exciting news

Kim over at The Inadvertent Farmer has announced that she is doing the kinderGARDEN contest again!  Woohoo!  If you've got a garden and kids, or if you just have the kids but would like a garden, I would encourage you to jump in and join the fun.  We had a blast last year and are so excited about participating again this year.

Be sure to check in with Kim over the next few weeks for more details.  See you in the garden!

japan

My heart just aches for the people of Japan.  I find myself praying "Lord...Japan.  Just...Japan."  I just don't have the words.  It's one of those times where the verse about the Spirit helping us pray seems so appropriate. 

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."  - Romans 8:26

"Lord...Japan."

we've created a monster

cleanliness is godliness (?)

Towards bedtime tonight, Kiddo announced, "Mommy, I think I need to take a shower.  I know I just took one last night, but I smell really dirty.  I really need a shower."

How many 7-year-old boys say that?

What he really wanted, however, was not to get clean.

What he really wanted was to stand in the warm water for 20 minutes while he played with his map puzzle.

Oh, my dear child, how you make me laugh.

weekend happenings

Kiddo was a builder extraordinaire last night.

This afternoon, his city was inhabited by a dozen rubber ducks.

The city has some crazy, long name that I can't remember.  But I can assure you that the word "duck" is in it at least once.

We hit Lowes this morning to take advantage of their "Build and Grow" kids workshop and to snag some supplies for a "honey-do" project I've assigned to Hubby.

If you haven't heard about the kids workshops at Home Depot and/or Lowes, you can check them out here and here.  They are on Saturday mornings (once or twice a month, depending on the store), they are free, and they are fun!  The kids get their own Home Depot or Lowes apron and get to practice their hammering skills on pre-cut, usually-perfectly-fitting pieces of wood with lighter, kid-sized hammers.  Kiddo has been going for over three years now and still really enjoys it.  This morning they were making pull-back race cars.

Kiddo finished up his car at about the same time as two girls sitting near us, so the three of them got together and had races down the lumber aisle.

They had so much fun - they raced over and over, congratulating each other whenever their car won, and giggling when their cars ran into a cart or each other.

Will my heart ever stop swelling when I see my son having fun and interacting well with other kids?  He has learned so much in the past two years.

I love that boy to pieces.

After running a couple of errands, we stopped at Chick-fil-A for lunch.

The kids meals have games in them this month.  The game we got?  "Ducks in a Row."

Kiddo was tickled.  Pink.  

We had a great time playing several rounds together after we were finished eating.  (I will note, by the way, that I beat Hubby - barely).  We are so spoiled.  Chick-fil-A is so pleasant, and it's just fun to hang out there as a family...every other fast-food chain just pales in comparison.  Happy sigh...we heart Chick-fil-A.

We picked up some window markers while we were out, so Kiddo tried them out as soon as we got home.

They are fun!  I am dreaming up all kinds of possibilities for them.  Mirrors!  Car windows!  Drinking glasses!  Eye glasses!  Secret messages hidden behind curtains or shades!   

I've been itching to get outside, so I did dash out this afternoon to take care of a few jobs.  I cleaned up the yard a little bit, but it didn't take long until the cold had numbed my fingers and I was forced back inside.  I am getting really anxious for some warmer weather.  Weather like this:

Oh, some day soon.  I hope!

I was planning on Ree's BBQ chicken and pineapple quesadillas for dinner tonight (in our house, appetizers can magically transform into main courses).  However, our BBQ chicken quesadillas became BBQ chicken pizza when a shortage of tortillas was discovered mid-recipe.  Oops.  Not the same thing, but still tasty.

just for fun {more kiddo-isms}

Here are some of my favorite quotes from Kiddo.  These are all from when he was younger - he doesn't have quite as many zingers as he used to.  Hope they make you smile!

"I may be small, but I will grow bigger."

"No way, no way, no way, no way!"
(singing the chorus to "The First Noel")
 

Family friend: "Kiddo, can I see your muscles?"
Kiddo: "No, they're inside me!"

"Oh, boy. Are you sure you want to wear those?" (referring to my sandals)

Kiddo: "Mommy, why don't you like my cereal?"
Me: "Well, why don't you like scrambled eggs?"
Kiddo: "God just made me that way!"

"I don't want to go to school. I want to stay home with you, Mommy, because you're my buddy."

"Supper is very good, Dear.  Thanks for making it!"

"It ouched me!"

"I'm silly because I'm 4. Mommy is 32, but sometimes she's silly anyway."

"Can you hear it, Mommy?"
(with his head pressed up against my ear, trying to get me to hear the song stuck in his head)

Me (while discussing the consequences of not cleaning up): "Does Mrs. Brenda [preschool teacher] put you in time out when you don't help clean up at school?"
Kiddo: "Yeah, if she can find me."

"They need to re-pave this road. It's atrocious!"

"You smell like Mommy. I like the Mommy smell."

"Mom? I'm glad you're my mommy."

"Mommy, if we get a baby, will I still be your favorite boy in the whole world?"

"Daddy is at work. The other daddy is still in bed sleeping."
(2 years old, in a public place...he had an imaginary friend named "The Other Daddy")

mommy and me {crayola factory}

Hubby spent the day skiing with the youth group from church.  I stayed with Kiddo.  It was not a hard choice.  After a couple of attempts at learning to ski as an adult, I decided there are some things that I don't have to do before I die - and skiing is one of them.  It looks like fun, but I just can not get the hang of it.

So Kiddo and I spent the morning at the Crayola Factory.  Kiddo wanted to go because "we ALWAYS go to the Crayola Factory in February."  Once two years ago apparently counts as "always," but it sounded like fun to me, so I didn't argue.  We downloaded a new CD and hit the road.

(It snowed last night.  Again.  The snow gods apparently didn't get the message
that snow isn't allowed after I have found crocus sprouts.)

(waiting at the drying oven)

(The window marker wall.  Yes, the lighting was bad.  And yes, I love the flowers on that woman's purse/diaper bag/whatever it is.)

(painting with melted crayon)

When the crowds started to build up and we felt like we were running out of elbow room, we headed home, making a quick stop to gas up Hubby's car and run it through the car wash so we could surprise him with a clean car and a tank full of gas when he headed out to work tomorrow morning (the swaggerless wagon spent the day with Hubby, hauling teenagers around).

We spent the rest of the day playing with matchbox cars, drawing with newly acquired Crayola markers, and watching "Cars" over a carpet picnic dinner.

It was a good day.  Over the past few weeks, I have felt like I haven't been connecting with Kiddo very well, so it was nice to have him all to myself for a few hours, away from the distractions of computer games, e-mail, housework, Wii and laundry, doing something that we both enjoy. I'm hoping I can do a better job over the next few weeks - he's growing up too fast to take even the ordinary days that I have with him for granted.