Tag: Caleb

Fa, la, la, la, la!

The other day we went to the elementary school winter concert. I was amazed by how many parents (both moms and dads) were in attendance at 2pm on a workday. I guess when you put such a high value on education that you’re willing to pay big bucks for it, you take advantage of every opportunity to see if your investment is paying off.

The hour long concert featured songs performed by each grade, plus a few group numbers at the beginning and the end.


2nd grade


4th grade


combined choirs

Their singing was better than our camera work, but I’ll blame it on the squirmy baby who was not nearly as fascinated by the concert as we were.

And for those of you who either can’t or don’t want to sit through the videos (I don’t blame you — there’s something about sharing DNA that magically makes these events tolerable) the following photos are for you:

He totally knew I was taking a picture of him even though I was all the way across the gym. Love that smile.

Wearing cousin Mia’s dress — can’t believe she was ever this small!
Singing his little heart out. I loved watching him sing with so much energy that his entire body moved. 

Carter was pretty far away from me so all of the photos I took of him had large balding heads in the foreground. This is the best of them.

And if you made it this far, your reward is another nausea-inducing video. No really, you might want to slap one of those seasick patches on before you watch this since the swaying of the kids plus the swaying of the camera is quite a combination. Maybe next time we’ll spring for a tripod. No, we won’t. I’m not going to be that parent. (I’m also not going to be the parent holding an iPad in the air to film it — there were several of those too.)

sick

Early this morning we were awakened by the sweet sounds of vomit being spewed from somewhere down the hall. Josh raced out of the room to help the unknown victim (although odds were on Caleb since he had thrown up the night before and Calvin, while feverish, hadn’t displayed any signs of puking) and I heard a loud thud and a small voice ask, “are you OK?”

So I dash out of bed and see Josh lying on the tile at the end of the hallway. He slipped in the vomit in the hallway (as Caleb had almost made it to the bathroom before throwing up) and landed hard, slamming his foot into the doorjamb, cracking a toenail in the process.

The commotion woke Carter, who immediately wanted to know if he could go open his Lego and chocolate advent calendars (really?!), and the baby who had been sleeping next to me. By the time Caleb and Josh showered off I had gotten the baby back to sleep, but then I was wide awake.

So much for a relaxing weekend spent sleeping in . . .

raising them right

Occasionally there are issues on the school bus — especially because the bus is mixed with students from Elementary, Middle, and High School. Today my three got off the bus, the younger two in tears because they got in a fight with one of the high school boys who was picking on one of their friends.

Caleb was upset because the 9th grader was swearing at him and giving him the finger and Caleb confessed, “Mom, I spelled ‘S, H, I, T’ at him because I know I’m not supposed to say it.”

At least his spelling is improving . . .

Breakfast with Santa

This morning we walked over to the MEA (American club) to have breakfast with Santa. The biggest draw for us wasn’t Santa, but bacon. It’s the only place in town I know of where we can have real bacon with our eggs. Everywhere else serves either turkey bacon (eh) or beef bacon (which tastes strangely like beef jerky).

Another storm is on the way. Last year Muscat got almost no rain, but this year we’ve been hit by the edges of a few tropical storms. 

Camille was excited to be out and walking on her own instead of up in the Ergo or in the stroller.

We arrived, ate awesome pancakes (blueberry, chocolate chip, and apple in addition to regular ones), eggs, potatoes, and bacon and waited for Santa to arrive. When Calvin and Carter were little we didn’t do the whole Santa thing (made easier by the fact that Calvin was deathly afraid of Santa for several years), but in my old age I have lightened up. They still don’t believe in Santa, but if they want to go sit on Santa’s lap and tell him that they want Harry Potter Legos (Caleb), then rock on. 
Who’s this strange guy in the red suit, coming up the ramp? 

not a fan

It’s much safer up here in Dad’s lap . . .

If I don’t look at Santa, maybe he won’t look at me.

Caleb was sure to tell Santa that he wanted the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The other boys just got in the photo to humor me. 

Then the kids played with all their friends for the rest of the morning. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Happy Meals

Caleb was invited to a classmate’s birthday party. He was so excited to find that the party was taking place at his favorite restaurant, “the yellow M.” We arrived to find a McDonald’s packed with 30 screaming 1st and 2nd grade little girls.

She wanted to be one of the dancing, balloon waving partiers too, but settled for an ice cream cone instead.

She’s clapping along with Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” 

Caleb has always been a ladies man. I think there were 2 or 3 other boys at the party, but he was surrounded by girls all night. He has two other birthday parties coming up that are all-girl parties, plus him. They just really seem to like him.

Calvin was the lucky beneficiary of a parent/teacher conference right before we went to the party. Josh is holding the teacher recommended flash cards. At least Calvin has the same problems with math at school as he had with me teaching him at home so I can file that one under: Not My Fault