A whole new level of stubborn

Just when I thought I had seen it all, David threw me a curve ball. Are you ready? This one's a doozy!

We were getting ready to go to a cookout tonight with friends. Little David and Max were playing on the floor as David and I were gathering our things. I checked in on them just in time to see David slap Max across the face. It was completely random and totally unprovoked. I stood there with my mouth just hanging open, shocked that he would do something so mean to his helpless little brother (who never even whimpered about it, btw). David stepped in and brought the discipline and covered for my absolute lack of action. When the spanking and tears were over, Daddy marched his tiny tush right over to Max so he could apologize. He mustered up the most defiant look he could manage and told us he didn't want to say sorry. *insert another shocked stare here* He's never pulled anything like this before. We told him saying sorry wasn't an option and he would apologize or he could take another spanking. He chose the latter. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?! Believe it. This tiny tot has got some fight in him. Five additional spankings and 2 trips to the naughty spot (timeouts) later he finally squeaked out a meager "sorry Max".

We were 25 minutes late to our cookout. I'm really glad no one asked why.

A journey begins

Today is the day. The day that changes what the next 2 years of our family's life will look like. David's college classes are now in session. We knew it would be coming, but we still can't believe it's here. To be honest, it's bittersweet. We are happy - make that thrilled - that we're back on the road to a degree and better job, but it's not going to be pleasant along the way. David will be busy with approximately 25-30 hours of course work per week along with working his usual 40 hours (3rd shift). He's taking 1 in-seat class on Wednesday evenings that lasts 15 weeks and 2 accelerated online classes that last 7 weeks a piece with a one week break in between. For a wife and kids that are used to being with him nearly 10 hours a day, it's just about heartbreaking. We are going to miss him.

Taking 9 credit hours, having a wife and working full time is hard enough, but this time around he's got 2 noisy babies thrown in the mix too. This house is rarely calm and quiet. We like to play, make noise and have fun and that's good, but it's not exactly prime study conditions. We have a very small place to work with so there's really not a lot of options, but we've managed to set up a study space at the end of our bed in our room. It was crowded as it was, but we needed to make a little place for him to get away. He's got a desk, laptop, folding chair, small file box and a shelf (under the desk) for his books. There's really not much of a walkway anymore, but it does the job. :)

We just keep telling ourselves that this will only last for a season. We are working towards something awesome. We can't get a house until we get a better paying job. We can't get a better paying job until he has a degree. We can't get a degree without finishing his last 40 or so credit hours. He'll be going to school year round with nearly no break until spring 2012, but WE CAN DO THIS!

Right?

Someone's been taking notes...

Can I just say....

I make the best Queso Burritos in the world. They are seriously yummy. David and I were really wanting some QDoba, but were too lazy (and cheap) to drive the 2 miles away to get some. After a little creativity and improvisation a new Sager favorite was born. And not only are they fabulous as burritos, but we also love dipping tortilla chips in it too! Not to toot my own horn, but I'm a little bit awesome.

Max's first camping trip

Back to School Camp Out 2010 was a huge success!!

We camped overnight Wednesday night at David's mom and dad's house. We had a great time full of laughter, late night campfire chat and fun. It's sort of tradition now to have a little camp out the week before our nieces and nephew start school (and this year we have 3 adults in the family starting college classes again as well). I was really nervous about camping with such young kids, but let me tell you - these kiddos are troopers! Max played happily on a picnic blanket and in the grass during and after dinner. David refused dinner and instead played with his cousins and rode Monger and Papa's mini 4 wheeler.

When bedtime came, Max passed out quickly in his pack n play in our tent. David didn't look tired so we let him stay up late. Camping at the grandparents' is a pretty special time and we could afford to break a few rules. David played happily UNTIL MIDNIGHT!!! What a beast. When we all did lay down it took David a record setting 3 seconds to fall asleep. Both boys ended up sleeping all night despite the different surroundings and got up at the usual 7:30am in the best of moods. After a pancake breakfast David was recharged and ready to hit the great outdoors again. He ran around, collected sticks, watered the garden and poked at the fire with his cousin, Roger, until we had to tear down camp and leave. I believe he was asleep before we hit the end of the driveway. :)

P.S. David was awesome while we were gone! He had enough distraction with his 5 cousins and Monger that he didn't have time to be naughty. Yay! What a nice break!

Frustration

Today I'm dealing with a two year old that is acting very....well, two years old. He's doing everything from spraying his brother in the eyes/face with air freshener to throwing tantrums to avoid nap time (which he didn't succeed at). He's boycotted all things food and decided that kool-aid is the only suitable form of drink. His favorite phrases have included "Mine", "No" and "Mama stop talking". I'm pretty sure there's a permanent imprint of my hand on his butt.

Lord, give me patience, grant me the strength to persevere and show me how to discipline in love rather than anger. Amen.

P.S. Lord, since we are going away overnight could you also teach David some obedience? Thanks.

Max's 6 month updates

These stats and info are a few weeks old now because I forgot to post them sooner, but better late than never, right??

I took Max in for a well child check up when he was 6 months old. He was 20lbs, 27.5" and got 5 vaccines (2 pokes and one by mouth). He's finally reaching a plateau with his weight because he's moving around so much now, but he's still at the 90% mark! He's just a big guy. :) He took the vaccines like a champion. He clouded over and started to cry when the nurses poked him, but by the time they stepped away from the table and I picked him up the tears were over. He didn't seem all that traumatized by their torture and even smiled at them when they left. They were pretty impressed. They aren't used to making friends around there! :D

He's really starting to move and groove now! I can't leave him in one spot and expect that he'll be there when I return anymore. He doesn't crawl yet (or even get up on all fours), but he has certainly figured out the rolling and scooting thing! David was never much of a mover until he walked (at 14 months) so this is a whole new ball game for me. We've gone back to baby-proofing things and have tried to make it as safe as possible. It's trickier this time around with a nosey toddler too. David tends to like to get into things and then leave them laying around for Max to roll for (but how can I yell - they're sharing :P). Yesterday, Max had Hotwheels cars and colored pencils. Today David shared a bucket full of old, crunchy, dead bugs. I thought teaching a little kid to share was hard enough - teaching them what is safe to share is entirely different.

Max has 3 meals a day now plus breastmilk and sometimes we throw in a bonus snack. He started cereals more than 2 months ago because he was so hungry that he wasn't able to get enough milk to make him happy (it's the downside to being a chunky boy I guess). We threw fruits and veggies into the mix about a month ago. He gobbles everything up and asks for more. So far we haven't found anything that he won't eat. Wait, not true. Once we got onto more complex and tasty flavored he started rejecting rice cereal. I don't blame him. It tastes and smells like paste.

A few weeks back we cut back to 2 naps per day too. It helps ensure he sleeps all night. He usually rocks about 11 and a half hours a night for me. I *really* like that. It is a blessing to not be getting up in the middle of the night anymore. :D

Irony

My sister got hurt at work this past weekend. She stepped out of a vehicle and twisted her ankle. All her weight went down on the side of her foot. She was taken to the E.R. and had x-rays taken. The doctors couldn't really tell if it was fractured or not so she's going back late this week for repeat x-rays and a recheck. She's on crutches now and has "no weight bearing/no driving" instructions.

The ironic part? That vehicle was an ambulance. She is a paramedic.

Now that you've had a good laugh, go say a prayer for her recovery. It's her right foot that's injured and if she ends up needing a cast on it she won't be able to drive for 6-8 weeks until the cast comes off. She won't be able to work or get herself to class (which starts in 2 weeks). While breaks tend to heal faster and more completely than sprains or strains, it's going to be really inconvenient to be in a cast right now.

Stomach flu free!

I think we are finally stomach flu free (and back in cloth diapers-yay!). It was pretty miserable for everyone involved, but we managed to survive. They still have little colds going on though that's not very severe. After 3 days of non-stop pooping I think I can handle a sniffley nose or two. :)

Sick boys

I never thought I'd say this, but I think I've finally found a situation where I'd rather use disposable diapers than cloth and I can sum it up in 2 words...stomach flu. Holy smokes it's not fun when kiddos are sick. From what our pediatrician says, there is a stomach bug going around right now and it seems my boys where lucky enough to catch it (and a cold on top of it). I'll spare you the details - just know it's been messy. Max seems to have it worse than David. The poor little guy has transformed from his happy little self to a screaming machine. The nurse on the phone this morning said that it's normal for them to have a stomach ache and it seems Max has one going full force. We're under strict orders to wash our hands before and after every diaper change, keep barrier cream on their behinds and sanitize every toy (or surface they've touched in the last 24-48 hours) with Lysol or bleach water to kill the germs. I've got my work cut out for me (and I haven't even done the toys in the toy box yet!)...

In other news, I've got a new do! David's been after me for years to color my hair black. I've always argued back that it's a terrible idea and being so pale I'll just look ridiculous. I've finally caved and given it a shot. I feel silly now for fighting him for so long! I LOVE IT!

Movies

I think I've finally found a movie that David will sit and watch! Yay! He's never been a tv kid (which is a-ok with me. kids don't need tv), but sometimes I'd really like to get a few minutes to mop the floor without dirty little feet leaving muddy footprints everywhere. I made a trip recently to Dollar Tree. On a fluke I wandered through the book aisle. Ok, I'll be honest. I was stalling. I was alone and it was nice. Anyway, they had a cardboard stand full of christian videos for kids. Each one was based around a different character in the Bible. I grabbed every one they had - 5 in all I think. We have Ruth, Esther, Jonah, Daniel and Baby Moses. I'm missing the Jesus, David and Noah ones, but that's ok. I'll look next time I'm there. ;) They have about 2 minutes of story and scripture followed by a one minute song and then back to story. Each video is about a half hour long. They are sort of cheesy and low budget, but it doesn't seem to bother David a bit. For the first time EVER he is asking to watch movies! They're not animated or anything fancy. It's actually a series of drawings and pictures with a narrator telling the story. Move over Disney and Pixar. We have a new favorite!!

Parties and Football

We went to a party today for little David's friend Jacob's 3rd birthday. We had a blast. The weather nearly cancelled all their awesome plans, but luckily it stayed sunny and we were able to go ahead with the party. I lost count of all the wee ones, but I'm pretty sure they outnumbered the adults by a lot. Or maybe it just seemed that way with the way they were running around all crazy like. Who knows. They had a kiddie pool set up with swim noodles, half a dozen squirt guns and one watering can pool toy. Being that there were mostly boys there, the pool noodles were quickly deemed "swords" and the squirt guns were turned into real and ligit weapons. We almost lost a couple eyes. Ok, maybe not, but they did like hitting each other in the face more than anything else. When we'd had enough splashing we took the party to the backyard for some sprinkler action. I think this one sounded better in theory than reality. It seemed that the kids wanted to do everything BUT run through the sprinklers. Oh well, we didn't mind. They had such a great time and no one was screaming so it didn't matter. :) We had a splendid 3 hours and the boys are sleeping very well for me right now. I call it a success.

In a totally unrelated story, the NFL preseason games started this week. Yay! I'm really looking forward to this season. Not only is football my fave sport to watch, but David and I are in a fantasy football league for the first time. He entered one with all the guys he works with and I got a little jealous so we created a league just for us. It's not nearly as serious or as big of a deal as the one with his friends, but I'm looking forward to it all the same. I am fairly certain (barring the unforeseen injury) that I'll kick his tush. I have Aaron Rodgers, Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson on my team with Matt Schaub and Maurice Jones - Drew on the bench. He got stuck with Cedric Benson and Ryan Matthews. HA!

Kzoo County Fair

We went to the fair this morning. We were able to leave home as soon as David got home from work and stayed until naptime. Little David had the greatest time! He was really into all the animals and was even happy about riding in the stroller. He was able to get out in every animal barn and roam around which I think helped a lot with having to ride in between barns. We didn't want him wandering off into the crowds or disappearing into cages so we made him ride to and from the barns. He took it well. :) Here's a snapshot of our picnic lunch. It's pretty classic Sager if you ask me. David and Max are smiling and little David is glaring at me. I have about 137 more pictures just like this one. Time for animals! The goat barn was first. David took some coaxing at first, but he warmed up quickly to this one. He was pretty excited when I told him he could touch. There were a few little girls and a mom that came through walking a bunch of goats on leashes and let us pet them. David giggled the whole time and called them dogs. When they left we had a little chat about goats and what noises they made. He then ran to each and every pen bleating and giggling at the goats. One owner came walking up and thought David was cute so she gave him a handful of food to feed her goats. He did really well and wasn't nervous about having them so close.

Up next was the horse barn. Most of the horses were out at a show or something, but we did find one gentle little guy to pet.

From there we went to the bunny barn. I have to admit, this was probably my favorite one. He knows bunnies don't say anything but they do hop. He hopped (literally) all the way through the barn shouting "Bunnies hop. Bunnies hop, hop, hop". He had everyone in the place staring. He wasn't so much into petting them, but I did manage to get one sort of okay picture.

The pig barn turned out to be quite the educational experience. Most of the pigs were sleeping (we went at their "naptime" so we whispered all the way through this barn :P). Because they were so still we were able to get a really good look at them. Some of them had their ears or hooves sticking out of the gates and we were able to touch them and talk about it. He was really mesmerized with the pig's feet. We talked about how pigs don't have toes like David. They have special pig feet. He touched one pig's tail and told me how pokey it felt. At one point he pressed his face into the cage's bars and said "Oh pig squirt water!". Um...no honey. That pig is going potty. It's gross huh? "No, Mama. Cool." Little boys are great. The sheep barn wasn't much fun at all because he was too short to actually see the sheep. He didn't really want to be held to see over the top of the pens so he peeked through the slats. "Peek sheep. Baaa!"Finally we checked out the tractors. I think the highlight of my whole day was changing Max's poopy diaper in the tractor tire. Yep, I'm serious. I laid him in there and changed his diaper. It was cleaner than anywhere else I could find around there. So here he is. Just a boy in a cow diaper. In a tractor tire. Does it get more country than that??

Max is 6 months old today!

P.S. I want to send a shout out to his birth buddy, Clara, who was 6 months yesterday. Happy 6 month birthday Clara! Max sends his love and a giant slobbery kiss your way. :)

Evening snack time

I think this is just too stinkin' cute not to share. David and David have been getting into the habit of sharing an evening snack. Daddy likes to prop his feet up all cushy like and now so does David. His little legs are just too short to reach the table so he pulls over a chair to prop his foot pillows on. They just sit there snackin' and cuddlin' and being cute.

Best date ever

Have I told you all lately how awesome my sister is? She's awesome. Fantastically awesome. Superbly awesome. Ridiculously awesome. Awesomely awesome.

Ashley (and her old friend/my new friend, Lyssa) came over tonight to babysit so we could go out on a date...for 4 hours! I feel so relaxed and renewed. I love my kiddos, but time away from them is so great! We started with a (free!) half hour soak at Oasis hot tubs, then grabbed dinner and finally caught a movie. It's the best date we've had since...well I can't really remember another date this good ever!

Wow, I'm happy.

World's Best Hubby

Can I brag for a minute? Just a minute? Mmmkay then. Here goes.

I have the world's best hubby. Yeah, it's true. He volunteered to take both boys home from church today, make and serve lunch AND give naps by himself so I could stay (baby-free) at church to help with a baby shower. He's seriously awesome. As if that weren't enough, he got me a totally random, "just thinking of you", sweet card too. He knew we had to swap vehicles today so he would have the van and car seats so he left it casually laying in the seat of the cavalier for me find when the shower was over.

*deep sigh* I really love him.

He's not picky

I just asked little David what he wants for lunch. He shrugged and put his hands up and said "No care (I don't care)". Since when do toddlers use grown up phrases?? And since when are two year olds not picky and demanding about their food choices?? Yesterday the only lunch he would consider was toast and peanut butter. Today it's "no care".

It's going to be a long day

I'm more than an hour late on my routine morning coffee and I just heard the toilet lid slam as little David ran to me with a dripping arm. This is going to be a long day.

Look, Mama! I moved Max.

Yesterday, David and I were in our bedroom chatting when David came in and started talking about Max. They had both been in the living room playing so I assumed David was just trying to tell me that he was playing with Max (he wouldn't say anything other than his name). I got slightly annoyed and shooed him away so we could quickly finish our conversation. Only a few seconds later David ran back in yelling his brother's name and looking pretty proud of himself. This never means good things for Max so I jumped off the bed and headed towards the living room. When I got to the door of our room I saw what David was talking about. He had grabbed Max's feet and drug him all the way from the far side of the living room (by our front door) to our bedroom door. He was so happy with himself. He just kept repeating "David helper. Moved Max." Poor Max had a giant rug burn spot on the back of his head and most of the hair he had there is REALLY short now. Growing up under these conditions is sure to make him live up to his rough and tough name.