Et Tu, Tag?

I read this post over at Anchor Rising today (HT Instapundint). It really resonated with me; mainly this quote: THERE'S SOMETHING profoundly sick about a society that aggressively markets sex and violence to children through addictive electronics, but won't let them play tag. I've been reading about this trend of banning tag from the playground for a while. It is going the way of dodge ball, flag football and keeping score in soccer. Too dangerous. Too many hurt feelings. Too many lawyers. Heaven forbid todays kids play a favorite from my child hood, smear the queer, way too many injuries and hurt feelings there. Imagine the outrage... Boy, the playground's become a dangerous place. Thank God someone is stepping in to protect our children. Or, maybe, just maybe, virtual pain would be less enticing if we did't shelter our kids so much from real pain.

Soft Pastels

This is the water putting out the fire. See? The Boys' Uncle is a world renowned artist, so naturally at their cousins house The Boys have access to real art supplies. For instance last Friday they were out front using left over soft pastels (similar to chalk) on the driveway and sidewalk. They were outside for hours. Luke's drawings were mainly of Roman soldiers armed with swords, spears and knives with a few devils with horns and pitch forks thrown in for good measure. The Romans were protecting us from the terrors. When asked by My Aunt visiting from out of town if maybe they could draw some angels, Luke replied 'nope I don't know how to draw angels. I only know how to draw soldiers and devils.' By the time I walked out, My Aunt had drawn a flower. I saw one lonely flower surrounded by solders and terrors. Later in the day they burned it all down by drawing fire on the whole creation and finished off by drawing water on it to put out the fires. I didn't notice if the flower survived... I guess I need to teach My Sons how to draw some angels. Nah. Go Romans! The soft pastels offered a great selection of color. I thought to myself, wow, maybe I need to get The boys a set of soft pastels. That is until it was time to clean up, and I saw this. You think that's bad you should see my hands.

Habits

Our Eldest had decided to do some coloring in the 400 page Super Friends activity book. He began shuffling through pages to pick out the one he wanted to tear out and use. He said to me "Dad, I always start at the back." I said,"Start what hon?" "Looking through my book to find the picture I want." Interesting. When ever I browse a magazine, I almost always read it in reverse. Is this a natural tendency for man, did he pick it up from watching me or have I some how genetically passed this odd behavior to my son? I don't know. I have, however, noticed that Our Youngest displays some of the odd habits and tendencies from my childhood. For instance, My Mom tells the story of how I liked to take things apart, even my crib. Our Youngest is the same way. Whenever Playmobil gets put away, every piece has to be disassembled. We can't leave the hats on, the beards, hair or other accessories. It's all gotta go. (A real hassle 'cause he's not mastered the skill of putting them back together yet.) Luke got a new storm trooper action figure a while back, what was the first thing Yoda did? Pulled it apart. He is always taking things apart. And another? He has been pulling his scabs off since he was able to use his fine motor skills. I know, I know, one I am not real proud of. You can be sure though, he hasn't picked that one up by watching me... ***Bonus completely Unrelated Picture*** Lounging in the Tub

What a wonderful hubby I have....

At home from work today due to the lovely stomach flu. Got virtually no sleep last night and am planning to nap with my youngest in my bed real soon. Hubby disappeared for a while and I found him in our bed. "Need to take a quick nap, honey?" I ask. "No, just warming up this freezing cold bed for you" is his response. I was incredulous. He does regularly warm my side of the bed every night for me, but to think of warming my bed prior to a nap?!? Now that's love! That's one good guy I've got in there! Thank you honey.

Antagonists

I often wonder if my sister worries that I get irritated when Uncle A (her hubby) bothers my sons. But I don’t. Not anymore. Not since I had a revelation after our last visit to her house. I now realize that there is a benefit to, and a reason for, his (and other antagonists’) madness. He is in my sons’ lives to make sure they don’t grow up sissies. With all his razzin’, my kids will be used to being picked on and hopefully will not be as affected by classmate’s teasings later on. The real world definitely has its share of not-so-nice people and I am glad my children can experience some frustration in perfect safety. I also know that this is Uncle A's way of showing that he likes you. And that makes me feel pretty good, to know that he truly enjoys playing with my kids. Now, don't get the wrong idea- A does not, in any way, hurt my kids- just messes with them. As you can see, AW is not yet used to it. But Hayden is. He enjoys it. Now that he's a little older. And one other benefit to his razzin' the kids is that we get to see touching scenes like this.... ...of HL and Aunt K protecting little AW. HL did this totally of his own volition and it almost brought tears to my eyes. AW was on my lap, clearly upset by having frosting smeared on his face. HL came and stood directly in front of his little brother with his arms stretched wide, proclaiming "you can't get him now!" Very touching and reassuring.

To My Sister

I picked this photo just on a whim; thought it was cute. But the more I look at it, the more it represents the strength of my sister to me. It is unlikely this was the first time she ever held me up, and I know for darn sure it wasn't the last time either. In fact, throughout my whole life she's been there to pick me up, cheer me up, hold me up. She's my sanity, my boost, my safety net. And I love her so.

EM turned the big 1!!

Is this kid handsome, or what? Our eventful weekend trip over to Moab, UT, was to celebrate my grandnephew's (oh, that makes me feel so old!) very first birthday. Hadn't seen him since spring, and was awfully surprised at how handsome and advanced my little relative was! What a charmer. Not that I'm surprised, though. He comes from great stock: a mom who is incredibly intelligent, unnaturally wise for her age, able to see the light side of life, a kid at heart, a survivor. Beautiful inside and out. His dad? He is also incredibly smart, full of unending energy, forever witty and fun, athletic, eager to learn and very handsome. To me, EM's birthday meant so much more than just a little boy turning one. It meant that two of my dearest friends are firmly planted as parents now. Yet another item in common, a tighter bond between us. Happy birthday, little EM!

A Peek Inside

Our Eldest brushing his teeth. Ever wonder what's inside someone's medicine cabinet but were afraid to open it? Here's a peek in ours. You mean you've never wanted to look? Check out the bottom shelf. Yep, five toothpastes. Who in the world needs five toothpastes? We've got Mom's Crest, my melaleuca toothpaste, a Spiderman toothpaste that Our Eldest finds too "hot", the replacement Power Rangers toothpaste and a training gel without fluoride for Dasher. And, because you never know where a toothbrush might end up, there is a cup on the counter below with eight of 'em in it. I think we've got the bases covered...

Poser

Yeah, I'm cool. When asked to sit next to his brother on the swing for a picture, Our Eldest refused. Instead, he decided to pose leaning against the stone wall. No sissy pictures on a swing for him. The best part? He is not sulking, he actually posed that way.

Wordless Wednesday