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!!

My Week at a Glance

Have you seen the cranberry juice commercial with the lady with the dry erase calander that is full EVERY day? That is my life (guess I need that cranberry energy drink!). This week is INSANE!

Tonight, we have literacy night for Bryce from 6-7:30. An hour and a half of hearing stories, crafts and going to the book fair. Thursday night we have literacy night for Isaac - same thing as Bryce.

Caleb has a project due Thursday and now a book report due Tuesday. Isaac has a science project due Thursday (none of which has been started). Not to mention Caleb's normal homework, which he has homework in just about every subject every night AND a Leap packet (to prepare him for the state test) that he has to do two pages of every night to have it turned in on time (due every Friday am). Isaac has reading, writing, spelling homework every night and math twice a week. And then there is Bryce's homework.

I am SO glad they ride the bus now!! It really gives me more time to get house stuff done before they get home. Not to mention I am not living in my car anymore - it is great!!!

Papa

I talked to my Dad this morning. I got off the phone and told Andrew I was talking to Papa. He has been running around saying Papa over and OVER for the past hour or so.

He is proud of his new word!

My Hubby is AWESOME

Paul IMed me earlier and asked if he and Caleb could go check out a hiking trail about 20 minutes from the house this evening. I told him that was fine as long as Caleb was done with his homework and I didn't get left with mad kids (the others who would want to go). He got home and Caleb was still doing homework and the other two were busy at their computer (which just got hooked up last night, so they were really excited about it).

Daddy told Isaac and Bryce they could go since Caleb was doing homework still. Caleb got upset and started rushing. Daddy told him he could go and finish his homework later. That would have upset me (Caleb is bad about procrastinating when it comes to homework), until Daddy said he was taking ALL FOUR BOYS!!!! I told him any other time it would be unacceptable, but since it meant time alone for me - I would allow him to have his way (marriage is based on compromise - right?).

So, I am LOVING my quiet evening alone! AND, kids will come home warn out!

I told Daddy he could do this several times a week if he wants to!

Two Projects Due

Isaac has his first real "project" of his school life. Thursday he has due a project on his favorite planet. He has to find and write five facts about his planet and either draw or print pictures for it. He is really excited about having a project to do! Time for him to learn how to do research on the computer.

Caleb also has a project due Thursday. He has to find 10 different landforms, write the name and definition of each and either draw or print pictures of examples of each.

It is going to be a BUSY homework week!!

Zoo Pictures

Caleb and Andrew petting a goat. This is Andrew's first time in a petting zoo.
He thought the goat was FUNNY!

Does that feel good?
I LOVE his face here!
Andrew - not sure what he is picking out of the brush!?
Caleb in the petting zoo
Isaac brushing the goat
Bryce in the petting zoo
Andrew climbing in the tunnel to stick his head out the top
The new monkey exhibit! And, the cutest monkey ever!!
Bryce talking Nana's ear off
Typical AJ - thumb in his mouth
Andrew on the train
Isaac and Caleb on the train
Bryce on the train
Nana's shirt had flamingos on it. AJ spent quite a bit of the train ride picking at the flamingos

This Weekend

This past weekend Nana came to visit. The boys had so much fun (and I got them to clean their room with minimal complaining!!). Saturday we went to the zoo. We went early and it was pretty comfortable for most of the zoo and not very crowded. We walked all the zoo, then we took a train ride, which we had not done before. It was a pretty good length of a ride - longer than most. The zoo suffered quite a bit of tree damage - lots of huge trees through our ride that had been blown over or just split. We even saw one tree that went THROUGH another tree.

Sunday, after watching a couple of landscaping shows on HGTV, I decided that I was going to get busy taking out some of the flowerbeds in our backyard. We have several flowerbeds that are in the middle of our yard. One of them had nothing but weeds in it. It looked like at some point there may have been a tree in it, but it was just a bed of rocks and weeds with a few buried pots that used to be flowers. Nana helped me pull all the weeds out of the bed, then I picked up the majority of the gravel that was in the bed, all of the boundary bricks and leveled it all out. Hopefully, the grass will fill it in soon! Daddy cleaned out some trash (rotted wood, pavers, etc) that were behind the house and laid the gravel from the removed bed down. That is where we keep the ladders, wheelbarrow, etc. Thank you Nana for playing with and keeping an eye on the boys while we did that!!!

Then we went to lunch and decided to show Nana some of the plantations just north of us. We saw a sign for a campground (which earlier that morning Paul asked if I wanted to go camping next weekend). We went to check it out and detoured AGAIN when we saw a sign for a plantation that was a museum. We did not have time to do the tour before we had to get Nana to the airport, but we did go walk the grounds. We met Gus, a VERY friendly turkey (and very BIG) that likes to show off and try to follow you inside. We saw a peacock, cows, geese, lots of pretty flowers, etc. Luckily, we did not meet up with the resident cottonmouth snake!! Since this was an unplanned adventure, I was wearing flipflops (one reason I was glad we did not meet the resident snake) and I did not have my camera. :( We plan on going back this weekend and doing the tour and TAKING THE CAMERA!! It was really beautiful though.

After we took Nana to the airport, Daddy came home and did some more work outside. We had cleared out about 5 bunches of cannas that the hurricane had destroyed, but since there were still bulbs in the ground, they were coming back. Daddy took a pick ax out there and cleaned out two of the areas. I am not liking the magnitude of our landscaping, not to mention the lack of color. Especially since so many of the plants go shredded during the hurricane. It all looks really sloppy right now. We are going to spend some time cleaning out some of the large landscaping (elephant ears, cannas, etc), trimming bushes, etc so that we can tone down everything against the house (kinda reminds me of a jungle) and get some FLOWERS with COLOR!!!

Thank you Nana for visiting. We enjoyed it and had fun! Enjoy catching up on your sleep now!!

Andrew

Andrew slept in our room this weekend. Friday night he was going crazy, so I just made our room really dark and put him in our bed. Here is the king sleeping on his throne.
AJ playing in his playhouse

AJ's Stations

Last Thursday I was trying to get some stuff done around the house. As normal, AJ was making it difficult! I decided to set up some stations for him in our dining room (which has no furniture yet). I thought maybe having toys out where I was at, instead of him having to go to his room would help.

It was GREAT! He stayed in the dining room playing all day Thursday and Friday. I got SO much done. I put up his playhouse, his tunnel and set up all the Little People stuff (with fresh batteries). I also brought his LeapFrog music table and his box that has different activities on top and every side. I pull up the blinds (in the morning when the sun is on the back of the house) and he has a HUGE window in there.

Every now and then he would come running to show me a toy, but for the most part he played quietly in there. I never thought of making "stations" for him already. But it has been amazing. Unfortunately, this does not mean I will not get dining room furniture. He can have the room until then though. After that we will just have to set up stations every morning.

Orange Moon

Paul was working outside a couple of weeks ago and came in and told me to come see the moon. I had to get pictures! But, honestly, I did not think any came out well. I just got them on my computer this morning, and I got a few that looked good! The color was just awesome

PEE PEE IN THE POTTY!!!

Andrew peepeed in the potty last night! I have to admit with everything going on the last couple of months, we have not spent much time working on the potty (since we were only half-heartedly doing before anyway). He is so funny though, when we go to start his bath, lately he ALWAYS sits down on the potty. That is what happened last night. I went and started his bath and he sat down on the potty. He immediately peed, grunted, stood up and pointed. We yelled for Daddy, did the peepee dance and song and went on and on clapping. He was very proud!!

At this point, any time he pees in the potty is a pretty big deal since he is not even 18 months old yet!!

Praises for Caleb

This morning, before school started, I got an email from Caleb's teacher. It started out with "I just wanted to touch base with you about Caleb."

Nothing good usually comes from a comment like that.

Except this time!! She told me how great it was to have him in her class and how much he offers to the class. And, that we should be very proud of him.

I sent her an email back thanking her. I also took the oppurtunity (I have never met this teacher yet) to ask if she felt that Caleb would benefit from the Gifted and Talented program. I talked to the school about it at the beginning of the year and they said they would test him and place him when they get the results if he passed. She said as much as she hated to say it, because she hated to lose Caleb, she definently thought he would benefit from being in GT. I asked her who I needed to talk to about that. I am kind of frustrated that he has not been tested yet since I asked about this before school started.

Daddy and I have been kind of mixed about him being in GT because here they combine fourth and fifth grade GT students together. I do want him to be tested and then us get to make an informed decision though!

So, after these conversations back and forth, Caleb brought home a note. It said:
Dear Caleb,
Thank you for all you add to my class. I certainly enjoy having you here. Love, Mrs. H

I am SO proud of Caleb!!

Beware of the Stripper

Andrew likes to try to undress people. He will pull your shirt up or down, either way - he isn't picky.

He isn't really try to strip our clothes off. He is obsessed with giving belly raspberries now. Over and over.

It is cute though and makes him quite giggly when he gets a good raspberry!

No Stinky Pits

Caleb has been known to carry his deoderant in his pocket to school to keep his brothers from using it. When I found out he was doing that, I told him to stop (I mean really - carrying your deoderant in your pocket all day JUST so your brothers don't use it....). So, he started HIDING the deoderant.

This morning I walk into the bathroom to find Bryce putting on deoderant. I told him he has not taken a shower yet. He says "I don't care, I don't want my pits to stink for my shower."

Now, THERE'S something to be concerned about!

When Did This Happen?

I remember I was so excited at the idea of having one kid at home, still young and taking good long naps. The thought of being able to get SO much done during the day and still having time to play with Andrew, and be prepared when the kids got home from school to sit down and talk with them about their day and work on homework with them.

It was a great plan I had!!

But, we all know what happens when I plan!

Andrew did good with those GREAT four hour naps...for about a week and a half. It is over now. Now, it takes forever to get him to take a nap (or go to bed at night for that matter). He beats his headboard against the wall. He beats his feet against the wall. He beats his HEAD against the wall. I hear him turn into Mozart on his LeapFrog piano. He gets up and beats his ENTIRE body against his door. I tried to go tuck him back in, I tried to lay down with him. Really, the only thing that works is to let him beat the wall with everything, practice his piano and beat the door until he finally gives up and goes to his bed and falls asleep.

I am now really lucky if he sleeps for two hours. I SHOULD sleep or relax during that time, but OH the state of my house!!! I try and try to get this house clean and settled, but I feel like for every one step forward I take two steps back. I spend the day taking the phone from Andrew over and over. Getting him out of drawers - ALL THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE. He pulls everything out of the kitchen cabinets, drawers, the coffee table (he loves remotes), the bookshelves. He climbs on the couch and jumps up and down. He climbs on the table and jumps up and down. He chases the cat until the cat turns on him! Then he goes for the dogfood. Then it is back to the phone.

When did my SEVENTEEN month old turn into a toddler starting his terrible twos?

Just typing my typical day with him is exhausting.

Now I know why my house STAYS in its current state! :)

But, he is SO CUTE and sweet.

Oh...The Joys of School

Isaac and Bryce's bus aide got off the bus before them today. I knew there was trouble! She asked me to talk to the boys because they were both saying bad words and handed me an index card. On one side it said "Isaac shit" on the other side "Bryce SOB"

Isaac was in tears, Bryce could not even repeat what he said. He said "I said stupid, but I apologized!" I asked if that was all he said and he said "no, I can't remember what Dax told me to say" If any of the kids would actually repeat what they said, bad or not, it would be Bryce! The fact that he can't remember is a good sign that they did actually repeat something they were told to repeat.

Isaac said that Dax whispered to him to yell the word across the bus. The aide said that they both shouted it so loud that even the bus driver heard them.

I know they did not learn these words here. I am not the type of parent to say my kids are perfect or don't get in trouble - because I know the truth. I can HONESTLY say that they had to have been told to say those words by someone else. Since they both, at the same time, said Dax told them to say it - I am thinking Dax is a troublemaker!!!

I will be talking to the bus driver tomorrow morning.

Hurricane Vacuum

I just saw an advertisement for an Oreck vacuum that says it has the equivalent cleaning ability as a category 2 hurricane. I recently sat through a category 2 hurricane, and I saw absolutely NOTHING clean about it!

HMMMM, not sure that is a good selling point to me!