The Summer That Came and Went

Since it's been many moons since anything was last posted, the author of The Padhouse thought it fitting to encapsulate the entire summer into one predictably long post.  The dog days of summer brought many fine new habits and rituals to The Padhouse.  Most afternoons, Sam and Jack could be found in their skivvys by the pool.  The reason for the lack of proper swim attire is Sam's vehement refusal to wear anything other than a swim diaper.  Jack could care less, but it was easier to let him carouse about in the same manner.  The look came off a bit trailer park, but no one but their mom cared.  In the pool, a favorite game was "drowning Jack", which consisted of Sam pouring water over his brother's head and laughing hysterically.  Jack was usually up for this favorite activity, until it became difficult for him to breathe.  Paybacks are coming, and they are coming soon.  When the pool ceased to entertain, Sam and Jack would head to the garage and get out either the cozy coupe car or the wagon, wherein Jack would hop in and Sam would push.  As the summer progressed, these suicide rides became more and more exciting, with tumbles and spills aplenty.  Before you judge their ever present mother for allowing such shenanigans, let it be known that both boys love this little game and are very fast at hopping in and taking off.  Jack was also quite fond of roaming the neighborhood, clad in only a swim diaper of course, making new friends and picking their flowers.  Thank goodness our neighbors still think they are cute.  Jack and Sam also spent lots of time at the zoo this summer, thanks to our first season pass.   Sometimes accompanied by friends, but often just enjoying the zoo with their mom, Sam and Jack created routines for their zoo visits.  The elephants would have to be seen at least 3 times in the two hours spent at the zoo, and the sea lions had to be seen before the polar bears, and not after.  Apparently seeing them after the polar bears is meltdown material.  A trip on the zoo train is a must, as is going to the construction site and seeing the bulldozers, cranes, and dump trucks.  

The summer also held a couple trips to Michigan, and a 4th of July celebration with grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins as well!  All in all, it was a fine summer here at the Padhouse, with many memories and laughs.  We promise it won't be so long before another post satisfies your need to know the happenings here!

Oh, What a Day!

You know how when you try and do too many things at once, nothing gets done very well?   In a rush to get the flower beds ready for the imminent mulch delivery, I worked diligently in the yard while the boys played on the deck.  Keeping them somewhat in my sight and within earshot, I weeded and edged like a madwoman.  Pleased with the results as only a type A firstborn can be, I was admiring my handiwork when I heard Sam's maniacal laugh coming from behind the house.  I took off at a run when I heard him yell the words, "Yucky Jack, yucky!"  What I found was a supremely satisfied little mud baby, having turned a flower pot that doesn't drain very well into his own black splash fountain.  The results are recorded below for posterity.  Stripped bare and subjected to a spontaneous bath in a bucket, Jack remained giggly and unrepentant about the whole incident. Be sure to read on to find out what they did inside while I cleaned the mess off the deck, it was one of those days.

The Rice Incident

Here is what happens when you leave the kids alone for one minute while you clean up the enormous mess they made playing in the mud outside.  Yes, that is rice on the floor.  Yes, rice is very hard to sweep up on tile.  Yes, both boys were very offended that I banished them from the kitchen while I cleaned up their latest mess.   Grrrrrrr......

A Graduation...Of sorts

June is high season for graduations and commencements, and here at the Padhouse we have experienced our own "moving on" ceremony.  With not much pomp and circumstance, our Sam has graduated to the wide world of Big boy Beds!  After much discussion with Sam about big boy beds, and the promise that the new bed would have choo choo's on it, we disassembled the crib (surprisingly emotional for mom) and set up the new bed.  Sam got his negotiated choo choo's in the form of sheets, and a very manly patchwork quilt covers them quite nicely.  The first night was a bit tense for Mom and Dad as they put Sam to bed as usual and then sat stiffly in the living room waiting for him to come out.  After about 45 minutes of this sitting, it became clear that Sam had actually just fallen asleep.  Over two weeks later, the Champ is doing great!  We don't think that he's realized that he can come out anytime he wants, and it's nothing that we'd like for him to discover anytime soon.  While he and Jack climb in and out of the new bed all day long, Sam waits patiently in the mornings and after naps for someone to come and get him.  While we are not dense enough to think this will last forever, we are quite happy with the transition so far.  Sleep on, dear Sam!

Sam-ese decoded

I thought this would be a good place to translate and record for posterity the sub-dialect of English that Sam speaks. His vocabulary grows so much every day, but his brain thinks much faster than his mouth, and thus the pronounciation of many words is what we call "less than clear". Many of these pronounciations are falling by the wayside as Sam learns to conform to "normal" english standards, but here is a sampling for your amusement.

Graham Cracker= Chup Cha Choo
Garbage Truck= Double Dutch
Ice Cream= E Freen
Ice Cream Cone= E Freen Tone
Fruit Snacks=Foote Snats
Lawn Mower=Lawm Nower
Picking up Leaves=Pittin up Leaps
Helicopter=Heti ray-ray (no idea why)
Grandpa= Drumpa
Grammy= Ray Ray
Chicken Nuggets= Chitin Nuddets

We Think We're Hilarious.

Perhaps my sense of humor has broadened since I've had kids, or maybe it's that my maturity has taken a nosedive. Regardless, I now find many things to be funny that would have previously made me roll my eyes or at least wrinkle my brow. For example, the new joke in our house are the nicknames that I gave Sam and Jack a couple days ago. When thinking about what I would name them now based on their personalities, I came up with the not-so-creative Petey and Joey, respectively. So I started calling them Petey and Joey. It's such an ego boost to have people think that all of your jokes are gut busting hysterical. Whenever I call Sam Petey, he says "Where's Joey?" and then we look around for Jack and Sam runs over to him and touches his head and says "Here's Joey, Petey and Joey, Petey and Joey!" We've gotten considerable mileage out of this one, and we think that we are quite hilarious. I should probably remember that just because my two toddlers think everything I do is comedic art, the rest of the world may not be ready for our brand of comedy.

Birthday cake!

As stated before, Jack's efficient eating made for a no mess experience!