The victor and other miscellaneous

These days, our lives seem to be made up of a whole lot of random miscellaneous.  None of it, in and of itself, seems all that significant.  But then I think about the loss in our country this week.  Think about the family memories destroyed.  Pray for children that are living in horror after what they experienced.  And then, I cling to this miscellaneous, this ordinary.  My adorable munchkins, the funny things they say, the innocence of their childhood.  It becomes precious.  Suddenly I have just a smidge of insight into what is behind those eyes that watch us in the grocery store, or sit near us in a restaurant.  Faces filled with wrinkles, hair turned grey, and eyes that remember their own ordinary days from years ago.  Its no wonder they beg me to remember, treasure, enjoy these days of miscellaneous.

So, here is some of ours....

Madness update
I hoped if maybe I buried this deep in a sappy blog post, I wouldn't have to face it. 
But facts are facts.  And I feel it only fair to provide an update to our March Madness.
My child, who can barely read, who has no idea what NCAA stands for, who did bracket selection based on colors...beat me.  beat all of us.  Worst of all- he beat me by 1/2 a point.  One.half.of.one.single.point.  Ouch.  If you would like to take notes on how to win Cbug style- just know that he accurately selected the first round upsets of Harvard, La Salle and Florida Gulf Coast.  And had Michigan going deep.  How he knew?...colors.  So yeah, I've got nothing for you.

Here are the final totals:   Cbug 51.  ABL 50.5.  RRL 47.  Lou 47.  Baby C 42.  KJ 35.

Cbug's Numbers

Speaking of Cbug.  The kid is crazy about numbers.  Anyone watch the show TOUCH? If not, this will mean nothing to you.  But just in case.  This is what Cbug carried out of free-draw-time at preschool this week. 

Yeah, he's no Jake, but he does love him some numbers, dates, and patterns.

Case in point:  On Sunday we walked into church and Cbug got all excited.
C: "Mom, mom, did you see that lady?  Did you see who that was" 
A: "No, buddy, who was it?"
C: "Do you remember number 23 from the Lonestars (the team we played against in Saturday's soccer game)?  That was his mom!"
A: Um, no.  Actually, I do not remember who was number 23 on the Lonestars.

Not all of their Smarts are Safe

Together, the boys can really come up with some crazy stuff.  Like when they got this frisbee rung around a light.  Can you see in this picture how they were planning to get it down?  Luckily I caught them before they stacked enough puzzles.

KJ's Smarts

KJ has some different smarts.  Mostly in regards to safety and rules.  Recent examples:

"Mom, I don't think we are going to be able to work this one out on our own.  I took away Cbug's train privilege and he took away my Lego privilege.  But we are still arguing."

"Mom, you did a good job choosing the soap for the bathroom.  It kills 99% more germs than other soaps.  That was a healthy choice."

And finally, after getting hurt on the playground "Mom, if we have my birthday party at that park, I'm not sure where I'll stand.  But it'll be somewhere that I can remind kids to ask an adult for help if they can't reach."

Mom is not so smart
And its a good thing that a few members of our house are learning and getting smarter.  Because I'm pretty sure I'm getting dumber by the minute.
I tried to "spell check" Ricky- I was 100% convinced that he had misspelled hassle.  I corrected it hastle.  Because that's a word.  no.  no it isn't.

AND.  upon finding that some little friend left a nice wad of green gum stuck to a stone pillar on my back porch (note- my kids don't chew gum).  I decided to try to get it off...with peanut butter.  Hey, it works on hair.  Why wouldn't it work on stone?  Let me save you the trouble (or should I say hastle)- go straight for the Goo-Gone.  (Which is what my brilliant husband recommended when he saw me trying to lather our porch with pb.)

Little Bear = Baby C.  Who had an adventure.
You may remember that I committed to a blog name for baby brother- Little Bear.  But

I never use it.  It just doesn't flow off the finger tips, or work easily into my conversation-style-writing I tend to use on the 'ole blog.  So, back to the drawing board.  Because eventually it will not work to call him Baby C. He's getting so big.  So fast.  More coming soon about him- he'll be O-N-E in just another week.  One of his new favorite things is playing in the playroom like a big kid.

AND...Baby C had quite the adventure this week.  Ear infection resulted in sudden spike in fever. Resulted in Febrile Seizure.  Resulted in panicked parents who called 911.  Which resulted in paramedics showing up at our house in the middle of the night.  Just in time to tell us, that while it may have been terrifying (for us),  he was totally fine.  Great.  And we were about to write him off as the easy child.  Thanks, Baby C.

And not to be left out.  Princess Lou.

There are so many things about Lou that I want to remember right now (not including the drama she brings).  1) I love how she convinces the boys to play house with her on a regular basis.  And I love how when they are playing parents they call each other "Babe".  2) If she ev-uh adds huh "ahs" to wuhds, I'll be so sad.  3) I love that she calls sneezes "Bless Yous" and 4) I love how she crosses her legs, puts her hands on her knees, and gets a look in her eyes that almost convinces me she really is 25.  Like she thinks.

Sweet, friendly readers of DRRF-

  As I sort through some of our recent miscellaneous, I'm praying for yours.  May your days be filled with the blessings of the ordinary. May you think your own children are the most hilarious, most brilliant, most beautiful that you have ever encountered.  May you enjoy these glorious days made up of sometimes unenjoyable moments.  And may you treasure them- long before you are old enough to warn someone else that they should.

ABL