A Token Of Appreciation

In January I posted a blog about Alex's Pre-K project.  The students, with some help from their parents, gathered items to send to the assistant teacher's husband who is in the military and stationed in Afghanistan with the Agribusiness Development Team from Oklahoma. A lot of the children included letters and/or drew pictures to send to MAJ "Bobby." That has been about three months ago.  Today, when I picked up Alex at school he was very excited.  He said there was something in his back pack he wanted to show me.  When we got home he quickly opened his back pack and pulled out a Ziplock bag.  Inside was what looked like a piece of cloth--I couldn't really tell what it was at first--and a piece of paper with writing on it.  Alex pulled them out and showed me that the material was actually a hat. He handed me the letter and said, "Mrs. Bruner already read it to us at school, but read it again, momma!"  So, I read the letter, which was from Mrs. Bruner's husband, aloud so the boys could hear.  While I was reading Alex put the hat on his head.  He seemed very proud of it. After I read the letter Alex said, "Bobby liked the things we sent to him and he sent us hats!" (The girls in the class received scarves.) The hat Alex received is a traditional Afghanistan hat called (or so we have been told) a kandahari style hat and is worn by males in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.

Mr. Bruner signed the letter to the class as "your overseas friend" and even went to the trouble to write every child's name on the letter.  Alex walked around with it for a while and seemed very proud to have received it. This experience gave Alex's teachers a chance to teach the children in the class about how children in other parts of the world live.  Alex was so excited about all he learned today while at school and also about the hat and letter.  He kept saying, "It was a good day, mom!"

                                     Alex's hat from Afghanistan

 

   Alex wearing the hat and holding the letter (he wanted to hold Spider-Man, too)

                                          

      This is the letter (Sides A&B) Alex's class received with their hats and scarves

It's "Draw a Bird" Day (and other funny things)!

                                     Logan and his happy face!  Ha.

      My boys!  Logan kept giving Alex bear hugs--it was really sweet!

Today has been a rather busy day in our home.  I have been trying to get caught up on laundry and also do some cleaning.  I also wanted to make time here and there for the boys--of course!  Today is (oddly enough) "draw a bird" day.  So, the boys drew birds on their Magnadoodles today.  It was so funny.  They drew super birds and birds with big ears--Logan even drew a monkey bird with a long monkey tail.  It was fun sitting with them and watching them come up with different things to draw.  Alex drew a dragon and argued that it was a bird because it had wings.  I have learned very quickly not to argue with a 5-year-old--it's easier to just go along with it! I didn't think to take pictures of them drawing birds but I did find the above picture of Logan with his Magnadoodle from a few days ago.  He drew a happy face and then walked around pretending the face he drew was his actual face.  He got the biggest kick out of it!

We also went outside today for a little while because, let's face it, it's too nice to stay inside all day!  The boys played in the sandbox and pretended to be cooks.  They made all kinds of imaginary dishes with their sand and brought it to me to sample.  They played football too, which is always fun to watch.

After lunch we read There Was An Old Monster--it is one of the boys' favorite books.  I bought it for them a couple of months ago and we read it at least three or four times a week now.  They laugh every time the monster swallows something new and they still act excited even though we have read the book at least fifty times!  Today when we read it they tried to act it out which was so funny.  Alex was the monster and Logan and Caison were the things he was eating.  It was funny to watch them as I read the book.  After we read it once and they (hilariously) acted it out, they sat down on the floor with me and Alex said, "Let's read it again, mom!"  So, we did.  This time they sat and laughed at the pictures while I read.  It was a lot of fun and their laughter is one of my favorite sounds!

It has been a fun day!  Now--go draw a bird since it's "Draw a Bird" day!  Ha. 

Daddy's Little Helpers

The boys "helped" Jacob work on his car yesterday evening.  It was so cute!  Logan put his tool belt and hard hat on and made us call him "Bob the Builder."  Alex was really interested in working on the car.  He seemed to really enjoy it!

Happy Easter!

It has been an interesting Easter weekend. We drove to the Marlow/Duncan area to spend Easter with my family.  We haven't seen my parents in almost two months and they were dying to see Alex and Logan. I had the boys dressed up in cute little button-up shirts with the sleeves rolled up.  As we were walking out the door something in my mind prompted me to grab an extra change of clothes for Logan--just in case.  As we were driving towards Marlow I was glad I had grabbed the extra change of clothes.  Logan became car sick and vomited all over himself.  Jacob and I did what any parents would do--we reassured him that it was no big deal and mommy and daddy would take care of it. We pulled into a parking lot and I pulled Logan out of the car and cleaned him up while Jacob cleaned up his car seat.  I put his extra change of clothes on him and we put his yucky clothes in a sack (in the trunk) so I could wash them when we got to my parents' and got back on the road. Five minutes later he was asking if we were there because he was hungry!  We arrived at my parents' after following a pickup with dangling boy parts for a few miles, which made for an odd drive! Once at my parent's my mother showed me and the boys the cute Easter cookies she had made for them.  There were cookies that looked like Easter baskets with the boys' names on them and cookies that looked like girl and boy bunnies.  They were almost too cute to eat--almost! The boys thought it was really cool that the cookies had their names on them.  After lunch we all headed outside to enjoy the nice weather.  Jacob and my brother, Jeremy, were nice enough to hide the Easter eggs so the boys could hunt them.  The boys had such a great time hunting the eggs--it was fun just watching them.  Alex couldn't get to the eggs fast enough. They flew kites with Jacob, Jeremy, and Matt while my dad and Kyler watched.  Two of my dad's sisters and one of my cousins on my dad's side showed up as well.  It was great seeing every one.  

We arrived back home around 6:30 last night, unloaded the car, and ate a quick dinner before reading an Easter Bunny bedtime story to the boys.  As I was reading the book Logan said, "The Easter Bunny is hurt!  We saw him."  Alex said, "Yeah--he was bleeding."  I stopped reading and asked the boys what they were talking about.  They told me they had seen a hurt bunny in my dad's shop.  Logan said it's leg was hurt and he was bleeding.  They were convinced this little rabbit was the Easter Bunny.  It was cute. 

Last night Jacob and I were so tired that we forgot to "play" Easter bunny and set the boys' Easter baskets out.  I thought of it around 2:00 this morning and we got out of bed, set the Easter stuff out, and went back to bed. In previous years the boys didn't notice the Easter baskets until Jacob and I got up and asked what was in their baskets.  This morning I woke up to the sounds of excitement coming out of the living room and the boys ripping into their baskets.  They get so excited about things!  It's nice to watch them smile and get excited about every little item in their baskets. The morning progressed in an odd fashion as I knocked one of my Pyrex dishes off the counter--it shattered and a thousand pieces of glass flew in all directions across the kitchen floor.  Jacob and I spent the next 15 minutes cleaning it up. A little while later I heard Alex screaming.  I hurried to him and he sobbed, "Come here, mom, I will show you something."  I followed him to his bedroom where the chest of drawers was leaned over on his bed. All of the drawers were sticking out and the humidifier, that sat on top of the chest of drawers, was busted on the floor and water was everywhere.  Alex, still terrified and crying, proceeded to tell me that he was just trying to get something out of his drawer when they all opened, throwing off the balance, and it fell on him.  He was frightened and also worried he was going to get into trouble. I explained that he was in NO trouble at all and I was just glad he was okay. Jacob is now coming up with ideas to make sure this NEVER happens again. 

Over all it has been a good, although busy, Easter weekend.  The boys have really enjoyed it and have learned about the Easter story.  We just wanted to share our weekend with those of you who read this. I hope you have all had a wonderful Easter weekend.

The Act of Giving

We received a flier in the mail a week or so ago from AMVETS stating they would be coming to our neighborhood to pick up any unwanted items we had (that other people could use).  They included a list of items needed so Jacob and I thought it would be a good way to clean out the closets and get rid of clothes we no longer wear and clothes the boys have outgrown. We went through all the closets and filled two large trash bags with clothes. Last night we taped the AMVETS flier to one of the bags so they would see it and know they could pick it up from our curb and distribute the items as needed.  Jacob carried the bags out this morning and we went about our usual routine of breakfast, brushing teeth, and getting ready to take Alex to school. When we got home from taking Alex to school Logan pointed to the bags sitting on our curb.  "What are those big black things, mommy?" he asked.  I said, "Those are bags of clothes that we are giving away."  "Oh," came the reply from the back seat.  We came inside and Logan eventually walked up to me and said, "Momma, why are we giving our clothes away?"  I explained that we have more clothes than we need and we don't wear all of our clothes.  I told him that he and Alex grow so fast that they often have clothes that no longer fit and that other children could wear them.  Logan stood there for a minute thinking about all I had said.  I continued by saying, "Not all little boys and girls have as many clothes and toys as you and Alex."  Logan's eyes widened and he said, "There are boys who don't have cool toys like Alex and me?"  I said, "Yes, you and Alex should be thankful for what you have."  He continued to ask questions and I told him that it was easy to take things for granted when you always have things.  I said, "You have snacks and nice clothes and a lot of cool toys, books to read and art supplies."  Logan smiled and said, "Yes, we have a lot of things."  I said, "We often just assume every one has the things we have, but that isn't the case."  We have had the "money" conversation in the past where I explained to the boys that their daddy goes to work every day so they can have a roof over their heads, food on the table, clothes, and all the extra fun things they receive.  Logan seemed really impressed by this.  I guess if you think about it from a 3-year-old's perspective it is cool that your daddy would go to work EVERY day to make money so you can have all of these things. It does sound pretty neat! So, of course, Logan very seriously says, "Why do these boys and girls not have daddies who go to work so they can have things?"  I knew there was no explaining this to Logan.  We could sit and talk about it for hours and he would still have questions and not understand why everyone's home and family wasn't like his.  I could picture him shrugging his shoulders and continuously asking "why?"  So, I looked into his big blue eyes and said, "There could be any number of reasons why some people don't have all the things we have.  This is why we need to be happy with what we have because not everyone is as fortunate as us."  Logan smiled and looked around his play room.  He said, "We have enough toys for everybody.  Maybe we could share?"  I couldn't help but smile.  I said, "You want to share your toys?"  Logan said, "Yes, with boys and girls who don't have toys."  I said, "That is very nice of you to want to share."  Logan smiled, obviously feeling very proud and said, "Thank you, momma."  So, tomorrow we are going to bag up some toys to take to Goodwill.  I am going to let Alex and Logan help me if they want to, but I think Logan had a great idea! I am very proud of my boys and hope this desire to give stays with them for years to come!

Here are a few pictures of the boys playing:

Until next time . . .

A Week of Easter and Spring Fun!

We are trying to do some fun things this week to celebrate Easter.  We missed doing a lot of fun things the week of St. Patrick's Day because people were sick.  Now we have a week to celebrate and do fun Easter crafts and activities and even have a little fun on April Fool's Day!  The plan for this week is to do some fun Easter/spring themed activities every day.  Today we started it off with making grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.  "What does that have to do with Easter?" you might ask.  Well . . . nothing, actually . . . so I gave the boys bunny-shaped cookie cutters and they cut their sandwiches into bunnies.  They had a lot of fun doing it and they all finished off their entire sandwich.  After lunch the boys helped me clean up the mess and we moved to the living room where we read one of the many Easter/spring themed books the boys have.  Logan was the lucky winner who got to pick today's book. He looked through the stack of Easter/spring books and pulled out a new book they received from their grandparents just this last weekend entitled Rabbit Pie by Penny Ives.  It is a very cute story about a mother bunny and her six little bunnies--it reads like a recipe and the ingredients all come together as the story progresses to form a wonderful little bunny family.  It was a fun book to kick off our Easter/Spring themed week!  We then went outside and the boys attempted tossing Frisbees at each other. That was funny just to watch.  They had a blast, though.

There are more fun things to come--until then, here are some pictures of the boys today!
(Below) The boys are making their sandwiches into bunny shapes.  Alex was telling a story in this picture.  He told his sandwich that he was going to make it into a bunny and then eat it.  He said, "You will look like a bunny, not a sandwich, but I will still eat you."  He and Logan have started telling stories a lot and they are all so funny!  This one was no different--and he did eat the bunny sandwich (ears first)!

Logan (Below) holding the book Rabbit Pie that we read today.  The boys really enjoyed it!

     Alex and Logan ready to read the book!  They were being silly, as usual!

Alex took the book after I read it and started talking about the pictures with Caison and Logan.  It was actually really cute.  They talked about all the pictures and what the little bunnies were doing--they even counted the bunnies on each page. They really seemed to enjoy the book (thanks Bleu and Boompa)!  I will post more this week as the boys do fun Easter things!  I know you all can't wait! Ha.  

Child-Free Weekend

Jacob and I were given the luxury of sleeping late and spending time together this weekend.  We packed the boys' suitcases and sent them off with their grandparents.  The boys were very excited about staying with their Boompa and Bleu and Jacob and I were excited about having some time to spend together as well as some time to just relax.  Jacob's parents arrived around 10:00 Saturday morning to get the boys and they all seemed eager to get back to Jacob's parents' home.  The house was really quiet after the boys left so Jacob and I decided to watch a movie.  Logan has been asking to see Where The Wild Things Are ever since it came out.  Jacob and I had heard mixed things about the movie and wanted to watch it first before allowing the boys to watch it. The boys love the book--we read it often and have even acted it out on occasion.  I know that they think the movie is going to be as cool as the book and after watching it with Jacob I fear that my 3-year-old might be disappointed.

We rented the movie and watched it in hopes of enjoying it.  Sadly, we did not enjoy it.  The wild things in the book seemed fairly happy--at least I thought.  I know that when I read the book with my boys they assume the wild things are happy too as they march around and roar and hang from trees.  The wild things in the movie did not seem to be the same wild things in the book my children love so much.  They seemed depressed and angry.  They fought a lot and were mean to each other. Even the land in which they lived seemed gloomy and depressing.  Jacob and I sat there and watched it and all I could think was, "Logan is going to be so disappointed." A big part of me didn't even want him to see any of the movie--better to just leave it alone and keep reading the book!  When the movie ended we sat in silence for a few seconds before I blurted out, "That was horrible! Just horrible!"  Jacob, of course, started laughing at me, but then agreed that he found it to be depressing as well.  We decided that since we get to keep the rental for two days we would just let Alex and Logan watch certain little parts of of the film--the wild things playing--scenes that wouldn't leave them feeling sad or wondering why the characters they love so much in the book are so different in the movie.  I think what bothered me the most is that this movie is based on a book that so many children, including my own, love so much.  They could have made it a fun movie, but instead it was just drab and depressing.  After the movie we decided it was time to just to do fun things!  Ha.

This morning we decided to go to IHOP for breakfast.  We, of course, slept in first since we didn't have little boys waking us up early.  That was really nice for a change!  We got up, got around, and headed to IHOP.  We figured we would have to wait a while because it was later in the morning, but we walked in and were seated right away.  The hostess sat us in a booth behind a family who had three children.  The father and one of the sons were sitting directly behind me and the boy, who was maybe 8 years old, kept turning around and trying to make eye contact with Jacob. I could feel him right behind my head and I would be lying if I said it wasn't a little annoying.  I can recall times when Logan would stand in a booth and try to smile and make conversation with the people seated behind us in a restaurant.  He hasn't done that in quite a while and he is 3-years-old.  This boy made Jacob and me proud of our sons.  Alex will actually sit still for the most part in a restaurant--they know how to act in public and we are so thankful for that!  The children behind us were loud and moving around and the father just seemed tired and perhaps overwhelmed.  Part of me felt bad for him.  It made for an interesting eating experience though.  The funniest thing that happened this weekend also happened at IHOP.  Jacob was enjoying his coffee and I was finishing my breakfast when I suddenly saw something out of the corner of my eye--followed by a "plop" sound.  Jacob and I both looked down at my plate of pancakes to find a little ball of paper sitting in the syrup.  We both looked at each other and Jacob started looking around.  There was a group of men sitting behind Jacob--they were probably in their 50s, at least--and they started giggling. It was the funniest thing. I couldn't help but laugh and then Jacob started laughing. I had eaten most of the pancakes and was actually finished with them so it wasn't as if they had ruined my breakfast, but it was funny to see a group of grown (middle-aged) men acting like a bunch of teenage boys.

Needless to say it has not been a boring weekend.  We have enjoyed spending time together and got a good laugh from our breakfast experience.  The boys will be back this afternoon so I better wrap this up so we can enjoy the remaining time we have left together.

Until next time . . .