this and that -- funnies

Flora:  Mommy, our class got on the school bus too early and we had to wait on the bus for TWO HOURS!  Or maybe two minutes....I can't remember....

*****

Scout:  Mommy, when you paint all day I just think that you don't love me anymore.  (During the week that I was painting the exterior of the house)

*****

Timber has started calling himself  "Imber Wimber" and he calls Scout "Outy Outy"

*****

Timber:  My pepperonis are too spicy.
Me:  Flora, do you want to eat Timber's pepperonis?
Flora:  No way, pepperonis are TOO spicy.
Me:  But you ate yours already.  ??
Flora:  I know.  I just ate them because I didn't want them on my plate.  

*****

Scout lost a race and threw a fit.  I was trying to explain why that is not the appropriate way to act when you lose.  Flora chimed in and said, "Besides, Scout, the game is not special.  It's Jesus that's really important."  
Well played, Flora.  I bow to your wisdom on this matter.  :)

*****

"A Joke" by Flora
Flora:  Why did the water bottle get a water bottle?
Me:  I don't know.  Why?
Flora:  To get a water bottle.

scout starts preschool!!

Scout started preschool yesterday.  He was SOOOO excited until bedtime the night before school started.  Then he started asking questions like, "What if I miss you?" and " What if I get sad?"  So I wasn't sure how drop off would go -- and since I was going to have Flora, Timber, and Logan with me I knew I wouldn't be able to handle a meltdown very well.

But he did great!  He woke up excited and couldn't wait to go to school.  He walked right to his classroom and gave his teacher a hug.  I said goodbye and quickly left while he was searching for the backpack hook with his name on it.  Then I sat in the van watching in the window until I saw his little red head bopping around the classroom.

And we left.  And it was that easy!  Yea!!

Scout's favorite part of preschool:  "Naptime."  Hmm...
Scout's least favorite part of preschool:  "Nothing.  It was all good."  :)

Timber gave Scout a BIG hug when he got home from school and Scout told him all about his day.  Then we ate the special after-school cupcakes that Scout had picked out and gave Scout his first-day-of-school surprise (an Angry Bird toy).

A very good start to the school year.

The only problem?  Now Timber wants to go to school and he still has two years to wait until he starts preschool.  I might just let him pick out a lunchbox to feel included.  If I'm packing two lunches in the morning it probably wouldn't be too hard to go ahead and pack three.  ;)

So that's where I am now.  Packing school lunches.  Checking backpacks for homework.  A big change from the days when synchronizing three naptimes was my top priority! 

i love it when they talk about "grown-up" things

Flora:  I was the first one of us who was born.
Scout:  Yeah, and you're the only girl Mommy bought.
Flora:  Scooouuuut, you don't BUY babies.
Scout:  Yes, you do.  You buy them at the hospital.
Flora:  No, the hospital just finds a way to get the babies out of the Mommy's belly
Scout:  Oh.  I wonder how they do that....??
Flora:  Well, sometimes they have to cut you open but if you're a grown up it doesn't hurt.  Hospital people are just really good at things like that. 

babies and big kids

Baby James was born last week!  In fact, it was last Wednesday, so HAPPY ONE WEEK BIRTHDAY to Baby James!  It's shocking to see a newborn when you haven't seen one in months.  He was much smaller than I remembered newborns being -- exquisitely tiny.  Were my kids ever that small??  Really??  Well, I guess, technically, I never saw Timber that tiny but they were all much, much smaller than they are now. 

It's such a blur.  I remember each of them being born.  I remember celebrating birthdays and changing diaper after diaper . . . I remember silly moments and frustrating moments; watching them sleep and watching them play.  I just don't remember watching them grow up.  Even Timber, my "baby," is walking, talking, feeding himself, and holding his own in wrestling matches with Scout.  Definitely NOT a baby. 

But big kids are fun too.  A lot more fun than babies, actually.  It's good for other people to have babies so that I can touch super soft baby cheeks and snuggle with a perfectly content newborn but I don't need any more babies of my own.  I'm having fun with the big kids in my life now!  They're so silly and always so surprising! 

And they're starting to think like adults, which can be scary --
Last night Timber was upset because Scout found a toy guitar that he had been looking for.  Scout was playing with the guitar and refusing to share, Timber was crying because he wanted the guitar, and suddenly, Flora points to the kitchen and yells, "Hey, look!  Donuts!"  Scout and Timber ran into the kitchen only to be disappointed at the absence of donuts.  I asked Flora why she said that and she answered, "I was hoping that Scout would drop the guitar to see the donuts and then I could get it for Timber."  Haha, not the ideal solution to the situation but I definitely gave her props for originality! 

Baby picture after eating.  He's so peaceful.  It makes me sleepy just looking at him.

Big kid picture after eating.  Notice ALL of their mouths are open telling me something -- once they start talking it really doesn't stop.  Although I've heard that the talking drops off significantly once they hit the teenage years.

Baby picture after a bath.  His skin is practically glowing with softness.  All ready for a cuddle.

Big kid picture after bath.  Again, mouths open.  I think I told them to roar for this one though (because Scout's towel is a dinosaur).    

testing, testing...

Trying out the new Blogger app on my phone.
Here's a few Easter pics to make this post worth your time:

sleepovers

Hello blog.  I have no excuse for not blogging more often . . . well, maybe I have some excuses but none of them really excuse how badly I've neglected the blog.  Oh well....

So, sleepovers. 

The kids LOVE having sleepovers.  They would all sleep in the same room every night if I would let them but since they always stay up SUPER late together I only allow sleepovers on Friday and Saturday nights.  Here are a couple really sweet sleeping pics I've snapped over the past few months:

pieces of 2012

Goodbye, red van.  Preschool.  Olympics!  Snip, snip -- no more Borkert babies.  Gotye.  Alphabet.  Hot, hot summer.  Colorado vacation.  Arkansas lake vacation.  Goodbye Hope, hello trust.  Tebow Time.  Change.  First Wednesdays.  Sara's pregnant!!!  iPhones.  Forwa, Out, and Imber.  South Dakota (sunsets, sickness, boat rides, crazy thunderstorms, Shipwreck Bar & Grill, "Lim and Jynn," Star Trek, Keurig, bunk bed, birds, rest).  Astro.  Fantasy Football Super Bowl.  It's a BOY!  Cedar Ridge Christian Church.  My Little Pony.  Newsletters.  PEYTON FREAKING MANNING!  Chronological Bible reading plan.  Pandora.  5-yrs-old, 4-yrs-old, 2-yrs-old.  Bathroom remodel.  Baby Logan.  E-books.  Flora's girly room.  Block party.  Birthday in the hospital.  Soccer.  Fridays.  Girls Weekend!  Johnson County friends.  Coffee.  Pinterest.  Neighbor fire pits.
Call me, maybe.            

warning: brag blog

Flora is our little artist.  She LOVES "artisting" and is really very good at it.  This is a picture she drew for our new baby neighbor, Logan.  She was trying to draw a dog like the one on her sketchbook cover.  I was amazed at how well she did.    

She's also picking up many "grown up" words and phrases.  She has learned the days of the week and some units of time.  And she asks the meaning of EVERY word she doesn't know -- even some words that she knows how to use but doesn't exactly know the meaning.  Like "probably" and "pretty" (as in pretty good, pretty big, etc).  She keeps me on my toes!  Some of those words are hard to explain!

Scout loves letters.  I think we all know that by now.  And he's basically taught himself to read.  Seriously.  I bought a package of 70 sight words in the $1 Spot at Target thinking it would be a fun thing for us to practice while Flora is at preschool.  He already knew half of them.....sounded out most of what he didn't already know......and I had to help him with about 10 words.  I was shocked.  I knew he could read some words but had no idea he was THAT good.

Yellow and Exit were two of the words he already recognized.  He's been interested in numbers lately too.  He held up a 42 and asked if it was "forty-two."  Then he switched the numbers to a 24 and asked if it was a "tooty-four."

Timber's most obvious skill right now is copying Scout.  If Scout runs in circles, Timber runs in circles.  If Scout sings a song, Timber sings a song.  If Scout eats a banana, Timber eats a banana.  Consequently, Timber is also very interested in letters and numbers.  He recognizes about half of the alphabet and can count to 10.

If Scout wears shoes and pants and no shirt, Timber wears shoes and pants and no shirt.  This could be very useful when potty training time comes around.

Chris can shave!  Who knew???  He actually knows how to use a razor and shaving cream.  I think the only time I've seen Chris clean-shaven was once or twice in college.  And I'm positive the kids have never seen this sight before. 

I'm pretty sure this won't happen again for another 10 years so I took a picture -- just to remind him that it IS possible.  

And I can do this.  That's right -- crossed eyes AND fish lips.  You know you're impressed.

Haha, this is another one of my I-was-so-bored-in-the-hospital-with-Timber pictures.  

Ok, brag blog is over.  In summary -- we're awesome and we know it.   :-)

uh, yeah, i think so

"Mommy, are you sure your potty can handle a 5-year-old bum?"
~Flora, age 5~

know your options

So, we received the bill for Timber's hospital stay.  Wow.  If I had known they were charging that much I might have requested a few more free coffees and granola bars.  Thankfully, insurance will knock a good chunk off the total.  I decided to have some fun with what was initially a very disheartening number.   

After scouring craigslist and ebay, I've compiled a list of things you can purchase for the price of a 5-day/4-night hospital stay:

A Pair of Small Cast Bronze Indoor Outdoor Giraffe Statues

a.k.a. Ridiculously Overpriced Tacky "Art"

A Hermes Birkin Bag

Someone please punch me if I ever pay this much for a purse.

A Fine Large Traditional Stained Glass Church Window

Yes, a LARGE stained glass window.  If only I knew someone who had recently purchased a church....

 Ancient Roman Marble Male Lower Torso 

Because you can never have too many of these on display in your house, right?

 Victorian Style Cast Iron Beautiful Gazebo

 Hm, well it looks more spacious than our hospital room.

 Lowe 180W 115HP Optimax with Side Imaging Sonar
I'm pretty sure Chris would have taken Timber to the local medicine doctor and bought the boat instead if he'd known....

 2003 Prostreet Custom Chopper
Yes, it's pretty.....but where would I put three car seats???

 2010 John Deere 2520
Ah, this is more like it.  There are tons of places to attach car seats on this one!  But would it fit in my garage??  And exactly how long would it take us to get to the grocery store??

 2003 Glastron, 22ft, with extended swim platform
If the fishing boat wasn't your thing then how about this pretty piece of marine machinery? 

And my personal favorite way to spend $19k....

 2005 Challenger 5th wheel w/3 slides
Seriously....how awesome is this????  

We could sell our house, travel the country, and grill every night.  What a life!

So next time the doctors recommend hospitalizing one of my children (well, hopefully there is no "next time".... but if there is.....) I'm going to ask about my options first.  Is hospitalization really necessary?  Could we possibly treat him on a custom chopper or in a cast iron gazebo instead?