Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Not Gonna Let Him Hide Under a Bushel

It isn't easy being Cuckoo's brother. That boy demands to be the center of attention, and people don't mind leaving him there. He's outgoing. He's loud. He's hilarious. He is always surrounded by a gaggle of people.

Turken, on the other hand, is quiet. He's reserved. He doesn't have any interest in being the center of any crowd. He's hilarious, too, but one must be quiet and patient and observant to see it.

Today, I'm gonna let you get to know Turken a bit better.

******** 1 ********

The boy is keeping a journal. Every day when we get in the car, he immediately gets out his notebook and starts writing about his day. After about a week of this, I asked him if I could read it.

LIZZI!! Ask WonderAunty if she recognizes the pen!

He replied, "No. When I'm done I'm going to charge people a dollar to read it."

Last week he had a day with an extra long entry and ran a special sneak preview. Buttercup got to read it, but it cost her a quarter.

So basically, he's made more with his writing than I have in four years of writing a blog.

*********** 2 **********

This is his comfort...thing?


It is named Blankyhead.

'Cause it's the head off of his baby blanket.

Minus the stuffing.

Blankyhead frequently travels with us, but we never know when or where or how.

He's hitched a ride in Turken's pocket in order to go to church. He's been tucked in the cuff of Turken's sleeve, just like grandmas carry their tissues.

When we went to Chicago, he spent the entire first day in Turken's sock.

I don't know how it hasn't been lost these many years. Hopefully, it never will be. I'm thinking it will be pretty darn difficult to find one that matches exactly.

******* 3 ********

He's lost a tooth or four.



There's one more loose one he is wiggling tirelessly.  Apparently he isn't a fan of actually biting into his food.

That, or he really likes the special treatment of all apples, pears, carrots, and other crunchy food items being cut into bites or strips.

(FYI: I have applied the proper amount of Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream (It's not just for hands!) to that chapped face of his to cure the ring around the mouth.)

*********** 4 **********

He came home with this in his Friday folder.


Unfortunately, I didn't think to take the photo until after I made him redo the paper.

Have you ever heard the critique about standardized tests that some kids get questions wrong because they don't have the experiences to completely understand the question?

Well, when Turken was trying to redo #3, he just couldn't find a word that fit. It seemed obvious to me, but he was absolutely flummoxed.

Me (grabbing a pen and holding it up): Which of those words can I do with a pen?
Him: OOOOHHH!!! I thought it was a pen like the chicken pen!!

Missing that question meant the whole page was jacked up.

So, yeah, it's not only possible, but very likely that kids who grow up in different circumstances just may have trouble figuring out what the question on a national standardized test was asking.

******** 5 **********

He can conquer monkey bars...



like a BOSS!

I've never in my life been able to do the monkey bars, so...color me impressed.

Have a lovely day!

25 comments:

  1. He's a sweet boy with a sweet, toothless smile. And he's made more on his writing than you and me put together! Did Buttercup tell you what the entry said? Did she charge you money to hear it?
    Love his answer about the pen!

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    1. She didn't tell me what it said, but she did say it was totally worth it. :)

      Delete
  2. I thought the ring round Turken's mouth was because he'd been eating or drinking something red. I hope it's getting better with the cream you're putting on it.

    Charging people to read his journal? There's an entrepreneur in the making - that boy will go far :)

    I love his answer to no.3. And knowing which way his mind was thinking I suppose he could have 'fixed' the pen :)

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    1. I didn't include it here, but Turken having food all over his mouth is not uncommon. He is the sloppiest eater I've ever seen. It is much better, thanks.

      I have no doubt.

      Except he's our kid. He's never actually seen the pen get fixed properly. :)

      Delete
  3. So glad to be back! Your kids have really grown in the year I have been on hiatus. How hilarious that Turken has earned more money with his journal than you have in four years with your blog. I feel your pain girl!!! Hey, as a former dental hygienist have you taken Turken to see a dentist about the ring around his mouth? It could be a fungal infection that might need to be treated with nystatin cream. Crazy I know but it's pretty common when kids lick their dry lips in the cold weather.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. OH, PLEASE NO! I've never heard of such a thing. We've had kids who have done this before, and it's cleared up fine. He looks much better today, but I'll keep an eye on it.

      I'm kinda sarcastic now when I say, "Glad you're back!" ;)

      Delete
  4. Number 4 cracked me up! I mean really, who drops a chicken pen? Time to put "cleaned" or "repaired" on the spelling list, I guess. :-)

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    Replies
    1. Except Bryan and I aren't the best at repairing it. Turken's never seen it happen. :)

      Delete
  5. Your kids are awesome. I enjoy reading about them too. I can see your pride in them as well and it makes me smile.

    I wish I could do the monkey bars now. That would be awesome.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.

      It would be awesome to be able to do the monkey bars.

      Delete
  6. Oh, I loved this! Especially
    How Blankyhead travels! And the illustration of the
    Difficulty of some questions. Do all your kids!!!

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    1. I'm glad you liked it!
      I would love to do this for all my kids, but the teens might not like it. I'll see what I can do. :)

      Delete
  7. Awesome post - chapped skin, or lips is painful hope the cream works - love that he is charging $ for his writing, very smart boy.

    Well # 3 made sense to him.

    learning is tough, I am dealing with this with Amelia too.

    :)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thanks!
      I can't believe it, but he never complains about the chapped lips. It just doesn't seem to bother him nearly as much as it bothers me to look at!

      He is a smart boy. I don't know why I didn't think to charge people to read my stuff. :)

      Learning can be tough. I hate it for kids when they struggle.

      Delete
  8. Ohhhh I really enjoyed getting to know him better. He's adorable and SUCH a canny author! Way to go, Turken.

    LOVE the pen. LOVE IT! Sent the URL to WonderAunty and told her she MUST READ IT! *glee*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad to hear such nice things from someone who isn't biased like me. :)

      She has already emailed me with all sorts of CAPITAL LOVELIES.

      Delete
  9. Smart boy,....people will pay big money to read all about someone's private life. Glad he figured that out early to capitalize it!!

    And too fun about the pen. And thought-provoking about standardized tests for sure!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Ha! Very true. :)

      I was shocked when he couldn't figure out the sentence. It really got me thinking.

      Delete
  10. …loves to write / gets a '40'… can someone say, 'clearly a context-of-the-question-as-written issue' (wait, you already did! lol) ok very good on the seeing a situation from an alternative perspective! There are, I suspect, more people out there who believe that tests always measure the same thing in everyone taking them, than there should be.

    … oh, btw, (speaking from a moving-car-photography point of view)… how did you manage photo #1? were you:
    a) driving backwards with Turken in the front passenger seat or
    2) driving while sitting backwards in the drivers seat ("hey! Phoenix!! press the pedals…. I got the steering wheel")

    lol

    ReplyDelete
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    1. It's hard for most of the world to see things from the perspective of another. Have you seen that gold/white dress floating around the internet? :)

      Hahahaha!!! Funny that you, the person I am constantly scolding for his photo/video taking while driving, are the only one who mentioned it.

      Bryan was driving. :)

      Delete
  11. I have had the same concern about some test questions. Definitely open for interpretation!
    He sounds lovely, a thoughtful soul. He must bring you so much joy!

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    1. Most certainly! The test writers think one way, but kids can think all sorts of other ways.

      He really does. He is completely different than me, so I appreciate it even more.

      Delete
  12. love the test question. Turken is a wonderful desk mate btw... I love seeing his smiling face every day! THanks so much for sharing him.

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    1. I'm glad he makes your work day a little brighter. He has a way of doing that. :)

      Delete
  13. Poor baby, I never head of a chapped face. Love that carry around blankyhead. Tickled that he is making more money off his journal than we are.

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me what you're thinking!