Conversations with Ethan 2.0

Ethan just informed me that he's getting really strong....

because he ate his "Muscle Sprouts" at Jett's house. He has been spending A LOT of time with his friend Jett but I had no idea Jett's mom was feeding him Muscle Sprouts.

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Ethan and I were back in the kitchen this week and this time we made

really yummy homemade Granola Bars (yeah for no high fructose corn syrup).

Chris had to search far and wide for some of the ingredients but once collected...

it made for some oohey gooey yummy fun as they must be mixed with your hands.

Ethan's comment when I told him they must be mixed by hand:

Oh Yeah! I've always wanted to put my hands in a recipe. Love this kid :)

High Tech Nursery

Thank you Antibiotics!

By Friday I was feeling well enough to attend my meetings but not quite 100%. Luckily it was not our week to do nursery. Graham still freaks out as soon as he sees the room but this time he only cried for a minute when we dropped him off. As the parents of the nursery kids we take turns as couples watching the kids. However, most of the husbands have to leave for the last hour as they have obligations to attend to. This week was no different for the mom and dad in charge. Not long into the meeting the husband who had to leave leans over to Chris and shows him a text his wife just sent as she was unable to leave the kids....

Graham has poop.

I guess texting can be appropriate in church....sometimes.

Suspicious White Stuff

That suspicious white stuff and the raging sore throat for the last two days are indeed strep.

I am sooooo very sick. I can barely function and Chris starts night jobs tonight....
you probably won't hear from me from a bit.

Big Brother/Little Brother

Big Brother/Little Brother
is a game that Ethan and Graham play in the mornings before school while I lift weights.

The game usually consists of loading masses of toys onto one bed, diving into a pile of pillows and blankets, and on this day Graham became Superbaby.

He is a Superbaby but this Superbaby just turned 19 months and

is now entering the most difficult toddler stage for me as a mother. He now climbs EVERYTHING!

I really liked my counter height table set when we bought it but lately he gets up there and throws my center pieces off the table and likes to jump of into my arms when I approach him to get him down. The computer has become an obsession and the telephone a must have....he is busy, busy, busy.

He decided yesterday he no longer wants to use his highchair but his booster at the table with the big kids and still is very choosy about what he will eat.

I must add however, that since he is so stinkin' cute it's hard to get really mad and that it's the 3rd time around I know we just have to tough this out while he satisfies his curiosity. I am SO glad there is a 3 year gap between he and Ethan as it is so much more manageable than a two year gap. E is so good with G and helps keep an eye on him. Also now that G is becoming so busy it's nice that we've turned a corner with E. (You may have noticed a dry blogging spell about Mr. Mischief.) He still beats up Zach on a daily basis but they are often getting along better. E hasn't been going to time out nearly as often and stays there when he's told to. He hasn't done anything offensive in public (like going nude in the park) or private for weeks now. (I hope I'm not setting myself up for disaster by saying all this.)). Raising him has been tough at times both mentally and physically. But E also has this truly sweet caring and sharing side to him and I am so glad that it's getting way more shine time lately.

A K4 program just got final approval and a teacher hired so in Sept. Ethan will be going to REAL school and we are all super excited.

Dementor At My Door

Last week I was busily typing away at my computer when the doorbell rang. I opened the door expecting to see my gardener but instead SCREAMED. I don't know who was more surprised me to see the person in my doorway clad completely in black,

(Picture from Wikipedia)

or she to have me scream in fright when I opened the door.

Whoops.

When I realized it was just my Saudi neighbor who lives behind me I started laughing and properly greeted her but I didn't really know how to excuse my behavior either. She's never come to my door before and it just completely startled me as she was standing RIGHT in the doorway not a few steps back as most people do.

Not sure what she thinks of me now....but she wasn't afraid to return a few minutes later to add some deleted information in a recipe she had given me and was kind enough to tell me she liked the paint colors I'd chosen in the house.

Pedal Magic

"I WANT TO RIDE WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS,"
was Ethan's mantra for the last several weeks.

After doing the run behind thing without much success I remembered the "Pedal Magic" website my brother raved about.

So I paid my 20.00 smackers and Ethan and I watched the 15 minute video.

After we better understood the mechanics of balance and practiced the skills they taught he was off! I should add that the video only addresses staying up not so much pushing off to get started and braking to stop.

It took about two days of practicing before he really got it but within minutes of starting his crashes became minimal. It was amazing. I recommend Pedal Magic to anyone ready to lose those trainers. Now we are working on proper braking to stop instead of just dragging the feet and starting on his own. He does think it's funny to run into the curb at full speed and get flipped off the bike. I am encouraging him NOT to do this.

It's not all hard work, we goof off a bit too.

And of course G wants to get in on the action too.

So glad to have gotten another LIFE SKILL out of the way before it becomes 110 degrees!

We must be acclimating because 104 doesn't seem so bad some days.....it must be the dry heat.

I did however, get my butt outta bed at 5am to ride in the 80's today instead of 100's. It was wonderful because I didn't run out of water and was able to average 2mph faster.

If anyone would have told me two years ago that I would ride a bike in 100 degree weather for fun I would have said they were insane...but now...it's just me that's a bit crazy.

The Pay Off

We never got an allowance as kids. I think my parents did say once upon a time that they would pay us a quarter for every 15 minutes of piano practicing we did but I don't remember ever getting paid. I'm not sure if that was because they didn't hold up their end of the bargain or if we just didn't practice long enough to earn anything.

I don't believe Chris got an allowance either but he did earn money for good grades.

For these last few years we've gone back and forth with the idea of paying an allowance or not. We didn't want to pay our kids to do jobs that were just expected to be done as part of a family. But we did feel it was important to teach them about money, tithing, and working for things. Back in AK I did set aside some cleaning jobs for Zach so he could earn some money. Pennies, nickles, and dimes really didn't go far but at age 3. I don't think he ever spent any just collected and frankly the jobs were performed at a 3 year old level....but he was getting the idea.

Now that we have a houseboy helping me do many of the chores the boys were left with no chance to earn money and us as parents wondering how we could instill the "working hard" for the things we want concept. Over the last several months they have been asking what they could do to earn money.

Basically I made a chore chart of little jobs for them such as putting dishes away after meals, reading, making their beds, dressing themselves, etc. Many of these things are not difficult but I wanted some parts of my day to go smoother such as teeth brushing time and having them dress themselves. So far we are a month into it and some things have definitely become smoother and others they still just don't do. To earn their money I will not nag them but give one or two gentle reminders. For every ten chores they do they earn 1 SAR which equals about .25 USD. We can also add on additional chores as needed. Frankly I'm happy to pay them if they do a chore/task quickly and without fussing for 20 minutes about it.


The real deciding factor in doing this was I HATE, DETEST, ABHOR, taking my children to the store. They want to buy everything and anything. I've had to take Ethan kicking and screaming out of the commissary over not buying him a roll of purple yarn for Pete's sake. Vacations were becoming difficult b/c they wanted everything in the shop windows and were sometimes doing the grab and go.

After our trip to Dubai we'd had enough and commenced the job chart and from now on they have been told that we will not buy them treats at the store. If it is not on my list it is their responsibility to buy it.

So did it work????
Yes it has! We have bought better behavior and helpfulness around the house from our children.

Between losing teeth, birthday money, and chores Zach has a nice little stash and two weeks ago we put this concept to the test. We had a bit of shopping to do in town. I had run out of birthday gifts to have on hand so I had to do the unthinkable.....take my children to the toy section and pick out gifts. We did the usual prep...don't go crazy we aren't buying for you and you can pick out stuff for your friends but we won't be buying for you. So after about 3.5 seconds they went nutso filling the cart with everything under the sun for their friends of course but also for themselves. After putting it back and reminding them that they had their own money to spend things went back to normal.

In the end Zach did find a Ben 10 Hot Wheel car he wanted and had enough money. Ethan wanted one too so very badly but didn't have enough. He fussed a bit, but lesson learned....he just hasto do more chores.

After the yarn incident I swore never to take Ethan to the store again....but since we have some new guidelines and rules I decided to try again. So with a pocket full of money we headed out. I got the few things we needed and he shopped with his own basket. It was such a pleasant experience....other than it took him ages to decide just how to spend his wad. I was shocked at how well he understood what he could and couldn't afford. The purple yarn was still in the running but in the end he came home with these......
....and a smile on mom's face.

This week we had an FHE on tithing, saving money, and budgeting to help further this process.

Hoops

Our little sportsman gets very frustrated that he can't reach the big boys basketball hoop. He stretches and reaches and will bring a small step stool out to give him an advantage but it's just not enough. So one evening Chris came home with a surprise for
Graham!

The third child that rarely gets anything new.....

...got his very own Basketball Hoop.

Of course Zach and Ethan were a bit jealous but they just had to get over it.

What a cutie!
Graham was so excited he wouldn't let Chris open the package by himself and in the end there were several extra pairs of hands trying to help.

He's made some really good shots and he's pretty darn consistent too.

Sleepover Sass

A sleep over?
At 6 years old?
I didn't know if we were ready for this but some how this sweet smile convinced me.
One of Zach's best friends, Carlos,  REALLY REALLY wanted to sleep over.
After talking with his mom we decided to try it out and see how the boys did.
I told mine this was a trial sleep over this did not set a precedent that we would do this again in the future. There is just too much crazy stuff happening now days. We are super sheltered here but I don't want to start a trend now that is acceptable when circumstances change.

So Wed. evening after all the boys attended a mutual friend's birthday party, then they came over.
There was A LOT of Wii, laughter, and silliness. Then the evening ended around 10:00pm after a movie.

They all went to bed without too much trouble and only romped around for about 10-15 minutes.

What I didn't expect was for Carlos to wake up and get my boys up at
5:30AM!

I shushed them all back to bed surprised that Carlos was even able to get Zach to open his eyes at that hour. Again I was surprised that they remained there until 6:30. When they were too hungry and awake to stay in their room they came and asked if they could get up. I must also note Chris attended a Saudi Wedding the night before and was not asked to arrive until 10:30pm so he got home at 2AM and didn't hear any of this. So, at 6:30 I told the boys to eat the banana muffins that Carlos' mom had sent and get some milk and just be as quiet as possible to let everyone else sleep.

UH, what was I thinking of course two silly 6 year olds couldn't possible be quiet in a house that echos like the Grand Canyon. So by 7 the whole house was up, except Chris of course.
When I went out to see what they were up to there were no muffins in sight and they were gorging themselves on the birthday candy from the party.

Overall the boys were very well behaved, other than 'the little brothers want to play too conflicts', and Carlos stayed here until around 1pm.

And then the SASS started!
Zach became a different child! He whined and fussed and sassed and talked back the rest of the day. It was like he was possessed by someone else not our sweet Zach. All due to the lack of sleep of course. So although he did not want to hear this, after we had had ENOUGH of the sass, I explained that although the boys were good we would not be doing future sleepovers. He could have/go over to a friends house for Wii, dinner, and movies but at 10pm they or he will go/come home and sleep in their own beds allowing them to sleep in the next morning.

Better Late Than Never

When Ethan turned 4 we wrote a list of some of his favorite things. Somehow when Zach turned 6 we never got around to it so last night when I got home he was excited to show me what he and Chris had worked on.

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Things That Are Different About Zach Now That He Is Six

· My favorite TV show is Ben10: Alien Force.

· My favorite treat is homemade Popsicles (Oreos says Mom)

· I can ride more rides now that I’m six. (At water and amusement parks)

· My favorite TV channel is Cartoon Network.

· My favorite brother is Graham.

· I love to watch family videos.

· I love to play with Graham.

· I’m a General on my Star Wars game for Leap Frog.

· I love to kiss Graham on the cheek.

· I love to play basketball.

· Anya, Abigail, Carlos, and Cason are my best friends.

· My favorite toys are my Legos.

· I’m making a movie called “Atlantis” with my brother.

· I can swim in the deep end and jump off the diving board without floaties.

· I love my Mom and Dad a lot. They are the best.

· I like to watch Wizards of Waverly Place on the Disney Channel.

· My favorite fruit is a pear.

· My favorite dinner is spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs.

· For breakfast, my favorite food is buttered toast.

· Another one of my favorite foods is hot dogs (with a bun!).

· I am also very good at stopping on my bike using my brakes.

Mother's Day

It's my Day!

And these are the 3 Amazing Reasons Why!

At the age of 14 I was given a Priesthood Blessing and part of it said I would have "...one of the choicest gifts given to a daughter of God, that of motherhood."

AND SO IT IS....
The Gift That Keeps On Giving.


Today I received this LOVE BUG from Zach.

I am so loving his writing right now. I will translate just in case:

I love you. You are the best mom in the whole entire world. Love Zach. I love how you can count so high. You are the best. xoxoxox

Here we are dancing off into the sunset together.

And now for Ethan....

He made this wonderful card with heart flowers, a picture of me in the top left corner, and do you see the double blue loop at the bottom left. He said that is a "Bum and a Gina (his way of saying vagina) because they are such good friends."

Doesn't that just bring tears to your eyes.

But this day isn't just
ABOUT ME
it's also about my mom and Chris' mother so this is for you!

Customize your own free greeting

Ethan Oddities

As Chris was tucking Ethan into bed the other evening he said,
"Dad, I want to put some toothpaste in my nose so I can breath fresh at night."

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Then today after lunch Ethan disappeared for a few minutes. I thought maybe he had gone outside or to the neighbors so I didn't check too hard. My mommy senses were not tingling so I wasn't to worried.

After hearing the toilet lid drop and flush I knew where he was. We've been working on independent bum wiping where he calls me to double check after his own attempt but not today. When he came into the kitchen I asked him if he had been to the bathroom. He said, "Yes. But I didn't need your help. My bum is totally clean because I hopped up on the sink and checked in the mirror."

Ethan has this amazing ability to make me CRY.....sometimes out of frustration but often tears of laughter. It's a strange mix with this boy.

The Game Of Life

We've been playing A LOT of Uno lately. A few months back the Reynolds had Zach over one evening and taught him the game. He came home raving about it asking if we could PLEASE get some Uno cards. He was shocked when I told him we did have some in the drawer already. Both he and Ethan picked up the game very quickly and has now become a family favorite.

Since they were doing so well with that one I decided they might also like the game of Life. Last weekend on our Friday home I pulled it out and was correct......they LOVED IT.

Ethan was an absolute RIOT!

I had no idea anyone his age would be so excited about first getting married (a lot of arm pumping and "YESSSSS!" being said) and secondly even more excited about having kids (much jumping up and down).

I was pretty far along in the game and still hadn't landed on any spaces that gave me children when he and Zach happily had mostly full cars. Then I came to a split in the road where I could choose between having a son or taking a significant amount of money......I chose the money. When I did so Ethan had this look of absolute disgust on his face and asked, "You would rather take the money than have a kid?" I replied that in this case I would. He taking this game seriously was appalled with my decision. I new there were more chances for children in the game and they did come, but in my mind I was thinking You my child, You are the reason I am thinking twice about having more children.

Later E lost his car insurance for reckless driving. When I took the insurance he had a grumpy face and said, "GRRR. I am not a bad driver!"

As for Zach I was intrigued by the lessons he learned. It didn't take long for him to understand that certain choices along the way were risky and what decisions might help you invest for the future. At one point I was very much in debt. He was very concerned about this an offered to help me out as he was quite well off. I told him that it was important for me to try and pay my own debts first but thanks for offering. Then I landed on a Lucky Day and told him that it meant I could take a small amount of cash as a gift or gamble for big money. I was surprised how well he had caught on and said, "Mom, don't risk the spin. The chances are not good that you will land on the numbers and you are so much in debt it would be better just to take the gift money even if it's less. Besides, we aren't supposed to gamble anyway." So I followed his advice.

I hadn't remembered so many REAL life lessons in this game and was pleasantly surprised at the lessons my boys have already learned in their short lives.

It Takes A Bit Of Courage

It takes a bit of courage as Kindergartner
to stand up in front of the entire elementary school
and share some thoughts about your country.

In fact some kids only stood and didn't want to speak in front of all students, teachers, and parents.

Between Kinders A & B there are kids from:
South America & Mexico

Northern Africa & Arabia

USA, Canada, & Ireland

and India.

Zach shared that in America we celebrate Christmas and the 4th of July. He also had written that we are also a Democracy but decided that might be a bit much.

Also Zach is becoming a very good reader. His class has a reading garden. Each day they can bring home a book and after they have read it they write the title and their name on a paper flower to add to the garden.