Universally Acknowledged Truth

When I am really trying to get Petey's attention, I call him by his real name. He hates his real name and he knows I mean business when I say it. Today I had the occasion to do so, as he just would not focus and listen to what I was saying. The strange thing is, that when I said "Ethan!" to him, the look he gave me made me feel like I had just called him a bad name. I felt guilty for calling him Ethan. It was so bizarre.

Perhaps we need to look into getting his name legally changed to Petey. Maybe we can just tack it on the front of his name or something. Petey is cute for a little boy name, but I really can't see him wanting to use it all through his life. I thought Ethan was such a great name when we picked it out, but now it doesn't seem to fit him one bit. He's a Petey, through and through :)

We're drawing to the end of the four day weekend. Whew, I made it through! Today we've made cupcakes, made various and asundry crafts (which we'll probably post on crafty_mario).

I regret to inform you that Spotter the fish was found floating on his side yesterday. However, we went to Wal-mart today and we now have a small and spirited gold fish along with a small, clear shrimp. Petey is in heaven. I've been aware of his love for sea creatures for quite a while. He totally plans on making a career of being a scuba diver/marine biologist when he grows up. However, I didn't realize how deep this love ran. On Saturday night our groceries were running very low so I made tuna noodle casserole. I haven't made this in years and I think this may have been the first time I ever served it to Petey. When he found out he was being served fish, he ran to the bathroom saying that he felt like he was going to throw up. "How could you, Mom?! You know I love fish! I could never eat them!" I found this funny, since many vegetarians don't consider fish as meat. Petey is the reverse! He loves red meat but refuses to eat fish, lol!

For my literature class this week I'm reading "Comfort Woman" by Nora Okja Keller. Wow. I had no idea this chapter in history existed. I'm fascinated, yet horrified by this book. I'm always glad when I learn about new events and broaden my world view, but there is no doubt that reading this book is casting a shadow over my spirit, so to speak. I'm also suppose to be reading "The Diary of Lady Murasaki" and write a paper on it by Sunday, but I can't put down "Comfort Woman" long enough to read "Diary".

Does anyone have a good icon about the importance of reading to children, or have a recommendation where I can get one? Thanks!

Petey and Zack did their first paint-by-numbers today. You know, just something to kill the time on yet another snow day. All that painting got Petey to thinking about colors, and mixing them, etc. Later, he came up to me and said "Church colors can't be made by mixing other colors together." I replied "Church colors? What are church colors?"

"You know, like blue, red and yellow."

"Oh, you mean Primary colors!" Lol!! I know this will only be funny to Mormons but I thought it was totally hilarious :) Primary is what the children's Sunday school class is called at our church.

I did 3 scrapbook pages today. I also got a significant amount of school work done because Chris took the kids out for a couple of hours and left me alone in the house. I'm liking this semester so far. I think it will be relatively laid back which is perfect for my last semester!!

We had no snow last night, yay!! Also, they finally plowed our street today. It only took them 6 days to get to us. Let's hope the snow holds off for a while so our street can stay clear. Oh, I forgot to mention that yesterday I built a snow cave for the boys. We made a huge pile of snow, packed it down and then hollowed it out. I also gave them some water that I'd dyed blue and put into a sprayer. They sprayed the cave on the inside and out, making it a nice blueish hue. Fun stuff.

"Mom, here's Anakin's life cycle. Kid, jedi, bad guy, Darth Vader, and then ghost." --Petey

Glad to see all that homeschooling study of life cycles paid off in some way :) (We raised both tadpoles and silk worms this year to study life cycles. Turns out I should have just let them watch the Star Wars movies, hmmm?)

We're home from my parents and back with Chris. He feels that his interview went really well. The search committee told him that they are recommending him as their choice to the Dean. From here it's up to the Dean to agree with their decision.

We went to the beach today. I love the beach so very much. Every time I drive over the bridge and get my first glimpse of the Gulf, I have a brief moment of wonder re-realizing that I have this magnificent, beautiful place so close to my home. I have to say though, the beach isn't nearly as relaxing as it used to be pre-kids. I still enjoy it, but I can't just chill. I have to be on constant alert making sure all three kids are present and accounted for. The boys had a great time. It's going to be so fun living here for the summer.

The fire has spread to 60 acres. It is not threatening any homes right now, so we can be thankful for that. I was wrong. It was caused by lightening, not humans. Today is a very windy day, with gusts up to 40-50 mph. This is bad news when it comes to containing the fire.

Petey and Connor are going to a friend's house to play this morning. As always when I have alone time, I'm having a hard time deciding how to spend my time. Shall I do something productive like clean and pack, or shall I do something purely indulgent such as lay around and read the whole time....

I love having this choice!