songs, shorts, and shovels

A song was playing on the radio, and to tell you the truth, I wasn't even listening to it. Handing out afternoon snacks had my attention instead. That's when Kaleb asked me if the song that was playing was a good song or a bad song. We were listening to the Christian radio station, so of course I told him it was a good song. Then I thought I'd better ask him why he was even wondering about this. He said, "Because the lady singing it wants to set the world on fire. That doesn't sound like a good thing." A lyric from this song does indeed state: "I want to set the world on fire..." How do you explain to a 6 year old that it means "you want to let the whole world know about Jesus?" It made me smile. :)

After snack time, big brother Braylen found out he needed to fold and put away laundry. You'd think he was sentenced to death, the way he carried on about it. I have never seen a boy more miserable in his chores than Braylen was. When he finally finished to Mom's standards, he went to play outside with a friend. He came out of his room in shorts and a t-shirt, running out the door without a jacket. It was 54 degrees outside--hardly summer clothing weather if you ask me. Once again he acted as if his world was ending because I said "No" to his choice of clothing. I became an official member of the Mean Mom Club as I made him put his pants and long sleeve shirt back on. I'm sure he had a few complaints about me as he played with his friend, who was in shorts and a t-shirt. I probably should have punished him for his attitude, but in all honesty, I didn't want the boy inside at the moment! With Braylen I am seeing that one of my duties as a mom to these boys is to find a healthy balance in allowing them to be who God made them to be, but training them in the ways they should go. That will be a life-long parenting skill to strive for.

After playing outside for 10 minutes, I found Braylen's friend crying on the sidewalk because he skinned his (bare) knee on the sidewalk after a fall from his rollerblades! Did my son have a skinned knee? No! He was wearing PANTS! :) A few minutes later, Braylen came bursting inside all smiles, smelling like little boys and dirt, asking me for a shovel to dig for buried treasure in our yard. His friend has a (toy) metal detector and they were sure we had treasure under our grass. I informed him he was not allowed to dig in our grass; brown as it is, it will die for sure if you dig it up in February! We thought of a place he CAN dig in--a berm of plain old dirt in the neighbors' yard, and at that point I left the Mean Mom Club behind--for the moment at least. :)

how do you spell that?

Kaleb (in kindergarten) is learning how to read, and he likes to read everything in sight! At supper last night he tried to read the words on the bottle of dressing. As he was sounding out the words, Derek praised him on how well he was doing. He also praised Braylen, because Braylen (2nd grade) frequently helps Kaleb sound out a word. Right after Derek told Braylen how much of a helper he is to Kaleb, Kaleb attempted to sound out the phrase, "Mixed greens with pear and pecan salad." From my view across the table, this is what happened next. I hope this is understandable!

Kaleb: "mi-i-i"
Braylen: "mixed"
Kaleb: "grrrr"
Braylen: "grease"
Kaleb: "with p-p-p.."
Braylen: "peers"
Kaleb: "and p-p-p..."
Braylen: "pickin"
Kaleb: "sa-a-a"
Braylen: "salad. Mixed grease with peers and pickin salad."
I couldn't believe it. Braylen, expert reader in his class, totally botched this phrase. Derek and I laughed and laughed, and I told him I wanted some pickin salad. :)

a new voice

Like many others, our family has been striken with illness over the past week. Aaron's been diagnosed with Influenza-A, which means a high fever and a cough. He slept a lot, and we spent a lot of time just holing up at home. Today is a new day and he is MUCH better, fever-free even. Last night when he was trying to fall asleep, I heard him clear his throat over and over again. I opened his door and asked him if he needed a drink of water. He told me, "No, I'm just changing voices." That made Derek and I laugh! Here's to a healthy weekend, with a new voice!

show me your muscles

Suppertime at our house involves more than just eating. For the past few weeks we've had nightly "muscle checks" at the supper table. Braylen and Kaleb will sit side by side and show each other their muscles, while Derek and I tell them to keep eating. Aaron joins in as well, and this happens not just once during the meal. Oh no. It happens MULTIPLE times! Our boys are fascinated by this. I just sit there and laugh, all the while reasurring them that yes, their muscles are indeed getting bigger and bigger every day.

Tonight when I was tucking Braylen and Kaleb into bed, they wanted to see my muscles. After saying no and then giving in, I made a muscle for them and they...laughed at me! They laughed and laughed and said, "Wooohoooo!" I don't know if they were impressed or if they were expecting me to have bigger muscles or what! When Derek came in they convinced him to show them his muscles, and when he did they said, "Whoa Dad, yours are huge!" Derek told them to just keep on thinking that. :) These sons of ours just keep giving us plenty of things to smile about. I am truly enjoying this: watching these little boys become more like young men right before my very eyes.

warm and fluffy

Thursday night is leftover night at our house. Every Thursday I let the kids pick out what they want from our leftover selection, and usually they are happy with what they've picked. Well last night, they were so busy playing with Daddy that I picked out everyone's leftovers for them. When we all sat down to eat, Aaron decided he didn't like his meal. He ate his rice and his applesauce, but he wouldn't eat his casserole. I helped him pick the ham out of it and he ate some of the ham. When we asked him why he wouldn't eat the rest, he said, "My casserole is too warm and fluffy. It's getting fluffier and I don't like that." Where do kids come up with these things?!

On another note, my sister-in-law recently dyed her hair red. When Kaleb saw her hair for the first time, he asked her how her hair turned red. She told him she dyed it. He then got real sober and said, "Aunt Sarena, how did your hair die?" Kids take things literally!

girl trapped

This morning I learned the age that boys start having girl troubles. Ages 6 and 8! Our 6 year old didn't want to bring a lunch from home, because he said whenever he does that he has to sit at the cold-lunch table and he's girl-trapped every time! He enlightened me that none of the boys in his class EVER bring a lunch from home. Hmmmm. End result? He brought his lunch today anyway.

Our 8 year old son is having issues with another 2nd grader that really gets on his nerves. Yep, it is a girl. She makes faces at him when he gets a wrong answer, she teases him at will, and purposely slams doors in his face. He has asked her to stop and she doesn't. He told me this morning that he'd really like to punch her; she makes him that mad. After a nice long talk with Daddy tonight, Braylen is now ready to handle this with a bit more grace.

On another note, our 3 year old Aaron couldn't love the girls in his life any more than he already does. He's been saying this to me lately: "Mommy, I love you and I like you." He says it during the day, and he even woke me up at 4am the other day to tell me that. He said he was having a dream about how much he loves me and he wanted to give me a big "leg hug." I call it a monkey hug, since he hangs on me like a monkey with legs and arms wrapped tight around me! His cousin Analise is the other girl in his life. While she is at our house a lot more often nowadays, he told Daddy that he wishes she was part of our family. Daddy told him that she is, and Aaron said "I mean I wish she was part of our family who LIVES with us all the time." How sweet to see one of our sons still having a good time with the females in his life! Of course, I can never get enough love from my boys. There is just nothing in the world like it!

A first time for everything

I'm creating this blog to keep my family connected across the miles. I hope to post funny things my boys say and do so they can be enjoyed by my family and friends. Now it will be up to me to remember to do just that! I will learn this process as I go along.

Today is a blustery winter day, and I am glad to be inside. This morning Aaron and I went grocery shopping and to the barber shop. His hair was floppy, and his dad wondered last night if I'd like to braid Aaron's hair! That means haircut time. While I cut my other boys' hair at home, I treat myself and pay someone else to cut Aaron's. He sits there in the chair and doesn't say a word. It is the only time in 8 weeks that I see him like that. To me that is worth $8!