HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

As J's older brother, N, I would like to wish J a happy birthday. He is the best younger brother because:

*he doesn't get mad when we race and he loses

*he likes to do ideas I have and I like when he plays with me

*he even has his own really cool ideas

*its fun to make inventions together, play in the bath together, and talk at night together when we are trying to go to bed

*and I really like when he listens to me when I read him books

I love you J

-N-

We took J out to breakfast for his birthday this morning last minute because he decided that instead of strawberry crepes, that he has been asking for 2 weeks now, he want Mickey mouse pancakes from "that" restaurant. So out we went singing happy birthday in our best Mickey mouse voices. When we finished C took the boys out to the car and the waiter asks me if all three are mine. Mentally I start prepping myself the usually comments: Wow 3 boys, there is a special place in heaven for you . . . which I really am thankful that children allow an easy outlet to talk with random people around me which is something I don't usually do. The conversation, however went a slightly different direction:

Him: are all three yours

Me: yes

Him: Wow they all look so much like you!

Me: Thanks?

Him: Same Father?

Me: Yes

Him: So he (pointing to C going out the door) has fathered all three of these children?

Me: Yes -trying to think of a way out of this conversation and also acknowledging C as my husband said: Ya my husband likes to joke that the kids got all their good looks from their mom, which is why he still has his.

Him: silence

Me: Have a good day

(mission accomplished 1. ended conversation 2. acknowledged that C is my hubby and has been for all three kids 3.publicly insulted myself)

look who is skipping.

Road Block - Best Reading Game Ever

For all of you who have kids learning their letters or are getting ready to read, this is a great game I play with my kids.

GAME: ROAD BLOCK

All you do is get a big piece of paper and draw a curly path on it. Then draw lines (like if you were drawing a game board) Put a start and finish and pick a toy car to "race" I usually pick about 5 letters and draw one in each space and repeat them as many times as there are spaces. Have your little driver "start his engines" and say go. As he drives over each space he says the letter out loud. If he gets it right he can move on to the next space, if he gets it wrong the road block comes down right in front of the car stopping him on that letter. I used to have a car barrier thing I used but now I just use my hand with a loud crashing breaking noise. We talk about the letter, say a couple rhymes about the letter, jump up and down saying the letter, shape our bodies in the shape of the letter and them let him try again. When he gets it right he can continue on to the next space. When they finish, if they get all the letters right, they get to chose a prize from the prize box (cheap toys and candy). If they don't get them all right then they can try again until they do. Usually the prize box is enough motivation to start over and sometimes we just try again the next day.

After they have master all upper case and lower case letters you move to sounds. When they know all the sounds, start spelling short words by putting only one letter in each space so as they drive over the letter saying the sounds they are actually blending the sounds together to make the word. Then obviously you can make it harder the better they get. N now does a short sentence or joke writing a word in each space with the spelling or sight words from school.

For some reason the fluidity of driving the car carries over into blending the sounds. Even when N reads sentences, it comes out as a much more fluid sentence than when he reads a book one word at a time.

The possibilites are endless. If you have girls it could be a my little pony race, or barbie in her barbie car (except that would require much bigger paper).

Have fun!

Happy Easter

We made resurrection rolls for breakfast this morning and the kids loved it. They openend their rolls fully expecting to find the marshmallow still inside. This was followed by much oooing and aahhing at the empty roll. We had a good talk about the resurrection to which N had just one question.

"How did the marshmallow get to heaven so fast?"

He made it!

T had his well check finally because he is actually well. He only had one shot, his ear is healing well and (drum roll please). . . . his weight is in the 2% ! He made it, he is actually on the chart, with out eating meat (he is not a fan).

Congrats Mr. T

Its Official

So I am not much of a cry-er. I didn't cry through child birth and I didn't cry sending N to Kindergarten, but this one I am having a hard time with. Nathan lost his first tooth on Friday. Its the last piece of baby he has left in him. After this its all over. I remember being so excited to see that little tooth pop out when he was 4 months old, and now the tooth fairy has taken it away. Well not exactly, we think he swallowed it, because we couldn't find it anywhere. Luckily the tooth fairy was gracious enough to except a note of explanation.

Sigh, my little boy is growing up. Here I go tearing up again. . .

DOES ANY ONE KNOW WHAT THE TOOTH FAIRIES GOING RATE IS?