Garage Sale Tales

Dad and Ben desperately wanted to be in the neighborhood garage sale this year.  Dad had some larger items to sell and Ben just wanted to experience the sale and earn "lots of money"!  Ben learned a lot from this experience.  One of the unfortunate things he learned was that toys don't earn as much cash as Dad's tools and equipment.  On the bright side, he learned some social interactions that he has never had before.  Mom had run some errands and when she was back Ben was ready to do some of his own shopping.  He asked Mom if there was any way we could take coupons with us.  Mom explained that these items were already on sale and that there were no coupons that applied to a garage sale.  Leaving Dad to hold down the fort, Ben and Mom set off to shop.  At the first house, Ben didn't even leave the sidewalk.  "Nope! No kid stuff.   Let's go."  At the second house there was no noticeable kid stuff but Ben saw a giant cardboard box that he couldn't see into.  He went closer and said hello to the man running the sale.  Then he saw there were lots and lots of golf balls in the box.  Mom thought it would be time to head to the next house, but instead Ben says, "How much would you like for your golf balls?"  The man smiled and Mom shook uncontrollably from laughing.  The man answered him that the entire box would be $10.  Ben knew he didn't have $10 to spend and his face dropped.  He looked at the man and asked, "Will you sell just one?  I only want one."  The man smiled and gave him a "deal" - he told Ben he could just have it if he only wanted one.  Ben beamed and thanked the man and then turned to Mom and said "See I told you they take coupons!"

Costumes and Rehearsals

When the costumes arrived at school for E's recital, it might as well have been Christmas.  It was all the talk amongst the girls and Elizabeth went into great detail about how they tried them on and the teacher fluffed each of their skirts.  She didn't want anyone to see the costumes however as they were a surprise.  So Mom carried them home looking the other way and waited till E was in bed to lay them out and drool over them herself.  This was E's first year to dance and preparing for recital was new to us.  Elizabeth had several rehearsals at the studio and the stage where the recital would be.  She went for about 3-4 hours each time and was there with the big girls "on her own".  Mom wasn't allowed to stay for the practices and it turned out really well for everyone.  She was very brave and helped take care of the girls that were even smaller than her. 

E took pictures in her costumes before the recital and it was the only time that Mom was allowed to see the costumes.  We were going to do her hair in braids as a practice run for recital but decided not to hide her pretty curls for pictures.  It was a good choice - she looked beautiful!  Little Ms. Independent would allow Mom in the dressing room to help her get dressed, but would not let her come into the picture area.  She wanted to go with only Ms. Jane and do it by herself - no one watching!  That was hard for Mom, but she let E go solo anyway.  Turns out that she did great on her own and was proud of her independence.


 

Couponing

Ben has recently taken up interest in couponing. It all started when he caught Mom watching "Extreme Couponing" on TLC. His rest time was over and Mom was watching some quality TV.  Mom tried to turn it off or change it to a kid show, but Ben said he wanted to keep watching.  They were in the middle of ringing up a giant sale and totaling up all of the coupons.  The register was beeping and Ben's eyes lit up.  "How do they do that?  How do they get everything for free?"  Ben was hooked.  He asked Mom to set up the DVR so he could learn the ways of couponing.  He found an episode where it was a "coupon kid" and the boy had started couponing for his family.  He KNEW that is what he was destined to do.  Mom suggested some ground rules as we are not cut out to be a strict couponing family.  Ben wanted to not buy anything unless it was practically free.  That wasn't going to work for our lifestyle and the small amount of time that Ben wanted to spend on this venture.  And Mom also said that we would never dumpster dive for newspapers/ads.  Ben had seen an episode where the mom took the family and retrieved extra papers out of a dumpster for the coupons.

It has been entertaining though.  Ben also discovered sales and now knows which day we get ads in the mail.  He is so number driven that he has really taken to the "game" of totaling up his savings.  When Mom uses a discount card on top of coupons - watch out!  Ben becomes a super nerd and will cheer at the register!

Nose Job

A couple of weeks after Ben broke his wrist - actually the exact day that he got to take his brace off after his wrist had healed he was jumping around in a friend's room and somehow face planted into the bunk beds.  Mom was sure his nose was broken as it bled pretty good and caused immediate swelling.  There wasn't really anything we could do for it other than ice and ibuprofen though as it wasn't really crooked.  It became a joke that we had a wild small group at church as Ben kept coming home banged up from it.  Mom even had to send a note to his teacher titled - Another Sunday Night Injury.... 

Basketball Goal

The boys have had a major project underway to install a basketball goal for our family.  Dad selected a fancy adjustable goal that would allow us room to grow.  The first step was to find out where the utility lines ran and find an appropriate location for the giant hole that would accommodate the goal.  Rain kept hindering plans, but finally the hole was dug and it was dry enough to pour the concrete base.  The rebar and base plate that went down into the ground was pretty impressive!  Dad got the pole installed himself, but it took a couple of friends to help install the backboard.  It was challenging, but turned out really well.  Ben is probably the biggest fan of the goal and plays any chance he gets.  Elizabeth has her fun too and mostly likes to be lifted to "slam dunk" on the goal.  We are looking forward to enjoying lots of family time on the driveway.  It has already made us popular with the tween/teen boys in the neighborhood, which Ben thinks is very cool.  They are all very respectful and have only played a few times.  Ben probably wishes they would play more so he could watch the big boys shoot.

Meeting New Cousins

We were recently blessed with the opportunity to meet some new members of our family.  Dad's Uncle David was married recently.  His wife has a four year old and they just recently had a baby together.  The whole family was in Tulsa for a couple of days and we were able to fit in a short visit with them between dinner and bedtime.  The kiddos are technically Dad's cousins, but we are all claiming them as new cousins.  Firsts, seconds and once-removeds are just too confusing  Elizabeth was really interested in the baby, but was not a fan of sharing toys with the four year old.  She held it together until bedtime though and tolerated it quite well for most of the visit.  Ben was a little shy, but very interested.  He had a lot of questions about his new family and looks forward to seeing them again soon. 

Mom's cousin had a second child and the kids are dying to meet him.  We are going to wait until he is a little bigger, but Mom got to see him at the hospital.  He is a doll just like his big brother!  We are so grateful to have new young family members for the kiddos to grow up with.  It gives Elizabeth her baby fix as she loves visiting babies and thinks that two new babies at church are her cousins.  We will take them for sure, but now she legitimately has some new cousins to claim. 

Kid Funnies

Random things that Mom thought were funny and didn't want to forget....

Ben -Mom, can you buy those BFF things?  Remember those chips I like? 
Mom-Hmmmm...... oh do you mean BBQ chips?  Sure!

Ben - Is that a fire truck or an ambulance?  Oh, it is where the old people live - probably an ambulance.
E - Where?
Ben - Over there.  Sister, that is called a nursery home.  It is where old people live.
E - Yes, I know, a nursery home.

Ben - Mom, there is a bad word in my new book!
Mom - (panicked!!) Put the bookmark in and please wait until I can get there.
Ben - It is right here, Mom.  Look - stupid! 
Mom - (sigh of relief) Good job, buddy, I don't want you saying that word.  I think you are getting old enough that I still don't like the word but you are learning right from wrong and know not to say that to anyone.  Right?
Crisis averted.......

Mom - What?  I am sorry - I didn't hear you. 
E - Mom, skunks talk very slow.  I got pushed yesterday which gave me a cough and I had a very small voice.  And now I talk slow.  

Mom - Elizabeth, you are a spitfire!
Elizabeth - I am not a spitfire!  (in a crazy growl/yell)
I am a shouting skunk!

Ben (when "trash talking" to another team on TV) - Where's your daddy now?  Yea!

Elizabeth-isms
Lasterday
The Chatters (Globetrotters)
Mom, did you know what a mudder and a fadder is?  It is you and Dad!
Hanitizer (hand sanitizer)
Mom, I can put these Lifesaver Gummies on my thumbs like pickles!  No idea what she really meant - hopefully she does not really do that with pickles.....

Another funny lately with Elizabeth is the things she has been bringing home.  She has stuffed her coat pockets with treasures like rocks and sticks for a while.  After the egg hunts at school there was a leftover egg that E found.  She called over two special friends and fed them the candies secretly so she could have the egg.  She told them to hide until they were done eating so the teachers wouldn't know......oh boy......

She has also come home with foot pains lately.  When asked to look at her foot, several small toys were found in her shoe.  It was amazing what she had been able to tolerate in her shoe all day.  She didn't want to share and stashed the toys away for safe keeping.  What a little pack rat!

 These were both in E's shoe one day.  On other days we discovered a plastic doll's boot, a handful of Legos and many other things. . .

Easter Fun 2013

The kids enjoyed lots of Easter fun this year.  We dyed Easter eggs for the first time.  It was entertaining.  Ben selected a glitter kit and a tye dye kit.  Both were just about as messy as they come.  We only did 4 eggs per kid and let them take turns.  The creations were lovely and there was only minimal drama when Mom or Dad didn't help them do it just like they envisioned.  We'll probably even try it again next year!  

Elizabeth had the first egg hunt of the season with her class at school.  It was quite the event on the playground.  She fully enjoyed it for the first time this year.  The last four years she has cried as she gets overwhelmed by all of the action and all of the parents.  This year she made Mom hunt alongside her, but was running and hunting with a mission!  After the hunt, the families got to enjoy picnic lunches which equated to Lunchables for most of the kids.  It is such a rite of passage and treat to enjoy a Lunchable and it was all the talk about who got which one.

Grandma and Grandpa came in town for the weekend.  Elizabeth was off of school on Good Friday so they were able to stay home with her and have a fun day together.  On Saturday we got up and tried making resurrection rolls for the first time.  They didn't turn out perfect, but the lesson was great and they were so yummy!  We will definitely be doing this each year as both kids loved making them and loved hearing the story and, of course, eating them.  Saturday afternoon we geared up for the big Coweta egg hunt.  The kids had been talking about this event for weeks.  Elizabeth had gotten a photo book out of sugar cookies she had decorated two years ago so she would have instructions for Grandma to follow.  They were both chomping at the bit to get there.  We got to take their Kansas Grandma and Grandpa for the first time this year so that was an added treat.  It had rained in the morning, but the sun came out and made for a beautiful hunt.  The kids hunted eggs and raced all over the property.  They filled their buckets and then went for a walk while some of the grownups prepared for round two with the emptied eggs.  We went to feed Cinnamon the horse on the walk and Elizabeth took charge.  "I will hold the carrots and I will line the kids up and give them each one carrot for one turn to feed Cinnamon."  She can go from super shy to drill sergeant in a matter of sections.  Just watch out when she has a bag of carrots.  The kids really enjoyed the horse time and Elizabeth soaked up the spotlight of carrot rationer.  We went back for more egg hunting and playing and then enjoyed the infamous cookie decorating.  The kids piled frosting and candies like mountains on the egg and chick sugar cookies.  We all enjoyed pizza and yummy snacks and played until there were tears.  That is when you know the party is nearing its end.  

On Easter Sunday, Mom had decided to write the Easter Bunny a note to come while we were at church.  Dad had to go to church early and would have missed the egg hunt. So we asked if the bunny would come later in the day so we could all be there.  Mom did not run this idea past the kids first.  It was not a popular move - not cool, Mom.  Not cool.  We all got over it and enjoyed a beautiful morning at church celebrating Jesus's resurrection.  We enjoyed some Mexican food out and then went home to see what the bunny had brought us.  There were some really fun eggs this year in cute animal shapes for E and Star Wars shapes for Ben.  Way to go Easter Bunny!  The kids also got fun baskets full of small toys, books and candies.  It was a wonderful few days with lots of old and new traditions. 

 Hunting for eggs at school!

The coveted Lunchable!

 The Coweta hunt!

  

Cookies just like she wanted!

 Two happy Coweta kids!

Communion with Elizabeth

We enjoyed a Good Friday service at our church that was family friendly.  The kids don't often sit with us in church as they are in bible classes so it was a rare experience for them.  Dad sang on the stage and we had Grandma and Grandpa in town visiting so it was very exciting for them.  There was a short message about the last supper and then all those that chose to participate took communion.  Elizabeth was very interested and wanted to know what Mom was eating and drinking and if she could have some.  This is very different for every family and not meant to offend or step on toes.  It is our personal choice to tell the kids that communion is something they can do when they are older, chose to follow Jesus and are baptized.  So Mom quietly told Elizabeth she would need to be older.  Elizabeth was fine and seemed to move on.  Two days later on Easter, Elizabeth asked Mom - "What was it again that you drank at church lasterday?  Was it blood?"  Mom was a little taken aback, but answered that it was grape juice, but it reminds us of Jesus's blood.  Elizabeth answered - "Yeah, from when he died on the cross."  Mom said yes, reassured her that it was grape juice and tried to move on.  A few minutes later Mom overheard Elizabeth playing....."Cookie monster, please take this cup.  It is my blood and will make you gooder."  Elizabeth say that she was caught and laughed.  Mom asked what she was playing and she replied that she was giving Cookie Monster her blood just like Jesus gave us His.  Well, we seem to get part of the concept, but at four probably won't comprehend much more.  She keeps us on our toes though!  The questions you never thought you would get as a parent.....