This Can't Be Good

Tom likes to watch the History Channel and I've always thought that was pretty cool. I mean it is a serious upgrade from the Spongebob Squarepants days. So yesterday, he was watching an episode about the history of potatoes. Now I really couldn't understand why a teenage boy would be interested in the history of potatoes, but I'm not going to argue with a little learning, right? As soon as the show was over, he got on the computer. He said he was doing some research. On potatoes? Still, I'm not going to question his new found interest. When he emerged from the office, he had a list in his hand and said he needed someone to take him to Lowe's for supplies. I'm thinking, "Does he want to grow potatoes?"



No, he doesn't want to grow potatoes. He wants to build a potato cannon! That's what he learned from watching the history of potatoes. So his dad, who has always encouraged Tom's interest in blowing things up, is all for letting Tom make a potato cannon. We went to Lowe's to get the proper PVC pipe and then to Academy to find a lantern ignitor, then came home so Tom could build his cannon. He has a name for it, too. The DevasTator. Isn't he brilliant?

He hasn't fired it yet because he's waiting for the glue to dry, but in the meantime he built a smaller version made out of a ball point pen and a Tylenol bottle, which he has been able to fire and was very pleased with the results.

I just think that no good can come from this. What is it with men and explosions? I just don't understand.

100th Day of School

Yesterday was the 100th day of school. That's a big deal when you are in Kindergarten. We have a chart in the classroom that had a 1 on it the first day of school. Every day since, we have added another day to the chart. 100 is a big concept for a five year old and they really didn't believe that they would be in school for 100 days so we celebrate when we get to that point.

Celebrations are great for kids but hard on teachers. I have the kids make these T-shirts every year. They always look really cute. They stamp 100 things on the shirts in groups of 10. So from the moment they walked in the classroom and noticed that we were all wearing the same thing the noise level went through the roof and stayed there the rest of the day. Imagine having 21 kids all TALKING LIKE THIS ALL DAY LONG AND NO MATTER WHAT I SAY OR DO THEY CAN'T BRING IT DOWN! It didn't help that I had told them that if they counted to 100 for me all by themselves, I would let them go to the Treasure Box. All day long I had kids coming up to me and shouting, "MRS. KYLE, MRS. KYLE! I CAN DO IT! I CAN COUNT TO 100 ALL BY MYSELF!" I'd let them try. Do you know how long it takes to listen to 21 kids try to count to 100? Now it's not like we haven't worked on this. We do it every day as a class, but something strange happens when they have to perform all by themselves.

So, it goes like this. 1, 2, 3, ....... 28, 29 and then nothing. Most of them can't think of 30. I say, "I'm sorry. Keep practicing." To which they shout, "BUT I CAN DO IT! I KNOW I CAN DO IT! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME TRY AGAIN!" Then there are tears.

Most of the day was good though. They made posters with 100 things on it.

They made necklaces with 100 Froot Loops on it. Now they can't eat the necklace at school because it's against the law. So I have to keep saying, "Don't eat it now! Save it for home!".
Because if someone walked in and saw the kids eating Froot Loops, I could go to jail or something. We don't want fat kids in Texas.

I wanted them to have a special snack so we had Sugar Free Banana Pudding. We used 100 Vanilla Wafers which, oddly enough, are not banned by the Texas Legislature, 100 slices of bananas and pudding stirred 100 times. The kids did all the work after I had a little talk with them about cleanliness while cooking. They all washed their hands and I told them that if I saw anyone with their finger up their nose that they would be out of the cooking business. WE DO NOT WANT TO EAT THAT!

The pudding was a hit and I was exhausted so it must have been a good day.

Look Who's 46!

OK, so I'm 46, too, but every year from December 28 to January 20, I have to listen to cracks about my age and how I'm older than he is. So now, once again, we are equal.

Isn't this picture great? Alan thinks he was about 3 when this was taken. He just looks so sure of himself and a little bit cocky. I think if I would have met him when we were 3, I would have fallen for him then. When I met him, he still had the boots and jeans but the tricycle had been traded in for a big red pick up truck. I didn't stand a chance.

We got married when we were 26, so if I've done the math right, this is a big year for us.

On a very sad note, however; the church we got married in burned yesterday. It sounds like the sanctuary was completely destroyed. I haven't gone to see it yet, but I want to. It holds a lot of memories for me.


Happy Birthday, Alan! The red pick up is gone, but you sure are cute in the Miata. I wonder what you'll be driving when you are 66? You'll still be cute. Love ya!

Cold Weather and Squirrel Tails

It has been too cold to write for the last couple of days. I don't want to come out from under my blanket. It's supposed to be even colder tonight. 12 degrees! This is central Texas. How can it be 12 degrees? I'm not a big fan of the cold anymore. I grew up in Amarillo so I know what cold weather is like, but I've been down here for too long and I just feel miserable when the temperature gets below 40. I haven't even taken the kids out for recess the last 2 days. If I would rather stay in a room all day long with 21 five year olds than venture out for recess then it must be really cold.


I did drive over to Florence last night to watch Katie play basketball. The rest of the people in Texas were in front of their TVs watching the National Chamionship game, but we had a game. It was the fastest basketball game I have ever watched. There were no time outs called, hardly any fouls called, and very few times the clock was stopped. The game started at 7:00 and was finished by 7:45. I think everybody just wanted to get home. By the way, our girls won, 30-9.



Let's play a game now. The game is "Can You Guess What This Is?" Remember, there is a teen age boy living in our house.



I was taking a nice hot bath tonight. (That's the only way I can really warm up.) I was relaxing and thawing out, and I glanced over toward the sink and saw this thing. I scared me to death. I was too far away to really be able to tell what it was, but I could see that it was furry. I just knew that it was going to dart across the room at any second. I watched it for awhile and it never moved so then I decided some poor cold creature had crawled into the house and died in my bathroom. Yuck! When I was finally able to get close enough to see what it was, I discovered it was my son's squirrel tail.


Tom was really born into the wrong family. He would love to hunt, but there are just no hunters in the family. A couple of years ago, he shot this poor squirrel. He was so proud of himself. His Pa showed him how to skin it and then he stuck the remainder of the squirrel in my freezer. He wanted me to "cook it up". Yeah, right. I'm not "cooking up" any squirrel. It stayed in the freezer for a long time, then he had a school project that he was able to use the squirrel for. The tail is all that is left of that squirrel. Our Chihuahua, Chico, just recently discovered that squirrel tail and now it is his new chew toy. That's how it got in my bathroom and ruined my nice, hot relaxing bath that I really needed because I've been trapped in a classroom with 21 five year olds for the last two days.

Siblings

I love these pictures. They pretty much say it all. When the kids were little, one moment all would be right with the world, and before I could bat an eye, someone would be screaming bloody murder. Most of the time, I would never be able to figure out what happened. They tell me now that one of them was always pinching, biting, kicking, or even just looking at the other when my back was turned.

They are both teenagers now and their relationship can still be a little rocky. They are only 18 months apart in age so not much time separates major milestones. Tom would learn to do something for the first time and it wouldn't be long before Katie could do it, too, and that would take the attention off him and focus it on Katie for awhile. Sibling rivalry at it's finest.

Our next big step will be learning to drive. Tom just turned 15 and can get his learners permit. Katie can't wait to drive. She always has a car picked out that she wants to get. She wanted a Silverado pick-up for a long time and then she changed to a Camero. Yesterday she told me that maybe the Silverado would be the better choice because it holds more people, but they can only go up to 120 mph so she's still not sure.

I really enjoy spending time with the kids. We just had our Christmas break so we were all home together and it was just really nice. They weren't begging to do stuff or have friends over. I know a time will probably come when spending time with friends is more important than hanging out with Mom and Dad, so for now I'm going to cherish these moments when we are all together and content.

Critters In The House Part 2

Katie is responsible for most of the furry pets in our house. This is her cat, Zach. He is just about useless. Typical, I think, for a cat. He's on a special diet because his internal organs are very delicate. I have to spend about $60 a month to keep him healthy. I have to say though that if I had to choose between a cat or a dog, I would choose a cat. They can take care of themselves pretty much and they aren't needy like dogs are.

We had lots of cats over the years. There was even a time when I could have been called the crazy cat lady on our street. There were about a dozen cats living in our garage and I didn't know what to do with them all. New ones just kept showing up. Then they started mysteriously disappearing one by one. Not sure what happened but I've always been suspicious of the coyotes.

It was a cat that made me realize, for sure, that I had married the right guy. We had been married for a very short time when I found this little kitten at work one day. It was covered with fleas and filthy dirty. I ,of course, decided to take it home, but then realized it wasn't just my decision any more to bring home a new pet. I didn't have any idea how Alan would react to me bringing home this kitten. So I stopped at the vet's office first to have someone tell me if it was healthy or not and to clean it up some. The vet gave it a flea dip, pronounced him healthy, just undernourished, and told me he was deaf. I showed up at the house with this little wet, deaf kitten in my arms and Alan was standing at the door. I thought, "OK, this is the moment of truth. How is he going to react?" He walked right up to me and said,"Oh, a kitty!. Let me have it." He took it inside, dried it off, and never questioned the fact that I brought it home. What a guy! We named that cat Oliver, and he was with us for a long time. Oliver had more than nine lives. There are some great stories to tell about that cat.

Right now, we just have two cats. Zach and a cat that lives in the garage that I just call gray kitty. We've had so many cats that I've run out of names.

Critters In and Around My House Part 1

I need to talk about the snake and why he lives in my house.

Let me introduce you first. The snake's name is Sniper and he belongs to my son Tom. I can't remember how long we've had Sniper. It seems like forever, but actually Sniper is the second snake that Tom has had. The first one fell victim to our inexperience with snake handling and came to an untimely demise. (Sorry, Snakey.) When we decided to try again we were armed with a little more information and a little more maturity on Tom's part. I don't think Sniper has ever been stuffed into a toy truck and taken for a spin around the house. (Again, sorry Snakey.)

Now, I like animals and have always had a pet or two, but I like the furry variety, not so much the scaley kind. Tom, on the other hand, has always been drawn to the reptile and amphibian type. There are two people who have been highly instrumental in encouraging him. His Pa and my sister, Kim. When he was just a little bitty thing, Kim gave him 2 dwarf african frogs. They were cute and little so I didn't mind them much until they jumped out of their bowl and died under my refrigerator and we had to go find replacements. Not many stores sell dwarf african frogs.

Tom would go down to Pa's house and almost always come home with something in a bucket and a big grin on his face. His first words would be, "Can I keep it?" To which I would immediately say, "No, let whatever it is go!"

So when he started asking over and over again for a pet snake, I thought maybe if he had his own reptiley pet then maybe he wouldn't feel the need to always be searching for one out in the woods. It would be safer that way and maybe I could learn to like a snake.

So, I'll tell you what I've learned about snakes.
1. They are very quiet.
2. They will escape if given the opprotunity, like leaving the lid off the aquarium.
3. When they escape, they are very hard to find because they are so quiet.
4. It is not a good idea to have the snake and your daughter's pet hamster loose in the house at the same time.
5. They eat frozen mice which are in my freezer. You have to warm the mice up first before you give it to the snake.

A snake is not a pet that will curl up with you on the couch while you are watching TV, but overall they are not that bad to have around. If you would have asked me before I had kids if I would ever allow a snake in my house, I would have laughed at the absurdity of the thought. Now I actually say sometimes, "Tom, do you need for me to pick up any mice for you while I'm in town?" Who woulda thought?

Time Flies

We took the tree down today. It never seems to be up for long and even though it's nice to get everything put back in it's place, I'm always a little sad to see it come down. It means another holiday season is over.

Tom was 2 years old in this picture. He and Katie were always so excited about putting the tree up and decorating it. I would let them hang ornaments and when they weren't looking, I would raise most of them up so it wasn't only the bottom part of the tree that had decorations.


Tom has always liked Christmas. What kid doesn't? But I don't think he ever bought into the whole Santa Claus thing. He is way too logical for that. He thought it out and realized that there was no way one man in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer could cover the whole earth in one night and deliver presents to every child on the planet. He just wasn't buying that. He tried to explain this to his Kindergarten class. I know this because a friend of mine who had a child in the class called me up and asked if I knew what Tom was telling his friends about Santa. I think he really had some kids worried.

This year, he just had to help me get boxes out of the attic and then put them up again. He didn't want to help decorate. Neither did Katie. I put a little tree in her room like I always have but this year she didn't decorate it or even plug the lights in. I kinda miss that tree with all the ornaments on the bottom. I should have left it that way.

I do not like fireworks. My family , on the other hand, has a strange obsession with them. I have made my viewpoint very clear, but that doesn't dissuade them at all. Actually, I can enjoy them if two conditions are met.
1. I am far enough away that the explosion doesn't make my ears ring.
2. The explosives are being handled by trained professionals.

Those conditions are never met by my family, so I stay inside with the dogs huddled around my feet while my husband, children and all the neighborhood kids blow things up.

My husband is the ring leader of the gang. Do you see the warning in big red letters on the box he is holding. I guarantee he hasn't read it. If he did, he would have laughed and said, "What do those guys know anyway?"

This is what he has created. A small arsenal of explosives that stays in my house year round. I have smart children. They know these things are only sold twice a year so they stock up so they can enjoy them all year long. That means the dogs and I on on edge year round because we never know when they might be put to use. I don't even like to be in a room with a balloon so having all this fire power in my house makes me a little jumpy.

Last night was New Year's Eve so they had a great time. I stayed inside, of course. No one was hurt. No trip to the Emergency Room which I warned them wasn't going to happen even if they did blow their fingers off. They told me the fireworks were really cool looking, that is when they turned them the right way so the explosion happened in the air and not on the ground at their feet. There are some things I just don't need to know.