Quickly...

We just got back from our first Nebraska Thanksgiving in years, only to have Shannon start vomiting once he got home from school this afternoon. Yea!

He's been pretty good with his aim, but apparently likes to have an audience. He will carry his bowl into a room full of people and then let it all out. I now have him programmed to carry the bowl into the bathroom, vomit into the bowl, and wait for mommy to empty it.

After his first episode (as I dry heaved along,) he asked what to do with the bowl. I told him to let me collect myself and once I could breathe again, I would dump it out. Shannon thought he'd be helpful and started tipping the bowl into the bathroom sink.

Naturally I screamed, "Nooooooo," just about scaring him so bad that he almost dropped the full bowl altogether. Luckily he caught it and I showed him how to pour it into the toilet and rinse it out for the next round.

Everything was going smoothly, when an hour later Shannon showed up in the living room, barfing into his bowl as he walked, (how's that for coordination?) I directed him to the bathroom, and he finally declared that he was done and went to empty the bowl into the toilet. From about three feet above the toilet.

Well, it was only a slight splattering of a mess and I got it all cleaned up without emptying MY stomach as well. From there on out, every time he walks into the room and starts going at it, I guide him into the bathroom and wait for him to finish and take care of everything myself.

Pretty sure this is a one-day bug type of thing as Shannon's been resting well for a few hours. He'll be home from school tomorrow, bonus for Uncle Casey who followed us home from Nebraska to spend a little time with his nephews. Hopefully Uncle Casey steers clear of the bug though, because I'm pretty sure he's nowhere NEAR as vomit-trained as my little guys are.

Priorities

Lately I've been noticing as I shut up the house for the night that the sliding doors in the kitchen have been left opened and unlocked. In the summertime, when the kids are in and out all the time and the weather is beautiful, this would be expected. However, it's mid-November, and although it's not snowing out, it's not terribly warm. On top of that, even in nice weather I can't seem to get the kids to play outside without threatening them with the removal of their DS's (handheld games that have somehow become a fifth limb.)

Today Corey did something that made it all make sense... sort of.

We had a house full of people this afternoon, and as I was running around I noticed Corey frantically trying to unlock the sliders. Just as he reached down to remove the wooden stopper and throw open the door I ask just what the heck he thinks he is doing. Corey froze in his tracks, well as much as one CAN freeze when they're doing the 'I gotta pee' dance.

He gave me a desperate look and explained, "But mom, somebody is in the bathroom and I gotta go potty!"

Okay. The bathroom was occupied, the kid just really needs to go.

But I have a house with FOUR bathrooms. In the time it took Corey to manipulate the lock, remove the stopper and open the door (remember Corey has horrible fine motor skills,) he could have tinkled a little bit in the THREE available toilets and heck, even 'watered' my plants.

To top it all off, once I told him that he was not allowed to go pee off the deck and kill off my hostas, he shrugged his shoulders and ran back to play on the computer for another 1/2 hour. He NEVER bothered to go use a bathroom. (And he never bothered to shut the sliding door either. Surprise, surprise.)

Corey's Class Assignment

Here's Corey's commercial for a book he just read. He wanted to draw a stick person on a piece of paper and call it an advertisement, instead I sat and asked him questions about the book for 1/2 an hour until we put together this script. Quality is poor, but listen to his quazi-excitement.

A Song For You

A special video for those of you who are really missing Corey and Shannon. We have Corey 'stretching' while singing his favorite song (crank your volume before you press play,) and Shannon doing headstands and generally being a pest. Sorry for the poor video quality, but you'll like it anyway.

Press PLAY.

Target Practice

We had such a gorgeous day today so I suggested that Daddy take the boys out with their BB guns. They did so well, it's amazing the difference a year made.

Checking their shots.
Riley helping Shannon cock the gun.

If you look close you can see where the BB hit the can.

Shannon needing to listen better when his dad talks about form.

Daddy showing Shannon the ropes, Riley has it down pat.

One of our neighbors lent Ken a pellet gun, so after these pictures were taken, Ken led the boys over to the woods to find some moving targets. Riley asked if they could maybe shoot a bird and Ken said, "No we're not going to shoot birds, only squirrels. You don't shoot something unless you're going to eat it."

Lucky for us they didn't hit any squirrels.

Uh oh.

Well, for a minute there I was worried. Corey (my professional bedtime staller,) just came down and told me he had a headache. Naturally my ears perked up, because that bug that came around and shut the schools down for four days was famous for it's ability to produce strong headaches.

But this is Corey, my naturally snot-filled boy, and it's not uncommon for him to get to where his sinuses are a little backed up which then results in a headache. So I thought I'd research the issue a little more.

"Corey, do you hurt anywhere else?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
Blank stare.
"Maybe my tummy hurts?"
"Corey, do you feel really tired in your muscles, like you don't want to move?"
"Yes. I think I'm having a cold."
"Oh, does it hurt when you breathe?"
"Yes. It hurts."
"Hmm... does it hurt when I touch your back?"
"Ouch."
"Oh no! Does it hurt when I lift your leg up or when I push it down?"
"It hurts when you lift my leg up."

Interesting. I hadn't touched his back or his legs.

"GO TO BED, COREY!"