What Andrew's Been Reading Lately (Or, Why I Almost Had a Heart Attack When I Looked on His Nightstand)

What I saw at first glance:

After experiencing some initial shortness of breath, I thought, "Wait.  This is Andrew," and moved the noisemaker to reveal:

...A very poorly titled page about red-footed boobies (birds!) in National Geographic Kids magazine.  Some editor clearly didn't think this through.

The Wallet

One of Steve's old wallets has been flying around here for the longest time.  He gave it to the boys to play with forever ago, and it just got absorbed into the toy jungle and forgotten.

Until recently.

Adam re-discovered the wallet last week and claimed it as his own.  Since then he has carried it with him everywhere and has made sure that it contains all the things a wallet should.

You know, like an expired Kohl's discount card.

And a card he made me write "rednose reindeer" on. (He would not let me write "rednosed" with a "d."  It had to be "rednose.")

A picture of the Mario Bros.

And, of course, an identification card.  Adam was very sad that he didn't have a Ranger Rick membership card like his big brother Andrew.  So Steve made him a (laminated!) Avengers ID card for his wallet.  And Adam could not be happier.

My favorite story about the wallet?  Steve took the kids Christmas shopping for me the other night.  Apparently when they all got to the checkout counter, Adam very solemnly whipped out his wallet, pulled the "Rednose Reindeer" card out, and tried to pay for my gifts with it.

Turns out that a "Rednose Reindeer" card is not accepted as currency at that particular establishment.  That's OK.  They just don't know its real worth.

The Big Dig 2011

So...it's been a while since I've updated the family journal.  It's not that we haven't had anything going on.  Au contraire.  So far I've missed a home improvement entry, a birthday entry, a Thanksgiving program entry, and a major holiday entry.  Why?  Well, the whole "3 kids in 3 different schools" thing has turned out to be a bit bonkers.  Definitely worth the sacrifices -- not complaining -- just bonkers.  (Please, please...pray with us that Adam will get  into Andrew's school next year.) 

Furthermore, we're deep in the heart of birthday/big holiday season around here.  Always a crazy time.  And I am even behind in that because...

Finally, after a year of being completely confounded by all the little loops that previously all looked exactly the same and HOW CAN ANYONE POSSIBLY DO THIS?, I have finally unlocked the secret to crochet.  And my inner 80-year-old is having a field day. She refuses to put down the yarn and crochet hook and get off the couch to do anything.  She does not care if the family blog is updated or not.  She can wait till another time to do frivolous things like "laundry" and "dusting."  She doesn't even really care if the kids' faces *might* look a little dirty.  But I've had a stern talk with her about putting down her crochet and moving over to make room for 37-year-old mommy.  So, before I go give Libby's face a quick swipe with a soapy washcloth, I give you "The Big Dig 2011."

For quite some time Steve has been wanting to add a little brick walkway up the side of the drive.  After thoroughly researching the project, it was time to begin.  He began by digging out the area to be paved.  Soon, he was joined by little helpers.  Lots of little helpers. At one point he had six boys from our street out helping him dig.  Sadly, the only picture I got of this was on my phone, and I am too technologically impaired to figure out how to upload it.  But here are Steve and our boys toward the end of Phase Dig:

After laying gravel and sand and tamping, smoothing, and leveling the whole mess, it was time to lay the bricks:

A little more sand, and voila! The finished product:

The boys could not have been more thrilled to be part of the project, and we could not be more thrilled that they were actually quite helpful!

Stay tuned for the next installment of Pirates and Petunias, coming soon:  "Andrew's Birthday." 

And somebody, please...hide my yarn bag.



Wee Wee Wee

Setting:  The minivan.  Libby is crying over something random.

Steve (trying to use reverse psychology to make her stop):  Libby, can you cry all the way home?

Libby:  NO!

Steve:  Why not?

Libby:  Because I'm NOT a little piggy!

Libby's Lunch Order

Me:  Libby, what do you want for lunch today?

Libby:  A hot dog and no nap!

The Halloween Events of 2011

Halloween 2011 began with a fun kindergarten pumpkin night at Adam's school. All the kindergartners and their families brought their pumpkins to be measured, weighed, and carved. Then everyone took the pumpkins outside, lit candles inside them, and lined up all the jack-o-lanterns in the dark. What a neat family night! Libby even won a prize for having the lightest pumpkin!



Adam's next fun event was Book Character Dress-Up Day at school.  Steve and I tried desperately to convince him to dress up as Hedgie the Hedgehog from the book Hedgie Blasts Off -- to no avail. So Adam went to school decked out as Darth Maul from the classic (ha ha) children's book Lego Star Wars: Darth Maul's Mission.

Our Halloween feast this year was quite spooky.  We had Witch's Hair with Frog-Gut Stew (black and white pasta which looked super creepy but was actually pretty tasty with spaghetti sauce) and Jack-o-Lantern Whoopie Pies.  I brought out a side of garlic bread and asked the kids to guess what it was.  They decided to call it Vampire Repellent, which was quite creative, especially in light of the fact that I was just going to call it "Regular Old Garlic Bread."

However, if you ask the kids, the best part of Halloween Dinner was the Witches' Brew -- root beer floats.

Libby the Sunflower 

Captain America

Darth Vader

Libby could not wait to go trick-or-treating with Ella boss Ella around all night.  Ella seemed to take it all in good stride.  Thank goodness she is a patient little friend!

And Halloween wouldn't be complete without the annual photo of the usual suspects getting ready to shake down the neighbors for some candy...

And that, folks, is our Halloween from soup to Zagnuts.

Lunch

In accordance with my rabid dislike of cooking and food preparation, I thoroughly despise packing school lunches.  Trying to come up with a balanced meal and healthy snack every day that is both portable and edible is not my idea of a good time.  Throw in a picky kid (I don't know where he gets it...ahem), and packing tomorrow's lunches can suck the joy right out of my evening. 

After two years of packing school lunches for Mr. Picky Andrew, I have learned to run certain items by him before tossing them into the lunch bag unless I want to find out they were tossed into the trash at school.  So last week as I was packing lunch for the boys, I was doing my usual preventative questioning as I went: 

"Andrew, peanut butter and jelly or peanut butter and honey? Granola bar or graham crackers?"

Andrew gave his specifications to the nth degree, as usual.

"Adam, sandwich or ravioli?  Peaches or applesauce?  Do you want green peppers for your snack? Chocolate milk or Capri Sun?"

Finally Adam looked up at me, heaved a great sigh, and said, "Geez, Mom, I don't care.  Just pack somethin'."

Wow, lunch packing just got easier by half.  Thanks, Adam!