The Great Marble Slide

Let's start today out with a picture, shall we??

Looks like a marble slide to me, doesn't it to you?? LOL This was my kids' marvelous idea for making a marble roll seamlessly down a flight of stairs, after rebouding it off the wall that hangs over the steps, which would in turn cause it to land in an exact location on one of the books and roll effortlessly down the slope of books. Of course, Trey thought it'd be a grand idea to first try having a human slide down this using a pillow case like a burlap bag, and volunteered himself to be the first to try this.. Visions of broken bodies laying at the bottom of the staircase flashed through my mind, not to mention my husband having a heart attack as soon as he saw this creative innovation, so I had them pick up the books and put them away before anything was able to be hurled down the "slide". They reluctantly complied, but of course this had to be done in the most complicated way possible...they pushed every book down the stairs, sorted them out as to who's book was who's, and then brought them upstaris to be put away, wrapped in blankets in order to get the whole load up in one trip. Whew!!

Last night we had a lot of fun though. I brought the two older boys to the YMCA so that Trey could practice swimming, as he's wanting to be on the swim team, and I'm not wanting him to drown during practice. We arrived a full half hour early, and not wanting to sit in the pool room in a swim suit I decided that maybe shooting some hoops in the gym would make the time pass faster. What a stroke of luck! I found out that Talin is really quite talented for being 6! I was practicing blocking him, gently at first, and then more aggressively, and he always came close to making a basket when he shot! Then I gave him the idea of trying to steal the ball from me, and he tried really hard at that, too! I was thrilled beyond words to see him doing so well at something that he was happy doing! So, I hope that somehow there's a way I can get him into basketball at some point, because I think he'd really do well with that.

Then we hit the pool, and we had a great time splashing around, swimming laps, and the kids had fun having me throw them around. What a couple of little fish we have! Bub stayed home this time since he wasn't feeling 100%, and that way he could get Derrick to bed on time also, since sleeping in until 9:30 like he had the last couple of days wasn't going to be an option for him since his three year old check-up was this morning. I still can't believe that tomorrow my baby will officially be a preschooler...where does the time go?!? I still can't believe that Trey is only one foot shorter than me at 9 years old!! Other than Derrick refusing to do his eye check, or maybe not understanding what he was supposed to do, and flat out refusing his hearing screen, his exam went well. I'm not at all worried about his vision or his hearing...he can see a treat hidden under 3 feet of laundry, and he can hear the word treat spoken in a 10 mile radius! He's 3 feet tall, weighs 30 pounds, and is doing great with his speech therapy. Yay! Only 2 feet and 3 inches left, and he'll have bypassed me in the height category, too! LOL But he's healthy, and he's happy most of the time, and that's what's important. And he's potty trained during the day, which is equally important as this keeps mommy & daddy happy, and keeps mommy's sanity level healthy LOL

Speaking of potty training, I'm told that his current behavior is normal and that he'll grow out of it. This little guy will hold his poop all day until after his bath, right before bed, when a pull up is put on him. Then he will go poop in his pull up, come downstairs from bed needing to be changed. The entire time he's being cleaned up, he'll say "Eww, stinky! Poop in toilet! Eww ucky!" There is no doubt in my mind after hearing that night after night that this child knows where he should be going poop, but refuses to! UGH! The other night Bub was cleaning him up, and when he was finished, Derrick stood up, pinched his nose and said "Eww, stinky poops!" I couldn't help but laugh at the look on Bub's face! LOL Someday....someday...poopy pants will be a thing of the past. Sad thing is, knowing me I'll probably miss 'em!