Melts my heart

So dear little Lady Bug called me into her room the other night after she had been tucked into bed and she says:

"Mommy, you are MY girl!"

It melted my heart! This morning she told me I looked beautiful - again melted my heart!

I love that girl!

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Over the weekend the boys asked Lady Bug if she wanted to play race cars with them (this is a game where they take match box cars and race along the floor, crashing into things and each other - it is great boy fun!) and Lady Bug's response was:

"YES! But mom painted my toe nails

and I need to wait until they dry."

It made me laugh because here she is talking all girly-girl about her pedicure and in the same breath wanting to play a smash 'em up game with her brothers!

Weekend in Review

On Wednesday of last week my weekend was already packed from 6:00 AM Saturday (yes, AM as in before the sun gets up!) until sundown on Sunday night. We were going to help my SIL have a garage sale so we were going to set up at 6:00 AM Saturday morning. Then we were going to a friend of ours for a BBQ and family movie night. Then Sunday morning I was scheduled to work in the nursery at church and after church was supposed to go help a friend of mine move into her new house. Sunday night a group of us were going to go dinner as a celebration of my friend moving into her new house.

FIRST, the blizzard hit us on Thursday so my 6:00 AM commitment for Saturday was cancelled since my SIL didn't think people would want to traipse through the snow for a garage sale! Then, Friday morning we got a call from our friend that her father had been rushed by ambulance to the hospital and was in ICU so she was cancelling the Saturday night movie night. Also on Friday morning, I got an email from a church friend who wanted to volunteer in the nursery because her daughter would be in town visiting and would want to put the baby in the nursery.

Sooooo, what we ended up doing:

Saturday - got up but was lazy and didn't shower until 10:30 am (totally unheard of for me) and then cleaned house. Went to the grocery store. The we all went shoe shopping (both Lefty and Lady Bug are in need of shoes). Stopped off at the library and picked up some movies. Had dinner and then watched movies before bed.

Sunday - Church. Home for lunch. Headed to my SIL's to drop off the kids (she babysat while we helped my friend move). Helped my friend unload her moving truck. Headed back to SIL's for dinner (the dinner out got cancelled due to everyone being to dirty and tired!). Watched home videos and then headed home about 8:00 pm.

Fairly uneventful but fun nonetheless!!!

Snow = S'mores

Yesterday we had a blizzard and the schools were closed. When they closed the schools, however, there was hardly any snow on the ground yet, but the wind was blowing. So after breakfast I loaded up all the kids and we went to the store (where everyone else was too!). They were predicting quite a bit of snow and I thought I should load up on some food just in case.

I bought stuff to make Indoor S'mores which are basically a Honey Graham Cereal Bar. But they are so easy and so yummy. If you've never made them before, here is the recipe and I highly recommend them! I got the recipe off the side of the Honey Graham cereal box years and years ago.

Indoor S'mores
INGREDIENTS:
8 c (13-oz. box) graham cracker cereal
6 c (10.5-oz. bag) miniature marshmallows, divided (5 c to melt and 1 c to mix in later)
1 1/2 c (9 oz.) milk chocolate chips
5 Tbls butter or margarine
1/4 c light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. Pour cereal into large bowl. Meanwhile, heat 5 cups marshmallows, chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.

Pour marshmallow mixture over cereal in bowl; stir until well coated. Stir in remaining 1 cup of the marshmallows. Press mixture into prepared pan. Let cool until firm. Cut into bars.

MICROWAVE METHOD:Microwave 5 cups marshmallows, chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup in large, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 2 to 3 1/2 minutes, stirring every minute, until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Proceed as above.

WFMW - Shopping with older kids

I try to NOT have to grocery shop with my boys (8 and 6 years old) because they fight (with me, with each other and with their little sister), they want stuff and beg and whine until I end up irritated at them! (Yes, I have been known to go to the grocery store at 8:30 at night after everyone is in bed to avoid the trip WITH children!!)

Recently though, I have had to take them with me for one reason or another and I found that if I give one of my boys the grocery list to read and the other one a calculator to add up our items, then they are both too busy to beg for junk. Well, ok they manage to sneak in one or two items to beg for, but it sure has been minimized!

ONE problem however, is that once in awhile the "clear" button gets pushed on the calculator and we lose all data! I am trying to stick to our exact grocery budget and not go over so this "data" is critical!! NEVER FEAR THOUGH! I found a solution for this too. Once we add in an item, the child doing the calculating tells me where we stand and I jot it on a piece of paper or I ask the grocery list holder to write it on the bottom of the list. I just scratch out the numbers as we get new numbers in.

This is what works for me! Head over to We Are THAT Family for more helpful tips and ideas.

Book giveaway

My dear friend over at Rainy Day in May is hosting a giveaway for a very cute book called The Perfect Baby Handbook. This book sounds like a great book to use in your baby gift package for a new mom!

Go check out her post about the book. Misty does book and movie reviews - and she is an overall awesome person (go read this post for more on Misty and her absolutely fabulous family {we love them!})

Easy Spring Banner

I made this quick and easy Spring banner. I think it came out cute. I took an empty cereal box and cut an egg shape out of it. It is about 9" high. I used this as my template. I then cute out egg shapes from spring colored card stock. I added some spring stickers to the tops of each egg and I cut letters from card stock and added those to the bottom of the eggs. I punched a hole in the tops of the eggs and strung some ribbon through the holes. The whole thing - start to finish - took me about an hour.

I love it and it was so easy to put together. I can probably re-use it next year, but if not it was so easy to make I can make a new one next year.

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The Polka Dot Daisy gave me an award -- yay! I love awards-it makes me feel so honored!!

So now I need to tag someone. Hmmmmmm, welllllllll here it goes:

The Fam Five

Rainy Day in May

Faith and Gasoline

Lions, Tigers and Boys, OH MY!

And here we are back at Monday...

We started moving the boys to their own rooms this weekend. (Click here to read more about that decision). My SIL is moving to a different state and had a day bed she wanted to get rid of. I told her I wanted it, but she evidently forgot and so she sold the bed to her friend. I mentioned to her on Friday night to let me know when she needed me to come get the bed and she got a very panicked look on her face and told me she had sold it. I said no big deal (although deep down I was kinda mad) and she just kept apologizing - I kept telling her not to worry about it. When we got back home I accidentally left my cell phone in my coat pocket, downstairs and on vibrate....she sent me 6 text messages - some apologizing about the bed thing and some asking me to call her. When I didn't respond I think she thought I was too mad to talk to her, which wasn't the case at all.

Saturday morning at 8:30, while I was in the shower, she called my husband (her brother) and started apologizing to him and he was telling her not to worry and she said "Well, here is the thing. My friend really only wants the trundle from under the day bed and not the actual bed part. She was only going to take the whole thing to get it out of my way. She is fine with you taking the bed and she will take the trundle part."

So Saturday afternoon we picked up the day bed. My original plan was to move the boys' bunk bed down to what is currently the playroom. This would become Spirit's room. I would move Lady Bug's bed into the boys' room for Lefty and Lady Bug would get the daybed. Well, the bunk bed didn't fit in the room like I wanted (thankfully Mr. Man measured this before we hauled it down there!) so we ended up spray painting the day bed black and putting it in the playroom for Spirit. Lady Bug and Lefty kept their beds. Lefty moved to the bottom bunk (which hopefully will help with bedwetting so he can get in and out of bed easier?!). I am not completely done moving Spirit to the new room and we still need to decorate some in both boys' rooms but we got a good start on it this weekend.

I will post pictures when it is all completed!

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One of my other SIL's called me last week to see if I wanted to go to Disney on Ice last Friday with Lady Bug. She had bought two tickets for someone else but they couldn't go so she gave them to us. It was so much fun - late night for us, but a whole bunch of fun!

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We all over slept this morning and so we rushed around like mad fools having only 25 minutes to get the boys fed and dressed and lunches made! yikes! We made it though!

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I need more coffee..... I'll be back later to read up on all your blogs after I get caffeinated! ;-)

Frittata

My niece made this last year for a family brunch for my mom's birthday. It was so good and Mr. Man asks me for it all the time! I asked her for her recipe and I got "I make it up as I go along!" Oh well that's just great! So I started playing around with it and I came up with this.

Frittata
INGREDIENTS:
2 c chopped zucchini
1/4 c chopped green bell pepper
1/4 c diced onion
1 Tbls olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
8 eggs (this is a good number for my family of 5, but you could increase or decrease as needed)
1/2 c shredded pepper jack cheese (or any kind will work really)
3/4 c Evaporated milk
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (trust me, you will regret it if you don't!)
Heat oil in a skillet. Add veggies and garlic, saute until soft, stirring often (about 5 minutes).
Beat eggs and evaporated milk in a bowl. Gradually stir in zucchini mixture one spoonful at a time so that the vegetables will not cook the eggs. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until frittata is cooked through. Season with salt and ground black pepper, if desired. Slice and serve. We like to top ours with salsa and junk too!

Costa Rica

A friend of ours is getting married in Costa Rica this September....

I am busy working on seeing if our family would be able to swing the trip. My friend would love for us to be able to come and I would love to go ... if for no other reason to say I've been to Costa Rica!

Keep your fingers (and toes, and eyes and elbows and whatever else) crossed that we can afford it.

Airfare for five people is gonna be costly I am afraid! Then ya got your hotel and food and a fun-money! I'll keep ya posted!

Another post of mish-mash

My thoughts are so scattered today and I warn you now that this post might do the same thing!
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Last night I attempted my first corned beef brisket... and guess what? My husband said it was AMAZING (Thanks Lori for the recipe!) His exact words were "I can't remember the last time I had corned beef, but this stuff is amazing!" We had ZERO left overs. The kids snarfed it up too!
I actually cooked mine in the crock-pot on low all day (9 hrs) with the seasoning packet. Then I got home and put the meat into a casserole dish. I poured the water from the crock-pot into a pot and brought it to a boil. I added potatoes and cabbage and onion to the water and cooked those. Meanwhile, I mixed up the mustard and brown sugar like Lori told me to and slathered it on the meat and baked it at 375 for about 30 minutes. It was to-die-for-yumilicous!
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Thanks for all your helpful tips and advice about the teasing. We talked to Spirit and really tried to get him to understand that his brother will always be around no matter what friends may come and go so he needs to treat him right. I am sure this will be an on-going effort, but at least we are off to a start.
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Lady Bug's preschool class gets divided up into groups for a rotation of activities throughout the day, but the group they are in do not change ... meaning everyday she is with the same group of kids. There was one little boy in her group who keep pulling her hair, hitting her, kicking her, etc. So I talked with the teacher this morning and she told me that she would move Lady Bug to a different group. Lady Bug looked so relieved when the teacher told her she would be in a different group from now on!
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Lefty is supposed to go on a field trip tomorrow. I sent in the money and the permission slip last Wednesday. Yesterday he brought home a note and another permission slip that he still needed to pay. I am asking him what happened. He doesn't really answer. I ask if he turned it in last week. He still doesn't really answer - it was sort of a mumble of something or other. I sat down with him and asked him what happened. He just stared at me. I asked again if he turned it in and he said "ummm, maybe I did." So I told him I was going to go in and talk with the teacher this morning and tell her that we already paid.............. his response? "Oh. I wish you wouldn't." So I asked again if he turned it in and he said he thinks it fell out of his backpack because he forgot to zip up the backpack (a recurring problem!) So my initial reaction was to tell him he couldn't go then. But then I decided that he could go, I would pay again but I told him if this sort of thing happens again he will either not be able to go or he will have to pay for it out of his own money. {AND let this be a lesson to the mommy that you shouldn't send cash!}
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I caught Lady Bug this morning dressing up our poor dog in her dolls clothing! Poor dog. No wonder she tried running away this weekend!

A Sour homecoming

Lefty (6 yo) still has problems pee'ing the bed at night. I tend to be protective of him because it bothers him so much. I try not to make a big deal when he does wet the bed, but if his brother or any of the neighborhood kids make one comment about him wetting the bed I stand up in his defense.

Last night I had to work a little late, but when I got home I wasn't welcomed with the usual hoots and hollers "Momma's home!!" Lefty was in his room sad. Spirit was at the table doing homework and trying to postpone the lecture his dad wanted to give him and Lady Bug was having a tea party in her room by herself.

I asked Mr. Man what was going on and he proceeded to tell me that one boy from across the street had been over to play and he stayed for dinner - which was all fine until the little boy and Spirit decided to make fun of Lefty for pee'ing the bed. I guess they said things like "Your room really stinks - it smells like pee!" and "I don't want to touch your toys 'cause they probably have pee on them!" and "I can't believe your in 1st grade and still pee your bed!"

It broke my heart. Lefty was so sad when I went up to see him. His little feelings were really hurt! I can't even describe the look he had on his face. He was crushed. It also hurt me that Spirit was saying such horrible things! Where was THAT coming from?

Mr. Man and I had a long -- really long -- talk with Spirit about it. I am almost more devastated that he said those things than I am about Lefty's feelings getting hurt! Those are such mean-spirited things to say to your own brother!

My boys are the youngest of all the boys on our street, but they are all close to the same ages -- it goes 12, 10, 9, 8 and 6. (My boys are 8 and 6) So the neighborhood boys are all older than them and I understand there is a need for them to feel accepted by the "older" kids, but at the same time I want them to understand there is no greater bond than a sibling and they need to be there for each other and not let anyone tear the other one down.

Am I being irrational? Should I just, once again, accept that "Boys will be boys"???

I lost weight

Yes. I did. Not by trying. But the dog got out F.O.U.R. times this weekend and I was literally running through the neighborhood trying to catch her! She is fast - she reminds me of a jack rabbit! Her little legs booking as fast as she can go - looking back over her shoulder at me the whole time too! At one point I lost track of her and had to go home to get my car. In the meantime someone found her and called me! So I drove over and picked her up - we were home 10 minutes and boom! she was gone again! I was so frustrated with that dog - but hey, the good news is I dropped a pound and sleep like a baby that night!
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In other news... Saturday night my in-laws called to see if they could stop by. "Sure!", I said. My MIL told me she was cleaning up her dinner dishes and would be by shortly. Well, a lot of time passed and I had to start my dinner. About 10 minutes before my dinner would be done, here they come! No big deal. Mr. Man insisted they sit with us. Then he set plates for them. She insisted they weren't hungry but ended up eating a little bit with us anyway which was fun. It was such a nice evening and I had planned a somewhat fancy meal so it was as though I had planned the whole thing!
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The kids decided to set up a table outside and they were selling their match box cars. A kid who lives up the street came over (unbeknownst to me) and "bought" some cars. He paid them with a McDonalds gift card. I know this kid and he isn't a very good kid so as soon as I found out about the card I called the number listed on the back to see if the card really had anything on it. Sure enough it didn't. So I called this kid back over and had a little discussion about it. I told him he needed to bring the cars back. He tried lying to me saying that he thought it had $100 on it. I asked him who told him that and he said his aunt told him that. I said that no one would buy $100 gift card for McD's and that I called the number and there isn't anything on the card. I also pointed out that IF indeed that were true, then he just paid $100 for a car that costs $0.97 at Walmart! He said he was sorry and went home to get the cars. He never came back. I was HOT - I marched over to his house and asked for the cars back. He was home alone (which happens a lot) with his sister who is 12. She told him he better bring me the cars or else she would tell on him. He brought me the cars and followed me back to my house - SO HE COULD PLAY on all of our toys. I let him play but I watched him like a hawk because he tends to be very rough with our toys. I feel bad for the kid but at the same time don't want his bad influence affecting my kids. I don't want to mean and I know kids will be kids but URG I hate dealing with it!

Our St. Patrick's Day menu

For some St. Patrick's day fun here are a few of things I am planning:

BREAKFAST:
Green juice (if I can find some) or milk with green food coloring in it
Lucky Charm cereal (seems fitting doesn't it? And Heck I am sending them off to school what do I care if they load up on sugar! LOL)
I also bought each of them a green t-shirt to wear to school that they don't know about yet so I will give it to them at breakfast.

LUNCH:
Green grapes
Green apple
Celery
Green bell pepper and snow peas (with ranch for dipping)
Green fruit roll up
Then I am going to use a shamrock cookie cutter to cut their sandwich.

DINNER:
I have never made corned beef brisket, but my sister tells me it is easy so I am going to give that a shot with some potatoes. Nothing too fancy there. I am just hoping I don't mess up the beef and we end having to eat pizza or something! LOL Maybe we'll have more green juice or green milk with dinner too.
(For my brisket I am going to buy a corned beef brisket with the prepackaged spices and place mine in a slow cooker with potatoes and some carrots and cook on low just like I do my regular roast. Anybody have any better ideas for me?)

What are some things you do for special St. Patrick's Day fun?

A little bit of this and that today

Lady Bug found a real live ladybug when we took a walk the other night. She carefully carried it all the way home. We have a bug jar (the boys are always collecting critters) so she placed the ladybug carefully into the jar. This morning when she woke up she said to me:

Lady Bug: "Mom. My baby needs help getting up."

Me: "What baby?"

Lady Bug: "My ladybug baby. She is on her back just laying there. She can't get up. Last night she was crawling all around in there but now she is stuck."

Me: {Trying to figure out how to explain to her that the poor little ladybug is no longer with us.} "Well, honey -- maybe it is time to let the ladybug go free. Back outside where she wants to be."

I was just sure she was going to freak out on me. She didn't. She took the jar. Took the lid off and poured the poor ladybug on the grass out back. That was it. No more discussions about it all.

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I am very weepy these days and don't know what is wrong with me. I cried watching The Biggest Loser the other night. Ok. So what is up with THAT?? The Biggest Loser? Sheesh.

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I am just now starting to get used to the time change. ICK. I hate the time changes. It makes me grumpy (and apparently weepy!) and it certainly makes my kids act up!

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Lady Bug came to me this morning looking like this and told me she is pretending to be a pickle. Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but I took the picture on my cell phone.

WFMW - Reading Bingo

I am very fortunate to have kids who love to read books. Both boys are reading above their level and although Lady Bug can't read yet, she loves to be read to. We often will all sit down and each read our own books. The boys are sometimes allowed 20 minutes or so after bedtime to lay in bed to read so they don't really need any encouragement in this area - thankfully!


My neighbor friend, who has two boys ages 12 and 9, was telling me that she has a terrible time getting her boys to read. So for fun I decided to have a Reading Bingo game amongst my two boys, the two boys across the street and one boy next door.


I made up my own BINGO card and in each box named a genre (Adventure, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Fiction about an animal, etc.) The Bingo card has 4 boxes across and 4 boxes down. The instructions are typed in at the top and they must complete the book, fill in the title and author and then give a parent a quick "report" of what the book was about. Then the parent must initial the box that the book was completed. When the children have all boxes filled in they can bring it to me for a reward. Every kid will get a reward when the whole paper is completed. (I told the boys when I handed out the cards that if I thought they weren't really reading I would make them write a book report too!)


I haven't yet decided on a reward. I was thinking maybe a $5 gift card to Target or something or maybe a gift card to Dairy Queen. I don't know yet. Originally, when I was going to do this with just my kids, I thought the reward would be a "date night" with just me. But I don't want "date night" with my neighbor boys! I have time to figure it out though!

Head on over to We Are THAT Family for more great tips and helpful hints!

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For the winner of yesterday's giveaway click here

YAY! The Giveaway is finally here - Girly-girl Fun gift pack

THE WINNER OF THE GIVEAWAY (chosen by random number generator) IS MEG OF FaithandGasoline

I am participating in a carnival over at The Secret Is In The Sauce (better known as SITS). They are giving things away every hour on their blog, BUT they have also asked us to give something away too!


SO, I am giving away a fun pack for girls which will include:


~ a 4-pack of some cute pens
~ some mini Robin Egg candy
~ Rose bud Pink lip gloss
~ Peppermint Patty Pink nail color
~ Ms. Pedicure 7-piece pedicure set
~ a small pink spiral notebook
~ 2 books by the Love Inspired Series -* Four Little Blessings and * A Match Made in Dry Creek



All you have to do enter to WIN this wonderful gift pack is to leave a me a comment. Anything will do. Comments will be open until midnight (MST) tonight. Then I will use a random number generator to pick a winner tomorrow! Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you if you should win. {You do NOT have to have a blog to enter just leave your email address so I can contact you should you win}

What's your sign?

I was reading a book to the kids the other day and it mentioned astrological signs and I said:

"My sign is Cancer."

3 minutes go by and Spirit, evidently not fully listening, jumps up from his seat and looks me in the eye and says:

"YOU HAVE SINUS CANCER?!?"

Me: "No. I do not have sinus Cancer. I have an astrological sign, just like you do, and mine is Cancer. Your sign is Capricorn."

Spirit: "oh. Phew."


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REMEMBER TO CHECK IN HERE TOMORROW FOR A FUN GIVEAWAY!

REMINDER!!!

DON'T FORGET to check back in with me on Tuesday -- there is a giveaway a happenin' here!

Raspberry Cream Tarts and a giveaway

These little tarts are cute and fun and a great Spring time dessert. Using tortillas to make these cute, crispy little tarts and then fill them with a yummy cream cheese mixture. The recipe calls to top them with raspberries, but I have also used strawberries for an equally delicious tart!

I just had a thought that would make Pampered Chef proud - I wonder if you could use crescent rolls instead of the tortillas? Hmm, I may have to try that next time!

I know many people are still suffering through cold and snow and I am sorry for that, but where I am we have had great weather lately and I have even started some yard work which got me thinking about these wonderful little treats! {I just got word that we may get some snow tomorrow!}

Raspberry Cream Tarts (makes about 16)
INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 flour tortillas (8 inches)
Warm water
1 package (8 oz) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons fat-free milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup fresh raspberries

In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside. Cut tortillas with a 3 and a 1/2 inch biscuit cutter; discard tortillas scraps. Brush both sides of tortilla rounds with warm water the spray tops with cooking spray; sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Press into ungreased muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pans on wire racks.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, milk and almond extract; mix well. Spoon into tortilla shells; top with raspberries. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

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THE GIVEAWAY
Be sure to come back here on Tuesday for a really fun giveaway! I am so excited! I can hardly stand to wait...

It is going to be a fun giveaway so be sure to come check it out!

Hiking

Mr. Man took the boys hiking a few days ago when they were out of school (one of the many "Teacher Work Days" that they close school for). They went hiking up the mountains to where we scattered our baby's ashes. There is a name marker on a rock there and we leave flowers and the boys like to take toys to leave too. The place is a cemetery in the mountains and is very peaceful (seems weird to have a cemetery in the mountains, but it really a cool place!) You are above the city and can look down at it all.

Anyway, they hiked up the mountain (yes, you can drive it and we usually do drive it, but they thought it would be fun to hike up) and when they got to the top and got to our baby's stone someone had placed a picnic table there. It usually isn't there. So they took their picnic lunch out of the backpack and ate. Mr. Man told me that Spirit (8 yo) insisted the baby wanted Cheetos. So Spirit carefully placed a handful of Cheetos on the stone. They also picked some of their favorite Hot Wheels cars and left some for the baby too.

Here are some pictures they took on the day of the hike.

Why do they grow up so fast?

I was watching Lady Bug last night, they way she talked, the way she moved, the way she was playing and the way she was coloring - she went from being a "little girl" a few weeks ago to being a "big girl" now. Before her 4th birthday she was still "little" and now she is more mature. Her sentences are structured better, she speaks more "grown-up" and she even grew taller I noticed.

I want my baby back. I want her to be a baby for just a little while longer. I love to watch her grow and learn but at the same time I want her to be "little" again -- just for a little bit.

I look at Spirit and Lefty and remember when they were tiny babies too, and now they are in school and we have teacher conferences and bullying issues they are facing and they don't want to snuggle up with me at night anymore. Spirit hasn't kissed me since he was four years old (I still smooch on him though!) which means Lady Bug, being four now, may stop the snuggling and stuff too. I don't want that. I want my babies -- all 3 of them should be little forever!

The longest bike ride... E.V.E.R

The weather here has been so beautiful so Spirit and Mr. Man took off on a bike ride the Saturday evening and were gone quite awhile. Pretty soon Spirit comes in, looks at me cooking dinner and says:

"Mom. You should thank the Lord I'm not dead."

Me: *kinda chuckling* "Really. Ok. What happened?"

Spirit: "Dad took me on the longest bike ride ever. I think we rode about 5 miles."

Pretty soon here comes Mr. Man saying they did ride about 5 or 6 miles and he was sure both of them would be hurting in the morning! I just thought it was hilarious the way Spirit approached me on it!

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On another note:

Spirit called me at work yesterday

"Mom, how is your day going? Has it been fun at work today? What did you have for lunch and what time did you eat?"

I thought it was cute, but it made me wonder if he was guilty of something and why was he asking me these questions??

I never found out if he was guilty of something, I think he was just wanting a conversation with me and when you are 8 that is the best ya got - you throw out all the questions at once and don't really wait for the answers!

Conferences

On Friday we had Parent-Teacher Conferences for the boys.

First, we met with Lefty's (first grade) teacher. She said he is an excellent role model and when the other children are acting up, he is always doing what he is told and doesn't succumb to the bad behavior. That was good to hear. She said he is doing 2nd grade spelling and reading at a 4th-5th grade level. She said he tends to rush to get his stuff done and she has to make him double check his work and often he finds mistakes because he rushed and didn't follow all of the instructions. She told us during the testing they just did on each of the children he was above level on all areas so she is happy with his results (well, dah!!!)

Then, we met with Spirit's (second grade)teacher. She said he is doing well. He went through a bad phase of lying and not listening in class, but that has improved. He, like his brother, is reading at a 4th-5th grade level. She said for spelling they have a basic list and a "challenge" list, he consistently does the challenge words each week and has no problems with them. She has started giving him bonus words to work on and he is doing well with those too. She said he doesn't like to sit when it is time to work. She allows him to stand as long as he stands at his desk and doesn't leave his desk area. She told us she is not concerned about him at all because they just did some testing on all the kids and he tested way above where they expect them to be at the END of the year, she said she is going to continue to challenge him making sure he continues to rise on the curve that he is on.


THEN we got home and Lefty pulled out a school book he is reading and starts saying to Spirit in that sort of nah-nah-nah-nah-nah tone of voice "Look at this...I'm reading at the same level you are!" Spirit freaked out and hit his fist on the table saying "NO! That is MY reading level. You can't be reading that yet." So we are hoping that this won't discourage Spirit and he'll give up. Both boys LOVE to read and I would hate to see Spirit get frustrated that his little brother is reading at the same level he is and just stay at the same pace he is on. I am sort of hoping that he will just continue to read and improve. He is already reading at a higher level so it isn't like I expect him to be at college level by the end of the year or anything but I would hate to see him go stagnant.

I am so proud of them both!