Since Heathen #2 is in kindergarten this year, every holiday has been a new experience for him as he learned how holidays affect school. For example, he got to take a present to school for Christmas to exchange with his classmates.
Well, Valentine's Day is just around the corner - and WalMart has had valentine's since December 26th. I obtained the boys' valentines early so that I didn't forget.
When Heathen #1 was in kindergarten, the whole Valentine's Day initiation was miserably painful. He HATED to write his name for any reason. I spent every evening for a week arguing with him, until he has signed his name to all 13 cards. It was such a lovely experience.
Heathen #2 couldn't be more different. He's been asking when he got to write his cards out for the past two weeks. And I finally gave in last night and set him down with his cards, the envelopes, and a pen - and Heathen #2 went to town.
Not only did he sign all 15 cards in LESS than 30 minutes, he also decorated all 15 envelopes with hand drawn hearts. Definitely has a flare for decorating! Up to this point, it was all good.
The trouble is that Heathen #2 was over-enthusiastic in licking the envelopes. By the time he was finished, there was a pile of soggy envelopes that were wrinkled and wouldn't stay shut. I found myself wondering if the amount of glue he'd ingested could possibly be dangerous.
Look out Mrs. Oswalt - I'm sending soggy envelopes your way! Hopefully they've dried a bit by next Thursday.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Falling Bicycles
Poor Heathen #3 was attacked by a falling bicycle yesterday morning - while playing in my living room. To make it worse, it was a Christmas present that attacked him.
Back to the beginning - or, sort of - I picked up the younger two Heathens from the sitter's house at the end of the work day. And Heidi is always conscientious of telling me if the boys acquired any injuries over the course of the day. But she didn't say anything yesterday.
As I was putting a coat on Heathen #3, he pulled up his shirt sleeve and showed me a nasty looking brush burn on his elbow. It even had a good sized lump under it. According to him, it happened in the morning at our house - but I didn't remember hearing any yelling or complaining of injury that morning.
Around bath time, I got the story out of Heathen #3 and I think I finally have it as straight as possible.
For Christmas, Heathen #3 received a SmartCycle from Assistant Zookeeper's parents. It hasn't been plugged in yet. In fact, it only made it out of the box and was assembled this past weekend. It has spent the past few days residing in the living room and being used as a stationary bicycle.
According to Heathen #3, somehow the bicycle fell on him and knocked him to the floor - thus, the brush burn. And somehow the event involved Heathen #1, although I haven't figured that part out yet.
At bath time, I had to apply first aid to an injury that was approximately 12 hours old - and he never said anything about it when it happened. He needed a band aid in the WORST way. And he had to show it to Daddy before bed. And he had to pull up his jammie sleeve so that he could see the band aid. And we couldn't take it off this morning either.
Watch out for falling bicycles - apparently they are dangerous!
Back to the beginning - or, sort of - I picked up the younger two Heathens from the sitter's house at the end of the work day. And Heidi is always conscientious of telling me if the boys acquired any injuries over the course of the day. But she didn't say anything yesterday.
As I was putting a coat on Heathen #3, he pulled up his shirt sleeve and showed me a nasty looking brush burn on his elbow. It even had a good sized lump under it. According to him, it happened in the morning at our house - but I didn't remember hearing any yelling or complaining of injury that morning.
Around bath time, I got the story out of Heathen #3 and I think I finally have it as straight as possible.
For Christmas, Heathen #3 received a SmartCycle from Assistant Zookeeper's parents. It hasn't been plugged in yet. In fact, it only made it out of the box and was assembled this past weekend. It has spent the past few days residing in the living room and being used as a stationary bicycle.
According to Heathen #3, somehow the bicycle fell on him and knocked him to the floor - thus, the brush burn. And somehow the event involved Heathen #1, although I haven't figured that part out yet.
At bath time, I had to apply first aid to an injury that was approximately 12 hours old - and he never said anything about it when it happened. He needed a band aid in the WORST way. And he had to show it to Daddy before bed. And he had to pull up his jammie sleeve so that he could see the band aid. And we couldn't take it off this morning either.
Watch out for falling bicycles - apparently they are dangerous!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
100 mini marshmellow questions
Heathen #2 got into the car yesterday at the end of kindergarten and announced that he had an "important paper" for me. I mentally cringed. An "important paper," according to Heathen #2, could be anything from something he made in art class to a note from the principal stating that my child was beating people up in the bathroom. ALL papers are "important papers" to this child.
He pulls a slip of paper out of his backpack and hands it to me over the seat. The paper informs me that he has to take 100 mini marshmallows to school on Friday of this week. The class will be making a snack to celebrate that it's the 100th day of school. And there were instructions to please not send the item in a Ziploc bag as they will probably get smashed during transport.
Heathen #2 was ecstatic - I had made the mistake of reading the note aloud. You'd think I would know better considering that Heathen #2 IS #2 and supposedly I would have learned from my adventures with #1 - but, no.
I was immediately barraged with questions:
Can we go to the store now? - No.
Can we go to the store tonight? - No.
When will we go to the store? - As soon as I have time.
What am I going to put them in? - I have no idea.
Do I have to count them? - Yes.
So are we going to the store tonight? - NO!
After I got him dropped at the sitter's house, I had mini marshmallows on my brain and my own list of questions cycling through my head.
When am I going to get to the store? Can I manage to get to the store WITHOUT taking the kids? How many mini marshmallows are in one bag?
Do I need to buy one or two bags? WHAT am I going to do with the extra marshmallows? Since I'm not supposed to put them in a Ziploc bag, what can I use? How much is Heathen #2 going to badger me about this until I manage to get it done? Did Mrs. Oswalt think of all these things when she thought up this activity? Is there another mom in this class that is thinking the same question, but in terms of small pretzels or Rice Chex?
As of today, we've not made it to the store. Hopefully tomorrow - or Thursday night. He doesn't need them until Friday. Hurray for school projects.
He pulls a slip of paper out of his backpack and hands it to me over the seat. The paper informs me that he has to take 100 mini marshmallows to school on Friday of this week. The class will be making a snack to celebrate that it's the 100th day of school. And there were instructions to please not send the item in a Ziploc bag as they will probably get smashed during transport.
Heathen #2 was ecstatic - I had made the mistake of reading the note aloud. You'd think I would know better considering that Heathen #2 IS #2 and supposedly I would have learned from my adventures with #1 - but, no.
I was immediately barraged with questions:
Can we go to the store now? - No.
Can we go to the store tonight? - No.
When will we go to the store? - As soon as I have time.
What am I going to put them in? - I have no idea.
Do I have to count them? - Yes.
So are we going to the store tonight? - NO!
After I got him dropped at the sitter's house, I had mini marshmallows on my brain and my own list of questions cycling through my head.
When am I going to get to the store? Can I manage to get to the store WITHOUT taking the kids? How many mini marshmallows are in one bag?
Do I need to buy one or two bags? WHAT am I going to do with the extra marshmallows? Since I'm not supposed to put them in a Ziploc bag, what can I use? How much is Heathen #2 going to badger me about this until I manage to get it done? Did Mrs. Oswalt think of all these things when she thought up this activity? Is there another mom in this class that is thinking the same question, but in terms of small pretzels or Rice Chex?
As of today, we've not made it to the store. Hopefully tomorrow - or Thursday night. He doesn't need them until Friday. Hurray for school projects.
Stupid RAT!
Why do people shine spotlights on the stupid groundhog and somehow expect that he WON'T see his shadow? Are they dense?
I woke up Saturday morning in a nest of warm blankets. After laying there in drowsy bliss for ten minutes or so, it dawned on me. It was "Rat Day," as I've come to think about it. The day that Punxsutawney Phil predicts the possible coming of spring.
Living in Western Pennsylvania for most of my life, I should know by now that by the beginning of February, I'm lucky if winter lasts for ONLY six more weeks. Sometimes it doesn't feel like spring around here until well into May. And yet, I've been conditioned to cross my fingers and pray that the rat won't see his shadow and that spring will miraculously arrive early!
Spring doesn't even officially start until March 21 - which is 8 weeks after the whole rat and his shadow shin ding. Has no one else noticed? Anyway, back to Saturday morning.
So I'm snuggled under the blankets and I realize that it is "Rat Day." And I have the unexplainable urge to find out if he saw his shadow - which I've already explained really doesn't make any difference in the weather here. I resisted the urge and went about my day, assuming that at some point I would get word of the results by radio or television or through daily conversation with friends.
Nothing - somehow, I made it until Monday at 11:30 before I knew if the rat had seen his shadow. And the only reason I knew then is because I picked up Heathen #2 at kindergarten and he told me (apparently Mrs. Oswalt, his teacher, was up to date on the events of Rat Day).
And I must admit, I was disappointed. Even though I know better, I really was hoping for good news - as though it will make a difference in the climate! And I KNOW that the chances of him not seeing his shadow are against me. Since 1887, when Rat Day began, he's only NOT seen his shadow 13 times - in 121 years. This can be checked on the official rat site http://www.groundhog.org/.
My personal favorite has to be the listing for the year 1929. Apparently, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter before sunrise. Well if the sun wasn't up, they must have had their spot lights on him.
Long live the Rat!
I woke up Saturday morning in a nest of warm blankets. After laying there in drowsy bliss for ten minutes or so, it dawned on me. It was "Rat Day," as I've come to think about it. The day that Punxsutawney Phil predicts the possible coming of spring.
Living in Western Pennsylvania for most of my life, I should know by now that by the beginning of February, I'm lucky if winter lasts for ONLY six more weeks. Sometimes it doesn't feel like spring around here until well into May. And yet, I've been conditioned to cross my fingers and pray that the rat won't see his shadow and that spring will miraculously arrive early!
Spring doesn't even officially start until March 21 - which is 8 weeks after the whole rat and his shadow shin ding. Has no one else noticed? Anyway, back to Saturday morning.
So I'm snuggled under the blankets and I realize that it is "Rat Day." And I have the unexplainable urge to find out if he saw his shadow - which I've already explained really doesn't make any difference in the weather here. I resisted the urge and went about my day, assuming that at some point I would get word of the results by radio or television or through daily conversation with friends.
Nothing - somehow, I made it until Monday at 11:30 before I knew if the rat had seen his shadow. And the only reason I knew then is because I picked up Heathen #2 at kindergarten and he told me (apparently Mrs. Oswalt, his teacher, was up to date on the events of Rat Day).
And I must admit, I was disappointed. Even though I know better, I really was hoping for good news - as though it will make a difference in the climate! And I KNOW that the chances of him not seeing his shadow are against me. Since 1887, when Rat Day began, he's only NOT seen his shadow 13 times - in 121 years. This can be checked on the official rat site http://www.groundhog.org/.
My personal favorite has to be the listing for the year 1929. Apparently, Phil predicted six more weeks of winter before sunrise. Well if the sun wasn't up, they must have had their spot lights on him.
Long live the Rat!
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