Dear Sandbox,

Dearest, Darling Sandbox,

Thank you so much for the 40 or so minutes of sanity you gave me today. You will never know how much it meant to me. I was only interrupted once in my vacuuming by a screaming H ("S frew sand on my shut!" "Oh no! Why did he do that?" "Um, bekuss I frew sand at him." "You threw sand on his head?" "No! Not on his head! I frew sand on his shut!")

I know we have sadly neglected you through the harsh winter months, but you were never far from my thoughts. Hibernating beneath a layer of dead leaves and snow, I knew that one day you would awaken and again be my sons' best friend. How beautiful was the cry this afternoon that lit upon my ears: "It's dry!! It's dry!!" followed by the happy sounds of childish conversation as they pulled the sprouting maple tree and weeds from you. I hope in the next life you are rewarded by being a beach in Hawaii. Until then, I promise to rake you clear of the dead leaves, keep the lawn edged around you, and supply you with children to keep you company through the spring, summer, and early fall months.

Bless you and bless you again, beloved Sandbox!

How I Know...

This is how I know I live in a house full of boys:



O noticed today that my kitchen cabinet wasn't closing all the way. He fixed it for me with Scotch tape. Scotch tape for the 5-year old, duct tape for the man he will one day be.

OCD Much?

Dearly Beloved Husband, who is yet again out of town, this one is for you:

The Lego blocks that were scattered about my playroom like this...


...now look like this:


J always laughs at me when I put the blocks away like this. I can't help it. And what's more, I enjoy it. It helps me put my head in order and gives me satisfaction to see them organized by color, size, shape -- you get the picture. So, I refer you again to the title of this post. Crazy I may be, but I am an organized, happy crazy!

Creative Minds and 3rd Grade Conversation

I looked out the window and what did I see?


My inventor/mechanic:


I love how their minds work!

Snippets of conversations I hear in the mornings between two 3rd Grade boys:

--"S, how many girlfriends do you have?"
--"Just one."
--"Who?"
--"E!"
--"Not M? What about A?"
(Me, wondering how many girlfriends this boy has)

--"What Pokemon do you think will be effective against ___? He's a grass Pokemon. Would an earth Pokemon be effective against him? What about ___? He's got poison powers, do you think that would work against a water Pokemon?"
(This one-sided questioning goes on for the whole ride to school. I am glibly trying to answer his questions. I hope my cluelessness about the subject isn't too obvious.)

--"S, do you know what the Toro Pokemon is? It's like a cow only it has three tails."
--"Does it live on Samoka?"
--"What's Samoka?"
--"It's a planet where my army lives!"
--"Oh. Where is it?"
--"It's past Pluto, next to Guchi."
--"What's Guchi?"
--"It's the planet next to Samoka where all the pollution goes. Then the air gets cleaned and sent back to Samoka."
--"Oh. Do they have the Toro Pokemon there?"

Enthralling conversation, don't you think?

The Astronomy Project

S had an astronomy project to do for school. I like our system: I oversee homework and J oversees projects. Here is S, positioning the sun while J looks on:



Meanwhile, O diligently created clay blobs. Work that awesome gut, boy!


This is their happiest picture:


And the finished project on display at the school's Core Knowledge Fair tonight:


Have I mentioned how much I love this school? The Geography project; being Wilbur/Orville Wright; the Astronomy project; the research paper (in 3rd Grade?!? How awesome is that?); Folk Dancing at the Core Knowledge Fair; homemade kalimbas and oil pastels in the style of Vincent Van Gogh in Art; Peter and the Wolf, Vivaldi's Four Seasons in Music -- the list goes on and on. I love this school!

A Manly Day

While I accompanied S and his class on a field trip, J took the day off to watch O and H. Remember this post about climbing mountains with the FJ? Without S, J figured it was the perfect day to try again.

Gotta love the view:


The happy boys in the FJ: J with H...


...and O


This is my favorite picture from that day. Doesn't it look like those boys are on the edge of a cliff? What kind of dad would put them there? (They're not as close to the edge as they look!)

By Golly, He's "Wright"!

A few weeks ago, S had a book report presentation to do in class on the Wright Brothers (the flying ones). We put together this little outfit:


I went to his school early to eat lunch with him and help him prepare. He couldn't decide whether he was Wilbur or Orville for the presentation, but by Sunday (when he wore his outfit to church) we settled on him being Orville, since Wilbur was hit by a hockey stick in high school, resulting in the loss of his front teeth. I stayed to watch a few presentations, namely Albert Einstein (whom S's friend picked because he had awesome hair) and JK Rowling (done by a boy dressed up as Harry Potter because he didn't want to dress up like a girl.) I love S's school.