In the Summertime

The Mr. discovered the video to this iconic song a few days ago and has been captivated by it. Every time he watches it he finds new things to laugh about. He was just telling us all of the things that he likes about it: their hair; the guy playing the jug; how stoned they are; how they laugh themselves in the video; how old it is; etc, etc…
He was busy telling us all this and Lukas interrupts him and says "daddy, I know the real reason you like this song is because you have women on your mind."

Bwahahaha!!! Well played Lukas, well played!

Give the video a go and see what you find entertaining/enjoyable about it. It just occurred to me that this song is a great way to kick off my 3 weeks of holidays. I think I'm going to have a drink,  and take a drive with the boys out to the lake to see what I can find. (kidding about the drinking part)

Happy summer everyone!!!

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Mikah:     Mom, guess what we learned today at the museum? I know the name of the first Prime Minister of 
               Canada. It's Steven Franklin.
Me:         Well… the first Prime Minister was actually John A. Macdonald. 
Mikah:    Oh, that's right! I knew it was something like Macdonald. Oh, and that guy was named after a famous 
                restaurant! 
Lukas:     It was KFC! Bwahahaha!!!!
Mikah (completely ignoring his brother who was laughing so hard at his own joke I thought he might pee himself )   
               And he liked to keep (whispers here) illegal alcohol in his desk drawer!



Ah yes, sounds like it was a successful field trip full of knowledge building.

While the Boys Were Playing...

Tonight while I was cooking supper I heard this from the boys who were playing lego…

Lukas:   Mikah, check this out! This man lego looks just like Stephen Harper and this girl lego looks just like 
             Michael Jackson! I can't believe we've never noticed that before!

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Mikah:  When I grow up I want a Smart Car. And I want to live alone...

definitely alone. In a tiny mobile home.

~That's right Mikah, aim high.

Kindergarten Graduation Day!

Today was the day of the Lukas' Kindergarten Graduation and Tea. The kids were all super cute in their costumes and the program they put on was adorable (but what kindergarten program isn't?). I won't blither blather; I'll just get right to the pictures...

A group shot of his class.

Our little Knight sure was happy when he spotted us in the audience.

There's the boy we know and love; always chatting up the ladies...

Enjoying the feast (AKA Tea with the parents) after the concert. Being on display can sure work up a guy's appetite.

 

Receiving his Graduation Certificate. Looking proud (he he).

Of course, he looks a little happier to be with his teacher.

Well done Lukas! We love you and we're really looking forward to watching you grow and being there with you on your journey.  ~Mom & Dad

P.S. Please be kind to us; you're our last and we'll be tired. Hopefully your brothers won't ruin too many opportunities for you.   ;;)

Krazy Kids

My little Lukas is getting ready to graduate from Kindergarten at the end of the month! Where does the time go?

Isn't he cute??? Don't mind the crappy iPhone picture that I took from the one hanging on the fridge.  

For a celebration his teacher has planned an afternoon Tea before the end of June. The school that he goes to is named after a castle in Scotland, and so she thought it would be fun if the kids came dressed up as knights, kings, princesses, dragons, etc. They will have a program and we will have 'high tea.' Lukas and I both thought it was a fun idea and he's pretty excited! Lucky for me my boys love to play dress-up and about the only costume that we don't have is a princess one.

Lukas brought a note home that had to be filled out and returned to school. His teacher wanted to know what the child will be dressing up as, how many people will be coming with the child, and could we please bring a snack and if so, what snack will we be bringing. Our conversation went like this…

Lukas:  Here's the note from my teacher. We HAVE to fill it out and get it back to her like, tomorrow!
Mom:  Ok, let me read it to you and we'll fill it out. Hmm, what do you want to dress up as? 
Lukas:  A knight. 
Mom:   I thought you would want to wear your King costume.
Lukas:  (insert an exasperated grimace here)  Obviously I would want to be a knight. HELLO?… 
          a sword.
Mom:  Well OBVIOUSLY you won't be allowed to take a sword. 
Lukas:   Fine then. A gun.
Mom:   Knights OBVIOUSLY didn't have guns.
Lukas:   Harumpf. Will you just quit saying obviously already! I'll just be a boring knight then.
Mom:   Alrighty. I'll write down 'boring knight' then.  Do you want to invite anyone? 
Lukas:   Just you, and dad, and Mikah, and all the kids in my class, and Aunty Heather.
Mom:   (I wrote down three people. I figured the other kids would just show up)   Ok, what about a 
          snack? What should we bring for the lunch for people to eat?
Lukas:   Bacon.
Mom:   What? What do you want to bring?  (I was pretty sure that I hadn't heard him right)
Lukas:   Bacon. Just a big plate of bacon. That's what I'm going to bring. Write that down.

And he skipped off; it was settled. I laughed for the rest of the day. Can you imagine? Showing up at a potluck with a plate of bacon? Actually, it would probably be the most popular item there - I have to give this some more thought…



Flash forward to tonight…

I was in the kitchen finishing up some carrot cupcakes for a wedding reception tomorrow and as Lukas was tearing past, I grabbed him and asked him if I should just make some extra for his Kindergarten Tea. He looked at me as if I was the stupidest person in the world and said,

"Hello… I said that I was bringing bacon. What? Did you forget???"

Oh, I should add that Lukas does sarcastic and curmudgeonly really well. As in REALLY well. I'm just happy to know that at least one of my kids got something from me after all. But it makes it damn hard not to laugh. Who am I kidding; I usually just laugh. Parent of the year and all that - blah blah blah.

But now I'm struggling because I kind of want to take a plate of bacon just because I think it would be funny as hell. Do you think that bacon would be a "healthy food approved snack?"

Saturday's Sighting

While walking through the living room this morning, I caught Lukas who was all set up playing for the cat.

And practicing for his future as a  Busker! And he comes cheap; 20 cents will buy you a song.

Other kids with their boring lemonade stands have nothing on my kid!

Tuesday's Tunes

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Lukas:  Mom, how old are you?
Me:  I'm 38.
Lukas:  Wow! That's really close to 40!
Me:  Yep.

~pause~

Lukas:  How old is dad?
Me:  40
(Lukas starts laughing hysterically)
Me:  What are you laughing about?
Lukas:  Well, I said that you are almost 40, and dad actually is 40! That's so funny! (more laughing coming from behind me)

Me:  (just because I couldn't help myself even though I knew the answer could be bad)   So... who did you think was older?
Lukas:  Dad. I knowed he was older.
Me:  How did you know that for sure?
Lukas:  Because he's bigger than you. Duh!


You really have to love 5 year old logic!

Newsflash - Mikah Turns 7!!!

Breaking News... the Super Heroes were out in full force today in order to help Batman (Mikah) celebrate his 7th birthday.


Capes and masks were required. These super heroes thumb their noses at 'ordinary citizens' when they all get together...

Batman, AKA the birthday boy, was the first to fly to the scene of the top secret partay...

Captain America was next to make an appearance.

Spiderman swung over the city in order to get down with his friends...

The Hulk made his presence known...

Wolverine knew that the party wouldn't be able to start without him...

And just what do Super Heroes do when they get together? First, they compete. They are always striving to be the best they can be.  They practiced leaping over tall buildings; having races to show off their "super speed"; they showcased their "power punching abilities"; and they practiced ducking and dodging fast incoming projectiles! But we can't forget that there is also a softer side to Super Heroes - they even took it upon themselves to help a dottery old lady (played by the birthday boy's dad) get across the street safely. And I think that was the hardest test of all; that old biddy sure had a mind of her own!

All of that hard work sure gave the Super Heroes a super-sized appetite. Being so super all the time uses up a lot of energy don't you know.

When their bellies were super-full and bursting, they showered Batman with some super-awesome birthday presents.

These sure are some super-friends that Batman has!

And just like that, the party was over and our Super Heroes bid one another adieu as they took again to the skies.

For Lloyd...

Someone shared this on Facebook today. I'm amazed at the ideas that people come up with.

Newest Obsession

Thanks to Pinterest I have been having visions of chalkboard art for months. Literally months! I have been on the lookout for an awesome frame that is both huge and retro-ugly. Think ornate, gold leaf ugly. When these frames are spiffed up with some spray paint they are capital-A-mazing. Trust me. I have one hanging in my office at work and everyone who comes in gushes over it.

Anywho... I haven't stumbled upon another one of these frames yet so my brain has been distracted with trying to figure out Plan Two. Then one day I came upon this, and this, and Plan Two happened. Printable chalkboard art. But could I do it? I'm crafty, but not especially arty, if you get my drift. But, I had a vision - a huge chalkboard art vision that would hang in my entryway. And thanks to all the visionaries on Pinterest I had inspiration. I steeled myself last night and sat down with my secret little friend - picmonkey.com - and made this...

And I was so thrilled (I did a happy dance, I can admit it), that I sat back down and made this...

And this...

And this...

AND THIS...

What do you think? I'm pretty darn happy with how they turned out and I can't wait to get them framed (burlap or aged-rustic wood???) and up on the wall. I took two of them to Staples today and had them printed out as 24"x36" engineer prints and it actually worked!!! No one is more shocked than I.

P.S. Lukas had a stay-home day with mom today and he wanted in on the action. Here are his versions of Chalkboard art.

'Nature Picture'

'Forest'

Tuesday Tunes

I've been seriously annoying my kids the last few days by having these songs on repeat in the Jeep. Better I annoy them than the other way around I always say.

Lorde (pronounced Lord) - Royals

American Authors - Best Day of My Life
 

Thursday Tunes

Here's what I have on heavy rotation on my playlist right now. I highly recommend that you check out ZZ Ward, Noah and Passenger. Love, love, love!

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Mikah decide that we should bake cupcakes on the weekend. I figured, hey, I might as well bake some fancy cupcakes for my own kids for once. We hopped into the car because of course, I was out of cream cheese, sugar and eggs. As we are driving to the store I hear the question that I've been dreading...

Lukas:   Mom, how are babies made?

~I start to freak out but try to maintain an outwardly calm appearance~

Mikah:   It's ok Mom. You can tell him because I already know how they are made.

Me:       Oh, really? And just how is that?  (I felt confident asking this because Mikah will always pretend that he 

            knows the answer, and will never admit defeat.)

Lukas:   How are they made?

Mikah:  Well, they are made with extra sugar. You need to have the extra sugar.

~I'm trying not to laugh because, well, he's partially right.~

Me:      Um, that's not really how they are made.

Mikah:  (laughing a bit self-consiously, but still not admitting defeat)  Of course I know that. I was just kidding.

~At this point Lukas starts to cry~

Me:       Why on earth are you crying?

Lukas:   (wailing)  Because everyone knows how babies are made except for me!!!

Me:      And the guy sitting next to you. He doesn't know either. (I laugh and the wailing increases.)

There are definitely times that I wish I was raising my kids on a farm. That way they would learn about the facts of life the same way we did... by observation not conversation. It's so much easier on the parents that way.

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Mikah:   Mom, why didn't you name me Rainbow? I really wanted Rainbow to be my name.
                                                                                    

I had to write this one down so that I didn't forget. This comment is going to provide us with hours of entertainment in the future :)

                     

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Ah, the drive home at the end of the day is often amusing. The Mr. had this story to share with me when I got home after work tonight.


Mikah:     Dad, what's for supper when we get home?
The Mr:    I'm not sure yet. What do you think we should have?
Lukas:     Spaghetti  (Big surprise there)
The Mr:   Of course that's what you want. 
Mikah:    Can we watch a show when we are eating supper?
The Mr:   I suppose so. It depends on how good you are while I'm cooking.
Lukas:    (whining) Well, what show are we going to pick? Mikah ALWAYS gets to pick the show!
The Mr:   Tell you what, who ever does the most cleaning in the living room while I'm making supper will get to pick 
              the show.

~A few minutes of back and forth arguing happens about which one of them is going to succeed at doing the most cleaning. This is then followed by a minute of silence~

Lukas:     (asks slyly) Mikah, what show would you pick?
The Mr:    Mikah, don't answer that!!!
Mikah:     Futurama
Lukas:     Yeah, we can watch Futurama. That's ok; you can do all the cleaning.

Lukas is too darn smart for his britches. He's only 5 and he's a;ready caught on to most of our tricks.

~And yes, sometimes we let them watch Futurama. We fool ourselves into believing that they don't understand most of what is happening on the show, in order to gain a few minutes of silence for ourselves. Yep, I bet you're thinking that you wish you had thought of it too.~

Heloise Helps Us Out

Oh, sweet sweet Heloise, why did I not find you years and years ago??? Some of your wonderful suggestions would have saved this housewife many vexing moments over the years. I'm sure that your hint below would have saved me much time and frustration! If only I had known that cleaning needn't be as complicated as I had been making it...


Pearl Number Four

I wouldn't tell you this if I thought it wasn't worth every little bit of energy you will save... It is not necessary to sweep under your beds every day. Who is going to look under your beds? Save your energy... never waste it. Cleaning under beds once a week is considered good housekeeping nowadays. Especially since most people have carpets. And if you don't, so what?

~Heloise

So what indeed. 

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Lukas:   You madam, are too much.



Right back at you little man. Right back at you.

Overheard From the Back of the Van

Lukas:     Mikah, did you know when you are 20 you are a grown-up? 
Mikah:    I knew that.
Lukas:    And when you are a grownup you will be able to take me places, just the two of us!
Mikah:    When I'm 20 you'll be 19. Duh. You'll be grown-up too and can just go places by yourself.
Lukas:    You're a big-fat-stupid-poopy-head.


~Well played Lukas, well played.~