Healthy Conversation

Luke:  Can you make this again, because I LOOOOOOOOVE it.  (We were having roasted broccoli and cauliflower with fresh garlic and ginger).

Me: Of course. It's good for you to eat because it's healthy.

Jack:  Aww man, I wish Coke was healthy.

Me:  Yeah, me too bud.

Jack: Is eggnog healthy?

Me: No, not really.  It has tons of sugar and bad fats in it.

Luke:  That's probably why Santa is so big. 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing You A Merry Christmas

An Uncontrollable Christmas

I have a pretty important announcement:

I am a control freak.

Yup, I admitted it.  Subconsciously I've known it for a long time, it's just taken me a while to verbalize it.  Sometimes my family and I benefit from it.  Think: meal calendars, organized toy bins, and extensively organized file cabinets.  Most of the time though, it is a sharp, dagger-like thorn in my side.  When the craziness starts to trickle down and touch Tim and the boys, it's not pretty.  For a long time, I was in denial.  Because Tim is so laid back, I fooled myself into thinking I was too.  Actually, that's just one of the reasons why we are perfect for each other.  Balance is a good thing and we even each other out.  But when things are out of my control, I fu-reak out! 

So, now that I have actually come out and said it, I should probably start working on it.  In the long run, it will be good because I will be able to let the boys do laundry, clean the toilets and do the dishes.  I will have to learn how to not care if the dishwasher isn't stacked to optimum capacity or if the shirts are not hung with the hanger hook pointing left.  In the long run, it will be less work and stress for me.  After all, I'm trying to raise them to be men who know how to cook, clean and maybe even sew a bit.  Your welcome, future daughters-in-law.

Currently, this Christmas season, my therapy is focused on a single type of decoration.  Tinsel.  So far, I'm not doing so well.  These metallic demons are invading every nook and cranny of my house.  One morning I rolled out of bed and found that I had been sleeping with a few pieces.  They hang off Clementine's jowls and Ping can't stay away from it, but Luke and Jack LOVE it.  I have to remind myself to relax and not spend every minute of the day picking the pieces up.  After all, Christmas is not about us being perfect; it's about realizing our imperfection and celebrating the birth of THE ONE who heals it.

I've made some other good steps so far.  I smiled and nodded when the total of our Christmas tree came up to $72!  Darn this non-evergreen state.  I laughed when the morning dog walk produced sparkly poop.  I've still got some work to do because I didn't have the optimum reaction when Jack kicked over and shattered a snow globe.  Pray for me please.  And pray that the tinsel magically stays on the tree branches.  It should, since each branch cost about a dollar each.

The Annual Package

 

Every Spring, my dad digs a hole in his and my mom's vegetable garden and drops a few seeds in.  He covers them over and waits.   Most of the produce gets eaten up as quickly as it ripens.  Not this plant.  It's meant for something else.  It's leaves and blossoms sprout.  It's vines spread and curl around anything it can reach.  The fruit starts out dark green but doesn't stay that way for long.  When it's ready, he cuts it off the vine, wraps it in bubble wrap and gently tapes it up in a box.  The USPS ends up taking it where it was meant to go.  Every year, even if they live in Bellingham, Charleston, Meridian or Grand Forks, Luke and Jack get to open a package of apples, squash and PUMPKINS grown in Papa's garden.

 

Side note:  Luke is becoming an awesome reader. Here Tim is helping him figure out who the package is from.

 

Sadly, I don't have any pictures of these pumpkins carved up because we never got the chance.  We put them out on our front porch, just to have them stolen and never seen again.  Some of my old youth group leaders heard about the pumpkin thievery and felt so bad for my depressed boys, they sent ice cream gift certificates to cheer them up.  Ice cream does wonders.  Luckily, the runt of the bunch was still left in the garden so my dad quickly packaged it up and sent it off.  We got to carve that one! And me, being the slacker that I am, didn't take a photo of it.  Sorry.

Hopefully it won't be too many more Octobers until we can drive over to Nana and Papa's house to get the boys' pumpkins.  Until then, we'll wait impatiently for our October package.

Happy Halloween

 I know what you're thinking.  Wrong holiday.  At least I didn't let this one end before catching up on the last one, right?

 Batman and Ironhide went trick or treating in our awesome neighborhood.  The sidewalks were a zoo and I couldn't even close the door in between costumed crazies. 

 

Some of our neighbors went all out with lights, decorations and hidden speakers.

 

Yep, I caught some "orbs" on film.  Do you think there are spirits floating around this abandoned house?

 

I'm thankful for a fun Halloween.

Hockey

 

A few weeks back, Luke and Jack started hockey.  For their first practice we didn't get them shoulder pads or breezers because the info sheet said those were optional.  Whelp, I guess people here take their gear seriously.  Every kid had all of the required AND optional gear on, so we had to head to the store.  It was better in the long run though because they fall...a lot.  The breezers are especially good for keeping their bums bruise-free.  Just for your enjoyment here is the gear list:

skates

skate guards

shin guards

hockey socks

breezers

shoulder pads

elbow pads

gloves

practice jersey

neck guard

helmet and mask

stick

Needless to say, it is an art getting them ready for practice.  We've shaved off about 20 minutes since the very first pre-practice prep.  I'm pretty proud of that.

 

Jack had a rough time the first practice but since then, he's gotten the hang of skating and doing all the drills.  He quit the first practice about 10 minutes before it ended but has since finished every other practice.   At the end of each time, they come off the ice drenched in sweat and say they had tons of fun.  Entertainment, physical activity and two very tired out boys.  Score.

 

Terra, Lilah and Collin came to cheer the boys on.  What good friends.

 We've made it a Saturday morning tradition of grabbing coffee and heading out to hockey practice.  We are loving this winter tradition, all four of us.

Overheard

All this was said within 2 minutes while the boys and I were eating dinner tonight before hockey practice.

 
Luke: (holding his one arm out and the other curled on the side) "Do I look like a watering can?"

Jack: "When can we get a pet with antlers and hooves?"

Luke: "Mom, you make excellent dinners."

Jack: "Mom, look how fast I can run"  He then proceeded to race down the hallway and back, all between spoonfuls of soup.

Luke: "I think I have a daddy long leg in my soup.  Hehe."

Flattery, randomness and ridiculousness.  Dinner is never boring.

The River and the Pumpkin Patch

 We got to show Meemaw and Papa all around the Red River.  At one point, Jack found a t-rex footprint and got all excited.  The weather was so nice and warm!

 Then we went to the pumpkin patch.  It definitely wasn't like this pumpkin patch, but it was still really fun.  We took a stroll in the haunted woods, got lost in the corn maze and fed the animals. 

 Good times had by all.

Turkey Bingo

 

Before we even signed Luke up for Kindergarten, we heard about Phoenix Elementary's annual PTO fundraiser.  Turkey Bingo.  Dun dun dun.

I heard from several people that the parents and kids alike go crazy for the coveted turkey prizes.  The day the announcement came out with the details, I was waiting with Terra outside the kindergarten wing (as we do every day).  Collin came bounding out the door after the bell rang with a bright yellow, oh, sorry, goldenrod flier.  

"MOM!!!! TURKEY BINGO!!!!"  

After perusing the flier, she told me all about it.  The craziness and...the...prizes!  9 Frozen turkeys and three 50 dollar bills were up for grabs for a mere 4 bucks.  In addition to that, a night of family fun and raising money for the PTO, who wouldn't love that?

The build up was big, and let me tell you, the Phoenix Elementary PTO did not disappoint.  We got there early for a pizza dinner and made sure we had our bingo cards and pens poised and ready. The Phelps' and the Pell's were out to win a turkey.

Some of my favorite entertainment of the night was Lilah's intensity:  "ALL I NEED IS B5, N34 and O71....oh and G47......Come ON!"

About 10 games in, Jack pulled out a win.  Tim helped his timid "bingo" be heard and he bounded up to the stage.  Someone else had gotten a bingo too so Jack had to participate in a tie breaker.  The highest card pulled out of a deck won.  Jack pulled out an ace.  He struggled off the stage with his ten pound turkey and an even bigger smile.

Turkey Bingo was all we ever hoped it would be.

A Field Trip and a Visit

A few weeks back Meemaw and Papa came for a visit.  We had so much fun with them and showed them all around town.  During their visit, Jack had a field trip to the fire station with his preschool so they got to come with him.  He was so excited, the whole week before he told anybody who would listen all about it.

 

I can't tell you enough how much I love our co-op preschool.  I wish I would have thought to start one a few years back.  I'm sad this will be the only year we get to do it.  

More pictures to come from Meemaw and Papa's visit.  I didn't carry my camera around as much as I wanted to though.  I need to break that bad habit.