Casino under water

The Midwest floods saw structures and buildings such as this casino, literally go under! It's located in the city, right next to the Mississipi river which crested on Sunday.

See that stop-sign? It's almost submerged!


Look how high the water levels are!


And just early last week, news of the waters reaching up to the steps of The Arch, St Louis' iconic landmark, made headlines.

You don't get a very good picture of the water rising, from these shots of The Arch I'd snapped from the highway as we drove off. But it was the closest we got to it, when dark clouds loomed and a storm followed.

First pets

I took the boys to the pet store the other day.

But no, I didn't completely let them have their way. Told Jon and Ben to ask me again when they are 12 and 14, whether they can have a corn-snake and an iguana when they turn 13 and 15!

Here's what we brought home...


Jon called his lil critter "Josh Joe Justin", or "Josh" for short, after his camp counsellors.

And Ben, thinking Jon had chosen "Josh" because it is the first name of their head of school, named his critter after the principal's last name, "Mr C"!

So, there is some truth that children like to name their pets after people they are fond of =).

Quite quickly settled into its new home, Josh scaling this tree one night!


Do you or your child(ren) keep a crabitat, also? Or some pet that's kid-friendly, relatively low-maintenance, but which you are still the primary caregiver? ;p

Back at the store, when we were ready to check out, I saw Ben from the corner of my eye holding precariously onto one of those huge wine glasses of an aquarium he'd swiped off the shelves when I wasn't watching him. And at that moment, I knew that having pets may teach a bit of responsibility to the kids, but not without parental supervision! Who am I kidding, right?

Good thing it's not a dog or a cat that will be the last things we can manage right now. But I was just thinking, if getting two hermit crabs has to wait till I'm on top of my chores, or till the boys are more obedient and not fighting as much, then there will be so many other things we'll have to wait forever to do! Know what I mean?

Still, every day since we've got Josh and Mr C, I've not stopped asking Jon and Ben to go check, "Are your pets still alive?"!!!

It's working for us so far...
Besides storebought powdered food (think fish feed), Josh more than Mr C will eat a bit of peanut butter and apple.

With a little creativity and so that it's easier on the wallet, the trees and other playthings to provide some cover for the hermit crabs to hide in or under, came from our boys' toy stash. And because ordinary play sand works fine as the substrate, we eventually returned the starter-kit to the store as most of the items turned out to be trial-size only.

Maybe you have some advice/suggestions to offer? =)

More than play and play

While Ben's safety town programme ended a week ago, big brother Jon gets his share of "play and play" with other children his age and older, at a playground programme that's all about fun and games.

Only thing, he would get a bump one day, and a bruise the next, and twice at pick-up time I had to be briefed over the incidents.

Not that I don't worry. Or wish Jon won't always trudge back so much dirt and mud. This is my child, from when he was very little, will collect sand and rocks in his pockets, and enjoys (still does) lying down in the playground to make gravel(!) angels, as much as he does (after coming here) snow angels! Up till before summer started, he was still ripping his long pants at the knee, I hadn't stopped using iron-on patches to salvage them for a few more wears. He's also notorious for wearing out his sneakers, from all that kicking around -- his record is less than two weeks into starting a new pair! And we just had to tell him to take better care of his things!

Play and pray...
Still, rugged as boys are, and some girls more than others, I know that beyond just the "play and play" for Jon, and Ben, it's also about "pray and pray" for me the mom. And Bkworm's recent reminder "When He Plays, She Prays" doesn't come a moment too soon.

My kids are young, yes, but I'm seeing more and more that their emotional needs are much trickier than the everyday physical ones -- sapping as those are, but still more straightforward nonetheless, to meet. It's almost a whole new ball game when it touches on how they feel, and believe it or not, I've already got a foretaste of the "Mom, you don't get me!", and boy, does it feel not so good.

Parenthood just gets tougher as our children grow, doesn't it? I don't think moms or dads ever stop worrying, but we want to let our babies take own steps, make their own decisions, so they know that life has its ups and downs, and the world is not a perfect one.

Whatever stage your child's at, may God be our guide always!

Shots that Jon asked me afterwards how come he didn't know I'd taken. Oh, just mommy watching him from a distance, and knowing he's doing OK! ;p


It's Jon's first time at the day camp...
And there was one particular case of "I struggled in the water, but the lifeguard didn't come to help me", despite his cries -- that was the single most important one we had to bring to the attention of his camp counsellors. It had somehow escaped their radar.

There were other incidents Jon complained to us about, besides a badly scraped knee that I could tell must hurt quite a bit. And he did make it sound like he might give up the camp midway. I'm glad he's stuck to it though.

At the very next pick-up from the pool, when I asked him how that afternoon had gone, he said as if the earlier near-drowning scare was a thing of the distant past, "Oh, it was OK... I prayed on the way there."

And now, even Ben will be sure to add in our prayer, for God to "keep us safe"... wherever we are, whatever we do! =)

A shot of the brothers, on the day the safety town BBQ was held at the park where most of the playground programme's activities take place...

"I'm a safety town kid!"

Last Friday, Ben "graduated" from the safety town programme run by our neighbourhood police. He'd been through it last year, with Jon, and me by his side because he was younger then but the officer-in-charge had welcomed him to join in the fun.

Now that Ben is 4, and though Jon had outgrown the programme, I didn't want to buy Ben's excuse of, "Because I need you to carry me on the walks" for me to stay with him throughout the two hours every day. And thankfully, from Day 2 this time round, when his daddy did a better job at allaying Ben's separation anxiety, we were able to drop him off.



The 1+ hour, or even less, left from the driving, meant some crazy schedules for us -- and for me, a tight window for a simple chore, or a quick grocery stop, and I'd have to go get Ben already!

But three months of summer is a long time for this mom to try and keep Ben or Jon occupied on my own day in day out. And I appreciate that this activity helped give Ben some playtime as well as the opportunity to interact with other kids, almost every morning while it was held in the last two weeks.



And though Ben wasn't always as enthusiastic about it this second time, it was still nice to catch those moments when he would be all smiles! Like when he finally got a turn at "Duck, duck, goose", and see how he beamed, knowing he was getting some hot dog at the cookout.

Or simply for me to know he had completed some walk without needing to be carried, and I'd tell him, how well I thought he'd done, and he's not such a little boy anymore! (Ben is still quite the baby, but I'm trying not to have to hurry him into growing up).

Ben's favourite part of the programme is the cookout, that's a special treat for all the children. Also, because he's quite a BBQ person! =)

Cool hot wheels!

Not these cute mini ones...

that helped Ben eat his beef stew dinner just now (for him, noodles always work better than rice when it comes to stews and braised dishes)...

But the St Louis-based Big Foot, that's the biggest monster truck in the world!


We saw it up-close for the first time, and heard it rev its really loud (and I mean loooooud!!!) engine! All part of a truck exhibition at the Science Centre, that was wrapping up when we got there on Father's Day.

We must have hung around for at least 20, maybe 30 minutes, along with some other kids, mostly boys, and their parents, (and me trying not to yawn big YAWNS), as we watched Big Foot taken apart...

Wheel after wheel coming off, and every wheel getting hauled into the long vehicle with the help of a pulley:


But no, I don't know a boy who doesn't like trucks.

Finally, Big Foot itself minus its humungous wheels was ready to be loaded onto the semi, too, and driven off!

You didn't, for one moment -- like me, think that Big Foot would change to a smaller set of wheels, and hit the road separately? ;p

What else is cool...

"Monster-eye" tattoos...

Ben and Jon were the last kids to get these at the truck exhibition, just before it closed.

How it's done: sprayed on, with that stencil!


And DIY iron-ons... can be pretty cool, too!

This was the one piece of garment I made sure I pressed, and it was in the early hours on Father's Day when I finally found the time to do it, even though I haven't finished ironing our last two weeks' clothes!

It worked for me:
It was six months ago when I first explored T-shirt transfers like this one, and turned pictures of friends I could get hold of (without them knowing), into semi-homemade gifts for Christmas.

Each piece involved a simple design (I used Photoshop) plus caption (that was my favourite part to come up with), before I could iron it onto the medium of my choice (e.g. apron, bag -- storebought though, because it's not easy to squeeze in time for projects like this).

I will really like to make Jon and Ben their own, too, before my hands get even fuller, quite soon!

Backyard Fun

Friends, Food, Fun -- that was our recipe for Father's Day, the eve actually, when we got together with another family for some R&R in the backyard!

We did a barbecue... and it worked, to my advantage! I marinaded the meat the night before, did the rest of the preparations on the day itself, then, left all the grilling to Vern (the only cooking he'll tell you he knows to do, but I'm not complaining, erm, not yet)...



We had some classic stuff that's great on the grill, and other things, like fruits, that the kids could snack on, while waiting for the food to be cooked...




But what's a BBQ without some roasted marshmallows, too?

Carolyn and Hope's dad shows us the trueblue boys' scouts way...

but guess which version -- on twig, or skewer, I'm more comfortable eating? ;p

And one thing leads to another... (see that grin on Jon's face?)...

he and Ben do their Bear Grylls (of "Man vs. Wild") thing...


Hope patting Freckles, the neighbour's dog, and that's our tiger lily we planted from bulbs that a friend gave us two years ago...


The kids also played ball, flew some kitchen-roll inspired rockets that Vern had built for Ben earlier that day, but...

The night was still young!

Ben turns on the hose, and the boys and the girls all get wet! One by one, Carolyn's next, every one of them has a go at spraying it at every one else!


And we didn't head back indoors until the fireflies came out to play also!

Then, ending the evening with these Maggie Moo's icecream muffins, that our guests brought... so sweet of them!

Yes, more eating, hehe! =)

Like father, like sons

Above: At Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Museum, the other place we visited in Branson last weekend, the boys getting a kick out of comparing their shoe sizes with that of the tallest man, after seeing their daddy do it first (inset)!




It's Father's Day! Wishing all dads a great time with your family -- our own dad who inspires us, and also the dad of our children who inspires them -- to be just like Daddy, and much more!

From my own dad, I know that fathers never stop worrying about their children, no matter how big we've grown. And well, it's in my genes, worrying. Yet my Pa's latest fatherly advice to me was, "Don't worry, be happy!" =)!

And for the busy people that fathers are, don't we love and appreciate them even more when they carve out time for the family?

I am especially thankful for the doting dad that Vern is to Jon and Ben, and do like to ask him to help me with them more than with everyday chores and errands. Because the boys love being with Daddy, and he's just great with them!

It's true, daddies do lend that different dimension, our kids will attest, that's not quite the same as what us mommies offer! Simply put, we can't fill those shoes! ;p

Have a special day, all dads out there, because you are special!!!

***

And just how special is Daddy? Let's hear it from Ben!

Vern is chasing Ben down the hall...

Vern: Come back, you haven't brushed your teeth!

Ben: I don't want to! I want to be as stinky as you!!!

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