Before my boys and I went north for Hunter's spring break, I had planned on posting a blog update that used a single word to describe each of my boys lately. Now, it's only a one word introduction because my blogs will never be that short. Ever! :)
I'll start with Hunter. His describing word is AWESOME! When I saw his report card this grading period, I actually went into a cheer. Natalie (my cheerleading coach) would be so proud! 'A-W-E...S-O-M-E! Awesome, awesome. TOTALLY!' You might remember how upsetting his last grading sheet was. He had gone down a lot in math, from an 83 to a 60. He had just started double digit multiplication, but part of his problem is his printing. He can't keep his columns straight and everything gets mushed together and he ends up computing the wrong numbers. I also felt the need to contact his teacher to ask her why we weren't warned of his falling grade. We very well may have been able to turn it around before that report card.
I wasn't really given an answer to my question, but at home I put Hunter to work with more math problems. You can imagine his reaction; sighs, grumbles, comments. But he sat down to it and this report card was the result. I had to celebrate and it did make Hunter smile, although he tried to hide it.
But on the other hand.... He's been having bathroom accidents again. Only three, but they've all happened in the past month or so. I'm not sure what's going on there. He says he's just forgetting, but we're talking about it. He's always made comments under his breath about things, but now his comments are louder and he's giving his opinion, which is good and all, but he's doing it during times when he should keep his mouth shut. For example, we were at a friends house and he told the mom, 'But you should have...'. The woman knew she should have, but she doesn't need someone else's 11 year old kid telling her that.
Someone asked me how Hunter did during the annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. I don't remember if I shared anything with you all about it. If I did, I'll be brief. Both Tim and I were very proud that Hunter chose not only the design of his car on his own, but he was out there in the garage and with his dad's help, if needed. He sanded down his car the way he wanted and prepared everything for the wheels. He drew out a color design for it and painted it. It was all him. He didn't win any awards except a ribbon for his participation, but he was OK with that. Dev was old enough this year to have his own car. While Hunter was doing his, Tim shaped out a Wii remote control out of Dev's block of wood. Devin painted it white and I used a color pencil to create the buttons. His car was a hit and he eagerly accepted races against the older scouts.
Hunter showed A LOT of patience with Bryce just today (4/25). Hunter's door is always closed during the day. He has many small toys and other things in his room that would spell trouble if Bryce were to find them. So when the door is open, it's like Bryce can tell the difference by the sound between it and the the other three doors in that hallway. Tonight B made a break for it and eagerly dove into the wooden chest Hunter uses for his toys, passed on down from my younger years
Devin's one word is Stubborn, and definitely with a capital S! He puts up a huge fuss about using the potty and absolutely refuses to do number two. If you were to tell him no to something, or heaven forbid, if you were to turn off the Wii, he can be ear shattering sometimes. He's also telling me he wants one thing for dinner, I make it, but no, he wants something else to eat. He's gone to bed hungry a few times because of this. He loves his original style Sunny D so much that he cried and cried when his dad brought home the "smooth" kind. Dev recognized the difference because the usual gallon jug we have has an orange cap and this one had a yellow. I had to send him his room to finish his fit. I finally got him to give it a taste, and ya know what? He liked it, the brat! :) He's still annoying Hunter non stop and taking things from Bryce at every turn, but then my middle child tells me he loves me, gives me a sloppy kiss and says he'll make me happy by doing a head stand.
Bryce can be described with a simple but powerful word; terror. He is the cutest little monster in bare feet. I've shared some of the things he's done with a few of you, but here they are again, and more! He poo'd and took off his dipe and scooted his dirty bum across his bedroom floor. He poo'd during nap time, took the dipe off...enough said.
We have to keep the bathroom door closed at all times now - he flushed a washcloth and we have a septic tank. Thankfully all seems well, but leads me to wonder what else he may have flushed?? He walks around with his finger in his nose more than he does without it. I have overcooked many things in the microwave because I assume the digital timer is showing the time, but actually, all four spaces are full courtesy of his small fingers and I end up burning popcorn or blowing up a hot dog because I'm adding the time needed to a screen that says something like 7052 already! But, before I can overcook anything, I have to find the missing microwave turntable.
Is there a career out there that inspects chewed up food?? Every meal Bryce will partially chew his food then take it out and place it in front of him and push it around with his finger before pulling it apart. Gross! And his latest surprise was discovering what we call creepy crawlers, a very slow brownish red bug that attempts crossing the great terrain of Mt. Laundry. Usually I vacuum them up or relocate them outside, but some have starved to death, or, as what happened just the other day, have had their legs pulled off by Bryce. Oh, that was sad. The poor bug couldn't do anything but lay there and wave its two long antennas....
It's been too long to remember what we did in the couple weeks before we headed north for Hunter's spring break, so I'll just get to that.
The 440 mile drive up to my hometown was uneventful. My boys are good travelers! A DVD player, snacks, toys and Magnadoodles help pass the time. I don't remember what time we got there, or what we did that Friday night, but I do remember my sister, Tiffany, sending me a text during the long drive north asking where I was and what time I thought I might arrive. I replied back my answer and thought her text was odd because I knew she was jealous I was going home and she wasn't.
About 20 minutes after we arrived I heard a car door slam and Tiffany appeared outside the window of my parents house. She had tricked me! She drove down from Marquette (five hours) to spend a quick Easter weekend with us! We were all very happy to see her.
On Saturday Hunter, Tiffany and my mother-in-law Linda went geocaching together. Read more about that in my The Cache Checkers blog (as of now, 4/26/09, 9:30 P.M., it hasn't been written). That night we had an early Easter dinner of a juicy pork tenderloin with a tasty strawberry rhubarb sauce. I remember the asparagus with hollindaise sauce and deviled eggs, but I can't remember what the other good fixings Kathy made were. We had the holiday dinner that night because Tiffany had to head back home Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning the Easter Bunny left a letter for Hunter, Devin and Bryce. It said there were nine eggs of a different color for each boy. Once found they would find inside some one or five dollar Bunny Bucks. Once collected, they could use them to buy things from the Easter Bunny Store. All they had to do was find it. Hunter looked right at the door with the sign Easter Bunny Store hanging from the knob, but he walked right on by! Eventually he came back and opened the door to a whole lot of good stuff for him and his brothers. The Easter Bunny out did himself, well, herself, this year. Thanks, Grandma! :)
I don't know in what order we did these things, but my parents took Hunter and Dev to Monsters vs Aliens. It was a hit with all four of them! We met my father in law for lunch during the opening day of the local dairy twist. After that he joined us at the park during one of many trips we took there (my parents live a stones throw away).
We visited my sister Amanda in Charlevoix. I can't believe how big her baby has gotten! He'll be a year old next month! She kept Dev and B for me while I took Hunter, Rayne and Randi geocaching (you know where to go) and they all had fun jumping on the girls' Easter present; a full size trampoline with safety net. She cooked me my all time fave dinner of yummy spaghetti with garlic bread! I don't get that meal at home because my hubby doesn't like it anymore (what's wrong with him??).
We also had dinner with my mother in law, who often eats alone because her hubby works nights. She made the boys their favorite dish of fish sticks and french fries while she and I had some tasty shrimp. The boys enjoyed the bubbles their grandma gave them and jumped on her bed, well, Devin did anyway!
There was a P.S. on that Easter Bunny letter. It said that their favorite fuzzy creature had given their mom some money for a new Wii game for Hunter and Devin and that they could pick them out when she took them to Traverse City. (I left out Bryce! What a bad bunny! LOL)
I remember it was our last day there when we went to the city. We went to the mall in hopes of riding the carousal, but luck wasn't with us that day. The colorful horses were shut down for maintenance. We did stop at JC Penny for Grandma. We also went to Petsmart and brought Kit along with us. Her retractable leash wasn't returning to its housing, it was out all the way and staying out. Hunter carried her inside the store while I found a leash and opened it up, then Devin enjoyed himself walking around the store with her. While sniffing dogs her size or just a bit bigger, Kit got mean. Then a Great Dane appeared around the corner and she stopped and went the other way! I also picked her up a simple bed to put in the front passenger seat of my van. That's her usual perch and now the bed will collect her hair and not the seat to pass onto the bums of my passengers! Grandma got her kitty something as well, and then we did some geocaching there.
We also dug for buried treasure! I'm going to write about that in a separate entry so I can include pictures.
We had a great time up north with family. I tried to meet up with a couple of friends, but unfortunately, that fell through. I'm told they will get together with us this summer. We did have a bit of a hiccup on the drive back down to Ohio. The DVD player that keeps me sane died. We had to find a Walmart and pick up a new one. We also came home to a house with no groceries...but that isn't anything new!
1 comment:
I am glad you had a good visit for Easter. I enjoyed reading your update.
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