Looking For Someone Better

It was VBS this week.  As we drove to the church the first morning, Henry said it was good that he had learned more Spanish words.  (He's been doing a Spanish app.)  He must have thought that his buddy Roberto from last year would be in his class again.  He wasn't.  When I picked the kids up that first day, Josiah said he loved his class, but Henry and Caroline didn't like it at all.  Since I was keen on having four mornings to myself, we pushed forward.  They liked it better the remaining days, but didn't totally love it.  One afternoon, Caroline was voice texting Todd about it.  She said, "And, Daddy, I don't really like VBS that much."  What my phone typed was:

It was a pirate theme, hence the skull and crossbones and black flags.

Good to know.  While they were gone, I got myself a haircut, dropped off a load of things-no-one-will-miss at Goodwill, and got some cleaning done while watching Friends.  It was wonderful.                                                         
By the last day of VBS, Henry was enjoying it.  When I picked him up, he was sitting with two other boys and laughing.  He kept telling me about one of the boys throughout the week.  He only had four fingers on one hand.  He was born with five, but was now missing his pointer finger.  Henry never did find out how he lost it, but he was fascinated nonetheless.  Josiah wanted to know how he could watch the Big Show each day next year.  VBS ends at Entering-5th Grade, so this was his last year.  Maybe there's a way I can get him to volunteer if they'll let him...  That last day the kids wanted to go to McDonald's for lunch, because Tradition! They seem to make every McDonald's trip a Tradition! to ensure it's continuance.  We went and it happened to be free sundae day.  They were happy campers. Thank you McDonald's for solidifying this tradition for eternity.

While Caroline had said she didn't like VBS that much, she got right up and started dancing and doing hand motions to all the songs during the final Big Show.  She did love the songs and the show.


We finished painting Henry's room this week. He has gone through all sorts of emotions with this process.  Thursday night he worked on his bravery. He said that he was going to bed (in the old room) without Todd and I coming in to say goodnight.  He wanted to practice sleeping without us. He is the kid who enjoys company, so this was a pretty big deal.  The following night he was really angry-upset for no apparent reason.  We talked and he said he was upset because he has always slept with Josiah.
Will you miss having Josiah in the room?  
No....  I'm going to miss the room.  
Oh.  It's okay to miss the room.  
Saturday we moved all the furniture over and Henry has a room.  Todd and I disagreed on where to place the furniture, so Henry decided how he wanted it arranged.  His dresser arrives on Wednesday, which will make the separation complete.  I'll be so happy to separate their clothing.  It's gotten to the point that they have too many clothes and it'll be nice to give each boy half.

Josiah has been pretty sad that Henry was moving out.  After moving Henry's furniture out, we rearranged Josiah's remaining furniture and gave him an artist's nook.  He'll need a desk upgrade in the future, but it works for now.  Now all three kids have nice new rooms, but our bedroom is a mess because it currently holds all the stuff I had stored in the old guest room.  One project done.  A hundred more to go.                                                                             
Caroline likes to talk to me at bedtime.  We lay on her bed and she shares about her day and asks all sorts of questions.  One night she was asking about stepmothers.  She asked if she had one.  I explained that for her to get one, Todd and I would have to get a divorce (or me die), he would have to remarry and that new lady would be her stepmother.  She then asked why Todd liked me.  I don't know.  And she followed it up with, "I think there's a lady out there that Daddy likes more than you."  So Todd's keeping his eyes open for that someone better.

Tennis Ball Wall

The boys have both outgrown their bikes.  There was a fairly decent sale online, so we had bought them new bikes.  When we read the reviews before purchasing, people said they were good bikes, good solid frames, but connecting the brake wires was the biggest problem and complaint.  It didn't take Todd long during the assembly process to learn that the reviews were right.  He managed to get Henry's finished, but Josiah's wasn't happening.  This weekend he brought the bike to a local bike shop and 10 minutes and $10 later, the brakes were connected.  It's all a matter of having the right tools for the job.  He also tightened up the handlebars.  Todd said he was tightening screws he didn't even know were there.  The boys have said the bikes are really fast and they have to get used to the handlebar brakes.  They've actually fallen off the bikes a few times.  It'll take some getting used to.

While not biking, Henry spent a good deal of time learning how to roller blade with Caroline's skates.  He persevered and can now skate pretty well around our little circle.  Josiah finally got an extended turn with them this weekend and has been making laps around the circle as well.  Now they've been asking to go back to the roller skating rink, so we'll have to plan that in the next few weeks.

While Caroline hasn't been roller blading as much as the boys, she has been working on her cartwheels.  She did a make-up gymnastics class during the week and ended up really liking this coach and group of kids.  She was smiling a lot more and clearly enjoying herself.  She told me later that the coach was really funny.  I saw the coach spend some time with her on how to do the cartwheel correctly and Caroline did it.  She kept looking up at me with a huge grin to make sure I was watching and then she cartwheeled.  It was a huge grin - she was so proud of herself.  She's doing another make-up this week with the same coach, so if all goes well again, we'll just transfer to this class.  It seems to be a better fit.

We took advantage of the local movie theater's summer movies.  Twice a week they have $1 movies.  We got there early thinking they would sell out, but they did not.  We walked into the theater and it was the biggest theater I have ever seen.  It could hold hundreds of people and given that there were only two people in the theater, we had our pick of seats.  Todd saw a meme this week that said, "Having a kid is like having a broke little best friend who thinks you're rich."  That's Josiah.  At the theater he saw kids with little box meals.  He wanted that.  He wanted popcorn.  He wanted the candy.  He wanted lemonade.  On the way home he talked about going out to eat.  You do realize that we do not have an endless supply of money, right?


Our church also had their summer movie night this past week.  It's the one where they have the popcorn bar set up, although it's probably more of a popcorn 'station' than a 'bar' since it's church.  I didn't even see what the boys put in their popcorn bucket, but Caroline added marshmallows, Goldfish, M&Ms, and Hershey Kisses.  Our children's director greeted Caroline when she first got in line and said, "You can have as much as you want."  That brought on a smile.  I think they went up 3-4 times each and would have gone up more had we let them.  This was our last year to do it, because it's a preschool ministry thing which means Kindergarten and younger.  Caroline moves up to the children's ministry in first grade.

Henry earned his library trophy this week.  I told him I wanted a picture of him with his trophy so he scrambled around to put together this 'scene.'  Reading two books at the same time was met with many laughs from the youngest two.

Much of my free time this week has been focused on making the guest room into Henry's new room.  As we were clearing it out to be painted, Todd and I talked about what to do with our old queen bed in there.  It's a nice solid frame, a new mattress.  Enter Caroline.  How would you like a new bed in your room?  So, all of a sudden, we were having to clean up Caroline's room, take out her twin bed, and transfer the queen bed to her room.  Then we put her twin in Henry's new room.  It's a much better fit for both rooms.  Now when guests come, they'll have the Princess Suite.  Her first night in the big bed she started crying.  She didn't want it anymore.  She was scared.  I slept with her the first night and since then told her she'd get used to it and one day she'd like having a big bed.  We actually got out the Christmas lights that Grandpa had given her last Christmas when Caroline made the claim that we were non-decorators.  Well, Grandpa, look at the lights in her room.  And we're non-decorators....

Meanwhile, my intention was to paint Henry's room a very light grey.  I wanted something neutral so I wouldn't have to repaint it again in the future.  But Henry looked at me with his big blue eyes and said, "Can I pick the paint color?"  Argh!  I gave him a wall.  I can repaint one wall when the time comes.  We went to Lowe's to look at paint chips.  The first one he picked with a very dark turquoise color.  Very dark.  I told him that it was a really pretty color (it was), but it would make his room really dark.  He didn't want a dark room.  His next pick was a puke-green color.  I looked at him and was like, Buddy.  That's the color of throw-up in all your comic books.  I can't do it.  So, he moved down two shades on the same color chip and settled on a color that can only be described as a tennis ball.  It's sort of a yellowy-greeny kind of color.  I asked a few, are you sure's, but he said he liked it.  Part of it was he liked the name of the paint color, Game Changer.  He has since helped me paint his wall and he kept saying how much he liked it and he really wanted the whole room that color.  Sorry buddy.

Before the paint was even dry, Henry and Caroline were adding new security measures to their rooms.  Caroline installed an electronic hand scanner on her doorway.  The rectangle box at the top is the thing that asks you the password.

Henry said that when he moves in his room, he's going to hand out visitor passes to his siblings.  He has yet to make these passes, but when he got mad at Josiah today, he revoked his pass.

This week we should finish up the painting and get Henry all settled in.  It's also VBS (Vacation Bible School) week.  Caroline has already said she doesn't want to go.  I told her that I'm taking a day or two to myself, so she has to go at least two days.  If she doesn't like it she can stay home after that, but I have plans for my alone time!  I told her to think of it as babysitting, but she didn't want a babysitter.  For two days minimum, I want you to have a babysitter!

I Love You. Erase, Erase. Not.

We had a Media-Free Monday.  The kids definitely needed a break from it.  For the most part it was great - they played board games, made-up games, they colored and read.  Josiah even invented a board game.  The object of the game was to draw a super hero as you went around the board.  One space would say, "Draw a cape." or "Draw a big nose."  It was based off of Captain Underpants.  While the three kids made there way around the board, I got stuck in a cycle of "Go back two spaces." which lead me to "Draw a cape."  My person ended up with a big nose, a face mask, and five capes.  I was impressed that all the kids played the game so well.  Josiah needs to use a ruler the next time he draws a game board, though, because the spaces for our Lego people to stand on got smaller and smaller as the game wound around.

The kids finally got their End of School Year gifts.  I had bought them weeks ago, but the last day of school had been filled with lots of whining and complaining, so I had no desire to hand them out that day.  Josiah got a big box of sidewalk chalk.  Henry got a basketball.  Actually two basketballs because I figured if we went to shoot hoops, I'd want one of my own to play with.  Caroline got new-to-her roller blades which we had bought from a friend.  Josiah's used his chalk quite a bit.  He's drawn George, Harold, and Captain Underpants.  If you've never seen the book, he did a pretty good job of their likenesses.  He has some chalk drawing skills.  They have all enjoyed Caroline's roller blades.  We have to go out early in the morning while we still have shade on our driveway and they go the width of the driveway, back and forth, from grass to grass.  They've gotten better as the week's gone on, but they also have quite a few skinned knees.

Todd took Henry out one night to get him a baseball glove so they could play catch together.  Todd wrapped up a ball in the glove to help break it in.  The intention was to keep it wrapped for a while, but the next morning, Henry was on a loop, "Is it broke?  Is it broke?  I think it's broke."  All day long he was checking it and he was convinced that it was broke.  Todd and I have both spent some time tossing the ball.  I always loved tossing the baseball with my dad in the backyard, so it's been an enjoyable thing.  Although now I'm slightly paranoid about him hitting a window - ours or anyone else's.       

Caroline earned her trophy from the summer reading program at the library.  You need to read 20 books to get the trophy and we had read many more than that while we were in Virginia.  The boys did not exactly congratulate her on the accomplishment.  "She didn't read them.  You read them to her."  Yes, just like I read to you when you were her age.  It did motivate Henry though.  He stepped up his game and read 15 books this week.  He's divided them between Captain Underpants and Scholastic books about animals.  Josiah's list is nearly all Captain Underpants.  I'm not a fan of the potty humor.  I just have to remind myself that I make him read "real" books as part of school.

It's been a really hot week here.  The kids have gone outside on a few occasions to play with water guns.  When they first asked me if they could do water guns, they were holding these tiny, rinky dink water guns that would barely get your shirt wet with the spray.  So, that was an easy yes.  When they came back inside, they were completely drenched.  Someone had found a soaker gun from a birthday party they went to this past year.  Another day they asked to do the water guns and I told them to fill up a Lowe's bucket with water so they didn't have to keep the hose on.  When I went out to check on them, Josiah was sitting in the bucket.  The hose did not get turned off either as they needed to constantly replenish the buckets...


Swim lessons started back up this week.  The boys have totally stepped up their game since the last swim session.  They weren't promoted to the next level last session due to endurance issues - they knew the strokes, but would tire out too quickly when they did swim.  This time the boys are crushing the distance requirement.  Josiah's got a pretty smooth freestyle.  Henry's could best be described as "rustic."  But it gets him across the pool.  Their only complaint this week was that the water was too warm and they didn't like to swim in warm water.  It was only when we went to our neighborhood pool that I truly understood what they meant by warm.  The water was quite warm.  In fact it was a little gross how warm the water was - like you're swimming in bathwater with 20 of your closest neighbors.  Not exactly the most refreshing.  I'm praying for rain just to cool off the pool waters.   

This week was Chick-fil-a's Cow Day where if you dress like a cow you get a free kid's meal/entree.  As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, Henry was embarrassed to wear the mask that he had made.  But at the same time we had pulled in, another car pulled in right next to us.  In it were parents and two teenagers who proudly wore their paper plate cow masks, which I pointed out to Henry.  He put his on.  As the kids have gotten older it is clear that Henry and Caroline are far more self-conscious than Josiah.  I am appreciating his "I don't care what people think" mentality more and more.


Caroline has started to give me a very clear indication of where I stand with her.  One day she wrote "I love you" on our weekly meal planner whiteboard.  Then she got mad and the first thing she did was erase the "I love you."  Now all I have to do is check the board to see if she's happy or mad with me.

The Rest of Our Vacation

VIRGINIA



We were invited to play laser tag with friends.  Caroline did not want to go, so she stayed back and had a good day with Grandad and Nana.  The boys and I were joined by five other families - all friends from our old church in Virginia.  We were the only people in the building, so they had the arena to themselves.  I was able to stand inside to watch and was amazed to see the kids were actually following the rules and not running.  Henry's gun stopped working at one point which upset him since he doesn't like to lose (it just needed to be reset), but once fixed he got back into it.  They liked it, but Henry said it wasn't as fun as he thought.  Afterwards, most of us joined back up at a playground.  There the kids played cops and robbers which must be the 'in' game right now.  It's what the kids all play in Texas, too.  I learned later that the big kids were making themselves the robbers because they were quicker, and the smaller kids (Josiah and Henry included) were assigned to be cops.  Henry got upset by this and instead of saying he'd rather be a robber, he enacted some police brutality when he caught the robbers.  So, I pulled him aside to have a chat.  Fortunately one mom went to the store and bought a bunch of ice cream and popsicles so the rest of the time was spent enjoying those.  I enjoyed my time with the other moms.

One day we went to a Chinese buffet with Grandad and Nana.  Caroline's version of Chinese food was sticky rice and buttery rolls.  She wouldn't even try the sweet and sour chicken (sans sauce) even when I said it was like a chicken nugget.  All carbs, this girl.  Josiah liked the teriyaki chicken because it was on a skewer and he's partial to anything that has a stick.  We can always rely on Henry to try new foods.  Grandaddy got him mussels and fried calamari and he liked both.  They all had about as many desserts as they did regular food.  That's one of their favorite things about buffets.

I was able to spend time alone with each kid.  One evening Josiah and I walked to Dairy Queen and shared a blizzard.  We had a good time together.  Good conversation.  I asked him if he minded being smaller than his peers and he said that it did bother him sometimes, but that his size also makes him more agile.  He likes his agility.  We talked about how God makes everyone different - different sizes, looks, and abilities, and that's what makes people so interesting.  None of us are the same.  When it was time for Caroline and I to go out, I mentioned that I had gone to DQ with Josiah.  She didn't want to go there (she doesn't like soft ice cream), so we set a breakfast date for Dunkin Donuts and then walked to the library that evening.  The library had games out on tables in the children's section. We played Chutes and Ladders and Pictureka.  We read two books and headed back home.  It was a good time just the two of us.  The next night, Henry and I headed to DQ.  He does like soft ice cream.  It was sprinkling on the walk over, so we ate inside.  After a while I noticed Henry really wasn't eating, so I asked him what was wrong.  It was too cold in the building to eat it.  So we went to the tables outside, but by this time it was raining.  It was kind of fun to sit in the rain and let him eat.  It wasn't pouring - just a nice soft rain.  We walked back in a steadier rain, but it was all fun.  The rain felt really good.

Another day Henry said this to me, "I love you Mommy.....[a long pause with a lot of thinking attached to it]....sometimes."
Me - "I love you all the time Henry."
Henry - "Well, I was just being honest and you want me to be honest."
Me - "True."
Then several hours later, Caroline who had observed this earlier exchange, said,
"I love you sometimes, too, Mommy."
Me - "I love you all the time, Caroline."
Caroline - "You do??"  She was genuinely surprised that I loved her all the time.  I told her I don't always like it if she chooses bad behavior or mean words, but I always love her.

The kids loved their time with Grandad and Nana.  They love their house, their backyard, their circle in which to ride bikes.  They love Nana's dinners and they love dessert every night!  It was hard to leave for the next leg of our journey.


DC




I waffled back and forth for weeks about whether to take the kids into DC or not.  Josiah really wanted to see some monuments.  Henry said he did, too, but then we had the issue of another younger family member who I knew would have very tired legs if we made the trek in.  Did I dare put her through the marathon walking knowing it would elicit a bit of complaining?  Did I dare put myself through listening to the complaining?  In the end, we made the trip.  It was a roundabout journey.  We drove up early one morning, parked at our hotel and caught the hotel shuttle which took us to the closest Metro Station.  That station was closed for platform repairs so we then caught a free Metro bus to the closest open station.  (I did know this beforehand - but since their favorite part of the Fun Run is the school bus ride to the race, I figured the kids would enjoy all the shuttle & bus rides.)  Then we finally took the subway into the city.  It was a beautiful day to be at the National Mall.  We made our way to the American History Museum first, mostly out of the need for bathroom facilities.  We walked around two exhibits, but then they were ready to leave.  (They really were more interested in monuments than museums.)  As we entered the lobby to leave, there was a dance group performing. Caroline was enamored.  I think she would have sat there for a long time had the boys not gotten impatient.


From that museum, we walked towards the Washington Monument, which sadly was closed for elevator repairs.  We all had wanted to go up that one.  A good walk behind it is the World War II Memorial.  We walked around it and took a picture with Texas.  Then we headed on towards the Lincoln Memorial.  The reflection pool in-between the two provided a lot of entertainment because there were many ducks to watch - many baby ducks following their mothers.  By the time we made it to the Lincoln Memorial we already had some tired feet.  About 1/3 of the way up the stairs we needed a break.  I did feel bad for Caroline.  She only had sandals because she left her close-toed shoes at a CC party several weeks ago and they've never been found.  So, sandals weren't ideal.

Tired feet!

After a picture with Abe, the kids were ready to walk right back down.  And not read the words on the walls?  Nope.  We made it down, turned left and saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  I had promised refreshments after this one.  We sat down for a while in the shade enjoying ice cream and popsicles.  Caroline was a little freaked out by the friendliness of the squirrels who were used to tourists feeding them.  She was not sharing her ice cream bar.  While we rested, Caroline and Henry played on a make-shift slide.

From there we headed over to the Korean Veterans Memorial.  That was an incredibly neat wall the way they have carved it to look like soldiers.  When you touch it, it just feels like it's chiseled just a little, but from a distance you see incredibly clear pictures of soldiers.   That was one of our favorites (Josiah and I).  From here we were heading back to the Mall area, but as we were approaching the WWII Memorial again, a lady was stopping everyone and having us line up to stand and clap for some Vietnam and Korean War veterans that were coming.  They were all in wheelchairs and we stood and clapped for them all.  It was good for the kids to pay their respects.  We headed left behind the Washington Monument to get to the museums on that side of the Mall, but along the way we saw the White House.  Josiah loves the White House and truly expects to live in it some day.  We had to take a very quick picture from a very far distance because we had a little person that had to go to the bathroom very badly.  The closest museum we could enter was the American History Museum.  After using their facilities for the second time that day, we saw the Batmobile and snapped a quick picture, but then we headed next door to the Natural History Museum.  We attempted their new dinosaur exhibit, but it was so incredibly crowded in there that it was hard to move or read the exhibits.  Plus we were all tired and somewhat cranky at this point.  We headed upstairs to see the Hope Diamond.  I think the general reaction of the kids was, "That's it?"  It was a bit smaller than they expected.  We left, got some slightly warm pretzels and a hot dog from a street vendor who used her hands to handle our food and our money.  We prayed that no one got sick, especially the one eating the hot dog, and then headed back to the subway for our subway/bus/shuttle back to the hotel.  As we sat on our hotel beds eating dinner, my legs were tired.  I asked Josiah how he felt, did his legs hurt?  No.  He was perfectly fine.  He enjoyed it all and we'll definitely have to go back.  He has many more things that he would like to do there, specifically see the inside of the Capital, tour the White House, go up the Washington Monument, and see the other monuments that we missed (WWI).  It really went better than I expected.  It was a good day.

THE BEACH

As we approached town for the first time, Henry read the signs hanging from the light poles - "Bethany Beach, the Quiet Resort" then added, "not anymore."  Our kids absolutely loved playing with their cousins for the beach week.  Henry spent much of his time catching waves on a boogie board with Charlie & Lucy.  He spent hours in the water each day.  Caroline enjoyed the water and sand at first, but as the week went on, she waned in her joy of the beach.  She went home early a few days and one day she stayed home altogether.  She got some good Grandma and Grandpa time in.  While she was on the beach, she liked to dig moats and make mounds in the wet sand where the waves break.  Josiah would do the boogie board in the water followed by lying in the hot sand to warm up.  Josiah asked to be buried nearly every day.  One day Henry tried to throw goldfish in his mouth.  He missed a lot, mostly on purpose, because he was trying to entice the seagulls to fly near Josiah.  The water felt amazing this year - not too cold at all.

Many waves looked like they would demolish Henry, but he always managed to come out of them still upright on his boogie board.  

We had to get all of our traditions in.
Pirate golf with the cousins.  There were lots of holes-in-one this year.

We took our annual trolley ride.  This year Charlie came with us and Caroline immediately had him sit next to her.  Henry squeezed into the seat as well.  Charlie graciously let all three kids take pictures with his camera as we drove around.  I sat with Josiah and we somehow got on the topic of designing military ships.  That led him to come up with designing a military helicopter he dubbed the Yellow Jacket.  He then went into extensive detail telling me all about the features he would put in it. After that he shared the designs of military tanks, airplanes, cars, and boats.

We ate our traditional shrimp one evening and included mussels and clams in the order.  Henry enjoyed those.  I think that was the first time he's had clams.  Another day Henry was able to enjoy a chicken foot that came all the way from Cambodia.  After taking a bite, he merely said, "Hmm. Spicy."

We didn't get ice cream every night this year!  The kids opted for Shave Ice several nights.  The shave ice place had Klondike bars, so Caroline was a happy camper.  This was probably the first year I've been to the beach and didn't get a single ice cream cone.  :(

The younger cousins got together and did a rap about Max.
Give me a M.
Give me an A.
Give me an X.
Who's 15 years old and has blue eyes?

Our traditional pictures on the front steps got goofy when it was time for a "grandkid only" picture.  They wisely chose to pick up the lightest of the bunch.

After our beach week we headed out to have lunch with Great Grandma.  It is always good to see Great Grandma!  The kids got to show her the rocks they decorated for her collection.  We keep trying to find a rock in the shape of Texas, but so far we've seen nothing of the sort.  They enjoyed playing with the same dominoes and hand-held games that I used to play with as a kid.  They also enjoyed seeing her artwork on the walls.  They were very impressed by how well she painted faces.  As Henry said, "Noses are hard."

We had a few more days with Grandad and Nana before we flew back to Texas.  No joke, Josiah got dinged again by the metal detector at the airport.  He didn't know it, but I saw it go off.  I don't know if it was another random search, but instead of doing anything to him, they just took my phone and tested it.  I don't know what it is about that kid!  We were glad to see Todd and get home.

After three weeks away, I wanted to sleep in the first day we were home.  Todd said good-bye before leaving for work and minutes after he left, the kids started coming in talking to me one at a time.  After 5-6 interruptions of my sleep, I threatened a non-specific consequence to the next child that came in to talk to me.  I slept all the way to 8:15 a.m.  Then we had a discussion entitled: Reasons to wake me up in the morning.
1-The house is on fire.
2-One (or all) of us has sustained a head injury.
3-Someone is bleeding profusely and you need me to apply pressure to the wound.
Reasons not to wake me up in the morning.
1-You want me to put your doll's hair in pig tails.
2-You want to know if the neighbor kids don't knock on our door, could you go knock on their door.  Even though their mom is a single mom and works all day and won't be home til the evening time.
3-Blasting a Beatles CD, singing Yellow Submarine at the top of your lungs, and wanting me to watch.
I was also glad to get back to my big bed because everywhere we went, I shared a bed with Miss. I'll-take-the-middle.