Hero's and Hummingbirds

As I picked up the kids from school, Taurin excitedly told me that she got to draw a picture of her hero in school.  I thought that was great and asked who she drew.  She said, "Mom! You can read?!"  as she help up her paper with the drawing.  As I looked in the rear view mirror to see her drawing I saw the cute m-o-m drawn under her picture.  "Oh! And this is your Octopus car!!" She exclaimed.  (There was a interesting looking vehicle next to my portrait.)  I asked why I drove and Octopus car and Marinn jumped in and explained I was a super hero and that's why I was driving the Octopus car.  My heart was filled with joy and I expressed to Taurin how much I appreciated it.   

Later that evening we were looking over her school work and came across the picture again.  I asked her why she drew me, she thoughtfully said.  "Well, I started out drawing Daddy but I made his hair too long so I changed it into you."  I couldn't help but laugh at her honesty.  As I started looking closer at the picture you could see where she had drawn short hair (for Andrew) and then I think she probably started out drawing his cop car, but when she made the mistake with the hair she turned it into my Octomobile because I obviously don't drive a cop car.  She is such a funny kid... I love her randomness! 

Earlier this week we were at the park and Taurin and the boys were hiding in and out of the bushes making "camp sites" and having a great time.  On the drive home this is the conversation I had with Taurin.... 

Taurin: Mom! I found a hummingbird at the park! It had a broken wing!"

Me: Oh My!! Was it alive?!? 

Taurin: Yes!  I found a piece of tape and fixed it's wing and it flew away.  

Me: Oh...................... well, I'm soo glad you were there to help. 

Hilarious! 

****no hummingbirds were hurt, present, close, or taped in the making of this blog post****

Concern from a child...

The other day Andrew and I were sitting on the couch as he was telling me about a difficult person he dealt with that day.  It was a pretty serious and intense story that Marinn happened to be overhearing as she sat next to us.  Andrew was basically describing a type of physical danger that comes with his job.
In the midst of the story Marinn interjects with concern, "Dad, you should really be careful."
Andrew and I look at each other with that look of, 'Oh isn't our child so thoughtful and sweet to be concerned about her daddy's safety.'
About the time that thought has crossed our minds she adds, "Because the remote is right there behind the pillow and I don't want you to crush it."
BAHH HA HA!  We both just died laughing realizing she was not concerned for him at all but concerned about the safety of the remote.  I guess she has full confidence in his super hero powers.

Another first...

A few weeks ago Marinn comes running out of her room and says, 

"Mom!  The most wonderful thing has happened to me?!" 

I say, "What's that Marinn?"

With such pride and excitement she exclaims, "I have a wiggly tooth!!!"  

Then, on July 28th, 2012 she lost her first tooth.  It's amazing how something kind of disgusting and a bit gruesome to see can be so fun and exciting.  

After leaving her tooth under her pillow she received 2 gold one dollar coins.  

She asked me the next day, "Mommy, was it you or Daddy that really put that under my pillow and not the tooth fairy?"

I was honest and told her it was Andrew.  

She said, "Okay, I won't tell anyone."  She wasn't disappointed and seemed a bit pleased that she had figured it out on her own.  Pretending can be fun.  

Nuts?!

 

The other day Marinn was playing a game of leap frog with Shaw and Blaize.... well, she was basically jumping over them and they were laughing.
She jumps over Blaize, then as she jumps over Shaw she doesn't quite make it high enough and totally clocks her "potty parts" (for lack of a better term) on Shaws head.  She grabs herself and says, "OH, MY NUTS!"
I laughed out loud and couldn't even bring myself to correct her because I knew I wouldn't be able to hold together a straight face.
Because there are no older boys in our family or friends I feel like I have the public school system to thank for this hilarious moment.

Oh Marinn...

Marinn was helping me fold some laundry... she loves a competition so she decided she would divide the laundry between the two of us and race to see who could fold it the fastest.  She was winning and would occasionally throw an extra piece in my basket.  I threw a few back in hers, but she was paying attention and gave them right back to me.  So, I decided to get sneaky and told her to check out the cool birds outside on the tree so I could put some in when she wasn't looking.  She glanced over for a moment (I barely had enough time to toss some in), and turned right back saying, "I'm not going to look because it might be a trick.... So, I'm not going to look."  Then inspecting her basket she notices the new articles of clothing and promptly tosses them back in my basket.  When did tricking a 5 year old become soo difficult?!?!

Marinn's funny quote of the day:

Marinn is in the van asking everyone what they want to be when they grow up... she gets to Blaize and very animated asks, 

"Blaaaaaize, what do you want to be when you grow up?!"  

There is a pause.... "Oh... he said he wants to be a food messager.  I know that's what he said because when I asked him he looked at his feet." 

Marinn's celebrity look a like... Joey King (Ramona and Beezus)

She even has very similar mannerisms. Crazy!

"I uh O bot"

Today in the van as we were taking Marinn to school Shaw started saying a phrase over and over in a funny voice.   It went something like this....
"Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... "
I was sitting there listening trying to figure out what he was saying and when I realized I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  He was trying to say, "Momma, I'm a robot."  The girls say this on occasion and I guess he was feeling robotty in the van.  The best part was his perfect robot voice!

Chili's Coma

The other night we went to Chili's with a few friends, it was a busy night there and we waited for awhile and the kids were really hungry by the time they got their food.  

Shaw had a corn dog kids meal and 3 glasses of chocolate milk, he was a happy camper.  We were all visiting and Marinn leans over to Melissa and says, "SHHHHhhhh, Shaw is sleeping." And she looks over to see this....

 Shaw was totally out, in a Chili's coma.  This is very uncommon for any of my kids but it was soo hilarious.  How could we not take a picture??

Shortly after this we headed home and as we were walking to the car, Taurin says to Shaw, "Shaw Boy,  you looked so cute when you were sleeping in the rest-R-ant.  You looked sooo cute!"

Healthy Eating.... Kid Style

Over the past few weeks we have been transitioning our eating habits to a much healthier way of living, more veggies and fruit and less sugar and dairy.  Anyhow, even though it is extremely challenging we are enforcing healthy eating not just for us but our entire family including a 5 year old, 3 year old, and 2 year old.  Have they complained at most of the dinners I have made in the last few weeks? YES! But they have eaten it and sometimes even enjoyed what I served.

Tonight I made hamburger patties with a tomato and cucumber salad and some sweet potato fries.  I thought the kids were going to be ecstatic at the idea of fries as part of our meal, but to my surprise they weren't interested in the fries and were asking for seconds of the tomato and cucumber salad.  I think I might be winning over their healthy taste buds!  Could it be?!

After dinner they were rewarded with a delicious healthy dessert:

1/3 sliced banana
1/8 C. blueberries
handfull of sliced almonds, large flake coconut, raisins
1/4 C. of Almond Milk

They really enjoyed their dessert, but asking Marinn what she thought she said it was good but it would have tasted even better with a large scoop of chocolate ice cream in the middle.  Ahhh glad to see they are still kids at heart.  ; )

Guacamole!

The other day...

Taurin finishes her food first (which rarely ever happens), she holds her bowl and says, "Ok Marinn I'm gonna show you my bowl and you are gonna say, 'Holy Moly Guacamole Guacamole!!!"
Marinn just looks at her.
Taurin shows Marinn her bowl...
Marinn exclaims excitedly, "HOLY MOLY GUACAMOLE!!!!"



Then today....

We are in the car and Andrew hits the breaks a few times, the car is silent, then in a soft voice Taurin says,
"Are you freakin' kidding me?"

*she looks oh so innocent*

All in a Day

The kids got some serious play time in the "pool" the last few days.  They have been splashing and jumping and flinging water, having a great time.  It's been in the 100's so being wet is the only way to survive the heat and they all have a pretty good tan to show for it. 

 Marinn was sitting in this basket and requested that I take a picture... she waited patiently while I tracked down the camera.  So glad she asked because I was able to get all these other great shots too : )

 I love Shaw's face in this one... so desperately trying to be like his sister. 

 Great fish face Taurin! 

 I think this picture could totally sell some sunscreen, swim suits, snorkels, color contacts, etc... Love it!

 Great example of their real personalities.

 Blaize watching all of the craziness... dreaming of the day he'll get to join in.

 Daisy lounging around keeping an eye on all the kids.  

Quote of the day:

Taurin, "Rolly Polly's have poop and pee in their mouth and they put their head in the toilet and poop and pee out of their mouth." 

Vocabulary of the Day

tail pol·ish 
   [teyl pol-ish]


-noun
1.     nail polish: Mom I'll go get the tail polish.
                Origin:
                6-14-2011; Taurin Amina Coffelt
                         -Synonyms
                         pail tolish, nail polish






bil·ly bar
    [bil-ee bahr]


-noun
1.     dilly bar, a Dairy Queen treat: This billy bar is delicious!
                Origin:
                6-14-2011; Marinn May Coffelt

A few silly stories...

Project Runway Shaw Style

Well we have had another attack of the big sisters.... Found Shaw like this after some play time in the room with his sisters.  

Let's talk about his look for the summer season... notice the bracelets / hair ties on his wrist.

 

Notice the bright pink bow clip that they somehow managed to get in his 1/2" long hair.

And we can't overlook this bright cheery tankini with the slimming ruffles on the bottom. 

The shoulder muscle accentuated by the small ruffle details.

Ahh and here we have one of the stylist who is equally fashionable.

Hug-stage Situation

Today at the park we showed up to what looked like a play date, which was great because the kids had lots of other kids to play with.  Shaw was on the toys and we see a cute little girl walk up to him, she gently wrapped her arms around him in a sweet hug.  He just stood there enjoying the moment... and the moment continued.  About 15 to 20 seconds into the hug the girls dad calls from the side, "Abby, time to stop hugging now..... (she seems to not hear or care) ....Abby stop the hugging, that's enough sweetie, let him go."  She slightly releases for a moment and then goes right back to hugging him.  Listening to the father was like hearing a negociater talk someone out of releasing their hostage. 

Shaw still seems to be appreciating the hug, and by this time me and my sister are laughing out loud, my sister says to the guy, "It's all good he's a lover not a fighter." 

Finally after about 40+ seconds of quality hugging the dad gets her to release.  It was so funny and sweet at the same time I couldn't help but just laugh.  Shaw is definitely a huggable kid, I totally understand her apprehension to let go.

Lost in Translation

Marinn has difficulty saying some of her letter sounds like L and S and such.  We have been working on it but there are those times that you question what she says.  Today at the park her and Taurin are playing with some sticks swinging them around.  

Marinn says, "Taurin look we are Faggers!"  

My sister looks at me and asks what she is saying... after a few more comments and some moves by Marinn we determine that she is saying, "We are Flaggers!" 

It's amazing the difference an L makes!

Taurin's Perception of Birth

I recently did a post on my other blog about the Perception of Pregnancy...
This morning I was enlightened by Taurin's perception of how birth is gonna go down.

Taurin and Marinn come into the bedroom this morning and they tell us they have found something in the bathroom.  We start questioning them on what it looks like etc.  I ask the most important question, "Is it a bug?" They confirm it's a bug.  I ask what it is doing and Taurin holds her hands up kind of in claws and moves them really slowly (like a cockroach laying on it's back dying).  I decide that's probably what it is and that Daddy is the one to go to for bug control.

In the process of getting the answers Taurin explains...
"It is here to crawl in your belly to blow really hard to make the baby come out and it's gonna be ugy (uh-gee=ugly), really ugy.... and it won't have any clothes on."

Andrew and I just start laughing and then I was a bit disturbed at the image of a cockroach being involved in the birth of my baby.  Hopefully my beautiful not ugy baby!


SIDE NOTE: We've asked Taurin multiple times when baby Blaize is going to be born and she always answers... Tuesday.  Today is a Tuesday, next week has a Tuesday.  We will see!

Big vs. Regular

In the car today Marinn tells Aspyn (my niece) that she (Marinn) is going to grow up and be big like Mommy, that Shaw is going to grow up and be big like Daddy and Taurin is going to grow up and be regular like Aunt Jamie.
When Aspyn was two she told me that I was a "big woman".
I have had many years to understand and accept that I'm a big woman : ) It's a good thing and I like being big, but it's still hilarious when you see it transfer down through the generations.

Mary Poppin's Magic

The other night we watched Mary Poppin's for the first time with the kids. As we were going to bed Marinn asked me, "Mom, can we get some of those star things for our fingers so we can do this (snapping motion) and clean the room?"

I said, "Oh, I wish baby but that is just make believe." 

She asked again insisting that it was possible and we just needed some stars for our fingers.  

Oh how I love her innocence!

We be Jammin'!

A song came on the radio in the car that had a reggae beat and the guy was singing about, "We be jammin', we jammin', we jammin'!"

Marinn starts singing from the back seat "It's pajama time! It's pajama time! We like pajamas! It's pajama time!" 

What's Your Job?

We are driving in the car and we (Marinn and I) are talking about Andrew going to school.  I explain that when he is done with school he will be a cop.  And she replies with worry in her voice, 

"But mom if dad is a cop then who will be our dad???"

Me, "Marinn, he'll still be your dad. Being a cop will just be his job..."

Then I went on to explain different people with different jobs, aunts, uncles etc. So she could understand that people have jobs and are still other things.  

She starts asking about other people that I didn't mention and then asks, 

"Mom, what is your job?"

Me, "My job is to be a mommy."

Marinn, "Yeah and to do the dishes. And the laundry."

I laugh and tell her yes. 

Then she says, "And my job is to listen to you. And Taurin's job is to listen to daddy. And Shaw's job is to take care of my pony."

Well, I helped her straighten out all of that while I giggled to myself. 

I love her perspective and understanding on things : ) It makes me feel good to see that she notices that I do the dishes and laundry though. 

Black Daddy

Occasionally Andrew will get a part of a song stuck in his head and he will just sing it over and over... the other day he had, 

"Where are my black girls at? Where they at? Where they at? Where they at?"

We'd been in the car and he'd been singing it a lot.  Then out of the back seat we hear Marinn says, 

"Where's my black daddy at?" 

We all just cracked up... 

Well, you'd think the story would end here but it doesn't.  That night I was telling my mom about the silly story and Marinn overhears me.  Then from under the table we hear, 

"Where's my black daddy at?

Where's my black mommy at?"

I tell her that's enough and she says, "I've got one more."

"Where's my black Shaw at?"

I say, "Okay that's enough."

She says, "Where's my black car seat at?"

So, at this point it seems like the story is over but then we are telling the story again this morning and someone asks Marinn where her black daddy is. 

She points to Andrew. 

A little bit later someone asks Taurin where her black daddy is.

She says, "I don't have a black daddy.... I have a..... white daddy." 

Mermaid Hair

Taurin just came downstairs and said, 

"Look Mom! I have big mermaid hair!"

I was lucky enough to snag a picture. 

"It's up to You."

In the mornings the family usually hangs out in our bed, visiting and just goofing off before we all get up and start the day.  

The other morning everyone was up too early so we were laying down trying to go back to sleep.  Marinn rolls over looks me in the eye and tells me, 

"It's up to YOU mom." 

I ask, "What is?"

Confidently she says, "It's up to YOU to take a nap. I'm gonna go play now."