The family ride

Hubster bought this 1979 Camaro some time ago. His goal is to spruce it up as a race car and go racing baby.

He tinkers with it during his spare time and has done a great job of bartering for the parts he needs. Working on the car helps his stress level go down and I'm all for that. Ha Ha

He's been working on it for a while and has been telling us how fast it's going to be. He talks car lingo to me and I honestly have no clue what he's saying. I just hear the words fast car.

Yesterday evening, he tells the boys that we are going on a ride. To test the car out. I'm not sure about going for a ride, but AB comes in excited to tell me to get dressed that it's going to be a family ride. Woo Hoo!!

We all head outside and load up. It takes the car a while to warm up, but that's OK because Hubster is still tweaking some things.

Down the driveway we go, all of us with our seat belts on and ready for the fun family ride. All is good, then Hubster gets on the road and floors it. I grab onto his arm and yell at him to stop, UB is in the back seat holding on to the front seat telling Hubster to stop and AB is yelling. Hubster is laughing.

Now, just to clarify, I like fast. I like fast cars. But I also like to drive the fast car. I want to be in control. It's a little different when you are in the passenger seat.

He wasn't going fast, it just felt fast.

He then turns onto another road and is driving and then all of a sudden, he floors it again. I yell and grab his arm again, UB is yelling at him to stop and AB is just wanting out. Hubster is laughing.

We get to the end of the road and turn around. Then the car stops. In a secluded area.

Some country roads are dark and desolate, and this was one of them. I'm sitting there quietly laughing while Hubster gets out to see why the car won't turn back on. It's super dark, can't really see much and we are over a mile away from the house. AB is saying how he knew this was a bad idea and just wants to go home and UB is telling AB what if stories. You know, what if someone were to show up out of the tall grass. Those kind of stories.

Hubster finally gets the car started and off we head back home. AB is saying how he's ready to be back home and UB is actually having fun by this time. I'm just sitting there laughing.

We finally, I say finally because even though this all took place in about 15 minutes it seemed longer, arrive home. We all get out of the car. Hubster with a big grin talking about how he knows what's wrong with it and knows how he can fix it. Me, just glad to get home. UB actually saying he wants to go again. AB was actually a little shook up. So much so that when he was getting out of the car, his foot got caught in the seat belt and he fell.

We did tell Hubster that he was going alone on the next trial runs. We would gladly just cheer for him from the sidelines.

That was enough family fun in a fast car to last me a while.

The joys of science experiments

I bought a science experiment for the boys that I knew they would enjoy doing. Simply because it was about digestion. Come on, who doesn't get excited learning about digestion?

After they completed all the other assignments I gave them, they got all the stuff ready to make the experiment.

My biggest problem with the boys is getting them to follow the instructions carefully and to have patience. Two criteria that are not in my boys agenda.

"Can we get this started please?"

With my supervision, they proceed to add ingredients to the bag, also known as stomach.

"Hmmmm, I wonder what would happen if I pulled that out of his hands"

The tricky part was getting them to wait to add the warm water in the bag. Slowly. I finally had to take over and add the water myself. Then we waited as we watched the bag,stomach, fill up and go down the tube, small intestine. Interesting.

"Look mom, poop!!!!"

Yes, that's poop. Not real, but the experiment was to show them how the stomach digests the food. It was pretty interesting and the most important thing was that it kept the boys entertained. So much that they wanted to do it again. And again. And again.

Isn't it amazing that this cheap experiment would entertain kids so much? Kids are so easily amused.

Bonkers anyone?

It's been a busy, crazy month so far and I'm ready for it to slow down. I get to a point where I don't like the month of December. I love the fact of what Christmas means and stands for but I get irritated with the hustle and bustle of life.

I tell myself every December that I will be on top of things, that I will not wait for last minute gift shopping, but every year something comes up. Something that is unavoidable.

So for the sake of my children, I will make this a great Christmas by showing them that it is better to give that to receive, but most of all, that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Enough of a pity party. I'm good.

The boys have been driving me bonkers lately. Yesterday was a bad bonkers day.

The boys wake up and they rough play which usually results in someone crying.

They start school and AB is staring at the wall, or out the window with a blank stare. While UB is whining over not remembering what he had learned a month ago. Then AB starts scribbling all over the big pink eraser while UB starts to dump his crayons out because he'd rather draw than do math.

I send them outside, in this cold weather, and they end up fighting over who gets to ride a certain bike.

After lunch, it's reading time. AB picks a spot to read and is quietly reading, while UB sits on my lap to read to me. UB is finished before AB, so he goes off to play. At least that's what I think he does. That is, until I see a head bopping up and down as I sit on my bed folding laundry. I look down and there is UB, doing some yoga poses on the yoga mat. After the allotted time to read, they rough play some more. And they end up crying. Both of them this time.

AB goes to play on the computer while UB decided to use the bathroom. So when he comes out, I notice that my femenine pads are opened and in the trash. I ask him what he was doing with them and he says just playing. I tell him that they are for girls only and I stop myself from telling him that they are special napkins because I sure don't want to see those special napkins at the dining table when we actually need napkins. He then runs to AB and tells him that he was playing with mom's big band aids. (deep sigh)

I'm still doing laundry when I hear UB laughing. I go in my bedroom to see what is going on and I see my chihuahua's bed and blanket in the shower and my poor chihuahua shaking like a leaf, terrified of UB. I save her for the second time that day.

I send him to his room, but he stops at the Christmas tree to turn on and off the lights because he wants to see the lights blink. After I get on to him, he keeps the tree lights off because he says he doesn't want to waste the battery. (another deep sigh)

My mom had given us a bread machine as an early Christmas present so we tried it yesterday. AB wanted to make pretzels. When the machine beeped that it was time to get the dough out, UB decides to push the button again and the machine turns on to start the process all over again.

I get to it in time, take it out and am about to let the boys make the pretzel shapes when I see that there is about a pound of flour on my countertop. There stands AB, with a grin on him face, telling me he's ready to roll the dough in the flour and form the pretzels. He says that is how Emeril does it.

Now, it was just flour on the countertops I wouldn't be so flustered, but the flour was on the flour, on whatever else was on top of the countertops, but most of all, on the boys. (another deep sigh)

When they finish forming the pretzels, they decide they want to put cinnamon and sugar on a couple of the pretzels. Before I could react, they had already tag teamed each other and were making the mix. So now I have flour, cinnamon and sugar all over my floor.

We put the pretzels to bake and the boys went off to play while I went to finish the laundry. I figure the mess in the kitchen can wait a while.

As I sat there, folding laundry, I realized that it wasn't about me. I was making memories with the boys. That even though they weren't doing things the way I would have done them, they are learning. I have to remember that I was once a kid.

So as the boys continue to do things that drive me bonkers and make me speak in Spanish to them during those times,that probably to them sounds like I'm speaking in tongues, I will thank the good Lord for those opportunities I have with them.