The Strange Tale of the Double Bicycle. . .

Henry has really been enjoying preschool lately. He's blossomed in about the last month, and he is now identifying letters and numbers and recognizing them all over the place. Today in the Costco he noticed giant letters on the heating system (up on the ceiling) and read them all to me.

They now sell light saber popsicles--a brilliant marketing move.

He also actually sat for a good half hour yesterday with his Grandma Toni and practiced tracing and writing his name. I was impressed at his stamina if not his penmanship.

He's getting closer, I think. 

Earlier this week Henry came home from school with an interesting story about a bicycle built for two and a random injury.

We weren't sure whether to believe him or not.

I love when Henry says, "I found out that I do have a nurse!" Nick goes to the nurse at his school for snack, and Henry has been telling us his school doesn't have one. Well, he was wrong!

We never did figure out if Henry was telling the truth or if the tale was partially made up. At one point, he told us that they were riding backwards because it was backwards day at school. (That's also why Henry's shirt is on backwards.) Ahh, well. His communication skills are improving, that's for sure. It does seem quite a stretch that they would encourage the children to ride backwards--I bet that was on their own initiative.

He still makes bigger messes than any boy I've ever known. Last week we were at a party and Henry decided to go around the back of the house and jump into a deep mud puddle. No regrets, either. After I got him cleaned up and we talked, his only regret was that I caught him before he could "paddle" in the muddy water

This is Henry's pouty face. 

That's my boy! Lest you think I'm ignoring my other boy, please stay tuned for an update on Nick's shenanegans.

What We've Been Up To . . .

How do I keep my little guys entertained? Well, my latest hobby has been bargain hunting at the Goodwill. Check out our finds from this week.

Henry has a thing for penguins.

Yup, they sell costumes at the Goodwill. Henry thinks he might want to be a penguin for Halloween, and at only $5, I took the risk of buying a costume long before Halloween.

Actually, Henry wanted to be a "Storm Trooper Penguin," but a mom has got to draw the line somewhere.

"This is my serious Jedi face," said Nick.

Nick found this $3 light saber, and he proceeded to take it with to the grocery store and have pretend battles down the aisles. I have to say, he was fairly responsible with it and didn't bump anyone or anything. We also found a whole bag of gears ($2) to add to the set we already have. Now we can build "super machines!" as Henry calls them.



Did anyone request sandwiches? If so, Nick and Henry can hook you up. Goodwill had a whole felt sandwich-making set for $2.  They both like to play with food toys and pretend to cook, so this deal was delicious.

After last week's three-day weekend, this one seemed especially short. I'm already looking forward to next weekend, though it's going to be a busy one. In the next three weekends, we have three weddings and a birthday party to attend. We will have to struggle to make enough time for fun games, like Chutes and Ladders, which Henry calles "Chutes and Slides."

Greg says that they both cheat really bad at this game. 

A Festibull!

Today we headed up to Schaumburg to see my grandma and mom, and to go to Septemberfest. Henry and Nick call this a "Festibull."

Despite the rides being insanely expensive, they were, as Henry described, "So awesome!" He especially liked driving this green truck, and was impressed that he was deemed old enough to "drive" it.

Even the thought of these things makes me nauseated, so I was glad Greg took one for the team.

Worth $9? To Henry and Nick, definitely.

 All of the ladies just stood in the shade and watched the spinning.

I liked the free things much better than the rides. For example, they had a firefighter challenge, and both of the boys took on this one with gusto.

I told each of them to "smile and look heroic" when they posed in their outfits.

They had to put on a firefighter's hat and coat and crawl through and obstacle course, following a fire hose under and over obstacles. The best part? They had dry ice floating through, reminiscent of smoke. Nick needed to be reassured that this wasn't real smoke.

Nick is crawling through a tube in his outfit.

The goal was to crawl under without knocking over the table.

Henry is short enough that he didn't even bump the table when he crawled under.

Our afternoon at the "festibull" wasn't as long as we would've liked, due to the extreme heat and humidity. We were all grateful, though, that my grandma likes to feed us well. Especially Henry, who ate his eclair with gusto and proudly showed off his chocolate moustache.

We all left with full bellies, and I think my grandma's puppy Lucy was tired out from the boys' energy levels.

Oh, and Nick? He didn't let me take his picture as much today, except for when he reached a major achievement: He tied his shoes by himself for the first time today!

He was happy to gie me his biggest grin after he successfully tied those sneakers!