Go Huskies!

I got to go to Josiah's scouting meeting this week to see what it was like.  Crazy!  It was about 50 men/boys and me when we were in the main room all together.  Now, when the adults would hold up their right hand at a 90 degree angle, the boys all knew to be silent.  For the most part, they obliged this signal to attention.  However, during the interim while waiting for the meeting to be called to order, it was a bit on the chaotic side.  It may have been that it was just a room full of young boys and they were loud and active, but wow, I think I'll take Caroline to her scout meetings in the future.

Josiah went with me to the library the next evening and helped me pick out an obscene number of books.  I noticed on the way home as he silently looked at a book, as well as with his school work this week, that he appears to have figured out how to read silently.  I was sort of looking forward to this day of him reading silently, but now that he does it, I just look at him and wonder what's going on in his head.  Are you reading?  What are you doing in there?

Of course, I do make him read aloud to me for school.  We have an old reader with an original copyright date of 1879.  It sort of serves as a history book in a way, since I have to explain things to him (outhouses, carriages, etc.)  He uses it to work on his pronunciation and just reading aloud in general.  For whatever reason, every time he reads from this book, he uses a voice like a man taking the stage to read Shakespeare.  Every time, I ask him to use his "normal" voice, but he just cannot seem to do it.

Henry built this while I did some lessons with Josiah. It was a pigeon and something else that fit right on top of the pigeon. He was very proud of it and asked me to take a picture of it. We're working on the camera smile...

It was my turn to volunteer in Henry's class at Awana.  It started off really well.  His class has 3 and 4 -year olds in it.  As the evening wore on, the highly active and loud children made themselves known and I quickly learned their names.  On the way home, I asked Henry if his friend was in class that night.  "Yes," he said, "but I don't know his name."  Now I had my opportunity, and I listed off all the boy names starting with the two boys who were forced to sit the last 10 minutes of class in chairs in the back of the room.  I was happy to hear his friend ended up being one of the more follow-the-rules kind of kid.  :)  Although, I'm not sure they said two words to each other while I was there.

Caroline has spent her week helping to make and then eat egg salad.  She insisted on cracking all her eggs and shelling them without help.  It was painful to watch at times.  Her eggs were so beaten up by the time she was finished taking their shells off, that she earned her own special batch of egg salad.  I kept mine in a different container...

Todd's boss at work was gracious enough to give him tickets to his university's football game this weekend.  She gave them to him weeks ago, unaware of the weather that was to come.  Todd was really looking forward to taking the boys, until a couple of days ago when it became clear that the weather was not going to cooperate.  There was a storm coming up from the Gulf which was colliding with Hurricane Patricia from the west.  And yet, he kindly went with them anyway.  He took the boys to the President's house for a reception before the game.  Henry hit it off with the President's wife.  He was hoping they would have ice cream there.  Todd mentioned this to Mrs. Sloan in jest and she said, "Oh, I have ice cream."  She was incredibly hospitable and set up a fixin's bar for the boys.  She was very, very good to the boys.

Ice Cream Bar

After that they went to the football game.  Todd said the boys would say, "Go Huskies" for a while and then stop.  It was raining quite hard, and while they were wearing ponchos, a little before halftime Henry announced he was done and wanted to go home.  So, that was their first football game experience.  Ice cream - good; rain - bad.

Todd said, "Henry, look over here."  

Caroline insisted that all her babies be swaddled for bed this evening.  It's a good thing those Labor & Delivery nurses teach us how to swaddle our newborns.  It comes in handy for years to come.

The boys decorated their tin whistle cases at CC this week. PVC pipe and duct tape.  They were proud of them.

We worked on their finger position this week. As you can see, they still need a little work (Henry's fingers are correct).

Fun at the Farm

Henry finally lost some teeth the natural way this week.  Both bottom middle teeth came out within a couple of days of each other.  He didn't even have time to be "toothless" down there because the permanent teeth had already poked through behind the baby ones.  He was happy to put his teeth in our owl.  The next morning he got money with the note, "Whoooooo lost a tooth?"  Sure beats a fairy breaking into the kids rooms at night.

One tooth lost, the other barely hanging on.

While losing teeth might mean that he is growing up, we don't have to worry too much about Henry leaving us.  At dinner one evening, the topic of marriage came up.  Henry happily announced that he and his wife were going to live with Todd and I.  I chuckled and said that his wife would more than likely not want to live with Todd and I.  She would probably want to live with just him and they could start their own family.  Henry sank down in his chair at this point.  And then we heard the tears.  He had big tears coming down his cheeks.  Todd quickly told him he could stay as long as he liked.  I reiterated that to him and he perked back up.  And I always thought President Obama was crazy to allow 26 year-olds to stay under their parents healthcare policy.

This was the week we went to Dewberry Farm with our CC group.  We were scheduled to be there from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.  It was a very long day, but a lot of fun.  We started out on the zip line.  I was really excited to try it myself.  After all the kids got a turn, the parents started to go across.  The first mom ran and jumped, and promptly hit her knees on the ground.  It wasn't hard enough to stop her momentum, but it didn't look like it felt very good.  Another mom took a crack at it, and hit her knees, too.  Then a dad tried it, and, bam, his knees hit.  It didn't look so fun after all.  It was definitely made for kids.

Next to the zip line were their Jumping Pillows.  There were three huge, rectangular pillow things to jump on.  It was basically like a bounce house without any walls and much, much bigger.  The kids had a blast.  I even got on it with Caroline "to help her out."  I got to do a lot of fun stuff under the guise of helping her out.

We moved onto pedal cars.  They were told by the attendant to ride two laps.  Josiah rode 3.  Henry, 4.  

Josiah

Henry (holding up the line).

A favorite was the Cow Train.  The boys got in barrels/bulls up at the front of the line.  Caroline and I were towards the end.  I did not account for the fact that we were on dirt roads so we had a lot of dirt in our faces for much of the ride.  It was still very fun, but at the end even Caroline said, "Dirty.  We need a bath."

the boys

From our bull.

During one of the curves, Caroline desperately tried to wave and yell to the boys.  Of course, they couldn't hear her, but it did not deter her enthusiasm. "Boys! Boys!"

After that we went down their Slide Mountain.  We each got an old welcome mat and walked up a very big hill to slide down.  I had to help Caroline, so we got to go down together.  It was one time that it was good to be heavier than the little kids.  We went fast!

We went on a tractor ride to pick our own "pumpkins."  Really, they were gourds, but they were included in the price of our field trip admission, so the kids were happy.  The tractor ride took us through their Christmas tree farm, which even on a hot day smelled a lot like Christmas.

We're getting tired!

We adults thought the Rat Racers seemed like a good idea.  The kids all piled into these giant black tubes that are usually buried in the ground (drainage pipes?).  They were to race each other down a course, but there were too many kids in each tube.  Kids were falling out and crying.  Arms got hurt, legs were hurt, feelings were hurt.  It was clear that the heat and exhaustion of the day was taking its toll.

We enjoyed a barnyard area that had a giant pig, went through a dark (quite warm) barn with a bunch of carved, lit pumpkins, had rubber duck races, and even found time to eat lunch.

We finished the day with the boys swinging on ropes from a haystack.  Caroline played on giant swinging tubes as well as a pipe slide.  She was really starting to lose it at this point.  She was desperately pleading for a nap by way of not listening and screaming, "I do it!" or "No, I go here."  We made it to 1:30 and called it quits.  Until next year.

Caroline trying the rope swing.

Henry sliding the pipe slide.  I went down this one, too.  I went fast.

On the way home, Josiah said he liked the zip line best.  Then he amended it to say, he liked all the rides where he got to sit down.

Our week ended with cow night at Awana.  Poor Josiah ran a low-grade fever that afternoon, so he couldn't go.  He asked me if I would wear his cow t-shirt and go to his class so he could get his free Chick-fil-a treat.  I told him, no, unfortunately I was not a Spark, so they would not give me the treat.  I texted Todd that Josiah wanted me to go.  Todd texted back that a good mom would go and wear the cow shirt.  "Just don't show your udders."  he said.

Henry dressed as a cow.  We ordered these shirts in "Child's Small."  Not quite.

This week at CC we start the tin whistle.  Josiah and Henry will both be playing the tin whistle for the next 6 weeks.  6 WEEKS.  Maybe they'll be tin whistle prodigies and play them beautifully.

Caroline in happier times with her hand in her cookie bag.

Sitting Issues

We learned about vertebrates and invertebrates in CC this week.  To go along with that, we had the "Snake Guy" come and speak to our group.  He was pretty much what I pictured a typical snake guy to be.  Every time he took a snake out of his bag, he'd hold  it up close to his face and talk to it in baby talk before introducing it to us.  He clearly loved his snakes and said he had over 80 at home.

Most of the kids got in line to have him put a snake around their neck.  Snake Guy did this with three different kinds of snakes.  By the time they got to the third snake, Snake Guy said aloud, "When I visit public schools their lines are so straight I can't even tell how many kids are left in line."  To which one of our CC kids piped up, "We aren't public school kids."  Interestingly, Snake Guy homeschooled his kids as well.  My kids were not interested in standing in line to wear a snake, but I did get them  to at least touch it.


And he was educational.  He talked about venomous snakes, what to do if bit, to NEVER touch a snake.  Ever. I still had his little snake facts rolling around in my brain the next day.  Josiah and Henry were playing in the backyard, when all of a sudden they ran inside saying they found a bee's nest.  I looked outside and saw a couple of wasps swarming around the patio door.  So, it was good they ran.  Not five minutes later, Josiah starts just crying and whimpering about his finger hurting and his underarm hurting.  Of course, I look for snake bites or wasp stings.  Nothing.  It was sort of scary for about 15 minutes because he really seemed to be in pain.  We sat on my bed and turned on Curious George and miraculously, he recovered within two minutes of the show coming on.

That was probably the last time we went outside to play this week.  Todd heard on a local radio station here, "There is not a single mosquito out there anymore.....They are all married and have kids."  He wasn't kidding.  That day the boys came running inside, Henry had a leg covered in mosquito bites.  He had three huge ones on his head as well.  Mosquitoes must like meaty flesh, because Josiah didn't have any bites.

Fortunately for Henry he finally got some pants that fit him, so he could keep those legs covered up.  The poor boy could only fit into warm-up pants and other pants with generous elastic waists.  I finally ordered him some "husky" pants and they fit him sooooo well.  When he put them on and he had room in the waist, it felt like I had just lost 20 pounds and fit into a smaller pair of jeans.  I was so excited for him.  I think he was happy about it, too, and he wore them to Awana.  On the way home, he mentioned his favorite part of Awana.  Snack time and puppets.  My husky boy.  

Sweet, kind, compassionate, husky Henry has also been driving us bonkers with his "chair" behavior.  He will NOT sit in a chair, on his bum, and stay seated throughout a meal.  He has fallen out of his chair or stool so many times this week that I finally banned him from all chairs.  I banished him to the floor, but he asked to sit on the step stool, so he was granted his wish.  Of course, he thought this was a cool chair and wasn't the least bit phased that this was "punishment."

Henry is eating a green egg because yellow eggs are so boring.

We spent much of Saturday morning at the Children's Museum.  Since it is October, they had it all decked out with Halloween decorations.  They even gave the kids trick-or-treat bags and had candy stations all throughout the museum.  Josiah was very much into this.  The boys had a lot of fun.  Caroline unfortunately woke up at 5:30 a.m. that morning and it was glaringly obvious for much of our time at the museum.  She screamed and shrieked and kicked her legs at everything that caused her displeasure.  It was the kind of loud shrieking to where everybody turned around to make sure nobody was massively injured.  I kept having to take her to a corner to calmly explain to her that she was not allowed to sit in the ambulance driver's seat indefinitely.  There were 500 other kids there that wanted a turn as well.  She shrieked about not being able to climb the gigantic 3-story net thing the boys were in (you had to be five years old to do it), she shrieked when we got her off the seat in which she pulled herself up using a rope pulley.  It was intense to say the least.  When we were finally getting ready to go, Josiah joined in the fun and threw a tantrum of his own, throwing himself on the floor.  It brought back a bunch of memories of how I used to hate bringing him anywhere when he was younger because he was so difficult when it was time to leave.  There were many drives home with both of us in tears because of his disdain for leaving anywhere and everywhere.

Dr. Josiah

Speedy Caroline

The giant three-story climbing thing.

The best part of the museum was the outside area.  It seemed that everybody was much calmer in the open air.  They have a huge water contraption thing where they could play with locks and boats and "streams," make waves, lots of water activities.  Each child had gotten the front of their shirts soaking wet.  Then Henry, wanting his boat to pass Caroline's, decided to pick up his boat and carry it over Caroline completely soaking her hair and the back of her shirt.  He didn't want to just give it a push to pass her while in the water.  We did not last much longer after we were done outside.  We're hoping they remember the fun of these trips.  We must only remember the fun parts as well, because we keep going back.

We're supposed to be going to a farm this coming week with our CC group, so I'm a bit nervous (terrified) that Caroline will pull the shrieking/kicking of legs/screaming/etc. thing there.  We're praying she sleeps a LOT the night before.

Fat Lips and Todd's Birthday

Josiah started his week off well.  At his Trail Life USA meeting, he earned his joining award.  It is a multicolored tree patch that attaches to his uniform.  He was supposed to do five things to earn this award - handshake, say the motto, say the oath, salute, and some other thing.  But wouldn't you know it, they just gave it to him.  I really wished they had made all the kids go through the steps.  For one, he worked on them a lot; practicing them so that he said the oath correctly and held his hand correctly.  And two, I think the kids would feel a sense of accomplishment if they had been made to do it rather than just handed the patch.  But they didn't ask me.  :)

Todd got to spend his birthday evening at Josiah's Trail Life meeting.  At least he could reminisce about all the good gifts he got while he was at the meeting.  Josiah had wrapped up Henry's Captain America and had given it to him.  Henry had wrapped up a sharpened pencil.  I cannot remember the reason Henry gave him a pencil, but whatever it was, Henry was all smiles and proud to give it to him.  Caroline and I got him two pajama shirts that didn't get delivered until 5 days after his birthday.  It was probably the most exciting birthday ever.


Todd does get credit for wearing his "Dad" badges to work.  The boys had each written on a small piece of paper, "Dad" that he was allowed to wear only on his birthday.  They were pretty proud to see him wearing them on his shirt.


Wednesday proved rough for facial injuries.  By the time Todd came home from work, all three kids had fat lips.  All accidental injuries.  Henry's had the best story attached.  He came downstairs wailing about his lip.  Josiah looked at it and acted like it was horrible, which did not help matters.  Henry freaked out even more because there was a small line of blood at his gumline.  He was not willing to do any of my suggestions, so we just sat and read until he calmed down.  Finally I asked him what happened.  Well, he was walking around with his eyes shut and walked into the door.  He talked funny all day due to the injury and slurped his spit because apparently the swollen lip didn't allow him to swallow properly.  It started off mildly annoying and by the time Todd got home I was going crazy with the slurping.  "YOU ARE FINE!!!  JUST SWALLOW YOUR SPIT!!!"

We practiced bike riding again this weekend.  Josiah started off very wobbly.  He was riding on his own, but was super wobbly.  I don't even know how he managed to stay upright for some of the wobbles, but he did.  He got better and better the more he rode, until the end.  I challenged him to ride all the way to Todd who was swinging Henry and Caroline at the playground.  Josiah met my challenge, started to ride, and crashed.  Try again.  He started to ride and crashed again, this time the handlebar rammed into his side.  He indicated that it was quite painful and he would not be getting back on his bike.  He lifted up his shirt and he wasn't kidding - it looked quite painful.  Then he proceeded to walk to Todd and said, "Look what Mommy did to me."  Uhhhhhh.  I don't think so.  So I reminded him that he fell off his bike and the handlebar injured him.  Not mommy.  I don't need him going to church and telling his teachers what Mommy did to him and welcome CPS at my door Monday morning.

Caroline let us in on another word in her ever expanding vocabulary.  One evening, I opened a new box of soy milk for her and upon receiving her cup, she took one sip and said, "Disgusting."  She has never said anything remotely like that with regards to her soy milk so I took note.  I looked at the date on the package, smelled it, and it all seemed okay.  I thought maybe it was a fluke.  The next morning I gave her some more.  She took a sip and said, "Disgusting."  I was worried that somehow the container had a small hole in it and it was moldy or something.  Smelling it, it smelled sweet, kind of syrupy.  I read the whole front of the box again.  And there it was, "Vanilla."  She had been given Vanilla soymilk.  She was used to "unsweetened."  Todd thought it was hilarious that she had clearly inherited my bland tastebuds.

In school this week, we learned about ziggurats and Hammurabi's Code.  To keep it interesting, we made our own ziggurat out of legos.  We had a picture to go by and I was in charge of the majority of the construction while the boys were in charge of finding the correct pieces.  I kid you not, it took about an hour to build.  And after it was finished I took a picture.  Literally, 30 seconds after the picture was taken, Josiah had taken it apart to get the lego pieces he had hidden in the bottom layer.  Then he had the audacity to ask me to "fix it" back to how it was.  As I was kind of proud of the original work, I tried to fix it back.  Once again it was completed, and once again it was taken apart.  I walked away.

The following day we made the Cockrell Code in the same spirit as the Hammurabi Code.  Then the boys had it as their mission to break everything we had come up with as part of our code.

Todd was given a day off for his birthday, so he took it on Friday this year giving himself a long weekend.  We went to Pappasito's for lunch to celebrate.  They have very good Tex-Mex food--the best homemade tortillas.  Todd and I were stuffed by lunch's end, so the boys got to share his free birthday dessert.  It was a double brownie with ice cream on top and some chocolate mole sauce.  Josiah made himself sick eating it, but I'm sure it was all worth it.        

Finally, Josiah saw his art show on TV again.  The man used pastels this time, which of course, Josiah was upset that we didn't have a box of pastels just hanging around.  He did the best he could with colored pencils.  I was impressed!  Still life - an orange, an apple, and a banana.  I secretly bought him some pastels today so he'll have them for next time.

And Henry worked on his strength training this week with the new exercise: sibling lift.