Sharky-Art

Sharks has been, um, opposed to coloring ever since I first put a crayon in his hand. Nothing I have done has ever persuaded him to draw. Not even cool coloring books. Or peer pressure (Sunday school.) I even talked to my art therapist friend to get some fun ideas. But still, nada.

However, in the last few days, the clouds have parted and the golden sun of COLORING FUN has shone.

I know it's silly, but I have been waiting for this day. Coloring is so soothing to me, and I had hoped it would be one of those fun things we did together - now whaddya know, we've got a budding artist on our hands! Ha.

(For the record, I drew the circle for the head, but he did the rest.)

For All the...

The other day, we were playing ping-pong in the basement, when Sharks hit his ball into this giant old hose sitting on a shelf in the corner.

"Mom, come quick! My ball is lost in the countless hose!"

Took me a second, but then I realized what he was saying.

"From earth's wide bounds, from ocean's farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Alleluia, Alleluia!"

[from For All the Saints, by William Walsham How]

I cannot even express how much I love these adorable language mishaps the little guys make. It is so precious when they try to apply the things they hear into everyday conversations. (Unless they are talking about nosepicking.)

What are some good ones your kids have said?

Nap Time-ish

Since Sharks no longer takes an afternoon nap, we had to come up with a new plan. So now he rests with his head on his pillow for 30-45 minutes (obviously to encourage sleep if he needs it), then when the timer beeps, he can get up and play quietly in his room for 45-60 minutes. (The times vary slightly based on the needs of the day.)

Today, however, he read Coastal Living.

Digging for gold (again)

(The older the boys get, the more I realize that these blog posts are slipping further and further into the abyss of boogers, farts, and legos.)

The other day at my mom's house, Sharks' finger was getting a little too clse to his nose, so my mom asked, "Why are you picking your nose, buddy?"

"I am picking my nose because mom picks her nose."

Oh. the. shame.

Soooo, I tried to salvage what remnants of dignity I could, and came up with a brilliant plan - Sharks and Mommy will both stop picking their noses.

(For the record, I am not a big nose picker. The way my child talks, you are probably thinking it's my new favorite hobby or something.)

Well. That plan didn't fly. Sharks said, "How about you keep picking your nose so I can keep picking mine?"

Sigh.

Bikes!

In honor of the annual bike race in our neighborhood, the boys decided that they wanted to race each other. (Which means Sharks speeds away while I do my best to push Deeds as fast as I can without 1) him falling off, 2) crashing into a tree, 3) tripping and looking like a doofus.)

Guess which one I didn't manage?

I was really excited about Deedo's bike - I found it at a yard sale. It had some rust on it (ok, actually everywhere there could be rust, there was rust) but after a quick trip to Home Depot for supplies and a little scrubbing, the bike was as good as it could be (for an old - let's say vintage - bike.)

Here's a sequence of photos for you - can you guess what's about to happen?





They made up this game where they yell, "deek!" and stab each other with their fingers. Doesn't sound like fun to me, but they think it's hilarious. Only this time Deeds stabbed Sharks in the nose.

(And yes, I should have seen that coming.)