You know you’ve waited one day too many to shave your legs when your 3 year old son brushes against you with his bare legs, falls over in COMPLETE and UTTER agony, screeching, “OUCHIE Mommy! Your legs cut my leg!!!!”

Yep, the first day of summer vacation has been a BLAST!  Even with mommy’s capri pants and unshaved legs added to the mix!

(Wait, was this TMI?? So sorry!)

It really has been an awesome day all around. 

I printed out a daily schedule WITH PICTURES (for the non-reading mini folk. . .aka lil Allan), and we got right to work with stickin’ to it.  Or rather, Mommy got right to work.  The boys had to be convinced of the merits of doing CHORE time BEFORE play time.  They eventually managed to carry two loads of laundry to the garage for me. (That’s a reasonable chore for a 3 and 6 year old, right?)  I had to chuckle at all the stray laundry that fell from their arms between the bathroom/hallway and the garage.  And then I had to chuckle when BOTH boys said, “WHAT? We dropped some? WHERE??”

After CHORE time, we had School/Specials time. (Specials are what Samuel’s school calls the fun extra classes they go to each day.  They rotate between things like Music, Computers, PE, Art, and Library).  Today was MUSIC day here in “Mama’s Fun Summer School of Joy, Happiness, and PLEASE Stop Asking to Play the Wii”, so we ate some cookies (cause, OOPS, Mommy forgot to schedule SNACK TIME) and we sang some songs together.

After School/Specials time, we headed outside for RECESS!  The schedule also calls for the possibility of Wii time during recess time, but the weather was GORGEOUS today, so we skipped the wii and played outside.

Lunch followed, and then a tiny bit of wii time (cause Mom is a pushover, and they were all doing SO well!)

Naptime/Restime did not go as well as the rest of the day, but it was successful in that the boys managed to NOT wake up Martha for over two hours!  And that’s all I’m going to say about Naptime/Restime.

We are currently in our FREE PLAY time, which includes the option for TV, so guess what kind of PLAY is happening?  The sitting on the behind, watching Cyberchase kind of play.

And Mama is gonna make dinner soon.

Right after she bandages up the 3 year old’s bleeding, ouchie legs.

Or not.

Happy First Day of Summer Vacation, ya’ll!

Last night, the kids wanted to have “movie night” (which we often do on Friday nights), and since the household (i.e DADDY!) is gearing up for the new Indiana Jones movie (coming in two weeks!), Allan decided to put on Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.

I was a little hesitant about whether the kids should watch it.  I was worried they would get scared.  I started thinking about nightmares and sleepless nights because of all the SCARY SCARY parts in the movie.  I thought about the snakes and the tomb (or vault or whatever) with all the bodies, and I especially thought about the END.  Even though I’ve probably watched the movie a dozen or more times, I still haven’t watched the end in it’s entirety.  I always cover my eyes or leave the room for a minute, because I just don’t want to see people dissolve.  It’s too scary… for ME.

And this is why God is so smart, insisting that having a Mommy AND a Daddy is a good thing.  Because Daddy thought the kids could handle it.  And he was right.  It helps that he knows the movie backwards and forwards and could prep them whenever something a little more intense was coming up. 

I actually decided to let them have a “Boys Movie Night”, and I went to read a book - but they came a couple of times to find me and tell me how it was going.  Apparently Samuel REALLY loved it, and was completely into the action of it all - jumping and bouncing and reacting to the scenes.  (In a good way).  And lil Allan is just braver than I gave him credit for, as he came to show me a silly face (he was re-enacting a face that he’d seen in the vault/tomb scene) and tell me all about the SNAKES!  With a very serious face, “And there were lots and lots of SNAKES, Mommy”. 

Yep, it’s just Mama that’s the chicken.

Today is Samuel’s birthday, and we are having a big carnival bash this afternoon.  Please indulge this mommy, as she takes a little stroll down memory lane…

Baby Boy…

First Birthday…

Second Birthday…

Third Birthday…

Fourth Birthday…

Fifth Birthday… (and this shows how far behind I am in scrappin’, no layout for last year’s birthday yet!)

And today… age SIX…

(And yes, that’s dirt on his face.  He IS a six year old boy, playing outside in the dirt after all).

For Christmas, my son received a Webkinz puppy from my Aunt.  I explained that it was more than just an adorable puppy, and he was SO very excited to check out Webkinz world online.  We registered the adoption of his dog, and after a few days waiting for the registration to go through, (the webkinz website servers obviously weren’t ready for Christmas!) we spent a few days figuring out the games and ins and outs of keeping Fluffy happy, healthy and full. 

At first I thought the attraction to Fluffy was mainly the computer aspect.  Samuel loves computer games and anything that gets him time on my PC is a winner with him.  He has been VERY concerned about whether Fluffy needs to be fed or played with.  Very concerned = asking mom 50 times a day whether it’s time to feed the puppy.  And while he HAS been a huge hit, computer-wise, it appears that the ACTUAL Fluffy puppy is winning Samuel’s heart too.

Last night he went to bed cuddled up with Bob (his stuffed Tiger) AND Fluffy.  I covered Samuel with his blanket and he snuggled down a little more.  And Bob… well, during the snuggle/shift, Bob slid off the bed to the floor.  And Samuel?  Didn’t even notice.

Now, Bob has been Samuel’s constant companion since before he was one.  Bob is in family pictures, he’s been on all our vacations, and only recently has he started staying home when we go places like church and the store.

But last night?  Fluffy slept with Samuel, and Bob slept on the floor. 

Sniff, sniff. 

Wonder if Bob wants to sleep with Mama tonight?  We probably both could use the hug.

Last night when we were finishing up dinner, Daddy saw a commercial for the new Veggie Tales movie and mentioned (to his folks who were here eating dinner with us) that we wanted to take the boys to see it sometime soon.  Mama heard the conversation, and one thing led to another and about a half hour later we (she, me, I) had the boys bathed and ready to go out the door to see the 9:10 showing.  (Yes, you read that right - we took our almost 6 and almost 3 year old to see a movie at 9:10 p.m). 

It was one of those “milestone moments” for our family, because it was lil Allan’s first time to a movie theater.  We didn’t tell them where we were going, but I had spurred them on to FAST baths by telling them we had a surprise if they hurried. 

Samuel loves a good surprise (even told me so, “mama, I LOVE surprises”), but he also likes to GUESS a good surprise, so he attempted to guess, and guess, and guess some more all through the bath, getting dressed, combing hair and putting on shoes and socks and coat and right on out the door into the car.  He guessed a few more times before we reached an intersection near Sam’s Town (which is where we often go for movies), and the lightbulb went on and he figured it out! 

“We’re going to see the Pirates movie… at the movie theater”

And lil Allan piped in with excitement, “at the moobie teeatr!!”

Big brother then attempted to explain it all to lil brother, and made sure to warn him that the screen is REALLY big and the sounds are REALLY loud, but it’s OK, and don’t be scared, and a few other sweet warnings/explanations about the movies.

It’s a little bit of a trek from the parking garage to the movie theater inside Sam’s Town casino (yep, we live in Vegas!), so we buckled lil Allan into the stroller for the ride, and tried to keep Samuel from bouncing, running, skipping and basically taking off ahead of us too far.  The only thing that kept him close was his constant begging for treats. 

“We’re gonna get popcorn… and CANDY!” he tells lil brother.

“Um.. we JUST had dinner… I don’t know, Samuel”, says Mom.

“We can have TWO dinners, Mom”, replies the smart 5 year old.

“Well, I don’t think so… let’s just be HAPPY we’re AT the movies”, says Mom.

BIG SIGH…”Uh, ok… I’ll just have SODA then”, says the arguer/negotiator.  (Like he drinks soda all the time… NOT).

And so it continued all the way into the casino to the theater.  And while we stood by the sidelines waiting for Daddy to buy tickets (for about 8 minutes, not that Mama was counting or anything). 

Now, we are pretty cool parents (haha, cough, cough), so of course we had to get a little snack, since it WAS lil Allan’s first time at the theater after all!  Much joy was shown at the snack counter when it was revealed that they would get POPCORN and CANDY and SODA with their little snack packs. 

We were pleasantly surprised to find just a few other people in the theater (well, it was 9:00 p.m. and it was a kids movie), and we got the best seats in the house.  Half-way up and smack dab in the middle.  Lil Allan had fun with the seat that tried to fold up with him in it, and he was especially happy to take his snack pack tray and grub on popcorn.

And the movie… it was fun. 

(I won’t bore you with more details about how the projector broke RIGHT when the movie was starting and we had to “listen” to the first five minutes or so, and how that was a REALLY DARK experience, and how the kids were NOT sure about this DARKNESS, and how the silly theater people didn’t re-start the movie after they got the projector working again, even though Mama LOUDLY said, “THEY SHOULD RE-START THE MOVIE SINCE WE MISSED THE BEGINNING!!!”)

But, the kids loved it… Mama and Daddy loved watching the kids love it…

And as soon as it was over, even before we were out of the theater, we began to hear…

“Mom, remember that part….”

“Mom, remember that part…”

“Mom, remember that part…”

“Mom, that was SO funny… remember that part…”

A good night?  I’d say so!

    

Yep, that’s our baby girl!  We took her in for her 9 month check-up yesterday, and she weighed in at 19.5 pounds!  Woohoo!  She gained almost 7 pounds in 3 months time, and the doctor was VERY happy with her progress.  Normally 7 pounds would be a bit much, but she had been losing weight around her 6 month check-up, so she had some catching up to do. 

And thanks for the suggestions in my last post as to what to feed her.  Now to try a few and see what we can get her to eat!

Just a quick note - visit the boys’ blogs for updates:

Samuel

Allan

 

I started a new category for blog entries.  I originally had “Toddlerhood” set up for stories about Samuel - but he’s moved past toddlerhood into BIG KID!

So, Samuel (who is four) is obsessed with super-heros.  He pretends to be Spiderman or Batman almost all the time.  We are constantly being “caught” in his web (imaginary), or punched with a big “POW!” (not so imaginary)!  And lately everyone we talk about needs to be lumped into the “good guy” or “bad guy” category.  “Is he a good guy?”  “Is she a bad guy”?  He asks a hundred times a day.

Today we were settling down for naps, and I read him a short story.  Then I told him he needed to go to sleep and get some good rest.  Of course he immediately asked “WHY?”  (That’s the other obsession - why, why, why, why?!)  I told him that’s how God made him - he needed to play and eat and sleep and play some more.  And of course, I got the….

“WHY?”  

“God made our bodies to need all those things, and especially when you are a little boy.  If you don’t get good rest, you get cranky and whiny, and that’s no fun, right?“

“WHY?“

“Sweetie, do you like being cranky?“

“No.“

“We all need rest.  It’s just the way God made us.  And when we get good sleep, we aren’t cranky.“

“Oh.  God… um..Jesus… did Jesus make me?“  (note - I think this is the first time he’s connected God and Jesus in a casual conversation.  And he used the sweetest, almost sheepish tone while asking). 

“Jesus is God’s son.  God made us, and Jesus was there.“

“Jesus is a good guy?“

“Yep, Jesus is the BEST guy.“ 

“And God is a good guy?“

“Yep, God is the BEST guy too!“

“Who is the bad guy?“

“Satan… the devil.  He is the baddest guy.“ (ok.. I probably should have used the word worst, but he understands baddest).

“And Jesus is gonna fly over and catch him and put him in jail?“  (whoosh go his arms and he asks the question… I couldn’t help but picture a “super-hero Jesus”).

“Well, kind of.  Jesus fought with the devil, and he won.  And he did that for us.  So we can all go to heaven.  That makes him the best good guy of all.“

“Did he fly?“

“Well….. (and I think about Jesus ascending into heaven)… yes… he sort of floated up into heaven when he was done fighting the bad guy.“

“Yeah… and then he caught us in his web.“

“No, Jesus doesn’t have a web.  But, he’s still the best.“

“Even better than spiderman!“

“Yep, WAY better than spiderman!  Ok, it’s time to take your nap now.“ 

“WHY???”

****************************

Superheros… it’s a good start, I think, to sharing with a four year old about God and Jesus and their love for us!