I gotta get me one of these!

See this?
I gotta get me one of these.

Last week Luke was stung by a yellow jacket, in the ear. OUCH! Should he be penalized for the string of words that flew out of his mouth? Of course. No leniency here! I could hear him coming from the field behind our house....he was crying, but he was swearing up a storm. Kind of funny, but at the same time not too funny.

Blue What?

In my household many things are talked about and discussed at great length. Having boys, one big topic is the body, it's functions, and the different names for the products our bodies produce. Recently it was Boy #1's birthday and I made him a cake. Not just any cake, but I tried to replicate it to be like the "Shark Bite" he gets from The Cupcake Shop. Imagine a chocolate cake with a teal-blue frosting.....much like the color of the San Jose Sharks. Sounds pretty good right?



Now to the cake making. I make the chocolate cake, no problem. On to the chocolate butter cream frosting. Now, I know coloring chocolate is a bit of an oxymoron, but I gave it a try. Remember, I did this for the sake of Boy #1's cake request. Well, I added coloring, and more coloring, and more coloring, and more coloring, and more coloring.........and slightly disappointed Boy #1. It turned out to be an unusual color, a disturbing color. He was fine with it. Cake is cake, right?



Maybe not. The color of the frosting was so unappetizing I threw out the rest of the cake and the excess frosting. I know, terrible. However 3 or 4 days after the birthday cake I was chatting with Mike and Julia at their house and Mike takes one look at me and says "I pooped blue poop." I laugh hysterically and Julia says "I ban you from EVER making that frosting again." A bit more laughter on my side. I can't say that I disagree.

Or.......maybe subconsciously I was adding so much coloring to torment my BIL. The evil SIL has to keep things interesting once in a while. I guess it wasn't so evil.......Boy #2 and my BIL live to talk about their functions. Must. Come. Up. With. Another. Plan. to torment BIL to make up for all the grief he gives me. Bwaahaahaahaaa!

Happy Birthday #1

It was 8 years ago today that you entered my life in a crazy, emotional way. It seems impossible that it has been 8 years. You have grown and changed in many, many ways. You went from this colicky infant who needed to be held and fed ALL. THE. TIME. to an independent, helpful little boy.

It has been a pleasure to see you grow by leaps and bounds over the years. I have had fun watching you develop skills, come out of your shell, and truly enjoy the wonders around you. I love to hear you laugh, that deep from the belly laugh that is so rare. I enjoy how serious you can be...you are a lot like your dad in that regard. I love that you are so gentle and caring with the animals (with the exception of certain roosters) and your cousin. I love that you take the time to read to your cousin and occasionally to your brothers.

It is a real joy to watch you ride your dirt bike and bicycle. You show such confidence and skill on both. The best part is that when you do fall you get right back on and tear it up. I love to watch you catch air as you hit the jumps here at home and on our bike rides at Paradise. The camaraderie you have with your uncle and dad while on the dirt bike is awesome. It seems as if you challenge them as much as they do you. How lucky you are to have 2 men to look up to and learn from as well as play with.

Seeing the joy on your face when you catch fish is a blessing. Your face beams with pride and awe and you have a smile that is a mile wide when you catch your fish. It is even exciting for me to see your eagerness in cleaning the fish in order to prepare it for lunch/dinner.

Because of you I am able to learn new things and see the world differently, I get to experience it through your eyes. Thank you for blessing me with your presence and thank you for letting me experience life with you, you make it a pleasure. I love you very much!

Happy Birthday Luke!

More Kidisms....

Me: It's almost time to leave, I still need to get dressed, brush my teeth and put my eyes.....
Boy #3: You're eye tacks in!
Me: (laughing hysterically) Yes, put my contacts in.

~~~

Me: Eat two more bites of your vegetables.
Boy #2: Oh mom, you make my life so HARD. (This from 6 year old)

~~~

Boy #3: Mom, I think one of the Danish has a headache. (One of our many egg laying hens)
Me: Oh yeah, why do you think that?
Boy #3: Because she ran into the fence with her head.
Me: You are probably right, she probably does have a headache.

~~~

Boy #1: Mom, I went outside to let the chickens out of the hen house guess what? Mr. D was taking a piggy back ride on one of the hens. So you know what I did? I kicked him off because she couldn't move.
Me: (In hysterics) Well, Mr. D is trying to make babies with her.
Boy #3: Oh, ooops. I won't do that again.

~~~

Boy #2: Mom, you're scaring me.
Me: How is that?
Boy #2: It feels like we are going to flip. (We are driving around in the jeep and I had the right side of the jeep on a slope so we were tipped to one side)
Me: We're okay, I won't flip the jeep.
Boy #3: If we did flip we would get flip sick.

OUCH....

Today I took #3 to the Pediatrician for his Kindergarten health check. He knew what to expect and didn't have any feelings of anxiety, trepidation, or sadness. He knew it was something he had to do in order to attend Kindergarten.

He has watched his brothers endure the health check with anxiety, trepidation, and go into panic at the thought, just the thought of getting their shots. He also watched them as they went as rigid as a board when the nurse came in the room with the needles. I guess it is safe to say that they don't like needles. Can you blame them? They get 4 shots and a TB test with this health check up. My oldest, boy #1, went rigid with panic and was in tears before they even prepped him for the shots. The nurse even told him that she was going to bring in another nurse to pin him down so she could administer the shots. He settled down.....a little, but was still rigid which makes the shots worse, they hurt more. I always offer to get them a treat when it is over, but #1 just wanted to go home and slandered the nurse the whole way.

Boy #2 was better, but was still traumatized. He didn't go rigid but was inconsolable before, during, and after the shots. He is one of those kids who freaks out over a little bit of blood. He panics and cries when someone he cares about gets hurt (it's nice to know he really does care). When he gets his shots he cries as if someone is beating him with an aluminum baseball bat. It took us about 10 minutes to calm down from his experience before we could vacate the room and head home. He also did not want to stop for the after shot treat.

Back to boy #3....he had his shots today. He was happy go lucky the whole ride to the office. I told him if he wanted we would stop and a new shop in town called The Cupcake Shop and get a cupcake for his treat. He was all over it. The whole time we were there he was laughing, playing, and very relaxed. When the nurse came in his comment was "I really don't like shots", that's it. She prepped him and stuck him 4 times, well 5 including the TB test and he gave a little "OUCH" and had a few tears in his eyes, but was fine with in one minute of being used as a pin cushion. When we were ready to leave I asked him if he still wanted that cupcake. Silly question, he looked at me with bright eyes and a huge smile on his face and nodded his head yes. So off we went.

Boy #3 and I each had one. Don't they look scrumptious? Well, they are! This tasty tidbit is called The Penguin, it is a chocolate cupcake with a sweet vanilla bean buttercream frosting. Now isn't that worth the shots? Boy #3 thought so! I didn't even get any shots, but had to have one too. Mmm, mmm good.

S**t

This is boy #1. He is well mannered, a bit shy, very helpful (a bit too helpful at times), and a bit too serious for a 7 year old. I have to laugh because he has learned a word from me that needs to be erased from his vocabulary. He uses this word very well, in the right context, and with the proper amount of emphasis.

He uses it at times of anger (towards his brothers) and when he is in pain. Can you guess? S**T! It is actually a bit comical to hear it come out of his mouth even though it is wrong. For a while there it got to the point where I started charging him a dollar every time a swear word came out of his mouth. I think we are up to $10. The deal is I only charge if I hear it, not if his brother's tell on him. So I have heard him a total of 10 times since I made up "The Swear Jar". At least hubby can't be too mad at me for going to get my ritual mocha.....boy # 1 is paying for it.

There is only one time I have not charged him and that was when we were in the back yard playing basketball. He had the ball, was going for the hoop and I went in the same direction, we collided and he went down. My knee went into his thigh and gave him a major charlie. Like I said he went DOWN, he dropped and my only reaction was to laugh. In my moment of laughter he is on the ground shouting out his expletive......S**T! I can't help myself, between my uncontrollable laughing and him writhing on the ground I point to him saying "AAAHHHH, you said it!" He realizes what I am talking about and tries his hardest to backtrack (he can't stand the thought of parting with his money)...............I am still laughing hysterically, to the point of crying and needing air. Well that gets him crying on a whole new level. When I was able to settle down I let him off the hook and told him he wouldn't have to pay for that one, I would let it slide. I must say he has become a bit better with his mouth, not so much of a potty mouth these days. The joys of a "Swear Jar", it is quite effective.

Sadly, before "The Swear Jar" really took effect for boy #1 he taught his youngest cousin, who is 2 years old, how to say this word. When she gets frustrated or is having a hard time doing a task she is like a broken record "Oh S**T, Oh S**T, Oh, S**T". It's sad that she is picking this up from my kids, but funny too as she doesn't realize what she is saying is inappropriate for a 2 year old, or any other child for that matter. Now that I have pointed it out to boy #1 and earned myself some mochas he realizes the power of words and his role as a role model for his brother's and cousin's.

AAAHHH the joys of children. Such fun, such work, but I love him all the same......just so long as he loses the potty mouth (kidding, I will still love him).