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!

As stated before, Jack was supremely efficient at eating his birthday cupcake!

Jack Is ONE!!!

Despite his repeated attempts to dive down the stairs or eat harmful objects, Jack made it to his first birthday with flair and elegance.  His proud parents planned a small and simple outdoor party to mark the occasion that quickly turned into a huge, loud, and rowdy affair.  Dave manned the grill and there was food and beverage for the many hungry party goers, 11 of whom were under the age of 5.  The weather was perfect, cool but clear, and a good time was had by all.  Sam spent the evening running with his crew, exploring the neighbor's yards, and stopping only to sing "Happy Birthday to Jack" at the top of his lungs.  When it came to the eating of the birthday cake, Jack turned in a somewhat disappointing performance.  His proficient skills at consuming food prevented the typical super mess that accompanies such a party.  He hardly made a mess, and left not even a crumb of the cupcake.  The day was special, as this year has been, Jack is such a joy and we can't wait to watch him grow!

The Latest and Greatest

Apologies for the lag in posts, life here at the Padhouse has been very full!  The beloved author of The Padhouse has been up to her eyeballs in online coursework.  Taking a class on multicultural art from an online university has proven to be much more work than she was expecting.  And while the class will last another two weeks, please be patient if the posts are sporadic at best.  That aside, spring is coming swiftly to The Padhouse, and not a moment too soon!  Sam and Jack have enjoyed partaking in the afternoon sun while cruising in their new double jogging stroller, complete with iPod jack.  Sam like to listen to The Jackson 5's song ABC, but after 6 or 7 times in a row, Jack requests something else.  Jack has  officially decide that walking is the preferred mode of transportation, and now is concentrating on his speed, and not falling over.  Sam is dealing with the newly mobile Jack in typical two year old fashion, and freak outs happen daily over such important issues and who gets to play with Percy the train, or who ate the stale square of graham cracker that was under the couch.  While Jack has been practicing his walking moves, Sam has been working on his vocal talents.  Singing nearly as much as he talks, his repretoir is expanding and now includes such hits as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Happy Birthday", and a song made up about his best friend simply entitled, "Crawford Dog".  Dave has been slaving away at American Greetings, understaffed and overworked, but has been writing some killer country tunes in the basement, and plans to go into the recording studio mid May to record some of these songs.  All in all, we are well, life is busy and at times it seems like it will be too much for us to handle, but the sun is shining and the kids are ready to take naps at the same time...life is good!

The resident animal rights activist

Our beloved Sam has decided to latch onto the plight of the oppressed, the downtrodden, the outcast. In our house, that means the ladybugs who have slumbered the winter away somewhere in our house and are now emerging to start their year. Sam has been insistent that we find as many of these poor souls as possible, so we go on "ladybug hunts" every day. We are often sucessful, as they are plenitful on our second floor. Once we discover a misplaced specimen, we crouch down and determine whether it is alive or dead. Sam likes to say that they are all dead. If in fact our little friend is deceased, we throw her unceremoniously into the trash can. However, if we come across a live bug, Sam yells "alive, alive!" and we take her to the bedroom window where we set her free to explore the big world. I know that someday I will have to explain about life and death in a little bit more detail, and will have to let Sam know that not every dead creature goes in the trash can, but that day is not today. For now, though, it is enough to hear Sam say

"Do free, ladybutt, do free!"

Sam Eats Veggies!!!

For those of you who don't know, Sam has had a hard time expanding his palatte in his short little life. In the extreme ignorance of those who don't have kids yet, I remember stating passionately that I would never had a picky eater. Who ever said God is without a sense of humor? Sam, my precious firstborn, has eating nothing but chicken nuggets for dinner for over a year now. Yes, a whole year. He eats other things during the day, but his list of approved foods is dismally short. This has caused me much guilt and anxiety, but the fact remains that I can't physically force the food down his throat, and I don't have the heart to let him get hungry enough to eat his shoes. However, we've had a breakthrough this week! In addition to Sam's daily dose of nuggets, I've put (yet again), a serving of veggies on his plate. I didn't expect much, he usually ignores said veggies, but this week he tried some carrots. The I asked him to take 3 bites, and he did! They were pretty well salted, judge me if you will, and I'm sure he was surprised that they didn't taste like the dirt he expected them to. The last two nights Sam has eaten first 5 bites of peas, and then last night he ate the whole serving! Yes, he still ate the preservative filled chicken nuggets, but we got some veggies in him! Hallelujah! Maybe this is the beginning of the end of the nugget regime!

The Padhouse is open for business!

Hi everyone!
Welcome to the all new, get it here first, information avalanche that is The Padhouse! I thought this would be a great way to keep all our adoring fans up to date on the latest and greatest. We'll have pics, videos, amusing anecdotes, and witty commentary, all designed to satisfy your craving to know what we are up to! Check back regularly, and be patient as life is busy and I'm very new at this.

We should introduce the players.

Sam: Almost three feet tall, shaggy haircut thanks to his inexperienced barber, sings these days more than he speaks, is obsessed with all things train related, has amazing ability to calmly administer punishment to his younger brother without making a sound.

Jack: Almost as tall as Sam, curling blond hair that is always crusted with the remnants of whatever meal he's just consumed, loves to practice his standing and walking moves, is very attached to his pacifier and whatever meal he is consuming, will return Sam's punishment in a very short amount of time.

Diane: Sam and Jack's mom, the witty commentator on all things Padhouse. Stay at home mom who teaches art classes part time, likes wine and gardening, believes in the saying "dull women have impeccable homes".

Dave: The hero of Padhouse, brave warrior who slays dragons during the day and rocks through the night. Dad to Sam and Jack, he is well accomplished in the arts of toddler wrestling and infant tossing.

Those are the players, check back for more engaging stories from Padhouse

Choice tidbit of the day: Shortly before naptime, Jack was caught eating out if the garbage. While it was just the rind of the pear he had for lunch, his mother was beside herself with guilt and was thoroughly grossed out.