Wimping Out

I'm tired. It's been raining for a few days now (and we are very, very, very thankful for all the rain). But you know how rainy days and Mondays always get me down. Well, in my case it's rainy days and Thursdays but I know what Karen Carpenter was talking about.

Um. I feel old referencing Karen Carpenter.

I need to bring this home quickly before I really lose my train of thought.

The kids haven't said anything funny recently. I haven't taken any pictures this week.

So maybe the title of the blogpost should be "I Got Nothing."

We'll try again tomorrow. I'm open to suggestions.

I've been waking up at 3:30 am the last few nights. How crazy is that? I can't get back to sleep either. Maybe that's why I am tired.

FOR YOU!

Lumberjacks!

Fletcher and Tucker were taking it all in. Luke, however, was pretending to be an excavator and digging in the dirt/rocks/leaves.

I was hoping for a little more plaid and flannel, but it was 92 degrees that day so I cut them some slack. We missed the chainsaw portion of the events. I was highly impressed when they had a 7th grade girl competing in the axe throw and a middle aged woman competing as well. I told Kevin maybe I should try it and he could teach me. He said the last thing he would want is for me to be able to throw a sharp axe with skilled accuracy. Smart man.

Arrgh!

We had yet another adventure on Saturday. A local museum was hosting the South Atlantic Woodsmen Association's Lumberjack Competition. As an added bonus, the museum had a new pirate exhibit. I realize lumberjacks and pirates are not related in the least, but we decided to kill two birds with one stone and go see both. I'll have to save the lumberjack photos and videos for tomorrow's post.

Luke raises the Jolly Roger.

Kevin and Grant try their hand at tying some tricky pirate ropes.
The boys shooting cannons on the pirate ship.

Fletcher making his own pirate flag.

A review of pirate language. The history was really fascinating for the adults. Did you know that many pirates were former military men? And did you know that walking the plank wasn't really a punishment? And did you know that many pirates had a sort of "code of conduct" with built in workman's compensation if they were hurt on the job? So interesting.

Land ho!

Ahoy there matey!

There were monkeys in the pirate exhibit. Not totally sure how that relates, but they were fun to watch.

Caught stealing treasure.

In another part of the museum, there was a room for the kids to play with all sorts of wildlife costumes and puppets.

I think this is a raccoon deer combo.

Farmer Luke.

Badger Tucker gnawing on a piece of wood.

Little Stinker.

After while crocodile.

This reminded me that we need to rent Night at The Museum.

A fun day!

Silly faces.

Tomorrow: The Lumberjack Competition

TGIF

Praise the Lord.


Can I get an Amen?


Woohoo!


Breathe a collective sigh of relief.


We sold the Honda Pilot yesterday!


Since we listed it on both craigslist and AutoTrader.com, we had several calls and emails about it. But alot of the emails were scams. I couldn't believe some of the emails we received (that should be another post altogether). Ridiculous. One guy seemed genuinely interested but kept giving us lowball offers. I guess he thought Kevin would eventually cave. I was getting a little nervous since we'd been trying to sell it for close to two months with no success.


On Sunday a couple probably in their late 20's came to look at it with his dad. The wife had totalled her car and they were looking for a replacement. They had found a Pilot at a Honda dealership, but didn't like the color. The dad stayed at our house with Kevin while the husband and wife test drove it. The dad said they had one other one to look at before deciding. Kevin told them he would be out of town on Monday and Tuesday but to contact him on Wednesday if they wanted it.


Well, the guy called Wednesday and said they wanted to buy it. He told Kevin the thing that sold them was when they got in to take the test drive, my radio was on 91.9 which is a Christian radio station. How cool is that? I told Kevin he better be thankful it was my car and not his truck since he tends to listen to things like talk radio and NPR with a little 80's heavy metal thrown in for fun. (Love ya, babe!)



So now I can get the van washed and start parking in the garage.



I'm off to do the happy dance!

The Hype

Today is the first day of autumn. The high is supposed to be 95 degrees.

Well, alrighty then.

In honor of "fall" I went to Starbucks to try their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Now there are a few things you need to know. First, I'm not really a Starbucks kind of girl. In fact, I think I can count only about 5 times that I've actually purchased anything at Starbucks. In my lifetime. One of those times I had a coupon for a free coffee. A couple of times were for hot chocolate, not coffee. And the other times were in an airport for juice and a muffin before a flight. I just have a hard time paying that much money for a beverage I could make at home for fifty cents or less. It is also important to note that I haven't always been a coffee drinker. I started when I had kids. Sounds terrible, but the caffeine really does help me get going since I am not a morning person and my first born is a morning person X 100. My mawmaw in Louisiana used to make me coffee milk which was essentially a glass of milk with some sugar and a shot of coffee. I drank my coffee this way for years. Until I had kids. Then the ratios changed. Now it's a whole lot of coffee and sugar and a shot of milk.

Anyway, back to the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Several blogs I read and friends on Facebook mentioned that the PSL is back at Starbucks. They serve it for limited time only during the fall, I guess. They were raving about how yummy it is. So I thought I would try it. I really like pumpkin flavored things - muffins, breads, pancakes, etc. So I was wondering if this would put me in the fall mood.

I paid $ 3.77 for a small cup. (Starbucks can call it "Grande" but it was a very small cup indeed. ) Something this expensive better taste pretty good.

The verdict?

Delicious. Seriously. I understand the hype. My friend on FB called it "crack in a cup." I don't know that I would go that far, but it was really good. It was the perfect blend of coffee, pumpkin, sweetness and cinnamon. I was a little sad when it was all gone. And yes, I was sweating as I drank it since the high was 94 today. But it was that good.

I told Kevin about my PSL experience and he might have rolled his eyes. He doesn't believe in paying big bucks for coffee either. However, I did tell him that I would not be mad at him if he decided to go to Starbucks early one morning and surprise me with a PSL. He gets up early anyway and Starbucks is just right down the street in the Target.

So when cooler weather gets here, go try a PSL and let me know what you think.

Beauty School Dropout

With two little boys, there are lots of things we don't really do around here like watch princess movies or have tea parties. I'm ok with that. However, I was lamenting the fact that we wouldn't be playing "beauty shop" like I did when I was a kid. I remember fixing my mom's hair and sometimes doing her makeup and going to slumber parties where we brushed each other's hair and painted nails. I love having my hair brushed. It is so very relaxing to me. But it is not something you can just ask anybody to do without feeling weird.

Last night after baths, Luke came in and told me he was going to give me a haircut. So he started playing with my hair and pretending to cut it. He was being super gentle and he kept saying, "you are going to look so good." I felt like I was on some Bravo tv show. Ha! He finished and said, "Now you look bootiful!" Well, Fletcher finished his bath and wanted to get in on the action so he got the hairbrush and started brushing my hair. He gave me a hand and foot massage too! I couldn't believe it! I guess we could call it "barber shop". I'd probably play that every day. I had to record it in the blog for posterity's sake so when they are in their teens I have proof that we did this.

The best part was when Kevin came in and Luke asked if he wanted a haircut too. Kevin was happy to play along although he has alot less hair to "cut." Luke went through the whole thing - putting on the cape, making him look down, using the "tickle machine" trimmers, and blowing off the hair on his back and neck. Best line of the night was when Luke finished and told Kevin, "Now you wook wike a pwincess!"

Wonder who he's been hanging out with at preschool.

Oh When The Saints Go Marching In

Fletcher decided he wanted to try flag football this season. It's fun to watch him try different sports to see what he likes and what he doesn't like. Plus, he runs around alot which makes him tired which makes him sleep well at night which makes me happy. He is on the same team as several boys from his school and some former tball/basketball teammates so it is fun to see those families again.

He was very excited when he found out he was on the Saints flag football team. I was not as excited when they passed out black jerseys for their first game in the 92 degree heat. I thought the kids might pass out.
Team huddle. Fletcher is number 4.

This was their very first game. They did well, but the other team did much better. The other team had a little boy named Miracle (not his nickname) who could run really fast and scored several touchdowns (I don't think they technically keep score yet, but the parents and kids all know who did better). I remember their first basketball game and how crazy that was. By the end of the season I was amazed at their progress. I am sure it will be the same way for football.

Remember Fletcher is #4 in the video.

Can I get a "Who Dat!"?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Friday's field trip was to the Recycle Center. The kids learned lots of great information and I learned alot too. For example, did you know you are not supposed to put lids or caps of any kind in the recycle bin? This includes water bottle caps, yogurt lids, screw on caps, milk jug caps. I'm not sure if it is just in our area or a nationwide thing. The lady conducting the field trip said the caps fly off and act like bullets in the automated machinery and can really hurt someone standing nearby. The Recycle Guys on the stage were created by the state of South Carolina's recycling campaign.

The center has a viewing platform for students to watch the trucks unload. The recyclable materials at this center are sold to other factories which in turn will make this stuff into new stuff like cans, paper, etc. Luke loved watching the front end loader push all the recycling materials into big piles.

Here are a few recycled creations that other students have made. Recycle Robot.

Colorful fish made from plastic bottles.

A cool chair made from recycled cardboard.

The table and benches that the students are sitting on are made from recycled milk jugs. The carpet is made from recycled water bottles (I think).

Afterwards, we planned to take the kids out to lunch. The burger place I had in mind had closed down. Oops! So we opted for a different place that I *thought* was like a TGIFridays or Chili's. Turns out my memory is failing me and it was a little more upscale than that. The kids were loving the "fancy" restaurant. My friend and I were dying knowing that the bill was going to be a bit ridiculous. We knew we were in trouble when the kids menu didn't include prices! Yikes! I thought it was quite tacky that the restaurant served boxed Kraft Mac & Cheese and canned fruit and still charged so much money. Let's just say we won't be going back there any time soon.

On a fun note, we saw "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair in the restaurant. Whooooooooooo! Let's just say he has lost a little of that flair in his old age. After we explained who he was, Fletcher really wanted to go get his autograph, but he left before we did.

We love Friday field trip days!

For Sale

Yep. We're still trying to sell our Honda Pilot. It's a 2007 EX-L w/ DVD, leather seats, sunroof. Super clean, garage kept, one owner, only 42,350 miles. $22900.

If you say you saw it on the blog we can cut you a really good deal.

We have it listed on craigslist and autotrader.com.

C'mon. You know you want to buy it.

Picture yourself behind the wheel.

Hand Sanitizer

After my post earlier this week about our trip to the fair and my germophobic fears, I thought this was only fitting:



You can see more of Tim Hawkins here.

Bath Time

If you recall, Kevin is the bath guy at our house. It's pretty much been his job ever since Fletcher was a baby.

Kevin and Luke have this ongoing dialog every single night regarding the temperature of Luke's bath water.

No matter what temperature it is, Luke will step in and say, "Daddy, it's too hot!" Kevin could make it ice cold and Luke would still say it was too hot. I think he just likes to see if he can get a rise out of Kevin. :) Kevin ends up letting Luke put a little bit of cold water in the tub from the faucet and that seems to satisfy Luke.

Last night, this was the conversation I overheard:

Luke: Daddy, it's too hot.
Kevin: No, it is "luke"warm just like you like it. (Note my husband's clever play on words)
Luke: No, it not wukewarm.
Kevin: Yes, Daddy made it lukewarm just for you.
Luke: (getting frustrated) NO, Daddy! It is not wukewarm. It is wukeHOT!

High Flying

Fletcher has been asking for a tree house all summer. For several reasons that I won't get into, Kevin just wasn't ready to take on a tree house project and the time and money involved right now. We didn't want to do a play set either since our backyard is sloped and it would take some significant engineering to find a large enough flat spot to put a play set.


So I ran across this and thought it would be a fun diversion. No, it's not a tree house, but 7 kids can play on it at once and it holds 600 lbs so Mom and Dad can play too. But it is lightweight enough that it can be moved around the yard when Dad needs to mow.


They've already traveled a million miles in their imaginations. Luke says he's "going to MawMaw and PawPaw's house" when he's the pilot. Fletcher says he's "going to an air war" when he's the pilot.

A Little Culture

This weekend we headed down or out or over (I wasn't driving so I'm not totally sure of the direction) to the Cabarrus County Fair.

Oh yes we did. It's been almost 10 years since I've been to a county fair complete with rides, games, pageants, petting zoo, pageants, 4-H displays, and every fried thing imaginable. Fried Oreos, really? The fairgrounds are new so all things considered, it was a pretty clean fair.

What a day! Fletcher and his buddy Tucker had a blast riding the rides. We bought wristbands for them so they could ride as many things as many times as they wanted to without having to mess with tickets.

This was a big step for me considering all of the germ issues I have. I did make the boys use hand sanitizer after just about every ride so they (hopefully) won't contract the "fair funk" virus. I'm sure other people thought I was nuts. But I was happy to see hand sanitizer pumps outside of the majority of the food booths. As much as I wanted to introduce the kids to the joys of a funnel cake, we skipped it. I did however get a piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting from the Methodist church booth (I figured of all the booths out there, they were probably the safest bet). It was some of the best carrot cake I've ever eaten!

Fun house/house of mirrors.

Kevin gets the Rock Star Dad award. As I've gotten older, all of those rides that go round and round or up and down or well, any direction really, make me nauseated and dizzy. So Kevin stepped up and rode the kiddie rides with Luke. At the end of the day, I asked Luke what his favorite ride was. He told me the "wollercoawster"(pictured below).

Here they are in the Monster Trucks. I think the carnival ride operator wasn't sure that Kevin would fit into the truck.

This was the fire engine.

Four Wheelers!

More four wheelers. They are wearing jackets because it had been raining off and on all afternoon. It actually made the day much cooler.

Superheroes! I told Fletcher and Tucker, "DO NOT put your mouths on those face rest things."

A camel with a turkey in the exhibition hall. Now there's something you don't see every day at a county fair. There were some other interesting "people sightings" as well, but I figured they might get mad (and possibly beat me up) if I took their pictures.

Can't go to the fair without a ride on the merry-go-round.

Bumper Cars. Poor little guys. They couldn't figure it out and kept going around in circles.

This ride was one that went around and around and up and down and then did the same thing in reverse. Fletcher almost threw up. I could tell he was very ready for that ride to be over. This was the photo before it started. He didn't look nearly as happy when it ended.

What a great Daddy!

I didn't get a good picture of them riding the ferris wheel. Kevin and Grant (Tucker's dad) both were a little leary about riding it considering the entire structure was propped up on a stack of 2'X2' boards. I forgot to take a picture of those. They survived.

Fletcher asked if we could go back next weekend.

Please Stand

I've mentioned before that Fletcher's school is mostly based on several education theories by Charlotte Mason. If you are interested, you can read more about it here.

Starting in kindergarten, all students learn the "seated learning position" which includes sitting up straight in their chairs, feet under the table, hands folded in front of them, no leaning back in the chair and no talking. Instead of the teacher having to say, "Sit down, be quiet, don't touch, turn around, don't lean back in your chair," she only has to say "assume the seated learning position" and the students know exactly what to do. And they do it without question.

When there's an issue whether it is talking out of turn or acting silly during a lesson, the thought is that the student needs to regain his self control. The student already knows what he is or is not supposed to do so the teacher doesn't need to get into those details. She just simply says, "(Name of child), please stand." No arguments, no back talk, no child saying "but I wasn't doing...". The student knows exactly what to do. He stands up by his chair with arms at his side, no wiggling and no talking until the teacher tells him to sit back down a few minutes later. Of course, if the behavior pattern continues, then there are other consequences like having to leave the room or lose precious playground time.

I know some people may think this discipline seems weird or strict. But I love it. It is based on respect and obedience which are sometimes lost with children and teachers at schools today. I cannot tell you the number of times I lost valuable teaching time when I taught school when I had to stop and deal with a student who was misbehaving in class.

Well, guess who has had to stand twice this week in class.

Excessive silliness and fidgeting with his pencil colors.

Sitting still is hard for a 6 1/2 year old boy, but not impossible. He's learning. And rightful so, I think his teacher is being very strict these first few weeks of school to create the right learning environment for her students so they can have a great year.

Sweep It Under The Rug

Every other Wednesday morning a husband and wife team comes to clean our house.

So every other Tuesday night we clean up before they come.

I know.

Ridiculous.

Don't ask.

Who in their right mind cleans up before the cleaning people come?

Don't get me started.

I just think it's easier for them to clean if toys and papers and dirty clothes and everything else is put away.

Anyway, I told Fletcher to go clean up his room while Kevin was bathing Luke. We finished bath time and were tucking the boys into their beds. Fletcher's room was "nothing but carpet", a phrase I often use with him to indicate that all I should see in his room is the carpet on the floor. But then I noticed a cardboard box in the corner of his room. He sometimes takes old cardboard boxes and makes them into "Star Wars houses." I lifted the box and there hidden in a neat pile were several of the toys that had been all over the floor earlier.

Then Kevin saw a light saber peeking out from under the bed. He pulled it out and then did an under-the-bed sweep with the light saber. Out came clothes, shoes, toys, silly bandz. Another sweep yielded pajamas, socks, and more toys. Yet another sweep brought stuffed animals, an old backpack and a paper from VBS. It was unbelievable how much stuff he had crammed under his bed. Kevin started laughing.

It is hard to discuss a punishable offense with the offending child when one parent is laughing.

Later that evening Kevin reminded me that we were six once too. I'm thankful for a husband who helps me find the humor in almost every situation. But now I know to be specific when I say "clean up your room."

First Day of Preschool 2010

Tuesday was Luke's first day of preschool this year. He is in a three year old class and goes three days a week (Tu, Wed, Th) from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. I was a little nervous since he still has trouble when we leave him in the nursery at church. He cries for a few minutes then he is fine. This past Sunday he did not cry at all.

And I am happy to report that he didn't cry today when I dropped him off at preschool either. I read The Kissing Hand to him several times over the weekend. When we got to the parking lot, I made sure to kiss his hand and he kissed mine. I reminded him that "Mommy always comes back." When we got into the room, things were somewhat chaotic with everyone dropping off kids and supplies. He saw some familiar toys that he had played with at the open house last week so he went immediately to those. I said, "Have a good day, Lukie." I expected him to say, "Mommy, I want you" which is his code for "please do not leave me in this place." But instead he looked up and said, "Ok, bye Mom." I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But I took that as my cue and left before he could change his mind!

When I went to pick him up, his teacher said he did a great job. He had a sticker on his hand and a smiley face drawn in his folder (both excellent signs in the preschool world). He said he had fun playing with his friends and playing on the playground. He showed me how they sit "criss cross applesauce" on the rug during circle time. Don't you love preschool?!

His backpack seems huge, but there's not much in it. Not sure if we'll leave the lunchbox clipped on the outside or shove it in the inside. So many decisions.

Hopefully, he will be excited to go back tomorrow!