A Sunny Day On The Beach

We have enjoyed several weekends of different art styles, but Will chose a melted crayon project to turn in for the fair. I was a bit confused that the entries were due about two weeks after the fair, but I read the entire packet to discover, he really just had to get it turned in a year before the next fair. If you want to see his entry in person, go to the East Texas Fair in October 2012. I think it will be posted under the second grade art projects. He is quite proud of his painting and I wanted to get a picture of him with it just in case we don't get it back. The entry had to fit particular size guidelines and be mounted with a title on poster board of a specific size. He named his art "A Sunny Day On The Beach." I am so proud of my little artist ... and I'd sure like to visit that beach soon. 

Four Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate

I used to sing a pumpkin song to Will. I tried singing it to the kids the other day, but the loud clap startled them and they refuse to let me sing it now. I can't help but laugh that these kids are enjoying being scared by Halloween decor, but their mama clapping is just too much. Nonetheless, every time I see our decorated pumpkins, I at least hum the tune to myself. Ben, Maddie, and Jon decorated their pumpkins for school, and Will decorated one just because he wanted to. We still have a few more around here undecorated, so I may have to post more pictures this weekend ... I have a feeling those orange squashes will be boredom busters again.

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate;

The first one said, "Oh my it's getting late."

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "But I don't care."

The fourth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"

The fifth one said, "Let's run and run and run."

"Wooooooo" went the wind,

And out went the lights. (CLAP!)
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.

Garage Sale and Lemonade Stand

We just got to check another box on our lifetime bucket list -- a garage sale! We have never had one, and with all the work that went into it, I remember why. It actually went quite well. I wasn't as prepared as I hoped (thanks in part to the flu making its rounds, Allen being called out to work, and a few other things we couldn't avoid.) BUT, once I decided to be okay with not being completely ready, things went smoothly. Usually we have piles and boxes of things filling our garage and when we get tired of them, I take kids' clothes and toys to friends or family with younger children, we take extra books to the library, and we take all the rest to Goodwill. As we started the mountain of things to purge, we realized that we had enough for a sale and the kids were old enough to participate. We decided to participate on the Citywide garage sale weekend, and overall, it went really well. Allen took Friday off to help with the sale and kids, then we had all four kids helping us on Saturday.

The kids played in the yard most of the time, but on Saturday they got to have their first Lemonade Stand. They have been asking us for a while to have one, but we didn't agree to it until Will could confidently count money. This was his first opportunity, and Will enjoyed having his own money-making business. For the few hours that he had a sale, the little kids didn't help too much. I think Ben stayed near Will and helped pass out napkins, but Maddie and Jon were playing on the porch. Will made signs and set up his station. I made the lemonade and explained to him $5 was too high to charge for a tiny cup of lemonade but that's about all I was involved. In the end, he chose to charge 25-cents a cup, and he sold enough cups to make $10.25. After he counted his money, he and I figured out how much he owed me for buying the cups and lemonade mix. He proudly pushed me a pile of quarters totalling $3.50, then asked how much he should pay Ben for being a good employee. He is quite proud of earning his $6.75 "with a REAL job."

Overall, it was a great weekend. The weather could not have been prettier for us to sit outside for hours on end. The kids collected all the acorns in the yard. We got our garage cleared out. AND people paid us to help us clear it!! I couldn't believe that people were willing to pay for some of it -- we sold tons of toddler clothes, three mini potties, a car seat and cover, a bunch of stuffed animals and Happy Meal toys, lots of kids books, games, and movies. After the sale, we loaded up the van with all the extra stuff and took it to Goodwill. I still have a few small boxes in the garage to take to the YMCA, library, and to send to some friends and family. The kids learned some lessons about getting rid of stuff. Our original plan was to decide ahead of time as a family how we would use our garage sale money, but we didn't get that far... yet. Will we do it again? Maybe... but only on the citywide weekend again because there was so much traffic just looking for the sales.

Ben's Accident?

Several months ago, Allen and I were getting more and more frustrated that Ben kept spilling food from his plate when he cleared the table. Eventually, Allen sat down and demonstrated how Ben needed to hold his plate -- put both palms up, put the plate on the palms, hold the plate with the thumbs. When Allen finished explaining it, he helped Ben turn his hands the right way, and he was surprised to discover that our super-flexible son could not turn his left hand so that his palm was up. Turned as far as it would go, it was still off by 90-degrees. The only way Ben's left palm could face upward is if he was laying down on his side. We thought it was interesting, but we didn't think it was a huge deal. It didn't hurt him, he didn't complain, and we both thought it was just an oddity to discuss with the doctor when we visited next.

Yesterday, Ben had his well-kid check-up and I pointed out to our doctor that we found it strange that he didn't seem to have a normal range of motion in his left arm. I asked if we should be concerned about it. She frowned and turned his arms up and down and bent them and straightened them and compared them from every which angle. She found it even more curious that he wasn't bothered at all by it, but she took some x-rays to see what might be going on. Before we left the office, she told me that the pictures looked odd, but she needed to talk to a radiologist about it and get back to me.

Just before lunch today, the nurse called us and left a message to call them back as soon as possible. I called right back and they told us they thought he had a dislocated radius and we needed to see an orthopedic specialist today. We closed the garage sale a bit early and I took Ben to the next doctor. The nurse asked what happened. My answer: "I don't know." Then she asked when it happened. Again, "I don't know." How long has he been complaining? "He hasn't." As we waiting for the next step, he laid down, propped his chin on his left hand, and watched Phineas and Ferb.

The doctor came in and asked all the same questions. I felt even worse explaining my cluelessness a second time. He explained how a nurse-maid's elbow often happens -- a child runs off and a parent grabs and arm and pulls.... a sibling or parent tries lifting a child by the hands... did any of these scenarios jog my memory? All I could vaguely remember is that someone fell off Will's bed long ago and was crying about a sore arm after big-brother tried getting him back on the bed. I couldn't even be sure it was Ben that had fallen, as it may have been Jon. Either way, that was a LONG time ago. Whatever day that happened, there were just a few tears, but no more complaining. Neither Allen nor I can say we've ever heard Ben complain about his arm for more than a few minutes over various owies, so we were baffled when they explained the injury.

They took about a dozen different x-rays of different angles of both elbows and concluded that he has had a dislocated radius for several years. YEARS?!? Ben still climbs trees, crosses the monkey bars, stands on his hands, wrestles with his brothers, gives huge hugs, and uses his arm without any indication of there being a problem or any pain. Both Allen and I are feeling like we missed something big, but going back over it, I don't know how we could have known. Had we known when the injury happened, our doctor could have quickly popped the bone back into place. The way it is now, the specialist here is sending us on to Children's Medical Center in Dallas to consult with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. He explained that they will need to do a CT scan to see exactly what is going on, but that surgery will likely be the only way to correct it. Now, we are in the hurry-up-and-wait mode for our next appointment.

Since I was already feeling like a negligent parent, I was ready to drop dead at a few of the conversations people had with Ben at the doctor yesterday --

Ben: Why are you using that kind of thermometer? That isn't like Mama's.
Nurse: Mama's is probably better, isn't it?
Ben: Yup.
Nurse: Mamas always have the best things. You probably like all of the things Mama has.
Ben: Everything but the paddle.

Radiologist: Did you eat your Fruity Pebbles today?
Ben: Nope. I had to eat in the garage.
(...because he slept late and we were working the garage sale, but he didn't explain that part.)

Radiologist: Ben, you sure have great hair. Did you get that from Mama or Daddy?
Ben: No. God gave it to me.
Radiologist: Why didn't God give me any hair?
Ben: He did.
Radiologist: Really?
Ben: Yeah. You just wear it on your mustache. If you want it on your head, you'll need scissors and glue.

Free Enterprise

This year, Will is in the GT class at school. The class meets once a week, and it really seems to be the only thing Will enjoys about school. The kids have been studying free enterprise. This is an excerpt from the GT newsletter explaining the unit:

The children have been introduced to the world of Free Enterprise by becoming entrepreneurs themselves. During this course of study the children will be involved in creating a plan to run a place of business whether it be a manufacturer, retailer or providing a service. They will be given the opportunity to become a sole proprietor, a partnership or a cooperation. The children will be guided through the process of becoming an entrepreneur by learning how to obtain a loan, track expenses, purchase raw materials, find the best location for their business and how to advertise for their particular product or service. To conclude the study, the children will open their business for consumers to purchase these goods using actual money. The profit made from each business will then be donated to a local charity that each class has designated.

A few months ago, Will come home with an assignment to work with his family to brain storm ideas for his business. It was interesting, as the parent, to try to balance the ideas I had with the encouragement for him to come up with his own thoughts. In the end, he and another boy decided to make gaming posters and sell them (all the students manufactured and sold products.) The name of their business is Game Galaxy, Will's role is the entrepreneur and his buddy Luke is the business manager. Today, the businesses were all open for sales and the parents were invited to attend the Grand Openings. Allen stopped by, took some pictures, and bought a Game Galaxy Hint -- a sealed envelope with a clue inside of how to get more points in a Wii game. Though I was cutting it close and almost didn't make it because Ben's well-kid check up lasted a bit longer than planned, Ben and I did get to go. Will was excited to see us, and I was glad to get a chance to see this project he has been talking about.

Next week, the kids wrap up the unit by filling out their cash flow sheets and figuring out if they can pay off their business loans (for the poster supplies, advertising expenses, and rent of the space, table, and chairs.) I am amazed at the details they are exploring as second-graders!

Will has been having behavior issues with his regular teacher, but his GT teacher she said that the self-paced, challenging class is a great fit for Will and she hasn't had any problems with him. After such a tough week, it was very encouraging to hear that -- especially since he does love her class.

The Little Princess

As I've been preparing for our garage sale, I came a VHS that we are selling because we don't have a VCR anymore. This was one of my favorite movies, but it has been ages since I've seen it.

When I was curling Maddie's hair for Halloween, I kept telling her she reminded me of The Little Princess Shirley Temple. Since she had NO idea who or what Shirley Temple was, I got to show her some pictures. Later, Will asked the same thing, and when I showed him pictures of Shirley Temple, even he agreed that Maddie looked a bit like her.

When Maddie saw her head of curls, her eyes got big, a smile spread across her face and she exclaimed, "Mama, I am adorable!" I asked her if she knew what "adorable" meant and she replied, "That means I am super cute. Look at me. See how cute and adorable I am?" So, now we get to figure out how to teach the right balance of confidence and humility...

All Dressed Up!

It seems like EVERY year since we've been in Texas (aka - every year we've done trick or treating), I start the school year with the best intentions. About two months later, everyone gets sick, and I end up burned out and overwhelmed by all the activities in which we participate. After a whole month of sicknesses, I'm worn out. Just like the other years, I am not ready to deal with Halloween till we start dressing up and walking out the door. Just like the other years, we had a blast.

This year, Maddie asked to be Fancy Nancy. Though she got to wear her costume on her birthday, to her birthday party, and to the school party, on the "real Halloween" I curled her hair like the book character, wrapped a feather boa around her neck, put on the necklaces and bracelets, and, since it was Halloween, she even got a touch of lip gloss and mascara. She was adorable and easily passed as her favorite book character. This year I made her costume because I couldn't find a cute one that we liked. Though I did enjoy making it and trying all the new techniques (lots of different flower-styles, a headband, and a tutu) I think paying for a pre-made costume is probably less expensive. I did create the costume to last -- well, the tutu should hold up well in the dress-up box, and the flowers will detach from the shirt so I can make them into hair clips. Since I wanted the colors to match the Dr. Seuss birthday party, I don't regret making it, but I will definitely rethink it next time I consider playing fashion designer. On a similar note, you can't beat the fun of playing designer when the costume is the fun and wild Fancy Nancy.

All three boys insisted on being Star Wars characters. Several years ago, Will was Darth Vader. Since we still had most of that costume, I was hoping one of the little ones would ask to be Darth. Thankfully, that is what Jon requested. We had to roll the sleeves and legs a bit, but he sure made a cute scary Darth Vader.

Ben asked to be Luke Skywalker. I was thrilled to find a Luke costume at the consignment sale for just a few dollars. He was really excited to see that I had gotten each of the boys a light sabre, too. If you don't have Star Wars-loving boys, you may not realize that as SOON as you put one of these swords in a boy's hand, he will NOT HOLD STILL!! No matter how he is dressed, he becomes a constant blur of motion. When I added the camera to the mix, I got lots of motion, but luckily, there were lots of neat poses, too. This seemed, to me, like the perfect Luke Skywalker picture. When neighbors asked about the kids' costumes, we all got to chuckle when Ben would say, "I'm Luke Skywalker," then Jon would follow with, "I am Darth Vader and I am his dad."

Will went through plenty of costume catalogs until he finally decided to be Boba Fett. I am told he is the bounty hunter who was after Han Solo, but I don't know for sure. Boba Fett is a bad guy, that's the part I understood, and though he usually has some sort of gun, I knew I wouldn't get away with getting two boys sabres and not the third, so Boba's costume isn't completely correct, but we're pretending it is. Also, since he is a evil guy, the boy in the costume refused to smile for a picture -- because "Boba would never smile, Mama!"

Allen and I haven't dressed up for Halloween since we were in college. Boring? Maybe... but this year, just as I was getting ready to start taking pictures, Allen disappeared. Though he went into our closet planning one costume, a few questions from the kids quickly changed his plan. He emerged as a perfect Evil Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz (the antagonist in the kids' favorite cartoon, Phineas and Ferb.)

The kids were excited to start trick-or-treating, and we all had a great time visiting the neighbors as we made our way through the evening. We came home just as it got really dark, and Allen and I let them eat way too much candy, and take breaks by passing out candy to the other kids.