Weekend Wrap Up

On Friday, I went grocery shopping for a few things to get us through the weekend.

Here is what I came home with:
1 case of Bud Light Lime beer
1 bottle of Merlot
1 case of Jones Root Beer
1 case of Jones Berry Lemonade
4 pints of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
1 box of Hostess Twinkies (one of the few remaining boxes)
1 box of Hostess Zingers (completely out of Ding Dongs)
1 quart of Pumpkin Pie Spice coffee creamer
1 3 pack box of Pumpkin Spice bread mix
1 2 pack box of Cinnabon Streusel bread mix

No, I'm not shopping for a fraternity house, why do you ask?

The beer and wine are staples on the weekend grocery list, but the Hostess cakes were new.  In all of the talk about Hostess turning off the ovens, we realized that neither Jack or Will had ever tasted a Twinkie or a Ding Dong.  We wanted them to experience a little bit of our childhood nostalgia.  Ding Dongs are gone, people.  There are Hostess hoarders out there.  Twinkies are hard to find, but they're still out there.  You just have to look.

Jack and I have been enjoying pumpkin bread.  This mix is so easy to make and so delicious!  Will thought it tasted "too pumpkin-y", but if you are making PUMPKIN BREAD then I think a "pumpkin-y" taste means you've succeeded.

What's even more delicious is to spread some brown sugar cinnamon cream cheese on the pumpkin bread.  YUMMM!

Friday night, we went to our usual pizza joint.  While we are waiting for our pizzas, the boys play video games or buy bubble gum from the quarter machines.  Well, this Friday night was special because Will bought me a ring.

He was so excited to present me with the ring.  He put it on my finger and kept asking if I thought it was beautiful and if it was better than the ring Daddy had given me.  I bragged about how much I loved it, loved the color, loved how shiny it was, and it was definitely bigger than the ring Daddy had given me.  On the way home, Will told me that he was probably going to give the ring to his wife one day, but I could enjoy it until then.  I promised that I would keep it safe and in pristine condition.  He wanted me to keep it on my nightstand Friday night, and first thing Saturday morning, Will put the ring back on my finger to enjoy.  He is such a precious boy!

On Saturday, we watched football all day...from noon til midnight!  And that is what I would call a perfect fall Saturday!  Jack finished reading the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, The Third Wheel.  Will stayed in his pajamas the entire day.  And that would be the perfect day, any day, in Will's book!

On Sunday, we went to church, played with our friends, baked bread, and cleaned out the garage.  We also polished off the Twinkies, the Zingers, and the wine, and made a good dent in the beer and ice cream!

What a productive weekend!

Thankful Thanksgiving Thoughts

I was volunteering in Will's classroom today, and while I was waiting outside the classroom door to be called in, I notice the class's Thanksgiving artwork display called Thankful Thanksgiving Thoughts.  So I'm reading through all of the wonderful things Will's friends are thankful for...my family, my home, my church, love, my pet, rainbows...and I finally find Will's artwork display.

Will is thankful for....

CHICKEN?!?!

And why am I not surprised?!?!  I can't tell you how much joy and laughter our boy brings into our lives!  He is so funny!

I'm standing there laughing hysterically when Mrs. B walks out into the hallway to get me.  I turn to her and say, "Mrs. B, we are thankful for CHICKEN!"  Mrs. B agrees that it is a great response.  And then points out her favorite one that I had not seen yet.  Just to the right of Will's artwork is another little boy's Thankful Thought.

McKale is thankful for....

God and BONES!

Mrs. B said that she asked him "Bones?", and he looked at her seriously and said, "Yes, bones."  So she asked him again "Bones?", and he reached over and touched her forearm and said, "Yes, bones.  You know (while he is gently squeezing her arm) bones!"   Well, okay!  God and Bones!

So this Thanksgiving season, let's remember to count ALL of our blessings!  

Out of the Mouth of Will: The Movie Edition

Yesterday, I had a Kindergarten Service Project meeting at school with several other moms and Will's teacher.  Mrs. B comes in and says, "Will had my very favorite intention during morning prayer today!"

And you know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you don't know what in the world could come out of your child's mouth?!?  Well, you do know what could come out of his mouth and that's what worries you!  Yep.

Me:  Oh No!  What did he pray for?

Mrs. B:  Will asked that we pray for "Brad Pitt to continue to make great movies!"

Me:  Brad Pitt!  How does he know who Brad Pitt is?!?!  He's never even seen a Brad Pitt movie!

Mrs. B:  I didn't think he had!  Mrs. M and I started to giggle a little and Will looked at us and said "What?!?!  He is a real person!"  So I asked Will what movie Brad Pitt was in.  And he just looked at me incredulously and said, "Ummm, Shrek!"

So, Brad Pitt, if you are reading then please know you were prayed for yesterday by an entire class of kindergartners, who, with the exception of 1, probably have no idea who you are.

And if you have a free moment today, I'm sure Angelina would appreciate an extra prayer on her behalf as well.

Amen.

Swimming: Jack's Year Round Sport

Jack has been swimming since he was two.  And I'm not talking about the "Mommy holding toddler while he splashes arms and legs in water" kind of swimming.  I mean the "Toddler is swimming underwater from the pool's steps to Mommy who is 6 feet away" kind of swimming.  We kinda had an inkling early on that swimming might be Jack's thing.  We're quick like that!

This school year, Jack decided that he wanted swimming to be his main sport.  He wasn't interested in the other stuff; he wanted to concentrate on swimming.  Maybe it was the Summer Olympics that spurred this decision because, seriously, after watching Michael Phelps swim, who doesn't have Olympic aspirations?!?!

So we have entered into the world of club swimming.  Jack is in the Junior program, which technically is swim lessons.  But don't you dare call them lessons because "He already knows how to swim"...this is swim practice!  Moving on...  The Junior program is the precursor for moving up to the club swim team.  Brent and I are fine with hanging out in the Junior program until oh, middle school or so, when we'll be ready to commit our Saturdays to day-long swim meets and Jack will be ready to start preparing for high school swimming.

Side Note:  In 2003, Michael Phelps swam in a meet at this club.  Phelps still holds the pool records for the 100, 200, & 500 freestyle, for the 100 & 200 backstroke, for the 100 & 200 butterfly, and for the 200 & 400 Individual Medley.  Pretty cool!

These swim practices are the real deal...two days/week for 45 minutes of swimming.  And I'm talking about lap swimming, IMs, stroke technique work, and more lap swimming.  At one practice, they swam 57 laps (66 laps equals a mile).  There are some days I leave swim practice thinking "better him than me!"  But each and every practice, I'm in awe of what he can do!

Last week, I was sitting in the stands watching practice when Jack's coach called out to him during lap swim.  I'm so far away that I couldn't hear what she was saying, but I saw him swim to the middle of the lane, stop, and wait.  Once all the other swimmers had reached the end of the lane, the coach started demonstrating part of the breast stroke technique, particularly the proper way to pull your arms and how to hold your head.  Then she had Jack demonstrate for the class his breast stroke.  And it was beautiful, ifIdosaysomyself!  And my heart burst with pride for my boy!

And I just had to brag.  Because Mamas are allowed to do that!

Weekend Wrap Up

It was a busy weekend after a busy week, but that is the usual around here.  Brent was out of town for business last week. Don't feel too sorry for him...The business trip landed him in Cancun eating seafood and drinking beer while laying on a beautiful beach with topaz water.  But he did send me a picture of his view from lunch one day....

I think the least he could have done was included a "wish you were here" with the pic.  Or maybe he didn't! ha ha ha!


Friday night, Nina and I took the boys to see Wreck It, Ralph! in 3D.  It got a two thumbs up review from all of our mini movie critics.

 

Will reaching out to catch the special effects.

After the movie, we went to a local pizza joint for pizza and wings.  On the way home, Jack was wearing his 3D glasses and commented that he could see really well while wearing them.  My antenna immediately went up.  I have terrible eyesight.  I mean legally blind, TERRIBLE eyesight.  And I started wearing glasses in the 3rd grade, so while Jack's comment did catch me by surprise (he passed a eye screening just this summer at his well checkup), it surely wasn't unexpected.  So I asked him if he had trouble seeing the board at school.  "A little bit.  It doesn't look blurry, but it looks kinda foggy."

Saturday morning, we were in the optometrist's office at 11am for an exam.  This was Jack's first eye exam and he handled it like a champ!  There was some discussion about whether or not to do the glaucoma test (where they shoot a puff of air into your eye), because some kids (and even some adults) freak out when it's done.  They decided to give it a try and Jack hardly flinched.  He had a surprised/stunned look on his face because how can you really prepare for something like that?  You just have to experience it.  But the technician was proud of him, and told Jack that from now on she was going to tell all of her patients that a 9 year old handled the test with no problems.  So the bottom line is Jack has healthy eyes, but needs a mild prescription for distance.

  Doesn't he look cute?!?!  I told Jack he was one of the lucky ones...he looks just as cute with or without glasses!  Poor thing, see how dilated his eyes were.  All afternoon, he kept asking me to check to see if his eyes were "still radiated." 

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching all of the teams that we love lose their games in the final minute.  Brent arrived home after the end of the Bama loss and I feel sure that he immediately wished he was back in Cancun.  My family kept a wide berth away from me for the rest of the night.  They are intuitive like that!

Sunday was the big rivalry game between the Saints and the Falcons.  As we were getting dressed for church, Brent said that when he was growing up, Honey would let him wear his Saints jersey to Mass on the Sundays that the Saints played the Falcons.  He asked the boys if they wanted to wear their jerseys to church. Yes! Yes, they did!

Your eyes do not deceive you.  In a family of Saints fans, Will, the little contrarian that he is, is our only Dirty Bird!  Jack has been hoping for years that Honey would excommunicate Will from the family for this transgression.  It was the talk at Mass.  Brent and I had several people make House Divided comments and that they would pray there wouldn't be too many tears shed that afternoon.  

It was a great win for 3/4 of our family.  A few tears were shed by our little bird, but it wasn't nearly the drama Jack and Brent would have displayed if the Saints had lost.  We had a big shrimp pasta dinner with a round of our favorite dinner time game "Question Minute to Win It."  Mama had about a half a bottle of wine which helped to take the edge of the loss, that and my parents' call to talk me down off the ledge.

Hey, what can I say.  Around here, we take our football seriously!

Soccer: Will's Fall Sport

Game Ready!  Those eyes, the mischievous little grin, and that cleft chin just slay me!

This was Will's third season to play Fall soccer.  He loves it and will happily play every minute of the game if needed.

The league that Will plays in is organized through our church and most of the boys on his team were also in his kindergarten class.  He loved all the socializing with his new friends!

The boys named themselves the Cheetahs.  Our head coach (the one in the green jersey) was amazing and did a fantastic job of herding cats coaching the boys.  He started out the season coaching solo, which is not for the faint of heart with eight 5 year old boys, but after the second game, another father took pity and joined him in the ranks of crowd control coaching.  What impressed me most about the coach was that he was so positive, so encouraging, so skilled at teaching, and was great at pointing out to each boy how they were improving in their play.

Will played both offense and defense, but his favorite position was defense, specifically goalie.  It was the thrill of stopping the other team from scoring!

 Setting up for a pass.

 Please don't be jealous of my awesome photography skills.  It would have been a really cool shot if I had backed off the zoom just a bit!

Will wasn't the most aggressive guy on the team, but he also wasn't afraid to get in the middle of the pack, hold his ground, and kick the ball out of there, either!

 Score!  The celebration right after Will scored a goal to help his team on their come-from-behind victory!  Besides the joy on Will's face, what I love about this picture is that the coach is hurrying over to give Will a high five...he was always so excited for each player!

My happy boy!  Love his laugh and his smile!

This picture just makes me laugh because it so captures his funny personality!  I have no idea what he is doing, but in the background I'm hearing "just bust a move!"

It was a great season!  We won some, we lost some, we scored some goals along the way, but most of all the Cheetahs had fun!

Blessed John Paul II

There are several events that highlight the third grade year:  the Chocolate Party, Battle of the Books, the Living Museum, and the All Saints Mass.

Back in September, Jack was given a list of Saints and he was to chose the top 3 that he was interested in studying.  Jack's top 3 choices were 1) Blessed John Paul II (not a Saint yet, but on his way), 2) St. John the Baptist, and 3) St. Jude.  Jack was so excited when he was selected to portray Blessed John Paul II.

The Saint project took us the entire month of October to get ready for because Jack had to first research and write a report on Blessed John Paul II, then we had to dress a paper doll to be representative of his Saint.

This is Jack's Blessed John Paul II doll before he added the facial features.

The third part of the project was to dress as your Saint.  I had borrowed a John Paul II costume from a friend, but it was the white robe, capelet, and beanie that Pope John Paul II wore.

Jack was more interested in the ceremonial dress that Pope John Paul II would wear, so we used this picture as our inspiration when planning his costume.

And this is what we came up with...

He was so proud and we thought he looked fantastic!

On November 1, the school had an All Saints Mass and the third graders came dressed as their Saints and participated in the celebration of the Mass.

The Saints processed in to the congregation singing "When the Saints Go Marching In."

 St. Joseph, Blessed John Paul II, and St. Jude

 As the Saints processed in, they lined up across the altar.  I thought all of the costumes were wonderful!

Jack led the Responsorial Psalm.

A picture with Monsignor after the Mass.

Don't they all look so sweet and holy?

St. Pius X and Blessed John Paul II appear to be good buddies.

This is the outtake!  Blessed John Paul II and St. Pius X boxing while being cheered on by St. Joseph and St. Michael the Archangel.  Do you think this really happens in Heaven?

After Mass, the Saints returned to their classroom and each child gave a presentation about the life of his or her Saint.  

It was a lot of work, but in the end, it was a fun project!  And I've already put the bug in Jack's teacher's ear that Will would love to be Blessed John Paul II in a few years.  Afterall, we already have the costume!