The Zoo

At the zoo this on Tuesday:

Ian to the Storks:

Hi, I'm Ian. We are humans.

Slice of Cheese??

Recently, we have been having a problem with Evan and his anger issues.

The way that it generally manifest itself is through yelling and name calling and it is usually directed at me. His insults of choice have been "Idiot" or "Meanie-ac" (which I assume was supposed to be maniac but meanie applies as well).

The rod of correction has been liberally applied so now he is thinking twice before he calls me a name.

Now, after careful consideration by the 3 year old, his name of choice for me is "Slice of Cheese".

Not sure where that came from and not sure I like it, but it beats the others.

There is still the respect issue that we are working on. One battle at a time!

Are the judges ready?

The scene at our house this morning:

Evan walks into the kitchen, where I am, with his rifle, sabre, and little flag folded neatly and ready to lay on the front sideline.

Evan: Mom, I'm a guard boy. Can you get the music ready?

He puts on his glove and stands at attention as I put the CD in the player.

Evan: Mom, SAY IT!

Me: Say what?

Evan: Say, "Are the judges ready? Is the unit ready? Performing their show. Lawrence County High School Winter Guard you can take the floor in competition."

I say it then push play. Evan proceeds to perform his interpretation of Pages of My Letter by Keri Noble.

We may have retired, but I am afraid that my boys, in particular Evan, have not retired.

It is going to get quieter aroud here...

Ian has officially decided to move to Aunt Susan's house. He is tired of me telling him no and thinks Susan makes a much better mom. According to him, she lets him do what he wants and is way cooler than I am. Plus, her house has an upstairs.

But, he does want me to pack his bag for him and drive him over.

I am sure this isn't the first time he will 'run away' to Aunt Susan. Thank goodness for good aunts who can spoil our kids in ways that we can't.

I remember another little boy who used to say the very same things to Susan about his Aunt Sally. Now we have come full circle.

Call me if you see a U-haul leaving my house being driven by a 4 year old!!!

BTW, Evan fired me yesterday, again. Guess I'm doing something right as a mom! :)

"I miss my guard girls"

Those were the first words out of Evan's mouth this morning. Followed by, "Can we go to a guard contest?" We shouldn't be surprised. The color guard life is all my boys have known. I knew they would miss it, but I guess I didn't realize how much.

The girls from our program have played a big part in the lives of our boys. All have been special in one way or another, but some have become like sisters to our boys. Evan will really miss his 'friend Christian'. They both miss Emily and Sasha who have already graduated but have been their babysitters since they were born. They will miss all of you who chased them or helped watch them since they were babies. They will miss riding Mr. Harvie's bus with you and playing with you. They will miss running onto the floor during rehearsal or running out onto the floor during retreat to steal a trophy or two.

They are not the only ones who will miss it. I know I will miss the relationships that we have had with the girls and some of their parents. Mostly, I will miss being able to watch as the girls grow and mature from silly little girls into beautiful young women. The guard program offered Kenneth and I the opportunity to help 'parent' some kids when we didn't have kids of our own. I know we have touched many lives over the past 19 years, but the kids have touched us more deeply than any of them will ever know. Thank you to each and every one of you for being who you were and even more for who you have become as you have matured.

Remember this, "If you do your best, then you always win."

We love you all and will miss the activity.

Thanks again for 19 years! God bless!

Mac and Cheese

Ian: Dad, can I have some more macaroni and cheese?

Kenneth: Sure Ian, let me get you some.

Ian: Dad, maybe you should call me E....(short for Ian)

Kenneth: Okay E...here's your macaroni.

Ian: Thanks, Ken

"Five Loaves and Two Fish" abridged by Ian

The other night during their bedtime reading, Kenneth shared the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. As he often does, Kenneth used cloze sentences and prompted Ian to fill in the blanks. Here's Ian's spin on the biblical account.

Kenneth: Jesus was teaching a huge crowd of people. Lunch time came and there was nothing for the people to eat. One of the disciples said that he had seen a little boy with five loaves of bread and two fish. So Jesus...

Ian: ... told the disciples, "Steal the kid's food and I'll make it bigger and give it to everyone else."

Kenneth: Are you sure that's what happened? Jesus told him to steal it?

Ian: No, actually he (the disciple) took out his cell phone and called for someone to bring everybody something good to eat.

Getting Started

Well, here goes nothing. I have been reading blogs for a while and think maybe it is time that I joined the blogger world. My life is like a circus sometimes with my 2 boys (3 actually--one just happens to be the one I am married to). I love being a mom and wife. I love my life as well. I hope that the events of my life may put a smile on some faces or at least a nod of knowing sympathy from those other moms of boys out there.

My boys are ages 4 and 3. We waited later in life to have our boys. More accurately, God waited until we were older to give us our boys. They are 14 months apart, so at times it is like having twins around here. I had 4 years of diapers (3 with 2 in diapers), I had two on bottles, two in cribs, two with pacifiers. You get the picture. It has been quite a tiring 4 years for me, but it is getting easier month by month. I shouldn't complain. At least my boys were sleepers and slept through the night most of the time. Usually the only time they would wake at night as babies was when they were sick. So, I count myself blessed.

My 4 year old is Ian. He is so much like me it isn't funny. (Or at least that is what my mom tells me) He is very interested in learning all he can about everything. He soaks up everything he hears like a sponge, especially about science and math. Here is an example of an exchange he and I had yesterday:

Ian: Mom, can you get me an inclined plane? I want to push my cars up on my bed.
Me: Sure, Ian. What is an inclined plane? (asking to see if he knows what he is talking about)
Ian: (looking at me as if I had just asked the dumbest question in the world) Mom, it is a simple machine. You know, like a board or a ramp.

Life with Ian is going to be very interesting as he gets older and learns more.

Now, Evan! What a child! Kenneth says that Evan is a lot like he was. The dear Lord must have given me Evan to teach me patience. I have recently learned to stop praying for patience. Instead, I pray for perseverance. That is what it is going to take to survive Evan. Let me describe him for you. He is very strong willed. He is the one who makes his big brother cry. He has a vein on the side of his neck that pops out when he is angry (he got that from his Papa Jerry who has one on his forehead). He likes to make himself heard and likes to have things his way. An example of Evan:

Me: Evan, stop writing on the wall!!! Give me that pen, NOW!!!
Evan: NO!!!!! (takes off running to the other room)
Me: You better stop right there, young man!!!
Evan: You are fired, Mom!

Now, for the gentle side, Evan is my precious angel. He is very sweet, when he wants to be. And is the first to say the kindest things to me. He gives the sweetest hugs and kisses and is such a blessing. He likes to play alone and is so much fun to sit and listen to when he doesn't know you are listening.

Life with Evan is always an adventure!

My 3rd boy is my husband Kenneth. He is the most amazing man I know. I am so blessed to share my life with him. We have been married almost 19 years. Although we have had the normal ups and downs of a marriage, our relationship is stronger than it has ever been. We actually like each other which is something that a lot of folks who have been married as long as we have can't say! He is an amazing father and I am so thankful that God put him in my life!