Me: "How does watermelon sound tonight?" Tyler: "Good. I loooove watermelon. But I can't eat a black seed because a watermelon will grow in my stomach if I do." Me: "Watermelons don't grow in your stomach if you eat seeds. Who told you that?" Tyler: "My friends. Why did they tell me that if it's not true?" Me: "Well, maybe someone told them that and they believed it and told you. Sometimes adults tell kids things like that, just for fun. But, you can eat the seeds and nothing will happen." Tyler: "What other things like that do adults tell kids?" Me: "Well, my Grandma used to tell me to be careful if I crossed my eyes, because they might stay that way. Isn't that silly?" Tyler: (Laughing) "Yes! What other silly things do adults tell kids?" Me: (With Tyler's prompts for MORE after being told each one) "Hmmm, well, if you swallow gum it'll stay in your body for seven years. ...or if you drink the foam off of a root beer float it'll make you stronger, ...or if you drink caffeine it'll stunt your growth." Tyler: (Looong pause, thinking for awhile, then laughing) "Oh, I bewieved that foam diiiid make you stronger."
Just wanted to let you family and friends know that the gig is up. I spilled the beans. :)
My friend, Michelle, recently gave me this cracker dip recipe and I've already made it several times. It just takes a few ingredients, is quick and easy to put together and is soooo tasty.
Savory Sweet Cracker Dip
- Michelle Pankratz
1 cup chopped pecans
4 green onions, diced
4 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2-1 cup raspberry preserves
Optional: 4 strips bacon cooked until brown and crispy, crumbled; garlic powder (about 1/4 tsp); and salt to taste (about 1/4-1/2 tsp).
Mix together pecans, green onions, cheese, mayonnaise and optional ingredients if desired. Spread on a plate/dish. Top with raspberry preserves. Serve with crackers.
Tuesday, August 17, was Tyler's first day of Kindergarten. We kept trying to tell him how great it was going to be, but when we asked whether he was excited he consistently said, "no." When we spotted the big yellow bus coming our way, he clung onto me.
I was actually doing okay, until as the bus drove away, I saw him blinking back tears. There was just something about watching him drive away in that big bus, scared of the unknown that I could identify with...and of course I worried all afternoon.
So, when he climbed off the bus that afternoon, I was very happy to hear that he really liked kindergarten.
We told him we thought we saw him blinking back tears as he drove away. He said, "I didn't cry. But my tummy felt like it was going to cry."
We grilled him for details. He really likes his teacher and still thinks she is quite beautiful. He told us, with great excited emotion, all about if he gets 10 green days in a row (no yellow or red days), he'll get to pick something from the teacher's Treasure Chest. And, with dramatic inflection, he told us that if he gets a red day, he will have to see the Priiincipal. I was surprised to see that he had already completed some worksheets and brought home homework.
He brought this picture home he had drawn/colored on the first day.
He explained, "The orange girl fish beat the black girl fish to the boy fish, so she got to marry him. She locked them in a bubble." Later, he added, "The lock is a teleport and it's invisible on the other side. The orange girl fish tricked the black girl fish. She told her they would get married in the afternoon, but they married in the morning."
Oh my, what a complicated story. And what is he doing thinking about marrying girls on the first day of kindergarten? :)
It seems that as of yet, he doesn't know anyone's name. He says his class is SOOO big. And 23 students is very big compared to the 7 that were in his preschool class.
He came home on Friday very happy that even though he's only earned 4 green days, he was already able to pick something from the teacher's Treasure Chest because his whole table was so well behaved that day. Irrelevant is the fact that he picked a book cover, because it looked better than his other options. :)
Since I haven't had time to blog about Tyler starting kindergarten this past Tuesday, or even upload pictures to the computer yet...I thought I'd at least post the reply that we sent Grandma Stuckey when she wrote to him, asking about kindergarten. (Tyler dictated his email to me. He hasn't learned that much in kindergarten yet). :)
Dear Grandma Stuckey, You do homework in kindergarten. You don't use markers, you use crayons in kindergarten. You ride the bus in kindergarten. The bus is really hot.
My cousin Shane (pictured below at left) recently got married in Pennsylvania, and had a Kansas reception last weekend. Lucky for us, my parents came to attend and stayed for a few extra days. The bad daughter that I am, I didn't take ANY pictures of Mom and Dad while they were here. Or of my children for that matter. What is wrong with me? I'm not sure how that happened. Anyway, we really enjoyed their visit.
On Tuesday evening, we had Ellis and Joye's clan came down to Wichita. The only picture I have to show of Mom and Dad's visit is the one below featuring Shane, Wayne and Sam who built this impressive Keva planks tower.
While Mom and Dad were here, it was time for staff to return to school for a week of in-services and getting ready for the students who start tomorrow. I would not say that I'm all prepared quite yet, but I'll make it work. I'm excited for another year.
Friday night, Tyler had a sleepover, and then on Saturday we enjoyed a gathering with friends. What a good way to relish the end of summer. :)
I took this picture a few days ago. Tyler's very loose tooth made his smile look pretty funny.
Yesterday, he lost his tooth while wrestling with Daddy. He isn't sure how exactly it happened, but suddenly he noticed that it had popped out. I was supposed to let the tooth fairy have his other 2 teeth, but ask to keep this one. :)
I was looking for a recipe to use up the fresh corn I hadn't gotten around to making yet, and my abundance of summer squash. I found this recipe on epicurious.com and it is a keeper. We all really liked it. Tyler didn't even need encouragement to finish his bowl.
6 slices bacon 6 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from 6-8 ears) 1 small yellow onion, diced (the recipe called for fennel) 1 cup diced summer squash 1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled russet potatoes 3 cups turkey broth (it's what I had on hand - it calls for chicken broth) 1/2 cup whipping cream 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper salt and pepper to taste 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
While the boys were out of town, I spent a little too long watching HGTV one day. I watched with increasing anxiety, realizing that there were far too many home improvement projects that I just had to tackle immediately. I became completely exhausted at the mere idea of all the things I'd like to do. So, I did what any reasonable person would do. I changed the channel.
However, I decided that there is one inexpensive project that I'd like to tackle. I, perhaps ridiculously, decided to paint all of our worn and dated trim a bright white. Now, as I intend to carry on with the daily duties of life as I tackle this project, it may take weeks...months...hopefully notyears.
Today, Tyler helped me to apply the first coat of primer in a bathroom. He was a diligent little helper, and took his job very seriously. This evening, he inspected our work and asked me what I thought about it. I (of course taking into account that it was only the first coat of primer) said that I thought it looked good. I asked what he thought.
He said thoughtfully, "I think it looks like a big disaster."
Oh dear. We'll see what he thinks in the morning when he can inspect the two coats of paint that I applied while he slept.
