Back to school

Two years ago we figured we could actually wait UNTIL August to purchase school supplies. We were wrong. All the necessities were running low & the choice of lunch bags was very limited. Last year we were smarter and went at the end of July, but we missed a few sales. This year, we were smarter yet. Back to school shopping started in July! A few weeks ago, when Staples had their "buy 12-pencils for 4 cents", we went. Last week, Target started coming out with their back to school supplies. So today was the day. After church we headed to Target. For $106, here's a sample of a few things we purchased:

Crayola crayons: 22 cents

Pink eraser: 20 cents

1-inch binder: $3.49

Purell: $2.99

Ziplock bags: $2.50

Spiral notebook: $3.99

Seeing the look of excitement on Mason's face when he got to choose his very first lunchbox (he chose 'Cars'): Priceless

Encore

Many mornings Mason opts for an Eggo waffle for breakfast. Truly, I'm fine with it. It's easy. It's quick. It has some sort of fortified something-or-other in it. This morning was a similar morning. Mason chose a blueberry eggo. Lauren chose an english muffin. While I was getting out the topping for Lauren's muffin, Maggie (the black lab) decided she would like to share in breakfast too. So, she jumped up and grabbed one half of the muffin from the counter and swallowed it down.

Mason (for whatever wierd reason) thinks it's quite hilarious when Maggie "steals" food. So, he hands her the rest of his waffle and yells (while clapping) "Encore Maggie. Encore".

Being thankful

Yesterday's day camp theme was 'Be Thankful'. Apparantly milk is not something for which we should be thankful for.

This morning after I gave Mason his cup of milk with breakfast, he proceeded to pick it up and pour it all over the table. Which resulted in milk flowing freely down the tablecloth (just a cheap plastic one), to the seat of the chair below, down the legs of said chair, and into a lovely puddle of milk.

When I inquired as to the reasoning behind the milk dumping, he said "I didn't want it". Uh-huh. Nice. Perhaps he could have opted to just hand it to me and say 'no thank you'. Or, perhaps he could have just been thankful for it and sipped it politely.

Midway through breakfast, he then asked for his milk again. Um, no!

Heater vent

For those of you who live on the West Coast, for the most part, our heater vents are on the floor. For you, this is to whom I write this blog.

Things that belong in a heater vent: hot air, cold air (if you also have a/c), some dust or dust bunnies, perhaps some hair or dirt.

Things that don't belong in a heater vent: Star Wars Galactic Heroes Figures.

Get the picture? All I can say, is it is a good thing that Mark was in town to rescue Darth Vader, C3PO, and Leia out of it (as my arms are too short to reach that far into the duct)!

Martini

I know it's been awhile. Seriously, with both kids home for summer break, there is not much time to spend goofing off on the computer. It's actually been a pretty good summer break (with the exception of Tex-Ass like thunderstorms last week). Anyway, the kids have been in swimming lessons, played, had a play date or two, etc.

So, we did the unthinkable! Or, to some, we did something stupid. And, yes, I might agree. Well, for quite some time, I've been talking about getting a small dog. Mark has adamantly said 'no'. Acutally, he said he'd move out! So we'd joke about it (since he travels so much). We've been talking about getting a puppy even more frequently since my friend Melissa added a small dog to her home of 2 labs. I've looked on-line, in the papers, etc. I even called on a few.

Last week we were at Melissa's. I took a picture on my cell of Lauren with Lucy (Melissa's dog - who Mark hasn't seen). I titled it "Lauren's puppy" and sent it to Mark. Lauren & I had him going for about 2-3 hours, that we really bought a dog without him (which I wouldn't do). Anyway, once we told him we were kidding he was quite upset.

Well, as we drove home from Camano Island on 4th of July, Lauren & I kept joking about getting a dog. When we started playing music on the radio, Mark would turn it into a song about a puppy. Ha Ha. Long story short, we now have a puppy.

Yesterday Mark told me to go with Lauren & look at a litter of puppies (from a home - not a breeder). I said we wouldn't go without him. So, we all went to look at the 5 puppies and their parents. Before leaving we made it clear to the kids we were JUST LOOKING - and we would not come home with one. We found the "one" we loved most. A little fluffy one. As we were leaving, Mark kept asking me to put down a deposit! But, I said 'no', if it was meant to be, it was meant to be. If he was gone, then it wasn't the dog for us.

This morning, on the way to church, Mark again asked me if I called the owners. At 8:40 in the morning, I figured it was a bit too early. So, after church, we headed to Petco and purchased our puppy supplies. Then, we picked up the puppy.

Definition of 'bath'

To me, a bath involves either physically washing your child or verifying that your child adequately washed themselves. So tonight, Mark was in charge of the bathing task. We arrived home much later than normal, but both kids needed a quick bath.

Lauren proved she can take a shower and perform all necessary tasks to assure cleanliness. From hair to toes, she can do it. Occasionally there will be a little shampoo left - but that's fine with me.

Mason on the other hand prefers to play in the bath. He still requires someone else to appropriately wash his hair. As for washing the body, there are also two options. The first is to wash him. The second is to talk him through washing all his body parts. Either is fine. What is NOT fine, however is leaving the child to perform all tasks of the bathing routine!

So, imagine my shock when I was told by husband that Mason had had his bath. Mason emerged from his bed to use the toilet. When I went in the bathroom to help wipe him, I notice he has dry hair. I notice there is absolultely NO soap OR shampoo in the bathtub. There is also no "cup" to rinse his shampooed hair with water. The toothbrush is also dry. So, I ask husband WHAT he actually did while bathing Mason. "Um, I, uh....". See, there is really no answer to this question when it is obvious he just let the child sit in a tub of water. No soap, no shampoo, no nothing. In regards to the toothbrush I was told that husband wasn't done tucking him in yet. Funny thing, is that Mason came from his bed into the bathroom. His bedroom lights were off and curtain was closed. His music box on the side of his bed was on. You see, to me, that means tucking in was done.

So, I just spent the last few moments of another long day actually giving the child a bath. Guess what? I used shampoo and soap. I also made sure the toothbrush (with toothpaste) actually entered his mouth! And the even funnier thing....I told husband earlier tonight that he's got to give 110% to the kids when he's actually home and not traveling. Geez, I'd hate to see what a 70% "bath" is!

Wednesdays with Jack

For the past year I have watched Jack on Wednesdays while Meghan was at work. On occasion I would need to cancel if Mason was sick, I was out of town, or I had an appointment. Other times Meghan would cancel if Jack was sick or if he didn't feel like joining us. Here's some examples of our Wednesdays:

SWIMMING: For the first few months Mason had swimming at 10am. So Jack & I would color or play with various toys while watching Mason was in his lesson. The mid-part of the year Jack would go swimming too. This however, was short-lived due to the pool's staffing. It also required serious bribery to get him into the water. But, once he was actually in the pool he did great. The funny thing was every time the boys were changing into or out of their swimsuits, Jack would look at Mason, then at me, then say "God made us all different sizes". Think penis.

PARK: Occasionally we'd go to a park. This too, however was short-lived. Due to weather, obviously!

OUR HOUSE: Since the weather was pretty much awful and rainy, we'd spend time playing in the playroom. Occasionally we'd have a change of venue and play at my parent's playroom and with their dog. Sometimes Jack came as a character from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Super Mario, or another favorite "person". All the while, he would not usually allow me to call him Jack - but by the name of the character du jour. Mason happily went along with that!

ERRANDS: My favorite Wednesday activity with Jack & Mason was running errands! After all, being a free babysitter did not require extensive, prearranged activities! I could treat Jack as my own & load him up for errands!!! My favorite errand of all was Costco. Both boys were easily bribed with a churro or pizza or samples & I could get my glasses adjusted or shop. It killed a TON of time. Sometimes it was Whole Foods for a few groceries (with a cookie for a reward). Today was Best Buy (no free samples here) & Target. You name it. Both boys would either be in the cart together or just Mason (Mr. Run Away) would be in the cart. Jack always stayed right with me. Never a problem. The past two weeks Mason would pretend Jack was his brother and Jack, laughing, would play along. Being the wise old age of 4, he would come up with all sorts of hilarious comments. I couldn't even begin to list "Jack-isms" because they were so funny and he'd quickly come up with another. Often it would just be typical potty humor, which would only spur Mason on to try to compete too. Today a sample of the words of the day were toot, bottom, and booger.

Now, Wednesdays with Jack have come to an end, I must say I will miss him and his "Jack-isms" on Wednesdays.

Note to Meghan: I will not miss Jack so much that I want him next year when Mason is actually IN School on Wednesdays!