Fall Projects

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that the trees by the science building have changed a beautiful shade of red. I had the bright idea then for the boys and I to take a Fall Walk. We would collect pretty fall leaves. I had grand thoughts about making some pretty fall leaf cards for people.

Then we actually starting walking and looking around. None of the leaves had changed in our neighborhood. The boys just found dead brown ones. Liam kept scooping dead leaf clumps into his bucket.

It wasn't the Fall Project I had in mind.

At least we enjoyed the walk that morning.

Today, C and I worked on a new fall project: decorating ourselves in stickers. Hey, they're Halloween stickers so it counts as a Fall Project.

Then we got really crafty:
After Liam woke up, we made a giant Halloween mural with some old computer print paper I found in the chem lab.




Maybe one day we'll make pretty fall leaf cards. In the meantime, never fear. This workin' mama brings home old stuff from lab for crafts.

Highs and Lows of the Week Thus Far

High: I was able to explain some pchem problems while writing on scratch paper...on a hood of a car...in the wind one morning. I feel like I've arrived as a pchem teacher now.

Low: Having to stay up after midnight writing a pchem exam. Felt like I was in grad school working...or last time I taught the class.

High: L Child now refers to me as "Dah Mama." I love my new title. (And nobody else has a title (yet) from L Child; he doesn't say, "Dah Daddy." Just sayin'.

Low: L Child seems to be getting into the "terrible twos." I hate using that term because I feel like it's so negative and makes it sound like a kid is terrible all the time. BUT you know what I mean. Fit throwing becomes a way to see if he can get his way. Grumpy and oversensitive. Wants what he wants NOW. Though L Child is not like this all the time (or even much of the time for that matter), it still has been shocking because he is so laid-back usually. Plus, C began this stage at about 18 months. I thought since L was past 18 months, maybe he would skip this stage. Right.

High: Reading to the boys. We do this almost every day, but this week has been memorable. I remember Case loved Dogs: A Counting Book, Go Dog, Go!, and Goodnight Moon a lot when he was younger. Liam enjoys Goodnight Moon, but LOVES Goodnight Gorilla. I wonder if he thinks a gorilla might climb into his bed one night.

Low: Getting that horrible stomach virus Sunday night. I had forgotten how truly terrible it is to vomit so much. Ugh.*

and finally, gotta end with a High: seeing the boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes. And seeing how they truly excited they are. (Pictures to come!)

*I apologize yet again for being gross on my blog.

Stillwater Visit

Last week, we drove up to Stillwater to see some friends. We went to Josh's old workplace for a baby shower. Even though I forgot to take pictures while we were there, we had a good time. It was nice to visit with everybody. This was Josh's first job, and many of them came to see Case at the hospital when he was born. Reminded me of how blessed we were in Stillwater.

Then we went over to some friends' house to visit and then out to Eskimo Joe's. It was so good to spend time with Wes, Sharbee, and Caleb. I was reminded of how much I enjoy these special people!

Case found a kindred spirit in Caleb who likes to make funny faces for the camera too!


The boys were impressed with Eskimo Joe's - who wouldn't be?


Caleb was born the first year we lived in Stillwater. He is a sweetie - shared his toys with the boys, gave each boy a tattoo, and even demonstrated the fine art of pool-playing to C.


I have to admit I was sad to leave. As difficult as it was at times to be in grad school, Stillwater has a little bit of our hearts. Good friends and a special congregation blessed our time there.

Helping

Another Surprise Birthday Party!

We went down to Chatty a couple of weekends ago. Sheri had planned a surprise birthday party for Jack. It was fun to surprise him and see a lot of the family again.



And I couldn't resist...
Like Father,


Like son.

On a positive note*

For the first time, the boys got a stomach virus. I know, I know, we are sooooo blessed that they haven't gotten one ever up to this point. I've been dreading this inevitable part of parenting. I've heard horror stories from other parents about kids vomiting on them or having to go to the ER. About a month ago, Josh and I got a particularly nasty stomach virus. Thankfully, we were staggered-sick through the night for the most part so the boys were quarantined from whoever was sick. They didn't catch it.

Then they got sick yesterday.

Poor Mom and Dad were watching the boys when C first got sick.

Here are a few things I'm thankful for though:

1. I didn't throw up when I was holding C while he was throwing up.
2. I didn't throw up when C threw up on me.
3. I didn't throw up when L Child threw up on me.**
4. The bug could've been worst: lasted longer, had horrible tummy pains, etc.
5. We have another reason to replace our living room carpet thanks to red gatorade and a sick 3-yr-old.
6. The boys were troopers. They didn't complain, moan, and whine while sick. They just wanted to be held or lay on the couch.

Here's to hoping that we all get to sleep tonight and NONE of the adults get the bug!

*Weak stomach? Probably should skip this post.

**Sorry for the multiple uses of throwing up or vomiting. I might throw up now thinking about all that vomiting from last night.

Big Brothers Are Good For...

...teaching little brothers how to ride a tricycle. L Child is still learning, but he'll be flying around the house pretty soon!

Great Grandkids!

Earlier this month, the family had a surprise birthday party for Grammy's 80th. It was much like a family reunion. Here is a picture of Grammy with all of her great grandkids (minus 2 I think).

These are the best two pictures I got of the kids.



Enough pictures!

Outside Time

L Child is a big boy now. He can climb up the playground now by himself (most days).


L Child making his "sad face."


He was just pretending he was sad though - can't you tell?


Talking to the dogs.


C telling me his trucks are broken. He needs to fix them.


The weather has been great right now - perfect to play outside.

Lake Lessons

Earlier last month, we went to the lake with the boys, some college kids, and some friends from church. Things that C and L Child learned (their friend Brody already knew these lessons):

"Tubing" is fun.


Big brothers are good for something.


This fun contraption is a must-buy.

I apologize...

...if my kid jumps out and surprises (scares) you at the store.

The other night, my mom and I took the boys to Hobby Lobby so we could get their costume materials. They were wound to the max to say the least. There's something about going to the store at 6 PM for them.

While I was getting material cut (and Mom was tracking down some other important costume item), the boys were playing around all the colorful bolts of material. I look over, and C jumps out and yells surprise at some unsuspecting guy looking at material. Thankfully, that guy just smiled and hurried off.

Okay, the guy more like ran away.

I told C that we shouldn't scare people. It might make some people upset.

Fastforward 10 minutes: I look over and Case is directing traffic in the aisle. He made sure to stop the 3 pretty teeny bopper girls coming down the aisle.
They were amused and thought he was cute. Not sure if that will work when he is 16.

Where was L Child during all this? Taking notes from big brother.

And before you judge too quickly. I usually don't let the boys run wild in a store - it's too much freedom for them to walk in a store. They can't seem to handle it. BUT have you ever seen the baskets at Hobby Lobby? They are so little! Each boy started off in his own cart, but (1) they can only hunker down in the small space for so long or (2) I can only keep pulling them back so many times because they almost fall out standing in the cart.

So I'll blame my Hobby Lobby parenting on the store.

Dreaming

A couple of nights ago, I walked by C's room. He wasn't asleep yet even though it was about 10 PM. I went in his room and asked him he was having trouble falling asleep. He nodded.

I curled up next to him and told him that sometimes I count when I'm having trouble falling asleep.

He replies, "Nah, I'm dream'in Mama....dreaming about tractors."

Then we laughed together.

Maybe that's why he couldn't fall asleep. He was excited thinking about tractors.

That boy. Sometimes I wonder if I'll remember these funny events. That's why I blog. When I'm old and wrinkled, I can re-read my ramblings and remember my little boys when they were this age.

Trixie and Sheba

The boys enjoy playing with the turtles at Immie and Bunny's.

Not sure the feeling is reciprocated.

What I've Been Up To...

...which hasn't been a whole lot really.

1. Finding new ways to torture my students (aka teaching pchem).

2. Somehow my necklace got caught on the chiropractor table, and I got stuck facedown. After I couldn't untangle it, and the doctor wondering why I wouldn't get up, I finally whispered, "I think I'm stuck - my necklace." The poor doctor had to crawl under the table and untangle my necklace.

3. Got to go to Grammy's surprise birthday party with the boys which was a lot like a fun family reunion where I got some great pictures (maybe I'll post them soon).

4. Had a Twilight marathon with my sis-in-law (she recently read the books for the first time), but our grand plans for a marathon turned into one movie + 15 mins of the next one. We aren't as young as we used to be!

5. Fall Premiere - watching a bunch of shows thanks to good ol' DVR.

6. Teaching the 4-yr-olds on Wednesday nights about creation. Last week we talked about rocks and volcanoes (as I did in Earth Science). I was told the boys (I only have boys) like my class a lot. Probably because I let them play Mario Cart (acting it out that is) and "Wildcrats" (you might think it should read "Wildcats", but I was informed, "No, it is Wiiilllldddcrrrats") at the end of class. Liam didn't have a class to go to this past Wednesday so he joined us. He was in hog heaven with all the big boys. Due to his hysterical laughing at anything the big boys did, he also managed to rile up the other boys further. Last night was a little wild to say the least.

7. Having dance parties with the boys. You can call it music education. I was in hysterics when I saw L Child bust out his moves. Let's just say Riverdance and J-Lo would be jealous.

I'm usually better about blogging once school begins. This semester though, I haven't blogged much. I think I know why. Blogging is usually my de-stressing hobby. I like to blog to take a break from work. BUT this is my first semester of teaching that I haven't had to work every night after the boys go to bed. I guess after six semesters of teaching, I have some good notes, and I'm a better time manager. I'm so busy with my other hobbies (TV, Josh, and cleaning - in no particular order - and my house is cleaner this semester than it ever has been before during a school year which means my house was disaster in years past), I haven't been keeping up in the blogger world.

Maybe this weekend I'll upload some pictures. I know you're dying to see some.

Best Part of Coming Home

Ball Game!

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We took the boys to a baseball game for our last hoo-rah before school began.

Buy a coke? check

Cotton candy? check

Watch some game? check

Get to yell, "Swing batter batter batter!" check

Get to yell, "You're outta here!" check

Get to ride Daddy's shoulders? check

Funtimes!

Birthdays

We celebrated Mom and Dad's birthdays last month. Love the Corona signs? I promise we didn't take the kids to a bar.

I think the kids are as excited about someone else's birthday as if it was their own. Love it.

Brother Time

Some pictures from when Jordan got to visit before going to Japan. Miss you!

My Little Scientist

Okay, so I'm warning you right now. I wrote this earlier tonight, but I felt like it didn't read right. So I saved it and showered and came back to it. Then I realized what the problem is: it's a bit snotty, braggy parent-ish. But I didn't change it. So you've been warned...I got a bit braggy in this post.

I've been teased about being a scientist-parent. I might tell Case something like, "Oh, that toy won't fit inside that truck." Case rarely will take me (or somebody else) at their word - probably because most times when he voices disbelief I tell him, "Try it. See if it works." He will usually figure it out on his own. I suspect that a lot of parents do this so I didn't think much about these exchanges even after being called a scientist-parent.

Maybe those encouragements to figure things out though led to an event tonight.

While in the bath, Case was submerging his big, plastic, red cup into the water. You know where you put the cup upside-down into the water? He would force air into the cup and then cause bubbles to shoot up out of the bathwater. Much to his delight, some of these bubbles were huge. He was getting really good at it. I asked Case if the purple cup (identical except in color) would do the same thing. He tried it, and was excited when it worked at making bubbles, too. Then I asked him if the little cup (I pointed to the cup that has little holes in it) would make bubbles too. He tried it, but of course, it wouldn't since the air doesn't get trapped inside the cup. I asked him why he thought it didn't work.

He replied, "Because it's smaller."

I said, "Well, it has little holes in it. The air doesn't get trapped so you can't make bubbles." I knew that was probably too technical for him, but all was not lost.

Case says, "Let me try my little cup that doesn't have any holes."

I stopped in my tracks. He was testing a hypothesis! Was it the cup size or the presence of holes that determines if bubbles can form? Not to fear - Case was going to figure it out!

He found his little cup without holes and submerged it upside-down. He made bubbles! He was surprised and excited to discover something new.

I was surprised and excited that my little 3-year-old can figure out a way to test something. It warmed my heart.

I also made a mental note to reply next time I hear a college student complain that they can't figure out how to test a hypothesis with: "My 3-yr-old can test a hypothesis. I hope you can."

First (Real) Haircut

Poor second child. I'm finally posting pictures of L Child's first (real)* haircut. I'm just a month late. He did awesome. No screaming or crying. And he sure looked cute. A month later, his hair is already grown out, but it looks better than it did before the haircut**. It's growing out nicely and evenly.

*I say real because my parents and I trimmed the back twice, but we weren't talented enough to do trim it all over. So we just prevented the mullet. Which is pretty good in my book.

**I called Liam's old hair the "Old Man Hair" - uneven-and-comb-over-do-but-the-old-man-doesn't-want-to-cut-it-because-he's-balding-in-spots-hair. That's why we gave in and cut it.

Things I've Heard...

...now that school is back in session. I miss statements like these during the summer:

1. "I love doing calculus! That calculus problem made my day."

2. "You have some weird people in your department."

I responded, "I know. I went to grad school in chemistry." I'm used to it.

3. "The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation...probably my favorite equation of all time."

At which I thought, Do I need a favorite equation? Maybe I'm not a real scientist without one.

Memorable Moments from My First Week Back

School started back this week. If you saw some of my Facebook statuses this week, you probably know some of what's on my list.

1. With Mom and Dad, I took the boys to an Acappella concert Monday night. My favorite parts were when (1) Case looked up from my lap and exclaims, "They're singing about Jesus!" and (2) Liam was feeling the beat with a fast-paced song...well, that's probably putting it lightly.

2. Having to teach Tuesday to a new class of students with a giant cut-bump on my forehead that resembled a HUGE zit. It was still slightly open so I couldn't cover it with make-up (sorry for the gross image). It looked worse with a bandaid. I took a poll in the office and decided not to tell my students. I just ignored it and pretended it wasn't there while I taught about Earth Science.

It was hard to ignore when people would talk to me while looking at my forehead.

3. Casen's been singing this song by Tim McGraw, "1, 2, 3 like a bird I sing 'cause you've given me the most beautiful set of wings." He likes to change the words to songs. I've heard these two lyrics as well: "1, 2, 3 like a bird I sing, thank you God for Liam" and "1, 2, 3 like a bird I sing, Casen's got to pee."

4. L Child started saying Mama regularly. That kid has called me Dada forever, but would laugh when I would ask him to say Mama. I knew he could say Mama. At times, he would say it when I wasn't around (someone would tell me) or if he was looking for me (even then it was rare and he acted like it was an accident he even said it). It's been a back-to-school present I guess 'cause he calls me by my name now. It's nice to hear "Mama!" several times a day now.

5. After a few more tries, both boys actually fell asleep together in Casen's bed on Wednesday night. So cute.

6. I have a really great schedule. I have only one class a day (three days a week) and two classes a day twice a week. Fridays are very nice - I can leave for the afternoon or stay and get caught up with work. Very nice.

7. It's a pchem year again, but this time I've taught it once before. The prep shouldn't about kill me this time.

8. I'm pretty sure I turn into a 3 Stooges character whenever I have to unlock the office door with my hands full. While juggling books, notes, and a laptop, I tried to unlock and open the office door. I dropped my pen while swinging open the door. Of course, the pen got wedged underneath the door and then got stuck. So while I yanked on the door, a poor student tried to get the pen un-stuck. Oh, and I'm wearing 3-inch-heels so I'm trying not to fall over. All the while, we have an audience trying to get into the office.

9. My office is already a mess. I cleaned it the Sunday night before school started. My colleagues are not surprised I'm sure.

10. I got to go see some fam this weekend before things get too crazy with work. Great time with some of the kiddos!