Cat, Rat, Sat, Can, Ran, Van

Grandma (Kevin's mom) gave us a Hooked on Phonics set that she had bought for Anna when she was learning to read. It has three sections geared for Kindergarten, First and Second grade. I thought we would hang on to it and maybe use it to supplement whatever Fletcher would learn in Kindergarten next year.

However, he saw the box and wanted to know what it was. I told him it was a toolbox that can teach him how to read. Now I have to stop and explain that this boy LOVES books. I've read to him pretty much since the day he was born and he just loves to read. Loves to go to the library. Loves to get new books. So I suppose the thought of learning to read was intriguing to him. I figured I wouldn't make a big deal out of it and see if he forgot about it or kept pestering me. Well, he kept asking so we started doing the lessons. He already knew his letters and for the most part can tell what sounds they make. The lessons introduce one letter combo like "at" and then show several words that end in that sound like rat, cat, sat, fat, etc. Then they create a very brief story that allows the child to read using only the words he just learned. I wish you could have seen Fletcher's face after the first "book" he read. You'd have thought he just finished War and Peace!

So we do a lesson every few days when he asks to do them. Sunday he read part of the Garfield comic strip because it said "pat, pat, pat". He was so proud. I'm going to try to post a video of him reading. He loves seeing himself on the blog!

My mom said I learned to read before kindergarten. I wish it was because I had Fletcher's love for reading. I just wanted to learn because my brother who is 3 years older than me was learning. My competitive nature at the tender age of 4 kicked in and I didn't want him to do ANYTHING unless I could do it better.

Overheard

Luke is finally getting to the age where he and Fletcher can actually play together. It is fun to see them interact and watch their different personalities come out. Both of my children have some typical tendencies related to their birth order. I have a "follow the rules at all costs" child and I also have a "rules are really just suggestions" child. Here are two recent scenarios overheard at our house.

Scene 1
I am in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher. The boys are in Luke's room playing.

Luke is laughing. Hard. One of those big belly laughs that you wish you could get on tape.

Fletcher says in a stern big brother tone, "Luke, it is not funny. That is not funny at all. Luke, stop. Quit laughing."

Luke continues to laugh even harder.

Fletcher, in a completely exasperated tone, "Luuuuuuuke (Fletcher makes Luke's one syllable name into about 12 syllables when he is frustrated with him), I said to stop."
This goes back and forth for awhile unti they find something else to play.

I still am not completely sure what Luke was doing to frustrate Fletcher. I decided to let them figure it out on their own and only intervene if I heard screaming by one or both parties. I asked Fletcher about it later and he said that Luke had dumped the toys out of a box and had flipped the box over and was standing on it.

Scene 2
Saturday morning Kevin and I are in the home office looking at the computer. Again, the boys are in Luke's room playing.

Luke let's out one of his grunt/scream combos. It is his way of letting everyone around him know that things are not going his way or that he wants a toy or that he is generally not happy with you. The scream is enough to make Sadie's hair stand on end.

Fletcher says in a huff, "Luke, I am just not liking your attitude this morning."

Wonder where he's heard that?

Just Plain Weird

Ok, so this "no gas" thing is really crazy. Cars in the Charlotte area are lining up 30-40 cars deep to get gas for their vehicles. Police are directing traffic at the stations so people don't cut in line. I can't remember a time in my life when getting gas was so difficult (except for preparation for a hurricane evacuation). Our neighbor had to use the gas from his lawnmower (!) to get enough gas in his car to get to a station. The boys and I have been staying close to home just so we don't waste gas unnecessarily. I hope this ends soon.

Throwback Thursday

The date: Class of '89

The place: Roswell High School (just outside of Atlanta, GA)

The mood: Look closely in the top left corner. This is straight from the Roswell High School yearbook "Senior Superlatives" page. I married Mr. Most Courteous! Altogether now - awwww! This may or may not have come up in our dating conversations. He really is very courteous to everyone. His parents should be proud. As a bonus feature, check out Miss Most Outgoing's hair (top center picture). Good Lord, and I thought I had big hair in the 80's!

Here's a shout out to my nephew Thom for finding this little gem on Facebook.

Easily Entertained

Last year Santa brought Fletcher something called a Fortamajig. It is essentially a large piece of plastic with a window and a door and all kinds of velcro straps which can be used to create various types of forts, tents, teepees, etc. using tables, chairs, stair railings, decks, etc. It encourages creative thinking. He is probably still a little young for it because mom or dad has to help with the set up. Yes, for the frugal-minded, I know what you are thinking -- a blanket would probably work just as well for MUCH less money. Kevin said the same thing. But blankets don't have velcro straps and windows.

Fletcher asked if he could play with it Tuesday after preschool. I did it the lazy way and just threw it over the card table. Luke was fascinated crawling in and out of it. All went well until Luke figured out how to pull it down. These pictures are before Luke started pulling it down.

You can just see the glimmer of mischief in his eyes.

Some things never change

2008

Yes, those are Luke's toes poking out of my kitchen cabinet. He kept wanting to get into my cabinets so we cleared one out and put toys in it for him.
He was trying to figure out how to close the door. Note the nice runny nose. Allergies, maybe? We aren't sure.
He decided to get out and play with dad instead. I'm glad his bangs cover the goose egg on his forehead.

Hey this looks familiar. Same age (13 months). Different kitchen. Hey, who knew kitchen cabinets could be this fun!

Random Thoughts

I had all kinds of ideas swirling in my head, but couldn't decide what to write about so here are a few random thoughts and feelings from our weekend.

Thankful
Yesterday was the first Sunday in months that Luke didn't cry in the nursery. I actually sat through an entire sermon without my number flashing on the JumboTron. At one point a number did flash up there and I was certain it would be Luke's. But I looked at our tag and it wasn't. Kevin and I gave each other silent high fives. Maybe with enough prayer and Cheerios, he'll get past this separation anxiety.

Seriously?
We live on the outskirts of a big city. We used to get the "big city" newspaper, but Kevin started getting the local county paper so he would know what was going on in the county for his job. I cancelled our "big city" subscription. Today the county paper had a special insert with their Readers' Choice Awards. I was hopeful that I might find out about some cool new hole-in-the-wall restaurant or funky boutique. Favorite pizza? Cici's. Favorite Italian food? Pizza Hut. I am not kidding. Best place to buy clothes? Wal-mart. Now I am not knocking Wal-mart. But in a county this size surely there are a few clothing stores other than Wal-mart. I think I'll stick to shopping in the big city.

Worst Mother of the Year Award
Goes to me. Saturday at the park. The weather here has been so nice recently so we decided to take the boys to the park on Saturday to play and ride bikes. I was holding Luke's hand while he walked on the sidewalk, but I was looking up and watching Fletcher at the same time. Luke stumbled, but since I had one of his hands and didn't realize he was falling, he couldn't put his hands down to break the fall. He did a full face plant on the concrete. The kind that makes the other parents around you gasp in horror. He was screaming as I picked him up. He immediately got a massive goose egg on his forehead. I'm thinking "concussion" or "brain trauma". We tried to put an ice pack on it (we had one in our snack bag). Have you ever tried to put an ice pack on a 1 year old? Yeah, let me know how that goes for you. He just wanted to get down and play. He seems fine today and the goose egg is looking better. This is that age where they fall alot. I can't keep him in a protective bubble, but sometimes I'd like to at least make him wear a helmet.

Only the Best

Fletcher and I were talking recently about life, growing up and college. Seriously, I don't know how these subjects come up with a 4 1/2 year old. Anyway, here's a peek inside the brain of my child. He said something about getting married (our wedding picture is in the office and he looks at it often).

Mom: Well, you can't get married for a long time. You have to go to college first and then get a job.
Fletcher: Ok.
Mom: When you get a good job, will you come home to visit me?
Fletcher: Sure.
Mom: Will you take me to a really nice restaurant?
Fletcher: Yes, I will.
Mom: I'm not talking about McDonalds -- I'm talking about a really fancy restaurant.
Fletcher: I know, I know.

Fletcher holds both of my cheeks in his hands and pulls my face nose to nose to his and says: We'll go to Chick-Fil-A

Throwback Thursday

The date: Christmas 1979ish

The place: Middleton, Wisconsin

The mood: Nothing says lovin' like a Snuggle Sack from Grandma Elinor. This is Kevin and his cousins Shane and Kolt (from left to right). These Snuggle Sacks were Christmas presents. Aren't the prints just lovely? According to Kevin's description, these Sacks were like sleeping bags with feet, armholes and a hood. So I suppose you could put it on to watch Love Boat and Fantasy Island while eating popcorn and then get up and walk straight to bed without taking it off. With the hood up, they probably looked like Jedi Knights if Star Wars would have been set in the 70's. I am sure they were quite comfy in those long cold Wisconsin winters. His sister Stacie (the only granddaughter on that side of the family) remembers that she didn't get one for Christmas and she really wanted one. I'm checking ebay every day for her. Maybe they will make a comeback this Christmas.

Let's get ready to rumble

Triple coupon days start Thursday at Harris Teeter.

(This is the first time since I've gotten serious about saving money that they've had triple coupons. My goal is to get a few items that we use/eat/need for close to free. We'll see how it goes.)

Walkin' on Sunshine

Here are the pictures from the SkyHike in Stone Mountain.
This is my niece Anna on the top level. I was trying to show just how high up this thing was. Anna is a total daredevil and flew through this thing like she was walking on the ground.

Group shot - Aunt Stacie, Anna, Papa Charlie, Kevin and Fletcher on one of the platforms waiting for their turn.
Kevin and Fletcher just getting started
Anna "threw down the gauntlet" and said she didn't think Papa Charlie could do the SkyHike. Here's a picture of him proving her wrong."
Aunt Stacie getting a good workout.
Lending a helping hand.I'm not sure if this is a look of concentration or sheer terror.

Gaining a little more confidence.

Dad carried him across the really high one.

I am so proud of him.

Proud of my boys

We had a fun weekend in Stone Mountain. We are all tired and we are all sick with colds so this will be short and sweet.

Here's why I am proud:
Fletcher: My 4 1/2 year old hiked all the way to the top of Stone Mountain (at least a 45 minute hike) with Kevin, Aunt Stacie and his cousins Graham and Anna. He never asked to be carried AND he walked back down too. It is not a leisurely climb! They also (including Papa Charlie) did the Sky Hike while I stayed on the ground with Luke. The SkyHike is hard to explain but it is like a series of various bridges made out of rope or wood that you have to cross while wearing a harness. There's no way to fall because you are hooked on by a cable above you. The adults said it was really a workout! I know Fletcher was a little scared because those places were pretty high up but he did the whole thing and Kevin only had to carry him across a couple of times.

Luke: He has still been having serious "stranger anxiety" and won't let anyone but mom or dad hold him. He still didn't want anyone to hold him this weekend but he did let Grandma and Aunt Holly push him in the stroller and he had fun playing with his cousins. There were lots of new faces for him so I am proud he didn't just cry the entire time! He also had his first McDonalds hamburger and fries on the ride home. For a kid with two teeth, he had no problems gumming those fries!

Kevin: He was (and still is) sick with a terrible cold, but he was a trooper all weekend and still did all those fun things with Fletcher when I know he probably would have preferred to be in bed.

I was stressed for most of Friday and Saturday worried about my family in Houston and Sulphur and Hurricane Ike. They were not in low lying areas so they were not under mandatory evacuation. Thankfully, I was able to keep in touch with them throughout the storm to see how they were doing. Fortunately, they had no major damage although my brother in Houston and sister in Sulphur are still without power. I really feel for the people who just got back on their feet from Hurricane Rita three years ago and now they have to do it all again.

Hopefully, we'll have more pictures to post later in the week.

Stone Mountain

We are headed to Stone Mountain, GA for a little get together with Kevin's side of the family. Last year Fletcher rode the tram up to the top. This year he told us he wants to hike to the top. We'll let you know how it goes and hopefully have lots of pictures.

There's a new thing there this year called Sky Hike. I have a feeling we will try it. I am sure it will be something to blog about. It might even top my whitewater rafting experience.

Throwback Thursday

The date: Around 1994

The place: NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

The mood: Fun and silly

This picture was sitting on the desk in our home office. When Fletcher first saw it, his eyes got really big and he took a deep breath and asked, "Mom, you were an astronaut in space???"

I was sad when I had to tell him that I really didn't ever go into space. He looked disappointed. He has picked up this picture several time since then and asked the same question hoping that one day I'll tell him that I really was an astronaut.

The guy on the left with the giant nametag that says PHIL is a real engineer for NASA. He's a smart one. He gave my friend Shelly and I a tour of NASA (obviously before 9/11). Not like the touristy tours, but a real backstage one. It was very interesting to see the water tanks they use to simulate weightlessness and see all the space gadgets. They were even doing an experiment with this guy in a room. Oops, I forgot I'm not supposed to divulge anything I learned that day. Phil also filled us in on the details of the Vomit Comet - the plane that they use to simulate weightlessness. You can make your own conclusions as to how it got that name.

On our "tour" there was an astronaut suit available so of course we had to take a picture.

A Few of My Favorite Things

I'm not really a "gadget" person. There are tons of cool things out there supposedly designed to make life easier, but I don't jump on every bandwagon. I just don't like clutter. While I am sentimental about some things, there are other things that I have no problem getting rid of if we are not using them. So my philosophy is "why buy them in the first place?"

If we are all about honesty here, I have a few confessions to make. Deep cleansing breath. Here goes...

I've never owned a George Foreman Grill. I know - shocking isn't it. How can I live in 2008 having never owned one of those? Mainly, it is because Kevin loves to grill and I always felt that if I had a George Foreman I would be taking away from one of my husband's favorite hobbies. Bread machine? Nope. Juicer? Nah. BowFlex. Not happening. Buns of Steel? Not really. Need I remind you of this conversation?

And before Kevin throws me under the bus, I will confess that in a moment of weakness, I did order some Tae Bo videos once. On VHS tapes. I was young and newly married. What did I know? They are on a shelf at Goodwill somewhere marked down to $ 1.00. Last I heard, Billy Blanks is still churning out videos.

I'm getting a little off topic here. Today I thought I would share some gadget that I really do use.

Kevin likes salad, lots of salad. We were spending $$$$$ on bag salad since it was so convenient. I decided we could save some money by buying heads of lettuce instead.

This salad spinner is awesome. I can tear up the entire head of lettuce and spin the whole thing in here. Fletcher loves making it spin.

Then we keep it fresh in this lettuce keeper. But notice it has a divider if you wanted to store more than one fruit or veggie. It also has a dial on the side where you can open or close the holes to store things like berries, celery, broccoli, etc. If you are like me and don't know whether the holes should be opened or closed, they have a list right there on the side of the keeper. It is more of a rectangular/oblong shape so it fits much better in the refrigerator than the old round Tupperware kind (am I old or what?).

Along those same lines, Rubbermaid makes these produce keepers that have a tray insert and a hole in the lid to store things like fruit. Our fruit has lasted alot longer by using these. The lids and trays also snap to the bottom when you are not using them as opposed to the lids getting lost in the sea of plastic (another thing that drives me nuts).

My last favorite thing is in my bathroom. Our dog is fond of trash. If a trashcan is available, she helps herself to whatever is in it. Consequently, all of our trashcans in the entire house either have some type of lid on them or they reside on the top of the toilet tank. I know, lovely sight for our visitors. Well, when I get ready in the mornings, I seem to use a ton of QTips, Kleenex, cotton balls, etc. I can't have a trashcan next to my sink because of Sadie so instead I found this. It is a mini trashcan called Trashi made by Umbra. It is only 7 1/2 inches tall and fits perfectly on my counter without taking up space like a regular trashcan would. When it gets full, I just dump it in the big trashcan.


NOTE: All of these items were purchased at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Gotta love those 20% off coupons. Unfortunately, I am not getting paid to promote their products. Maybe I should have stuck with Billy Banks.

Counting Down the Days

We really don't watch much TV at our house. I know - we have cable with 952 channels but there never seems to be anything on. Summer TV stinks. Well, except for the Olympics. Reality tv has reached new lows. Everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame and will do just about anything to get on TV. The game shows seem to last an eternity. And they are even bringing back old stuff like 90210. Are you kidding me? Have we lost all creativity in Hollywood?

I'm ready for the new fall line up. Well, really just one show.

Hurry up Thursday, Sept. 25.

From Humble Beginnings

A few months back I posted a list of all the jobs I've had. I thought it would be fun for you to see Kevin's list of jobs. He gave me his list, but of course I had to add some commentary here and there. My comments are in italics.

Brookfield West (country club and golf course)– Range Boy; listened to lots of heavy metal while trying to stay awake on the tractor. Always startled when cage rattled by flying golf ball.

Brookfield West – Shoe Shine Boy – humble beginnings. I wasn't very good at this.

Brookfield West – Bag Room/Cart Boy – the pinnacle of part time golf course jobs

Chick-fil-a – evening shift – I actually received a nickel raise to keep pace with starting wages. You would think that was embarrassing. I was actually proud of it.
This job ended when he refused to clean the women's restroom.

Oshman's Sporting Goods – sporting goods "expert". I made up a lot of crap about stuff I had never used. This is why I rarely, if ever, believe salespeople when they start talking about the merits of a product. My gut tells me they are just making stuff up.

Atlanta National (another golf course)– Greenskeeper – lots of grass… lots of Copenhagen (thank God he kicked that habit)

Atlanta National – Caddie… think about the movie Caddie Shack.

Hump & Comp – Construction laborer – most physically demanding job I ever had
I had to get serious clarification on the name of this company because it just doesn't sound good and hey - this is family blog. The company was called "Humphries and Company" but they shortened it to this. All of their company gear (hats, tshirts, etc) had the nickname and a picture of a camel. Clever construction people.

Blood donor – Short lived opportunity (one donation)… folks got pretty upset about that one.

Pizza Hut – Lasted one night… I got suckered into it and never when back

Some random job at the Florida Capitol filing papers – don't really recall what division that was, but I'm sure it was important stuff. (Probably not the only thing he doesn't recall from his college days)

Wilma Inc. – College intern (worked for Dad) – Baptism into real estate

These were his big boy jobs after college:
Arthur Andersen – Real Estate Services Group; Valuation Service Group
He has some great stories from this place like how he once valued the wrong piece of property and how he had to value an ob/gyn practice and they wanted to give waaaaay too many details to him.

Ankle & Foot Centers (American Medial Providers) – Senior Analyst/Treasurer
This is the job that brought him from Atlanta to Houston to meet me**.

The St. Joe Company – Senior Analyst; Creative Services; Development Coordinator; Construction Administrator; Assistant Development Manager; RiverCamps Development Manager; Project Manager – Eastern Region (this is the job that took us to Florida from Houston)

Newland Communities – Project Manager – Eastern Region (this is the job that brought us to the Carolinas)

Thanks for sharing, Kev. **Someday soon I'll have to blog about how Kevin and I met and how he moved away to Florida two weeks before our wedding. Good times. No, really.

Finally

Luke has a tooth! One of his bottom ones, front and center and the one next to it is also breaking through. I tried to get an up close picture of it but they all came out blurry. They don't seem to be bothering him too much. He'll probably get 8 more in the next week!

I was able to get a picture of him climbing on the gate to the stairs. He also likes to hang on the tabletop, desktop or kitchen countertops and try to walk up the side Spiderman style. Right after this picture while I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher, he managed to go into our home office, open the cabinet where the printer is located and print a test page. I'm not even sure I can do that. Technology won't beat him.

He is also trying to say more words. If you ask him, "What does a duck say?"
He responds, "Kak, kak, kak, kak"
He also likes the song Old McDonald Had a Farm and he goes around saying Ee-I, Ee-I, Ee-I all the time. We hear him in his bed in the mornings saying it and he likes to repeat it 94 times in the car while I am driving. He hasn't figured out the "O" part yet. Hopefully, we can get this on video because it is just too cute.

Throwback Thursday

The date: August 1987
The place: Freshman Week at Louisiana College
The mood: Let's not talk about the mood. Let's focus on the hair. It is hard to see because the background is dark but trust me --- we had big hair. Lots and lots of hair. It was the 80's and we were livin' large! Good thing there were no open flames nearby or we would have gone up in a poof of mousse and Aussie Scrunch Spray or was it Matrix Vavoom? So many products with amazing results wouldn't you say? The scary thing is that while our makeup was probably a little heavier than normal, the hair was pretty much our normal every day hair. Yikes!

My roommate Kim is the red head and our friend Janet is in the middle. We were dressed up as the Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell sisters. Remember them? We did a lip sync to the song "I've Been Cheated" for Freshman Week at LC. Freshman Week (if anyone cares) is held during the first week of classes and is designed to haze welcome the freshmen to the campus. The last night involves skits and competitions. We were Barbara, Louise and Irlene. Louise was the talented one and Irlene was the ditzy one. They had the variety show on TV in the early 80's where they would sing and dance and sometimes dress up. Good times.

4:21 AM Tuesday morning

I am in a deep sleep. I haven't slept well the last few nights because I have been worried about my family and this Hurricane Gustav (more on that in a moment). I roll over and the lights from our family room almost blind me. If you have never been to our house, we sleep with our bedroom door open and the master bedroom is right off the family room. Kevin normally gets up earlier than I do, but he is super quiet and typically closes our bedroom door so he doesn't disturb me. I'm sleepy but irritated thinking he wasn't being very considerate. Then I realize Kevin is still in the bed with me. Hmmmmm.

I get up and go into the family room. Every light in the house is on (hey, that could be a song) - kitchen, family room, breakfast nook, hall, lamps, even the pantry**. I see the clock on the microwave says 4:21.

Fletcher is sitting in Kevin's chair.
I ask the obvious question, "Fletcher, what are you doing?"
He gives me the obvious answer, "I am getting up early to read my Bible like Dad does."

While I appreciate his desire to be like Dad, I think 4:21 AM is a little over the top. After asking more questions, as best I can tell, he had a bad dream again. This is the second night in a row. Two nights ago he woke up with a bad dream about bats. Last night it was monsters. The stores around here have their "spooky" Halloween stuff out these days so my psychological assessment would be that the spooky images were embedded into his subconscious causing him to recall them in his REM sleep. How's that for an analysis? Oh, and he was starting school Tuesday morning so there was probably some nervousness and excitement related to that too.

We all went back to bed for a few more hours of sleep. Well, that is after I walked around the house and turned off every single light.

**Fletcher told us Tuesday night when he was getting ready for bed that he also had a "midnight snack" when he woke up. Tortilla chips. Why? Because one of the books we checked out at the library talked about a rhino having a midnight snack. Lovely. Just lovely.

Gustav update - everyone in my family is fine. They are back home. They have power and didn't really get much wind or rain. Praise God!

Haircut

This post has lots of pictures and very few words. Enjoy!

The haircut didn't really bother him at all. We decided not to use the cape.

First, he played with a water bottle.

Then, I read him a few books. Before we knew it, she was done. She's fast!
We didn't want the Jim Carrey straight across bangs so we had her keep the jagged rock star bangs look.
The back no longer looks like a mullet.

Brotherly love - not so much today.

It doesn't ever stay in one place.

What kind of trouble can I get into over here?

Yeah, he's done with the pictures. I wouldn't let him walk up and down the steps of our deck and he was pitching a fit.

Before the haircut

We decided to get a few pictures of Luke & Fletcher before our neighbor cut Luke's hair on Sunday afternoon.
We've been busy keeping up with Gustav's path since we have friends and family in Louisiana so I just threw these together - no fun music or fancy titles. More to come later.