Back To School!

Second grade began today but not without a huge argument the night before regarding The Boy's attire and bedtime. The argument was short-lived but not without a bit of door slamming and some serious pouting. I will give myself a pat on the back for my level of preparedness this year though. I had every single detail covered which is not really like me of late. Being organized is not my strong suit these days. I did manage to get it together for the first day though and I'm sure he appreciated it.

Jayke has been saying all summer he didn't want to go back to school but then last night he began to get excited. This morning he woke me up at five something saying he couldn't sleep. I told him that I COULD sleep and it was too early to get up!! He left the room and I went back to sleep. When I got up he had fed and watered the kitten, let the dogs out, and gotten dressed for school. He was ready to go. I took him this morning instead of sending him on the bus since he had a bunch of extra stuff to carry. He was happy to learn that Parker would be in his class again. Parker has been in his class every year and also went to Cub Scouts with him. I left him sitting at his desk looking a bit timid.



When he arrived home after school I tried to ask him some questions about his classmates and the teacher but he wasn't having it. He was out the door and down the road to play with his friends. Maybe later tonight I can get some info out of him. I guess he had a good day.

Trying to Develop a New Hobby...Again...

I've been busy downloading a bunch of apps for my iPhone for taking and editing pictures. Now I am obsessed with it. I mess with it all day long. I've gotten a few that are pretty good that I really like. I have to get back in the habit of taking pictures again...and like everything there is improvement with practice. Some of the different filters make the pictures look old, which I like a lot right now. Hoping I get better, but here are a few that I like so far...

Oma, This is Not Your Business!

This is what the school supplies for second grade look like. Included are all his new clothes and the new Nike Air Jordans his dad bought him. Please also note the new hair cut...finally!

My mom took us school clothes shopping today. Jayke doesn't need a lot of things but there were a few items we needed to get to get him started this year. For some reason it seems they don't have much to choose from in his size but we managed to find some cute things. Right now Jayke is into wearing track pants and basketball shorts with t-shirts. This is fine but he likes to have Nike and Adidas brands now. A little rougher on the pocketbook.

Having him have an opinion on his clothes now makes it interesting when we hit the stores. He is not really difficult but he definately has an opinion. He also still values my opinion apparently because he asked me what I thought about everything he saw. My mom would try to give her input and he would say, "Oma, this is not your business...Mommy, what do YOU think of this shirt?" He didn't even want her to touch his clothes for some reason. He also now thinks he needs to go into the fitting room and try everything on. I vetoed that action. I hate going into a fitting room for myself let alone a seven year old. I told him he could try everything on when we got home.

Two stores and we were done. I think I am lucky to have a boy for this reason. When we got home I was treated to the most peculiar fashion show I've ever seen. He promptly took all his items into his room and began to try them on. He decided to try only one item on at a time. This meant if he was trying on a shirt he didn't have on any pants and vice versa. A little hard to get a good impression of what his outfits look like when I only get to see half of one at a time. Very funny to see him parading around in his briefs with his skinny little legs sticking out too! I pleaded with him to try on an entire outfit but he was determined to drag this out as long as possible. When he was finished he laid everything out on display in the living room. THIS I understood...as a kid I always liked to lay everything out so I could admire it for a while. He is just like his momma!

Tonight I got all his supplies opened and put together. I wrote his name on everything and packed his back pack. We are ready to go Monday morning. Second grade here we come!!

Getting Along

The kids are getting to know each other. So far, so good. Only had one minor incident with Simon going after Nemo. I don't think he would hurt him but it sure did scare Nemo. I think he has had a bad experience with dogs...he is more afraid of them than any of my other kittens have been. He seems to love Luna though. Every time he sees her he runs right up to her. She just looks at him. They will be tearing the place up in a day or so I'm sure.

Tonight as we were sitting here watching the animals get acquainted, Jayke asked me to make him some cinnamon toast. Half way through his second piece he announced that they should have my cinnamon toast on Rachel Ray's show!! It is THAT good! Funny. I didn't bother telling him that cinnamon toast is maybe the easiest thing in the world to make. I also thought that we are watching entirely too much day time tv...good thing school starts Monday!

Snips and Snails

Jayke likes to keep up with the Blog.

Found Nemo

....and here he is! Driving to my dad's house yesterday I glanced over and saw a little kitty on the side of the road. I immediately went back and got him. I figured he would run from me when I tried to pick him up but he came to me willingly. When I got him to Dad's house we discovered that his back leg was injured and his nose was scraped up. We figured that someone probably threw him out of their car to get rid of him. Jayke LOVES cats so he automatically wanted to keep him. I told Jayke that if he wanted to keep him that he would have to pay for the vet bill with the money in his piggy bank. He replied, "That's ok...I don't really use money anyway."

Nemo came home and today we took him to the vet and had his leg looked at. They think it is just a sprain. He got dewormed, checked for feline leukemia, and was sent home with some flea medicine and pain medicine. He got to come out into the living room with the rest of us tonight. He immediately saw Luna and walked right up to her. She wasn't so excited to see him. The are gradually getting used to each other. He is really scared of the dogs though so that may take a little longer than it did with Luna.

Jayke's Bathroom Tree

Another wall decal...I'm obsessed with them. I love the way they look and love that it is something different than using framed artwork every where. I had to take this picture looking into the mirror...the tree is on the opposite wall and there is really no way to photograph it and get the whole thing in the picture. The bathroom is too small and the tree is too big. I wish I had more walls because there are so many of these that I LOVE!!

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.

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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!