The boys....

Aiden arrived in a pillow case turned superhero cape this week. Greg and Ty dressed accordingly which prompted me to google "superhero capes". Another trip to the fabric store.....

Ty thinks the object of the game is to fill the grid and he does it over and over.....keeps him busy so I like this game.

There were a few days this week that required chocolate. Ty agreed.

Not exactly the point to the train tub but once again, he's busy so I can live with it!

Ty loves this little bike so much, he rides it all of the time. It even comes into the house now that our living areas have hard floors and not carpeting. I have a love hate relationship going with those new floors. The love factor = they are so easily cleaned. The hate factor = they ALWAYS need cleaned.

These two are like brothers....Colby follows and imitates most everything Ty does. His parents are forgiving people.

Antique=Old

It's not exactly an heirloom; more like eBay but it is old and I love it. That pretty yellow makes me happy. That is the same yellow I thought would be beautiful on the front door. Greg. Would. Die. I was in a blue mood for a few months. I painted multiple items that cheery robin egg color and even found that I needed a few blue sweaters as well but recently discovered this yellow as the perfect, sunny compliment.

Speaking of old....I have a few significant milestones approaching all too quickly. This summer, Greg and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage. That week Erin will be posing for her Senior photos. She will start her final year of high school the same week my class will host our 20 year high school reunion. I remember babysitting for a couple in high school while they attended their 20 year reunion. They were old.

Heaven Help Me

Anyone remember this post? This afternoon I had the privilege of meeting a Georgetown city employee. He was going door to door asking permission to check sewer clean out pipes in back yards hoping to locate the party responsible for a sippy cup and TEN balls down at the pump station. Sir, look no further. I pointed out my son, who was looking rather adorable in his frog rain boots and explained that we'd spent hours trying to rescue the sippy cup but had no idea TEN balls were tossed down the same hole. Thank the Lord he was nice about it. I am just glad the conversation didn't include a hefty bill.  He did offer to return the items. Um....no thanks.

No School!

A few of our kids were out of school today so we had a play date with Ann and her kids. Thunder over Louisville is tomorrow. We won't be there. But, the planes were there today to practice for the air show and it was a more manageable crowd. We visited the candy store prior to making our way to the waterfront, hence the chocolate grins. It was a great day!

 Colby, the ultimate snacker wanted the bread Kate was feeding the geese.....

 She fed the geese anyway.

 There is a beautiful girl behind those shades, but Chickie needs her bling.

But it was not all play.....there was work to be done as well. Father -son laptops? Oh boy.

 Hope it's a great weekend cowpokes!

This little life of mine......

Ty is still reluctant to give kisses. He comes by it honestly. His momma is not fond of that particular form of expression. Anywho.....at bedtime the other night, Makenna asked Ty for a kiss which was immediately echoed by Kate. Ty, without a second's hesitation told Kate to kiss Kenna and walked away with a grin on his face that let us all know he fully understood what he'd just done.

Ty and I were drawing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway yesterday. I had already created a racetrack, a UPS truck and a train track. I was at a loss for further entertainment and started drawing simple shapes for him to identify. I pointed first to the triangle which he quickly named. Next I pointed to the square and he replied, "it's a shape, Mom" with a slightly sarcastic tone. We're in trouble.

There is a teen in our house who finds our "no bikini" rule unreasonable. She is vocal about it regularly and uses it to push any given agenda she happens to have at that moment. We've heard every possible excuse from "it's my money" to "you just want to keep us in a bubble".  Oh how I wish that second one was possible! But, we are as convinced showing off her body is a bad idea as she is that we are controlling. We believe we are protecting. I want to find balance. She is frustrated and we are tired of the discussion. Balance. I need some of that.

We have two kids eligible for learners permits. One has procrastinated for two years. One has been bugging us about her eligibility for about two years! I took Erin last fall to get hers. It turns out that as a licensed Indiana driver, I need my original Hawaiian birth certificate and two utility bills in my name in order to sign for her. The original birth certificate I have. Two utility bills, I do not. So, we sent Greg during Spring Break with his and the bills because they are in his name. It turns out his birth certificate is a copy and therefore, not accepted. I just want to point out that we are both licensed drivers and property owners in the state of Indiana! Why on earth do we need our birth certificates from out of state to prove we are residents in Indiana? My brother-in-law cleverly pointed out that Sasha and Malia would be out of luck if they lived here although I suspect government rules would be bent in that case.

We've had some scary talks this week about safety. It turns out that a friend of a friend was arrested this last week for the rape of a young girl. Our daughter was placed in a car with this particular "friend" a few weeks ago by another parent. Let me give you a second to digest that for a second. Is your heart in your stomach? Mine too. Praise God for lessons learned without direct pain as there were several learned this time. I am grateful for our kids' protection and use the story to further illustrate that bad things happen to good girls doing the right thing, why take risks that further increase the chances?Yes, at times, I wish I could just keep them in a bubble.

Speaking of toys

During multiple intervals throughout the day I clean up all the toys that are tossed about the house. It's just one of the ways my OCD manifests itself. I KNOW the toys are going to be spread out within minutes, but I simply cannot help myself. However, I have noted that sitting the in the dark laundry room with a flashlight, playing in the kitchen cabinets or even building forts with couch cushions are the most common activities chosen by the kids. Why do we even have toys?
I am fairly new to the "boy toy" gig. I know all of the American Girl dolls and can tell you their stories or hold my own in a Barbie discussion but Thomas the Train? No clue. Thanks to my nephew's obsession with Thomas, my extended family can name all the trains. Our pediatrician and neighbor boys are quick to identify them as well. My son and I have matching blank stares in response.  Am I robbing my son of some right of passage by avoiding the videos about all these overpriced characters? Just like the girls' assessment that I have somehow robbed them of a childhood by banning Sponge Bob, Ty may have his own sad sob story as a teen.

Dinosaurs are the other boy toy in which I remain clueless. He has a handful of them and he likes them. They are all simply just "dinosaurs", but we roar with gusto when we play with them. All the other "moms of boys" I know appear to have them identified. I assume that by the time I recognize the difference between a pterodactyl and a tyrannosaurus, he will be into Monster trucks or some other pursuit I won't easily understand.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Today we traveled 400 round trip miles with five kids in tight quarters to spend five hours in Ohio with family. It was worth it!

A happy Easter indeed.

Randomness

Spring fever is in the air. No one wanted to attend school this week. There were tears. Lots of them. Some mine. Two children actually TRIED to be sent to detention/director's office this week. One wrote a paper laying out her future living on Jersey Shore. I am so proud. She isn't even allowed to WATCH Jersey Shore. Why does anyone watch Jersey Shore? Pajamas were worn as clothing. Alarms were turned off, you get the idea. It was not our best representation and that covers only the girls! I emailed a fair warning to the teacher who assigned the paper, only briefly mentioning the legality of cages and duct tape as parenting resources. I was only kidding. Sort of.

At one point this week, Ty asked me if he needed to give Aiden a hug. I asked him why that would be necessary and he very calmly stated that he had hit Aiden with his dinosaur flashlight. Oh the joy. Aiden has arrived at least once a week in a predetermined bad mood and will not shake it no matter what we do to distract him. Ty had reached his limit. Aiden is the quiet manipulator. Ty is the bull in a china shop. It gets colorful. Colby is pretty independent these days and has the ability to flex his attitude muscles as well. There have been a few long days to contemplate all the many blessings in my life.

Woody, now called Gunner sweet talked his forever family into adopting his sister as well. Mia went to live with them on Wednesday. When we arrived, Gunner bounded out of the house toward us with lots of kisses.  He was excited to see all of us but Mia appeared to have caught onto what was happening and tried desperately to get back into the van. By the time they settled into their new home that evening, I was told they were wrestling and playing like old times. She weighed an impressive 10 lbs 2 ounces on Monday whereas he weighed 14 lbs 9 ounces on Thursday. Who would have thought that little guy we weren't sure was going to make it would be the big guy in the end? I am happy for them both but Brutus appears lost without them. He's paced and moped around the house for two solid days now. I suspect he misses the extra food and treats lying around more than the puppies themselves!

We colored Easter eggs and talked about the true meaning of the holiday. I used Resurrection Eggs as an aid but if you ask my son about Easter he will quickly tell you he is getting candy. Press for more details and he will add "chocolate". I love that boy. One afternoon this week I told the boys I had a treat for them. Kate had me in a headlock, twisting my arm at Sam's Club until I agreed to purchase ice cream sandwiches. Or she mentioned that they looked good and I tossed them into the cart, but either way, I was offering them to the boys. Ty immediately guessed we were going to Pa-pa's house. He gladly accepted the ice cream sandwich and then proceeded to request Pa-pa's house every other hour or so. I wish we were close enough to make that happen more frequently as it appears that Ty is rather smitten with that guy.