Lots of Generic Photos

I'm not in a decision making mood tonight, so I uploading the six photos that we took from yesterday and today. This one seems non-descript, but it is a photo of our pop-up at DS#1's soccer game in Austin yesterday. DS#3 and DD are playing underneath it. The pop-up is a little misshapen because of some high winds, so DH ended up leaving it on the field and buying a new one today. I'm using this as my "photo of the day" for yesterday because it summarizes our day. I was on backup call, so I couldn't go as far away as Austin. DH took all the kids except for DS#2. He gave him the option to stay because he could look after himself in case I got called in, and he and DD bicker the most and DH was in no mood for that. Poor DH had to drive 1 1/2 hours each way. At least I got to bond a little with DS#3 and we mainly hung out at home.

As you can see from this photo, there was a lot of dirt. There was also a lot of debris in the dirt like broken glass, rocks, trash, etc. that DS#3 kept picking up and handing to DH. That's why DH had some problems trying to take photos of the game. I deleted the photos that he took of the pop-up legs and of DS#1's back--more on that later.

DS#3 is wearing a hand-me down shirt from Target. It's a bit faded, but when I put it on him, a flood of memories came back of when DS#2 used to wear this. He was a car-lover too. DS#3 is getting so picky about what he'll wear. He let me put this shirt on him because it has cars all over it. Basically, there has to be some sort of transportation vehicle on it for him to consent to wear it. He's worse than DD when she would only consent to wear pink!

So, this is a wonderful picture of DS#1's back. Poor DH would try to focus on him, and then DS#1 would turn his back just when DH took the picture. That plus hearing DD yell, "No, don't do that!" to DS#3 kept DH from taking very many photos, much less any really good ones. At least he's trying--I guess now I've got him trained. *WINK*

This one is my photo for today. DD was eating her dessert when DS#3 climbed into her chair with her. He already had a bunch of his cars on the table. He started pushing them off the table. She was laughing at this, which of course caused him to push them ALL off the table because he was laughing too. Such a fun pair, those two!

DH and DS#2 were at soccer practice. Everyone seemed to be getting along, even DD and me. She was really pushing my buttons last night during piano practice. She was just goofing off instead of hunkering down and just playing her assigned pieces. Tonight she was a completely different person. Thank goodness! Otherwise I probably would be short my only daughter! Meanwhile, during piano practice, DS#1 plays some PS3. He doesn't move that much when he plays video games. I guess DS#3 thought he made a good roadway for his bus. DS#1 has such long legs that there's plenty of room for DS#3 to "drive" on.

Last but definitely not least, I have another car line-up. Tonight, DS#3 put all his cars on the sofa, which meant that there was only room for one to sit. I'm definitely going to have to do a mini-album of all of these pictures!

Spring Cleaning

So here I am posting again even if I just said yesterday that I was only going to post every other day. I just got some great pictures today, so I thought I'd go ahead and share them. I even have a good title. :)

The morning started out routinely with me making banana chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon. DS#3 had already had a banana and some grapes but when he saw me in the kitchen, he grabbed the stool and pulled himself up to the counter. I knew what he wanted. He wanted chocolate chips. At least this time he also ate a couple of pieces of bacon and a pancake afterwards. Usually he has the chips and he's done. He's not doing his cheesy smile because his mouth is busy. :)

Next came our "Spring Cleaning". DH is pretending to choke DD because he is exasperated with cleaning out her room. That girl has so much stuff in there! She's a packrat like her mama but not nearly as neat (see below). *WINK* DH also did a great job starting to clean off that desk that DD uses in the office. I didn't get a chance to take a "before" photo there, but I am quite sure that it will return to that horribly messy state again eventually.

I can't believe I'm even showing this picture, because it's a little embarrassing to me. This is a picture of the sofa in my bedroom. It's been messy for a really long time, but it got worse when we installed the wood floors downstairs. I put stuff that had been on the floor in the office and left it on this sofa and it's been there since. There are projects in there that I started at Creating Keepsakes University in 2006. Anyway, I started trying to clean it off today. I haven't made a significant dent in the stuff yet, but I'll get there. I took this "before" photo so I can take an "after" one later.

Of course I always have to throw in a cute photo of DS#3. He came to me this afternoon with two burp cloths like he was ready to take a nap. He started laying on this chair and ottoman that are also in my bedroom. He did the cheesy smile for another photo, but then he started doing this. I just thought it was a really good photo of what his "real" face looks like (as opposed to the "cheesy" face).

Oh, and I almost forgot. I have to tell this funny story that happened at church today. We were in this outer area of the church where people with noisy, small children tend to sit (no cry room at this church). There was a little girl who was probably about 12-15 months, very cute and tiny. I was coming out of the bathroom with DS#3 when she walked up to him. At first he just stared, but when she started getting close he started walking and then running towards me, looking back at her like he was scared. I told him that she just wanted to play, but he wanted to be picked up. Too funny! Her mother thought it was funny too. :)

March 26-27 (I'm afraid the boring titles will continue)

Thinking up blog titles is really difficult for me because I cram so much into one entry. I guess that's the problem if you're compulsive about documenting everything like I am. I can't just limit myself to just one topic. I've been taking lots of pictures because of this Project 365 that I'm doing this year, so I'm going to shoot for posting every other day. It'll be a little less pressure than posting daily, but my titles will be really boring!

Yesterday we received our order from Omaha Steaks packed in dry ice. The kids were home on early dismissal as it was being delivered, so DH put the dry ice in the kitchen sink and let it start melting. Here DS#1 is blowing on the dry ice cloud. DS#2 and DD thought it was really cool and had fun with it. I think it's pretty cool too, but since I couldn't be there, it was really cool that DH took pictures!

Also yesterday, DS#3 let me put this "backpack" on his back. He looked so happy just walking around with it that I had to take a picture. Of course, he has his cheesy smile here, but he really was that happy! :) It's nice to see him be "more like himself" instead of the shrieking "almost" Terrible Twos kid that he's been the last week or so. DH used his IPhone (and the Wheels on the Bus program on it) yesterday to distract DS#3 while he was having blood drawn at the doctor's office. Thank goodness we got those phones!

I was supposed to work late today, but luckily I made it home in time to go to DS#2's soccer game. This Spring season we have lots of Friday and Sunday games for DS#2. DS#1 only has 6 games total and one of those is on Sunday (this week), the rest are on Saturday. It's nice to get some Saturdays back, but I really do prefer lazy Sundays instead of Saturdays. DS#2 played well tonight, more aggressively than usual. DS#1 stayed home with the two youngest. He put them to bed all by himself. I love that!

March 24-25

For the last couple of weeks, this little man has been proving to us that he is about to turn two. He is irritable and cries easily, especially when you tell him "no" or you don't know what he wants. He is also trying to get rid of his afternoon nap. It's a good thing he's cute, isn't it?

Yesterday evening, he was lying
down on this coffee table in the living room watching "Go, Diego, Go". In the time it took for me to take the lens cap off the camera, turn it on, and take a picture, he saw me, got up, and gave me this cheesy smile. Yup, it's a good thing he's cute! *WINK*

Tonight, DS#1 had two of his pieces of artwork displayed with the work of other kids in the school district. I don't know who chose the pieces. I'll have to ask DS#1 tomorrow. This is an acrylic painting where DH said that DS#1 had used a song as his inspiration. I don't understand abstract art at all, but I do love the vivid colors he used here.

This is a charcoal drawing that DS#1's teacher named "Shoe From Bottom". The high school teachers gave blue ribbons to the middle school students and the middle school teachers gave blue ribbons to the high school students. Apparently the top two high school students got scholarships. I'm rather impressed how true to life this drawing is, and I guess I wasn't the only one, because this drawing received a blue ribbon as a "Teacher's Choice". DH and I are so proud!

March 22-23 (I'm Running Out of Title Ideas)

We had two soccer games this weekend. One was on Friday evening at 7:30PM, so DH and I had DS#1 stay home with the two younger kids. They would not have done well past their bedtime. Apparently they went to bed willingly when DS#1 told them it was time.

We had one game on Sunday afternoon. It was beautiful, sunny, in the mid 70s with a nice breeze. Unfortunately, we didn't even realize it, but all of us except the two youngest got a little sunburned. They were moving around too much, especially DS#3. We get a bit lax about putting on sunscreen (except for DH) because we don't burn very easily. The day started out cloudy, but the sun became pretty intense. It was so windy that I couldn't use an umbrella to shield myself from the sun. Oh well, we'll be more careful next week.

I just downloaded an "app" for my IPhone this evening. It plays music, especially "Wheels On The Bus" which DS#3 loves. He was flicking his finger across the screen to make the bus move across the screen. You gotta love technology that's intuitive enough for a toddler to use. He even got his bus out to keep him company. :)

I know this is a recurring theme, but here's another example of DS#3 lining up his vehicles. DH and I are a little concerned about how obsessive-compulsive he is about doing this, but we have to admit that it's hilarious. I've decided to do a mini-album with all of the pictures I have. I just have to find the right album. I don't want to forget any bit of this. :)

Last Looks

I realized that I have a couple more photos from our Colorado trip that I'd like to share. I took this first one on our first day of skiing. Grandma and Grandpa were walking around outside with DS#3 and I thought it was cool that all three of them were wearing red. DS#3 was pretty good for them that morning. I even saw them once when I was about to go up on the chairlift. I yelled out a "Hi" to them and he happily waved back at me and said "Hi" back. Later after lunch, he was not so nice, and Grandma was a bit frazzled. Because of this, she stayed home with him the following day to allow DH, the boys, DD, and I to ski. The boys and I went home by about lunchtime so I could take care of DS#3 during his grumpy time. The last day we went skiing, we took turns. I keep hoping it will be easier next year.

This is one of the last photos I took. Grandma wanted to see how much DS#2 had grown since the last time (during their Christmas visit) when he was just a little bit shorter than her. Mind you, his hair is a little long right now and so it stands up a bit in the back, but he is definitely taller than Grandma now. This summer, he will most certainly be my height or taller.

Miscellaneous Trip Memories

I wanted to finish showing some of my photos from our trip to Colorado last week. In this first one, DH is trying to get some video of DS#3, except that whenever DS#3 sees the video camera, he wants to get up really close to see himself in the viewscreen. This makes it impossible to video anything except a closeup of his face, of course. Instead, I took a video with my little camera of DS#3 getting closer and closer to DH (who isn't taping), even when DH is trying to get farther away. Someone needs to tell me how to resize the video so I can post it, so in the meantime, here's the still photo.

This is a photo of DH and DS#3 with each other's hats on their heads. This was that really cold, blustery day when we tried to go sledding. DS#3 must have been cold, because he actually let DH put a hat on his head. DH didn't bring the hat with the ear flaps, so DS#3's ears were still exposed. His ears felt so cold that I told DH to put his own hat on DS#3's head--to warm him up. DH got cold without a hat, so he went ahead and put DS#3's hat on his own head. We left to go home and warm up very soon after this picture was taken.

This photo is of the three kids right before their lessons. You can see that helmets are standard gear for the kids, which protected them from the cold as well as from injury. There were no half sizes in ski boots, so interestingly enough, DS#1 had the same size boots as DH, and DS#2 had the same size boots as I did.

This last photo shows Grandpa playing poker with his grandsons. I guess my nephew taught my boys how to play Texas Hold 'Em and DH taught them how to play Five Card Stud. At first Grandpa wanted to join in, but then they were always asking him to play with them. They weren't playing for money, of course, but DS#2 was very competitive and tried to hoard chips. Even though it was techinically "gambling", I enjoyed seeing the boys spend time with their Grandpa.

Mother and Daughter Haircuts

I realized some time ago that I needed to bond with my DD now to try to foster a close relationship with her before the teen years. I try to take her with me when I go shopping and other things like that. A month and a half ago, I made her a haircut appointment for today at the same place that I get my hair cut. That day was today. Ever since I told her about the appointment a few weeks ago, she's been so excited. She got her hair washed, then cut, then blow dried. I was a little disappointed that this photo and the one at the salon turned out a little blurry and dark (even with some photo editing), but I think y'all can tell what her hair looks like. I look a little tired, but I probably look like that all the time! *WINK* At home she kept touching her hair and asking people (including DS#1) if they wanted to smell her hair. Too cute! Oh, and it was kinda cool that the guy that cut her hair is the son of the guy that cuts my hair (the owner).

Favorite Aunt and Uncle

This will be a short post because I am exhausted from working last night. My Dad's brother and his wife came by for a short visit. They're in town for a meeting this weekend. I remember growing up with them, most notably spending weeks with them in the summers. I even lived with them for one year while I went to school in San Antonio. I have a lot of very pleasant, wonderful memories of that time with them. We really enjoyed their short visit and I'm already looking forward to seeing them again in another year when their DD gets married.

Groupies

Our first day skiing was last Wednesday, March 11th. All the kids took half-day lessons. DD ended up with a private lesson because there was no one else at her level, and the boys got an instructor to themselves also. DD enjoyed her lesson so much that last Thursday, she took a full day lesson. DS#3 stayed home with my MIL, and the rest of us went skiing. DH stayed with DD until her lesson started and the other two boys and I went up to the top of the mountain. I was a little apprehensive because I usually rely on someone like DH to tell me where to go.

This is the view at the top of the mountain. Doesn't it just look COLD? Brrrr... There were some steep portions at first. I'm surprised that with my fear of heights, these steep portions don't bother me more. I try to cope by not looking too far down. I just go ahead and start skiing downhill without looking too far ahead.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, we saw DD getting on the mountain lift with her instructor and class. The boys and I decided we wanted to "chase" after her to see how she was doing. I figured that she was doing pretty well if she was getting to go up the mountain. We saw her class at the half-way point up the mountain and we followed her down. We were trying not to get in the way, but I felt like we were her groupies. We would ski a little ways until we caught up to them, then we would stop and let them go ahead. I took a few pictures, of course. This is DS#2 getting in the way of one photo where I was trying to catch DD's class skiing together.

DD was doing great! Later, DH saw her on the edge of a green run looking down at a ungroomed, bumpy, narrow, blue run. He was pleasantly surprised. On Friday, our last day of skiing, we got to ski once with her after her half-day lesson. She didn't even hesitate at the edge of that blue run--she just went on ahead and DH had to catch up to her. My MIL and I decided that we wouldn't follow. We took the green run and met up with them at the bottom. DH joked with the boys about how she was probably better than them! Next year, we might try to get a private lesson for the three of them together (you can have up to 4 people in one private lesson). DH is a little frightened that DD will be wanting to go on the black runs by next year. He knows that he's the only one that is willing to do those, so she'll be pushing his limit. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

DH used to always go out for some beer (sometimes green) on St. Patrick's Day. Now that we're old and married and we had to take DS#1 to soccer practice, we just had pizza for dinner. The kids and I had milk to drink. Pretty boring, huh? DH did make us all wear green today, except for DS#1 who had to wear a uniform. He even made DD change her all pink clothes this morning. Apparently, she was not very happy about this. Look at those happy faces--even if it was only for this one picture. *WINK* They certainly make our lives less boring.

I forgot to take a photo yesterday, so I'm going to use this one that I took today. DS#3 never ceases to amaze me. Look at his new "thing". Now he's putting his cars on the blinds. I have another photo of three lines of cars on the blinds. DH realized this only when he closed the blinds this evening and heard the clatter of cars falling onto the windowsill and wood floor. Yes, they do make our lives less boring. :)

Playing In The Snow

I remember playing in the snow as a little girl. I played until my runny nose became bad enough that I had to go inside to get a tissue. My DD did not have that problem. She played and played out in the snow. Even when her brothers came inside to warm up, she stayed out there playing and playing.

Most of the time, DD hung out with DS#2, or at least in his "fort". For some reason, he kept digging this tunnel-type "fort" (can you see DD peeking out?). He would get upset if anyone messed with it. Luckily, when the new snowfall last Tuesday caused part of it to collapse, he said he didn't mind too much--maybe because he had more snow to rebuild it with. This was his main activity--using a shovel to dig, dig, dig.

DS#1 made a simpler fort. Basically it was just a wall to somehow protect him from all of DS#2's snowballs. This rather fits his personality--utilitarian but functional with as little effort as possible. Luckily for DS#1, his minimal effort is usually way more than adequate. :)

Now, what did require a bit of effort was DS#2 getting buried in the snow. I just know that I heard him suggesting to his siblings and cousin that they bury him under the snow, and then the next thing I know he's in this tower of snow. He started getting cold, so he started getting himself out. DH took a series of photos of him doing that. I'm going to have to figure out how to scrapbook those photos.

Here's a picture that DH took of the kids. Doesn't DS#2 look like he's freezing? I just know that all of them look like they're having a blast!

DS#3 and Snow

I have so many, many pictures, so I'll try to do one topic at a time. Today's topic will be DS#3 and his first experience with snow. Yes, he did sit on the snow in his snowsuit last year, but he didn't really do much more than sit where we had placed him. This year he actually experienced snow.

Yes, what an experience it was! First of all, when DH approached him with the snowsuit, DS#3 ran to the other side of the bed. He was not going to let DH put that thing on him! This is a photo of DH trying to put the snowsuit on a very reluctant DS#3. He wouldn't let go of his cars, which made it harder to put on his snowsuit, which made him even madder.

This is a picture of DS#3 after DH put his boots on. Notice the bus and ambulance in his hands--his favorite vehicles for the last couple of weeks or so. We bought these boots that were decorated with pictures of Lightning McQueen from the Disney movie "Cars". The only boots available were a size 7 and DS#3 is still about a size 5. The first time he put them on, he could barely walk. By the end of the week, he was a pro at walking in those boots.

This is a photo of DS#3 after he had been playing outside for a little while, with his siblings. I think some snow might have hit his mittens--snow that DS#1 had thrown at DS#2. He looks happy, doesn't he? Well, he didn't want to go inside! Unfortunately, we could never get him to wear a hat, so his little ears got very cold. We distracted him with cars, eventually, but he did enjoy the snow after all!

IPhones At Last

After a few months of thinking about it, and in DH's case, dreaming about it, we got IPhones on Saturday evening. Our contract with Verizon expired on March 12, but we were out of town, so Saturday, after getting home, we headed to the mall. We ate first and then proceeded to get our IPhones. We had to go back and forth between the AT&T mall kiosk and the Apple Store (which is why we went to the mall, so we could go to both). The kids kept themselves occupied with the "toys" at the Apple Store while DH and I (mostly DH) got down to business. After we were done, we "celebrated" by having ice cream at Haagen-Dazs. We would have gone to Haagen-Dazs regardless, but it was a good excuse. *WINK*

We added texting to our plan, and DS#1 was very excited. We got him a new phone also, but the cheapest one we could get. He wanted the one with the keyboard that was the same price, but I convinced him that the smaller one would be more his style. He was a little bummed that he didn't get an IPhone too, but I think he was happy with his new toy. He even sent me a text message saying "Hi Mama!" just to make sure it worked. :)

DS#2 has been obsessed with our IPhones. He said he wanted to be there when we decided what applications we would download, i.e., he wanted to tell us what games we could get that he could play with. He was so excited that on Sunday, when I called my parents, he wanted to get on my IPhone just so he could tell Lola that he was talking to her on my new IPhone.

DH and I didn't stay up late playing with our IPhones like one of our good friends did, but we still think it's a very cool new toy. This is our belated Valentine's gift to each other. :)

Checking In

We just got back this afternoon. We left my in-laws' house at 730AM and had an uneventful trip to the airport. We saw a lot of cars driving into the mountains as we were driving out, so we were happy that we were leaving when we did. We had a great time this week and we can't wait until Spring Break next year when we go back! I'll be slowly uploading photos to the blog this week and telling all about our great week.

DS#3 was an angel on the airplane. The woman seated in front of me even commented at the end of the flight that he was really well-behaved--even better than her teenagers! :) He slept for most of the flight and then had a snack for the remainder of the flight. We were separated on the airplane. In fact, Frontier Airlines' computer system must be messed up, because they separated lots of families, and put me with DS#3 in the same row as my DD and a man with his lap child. Apparently, there are only four oxygen masks that come down in an emergency, so we weren't supposed to have two lap children in the same row.

I have to go--DH is anxious to get his new IPhone today and I'm delaying him. Eek!

So Far So Good

We had a pretty good trip here on Saturday. DS#3 slept a little, but he played happily with his bus and ambulance (his favorite vehicles lately) the rest of the time. We actually got into Denver a little early, and the drive to the mountains went smoothly. I didn't get sick in the car like I did last year--definitely a bonus. We've been trying to keep hydrated and so far so good. DS#1 didn't feel well yesterday, but he didn't get sick. We decided to rest another day before trying to ski, just to make sure.

I'm at the library right now. Internet access at my in-laws isn't working out, so I won't be able to upload any photos until we get home. I did take a photo yesterday of DS#3 playing with wheeled vehicles. These vehicles used to be DH's and his little brother's vehicles, and the case that they're in is used to also be DH's, I think. My MIL brought them all the way from her California home, because she knew they would be well loved during our visit. DS#3 was lining them up, as is his usual fashion, so he's feeling right at home.

I just learned the other day that my DH's sister (DD's godmother) will be here with her son this week. They share the same Spring Break. I'll be sure to take lots of photos of the extra family. We haven't seen them since DS#3 was baptized almost 2 years ago. It's supposed to snow tonight so that will make for some good skiing tomorrow. The kids have been playing out in the snow in the backyard, but with it being so warm here, what little there is will be melting soon.

I just wanted to give everyone an update. I hope everyone has a good week!

My Creative Son

I just wanted to do this quick post before we shut down everything at home here. DS#1 was assigned a "Holocaust Project" due after Spring Break. Since we're going away for the whole week, he had to finish it all before we left. He finished this yesterday. He was supposed to use this poem about the Holocaust with pictures. He came up with this all on his own. This first picture is his poster board folded up to look like the front gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.

This second photo is of the project opened up. He painted the background himself using watercolors. I already gave him a hard time about doing this painting in his bedroom on his bed, but he said he took precautions using a bunch of towels. His baby brother even came in a few times and closed his watercolors, but luckily didn't mess with his water cup. Being the perfectionist that I am, I told him that he should have used a ruler for his Star of David. Overall, DH and I are really proud of him for this project. It's a dark subject (as is the poem he used), but this project really conveys the darkness of the subject. We're also proud of him for completing it way before it is due. Yay, son!

It's Almost Spring Break!

Yesterday I got home just in time to turn around and take DD to her piano lesson. I really wanted her to practice her pieces one more time when we got there. They have these clavinovas there that you can plug in earphones so as to not disturb others. She resisted practicing (as usual) but she got in a better mood after this photo and even got a bit silly.

After dinner, DH took all the kids with him to drop the boys off at soccer practice. I got to go to this fitness class at Lifetime Fitness. We did a lot of punches and kicks and used a weighted bar for choreographed moves. I had so much fun, even though I could tell as I was exercising that I was in for a LOT of soreness today, especially in my forearms. I hate being out of shape! After class I picked up the boys from soccer. I really appreciated DH planning this out so I could go exercise. It's sad but I have to make a big effort like this if I'm going to exercise nowadays. I still wouldn't have been able to pull this off without DH's help. Thanks, Hon! :)

Today, DH and DS#3 went to Orsinger Park, and thankfully again, DH took lots of photos. I loved this one because of the expression on DS#3's face. Apparently, he loved the feeling of the mulch underneath his bare feet and didn't want to put his shoes back on. Here he's telling his Papa "No Shoes!"

Tonight, DD and DS#3 watched "Go, Diego, Go" in my bedroom since the boys were folding laundry on the sofa downstairs and there was no room for them to sit. I walked in and saw them both lying down on their tummies having a grand old time. These two have so much fun together and I never get tired of seeing it in action. I had to take a picture, of course!

As usual, we've left all of our packing for our trip for tomorrow. I'm trying to figure out how I might be able to still blog while I'm in Colorado. If not, I hope everyone has a great week!

Again?

DH got an email this afternoon about DS#2 from his GT (Gifted and Talented) teacher. Apparently he and another boy had already finished the exercise. The answers were in the back of the book and they were told explicitly not to look there. Well, they did. He said they were trying to check their answers. This might not seem like much, but it follows his recent behavior pattern of defying authority and doing whatever he wants to, even if it breaks the rules.

One of the other things he got in trouble for yesterday was the fact that he insisted that another boy's toys were his. To us this was the same as lying and we were horrified that he would try to take away another boy's stuff. This has become a frustrating pattern for us. He believes something and he will believe it with his whole body and soul, and all the arguing in the world won't make him change his mind. Unfortunately, this is one of his personality traits. One benign incident that illustrated this trait was recently when DS#2 insisted that he had seen a trailer for Spiderman 4. Well, that movie hasn't even started production yet, and won't until at least next year, but yet he insisted that he had seen the trailer. You might even call this personality trait "stubbornness".

So, tomorrow, DS#2's class is supposed to have some fun activities to celebrate the end of the TAKS testing, which is a standardized test the results of which everything seems to be based on here in Texas from school funding to teacher bonuses. It's also the last day before Spring Break. DS#2's teacher emailed us today about whether or not we want him to be able to participate in this, because of the recent disciplinary actions. DH emailed her back about letting him miss half of it. We felt so cruel even at that, but this seemed to have made more of an impression on him than taking away his other privileges. He was sobbing for a while after we told him. *SIGH* I hope I won't have more incidents to write about tomorrow!

Vertical Line-up

Wow, what a day! I'm not sure how detailed I should get in explaining this, because the details probably won't make sense to anyone else. Basically, this morning, I was "in charge" but I didn't have all the information or help that I needed to do my job (since I was off yesterday when the arrangements were supposed to be made). When I sought the information from two of my colleagues, they basically blew me off. One went so far as to tell me to calm down. Admittedly, I might have gotten a little worked up by that point, but I got so upset that I started tearing up. I hate it when I do that! The rest of the day I was trying to make do with less people than I needed, and with people who were "available" but were nowhere to be found. UGH!

Thanks goodness for DH! Not only was I able to vent my frustrations to him over the phone, but he took my photos for today! :) When I have days like these, I don't often feel inspired to take photos, but in those cases, it seems, DH is there to take photos for me.

Notice the frustrated look on DS#3's face. In fact, in another photo taken just after this one, he is crying! He is trying to stack these cars and he just couldn't understand why the top one kept falling off. DH also took a photo of two trains stacked on one another, and two cars stacked on top of tall Duplo towers.

This one just took the cake. At first, DH didn't believe that DS#3 stacked these himself, but the other kids denied any knowledge of it. When I took this last photo, DH and I witnessed DS#3 stacking cars on top of the Duplo towers. He made it look effortless, so maybe he has a steady hand for a toddler. Maybe he'll be a surgeon?

I need to mention one more upsetting thing. DS#2 got in trouble today for throwing the jalapenos from his lunch tray (over his shoulder) onto the floor. He managed to hit some other kids, and a grandfather having lunch with his grandchild ended up slipping on one and falling! DH and I were absolutely horrified. We also found out a few other things, so DS#2 has absolutely no privileges. It's too bad DH really wanted to go to his favorite restaurant tonight so he could have some margaritas, because we didn't feel like DS#2 deserved to go out to eat!

Gifted and Talented

I was on call again last night, so I'm trying to catch up. DH and I tried to go to the gym yesterday morning. As soon as he parked the van, DS#3 started fussing. He got louder and harder to manage as we approached the building and went inside. DH thought that perhaps he had thought we were going to his Gymboree class and he was ready to go there and not the gym. DH really wanted to get some exercise in and I knew he was in for a busy evening without me, so I saw no other option but to take DS#3 elsewhere while DH worked out.

The original plan was to go to the Target which was very close to the gym, but then I realized that Michael's was open. DS#3 had calmed down, so we went in. I had some trouble directing him in the store because he wouldn't sit in the shopping cart. He had started playing with the beads near the entrance and he didn't want to relocate. I finally got him to stay near the Scrapbooking area because the dollar store stuff was near there--and they had trains. DH later said that DS#3 was bordering on "OCD" or "Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder" with his constant lining up of wheeled vehicles. I just thought it was cute how content he was just lining up the trains and playing with them. The rest of my time at home was uneventful except for DS#3 being a little out of sorts.

Today I spent most of the day with DH and DS#3, going to the gym, going to Gymboree, and going to the mall for lunch. I couldn't think of anything to use for my "picture of the day" until it was time for the kids to come home. This is a rather dark picture of DD running towards the house ahead of DH and DS#2 when she got home from the bus. I can usually count on her to give me a big hug when we see each other at the end of the day. :)

DS#3 was still a little out of sorts today. He is definitely showing signs of the "terrible twos". Here he is laying on the second step for whatever reason. He wanted me to put his shoes on, but he didn't want to go outside like I thought he did. I offered him a snack, but he wasn't interested in that either. Finally, he just snapped out of it and started playing.

Tonight DH and I went to the kids' elementary school for a meeting with DD and DS#2's "GT" or "Gifted and Talented" teacher. She covered mostly standard stuff, but we also chatted specifically about DD and DS#3. To our great surprise, apparently DD does not talk Mrs. A's ear off in class. She giggles a lot instead. Mrs. A also said that DD always seems happy. I told her that it was good that she saw that side of DD instead of how she can be sometimes. As for DS#3, Mrs. A said that he is very quiet and that he tries to look cool by not looking that interested but still keeping an eye open just in case there was something going on that he wanted to be a part of. DH and I have always been very impressed with Mrs. A. She teaches ALL of the GT kids from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade, and she knows our kids by name and she knows their personalities. How incredible is that?

I have an update on the DS#2's soccer status and why he didn't get to play the last game on Sunday. Apparently he WAS called to go onto the field. His coach tells the boys that they need to be ready to go when he calls them. DS#2 was not ready when he was called. Also, I guess the rules that say that all the players must play at least half of the time do not apply in a tournament situation when they are playing for first or second place. DH and I still aren't sure we want to be involved in tournaments if that is the case, so we'll see. Some other issues were resolved to our satisfaction for now.