We Should Do This More Often

So I'm spending my Sunday morning/early afternoon perusing countertop resurfacing/painting websites and reading lots of blog posts that I've missed in my computer-free weekend.

Yesterday I started dejunking my home office so that I can move a bookshelf into a gift wrap/boy's school work/craft project hoarded corner. I found no less than 4 church bags (the bag that I use to take entertainment for the boys and whatever class I happen to be teaching or attending.) There were some very cool things in these bags, and I have quite the stash of objects that Griff has never seen. Boy is he going to be quiet the next few weeks. At least I can hope anyway.

 One of the things I found was a kids meal toy from Faziolis. These things are cool! Funny thing is that yesterday I immediately assembled a space station with two detachable ships. Then I took it apart and put the pieces in a bag.

Griff came in and saw these, put something together and immediately started flying it around and shooting lasers, torpedoes, and sting rays from various parts of the ship. Great minds think alike.

He played for a bit then walked up to me and gave me a HUGE bear hug.

This is my favorite part...

Mom? We should do this more often.

I Smell Trouble

Griffin is the oldest of a group of 6 boy cousins that were all born within 9 months of each other. We call this group the Sinister 6. When they all get together we try to get photos of them. Not always an easy task. Here's this year's version...

No really...

Griffin's Sunday Afternoon Question

I'm thinking I may come up with a new feature here on Consider My Monkeys. Something that offers Griffin's inquisitive wisdom.

Yesterday evening we were driving across town to say goodbye to the last of the family visitors. Griffin says,

Mom, are you the kind of mom that has a boy who ran away?

I said that no I am not.

Hunh - so I don't have any missing brothers?

Best Primary Lesson - Ever!

Last Sunday I was asking the boys what they'd learned in church.

I was all sorts of KO'd. I'd given my Relief Society lesson AND I spoke in sacrament meeting. Jon also taught (the deacons - and it was one of those lessons) AND spoke.

It took me a few minutes to catch on to what Griff was saying.

He was all sorts of excited and said:

Mom! We learned about the ten leopards! They tear skin off of people!

I had to stop what I was doing and ask him to repeat himself.

Yep - leopards.

There are 5 6-year-old boys in his class. I can just imagine all of them sitting on the edge of their seats, eyes wide. Griff is ecstatic to go back to class next week.

Creative Capitalism

My nephew Kendan is spending a day or so with us before he returns home to Michigan. The boys have played Risk, Heroscape, and Xbox. They made their own breakfast and pizza roll snack. I contributed the lunch portion of their day. Things started getting a bit rowdy this afternoon, so I sent them all outside.

They asked if they could sell lemonade. We didn't have any, so they mixed up some Kool-Aid. They made signs, got a table and camp stools, and even asked for a tablecloth. I gave them a festive starred & striped one. It's sure to get noticed.

On their way out the door they mentioned that some other neighbors were selling liquid refreshment for $0.50 a cup. My industrious boys decided to underprice them and go for $0.25.

Evan came back a few minutes later to make another sign. Apparently the competition got wise and lowered their price. Forced the Hills to offer the "Most Rock Bottom Price Ever" - $0.10!!!

They'd been gone for about 30 minutes when Griff came walking in the door. He said they hadn't sold anything, and I'm confident that more than his share of the profit resides in that stache on his upper lip or in the confines of his belly.

Now here's the real creativity. Griff starts raiding the first aid box in the kitchen. He exclaims, "YES!!"
and runs toward the front door. He wasn't headed straight out, so I peered down the stairs to see what was going on. He was wrapping his arm with an Ace bandage.

 I asked what happened.

He replied,

"Nothing. I just think we might sell more if I look like I'm hurt."

I think I feel a lesson about integrity coming on.

But really - if you're in the area - humor the kid. You won't be able to avoid his puppy dog eyes anyway. And the arm will just add to the experience.

Hereditary Talons

This morning my boys had their semi-annual teeth cleaning. None of them had cavities!

On the way home, Evan was playing with his dino flosser and got it stuck between two molars. I tried to pry it out for him, and guess what popped out. A freaking filling! So - we get to go back to the dentist tomorrow. He's not in pain, and I think it's a baby tooth that should fall out soon. I'm hoping he can just live with the hole.

So - the other fun thing we found this morning is that Griffin's got a talon tooth. Do you know what that is? Well, it's where there's a talon-shaped tooth that either comes in between the front incisors or it attaches to the back of one.

Here's the deal: my dad had one...

AND - So did I.

Mine was attached to the back of my right incisor - the baby tooth version. I didn't think about that until the dentist said Griffin's could attach to the back of his tooth. I immediately remembered running my tongue over that bump. I swear that I held onto that tooth, but I've just searched everywhere I thought it would be, and nada.

It showed up on the xray they do to see whether he's got all his permanent teeth. So - we get to wait until it comes in to find out where it is.

It's a fitting feature for my Griffin... because you know what a griffin is, right?

The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek: γρύφων, grýphōn, or γρύπων, grýpōn; Latin: gryphus) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are normally known for guarding treasure and well valued priceless possession.

Thanks wikipedia...

So NOT Mother's Day

It's 10:33 pm, and my boys are not yet asleep.

I've been struggling to get Griff to go to sleep in his bed (not mine) for the past few weeks, and it's not going so well. Part of the problem is that I LOVE snuggling the little guy. He knows how to curl up just right, and he gets all mommy-lovey before he shuts down.

I've had to stay out of my bed (where I'm usually reading at this time of the evening) so that he'll go to his room. He can see me sitting at my desk working/typing/playing/facebooking from his bed. Some nights I've gone in and snuggled him in his room, but I've even been trying to ween myself from that.

I know it's hard to end a day, but I get really tired of the attempts to put off sleep just a while longer. Tonight was full of

Mom? My tummy hurts cuz I'm hungry.

Mom? Can I get out of bed for a drink?

Mom? Can I get out of bed to go tell daddy good night?

Mom? Do you know where the clippers are? My toe nails are off my toes and they're going to tear off on my sheets while I'm asleep.

Mom? Can I get another drink?

Mom? The clipper?

I'd had it after the last question and lashed out a little too loudly and too quickly. The poor guy has been receiving mixed signals from me, and he's just trying to go not-so-quietly-into-the-good-night. I just heard in the faintest little voice all full of sniffles...

Mom. I think you'd better sleep in your own bed tonight.

He's a manipulator that one!

Operating Hours

G just asked me why McDonalds is open 24 hours. According to him,

The only people there at night are tired Las Vegas people who can't even shower!

Adventures in Wildness

Griffin turned 6 yesterday, and we had a fabulous camping-themed birthday party! We had an incredible time, and I could not have done it without Carson, Evan, and my incredible neighbor McKenzie. Bday parties are so much easier when you've got older kids and willing teenagers to help!

Party activities included:

• T-shirt painting
• Snipe hunt (complete with sleeping like a bear - I'm not sure why laying on your back represents this - but I didn't have to run this activity to I am NOT complaining, slithering like snakes, crawling under branches, growling like a mountain lion)
• Feeding the Bear (tossed balls into the grizzlie's mouth - there's some pitching talent in this young gene pool!)
• Cups O'Fire (tossed balls into cups decorated like fire)
• Bug Hunt (hid bugs, snakes, lizards outside for party goers to find)
• Presents
• Dinner (hot dogs, chips, carrots, olives - all served in a metal pie plate - and bug juice)
• Marshmallow Roasting

• Cake (Of all the ones I've made, this is one of my favorites)

Whew! After the party Jon, the boys and I all went to a dollar movie. Even with help I was one tired mama! I slept until 11:30 today!

Each of my boys has had a party that I'm fond of. Carson - backyard water party. Evan - pirate party. Griffin - daytime camping fest.

It's Cuz I'm a Boy Mom, Right?

Thought you'd get a kick out of this...
Yesterday G came downstairs and said, "Mom - I'm kind of stuck." He'd been playing with color changing silly putty, and it was literally stuck all over his boy parts. The wrinkly skin on the sac is like a silly putty magnet if you know what I'm saying... Took quite a bit of peanut butter and a hot shower, but it did come off.
It was quite the sight! Green goo all over his little guy. He was so worried! I really wanted to take a photo, but decided it wasn't something I'd be able to share anyway.
 
I'm so glad his brothers were home - more witnesses for future humiliation.

School is cool...

The past couple of weeks have been very emotional for me. First of all - Carson started Middle School. He's quit talking to me other than in one word spurts when he gets home. Jon can get a whole string of stories out of him, but me? Not so much... A friend at work suggested that I wait a couple of hours to start asking him questions. I've done this the past couple of days, and CJ has taken to seeking me out and asking if something is wrong with me! Love it...

Evan started school the day after Carson, and it's his first time going without his older brother. I should have thought this through and realized that this would be a slight problem. We dealt with it by going out to breakfast before school on the morning of his big day.

Griff was the one I was the most hesitant about. I'll be the first to admit that I amped up the "He's my baby..." this summer. Jon informed me that I had to quit because I was stressing the boy out. Does this looked stressed to you?

This morning was pretty funny. Carson woke Griff up to give him some big brother advice about entering kindergarten. Evan hung back until Carson left. Once that happened, Evan swept into full on defensive big brother mode.  I don't even know why I was here! Griff didn't need anyone else - it was all Evan. Notice the hand at Griff's back guiding him where he's supposed to go? The other hand was on the other shoulder...  Also notice the length of the bus driver's beard. The kids are calling him skinny Santa, but his name is Jim.

I'll leave you with this beautiful image. I'm off to pop open a Diet Coke and bask in solitude on my front porch. I love today.

I kissed a boy...

Griff and I had an evening alone while we waited for the other guys to get home from hunter education (Both CJ & ED passed!).

We split a gyro from Apollo Burger, each had a slice of that crunchy stuff that falls apart - aka baklava, and shared a Diet Coke.

Then we went to the hospital to see our adorable new niece and cousin - Leah. Got to watch her first bath and left just in time to avoid a feeding and impending bed button pushing.

We've never been to the new hospital, and there are lots of new roads leading to/from the place. We drove on some of those and found houses that Griff didn't want to live in.

We went into Target, and I told G we'd look for a shirt and a pair of shoes for school. On the way in we stopped at the $1 Spot, and he found a Power Ranger sticker and activity book (a must for this boy of mine) and Spiderman socks.

Next we walked through shoes. He found some - although he was quite upset that they weren't "wheelies". Wasn't worth the fight to tell him the correct name - and then we walked through the boys section. He walked along the t- and polo-shirt risers, grabbed one of each shirt - regardless of size - tossed them in the cart, and proclaimed, "FINISHED!" Huh - that'd be the easiest trip ever if I really could have just waltzed on up to the checkout.

I had to talk him out of a few and be talked into one other. Ended up with 4 shirts for under $13 when one of them ended up being on clearance. Love it!

We meandered the CD/book area and the end caps with other clearance items. We found Color Wonder mini coloring books with 3 pens for $0.97! Grabbed a few of those for bday presents and sacrament meetings. Also found a fake potted rosemary plant for the same price. It somehow ended in our cart too.

We were finally headed toward the checkout when we found that machine that lets you sample all the misc music cds dispayed beneath it. Griff of course wanted to push each button as he matched it's photo to the CD below. I was looking at some of the college dorm decor next to the display when I noticed Griff bowing to me. He said in his most proper voice, "May I have this dance?" We swayed and spun a couple of times while Classical Music for Reading played. Both of us ended up with smiles, and I saw a couple of other customers smiling with us.

He said it was time to go then, so we headed out.

We finally pulled into our garage, and I was getting Griff out of the car. He puckered up, and I asked him what he was doing. He said, "Dad told me that when you go on dates, you usually kiss goodnight." I laid a huge one on him, and that's the end...

Are Those Minnie's?

Jon, Griff and I were at Kohls last week. Griff was being very persistent about wanting to look at the toys. Jon was looking at shirts, and G went walking off by his independent self. He came back when I called him - but he was carrying a zebra print bra.

Now - G is definitely a boob man (lets me know what he can see when I float on my back in the pool, can demonstrate exactly what happens up front when I've got my bra on v. when I don't...). He holds the bra up saying that it would be really pretty on me. Then Griff slung the thing on his head, cups kind of over his ears, and asked me if he looked like Minnie Mouse. Jon was not really paying attention but looked up long enough to say under his breath (which doesn't come out as much under his breath as he thinks...) - Now, that's my kind of toy!

I'm sure you can imagine the conversation going on in the car when we left the store... I just looked out the window and let Jon deal with it.

When a Librarian Says "SHHHHH!!!!!!" You Better Listen

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This afternoon the boys and I ran over to the library to pick up my on-hold books, renew the checkout on Griff's Justice League DVD, and let Carson and Evan check out a book or two. Sounds like a plan, huh?

I'm a pretty lax library mom. We have a deal that Griff and Carson head to the kids DVD section. Evan grabs a book and then relieves Carson. I swing into the hold room and then stop by a computer to see when my next hold is going to show up. Then we all meet at the DVD section and narrow down Griff's selection. A boy's family should only have to put up with so many TMNT, Goosebump, and Sonic videos creating ambient noise you know?

Anyway - shortly after that we stampede to the auto checkouts, and see who can get finished first. While we wait for the others, we get to watch whatever animal happens to reside at our library. We've had chinchillas, sugar gliders, and now it's rats.

WELL, today we were approaching the checkout counter, and I discovered that I'd left my wallet home. This was a problem because not everyone has their library card bar code memorized (what is wrong with Carson, Evan, and Griffin?!) so most of us could not check out our selections.

Never fear - a plan popped into my head. The library has a program that allows you to read away your fines. You get $1 for each 30 minutes of reading done in the library. See that little earlier mention about renewing the checkout on Griff's Justice League DVD... Carson and Evan wanted to sit and read anyway, and Carson said he'd read to Griff. Please note that I was completely apprehensive of leaving Griff without my supervision, but the librarian said that as long as he was reading, he would be all right without me. That's as good as permission! Right??

So home I ran. Then the thought occurred to me that I needed to get the boys' Hunter Education Registration Certificates so that they could start the class tonight. What better time to do that than when I've got no boys with me? I took heed of my friend, Julie's, facebook status.. While I was waiting for the certificates to print, I remembered that I'd thrown my very short grocery list in my purse, AND I WAS OUT OF DIET COKE WITH LIME!!!!!

A mere 30 minutes later (that's 30 minutes after I decided to run through the grocery store) I pulled into the library parking lot. Now - any mom out there will recognize the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I tell you that the librarian was standing outside - WITH GRIFFIN. I parked, walked over to them, and made some comment about how Griff must not have been reading. She replied, "Nope!" with a very strong emphasis on the "p", turned, and walked into the library ahead of me.

Good news is that Carson and Evan completely read away their fines. As for Griff? She gave him fine credit, but I ended up paying for the Justice League DVD because it's been missing for about 5 weeks anyway.

I hope I don't see that librarian for a while.

Sometimes I Don't Get It

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We were driving to Provo yesterday afternoon, and Griff starts asking me: Mom? What do blue and yellow make?

I responded: Green (which was NOT the answer he was looking for)

This went back and forth with increasing frustration on both our parts.

Griff finally said: You're supposed to say red - it's a joke.

A few minutes later: Mom? What do blue and yellow make?

Now - I know I'm supposed to say red, but that was not the correct answer, and I was in one of my moods...

I responded: Green

Completely exasperated sign from the back seat.

Evan pipes in: G, sometimes women just don't understand.

I Don't Love My Kids' Dentist So Much

All right it's not his fault that it's been entirely too long since we had a good trip to the dentist. In fact, we don't even see the same dentist every time. We get whoever happens to be at the office the day we schedule our appointment.

Did I mention that every one of the 4 male dentists is incredibly attractive? That 3 of them are nearly perfect height? That every one of them has an uncanny ability to make you feel like you are the absolute most important person in the world? That you have to be a member of the pretty people club in order to be one of the assistants? No? Well - there it is.

Today was not one of our better trips. I have a strong ambivalence toward the dentist's office so I'm sure I let that rub off on my children.

Anyway - Carson went first. He has done a much better job brushing and flossing. THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!! But he has 6 cavities! AND Carson has no more baby teeth, so these all require fillings.

Next was Griff. This little guy really does try to brush and floss. He loves going to the dentist to get a new toothbrush and a toy from the treasure chest. He does NOT like the sedation crap they've had to force him to drink on trips past, and he reminded everyone that would listen today. This kid had his share of cavities (one of which is a repeat offender - we've filled the same tooth 3 times folks. This one now gets a lovely crown) AND we found out that he has something called hypoplastic molars.

I have been a bit concerned lately with the color of his 6-yr-old molars, which are all in the process of pushing their way through his gums. These four teeth are a lot darker than his others, and they are not standard tooth shape. Some of them seem to have extra cusps or have cusps that don't appear to be connected.





Apparently hypoplasticity occurs as a result of high fever, infection, antiobiotics, or flouride dosing. When the evil moons of Endor align during pregnancy or early part of life and one of these events occurs, hypoplasticity can happen.

So - what do they do? Well in a patient as young as Griff, apparently they fuse a glass isonomer to the tooth's surface. This is supposed to hold things together until he has permanent molars that will help hold a crown in place. Hypoplasticity apparently does not have an impact on permanent teeth.

Oh yeah - the dentist happened to mention that G is probably in pain when he eats. Every. Single. Time.

Evan got on the chaise last. He had one cavity, and it's in a tooth that should be falling out soon. So, we're just going to extract that one. Don't go thinking he let me off easy after his younger brother...

One of Ev's molars had a large filling, and the tooth somehow broke underneath the filling. While it's been broken, it's wedged itself up against another tooth. Guess what... That one broke too. You'd think I would have noticed something while flossing or that Ev would have been experiencing some sort of pain.... Nada. Both teeth need crowns.

So, here's my dilemma: things have been tight in the financial dept around here. I do have decent dental insurance, but I still have to pay 20% for most fillings. I have to pay 50% for the crowns. There is no way that I can just get all 3 boys immediately back to the office for their required treatment plans. But how do I decide which one of them goes now and which have to wait a few months?

Griff's in pain, so he's the one I chose to tackle first. Problem with that is his is the most expensive, and the dentist won't let me take the others in until I've paid all that I owe...

Guess now isn't the best time to mention that I also need to get Evan in for an eye appointment (he failed his school vision screening back in October) and I still need to take him to an ortho to have his knees evaluated.

How bout them apples?

I think I'd better head off to FaceBook for some Mafia Wars. Do you think taking out a rival family will help my frustration?

A Gorilla, the Easter Bunny, and a Great Example

The Easter Bunny didn't show up at our place until yesterday afternoon. The door bell rang, and when the boys opened the door there were all these baskets on the front step. Pretty freaking ingenious.

Griff woke up yesterday morning and ran downstairs without even coming into my bedroom for his usual morning snuggle. I just laid there with a ball of dread in the pit of my stomach. Guess what I'd forgotten to do the night before...

Jon went to the top of the stairs to see what was going on and said, "Guess the Easter Bunny forgot to stop here." Griff was so resolute. He just stood in our entry way, shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"Nope. He just knew I've been being bad."

Griff's been pushing some limits lately - tracing his hands on the wall of his closet, writing his name on the bathroom mirror with a particularly disgusting bodily waste product, and not listening. We've been very frustrated and have spent the past few evenings trying to decide how to deal with this 5 year old that we love so dearly.

But to unintentionally crush him on one of the magical mornings of childhood? How could I?!

Today he and I enjoyed a beautiful spring morning playing Sonic on Xbox 360, drawing carrots, swimming his turtle toy in the bathtub, eating carmel eggs, and laughing. I had a conference call for work at 11:00.

He was very quiet while he was downstairs. When the call ended I asked him what he was doing. He said, "Just a minute, Mom!" I looked down the stairs and found him on his knees with his arms folded on the couch. I waited until he was done and smiled at him as he finished. I raised my eyebrows to question what was up, and he said,

I was just praying that the Easter Bunny would make it home safely and that Heavenly Father would help me be better. I think I'm gonna need some help with that.

Put a muzzle on that one!

Yesterday morning we were enjoying warm muffins that my friend, April, had whipped up for breakfast. This was before Jon and the boys headed out the door for church - AND before we realized that daylight savings time had begun without us. My guys were a mere hour and 20 minutes late for worship.

Anyway - Griff was sitting across from April, and he stunned us all by asking her

How come you have boobs?

Nice to know that my children are completely comfortable with my friends. To April's credit she was the first to understand that he didn't really want to know about her twins - he was following up on an earlier conversation the two of them had about boo-boos.

April - really - thank you for an incredible weekend. The boys kept asking when they could see Coal again, and I just kept wishing that you hadn't had to leave.

Hot Chicken

Griff came home last night doing this thing where he tipped his chin up real quick, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Hey Hot Chicken!" Took me a bit to figure out what he was up to...

I started asking questions and found out that two of the "hot chicks" at daycare had been calling him "Hot Chicken" all day because he's handsome.

G was just sharing the love.

Things That Make Me Go, "Huh?"

Griff's brain does not go easily into the good night. The kid is either physically or mentally going full bore until it all just immediately stops and he falls asleep.

Now I know that I'm not doing him any favors by snuggling him up next to me until he shuts down each night. But he is my baby, and I gotta tell ya that I'd be missing out on a lot of little things if I didn't do this.

Here's a small smackling of questions that he's asked me lately while I've been trying to lull him to dreamland.

1. Why don't little boys have girlfriends? (I said that I supposed he could have one if he wanted. He replied: "No thanks. I'll wait til I'm older so that I can think about who I want it to be for a while.)


2. If everyone we know was really small could we all fit in one mom's tummy? Would that be fun?


3. If we got a new puppy and Hilo made it bleed, what would we do with the puppy?


4. Get ready - this one's my favorite... What if Mesico (spelled just how he said it) was our neighbor and we were all turtles?

You did it didn't ya? That last one made you go, "Huh?"