Who Woulda Thunk It

My three year old loves dinosaurs. LOVES them. He has little toy dinosaurs, big toy dinosaurs, and every size in between. Ask him who is the king of the dinosaurs, he'll tell you it's a T-Rex. Ask him which one has spikes on his back, he'll tell you a stegosaurus. Ask him his favorite dinosaur, he'll say a Pentaceratops.

But when he started calling himself a Strufiominus, I knew he'd lost his little mind. For weeks I've been telling him there is no such thing as a Strufiominus. He said yes there was, and he could run fast. I've been insisting that no, there wasn't, but he could pretend if he wanted to.

Then yesterday I happened to walk through the room when he was watching the dinosaur video for the 45th time this month. And guess what I heard? Sure enough, they were talking about a dinosaur that ran like an ostrich. And its name? Struthiomimus. My son's pronunciation was not quite accurate, but it was close enough for me to admit defeat. I even googled it. Yep, it's true.

So, to my dear little son, I am sure that I will question you about MANY, MANY things during your lifetime, but never again will I question you about dinosaur facts. If you say it, I'll believe it.

Promise. Because, honestly, I won't know if it's true anyway.

All We Need is a Pocket Protector

It is official. My 6 year old is a nerd.

A few weeks ago my son discovered that there is a quarter for each of the 50 states, which led to the beginning of the quarter collection. Which led to the 'need' for a quarter holder. Which led to him saving up his money so he could buy one. Which led to grandma giving him a nice map quarter holder for Kindergarten graduation. I'm sure the other boys were asking for transformers and guns and cars. He asked for a map to stick quarters in.

The other day he was studying his new map. He was frustrated because he couldn't find a state he was looking for. I asked which one it was. He told me he was looking for Hampshire. "You mean New Hampshire?" I asked. No, he was looking for Hampshire, because if there was a New Hampshire, there had to be plain old Hampshire too. When I asked him why he thought that, he declared it was because there was Mexico and New Mexico, so it only made sense. I'm still not sure he believes me, even though I showed him there is no York, only New York. Moms just don't know anything.

And if studying the United States map isn't enough, he has now decided that his favorite thing to do is play chess. I know nothing about the game, but he must be decent at it, because he has beaten his father at least a couple of times. And his father is the one who taught him how to play.

The other day I walked downstairs to find him watching Cyberchase on TV. Since he likes to play that video game on the computer, I asked him if he thought it was cool to watch a TV show that was one of his favorite games. "Yeah," he said, "but wouldn't it be even cooler to watch a chess game on TV?"

Oh yes. That is my idea of a rip-roaring good time.

Where have I gone so wrong??? Thank goodness he still loves basketball and baseball too. Maybe there is hope.

Maybe.

Kindergarten Graduation

Counting by 5's

Reading a Story

Diploma Time

Graduating!

Last Day of Kindergarten

When I was a kid, I remember feeling like a school year lasted FOREVER. However, if I recall correctly, the summers lasted a long time as well. My friends say it only gets worse the older the kids get, but I cannot believe this school year is already coming to an end. Today was my son's last day of kindergarten, and the graduation ceremony is tonight. Hopefully, he will make it on stage and complete the entire program without tears. For both him and me.

This is a picture of him on the very first day of school in August. See those cute little baby teeth? Oh, how I mourn for those neat, straight, white, small, perfect teeth. Now I just see big ol' dollar signs every time he opens his mouth. I'm thinking the government should create 529 plans for orthodontics. Except right now I would put in $3,000 and only get back $1,800. So much for that plan.

I should have taken a picture of him this morning before school to mark the occasion. I just realized he wore that very same shirt to school today. Only now it is faded and in the much-loathed "almost too small" stage. And those shoes don't fit. And the backpack has holes in it. And, did I mention, those cute little teeth are gone?

So we say good-bye to Kindergarten. Gone are the days of being done at 11:30, of morning snacks, and of ABC verses. I am amazed at the amount of reading, math, phonics, and writing that can be accomplished in 3 short hours a day. I am proud of you, buddy! You did a great job!

Trying Something New

This was our $5.00 garage sale purchase on Saturday. For five bucks, we figured we had nothing to lose. Unless, of course, the beds decide to crash down on top of one another. That could get ugly.


We are still in the honeymoon period of putting the boys together in the same room. So far, so good, but I'm sure there will be a future post (most likely the not-so-distant future) where I will be lamenting the decision of moving them together. Like for example, when they are practically killing each other and I scream, "Go to your room!" so they can spend some time....together.

Is it summer YET?

I decided today I am pretty much done with this cold, rainy weather. I guess we shouldn't expect anything else considering we had many, many 65 degree days this winter. We knew at some point it would get cold. I was just hoping it wouldn't be in May.

I am looking forward to summer for SO many reasons. Here are a few:

*No lesson planning or grading.

*No six a.m. alarm clocks.

*My anniversary.

*Family trip to Branson.

*My dear friend who has put up with me my entire life (who also happens to be my cousin) is coming to spend 7 entire days with me!

*My birthday.

*I have the privilege of working with a very cool little boy who I know will capture my heart even more than he already has.

*Can you say GIRLS WEEKEND?? Four days of kid-free shopping, hanging out, and relaxing!

*This will be the first summer that our fathers are retired instead of working 40+ hours a week. This equals more time with grandpa at the lake and less field work for my husband to do!

*As a result, I will get more time with my husband!

Twenty days and counting...

More Things I've Learned Lately

*Thousands of dollars of dental reconstruction might be easier than putting up with a 3 yo on thumb-sucking withdrawal.


*I am not pretty - physically, mentally, or socially - on 5 hours of sleep a night.


*My 6 yo doesn't have great pitch, but it is pretty cool to hear him walk around the house belting out "God, You Reign."


*There is no limit to the number of cookies high schoolers will eat in one morning.


*Garage Sales are still not my thing. We are piling up some stuff to sell, and I even have a few things I'd like to find on Saturday, but the whole process feels like a lot of stress and zero fun.


*No matter what might be bothering me at any given moment, there is always someone else who could use my encouragement more than hearing about my own selfish pity parties. If I would remember that more often, we would all benefit.


*The house just refuses to clean itself. I keep wishin', it keeps not happenin'.


*I do believe I am counting down the days left of school more than any student I have! I'm sure they would argue that, but it's definitely a close race.


*I have some of the best friends ever. This week I had some great conversations and priceless girl-time that helped me push through all the craziness. Thank you!