Crayons for Kids

As part of our mission trip, coming up this winter, I have decided to do a new and used crayon drive. It was brought to my attention by Wayne, the HIS director, that most of the kids in Comayagua, Honduras do not have access to crayons, and they LOVE to color during VBS. He told me that some of the moms even stay with the littler kids and ask if they can color. During our 15-20 minute phone conversation to discuss VBS, he mentioned the word "crayons" about 20 times. The message was loud and clear, "Get crayons to these children, and they will be very happy!" He also shared with me that in the past, his church has replenished their Sunday school crayons, and he took the used ones to Honduras. They don't need brand new, sharp, shiny crayons. They are just as happy with the broken ones with torn wrappers. You know, the ones that we throw away? It was one of the saddest things I have ever heard. Our kids take for granted that when they want to color, there is a big container of crayons in the kitchen drawer. The kids in Honduras don't have that luxury. My goal is to be able to send every kid that goes through our VBS program home with (at least) one snack baggy full of crayons. That would be AWESOME! I feel good about this crayon drive because I'm not really soliciting anything that anyone would have to spend money on. I mean, if someone wants to go out and buy new crayons, that's their choice, and I'd be just as happy to take them to the kids. Really, though, what I'm soliciting are the cast-offs. The broken scraps of crayons that everybody has in some container, drawer, bag, or closet... the ones that are headed to the trash. I hope this will inspire people to clean out their junk drawers, dig out their old crayons, and pass them on to me. I will take them to children, who will be so grateful. Think about that.... something we consider trash is like gold to them.I asked Maya to help me decorate this box, and she was more than happy to do so, with crayons, of course. While we worked, I explained to her about the kids not having crayons, "...and wouldn't it be nice to give some of ours to them?" She happily took the crayons out of her own box and tossed them in the bag. What a generous girl! Tonight, while we were reading books before bed, I told her that we need to go through our books and choose some to take some to church for other kids, who don't have any books at all (for another drive to send books to West Virginia). She looked very sad for a moment, then her face lit up as she said, "Like the crayons, Mommy?" YES!! Just like the crayons. Already, she has a loving, giving spirit, and I couldn't be more proud of her. What an angel.

Like a Bull in a China Shop...

Tonight, Maya was intent on painting her fingernails, by herself, so I ripped some paper out of a magazine to place under the polish bottles and her hands and set her up at the kitchen table. I was so focused on what she was doing and making sure that she didn't spill her bottles, that I neglected to put the cap back on the polish REMOVER bottle I was using. Yep. You guessed it! While I was focusing all my attention on Maya, my little BULL came flying over the top of the table, knocking the polish remover bottle over in the process. NOOOO!!! I jumped up and ran across the kitchen to grab paper towels to mop up the mess. I could almost hear the chemicals eating away at the finish on the table. Sure enough, we now have a nice oval-ish shaped medium brown-whitish discoloration, about the diameter of a dinner plate, right in the middle of our espresso-colored table. There's also a smaller spot next to it, about the size and shape of Liam's palm... wonder how that got there? I was sooo annoyed - at myself, for being so careless. I never said a word to Liam about the accident because it was just that, an accident. We just moved the entire operation to the island, where I think the corian counter top is safe. (fingers crossed.)

Word of the Day...

"VAMPIRATES" - a cross between a vampire and a pirate, or just Maya's understanding of the word "vampire". I love it!!

"Awesome."

A couple of days ago, I had the brilliant idea to move the kids' little table and two chairs down into our kitchen. I thought the novelty of having a new place to sit that's "just theirs" would suddenly inspire them to sit through an entire meal or at least long enough to eat what was on their plates. Wrong!

Tonight, Liam was having a ball wearing Maya's pink, heart-shaped, princess sunglasses, and he ended up wearing them during dinner. Well, he repeatedly got up from the table, and Will repeatedly warned him to sit down or he would have to go to time-out. Finally, after about the fifth warning, Will got up from the table, marched over to the sink to retrieve the washcloth, and went over to Liam to wash his hands. He had enough. As he was wiping Liam up, he explained that he was going to time-out because he would not stay in his chair. In response to the lecture, Liam calmly mutters, "Awesome." Bwahhahahahahaa.... I thought I was going to bust a gut, trying to hold in the laughter! Will managed to keep a straight face and walked him over to time-out, where he sat, completely unphased, for his full minute. Oh. My. Word. Don't forget, this entire time, he was still sporting the pink princess sunglasses! This kid.... I don't even know what to say about him, except, WE ARE IN TROUBLE! He has class clown written all over him!

ps... the picture was actually taken in November. This was "back-blogged/dated", so the pic is actually from the future! Notice that he is back at the big table and strapped into his high chair??

Gettin' It

I swear Liam is SO SMART... today, as we were coming downstairs from his nap, we heard an airplane, so he starts saying, "Eh-lane! Eh-lane! Eh-lane!" I responded, "Yeah, Buddy, I hear the airplane, too!" Then he starts pointing to a window and says, "Ky! Ky!" Because I wasn't 100 percent sure if this is what he meant, I asked, "Sky? The airplane's in the sky?" To which he responded a very confident, "Yep." How quickly he associates things just amazes me! Every day he comes up with something new, I swear! Every. Single. Day.

On that same topic... Last night, we were reading a book, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (a current favorite of Liam's and one of my personal favorites) in Liam's room. Both kids were sitting on my lap in the rocking chair, and I read one page that goes something like, "Does a man live on the moon? And did he see the dish and spoon?" Maya seemed kind of confused and questioned about the dish and spoon, so I recited "Hey Diddle Diddle" to her to help her understand. As soon as I said, ".... and the dish ran away with the spoon," she goes, "Oooooooh! Now I get it!!" It was definitely an "aha" moment and SO very cute!

Say What?!

As I approached Liam's crib today to bring him downstairs from his afternoon nap, I smelled the unmistakable stench of POOP.
I asked him, "Are you stinky?"
Buddy patted his diaper, saying, "Bubboes. Bubboes. (Bubbles)"
Me, "You're stinky!"
Buddy, "Tinky bubboes."
Yeah, he had pooped. I guess that's what he calls it! Bubboes! I can only guess he chose this term because a couple of weeks ago, he tooted in the bathtub and happened to see the bubbles float to the surface of the water, which he thought was awesome and funny. He got this little grin on his face and giggled like that was the coolest thing he had seen in a while. He must think that anything that comes from his butt is called bubbles, or as he says it, "Bubboes!"

The last couple of days, we've overheard Maya, reciting some phrase from the movie "Mary Poppins" Randomly, she would say, "Rumbitch," which totally sounded like "Run, bitch!" the first few times we heard it! Wracking my brain and knowing there is absolutely NO swearing in that movie, I finally called my Mom to pick her brain of any possible similar phrase or word that she might be mispronouncing. The following conversation ensued:
Me, "Are you saying 'crumpets' (as in tea and crumpets)?"
Maya, "No, not 'trumpets'. RUMbitch!"
Will, "Rummage?"
Maya, "No. Daddy, say 'rum'."
Will, "Rum."
Maya, "Bitch."
Will, "Bitch."
Maya, "Yeah, there you go! Rumbitch!"
I was dying laughing! I guess there was some scene in the unedited version that went something like this - "Mary Poppins, would you like some tea and crumpets?" Mary Poppins, "Nooo.... I said 'Rum', bitch." HAHAHAHA....
In light of the fact that church is tomorrow, VBS is next week, and Maya starts preschool very soon, we better figure this out, ASAP! I guess I know what we'll be doing tomorrow!

Cowgirls and Crust

We were invited to the Meigs' house for a swimming play date tonight, so I got the kids into their suits and asked Maya to get some shoes to wear. This is what she came up with! I LOVE the swimsuit and cowgirl boot look! She's so darn cute!
I thought she looked a little bit like a super model walking the runway in this picture.... she looks so tall and skinny! Work it, work it....

In other news, apparently Buddy's not eating crust anymore.
This was what remained on his plate at the end of dinner - an unusually large amount of bread crust. He typically eats it all! That boy...