Picnic

Every Thursday evening in the summer, our town has live music at a park.  Last night was the last event for the summer, so naturally we finally got around to going.  This one mostly caught my eye because the band Natty Nation was playing.  Travis and I both like them, and the boys now love "Jamaica" music, so off we went.  The description of the event said there are local businesses providing food options, so we figured we'd just grab something there.  Not sure if it was because it was the last one of the summer or what, but the available food was one table with pizzas that a local business had donated.  Which is very nice, but not dinner...unless we could grab like 75% of one of the pizzas.

Travis wondered out loud if JimmyJohn's would deliver to the park, and then called and sure enough!  Subs, chips, and drinks delivered while we sat in lawn chairs listening to reggae.  Not a bad deal.

We spread out a blanket for the boys to sit and eat, and we quickly realized the park grass was too uneven to keep to go soda cups standing.  Alex had already taken his shoes off, so Travis suggested they put the cups in the heels of Alex's shoes to keep them upright.  Bang bang choo choo train, good to go.  Then Travis went full on Dad Mode and named the invention, "Shoezies."  "You know...like coozies, but with shoes."  Yes, Travis, I get it.

The boys thought is was hilarious and brilliant.  Travis made sure everyone in a 20 foot radius heard his creative name.  I was pissed I didn't come up with such an epic pun.

Getting Ready

Both boys had Back To School events last night.  First up was Sam:

He was so excited to meet his teacher and go to the big school and take his backpack and see the gym and play on the playground and meet new friends.  He. Was. Excited.  The teacher handed out yard signs for the Kindergarten students and come on...could this kid get any cuter?

 Then it was Alex's turn:

He is not excited.  He is "fine" with his teacher.  He is nervous about going to the big school.  He's usuing his backpack from last year.  He thinks the gym is normal.  He is not pumped about the playground.  He has zero interest in making new friends.  Have I mentioned pre-teens are really fun?  He is however excited about his locker.  And the fact that he mastered opening it pretty quickly.  And as much as I cannot believe he is old enough to have a locker at school with a comb, I have to admit it was fun teaching him how to use it.  I am really proud of him, and he's gonna kick 5th grade's butt.

Never Ending

Thnking about having kids?  Fun!  Rewarding!  Exhausting!

I know I've told the story before about Travis and I both seeing some HotWheels in our nephews bathtub and it sparking the desire for kiddos for each of us.  Well, my boys are definitely living up to that standard.  Every time I go to take a shower, I have to clear out the bottom of the bathtub and put everything that will fit in the sink to finish drying out.  Every.  Time.

Henry Vilas Zoo

Our little zoo in Madison is free admission so it makes a nice quick afternoon trip.  Sam would have stayed longer, but Alex was on a mission to see every animal for .7 seconds apparently.  I did managed to snap a few pictures...

A Win!

The other day, I saw a post about a kiddo that was upset that some other kids called him a name.  If I could remember what the name was, it would help the story, but we will say the kids called him stupid.  And instead of asking who said it or asking more about the situation, the parent asked, "Well, are you?"  The kid said no, and the parent then talked about knowing yourself and not worrying about what other people think because you know who/what you are.

I thought it was an interesting approach, and I actually got to try it out last night

Sam was all sorts of upset because some kids at school called him "Chucky Sam."  (I have no fucking clue what that is supposed to mean, but Sam was upset about it.)  I was thiiiiiiiiiiiiis close to asking who said it, but then I didn't and I just asked, "Well, are you Chucky Sam?"  He was still super pissed and yelled, "NO!  I'M SAM!"  So I said, "You're right.  And they are wrong about who you are.  Does matter more that they are wrong or that you know that you are Sam?"  He started explain yelling that he was still mad because they are saying he's something he's not, so I told him again, "Yes, but you know who you are.  And that is what matters."  He sat for a minute, and then all of sudden stopped crying and smiled and said, "Yeah!  I know I'm Sam!  And it doesn't matter what they think because what I think about me is right!"

You guys, I swear I almost passed out.  Now, I'm not saying this will be a lasting lesson or anything, but dang if it didn't work!  I rarely take parenting advice to heart, but this is a keeper.

And while I was basking in this parenting win just now, Alex brought me right back to reality with, "Moooooooom!  I broke the sink!"

Fantastic.

All's Good

Once again, it's been a long time ("Been a long time, been long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely lonely time." - Led Zeppelin) since I've posted anything.  Things 'round the Julius's - Cottage Grove Edition are just fine and dandy.  We're gearing up for school, while begging for more summer.  Nothing too exciting.

The boys have had a summer of laziness, camping, swimming, day care field trips, and sibling fighting.  Pretty typical.

My latest bit of news, other than deciding it was a good idea to become the concession stand manager for hockey (not my wisest decision) is that I bought a blanket that looks like a tortilla.  It is everything I wanted it to be.

Yes, I did make Alex take a picture of me wrapped up like a Jackie Burrito; but that was only because he is becoming a straight up pre-teen and is consistently shying away from "embarrassing" or "uncool" things and wouldn't roll himself up for a photo.  He'll figure out what he's missing one of these days.  And no, I was not drinking when I made this purchase like I was for the purchase of my "Guess What? Chicken Butt" tshirt.  No matter the state of sobriety though, both were AMAZING purchases.

Mini Adventure

The boys and I went for a walk on the Glacial Drumlin trail yesterday.  We took a little detour off the trail, through a small tunnel under the railroad, and to a park.  We found 6 kindness rocks at the park!  I love love LOVE the whole kindness rocks idea, but I have never found one.  Alex's art class participated this year, so it made it even more fun for him to find some.  We all enjoyed finding new "hiding" places for the rocks too.  And then we headed back.  And that's when Sam decided a 1/4 mile walk was just too much for his little legs and refused to walk any more.  So I carried him.  While swatting mosquitoes and sweating my butt off in 76% humidity.  Yay for family outings!

I snapped this picture of the boys and the dog and when I took it, I didn't realize Alex's head was all but covering the "head" part of "Trailhead."  Now that I see it, I can't stop noticing it.  Unintentional pun!

Meaning

While trying to get Sam to sleep last night we had some interesting conversation...

There was a big ol' pile of blankets on his bed and he called it a "pile-ette" and then asked me if that was a bad word.  After a fair amount of confused back and forth, I finally realized he was trying to say "shut your pie hole."  Great.  I explained it wasn't exactly a bad word, but it definitely wasn't something nice to say.  He followed that with, "But the 'shit' word is a bad one, right?"

He then launched into telling me that he loves me, but sometimes he gets mad at me.  I took that opportunity to remind him that it's ok to be mad at people, and even though we can get mad at each other we always love each other no matter what...

"And Mama?  Sometimes when you get mad at me, it makes me cry."

"Yes Buddy, I know.  I'm sorry it makes you cry.  But even if I'm mad about your behavior, I always always love you."

"And sometimes Mama?  When you tell me you always love me it makes me cry too, but a different cry."

"Do you mean it makes you feel so happy it makes you cry?"  (I said while barely holding it together.)

"Yes!  Like that!  I love you, Mama.  Can I have one big kiss?  Not a billion little kisses though.  Just one big one."

"Absolutely."

These two

I wouldn't have had to crop Lulu out of the picture if she would have looked at the camera...but by that standard, I probably should have cropped out Sam as well.