Hayes' Rabbit

I am the speller who can't draw to save my life.  I pride myself in being able to correct everyone else's grammar mistakes.  Yes, I find them all the time on your blogs.  It has always just come naturally to me.  However, I do struggle with separate and a few other words.  Adam is the artist who can't spell worth a darn.  He can replicate anything.  He can draw, paint, sculpt, you name it.  Uber talented.  It was clear at a very early age that Houston takes after him in his artistry.  Lately, Houston has been struggling with scoring a 100 on spelling tests.  (The speller in me demands perfection on spelling tests.)

Today, Hayes brought home artwork...

Perhaps he will be a speller like me.

The Lingering Party Guest

Crickets were among the attendance at Hayes' 6th birthday party.  Apparently, one of them missed the memo that the party was over!  I turned around the corner of my bed and was nearly eye to eye with a cricket on the wall.  I gasped and jumped back.

I never thought of myself as afraid of bugs or anything.  But apparently, I do have a slight fear because I was dreading having to grab the thing with a Kleenex.  And dear hubs was at work.  Huey, my resident grasshopper catcher was at school.  I knew I couldn't leave it because what if it decided to start singing at midnight?!  Fortunately, we had not noticed any serenading in the three days it's been hopping around our home inconspicuously.

By the time I returned with a Kleenex, it was no longer on the wall.  There it was on the floor.  I held my breath, scrunched my nose, turned my face, and reached in to scoop the cricket up, praying it wouldn't touch me in the process.  Once it was successfully contained, I rushed out the front door.  And breathed a huge sigh of relief that:
1. I didn't accidentally kill it while capturing it
2. It in fact did not touch me
3. It can now sing to its heart's desires.

Star Wars Army

Lots of people joke with us as to whether we are trying for a basketball team or a football team.  But really, we're just shooting for the coolest Star Wars battle ever!
May the Schwartz Be With You...

Hayes' Birthday Party

Hayes wanted a Scooby-Doo birthday.  Adam and I were both excited about the theme.  As I explained before, birthdays are a big deal at the Schwartz house.  And so are the cakes!

So far, we have always just had birthday parties with family at our house, with the occassional mom-doesn't-feel-like-cleaning-so-we'll-have-it-elsewhere.  Since this was like our umpteenth party at home, we wanted to excite things a bit.  We have a friend who owns a moonbounce company and Craig was so kind to lend us a bounce house with slide.  The kids had no idea.  Adam had it set up before they got off the bus.

My little birthday boy who on any other day would take his sweet time mosy-ing himself home, sprinted the whole way with an ear to ear grin.

They played in the bounce house for several hours while the guests arrived.  All the presents were collected on a table.

It was present time.  The kids hurried in only to find all the presents missing!

It was a mystery! 

For their first clue, they had to throw dog bones into Scooby-Doo's bowl, but in funny ways.  (From 6 ft high, off the back of Uncle Shep, without using your hands, using the forehead pancake method, using your mouth, etc. until they had collected 10 bones)

For the next clue, they had to select who they thought was the oldest person in the room and mummify them.  They chose Grandma, who is ironically the youngest grandparent (sorry Grandma!).

For their final clue, they had to correctly identify objects in a baggie without looking.  The first bag had real crickets in it to help make the rest of the items believable.

Beetle guts = Cold canned corn
Lizard tongues = Pickled ginger
Worms = Spaghetti
Dried Orange Peel = Gator Tail

Hayes put his hand in the first bag, felt the crickets, and refused to do anymore.  The boys both couldn't believe that what they were touching was actually nothing gross.

They successfully solved the missing present mystery!

Happy Birthday, Hayes-ee Bays-ee!

Why Oh Why?

Why does it seem that the bathroom accidents (more specifically the #2 ones) always happen at the most inconvenient time?  (As if they are ever convenient)  But why's it gotta be when I am elbow deep in raw chicken, Holt is screaming his head off, and Adam is mowing the lawn?

Thanks, Hawk for your impeccable timing.

Spring Pictures

I never pay attention to when the kids are taking portraits at school.  I figure, I'm not going to pay their outrageously overpriced fees for some boring pictures.  However, I laughed out loud when Houston's proof came home today.

Nothing says "Happy Spring" like a skull and crossbones!  Personally, I like the special pastel butterfly touch.

Hayes' Birthday

I always try to make birthdays super-duper special.  We see all of our children as precious gifts from the Lord and want them to know just how thankful we are that they are forever a part of our hearts.  I also want them to know just how much we truly love them.  So last night we stayed up until almost midnight decorating the house to surprise Hayes when he woke up.  As Adam and I are both sitting on the floor blowing up balloons, he says, "Why do I feel like it is Christmas Eve?"

This morning, I overslept.  As did the kiddo-s.  They almost assuredly are up and playing in their room before 7.  Not this morning.  We had hung a curtain of streamers from their door frame.  In efforts to wake them and get them out of their room, I began to lightly knock on the door.  I heard them wake up and begin to talk to each other, as I continued to knock.  However, I think I either confused them or scared them because they would not come out.  Finally, I swung open the door and burst into 'The Birthday Song'.

The rest of the morning was a mad dash trying to get them out the door and on the bus in time.  Of course they both played the "It's Hayes' Birthday So We Should Stay Home From School Card".  No luck.

I surprised him with lunch at school.  He and Hawkins enjoyed their Happy Meals and then we passed out sprinkle brownies to all of his classmates.  Holt was just along for the ride and was so sweet the entire time.

Hayes got to select where we would go out to eat for dinner.  He picked T.G.I. Fridays.  The staff came out and sang to him.  You could hear them coming and clapping from back in the kitchen.  As they approached the table and Hayes realized they were singing to him, he was completely beside himself!  I sure wish I had the forethought to have brought my camera because his expression was priceless!  Ear to ear grin!

We finished the birthday off with a big helping of dirt cake with big fat gummy worms.

And oh yeah, we usually let our kids open their gifts from us on their birthday.  Since I was late in doing my Amazon shopping, he didn't have any presents to open.  Shame on mom.  Poor kid.  He'll just have to wait until his party (in 3 days = half a lifetime for a 6 year old birthday boy).

Hayes is 6!!

It is so hard to believe that you are already 6!!  Your dad and I are so thankful to God for you.

You are an excellent big brother.  You and Hawkins love to play together, and you do really well sharing with him.  You even let him boss you around a bit.

You are doing great in kindergarten!  You can even read sentences now.

You can't find anything to save your life and you do nothing quickly.  But that's part of what makes you, you!

You are the first one to try new things on your plate and the only one with such a gag reflex.

You are our resident odor sniffer.  Your little nose is so sensitive.

You are the most caring, kind, and tender hearted child I have ever met.  You love giving hugs -- and you are a great hugger!  You are genuinely concerned for/about others over and beyond your own selfish desires.

You love little stuffed animals and like to get them all out to play together.

Hawk-ism: Singing Ke$ha

There is a movie preview right now that frequents Nickelodeon.  The tune always gets stuck in Houston's head.  However, we do not know any words to the song other than the little clip on the commercial.

Houston (all day long):  <singing>  I wake up in the mornin' feelin' like P Diddy. <repeat, repeat, repeat>

Hawkins (later that night, thinking he's singing the song just like his oldest brother):  <singing to exact tune>  I wake up in the mornin' and I pee on you.

Let's Feed the Ducks

This afternoon, we let Daddy take a nap.  The rest of us went on a walk/bike ride.  As we got down to the park, I noticed that all the geese were camping out in the grass.  There must have been 25 of them.  I had been saving old bread for months.  I convinced the boys to head back home to get the bread.

As we approached the park a second time, the geese were still sitting peacefully in the grass.  Little did they know about what was coming!  Houston hopped off his bike, sprinting towards them, bread in hand.  Hayes was not much behind him.  The closer they got, the further the birds went.  Some of them flew off.  Some of them continued waddling away.

The boys became frustrated as they contined to fling bread at the geese who just continued to scamper.  The kids began running in all different directions as the geese continued to dodge them.

It was determined that the best strategy would be to force them into the water.  Now with a new plan of action, the kids were able to corral them into the water.  The boys began tossing bread at them again.  At that point, the birds realized that we had no intention of cooking them for dinner.  But instead, we were serving them dinner.

The kids had a great time feeding the geese.  And the loaves of bread only lasted a few minutes.

What I've Been Up To Lately

I love to play with my feet!

 I'm really good at holding my head up now.

 I like to play with toys and beat them together.

I constantly have my fingers in my mouth--usually the more, the merrier!

And, oh yeah!  I rolled over today!



Spring Break Day 5

Since our week had been so busy, I decided to just have a home day.  Personally, I really needed a break from the go-go-go and figured the boys would appreciate some time to play with their toys/DS/Wii.

It wasn't but an hour after breakfast and Hayes was grumbling about being bored.  Poor guy.  I'd hate to imagine the attitudes I would have gotten had I not planned anything for them this week!  However, we managed to keep everyone happy up until the time to drop them off at Grandma & Grandpa's.

It was another beautiful day.  When we arrived, the kids had fun playing in the sand table and fighting over pirate characters.  I headed home for another date night with Adam and Holt.  The kids got ready for the hockey game.  It would be the last one for them to attend this season.

All in all, it was a great way to wrap up a great week!

Spring Break Day 4

They had spent the night with Grammy and Papaw.  I got myself and Holt ready and headed over to pick them up.  We had another busy fun-filled day of activities planned.

When I arrived, I was informed that they were up at 4am!  Now, they are never late sleepers.  But 4 am?!  Mom said that Hawkins had woken up scared and screaming, which woke the other boys.  They convinced Grammy to make some strawberry muffins.  They were nearly gobbled up straight out of the oven.

So Grammy went to get them some donuts.

Those were nearly gobbled up too.

As I headed upstairs to gather all of my children and their scattered articles of clothing, I passed by the playroom.

I must admit, I did find a bit of comfort in the fact that my children don't just save all of their room-trashing skills for my house.

It was time to head to the park.  It was another warm and beautiful day, although windy.  I chose a park that we had not been to in nearly four years.  I figured the kids would never remember it.  Besides, it has a LOT of playground equipment.

As soon as we pulled in, Houston says, "Mom!  This is the park that the ants bit me right on that hill!"  Unbelievable.  The kid can not remember how to spell 'picture' after reviewing it a hundred dozen times for his spelling test but he remembers that from four years ago!

Huey made it all the way across the monkey bars.

They played hide and seek.

And how awesome is this?!  A three head water fountain at the perfect height for all three of my boys!

We served up lunch St. Patty's Day style.

 If you look closely, you can see the green goo (mayo) on the side of his mouth.

Hayes' mac-n-cheese.  His teeth were even green.

Then it was time for the much anticipated bike ride with Abby.  This was the first time the kids could just ride their bikes wherever they wanted and at whatever pace they wanted.  They have always been restrained by me, because I am on foot.  They were so excited about Abby coming that they greeted her in the driveway, hopped on their bikes, and got ready to head off without even a goodbye.

That evening, we headed down to the Mississippi river to check out the unusually high water level.

And finished the day off with a meal at The Rendezvous for some awesome bar-b-que.  Grandma and Grandpa joined in the fun.

And while waiting for our table, we found out that we have 170 pounds of boys!

It was a wonderful day.  But I think Holt can sum up best how we all felt by the end of the day:

Spring Break Day 3

Aunt and Uncle Shep gave us a family zoo membership two Christmas's ago.  We were delighted over such a gift!  We have been intending to get to the zoo ever since.  It just hadn't worked out for us.  The week before Spring Break, as I was starting to work out the week's activities, I determined that we were going to the zoo!  I asked Adam which day he would prefer, since I informed him that he would be taking the day off to go with us.  Today it was!

The older boys had both been to the zoo this year on a school field trip.  But other than that, I think we took them once when they were itty bitty and Houston had been a couple of times with Aunt Natalie as a wobbling toddler.  Needless to say, it has been a while!  While I could post a bunch of cool pictures of lions, tigers, and bears, etc. the real cuteness is my four H's, who were surprisingly patient with the incessant camera shots today!

Hawkins was checking out some polar bears that were playing.

Hawkins' preferred method of travel at the zoo

We arrived at the zoo at exactly 10:00am.  It was perfect!  The weather was beautiful and there were hardly any other patrons there.  Fast forward an hour and we were nearly consumed in a sea of strollers.  By that time we had seen well over 50% of the zoo, including the reptiles, which the boys could not wait to visit.  However, we had not yet made it to the newest exhibit of bears and wolves that I wanted to check out.

After that initial hour, the kids quickly started to lose interest.  I paused to take some pictures of the flamingos.  The boys popped a seat on the curb.  As I turned to look at them, their expressions said it all!  We agreed to head to the exit.  I imagine that the twenty minute trek to the parking lot was filled with complaints about being tired, hungry, feet hurt, or something to that tune but I couldn't hear them because I had turned my listening ears off.

At least I know my kids' expiration at the zoo is exactly 1 hour 15 minutes. 

After having some burgers for lunch, it was nearly time to get ready to head to Grammy & Papaw's to spend the night.  The kids couldn't wait!

They rode bikes.

 Played on the tractors.

Tried to dig a hole to China.  But decided they didn't want any China-men surprising them, so they filled it back in.

They wrapped the evening up watching Megamind with some popcorn.

Spring Break Day 2

This morning we headed out early for an open gym at Pump It Up.  When I called to inquire about it, they told me that playtime was 1.5 hours long.  That did not seem like a lot of time.  But I knew the kids would really enjoy it.  Twenty minutes in, it felt like we had been there forever!  I began to wonder if we were even going to make it through the full 1.5 hours.

But we prevailed.  Thankfully, our friend Abby joined the kids.  There is no way I could have done it.  #1 because I had Holt on my hip the whole time and #2 I am too old to be dodging in and out of obstacle courses.  The boys gave Abby a run for her money!  I don't think there was ever a time where one of them wasn't holding her hand and begging her to go with them somewhere.

Hawkins pretty much just liked the big slide.  He must have gone up and slid down a hundred times -- maybe only a dozen of those were without Abby.  Bless her heart.

We stopped by the donut shop for a quick snack on the way home.

And because it's Spring Break, we shook things up a bit with the Wii ticket.  Since their room looked like this:

A bit of tidying was necessary.  And yes, that is Houston hiding behind the black duffel bag.  He did not want his room documented on the blog in its current condition.  Now if you look closely, it really isn't that messy.  It does look a wreck, but there isn't that much to clean.  Knowing my kids, I gave them a 4 hour head start on their Wii ticket.  They have been cleaning their own room for nearly 4 years.  They are seasoned pro's.  This should have been a less than 30 minute job.  Two hours later, it was nearly in the same condition.  They needed a little physical motivation, if you know what I mean.  And voila!  30 minutes later...

 
We tried a new recipe for dinner, which happens to be low fat.  The kids gobbled down the Asian meatballs.  We served them up with edamame (which the kids adore) and a side of udon noodles, plain for the kids and pad Thai style for the grown-ups.

We finished off the evening playing Mario Party 8, one of Adam's birthday presents.