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.