Passing the time

What does a 4 year old do while waiting 3 hours for his brother to build in a Lego competition? Make faces for the camera, of course! Then mom and Isaac headed out for a walk through downtown Greenville, stopping to visit the candy barrels at Mast General Store, and to wish and dream at the toy store.

Oooh, Aaah, Amazing!

Friday we learned about GERMS! Scary stuff! This experiment showed us how a virus can penetrate a cell wall without "popping" it. Yes, those are wooden skewers through balloons. The boys were amazed! That is, until they saw Uncle David's antennae ice sculpture, which you've got to see for yourself. Check it out at
kb8tfe.blogspot.com!

The Leighninger Castle

For all you devoted Ian fans out there, here is the update on Ian's Lego competition. We spent a good part of Saturday hanging out at the Library while Ian diligently constructed this awesome castle. He actually ran out of time and didn't really get to finish what he had in mind, but we were very proud of him for sticking with it. Leighninger Castle includes a doorway hidden behind the working drawbridge, a kitchen area, bedroom, look out tower, and "secret compartment". Security features included a good old fashioned moat! Though it didn't garner him a prize from the judges (were they blind?), it is now featured as the centerpiece of our dining room table. Though he was disappointed at not winning (harder on mom and dad, I think!), he is already planning for next year's contest, so I give him an A for sportsmanship.

Quotable Quotes

Ian is learning beginning addition, so both boys are fascinated with math at the moment. They love to lie in bed at night and ask each other math questions.
"Isaac, what's 3 + 1?"
"Ian, what's 2 + 2?"
I loved this one though:
"Ian, what's 80 + 80?"
"I have no idea," says Ian.
"82!" is Isaac's clever answer.

I was praying with the boys at bedtime tonight and paused at "God, thank you so much for..."
Isaac chimed in "laughness".
Yes, thank you, God, for laughness! We sure enjoy a lot of it around here.

Ian was sitting on the couch tonight, taking a break from our Lego Sorting Mania, when he suddenly exclaimed "Oh man, I think I just passed some chest pain!" Only the son of a paramedic would come out with something like that. I started laughing, which he didn't like. "Mom, I'm serious, I just felt like my heart was racing." Ok, but you have to admit that was a funny way to phrase it!

And this one's painful:
The boys were complementing me with "you're the best mom ever" sorts of phrases, so I just joined in and started listing all the wonderful things about me. "Yes, I'm the best mom ever, I'm the funnest mom ever, I'm the most beautiful mom ever, I'm the skinniest mom ever, I'm the most creative mom ever..."
"No, mom, you're not the skinniest." (names withheld to protect the guilty)
"What do you mean? Now my feelings are hurt," joking.
"Moms are supposed to be a perfect size and you're...medium."
The other one adds, "No, you're large."
Where's the love???

There's got to be a diagnosis for this...

Ok, so I admit, there's got to be some component of obsessive-compulsion here, but this perfectionist, control freak couldn't handle the massive pile of legos threatening to overtake the family room. So Ian and Isaac joined me in organizing them all. Took a few hours, but we're so pleased with the results. Now I wonder how long it will take them to dis-organize them? There is an ulterior motive--Ian is participating in a Lego contest Saturday at our library and can only use basic Lego blocks for his creations. So we needed to sort them out anyway... Yes, I'm certifiable.

(Belated) Happy Valentine's Day

We had fun last week exploring the history of Valentine's Day. Despite what my husband insists, it was not a holiday invented by Hallmark! St. Valentine, according to the stories, was a very brave Christian at a time when opposing Claudius the Cruel meant certain death. We had fun creating lots of special valentines for the boys' friends and family members, of course eating lots of candy, and creating these crystalline hearts to hang in our kitchen window. They turned out so pretty. Sort of like rock candy, but made with Borax laundry detergent instead of sugar. Doesn't taste quite as good--just ask Ian!

But Seriously....

You have to admit that these are the two most handsome little guys you've ever seen, all silliness aside. And they really do love each other!

Foto Fun

Ian and Isaac, also known as "The Two Comedians", really love hamming it up for the camera. Isaac is especially adept at giving us "faces". We had a little fun playing around with the camera after dinner last night. Sure to brighten your day. Even mom got in on the act (hey, posting stuff like this is sure to keep me humble).

Lego Landslide!

A co-worker of Christian's overheard him mentioning something about Legos and asked if the boys liked Legos. Seems he had a few that his own boys had outgrown. So, Christian and the boys took a little "field trip" today to pick up the bounty. The boys may as well have won the Lottery! Happy, happy boys here today!

Don't try this at home...

Just an FYI for all you parents out there. If you're looking for a little "R&R", a break from the constant demands of parenting, we DO NOT recommend trying our technique of the past several days! Christian and I were both hit simultaneously with the winter "crud" that is making its rounds. While we did spend a few days in bed, it's not the best way to entertain 4 year old and 6 year old boys! I guess you can survive if you have enough legos and kid DVD's, but the clean up will take you a few days; I speak from experience here! : ) There's still quite a sea of legos covering our living room floor.

Exotic Seafood

First, a disclaimer to David: I was planning this post before I read your crayfish post from tonight!

My brother (the above-mentioned David) is frequently posting pictures of his children eating things like squid. He claims they actually beg for them. Of course, with a dad that eats goose-webbing and other such delicacies, the apple cannot fall far from the tree. A few days ago it was a picture of Johnny cutting into a nice big steak. I must ask "Have these parents never heard of mac-n-cheese or hotdogs?"

And so not to be outdone, tonight I prepared octopus for my children. However, I will probably remain outspent, as I could only afford the "artificial" octopus--a carefully cut hot dog--atop a pile of what else? Mac-n-cheese. About 99 cents a box (37 if you spring for the generic version like me!). Find it in the pasta aisle at your local grocer. No trip to Jungle Jims or some deep sea fishing vessel required!

We love you, Uncle David, Aunt Julie, Johnny, and Andy!

Send in the Clowns!

We were blessed with free tickets to the circus last night! Dad even made it off work in time to join us, which is rare. We enjoyed laughing together at the antics of the clowns, gasping in awe at the amazing acrobats, and delighting in the tricks of the elephants, tigers, dogs, and more. What a perfect, fun family evening!