Jesus vs. Vampires

In the car the other night, I heard Calvin talk about Bampires (aka vampires). Wes asked what a bampire was, and Cal said that Bampires are on the Batman and Joker movie. "Ya know, they have sharp teeth and they chomp people's necks and slurp their blood. Then the people die and become bampires." Okay, so I guess Cal has learned was a vampire is. His grandpa Fischer must be so proud. For a few minutes, they were playing with their toys and pretending they were vampires.

However, Wes had a different story. He was talking about how the sun was "shotting" through the windows. It "shotted" the bed and "shotted" the guy. But then, Jesus came down in a hurry just in time to save the guy before he dried up. To Wes, Jesus is this amazing super hero action figure that wears a cape. It is so cute to hear his Jesus stories.

The boys have a great imagination. They have recently been asking where bampires, dragons, tigers, and Batman live. We just say things like "in a cave far away". We don't want to crush their world and tell them that these things are pretend. On the other hand, we don't want to scare them either. Today, Wes asked why bampires slurp blood. I just said I didn't know. He then asked where they lived and if they do that to real people. I said that they live super far away. Wes then asked if they lived in "our world". I said no. Calvin then interjected and said that they live on a different planet like Batman and Spiderman -- not on our planet. Okay, I'll go with that. :-)

First Day of School

I have been dreading this day for a while. I am just not ready for my boys to be gone all day. I cried hard in January when they started preschool -- just two afternoons a week. I am not ready for a quiet house.

I have done a lot of soul searching recently. With the boys starting school, I feel like I am losing part of my identity. There are always things to do during the day to fill the time. I even switched salons 2 weeks ago so that I could work more hours if I wanted to. I know that in a few days, I will begin my new routine and this will feel normal. It will be a new phase in our lives, and each phase has always been better than the last. I am excited about working more on my business. I am excited about being able to go running in the mornings after I drop them off. I am excited to have a cleaner house, and more time to spend on cooking dinner. However today, in this moment, I am just sad. Today, I am allowing myself to have a pity party. Today, I am eating ice cream for breakfast.

I have been thinking back to a little over 5 years ago. I had been in labor for almost a week and had no clue. I thought it was just back pain (never heard of back labor). Shortly after this was discovered, I was on a helicopter flying to a Phoenix hospital that specializes in preterm labor. I labored for a week, and I begged the doctors to deliver the boys because I was in so much pain. The doctors, rightfully so, kept telling me they needed to stop the labor. It was too late though, and a week later I delivered two premature little guys. For the next 2 years, we spent that time praying that they would grow and be healthy. Especially during the first 6 months, we were praying that they would get big and we could get past the point where they would stop breathing several times a week. By the time they were 2, they were finally caught up with other kids their age. We got excited for them to learn to walk; learn to crawl; be potty trained; sleep in a big boy bed. And today, I want it all to stop. I don't want them to get bigger, older, smarter, etc. I want them to remain 5 years old. It seems silly, but I think I have shed more tears over them starting kindergarten than I did their first 2 scary years of life.

Like I said though, Wes and Calvin were super excited to start. They are going to Dreaming Summit Elementary which is a school in our neighborhood. They are in separate classes, but the classes are right next to each other and they will spend lunch and recess together. The school mandates that twins be in separate classrooms. We didn't want this at first, but the principal explained that normally one twin is more dominant than the other. By having them in separate classes, the non-dominant child will flourish and be able to celebrate his successes better. This made perfect sense, and is so true with Wes and Cal's personalities. The boys were fine with being in separate classrooms with only slight apprehension.

Dreaming Summit is a K-5 school. The good news is that the kindergarten classes are in a separate building. This made us feel so much better as they transition into the "big kid" school. Their teachers, Mrs. VanDeCar and Mrs. Field, are very nice and the boys were so excited to meet their teacher and look at every detail in their classrooms on "meet the teacher" night.

Wes had trouble sleeping last night because he was so excited for school. He told me that he was going to wake me up when it was 7:00. I agreed to this, and we even put a clock in his bedroom so that he could watch for 7. However, inside I was laughing because Wes and Cal sleep until 9:30 on average. We have been slowly getting up earlier the past month, but I have to wake them every day. I knew that Wes could think he would wake me up at 7, but in reality, I would be waking him from a deep sleep.

I was wrong. My alarm went off at 6:40, and at 6:45 I heard Wes and Cal talking in their room. What? At 7 on the dot, Calvin came in and said, "Mom, we see a 7 on the clock. Is it wake time?" I was pretending to be asleep, but I told him that he was right. I asked if Wes was awake (surprised he didn't come in our room with Cal), and he said, "Yeah, but Wes is guarding the clock." Oh, okay. The boys ate their breakfast, got dressed, and we took our first annual school day picture. We drove to the very crowded school, and Adam took Cal into his room and I took Wes. We held back our tears until we got back into the car. The boys were a little nervous, but didn't hesitate to go into their classrooms and sit down. I can't wait to hear about their first day.

For those reading earlier posts, Wes made it clear last night that he wanted to "drive" to the school and not ride his bike. I understand. He then made it clear that when he turns 6 and has to go talk to the teacher before it is time for school, he wants me to drive then too. :-)

Bad Idea

Last week, the boys went to their new school for the first time to have a kindergarten assessment. My dad had just arrived in town for a few days, and I thought it would be fun to ride our bikes to the school (it is in our neighborhood). The weather was "only" 100 degrees which is actually pretty cool for this time of year, and it was pretty overcast which is also rare.

We take off on our bikes, and Wes immediately crashes at the bottom of our driveway. He gets back on his bike, and starts riding again . . . very slowly. About halfway to the school, he crashes again. I realize that his training wheels are a little bent, and it is causing his bike to lean. I fix it as best I can, and we take off again. By now, I'm pretty nervous because Cal has to be at the school within a few minutes while Wes' appointment isn't for another 20 minutes.

Because of the two crashes, Wes is barely moving on his bike. I ask my dad to stay with Wes and slowly ride to the school, and Cal and I take off on our bikes fast so that we aren't late. Instead of that nice, leisurely ride, I keep telling Cal "faster, faster, keep moving". We get to the school with red faces and all sweaty. We ended up being about 2 minutes late. Whew. We made it though. Cal goes back for his assessment.

15 minutes later, Dad and Wes walk in. Wes' face is as beet red, almost purple, that you can imagine. His head is all sweaty. My dad asks for a bandaid because Wes had crashed again right in front of the school -- this time leaving a big gash in his leg. Blood is dripping down his leg. The teacher raids the nurses station, and she brings gauze, band-aids, and alcohol. Wes has never had alcohol on a cut, and so it was quite an awful surprise when my dad was cleaning Wes' leg. You have this poor kid who is all hot and sweaty, and injured, and now crying because of the alcohol. Once Wes gets cleaned up, they take him back for the assessment.

As we are sitting in the waiting room, Cal tells me "Hey mom, I don't think you had a good idea about riding bikes. I think taking the car would have been a good idea." I could only agree.

Memory Loss

The boys are very curious about Jesus and God ever since they started pre-school at Trinity Lutheran last January. They ask so much about things like "Mamma, why is God STILL making it rain?" OR "I know someone in Heaven --- grandma & grandpa's cat Ramsey" OR "Jesus loves kids, but he is too busy for big guys." They have also learned a lot about kindness, except they don't sound out the second "n" and just tell me how I am "being kindess". It is really cute.

This past Sunday, when we picked the boys up from their class at church, the teacher told me that Wes had a lot of stories to share in class about how he is a good helper. Wes is a big talker (by "big", I mean "non-stop, never takes a break" talker), so this isn't a surprise. On the way home, I asked Calvin what he learned in class today. I got a quick "Don't remember." Cal likes to give the "I don't remember" or "I don't know" answer lately. I then asked Cal if he learned about Jesus. "uh-huh" he said nodding his head. I then asked if he learned about God. He said, "Uh . . . who's God?" My dad and I couldn't help but to laugh.

Later, I asked Wes what stories he shared about helping. "I don't remember."

Questions about Daddy

This is a little late, but I never posted what the boys got Adam for Father's Day. They had made him a few things at school, and then we did another question/answer session about Daddy. Here it is:

1. What is something Daddy always says to you?
CAL: We don't do whatever we want to do
WES: We have to go into time-out sometimes

2. What makes your Dad sad?
CAL: When we do bad stuff
WES: When we fight

3. What does your Daddy do to make you laugh?
CAL: When he tickles me
WES: From he farts

4. What makes Daddy happy?
CAL: When I do funny things
WES: From "I love my boys"

5. How old is Daddy?
CAL: 50
WES: 30

6. How tall is Daddy?
CAL & WES: Tall as you (referring to me)

7. What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?
CAL: I don't know
WES: Go swimming with us

8. What does Daddy do at his work?
CAL & WES: works

9. Where is Daddy's favorite place to go?
CAL: Restaurant
WES: To the place we don't want to go to eat

10. I love my Daddy because . . .
CAL: He always lets me play Spiderman
WES: He's hairy

Hilton Head

We recently went to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina with Sabrina's parents, sister (Christina), and her two kids. We had a blast! Hilton Head has bike paths everywhere, and we rode for miles every day. The ocean was warm, the weather was great, and the fresh seafood was tasty! We can't wait to visit Hilton Head again!!

Grandma & Wes eating a snack at the pool

This alligator was right by our pool.

Cousins & Best Friends

Fishing for sharks

Our tiny, tiny plane from Charlotte to Hilton Head Island

We rode tandem adult/kid bikes. There was lots of racing.

My boys are 5!!

I cannot believe how quickly time flies. It seems like yesterday the boys were little toddlers, and now they are 5 years old!! While they are excited about the new age, mommy is not! This means that full-day kindergarten is right around the corner (1 month away), and I just don't know what I will do with myself. I love being able to stay home part-time and play with them. Sure, I can always clean the house, work more hours, spend time on hobbies -- but I honestly feel like I am losing part of my identity. I just don't know what I will do with myself between the time I drop them off for school, and the time I pick them up.

Each age has been better than the last, so I just have to trust that I will enjoy this new phase in our lives just as much. The boys make me laugh so hard everyday!

As for Calvin, his is still a very independent child. He gives the best hugs and loves to cuddle. He loves to play by himself, and his independence allows him to always dress himself, fix broken toys, etc. He is very patient. For the past 9 months, he has enjoyed dressing up in Halloween costumes every day. For his birthday, he received Batman, Darth Vader, Buzz Lightyear, and Knight in Shining Armor costumes. He wears these everyday, and he gets into character while he is in them. He still doesn't eat meat, but loves fruit and most vegetables. He weighs 45 pounds.

As for Wes, he is a very passionate kid, and he loves to "be first" at everything. He is a very good rule follower (and enforcer). He loves to play with his toys, but his passion is everything Mario Brothers. He is very quick witted, and he loves to learn about anything and everything. He counts to 100 at least once a day. Wes loves to play games. One of the funniest things he does is say "Holy Spirit!" when he is surprised about something. He weighs 53 pounds.

I asked the boys a few questions, and I've posted their responses below:

1. What is your favorite food?

Cal: Big Roni (shells & cheese)

Wes: Cheeseburger

2. What is your favorite color?

Cal: Red

Wes: "Purple, cause I like my momma" (my favorite color is purple)

3. What is your favorite character?

Cal: Luigi & Toad

Wes: Scooby Doo & Mario

4. Where do you want to work?

Cal: At my daddy's work

Wes: At the McDonald's close by my house

5. What is your favorite toy?

Cal: My new Toy Story toys

Wes: Scooby guys

6. What makes you happy?

Cal: When mommy makes me big roni

Wes: Cuddling with my momma

7. What is your favorite animal?

Cal: Giraffe

Wes: Zebra and my big Elmo