The Sandwich Shop

The other day, Henry and Josh Oliver had yet another sale.

This time they were selling peanut butter sandwiches--peanut butter, jelly, and pretzel sandwiches to be exact!

It all went smoothly for awhile, but then Henry kicked Josh out of the store and then Josh said that he wouldn't be Henry's customer anymore.

All the arguing caused their store to get shut down.

It's a common ending for them!

A Talk About Speeding

Henry is always out to catch us speeding.

He's like a mini policeman in that way.

He has it in his head, however, that it's okay for cops to speed whether they are at work or not. (Ben swears he didn't tell him that, but I've heard him use it as an excuse when he has been caught in the act!)

Yesterday we were on our way to meet Ben at Cici's and out of nowhere he said:

H--"Mom, let's have a talk about speeding."

M--"Okay."

H--"Just forget about speeding." (I quickly checked to see if I was speeding and I wasn't.)

H--"We have a lot of fun with Daddy when he speeds with us, and it's okay for cops to speed when they are at work and when they aren't, so just forget about it."

M--"If you like it when Daddy speeds, why can't I speed too."

H--"Because you 're not a cop, but it's okay for Daddy to do it when he's not at work. Just forget about it, okay?"

M--"Okay, but you know I don't ever actually speed (maybe that was bit of a fib) and that cops are only allowed to speed when they are at work and they need to get to a call quickly."

H--"Just forget about speeding, okay?"

I was really confused. I thought he was lecturing me on not speeding, but I couldn't figure out why he kept saying it was okay for Ben.

When we got to Cici's, I started to tell Ben about our talk and before I even got a couple of words out Ben started laughing because he knew what I was talking about.

A couple of days ago, Henry told Ben that he was pretty sure that I had forgotten about his Daddy speeding so it would probably be okay if he sped again.

Every time the boys tell me about Ben speeding--he says that only means he revs his engine--we have a talk about how no one should speed, not even off duty cops. Ben, with a guilty smile and a chuckle, usually denies that he was speeding at all.

I'm thinking that Ben needs to be a little more convincing when he tells the boys that everyone has to follow the rules!

--That picture on the fireplace reminds me of a red headed version of Lucas when he was little! I love it!

Great Grandpa's Birthday

Today is my Grandpa's birthday.

He is 85! It's a pretty big accomplishment, if you ask me!

The boys each made him a card. Henry added in a $2 bill to his card so that Grandpa could "buy himself a treat". He decided that the best thing was to invest it in Henry's savings account!

He sure is a good Great Grandpa to my boys.

As soon as we walk in the door he gets the animal crackers out for them--a bag of vanilla and a bag of chocolate. They always get so wound up and excited when we are there, but if I dare try to get after them, he gets after me. He says they are just being boys and to leave them be.

I love going out to visit him. I love the stories he tells--about when he was younger and when my dad was younger. He always tells me what a good life he has had--he says he may have made some mistakes, but he wouldn't change a thing about it.

He's not really one that shies away from talking about when he dies--always very matter-of-factly. I use to get really upset about it. (I just don't feel like I have gotten to spend enough time with him yet, but I'm desperately working on that.)

Really, though, I hope that when I'm 85 I can look back and say that I've lived the very best life I could. I think if you feel like that, you can just be at peace with what is ahead of you and just enjoy your life.

He's assured me that he's not planning on leaving me anytime soon, although I do think he is eager to meet back up with my grandma!

I love him and we are lucky to have him.

Februrary Birthday Weekend

Two weekends ago, the boys, Gigi, and I went up to Kansas City to celebrate Amy's birthday (the 5th) and to make a trip to my Grandpa's for his birthday (the 23rd).

Despite the fact that Amy felt really, really crummy most of the weekend, and Eli was the crankiest I have ever seen him--thanks to a couple of molars trying to break through--it was a pretty fun weekend.

The boys spent lots of time playing in the snow outside. We had a snowball fight and built a snowman--which Henry knocked down. Luke also tried to make a hill that he could slide down, but he it ended up being only slightly bigger than an anthill!

We also went to Sedelia to put flowers on the graves.

I love spending time at cemeteries, especially the one that my Grandpa is at. Unfortunately it was pretty cold which made it hard to really appreciate our time spent there. If it's going to be cold, though, I'm glad we at least had snow. It always makes the pretty spring flowers look so cheerful.

We also got to go to our favorite little diner in Sedelia--they have the very best onion rings! It's always a highlight!

The rest of our time was really just spent at Amy's house. It's nice to get to do things in Kansas City, but I really do love the no stress weekends of just getting to hang out.

Pippi and the Cowboy

Today was Western Day at Luke's school.

Everyone got to dress up like a cowboy.

Luckily, Gigi had just finished making Luke a new cowboy jacket to wear to Cowtown. Luke was excited to wear it to school. He looked really cool!

When he got off the bus this afternoon, though, it was partially shoved inside of his backpack and the rest was dragging on the ground.

I asked him how school went. He didn't really want to talk, but I quickly found out that some of the kids had made fun of his outfit. They told him that it looked like he was wearing a dress, so he said he didn't wear it the rest of the day.

I tried to reassure him, but I don't think it helped. It broke my heart--especially because he was so excited about it last night.

It reminded me a lot of when I was in 4th/5th grade.

There was a day when we got to dress up like a character from a book. I dressed up like Pippi Longstocking. My mom put my hair into pigtails and braided in some wire so they would stick straight out. I think I may have even had some big freckles drawn on. I'm certain I was super cute!

I remember being so excited as I walked to school, but the closer I got, I realized no one else was dressed up. I quickly ran home and ripped out my braids before anyone saw me.

I've always regretted that, although maybe I would be equally scarred had I left them in. You never know with those things.

I just think of how creative my mom was about it and how she helped me put it together, and then I just ripped it out when I got a little bit insecure. I also feel bad about a science fair project she helped me on. After it was done, I thought it was such a stupid idea, and then I won 1st place. I think it was God's way of telling me to be nicer to her.

(You know, writing that makes me realize that I feel worse that I may have hurt my mom's feelings, then I did about the fear of getting teased. As a mom, though, I don't feel rejected when my kids hate one of my ideas, but I get really sad when I think of them getting their feelings hurt. Sometimes I feel like now that I'm a mom, I need to reevaluate my memories. I've got a different perspective, now.)

We did have had a talk about self confidence and how little comments that we might say may really hurt someone else's feelings, so hopefully some good came out of his heartache.

Now I'm just hoping he won't be too embarrassed to at least wear it to Cowtown. After today, it may take awhile to convince him that he really does look like a real cowboy!

Another Case of Bad Mouths

We are having issues with bad mouths once again. (It seems to flare up every couple of months.)

While Lucas and I have our occasional moments--we are not the problem. It's the other three in the house.

Henry and Josh Oliver have been sassy lately. They have been calling names (generally it's normal words like "banana" combined with a snotty tone), rolling their eyes, and shaking their heads with some serious sass. Henry has been saying "whatever" quite a bit and Josh has started to wiggle his bottom at people as he says "Shake your booty". He thinks it's cute. I do not.

Ben just plain has a potty mouth. A lot of times he doesn't even notice when he drops a swear word in the middle of a normal chat. It's a problem!

I've decided that it's my current top priority to get everyone's mouths back in order.

The two little boys have been spending lots of time in the bathroom flushing their words. They each have their own technique for getting them out. Henry likes to yell the words into toilet, while Joshers gags them up. Either way it seems to be working, and there have even been times that they have gone to the bathroom without us making them!

I have also decided that for every curse word that is said--the offender owes a quarter. Ben has yet to actually pay up, nor has he really filtered his language. I also haven't actually paid up, but really I have probably 1 word for every 10-15 of Ben's. Really.

I'm not giving up on the boys. They will eventually come around, and then we will just brace ourselves for the next outbreak!

Tattoo Parlor

On Friday, Henry and Josh informed us that they had a tattoo shop set up in the living room.

They also told us that they were having a sale, so we better hurry.

For a smooch, we could have our pick from a book of crocodile tattoos.

I chose one that said "Snappy Valentine's Day." Ben went for a classic crocodile head.

I am not a fan of tattoos--temporary or real--but seeing Ben sporting that super studly tattoo almost changed my mind!

The Flu

We have had a rough week.

There has been a bad case of the Yuck-O's running through our house.

It started last weekend with Henry and worked it's way through everyone but Ben--lucky him!

The last of it seems to be gone and the house has been disinfected. We are mostly caught up on the list of things that needed to get done by the end of the week.

Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will all be back to being well rested and back on track with our schedules.

I absolutely hate weeks like this one.

The Dentist Appointment

Luke had a dentist appointment on Thursday.

Normally we try to work it out so we don't have to take extra kids to appointments, but this time Henry and Josh Oliver were tagging along.

While I was trying to get the boys settled in the waiting room, they called Luke's name. When I turned around to tell him that it was our turn, he was already on his way back.

I stopped for a second and wondered what I should do.

I hadn't even considered the idea of him going back by himself, but he obviously didn't act like he really needed me to be back there with him. Then I wondered if it would make me seem like a bad mom if I just sent him on his way like that. It was a big dilemma for me!

After a couple of minutes I decided that I would just go check on him and see if he wanted me back there.

He was fine. He was smiling and content in that big chair. He said he was alright by himself, so I went back out in the waiting room with the other two.

I was so thankful I didn't have to cram all of us into that little room--which made it a much less stressful visit then I had planned!

That kind of independence is just another upside of the boys getting older--as sad as it is.

Sewing

I'm teaching the boys how to sew.

I think it's a good skill for anyone to have--boy or girl.

This weekend I was working on a heart garland to spice up my mantle for Valentine's Day. Luke really wanted to make one of his own.

He bought the felt and cut out all of his own hearts, and arranged them in the order that he wanted them. Then he got to sew them. I worked the pedal of the sewing machine and he guided them all through. He did awesome!

Henry also got to make his own. He hasn't quite figured out how to cut out hearts, so he used some of mine and some of Luke's. He did pretty good with the sewing machine, but he kept getting distracted by his reflection in the mirror that's behind the sewing machine!

The projects turned out so good! They each picked out a favorite girl and gave them an early Valentine's present.

Handmade presents are our favorites to give out!

Now Luke is considering sewing a Valentine's box/bag to gather his school valentine's in. I totally think he could do it!