Boys at Play

We kinda skipped Literacy Night last night (I know we are horrible) for Isaac. We opted to go to the park because it was so BEAUTIFUL out! I took the camera and got some pictures of ALL my boys at play. I think the evening is my favorite time to take pictures outside, such GREAT natural lighting.

Not sure why he is making that face

he made that face after touching the sand on the slide
Caleb and Andrew sliding
Andrew is not big on the feel of sand - GOTTA GET HIM TO THE BEACH!!!

Bryce sliding
Isaac sliding


Bryce and Isaac rolling
ALL my boys
Isaac rolling down the hill
Caleb and Bryce


Not sure what Isaac is thinking about!

REDNECK

Nice seat
Muscle man
Boys will be boys

Andrew LOVED the tire swing and did a great job holding on by himself




HAHAHAHAAHA!!!!!!
Bryce, Isaac and Andrew
oops, he fell out
Bryce
Caleb
Isaac and Andrew
Peek-a-boo

Why You Don't Let Daddy Do the Dressing

As if the mullet (that Daddy keeps saying we can't cut - but I am taking to get cut this weekend anyway) wasn't bad enough - Daddy puts him in clothes to small for him. Can he make him look anymore redneck? At least he is CUTE!

More on Bryce and Alice

This morning we were going over the "no-kissing-or-looking-up-girls-dresses" talk before he went to school. He innocently says "I was just keeping her as a friend!"

I am not sure if he has her locked up somewhere or if she is his pet!!

Lord, Please Grant Me Strength

To deal with raising boys!

Isaac got off the bus saying that Bryce kissed a girl. Bryce spent most of the night screaming he did NOT kiss a girl. Yet, throughout the night he would make comments that made it clear he probably DID kiss someone. Like, I asked if it was Alice (his "girlfriend") he kissed (or didn't kiss) and he said yes.

We were talking about it on the way to the park tonight. He was again saying he did NOT kiss her, but then he adds proudly "but I saw her panties!" I asked how and he said that he snuck out of his bus seat and looked up her skirt. He was very proud of himself.

Then Caleb giggles and says "sounds just like Daddy to me!"

I don't know, and I am not touching it!

Again, REALLY rethinking the bus thing!

Mommy Police

Andrew likes to imitate sirens when he hears them. Today, when he is doing something he knows he is not supposed to be doing and sees me coming, he starts making siren sounds.

I guess he is warning himself that Mama is coming to set him straight!

Flex Friday

One thing we have missed since Paul took this job was that he did not get off every other Friday like at his past job. At that job, if they worked their normal hours everyday for nine days, they got every other Friday off.

His company here is now implementing their own flex Friday policy - YAY!!! It is a little more difficult at this job because of his position. His department (health and safety) is vital to the plant. At his past job he could choose the Fridays he had off. Here he can't. They have a policy in place of who takes off when.

I am not picky! I am just excited that he will get every other Friday off. Boys will be in school (except AJ). We will have one day every other week together!!

Pediatrician

If you read this blog regularly, you know one of my biggest stresses since we moved here has been finding a pediatrician comparable to what we have had in the past. The kids have had two pediatricians their entire life - one in TX and one in AR.

We have been to one here last month for Bryce's kindergarten physical. I was NOT impressed! It is a pediatrician/internal medicine clinic and all of the drs see all ages. That is fine for some. I don't think he spent near enough time with us though. It was a new patient and we spent less than FIVE minutes with the dr. Bryce was supposed to have a physical, the dr checked his reflexes and asked if there were any problems. That doesn't work for me! You can't catch ANYTHING medically by asking a parent if they have seen anything and checking reflexes.

Maybe I am spoiled, I don't know. But - it is what it is.

I just called and made an appointment for Andrew for his 18 month checkup. We are getting in the sick season and I am not comfortable not having a dr if we need one. Unfortunately, I have to drive 45 minutes (assuming there is minimal traffic) to go to the dr. There are only a handful of drs in our town. Some are at the clinic we already went too. The rest are at the hospital and are not from America. That is not a racist statement, but I had a cardiologist that was from another country and I could not understand him very well. With all of the issues that AJ has had - I NEED to be able to easily understand the dr I am dealing with.

I picked an older dr that has stayed current with all of his certifications. Hopefully, he will take time to listen and go over things. If not, we will find another dr. Maybe I will just start going back to Arkansas when the kids need to go to the dr!!! Luckily we were able to get in Tuesday (the 7th). Wish us luck!!!

Rethinking the Bus Riding Thing

I am seriously rethinking the whole kids-on-the-bus thing. I am loving not sitting in line, but the drama might not be worth it!!

Yesterday, Caleb was picked up 10 minutes before school started. He is not the last stop, so he got to school JUST in time (good thing he doesn't eat breakfast at school). A different bus and driver came.

This morning, he was picked up 15 minutes before school starts. He was standing right at the road and the bus driver flew right past him. When he noticed they were not slowing down he started waving his hands. The bus driver stopped the next house down. Yet ANOTHER new bus driver.

He is constantly having new bus drivers that don't know the route. Isaac and Bryce have had the SAME bus driver and the SAME bus aide EVERY day of school.

Add on top of the issues with Caleb's bus you have Isaac and Bryce who got in trouble for "cussing" on the bus (which is also where they learned it).

Maybe they have too much talking time when they are on the bus. Too much oppurtunity to learn things I am not ready for them to learn. Maybe this whole bus thing wasn't a good idea.

But it is SO nice not living in my car!

I am reconsidering what is best though.

Mr Independence

Bryce has always been pretty independent, but now that he has started school....

He has decided that he can comb his own hair. Usually I don't mind, but today is picture day. Still, wasn't worth a fight that would put him in a mood all day, so Bryce combed his own hair for his school pictures (at least he combed it). Not how Mommy would have done it, but Mommy is not going to control him to the point that his hair has to be done a certain way.

Oh, my boys are growing up TOO fast (except for the big one - sometimes it seems the little ones are catching up to the big one rather rapidly).

Sneaky

I have noticed that when I give AJ cereal for breakfast or cookies or fruit snacks for snack he eats really quickly and is ready to get down. Then for the next several hours, he disappears and reappears with food in his mouth. Yesterday he had Nilla wafers. About an hour later he came out to the living room with a whole Nilla wafer.

He is hiding his food under his seat when he eats. Then he comes in and gets what he wants when he wants it.

Smart, I guess (in a nasty kind of way).

What else is he already being sneaky about? Is he going to be climbing out windows soon? Oh, wait. I have a security system that every door and window are hooked to, so now I will know when my boys try to get sneaky (until they outsmart the security system. OH! I KNOW THEY WILL TRY!!

Are You KIDDING ME?

I don't usually comment on things like this on the blog, but this is just insane!

I just read that PETA has asked Ben and Jerry's to stop using cows milk in their ice cream and start using HUMAN BREAST MILK!! SERIOUSLY!!!

They want them to do this to help stop the inhumane treatment of cows. Apparently it is okay to hook women up to a pump, but not cows? They say that cows milk is made for calf's. Yes....and breast milk is made for BABIES!!! I am all for breast feeding - I have done it with all my children, but this is a little extreme!

There are just so many issues I can see with this. First off, breast milk is made for BABIES, not adults. Secondly, what kind of screening process are these women going to have to go through BEFORE they "donate" their milk for use. Thirdly, do they give woman hormones to make them produce milk or do they take new moms and instead of them nursing their babies, they give it to Ben and Jerry's for use in their ice cream?

Here is the letter that was sent to Ben and Jerry's from PETA:

September 23, 2008

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.

Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President

Father/Son Blues Session

Daddy has been learning how to play harmonica (on his own) for a while. Andrew loves hearing it and actually playing it. Daddy got him his own harmonica when we went to New Orleans this summer. Here are some pictures of them playing the blues together. I have some video of them together, but I need to get it uploaded!

Bryce Modeling

For Marmar

Marmar likes to teach her grandchildren to jump in puddles. This grandchild figured it out on his OWN!!!

Evel Kneivel

This summer we got Andrew a four wheeler ride on to play with while the boys played on their bikes at the corporate house. Who knew he would be such a stunt rider!
he can lay across it off to the side
he can ride backwards

he can lay across it
He can stand on it (he is kneeling here, but he will actually stand tall on it)

Old Stuff

I was looking at the blog and realized that I never put the boys first day of school pics on. Which made me realize, I didn't put a LOT of stuff on! I don't know why - it is not like August was a busy month or anything, what with trying to sell a house, buy a house, get kids in school, transfer kids to school, moving (from two different houses), etc. So, I will try to get some pictures of the boys on here from August - including first day of school pictures (in their uniforms).
Isaac's first day of FIRST grade
Caleb's first day of FOURTH grade
I have to find Bryce's picture - his first day was not the same as the other two.

September?

What happened to September? It was all a blur and I just realized it is October now. I guess the whirlwind of Gustav, moving (still), Ike, four kids, a husband, mice and life took over it!!

It is almost Christmas time. :( This year has flown by!

Busy Morning

Andrew has had a busy morning. He has been busy learning how to undress himself. What is great is that he has been watching me doing laundry this morning. So, he took off his pajama shirt, found a hanger and worked for quite a while at trying to hang the shirt up. Then he took off his shorts, spent some time trying to fold them and then gave up and started doing this with them:

The Hard Life

I got this email from Emily the other day. HILARIOUS and SO true! We are going through the internet vs card catalog thing with Caleb since he has two projects due in less than a week. Just too good not to share!



When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears

With their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they
were growing up; what with walking Twenty-five miles to school every
morning ... Uphill... BOTH ways



Yadda, yadda, yadda



And I remember promising myself that when I grew up,
there was no way I was going to lay
a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it
And how easy they've got it!
But now that... I'm over the ripe old age
of Thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today.



You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my

Childhood, you live in Utopia!
And I hate to say it but you kids today
you don't know how good you've got it!



I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted
to know
something, We had to go to the library and

Look it up ourselves, in the card catalogue!!
There was no email!! We had to actually
write

Somebody a letter, with a pen!
...Then you had to walk all the way
across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like
a week
to get there!



There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to

Steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and
shoplift it
yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape
it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and
screwed it all up!


We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you

Were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal,
that's
it!



And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either!

When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your
school,

Your mom, your boss, your Bookie, your drug dealer, a collections
agent, you

Just didn't know !!! You had to pick it up and take your chances,
mister!



We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video

Games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600!
With games

Like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little
square! You

Actually had to use your Imagination!! And there were no multiple
levels or

Screens, it was just one screen

Forever!



And you could never win. The game just kept getting

Harder and harder and

Faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!





You had to use a Little book called a TV Guide to find out what was

On! You were screwed when it Came to channel surfing! You had to
get off
&n bsp;
Your ass and walk over to the TV to c hange the Channel and there
was no

Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons

On Saturday Morning. Do you Hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait
ALL WEEK

For cartoons, you spoiled

Little brats



And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat

Something up we had to use the stove .. Imagine that!
That's exactly what I'm talking about!
You kids

Today have got it too easy.

You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted

Five minutes back in 1980!



Regards,

The over 30 Crowd
(or almost 30 crowd)

The Mystery of "Whoop"

Since school started, Bryce has had a couple of friends in his class that he always talks about. One is Whoop and one is Jeremiaher (his name is Jeremiah - but Bryce is BAD with names). We have always wondered if Whoop was actually someone in the class or another one of Bryce's "special" friends (as in imaginary). Robby, Kiki and Nemo have finally disappeared and quit causing chaos in our house (now that he has REAL friends :)) so I thought maybe he had some new ones at school. I have a calander with all the kids names in the class (snack calander) and there is no Whoop. Last night, Bryce was showing us their behaviour system. They have four faces (from happy to crying - two greens, a yellow and a red) and they have clothes pins with their names on it. Bryce was showing us that he was still on green (although it was NOT happy face green - but I was GLAD to see that most of the class joined him there) and we saw one with the name Whit on it. We wondered....

Then we asked Bryce where he sat and he went and showed us. Then he showed us where "Jeremiaher" sits and where "Whit Nathan...." sat. So, "Whoop" is actually "Whit". BUT HE IS A REAL PERSON!!!

Mr. Popularity

Last night we went to Bryce's literacy night at school. We went to the book fair first, and let Bryce and Isaac both pick out their books. I was disappointed that at a school for Pre-k thru first grade they had more chapter books like Magic Tree House and Narnia than they had level one books (which is what Isaac reads). I am sure there are some kids that can read the big books, but the majority of kids at that school probably can't! We were only able to get Isaac four level one books - and that was ALL the level one (except Fancy Nancy, which he was opposed to getting). FIFTY FOUR DOLLARS LATER (after we spent $25 on Caleb's book fair a couple of weeks ago), we had books for everyone. They each got 5 books. I did not mind because Isaac is doing SO well reading these books (other than he is kind of slow - but that is part of learning) and Bryce is really trying.

While we were reading ALL of the books last night, I was letting Isaac ready to us. The book he was reading was about a dinosaur egg that fell out of it's nest, went out the cave, down the hill, past the castle, etc.... Then the egg hatched and the baby dinosaur flew back past the castle, up the hill, in the cave, etc. Bryce listened intently during the first half of the story, but when the dinosaur was flying back and the story was kind of repeating he was whispering the words to Isaac when Isaac struggled with the words. Isaac was getting frustrated with Bryce, and I told him to stop, but I was REALLY proud of him for learning the words so quickly.

I digress, after the book fair we went to Bryce's classroom. There were kids everywhere shouting "HI BRYCE" - kids not even in his class. Then when it was time to go, it was a 10 minute ordeal. All the kids in his classroom had to come up to him and tell him bye. It was cute and sweet and I am glad to see he is having so much fun at school (and doing it WITHOUT getting in trouble now). He has lots of friends, both in his classroom and some that he only sees outside.

They gave the kids each a book, they did graphing and different seperating and pattern games with teddy grahams with the kids. It was REALLY unorganized (which I think might have a lot to do with the teacher because open house was the same way), but the kids had fun.

We get to do the first grade version of literacy night tomorrow evening!!