I could survive for 44 seconds chained to a bunk bed with a velociraptor

L is for Lucky, and for Luke, and for Love

I don't know how he does it. A quick trip to the grocery store typically results in the mother-load for Lukey Boy. I seem incapable of telling him no. Most recently he asked for a mouth guard like Dallas wears for football. I needed to grab a few items from the store and $.97 for a mouth guard seemed reasonable. Then he pulled me down the balloon aisle. (for those of you who don't know, Luke has a passion for balloons. he covets them, literally) Okay, a mouth guard and a bag of 12 "It's a Boy!" balloons. Enough damage for one day. Wrong! As I whiz by for a couple of 2 liters of diet soda, Luke eyes the bright pink lemon/lime/cranberry concoction, and while it wasn't of the diet variety, I found myself intrigued as well. Mouth guard, balloons, soda. One quick pass down the baking aisle and we're done. Until Luke sees the marshmallows. In a performance worthy of a daytime Emmy, Luke convinces me he must have marshmallows. The colored ones. No, wait, the plain white ones. No, the colored ones. Wait, not the little colored ones, the big colored ones. What? The big colored ones only come in pink? The big white ones, then. Yes, the big white ones. Delicious.
Oh how I love this boy.

What Am I Going To Do With You?

First I must admit that this picture has nothing to do with this post. I just love the picture.
Today Luke crawled up beside me on the couch and sighed a big, shoulder-slacking sigh.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I just don't know what to do," he replied in an overly-dramatic tone.
"What do you mean you don't know what to do? Like right now, you don't know what you want to do right now?"
Another ridiculous sigh.
"Not right now. I don't know what I want to do when I grow up."
"Oh," I replied. "That's not a big deal. You aren't supposed to know what you want to do when you grow up because you haven't tried everything yet."
"I don't know what you mean," he said, perking up a little.
"I mean, you shouldn't decide that while you are so young. Right now your job is to try out as many things as you can to see what you like and what you don't like."
"Like what?"
"Well, like skiing. You haven't tried skiing yet. You haven't tried tennis, or golf, or coaching, or being a teacher, or flying an airplane, or riding a motorcycle, or anything like that."
"Well, what else haven't I tried yet?"
"Let see, you should try playing a musical instrument, cooking in a fancy restaurant, studying spiders, being a zookeeper, a gardener, a cameraman, a mailman, a librarian... there are so many things you should try to see if you like it."
"OK," he says.
"So, what would you like to try first?" I asked eagerly.
long dramatic pause...........
With great confidence and improved posture he looks me right in the eye and says, "Drinking beer. I think I'll try that first."

Luke's Hot Rod

Today after preschool Luke asked me if he (we) could build a car out of a box. I set aside the mile-long list of things I needed to get done during those precious few hours between preschool and Dallas arriving home starved and ready to rumble, and set out to build the best darn cardboard car my child has ever seen.
First I made a preliminary sketch:

Next we gathered all of the necessary tools and art supplies and got to work. I did all the major cutting and left painting to the master.


Luke napped and I made dinner (lasagna rolls - a family fav) while we waited for the paint to dry. Dallas' arrival home from school was timed perfectly and he was able to help with the finishing touches. (The license plate was Dal's idea - it reads "Hot Rod" but it's a little tricky to see in the pictures.)





Daddy came home to find Luke "parked" in his parking space. A day well spent. Oh, and yes, his rims are pink. It's all the rage with the 3.75 yr. olds!

Time to PLAY BALL!!!

Today was the first in an 8-week adventure in juggling two boys playing two sports at two different parks. Sadly I missed Luke Luchini's 1st ever soccer game (Go Red Robins!) but in return was witness to a crushing victory by the Green Bay Packers over the Miami Dolphins. Gooooooooooo Packers! Dallas played defense the whole game, and between snatching flags was able to entertain the sidelines with a few dance moves I've never seen before.
I lie. I have seen those moves before, but I promised Tony I'd never talk about it.

Tony helped out at Luke's soccer game, and if he is to be believed, Luke wasn't exactly thrilled with the whole experience. He enjoyed the first few minutes, then was determined not to have fun, and expressed his disappointment and frustration at being signed up for soccer in the first place.

Luckily today was the only conflict between schedules and I won't be missing any more of either boys' games. I just had to keep telling myself that surely Mrs. Manning had to choose between watching Eli or Peyton on occasion.