Category: Us

Am I in the Right Place?

Hello!

Jack ran the 200 leg in the sprint medley last Thursday. Jason suddenly said, “Check out the guy who Jack is running against!” Seriously? Yep. This team was in the same heat as Jack’s team!

What Jack might be thinking:
” I wonder if I am in the wrong race.” Nope
“If I run across the grass I may be able to beat him.” Nope
“Gosh. Someday I hope my beard comes in thick.” Probably.

What he said he was thinking, “Oh my word. This guy is going to dominate.” Yep.

Jack then asked me, “Did he dominate us?” and I thought to myself, yes Jack, he did dominate you. He was so fast, that you didn’t even see him! They may have finished the race before Jack even got the baton!

 

Track Meet…

Hello!

Jack had his fifth grade track meet last week and he did a great job and lots of fun hanging out with his friends!

He and his buddies got first in the 4×100.

He got second in the long jump!

Then went on to get third in the 100!

And ended the day off with fourth in the 200!!
Looks pretty relaxed watching the workers in the background before his 200 race began!

Then checking in how the boy beside him felt how the workers were progressing…

He also decided to try his hand at the football throw.

I did not stay for the field events, so when he got home I asked him how was that football throw?

His reply, “AWFUL!!” But with a big grin on his face!!

Boys Night Out..

Welcome Back!

Jason and his buddies took Sam to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert for his birthday. They showed him how to “concert it up.”

The boys had amazing seats! And if you are wondering, there were 750 cylinder lights hanging from the ceiling. Sam counted them. You can take the boy out of the math room, but not the math out of the boy!

After the concert the boys always head to Fong’s Pizza on Court Ave. for slices. This time was no different. Sam had a slice of Pepperoni and a slice of Red Hot Chili Pepper pizza.

Sam loved it all. He had SO much fun (his words) and can’t wait to do it again!!

But, maybe not on a school night.

 

Oh. My. Word.

Hello!

The boys and I were having dinner when suddenly both boys told me they could burp the alphabet. Jack demonstrated his ability first, without a hitch. I thought I was going to gag.

Then much to my surprise, Sam belched the alphabet, too!

Such a look of concentration on his face!

Why such a surprise with Sam? Because he can’t stand anything that may resemble a vomit noise.

Can you guess what letter he is on at this time?
“O”
Good guess!

And Jack..just listening. Providing a bit advice as needed. A little more air, a little more effort.

These boys have goals.

 

It’s A Boy!

Welcome Back!

I am going to try to make this story as short as possible without going into too many details.

I walked out of the house last weekend and found this baby raccoon, about the size of my hand, laying in the dirt under our front tree. We let it be during the day in case the mom would come back.

(It had nothing to do with me not wanting to feed the baby raccoon from a syringe and then having to take care of it for the next week while everyone went to school and work and this raccoon kept me up at night because it was nocturnal and kept crawling out of it’s box. Even though Jack begged for us to rescue it.)

Me: “Jack. If I lost you, I would want people to keep you were I lost you so I could come back and find you! If it still there in the morning, we will bring it inside.”

In the evening, we were gone and our neighbors came down to save the little guy, because it would have probably frozen through the night.

(Though everything I read said to leave it through the night so the mother can have the opportunity to come back and get it. )

The next morning, the neighbors brought the racoon back to our house because they had baseball games all day. So I ended up babysitting a baby raccoon for the day. Our neighbors had been feeding it warm milk with one of those nose suckers for babies. I encouraged the boys to help…that didn’t last long. Even after all the begging from the previous day. This is the only time Jack “held” the little guy.

(So, even though I had nothing to do with saving the thing I still ended up watching it, feeding it warm milk through the syringe and cleaning it’s poop up!)

The boys did check on the him periodically. If he got out of the box, they would come and get me instead of picking him up and placing him back in the box. “MOM! He’s out of the box again!”

It was still shaking, so I put a heating pad into the box. He curled right up on it and went to sleep for the day.

(No, those scratch marks on the box are NOT from the baby.)

He was pretty stinkin’ cute, but I worried about him waking up during the night, making baby racoon noises and getting out of its box! He could get pretty loud when he was stressed out and I enjoy uninterrupted sleep.

So, between both families calling around, we finally got a hold of a wildlife refuge gal and off Smokey (yes the boys named him) went to live with 18 other baby raccoons…at this gals house! She later text and said the little guy had eaten really well and was enjoying his time with three other baby raccoons!

(The DNR and ISU do not take raccoons due to rabies.)

Sam: “Do I have rabies now?”
Me: “Just let me know if you start foaming at the mouth!”

We shared this story with Jason’s mom who told us, “We raised a coyote and kept it for two years. It loved being with our dog, Penny.” (What?!)

Then Jason says, “Do you remember how dad use to bring baby raccoons home and feed them until they were good to go on their own?”

Seriously people!

Spring is Here!

Hello!

Spring has sprung in so many different ways! The sun, the warm air, Jack’s allergies. Everything is just dandy!  This week, we can officially say hello to another sure sign of spring…poison ivy.

Yep. I got into it AGAIN! I planted flowers in my flower garden and was VERY careful where I stepped. But, as you can see, that itchy plant found my right leg! (This isn’t even when it’s at full blister mode!)

May I also point out my left leg.  Jack had a track meet last weekend and I wore shorts. It was sunny and hot, so sunscreen was a must! BUT, I only sprayed my right leg. As you can see, the right side of my shin on my left leg is burned. ouch.

So Aloe Vera on one leg and Benadryl anti-itch on the other.

Jason is one lucky guy to have a gal with these fancy legs!

 

The Difference…

Welcome Back!

My boys are two very individual men. As everyone says, their kids are so different and how are they so different when they come from the same gene pool. Well, I wouldn’t have it any other way…having two Jacks would be scary!! 🙂

Here is a perfect example of how the boys are different…We have new built in specifically for the boys. Can you tell which one belongs to which son?

In case you are struggling, Sam’s cubbie is on the right. Jack’s is on the left. This picture was taken right after the boys left for school. No staging!

Jack’s “presence” does get to me at times, but I must admit, I had the same “presence” at my house when I was little!

 

Slamma Jamma Samma

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Most of our free time on the weekends is spent at the pool. Sam works on his slammin’ skills. His jumps off the side, puts the ball under the leg and slams it into the hoop. He is very successful at this move.

 I work on treading water after realizing during water aerobics one day that I really do not know how tread water in the traditional manner. I do what is called the whip. You cannot “whip,” with one leg, for 30 seconds, with your hands held out of the water for 30 seconds. Period.

I was not experiencing any success, so I decided to read. Much more my speed anyway and I am very successful at reading.