Another random study session

Grant became ill Thursday after school with a fever of 101.8. He said his head hurt, his nose was stopped up, and that he felt nauseated. By 6:30 p.m., he was asleep on the couch (that NEVER happens) just snoring away, so I tucked him into his bed thinking he would be out like a light all night. Silly me! What was I thinking? This is Grant we're talking about: The Kid Who Never Goes by the Book. As luck would not have it, Grant, for whatever odd reason, was WIDE AWAKE and happy as a lark from 2:45 - 5:00 a.m. Guess who got to party with the child? Yip - you guessed it... me. I mean, the kid wasn't just awake/alert in the middle of the night; he was actually telling me stories, he was laughing at those stories (I was not), he was telling me about a kid in his class that got in trouble and what the teacher said along with other random conversations that I don't much remember because I'm not exactly "alert" between 2:45 - 5:00 a.m. Moving on - he found his 1000 Facts On The Human Body book (one of his favorites), thumbed to the page that talks about the heart, and asked me to read - yet again - about the heart. Because I am so nice and was not in the mood for a struggle in the middle of the night, and I also had no clue as to what he was doing since he has never done this before (perhaps it had to do with the illness that seemed to have suddenly been cured), I agreed to his request. This also meant that we had to discuss the diagram that went along with it. So there I am, in the middle of the night, I need to use the restroom, I don't have my contacts in so I can't see easily and am having to squint, and I am lying in bed with Grant pointing out the right ventricle, the left ventricle, the septum, the mitral valve, tricuspid valve, pulmonary veins/arteries (should these be capitalized??)and tracing the flow of the oxygenated blood's travel, all the while wishing I could just GO BACK TO MY WARM BED and trying to keep my annoyed state under wraps, when Grant asked the most precious question that made it all worthwhile. He leaned in closer to the diagram and seemed to be making some very important observations when he asked in the sweetest voice you've ever heard while pointing at the diagram, "Can you show me where Jesus lives in my heart?" Since God and I were the only ones that were around to hear the question, I am pretty sure that He and I had a good laugh together in the middle of the night.

Sleep commenced again at 5:15 a.m. Thank you, Lord, for sleeping children!

He was diagnosed with strep throat later that morning. Thank you, Lord, for antibiotics!

Rhett started throwing up tonight. Okay, Lord; I'm ready for a break now.

S.N.O.W spells "Random Surprise"

Houston RARELY sees snow. I have lived here for eight years and not seen it once - except for yesterday. Sleet was predicted in the forecast, but not SNOW!! What a delightful surprise to stumble upon yesterday afternoon. Well, I didn't exactly "stumble" upon it. It was sort of thrown at me as Grant came dashing in yelling that is was snowing. I thought, "Not unless pigs are flying, Dude." But, Grant was right. Keep in mind that it was a blustering chilly, wet day. NO ONE was outside. The boys and I had spent the day in the comfort of sweats, warm house shoes and fat free hot chocolate as we sat by the fire and enjoyed cartoons. The absolute "perfect" day in my book. We loved it and had no idea that the day was going to end on an extra high note... So when Grant came running in with the alleged news of snow, I had to check it out for myself as I was pretty sure it had to be sleet like the weathermen had predicted. Sure enough, the flakes were falling. That was special enough. But what was even more heartwarming was the sound of laughter and thrilled screeches from the neighborhood kids who were ALL outside at this point. Kids were out in their coats, gloves, hats, and everyone was playing gleefully in the snow; even adults. I felt like a kid again. It was the talk of the town. Our phone rang off the hook, and we were certainly making our own phone calls to spread the exciting news. It was so fun for kids to come knocking on our door yelling, "It's snowing!", or, "Can Grant come out and play in the snow?" It was so magical, and certainly not every day lingo around here. The rules of outdoor play totally went out the window as well. The kids usually all head back home when the street lights come on. Not yesterday. It was well after dark when they all stumbled back in to their homes. When I finally did put Grant to bed, we read Frosty the Snowman with the blinds open so we could see the snow fluttering down. (good idea, Da-tee) I'm sure those of you up in the Panhandle/New Mexico reading this (Marijon, Jordan, Carrie) are thinking that perhaps we Houstonians took this a bit overboard since snow is commonplace in your neck of the woods. But to us Houstonians, it was the perfect Christmas treat and quite the unexpected "Random Surprise".

I'm singin' and dancin' in the snow...

Snow accumulating on our roof. That white fleck in the center of the picture is a snowflake.

You could see the snow really well on Madalyn.

Below are pictures of our visit to see Dude-Dad one morning. The boys sure love playing in the HUGE empty basketball court (Wheeler Field House)... and getting candy from his secretary.

Dude-Dad and Grant doing some work.

Dude-Dad and Rhett NOT doing some work.

I think we need to start talking to Rhett now about not being too relaxed on the job.

And on a totally different note: Grant doing his "homework". No, he does not actually have homework. He wants to have homework though, so he finds something to do at the bar that includes pencil and paper, and this becomes his homework. Sometimes I'm not sure this kid is mine or Kerry's. I don't think either of us were ever pumped about homework.

Sweet Days

Hello out there? Beuller?? Beuller?.............. Beuller?........... It may be "the most wonderful time of year", but it is certainly a very busy time of year; especially for the blogging world. I must say, blogging has slowed tremendously by friends and family; myself included. Nonetheless, I am finding time to blog - not sure how, but I am finding time. Perhaps it is because there is a pile of clean laundry staring at me from the laundry basket at my left that is waiting to be folded and put away. Maybe tomorrow...

I'm totally pumped today for two reasons: 1) Today is Monday (aka: my free day). Monday is the day Grant goes to preschool at First Colony Church of Christ's Cornerstone which means it's the day I get 5 hours with Rhett. HEAVEN sums it up. It is amazing how much I can get done at home, or the grocery store for that matter, when Grant is M.I.A. I love the boy, but doing anything with a four-year-old in the vicinity is nearly impossible. I also love preschool days because I put Rhett down for an early nap and I get two hours to myself!!! Did you hear that? - to myself!! Hooray for me! 2) I am in love with our Christmas cards. I really like to make my own stuff as it is a fun outlet for me, and despite Kerry's protests (he'd rather send out the photo cards the rest of the world sends out), I have once again made my own. I gotta say, I think they're pretty spunky and DIFFERENT, and surely someone out there will feel as happy about them as I do. Of course, as you could have guessed, they have lots of red on them. Sure, it's a Christmas color, but it's also my favorite color and the card is adorned in it. You better believe there is a big bow on them as well (might just be the best part)!

Anywho, since no one seems to be reading my blog, this one's an update for the grandparents I suppose. Here's the latest on what we've been up to the last few days.

Time to get down the Christmas decorations from the attic.

What is Dada getting up there?

Dada won't let me go up in the attic with him, so I'll just drive my green tractor on the ladder until he comes down.

Look what Dada brought down! Lights! And lots of them!

Christmas tradition in the Kilgore household: take a break with a pizza dinner.

Hungry boys! Grant ate TWO slices of pizza, and Rhett REALLY loved his small cup of DrPepper. Aren't you proud, Uncle Kory and Terry?

I guess the boys were too full to help with dressing up the rest of the house for the season. While Kerry and I continued to put up the tree, Rhett sat on the couch nearby playing with his favorite gear toy.

Grant lost interest in decorating the tree as well. Either that, or the two peices of pizza caught up with him. I found him making another "Grant Mess" in his bathroom...

Look who all got their second wind! Too bad Kerry and I were pretty much done. Thanks a lot, boys!

Rhett is pretty sure he can climb up the ladder...

"I think I can. I think I can."

Santa's Little Helper??

Reach!!

Baby Booties: Rhett and Avery Pond going up the stairs at our church's class Christmas party Sunday night.

Hamming it up! Yes, I made the boys' shirts. Kerry was not a fan, but that's okay. He's a guy: I didn't expect him to feel too fondly about them.

Grant wanted to take flowers to Baby Grace. How sweet is that??? It was all his idea. Kerry and I had NOTHING to do with it. While we were at the store buying cookies to take to the Christmas party, Grant saw some flowers and said, "Momma, do you think Baby Grace would want some pink flowers?" I just thought it was the sweetest thing ever, and of course we added the flowers to the conveyor belt. They were only $4, and I don't mind supporting Grant's desire to be a gentleman. What a precious boy! And, what a lucky young lady!

Cold boys on a Monday morning.

I stumbled upon this scene the other day. Rhett loves his choo-choos. It happens to also be one of the few words he'll say.

Hodge Podge

Kerry and Grant put up Christmas lights last night. Grant was pretty proud although most of the labor was Kerry's: I caught Grant eating pickles in the garage while Da-tee was adding candy canes around the flower bed.

Carving pumpkins on the back porch for Halloween.

Grant standing next to my pumpkin. It's a dump truck. Beat that, Uncle Kory!!!

Rhett is "helping".

Look what we made!!!!

Finished product. I'm still pretty proud of my dump truck. It's one of those things I thought I'd never do because I was only going to have daughters, remember? I think it would be fun to carve a princess crown or a castle, but I must admit that I had a jolly good time making my boyish dump truck. As hoped, Grant really liked it. Who needs princess crowns and castles anyway???!!!

Introducing the Amazing Grant and his new magic trick!

(he's trying to catch a Cheerio in his mouth)

My sixth language and literature students have to do a Greek Myth project when we have completed our Greek myth study. It's quite a challenging project that covers the three domains of learning (cognitive, affective, psychomoter). It also demands research, creativity (they have to draw or construct it all - nothing can be traced or printed off a computer), Biblical applications, scientific principals, Greek mythology (DUH!), synthesis and analysis of material learned, and very specific guidelines that I'm sure no one cares to read about (except for me because I'm a DORK and I think this kind of stuff is tooooooo awesome). Once again, I was blown away by the kids' projects. I'm a pretty hard person to please when it comes to projects as they not only have to look good, but I expect the mechanics to be flawless and the content to be exact. If you are not a teacher, than you have NO IDEA what a feat this really is. To get quality work from students, sadly enough, is almost unheard of these days, and the parents accept poor effort. I, on the other hand, do not.

And without further ado, here are some of my favorites from this year. And yes, despite what you heard growing up, teachers DO have favorites.

This one (below) was JAW DROPPINGLY good!!! Not only was it 3-D, but it was interactive. I mean, HOLY MOLY - this kid MADE MY DAY!! I think I will add this to my rubric for next year. How cool to have all of them include 3-D and interactive aspects??!!! I can't wait until next year to try it out!! (Bummer! These pics don't do these projects justice.)

Does anyone else get totally pumped about Greek mythology other than myself?? And, how cool was it to actually see art (paintings, sculptures) during my visit to the Louvre in Paris this summer??!!

Gobble! Gobble! Gobble!

Gee whillikers! (sp??) Blogging takes sooooo much time. I'm sure it wouldn't take quite as long if I didn't post a million pictures and videos each time... I L-O-V-E blogging, but between dishes, laundry, errands, diapers and other kid ordeals, blogging takes a back seat these days. You see, when I'm on the computer, Rhett is just positive that I need his "help", and then Grant wants to join in, and it's just one big mess. So, basically all computer things must occur once they are in bed. Problem is, that also seems to be the only chance I get to do that joyous to-do list. Sigh...
However, I'm taking a break from that to-do list tonight and FINALLY updating my blog. I know - you're speechless. And no, pigs are not flying. But you know me: It's hard to do anything "fun" if a chore is waiting to be done. Well, I've completed enough chores for tonight, and the house looks clean enough - for now...


Thanksgiving was GREAT. We spent half the break at the lake house with Kerry's parents, and we spent the other half with my family in Granbury. I truly cherish these moments we have with our families. I'm so thankful that I married into such a sweet family who love myself and the boys sooooo much! What a blessing! I am also thankful that my mom won her breast cancer battle a few years ago and therefore she is around to enjoy the holidays with. They wouldn't be the same without her. Sure, I think about how much I would be missing her if she had not beat cancer on almost a daily basis. However, it's during special times like Thanksgiving that I think of it even more and feel deeply - well - thankful that God answered our prayers and healed her. What would Thanksgiving be without her? Her chair at the dinner table would be empty. Her "annoying" humming (Jess) would not be heard. No doubt the correct holiday decorations would NOT be put out (no offense, Dad). The constant clanging of her working in the kitchen would be replaced with silence. And worst of all- I wouldn't get a goodnight hug and kiss from her. So once again I say, THANK YOU, GOD, FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS! I hope you were able to add special items to your "Things I'm Thankful For" list this holiday season. Doing so truly puts things into perspective. Besides, it's good for the soul.

A few observations
The best things about Thanksgiving break:
1. The food.
2. No school, lesson plans or grading to do!

The worst things about Thanksgiving break:
1. Rhett had five new teeth coming in - four of them molars!!!!!! Yes - you should feel sorry for him, but you should feel just as sorry for US!!
2. I got a nasty stomach bug. Figures... I NEVER get sick over holidays. I should've known my time was coming.

The holiday in review via pictures and videos:

Rhett "helping" Momma and Grant be creative at the lake house...

Yes, I think that's a bugger on his cheek.

If you click on the picture, you'll also get a close-up look at the haircut

Grant gave him a few weeks ago.

We don't call him Chip Baby for nothing. At least this time he's chowing down he's also reading.

Happy 5th anniversary, Uncle Josh and Aunt Jessica!


Don't touch the Christmas decorations, Grant!!!!


That's why I said to NOT touch the Christmas decorations: they can fall!!! Good catch though.



Grant having a great time at Miyako's (hibachi restaurant in Granbury).
"Maybe I can catch my chopsticks on fire..."


Look Uncle Kory and Aunt Kelly - I'm using chopsticks. Well, I'm actually eating with my hands, but I'm holding my chopsticks... Ten points for effort!!


Every good meal deserves a chopstick fight to aid in digestion. Look out, Uncle Garrett!


Who else can fit on the couch?




Told ya - the boy LOVES his chips!


Mimi and Grant doing a Thanksgiving craft.


Pops being used as a horse. Dude-Dad got to be a horse as well, but my camera was M.I.A. during that play time, so you'll just have to imagine it. Both grandfathers made pretty impressive horses. Look out, Mr. Ed! You've got competition: These horses can not only talk, but they can also change diapers!!!

Rhett's turn. Well, maybe not...

White boys CAN dance... At least to their own rhythm.

Boys will be boys.

Why Rhett refused to sing the "Spongebob Theme Song"(his favorite song at the moment) this time is beyond me. At least you get to see what happens when a 19 month old has five teeth coming in at one time. Lucky you!!!

I thought Rhett was done eating; afterall, he HAD left the table. I came back a few minutes later and found this:

Well, until next time, from our crazy house to yours-

Happy Holidays!!!!

One for the Grandparents

HAPPY LATE HALLOWEEN!!

I know it's been too long when friends and grandparents start asking if I have "adding a new post" on my to-do list. I have fallen WAY behind, and feel oddly guilty for that. I suppose that emotion comes from the fact that I'm WAY behind on keeping up with Rhett's baby book, and this blog serves as a kind of make shift baby book - but cooler. Ya know? And, I have also fallen WAY behind on friends' blogs, so I've got major catching up to do. Guess I'll add that to the to-do list. Oh, the list never gets smaller, does it?

I've been very busy with my two craft shows I've done thus my blogging has fallen behind. The shows were fun, and like I've said a million times, sewing beats laundry and dishes hands down. I've decided to name my "company" Scoodle Doots. I wanted a name that said "spunk", "fun" and I also wanted a name that didn't scream, "You will only find little girl things here - just like everywhere else," because you won't. I have LOTS of boy items - of course they happen to be my favorite. So anywho, "Scoodle Doots" sounded just right. Plus, I wanted a name that reminded me of the boys, and Scoodle Doots does just that: One of the boys' favorite books is Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom, and if you are familiar with that book, the main line that is repeated over and over is "Skit skat scoodle doot flip flop flee." It is such a fun line that comes to life as you chant its alliterative rhythm, (gosh I sound like the dorkiest literature/English teacher EVER right now) so I chose to go with it. The boys love saying it, I love reading it, and that's about all the reasons I need. hee hee I need to post some pictures of my work. Well, when the time presents itself, I shall do so. I mean, I'm giving myself a big high five for the things I have finally done. (can one give themselves a high-five?) as I have picked up the house, caught up with my laundry (thanks to Gramma), done some organizing (picked up parts of my closet) and worked on some orders. Oh, and Kerry worked his tooshie off cleaning the garage. It's amazing how good I feel when things are as they should be. Too bad as soon as the boys wake up tomorrow morning the whole house will look as if the kids have a horrible mother who never picks up anything - ever, who does not care to do laundry, and who seems to have forgotten how to do dishes and take out the trash. Never fear though... my toilets are germ free. ha ha One can never own too many bottles of bleach. (a little joke for fam and close friends)

Below are pictures of Halloween per the request of Mimi and Pops which is the real reason I write tonight. Grant was a policeman as you read about in my previous post. He thought he was so cool and said several times how he could help someone if they needed it since he was a policeman. And the world takes a collective sigh of relief... Rhett was a pirate because I was pretty sure he'd make a great pirate for whatever reason. (Mother's intuition??) Two days before Halloween, however, I came to the bummed realization that a pirate costume was not the best choice for him, but that Curious George would have been more appropriate. This thought hit me as Grant and I were snuggling on the couch one morning watching "Curious George", and I tell ya I quickly learned that - George and Rhett sound the SAME. They both communicate with "Ooooo! Ooooos!" and, "Ahhhhh-Ahhhhhhs!" and, "Uhhhh-uhhhhhhs!" and lots of pointing in between. But, it was too late, and fate deemed him a pirate. He pulled it off well, so maybe I made the right choice after all. To be honest, I was a little nervous about how Dada would react to the costume as it had lace on the front of it, but Dada thought it looked very pirate-like (he said something that sounded more accountant/smart, but hey - this is my blog so you get my version) and was just fine with the lace. Rhett's hair is spiked because it felt more appropriate than combing his hair flat and parted to one side. That doesn't sound very pirate'ish' to me. Much to our enjoyment, Rhett "got" trick-or-treating more than he did last year. Sure, that's to be expected, but Rhett really did NOT enjoy Halloween last year which left us nervous about this year. Not to worry; he loves suckers, and when he figured out that he could hold his spider bucket up to people and get suckers, he was a firm believer in the special happiness only Halloween can bring. You'll see in most of the pictures he's got a sucker in each hand. He was VERY happy.

Happy Halloween (and happy birthday, Pops)!

Break time. Which candy (or if you're Rhett, candIES) should we eat first?
Sucker anyone?

Shiver me timbers! This trick-or-treat thing is pretty cool! I got more suckers!
We want candy! We want candy! We want candy!

Dada, can you give me another sucker from my spider bucket, please? (Dada dressed up at the last minute per Grant's request. What a good Dada! I wore my angel wings from a few years ago at Grant's request as well.)
Gotta get my Halloween hug from Gramma (who is looking soooo skinny these days).

After gathering all the candy his bucket could carry, Grant wanted to help pass out candy. We were very proud of him because this was all HIS idea.

Grant helping Miss Shaye and Miss Alicia pass out candy. Look who came: GABBY!!
Oh, Gabby, you smile so pretty for the camera. We'll have to work on Grant's camera poses.
In other news:
1. Grant gave Rhett a haircut a few days ago. Both boys thought it was funny. I disagreed. Rhett already has Ashley-Myatt-crazy-baby-hair-issues. He didn't need big brother's help in making it any zanier. (Ashley, you know we love you and your cute baby orangutan hair you once had!!!)

2. I had to call a repairman to fix the garbage disposal as it would not turn on! Come to find out, the dude found a rock and a Popsicle stick jammed in there. The rock is odd for the obvious reasons, and the stick is also out of place since we don't eat Popsicles. I say this has to do with Grant because the disposal stopped working after he "washed dishes" one night...

3. Grant has overflowed his toilet... twice. You know that Charmin commercial with the give-way-too-much-information-cartoon bears that say, "Kids always use too much?" Well, let's just say Grant could have been one of those tp loving bears.

4. Grant put liquid dish soap in the dishwasher which I did not know. So, yes, you can imagine my bewilderment when I put in the gel pack, started the cycle and quickly noticed LOTS of bubbles oozing out the sides, top and bottom of the dishwasher. It was AFTER this that I learned from Grant that he had "helped" me and "put some soap in there already." He didn't just squeeze some in there - oh no. The child SQUEEZED half the large bottle in that hole you can put Jet Dry in, so that stuff was IN THE SYSTEM. I finally got it cleaned out after running load after load after load and stopping the loads every few minutes to scoop out the bubbles and water.

5. He painted the doorhandles on my car blue.

6. He planted some beans in the flower bed in the front yard. This means I not only have one of my favorite flowers, pink and purple Dwarf Rhuellia in my flower bed, but we also have bean plants as well. Pretty.

7. He chased a kid down the street with a stick twice/three times as big as he is. (the kid deserved it though, so don't feel sorry for him)

8. Cute one: Grant wanted to get some clothes like Datee's, so I bought him a brown belt and a pretty nice collared, long sleeved, button all the way down shirt. Grant LOVES them. He HAD to wear the belt and the shirt to church today so he would look like Datee, and he refused to take the belt off once we got home.

9. During a quick shopping trip to Wal Mart, we were greeted by the sweetest old man the world has ever known. I mean, the dude was OLD - bent over with a cane old, but soooo precious. He's probably a veteran knowing my luck. So anywho, he specifically walked up to Rhett to say hello to what he assumed was a sweet baby. Instead of waving hello back, or even giving the gentleman a sweet smile, Rhett shook his head vigorously and grunted, "Uh-uh!" Someone got up on the wrong side of the crib that day. So delightful. On a side note: If you're out there old man, I promise I am raising my sons to be gentleman and to love their country and elders.

Until next time, Rhett wants to say one more thing, "Don't worry, Pops. My momma says I'm gonna have to give my five teeth a thorough brushing before bed tonight."

PS. Oh, no! My camera's battery just died. I'll have to post some videos later. Sorry, Mimi and Pops.