It's September!!!

Simon habitually and innocently puts his clothes on backwards.

And, off we go- regardless.

A big pile of junk outside awaiting bulk-trash pick up one morning.

So thankful for city services!

Two silly boys on their way to Medieval Times.

Marveling at the castle

Funny Simon quote the other night out of nowhere,

"Mom, cook me up some chicken casserole."

Dallas Infomart - Matt used to work here.

Simon to Matt one night when Matt was working on the kitchen:

"Dad, what are you doing in the bottom cupboards?  Cupboard is another word for cabinet."

He learned that from "Old Mother Hubbard"

Our birthday present to Simon was taking him and a friend to Medieval Times.  A great investment!  They had a great time and made lots of memories!  And, best of all, the gift doesn't take up cubic space in our home!

Simon on Evie one day when we were playing outside, but she was still asleep:

"Can you get Evie out here?  I want her to be out here."

We've been blessed that they usually play so well together.  I think the age and gender difference has lended itself well here!  

When we went to Kindergarten "Pre-View" Night, I commented how much Evie and I would miss Simon and about how great he was with Evie, helping with her and entertaining her, etc.  One of our new friends quipped that Simon would love Kindergarten, then, because it would be like a break for him from his 'job.'  Ha ha.  Very true.

Simon does come home and has to help out with chores, and Evie is having to help more.  Today she unloaded and put up all of the plastic-ware from the dishwasher.

I told the boys to make a scary face ...

They were mesmerized!

And, would you believe they didn't mind the absence of silverware?

Our life is getting a new routing now that Simon goes to school in the morning.  It is so weird for it to be early in the morning and for so much to have already happened.  I am actually WAITING for stores to open on the weekday that I have to do errands.  I used to struggle to get the kids to a store by 10 ... now I am waiting for it to BE 10.

And partly that is b/c Evie's new naptime routine has to be strict in its beginning - no later than 12 so that she can get in a good nap before we pick up Simon from school.  So this leaves little wiggle room in the morning for errands.

I still might find a way to run errands w/out kids, because Evie is not as easy as Simon was to take into different places.  He would sit contentedly in any stroller, any shopping cart, for any length of time.   We'll have to work on that, of course, but I may also find peace in working around it, too :)

Yesterday Evie pushed around a little child's shopping cart at the grocery store and did quite well, so that may be how we cope with her.  We may just let her do the work.

Updated Kitchen pic.  Now we have a vent-a-hood so I need to take a new picture soon.

Another change since Kindergarten has rolled around is the definition to my days.  No, I don't mean that now I have to get out of bed and dressed for those who think stay at home moms are just lazing around all day eating Little Debbie cakes and watching soap operas.  I find staying at home with one and now two children much more difficult and exhausting than teaching middle-school math ever was....besides, I'm not sure I even know how to turn on our television.

What I mean by definition, is that I experienced a weekend for the first time last week.  I haven't had a weekend in 5 years!  A weekend day that actually looked different that a weekday!  The weekend wasn't easier, just different, hence, the 'definition.'

My little sweet duo

We've started a devotional book with Simon that we check off each day and that he 'writes' a prayer in each day.  It's more structured than our previous Bible story-time at night.  When Simon prays, we write/journal it for him.  It is also helping him with his writing and reading skills to see us writing what he has said, and the he is able to read it back to us.

There was one ridiculous prayer-story that I'll recount for you.

Simon:  Dear God, Please help the people on Mars.  I don't know if they have wives or husbands.  (The lesson had been on Naomi and Ruth that night.)  Maybe Kellie Hill (a friend of mine recently engaged.)  In Jesus Name, Amen.  With a line and a dot (that means an exclamation point)

Simon:  (to Matt)  Did you write that?

Matt:  No because it didn't make any sense.  Try again.

So, here is a great home-tip for washing items that have to be handwashed.

I usually wait FOREVER to get around to this.

One reason it takes so long to hand-wash things is because I used to wash them in a sink.  So, my sink had to be REALLY clean for me to feel safe washing things in it.  So, I would bleach my sink.  Then, I wouldn't want to wash things in it, right away, you know, in case the bleach somehow was still hanging around and it would bleach my clothes.

I was thinking last week, do I have another container I could use to wash this big collection of delicates in ....?

Lightbulb moment:  my washing machine.  It is designed for clothes.  And my agitator won't turn on if the lid isn't closed.  So, I just washed it all in the washing machine with the lid open!   Oh, the discoveries that make my days!

 

Simon has written and illustrated several books.

This is his first comic strip.

Sorry the pictures is out of focus.

You'll just have to believe me when I recount that the text was riveting and the illustrations captivating.

Multi-tasking as we water our lawn and get in some playtime.

Matt has done a great job getting our grass in the front yard (runners) and transplanting them to the backyard.  We're making progress in getting 'good' grass in the backyard now!  Yay!  It used to just be Asian Jasmine ... a nice shady hide-out for bugs and not very soft walking surface.

Picture proof that these two buddies aren't always silly.

One of the funniest things that Simon has taken from Kindergarten is a fixation with the word and concept of 'ACTIVITIES.'  It is a new word to him and very special.  

Mom:  What was your favorite thing about school today?

Simon:  ACTIVITIES!

Mom:  Well, everything is an activity.  What activity did you like the most?

Simon:  Can I go to the "After Bell" program?  They get to do ACTIVITIES!

Mom:  No, because I want to see you when school is out.

Simon:  Pllleeeassse?  I want more activities.

THEN, literally, in the middle of the night, in his sleep, he mutters,

"I want to do activities."

In the morning when Simon leaves, Evie and I go into his room and I straighten his bedroom and make sure it is clean.  It usually is - I mean, how messy could it get in a half hour or so?  Then, I pray for him and his day ... and then I SHUT THE DOOR.  One room, guaranteed to be clean until 3:30 at least!  Yes!

Evie takes care of this baby.  She has two outfits and they are both two of my favorite dresses of Evie's when she was that little.  She was that little, wasn't she?

I am enjoying cooking in a kitchen again.

This was a cream of potato soup, and it was yummy.

My friend Sally came over and helped me eat the family-size serving it made.

This is one of our favorite things to make with our costco supply of spinach.  By the way, I am not sure if we have ever officially used a whole container of spinach before it expired.  This recipe calls for 1 pound of spinach, which is half of the container, so it helps me put it to use.

It is Real Simple's "Spinach Pesto."  It is scrumptious.  We all like it, even Simon, though we nicknamed it Frog Noodles or something for him.  Evie has liked it in the past, but this last time she wasn't really diving in.  It calls for a tb. of lemon zest, and it actually makes a yummy difference.  My friends Rachael and Terri and I were surprised that the ingredient was actually necessary and not just a mindless add-on.

This brings to mind that I need a citrus zester.

My little grater just isn't doing the trick very well!

Brown sugar and cinnamon and apples in a dough pillow with vanilla ice-cream on top.

Yum.

This was a bad experiment.

I read a home-tip that included a special treat for the kids - soaking sugar cubes in lemon extract (high alcohol content) and then lighting then on their bowl of icecream.

Maybe I was supposed to just put one sugar cube on a bowl?

And maybe we should have immediately blown it out.

Anyway, it was fun to watch, not to eat of course, unless you didn't mind eating something that smelled carcinogenic.

Church on Sunday - taking a picture with childhood friend Amber who was visiting her family that day.

And Rusty was at church visiting his 'family,' too.

Evie at the pediatrician's office this week.

I finally gave in to my wonders about the 3 1/2 week persistent cough, sneezing, and colored runny nose.  Verdict:  we hope allergies and he gave her some prescription samples that I am too nervous to give her.  It is for XYZAL.  Matt takes this prescription sometimes because it has a decongestant in it that doesn't raise blood pressure like the over the counters do.  Anyway, it makes you REALLY tired and I just can't make myself give it to her yet.

Well, why Simon is indulging in all kinds of activities at school, I am making sure that Evie is not deprived.  Last week, for one activity, I painted her fingernails a nice shade of fuschia.  For another activity, we put hot curlers in my hair to see what would happen.  Evie likes to watch and participate in anything 'girly.'  

If she is having a meltdown, my makeup bag and a fresh application of Burt's Bee's chapstick on her lips will usually appease all wrongs.

Yes, Evie, I might be scared of you when you become a teenager.

Or even a tween.

Going down the slide for the first time solo!

She's not scared anymore!  And I'm not scared of her falling anymore, either!

(As long as it is the little kiddie slides)

Simon is really into money lately.  He doesn't really have a concept of it, and if you ask what he is going to do with all his money, at this point, his reply is to buy a friend a birthday gift.

  Nevertheless, he loves to collect money.  Last night I caught him sleeping with his dollar bill that was his reward this week.  

I promised him a green dollar bill the first day he came home from school with no stains or food on his clothes.  He has a bad habit of forgetting to use his napkin.  

Now that he has mastered a clean shirt, we'll be moving on to rewarding another kind of behavior.  We're waiting for the first day he has a 'GREEN' day at school -- that means no warnings or anything from the teacher.  Most days are 'YELLOW' which means there was one or two times he had trouble listening or following directions or sitting 'criss-cross applesauce.'

Simon actually made $2 at IKEA a few weeks ago from another kids in the play-area.  Don't worry, I didn't let him keep the monies.  I just thought it was funny that they had some sort of financial interaction.  And, now we have another 'rule,':  Don't make money without our permission.