Scientific Taste Test

Sam is not a fan of fruit.  He does genuinely like bananas, apples, and applesauce.  That's about it.  To get him to eat any other fruit is usually a battle.

A couple weeks ago, I served strawberries with a fruit dip I had made.  Sam was horrified.  He couldn't believe I expected him to eat 3 pieces of strawberry!  (I had cut the strawberries in half, so we are talking a grand total of 1.5 strawberries here).  He moaned, he groaned, he complained, he acted as though the three bites would be fatal.  I tried coaxing him and negotiating with him.  No dice.  So, I got silly.  I told him we were going to conduct a scientific survey to see which he thought was better: strawberry alone, or strawberry with the fruit dip.  Sam was intrigued.  I told him we had to establish a base, so that meant he had to eat a plain strawberry first.  He did so. Sometimes it amazes me the stuff my kids will do when I make it sound fancy!  Then I told him he had to cleanse his pallet, so I gave him some apple juice.  He laughed and drank the apple juice.  Then, he tried a bite of strawberry with the fruit dip.  I told him to chew it slowly and experience the fruit dip (Yes, I know.  I'm full of it).  By this time, all three boys were laughing, but Sam ate bite #2 and looked quite thoughtful.  I told him it was decision time.  Which was better?  Strawberry alone, or strawberry with fruit dip?  Sam selected Bite #2.  This meant Bite #3 would also have the fruit dip and he would know for sure it was the winner.

The following night, Sam ate more strawberries with fruit dip, so I considered myself the real winner.

Tonight's poison was pineapple tidbits.  Only, this time there was no fruit dip.  Once again, Sam had 3 pieces of pineapple on his plate.  Once again, he was moaning and groaning and telling me he was not going to eat his fruit.  Then he asked me if I could turn it into a taste test.

Disclaimer:  If you are eating something right now, I suggest you stop.

I looked around the table and told Sam that I didn't see anything he could sample his pineapple with, unless he was going to try it with ketchup.  He said, "Okay!" and popped Bite #1 (plain pineapple) in his mouth.  I was feeling a bit horrified, but I still got him his apple juice so he could cleanse his pallet.  Then I put some ketchup on Bite #2 and rather doubtfully watched Sam to see what he would do next.  Both TJ and Nolan were completely enthralled.  Bill was pretending he didn't know us.

Sam put Bite #2 in his mouth.  His mother shuddered.  Sam chewed it carefully, while he laughed. 

The saddest part of this story?  Sam selected the pineapple with ketchup as his preferred bite.  So Bite #3 also had ketchup on it.

GROSS.  But--he did eat the fruit....

My tightly wound child

So it's been almost two months since we started Sam on his prescription for anxiety.  We had to increase the dose once, but we are starting to see some serious results.  At bedtime, he goes to bed.  And stays there.  He isn't up a dozen times, checking to make sure I'm right nearby.  He hasn't needed me to sit with him until he fell asleep in over a month.

Most nights, he sleeps all night.  However, if he wakes up and has to go to the bathroom, he is still having a difficult time going back to his own bed.  But, he no longer gets me up.  He just crawls into bed next to me.  I don't really mind that.  He is putting himself back to sleep.

Saturday morning, it was probably around 6:00 a.m. when I noticed Sam was in the bathroom.  A moment later, he was by the side of my bed, preparing to crawl in.  But then TJ came in.  TJ hates being alone in his room, and it bothers him when he wakes up and Sam isn't there.  The two of them had a whispered conversation and then Sam turned to me and said, "Mom, I'm going to go back into my room.  TJ needs me."  I was only half awake, but I was really touched by that.  Sam put his concern for his brother over his own anxieties.

The other day, the little boy from the end of the street came over to play.  My boys hadn't known he was coming and they were thrilled to see him.  There was lots of excited chatter in the hallway when he came in.  Sam greeted him cheerfully, but the commotion was just too much for him.  I looked out the front window a minute later and saw Sam quietly playing a game in the driveway.  So, he still isn't the most social kid on the planet, but he is learning how to cope without taking away from other people's fun.

Sam starts first grade next week.  I hope and pray that he is able to make friends and fit in.

Vehicular ponderings

TJ and Sam have been thinking about cars lately.  Not in the way most kids think about cars.  No, mine are too weird for that.

TJ is trying to figure out the concept of money and how much things cost.  He asked me the other day if cars were really expensive.  I agreed that they certainly were.  So he asked about the Cruze.  We've had it for a year, but it's still our 'new' car, and he knows we bought it brand new.  He said, "Did the Cruze cost..." he paused and I could tell he was trying to come up with a REALLY big number "...two HUNDRED dollars?"  I started laughing right away.  I told him it was closer to twenty thousand.  TJ looked absolutely shocked.  I guess 8-year-olds don't think in thousands.

Sam has developed a strange obsession with Toyotas.  I have no idea why.  He just keeps asking if every car we see is a Toyota.  He wants me to find Toyotas.  He wants to talk about Toyotas.  Would you believe that in the past couple of days we have hardly seen any?  Typically, they are everywhere!  It's really frustrating to him that Daddy and I can't come up with more Toyotas.  He isn't satisfied if I say things like "Uncle Eric's van is a Toyota", or "Grandma Ellen drives a Toyota Camry".  He wants to see them.  It's really strange.

On a completely different note, school starts in 14 days!  I hope their teachers are ready!

They just keep coming...

We had dinner tonight at my parent's house.  After we ate, everyone was watching the Animal Planet Show, "My Cat from Hell".  If you haven't seen that show, check it out.  The boys love it, but they call it "My Cat from H".  Anyway, I tore myself away from the latest evil cat to inform Bill that I was going to go work out on the elliptical downstairs.  TJ piped up, "Oh, you're FINALLY going to go exercise?"

Ouch, Kid.  Ouch.  For the record, I've been feeling much better the past couple weeks and have been working out regularly again.  My cardiologist adjusted my medications and it seems to be working (for the time being).  I'm trying to drop ten or so pounds before we leave for Disney World (five weeks from today!).

When we got home tonight, Sam needed to take a shower.  As is often the case, he opted to use my shower.  I turned the water on and he climbed in.  Immediately, he started scrutinizing the shower nozzle.  He informed me that I needed to adjust it, because it was 'wrong'.  I asked him how he could tell and he informed me that the water was hitting the shower wall in the wrong spot.  How does he notice these things??

Nolan is now in physical therapy twice a week for his sore feet.  He will also be seeing a pediatric orthopedic specialist to figure out why he walks funny, but the therapist's job is to help him learn better techniques.  She observed him last week and was pointing out several things he did incorrectly, all of which will make walking exhausting for him.  When we left, I set up his appointments for next week.  The receptionist is a young man, probably in his mid twenties.  As we walked out the door, Nolan gave him his biggest smile and said, "See you later, Dr. Conner!"

Dr. Conner has been Nolan's doctor since his birth.  She is a woman and is probably twenty years older than the male receptionist.  I had a good laugh over that one.

Overheard at the Baron household

Just in the past week....

Nolan: "Why do those people have their eyes shut?" (My response, "They are praying"). Nolan: "Uh huh. It looks like they are asleep."

Nolan: "I'm tired." Me: "Oh yeah?" Nolan: "Me too".

Sam: "Why is the Coast Guard helicopter at the Coast Guard parade?"

Sam: "I've never really felt alive"

Sam: "I'm a worrier." (That has to be the most obvious statement he has ever made!)

TJ: "How many tomatoes do you think will grow on our cucumber plant?"

Bill: "I'm sitting on a panel of experts at the meeting next week" (he really is, I just found this to be extremely funny)

Bill (calling me at work): Is my cell phone in your purse?

Why in the world would I have his cell phone?? Turns out it was in a container of Sam's toy campers and trailers. Bill put it in there for safe-keeping.

Tender Moment

Yesterday morning, TJ was very anxious to get over to my mom's house to play. Normally, I wouldn't let them go over there on a Saturday morning, but Clark and Miles were there. Plus, she said it was all right, so that makes it her fault. :-)

Our stuffed Angry Birds collection had grown this week and the boys were excited about taking the toys over to my mom's to play with Clark. TJ bagged all of the animals up, helped Nolan get his shoes on, and the three of them were out the door. I stood at the kitchen window to watch them as far as the corner of Canterbury and Canterbury Court. If it had just been TJ and/or Sam, I wouldn't have worried about it, but since Nolan was with them, I wanted to make sure they were staying to the side of the road.

They were hurrying down the road single-file. TJ was in the lead, carrying the bag of birds and pigs. Nolan was next, running as fast as his short legs and awkward gait can take him. Sam was in the back, probably counting the neighbor's sprinkler heads.

Because Nolan can't run very fast (we are still trying to figure out what's up with his feet and/or legs), Sam passed Nolan quite quickly. Nolan fell quite far behind by the time they had gone about 15 yards. I felt so bad for him, watching him struggle to keep up. But suddenly, Sam stopped, turned, saw how far behind his little brother had fallen, then went back to him, and took his hand. He held Nolan's hand the rest of the way down the street.

My heart was just about bursting with pride and love!

Bye bye butterflies

By this evening, we had five butterflies who really needed to stretch their wings and fly. The boys were a bit bummed that it was time, but they all came outside to say goodbye.

One would think that the butterflies would have flown out as soon as we opened the top of the container. They didn't. We had to coax them out. But the moment they realized they were free, they almost seemed happy. The boys got a kick out of watching then flutter off into the sunset.

Beauty takes time

TJ and I had appointments to get our hair cut tonight. We were more than a week overdue for haircuts, because Stephanie (the girl who has been cutting my hair for years) was on vacation last week. TJ, who normally pays no attention to such things, commented to me more than once this week that he knew he needed a haircut. We were both looking a bit shaggy.

So he WANTED to get his hair cut tonight, but TJ was also quite tired. My mom seems to be on a mission this summer to wear the boys out (which I do appreciate!). This afternoon, they spent 3 hours at the splash pad and the beach at Millennium Park. So, TJ was whipped.

Which is why he was dreading the sitting and waiting part of haircut night. Shortly before we left, he asked (rather anxiously), "You aren't getting your hair painted tonight, are you?"

I had a good laugh over that. Then I reminded him that I had just had my hair 'highlighted' last time, so it was just a cut for both of us tonight. TJ was relieved to hear it.

Now I should be going to bed, but I keep picturing Stephanie with a big, thick paintbrush. For some reason, the paint I keep picturing is blue. I wonder if that technique would work well....

Butterflies

For Sam's fifth birthday last year, he received a Live Butterfly Garden. Basically, it was just a collapsible mesh container and a coupon for butterflies. I ordered the caterpillars, paid $5 shipping and they arrived a couple days later. Last year, we got 3 tiny caterpillars and the boys very much enjoyed watching all three transform into butterflies. After we released them, I scrubbed out the container (butterflies poop a lot!), and stowed it away in the boys' closet.

For his sixth birthday last week, Sam requested more butterflies. I foolishly assumed this would be an inexpensive gift. We had the container for the butterflies, all we needed was a 'refill' of caterpillars. Well, this is where the company sucks you in. It's $5 for the first time you order butterflies. The next time, it's $16. Yikes.

But it's worth it. This year, we received five caterpillars and they grew from teeny tiny little things to five large caterpillars in just a few days. My least favorite part is when they make their cocoons. Then you have to take them out of their little container that they shipped in and move them into the mesh container. I won't do that part. I make Bill do it. It's icky.

This morning, some butterflies started emerging. So far, two are out of their chrysalis'. It's been fun watching the boys. Someone has been studying the butterflies all day and checking to se if we have any more. Unfortunately, Willoughby also discovered the butterflies, so we moved them to the Florida Room so he won't pounce on their container.

Here's TJ admiring the two butterflies. I love how it looks like they are sitting on his face. You can also see the three butterflies who have yet to emerge. Maybe tomorrow!