Mother and Son Glow Party

The boys' school had a mother/son party on Monday.  We went and it was really quite fun.  They had face paint that glowed in the dark and tons of light up sticks.  There were black lights and glow in the dark balloons, treats, and all sorts of fun activities to do.

Glow in the dark tic tac toe.

I was glad I was able to go with the boys.  We had fun.

100 Days

 The kids have been going to school for a hundred days!  Jason's class celebrated it today.  They got a hundred treats and donated a hundred coins to some great cause that I've forgotten.  :)

He also came home with these gems...

If I had $100..."I wud bi a manchin" Oh man, Jason...it takes a whole lot more than a 100 dollars to buy a mansion. 

Then there's, "When I started first grade, I couldn't make friends.  After 100 days of school, I can make friends."  

Only 80 days to go!

Socks and a Bath

Poor Charlie.  Allie had the idea to put the things that we have on the bottom of our chairs on Charlie as socks.  He seriously just stood there.  He didn't want to move.

 The kids got out his treats and forced him to walk.  It was pretty funny and I wish the pictures showed his high stepping moves.  We all laughed and laughed.

He also got a bath that night.

 He had to go through his post bath rituals of drying his ears and paws.

 His hair is getting so long.
We love how it curls when it's longer though.

The kids fight over who gets to bathe the mut.  It's not like it's a fun task.  It really isn't that big of a deal.  The thing they like is that after he's had a bath, he'll stay with the bath giver for most of the night.  He snuggles them and stays, so they fight over that privilege.
Basically, Charlie is a jerk.  The kids all love him so much and want him to sleep in their beds.  They try every single night.  Every single night, he escapes at the speed of light and bolts up the stairs to his safe haven and acts like he's been held for years against his will.
We keep hoping that he'll grow out of this, but I'm not so sure.
Dang you Charlie boy!  Why can't you just sleep in their beds?
I guess he's cute, so we'll let him get away with it all, for now.

Licensed to Learn

So, Jake's had this whole week off of swimming because the club team hasn't started up yet.  I figured it was time to go get his learner's permit so he could start practicing his driving skills legally.  

We went down to the DLD and he passed the test.  I was sure he wouldn't pass it because he didn't ever study.  He took a practice test on my phone on the way down, and that was it.  But, you can miss 10 of the 50 questions and he missed 9.  Yikes!

 I handed him the keys as we walked out of the building and he asked me if I was sure.
I told him he had to start somewhere.

He said he wasn't sure if he was ready to drive on the highway yet, I assured him that he'd be fine.
So, he threw it into reverse and ran over the candlestick cones and rope in the parking lot of the DLD.  I died laughing.
He didn't even look behind us!

I tried to fix the bent candlestick cones and then we switched places and I drove us safely to Smithfield and then we switched places so he could go the rest of the way.  We laughed every time we thought of the irony of it all.  We imagined what the surveillance footage would show and then laughed again.
It's so crazy that they have you take a written test and then send you on  your merry way to have your parents teach you how to drive.
I thought Jake was ready because he's driven before...in hindsight, he's really only driven in Wyoming where you're really not going to hit anything in front or behind you.
So, now we all know.  He's not completely ready for the highway, but when I pulled over in Smithfield, he was able to get us home without any other incidents.
Now he has to log 40 hours and take driver's ed.  Oh, and turn 16.  Then he'll be official!

Painted

As we were remodeling in the kitchen, we decided to order a new counter top for the boy's bathroom.  It needed an updated look, so we started with the counter and decided to do the rest when we had time.

I'm always bugged when I don't have a decent "before" picture.  Oh well.

Anyway, last Saturday, we painted.  Then, Mike made several trips to Home Depot to get a new vanity and light fixtures...things haven't run smoothly for any of our projects lately.  There are always several trips to the store because things don't fit, or were not as advertised on the box.  It's just drama.

Mike knew he was flying to Vegas the next day and wanted to get the project done before then.  I was busy, but he enlisted my help in painting and getting the rest of the stuff put in there.  We were trying to get this mirror vanity thing hung and we weren't using the parts we needed to use because Mike didn't want to go to the store again.  After many grunts, stripped screws, and frustrated instruction reading sessions, we had the thing hung up.  Then, Mike went to shake it a bit to prove that it was snug to the wall and it all came crashing down.

Silence descended upon our home because the kids had heard the crash and then they heard me cuss like they've never heard before.  (Just so you know, it was only the good swears).  I honestly don't know why those words come out of my mouth when I drop things.  I was raised by a mom who can count her swears on one hand.  My dad was another story, but I really have tried in recent years to quit saying those words.  

After all the swears, we inspected the vanity and our new counter top and were surprised to see that the only damage was to the wall (that will be hidden by the vanity in the end).  We had to walk away though and gather our sanity.  Mike went to Vegas and I ignored the bathroom.  

We returned to the project the next weekend, and imagine our surprise that when you have the right tools and bolts, the vanity went up easy peasy...no swears involved.

It's a lovely bathroom.
We still want to paint the cabinet and replace the flooring, but for now, it's lovely.
The boys love that they have a new coat of paint to cover in pee behind the toilet seat.  They also have a sparking white counter top to cover in blue toothpaste and a perfectly clean mirror to cover in toothpaste spatters.  They couldn't be more thrilled.

Region Champs!

It was the region meet last weekend and I went out to watch Jake swim.  I missed his first event by about a minute and a half.  I spent that time looking for somewhere to park.

I did get to sit with him after he ate lunch though and I had a great time trying to take pictures of him...

 He finally smiled for me, but then I wanted a new picture where he wasn't slouching.  He didn't oblige.

 So, I figured I'd snag one when he swam his next event.  I missed it.  I was so mad at myself!  He said he'd text me when it was getting close and I waited for his text.  The text didn't go through and I missed it.  He knocked 2 seconds off his time and I missed it!

He might have been feeling bad for me, so when I asked to take a picture at the pool, he smiled without too much back talk.
Now, we move on to my last big regret of the day.  I didn't even think about staying till the end of the meet.  I knew he wasn't going to swim again, so I went home.  But it was region, and both the boys and girls of Sky View won and I wasn't there to take pictures.
Jake texted me:
"This is a moment to remember.  Everyone got pictures and then we all pushed Marcus and Susan in and sang the school song and cheered.  I think I damaged my eardrums."

I was so sad to have missed all that.

They went out to dinner as a team and then, later on that night, they had a party at one of the kid's houses.
Region champs, for the boys and girls.  It is very exciting.

Swimming has been so great for Jake this year.  He started out really trying in April or May and I would dare say that he could barely cross the pool swimming fly back then.  Now, he's swimming circles around that old Jake.
He didn't branch out of the 50 or 100 free very often, but he did swim the 200 IM once and that was fun for me to watch.
His first time for the 50 free was a 33 and he ended the season with a 29.04.  His first time for the 100 free was a 1:14 and he ended with a 1:05.  None of that really means anything to you, but it's all very exciting to me.  He wants to keep swimming, so we'll go year round and he'll be a whole new Jake for his Sophomore year.
So, yay for Sky View and yay for Jake swimming and being a part of something so fun!

Pasta Party

The swim team meets at someone's house the night before every swim meet and has a pasta party.  A few parents get together to provide the food and one family hosts and finds some way to fit nearly 55 kids in their house.  

I knew I wasn't going to be able to host at our house this year because most of the parties took place on days where we were without a kitchen, but I signed up to help.

My time came the night before the region meet.

I was in charge of salad, bread, and drinks.  I asked Jake what kind of salad to bring and he told me not to bother...that no one ate salad.  He told me to bring chocolate milk though.  

I couldn't take his word for it.  I hoped he was wrong and that just because he didn't load his plate up, maybe some kids do.  I was determined to bring salad and figured people would eat it.  So, I brought enough to feed 40.  We went through one bag.  One bag of salad that's meant to feed 10.  They also nearly finished a bag of croutons that was meant to feed 120.  It was so funny to watch kid after kid walk right by the salad and then pile their entire plate full of pasta (or just croutons).

They also burned through 3 gallons of chocolate milk and one gallon of regular.  It would have been more, but that's all I brought.  

They ate through 10 loaves of french bread too.  I'm really glad I listened to my friend's advice and just brought the dollar loaves from Walmart instead of making my own.  Crazy teenagers.

I just noticed in this picture that this kid is picking the croutons out to put on his plate. :)

It was really fun for me to see Jake in this light.  He has friends.  He talks to girls.  He is part of this big group and they call him Schwab. 
I love swim team!

Harry Potter and the Parroting Parrot

So, two nights ago, the boys made the ultimate hut in their bed.  They have weapons, they have pillows, blankets, stuffed animals...all the things.

They didn't last long in the bed the first night.  The guns below the blankets were uncomfortable, so they re-did things tonight.  I guess it's all comfy now.  

The point of the post?  A few things.  One of them is that Pongo is Jason's total side kick.  It's for sure the favorite gift of Christmas.  (Pongo is the penguin that Jason's hugging in this picture.)

The other thing, is the parrot (bottom left of the picture).  Jason got this parrot and it totally repeats the things that you say to it.  It can get very annoying, but it's been a favorite too.
Anyway, after the boys went to bed, I heard the usual Harry Potter blaring from the walls of their bedroom, but I also heard the parrot talking incessantly.  They had left the parrot on to copy the Harry Potter audiobook.
It totally cracked me up. 

Doorbell Ditching

Jason has always been obsessed with doorbell ditching.  He always wants to leave something on someone's doorstep and run.  When we were delivering things at Christmas, he never wanted to knock and wait for people to answer.  Most times, I made him wait, but sometimes, I'd let him ditch.

Ever since then, if I'm out delivering things, the only time he wants to help is if he can ditch.

If someone asked to borrow a can of soup, he'd take it over if he could leave it on the porch and run.  He's just funny like that.

Anyway, tonight, the thing we were delivering was obviously from us, so I told the boys they could ditch it...then I took pictures...

It was really funny to watch them sneak up and then scurry away.  These boys keep me laughing.

Fruit Is My Life

It was a long weekend and it felt like I was constantly looking for things for my kids to do.  

I had just gotten some strawberries and Nathan saw me washing them.  He was hovering like a little hungry bird waiting for them to be ready to eat.  I suggested that he could cut some of them up for me and he jumped on the opportunity.

After talking and talking about how much fun it was to cut fruit, he said, "Mom.  I'd rather cut fruit than play video games.  Fruit is my life!"

I would agree that fruit seems to be his life.  He really does eat more fruit than anyone I've ever met.  He came home from a friend's house the other day exclaiming about how they had a fruit drawer that had kiwis, grapes, blueberries, etc. and he had wiped them out of all of it.  I was horrified on many levels, but one was that I couldn't believe he'd just go eat all of their fruit as if he's starved at home.  He insisted that the mom gave it all to them, but I wasn't so sure.  When I saw his friend's mom later, she assured me that it was all okay, but I was still embarrassed.  Dang kid!
I guess there are worse things to eat in large amounts!

Bread Day

The kids were out of school and wanted to go skiing.  I felt like I had too much to do, and baking bread was one of the things.  So I talked them into doing some deep cleaning instead.  They were really excited.

As usual, Nathan wanted in on the excitement that was going on in the kitchen.  He had a lot of homework to get caught up on though, so we made a deal.  He had to do a page every half hour and when he was done with his page, he could help in whatever stage we were in on the bread.
His favorite thing is to punch down the bread after the first rise.

He also loves to cut it.

He's a great helper.

As for the new kitchen, it was lovely!  Having two ovens was so nice.  I could have two sets of bread rising and two baking.  I made more bread in the time I was baking than I ever have.  I also love that the counter is 12 inches longer so it felt so much less cramped and I can fit more loaves on after they're cooked (until I run out of wire rack space).  The only downside is that one of the ovens didn't bake things as thoroughly.  The bread looked the same on the outside, but when I went to slice it that night, I found that some of the loaves were a bit doughy and I don't know if it was the top oven or the bottom.  Eek.  I'll have to figure that out. 

Anyway, first bread day in the new kitchen was pretty awesome!  Now, to clean up the dishes.  I sort of left them there so I could do the more important thing and tell you all about it.  :)

So Sad

Mike went out of town for a conference on Sunday.  I was making cookies and Nathan kept asking me what channel the football games are usually on.  I thought he was just making conversation and I told him I didn't know.   A little later, he came in and asked about it again.  And again a little after that.  When Mike texted to ask if Nate was watching the game, I finally connected the dots.  

The boy knows he's not supposed to be watching tv on Sunday, but he's always had his football fix because I can't tell Mike he can't watch...but Mike wasn't home...

The Packers were playing and he couldn't get the tv to work (he probably could have found it on the upstairs tv, but since he was sneaking and trying to watch it on the other one, he couldn't find it.)

He had been asking Alexa for updates on the score and was dying to watch the game.

I'm not completely heartless, so I turned the game on.

Probably shouldn't have.  My cute little happy Nathan turned into a sad, sad boy.

It was seriously so sad.  There were tears and everything.

Here's real life for you...Nathan's comforting sister and his taunting brother. 

Jake's not really that heartless.  He was just being a dork for the picture, but he was for sure less sympathetic than Allie.
Allie thought I was mean for taking the pictures.  Who am I to blame, really?  This makes for a great memory for me. Even if it's a sad one.

Sometimes it's hard being a super fan.

I guess the Packers will have to try for the Super Bowl another year.