Here kitty, kitty!

Mouse stayed home with me the other day.  His little tummy was upset.  Looking at his pale face at the breakfast table caused me some worry and I expected him to make the mad dash for the bathroom any minute. But, my boyos seem to have pretty healthy immune systems because as the day went on, instead of getting worse, he got better.  Then I found him playing with one of Bud's creations.

I knew Mouse was feeling better when he asked in his sweet voice, "Can I shoot this at the cat?"

A Few Crafts

 

Here is our Family Fall Tree that we made since last posting.  We had such a nice time together.  I found some good music on Pandora we all could enjoy and we scratched pretty designs in our leaves all evening.  Great memories were made and possibly a new tradition was started!

Today's project was inspired by this:

The bookshelf in JoJo and Mouse's room was in need of a little, um, straightening.  Seems no matter how we try to organize it, it always looks like this in a matter of days.  I thought about the beauty of baskets and wondered if that would help.  Then I thought about how much moolah I've already spent this month and decided I needed to get creative.  I searched through my own cardboard boxes and decided on a granola bar box.




                                     


I taped the ends back together, cut off the top and the cut out a piece from the front.  Then I searched through my papers so I could cover it.  I pulled out my pack of superhero paper, knowing it would be loved by the boyos!

 

Here's the finished product.  Now to get it into their room.

 



                                                                      
 I think it's cute!  And the boys will think it's cool.  Here are the shelves after I resorted everything.  More boxes/baskets are needed and more sorting needs to be done (do we still need "Goodnight Little Rabbit?")  but this is a start.  They can pull out a box/basket and when they are done the whole thing goes back on the shelf.  I just hope they remember to put the books in it...




What have you been crafting?

Easy After School Snack

I find I always have apples and peanut butter on hand.  And almost always I have flour tortillas (either homemade or store bought) and bananas.  Combine these and you have an easy treat that can't be beat!



"Mmm!  These are my favorite!"

Apple Banana Roll Ups

1. Chop up some apple.  I used my peeler/corer/slicer to make it easier.
2. Mash up a banana.
3. Mix banana with some peanut butter.
4. Spread mixture on a tortilla
5. Sprinkle with chopped apples.
6. Roll up and devour.

That's it!  Sorry if you are one who needs amounts.  I just eyeball it depending on how many I'm making and what ratios the kids like (more or less PB for example).  If it helps, I used 1 small apple to make 3 roll ups today.  It won't be enough for the Boyos I promise you that!  These are just as good without banana and a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top of the apple before rolling up.

Hope your kiddos enjoy them as much as mine do!

 

 

 

Chores and Boys

My brother and I were never assigned chores.  Not for very long anyway.  Maybe I should say, not that I can remember.   Hubs and his sister, however, were assigned chores.  Hubs and I had many discussions about what to expect from our boys as they grew.  And I'll tell ya, as the boyos grow the messes grow with them.  The kitchen messes, the food messes, the laundry messes, the bathroom messes, etc., etc., etc.  And I don't like being responsible for everyone else's messes ALL of the time.  It's so easy to grow resentful.  I soon agreed with hubs that we needed to expect certain things of the boys on a regular basis.  Here are couple of  our ideas.  We've been using these for a little over a year and they've worked well.

This is our "To Do/ Done Did" chart.  This chart goes up on the fridge every Friday and the boys know they have all weekend to get the jobs done.  The list has been tweaked a couple of times.  Never hurts to make improvements!  So it works like this.  All of the clothespins start on the "To Do" side of the chart.  The boys divvy up the chores depending on what they want to do and what they did last weekend, or even what they haven't gotten to do in a while!  Then they get to work.  The clothespins get moved to the "Done Did" side as the jobs are completed.  Pretty easy and it works well.  I don't have to assign chores.  They don't have to do the SAME JOBS every time.  Some they do on their own, some they work together to complete.   I just made this out of layered scrapbook paper, some punch out letters and then I glued the same paper to clothespins.  Easy and fun!

This picture didn't turn out so great.  Bummer.  What I want you to see is the 3 pocket wire organizer.  I found it at The Container Store but when I searched their site for a link, I could no longer find the product.  Closest things were  here and here. But this piece was just what I needed at the start of last school year.  One pocket for each boy.  All school papers and homework goes in their pocket.  They can find what they need for school each day, including signed papers that need to go back (assuming those things did not make it into the backpack already).  Then the pockets get cleaned out every weekend.  They learn to throw what's not needed anymore and find a permanent home for what's really important.  It works for me!

Take Me Out to the...no,

better yet, just take me home.

Looked for an angry face - I liked this one!

We went to a softball game while on the island.  We were so excited to be able to do it, too.  KIO has a summer league and they play other teams in the neighboring towns.  Of course, if you are the visiting team to KI, you have to take a ferry the game!  How cool is that?  Anyway...

We just happned to be vacationing when the team would have a home game.  And a double header at that!  Perfect!  It was a nice evening, too.  Not too hot or humid.  Good game night.  So we piled chairs into the back of mom and dad's van, squeezed ourselves in around them and took off for the field.  When we arrived, we saw we had two choices for seating.  We could set our chairs in the grass a short distance behind home plate, or we could sit in the small set of bleachers along the third baseline!  We opted for the bleachers.  Little did we know we should have chosen door number 1.

Now, I was reading to see some smoking of cigarettes and hear a bit of unpleasant language.  And I was even ready to see some beers getting tossed back after the game.  And I assumed that when my two young boys sat down across from 3rd base, the players would puff their chests, ready to be professionals and show these kids a fun game!  Silly me.  Never assume.

I was unprepared for the drinking to be mixed with the playing.  I was unprepared for the foul language that came out of the mouth of the left fielder as he passed by my boys, their eyes wide with shock and uncertainty.  At that moment, I was uncertain myself.  Should we leave?  Is this normal and will it continue, or is the player just having a bad day?  Maybe he's feeling some regret.  After all, I did notice some of the other players catch on to the fact that two young boys were planted front and center awaiting an exciting game.  So I mad the decision to stay.  Like I said earlier - we should have chosen door number 1.

Our KI team, whom we were wanting to cheer on to victory, caused me to shake my head in disappointment.  The foul language continued.  The sportsmanship was just as bad.  The team was anything but a "team".  They cussed at one another, they insulted one another, they had not one encouraging thing to say.  They were disrespectful to their coach, and he was equally so to them.  The oppossing team went quietly about their business of playing softball, while the home team chewed itself to bits.  Two of the outfielders came in and got into a yelling match with one of the two female players on the team.  It happened right in front of us.  That's when I grabbed the hands of my sons and said, "It's time to go.  They are not modeling good sportsmanship."  They were not modeling anything of good quality, but the sportsmanship aspect was what stood out at that moment and my boys did NOT need to witness it.  We headed to the playground.

To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement.  I love KI.  It has been part of my growing up years.  The place is full of fond memories of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  And now new memories are being made with my boys and my husband.  It's too bad.  I was hoping to add the ball game to my long list of "Things I love about KI."  My mom told me the team has never been any good.  I can understand why.  It's funny.  Earlier that day I saw a young boy wearing a T-shirt with the very familiar saying, "There is no 'I' in TEAM".  Someone needs to explain that to the group of people who insult one another and occassionally play softball.  (I just can't bring myself to call them a team.) 

An Assignment

The other day I gathered and scattered various objects on our table.

lids of two different sizes

It was SO very hot...again...and the boyos were getting cranky.  Or was it me?  When four people are couped up in a small space for days on end because it's just too hot to be outside...EVERYONE can get cranky.  True?  This scattering of objects was an attempt to waylay the Crankies.

A catapult made by Bud

Once all the objects had been gathered and scattered, I gave the boyos some simple instructions.  "Invent games!"

Angry Bird and a pig

"Using some, or all, of the items on the table see how many different games you can come up with."

Dixie Cups

It did NOT go as I had planned.  I had PLANNED to get them started and then let them go.  I would get some semi-quiet to read for a bit.  Nope.  There is no semi-quiet when you put three boys together and ask them to cooperate while inventing games.

Various tape lines

 

There was a lot of arguing, a little crying, a bit of yelling, a lot of stomping...and eventually some game playing!  They did it!  They came up with three different games - all of which involved things flying off the table. 

I must admit, for a while I did not think they'd finish the assignment.  I thought  I'd be sending them to their separate corners to cool off.  I thought my wonderful idea was going up in smoke!  A bit dramatic, yes, but I was terribly frustrated.  My idea was not coming to fruition.  But when the whole ordeal was over - when they boys had finished their fun - I realized something.  They had to work through the problem solving aspect of this assignment in their own way.  They each came up with a game.  They each got a chance to explain their game.  They each got a chance to play their game with their brothers.  Was that my goal for them?  Yes.  Did they accomplish it the way I had imagined?  Heck no!  Ah well.  You know what they say:

"The best laid plans of mice and "MOMS" oft' go awry."

Hm.

Maybe the Rolling Stones lesson is a better fit here.  I did not get what I wanted, but I got what I needed!

The Shoeless Lizards

Hubs and I saw a new band a couple of weeks ago called the Shoeless Lizards.  (spellings vary)

We got a discout at the door.  Didn't even have a cover charge.

The band consisted of three members, all brothers.  The instruments were 2 guitars and a set of drums, all made of cardboard.  The venue was our living room.  This up and coming band even had an opening act, JoJo "Funny Man" Sollberger.  He told jokes and, most of the time, they were funny!

The band rewrote David Bowie's hit "Dancing with Myself" as "I Can't Find My Shoes."  It was inspiring!  You can enjoy your life even when you can't find those shoes!

Now they have star fever.

BINGO!

I mustered up some of my old creativity with JoJo's help the other day.  We filled out a summer Bingo sheet together.  Here is what we came up with:

You'll notice some of the activities are repeated.  Some of them are more educational than others.  Some are just plain silly.  Like the first one the two little guys chose to do: "read for 15 minutes in a weird place."

Here is where JoJo ended up.  I thought he was headed UNDER the table.  Silly me.

Mouse liked the idea of the tub.  Wash your hair while you're in there!

I don't have any specific goals in mind.  Summer bingo is just something for the boys to turn to when they're bored.  And when they get a "bingo" I'll let them pick something from their own prize box.  Of course, those prize boxes don't exist yet.  But at the rate JoJo is going, I better get his filled first!  I'm thinking stuff from the dollar store:  silly string, squirt guns, gum, whoopie cushion (!).  Maybe some fun certificates like a trip to the ice cream shop in town, lunch with dad at Subway, a picnic in the yard, a trip to the pool. 

I wonder what else we might come up with to fill our summer...





Clean it again, Sam!

link up here

Another first for me in the Land of Blog:  linking up.  We'll see how it goes.

Emily has a wonderful post at Weak and Loved.  She shares, straight from her heart, the joys and heartaches of being a mom.  This week she is collecting photos and stories of the never ending messes we deal with as moms.  "Didn't I JUST put those crayons away?  And didn't you help me do it?  How come they are all over the floor again?!"  Sound familiar? 

Bud's biggest offense is the one of dirty socks.  They are left anywhere and everywhere. 

Athletic socks AND dress socks in the mudroom.  A room he passes through every day.  Several times a day.  Where he hangs his backpack.  Every day.  Did I mention he's in this room every day?

Here are a pair trying to hide under the chair.  Hahahaha!  You cannot hide from me, the Queen of my domain.  You will meet your doom in my washing machine soon enough.

The messes of the younger two, JoJo and Mouse, are a little more interesting.  Here's an example:

Church bulletins from Sunday (one rolled into a spyglass?  sword?), a Star Wars "dude", a cup, some gray plastic piece that look like so many other gray, plastic pieces, a notebook that I'm sure has someones story started in it.

This is when it gets difficult for me.  What's OK to toss?  How do I know they are "done" with it?  What is it's something they want to show dad when he gets home?  Generally, I go by this rule:  if it's been there for more than 2 days, I throw it out.  I told you I wasn't much of a housekeeper.  I'm better at making a home than keeping a house.

So I wonder what other messes will turn up during the week?  I'm really looking forward to hearing the stories behind the messes! 

A Fun Day

Today was Fun Day at the Boyos' school.  Some schools might call it Field Day.  It's the same thing.  Lots of runnin' and funnin' out in the sun and fresh air.  In years past, the kids have competed for 1st, 2nd, 3rd place ribbons and such.  The school has also made use of the track and all the space around it.  This year, however, plans were forced to change.  And, if I do say so myself, they changed for the better.  Improvements and additions have been happening to our school the past year and a half, and that includes the track and all fields.  So the elementary Fun Day was relocated to parking lots, the playground and the street in front of the school.  Oh, some of us parents complained.  We fretted about parking and the inconvenience of a two block length of street closing for the day.  But it was so fun!  Truly a FUN day!  The kids had a blast.



Busy playground



What I appreciated most about the forced change was the doing away with the competition aspect.  This year the kids did not compete for first place; no ribbons of different colors were handed out.  The focus was entirely on FUN.  The games were things like Shoe Kick, Tricycle Races, Water Balloon Toss, Scooter Races, Obstacle Course and of course the Dashes.  The kids were just having FUN!  I chatted with the school counselor a while about the change.  Some parents phoned in, very upset that Junior would not be getting a ribbon this year.  She had no sympathy for them, at least not in relating the story to me.  "There is so much competition on that end," she said, motioning to the highschool end of the building.  "They don't need it here." 

I agreed with her.  I mean, really...how often do our kids just get to be KIDS?  How often, in today's society, do they get to have FUN?  With no restrictions, no judgements, no tips on how to "improve their game"?  Today was all about good, ol' fashioned fun. 

Even the teachers got in on the fun!

A Good Laugh

I was going to write about introverts, as I am very much one of them.  But JoJo sat down next to me as I was firing up my computer and we got to looking at my "Ponderings, Smiles & Giggles" board on pinterest.  (Hello, my name is Jenny and I'm a pinterest geek.)  He got the giggles so badly that I decided to post some and save introversion for another day.  I think that's the introvert in me - taking the attention off of myself and passing it on to someone else.  Ya think?

Anyway, here are JoJo's favorites.

"We ride!"

(he thinks this is hysterical!)

"Whaaaaat??"

(this one just produced a good giggle)

"Tickle him!"

(jamming his finger toward the ground, trying to sound tough through the laughter)

Hope you get to enjoy some laughter with your kiddos today.

True Love

This morning, after the boyos left for school, I went upstairs to change.  I got waylaid by the light that was left on in JoJo's and Mouse's bedroom.  I went in to turn it off as I've done so many, many times before.  I crossed the room to shut off their radio and open the curtains, and it hit me.  I love my boys so much.  Sometimes the amount of love I feel for them overwhelms me and I can't help but smile.  Even when they leave their lights on and the radio is still singing away.  Even when the dirty clothes are anywhere but the laundry basket.  Even when their room smells like BOY.  Dirty...sweaty.  And I love it.

 And then there's Bud.  That boy is growing up so fast.  I think he's taller than me now.  It makes it strange when I have to discipline him.  I had to the other day and I almost started laughing at the oddity of it.  Guess I'll have to start sitting him down from now on.  So much of the time, though, he is a joy.  He makes me so proud!  More and more of his decisions are showing thought and consideration for others.  Less and less are self-centered.  He babysat his brothers the other day while Hubby and I went to see a high school production of Phantom of the Opera (excellent, by the way).  I was terribly nervous, but he did well.  I guess I knew he would, but a mother's mind can get away from her sometimes and start to think the worst.  He remembered our rules and cared for his brothers.  What more could I ask for?   I'm not ready to leave them home alone in the evening though.  It's different. 

The overpowering sense of pride and love for my boys makes it all worth it.  All the worrying, all the frustration, all the disappointment.  That is all so little, so temporary in the scheme of things.  They are good boys.  They know that Jesus died for them and that every one of their sins is forgiven.  They are my most precious gifts from Heaven.  And I'm thankful I can call them my sons.  My Heavenly Father lavishes me with His grace.

Winter has come!

Saturday morning this is what we woke to:

The trees were absolutely beautiful covered in the fresh snow. Once the boyos were up, they wasted no time layering on the outdoor gear.  Should have gotten some pictures of that!  The excitement for them really begins when a tractor shows up in the parking lot between our house and the church with the plow attachment on the front end.  They know that means big snow piles for climbing up and sliding down.

(Imagine picture of said snow pile.  The loading of pictures is s-o-o-o s-l-o-w today I just don't have any more patience to wait!)

 One of these snowpiles had such wonderful "slides" down it, it earned a name.  The Plop Drop!  Isn't that great?  Doesn't that sound like a perfect snow slide?  The Plop Drop.  You plop down on your belly or your backside and ride the drop down to the bottom.  Brings back some wonderful  memories of snow filled days.