Kindergarten

Monday begins a new chapter in our lives.... School. Real school. I feel like I should be a nervous wreck. But, I'm not. I didn't even buy tons of new clothes. Just a few new shirts. I'll get some jeans when they go on sale. See how laid back I am about this?! Very un-Dana-like. Before pre-k, I was spastic. Buying clothes, planning outfits,and, oh, the tears.

There are a few reasons that I'm ok. First, pre-k prepared me some. Ethan was fine without me, neither of us died. Second, he got the teacher I was hoping for. There is one who is a screamer, and I was pretty nervous about that. But, we got a teacher who happens to be friends with my mother, so that's definately a perk!!
But the main reason is Ethan himself. I know he can handle it. He proves to me everyday how intelligent and kind he is. He memorized his birthday and address in one day. He, of course, knows the names and characteristics of about twenty different dinosaur species. He would rather watch a documentary on animal planet than cartoons. He has a very logical mind that retains information that astounds me on almost a daily basis.
He's also mature. He is a wonderful big brother to Ben (most of the time!). I have been keeping two other three year olds, and he's so great with them. He buckles their carseats and makes them drinks. He does whatever I need, just to help.
So, this is our new adventure. The same adventure that every child has, but no less exciting for us. I can't wait to hear about his first day of school. I can't wait for him to learn to read, so we can sit and read books together. I can't wait for them to discuss dinosaurs in class and E-man spout off the scientific name. He's not a baby anymore, but I'm excited... And terrified. But, we'll focus on excited.

Ahhh, technology

We have a problem at our house. It affects everyone in our family. We are addicted.
I'm talking about technology, of course. Clayton's iPhone, my itouch... Such wonderful games. It becomes quite the fight some days, as to who gets to play them when and for how long. And we can't forget the tv, with the wii and that fantastic invention....the DVR. All our favorite shows, at our fingertips at any time. I am guilty of using it as a babysitter. And after a long day at work, there's nothing I want more than to plop myself down on the couch and zone out in front of the tv for one or two or five hours.

But, no more. I've decided it's gotten out of control and gone on way too long. We are starting anew. From now on, tv and phone time will be earned. Starting tomorrow, all technology time will be rewarded in 15 minute slots. Ways to earn technology time include but are not limited to: cleaning your room, cleaning your bathroom, taking your toys and clothes out of the living room and kitchen, helping mom and dad whenever you are asked, being caught being kind to someone else, ect. This rule will include mom and dad, because one of the wonders of the DVR is that the tv can be off all day, and you can still watch your favorite shows at night. And Heavenly Father will almost definately be more interested with what we did with our children than with what went down on NCIS this year. Although, special exceptions may be made for long work days ;)

I'll let you know how it goes.....

My son is...the most interesting man in the world...

Ben is three years old. He has red hair and a smile that has broken many-a woman already. He has a very happy, cheerful personality and a very active imagination. He can play for hours in his room all alone, and if he has no toys handy, no problem. There's always his hand humans. He also has an alter-ego. The Guy comes to visit us fairly regularly. He is an interesting person, and I always find our visits entertaining. He lives far away, in the kitchen. He has a dog, it's name used to be Princess, but The Guy recently changed it to Doug. His best friend is Africa Guy. We've met him, but he doesn't come to visit quite as often. Africa Guy lives in Africa with his pets, an elephant, a cheetah, and Africa Dog.

The Guy has a cell phone that he talks and plays games on a lot. But don't ask of you can play his games, because he'll just tell you that they're 'boring games.' He likes to get in his car and drive to wrecks, then get out and walk around them. When I pointed out that policemen dont really want you to walk around the crash scene, he replies that they like HIM to do it. The Guy worked at Wal-Mart briefly, but soon said he just works at 'his work' and wants to leave it at that. I suspect he may be a spy, but I have no proof.

What I do know is this: Someday, The Guy is going to stop coming to visit me. Some other activity will take his place. I'll miss him. He always provides an interesting glimpse on the way a three year old sees the world. Plus, Africa Guy promised to catch me a pet ocelot.

A Little Princess

For my very first post, I thought I would share the story of our much-anticipated little girl. A little over a year ago, my then-four-year old came to me and asked when his baby sister was coming. We had no intention of having another baby any time soon, so I informed him that we weren't having a baby, and moved on. He did not. Throughout the next week or so, he mentioned his baby or his sister intermittently. One day he said something about "when the baby in mama's tummy..." and I stopped him and explained very clearly that there was NO baby in mama's tummy. He looked at me with a very knowing expression and said "I know. But soon." at which point he walked away, while I sat there with my mouth hanging open. That was the last time he said anything about it.

So, cut to about five months ago. I was laying in bed, cuddling with my boys, with my hands resting on my stomach. I felt a little movement, I'm sure just a muscle twitch or something, but it made me think "oh, that's how it used to feel when there was a baby in there. Wait a minute...how long has it been since I've had my..." I happened to have a leftover pregnancy test in the bathroom, so I thought I'd take it, it would come up negative, and that would be that. Obviously it didn't.

Ethan, now five, never waivered about whether or not she was a girl. One day, while Clayton and I were discussing names, Ethan said he liked the name Jordyn. For the record, Jordyn was on my list of contenders, but I hadn't even said it aloud yet. Clayton immediately loved it. MY name choice 'Elizabeth' was added as a middle name and that was that. What I find particularly interesting, is the fact that as far as I can tell, Ethan had never heard the name Jordyn before. There is no one in his school with that name. He doesn't really watch tv. When asked where he heard it, he said "it just came into my brain." Maybe I'm crazy, maybe it's wishful thinking. But I can't help but believe that he knew his sister was coming. He even knew her name. She was wanted before we knew she was going to exist. She'll have a daddy wrapped around her finger, a mommy who's wanted her for years, and two big brothers who will do anything she asks. She'll be our little princess.