Pass it down

This weekend we picked up James's guitars and amps from Grandma and Grandaddy's. The kids have never really heard James play and were quite amazed as he cranked it up upon arriving home. As we were settling down for the evening and putting things away Roman grabbed the guitar and attempted to play it. James told him not to touch it again. Roman's response, "but it's mine". After some bit of discussion on the rules of the guitars and establishing the fact they were daddy's guitars, Roman was still insisting, "No, it's mine, you pass it down". WHAT?!? By now frustration aside, James calmly asked him, "Why do you think it's yours? Why would I pass it down?" Roman's response.... "That's just what you do with stuff, pass it down to your kid, just like AJ Foyt passed those craftsman's tools down to his son and down to his son after him, in the commercial. So you pass it down to me. And I just thought then, the guitar was mine." Roman is an advertisers dream child! All this from a 30 second NASCAR Craftman's tool commerical!

Now THIS is an Excuse!

I was talking to James on the phone just before lunch today and I hear

"Roman, go stand in the corner"

Roman's voice in the background could be heard clearly "What did I do this time?"

James snapped "Don't sass me boy, get in the corner and I don't ever want to see you smack Bethany in the head again."

I could hear Roman getting upset and frustrated at that point, his response:

"I didn't hit her, she wouldn't leave me alone and then my hand got stuck to her head!"

I could so clearly visualize this playing out and could see James's anger at his son hitting his sister just fade away into a blinking stare as he tried not to laugh not quite knowing how to respond. Of course, me not actually being there, was totally cracking up through the phone and had to bail the boy the out.

See, Bethany had eaten dirt pudding with gummy bears when we had dinner at 5 Mile Post the night before and since we got home on the late side I didn't give them a bath, just wiped them down before bed last night. As Bethany was laying in my lap for story time I was stroking her hair and it got stuck in the sticky mess called her hair, so I knew what he was talking about, but James was clueless and thought that had to be the most clever excuse ever! Further explanations produced this scenario:

Roman just went to push her away from him as she wouldn't leave him alone and when he put his hand up to move her over, it got stuck in Bethany's sticky mass and as he was attempting to untangle, James caught what, to a normal bystander, looked like he was hitting her in the head!

Family Reunion

Saturday was the Hill family reunion where all my mom's sisters and brothers get together once at year at my Uncle John's. In the past it has been mainly just a sibling thing, but this year the kids & grandkids were invited. We were supposed to go, along with Steven and his family and Kari and her family, but we backed out at the last minute due to extreme hike in gas prices. Then I started feeling bad about it and changed my mind at the last minute and we all piled in the truck and headed to Baltimore. Turns out Kari and Steven both backed out too, but it was still great to see all the aunts and uncles some who have never met the girls, some I haven't seen in years, some I just don't see enough of.

I had called ahead and let Uncle Dave know we were coming and apparently he didn't tell anyone. As James and I were getting everyone shuffled in Hope ran to the back door and just stood there looking in until grandma spotted her. I think grandma loved that especially cute entrance.

Uncle John has a big pool in the backyard and despite the fact that we ran out without bathing suits, it wasn't long before the kids found their way into the pool. I think Aunt Darlene would be the primary instigator here! Next thing I know Hope is knocking on the backdoor completely naked and having to go potty.

"What are you doing? Where are your clothes? Where are your underwear??"

Hope "I'm not riding home with wet 'un-wear-wears'!."

Aside from my little streaker I walked out to discover boxer boy aka Roman, and the soaking wet, I'll just jump in with my clothes on, B. They did have a blast though and eventually I did manage to convince Hope to put her underwear on at least. It took a lot of coaxing from everyone, but Roman soon discovered that he was tall enough to walk around and play in the shallow end. By the end he was even grabbing hold of pool noodles and letting Uncle Roy pull him around in the water. Hope wouldn't leave the steps area and Bethany enjoyed laying on the raft and being pulled around like a little princess. Then, out of the blue, Roman decides he wants to jump off the diving board just like Uncle Roy! Roman - the boy who is petrified of water was entertaining the idea of jumping off the diving board into the deep end. It took him more than 5 minutes to work up his courage, but with a lot of cheering and a dollar bribe from Uncle John, much to my astonishment he did it!!! He jumped off the board onto a raft below and Uncle Roy helped him kick to the edge. He didn't fully go under because he had grabbed the raft on the way down, but still... MY BOY! Jumping off diving boards! Man has he grown up this summer! James and I couldn't be prouder.

Then as if that wasn't big enough, my often shy in front of groups of people, little boy proceded to join in on karyoke. When we would have expected Hope Elizabeth to grab the spotlight, nope, it was totally Roman's day! He sang his heart out for everyone, microphone and all. ABC's, Row Row Row Your Boat and so on. With Row Row Row Your Boat he scored a 97%, or an "A" as Grandma informed him and he was quick to let anyone who would listen know. This means that he kept up with the music and sang the right words through 97% of the song! He is quite the singer.

All and all we all had a fabulous time visiting with everyone and hope to be able to do it again soon!

Mommies Know Everything

The kids are always asking me "how do you know that?" in regards to everything. And I am always telling them "mommy knows everything!" So the other night James and I are sitting in the living room watching TV just after having put the kids to bed and I yell "Turn that light off", to which we hear lots of loud whispering and movement as they struggle to get the light off. A minute later I yell again "Turn that light off" and they do very quietly and turn it right back on, so I yell again "I said turn it off".. "off"... "I said off!" At this point there's a lot of groaning, and "How does she know that?" and I yell, "I heard that, and I told you, mommies know everything!" This pattern continued one more time with me repeatedly yelling "OFF" about a dozen times before they gave up and went to sleep.

At that point, James looked over shaking his head, and says "Come on, how DID you do that?" Because the living room used to be arranged so that the recliner was just off the end of the hallway and it was easy to tell when the back of the hallway would light up, but now it's on the other side of the room and impossible to see down the hallway to tell if the light is on or not. At first I played along and just shrugged and said "I told you, mommy's just know everything". After some groaning and proding I had to admit.... If you look towards the hall, there's a TON of pictures on the wall, so whenever the kids turn on the light it reflects in the glass on the pictures and you can see those from the chair!

Kissing Energy

I had a hard time waking up this morning. One of those oh so comfy days where you just don't want to get out of bed. So James tells Hope "Hopey, give mommy kisses so she has energy to get up.... "

Next thing I know I'm being smothered in Hope-Hope kisses. I reluctantly roll over and start to face the day. Next thing I hear:

Hope: "OH no, now I don't have any "injuries" quick, someone kiss me!"

What's for lunch - 2

When asked today what he would like for lunch, Roman replied, "A mayo sandwhich" Okay, would like anything on your mayo sandwhich? "yes, hmm.... how about turkey, lettuce, and cheese (pause) Just don't forget the mayonoaise!"

Losing Water

In our house there is an 8 o'clock cut off for drinks to help avoid accidents at night. Tonight, right before bed Hope decides she needs a drink and she would not let it go. After begging, sticking out the pouty lip, lots of hugs and kisses, and hitting up both mommy and daddy, she comes to me straight faced ready to get serious.

"But mommy, everyone knows when you sleep you lose water"

Hope, that's EXACTLY what we're trying to avoid!

James lost it and as we both sat there laughing hysterically, she quietly stomped off to bed.

Beans Beans are Good for your Heart....

Tonight for dinner we had taco bake, veggies, pears, and refried beans. Roman picked at his dinner and declared himself full. Once everyone was done, and we were inspecting the plates, we noticed Roman hadn't really eaten anything. So James tells him "Whatever you do, don't eat those beans! You remember how the song goes" Our little music lover piped in questioning what song he was talking about....

Beans beans are good for your heart,
The more you eat the more you fart,
The more you fart the better you feel,
So eat them beans with every meal!

This created great excitement and Roman preceeded to scarf up on some beans when James mentioned that he really shouldn't eat anymore of the taco bake as it will give him really stinky farts. I have never seen that boy clear a plate so quickly.

10 minutes later... "Daddy, when are those farts gonna start?"

1 hour later (in the middle of the grocery store).... BOOM...

Crack in the Sac

This morning, under the assurance he wouldn't get in trouble by his daddy, Roman came into the bedroom to rudely awaken me. "Mommy, you're late, get your crack out of the sac" followed by massive giggles and a quick "daddy said I could say it" So I played along and proceeded to stick my butt up in the air. When he again said "Mommy, get your crack out of the sac" I replied, "My crack IS out of the sac" to which he responded, "Put your crack back down and get all of you up"

6 Peanut Butter & Jellies

Today for lunch we had peanut butter and jelly sandwhichs (a Hope-Hope favorite). I asked her how many pieces she wanted, 1 (no cuts), 2 (cut in half), or 4 (cut in quarters). She said "3" as she does everything these days since that is her age. So I explained I couldn't handle 3, and she chose 4 and went on with her business. Bethany only eats half a sandwhich so I had made her a half and cut that into 2 smaller pieces. So then comes Roman's turn...

"How many pieces do you want today?"

Roman: "Six"

"I can't do 6, either 1, 2, or 4"

Roman: "Well, Hopey has 4, and Bethany only eats half a sandwhich, so she has 2, so if you make me a whole sandwhich cut into 4 then make a half and cut it into 2, 4 + 2 = 6. I want 6 peanut butter and jellies today."

"HUH??"

He's FIVE, how the heck does he know how to add like that?