There's Always One Kid

There's always one kid who can't behave in a group photo. Guess which one of my darling children took on that roll this time?

Spencer's New Glasses

Today we picked up Spencer's new glasses.

What a handsome young man!  Even though his prescription isn't that strong, when he first put them on he exclaimed "Oh! I can see!" Anyone who's ever worn glasses totally knows what he's talking about.

I thought he kinda looked like Clark Kent, despite the Batman t-shirt. (Although a Batman t-shirt would be a great disguise for Clark Kent!)  However, Lance claims Spencer now looks like Gordon Freeman, some character in a game they all love.  (Half Life 2?  I dunno, I'm too lazy to look it up.)

Here's Gordon:

Here's Spencer as Gordon:

Huh.  I guess he does!

Now I have two cute kiddos in glasses.  Kids in trendy glasses?  Always cute. (Spencer picked out his own frames.  I was a little worried he might give me grief over what he wanted to wear, but the kid has good taste.  Phew!)

Now half of our family is in the glasses club.  I suspect our numbers will grow over the next few years.

As we were leaving the optometrist Cole whined "I want glasses!"

"Give it a few years", I replied, which got a laugh from the staff.

Pumpkin Patch

So on Friday my friend Deidra set up this big visit to Throckmorton Farms for all us moms with little kids at home. Throckmorton Farms is a Purdue research farm about 10 minutes south of us.  You get to ride on a big wagon pulled by a tractor and then you get to pick your own pumpkins and apples and it's wonderful.

And I had lots of really cute pictures of Tess scowling and Cole smiling during all of this - only I just discovered that SOMEONE (*ahem* Cole and/or Tess) erased all of  my pictures from my phone!  Yeargh!!!

So, all I have are some pictures that I took with my camera that afternoon.  Which I am bummed about because, as much as I love pumpkins, I love my kids more.

Tess picked out the little white pumpkin and Cole chose the gargantuan next to it.  I chose all the little white ones. :)

We picked lots of yummy apples, too. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them, seeing as how my week is pretty booked and I don't have a lot of time for applesauce.  Dang it. (Midnight applesauce making!!  Woo-hoo!!)

I decorated Tess's pumpkin and put it in a place of honor in the entryway.  Cole's beast of a pumpkin is on the front porch, guarding the house.

After the farm we went to visit a sister in the ward and take her some flowers. Tess was so cute about giving her a card and Cole actually behaved himself for a full 3 minutes! (Miracles, people!)  Then we got some lunch at good ol' Dairy Queen and hit the newest grocery store in town, Fresh Thyme.  It seems like a pretty great place, and they had lots of good deals going on, but it was a MADHOUSE. I think I'll wait a month or so before heading back. But they did have cute little kid carts, which Cole LOVED.  (The backs of my heels, though, did not.) Fortunately, he only ran into me and not other shoppers, and all the little old ladies there melted over him in his pirate shirt and rain boots.

Why yes, that is an eggplant in his cart!  

Fatherless Preschoolers Caught In Fire!!

Usually picking up the kids from preschool is pretty tame.  I go in, pick up their jackets and back packs and 837 papers from their cubbies, wait for Tess to come out, wait for Cole to come out, and then wrangle them out to the car without losing and/or having anyone get run over out in the parking lot.

But today was odd.  One of Tess's teachers was standing in the doorway, as per usual, calling names so the kids could come out to their moms.  But when she got to Tess she just kept laughing and laughing.  Tess came up to her to get her daily stamp on her hand and her teacher leaned down and asked Tess something.  Tess scowled and shook her head and walked out, and her teacher doubled over laughing.  So of course I went up to ask what was going on.

Apparently Tess had been denying the existence of her daddy all morning.  Adamantly. At the door her teacher had asked her one last time if she had a daddy and found it very amusing that Tess was standing her ground on her no-Daddy position.  (I'm just glad that they know that we're not the type family that has to worry about not having a daddy!)

While waiting for Cole she continued to vehemently deny her father's existence.  I don't know what you did, Lance, but you've really ticked her off!

Cole's class finally started letting kids out, but after only a couple of kids the fire alarms starting going off, complete with loud sirens and flashing lights.  All of the younger siblings who were waiting with their moms started freaking out and howling. (Including Tess, although she was fine once I picked her up.) ((She is getting waaay to big to pick up.))

Well, as luck would have it, this week was FIRE SAFETY WEEK at the preschool.  And while this was definitely not a planned drill, the kids and teachers knew what to do! (We parents in the hall, however, were less sure.)  The kids all lined up and left the building.  A few were a bit scared, and Cole was particularly vocal about wanting his mom, but they all marched outside fairly quickly, with moms in tow.

Outside, where it was raining quite steadily, the kids huddled together as the teachers tried to cover them with their jackets.  The moms all rushed to help get their kids into their jackets (including me as I also tried to carry Tess, two backpacks, and 837 papers).  There didn't seem to be smoke coming from the building and the alarm had stopped.  We heard fire truck sirens in the distance but they never did come to the preschool, much to everyone's dismay. (Because how cool would that have been?!) ((Answer: very.))

It started to rain harder.  And harder.  And some of the kids started to really freak out.  And Tess got heavier and heavier.  And no one seemed to know what was going on.  Finally, one of Cole's teachers decided to just let us all go home.

Only Cole didn't want to go - he wanted his stamp first!  I had to tell him that we had stamps at home and I would give one to him if he would just get out of the rain and into the dang car!

Then Tess realized that he stamp had washed off in the rain.  Tears and weeping and wailing.  Then Cole decided he wanted his stamp RIGHT THEN. More tears and weeping and wailing.

Once we were finally in the care I asked Tess if she wanted to go have lunch with Daddy, to which she replied "I DON'T HAVE A DADDY!!! WAAAAAAHHHH!!!" And then Cole started laughing.  And I did, too.  And Tess stopped crying and put on a mischievous grin.

And all was right with the world.

Reddit Famous

Lance has been using our children to gain fame and notoriety on Reddit.  See here.

And here.

I've been working on getting our family pictures taken.  First I had to find clothes that matched for everyone, then I had to find someone to take the pictures, and then I had to find a date she was available - these are all difficult tasks! Prayers were answered and the rain stopped for exactly one hour this evening, exactly when our photo shoot was scheduled.  It started raining as we walked back to the car!

I went to the hairdresser this morning, so my hair was especially big. (Okay, it doesn't look that big here.  But trust me.)

Tess was a punk during lots of the photo session.  We have some excellent shots of her scowling which you know will be one of the first prints up on the wall!

Spencer got to leave school an hour early today for a 10 second orthodontist appointment.  Seriously, I booked this appointment months ago and 2:45 was the latest I could get. (I hate taking kids out of school.)  Heck, next time I'm just gonna schedule it around lunch and then treat the child to McDonald's.

Josh is in heaven because we finally booked our DisneyWorld trip for next May.  He has already asked - repeatedly - if he can eat shrimp while we're there.  I have assured him that I will find somewhere for him to eat shrimp.  (I have not told him yet that I think we will forgo hitting the Animal Kingdom.  We only have 5 full days and I just don't see it being that great!)

Cole is gaining fame and notoriety around pre-k from his mad reading skills.  I hope this is the only thing he is known for.  I'll find out on the 16th during our parent/teacher conference. This is the first preschool conference I've ever attended; in the past they all seemed optional.  This year?  Not so much.  Dang pre-k.

Kidlet Update: Josh

Although at one point in his young life Joshua was the star of this blog, he was rudely usurped by the arrival of Cole. (And then Tess.)  But not today!  Today, Josh is in the spotlight!

Joshua is an amazing kid.

First - and some would say foremost - Josh has an amazing sense of humor.  I say this because his sense of humor is just like mine. We often laugh at the same funny things that leave Spencer (who is a bit more literal-minded) baffled. He especially enjoys the funny things that Tess and Cole say.  I've also discovered that I can often diffuse tense situations with him if I crack a joke. (It's when he ignores those jokes that I know things are really bad!)

Josh is in second grade and really likes it.  I don't know that he loves his 2nd grade teacher as much as he loved is first grade teacher, but he still gets really high on the good behavior chart each day.  This is wonderful, considering 1) his older brother couldn't care less about good behavior charts, and 2) Josh made a rather notorious entrance in Kindergarten, making me wonder if he would ever even make it to second grade.

He is really good at spelling and math, but says his favorite subject is science.  He likes to pepper me with fun science facts as he does his homework.  As he and Spencer often fight at the kitchen table while doing homework (Spencer is not always an easy brother to have) Josh has taken to doing his homework on the floor in the front entryway.  It works... for now.

Joshie has a condition that makes his eyes cross.  This is one of the main reasons why he wears glasses.  If you catch him looking over his glasses you will probably notice the eyes cross. (And if you catch him doing this then tell him "Look THROUGH your glasses!" He hears this from me all the time.)  At the last optometrist appointment the doctor said that sometimes kids grow out of this condition, but he suspects Josh won't.  When he's a bit older he will probably have to have surgery to fix it. (We could do the surgery now, but that seems a bit intense for a little 8 year old!)

Joshie just turned 8 and will be getting baptized in a few weeks.  He is so excited about this and so are we! He is very ready to make covenants with his Heavenly Father and understands what he will be doing.  He has also requested that I serve shrimp after the baptism.  Sorry, kiddo. No can do.

Joshua is a NOTORIOUSLY picky eater.  This is more of a choice and a struggle for power than anything having to do with his palate.  What he likes and what he hates changes on a daily basis, depending on his mood and how many of my buttons he wants to press.  He often hardly eats anything at dinner because he refuses to try any of it and I refuse to run my kitchen like a diner. Sometimes, if I'm feeling nice, I will let him make some toast for dinner, leading to a newfound toast love affair.  He loves toast so much that for Sunday lunch for the past month we've been having lots of different kinds of toast in his honor. (Raisin swirl bread, apple caramel swirl bread, Texas toast, bagels, toast with Nutella, and more.)

Josh really likes playing on computer, but he's not obsessed like his older brother.  His favorite game is League of Legends, which I loathe because you can't just pause or leave the game without dire consequences, leading to lots of me yelling "JOSHUA, YOU GET UP HERE AND (eat dinner/do your homework/clean up the mess) RIGHT THIS INSTANT!!!" And him answering "BUT I CAAAAANN'T!! IF I LEAVE THE GAME I'LL BE BANNED FROM THE SERVER!!!" Thank goodness computer games are only allowed on the weekends.

But even more than computer, Josh loves his friends.  Right now his best friend is Justin, a 10 year old boy who lives right next door.  Every chance they get they are out in the back yard playing. They love swinging sticks at each other, making up games, being really loud, picking on Cole, playing dodge ball, and all sorts of other boys stuff. Justin in the reason Josh decided to get a Giant's hat. (Justin plays on the Giants for Little League.)  Justin's over here enough that it feels like I have a fourth, very well-behaved son.

Josh has just started taking piano lessons.  He is doing great and already has one of his October recital pieces memorized!  It was a bit of a rough start, but that's because he gets really frustrated when he can't play the music perfectly the first time.  *Hopefully* he's figured out that I'm right when I tell him that no one plays every song perfectly the first time - that's why we practice.

Josh and I are reading the Harry Potter series together right now.  I would make him read it to me, but he's been having problems with his prescription lately, and his eyes are extra tired at night.  Plus, I like reading out loud and being able to determine at what point to stop. (Josh would prefer I read for 90 minutes; I cap it at 30.)

Joshie is insurmountably stubborn.  I have no idea where he got this from. (Sarcasm.)  This can be good or bad - good, because when he puts his mind to something he gets it done.  Bad because when he gets it into his head that he wants something or that he thinks he needs to behave badly to prove a point - no matter how much I spell out the consequences - he refuses to back down.  He would rather take the consequences than listen to me.  It's ridiculous.  Somehow I've got to turn this superpower into something used consistently for good.

I've never had a child who cares about their appearance like Josh.  He is very particular about what he wears; ALWAYS a polo shirt, and, for while the weather is mild, always shorts. (He will lose this battle in the next few weeks.)  Every morning just before he goes out to the school bus he runs to the bathroom mirror to make sure his hair is just right.  To his dismay he has inherited his father's curly hair.  To my dismay he won't wear it curly, which I think is darling.

You are an amazing kid, Josh.  Just before you were born I got really nervous that I wouldn't be able to love you as much as I loved Spencer. (I think every mom goes through this before they have another baby.)  As corny as it sounds, you truly did teach me that love doesn't have to be divided - it just grows. Well, you taught me that when you were around 4 months old - you were a REALLY hard newborn.

Just kidding. (About the love thing, not you being hard.)

Ha!  I know you'll laugh at this because we laugh at the same things.  I love you love you love you, Josh bosh!

Parenting Win!

Spencer kept weeping and wailing gnashing his teeth and acting like a 4 year old because he had to finish a school project tonight. Seriously, NON-STOP crying and whining.

It's enough to drive a girl to drink.

Seriously, if I drank my children would drive me to over-drink. I'd be one of those moms with the vodka in the water bottle at the park.

Anywho, it was driving me nuts.  So I came up with a brilliant solution.  I forced him to work on his project out on the patio table.  That way I wouldn't have to listen to him and - and this was the brilliant part - there were girls from his school class playing in the yard right next to ours.  No way he'd continue with his shenanigans with peers around, right?

And it worked!  He quickly dried the tears and worked away.  And I patted myself on the back and got back to making dinner in peace.

But then the girls went inside.  And the weeping and wailing began again - only worse.  And I kept waiting and waiting for Lance to come home, but he was running late.  And then Spencer wanted a break, but got into a huge fight with Josh during the break so I told him he had to get back to work. He did, only with even MORE TEARS.

And I tried consoling him.

It didn't work.

And I tried reasoning with him.

It didn't work.

So finally I got so sick of the nonsense that I just shut the patio door.

And he stopped crying, because apparently you need an audience for that. (Unless that audience contains 10 & 11 year old girls.)

And there was peace in the world.

The end.

P.S. I just stood by the door again, which has a window.  The waterworks began again.  Sheesh.