Huh?

Have you ever found yourself saying something, and then thinking, "Never in a million years would I think that would come out of my mouth"? Yup, had one of those moments last night.

Coming home from Wednesday night church, the boys were pretty wound up. Aaron had been playing running games and Noah had made a craft using the Ten Commandments on a piece of paper, like a scroll.

So, as my two rambunctious boys were getting very wild in the car, a swatting match ensued, using the "scroll" as a "weapon". Even though it was playful, I don't like those kind of games, especially in the car.

So here's the quote of the night...

"AARON, STOP HITTING YOUR BROTHER WITH GOD'S WORD!"

Weekend Top Five 9/21/08

I know these are pretty much the most uninteresting posts I write, but it is kind of fun for me to have a record of our weekend events, and maybe share a laugh or two from our life.

5. Ladies night Out

Deb received two tickets to review The Women, so we went. I thought it would be pretty good because of the star-laced cast. It was okay. About half way through, I made the realization that there actually wasn't a single male in the entire movie (until the baby in the last scene). Not a movie that I need to own, but kind of a fun one for a night out.

4. Family Trip to the Library...Puppet Show Extraordinaire and another lesson for Mom

I take the boys every week. But it was kind of fun to go with all of us. I was treated to several puppet shows. Noah came over and started showing a puppet kind of "beating up" another puppet and I started scolding him, but then he kept going...complete with another beating. Then, when I was ready to put a stop to it, Noah picks up a different puppet and shows it being nice to the first puppet, and starts saying things like "and gives him money and pours oil on his wounds" and then I realized that he was telling the story of the Good Samaritan that they had learned about in Sunday School this morning.

I thought it was pretty cool.

3. Lunch at Moe's

It's a highlight because we haven't been in awhile and I was craving it terribly.

2. THE CIRCUS

Ringling Brother's was here. I have only been to a circus once in my life when I was young and I barely remember it. Every year I have wanted to take the boys when the train rolls in, so we finally went. I didn't take a lot of pictures, because we were busy watching the show, but here is Aaron with the free clown nose.



















Aaron declared at bedtime, "Mommy, I want to be a clown so you and Daddy can come see me in the circus." to which I, of course, replied, "Aaron, you already ARE a clown."

So, of course, following a visit to the circus, we needed to...

1. Create our own Backyard Circus

Complete with our own "trapeze artists"


Noah


















Aaron







and even a clown


You gotta appreciate Noah's latest "invention" around his waist. This is a toy ball, wrapped through a belt, stuffed with paper to allow his pen and a pumpkin straw to stick out the sides. He has put a play shirt OVER his pajamas and the gloves and glasses are to make him a super hero as well.











I can't wait to hear about your top five.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Top Five: 9/14/08

A wet, sticky weekend. What happened to make this weekend memorable...good or bad?

Let me share...

5. Truck Woes

I called Steve to ask him to stop and pick up some "scoops" chips on the way home to go with the taco salad for dinner. About 30 seconds after I got off the phone, he called back to say that his back window had just EXPLODED. As he was driving down the road, it just shattered. He can't see anything that hit it. So after several calls to window places, the estimate to replace it is more than the truck it worth. So for now, my husband will drive his truck around with a duct taped back window. And at some point this week, Steve will be visiting junk yards trying to find a back window that the neighbor can transfer to his truck. We are such icons of class...

We are thankful that the boys weren't in the truck when it happened.

4. Another adventuresome ride in the car

It seems to me that a few weekends ago, our trip to visit my brother and sister in law had one bullet JUST for the travel there. Well, here is a repeat performance but for different reasons.

Long story short...the next time there are FLOOD WARNINGS for an entire travel journey that we have planned, the better choice would probably be to heed the warnings and not travel the roads. Silly us. As we were driving, we would encounter various degrees of lack of visibility due to down pours of rain. Add on top of it, hydroplaning and you would think that would be the worst of the trip.

WRONG!

As we passed the Michigan border into Indiana, we noticed a slow down ahead... Then, cars turning around in the middle of the highway...then a stream of cars driving BACKWARDS toward us on the shoulder. HMM.... Let's turn on AM 530 to hear traffic conditions...

Oh yeah, the entire highway is shut down due to flooding.

So now comes time to do the same 180 in the middle of the highway that three other lanes of cars are also attempting and join the parade on the shoulder, drive off the nearest entrance ramp, and detour south to a different highway.

Notice the WRONG WAY sign we are about to pass as we travel UP the entrance ramp to get OFF the highway.





Then of course, discover that this highway is a toll road and we left the house with NO CASH! So now, it's stop at an ATM at a truck stop to acquire the $1.25 toll necessary to pass.

On the way home about 6 hours later, we were less surprised to see that the highway was still closed but now we knew the detour route and we were not even slightly phased.

3. Birthday Celebrations

Once we finally got there, the kids had fun even though it poured all day and they were stuck inside. My sister in law puts me to shame every year with the cakes she makes.

My nephew Ronin had his 1st Birthday. They have discovered that he has several allergies so Jenny found a gluten free, egg free, cake recipe and it was quite delicious. How cute is this dragon?











Ronin had NO desire to eat the cake whatsoever, so there will be a lack of chocolate all over the face first birthday pictures in his baby book.













The other guest of honor, my niece Kira, turned three. Her cake was just as impressive and I was glad that I got her a crown and wand to go with theme.










She played the part of the princess so well.


















2. A Costume party?

Noah started the madness coming into the living room wearing this, complete with the very loud roar. Although most of the kids got into it, there were two little daughters of my brother's friends that got so freaked out that they cried until the costumes went away.














Every few minutes, a different child came down wearing something else...

Kira the kitty cat


















Noah in an INFANT lion suit


















You truly can't get the full image here. Odin has a beast nose, knight armor on his arm, and a dragon tail.

















I guess the daddies were jealous and wanted to join in on the fun...

My brother with the mask inside out...


















and my adorable husband with the bunny ears.


















Who says we need to wait until Halloween to dress up and act silly?


And after an eventful Saturday, what do you do on a cold, wet Sunday when everyone is tired, grumpy and worn out?


1. Sunday Family Movie Afternoon

Although the humidity has subsided, it was still very wet and cold all day. Stuck inside again! Noah found a movie that had received from a bloggy friend awhile back that we hadn't watched yet. "Joseph Prince of Dreams". Everyone is so far behind in their sleep from the nine hours total in the car yesterday, that we enjoyed lounging around watching the movie together.

I will be interested to hear if anyone else's top five were affected by the weather this weekend as well. And my thoughts and prayers are with all of you who are returning home after Ike's destruction down south.

Photo Story Friday: A Day at the Races

Last Saturday, the boys got to participate in their very first bike race. It was part of a larger racing event in downtown Grand Rapids, Priority Health Cycling Classic.

We heard about it from Big Binder. If you live in West Michigan, I strongly suggest book marking her site.

The races were split into four heats, divided by age.

The boys were provided with free helmets, complete with fitting














even though it was very tough to fit one for Aaron, with his unusually little head (I will have to tell that story someday, I imagine)















The Safe Kids intuitive gave away 300 free helmets for the race.

The biggest draw for the event for the boys was the opportunity to ride their bikes in the street. While we were waiting, (we got there an hour early to register) the real riding event was in progress as racers were riding the loop going close to 40MPH and the kids were riding around in the street behind us (it was blocked off)














They sent the kids in four groups a minute apart. The first three groups rode the entire loop (1.9 Kilometers) and the last group (Aaron's) was trikes and training wheels and they just went 150 meters with parents walking alongside.

They sent off the first group (7-9 year olds) and then lined up Noah's group (5-7 years)


Noah is in blue in the middle. He didn't want to put his free green tee shirt on, for which I was glad because it was easier to find him in the crowd.










And then he was off...




























After the last "real" group was sent, then came the little ones. The funniest part was waiting at the finish line for them to cross. It was almost all DADS walking alongside the little ones, some of them carrying bikes while the kids were walking. But we cheered loudly as Aaron and Daddy came down the final stretch. From what I understand a camera followed Aaron for a little while filming him riding. I wonder what will come of that?














And here are our two bikers when the race was over














Noah is already asking when he can be in another bike race. Maybe he's found his niche...

Wordless Wednesday: Which Books Should We Get?

The hug was impromptu...meaning no motherly persuasion...

Hurray For Friday!!!!!

I haven't appreciated Friday for quite awhile. All of us had a week of adjustments:

Noah: First grade is a lot more work than kindergarten was. Getting up to alarm, eating breakfast fast enough to be to school on time, trying VERY HARD to be cheerful when he is half asleep in the morning, and learning ALL the rules of his new class.

Aaron: First days of preschool. Learning to stand in a line with a class, follow all directions from a teacher for three hours every day, using the bathroom completely unattended, staying out of big brother's way in the morning when he is grumpy from waking up too early.

Me: Oh, where to start...Getting up at 6:45, getting two boys fed and out the door, juggling two take home folders every day, lunches made, clothes washed, and most importantly, learning what it is like to have the house EMPTY for three full hours most of the days of the week.

Steve: Having to deal with three other people in his way in the mornings while he is getting ready for work...probably the biggest adjustment of the week.

So, needless to say, we all are looking forward to the weekend. It will not be stress free...the hand bells first performance is this Sunday. I will hopefully post the performance on my site on Monday. but it is a much needed break for everyone before the rat race starts again on Monday. I wish everyone a safe and relaxing weekend.

Thursday Thirteen: While the Boys Were Gone...

Thirteen things I got done in the three hours that I had to myself while Aaron and Noah were both at school on Wednesday. All of these things seem to be "little" things that would be simple to achieve. However, it is amazing how much more thought process things take when there are little boys fighting, I mean playing, around you.

Not in order, this morning I had time to:

1. Call Suzuki Corporation about replacement of tone chimes for church

2. Take more than five minutes to shower, dry, and curl my hair

3. Change pictures in the frames on the walls.

4. Re-sort and distribute ALL of the children's books from the living room: Aaron's room, Noah's room, garage sale

5. Run and unload the dishwasher (Steve does all the loading...I told you he was a saint)

6. Fold all clothes in the living room and put in respective rooms, followed by two more loads of laundry washed, dried and put away

7. Get bio written for church website and emailed to proper person

8. Clean out both litter boxes

9. Run sprinkler in both front and back yards

10. Find missing folder from preschool that the teacher yelled at me for when I dropped Aaron off this morning

11. Fill out paperwork for the government who had the wrong social security number for one of my payroll tax forms

12. Call the church to fix mistake of above said forms

13. Make VERY long list of everything that needs to be accomplished tomorrow during this precious three hour window of time.

I am hoping that I can get things in the house caught up, then I may be able to tackle some of the bigger projects I had hoped to accomplish this fall.

Thursday Thirteen: How To Properly Wash a Car

As a way to get the kids to stay outside for awhile, I offered to let them wash the car. This is their procedure.

1. Let's carry the buckets of soapy water to the car













2. Let's scrub in one little section of the car over and over again so it sparkles.












3. Maybe the wheels need some rinsing













4. I think my bike would be more fun...I will scrub it until it shines













5. Scrubbing is too much work...maybe I'll just dump the whole bucket on it instead













6. Look Mom, we're actually working together to fill the bucket













7. Enough brotherly love...now I got you where I want you













8. Maybe we will get yelled at less if we just dump them on ourselves

















9. Think we'll get in as much trouble if we whip the sponges at each other?












10. Oops













11. Think the hose will get it down?













12.I must get all the water off of my feet...hmm...what should I use? The hose of course.













13. Enough of that hard work for today...I think I'll just water the street instead.















Anyone want to venture a guess at how clean the car actually got?

Happy T13.

Wordless Wednesday: A Big OOPS At The Water Park

Yup...they were down all the way before I caught it

Weekend Top Five-8/23/08

What a weekend. We were originally supposed to go to Wisconsin this weekend for our annual trip to see my friend Beth and her two boys, Alex and Dylan. With gas prices what they are and a van that has questionable reliability, we figured a smaller trip would more appropriate. But I still wanted to do one more special thing with the boys before the summer was over.

So although it was difficult to pinpoint five highlights, here they are:

5. The trip itself: Not necessarily a "highlight" but definitely memorable. A normally three hour trip, extended closer to about six. Within the trip, a stop at the outlet mall in Indiana with a temp reading 92 degrees outside and not a single "bargain" to be had, Noah's first bloody nose right after Aaron finally falling asleep for a nap, who of course was no longer, thanks to Steve freaking out a little over what to do about all the blood, picking the different route to getting to the hotel and taking a side trip through the entrance to O'Hare including extra tolls of 80 cents apiece, and the final straw, getting to check in to find out that our reservation DIDN'T include the water park on site and it would be another $70. After throwing a minor temper tantrum in the lobby, I was able to finally able to get them to hand over the wristbands at no additional cost.

4. After finally getting there and eating dinner, we hit the water park in the hotel.

Even though going down the slide was fun for everyone...

Noah













Aaron

















Apparently it's more fun to see how many cousins can RAM into each other at the bottom before a lifeguard catches you and brings an end to the fun

Kira, Odin, Noah


















Noah also loved the huge tube slide




















and EVERYONE loved the lazy river










except for maybe Cousin Ronin, who had better things to do...
















3. My brother and sister in law are int the VERY beginning of the process of building a new house so another highlight of the weekend was to visit the dirt. This was the most talked about activity for the rest of the day. The land has two tiers and a big crevice splitting down the middle. After throwing rocks over the "canyon" for awhile, the fun game was to run and jump over the crevice.














2. How convenient that there is an ice cream place right near where the new house will be that NEEDED to be tested. (It passed the test)

Cousins Kira, Aaron, Noah, Cousins Odin













Look...a picture of mommy...wow















1. Time with family: My sister in law and I got some "quality" time in the hot tub in the pool after the kids were in bed with the daddies in our rooms and the kids got along so well the entire time.

Why is it that my oldest seems to enjoy being a "big brother" to other kids more than to his own little brother?"

Noah and Cousin Ronin


























And Aaron liked having the chance to act like one

Ronin and Aaron












So we were all sad when the fun had to come to an end after a brief dinner at our favorite restaurant (Noodles) but I am in great hope that this memory of the last hurrah of summer will carry into the stressful first weeks of school as we settle into routines of rushing around and figuring out a new pattern of life for awhile.

As always, I hope you will share with me your top five from the weekend.

Happy Monday.