Middle of March

Here we are halfway through March. Hallelujah! In my mind, March is a month of extremes. One day it's snowing, the next day it's 60 degrees. One day we're all healthy, the next day someone has a fever. One day I'm anticipating spring's arrival, the next day I'm forced to plan our entire summer. It's almost enough to drive me crazy. Almost. :)

Last week Kaleb presented his first oral project in school. He's in third grade! I think if I was expected to do this in 3rd grade I would've refused to go to school. What a wimp I am in front of a group of people! Braylen did this project when he was in 3rd grade so I knew it was coming for Kaleb. For this project he needed to showcase how he is the best that he can be. We discussed what he would do, and I gently nudged him away from a video presentation towards a poster board instead. :) Parents were invited to come to school, have lunch with our kids, and then watch the presentations. Of course I was all over that. After a yummy school lunch of a hotdog, corn with no salt, peaches, tossed salad, cinnamon roll, and chocolate milk, we gathered together in the classroom. I quickly learned that every girl who presented her project that day put together a scrapbook. Every boy made a poster. Thank goodness I have sons! Kaleb told me his stomach hurt and he thought he had to go to the bathroom. I told him his stomachache would magically disappear once his presentation ended. He stood at the front of the room and described the things he does in his life that show how he is the best he can be. He did a great job. :) When he was done he picked 3 kids with questions for him and answered each one. Then the teacher and all the students said together, "Kaleb (last name) you are the best that you can be!" Being the emotional sap that I am, it brought tears to my eyes. I was so proud of Kaleb, and he's growing up so fast.

Kaleb with his wonderful teacher :)

Friday night Kaleb spent the night at the children's museum here in town! A friend from school had his birthday party there...for 12 hours! It ended up being so much fun for Kaleb. After praying for him to develop some friendships, nothing made me happier than seeing him run and play with his friends at this party. Saturday morning I picked him up just in time to come home and see Braylen and Derek leave for a Boy Scout lock-in. The 5 of us literally had 15 minutes together before they left. During that time I caught my boys doing this.

Most of the time they are wrestling and shouting and grunting with each other, so this was a nice treat. :) Braylen spent a lot of time earning his swimming merit badge this weekend. He had to do all sorts of things to earn this badge, including jumping fully clothed into the pool. Derek took video and it looks like he had fun. :) While they were gone, Kaleb and Aaron wanted to ride bikes with light sabers in hand. Problem was, Kaleb's bike still hung from the ceiling of our garage. This short mommy can't reach it! Should I call for help? My brother-in-law's pretty tall... I decided to become resourceful and use a step ladder. Derek laughed at me when he found out how I got the bike down, but I felt proud of myself. We had a fun day riding bikes and playing basketball. For the record I finally beat Kaleb at PIG.

Sunday brought more snow. The bikes stayed in the garage while Braylen and Aaron built a little snowman. Kaleb went out for lunch with his grandparents. They also visited a nature center together. Kaleb really enjoyed being the sole recipient of their attention that day. :)

Monday threw me a surprise with a sick child. I'm praying we can avoid the cesspool waiting room at the clinic this week, since there are so many illnesses going around. Hopefully our breathing treatments at home will be enough. We'll see. To end this post I have a few funnies.

• Aaron gathered up some styrofoam packing peanuts blowing around in the yard, brought them in the house, and set them on the counter. He said, "Mom, next time you get crabby you can look at these." I never knew packing peanuts chased away crabbiness, but now I know!
• Recently I saw our former neighbor on the front page of the newspaper. A memory came flashing back... About 11 years ago I drove Derek's Mustang and hit an icy patch in front of our house. I knew I was going to hit one of two vehicles: either my mother-in-law's car or my neighbor's van. I chose to hit the van. From that day on he never parked his van in front of his house again, but around the corner. (He was very gracious and forgave me for denting his van) 4 years later we moved out. Driving by our old house one day, I noticed the neighbor parked his van in front of his house again. I guess he figured the crazy lady across the street wasn't going to hit it anymore.
• My boys didn't believe me that I could make a really ugly face, so I showed them. They roared with laughter and Aaron said, "Wow Mom, you are really ugly!" Derek told me that is a compliment, so that is how I choose to view it too. :)

Aaron's adorable picture of David & Goliath with 5 stones glued to the paper, and Goliath wearing a helmet with a smiley face on it.

Musical Monday

Given a choice, our boys would rather have a P.E. day than a music day. But when it came time for their music programs, I admit they were pretty excited. So was I. :) After months of listening to them sing their songs around the house, I was anxious to see it all come together on stage.

Aaron's program, "The Granny Awards," came first. Filled with songs centered around children's fairy tales, Aaron's featured song was "Shoe-Shoe Sha-Boogie." Other favorites were from Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White, and Big Bad Wolf. Aaron wanted this program to be a surprise for us, so he didn't sing his songs at home like his brothers did. In fact, he sang their songs at home. :) Watching him on stage made me smile. Kindergartners are so cute, and he's our last cute kindergartner!

Braylen and Kaleb's program, "That's Entertainment," came next. 16 TV programs were featured, and it really was a trip down memory lane. It's a funny feeling to watch our kids sing songs from TV shows we loved at their age! Kaleb was Pugsley Addams from The Addams Family, while Braylen was Fred Flintstone. The props for this program were amazing! The Minnow ship from "Gilligan's Island," the car from "The Beverly Hillbillies," and a motorcycle for Fonzie from "Happy Days," to name a few. Other shows we really liked were "The Brady Bunch," "Full House," and "Saved By the Bell." I think our boys' favorite was "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air." The kids know the words to all of these theme songs better than we do, and yet we're the ones who watched those shows. :)

Braylen let out a "yabba-dabba-do" back stage before shuffling out in this car. Later he told me he stepped on Wilma's foot. Good thing they were barefoot I guess! :) Braylen also had a speaking part, introducing "Mister Ed."

This was a night of firsts (for Aaron) and of lasts (for Braylen.) We were thankful to have Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Pam and cousin A join us for these musicals. And I took plenty of video so my parents can watch it too.  :)

It's Still Winter

Today I'm reminded that our winter is never officially over until we have a storm in March. Funny, since I just put the kids' snow boots away yesterday. Silly me! We're not done with sicknesses either...

Last Wednesday Aaron complained of a "cold throat." He said the air in his throat felt cold. Strange. Thursday morning he said his throat hurt, but it seemed better after breakfast. With a 98.5 temp, I didn't see the need to keep him home from school. Still, I was on the lookout for strep. My kids have a knack for harboring strep germs in such sneaky ways. They've experienced the 103 fevers and throats so sore they can barely swallow. But they've also had strep without fevers or sore throats. An upset stomach, or maybe a headache. After school my little boy looked like a deflated balloon with red-rimmed eyes and no energy. Time to visit the clinic. Imagine my surprise when the doctor told me Aaron's strep culture came back negative. "It must be a virus," the doctor said. I was not convinced. By now Aaron's fever was 100.3 and I just knew he had strep. Feeling like I'd wasted time and money, we went home.

Friday morning a nurse from the clinic called to tell me Aaron's overnight culture came back positive for strep. Finally, some medicine for my little guy! By Friday night he was feeling SO much better. Never underestimate the power of a mother's intuition!!!  :)

Since Aaron was sick, Kaleb and Braylen asked if they could have a sleepover in Braylen's room. These two brothers will always be the best of roommates, even if their parents split them up against their will last summer. We let them enjoy two nights together, and there was never a conflict between them. Aaron didn't care, since it gave him sole control of the cd player in his room. Plus, he was sick. Even if he was feeling better.

Aaron poses for one of my "before" camera shots.

Derek had mercy on me and agreed to spend the weekend painting our living room. I'd purchased the paint over Labor Day weekend, so he's heard about this painting project for 6 months now. Friday night he prepped the room, Saturday he painted, and Sunday he put the room back together for me. What a guy! I'm not the detail-oriented person he is, so he makes a much better painter. Plus, our living room has vaulted ceilings. Painting up high is much easier for him. I love my new living room! I'd post a picture but I don't want to give my parents a sneak peek. They can see it for themselves when they come out later this month. :) Maybe they can help me figure out where to put Kaleb's bird. He lost his spot when we moved furniture around, and I can't keep him in the kitchen forever.

One of our favorite ways to spend Friday nights is in front of the tv with the kids. We eat pizza on tv trays and watch old episodes of "The Dukes of Hazzard." The boys love the car chases and the bumbling Sheriff Roscoe P. Coaltrain with his dog, Flash. We watched not one but two episodes this past weekend. One on Friday and another on Saturday. I just love those times with the kids before they turn into teenagers who would rather be with their friends on Friday nights.

"Hank the Cowdog" stories on cd carried Derek through his hours of painting this weekend. The boys sat on couches pushed together in the middle of the living room and listened to Hank. (I even caught Derek listening to Hank by himself!) Braylen and I escaped for a bit and bought the most amazing book called "Heaven is For Real." Braylen, Derek, and I each read it in a day. To see what I mean, click here.

Almost time for my quiet Monday to end and my busy Monday to begin. :)

Changes

3rd quarter ends today, meaning only one quarter of this school year remains. It's gone too fast. I've tried to hold on and enjoy it, but the end is in sight. Today I picked Kaleb up from school to treat him to lunch. When I pulled up, Aaron's class was outside for recess. When I took Kaleb back to school, Braylen's class was outside for recess. At any given time of the day I can drive up to the school and see my boys. I can see all 3 of them if I time it right. I love that. I will miss that so much. Middle school means big changes are coming.

Kaleb chose to come home for lunch today for a chicken patty. He is so easy to please. :) He gave Ginger her lunchtime treat and brought in the mail for me. We ate our lunches at the sunny kitchen table and listened to...guess..."Hank the Cowdog." I loved every minute of it.

The first of Aaron's two front teeth fell out at school last Wednesday. He brought it home in a little envelope. He sounds different without that tooth in place. He looks different too. Little changes.

Kaleb earned his Bear patch in Cub Scouts and Braylen earned his Arrow of Light. I used to watch the 5th graders cross over to Boy Scouts and imagine it being far away. Not anymore. Braylen crossed over on Sunday. He's now a Boy Scout! We move on from blue to brown. Instead of packs and dens we have troops and patrols. I wonder if I'll ever get the lingo straight. :) Derek's decided to be an assistant troop leader, which means he'll be leading Braylen's patrol. Boy Scouts go camping every month. Sometimes more than once a month. They also meet more frequently than Cub Scouts. They even have...a campout with their moms this spring. Yikes! More little changes in our lives.

Like everything else, our involvement at church changes over time. From Awana to MOPS to commissions to music ministry...sometimes we need to take a step back and ask ourselves if we need to make a change. I think as our kids grow older we grow out of things too. Not sure how it will all look, but I do know youth group is coming. Wednesday nights will look different. Church camp might be traded in for Boy Scout camp this summer. Things I thought I'd always do are no longer things I can commit to.

Braylen is finishing his last piano lesson book, and he's asking us if he can stop his lessons. He wants to play the drums, and he's fulfilled more than the 2 year piano lesson requirement. So we will swap Braylen for Aaron, and now Kaleb and Aaron will be our piano players. I imagine one day when Braylen is practicing the drums I will long for his piano playing days. :) Tonight will most likely be his last piano lesson. One more change.

I have a friend who frequently reminds me we will never be "friends for a season." Neither of us really like that concept, so we've promised each other we'll never end up that way. But sometimes people come into our lives for a time, mean a lot to us, and we move forward in different directions. That's kind of how I'm feeling today regarding our family and what we're involved with. We've hung out in this comfortable zone for years. But it's almost time to move forward in some different directions. We're not moving, but we're moving on. We're not having another child, but our children are taking us to some new places.

Derek will appreciate this post because he frequently tells me I don't do well with change. This is my attempt to do better. :)