Boys are gross

I'm learning that you have to be VERY specific with your questioning of an 11 year old boy. I found out last night that Thade had not washed his hair in at least a month. Here's how the conversation went:
Thade takes shower for 1 min 20 seconds and is somehow finished.
Rustin: "Thade, did you wash?"
Thade: "Yes."
Rustin: "Did you wash your body?"
Thade: "Yep."
Rustin: "With soap?"
Thade: "Yes, Dad."
Rustin: "Did you wash your hair?"
Thade: "Yes."
All sounds good at this point right? I'm thinking my kid has super powers and can move at lightening speed so he can get to his video games.
Rustin: "Did you wash your hair with shampoo?"
Thade: "No, I'm out of shampoo."
Here's where I chime in and ask, "Gross! How long have you been out of shampoo?"
Thade: "I don't know, maybe a month?"

Which in reality probably means 3+ months.

UGH!

Thade's Essay

It's getting increasingly difficult to post from home. Courtesy of Reed, the space bar, m, n, b, and v keys are all now missing from our laptop. Lovely.

Thade brought this essay home from English class today. The task was to use his vocabulary words in a paragraph.

My Dad is a great person. I can attest to it even though his decisions can be contestable. He's still very great. He thinks I'm very loquacious at school. He gives me a lot of eloquent speeches. You can say he's got a skill in oratory speaking.

The funniest (saddest) part? There were at least 2 words in that paragraph that I didn't immediately know the meaning.

I tried to get a picture of Reed and Adalae. This is what you get after 42 pictures. As you can see, Adalae is on the verge of a breakdown. The next 12 pictures are of her screaming and Reed attempting to place her pacifier in her mouth.

On the other hand, Adalae was picture perfect this day:

Thade update

Yesterday, Thade got moved to Pre-AP English and Reading! He will take the COGAT aptitude test next week to determine his eligibility for Pre-AP Math. I was so excited for him. Needless to say, when I asked how he liked it, his only response was, "It's hard." So, being the over-explainer that I am, I tell him how great an opportunity this is for him and if he takes AP classes in high school, he gets college credit, and how privileged he is to be selected for this advanced learning opportunity, etc. I'm fairly certain he tuned me out after the first 10 seconds because when I finished my "lecture", his response was, "How long do I heat up this spaghetti?"

I received an email this morning from his Pre-AP teacher letting me know that Thade continues to have a talking problem during class. He has been moved to another seat, but if the problem continues, he will be moved back to regular (ugh - average) Reading and English. I told some people today that I think I should go sit in on his 2 Pre-AP classes to show him how serious I am about this (or maybe embarrass him into behaving?) Hey, whatever works right? Anyhow, the feedback I've gotten has been mixed. Some think it's a great idea, while others think I'm going to see him on the news one day committing some atrocity because he never got over his mom showing up at school and sitting in class with him.

Any advice out there?

More Salsa Please

I know by posting these pictures, I will make many of you insanely jealous of the quality of photos my camera phone takes.

We have recently discovered that Reed loves salsa. He will eat ANYTHING if he can dip it in salsa. He dips his quesadilla, chips, beans and shredded cheese. Yes, I did say pinto beans and shredded cheese.

Here he is getting started. After I failed to notice he was out of food, he proceeds to pick up his spoon and scoop spoonfuls into his mouth.

I realize this and give him more quesadilla which he promptly begins to dip and suck the salsa off.

Yes, Reed ate this entire bowl of salsa by himself. He was very close to licking the bowl when I had to physically separate him from the table and take him outside because of the major meltdown he had to be away from his salsa bowl.

I'm sure Nanny was very thankful to me regarding our food choices during diaper time the next day.

Thade played his first game on Saturday. He played quarterback in Hurrican Ike aftermath with SIDEWAYS rain, mud and wind. They lost but he played great! I was very proud of him and it almost makes me sad to see him leading a football team. He seems so independent, ok well he IS so independent.

Anyhow, that's it for now before I go all sentimental on ya'll.

The next Tony Romo?

As I mentioned, Thade is playing football this year. Thade hated football 2 years ago. He complained his pants are too tight, his helmet hurts, it's hot and that the other boys tackle him. (rather than what?) He carried that attitude the entire year and got stuck occasionally playing on the defensive line and keeping the bench warm the rest of the time. His energy level matched that of a slug and generally you would find him sitting alone on the bench during the games because it was just too hot and tiring to stand on the side lines with his team-mates.

In this picture, we yelled to him to get off the bench and go be with his team-mates. YES, that is my kid LYING DOWN on the sideline.

This year when sign ups came, I gently encouraged him to give it another try. (Ok, I told him if he didn't play sports, he'd be a geek in high school) I know, I'm a terrible mother but in all seriousness, the kids involved in sports typically have less time to get in trouble! And the last thing my pre-teen wants is to be a geek so I said what I knew would work on him and hoped for the best.

WOW, what a change this year. He is having a great time and apparently has a talent for throwing the ball. Thade will be QB at his first scrimmage on Saturday. He has also been playing some tight end and safety. I couldn't be prouder! I'm very excited about the game tomorrow and if we can juggle the babies and video camera simultaneously, I will post some video next week.

Disney Pictures

Here are some pictures from our Disney trip.



My favorite - as you see, Reed was very excited to meet Disney's stars, Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Picnic

Wow, has it really been 2 months since I last posted? I promise to post new pictures soon. We've been very busy the last couple of months and the kids are all growing up too fast! We recently returned from a week spent at Disney World (smack in the middle of tropical storm Fay), Susan, the new nanny has started, and Thade has started football. Reed can "show his muscles now" and Adalae rolls over!

Yesterday, I thought I would be brave and take all 3 kids to the park and have a picnic while Rustin was doing yard work. The 10 minute walk there was great. Adalae slept and Reed jabbered the whole way. However, within 10 minutes of arriving at the park, the grossness started. My packing list had consisted of:
sandwiches, grapes, teddy grahams, and applesauce
paper plates, cups and a jug of water
sippy cup, bottle
diapers
burp cloth
sunscreen
bottled water
phone

I should have also included a change of clothes for all 3 children.

First of all, Thade had to pee so I sent him over by a tree to take care of business. He comes back soaking wet and can't figure out why? Apparently, instead of taking care of business on the ground by the tree, he decided to pee on the tree from less than a foot away. Do men not look at the stream to make sure it doesn't run into their feet, etc? Or to make sure it's not hitting the tree and SPLASHING their shorts?

If there is a puddle of water, Reed can spot it from a mile away. As soon as he is out of his stroller, he makes a bee-line for a slide and while I'm helping Thade get cleaned up, Reed climbs to the bottom of the slide, and then proceeds to lie flat in the water and lap it up like a doggy. Now his shorts are so wet they don't stay up so we proceed to strip him to his diaper and pray that I don't get CPS called on me for letting my toddler play at the park in 100 degree weather without clothes. 5 minutes later, Reed has a poopy and guess what I didn't check/pack? The wipey case which was completely empty. By this point, we've been at the park less time than it took to walk there or I would have just given up and walked back home. So I do the best with what I have (which is only the dirty diaper) and we play some more while his clothes are hanging from the slide baking in the sun.

When I finally get the chance to check on Adalae, she is awake, happy, and covered in spit up.

By this time, I'm totally over the park so we wash up the best we can with our water jug, eat and head home for baths.