I'm Free Years Old!

What 3 year old can actually say "TH-REE??"

We enjoyed a birthday fun-filled weekend.

Saturday = Justin's birthday party with classmates and friends. American Bouncers does all of the work, we just had to show up! Love them. Wish I had some better group shots - I was too busy bouncing myself. =) And Justin designed his own cake. What will I do once the boys realize that cake designs are more than roads with cars on it? (Justin's 2nd birthday & Colin's 5th birthday) haha.

Sunday = The arrival of the Binkie Fairy
*All went well. Colin said that Justin was in his bed with his head in his hands, silent. Colin asked him if the binkie fairy came and Justin simply nodded his head. 

Monday = The Real Birthday! He woke me up "Mom, I am three today?" We've had so many celebrations, he was a bit confused on when he actually turned 3! Of course, he wanted to go to school so he could be "the birthday boy" all day. I picked him up early and treated him to a trip to the toy store. And he gave some of his birthday money to Colin so Colin could also get a gift. (why can't they get along like that all of the time?!)

Came home and made pizza (Trader Joe's pizza dough) and I have a new respect for all of the pizza makers in the world. I have zero dough spreading skill...but Justin had fun. We ended up with rectangle/oval/parallelogram shaped pizzas. (pizza = Justin birthday dinner choice)

 And what's a better birthday present than friends who will dress up with you. =) Oh, how he loves costume-time. Emily brought special Spiderman cupcakes for Justin - THANK YOU! Happy Birthday, my Justin!

--
As promised, a Colin story. We just started an allowance for Colin ($5/week.)  Jack & I decided to teach him what "savings" meant and then let him decide if he wanted to save. (versus forcing him to save his money b/c Jack argues that's not really teaching anything.)
Jack: So you'll get $5 a week. Now that you know what savings is, do you want to save any money every week?
Colin: yes.
Jack: how much?
Colin: $10.
Me: (He's totally Jack's kid!)

*In the end, he decided on $2/week goes to his bank account and $3 will go to his wallet. Which is huge restraint because he's been trying to save up for a new lego set - and he only counts money in his wallet for those kind of purchases.

After we figured out what he wanted for savings...
Jack: We can start talking about what compounding interest means next...
Me: (really? we're going to go there?)
Colin was quiet but soaked up every word.
--
Justin stories -

Colin took Justin's toys.
Justin came running to my room: Mom, I'm not happy about my family.
Me: Oh...
Justin: I'm just not happy about my family.
Me: Well, try to use your words and tell Colin what you want.
Justin: (walks away)
*Sometimes I use the phrase, "I'm not happy with that..." and clearly he's picked up on it!

Justin climbs into our bed.
Justin: Dad, you're handsome like me.

And when I get ready for work, I still get, "momma, you so pretty and so fancy."

And all of the other moms out there will understand how HUGE this one is: "Mom, I went poop in the potty!" Oh yeah! Usually followed by, "do i get a special snack?" =)

Winter Weekend Fun!

We had a busy week. The kind of week that throws workout routines out the door and it's almost luck that you've made it to Friday. Ok, a bit dramatic. But we made it to Friday AND Jack (who was supposed to work the weekend) got the weekend off! Score!

We made it to Friday partially because we received a special care package. My parents sent us fresh manju!!! Colin and I went to town. Our tummies thank you! (Justin didn't want any, and Colin & I didn't ask him again. C & I ate the whole tray!) *not sure what happened, but I can't get this picture to rotate. Turn your head, mom.

For weekend plans, Aarti, Arvindh and Leela took Colin out for a day to the Science Center and an OMNIMAX movie. He raved about this outing and loved every minute. Thank you so much!!! We had to work around Justin's nap so Jack & I ended up keeping him at home for a date day with us. =)

We asked Justin where he wanted to go, and he shouted, "the candy store!" haha. Off we went to the mall. I had to take a picture of this - see, mom... California things are moving to Ohio!!! You don't have to mail me boxes of molasses chips anymore. =)

Lego store next... where he eventually (and proudly) made this creation...

 And finally a stop at the candy store. And to eat candy without sharing- that's a real treat.

On Sunday, our good friends, Emily + family had a special day planned for us. They treated us to Disney on Ice!!! So much fun! We loved every aspect of the show and the boys haven't stopped talking about it. "the princesses are pretty." "Merida and the arrow with the fire was scary." "I drank daddy's soda!" haha. What a great way to spend the afternoon. Thank you!

 The boys have never seen the Little Mermaid, but they declared Ariel their favorite part of the show. "the mermaid princess" - Colin

 I personally liked Merida and her three brothers in Brave.

 Justin, Colin and Emily. "Emily is my friend too" - Justin

 And at home, Justin is enjoying his last week with his binkies. He was down to 3, but Colin mysteriously found 2 more. (C is known for hiding binkies and finding them later.) Colin found Justin's missing "pink and purple." Yes, he named them. "Where is pink and purple, mommy?"

In case you were wondering how to use 2 binkies....

My favorite Justin quote this weekend:
me: Am I right or am I right? (talking about something)
Justin: Yes. and the kids are left!
hahahahahha!

Colin is less about quotes and more about conversations (which are so much harder to capture on here, and he wouldn't dare let me video tape one). I'll try my best this week to catch something for you.

Happy short work week everyone!

Updates + early Bday celebrations!

Happy birthday to Grandma and Justin!

• 50+ degree weather in Cleveland January = open windows, fresh air, no jackets and grass sightings. 
• Justin's birthday has begun. We're still 15 days ahead of the official birthday, but we started celebrations with a family birthday dinner tonight. And he happily split the birthday spotlight with Grandma. Happy Birthday Grandma!
• I'm officially becoming an Elwell. I cooked for 10+ people and didn't break a sweat. 
• Jack continued his building streak. He built a second tool bench this weekend. "And it doubles as a bar." - jack.

Justin's teachers send us pics everyday of the kids. It's the highlight of my day when I'm at work. Last week, they treated me to a video too! (And yes, this video prompted us to give the boys haircuts this weekend.)

Because pictures aren't always enough, here's another video of Justin. This time, talking about his upcoming birthday. (you're welcome, Auntie Lori)

Mudroom/Entry Bench Complete!

Mudroom project - COMPLETE! The baskets arrived today and our project is finally done!

 On the lower row, we all have slightly different hooks to spice things up a bit.

And our new rule in the house: "You can eat if your jacket is on the hook." To which Colin responded, "You never have to tell us to hang up our jackets. If we're hungry, we'll make sure our jackets are on the hooks." Gotta love that kid.

I ordered the baskets online and Target used a ton of boxes to pack and deliver them. So if you think for a second that this mud room bench would be more exciting than the cardboard boxes that arrived today, you are wrong.  Have you ever seen robots hug? (And yes, J is "spiderman robot")

So some were used as robots (Justin's idea), and some were used for a soccer arcade game. We watched Caine's Arcade and Colin was inspired. He designed it with what we had and I was just there for cardboard box cutting purposes. Felt weird being the worker and not the designer. haha.

 The boys had another special delivery today. Auntie Lin-Shao spoiled them with perfect fitting down-jackets. I can't believe I actually got them to take a picture with them on. They love them! THANK YOU!

And a special shout out to my sister (aka. Auntie Lori) who's not even done with graduate school but successfully landed a job this week! The kids ask why you don't still live with us, and for awhile, I was telling them, "if Auntie Lori doesn't find a job, she may end up living with us." haha. Well, now, I can tell them, "Auntie Lori got a job in Hawaii, so we can visit her!"

Homebound, by choice

A short week back at work and a slow weekend spent at home. Perfect.

Time at home included playing, reading, completing house projects, and cleaning. Oh, and some treadmill running!!!

House projects: Jack finished the last coats of paint on the mudroom bench and we're in search of perfect baskets and hooks now. He also finished our map-framing project. The boys received a wall map for Christmas and we wanted it to last - so we Jack built a frame around it. (my idea, his labor). Leftover baseboard, leftover paint, staples, nails glue. Good to go.

 The boys kept busy with their lego building.

 And movies. Oh, how they both love movies. Documentaries (animal and vehicle) are a standard. We saw Brave on July 1 last year. And tonight (6 months later), they both spent the entire dinner quoting the movie. It cracked us up. They are currently all about Alvin & the Chipmunks. They walk around quoting the favorite parts of the movie. Justin is really into voice impersonations and he does a great chipmunk. haha. Picture = standard movie watching position

I had my usual weekend grocery shopping errands, but other than that, we only made one other outing - to a birthday party for Justin's school friend. Here is a shot of some of his friends in class. And another of Justin and his good friend, Mitchell!

 

I spent most of the weekend finishing Gone Girl (loved it) and exercising. In line with my "slow and relaxed" theme, right?

Kids cracking us up:

• "Excuse me mom, can I talk for a second?" - Justin
• "Bow chicka wow wow" - Colin (alvin & the chipmunk movie)

Happy New Year!