I don't know anyone who has ever experienced this, but it is something he has thought about). His greatest joy is watching his father change the furnace filter. His idea of a field trip is touring the furnace room downstairs and examining where all of the ducts go from there.

I'd discuss his pricing, but I need to go open the vents back up. It's cold in here.

Awwww, Mom!

The other night, Nolan and I were having a little cuddle time while we watched some TV. Nolan is definitely my cuddly one. When he sees me sit down, he climbs on my lap. Well, I happen to find his chubby little cheeks completely irresistible. I started kissing his cheeks instead of watching TV (I can only take so much "America's Funniest Home Videos"). Nolan smiled at first, but then, without turning his head, said very firmly, "That's enough now."

Awwww. Bummer.

Who cut the candy cane?

During the month of December, we accumulated a rather alarming amount of candy canes in the Baron household. I admit, I started it. I kept the boys home from the annual Coopersville Christmas parade. Bill was out of town that night, and TJ had the sniffles, so I decided we would skip it this year. To make up for it, I bought 3 boxes of candy canes.

Then Grandma took the boys to the dollar store and they got a couple more boxes.

Then every teacher, assistant, and random adult who passed my children on the street (maybe I'm exaggerating...) gave my children candy canes.

TJ insisted we hang them all on the tree. Our tree was insanely crowded by Christmas, even with the boys eating about one a day.

After Christmas, I removed all the candy canes and tossed them in a bag and put them in the cupboard. Nolan can polish off a candy cane in under five minutes and is doing his share to help get rid of the extras. He loves them. Of course, he cannot get the wrapper off without my assistance. And EVERY SINGLE TIME he's brought me one to open up, he says, "Don't cut the candy cane."

So, here's what I'm wondering. Who cut one of his candy canes that has caused this paranoia? And what I'm really wondering, is how DO you cut a candy cane? If you know, please fill me in. I don't think I have scissors that would effectively cut a candy cane.

Wise Guy

I have the boys on a regular vitamin regimen. Every morning they get a gummy multi vitamin (the older boys get two). They also get vitamin C. Then I alternate a gummy echinacea with a gummy vitamin D. Vitamin D was a suggestion from the chiropractor. He firmly believes that one reason people are sicker during the winter is because they don't get as much sunlight, and they are lacking in vitamin D. I have noticed a big improvement in the boys' health since I started giving them vitamin D, so I do think there is some truth to that.

Yesterday I decided I wanted to be really tough on the boys' colds so I gave them both echinacea and vitamin D with their breakfast. Typically, I don't do that because that stuff is kinda pricey, and alternating them helps them last longer.

Anyway, I handed TJ one gummy bear, and then a second one. He said, "Hey, you already gave me one of these." I told him that he was having both echinacea and vitamin D because I wanted his cold to go away quickly. He looked at me suspiciously and said, "Is that even safe?"

Why does he think I'm trying to poison him???

Tonight, Bill and I had another good chuckle at him. I bought some candy conversation hearts when I was at Meijer last night. TJ selected 3 yellow hearts for his dessert. He was looking at them and carefully trying to read the words before he ate them. He brought one over to me and said, "Mama, why does this one say 'You Fart'?" It's unfortunate that I had a mouthful of food at that time because I almost choked. Once I managed to swallow, I carefully helped him read the words "You Flirt."

Two Extremes

Today is January 15. We are halfway through my least favorite month. So far, this has been a remarkably healthy winter for the boys. The last time I was at the pediatrician's office was for TJ's well-child visit. I think TJ had one brief minor cold, and Sam had a 24 hour stomach bug. That's it. I have thoroughly enjoyed their good health.

But that all changed in 24 hours. Yesterday morning, Sam asked for a Kleenex to wipe his nose. He didn't ask for another one all day, and I never heard him sneeze. But that was apparently my warning sign. Because at 2 a.m. Sam woke up wheezing and in a panic. The more he cried, the harder it was for him to catch his breath. He was absolutely hysterical by the time I ran in there. I can't say that I blame him. I can't imagine being in a deep sleep and then suddenly not be able to breathe. I gave him the strongest kids cough medicine we have, rubbed Vicks on his chest and stayed with him until he was calm. I didn't think either one of us was awake enough to do a breathing treatment, and since he did calm down, I knew he would sleep the rest of the night.

This morning when I changed Nolan's diaper, I noticed his nose was running. Uh oh. I informed Bill we had two sick children. TJ seemed fine. The kids are at that cooped-up-sick-of-winter-so-let's-fight stage, so when TJ decided to go out and play after lunch, I was more than happy to let him go. But when he came in two hours later sneezing non-stop, I realized I had made a mistake. By bedtime, he was the most miserable of the three boys. He fell asleep on Bill's lap (TJ NEVER sits on our laps!) and asked to go to bed early. Sam had a breathing treatment, I gave all 3 boys some cold medicine and TJ some ibuprofen. We prayed, I kissed them good night, and headed for the door. As I pulled it shut behind me, I heard Sam say to TJ, "It's okay, TJ. God will help take care of your cold."

I know we are probably in for a few long days and short nights until the boys are over their colds, but it's those little moments that will keep me going.

The weirdness continues

Last night at dinner, Sam looked at the back of the bottle of ketchup and asked me what the lines were for. He was looking at the UPC code. I explained how the bar code worked, and how the computer in the scanner at the check-out lanes knew how much the ketchup cost by scanning the bar code. I told him that each bar code was a little different, depending on what item he was looking at. A light turned on in Sam's head. Just while we were eating dinner, he found bar codes on the ketchup, the mustard, the bag of baby carrots, the children's Bible, and the back of his place mat (because his mother was too lazy to peel the price tag 0ff). While he searched, he kept talking about how cute the lines were.

Weirdo.

I promised him the next time he's at Meijer with me, he can be in charge of scanning the bar codes on the items we buy. He's pretty excited about that.

Cold, thirsty boy

We turn our thermostat down to 62 degrees at night. That's chilly, but if you stay under the covers, you are just fine. TJ and Sam both keep themselves covered, but Nolan has always had a hard time with that. I get up once a night and cover him up. I had hoped that once we moved him into a big boy bed, and I was tucking him in under sheets and blankets, that he would stay covered up. But that has not been the case. Fortunately, his mother has a small bladder and is usually up around 3 a.m.

Last night was the usual. I slipped in his room and found him with no blankets on him. He was sound asleep but clearly cold. I put his sheet and two blankets back on him and tucked him in snugly. Then two blue eyes popped open. He calmly said, "I want some water." He stuck one hand out and waited for me to give him his water bottle. I gave it to him, he took a long drink, handed the bottle back to me, and closed his eyes.

He's a light sleeper, that's for sure. But he cracks me up. He was thirsty. That was all. No crying, no wanting me to stay with him, no requests to have his music on, nothing. Just take a drink, go back to sleep.

I love him to bits.

Adjustments

My boys all handle change differently. TJ is willing to deal with change, as long as Mom, Dad, or a grandparent is nearby, and as long as it doesn't involve the dark. He's a bit of a chicken.

Sam hates change. He is very slow to adapt, even though he usually has the skills to do whatever I have asked. Case in point...potty training. That was a nightmare, until he finally worked up the courage to try. Right now, I am trying to convince him to dress and undress himself independently. He CAN do it, he just doubts himself.

Then there's Nolan. I'm so glad he is my youngest, so that I can fully appreciate him. We moved him into his 'big boy' bed Christmas night. He also has a new nightlight, which he insists has to sit on the floor, instead of on the dresser where I thought it belonged (it's a small glowing hamster, I guess). And his white noise machine is on the nightstand next to him. He is happy as a clam in his new bed. He's so stinkin' cute when he's tucked in there too.

In the mornings, as soon as he hears his brothers, Nolan crawls out of bed, turns off his sound machine, turns off his nightlight and joins us in the kitchen for breakfast. His big brothers still can't turn off their nightlight or flip off their humidifier.

Nolan...so good at adjusting AND so responsible! Yay! I do miss listening to him sing to himself in his crib in the mornings, but I am enjoying this next stage of life. Now, to convince him that he can start potty training....

Christmas Memories 2010

We had a great Christmas. The boys seemed to truly enjoy their gifts and the time spent with family. My greatest gift was that everyone was completely healthy. That doesn't happen often!

Here's hoping and praying for a wonderful 2011!