Subway

It's no news to anyone who knows Ares, that Subway (or, Subway-Eat-Fresh, as he calls it) is his favorite restaurant.  McDonalds?  No.  Subway? Yes.

We've started making our own Subway sandwiches at home to save money.  He's still happy, and so are we.  The key, is to get every condiment and meat and cheese out of the refrigerator and line it up, so he can pick what he wants, just like at the counter of the restaurant. A little extra time, a lot less $$.

We're at Walmart, in the checkout aisle. It's around 11:30: (Where there's a Subway.)
Ares: Mom, I'm hungry.  No, I'm staaaarving mom.  Can I get Subway?
Me: No, you didn't eat your breakfast (at 10).  I told you, you can't eat whenever you want to.  You need to eat when everyone else eats.  You don't get your own special meals. 
           **He spent the last 5 days in Cincinnati.  We can always tell when he's back from  grandma's house.  At least his teachers won't mention anything this time!! Sorry Auntie Cindy! haha.**
Ares: No, I mean, when I get home, can I get Subway at home?
Me:  Yes, when it's time for lunch, we can make you a Subway Sandwich. 
Ares:  Wheeeee!!  *Running out of the checkout aisle and gets three lanes away*
Me:  Ares!  Stop!  Where are you going?!?
Ares: To the cheesemaker!! We need salami!!
Me: Ares, you're only three, no one can see you over the deli counter, besides, we have salami at home.
*the guy behind us in line thought he was funny*

I think it's hilarious that he calls everyone at the Deli counter 'cheese makers'.  It's because they give him a piece of cheese when we're up there.

Merry Christmas 2012

I've been MIA for a while because we've been in Cincinnati for the Holidays.  It started on Friday - after it took us each 2 hours to drive home from work due to the 2-4" that turned into roughly 8".  We got off to a late start, but once we hit Columbus, it stopped snowing and the roads were better, so we got to the house around 1AM.   With Santa waiting on the zip line platform for Ares, Christmas lights and lasers to welcome us.   After a 2 minute talk with "Santa" we pull around to the front of the house and Ares says "Santa sounds a lot like Grandpa Doug".  Haha,

We got to see lots of friends and Adam's family this weekend.  Ares played with his 'girlfriend' Evelyn for an evening and the rest of us socialized with some good food and drink (Adam made Paella for friends and family).  YUM!!

My favorite picture of the weekend.  It was a Ninja Turtle Christmas.

From the Dollar Store.  One of his favorite things to play with. 

Swords are always a win. 

Adam won the Left Right Pot game.  $69  Ares was enjoying some of the winnings too. 

Grandma Jean and Papa Jim got Ares the Madagascar 3 Movie with the afro. 

Catching rainbows. 

Big Paella Dinner made by Adam

they had fun.  and with a little bribery they cleaned it all up themselves

All 4 brought PJ's to change into at the party on Christmas Eve. 

This kid is LOVED.  He got a tablet, a large work bench, 2 wall tracks, clothes, EVERYTHING ninja turtle, movies, books, scooby doo things, Incredible Hulk things.... and we haven't even celebrated christmas with my family yet. 

Probably my second favorite picture of the weekend. I just wish my hair was combed! This is Adam's sweet sweet grandmother.   =)

Dork - How Many Squares

Hello, I am all things dork.  I admit it, hell, I'm a senior analyst.  For an insurance company.  There's no hiding.  A number crunching-code monkey.   Which is why - I am always second guessing myself.   Have you seen that box of squares going around Facebook?   This one?

Well, some people are coming up with 45, some can only get 24.  I'm trying to get to that 45 number, but I. just. can't.  All I can come up with are 36.  Am I missing something? Or is the answer 36?  I'm going with 36.  Final Answer.

****  UPDATE ****

Apparently Dorkage runs in the family, as my brother (and Kristin) both noticed 4 blocks that I missed.   See below:

Worries

I put Ares to bed last night.  As usual, I talked to Mousie (or, as the last week has gone, "Ballpark".  Because apparently one evening, Mousie and Ballpark switched names.)  We put him to bed really early, because he got out of his bath early, so I talked to Mousie for about 10 minutes.  What he did that day, what the plans were for the next day, and, since we haven't been to Cincinnati in a while, I expanded into Friday, and what we were going to be doing on that day.    This entire time, he's complaining that he's hungry.  Never mind he had a yogurt, a piece of chocolate, a sucker two glasses of juice and a HUGE plate of fettichine Alfredo for dinner.   He must have cried, whined and complained 8 times that he was still hungry. He didn't want water, but I told him he was done eating until the morning.  I told him he makes me very happy, and he responds "You make me happy too *deep breath*  but you know what else would make me happy?  Some food."     Bwaahahaha.  Sly little guy.  I told him he can decide what he wants to eat for breakfast and tell me in the morning.

We did our 'family hug', got tons of hugs and kisses (and, of course, returned the hugs and kisses) and I got up to leave.   "Mom?".   "Yes Ares?"  "What about those kids who died?  The ones with blood on their shirts?"  *sigh, sitting back down*    All he knows is 40 seconds of the news and a brief 2 minute conversation with me (which was more of me reassuring him that we are around to protect him).   Why must a three year old not forget things like this?  When will he stop thinking about it?  How will I know if he is thinking about it? He only says something every few days. 

"Well, kid, you know how you love school because you get to play with your friends all day?" 
"Mmmhmm - I like to play with Colt and Davis and Lukas and Kenny."
"Well, all of these kids are in Heaven with their friends.  It's like they're in school all day long, and they get to play all day long."  (Why did I pull out the Heaven card?  Beats me.  I'm not even sure that I believe, but it just seemed easier at the time.  If he wants to believe, then that's great.  The kid can believe in whatever religion he chooses.)
"What's Heaven?"    (I should have known that would come next.  Me, PSR/CCD drop out should not be the one to explain these things.)
"Well, it's a place where people go when they die."
"What about the bad guy." 
"Oh, no, not bad guys.  That bad guy does NOT get to go to Heaven.  He will never be by kids again."
"Yeah, because he's bad.   But that is so far away mommy."
"Yes, baby, it is so far away.  Mommy and Daddy are here to make sure you stay safe."
"And Ballpark"
"Yes, and Ballpark."   (Although, I have no idea if he means Ballpark or Mousie.)
"And Mousie"
"Yes, Ares, and Mousie"
"And Grandma and Grandpa"
"Yes, kid, now stop worrying and go to sleep."  *as I walk away*
"OK mommy, I love you, can I have another kiss and hug?"
"Anytime"

Fast forward to this morning.  Ares wakes up, and says "I've decided what I wanted for breakfast.  Raisin bread with butter and yogurt."  Glad that's what he thought about last night. 

Mom... What Can I Do?

This is my kid's way of telling me that he's bored.  That or he just flat out asks "Crash cars with me?"

On weekends, here's Ares favorite way to pass the time.  His balance is getting really good, he loves to do it, and I only freak out once or twice (well, verbally, I'm nervous on every jump he's gonna bite his tongue or hit his head or not land on something soft/feet etc). 

I'll be honest.  Last week I was (unknowingly) coming down with the flu (which explains the sudden exhaustion) and this weekend I was still taking 2 or 3 naps a day from the flu.  So Ares wants to entertain himself?  Well, OK! No problem!  Daddy, get out the camera.  But please, next time, take less than 300 pictures so I don't have to search through all of them to find ones to post?   Thanks!

Air Guitar!

Perfect landing!

Thank goodness there were pillows down there on this jump.

He calls this is 'Barrel Roll'

I just LOVE his smile!

Exhausted - for now....

An Update

As Adam got home from work, Ares runs up to him and explains 'the happenings' as he knows it.   Apparently a really bad guy hurt some kid and now they're all dead.  The kids have blood on their shirts (not sure where that came from) and the bad guy is dead (with hand motions of him getting hit in the head and falling over staring up at the sky - again, I'm not sure where that came from).    Adam tells him he has heard, and that it happened really far away from here (wish I would have thought of that the first time I explained it - doh!) 

Ares didn't mention it at all the rest of the night, nor on Saturday, but on Sunday, he comes down from his nap (which he did not sleep at all, just read books) asking why the kids all died.   So again, I explained that the very bad guy cannot hurt anyone anymore and that mommy and daddy will always keep him safe.  At first I thought I did a good job of explaining and alleviating fears that he might have, but now I wonder.  How much is he thinking about this?  40 seconds of the news. Max.  It may have been less that he has seen.   I will never underestimate the things that this kid might pick up anymore on TV or on the Radio.  Our kids are bright.  It makes me really hope that the parents of the kids who were in the school that day take their children to counselors. 

Horrific. Absolutely Horrific.

It's not news to anyone what happened this morning in CT.  The most horrific thing any parent (can't) even imagine.  Sending your child to school, and not having them come home that day.  Such a tragedy.  More than once today, it brought tears to my eyes.  I was so preoccupied listening to the radio on the way home, that I missed my exit.  This brought me to tears, lol.  All I wanted to do was hold and hug my kid.  So an extra 5 minutes, I got to give my kid a hug and a kiss.  He asked me to carry him to the car, I always say no, but this time, I was more than happy to.  20 families cannot do that tonight.  20 families of students only a year or two older than my kid.  They're just children! Babies!

We got home, and I asked him to go play with his cars.  I didn't think he was old enough to understand or to explain this situation to, although, a part of me wanted to tell him if he sees anyone with a gun, to run the other direction and hide.  I wasn't sure how to bring this up without scaring him.

He walked into the room in the middle of the newscast.  I asked him to leave, and he says "No mommy, I need to understand this.  I need to know why this happened. Mom, I need to know!!"  I really haven't seen Ares be so adamant about anything like this before.   So I paused the news and told him that a very bad person did some very bad things to kids his age.  (I left out the school part.) I let him know that the bad guy killed himself and that he can't hurt any one else.

This is when he decides to hit himself in the head, fall over, stick his tongue out and stare up at the ceiling for a good 40 seconds without talking or moving.   I asked him what he's doing, and he says that 'the bad guy died like that.'   I wasn't sure how to react.

He follows with an explanation that if he sees a bad guy with a gun, he's going to grab his long sword and 'hit the bad guy and get my - and save all my friends so our mommies don't cry and we can see them again.'  Apparently the 45 seconds of the news that he watched, he picked up A LOT more than I would have ever imagined.

I took the moment to explain that if he sees a person with a gun, that he needs to run away and follow directions that adults tell him.  If he's in a cartoon, or in his playroom, or dreaming in his sleep, then he can go ahead and get his sword or nun-chucks and play, but if he really sees someone with a gun "what do you do?" Ares: "Do this!" (And he runs away as fast as he can).  I guess that's the best that I can ask for.   The disturbing thing about my son, he wants to see the blood.  That scares me.  I had to lie and say there wasn't a lot of blood, and that news cameras don't show blood.

Babies, these children are just babies.  Babies of people just like me.  My heart goes out to each and every one of them.  I can only hope that this country does more with mental health programs.

Super-immunity

Not me.  I have the flu.  I had my flu shot earlier this season, so I didn't get hit too hard, but the exhaustion and the upper respiratory issues I've had are terrible!  Supposedly I got it from Anna and Cassie (whom we had dinner with on Saturday night), as they are both sick, but Ares, who ran around the house with them for a good two hours hasn't gotten anything.  *knock on wood*.   This kid (aside from allergies, of course) has a super-immunity to sickness.  *knock on wood again* 

I am so grateful it was me and not him that got it.  Not a single thing I took was able to make me better.  I had to take a day and a half off of work, and am still not feeling better, although, I have managed to stay awake for longer than 3 hours at a time today.  That's good!   Stay healthy out there!!

Phone Pix

Santa at Wings and Strings

Ares making his gingerbread house at Lowe's.



Ares making cookies at Grandma Venus' house.

He was very meticulous - he had to use the sprinkles in the same order that they appeared in the sprinkle container (5 or 6 different kinds of sprinkles) even though most of the sprinkles actually landed next to the cookies.



"Mom, I Love You But....

... I'm not going to get the mail with you today."    On Friday it was "...I didn't want to put paint on my foot."   (I guess it was a classroom project.)

Anytime he knows he's going to say something that might hurt my feelings, he either starts with "Mom, I love you but" or he ends with "but I still love you.".   It's nice to hear.  OK, I lie, it's the best thing EVER to hear - my kid telling me he loves me.

He's Write!

Ares and I went to watch Adam play soccer yesterday, and during the second half, he asked if he could write my name.  Fortunately, he happens to know how to write every letter in my name.  He knows about 8 or 9 letters, but all 5 in my name.  So here's his rendition of "ATHENA".   Remember, he's only 3.  The whole spacial-recognition isn't there yet.   (The A with the circle around it in the center of the page was drawn earlier, it's not a part of my name.)

He started on the left, the "T" is above the first "A" and went down toward the right, ending with "Super-A" as he called it, that happens to be above the "E" and "N".   Not bad for a three year old.  He's left handed, so it might never get better. haha

Fun Christmas Stuff

Ares let us do a half hour photo shoot with him last night.  At 8:30PM.  I'm not sure what I was thinking (lies - I wanted to get some Christmas-sy photos for the photo books I'm making for our Grandparents.  And you all know how I am, I want to do something - I want to do it NOW.)  I'm very lucky that Ares was cooperating with us.  If he hadn't, it would have been my fault. I mean, I typically put him in bed at 8:00, so starting a photo shoot around 8:30, not one of my brightest moments.  At least it worked out for us.  This time.

Adam got some really cute pictures - and I'll post after our grandparents get the books, no point in ruining the gift ahead of time.  But here's a general idea.  Note:  The candycane isn't in the final picture, nor are the fingers in the mouth.  haha. 

He thought it was the coolest thing, to be wrapped up in Christmas lights.  Seriously.  Since Adam was shooting with the flash off, Ares had to be SUPER still for up to 5 full seconds at a time.  That's an eternity in 3 year old time.  Actually, I lie, there was one little subdued flash that was focused on one spot.  So not only could Ares not move after Adam clicked the shutter, but he had to keep his head in a specific spot before that, so his face is lit up.    Therefore, the candycane at 8PM was a bribe, as was a half hour of cartoons.   Food and TV as bribery, again, mother of the year.   But we got some good pics - I promise, better than the one above.  I'll be sure to post it after Christmas for all to see.

We do participate in Elf on a Shelf.  Ares totally does not understand the premise.  I might as well threaten no yogurt for breakfast or no book before bed because the Santa-not-coming to him is like an idle threat.  Maybe next year?  Meanwhile, Adam has fun with it.

Hey baby, I'm an elf and you're a fairy....

... let's make a gnome!

Nap Time

Ares is pretty much an every other day nap taker now.   We put him down for his nap today, and when he woke up an hour later, (we know he went to the bathroom twice), he told us he only read five books when he was up there.  I asked if he slept at all, and he shook his head yes.  I wondered how long, and he looks me straight in the eye, and with the most serious look/voice he says "I slept like, 8 hours!" Then flashed that Ares-smile that makes everyone giggle and went on his merry way.

At least when we put him down for a nap, if he doesn't sleep, he does stay up there quietly reading books for a long time.

Today we also got to see Uncle Justice and Aunt Katie.  He runs in the house and yells to them "I saw Santa TWICE today!  I'd never seen him TWICE before!"    Thank goodness he decided to NOT be as observant as he is for other things, because the Santa's (one at Lowe's and one at Strings and Wings) did not look anything alike.  It was an exciting day for him though.  Tonight we get to see Cassie and Anna - he is so excited I can't get him to sit still for anything.  Guess the haircut must wait until tomorrow.

Where's the Reindeer?

We're driving home, and see a house down a street that has a lot of Christmas yard tack out.  So we drive by the see everything out, and Ares notices there's an inflatable sleigh, with Santa, presents and lights, but no reindeer.  Here's our Conversation:

Ares: Mom, where's the reindeer?
Me: I don't know, there's some over there *pointing*
Ares: No, there's a sleigh behind those deer, but there's no reindeer by that big sleigh.
Me: Well, maybe they got hungry and went to get some water and food.
Ares: What?  Why?
Me:  Because they can get tired from flying all of the time.
Ares:  They don't fly mom!  *said in a 'your-crazy' tone of voice*
Me: Yes, they do, reindeer fly, that's how Santa gets around, isn't it?
Ares: Yes, but those are just ornaments! They can't fly!

Do all teenagers start to get their attitude at the age of three?   It wasn't a bad attitude, just a "mom, you know nothing, I know everything" attitude.   *sigh*

The Perfect Little Boy Advent Calendar

My mom doesn't use Pinterest (yet).  It's my ultimate goal to get her on there.  She's so crafty, and has great ideas, we can all benefit from her being on Pinterest.  This year, she put together an advent calendar for my son.

My 3 year old wakes up every morning, and asks if it's "December xx".   He actually knows the date each morning, because he knows which number car he gets next.  He slept over Grandmas last night, so we brought him home this evening, and he asks us "Is it December 6th?"  I told him it was, and he responds "Then I can open the #6 advent car!?!"   (Not even realizing that St.Nicholas visited last night.)

For the third year in a row, wants 'cars' for Christmas.  Sure, he loves the Hulk and the Ninja Turtles, but he still asks for cars.  So each day in December, his wish comes true...

...using a micro-machine type of car, stretchy ribbon and Christmas labels.   It was so simple for her to do.  She tied a knot around the center of the car, tight enough that it won't go anywhere. Since it's a stretchy material, when it comes time to take it off, all I need to do is pull a little to get it out from around the wheels - and I have the happiest kid - EVER.  Genius, my mother is a genius.  Ares even thinks that this calendar is better than the chocolate one.  I know - my kid said that!

I might have to do something like this next year too.  If you have a girl, maybe some Polly Pockets or little doll house furniture?  You could probably furnish an entire house with 24 days!  

Ares' Christmas Concert

It was pretty fun.  For the first fifteen minutes we were there, Ares and Lukas ran around like crazy men.  Later, Davis and Ares started talking into the microphone.  They were hilarious!  Ares did very well the first couple of songs.  I wish he would have kept his fingers out of his mouth, but I can't complain.

The next few songs though, he just stood there with his fingers in his mouth.  At first, it was driving me nuts, but then, I looked around.  There were a total of 4 boys that were just standing there - not singing.  Ares, Davis, Lukas and Colt.  Our four inseparable boys.   I think Darah and I laughed so hard we were crying.  the ONLY four not singing - ours.  lol. 

Mom, Adam and I all got there early, and tried to take pictures of him.  He was happy to see us, and happy to be there, but not happy to take pictures - that is, until I told him that Grandma and Grandpa Doug weren't going to make it, and they want to see him smile.  He smiled huge - but refused to look at the camera.  I think Adam got one good picture
After the concert, Ares was ALL hugs and kisses.  He was SO happy!  Mom and I got a HUGE 'squeezie' hug that lasted a couple of minutes, and Aunt Cindy, Kassi and Mike all got giant 'squeezie' hugs as well, for a long time.  He was so happy.  It. Was. Awesome.   The day ended with cookies and juice (although, Ares wanted water) and a sleepover for Ares at Grandma's.  That worked out well for Adam and I.  He had work to finish at home and wasn't feeling well, and I got to upload video and go to bed early.   Love my family!

Peanut Butter Cup Cookie

Sounds good, right?  Well, that is, unless you're a little 3 year old with a peanut allergy.  I was at work. Ares with family.  It was a homemade cookie that no one in the room knew what was in it.  The kid took a bite, and started coughing, and then complained that something was in his throat.  Then, his stomach was hurting him.  My aunt took a bite of the cookie, and (apparently) has no taste buds, (haha!!).  She gives him some sort of allergy medication and calls me.  She determines that it wasn't nuts, and that he's just freaking out because they were worried.  He's doing better (aside from a tummy ache) and calls me crying.  I tell him his stomach hurts because he was coughing so much, and he'll feel better after he gets some water in him.  Auntie calls him a drama queen - I agree (since she said there wasn't any PB in the cookie). 
Fast forward another 10 minutes - Ares is projectile puking in the car, and then in a parking lot.  
Fast forward 8 hours (he's fine, by the way), Kassi and I take a bite of a similar cookie, there is no doubt peanut butter in there (for the record, the cookie was yummy!).  It seems like each time he has PB, the symptoms get worse and worse.

I guess I need to get another EPI pen prescription for him.  =(  Poor kid.    He was telling his mousie last night that he 'throwed up'. 

Wait, we had a Weekend?

I'm not sure I remember it, or can recall relaxing - once.   It started with Ares and his friends (never, EVER relaxing) at Lowe's to put together Sandman's Plane.  They all had a good time, and LOVED 'flying' their planes around the store.  It was cute. for a bit. 

Katie's birthday was this weekend, so we all went out to a nice lunch after the Lowe's trip.  It was pretty relaxing, except they made Ares the wrong thing, and then only brought half of his food out roughly 10 minutes after everyone else started eating.  Luckily, Adam got two mini burgers and gave Ares one to hold him over.     I think this kid is going to grow 5" next week.  He has been eating non-stop.  I mean, two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners... last night, he had his second dinner at 8:30PM and then woke up at 3AM asking for more food.    Adam didn't let him have any, but Ares woke up this morning "starving".

After lunch we managed to get a 45 minute nap in before we left to meet his friends (again) in Kent to see Santa come in on a train.  The line to actually sit on Santa's lap was about 2 hours long, so we got some free hot chocolate, let the boys play with the stones on the path and headed home to watch football and clean. 

Sunday I had all the girls over (mom, and her side of the family, aunts, grandma, cousins, and Aunt Jeannette's daughters and granddaughters) for our Krajcer Christmas party.  It was fun, but I think I stood for about 10 hours straight.  After cleaning, cooking, and the party, mom had people over for a Tupperware party, and then we had to clean... oh wow did we have to clean.  What a mess my house was!  Thank goodness for my mother!  We were all in bed by 9:30.  Of course, I couldn't sleep at all.  I think I was beyond the exhausted stage that my body wouldn't settle down.   Bummer.  I'll sleep well tonight though!

Happy Monday everyone!

Thanksgiving Weekend

I already wrote about the shopping, but didn't say much about the actual  Holiday.   This is a super long post, but I've included pictures, which makes it better, right?

It started off with Ares (sort of) watching the parade with me.  He was a little interested, but only when a song, or a character he knew was on.  I'll take what I can get.

We went to my Aunt Nancy's house for our feast, and we pleasantly surprised when we pulled up, to see 26 chairs and a LONG table outside on their patio.  The weather was in the high 60's, some were wearing shorts, most in t-shirts (me, of course, had a jacket on.  Anyone surprised? Anyone? Buehler?)  We were outside nearly the entire day.  Mom brought her new 'snow' balls that everyone threw around for a while (the kids, Ares, Clayton, Corenna and Donovan for hours) and threw footballs around, played with the dogs, etc.   It was beautiful. 

By 4 or 5pm, Ares was so exhausted he was both falling over, and getting mean, so we drove straight home, skipping the Walters' Thanksgiving while everyone napped (and Adam went to Walmart to wait in line - my rockstud husband!!)



Yes, he's giving me the finger here, because
 my gloved finger wouldn't take the
 picture fast enough.



Friday was shopping day, Adam made a roast which we brought over to my parents' house for dinner, and Adam and I put up Christmas lights around the house.   AROUND the house, like, the outside.   Again, Adam did it, because my cousins never called to do it.  I was scared to death of having him on the roof, which is SUPER steep, but grateful to have saved about $150.   We put them up differently than last year, to minimize the amount of time needed to spend on the roof, although, we had to take that ladder up and down so many times I can't even count.  My job was to not freeze to death and stand against the bottom of the ladder so it wouldn't move on him.  My calves hurt so bad.  But, seeing as the weather went from about 60* when we started, to 32* when we ended (it was snowing), I can't complain, because Adam did the hard work, and it looks AWESOME!! 



Ares was hanging up lights like daddy.  It
looks like he's orchestrating something.  

 I didn't have the yard tack out yet for this photo, or the window lights, but here's what it looked like right after we got the house lights up. "Miller" isn't on the house, he had the camera shutter open and he was writing with an LED light.



Adam was playing around with the camera



Oh yeah, and it was snowing by the time we ended: 

Saturday we watched The Ohio State University Buckeyes beat Michigan's football team  O-H.... I-O  with Paul, Cristal, Koa and baby Kanani and then drove downtown to the tree lighting (downtown Cleveland).   It was C-O-L-D cold.  At least it was dry though.  The boys were restless, the fireworks were good (and the boys loved them), but we all agreed it's one of those "Been there. Done that.  Never again." type of things.  Not worth the parking and traffic to stand there, watch lights turn on and get hungry with hundreds of other people.  It was more exciting seeing my lights go on the first time. 

Sunday was a lazy day of cleaning up the house and putting out my Christmas decorations (OK, so I made the house way more messy than I cleaned.)  My village is out though!  Adam, again, was playing with different lenses, so here's the only picture I have.  It's about 1/3 of the whole village.  I love it so much!   Oh yeah, and the CLEVELAND BROWNS beat the PITTSBURGH STEELERS!!  Wahoo!  Our offense wasn't that great, but man, our defense was awesome.  Created 7 turnovers!  SEVEN!! Here we go Brownies here we go- Woof Woof!!  An OSU win, a Browns win, and if that isn't enough, Kent State (5 miles down the road) also won, and will likely be making a BCS Bowl game for the first time since the 70's!  Not that I'm a huge fan, but for the TONS of people around us that have gone there, or work there, this is huge, not in our lifetime has a KENT football team made it to a BCS bowl game.  Go get 'em Flashes!



I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  I must say, if you can't tell by my posts present and past, that I have A LOT to be thankful for.  Adam and I both have the most fabulous families, our health, lots of love and everything we need in life.  Everything else is just first world noise.   Sorry for the long post everyone!  Bring on the Holidays!!

You'll Poke an Eye Out!

We're watching Hook today, and Peter finally just got his ability to fight and fly again.  One of the Lost Boys gave Peter his sword back, and Ares yells to him "Be careful! You'll poke an eye out!"  hahaha.

Black Friday

I promised myself I wouldn't, but then the gift Ares is getting was $70 off at Walmart's 8PM sale, so Adam went up to wait in line for it while I waited for Ares to wake up from his nap (he went down VERY late) and we met him up there.  Since Adam was already in line for the one thing, I took orders from people celebrating Thanksgiving still (we skipped the 2nd party because Ares was exhausted).  We had to wait around the sewing machine for 45 minutes before the 8PM sales started up, and Ares was bored, but very good.

At 8PM, I grabbed a sewing machine, and ran to the next items (Rubbermaid) and Ares grabbed from the top and threw into the cart.  Then, he looked at me (and the 30 or so people around, because it was a parking lot at that point) and screams "THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!!!"  hahaha.  Can you believe, we got all 8 things on the list (from other people), went to the car, ran back in to get another Nubi (for someone else) and back to the car and was driving out of Walmart by 8:31.  It was crazy.  ALWAYS check out in Lawn & Garden or Layaway - ALWAYS.

Parent/Teacher Conference and Socks...

...have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but both have happened in the past 24 hours.

Socks - I asked Ares to pick out a pair of white socks for me this morning.  He picks a pair that was folded, and unfolds them to see a logo.  He immediately exclaims "How about these?!?! These are Grandma Karen and Grandpa Doug socks!!"   There was an Adidas logo on them.  My  in-laws own A LOT of Adidas stuff.  Smart kid. 

Parent teacher conferences went something like this... Short attention span, doesn't finish projects, can't put him or any of his 'click' of 4 friends together during circle time, doesn't test well. Is this a typical parent/teacher conference for a kid that's most likely going to be ADHD?

Apparently, she didn't know that he can count up to 49 because when she works with him, he gets bored or something else grabs his attention and he just doesn't cooperate.  Adam counts with him Adam: One, Ares: Two, Adam: Three... etc, all the way to 50.  I asked her which classroom they were adding in.  She says they don't do adding in Pre-School, they leave that for Kindergarten. Apparently, kids only need to know the numbers 1-10 to get into kindergarten, but her objective for Pre-3 is that the kids need to know 1-100 before they enter Pre-4.    I guess Ares has learned 2+3 and 3+4... etc from their counting sticks.  She tells them to count to three, then to add two more and see what number they land on.   Ares has somehow transcribed that (correctly) into 3 plus 2 equals 5.   **update - did anyone notice I put 'equals 6' originally?  haha, I'ma dork** She didn't know that he knew how to write some letters without tracing or that he could count to 49 because he won't concentrate on anything, but she's happy to know he's apparently soaking up what she's teaching.  She also says that he loves to learn new things. New stories, new words, new phrases, new toys, she says she always has his attention if it's to learn something new. 

She says he loves to read maps, look at globes, play with play-doh and do home-ec (they cook on Wednesdays). 

Homework:  1)Make him do 'work' for an hour a day, counting, recognizing numbers, tracing letter, writing, coloring, painting, etc.  2) require that he finishes things. Don't let him just color the sun on a coloring page.  Make him go back and finish the trees, the house, the car, etc.  This apparently helps young children keep ADHD away.  3)Keep reading him books, explain maps, talk about history, or anything new.  He's a sponge who likes to learn.  Take advantage.  Less TV.  

More letters

Still no "N", but he knows "T" and "i".  Not sure why he doesn't get "I".  We have our first parent/teacher conference tonight.  Can't wait to hear how rough he and his friends are together.

Some Good Old Fashioned Air

Ares wakes up multiple times a night (usually between the hours of 9-11pm).  To get our attention, he'll complain about something hurting.  This most recent time, it was a cut he has had on his finger since Thursday (today is Sunday).  He has peeled oranges, swung swords, dug in chocolate cupcakes, but tonight, tonight it hurts. He keeps saying he needs a band-aid.  I told him that since it's been so long since he skinned it, it just needs some good old fashioned air.   He states that it's red (it's a scrape, so it looks red, but it's not blood) and that since it's red it needs a band-aid.  I give the thumb lots of kisses, and tell him that he doesn't need a band aid and that he should just fall asleep and it should be better tomorrow.  He asks for another band-aid, and I remind him that when he got his flu shot last weekend we took the band-aid off after one day and it was all better.  Another three minutes go by, where we talk about something completely different, when he says - "Well, what if we get a band-aid, and cut a tiny hole in it?"  I didn't understand what he was talking about, but I just told him that he's not getting a band-aid.   Then he says "What if we get a band-aid, and cut a big hole in it - then it will get some good old fashioned air."   OMG, NOTHING gets by this kid!!  He's trying to analyze what might make me say yes to what he wants.

This morning, he woke up, came downstairs, and after a couple of minutes (with no one talking to him) he asked me if it was my birthday, and then told me happy birthday.  We talked about it last night, but the  kid has a great memory - or he noticed the cupcakes that he was not allowed to eat last night, hahaha!  I have a great picture of Ares with this cupcake (the size of his head!).

Also, I'll have to post a picture of Ninja Ares.  two swords in the back of his shirt, nun-chucks in his one hand, and a Starbucks in his other hand.  Definitely my son - and definitely his father's son!!

Oh So Holey

We're doing better with not eating out so much, not buying things and doing with less than previously.  (The table project is done! No more trips to Home Depot) We're in the process of refinancing our home and Ares' medical bills are under $2k now.  (YAY!! Dramatic change from 4 months ago).  We're excited that in eight months (8!!) 7 of Adam's student loans will be paid off (only 1/4 of what we pay monthly, but still, it's VERY exciting for us!) Things are looking good, or, they will be in the very near future. 
Insert Ballpark, my pee all over me lovable lick the hell out of me adorable puppy who doesn't leave me alone.  I know what you're thinking.  What in the heck does Ballpark have to do with finances and saving money?  Well, this stinker who has been a long time underwear thief (which run around $4 each), has graduated to blue jeans.  I was very disgusted to find this morning, that Ballpark had chewed a hole the size of a tennis ball in my jeans - I'm sure, a proud moment for him and his birth mother wherever she is.  The jeans I had put out to wear to work today.  What's worse, is that Adam and I have been so tired the last few days, that this chewing (which happened under our bed) didn't even wake us up like it normally does.   Fortunately for the little shithead pup, my jeans typically come from Kohls or JCPenny's, so they're not expensive, but $40 is far worse than $4.  That's coming out of your Christmas presents Stinker!!
What's even worse than that - 10 minutes after I find the hole, he looks at me with those eyes, and crawls up into my lap with his nice warm body (from his electric heating pad in his bed - no, my dog isn't spoiled) and sits there wanting to be cuddled.  And boy, do I ever.  But I'm still mad!

This post is a reminder, for in the future, when Adam's begging me to get another dog, WHY I DON'T WANT ONE. 

Yogurt and Peas

Sounds like a breakfast for an infant - one still on baby food.  But no, this is what my 3.5 year old requested this morning.  OK, no problem.  You want peas for breakfast? You don't have to ask twice.

I picked him up early from school yesterday to get his flu shot.  He was in the 4 year old classroom, and was in such a great mood  when I picked him up.   He was in a great mood when walking to the patient room, and was fine (even knowing he was getting a shot) until the nurse prepped with the alcohol pad.  He wasn't excited about the rest.  He cried for about a minute until the nurse asked him if he wanted a sticker, and he replies (while still crying - with a whiny voice) "nooo, I want a milkshake".  Hahaha, we all laughed, which got Ares to stop crying - and a trip to Burger King to get a milkshake.  

In the car, he tells me "Mom 3 plus 3 = 6!!" and then he counted it out for me.  I did not know he knew how to add, so I asked him other things.  He knows all combinations of 1-4, and possibly more.  He was getting bored, but he seemed to understand to start with the first number "3" and then add 3 by going "4, 5, 6".   That's my boy!!  I'm starting to love this 4 year old preschool.  He's in a good mood when we leave school, he can spell his name, and he is getting pretty good at tracing letters with a pencil. 

Ares' Quirks

... but first a confession.  I walk into my dining room just to look at my table for a few seconds - multiple times a day.  *sigh*  I'm in love. 

Random facts about Ares that most people don't know.

• Before going to bed, Ares switches which side of the bed his pillows are.  One night his head is by the window, the next night his feet are by the window.  Every time. 
• He doesn't sleep with sheets or blankets tucked in.  He moves too much.
• whether he goes or not, after going to the bathroom, he says 'tap tap tap I all done' (not 'I'm', 'I'.  He has done this since the day he was potty trained.)
• He can now write the letters "H", "E", "A" ,"R" and "O" on a regular basis.  He has also learned "N", but he's not quite there yet with doing it on his own, without being reminded.   
• He's not even close to learning how to read, but he 'reads' everything he sees.  Waiting in line at Papa Johns for pizza, he saw their logo, and said 'papa' 'johns' as he dragged his finger across the words.  He did the same thing when at McDonald's. (Yeah, this is why money is tight =(   We're done with eating out for the next two months, unless we have gift cards.)
• Ares knows all of the words to 'A Whole New World', plus a ton of Flogging Molly Irish Punk songs and a bunch of cartoon theme music songs.  Scooby Doo, Johnny Test, Sponge Bob (although, he doesn't like Sponge Bob, thank goodness!), Little Einsteins, Jake and the Neverland Pirates (we don't watch a lot of TV, but he just picks up on things FAST)

Thirty-One Party

Today I had a Thirty-One party.  It was a fabulous party when you look at products sold and awesome ladies (AWESOME ladies), but the boys were a little, ahhh, what you'd say rambunctious.  At first, they were all really good, but there were only three of them.  They got a bit loud (OK, so ARES was loud), but they were behaved. 

First problem - Ares was loud, so I told him that if he, Lukas and Connor can stay out of the room while the consultant was talking, I'd give them a brownie when she was done.  I put the boys on the island with a brownie when she was done (and they did as I asked).  I forgot that I had a ton of different kinds of candy all sorted into nice bowls.  I went back to see how the boys were doing, and each of them had handfuls of Skittles and Starburst wrappers all over the place.  I can only imagine how many they ate.  Eeeks!

Insert 4th boy and all hell went loose. Not that boy #4 is bad, by any means, none of the boys are, they're all very good, but I think that with the extra head in there, the boys thought of much different (read: worse) things to do.


First random phrase that made everyone stop:  Let's go play now, I'm done hitting you. (Ares to Lukas)
Then, the boys were laughing hysterically upstairs, running down the steps and all around.  Colt comes down the steps with white stuff in his hair (looks like the scene from Something About Mary) and says that they were fighting bad guys in the shower.  So, what was in his hair? They said 'soap', but it was Ares' prescription steriod cream for his dry skin.  And on the carpet, and on the floor, and on the doors (like, 5 of the doors upstairs).  In fact, 2 days later, I'm putting Ares' cream on while in the spare bedroom, using it off the closet doors. 

The toy room looks like a bomb went off, really, everything was on the floor, EVERYTHING.  I'm ready to get rid of all toys, ALL. TOYS.  (Can you tell I've about had it?  OMG, what a disaster!!) **update, I've already put all duplo blocks in storage, along with a Thomas track.  I have a box of 'get rid of crap' that I'll put out for free at our next garage sale.
***setting the scene***
Boy 1 - loves to play with tool sets, carries a toy hammer or drill around everywhere (Lukas)
Boy 2 - loves sports.  Baseball, football, it doesn't matter (Colt)
Boy 3 - loves to be in the center of attention (Ares)

The three boys (the three older ones, not Connor, who was playing nicely by himself) were all swarming around our floor lamp, crawling behind the chair, on the chair, around the chair, when, you guessed it *crash*.   The lamp falls and breaks (not the bulb though).  Boy #2 runs away, Boy #1 starts picking up things to try and fix it.  Boy #3 stands up, puts his arm in the air, and assures everyone 'I'm OK!!'  Hahahaha!!  Wow, do their personalities shine through.

Oh, so the boys were quiet again, later until Lukas came up the stairs saying that someone hit him with a ball.  So we go downstairs, and Ares has a Santa sign (that stakes into the ground outside) and a ball in his hand.  A genius way to play baseball without the proper equipment.   They said they were trying to dress up, but then  they say how they decorated the basement.  Yes, they did.  They pulled down all of the Luau boxes, and the Christmas ornament box and 'decorated' the basement with Christmas ornaments.  Really, they did.  Ornaments hanging from the treadmill, from the penguin christmas decoration, but there are lots of broken ornaments. Lots. Of. Broken. Ornaments.   There was a lone Halloween costume waaaaay up in the closet, untouched, no doubt the cause of all boxes on the ground.  How no one got glass in their hands/feet is unbelievable.

Thanks to Chrissy and Sarah for helping me clean up.  It's still a disaster, but at least the ornaments that are still in tact are put away.   The next day, I was telling the story, and Ares interrupted me, saying that they didn't take ALL of the ornaments out, 'because some were stuck'.  

Can we say 'exhausted'?

Most of the broken ornaments are underneath the inflatable tiki god, 

But the boys were right, they did decorate.  And they were SOO proud of themselves.  *sigh*

On the plus side, it was a very successful party.

Big A$$ Table!

OMG, it was A LOT of work, and ended up costing us a lot of $$, but man, do I love these tables and chairs!!

Scooby-Dooby Dooo