For two years, Deklan has wanted to be the Grinch for Halloween. I strategically waited until he would have a Cindy Lou Who to go with him. So here they are..homemade costumes and all. P.S. I am not a seamstress and the tacky glue only went so far :o)
Welcome to some tid-bits of our lives. This is my on-line journal of my kids and their silly, little personalities and how they occupy our days! Visit www.flickr.com/photos/gillsrus for updated pictures of our family and past holiday cards.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
You Know I Don't Speak Spanish...
Deklan woke me up this morning telling me stories about school and the kid who 'says naughty words.' He told me he would NOT be repeating such words because he knew they were naughty. I told him he was given immunity if he would tell me right then. So he said, "well, he said...well...it was...'Oh my (whisper) God'" Ok. I was thinking four letter words. I explained that it is something we choose not to say, but other people do, and he completed my sentence with "and we can't control other people, only OURSELVES!" (good boy- I say that every day and he apparently hears it.)
Anyway, he went on to tell me about how he got 'poked in the ass' at school the other day. I didn't know if I heard him correctly so I asked him to repeat it, wondering if he even realized he used a bad word. He calmly repeated it (a little slower to make sure I heard him) "I -got-poked-in-the-ASS." Hmmm.... I said, "Dek 'ass' is a naughty word for bottom." He looked at me slightly puzzled, and said 'No it's not, that's how I say 'ear' in Spanish."
I guess I better start monitoring their "Dora the Explorer" time.
Anyway, he went on to tell me about how he got 'poked in the ass' at school the other day. I didn't know if I heard him correctly so I asked him to repeat it, wondering if he even realized he used a bad word. He calmly repeated it (a little slower to make sure I heard him) "I -got-poked-in-the-ASS." Hmmm.... I said, "Dek 'ass' is a naughty word for bottom." He looked at me slightly puzzled, and said 'No it's not, that's how I say 'ear' in Spanish."
I guess I better start monitoring their "Dora the Explorer" time.
Up Hill Both Ways
I just realized what my generations' pitty-party argument to our children is after snapping at my kids in the living room....
Deklan and Blakely are watching The Cat in the Hat on TV which we DVR'd the other day. Since the show was aired on a regular station and not a movie channel, it all of a sudden went to....COMMERCIAL!! Both of my kids immediately started a tantrum yelling, "MOOOOM!! LOOOOK!!! Fast forward that! I don't WANNA WATCH A COMMERCIAL!!!!"
I promptly said, "Hey, I am not going to sit here and fast forward for you EVERY time a commercial comes on. When I was a kid, we couldn't just fast forward...we had to watch EVERY commercial there was. If I could do it, so can you!"
Technology may change, but the argument is still the same: Toughen up, I had it worse than you.
Deklan and Blakely are watching The Cat in the Hat on TV which we DVR'd the other day. Since the show was aired on a regular station and not a movie channel, it all of a sudden went to....COMMERCIAL!! Both of my kids immediately started a tantrum yelling, "MOOOOM!! LOOOOK!!! Fast forward that! I don't WANNA WATCH A COMMERCIAL!!!!"
I promptly said, "Hey, I am not going to sit here and fast forward for you EVERY time a commercial comes on. When I was a kid, we couldn't just fast forward...we had to watch EVERY commercial there was. If I could do it, so can you!"
Technology may change, but the argument is still the same: Toughen up, I had it worse than you.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Blakely Stuck in Doll High Chair
Blake was warned not to attempt to sit in her doll high chair. She did it anyway and ended up being stuck. For her punishment, I made her sit in it for 15 minutes before I would help her out. I decided to take a picture of her while stuck so we could show her dad when he got home from work. She was very embarrassed and spent most of the time with her face burried in her hands. I finally told her I would help her out if she looked at the camera....this is the very ashamed look she flashed me!....She has never tried to sit in it again :o)
Cow says "Oink Oink"
Deklan was my first born. And I, like most new moms, loved teaching him new things and couldn't wait for the next milestone. Deklan also LOVED Baby Einstien videos (which made my job of teaching him things a lot easier, since he learned a lot from those DVDs.) As soon as he could muster words, I was forcing the animal sounds down his throat. "Cow says MOOO" "Piggy says Oink Oink", etc. He learned them very quickly and knew sign language for most as well.
Blakely......I dropped the ball on this one. She is 2 1/2 and still says "I don't know" when I ask her what most animals say. She knows what a kitty says. I hate cats. I don't know how this happened. Some times I think she knows the answer, but is too unsure of herself to answer, but other times, it's clear that she was neglected in the "animal sounds" department.
Deklan has now moved on and is in the process of trying to figure out what kind of 'meat' goes with what animal. I never thought to teach him that. He clearly has no clue, as the following are two examples which involve this.
We saw a lot of antelope while driving to Fort Collins recently. Deklan made the comment, "I'm going to shoot lots of antelope so I can have all the bacon I WANT!!"
and....
While driving in Sundance the other day, we almost ran over a group of turkeys running across the road. (typical) Deklan (who is also trying to figure out what is "illegal" and what is just "naughty" these days) asks "Mom, is it legal for cops to shoot turkeys so they can eat the roast beef?" I don't know how much clearer the meat of a turkey can be called....turkey? Not that hard....
Anyway, despite being embarrassed that my children seem to lack knowledge about animals, their sounds and the food they provide us, I have decided that a great opportunity has fallen in my lap....look out world, because here comes the newest craze in baby learning material...
Animal Sounds & Food flashcards
...example: Cow says "Moo"; Cow makes "Beef": Turkey says "Gobble"; Turkey makes "TURKEY", etc.
Who needs the lottery when you have great ideas?....here come my millions....
Blakely......I dropped the ball on this one. She is 2 1/2 and still says "I don't know" when I ask her what most animals say. She knows what a kitty says. I hate cats. I don't know how this happened. Some times I think she knows the answer, but is too unsure of herself to answer, but other times, it's clear that she was neglected in the "animal sounds" department.
Deklan has now moved on and is in the process of trying to figure out what kind of 'meat' goes with what animal. I never thought to teach him that. He clearly has no clue, as the following are two examples which involve this.
We saw a lot of antelope while driving to Fort Collins recently. Deklan made the comment, "I'm going to shoot lots of antelope so I can have all the bacon I WANT!!"
and....
While driving in Sundance the other day, we almost ran over a group of turkeys running across the road. (typical) Deklan (who is also trying to figure out what is "illegal" and what is just "naughty" these days) asks "Mom, is it legal for cops to shoot turkeys so they can eat the roast beef?" I don't know how much clearer the meat of a turkey can be called....turkey? Not that hard....
Anyway, despite being embarrassed that my children seem to lack knowledge about animals, their sounds and the food they provide us, I have decided that a great opportunity has fallen in my lap....look out world, because here comes the newest craze in baby learning material...
Animal Sounds & Food flashcards
...example: Cow says "Moo"; Cow makes "Beef": Turkey says "Gobble"; Turkey makes "TURKEY", etc.
Who needs the lottery when you have great ideas?....here come my millions....
Friday, October 22, 2010
Deklan B Rappin'
Deklan has always been a music lover. He was soothed by Nick's guitar from the day he was born and whenever he heard it, his attention was focused on it and hearing his dad sing to him. His dancing skills became evident as soon as he could stand up and spin around, bouncing and waving his arms to Intergalactic by the Beastie Boys. (That's the only way I got him to smile and pose for his Halloween picture as Dopey at 18 months.)
Baby Einstein was one of his best friends and he soon favored the video that taught all about orchestra and instruments. He knew more about which instruments were which than I did. He used his imagination and would come up with different household objects to use as trumpets, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, trombones, and especially drums....bass drums, snare drums, tympani drums...he knew them all and would find appropriate looking, and sounding items for each. Last Christmas his only desire from Santa was for a drum set- WITH A SYMBOL! It was hard not to urge Santa to forget about drums and deliver a much quieter toy. But this being the child's main, and almost only interest made the request of drums hard to deny. Santa pulled through. Deklan got a drum set. (Which of course went on sale as soon as Christmas was over...) He loves his drum set and quickly learned to play along to his favorite artist, Taylor "Swiffs".
There's his music background. Now for the present. This child is quite technilogically savy. (He gets that from his Mom.) He has been playing computer games for years, navigating his way around Nickelodeon's site and using the mouse and keyboard better than his Dad. (Not the toughest competition.) We were reluctant to allow him to use the iPod Touch when he was 3. But after giving him a practice run on Uncle Luke's Touch one day, we realized it was great for keeping his attention in long car trips, and he handled it with ease. (Thanks Luke ;o) He now has more apps downloaded for him (and his sister) on there than I do. But more important than the games to him, is all the music. He's never been one to love toddler songs and kids singing and much prefers the real thing; rock n'roll, hip-hop, country...the list goes on. He swipes his finger along and finds his favorite songs in seconds and knows all the words (he thinks.)
Here's the predicament....he currently LOVES Eminem, Britney Spears, and Taio Cruz to name a few. These artists obviously don't record their music with 4 year olds in mind. Even the "clean" version of Taio Cruz's "Sexy Bitch" is "Sexy Chic"....still not something he should be singing....but he does. In the last week, besides the usual conversations I usually have with him, most of the words I heard coming out of his mouth consisted of singing"...just gonna stand there and watch me burn, but it's alright because I like the way it hurts..." and "baby, baby have you seen Amy tonight...is she in the bathroom...is she smokin' up outside..." "boom boom pow" and "we gonna rock this club, we gonna go all night, we gonna light it up like it dyno-mite..." I explained how some of these songs say naughty words and he cannot repeat them, or even sing along, but he explains he really likes the beat of the song. The only time so far that I have heard anything naughty come out of his mouth, from these songs, is when he said "Mom, that guy says 'shit'. But don't worry, I won't say that, because that is shitty." You can blame Eminmen...or his mother for that one.
So....do I deprive the cute, little 4 year old from these "awesome" songs that he loves? Do I shut down the fist-pumping from the high-back booster seat in the back? He tells me he's going to be an astronaut or a rock star when he gets big. I think searching for his songs on the iPod is actually improving his reading skills...he can already pick out the words 'Eminem', and Sexy Chic (the "forbidden" one) in the play lists.
No matter what becomes of Deklan's love of music or his future potty-mouth, one thing is for sure: he is a tough critic. After looking at Britney's album cover picture on the iPod while listening to one of her songs, he stated "Mom she sure is beautiful......but her voice sounds like a bug."
Baby Einstein was one of his best friends and he soon favored the video that taught all about orchestra and instruments. He knew more about which instruments were which than I did. He used his imagination and would come up with different household objects to use as trumpets, saxophones, clarinets, flutes, trombones, and especially drums....bass drums, snare drums, tympani drums...he knew them all and would find appropriate looking, and sounding items for each. Last Christmas his only desire from Santa was for a drum set- WITH A SYMBOL! It was hard not to urge Santa to forget about drums and deliver a much quieter toy. But this being the child's main, and almost only interest made the request of drums hard to deny. Santa pulled through. Deklan got a drum set. (Which of course went on sale as soon as Christmas was over...) He loves his drum set and quickly learned to play along to his favorite artist, Taylor "Swiffs".
There's his music background. Now for the present. This child is quite technilogically savy. (He gets that from his Mom.) He has been playing computer games for years, navigating his way around Nickelodeon's site and using the mouse and keyboard better than his Dad. (Not the toughest competition.) We were reluctant to allow him to use the iPod Touch when he was 3. But after giving him a practice run on Uncle Luke's Touch one day, we realized it was great for keeping his attention in long car trips, and he handled it with ease. (Thanks Luke ;o) He now has more apps downloaded for him (and his sister) on there than I do. But more important than the games to him, is all the music. He's never been one to love toddler songs and kids singing and much prefers the real thing; rock n'roll, hip-hop, country...the list goes on. He swipes his finger along and finds his favorite songs in seconds and knows all the words (he thinks.)
Here's the predicament....he currently LOVES Eminem, Britney Spears, and Taio Cruz to name a few. These artists obviously don't record their music with 4 year olds in mind. Even the "clean" version of Taio Cruz's "Sexy Bitch" is "Sexy Chic"....still not something he should be singing....but he does. In the last week, besides the usual conversations I usually have with him, most of the words I heard coming out of his mouth consisted of singing"...just gonna stand there and watch me burn, but it's alright because I like the way it hurts..." and "baby, baby have you seen Amy tonight...is she in the bathroom...is she smokin' up outside..." "boom boom pow" and "we gonna rock this club, we gonna go all night, we gonna light it up like it dyno-mite..." I explained how some of these songs say naughty words and he cannot repeat them, or even sing along, but he explains he really likes the beat of the song. The only time so far that I have heard anything naughty come out of his mouth, from these songs, is when he said "Mom, that guy says 'shit'. But don't worry, I won't say that, because that is shitty." You can blame Eminmen...or his mother for that one.
So....do I deprive the cute, little 4 year old from these "awesome" songs that he loves? Do I shut down the fist-pumping from the high-back booster seat in the back? He tells me he's going to be an astronaut or a rock star when he gets big. I think searching for his songs on the iPod is actually improving his reading skills...he can already pick out the words 'Eminem', and Sexy Chic (the "forbidden" one) in the play lists.
No matter what becomes of Deklan's love of music or his future potty-mouth, one thing is for sure: he is a tough critic. After looking at Britney's album cover picture on the iPod while listening to one of her songs, he stated "Mom she sure is beautiful......but her voice sounds like a bug."
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Blakely's Prayers
I have sort of dropped the ball when it comes to teaching Blakely how to say her prayers, and saying them consistently every night. By the time Deklan was this age, I was recording his cute little voice rattling off the memorized prayers we said every night, blessing almost everyone we knew. Now, our nightly routine consists of supper, bath, Backyardigans, TWO books, whining, crying, scratching backs and playing with hair all crammed into about an hour, with the end goal being the kids sleeping (or at least not crying) by 8:30. Alas, something had to go, and unfortunately it ended up being our prayers. (They're hard to say over a crying child who isn't even paying attention. Yes, that is an excuse, and not a very good one I realize.)
Tonight began the rebirth of our nightly prayers. (Well not for Deklan, because he fell asleep before I had my epiphany.) So Blake and I sat on the couch at 10:30 p.m. (routine not so productive tonight) and said our prayers. Hands folded. Heads bowed. Me speaking, and Blakely repeating. Blakely's prayers were concluded as follows:
"...in Jesus' name we play, Almonds."
I cut her some slack, as she is still getting used to these words. And in her defense, she absolutely loves almonds.
Tonight began the rebirth of our nightly prayers. (Well not for Deklan, because he fell asleep before I had my epiphany.) So Blake and I sat on the couch at 10:30 p.m. (routine not so productive tonight) and said our prayers. Hands folded. Heads bowed. Me speaking, and Blakely repeating. Blakely's prayers were concluded as follows:
"...in Jesus' name we play, Almonds."
I cut her some slack, as she is still getting used to these words. And in her defense, she absolutely loves almonds.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
What in the Dump?
Deklan was drilling me with questions about God and Jesus this afternoon while we were in the kitchen. I had mentioned quickly before about the differences of Heaven and Hell and how we perceive them both. I told him God lived in Heaven and is good and the Devil lived in Hell and is bad. Deklan asked, "God sent him there? And God started him on FIRE!?" I told him that God did not set the Devil on fire, but that's just kind of the way we think of hell- a fiery place.
"Hell is just a place that is hot and yucky and a place we don't want to be." I said.
Deklan quickly responded, "So Hell is like the DUMP?"
I couldn't help but smile and laugh at his little brain's idea of what Hell must be like. Deklan had a traumatic experience at the city dump earlier this fall when he freaked out and threw up on himself in Papa Gari's pick-up because of the terrible garbage smell. So to him, the dump is probably the closest comparison to hell on earth.
"Hell is just a place that is hot and yucky and a place we don't want to be." I said.
Deklan quickly responded, "So Hell is like the DUMP?"
I couldn't help but smile and laugh at his little brain's idea of what Hell must be like. Deklan had a traumatic experience at the city dump earlier this fall when he freaked out and threw up on himself in Papa Gari's pick-up because of the terrible garbage smell. So to him, the dump is probably the closest comparison to hell on earth.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Gonna Be a Pilot
Deklan spent most of yesterday afternoon playing with his airplanes and pretending to be Papa Barney. I helped him build a hangar, equipped with a door that raises and lowers, and he laid out DVD covers in a row for the runway. He would take off, spray a field (patch of carpet) and land again and put his plane in the hangar. He even went as far as using his two fingers to get out of the plane, and "walk" back to the house. I commented on that and said, "Oh, is Papa Barney your fingers?" to which he responded, "No, his LEGS!"
This morning, he resumed playing with his hangar. I asked him, "Are you going to fly planes when you grow up?" Deklan said, "Yeah, I'm gonna be a pilot when I get big!"
Mom: "Will you fly us to the moon?!"
Deklan: "NOOO!" He giggled. "I can't fly to the MOON!!"
Just when I thought his imagination was already limited at the ripe age of 3, he finished...
"Cuz I don't know how to start the airplane!!"
This morning, he resumed playing with his hangar. I asked him, "Are you going to fly planes when you grow up?" Deklan said, "Yeah, I'm gonna be a pilot when I get big!"
Mom: "Will you fly us to the moon?!"
Deklan: "NOOO!" He giggled. "I can't fly to the MOON!!"
Just when I thought his imagination was already limited at the ripe age of 3, he finished...
"Cuz I don't know how to start the airplane!!"
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