The Magic 8 Ball

 

On Sunday, I overheard the boys playing with the Magic 8 Ball.  I believe their questions sum up just how different they are!

Will:  “Am I the smartest person in my class?”

Jack: “Will it rain hot dogs?”

Conversation with Jack

Jack:  “Mom, do you remember that movie we watched last night?”

Me: “Uh, what movie"?”

J: “You know, that movie with that guy with blond hair.”

Me: “No”

J: “You know that movie with that guy who wore that white shirt and those blue pants.”

Me: “No, I still don’t know what movie you are asking me about.”

J: (As he was becoming more frustrated with me) “You know that movie we saw last night!”

Me:  “I’m sorry Jack, but I don’t remember the movie.  Why don’t you tell me what it was about so I can remember.”

J: “You know, that movie with that guy…at the end he wore a white shirt and blue pants and a white cowboy hat.”

Three minutes have passed since this conversation began and Jack has spend most of it desperately trying to get me to remember some guy in a white shirt and blue pants.  At this point he is completely frustrated and becoming very agitated with me.  I am trying very hard to remember what we watched last night…obviously, it left a real impression on me!  I’m thinking back through the evening’s shows and none of them were watched with the kids.  What on earth is he talking about?  Lee and I didn’t watch any shows with him last night.

And then it hits me…

For a brief time, maybe 15 minutes before their bath, Lee had one of the all time classic movies on in the family room……Tremors.  One of the best movies ever made!  So great in fact, there were actually 3 sequels made and a TV series!  Jack was referring to Kevin Bacon’s character who wore a white shirt, blue jeans and white cowboy hat.  Don’t you know that Kevin Bacon looks back on this role as one of his best!! 

Now that I have finally figured out what Jack was referring to, I am waiting for some profound thought from him.  I mean, he was so insistent that I had to know what the movie was and who the character was in the film!  It was of the utmost importance to what he wanted me to know.  Without knowing who he was talking about and the exact context, then how in the world would I ever really know what he was saying?

Jack turned to me and said “Can you get me a white shirt?”

Jack’s last “first day” of WEE School

Just like his big brother, Jack was up early and ready to go back to school.  He was so excited!  He couldn’t wait to get there!!  He has the same teacher as last year, Mrs. Terry, who we love!  As soon as he got to his classroom, he sat down and immediately started working on writing his letters.  He seemed so eager to get back into his school routine…at least that was my thought!  When I picked him up, Terry mentioned that at one point during the day, he told her “now Mrs. Terry, I’m not here to do any work.  I’m just here to be your helper!”  Too funny!

Attention all readers...We now have a 2nd grader!

He was very excited and was up at 6:30 this morning!  He didn’t mind me walking him into his classroom and even gave me a hug in front of all of his classmates.  I know it won’t last much longer, so I will soak it up while I can!! 

Jack’s first day will be on Friday and Heather’s classes will begin on Monday.  Busy week ahead!

How we spent our 4th of July

 

Jack's idea of playing t-ball

 

Do you think there is any hope for him???

Play ball!

I took this video last night of Will during baseball practice.



Of course, what I didn't show you was the first video I took. It was of him missing the first four balls thrown at him! It's okay. He didn't get discouraged and with a little help from one of the coaches, he hit the very next pitch! Sometimes we all need a little coaching to get it right!

So far, he is having a great time moving up to machine pitch. We still have a few more weeks until the games begin. Opening season games begin on April 25th.

St. Jude Trike-a- thon

Every spring, Jack's preschool participates in this event.  Each child is sent home with a pledge sheet that explains the event and how the money raised helps the kids at St Jude.  St Jude actually sponsors these events all over the country.  Preschools just like Jack's help to raise tremendous amounts of money each year.  Hundreds of kids live to play another day after receiving treatment for cancer and other catastrophic diseases at St Jude...just like Jack!

The first year our family participated in this event was the week after Jack was diagnosed with cancer.  In fact, he had just had his surgery and was still in the hospital at St Jude.  My mom and step-dad took Will to school that day so he could be a part of the special event.  They rode in Jack's honor that year and have continued to do so each year since. 

It is just another fun event for Jack and he really doesn't think of it as being more special for him.  He has no idea just how much small fund raising events like this have helped the doctors and researchers at St Jude discover the best way to treat little boys just like him.  He has no idea that 85% of the money raised goes back directly to the hospital to keep families like us from ever having to pay out one penny for the treatment of our children.  That is zilch, nada, absolutely nothing...no co-pays...no prescriptions...no deductibles...not even for the cost of a band-aid!  St Jude pays for it all!!!  They firmly believe that a family should only have to worry about taking care of their children and want the burden of the financial cost to be solely on their shoulders.  What an amazing place!!

I am proud to say that since the first year that our preschool has held the event, they have raised over $50,000 for St Jude!  Little did we know just 3 short years ago, that our family would understand just how important a simple Trike-a-thon would be!  Wow!  :)

Future comedian???

You decide.....

Money for nothing...or not!

Since September we have been saving aluminum cans for recycling.  Our small town does not have curb side recycling pick up, but the county does have a recycling center just a few blocks away.  I thought it would be a good learning lesson for the boys and what the heck...we are doing something good for the environment, so it is a win-win situation!

Let me tell you that we drink A LOT of sodas in this house!  We are also lazy and it is just easier to grab a can out of the fridge than to get a glass, fill it with ice and then pour in our favorite soft drink...terrible, I know!!  We have been very good about tossing our cans into a separate trash bin in the kitchen.  Occasionally, I have to fish one of out the regular garbage, but all in all, everyone has been "pitching in"!

Last Friday the boys were out of school, so I thought it would be a good day to take our ever growing collection to the local center.  We had 8 garbage bags full of cans.  It was beginning to look like a dump site in our garage!!!  I was embarrassed for people to see it and wonder what we were thinking! 

I knew the center would actually pay us for the cans, but I will say that this was not really a factor in me wanting to save these cans.  I did think that whatever they paid us would go in the boy's piggy bank or we could use it to buy a new game for the Wii or Xbox. 

When we got the center, we pulled in right behind another customer who was also dropping off cans.  This lady had a truck bed full of  lawn size trash bags stuffed to the top with nothing but beer cans.  Many of these beer cans still had beer in them and after she left the place smelled awful!  They drink A LOT of beer in that house...A LOT  of cheap beer too!  We had to wait about twenty minutes for the very nice Hispanic man to go thru all of her bags.  I don't think this lady was recycling her cans to help the environment either!

It didn't take him long to go thru all of the 8 bags that we brought.  Our nice, clean cans! He weighed the bags, printed out a ticket and I followed him inside the office.  Since I was not a return customer, they had to set up an account for me and make a copy of my driver's license.  They keep a record of all items that are dropped off for scrap for the local police...scrap metal/aluminum/copper is a huge business for criminals.  I assured the man inside the office that these were our cans...no stolen ones here! 

We turned in 22 lbs of aluminum cans...he gave me $5.25!  Yes, you read that correctly, $5.25!  The guy in the office told me when I left that I could use that money to go buy a few drinks as Sonic!  It definitely won't buy a new game for the Wii or the Xbox...a few drinks at Sonic is right!  We will still save our cans because it is the right thing to do, but we definitely aren't doing it for the money! 

Snow!!!!!

Well, we finally received some decent snow a few weeks ago.  We always seem to miss out when the forecasters predict snow for our area...it either goes to the north or east of us.  Yes, we have received a little snow this year, but I hardly call 1.5 inches much to get excited about.

I have to say this snow was perfect.  First it happened on a Saturday, so it didn't affect school nor did it hinder most people from going to work.  Even Lee was able to make it in with only about 30 additional minutes to the commute.  Second, it was really, really wet!  And third, most of it melted on Sunday afternoon.

All three of our children had a blast playing in it!  The boys were so excited an couldn't wait to get outside to play in it.

These were taken while it was still snowing.  We had only received about an inch and a half at this point.  It still didn't stop them from building a snowman.  He was a little dirty, but they didn't mind!  Even Heather and Andy joined in the fun!

 

It snow most of the afternoon on Saturday and then during a good part of the night.  On Sunday morning, we woke up to 5 inches!  It was really cold, but that didn't stop the boys from wanting to get out in it as early as possible.  I think they started asking me if they could go out around 8 am.  Finally around 10 am, they were dressed and out the door!

I will finish off this post with a few photos of Heather and Andy.  They probably had more fun throwing snow than the boys did!  Yes, we all really enjoyed our brief snow!!

Will's first Pinewood Derby

On February 21, 2009, Will's Cub Scout Pack had its annual Pinewood Derby. I have memories of my brother's Derby car. My dad still tells the story of how he ended up being the one to really build the car. Back then, you had to cut the car out of a block of wood and it certainly isn't a good idea to let your seven or eight year old son play with a saw or power tools! I bet my dad had fun making the car though!

These days you can purchase kits that have the wood pre-cut and apparently there are many different shapes and styles to choose from. Of course you can still design your own if you want and I bet this is still fun for many dads. Lee, on the other hand, chose the pre-cut design...it is tax season for crying out loud! These pre-cut kits come with all of the parts that a Scout would need to make his very own Derby car. This photo below shows the kit, minus the pre-cut wood...Lee was too quick for me to get the shot of the unopened package.



You still have to sand the car and you paint it whatever color you choose. Will's car was royal blue. Here is the freshly painted car. Nice, huh?



The kit came with stickers, wheels, and metals pieces that resemble exhaust pipes, an engine and the windshield. Everything a Scout could need to create a 1950's looking dragster. Lee worked really hard on it while Will watched!



Here is the finished car.



Here is our Cub Scout with his car on the morning of the race. He was so excited!



These are the cars from all of the Tiger Cubs.



Here is the track. Lee was impressed by it. I had never been to a Pinewood Derby, so I had nothing to compare it too. Definitely a guy thing!


And finally, here is some video from his first race. I'll let see the results for yourself.




There were three races in each round, that way they could give each car the opportunity to change lanes for each race. Will won all three races in the first round! Unfortunately, he only won one race during the next round, but that put him in 2nd place for the Tiger Cubs! Another boy from his Den named Garrett won...he is the Den Leader's son, so I am thinking the race was fixed! Will didn't seem to mind not winning...he just had a great time period! He was also happy when it was over because he could finally play with his car!

I'm sure this will be the beginning of many Pinewood Derbies to come!

Valentine's Day

We spent a quiet Valentine's Day at home this year. Lee and I went out to eat that evening, but took the boys with us...very romantic, I know! Will and Jack had parties at school filled with tons of sweets that set them off on a complete sugar high for the afternoon. Both classes traded Valentine's and brought home way too much candy. Lee and I didn't exchange gifts as we are planning a cruise for our 10th anniversary. Heather did give me some beautiful flowers. Here are some highlights.......

One smart boy

Yesterday, when I picked Jack up from preschool, his teacher was bragging to me about his work for the day. She said he did a great job writing all of his letters and numbers. She looked at him and said "Jack, you are the smartest one in my class!" Jack acknowledged her by boldly saying "I'm is", as in I know I am. Makes a momma proud!

Who knew?

I always attributed Heather's artistic talent to her father's side of the family. Her grandmother and aunt are terrific painters. She has always been able to draw and loved it when she was younger. We tried to encourage her to pursue some type of career in art, since she does have natural talent. She hasn't been interested in that job path, but we are more than pleased with her nursing plans. She can always fall back on art if she needs too.

Yes, I am crafty and creative, but I definitely cannot draw anything worth looking at! To my complete surprise, Will began coming home earlier this school year with some rather pleasant drawings. He has been proudly displaying them on our refrigerator for the past few months...a new one each week!

On Friday, Jack became the next in line to show off his talent. He brought home a sweet drawing of a penguin. You can barely read his handwriting, but this is common with lefties...at least that is what I am told. But hey, the boy can DRAW!!!

Here are a few of their creations.


This is Will's drawing of our dog, Luke.


Will created this one last week...he really likes it!


And this one is Jack's penguin. It is a little wrinkled, but I just love it!

Who knew???

A little snow

We woke up to about an inch of snow this morning. The schools are closed so all of the kids are at home with me today, including Heather. I wish that Lee could have stayed home with us. He said this morning that he really wished it would do this in December when he could actually take the day off!

It sure is pretty outside. Since we also received some freezing rain, the trees are covered with a beautiful white layer...a winter wonderland! It is melting, but the kids love it! Here are a few photos that I took earlier.

O' my hair!

I tell you, there is never a dull moment around here! I sometimes feel sorry for people who choose not to have children, but then again some times I completely envy them! Children are a tremendous source of humor. I know we have all had our moments when we ask ourselves, "what were they thinking?" Yesterday was one of those moments for me.

Jack seems to be the one in our home who has made me ask that question more than Heather and Will ever have...and he is only 4 1/2! He loves to dress up and always comes to show off his creations with extreme pride! He really cracks me up!

Yesterday afternoon, Jack had been back in our bedroom watching TV with Will. I was sitting at the desk when he came into the family room and asked me "Do you know that O'Brother movie where the guy is always talking about his hair?" Well, of course I knew what he was talking about...that just happens to be one of my favorite films! Then he said "look at my hair net." Well, I'll let you see for yourself.


I know this is terribly out of focus, but you can get the idea. It is hard to take a photo of a moving object! His "hair net" was a rubber band he found in our bedroom.


I had to hold him down to get a photo of him. I think he might have been embarrassed at this point!


At this point he was ready for it to be off of him! Notice, I had to take this picture of his reflection in the mirror...he would not look at the camera!

As you see, never a dull moment around this house!

Our little Bandito

My Mom & Ron left this morning to spend a month in Mexico. I am posting these photos of Jack in their honor. He is wearing the sombrero Lee and I bought him when we were in Cozumel in 2007. We will miss you while you are gone. Don't forget to bring us back something good! We love you!

Will's artwork

Last night after Will finished his homework, I went thru his backpack to look at the papers he brought home for the day. On some days he brings home a folder with graded papers and on others it is just classwork he did during the day. On most days, he brings home a special drawing that he did in class or in Art. These drawings can be very elaborate creations that he took much pride in creating or they can be simple doodlings he did during some free time in class. Yesterday's artwork was one of those doodlings...a battle scene complete with a helicopter deployment, tanks and some type of armored vehicle. What really caught my eye was the big word he wrote inside what is supposed to be an explosion.




Now, I know what he was trying to spell...BOMB. (Update...Will corrected me and said he was trying to spell BOOM which makes more sense...you were right Melissa.) I called him into the room just to make sure. You just never know some times. I asked him what it said and he told me it was BOMB BOOM. I let out a big sigh of relief and then I asked him to sound it out. When he did, he realized that there should be an M and a B at the end. I asked him if he knew what he had really written and thankfully he didn't...he is only 7 and thank God he isn't growing up too fast! He was so embarrassed when he realized what he did write. I don't think I have ever heard him laugh the way he did or see him turn the same shade of red as his explosion. You just have to love that boy! :)

Christmas collage 2008

Christmas collage 2008, originally uploaded by Amy Hood.

Here is a taste of what Christmas looked like at our house this year.