Does that hurt?

On Thursday, Sam had a scratch on the middle of his forehead. My mom asked him about it after school. Sam couldn't remember how he got it. I asked him about it when I got home from work. Sam said he had no idea how it got there.

Bill came home from a business trip last night and immediately noticed Sam's injury. He asked Sam about it. This time Sam was ready with an answer. "Maybe my brains are exploding out."

Apparently, he's too smart to hold it all in??

Meet George Jetson

Every week, TJ comes home with an assignment out of his Social Studies book.  He has to read the passage, then complete a homework sheet on the passage.

Yesterday's passage was about being ecologically responsible in the future.  I had TJ read the passage out loud to me.  I was a little surprised by it.  I tend to be 'green', but this passage was quite opinionated and I didn't necessarily agree with everything in it.  When TJ got to the questions at the end, I discovered that had been done intentionally.  TJ had to go through the passage again and find items that were facts and items that were opinions.

After he finished his homework, TJ showed me the illustration that went along with the passage.  It was very futuristic.  It kinda reminded me of Tomorrowland at Disney World, or of the Jetson's.  I'm guessing that TJ's teacher mentioned the Jetson's in class, because TJ started asking questions.  He wondered if I had ever heard of the show, and if I had watched it.  I started singing the theme song, which of course, got him more curious.

I told him that the Jetson's wasn't really accurate, since we don't yet have our flying cars.  He wanted to watch an episode, so I pulled up the very first episode on my phone and handed it to him.  Then I watched him as he watched an entire TV episode on his mom's cell phone.  Hmm.  Maybe we aren't too far away from the Jetson's after all!

A few Sam-isms

So I mentioned last time that Sam is really excited about pumpkins lately.  Bill and I went up north last weekend, and I arranged for my parents to take the boys to the pumpkin patch while we were gone.  I spoke with Sam on the phone the morning they went and asked if he was excited.  I could tell by his voice that he was.  He informed me that he was going to get three pumpkins: "A big one, a sized one, and a little one."  My boys use that word every once in a while.  They use it in place of 'regular', 'average' or 'medium'.  It always makes me laugh.

For the record, Grandma let him select two pumpkins.  I appreciated that, since we already had the one from Meijer.  I don't want them to take over my front porch.

This morning, Sam and TJ were having a discussion about doctors.  Sam was saying, "Yep, that's the doctor I went to when we found out about my aspirin."  I wasn't sure what he was talking about.  Sam has never taken aspirin in his life.  But a moment later, he used the word again.  I asked him if he meant 'asthma'.  He said, "Oh, right.  That's the word."

Last week, it was nearly bedtime, but I was still completing the tedious task of changing the bedding on the bunk beds.  The boys are not supposed to be in their room while I am doing this, as they just get in my way and slow me way down.  Bill found Sam out in the hall, waiting.  Sam said, "I can't go in my room.  Mama is still building the beds."

Obsessed

It's been a wet, gloomy weekend.  This afternoon, I took Sam to Meijer with me.  When we were loading up the car to come home, we noticed that it was once again getting dark off to the west (this was followed by yet another discussion of which way is west, which way is east, which way is north...you get the idea).  I told Sam I hoped we would make it home before it started raining.  We had the Cruze, and it is parked in the driveway until the Saab goes to storage for the winter (which is soon, hopefully.  I'm getting tired of scraping ice off of the Cruze in the mornings).  Anyway, we hurried home and I quickly unloaded the car.  Sam and TJ turned on the radar and the excitement quickly grew out of control.  It got WINDY!  It started to RAIN!  The clouds were DARK!  Then we saw one or two flashes of LIGHTNING!  The boys get so excited it is almost impossible to have a conversation with Bill.  At one point, I muttered to him that their excitement level had reached the orgasmic stage.  He snickered and agreed.

Sam's other obsession this week has been pumpkins.  He wanted so badly to go to the pumpkin patch yesterday and pick out our annual pumpkin.  But the rain totally foiled our plans.  He's been talking about his disappointment all weekend.  He perked up considerably when I let him pick out a small $2 pumpkin at Meijer to tide him over until we do get to the pumpkin patch.  He held it the entire time we shopped, and our very understanding cashier gave it back to him as soon as she rang it up.  He carefully put it on on the front porch as soon as we got home.

Since everyone's sprinklers are off for the winter, Sam is back to doing artwork.  This week, he's been painting pictures of the radar and pumpkins.  I actually think he's a pretty decent artist.  He did not get that from me.

The kind of thing that will give you nightmares...

Back in June, the boys went to a birthday party for their cousin Clark.  Angry Birds cupcakes were served at the party and each cupcake had an Angry Bird ring in it.  The boys also got a ring in their goody bag when we left.  So, we had quite a few Angry Birds rings.  The boys were thrilled, as all three of them are huge fans of the game.  Bill and I got used to seeing the rings laying around the house.

Earlier this month,  noticed one was in the laundry room.  I thought that was an odd place for it, so I picked it up, turned it over, and almost had a heart attack.  There was no chubby red, yellow, or black bird with a disgusted look on its face.  Instead, there was this:

Justin Bieber!?!?  Why is this in my house?  And what is wrong with that boy?  What self-respecting teenager allows his face to be put on a cheap plastic ring?

I dropped the ring in horror and left it there for Bill to discover.  He found it shortly afterwards and made me throw it away.  But I took a picture of it first. I felt a need to scare the rest of you, and prove that something so ridiculous actually existed.

Anticipation

Now that the Disney trip has come and gone, there is an empty spot on our whiteboard where our countdown used to be. Clearly, this is bothering Nolan. The other morning he asked me to please write the number 98 in the blank space. I asked why and he said he wanted to start counting down the days until we went back to Disney World.

Poor little guy. The number is actually much closer to 1600, but I didn't have the heart to tell him that. I just changed the subject.

TJ's Sunflower

At the end of the school year last spring, Mr. Sagorski sent his class home with two plants.  TJ had a pumpkin seedling and a tiny sunflower plant.  The pumpkin plant, sadly, became a meal for some local wildlife.  But the sunflower flourished.  All three boys enjoyed watching it grow all summer.  And did it ever grow!  It looks like it's taking over the garden!