The Plot Thickens

I know you have been waiting to hear what happened on Saddle Ridge Ranch. The author is still not finished, but he has added more to his story.

Lest you think I am forcing him to take an SAT Vocabulary Prep class this summer....his kindergarten teacher read a story to them this past year that included the word "flabbergasted". Once they knew what it meant, it became a favorite word at school and at home.

Yes, that is his foot that he traced.

This is a piece of a map. Obviously, this is an old school story otherwise the criminal would be using his GPS.

Stay tuned...

"Big Machines Are Dangerous"

I love the way Luke says "dangerous" so I wanted to get it on video because I know someday soon he will learn to say it correctly and then it won't be nearly as cute.

Can you tell he had ice cream after dinner?

What Were They Thinking?

(Some of you may have seen my little rant on my Facebook status on Friday afternoon.)

On Friday our babysitter came over to take the kids to the pool and play while I went out and ran errands. When I am running errands, I don't like to waste time for lunch so I usually swing through a drive through and grab a kids meal. It is just enough food to keep me going until dinner. I typically give the toy in the meal to the kids or we save it for our Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes. Friday's restaurant of choice was Burger King.

Imagine my shock when I reached in and pulled out this "toy" from the kids' meal bag.

This is supposed to be a bracelet with a werewolf and a vial for blood (I guess) from the Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie that is coming out June 30. A movie that is rated PG-13. A movie about vampires and blood.

So....um....yeah....

Excuse me Burger King marketing executives? What in the world were you thinking? How on earth is this an appropriate TOY for a 6 year old or a 2 year old or anyone else under the age of 13? I realize McDonalds probably got the rights to the Toy Story "toys" for their Happy Meals and you are probably bitter about that. I also realize that the Twilight series is very popular and lots of people are excited about this particular movie. But this? Seriously? We're talking about kids. Kids who most likely don't know what a vampire is. Who would give this to their children? Imagine the conversation I had to have with Fletcher about how he couldn't have this toy because it was from a movie that was inappropriate for kids. The very fine print on the bag said that alternate toys could be requested. But when I am in a hurry and in a drive through, I generally don't think about what toy I'll be getting in the bag.

Now some of you may be thinking that I am making a big deal about this. And maybe I am. I don't know. I guess I was thinking about my kids and how I want them to just enjoy being little kids and not grow up too fast. It is stuff like this that reminds me there are a whole lot of things in this world that are trying to make our kids grow up too fast.

Will I call BK's corporate headquarters today? Maybe. Will I think twice about making BK my drive through of choice? Absolutely! Will I be packing this toy in the Operation Christmas Child shoebox? Definitely not.

Follow up note: We had some friends over for dinner on Saturday night and I was telling them about this story. I showed them the toy and they too were appalled. I didn't think Fletcher was listening because he was playing with their boys. But Sunday morning he walks into our room with the toy in hand and says in a huff, "I am calling Burger King Monday morning." I asked what he would tell them. He said, "I'll tell them 'this toy is completely inappropriate for children' ".

Oh he is always listening...

Budding Author

We've been reading alot of kid mystery books this summer. Fletcher decided he wanted to write a mystery story of his own. So he jumped right in.

The title of the book is Big Town. This is a picture of a barn with two cowboys. The cowboy on the bottom is trying to lasso the horse or maybe it's a bull or a cow. Did I mention our VBS was a western/ranch/cowboy theme this year?



While a good mom would have made him use proper "first grade lined" paper to write his story so that his letters would be the proper height, I am just a mediocre mom who is tired and hot. (See yesterday's post.) So when he brought out the bright orange ruled paper, I didn't stop him. While he did spell everything correctly, our scanner cut off some of the words. He insisted we use the "to be continued" phrase along with the dot, dot, dots. I don't know where he gets his dramatic flair.

This is the illustration for chapter one.

He started chapter 2 and decided he needed a break. I needed a break too since I have to help him spell most of the words. But this is a good review for him.

Is the suspense killing you? I'll post more as he writes it. I can't wait to see what happens on Saddle Ridge Ranch!

Worn Out

Between swim lessons for Fletcher in the mornings and VBS at night, this week is wearing me out. I won't even mention the laundry and bags that I still need to tend to from our trip.

Last night I went to VBS to attend the adult class while the kids were in their classes, but as I walked in the door, the children's minister (who is also the pastor's wife) said she needed help in the 3 & 4 yr old class so I went from "passive participant" to "active teacher" in 2.5 seconds flat.

Hopefully, I'll be refreshed this weekend and can come up with some coherent thoughts and blog posts other than something related to Saddle Ridge Ranch, horses, stables and other western thoughts. (Our VBS is a cowboy theme --- can you tell?)

Bonus! Because we've been getting home so late, the boys have actually slept in several days this week. Now if I could just do the same...

Rock A Bye Baby

As parents we make split second decisions that seem like really good decisions at the time. But then there are the consequences.

Exhibit A:


Several things I love about this video:
1. The crib does not fall apart when the dad climbs in. That is a heavy duty crib.
2. The baby stops crying almost immediately when dad lays down.
3. The dad actually thinks he might get some sleep with his head resting against the bumper pad.
4. At the 2:45 mark the baby grabs on to dad like dog hair on a black sweater. He's not going anywhere.
5. The dad is creative - most parents bring the baby into the parents' bed.
6. I can't think of a 6th thing. But I do remember those days when I would have done just about anything to get my babies to just go back to sleep!

Ripley's Aquarium

Gatlinburg has a very cool aquarium with a huge tunnel and a moving sidewalk that makes you feel like you are right there swimming with sharks....

and swordfish and stingrays and all kinds of other sea creatures.

The iguana was not in the tank. I'm still trying to figure out why an iguana is at an aquarium. Anyone?

These two really enjoyed it.

There were several of these tunnels where they could crawl under and stand up in the tank. Luke looks like he is saying, "Hey, get me outta here!"

The aquarium had also recently opened their new Penguin Playhouse exhibit. We took advantage of the photo op.

Luke and Kevin were checking out the penguins.

This was not at the aquarium. This was a guy making taffy in a candy store down the street. I remember making taffy at least once when I was a kid. I remember pulling and pulling (and fighting and fighting with my brother) but not really understanding the need to pull the taffy. I still don't understand. Anyone?

Before we left for our trip, Kevin was talking to Luke and making a really big deal about how Gatlinburg has "special mountain candy" so Luke would have something to look forward to. Luke said with big eyes and a huge smile, "Dat sounds boo-ti-ful." Indeed it was in the eyes of a 2 1/2 year old. He had fun looking in (and tasting) lots of candy stores while we were there.

Gatlinburg 2010

We just returned from a family reunion weekend in Gatlinburg, TN with Kevin's side of the family. I took a few pictures and videos and will have at least one other post this week about our trip.

We had kids ages 10, 6, 3, 2, 21 months, and 20 months with us. At one point we decided to take them to play putt putt golf. It was an interesting outing to say the least. Here's the crew. Yes, the picture is blurry because none of them would stand still long enough for a picture!

Restaurant Style Salsa

When I graduated from college, I moved from Louisiana to Houston, TX. I lived there for almost 8 years until I met and married Kevin and we moved to Florida. I think it is safe to say that I ate Mexican food almost every single week when I lived there. It is just what you do. And oh how I miss my weekly Tex Mex food fix. "Mexican food" here in the Carolinas just pales in comparison. In fact, it is just not even worth comparing. We've tried places here and they are ok, but they just aren't the same. One of the marks of a good Mexican restaurant is a good salsa. Kevin has been trying to find a good salsa recipe we can make at home. We've tried some that taste too Italian and some that are more like a pico de gallo which is not the same as salsa. We came across this one on thepioneerwoman.com website and I have to say it is wonderful. It is even better if you let it sit for a few days and let the flavors really mesh (or is it meld?) together. I am sitting here wishing I had some right now.

So if you are tired of salsa in a jar, try this recipe. I promise you won't want to go back to salsa in a jar. It does make a huge amount. I am not kidding. You have been warned.

Restaurant Style Salsa

Ingredients
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice
2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro (more To Taste!)
½ whole Lime Juice
Preparation Instructions
Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you’d like—I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.
Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

P.S. In case you like recipes and you like to cook, The Pioneer Woman has lots of recipes on her site. She doesn't use fancy ingredients and she takes pictures of every step which is very helpful for someone like me who is not confident in my cooking abilities. Plus, her running commentary while she is making the recipe can be very funny too.

Talkin'

Luke still stays in his bed every morning until Kevin or I go in to get him. Shocking, I know!

Yesterday I went in to get him and he was in the middle of his full size bed under the sheet. He looked like an orange ghost. (His sheets are those orange stretchy tshirt kind of sheets).

Mom: Luke, what are you doing under there?
Luke: I talkin'
Mom: You're talking? Who are you talking to? (I figured he would tell me Rocky, his favorite stuffed dog.)
Luke: Bebus (this is how he pronounces "Jesus")
Mom: You're talking to Jesus? What are you telling him?
Luke: Dat I wuv Him.

Louisiana

A clean-up worker picks up blobs of oil in absorbent snare on Queen Bess Island at the mouth of Barataria Bay near the Gulf of Mexico in Plaquemines Parish, La., Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

This picture makes me sick and sad at the same time. I grew up in Louisiana. I still have family and friends in Louisiana. Offshore oil rigs and the fishing industry employ lots of people in Louisiana. People I grew up with. People who are just trying to make a living and feed their kids. Some of the same people who were devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and who are just now getting back on their feet. Now this. Don't even get me started with the politics of the whole situation. That is almost worse than the spill itself. It is overwhelming to think about.

I'm the first to admit that while I try to be optimistic about most things, the logical part of me looks at this mess and thinks, "How will it get cleaned up?" and "How long will it take?" and "Why did God allow it to happen?" Then I have to remind myself that God is still in control. This oil spill is not a surprise to Him. He is not up in heaven wringing his hands and pacing the floor wondering what to do. I take great comfort in that. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

I do pray that God provides a quick, amazingly effective solution. I also pray that the people affected by this spill come to know God and His peace and power and provision in a brand new way.

Bossy Bear

Now that school is out, Fletcher and Luke are spending alot more time playing together. I use the terms "playing" and "together" rather loosely since I should probably say "fighting" and "arguing" instead. What is up with that? It is wearing me out and we are only into the second official week of summer. (Now I know why my mom made my brother and me spend the majority of our summers outside in the sweltering Louisiana heat.)

As they play, I've noticed Fletcher trying to tell Luke how to play and how not to play. I hear things like "Luke, don't say that" and "Luke, do it this way". I've had to remind Fletcher that Luke can play however he wants as long as he isn't hurting anyone and that Fletcher can't boss him around.

At the library last week, I happened to see two books called Bossy Bear and Just Like Bossy Bear. In a moment of parenting brillance, I got both of them in the hopes that Fletcher would see just how annoying his behavior is and perhaps change it.

Bossy's bad behavior includes saying things like "I want that" and "Gimme, gimme, gimme". Some of Bossy Bear's friends ask if he wants to play and Bossy says, "If we're going to play, we play MY WAY!" His friends leave and he is all alone. As soon as we read it, Fletcher knew why I checked it out.

However, my plan backfired. As I was cooking dinner, I hear a little brown eyed almost-three-year-old down the hall yelling, "Gimme, gimme, gimme. I want that. If we're going to play, we play MY WAY!"

Bossy Bear is now hidden away until he returns to the library. (And yes, that little brown eyed almost-three-year-old asks to read Bossy Bear every time we sit down to read library books).

Straight To The Source

We try to end each day with all four of us with what we call Bible Time at our house.

In a perfect world, the four of us would sit quietly on the couch and listen attentively as Kevin reads the devotional book then I read the verses that accompany it. I am closing my eyes and picturing it in my head now. It is sweet and beautiful. I can almost hear "Amazing Grace" playing quietly in the background while my two boys smile angelically. In a perfect world.

In our real world, while Fletcher usually does really well listening and participating, Luke has trouble. Lots of trouble. But we take what we can get with the hope that Luke is learning that this is an important time together for our family even if he doesn't fully understand it all yet.

Fletcher has taken it upon himself to tattle during prayer time. I guess he figures if Mom and Dad aren't going to do anything about it then he'll take matters into his own hands.

Here are a few of his recent prayers:

Dear God, thank you for today. Thank you for Momma, Daddy and Luke. And please help Luke not to talk during Bible Time and climb on the coffee table and spin around on his belly . Amen

Dear Jesus, please help Luke to sit still and not sit on me during Bible time. And thank you for this world. Amen

Dear God, Thank you for this day. Please make Luke pay attention and not sing "We Will Rock You" during Bible Time. Amen.

After his tattling prayers, we remind him that Luke is only 2 1/2 and still learning. It is important for all of us who are older to set a good example for Luke to follow. I reminded him that we have this time each day because it is a priority for our family and we want them to learn about and know God and hopefully spend this same kind of time with their family some day.

Dear God, I promise Luke is trying really hard. But sometimes sporadic outbursts of breakdancing on the coffee table just can't be helped. Amen.

Daily Affirmation

I probably should have saved this post for a blah Monday. However, if you are having a bad day, you should try standing on your bathroom sink and do what she does. It just might change your entire perspective!

Kindergarten Pool Fun

We've only been out of school for a week and Fletcher is already missing all of his friends at kindergarten. He had 8 students in his class and 8 in the other kindergarten class. The 16 of them ate lunch and played together everyday. Since our neighborhood is not built out yet (only 40 homes out of 200) and since no one uses the pool especially in the mornings, we invited everyone to come for a swim and a picnic lunch.

I forgot to pull out my camera until we turned on the fountains. They had a ball and both Fletcher and Luke took naps that afternoon. Luke still naps daily, but Fletcher hasn't napped in forever.

Luke is loving the water this summer. He doesn't want to get out of the pool when it is time to go. He asks every day if we can go to the pool. Even with tons of sunscreen, he already has a tan.

Hey, Slugger!

I finally got the tball video to upload. He cracks me up when he takes a "practice swing" then picks up that foot and steps into the ball (or whatever the baseball lingo is). I wish I had an upclose video of his face because I know he is concentrating so hard. This was his last year of tball. Next year will be coach pitch baseball. Should be interesting to see.

Now to figure out how to edit out the annoying mom voice from the video.

Yeah, We're In For It

Conversation in the bathroom that I overheard .

Please note this is not a typo or an episode from the Twilight Zone.

Although after you read it, you might think I got the names mixed up.

Luke: (splashing a little too hard in the tub)

Kevin: (gently) Luke, let's keep the water in the tub.

Luke: (splashing even harder, on purpose)

Kevin: (much more firmly) Luke!! Daddy said let's keep the water in the tub.

Luke: DO NOT talk back to me!

Kevin: Um, no. You don't talk back to Daddy like that.

Luke: You are NOT THE DADDY!

Kevin: Um, yeah. Yes, I am most definitely the Daddy. YOU are not the daddy.

Luke: (backing down in a small voice) I not the daddy?

Kevin: No.

Luke: Oh, ok. (I can't say for sure because I wasn't in there, but I think he might have gotten one last splash in there just to show whose could be boss if he wanted to).

His preparation for "I'm Three Years Old" has begun.

TBall Wrap Up

They finished the season undefeated.

Well, I guess you can call it undefeated since they don't keep score at this age.

Fletcher is waiting for his turn to bat. There are lots of rules at this age like "players must remain seated if they are not batting or out on the field" and "players may not pick up a bat until a coach tells them to".
Here's his team getting ready to meet their opponents.

I wish I could market this idea. I bought one of those under the bed somewhat shallow plastic storage bins with a lid. We filled it with sand and sand toys and brought it to the games and practices. It was lightweight enough that I could carry it and it fit in the Pilot. Luke (and several friends) spent the majority of the games and practices playing in the sand. Even if the sand spills out (which it did), it doesn't hurt anything and I can always refill it. I cannot tell you how many moms came up to me and told me what a wonderful idea it was. It is still in our garage and Luke asks to play with it all the time. So we drag it out on the driveway and play. Much cheaper than a regular sand box and we don't have to worry about the sand getting wet or critters getting into it. So for those of you reading who have little ones, file this idea away somewhere the next time you need to entertain them.

I have some great videos of Fletcher hitting the ball, but Blogger is being difficult tonight so I will have to post them later this week.

Summer Is Officially Here!

This was their first official dip in the pool for this summer. We were at a hotel on a little getaway trip. I thought the water would be freezing. They loved it anyway. Needless to say, I could barely get them to stand still long enough for a picture. I think we've been to the pool every day since it opened last weekend. Luke asks to go to the pool every morning when he wakes up. I think the pool will be our second home this summer. I probably need to get one of those wide brimmed sombrero grandma type hats so I don't get too much sun.

Tesselations

A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering a plane without any gaps or overlaps.

Here are some examples.

When I taught high school Geometry, I taught a unit on tesselations. The kids thought it was really cool and made some great picturesI'm glad to see that Subway has gotten on board with the tesselation concept so that the cheese will supply maximum coverage to the sandwich. I'm glad to know those sandwich artists are always thinking about their customers. You can read the full article here.

So check your Subway sandwich on July 1st to see if it is in compliance.

Now see if you can use the word tesselate today in a conversation so people will think you are really super smart.

Awards Day

Fletcher's school had their Awards Ceremony on Tuesday for K-6th grade. In assembly every morning, they've been studying who they are in Christ so the beginning part of the program was a recap of what they had learned throughout the year. I was amazed at how much scripture the kids had memorized to go along with who they are in Christ - deeply fallen, fully forgiven, eternally loved, His bride, weak yet strong, rich yet poor, His child.


Each child also got an award from his or her teacher. The award wasn't based on academic accomplishments. Instead it was based on the child's character - things like diligence, joyful attitude, servant heart and prayer warrior. It was very cool to hear the things the teacher said about each child. You could tell the teachers put alot of thought into those awards. Some of the teachers had a theme of sorts like Fletcher's teacher. She gave each of her 8 students an award based on a person in the Bible (Hannah, Jonathan, Peter, Paul, Miriam, etc) and the character traits that person in the Bible represented.


Here is Fletcher's award.



In case you can't read it, it is the "Timothy Award" for his knowledge of the Scriptures and his desire to study to show himself approved unto God. The verse she chose for him is 2 Timothy 2:15. We are so proud of him. It is sad to see this kindergarten year come to an end. He has learned so much and had such a great time. His teacher has laid an incredible foundation (and set a pretty high bar) for his education in future years.

Stalling

I've noticed a pattern.

I've started a few posts with the whole "I normally don't talk about bodily functions on the blog, but..." disclaimer.

Well, I've decided with a two and a half year old who is potty training, some posts are just going to have to be about bodily functions. So no more excuses or disclaimers. Now I'm just going to say that sometimes I do talk about pee and p00p on this blog. So now you know.

Because I spend the majority of my day with Luke, it is inevitable that I have to take him to the bathroom when we are out running errands.

I'm trying to think of a way to put this delicately. When it is just the two of us, he has to be with me when I have to go too.

(I can't believe I am telling this. He will DIE when he reads this when he is about 13.)

Imagine for a moment...

You are at the local mall and you feel the urge so you go into their public restroom into one of the stalls...

Then you hear a little voice in the stall next to you....

"Mom!!!! You're doing it! You are going in the potty!"

"Good job, Mom!"

"Mommy, I am so proud of you!"

"You are such a big girl, Mom!"

"Flush, Mommy. Then wash your hands!"

I haven't felt so encouraged in my bathroom habits in probably 40 years.

I hear you snickering in your stall.

Then, because I'm a germ freak, I flush the toilet with my foot. The first time Luke saw me do it, he thought it was hilarious. He busts out with "You don't flush with your foot, Mommy. You flush with your hands, silly!" (Yes, I heard you continue to laugh in your stall). Now at home he tries to flush with his foot.

You can just imagine how that's going.