Rummy!

So instead of 22.75 hours of video games, we decided Vern could use some other stimuli.  We decided playing cards could take some time.

On Christmas the entire family played UNO. Vern learned this a couple years ago and loves playing it. It is something he can do with the family and feel like a "grown up".

Last night we had him branch out to a new game - rummy.  He didn't understand at first so I continued to assist him for a few games.

Towards the end of the night he had a handful of cards and drew a good card where he got a straight to lay down. He looks over at me proud as punch and says "Hey mom, I am finally making some progression."

How he came up with that term who knows. I just smiled and agreed. He ended up winning the game much to his sister Ann's shirgrin. She had to say "Well (puff of air), he only won because YOU helped him!"

Tonight he decided the football game was more important than card playing so the rest of us played King's Corner while he lounged on the couch with the remote in his hand and scratching with the other.  Males...

A good boy.

Vern had a good Christmas.  He was probably happiest with his DS.

Enjoy photos.

I GOT MY DSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Showing Grandma how to use DS.

With Abby

Vern made for me and Superman.

With the cousins

Merry Christmas!

I thought this would be good for a blog.

Enjoy!

Full of excuses

Now with a heading like that you would think I had a great story on Vern.

Turns out - nope... It is ALLLL me.

Work has been brutal. Tons of hours. Plus toss in a work trip to Salt Lake City last week. Not only did I train all week, I was ill the entire time.  So when I got to my hotel room (always after 7pm.) I just went to bed.

Personal life - just as bad.  The health problems I mentioned above plus other stuff just not appropriate for this blog.

Vern - he has been trying on his reading. He has made his minutes and scored well on tests for reading.  Some of his other classes are not to great but he is trying.

We are all anxiously awaiting Santa!!!!

TAKE - IT - BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did it. I was a mean mommy.

I told Vern that the bed was his Christmas present.

He acted shocked! "WHAT?!?!?!?!? NO WAY!"

He tried to change what we had agreed upon.  "MOMMMMMMM, I said I would wait until AFTER Christmas."

His voice became louder and louder.

"You mean I don't get any other presents?"

More whine with each word.

I couldn't help it....I started giggling.

Finally it got to this... "PLEASE TAKE IT BACK MOMMMMMMMMMMMMM."

I am going straight to H*ll when I die.

ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Every morning for the past few months it has been the same thing.

"Mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, my back hurts. Will you crack my back? I don't like my bed."

I kept hoping it was a phase. No such luck. He even said he would give up Christmas gifts to get a new bed.  THAT means Vern is serious.

So this weekend while Vern was at his dad's Superman and myself went shopping. We saw a good deal and picked it up.  Unfortunately we did not get it all set up for him but at least it is in his room.  I am going to be a very naughty mom and tell him.....

"MERRY CHRISTMAS Early VERN!!!"  Just to see what he does.


Guess there will be coal in MY stocking this year. (Giggling mom)

Happy Thanksgiving

Vern had a good Thanksgiving holiday.  He was able to spend time with all his family.

He helped decorate for Christmas.

We watched some awesome movies - tonight a classic - E.T.  He LOVES IT!!!

He asked me if I had done any Christmas shopping yet. I said for who?  Vern says...well um  for me, John, and Ann.

I said well maybe ;-) ;-)

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Drama Queens

Vern and Ann fight more than any brother and sister should. I am telling you YIKES!  90% of the time they are at each other, be it bickering, name calling, he said/she said, poking, touching, and all out fighting.
THEY
DO
IT!

It doesn't even matter that they know I will punish them. The punishement seems like a minor inconvience to them.  It is like, "Oh look, mom is going to punish me. Let's get this overwith so I can go back to my true calling in life, bugging (insert either child's name here)"

Last week Ann got into trouble for leaving Vern stranded in the bathroom and drawing blood.  Today Vern would not stop bugging Ann no matter how many times I tried to reason with him.

Today they were both in tears and screaming at the top of their lungs. I finally gave up and tuned it out.
They both went to bed mad at the world.

***SIGH***

Swirleys anyone?

I don't know if it a LOT of boys or just this one I happen to be blessed with, but flushing a toilet is such a foreign concept to Vern.
We talk.
We put up posters.
We yell.
We talk some more.

And still we get the surprises in the bathroom.


*********************SCREAM*****************************
and running from the bathroom from Ann. Followed by:
"Vern is the most disgusting thing. He didn't flush again and it smells and its gross and I AM NOT cleaning that up!"

Son #1, John, has always flushed and washed his hands.

Earlier this fall after one particular incident where I was lucky enough to find the remains, Superman and myself actually picked him up and put his head near the toilet as I flushed in an attempt to give him a swirley.  He screamed like a girl and he flushed for a week straight.

I think that swirley has worn off.  He is back to his old ways. :-(

We put up a new sign in the bathroom to flush and wash. I have my doubts it will work.  I have even had him clean the toilet multiple times and it still doesn't sink in.

Maybe its time for the next swirley where we actually get him wet???

Happy Birthday Vern!

Hey now, I don't care if I over use the exclamation point!!!!!
That is the kind of person I am. If you know DA MOM then you know my life is like an exclamation point and I like expressing myself in the same manner in writing!!!!

Ok, so I also digress here and there...back to the blog at hand.


Today was Vern's 10th birthday.  I think he had a good day.  He woke up chipper and couldn't wait to open presents.  They never wait until nighttime for cake and then presents. No, my children hop out of bed, get dressed and run to the kitchen for presents!!!!  GIVE THEM NOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

"Hi, I am awake and smiling..Ok so I may be faking really being awake but come on its 6:30 am and I just got out of bed. Can I have some slack?"

"You got me, yes I am really awake. I got my nerf tommy gun that I have been asking for!!!! SWEET. Can I shoot Larry?"

"My sister got me all these gifts, but come on a pumpkin???"

"DUDE, I got the cake I requested - chocolate with chocolate frosting!"

(Side note, DA MOM made this from scratch meaning not from a box. The frosting is real butter frosting from scratch also. It was amazing. No chemical taste.)

"What? I have to blow all these out in one breath? Let's hope I don't catch my chest hair on fire."

We also had a night of Wii Guitar Hero and Vern got to pick the meal. He chose hamburgers on buns, green beans, and potato chips.

HAPPY 10th Birthday Vern!!!!!

WHO is this kid?

Friday, I fell out of my chair and hurt myself.

I could NOT believe what I read in an email from Vern's teacher.

I had written her a note asking if she would please get him his homework for Monday as he was going to miss school.  (He was going to his reward professional football game for doing well in school.)

Not only did she give him his homework but Vern decided to miss his recess and get ALL his homework done while he was still in school!!!

Now take one minute and digest what I just typed. HE - GAVE -UP - HIS - RECESS to do homework.  Recess is his F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E subject in school. He has told me this.  Sometimes I see little glimmers of hope for this boy.

Part II of the Blog.

He had a blast at the game. Here are a couple pictures his dad sent.

The ViQueens even won but it took overtime. Good game for Vern to see!  (Ya, I am not a ViQueen fan.)

Boys

Why God Made Little Boys

Author: Unknown

God made the world out of His dreams

Of magic mountains, oceans and streams,

Prairies and plans and wooded land,

Then paused and thought "I need someone to stand

On top of mountains, to conquer the seas,

Explore the plains and climb the trees.

Someone to start out small and to grow,

Sturdy, strong as a tree…" And so,

He created boys, full of spirit and fun,

To explore and conquer, to romp and run.

With dirty faces and banged up chins,

With courageous hearts and boyish grins.

When He had completed the task He'd begun

He surely said "A job well done".

Liar, Liar his pants are on fire...

Well Vern is back to his old ways only a week done with football. It makes me kinda sad. 

First is this past weekend. Does 0 homework. His dad gets on him to do his homework so he can do trick or treating. He does an itty bitty part of homework, says its all done with a totally straight face to his dad - gets to go trick or treating. Homework no where near done.

Monday - work bad for me. I call and say homework must be done or no scouts. Call MULTIPLE times to make sure he is working and getting it done. He assures me he is and it is done except for one worksheet he needs help with. I say ok.

I am late getting home, glance at his homework tell him to grab his worksheet, guitar and get into the car.

ZOOM - we ran off to guitar lessons. He comes out after his lesson and I say where is the worksheet?  He looks at me and says "Oh you wanted me to bring the worksheet?"  I was FUMING!  We go to Scouts next.

I lecture him on the way home and told him he will be punished for lying. I have no idea what punishment to give this boy.

I am back to being frustrated on what to do with this boy. He lies to everyone with a straight face and when caught just says "I'm sorry" and expects to be forgiven.

I asked him tonight why he lied to us about his homework and I don't know was not an answer. He finally said that he doesn't do his homework because he likes me helping him at night. We have "all" this time to do it now that there isn't football.

We settled on him trying to get his homework done so we can do "fun" things he picks out after I get home at night.

Other Ideas???

The toilet bowl!

Well today was the last game of the season - two 0-6 teams battling it out for bottom of the bowl.  It was typical last game weather with cold, wind, and misty rain on and off. Can you tell?

It started off quite the defensive battle with no one scoring until second quarter when Vern's team scored!  You should have heard us all cheering.  This was the first time the team scored in the first half and first!

 

There is one thing both teams could have done with less of:

the DREADED yellow flag.



 I mean to tell you there was one referee that took his job a bit to serious with 9 year olds. We had more flags with this game than the entire season!  Both teams got first downs on flags alone. One time the other ref called him over to no avial... The announcer even said "This is a FRIENDSHIP bowl."  I think the fans got it but the bad ref didn't.

Just a photo of Vern running. Poor guy was so tired he could barely eat his dinner. He took a shower, I read a couple chapters to him and he was asleep before 8pm!

Here is Vern in on a tackle/fumble recovery.

And here is what you have been waiting for...................................................

THEY WONNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20-0

A team photo.

A cute closeup of Vern.

GREAT SEASON VERN.

Good news!

The last game Saturday is against another 0-6 team!!! It is an away game but should be a good game with both teams sucking!

I'm pumped all ready.

DA MOM

More of the same...

I am sure you open the blog and think - AGAIN? How many times can this woman talk about her son and his football games?  Well thankfully football season is almost over and I am sure Vern will entertain us with other stories but for now you will just have to put up with DA MOM talking about football.

I mean I have to say I am a football fan in general. I like watching the games and cheering various teams. Heck I even paid $$$ to be in a fantasy league so yes, I do enjoy football. Then you add the factor in of your son playing it. OMG - it takes football to an entire new level.  I can't wait to go to the games. I can't wait to see him on the field. I can't wait to brag about him here on the blog. Yep - certifiable, thats me! :-)

I am even still typing about this every week AND they have a losing season.  Yes, this week was another loss.  BUT on a high note, they did score a touchdown and they did get the extra point which was another first this week. SEEEE, they DOOOO make progress, abiet in small tiny baby steps.

Vern had another good game. He recovered two fumbles!  He was beat after this game. I should have taken a picture of him. You could just see how tired he was.  I have to give some overdue credit here - a friend of mine told me Vern needs an outlet to get rid of some of his frustrations and energy.  Seems like we have found that outlet.  Now...what to do the other 9 months of the year!

Some photos follow.

Always first one to the line.

Yes, there was a girl on the red team - see her long hair?

Hey, at least they scored!

Under the lights

Vern had a makeup game tonight. He played his first game under the lights. They of course lost again but were successful in completing a pass and achieving a few first downs and even another touchdown in the last minute of the game!

Vern had some good tackles and a sack. I really do enjoy watching him play but darn it is getting chilly in the evenings!

DA MOM

Vern had a game Saturday. The team actually scored a touch down!!!!! WOOT WOOT WOOOT.

Unfortunately they still lost the game 6-26.  I only have a couple pictures of the game but none loaded to computer yet.  It has been a rush - rush - rush weekend.

I DOOOOO happen to have a picture uploaded of Vern that did turn out this weekend. You see his mom got married to a wonderful man. Vern looks extremly dashing in his tuxedo. Oh wait, I am DA MOM and I am biased. Anyway, I am sure more photos will trickle in but here is one of him I have now.

Oh and one of ME. :-)

Trounced!

I don't even know if that is a real word - trounced but that is what happened to the boys at their game Saturday.  The first time the other team got the ball they scored and it was all down hill from there for our boys.  They did not make one first down and on most downs it was 4th and 15 or 4th and 20. You can see how the entire game went.  The boys looked pretty deflated by end of first quarter and they had 3 more to play.  I was looking for a cloud with lightning in it just to get the game overwith. No such luck - bright blue skies...

His grandpa showed up for the game and enjoyed it.  Larry even heard some other parent say wow, that 55 is pretty good. So all was not lost - just the game.

Vern was one of the captains this week so he got to participate in the coin toss. I haven't asked him how he liked that yet.

Anyway the final was 46-0. Ouch.  Here are some photos to enjoy.

On special teams - kickoff.

Vern recoved one fumble during the game.

Vern and a coach looking on in dispair.

The final.

Trounced.

Rainout

Well we showed up an hour ahead of time as scheduled.

Vern practiced and was all ready to go when  FLASH!

Lightning so pause game for 20 minutes.

Gulley washer hit.

Game called off to hopefully be rescheduled in the next week or so.

But do not dispair. I did take some photos a couple weeks ago when we missed out on "official" pictures. I think they turned out well for just me taking them.

What do you think?

The season not looking too good.

Vern's team had another disappointing loss this week. I missed it as I was attending a parade Ann was martching in.  Vern's dad sent some photos which I will include here. I guess Vern himself had a good game. He had some tackles of the running backs and even a sack on the quarter back!

It was very cold and rainy. Amazing the difference one week makes.

Looks like Vern is on the left.

Great tackle!

Game over. Looks like he has a bit of attitude.

More responsible

Out of necessity Vern has had to take on more responsibility.

No he still forgets to go to the bathroom before we go some where unless he is told.

No he still forgets to take his allergy pills unless told.

No he STILL forgets to flush regulary and wash his hands.

What's left you may think...

Ann has had early marching band so John takes her to school early. (He has activities also.) That leaves poor Vern to fend for himself for about 20 minutes.

He has done fantastic! Now occasionally there is a light left on but for the most part, he has done well. He does his reading and guitar practicing. Manages to get his backpack together and up to the bus on time. He even calls to check to see if he should head up at a certain time.

As a treat, I let him watch TV this morning. Everyone was happy! 

Good Job Vern.

Another loss

Vern has game 2 under his belt. They looked much better this week than last game but they still had a disappointing loss.

This game was not interrupted by a train but rather the rescue/fire whistle blaring 1 block away not once but twice for multiple minutes each time. Oh my ears....

Vern made a few good tackles and had his name announced by the announcer a few times. He told me later he liked hearing that!

Vern had a good hit at the end of the game but hurt his thumb so was out the last few seconds of the last quarter.

Here are a few photos from the big game.

Pumped and ready to go.

Focused on winning.

Getting directions from coach. He is on right side of coach and the other big guy is on the left of coach. They are the teams 1-2 punch.

What game is complete without cute cheerleaders?

Both Vern and #25 were hurt on the same play near end of the game.

Another disappointing loss.

One tired boy.