Our Version of "Pinata"

While in the kitchen working on dinner, I glance out the window to check on all four boys in the backyard - just in time to see Nicholas swinging high up on his swing, with Philip trying to whack him with a stick as he comes down.

I immediately go to the door and ask for the weapon. As Philip hands it to me, he replies "But Mom, you're inside. This is an outside stick.".

As thrilled as I am that he has figured out proper "indoors/outdoors" items, I sure wish he would get that he is not allowed to harass his brothers. Even if they are older.

Some lessons learned, definitely more to go.

Confessions

After reading this post on our local news website, I feel like I must hide in a darkened room as I say this: I feed my child chicken nuggets. My kids get cookies or pudding for dessert 2-3 times a week. I have been known to mix a boxed mac and cheese for lunch. I think that popsicles are a great afternoon snack these days.

Why oh why do other moms do this? The truth is that I suppose that if this other mother (whom I have never met) and I were in the same room together, we would get along on a lot of issues. We would probably agree that junk food could be limited in our society today (DUH!). But lets not throw the baby out with the bath water shall we!

Do we need this junk food to live. No, of course not! But it's a nicety. A "some of the time " food that is just a special something. It is sometimes the little things in life, and why should we give those up just because there is the potential for abuse.

My kids are far from overweight. In fact, we have more of a low BMI problem than a high one. I attribute it to two things: high levels of physical activity and genes. It probably doesn't hurt that they do eat fruits and veggies as well. But they are not limited to only these things for snacks. For starters, I am already spending $35 a week on fresh produce, and it is gone 2 days before the week is out. Besides, I grew up on the occasional soda. It was a treat when my mom slipped a fruit roll up in my lunch box. And, as a child, I did cheer upon seeing our van arrive under those golden arches!

We survived. I believe my kids will survive. Far from being child abuse, we believe we are doing our children a favor. We our teaching them an important life skill: "In all things, moderation".

Grocery Prices, Oh My!

Just kidding! Actually, I think that I am adjusting mentally to the weekly increases in something I usually buy. I have vowed to keep our grocery budget under $150 a week for our family of 6, but it is not always easy. You realize where you can make concessions, and where you hold fast. For instance, I am up to buying almost half store brands, and still looking at switching over to more. I have started cutting coupons fanatically (and only coupons for things that I would buy anyway). I have stopped buying ice cream, except for special occasions *sob*. But lest you think that I am giving up everything, we still get our top of the line coffee. No compromise there unless we HAVE TO!

I have begun to think about even more "from scratch" cooking, even though I already do a fair amount. My problem is that when I add up the cost of making some things scratch, it seems even more expensive. I guess the plus is that you only have to store basic ingredients. Less is more, right?

I am just brainstorming this totally random post because Jennie's got me to thinking "What else could I do to get our budget down?"

No solutions here! So I guess we are off to the pool!

Wal-le

The oldest three boys and I went to see this movie over the weekend. I had declared that with the price of movies, we would be waiting to see everything on DVD, but hearing so many good things about this movie peaked my interest too much. And I am the rather impatient sort.

It was worth seeing on the big screen. What those Pixar guys can accomplish with computers is incredible. The stories have solid values with clean humor (rare these days). Pixar movies are the only ones we have ever bought on DVD without even seeing the movie. Wal-le was no exception. As I am sure most have heard, it is a great lesson in the dangers of over consumption. Brennan was so bothered with the trashed Earth that he has picked up his room and made his bed all week long. Without prompting! See, this movie is already paying for itself.

But what really hit me was the secondary moral. The humans are so tuned into their computers that they are missing everything around them. They are missing nature. They are devoid of relationships. The sad part is that relationships and finding God in nature-this is what we are created for. It is nice that we can have nice TVS, video games, and the internet. I know that the blogosphere has made my stay-at-home, homeschooling lifestyle a little less isolating. Yet it is so easy to slip into the habit of making electronics more of a focus than the people in my life.

So Wal-le was a lesson I needed even more than the boys. We went to the park this morning. It would have been easy to say no. After all, it was 85 degrees with 95 % humidity at 9AM. I am behind in laundry and dishes (thanks to working on our family room floor). I honestly would have preferred to stay in my pjs. But with this movie fresh in my mind, we went anyway.

We saw the most beautiful dragonflies. We all sat on the big swing together. We played tag. I also learned that I am in abysmal shape! Agghh!

It was so worth it. So worth it that I am thankful that I paid way too much to see this movie. It was just what I needed to see!

Trials of a Three Year Old

Philip is coloring a Star Wars page. He is such a diligent little worker.

"I want yellow" he says. I hand him a yellow crayon, not really checking to see if it is a true "yellow". It so happens that it is not - it is technically "dandelion".

"This isn't yellow. I want my battle droid to be yellow!" Philip cries out.

After five more tries, we finally find a satisfying "yellow. Ah, if only adult issues were so simple to solve!

I'm Not Alone!

Colin and I have enjoyed these Demotivational posters for some time. It is hard to admit when something so sarcastic is your idea of top notch humor. I am so relieved to see that respected others like Danielle share our style of humor. It makes me feel just a little bit more normal!

My personal favorite one!

And the Winner Is...

We live in a neighborhood full of beautiful parks. It boasts a lovely walking trail which even ventures down to the bayou (Houstonian for "drainage ditch"). We often enjoy taking a stroll down to the little bridge to watch birds, turtles, minnows, and frogs. It is one of the boys' favorite outdoor activities.

As Brennan and Nicholas were toddlers, I often thought that we would assuredly have someone end up in that nasty water one of these days. And with Philip and Jonathan adding to the testosterone levels in our family it became a guessing game of "who would be the first one to do it?".

The answer - Philip. And of course that makes total sense. He is the most innately curious of all four of them. Yesterday he got just a little too close to the bullfrog we saw hopping into the water and SPLASH! I rescued the little guy as he screamed "It bit me!".

No, nothing bit him. He just scraped his leg on a rock as he fell - I'm quite sure it felt like a bite. Time will tell who else will join Philip in his exciting experience. Or if Philip will be right back on the edge of the rock next time.

Actually, I'm betting that he will be!