Cutting down the nets

I found this funny this morning: I was watching SportsCenter after my run, and Jack came in about 6:45 and started watching with me. They were showing UConn (I think) cutting down the nets after their regional final. Jack was concerned about this and asked why, and I told him it was a ceremony for the winners and was kind of a trophy for the winning players. He thought about it for a while and then asked, "But do they have more nets to put up?" I kept my giggles internal and told him, yes, they can replace the nets.

Yet another milestone...

...has taken place in the Hutton house today. Jack came running in just before bedtime to tell me something "so totally cool." "Look, Mom, what I just learned...." he says. I'm thinking of all the amazing things it could be and was somewhat taken aback when he says.... "I can make fart sounds under my arm. All my friends can do it and now I can too. It is so totally cool. Everyone was arm farting at Graham's birthday but I didn't know how." ('to arm fart' - another new entry to put in the dictionary)
And so we have marked yet another important watershed moment in the life of a young boy...arm farts.
His Uncle Sambo, Uncle Andy and Uncle Jason will be sooooo proud! Somehow I am envisioning arm fart Christmas carols in our yuletide future this year!

Oh, and by the way, there really was another milestone. Jack has a lovely "window" in the front of his mouth....


What a (handsome) ham!!

Tonight...

...my 7 year old son Jack consumed for dinner:
2 large pancakes
2 fried eggs
6 slices bacon
2 apple slices
1 glass of milk

Tonight's bedtime prayer will go something like this....

"Dear God,
We are no longer worried about paying for college. Please help us to pay for the emormous amounts of food it will take to feed three boys (and all their friends who hang out here). Bless us with a larger refrigerator, full-sized freezer, and a lifetime membership to Sam's.
Amen"

Techno-Challenge (alt. title, "Being Dragged Kicking and Screaming into the 21st Century")

This morning I was sitting in front of ESPN Sports Center after my run, and Annie came in to join me for a little snuggle and quiet time. She was paying attention to what was on the TV--I was so proud when she identified Mike and Mike as the radio show I listen to in the mornings on the way to school--and eventually asked me, in response to something she saw, "What is Twitter?"

I struggled to explain it, because I don't really understand it myself, but finally came up with an explanation that satisfied Annie but not me: it's like a lot of little blogs that describe what people are doing throughout the day. Since I recognize that she and the boys will soon surpass my technological know-how*, I figured that I need to try to keep ahead of her, at least while she's in elementary school! So today I tried Twitter for the first time. Will be an experiment--I've not been so good recently with the blog, will see if Twitter is any easier or if it is more trouble than it's worth.

* I had to laugh earlier this week when a mom I know was trying to find her husband's e-mail address on her iPhone, and she ended up handing it to her 3rd grader for help! That day is coming for all of us!

Boys will be boys...

After 4 days in the car with a moody (seriously, is it time for that) and very disgruntled tween, I decided that God knew exactly what he was doing when he gave me 1 girl and 3 boys. Boys are easy. They eat, they sleep, they fight, they move on. Now girls, a completely different story. The drama....my gosh the drama. And the sass!!! And the attitude...and all of this from a 9 year old!!! I mean, we are not even dealing with a teenager yet Lord help me! So boys seem so much easier...unless it is the day after a long road trip and you are tired and they are tired and everyone has a vacation hangover. Then, boys are impossible. The fights turn ugly and tears start to flow. The whining is unbelievable and the pestering intolerable. There is one thing that remains constant, though, no matter the circumstances...and that is that boys will always be...boys. Today for instance, with my patience at an all time low and my frustration at an all time high, Will chooses to make some very bad choices. Namely, he decides to pee in the outdoor toy box. Why, you might ask? I, too, asked that question. Why Will? Why? The answer..."I dunno, because I can. You always let us pee outside." Yes, outside, on the side of the house near the fence if you just can't make it inside...but not in the toy box....gross!!! This just weeks after he decided to pee down the slide...also gross. And all of this during a time when he just can't seem to keep his hands off his privates!!!! I mean really! So on our first day home from vacation, our day of rest and rejuvenation, here is the short list of all that took place... bowling, inappropriate peeing, snake skin discovery, live snake discovery, bike rides, bike crashes, mud pits, spit balls, scooter races, friends over, football games, a picnic lunch, a lost tooth and finally, showers and bedtime. Makes me tired just to type it. So, with all my little monsters now in bed, I am writing this blog to help me recognize the humor in my crazy life, and trying to remember that even though I deny it most of the time..this is indeed what I signed up for, what I hoped for, the kind of life I wanted to live and the kind of mom I wanted to be...sass, snakes, pee and all.

On the road again....

Many of you might not know this but the origins of this blog stem from our last Hutton family road trip. Summer 2008 the six of us headed east…two 30 somethings and 4 kids ranging in age from 8 to 3 (yes, you read that right) left Dallas for the beautiful city of Asheville in a teeny tiny suv with what we thought was a working dvd player..ha ha. It was, to say the least, completely fun, crazy, frustrating, exciting, exhausting and wonderful. Each night after most of us dropped into bed (or sleeping bag or floor or whatever) utterly exhausted, Ames would sit down at the laptop and recap our day's adventures or misadventures, and he would email them home to family and friends. Needless to say, they were hilarious and he was encouraged (thanks Sarah!) to continue chronicalling our vida loca. So, here we are again, except now it is spring break 09 (party on!!...woops, wrong decade) hitting the road on a multistate trip. We will call this one “Reach roadtrip” since technically we are traveling for educational purposes (thanks Mrs. Dyer!). Annie is doing a report on Laura Ingalls Wilder, hence our jaunt to Mansfield, Missouri, and Jack is reporting on Elvis, prompting our pilgrimage to Graceland. Day one has drawn to a close and the children are snuggled in our lovely motel. Coming soon are a few of the sights and sounds from our first day on the road(pictures to follow upon our return)...

Making Waves

Congratulations to Annie (and Anna and Brigitte) and the second place finish in the North Dallas Elementary Regional Science Fair! The project--which involved testing of beach erosion--was awarded second prize among all third grade submissions in the Earth Science category across seven school districts! What an amazing accomplishment! Pictures to follow...