Recently Overheard...

So Levi puts a cotton ball in his belly button this morning and says, "Hey Mom, I've got the hairiest belly button in the world!" LOL Ahhh, such is my life with boys! :-)

"Is that embarrassing?" and "M-O-G"

Indy has been obsessed lately with discovering what is embarrassing and what is not. Whenever I make a mistake, he asks me, "Was that embarrassing, Mom?" or "Aren't you embarrassed?" and it boggles him when I say "No." He keeps trying to figure out what is and is not embarrassing and it's kinda funny. I'm wondering how long it will take him to figure it out. Probably once he does something and is embarrassed he'll know....just like the rest of us! lol

Today I heard Levi say "M-O-G!" I knew what he was trying to say, but was just a little confused. He meant to say "O-M-G"! Pretty funny. After a hidden chuckle, I told him that saying "O-M-G" was the same thing as actually saying it, so he shouldn't say that any more. He understood and agreed. But, it was funny when he said it with the same shocked tone you hear older kids saying it. :-)

Army Fort

Indy is utterly fascinated right now with all things military. Today the boys were bored so they took all their little army guys and tanks and planes and stuff and rearranged the bricks to make a military fort. They must have spent two hours out there playing. It was really cool how they built the fort and placed all the things.

Setting it up...

More setting up...

Bridging the gap....

Part of the fortress...

So much fun! :-)

Basketball!!

Today was the boys' first basketball game ever. They've just started playing basketball, so they're basically clueless except for the few things they've learned from their coaches in the last two weeks' practices. I wasn't sure how they would do, but I was very excited to watch them play!

As it turns out, Levi's team tied with the other team. Funny enough, in the first 10 seconds of hte game, Levi scored for his team! They flipped the coin, the winning team tossed the ball into play and when the guy got the ball, just as he started to dribble it, Levi came from nowhere and stole the ball then dribbled down the court for a basket! No one could believe it!! So cool! But, it was so fun watching those little guys. They are soooo cute!! And, they were all so happy just to be playing! His team in Kindergarten and first graders, so they're all new at this. So fun.

Like the blue mustache? Ashton bought Levi a blue gatorade to drink during half-time, which he did, then got the mustache! lol

Dribbling the ball down the court.

Indy's game was right after Levi's game. He played really well, though their team lost. I think they all had fun. They all seemed happy afterwards, but I think now that they've played an actual game, they'll begin getting the hang of it all. So, I'm sure the games will only get better. Here, Indy is shooting for a basket. He's the blurry one in black.

Since they can only have five players at a time, some of the team must sit out on a rotating basis. They play three 6-minute periods during the first half, have a 5-minute halftime, and then do three more 6-minute periods. Here, Indy is resting during his time out rotation, watching the game.

Dribbling the ball, going toward a basket.

Overall, it was a very exciting game day and we all had a lot of fun! We have 9 more games to go and I know they will get better as the time goes by and the games will only get more exciting! So, stay tuned!! :-)

Finally Writing!

Well, Levi has finally, FINALLY decided to write! Yippee! Today he wrote his name (with his right hand) all by himself and he did a great job!! He wrote small and in control and I was very impressed! This has been a loooonnng time coming...whew! :-) I'm such a proud mommy today!

Golf Tournament #2 (Doral)

Levi played in his second golf tournament on Sunday, November 1 at Doral Resort and Golf Club. He was again in the 6 and under age group and this time came in 11th out of 11. He was only a little bit behind the others, but I must say that he's by far, the youngest in this group. All the other kids are either almost 6 or already 6, some even almost 7....and he's just barely 5. So, I think he did pretty darn good. Plus, even some of the other parents commented that they felt it was a difficult course. But, Levi sure had a good time!! :-)

Here he is teeing off for the first hole. It was a beautiful South Florida day, though it was pretty warm. Ugh. Thankfully, I had the good sense to rent a golf cart...which saved me, while making it a much more enjoyable day. Whew!

He aims, just as his Coach Derrick taught him.

Oops, the ball fell off the tee. Let's try this again. (This was another hole.)

The swing.....

Here we had to stop and observe a squirrel (to the right of the tree dead ahead of him). He was very tempted to chase it, but I managed to stop him in time. lol (Trying to keep Levi focused and on task is quite the chore!)

Goofing off on the golf cart. Silly boy!

Levi shows off the ball he got, alongside Coach Derrick. He loves his coach! :-) Coach Derrick was able to be there to cheer on 8 of his students who were competing, including Levi. Levi was thrilled to have Coach see him play.

The final score tally. Levi had 68, with the nearest competitors tied with 65. Not too shabby, eh?

"Yeah, I'm the man! Uh-huh, uh-huh! I won a medal!" Levi shows off his "Never Give Up" medal. He's so proud! :-)

Levi has so much fun at these tournaments that I'm not all together sure he knows he's actually competing. He gets distracted easily by the new environment and all the things to see. He really does love to play and has so much fun when it's actually his turn, but sure hates the waiting. The coach says it's really good that he started so young because now he won't ever really have to deal with nervousness, because he'll be so used to the competing. The other boys we played with seemed more nervous and not as relaxed or comfortable. I think their nervous dads didn't help too much either.

Once he actually hit a ball off the tee and into a sand trap. I sighed and just then he made a fist and said, "Yeah!" I asked him, "Did you do that on purpose??" He said yes. I asked why and he said, "So I can use my sand wedge to get it out." (As if it was the most natural thing in the world.) Apparently, he was bored with hitting it straight onto the green, and since one of the other boys seemed to be living in the sand traps, he thought he'd try it too. He got it right out on the first try and onto the green. I guess he wanted a little more challenge.

He seems to have no problem at all getting the ball from the tee to the green, but then he loses the hole because his putting leaves much to be desired. He'll make it to the green in 2 or 3 shots and then ends up with a score of 8 or 9 because he goes back and forth across the hole. Argh. That is sooo frustrating to me, but not in the least to him. He's having a ball. I'm glad he loves it so much, but I can see that we're going to have to get someone to caddy for him who can coach him along the way....and that's NOT me. I'll be in the golf cart riding on the path beside him, just watching. :-) Anyway, he did have fun and it was a really nice day. :-)

Busy Days....

Today was a fun and busy day. First, I took both boys to the dr. for a check up. It's actually their birthday check ups, but since their birthdays fall in late summer, the doctor's office is always packed with kids getting ready for school. That means, I skip that time and try to go in September sometime. Unfortunately, this time, I forgot all about it and ended up finally going today. Sadly, Levi had a get a booster on one of his shots and then he had to get the TB test. Yucky. He screamed, of course, but survived it all. I think the doctor survived, too! lol But, man, what a way to start his week, eh?

After that, I took the boys over to Babies R Us to have Levi's 5th birthday pictures made. Yes, I am late on those, too, but hey, better late than never, right?? lol The pictures came out really cute. It was funny because I had taken a spare shirt for Levi to wear for the pictures and after we signed in, they said we only had about a 5-10 minute wait. So, we went to the bathroom and I had Indy hold Levi's shirt for me. Unfortunately, he was playing in the sink water while I was in the restroom and got the shirt all wet, and with only 10 minutes til picture time and no dryers in the bathroom, the shirt was a no-go. Ugh. I had actually planned to try to find Levi some shorts while I was waiting (expecting a 20-30 minute wait), but now I also had to find a shirt for him to wear too! Argh. So, I started looking and seriously, there were ONLY winter clothes! For heaven's sake! We live in South Florida! But, that's how it is. So, I checked the clearance racks. And, besides winter clothes, there were no size 4 anythings. It was all smaller. Thankfully, on the clearance rack there was one shirt and one pair of shorts, size 4.....and they MATCHED! I was sooo excited! AND, they were on clearance for $3 and $5!! Whoo hoo! Just as I found them, they called our names. Whew! We changed quickly and had the pictures taken and they came out really cute!

After that, Indy had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, so we dropped him off there. Then, I picked up one of Levi's friends, Caleb, and we went to Burger King for lunch, then over to the golf course. They were such little gentlemen...and so well-behaved....at lunch. It was so nice. At the golf course, it was so cute! Levi was trying to teach Caleb how to play golf. Unfortunately, Caleb is left-handed and all Levi's clubs are right-handed. lol It was hilarious! First we went to the driving range where both boys hit 30 or so balls, with Levi coaching Caleb the whole time. He even placed Caleb's feet, just like his Coach Derrick does! lol Too funny. But, to Caleb's credit, he never got discouraged nor gave up. Then we went over to the putting green where both boys putted at misc. holes for about 20 minutes. Then, it got too hot, so we left.

After that, I had to have the oil in my car changed, so we went over to the Jiffy Lube and while they worked on my car, I showed the boys the "basement" where the workers are. Levi had seen it before, but I don't think Caleb had. He thought that was really cool! After it was done, while I was paying, Caleb said, "Thanks for letting me come over." It was so sweet. I guess he was having fun, even at the Jiffy Lube! lol

After that, we stopped at Publix to get a couple things and then finally made it home, where the boys played for about an hour before Caleb's mom came to get him. It was a fun day for Levi, who usually gets dragged around to all the other kids' things.

After all that, and after Nicky had gotten up and headed off to work, I went and got Indy from his friend's house, and then he had to get ready for his baseball game. Tonight was his second playoff game. It's a double elimination system, so if he won he would play his next game on a certain day and if he lost, he'd play on a different day. Well, after a very tight and exciting (nail-biting) game, his team lost...ugh. The final score was 17-20. So close yet so far away. And, still the team all had fun and were happy when it was over because they thought they'd played a good game....and they did. Next game on Wednesday. Let's see what happens next!

Recently Overheard...

This conversation is disturbing on many levels...though it is funny.

Indy: I can't believe Levi licked my dirty toe.

Me: What?? That's gross! Why did he do that?

Indy: I don't know. He wanted to.

Me: And you let him??

Indy: Yes. He wanted to.

Me: So if he wanted to jump off a bridge you'd let him? And, not tell him "No"?

Indy: Well, how high is the bridge?

**Apparently, the previous night, Indy had his feet hanging over the end of the top bunk, over Levi's head on the lower bunk. So, Levi told Indy he was going to lick Indy's feet. Indy did say no, but then Levi licked Indy's toe. Ewwww.... Actually, thank goodness, they'd had baths so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But, I must say, as much as Levi puts things in his mouth...yes, still (!!)...at least he's got a good, built-up immune system!! lol

The Turtle Boy

Yesterday, when we went to our environmental class at a local park, we talked about sea turtles. Since we had recently been to that sea turtle field trip, Indy knew a lot of the answers. A cool thing was that they had a big shell from a sea turtle for the kids to see and feel. Before they walked it around, the teacher called up Levi. We didn't know what for, until she lifted him onto a table and had him lay down. He then became our sample turtle. It was soo funny and cute! And, he was a great turtle! He laid so still, which enabled the teacher to tell the class all about the turtles and how their shells are "streamlined" and that there's not enough room for them to pull in their head, arms, and legs. That's bad because that's how they can get attacked and killed. Anyway, he was a great example for us....and so cute! :-)

Fits him perfect, huh?? lol

Levi's 1st Golf Tournament

Last Saturday, October 3, Levi participated in his very first golf tournament. And, he had a blast! He came in 7th out of 8 in his 6 and under division and was ever so proud. His coach was very happy, too, that he did so well within a group of some very experienced kids. Of course, we were very proud of Levi, too! :-) Here are some pictures of the day. First, let me just say, this tournament was held at a course an hour and a half from our home. So, we drove for 3 hours to play golf for 3 hours. It was a very long day for me. Ugh. And, boy, was it hot! And, I learned a few things; like next time I'll get a golf cart. That way, we'll have some shade, a place to carry a small ice chest with cold water, and a way to get to the next hole a little faster so our playing partners won't have to wait on us. You live and learn, right?

Overall, it was a very successful day, especially since it went great for Levi. After doing the whole 9 holes with 2 playing partners, he wanted to start all over. Of course, I was carrying everything (the clubs, my purse, the camera, our water bottle) and nearly crawling to the clubhouse by the end. Believe me when I say that I was praying that I would actually make it and not pass out from the heat or lack of water. Thankfully, we made it and it ended up being a good experience. I think we're going to try for one or two more tournaments during this fall season.

When we first got there, Levi practiced on the putting green, along with bunches of other little boys. I think he was really fascinated with so many little boys playing golf all at the same time. In his classes, there's usually only 1-4 more kids than him, but there were a lot here. Here he is practicing on the putting green.

This is sometime during the day. I'm not sure which hole this is, but I think it was number 2....I still had enough energy to actually take some pictures! lol (You know, his tee time was at 12:30!!! Ugh!)

Once we finished the 9th hole, we happened to be near the entrance to the club where the sign is, so we walked over there to get a picture.

Once everyone from a division returned to the clubhouse, they scored them and handed out the awards. First and second places got trophies. Third through fifth places got metals that said their place and had different color ribbons. Everyone after 5th place got a "Never Give Up" medal with a green ribbon. That's what Levi got and he was sooo proud! :-) Here's the score sheet that was posted. See? He did pretty good and kept right up with the "big boys". I think he was the youngest. I know he was in our group. The other two boys were both 6. One had been playing golf for 2 years already and one had been playing about a year. Levi's only been taking lessons since January and he didn't go to golf camp over the summer and since Nicky and I don't play, he only gets to really play when Mamo's around. (Thanks, Mamo!) So, knowing all that and that some of those kids' (at least the two in our group) dads are golfers, too, I think he did pretty darn good!

The 4th place Noah was in our group, as well as Davis, with 56. So, Levi kept up pretty well.


Here's Levi showing off his medal.

Finally, after that, we headed home. We were only in the car 10 minutes when.........

Zzzzzzzzzz........... Man, I wish that could've been me!! lol Can't wait til the next tournament! :-)

Tooth Update

Well, about 11:30 this morning, Nicky called from work and asked about Levi. I told him about the band-aid incident and he felt bad for poor Levi. He told me to call the dentist anyway, even if Levi didn't want me to. He then spoke to Levi on the phone, probably lecturing about being a good boy for the dentist. So, I called the dentist and they told me to come in.

After taking an x-ray, they decided that the cavity had just gotten too close to the nerve and now he would need more extensive work on that tooth. And, since he wouldn't sit still last time, they really didn't want to try again. They decided to just put a "tooth band-aid" on it, you know, some of that hard white stuff to fill it in and keep it protected until he gets to the sedation dentist next month. Of course, he screamed, and all they did was put a cotton roll in and put in the white stuff. Afterwards, we asked if it hurt and he said "No." They did give me a prescription for an antibiotic, just to ward off any infections, and told me to keep giving him the motrin until the pain subsided. Apparently, when this happens, the pain gets worse and worse for a couple days and then begins to subside. That's when the nerve is actually dead. She said his pain should be bad for a few more days and then start getting better. We'll see. I just hope it's better before we leave for vacation next Friday!

Now, we just have to see how long that tooth band-aid will actually stay in there!!

Need Tooth Advice

I need some help and you guys are so great at giving helpful advice, so please comment with whatever helpful hints you have.

A few weeks ago we took Levi in to the dentist and she fixed two of his teeth. He got one crown and one filling. He did great that day. The next week I took him in for round two, but he completely freaked out and they couldn't do a single thing. I took him to a sedation dentist to see if they could help and how much it would cost. Turns out there's good and bad news: The bad news is that my dental insurance is almost used up for this year, so we're going to have to pay a lot out of pocket. The good news is that my medical insurance will cover 80% of the sedation fee, which is also a lot, so what's left for us is not much. However, we can't get into the sedation dentist until August 21. We have that appointment scheduled.

By the time we had gotten to our initial visit at the sedation dentist, Levi's one complete cavity was broken, leaving a big hole where the filling was. Ugh. He's had no pain, so I haven't really worried about it. Last week, when I took Indy for a cleaning and check up, I asked the dentist about the broken filling and something about the crown. He still had no pain, but she confirmed that the filling had fallen out or broken or something.

A couple days ago, Levi woke up in the middle of the night with a lot of pain in his tooth. He's had it ever since Wednesday night and this is Friday morning. And, this morning, I caught him with the bandaids, trying to put one in his mouth on the cavity. Poor baby. I've been giving him Motrin at bedtime, just so he can sleep, which has helped some. But, during the daytime, I don't know what to do for his tooth pain. I've tried vanilla and he hates it. I've tried Ambisol, and he hates it. He won't let me put either one of those back in his mouth. I don't really want to keep giving him Tylenol or Motrin, but he's starting to not eat, which is a very bad sign for him. He's choosing not to eat, saying he's not hungry. When I ask, he confirms that it's really because his tooth hurts. And, now he's getting really cranky, like a little evil child. I know that's not him and I know what an awful pain a toothache is. No wonder he's cranky, but we've got 5 weeks until his sedation appt. So, do you know of anything I can do to help his tooth pain? A tea, poultice, something? Please leave comments with your ideas and I'll report back if any of it helps. And, if you think of it, please, please pray for relief for his pain, especially since we're going on vacation next Friday. I would really hate for my family in NC, who hardly ever see him, see him as a little monster.

Ok, that's it. Thanks in advance for your help.
Mylinda :-)

The Birthday Boys

We will be on our trip to NC during the week of both boys' birthdays. Nicky realized this last week, and since he'll be staying home instead of going with us, he was disappointed he would miss their birthdays. So, to rectify this, we decided to do a "family" birthday celebration before we left for NC and before Ashton left for camp. We planned to do it on Saturday, but since Nicky had to work on Saturday, we changed it to Sunday. That became a VERY busy day.

After church on Sunday morning, we came home and I had ordered pizza online to be ready for us to pick up after church. (Man, that ordering online stuff is great!!) Before I went to get it, we decided to end the boys' torture and let them open their gifts. Levi opened this one first and just look at how excited he was!!
The funny thing is that he had no idea what it was, but he was really excited!! lol It was an insulated lunch bag, full of matching water bottle, snack container, sandwich box, and ice pack, all individually wrapped. Indy got one, too, with a different pattern. These are for our classes we'll be taking at the zoo this coming fall and spring. Indy wasn't nearly as excited. lol

Indy was excited about this electronic Connect Four game. He played it all day long. It'll be great for our 14 hour trip to NC!!

He was also excited about this XBox game. It's Lego Indiana Jones. He couldn't play it today because Daddy had control of the tv, so he's got it set right next to the XBox so he can play it when he gets up. lol

This was a "bump truck" (monster truck) toy Levi had wanted. It's this rugged ramp race thing where the trucks sit on top and race down. He was VERY excited about this one....even more excited than he was about the lunch bag!! lol

Indy got a Star Wars Lego toy, which I think he was the most excited about. He kept playing with it all day long. Here he is building it again.

And, here's Levi playing with the race ramp in his room. He just got a real kick out of it. And, it's really cool because it can fold up and store 6 bump trucks AND it needs no batteries! When was the last time you bought a toy you could just open and play with that needed no batteries?? Awesome!

After presents and pizza, we took all the kids to the movies to see Ice Age 3. It was really good; much better than I anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised. Everyone enjoyed that. Then we came home and I quickly made tacos so Ashton could eat before we took her to church for camp. After she ate, we sang Happy Birthday to the boys and had cake. Now, mind you, I'm dealing with baking in a toaster oven, so I decided the safest way to make a cake for them was to use the bundt pan. The boys hadn't seen the cake. When I opened it up so we could sing, Levi said, "Hey! A big donut!" We all cracked up because it did look like a big donut!!

Don't they look so sweet next to their big donut cake?

Well, they lost it after that first picture. They were raring to go!

Now, look who's sneaking a finger full of icing!! Not Levi. lol He's looking like such a little angel....yeah! We just didn't get him on film! lol

So we sang Happy Birthday and what do you do after that? They blow out the candles, of course! Unfortunately, I didn't have any candles, so I made them pretend to blow out candles. lol I'm so weird. lol Anyway, here they are being good sports for their odd mama and pretending to blow out candles. lol

After cake, we went to church to take Ashton for camp. When I went to find Levi to get his shoes on to go to church, I found him in the bathtub doing "tricks" with his bump trucks. He was having a ball! I guess the tub is good for more than one thing, huh??

Overall, it was a fun and memorable day. And better yet, they are still going to celebrate their birthdays in NC with the rest of the family!! Lucky ducks!!

Happy Birthday, my big boys!! We love you!!

The Dentist, Part 2

I know this is old, but I'm trying to catch up on all my missed posts and this is the first.

This is Levi at his first dentist visit. Well, not his first, but his first big visit where they put a crown on one of his teeth. He did very well. Of course, I think I bribed him with ice cream! lol But, seriously, he did do great since he had to sit still for over an hour.

Unfortunately, he's got at least 3 more visits to go! Argh! Hopefully by the end of the summer we'll be good to go with the dentist and have no more appointments until next year!

Homeschooling At Its Best

The other day I was out hanging laundry on the clothesline (The weather's been so nice lately!) and when I go outside, I'm followed by two little boys. So we were all out there and I looked up and saw this:

I thought this was sooo funny! There's Levi playing golf in his pj's, just having a great ole time! I sent Indy inside to get the camera and I took a few pictures. See the turtle in the background? If you're barefoot around the turtles, you have to be careful because they'll try to eat your toes! lol Isn't he cute??
So I put the camera down and kept hanging the clothes. I looked up again and saw Indy this time. He was sitting in Nicky's boat, which is off the trailer and on the ground (from last hurricane season), with his math book open, counting on his fingers, doing his math....also in his pj's. Too cute!
He didn't know I had taken a picture, but I guess he saw me moving in his perifial vision and looked up. That's when I snapped this one.
Finally he gave me a cute smile. Isn't that boat on the ground, next to the high grass, funny?
Stuff like this is what I love best about homeschooling and having the kids home with me. What a blessing. :-)

This is a tree in the parking lot of my grocery store. These trees are all over the place here, and right now they're blooming up a storm! Some are pinkish/purple and some are the sunniest yellow you've ever seen. If I can manage to remember, I'll get a picture of a yellow one. I don't really like yellow very much, but on these trees, it's beautiful! I even like it better than the purple one! Imagine that!! lol Anyway, these trees are sooo pretty now with all their flowers. The whole tree is flowers. It's amazing!

Lori, you can tell Emily that I'll always think of her when I see this tree in bloom. Why? Because last year, before you guys moved, we went to Publix and she was with us, and we were all talking about how pretty this very tree was with all the flowers. For some reason, when it bloomed this year, she came to my mind. I guess she always will when I see this tree. :-)
Here's another one using his imagination.... Levi set up the race track in a straight line, then used it as a golf line. Too funny!!
Last week, Savannah and Juan walked over to a nearby school field to take some pictures. The first one, they set the timer for and took it themselves. I thought that was pretty cool. The second one is an awesome picture Juan took of Savannah. I think it was an accident, but it came out sooo good.

Just wanted to share some recent pictures. Have a great week! We're having a great time in Jerusalem....Wish you were here!! :-)