Catch Phrase

Well, the elves are gone. They headed back to the North Pole until next year. We had a great time with them and can't wait to see what they will do next year.

In the meantime, here's a funny story about our nephew.  He's our only nephew. We have five nieces and only one nephew.

He is eight years old; two years older than our oldest. So, naturally my boys look up to him and love hanging around with him.

He's now old enough to play the game "Catch Phrase" with us.  So while we were all together at my parents' house we played.

His turn came around, and we were all waiting to hear his clues.

He looked intently at his phrase he had and said, "Oh! I know!  This is what people do after they get married!"

So we all began yelling out things like kiss, hug, etc.  We ran out of ideas and started to look at each other with wide eyes and funny faces. I guess none of us had the guts to say it, until my brother (his father) called out sex!

And a big smile came across my nephews face and he said, "Yes. You got it."

We were all roaring with laughter. And we applauded him for saying "It's what people do after they get married."

Elves Update

So here's what the naughty elves have been up to for the last two nights. 

On Wednesday morning, we woke up to extra decorations on the Christmas tree.

Here's HonkHonk holding the toilet paper and positioning it just right.

A close up of our cute little helpers.

 

Tuti and Darth Vader dropping the toilet paper down the tree.  I think they like the cascading effect!

 

 

 

 

 

Then Thursday morning we found them surrounded by all of the boys' cars. There were 92 in attendance. It seems like the elves were trying to bring some holiday cheer to the cars!

These elves are really keeping us on our toes!

The Elves Miss Snow

Our poor elves must really miss the cold and snow. Being down here in South Florida is a long way away from where they usually live. They apparently are having withdrawals, so they've decided to improvise.
This was Sunday night's escapade:

They made for some pretty decorations, though.

And last night, they played in the flour...

And Daddy's cleaning that one up!
That's Darth Vader in the red suit, Tuti in the green suit laying down and HonkHonk dumping the flour out.
How many more days till Christmas?

Elves Crash Landing!

Looks like the elves got a little adventurous last night! Here's what we found this morning.

The Elves Ate Our Candy!

We have a new tradition. I thought it would be fun to have the elves come and visit our house for a few days before Christmas. Then they would get into all kinds of mischief during the night, and the kids would be excited to see what they had done while they were asleep.

So the elves came 10 days before Christmas. So far, here's what they've done.

Their first night in the house, they apparently watched the movie "The Santa  Clause" and ate Chex mix on my couch. They left a mess in the pantry with Chex mix on the chair they pushed over.

The following night (last night) they played on our table with the little toys that were in the goody bag from Nathan's birthday party and ate 4 pieces of chocolate.

It was 6:45 am and Ryan and I were still lying in bed. The kids came tip-toeing out and we could hear them whispering to each other. The table is next to our bedroom, so we could hear everything they were saying when they found the elves.


Rylan couldn't believe that the elves had found the toys that were in the goody bag and he was not very happy that they had eaten his chocolate.  We heard  Nathan tell his elf, "I'm going to put you in time out."  Rylan told his he had to put him back to sleep since he'd been up all night.


They stayed like this for about 20 minutes, whispering to each other and talking to their elves.  We heard the candy paper sound and thought they were getting into the candy as well, but we let it play out.


They finally made it into our room and said, "Look what the elves did last night! They ate our candy!" 


We asked them if it was the elves or them.  And if they were sure that it was the elves? Oh, you should have heard the protests!

How Do We Have Babies?

The boys were having a great conversation today that I happened upon.

They were talking about girlfriends.  And I missed the questions that prompted the conversation, but listened as Rylan explained to Nathan that girls can be your girlfriends now because they are little.  But when you get older, they turn into your wife.  And then they become mothers and you become a father.

Nathan asked if he was going to be a father and Rylan was going to be a mother, and Rylan chuckled a bit, but remained composed and explained that he has to be a father, because he's a boy, just like Owen will be a father, too.

Nathan then asked how he has a baby. Rylan told him that he doesn't have the baby, only the mother does.

And as I strained to hear the rest of the explanation, he ended it. And I smiled. 

Are You Ready for Some Football?!

Nathan (4) and Rylan (6) have been playing football all day long. They take turns being different teams. Sometimes they're professional teams, other times college teams.

As I was listening to them play today, I noticed that no matter what team Nathan was, college or pro, he always added in that there were cheerleaders at the game.  But not just any cheerleaders, the Georgia Bulldog cheerleaders.

I thought about this and wondered why they were always Bulldog cheerleaders.  And I realized, that we just got back from Atlanta, where one of the traditions is to watch the Univ. of Georgia vs. Georgia Tech football game.  Nathan watched it with the big boys this year.

So, I imagined that he saw a cheerleader that he really liked during that game.

I asked my husband about it and he said that there was one cheerleader that came on the TV. It was a really close up shot, and Nathan was standing right in front of the TV at the time.  He stopped what he was doing and stared at the TV while she shook her pom-poms and cheered on her team.  His mouth hung open. 

I later asked Nathan why there were always Georgia cheerleaders cheering for him, he just put his head down and tried not to laugh. I asked if he had seen one on the TV that he thought was pretty and he ran out of the room, trying to not crack a smile, but as he ran away I heard him giggling.

Cereal

All the boys in my house who are old enough to have an opinion are huge University of Miami fans.  I am not. (I'm still holding out for Owen.)  As a matter of fact, I'll be happy no matter who UM loses against, just as long as they lose.

Apparently, they are now making and marketing a new cereal at the grocery store down here.  There is a UM cereal and a UF cereal.  Maybe there's more, but they cater to those two teams down here. 

The boys saw this cereal this morning when they were at the store with Daddy.  They reported to me that there is a UM cereal, and they want to buy it.  They also told me there is a Gator's cereal and Nathan said, "I'm going to throw up if I eat that one!"

That kid....

How to Have a Lot of Money

We were driving home from football practice tonight when a brand new shiny silver Mustang pulled up next to us. We were going about the same speed.

Nathan asked, "Which car's faster, Mommy? Our car or that shiny car?"

I didn't even have to answer because Rylan chimed in, "That car, Nathan, because it's one of those cars that has the horse on it."

Nathan then asked, "Do you think we can get a shiny new car like that one?"

I answered, "We could, but then we wouldn't have any money to buy food or anything else." Then I had to explain that those cars are very expensive and we don't have money to buy a brand new car and pay for the other things we need.

Nathan thought about that for a few seconds and asked if that man had a lot of money and we only had a little bit of money.  I replied that we have enough money for the things that we need, because God always provides for us and we never go without the things we need.

Then Nathan said, "Maybe that man eats lunch at home all day and that's why he has a lot of money."

I figured where he was going with this, but asked him why that would make him have a lot of money.

He replied matter-of-factly, "Because if he eats at home, then he saves money."

So there you have it, money saving principles from a 3-year-old!

Hanging on Every Word

Nathan and the things he says.

They can make you nervous:
As the elevator door opened, two rather large ladies were waiting to walk out.  We were waiting to get on. Nathan was the first in line. He said, "That's a huuuuuggggeee.....(he paused for a second while I was dying inside, praying that the next words out of his mouth would ease my fears).....elevator!"

They can make others laugh:
While he was in the men's bathroom at church, he said to a young man, "I drank so much chocolate milk, I think my pee is chocolate." After he passed gas he said in all seriousness, "I'm the fart master."

They can surprise others (usually while embarrassing the mother):
Playing at a friend's house, he declared to their group of three boys, "We're the fart team!"

They can be so sweet:
Waiting to see his new baby cousin, he asked, "Mommy? Will baby Hannah be so pretty?" After I said yes, he said, "And she's going to be so cute."

I'm hanging on your every word, my Nathan.

Armpits

I feel like I am entering a new phase of mothering boys. I think this is the phase that I've been the most nervous about. It's about that time when other things at school and play are beginning to influence some of Rylan's perceptions. Right now, it's no big deal. I can handle this, for example:

I was putting Nathan's seat belt on in the car, and I have to reach over Rylan to do it. I was wearing a sleeveless top today.
Rylan: Eww, Mom! You have hair under your armpits!
Me: I know honey, everyone does. Once you get old enough, it starts to grow.
Rylan: No they don't, Mom! Girls don't have hair in their armpits!
Me: Yes they do, honey. Trust me. They just shave it, like Daddy shaves his face.
Rylan: No, Mom. No they do not. Girls do not have hair.
Me: Everyone gets hair under their arms when they get old enough. Just don't worry about it.
Rylan: No they don't, and your armpits stink, too. (After wearing a sleeveless top and running around South Florida all day.... at the end of the day, I'll give it to him, he had me there.)

Like I said, I can handle this conversation, but I know there are many more conversations on the horizon about what girls have/don't have, do/don't do, etc. There's so much info out there for them to glean, and they are, that it will be interesting where our conversations go. 

What, Mom?

The boys and I were outside today enjoying the beautiful weather. The neighbor boy from across the street joined in and the three were playing soccer in the front yard.

So here we have a 7-year-old, 5-year-old and a 3-year-old (almost 6 and 4).

Along comes young neighbor who is in her early 20's and apparently has just returned from the beach, as she is still in full beach attire, a string bikini.  She gets out of the car and I see Rylan and the neighbor boy whispering something, covering their mouths while they talk because they know they probably shouldn't be talking about the girl wearing her bathing suit, although they probably do not understand why.  A quick, "Rylan" in the mommy-tone takes care of that and brings those two back down to earth where playing soccer is more important.

A minute later I realized Nathan was no longer playing soccer and I don't see him.

(Meanwhile, bikini girl is still getting things out of the car, but she has at least put a shirt on now.)

"Nathan?"

Nathan's head pops up from behind the car, where he can get a full view of what's going on in the yard next door.

"What, Mom? I was just....(looks around for something to say)....I was just looking at Junior's house across the street."

I'm totally not buying it, because the look on his face tells me exactly what he was doing!

Conversations in the Dark

I was at my friend's house today. She had her 20 month old there and I brought Owen. All the older brothers were at schools or with Daddy, so it was just the two little ones. They're really getting along together quite well without all of the interruptions from the older boys.

The two of us girls were chatting it up. We each thought the other had an eye on the boys. We could hear them babbling, but realized that we didn't quite know where they were. We followed the talking noises and wound up outside of the bathroom door.  That's Owen's favorite place, so I made sure that door was closed, but older friend knows how to open it. I wonder who's idea it was?

Anyway, as we opened the door, first the smell of Airwick Automatic Air Sanitizer hit us in the face. It is motion activated and will spray every two minutes. Second, we noticed the lack of light. My friend and I looked at each other with wide eyes. Owen was sitting on the floor and older friend was sitting on the (closed) toilet. They were talking away with each other, in the dark, in an overly scented bathroom.

When they saw us open the door, Owen jumped right up and almost ran out of the room, but older friend was happy to sit there on the throne a while longer.

This was one of those rare sights that really cracked me up. I wonder what their conversation was about?

Weird vs. Different

This is how a 3-year-old explains how to use the words weird and different:

You can say weird when you are talking about something. 

You can say different when you're talking about people.

Old Lady

This is how a 3-year-old edits himself:
 On the car ride home today, Nathan said to me, "Mom, you know _____________ is getting ready to be an old lady." And since he talks so much and does not allow you to get a word in, he repeated himself and said, "_____________________'s getting ready to be an old lady."
As I was trying to ask him what he meant, he said, "Never mind, Mom. Never mind."
Then I was finally able to get a word in.
"Nathan, what do you mean?"
"I said never mind, Mom. Never mind."
"I know, but why did you say never mind?"
"Because I don't want to hurt __________________'s feelings.  So I'm just going to keep it in my head for the whole day."
"Okay, that's probably better that way. I'm very proud of you for making that choice and not saying that. You're right, it might hurt someone's feelings."

(I took the name out when I was writing this so I would make sure no one's feelings were hurt, since that was Nathan's wish!)

Cool

Nathan is very in tune with what he's wearing lately. He likes to pick out his clothes and make sure they match. This morning he came to me, after getting dressed, and asked, "Mommy, do I look cool in this?"  I told him that yes, he does look cool, but wanted him to understand that looking or being cool doesn't depend on what he is wearing at the moment. I told him, "You know what Nathan? You would be cool even if you had your pajamas on. Even if you wore a dirty shirt, you would still be cool, because do you know what makes you cool? Just being Nathan makes you cool!" He smiled and said, "Even if I was naked I'd be cool?" (Where does he come up with this stuff?)  "Well, yes, because you would still be Nathan, but that is not something you can wear out of this house!" He laughed and thought that was so funny. But I really want him to understand that cool isn't something you put on.  It's just being who God made you to be!

Pretend with Nathan

Random moments with Nathan: Today he wanted to play kittens. He was the kitten and I was the human. I held him and pet his head. Then I gave him an imaginary bowl with milk and he lapped it up. Then I was the Mommy cat and we cuddled and purred. Then I told him how Mommy cats clean baby kittens....you know, they lick them. He thought that was hilarious, so of course I (pretended) to lick all over his head and he died laughing. Other times he plays like he's a baby bird and I'm the mommy bird. He likes that game because he knows how mommy birds feed baby birds. Do you know? It's too gross to put into words....google it! I love these games with Nathan.

Apples

The other day I was putting my produce away. I dropped a few apples, I thought it was three, but when I was picking them up I could only find two. Then I had that conversation in my mind, you know the one. Am I really going crazy? Because I thought there was three apples but I can't find the other one! Then I keep looking over the floor as I continue putting away the produce. A few minutes later, I noticed that the house was unusually void of the constant baby talk and squealing that Owen contributes. I asked, "Where's Owen?" And began looking around. I then found him under the table quietly eating an apple, trying to be ask quiet as possible. When he noticed that I saw him, he said, "Uhhh? Huh? Muh?" Then he laughed and gave me a cheesy smile to try to play it off and triumphantly took another bite.

Garbage Picker

Owen is now walking all over the place. He struts his stuff and is so proud of himself. He loves to be able to stand up and look at things and grab things off the counter. One thing he has discovered is the garbage can. We have one that is covered, but he's also learned how to open it. He stands up next to it and lifts the top up to discover what treasures lie beneath the lid. Usually, I catch him. Sometimes, I do not. Yesterday was one of those days that I did not. I looked over at him and saw him with something in his hand and in his mouth. He had taken a piece of a bagel out of the garbage and was happily biting pieces off. He looked at me and said, "AAAHH?! UUHHH?!" He gave me a great big smile and kicked his feet like he does when he's excited, and took another bite. Well....at least it was a bagel!

Regular Grandma

We were discussing our plans for the evening. It's Grandma's birthday today, (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) so we were planning to go to her house for dinner and cake. Nathan and Rylan were talking about it in the other room and I was listening. I heard Rylan explain the details to Nathan and Nathan's question was, "We're going to Regular Grandma's house?" Now I didn't understand what he meant by that question, but Rylan didn't skip a beat he said, "Yeah, not Great-Grandma, just Grandma."

Not Flowers

This is a post about my man, not my boys, but worth the time to write it. You know how some men bring home flowers to their wife when they come home from work or from a quick run to the store? Well, not my husband. He knows that flowers die, and they're not really the way to my heart. He came home the other day and said, "Baby, I know how much you love saving money, so I brought you a new coupon book!" Well, that's as good (or better) as flowers for me any day of the week! I love you Ryan!

Sunday Morning

Nathan really hurt his lip. I mean, really hurt it. He was playing on the floor pushing a race car. Somehow the plastic bugs were involved in this particular race. Unfortunately, Mr. Grasshopper got caught under the car that he was pushing and made his arm stop. Well, when Nathan pushes a car, it's serious business. He had so much momentum going that when his arm stopped, his whole body continued forward until his lip met the ground. I saw the whole thing happen, but it's one of those things where you don't comprehend what's happening until it's done and there's blood on the floor and fat lip. I felt so bad for him. He hurt his two front teeth, cut the gums, and talked with a big fat lip for 2 days. Anyway, Sunday morning, Daddy was going to be talking in church to the people about London. Daddy asked Nathan if he wanted him to pray for his lip before church started. He said yes. Then Daddy asked Nathan if he could pray for Daddy while he talked to the people. He said yes he would. He also said he would ask his teacher to pray for him. Then he came to me and asked me, "Mommy, do you want me to pray for you today in class?" It was so sweet! I see things that he does and hear things that he says and I really think that he is beginning to understand salvation and that God is real and prayer changes things. I love that boy!

Secret Recipe

I made mashed potatoes tonight. Rylan was hesitant to eat them. Apparently, he explained, he's tried them before and he doesn't like them. Well, that doesn't fly in our house....so needless to say he tried them. After his first taste he said, "You know, I've tried these before, but didn't like them. And this time they're really good." I told him that's because I make them a special way and use a special ingredient. And he replied, "Oh, I'm going to need to figure that one out before I have kids!"

I Don't Even Know You Anymore

One of the things that I guess I will be facing for the rest of my life, at least while the 3 boys are in the house, is burping at the table. (Among other bodily functions that are not allowed.) Rylan, in particular, has become very robust with his burps. He can even do them on command now. This is a problem at the table. We understand that sometimes things slip out, but we expect an "Excuse me" to be said and for him to acknowledge that he should have tried a little harder to keep that one in. Tonight, Rylan let a burp come tumbling out and didn't say anything about it. Daddy said, "Rylan, you don't even say excuse me anymore. You're getting bad at that." Nathan, seizing the opportunity, said "Yeah, Rylan. I don't even know you anymore."

Lunchbox Letters

Today is Rylan's first day of school. As I lovingly prepared his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a favorite of Rylan's, I wrote on the napkin "I love you. Have a great 1st day of school," as so many moms that have gone before me have done. Since he's not reading everything yet, I showed him the note. I told him what is said. In the background, Ryan said, "My mom used to write notes to me in my lunchbox." I told Rylan that my mom did the same thing for me when I was a little girl. He said, "And now you're doing it for me!" And he looked at me and smiled and said, "I like it!" Aww...my heart melted. Good luck on your first day Rylan! I love you!

Exercise Time

So lately I've had two girlfriends come over in the morning and we've been working out in the living room. They come early, usually about 7 am. The kids usually sleep later than that, so we try to be quiet. The first day, I didn't tell the kids about them coming over. Nathan came out with his sleepy eyes, squinting at the bright light then looked like he thought he was still dreaming. He looked so confused. He wouldn't talk to any of us, just went over to the table and started coloring. That's usually how he deals with things, by ignoring them. The two other boys slept right through the whole thing. Later, when the girls were gone and after Rylan woke up, I told him that they were over and we exercised. He had a look of shock on his face and said, "So I missed the whole thing." "Yep," I said. With a look of relief on his face he said, "Good! Because that would be gross!" :P

Glimpses of a First Date

Our niece, who is almost 11 years old, was sleeping over our house for the night. It's been interesting to see my 5 year old interact with her in a one-on-one situation. When I just sit back and observe, I can see a lot of the things that we have been teaching him, directly and indirectly, at work. One of these things gave me a glimpse into what his first date might look like, or maybe the conversation starter to get the first date. We were sitting down for dinner and Rylan asks Taylor, "Have you been enjoying your summer so far?" The question in and of itself is not funny, but the five year old asking the question in such a grown-up way made me chuckle inside. He's been picking up on these things and is putting them to good use. Wish I could be a fly on the wall when he has to start "that" conversation so far down the road.

Staff Brat

Rylan's Grandad is the pastor at our church. So over the years he has clocked some serious time at church, most of which were non-church days and no one was there, so he really had run of the building. His Grandma lets him ride bikes and scooters in the building and so on. So Rylan is feeling very comfortable about his position at church. In other words, he's becoming a staff brat. Here's the evidence: At a gathering the other night, Rylan's Me-ma was watching him in the back. He was trying desperately to sit on top of a table that kept tilting and threatening to fall. She told him to get down and not to do that. He looked at her and said, "You don't go to church here," with a scowl. He was clearly marking his territory and letting his Me-ma know who's in charge. Me-ma stood her ground and handled the situation, but she had to turn away and laugh when it was all done. I think it's because her dear little children were once called staff brats as well. (Although I don't know why!)

I'm a teenager!

Rylan and Nathan were playing "family." That is the newest thing that they like to do. They take turns being the Dad or even the Mom. The other will be the baby or the son. It changes every time. So today, Nathan asks Rylan if he wants to play. They both agree Nathan will be the Dad and Rylan the son. Rylan was trying to continue playing with his race car track, but "Dad" told him he had to stop. Apparently "son" was not listening and "Dad" tried to turn it off. Then I hear "son" exclaim, "I can do whatever I want, I'm a teenager!" HA! He's got another thing coming to him!

Old Pictures

We were looking through an old phone that is not used any more. I think it's from Grandma. She let the boys play with it. Nathan asked her to charge it for him. After dinner we started looking at the old pictures. There were pictures of Rylan when he was a baby and of Nathan when he was a baby. We were oo-ing and ah-ing then all of the sudden Nathan says with no joking, "Can we please stop, this is freaking me out." We all roared with laughter and Nathan did, too. I don't know if he really meant it or if the kid can just deliver a line. He cracks us all up.

Sweet moments

Rylan and Nathan were getting ready for a nap today. I was finishing up with Owen and getting him ready for a nap. I guess Rylan said he was going to go to sleep already, and I overheard Nathan say, "But you're going to miss the hug and kiss!" He said it as if it was a prized possession that he would never think of forgetting. And he never does.

Baseball

We used the new T-ball bat we bought for the boys for the first time today. They had a lot of fun. Rylan had a few really good hits with Ryan pitching to him. Nathan did too, but he still used the red plastic bat that's a little bigger. Rylan actually broke one of the whiffle balls! He was really excited about that. Of course, Owen and Mommy were on the side cheering for each of them. When it was Nathan's turn, he would say, "Cheer for me Mommy!" One time, when Nathan was up to bat, he kept missing the ball. He was getting a little frustrated, but was still having a good time. He told the ball, "Come on sucker!" Now, I don't approve of this language that he probably got from a movie, but it was still funny to me. When he finally hit a ball, he took off to run the bases. He ran to first, ran 3 circles around first without ever touching it, then ran past second, and past third, without touching them, and then stomped on to home. He was so proud of himself. I was laughing and cheering for him. He then came running over to me and said, "Good job cheering for me Mom! Give me a high 5!" It was a lot of fun.

You're Cool

Nathan said to me the other day,
"You are cool. I like you. You're my baby."
I said, "I'm your baby?"
He said, "Yes, my baby girl, like Daddy calls you that."
I said, "Ok" with my heart all a glow.... :)

A New Title

Rylan: Can you believe what Wayra said today? She said she wants....me to be.....her boyfriend. She asked me to be and I said no, then she asked me again and again and again. I told her I was never going to be a boyfriend and she said if I don't be her boyfriend she's never going to like me anymore.
Me: She said she's not going to like you anymore?
Rylan: Yes, so I said.......yes.
Me: What is a boyfriend and girlfriend?
Rylan: I don't know but I am her boyfriend.
Me: Are you happy?
Rylan: Yes.

Old Man

Nathan was playing swords with Daddy. Daddy said, "I'm going to get you!" Nathan said, "Uh-uh Old Man!" We all cracked up at that.

Lover Boy

Rylan was very happy to tell us today that Wayra said she's going to like him every day. He said, "Mom, I don't even have to ask her anymore!" Apparently they are an item, according to the teacher. They say they're boyfriend and girlfriend and that they're going to get married, although he denies that to us.

The "dumbest" day

I asked Rylan how school was on Friday. He said, "Today was the dumbest day at school." I was quite shocked to hear that response, but asked him why. He said that Wayra keeps going "back and forth, back and forth" saying that she likes him then she doesn't. "She just can't make up her mind! Why does she do that?" I replied, "I don't know honey, sometimes girls just have a hard time deciding."

"They found each other"

We were driving home from church and listening to classical music to soothe the savage beasts in the back seat. We try to picture what's happening based on the music. For example, the music sounded sad and lonely and Rylan said, "It sounds like someone is lost." Then the music picked up and we said it sounds like someone was running. Then the music got sweet and almost romantic, and I said, "It sounds like they found each other." That last statement triggered a memory from the day for Rylan. He said, "Mom, do you know that something very special happened today at school?" I was intrigued, so I asked what it was. He said, "Wayra said that she likes me now and she's my friend." I was driving, so I couldn't see his face, but I could hear the smile in his voice. I told him that was great and I'm happy for him. But I just had to know, "How does that make you feel?" "Happy," he said very quietly. Later he brought it up again and said, "Wayra said that she likes me best out of all the boys in school. She likes me more." I was so happy for him!
A couple days later we were looking at the graduation pictures that were up on the board at school. We were looking for his picture, but he found hers first. He pointed at it and looked at me with a little smirk. That's all, nothing said, it was written all over his face. <3

Valentines

Rylan had a "friendship party" at school for Valentine's Day. We made his Valentines, and he had a specific one set out for Wayra. It was nothing special, except that he colored it a little differently than the others. When he came home and was showing us his valentines that he had received from his classmates, he took one and said, "I want to put this one up on the wall so I can see it." Can you guess who that one is from? Wayra. It's a little pink card with a white cat on it that says "Happy Valentine's Day."

Wet Willies

There is one thing that Ryan, my husband, hates...that's wet willies. Rylan gave him one while they were playing the other day and it shocked Ryan so much that he yelled, "Ew! What was that?!" In the mean time, Nathan had his finger in his mouth, ready to give the next one to Ryan, but when he saw the reaction that Daddy gave, he stuck his finger in his own ear. EEWW!

Ten Commandments

We were talking this morning about the rules, or 10 commandments that God gave us. We talked about each one and why God told us to do them. Some of them were funny to talk about, at least on my end. It was funny to see their faces just soak up what "don't commit adultery" means. And we were all in agreements that the last 5 rules, don't lie, commit adultery, murder, steal, and covet were all really good rules that are there to keep us happy and others happy. The first 4 commandments that have to do with God are good too. God really loves us, so that's why He wants us to do these things. That leaves commandment number 5....honor you father and mother. We talked about what that means. And I told them that the Bible says if they do this, they'll live a long life. Rylan thought it was a good idea, but Nathan, on the other hand...well he said, "Well, I'm not going to do it. It's not good." I didn't laugh, but he made me chuckle on the inside. This should get interesting!

New Love

Rylan (5) has told me he likes a girl at school more than all the other girls at school. She has brown hair that goes to her shoulder and her name is Wyla. He's going to show her to me tomorrow. Whenever he sees her, he closes his eyes, because she doesn't like him. She used to like him, however does not like him anymore, and that makes him sad. He doesn't know why.
Me: Well, Rylan, did you ask her why she doesn't like you?
Rylan: I asked her, Wyla, do you like me? and she said no.
Me: Well, maybe you can ask her if you can still be friends.
Rylan: No, I promise, she said we're not friends anymore.
Oh the pains of liking someone....my poor boy. I can't imagine why anyone would not like him!

Swords

Rylan and Nathan were playing swords today. They generally play pretty well together. Rylan "got" Nathan with the sword, so Nathan fell to the floor. Rylan walked over to him and looked at him laying on the floor and said dramatically, "My work here is done." He then put his sword into his pants and walked away. I don't know where he got it from, but it was perfect. Later, Nathan got Rylan and said, "My work are done."