"Squeaky" Clean

So we had a mouse last week....gross. It probably sounds naive, but I think it really was just one, and we caught it.*** Needless to say, it has definitely motivated us to be cleaner around here. I wish I could say I am a great housekeeper and that the mouse incident was a fluke, but we had it coming. I get so tired from running around with two (messy) boys, and so the last thing I want to think about at the end of the day is cleaning up. Maybe I shouldn't admit that. But just so you know, I get inspired to be a better housekeeper reading some of your blogs! So keep posting all about your immaculate homes and I'll be motivated to keep ours just above a level of pure squalor. :)

Benjamin also helps motivate me to keep things cleaner by making the filth blatantly obvious (so I have to clean it!). He likes to decorate our tub with his crayons and color the water. He thinks shaving is pretty fun too.

Alright, so I can't blame the mess entirely on the boys. I encourage a lot of it. Here was our silly Valentine's Day project. Kind of tacky, but that's what makes Valentine's Day so fun!

Benjamin got a little carried away. Poor Peter! Benjamin loves him to death.

On a completely unrelated note, I finally cut Peter's hair this week. It was driving me crazy with long patches on the top and on the back of his neck, but rubbed off on the top, back and sides. I kind of felt guilty cutting off his newborn hair, but he looks tons better now! He is changing so much day to day. He is already accurately grabbing at my food and hair and everything else within reach. He really, REALLY wants to eat food. He won't be four months for another week or so, and his four month check-up is a few weeks after that. So we'll see. I might just start him on rice cereal without the doctor's "go-ahead." I still think it was ridiculous how Benjamin's old pediatrician had us to hold off until 6 months because she was worried that he was too fat.

Peter is also getting close to sitting up on his own. Benjamin sat early (at 4 1/2 months), and I think Peter might just do the same. I borrowed my friend's Bumbo seat (no, we didn't buy him a pink one) and he loves the new view. I've also put him in Benjamin's old exersaucer a few times, and he likes it.

I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day. I did--I have three cute boys. We went to a dinner at Paul's boss' house with a bunch of his international co-workers, and had a good time. We took Benjamin and Peter, and they did really well. We didn't get to bed until 11:30 p.m. though, so as you can imagine, 11:00 church the next morning was interesting.

Since we were going to that dinner on Valentine's Day, we celebrated early on Friday night, and Paul made a delicious Masala for dinner. He also got me a gorgeous herb planter! It's going to have to sit in our family room though since our kitchen is north facing, and never gets any direct sunlight. For breakfast on Valentine's Day morning, we made smoothies and blueberry waffles. I made a scavenger hunt and a nice card for Paul. This was our fifth Valentine's Day together!

*** Paul's side note: We found an ingenious idea on the world wide web of how to catch a mouse with a toilet paper tube, a bit of bait, and a trash can full of water. I felt triumphant for days afterwards despite the lump in my stomach reminding me that I drowned a mouse. It's better than sticky paper though, right?

62 Degrees=Heaven

Yep, this picture about sums up how I felt about today's weather, too. It's supposed to be great weather all weekend! Hooray!

And Benjamin was excited to be able to dig in the dirt again. It's been a while!

Getting So Big

Peter is growing up fast. He is 3 months old (and some change) now, and he seems to just get more and more fun every day. Benjamin has fallen in love with Peter too, and talks to him, plays games with him, and lets him "play" with his stuffed animals. It's really sweet to see the bond that is beginning to form between them. Peter loves to suck, so he is pretty easy to soothe. All he needs is a pacifier and something cuddly against his face, and he'll put himself to sleep. Recently, he's started to suck on his hands more too.

Peter loves kicking and batting at the dangling toys on his play mat, and gets even more excited when he's in the tub. He is a lot more social than Benjamin was at this age, and will smile and talk to strangers who approach him. He gets a huge smile on his face when Paul comes home and talks to him!His skin is finally beginning to clear up. He has eczema pretty bad on one side of his face and still has traces of cradle cap. I made him go partially bald when I tried scrubbing the flakes off. But his new hair is already starting to come in, so he won't look like an awkward newborn baby forever. His hair also seems to be getting redder, although it's not quite the intensity of Benjamin's.
Peter is a sweetheart, and a calming presence in our family. We love this little boy!

I've Been Tagged

I don't give in to these often, so you're in for a treat! Ha, just kidding. Read on if you're that bored.

Here are the Rules:
1) Post rules on your blog
2) Answer the six '8' items
3) Let each person know by leaving them a comment

8 Favorite TV shows:
(we don’t have TV anymore, so we watch shows online sometimes…I definitely don't have 8 that I currently watch.)
1. The Office
2. Lost
3. 24
4. Psych
5. American Idol (I’m not sure if I’m fully committed to watching this season yet, though.)
6. So You Think You Can Dance

Things I did yesterday:
1. Made an egg for Benjamin
2. Packed Paul’s lunch
3. Made a new sticker chart to help Benjamin realize the importance of staying in his bed during naps and bedtime (ask me how well that’s working!)
4. Figured out how to fix the keyboard after Benjamin messed it up
5. Began stitching two Ikea runner rugs together for Peter’s room (They’re cute- green and white stripes, and cost me a total of $20! It will make a 6’ x 8’ rug when I’m done. I got the idea here)
6. Swept the floor and vacuumed
7. Tried making a new dinner
8. Got Peter in bed by 7:00

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Warm weather
2. Peter sleeping through the night
3. Getting completely out of debt
4. Finishing Peter’s room
5. Finishing our room
6. The weekend
7. Peter being old enough to leave for more than a 2-3 hour stretch
8. Peter being old enough to play with Benjamin

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1. Bombay House
2. Carabba’s
3. Red Robin
4. Burger’s Supreme
5. Papa John’s
6. Brio
7. Café Rio
8. Pastorero

8 Things on my wish-list:
1. That Benjamin would learn how to stay in bed
2. Lose all the baby fat
3. A second car
4. A set of real chairs
5. A newer house
6. A few more kids (not immediately, of course)
7. To live close to family
8. To go to the beach this summer

8 People I Tag:
1. Miriam
2. Jeannine
3. Michelle
4. McKenna
5. Sarah F.
6. Kristen
7. Karey
8. Melanie

A Little Bit of Life

By way of updates, the cold water in the kitchen sink still doesn't work (four days and counting), I haven't left the house in four days, and Peter is still very congested, meaning we get no sleep. But for the record, I'm not as depressed as the last post might have made it sound. And we got snow last night, which seems to make the cold that much more tolerable. Paul is working from home today because "campus" is closed. Snow days make me feel like a little kid again. Paul built a nice fire last night as it was snowing outside. Benjamin was thrilled, and so was I! We got a box in the mail last week, and Benjamin wanted to play in it. He was riding in a "roller coaster" here.
Benjamin loves reading stories in his room. He has to look at the "camel on the ceiling" upside-down.
I feel like he must be a budding scientist. He has always loved this DK Science Dictionary. He wants to know what everything is and how it works. Oh, and the crazy "scientist" hair is for effect. :) And speaking of science, the last time I did go out was on Saturday when we went to the Science Center. Benjamin loves it!
Oh, just so you know, we do still have two sons. Here's Peter hanging out in his swing. Benjamin calls the toy on it a "planet." He really is fascinated with science!

I bet you were wondering how this post could get any more random. So I added a video of Paul and Peter playing "Up We Go!" We really do have a great life, just the four of us!

Winter

I am so done with Winter. It's too bad we're only half way through. I'm at home right now with two sick boys while Paul is at church. It's just hard striking the balance between getting out enough for my sanity and keeping them in for their health.
I'm pretty sure Benjamin caught another little something a few days ago when we went out, and I think that day the temperature might have actually gone above freezing. Generally it's been hovering between 0 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit, but with windchill, it feels about 10 degrees colder. Our kitchen water pipes froze for a couple of days last week, and the cold water in that sink will work about every other day.
On the up side, Paul's business trip to Holland that was scheduled for a week and a half was cancelled. He got to the airport yesterday morning only to learn that his passport was no good. Even though it doesn't expire until April, it didn't give him three months past his return date, which is apparently the rule. It would have been cool for him to go, but we're glad he doesn't have to leave us!

Family Photo

So never mind the huge logo across Peter's face. We had this done while we were in Utah when my family was getting a group portrait. I just now got the proofs for ours. Even though Benjamin has this silly expression on his face, it's a lot better than the cold stare he was giving the photographer in the rest of them.