The Great Idea

Ben brought two of his buddies home with him from school today - the "playdate" I've been avoiding all year because, well... I prefer my kids to go play at someone else's house and usually succeed in making that happen when the idea of a playdate gets floated by me.

But today I decided, since Ben has been asking all year, I'd kill two birds with one stone and have two boys over at once.

And... it's raining.  Great.  What do I do with my three boys plus two more eight-year-olds for two hours in the house?

I was coming up with nothing in the idea department so I turned to them and asked what they'd like to do together.  Apparently, they had already been discussing and planning because Ben was quick to answer:

"Well, do you have any extra watermelons?  Because we were thinking we could take one up onto the roof and throw it off so we could watch it splat into a million pieces."  All 5 boys then began pleading with me to give them my "extra" watermelon and help them climb out onto the roof to pull off this grand scheme.

In the end, I had to tell them that it just wasn't going to work out because I only have the one watermelon and that was intended for them to eat.  They were a tad disappointed.  But they still ate an entire watermelon and seemed to enjoy just talking about how great it would have been if only mom had remembered to buy two watermelons instead of one.

So It Begins

Although I love my rain boots, and think my boots lined up neatly with my little boys' boots is the cutest site (neatly is the key word there), I am not so excited by what this site symbolizes: the end of warm, dry weather and the beginning of cold, wet weather. Everyday activities are more difficult in the rain or snow. sigh...

Incidentally, I wrote this post a few days ago and didn't put it up, and now it is already outdated! This picture should have snow boots, rather than rain boots, from all the early snow we had dumped on us yesterday! The picture should look more like this!

How Did That Get In There?

I built the boys a fort today. It's raining. It's cold. What else are we supposed to do once all our responsibilities are finished?

Once the fort was built, we all picked our light up toy of choice, turned off the basement lights, and settled in. It only took a minute for Jack's aroma to fill the small space though. Always a funny topic in our house, we made jokes about it. I then turned to Jack and asked him, "Jack, what have you got in your diaper that smells so stinky?"

He looked like he gave it some serious thought before responding and shouted, "Dog poop!"

Cue the hysterical laughing from the other two boys who love a good poop joke. I have to wonder how that dog poop managed to get in his diaper though. Poor Jack. The cruel victim of a poop prank.

Thump, Thump, Thump...

The rain ruined Ben's first drop off of first grade. I won't go so far as to say it ruined his first day of school, as he has not finished it yet, but the day he has been looking forward to for weeks now got rained on; not just sprinkled either - DUMPED on!

He woke up excited, ate breakfast excited, got dressed excited, even walked to school under his umbrella excited. It all started to get less exciting though when the pouring rain forced all kids, parents, and siblings all into one room with one door leading to it. It got a little crazy. I think Ben was picturing himself showing up to a sunny schoolyard where he would be able to run around a bit before I dropped him at the door, where he'd give me a quick hug and blow me a kiss before following his teacher neatly and orderly through the door and up to his classroom.

When he joined the chaos and other clearly nervous kids in the wet, humid, and crowded hallway, he squeezed my hand extra tightly and said quietly, "Mom, it hurts a little bit right here" with his other hand over his heart.

With a little lump in my throat, I explained to him that he was just getting a little nervous because it wasn't quite as orderly as he so loves it and that was just his heart thump thumping a little too hard. I assured him the feeling would go away once he got up to his classroom and away from the chaos. He squeezed my hand again and said, "Yeah, you're probably right. I do feel a little nervous and can't wait to find my teacher and my class!"

It continues to amaze me how alike Ben and I are sometimes. I remember quite vividly my first day of first grade and the uncomfortable thump thump thump of my heart.

I can't wait to pick him up in a couple hours to hear how the rest of the day went for him. Milestones are tough sometimes (for kids and moms) and growing up requires a lot of courage for kids, even if it is just the courage to face a crowd of strangers and fight the discomfort that comes with being a new kid in a new place surrounded by chaos. I am "all grown up" already and just the thought of being in Ben's place today makes me a little sweaty...

We Survived - Dude Style!

For those of you who aren't aware, I live on the East Coast. As I recently canceled my cable service and haven't turned my TV on for anything other than our new Apple TV (which rocks, by the way!), the first I became aware that a hurricane was heading my way was from the many loved ones sending concerned emails and phone calls. It was sunny and warm and beautiful. I had my doubts any serious weather was brewing. My panic level was at an extreme low.

Well, a day later, the sky was a tad darker and it was raining a little, but I still laughed in the face of the danger those far away seemed so concerned about.

Well, Irene came and went during the night. We only suffered a flooded yard, leaves covering everything, two downed power lines, and a little wind and rain. Most of it occurred during the night.

What do you do with a house full of not only my kids, but my adorable little niece as well when it is this windy outside? Go outside of course! Matt took them outside with some giant garbage bags as sails and had them wait at the top of the hill until a gust would come, then they'd come flying down the hill, pushed along with their sails flapping and pulling them fast enough to make them shout and scream in delight.

Although Matt finally tired of running in the wind, my dudes kept it up all day. That big black garbage bag has seen more use now than many of their actual toys. Ben was a big black ghost. Mitchell was running and sliding on it in the wet grass. They pulled each other around and swung them onto their bums.

So we survived Hurricane Irene with very little inconvenience and a whole lot of dude-style fun! I wonder what their reaction would be if they each received a large, black garbage bag in their Christmas stocking this year....

Get All Wetty!

My boys have a favorite game they play anytime we have a warm rain: "Get all wetty!" You have to say it with a sing-songy voice and shout, "Get all wetty, get all wetty, get all wetty!" while dancing around half naked in the downpour.

It was a beautiful day this afternoon, but we couldn't get outside to enjoy it until Jack woke up from his nap. Well, about 10 minutes before Jack woke up, it suddenly began to pour! We had thunder and lightening and some serious rain. Of course. Right when we were planning on heading outside, this happens.

No matter. My boys love the rain in springtime. They love any chance to strip down, get out the umbrellas and dance around while getting soaked. They even involved a hose because the rain wasn't quite enough.

An Alternative To Going Crazy

Waking up to rain in the morning is not always a great start to our day.  I immediately picture us all stuck inside, trying to make up more and more things to do to keep from driving each other crazy, but coming up just a bit short.  Being able to play outside is a major thing for my family, which is mostly made up of energetic boys who, if they can't run, jump, scream, chase, and ride bikes outside, will do all of those things inside (yes, even ride bikes if I let them.)  All those things which are wonderful outside, are just plain loud and often obnoxious inside.

So with another energetic youngster staying at our house, adding to the general fun and craziness, we decided that a little rain should not force us to remain indoors where we would most certainly run into trouble.  So we put on the grubby clothes and crocs and headed off in search of the biggest puddles we could find!  As luck would have it, the biggest we could find was right in our very own alley!  Now I know that a city alley is not necessarily the cleanest place to play, especially when my kids are not just stomping and jumping in the puddles, but sitting and laying and "swimming" in them, but for me, it is worth the risk of...well, I'm not sure what the risk actually is, so we do it!  Mom stays sane, boys have fun, and the morning flies by!