Brrrike Ride

Our family likes to bike ride together. Ben is fully capable, and Matt is getting there, but on longer rides he likes to ride in the trailer with Adam. Last summer, Brian was on my bike (I'm still not sure why) riding the paved trails near our house with Ben. Some 10-year old boys were there and Brian challenged them to a race on the dirt trails. Needless to say, some SEVERE cuts and bruises later, and one badly battered bike, and the race was over; Brian had lost. My bike has never been the same.

When we found out it would be almost $200 to repair my bike, we decided it would be better to just buy a new one. We finally got around to doing that this week.

Since the weather wasn't cooperating and we didn't feel like waiting for a warm-up, we decided to bundle up and ride our bikes to a new little pizza place a couple of miles from home. We probably looked like dorks, but we had a good time!


Brian: "Do you see how that van has pulled too far foward, and now pedestrians can't cross safely?" No joke, that's what he was saying!

Bundled up and ready to ride!

How stylish do I look?!

I took this picture over my shoulder while riding.

Go, Ben, Go!

Side note: When Brian unloaded my new bike from the car, I was a little puzzled when he wheeled it into our kitchen, but didn't question it because I assumed he was going to take off the tags and stickers. The next thing I know, he's wheeling his bike into the kitchen. And then Ben's bike. And then Matt's bike. Of course I had to ask what on earth he was doing, and he said he just wanted to look at all the bikes. "What a bunch of beautiful bikes!" he said while admiring them from the couch. I was puzzled. Still am.

Whew!

For a 2nd grader, Ben has some pretty tough spelling words. I have 5th graders who frequently misspell these words. He worked very hard this week to get ready for the test. He even asked for some extra practice the morning of. I could tell he was feeling a little nervous about it.

12/12...not too shabby!

Frustration Makes Me a Better Runner

Typically I run about a 10 minute mile pace. This morning, I ran a 9 minute mile for 4 miles. The difference was, I was very frustrated! The past two nights it has been windy which makes it loud and hard for me to sleep. In addition to that, I've been completely paranoid that our tampoline will blow away in the wind, and I get up several times a night to check on it. I'm not sure what I would do if in fact I did see it beginning to lift off the ground, but appparently I need the reassurance in the middle of the night that it's not going anywhere. (Plans to stake it down are in the works.)

So this morning, AT 3:30 A.M., I was wide awake and decided I would head downstairs and hit the treadmill. I've been a little obsessive about exercising lately, and figured "why not?" since I was wide awake. My first mile was actually about an 8:15 pace because I just couldn't believe I was running in the middle of the night! I was able to keep an eye on the trampoline from the treadmill, so I felt much more at ease.

It was nice to be done with my workout and showered by 4:15! I was able to get back to sleep for a little while, but I'm guessing it will be a long day.

Let's hope it's not windy tonight!

Brian & Bedtime

Before you think I'm a mean wife, I do have Brian's permission to post this video. He was supposed to be putting Adam to bed while I was picking up the kitchen. Ben and Matt were supposed to be brushing their teeth. I heard quite a bit of commotion coming out of Adam's room, and this is what I found.


Bedtime from Hilary Moorlach on Vimeo.

No wonder bedtime can take so long at our house!

**UPDATE**
IT WAS A FRIDAY NIGHT FOLKS!! -Brian

Breakfast in Bed

I was excited to sleep in last Saturday morning. All week long, and I mean every single school day, I had to wake the boys around 7:40 so they would have time to eat and get ready for school before the 8:10 carpool.

Guess what? By 6:50 Saturday morning, everyone was up, and Brian was at the gym and then to a men's breakfast at church. As the boys piled on my bed I moaned, "I just want to stay in bed for a little bit longer." Ben quickly suggested making me breakfast in bed.

At first I said no because I didn't want to deal with the mess that was sure to follow. But I could tell that they really wanted to take on this adventure, so I decided, why not? What's the worst that could happen?!

The boys know that I often have coffee with a bagel and cottage cheese in the morning, and that's what they wanted to make for me.

It was fun to lie in bed and listen to their conversation out in the kitchen.

Some of what I heard:

"Do you know how to put the lid on?"

"Wait! Not in there!"

"I know I've seen mom usually do it like this."

"Should I go get mom?"

"There, now it's not a mistake."

At one point, Ben came into my room and said, "Mom, is this what you like on your bagel?" I'm glad he double checked with me. It was sour cream. A bagel with sour cream on it for breakfast. Yum.

There was absolutely no fighting in the process, and a short while later, the boys delivered my perfectly made breakfast in bed!


The Breakfast Club

Breakfast in Bed...delivered on a tray and with love!

Coffee delivery boy


The clean-up was surprisingly very small. (Notice the red sour cream container and the purple cottage cheese container.)

For some reason it took the coffee pot and 2 mugs before the coffee finally made it to my travel mug.

Dinner!

Yes, this was the dinner I made the other night! Are you impressed?

I'm certainly not my sister when it comes to preparing food, but every now and then, I surprise even myself. This was stuffed pork chops with sage and onion stuffing, and it was simple and delicious. Please, don't be taken aback by the asparagus on the plate. We've been known to eat an occasional vegetable at our house, and this is one that Brian, Adam, and myself will eat.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Sage and Onion Stuffing

4 boneless pork chops
1 medium size yellow onion
1 bag bread crumbs
1 tablespoon sage
1 cup milk

Who am I kidding? I can't even pretend to make up the recipe, let alone cook it. Let's try this again.

Stuffed Pork Chops with Sage and Onion Stuffing

• Go to nearest Cub foods with the buy one, get one free coupon, and pick out whatever porkchop looks good to you.
• Leave a note for your husband to drizzle it with some olive oil when he gets home from work, and ask him to throw it in a pre-heated oven.
• Bake for 40 min.
• DONE!

I would definitely cook buy this again.

Time-Out!

The inevitable "Time-Out" has officially begun for Adam, our 2 year-old. It probably should have been started sooner, but again, child #3!

Before I tell you about his most recent offense, let me remind you that Adam has 2 older brothers, I teach 10-11 year olds, and Brian teaches high school students. The words and stories that are sometimes brought up around the dinner table aren't always, or ever, dinner table appropriate. No, we're not using foul language or exposing our kids to content that is for older kids. However, we probably have a little more leniancy with typical boy and bathroom talk.

So this morning, as I was running an errand to Kohls, Adam begins using his most recent phrase,

"Poop Snot!"

"Mom, that looks like poop snot."
"Mom, what's poop snot?"

"Hey Mom?"
"Yes Adam?"
"Poop snot!"

"Mom, I said poop snot."

Over and over, and over again it went. When we got home, I told him that it made mom sad, through my hidden smile, to hear him talk like that. I explained that if he said it again, he'd have to have a time-out.

In the last hour, he's had 2 time-outs for saying it.

And so the time-outs begin!

Playing at Papa's

Brian had a busy week last week with 2 nights of basketball games and 2 nights of conferences. That made for some long evenings for me after being at school and then having the boys all evening by myself. There was some perfect weather for snowman making. Warm air and slushy snow...perfect! We headed on over to Papa's house (Nana joined us when she got home from work) with our Taco Bell, and had a great time playing outside. The boys had fun making one huge snowman in the front yard, and three lifesize snowmen in the backyard. I got a kick out of the thought of Nana and Papa's neighbors driving by the next morning, seeing the large guy in the front yard, and thinking it was them out playing in the winter wonderland!


Creating the big one!

The finished product

Adding the finishing touches to each of the boys' snowmen.

Each boy with his buddy

The three amigos!

Ben's feet were soaked, so Nana offered him a pair of her socks. : )

**Papa was busy taking most of the pictures. That's why I don't have any pictures with him!

Birth Order

Have you ever seen this description about birth order?

Birth Order:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time, breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the hand-me-downs are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing, and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the
supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!

Our 3rd Child

Entertaining himself by coloring on his feet.

Getting his dessert by licking the ice-cream lid.



In case you didn't know, I am the 3rd child in my family. I think I turned out okay, so I won't worry about Adam...yet!