April Fool's & Dinner

The boys are obsessed with April Fool's Day. It all started when Xander saw an episode of Zack & Cody where they pull a really good prank. Xander has been so excited - plotting and planning to pull the prank on his dad on April Fools. This got the other boys into the mood. Max swore up and down he had to have silly string in order for his prank to work. I don't think Max really understands what pranks are, because he thinks a silly string fight would be an excellent prank. Ben is keeping his prank close to the vest, but I plan to break him before April 1st (I don't like surprises).

So I've been thinking...since they are all excited for April Fool's I really should think of something clever to do to them. But nothing comes to mind...Any suggestions?

On a totally unrelated note...Nate, Mandie & company are visiting this week. They came over on Saturday and Nate cooked us a traditional Thai meal. I'm not sure exactly what he made, but dang it was good. I'm thinking about hiring him as my personal chef. But they'd have to move here first...not a bad idea.

Screaming (but only on the inside)

Me: "Max if I hear the word 'mom' from you one more time I might scream."

Max: "O.k., Sheri."

Max: "Sheri, Sheri, Sheri, Sheri, Sherrrrrrrriiiii, Sheri, Sher-i."

Me: "Max, you need to leave this room."

Max: "I can't - I love you and I will miss you too much."

Max went on his first fieldtrip today. The school he goes to has a lottery for the parents to go on the fieldtrip and I didn't get drawn. It nearly broke my heart. I went back and forth on whether I should let him go, but then decided why should my insecurites stop him from a fun, educational experience? That sounds good - in theory.

This morning I was tearing my hair out and Ian had to tell me to cut it out. That Max would be fine. And he was.

I, on the other hand, was a basketcase.

P.S. When I asked him about the fieldtrip (they went to Shamrock Farms). He replied, "Why did you let me go someplace that smelled like poo?"

Breakfast Guest

Tricia, Tiffany, Tim, Teresa & Brian have all won! (wow - trying saying that ten times really fast...). I will be e-mailing you soon...

In other news...

Look who came by for breakfast the other day.

Spring Break '09 & a p.s.

Life has been so crazy (but good) with my kids home for Spring Break. I'm almost sad that they go back to school tomorrow. Here's some of what we've been doing:Diggin' holes in the yard

Hangin' at Hamilton

Camping out at the Ganem's cabin

Catching lizards

Having yet another garage sale (you gotta love James' hair)

And bowling....

I love my kids. Even when they are throwing dirt clods at each other, screaming, and talking back. But those are stories for another time...

P.S. The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I may ask some questions during the process.)
2 - What I create will be just for you.
3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).
4 - You have no clue what it's going to be. (but let's be real - it's probably going to be cookies or a c.d.)

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win!

Nevermind, I have now decided that you DON'T have to post this on your blog and I will still do something for you. Because that's the kind of friend I am.

Good luck!

Once upon a time..

When I was little I used to love it when my mom or dad would tell me stories about their childhoods. I loved to hear about Pete, the crow that my dad tamed and how my mom worked at her parents' store.

Yesterday on the way home from church Ian started to tell the boys some stories from his childhood. His first story was about how when he was in 3rd grade and his brother Sean was in Kindergarten they rode the bus to school together. It happened to be the first day of school for Sean. "See!" I told the kids, "your dad looked out for his brother!" But Ian wasn't finished. He then told about the time Sean sneezed into his cupped hands and snot went through the fingers and Ian pretended not to know him. "Ian! Help me!" Sean begged and cried. Then Ian looked around like he didn't know who Sean was talking too... "who me?", "no, never seen him before","I don't know him." Ian said he was too embarrassed- imagine how Sean felt.

The boys laughed so hard that I thought they were going to pee their pants.

Then Ian told the story about how one time he 'borrowed' a little girl's Cabbage Patch doll on the bus and pulled down her pants and screamed, "Hey, bus driver!" and then used the doll to moon the bus driver from the back of the bus. So the bus driver was livid and stopped the bus to a screeching halt(and in the meantime Ian threw the doll back to the girl). When the driver finally got to the rear of the bus he proceeded to question everyone on who had mooned him with the doll. Everyone was so scared at the red little old man that no one said a word about Ian. I think they knew a beat down was coming. When asked who did it everyone played dumb like they couldn't understand him and all proclaimed their innocence on the matter.

The boys were laughing so hard that Xander did pee his pants a little.

I'm not sure those are the type of "when I was a kid" stories I want Ian sharing although I have to admit, Ian is a great storyteller. He has us all cracking up...

Trial & Error

Poor Alexander. Being the first child I feel like he's somewhat of an experiment. We were (still are) figuring out what works and what doesn't in this whole crazy child-rearing experience. And because of that I feel like everytime he does something wrong I am a failure. That I am not good enough or wise enough to be his mother. The whole bird incident really threw me for a loop. It took me a few days to get some perspective on that one. But this past weekend I was reminded what an awesome kid Xander really is.

Friday we had a yard sale. The kids have been bugging me to do this for weeks and I finally relented. Xander was the super-star of the sale. He would greet customers, bargain with them (always start high and come down a little) and basically get to know them. I'm usually pretty shy, so it was great having him call out, "Hi! is there anything in particular you are looking for?" He was so charming that one man gave him a $3.00 tip. Xander made the whole experience fun.

*On a side note, Max was hilarious. He had a table full of toys and was charging $1.90 for almost everything. He refused to come down and consequently only made $ .25 (one kid felt bad for him).

This morning I had committed to volunteer at the boys' school by helping clean the grounds. At the last minute I asked Xander to come along to keep me company. He was awesome. He kept busy raking and shoveling sand and washing windows. At the end I had to force him to leave. I had 2 moms tell me how impressed they were by his work ethic. Xander actually loves to work - and thanks to Ian he knows how to use a shovel and a rake and how to wash windows.

I am so grateful to be this kid's mom. Even though we have our ups and downs I feel like mostly we are doing right by him. And that makes me feel...relieved...and happy :)

Why don't you cut off my right arm while you're at it...

Yesterday my computer monitor refused to turn on. I saw this coming...the monitor has been very tempermental lately. And I made the mistake of turning it off, so now it won't come on. Yesterday was hard. Because I can be without the t.v. or without my phone. But no computer feels like one of my children is missing. I even dreamt last night that my monitor was working and all was right in my world.

Late last night I had to lug my old monitor down from the upstairs. It is super heavy and very big. And not very bright (in more ways than one). But it works. Oh the joy that came in my heart when I saw the screen gradually brighten! I had 35 e-mails! And I could read them all! Life is good again.

P.S. Does anyone know anyone who fixes computer monitors?

P.P.S. What can't you live without?

Over the weekend I...

1. swam & BBQ'd at Tiffany's. Who knew the kids would like the grilled shrimp more than the hotdogs? And that lemon-blueberry pie was to die for (still waiting for the recipe, Tiffany)

2. watched movies with Ian.

3. flirted with Ian in the hall at church. Gosh, he looked good.

4. helped Ian do our taxes. (help might be too strong of a word..but I was there for support!)

5. BBQ'd steaks with mom & dad.

6. deep cleaned the master bedroom & bathroom.

7. made cookies.

8. read...a lot.

9. went on a search for doughnuts with Xander (we should've bought the Girl Scout Cookies instead).

10. tripped at church - hardcore (damn those red shoes). I had to crawl away...when what I should've done was jump up and strike a pose like Mary Catherine Gallagher.

What did you do?

Multi-tasking

You can accomplish a lot in 10 minutes. Take Evan for instance. In that short time he can color on the wall with marker, climb up the oven onto the counter to get a granola bar, climb down and turn on the stove while he's at it and then take off his diaper and mark his territory.

That boy doesn't waste any time.

Crime & Punishment

Everybody knows my dad loves to hunt. I grew up eating venison and elk. And I loved it. Even though my dad hunted he always taught me to respect animals. When I was young we had horses, cows, goats and chickens that we helped care for. He never killed an animal for sport or fun. We always ate whatever he brought home from his hunting trips.

For Christmas Alexander wanted an air soft rifle. That was all he wanted. Nothing else. Alex is an extremely responsible kid. He gets good grades, does chores, babysits and is a big help around the house. So we bought him the rifle and Christmas morning Ian took him outside and showed him how to use it.

Yesterday my mom called me and asked, "Did you know Alexander is outside shooting at birds with his rifle?" Maybe some of you think this is a normal boy activity or you might think that something like this is bound to happen when you buy a boy a gun. I was horrified. I never for one second thought he would shoot at anything other than rocks and tin cans and other things Ian told him it was safe to shoot at.

Xander came home 5 minutes later and I calmly asked him if he'd been outside shooting at birds. Boy, the look on his face. Guilt. He KNEW it was wrong. He admitted that he had been shooting at birds. As mad as I was at him, I was happy he told me the truth. I immediately confiscated his gun and bullets and told him how disappointed I was.

So today Xander and I are going to sit down today and discuss his punishment.

Any thoughts?

He's got soul

Max is such a character. He's challenging, funny, stubborn, smart, kind, vicious...so many things. But you all know that. Something you might not know is that Max LOVES to sing. He sings little songs to himself all the time. Mostly when he thinks no one is listening or paying attention. I love it. And really want to figure out a way to video tape it.

On Friday we were in the car on the way home from the park, listening to The Killers (one of his favorite bands). Max and I were singing hardcore when Max said, "Uh, mom...could you not sing this song?" "Mom sings great!" Ben exclaimed (Ben's my favorite). "Yeah, but I want to hear myself on this song" replied Max. I stopped singing and glanced in the rear view mirror. Oh, how I wish I had my camera. Max's eyes were closed, his face scrunched in concentration as he sang, "I got so-ul, but I'm not a solider!" over and over.

The kid rocks.

Unmasked!

You're right, Darrel & Laura! It was Evan.

Friday night, Evan decided to dress up.

Buzz first.

Then black Spidey.

Red & blue spidey last. I can still remember taking Ben, dressed head to toe as Spiderman, to pick up Xander from kindergarten. And everyone remembers that Max was Spiderman when he was 3. The boys don't dress up anymore so it makes me happy to see Evan continuing the tradition.