Cornicopia of Chaos

Jeremy picked the name for this blog in honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving season!
I have a multitude of stories today. We could call them "Benism's."
Ben and Jer carved a pumpkin this afternoon. Ben wanted it to have 6 teeth and 3 stars. He ended up with a pumpkin that has 3 teeth and 2 stars (one for each ear). Ben had a great time, until he decided it would be more fun to eat cheese. I think when Jer finished I heard something like, "Hey, Mom, do you see the pumpkin I made?"
Jeremy and Ben went downstairs to stack wood that Jeremy had thrown down. Ben had a great time working with Daddy. At one point he looked at Jer and said, "Daddy, you're the best one I see." We aren't sure what he was comparing that to, but Jer won the contest!
While they were working, Ben was on one side of the pile and Jeremy was on the other side. He was trying to get Ben to come to his side so he could show him what to do. Jeremy bent down to pick up a log and felt a sharp pain on the side of his head from the stick Ben threw him over the pile. Benjamin felt really bad and told Jer over and over that he was sorry (probably because he was afraid of a time out). When they came upstairs, Jeremy kept saying that his head felt funny. Being the medical expert that I am (I'm sure that's proven in previous posts), I decided to shine a flashlight in his eyes to see if his pupils were funny. That's what they do on TV. I figured I might be able to diagnose a concussion. I'm pretty sure he's okay!
Benjamin wanted to aid in the medical care. He took the flashlight, put it about 2 centimeters from Jer's "gash," and with an EXTREMELY concerned look said, "awwwww, I'm really sorry Jer!" He continued to look at the cut for sometime which made both of us nervous because, by the look in Ben's eye, I'm pretty sure he wanted to put the flashlight ON the cut!
Benjamin also proved an uncanny likeness to his mother this evening. We were sitting together watching the end of a football game when he yelled, "Get a homerun!" When that didn't work, I'm pretty sure I heard the words, "Get a homewalk!" but it can't entirely be proven!

Potty Picaso

Benjamin has often been referred to as the "Master of Distraction." When bed time comes his ability to distract kicks in to FULL gear and he pulls out all of the stops. Usually it's a strategically timed bathroom break and he knows that it takes longer to poop than it does to pee, so that is usually the desired "break" that he needs. Jeremy will occasionally call his bluff and Ben will go to sleep. I often chicken out at the risk of having a midnight mess to clean up.
Tonight was no different. We were getting ready to pray and he announced that he had to go potty. Jeremy had him sit and pray first - probably because he was sitting on my lap, not Jer's. We prayed, and Ben headed out to go potty. A few seconds later he yelled for help because he couldn't get his jams off - yes, he has to be completely naked from the waist down to do any pottying and feety pajamas make that difficult! So, I helped him get his pajamas off and went to clean some dishes while I waited for him to poop.
I went back to check on him and his entire left leg was green - from hip to toe. He'd reached into the bathtub, grabbed one of his few remaining bathtub crayons and colored himself! Not only that, he didn't even poop! He'd only peed!
The bathtub crayons are a story themselves. When we were redoing the bathroom in our bedroom, Jeremy and I had to use Ben's bathroom to take showers. We used to write nice "Good Morning, I love you " notes on the bathroom walls. Ben liked the tradition and has continued it LONG after we have moved back to our own bathroom. He has recently taken to coloring the potty while he's pooping.
Back to the green crayon. I washed off his leg, told him that there would be no more potty coloring and handed him to Jer to dress. I grabbed a rag and while I was wiping the green (and orange from a previous poop session) crayon off of the seat, something caught my eye. There were green crayon markings IN the toilet - like in the water, in the bowl - IN the toilet. So not only had he decorated his leg, he'd also been coloring in the pee water!
So, not only has the tradition of potty coloring ended, but so did the life of Ben's green crayon!

Just like Dad

My kids have a nature uncanny to their father. They LOVE to pick on me. Benjamin is always pulling some trick - especially when he's been prompted. Hadley is joining in. She runs (as much running as she can) to me, climbs in my lap and tries to bite my face! It doesn't matter what I do to stop her, she laughs and laughs and laughs.
Tonight I was picking her up to put her to bed and she leaned into my face. I leaned back to get out of her way just as she was making a kissing noise! She leaned in and kissed my face! Noise and everything. Then she gave Jer and Ben a kiss!
She may be a little more like her dad than I thought!

prayers

We have been sitting and praying with Ben before bed for about a year now. We've always prayed for him, but we've been working on allowing him to pray for things. He prays for random things some times, but we try to listen to what he's thinking and what he's worried about as he prays. Lately he's prayed a lot for his friends. It is the greatest thing knowing that he's developing friendships and learning how to socialize!
Today, we sat in his room for a while and sang songs with him, so I got the idea to sing his prayers. I just started singing random lines and he'd sing somethings with me. When I was finished, I said "Aaaaaaamen" (with a great melodic tone, I might add).
He looked at me, bowed his head, and really said a prayer! It was so cute. He prayed for his friends Kai, Oulice (Alice), RaeLynn, Kai again, Oulice again. Then he prayed that he would sleep all night (Jeremy and I amen'ed that part of the prayer!).
I'm glad that he takes talking to God seriously - not that my song wasn't serious. He prays for us occasionally if we are sick and then declares us well again. It's so exciting to see him grow in his simple, child-like relationship with God!

Snowman

Ben has decided he wants to build a snowman. Where he heard about snowmen, I have no idea. We had snowman decorations last year, but we never actually went outside to play in the snow. One year, after his first birthday, we went out in the snow. His snow pants and coat were so puffy and his boots were so big that he couldn't walk. We spent 30 minutes getting bundled up, got him onto a sled, he cried, and we came inside! Last year, Hadley was still little, so time outside was limited.
How he heard about snowmen is a mystery.
As it rained and rained this evening, he'd say, "Mom when can we build a snowman? The snow's gonna come from way up to the sky."
I tried to explain it to him - I even reverted to science (and if you follow this blog, you'll know that reverting to science seems to backfire see Just a little dinner conversation). I tried to explain that it needed to be 32 degrees and it was 57 - that comment got a look from Jer. I showed him the weather alerts on my computer and showed him the rain and that no snow was coming. It still didn't matter.
I talked to my dad on the phone this afternoon. When Ben got the phone to talk to Papa, the first words out of his mouth were, "When it snows will you build a snowman?"
My dad responded with "It's raining, do you want to build a rainman?" Thank goodness that went over his head!
While I'm glad he's picking up on things and excited for winter, He's going to be awfully disappointed when it snows for the first time and no snowmen come because it was just a flurry!

Growing up

I can't believe how my kids are getting so big!
Hadley is walking ALL over. She moves all across the room. Tonight, she walked over to Jeremy, jumped on him and tried to bite his face!
Benjamin is learning songs now. All of a sudden he can sing complete songs.
I sat on the couch and listened to him sit in his room and sing to himself. Yes, he was supposed to be sleeping, but it was peaceful to have him sing "Jesus Loves Me." Now, he's sitting on his bed crying because I went in to cover him up and he tried to hit me when I took a blanket he wasn't supposed to have ... funny how things change!

Mommy's protector

There are times when Jeremy and I pretend to "fight" because it's funny to see Ben's reaction to what's happening. Usually, one of us gets "in trouble" because of something and he yells at us.
Last night before bed, we were picking on each other and if one of us "cried," the other one got yelled at.
We also argue over who Ben's boy is. Usually, if I ask he's "Daddy's my boy." A lot of times, he's "Daddy's my boy" and "Mommy's my sunshine."
We aren't his boy or sunshine, he just answers us the way we ask.
Tonight, I was hiding under his covers when he came in to bed. He thought it was funny. Just before we started to pray, he jumped up and said he needed to potty and ran away. I got back under the blanket. Jeremy started picking on me. When Ben came in, I was laying on the floor, "crying" because "Daddy hurt me."
He hugged me, jumped up and punched Jeremy as hard as I have ever seen him hit anyone.
He ran back, got right in my face (slobber and all) and said, "It's okay, I punched on him."
Then, he looked at Jer and said, "Don't hurt my Mom!"
I said, "Are you my protector? Will you keep me safe?"
He looked and smiled and said, "Yup!"
I don't care what Daddy says, that's my boy right there!