The M&M Story

First, the stitches. About a week ago during one of Max's evening soccer practices, we had quite the event. B fell and bumped the back of his head on the play structure. Lots of bustling parents and plenty of tears later, we arrived at Missouri Baptist Hospital to quickly learn that a few stitches were necessary for my very brave five year old. We spent many a minutes (almost two hours) watching Bugs Bunny/Road Runner, singing songs, and telling stories while we waited for the doctor to perform the procedure. B was brave, brave, brave with only a few tears. Mommy, on the other hand, cried plenty. But there was a popsicle at the end of the evening and lots of snuggles (and piggies) when he got home. On another note - here is the conversation that ensued this evening: M: Mom, did you know that I'm 7 and I still sleep with a stuffed animal? S: Do you think that is good or bad? M: Well, it's bad. No, I mean, I don't know. What do you think? S: Did someone say...

Tonight we had a rough night. Everyone was tired and basically I waited way too long to do the bedtime routine, mainly because all of us have screen addiction - we are into learning computer games around here as incentives to finish homework. Okay...so...as Max was in the bath and I was frustrated with several behavior issues, I said to him, "Please stop being sassy - I think you are reading too much of Calvin and Hobbes. (he loves it because there is a tiger - i'm not so fond of the attitude)" His response: "Oh, I was sassy way before reading Calvin and Hobbes." After baths, I needed to view a video for tomorrow that had Brian in it - Max wanted to watch it. He crawled up next to me, put his hand on my back (and kept it there for the whole video) and said, "It's okay if you get sad Mommy, I'm right here."

While playing Mario Kart online (with good friends): M (who is baby luigi): "You better not mess with a baby!" M and B: "They are kicking our butts!" Not sure where they learned that one....

I Am a Rock Star by M. Maynor I am a rock star! Master of the skull. I believe in God forever and ever and ever. Not for three or four or five or six days. I do it every day in my life.

Okay, I know, it's almost the end of July. Better late than never, right? Well, I'm not a huge Mother's Day fan. But my own mother is and she has trained my boys by teaching them to make cards, to be sweet and do loving things for me on that day. So, it's morning, and of course, I'm up before anyone else, and I'm busy making coffee when I hear Max sort of running down the hall. He's usually not so exuberant in the morning, but I didn't think too much about it. He asked if I had made my coffee yet (now, I was curious - that is never a question I usually get in the morning) - I said I was working on it but it would be a few minutes - heating water, etc. He hovered around me and finally said, "why don't you get my vitamins out?" At this point, it was clear he wanted me to do something specific, so I complied and opened the cabinet to get the vitamins - and out fell a gorgeous homemade card. He beamed. Apparently, in the middle of the nigh...

Painting Like Michelangelo Originally uploaded by smaynor Briggs and best buddy Luke are preparing to paint Bible stories while on their backs under a table, just like Michelangelo did when he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - gotta love Mrs. Burzinski. I need to organize pictures of his art and then I'll post all his work.

a quick stop before le pain de quotidien Originally uploaded by smaynor I had the privilege of spending a few days in London with one of my roommates from college. She and her family live in Surrey, where life moves a little slower and 4:00 tea abounds. My friend and I traversed the great city, seeing Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, the Portrait Gallery, Portabello Road Flea Market, Parliament, and a host of other glorious sites, one of which was a stop at the communal table--Le Pain de Quotidien. An afternoon at Windsor Castle, a morning at Stonehenge, High Tea in London--I'm amazed at the intricacies of story throughout our fragile world.