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Tuesday, April 29, 2008

My baby is 9

Yesterday was the official turning 9 day. Happy Gave Birthday to me.

I always have a hard time on the kids birthdays. I just hate the fact that I can not stop time and they inevitably grow up right before my very eyes. Each year goes faster and faster. Time slips away incredibly fast. So last night to reflect on days past and babyhood lost, I watched 3 hours of video from when they were wee little ones.

I think this poem written by a friend of mine describes it best:

Sand Eaters


By Sasha Fletcher

Days start sooner and sooner
the spinning earth moves too fast;
Night shadows earlier than ever before!

Hour glass drippings
turn to minutes then seconds
as sand eaters devour the time.

Little gold diggers
grab and steal treasures
gulping and chewing
numbers painted in squares on the wall.

Eating the little grains of sand
--My Time!
the sand eaters never get full.


My children on the other hand love the fact that they are getting older. As they get older they become more independent, more bossy, more smelly, smarter, bigger (they stand up to my shoulders now), and did I mention more smelly?

The birthday boy received presents from other people through out the day. To them let me just say thank you. Thank you for the remote control car of which I ended up sitting on the remote and breaking one of the knobs off of because the kids left it in a great spot for me to sit on and now the stupid car will only drive backwards. Also, thank you for the water tube gun that he filled up in the bathroom sink. I walked by just in time to prevent the "this will shoot the ceiling with water" demonstration. He looked at me with the "rats foiled again by the mean mom" look, emptied out the water tube, and decided to use it for a cane, and hobble around like Yoda the rest of the night.

He has by the way changed his name from Charlotte the spider on Charlotte's Web, to Chewy from Star Wars. Then when you ask him where he is from, he will reply "Italy". He had to do a research project for school and well, he's learned a lot about Italy. Apparently enough to pretend that he lives there.

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Birthday Extgravaganza

My littlest caveman turns nine on Monday. So this weekend we celebrated the last of the single digit years.

We went to a hotel with a pool per the birthday boys request. I survived a whole 36 hours without my laptop! I spent all morning getting everyone ready. Then did some last minute birthday shopping (which was good, cuz he liked those gifts the best).

In the afternoon we checked into the hotel. We went swimming right away. We spent about 2 hours in the pool and today my arms are a bit sore. It was nice because we were the only ones in the pool the whole time. Which was perfect for the 4 of us. We brought our noodles, dive rings, and some cloth floaty round type toys. So we were throwing those back & forth across the pool to each other. Kevin was pretending we were battleships and trying to sink us. We forgot to bring the goggles, so the kids were spazzing about that. Luckily the hotel had an extra pair, but they were diving goggles, so they cover the nose. So they took turns wearing them for a while.

After swimming we changed. I took a shower cuz I went into the hot tub and apparently there must have been too much chlorine cuz when my skin dried it turned white and was very itchy. But that didn't happen to anyone else. Not to mention my hair was really sticky. So after my shower, Kevin & I ran to get McDonalds for the kids. The boys had McDonalds and then we did the cake & presents. Sam really liked his loot. I was very disappointed on how the cake turned out. I made it from scratch and it was dairy free. It was a bit dry. Not moist like my other cakes I have made. I think next time I make it I will modify the recipe.

After all that we went and played $10 worth of quarters in the video games at the hotel. Then the kids settled in for bed. The hubby and I went to Green Mill right next door to the hotel. All we had to do was walk across the parking lot. Sweet. So we took our cell phone and left a cell phone with Kevin. Sam fell asleep right away & Kevin called us every 2 minutes. So DH & I tried to enjoy an hour together. We had buffalo wings, and dinner & a couple of beers. We got back & Kevin fell asleep right after we tucked him back into bed.

Then this morning, we went out to breakfast at Denny's. We all had HUGE breakfasts. I'm still not hungry. Then we took Sam to swim lessons, came home after that & took naps.

So it's been a busy weekend for us.

Here is a pic of the happy birthday boy.
Photobucket

Friday, April 25, 2008

TGIF!

Thank Goodness it's Friday! It is cold and rainy all day. And nothing says it's springtime than 41 degree weather and the smell of dead worms on pavement! BLECH! We need the rain for all the lovely trees to bud and every thing will pollinate and drive my poor nose nuts.

Tonight the cavelings and I ran some errands. First we stopped at the bank to deposit some money. Yay, money going in the bank and not out!

Next we stopped at Quizno's to use the bathrooms. Apparently the boys didn't have to go potty before we left the house even though I mentioned at least three times before leaving the house that they should go because we had several stops to make. Their reply "We didn't have to go then!" Oh, of course you didn't.

Then we made a quick stop at Clair's since it was just next door to Quizno's so Mom could buy some new hair sticks. I need some black ones to wear when I wear a black outfit. All I have is brown sticks. So I bought a longer pair of brown and black hair sticks. I just love hair sticks. So simple and easy and no pony tail head ache. The boys of course did not really want to go into the girl store, but they humored me and I hurried up and made my choices and paid. Their patience was pretty thin there.

The next stop was the pet store to look at the cats, fish, lizards, and snakes. So we met some new cats that are up for adoption that the little caveman memorized their names and where they came from. We ran into the neighbor girls who babysit some times and they had their new little absolutely adorable puppy with. Oh man he is so cute. He's a miniature husky, so dang cute. Makes you want to just run out and get one. We also ran into Klaus the super sweet and lovable Great Dane. He is such a handsome dog too. I'd like to bring Klaus home too, but no way would I want to clean up Klaus' poop in my yard. And Klaus would be fun cuz he could drag the kids around like he was a horse. Sam was petting him and Klaus (eye to eye with Sam) gave Sam a big sloppy kiss. So we were done at the pet store.

Our next stop was the grocery store. We had to purchase our items to bake Sam's birthday cake for tomorrow. I am making a dairy free, round, double layer cake with white frosting and Oreo cookies. YUMMY!! Sam wanted purple and pink frosting (his favorite colors) but I said no. Dad would have a cow if we did that. Although he is the birthday boy he should get whatever kind of cake he wants. But I just couldn't bring myself to make a purple and pink Oreo cookie cake.

We got home, unloaded the groceries. I made the kids their dinner, then got to baking the cake. The cake is out of the oven now and I am just waiting for it to cool before I can decorate it. I bought an extra can of frosting because I know how much Sam loves frosting. I think I'll dye the left over frosting pink and let Sam just eat the frosting that way.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Man vs. Beast

Last night I was getting ready to go to bed. The oldest caveman son had the remote control. At 10:00 pm, (yes he should have been sleeping for at least an hour by then, but you tell a 10 year he needs his sleep at night and let me know how that turns out for you), but he was wide awake. A show called Man vs. Beast came on. The hubby was giving his little darlings a hug goodnight and we all (except the baby caveman he was the only smart one) ended up watching this show. So here is what I learned last night on educational tv...

An Alaskan bear can eat 50 hot dogs in 2 minutes and 36 seconds beating Kobiashi (the record holding hot dog eating champion of the world, that only a caveman would know who he is because I certainly had no clue).

An orangutan can win a tug of war match over a Sumu wrestler. And a Sumu wrestler can do a mighty nice looking belly flop in the mud.

An Olympic record holding track runner can out run a giraffe, but not a zebra. Not only will the zebra beat him once, but twice.

A Navy Seal is better at an obstacle course than a chimpanzee.

An elephant can beat 44 "little people" at pulling a DC 17 50 feet.

Yes, I needed to lose one hour worth of beauty rest to know these things. My life is almost complete now that I know these things. I have this trivial knowledge that I will probably never forget, so that when I'm eating breakfast in the nursing home I can revert back to it and really let the staff know I've lost my marbles. And I I might even get into an argument with the man across from me for thinking it's crazy that Kobiashi didn't beat that bear.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

My Monday

Yesterday I took the day off from work. I stayed home and slept and tried to get rid of the miserable headache I had. Spring is here, I spent a lot of time outdoors on Sunday, so Monday my allergies kicked my butt. Oh the joy of seasonal allergies.

Monday afternoon the little cavemen had dental cleaning appointments. They were both the dental hygienist's dream. Or is it nightmare? She definitely earns her money on those 2 boys. You know how well a 10 year old and an 8 year old cave child brush their teeth. I nag and I nag and I nag, but they don't listen. So maybe the dentist telling them again how important it is will finally sink in this time? I sure hope so. I try to get in their mouths with a toothbrush when I can, but they usually give me the usual, "I can do this on my own, geez Mom" attitude. With all that, we only have 1 cavity between the 2 boys and have sealants to put on both their molars. So a good visit indeed.

After the dental visit we went to visit all the pets at the pet store. Oh, how they would love to bring every animal home with them. The littlest caveman even goes as far as talking to all the animals, memorizing their names, and what they look like. It is usually hard to get them to leave the pet store. But I did manage about an hour later to finally leave empty handed I might add too. Although, we did leave with about 10 pamphlets on which kind of lizard we should get for a birthday someday.

After the pet store I took both my kids to the grocery store. Something that happens, well never! That was just affirmation as why I leave them at home while I grocery shop.

The oldest caveman had to taste test the deli meat to make sure I was making the right decision on which type of deli meat to bring home even though I buy the same stuff all the time.

Also, I had to buy at least 3 kinds of fruit that they tell me they like, but each time I have bought it in the past they tell me "we only like it at school". So they convince they will like it at home this time. Now I have a whole pineapple sitting on my kitchen counter and I have never cut one in my life. I tried to get the kind in the can, but was told that the real pineapple is much better, they will eat it for certain. Ok, how can I argue with that? Fresh is always better than canned.

I also had to put the kabosh on all the snack food in my cart back onto the shelf. Amazing how fast stuff ends up in your cart. I also had to put things back into my cart that I originally intended to buy.

It never fails, one if not both of the cavelings has to go to the bathroom every time we go to the grocery store. I'm not sure what the effect of a grocery store has on the little one's bladders, but it is almost like the moon effects the tide. And it normally hits when we are no where near the bathroom and have to dash like crazy to get there.

It is amazing I walked out of there with my head on straight. They both shriek for me to "look at this mom!", "we need this mom", "why can't we get this mom?".

We get to check out and I'm not sure how I managed to spend a bit over $100, I only had just a few (Ok, a whole cart full of crap we only really need about half of) things. I ask the zit faced bag boy for paper bags and he gives me all plastic. Dork. I despise plastic bags. Unless they are being used as the trash bag in my van.

And I had a headache when I got home. ARG!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Finally Spring!

I realize the official first day of spring was a month ago. But today was really our first day of spring. I turned the heat off in the house for the first time since September 2007. The sun was shining and people were out and about like we'd never seen the sun before. There were no street sweepers to be found, but it was a Sunday. Maybe they will be out tomorrow. Street sweepers are a sign of true spring.

My oldest caveman couldn't get enough of being outdoors. He played with the neighborhood kids all day long. Riding his bike, playing baseball, and enjoying the day.

The littlest caveman went in and out trying to decide which was better. Playing inside with out his big brother bothering him or going outside.

I spent some time outdoors too. It felt good to just be outside in the sunshine. I grilled out steaks for dinner. I wasn't the only with that idea. Around dinner time when stepping outside steaks on the grill was all you smell.

The ice-cream truck came by today and that is a good sign that not only is it spring, but summer is right around the corner. The kids screamed "ICE-CREAM MAN!!" with much excitement when they heard that ice-cream truck bell playing. My kids grabbed money out of the coin jar and went bolting back outside like the house was on fire. They each came back inside the house with big popsicles and even bigger smiles on their faces.

Our cat Rambow is leash trained. She loved being outdoors. She loved listening to the birds and smelling the steaks grilling. She spent most of the day outdoors. Poor little kitty hasn't been outside all winter. She doesn't like the snow.

So we all enjoyed our 67 degree day. Tomorrow we are expected to get rain and thunderstorms. So our sunshine enjoyment is unfortunately short lived.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Boys and their penises

Why oh why is the penis so fascinating for boys? My youngest caveman thinks it's hilarious to say the word penis. Today we were in a clinic waiting room and he said "it's funny when a bad guy in the movie gets hit in the penis!" I heard a bunch of quiet snickers. I told him not to say that word in the waiting room.
He said "Why, is it a bad word?"
Me: "No, but it's just not a word you just say anywhere and anytime you want to"
Him: "Oh, but it's funny when the bad guy gets hit in the penis."

Lately I have head the word penis fly out of his mouth a few too many times. He thinks the word is just hilarious. I personally don't like the word. I prefer to call it a wiener, a fireman, a thingy, and sometimes I even call my husband's Eric the one eyed viking.

Today, I walked out into the living room and my 10 year old caveman had his hand down his pants. WHAT? I said to him "Go wash your hands and use lots of soap and please don't do that in my living room." He was a bit embarrassed, so he says "I was just scratching my leg."
Me: "Well, I think you'd better find a different way to scratch your leg and certainly not on my couch"

Oh the things a mom has to endure when living with cavemen.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Grounding of the 10 Year Old

My 10 year old caveman got grounded off TV & X-box for a week including the weekend. They aren't allowed to play X-box during the week. Only on weekends. Cartoons they can watch whenever.

The first day my little caveman was "woe is me, my life is over, you're so mean". The next day he decided to make the best of it and found better things to do. Like drive me crazy!

Although Mr. Caveman and I are really liking the "no cartoons" on a school night rule. We've seen some really good changes in the cavelings after a few days. We figured we'd go insane, but he has been pretty good about it. So now is the time to roll with the new change in the cave.

I've tried to make this change numerous times in the past but when I'm not home, it's been hard to enforce. So I finally have Mr. Caveman seeing things my way.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Rock, Paper , Scissors

I'm usually the champ at Rock, Paper, Scissor on the kickball field to determine who takes home field. I usually always beat the opposing team's captain, so our team gets home field advantage.

Tonight we (our work group from town and from out of state) went to Happy Hour at Green Mill. They were having a Rock, Paper, Scissor tournament. I entered because naturally I should win. Easy, Peasy, Lemon Squeezy! Everyone in the bar who entered the contest received Bud Light beads and a free beer. It was a one round elimination tournament. The people from our group who were from out of town cleaned everyone's clocks. The top three placements in the Rock, Paper, Scissor tournament went to our guy from Indiana, our guy from Dallas TX, and then our guy from Houston TX won the championship.

I can't believe I got out in the first round since I normally dominate Rock, Paper, Scissors on the kickball field. Apparently, I need practice on dominating the championships at Green Mill, so I can win a trip to Vegas to try for the $50,000 prize. I can't believe I got psyched out by an old man in the bar tournament. I thought he was going to throw rock, so I laid out paper, and he threw scissors down. But for revenge he went down in the next round. :)

10 Year Old for rent

Any one want a 10 year old? I've already sought legal counsel & he's for free. Who wants free child labor? In the last week we have had excuses to not go to school from, my ear hurts (he really did have an ear infection), to "I lost my shoes", to "I couldn't find my backpack". I of course drug his butt to school. He is definitely testing the waters on the pre-teen years. Oh, I am so not ready to be challenged by a teenage boy. I swear he will give me all my gray hair. Why can't he be as compliant as my youngest? I guess that's what makes us better parents...challenges..by our youngsters.

Modest Cavemen

My cavemen are so modest when it comes to bathroom duties. Ha ha ha! My 8 year old was in the bathroom and came running out throwing his undies saying "Mom, I need new undies, these have bacon strips!" Then he threw them towards me. EW!! Only a caveman would throw undies with a bacon strip on them at his mother. So I said to the little caveman, "Go wipe your butt!"

He replies "Why?"

"Cuz, that's nasty."

So he takes another wet wipe, sticks it between his butt cheeks & and says "Look, Mom, I have a tail!"

Why, are boys not modest when it comes to the bathroom??

I am really living with cavemen!