the next DaVinci

Not sure how closely you looked at the pictures of the kids' painting for Joe's birthday. I missed something on one of them that I think you probably missed as well. All my kids have written their names backwards when they begin writing. John has not failed to live up to this reputation. However, he has added a level of difficulty to it. He not only writes his name backwards, he writes the mirror image of his name. We didn't teach him how to do it. It just comes naturally. According to Joe (who knows all such things) DaVinci used to write like this too. Ahh, our next DaVinci....you have to admit that it takes some talent.

(I cropped the picture and rotated it so that you could see it too)

Nathan and an egg

Have you ever noticed that when you don't want an egg to break you always have to treat it like the most fragile thing ever created and when you do want it to break you think they've added cement to the egg? At breakfast I'm always afraid that even if I breathe on it that it will break the yoke and my husband's eggs' over easy will be forever ruined. However, when I place an egg in something like cookies or pancakes I feel as though I'm going to have to take an axe to it to get it to break up. I think my Nathan is related to eggs. Whenever I don't want him to go potty, he has to go right now (Walmart, in the car, at nap time!) and whenever I do want him to go you would think I had told him that I was going to sell all his toys on ebay (oh, the wailing!). Oh well, at least he likes to wear pants now! One thing at a time...

Belated birthday pics

Last week we celebrated Joe's birthday. I decided to be brave and have the kids paint pictures. I got some framed canvas and let the kids get creative. (Yeah, Hobby Lobby!). We don't do this nearly as often as we should because I get way too concerned about mess. They did a great job and I only had to bite my tongue a couple of times as I watched them paint (are you sure you want to make a flower--your sister is doing that; aren't lions suppose to be brown--yes, I know, stifling their creativity!). Here's some pictures of the painting event:

Online again...

I can't even begin to count the number of times I've sat down to post in the last couple of days. After numerous plugging and unplugging and resetting my router, my wireless is finally working. Yes, I'm very, very spoiled. Anyway, now that the holiday weekend is over, I can get back into my scheduled routine and post more often. BTW, my parents came to visit over the weekend and I took the weekend off while they were here. That meant that I got to spend Labor Day, well, laboring. I did 6 loads of laundry, three loads of dishes, had the kids try on all their winter clothes (and realized that Sara has only one pair of pants to wear for school and they won't even make it to Christmas before they will be too short), ironed 4 shirts and a pair of pants, and cleaned my bedroom and the boys' room. Whew--it was a very productive day.

Anyway, a huge event happened last week. I am now the proud owner (well, at least pay the mortgage on) of an official five bedroom house. Nope, we didn't move. We had egress windows put in the girls' bedrooms in the basement. So now our girls can safely get out of their bedrooms if there is ever an emergency. Here's one of windows partially completed (the trim isn't put in yet on this picture). I'll have some better ones to include later.

My new DSL

No I haven't fallen off the planet. I've switched to DSL and I love the DSL but I haven't gotten it hooked up to my wireless yet. And I'm frankly lazy at night when I usually post. I like sitting on my couch or lounge chair not my hard stool at my counter. I have several posts that I'm going to share, but I'm afraid it won't be tonight. It has been a bone weary day and the couch is calling my name. Hopefully this weekend...Stay tuned...I cleaned out the refrigerator and that is always bound to be entertaining.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOE! I LOVE YOU!

Country X's egg

I think I've only had one post concerning the Olympics which is rather surprising considering how much I've been watching them lately. I enjoy Bob Costas. I know that may sound weird, but he isn't dry and occasionally has some really good lines. I think his best one was last night. It was concerning a country which did very poorly at some track and field events. The country will remain nameless as I don't want to cause further embarrassment because it really was painful to watch (if you know what I'm talking about I'm sure you agree!) so we will call it "Country X". Anyway, when they returned to Bob Costas after these two very embarrassing events occurred, this was his quote:

"Well, it looks like Country X laid a very big egg tonight at the Bird's Nest."

I'm still laughing--I don't think I've had enough sleep this week...

My proud mommy moments of the week

I've had two proud mommy moments this week related to the girls going back to school. Well, I've actually had many more than two, but I have two very memorable ones that I am going to document. And, yes, I'm going to brag on them because they are my kids.

The first one is related to Ashley. She very excitedly had her first homework of the year tonight. It was her "baggy book". They bring home a book to read every night and we evaluate it to see if it is too difficult, too easy, or just right and she just happens to have the same color hair as goldilocks. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Anyway, she had her first book tonight and it was a book on butterflies and the life cycle of butterflies. And she read the word "chrysalis"--didn't even have to sound it out. Yep, I was proud. Okay, so maybe she already knew a lot about butterflies and the life cycle of a butterfly, but I was still rather impressed. She is only 6 afterall and we had to mark that book as too easy. (It could have something to do with Joe being her father...)

The second proud mommy moment that I am going to share is related to my eldest. It is a story that she shared with me today. Earlier this week her teacher had asked the class a multiple choice question. There were two choices. He asked all those who thought "A" was the answer to raise their hands. The entire class raised their hands except for my Sara. Then he asked those who thought it was "B" to raise their hands. Sara was the lone student. (Wow, I really don't think I could've done that in second grade!) Then her teacher took the time to recognize Sara's bravery and told them that they shouldn't be afraid to go against what everyone else was saying especially if they know it is wrong. Then she got a piece a chocolate. And (I'm sure you're wondering) she got it right! I was and am so proud.

I truly can't wait to see what God is going to do with all my children. I feel as though they are turning into leaders for the Lord right before my eyes. Actually, that's wrong. I feel as though they already are.

Can you see a brain grow?

So I think my boys' brains are going through a growth spurt. Here are some of the questions I've had to field while riding in the car lately:

• Why is gum white?
• What is the difference between a kid and a baby? Is a baby a kid? Is a kid a baby? When does a baby turn into a kid? Am I a baby or a kid or a baby and a kid? When will I be an adult?
• Is a mosquito the smallest insect? (no, I informed them--you know what's next) So what is the smallest insect? (guesses anyone? remember I'm in the car--no internet access)
• Do dogs like water?
• Why do terradactyls (yes I had to look up the spelling) have wings?
• What are campers and sprinklers for? (no idea how those two got connected)
• What do banana splits taste like?
• What are the buttons for (at the drive thru at the bank)?
• What's a check?
• And my personal favorite from John: "What does "since" mean?" (As in "we haven't seen Grandpa & Grandma since vacation") "I know that "cents" means change for money but what does "since" mean?" (That one took me awhile.)

And keep in mind the last 7 question were just on the way to the bank the other morning. And my bank is less than 1 mile away in a very small town. No wonder my head hurt by lunch. I feel like I've gone back to school. I'm surprised I can't physically see their brains growing.

My new job

Well, my work week is over. Yes, you read that correctly--my work week. I am officially (at least according to the IRS) a working member of society again. When I thought about it earlier I was excited about adding a new job experience to broaden my life job experiences. I already have stuff like accountant, factory worker, dishwasher, and, oh, babysitting. I guess it's not something new because it is, indeed, babysitting. I'm watching two girls down the street before and after school 4 days a week. They are in kindergarten and the first grade. Believe it or not our house can get even louder than it was previously. Actually, by the end of the week it had calmed quit a bit as the novelty had worn off for everyone, toys were found and my structure was set and in place. I think my structure was somewhat of a shock to them (meaning the girls I babysit--my kids are used to me being neurotic). But, seriously, if one child gets up during breakfast without asking to be excused it is a matter of less one second that every other child is out of their chair, breakfast not eaten and complete chaos has ensued. Actually chaos doesn't even seem to be a strong enough word. And with the end of the first week comes more structure that needs to put into place because homework starts next week. I'm rather insistent that homework gets done immediately after school. Well, you can have a snack first, but immediately after the snack it is down to business. Wouldn't it be easier to wait for the other two to leave you may be wondering? Probably, but I'm always up for a challenge. It just makes life a little more interesting.