Gage is Six

Gage turned Six years old this week and it literally hurts my heart to think about it. He has really changed the last few months. I can tell that he senses that he isn't a baby anymore. He gets dressed up in costumes and he likes it but then he almost looks at himself like, "What am I doing? This used to be so fun. Now not so much." Then he changes into his regular clothes and I can see written on his face that he isn't sure what to do with himself. Anyone who has raised a child past six....I could really use your input on where we go from here. He looks so tall and lean to me and his face is loosing its baby roundness. I can hardly think about the new school year and that it will mean Gage being at school all day long. What fun adventures lie ahead? Who knows, they will come whether I worry about them or not I suppose.

On his birthday we had a big birthday party. I've only had one other formal birthday party for him and that was for his 4th birthday. I just looked up the post from that and at the end I wrote that I had learned that 11 kids for 2 hours was too much. Apparently, I only learned half of that lesson because I invited 18 kids to his party and 19 came. (don't ask about the fuzzy math) I did however only have the party for 1 1/2 hours. Which meant by the time they all left it was two hours. 19 kids is as crazy as it sounds. By that I mean Crazy Fun!

A few months ago Gage saw an advertisement in a magazine for a company that brings live reptiles for a show with handling at the end. He was in love with the idea and despite my hopes that he would forget, he didn't and I booked a show. The trainer brought, 4 snakes, a taranchula, a scorpion, and 2 lizards. The kids got a chance to hold them all after the show.



The kids loved the show. There were tons of screams and then as they warmed up they slowly all wanted to touch and hold the reptiles. Me and Luke took a very reserved approach. Once Luke stopped running down the hall, he patted this Burmese Python and that was about it. I fully freaked out when I was holding the red snake "Slice" and he kept putting his tongue on my arm. I practically threw Slice at Tim. Tim somehow managed to hold onto Slice and help carry the Python. So sorry. Can't help ya there.

Allow me to introduce you to Sausage. Gage dropped Sausage during the show and screamed like a girl after the trainer was telling this intense story about how these lizards protect themselves and then he screamed unexpectedly. We all screamed too and Gage just threw both hands in the air and let Sausage fall where he may. I felt bad for Sausage. But really, you can't startle someone while they are holding a wild animal. The dude is six!

After the show we barely had time to open presents and eat some cake. I didn't see Gage open one gift because of the swarm of kids saying, "Open mine!" And after the reptile show I had no semblance of control. So I got to see what he got after they all left. I made this cake. It looked better on the recipe. I'm no Cake Boss. I thought it looked cute though.

Thanks to some generous neighbors, and their vast supply of party supplies, I turned the house into a jungle. I stayed up until 12 am the night before to decorate the house and the cake. Right when I was about to call it a night Gage woke up needing a drink of water and he was so excited to see all the decorations. It was really fun to see his anticipation. It was a great birthday for a great kid.

I love you Gage!

Overall, Not a Good Week for Luke

This past week has been so crazy I hardly know where to begin. It seems I have life finally figured out with the three kids until I add a new activity or chore. This week was Gage's birthday and I had a party. More to come on that later but it is beyond me how one little party can make my life feel so chaotic.

First in a line of accidents, Luke fell in the pool at his swimming lessons and scraped his forehead. It has a nasty scab (which by the way isn't scab the grossest word ever?) and he informs me that it is his brain.

The next day at swimming lessons I see him in a train of kids holding onto flotation devices going out into the deep end. I was a little nervous because they had combined a few classes and I said to my friend that it was way to many kids to have out in the deep end together. I was watching him like a hawk and sure enough right as he gets to the edge his grip slips and I see my little Luke's head go under the water. Luke is deathly afraid of getting his face wet. Even after two rounds of swimming lessons. His teacher has turned her back to help another child. I ran to the edge and almost jumped in but then I realized I'm not a good swimmer so I probably won't get their in time. I half way run around but that seems too far too. I decide again I should just jump in when his teacher finally noticed him. All this probably only took about 15 seconds. But I had so much adrenaline I thought I was going to throw up. Poor Luke. He told his dad that night that he sunk and almost died. His teacher asked me after the lesson was over if I saw what happened. And I gave her a piece of my mind. She apologized about 100 times and said it wouldn't happen again. It better not girly.

The next day we went to the party store to buy stuff for Gage's party and Luke was running toward me and his shoe scuffed on the carpet and he went down. Boom. He didn't even get his arms out and he landed smack on his face. His nose started gushing blood everywhere. I really appreciated all the people who asked if they could help while they looked disgusted and moved away from us. Such a big help.

The next day, Luke hit the very same nose on the tramp and again blood everywhere. By Thursday, Luke looked like he had been in a street fight. His nose was slightly swollen, his brain scab was as crusty as ever and his eyes had purple smudges under them. He didn't look himself.

Then came the grand finale. I put firework snakes in the goodie bags I gave Gage's friends for his party. Luke was so excited to get not only an invitation to Gage's party but also a goodie bag. I was taking down decorations when Tim said, "Man, Luke ate something blue!" I looked up sharply to see Luke holding the goodie bag. The only thing edible in that bag was bubble gum which is pink and microwave popcorn which we had not popped. I ran frantically over to Luke and started yelling, "spit it out, spit it out!!" Out came five little pellets that I instantly knew were fireworks. Great! I went over to the other boxes and in bold letters it says, "DO NOT PUT IN MOUTH." After I assured myself that each box only held five pellets I made that fun call to poison control. You gotta love it when they call you by name because they have you on file from the last time Luke ate something he wasn't supposed to. Well, I found out that they have Arsenic and Nitrates and a host of other things that could kill my Lukey. Since he didn't swallow a whole pellet I was just supposed to watch him and make sure he didn't turn blue or throw-up.

I don't think anything happened on Friday or Saturday so maybe Luke will live to see his own birthday?

What Is It About These Green Boots?

Recently, Luke discovered these green boots, in my stored clothes, that Gage wore when he was Luke's age. Both boys have loved these boots. Gage wore them everyday for year. Although never with his swimming suit. That is quite the look that Luke has going on. It is the best $14.50 I have ever spent at Old Navy.