Addicted to Facebook

If you've spent anytime on Facebook, I guarantee if you're not now, you, too, will be addicted. If you were to ask Eddie, he'd tell you I spend entirely way too much time on there. Its fun- especially to "reconnect" with people from your past. I'm going to have to gradually ween myself away before work and school resume in a week. Wish me luck.

The Pumpkin Elf

Have you ever seen an elf? I've never actually seen one, but according to the boys they do exist! And ironically, it seems there is one for just about every holiday or special occasion. Whether an elf, fairy or even a leprechaun, these tiny creatures are magical. Its magical what they can accomplish, even if their presence is only perceived.

In our house, we are visited by a number of elves, fairies and a leprechaun or two. At Halloween, the pumpkin elf comes to play tricks and leave treats, during the christmas season, Snowflake and Jingle appear shortly after Thanksgiving to watch the boys and each night "return" to the North Pole to give the Santa, the Jolly ol' elf, a daily report. Then of course, the tooth fairy (we've never figured out her real name) comes the night a tooth is lost. Recently, we've noticed that she has been leaving dollars from Tooth Fairy Land (instead of a president's picture on the bill, its her picture?!, thankfully it is easily converted into U.S. money and the currency exchange rate is equal to that of ours. O and sometimes she'll leave a little fairy dust behind. On St. Patricks Day- we know that a leprechaun has been to visit if we find green pee in the toilet. I guess their parents never taught them how to flush.

This morning the boys woke up wondering if the pumpkin elf had come to visit while they slept. While Matthew was brushing his teeth, he swore he saw something!!! When they came downstairs, they found clues that he had been there (orange napkins in the pantry) and that he had helped himself to Matthew's brownie, because there were crumbs by the couch and the refrigerator (because of course Matthew certainly did not eat his brownie the day before while sitting on the couch - something not permitted or while walking around the kitchen). When we returned from school today, the boys promptly ran into the house to see whether or not he stopped by while we were out- he had not. I've reassured them however that there were still a few days before Halloween and he usually shows up when least expected.

Halloween by far is my favorite holiday! But I seem to be lacking enthusiam this year and need a little pumpkin elf magic myself.

I know its a little strange and slightly crazy to think that all these magical beings play tricks on us and come bearing gifts. But its fun! More fun for me than the boys at times, I think. I have a good friend who once said that she remembers her childhood being magical. So do I! I hope that one day, the boys will look back on their childhood and remember the magic.

Murphy's Oil Soap

Wow... a whole month has gone by (I feel like Kristen). Its been a little CRAZY around here! We are officially moved into the house. Actually, the first night we stayed in the house was our 10th anniversary (more on that later). Everything we need is in its place, the rest still in boxes hidden away in the basement or bonus room. I'll continue to work on unpacking next week. I'm hoping that when Ed and Lana return from their trip, they'll be rested and ready to help.

O.K., let's play catch up! Eddie and I celebrated our 10th anniversary on September 5th. This is how we spent it- soccer practice for both boys, enjoyed the best hamburgers in town at Five Guys with friends, watched Maryville's football team bring home another victory and then slept in our brand new house. We had said to each other we would not give each other gifts. I'm usually the one who doesn't abide, but this year Eddie surprised me with a beautiful handmade wooden box. Is wood the traditional gift for the 10th anniversary-I'll have to look that up. If it is then I will be so impressed, but I do know that he had some help from the girls at work.

It was very strange actually staying in the house.At first, it didn't really feel like it was ours. Then, we all seemed to be turned around and lost. Rooms that looked somewhat familar all of a sudden had new unfamilar names, i.e. I told Cameron that he could find himself a snack in the pantry, he asked me what a pantry was. My reply- its the room with all the shelves and food, in the old house it was the food closet. The boys will call out for me and I think I'm being loud enough to hear and they'll still call out because they can't find me. I'm not trying to be boastful about the size of the house, its just funny. Needless to say, sans furniture, rugs and curtains, the house echoes. If I'm not home and I call Eddie or he calls me, I can always tell whether or not he's at home, because when he talks it sounds hollow. We've been here 4 weeks now and its beginning to feel more like home.

In addition to moving into the house, I started a new job. I am now employed by the Maryville City Schools. I took a position as a TA for Nancy Caroline Connell at Fort Craig. Its awesome. I worked 2 weeks before we started Fall Break. I love it. Nancy Caroline is wonderful to work with and I'm so happy to be at school with the boys. Its so wonderful to be able to peep in on them during the day, see them in the hall or on the playground, eat lunch with them.

I'm sure that way more has happened over the last month, but I can't remember them. The boys (and me) are on fall break until the 14th. They went camping with Ed and Lana at Pirateland in Mrytle Beach, then went to New Bern to visit with my parents until Saturday. I'll drive to Greensboro and meet them. I think I was depressed the first few days they were gone. I stayed in bed all day last Friday to nurse a migraine, then didn't really feel like getting out of it again til Monday. When I'd talk to them I would cry. Early case of empty nest syndrome? I've used this time to unpack, clean up and go to appointments ( dentist and eye- I'm still having a horrible time with my eyes). Unpacking and cleaning up brings me to the title of this blog. Rho- I plan on adding a photo just to make you happy : )! It seems to be the case that certain items multiple like rabbits in our house. Namely, sprinkles, icing, office and school supplies and Murphy's Oil Soap. As we were moving in to this house and out of the rental, I purchased a large bottle of the above named household cleaning product. Little did I know or realize, I already had 2 open bottles of the liquid. And just last night, as I was sifting through a few boxes, I found another open, barely used bottle of ... Murphy's Oil Soap. I'm hoping that after I "google" it, I'll find all these wonderful ways to use it. I'm convinced that all these collections of oddities goes hand in hand with my craftitis disease.

"Craftitis"

I have a syndrome, uncommonly known as "craftitis". Definition- the swelling of one's craft supply. It can be fairly serious. Symptoms included but are not limited to the over abundance of craft supplies. There is no known cure at the present. Therapy may be helpful with some patients, as well as, the act of organizing one's supplies and distributing them to needy preschools, church classrooms and the like.
My, oh, my, what a large craft supply. With the event of moving looming on the horizon, I have spent the last two evenings, literally, cleaning up and out my craft supplies. I have rubbermaids full and labeled (Allison would be proud) of various forms of crafting. Sewing, fabric, scrapbooking, glue and other adhesives, jewelry findings, ribbon, cardstock and colored paper. You name it, I probably have it. I found 4 paper hole punches, several pairs of scissors, floral tape galore. I have realized I have a problem. So many ideas, little time and enough crafting junk to last the rest of my life. Somebody stop me! I have shed a tear or two, while getting it all put together. I feel wasteful.
I'm determined to move into this house in some form of orderly fashion. Last year when we packed boxes, some were packed with care, others not so much. Boxes were scattered between storage space in the rental and the storage unit. I felt very discombobulated. Finding certain items was not easy. So when Eddie emptied the storage unit this past weekend (thanks to Alan for all his help), I was hoping and thought I had asked for certain boxes, such as decorations, all be placed in one specific location. That did not happen. I had a melt down. I cried. I needed a release. Its not so much that the boxes didn't get put in the right place, or that boxes that belonged together upstairs in the bonus room, where placed way down in the basement, as it was that I was/am exhausted. I feel like I've spent an enormous amount of time painting, caulking, talking about the house, running errands for the house, dealing with the bank and their deficiencies, making phone calls, pricing supplies, making decisions. I am so thankful that Lana has been able to help with the cleaning up, window cleaning and the like. She has spent many hours vacuuming and windexing. I spent an hour on Saturday trying to figure out how to put the grills in the front door windows. I was apparently doing it all wrong- for an hour. When I finally had a light bulb moment, it took me 5 seconds- literally. I think my brain is just fried. So if I seem a little out of sorts, its because I am. If I seem a little distant, a little spacey, don't hold it against me. If I don't call as often, or return a call as quickly as usual, its not because I don't want to. I'm ready for normalacy. I'm ready for our lives back.

Don't touch my (hair) do!

Sometimes kids surprise you, don't they. This morning started off to a rough start. Today was picture day at school. And if anyone reading this knows, Matthew, while fairly photogenic, is not a big fan of having his picture made, unless I'm behind the camera. So, needless to say, when told this morning that he would be having his picture made, he was not happy. I tried to calm his "fear" by telling him that, he would just have to sit there and have one picture taken. I asked Cameron to tell him that was all he would have to do. Cameron said "well... actually you have to sit there and they have to position you on the stool, and they make sure your shirt is o.k. and they comb your hair..." then the tears came. " I don't want anyone to comb my hair...." And again, if you know Matthew, he doesn't like to be touched by people he doesn't know (remember the hug tag game in gym from a few weeks ago), and he is particular about his hair. As a toddler, he loved to have his Nan brush his hair at church and now he proudly brushes his hair every night after his shower, but for a stranger to do it, is torture. I told him I would write his teacher a note and explain to her that he was nervous and that to let the photographers know that I could care less how he looked in the picture, but that I did expect him to be big and have his picture made. In the end, that seemed to help him over this hurdle. Off to school the boys went. My day went on. Packing boxes, dealing with unprofessional, lying loan officers, etc... just another typical day, right? I picked the boys up and the first thing his teacher said to me, was that he did great at pictures, he sat so well and let them comb his hair! Surprise! Cameron is just so easy going. He could care less. Last night he had a soccer skills clinic and he did very well. And since I don't have enough on my plate, I volunteered to coach Cameron's soccer team as well (I'm also co-coaching Matthew's). Cameron was really excited and for that reason alone, I wouldn't want it any other way. I'm sure I'll have some help too.

Great Green Gobs of....

Dr. Oz's energy drink! I'm trying it. On a friend's recommendation. Its green and thick. We'll see if it does the trick. I need energy- there are porch pillars to caulk and paint, vanities to paint, rooms to clean.... O and maybe I should start packing. Hopefully, we will have a certificate of occupation by the end of next week and can start moving things in. Can't hardly believe its almost over. Note to Rho- i had thought about taking a picture of it, just for you.

Who's Phillip Fulmer?

I'll get to the title of this blog entry in a minute. But first, I'll update whoever may be reading this on what's been going on. School, work, painting, caulking, building, theft.... we've been busy, busy, busy! School- I had really intended on titleing this entry " Matthew's first tear-free morning", but I didn't have a picture to go with it. Friday, of last week, Matthew had his first tear-free drop off at school. It only took 3 weeks, but it did happen. Monday and today went just as well. The boys seem to be doing well and enjoying school. Cameron doesn't say much, but he was really proud of some art that he did on Friday. They were looking at pictures by MC Escher and drew pictures of hands. I went on Monday to the art room to take a look. He did a great job. He's a very good artist in my opinion. Work- Eddie is working hard. Apparently, he has decided that his goal is to see 600 patients in the month of August. His nurse showed me the tally sheet, she keeps at her desk. Bless them. Painting, caulking, building- I've become quite the little construction worker. Over the past several days, I've caulked nail holes and stairs, sanded stairs, and painted them, as well as, shelves for closets. Today, I caulked the back porch pillars and will paint them tomorrow. I'm also getting ready to distress the stairs that I painted. Theft- Cameron's four wheeler was stolen from the new house garage. The day before the garage doors went on. Of course. We had taken it over there so the boys could ride while we worked Sat. and Sunday. Could bring it home because Eddie let one of his partners borrow the trailer to try out his four wheeler (we're selling that). Monday, I had figured one of the workers moved it when they were putting the garage doors in. Tuesday morning, the boys asked me if I knew where it was, that it wasn't at the house. After several phone calls, a hike around the property and neighborhood, it was no where to be found. So I filed a police report and had hoped it would be covered on our renters insurance. It is not, because it is a motorized vehicle. Goodbye another $1500. It makes me want to puke. The kicker is that whoever took it, had to roll it down the driveway and heave it in to whatever they hauled it away in, because the key is on Eddie's keychain.

OK- the title of this post. On Saturday, we all got to go watch a UT football scrimmage at Neyland Stadium. From the new sky boxes! and we also got to "meet" Phillip Fulmer and have him sign something. The boys kept asking "who's Phillip Fulmer?" they just thought it was cool to sit up that high and eat cookies and watch football. Anyhow... the picture is from that day. We went with one of Eddie's partners, his son and two of our mutual friends' boys.

The plane has landed!

He's home, He's home!!! and he's tired. Eddie crawled into bed this morning about 5:30. The boys woke up right before 7:00 and came bounding down the stairs. I heard Cameron say "Matthew, Daddy's home!", when they saw his bags by the door. It was sweet the way he said it- like Santa had been here. They were so excited. And when Eddie opened his "sack", you would have thought it was Christmas morning with all the souveniers he brought home. Matthew was especially excited about the Honduran money Eddie brought back. He told me that daddy had given him a 100 dollar bill and now he could go buy a new lego ship. I told him he could buy it in Honduras. Then he ran to ask Eddie if they had legos in Honduras. We haven't had time to get all the details about the trip. I did get an email update yesterday before they returned and it had said that they had a great trip with about 20 baptisms, many bible studies set up and had seen 1400 people at the clinic. I found the camera in the bottom of Eddie's bag and went to upload pictures- there were none. I doubt he had time to take any pictures. Hopefully, someone will be able to share some with us. We are just happy that he has arrived home safe and sound. And we're looking forward to just spending time with him today!

One Week Down...

We made it... the first week of school is past us. So far so good. No tardies (Eddie will be proud). The boys seem to be doing well. Cameron has had no problems, smooth sailing. Matthew has had a few hang ups, but once he gets past them, he is just fine. So far his biggest hang up has been gym class. Apparently, during the first gym class this week, they played a game "hug tag". This really bothered Matthew and he was anxious about going to gym again. Luckily, they changed the game later in the week. Matthew is not much of a hugger or toucher when it comes to other people (not necessarily a bad thing). But overall, both boys have enjoyed school.
Eddie is in Honduras for the week. He left early Tuesday morning. I have been receiving forwarded emails from Valerie Shoulders, who gets daily updates from the Karns congregation. We all miss him very much and are ready for him to come home. Matthew asks everyday after school, where daddy is. Cameron drew a picture today titled "The best present ever" - it was of Eddie flying home. I feel like we've been busy enough to help divert our attention- playdates, etc.. But its not easy.
While the boys have been in school, I've been trying to get used to being alone. I'm not quite sure what to do with myself just yet. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. The house has kept me pretty busy. I bought over $1100 worth of light bulbs, smoke detectors and flourescent lights today. and there is still more to get. Needless to say, all that purchasing and trying to find the best deal, threw me into a migraine today. I'm just glad its over.

Pictures from the 1st day

here are some pictures- I hope they are able to upload.

First Day Jitters!

Today was the first day of school for Cameron and Matthew. Cameron is now an "older" 2nd grader and Matthew is in Kindergarten. For those of you who don't know (which other than Kristen and Ed and Lana, I don't know anyone else who reads this), the boys go to Ft. Craig School of Dynamic Learning, which is a year round, multi-age level classroom school. Boy, how's that for a run on sentence? Kindergarten is one age level, B-1-2 (bridge- like junior primary, 1st and 2nd), then 3-4 (3rd and 4th grades). For now atleast- 3rd and 4th will be split up next year, when the city school system moves all 4th grade classes to the intermediate school with 5th and 6th graders- don't get me started. Our school calendar is year round- we start mid July, go 9 weeks, off 3, go 9, off 3, go 9, off 3, go 9, off 6 1/2.
Anyhow,,, I digress. Matthew started school today. He was anxious. I was anxious. I was very anxious. Since, the last day of preschool, Matthew has told us he didn't want to go to school at Ft. Craig, Wesley was just fine. He reiterated that last night and once again upon waking up this morning. Cameron, although not totally thrilled to be going back to school, especially when his other friends have " like 17 weeks off and he only has what seemed like 3 days off", was fine with it. Matthew's morning started out slow and grouchy, but then he saw his backpack and the star wars backpack charms already (and stratically attached by myself) on. Now he was excited. He put that backpack on, made sure it fit right, readily put on his tennis shoes and was out the door. He even allowed me to snap a few pictures of him, Cameron and Eddie. He did great all the way to school. What was even better is that his best friend Todd, arrived at the same time and they got to walk in together. Daddy said goodbye at the front door and the three of us walked in, waving to our friends, Gregory and Tanner, to Mrs. Cox (otherwise known as Ms. Betsy or Aunt Bet-outside the library walls) and straight down the hall to our destination. I thought to myself, Wow!! this might just be o.k. Then we hit the classroom door. Since Cameron seemed to be alright, I told him to go on in to his room (directly across the hall from Matthew- how cool is that) and that I'd stop by in a minute. Matthew hid behind me. We walked in, hugged, hugged agian, said I love yous, hugged again... and said goodbye. I think we both whimpered. I walked out and across the hall to say bye to Cam. I stood in the hallway for what seemed like a very long time. Mrs. Stedina stuck her head out the door and gave me the thumbs up. She said he got teary eyed for about a minute, then found the legos, talked to her about Disney and his friend Todd. His 3 favorite things!! He breezed through the rest of the day. Said he had fun and liked school. Whew!!! He made it, and so did I (so far- there's always next week).
Cameron said he had a good day too. He got to go to Art (his favorite) and the library. By the end of the day, they were both wiped out. Me, too! I just tried to add some photos but its not letting me. so I'll try later.

"So it goes"...

One of my favorite quotes from a book, Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. So it goes... life that is. Life happens. Last night the boys went camping in Townsend with Cameron's cub scout den. This morning they all returned, exhausted and cranky. Cameron asked Eddie if he had had a good night's sleep ("no"). Apparently, Cameron did not because he said he had slept on a sharp rock. Matthew on the other hand, must have slept well. He had visions of dollar signs dancing in his head (dollars already "spent" on some lego set, I'm sure). Matthew lost his first tooth last night while camping. This morning, I awoke to Matthew running in to our room with a huge ziplock bag holding his teeny, tiny baby tooth. He told me the whole story and how he just pulled it out and it didn't even bleed. Since tooth fairies are rarely spotted in campgrounds and we have a friend staying overnight tonight, its my guess that she'll show up tomorrow night, as long as we remember to put his tooth out. So, life is happening... My youngest son, age 5 1/2, lost his very first tooth, the very same week he is about to start Kindergarten. All this life happening stuff is a little overwhelming for mom.

In the midst of tooth fairies, dollar signs and new backpacks for Kindergarten, I had a car accident this afternoon. I really just thought I'd try to add a little more stress to our already hectic life, and that Eddie needed extra icing on top of his stress cupcake. Not a bad accident. Happened in a parking lot, other car pulled in to parking spot, I, through my rearview mirror, saw this, and thinking they were now parked in their parking space, proceded to pull out of mine. But, then I heard a crunch. I guess the other driver didn't like their initial parking job, and needed to straighten out a little. The man's wife asked who was at fault, to which he replied " I guess we both weren't looking" , to which I replied, " I know I was looking because, I saw you pulling in to the spot and was waiting to back out. You must have not seen me, when you decided to straighten your parking job". We exchanged names, numbers and insurance info. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? But, I didn't call the police, there is no report, and no way to prove who's at fault. My guess is that a police report would have been of no good and there's no real way of determining who was truly at fault. Not that I'm admitting guilt. But a little voice is telling me, that calling the police would have been a waste of time. I did at one point in my professional career as a chiropractic assistant, chase ambulances once a week at the Goldsboro Police Department, and have read over 100s of accident reports. Ahh, so it goes...

But, leave it to a child to provide a little comic relief (literally, read on). Only minutes ago, while on the computer, I heard a child stumble across the living room floor from their bed on the couch. I figured it was Matthew. Then seconds later, I hear the sound of one relieving themselves on hardwood. Maybe, he was dreaming he was still sleeping out in the wilderness. More than half asleep, when I asked Matthew if he knew where he was, he asked me, what I was doing! To which I responded, pull your pants up and go back to bed. There's nothing like mopping at 11:45pm. Well, I think I've had enough of life moving forward for one day, I'll go close my eyes for awhile and let it stop til the morning.

"and we have cockroaches!"

Is anyone reading this? Kristen? are you out there? Funny story... last week, as I was driving the boys (Cameron, Matthew and Corban) home from camping with Nan and Papaw, the boys were describing our rental house to Corban. Cameron was telling him about their room and playroom upstairs and the backyard. Then Matthew blurts out... " and we even have cockroaches!" Which, unfortunately is true. I cringe at the thought. The house isn't dirty (cluttered, maybe, but not dirty) and we don't leave food just sitting out. But, occassionally, we will see a cockroach scurry across the floor, or dead in the basement. The house is old, very old. Anyhow, Corban got to hang out with us that day, here at the house, and the boys really wanted him to spend the night. He graciously declined- my hope is because he was exhausted. But I can't help to think, that maybe, the thought of cockroaches scared him from staying the night with us. Cameron and Matthew can't get enough of Corban. They love spending time with him. Yesterday, Ed and Lana took Corban and Cameron to Dollywood (Matthew opted to stay home- he was missing us- since they've been over at Ed and Lana's a lot). Lana said they had a great time! If the weather holds out, we're going to take them searching for crystals in our friends' yard and fishing in their pond on Thursday. Maybe, we can convince Corban to stay the night with us that night.

Jeepin' on the 4th

This past Friday, July 4th, we went on the 2nd annual "Jeepin' on the 4th" jeep ride with the Hurst and Owens families. Since, Corban is visiting Tennessee for a couple of weeks, he got to come with us. Our adventure took us into Cade's Cove and up Parson's Branch Road. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ride. We stopped to have lunch at the Cade's Cove visitor center and also, stopped to play in the water along the road. Along the way, we saw tons of butterflies, a dead snake, and minnows. The boys wished they had brought their nets. Matthew and Cameron took turns riding with the Hursts, so Corban could ride with us. Parson's Branch Road leads you out to Hwy. 129, also known as "the Dragon". Lots and lots of curves. We took Foothills Parkway from there, saw gorgeous views of the mountains and all headed back to the Hursts for a little swimmin' and grillin'. We ended our evening out at the cabin watching a fireworks show put on by Eddie (much better than last year) and the fireworks display from the neighbors down in the valley.

Hey Kristen- notice the matching shirts? We typically have a "uniform" on family outings such as these!

Brotherly Love

Brotherly Love! Since I'm an only child, I've asked Eddie many times if certain behaviors between the boys is normal for siblings. Such as, fighting one minute and best friends the next. Teasing, aggravating, etc... Apparently, it is. I'm pretty sure that Matthew is feeling a little bit of jealousy towards Cameron's broken wrist. A cast brings attention-from us and others. When Cameron fell, Matthew was right there to make sure he was alright. Then on Sunday, on the way to be xrayed, Matthew decided to test the splint and see just exactly what hard, protective substance it was made out of (cloth). Once the cast was on, Matthew tested its protective ability. Yet Cameron wanted him to be the first to sign it. But tonight, I realized just how much, even though they irritate and beat up on each other, they love each other and being with each other. Cameron is spending the night with a friend, and when we dropped him off, Matthew got upset. We said we would take him to get ice cream to cheer him up, and he just started to tear up and his chin was quivering and he said " I miss Cameron, I love him". and tomorrow when we pick Cameron up, I'm sure they'll be at it again. I guess that's brotherly love for ya!

the casting of Cameron

Cameron is sporting a new look this summer- a very nice and waterproof blue cast. Xrays showed that he had buckle fractures of both the ulna and radius. Check out his new style.

Broken Bones

Its official- Cam's wrist is broke. It is what is called a buckle fracture, where the bone doesn't completely break, but "buckles" under compression. On the xray it looks like it is just kind of pushed out to the side. Apparently, this is common in young children because their bones are still on the soft side. Anyhow... we're off to ortho in the morning. Thankfully one of our friends will be in the office in the morning. I talked with him tonight, and Cam will probably get a cast, a waterproof one. Which will be nice because he'll be able to swim. He seems to feel alright, it is very sore and his elbow looks horrible. I'll have them check that out in the morning as well. I think he may even be a little excited about wearing a cast and having his friends sign it. I remember in grade school, I always wanted to have a cast. At lunch today, Lana said she always had wanted one too. I thought having one would be cool and I'd be the center of attention. Cameron said he didn't want any attention. That's just like him. So sweet. We didn't do much for Father's Day today. Eddie worked at home, I priced house items and the boys took it easy. Nighty, night.

Bad 4 wheeler, Bad!

Boys love toys. Toys that can end up hurting them. In our family those toys would be bb guns and 4 wheelers. Luckily, no one shot their eye out tonight, but unfortunately, Cameron wasn't so lucky riding on the 4 wheeler. While trying to go up a steep hill, that was apparently blocked, Cameron started to roll backwards, got scared, couldn't get his foot on the brake quick enough, and rolled back into a tree. Part of the plastic snapped off, he hit his elbow and wrist on the tree, fell off and hit his head. He can barely move his wrist, its swollen and crooked. We stopped by the office to get a splint and will go back after church for an xray. Ugh... I hate that this happened. I hate that he is hurting. Poor sweet boy.

Brave Boy

Matthew had his appointment for Kindergarten today (well, really yesterday). He did great. 4 shots and only cried on the last one (MMR- stings a lot). But he is done and didn't "get bleed" or "killed" (everytime he gets hurt, he thinks if he bleeds he's going to die??). Both boys were happy to know that they don't need any more scheduled shots until age 11 (Cameron quickly calculated that would be in 4 years). On one of Kristen's blogs, she had put some funny sayings or words used by the kids... I thought I would share some of the kids while I'm thinking about it.
Sun Scream- what we lather our bodies in before we head to the pool or outside for extended periods of time.
Cannonbombs- what the boys do after we've lathered our bodies with sunscream and arrived at the pool. Matthew's preferred method of entering the pool.
Piggy Pank- where their allowance should be going

Oh-I just remembered this about Matthew's appointment today, which I thought was funny. The nurse asked Matthew to do a few things on a piece of paper for her, i.e. copy a triangle, circle and square, write his name and draw a picture of a person. So as he is doing this, she is asking us questions, one of which was if we had any firearms in the house. Which we don't, but after we answered , I look over to see what Matthew is drawing- a man with a gun. Apparently it was a machine gun. Then he proceded to draw a robot with a sword. So, obviously while there are no actual guns in the house, there is defiantely a fair amount of exposure to firearms and weapons. Why do little boys always draw things that are violent? Or is that just my kids?

Lazy Days

Summer is for being lazy right? I hope so, because that is exactly what we have been. The boys went camping with Ed and Lana this past week and had a great time. We all tried to go see the fireflies in the Smokies Tuesday night. But they weren't taking any more people to the site when we got there. Apparently the fireflies are really cool to watch. They kind of light up in sync or something. Today we have Matthew's kindergarten doctor appointment, which means shots. Eddie has been commissioned to go with me, so that I have help holding him down. I have a dentist appointment and Cameron has tennis. Then we have a budget meeting with our builder, which I believe we are all nervous and stressed about (me, eddie and our builder lee). Wish us luck.

Summertime!

We are now officially on summer break! 6 weeks... what to do, what to do? I'm sure we will fill our days up quickly. In fact, today was busy. Up to school to say goodbye to Ms. Mac- Cam's teacher this past year, and to take a look at Matthew's new classroom (Kindergarten). Then off to "Camp Hitch" for slip and slide and tie dye fun. I can not believe that Cameron has finished 1st grade and is in 2nd. Or, that Matthew is in Kindergarten. I'm pretty sure Matthew can't believe that he's in Kindergarten either. His teacher came over on Friday for his home visit- his head spent most of the time buried in my lap, except for the few minutes spent discussing Star Wars and legos. Thankfully, Mrs. Stedina is well versed in Star Wars. Cameron starts tennis lessons with his friend Riley tomorrow. I hope he enjoys it.
So, now its summer vacation... and since the word "vacation" is not part of our vocabulary until 2009, I'm not sure if we'll go anywhere. The boys are going to go camping with Ed and Lana this weekend. I will probably go to, since Eddie is on call. And the boys really want to go to North Carolina this summer, so we'll try to get over there for a few days. But with gas prices so high and limited time, we probably won't go anywhere else. Plus, Eddie is going to go to Honduras on a mission trip in July, so his vacation time is wrapped up in that. There's plenty to do around here, that's for sure. Still making decisions on the house, and there is a year worth of stuff piled up all over the place to go through and get rid of. Well, that's it for now. Ciao!