It's Rhyme Time

Jag is rhyming a lot, must be a kindergarten thing. He comes home from school and talks only in rhymes. I am "Mom Dom" and Noah is "Noah Boa" and he is ... "Jag Fag." I tell him that he is Jag Bag or Jag Hag, but he keeps going back to his favorite. We were reading a book about a duck...yep, my little boy almost got a bottle of soap in his unknowing mouth as my ears burned at his rhyming language. I finally had to tell him that he isn't allowed to rhyme with duck. Thanks kindergarten, you've turned my sweet boy into a foul-mouthed rhyming 5year old.

Davis And The French Horn

Davis had a "chair test" on Friday. He had to play this note (listen to video). He was given First Chair as a result of his fabulous playing. Please enjoy this music that I get to listen to all the time!

Land of the Lost

Since sending the boys to school I have been struggling to feel productive. School has its advantages. We are a lot nicer to each other. We love the daily homecomings. There is more peace and less yelling. I enjoy every minute I spend with my boys. I will admit that I have had times in the past when I didn't enjoy every minute, in fact I wanted to run away several times.

School has its disadvantages too. (Now this is all about me.) My self esteem has taken a hit. I feel like I haven't been very productive. I can get everything I want done by 9AM, then what. Noah and I are lost without the boys home. But more so, I don't feel like I am.... (I don't even know what the word is.) I have been so busy, too busy, for so many years, that I am at a loss with too much time on my hands. I read, I feel guilty. I am on the computer, guilt. I feel like I need a job, but don't want one.

I only have 4 hours a day with only one boy, I never want him to leave.

Out Of My Space

Kids these days (especially teens and tweens) are very huggy. They love to greet people with a hug. Say good -bye with a hug. Invade personal space with a hug. You know the usual stuff.
We were trying to leave church when a little 11 yr. old girl from Davis' class ran over, "Davis" (followed by a long hug). Davis stood there irritated and then said, "Could you please let go of me?" As he rolls his eyes, she smiles her little brace face and skips away.

I am thrilled! It has only been a year since Davis started volunteering to hug his momma...girls will just have to wait! (I wouldn't have known what to do if he had actually moved his arms from his sides.)

Genius

Noah has a runny nose and hates snot. He is constantly having me wipe it. When I found him with his fingers up his nose and told him to take them out, he told me that if he did then the boogers come out. So now he is always walking around with his fingers up his nose and I have to wipe much less. Genius.

Socks

I have sock issues. I think that they are too tight and don't allow my toes enough wiggle room. And seams in socks...oh my. But tube socks...too duck feet-ish. I have been known to have issues with nylons and tights. I often take off my shoes in the car, at church or two seconds after putting them on, just to pull on the ends so my feet can wiggle or adjust a particularly thick seam. As a result, I have always adjusted the socks of my babies so that they aren't too tight. Darin has always complained that I was passing my strange sock issues onto the boys. I debated that I was doing them a foot favor.

This morning as I was changing Jag's socks for the 3rd time and trying on his 2nd pair of shoes, I might have to agree with Darin...oh well, too late now.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Davis made me a fantastic pumpkin cheesecake. He did it without me doing anything more than turning on the oven. What a great boy he is. He knows the way to his mom's heart.

(Davis') Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 graham cracker pie crust
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
1 c. pumpkin
2 eggs

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar and spices on medium speed. Stir in pumpkin.
2. Add eggs and mix until blended. Pour into crust.
3. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

My Favorite Jaggy

Jaggy is such a unique little boy. Here are a few of the Jag-isms that I've been thinking about.

*He got in trouble in PE, because he refused to do what the teacher asked. He was supposed to write something (why is that PE?), but told her it was too much for him to write. So he sat and watched. PE teacher told his teacher, who talked to Jag about obeying and then emailed me. Jag said that he was sorry, but Marvin the Monkey is too much to write. (He had to come home and write it 4 times for me.) It should be a great year in kindergarten.

*Every day Jag complains about having school until he is a dad.

*The only thing he likes is lunch because, "No one tells me what to do."

*Jag asked me why I had to go to Young Womens when I was an Old Women. Self-esteem really needed that kick.

*His leg has been bothering him, but he is positive that candy corns and Halloween M&Ms will be the cure for the pain.

*He can't stay off of his head and upright! He is always upside down. On the couch, on the floor, a running flip to the big, red chair...upside down. This bugs his dad and now Jag spends most of the evening in timeout for being upside down.

What Is This?

RAIN!

They played until they were soaked to the skin!

San Antonio Zoo

We spent Saturday at the zoo. There are few places that 4 boys ranging in age from 10 to 2 can go and enjoy themselves...the zoo is definitely one of those places. Noah couldn't remember ever going to the zoo, and he loved the animals. It was even an overcast day, so perfect for an outing.Feeding the lorries nectar was fun. Jag would let them drink for 2 seconds and then move on to the next bird. Noah would try to feed them, but ended up spilling all over the ground. When he tried to pet the birds, he almost lost a finger. Christian fed once and then was happy to watch his brothers do it. (I can't blame him, a bird flew to land on my head and I screamed and ducked out of the way.)

Davis thought he was cool to have the lorrie sit on his hat and shoulder. BUT what happens when a bird sits on you for too long? This lorrie pooped on Davis' lovely hat and favorite Spurs shirt. We laughed and he got mad. Davis is a germaphobe and was totally disgusted by the birds. He quickly left and pouted on a bench.Davis stomping away as we laughed and Darin made pooping noises. Families are wonderful!

Another School Update

Jag has been complaining about school for the full week and a half. He really can't believe that he is going to have to go to school until he is a dad (or something like that). He had his kindergarten assessment yesterday and when I was talking to him about it, I just had to laugh. He said he did great on his colors (good he's known them since 2), he counted to 40 (I said, "Why 40?" He said, "My teacher said count as high as you can, and I decided that 40 was probably high enough.") although he could have counted to 100. We had been working on sight word memorization and he said he did great with the ones we'd worked on, but not the rest. I asked him why he didn't just sound out the words (which he does quite well) and he said that his teacher wouldn't have wanted him to figure out what the words said, just say "I don't know." He said that she did shapes differently than we do. I am pretty sure a square is a square no matter how you do it. Jag is just fine doing just fine. I laugh and think of the "progress" he will make when they give him the end assessment...the school will look like a success.

Jag has been up at nights with leg pain a lot since school started. He walks to and from school. He has PE every other day, but I am convinced that it is recess that is causing the problems. He has a group of little girls that want to chase him, and he loves the game. He calls them the "Chase Girls." Oh the pain that girls are causing in my life already.

Christian is enjoying school, but can't stand the cafeteria. He hates being rushed especially when he has to eat. We have been cutting back and adjusting his lunches to fit into the time frame given, but it will probably always bug him. My favorite part about Christian is that every morning when I have combed his hair, I can see him looking into the mirror giving himself the one-eye-wink-finger pointing-at-you-cool-guy-look. Then he combs his eyebrows to make them darker. He makes sure that he feels good about himself when he goes to school.

Christian had a loose tooth and by the second day of school was questioning me about the tooth fairy. I knew some kid would tell him all the secrets, I just didn't know it would be so quickly. He finally told me that I took his tooth. I asked what I would want with a nasty old tooth. Then reminded him that if I got money under my pillow I'd just be happy, followed quickly by a changing of the subject. (Jaylynn taught me that you just throw the teeth away, so I really didn't have his tooth when he asked. He might be bothered by that when he really thinks about it.)

Davis wrote a great speech last week and was then elected to the student council. His speech included all the appropriate sucking up such as "I would be proud to represent a group of fabulous, smart kids." He actually meant everything he wrote and didn't even ask for suggestions on writing a speech. He couldn't eat for 2 days and was sick to his stomach before giving it, but did great.

The favorite class for Davis is band. He is going to be playing the french horn. He has been practicing constantly with just the mouthpiece making annoying and loud noises that sound like a really sick goose. I can't wait until today when the actual horn will come home! I now understand why my childhood neighbor had to practice her instruments on the front porch.

Noah is so fun to hang out with during the day. He loves to go and walk around at stores. He is enjoying being home, but won't let me out of his sight for long. He gets so excited when the boys come home from school.

I am looking for some kind of hobby or job or time filler. My life is so very different. I have had the kids home for years and now I don't know what to do with myself. I really do want something to do, but haven't found the right thing yet. We are all still adjusting to our new school schedules.