Board Games

Monopoly with dad.

Nicholas still wins this one every time, despite landing in jail for the first few rounds. 

Please, let's not have that be the future.

 

Mysterium with mom and dad. 

We wind up here from time-to-time, when we remember that we need to unplug and just hang out.  It is loud and grumpy, and fun and hysterical.  All at the same time.

Conversations

I pick up  the kids from camp the other day for their physicals, and there is immediate worry over drawing blood, which we'd already worried over to no end the night before.

Boys show up to the car first, together:

Me: Hey, my boss (a hematologist) wants some of your blood if they take some from you today.  Would you give him some extra?

Nick: if they numb me, so I don’t feel it.

Ben: Tell your boss he can have my blood, but only when I’m 11. I’m 9 now, so in two years.  It’ll be the same blood.

Nick: Wait, what does he want our blood for?

Me: He’s going to take it to his lab and look at it and use it to develop some tests.

Nick: Oh, cool.  Like they could use my blood to find cures for diseases. Sure, he can have some, but only a quart.  I think I have like a gallon of that stuff; he can have a quart.  Ben, you should give him some.

Ben: I will, when I’m 11.

Nick: What if they could find a cure for diseases?  Like that disease that makes your arms fall off?

Ben: What?  My arms will fall off in my sleep, so it won’t hurt.  I’m good. He can have it when I’m 11.

Nick: Well, he can have a quart of mine. But only a quart

Girls arrive, one at a time.

Alida: No Way.

Elaine: Sure, just leave me enough so I can keep living.

Alida (competitive): Oh, you can have all of mine.  I don’t need to live.

While it stormed at the beach,

 

It really stormed at home.

 

Would have thought I was murdering them during the hour and half deadfall pick up one Saturday morning. 

 

I kept telling them that I thought we were done as soon as they took the last two piles I'd made over to the burn pit.  But, then I added that I would be adding to them along the way.  So with four against one, all they had to do was get the piles cleared and when I had no pile left to add to, we would be done.

 

Then they wandered about taking breaks and doing anything but work for another half an hour until I was really ready to be done and re-explained that they needed to beat me, and it was a competition, and the only way we would stop was when they won. 

 

Then things got moving. 

Swim Meet One

Go Purple!

It was the year to change teams amongst all of the participants.  Nicholas was very relieved that we Stubers remained on the purple team again this year. 

The night before the first meet, Aldia says, "Oh mommy.  I wish tomorrow wasn't Saturday.  Purple is going to lose.  We're not so good."

I was just glad to have daddy in town for a meet finally.  The 6 am wake-up and get to the pool by 7 am Saturdays are a little easier with one more adult.

Alida taking off for her first race of the season--she did great!  And even though a coach swam the lane with her, Alida just took off past the coach with purpose about half-way through.

In character, about half-way through Elaine stopped.

She is a mental jumble when it comes to competition, because she swims like a fish if she's just in the water to have fun.

The boys competing in the middle two lanes there.

Looks like there is still a super-hero take-off happening again on the right. 

The only reason for going I think they think, to buy flavored cups of ice. 

When Daddy's Away

We play.

Monopoly. All day long marathon game. We'd play; we'd break; we'd play. Nicholas would lead, but then he'd realize that Elaine had bought everything.  Alida started as banker and then when Ben got bored she took over for him.  Elaine's tactic--buy everything.  Nicholas's tactic, buy Park Place properties only.  When I tried, as poor mommy, to get Elaine to sell me a yellow property at some point in the game, she looked at me and said, "NEVER!"  Then, at some point a crawfish boil started across the street, so she unloaded everything and took off out the door.

 

It came down to Nicholas vs. Mom.

And do you know that boy took me out with Park Place in the end...

Well played, Nicholas.  Well played.

The Day We Became Cannibals

Dear Everyone I know, who all decided to text me last Thursday around 7 pm, except for the folks I work with, which may have actually been useful this one time,

I'm so sorry I didn't respond.  I had just sliced off the tip of my finger.

Sincerely, Susan

We never found the tip of my finger, which went missing while I was slicing cheese for the children's dinner.  Um, they wound up eating all of the cheese. 

That evening for prayers, Nicholas closed his eyes and prayed the following: "Dear God, please help mommy's finger to heal by next week."  Ben followed quickly, "Dear God, please help mommy's finger to heal by tomorrow."  Not to be outdone, Nicholas responded dutifully, "Dear God, please help mommy's finger to heal right now!"

Everything a competition, even prayer.

Perry, Thrust, Or Well, Whatever

 No Candy or treats, please,

They went straight for the weapons at the Renaissance Festival.

 And so as we waited for the joust, we became the pre-show.

 Amazing that he wonders why he would be ganged up on when he announces he will take them all on.

 And a good gentlemanly battle.

And it was the best show there.

The Stuber Family Turkey Project

Ben's assignment: disguise his turkey with his family (I guess to save him from becoming a feast).

Everyone pitched in, and while I admittedly generally feel annoyed by this kind of stuff wriggling its way into our evenings, this one was fun. They all had fun with their different tasks and were really proud to take it in to preschool the next day.

When Ben marched in the next morning, the first worker we met asked him about his turkey, and he started to describe everything we had done. And then Nicholas jumped in more loudly and more quickly to finish. Ben automatically shut down and let his brother take over.

Then Laura asked Nicholas to politely be quiet and let his brother finish.
Nicholas stood like a cartoon character ready to burst with the need to provide the presentation as Ben stepped-up and finished what he was saying with a smile and excitement that we rarely get to see.

I am SO glad they are in different classrooms in preschool, and I hope it continues on through all of their school days. No, I will insist it continues through all of their school days.

A Competition of Sorts

If we were to organize these events and award prizes, they would lose interest.

I present: National Take Your Sister's Toys and Turn Them Into Weapons Day

It all boils down to a gun, of course.

But it shoots Superheros--here Thing and the Flame (I think)

You create this by dismantling the vacuum, stuffing a flashlight in a cup and creating a bright light. Then load your superheros. Now when you whir it up, according the Nicholas, you launch superheros that will exact their particular talent wherever they've been aimed.

Ben, it's an upside down ironing board. I'm unimpressed.

No, it's the ride-able, swinging turret of a tank of course.
Cup with flashlight optional.

Battle At Sea

Pirates of the Caribbean played all weekend at our house.

This was Ben's first pirate ship.

When I rolled my eyes at that, he got constructive and made this.

Then Nicholas got all competitive and made this.

So Ben made three pirate ships and staged epic battles that we all had to watch.

Everyone but Nicholas watched because he snuck away to construct this.

Sheesh. I can't wait until they're competing for the affections of a girl some day.