The Smoker in the Hallway

"Mom, we learned about the smoker in the hallway." Nolan said. My first inclination was to turn around and check to see who was in the house. "Oh, you did? What did you learn?" I replied. "When you see that thing on fire and hear the noise, you should stop, drop and roll." Make sure you check the batteries in your "smoker" (smoke detector) soon! Bean dumplings for dinner tonight. Probably a pumpkin pie to follow. Plan to cozy up with the family and just veg out in front of the TV tonight... ahhhh, love it when life slows down just enough to let you enjoy it!

A FEW HOURS LATER... the bean dumplins were great! It's a family recipe passed down from Scott's grandma - and it's goooood! No pie :-( Only managed to watch one show but you just never know what will transpire at our house. Clay really struggles with math. Partly ADHD, partly - he gets it from his mother. But we try to help him the best we can to learn his facts. Did you know that the school doesn't encourage kids to memorize math facts anymore? They get number lines, touch math, use your fingers but no memorization... anyway - Clay is just starting his multiplication tables. (Which is difficult for someone who doesn't have their basic addition facts memorized!) So to keep his brain active while we help him, he and Daddy toss a soft football back and forth while memorizing facts. Of course, Nolan wants in on this action. Clay is trying so hard to focus and all the while Nolan is hollering "Dad, I'm open! Dad, I'm open!" .... I sent Nolan to his room to play until we were done helping Clay. It was bedtime but I told Nolan he could play catch with Dad for just a minute. He was tossing back and forth and Scott was drooling - he can spiral the ball with either hand. He can catch the ball pretty good too. I decide to start playing catch and he begins to critique my throws... little nerd. ;-)  Scott starts to toss them pretty good at him and he starts dropping the balls. He said "Dad that's a bully slop - could you throw it right?" Bully. Slop. Bullyslop. I'm not sure how but I am definitely going to be working that one into my vocabulary!