Oh Yeah. I Have Six Kids.

I have totally gotten off track with this blog.  I'm supposed to be writing things down that I don't want to forget about my kids.  So today is a little journal for the children.

Cuckoo
Cuckoo has hit the extaordinary ornery stage.  He finds it hilarious to do the exact opposite of what he should be doing.  For example, I sent him in to the bathroom to wash his hands for lunch.  Something he has done many, many times.  He was taking a bit long, so I went to check on him.  I found the brand-spankin' new toilet paper unrolled all over the floor, the plunger in the toilet, and him acting like he's trying to unclog it.  Water absolutely everywhere.  (I of course took a photo of him grinning from ear to ear amidst his disaster, but I can't find it anywhere.) 

He is beginning to use his imagination to explain things that are going on around here.  Yesterday, when I told him to bring his socks and shoes to me, he came back with two socks and one shoe.  When I asked where the other one was, he replied, "I couldn't find it.  Christmas took it."  In his mind, anything that has to do with Christmas is called Christmas.  What he meant to say was, "Santa Claus took it."  I have no idea why, in his mind, Santa would come and take his shoe.

He has started biting his nails a bit.  The other day, he tore one down to where it bled.  He came running in to tell me of his boo-boo, so we put a Band-Aid on it.  It must have been a VERY long time ago that he got his last Band-Aid.  He could not have been more excited about it.

He had to show everyone.

And he kept his thumb sticking up in the air until that Band-Aid fell of the next day.

Turken
Turken had his four year check-up yesterday.  He is right on that 50th percentile line for height and weight.   The perfect size to climb trees like the big kids.

Yeah, we were going to cut that branch off anyway.

Poor kid has extremely dry skin.  At his appointment, we found out that the things we thought were bug bites and excema patches were in fact a bunch of little infections in his pores.  He now has to get an anti-bacterial lotion rubbed on, and Eucerin from head to toe twice a day.  Let's just say he's not a fan.
Giant
This one is really getting his comedic timing down.  He's always had the quiet dry humor, but now he's really working on perfecting it.

His soccer coach is one of the best coaches we have ever had.  Each week he sends an e-mail with a run-down of the coming week.  He doesn't just say, "We're going to be short a few players this week."  He says, "We've got a hitch in our giddy-up."  In this email he also includes links of soccer videos for the kids to watch, usually about pros doing cool moves or great goals.  Last week he sent one about a team that has elaborate, funny victory skits each time they score.  You can see them here. 

In Saturday's game, Giant scored, which is normal.  Whenever he does, he grins, then heads back to the line for the restart of the game.  However, this time, the little comedian came out, encouraged by the videos.  Instead of the grin and line-up, he waited for everyone to settle down, and he Tebowed right there on the field.  The kids and the folks on the sidelines cracked up.  His coach was so proud that he mentioned it in the next week's newsletter.

Star
 Star had a rough game this weekend, but I was very proud of the way he handled it.

As usual, Star played keeper (goalie) for the first half of the game.  At one point, someone on the opposing team tried to score.  It was a high ball, so Star went to jump for it.  As soon as he was stretched as far as he could get himself, but before he jumped, a kid twice his size on the other team crashed right into him.  Full body.  Star went down, and the ball went in.  It really should have been a foul on the kid, but the ref didn't make the call.  Parents on the sideline were going crazy, but Star simply brushed himself off and got ready for play to resume.  He didn't say one word to the ref.

One minute before the end of the game, Star was playing offense.  Someone crossed the ball to the middle, it bounced off of a defender a couple of feet in front of the goal, and Star kicked it in to score.  Everyone was cheering and happy, for it put us in the lead.  Until the ref called it back, saying Star was off-sides.  Now the parents really went crazy.  (I could do a whole post on crazy soccer parents that make me crazy.)  I was so pleased to see that not one child on that field said a thing to the refs.  (Their coach for the day, who happened to be Giant's coach, is the most positive person I've ever seen on the field.  Even he was irate and had a few words with the ref.) 

The game ended in a tie, 1-1.  Afterwards, as the boys and parents were meeting up, Star had tears in his eyes.  Two boys on the team were with him, trying to make him feel better.  One looked at me and said, "Make sure he knows that none of what happened was his fault.  He did exactly as he should have."  Sweet boys.

I am so glad that he knows how to be a good sport.  That even when he gets hurt, he can pick himself up, literally dust himself off, and move on.  No arguing, no pouting, no drama.

Buttercup
Baby girl is a party planner.  She can't just play.  She must turn everything into an event.  A show.  A special occasion.  Recently, she put together some fun for the boys.

It started with a scavenger hunt in the yard.  For about 15 minutes the boys raced to bring back items such as 10 dandelions and 5 clovers.

Then part two of the activities began.  Off to the races they went.

She had put up flags at either end of the field, and the strip that I had mowed made the side boundaries.  She had those boys racing in every way possible.  They ran backwards, they army crawled, they hopped on one foot, they crab-crawled.  The favorite was running with their eyes closed. 

She's gonna be a good mama someday.

Phoenix
Phoenix broke out of his quiet little box and tried out for the middle school musical.  Not play.  Musical. 
I love our school's music teacher.  She can get just about every child in the building to sing a solo in front of his class.  She has students begging to be the cantors at the weekly school mass.  In short, she's amazing.
She chose the musical "School House Rock" for the kids to perform this year, and Phoenix landed a speaking role.  Not a solo.  (As the teacher says, "The songs aren't quite right for your voice."  Did I mention that I love her?)
The kids put in hours and hours of work starting way back in February, and last week they performed in the high school auditorium.  It was fun to hear all of those Saturday morning songs again.  My foot was tapping the whole way through.
And since Phoenix is one of the tallest kids in middle school, we never had trouble seeing him.  He sang and danced his little heart out.  When he wasn't nervous as all get out.

Have to say, though, it was a little uncomfortable seeing him and all of the other kids in major performance make-up.  And this picture was taken after the wrap party!

It makes my heart happy to see him have so much fun doing something new and uncharacteristic.

He's already trying to talk Buttercup into performing with him next year.


And thus concludes our post on the children update.  Tomorrow we can go back to talking all about me.

Have a lovely day!