Siblings

The boys have driving me bonkers the last several weeks.  It's been all about extremes.  Either they are fighting, which is extremely irritating, or they love each so much it becomes loud and obnoxious.  I have been longing for some quiet and stillness.  And sometimes the mediocre with them is just fine with me.  I usually get my much needed dose of quiet in the mornings before they wake up and after we survive the witching hour and bedtime.  I've been lazy about getting up in the morning and that has contributed to my lack of patience.

Just when I think I'm about to burst, I catch them being so perfect.  For the last two nights Luke has been sleeping in Jack's bed.  They didn't even ask, they arranged their pillows and blankets so each had enough room on the bed.  Then this morning I caught them helping each other out while getting showered and dressed.  They are pretty sneaky.  Those are the type of things that cover up all the shenanigans of the previous weeks.

I know this little "Yes I am.  No you're not.  Yes I am...." stage isn't over (and will probably repeat itself over the years) but it's sure nice for little reprieves here and there.

And Poof...

Lately, Jack has a favorite transition to the conclusion of the stories he tells us.  Let me give you a few examples:


Mom, I can't find my shoes.  I took them off by the door..AND POOF... they're not there anymore.

I know you said I couldn't have another cookie, but I looked at the cooling rack full of cookies...AND POOF... there was one less cookie on there.

I was in the back yard practicing my baseball skills...AND POOF...the baseball is now on the roof of the house.

Luke and I were wrestling downstairs...AND POOF... he got punched in the face and is crying.

I am so excited about the new boomerang I got for my birthday so I was throwing it outside...AND POOF...it went into the neighbor's yard.

I was walking down the hallway, pretending I was a transformer...AND POOF...the corner of the wall came out and hit me in the head. 


There's been a lot of Jack Magic at our house lately.

Just a Typical Monday...

After a fun weekend filled with friends, relaxing, church, snow and a trip to the indoor water park, it was a morning of getting back to business.  Tim was getting ready for work, Luke was packing up his backpack for school and Jack and I were getting ready to go to preschool. 

Sometimes, Jack takes his own sweet time in the shower and I have to remind him that there might be a time crunch if he doesn't get his butt in gear.  He had been downstairs for a while so I went down to give him a gentle reminder.  When I peeked in the bathroom, the shower was turned off but Jack was in the fetal position on the bottom of the shower stall. 

When I asked him what was going on, he replied very calmly, "I'm stuck."

"How are you stuck?"  I opened up the shower door.

"My finger..."  His left pinky was stuck in one of the holes of the shower drain.  It was stuck past the second knuckle.

Keep in mind, this is a child who fuh-reaks out if his shoes aren't tied tight enough.  Since there were no hysterics, I didn't take him quite seriously.  I giggled and called for Tim to come downstairs.  I figured we would get this situation fixed in a few seconds. 

When Tim came downstairs, we realized, it might be more serious than we thought.  Tim tried plain old pulling.  We tried soap and lotion and water and ice.  Nothing worked.  Both of us kept calm faces but we were internally freaking out.  Luke quietly cried in the corner of the room.  His empathetic super power was working overtime so he knew it might be serious.

We ended up unscrewing the shower drain so we could get better leverage.  Jack's finger was turning blue and we were running out of options so we headed to the ER.  On the way, we dropped Luke off at school with the promise that the doctors and nurses at the hospital would know what to do.  We also promised to let him know that Jack was okay once we got home. 

At the ER, Jack marched in, calm and brave, with a shower drain for an over-sized ring.  After trying multiple methods, the doctor and nurses freed Jack's finger.  We stopped by Luke's school to give him the update and then started back on our not-so-typical Monday.

We are averaging one ER visit per year and I'm not liking those stats.  Oh, the life of boys.  Jack's first two visits to the ER were in Charleston, the third in Meridian, now the fourth in Grand Forks.  With Luke making an appearance in the Bellingham ER at two days old, our tally is five visits in six years, coast to coast and in the middle.  I'd be fine with taking a break from those visits for a few years or twenty.  But since we like to live life on the edge and stick our fingers in shower drains, I'm thinking that's not going to happen.  I can cross my unrestrained fingers and hope for the best though.

Healthy Conversation

Luke:  Can you make this again, because I LOOOOOOOOVE it.  (We were having roasted broccoli and cauliflower with fresh garlic and ginger).

Me: Of course. It's good for you to eat because it's healthy.

Jack:  Aww man, I wish Coke was healthy.

Me:  Yeah, me too bud.

Jack: Is eggnog healthy?

Me: No, not really.  It has tons of sugar and bad fats in it.

Luke:  That's probably why Santa is so big. 

The Annual Package

 

Every Spring, my dad digs a hole in his and my mom's vegetable garden and drops a few seeds in.  He covers them over and waits.   Most of the produce gets eaten up as quickly as it ripens.  Not this plant.  It's meant for something else.  It's leaves and blossoms sprout.  It's vines spread and curl around anything it can reach.  The fruit starts out dark green but doesn't stay that way for long.  When it's ready, he cuts it off the vine, wraps it in bubble wrap and gently tapes it up in a box.  The USPS ends up taking it where it was meant to go.  Every year, even if they live in Bellingham, Charleston, Meridian or Grand Forks, Luke and Jack get to open a package of apples, squash and PUMPKINS grown in Papa's garden.

 

Side note:  Luke is becoming an awesome reader. Here Tim is helping him figure out who the package is from.

 

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of these pumpkins carved up because we never got the chance.  We put them out on our front porch, just to have them stolen and never seen again.  Some of my old youth group leaders heard about the pumpkin thievery and felt so bad for my depressed boys, they sent ice cream gift certificates to cheer them up.  Ice cream does wonders.  Luckily, the runt of the bunch was still left in the garden so my dad quickly packaged it up and sent it off.  We got to carve that one! And me, being the slacker that I am, didn't take a photo of it.  Sorry.

Hopefully it won't be too many more Octobers until we can drive over to Nana and Papa's house to get the boys' pumpkins.  Until then, we'll wait impatiently for our October package.

Overheard

All this was said within 2 minutes while the boys and I were eating dinner tonight before hockey practice.

 
Luke: (holding his one arm out and the other curled on the side) "Do I look like a watering can?"

Jack: "When can we get a pet with antlers and hooves?"

Luke: "Mom, you make excellent dinners."

Jack: "Mom, look how fast I can run"  He then proceeded to race down the hallway and back, all between spoonfuls of soup.

Luke: "I think I have a daddy long leg in my soup.  Hehe."

Flattery, randomness and ridiculousness.  Dinner is never boring.

Turkey Bingo

 

Before we even signed Luke up for Kindergarten, we heard about Phoenix Elementary's annual PTO fundraiser.  Turkey Bingo.  Dun dun dun.

I heard from several people that the parents and kids alike go crazy for the coveted turkey prizes.  The day the announcement came out with the details, I was waiting with Terra outside the kindergarten wing (as we do every day).  Collin came bounding out the door after the bell rang with a bright yellow, oh, sorry, goldenrod flier.  

"MOM!!!! TURKEY BINGO!!!!"  

After perusing the flier, she told me all about it.  The craziness and...the...prizes!  9 Frozen turkeys and three 50 dollar bills were up for grabs for a mere 4 bucks.  In addition to that, a night of family fun and raising money for the PTO, who wouldn't love that?

The build up was big, and let me tell you, the Phoenix Elementary PTO did not disappoint.  We got there early for a pizza dinner and made sure we had our bingo cards and pens poised and ready. The Phelps' and the Pell's were out to win a turkey.

Some of my favorite entertainment of the night was Lilah's intensity:  "ALL I NEED IS B5, N34 and O71....oh and G47......Come ON!"

About 10 games in, Jack pulled out a win.  Tim helped his timid "bingo" be heard and he bounded up to the stage.  Someone else had gotten a bingo too so Jack had to participate in a tie breaker.  The highest card pulled out of a deck won.  Jack pulled out an ace.  He struggled off the stage with his ten pound turkey and an even bigger smile.

Turkey Bingo was all we ever hoped it would be.

A Field Trip and a Visit

A few weeks back Meemaw and Papa came for a visit.  We had so much fun with them and showed them all around town.  During their visit, Jack had a field trip to the fire station with his preschool so they got to come with him.  He was so excited, the whole week before he told anybody who would listen all about it.

 

I can't tell you enough how much I love our co-op preschool.  I wish I would have thought to start one a few years back.  I'm sad this will be the only year we get to do it.  

More pictures to come from Meemaw and Papa's visit.  I didn't carry my camera around as much as I wanted to though.  I need to break that bad habit.

His love comes from the deep

 Jack doesn't know how to do anything half-hearted.  When he loves you, you know it.  His love is intensely loyal and intensely intense. We have made some friends here who have quickly become like family.  We love them so much, but Jack is the one who shows it the most.  When they leave, there is an almost guaranteed crying fit.

One evening I was putting him to bed after they left and he was moping.  He was too distraught to put on his jammies or brush his teeth.  He dramatically plopped himself down onto his pillow and declared, "I'm going to be sad forever."

And in his little heart, he really felt like that.  He already knew we would see them in the next day or two, but that wasn't where he was focused.  His here and now was tainted because his friends weren't near.

I don't know how his heart fits into his little body.  Somehow he manages.  And we get to feel the outpouring of his love every minute of every day.  Awesome.

My Life

It will never be boring.

Here's why:

 

Guess who they got it from?

I love my life.

I love all three of them even more.

Just Jack

 

Jack has done very few things without his big brother.  I knew that yesterday was not only going to be rough on Tim and I, Jack would feel the loss too.  So that we wouldn't have to think about missing Luke, I planned a special day for just Jack and I.  After dropping Luke off, we headed over to a breakfast party with some of the moms and kids from the co-op preschool we are joining.  Several of the other moms and siblings had just dropped their firstborns off at kindergarten too.  It was a perfect distraction, for all of us.

After the party, we headed over to the indoor water park.  It was so much fun.  We pretty much stuck to one tube slide the whole time, but we went down it 532 times.  Jack started yelling, "This one's for Daddy!!!" and "This one's for Luke!!!" as we would go down each time.  At one point we flipped over backwards and went underwater at the pool at the bottom of the slide.  We both had a bit of a freak out moment.  Jack is terrified of his head going under.  I was freaking out because I knew Jack would be freaking out.  I thought this would be the end of that slide so I asked him what he wanted to do next.  His reply, "Let's do it AGAIN!!"  

I was so proud of him.  He's making such leaps and bounds and it's only the first day.  I'm so excited to be home with just Jack.  We've never had regular time just the two of us.  Before Jack was born, Luke and I got to hang out, now it's Jack's turn.  I have a feeling he's going to grow up right before my eyes.  I love that he and Luke are so close but sometimes I wonder if Luke overshadows him a bit, in normal big brother fashion.  This is his chance to figure out who he is as an individual.  I'm going to make sure I cherish this time with just the two of us.

We don't need 4 when we've got 2

This is a BIG deal.

Mr. Jack-a-noonie is riding on two wheels only.

He don't need no stinkin training wheels.

 

I have to admit that I didn't have as much faith in him as I should have.  When he announced that he wanted to learn how to ride his bike without training wheels, I just blew him off.  He doesn't even ride down declines because he doesn't quite know how to use his brakes.  Every time we hit a downhill, he hops off his bike and walks it down to the bottom.  Luckily for him, he has another parent that actually believes in his dreams. 

We took him over the hill to the Greenway and after a few tries, HE DID IT!!  I felt like the worst mother in the world.  Who doesn't let their kids shoot for the stars?  Apparently, I don't.  Okay, I have learned my lesson.  I need to give Mr. Two Wheels some credit.

What made his bike riding debut even more special, was his audience.  John, Sarah, Emma and Johnny all got to watch him take his first wobbly ride.  Then, he got even more practicing in when Nana and Papa came last week.  Now he can officially get started on his own without any adult holding his bike upright.  

I'm so proud of him!

Dudes

They like to chill.

They like to hang.

They're the coolest kids on the block.

Jackie turns the big F-O-U-R

On our last full day on the cruise, Jack turned four.  Last year, he picked going to a hotel, this year a cruise.  I'm not sure what he is expecting for his fifth birthday.  A chartered helicopter ride, a private jet to Paris?  Maybe we'll tell him he's getting a shiny new pair of tweezers and then a trip to the doctor to celebrate turning five.  Then he'll be really excited about a nice, quiet little party at home with a few buddies. 

 

Birthday hugs from Nana.

 

Jack had a lot on his plate during his birthday month, what with the move and all.  He's still in transition mode, but underneath it all his genuineness, passion for life, humor and gentleness peek through.  He loves to make us laugh and comes up with elaborate plans he thinks we should carry out for the day.  If we would let him, he would watch Transformers every minute of every day.  He's more mechanical than Tim, Luke and I put together.  If something is broken, he's most likely the one to figure out how to fix it.  Really, he's just plain awesome.

 

Our waiter even brought him his very own cake.

With FOUR candles.  Four.

Wasn't he just learning to walk?

Where did the time go?

I need some sort of magic potion to slow the time down. 

Even so, each age becomes my new favorite.

I almost started crying in the kitchen this morning

Jackie is a little boy of extremes.  He is either ecstatic or deeply down in the dumps.  "Meh" and "Oh, I don't care" are not in his vocabulary.  His levels of appreciation for things are as follows:

I really don't love ___
I don't love ___
I love ___
I really love ___

The Land of In Between has no place on Jack's map.

When you understand this, you can understand his exuberant hugs and kisses.  His knock down, drag out tantrums and collapses in puddles of tears become explainable.

This morning I was minding my own business, grinding coffee beans, while the boys sat at the kitchen table eating their cereal and fruit.  They were both unusually silent.  And then all of a sudden, Jack's voice pops over the quiet, "Mommy, I'm never gonna stop loving you."

This statement rose above his hierarchy, and for that, I'm extremely grateful.

I will never stop loving him either.

Ever.

Hunted

My days have been fairly interesting lately.  Actually, I haven't been able to relax much, except during our beloved daily nap times.  Then, and only then, can I let my guard down.

I'm going to blame the expert-markmanship genes that come from both sides and the ingenious gift giver who thought it would be a good idea to bring a gem made by Nerf.  You know who you are, and when the time is right, I will repay you.

It all started a few days ago.  I was minding my own business, putting away laundry.  I should have realized that the house was too quiet.  My mistake.  As I stepped out of my bedroom, Luke and Jack simultaneously popped up from their hiding place behind the couch.  I could only see one of Luke's eyes because the other one was behind the view finder of his semi-automatic Nerf gun.  He did follow our only dart gun rule in the house: no aiming for the head.  The dart hit me squarely in the neck. That rule might have to change to be more inclusive.

Luckily, Jack makes it a little easier on me.  He comes running into the room, giggling and announces that he is trying to hide from me so he can shoot me.  Today he came to me crying because he didn't have as good of a hiding place as Luke.  He also can't pull the loading mechanism on one of the guns.  So as soon as I pull it back, I quickly try to find cover.  I especially like it when he abandons his gun for his Indiana Jones whip(thank you very much Uncle John).  Then I really have time to run because I can always hear him coming. 

It is becoming very traumatizing.  Darts are flying in all directions while I am innocently trying to clean the house.

Those two little mischievous boys better learn how to cook up the spoils of their hunting and gathering because this mom may be too shell-shocked to get off the couch.

See what I mean?  This was about 2 years ago, and they have only gotten better with time and practice.  I'm doomed.

Future Mrs. Pells, take note:

Dear Future Mrs. Pell #1 and #2,

Please prepare yourself.

Prepare yourself for a life that will never be boring or bleak.  You will laugh everyday.  Expect daily adoration, affection and appreciation.  Prepare yourself to be loved dearly and hard.  You will be cherished and held above all others.  When you walk into the room, everything will fade away and he will focus only on you.

Be prepared to talk about everything.  Pell men don't live up to the clammed up, "Men don't talk about their feelings" stereotype.  When you sign on that dotted line of the marriage certificate, you will have a loyal lover, a best friend, a partner in crime until the end of time.  Forever is not taken lightly here.

It will be hard, but I will pass the torch to you when it is time.  Don't worry about me, I've got my own Pell man at home.  You can thank him later for raising boys up to be men who have got their priorities right.  Jesus first, wife second, all else third.

For now, I will cherish the snotty kisses, the half smirks and the twinkles in those deep brown eyes.  When you get those kisses, they won't be snotty.  You will have the insider information behind the smirks.  And those twinkles will be because of you.  Love him back.  And do it with all of your heart.  Not all women get to have a Pell man.  We are the lucky ones.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Pell

p.s. If you don't know how to ride on the back of a Harley, you probably won't be reading this.

Haircuts

 

I gave the boys haircuts today.

Well, actually, I butchered the haircuts last week and couldn't stand it anymore.

So I fixed them today.

 

And then I made them quit their backyard soccer game to pose for some pictures.

Don't they look enthused?