From the Mouth of a Boy...

As we were driving home from E-ville yesterday after speech, in construction, on the shoulder of the interstate, driving on the "rumble strip"...

Colby said, "Mommy, the car is farting!"

Followed by hysterically funny laughter from the back seat. I loved it! Does a car full of girls have these discussions?

We got his hearing test done yesterday, as well. He can hear, although his right ear is worse than his left. Not surprising, as it doesn't have the tube anymore, and has had 3 infections since Christmas. But he probably hasn't been able to hear sounds clearly so didn't learn to say them clearly. Now, we have to retrain him and his stubborn brain about how to make sounds correctly. What fun. He is getting better, but it's hard for me to tell since I have been the one translating his whole life. But there aren't as many blank stares when he's talking to others.

A Boy and His Dad

We stayed home today. No pool, no speech, no park. Just home. Which means the yard is trashed, the kids were sandy from the sandbox and wet from the sprinkler and dirty from the grass. And Tom came home from work and a trip to Home Depot.

Colby was done playing outside, so I took him in for a shower/ sandblast.

Evan stuck his head in the door "Mom?"
Tom: "Mom's washing Colby. What do you need?"
Evan: "Never mind."
Tom: "What? Why is it never mind if it's me?"
Evan: "Uh, it was a bad idea."

Ok, so if it was a bad idea, ask me and I might say yes? But you know your father will say no? Heck, I just might have said yes to whatever it was.

I love raising children!

My new toy

A friend at the pool had a new toy 2 weeks ago. I wanted it. I mentioned it to my techno-geek husband, and he ordered it for the 10 year anniversary of our first date. That was July 2, for anyone who is interested. He loves me... It's a Flip video recorder. Now I can torture the 2 of you who read this with video of my kids! Or you can just ignore it. I realized how little video of Colby we have, and thought this might help that situation. He is the second kid, after all.



Full screen, this is not nearly as pixel-ed as it is on my blog. And I still have some exploring to do on how to edit and get pictures from the video...

Fun With Son

As I wrote this blog in my head last night, I was crabby, selfish, and just plain pathetic. Last night was Fun With Son, but I was miserable. It was 97 or so real temp, who know what heat index. I was pitching a tent, getting eaten by bugs despite spray, and nowhere near running water. It was too hot to move, and I was soaked just from breathing. I didn't have too much nice to say about scouts. Ya know what? My kid was in heaven.

When I went to church camp as a kid (Camp Jo-Ota) the cabins and mess hall had a/c. And we slept in cabins with pretty decent bathrooms. When I was a counselor (Camp Wesley Woods), the camps each had themes - homestead, horse, Indian teepee, Night camp etc. that reflected what you were doing or where you were sleeping. Most of them didn't have a/c, but you weren't on the ground either.

Needless to say, I am not a tent camper. Really, I am a Holiday Inn camper. I don't like hiking to the bathroom. I don't like bugs. I don't like heat. I don't like the ground. But my kid was in heaven.

This morning, I was really quite certain they should end the day at noon and send us home out of the heat. And then I looked around a little bit more. Nancy the camp leader was just as sweaty as the rest of us, and she was smiling. Bob the obstacle course guy had plans for us to have a good time. I'm hoping the older scouts that were helping out were getting a little financial compensation, but I am not sure that was the case. Thank you Nancy, for sharing your vacation time with my kid. And did I mention that my kid while hot, was in heaven?

Evan earned his archery, BB and swimming belt loops, and his archery & BB pin for Cub Scouts. He was hot and cranky from the walking up and down hills, but he was in heaven. The adult volunteers were sweating up a storm and working hard (and planning hard) so that my kid could be in heaven. I think I'll quit my whining, moaning and complaining now. My kid had a great time, and life quit being about "me" the moment he was born.

I had a great time at camp! Even if I didn't, it wasn't for me. Now it's laundry, Motrin, bed and work tomorrow.

And for anyone interested, Tom took great care of Colby while we were gone, and the house looked better than the cyclone state that I left it in!

Weekly Roundup

Evan and I are getting ready (ok, I am procrastinating packing) for Fun With Son tonight. It's 95 or so outside, and doesn't sound like fun at all to me. Evan told me last night though, "Mom, I've been waiting for tomorrow for four months!" Ok, ok, I'll suck it up and have a good time with him. I've been reading too many "dead baby" blogs - parents blogging about their child's short life - so I appreciate the two living ones I have more right now. At least until they drive me crazy, in about 5 nanoseconds.

Tom gets the sick, mellow boy tonight. C has been coughing and sniffeling for a few days, 3 days of swim lessons, and now an ear infection. Surprise, surprise! He had a lovely crusty bloody ear this morning. Yuck! I refuse to do ear tubes again, but it's the 3rd since Christmas. And he has a hearing test scheduled for Wednesday. Hmm, should probably move that back a week or so.

Coming home from the doc this morning, we drove through 3 small towns. All of the businesses had something on the marquis signs about SSgt Melton. He was killed in Afghanistan last week. I didn't know him, but he's from another small town nearby. I was a little sappy thinking about his life, and life in a small town - where you have to work together to get anything done, and E's friend 2 doors away whose father is still there, and my brother's Naval service, and my cousin' recent military retirement, and Independence Day, and and and...

Have a good weekend, and stay cool!

Swim Lessons

I'm taking a trip down memory lane. The first time Evan took swim lessons, we couldn't bribe him with quarters to go off the diving boards. And trust me, Kirk, our neighbor tried! Today, three years later, he swam across the length of the pool with something resembling a stroke and breathing! And he loves the diving boards.

This is Colby's first round of lessons. He didn't have a problem with one of the lifeguards dropping him off of the high dive into one of his favorite cousin's (a lifeguard this summer) waiting arms. Joey is awesome and he'll do almost anything for Joey. Joe also graduated from high school this spring. It has been a pleasure watching him grow up into a fine young man the last 10 years. Nine years ago, he and his older sister were candlelighters at our wedding. Gosh, I am feeling old!

Maybe Thursday I'll be able to get pics of Colby...

Tooth Fairy

Evan bit into his sandwich last night and panic-ed. Mom, there's a huge hole in my mouth. I think I swallowed my tooth. No, he didn't, but teeth and bread look a lot alike. I sent the big boys to Cub Scouts and wondered just what the tooth fairy should leave for Evan. I had a few ratty tattered dollars, and thought about going to Casey's to buy a candy bar with Colby and asking if they had any decent looking ones in the cash drawer. Instead, Colby and I walked to Aunt Barb's new house to check it out. Not too shabby for a reposession that was a little trashed. She has worked hard and saved hard for it. In her dresser, she had a gold Madison dollar coin, so the Tooth Fairy could bring it. Evan got up this morning and didn't even think about it. I had to ask him well after he had woken up just what the Tooth Fairy brought. He looked in the little jar and said disappointedly "It's a quarter."

It's a what?
A quarter.
Are you sure? That's not the right color for a quarter.
It's not a quarter? What is it?
Look at it. I think it's a dollar.
Mom, it is a dollar!

Silly boy. Silly wonderful incredibly precious growing up too fast little boy of ours.