How do you know?

Yes I am the proud mommy/mom/mother/mama of not 1 but 2 boys!  How do I know?  Let me count the ways....

1.  Not only are there rocks in my dryer, there is sand and dead worms.
2. You know all the ways to make crashing noises with your mouth and there are like 82 ways!
3. NOTHING is safe!  EVERYTHING will be used in a bathroom experiment.  Amazing what happens when you mix toothpaste, $100+ a bottle parfum, hairgel, baby lotion, deodorant and a tampon..
4. "Fire is a magnet" is an understatment....fire, fireplace, firepit, magnifying glass, matches, wood, oven, gas stove, charcoal, ANYTHING that can cause fire is a thing of beauty.
5. They completely undress to go to the bathroom.  And don't re-dress when finished using the bathroom.
6. You hear yourself saying, "Where are your underwear?  Please go put them back on.  We have company."
7. You hear things like, " Mom, I don't need a shower.  I washed off in the fountain."
8. You say things like, "Please don't eat that." or "Stop drinking that."  And THAT is usually something like PlayDough water.
9. You know exaclty what PlayDough water is!
10. You have matchbox cars in your make-up bag, Thomas the train in your handbag and Legos in your tote bag.
11. You have given up keeping that Ralph Lauren $200 a roll wallpaper in your kitched pristene.  Now you just plan to replace it before you sell your house.
12.  You no longer blink when a 2 year old asks you if you have a penis.
13.  And when asked by a 4 year old "Mom if you dont have a penis then how does your tee-tee come out?" you actually have an answer...
14. You pray every day that yours is not the child that says the infamous line in Kindergarten Cop: Boys have penis' and girls have vaginas!!!

fast as a jack rabbit!

Well I have almost made it thru the better part f June without blogging!  I have 4 or 5 blogs started that have never been completed.  The boys are growing and runnng.  I seem to be losing the race to stay caught up.  Seen my dust lately?  Not the dust as in "eat my dust" because I am so fast but the "oh crap I forgot to dust that bookshelf before you came to visit!" 

Bradford starts golf lessons this week.  Berk's language explosion continues to amaze us!  He talks so plainly for a 2 year old.  His latest thing is to cross his arms and say "I so mad!!"  He gets this from big brother who says is frequently, in response to Berk demo-ing his Legos.  All in all they are getting along pretty well. 

Daddy is teaching Bradford to cook.  To which I leave the room bc it stresses me out a little that he is too young and will get hurt.  But he can make grilled cheese, his own toaster waffle, peanut butter sandwiches and even mix up his own batch of cookies.  It's the stove stuff that worries me.  The rest I am totally fine with...

So I have confessed before about my organzation and cooking distractions that I prefer over actually cleaning!  And here I go again...last weekend I put the food back in the quasi-pantry that was built in our house.  I had rearranged the entire kitchen 2 years ago.  And every morning since my husband, sister, mother, basically everyone visiting has continued to go to the wrong cab for a plate/coffee mug/can of soup etc etc etc...  Well it struck again and all is right with the world for my hubby now.  But since then I have drawn up plans to actually demo the existing pantry and expand into the garage and build a real live walk in pantry!  This will surely make my life easier!  So look out slegde hammer here I come.  And no electrical is in the way this time.  Elfa here I come...

So this is a record typing session and I am not even spell checking because if I dont hit post now this will be saved for all eternity like all the others from this month...

It's all in the ball

Golf is such a lovely sport--they say. I don't play, much to my Man's dismay. I mean we are talking about a family that has played the game for multiple generations. A grandfather that was truly a Pro, ran the country club, a father that has played courses in countries I have yet to visit and an uncle that plays 6 days a week all yield to much golfing in the genes at my house!



There are golf balls hiding in the yard, under the bed, in the ball tote, the toy box, the bath tub, under the couch, just about everywhere! Golf balls from St Andrews, Jamaica, Polo Ralph Lauren....


Things I have learned about golf balls


1. When they are put into the tailpipe of an Acura TL they shoot right out when the car is started


2. If they don’t shoot out you can park on a hill with the rear of the car angled down hill and they will roll out


3. They cause major plumbing issues when flushed down the toilet


4. Number 3 makes for a very frustrated Daddy


5. The lawn mower can scalp a golf ball pretty well


6. They will drive a daddy crazy when you drop them inside the little square holes on the side tails of a truck


7. They also drive a daddy crazy when they are inside the wheel well of a truck


8. They float in a sink full of soapy green Kando water


9. They are not good on the Kitchen Garbage Disposal


10. Even when you hide them in your secret pouch on your golf bag someone under the age of 5 will find them!
Dear Daddy,
I thought I should tell you a few things...Actually they like everything hiding in your golf bag regardless that you gave them your old bag full of clubs. And I do throw away all those golf tees I find around the house. Because you CAN have too many. But they haven’t found your Scotty Cameron hiding place yet. Promise, I'm not telling them! Love, Mommy

Snot me

I must admit I was that snot nosed teenager that could not stand it when babies had runny noses, or spit up all over me or had a diaper explosion or drooled on me. NOTE: emphasis was the "on me" part. Second admission for the day, I have actually had the snot photo shopped out of a photo of my son! But only once!!

Let me introduce myself: I am Rena Arnold and I no longer care about any of these things. Call me a mom now I guess. A mom of boys no less...Maybe it started with my oldest who seems to have allergies that won’t quit, with a runny nose that would constitute a marathon if I were to chase after it all the time....Maybe it was due to my youngest son's bout with Acid Reflux that gave me the pleasure of cleaning up spit up for 9 long months. Constantly!! So much so it tainted my nostrils, so much that I smelled it everywhere I went. I was crazy about it. Changing everyone's clothes several times a day. Always wearing a cute monogrammed burp cloth. Going insane may be an understatement! I was beyond obsessed with getting rid of the smell. Then one day it stopped. Or I stopped worrying about it. Not sure which came first. But now I don’t care. I can clean up ANYTHING without flinching...well almost anything...
Now I don’t worry about the snot showing in the pic if the rest of the photo is still good. I am not freaking out if there is a little mashed banana in my hair if I see you at Target...Now I am not talking about a whole banana! But you get my drift. Enjoy life, love your kids even if they need a double dip bath, and love your husband when he takes the kids to school with Nutella still on their face! Because at the end of every day the snot really does not fall into the category of stuff that matters...

Bradford-isms

"I tee-teed thru my pants."  This does not mean he tee-teed in his pants.  He actually wanted to see if he could shoot his pee thru his pants. 

"Mom I don't eat oranges.  Why did you not know that?"  Sorry kid it's hard to keep up with what you eat and don't eat each day.  Maybe you could make me a list each morning telling me what is in and what is out! 

During a discussion about Bradford and his daddy camping in the backyard, Bradford said, "Hey I could wear my bear costume (which is from halloween 2008 and about 3 inches too short) and then jump out of the tent and scare Daddy bc he will think there is a real bear in the backyard!" 

The all time favorite: "Mother, Father will you please call me son?"  This went on for a week with Bradford calling me Mother and Brandon Father.  It was quite entertaining and caused many confused looks at Target!  Guess it was better than his stage where he called me Rena for about a month.  So glad that is over.


Don't ever let 'em see you sweat!  Just go with the flow man!