Put to Good Use

Jason and I went to a black tie ball benefiting juvenile diabetes over the weekend.

We had lots of fun, but this is the only picture we have of us.

 

We actually did really well at the silent auction!

We "won" a weekend trip to New Orleans, dinner and theater tickets, and an art basket and art lessons for Reed.

 

He's already been busy using some of his new "winnings".

 

At Least there was a Pac-Man Machine

The kids went to the dentist about a week ago, and they told me Kyle and Reed both had cavities.

He didn't want to fill them since they are so little, and said I should see a pediatric dentist.

 

I thought pediatric dentists were just for kids who were nampy-pampy scaredy cats, but I learned the hard way today that I was totally wrong.

 

 

The day started off great.  Look what greeted us in the waiting room!

 

 

I also thought the flat screens on the ceiling were a good sign of things to come.

 

 

When they called me back (I was in the waiting room playing Pac-Man) they gave me a huge good news/bad news situation.

 

Kyle didn't even have a cavity.

Okay, awesome.

 

Reed on the other hand....

 

The cavity he had filled in Denver was infected.  The dentist (in Denver) had gotten the filling into his nerve and his tooth was abscessed.

(She said she sees this all the time with dentists who aren't pediatric dentists.)

 

 

The tooth would have to come out, but he shouldn't loose that tooth for about 6 more years, so they'd need to put in a spacer to keep the other teeth around it straight until that time.

The tooth was so infected that if we didn't do anything today, he'd need to be on antibiotics.

 

 

And the cavity (the original reason why we were there) on the other side of his mouth was so deep that it might already be in the nerve, so after the filling, he might need a crown.

 

 

Thankfully once they got in there the cavity wasn't to the nerve, so it was just a filling.

He thinks his new spacer is pretty cool, and even better, the Tooth Fairy gets to visit.

 

 

But just check out this little face after his procedures.

Is this pitiful or what?

 

Camp Without the Spend the Night

JR is all signed up to go to Camp Olympia for two weeks this summer.

He's already picked his activities (his range from drama to riflery to wake boarding) and is super excited to go, especially since we spent the day there Saturday.

 

Camp Olympia is only about 30 minutes away from Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's house, and it just so happened we were there for spring break the weekend of the camp's open house.

 

We spent the entire day there, and still didn't get to do everything they had for us to do.

 

 

They jumped on the giant blob. (I did too!)

 

Climbed the rock wall 15 times.

 Did archery.

 

 

Rode horses

 

 

Oohed and ahhhed over the pool waterslide, which is different and smaller than the lake waterslide.

 

 

And we all seemed to really enjoy the unlimited snow cone selection.

 

 

But they all agreed their favorite was the giant 3 person swing.

(Reed's missing from this video because he was at arts and crafts with Paw-Paw.)

 

 

Daily Dose of Art

I really need to start posting more of Reed's pictures so I'll have them.

I've made some pictures into books, he gives some away, but most of the time they just over-run the house and wind up getting shoved in a drawer.

 

 

He's none too happy that his drawing books are in storage, so he's started drawing pictures from his library books and pictures online.

 

 

This one is a squirrel on skis from the book Squirrels on Skis.  I don't have the actual squirrel he drew, but you get the idea.

 

 

And here we have Gary the snail from Sponge Bob.

 

 

 

This is his latest one. Which is my favorite right now.

 

Here's Your Next Science Fair Project. You're Welcome.

So I have to start with a few of my favorite science fair funnies that were sent to me from friends who saw my Pinterest board labeled "JR" filling up with science fair projects.

 

I'm not sure more truth has ever been spoken:

 

 

And for our family...

 

This one was right on the money. 

Just look at the "Results" section:

 

Crying kid? Check.

 JR cried and carried on in an Oscar worthy performance. (Reed also cried because he didn't get to do one. And he felt he didn't get to help enough with JR's.)

 

 

Parent Yelling? Yep.

Though in my defense, my yelling was related to the crying.

 "Get up off the floor and stop crying! I don't care that you're going to be an actor and don't need science, you still have to do it!" 

 

BTW, I'm more convinced than ever that his career in acting might really pan out after the range of emotions he pulled out during this process. I'm pretty sure CPS thinks I was abusing my child. Nope, that was just his reactions to having to do a science fair project.

 

 

An average of 15 hours of family time sacrificed?

Yes, Except there was more than 15 hours of family time scarified, as it took 11 hours just for the stupid board!

 

 

 

JR's project was "Does a Cold Water Soaking Process Improve the Crispiness of Oven Baked French Fries?"

 

Spoiler Alert: it does.

 

 

 

I put Jason on procedure duty.  (Read: he helped JR do the experiment.)

I took board duty with Reed.  (Read: I definitely got the short straw.)

 

 

On top of doing the experiment and the board, he also had to turn in a journal that was over 20 pages, a 2 page report, and then he had to do a presentation. 

Here's how JR started his presentation, "When I grow up I want to be an actor, but if that doesn't work out, then I'd like to be a celebrity chef since I like to cook. And I really like french fries." 

 

How people listened to him tell if his acting career doesn't work out then he'll be a celebrity chef with a straight face I'll never know.

 

 

 

 

 

I even found my old science fair project at my parents (No, they don't throw anything away.)

Here it is.

I'm sure my 7th or 8th grade self was super into germinating radish seeds.

I'm sure that was right up there with hot rolling my hair and talking on the phone.

 

You know who else (besides my 7th or 8th grade self, of course) likes plants and seeds?

My dad.  Hummm.

 

 

And just for a little close up of my project...that's my mom's handwriting!

 

At least JR worked harder on his than I did on mine.

So in conclusion, the results of this project proved that we will 100% be saving this project for Kyle to turn in (or if JR ever needs to do another one).

Hope You Haven't Given Up on Me

I know I haven't been the best at blogging since we moved to Houston.

(That's mainly because I've lived here "forever" so nothing seems exciting or "blogworthy".)

 

I really did have plans to blog over spring break, but I couldn't get my parents' computer to upload.

The kids had lots of fun at Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw's.  They went to the movies, the circus, the zoo, fishing, and we spent a day at JR's camp he's going to this summer.

 

I'd love to tell about that now, but laundry and bedtimes are calling my name, so I leave you with a strutting peacock picture, cause who doesn't love a peacock?

 

 

This Cracks Me Up

Kyle and JR did an awesome job at one of the rodeo photo ops.

Their faces make me laugh every time.

 

 

 

Reed's face looked a little too sweet in the bull chasing picture, but he did know how to pose with an over-accessorized cow.

 

I Hate Springing Forward

I understand why we have Daylight Savings Time (the sun was shinning by 4 AM in the summer in Beijing) but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

 

You know who else hates springing forward?

The Tooth Fairy.

 

One minute JR was eating a fruit roll up at the rodeo (it was a free giveaway) and the next,

 one of his "big mol-dars" as he keeps calling them, was gone.

 

He's been known to swallow teeth before, so I don't know if he swallowed it or it went flying into the rodeo crowds, but the tooth was gone.

 

 

JR announced yesterday morning that the Tooth Fairy had left him nothing for his "big mol-dar". Well, since he hadn't left anything under his pillow, I quickly explained she must not leave money for nothing.

 

 

I also have to believe the poor Tooth Fairy that covers Texas was probably at Selena Gomez. That coupled with Daylight Savings Time, must be why she totally forgot. Bless her heart.

 

 

A replacement tooth was made and placed under the pillow last night, and the Tooth Fairy left $5. Maybe I'll run into her at the rodeo tonight and can thank her.

 

The Real Rodeo

We took the kids to the real rodeo yesterday and it was fun.

(It always is, the rodeo really is one of the best things about Houston.)

 

They all agreed their favorite parts were the bull riders and the fireworks.

 

Rodeo selfie by Reed

Selena Gomez was the entertainment, and she is a very tiny, very cute girl with a huge fan following. (The Reliant Center was packed!)

Kyle and Selena Gomez

The girls about JR's age next to us screamed and danced the whole time.

Mine ate Frito's.

Some Good Ol' Texans

So turns out Kyle and Reed are pretty good Texans after all.

With only 2 months of Texan practice under their belts, they cleaned up at the kindergarten rodeo.

 

(Each class competed against the other kids in their own class.)

 

Reed walked away winning 2nd place in barrel racing, (riding a stick horse around an obstacle course) 3rd place in calf roping,  (riding a tricycle and throwing rings on a cone) and 3rd place in the chuck wagon race (pulling a wagon around cones).

Kyle won 1st place in barrel racing, 1st place in the horse shoe toss (an actual horseshoe toss), 2nd place in steer wrestling, (throw a hula-hoop around a cow made out of a box), and 3rd place in the chuck wagon races.

The only event that didn't have an Ingy boys winner was cow chip tossing. 

(Don't worry, they were beanbags, not real cow chips).

 

And for those of you who know them and are wondering...Reed is handling Kyle's two 1st place wins better than expected.

To the Principal

The kids' new school as something called "happy principal visits" for the younger kids.  If you're good your teacher can recommend you for a happy principal visit and you get to call home, sit in her chair, pick out a prize, and have your picture made with a Polaroid.

(They couldn't believe how long it took the picture to develop.)

 

 

Reed has been obsessed with getting a happy principal visit since the first day he started.

Kyle didn't seem to know they even had such a thing.

 

 

So I was quite shocked when Jason called me last week to tell me Kyle had called him from the principal's office during his happy visit.  Yes, I was proud for Kyle, but the first thing I thought was, "Oh no. Reed's going to die."

 

 

 

Yes, my child that tries so hard to be Mary Poppins "practically perfect in every way", had to wait until this week to have his happy principal visit. 

 

 

Thankfully, I do have two children I don't have the fear of God strike me every time I see the school's number pop up on my phone. 

The last time a principal called me about JR was in Colorado where his "conversation" with a teacher's aide about the "ridiculous rule" of having to walk your bike inside the gate of the school instead of ride it got him a less than happy principal visit.

That's not very Welcoming

I audibly gasped when I picked Reed up from school today.

I actually thought he had pink eye in both eyes (he doesn't).

 

They sent him to the nurse at school and she put drops in his eyes, and we stopped on the way home for allergy eye drops.

 

Whatever alergen you're spinning around in the air, Houston, you need to stop.  That's not very welcoming of you to do to this poor baby.

 

 

The picture makes him look better than he is since you can't see just how red or swollen/puffy his eyes really are.