Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!

Luke had his Fall Party at his preschool yesterday. The teacher said they could wear costumes.

In a Martha Stewart moment (I don't have many of those), I decide to make his costume. Clearly, I need to get a job or a hobby because I think I may have a little too much time on my hands.

One of Luke's favorite books is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. It is a popular children's book although it wasn't around when I was a kid so some of you older readers may not have heard of it. I included the video at the end if you want to see/read the book.

Here's how it turned out:

He really did look adorable. The teachers and kids at his school loved it. They said, "Hey, that's the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree!" When I picked him up from school, his teacher said, "My, my, he was quite proud of himself today in his costume." After his party and cupcakes, I have a little "repair" work to do before trick or treating on Saturday.

Losing My Marbles

On Sunday we went to the Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh. Highly recommend it if you are ever in that area.

We tried to watch Under The Sea in IMAX 3D, but Luke did not want to wear his 3D glasses. He kept putting them on and taking them off. Watching 3D was probably weird for a 2 year old.

The museum had so much to do - pretend firetruck, boat, ambulance, xrays, delivery truck, city bus, store, kitchen, water play, pirate ship, outdoor garden, outdoor fountain, construction area, blocks, Mr. Potato Head, safari, astronaut stuff, bicycles, ice fishing, igloo building, Carnival in Rio, Moroccan tea party, and the list goes on. We tried to see everything but we just didn't have enough time. Plenty of dress up costumes. Activities that held Luke's interest and Fletcher's interest. I'll warn you in advance that Luke didn't want to stop to take pictures so most of the pictures of him are blurry. I need to learn more about my camera to see if I can get better pictures of him.

Fletcher and Kevin thought this looked like something from Star Wars.

More Fun From Our Weekend

We traveled to Chapel Hill on Saturday to attend a Pumpkin Festival held at Kevin's project site. There was a great bluegrass band, delicious food (pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake), fun activities for the kids like gourd bowling and face painting. It was another rainy day, but the boys had fun. We also carved pumpkins. The pumpkin "guts" had already been scooped out so the carving part was super easy.

Face painting. Fletcher wasn't too sure about this.


But he LOVED the finished product.

One of these things is not like the other.

Saturday night we went to a Japanese restaurant. Fletcher has been studying Japan in school so this was especially fun for him. The chef was very funny and kept teasing Fletcher. He used chopsticks for the first time and did very well with them. Better than I can do! Luke was not too sure about the open flame and smoke and chaos (they kept walking around beating a drum to celebrate people's birthdays). Thank goodness for the cool aquarium.

Yes, if you are wondering, Fletcher's eyes do look a bit odd. We had trouble getting all of the pumpkin face paint off before dinner.

One more day to go...

Way Up High In The Apple Tree

Friday was our school field trip to an area apple orchard. We made this a family event. It was a little rainy, but the kids enjoyed going on a wagon ride to see all of the different apple trees.

Learning about bees and pollenation or was it pollenization. You decide.
Waiting for the tour to start. This is Fletcher and his best bud Noah.

Some of the kindergarteners.

Learning how the apples get sorted and boxed up for shipment. The kids also went into the very, very cold refrigerator. Apples like cold and dark places.

Time for a snack!

Taste test. Golden Delicious. Apple Cider. Yum! Picking out apples to take home.

Playing in the orchard near our picnic site. This was near the end of their growing season. Many of the remaining apples were on the ground. They sell these to hunters for the deer.

So cute!

Sneak Peek

We had a very busy, but fun weekend. Too tired to write about it now, but look for a recap this week complete with pictures and a few videos.

Where did we go? What did we do? Here's a hint:

Not Gonna Do It

Luke's preschool had Picture Day last week. When he makes up his mind that he is not going to do something, he will not do it. While I was not there when he took these pictures, I have a feeling the photographer was doing everything in his/her power to get Luke to smile. As you can see, he was determined not to do it. But isn't he cute anyway? And his shirt rocks!

Throwback Thursday

The date: early April 2004. Fletcher was almost 4 months old.

The place: our house in Tallahassee

The mood: Uncle D and Aunt Dee had come for a visit and brought along some camo gear for Fletcher. He was enjoying all the attention. Kevin went hunting this past weekend and Fletcher was asking when he would be old enough to go with him. Not yet is what I keep saying.

I look at these picture and others and think that in some ways that seemed so long ago and in other ways it seemed like yesterday. I heard someone say recently that kids spend their childhood wishing time would hurry up. That's why they say they are "almost 5" or "4 1/2"
or Fletcher's recent "5 and 80 quarters" (?). But adults spend their lives wishing time would just slow down. Whoa, I'm getting a little to philosophical...

One Step Ahead Of Technology

For those of you who have kids who are old enough to have Nintendo DS, iTouch or cell phones, this article is a must read. It is by Christian speaker and author Vicki Courtney. She addresses issues that parents of preteens and teens are facing today. It is a little lengthy, but worth it. I had NO IDEA about some of this stuff she mentions. I have a feeling that many parents who buy their children these "toys" also don't realize what else they might be giving to them. All the more reason to stay in tune and informed.

Here's the link: http://vickicourtney.com/2009/10/hidden-dangers-of-iphones-itouches-and-cell-phones-with-web-access/

Today is a special day for a special person. Happy Birthday, Mom and MawMaw. You are looking fine in 2009! Fletcher is very into rhyming words these days. We hope you have a great day and we love you!

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

We have definitely entered into the "terrific twos". I don't want to call them "terrible twos" because in my opinion, three is a whole lot worse than two.

We are hearing alot more of the following words, phrases and sentences from Luke:
Mine!
Let me have it!
I do it!
No!
Let me do it!
They all have exclamation points because he says all of them emphatically just as a two year old should!

However, I find myself having trouble thinking on my feet when I am correcting him. We try to get him to say "Yes, Mommy" or "Yes, Daddy" after we tell him something so that we get a verbal response. That way we know he is paying attention and hopefully it makes him less likely to do or not do whatever if he has already said "Yes" to one of us. We found this worked well when Fletcher was this age and now it is easier for Fletcher to say "Yes ma'am" or "No ma'am" at school and with other adults because he knows we expect him to respond in that way. We are also trying to teach Luke that he shouldn't tell us "No."

Kevin (lovingly) pointed out that I am probably confusing him when I say things like this:

Mom: Luke, we need to share and take turns.
Luke: NO!
Mom: Luke, you do not tell Mommy 'no'. Do you understand?
Luke: NO!
Mom: Luke, you do not tell Mommy 'no'. Do you want a time out in your room?

Ummmm. Do you see why he might be a little confused?

Oh the joys of parenting!

We're Done!

As of this past Friday, our month long "milk elimination" for Luke is done. We actually went five weeks instead of four just in case I missed some milk ingredients the first week when we were just getting started.

We celebrated with real milk for breakfast, yogurt and cheese at lunch and Mexican food for dinner with Luke's favorite, cheese quesadilla and chips & salsa. So far we haven't noticed much of a difference. No extreme runny nose, no weird diapers, nothing. So we are hoping we can just go back to our regularly scheduled program of plenty of dairy!

Here are a few pics of us at the Mexican restaurant. Wait...is that Kevin on his Crackberry? No. It can't be. It actually wasn't work related. He was reading an email from his sister. Awwww...

Yet Another Reason...

...why I really love Fletcher's school.

Fletcher received this card in the mail this week from the Moms In Touch prayer group at his school. He thought it was really cool although the "Grandma Hughes" part confused him. I haven't met this lady yet. I guess maybe all the kids know her as Grandma Hughes?

Throwback Thursday

This video has been floating around Facebook. It's been titled "Everything's Amazing, No One's Happy." It is hilarious and sad and funny all at the same time. We had a rotary phone too so that's why this video made it on Throwback Thursday!

At The Table

Luke and I are sitting at the table together eating lunch. Fletcher is at school. Kevin is at work. It is just the two of us.

Luke starts squirming in his chair, clutching his tray and making faces.

Mom: Luke, what are you doing? (Like I didn't already know)
Luke: I p00pin'.

At this point my mind wanders a bit. There would have been a time when I was younger that I would have been completely disgusted by the fact that someone was having a bowel movement at the dinner table in front of me. Gross. Who does that? But now it is such a common occurrence in parenting or should I say that it is a common occurrence in this house that I don't think much of it. I did think about the scene with Ruprecht from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which I included at the bottom of this post for your viewing pleasure.

Luke: Mama? (He brings me back to reality from my wandering thoughts).
Mom: Yes?
Luke: (dead serious, but very proud face) It a big one.

Thanks for sharing, son. Glad to know you have already mastered the art of small talk at the lunch table. That will come in handy with your peers someday.

Oh and by the way, it was.

Japanese Food For Thought

I was nervous in church on Sunday.

Our church does that "Shake hands and greet your neighbor" after the first song thing.

I dislike the "Shake hands and greet your neighbor" after the first song thing.

I like my church. I like my neighbors sitting in the chairs around me. Greeting is cool. But for the love of God do we have to shake hands? Who came up with that concept anyway? I've mentioned before that germs generally freak me out. I have bottles of hand sanitizer in my car, in my purse and on my kitchen counter. My kids pretty much know that anytime we get in the car after we've been in a store they have to have a shot of the sanitizer. On their hands. Guess I should use a word other than shot. We've received a letter from Luke's preschool that someone there was diagnosed with swine flu (not in his class). The flu (not sure if it is the swine version or not) has been going around like crazy here. So why invite anyone to willingly share their possible germs by shaking hands with 10 other people? When I think about the mathematically probability of the transference of germs in that two minute Shake and Greet session, my head wants to explode.

I have a suggestion.

Could we please just be like Japanese people for the next 6 months?

We could just smile and bow politely to one another when we need to greet someone whether it be at church or at the grocery store. No touching has to occur. Ever.

Or we could go back to the way it was in the 50's when men tipped their hats and ladies curtsied (no clue how to spell that - had to look it up).

I would be ok with that too.

Oh, and by the way, my church must have sensed my paranoia because they didn't do the "shake hands and greet your neighbor" after the first song thing on Sunday. Skipped right over it and went right into the next song. Props to our new worship leader. I'm hoping this is a new trend.

Who Wants Popcorn?

Grandma and Papa Charlie came for a little visit this weekend. We took the boys to see a movie Friday night. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs. It was very different than the actual children's book by the same title, but it was a cute movie.

This is the second "movie theater" movie Luke has attended. But it did not take him long to figure out the concept. His favorite thing hands down is the popcorn. Lots and lots of popcorn. To the point that Kevin cashed in on the "free popcorn refill" option since we bought the enormous tub. I don't know if I have ever witnessed a child eat that much popcorn and that was AFTER he had already eaten dinner.

Luke's newest thing is to say that he loves something. But it comes out, "I wuuuuuuv ________" where he emphasizes and stretches out the "wuuuuuuuv" part. It is so cute. At the movie theater he blurted out "I wuuuuuuv popcorn." Anytime he eats anything or plays with a certain toy, we hear "I wuuuuv pizza" or "I wuuuuuv wegos (legos)" or "I wuuuuuuuv Rocky." And of course, I ask him, "Do you love Daddy/Mommy/Fletcher/Sadie?" and he goes through that list too.

Well, it comes as no great surprise that "We wuuuuuuv Lukie!"

The World of Fletcher

Breakfast -- another conversation about age

Fletcher: Mom, you are the oldest one in our family.
Mom: mmm, yeah.
Fletcher: Well, you are not as old as Poppa Floyd.... or MawMaw and PawPaw.
Mom: true
Fletcher: But you are the oldest person in this family in this house.
Mom: yes
Fletcher: even though you are kinda skinny and not as tall as Dad.

Well, alrighty then.
----------------------------------
Conversation after school (He goes to a Christian school and the whole school begins their day with an assembly time of music, scripture and sometimes skits.)

Mom: What did you learn at assembly today?
Fletcher: Um... I learned that we are all deeply fallen.
Mom: That's right. (At this point I am really impressed with not only the fact they are teaching theology but also the fact that he remembered what they taught)
Fletcher: I'm deeply fallen. You are deeply fallen. Dad is deeply fallen. Even Luke is deeply fallen.
Mom: Yes, we all are. What does "deeply fallen" mean?
Fletcher: I don't really remember.

Ok, so I am still impressed... I think.

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Getting into the car at carpool line

Fletcher: Mom! Look! Our teacher gave each of us a hummus stone. It has holes in it.
Mom: I think you might mean "pumice" stone.

------------------------------

Fletcher: When I'm a parent and have my own house, I am going to make up my own rules.
Mom: Really?
Fletcher: Yes.
Mom: Are you going to make your children say, "Yes sir" and "No sir" to you?
Fletcher: Yes
Mom: What other kinds of rules will you have?
Fletcher: We are going to pray together and read the Bible.
Mom: Oh, those are good ones.

(While I hope he doesn't see praying and reading the Bible as "rules" in our house, I am glad he wants to incorporate that into his own home someday. Maybe we are doing something right after all. )

Highway to the Danger Zone

I feel the need, the need for speed!

I recently went to a giant kids' consignment sale at a nearby church. I've never seen so much stuff including baby gear, toys, books, clothes, etc in one place. I found some fun costumes for Fletcher. He is at that age where he really loves costumes so I know these will get lots of use (even if they are a little big). Luke will enjoy them too. Now Fletcher just needs to decide what he wants to be for Halloween!

Who Needs Sixteen?

(Can you tell I'm having fun with the new video feature on my new camera?)

A Helper I Will Be

We may just skip Christmas presents altogether this year and just allow some daily quality time at the sink. (Please excuse the noises in the background. Kevin was making salsa and using the blender). Now that I think about it, I have it made. A handsome guy to cook for me and two handsome little people to clean for me.

I almost titled this "Life With A Two Year Old", but I wanted to see if you could pick out any distinct two year old behaviors on your own.

The World of Luke

Mom: Luke, what is your whole name?
Luke: Wuke Sawwer ________ (Luke Sarver Our Last Name)
Mom: What is mommy's whole name?
Luke: Wuke Sawwer Mama
Fletcher: What is brother's whole name?
Luke: Wuke Sawwer Che-Chee

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A few nights ago we were finishing dinner. In a moment of parental weakness, Fletcher asked if he could have dessert. I told him he could, not thinking about the fact that Luke was not quite finished with his dinner yet and would want dessert as well. So Fletcher gets his ice cream sandwich out of the freezer and Luke wants one. I tell Luke that he has to finish what's on his plate first.

Luke meticulously removes the two pieces of pizza (with dairy free cheese) from his plate and sets them on his placemat. Then he removes his apple slices and sets them on his placemat. He hands me his now clean plate and looks at me with those big brown eyes and a huge smile and says, "Wook mama, I all done!"
We are in so much trouble....

A Family That Plays Together...

One of my Facebook friends recently posted a status update that said she was excited about seeing her college age daughter this weekend and playing "Family Pictionary." I just assumed that meant her family enjoyed playing Pictionary when they were together in the same way some families enjoy playing Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly or Rock Band.

But someone else commented on "Family Pictionary" and she explained what it really meant. The rules are similar to regular Pictionary - two teams, taking turns, etc. However, here is the twist: each team submits the names of ten or so family members that the other team has to draw. It can be any relative on either side of the family. She said it is the most hilarious thing in the world trying to guess which family member is being drawn.

We are so playing that at our next family gathering. I don't know about your family, but my family has plenty of a) people b) "interesting" people c) "interesting" people with odd names and d) "interesting" people with odd names who have a story. I am already thinking of relatives... You better hope you are on my team because we are going to win!

News Flash

This probably won't matter to most people, but I just found out today that Prescriptives (the cosmetic line whose parent company is Estee Lauder) is going out of business. The struggling economy has hurt their sales beyond recovery.

In the words of Scooby Doo, "Ruh Roh."

I've used Prescriptives ever since my senior year in college when my once blemish-free face freaked out with horrible acne. Never had zits all throughout middle school and high school then I turn 21 and BAM! I could have been the "Before" picture on the Proactiv infomercial. Probably had something to do with the stress of graduating from college, finding a job and moving from a town of 13,000 people to a city of 4 million people all by myself.

Whoa. Getting way off topic there. Back to Prescriptives. A dermatologist recommended that I try foundation that was oil free and powder that was talc free. At the time Prescriptives was the only cosmetics company making anything like that. It was pricey on a 1st year teacher's salary, but it worked. I've used the concealer, foundation and powder ever since. Except for once when I tried another hoity toity brand. I thought I was all cool and hip. Then after using it for several weeks, I saw a picture of myself and I looked yellow. I guess no one had the guts to tell me my makeup made me look like a yellow Oompa Loompa. I vowed never to stray again. I've played around with different brands of blush, lipstick, mascara, etc. But that's different.

Now I have to start over. In the grand scheme of things, it is not a big deal. But I can be resistant to change. The good news is that there are lots more options to choose from these days. The bad news is that it takes time and money to sample new products and decide if they will work. They don't go under completely until January 2010. Maybe I could come up with a mathematical formula to figure out how much makeup I would need for the rest of my life and just buy a huge stockpile before it is all gone. I'd have to convince Kevin....but my plan just might work.

If you've read this far and haven't fallen asleep and want more details, you can read the press release here.