The Monkey Barrel

Archive for September, 2005

No matter how much we try, he just can’t say Paramount. What is clear is that John is his daddy’s son. After a full day of rides, ice cream, sittin, waitin, funnel cake, blinkey binkys, glasses and swords, our oldest boy is a roller coaster fanatic, much to his mommy’s chagrin. I only wish I wasn’t such a weiner and could enjoy places like these with my boys, but I cannot change my spots. John could not get enough of the rides and would have ridden more had the lines not been so long. He’s an adrenaline junky and so Fred finally has a theme park buddy. Mommy will have to take a shopping day on those days and let the boys be boys.

Just an update on the latest advances for Arters children. John learned how to tie his own shoes the day before yesterday. And he ties them in that children’s way of looseness that makes them have to tie and retie, and tie again. But he is so proud of himself. He can even find his own classroom without our help now. Big boy stuff I tell ya.

Luke is getting up on his hands and knees and launching forward with many face plants. He’s been shooting himself forward from his knees for a while but not with the added help of being up on his hands. I think he’s already trying to break his brother’s records. GEESH!! He can also hold his own bottle for about 2 minutes. Then he tries to feed his nostril or his eye and mommy has to take over. Big baby doins I tell ya.

Today was the first day of kindergarten. It started out around 2 a.m. with Luke crying, but we told him it wasn’t time yet and he said who cares, gimme a bottle. Expecting the same routine around 4, imagine my surprise when I woke up at 6:20 to find our alarm clock hadn’t gone off. A mad dash to the bathroom for contacts and a teeth scrubbing and then down the hall to wake up the big, school boy. He wakes up immediately, jumps in the shower, washes hair that is in sore need of a haircut, gets dressed in new duds and heads downstairs for breakfast. No milk, because mommy forgot to get to the store, so scrambled eggs and toast with water because there was also no juice. No lava eggs either because we couldn’t mess up the new duds. Mom , changes and feeds Luke, packs him into carrier, gathers assorted bags of supplies, backpack and camera, and we all cram into the car and head off to school. Strangely we notice that at 7:15 our new neighbors are headed out to the bus stop, hmmm we wonder, guess they’ll miss the bus that shows up at 7 a.m.
Get to school, take embarrassing photos every three steps, get to class and find we’re first and ridiculously early. Ms. McLamb laughs and says it’s okay and she and Mrs. Simmons welcome John and get him situated. More embarrasing photos, a tearless goodbye, and we’re out the door. He’s a kindergartener now. Five years flies by in a flash..

New Orleans
She is bleeding through her streets
Blood, sweat, tears
Pour through her veins

There aren’t enough hands
to stem the flow
and so it goes on

The dead and dying
are pouring out of her
Walking, swimming, running
They flee

She is broken
But she lives
Her heart still beats
Cajun spirit