Conversations with 10 Year Olds

"Mom. I'm sad that school starts in only 16 days. I don't want my summer to begin."

You and me, both, kiddo.

A Moment

These two had a moment of sweetness. Moments like these are getting fewer and farther between because the whole "love to bug" thing they've got going with each other. lol

A Little French

At least I think it is...that what he tells me it is. :)

Veggieampire

Look, dad! I'm a vampire.

This Face, Too!

Loving swimming in the pool, too! ❤️❤️❤️

(Yes, he wears his glasses in the pool. He would have it no other way! lol)

Question of the Week

Question: At what would you say you are an expert? (The question was asked to each individually, and they didn't hear each other's answers before they answered themselves.)

Jason: At what would you say you are an expert?
I'm an expert at identifying cars. Also, I am an expert at solving problems. Like problems related to ... solving like educational problems. Like logic problems.

Jack: At what would you say you are an expert?
(after I explained what an expert is) I am an expert at (school's name). I know what to do (there).

Shawn: At what would you say you are an expert?
Hm. I am an expert at school. I know the rules. I know everybody. (He ended it with, "Can you go now?" LOL)

~~~

I feel pretty great that my kids all feel like they are experts at something to do with education. Finding their ways at school, hasn't always been easy for them (each has had his own struggles), so it is an especially big deal that they feel like they've got this whole school thing! So proud!

Way Back Wednesday - 2012 Edition

October 2012 - Look how tiny these munchkins are!

Seems like yesterday that they were this little. ❤️❤️❤️

This Face!

He LOVES to swim!

He (and his brother) also LOVES his new nose plugs. LOL

Reading

He's powering through his book. 516 pages...only about 100 left to go!

Butterflies

Snapped a shot of two of our butterfly visitors. We regularly have 4-6 butterflies hanging around out back at any give time. So fun!

Cute Big Boy Saturday

Now he's a duck. I guess I see the resemblance. lol

Visitor

Today, as Jason and I walked into the living room, I saw something move quickly across the floor. The thing was too big to be a spider (I hoped), but it did make me pause. I told Jay to freeze while I tried to figure out what the heck it was the scurried across the floor. I can tell you I wasn't expecting what it was!

After a bit of investigation, I found this guy just under the edge of the couch.

I blocked his way, so he couldn't run even further under the couch, and encouraged him into the middle of the room. It took a bit (the tiny guy was quick!), but I finally managed to capture him in my hands.

His little body was maybe an inch long and so cute! We found a little container to keep him in so we could all check him out. We named him George and took him out back to the flowerbed and let him go after about 10 minutes. He seemed quite content out there; he immediately got to eating some bugs. Hopefully that will mean he'll stick around for a while!

I have no idea how he managed to get inside the house. The boys were all too surprised for it to have been them, and Gracie, the cat, was no where to be found. I guess it will just remain another one of those "head scratcher" moments we seem to regularly have around here. LOL

Little Tiger

He wanted his face painted. lol!

He's a tiger....growl!

He wore it most of the day and even made me reapply when his color faded. LOL

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

This kid has been stubborn lately, so we've been having a tougher time than usual. It's hard to believe how ornery how can been when you look at this sweet little face! lol

He got up on the couch to snuggle with me, too. ❤️

He's not my little baby anymore. This kid is trying real hard to grow up even though I'm not ready for it!

Sprayed!

It's a little hard to see what is going on here, but these two had a blast when dad sprayed them with the hose. LOL!

Question of the Week

Today, I asked the boys what they'd like to do when they grew up...

Shawn:

At first he told me he wanted to do something with a vacuum cleaner, which is comical, because he does not like the sound of vacuum cleaners. So I asked him if that meant he'd like to be a custodian or a house cleaner. In the end, he didn't think that either would be a good choice of career. lol

Instead, after some thinking, he said he'd like to be a doctor that works with kids.

Jason:

Jason had the most extensive answer of the bunch. When I asked him at first, his answer was that he wanted to drive when he got older. lol. I clarified that I meant was I wanted to know what he would like to do for his career.

He started off by saying he wanted to be in the military because he likes the idea of "serving my country." He didn't have a branch of the military in mind, he said, but he did know he wasn't keen on the idea of going to war and having to fight.

He then said he thinks he wants to do something with biology or chemistry. He thinks that he'd like to do research and discover new treatments to help people. Either that, he said, or he'd like to discover a new element! 

Jack:

Jack had one word for what he wanted to be when he got older...a star. That should probably read as a "STAR!" I pushed a little more and discovered he'd like to be on the stage. If that fails, he'll go for trapeze work of do tricks. :)

New Addition!

Today, we got a new addition to our family -- Sophia!

Jack got to use her first. He got straight to work filling up a glass of water. 

She came today, and we are all so enamored by her. lol. We are all glad to say goodbye to the coolers and mini fridge we've been using since Monday.

May you live long and prosper, Sophia!

Cute Big Boys Saturday

Hanging outside in the pool...

Jumping off the side like he isn't supposed to...

and having a blast. Sigh.

These two were having fun splashing each other. 

A rare moment of playing between these two...

with both of them smiling even!

Friday Five

One goal we have this summer is to watch as many new movies as we can. So far we've seen:

• Sword in the Stone (Disney version)
• Space Buddies
• Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian 
• Primates of the Seven Seas (cartoon)

They've liked all the movies we've seen so far. I've got a list of some older movies to watch, too. It will be fun to share them with the boys. :)

~~~

This summer has brought us outside every single day except the last two days. Feels strange that we didn't get into the pool!

~~~

Monday saw the end of our refrigerator. That has led us to a new refrigerator, which won't come until Sunday. So, for the last four days (and 2 more to go) we have been living out of a cooler and mini fridge. It's been interesting...and a reminder that we are fans of the modern age. lol

~~~

Tomorrow we're going to try banana pudding edible slime. I'm not for the edible part (although I bet Jack will be), but it is supposed to smell really good. That part I like. lol. We shall see how it goes. 

~~~

We also found a new You Tube channel called Art for Kids Hub. We're going to practice drawing some cool things tomorrow, too! Should be really fun!

Question of the Week

What is your Shawn's favorite toy?

I think it could be said that the boys have different categories of favorite toys: technology based, daily use toy, and lovey used for bed. 

Technology based: They all LOVE their iPads and each get some time to play on their devices each day during quiet time. Their iPads are definitely favorite toys. 

Daily toy: Shawn also really likes his Pixar Cars truck haulers. He actually sort of collects them now, and he enjoys making up little dialogues about each of his trucks, much like he's seen people do on You Yube about various toys. Right now, I'd say his truck haulers are his favorites. 

Lovey: Shawn is the only one of the three who doesn't have a favorite lovey. He will often take 2 smaller cars to bed with him, but he's content to let the toys stay off to the side and 

What is your Jason's favorite toy?

Technology based: iPad

Daily toy: Right now, Jay is in to designing roads and signs for his Hot Wheels cars. When he is outside, he gets to work creating battle scenes for his army men. He currently has a fairly accurate portrayal of a battle between the Allied and Axis forces out there.

Lovey: Jason has a couple of loveys that he sleeps with, but the one I think is his current favorite is his little koala. He is into all things Australian, so this guy was a hit. 

What is your Jack's favorite toy?

Technology: iPad

Daily toy: Jack has 3 go to toys that he plays with throughout the day. 1) He is VERY much into paper, colors, and tape. He makes background scenes and drawings, and has them hanging all over the house. 2) He taken an interest in Shawn's Pixar Cars. The verdict is out over whether this is because he likes them or because he wants to annoy his brother. Nevertheless, he plays with them everyday. lol 3) He has a bunch of various "people" he plays with throughout the day. Often he incorporates his people into his backgrounds. He draws a circus, and then will have his people create the scene to go with the drawing. 

Lovey: Jack has 3 loveys that he must have to sleep. 1) He has a pillow pet dog that lights up. 2) He has a brown Beanie Baby bear that must be with him. 3) His most recent addition is a white bunny rabbit he got for Easter. If any of the three are missing, then we must ransack the house to find it, so he can sleep. 

Oh, This Kid

He never fails to make me laugh. Love this kid!

Memories

Our refrigerator decided today that it was done with its faithful service and quit. As I was emptying everything out of it, I found this in the freezer.

From 11/19/2007

This is the very last milk I pumped for the boys. The same day, we were told the boys would be transferred to another hospital for some surgeries, so I never ended up taking it to the hospital. It has sat in my freezer ever since. I'd see it every now and then, but I never could bring myself to actually get rid of it. Today, the decision was made for me.

Made me a little teary to see it go.

More Butterfly Fun

This one is so close to emerging from his chrysalis!

Hot

It's been especially warm this weekend. We spent much of it in playing in the pool, eating Popsicle, and stationing ourselves in direct line of the fan, much as this one is doing here...

Cute Big Boy Saturday

His plan to be one of the Incredibles backfired just a tiny bit...

He figured out his error fairly quickly, though. LOL