First day of summer vacation and being the "mean" mom I am, I had the boys at the table doing their homework pages for the day. Tom starts in on his math and asks me what congruent meant. This is something that I should know. I have a degree in Technical Writing. That term sounds technical. I passed college algebra with flying colors and even enjoyed taking it. It sounds like a math term. I strain. I search. I ponder. NOTHING. Finally, I resort to calling my source of all things I don't know - Gary. Much to my surprise, he doesn't know either and suggests, of all things, a dictionary. Do we even use dictionaries anymore now that we have the Internet?
For all of you now wondering what congruent means, I looked it up online and discovered it is two things that are exactly the same size and shape. Like two CD cases. If you can put one cut out on top of the other and it fits perfectly, they are congruent. It's a sad day when two college degrees have to get online to help with some second grade math!
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Let it Begin
It's here. Summer Vacation. It doesn't feel like it's summer yet outside. It's about 60 degrees and windy still today. The kids all wore jackets and long pants to school this week and I just turned the heat off in the house a couple of days ago. Regardless, the calendar says it should be time for school to be out for the summer.
I'm actually kind of excited for summer break this year. It seems like we have been running from one thing to another and there is never a moment to just sit back and be kids. Now they will have days filled with things like baseball, swimming lessons, lunch at the park and just playing outside with friends.
I'm also hopeful that a new chore chart system I started today will help to keep some order and encourage them to get their work done. We'll see how it goes.
We are all ready for summer to start, now if the weather will just cooperate, we'll be in business.
I'm actually kind of excited for summer break this year. It seems like we have been running from one thing to another and there is never a moment to just sit back and be kids. Now they will have days filled with things like baseball, swimming lessons, lunch at the park and just playing outside with friends.
I'm also hopeful that a new chore chart system I started today will help to keep some order and encourage them to get their work done. We'll see how it goes.
We are all ready for summer to start, now if the weather will just cooperate, we'll be in business.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Memorial Day Weekend
We had so much fun over the Memorial Day weekend. We left Friday for Ontario, Oregon to visit with my family. Dad was great. He had the four-wheelers ready to go for the boys as soon as they woke up on Saturday morning. OK, maybe not as soon as they woke up since I told them to go back to bed at 5:30 a.m. when they were already upstairs watching cartoons that "Grandpa said we could!" You have to love the excitement of kids. Going to the farm is like Christmas to them. Four-wheelers, cousins, Grandpa Larson, tractors, acres and acres to be explored. You get the idea.
They spent every moment outside on Saturday it seemed like. That night we had a BBQ at Oliver and Ashley's house and the kids played some more. Tom and Logan got their first taste of riding dirt bikes when they got on a Honda 50. They both did awesome! I was surprised at how easily it seemed to come to them. Tom was first and tipped it over once in some soft dirt but just picked the bike back up and continued on.
Logan went second and tipped it over in the same spot and, just like his brother, picked it up and continued. The difference between Tom and Logan was Tom waited to hear all of the instructions before taking off. Logan didn't. He knew how to go and go fast but not really anything else. It came back to get him when he was ba-ha-ing off through the brush and then practically jumping piles of grass clippings - none of which was intentional - and then he hit and hit hard. Thank goodness for helmets! It was one of those crashes that you immediately think about how long it will take you to get to the emergency room and who will take care of the other three kids and how will he play baseball with broken bones and.......you get the picture.
Much howling and wailing later, we realized nothing was broken and he only had a bit of a scratch on one leg and a slight bruise from the helmet on his forehead. He was done riding though. We tried to get him back on so he wouldn't be scared to do it later, but nothing doing. He preferred four-wheelers.
Ethan cracked me up all weekend. Saturday morning he inspected all the tractors he could find - I bet there were six or seven. For some reason, he liked the sprayer the best. I don't know if it was because it was much higher off the ground, or if it was the long arms that were folded in while it was parked, but that was "his" tractor. After a four-wheeler ride with Gary, he came back to see that someone had taken "his" tractor. Trying to get his mind off of the missing tractor, he went with Loney in another tractor to do some disking. It was all fine and dandy until he came back and saw that "his" tractor was still missing. So, being the wonder-mom I am, we went off in search of the sprayer and Oliver. Dad's farm is over 9,000 acres and I don't spend a lot of time there so when Oliver said he would be at the end of the farm, I just got in the car and went looking. Two phone calls for directions and one VERY VERY VERY LARGE mud puddle later, we found him. (I'll post more about the mud puddle another day.)
As soon as Ethan got in the sprayer, he let Oliver have it.
"You better not take my tractor again! This is my tractor!"
Oliver and I were both laughing pretty good.
Dylan spent the weekend either sleeping or standing up it seemed like. He wasn't really confident in standing without holding onto something before we went to Oregon but he seemed to stand longer and longer each day we were there. He'll be walking before we know it.
Sunday we hung out with Dad and enjoyed the beautiful weather in the morning. That night we went over to Loney and Rachelle's house and the kids played some more. Stetson even showed us how great he is walking using his walker. Keep it up Stets! The more you use your walker and crutches, the less you'll need that wheelchair!
The drive home was extra long with several stops and one extra passenger. We brought one of Dad's lab puppies home to Sunnie and Brandon's nephew. Since we didn't have a kennel and he was a bit larger than lap-size, it was quite the adventure. Tom and the puppy had a great time bonding in the back. He only chewed through one set of headphones and one cardboard box lid before he fell asleep!
Now we are all back into the groove at home and trying to recover from a fun road trip. I'm just glad it's the last week of school and we can start relaxing a bit more around here!
They spent every moment outside on Saturday it seemed like. That night we had a BBQ at Oliver and Ashley's house and the kids played some more. Tom and Logan got their first taste of riding dirt bikes when they got on a Honda 50. They both did awesome! I was surprised at how easily it seemed to come to them. Tom was first and tipped it over once in some soft dirt but just picked the bike back up and continued on.
Logan went second and tipped it over in the same spot and, just like his brother, picked it up and continued. The difference between Tom and Logan was Tom waited to hear all of the instructions before taking off. Logan didn't. He knew how to go and go fast but not really anything else. It came back to get him when he was ba-ha-ing off through the brush and then practically jumping piles of grass clippings - none of which was intentional - and then he hit and hit hard. Thank goodness for helmets! It was one of those crashes that you immediately think about how long it will take you to get to the emergency room and who will take care of the other three kids and how will he play baseball with broken bones and.......you get the picture.
Much howling and wailing later, we realized nothing was broken and he only had a bit of a scratch on one leg and a slight bruise from the helmet on his forehead. He was done riding though. We tried to get him back on so he wouldn't be scared to do it later, but nothing doing. He preferred four-wheelers.
Ethan cracked me up all weekend. Saturday morning he inspected all the tractors he could find - I bet there were six or seven. For some reason, he liked the sprayer the best. I don't know if it was because it was much higher off the ground, or if it was the long arms that were folded in while it was parked, but that was "his" tractor. After a four-wheeler ride with Gary, he came back to see that someone had taken "his" tractor. Trying to get his mind off of the missing tractor, he went with Loney in another tractor to do some disking. It was all fine and dandy until he came back and saw that "his" tractor was still missing. So, being the wonder-mom I am, we went off in search of the sprayer and Oliver. Dad's farm is over 9,000 acres and I don't spend a lot of time there so when Oliver said he would be at the end of the farm, I just got in the car and went looking. Two phone calls for directions and one VERY VERY VERY LARGE mud puddle later, we found him. (I'll post more about the mud puddle another day.)
As soon as Ethan got in the sprayer, he let Oliver have it.
"You better not take my tractor again! This is my tractor!"
Oliver and I were both laughing pretty good.
Dylan spent the weekend either sleeping or standing up it seemed like. He wasn't really confident in standing without holding onto something before we went to Oregon but he seemed to stand longer and longer each day we were there. He'll be walking before we know it.
Sunday we hung out with Dad and enjoyed the beautiful weather in the morning. That night we went over to Loney and Rachelle's house and the kids played some more. Stetson even showed us how great he is walking using his walker. Keep it up Stets! The more you use your walker and crutches, the less you'll need that wheelchair!
The drive home was extra long with several stops and one extra passenger. We brought one of Dad's lab puppies home to Sunnie and Brandon's nephew. Since we didn't have a kennel and he was a bit larger than lap-size, it was quite the adventure. Tom and the puppy had a great time bonding in the back. He only chewed through one set of headphones and one cardboard box lid before he fell asleep!
Now we are all back into the groove at home and trying to recover from a fun road trip. I'm just glad it's the last week of school and we can start relaxing a bit more around here!
Friday, May 23, 2008
Playlists anyone?
Okay, so some of you have music on your blogs. I WANT MUSIC TOO! Can I copy you playlists and how do I go about adding music?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Dylan's teeth and Tom's field trip
Dylan was so fussy yesterday that I finally put my finger in his mouth to see if anything was going on and guess what?!? He finally broke through his top tooth. That makes a grand total of three teeth for my little man with one more on the way soon. He seems like it is so much later than the other boys but with my memory, who knows. That is one of the reasons I really enjoy blogging lately. It's faster than writing down the little things they do and I will have a record of it later. I'm hopeful that I will print it out in book form come December.
Anyway! Tom is at school right now with his pack of hot dogs for their second grade walking field trip to a nearby park. They are suppose to BBQ and have games and all sorts of fun. The downer is this. It is about 60 degrees and raining but I guess they can't have it any other day. I am excited to find out just what they did today when he gets home and I hope he isn't freezing standing out in the rain in his sweatshirt all day. Will summer EVER get here?
Anyway! Tom is at school right now with his pack of hot dogs for their second grade walking field trip to a nearby park. They are suppose to BBQ and have games and all sorts of fun. The downer is this. It is about 60 degrees and raining but I guess they can't have it any other day. I am excited to find out just what they did today when he gets home and I hope he isn't freezing standing out in the rain in his sweatshirt all day. Will summer EVER get here?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Logan's Big Day
So, it's official. Logan graduated from Kindergarten! He was so cute sitting up there singing his heart out for the program. They sang about six or seven songs, complete with shimmies and shakes at the appropriate time. One of the songs ended with the kids blowing a kiss to the crowd. Logan warned me several days earlier that he would definitely NOT be participating in this part of the song. Sure enough, he held out and NO kiss left his mouth for the program. He is WAY WAY too cool for that.
Grandma Larson came up from Utah for the program and Gary took the morning off of work so he felt pretty cool I think. After the program we wanted to take him home but he was SOOOO sad we weren't letting him ride the bus. I use to hate riding the bus! I had to promise him that I wouldn't pick him up the rest of the year for him to ride home with us. He got to pick where we went for lunch and picked Burger King. The only problem was it was 10:30 a.m. Gary drove around for a while and at about 10:50 we finally parked and went in. We had to wait ten minutes for them to start serving lunch, not breakfast, but it was worth it to make his day a bit more special. I never thought I would be eating lunch at 11:00 and thinking that it was perfectly normal!
He asked me the other day about first grade and as the conversation progressed, I realized he thought first grade would start tomorrow. I had to tell him he still had about a week left of Kindergarten even after graduation. I think he's on board with that now but it took some convincing. He thought I just didn't understand what he was asking or that I didn't know how his school worked. The kid makes me laugh.
I can't believe two of my boys will be in school all day next year and that Tom will be in THIRD grade. It doesn't seem like Logan should be old enough for first grade yet. I called on preschool for Ethan next year too. Three in school. WOW! Hard to believe. I'm really proud of all Logan accomplished this year in Kindergarten. He really gave his best effort and mastered everything that came his way. I think I'll try to teach him to read more fluently this summer. The kid can do ANYTHING that he sets his mind to. I sure do love him!
Grandma Larson came up from Utah for the program and Gary took the morning off of work so he felt pretty cool I think. After the program we wanted to take him home but he was SOOOO sad we weren't letting him ride the bus. I use to hate riding the bus! I had to promise him that I wouldn't pick him up the rest of the year for him to ride home with us. He got to pick where we went for lunch and picked Burger King. The only problem was it was 10:30 a.m. Gary drove around for a while and at about 10:50 we finally parked and went in. We had to wait ten minutes for them to start serving lunch, not breakfast, but it was worth it to make his day a bit more special. I never thought I would be eating lunch at 11:00 and thinking that it was perfectly normal!
He asked me the other day about first grade and as the conversation progressed, I realized he thought first grade would start tomorrow. I had to tell him he still had about a week left of Kindergarten even after graduation. I think he's on board with that now but it took some convincing. He thought I just didn't understand what he was asking or that I didn't know how his school worked. The kid makes me laugh.
I can't believe two of my boys will be in school all day next year and that Tom will be in THIRD grade. It doesn't seem like Logan should be old enough for first grade yet. I called on preschool for Ethan next year too. Three in school. WOW! Hard to believe. I'm really proud of all Logan accomplished this year in Kindergarten. He really gave his best effort and mastered everything that came his way. I think I'll try to teach him to read more fluently this summer. The kid can do ANYTHING that he sets his mind to. I sure do love him!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Do Little Boys Get PMS?
I'm pretty sure boys can get p.m.s. How do I know?
1. Ethan has been crying, or should I say HOWLING, at any and everything. He will cry if I ask him to go potty because, "I don't like to___________" (fill in the blank with whatever I have suggested from potty to eating to napping to.....) He'll cry if I can't stop changing Dylan's poopy diaper to read him a book at that very instant. He'll cry if Logan looks at him or talks to him or makes a sound or wants a turn playing the wii or...... Honestly. I think his week of p.m.s. better be about over!
2. Dylan has also been crying and screeching. If I ask him to not throw his food on the floor he will throw - and I mean throw - his hands in the air in disgust and then screech baby obscenities at me from the top of his lungs. This happens in some form whenever he is not allowed to do something. Call me crazy but playing in the toilet, pulling all the clothes out of the drawers, pulling plugs out of outlets, banging blocks on the piano, etc., etc., are NOT okay in this house! His week of p.m.s. also better be about over. Since they share a room and spend so much time together, I figure they are on the same cycle by now. :)
3. Logan is also experiencing symptoms. When I told him this morning at breakfast that tomorrow he would need to wear a shirt with buttons and not some old t-shirt to his Kindergarten registration, you would have thought I asked him to dress in a pink tu-tu and heels. When I added that since it would be colder tomorrow, he would need to wear levis without those hard earned holes in the knees, I may as well have added make-up to the list. AHHHH Mom! Do I have to?
4. Tom has started into the pre-teen phase already and has his moody and non-moody days. Mostly the moody days are any day I ask him to do things or the days he must spend with his siblings. Non-moody are those he can run free through the neighborhood with his band of buddies doing whatever they want where ever they want.
P.M.S.? I think so!
Actually, in the big picture they are all pretty good. I was watching Tom at soccer practice last night thinking, "He is SOOOOO cute out there!" and I catch myself saying the same thing about Logan, Ethan, and Dylan daily. I don't know how we got so lucky to have the most handsome boys ever but I think we did. Maybe it's not the boys that are p.m.s.ing. Maybe it's me!
1. Ethan has been crying, or should I say HOWLING, at any and everything. He will cry if I ask him to go potty because, "I don't like to___________" (fill in the blank with whatever I have suggested from potty to eating to napping to.....) He'll cry if I can't stop changing Dylan's poopy diaper to read him a book at that very instant. He'll cry if Logan looks at him or talks to him or makes a sound or wants a turn playing the wii or...... Honestly. I think his week of p.m.s. better be about over!
2. Dylan has also been crying and screeching. If I ask him to not throw his food on the floor he will throw - and I mean throw - his hands in the air in disgust and then screech baby obscenities at me from the top of his lungs. This happens in some form whenever he is not allowed to do something. Call me crazy but playing in the toilet, pulling all the clothes out of the drawers, pulling plugs out of outlets, banging blocks on the piano, etc., etc., are NOT okay in this house! His week of p.m.s. also better be about over. Since they share a room and spend so much time together, I figure they are on the same cycle by now. :)
3. Logan is also experiencing symptoms. When I told him this morning at breakfast that tomorrow he would need to wear a shirt with buttons and not some old t-shirt to his Kindergarten registration, you would have thought I asked him to dress in a pink tu-tu and heels. When I added that since it would be colder tomorrow, he would need to wear levis without those hard earned holes in the knees, I may as well have added make-up to the list. AHHHH Mom! Do I have to?
4. Tom has started into the pre-teen phase already and has his moody and non-moody days. Mostly the moody days are any day I ask him to do things or the days he must spend with his siblings. Non-moody are those he can run free through the neighborhood with his band of buddies doing whatever they want where ever they want.
P.M.S.? I think so!
Actually, in the big picture they are all pretty good. I was watching Tom at soccer practice last night thinking, "He is SOOOOO cute out there!" and I catch myself saying the same thing about Logan, Ethan, and Dylan daily. I don't know how we got so lucky to have the most handsome boys ever but I think we did. Maybe it's not the boys that are p.m.s.ing. Maybe it's me!
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