Show Man

"G is for guitar!" he told us this afternoon. He loves this thing and plays it often!

Awe!

These two were helping me water the garden. :)

Can't help but to say, "Awe!" to this scene. :)

Harry Potter'ed

The big boys and I sat and watched the first Potter movie this afternoon. Jason, was watching, but he did have moments of occupying himself with random things as the movie progressed. Shawn, however, was quiet and calm, sitting right next to me on the couch, and watched the entire movie. He asked questions and wanted me to clarify things. IT. WAS. AWESOME.

Afterward, we had lunch. While sitting at the table, we discussed possible scenarios. "Would you rather be Harry or Dumbledore? Snape or McGonagall? That went on for some time before Jason finally lamented, "I am a wizard. Why am I stuck in a muggle family?!"

I have succeeded in my quest to instill a love of Harry Potter in my children. I was asked today when we can read the next book of the series. My heart swelled, and I nearly wept from joy! Or something like that, at least. I am really tickled about their taking joy in something I enjoy, though. :)

P.S. Book 2 is at school just waiting to come home with me! Yay!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

He had a bump on his head. (We have no idea from where.) He insisted this made it better.

He had me put it on yesterday afternoon and wore it until it would stick no more. Lol!

Friday Five

It was 5 years ago this week that I decided to do a 30 day blog challenge. The point was to post something every day for a month. The month came and went, and I kept posting. Then I decided to see how long I could post every day.

And, well...here we are some 1825 days later, and I'm still posting every day. The boys' blog now has something like 2220 memories recorded for them to relive one day. Wow!

~~~

We have 13 more school days until summer vacation, and I'd be lying if I didn't say we are all really looking forward to the end of this year.

I asked the boys if they have anything fun coming up, and I was reminded that at some unknown point in time they'll be performing in a play. Jason is torn between wanting and not wanting it to happen. Shawn is a definite "no" on the wanting it to happen thing. This may be an interesting play. lol

~~~

This week, Jason noticed that Jack is only a little bit shorter than another kid in his 2nd grade class. That and the fact that Jack has been eating us out of home this month, made me think it was time to see how tall he's getting. I last measured his height on the 5th of this month; only 20 days later, he is up 3/4 of an inch! That explains so much. lol. Jack is now 47.5 inches tall, which, according to babycenter.com, if he continues on this growth pattern, may lead to one tall young man on 6'4". Holy cow! Our Tank is a biggun'!

~~~

Him: "Mom, do you know what a wedgie is?"

Me: "I sure do. What me to show you?"

Him: "Okay...no, wait!!!!!"

Lol. He caught on to the meaning quick! Then we discussed the meaning of "atomic wedgies" and "murfs." He is now well versed in this area. ;);) 

(P.S. No child was harmed in this demonstration! Sheesh.)

~~~

Last weekend, Shawn decided he wanted to do some crafting. I gave him some options, and he chose to do something with beads. He ended up making a bead bracelet for his aide at school. He was very meticulous about it, something that isn't exactly Shawn's style on this kind of thing, but he was quite pleased with the end result. Then he wrote her a note. It was so cute!

He's Ready!

We were outside playing for a few minutes before Jack decided he was hungry and set up a snack area. Lol

It took a banana, grapes, and a handful of graham crackers to satisfy him! 

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

We finished Harry Potter! Woohoo!

Writing Time

Write a story about this picture.

(transcribed exactly as written)

The bannana Trouble

Once upon a time a monkey fell off a tree. Then a monkey helped him. They get the monkey the bannana. The monkeys rest. The monkeys drive away. The monkeys drive to the airport and fly to Mexico. They moved in a forest. There were many bannana trees. "I love this place" one of the monkeys said. "Me too!" said the other. THE END

~by Jason

A Monkey

My name is Alejandro. I have a pet monkey named Mandy. We like to play the animal game. Mandy made a mess of leaves on the floor. Alejandro cleaned up the mess. They played in the leaves first. Uh-oh. Alejandro forgot to clean the pile of leaves. Then they had to go potty.

~by Shawn


LOL! Love how different their ideas are!

Mud!

Yesterday I let the boys go to town with dirt and some water. It didn't take long before hey were all covered from head to toe in mud. Lol. They had a blast!

Jay was especially thrilled!

Farmin' Again

We're a little later than I wanted to do it, but we finally got a chance to plant. This year's crops: artichokes, carrots, tomatoes, and watermellon. We shall see how it goes. Lol

Wish us luck!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

They have such a sweet relationship. I love watching these two together!

Friday Five

Look at my sweet, baby boy.

Two years ago, Jack took a selfie of himself. He took another one last night. Oh my goodness how he's grown! Where did my baby go?

~~~

It's book order time again, and Jay has been begging to buy a new book. Which? Yay! He wants to read a new book! But...the book he chose is the Ultimate Mapping Guide for Kids. It also comes with a bonus compass.

He has no idea why he wants this book, but he does know he must have it. It will be the end of the world if he does not get this book. Apparently, he needs to map things. And use a compass. So...yeah. lol.

~~~

Shawn , our more reluctant reader, has really started to embrace reading, which has been fabulous to watch. He regularly requests our nightly story time, and often wants to read the pages with me. I love it!

~~~

Jack is all about drums and making music lately, and we've found that he really enjoys the hard beats of heavy metal music. (Like his mommy!) We played a few of the metal classics for him, and it didn't take long for him to start dancing and rocking out. Put some hair on the kid, and I KNOW he would have started head banging. It was hilarious. Maybe he'll grow up to have his own rock band?

~~~

The countdown to the end of the school year is ON. Only 18 more days to go! Bring on the summer vacation!

Little Comedian

Him: Mom. You're American going into the bathroom. And you're American coming out of the bathroom. What are you while you're IN the bathroom?

Me: I don't know. What are you?

Him: Mom, you're a PEE-ing! Get it? You know, like you're from Britain?

The last part made me laugh harder than the joke. ;)

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Bedtime Silliness

These two...

They love each other, even if they do drive each other crazy. ;)

They're Hooked

Last month, I was super excited to start the Harry Potter series with the boys. We didn't get very far, only to Harry going to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies, before the fear of something scary happening settled in, and they no longer wanted to read the story. Boo.

Fast forward to this week. Jason began talking about how he only had 126.8 AR points and there was no way he'd ever be able to reach his next goal of 150 points before the end of the school year.

"You know, Harry Potter is worth a LOT of AR points." I told him. "If we finished reading the story, you'd only have about 10 more points to go to reach your goal. You could do that easily."

He was hooked, which in turn, (mostly because he is less loud about the topic) hooked Shawn, too. We started reading and they are super excited to read! I expect we'll have the book finished before the weekend is over.

I can't wait!

Story Time

A story about a dinosaur (transcribed exactly as written)...

I have a pet dinosaur named T-Rex. He roars. He stomps around all over my house. He is a carnivore. He eats meat. T-Rex sleeps with me in my bed and makes a mess in the kitchen. My mom was mad. I had to give T-Rex away.
~Shawn

I once let a veloceraptor into my home. he fit nicely. I gave him some steak for dinner. "He loves me." I said. I pat him on the head. He takes me for a ride. "You are my friend forever." I said. I named him Bane. "I love him." I said. Then 30 weeks later I set him free. "Bye Bane." I said. The End.
~Jason

Portrait

This needs to be documented, even though it's past Mother's Day. Momentos like this need to be remembered! Love it!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

His favorite place to be in the mornings...

He'll even watch my shows on television to get more time for snuggles. I think he'd agree to anything as long as he didn't have to get up! Lol!

Friday Five

Today the big boys went on their last field trip of the year. (This was also their first trip without a parent along for the ride.) They had a great time learning all about the oil industry, rocks, and all kinds of cool stuff! Both did a lot of walking and were pooped when bedtime hit. Definitely a successful day!

~~~

Speaking of walking, I am so proud of our Shawn today. He did the entire field trip using only his walker. This is such a HUGE accomplishment for him and not something that would have been possible before this year!

Way to go, Shawn! You are doing an awesome job!

~~~

All three boys are still sick. Noses are red and runny, everyone is sneezing and snorting, and kids are grumpy. Fun times.

So much for it passing quickly.

~~~

I went to a Scholastic Book Fair and picked up 2 Ripley's Believe It or Not books (this one and this one) on Thursday. I brought them home and gave them to Jason. He sat down and read BOTH books! Then he came and told me everything he read.  LOL!

I also got two bags full of other books, which are sitting on the table. They're going to the boys, but I am only giving them a book at a time. Jason is going crazy wanting to know what is in the bags! He's definitely my reader.

~~~

Jack went and had his hair cut today. OMG, he looks so cute! I could just eat him up!

New Specs!

Ordered Saturday. Got today only 5 days later! That like never happens. Lol.

Drumroll, please....

They look so cute!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Helper Jack

What, dad? You're doing some stretches? Let me help!

Are they not the cutest? #Melt ❤️❤️❤️

Art Time

A little art time to help with some sickness crankiness. It worked, too!

Plague

The plague is upon our house once again. Jay started feeling bad Friday night. He's still hacking and congested. Jack went to bed yesterday and slept 13 hours only to get up and take a nap this afternoon. He looks a bit like death warmed over tonight. Then, Shawn's nose started running this evening. I imagine I can guess how he'll look in the morning. Fun times ahead for sure.

And here I thought cold and flu season was over!

Let's hope it passes quickly for all of them.

Mother's Day 2016!

Flowers, 

Sweet Surprises, 

Breakfast in Bed.

And dinner with my mom, 

Make for a Happy Mothers Day!

Love my family! Thanks to Isaac for he did to make the day special, too!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

We went glasses shopping for the big boys today. Jack couldn't resist trying out a pair himself. He looked too cute!

The big boys' glasses come in a few weeks. They'll have their big reveal then. :)

Friday Five

Mid trimester grades came out today, and both big boys are doing well. Yay! Go boys!

~~~

On Wednesday, Jason informed me that he no longer wanted to use his pencil grip at school because he wants to be like everyone else. So, I asked him how he'd feel if we got pencil grips for everyone in his class. He was all for it! Now he gets to give out pencil grips to his classmates, and they'll all have better writing to boot. :)

~~~

I measure Jack yesterday. He is now 46.75" tall. This puts him solidly in the 99th percentile. Whoa. He is in a growth spurt right now. He just feels bigger all of a sudden.

~~~

Jason isn't feeling well today. He's congested and has a fever. Fingers crossed that is isn't another sinus infection. Sigh.

~~~

Word on the street is that Shawn has himself a girl friend. She's a pretty devoted girl friend at that. lol. Plus, our boy seems to know how to play the game. He's been known to feign hearing loss so she'll lean in and whisper directly into his ear. Can you believe that?! LOL

Now, mind you, I need to make it clear that while she may be devoted to him, our boy is definitely keeping his options open. He's got two other girl friends in the wings!

Conversations With 8 Year Olds

Jason was walking into the living room...

Me: Jay, what do you think we should make grandma for Mother's Day?

Him: Wait. Isn't she YOUR mother?

Lol. We have since decided on something to make for grandma. He's excited about it, too. ;)

Mostly Wordless Wednesday - Tall Enough

Tall enough to push the cart and barely see over the handle...

Or should I say old enough?

But still young enough the suck his thumb while doing it. ;)

Tell Me How You Really Feel, Kid

I'm not sure he needs to actually say any words to get his meaning across with this look...

Cracks me up!

Doesn't Help the Situation

I am not a morning person. I never have been, really, and I stay in bed until I absolutely have to get up. This translates to me runninn around in the morning trying to make it to work without being (too) late.

Shawn's new morning ritual definitely does not help matters. He loves getting in bed with me for his own special snuggle. Of course I have to oblige him. How can I resist such cuteness?

Appreciated

Here's what the boys are taking to school for Teacher Appreciation Week, and no, it isn't pizza toppings. They're taking a note and a $5 gift card. :)