TreDeVORin today...

2011-09-21T14:14:00.001-04:00

Amazon.com Widgets

Today

2011-06-28T22:25:00.001-04:00

Today, Devin lost his first tooth, a bottom one. The new tooth is already half way there. When he was a baby, he was the most beautiful one in his daycare room because he had all his front teeth before all the other babies. Now, he will do the same thing with adult teeth, I guess. They will be halfway there before the baby teeth are ready to come out. I won't have any awkward toothless pictures of my baby.

I took the tooth. It went a little rip...ugh. Then, he cried. It hurt a lot for at least 180 seconds. He might let the next one come out on its own. Or maybe John will pull it. Way he talks, my ripping strategy wasn't really ideal.

School Board

2011-06-22T13:03:00.003-04:00

I joined the school board. Then, I think I joined the fundraising committee. I've been trying to find ways to do passive fundraising...ways to raise money without spending more money or doing things much more differently than you would do them anyway.

To that end, I signed MYSELF up as an Amazon associate. If you buy things on Amazon, I will get a percentage of the sale. So, Mom, if you're going to buy a Kindle book anyway, buy it here! The FUNBro is a link to an Amazon Store, and it's the same as using the link to go to Amazon. At least, I think it is.

Mostly, before I suggest we do this as a type of fundraiser for the school, I wanted to see how it works. If any money is made through this site, I will give it to the boys' school. :)

So, that's what's going on.

Sorry the boys haven't been so entertaining lately!

Kindergarten graduation

2011-06-10T12:24:00.001-04:00

Trevor at black moshannon

2011-06-02T22:14:00.001-04:00

Trevor at black moshannon

2011-06-02T22:13:00.003-04:00

Devin at black moshannon

2011-06-02T22:13:00.001-04:00

Devin as the long one, msnv kindergarten play

2011-06-02T22:12:00.003-04:00

At black moshannon

2011-06-02T22:12:00.001-04:00

Dvn's prank

2011-05-29T19:22:00.003-04:00

When I was taking a shower yesterday, Devin pranked me by writing this note and shoving it under the door.

He was just hiding in a chair, though. He hadn't left the house forever.

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Dressing Up

2011-05-24T13:18:00.003-04:00

I wore a dress yesterday. I never wear dresses. Mostly, I just find them uncomfortable.

Anyway, John liked it.

Devin, on the other hand, liked it, but he didn't like it. Why? Because it was too old school. I looked like I was from Texas. It was too much of one color.

Lots of reasons why he didn't like it, even though he did like it. I'm pretty sure he just didn't like it at all.

When I went to get him from school, a buddy of his scooched over and looked up my dress. Then, he said, "underpants." It all happened pretty fast. I'm not sure what he was thinking, and I might should have backed off as opposed to allowing him to do that. Instead, I quickly lifted my skirt and said, "see, I'm wearing shorts!" Yeah, maybe not the right response. I'm not sure I helped Devin's buddy understand that looking up women's skirts is highly inappropriate. Well. Maybe next time.

2011-05-21T18:52:00.001-04:00

At the farm sanctuary

2011-05-21T18:46:00.001-04:00

Mother's day at DQ

2011-05-08T20:36:00.003-04:00

So, we went to DQ tonight and the kids were cuter than normal. Devin threw away some garbage at a trash can that was by our table, and he said, "Oh, that was convenient."

Well, it's Mother's day, and Trevor must have wanted to say something nice to me, his mother. So, he said, "Mom, You're convenient." I must have looked confused. So, he clarified. He said, "it's a comment."

We explained that he probably meant it as a compliment, but it really was more of a comment.

Either way, I liked it.

Later, I gave Devin a napkin. I accidentally tossed it into his ketchup, and he said, "really, Dude?" I looked at him all cockeyed and so he added, "ette. Do you know what a dudette is, Mom?"

It was an all around lovely Mother's Day.

Field Trips

2011-04-19T10:13:00.002-04:00

Trevor's schools takes field trips. I think it's pretty cool. Next week, they are going to Philadelphia, but usually they are just local.

A couple of weeks ago, he took a trip to a local recycling plant. Sometime after that, he explained to me that the boxes and cans we recycle will soon end up in big huge cubed bundles! He explained with with just a bit of grandiosity.

I asked what happened after the bundling.

Unfortunately, he didn't know. And, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know why I wanted to know.

:)

Bleep

2011-04-19T08:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday when I picked Devin up from school, Devin said "darn it." I can't remember why. Then, when he got in the car, he said, "damn."

I said, "Devin, you can't say 'damn.' That's a grown up word."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I meant to say bleep."

Timely Post

2011-04-14T23:08:00.002-04:00

Given the weather in Oklahoma today, you might find this a very timely post.

This afternoon, Devin comes into the office and he didn't ask for candy or gum! No, he told me about tornadoes.

He told me that he and Trevor could make a small tornado in the house that would make things blow around. Here's how it would work. Devin would wear a coat so that he would be warm. Trevor wouldn't have a shirt on so he would be cold. They would spin around in different directions and that would cause enough wind to blow things around the house.

That's just about how it works, right?

This was Devin, Memaw. Not our clever Trevor!

Horseshoe curve from the train

2011-04-10T09:51:00.001-04:00

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Lacrosse and fierce faces

2011-04-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

Trevor and Joe pa

2011-04-03T14:54:00.001-04:00

Snowing

2011-03-30T16:01:00.000-04:00

It is snowing right now.

I curse the snow and wish for rain instead.

The End.

Trevor in the outdoor pool at holiday valley

2011-03-20T09:57:00.001-04:00

Outdoor swimming at holiday valley.

2011-03-20T09:56:00.001-04:00

Doctor, Doctor

2011-03-18T20:23:00.002-04:00

Trevor has been complaining of a tummy ache for a couple of weeks, and I kept expecting it to pass. It didn't, and today, it got worse. So, I decided to take him to one of the new urgent care places around here.

The doctor palpated his belly, showed him a really impressive magic trick, and ordered an x-ray. Trevor said, "will I be exposed to radiation with an x-ray?"

He really said that.

The doctor assured him that it was just a little bit of radiation. Just as much as he would get flying to Florida to go to Disney World.

He got his x-ray. And, he's fine. Nothing a little mira-lax won't fix...

The doctor showed him the parts of his body on the x-ray and made a copy of it to bring home and maybe even take to school. Before he let Trevor leave, he quizzed him on the body parts seen in the x-ray. Trevor did ok, he got a couple of them right and the doctor provided the answer before Trevor could on everything else.

The doctor said, "he's smart." And I said that people always notice how he acts older than he is. "No," the doctor said. "He's smart."

(So, if you're keeping track, Trevor has made urgent trips to see a doctor for a punctured soft palate, gas, a concussion received while walking down the stairs and now this. Devin, on the other hand, goes to see the doctor urgently because of asthma. I never would have expected it to be this way between those two!)

Trevor the radio star

2011-03-18T15:29:00.004-04:00

NVCS.org

Click the link above and then choose radio spot #2. Trevor has a speaking role!

Enjoy!

Send Money Now!

2011-03-16T17:43:00.004-04:00

Devin was just asking me, "what if we were rich?" Well, I think we are as rich as we need to be, so I told him that.

But, he persisted. "What if we were rich enough to have people live in our house and do stuff for us?" I told him that I could and should probably hire someone to come in once every other week and clean. We are rich enough for that. But, he'd still have to keep his room clean because she wouldn't pick up his toys. Well, he knew that already, he told me.

He persisted in what he thought it would be like to become rich. "What if there was a way we could become rich?" I was interested in what he had to say.

"We could just get people's money online." I was very interested, so I asked him to elaborate.

"If we had a reason for wanting money, we can just ask people, and they would give it to us." I wondered what our reason would be.

"Because we want to be rich," he said. "That's a reason."

Well, it's not a good reason. But, it IS a reason.

Devin the flexitarian and Trevor the me.

2011-03-14T22:01:00.002-04:00

Devin has become a vegetarian. I am not certain why. I flirted with the idea myself last year, his aunt is a vegetarian, and he has a friend whose family is vegan. Between those three things, he decided meat is not for him, except for special occasions. Like trips to McDonalds.Because of chicken mcnuggets. So, he is a flexitarian, eating meat only when he goes to McDonalds. He was so happy when I gave him a word to describe his way of eating. He will still eat fish. I am waiting for a very special occasion to tell him he's a pescoflexivegetarian.

And then there's Trevor. I remember watching The Exorcist as a child. I am still haunted by the memory of that movie, and I can't think the word "DEMON" in my own house if I'm alone. I certainly can't watch the movie ever, ever again. Never, ever, ever. Ever.

Trevor watched a scary show that was on the TV the other day. We didn't turn it on. It was just on. I told him not to watch it. But. He did. I figured he would learn to listen to me. But, that didn't happen. No. Poor guy is just haunted and full of stinkin thinkin. Bedtime is hard again. How do I raise a kid with my insecurities to not have my insecurities???

2011-03-08T13:00:00.001-05:00

Central park is a fun park even though it isn't a kid park. Right, Trevor?

View from our hotel

2011-03-08T08:17:00.001-05:00

Statue of liberty, meet polar bear and ninja

2011-03-07T15:25:00.001-05:00

At fao schwarz. The big piano.

2011-03-07T12:08:00.000-05:00

Cavizzi

2011-03-06T14:06:00.002-05:00

The pizza at Cavizzi was wood fired. And, divine.

Devin at Cavizzi

2011-03-06T14:04:00.001-05:00

2011-03-06T13:50:00.001-05:00

Trevor at cavizzi in hells kitchen, ny

2011-03-06T08:38:00.001-05:00

Harlem globetrotters at BJC. Pretty cool. Did you know PETA frowns on donkey basketball. It's not so great for the donkeys.

President

2011-03-05T07:46:00.002-05:00

Trevor has been staying afterschool a couple of days a week. On Wednesdays, he plays Rock Band. On Thursdays, the play is supervised by the man who teaches PE, and there's always something going on that I wouldn't expect. Forts made with mats, dodgeball, and strings criss-crossing the rooms so the kids can pull themselves along on flat four-wheeled carts.

This week, the play involved a bossy older girl giving people tickets for their driving.

Trevor had given himself immunity from her tickets on the license plate of his cart. It said:

"You can't give me a ticket because I am the president.
--Trevor"

(He's already got a few ideas for his acceptance speech, too. Another story, though. Another time.)

Tuesday Morning Normalcy

2011-03-05T07:33:00.003-05:00

This past Tuesday morning, Trevor got up at his usual time. I think it was around 5. He gets to play Lego Star Wars uninterrupted for as long as Devin sleeps. I guess that's the thing that makes him such an early riser. Devin follows about 15 to 30 minutes later normally. I think Trevor is what makes Devin such an early riser.

About an hour and a half later, Trevor starts crying. Sometimes, his video game makes him cry. He gets frustrated at one thing or another. I'll be honest, this cry didn't sound like that, but it was early, and I assumed it was. When I got up to check on him, I was on the more frustrated end of the mommy emotion scale.

I quickly let that go when he told me that his head hurt. Aches scare me, whether they are in the head or the tummy, and my mind quickly "went there." But, knowing there wasn't much I could do in a worst case scenario, I gave him some water and some chewable acetaminophen. I thought maybe he was dehydrated.

I went back to bed, and I heard a few noises that sounded like either coughing or vomiting. Since I wasn't certain, I just stayed in bed. He told me when I got up that he thrown up the medicine. I asked if he had hit his head at school the day before. "No," he told me. "I hit it this morning when I walked down the stairs."

I started thinking concussion. Or, maybe an elaborate ploy to stay out of school. We gave him more water and told him to go lie down. He drank his water, and then threw it up.

So, John took him to the ER. They diagnosed him with a mild concussion and told us to keep an eye on him for the rest of the day.

We kept him out of school. His elaborate ploy had worked. He got to play a lot of uninterrupted Lego Star Wars. He had no more episodes of headache or throwing up. He wouldn't go out and play because he was sure it would make his head start hurting again. I thought that was an elaborate ploy to avoid going outside and playing, but the next day, he was happy his head felt good enough for him to run around outside.

He told me later that he remembered his head was like a ball. As he was coming down the stairs with his blanket, he tripped, and hit his head on the banister. And, his head bounced twice, like a ball.

He wears a helmet when his bikes, scoots, skis and sleds at least 85% of the time. His first concussion happens walking down the stairs. Go figure!

Why?

2011-03-04T23:22:00.001-05:00

Why did I abandon my blog? It's awesome!

I forgot the 6 great stories I meant to share. So, I will just try and start recording them again, soon.

Mostly, I'm afraid that the blog might soon haunt the boys. But, I think as long as I keep their stories off facebook, they will be ok. I sure hope so.

Dry Ice

2010-10-24T20:01:00.003-04:00

The boys attended a program at Penn State this afternoon called Science U BOOt camp. They do neat things with chemicals and things like liquid nitrogen and dry ice.

Devin was pretty enthusiastic about all of it. Trevor went to Science camp over the summer, so he wasn't quite as excited about it.

Devin just said to me, "What is dry ice again?" I told him it was frozen carbon dioxide. He said, "Oh, I can take that to school." I told him I didn't think so. He told me, "but they have a dryer! They use it to dry food and stuff."

We told him it didn't really work that way.

Maybe they need to dive a little deeper at Science camp!

New pictures

2010-08-03T19:49:00.003-04:00

As you know (because I've told you) I have trouble deleting pictures even when they suck.

But, still. Here you go...

Pictures from June and July.

Some highlights...
I know this one is sideways, and I apologize. But, I love it. Because Jaci said, "Trusha! Push me on this swing. I cain't swing myself" in the cutest little southern accent that side of the Mississippi.

And, I like this one because I think it will forever haunt her mother, that little attitude.

I like this one because it reminds me how Devin soundly rejected me when he first saw Memaw and then soundly rejected Memaw when Logan arrived:

This one is good because it reminds me how Jena wanders off and quietly joins other families when you're not careful.

I like this one because it's a great big turtle.

I just like this one:

This bear was sad. He or she paced back and forth. I wish they would let it go or euthanize it. That's not a highlight. It just is.

John took William out on the ATVs. Vikki and her family made it out for the 4th of July to pick up Logan It was dusty that day on the ATV.

He really does like watermelon:

Despite evidence to the contrary:

She's cute.

See?

Devin!

This is Trevor with patriotic hair.

And, a patriotic face:

Devin with patriotic hair and face:

As soon as she got on all the firemen's gear, she struck a pose:

Phineas or Ferb in FIREWORKS!!

Then, we went to Cape Cod in Mass.

We took a whale watching cruise.

We saw spouts:

And, we saw whales:

I think we saw 10. And, here's what we've learned. Each whale has a unique pattern on their flukes, the backs of their tails. So, the whales can be identified. The whales we saw had been named, and they were:
Cajun and her calf
Milkweed
Perseid and her calf
Alphorn (the big male)
Percussion
And, some others.

I will be honest. I could only remember Cajun and Milkweed. I found the rest of the cruise company's twitter feed!

We also learned that since the calves don't have to dive down to get food, they don't mind hanging out by the boat. They were very curious and unafraid. And, playful! They dove under the boat several times and came up on the other side. One calf batted some seaweed around. It was a great good time. And, we have about 500 pictures of it, so please go to the album link and click through.

fluke:

This is a baby

This is on the way back to the harbor after the whale cruise. We don't know these people. We just think it's a good picture.

I like this short because it looks panoramic, but it's not:

the boys

The boys took a fishing cruise with grandpa, Jim and Ramona. Devin caught a scary sea robin. He actually caught 2. Here is one:

Since I took this picture, Trevor has lost 3 teeth. The top two that were crazy loose and one on the bottom. So, that's 5 teeth all together. And, 3 (THREE!) in the last week.

Devin actually knocked him in the face and knocked one out, and Trevor gently took out the other two. Also, the tooth fairy didn't get these either.

Enjoy!

And, today...

2010-07-22T16:33:00.001-04:00

...Trevor studied density. I asked him what is the density of his head. He didn't test that, but he did test the density of a golf ball.

And, Devin made a coil bowl and a spider out of clay. He also came home covered in paint.

Father

2010-07-21T21:11:00.003-04:00

We had a tornado warning tonight. So, being a good okie, we stayed outside.

It was getting a little ugly for the the non-Okies in my immediate family, so John took the boys back to the car before it started to rain. I stayed outside filling out a form so Devin could play Fall Soccer. Just as I was wrapping up, the storm started flinging a light persistent rain my way. So, I ran back to the car.

When I got to the car, Devin asked if I had dodged all the rain drops like him.

And, I said, "no, you must have gotten that magical power from your father."

He said, "which one?"

What he's learned

2010-07-21T09:28:00.003-04:00

This morning, Devin complained of a tummy ache. I hope it was for nothing. And, I offered him some milk, telling him it would coat, soothe and relieve his upset tummy. Trevor piped up and said, "that's right! Milk is neutral and will neutralize the acid in your stomach."

Is this true? I don't really know. But, I think milk is slightly acidic and therefore is unable to neutralize acid. I'll let him know later today. He may have been getting milk confused with milk of magnesia...

How to tell the difference between an acid and a base

2010-07-20T12:07:00.004-04:00

Both of the boys are attending summer day camps this week at Penn State. Trevor is attending a science camp and Devin is attending an art camp.

This morning, John quizzed Trevor on acids and bases because that is what on the agenda at his camp today. Trevor came up with an example of each. Maple syrup is a base and lemon juice is an acid.

One way you can tell the difference is if you get lemon juice in your eye, it stings. And, if you somehow "randomly" (that's what he said) got maple syrup in your eye, it wouldn't sting.

I sure hope he's wearing safety glasses today.

For the record, he insisted that he knew that this is not the right way to test the acidity of an item. He strongly insisted, in fact. But, I still thought it was pretty funny.

Here are some pictures from his summer camp.

Career goals

2010-07-14T09:29:00.003-04:00

After our trip to Cape Cod, the boys both have new career aspirations. Trevor wants to be a marine biologist who teaches fighting in his spare time. Devin wants to be a surfer who entertains people, and when he's done doing that, he'll do something else.

This really happened...

2010-06-30T21:53:00.002-04:00

...Devin wanted to make lunch for everyone the day. So, he did. He made turkey and cheese sandwiches. And, he wanted to make those sandwiches without any help from me. And, when it was time to eat, and he called Trevor over, Trevor said very sincerely, "oh, thank you, Devin. That is so nice."

And, at the next meal, Trevor declared that Devin should go on the food network. Well, Devin agreed with that. He thinks that some day he will go on Iron Chef. And, after that, he will be the Cake Boss. Now, that's on TLC, but I didn't correct him.

And, today, he was hungry, so he made himself another turkey and cheese sandwich. And, then he asked me if he could make Trevor the same thing.

And, all that really happened.

PS, today, Trevor learned how to ride his bike with my help. Devin has been riding his bike a lot, and he can take off and stop on his own. He also does turns where he leans into them and makes me afraid he will fall and scrape his legs. But, he doesn't. He's got good balance.

Donuts

2010-06-28T08:38:00.002-04:00

On our trip back to Oklahoma recently, we stopped at a Drury Inn in Columbus, Ohio. We got was was apparently their last room. That's what we guessed anyway, when we went in the room and discovered a conference table along with the king sized bed. On a side note, we're now too large a family of 4 to comfortably fit on one king sized bed.

The next morning, I took advantage of the conference table to hold a mock meeting. I brought to my mock meeting everything ridiculous about meetings I could think of. I went on too long, took off on tangents, etc.

Then, Trevor really surprised me by contributing his little gem to our meeting when he said, "Will there be donuts at this meeting?" and I was reminded of all the best meetings I had ever attended.

the Lollipop Posse

2010-06-22T13:15:00.004-04:00

We went to Oklahoma last week to visit my family, and we had the opportunity to meet the new chief of police. Or, is that the new Police Department. I'm not sure. I tell you what, I liked him.

Vikki and I had taken the kids to the school park. When I was a kid, I'd never go play at the school park. If I wanted to go to a park, I'd walk to the town park or try to figure out how to get to Williams Park in Pawhuska. Back in the day, that was a cool park. It might still be the coolest park ever. The play set is huge, and there's no plastic is sight! Now, every park I know of is the coolest park ever with monster play sets that are brightly colored. Now, since every park is cool, none of them are special. So, I bet Williams Park is retro cool. If it still has that monster play set. I'm going there next time I go to Oklahoma. There and Woolaroc. Can't stop me.

I digressed.

So, after the school park (which is cool, but not special like Williams park if they still have that awesome playset) we walked home. We were walking along the highway because that's quicker. Our cousin saw us, so I think she beeped and hung out the window flapping her arms. I might be making that last part up. After the arm flapping, she parked her car, and got out so that she could visit.

We were a large group there by the highway with 3 adults, 1 teenager and 7 kids. And, the kids kept wandering off, so we were all spread out and looked even larger than we were.

He didn't flash his lights, but the police department did drive on over to make sure everything was OK. Logan was pretty excited to see him and immediately asked for a lollipop. That confused me, but I assumed there was some history there.

The Wynona Police Department is very safety conscious, so he said that he would meet us at our house instead of distributing lollipops on the highway. That would be crazy. And, he knew where our house was. And, honestly, that's pretty commendable. He's new to the area, and he already knows where my parents live. Most of our group was from out of town, but he knew where to find us. How about that?

So, he met us at my parent's house and everyone got a lollipop. Well, everyone under the age of 13 got a lollipop. And as he was getting ready to leave, a local drove up the street on his lawn mower. It was dusk, and the lawn mower didn't have any headlights. So, the lollipop posse commented on that, and then drove himself off into the sunset. The lawn mower guy didn't get a ticket or anything. I think he was joking about that.

Strep!

2010-06-06T21:27:00.002-04:00

Trevor has strep throat. I'm pretty sure he picked it up on school Tuesday or Wednesday. Blech!

His school had a camp out Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. Trevor actually slept over Thursday night, and when he got home on Friday, his teacher told me that Trevor had a sore throat, she mentioned it might be strep, and sent him on his way.

(Did you see how nonchalant I wrote about that sleepover at a camp out in the woods I had never seen? That's how nonchalant I was in real life, too!)

I took Trevor to the doctor on Saturday morning. I realized that waiting and seeing probably was just prolonging the pain for no good reason since this struck so suddenly. The doctor told us to avoid sharing food with Trevor and that he should change his toothbrush in three days to avoid infecting himself.

So, since then, if we offer Trevor some of our food, say a french fry that we haven't bitten, his first inclination is to refuse since that would be sharing food.

And, he keeps telling me that we should change his toothbrush since he's been sick for three days. He's really taking charge of his own health!

As far as the rest of us, I don't know. John and I both had scratchy throats from thinking about it on Saturday, and Devin acted puny from 7:30 until bedtime tonight. I guess we'll just see.

Recent Photos

2010-06-01T09:30:00.003-04:00

John took these pictures of Devin. I don't know how he knew how personalityicious Devin was gonna be, but he sure did:

We got new deck furniture and a sunsetter retractable awning so that we could actually enjoy it. (It gets super hot back there during the day)

The school asked for a photo of Devin, so I told John, "get the angel filter and go take a picture of Devin!" This is one he snapped using the angel filter.

Here's another:

(Sorry it's sideways).
I cut his hair the other day. Just a trim. He cried and cried and cried because his bangs weren't in his eyes any longer.

Here's Trevor READING!

John took the boys up Mt. Nittany the other day:

View from the top with the State College Area Hot Air Balloon floating by.

Note what Trevor is carrying. He brought reading material on his hike up Mt. Nittany!

he's reading his reading material!!

Here they are on the way down.

My nemeses.

my neighbor accidentally moved some sparrow eggs in one of her birdhouses. They started to hatch in her garage.

Helium balloons...sad children. Everything is as it was and always will be.

That's enough for now. Gotta get back to work!

you can see the rest for yourself here.

The Bunnies

2010-05-27T11:33:00.004-04:00

Two days ago, I stepped out of the house at 7 AM. A bunny sat in my yard, not moving anything except it's beady little eye on the side of its head. It didn't move as I walked by, not intimidated by my large human self or my fierce rabbit hunting dog. Finally, it took off for no reason other than it was ready to leave.

I inspected the ground where it had been sitting and discovered that it had dug a hole, as if it were planning on staying awhile. I planted petunias, but few have flowered. The bunnies dead-head them before they have a chance to make heads. I would like to dead head a few bunnies. The first year that we lived here, I was convinced someone was pruning our burning bushes. But, it was just bunnies, stripping the bark and leaves in a way that left a nicely shaped bush.

Yesterday, I took matters into my own hands. I had recently procured a gallon container of a noxious substance known as liquid fence. Filled with rotten egg solids and garlic, it promises to keep both the evil bunnies and the wicked deer away from my petunias, carnations and dianthus.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't prime the pump that came with the smelly product. Not realizing the lid had a hole that was larger than the hose that went through it, I gave the container a shake, hoping that would help. It didn't help. It hurt. I shook liquid fence all over my hands, pants and feet.

I finally decided to pour it into another spray bottle that has a history or working. The opening from the larger container was larger than the opening from the smaller container, but I persevered, and only got a little more on my hands.

No bunnies came near me yesterday. None sat in the yard and gave me the evil eye as it boldly dug holes. No matter where I went yesterday, the bunnies stayed away.

I do hate bunnies.

Oh, boy.

2010-05-26T09:19:00.002-04:00

I've not been a good blogger. What will memaw do? I'm going to be grounded!

So, here's my new story. It's one that I hope Trevor doesn't read until it's no longer true.

Trevor can not tell a lie.

And by that, I mean when he tells a lie, I have no idea he tells a lie. Until I casually say, "oh, really?" like in '"oh, really?" I'm just chit-chatting with you' and not like '"oh, really?" you'd better tell me the truth, young man!'

It's happened more than once that we're talking, he casually tells me a lie, I have no idea, but in the course of normal conversation, he reveals that he's told me a lie. Yesterday, I asked him if he'd eaten all the lunch I had packed for him. You would be surprised to learn that Devin almost always finishes his lunch and Trevor very rarely finishes his lunch. I think it's because at Trevor's school, they combine lunch and recess. So, he wolfs down a few bites and then goes out to play.

Well, I asked him if he finished his lunch. I'd packed a chicken leg. Chicken legs were a huge hit when I first made them. But, by the second time I made them, not so much. But, I had a lot, and I was using them in their school lunches. So, mostly, I just wanted to know.

He said that he had eaten it. I said "oh, really?" then he admitted the truth. Apparently, the chicken leg was really popular with one of his classmates, and he traded it for something cake-like, covered in chocolate and filled with cream.

It's hard to punish him for lying when the lies are so short lived. So, we just told him we didn't care if he traded his food, but don't trade your main meal for dessert next time!

Trip to the zoo

2010-05-14T21:23:00.003-04:00

Trevor went to the zoo today. The zoo in Pittsburgh. Two and half hours away. Without me, without John, without Devin. Just Trevor and his school and some parent chaperones who signed up on time. (Not that I signed up at all...truth is, I didn't want to go).

Well, I survived it. No worries. I was a little stressed. I had thought of all the points where things could wrong, and I had an idea when I would get calls if those things did go wrong. And, the day passed without any of those calls. Let me not go into where the worst case scenario engine took me. It's dark.

Trevor survived it, too. He had a great time! Except he was thirsty. We packed water for him in his backpack, but he couldn't find it. GAH! He told us several times that we needed to pack him extra water, and we actually did. And, we put it in some nice handy pockets in his backpack, and we even made a point to show him where the water bottles were packed. He's OK, though. Not so dehydrated that you'd notice.

Here's what I'm most proud of. We sent him with money for souvenirs. And, last time he went somewhere with money for souvenirs, he had to borrow money from a teacher so he could get something for Devin. And, that was very nice of Trevor to think of Devin and nice of the teacher to loan him money. But, this time, the school was very specific that there would be no loaning and borrowing of funds. So, we gave him money for a souvenir for both him and his brother. And, he spent all of the money as it was intended. He had to use some of his dinner money to pay taxes, but that's OK because I sent a little extra dinner money. I was a little worried about the amount we sent with him, and I was certain he would lose it or spend it in vending machines. It was his allowance money, so he could do with it what he wanted. And, I was worried he would spend Devin's allowance money on vending machines, too. But, he didn't. He got Devin a cheetah (which Devin asked for specifically) and he got himself a seal. I'm very, very pleased with him.

He took Devin's camera with him, and he got some pretty neat shots. Now, Devin told me that since the pictures were taken with his camera, he gets to control who sees them. I didn't agree to that. I specifically said, "no, it doesn't work that way." But, if you get a chance, say thanks to Devin for letting him see pictures from his camera, would you?

There's this one:

I need to figure out how he got into the tiger enclosure.

He said to me, "I accidentally took a picture of elephant poop." I said, really? He said, "no, I took it on purpose to make my friends laugh." Does it make you laugh?

pretty good picture of a primate

pachyderm

okapi?

it's a horrible camera for picture taking, so I'm impressed with this one.

News and a cool picture

2010-04-18T18:40:00.005-04:00

First off, Devin can ride a bike without training wheels. He learned a few days ago, but today, he practiced. I think he's got it all figured out. Well, he can't get started himself, and stopping usually means falling. But, all in all, it's a milestone.

Here's a picture that John photo-shopped to resemble the tilt-shift method:

Cool.

The Story of the Bully

2010-04-17T09:00:00.002-04:00

Devin has a bully. Or, he and his friend might be the bullies. I'm not sure. I want to be sure, but I don't know how to be sure without being one of "those moms." So, I'm inclined to let it ride.

I was trying to write a thesis sentence up there, but I think I failed. I will try really hard not to write anyway in the next paragraph.

Anyhow, Trevor told me the story of Devin's bully yesterday. Apparently, Devin told him the bully story moments before, but I didn't hear it. So, it was up to Trevor.

Devin's bully is named Jay. I don't know this kid. Is he new? I don't think so. I just don't know all the kids. Jay is 4. Devin and his buddy are 5. Jay, it seems, is always pushing Devin and his buddy off the tire swing, off the regular swings, things like that. And, somehow, when it happens, Devin and his buddy get a time out. This makes me think the real bully might be Devin and maybe his buddy. I know all of his teachers, and I have trouble seeing any of them being duped by a 4 year old.

As Trevor told me all this, I could tell he was not happy with this Jay fellow. Not at all. No one has ever picked on Trevor at that school. He was the first toughest, the second fastest, and the third funniest kid at that school (Devin was the first funniest). So, no one ever picked on him. Then, with great authority, Trevor declared that a 4 year old should know better than to pick on Devin and then blame him! They talked briefly about a 2 year old who shows bully tendencies, but again with authority, Trevor declared you had to cut that kid some slack. He might not know enough not to pick on others, yet. Finally, Devin announced that he wished Trevor still went to school with him because Trevor would protect him. Would fight his battles for him. I guess this is the reason it's good to be the second born. Or not.

So, that's the story of the bully. Do you think I should talk to Devin's teachers about it or let it go?

The best of the worst

2010-04-13T08:42:00.003-04:00

Trevor must have moved really fast to have been in this picture at all!

I like this one because he was annoyed that there were 2 cameras and doing his best to make everyone happy.

His hair is SOOOOO RED! Even in the back!

Find the dog!

So peaceful he's fuzzy around the edges.

I have no reason for keeping this picture! I think it's Boots and a toy.

Socks in a box with extra ears.

Making salad really fast.

I'm so glad I didn't delete this one. I just like it!

This is actually one of the best of the best.

"Oh, look!" I said. "It's Chelsea Clinton!" John took her picture, then we realized we could see her panties through her tights and decided it wasn't Chelsea Clinton after all.

More butt.

White House Lawnmower guy!

I don't know who that kid is, but I think he's from Brazil.

I think you can see into his brain.

"Is this something they wore under their helmet?" I wondered.

"It looks like a diaper." I thought.

"That's a diaper," the girl said. "The astronauts wore these under their suits because it took so long to get the suits on and off."

You're never without a port-a-potty when you're in this part of the country. It's true for State College, too.

Warm hands.

I could never delete this blurry one.

Hello!

2010-04-11T10:57:00.002-04:00

I haven't uploaded pictures in three months. Well, I'm doing it now. I've even spent the last two hours tagging photos. But, they are mostly Trevor and Devin, so I'm not sure why I bothered.

Anyhoo! Here's the link to the most recent album:

Recent Pics

I should tell you that I'm OCD with pics. If I don't delete it right away, I don't delete it. So, I uploaded some crap pictures. A lot of crap pictures. Sorry.

Among the crap pictures, you'll find:
Trevor's Birthday
John's Birthday
Our trip to DC
Our trip to Walt Disney World in January
Random insane cuteness or what would have been randomly insanely cute if only it weren't blurry. I think you'll enjoy those anyway. That's why I couldn't delete them.
And look at this blurry mess. The kid in the middle seems to be a real life Tredevorin. Both of them mashed together!

A pink hat I made for and actually sent to Jena.
Other stuff

Enjoy it all!

Washington DC Day Two

2010-03-29T12:56:00.003-04:00

So, we woke up on Sunday morning, and John marveled that Devin and I had any energy at all.

We cleaned up, packed our stuff and headed to the car to drop it off. I looked around the parking garage and marveled at how empty it was. One could park in the hotel's parking garage for something like $100 a day and we parked for $10 a day. It seemed eerie. So, John went to see what he could see, and he discovered the parking garage we were in was closed until Monday! Ack! So, he went to see if he could fix that. He told the attendant in the building that was connected to the garage that he thought he had made a mistake by parking there. To which the attendant looked a little flustered and said, "well, there's garages not that far that you COULD have used." John explained that he was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get the car out until Monday. And, the attendant assured it we would be able to get our car out anytime. (I included that part because we thought it was funny that the attendant misunderstood and got so offended, but maybe, it was a "had to be there" moment.)

After getting parking straightened out, we headed over the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. It was nice. Did I learn anything? Yes! I learned that propellers won't work in a vacuum (ie, space) but rockets will. Anything else? I guess I learned more about Orville and Wilbur Wright. They did an impressive thing and were the heroes of their day. I guess I also learned that I would never have qualified as a Stewardess back in the day because I'm more than one step down from Hollywood. Did the boys learn anything? They must have. I will have to ask them.

After lunch at the Food Court inside the museum, we headed back out into Washington. We discovered a HUGE immigration rally going on. I personally got all choked up. I'm not sure what they wanted. Well, they wanted immigration reform. But, what does that mean? They want to make it easier, make it harder, make it so that illegal immigrants get healthcare? I'm not sure. But, I enjoyed seeing the very large crowd.

We walked back to our car and headed out to Dupont Circle. I thought it looked like Chicago's Michigan Avenue. We found parking and started walking. We had gotten turned around, so we walked further than we would have liked. We finally got to Dupont Circle, had a cupcake, then walked back to the car. Everyone was running out of steam.

The cupcakes were OK, by the way, but not amazing. They were just cupcakes with a lot of icing. For the record, I don't get the whole cupcake craze.

We followed the GPS directions out of DC and spent about 45 minutes getting out of the city. We spent most of that time in Georgetown (I think). And, it was a cute little area. I want to go back on a nice spring day without the kids. They'd just tell me they were bored and then asked to be carried.

So, that was our trip to Washington DC. It was fun. I hope we can go back soon.

Washington DC Night Two

2010-03-23T08:40:00.003-04:00

After our dinner, we walked back to the hotel. We could have taken a cab because it was about a mile, but I wanted to walk. It was a beautiful Spring day, and my belly was so full that I needed to walk some.

Unfortunately, Devin really couldn't walk. He had started to get a cold, and you know how sometimes his colds come with asthma symptoms? Well, so did this one. John and I took turns carrying him back to the hotel on this lovely evening.

We (I) talked about calling the doctor for a prescription. But we (I) never did. I felt like he was OK. I felt the medicine I had been giving him was going to work. But, then he laid down to sleep. And, he would cough an unproductive cough and whine and then kick John in the back. He did that several times. I took him into the bathroom to breathe in some steam, and do you know what he did? He fought it just as hard as he had ever fought a nebulizer mask.

We finally decided to call the doctor around 11. I got the answering service, and a grumpy doctor called me back almost immediately. This is the doctor who hails from somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon and usually has an impressive Southern accent to prove it. But, not after 11 PM. He was not happy! And, I guess he shouldn't have been. I shouldn't travel without a rescue inhaler ever. Not with Devin's history of colds that sometimes come with asthma symptoms.

So, the grumpy doctor called in a prescription to a CVS about 3 miles from the hotel. I got dressed, got some cash, told Devin I would buy him M&Ms if he came with me, and we got into a cab. The cab driver expressed concern, and we discussed his 6 year old daughter's asthma. Cabs in DC are nice and comfy! They don't stink. The driver was nice and helpful. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at the CVS. A super nice guy with a coffee can offered to help me out of the car, and I needed it. I was still carrying Devin, and I have a big purse, and it was caught in the door. My concern was Devin, though, so I just thanked the coffee can guy and went into the CVS.

This was the busiest CVS in Washington DC if I'm not mistaken. I waited about 7 minutes to see the harried pharmacist, and it took him another 30 or so to fill my prescription. All the while, he was having to help people needing things like the morning after pill and medicine containing psuedophedrine. He had to do that without help, and he really did an admirable job.

Our insurance either didn't work or I gave him the wrong card, so I had to pay out of pocket. It was about $130. Albuterol used to cost about $5 to $10 out of pocket, but it was changed recently so now it uses a different accelerant (whatever chemical that makes it puff out) and now it's closer to $60. And, we had to get a spacer, too, because Devin hasn't mastered using an inhaler without one. That was $70. Ouch. I couldn't help but be grateful I had the money. Would someone without the money just have to watch their kid suffer? I guess if I didn't have the money, I would have taken him to an ER for a breathing treatment and hopefully a free sample rescue inhaler. Why isn't albuterol sold over the counter?

After I gave him some puffs, we went out into the night, hopeful we would be able to catch a cab back to the hotel. The nice guy with the coffee can hailed me a cab. And, I didn't tip him, and I really should have. He was helpful and nice and recognizing my timidity with hailing a cab used a loud clear voice and got me a cab in less than a minute. I want to send him a thank-you card. This was going to be the worst part of the evening for me, and he took care of it.

This cab was also nice with a friendly driver whose child also has asthma.

We arrived back at the hotel for a night of fitful sleep. Devin kept coughing, but it was more productive now. And, now the asthma is mostly gone and everyone else is catching his cold.

And, if you search asthma here on my blog, you will see that about once a year, he gets a cold with asthma whenever we go out of town.

So, have I learned my lesson? You think?? Maybe???

I just hope so. It was two pleasant cab rides, a part of DC we wouldn't have seen otherwise (Dupont Circle, we went back there the next day), an overworked but really nice pharmacist, about 2 hours of sleeping time lost, and $130 for medicine I should always have with me. I hope I learned my stinkin' lesson.

Washington DC Day One

2010-03-22T18:48:00.004-04:00

We went to Washington DC this past weekend. It was pretty neat-O! Once I find the camera, I will post some pictures that we took.

It's only about 4 hours away. Did you know the Mason Dixon line is only 2 hours away? We passed right over it on the way home. At least, that's what John said. I wasn't paying attention to the signs. I hope he didn't make that up and now I'm pawning it off as fact. It's happened before.

Saturday, we spent the day looking at memorials and white houses. We walked over to the Washington Monument, and then we looked at it. We couldn't go in yet, because we needed to pick up some free tickets.

The boys and I walked around the monument while John waited in line for those tickets. As I walked around, I saw a bunch of little pieces of white pickets stuck in the ground. It was our first protest of the day! From where we stood, it looked like a little Arlington National Cemetery. I walked down to read the sign describing the project, but I can't remember now what it said. Something about remembering soldiers who died in Iraq. There were a lot of little grave markers. It was striking, and I tried to talk to the boys about soldiers dying in war and how we need to remember those soldiers with reverence. But, I'm not sure I did a good enough job.

After we met up with John, we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial. First, we walked through the World War II Memorial. Trevor wanted to know if we will ever have a World War III, and John asked me if they called it World War II at the time. I refused to answer Trevor's question by answering John's instead. Mostly, I made stuff up. I think I told them they called it the Great War, but that was World War I. My degree in history doesn't serve me well in that I still don't really understand how war solves problems and that I get World War I confused with World War II. (I think I could probably still pass a multiple choice test on those wars, though!)

It was on this walk that I saw my first protest sign specifically targeting Barack Obama. It was a war protester, and she just wants him to earn his Nobel Prize and end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It hurt my heart that anyone would not love our president. Then, I felt bad for hating W. as much as I had.

We kept moving and walked alongside that big reflecting pool. You know the one? The same one that Forrest Gump jumped into when he saw Jenny at a war protest? It's really big and long. There were bales of hay in the pond. Everyone wanted to know why they were there. I speculated they were some sort of filter. But, John speculated that the secret service were hiding there ready to come after us, guns blazing, if we fed the ducks or threw money into the pond.

The Lincoln Memorial was OK. Big old Lincoln. Expressive Face. Someone did a fine job with that memorial. We didn't get to climb up on the Lincoln statue, though. A velvet rope kept us back.

From there, we headed to the bathroom! Long walk and all the coffee I could drink had taken it's toll. There was a bathroom in the Lincoln Memorial, so that's where we headed! Why? I know you want to know why I'm mentioning it. Well, there was a little display with some Lincoln quotes right outside the bathroom. And, I want to talk about the one that stuck with me. Because I'm not looking hard enough, I can't find the quote. But, I think what he said was he was tired of people saying he was an fighting the war to end slavery. He wasn't fighting this war to end slavery. He was fighting this war to preserve the union. And, I think he was an abolitionist at heart. But, he would have let Slavery linger had it been for the good of the union. At a different time, he would have been a different president, and not nearly so great. You know who I think was great, James K. Polk. He doesn't get nearly enough credit. He's my favorite unsung president. I bet you thought I was going to say Jimmy Carter, didn't you?

After the bathroom at the Lincoln Memorial, the boys remembered a food stand on the side of the road they had seen earlier in the day and the way it sold ice cream. It wasn't quite noon yet. Heck, it wasn't even 11. But, that was when they began talking about ice cream and when they could have it.

I made some vague promises about after noon. Not, afternoon, but sometime after noon. It worked, but by then, Devin could hardly walk and needed to rest. So, did Trevor.

So, we did.

Then, on we moved to the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

I wish I could say that the emotion rose up in me. But, all I could think of was 58,000. All of these Americans died, and I really wish I knew why. So, we just walked by and didn't try to find any names, and I silently laughed at the signs that requested I show respect for our soldiers by not walking on the grass. The two ideas didn't really seem related to me, and I wanted to walk on the grass for the incongruity of it all.

After the Vietnam Memorial Wall, we headed over to the White House, stopping at a hot dog cart along the way. We only saw the back of the White house. We could have walked around to the front, but that would have been a longer walk and the children were wilting in the 70+ degree temperatures.

Instead, we just snapped a few pics. John was pretty sure he saw our President. But, I'm pretty sure it was just a security guard. The White House has a really nice back yard.

Well, we kept walking. The boys played on a statue they found as a group of people went by shouting "WHAT DO WE WANT?" (mumble, mumble, mumble) "WHEN DO WE WANT IT?" (nownownowownow)

I think they wanted Healthcare. Or, maybe they wanted the wars to end. I don't remember for sure now. They may have wanted both at the same time.

So, after we let them pass, we kept walking. Just as we crossed a street, a large, noisy motorcade passed by. John was pretty sure the president was in it. He was in Washington this week, fighting for the Healthcare bill, but I don't think he was in that motorcade.

We were in search of the National Aquarium. But, we got sidetracked by the White House Information Center. And, while in the White House Information Center, we got sidetracked by a fire alarm. I was just about to use that bathroom, too, and I almost did anyway because why? Because alarms don't scare me! What an idiot! Finally, a security guard was like, "TOURISTS, GET THE HELL OUT! FOR REALS!" But, that's not what he really said. We left, anyway. I played hero and opened the double door no one was using and increased the throughput out of the building 100%. John noticed my heroism.

We kept walking to the aquarium, but once we got there, we realized that it was in the same block as the White House Visitor Center. Which means the same building. And, it was being evacuated, too. Then, the firetrucks came. Then, a security guard came along and said, "TOURISTS, MOVE YOURSELVES TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET FOR OUR FIRE DRILL. FOR REALS THIS TIME!" Except all he really did was flap his arms. Still, we followed his orders because it was our civic duty.

We hemmed and hawed and finally decided to hit the Museum. Which museum, you say? Why, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. The Smithsonian Museum of American History was closer, but even I didn't want to go there! (To whom should I return my diploma, I wonder.) We enjoyed the museum as much as one can enjoy a museum. It was free. So, that made it fun.

Finally, we headed over to the Washington Monument with our free tickets. We waited a bit, then we rode an elevator to the 500 Foot Level. And, we looked out all 4 sides. Over by Capitol Hill, we saw a mass of people. We asked a park ranger what it was about, and I believe she said they were anti war demonstrators. Or, maybe she said they were anti-healthcare demonstrators. Or, maybe people from both groups were there protesting both the war and healthcare at the same time.

Our friendly park ranger at the top of the Monument also explained that the motorcades carrying our president always contain an ambulance. So, the earlier motorcade must have just carried Barney Frank or someone like him. Maybe Joe Biden. We'll never really know.

After looking out all four sides, we headed down to level 490 where we waited for the elevator. It was a long wait, and it was stinky at level 490. I have to tell you, if you're in Washington, do go up the Washington Monument. It's well worth the wait and the free ticket. But, if it's a monument you want to go up, choose the St. Louis arch. Yeah, so to put it another way, if you're planning your vacation around a tall monument, make it St. Louis. But, to expand on that idea, let me just add this. Please don't ever plan your vacation around going up in tall monuments. There are better ways to plan vacations.

After the Washington Monument we started walking back to our hotel. We stopped along the way for ice cream because by now, it was afternoon. Devin got a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Ice Cream Novelty and Trevor got an Ice Cream Sandwich with Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry Ice Cream. Devin's melted all over him, and Trevor thought his was the best ice cream sandwich in the world. Ever.

We finally made it to the hotel and spent a couple of hours at the pool. The pool was in the spa, so we were escorted to the pool by a nice young lady who offered noodles to the children. John declined on their behalf, but I piped up and said I wanted noodles. I didn't know why she was offering noodles to any of us, but I was pretty hungry by then! Unfortunately, she meant those floaty noodles. Fortunately, we did actually need those noodles, and I'm hoping she left not knowing just how hungry I was.

After showering and watching a little Disney Channel, we headed over to Fogo de Chao for dinner. Lovely Gluttony.

I would love to say we ended the night with tummies full of yummies, but alas, our night ended a different way. And, I got to see a side of the city I didn't expect to see around midnight on a Saturday night. I was pleasantly surprised as well as annoyed with my stupid self.

But, I'm saving that story for another day. The boys are feeling neglected.

Re-runs

2010-03-19T10:56:00.002-04:00

have you noticed that Pioneerwoman is doing re-runs? It's gotta be hard to spew content as much as she does, so I shouldn't complain. Anyway, know what I've been doing today? Reading my blog. Want to see what almost made me cry:

Memories

It's a re-run. And, I guess you'd say it's the reason I write this blog! And, this memory is so precious that I actually remember most of it. I forgot the very last part. So, that's why I almost cried.

Really? (A day in the life)

2010-03-18T21:50:00.004-04:00

We went out to dinner tonight to a Japanese/Chinese restaurant. At the end of the night, my fortune said, "You are in line for a promotion at your firm." After reading it out loud, Devin said (with his perfect comedic timing) "really, mom?!?" (He was very excited for me.)

We thought it was funny because he has no idea what that means.

On the way to dinner, I mentioned to John that I had gotten a call from a neighbor. She had asked me about a week ago to keep an eye on her house while she and her husband went on vacation. I was all ready to do that, but she never brought me the key. She was calling to tell me that her sister in law has the key, and she only has one key, so maybe I could just make sure her cars don't get stolen. When I said that last part, Devin said, "Are they new?" in a desperate OMG sort of way. It would be very bad to have your cars stolen, but even worse to have your NEW cars stolen.

(Is that funny to you or was it a "had to be there" moment?? It made us giggle with delight.)

Earlier in the day, Trevor and I had a quick lesson on fractions. I can't remember why I was fishing for validation or why I felt the need to "keep it real" for my handsome, loving and sensitive boy, but I declared that sometimes I'm nice and sometimes I'm mean. I should also mention here that if I say I'm ugly, Trevor will say I'm pretty. If I say I'm fat, Trevor will say I'm not that fat. If I say I'm the worst mom ever, Trevor will say I'm the best mom ever. I really don't need to fish for validation with this boy. It's probably not good for him.

So, anyway, Trevor trying to put me back on that pedestal says, "you're just 50% mean and 50% nice." And, I said (just to clarify) "you think I'm mean half the time?" Then, he clarified that what he really meant was that I'm NICE 89% of the time and mean 10% of the time. Then, I turned it into a math lesson and asked about the other 1%. Then, he turned it into a lesson in loving your mommy more than she deserves and declared I was nice 99% of the time and mean only 1% of the time.

And, that's a day in our life.

Exhaustive

2010-03-17T08:18:00.003-04:00

There are some activities in the world that make me really tired. Some things make me tired in a good way. Like swimming in the ocean (or jumping around in the waves which is what I really do), snow skiing, walking around Disney World. When I do these things, I get truly exhausted and sleep well. I need to vacation more often.

Then there are other things that make me really tired, but in not so good way. Like cleaning the boys' rooms. Do you know how mentally exhausting this is? I pick up a random piece of plastic and wonder what it is, and then I try to figure out if I should keep it or throw it away. Will it make a toy they really like completely useless? Then, two weeks later, I will wake up in the middle of the night wondering if I threw out a toy that has sentimental value and suffer squeezy head and tightness in chest syndrome.

But lately, the thing that really makes me tired is Devin.

Devin doesn't speak in declarative, imperative or exclamatory sentences any more. All of his sentences are interrogative. Every single one of his sentences are questions. He asks questions to learn new things (OK) questions that question the thing he has just learned (OK once or twice) questions he's already asked a mere seconds before, questions about time (oh, the questions about time and how long and is that a long time and I can't believe my brain is still intact!) There are so many questions about candy. Can I have a piece of candy? yes. Can I have two pieces of candy? no. Can I have this piece of candy? yes. Will you open it for me? ok.

Do you know that sometimes he even asks stupid questions? He really does! He is a button pusher! I can't think of any good examples, but there have been a few times where we just have to say we're not going to answer his question because it's a stupid question.

Oh, and his newest is the worst because it's a question that makes me feel oh so incredibly guilty (Did you know moms are most guilty of feeling guilt? I read it on the internet!) His newest question is Will you play with me? Often followed up with Why won't anyone play with me? And every now and then with Is it because I'm wearing this big Mickey Mouse hand? (ok, that only happened once.)

I've discovered that sometimes, I just have other things to do, like read the internet, or make dinner, or pick up dog food that Boots takes out his bowl and doesn't eat, or tell the boys to pick up their socks. Sometimes, I'm really just too busy to play with him. But, other times, I can't think of anything to play with him. I don't mind watching him ride his bike or scooter. But, to actually use my imagination and play with him? It can be a little boring. I should do it more often. I'm pretty sure precious memories are created when I play pretend castle, Ben 10 (I'm Gwen!) or hide and seek (this game secretly terrifies me. Did I hide in the trunk of a car at Karla's house in Ochelata one time in July? I think I did!)

So, let me end by asking, when will I write my next post? I don't know. Will it be tomorrow or two weeks from now? I really don't know. Is that a long time? Is what a long time, I don't understand the question? When will summer be here? In about 3 months. Is that a long time? Yes. How long is it? 3 months, a long time. Do I have to wear shoes to go outside? Yes. Do I have to wear socks? Yes. What if I wear my sandals? OK, no socks if you wear sandals. Will you buckle my sandals? Wear shoes if you can't buckle your own sandals! Can I wear short sleeves? OK. When will I be in First Grade?

(Do you need a nap now? I do.)

Treasure

2010-03-15T09:30:00.001-04:00

Trevor's cousin Logan calls Trevor "Treasure."

She calls him Treasure when she talks to him, and I think she even calls him Treasure when she talks about him. And, Trevor doesn't correct her.

I like it.

remember this?

2010-03-11T13:12:00.000-05:00

Remember this?

Because Trevor was just remembering it the other day.

2 Thoughts and a story

2010-02-20T08:04:00.003-05:00

1. It takes a special kind of skill to ski down a mountain slower than I can walk. I have that skill. Trevor may have that skill, too, if the mountain is big enough.

2. I gave Boots a bath which resulted in the tangle the size of my fist. I'm glad he's not a self-conscious poodle because I just cut it out.

Trevor hates writing. It's a struggle for him to write uniformly sized letters and stay on the line. We got a note from his substitute teacher yesterday that she had a funny story. Trevor was working very hard for his sub Thursday afternoon without complaint. When she asked him what was different that was allowing him to work so hard, he told her, "I'm kinda scared of you."

I know that's an excellent punchline, and I should just stop there. But, isn't that funny??? When Trevor asked why I was laughing, I told him. And, he told me, "yeah, she does scare me. Last time I was in class with her, I was always getting in trouble."

Cheesy

2010-02-15T15:28:00.001-05:00

The Master of the Universe

2010-02-15T07:45:00.004-05:00

Devin is always asking questions related to time. Like, "how much longer until..." and then the inevitable follow-up "how long is that...." and "is that a long time?" (and then the cycle repeats repeatedly, and I should be honest. I don't handle it well).

One might say that he's obsessed with time and how much time it takes to do things and how long things will last once he's doing them and if things are lasting a long time or not long at all.

So, his existential question about time he posed offhandedly yesterday should not have surprised us. But, it's depth and ultimate truth rather did.

He asked, "is time the master of the universe?"

John confirmed it did while I pondered the question further (ie, started writing this blog post in my head.)

Trevor Skiing

2010-02-13T19:30:00.002-05:00

John took this video

Skiing Video

2010-02-13T16:45:00.003-05:00

So, I feel very unstable holding my camera in front of me while on skis. That's the reason that there's no video of Trevor. Also, I tried to zoom in, and I couldn't figure out. Watch Crazy Hat (below) a couple of times. John and Devin are there, but you'll have to watch it a couple of times to figure out who is who. The second one is all Devin, and it's exciting stuff!

Bonus Trevor with super pink cheeks from being out all day.

This one surprised me

2010-02-10T08:30:00.002-05:00

It's a snow day. That's not all that surprising. It even gave me the chance to sleep until 8 this morning, so I welcome this snow day.

The boys are playing in the house, wearing their normal winter attire, shorts. And Trevor comes running down the stairs making flying noises and says, "It went flying through the asthma-sphere!" Honestly, I think he knows the right word and just got a little flustered. But, that really wasn't the surprising part either.

As soon as Trevor said asthma-sphere, Devin corrected him and said "Atmosphere."

Surprising on so many levels. Surprising that Devin caught the mistake, surprising that he felt compelled to correct the mistake, and surprising that he knows such a big word...

I'm not listening!!

2010-02-09T08:55:00.002-05:00

I was making dinner (a dinner as it would turn out that neither child would eat as one was asleep by 7 and the other was too cold and mostly naked) last night and Devin was talking, talking, talking to me. From the living room.

I had a knife! I had hot oil! I couldn't really interact with him, but it felt wrong to just ignore him without giving him a little warning. So, I said I'm cooking and I really can't hear you so I'm just going to stop listening, ok?

Then he said, "mom!" Then he said, "I love you!"

I think he wanted to see if I was really listening or not.

Live at my house!

2010-02-04T07:38:00.001-05:00

Devin has a cold and covering his coughing and sneezing is not his strong suit.

Just now, he coughed on Trevor.

Trevor said, "Hey, don't cough on me!"

Devin replied, "I meant to burp."

Devin just sang...

2010-02-03T18:27:00.001-05:00

Chugga Chugga Chugga
Chugga Chugga Chugga

You don't know when it's
You don't know when it's time.

It was kinda bluesy.

I think he want to play videogames with John, but John doens't know when he'll have time. So, chugga, chugga, chugga...

Skiing

2010-02-01T14:15:00.002-05:00

Devin and Trevor can both snow ski. They're both really, really good! Trevor is taking lessons through a school program, and he's quite fearless. He would stay out there forever if he could. Devin has taken one lesson and spent a lot of time with John, and I just wish you could see him. He's really fast and fearless and actually knows how to stop without falling. He's pretty good at falling, too. Every now and then I would see a big wave of snow and little mound of Devin. But, he'd get up, dust off and keep going.

I'll try to video it next time. It's crazy to see these little boys zoom down the mountain, especially as I form my "pizza" to slow myself down to nothing so I don't have to throw myself down to stop. In case your mind is trying to picture me and the boys skiing down a big huge mountain, rest assured that we're sticking to the beginner slopes. I love the beginner slope. I never want to graduate from it. But, I may have to if the boys keep improving...

lies

2010-01-28T12:34:00.003-05:00

So, I guess I probably know that all kids are not honest all the time. I guess. But, still. I'm surprised by Devin's lies. It seems new to me, but he's probably been dishonest about different things for awhile now.

Yesterday, he asked for piece of candy when he got home from school. I told him that he could have one. A few minutes later, he comes back and says, "I didn't have that candy yet!" And, I asked him what was on his mouth. And he said it was "just marker." And, I wiped it off and discovered it was chocolate.

He wanted a fruit rollup or something else he thought would be better than candy and realized the only way that was going to happen is if he didn't eat the candy he had eaten. So, he chose to lie about it.

And, that makes me very sad.

I put him in a time-out. And, he cried because he wanted a fruit rollup, then he finally apologized for the lie. But, I'm still sad about it. He tells a lie so easily.

New Shoes

2010-01-20T09:58:00.002-05:00

Devin has been saying that his shoes hurt his feet. I think he was really just planting a seed, though. I took him to Wal-Mart with me yesterday because I needed to get some cereal. I always get lost at Wal-Mart, and I found myself in the shoe aisle. I need some comfy girly shoes, you see. Anyway, while in the shoe aisle, Devin reminded me that his shoes hurt his feet. Since he'd been saying this for awhile, I decided it would be OK to get him some new shoes.

His current shoes are a size 10. And, as it turns out, size 13, size 12, and even size 11 are too big for Devin. I ended up getting him some more size 10 shoes. And, he ended up telling me that he really needed some new shoes because his old ones are "weared" out.

Haiti

2010-01-16T22:20:00.004-05:00

So, part of the pain of being a bleeding heart liberal is that whole bleeding heart thing. It bleeds easily. So, I've been working pretty hard to hide my tears since Tuesday. Actually, it was Thursday that I realized Haiti was in a world of hurt. I've only been suppressing them since then...

Now, I know my blog seriously only reaches about 10 people. So, I don't expect big things. But, if you haven't given to the relief efforts yet, here's a place where you can.
http://www.firstgiving.com/cakewrecksdoctors
This is Doctors without Borders. Donating through this site will cost 7.5% to the firstgiving folks. But, it is easy to give, and you can give as little as $1. You can also go here and avoid that 7.5% hit:
http://doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/?ref=main-menu

I'm not sure giving really stops the bleeding. But, it's a start.

Overheard in the Hall

2010-01-15T20:08:00.004-05:00

Mom: Did the teacher tell you about the earthquake in Haiti?
Son: No.
-Pause-
Son: She grew up in Haiti.
Mom: She didn't grow up in Haiti. She grew up in Michigan.
Son: Oh.
-End of Conversation-

The secret lives of my children

2010-01-04T13:46:00.002-05:00

I don't know how we got on the topic, but one day, Trevor explained how he knew that car tires don't pop from running over rocks.

"Remember when we tried that, Devin? We threw rocks in the road and nobody's tires popped."

I think I just gave him a blank look. No bad came of this and no bad could come of this and the scientific method was involved, right? So, blank look was probably the appropriate response. Not a teachable moment there. Right?

Then on Saturday, Devin was telling me and John about their new "ride" in Trevor's room. They spread out a lot of blankets so it would be safe, see? Tell me more, I prompted. Trevor's eyes got a little shifty, and then he said he couldn't tell us anything. I think he gave Devin a "pointed" look and told us it was "Top Secret."

We promised immunity from prosecution if he just told us about it. Well, Devin reiterated the safety features of a lot of blankets, and Trevor remarked he was also safe. At first, he jumped from second rung of the bunkbed ladder and when that didn't hurt, he tried the third. Then, the fourth, and finally the fifth. As far as I know, they didn't jump off the top bunk. Just the ladder. And no one got hurt because of all those safety blankets Devin spread out on the floor.

The End.

Happy New Years!

Devin's Reading

2009-12-18T13:37:00.003-05:00

It's really amazing to me because he went from not recognizing letters at all to asking for reading lessons at school.

He reads "Dot" as DUH-AW-TUH. Then he says it more quickly. The he says DOT!

The words are small, mostly three letters. He was pronouncing HAS as HOZ, but I think that's because the letter "a" looked like the letter "o" to him. It really did, too.

I know it's mundane because it happens everyday. But, it's amazing because it's happening now!

Devin read a book last night to us!

2009-12-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

For real! He's really reading and sounding out letters and doing great!

@

2009-12-14T17:32:00.002-05:00

Trevor has been waking up earlier and earlier. And, when he gets up early, he does entertain himself. He watches TV or plays video games on the Wii or on the computer. Reading Little House on the Prairie would probably be a bit too much to ask anyway.

But, this morning, he woke up at 3:30. And, he wanted to entertain himself, but he needed to sign into a new game we got him with my email address. And, he didn't know how to make the @ sign. So, he came into my room and asked me how to make the "a" with the circle around it.

I had no idea because it was 3:30 in the morning and had just woken up from a sound sleep to which I would not return. I didn't even know what he was talking about. Did it come in a box and was part of this complete breakfast? I just didn't know.

I tried to think, but it did no good. And, then I realized it was 3:30 in the morning. My brain started working for just a minute. I very politely told him go back to bed and stay in bed for at least another hour. He did. He stayed in bed all the way until 6:00.

And, then, I remembered! Shift-2, shift-2! That's how you make an "a" with a circle around it!!

New (and by new I mean old) pictures

2009-12-14T08:31:00.003-05:00

I uploaded some more pictures over the weekend:

Spring 2009
This says Fall 2009, but I just get my seasons confused, and I can't figure out how to fix the album name.

Brigantine NJ 2009

All of my uploaded pictures

Trevor and the Red Orange Crayon

2009-12-10T21:58:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Cat Scan

2009-12-09T08:05:00.002-05:00

John is feeling a lot better. He got a cat scan yesterday, and they will review the results on Friday. He'll find out then if he needs pins or not.

On a different note, my favorite thing said at Thanksgiving:

Vikki to Amey: You've lost weight!

Amey to Vikki: No, uh, I just got tighter jeans!

First Grade Portrait

2009-12-08T21:09:00.001-05:00

It is broken!

2009-12-07T14:41:00.002-05:00

John broke his wrist when he fell! GANG-IT! (that's what Jena would say and I'm channeling Jena right now.)

He gets a CT scan tomorrow to see if they need to put in some pins, and he will go from there...

I curse you, sky!!! (Fist-Shake, Fist-Shake!)

2009-12-06T20:03:00.003-05:00

We got our second snow of the season yesterday. It's quite lovely. Powdery and light. In the middle of it, though, I was outside with the boys and the dog. The dog had snow balls attached to his paws and fur, so I tried to convince him to stay in the garage until the until it melted. He was patient, and I was bored, so I shoveled snow.

And, it kept snowing, and eventually I had removed enough snow so that I could see the driveway. Then, the snow kept falling, but it didn't stick. But, it did leave a thin layer of water. Which turned to ice over night.

(Also, the big balls of snow wouldn't melt on their own. I had to dunk his paws and chest into warm running water).

John was outside this morning on our driveway. The one with no snow, but a nice thin layer of ice. He fell, and he sprained (or maybe fractured?) his wrist. He'll try to see the doctor tomorrow. According to Utah Mountain Biking.com, wrist sprains can take a long time to heal.

Well, there has been talk of casts around the house. And, Trevor is very sorry that Dad has hurt himself. And, Devin did indeed curse the sky for allowing the snow to fall. I didn't tell him the part that I played with my ill advised snow removal and have thus far avoided any cursing directed towards me...

sticks and knives

2009-12-04T17:43:00.002-05:00

"Mom, my school has really interesting sticks. Some look like pistols and some look like rifles," Trevor just told me.

Then, we had a quick discussion on the convenience of bayonets in wartime.

And, I shuddered a little, then told him to just never go to war.

Vaccinations

2009-12-03T10:56:00.003-05:00

Just took Devin to the doctor. And, I love Devin's doctor. I don't want to marry him, but he's got a really great bedside manner, and a nice smile. I trust him.

But, he's a booger on the vaccinations. He looks at their vaccinations and starts out saying they don't need any. Oh, they need one. Oh, it looks like they need one more. Oh, just one more. Poor old Devin got THREE shots today.

And, it wouldn't have been so bad, but he had the knowledge about the three shots for about 20 minutes, and my powers to distract failed about 15 minutes into the wait. (OK, the truth is I got distracted myself and stopped trying.)

So, he yowled and he howled and also, the nurse was slow. I saw a nurse give 4 shots to baby Trevor in about 2 seconds. I take that back. I didn't see it. She was too quick for me. She had real, live superpowers. But, our nurse today, also a wonderful nurse with a comforting demeanor, was really slow. So, Devin yowled and howled for about a WHOLE MINUTE! And, I couldn't decide if I should laugh or cry. He usually winces and says ow! at shots.

But, he's back at school now. The bag of chips at the end made it all better.

He read his first book today. MAT. I'm hoping he brings it home tonight so he can read it to me.

Fortune Cookie

2009-12-02T16:16:00.002-05:00

There are many ways to be hurtful, but only one way to heal. And that is through love.

After hearing his fortune, Devin told Trevor, "Trevor, if you have a really bad cut, you need love to heal."

Just happened 30 seconds ago.

Live from my house, this is Tricia reporting the daily cuteness.