Zoom Zoom

Showing off their cars before the derby

Braylen: Miami Dolphins car

Kaleb: Philadelphia Eagles car

Aaron: just-for-fun-car :)

Aaron and Kaleb watching the races

We sure had fun at the Pinewood Derby this week. Aaron still calls it the "dervy." :) Braylen and Kaleb's cars both placed 2nd in their dens, and both boys displayed good sportsmanship throughout the night. In years past we've had some tears when a car didn't do so well...what a relief to miss out on that this year. The highlight of my night came at the end. With the derby officially over, the track was opened up for some freestyle racing. Braylen and Kaleb lined up their cars to race Aaron's car. Aaron's not in scouts yet, but somewhere along the way we ended up with an extra car kit. A few months ago, Derek and Aaron made a car together. Aaron carried his car with him the entire night, waiting for his turn to race before going home. This was that moment. Braylen and Kaleb's cars had weights, sanded axles, and sanded wheels. Aaron's car had none of that, since his car was "just for fun." This meant his car didn't stand a chance of beating his brothers' cars. As the cars raced down the track, Aaron's car fell behind, as expected. Aaron and Kaleb stood at the finish line waiting for their cars. Braylen ran along the track and gave Aaron's car a push. He wanted Aaron's car to finish, and maybe even win. There's nothing sadder at the derby than seeing one of the scout's cars not even make it to the finish line. Braylen didn't want that to happen to Aaron. It all happened so fast, and I'm pretty sure Braylen's car won. But Aaron's car flew down the track and zoomed past the finish line. And he was so proud. And Derek and I were so proud of Braylen.

For almost 2 weeks this is what our landing has looked like. Full of toys, but all of those toys lined up for a specific purpose. This is how the boys play GI Joe and Transformers, and they use all kinds of "extras" in their imaginative play. I look at this and see my path to my laundry room blocked. But I also see the end in sight of this type of activity in our home, so I let it be. Let them play. :)

Aaron brought home a little bit of spring this week. How nice to see some green grass! He planted some seeds in preschool, watered them with a spray bottle, and brought them home on Thursday. Pretty soon he'll give his grass a "haircut." I heard on the radio that this is the bluest week of the year. Just about everyone I know had a tough week, us included. What a perfect time for our son to bring home the promise of spring. :)

pink and purple day at preschool--notice his purple shirt?

Yesterday our plans for the day derailed. Not just changed, but completely fell apart. And on top of that, a co-worker of Derek's needed me to watch his kids for a few hours while he and Derek went to work. Hmm. Not the Saturday I'd hoped for. My kids whined, I whined with them, and all of the sudden I was at home with 5 kids. My boys immediately took to the 22 month old boy in my care. They played with cars and balls and all was right with the world. Then the almost-4-year-old-girl, dressed in a Cinderella princess outfit, said, "Do you have any girl toys here?" No. We. Don't. However, we do have a play kitchen. It's blue and red and very boyish looking, but it's still a kitchen. How horrified I felt when she said, "Can you play kitchen with me, Sarah?" Me, play kitchen? I play cars. I play trucks. I build with legos and blocks and read books. I pride myself in being a pretty fun mom--of boys. I have nothing against girls--I'm a girl myself for pete's sake--but I haven't played dolls or kitchen since I was a young girl. Even when my nieces come over for a visit, they play what my boys play. We have fun doing that. But yesterday, Grace and I played kitchen. I dug out a Precious Moments coloring book that my boys have refused to use over the years, and gave her crayons, markers, sequins, and glue. She loved it. But you know what we did next? We played with the toy tool set, launched screaming balloons, and played with trains. Whew! I can only handle so much! :)

Ginger's almost 10 months old

One of our favorite things to do with Ginger this winter is take her to run on the hay bales. She can run them alone, with Derek, and with the boys. She's terribly out of shape, thanks to winter, but still has loads of fun doing this. Take a look at Ginger, our hay bale-hopping German Shepherd! :) She brings so much fun to our family!

One Quick Funny

While driving home from school today, one of my children just didn't "get it." Can you guess which one it was?

Braylen: "look! a dummy is in the front seat of that car!"
Aaron: "ooo, why would someone have one in their car?"
Kaleb: "who is it?"

Kaleb was the one sitting in the front of the van...with a perfect view of this mannequin...and he totally didn't know what Braylen and Aaron were talking about. :) One more reason why we sarcastically refer to Kaleb as "Mr. Obvious." He must also think I don't mind his brothers calling someone a dummy. Don't worry, we straightened it all out for him. :)

Happenings

Ginger hangs out on her blanket with her best buddy Aaron

Today is a bright and sunshiny day; such a nice change from the gloomy gus days we've been having. There's just something about seeing the sun that puts me in a brighter mood. Cozying up with a warm blanket and a cup of tea can only last for so long. I'm enjoying this.

Aaron's party favor from that fun birthday party on Wednesday

January happenings may not be too exciting. Some are quite mundane. But this is where we're at on the calendar, so this is what I write about. Our everyday lives in January.

I'm not very good at delegating chores. Explain the process to and supervise a careless child, or do it myself? I always choose to do it myself. But that's not teaching them anything. And it's only increasing my workload over time. Thankfully, my husband has stepped up and decided it was high time Braylen learned how to load the dishwasher. He walked him through the entire process, and I must say, it is SO nice to have his help. Braylen does a very good job at loading the dishwasher while Kaleb and Aaron clear the table. I stand back and like what I see. I had to laugh at Braylen on Monday. Here's why:

Me: "come here and empty the dishwasher please."

Braylen: "i just did that yesterday!"

Me: "yep, and now you get to do it again."

Braylen: (counting the clean dishes) "mom, did you really need to use 5 coffee mugs yesterday? how do we use this many dishes in one day?"

2 days after writing about Braylen needing new pants at school, I got a call from the school secretary. This time Kaleb needed new pants! Good grief! And she told me I'd better bring new shoes as well. "He slipped in the mud," is how she put it. There was just one hour left of school, and I was a bit confused. Couldn't he just tough it out for one more hour? Gathering his pants and shoes, I carefully backed out of the garage, and drove to the school. Cars were EVERYWHERE, due to an assembly about to start. Great. I'm going to have to park blocks away to drop off these pants and shoes. But wouldn't you know it--there was an open spot right in front of the door. Yay! Aaron and I walked in the front doors and there stood Kaleb. COVERED in mud. His coat, gloves, pants, and shoes--solid mud with brown grass caked in. I immediately felt bad for doubting the secretary, and could completely understand why he needed new clothes. Even for just one more hour. What a blessing to be able to help my child out like this. What if I'd been working? He'd just have to suck it up and be dirty. As a friend of mine pointed out, I am a M.O.M. I'm constantly on a Mission Of Mercy. I explained to Kaleb that I didn't have to bring him new things. I also don't have to bring a forgotten backpack, coat, or whatever else they forget every now and then. I choose to do this for my children, and by it, they are blessed. Hopefully when someone else needs some extra help, they will think of that other person's needs and show mercy to them too.

Aaron's been pretty crafty lately. We dug through the treasures in our craft drawer and made a very big poster. Ink stamps, paint, stickers, glue, and glitter provided much entertainment one gloomy afternoon. Aaron said his favorite part were the "sprinkles." Also known as glitter. :) We found things in that drawer that haven't seen the light of day in years. I have so many memories with my boys wrapped up in markers, crayons, paints, and stickers.

Aaron made me this necklace at school this week

Last Saturday we played catch in the backyard. Ginger got a little too rowdy after a while, so we put her in the dog pen. Derek, Braylen, and I went inside, while Kaleb and Aaron stayed outside to keep playing. 45 minutes went by and I thought to myself, "Wow, they must be having fun out there. It's getting dark and they haven't come in yet. I'd better go check on them." I found them in the dog pen. Here's what I heard. "Mom, Ginger won't let us out! We've been trapped in here for 2 hours!" Why didn't they just lift the latch? They were afraid Ginger would get out in the yard. Silly boys! Ginger can be in the yard! She was not mean towards them, they were not crying--they simply felt trapped. If my neighbor Jean was still living next door, I'm sure she would've let me know my kids were in the dog pen. :)

I grew up loving the Chicago Bulls. They were THE TEAM of the early 90's, as far as Chicago was concerned. Michael Jordan's image was everywhere. So imagine my surprise and shock when Braylen told me this:

B: "mom, you know that commercial with the guy who looks like Michael Jordan?"

Me: "the hanes commercial?"

B: "yeah, that one."

Me: "that IS michael jordan, silly!"

B: "no, it can't be. michael jordan played basketball in, like, the 1920's or something. he can't be alive still."

Aaaggghhh! I'm so old! My sports hero during high school is from the 20's in my son's eyes! After hearing me tell this story, my brother told me to remind Braylen he was born in the 1900's. Nice one Eric! It may be by only 4 months, but it still counts. Now I have a comeback to make Braylen feel like ancient history some day. :)

The Pinewood Derby race is in a few days. I'm sure that's what my next post will be about. The cars are ready, the boys are excited, and I'm relieved to have a night off from fixing supper! Life keeps moving right along!

Blessings on a Wednesday

Today started like I'd expect a Wednesday to start. With a splitting headache. A hot shower and some Excedrin worked wonders, along with a quick shoulder rub from Derek before he headed off to work. Our boys also helped out by getting along with each other. Braylen took the trash can out front, and Kaleb offered to make his own lunch. They could tell I was not my normal, chipper self. (ha ha...chipper is not a way to describe me on ANY morning!) I dropped Braylen and Kaleb off at school ON TIME, and things were looking up!

Getting Aaron ready for the day went like clockwork, the dog was out in the yard taking care of business, and we were about ready to head to preschool. Then I peeked outside to call the dog in.

The gate was wide open.

Braylen was kind enough to take out the trash, and careless enough to leave the gate open. And the fog is so thick I can barely see across the street. How will I ever find my dog? She never listens to me in the yard, never comes when I call her...and Aaron's going to be late for preschool. I wanted to cry. I opened the door, went towards the gate...and Ginger came running to me through the open gate. Thank you LORD! My dog had a 10 minute head start for freedom and you kept her right here at home.

Feeling lighter than air, I took Aaron to preschool and met a friend for coffee. This Wednesday is sure looking better than most! Enjoying my morning caffeine with such a good friend--what more could I ask for? Running errands by myself, then picking Aaron up from preschool, he jumps in my arms for hugs and kisses--really, can life get any sweeter than this? On a Wednesday? Oh yes. Today is Aaron's afternoon to enjoy several hours at a birthday party. I take him to the party and then...my afternoon is wide open to do anything I want.

So, on this foggy Wednesday, I am doing what I like to do when I'm alone--write in my blog and read a good book. Sometimes it's good to be wrong...Wednesdays aren't always the worst day of the week. God can show me that on any Wednesday He'd like.

Tagged

I've been tagged by my friend Terri. So, here goes!

7 Things You Might Not Know About Me

1. I played the oboe for 6 years.
2. I was a stoplight one year for Halloween.
3. I named all of my dolls when I was a kid, and said goodbye to them by name as we drove away from our house. (Kimberly, Melinda, Danny, Gregory, Lorena, Jill, Kenny, Becca, Robyn...)
4. I'm most at home in the water.
5. My first job was at Hardee's. You learn a lot about people when you work in the drive-thru window.
6. I have 2 stamps in my passport--England and France.
7. I always wanted a son when playing the game of LIFE. Who knew how prophetic that would be?

Rachel and Tina--tag, you're it!

Thawing Out

-40 degree wind chills, high temps below zero. . .bye-bye. Hello warmer weather! When the temp climbed up to 49 degrees, it felt like 89 degrees. What a wonderful feeling. Even though we were back to school last week, the winter weather gave us an early dismissal and a late start. I'd like to think it helped ease us back into things, but it didn't. We're still up late and dragging in the morning. Even Aaron's having a hard time adjusting. Maybe our warmer weather will help everyone's internal clocks to reset?

Dance Praise--one of the many ways to stay entertained during the deep freeze

All 3 boys playing trucks--the day is coming when all 3 won't be doing this anymore :(

Even Ginger hung out inside to stay warm :)

Venturing out to play in the snow as soon as the warm-up began!

One casualty of this harsh, cold weather is Kaleb's face. He's had a sore in the corner of his mouth for 2 weeks, making it very difficult for him to open his mouth wide enough to eat. It looked pretty yucky too, which made Kaleb self-conscious at school. Nothing I tried would make it go away. Desperate to figure out what I was dealing with, I googled it. Turns out he has angular cheillitis. Huh? Since finding out what it was 2 days ago, I've known how to treat it and the sore is all but gone. YAYYY!!!! Oh, the things we take for granted. Like being able to open our mouths. :)

Our favorite fruit this winter is the cutie. Officially they're called clementines, small oranges no bigger than a tennis ball. But our brand of clementines come labeled as "cuties," so that's what they are. :) The skin is so easy to peel that Aaron can do it all by himself. He and Braylen each have one per day, and sometimes more than that. Kaleb detests them. Oh well--2 out of 3's not bad! Aaron even collects the stickers on the fruit, since they each say something cute and different. Sometimes it's the little things that get us through our day, isn't it?

Aaron and his little cutie

Speaking of getting through the day. . .today is Wednesday. Wednesdays are days I survive, and rarely enjoy. Today was no exception. A full day of rushing here and there, throwing supper on the table only to rush out the door again. Sigh. It's by far my least favorite day of the week. Even Aaron told me today was a bad day for him. He's been in a funk ever since I picked him up from preschool. Time for me to celebrate that today is over and done with. :)

2 funnies from yesterday to hopefully brighten up this post.

Braylen called me from school yesterday to ask me to bring him. . .new pants. Why? He happened to spill his milk all over himself at lunch, making it look like he wet his pants. Backing out of the garage to bring him clean pants, I tore my side mirror off my mini-van--not funny! But taking his pants to him and putting them on his desk brought a smile to my face. Why? There were only a few kids in the classroom at the time, and none of them knew why Braylen needed new pants. (He was still out at lunch recess.) I left the room hearing whispers of, "Why does Braylen need new pants?" As I passed Braylen in the hall, I told him his pants were on his desk. Ha ha ha! Now, before you think I was mean to my son, you have to realize how much Braylen loves this kind of attention. He hammed it up, exaggerating his embarrassment but clearly loving every minute of it. I could NEVER do that to Kaleb, but I take great delight in doing it to Braylen. He only has 1.5 years left in this elementary school utopia, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Aaron and I carried on a conversation like this at lunch:

A: Remember when I got stung by a bee? That bee died after it stung me--ha! And it didn't go to heaven when it died. Ha! It went to hell!

Me: I laughed. :)

A: What's above heaven? Is anything higher than it?

Me: I don't know Aaron. . .

A: Does heaven have a ceiling?

How do you answer that? Again, I told him I didn't know. Then he asked me for something else to eat and that was that. I love the occasional glimpse he gives me of what goes on in that head of his. And I'm REALLY glad that tomorrow is Thursday. :)

Christmas at Home

We sure did love having my parents here

This Christmas was our Christmas at home, and my parents came out to join us. Winter weather brought them to us a day early. Yay! Mom and I did lots of baking, with not much help from the boys, I might add. Aaron frosted a few cookies, and Kaleb frosted a few less. He was actually quite grumpy while frosting cookies. So much for that idea! My dad and Derek ran cable and phone lines from our computer to our tv. It took several days, they made quite a mess, the mess made me grumpy, but they cleaned it all up and life was good again. :) Braylen followed Grampy all over the place, always asking to use Grampy's netbook. It must be more fun than our computer.

Can you tell that Kaleb looks less than thrilled?

A Christmas blizzard made it hard to see across the street, but made us feel warm and cozy in our home. We braved the weather for the Christmas Eve service, and again for Christmas dinner by candlelight at my in-laws' house. During the week, Mom and I played 3 Scrabble games (I won 2 out of 3). Braylen and Grampy played Monopoly, we all played the Wii, and the boys wrestled my poor dad in the snow. Ginger enjoyed her homemade peanut butter treats from Grammy. My mom did plenty of knitting with Aaron, completing the blanket he asked for last fall. I even got a few new coasters and dish cloth this time.

The big news of the week was my Christmas gift from my parents...a CRUISE! Yowza! Mom and I will be getting away this fall for our Florida-Mexico cruise, giving me lots to look forward to this year. :) I feel incredibly blessed with this gift of time to spend with my mom. We did mother-daughter outings when I was growing up--a weekend at Embassy Suites, banquets at church, shopping trips and hair appointments, and eventually, wedding planning. This trip will be more precious time together, continuing our journey together as mother and daughter.


This was the Star Wars Christmas for Aaron, the GI Joe and Philadelphia Eagles Christmas for Kaleb, and the clothing/iPod stereo Christmas for Braylen. Nobody got the DSi they wanted, but we blamed Santa for that. :)

Another surprise of the week--my dad went turkey hunting with my husband! Derek, Dad, Braylen, Shawn, and Derek's dad went out together and came back with 3 birds. Derek, his dad, and Shawn were the only ones shooting, but Dad and Braylen had just as much fun. Braylen even lost a tooth. How fun to see my dad enjoy spending time with my husband and son. The rest of us stayed home and slept in. :) The kids always wake up Grammy and Grampy while they're here, and every time they seem to get them up later and later. But isn't that what vacation is for?

Kaleb and Aaron went along on hunting trip #2 of the week. My husband is amazing!

Mom and I went out for lunch, shopping, and coffee one day. Now that they're gone, I see our memories all over town and it makes me miss them more. I know God has us where we need to be, but it's still hard to live apart. My brother spent the holiday at his in-laws' house states away from us; hopefully we don't let an entire year go by before we see each other again. He did send me a case of Dublin Dr. Pepper for Christmas, so I can think of him every time I take a sip. :) What a guy!

New Year's Eve brought a funny from Aaron:

Kids and adults sipped on sparkling grape juice--adults from tiny crystal goblets, kids from large plastic margarita glasses. Quite a while later, we re-filled glasses and Aaron asked, "Can I have some more beer?" Wow, I'm SO glad I knew we needed to straighten this out for Aaron's understanding. He thought we were passing around alcoholic drinks for all to share--kids and adults. Yikes! :)

I think Kaleb's had a few too many :)

Yesterday was our first day back to normal; kids back in school and me back at Walmart to buy groceries. After preschool Aaron said, "Can I put my footy jammies back on now Mommy?" Can you tell he enjoyed wearing his new jammies a LOT during Christmas break? Oh, if we could only wear footy jammies and cozy up under a blanket all winter long...we could hibernate like bears. Sounds good to me. :)

Trying Something New

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Christmas slideshow of our fun times together. :) What great memories I have of Christmas 2009!