The Champion 4 Is Still the Champion

I knew the day would come when our toilet's greatness would be put to the test (check out THIS post if you don't know what I'm talking about). This week Ben has learned to flush. He's known for some time now how to hide things in the toilet, but flushing adds a whole new dimension to the problem. We've lost a variety of things down the toilet this week...the most expensive, my cell phone... the largest, a ball. Our toilet has swallowed them all without so much as a hiccup. Lesser toilets would given out long ago. Of course, once it leaves the toilet, I suppose it could back up somewhere else along the way. I'm still hoping, or praying mightily, really, for that not to happen. Several of our neighbors have recently had to spend thousands repairing their plumbing.

I blame my brother Tom for Ben's toilet fascination. His son, Ty, taught Ben all about stuffing things into the toilet while we were at my Mom's over Thanksgiving (pictured below). Luckily they were caught before Ty could teach Ben about the flushing part.

So, if you're in the market, I still stand by the Champion 4. It's by far the best toilet I've ever known. And I'm desperately hoping to give it a good rest in the near future.

Spencer's 7th Birthday

This year Spencer decided on an Indian birthday party. That was a little trickier than a pirate party. Indian party supplies are a lot harder to find. Jason decided to make bows for the kids and let them shoot at animal targets. We got Spencer a real bow for his birthday present. Jason made the others out of PVC then we purchased separate arrows for them at the store.

It was a HUGE hit. They shot their bows and arrows for hours! We had to drag them away to eat the cake and ice cream.

Then there was the cake. What kind of cake do you make for an Indian birthday? My mom gave me the idea of a teepee. I had an awesome picture of a teepee cake in my head, but as usual, the picture in my head and the real thing didn't look anything alike. Oh well, Spencer liked it.

A small fight broke out between Ben and Spencer over the blowing out of the candles, but after Ben was able to blow out a second round, it was all good.

The kids returned to shooting until it was dark outside, then Spencer's friends took their new bow and arrows home with them. I think it turned out great. Happy Birthday Spence!

AGAIN!!!!

I brought the green food coloring out of hiding this morning to make the kids green pancakes. Instead of returning it to hiding, I mistakenly put it back in the usual spot. Every day I become more and more convinced that Ben intently watches my every move, waiting for the opportune moment to wreak havoc on my day. Today, he succeeded once again.

I guess I can't blame him for taking matters into his own hands. I had yet to dress him in green and there's no telling how badly he could have been pinched had he not painted himself green at that very moment.

Oh well, Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A New Musical

Spencer's always writing and preforming plays for us, with hopes that one day he'll appear on the big screen. He came up with this little ditty while digging in the garden this morning.
I'm not sure where he gets his talent (must be the Murray side), but I think you'll agree, he's well on his way to becoming infamous famous.
(The video seems to have technical difficulties at certain times of the day. Check back later if it's
not working.)

By the way, if you're having a hard time understanding what he's singing, I think it's "I am the worker."

I Really Do Watch My Children....Sometimes

I've said it before-a quiet child always means trouble. Here's another example:

No, he's not wearing black leather gloves. That's what you get when you mix together red, yellow, blue, and green food coloring.

Weston Update

Yesterday I took Weston in to meet with the neurosurgeon. I had already accepted and was dealing with the fact that Weston was going to need surgery, so I was quite surprised when the Doctor told me he didn't think it was necessary. He showed me the CT scans and explained how he came to the conclusion that Weston's brain was not in danger of any damage. He told me the surgery could still be done to remove the ridge on his forehead. I was afraid of this, I didn't want it to be a cosmetic decision, but at the same time I felt relieved that it wasn't a necessity.

The night before visiting with the neurosurgeon, I had been referred to a blog (thanks Ginger) about a little girl who is Weston's age and had just been through the same surgery. There were pictures and a detailed day by day record of the surgery and recovery. It made me sick every time I thought about Weston having to go through the same thing. Jason and I talked about it and decided there was no way we could put him through it unless it was a necessity.

I am so relieved that he won't have to go through all that. He may curse us someday, if he hates the shape of his head, but hopefully it will never be an issue. I think he's perfect and handsome just the way he is.