The Family's MIP

Last night at dinner we were asking David and Mason about their day and what they each did and learner at school. David said he had art and they learner about monochromatic paintings. Mason said he also had art. He then added that in writing that day the assignment was to write about the most important person in the family. I held my breath as I wondered who he would choose out of our family and hoping I wouldn't get my feelings hurt if it wasn't me at this point in his life. So it surprised all of us when he smiled and exclaimed, "So I had to write about Ripley!" For those of you who do not remember from earlier posts, Ripley is our two year old Beagle mix. I thought about asking him who the second most important "person" was in the family but wasn't sure I could handle any more rejection in the same day. So I guess for the moment our MIP (Most Important Pet) is our dear pet, Ripley. -Karen

Our Summer Adventure 2013

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY D.J.!!!

Okay, now before summer is too far gone to tell the tale, this summer was a crazy hectic roller coaster that went by way too quickly.  Here is a recap of some of our favorite adventures. 

First, we bought a new house at the end of May, and then went out of town for annual training for most of June, so we moved a load here and a load there until we were able to get everything moved to the new house.

 

Jillian and DJ spent June and Fourth of July with their mom travelling all over and enjoying their vacation.  David and Mason spent most of June at their dad’s place in San Antonio, Texas, hanging out with him and playing basketball in the driveway.   

 

 

 ROAD TRIP!!!

My friend, Alisha, came for a visit and to help us move (although she did not know about that last part until her tickets were purchased) at the beginning of June so she went along for the ride to meet the boys’ father in Texarkana the first weekend in June.  That is when we solved all the world’s problems that were worth solving, to include changing all the state capitals to coincide with the state’s names (for example, Nevada City, Nevada or Missouri City, Missouri).  We figured this would make things a little simpler for immigrants and third graders (and anyone else who cannot remember what they learned in third grade.  The one exception to this rule would be Arkansas, because once we arrived in Arkadelphia, Arkansas there was no escaping the fact that it needed to be the Arkansas state capital.  I am not sure if we were slap happy from lack of sleep or from standstill traffic through Little Rock, but this all seemed like a fantabulous plan at the time. 

The water tower says, "Akadelphia, A Great Place to Call Home"

(Sounds like a great state capital to me...)         

After dropping the boys off and then finding a hotel room in Arkadelphia (of course), we woke up to hotel waffles (the best!) and then detoured on our way home to visit Graceland. 

 

 

While we were there we signed the sidewalk outside of Graceland,

 

took some pictures,

 

 

and did some souvenir shopping before stopping for lunch and finishing out trek back to Millersville, MO. 

 

The rest of the month went by extremely fast between moving, annual training, and mobilization assistance in New Jersey.  There was a restaurant next to our hotel that was absolutely delicious called Three Brothers (Best Pizza EVER!). 

While I was in NJ with Agnes and Brother Jeremy, we had an opportunity to make our way to Philadelphia (not to be confused with Arkadelphia),

and tour the Masonic Temple...

We also had the opportunity to take the train into New York City our last day before heading home, where we took the boat tour around the Statue of Liberty, visited the 9-11 Memorial, enjoyed lunch, and did some people watching. 

 

 

 

At the end of June our 2010 Ford Flex was wrecked when an accident crashed into us while we were at a stop sign, 

so we began the ever-tedious task of finding another vehicle unexpectedly.  During this adventure we also went to pick Mason and David up from Texarkana, head to the cabin with the family for the Fourth of July, pick up Jillian and DJ for the rest of the summer, and help DJ look up and identify every bug, insect, spider, frog, and lizard he could catch and examine in our new yard. 

Thank goodness we have not found any snakes in our yard yet...

In August we took a mini vacation to St. Louis our only free weekend before school started.  We took all the kids downtown,

 

up into the Arch,

out for Ted Drewes Frozen Custard,

and then stayed the night at a hotel with an indoor pool for the kids to swim and play and swim some more.  Then we spent all day Sunday at the zoo...

 

 

before heading back home to get ready for the work week (and collapse).













School started WAY too soon this year, and before we knew it David and Mason were back in school and Jillian and DJ were on their way back to Arkansas to get ready to head back to classes as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What a grand adventure…

 

 

 

 

-Mom-



School Gets Out in 8 Hours

My husband and I were both out of town at the same time the last couple weeks and my wonderful, dear friend, Alisha, flew in from AZ (en route to OR) and took care of the boys, our animals, and our house while we were gone.  Last Wednesday morning, this was posted on her facebook page:

Alisha wrote: "First conversation of the day @ 6:30am. Pre-coffee, Post sleeping pill: 20130911

Me: Hey, Mason what time do you get out of school?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: No, I mean when is school over for the day?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: I know it LASTS for 8 hours but when is it over?
Mason: OH! You mean not including after school care?
Me: Yes. Not including after school care.
Mason: 8 hours
Me: OK, let me explain; Let's say Mommy has to be to work at 8am, and she can't leave until 5pm. What time does school let you leave if you don't go to after care?
Mason: 8 hours
Me: I understand that part. I need to know when I can come pick you up.
David (trying to be helpful): My school gets out at like 3 or 4.
Mason: You can pick me up any time after 8 hours.
Me: Never mind. I'll ask your mom.

Germs Explained by Mason

 

Mason: Germs are little tiny things like bugs that are really teeny tiny and are invisible.

 

Mom: Close, they are so small that we can’t see them without a microscope.

Mason: Yeah, and they carry a little tiny bag on their backs full of germs, and they spread those germs all around, right?

Mom: Close enough

Monsters and Destructions

 

This morning Mason let me know, among many things he was letting me know about this morning, that our home had been invaded by a monster.  He said that the monster would get us unless we ate candy for dessert after dinner.  That's a new approach...

Tonight Super Dave is downloading some new games onto Mason's tablet and while looking at a game Mason said he wanted, Super Dave said he didn't understand how to play it.  Mason then said, "That's okay, I bet it comes with destructions, where we can read and then push the buttons." 

Now I have been procrastinating homework long enough so it is time to get back to work.  Good night all, and Happy Friday Eve!

Karen - www.silasdak.com

 

Easy on the Sarcasm

I think maybe it's time my husband and I lay off the sarcasm a little while at home.  It is necessary for survival in the workplace, but I think our soon-to-be seven year-old has grasped sarcasm better than most ten year-olds we know.  He is too smart for his own good, but struggles with following directions and staying focused, which is common with six year-olds.  

One example of the sarcasm –

Mom: “David, did you get your shoes on yet?”

David: Walks out of his bedroom and says, “No, these are just my house shoes.”   Grrr…

Another example –

Mom: “David, go clean your room before bed please.”

David: “Ummm, yeah.  I would love to mom, but I am not going to be able to clean my room tonight because I have too much else to do tonight before bed.”  Growl…

Yeah, maybe it is time to ease up on that sarcastic side at home for awhile.

Karen – www.silasdak.com

Thought for the day:

Intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.  Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.

Hair Loss and the Sun

A few days ago on the way home from school, the boys were talking in the back seat about all the stuff they learned in school.  Wait, let me back up for a moment…  Mason has a tendency to confuse words and say one word but mean a different one, or switches words around during a conversation; like the time he told me and Super Dave we were being pathetic when he meant sarcastic.  Okay, where were we?  Oh yeah, so on the way home the boys were talking about how the sun is hotter than lava and covered in fire.  Then Mason said, “Yeah, and if you stare at the sun for too long you’ll go bald.”

Happy Monday Everyone!

Karen – www.silasdak.com

Shopping for a Baby Sister

12 January 2013                                Shopping for a Baby Sister

Before I get started on the latest from the mouth of Mason moment, I need to give you some background information.  My sister, Sarah, is pregnant and her and her husband are expecting their first child in May.   

Super Dave and I were driving the kids around and talking to each other about what we wanted to do for dinner when Mason interrupted us from the back-back seat.  The dialog went something like this:

Mason: "Mommy, can we go to Pizza Inn for Dinner?"

Mom: "No," and then I proceeded to try to talk to Super Dave about dinner plans again.

Mason: "Mommy?  Can we go somewhere else out to eat tonight?"

Mom: "Maybe, that's what daddy and I are trying to figure out right now, " while we still tried to finish our conversation about where we wanted to eat.

Mason: "Mommy?  Will you guys discuss going out to dinner tonight?"

Mom: "That's what we're doing right now."

Mason: "Oh, so mommy?  Are you guys discussing where we are going to go out to eat or IF we're going out to eat?"

Dad: "Mason, not sure yet.  You all have been very good, but we're trying to figure that out right now."

Mason: "Okay.  and Mommy?"

Mom: "Mason, we cannot discuss it if you do not stop interrupting us."

Mason: "Okay, but Mommy?  While you and Daddy are discussing where to go for dinner, can you also discuss getting me a baby sister?"

Mom: "Um... sure, but Mason, that is a much more in depth discussion than where we are going to go for dinner."

Mason: "So can we go get me a baby sister tonight after dinner?"

Mom: "Oh Mason, I'd love to, but Babies-R-Us is closed tonight."

Mason: "well can we go tomorrow?"

Dad: "Mason, we can't just go get a baby sister, it takes a little more planning than that buddy."

Kids: "Yeah, Mason.  And that's a lot more expensive than going out to dinner."

Mason: "Mommy, we can go to the hospital and buy one."

Mom: "No, Mason, we can't.  That illegal."  By this time the other kids were laughing and Mason was getting teary eyed, so Super Dave stepped in and explained that people do adopt babies and bring them home, but we cannot just go buy one from the hospital.  There is a lot of paperwork and expense involved, and there is a lot more to it than just going out and picking up a baby sister.  We also talked about friends of ours from my workplace who are in the process of adopting a baby girl from Africa and all the money and work that has gone into making that possible.

Mason: "So we need to wait until we win the lottery before we can get a baby sister?"  I don't know how that was the only thing he got from the conversation, or how he came to that conclusion from the conversation, especially since we don't even play the lottery, but I just smiled and agreed, "Yeah, if we win the lottery we will work on getting you a baby sister."

Dad: "Yep, Mason, if we win the lottery we'll get you two."

Mason: "If Aunt Sarah has a baby girl, can we borrow her baby sister?"

Mom: "I am sure Aunt Sarah will let us borrow her baby every once in awhile, we can talk to her about that next time we see her."

After a brief pause Mason then asked, "Mommy?  If your friends are going to Africa to get a baby girl, can we give them some money to bring one back for us too?"

I'm pretty certain he still does not grasp the concept, but at the time all we wanted was to figure out where we were headed for dinner.  The other stuff will be a conversation for another day I'm sure. 

 

Karen - www.silasdak.com