Mommathon

Some kids hide behind their mother's legs, some kids go hide in another room. Not my kids. They react to new people by acting like a couple of crazed monkeys. So, today, Mrs. Doolittle, Colm's teacher, came to visit. Oh my! They were crazy, especially when she first got here. Things did settle down after a while, enough for her to read them a book. She assured me she has three boys and completely understands, but still couldn't they just act normal for a while? I held onto the door and laughed to myself for a second after she left. Please, dear God, don't let her think this is how my children act on a regular normal day.

Well, we thought we knew where Liam was tonight-in bed. He wasn't. He was laying on the floor as flat as a pancake as quiet as could be on the landing above our family room watching TV. Yep! He decided he wasn't tired, but knew he was supposed to be in bed, so he snuck a little extra TV time in. So, he watched an hour long Nova documentary on dinosaurs and an hour of Star Trek. The funniest part was how he got caught. I went upstairs to go get the cat out of our bedroom and there he was. The look on his face was priceless. Busted!

The boys took an art class this month through Gymboree that is just like the one Colm took last fall, only it is for siblings. The boys had a great time and it was a good way for them to get to do something together before they head their separate ways for school in a few short weeks.





Liam as Darth Sidious-these are actually little magician's capes that he has fashioned into this Star Wars getup.

Sean and I are trying to figure out what to do about carseats and traveling. I know you don't need them for the airplane, but what about when we get there? We don't plan on renting a car, but what about when we get in a taxi? We can't drag carseats with us all over the city, but we also need to be safe. What to do? I found this website where you can rent all kinds of stuff for kids and babies when you travel, so maybe they can help us.

My hubby is the best storyteller. I had no idea. While we were driving around today they were griping and complaining so much I started to laugh because they were driving me crazy. (You know, the crazy kind of laughter, not the ha, ha funny kind of laughter.) So, to get them to zip their lips, he started in with the story of Peter and the Wolf with voices and everything. They begged for another one after that so he told them a Scottish story about a fox and a scone and then he told them another Scottish one (kind of like Hansel and Gretel) about a little boy, an oven and some pudding. They wanted me to tell them stories, too, but after that kind of performance there was no way I was going to even attempt to tell them a story.

We got kicked out of the house today for four hours because we had an open house plus a showing, so we drove around for a little while, went out to eat and then went to play video games at Dave and Buster's. Have you been to Dave and Buster's? We had not, but a friend of mine (whose opinions I trusted until today) does take her kids there. That is the most kid un-friendly place I think my kids have ever been to. I thought it would be more like Chuck E. Cheese only with better food. NO. Vegas is less of an assault on your senses than this place. It was LOUD and at least 50 percent of the games involved shooting something while holding a simulated gun in your hand. We don't do that. We whisked them over to the most kid-friendly part of the place we could find and then hightailed it out of there. The boys can go back there if they want when they can drive themselves there. Sean and I have no desire to ever set foot in that place again.

You know you can always get an honest answer about a situation from a five-year old.

Sean: Maybe someone will buy our house today.

Liam: I don't think so, Daddy. No one ever buys our house.

Thanks, Liam. We really appreciate your candor.

I don't usually get excited about dishes, but I saw these in the store window yesterday and I must have them AND they are on sale. How convenient. I have not bought them and probably won't, but I do love them.

Liam finally earned enough allowance money that he could actually buy something. Sean took the boys to Target tonight and this is what Liam chose to spend his money on. When they went to check out, the cashier told him how much it was. His response? But that's all of my dollars. Yep, welcome to the world, buddy.

I am FINALLY finished with my project. I have stayed up ridicuously late practically every night for the past five nights trying to wrap things up so I could mail my assignment to my instructor which had to be postmarked by today. So, keeping in mind that it was POURING DOWN RAIN tonight...I went to mail my assignment at Dillon's. Since it was pretty big I wanted to make sure it got the correct postage and they have people there who will do the postage for you and make sure it is correct. I mailed it and headed out to the parking lot where I remembered that if you mail if from Dillon's after a certain hour in the evening it gets postmarked for the next day. I can't have that...it has to be postmarked for today. So, I went right back in the store and asked. Yep, it was postmarked for tomorrow and he said that even if I went to the main post office it would still be postmarked for tomorrow since their last pickup is at 6:30. I left Dillon's and I was PISSED, but not defeated. I then drove to the main post office. (remember, it's still pouring outside) I used their automated mailing machine to pretend like I was mailing a package. I put my purse on the scale (since my assignment was still at Dillons) and went through the steps like I was going to mail it. I paid for the postage and the sticker/stamp thingy popped out of the machine postmarked for today. So, I got back in the car, drove back to Dillons, told them my story, drove back to the post office and mailed my assignment and then I went to a much-deserved fondue party.

That's what time I went to bed last night. My project for this summer has to be postmarked by today and I still am not done. I just have one more little thing I have to do and I have to make a copy of something to finish it. I would have done it last night, but even Kinko's was closed. I am so ready to be done. I am tired of jumping through hoops. So, after today I will only have one more class to take and then I will be DONE with classes FOREVER!

They had a luau on the last day of preshool. Prior to going Liam asked me what a luau was. I explained to him that it was a party and that they might dance. I showed him my best hula dance and he was instantly adamant about NOT doing the hula at the "lou how". Well, he must have changed his mind because he did it and so did Colm. (Note: Notice Liam's lai. He is being Chewbacca. He can turn anything into Star Wars.)


Here's Colm's best hula.

Liam has started making up an opera to go along with the storyline for Star Wars. He cracks me up. He has about four different songs that he has made up. The way he sings them is the most entertaining part. The other day I asked him if he could sing some more of it to me. He tried and stopped several times. He finally gave up and said he just didn't have it in him at that moment. Maybe he will be more inspired later on in the week.

Liam did the neatest thing today. They had a program at the library through R.E.A.D.. He got to go to the library and read to a dog named Kya. He brought a book from home to read that was about a dog. Liam thought is was super cool. Next month we get to go back to the library and read to a different dog.

We met with the painter and the foreman yesterday. Things seem to be coming along rather quickly, so I asked the foreman if the November 8 close date was still realistic. He said that usually you close about 45 days after the painter finishes. The painter starts next week. That's more like September.

This is our new breakfast food around here. First we put neufchatel cheese on them and then top them with our favorite fruit. I like to put either blueberries or strawberries on mine. Liam likes sliced bananas. Colm tried one, but didn't like them; he is a waffle boy.

I love listening to my kids as they talk to themselves and each other in the back of the car. Today was a great example. Colm was singing a song about how his favorite color is red. It was so funny. He was just making it up as he went along. Then, later on today Liam was looking at the nutritional information pamphlet that we got at Papa Murphy's and he said, "Mom, there are a lot of calories from fat in the original crust pizza". (He likes reading the nutritional labels on various foods). It didn't stop him from eating the pizza when we got home though.

Squirming Larvae Pulled From Man's Head
5 Squirming Fly Larvae Pulled From Colorado Man's Head After Trip to Central America
The Associated Press
CARBONDALE, Colo. Jul 17, 2007 (AP)


Doctors thought the strange, bleeding bumps on Aaron Dallas' head might be from gnat bites or shingles. Then the bumps started moving.

A doctor found five active bot fly larvae living beneath the skin atop Dallas' head.

"I'd put my hand back there and feel them moving. I thought it was blood coursing through my head," Dallas told the (Glenwood Springs) Post Independent.

"I could hear them. I actually thought I was going crazy."

Dallas said he likely received the larval infestation while on a trip to Belize this summer. Bot fly infections are not uncommon in parts of Central and South America.

Adult bot flies are hairy and look like bees, without bristles. The larvae, which are about one-third the size of a penny, were living in a pit 2- to 3- millimeters wide. They were removed Thursday.

"It was weird and traumatic," said Dallas, of Carbondale. "I would get this pain that would drop me to my knees."

After a specialist told him he might have shingles, Dallas tried different creams and salves. But the pain only got worse.

"When I saw him again, it was pretty obvious something else was going on," said Dr. Kimball Spence, who could see the spots moving on Dallas' head. "There's an open pit. You see a little activity, not necessarily the larvae, but a fluctuation of the fluid in the pit."

Dallas' wife, Midge Dallas, teased him about it.

"I told him, 'I will love you through your maggots,'" she told the newspaper.

But Dallas saw little to laugh about.

"It's much funnier to everyone else," he said. "It makes my stomach turn over. It was cruel."


Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Did I just violate a copyright?

It's coming right along. We meet with the painter on Friday. The contract finishing date is November. I can't imagine it taking them that long. We'll see.

I took the boys bowling today and they had a blast! It was so much fun. They had never been before. I think Colm enjoyed watching other people bowl more than he enjoyed the actual bowling and Liam thought he was quite the bowling expert by the end of the game. Their form was hilarious. Liam would run, run, run up to the line and then chuck it. Colm would squat and then give the ball a little nudge. Then the ball would S L O W L Y make it down there. We will definitely be going back. You have to go on Tuesdays though. It is a dollar for shoes per person and a dollar per game per person. So the boys and I bowled one game and it cost less then seven bucks. Not bad.

Putting on his cool bowling shoes

Liam the scorekeeper


Watching the ball travel painstakingly slowly down the lane

Final score:
Me 122
Liam 85
Colm 41

Teamwork! The boys worked together this evening to get the cars washed. (They had a little help from their dad.)

This is a quick read that any mom can relate to. There are chapters about oozing poop (Janelle, I thought of you), binkies, family pets, kids humiliating their parents in public, and the list goes on. The funny part is that she is able to relate all of these parenting matters to topics such as Mother Teresa, Solomon and the Prodigal son.

I am so excited about these. These will be perfect to pack in Liam's lunches and Colm will drink it just because it looks like it is in a juice box. They aren't easy to find, but there is a card on the website that you can take to your grocer to tell them you want them and if that doesn't work, there is a link on the website that will take you to a company that delivers hard to find goods right to your door.

We got this game a couple of weeks ago for the boys. I really got it for Colm, but Liam likes it, too. It is so funny because the boys play it totally differently. Liam plays to win. He has figured out which pieces he needs to win and he gets upset with you if you get to them before he does. Colm plays to make a funny outfit. He likes to mix up the clown top, with the cowboy hat, with the nurse head, etc. How the game works: You roll the die. The die tells you which piece you get to pick up whether that be a shirt, a hat, shoes, etc. Each person has a turn until everyone has a complete person. Then you measure the people you created. The person with the tallest character wins. It has inches on one side and cm on the other, so it is fun to measure them both ways.

We went to Powell Gardens today to see their dinosaur exhibit. It was a beautiful day and the boys loved the dinos. They also have a nice little cafe to eat in that has great food for kids and adults.


Digging for dinosaur bones

This is a non-fiction book written by a mother and daughter about the daughter's trip into a life of drugs and all of the garbage that comes with it and her mom and dad's role in getting her there. The journey they all take out of that deep dark place is what makes it interesting.

When Liam first started Suzuki I saw all these other kids playing away and I thought it would take Liam forever to learn to play like that. There are several songs I like in Book One and one of them is called Perpetual Motion. When I first saw the other kids play it I was blown away. It is such a neat song and a fun song to play. You can really tell the kids enjoy playing it. Well, he has arrived. He can play it and I am so proud of him. I honestly thought he would be ten before he would be able to play like that. They just learn so quickly when they are this age. At first it doesn't seem like they are learning much of anything, but one day it all comes together and you realize they were listening, they were learning and it was worth it.

My in-laws are having some work done to their yard that requires a bulldozer type of machine. They are having some boulders put in their backyard to keep their lawn from washing away into the lake that is in their backyard. Now, when they told me someone had called the police on them because the bulldozer was making too much noise I thought that was absolutely ridiculous. Then the boys and I went over there today to see all of the excitement and I totally understand why someone called the police. Man, it was LOUD! He wasn't just moving the rocks. First he has to scrape them so they are flat and will stack nicely. He scrapes each one for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Then he picks it up with his machine and takes it over the lake, plops it into the lake on top of the rocks that are already there and POUNDS, POUNDS, POUNDS it into place. A lot of the people who live near my in-laws are retired and are home ALL day. They have been listening to this for two days and probably have about three more days of it to put up with. And it's not the sound that is so bad, it is the sounds echoing off of all the houses and carrying across the lake that is bad. If I had heard all of that ruckus and didn't know what was happening, I might have called the police, too.

Liam has graduated to Level Two in swimming. Praise GOD! I thought it would never happen, but it has and he is enjoying it. THAT is a miracle, folks!

Today we found out that Colm's teacher for next year will be Mrs. Doolittle. That is EXACTLY who I wanted him to have. She will be his teacher throughout his Montessori education. Yippee!

Colm has decided that red is his favorite color. It is so cute! He notices everything that is red now and if there is a choice, he wants the red one: the red shirt, the red popsicle, the red crayon, etc. He also points out everything that is red, especially in books. We were reading The Deep Blue Sea tonight which is all about colors and has a red rock in it. He HAD to point out the red rock.

Liam has really struggled with the concept of death ever since my dad died. On Father's Day we went to visit my dad's grave. I was really unsure as to whether or not we should take him because he was really effected by it when we went to visit his grave last fall. He seems to have done okay this time, but he has a lot of questions all of the sudden. Today he asked me why God makes everyone die. I need to take a parenting course in answering difficult questions. I told him that everyone dies so that we can go to heaven. I told him that heaven is a great place to be and even though it is hard for those of us that are here on Earth to lose the people that we love. The people we love that have died are happy in heaven and someday we will get to see them in heaven, too. I hope that was a good answer.

We have decided to start giving Liam an allowance. It started today when we were at Wild Oats and he was sobbing because I wouldn't buy him a stuffed animal. So, he has two jobs. He has to make sure the dog has food and water every day and he has to open all the blinds in the house each morning. He has already fed the dog today and was expecting money right away. He was not too thrilled when I explained to him that he was only going to get paid once a week, not every time he did his jobs. I explained to him that Daddy goes to work every day, but doesn't get paid every day. He has to wait, too. That seemed to help. (He is also not going to be thrilled when I explain to him about tithing.) Sean gave him two dollars to get started and I found a Vera Bradley wallet of mine that I don't use anymore to put his money in. He LOVES his wallet. It cracks me up. I told him he could use his money to buy pretty much anything he wants. I can't wait to see what he buys and how long it takes for him to save up the money to get it.

I don't know if there is a chapter about siblings in Love and Logic, but I love that Liam is now using it on Colm. He gives him choices and he also gives him consequences just like I would. It is so funny to hear him parroting things that I say to him. The funniest part though is that sometimes, SOMETIMES Colm listens to him.

Today Sean wanted to go get some custard. Liam piped up that he wanted some too. I reminded him that he chose not to eat his lunch, therefore, he could not get any custard.

His reponse?

I wish I ruled.

Too funny!

You know your kid's not feeling well when he suggests that you make a graph representing the number of times he's coughed that day. Poor guy. I think it's all the mold that's outside after all of the rain we had last week that's making life hard for him.

The number of days our house has been on the market. I don't get it. (Actually, I have had a gazillion people tell me the market for selling a house is bad right now. Yes, I know. I am living it.) Everyone who has been to our house thought it would sell in the first week. It is in a cul-de-sac, we have a great backyard with huge trees, four bedrooms, an office on the first floor, a finished basement, 3.5 baths, a sprinkler system and I think the thing that makes me sickest about it not selling sooner is that it is a GREAT house! I love this house! We have had zero problems with it. Zero. Hopefully someone will buy it and learn to love it like I do.

Yesterday as Liam and Colm were happily coloring in the backseat on the way to our outing Liam asks me, "Mom, what happens when everyone on the Earth dies? Does the world explode?" My response? "That's a good question, Liam."

One of the few veggies that my kids will eat that even slightly resembles a veggie gets recalled.

Yesterday was another rainy day and Sean was out of town, so my in-laws and I took the boys to the Toy and Miniature Museum. My step-mom had mentioned that my brothers used to go there a lot when they were little. I had never been, but I thought it might be a nice outing. It is defnintely not a hands-on type of museum and someone who is really into dolls and dollhouses would probably really like it. Even if you aren't a big dollhouse person, you still have to appereciate the dollhouses that are in this place. They are so ornate and so realistic and detailed. Also, many of the toys are so old it is amazing that they are still in one piece and in working order. There are rooms dedicated to dollhouses, rooms for trains, rooms for airplanes, dolls, farm-themed toys, animal-themed toys and marbles. The most amazing part is that most of the collection belongs to two women. I can't imagine where they must have kept all of it before they had a museum to put it all in.