Our Little Man

Kenny has really come into the big brother role over the past few months. He makes sure Nathan is happy and safe. On the weekend mornings, Kenny usually wakes up very early. He comes downstairs and turns on a movie. When Nathan wakes up he gets something for both of them to eat. Sometimes healthy, sometimes not. This morning they each had a Lunchable. Kenny gets Nathan a binky and a blanket when he's sad and takes things away from him if he think they are not safe (and sometimes just to be mean). The two of them have become best friends-fighting and all. It is so wonderful to see Kenny blossoming so much.

Please help!

Do you see? Do you see what I am forced to live with?!?
I NEED A LITTLE GIRL! I'm SEVERELY out-numbered.

Master Jedi

Kenny is going to be a Jedi for Halloween. We got his costume this weekend and he loves to wear it. He also gave himself a new Jedi name, which he insists on being called by when wearing the costume. He won't respond to his own name at all.

Master Jedi Complain Auctions

I swear he comes up with this stuff all by himself!

The makings of a Demon???

So... This morning, I was deeply involved in my early morning ETBME's (Examining The Back of My Eyelids) while the kids quietly watched PBS. Things couldn't have been better, when suddenly I was wrenched out of my routine by a WHACK!!!!, a blood-curdling scream, and some devilish giggling. I know what you're all thinking at this point, and I must admit I jumped to the same conclusion as I lept up from my prone position and rushed to bring the world into focus. But something struck me as odd... The child who had apparently been dismembered with a rusty, dull, butter knife was screaming with a -ahem, more mature scream than what I was used to. Also, the demon-laughing had a certain newness in it's cackles. As the world came into focus, my suspicions were confirmed. Now normally in this situation, I would have screamed "KENNY!!!! WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR BROTHER!?!?" Rather, I found myself saying -rather confusedly, "NATHAN!?!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR BROTHER????"

Apparently, this is what happened (as best as I can tell from the information presented to me, which could be considered a bit loaded on one side -since one of the parties in this event cannot speak for himself). The boys were watching TV and getting into things for no other reason than to make a mess (usual behavior). Nathan got a hold of a remote control, and apparently wondered to himself what would happen if he launched this missile-like object at his brother. So the great experiment was put into action. Knowing that his accuracy was lacking, Nathan knew he needed to get in close to insure a direct hit, so the missile -err, remote control was launched at his brother at a distance of no more than 20 inches. It's flight brief, the missile scored a direct hit, impacting the victim's forehead with a loud WHACK!!! Now, post-impact, Nathan realized that he was surprisingly on the other side the victim-perpetrator relationship he had become so familiar with over the years, and was completely unable to contain himself. He was absolutely giddy with delight that it was his brother, rather than him, that was screaming in pain! His perverse happiness came to a quick end as I scolded him for being mean to his brother (such an odd moment for me, as I am so used to donning the title -Punisher of Kenny).

Alas, I can only hope that I have helped Nathan learn that actions have consequences, and that he will avoid the "dark side" from now on. But then again, we could now be seeing the beginnings of the campaign of The Great Revenge... Only time will tell. I pray now for the sanity of the mediator's, and would ask all of you to do the same...

Wedding YMCA

A family tradition. Enjoy!

Little Einstein

My kids (especially Nathan) love the Disney show Little Einsteins. It's a great little show that teaches a little about classical composers, music terms, and great works of art. Anyway, both boys can sing all the little songs by heart. Here is the theme song.

Attention All Nerds!

I have a seemingly unsolvable puzzle on my hands. I will give anyone who can honestly answer my question a big plate of chocolate chip cookies. Here's the story.

I SWEAR I dress my kids in clean, matching outfits everyday. I comb and gel their hair everyday. Sometimes I wonder why I even try when my efforts are destroyed as soon as they eat anything. By anything I mean anything. A simple carrot stick will somehow end up mashed into their shirts or pants causing a lovely orange blob to attached itself indefinitely. And forget about the backyard. You know the sad thing about this picture is that both Nathan and Kenny did this to themselves. That's right. In boy world throwing dirt on yourself is as fun as playing with worms or using sticks a light sabers. You don't find little girls throwing dirt in their own hair. Someone else...maybe...but not their own.

Now here's the thing. In this picture, the shirt Nathan is wearing is a snapped-between-the-legs onesie with a pair of shorts over the onesie that he actually kept on for a change. He left a trail of dirt as he paraded upstairs for a bath and left a nice little pile on the floor of his room when he jumped up and down. I took off his shorts and unsnapped his shirt. About a 1/2 cup of dirt fell onto the floor. I thought, "What on earth was he doing outside to get this much of it under his shorts?" Then I undid his diaper. Another full 1/2 cup of dirt feel out. Now I thought, "Wow, my son has just done what top physicists around the world would love to do. He has defied the laws of gravity without use of any specialized equipment!"

Seriously...how did he do that? How did he get THAT much dirt under his shorts, inside his onesie, up his stomach, and back down inside his diaper on the bum-side heading back up his back?!?

Come on. I am open to any suggestions.

Just give me a simple scientific or mathematical explanation.

No one?!?

Hmm...maybe I should ask NASA.

Update

Sorry it's been a few days. We've been really busy. We all have colds that are just NOT giving up. I got attacked by a student a few days ago. I have had chairs, books, and desks thrown at me, but I haven't ever been attacked. This little 6 year old boy was trying to run away. I was blocking the door while another teacher blocked my class as this little guy was going crazy. By crazy I mean kicking, screaming, and thrashing around. He grabbed my pinky finger and bent it backwards. I told him to stop because he was hurting me and he looked me right in the eye and bent it back the rest of the way. At the same time, he reared his head back and slammed it into my stomach three times. About 30 seconds later the assistant principals arrived. As they were taking him to the office, he writhed out of their grasp and took off out the front door of the school. They chased him down and got him into the office. They locked all the office doors and stood barring them while he screamed, and kicked, and threw things around for awhile. And the best part...his Mom thought it was funny!

Sleepover

Occasionally, Ken has sleepovers with the boys. They drag their blankets, pillows, blankies, binky, and bear (they like the letter B) to the living room. They stay up late playing Lego Star Wars. Eventually, they quit playing and start a movie. Before the opening credits are done, both boys are fast asleep. They love these little sleepovers. I took this picture the next morning before I left for work.


Speaking of Lego Star Wars- that game rules our house. Kenny will do anything to earn game playing minutes. It's like having a servant-boy in the house. Which is, of course, the purpose of having children. Unfortunately, most of the time he forgets what it is you asked him to get for you before he gets to it. He usually ends up bringing you some random item. And he's so used to getting us diapers for Nathan that when he forgets what you asked for he just brings you a diaper.

Okay, I've rambled enough.

Umm...What Are You Doing?

"Playing crashing rockets, Mom. This is our crashing rocket and we are going to crash on the train table."

"Okay. Have fun."

First Day of Preschool

The boys are both going to the same school this year. We enrolled Nathan for enrichment purposes. His only playmate is his brother, and we felt he should have interaction with kids who don't boss him around every second of his life. Nathan goes twice a week, and Kenny goes three times a week. They have a great time. It's really good for them.

These are pictures of their first day. Kenny is helping out Nathan because he's been to school so he knows how this goes.
Hey Nathan, your diaper's hanging out. Nathan? Naaaathan. Okay, whatever. You dislike pants so much you probably don't care.
Look at these handsome little men. Nathan LOVES his backpack. He wants to wear it all the time. And Kenny really likes his cool Cars lunch box. I wish they could stay little forever.

Boy, they really look like brothers.

Oh Kenny...

Last night during family prayer Kenny said, "Please thank me that I'll get a new crashing rocket. And please help Mommy and Daddy appreciate me when they do something wrong."

We tried VERY hard not to laugh, but we were not successful.

Kids!

Look at these two little sweeties. Best Friends. Always together. Being brothers. Enjoying each other's company. I love to see them play so well together.

That was then. Now our house resembles this.

My two boys will not get along for anything! I know, I've tried. I'm not one of those moms who writes a book about how to raise perfect children who use only intrinsic motivation to behave themselves. I'm not above bribery. It works for most adults, why not kids. But no amount of treats, or time-outs, or scary mom voices will get these boys to be friends. I really hope this is just a phase or I may be forced to send them both to military school.

They take preschoolers, right?!?

Please say they do.

No really, just lie to me and say they do. It'll help me sleep at night. Otherwise I may end up looking like this!

Our Weekend

So...our weekend. We took Nathan to the E.R. He fell off our bed and hit head first. He went limp and started to fall asleep. There wasn't an external bump, but he was not acting at all like himself and he would not hold his weight at all. We called a friend of ours who is a doctor and he very graciously came over and looked at Nathan. He advised we take him in- just in case. So he had a C.T. scan and everything came back fine. It took about 4 hours for him to begin acting like his normal self. And once the Tylenol wore off he started crying and saying "Bonkey hurt. Bonkey hurt." Poor baby. In his two little years he has been in the E.R. three times for various things.

Anyway, he is fine now and we are trying very hard to keep him from falling off any high places. Hard to do with Kenny as his example.

Are you a Nerd?

So, I was on digg again, and I just read that the website nerdtests.com has come out with their Nerdtest v2.0. Since I had already taken the original test, I decided I had to take this one. So, here are my results...





Now, while I was taking this test, my beautiful wife came over to me to see what I was doing. After she huffed and puffed something about me just taking a nerd test screamed that I was a nerd (Who am I to argue? I just wanted to find out what kind of nerd I was!) She decided that she needed to take the test to prove to me how un-nerdy she was. Here are her results...





I guess she showed me...

Found this on Digg

This is hilarious. I found this on Digg. Enjoy!

(Click here for the link to the original)

Here in the US we have laws governed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) which are meant to protect workers from unsafe conditions. But apparently OSHA is on holiday right now. Meanwhile the rest of the world needs to be adopting some safety standards too, or they are going to be ending up headlining the Darwin Awards.

Take this photo for example: “Let me just drive this forklift off the dock… while carrying a bomb!”

Just imagine what this little Asian guy looks like when he takes off his shirt! He must be built like a mini Schwarzenegger.

Do you think his last words were, “Let me just get this last weld on the gas tank…”

Let me get this straight. He’s going to paint the entire side of a building with a brush, by hand, on ladders lashed together 4 stories high?

Note: Bare feet on aluminum ladder sitting in pool of water with electrical cord dangling above. Nice.

Let’s assume that’s all styrofoam strapped to the bicycle. What happens if a strong wind blows?

Ok. 10 feet away is what looks like a 4″ pipe that goes up well beyond the roof. Why not just climb it?

What the hell is he pointing at, and where does he think he’s going?

Now what? The second forklift driver isn’t even at the controls!

Do you think the rich guy that hired them to trim the hedges is fully insured?

These guys don’t look like they work for the electric company to me.

Rainy Day Escape

Daddy was home with the kids yesterday while I was at work. Nathan had just woken up from a nap and the boys were watching a movie while Ken was working on some school work. Kenny had decided, on his own, to go outside in the back yard. A little while later it suddenly started raining very hard. A little while later, Daddy got up to do a head count. Nathan was playing nicely in the living room, but Kenny was not responding to his calls. After a thorough search of the house, Ken noticed the outside door to the backyard was open. He stuck his head out-in the rain- and called for Kenny.

I know you are expecting me to tell you Kenny came skipping around the corner looking like a drowned rat. But I'm not going to tell you that.

Ken called for Kenny and saw a little boy climb out of the dog bed with a happy grin. Apparently, he was looking for a jump rope when it started raining. Of course, he would have come inside, but he didn't have a jump rope yet so he decided to wait it out in the dog house.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Nathan: "Hey Mom. Guess what?"
Mom: "What?"
Nathan: "Maybeeeeeee horse."

What does that mean? I have no idea. But he says it all the time.

Daddy: "Bud, make sure you put the lotion on your tummy this time instead of your hair."
Mommy: "Did he do that last time?"
Daddy: "Yeah. He got a little confused."
Kenny (with much emphasis): "No. I got A LOT confused."


Mommy: "Kenny, what did you learn about in Primary today?"
Kenny: "Jesus."
Mommy: "What about Jesus?"
Kenny: "Umm....his whole body."

Hummm...interesting.

Another Day at the Office: Helicopter Pilot Style

This video was done by one of the pilots at the company that Ken will be finishing his training with and then work for. After he is done training, he will be working as their flight instructor Monday-Thursday and boat photographer pilot Friday-Sunday. He'll do that for a little while to build his flight hours.

Sorry the quality is low, but at least you get to see what he'll be doing and flying.

Ken has often said he is going to love having the world for his office. It would be really cool.

Potato-Man

Nathan has been playing Mr. Potatohead a lot today. At one point he held up a body and a cowboy hat to Daddy and said, " Help me cowboy. Help me cowboy." He has this tiny little voice that is adorable. He made this Potatohead to take to bed with him.After a few minutes he became a little distressed because he realized it wasn't quite right. He cried for a minute before he figured out he could fix it. That made things much better.