Keys and creepy words

Spencer was in time out (we'll get to that in a minute) and we were talking about what he did wrong and how he should act in the future.

Me: You need to remember to behave and be a good listener...
Spencer, interupting: Stop! Don't say that word anymore.
Me: What word? Behave?
Spencer: Yes. Don't say that anymore, it really creeps me out.

At that point I started laughing, a six year old, saying in such a serious way that a word really creeps him out! Now that I am done laughing, I'll tell you why he was in time out. He had been outside playing and came home and started looking through a drawer. I asked him what he was looking for and he first tried to think of something that he wouldn't get in trouble for playing with, but I think he was in too much of a hurry to be able to think of anything so finally he said it...

Spencer: your car keys, but not the ones with all the other keys on it. (house key, church keys)
Me: Why do you need my keys, the car isn't locked. You can go get what you need out of it and just make sure you close the door when you're done.
S: I just need your keys, I don't need anything in the car.
-My next thought was that perhaps he just wanted to take the car out for a spin, but I didn't say anything, just in case he hadn't thought of that. We don't like putting thoughts in his head, his own thoughts are scary enough... -
Me: Why do you need my keys?
Spencer, getting frustrated: Because Spencer (H.) won't let me play with his keys so I need my own.
Me: You can't take my car keys out of the house.
S: Then I am taking Daddy's keys out.
Me: No. No real keys are allowed to leave the house.

You can see where this is going. I even offered to let him play with a key that no longer goes to anything, I even put it on a key chain for him, but this wasn't good enough. He began yelling, screaming, and even kicked me. That's when he went to time out, with extra time added for the kick... fun times at our house...

Easter pics...

Easter Clothes: The boys had matching ties, but because my Bishop recently pointed out that they often match, I decided they should have different colored shirts, it's bad when someone else points it out... :) Also, the ties have a thin pink stripe in them, so they coordinated nicely with the baby... I tried to get a picture of them all wearing the clothes, but um, they were a little less than helpful...

baskets:

I know this picture is completely out of focus, but there is just something about it that I love... I think it is a combination of Spencer's face and the baby peeking around Carter...

Hot Dogs on the Grill

We wanted to do something a little different for dinner, sort of in celebration of Dave's b-day, sort of in celebration of Spring, so we decided to cook a steak out on the grill for dinner. The boys don't like steak (or so they claim) so we did hot dogs for them. Dave wanted the boys to get excited about it so he found 2 sticks, put the hot dogs on them and let the boys hold it over the grill. They thought this was SOOO cool, or so we thought. They ate their hot dogs and Spencer wanted another one...

Dave: Go get your stick so you can cook it.
Spencer: Why? Can't we just use the microwave?
Dave (to me): You've ruined our children.

Yes, my fault, I'm not getting out the charcoal everytime the kids want to eat something. I will gladly admit that I LOVE the microwave. What's not to love?

Spencer: Humanitarian of the year, Part 2

On Saturday, I gave him a large plastic container and told him it was for all of his school papers, drawings, special things, etc. He was so excited that he carried the box around all afternoon, even outside to play. He went out for a little while and when I looked outside, I couldn't see him anywhere. He had been gone for about a half an hour when I started to get worried. I then heard something outside and looked out to see him coming up the walkway, carrying his box. It looked like he could hardly lift it off the ground. He came inside and I asked him what was in the box (it was empty when he left), I was not prepared for what came next... He said, "I went to all the houses and asked for food for the people that don't have any." I looked in the box and saw about 6 cans of food. I started laughing (inside, I didn't want him to think I was laughing AT him) and smiling and telling him how sweet he was. I also didn't want the neighbors thinking that I send my son around asking for food, so I found out who gave him the food. Amazingly, it all came from one house, he had carried it a block and half all by himself!! He told his dad what happened while I called the neighbor. She said that she was happy to help him and that he looked so sad that no one else had given him any. I told her that he did this all on his own and I told her where we were going to donate the food. The next day we took the cans to the donation box and dropped them off. He was so excited!! I can't believe that my little 6 year old organized and carried out a food drive all on his own. What a kid!

Spencer: Humanitarian of the year, Part 1

It seems that most of my posts lately have been about my sweet, sweet, sweet 6 year old... He loves to help, he loves to make people happy, and wants everyone to get exactly what they want or need in life. He knows that we don't have a lot and is always thinking of ways he can help. I tell him to just try not to be wasteful and to be careful not to ruin anything. Of course, this is very hard for an active 6 year old. So, several weeks ago, he made signs that each had a different amount on them: 1, 10, 25, and 100. He then put several drawings in piles and put a sign on top of each pile. He informed me that those were the amounts that he was going to sell each pile for (I don't know if each drawing was worth the amount, or the entire pile, he didn't specify). He then smiled and said, "and I'm going to give all the money to you and Daddy, so you can buy the things you need." How do you tell a child that the neighbors don't want to buy his drawings and that NO ONE would buy them for $100? You don't.

My good little helper

Spencer got really sick last night and was still quite sick today, it's sad to see my good helper feel so ill. Yesterday, when I was throwing up and really sick, he wanted to do something to help. So, he got the paper towels and took them into the bathroom. He got the Lysol spray and started to spray the counter. The spray was almost empty and not very strong, so he opened it and added water to make it stronger. Being the thinker that he is, he thought that adding water wouldn't make the chemicals be as strong for cleaning. So, what can one little boy add to make the spray better for cleaning? Soap. Hand soap. Of course... So, one of my spray bottles now has a nice Lysol-water-hand soap mix. Hmmm. On Wednesday, he helped me with the dishes. First he unloaded the dishwasher, then he cleaned off a cookie sheet. Here are some pictures...

He can't reach to put any cups or dishes away, so this is what he does with them when he empties the dishwasher, there were more on the other counter, but I put them away before I thought to take a picture, see how nicely he stacked the cups?Here is the silverware:

He loves to help!

First Steps...

Yesterday was my friend's birthday. I will always remember it because she told me that it's the only day of the year that is a command to go forward. I can see a general (I imagine George Washington) standing in front of his troops, thrusting his sword forward in the air, shouting, "March forth." I reflected on this yesterday and decided that if I am having a difficult time in my life, I can always use this day as a gentle reminder that I need to move forward in my life.
I found it completely fitting that Baby took her first solo steps yesterday. Until now, she has walked holding onto things (chairs in the kitchen, someone's hands) and would not attempt it on her own. She will stand on her own for quite a while, she can even stand herself up in the middle of the room without anything to pull herself up, but as soon as she wants to go somewhere, she would immediately sit down and crawl. I have no dillusions that she will be running around by herself anytime in the immediate future, she only took two steps forward, but it was two steps more than what she did the day before... Two small steps for Baby, a giant leap for development!