Warning - This Post Contains Romance and Violence

So the boys were watching a show downstairs this morning while I took a shower. I called them upstairs for meds and Tanner announces in a tattle-tale fashion mixed with a voice of grave concern:

Tanner: "Mom, our show this morning contained both romance and violence."
Mom: "Really? What show were you watching?"
Tanner: "Good Luck Charlie." (he says looking at his feet and shaking his head)

(Note: This show a Disney Channel family sitcom. It's harmless.)

Mom: (perplexed, but in a hurry) "Ok - well next time you should change the show if you see something like that."

30 minutes later we're in the car and I have time to further explore the noted romance and violence issue.

Mom: "So Tanner, what is romance anyway. I've never heard you use that word before."
Tanner: "It's when people kiss. BJ got a girlfriend and they kissed."

(smiling to myself that 1. Tanner knows what that word means and 2. That his morning show was far from the R-rated proclamation I received earlier).

Mom: "I see. So what does violence mean?"
Tanner: "It's when people can't use their words to express their feelings and hurt someone instead. Someone got punched and got a black eye and that was violent."

Score #2 for Tanner. Excellent definition! Once again, Mom is relieved that they hadn't somehow stumbled on a 7:30am showing of Rambo or the Sopranos :) But man, that Disney sure needs to clean up their act, eh :)

I Love October

Random...I know...just going through pics and found some great ones in October.

Art Prize unforgettable moments...Alex pondering, Tanner sleeping




Fall harvest...last from garden...and stuck in apple crate jail :)




Tree monkeys...

Romeo

Tanner yelled across the pool on Sunday, "Mom, I just saw the prettiest girl in the whole world. I think I'm in love!"

Then he swims over with a big grin on his face and says again, "Seriously Mom, I think I'm in love."

Good grief. Not exactly sure how to tackle the whole 'love' vs 'lust' conversation with my 8 year old brainiac...dictionary maybe? :)

He Cracks Me Up...

Alex's new favorite saying is...

"If I had a nickel for every time you told me "

It's so stinkin' funny because he says it at the most appropriate times! He was doing his last homework page tonight and I said,

"Ok Alex, you need to do neat handwriting. I want to see your personal best!"

He promptly stated in his sweet sing-song voice, "If I had a nickel for every time someone told me to do good handwriting!". Sorry buddy...at least the expectation is consistent!

Tricky, Tricky...

The boys (particularly Alex)

1. Do not like to mix foods

2. Are aversive to strong flavors

3. Despise sauces of any kind

We've worked really hard over the years to push the limits on these fronts, but with very little luck. These kids will eat almost anything - so long that it is raw, unspiced and unsauced. They will eat every vegetable and fruit imaginable (brussel sprouts are a recent favorite). Plain pasta - no butter no sauce - love it! Plain cereal - fine. They are big time milk drinkers. It's basically a relatively healthy diet. You just can't mix liquids and solids or there is a complete uprising.

Then, there are the visual issues. No grill marks. No crunchy parts. No browning from sauteeing. All food must look to be in its usual, natural form or (Alex in particular) will pick away all imperfections before eating.

So, I've been thinking long and hard on ways to circumvent the aversions. I'm rather proud of myself for this tricky move! Last night we took them to Mongolian Grill for dinner. Here was my thought process:

1. They get to choose their favorite meat, veggies and fruit from a buffet and fill a bowl.

2. They get to choose a sauce. Must have one...but they get to choose at least.

3. They get to choose their spices (I let Alex off the hook on this one though).

4. They get to watch the cooks grilling their chosen foods with tool tossing antics and all (very entertaining).

5. They get their choice of plain, totally harmless tortilla or rice to go with their creation.

The moment of truth was when we sat down with the very dark/grilled food, flavorfully sauced, all mixed together. There was lots of reminders from Mom that "You picked this food! It was all your favorites! Don't you think it will be great? Those cooks were AWESOME!". Magic. They ate it. A few faces, a little rummaging around the brownest pieces, never more than one type of food on Alex's fork and lots of drinks to wash it down, but they ate it! Total success. Repeat visits are in order. I consider it sensory therapy...perhaps the restaurant bill should thus qualify as a medical expense? There were a couple self-medicating beers on the tab for Jim and I in the event of complete failure. It all sounds FSA eligible, right? :)

Skater Dudes!

Birthday presents from Grandma & Grandpa = SKATEBOARDS!! It's raining today, but the skater dudes are practicing their new craft in the garage and thinking they are pretty freakin' cool. Anyone care to place a bet regarding who has the first broken bone? My money would be on Tanner...Alex has incredibly good balance (as was witnessed with Lake Michigan surfing last summer in North Muskegon).

We Love Board Games!

We play some type of board game or card game nearly every night. Tanner usually initiates it, and becomes pretty upset if bedtime comes and we haven't gotten a game in yet. While we have a large collection to choose from, the current favs are Apples to Apples, Sorry Sliders and 'Smath.

'Smath is Scrabble...but all numbers/symbols that you use to make equations rather than letters/words. For my number lovers, it rocks! Tanner announced tonight that it was the best game ever. Yes, only my kids would think that creating formulas was recreation at 8pm. :)