Flying Lessons

Batman and Superman show up at our house frequently (along with Spiderman, firemen, a football player, Buzz Lightyear, Power Rangers, a dinosaur, and many, many other "characters" thanks to Grandma and Grandpa "Popcorn" White). On this day, Batman was giving Superman flying lessons.

Oops! Better luck next time, Superman.

Crack Kills and Other Fall Activities

Now that Joel is in school all day, the two "little" boys and I are finding all sorts of new ways to entertain ourselves. Today we "painted" the sidewalk with water that was tinted with food coloring. I couldn't resist taking this picture of Evan that I've titled "crack kills."

Since Joel isn't around to "police" activities, "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" get into a lot more trouble. One day I found them with a box of spaghetti noodles -- they were eating some and breaking up the rest of them all over the floor. The crazy part -- they were being so quiet and having so much fun, I LET THEM DO IT!

On another day we were playing with rolls of toilet paper (my sister-in-law, Robbon, gave me this idea -- kids LOVE stacking and building with rolls of T.P.) and we ended up wrapping Evan as a mummy. Once Joel got home, the T.P. ended up ALL over the living room, including flying from the ceiling fan. Problem: now I'm almost out of toilet paper!

The White Boys

Our little White boys: Joel, 7; Evan, 3 1/2; Drew, 2 years. (My brother-in-law, Jeff, says they look like pickles.)

2 Years Old

My "baby" is now two years (and one month) old; I am SO sad! Here are a few pics of my cutie, Andrew Dean White.

Lemonade 25 cents

Evan came up with the idea of a lemonade stand to make money. However, he and Drew kept drinking all the profits! We only had 6 real customers (two of them are pictured here), and the boys only lasted about 20 minutes sitting and waiting, but it was fun while it lasted. We did get to meet two new neighbors this way, so maybe it was all worth it.

I've since done some "market research" and decided next time we should set up a "Gatorade Stand" in the BACK yard -- which is adjacent to a small park with a running trail. I think we'd make a fortune on a hot day! (It's all about finding the customer and "location, location, location.")

Crying Today...

Crying tears of JOY, that is! School started and Joel is officially a first-grader and gone from 8:45 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.! I never thought this day would come. It was such a quiet, calm day that I almost got...dare I say it...bored. Oh no, no, not bored in a bad way, bored in an "ahh, relaxation" and no more breaking up fights or yelling, "keep your hands off your brothers and stop tormenting them" sort of way. I'm already dreading Thanksgiving break.

I asked Joel to tell me the best and worst part about first grade:

Best: "Playground"

Worst: "There was no worst part"

(Gee, he didn't mention missing mama. Maybe he was crying tears of joy too?)

OK, please allow me one small "brag" about Joel: I asked him whom he sat with at lunch and he told me this:

"Remember when Evan went to preschool, you told him to be a friend to someone who was sad or who didn't have a friend. I remembered that and saw Jimmie sitting alone at a table so I sat with him."

Now THAT makes a mama proud!

My Newest Bribe

This week I took all three boys to the mall to buy Joel school clothes. On the way there I had a brainstorm: I could BRIBE good behavior out of them! (Sorry, Dr. Phil, I know this is not a "good parenting tip 101," but sometimes a mother is desparate to shop!)

My bribe:
The boys always want quarters to ride the mall "rides" and for the gumball machines. My brainstorm for this trip was to tell them that when I saw good behavior exhibited, they would earn a quarter. "Sometimes Evan will be the only one to get a quarter and other times Joel or Drew will earn one." This worked like a charm! They loved earning money and I loved not having to give them the "evil eye" or a silent sqeeze of the arm. The other benefit was they learned the value of each ride -- for instance, Joel wanted to ride a $2 "roller coaster simulation" ride but realized he didn't have 8 quarters. "Next time you'll just have to be even better to earn more quarters," I told him. (Note: I hope he's not THAT good, 'cause I can't afford to shop if I have to give out EIGHT quarters to each kid!)