Feel My Hair

In one month we have gone through 200 Popsicles!

Noah is addicted to the "juice" within the icy treat. He walks up to me and tells me to feel his hair. When I do, he says, "It's sweaty, I need a popsicle." That is the key phrase...feel my hair. He gets so angry if I refuse. As soon as he asks me to feel his hair I know what comes next. I try to give the excuse of dinner on the table or honey, it is only 8 AM, or you haven't even been outside. BUT that isn't good enough. He follows me around the house getting louder and louder and more angry... "FEEL MY HAIR." He won't just ask for a popsicle (although I would still use some of the excuses not to give him one anyway).

Then again, he is sweaty and so cute and #4...thus 200 in a month.

School Update

The boys had great first days at school. Davis was typical Davis. Full of information, talking 100 miles a minute but, the second I ask him a question about it, he is too distracted to answer in more than 1 word. He did comment that he hopes that they start doing work so that he isn't so bored.

Christian hasn't changed since his first day of Kindergarten. When talking about his day, he mentions all the girls he sat by at lunch (he's friends have always been girls) then follows that up with a report on who the trouble maker will be in the class. (One day he came home from Kindergarten with a note in his pocket of the names of the people in class who were bad that he wanted to tell me about.)

Jag said that they have to sit in their seats, raise their hand and not say a word until the teacher asks them to. He also didn't get a turn to call out the numbers in PE. Before bed he was crying that being away from me for that long was going to be just too hard. He can't believe that every one has to go to school everyday all the time. He is ready to start his 1/2 days homeschooling.

My favorite part of the day was when they did the Pledge of Allegiance to the Texas Flag!

"Honor the Texas flag;
I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas,
one and indivisible."

GO TEXAS!

I hope that tomorrow goes as smoothly for us all. Fortunately for me, Darin gave me a Honey-Do list before he left town for the week. Lots to keep me busy:)

I Was So Brave

Today was the first day of school and I was so brave as I took the boys to their schools. I have been crying for at least a week and especially every time I walked into their schools. The boys were excited and a bit nervous.

We had the traditional "how to behave in school" talk this morning with all the regular stuff like, don't talk to your neighbors when the teacher wants to talk, pay attention, and don't poop at school (wait until you get home :) and then do your business). *Yes I tell them that. Christian went to kindergarten for 2 months and I received 2 phone calls from his teacher telling me that he'd been in the 1 stall bathroom for over 20 minutes. She was wondering if everything was OK. I had to get on the phone and growl... wipe and get out! So you see, the poop lecture is necessary, but ends with if you can't hold it, hurry up.

Davis is in an Intermediate School for just 5th and 6th grade. I wanted to wait with him, but I would have been the only parent and didn't want to make a scene. I am most nervous for him. He is so sweet, but reserved and I hope he finds a nice friend. Christian is in 3rd grade and has several friends from church in his class, thus the don't talk to your neighbor part of my morning lecture. He was excited, but wondered how many hours he'd be gone.Jag... told me that he couldn't be homeschooled because he needed to be at a real school with real people. I am a nothing to that kid. Our compromise is that I'll send him for 1/2 day and then homeschool the other 1/2. His teacher seems great and is really willing to work with me. I will pull him out by "nap time." Yes, they are taking naps in kindergarten for 30 minutes...maybe it should just be school for 1/2 a day. He will make friends in his "Bunny Class" easily. I think that there were only 6 or 7 boys in the class...he is a ladies man as it is.

I have filled my day with errands and Noah. He is missing the boys, but enjoying the only child at the store perks (Skittles). We are both counting down until the boys get home. Updates to come.

It Is Too Hot!

No my feet are not different sizes. I left my shoes outside and one shrunk in the sun. No need to fry an egg on the sidewalk, my shoes prove that it is too hot.

Happy Birthday

(Oh, how you have changed over the years.)

Happy Birthday to Darin. You get to go to work, pack meeting, and then put the kids to bed while I am at a meeting. I promise to make you a hurried dinner, but a fantastic German Chocolate Cake.

It should be a swell birthday. We love you.

Full Contact Croquet

Nope, not a brother...neighbor.

Silly Boys

Jag has been really sad because due to our move, we haven't found the string for his tail yet. I tried to offer dental floss or sewing thread, but he'd have neither. He wants his regular tail string. I am going to have to dig in the garage again this weekend...grrrr I hate digging in the garage.

Noah has found pleasure in potty training. He likes to find stray bugs around the house, pick them up with toilet paper, put them in the toilet, and then pee on them. He then runs around the house talking about the bugs he has peed on.

I love the quirkiness of these boys!

(Brooke, How do I hook this posting to the one with about Jag's tail obsession?)

We Are Hot

San Antonio is hot. They are hotter this summer than any other summer on record, back to 1886. This is the perfect time to be WITHOUT A/C in the vehicles. That is right...NOTHING!

We had the van's A/C fixed right before moving out here. Darin debated the investment. I stood firm on the heat/torture of children issue. We managed to make it to SA and during our FIRST day house hunting, it stopped working. Perfect timing. It is under warranty in Tucson, but that happens to be a long, boring 15 hour drive away.

So we are sweating out the hottest summer on record in a van that is like a sauna. I give the boys a popsicle on our way out the door, but you should see them by the time we get home. We don't want to spend another nickle on the old van.

Just so you don't think my husband is mean to his family...his commuter car doesn't have A/C either. :)

Sucker!

Jag has fallen victim to the whiles of the infomercial. While on the Riverwalk last weekend, Jag saw a fabulous infomercial for Squirmies. They are like pipecleaners that have eyes and appear to be alive and moving. He was mesmerized by the TV, he begged and begged. While at Wal-Mart recently he found Squirmies! He got his money, $3, and bought his dream pet.

Jag opens Squirmie and wonders what to do with a pipecleaner hooked to a piece of fishing line. Darin explained the "secret" to him. (They really should have mentioned the secret on the package with a disclaimer that it isn't real.) Jag quickly comes and shows me how Squirmie wiggles around his hands and around his arm. We are all amazed at how real it looks. Lots of Oooos and Ahhhhhs.

This afternoon Jag came and asked me to show him how Squirmie moves on his own without help. It was at that moment that I might as well have divulged all the childhood secrets, because his face was just as shocked when I said,
"He doesn't. You have to move him."
"What?"
"Nope. You have to do it."
"It moved on the TV."
"They were moving it the same way as you."
"That is so cheap! You mean I spent my money on that?"

Oh the lessons learned so very young.

Roll Away, Roll Away

Beware little Rollie-Pollies Noah LOVES you! He loves you until you die.

Noah loves to play with the rollie-pollies, a little too much. He has been known to force them to unroll, often ripping them into 2. He put them in the roller skates and gave them a ride. He put them down the basketball tube game and ran to find them at the bottom. He cried when they were lost, but searched endlessly until they were found. When one was too dead to play anymore, he went and found another. We have a yardful...for now, but probably not for long.

My Life -Down the Drain

I can't think of anything cuter than a little guy in undies...cuter than a puppy in my book.

On Friday I looked at Noah, in only a diaper and declared that he was too big to be wearing a diaper still. I went on Saturday and bought underwear, much to his delight! Sunday was spent wearing diapers under undies (I just didn't have the energy to start training him yet). Monday I started the horrible process of potty training my baby. He is almost 2 1/2 and he is super ready, but it never fails -as soon as I start the process I hate it and want to back out.

He is doing really well. He loves undies and thinks he is big, but that doesn't mean he is reliable. I still hate it, but I look forward to the benefits... a diaper-free house.

I will be buying stock in the M &M company. Noah gets 1 M&M for a "try", 2 M &Ms for #1, and 4 M&Ms for #2. He is smart and will repeatedly "try" just to get a pile of treats to snack on. I don't care, just don't make me change another diaper.

Go Noah! Go Noah! Go Noah! (That is the chant I give him every single time:))

Out of the House

San Antonio has more than just houses to look at! It was our first venture to do something that had Nothing to do with our house.The Dallas Cowboys have training camp here in SA, and it is free to watch. We spent our morning watching the Cowboys-our new favorite team.We then walked past the Alamo, but it was too crowded to visit on a Saturday.
We went and strolled down the Riverwalk. It was really neat to see a river basically under the city. We had a stroller, but it wasn't a stroller friendly place, so our visit was cut short. We plan on visiting many times.It was really just nice to get out of the house and see where we moved to. I didn't unpack a box all day. To balance all our football we spent the night watching my favorite movie...Seven Brides for Seven Brothers...the boys loved it.