Silliness and Serious

Ruby wearing my shirt, her jacket, and baby legs.

(She likes to dress herself these days.)

Bronson and Maxwell post-piano lesson on Monday.
These two silly boys are piano partners.
Jonah did this pose on purpose.
"Take my picture, Mom!"
As he runs in place, does karate motions, and makes faces.
I didn't have a recent silly picture of Bentley,
but here he is loving every minute of karate on Tuesday.

Get some kleenex,

and go read this post over at cjane.

Now They Mean Business

The boys really wanted uniforms for their karate class,

and since there is currently a special ($9.95/uniform),

we bought uniforms. I figure that I'm really saving money.

Reason #1 - Uniforms are normally $30 each

(I got 3 for the price of 1)

Reason #2 - If I can talk the boys into being Ninjas

for Halloween, I won't have to buy them each an

expensive costume (might be a big "IF," but I'm going with it)
Here they are in their new costumes, I mean uniforms.

This picture kind of shows their different
approaches to this karate class thing.
Bentley is soaking up everything they do in class
- he's serious about it.
Maxwell is following along pretty well.
Jonah is just happy to be there.

Oh, by the way, we made it to Target yesterday.
Maxwell used some of his birthday money to buy a watch.
Bentley used his allowance to buy a Bakugan toy.
I caved to Jonah's sweet talking, and bought him a watch.
Ruby didn't get a toy, but we did find some princess sheets.

She would have been wearing her princess nightgown
in this picture but she got too close to the tub
while Bentley was taking a bath, and she got soaked.
Twice.

I Heart Karate

Today the boys started Karate.

They've been wanting to learn for a while,

but I wasn't ready to commit to a semester of classes.

Then, I saw a mini-class type thing in our

community education brochure.

4 weeks, 8 half hour lessons. Nice.

Hopefully just enough to help us all decide

whether or not it's something we want to pursue.

This morning, John had to explain to Jonah that he

was NOT going to learn to kill people in karate.

Bentley and Maxwell did karate kicks off and on all day.

I was pretty nervous that they would be disappointed.
I think they imagined coming out of their first lesson

ready to fight like one of the Power Rangers.

Before we left, Maxwell was really nervous.

He later confessed that he thought he was going to

have to fight some one for real. Poor guy.

Well, they didn't do any fighting, but they did have a

really great time. I think Jonah grinned the whole time.

Bentley and Maxwell also looked very happy.

Ruby, on the other hand, has mixed feelings.
At first, she was really scared.
When we walked into the studio, another class
was just ending. As they kicked and punched they
shouted, and she held onto me for dear life.
Once the yelling stopped she calmed down.
Then, when her brothers took off their shoes
and walked out on the floor, she kicked off
her sandals and started to follow them.
I spent the rest of the class trying to keep her from
running out to join the boys.

So far, I really like Karate.
The instructor kept stressing three very important rules:
1. Obey your parents
2. Keep your room clean
3. Don't fight
What a great teacher!
John wasn't impressed.
He wanted to know if they learned any Karate.
Honestly, who cares?
If they come out of the next four weeks
a little more obedient, it will have been
well worth the time spent in the class
and driving them to and from class.

*Actually, I do think they take a white belt test
at the end of the four weeks, so they'll probably learn
something besides obedience, right?

Affection or Flattery?

This afternoon, Jonah sat down next to me, smiled, and said,

"Mom? Let's go to Target and buy me something. Okay?"

I told him I'd think about it, and he said,

"Okay. Tell me when you're done thinking about it."

He smiled again, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Then he gave me a hug.

Then he said, "I love you, Mom. Thanks for sitting by me."

I said, "I love you, too, Jonah."

"Now say you're welcome," he instructed.

"You're welcome, Jonah, and I'm glad you're sitting by me."

Another smile, another hug, another kiss on the cheek.

And I wonder, was he just feeling affectionate,

or was it all part of his plan to go to Target?
I don't really think he was trying to butter me up,

but his opening statement did make me question his motives.

Headline News

I'm kind of a Relief Society newbie because I've spent the last 7 years in Primary, but today I learned that our ward has something called Headline News. Today the news was that one of the girls who grew up in the ward just got engaged! What fun. Then, I got home from church, and John announced that some friends of ours are expecting twins! Brooke and Jeremyare expecting twin boys sometime before the end of the year! Talk about news. Sometime this summer, my reader stopped getting feed from their blog, so I was totally shocked (and excited for them - I was also surprised that John rememberd to mention it and that he found out in the first place). Brooke's mother-in-law may have made an announcement in Relief Society some other Sunday during Headline News, but I thought I'd post it here, just in case anyone else has been out of the loop. :)

I take a lot of pictures of Ruby . . .

My Agent

Before the Bentley and Max started school, play dates were

pretty Mom-centered. A friend and I would get

together so our kids could play while we talked,

OR

we would take turns watching the kids . . .

so the kids could play of course, but also so

the mom not watching would have a little break.

Things are different now.

The boys are in control to some extent, and

Bentley shared with me how he is doing me a favor:

You see, whenever HE makes a friend, I make a friend.

Reason being - he and his friend decide they want to

play together. They each go home, and ask their mothers

to work something out. One of the mothers then has to

call a previously unknown person,

introduce herself and her child, and figure out a time

and place the two instigators can play together.

As Bentley explained it to me, he is helping me make friends.

206.

My Google Reader tells me I have 206 blog posts

to read (and comment on). Lately I've had the hardest

time staying caught up on blogs and emails.

I keep putting off doing my own blog posts,

because I haven't had time to read everyone else's.

But, I think there are some grandparents, aunts,

and maybe an uncle or two who would like

to see what my funny kids have been up to lately.

I do have hopes of "catching up," but in the meantime,

here are some pictures from our weekend.

Maxwell has recently inherited the task of setting

the dinner table each night. However, he has some competition.

Ruby would love for it to be her job.
Here she set out every one of our forks
while I was fixing dinner Friday night. (btw, we ate soup)

On Saturday, Bentley performed a magic show
for Elizabeth, John, Maxwell, Jonah, and me.
He showcased several amazing tricks, and even had
treats for his brilliant assistants (Max and Jonah).

Also on Saturday, I bought one of those backpack/leash
things for Jonah. Hopefully this will put an end to his wandering.

In other news, tonight Maxwell ate homemade
macaroni and cheese. I love the stuff,
and he absolutely hates it (like most of the food I make for him).
He managed to choke some down tonight with ketchup.
The disgusted face he made was classic, but of course
he smiled as soon as I took out the camera.

Maybe I can use the smiling picture to my advantage.
The next time I make macaroni and cheese,
I can show him this photo and remind him that he
really liked eating it. "See Max, you're so happy!"

The final tidbit of news is that Ruby is getting
used to her princess night gown.
We're making progress around here, folks.
She used to refuse to wear it at all.
Occasionally, I could bribe her to wear it.
But tonight, she chose it on her own,
and wore it with a smile!

Deja Vu - or Krispy Kreme Part 2

Two years ago I taught the Joy School lesson on Obedience

that included a field trip to a bakery. We went to Krispy Kreme.

Today, I got to teach that lesson again, only to a much

larger group (two years ago we had 3 kids in Joy School - and two were mine).
The kids were really excited about the field trip (understatement),

so I was grateful for the 4 other grown-ups

who were able to come with us for crowd control.

I tried several times to get a picture with 8 faces in it. No luck.

(but there is a profile shot of Jonah's "do" - btw, he's wearing Ruby's shirt - whoops)

We had a great time watching the doughnuts get fried and frosted.

Unfortunately, we lingered a little too long at the observation

area, because they turned the Hot Light off just

before we were ready for our doughnuts. :(

We did get to take some home to enjoy, though,

and they were able to choose their flavor.

The kids would probably say that that was better than a hot one.

And since we're talking about obedience and DECISIONS,

they would probably be right.

Laws and Decisions

Today I got to teach Jonah and his friends at Joy School

about Laws and Decisions.
Sometimes there is a law to tell us what to do;

other times we get to decide for ourselves.

I would never have guessed that hair styling
was one of a little boy's favorite decisions,
but it seems to rank quite high on our boys' priorities.
This morning, Jonah insisted on a faux hawk.
Oakley used product AND a hair dryer to get just the right look.
Chris also went for a "spikey" style,
but his efforts were foiled by his hoodie.
The other boys looked like they had put similar
thought and time into their looks. Who knew?

Bentley has gone with a traditional, conservative style lately,
but Maxwell has been breaking new ground.
Last week he modeled what looked like the horn
of a rhinoceros on his forehead.
Today, he went for one "horn" in front,
and one "horn" in back, with the middle laying flat.

(I should have gotten a side view. Whoops)
A quick scan of his class this morning revealed that
he was not alone in his spiking adventures.

Ruby's not really interested in hair things these days.

She's more into her new jacket, her stroller, and her bear.

By the way, she was wonderful during Joy School today.
Teaching with a little one around is usually
pretty tough, but she was just happy to have
other kids over to play and pretty much blended right in.
What an angel.

Rainy Labor Day

This morning, the kids decided to go outside

to play in the rain. Ruby was the first to venture

outside, but was quickly scared back inside by some

lightening followed by some really loud thunder.

She recovered quickly and followed her three brothers

into the front yard. Once there, she chose

to stay on the porch - but the rain still got her.

Jonah tried to run for cover.

Bentley really bundled up.
He's been telling me how excited he is for winter.

Maxwell wasn't intimidated by the storm.

After a good FIVE MINUTES of playing in the rain,
we all came inside for some hot chocolate and marshmallows.