A few things to share...

1. Yesterday Charley brought home a book he made at school. It is a fill in the blank book about his five senses and he must have sat with someone and told them what to fill in. These are the sentences:

I like to look at my brother Henry.
I like the taste of macaroni and cheese.
I like the smell of scrambled eggs.
I like the sound of my dad's van when he comes home from work. I don't like the sound of rough wind.
I like to touch my daddy.

2. Packer Ticket Update (If you don't know, my parents get each of their grandchildren on the season ticket list...which means someday they might have a chance at owning season tickets. My mom also got my niece Morgan on the list). Every once in a while we get a postcard that tells what number they are on the list.

Charley is 61,910

Henry is 75,312

Morgan is 80,031

Eli is 80,403

3. Tonight Ed gets the daunting task of visiting the dentist. He usually gets a good report. But since the appointment was after work he decided to just work late and then go straight there. So I touched base with my friend Jessie and we decided to meet at the park. We then walked to Perkins and let the kids enjoy some pancakes (it was kids eat free!). I thought of this because I remember my mom and our neighbor Kathy packing us up and taking us 6 kids to Big Boy...I can now imagine that they really wished they were kid-less, at a five star restaurant, sipping wine....The kids were pretty good tonight and Jessie and I got to finish our dinners and the large table of adults right behind us gave us smiles when we left so I guess we felt reassured that the kids were pretty good.


4. I have been talking about learning to can tomatoes all summer. I planted all tomatoes in our garden in hopes of canning. We didn't get enough at one time to can but we got PLENTY to enjoy throughout the summer. Tomorrow I am taking the boys on a road trip and Ed's cousin Molly will spend the day with me, teaching me her ways! I can't wait to hang out and learn from her.

5. At ECFE today it was time for snack and I hustled Henry over to wash his hands first so he could be the first one at the snack table. Hoping that being first would get him in the chair to sit. Last week he washed last and then wouldn't sit in his chair and the rule at school is you have to sit to eat. All last week we were battling the where to sit issue at home. So I knew it was a power thing between Henry and I. But like most moms, when your child is doing something odd or wrong you immediately feel like every other mom in the room is judging you. And both teachers did pull me aside and tell me ways they were going to help solve this for me. I walked out feeling a little pissed- I felt like they thought I let him wander around the house eating his pork chops and bowl of cereal. And I know this wasn't the case. I know my kid and I knew he was just going through a stage. So as we walked to the sink to rinse I was hoping, praying, and trying to send silent messages to my child ...I wanted him to show he could do it. And sure enough - he sat for snack! And all the mom's went on and on to him about what a big boy he was...maybe a little too much. But the really sad thing was I was thinking - YES! I won!