clean floors and empty toy boxes

The other day, I walked into the boys' room to put something away and was surprised to see this:

The last time I had looked in, there were toys all over the floor. It even appeared like they tried to make their beds.

I called them in and asked, "You guys cleaned your room?" "Yes!" they said smiling. "You picked up all of your toys?" I asked. "Yes!" they said again, proudly, and ran back to the living room.

I looked at the toy boxes, and they seemed to still be a little empty. So, I pulled back the blankets and found this:

and this:

So, I guess the shove-it-all-under-the-bed-and-cover-it-up method just comes naturally?

it is an ordinary moment

I was reading a "suspense thriller"* a while back and the main character was talking about watching his young daughter telling a story.

He says, "I got hit with that overwhelming feeling. It sneaked up on me. Parents get it from time to time. You are looking at your child and it is an ordinary moment, not like they are onstage or hitting a winning shot, just sitting there, and you look at them and you know that they are your whole life and that moves you and scares you and makes you want to stop time."

I sat and read that paragraph 3 or 4 times. "Exactly!" That's exactly how I feel so many times. We are going about our every day lives, and one or both of my boys will do the most ordinary thing and it just stops me. I think it is the cutest, funniest, smartest or most adorable thing he could be doing at the time, but really, its nothing special. But it makes me fall in love even more and makes me want to stay in the moment and never let them grow into bigger boys and never ever into (gasp!) men!

The ordinary moments that make me want to stop time are when...

Reagan does his fake snore when he should be sleeping and knows I'm coming to check on him.

Kiefer makes his piggy sound and uses his whole face.

Both boys come to me to kiss boo-boos, and it really does make them feel better.

Reagan takes his shoes off and shoves a sock in each one and lines them up on the floor.

Kiefer gives me a hug and wraps his legs around me and hangs like a monkey.

Both boys say "thank you, Mommy" without my prompting.

Kiefer says "Hold me, mommy" when I put him to bed.

Reagan holds his last bite of lunch in his mouth until his head hits the pillow for naptime.

Kiefer sleeps with his hands behind his head.

Reagan looks at me with this look like I am the greatest person he knows and like he will love me forever.

These ordinary things remind me that the boys are my life and it moves me and scares me and makes me want to stop time.

*Harlan Coben's The Woods

I'm neglecting my blog and I'm trying to stop.

But these boys are keeping me so busy, at the end of the day, I just want to plop.

They are still being funny, silly, and cute.

And are giving me a lot more memories to keep now that they are no longer mute.

So I will try to do better at not letting my blog go dark.

For now, enjoy some pictures from our family fun at the splash park*.

*in Ankeny, during our trip at the end of May. Yikes, I am being neglectful!

Wordless Wednesday

Donnie trained for 10 weeks for his first 20K race, the Dam to Dam, in Des Moines.  The whole family went downtown to support him and my sister-in-law, Nikki, who also ran for the first time.  

We underestimated the crowds (although we knew there were 9,000 runners between the 20K and 5K) and got there just in time to miss him cross this:

He was very happy with his time and looked as though he had just taken a stroll. If only he'd been a little slower, we would have seen him raise him arms as he crossed the finish line!

Before we knew he already crossed, the family was hot and tired, but excited to see both finish. Well, except the kids. They were just hot and tired.  

But Kiefer was happy when he got to play with Daddy's medal. 

And Reagan helped Daddy celebrate, too.

And then he looked for Aunt Nikki (whom we also missed finish! We are poor spectators!)

And as a special post-race treat?  Gatorade and oyster shooters.  Mmm. Mmm. Good. 

(Seriously, I'm so proud of Donnie. I wasn't sure about only giving himself 10 weeks- from 2 miles to 12+miles. But he did it and did it better than even I thought he would.  We decided before that he would train for this one and then I would train for one in the fall, but now he thinks he wants to train for a full marathon in the fall. The endorphins have had to have worn off from Saturday by now, so I think he's serious. Hmmm...)