8 year old humor

What did the hamburger say?  I think I've got a sesame seed between my buns.

That is comedy gold if you're an 8 year old boy.

I am your mother...

And I make things happen!  I’m still giddy over this and couldn’t put off sharing it any longer.  Like I mentioned in the last post, James joined Cub Scouts at the end of 1^st grade.  My big contribution during his first full year was heading up the Blue and Gold banquet.  If you’re not familiar with Scouting, this is the big to-do celebration held every year.  I also can’t stress enough how fortunate we are as a pack to have the support we do from American Legion, Post 194.  Every year we get the use of their facilities and that alone takes our banquet to the next level. 

Our theme for this year, as chosen by the Cubmaster via a bug placed in his ear by one of his 9 year old triplets, was “All Things Space”.  Now, it’s no secret that this family ranks pretty high on the geek scale so I had to restrain myself just a bit in how far I took the theme.  I could have gone campy.  I could have gone hard-core sci-fi.  Campy, hard-core sci-fi was also an option but it’s no fun when nobody gets the references.  I decided to go classy as though I too were a young boy between the age of 6 and 11, or a grown man who had to be sworn to secrecy. 

May I introduce to you, the 501^st Old Line Garrison…

Oh yes, that’s Darth Vader, or “Big Guy” as Cailin calls him.  She loves him and she is still mad that she didn’t give him a hug.  The first Saturday in May is going to be so fun. 

This group drove from surrounding areas of White Marsh, Baltimore, Glen Burnie, and I believe even close to Washington to be at our banquet.  I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing it was to be there for this.  These guys do this on their own time and dollar.  The only thing asked of us was to do something charitable or make a donation in their name.  Take some time to read about everything the 501^st do as a group across the country and I’m sure you’ll agree that’s a small price to pay. 

Fast Forward

We'll say by about 5 years, sound good? Here's the quick catch up, since the last entry James has turned 8 and his sister has turned 2. Yes, his sister Cailin. The one that was never mentioned in the handful of entries that were posted. Getting her was probably the main reason there was a hiatus in entries. It happens. It also happens that she is going to be part of the reason that entries will continue being sparse. Not much else has changed to be honest. We haven't moved, we still own dirt. Eventually we'll get to live on that dirt, we just don't know when.

There was a genuine reason for stirring up this particular blog that has gone unloved for so long. Actually, two if you wanted to be technical.

James hit the first grade and begged for Cub Scouts. We resisted. I was still pregnant, then just had a baby and we were still getting in the swing of things. Towards the end of the school year we learned that resistance was futile. We went to a pack meeting and were quickly assimilated. We left that evening under the impression that Brian was becoming an Assistant Den Leader and I would later be in charge of the annual Blue and Gold banquet. The idea of Cub Scouts being a father/son activity is great but a total myth. The reality of it is that now, two years later, Brian is the Committee Chair in addition to the Assistant Den Leader, I am the Treasurer and just finished with the Blue and Gold for 2012. Being that Cailin is now a 2 year old girl, it's a little hard to say where she fits in the Cub Scout scheme of things. She is of the opinion that she too is a "Bub Scout" and frankly, we don't have the energy to argue with her. She's really opinionated.

The above being the primary reason for blog revival, the secondary is Pinterest. I think for the most part, everybody knows what it is and how it works. Those of us that worked on the Blue and Gold came up with some great ideas, did a lot of work and put our own spin on the great ideas of others. What I found when searching Pinterest was that there wasn't much specifically Scout related and I'm fairly certain that we're in this Scouting thing for the long haul.

Eventually, maybe, hopefully, I'll be able to get back to the original intent of the blog, sharing the house building experience, but for now I think it'll be just as fun to share everything that we're doing with the kids.

Wow, where's May? Part 1

Ok, where did May go? I really don't know and I'm not going to lie and pretend like I had something up here. May was such a blur but of course I can share the highlights!

On the 2nd, we went to "the big school" and watched our friend's daughter participate in her first Field Day. Sad to say, James had as much interest in watching Field Day as his mother did in participating years ago.

On the 3rd, we had a field trip to Kilby's Farm and over to the ice cream place. There really weren't too many photo opportunities on the trip. For some reason, the calves liked James. As he walked by each cage, they'd run up and nuzzle and try to get his fingers. He's like the "Bovine Whisperer". He can't be a cow whisperer. The only real new knowledge we walked away with that day was that cows have given birth. If you haven't given birth, you're a heifer. I personally like the sound of being a cow over a heifer. Anyway, the trip was quick, relatively painless and there was free ice cream for the children when all was said and done. Here's a shot of him with one of the calves and on the way back with one of his friends. They discovered the hump on the floor and just assumed that it was an extra seat and since there are no seatbelts obviously safety isn't a priority on the school bus. Grrr, I hate 3 year old logic.

The 3rd was a long day for us. The weather warmed up and we headed over to the park with some friends and grubbed for several hours. Seriously, we were there from about noon something to after 5. I really only have a few shots that I can share with the internet world because of one little thing:

MY SON WAS NEKKID IN PUBLIC.

There, I said it. The child was free as a breeze, more than once and I could not compose myself enough to put on "Angry Mom Face" and do something about it. I'll be honest, it was hilarious. The first time was slightly accidental. His friend stumbled in the water and when he tried to go in after him, he fell on his butt. I said "take your pants off, I have extras in the van" and next thing I know, he's down to an Orioles shirt and hat. Nothing else. I don't know how he does it so fast! Later on, after I had covered the child back up, we're sitting under the pavillion and two teenage girls walk thru and start laughing when they hit the bridge. Ok, that's a warning if you're ever gonna get one. Maggie asked "are they doing something" and they nodded with their hands over their mouths. I asked "are they naked" and they really started nodding. Sure enough, there's my son and his friend, under the bridge throwing rocks. Naked. I don't mind so much the getting naked part, it's the part where he starts peeing on everything. Honestly, he's worse than a dog in the woods.

On the 5th, we went to the Luau for Leukemia in Fair Hill. It was a great charity event, our friend's band was playing and we figured James would have a great time and it would give us a chance to remember the "adult" things we did before child. I realized afterwards that having a 3 year old is very much like being the designated driver. It's much the same theory, keep these people from getting hurt, embarassing themselves, others or both. In that category falls naked. Do not let these people get naked. We failed on that front, again. They had a sandbox set up for kids and apparently, James was able to strip down to his shirt and one sock in the amount of time it takes Daddy to untangle plastic leis. Being the ever supportive wife and mother that I am, I replied "good" and laughed when I heard about it. Anyway, James had a chance to try out our friend's drums. Yeah, we're smart like that and he was ever the white boy with his "moves" on the dance floor. Oh yeah, those moves, they made an encore at the preschool graduation. I'll share that in another post, probably Part 4.

Didn't I say May was busy?

I'm behind.

I'm terribly behind on many things right now. Easter pics would be one of them! This house, the new house and whatever my domestic responsibilites are, none are on schedule. That being said, I have tons of new pics and things to share, just not today. Instead I'm offering a little video of James singing. He's definitely a singer, he learned this song today in school, the other one we learned from MySpace. I have no idea how to edit it down for length and I'm sorry but you'll also have to listen to my singing along, it was the only way. That and I had to bribe him with a beef and cheddar so I hope this is appreciated!

ETA: I have to have someone show me how to edit the video after all. You Tube has a limit of 100 megs per video and my video is about 267. I can't even do something on a whim and be on schedule.

Spreading a little sunshine...

It's official, James is now #66 on the Rising Sun Sunshine Division of Little League!

Why 66? Because that "is just like Route 66, just like Lightening McQueen, Lightening McQueen is my favorite because he is fast..." and that's a good enough reason when you are 3.

For your viewing pleasure, we have the before and after shots. The before was taken in the driveway when he was arguing about the stroller and why we weren't letting him take the practice tee and ball set, after all, we are going for baseball. Yes, he is wearing a Green Day shirt. The after shot is with his new #66 shirt and hat. Discussion has already been had that you do not wear the number in the front. I'm sure we will have it again.

About 4 years past due...

Yay! I finally did it! Does anyone remember that we promised to start a website when I was pregnant with James? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't remind everyone of that. Anyway, here it is, a nice place for us (meaning me) to give some updates and pictures of all that is going on in our life.

Why the sudden dedication? Our house! We have the deed, land, plans and an estimate from Elkton Homes. We still lack the building permit and financing but we're getting there. What we also have is a group of people with a sparked interest in just how a modular home is built. I've had picture requests and really I couldn't figure a reason not to share. This weekend I will head back to the farm and take some shots of the land and have them ready to share!

Another activity for this weekend is the sign up for the Little League's Sunshine Division. We'll look at it as a basics camp for the kids who aren't old enough for T-ball. We'll also look at it as nothing more than a $30 Summer activity. James wanted to play soccer but isn't able until next year. Somehow, soccer seems to be natural for him. He can run with the ball, go around it and so on. How do I know? Because he keeps doing it with the softball we practice with. The only other thing he's done when we practice is pick dandelions.