Monsters in the Basement

Tim and Casden were downstairs in the basement. Tim was doing laundry :-) Casden was playing. The furnace kicks on. Casden freezes, gets real quiet, and his eyes get real big. He asks Tim, "What's that?" Tim says, "That's the furnace kicking on." Casden says, "No, it's a monster." Tim says, "No, it's just the furnace." Casden, ever convinced it is, in fact, a monster, says, "I'm going upstairs" and hightails it upstairs. Tim follows behind with a laundry basket. Casden turns back and says, "Daddy, you can stay down here (with the monster)!"

The Magic Word

Tim was laying on the coffee table (of course!) and Casden came up and laid a bin of cars on his belly. Casden then demanded that Tim help him put them together. Tim and I both commented that this was not a very nice way to ask for help. Padget chimed in that he should "use the magic word". Casden looked at her and said quizzically, "Abracadabra?"

How can you be mad at that face?

Oh, Aidric...usually he's so good at bedtime and night-time, but last night was another matter entirely. It was dreadful. He screamed and cried much of the night. However, you'd go slamming in there all angry and he'd stop crying and just be all coos and giant gummy grins. It's so hard to be mad at those gummy grins, when his face just lights up. Sigh. It won't be gummy for much longer, as he's working hard on cutting those 2 bottom teeth. That may have explained last night's issues. So, I'll enjoy those gummy grins while they last, even if they are at 2 a.m.!

Our Little Elf

Padget had her preschool musical production last night. "Santa's Little Elves" Boy, that girl is a star--no stage fright, no fear of the giant crowd, just pure joy and animation. It was very cool to watch! And it helps that she is LOUD (like Casden!!) so she carried the girls' songs so we could hear even in the very back row. It was very cute, and we couldn't be more proud. I'd love for her to get into drama--a good way to focus her dramatic flair and I think it's a great way to get used to speaking in front of people. Yes, I know, I know, she's only 5, but I'm just thinking ahead (many, many years ahead!).

WTF??!!

After dinner this evening, the kids wanted to play "Tiger Tail Chase". They have this set of 4 different animal tails that go around your waist (imagine flag football, but with a zebra/tiger/monkey/lion tail for a flag). They wanted Daddy to play, but he was holding Aidric. Casden said, "Mommy can play." Padget replied, "Mommy's too old!" Yikes, really...this is what my 5 year old thinks of me???!! Daddy told Padget that actually he was older than Mommy, but I don't think she bought it. Anyway, I grabbed my lion tail and proceeded to run those kiddos ragged around the house. They were winded, hot, and sweaty--upon quitting the game, both kids stripped off their shirts and grabbed their water bottles!

Another funny thing was that after I grabbed my water bottle, Casden asked, "Mommy, aren't you hot? Take off your shirt." Immediately, my brain fast-forwarded 10-15 years...Casden saying to some girl, "hey baby, aren't you hot? Let me help you take that shirt off..." !!!

Loud talking and whispering

Maybe it's a boy thing or maybe it's a Casden thing. Casden has no "inside voice". He's so loud all the time. Whether he's talking, singing, humming...he does it so LOUDLY! And if you call him on it, he just gets louder. Poor Aidric takes the brunt of this because Casden gets all up in his face to talk to him. But it's so loud and so close, that you can just see this fear and panic in Aidric's eyes, like get this crazy, loud close-talker the hell away from me! I guess the plus-side is that Casden really loves his little brother :-)

When can you trust your child to whisper in your ear? I mean whisper, quietly. I still flinch whenever Padget wants to tell me a secret, because I fear that she is going to get in real close and then blow out my eardrum. I don't think I'll ever be able to let Casden tell me a secret!

Canine Hopes and Dreams!

First some background...Our yellow lab, Persy, was our first baby. We had him for a good 3 years before any human babies entered our lives. Persy used to sleep with us in our bed. For 3 years he did this--at first he was allowed to sleep with us at night and then as he got bigger, he was allowed to sleep on our bed when one of us was napping. When we moved to CT, we were disgusted with the state of our comforter and put the ka-bosh on Persy sleeping in our bed.

So, today, I am exhausted. I had a terrible night's sleep. Could have been the chocolate peanut butter cookies I ate at 9:00 p.m. or it could have been my inability to shut my brain off. Either way, I really didn't fall asleep until after 3:00 a.m. and was up at 6:30 a.m. Anyway, I pulled off the impossible task of getting all 3 kids down for naps AT THE SAME TIME! I decided to crawl into bed myself. As I crawl into bed and snuggle under the covers, I hear Persy get up off of his doggie bed, come over to my side of the bed, and look at me hopefully. Persy is now 8 1/2 years old. It has been 5+ years since he slept in our bed, and yet, there is a part of him that remains hopeful that today is the day.

Well, sorry, Persy, today was not the day! And thank goodness, because Tim pulled a tick off of him later this evening. Yuck! Just another reason that he is not allowed in our bed.

Scarlet O'Hara

Padget is getting antsy about decorating the inside of the house for Christmas. I'm not quite feeling the Christmas spirit yet so to appease her, Tim brought up the kids' Christmas trees. They have little trees for their rooms, and each year I take them out to pick out an ornament. Anyway, they were so excited to have their trees in their rooms. As Padget and I were finishing hanging up all her ornaments, she looks wistfully at her tree and declares, in her best "woe is me" voice, "I wish I had a star for the top of my tree. (dramatic pause and sigh) I guess I'll have to ask Santa". The only thing missing was the hand to her forehead as she said this! She's just too much.

Nicknames...

It's amazing how many different names we have for our kids. I'm reminded of this as I hear Tim upstairs calling Casden "Caz-man-doooo"! I guess you never know what their name will morph into when you name them. For example, we named him Casden James so that we could call him C.J. Never once have we called him that! He was Caz and Buddha so early on that C.J. never entered the picture. And Padget has been P. forever--I remember my brother cringing that I was calling my daughter Urine--I was like um, no, as in P the letter. Not PEE! Oh well, it has stuck!!

Here's the undefinitive list...

Padget:
P.
Miss P.
Peapod (of course!)
Padge (I HATE this one--Pop Pop uses it among a few others!)
Pumpkin
Princess
Monkey
Boo
Bunny
Bug

Casden:
Caz
Buddha
Bood
Boody
Buddha-Budda
Caz-Man
Caz-Man-Doooo
Monkey
Big Guy
Doody

Aidric:
A.J. (Nanny and Granpa and Padget)
Chunker Munkers
Babers
Little Guy
Big Guy
Angry Aidric

Sweet Girl (and she knows it, too!)

Oh, my dear sweet Padget. Sometimes she says the most endearing things. But now, as a 5 year old, she knows when she's going to say something that will pull on the heart-strings. It's hard to tell if she is being genuine or if she is doing it just for the big hug and kiss that she always gets when she says something sweet.

For example, this morning, she walks into the bathroom, bats her eyelashes at me, and declares, "Sometimes having our family is the best gift of all. Isn't that right, Mommy?" And as I look down to answer her, I am met by a set of big, pursed lips waiting for their kiss! Like awe, aren't I just the sweetest and I deserve a big kiss for that sweet sentiment!

Why's Mommy Laughing So Hard?

Casden and I were in his room to get him dressed and ready for the day. As I was taking off his diaper, he started to pee. I exclaimed, "You're peeing" in a shriek which scared him and he stopped peeing. After the shock of being peed on by my almost 3 year old (this hasn't happened since he was a baby!), I asked him if he'd like to go on the potty to finish what he started. He obliged. (By the way, this in itself is a big deal, as I can count on one hand the amount of times he's gone on the potty!) After we get back to getting dressed, Casden is telling me all the things that Aidric will do when he's bigger.

[(C) = Casden (M) = Mommy]

(C) "Aidric will go pee-pee on the potty"
(M)"Uh huh, maybe you'll help teach him"
(C) "Aidric will play with my cars"
(M) "Yes, he will"
(C) "Aidric will sleep in a bed"
(M) "Yep, when he's out of his crib"
(C) "Aidric will pound on my balls"
(M) Hysterical laughter!

To put it in context, Casden had been playing with his Discovery Toys ship that you use a hammer to pound the balls in before we were getting him dressed. However, I'm sure that when my boys are bigger, there will certainly be some "ball-pounding" as they wrestle their ways through boyhood and into young adulthood! What a good laugh! (and all the while, poor Casden is staring me like why's mommy laughing so hard?!)

Sally and Oreo and Fisbee, oh my!

The weather was so nice over Thanksgiving weekend that Tim decided to do the outside Christmas decorating. While out doing some Black Friday Christmas shopping, I came across 2 motorized 3 ft tall lighted reindeer. Tim has always said he wanted reindeer for the yard. The deal was quite good so this year, I complied.

He put together and set up the reindeer in our front flower bed. He went on to hanging the Christmas lights, with Padget and Casden intermittently playing and "helping" him. Next thing you know, the reindeer have piles of hay and corn to eat. And they have names--Sally and Oreo. Padget's handiwork, of course, with some help from her little tag-along brother, Caz.

In other news, Padget is quite the tattle-tail (tale?) these days. It's somewhat helpful and somewhat annoying all at the same time. In a previous post, I mentioned Fisbee, our elf on the shelf. Padget is now telling on her friends to Fisbee. "I have to go tell Fisbee that Brianna said 'Stupid'. That's a bad word to say." She then expects that Fisbee will go tell Santa that Brianna was being naughty!

A random Tuesday...

Casden and I were in his room, looking to get "dressed and ready for the day" (as I always say). I was rifling through his closet and he says he wants to wear Mickey. He has these Mickey corduroy overalls that he's never worn before. They are hand-me-downs from my step-sister's kiddos. Anyway, they don't have a matching shirt so I am trying to find something that matches, and I find this button-down shirt that will work. As I'm putting the shirt on him, he takes one look at it and declares that it's a "doctor shirt"! Maybe I should dress him up a little more often ;-)


When Casden is cold (and usually when he's getting dressed), he says he's "freezing like ice cube"!

Another one of Casden's sayings is "What the heck?" I'm not sure if it's Tim or I that says it, but he picked it up.

Grams was laughing at Caz the other night because when he gets angry, he scrunches up his face in this way that makes his eyebrows nearly touch.

The day before Thanksgiving...

Tim and I were laying on the floor in Casden's room. The baby was sleeping. Padget and Casden were playing and drawing on Casden's chalkboard. Padget makes a run for it out of the room. I brace myself, just in case she's going to run into me, but I have faith that my 5 year old can judge the distance. Wrong--Bonk! She knees me in the forehead. And then, in classic Padget form, she declares, "Sorry, Mom, but you should not have been there." Nice!

Casden has been using a very interesting pet name for us these days. It's "Doody". Probably more along the lines of "Doody=Poopy" than say "Howdy Doody". But he'll tag it to the end of such endearing statements. "Love you, Doody" "Good night, Doody" "Okay, Doody". And sometimes, he's parent-specific, as in "Doody-Mama" or "Doody-Daddy (which flows very nice!)". And he will call himself "Doody-Casden". I have no idea where he came up with it, but it is very funny and very Casden.

Casden has this odd accent--ever since he started talking. It's hard to describe, but everyone notices it. He also has some really adorable speech impediments, which I know he will outgrow in time, but I hope they stick around at least until Aidric is talking with cute impediments of his own. He has a hard time with words that start with "S" and another consonant. Like "sleepy" is "fweepy". We went to Dairy Queen after they got their swine flu shots last weekend, and he informed me that he had eaten all his "fwinkles". Other cute words off the top of my head include "hung-ee" (hungry) and "bloon" (balloon). There are so many more, but I can't think of them right now. Oh, he's very good with his manners, but has a hard time with the "th" sound so he says "No 'sanks!" for "No thanks!" And he has a hard time with "sp-" words. He'll tell you that something has "pots" (spots) or that he's drawing a "pider" (spider).

Nanny and Grandpa got us the book Elf on the Shelf. The story is that he is Santa's elf and every night he uses his magic to fly back to the North Pole to report on the kids' behavior and then he flies back and hides in a new spot. The kids are really enjoying this. They named the elf Fisbee (as suggested in the story), and Padget is so smitten by this elf that she blesses him every night in her prayers! Tim and I, however, are having a harder time with this project as the elfen magic seems to solely rely on Tim and I remembering to move the little guy. There have been quite a few days where Padget and Casden can't understand why Fisbee came back to the same spot. Tim has nearly been caught multiple times moving Fisbee in the middle of the day!

I think I hear Casden up. He has been getting out of bed in the time between his bedtime and our bedtime. The first night he did this, he scared the bejesus out of Tim. He was standing in our room, in the dark, in between the curtains looking across at the neighbors' Christmas lights. Tim nearly jumped out of his skin! Last night, Tim turned on the lights and gave me the all clear and then looked on our bed. Casden had been looking at Christmas lights (the curtains were messed up) and had apparently just crawled into our bed, covered himself up, and fallen fast asleep. It was so sweet! Less sweet was his 3 a.m. visit later last night. Yep, he was out of bed. Tim is putting him back in his own bed now. He was playing with Padget's hair ties in their bathroom sink. ?? He's a character, that one!

Funny stuff

Okay, it has been many months since I started this blog. The time has just flown by. We moved out of my mom's house and into our own house. We had baby #3--Aidric Jacob. I'm a stay-at-home mom extraordinaire...haha, not really! I'm muddling through.

Padget, for Halloween, told us that she wanted a pumpkin that would "scare people's crap out"! She said she learned that from her friend Maya in preschool. Lovely. I can't hardly wait to see what elementary school brings! I'm sure it will be enough to scare my crap out...!

Padget's is the ghost pumpkin.

Casden has refused to attempt potty training. He insists that the potty has eyes. ?? We have no idea where that came from. We actually then drew a smiley face on the potty to show him the potty has friendly eyes, but he was not amused.

When Casden doesn't like something, he says it's "yucky". This ranges from food that's yucky (which makes sense) to bedtime is yucky or cleaning up is yucky or, of course, going on the potty is yucky.

Aidric shrieks and screams a lot (at 4 months), but sometimes it sounds like he is yelling "HI!" at the top of his lungs or shouting "HELLO!" It's very funny because it stops you in your tracks. You know that he's not possibly saying that, but it's clear as day.

Casden is always asking to drink out a "big girl cup". It's tough to have a big sister! That's all he heard when she was learning to drink out of an open cup. It was a "big girl cup" so now when he wants to drink from an open cup, yep, it's a "big girl cup".

Blog name...

Peapod and the Bean...this has always been my "company" name. If I had ever started any kind of home business. I came up with it after I had my daughter, Padget, and while I was pregnant with my son, Casden (whom I had nicknamed "Bean" while in the womb). I suppose that baby #3 will be jealous that he is not included in my "company" name, however, it's not really like I am ever going to use it probably on anything other than this blog!! But in case I do, I even had designed my own business cards during a slow day at work!

History...

My life in a nutshell...I married my high school sweetheart, Tim. We dated for nearly 8 years before we got married, at age 24. We actually started out our married life in Butler, PA. And even then I never thought I'd end up back here! However, back then, newly married, no kids, Butler didn't really bother me. I worked full-time for the PA Dept. of Health, up in Jackson Center, so I had a 40 mile commute. Weeks flew by. Enjoying married life, fixing up our little house, playing with our new puppy. We lived here for 3 years, until Tim was laid off from his job at the local steel mill. He accepted a position in Toledo, OH and so off we went. But not before finding out we were expecting our first baby!

Toledo was actually fantastic. There was a lot of stuff to do, some great restaurants, great Metroparks for walking the dog. However, Tim was miserable in his job so after 5 months, he quit and accepted a position in CT. We bought a house in Middletown, CT and 2 months later, Padget Grace was born.



We really settled into CT. While it was difficult to be away from our extended family, it was always a bit of a blessing. We became very self-sufficient and it forced me to assimilate into my community. When Padget was 3 months old, I joined the local MOMS Club. It's the best thing I ever did!! I met such an amazing group of stay-at-home moms. There was something to do every day if I wanted to. And I made some really close friends. I also took on a part-time job in the evenings at a local gym, working the front desk. It was another way to get out of the house and meet people. Things were tight in CT, where things were expensive. We actually went down to one car for quite awhile, trying to make ends meet. But we made it work.

When Padget was 25+ months old, Casden James was born. Having two was definitely not easy for me, but we muddled through. Tim and I just don't make easy babies!! As much as I loved being a stay-at-home mom, I was always looking for jobs to apply for in my field. Honestly, there was not much in public health that paid enough to make me apply. I think there really was one job per year that met the criteria. However, right before Casden was 1 year old, I interviewed for a position with the University of Connecticut Health Center. 'Lo and behold, by the time Casden (finally) started walking (at 16 months), I was back to working full-time and the kiddos were in full-time daycare.

I was finally settling into being a working mommy, and then Tim has an opportunity to interview for a position back in PA. He'd always wanted to move back "home", it was a bigger opportunity for him career-wise, so of course, he went for it. And, of course, he got it. After 6 months of working full-time, I had to quit my job (one of the hardest things I had to do!). And away we went, back to Butler. And oh, shortly before this all came to fruition, SURPRISE! We found out I was pregnant!

And so, here we are...

Trying to breathe...

Never in a million years did I see myself 1.) Living back in Butler and 2.) Living at home again. While living at my mom's house is merely a temporary set-up, living in Butler is a permanent (unless Tim gets transferred again...).

Coming back to Butler has been a bit of a culture shock. We lived in Middletown, CT for over 4 years. I absolutely fell in love with New England. The weather, the culture, the proximity to everything. Or maybe I fell in love with my friends, the support, and having lots of things to do with my kiddos. Either way, coming back to Butler has been suffocating. We've been back since December, so it's been 3 months. Tim, Padget, Casden, and I living with my mom and my step-dad. The living arrangements have actually gone better than I could have expected. The kids have done okay sharing a room. We've managed to keep most of the clutter in the "play" room (the extra bedroom/tv room). All in all, it's been okay.

However, Butler itself is....ugh....depressing. Seriously, it's difficult to breathe! There's just nothing to do here. So, I decided to start this blog about my kids and some of the funnier aspects of our lives. A way to look at the good things and a way to chronicle the goofy things my kids do before I forget it all. I guess be forewarned that many of these posts will just be snippets, in no particular organization and not necessarily related!

But I guess I ought to start with some history...just so you know how this family came to be!