SuperThad and the Duck

As a dad, you have dreams and aspirations for your children. You want them to accomplish great things, to be successful in their pursuits, to be excellent in everything they do, and to go beyond what they think their own limits are. Well, today I am a proud dad because my sons are not just incredibly handsome, smart and fun to be around, my sons are a Superhero duo in the long tradition of duos. Crime has a new force to reckon with and it may come in a surprising form. Don't let those blonde curls and that innocuous fowl costume fool you; these brothers mean business and they want candy! It is my privilege to introduce you to, SuperThad and his sidekick, The Duck....

More readings with Thad

It has come to my attention that the several hours it took to get the previous video to upload yielded many many laughs, and was, therefore, worth the stress.  So after an early morning request, I have asked Thad for another story.  He was not really excited about reading to the camera, so I had to play it up big. 

Me: Come on Thad.  Bebe was really proud of your reading.  Dontcha wanna show her another one?

Thad: NO!

Me: PLEASE Thad?

Thad: No, I don't want to!

Me: It'll be like your very own movie.  A movie of you reading Give a Pig a Pancake.

Thad: Oh! Like Shane and David on Upside Down Show when they make a movie? Like that Mom, like that?

Me: Yep! Just like that - you in a movie!

Thad: Ok Mom, I'll read...

So, here it is.  That reading If You Give a Pig a Pancake

(note: He went to the dentist yesterday and requested a pair of green apple scented gloves.  They have only come off to brush his teeth and sleep, so they are featured in this flick as well...weird, I know, but my life none the less!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to get close enough to show the words, but in the compression of this shot, the quality decreased...oh well.  He did go on to finish the book, my memory card just filled up.

This clip is Thad reading one of his sight word books.  Again, the quality doesn't allow you to see the words, but he is pointing to them as he is reading them. 

Enjoy Bebe (and freinds!)

Early Morning Fun part 2

I have come to the rescue of my brave and courageous wife's attempt at posting this video of Thad and Hudson and Miss Moo. Marriage is a team effort and so is this blogging thing :)

Household duties

If you have ever lived in the same town as me or, heaven forbid, the same apt/room, you are keenly aware that service (i.e. cleaning up) is not my spiritual gift or love language.  However, it became brutally clear to me at a recent marriage retreat (by the Lord, not my husband or the speaker) that I was being incredibly selfish by not taking care of my home.  I had a little "come to Jesus" meeting with God and He radically changed my perspective on keeping my home neat.  So, I immediately began a cleaning frenzy; organizing closets, cleaning out toys and dressers, Cloroxing the sink.  I was a machine.  It felt great!  Very quickly, however, reality set back in and the children begin to re-dirty all that had been cleaned.  Much like the blogging thing, this is typically when I would lose my gusto.  Fortunately, I have maintained a proper perspective on cleaning, I just don't have the  sparkling house of my dreams.

Mom and I have had many a discussion on the topic of including the children in household duties and I have made a few futile attempts at including them.  This morning I decided to bite the bullet and let them have at it.  So, I gave Thad a "special" cleaning cloth and demonstrated the proper way to clean the doors.  He worked diligently on removing the goo that has become a semipermanent fixture on both the storm and sliding glass doors, even braving the chilly temps outside to get both sides clean.  Hudson also chipped in by sweeping the eating area and helping unload the dishwasher.  Never mind the fact that Thad created as many fingerprints as he wiped away and Hudson simply scattered the crumbs further away from the eating area.  They contributed, without a fight.  They were proud of their work. I got to do some cleaning of my own while they were working.  Mission accomplished.  Now I must go wipe down the doors and sweep the floors while they are napping so they don't see Mommy coming behind them to finish the task..

Early Morning Fun

So, many of you know that for various reasons, I am "home schooling" Thad versus sending him to formal preschool. We are definitely keeping a loose schedule and trying to catch learning opportunities in everyday living. Thad loves to have books read to him. He goes through phases of obsession with one or two books that we read EVERY night. Hudson has recently begun bringing books to me and climbing in my lap to have them read to him. One such occurrence was just this morning as I was working on uploading photos. Hudson slammed one of Thad's favs on my lap. I told Hudson to take the book to his brother, hoping that Thad would buy me some time on the trusty laptop. Little did I know how well he would handle the situation. The following video captures the moment (thanks to the digital camera that also takes short videos!)

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So, just kidding - still working on the video posting thing. Not a really happy camper right now. That's okay, we will just keep you in suspense! Hopefully I can get it up soon.

Surely we can do this...

I have recently discovered that I am pretty good at getting really excited about something and slam full of great intentions, but not so hot at the follow through. I dream of all the the cards I will make and send to my friends, cool field trips I will take the boys on, organization projects I would like to undertake, you know, good stuff. Those things just roll around in my head and never find their way out. But, I really thought we were ready for this blogging thing. I mean, all of our friends are doing it, we have plenty of toddler mayhem to share, and precious pictures of our kids. So, what is the probelm? I guess the fact that I am still sitting with the same cold cup of coffee from 2 hours ago, yelling at my 3 year old over the screen of the laptop, trying to convince my 17 month old that mommy needs just a few more minutes before she can "clo" (his sweet way of saying close) the computer, and Jason and I had to try several logins to even get access to the page, hinders the flow of great blogging.

I am still convinced it is in us to do it. Somehow, someway. So, here we go with attempt number two or three or whatever, to get this up and running again. I ask your forgiveness ahead of time as my writing will probably lack finess, humor, and correct grammar. However, I will do my best to record the hilarious goings on from inside our home.