Consistency

Okay, I am going to try this new thing called, "being consistent". We will see if it works. I am going to attempt to post at least every Friday, if not more often than that. Don't get too excited, yet, Kimberly. It hasn't happened! But we will see.

I have no new pictures to post this week, so I will ramble about our lives a little bit. We have completed our second week of school. Elijah says he wants to go back to Kindergarten already. It seems that 1st grade requires more work and effort on the part of the student than he is willing to put forth. He hates homework and wants to know why he must "do work" at home. "It's stupid" I believe was the correct quote. The fact that he was not able to go outside until Tues. of this week might have something to do with it, too. I can't imagine why they wouldn't let my 6 year old outside at 1:00 pm when it's only 106 degrees!?! Have I every mentioned that I love Mississippi weather?

Josh loves school! He comes home everyday telling me something new that he has done. One day this week he told me that they read a book about Caterpillars. He said, "And you know what? They turn into butterflies!" It is so wonderful when they have learned something new! I love the look of amazement. He also said, "We read a story about the bears and that girl and the bear said,'Who's been sitting in my chair?'" I said, "Oh, Goldilocks and the Three Bears." He also gets to paint, which he loves, and play with play dough. K3 is wonderful, as opposed to 1st grade, which is apparently the pits.

And then there's the husband. Stacey leaves the house at about 7:30 and takes the kids to school with him. He doesn't get home, normally, until about 6:00. To say that he is tired would be an understatement. He is worn out. But, he loves it and he loves the kids, just like I knew he would. He's very excited about the football season, which starts tonight. He's just really nervous. I'll let you know next week how it all comes out.

As for me, I'm still hanging in there. It's very busy for the Sykes-clan right now. We had something every night this week. Mon.- soccer, Tues.-Bunko, Wed.- Church, Thurs.-Meet the Generals, and tonight - football game. Next week looks better.....I hope. Until then, be safe and be good!

The Adventures of Boxer Man and Brief Boy!

Hello Sykesclan fans. Welcome to the next installment of our wonderful adventure! Elijah has decided that he is old enough to start wearing boxers. I do not know who gave him this information, but I held out as long as I could. Not that I have anything against boxers, mind you, but I'm just not sure about them for my 6 year old. Nonetheless, boxers were purchased at WalMart and immediately worn by Eli. Later on that night, when it was bath time, I told them to go into their rooms and strip. I walked in to see E. remove his boxers to reveal his briefs under them. I said, "Eli, why do you have your other underwear under your boxers?" He said, "I thought that's how you wore 'em." I said, "No they take the place of your underwear." He said, "Oh, no wonder my wee-wee hurts." I love my boys!

Josh is angry because he does not have boxers. I told him 3 year olds don't wear boxers....I don't think he believes me. To make it all better, I let them take a bubble bath. Bubble baths make it all better!



Messes they are! The other morning, I got to lay in the bed for a little while before they forced me to get up, so I got to listen to their conversation. It went a little something like this:

Josh: "What are we watching?"
Eli: "I don't know, something on Boomerang."
J: "Oh. What's that dog doing?"
E: "He's going to steal that banana."
J: "Do dogs eat bananas?"
E: "No, Josh."
J: "Lijuh (elijah), is that a sqwurul (squrrel) or a mouse?"
E: "That's a beaver, Josh."
J: "Oh. Yeah, a beaver. I love you Lijuh."
E: "I love you,too, Josh."

I was just beaming with pride at my well-behaved children watching tv and eating Zebra Cakes together without fighting. But, my shining moment was interrupted by the all-too-common sound of "Stop It" and "Get your hand off my chair". Oh well, good while it lasted.

So, today is the first day of school. Both of my boys are now in school. Am I a basket-case, you ask? NO, not a bit. Josh did so well, that it has not affected me in any way. Well, not really. He did so well! He didn't cry or even cling to me or anything. I'm actually very glad. It makes me feel better. Also, since Stacey is teaching up there, too, it makes it even easier. Oh, yes, you heard me right. Stacey is out of school and working! WOO-HOO! He's coaching football and baseball, too. He's really excited. Or at least he was this morning. We'll see if that changes this afternoon! Anyway, I'll leave you with some pictures of them on their first day. I didn't get one of Stacey, but maybe I can do that for his first ballgame in a couple of weeks.



They would not wake up! We were even in the bed at 8:45. Looks like it will have to move back to 8:30. But, after they did finally wake up, my handsome men looked more like this:



What? Those are the cutest little boys you've ever seen? I know! They look just like their mom! Okay, I know E is the spitten image of his dad, but at least J favors me a little! Well, I think their dad's pretty cute, too, so I'll give him some credit. Happy Hot Summer! It's 98 degrees here, by the way. Supposed to be 102 on Wednesday. I love Mississippi!