Breakfast at Our House...

I love finding things like this at the breakfast table.
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You never know who's going to show up.

They Found My Coin

The problem is, the kids think they have carte blanche over my coin purse. If this were not the case, everything would still be okay. But since they did and do get into my coin purse, they found my "coin". Which makes me wonder why I put it there in the first place. I just didn't think it would hold an attraction for them. But now I see it is just the sort of thing a kid prizes. It's a packish, prized item that belongs in kidlife if ever anything did.
It was given to me as a gift from another mom. Ready to see it?
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Wow.
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Stupefying.
Actually, it is a Mom Coin for those stupefying moments when your head is stuffed full, stuffed to the brim with laundry and dinner and dilemmas like can I host a mother/daughter Spa Day when there are roofers on my roof? It's for those moments when you think you can't handle one more question and then your sweet child will ask you something like, "Can we go to the skateboard park after Theatre Class?" For these moments you need the Mom Coin. You don't have to think, you let the coin think for you and your brain gets a mini-spa treatment of it's own.
Well, that's before the kids found it. This morning they turned it into a Guessing Coin with questions like these:

Will I get married someday? (one of the boys asked this)
Did the kennel lady really walk Daisy, because she's so fat?
Will we go eat at a special restaurant?
Do ipods really cause cancer?
Will I ever get a horse at Bradley stables?
Will Tristan and Sawyer ever not be a booger beast anymore someday?
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The answers would bring rowdy choruses of "YAY!" or disappointing groans of "NOOOOO!" depending on the outcome.
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Here are just a few more:
Will I always be a cool ninja?
Will I get all the Webkinz I ever wanted?
Will I have a gazillion dollars?
Will I always be a skateboard guy that does tricks and be a race car player?
Will all my beautiful dreams come true?
Will SOME of my dreams come true?
Will at least one of my dreams come true?
I really want my birthday, will my birthday come today?
Will I ever be friends with Toby McGuire?
Will Greyson ever shut up?
Will I ever go to the skateboard park sometime?
Will I ever be a working man?



Here's what a yes answer elicited:


What's the best day of your life when you're 5 years old?
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DisaPPOINTed!
(name that movie)

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Foul.
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And finally, here's the first question he asked.

It makes you wonder, but I promise we are trying to raise law abiding citizens.

On the Roof...

Finally, at our house, some guys doing jobs that are fun to watch.
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Greyson did more than watch, he pitched right in. He's a pitching in boy. The other boys weren't even allowed outside because of falling debris.
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Kiki was allowed outside. Hey, Kiki, whatcha' doin'?
Looks like nothing.
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Right, Kiki? I guess you're not much of a pitching in girl.
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Unless it involves animals. She'll brave any peril for a couple of fuzzy ears
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The boys can keep the roofing job.

Just to Clear Things Up...

All of the kids have brown eyes and brown hair-- Todd's features. Except Tristan. I was examining his unique blond hair/ blue eyes and I told him: "You got Mommy's genes, Tristan." This was lost on him. His hands reached down to pat his blue jeans and he said with a confused expression, "These are yours?"
"No," hoping to clear things up I explained, "What I mean to say is, you are a Crook."

He just went back to playing his game of Sorry with Sawyer. I guess Mom says enough silly things that one more can go by without comment.

Silly punkin' head.

His Chosen Career

A couple of times this week Sawyer has called me from across the room with an urgent question. Both times it has been the same urgent question. And since it usually takes a few tries to get my attention it usually goes something like this:
"Mom? Mom. Mom! Mommy!!"
"YES?"
"Mom, can I grow up to be a skate-board guy that does tricks, and a race car player?"
"What is a race car player?"
"It's a race and they drive to win. If you do skateboard tricks will you get money?"
"It depends on how good you are."
"If you keep doing, if you go at skateboard tricks (not finding the right words)... Is skateboard tricks a job?"
"It can be, if you get really, really good".
"I'm gonna get really, really good."

Wouldn't it be nice if mom's permission was all it took to be a skate board guy that does tricks, and a race car player? Such a simple economy in Sawyer's world.
We all should live there.

Back in Session

Back again. We visited the local library on our vacation in the states and checked out 59 books. It felt good because in Canada, depending on the library, you may be limited to two on any given subject, and six children's books altogether. Canadian libraries are not affiliated either. So if you use one outside of your city you have to pay. Our's charges $70 for a year's membership.
In the States, Sawyer checked out every Skateboard book the library had, the whole section. Tristan watched the librarian process our books. "How much did it cost?" he asked me as she tore off the check-out list and handed it to me. Poor Canadianized child.

We saw a pet tarantula at the library. So of course the kids had to have the fake ones they saw at the Grocery store.


Tristan is afraid of spiders.
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Sawyer is not.
He tries to make them pets.
He gets as close as he can to watch adults squish wayward, indoor spiders.
"Can I keep him?" he'll ask before the shoe falls.
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Snickers and Coconut are glad we are home. The rabbits had to stay in their indoor cages while we were gone. Is that Coconut, or Marshmallow? I always get it wrong. An egregious offense to Kiki, who takes such loving care of them.
I attempt to bond, but on days when I feel lucky to get the laundry done-- Coconut/Marshmallow/Roger-- it's all the same to me.
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It's Scooter's turn to be outside today. It must feel good to stretch his legs after two weeks in a garage cage.
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Right Scooter? Scooter comes up to see you when you walk by. He's a good bunny.
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He'll give those muddy paws a good washing before he goes to bed tonight. I never see his paws dirty.
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Today we studied monocots and dicots in Science. This was the most interesting dicot we saw.
I couldn't help but feel like I should be teaching long division or possessive pronouns as we made our dicot chart though.
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He can't name the state capitals in alphabetical order, but he can classify a weed.

I wonder if I'll regret this someday?

It's good to be back. Even though tomorrow I am going to the library and throw down $70 bucks to use it.