Fun with Boys

Today was the first day of summer, much to our collective relief. It's nice to have a change in schedule--no rushing around in the morning, no lunches to put together, no dashing off at 11 to get Seth and at 3 to get Zac. We woke up with some excitement this morning, however...thunder and lightning! I was about to get dessed at 7:15 when there was a great crash of thunder and all the electricity blinked out. The boys (primarily Blane) were a bit freaked, but we lit candles and I called the power company. The boys discovered that many things can still be done by candlelight and we had power restored in an hour.

Our plans for the morning included a trip to the Nazarene church at the top of the hill, which was having a big garage sale. Scott had an errand for me to run and I needed to run to Hy-vee for a few groceries, so we got everyone ready and piled in the car. We got everyone into the church and I told them in no uncertain terms that their upper extremities were not to come in contact with anything without my permission. They listened. Fortunately, the prices were great and I found some books and a pillow for the living room. I told each of the boys they could pick out a toy, which each of them did pretty quickly.

As we neared the checkout, I looked at the furniture. Up against a post leaned the an old, beat-up, fabulous tabletop made of weather-beaten boards. I looked around and to my delight found four squatty turned legs with this incredible grey-green patina. Ooooh! I asked how much it was--they didn't know--so I gave them $5 for it. I paid for everything and told them I'd be back in about an hour to pick it up. The BoyAngels were still outstanding at this point.

Then...we had to go to Hy-Vee. I thought this would be an in and out deal. After all, my list wasn't that long. The younger boys got in the police car cart and Zac offered to push. Great so far. But soon, problems arose. First, there was conflict in the front seat of the police car. Seth thought it should be his turn to "drive", so I had to tell him he could not overpower Blane and force his way into the driver's seat--he would have to wait until we were half-way through the store and then they could nicely change places. So, pretty much every minute, Seth would yell, "MOM! CAN I DRIVE NOW?!" Zac as cart-pusher was also a bit concerning--that thing is hard enough to control when you are an adult because is very unwieldy, AND, the average shopper in Hy-Vee at 9:30 am this morning appeared to be VERY geriatric and tottering. Everytime we all barreled around a corner there seemed to be a little old person in our path. I should have known, because there was a retirement village van parked out front. And of course, my crew was all over the place. I did keep the running around to a minimum (!) but, it was like we were a carnival wagon weaving around in the aisles, dodging frightened old people. About 1/4 of the way through, Blane decided to get out of the driver's seat and hop around outside the cart. Seth, seizing the opportunity as only a rival sibling can, slid over and grabbed the wheel with a smile. A small scuffle ensued after Blane came back and realized what he had forfeited. I told Blane it was Tough Bananas for him, because he got out of his seat. He decided to try to push Seth out of the seat, which of course was not well received. I made Blane sit in the corner while I made Zac and Seth park on the next aisle out of sight. Blane pouted for about 2-3 minutes and finally gave in. Meanwhile, I had sent Zac in search of the cheapest package of sugar he could find. He made a very logical decision to get powdered sugar (much cheaper!), so I had to explain I needed granulated sugar, which he then found with no trouble. At this point, I just wanted to leave as quickly and painlessly as we could.

As we rounded another corner, I looked down in my hand--my list was gone. I looked in and around the basket, then sent Zac to the next aisle to look for the list--nothing. Wonderful. I spent the rest of the shopping trip desparately hoping I remembered all the important things. Of course, I also meant bouncing back and forth across the store as I remembered things. Bickering was starting to simmer again in the police car and we were still narrowly missing retirees. We finally got into the check-out line, and Seth insisted that he help Zac and me in "bucket brigade" of passing groceries from the cart to the belt--a distance of about 3 feet. At that point, I was not willing to argue about the efficiency of that set-up. On the way out, Blane and Seth asked if they could ride the free horse ride at the front of the store. This is usually my behavioral leverage point, and I looked straight at Seth and told him that they had not earned that privilege today. Blane had a meltdown and I carried him from the store while the older guys followed me out.

We straggled back to the church and loaded the table in the middle of the van (I put the boys in the back). We DID arrive home safely. Whew! And we did it all before noon!

I have no idea yet what we are going to do with that table. It's a coffee table height, but needs lots of clean up, sealing and assembling. If I don't use it in the living room, I'll probably put it outside (where it clearly has been for some time anyway). As the little old lady "guard" said to me when I bought the thing, "The legs alone are worth $5!"

Zac's Journal

Yesterday was Zac's last day at school. He brought home all his work, includinhg his journal. One of my favorite things to do is read through the journal--a window into what he is thinking. There were many good entries written in true Zac fashion, and I haven't finished them all. But I thought this one would be a good one to post (and yes, I DO have his permission!) This is copied verbatim and is not dated, but appears to have been written towards the end of August last year based on the next dated entry of 9/2/07:

Gray

Gray is sad and old and stiky. but with out gray we would not have houses. if you taste gray it taste grose. it smells bad too. But we would not have grandparens.

Hey, grandparents, aren't you glad to be gray!

Seth's Answers

Yesterday, Seth's teacher gave everyone a booklet of "answers" from kindergarten interviews. I thought I would share Seth's answers (my comments are in italics):

Q: What are some things that your dad does? At home? At work?

A: He fixes hands. He is a kind of doctor (What?!). We play football together.

Q: What are some things that your mom does? At home? At work?

A: She cooks dinner. She reads us books (I am relieved he didn't say that she spends all her time blogging on the computer!).

Q: What do you do that gets you in trouble?

A: I get in trouble when I lie (Yep).

Q: Who is the smartest person that you know?

A: His name is Ben. He is a first grader but he is my age. Really, I am older than he is (This one made me laugh...Ben is my friend Donna's son).

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A: Sometimes we go out to dinner like to McDonald's but we go to lots of different restaurants (Where in the world did that statement come from?). Or we like to watch a movie like "Underdogs".

Q: What are your plans when you grow up?

A: I am going to play basketball on a team like the Jayhawks. I want to be a doctor.

Q: What is the best thing that happened to you this year?

A: Being the oldest in my class is the best (Of course).

Seth's Kindergarten Program

Seth had his end-of-the-year kindergarten program today at 10 am. The kids had songs and poems for us (some interactive). Seth had a part in two poems--my favorite was about his brother. He and a couple of other little boys reciting a poem about this mess that was made, which surely must have been caused by their respective brothers! At the end, they all held up pictures of their brothers! Seth's favorite song was the "Cha-cha Slide", which he informed me was the same song from the McDonald's commercial where the little boy comes to dinner with a jambox and does a dance in his seat. I noticed Seth wasn't always so interested in getting the moves and words of the songs right as occasionally embellishing his performance with a face or comment at the end. What else did you expect?

At the end, the kids sang a song about the children of the world and gave roses to each of their moms. I teared up, of course. Then, each child very politely asked his or her mom if she wanted a cookie and served them cookies and lemonade. It was sweet and very well done. I told Seth's teacher how happy I was that he had her and how well he did. She agreed. Seth really did have an outstanding year--we are so proud of him!

Seth has one more day tomorrow and he is a first-grader! Zac has to go a half-day on Thursday, and he will be Mr. Third Grade.

Dinner at the Zanders

We had a great dinner at the Zanders last night. To our pleasant surprise, the boys were able to eat almost everything on the table--grilled chicken and hamburgers with all the toppings, sweeter-than-sweet corn on the cob, fresh steamed green beans, watermelon, strawberries and cherries. Only the buns and the deviled eggs were off limits (the eggs had Miracle Whip in them that had been used on bread). Then...we had gluten free chocolate cake that Pammy had made up for them! She whipped cream and spread it on the cake and let the boys make an American flag with strawberries and blueberries. It was a huge hit! Michael got several pictures of the boys decorating the cake.

We had a great time eating on the covered porch...all in all, a wonderful evening.

The Game of Life

Yesterday, Zac couldn't wait for me to drive him to Target and let him spend his birthday gift certificate. He really had in mind an Indiana Jones Lego set to go with his other Indiana Jones Lego set, which has now been living, with all its little pieces, in our living room since his birthday party a week ago. Well, Target didn't have the kind he wanted, so he opted for board games. We came across "Life" and Zac said, "What's this game?"

Where do you start? I told him it was an old and very fun game that I used to play as a girl, so he decided that was the one he wanted. I also unfortunately mentioned that Uncle Dan was known for always sticking his wife in the very back seat of the car, along with any other female children he had.

We got home and set up the many, many pieces. The game board is configured differently now, but all the basic elements are still there. I noticed that the careers have gotten a very nice pay raise. We read through the rules and played one game, which Seth started, but abandoned when I had to read so many rules. Both guys thought it was hillarious to stick their wives in the backseat, just like Uncle Dan. I retired with 1.3 mil, after starting as a mechanic and decided to go back to school (for 50 K) to become a doctor. Hey, why not, if you can do it so cheaply?

Then Seth decided to join us. He opted for the career path like me and drew the Police Officer. This was terribly exciting, because the Police Officer can issue "speeding" fines of $5000 (!) for spinning a 10. And enforce he did. He chuckled a little, "Heh, heh..." every time he earned his speeding fines, salary or baby gifts. When we came to the fork in the road where you can choose to go back to school and up your salary, he adamantly refused to give up his officer-ship, even when told he could earn lots more money than the $40 grand he was pulling down. He was NOT giving up those speeding fines!

We had to stop the game, because we had been invited to the Zanders for dinner. So I suppose the game will continue after school today....

Power and Light

Today we decided to head downtown to the Power and Light District. They were having a kids event there, and we haven't walked around down there since it opened in early spring. After lunch we packed the kids in the car and headed north. Unfortunately, we found out after we got there that the kids stuff had been cancelled because of the storms we had this morning. Foot traffic was light, so we decided to check it all out. Besides just the hip restaurants and clubs, there is a large pedestrian mall/square enclosed by buildings. It's covered with an enormous translucent canopy, making it usable in just about all weather. There was a fountain, a stage for concerts, multiple levels and in the center, outdoor furniture (!)--soft couches and chairs where you could lounge, read, talk, meet friends, etc--all with that soft filtered light coming down. The boys loved the walkway that encircled the area. There was even a really posh bowling alley that we went into...very loungy--James Bond should have been slung out with a drink at the bar...and no smoke! I don't think they serve cheese-out-of-a-can nachos there (sorry, Greg!)

Then we briefly walked around the front of the Sprint Center. The boys loved that they could see their perfect reflections high up on the walls of the building (it's covered in mirrored glass).

We then went back to the car to catch the family session of Kaleidoscope at Crown Center. Seth declared himself our guide, since he had had a field trip to Kaleidoscope (of which he reminded us many times). For those of you who don't know, Kaleidoscope is run by Hallmark...it's a free art center for kids, but they only run it in sessions, so you have to go at the right times. Inside K., there were black lights and wild colors everywhere, and art stations where you could make paper visors, and glasses, make your own puzzle, make a banner, etc. It was loud and nuts, with kids and parents running everywhere. After about 30 minutes, we were done. We all needed a nap. So we went home and took one (except for Zac and Seth, who played on the computer).

Playdates

Seth said today that his friend Paige has five friends over for a playdate at one time, so why can't he have five friends over at one time, too? I would need a BIG bag of chocolate to get through that.

Tornados in Colorado

Did you see the tornados in Greeley and Windsor, CO? Fort Collins is just the other side of I-25 from Windsor. That kind of stuff NEVER happens there...though I saw more funnel clouds in Fort Collins than I have ever seen in my life, none of them ever dropped down and did anything. Pretty weird.

Nap

This morning I got really sleepy reading books to Blane. It probably doesn't help that we've been watching Fox News until after 11 every night and then getting up between 6 and 6:30! So I told him I was going to take a little nap. He was a bit upset at first, but I asked him if he wanted to join me, and he ended up snuggled up on me.

I dozed for about 10 minutes and he got really still. Pretty soon, he was fast asleep. I thought about getting up, but it was pretty sweet and warm with him there. So I just stayed there for about 45 minutes and let him sleep. I wondered if he still remembered my heartbeat as a baby. He's almost four, so that's hard to imagine, but maybe somewhere in the back of his brain, that sound is still soothing to him.

Mustang

Blane thinks the word "mustang" is hillarious. I pointed out a Mustang to him the other day and he has been giggling ever since. "Mustang," he says, then bursts into a fit of laughter. This joins other funny words in his dictionary, like "lasagna" and "enchilada".

Pictures from the Cotswolds

Ruins at sunset

A Cotswold meadow

The Upper Slaughter Church

The Slaughter River (Anne of Green Gables would think this a tragically romantic name!)

A field of rapeseed

I usually don't post many pictures of the kids for security reasons, but I couldn't pass this up!

You Harndens may not know that Dan is at Oxford this summer, teaching for ACU. He sent these positively stunning pictures of a hike through the Cotswolds that I wanted to share. I really think I might enlarge and frame some of these!

Light switches and fear

Last night Blane was worried about going to bed because there was going to be thunderstorms in the early morning hours (he found out because I told the boys they had to go pick up all their toys in the yard last night). I assured him that there was no thunderstorm yet, and if he woke up and heard thunder, he could come to our bed. Then he prayed: "Dear God, thank you for MommyDaddymeandSeth, and thank you that I am scared, and thank you that we have a house and light switches and doors and...." He went on, naming several miscellaneous house parts. I don't know what prompted that. Anyway, I was able to convince him to sleep in his own bed. A little Benedryl helped too...

Pool time

We went to the pool yesterday--I turned in the boys' swimming lesson forms for the first two weeks in June (before B-ball camp at HU!). I was NOT swimming--it was about 78 degrees and there was a breeze--which was pleasant if you weren't wet.

Zac insisted that they bring their water guns, but they only used them briefly then stowed them under my chair (I found out later that they weren't allowed--oh, well). Here's a look at these boys in the pool (none of them are good swimmers yet, bear in mind):

Zac bobbed around the shallow end and out into the 4' area, practicing sticking his face into the water and blowing bubbles. I offered him his earplugs, but he refused for now. I really think he'll take off during this next swim session. Seth had a great time, but stayed only in the shallow end, and if he ventured past that, he held onto the wall. But I have to say, he's getting braver. Remember, he had a bad experience at age 3 in a Boise pool--he went down a water slide in the baby pool, went under and froze up. I had to waddle across the pool and pull him up--9 months pregnant and all. No, no, moms standing around my submerged toddler, don't exert yourselves, I'll get him out! Anyway...he's getting over it, 4 years later.

Blane is the funniest. First of all, he has a sun hat on that is really too small for him. His face seems to react to some sunscreens, so I insisted he wear a hat. He kept it on the whole time. He sits on the pool steps, with very little fear, and has a great time playing on the different levels. The shallow end is still pretty much over his head, so this works out fine. He loves to "jump" into the pool (onto the step!), but I put the kibosh on that yesterday as I was afraid he would slip. He forgot a few times and had to sit with me for a while so he would remember. When Scott is there to catch him, he will fearlessly leap into his arms. But, as it was just me and I was not in the mood to be cold, he had to play on the steps. The baby pool is broken, so it may be that he will never go back if he gets used to the big pool.

I got the boys out around five. I made them all shower, since that saves the mess at our house. It is an ordeal without Scott to supervise. The shower in the men's room is rather primitive, as you have a removable handle you have to switch back and forth between the hot and cold faucets. I helped Zac get things started (don't worry--nobody else was in there!), and Blane stayed in the shower for both Zac and Seth. The runoff usually gets most of the soap out of his hair, so it works out well. It took a good 15 minutes to get everyone relatively soap free. Back to the house we went--just in time to meet daddy!

Cars on Mackinac

We got the postcard from Nana and Papa from Mackinac Island just a few minutes ago. I read Seth and Blane the postcard; Blane was more interested in the papaya stamp than the contents. Seth was a bit confused about the no cars rule--"Mom, don't they know how to make cars there?" Ah, Seth, don't say that in Detroit.

Wednesdays off

Scott is going to compress his work week and start taking Wednesdays off starting the first week in June. This should make the rush to church easier!

Three Boys for Dinner

Here's a window into a particularly fun dinner we had Monday night (Scott was working late, so it was just me and the boys):


I fixed stroganoff and rice. Seth came to the table and declared, "This is the grossest dinnah I've evah seen." I quickly lectured him on how rude a statement that was and why he should never say that to ANYONE who has fixed him dinner (personally, I wasn't the least bit offended. It's not like I live with the most discriminating palettes on the planet). Then Blane prayed, "Dear God, thank you for MommySethMeandDaddy (ed note: somehow Zac doesn't make it in there audibly) and thank you that I don't like this dinner, in Jesus' name, amen."

The boys continued with their frowny faces with the dinner, but I noticed that Zac put his napkin in his lap, so I told them that tonight we would practice our Manners Contest to see who gets the most Manners Points (and so far, Zac was winning). This made everyone over 3 perk up. I informed them that instead of complaining about the meal, they could find at least one thing nice to say about it. Then the gratuitous praise flowed. "This is a very tasty meal, Mom" and "What a nutritious meal!" I had to tell them to stop because the flattery was getting ridiculous. Then one of the boys said, "If we burp or fart, we have to say excuse me to get a point!"

"Actually," I said, "you LOSE points if you burp or toot at the table. You just will lose TWO if you don't say excuse me."

"But what if we can't help it?"

Obviously they have a lot to learn. We then started talking about monkeys and if the Seth lived with them, he wouldn't have to have any manners.

He thought that was a good idea. I pointed out the food problem. "I can eat bananas!" he replied.

"Yeah, in a disgusting dish, with lots of....never mind."

The boys saw a sliver of light (or a chunk of poop, to be more exact). "Listen guys," I said pre-emptively, "we are not going to talk about this any more."

Zac said, "Can we talk about cows?"

"Yes," I said, "as long as you don't talk about bodily functions. That is not appropriate dinnertime talk." All the fun was gone, so that subject died.

After eating their "bites" and being excuse, more praise for the meal followed. I stopped counting all the compliments, so I have no idea who won. But, it made our mealtime a bit more civilized!

Zac's Birthday Party

Saturday was Zac's big party. This one was definitely more low-key than Seth's--thankfully! I let Zac do much of the planning. He had chosen a basketball theme, so we made basketball cupcakes and drew basketball markings on orange balloons with a Sharpie. I got his Breyer's French Vanilla ice cream, of course.



He had 4 friends over, 2 from school and 2 from church. Zac and Seth had gotten out balls, bats and frisbees and thrown them in the backyard, so the guys played "sports" while everyone was arriving. Then we played "Dribble, Dribble, Shoot" (Duck, Duck, Goose) until everyone got sick of it, and had a quick pick-up basketball game with our kiddie goal. After cake, ice cream and presents, the boys had a treasure hunt. I had hidden clues in riddle form around our yard and down around the pool and back and the kids had to figure everything out to find their goody bags. This worked out really well and the guys had a blast. I went with them of course, because Saturday was opening day at the pool and it was crazy down there. We got back just in time for ice water and pick-up time.

Hubcaps and cars

Speaking of my auto-smart son, he is noticing hubcaps these days. Every day, on the way to school, he notices this van parked in a driveway that has three different kinds of hubcaps on it. Every day he asked me why they "changed the wheels". (Wheel-changing is now in his paradigm as we recently went to Goodyear and had the tires rotated while we watched). Every day, I answer that they didn't have enough of the right kind of wheel. He says, "Oh," as if that answer completely satisfies him. This repeats daily, or multiple times a day (we go to school 3 times daily).

He also can tell me which one of our friends' cars a particular hubcap matches. "That wheel is like Miss Donna's wheel," he'll say. He can also identify makes and models of cars, regardless of color. Of course, he doesn't say "Impala", "Accord" or "Taurus", but "Mr. Bower's car", "Nana and Papa's car" or "Miss Donna's other car". I'm not sure what to make of this. It's like having a car Mozart :) Don't think there is much money and fame for a kid who can identify cars at a young age. But it's pretty cute, nonetheless.

Wrong car

I almost got into the wrong car yesterday when I was out. We were at the Dollar Store, my go-to place for all things "party" (Zac's party is today--I will have an update later about that). Blane, of course was with me, and as we approached the car he started saying, "No. No. No. NO. NO. NO! NO! NO!" By the time I tried to unlock the door, he was hopping up and down and on his way to a fit. I looked up and--sure enough! It was the wrong van. I should learn to trust my auto-smart son.

"The Wohst Walk Evuh!"

We've been walking at least one time a day to and from school whenever we can--gets our exercise in and shaves our gas bill (the majority of my driving comes from the three times a day I have to travel to school). It's almost a 1 1/2 mile round trip, so it's long enough to get some real exercise in without being too much. Seth is a great little trooper and Blane usually rides in the stroller so we can move faster (although he's walked before). Yesterday we picked up Zac, played a little on the school playground and headed back. Predictably, Seth needed to go the bathroom. Of course, it's next to impossible for him to do that because there are nothing but residential streets and lawns from the school to the house (this happened after we left the school--of course).

The trouble started when I decided we would go a different way than we usually did--different from the way Seth wanted to go. It's essentially the same distance to our house and I hoped he would forget about his problem (usually he does--Seth has a dramatic streak, as we all know). Of course, Seth was upset and complaining the entire time. When I realized he was not going to forget about the bathroom, I decided we would stop by the clubhouse on the way home (the pool opens today, May 16th). At least there are common areas and plenty of bushes to go behind, and it was closer than our house. Seth lost it when we did not turn towards the house. "This is the WOHST WALK EVUH!" he wailed. He was so distressed he wouldn't even listen when I told him where we were going and how it was closer than the house and how we were taking a shortcut to the clubhouse. "I'm going to WET MY PANTS!"

We made it to the clubhouse, he found a bush, and he didn't wet his pants. But the complaining and fussing didn't stop when we got home, so he had to go to his room and "rest" for about 20 minutes.

My corner

Just a little more on the last topic: Blane came in the other night, saying he was scared. I told him (again) that he could sleep on his little bed on the floor or go back to his bed. "I think I'll go to my corner", he said.

I was confused. "Your corner?"

"My big-boy bed corner."

He burrows up against the wall in his bunk bed every night (but not for naps!) It's so funny to see this small little boy nestled up in the corner of the bed each night. His corner indeed!

Sleeping Trouble

For quite a while, Blane has been in the habit of coming to our bed in the early morning hours. At first, it was occasional and happened around 5:30 or 6. That time has slowly been moving back and the frequency picked up--it became a nightly event. At the time, it was not a huge deal to me, but we were getting a bit cramped in the queen-sized bed, especially when I would wake up with back pain because I had not been able to change position all night! Scott thought we needed to stop this, and my back agreed.

When Seth was just about Blane's age, we had the same "problem" with him (I don't know if I can call it a real problem, because a cuddly 3 year old is a pretty sweet teddy bear to sleep with). But I was pregnant at the time and it was killing me. We started several months before I delivered and put a little bed pallet on the floor right by my side of the bed. When Seth came in, I directed him to sleep on the pallet. This worked fine, and we gradually moved the pallet towards the door each night. Finally Seth came to the logical conclusion that his bed would be much more comfortable than sleeping on the floor and he stayed in bed. We had a short resurgance after Blane was born (understandable!) but we handled it in the same way with success.

So we prepared for a repeat with Blane. I made the pallet and told him that this is where he would have to sleep if he came in during the night (exceptions were wind and thunderstorms--these are absolutely terrifying to him). He's never taken us up on sleeping there, but he cries out more nights than not and I have to go in there, re-tuck him in, pray for him to "not be scared" and give him a hug. I think it will eventually get better.

My Parents' Visit

I've been delinquent in writing on the blog since we've had my parents in town and other activities going on. We had a really nice visit with my mom and dad. Zac and Seth had plenty of quality moments with Granddaddy playing "Flush the Toilet" and Seth stuffed himself with shelled peanuts while he and my dad sat on the green swing in the back yard.

Blane was in a pretty clingy mood for most of the visit. This started before my parents came, maybe because of the big storm we had a couple of weeks ago. He's also been having some sleeping issues (more about that in the next post), so that may have affected things as well. By the last day of the visit, he was ready to be with Granmac for extended periods of time and let her read him books.

Anyway, it was a relatively uneventful, but fun, trip. We look forward to another visit scheduled for late August (right before the Big Move back to Hallsville)!

German cheese

My parents are here this weekend. Among other fun things, my dad in particular loves to go to the grocery store and buy items we don't usually eat--blue corn chips, Teddy Grahams, Oreos, Moolenium Crunch Bluebell ice cream, etc. He came home with some Muenster cheese on Thursday or Friday. The McGregors have always had a special place in our gastronomical regions for Muenster--we used to visit a smokehouse in Fredricksburg, TX and buy a lunch of local German sausage, Muenster cheese and sourdough bread, which we would eat as a picnic by the river.

The boys had never had Muenster. Grandmac brought it out for the boys on Friday when we were at the B&B and she said that Blane commented that "the cheese is on fire" (Muenster has a coating of paprika on it). Zac and Seth had their own variations. They each asked independently of each other last night:

(Zac) "Are we having Monster Jack cheese?"

(Seth) "Are we having Monsterella cheese?"

Unfortunately, the love of Muenster has not yet carried on to this generation.

Requiem for Barney

Zac composed a great little piece after our Life Group meeting last night which had Seth cracking up when they got home.

Barney is Dead
(sung to the tune of "Joy to the World")

Joy to the world
Barney is dead
I barbequed his head

Don't worry 'bout his body
I flushed it down the potty
(Ed. note: Here's where the rhythm breaks down significantly...)
For-eh-eh-ver,
For-eh-eh-ver,
For-eh-ver, forever,
Barney is dead.

If you are a future employer of Zac reading this 15 years in the future, please realize he is not a sadistic monster and would make a fabulous employee for you. After all, who among us have not had dark thoughts about things we would like to do to shut Barney the dinosaur up.

Blane's Dictionary

I started a list of Blane's funny sayings. It's a little light on content now, but as I remember more and he says things, I'll have a forum to record them.

Zac's Party

Zac is planning his birthday party now--to be held the 17th. He has opted for a basketball-themed party (note: the idea of using two trashcans for goals has been scrapped. Whew.). Anyway, he wants only basketball-themed games, basketball cupcakes, and orange balloons decorated like basketballs. I am not sure we will be doing cutsy-tootsy goody bags like I did for Seth--don't know how that would go over with 8 and 9 year old boys. Maybe just manly bags of some sort. At least we should be able to go outside on May 17th, barring some thunderstorms. I have appointed Zac as Officially In Charge of his party. I will keep everyone apprised of the latest developments

Zac's glasses

Zac bent his glasses yesterday while playing outside and last night they snapped in half. Fortunately, they were still under warranty, so today I went by Walmart and they replaced the frame in about 20 minutes.

Popular

Seth has a little friend up the street who is in his kindergarten class. They frequently play together in the afternoons before I pick up Zac. Paige's mother is the co-prez of the PTA at school, so she often is babysitting/switching off with other moms who are involved in PTA stuff. Seems like the crowd enjoys it over here, because three of these little girls who are in Seth's class have been coming down lately to play when they're together. I hear a ding-dong and open the door to these three little girl faces who say, "Can Seth play?" I don't mind a bit that they're here, because they all play really well together. They like to go upstairs and make Martians with Seth's Martian Matter, swing and slide, play tag or hide and seek. Seth, of course, eats it up, because he wants to be where the party is.

Tonight at the dinner table, I was telling Scott that the Kindergarten Gang was down this afternoon. "Seth is popular with the ladies, " I said.

Zac, who barely recognizes that half the world's population is female and would rather eat spinich than hug his mom, said, "Well, I guess I'm popular with the men."

If he said that at 20, I'd be worried, but at almost 9, I think that means he's all boy.

Funder and Lightning

Last night the tornado sirens went off twice. I've learned since last spring not to get too whipped up about that, because anytime there is a warning anywhere in the county, they have to blow them. We turned on the TV and found out the "tornadic" storm had crossed 435, was currently around Cabela's and headed towards downtown. No sweat for us; we didn't even go in the basement for that one.

There was another cell tracking our way south of Olathe, but we had about 25 minutes until it hit, so I told the boys to run upstairs and shower, so we'd all be ready, just in case. We got everyone bathed and dressed and came down to watch the show. The sirens had stopped, so for the moment, this was just a dramatic thunderstorm. We turned off all the lights and sat in the living room to watch God's lightshow. The older boys loved it; Blane balled up in my lap and buried his face in my side. Then the weather radio went off again, and we heard the sirens blow for the second time. When we turned on the TV, the rotation was just south of OP, headed toward Belton, MO. Again, no problem for us.

There was no way Blane would be able to sleep by himself, so he went to bed with us. About 1:45, our weather radio went off again about thunderstorms, so Scott turned it off. I lay in bed and listen to the storm begin to roar. It built to a tremendous intensity--louder than any I'd heard in a long time. After about 15 minutes, I asked him to turn on the radio again. It was annoying, but I was a bit worried about what might follow this storm. We hit the button to hear the latest report and the guy was talking about 70-80 mph winds. It sure sounded bad outside, but the trees around our house are sturdy and old. So we listened to the howl for awhile and went to sleep. Blane was content between us.

The morning fortunately showed no significant damage. I think the ones who got pounded were the northern and eastern suburbs.

What Was That?

Last night, Scott and I were talking about a little buddy of Seth's who has especially athletic-looking parents (BTW, the kids were long gone from the table). "That kiddo is going to be an (athletic) stud in high school, and Seth will be sitting in the bleachers cheering him on."

Scott said, "Maybe Seth will be a fast point guard and will pass the ball to him."

I replied by making a comment that that would be fine with me as long as Seth does not decend into the seamier side of (unfortunately, even high school sometimes) athletics, involving "bedding girls".

Scott replies, "Well, a little of that would be okay with me."

Eeek. "WHAT???!!! Bedding girls?!!!"

He laughed, "Oh, BEDDING girls! I thought you said something else..." (I think he thought I said "betting" maybe?) "No, we don't want him bedding girls!"

Whew. Glad we got that straightened out! :)