We're going to school naked...

So, I tried to take the boys to do a little school clothes shopping yesterday. It was really an exercise in frustration! I like to feel like I've beat the system, you know, I price match, I coupon, I watch for deals in the paper, etc. I'm willing to do a little extra planning/leg work to get the quality I want for the price I'm willing to pay.

So, we started at Target (mostly because I had a $10 coupon if I filled my Rx there). They had some decent polos on sale for $4.99. Jake got one - he'll take anything just to be able to buy something! Cam admitted he wouldn't really wear the polo because he doesn't like buttons, so we put his back. The rest of their tees were close to $10. I couldn't do it - it was just a tee shirt!

Next, we went to Old Navy because it was just next door. On some of my deal websites, people were talking about walking out of there with loads of clothes for their kids for a fraction of the original price. I'm not really much of an ON fan anymore, their stuff has gotten so cheap and thin in the last few years, but we'll try it. They had tees and polos which seems pretty standard. But, I was so frustrated that the all of the tees were either "bu** ugly" (as we used to say growing up), had skulls all over them, or some attitude mess written on them.

If some kid had come into my classroom with a shirt that said"You're not the Boss of Me", I think I would've found an excuse to keep him in for recess to show him I was. Even though the boys think the shirts are funny, I really don't think they're OK and I don't want that to be the teachers' first impression of my little sweeties. Skulls are on everything; there was even a shirt with a football on it, but when you looked closer the football was made of tiny skulls. What the heck?

So, we're pretty much going to school naked. I figure that's less offensive to the teachers and my budget.

I heard Uncle Randy on Toby Keith!

I like to turn on music when I'm cleaning. Singing along makes the work go faster. I was looking for ABBA today, but found Toby Keith. And all of a sudden, right in the middle of cleaning the wire basket fruit thingy in my kitchen, I heard Uncle Randy! The song was "I'm just Talkin' bout Tonight" minute 2:02 on this youtube version. Did you hear it? The "Hey, Hey, hey" part? Can't you just see him with his giant smile saying this? (And , no, the rest of it has nothing to do with him nor does the video.)
Uncle Randy and Grandpa were already on my mind because of the RS lesson yesterday about death. What a week to choose to sit on the front row - but everyone was sniffling a little, so I guess it was OK. Even though we know we'll see them again, our human emotions can't help but grieve. I miss Grandpa and his "Hey Man" and the Hicka Pah song which lives on with all of these little boys. I miss Uncle Randy. I miss his "Hey Gurl" when we call.
So that song will be the "Uncle Randy song" from this point on.

Chunky Monkey

Meet Sammers. Sammers is a Chunky Monkey. Sammers is six months old. Sammers weighs 16 lbs 12 ounces. Sammers has two cousins that will be one next month. Cousins' mom says cousins don't weigh as much as Sammers. Sammers is a Chunky Monkey. Maybe Sammers will play in the NFL and take care of Momma when she gets old.

Backtracking... (check back for pics later this week)

Cameron celebrated his 7th birthday last Saturday (the 12th). I can't believe he's getting so big. We took some of his friends to Jump On It which is a open warehouse style building with wall-to-wall trampolines. After jumping, we came home for cake, ice cream & PRESENTS! He still loves Batman, so we had Batman building cupcakes. And, like any boy party, there were plenty of water guns, nerf crossbows, etc. Where are all the books, stuffed animals, and educational toys? Honestly, the kid needs underwear for school and some church socks! Maybe that's why people don't ask moms what their child needs, but instead, what is he interested in?

The same morning, Jake had a karate tournament. Jake has been in karate for 2.5 years now. I think he's really good at it. He's getting to the point, though, where he needs to practice more at home because the move are getting more difficult and the forms are becoming more involved. Of course, I'm off my rocker to suggest this (don't laugh, if you don't already have a child like this, you will!) So, when he wanted to be in the tournament, I thought it would give him a chance to see what the competition looks like but not get totally obliterated. He did win a second and third place ribbon, but his eyes were glued to the gold medal that was awarded for first place. I hope this encourages him to beef up, ok start, his practicing at home.

Deadlines!

I think Sammers could sense that something big was coming! Babies are smart - they know stuff. Sam hit his 6 month milestone on Saturday and like I said, I think he knew there was a deadline of sorts coming and he needed to pull off some pretty spectacular stuff. So for the last two weeks, he's been working on some stuff just waiting for the moment to be right to show us what he's really got! Here's a list of his latest accomplishments:

1. He's been practicing scooting all around the Family Room, although he can only go in reverse right now. Whatever, Mom! I take him outside to experience grass and he hops up on all fours and starts lunging. I know - he's a genius, he's probably going to be running in the Olympics in a few years!
2. He can talk now. Yes, it's his own language, but he's pretty good at mimicking our inflections. I think he does pretty well with 'hi' and 'hello'. He can also say 'hour' as in "my brothers have an hour to get their jobs done before mom goes crazy and locks them in the basement...again." I know it's just babble to us, but he's really good at it!
   
3. I took the boys to THE worst ever movie (Speed Racer) the other night while Jared was out of town. Sam was as bored as I was so he started singing. To quiet him down, I stuck my finger in his mouth for him to chew on. Holy Cow! He bit me! Of course, in hindsight (which is 20/20, right, Sarah?) he had given me signs like grumpies, snots, droolies, but the bite brought it all together for a somewhat slow mom. (Heck I've only done this 4 times, How was I supposed to know?)

Anyhow, I think he pulled some pretty cool tricks out of his hat these last few days. He has totally proven himself worthy to pass the 6 month benchmark. And, I learned enough to figure out that tooth #2 isn't far behind - we woke up with snots and grumpies again this morning!

Summer Fun

Your "Special Day" cake has to scream your name! SO, for Lib's day, we made a Costco cake. Because we celebrated on the 4th instead of the 5th, I couldn't get to the craft store to get people and carts. She got Hot Wheels and cavemen instead.

Our neighbor, Andrew, has this awesome toy, but no yard to put it in. We humbly volunteered to set it up at our house. That's Andrew on the ladder, Cam in the pool, and Josh watching.

This thing was outside the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. I'm not sure what it is or if we were supposed to be on it, but the boys & Grace had a blast climbing & hanging on the giant rubber bands.

I'm the only one that thought the boxes in the garage were trash! Jake, Kaelen, Isaac, Josh, and Cam and a little bit of painters' tape can make a wicked fort!

Josh and Cam at the TPoint Gardens.

Jake and Kaelen at Thanksgiving Point Kids' Gardens. I need to feed that boy more!

Bakugan!

Was I ever so obsessed with a toy?!?
My boys are so into these silly things called Bakugans. That's bok-oo-gans for those of you that are cartoon network challenged. These little toys are the size of bouncy balls when they're closed. They open up into weird animals and stuff that can do battle for the "world within a world". It's like the new age of Transformers. Plus, they each come with a magnetic trading card. No - I am NOT kidding. It really includes a card which helps explain the steep price! Anyhow, these things are costing my boys $5.31 apiece. (We know this exact cost after a meltdown at Target over WHY we have to pay tax and WHY mom won't cover the tax on everything you buy!) At least they're doing their jobs I talked about in the previous post!
Anyhow, they've begun singing the theme song. And, by "they", I mean Jake, Cam, and Josh! They sing it all day, for me, for dad, for their dinner, for Family Night, etc, etc. It really is hilarious, but only because they are so serious. Don't mock the Bakugan!

I remember loving my MonChiChi. I was even a closet Barbie player until I was, like, twelve. So, I guess it's normal to carry 16 of these little toys in a freezer bag with you everywhere you go. And, it gives me something to sit back and wonder over!