A Movie with a "Message"

Saturday night we went to the WALL-E movie that the boys have been waiting to see. It was a Disney movie so I didn't really even look to see what it was about...I just thought it would be good. Not so much....I should have known that it was going to be a rough ride when we had a Landon "incident" at the ticket counter. Since I had a ticket voucher left over from Incredible Hulk that was close to expiration we decided to get tickets to that movie and just go into the WALL-E show. No big deal right? We all stood there while Steve requested the tickets and handed over the voucher. The teen had trouble entering it so we stood there for a LONG time. I don't understand how a child who doesn't hear well suddenly has super sonic hearing at the ticket counter! If Landon said it once...he must have said it 20 times (literally!!!!) "I don't want to see Incredible Hulk ....I want to see WALL-E!! I already saw Incredible Hulk....I want to seeeeee WALL-E!! Landon said it over and over....lucky for us...the cashier was a teenager who obviously can't multi-task. Why does a kid who gets tons of speech therapy have a major break through in intelligibility at a time like this?! We went in....sat down and the show started....I swear the first 45 minutes didn't have any speaking parts...unless you count the whine of a robot. The message of the movie was taking care of the planet and the condition of the human race relying too much on technology and convenience. It had a good message although I think it would go above most kids heads. I could be wrong though because Logan leaned over and asked if that is what happens if we don't recycle. I wish that I could have just written a $50 check to greenspace.org rather than waste an 1 1/2 hours of my life or at least been warned! Oh well...space chimps has to be better right? The boys were glued to the movie and since we went for them that is what really matters in the end.

Airtastic!!

Saturday Landon was invited to a birthday party at Airtastic. Airtastic is a new place in town that is similar to Bouncetown (where Logan went to a party last week....) and Steve brought the other boys to play while Landon played with his friends. I like Airtastic better since the party room in larger and they have more things to jump in. The fact that my other kids can play at the same time doesn't hurt either!! Bouncetown is closed for open jumping when there is a party. Here is a photo of Landon on one of the Superslides (which happens to be my favorite to go down also!)

Our Sunday

We had a Sunday last weekend just like I had when I was growing up. It started by getting ready for church (not something that I typically have the energy for....getting 4 extra people ready is not a good time and I never did have the right shoes!!) We then got the boys to the appointed meeting spot for the practice for the VBS program and Lake completely melts down. He is not much for "performing" and even after a "talk" with Steve he didn't want to do it so I decided to take him with me. I totally "get" how he feels because public performances aren't my thing either. I remember in grade school I actually got sick for performances I was scheduled for in orchestra and band. So much for playing the violin or clarinet...the end of my music career!! LOL. So Steve, Lake and I proceeded to the sanctuary to wait the big performance. In walk the kids with Lawson clinging to the neck of the leader! Logan and Landon came in fine so I guess 50/50 isn't a total failure on our parenting!! AND Lawson wasn't crying...but he did look terrified! Again..he gets in naturally! The performance went off without a hitch and was really cute. The picture is a little blurry but you can see Logan with his hands up. After the kids performed they came to sit with us and I again remembered why we don't go each week. They were better than last time but still far from perfect! I guess it takes practice? After church...just like when I was a kid...we went our for lunch. Logan of course didn't want to go because he doesn't like "resternots!" He did go (what choice did he have?! and we had a good time. The boys love Red Robin and the little boys ate a lot of food! Logan had a milkshake and drank most of my freckled lemonade so he was happy in the end. They finished off the trip with a round of video games in the arcade area. Here are a few glimpses of that. We did stray from my growing up tradition of a nap (WHY did I hate that part back then?) but otherwise...it was the same!

Bike Riding

We have been trying to get Logan to ride a bike without training wheels all summer but he just isn't interested. This weekend we took him over to a grassy hill where some of the neighbors have had luck with their kids learning to ride....still no luck! He doesn't want to "get scrapes!" I really can't argue with his theory...there will probably be some scrapes! Ugh...I am going to have to go through this 3 more times AFTER I finally get him taught...this is almost as bad as potty training!

Logan my worker bee.....

One of the most interesting things about having 4 children from the same two parents is watching the things that make them so different from each other. It constantly amazes me especially of the little boys of how different their personalities vary from each other and they have had the same upbringing, environment, exposure to things etc from day one. Besides being born on the same day they even were released from the hospital on the same day. (Vary rare according to the nurses!) Logan I can see being different because he was an only child for 14 months with lots of one on one attention and I really don't think that I ever put him down for the first year. The point that I'm getting at is that my boys are VERY different when it comes to their work ethic!! I'm not sure what this means exactly at the tender ages of 5 and 6 but it definitely is showing some discrepancies already! Logan is the worker bee....that kid works like a dog helping his dad with the outside work!! We had mulch delivered a few weeks ago and he was up almost before Steve was dressed and ready to go. He shoveled, he hauled and unloaded ALL day long! Steve would take a break and that little boy would keep working. He thrives on yard work. The other boys? Not so much....sure the dabbled a little bit digging a little here and there but really the worker was Logan. At the end he even got a paycheck. He made $20 when the work was done for the day. Steve called them all in and made a big production of praising Logan for his work and presented him with his money. And of course Landon as usual...."What about me?!" Lake and Lawson just grinned. Each of the little boys got $1. The funny part is that the lesson was lost because when we got to Target to spend the money...the Dollar Spot was a big hit! Now in case anyone is thinking that Logan is the perfect child...he is not. He is the same kid who will spend hours whining because he doesn't want to clean up the toy room when the job would have taken 20 minutes. He also typically asks for cash for doing it or any other inside job. If there is a toy he is wanting (and this kids wants a lot of different toys!!) he nags you to find him a job for extra cash but then rejects the job until he finds one he WANTS to do. A favorite request of his is washing my kitchen floor. Now that SOUNDS like a good idea but let me tell you it isn't! Washing my floor means that Logan gets the rags out...dips them in a bucket of water (or the powder room sink) and brings it back to the floor (without wringing it out) leaving it sopping wet. So in the end the floor is covered in water, the other boys are crying because they have fallen on it and the powder room needs cleaned up too all the while Logan is asking for his cash (in dimes no less!!) Today the boys helped Steve wash his car. I ran to do some errands so I'm not sure who did the most work on this project but I'm guessing my the wetness of Logan's shoes that he isn't improving on the wringing out a sponge of extra water but he IS still my worker bee.

Worst Mom ever...

As I've said my kids have been going to vacation bible school all week and on the 2nd day a leader handed me 4 iron on transfers of the week's theme. Well...I couldn't see going to the trouble of going to get shirts, washing the shirts, ironing on animated test-tubes that are going to peel off in a day and needing to wash them daily to wear the next day. Besides the boys didn't mention that they wanted to wear them and they knew that i had them. The boys have cute clothes in their closets...they can wear them. Fast forward to today....the actually ask to have shirts made. There is ONE freakin' day left of bible school but they asked so Logan and I went to buy shirts tonight. I get the shirts...wash and dry them and now I can't find an iron. I cleaned out the back hall closet earlier this year and put in new shelves...surely I didn't throw away the iron? Maybe I did....I don't iron typically...everything goes to the drycleaners....so here I am at almost midnight trying to decide whether i should run to Meijer (the only place that I can think of that is open and has irons) and buy a new iron. I've looked everywhere I can think of in the house....UGh....I don't want to explain to the boys in the morning why they don't have shirts. I'm a bad mom.

Edited to add: Borrowed Kelly's iron....did the shirts and here is a photo...do they look like they appreciate all of my hardwork?

My "graduates"

Every year I take a picture of the boys to give to the teachers with their end of the year gift. Here is this years. On a side note...I hadn't really thought of "graduating" from preschool but since we have gone to several graduation parties this year Landon apparently has given it some thought....His question...? "What about me Mommy?" I guess he thought food, cake and gifts seemed like a good idea!!

Vacation Bible School

The boys started VBS yesterday and of course Logan was NOT going! "I don't want to learn about God" was an exact quote! I have to admit to saying an immediate prayer that he wouldn't express that once he got to the church! He whined and cried until I found his group and pushed him in the leaders direction. I usually feel bad if they are nervous about something but I still had Lake clinging to me crying like a 2 year old so I was distracted. I finally got him off of me and headed for the door. Of course when I got back they were all excited and had a great time. Today the drop off went much better except Landon was stressed when he had to go into the big room where the acoustics really mess with his hearing. He loves the parts in between but doesn't like the beginning or ending. I have to figure out how to solve that issue by tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe taking them late and picking them up early. Great...my free 3 hours is getting trimmed down and we aren't even half way done yet!! They are learning so much and have so many questions when they get home it is really cute. Lawson said to me on the way out to the car today "Thank You for bringing me to vacation bible school!" I thought that was so sweet and then even sweeter when I read their "homework" which talked about how they could honor God...one of the things was to thank the person who brought them to VBS. This kid is quick! I am happy he likes it because he spent the whole morning on Monday worried that I wouldn't remember to pick them up! Another thing to honor God was to take a walk (which in our house...the boys decided to drag the bikes out) and pick 5 things that we are grateful to God for. Logan brought a pencil and paper (which of course I had to carry) and stopped to make his list.
1. trees
2. grass
3. birds
4. pine cones
5. friends
Another cute moment today was Logan was in trouble and was banned from a birthday party he is to go to tomorrow. Lawson then spilled his orange drink and Logan said "Lawson...I will clean it up!" He then looked at me and said "God wants us to help people." I was quite impressed and told him that I was proud of him for helping without expecting anything or being asked. He had earned back the privilege of the party. I think he was really proud of himself too and I hope that he learned a lesson out of it. On another VBS note yesterday Lawson came home and complained to me that I forgot to send his snack. I explained that I wasn't supposed to send a snack and that they would give him one. He said that he wanted an M&M cookie and they wouldn't let him because he may be allergic an they made him eat pretzels. I didn't think much of it but thought maybe I had written down his allergy to eggs and milk. WEll today comes and I go shopping and my cell phone rings. I answer it and it goes dead. I immediately get nervous and head to the church (just in case!) Sure enough....they had accidently fed Lawson and Landon chocolate pudding. After they were finished someone remember/noticed that this would have milk in it at least. I reassured them their allergies aren't life threating so were are all good. I am now nervous for Logan because his allergy to nuts could be more serious. he won't be going tomorrow but I will talk to his leader just to double check the procedure for him and send in his own snack. Other than these little incidnets....the boys love it and love the crafts, songs, etc and can't wait to go back! I wish that it could last all summer!!

Are they all yours?

Boys....Whenever we go out we inevitably get asked one of two questions, but usually both, at least 14 times per hour. The first question being, “Are they all yours?” and the second one being, “Are they all boys?” and the third one being, “Are there any twins?” and the fourth one being “How far apart are they?” and the fifth one being, “You must be tired.” and the sixth one being “Wow. Four boys. Wow… Four. Wow.” and the seventh one being, “All boys? How sad!” (at which point I usually decide it’s about the right time to tear someone a new … something!) Then the comment that comes up in almost every conversation is "Oh..do you ever watch that show John and Kate plus 8?" like somehow if they watch that show it makes them know EXACTLY how life with 4 kids or 8 kids is. Or the endless commentary that we receive where ever we go as if we were the Duggar family or something. (And for the record in case you haven't noticed I do NOT wear a jumper or have 30 foot long hair!)
People always ask me “Are they all yours?” as if I would sit down right there in the aisle of the store or on hard bench at a school event and get right down to how many fathers they hail from and the whole sordid story behind each conception if that were the case. I’ve always sort of wanted to shock someone with a story like that just to see their reaction. Fortunately/Unfortunately I just can’t bring myself to do it. And more than anything as my little banshees are running around the racks of clothes or food depending on where we are....or whacking each other in the shins...."Would I really choose to take 4 little boys that aren't mine to a place of business!? It's not like an amusement part....and they typically are dressed alike...so IF I was going to bring extra kids along on an errand would I really take the time to dress them alike?!

And then we seem to also always get the question, “Are they all boys?”

Umm…yea....call me crazy but do dirty jeans, snot on a sleeve, shirts with remnants of lunch, banged up knees, deep gravelly little voices and buzzed haircuts not tell you anything? I understand this question where androgynously dressed infants are involved but at this point, I look at my sons and I start to wonder if the askers are smoking crack or maybe are just possibly legally blind, in which case I would not fault them. However, when I get this question, I smile and nod and give them the kind of reply that they are clearly expecting rather than what I really, deep down, want to answer… What I would really like to answer to someone who asks this is to suddenly hush them and pull them aside and whisper to them that we’re not really quite sure what they all are but that we really don’t like to talk about it in public…. But, go figure, I never have done this either.... and I guess I probably don’t think I ever will.....call me a coward.

Yes, they are all ours and they are all boys and they are all boy and we had them on purpose!! And we wouldn’t change a thing…

Special People...

I've been busy working on a million projects for the last few weeks so I'm really behind in posting things. I'm going to try and catch up this week on some recent happenings....Since school was ending soon the classes (at least some of them) had end of the year events. Lawson invited me to visit his class and so did Lake. Landon didn't have anything and Logan's was an ice cream party without parents. Here are some pictures. I did get photos of important people so the boys can put a face to the name when time goes by and things get fuzzier. We were blessed with some very special teachers who took great care of the boys and genuinely love kids. Poor Landon has been going around for the last two weeks saying "I'm going to miss you mommy...." I'm guessing that he has heard this at school for the last month or so. I've explained that I'm not going anywhere and neither is he so we are good!

Survival

We have officially completed (and survived) our first full week of summer "vacation!" Let me just say that I am worn out!! We have done the dentist, the pediatrician (4 shots each for the little boys) the eye doctor and a week of golf lessons for Logan. Add in our usual chiropractor visits 2-3 times a week and our speech/OT appointment you definatly could say it has been busy!! I was looking forward to summer where I could get some projects done around the house and wouldn't have to be running between the schools all day. Maybe next week will be slower? Logan really enjoyed his golf lessons though so it was all worth it. While he golfed with the Coyle brothers the other boys along with baby Charlie explored Philips Park. We went to the small zoo there, visited the playground, and walked the sunken flower garden. They loved it and all looked forward to going there each day. We filled our spare home time learning about the Ocean and things that live in it and will continue that next week too. We have been making "Ocean" books and practicing our letter writing along with reading. We dug for seashells in the sand and will be making some ocean in a bottle next week along with some blue edible aquariums complete with candy fish. Logan even spent several hours making an Ocean diarama (that was fun! NOT!) We also checked out some books from the library about fish ...only 74 more days to entertain these guys before our tax dollars go to work!!

Check this out!!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=190+S+Oakhurst+Drive+aurora+illinois+60504&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=58.816238,108.28125&ie=UTF8&ll=41.752331,-88.24881&spn=0.000858,0.001652&t=h&z=19


While reading a blog this morning, I discovered a cool (albeit, a little creepy) new feature on Google Maps. They have taken the satellite images one step further and added a street level view of houses, buildings, landscape, PEOPLE.

It's called Street View. I typed in my home address while in Google Maps and clicked the little icon that says Street View and voila... a picture of my house....detailed enough to see the playhouse that was in our backyard last year and the top of the clubhouse/swingset. Creepy? A little. Cool? A little.

So, what do you see when you type in your address?? I'm going to waste a lot of time. I can sense it.