It's 25.

Owen had his first major timeout at preschool today. Apparently, he was hopped up on something and had extra energy to burn. In class, he wasn't being as quiet as he should have been, was being bossy, and a bit of a know-it-all. After a few warnings, which he ignored, he got sent to the hall for a timeout. No problem there, right? Mrs. Williams went back to working with the kids in the room counting and was asking them what number came next. When they got to 24, no one was replying so she asked again, "What number comes after 24?" At this point, Mr. Owen Know-it-all chimes in from the hall, "The next number is 25, Mrs. Williams. Don't you people know anything?" I guess she struggled not to laugh and had to remind him that when students are in a timeout, they don't get to participate in class activities. This crushed him and she said he sobbed buckets of tears. I asked him why he was so upset and he said because he thought that meant he'd never get to go to school again. I hope he continues to understand that getting in trouble is not a good thing.

Bath time

Bath time is always pretty entertaining at our house. Most nights, Owen doesn't want to take a bath and we have to practically tie Gav up to get him out of the tub. I think he'd sleep there if we let him. Tonight, the boys decided to do things in reverse from what we normally do when we get home. They took a bath, put on pjs, had dinner with dessert first, then played afterwards. They were cracking each other up in the tub and talking in their own little language. In my opinion, these two pictures capture them at their very, very rotten best.

New vocabulary

Gav has a new name for Owen and it is a bit hard to tell him he can't use it with a straight face. When O is really, really annoying him, Gav puffs out his chest and says, "You are a smelly creature, Owen Christopher Stine." This statement comes complete with his famous scowl and hands on his hips. If you ask Gavin if he is a creature too, he'll say he is... but he smells good.

Owen's word of the week was symmetry at preschool. I quizzed him about what the word meant and he said, "Well, you know how you have an ear on both sides of your head? That's symmetry. They are in the same places on opposite sides." For homework, he had to practice decorating hearts in a symmetrical pattern and I have to say I was quite impressed with how well he did. He even folded his hearts in half and put a mirror on the part that was horizontal on the counter to look at the reflection from the part that was vertical to make sure he was right about where to put shapes. Then he practiced on a separate piece of paper, before touching his markers to his official worksheet. I tell you what, the money we have spent on Angel Central has been well spent. My kid is super smart.

P.S. Just in case you can't read the purple note, the picture at the bottom of the worksheet is one of Spiderman in his underwear. Some days I really wonder about Owen.

What to do with all that art work?

I have been pondering the question of what exactly to do with all of the boys' art work for forever now. I was just stacking it all up with the intent of deciding later what to keep and pitch. The pile fell over to this past week and I took that as a sign I needed to do something. I've had a wooden screen to hold pictures since we moved (Thanks, Tracy!) but hadn't decided what to put in it. Then shazam! The pile fell over colliding with the screen and I thought, "Hum, what if I put some of the art work on display in it?" I already have some of the boys' masterpieces framed in the kitchen and they love seeing it.

Tonight, I weeded out all the potential pieces with the idea of only using those pictures they painted. Then I went to work. The result was a very eclectic piece of art. The boys spent the whole time asking which one was theirs before posing for a picture in front of it. I think it took longer to get them in front of it than it did to assemble everything. Gav kept trying to hide behind it, then giggling, "You can't see me." Owen's actually holding on to him in the picture to keep him from escaping. And you thought they were just being affectionate!

The countdown is on

David proved very handy with a roll of tape today. I printed out a countdown chain for Disney while back and I did the cutting awhile he did the assembling. We hung the chain on the wall after the boys played with it for a few minutes. Who knew a paper chain could be so much fun? The deal is that the first little boy to be ready to go in the mornings gets to tear off the loop for the day. Maybe this new incentive will prompt Owen to crawl out of bed with less of a fight for a day or two.

Read to us, Daddy

Reading is pretty important at our house and both boys have been read to since the day they were brought home from the hospital. Lately, only David is allowed to read to Owen because he wants to read his super hero books only. Sadly, I don't know enough about super heroes to be considered as knowledgeable as David, so I have been discarded for the time being. Gav also likes to hear David read so it isn't uncommon for David to have both boys hanging all over him when he reads. I like to hide out in the hallway listening because some of the conversations they have about the books are quite entertaining. After they finish their books, Gav requests I read to him using the "funny mommy voices." How can I refuse since he says I'm his bestest friend ever? His current faves are Llama Llama Mad at Momma, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, Blue Hat, Green Hat, and anything Diego.

So sweet

It seems only fitting that I post a picture of Gavin sleeping since I added one of Owen. I took this picture the other evening because it reminded me of a picture I took on Gav's first 4th of July, three weeks after he was born. (That's the second picture; if it looks familiar, we have a copy hanging on the wall leading upstairs.) Gav was on our bed and rolled over for the first time that afternoon. The exertion tired him out because he promptly curled up on his tummy in a ball and fell asleep. Owen thought Gav looked "adorable" and climbed on our bed for some snuggle time. They were pretty sweet that day. It seems crazy to think O was about the same age Gav is right now. Where does time go?

Blog name

If you noticed, our blog has the first initial of each of our names in the order of our births. I was born before David and, apparently, he feels slighted coming after me. He says as the man of the house, he should come first. I just don't think daogstine has the same flow or is nearly as memorable as adogstine. I mean, I totally could have named it agodstine, but that seems a little over the top if you ask me. David, on the other hand, thought that was an awesome name, yet I'd like to point out that puts me and the boys before him - totally discrediting his "I should come first" hang up. Silly man.

Owen was sick today. He's got the bug that is going around again and David stayed home with both boys. He was quite domestic. He swept, cleaned up the toy disaster room, and folded some laundry. He even threw some burgers on the grill for dinner. I tell you what, if I could get him to do the grocery shopping solo, I'd totally change the blog name to agod in heartbeat.

PJs & Pancakes Day

Today was Pajamas and Pancakes Day at school for the boys. Owen was beyond excited because most nights he wears his clothes for the next day to bed. You see, he takes after his momma and isn't the most pleasant person in the morning. We have discovered letting him sleep in his clothes, and letting him sleep a few extra minutes, makes the mornings much smoother. He's slightly (6% to be exact) less grouchy. This morning, he bounced out of bed wearing his Batman pjs full of sunshine.

Gav also selected his Batman pjs for bed last night and was even sporting his Batman slippers until it came time to leave at 6:45. Then he informed us that he "does NOT wear pajamas to school" and he "wears clothes." Next thing we know, he's gone from having his coat and hat on to being buck naked. He then went shrieking through the house to his room, where he was digging though his closet in search of clothes. We finally struck a compromise and he agreed to wear his pj shirt with sweatpants and his tennis shoes.

Tonight, I asked Gav if other kids wore their pjs like Owen did and he informed me that they did and are "weirdo kids." I asked him what that meant and he said, "Kids don't wear jammies to school. Everybody know that." And then he rolled, yes, ROLLED, his eyes at me. I'm fairly certain that was his way of calling me a fool. I guess he is two going on thirteen.

Culture change

David got a new boss this week at work. Say a little prayer for him (David, not the boss) that this is a good thing. They are working on changing the culture at work. I thought this meant something other than what it means, so let me elaborate so you don't feel like a dunce like I did if David tries to explain it to you.

First off, culture in this sense is not the behavior or beliefs of a group of people. What the culture change at Conn represents is shaking off the old ways and adopting new. For example: put your car keys in your right pocket if you usually use your left or putting your watch on the other wrist.

Last night, David spent all night trying to come up with things he could do to help change Conn's culture. Being the kind person I am, I tried to assist him on this endeavor. David called me a smartalec when I made all kinds of helpful suggestions like he wear his clothes backwards or inside out. He also ruled out driving to work and home in reverse and reading or talking sdrawkcab (that's backwards if you were a little slow on the draw).

I guess becoming a smartalec is what happens when you spend all day with teenagers who do wear their clothes backwards and inside out. Now that I think about it, maybe those teenagers are trying to change culture too. I guess they have never heard of Kris Kross. They also don't know that wearing clothes backwards makes you look like you got dressed in the dark and is not a trend that will last like brushing your teeth or bathing. Maybe these same kids will be working for David in a few years. Heaven help David.

Sleeping

The boys both have a strong affection for all things super hero. The other night when I went to check on Owen, I discovered that he'd managed to attach some of his Spidermen and Batmen to the top bunk. I asked him about them when he woke up and he informed me that they were watching over him while he slept. Whatever it takes....

Spring, where are you?

If the snow doesn't melt and go away soon, there is a good possibility Owen will be living in an igloo. He's going through a very stubborn period and having a hard time dealing with all the extra energy. To put it mildly, he's a grouch and has too much time on his hands. He isn't happy with much and wants to argue about everything. Poor Gavin is the victim of most of Owen's outbursts. The poor kid can't do anything to make his brother happy. If Gav plays with his trains, he is in Owen's way. If Gav leaves the basement and goes to his room to play, Owen is mad he left. There's just no winning. What they both need is a good chance to run around outside and tire themselves out. All this together time inside is starting to wear on us all. Spring, please come early on behalf of all parents of preschoolers.

I'm not sharing.

Last week, the teachers at my school conned me into doing the Super Bowl pool. I will be the first to admit I know nothing about stats and pools, but it seemed easy enough. All I had to do was pick two squares on the chart and pay my $4. Honestly, I had no clue how to figure out the winners and I didn't even have the pool sheet with me when we watched the game. David kept telling me how I'd wasted $4 that I could have spent at Starbucks for days. Imagine my surprise this morning when I found out I won $50! I promptly texted David and told him I'm not sharing my dough. You can bet I now know how to figure out the winners!

Fighting Crime

Owen and Gavin love all things super hero. Today they spent the morning playing Batman and Robin. That means someone has to be the bad guy and they decided David would make a great Joker. Every time they say "Not so fast, Joker," it is so hard for David to not smile at their cuteness. He's a good sport though and plays a great villain. He even lets them capture him every now and then.

Hi Blogosphere

Some friends of ours also have blogs for their families to update the masses on what is happening with their families. This is our second try. The Verizon one we had a few years ago was really difficult to work with and we abandoned it. Hopefully, this one will fit into our daily routine much easier!

Owen had his second soccer game yesterday. He tells me he loved it, but still doesn't like being goalie. He's starting to read a few sight words and I have a feeling will be doing very well when he enters school in the fall. He can also name pretty much all of the presidents. He's such a sponge with anything learning related. I hope he stays that way.

Gavin is still going strong on the potty training although he has had some funny incidents in the past two weeks. #1. He went potty at school then figured out he needed to do some additional business but couldn't get into the stall for whatever reason. Being the resourceful kid he is, he just squatted and went on the floor. His little friend Kamari came along and discovered the mess and began jumping up and down in it yelling poop. #2. While home this week, Gav informed me he could potty by himself. I stood outside the bathroom door until I heard him say, "I have to wash my butt." That falls in line with the "nothing" response kids give when they are totally in trouble, so I went to investigate. He'd turned himself sideways and had his tush in the toilet. I asked him what he was doing and he replied, "Washing my butt," complete with the "DUH, my Mom is so dumb" look. I informed him he was going to be washing his tush and plopped him in the tub for a bath and a stern lecture on how we never ever stick our bottoms in the toilet.

David and I have booked our vacation to Disney for June. Ok, I was being generous saying David booked it. I made all of the arrangements and David just nodded yes when I gave the details. We'll be there from the 12th-19th. YIPPEE!!!