lies

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

@

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

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

Click here to view this photo book larger