Catcher Remy

2-hour baseball scrimmage today...

and I managed to burn.

Yes, I'm that pale.

Time to break out the sunscreen!

On the other hand, my Remy played catcher!

 

Everyone Needs an Alien Invasion Escape Plan

As I drove my 9 yr old son to school one day this week, 

we somehow ended up discussing what he would do if aliens attacked his school.

Everyone should visit this subject with their child at one point or another, 

don't you think?

I mean, the schools have fire drills, tornado drills, and other safety drills...

so don't you think they need an Alien-Invasion drill?

I think so.

My son said he'd grab his best friend, and they'd head out of the school towards the woods and our place. He attached a compass to his backpack to aid his sense of direction.

He's going to prepare a water gun to hold anti-alien fortified water 

and toss out marbles to distract them while he runs away.

Such a smart kid. 

I'm proud!

Egyptian Connection

When my stepfather went to Egypt last month, he brought back souvenirs for my boys.

One of those gifts was some Egyptian money.

And, I just found out, that Remy, my 8 yr old, brought that money to school...

and charged his friends $2 each to see it!!!

Remy the Viking

This kid is so cool.

He has every NERF gun possible.

He's smart and sweet.

He's super athletic, but also loves video games.

He's a little tightly wound at times, but he's my sweet Remy.

Next up: Donny got his braces off! Woohoo!!

My Roommates

 

He wore his clothes backwards for a year.

This little guy turns 8 years old today.

He entered life with a bang and hasn't stopped.

His delivery was so fast and furious that the doctor didn't make it.

When he was three years old he decided he wanted to wear his clothes backwards...for an entire year.

His shirts and his pants.  He was adamant about it.

He's smart, sensitive and hilarious.

He's my Remy.

Happy Birthday, Remy!!

Alien Goo & My 7 yr old Security System.

This 7 yr old son of mine is a handful.

He literally vibrates with energy...and emotion.

I let him download free game apps to my iPod Touch, and now I have to fight him to get any time with it.

Guess what's on his Christmas wishlist?

(By the way I really, really want an iPhone. Ahem)

The other day he came home from a birthday party with this goo.

It's wet...but semi-solid...and it jiggles like jello.

I think it's bio terrorism from China

or

mind-controlling matter from Aliens.

Then there's this.

His affinity for weapons.

He can't have enough NERF guns and ammo.

He's either gonna end up in law enforcement or the military...

or JAIL!!

Burglers and trespassers, Beware.

He's got our yard covered.

And on that note...

I found this note in my son's backpack:

"Remy, I'm sorry
what I did.
I shouldn't have done that.
Next time I will through away the paper
and at that time at school
I was feeling weird so
I just wrote it for no resin
so I don't know what I whas doing
just fieling not very nice."

Your friend,
So-and-so


Wow, huh?
Remy won't give me the details or tell me what happened.

So, on that note...
I'm left perplexed.

What do you think happened?!

Interview with a 7 yr old

Remy, you just finished 1st grade! What did you learn this year?

I learned about flowers, their parts, how they grow.
We grew some...oh, oops, that flower was for you for Mother's Day!
I forgot!



You're such a great reader now, what was your favorite book you read this year?

The Dog Book that shows the dogs pooping.



What's your favorite TV show?

Star Wars, The Clone Wars cartoon.



If you could have any animal in the world as a pet, what would you choose?

A penguin.

I know your favorite toy right now is Bakugan. Why do you like them so much?

I like everything about them.
They're cool and different,
You can battle with them and they're different colors...
I want to be a Bakugan scientist when I grow up.

We leave for Disney World soon. What are you looking forward to about this trip?

I can't wait to stay in the awesome hotel and have big breakfasts.



Are you scared of Mickey Mouse?

No!



Are you scared of flying in an airplane?

N0, except when they turn...it feels like we're going to fall out.

If a man came out of our refrigerator, what would you do?

I'd kill him.
I'd get a gun and shoot him.



If an alien came out of refrigerator, what would you do?

I kill it.



If a puppy came out of the toilet, what would you do?

I'd keep it.
I'd clean it.
Unless it was an alien puppy...then I'd flush it.



Finally, if you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?

I'd go to the North Pole and look for Santa.

Stinkpot Update

As yesterday's post explained,
Remy was double-dared into flushing a doorstop down the toilet at school.


Well, he reported today that there is a NEW doorstop in the classroom now...

and...





it's smaller.




Easier to flush?!! I hope not.

My Little Stinkpot

Recently he got in trouble at school for trying to flush the doorstop down the toilet.

When I asked him why he did this, he told me someone dared him.
Double-dared him.

And, he told me, the doorstop, it wouldn't go down.

So, an important lesson in physics?

Everything you didn't want to know.

My dog barfed last night.
Then re-ate it.

Such efficiency.

Of course, before she re-ate it,
my elderly father managed to roll right through it with his rolling walker.

The whole experience had me laughing so hard I couldn't see
because of the tears in my eyes.

Sometimes you have to laugh...
so you don't cry...
although I seemed to have managed both.

I was a fugitive from the law for two months.
My inspection sticker expired.

And every time I passed a cop, I felt guilty.
And bad.
And I tried to avoid them.

One time I drove through a school zone,
and a cop helping out there yelled out at me as I passed.

I know what it feels like to be a fugitive.



My seven-year-old wrote a song last night.
He and his friends are forming a band...
a band that plans to practice at my house.






Here's part of the song he wrote:

I like pie.
I don't know why.
It makes me cry
at the end of July
and what's why.
I don't know why.
I like pie.




I'm thinking I need to become a high paid artist.
Did you know you could decide such a thing and it just happens?
That's my plan.

I want to make Car Art.
A huge car sculpture people will come from all over the world to see.




If you could be an artist at the snap of my fingers,
what kind of art would you like to create?

The Complexity of a Seven-Year-Old

Before you read this post, you need to know:
These photo were taken LAST YEAR.





Remy is a natural at sports.
He loves playing all sports.
He's played soccer, baseball & basketball for several years now.

Well, this winter, it came time to sign up for baseball.
So, I signed him up, like always.





Then, a couple of weeks ago, it was time for the first practice.
And Remy informed me he did NOT want to play baseball.
He told me he hated baseball.
He said I forced him to sign up.

I was confused.
Is this not the same child who loved baseball last year?
And the year before?
And the year before?

The same child who has played baseball for three years and excels at it?






Apparently.

Well, I talked him into going to the first practice...but I couldn't take him because I had to work.
His dad took him.
And it did not go well.

He spent the entire practice under a park bench crying.
My husband had gotten him there a few minutes late, which if you know Remy at all, you know he HATES being late. And this was a new team, he didn't know anyone. So, he was uncomfortable. All those things combined made for an unhappy Remy unwilling to try.

And after that, he said NO MORE BASEBALL.






But, with a mother's intuition, I knew I had to keep trying.

I bribed him.
I said, "Remy, if you try one practice and one game, I'll buy you that Indiana Jones Lego kit you want."

After some hedging...and perhaps me pulling up said lego kit on Amazon to temp him...he agreed.

And yesterday was another practice.
He went.
He played.
He played REALLY well.
He got his uniform.
He liked it.

"Mama, I love baseball."





Why does parenting have to be so complicated?!

Remington Red Knuckles

Remy told me drew this...but it was really Donny.

I know that.
He knows that.
Donny knows that.

Yet he still lies...

I was reading a post over at the Mama Bird Diaries about names,

and it reminded me of my own child who liked to name himself.

My first son was named after his father...and his grandfather...and his great-grandfather.

So, when the second child came along, we decided to just pick a fun name we liked:

Remington.

Remy for short.

He however, has often chosen to go by other names.
He spent one entire year of his life preferring to be called
Red Knuckles.
After the character from the Sonic video game/comic book.

Then for a while he wanted to be called Homer.

It's a good thing Annie came with a name.
Speaking of Annie, she is having a spa day today...
and I left a disposable camera with the staff with instructions to take photos
of the entire process!!

So, I hope to post on that tomorrow or Friday.

And, after using the Random number generator, the winner of my contest is:

#48

Mama Dawg!

Do your children like to be called anything strange?

Don't look at me.

I found some of Remy's artwork in a pile of papers the other day,
and I had to scan it onto the computer.

It's a colorful, quirky, fun-looking snail!

He can be sensitive, so I decided to ask him first, before posting it online...
our conversation went like this:


ME: Remy, I love this drawing! Do you mind if I put it on the blog?

Remy: Sure, but I want 50 cents for it...


Good lord have mercy.

He loves to barter and make deals.


I don't know where he gets it.


Meanwhile...I told him that if he starts sleeping in his own bed,
I'll buy him a Star Wars Lego kit.

Oh, wait, I get it now.

Guess I shouldn't have started this when I bribed him with toys
to get through potty training at four years old.

hehe



Come on, admit it,
you've bribed someone in your life at some point, right?
Right?
RIGHT?!

Space-Age Birthday Ants

What's the best way to capture ants without killing them?



This was the dilemma we pondered last night.

Because today is Remy's birthday.
He's 7 years old!

And we let him open a early gift last night, from family who lives in Alabama.

It was a space-age ant habitat.



In 2003 NASA came up with an experiment to study animal life in space and test how ants successfully tunnel in microgravity.

They came up with this cool gel that is complete with nutrients and supplements to promote a healthy ant colony. A gel that wouldn't collapse upon shuttle lift-off.



However, with this awesome kit, ants were not included.



Luckily (or not) we have a big ant pile in our front yard.

And the boys have a healthy fear respect of ants, so they suckered talked their dad into helping.

Our magnificent space-age, ant-catching tool ended up being a...butter knife.

The boys had no problem kicking the ant pile and then running.

Leaving their father to capture angry ants.

Our neighbors must think we're strange. In our front yard, me with my camera, my husband with a knife.

It was big excitement, let me tell ya.

As of last night, only a few ants escaped and died trying.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks, G'Dad, Debra & Kate!!

Awesome gift and great blog material!!

Grab a camera and a critter and join Camera Critters weekend meme!

The winner of my New Year Giveaway is Miss Anne!