Gotta Do This With the Boys

I can't wait to make this with the boys.  I better hurry before school begins . . . not!  I get to have both of my boys with me for another year.  Well, at least until Christmas.  (DO NOT want to put Merritt in speech preschool, praying he doesn't qualify.)

Anyway, thought I would share from Dine & Dish:

Rice Krispies Wonders

Pillow Talk

Merritt brings all of baseball to bed.  Batting helmet, mit, and bat.

YAWN!



Shark Skin

A long time ago, in a swim-nasium not far from here (in my 'home' of Lewisville, Texas), my very wise mother had me try out for swim team as a freshman in high school.  I was a fast grower plagued with knee/ankle problems, and she knew that swim team was the right place for me to be.

But, in my infinite wisdom, I was shy and decided to not do swim team.   A couple of weeks later, the swim coach came to my PE class to recruit swimmers.  He convinced me to try it.

And, I loved it!  I was on the swim team as many semesters as I could before I had to stop and fill my schedule with other credits.  (I couldn't take a music AND a sport for four years . . . and not being a competitive person, I preferred the benefits of music.)

Really, I, really, am not competitive.  I don't care if I come in last.  It would be nice to be first, but only if I have a good time getting there.

I loved swimming in the water, and when I raced, I did my very best.  And, when I trained, I did my best.  But, honestly, I just didn't (uh, and don't) have the competitive drive that the other swimmers around me had, the drive that pushed them to greatness.

Skip to Today
Due to my sacrificial nature to protect my child and my own clumsiness, I can't run anymore.  At least not until my sprain is completely healed, and it just isn't--although it has been almost half a year.  My dreams of completing Boston 2012 are over.  I don't even think I could walk that distance given how sensitive my ankle is right now.

But, it ain't pretty to sit on my butt (figuratively, and I do walk twice a week) feeling sorry for myself.

And so, I announce that the 22 year dry spell is over.  I am back in the water.  (Thank you, Erik, for doing the leg work to make this possible.)

I've been going swimming every other day, building up the work-outs.  And, ah-hem, I thought I could just jump in the water and pick up where I left off so long ago . . . HAHAHAHAHA!  (like riding a bike, right?)  I mean, I knew I would have to build my endurance up again, but, hello, I am having to refine how to coordinate my breathing and my stroke.  And, the flip turn is not so much, just yet.

But, I am doing it.

I've forgotten how HUNGRY sustained swimming makes a body.  And, tired.  So, tired.

And so worth it!

I can't really keep track of how many laps I've conquered.  Don't laugh, I lose count after 8. So, today I made a bead necklace to help me 'count' the laps.  (used UT colors, of course)

My Shark Pose.  Yeah, I don't see a shark there either. 

(Me after a long swim and stationary bike ride.)

My first goal:  Conquer the flipturn.  (gonna have to hire someone to help me with this one)

My second goal:  swim a mile . . . that is 64 laps X 25 meters.

Overarching goal:  No more sprains or stress fractures or tumors (can't control that last one, but lost 10 weeks of booty shaking to the last one)

Pirate Sea Chant-ies

Evy:  Mom, I want us to be good pirates!

Merritt:  TREESSHHURRRRE!

Yo Ho Ho: A Good Book T' Read

map reading

talking like a pirate (my favorite)

pirate life

pictures of what TREASURE looks like: 

"Mom, when I find my treasure, I'll need your help to carry it."

a reason to brush your teeth

and, Evy convinced me that he could be a responsible pirate and needed his pirate sword

so, I pulled the repaired sword from lock-up

all is well

Boys of Summer

Last night, we went to a Rough Rider's game.  Evy loves going to baseball games.  We stopped off to get some food before we made it to our seats . . . and Evy was not interested in food.  He wanted to  "get to the game."

And, he took stats during the game (there are a lot of things you can make an 'x' stand for), was upset when we left with 2 innings left, and LOVED meeting Daisy.

He was THRILLED to meet her. We tried earlier in the game but ended up chasing her across a section because she had to get to her "dancing" spot for a scheduled performance.  But, not long after, I think a little bird told her about him because she came right to him in our section.

Merritt wanted to see her but from a distance.

He later decorated me with sprinkles.

Piwate's Twea-shure

Evy got into his piggy bank this week.  And, the boys have been playing "pirate's treaure" since then.  They may have actually buried all of his money through the house.

They've been running around showing me coins with a menacing "AAARRGG!"

So, when we went for pirate snocones, they were already revved for the experience.

Merritt had the snocone juice running down this chest, swimming trunks, and across his feet.  He LOVED it!  Blue Raspberry!

WHY?

Today, I will borrow a question preschoolers every where use:

WHY?

Eager to hear answers, especially funny ones.

And, I've already heard,"Why Not?"

That is all.

Clothing Optional

Yeah, they totally make swim trunks for dogs.  Like, I can't keep clothes on my boys . . . don't know how they are able to keep them on our four legged friends.  No, we don't have a dog, nope, not getting a dog.   random, for sure.

Today, we put to rest our first and most likely only tomato.  The rabbit, despite the 'pest preventative' and the TWO fences, got in and took out a chunk.

On a better note, we picked two jalapenos.  AWESOME!  I think we should make some chutney.

Swimming lessons went well.  Evy is really working at getting the breathing and kicking and scooping together.  He can't figure out how Ms. Hannah can be so good at "tricky Simon."  Merritt is basically throwing himself into the water and trusting the world to catch him. 

I made some awesome meals, despite the heat.  And speaking of the heat, it wasn't *as* hot as it could have been today.

We visited our Aunt Deborah.  And Merritt decorated her walls with sparkly crayola swirls.  Can always depend on him for some visual enlightenment.

Erik moved the world so that Sheila can now go lap swim.  She is very grateful and so is her ever-injured ankle.

We discovered a Pirate Ship Snow Cone stand in our neighborhood.  HELLO! or AHOY! We've got to go there tomorrow.

We must get redressed like 4 million times a day with all our comings and goings.  The boys would be quite content to not be dressed in anything at all, ever. 

Ambush Photography

I guess for all kids who have grown up with digital-happy parents, it is more like "payback."

HUGS

Merritt is supposed to be going to bed.

Instead, he is singing through his door,"Bobo!  Mommy!"

"mawmawmawmawmmawmawmawmaw"

"mom?"

"MAAAWWW?"

" . . .sigh . . ."

Chills and Thrills

We had our Ward Pioneer Celebration this past Saturday.  Erik helped some of the primary children act out a couple of pioneer stories.  He wore a girl's outfit in one of the scenes.  He also pretended to be "Dima" and acted out what it was like for the pioneers in Russia, those accepting and building the organization to share the gospel in Russia.  He dressed in his white furry hat and heavy coat for the recounting.  I thought he was going to pass out.

Merritt ran around at the event.  Evy had a great time and loves slingshots, now.

Other than that, we went to the pool, had a couple of great playdates with awesome friends, and finally had our tile replaced from the leak.

We had my parents over for dinner.  It was great seeing them and my dad fixed our garage opener in like 30 seconds.  They are amazing people.

This week is insanely busy. 

Here are some pictures of Merritt from this morning.  Evidently, he has his own "down the fireman pole training" going on . . . he jumps from the chair to slide down the pole.  (in the first shot, you can tell he did a face-plant on the pole when he caught it):

This is a treasure map that Evy devised.  There is a Troll, Alligator Lake, Mud Pie Swamp, Attack Turtles, Treasure Island, Forest of Hope, Pirates, quicksand, and a number of other traps to fall into before arriving at 'X' marks the spot.

And, fishing, is the sport of the moment.  Evy was asked to tell a story about his bear family that he drew and cut-out.  Here is the story:

Papa Bear and Baby Bear.  All of the family went fishing.

Swimming with the Spidey

Everett and Merritt had their first swimming lesson this week.  Maybe by the end of the summer I won't be horrifically terrified to take them swimming by myself.

And, they did GREAT!

And, Miss Hannah, their teacher is a GENIUS!

And, she used Spiderman toys.

Sigh, the boys couldn't have been happier!

Eavesdropping, Again

Erik is reading to Merritt. 

Erik:  You are right; that is a fish.

Merritt:  (something)

Erik:  That is a flipper.  It goes on your foot.

Merritt:  HAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!  (like that is even possible)

A few minutes later, the hardest part of the day:

Erik:  Time to go to bed.

Merritt:  aweed, aweed, aWEED, AWEEED!  (want to read)

A few minutes later:

Erik:  I love you, Merritt.

Merritt:  i-ou-uuuu

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Today, I had to repeatedly tell Merritt not to lick his brother.

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I should have taken stunt lessons before becoming a mommy of boys.  Oh, that and developed some gymnastic or wrestling fluency.  I am no match for the two of them.

Fierce

We drew a treasure map with quicksand, alligators, trolls, mud pits, and many other dangers  . . . including pirates (all from Evy's brain).

And, then we looked for the treasure, was intercepted by a fire-breathing dragon, decided to poison him to save the town (with grilled pineapple).

It was some fierce play.

Stop Time

Today:

Evy's assignment for me today: work on drawing Spiderman's costume exactly right. His recommendation is to try it a couple of times and then,"you need to watch some Spiderman shows after lunch to get a few more tips."

This is after I tried to sketch Spiderman before bedtime on Tuesday.  Evidently, it took Evy two days to tell me I needed more training.
 
Evy:  Well, Mom, you, uh, (scrunches up his nose).  You need to do his COSTUME. 

(as if the poorly executed drawing was the result of a misunderstanding of the request.)
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Evy was being a pest on the way home from the store, causing Merritt a fair amount of angst.  (which, if I were being fair, Merritt was in a mood and it didn't take very much effort to get him screaming.)  I told Evy to behave and leave his brother alone.
 
Evy:  If I don't, will you send me to jail?
 
Mom:  Yes.
 
Evy:  (looking contemplatively hopeful)  Real jail.
 
Mom:  Mommy jail.
 
Evy:  (sceptical of the reality of this)  Is it dangerous?
 
Mom:  (relieved he was distracted from his antics)  There are lions there.
 
Evy:  Do they eat eyeballs?
 
Mom:  Only green eyeballs.
 
Evy:   hhmmm, does Merritt have green eyeballs?
 
Mom:  No.
 
Evy:  hhhhmmmm.  Well, in that case, I'll need a lion costume.
 
Mom:  Why?
 
Evy:  So the lions won't think I'm human.
 
Then he started, or tried to start, the negotiations to acquire a lion costume.
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Merritt did marvelously with his speech therapist today, for a second time in a row.  The reason:  I always make sure the Spiderman books are near him when she comes.  He just can't get enough of Spiderman, and it keeps me from having to "convince" him to play with his therapist.
 
"Yyeshshshsh!" - yes, for Merritt
 
We bought him an exercising trampoline and a weighted gigantic balance ball.  Those two physical outputs have been great for him!
 
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This is how Merritt prefers to watch TV.  The only reason he isn't standing, it isn't comfy since I put the pictures up in the room.
 

Whimsy ~ Phase 3

I have to remind myself to do the detailed work first or the part I've been avoiding first when I paint.  I just don't have the stamina to paint for hours and hours anymore.  (Granted, the last time I used to have time to paint for hours and hours was, uh, 18 years ago.)

I carved out one hour today to get a move on the mural.

I've started phase 3 which will include 4 shades of my monochromatic color choice and one shade of the accent color.  I'm now ready for Evy to paint.

Here was the easiest part of today:

Here was the hardest part (no, you can't tell why):



And, this is how it is looking:

And, this is what is behind me:



High of 97: Feels like 110

It is hot again today.  Not as hot has it has been (the AC unit has actually kept the house under 84 degrees all day), but, hot, nonetheless.

Both boys are actually asleep and I can hear them snoring from outside their doorways.

The downstairs has like 12,098,856,302,574,999 small pieces of toys and games from dominos to marbleworks and marbles dotting the carpet in a chaotic dot-to-dot.  It is a minefield to walk through and survive.

I have a totally huge to-do list.  But, I have decided to just sit and listen to my boys and just quiet my mind, at least for a few minutes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today, Evy has been struggling with a couple of mosquito bites.  We've described why the bites itch and he wonders where that "poison" goes.  I told him that his body takes care of it and the bite heals. 

Evy:  But where does the POISON go?

Softly, because I don't know this for sure, I told him that it goes out when he pees.

So, he has let me know each time his body has been ridding itself of the poison today, very proudly.

Will Sheila Share?

The boys are hitting an all time high with the level and intensity of fighting.  Much of the bickering has been around toys, ownership, turns, and wanting what the brother has.

I found Will Sheila Share? at the library.  We read it at Family Home Evening last night (second FHE in a row around sharing more and fighting less).  We've read it several times since then . . . and it gives a non-Sjolseth example to discuss sharing, how it makes us feel when we don't share and when we do share.

I think it is a great book (I think the title is totally genius, of course!).

He'll Either Be an Engineer or a Train Hobo

Merritt is a train lover.  On our road trip, he was always the first to spot a train (sometimes I had to squint to actually see it, but it was there).

He loves to do the train sounds . . . choo-choo--woooohoooooo!

He'll put on his train conductor hat and run through the house saying,"Awww boooorrr!"  (All Aboard!)

This weekend this two year old decided he would take full charge of the train track design.  And, his design worked!

This Means War

Remember those horrible little caterpillars that ate all my tomato plants last year (Killers I and Killers II)?  Well, they are back .  .  . but I've been looking out for them.  Instead of being 4-5 inches right now, they are about an inch long.

I haven't used any pesticides on the garden.  Well, until now.  I picked as many as I could find, which is like a stealth game of Green Where's Waldo. 

I actually found one by noticing all the poop that was on the leaves of one of the plants.  Gross -- those things poop SO MUCH!