Deep Thoughts by TJ and Nolan

Tonight at bedtime, Nolan asked me if I've ever met anyone who spoke British. 

At dinner tonight, we were talking about the Tigers game. TJ had a question about their opponent. But he either didn't know that word or couldn't think of it. Instead he said, 'what about the team they were versus-ing?'

Yesterday, Nolan asked me if he was six and a half. I told he almost was...he hits that crucial milestone on October 1. He said, 'okay, so am I six and an inch?'

Sam isn't feeling well today. I think he has a touch of the stomach flu. He's sleeping in my bed tonight because he gets panicky if he feels sick and I'm not right there with him. He was fine this morning though, and was in church with us. He was sitting right next to Bill and kept grilling him as to which pipe rank the organist was using at any given time. He shares his Dad's obsession with pipe organs. 

Advance planning

TJ's completed birthday list is on my fridge. So many thoughts running through my head...

Wow. His handwriting is atrocious. 

His birthday isn't until the end of November!

A kitten. Really? He says it is staying on his list for every birthday and Christmas until he gets it. His father says he's fine with it on the list, rather than having a third cat in the house. 

But it's the last item that totally cracks me up. A top hat? What in the world for? And does he need to specify that it should be black?

Part of me wants to get him the top hat, just to see where he wears it. 

Sound the alarm!

A couple times this past week, Sam mentioned that they had a fire drill at school. He really enjoys those. He likes the procedure and seeing how the alarms and lights work together. I made the mistake of telling him that we used to do fire drills at the day care where I worked. He was extremely intrigued. He wanted to know what it was like to pull the alarm, how you shut it off, where the kids exited, if we timed the kids, etc. 

Then he got on YouTube. YouTube is a lifesaver for parents with children like Sam. He knows he isn't alone. He found other people who shared his fascination with fire alarms. He spent this weekend learning about the different brands and models. He watched videos of people who had wired their houses with commercial fire alarm systems.  Wow. That would be much worse than putting up with a pipe organ in one's basement. 

Needless to say, I heard A LOT of fire alarms this weekend. And I'm telling you, it doesn't matter where you go in this house. If your second grader is watching a video with a fire alarm sounding, you cannot escape that sound. 

Now that I am reading this over, I wonder if I should be concerned about Sam pulling the fire alarm at school. I don't think we would do that....maybe if he stays interested in these, we will have to buy him his own fire alarm (thank goodness for eBay too!)  I am sure he would have it wired and installed in no time. I am pretty certain his dad would be thrilled to help him with that. 

Birthdays and boogers

Monday was my birthday.  I told the boys that I wanted two things for my birthday: I wanted to go out to eat and I wanted them to be on their best behavior all day.

TJ and Nolan were awesome until we got back from the restaurant.  Then there may have been a re-enactment of a Civil War battle in the upstairs hallway.  It wasn't pretty.

Sam was an angel all day.  When we got back from dinner, Bill gave me a couple small gifts he had picked up.  Sam was looking concerned during this.  He had signed a rather cute birthday card (as had TJ and Nolan), but Sam clearly felt he hadn't done enough.  He disappeared for 15 minutes and came back with a card he had made himself.  I hugged him a complimented him, but he still wasn't satisfied.  "I didn't get you a present," he kept saying.  I kept telling him that I didn't need a gift, but he clearly thought I was lying.

He left and came back, carrying $2.  It's all the spending money he has.  He wanted to give it to me.  Okay.  Big lump in my throat.  I gently told him that I would never take all of his money, but that it meant so much to me that he was willing to share it.  Sam smiled, then frowned and disappeared again.  He returned a third time with a small, hard ball in his hand.

He explained to me that when Bill was digging the trenches in the yard for the sprinklers, he and Sam discovered that our soil is pretty lousy.  It's basically just clay.  So Sam dug out some of the clay, and spent some time rounding it into the perfect ball.  When it dried, you couldn't even tell it was something a child had made.

I again thanked Sam sincerely, but I also told him that just seeing what he had made was special to me.  I told him that having him behave and be sweet and loving meant more to me than any present.  Sam still looked puzzled, but he finally decided to give me a big birthday hug and give up.  Clearly, moms are too difficult to shop for.

The next day, I discovered that someone had left me a rather unpleasant gift on the wall in the stairwell.  A large booger was smeared on the wall.  One thing that dries harder than Sam's clay is a booger.  Oh, lovely.  I soaked it for awhile and then scrubbed.  Got the booger off, along some of the drywall.  Oh, lovely.  I guess it's a good thing that we hadn't painted the stairwell yet.

Sam's well-child visit

I took Sam in for his 8-year well-child exam today. It was also the first appointment he had with his new doctor, Dr. Eberhardt. Sam was in a great mood and had the nurse laughing right away ('I'm not highly intelligent. I'm just intelligent.'). The doctor checked him for scoliosis and a hernia. Sam wasn't embarrassed, he just needed to know exactly what a hernia was before she checked. He also got a flu shot. The boys have always gotten the flu mist, but that isn't an option at this office. Sam needed to know exactly what was going to happen, and then he was cool with it. No tears. No big deal. 

Dr Eberhardt spent some time talking with us and getting to know Sam. She quickly started to piece things together. Highly intelligent. Very verbal. Not really social. Only a couple close friends. Would rather learn and observe adults than play with toys. Hates to make mistakes. Falls apart when embarrassed. Prone to panic attacks. 

She asked me if anyone had we've suggested that Sam might have a mild form of Aspberger's. I laughed. I told her we had often considered that. She said it's nothing to be concerned about. We just need to keep it in mind if he starts to struggle socially or have problems in school. It pleased me to know she would help us keep an eye on that. 

Anyway, Sam is 50 inches and 59 pounds. A little shorter and thinner than most boys his age. I told him it wasn't too long ago that was off the weight chart; he was such a chubby baby. Sam was very amused by that. 

Here's Sam acing his eye test at the doctor. The nurse was having him read things backwards, just to keep him on his toes.