Naughty or Nice?

Have these boys been naughty or nice???

Happy Halloween!

These two crack me up.   Their genuine smiles are so adorable, but get out a camera and you get the gritting of teeth grimace-smile.   And lots of flexing of muscles.   My little superheroes.

Smells like Toddler Spirit...or Ralph Lauren Black

Matthew has been watching me get ready in the morning too often. After brushing his teeth, he will often attempt to curl his hair with my curling iron, put chapstick all over his lips, chin and cheeks, and now he points to my perfume and says, "I want that." He actually sprayed himself with it on Friday, so this morning I grabbed Kris' cologne (that he never wears) and dabbed just a teensy bit on Matthew. Whoa! He smelled really strong when I was kissing him goodbye in the car. So, today he is a 2 year old boy who smells like a man. Better, I suppose, than a 2 year old boy who smells like a woman though! The boys love their Disney Planes bomber jackets. They looks so cute in them. Like Maverick and Iceman. And I'm terrible at blogging. I'm good at uploading photos to Facebook, but that's about it.

Running around in circles

It's funny how little kids taken some things very literally.   One morning, I sent Matthew outside while Luke finished his cereal.  I told him to "go run around in circles" before it was time to get in the car for school.   When I walked outside he was....turning in circles.   Now every morning, he comes outside with a smile on his face and tells me he wants to "run in circles" before getting in the car.    And he does.    Well, at least it burns off some energy before going to school!

Sleeping with mommy and daddy

Luke comes into our bed most nights.  He claims he's "scared" of his room, but he comes up with all kinds of excuses why he must sleep in our bed.   His toys are scary.  He likes the "black dark" of our room.  Our bed is soft.   The list goes on.   Generally around 3-4 a.m., we hear the pitter patter of running feet, or the shuffle shuffle of feet bringing along his pillow, blanket and a few toys.   Fortunately (for me), he always climbs over Kris and plops himself right in the middle and falls fast asleep. 

If I'm being honest, I love it.  Waking up to a cuddly four year old is heaven!   He doesn't let me cuddle him while he's awake, but in his sleep, he cuddles up right next me to.  

The only time I don't love it is when he's doing "snow angels."  He's quite an active boy, even in his sleep. 

Filthy boys

I had to entertain the boys for 2 hours at Caesar's Creek State Park while Kris completed a triathlon.  They swam in the lake fully clothed, and then (after a wardrobe change) they took handfuls of sand/dirt, sent the dirt/sand down the slide, and then went down afterwards, generally landing in a heap in the sand/dirt.     If you're not dirty, you're not maximizing the fun to be had at the playground.

Sharing a room

Both boys have expressed a desire to sleep in the same room.   Luke will ask for us to move Matthew's bed into his room, and Matthew always wants to be in Luke's room.   I'm not quite ready to remove Matthew from his crib.   He hasn't attempted to crawl out, so I'll just be content for as long as that lasts.  

However, seeing this adorable bedroom set on the Pottery Barn Kids website makes me excited for them to share a room.   They would be so cute in these beds!   Although, I suspect they'd use the corner piece as a platform to launch themselves onto each bed.  

Hawaii pictures

Brothers

Matthew adores his big brother!  I have so many photos of Luke smiling at the camera while Matthew smiles at Luke smiling.   All Luke has to do is laugh, and Matthew is laughing too.   I think half the time he's not even sure why he's laughing, but if big brother is laughing, it must be funny!

Waterboy

I am in love with these photos.   A month ago, Luke started (barely) putting his face in the water.   He has never liked getting his head/face wet and he definitely did not want to go underwater.   Our wonderful neighbors gave him this pair of goggles that their youngest had outgrown, and voila!   Luke is an underwater fiend!   He goes under all the time now and he loves it!   He also will jump into the pool and go several feet under all by himself, with a smile on his face!   I love in these photos how happy he looks and that he even gave a real smile for the underwater camera.   He is so cute!

Cows and goots

Every day on the way to school, Kris points out a farm with cows and goats grazing outside.  Now as they pass it, Matthew points out the "cows and goots."  Hearing him say "goot" instead of "goat" is quite possibly the cutest thing ever.  

Anxious

My first marathon is in less than two weeks, and the pre-marathon jitters have finally caught up to me.   I am so anxious, I keep getting knots in my stomach whenever I think of the marathon.  (I should stop thinking about it....if only it were that easy!)

I know I can do it.  I ran 20 miles a little over a week ago.   If I can run 20, I can do 26.2.   I'm not worried about the finish time, I'm only concerned with crossing the finish line under my own power.   I think I can, I think I can, I think I can! 

Sad

I'm so sad about the deaths and injuries from the Boston Marathon bombing.   It's especially heartbreaking that one of the victims was an 8 year old boy trying to give his father a hug as he finished the race.   Just a week earlier, I had Luke and Matthew at the finish line of the Go St. Louis Marathon waiting for Kris and the relay team to finish.   Luke was excited to give Kris a hug and congratulate him on "going fast."   The boys have been there at the finish of many runs, at least 2 Air Force half-marathons, and the Flying Pig half-marathon.     It's such a happy place to be, and now this happens.    I'm definitely glad now that the boys won't be at the Flying Pig Marathon finish line when Kris and I cross it in three weeks. 

Vintage Luke

Wow!  Hard to believe Luke is going to be 4 in a little over a month!    Harder for me to believe that today Matthew is wearing the shirt Luke is wearing in the last photo.   How are my boys so old already!    Also difficult to decide on just a few photos when I easily have thousands to choose from.   :)

WWKMD?

What would Kate Middleton do?   Or probably more accurately:  what would Kate Middletown wear?   Or probably even more accurately:  what would Duchess Catherine wear?    That's what I find myself asking sometimes when I am deciding whether to purchase an outfit.    If Kate would wear it, I'm in.   If she wouldn't, I probably will pass, unless I really love it.    It's nice to have a style icon.   Especially one who is almost exactly my age, height, hairstyle, build (OK, I wish, but still) and likes.   If only the jaunty little hats were fashionable in the U.S.  

Prayers

I think perhaps God looks forward to Luke's prayers.  It's like a comedy routine.   He will pray for anything and everything he can think of. 

For example, one night before bed he said, "Dear God, thank you for one, thank you for two, thank you for three, thank you for four...."  I quickly cut him off, but had to laugh.   Precocious?  Or a sneaky little way to delay bedtime just a little bit longer?!   

He also loves to be the center of attention, so when he is given the opportunity to pray at a larger family meal, he really lets loose.     Meanwhile, Matthew (as our hungry child) is usually twisting and turning his little arms in an attempt to break free from the prayer hold so he can take a bite of his food.   Lately though, he's been chiming in with his own "Amen" at the end.    I think he's just excited to be eating...after Luke has thanked God for trees, and chairs, and cups, and eyeballs....

Namaste!

Yesterday I successfully attempted a bound side angle at my yoga class!

I remember first seeing the pose in an Athleta catalogue.  I didn't think it looked too difficult, so I tried to replicate it.  Within .005 seconds, I said to Kris, "Oh yeah, that's never gonna happen."   What looks so effortless is quite a contortion of the body.   Until yesterday.   Woo hoo!  (Not me....although, she does kind of look like me).

Dance Party

We've been trying to limit the amount of TV the boys watch.  We used to always have the TV on, even if just to provide background noise.   When I left my former job, I placed the radio I had had in my office in the kitchen and started turning the radio on when I was cleaning.   Now that I'm cooking also, I turn the radio on when I arrive home and we listen to the radio all through dinner, and even sometimes until the kids go to bed.   So now the boys are being exposed to music more than TV, and even better, it's good music....classic rock.  :)  

Whenever a song I really liked would come on, I would pick up one of the boys and dance (mom dancing...awesome when you're a toddler, mortifying when you're a teenager).   The boys have become so accustomed to these impromptu dance sessions, they're even taking the initiative themselves when they find a song that "moves" them.

Last night, Matthew was mid-meal when a Steve Miller Band song came on.  He climbed down from his chair, squealed "dess" and ran into the kitchen, where he started to do his gallop dance in circles in the kitchen.   Then he held up both hands, smiled at me and said, "dess, mommy!"  ("Dess" is "dance" not to be confused with "dis" which he says to mean "this").  

Naturally, when Luke saw me swing Matthew up to dance, he also ran into the kitchen and started busting a move. 

The only unfortunate thing about kitchen dance parties is that the dance move of choice for both boys is to be swung around in circles by their hands.   Kris and I get dizzy WAY before they do.

Pumpkin

I love pumpkin.   Pumpkin soup, pumpkin bread, pumpkin lasagna, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice lattes.....(interestingly, not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but I lean more towards chocolate desserts).

I cite pumpkin as the reason I gained about 5 lbs this past weekend.  I had some leftover pumpkin from the pumpkin chocolate chip bread I made last week, so I made pumpkin pancakes on Saturday.   They were heavenly.   I could eat pumpkin pancakes every day for the rest of my life.   I really need to make sure I avoid buying canned pumpkin in the future, so I avoid googling various pumpkin recipes which I will inevitably love and eat in great quantities.

And weirdly, the boys loved the chocolate chip pumpkin bread, but spit out the pumpkin pancakes.  Oh well, more for me!

My precious boys

Despite the complete lack of any Irish in their blood, I dressed the boys in green for St. Patty's day.  I love it when I get the brotherly love photos! 

Matthew has put together quite the ensemble.  He struggled to walk a bit in big brother's slippers, but he was happy nonetheless. 

My apprentice chef

As Kris will joke (inevitably, at every family function like a holiday version of the movie "Groundhog's Day"), I am not a cook, and the first (and last) time I cooked a meal was the first time he met my family.   Once I reeled him in, the cooking ended.

Well, my 11 year drought recently ended.   There is this miraculous invention called "CrockPot."  It's glorious.   It allows me to throw a bunch of things independently into a pot, and when I return at the end of a day of work, I have prepared a delicious and healthy meal for my family.  

I've realized through doing this that I actually don't hate cooking.   There's something very satisfying about it.  And I've even started experimenting and coming up with my own ideas.   I don't always know how to turn my ideas into something edible, so I frequently google the two or three ingredients I'm thinking of to produce a recipe. 

The recipe I made last night was Chocolate Chip Pumpkin bread.   I had canned pumpkin left over from the fall/winter (where I was convinced I'd one day attempt to make pumpkin soup...never happened).  

I waited until the boys got home, and then my little apprentice chef (Luke) help with dinner.  He is an accomplished pigs in a blanket roller.   But the real treat for him was helping me make the pumpkin bread.  

Matthew also tried to help, but his involvement was ultimately limited to eating some of the chocolate chips I set aside for my "helpers."  He enjoyed them.  So much so that he slid off his chair during dinner and crawled under the table to retrieve one he must have dropped.   And because he's the second child, I didn't stop him from eating it right off the floor.   

He goes to daycare.  I'm sure there are worse things he puts into his mouth during the day.

My favorite part of the day

My favorite part of the day is when the boys return home from school (school sounds so much more....educational...than daycare!)

I usually only arrive home shortly before they do, and I use that time to (hopefully) get dinner ready so we can all sit down together as a family.  

I hear the garage door open and know they're home, but I wait in the kitchen until Luke barges in through the door.   Once he's inside, he stands there and smiles at me until I acknowledge his presence (usually with a giant smile myself).  Then he launches himself into my arms for a big hug.    A few seconds later, Kris walks in holding Matthew.   Matthew will also smile and say, "hi mommy" but he runs off the second his feet hit the floor (there are so many more interesting things to a 21 month old than a mommy hug, I suppose).   I have to chase him down for his hugs and kisses. 

I look forward to that moment every day! 

Aloha!   I finally "convinced" Kris that we should travel to Hawaii in honor of his 40th birthday.   I believe his present is probably more that I've stopped nagging him every 2 minutes about it rather than the trip itself.  

This will be Matthew's first time at the beach!   Luke has been quite the little traveler and has experienced beaches in Florida and Aruba.   I suspect Matthew will be a fan of the sand and the water.   He is fearless and wants to try everything!  

I could stare at this picture all day (it's a photo from the resort we'll be staying at).

The helpful big brother

Luke is a helpful big brother.   Upon arriving home from school yesterday (after his ritual of jumping into my arms for a big hug), Luke spied Matthew attempting to shrug out of his coat.  Instead of ignoring him, or using Matthew's brief incapacitation as a golden opportunity to rub his head, he walked over and starting tugging the sleeves off Matthew's arms.  After taking off Matthew's coat, he drops it on the floor and walks away.   I love seeing these little moments of brother camaradarie!

I've also noticed Matthew will reject any attempt by me or Kris to feed him with a spoon, but if big brother is wielding the utensil, Matthew will open right up and eat whatever it is.   Which is how Matthew ended up with peanut butter spread all over his face last night!

Luke & Matthew (those Bjerkaas Boys)

Well, hello internet!

Well, despite the enjoyment of the sound of my own voice and appreciation of my own wit, I have never (successfully) kept a diary or attempted to write a blog.   Until now.   I haven't been living under a rock...or in North Korea...I just am consistently about 10 years behind the times regarding all things electronic.   For example, I've been waging an epic battle with itunes for the past few days in an attempt to figure out how to transfer songs to an ipod.  

Watch out interweb.  You're about to be inundated with anecdotes about my children, life, running, cooking, and whatever other topic strikes my fancy.   There's never been anything like it.