As if I need another reason to eat chocolate

So I was at the store the other day and I saw two new Dove candy bars. I was overjoyed!

Dove beautiful is to help promote healthy skin. It "contains smooth milk chocolate, plus skin nourishing vitamins C & E, biotin, zinc, and cocoa flavanols that help hydrate from within to support beautiful-looking skin" Isn' t that Awesome?! I seem to recall being told as a teenager not to eat chocolate because it would make pimples worse. Well, here you go! Now there's another way to feel beautiful!

There is also Dove Vitalize. it "contains rich dark chocolate, plus energy-releasing B vitamins, the natural goodness of cocoa flavanols that help support circulatory health. It also contains plant sterols that help maintain a healthy cholesterol level"

And, as if you need yet another reason to eat chocolate, there has been a study recently about how eating some dark chocolate may help prevent preeclampsia. Read here. Or read this one.

And we all know that chocolate, especially dark chocolate, can help your mood. That's why I have a stash in my bedroom. I walk upstairs, eat my chocolate, and take a couple deep breaths and then I can deal with kids again. (And by walking upstairs I also get my exercise!)

It's official

We are now a minivan family. I never thought I would say that. I was always anti-minivan. But we're not here to look cool on the road, and comfort and space is a factor. We found a pretty blue one. It's a 2007 Dodge Grand Caravan. And we got it for a really good price. Here's a picture.

Matt and Thomas love it. When the seats are folded down in the floor they can walk around in the back. Thomas said that it was the coolest car EVER. He would know. Just last week Thomas said, "when I get bigger, I'm going to drive a Viper!"

So now we can check one thing off the list for getting ready for baby. At least we can put all our kids in the car at the same time. Now I just have to get used to the size. Maybe you ought to stay off the road for a couple days until I get used to it.

Can't Sleep

It's nearly 1 AM, and I can't sleep. It might have something to do with the nap I took this afternoon, but I doubt it. It might have something to do with the fact that I'm sneezing like crazy. I'm pretty sure it's allergy related. This morning someone sat in front of us at church with powerful perfume/lotion and my nose instantly got irritated. It's been itching all day and now I'm sneezing like crazy. Too bad I haven't worked on my Kegel muscles for the last few years, because it's irritating when I sneeze (if you know what I mean). I could drink some hot cocoa, but that means I'll be up even more with visits to the bathroom. Oh well. I imagine I can sleep in a bit because the boys do very well in the morning without me. Especially because we let them pick out new cereal. They will love to sit in front of cartoons with their boxes of Corn Pops and Froot Loops.

Speaking of which, alot of the cereal boxes are advertising the new Indiana Jones movie. I love Indiana Jones, but I think Harrison Ford is getting a bit old for this. I wish that some movie people would quit while they're ahead instead of trying to make another buck with sequels, or bringing back some character that should have retired long ago. Many sequels bug me. I like originality. I'm particularily irritated with the Pirates of the Carribbean movies. And Spiderman...don't get me started. Of course we own all of these. But I'm pretty sure they're still in their plastic wrap.

Now I'm just rambling. Maybe I'm getting more tired. Perhaps I'll try to go to sleep. Nighty night.

Dirt

"We're trying to see whose dirt sticks the longest."



I asked Matt what he was doing and this was his response. It rained overnight so things are muddy outside. They wanted to go out and I figured they need baths anyway, so why not. They are taking mud balls and throwing them at the shed door in our backyard. Boys need to play in the mud from time to time. Clothes (and boys) can be washed, as well as the shed door. They're having fun and my headache is going away. Works for me.

Guys and Dolls

No this is not about a musical. I don't even like musicals (sorry Nae). This is a story about how little boys play with their baby dolls.

I got the boys a couple dolls at a garage sale recently so they could learn and practice how to be gentle with babies. They surprise me sometimes how nice they can be with babies. So today, in their room, Thomas got out the doll and started to feed it (with a baby bottle). He was very nice and gentle and talking sweetly to the baby. Then Matt got the other one and Thomas fed both of them (of course after he stripped the clothes off of it because "babies come naked") Then they both pretended the babies were stinky and I gave them wipes to "clean" them off. It was all very cute. Then Matt says, "Hey babies, let's find some dinosaurs to take down." Apparently the babies just delcared war on the dinosaurs. It started off with Thomas taking the T-Rex and opening its mouth to eat the babies. Then the Brontosaurus used his long tail to wack the babies off the bed. A stuffed cat decided to step in and protect the babies. Then it was cat versus Stegasaurus. After they fought they did a "high tail" (instead of high five). Finally when it was hopeless for the babies to win the fight, the Triceratops gored the babies in their stomachs with its horns.

I think we have a long way to go in the next two months. What do you think?!

What to "freak out about" when you're expecting

So I thought that maybe I ought to brush up on my reading about labor and delivery. I'm not paying money to take another class when I already did that (5 1/2 years ago). I was reading "What to expect when you're expecting" (which a friend of mine calls "what to freak out about when you're expecting") and thinking about labor. Granted,when I had Matt I didn't think it was that bad. But here I am 5 years later, older, more out of shape, and extremely tired, and I am dreading it this time. In fact I couldn't make it through the chapter because I was feeling ill and already worn out about the whole thing. Hopefully some energy will kick in when I need it, or I may just opt for the Epideral. We'll see. Maybe I'll have a new book to read that will keep me focused and entertained. Who knows. All I do know is that I'm not especially looking forward to it this time. I feel like I need a nap already today and it's only 10 AM. Of couse the lawn people were out mowing at 7 AM this morning which woke me up. And of course this was that day that Thomas slept in until 8:30. Ugh. I did watch a show on classical music in peace and quiet. I think that classical music is a good way to start the day. Maybe I'll do that more often rather than eat Dove Dark.


11:18 PM (12 hours later)
Ok, so tonite I watched a baby delivery show and I cried when the baby was born. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.

Haircut night

Have you ever watched the Pixar short film Boundin'? (shown on the Incredibles DVD) Well, haircut night is kind of like that around here. The boys are happy go lucky, until they are sheared. Then they cry and scream (tears on the face don't really help when there are tiny hairs on their faces). I have to admit, they are getting better. Matt can actually get through without too much fussing and doesn't need the constant treats as a bribe. Of course it took about 2-3 years to get to that point.

Thomas on the other hand, well....let's put it this way: I'm amazed that our neighbors haven't called DCFS when the screaming starts. He has gotten a little better. We no longer have to pin him down to get the lines straight. He is no longer drooling candy out of his mouth (cause we have to bribe him with candy. I still remember the time we gave him chocolate. That was a bad idea.) He no longer cries so much that we think he's going to throw up. We can actually get through the whole process without getting angry. I am getting better at doing it. I can give both of them a haircut within 1/2 hour. Sometimes I wonder how well they would do at a barber shop. My $10 investment of clippers has saved us quite a bit of money by doing it ourselves.

Now the boys are happy playing video games. We always try to do something fun for them as a reward. The suffering is forgotten, and we'll go through all of this again in about 2 months. They always look so grown up after their hair cuts.

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to

Ok, so most likely it's the hormones. but I've been alot more weepy lately than usual. The littlest things make me tear up. A little less than 6 months ago, before I ever found our I was pregnant, I cried over a spilled bowl of oatmeal. That was when one of my friends guessed I was pregnant. Of course I found out about 3 weeks after the oatmeat insident. I get teary whenever I think of a friend of mine who is pregnant after so many years of trying. I'm so happy for her I cry everytime I think of it. I cry when I watch the boys sleeping so peacefully. I cry when they fight, and when I get so angry and frustrated. I cry when I do housework. Of course I still cry when watching movies (and it doesn't even have to be a chick flick-although I tell Doug that if I cry during the movie then it should be characterized as a chick flick. Therefore, Rudy, Lord of the Rings, and Top Gun can all be considered chick flicks in my book!) Anyway, I saw this article last night and of course it made me cry. It's such a happy story though I thought I'd share it with you. Here's the link. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24392612/

Are we there yet?

These were the words we heard over and over again yesterday as we drove to Philadelphia. Then after we told Matt that we had to go through a couple states to get to Pennsylvania, he kept asking, "what state are we in now?" We eventually made it there in about 3 hours. Finally, the "Star Wars Museum"! Actually we went to the Franklin Institute ( http://www2.fi.edu/) and there was a special Star Wars exibit. After $11 of tolls and $15 to park, we got in with our $70 tickets to eat lunch (thankfully free because I packed it from home). Then we went straight to see Star Wars stuff.

It was soooo cool. Doug was like a giddy happy boy, and the boys thought it was cool too (although most of the stuff was behind glass). There were quite a few hands on activities associated with Star Wars science and technology, but it was a little over the boy's heads. They enjoyed watching the different clips from Star Wars (as if they haven't seen them 10 million times-well, except Episode III). Anyway, here are some cool pictures.

This was the land speeder they actually used in Star Wars Episode IV when Luke and Obi Wan traveled to Mos Eisley. Looks like they crashed it a few times!

These are the actual lightsabers the actors used. Top left you have Darth Maul's double lightsaber. Under that is Chancellor Palpatine's.

Next is Obi Wan's lightsaber is on the top, and I'm sure you can recognize the unique lightsaber of Count Dooku under that.

Lastly you see Mace Windu's on the top and then Shaak Ti's on the bottom.

This was the actual Yoda puppet that Frank Oz used in Episode V and VI.

After Star Wars there were many other things to see. It's such a good hands on museum for kids. There was a giant heart that the kids could go in. There was a real steam engine that had levers and dials for the kids to move and it actually moved about 10 feet forward and back. They got to sit in an Air Force plane cockpit. We went to a show in the planetarium that was about Star Wars worlds and whether or not worlds like that could actually exisit. (when you're in one of those planetarium rooms where they show a movie all around you and on the ceiling, WHY oh WHY do they not have reclining chairs. ?! I was so close to laying down on the floor so I wouldn't pull a neck muscle)

Then around 5 the boys were ready to leave and Thomas was really tired and was sore seeing as how he fell off of a stool and smacked his face into a counter. I'm really surprised that he doesn't have a black eye today. Upon leaving the Institute we got a bit turned around (Philadelphia has circle intersections with no warning as to what street is coming up next) and then we didn't even know what street we were on cause there are limited street signs. Thankfully it was daytime and a nice part of town. We finally got on the road we wanted only to discover that if we were to continue our present route we would cross over into New Jersey and we didn't want to do that. Finally we saw a sign for the highway heading south and we were all happy. Thomas had fallen asleep and Matt was watching a Star Wars movie.

After Thomas woke up we stopped to eat at KFC after which Thomas threw up. We got back into the car and I handed Thomas a plastic bag telling him to use it if he felt yucky. About 1/2 hour on the road (of course in a contruction area where you can't pull off) Thomas grabbed the bag. I turned around and helped him aim into the bag. After tying it up, I found another bag only to discover that this bag had a hole in it. So I emptied the box of Ritz crackers, stuffed the clean bag into it, and put the pukey bag in there. I continued to hold the Ritz box-o-puke for the next hour and half never knowing if he was going to get sick again. He was comotose watching a show and we kept the window rolled down for the rest of the trip. The boys went to bed as soon as we got home. All in all it was a fun trip, and we had a good time.

From the mouth's of children

I love listening to the conversations of children. They are so random and sooo funny. Matt has a friend over today. During our Mac & Cheese lunch I overheard (and was a part of) this silly conversation. Here is what I remembered or what I finally wrote down. I'll change Matt's friend's name to "Sally" for protection purposes (or so that her mother isn't embarrassed).

It started out talking about volcanoes and lava.
Sally "Lava can burn you"
Matt "Superman can walk through lava. He can also be part of a train track, so if the track breaks, he can make himself be part of the train track and the train can go over him" (Matt has never seen Superman, but apparently he's seen a commercial or something)
Me "Superman is not real.. If a real person did that, they would die"
S "but real people can fix the track"
M "But Superman has powers"
Me " Yes. but he's on TV and he's not real"
S "But Jesus has powers"
Me "Yes. Jesus did a lot of amazing things"
S " And Jesus is real , and He's ressurected"
Me "That's right"
S "The bad guys killed Him and then the nice people took Him down and put Him in a tomb"
M "And the rock was too heavy to move"
Me "Yep, but 2 angels helped move the rock, didn't they?"
S "Do they have powers?"
M "Batman and Spiderman have powers"
Me "But they're not real"

Then the conversation took a turn where "Sally" announced that she had new underwear and it would be ok for her to show us cause they were longer. "See? There's a heart on it. Someday I want my last name to be "Heart". I said that she'd have to find someone to marry that has the last name of "Heart". Then she inforrmed us that she wanted to marry Ben, who was in her class.

Then the conversation turned to mosquitoes and bugs that drink your blood. But not that much blood, only a tiny bit, and it makes a dot that itches. Matt responded that when he was at the park one of his girlfriends (cause he has sooo many!) slapped a mosquito off his arm and killed it. "Sally" looked a little conerned when Matt started talking about his other girlfriends. Hee hee.

That reminds me of another time when we were at another girl's house last year, and she and Matt were playing house. The little girl said to Matt, "maybe when I get bigger I'll marry you for real". Then Matt said something about marrying another girl (whose name I forget now, but I will call Jessica). Then his friend stood up, put her hands on her waist and asked, in a very demanding voice, "Who's Jessica?!!!!" I thought this was very funny. Young love at 4!

Anyway, I digress from the lunchtime conversation. The two kids ( who are 5 and almost 5) then started on "Knock, knock" jokes. I did document this. Here goes.

Sally "Knock, knock"
Matt "Who's there?"
S "Orange"
M "Orange who?"
S "The biggest orange in the world"

And there was much giggling.

M "Knock, knock"
S "Who's there?"
M "Spanky."
S "Spanky who?"
M "Spanky monkey"

More giggling

Sally "Knock, knock"
Matt "Who's there?"
S "Water"
M "Water who?"
S "Water on your shirt"

Sally "Knock, knock"
Matt "Who's there?"
S "Cup"
M "Cup who?"
S "Cup on your head"

Where do they come up with these and why do they think they're funny? Here's more.

M "Knock, knock"
S "Who's there?"
M "Zinky
S "Zinky who?"
M "Zinky banana"

Sally "Knock, knock"
Matt "Who's there?"
S "Dog"
M "Dog who?"
S "Dog bit you all over the place and now you're dead"

Sally "Knock, knock"
Matt "Who's there?"
S "Princess"
M "Princess who?"
S "The prettiest princess dress ever"
Matt's response to this one was NOT giggling. He groaned and said "blech". That's my boy.