Hangin' On to Summer

As soon as we got home yesterday, Alex hopped on his bike and took off to play with the neighbors.  He brought three of them back to our yard to play, and a couple of the parents came too.  The kids romped around the backyard while the adults sipped beverages on the porch.  Only thing that went wrong was that dinner didn't happen.  The kids snacked their way through the evening, but the adults didn't eat.  That might possibly be the reason brushing my teeth this morning ended with my stomach contents vacating the premises.  Allegedly.

Anywho, Alex had requested Ramen for dinner, and he immediately brought up the Ramen-less evening when I told him it was time to go to bed.  It was way passed his bedtime and I was not about to make Ramen, so I stupidly half-jokingly told him I would make it for him in the morning.  Dumb dumb Mama.  The boys went to daycare late today because of course he remembered and held me to my word.

So, while Sam was eating grapes, yogurt, and Apple Jacks, Alex was slurping up some 19¢ chicken flavored Ramen.

Travis sat there in a fog of confusion and asked, "What is happening here?"  And with my head hung in defeat, I answered, "I made a deal with the devil."

Day Care Picture Updates

Day Care takes a fair amount of pictures of the kids and posts them for the parents.

First:

I do not understand how they get these children to do things they completely refuse to do at home.  I cannot get Sam to sit in the grass for the life of me.  He even has an adverse reaction if I'm holding him, which if he gets is way is CONSTANTLY, and I walk on grass.  While we are on pavement, he will sit on my hip with his little legs dangling idly on either side, but as soon as I walk onto grass, he pulls his legs up and clamps on to my stomach and back.  If you are holding him out in front of you, he will hang his legs down.  But if you lower him toward grass?  He raises them into a pike position as the same rate of speed with which you are lowering him.  He won't even really touch it with his hands.  And yet, here he is...sitting in the grass.  Now, I realize he is wearing pants, but that little fact has no bearing on the grass hatred when I am with him.

And second:

So far, this is no different at home.  These two love each other so much.  And Alex is a stupendous big brother.  Yesterday when Sam was throwing a fit because I dared to set him down while I browned some ground beef, I mockingly shook my fist in the air while saying, "That Sam I Am!  That Sam I Am!  I do not like that Sam I Am!"  Alex quickly quieted me and said that we should just say, "Don't be sad Sam" instead so that we don't "accidentally make him feel bad for feeling sad."

Gettin' Ready

School starts in less than a week.  "Back to School Night" is today from 3-4pm.  Not really a "night" if you ask me, but I suppose we have to keep it early since the kids are only 6.  Whatever.  We get to meet his teacher, see his room, and drop off all of his school supplies.  Last year, his teacher took a picture of each kid at Back to School Night and she used that picture multiple times throughout the year.  I have no clue if his teacher this year will do the same, but just in case, I made an appointment for Mop Top Hair Shop boy to get a haircut.

Clearly I should have trimmed his sideburns a bit earlier in the sunny summertime season, but pretty cute, huh?

Man, that smile.  And those eyes.  So much sweet and naughty captured in one little picture.  Holy buckets I love this kid.

Save Big Money

I was at Menards the other day and was delighted when I noticed they sell the super fancy shampoo and conditioner I use.  And since I didn't feel like making another stop that day, I happily bought both, tossed them in the cart with my paint brush and lawn fertilizer, and headed to the check-out.  How nice that Menards can be a one-stop-shop, right?

Yeeeeeah, nice until I used the conditioner.

I don't know if Pantene sends only a shitty version of their regular conditioner to Menards, but I will tell you:  I am not happy with my hardware store hair care purchase.  It is thick, but waxy instead of creamy.  And it smells like Lip Smackers.  Not that there's anything wrong with Lip Smackers...for a 9 year old.  But I am thirtyfreakingseven.  I do not need, nor do I want, Watermelon Kiwi Explosion scented hair.

So feeding himself is going well..

Not the Musical Type

"Mom, do not get the movie 'Ann!'"
"You mean 'Annie?'"
"No, 'Ann.'"
"Hmmmm, I've never heard of that one.  What's it about?"
"A little girl trying to find her way home."
"And did they sing a lot in it?"
"Yeah, I think so....And they did a bunch of cleaning?"
"And while they cleaned, did this sing this song, 'It's a hard knock life; for us!'"
"YES!"
"That's 'Annie.'"
"Yeeeeaaaaahhh...That movie is not for me."

Good for Gosling, Good for Gander

Sam had his 15 month check up today and his weight is kinda on it's own plateau plan.  The doctor isn't hip to that jive since it's been that way for the last 6 months or so, so she told me we have to add more calories and fat to his diet.  No joke.  She said, and I quote, "It's great that he eats broccoli, now put butter or cheese sauce on it."  She also made some other recommendations like full fat yogurt, sweet potato fries, etc.  And she reminded me to keep pushing him to eat meat.

So, during his nap today, I made some cheese sauce to go with the broccoli we have in the fridge.  And what do ya know?  I just happened to have chips and salsa to go with it!  Yay for me!  Booooo for my spare tire.

This whole adding fat and calories to Sam's diet thing is going to be a challenge to the changes I am trying to make to my own diet.

I'm Not Watching!

It's Fun Friday at daycare today.  This Fun Friday includes pajamas, blankets, popcorn, and a movie.  Now we all now Alex's opinions of movies, right?  He doesn't like movies.  He never likes movies.  He doesn't want to watch them.  Uh huh.

When Travis and I watched "The Lorax," Alex continually said he didn't want to watch it...while he was standing on the stairs peering around the banister watching the TV.  "Alex, do you want to come sit with me to watch this?"  "What?!  No!  I don't like movies and I don't want to watch this."  All with his eyes glued to the TV.

Daycare just sent me this picture of Alex "not watching the movie."

That kid over there next to the table with the blue top?  You know, the one watching the movie through the shelf in front of him?  Yep.  That's Alex.

Protection

Hair in horrible need of cutting?  Check.
Awkward smile we thought was gone?  Check.
Kick butt temporary tattoos on forearm?  Check.
Shin guards?  Ummm...Check?










This is how Alex went to day care today.  He has taken a couple spills off of various toys in the past couple of days (one motorized, one not,) and has decided he wants to wear his shin guards because he "falls down a lot."  He also wanted to wear them to bed so he could cut down on his time needed to get ready this morning.

He's goin' places this one.

I Wanna Go Back

Soooooooo, I don't wanna adult anymore.  I was being a good adult and finally cleaning out my refrigerator for the first time in a very long time.  Like possibly since we moved in.  I know I have cleaned the produce drawers before, but I'm struggling to come up with a time I actually took the shelves out and gave the ol' girl a good wipe down.

Any way, I cleaned out the random jars of old olives, salad dressings, marinades, and hot sauces, and crammed the contents of said jars into the sink disposal.  I flipped the switch and away went all the nasty expired grossness.  But then the disposal starting sounding not good and my entire counter started to tremble and the faucet was shaking like it was possessed by a poltergeist.  I turned the disposal off and stuck my hand in there expecting to find some old lime rinds that were refusing to be pulverized.  That is not what I found.

My fingers inspected the nooks and crannies and came upon the obstruction.  A couple seconds into my discovery mission, I was standing there holding a gelatinous blob of squishy flesh colored goo big enough to fill my hand.  It was honestly all I could do to not vomit on the spot.  I immediately dropped the blob of goo into the sink, grabbed a paper towel to shield my hand, picked the blob back up, and launched it into the garbage can before my eyes could land on it again.  All while my stomach lurched into my throat with each image of the blob returning to my mind.

The only thing I can think is that maybe some raw chicken scraps got in there and balled up into a cohesive glob of malleable goo instead of getting broken up by the disposal blades.  Digusting.

So yeah, I don't wanna adult anymore.  I want to go back to a time when I wasn't responsible for keeping a sink disposal gooey glob free.  And I'm quite positive I wasn't repsonsible for any bills at that time in my life either.  This needs to happen.

A Man's Man

Alex was putzing around the house when he heard the lawn mower start up.  He leapt to his feet and asked if he could go help Dad.  Well, yes, you can, but some clothing will be necessary.  He ran up to his room to grab some clothes, socks, and shoes.  A half minute later, he reappeared, still naked, at the top of the steps.  "Mom?  Can I be like a man and not wear a shirt?"

Yep.

Silently Speaking Her Mind

This summer we have been spending a lot of weekends away from home, and that means Miss Aiden has been spending a lot of weekends at the kennel.  She likes it there and is happily exhausted when she comes home, but something about her body language on the way there today made me think she's over it.

She sat like that most of the way... Wouldn't even look at me.

Sick?

Sam has a slight cold.  It's enough of a cold to give him just the right amount of fever at day care yesterday to not be able to go back today, so I am working from home with him here.  Oh goodie.  My favorite thing.

I have to admit, it's way easier when Alex is the sick one now.  He is perfectly content to lay on the couch and watch TV.  Well, I mean, he's perfectly content doing that now, so I guess it's no surprise he doesn't mind when he's sick.  Whatever.  Not shockingly, Sam isn't quite so low key.  Especially when he's not really all that sick.  Like today.  Evidence?  Boom.

PS-I think we might be making a Target run after his nap to pick up some hair cutting scissors so we can see his ears again.