Just Walking...See?

This is our Sunday after-church mode. Right before I spent an hour sitting here at the computer trying to figure this out. And right before the baby decided to have a bap-fest with the mouse and the keyboard and did something. I'm not sure what, but I think I've managed to undo most of it. I think. I hope. For everyone who has heard about our new biped, you can see her in action. There have been several other attempts to catch this elusive mammal in her natural environment, but she is wary of cameras and will revert to crawling when suspicious of recording devices. :D Doesn't she sort of walk like a velociraptor from Jurassic Park? Without the gross toenails.

Is it Friday Yet?

Ian was a little more excited about going to school this morning. I guess yesterday was rough on him because it was raining and they couldn't go play on the playground. Evidently the whole class had a hard time with it. He had to change his color a couple of times yesterday, but his teachers assure me that every day is better. They have the equivalent of a stoplight for their behavior, I think. If they're naughty, they change the color to yellow. If they're still naughty they get red and if they're naughty after that, they get a note home. (*"Bad kids have to go to the office," I was informed by a whispering Ian) If they are good all day or redeem themselves from the yellow, they get a sticker on their behavior chart. When the chart is full, they get a little surprise from the treasure chest. I think it will be a while until then. My little guy just has SO much energy.

Erin is teething, along with her cold/allergies. So there's slobber everywhere. She has learned to give kisses (mouth wide open, goober city) and Ian has learned to flee whenever she gets the urge to kiss him. Evidently, the thought of cold slobber oozing from her face to his makes him gag. Who knew he had such a sensitive stomach? (How did he get it?)

We are also in the process of refurbishing Ian's bike. It was a hand-me-down, to see if he would actually ride it. Chris spray painted it black yesterday and now we are looking for a new back tire, a new seat and a bell for the handlebars. I guess if they don't have cars to spruce up, bikes work just as well?

I just want him to have a helmet. Don't get all gaspy on me, no one here wears a helmet, so we will be breaking ground. No one puts their kids in carseats either, but that has never been an option for us. My HC is quite the advocate and writes a lot of car seat tickets.

Today is picture day for school. It took Ian a lot of deliberation to pick out his outfit. They told us to wear bright colors. He ended up wearing a red, white and black little basketball outfit that he got for his birthday last year. We are definitely getting plenty of wear out of these nice clothes! It's great.

Ian is also excited that Daddy doesn't have to work today or tomorrow and then it will be Saturday. He's glad about that. :D And so is Daddy.

Right now my HC is at a mandatory class for the police department, learning about some kind of online report writing that no one is interested in. Overtime is overtime, though.

Erin is up from her nap and shouting her displeasure at being made to wait. Is it just me or has August gone by SO fast??

News from School

It was Ian's first Monday of school. He hemmed and hawed about school being too long and how much he'd miss us, but he really likes riding his little bike to school. He hugged and kissed both of us and sat on his little spot on the rug. Then he zeroed in on the screen and we ceased to exist. After school, Erin and I picked him up (my HC is on a 3-11 shift during weekdays! ugh!) and we got a huge hug. Then he sped off towards home with us following in his dust. Thank the Lord for STOP signs or we might not have caught up.
He got some down time at home and played and snacked and took his shoes off. But the really sweet time didn't come until after bedtime, when Erin was ensconced in her crib and Ian was lying in bed and didn't want me to leave the room.
So I sat on the floor next to the bed and we talked. The neatest thing about the kids getting older is the way they get older. They get more expressive and opinionated and have more interesting likes and dislikes and finally one day they can tell you WHY. And I love how Ian and Erin both have their own unique sense of humor. Erin laughs her head off when you get her making loud kissy noises. Or if you make funny faces or put something on your head, like a cup or a book or anything, really. Ian was harder to amuse at that age and ended up mostly giving you a "what planet are you from?" look.
Late Saturday night, Ian had an incident and I went into his room to help him change his pjs and his sheets. He immediately curled up on the floor and dozed until I was finished. I put his bed back together (not the most convenient time to have a bed tent....sigh) and tucked him back in. I was tip toeing out of his room and tripped (naturally) over a toy. I had a 1960 [or whatever] Cadillac permanently imprinted on the bottom of one foot, thank you very much, and I was trying to get out of his room and into the living room where I could make a little more noise and examine the damage done to my foot. I staggered out into the hallway and heard some noisy giggles. I crept back into his room and Ian's eyes were still closed. "Ian," I asked. "What are you laughing about?" More giggling. Some impressive eyerolling on my part. "That was funny," he said clearly. "What was funny?" "Mommy stepped on a toy." Then he turned over and went straight to sleep.
I wasn't laughing until then. His reaction was funny to me, though I have to admit, I prefer the painless amusement of girls. It seems like boys laugh the hardest when someone gets hurt, slips, falls off of something or chases them making weird noises.
Oh well. I guess that's what Daddies are for. To pretend to (or really) get hurt, slip, fall off of something and chase them making weird noises and not get their feelings hurt when the little guy rolls around on the floor and laughs until his little face turns blue.

Back to tonight. I was sitting on the floor beside the bed and he was in a mood to talk. We talked about school and how many days until Friday. Today was the 3rd day of Pre-K and already we have all of the weekends on his calendar marked with smiley faces.
Then I started asking questions and he started giving answers. This is what I found out:

• He had chocolate milk for breakfast. And carrots and broccoli (uh....).
• He had chocolate milk for lunch and applesauce.
• He had crackers for snack time.
• He played with play-doh and made something (not sure what it was he said he made, but appropriate oohing and nodding ensued).
• They had a craft today and traced their hand. A Hershey kiss was glued to the top of the paper and eaten as soon as we got home.
• One kid cried because he wanted to go home.
• A girl cried because her band-aid came off.
• PE was great, but Ian got time out because he was running around in circles when he was supposed to be sitting still.
• Mrs. Williams gets mad when no one listens (snigger snigger).
• Mrs. England is nice and he likes her a lot. She gets to hold his hand (his words).
• Ian played on the race track on the playground (and from the amount of mulch in his tennis shoes, he had a great time).
• They read a story today about a spoon and a bowl and they played and it was funny but no one laughed but Ian (he is SO my kid). (Obviously, the other kids were not paying attention properly.)
• Nap time is long.
• Ian has friends and they are boys and girls. I asked him what their names were and he garbled off some unintelligible stuff. I assume he doesn't quite know their names yet.
• I asked him if they sang any songs and he said yes. He then proceeded to chirp out a tune. I think it's a new song for him because he sounds like I do when I try to sing along to 80s music. "Take On Me....take me oooooh....I'll be whooooo, shweee oh WHEEEEEEE" is just an example of how I may sound. I trust Ian will learn the words and more of the tune soon so I can figure it out. Otherwise I can predict a frustrating time for him next time we sing songs and he wants me to sing that one....eeek.
• He did admit that they knew the Wheels on the Bus, but they don't sing the Whale Song. I am appeased.
• We also made up a new kind of kiss. There is a normal smacky kiss, a nose kiss (he has NO clue what an eskimo kiss is and I have been told that it is not PC to call it that [get a grip!], butterfly kisses (my HC is much better at it than I am, since his eyelashes (and Ian's....and Erin's) are at least 4 inches long) and a new one. Take note. Elephant kisses. This is where we rub our ears together and flap them around some. It was Ian's idea and I thought it was brilliant. Elephants could do it if they really wanted to. But that is now a favorite and never fails to bring a smile out.

Then it was time to go to sleep and I was dismissed. After a last drink, a tuck-in, a kiss to Bunny, tucking in Elmo, simulating Elmo snoring, helping Elmo get tucked in under the blanket for a blanket snuggle and one last kiss. Then I tip toed out. And I didn't even step on any toys. And Monday is over.

Wii Wii Wii, All the Way Home

No, that's not the name of the article, but I sure did have a fun time thinking of different ways to phrase it. hahaha. In the Wii Small hours?? hahahaha. Ok. I must be tired.
But here is the accompanying article, soon to be printed in the Westville Weekly Times:

"Wii Play, Do You?"

The John F. Henderson Library is once again showing its penchant for technology with the arrival of its newest addition, a Nintendo Wii (pronounced ‘wee’). For those of you who are intimidated by these new-fangled inventions, just think of it as a really safe way to do sports. Westville teens have already had a chance to break it in during their Wii Bowling Tournament. All you do is watch the tv, hold the controller (there are two buttons) and pretend like you’re really bowling. You don’t have to worry about dropping the ball and you don’t have to wear the swell shoes they make you wear at the bowling alley.
If bowling is not quite your cup of tea, there are plenty of other choices. The library has an entire sports collection including boxing, tennis, baseball and golf. Other games available are billiards, fishing, shooting range, tanks, table tennis and hockey. Where else can you simulate serious contact sports without sweating or a trip to the emergency room? The library will be offering these games as a service in the upcoming weeks, including the much coveted Wii Fit. Who knew you could exercise to a video game?
Everyone is invited to a special introduction to the Wii at the next Friends of the John F. Henderson Public Library meeting on Monday, August 25 at 5:00pm at the library, complete with snacks and endless opportunities for laughter.
If you’re too self conscious to play, at least come and watch everyone else do it. Or you can come try it while the kids are in school. It always helps when there’s not a ten year old playing after you who makes your highest score look like minimum wage. Bring your friends, your parents, even your grandparents. Come and see what all the excitement is about! Wii play, do YOU?

Reading Bug a Success

"Reading Bug A Success"
to appear in a future printing of the Westville Weekly Times

Did you “Catch the Reading Bug?” The numbers are in and 980 people attended the action packed programs at the John F. Henderson Library this summer. 369 of those were children who enthusiastically registered for the summer program and ‘Caught’ the Reading Bug. Every child who registered got a special bag filled with stickers, bookmarks, pencils, body art and a reading log to fill up. The first hundred children to register received a bug catcher, although we’re not sure how many were brave enough to catch bugs with it.
With entertainers from all over Oklahoma and Missouri, the diligence and hard work of our library and Friends of the Library certainly paid off. Every person who walked through the double doors of the library learned something new about the world around them...and about bugs. There were magic tricks, countless stories, real bugs to hold and examine, and mealworms to eat. Don’t worry; they tasted just like peanuts…sort of. There were puppets and ventriloquists, a book fair and a party, Critters to pet and a Big Magic Book. Vouchers for Tater Tots and ice cream from Sonic were handed out to eager participants. Children who were ambitious enough to read 55 books, completing their reading log, had their name entered for the end-of-program drawing for all sorts of prizes, including two brand new bicycles.
And that was just the children’s program.
Things really got cranked up during Teen Week in July. All of the teens received a backpack and bookmarks. There were movies and a pizza party and the debut of the library’s newest technology as the teens faced off in the library’s first Nintendo Wii Bowling Tournament. The winners of the bowling tournament received numerous prizes including autographed books by author Meg Cabot (“Princess Diaries”, anyone?).
The deadline for reading logs was the end of July. Children and parents waited in the library for the drawing. The last 2 minutes were so quiet, every tick of the clock echoed around the room. Little slips of paper were drawn and loud exclamations rang out as Sue Ann read the names. Morgan Alverson’s face beamed with shock and delight as her name was drawn for one of the grand prize bicycles. “Morgan, that’s you!” her mother, Jessica, exclaimed. All Morgan could do was smile. Lauren Cole’s name was chosen for the other grand prize bicycle. The girls got to choose their own bicycle from Wal-Mart in Stilwell. Other special prizes for readers whose names were in the bug catcher (some names were in there several times!) were t-shirts, bags, puzzles, bug lanterns and signed books.
How did this wonderful program come to be? The 2008 Summer Reading program would not be possible without the financial support of state and local sponsors. We would like to heartily thank the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Sonic Corp., Eastern Oklahoma District Library, Adair County United Way, Friends of the John F. Henderson Public Library, Westville Sonic Drive-In and Stilwell Wal-Mart. We would also like to give a big round of applause and thanks to Adair County 4-H for volunteers (loved the face painting!), the Westville Town Council, the library patrons for all their support and the parents for bringing their children to the programs. If you and your children enjoyed catching the reading bug, let some of these fine people know. And if you’re sad you missed it, make sure you try those barbequed meal worms next time you’re at the Science Museum of Oklahoma. Tell them the John F. Henderson Library sent you.

First Day of School--part 2

The end of the day, and my little munchkin was still smiling.






It seems the best part of the day was playing and having chocolate milk for breakfast and for lunch. Though he did say something about 'tatoes at lunchtime.

The first thing he did when we got home was to take off those hot shoes and socks. He also told us he wanted to go back tomorrow, so that's a relief. :D



My HC talked to the teacher, who said he was good, except at nap time he didn't want to be quiet and had to lie down next to the teacher's desk. whoops. We also got a copy of the classroom rules and such and it looks like Ian will have a challenge ahead of him. I will use quiet walking feet. If I don't make it, I won't break it. I will use a quiet inside voice. Those are just a few that may be a challenge for him to conquer.
Big sigh of relief! We made it through the first day!

First Day of School!

It has come. [cue sound effects] The first day of school and we were so excited! Chris teased me about taking so many pictures on the way to school that you could use it as a flip book, but I only took, uh....20? And so what if the school is two or three blocks away?

As you can see, it went very well. Ian is so excited and boy are we praying for the teachers. Only saw a couple of kids in his class sniffling and only one huge drawn out scene with a sobbing [albeit toothless] mother (?) and a very upset sobbing-more child who was removed from his mother by a teacher and herded inside the classroom.

As you can see, Ian was directed to his place on the rug and was at once mesmerized by the pull down screen with the program on. School announcements? He said he'd miss me, gave me a half hug and that was it. Mommy ceased to exist. He's going to have so much fun! I could tell it was weird for him to leave the house without breakfast. That will take some getting used to. He was too excited to pee before we left too (eeeek).

The walk home was strange too. What are we forgetting? Oh yeah, the noisy one. I did not cry. Chris kept saying things to make me laugh and Erin just looked confused (Chris says 'peaceful'). She will now enjoy free reign of the toys until 2:45. So thanks for all the prayers. I'm doing fine. And I'm sure Ian is too. Can't wait to hear about his day later. And I can't wait to hear what he has to say about the school food! Hahahaha.

Erin was not upset at all by the prospect of playing alone.

Walking to school on Lake Street. That building is the bus barn.

Don't we look perky at 7:55am??

Ian is enjoying his status as a walker and not a stroller-rider.

Ian decides to run ahead to get the lay of the land.

He gets a little too far ahead and is called back.

Erin is still wondering at all the commotion. See the stroller loaded down with school stuff?

Now we are going into the doors of the school.

After all that running, Ian needs a drink out of the water fountain. It has steps just for little guys like him, but he needs help pushing the button.

We found Ian's classroom. Lining the hallway are all the cubbies. We find his name andput all his stuff in.

This is after I said goodbye. He is sitting next to the monkey with his name on it. Everyone is getting a name tag. I heard the teacher say that they get a fun sticker if they can keep their name tag on until the end of the day. I wonder how long Ian's will last?? :D