boys will be boys

the kids got out of school on the 21st of december. they went back the 6th of january. they were back in school for 2 days and this entire week they've been out for "snow" days. that means they've been stuck in this house for 24 days. and guess what?! monday is a holiday. woohoo. mark works every 3rd day...he's on a 24 on/48 off schedule. so, every 3rd day, the adult to kid ratio is 1:5. want to guess how many handles of vodka i've been through?

we've had some laughs and good times, though. movie nights, trips to the adventure science center, snowball fights, wii tournaments, and lots of snuggles. ashlee and kaitlin are phenomenal sisters. they get along better than i've ever seen any sisters get along. they spend hours together and never fight. it's amazing, really. refreshing. compared to aidan, jake and oliver. the three of them have such an interesting dynamic, which isn't shocking considering they're all within 22 months of each other and still trying to figure out their places.

jake will be 5 next month, aidan turned 5 last august, and oliver turned 3 in may. jake is by far the biggest. i can fit my feet in the child's shoes. i'm not kidding. i'll take a picture next time. he's not chunky at all, but i can't pick him up. he's just a giant. pretty sure his organs are made of iron. he's the most soft spoken of the 3, though. aidan, on the other hand, can be heard through 3 shut doors and a brick wall. and never stops talking. and thinks he's in charge of every.single.thing. i'm working on that. oliver can't seem to cut the cord to me. he has to know where i am at all times and tells me and mark he loves us about every 7.5 minutes. jake and aidan compete over everything. and i mean everything. 'i got more noodles than you. oh yeah? i got more hair than you. oh yeah? i'm bigger. oh yeah? i'm older.' oh it never ends. i'm waiting for one of them to throw a punch. oliver generally just hangs out by himself or lurks around me. they play so well together, though, considering. i know jake is happy to have boys in his life! they have an awesome playroom to play in and an endless supply of firetrucks and army men. what more could a boy want?!

 aidan and jake. destined for some true brother love.

 oliver, predictably alone playing with legos in the playroom...but happy as a clam

sorry for the poor quality of pictures. one, they were taken with my phone. two, these were taken approximately 3 minutes ago. i just turned around in my chair at the computer desk and shot them real quick :)

funny story about the joys of parenting strong willed children: the other day i walked into the kitchen and saw oliver's buzzed head standing suspiciously on the other side of the island. (first indication of guilt) when he saw me he jumped (second indication), then he casually dropped the majority of an oatmeal cookie on the ground (...third), then he stuck his bottom lip out in a pathetic attempt at getting sympathy and just started bawling (fourth and final). he was sent to his room and banned from cookies for the extent of this batch.

the very next night after dinner, mark and i were folding laundry and mark went to put clothes away in the kids' room. he turned the corner to the kitchen and oliver flew out from behind the island in the kitchen. he didn't even last 2 seconds and the lip came out and he started wailing. i immediately look at the plate of cookies that was precociously sitting on the edge of the counter. upon further examination, there was the evidence. an oatmeal cookie with an oliver sized bite out of it sitting neatly on the edge of the plate under the mangled plastic wrap. conversation continues as such:

because i was fighting back giggles but trying to keep my composure, mark started.

mark: oliver. did you eat a cookie?

oliver: [through wails] noo!

mark: oliver, i saw you. did you eat a cookie?

oliver: no!

me: oliver, why does your breath smell like cinnamon?

oliver: i don't know!

me: oliver, i see cookie in your mouth. did you eat a cookie?

oliver: [will: intact, quivering lip: not] nooo!!!

me: oliver. last chance. lie to me and you get a spanking. do.not.lie. did you eat a cookie?

oliver: [with resolve] no!

...and i proceeded to follow through with what i said and put him immediately in bed. while tucking him in, i explained how bad lying was and that if he had just told me the truth the first time he wouldn't have gotten a spanking. i gave him one last chance to redeem himself and asked again, "oliver. did you eat a cookie?" "yeah..."

momma always wins.