yesterday:
guitar lessons.
monsters vs. aliens.
new chucks.
barnes and noble.
kid's choice awards.
ice cream for dessert.

today:
Cavs on tv.
pizza for lunch.
soccer with dad.
magazines for mom.
settlers of catan.
popcorn.
pop.
baseball - batting cages.
youth group.
waffles with blueberry sauce for dinner.
ignoring the fact that tomorrow is monday and spring break is over...

Isn't She Lovely

It's like my old truck went and got an extreme make-over...
She is currently nameless, Jared has deemed naming the truck his job,
and yet only suggested things like "FloRida"...
sooo that's still in the works,
but it's a huge blessing going into sports season
(5 soccer teams, and 2 baseball teams worth) with two cars.
ahhh...happy day.
:)

Sleep-in Break

Currently enjoying having my boys home for Springbreak...
be back later.

ps. and for the record...I'm not home drinking that's a Shirley Temple. :)

Jack.
The only one that will still pose for unnecessary photos for absolutely no reason.
Oh, how I love that about him.
I wonder how much more time I have before he revolts like his older brothers...
my guess is not much.

Conversation last night in bed before falling asleep:
Me: "I think we should try to eat less meat. It would be cheaper. I'm not saying no meat. Just less."
Col: "Yeah, just come up with some meatless recipes and we can figure it out."
"Well, that's the hard part, you guys don't like vegetables."
"I like broccoli now."
"I know, that's awesome. I want eggplant though."
"Make eggplant parmesan...I think I'll like it breaded."
"What? You gagged the last time I fed you eggplant. You actually gagged. You gagged, and took all the vegetables off the sandwich and ate a mayonnaise and lettuce sandwich."
"I know, but aren't you glad I gave you something to still laugh at today? ...I really like broccoli."
"Yeah ok, then I'll just fix a big bowl of broccoli and cauliflower for dinner. How's that sound?!?"
"No...no cauliflower...just the broccoli."
"Ugh... Good-night!"

If anyone has any good meat-free recipes please share them with me. Please.
Anti-vegetable kid-friendly ones.
Yes.
They can include broccoli....

Wandom Wednesday

one. Jack comes home from school and paints everyday.
(until Coley gets home, and then they go outside...because nothing can compete with dirt)

two. Jared got written up on the bus THREE times yesterday. for switching seats.
the bus driver said not to switch seats when the bus was moving. he interpreted that as when the bus was stopped, he could move. I am led to believe the driver meant do not leave your seat.

three. conferences tomorrow at school. I'm trying to decide the battles to fight, and what to let go. I'm sure I will begin the homeschool debate (again) tomorrow night.

four. Jared is really smart at math and science, and yet he broke my microwave the other day by heating leftovers ... leftovers with FOIL on them.
(and he got written up on the bus. did I mention that? brilliant)

five. we need another car. stat. I am soooo over the one car thing . momma needs a new truck.

six. I need to workout. my workout hiatus needs to be over now(ish). opting to start "next Monday" is not working...seven. I've noticed lately that my husband has become increasingly more food safety conscience in my house. he has decided that I positively can not have the lunch meat in the same drawer of the fridge as the raw meat (double bagged raw meat in defense of me) this is only funny to me because I'm the one that is normally overly concerned about food borne illness.
now I'm throwing E-coli caution to the wind and he's nervous.

eight. Jack is still ticked off that Colin refused to take us to the monster truck show last weekend. "his only excuse was it was going to be loud....he could have just shoved some ear plugs in...geez!" poor guy. I'll take him next time.

nine. rainboots are the best thing ever. now I want a raincoat.

ten. I'm going to shut-up now and go outside and sit in the SUN and read my new book...
happy Wednesday!

spring = love

2 of my favorite things...
my youngest coming home from school with a fistful of flowers...
declaring "they're back! they're back! the dandelions are back!"
and
getting to use one of the beakers.
nothing says I love you more than glassware.
and weeds.
at least not to me.

magazines always sneak in...

The fields this weekend were a little way too wet to play on, so no soccer. (again...sigh)
Spring in Arkansas we are discovering is rainy.
very
very
rainy.
We went to Barnes and Noble instead.
Everyone got a book, except Col, who doesn't so much love reading.
I'm very much trying to make Jack love it.
(as if that was possible)
so far I'm failing,
and he is taking after his Dad.
who is incredibly smart...
(considering his aversion to books)
so I guess that's not really a bad thing.

Little Mister Jolie

I knew that the removal of the white paper from the table would not be well received...
so I just replaced it with some conversation starters.
coincidentally stouffers has some online here...
not that I have any ties with Nestle,
or umm...stouffers...
(wink)
but yeah, they have like ten of them.
(Colin...hello, 10? how about a few more.)
so, yes. I just found lots (from different places),
printed them, and cut them into not-very-neat little strips.
I know y'all can be much more creative with the execution.
me. not feeling the need.

the boys all think this is pretty cool.
I will say they enjoy certain questions more than others
"What kind of superpowers would you want to have and why?"
a much bigger hit than questions like -
"What is one nice thing you did for someone else today?"
in fact I think Jack answered that last one with
"does it have to be today? can it be last week?"
excellent. one of the questions last night was:
"If you could invite three famous people to dinner, who would they be and why would you like to have them to dinner?"

Jack - "David Beckham because I want to be a professional soccer player. James Bond (having a little trouble grasping that he's the character, not the actual actor) because I might want to be an actor, and Tom Cruise because I want to be cool like him, but minus all the crazy."

Colten - "David Beckham because I want to be a professional soccer player. Angelina Jolie because she's hot, and Gordon Korman because I like his books."

Jared - "Ronaldinho. (yes, because they all want to be professional soccer players) Will Farrell, because just seeing him makes me laugh, and Stephanie Meyer or maybe Fabio from TopChef."

I said (and lets not dwell on my shallow answer please) "Martha Stewart of course because I love her... and probably just Brad and Angelina. they can bring the kids because that would just be fun"

Colten "Mom..."
Me- "Just a second, it's Daddy's turn"

Colin "Michael Jordan (Col loves MJ). Don Mattingly because he was my favorite baseball player growing up, and Rainn Wilson in the character of Dwight."

Colten - "Mom"
Me - "Yes Coley"
"umm...are Brad and Angelina married?"
"Yes, they're married buddy, they have kids"
"CRAP!"

Sorry dude.

Agent Michael Scarn

(in typical Colten fashion)
Last Thursday evening Cole casually mentioned that the following day for school he needed to dress up as a character in a book he's reading.
dude.
dress up?
the next day?
seriously?
thanks for the heads up.
So, I instantly said he could be Harry Potter.
(I knew we still had that costume from when Jared was little)
he replied with no way "I hate Harry Potter".
which is true, and he hasn't actually read the books (details)...
were there by chance any 10 year old boys in the book being read?
or,
soccer players?
no, and no.
but there was an FBI agent.
so Colten got to wear his beloved and never worn suit.
and I got to call him Michael Scarn...

winwin.

(He really was NOT Michael Scarn....btw)
*Agent Michael Scarn is the star of Threat Level: Midnight, a derivative spy/action hero screenplay written and illustrated by Michael Scott. He had kept it hidden in his desk drawer until it was discovered by Pam without his knowledge.
A thinly-veiled portrayal of himself, Michael also adopts the persona in one session of his improv comedy class, ignoring the rule to base his dialogue off of his scene partners, and ultimately shooting everyone in the room, regardless of their participation in the scene.

New Office tonight....and no soccer practice because of snow.
Happy Thursday!

it's because I really like him...

(I am not exaggerating when I say my kid is huge)

while the teenage years come with hormones, and vanity....I fail to allow teenager to be an excuse for bad attitude.
talking back will just never fly.
Jared forgot this, and ended up losing his cell phone Sunday for his horrifically bad attitude.
instead of accepting his punishment and letting it go.
he continued to mouth off.
with each sentence he yelled,
I just replied with "another day then?!"
It ended with me getting his phone for seven days.
SEVEN.
hello slow learner.....
and yes, I felt like dick...er....richard vernon.

Richard Vernon: You're not fooling anyone, Bender. The next screw that falls out will be you.
Bender: Eat my shorts.
Richard Vernon: What was that?
Bender: Eat... My... Shorts.
Richard Vernon: You just bought yourself another Saturday.
Bender: Ooh, I'm crushed.
Richard Vernon: You just bought one more.
Bender: Well I'm free the Saturday after that. Beyond that, I'm going to have to check my calendar.
Richard Vernon: Good, cause it's going to be filled. We'll keep going. You want another one? Just say the word say it. Instead of going to prison you'll come here. Are you through?
Bender: No.

thank you Breakfast Club....
disciplining this age....is just so much more difficult then with little ones. challenging to say the least.

Last night his varsity team had a game and he "needed" a phone so he could call when the game was done.
I handed him my phone.
my pink phone.
I think he considered arguing cruel and unusual punishment, but opted to take the phone and shove it in his pocket.
It wasn't until Colin texted him later to find out how much time was left
and my Britney Spears ringtone went off, that I think he decided that being nice was the way to go...
because his mom.
she is horribly mean.

Jack Benjamin Blaise

interview with Jack about his favorites at eight...
favorite color: orange
favorite food: hibachi chicken, potatoes (mashed and baked) and jello favorite tv show: Sponge Bob
favorite things to do: "playing outside with Jamison and Colten. sports. and video games"
favorite subjects in school: math and science
favorite major league sports team: the Cubs
the past 3 birthdays have been spent bowling. this birthday we all picked "power animals" (little too much fantasy factory) to "help" with our game. lots of orca sounds were made. Jack. taking photos of his cake while I was trying to take photos of him.

in other news.
Jack is clearly in need of a haircut, as is his momma.
and
Jared has lost his cell phone this week. yes. the whole week.

between the the birthday, the four soccer games, a basketball game, 2 guitar lessons, and the 2 and a half hour baseball practice this weekend, I'm still struggling to get caught up with everything that is involved in keeping a home....
so. that's all I've got today.

oh. and ETA: essie - mermaids actually. mermaids were in/on the cups. they really were just there to be festive. I got them at World Market awhile back. they're drink markers, but I thought they were cute. and decided while pulling out a little of this and a little of that to include them. cuz that's how I roll.

marigold is my favorite yellow

the white paper "tablecloth" was a huge hit.

in fact,

a new one is on the table now...

I think the boys would prefer I just leave it there permanently.

8 is Great!

Jack "Eight is great for lots of reasons."
"Probably the best one is now I can tryout for travel soccer."Jack
shiny-happy-can't sit still-hysterically funny-sensitive-story telling-brilliant-movie/commercial/tvshow quoting-spongebob/tom and jerry loving-hungry-hungry-creative-mathematical-lover of words-baseball soccer basketball playing-sweet natured-slow moving-vegetable hating-lets me call-him banana-still loves his oldbaby-wonderful-wonderful
Jack
my baby.
is eight. today.
can you believe it?
I hardly can....
Happy Birthday Jack Banana!
we love you like crazy.
(official real birthday post to follow later)

Not without much Love...

last week Jack came home very excited.
he talked non-stop about the book they had read in class about rabbits,
and how the teacher had gotten not one, but two rabbits for the class.
how they had each chosen a name,
and voted as a class.
and his girl name won.
Sophie.
a good name he thought.
the most exciting part?
each child would get to bring a rabbit home for a night.

I paused.
"a real rabbit?"
thinking I had yet to work up to allowing the dog the boys have begged for,
and now the teacher was springing house rabbits on me.
"nooooo mom...a stuffed wabbit"

and so yesterday,
a very excited Jack bound through the door with Copper.
the very stuffed wabbit.
"he has to go everywhere with me mom"
Copper went to dinner with us at McAllisters last night, for the school fundraiser.
to basketball practice and then to baseball practice.
he missed out on the shower, but went straight to bed after Jacks.
the best was hearing Jack talk excitedly about the
"weason for the wabbit, and the stowy about the wabbit"...
and saying "dad! you get to hold the wabbit during baseball"
Colin holding that light blue bunny made me smile.
Colten informed me that he would never consider holding that rabbit, or bringing it with him anywhere people might actually see...
But Jack
he loved it.
and was excited by the magic of it.
of the story that came to life...
and he relished his time with that wabbit.
even on the way to school he said he was so happy he still got to spend the day with the wabbit before passing it off to the next boy in class for their turn...
that's Jack.

I've sat down to blog all week.
and I've actually for a change had plenty to say.
I planned on talking about the odd dream I had.
(involving twins, Coley being called Rocco and a mall)
how we went truck and sofa shopping last weekend.
(not fun at all)
my trip to WalMart.
(I think I talk about this weekly, nothing new)
the similarities the boys share with Colin and me.
(I will get to that post eventually)
and
I've had a photo frame link I wanted to post that Erin sent me.
I've written the posts in my head while cleaning.
and showering.
and cooking.
then I've sat down.
and not been able to write a thing.

This week.
weighs on my soul.
and yet.
it arrives during a week of such excitement here.

Alex died the day before Jack's birthday.
I didn't want to forevermore associate the two, or have him feel my sadness....
but I inevitably knew that they now would forever be fused.
and yet.
God gave me the opportunity to have my bright and shiny baby be my distraction.
and at the same time, my gentle reminder.
He knew I would need that.
that focus for the week.
the planning.
the energy that a little one gets when anticipating their special day,
gives me peace.
and makes me focus on Jack.
just like I did three years ago.
I'm not sure if that makes me selfish.
it might.
but I know it is the way I will forever deal with this week,
for my Jack.
and for me.

as I picked out the table decorations yesterday,
I smiled and knew that Al was happy with my choices.
I'm sure she nodded at the decision I made to go with the white paper for the tabletop,
and crayons...
because well,
Jack loves to draw.
like both of us.
and I got the confetti.
and the cokes in bottles.
and I laughed at my small son's birthday request...
for "a scavenger hunt like Coley had"
no present request.
just a request of my time.
and my love.
and that my son I can honor.
with all of me.

Today.

soccer was cancelled this weekend,

but for some reason the boys weren't too upset.