The mystery beast....

There was a creature in our backyard this morning.  An unidentifyable, mystery animal...according to Ben. We never get anything more exciting than a grasshopper (which is pretty exciting) and it's still driving me nuts to think about what it could have been, so I have to share.  Ben was ready for school and asked if he could go in the backyard for a few minutes while I finish getting ready for work, so I agreed.  A few minutes later he came back in screaming "MOOOOOMMY COME QUICK!" So I of course almost fell down the stairs I ran so fast..."there's something DEAD and REALLY YUCKY in the backyard!"  I mentally prepared myself for some nasty bloody scene, quizzing him about it as we walked out. "It's body is this big (about the size of my hand) and it's head is this big (3 inches??). He took me to the spot. Nothing but grass. 

"OH....wait, it was just here?"  Now how can something DEAD mysteriously get up and walk away? I checked and Oscar was still inside, hadn't gotten out of bed yet. So began the 30 questions to get to the bottom of this. How do you know it was dead? "It didn't move." Was it bloody? "No". (phew)  Did it have fur? "No mommy...only bears have fur silly." Well how about fur like Oscar or like a mouse, or maybe feathers? "No." Okaaaaay....did it look slimy? "Ummmm....ya. Looked slimy". Okay....now we're getting somewhere here.  Was it a frog?  "Nope, wasn't a frog."  Hmph. A lizard?  "No...definitely not a lizard." Okay even if it was, still doesn't explain where it went? Ben maybe it was just sleeping? "No...it was dead."  How do you know, did you touch it?  "No way. It was SUPER yucky."  What color was it?  "Ummmm, brown. I'd say light brown."  Did it have legs?  "No, no legs or eyes.  Just a body and a head."  WHAT?  Okay so eyes could have been closed...hence the dead.  But just a body and a head?  Ben do you know what a toad looks like? (They're kid of big blobs right?) "No....wait, yes. Maybe. I think it was a toad." We looked all around the yard and no sign of it, hmph....

I wasn't so convinced...so I googled images of toads and showed him a couple..."Ben did it look something like this?"  The response was iffy..."Uhhhhh, sure!  Ya, I think it looked like that." Mike thinks that I'm a victim of Ben's wild imagination, but I don't know...he was pretty fired up! So continues the mystery of the REALLY YUCKY mystery animal in the Hagman Backyard.  The End.

Reflection

Tomorrow we will be parents of a 4 and a 2 year old.  The 4 year old I've been working on coming to terms with over the last month, but now my baby girl is turning 2.  That along with the fact that next week will mark our EIGHT year anniversary has me baffled....simply baffled.  Sometimes when there is the rare quiet moment I just sit and think "Wow...really?! Am I really to this point in my life?"  As a lot of people say, on the one hand it's flown by but there are also weeks that seem to last for ages...of course the challenging ones when we're sick and grumpy.  Yet I SO SO vividly remember how it felt in those first moments with both of them when I heard them cry, got to hold them, and nursed them....just like it happened literally yesterday and I can't believe that years have passed.  Even to think of Mike and I as newlyweds eight years ago...if at that moment we would have been able to look in a crystal ball and gotten a glimpse of our family I would have collapsed in a puddle of happy tears. I have been so blessed in my life, not to say we haven't had some tough times and health battles with the kids and with my dad, but we are all strong and have amazing love for each other and for that I couldn't be more grateful.

Life as a Girl...

Well it's official, we have a little girl growing up in our house. A full-fledged, pink-dressing, doll-toting, drama-stirring, shoe-loving, hug and kiss-giving, giggly, pouty, GIRL. I knew it was coming and that she would be this way...what I didn't know was that well before the age of two she would have a preference over what shoes she'll wear or that she absolutely MUST wear her piggy pajamas to bed or the world will most certainly come to an end. She is so playful and loveable, and while she demands to be loved, she also dishes it right back at ya. If anyone in the room lets out a little yip she'll be right there rubbing your head or shoulder with her cute little hand and head cocked to the side saying "you okay mom? es okaaaaay mama, shhshhshh..."  So nurturing.  Ben to this day could care less about what clothes he wears, although some days does have a preference for what shoes he'll wear. But once he makes up his mind, we're set and out the door. Brooke...she usually has to try on at least 3 different pairs before being certain that THESE are the ones. Where she gets this I don't know, little old MOI would never be so indecisive (wink wink). Oh well, I've been told that giving them choices and letting them feel like they have some sort of control over their lives is important. So I wait. I take lots of deep breaths, help when asked, and wait. :)

Our little hockey player in training!

I took Ben ice skating today while Grandma played with Brooke and he did so awesome!  As we know, Ben loves hockey and just saw some kids play this weekend, so has been begging to go ice skating.  We've tried twice while in McCall...once last summer and once the winter before that, neither time did he last more than about 10 minutes.  Well today some nice man brought us this little "walker" thing when he saw the two of us clinging onto each other and struggling.  I hung onto it for the first little while, but after about 20 minutes he just took off on his own and in total we skated about an hour!  He fell down a few times, but would pop right back up with a "I'm okay Mommy".  It helped that there was a little boy his size there decked out in full hockey gear, he informed us he plays for the mighty-mites for the Steelheads and he was practicing his skating.  Ben knows he has to skate before he can play hockey!  He loved it and we were both so proud of him, he can't wait to go again!!

A day in the life...

Okay so a few things happened today that have left me chuckling, which I've decided are the little things I really should be journaling about. Well, I don't journal, so...blog! First off we had a really great Christmas and New Year, maybe I'll come back to that if I get a chance. :) Well Brooke is still high maintenance yet hilarious, and very motherly to her 2 babies and the dog. Case in point, as I was getting ready this morning and brushing my teeth, she insisted on doing so as well. She wants to do everything Mommy does. We're brushing away, and I look down and she has her toothbrush in doggie's mouth. "doggie brush". I dart toward her fearing what may come next and you guessed it, she's quicker than me and yup, back in her mouth. Yummy. Well, I just convinced myself that whatever they say about dog mouths is true and washed it off and tried to move on with my day. Next story concerning hygiene...Ben has become very private about using the bathroom, always closing the door and never wanting help anymore. Fine by me! Well I hear this sloshing sound coming from in there and go peek in. The kid's got the plunger and is plunging away like a pro. "what are you doing?" "all that toilet paper plugged it up mommy"....NOT of course the poop I'm sure. Brooke is of course right on my heels and before you know it everyone's involved and grabbing at the plunger and the toilet as I shudder at the water splashing around everywhere. Luckily it's true...all I see is paper and I swear to God the kid used half the roll. Finally I got the kids to BACK away, and everything DOWN the john, and we had a little chat about how he needs to ask for help next time. "no I don't mommy, I can do it, I don't need you". Obviously. Next story is SO sweet...not at all about dog breath or toilets. We needed to go to the grocery store BAD I mean BAD today and I just refuse to take both kids. I'll take them both a lot of places but NOT a big grocery store trip. So as soon as Mike got home from work I was armed with my list and my coupons, and Ben begged to go with. Mike refused, saying..."every time you take the kids you make me swear to not let you do it again" but after Ben and I both begged and swore we wouldn't complain, the two of us were off to the store. And I have to say, it was one of the most pleasant grocery store trips I've ever had! We strolled along and chatted about what we needed, he gave input usually only when asked, like "do you do want strawberry or raspberry jam". Then came the stroll down the toilet paper aisle (told you he used a lot), when out came the completely unsolicited gaze up at me and "I WUV you mommy", just as the middle-age woman walking past us stopped. She and I both teared up and she said, "oh my WORD that is so sweet". I scooped him up and told him I loved him too and we were all on our merry way again. He doesn't say it much, but when he does it makes it that much more special and heartfelt. He insisted I needed his help unloading the cart and loading up the bags (Winco...ugh) and we chatted on the way home about how yesterday his friend at school got in trouble because he broke his promise that he would NOT eat the garbage ever again. Ewwww....what? Who knows. Thus is life with toddlers!!