Not lost

After a long, long week of work and kindergarten, Dennis and I are thrilled to be at the beach for the weekend.  He was certain that we were lost on the way here, but we made it just fine.  He announced upon arrival "I have been waiting for this day for my whole life."  He is glad we are here "so we can finally forget school and work and just relax!".  Well said!

restaurant supply

At the Arby's drive-thru last night, Dennis was dismayed to learn that they were out of chicken strips.  When we pulled up to the window, he told the cashier "there are lots of chickens that live in our driveway!  You can come get some--Mom, tell her our address!".  Then he loudly relayed my phone number and told her to call us and she could come get some so they wouldn't be out of chicken strips any more.  They had a nice laugh over his marketing of our neighbor chickens.

We heard from his daddy today, and it seems all is going well on the Belize trip.  And Dennis and I are still plugging our way through a busy week!

the week ahead

My heart is heavy this morning.  David left home for an early morning flight headed for Belize (along with my mom and dad).  They should be just about ready to take off for Atlanta.  He will be gone for a week, and Dennis isn't happy about it.  When I took him to school this morning, he sadly asked "why do I always have to go to school?" and I explained that he would get to learn.  He told me "I'm already done learning."  He left the car and walked into the school with his head tilted down and his shoulders sagging a bit, walking more slowly than I've seen him walk.  Poor little guy--he's got a big adjustment to make just with school and now he's worried about his Daddy being away for a week.

We have a big week planned ourselves.  Wednesday night the church is having a big end of summer social and I've got lots of booths and tables to set up, lots of games to prepare.  Dennis has Taekwondo tonight and Thursday.  Preschool orientation is this week, so I'll meet the parents tonight and the new students on Thursday morning.  And, depending on what the impending hurricane does, we most likely will be headed to the beach for the weekend!  I wish I could skip ahead to Friday.

green light week

Dennis did not want to go to school this morning.  He told me "I don't want to take school anymore.  It's so long, and I get in trouble all the time."  Poor fellow.  I explained that everyone has a difficult time learning new rules and that he'd be okay as long as he didn't continue to do the things that he learned were wrong.  We prayed together in the car for a better day.  I reminded him that he'd get ice cream after school if his conduct stayed on "green" all week.  He pitifully asked "can I have a toy instead?".  I stopped by Walmart after dropping him off.  He caught me in a weak moment.  He was happy when I picked him up this afternoon, still on "green" in his planner (but he told me he was on yellow for a while today before moving back to green).  And he was very pleased to get his prize when he got in the car!

art Dennis style

Dennis announced as he climbed into the car "I got in a little trouble today." Apparently he and the girl sitting across from him were trying to pick each other's noses. He told David this tonight. What he told me was "me and the girl beside me were playing and we didn't stop when Mrs. Walker told us to stop. And I was making funny faces at a girl in the lunchroom and she was making them too and the teacher told us to stop. Mrs. Walker gets kind of mean when we are being bad!". It must not have been too bad. He came home with a good conduct report.

He also said "at lunch I really liked the sliced oranges and the hot dog, but there was this really stinky brown stuff that nearly ran me and the girl next to me out of there. We didn't want to eat it." Later I deduced that the stinky brown stuff must have been hot dog chili. He said "oh, yeah, I bet that WAS hot dog chili. It smelled yuck, though."

I've enjoyed looking at his paint and crayon masterpieces each day, and today he brought home a picture of a guy driving a race car. He added racing stripes to the car and drew a helmet around the driver's head. I appreciate his creativity!

first day

When asked about his first day of Kindergarten, Dennis replied, "there was boringness.  And we learned a lot of rules.  And then more boringness.  And we played outside."  He made a new friend, he says who "wears Spiderman shoes but I don't know what his name is--we played Spiderman together."  He seems happy.  His teacher said he was a tad jumpy in the hallway but otherwise very good.  I was sad to see him go in and sit right down and get to work.  No clinging, no hug.  But I'm proud that he's confident enough to take care of himself at school! 

summer's end

I feel like this is the last night of Dennis' little-boyhood! He goes off to school officially in the morning. He's picked out his outfit and is currently playing (loudly) in the bathtub. We've snuggled together this evening and chatted, and I've so enjoyed his company! I asked him if he was at all nervous about tomorrow and he replied, "no, but you are!". He's right! I'm nervous about how our lives will change with him in real school. I'll wonder how he's doing all day. I'm sure he'll be just fine and happy, but I won't be able to go check!

Sigh. Those toddler and preschool years just flew by so fast!

back-to-school shopping

After attending our favorite twins' 3rd birthday party, we joined the Gallmans for supper and shopping. I'm happy to report that Dennis scored a great new rain jacket, so now he's pretty much gotten everything he needs. We even got a light-up bat signal, but it's actually mine and not his. He told me he hated me earlier today when I didn't buy him a Spiderman, so I told him I wasn't buying him any more toys until he learned to appreciate what's really important. And then we found a bat signal much, much later in the evening. I played with it in the car all the way home (to his torture), and I finally let him hold it when we were almost home. Oh, the agony of waiting! And not owning it himself!

flight museum fun

Dennis had a fabulous time at the Southern Museum of Flight today. He had been wanting to go back to see "the Lego room" that he remembered so well. Gran & Pop joined us and we looked at planes and played in flight simulators and watched Dennis build Lego airports. It was a nice last hurrah before school begins on Monday. Dennis chose a very cool bomber jacket to be his new fall/winter coat and insisted on striking poses and wearing it all the way home. He also asked if he could sleep in his new jacket tonight!

We took him shoe shopping and he ran laps around the store in a pair of Reeboks and again in a pair of Nikes. He told us "definitely the Nikes--they're faster!". Luckily they were also $20 cheaper!

the comics don't lie

I always loved reading Calvin & Hobbes comics. Now I'm living them. Dennis lives part of the time in an imaginary world in his mind. Ask him to stop hitting other children with a rope and he says "I'm not hitting kids--I'm just doing practice with my lasso. I'm a cowboy." Or he's Indiana Jones. Or he's a police officer--"I'm just catching bad guys!". He stalks around the church wearing sunglasses and suddenly he's a spy. I ask him not to run in church and he says "but I'm Flash. I have to move fast!". He's ever so logical. I wonder of kindergarten will insert a bigger dose of reality into his days. Possibly not. He's breezing through his reading book at an amazing clip. Here's hoping he finds a productive and well-received outlet for whatever boredom he encounters.

first concert

Dennis and I had a great time at the Go Fish Guys concert last night. He was disappointed that he didn't catch one of the Angry Birds stuffed animals they tossed into the audience at the beginning, so I should not have been surprised to see him later run up onto the stage and tug on the pant leg of the lead singer (during a song). The guy crouched down to listen to him and he soon returned to his seat beside me and said "well, they are all out of Angry Birds--he told me I should come to their next concert". Didn't matter a bit to him that there were about 1000 people watching!

After the concert we dined at McDonald's, and while Dennis was standing in line behind a rather large man at the drink machine, I heard him say "hey Roadblock, pick a lane and get in it!". I was both horrified and terribly amused. Fortunately, the man thought he was cute and funny as well!

He was just as amusing today. He described to us his dream treehouse: "a police rocket hanging from a tree one inch from the ground, but hanging by a string with NO STICKS around--it's not a piñata!". He wants it to look like it's about to crash land on the planet. I'd love to see him draw it out for me!!!

Dennis' Night Out

Dennis' Taekwondo school offered a Parents' Night Out tonight at their studio near Birmingham. We had plans to meet up with friends for Cosmic Bowling, but they couldn't make it, so David and I ate supper and shopped leisurely through the kinds of places Dennis doesn't love (electronics stores, clothes). We just picked Dennis back up, and he complained that he really wanted to spend the night. I really didn't want to make the early morning trip to retrieve him, so he was disappointed. He says he had a great time!

Earlier today David taught him to play Battleship, and before that, Dennis and I slept very late and cuddled up to watch his favorite shows. He brought me breakfast in bed (pop-tart & Coke Zero) so sweetly. I can't believe he starts kindergarten in just over a week.

It's after 11pm, and he should be tired, I think, but here we are at the gas station because "of course you know I'm hungry". I suppose the bottomless pit years might be starting early!

cave kids

We took a field trip to Rickwood Caverns State Park today. We toured the cave, mined for "gems", picnicked together, and swam in their awesome pool (complete with a high dive that the kids loved). The kids had learned about caves on Tuesday, and their lesson next week will feature rocks and gems, so this particular trip was pretty educational in regards to our God's World curriculum. And we all had an incredible time!

Dennis loved it all. He was excited to see a bat waking up in the cave and flying away. He brought in a good haul of rocks, too, that he'll add to his collection. And he enjoyed swimming and wisely chose not to do the high dive (though he did try out the lower board). His good buddy swam with him in the parts where they could touch the bottom. They also both took a nice long nap on the bus ride home. Despite his busy day, he was excellent at Taekwondo tonight, acting mature and composed--I was so proud!

cowboy or Indian?

I enjoyed seeing Dennis flit through my afternoon, alternately as Sheriff Dennis or Chief Sitting Bull. He wielded a lasso, roping chairs in the church library. And he appeared in my afternoon meeting in a large Indian headdress created from a newspaper (a real masterpiece that I suspect was created by his buddy Elisabeth). He had a fabulous time, as always. He loves my place of employment!

anatomy lesson

Dennis has been curious about body parts lately, especially those deemed private. He strolled into our room naked tonight and was pointing to himself and asking questions. He asked what the real name for the area under his penis is called, and when I told him 'testicles', he said "I just call them my acorns." I had nothing to say to that, but I enjoyed watching David immediately turn his head away to keep from cracking up in front of Dennis. This is even funnier if you consider that Uncle Denny took us to see Ice Age 4 tonight (where we watched Scrat chase his beloved acorn).

Underwear Man rides again

We never know what to expect. So when Dennis came flying into our bed clad only in his underwear, sunglasses, and his Green Lantern cape, I suppose we shouldn't have been surprised. He declared himself "Underwear Man" and waved his hands at us, ostensibly to use his magic powers to disrobe us down to our underwear. He pointed his magic hands at my shoes and announced "now you have NAKED feet!!!". It was hard getting him dressed to go to Taekwondo tonight! Somehow I think his classmates and instructor might have appreciated Underwear Man somewhat less than we did.

the official Lego Master Builder

We took Dennis to the mall today to participate in the big Lego building event. Each kid was given a base plate and turned loose to tables with bins of Legos. They built all kinds of things on their squares: skyscrapers, trees, mountains... Dennis built an air traffic control tower. He happily placed it among all the others in an area roped off in the shape of the USA. The project will look SO cool when it's done! He was thrilled to earn a Master Builder certificate when he turned in his contribution.

date with Mommy day

I spent the day with Dennis. I took him to McWane Science Center where we met up with a few of his friends, but we mostly toured it on our own. I let him go at his own pace and check out everything. I let him do the same thing at Toys R Us afterward. I didn't do any work, and I focused on him. I think he needed a day to not have to share my time and attention! I'm the one that took him to Taekwondo, and though I did go do some housework for Uncle Denny tonight, I left him in the company of some of his biggest fans (Gran, Pop, Uncle Denny, Granny). I can't believe he is so close to starting school. I'm going to miss my little office assistant! He even brought me breakfast in bed this morning!

Dennis loved the "bed of nails" exhibit, digging for dinosaur bones, the big slide--well, just about everything at the museum! It was a great day!

full nature immersion

What a great day! Field trip to the Alabama Nature Center where the kids fished, hiked, scooped up and looked at pond critters, fed catfish, pet a snake, tasted a sourwood leaf and muscadines from the vine, and played in a creek! I love this place, this full outdoor classroom. The kids learned SO much and had a great time doing it. I think Dennis liked the creek (mud) time the best!