And MORE Swimming!

Seems like all we have done this summer is swim. This time we were at Angi's mother-in-law's house. Jayke loved the basketball goal! He could jump off the side and dunk the ball which he did over and over and over. I even managed to sit outside in the SUN for about 2 hours. It was a shocking situation. Anyone who knows me knows I HATE the sun...with a passion. The only thing I hate more than the sun is SWEATING in the SUN...both of which were going on at the pool. I think I sat out in the sun so long I must have given myself heat stroke or something because I came home from the pool and MOWED THE LAWN! Not only was I now in the sun and sweating but I also had grass and dirt stuck to my sweat covered skin. YUCK!!! Needless to say, it was a traumatic day for me. The Boy had fun though!!

The picture above I took with a new app on my iPhone that allows you to only color the parts of the picture you choose to. I've been addicted to tall these apps. I wish I had had them when Jayke was younger and a more willing subject. Now when I try to take his picture he is always moving at just the wrong moment and I have to keep telling him to come back and do it again. There is a lot of eye rolling and sighing involved. Sometimes some yelling and threatening. Not a good time. I'm sure he is thrilled that I now have all these apps making want to take even MORE pics!



I'm happy to report that The Boy finally LOVES to swim!! I was worried bout him for a minute. He now has no problem jumping and diving off the diving board and can go under water without coming up screaming, "TOWEL!!!"" and flailing around like he is having a seizure. A much appreciated improvement.

Latest Fad...

The big thing this summer has been duct tape bracelets. Don't ask my why...I don't get it...kinda like the silly bands from last summer. They make duct tape in all different colors and even decorative patterns now. We have had duct tape with a leopard pattern, zebra pattern, camo pattern, flames pattern, and more. At one time Jayke was wearing 7 different duct tape bracelets on both his wrists and ankles. Between the bracelets and all the bandaids he barely had any skin showing at all!

Retro Photo App

Just wanted to see what a photo with the Hipstamatic camera looks like. Makes Laynie look even older than she already is!!

Survived...

....day two of the hottest soccer camp ever!! Predicted heat index of 115 degrees today. Luckily we started earlier today and were out of there and safely back home to the air conditioning. It is particularily chilly in here this afternoon since The Boy is not currently speaking to me. He is angry because I won't let him go outside to play in this scorching heat. Imagine the look I got when I handed him a new book and told him he could spend the afternoon reading indoors.

Tomorrow is the last day of camp but not the last day of the heat. He doesn't want to go back. It's too bad because the heat ruins anything outdoors this time of the year.

Why Does It Have to be so Hot???

The thermometer in my car read 90 degrees when I went to pick him up from soccer camp today. Its hard to tell from this picture but he is pretty red in the face and sweaty. He was more than ready to leave when I picked him up. Two more days...each supposed to be as warm if not warmer. Please note his sweet new kicks!! Apparently in soccer, the brighter and more obnoxious the shoes the better. Both of us had issues with them not matching his clothes (Jayke kept saying he looks like a clown) but when we got out there and saw all the high-school kids in their wild footwear we knew Jayke was properly attired.

This camp is being held at Ball State. The womens soccer team is putting it on and they have brought other coaches in from all over to help out. We have a couple from England, one from Africa, and one from South America. Included in that mix is a former olympic goalie. Sounds like it should be a good camp...as long as they all survive the heat!

Finally Got an Invite...

....to swim with Mason at his house. We went over early evening and they swam until 11 o'clock at night. I stayed to supervise because Jayke doesn't swim that well and there were a bunch of big kids there. It was getting kinda rough so I stayed until he was out of the water and the cover was on the pool then I went home and Jayke got to spend the night with Mason.

Having the big kids there was actually kind of good for Jayke. They got him swimming and jumping into the deep end. Getting him a little more used to having water on his face...which he hates. He still won't jump off the diving board though. Maybe by the end of summer that will be one of his accomplishments. He leaves for his dad's on Sunday for a week. Maybe he will learn to like the water better while there.

Does This Cat Look Guilty???

....because she IS!! A few minutes before I took this she was IN that aquarium trying to get Jayke's turtle. I moved it to the second shelf to keep him safe. Luna spent hours last night trying to figure out how to get to him and managed to keep Jayke up half the night pounding on the side of the tank. Hopefully tonight she won't be as fascinated by Jayke's turtle and he will be able to get some sleep...and so will I!

Change, Change, and More Change!

Well, the tan and the shaggy hair go well with the ukulele but the skull t-shirt doesn't really scream surfer boy which is what I think he looks like with his hair grown out. Cracks me up. We've been working on re-doing his room for the past two days...that will be another post though. Haven't got it all done just yet. It looks so much better though. Changing it from a little boys room to a "Bigger" boys room. My mom thinks it looks like a teenager's room. That works for me...means it will be a long time before we have to change it again!

The ukulele playing reminded me of this...



He sure has changed!! lol

Inspired by Peacocks and Zebras

This is the new paint color I'm going to be putting in the front bedroom of my house. The bedroom I'm turning into a game room for The Boy. He will be getting a flat screen to go in there and we will hook his Wii and xbox up because I can't have his game play interfering with my reality tv viewing.



This Zebra rug is currently making it's way to my house to go in the game room along with...



The perfect gaming chairs. Two bean bag sherpa chairs. No...I am NOT crazy for putting white chairs in my son's game room!! Why would you even think that? Remember that white comforter I put on my bed??? It is still as perfect as the day I brought it home and these chairs will be just fine. Jayke is careful when I make sure I point out what he needs to watch out for and pay attention to.

This room will also have all my black and white framed pictures of Jaykeb in it and I may string some white paper lanterns together to hang ceiling to floor in the corner as my light source. It's been a while since I've been able to be creative...who knows what I will come up with!

I'll Have a Rockin Red Shirley T with THREE Cherries!!

....and if it doesn't come with THREE cherries The Boy will send it back!! Luckily our servers have all been great and brought him all the cherries he has wanted. The Red Lobster is his fav so I took him there for dinner yesterday. He ordered his usual...crab legs...which basically means a lot of work for me. After dinner, a trip to Target then the Redbox for movies. It was a lazy day which after the past week was welcome.

Everyone Take Cover!!!

This looks like a serious situtaion. It was certainly LOUD!! That is Ryan wiring all those firecrackers together with one long fuse so that they would all go off at the same time. It started off slowly and gained momentum until you couldn't tell that more than one was popping at a time. Very cool. Very big mess in the street. Glad I didn't have to clean it up. The Pickerings bought a lot of really good fireworks and put on a great show enjoyed by most. Some neighbors left because they felt it was too dangerous and we heard second hand that another neighbor complained. Really? You are going to complain that we are lighting fireworks on the 4th of July?? We were well within the designated time frame for lighting them as well. Wonder if they complained to all the other families who were lighting them too.



Jayke and Mason only were on this blanket long enough for me to take the picture. The rest of the time they were up running around having all of us yelling for them to GET BACK!





Jayke and mason did some sparklers and we lit a Chinese lantern. Apparently the Chinese lanterns were very popular this year. You could see them floating all over the sky almost every where you looked. I'm just glad none of them landed on my roof.

c

All of this was on the 3rd. On the 4th we went downtown to watch the professionals light up the sky. Jayke wasn't very interested in the ones downtown. It wasn't as exciting to him... probably because there wasn't much threat of danger.

One of the Gang

Here is The Boy hanging with the "Big Kids"! (front to back) Olivia, Maci, Ryley, and Jayke. Ryley just moved in across the street so Jayke is excited about that. His younger brother was Jayke's reading buddy in kindergarten. Brady is in 5th grade next year, Ryley is going into the 8th grade along with Maci and Liv. It is kinda funny to me how these big kids will just let him tag along with them. He thinks he is something!

We have been busy busy!!! Had two garage sales in the past three weeks. Had a Thirty One party at my house, and started redoing the landscaping in the front of the house. My garage is the cleanest it has ever been! Got a lot done, now if I could just find a job!

Alecazams Fireworks

Here are Mason and Jayke at my friend, Bob's, fireworks store. We decided to put them to work for a little while trying to bring in some customers. They got lots of honks but didn't manage to bring in any business. They had a lot of fun though...well Mason and Alec did. Jayke was really embarrassed to be standing out there waving a flag. He wouldn't wave that flag for anything. Notice the strange look on his face...

We've Got a Winner!!

Gavin, Syndey, and Jayke went fishing at my mom's today. Jayke was the first to catch a fish. He has been on a winning streak this past weekend. Aunt Sherbo set up a game for the kids involving the slot machine at my dad's house and apparently Jayke won twice...a total of $11.00. That was only part of his winning streak though. He came in second in Pineapple Bowling at Camp Morrison. Out of all the kids there it came down to the oldest and the youngest at the end. The oldest won but I think second place is pretty good for the little guy! I will call it a win (almost). After all of that luck we figured we should probably get him a lottery ticket. Sherri got all the kids a scratch off. Gavin won $50 and Jayke won $20. I think I need to sneak him into the casino and stick him on a slot machine for a couple of hours! He now wants to bet everyone though and runs around the house yelling, "Lets gamble!" Probably not a good thing. I'm going to have to explain to him that most of the time you aren't that lucky and you lose money...not win it. I'm just glad one of us is lucky!!

Have No Idea

I'm not with him so I have no idea what he is doing. I got this picture sent to me on my phone from my sister. I do know that is shaving cream but that is all. I will have to get the story from him when he gets back from the lakes. All those people in the background are cousins.

Ready, Set, Go!!

I think Jayke is finally becoming a fan of the water. Helps having the big kids around to show him how it's done!! He jumps in and actually goes under without coming up screaming for a towel to dry his face with. He just needs to learn to close his mouth and hold his breath. Lots of coughing when he comes up. I'm just glad he will do it finally. What kind of kid doesn't like to swim???!!?? Sydney and Gavin are showing him how it's done.

Another Bargain

Kids for sale!! For the low low price of $99.99 each! As is, all sales final, no refunds or exchanges!

Jayke is off to the lakes and the pool with his cousins and aunts this week. He has been at my dad's for a couple of days, where he has been to the batting cages and mini golf, shopping, out to lunch, and lots of swimming. Today he heads to the lakes with everyone for "Camp Morrison". He was not even bothered by the fact that he isn't going to see me for four days. Barely even told me goodbye, he is having so much fun. I, on the other hand, will be at home with the dogs. No lakes for me.

Fireflies...or (since we are in Indiana) Lightning Bugs

I've Said it Before...And I'll Say it Again...

....it's hard to get good help these days!!



This is The Boy's idea of working a rummage sale. Lucky for him (not so much for me)n that there wasn't much to do. Rummage sales are not what they used to be! I used to have amazing sales but the last several have really been lousy. A ton of work for very little reward.

I thought for sure this would sell...



It was a bargain!! Orginally $250 and I was trying to sell it for $80. It is like new. The Boy was ok with selling it at first but the longer it sat in the driveway the more he disliked the idea. Half way through the sale he started riding it and announced that we probably wouldn't sell it now because we coudn't change the price now. We had told all the people who came in the morning that it was $80 so it would be unfair to those people to change the price now. The rest of the day he sat worrying each time a car would pull up that this would be the one who took his wheels away. He didn't worry so much if someone pulled up in a car but if a truck arrived he was sweating.

At the end of the sale he drove it till the battery died then parked it as far back in the garage as he could get it. I guess we will keep it and try again next year. Surely he will be ready to part with it then.

Jayke's May Writing Journal

Final journal of the year.

5/2/11--April showers bring May flowers. I hae seen flowers on our appel tree. I have toolips.
5/3/11--In May I see flowers. There are lots of flowers in May. I have lots of flowers in my yard.
5/4/11--I've always wanted to have a duck tape braclet. My and I were going to go to Kaidens house last night. Masons dad dind't let us. (He left out the word friend above.)
5/5/11--What do you think Cinco de mayo is crazy. He is probly really old. He might of evented the phone and computer.
5/6/11--Today I can buy books because my Grandma is comeing. She can buy me books. I will get lots of them.
5/9/11--I'm so happy when I have soccer. I will prolby score a gole. Last time I scored two goles. Soccer is really fun.
5/10/11--During recess I want to play with my friends. We will play tag. No body will catch me.
5/12/11--I would invent a robot. I would make it red. I will be a really big one.
5/13/11--Over the weekend I played with my friens. We jumped on his tramplen. We bouncsed really hi. Then we went in side. Later on it started to rain so we went in the garage.
5/14/11--After school yesterday there was a tornado drill so are bus came back to the school. We had to sit in the bathroom for awile. It was gross.
5/15/11--Today we have a subsutoot teacher. She let me take the invelopes down. It was really fun.
5/17/11--I would like to learn to count to a million. it would take a wile. It took me a hour to even count to 600.
5/18/11--My best friend is Kaiden. he gave me a duck tape bracelet. I really like it.
5/19/11--If I went to the beach I would go swimming. I would build a sand castle. i would make it really big.
5/20/11--I got to wait for the bus at my friends house. We went in his grandmas bus. Then we went ot the back of the bus and his grandma tried ot get us.
5/23/11--One of my favirote things at school is resess. I like the slides. I like the swings.
5/25/11--One of my favorite things in school is math. I can add and subtract. It is really fun.
5/26/11--One of my favorite things at school is centers. We can play memory and play moviel. I have to do it today.
5/27/11--One of my favrite thing at school is reading.l I can read Marvel Heroes. I am really good at reading.
5/31/11--Today at school I would llike to play out side. I will fo down the slides. I can swing. I can play with my friends.

Driving Miss Daisy

We took Grammy out to see the new flowers they planted at the "Health Campus".

On to Second Grade...

School is out!! Someone made the honor roll...although, I had to give him a little grief because two of his A+ grades from last grading period dropped to just an A. He ended up with straight A's. Came home the last day with next year's supply list so I am now chomping at the bit to go buy it all even though they don't even have the school supplies out yet. It's a challenge each year to refrain from going out right away and getting all the stuff on his list. Open house is Aug 11th ...only two months and he is back to school again!

I'd Like to See You In the After Life

My mother is apparently reading a book about a child who died while in the hospital but survived only to tell about heaven and all that he saw there. She, for some reason, felt it necessary to share this story with Jayke who is now obsessed with heaven. He has continuously talked about heaven since getting home from Oma's. He is pretty upset about the whole thing too because he is sure he is going one way and I am going the other. This is upsetting to him because he would like to be able to see me after we are gone. I finally figured this out after answering many questions about heaven and "the place where the devil lives." When he asked me if, "people who go to heaven can see the people who go where the devil lives" I finally knew that he had decided that he was going to heaven and I wasn't. I asked and it was confirmed that, yes, this was exactly what he is thinking. However, he feels if I clean up my language this can all be avoided. I will try to work on that.

I Can Solve Your Problem

Mommy, I sure hope you get a job soon cause I'm sick of looking at you!

I promptly took care of his issue by sending him to his room to contemplate how he chose to express himself, thereby making it so that he no longer had to look at me!! I have a resolution for all his problems!

Seasons Over...Finally!!

Soccer has finally ended for the season! I didn't think it was ever going to end. We had to add 3 1/2 weeks to the season because of the rain and the final tournament game was called in the middle due to a thunderstorm rolling in. We won our first game, lost the second, and tied the last, which was called early. We are going to have to rethink our plan for fall soccer. I'm not happy with the way things have been changed with the club and we will also be old enough to begin travel soccer. In the mean time Jayke has a soccer camp beginning in July with the Ball State womens soccer team as coaches. Same clinic we did over the winter. So far this is the only camp I have him signed up for. He will be going to Georgia for a week to visit his dad and probably swimming at my dad's and his friend, Mason's. All he wants to do it play with his friends so he doesn't care about not going to any camps. He will be busy.

Jayke's April Writing Journal

4/1/11--Last night I played my dsi. I played Mario kart. I got in first place. I always pick the fastest car. It is really fun.
4/4/11--Storms are really scary. Last night when I heard thunder I jumped. I was really scared.
4/8/11--If I was president I would make school one minute less. I would make lunch in there room always. I would make no homework.
4/11/11--When I get home from school I have to go to soccer. I've mist a lot of it. I really like soccer.
4/12/11--The caterpillars are hanging to make a cacoon. I like to watch the catepillars scwerm. The catepillars are 3 and a 1/2cm long. They will be painted ladys.
4/13/11-- I like to read magic tree house books. They are my favorite books. I have one in my desk.
4/15/11--Last night I went to my friends house. We practicest for soccer. My team lost the game.
4/18/11--Insects have 6 legs and some have intinas. We hae some baby catepillars. They are in chrysalis.
4/19/11--What did you do instead of wathing tv? I played with my toys. I read a book. It was my favorite book.
4/20/11--What did you do instead of watching tv? I went to my friends house. We played lots of games. I tried to not watch tv . I couldn't help it.
4/21/11--What did you do instead of watching tv? I rode my bke. I played a board gaem. I almost won. It was really fun.
4/25/11--I am tired of waiting to go to the childrens museum. Next we will be going to Minatrista. It will be really fun.
4/27/11--The best thing about the field trip was peting the animals. I liked peting the bunny best. I didn't pet the hissing cockroach. it was gros. I did pet the trinchla.
4/28/11--My favorit book is Mrs. chicken and the hungry crocodile. It is about the crocdile how wants to cat a chicken. Her name is Mrs. Chicken.
4/29/11--This weekend I'll play with my frind. We will play xbox. It will be fun.

And a letter he wrote to me as an assignment...

Dear Mommy I really want you to take me to kins island. I need to ride rides and play games. I must play games. I couldn't go last year becaue I was to little. I hope I can go this year. I really like kings Island. from Jaykeb.

New Do

Jayke got his hair cut today and the girl actually put a little product in it and styled it. He now says I have to do this for him every morning before school. He asked me at least 6 times if we had gel at home...if not we better go get some on the way! This picture is not the finished product. I don't have a picture of that...he was in too big a hurry to go show his new do off to his friends when we got home and took off before I could get a good shot. Good thing school is almost out cause I'm not getting up early to do his hair!!

Jaykeb's spring school pictures

Hmmmm....

....wonder what he made in school for me this year...

My Son the Comedian

Tonight we went to watch Matthew and Alec play baseball. On the way home Jayke was riding with Matt and Ang. I guess Matt and Jayke were going to watch a movie and there was some discussion about whether or not Jayke could watch it because it may have been rated R. When we met up Ang was cracking up at my kid and the following conversation that was just had in her vehicle...

Matt: I don't know if you can watch this movie because it may be rated R.
Jayke: Well is there a lot of blood in it?
Matt: No, I don't think so.
Jayke: Well is there a lot of killing in it?
Matt: No, I think there is just a lot of cussing.
Jayke: Oh, that's okay then...my MOM is rated R!

Nice.

Dirty Boy

When it has rained for 40 days and 40 nights it is haighly likely that your kid will not come away from the soccer field clean. Tonight was picture night too! I was lucky, my kid was one of the cleaner ones.

Shake Shake Shake!!

We went out for a friend's birthday last Friday night and Ang's hubs took this picture of us. Angi, Mandi, and Me. I did my usual, "I don't wanna go!" but had a blast once we got there. There was karaoke on one side of the bar and dancing on the other. I actually danced for the first time since my wedding (which I can't recall). Now my kid, who overheard me talking about it, is going around telling everyone his mother was out "Shakin it!" Friday night. I think the exact conversation he had with his dad on the phone went something like this...

Jayke--My mother went out the other night and SHE WAS SHAKIN IT! She was shakin it like there was no tomorrow!! Shakin it!!

Jayke's Dad--Thaaat's nice.

Clearly Jayke's Dad was not as amused by the fact that I was "shakin it" as Jaykeb was. I'm actually quite amused by it myself. Everytime that night pops into my head I literally laugh out loud at how ridiculous we must have all looked out there "Shakin it"!

Monsters and Animals

Jayke and I have been busy coloring Easter eggs. After they were colored we decided to get a little creative. Above is my piggy egg I made. Jayke had a hard time helping with this part of the decorating since he is not allowed to use the hot glue gun. He was more like my assistant but he did manage to make a couple of Monster eggs...



All of this crafting was made very difficult by the fact the cat was trying to lay right in the middle of all our supplies and also periodically would take off with a pile of pipe cleaners or ribbons. She was also particularly found of the "Monster hair". I'm surprised those monsters weren't swiped bald!



I think Jayke is a lil confused about the Easter eggs. He thinks they are FOR the Easter Bunny. Kinda like the cookies you put out for Santa. He keeps wanting to make a special basket and a card for the bunny to go with them. I keep trying to explain that they are just Easter decorations. He acts like this is the first time we have colored eggs or the first Easter we have celebrated. Maybe its because we did a lot more with the eggs this year. I usually don't get into the coloring of the eggs too much. Seems pointless when you can just go out and buy the plastic ones and actually get something inside of those. I'm glad we did it this year though, who knows if this will be the last year he believes in the bunny or not and he enjoyed creating our little critters...

We Will Be Back After the War...

It's Wet and Muddy Out...Must be Soccer Time!

It's soccer time again and these two dudes are are serious about their soccer!! LOL. They aren't on the same team which I think may be a good thing since tackling, their favorite activity, is not allowed in soccer.

Jayke played really well. I was impressed. I think the winter clinics really helped. There are two stand-outs on his team and he is one of them. I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom either. He did start to slow down about halfway through the game and I figured it was just tiredness left over from him having the flu last week. Nope. I was wrong. By the time we got home he was running a fever and a couple hours later he was throwing up. Guess he is having a relapse. Poor guy.

I was a very happy mom when he was throwing up. I know that sounds weird but I was. I do not do puke. Period, end of story. I've been lucky that he has not gotten sick very often. Last night I realized I must have put the fear of God in him about puking ANYWHERE but in the toilet. He came out of his room screaming like a maniac, made it to the bathroom, no problem. I was very proud of him. AND very relieved that I didn't have to clean up. I was also a little amused at the screaming...I'm not gonna lie. Screaming on his way to the bathroom and screaming all the way through until he was done. Screaming? Oh well, whatever works for him as long as I don't have to clean anything up.

He is feeling better this afternoon. He had made his sympathy call before I even got out of bed. Got up and called Oma to tell her he was sick. She was over pretty quick with some supplies. He didn't manage to convince her that he needed to go home with her though. Poor kid, now he is stuck here arguing with me all afternoon about the fact that just because he is feeling better does not mean that he can go out to play now. No school, no outside!!

Jayke's Favorite Toy

I am so happy Jayke is all better and going back to school tomorrow...but maybe not as happy as Luna is going to be. He drove her nuts today!!!

Jayke's March Writing Journal

3/2/11--The storm was really scarry. I had to o to tmy moms closet. I couldn't sleep.

3/3/11--I really like to play outside. I can go to my friend Hunter. He is my best friend.

3/4/11--During Dr. Seuss week I made a turtle. His name was Mack. I made a cat in the hat. He looked really funny.

3/8/11--In art I like to paint. I can paint a girffe. It is a yellow and brown one.

3/9/11--My favorite thing about music is you get to play an instrment. You don't get to play one all the time. I don't really like to go to music.

3/10/11--I feel proud when I lose a tooth. I can put it under the my pillow. I will get money from the tooht fairy.

3/11/11--At the animal convo I saw a volf. He was really big. I saw a baboon. He was really funny. I saw a crocidal. It tried to get away from the guy.

3/14/11--I was angry when I coutdn't go out side. I couldn't go outside becuse it was raining. I would get really wet.

3/15/11--The green stegasuaris has a towell with cotten candy. The blue dinosaur has a really big neck. There are a lot of dinosaurs.

3/16/11--For Spring Break I'll go to my friends house. We can play tag. I am really fast.

3/17/11--Iv'e always wondered when it would be summer again. I really love summer. It is the best season. I can go swimming in the summer.

3/18/11--Last week I went to my dads house. We went to a flee market. We got some book and cars.

3/24/11--I felt so proud when I found my cat behind the tv. I looked for her because I had a I feed her. Her name is Luna.

3/30/11--It was so funny when these to boys on the bus fell out of there seat. They really hurt there head. But they wearnt hurt for long.

3/31/11--When I get up in the morning I change my clothes first. Next I get my shous on. Last I wait for the bus.