::more (different) work::

The other day Max finally came home with some challenging homework. (He liked it because it didn't include coloring!)
It was addition where the sums came to more than 10. Yikes--hard when you can't do it on your fingers!

Anyway, I had a fun time using my brain to think of how I could help him conceptualize and visualize the numbers and the addition.

I pulled out a pack of awesome colored paperclips and we made some piles of 10.


I think they helped him. It was fun to see him trying to think about it anyway, and he did figure out all of them on his own--with a little prompting when I saw a wrong number.

Go Max!

::::

Since there are never any pictures of me on here I thought I'd say hi.
I'm off to take Max to school here shortly, then I'm meeting Kris for lunch (we love to do that when we can.) Then back home to do more work on getting ready to move. There are so many little details to worry about!

Hi & bye.

::fad::

So we're in the midst of a true and actual fad.
Max came home the other day with a little rubber band shaped like a flamingo. One of the little girls at school had given it to him. He told us it was called a "silly band" and that he loved it. He also said he wanted some of his own.
I'd seen these little shaped bands around before, but never thought anything of them.
Max's broke of course and he was very very sad.
Then we went to church a few days later and a bunch of kids had different ones--they wore them on their wrists. I realized this was a pretty widespread phenomenon.
Then last week at church one of the little girls in my class gave me one of my own (so cute, right?). Of course I turned it over to Max after church and he was delighted.
One of the little girls in his class had so many of them with her they stretched from her wrist to her elbow. Nuts.

Today we thought we'd go after some of these silly bands so Max could take them to school and share. We finally found them at a Walgreens not too far away.


It took Robin Hood a while to decide which shapes to pick.

He finally picked sea animals and pets, and we got enough for him to share with everybody in his class. And those dang things are expensive! Somebody's making bank on this somewhere!

He was so excited. He called himself something like the "Silly Band Hero."


Hopefully the sharing will go well and nobody will get left out. Hopefully it doesn't drive his poor teacher crazy.
I guess I'll hear all about it when he gets home.

So is this going on elsewhere besides RI? Anybody else getting begged for silly bands?

::working::

We spent the weekend beginning our moving preparations. We organized and cleaned and chucked stuff and donated stuff.
It was warm and muggy.
Our main concentration on saturday was the "storage room" as we call it. Basically it's our junk room. It's got all our garagey sort of stuff in it--bikes, tools, camping stuff--as well as all my crafts, the printer, the treadmill, furniture that doesn't fit in the house, all the storage, etc. etc.
You get the idea. It's a big mess.
But a better mess now.
Before:


After:



What, you're saying you can't tell the difference? Well take my world for it. It's much much better. And that much less to worry about at the end of the month.

So that's what we've been up to. Besides address changes, trying to keep skunks out of the backyard and making lots of plans of course.
Today it cooled down a bit, and I'm SO glad.

::today last year::

Today a year ago we were playing with bubbles and taking pictures on the deck in our backyard.

Max was only five. Does he look any different to you? He just looks kind of stretched out now to me. So these pictures are like a little more compact version of himself.


We sure have enjoyed our little yard. It's scrubby and humid, but it's been so nice to have the space. Max loves to be out there, and Sultan loves to hang out with him in the shade.


It's been lots of fun, and I'm sure we'll miss it when we go.
Speaking of going, I can't believe it's JUNE already! June is such a huge month for us. Max will finish kindergarten, Kris will graduate from his program, we'll move to a new state. Kris's birthday and our anniversary are at the end of the month too. We have lots to look forward to!

Hopefully there will be some bubbling blowing time, some kite flying time and some beach time all mixed in there too.

Here's my favorite picture from a year ago. I don't know why, but I love it.



PS It's my youngest brother Murphy's birthday today. He's 21!!!! (Yikes) I can't believe it. But even harder to believe, he's coming home from his mission within weeks. He's been a wonderful missionary and we're so proud of him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MURPH!!!

::memorial day::

We had a fun Memorial Day. In the morning we went to little parade in our friends' smallish town. The parade went right past their street which was really fun. There was a really festive feel all around.
But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. Really we started the day with a "blue raspberry" icee thing for Max, on the way to the parade. If we'd had any idea the amounts of sugar he was going to enjoy later, we never would've done it. But what's done is done. And his tongue was so grossly blue.


The kids couldn't wait for the parade to actually start. You can see here that they're prepared in case of a candy onslaught--halloween pumpkins and all.

The adults were excited too--though I know Kris's face isn't giving too much away.

Then here came this guy. The guy who somewhere along the way had pilfered a shopping cart from someplace and was using it to sell his piles and mounds of cotton candy.

Then a kind-hearted grandfather hooked the kids up with some. Blue of course. Max went for it. He was so disgusting after a little while. Icky, sticky, and blue.


The best part was when some politician came by shaking everybody's hands. He shook Max's and Henry's both. I imagined he was very very sorry for quite a while.

There were lots of fire engines, a couple of bands, a bagpipe troupe and a couple of floats.
This one's for my mom--an old guy behind a huge Breyer horse. I think he was from a local stable.

Then of course there were lots of Shriners doing lots of different stuff. We always love the little cars.

There were a few real veterans in the parade and we were glad to see them.
I thought this guy was the highlight though--crazy Uncle Sam who somehow was himself and a puppet of himself at the same time.

He was pretty awesome.

Then the parade abruptly ended and there was a big line of normal people in their cars, who had probably been waiting for an hour to get through.

We went home and spent the rest of the day getting stuff done. Except I took a two hour nap. I wish I could do that every day.
I wish every day was a monday off, really.

::scavengers::

I've got a couple of little (or big, depending on how you look at it) scavengers on my hands, don't you agree?

We made Marilyn's cookies yesterday, just for fun. (Before all the crazy destructiveness happened.)
They turned out very tasty, but I think I might have overmixed--they're a lot flatter than I was hoping for. That Mr. Kitchenaid doesn't know his own strength.
Kind of like someone else I know.
Unfortunately for Max, all his shenanigans happened before he could have a cookie or two, so many tears ensued when he went to bed deprived of the deliciousness.

The good news is though, today has already been better. He's had one and I'm sure he'll have a few more before the day is out.
Hooray for better days.
Thanks for the yummy recipes Marilyn, as usual!

::careless::

Max has had quite the afternoon. He's done all sorts of things that have driven me nuts.

He found a big long rope of Kris's (much to my chagrin) and dragged it around the yard, knocking things over as he went.

He somehow pulled a big splintered strip up out of one of the deck boards. It was "the rope's fault!"

He pulled over our lame charcoal BBQ and dumped all the charcoal dust out all over our little cement patio.

Then he kicked the dust all around after I told him to stay far far away from it.

He knocked down a set of blinds in a room he had no reason to even be in, much less be in there adjusting the blinds.

He spilled milk all over the living room rug. This is really my fault because I was letting him eat dinner in the living room, and I gave him the milk. I didn't give him much and I told him specifically to be very careful. Hah. Dumb me.

All I wanted to do was yell. And I have to admit that I did. And I banished him outdoors. He was happy to be outside until banished. Then it was cruel and unusual punishment.

I have a feeling this thoughtlessness is just part of being a kid. And maybe especially being a little boy. But what can I do (besides yelling) to get him to open up his eyes and his ears? How can I positively encourage him to take some care? Any ideas from you more experienced parents out there?

::drives me nuts::

I want to know if this drives anybody else nuts.
I hate when school pictures are taken, then a big packet of prints are sent home with the kid.

Yes I think my kid is adorable (even though this photo is totally goofy. Totally.) Yes I'd love to have a BIG one and a billion LITTLE ones and some in between ones, and keychain ones and ones that look like a credit card, etc. etc. BUT. I'm just not going to pay $50 for the whole packet they sent home. I mean, seriously?
I usually buy one sheet. $13 is already stretching it for me for one of these photos.

But anyway, what I really hate is sending the rest of the prints back. I hate the thought of my little boy's face floating around in the ether. And seriously, if they're already printed out--if they'll risk just having to throw them away are they really worth $50? NO!!

So I hate that. I wish they'd just let me order and print to order. They make me feel guilty for sending back photos of my little gapped tooth smiling boy.

Dumb old lifetouch.