Way to Go R!

Baseball season is offically over. R had lots of fun playing it up this year, he even got to kid-pitch!
They had a team party at a local mexican restuarant in town, which included his trophy and a cool slide show of the year, then it afterward they played their last game, WOW! Way to go R, you did great!

What Would You Do for Ice Cream?

R has a little lazy streak in him that was inherited from me. He is a smart kid, school has always been very easy for him, so when something comes up that has the least bit of hardness to it he is apt to give up.

Well, one thing that doesn't come easy to him is sports, but his all loving parents force (his word not mine!) him to play, first it was Tae Kwan Do, then Soccer, last year baseball, and baseball again this year. Well, he kept asking not go to games this month, but being the meanest parents that we are we made him go.

Well, yesterday J told him that he'd make a deal with him. He said that if R stayed "baseball ready" during the entire game, didn't' play in the dirt, kept his eye on the ball, and stayed alert during the whole game and we didn't have to tell him to pay attention then we'd go out for ice cream after the game. R asked if he'd still get ice cream if we had to tell him to pay attention, we said no way, plus none of us would get any either, it was all dependant on R!

Well, let me tell you, I did not know that R was such a good ball player! I knew he could hit, but he was catching and throwing like a pro! After the game we told him that if he played with that kind of attitude every time he'd have so much more fun. He told us that if he had something like ice cream to play for he'd play like that all the time!

If only we knew...we'd tempt him with ice cream years ago!

No Vampire Problems Here!

We went out to dinner with the boys last night. They have their usual choices that they pick almost every time we are out-Cheeseburger, pizza, chicken, and occasionally corn dogs.

J ordered nachos for an appetizer, boy was it yummy! It had beans, corn, salsa, guacamole, chicken, cilantro, cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, and whole garlic cloves. The boys turned up their noses at it when we 1st got it. Then L asked J for a piece of chicken, so he gave it to him. L said, Not that one, that one! He was pointing to a garlic clove. J started to tell him that it wasn't chicken but I told him, SSHHHH! And we gave L the garlic. He loved it and ate at least 5 of them!

Those kids, they are only picky because they "think" that a food must be gross. Once R saw L eat the garlic I convinced him to eat some of the nachos. I told him to stop being so picky and just try it, of course, he liked it. Now I have a bit of leverage, I can bring this up in future battles with food, Take that boys!

Music!

Aunt M.P. has a rockin' IPod and the boys just love that thing! She has about a million songs on it, some movies, and music videos. R loves this song and the video that comes with it!
boomp3.com
(I think he could listen to it all day!)

Getting Ready!

Kindergarten registration is here...Yikes! L will be 5 next month so that means he gets to go to school this September, how in the world did my baby get so old?!
So I asked him if he was ready:

Me - Are you ready for Kindergarten L?
L - I don't know?
Me - Well, lets see...hmmm....uh, can you eat a snack?
L - Yes!
Me - Sweet! Ok, can you...uh...go potty all by yourself?
L - Yeah!
Me - Oh-Yeah!....OK, can you.....color?
L - (Big smile) Yes!
Me - Wait, I mean,....can you color with markers?
L - (hands in the air) Yes!
Me - Can you spell your 1st name?
L - Yes, (then he does it)
Me - Can you spell your last name?
L - Uh...its hard...
Me - That's OK, we'll practice -K-!
L - OK!
Me - Do you know all your letters?
L - I Fink So
Me - Should we practice more?
L - Yes! (then sings his ABC song)
Me - Can you count?
L - Yes, but I need to practice.
Me - OK! Now....can you...cut with scissors?
L - YES!
Me - Wait....can you play on a playground?
L - OhYeah!
Me - So are you gonna be ready?!
L - YES!

We also have large windows and so I painted the alphabet, some numbers, our names and last name, and the days of the week. He is so stinkin' cute, and he is pretty excited for school to come his way, he has been very willing to practice anything that will help him be ready!

Yummy!

Oatmeal either gets eaten fast in our home, or sits on our shelves forever. J, R and I have all go through oatmeal phases. L has never liked the stuff, but I would offer it to him.
The other day I asked L if he wanted oatmeal. He said, "NO! That stuff looks like boogers, I think I don't want to eat boogers!" It was so funny, so I promised him that I'd never make him eat oatmeal since it disgusts him.
So now you know...
This turns into this

R's Product Review

R and I were watching a commercial about the 'PedEgg'.
He said, "Yeah right, that doesn't work, why would anyone want to buy that?!"
Me - "Oh, I don't know..."
R - "You could just use lotion on your feet instead of some cheese grater to scrape the pimples of your feet!"

It was so funny, I was laughing so hard, it made my whole day!

...Pants on Fire!

Well, I lied on accident to R. Yesterday was a checkup at the Doc's, I told him he wouldn't have to get a shot, he was all done with those for a long time now. Oops, he had to get 2! But he handled it really well, and lucky for him, he gets at least one more in 6 months...so much for my wonderful reassurances!

Somethings Fishy Around Here...

R has been begging to try anchovies. So the other day we got some Pappa Murphy's Pizza and a side of anchovies. Boy was he excited, until he opened it up and both boys said they looked hairy, and were stinky! R was so brave and actually ate one! L just played with one, and tried cutting the "hairs" off with a butter knife. Such funny boys...now they both know that they do NOT like anchovies!
I do have to admit, I never tried one, and am not going to anytime soon!

Tricked!

R and I sometimes get into little tiffs over how often he needs to shower/get cleaned up. I was talking to my best bud J-bug this morning about how we sometimes sound mean when we say, "Man you stink! Go take a shower!" to our kids. I told her that I thought it was better to let them know that B.O. is not a good thing, and they need to know how yucky it is now so that when they are older they are not being embarrassed over being stinky in public!
Well, I decided that I was totally right and that R would definitely see it my way. So after my chat on the phone I asked R:

Me - Would you rather be stinky and me not say anything and let you stink the place up, OR would you rather me tell you that you are smelly and to go take a shower?

R - Uh, the 1st one...

Me - No way! You mean you would rather smell and everyone knows about it and not tell you?!

R - Yes..

Me - I can't do that, I'll just have to tell you when you need to clean up.

R - Mom, why give me an option to answer when it isn't really an option?!

Me - oh, I guess that was kinda a trick Q huh?

R - YES!

Oops, I realized then that I totally do that a lot, I "fake" multiple choice answers to questions and then tell them what the answer is and that is the end of it. Wow, call me opened minded! But at least I finally have realized my trickster ways! (Poor boys!)

After some explanation of why its good to keep up with a clean body R sees it my way about how often he needs to get cleaned up. And I promised him I'd never tell him he was stinky in front of any of his friends!

Not Allowed!

L really enjoyed 'A Bee Movie'.
He has been pretending that he is a bee. The other night he found a tack and was holding it up to the seat of his pants and was trying to sting me. I told him to stop cuz it hurts to be stung! He then had an idea..."I know Mom, I'll glue this to my pants!"
Me - "Uh, No you are not",
L - "I could tape it!"
"NO!"
L - "I won't sting you anymore..." (said with a really cute face)
He then kept at it til I finally said, "L, you are not allowed to glue any sharp things to your bottom!"

I just wondered how many times a mother has to say something like that?!

Requirements

What makes a good friend?
Well according to L electronics is what makes a friend worthy to play with...

The 1st playdate L and M had was at a Superbowl party at M's house, there was a Wii set out for the kids, then we went over a few more times and the Wii wasn't out anymore. After leaving the last time this is what he said...

Me - Did you have fun at M's house?
L - No, he doesn't have a Wii now, so he's not my friend anymore."

Hmmm...(sigh) That L...At least he didn't say it that their faces!

Stubborn!

I wonder who he got it from...

We have the keyboard learning kit from LDS.org, and a little beginners player book. The first few days after we got the piano R was learning from the book all on his own. Then one day he asked J and I if he has to learn the piano. We told him YES! He pouted and said he didn't want to at all. To Bad was what he heard from us. I did tell him that he didn't have to take lessons until after baseball season was over this year. I told him of those we know who can play the piano, and how great of a thing it really is, and what else he can do once he knows how to read music. Then we left it at that.

Well, for a boy who doesn't want to learn to play at all, he is on that thing every day! He has learned all the little songs from the beginner’s book on his own. Then he heard me learning from the keyboard course kit and informed me that he was going to learn it to. I guess all I had to do was have the books out, and let him see me try them and not say a word to him about it. Right now I hear him plinking away and every once in a while I hear a few notes from the simplified "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee" hymn.

He is like this so often, you just can't push him, he has to believe it's all him, he can be so stubborn and independent! I sure love this kid, he just cracks me up!

Mom = Bubble

R was blowing bubbles tonight and L ran over and started popping them as they were floating around the kitchen. R started telling L to stop popping them. He was trying to catch them and re-blow them into new bubbles. L was ruining this by popping them before R could catch them. Finally R says:

"L stop popping them...I'm making new bubbles like Mom's make new people!"

It was so funny, J and I just cracked up, as a Mom I have never been compared to a bubble before!

So now you know, Mom = Bubble

That L...

L is so funny, cute, exasperating; we just love him to pieces!
We all were at Walmart the other day and the boys were just so touchy of everything. I mean everything! So we are standing in line, we are all hungry and can't wait to get out of there. J gave R and L chocolate milks but told them not to open until he paid for them.
So L takes his and puts it right in with a man's groceries on the conveyor belt in front of us. We catch it in time, and the man said with a laugh that he would have been happy to get it for him. So after that I tell L he has to put his hands in his pockets, and then say it to R for good measure.
About 30 seconds later I see L kneeling on the floor, scooting over to a shelf and then starts to pick up a toy with his hands still in his sweatshirt pockets! It was so stinking funny! So I told L to "keep his pockets to himself" (and didn't let him see that I was amused).
Now how many times do you have to say that? Some days I just have to laugh at the funny quirks they do...

Censure

There are times I wonder if I should censure my kids...But I know I really can't, they are these funny individuals and I love to see how they think and process life. Even if it makes me wonder if I'm teaching them what I should.

Ice Age 2 in the beginning says the word Dam, then they use it in a comedic way and use it a lot. R was watching this at a friends house, and the Mom says, "What did that just say?!" R turns to her and says, "That's why it's rated PG!" He later explained, "It was Dam without the B so it wasn't a swear word" I asked him, "You know how to spell a swear word?" R- "Huh, yeah..."

L heard J say this-"In your face!" And so every once in a while (and he seems to have perfect timing) he pipes up with- In Your Face!

I used to tease J when he was grumpy and I'd tell him to stop being to "Pissy". One day R was so grumpy and I asked him "What is wrong?!" He replied, "I'm just pissy OK?!" I just said, "Oh" and then walked away so I wouldn't laugh right in front of him.

There are times we ask the boys things and they won't answer, it drives me nuts so they get in trouble for it. I make them say-yes, no, or I don't know. L has made me aware that I have taught them this bad habit of not answering. He will ask me something and if I shake my head or mumble "hmm, uh-uh" or something to that effect he says, "Mom, say yes or no!" Don't you just love it when you get your own words thrown in your face?!

I asked L if he liked his new primary teacher. He said, "She's new, she's different than the Old one with the grey hair" To him she didn't have a name, she was just the "Old One".

(On Sunday I asked L's primary Prez. if L was doing better, I told her he is more excited to come on Sunday's now that he is in the CTR 5 class. She just looked at me and said, "He is getting older" Hmmm, not especially comforting, I wonder what he says in primary when I'm not around...)

L and I used a public bathroom that had a certain odor to it, he said "What is that stinky smell?" Then later when reading a Curious George book, George gets sprayed by a skunk and is really smelly. Then L says, "Hey, it was a skunk in that bathroom Mom!"

R is 8, I think he would have manners, well, I like to think I teach him manners. I asked him what he thought of dinner not to long ago, his answer- "It was disgusting, don't make it again, please!"

What's in a name?

The other day L points out the window and asked me what kind of bird was out there. I said, "It's a Black Bird, or you could call it a Crow, or a Raven. I usually call it a Crow."

He said, "Well, I'll call it Beautiful Bird"

So now when I see a crow, I think Beautiful Bird.

Getting Ready...

R, L, and I were deciding what to leave out for Santa and his reindeer today.

R-We should set out cookies, he is Santa after all.

Me-Your right! And what else

R-Carrots for the reindeer

L-No, meatloaf for the reindeer!

Me-I don't think reindeer like that, its cow meat after all

R-Yeah L, and reindeer are practically related to cows!

So Santa gets cookies, and reindeer get carrots, no meatloaf on the menu tonight!

Professional At Dinner!

I just love hanging with the boys, they say and do the funniest things! Lately L has been asking me to make meatloaf, R instantly says "NO!" He has no fond memories of the stuff. Tonight during dinner L holds up his garlic bread to his face and says "Mom look, I'm like that kid with the meatloaf!" and makes pig noises, he was imitating the little bro on A Christmas Story.

Then R says "Hey, can we play with our food?!" I told him no, then he looks at me like, why in the world can we not play with food? So then I say "OK, just don't get it on the carpet or your clothes." R looks at me like I am seriously lacking in wisdom and says in all seriousness "Mom, I'm a professional at playing with my food, it helps me eat faster!" I just cracked up as he continued to tell me how he plays with his food during lunch at school and so it only "takes me about 10 minutes to eat it all!"

Ahh, I just love these boys!

Told Ya!

We stopped at Barnes & Noble last night (one of our favorite stores) The boys were playing on the Thomas the Train table with another boy. I was on the other side of a book display when I overheard this:

Boy- There is no such thing as Santa, ask you Mom, she'll say its just her.

My L- No!!! Santa is real, not my Mom!

My R- Its not parents.

Boy- Well, how does he go around the whole world in one night? It really is the parents who do it!

L-NO!!

Then I came around pretending I hadn't heard a word, smiled at the boys and said, "Hey boys, its time to go" Then L stands up and says, "Mom is Santa real?" I say, "Yes"

Then L turns to the boy and says, "HA, told ya!" and walked away with a smile.

So that answers that Q, R and L believe in Santa, continue the magic...