Stories from the School Bus

Lucas doesn't really tell me too much about what he does when he is actually at school, but I hear a lot of stories from the bus. It's apparently quite a learning experience!

There are two boys that Lucas always talks about--Ethan and Jack. I'm guessing that they have older brothers and sisters because they have taught Lucas a lot of random things. Most of it is just typical elementary type things like obnoxious sayings, how to make different things with paper, what sort of stuff is cool--like Sketchers (really, name brands at 5?) There have been two times, though, that he has come home really worked up about a story that they told him.

The first time it was about aliens. One of the boys said he had been touched by an alien and so now he was turning into an alien--you could tell because he was starting to turn gray where had been touched. Obviously! When Lucas was telling me all about it, I played along with him. I figured he knew it was just made up, but pretty soon I realized that he was completely convinced his friends were aliens and that he was going to be next because he had touched them. He started getting really worried! I tried so hard to undo all of the storytelling, but he was convinced. It took a couple of days for him to forget about that one.

About a month and a half ago, he came home with a story about an owl who was going to come at midnight on that Friday night and if we weren’t hiding in the closet it was going to kill us. A couple of the boys, including Lucas, were going meet up before midnight with their knives and kill the owl. It was a very elaborate plan they had cooked up. He was really over the top about that one and quickly got Henry involved. I tried to nix that one pretty quick since it just sounded so horrible, plus I didn’t want them being afraid to go to bed. I told him that it wasn’t true and he just kept saying, “It is true! Jack read it in the paper!” I could not get through to him! I guess I should be happy that he was willing to protect us from it instead of wanting to hide in his closet! That one went away after the owl didn’t come!

I just had no idea so much happened on the school bus. I am glad that Lucas loves riding the bus, but I think that he is maybe a bit too gullible for it. That boy believes everything, except for what I tell him, apparently!

Stitches

Josh Oliver has had a bit of a rough day. He, in fact, split his face from his lip to his nose on both sides.

The boys were downstairs playing. I ran upstairs for a couple of minutes and the next thing I knew the boys were running upstairs saying that Josh was bleeding all over the place.

It was so scary!

I turned the corner of the stairs to see Josh sitting with blood pouring out of his mouth—I’m not exaggerating! I really didn’t know what he had hurt at first but I could see the two big gashes above his mouth.

Apparently the boys were wrestling on the couch and Josh, who had stolen my empty Slimfast can by the computer, was either on or by the couch. The boys some how crashed into him and he fell and cut his face on the can.

I feel horrible for leaving that can out, but seriously that boy can scout out a Slimfast in no time flat. He and Henry both love, love them—so do I, they are delicious!

So Linda came over to watch the boys and we took Josh to the ER.

Luke and Henry were so scared, and not because they thought they were going to get in trouble. I had to keep reassuring Henry that Josh was going to be okay.

Josh Oliver really was such a good boy at the hospital. He just sat so still on the bed while they were getting things ready. He would only move his eyes and his head a little, otherwise he was like a statue.

They put him out so that he wouldn’t fight the stitches and so they could make sure that the edges of the lips lined up nicely. He was talking all sorts of nonsense as they were sewing his lip up. It was pretty funny!

We had to wait about an hour for him to wake up. He was out cold! Finally though he started to wake up, but seemed very confused about everything.

He ended up with 13 stitches and should only have two very faint scars to show for it.

I’m really impressed with how well he did. Before we left our house Henry was taking pictures of him and he would smile and say “cheese’ with each picture, and there was only a little bit of whiny cries at the hospital, which are expected. He really did awesome all the way through.

He is the first boy who has gotten stitches—I’m not sure how we’ve avoided it up until now. He just gets to be more and more like my dad each day. Will he end up with as many stitches as he had to get as a kid!

Off to War

Henry went off to war today. He packed up his bag and spent the day getting hugs and kisses from us before he left. This is what he took for his trip:

his boots

a knife

2 guns

a helmet

a tissue

a toy

a sucker

lots of underwear

He obviously put a lot of thought into what he will need on his long journey. The sucker didn't last very long, though. He ate it in Luke's bed during nap time. It's also nice to know that he really does think that underwear are important!

Why I Love Them

We had such a nice Valentine's Day. The boys woke up to this.

They had all of thier Valentine's treats laid out for them--mostly from Gran and Great Grandma Judy. I also made them some heart shaped banana nut muffins. Lucas hates bananas, and I would have made him something else if he would have protested, but he gobbled one up. I hope I can sneak some other banana baked goodness into him again. He is such a picky eater.

In honor of Valentine's Day here is 5 reasons why I love each one of my boys.

Lucas: 1. He has such a creative mind.

2. He looks just like his daddy, but he acts a lot like me.

3. He draws me pictures and leaves me random love notes and then excitedly waits until I open them to see what he's given me!

4. He has loved the same color for as long as he's known his colors--he's not fickle.

5. He loves to help me do things around the house.

Henry: 1. He dresses himself without any regard to whether his clothes are on the right way or not--or even if he's wearing underwear! I secretly love that, but not the underwear part!

2. He has lots of freckles on his nose.

3. He wears his green frog boots almost everyday--usually on the wrong feet.

4. If I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do he says "I sure will not!" in the most cheerful voice.

5. He thinks everyone loves him, even strangers, and they usually do.

Josh Oliver: 1. He loves to give me sugars.

2. When he throws a fit he flops on the ground and lays dead still, or closes his eyes and sits as still as a statue. It's his own twist on fits!

3. He looks a lot like my dad and is mellow just like him, too.

4. He eats anything--although that includes dog food which I do not love!

5. He is a really good listener and usually doesn't get into too much trouble.

Ben: 1. He's the smartest boy in his class--even if there is a girl in there who was four when he graduated highschool.

2. He always gets breakfast ready in the morning and gives the boys baths at night.

3. He makes me laugh even when I do everything I can to stay in a rotten mood.

4. He doesn't make me share my art room with his stuff and doesn't complain about it--at least not too much any more!

5. He's super cute and has good taste in girls!

I'm a lucky girl!

Luke's Poor Pen Holding--just like his momma

We had Lucas school conference last week.

She said that he's a really good kid--chatty, though.

Lucas is definitely my shyest boy, so it's always unexpected when I hear that he's a chatterbox at school. What will the teachers tell us about Henry? It worries me a bit!

The one thing that we really need to work with him on is how he holds his pencils. Ever since he first started holding crayons, he has always fisted them.

My Grandma started getting after me about it right away. She said that it's a really hard thing to correct down the road. I swear I am always reminding him to pinch when he is writing! He does right his letters pretty good, but I honestly don't know how he manages it. He really does hold it terribly!

Mrs. Case did tell me that there is one other kid who holds his pencils worse--I can't even imagine what that must look like! He does good when I correct him, but I remember trying to learn to hold my pencils correctly when I was in 1st grade. It was horrible! I still don't do it properly, but I also have terrible penmanship--it's often mistaken for a boys!

I want him to write nice, so we will keep on working on it!

Our Morning Routine

This is what our mornings look like pretty much every morning--yes that includes my puffy, tired eyes.

The boys never seem to sleep in late enough.

They usually wake up a little before 7--sometimes as early as 6 or 6:30, but usually never past 7:30. It also seems like once one gets up, they all get up. As they make their way into my bed, I quickly get cartoons turned on in an attempt to bribe them into quietly laying down for just another 15 minutes. I use to say that I would never have a T.V. in my bedroom, but with kids, I see that it has some serious advantages!

Generally it doesn’t last too long. One boy will get up to watch out the window, or someone won’t want to lay by someone else, or a wrestling match will slowly start up. Before too long, I have no choice but to get up and get our day started.

When Ben is working and he makes it home before all of the craziness breaks out, he quickly sweeps the boys out to the kitchen and gets breakfast started so I get a shower. Then we trade off and it’s his turn in the bed--minus all of the kids!

Although I sometimes get cranky when I‘m woken up by wild boys, I absolutely love getting to snuggle with them in bed. It’s especially nice now that Josh is in his own bed and can come in when he wakes up.

I just love cuddling with those boys--especially on mornings when Ben has the night off and it’s all of us crammed into our bed!