Insights from a Relative

I found this on the blog of one of Dave's cousins. It was so very amusing, and so appropriate to my kids, that I had to repost it for more people to enjoy:

R digs a new sprinkler pipe trench in the yard to re-lay the back line. It has now all been laid and tested and ready to fill the trench in with dirt.

Which brings me to this morning and the discovery of my oldest's character. I haul him out in the back yard this morning before it gets too hot and hand him a shovel. All he has to do is push the dirt setting on the edge back into the hole it came out of. I even gave him the good shovel. He starts at the north end and I start on the south end. I am busy shoveling dirt back in and he is making very little progress. Very. little.progress. Lots of complaints that the shovel is heavy and if he puts dirt on it it just makes it heavier. And he keeps hitting grass. And it's just hard. (big whine factor on his part, little patience factor on my part). That's when it occurred to me my child will never murder someone. It would be way to much work for him to dig a shallow grave AND have to fill it back up with dirt. Of course I have never really considered him capable of foul play. But it is both a little comforting and disheartening to know he simply lacks the work ethic needed.

I am a victim in all of this

So, we hit the beach yesterday. We love the beach. Ideally, the kids take their buckets and their shovels and they go down near the water's edge. They dig, they swim, and blissfully, when they bicker, I can't hear them. Being the first beach trip of summer, it didn't quite work out that way, but next week is looking good.

At any rate, we get out the sunscreen, and it's the new, fancy, spray-on kind, which I might add is only enough for not-quite six people, some of them quite small, to apply twice. Total rip off. I get it out and start spraying them down until they shine. It gets in their mouths and eyes. Lovely. Then, I make the mistake of allowing Ellie and Evan to use the sunscreen on me. I'm telling you, I should have asked a nearby adult. They manages to get sunscreen on my back under my swimsuit, they managed to get sunscreen on the backs of my arms, but in spite of me rubbing it in after they sprayed, it seems that nary a drop made it to my shoulders. And, there is a lovely handprint down one of my arms.

21st Century Communication

I find it interesting that while Dave traveled to Asia, we talked over IM nearly every day, in spite of the time difference. This week, he is in Toronto, and him responding to this blog is about the most we've "talked".

A Dilemma

A mundane dilemma to be sure, but still concerning. Tyler is officially allergic to each and every sunscreen sold in Wal-Mart. Or maybe not, since maybe him reacting to several has just made his skin overly sensitive. The Pediatrician recommends that we apply no sunscreen or soaps or lotions of any kind for 10 days, while using anti-histamines to give him a chance to heal. This is lovely advice, but in the next 10 days, we are supposed to go to the pool at least 6 times, the water park once, and the beach twice. Which events shall I leave him home from? Or, shall I let him get a raging sunburn? Is that preferable? How about a rash-guard top, which he hates and refuses to wear. Who can blame him? Anything his head will fit through is huge in the shoulders, and twists when he swims. Thanks again for the giant craniums, Dad!

Tyler himself asked if he could just have the rash. Fine by me, except for the fact that parts of it are bleeding and he cries to have sunscreen applied, leaving us right back where we started. I can't possibly entertain 5 kids in the shade/indoors for 10 days!

Update: Today, we noticed the rash on his thighs, a spot he never uses sunscreen since his swim trunks are always over that area. Now, we have a mystery, a dilemma, and a miserable child.

Wicked

So, we made it to Wicked, and it was much better than just listening to the songs alone. "Defying Gravity" was especially well done. However, as the girls will tell you, the best part of the evening (for Rebi anyway), was when she introduced herself to Mitchel Musso, who plays Oliver on Hannah Montana:
http://mitchel-musso.com/

She is telling everyone she knows about her brush with celebrity, and smiling ear to ear the entire time. Poor Ellie was waiting with her friends in the bathroom and is bitterly disappointed!