Happy Leap Day!

I hope everyone had a great leap day.  For this special occasion, I made Riley and Tanner Leap Day cupcakes for their classes.  What...what's that you say? Leap Year isn't really an "occasion"?  Well, all I can say to that is...I look for reasons to bake and this one seems pretty good to me :)

A Masterpiece By Riley

I love my children's artwork!  We have many frames around the house displaying their masterpieces.  We change them out periodically and put the old pictures into a folder.  One day I am going to make a bound book of all of my children's art.

Riley brought this gem home from school today.  It is not going to be framed, but is going to the art folder.  Before it gets tucked away, I had to scan it and put it on the blog.  I sure wish I had a robot to do my chors and make me more gold!  I could do without my toys coming alive though...that kind of thing is not for the faint of heart!

Tanner Stats

I took Tanner to the doctor today for his Kindergarten check up.  He is 90th % for both weight and height...measuring in at an unbelievable 46-lbs and 46".  The doctor was asking him a whole bunch of questions like "What do we do when we're hungry?"  "If hot chocolate is hot, then ice is ____________"  All was going well until he asked Tanner what clothes are for.  I inwardly cringed, waiting to hear what would pop out of this child's mouth.

Tans: "Oh, clothes are to cover up all the bad stuff that you don't want people to see"
Doc: "Well, it's not 'bad', it's just private"
Tans: (doesn't miss a beat) "Yeah, like your poop.  People don't want to see your poop."
Mom: cringe...
Doc: "Well, you are definitely right about that."

I think it is safe to say that Tanner is definitely ready for kindergarten...and so am I!!!

Ava Brushes Her Teeth

Here is just a little video for all my family who never get to see our baby girl.  She is growing up SUPER fast!  I swear we blinked and she turned from a baby into a little girl.  It's crazy I tell you...CRAZY!

Menu...Tuesday?!?!?

I just rolled back into town last night (more on that later) and now, after the gym and grocery shopping, have my menu all planned for the week.  (Isn't it amazing how a little time away can revitalize you!)  And might I just take a moment to comment on how EXPENSIVE groceries are!!!!  What I normally could get for $75, I now get for $125.  If I just didn't feel the need to buy fresh fruits and vegetables then I'm sure I could get my bill down to around $45, but alas, I just really love bananas...and cucumbers...and oranges...and tomatoes...and asparagus...and broccoli!  Not to mention all the perishables like cheese and milk and yogurt.  What would I do without my daily dose of dairy...it would not be pretty!

Anyway, back to the menu.  I think I have some good ones this week:

• Tuesday: Turkey Burgers and FRESH Green Salad
• Wednesday: Calzones and FRESH Asparagus
• Thursday: Eggs and Hash Browns and FRESH Fruit
• Friday: Chicken Alfredo and FRESH Steamed Broccoli
• Saturday: Paninis and Chips (okay, not so FRESH, but still tasty!)
• Sunday: Chicken Cordon Blue Bake and FRESH New Potatoes and Peas (of the frozen variety!)

Family Wrestle Time

Here at the Register household, there is something that you can count on happening every night...wrestling!  We have our family scripture reading, then family prayer and before we can even finish saying "Amen", Tanner is up and jumping on Todd's back.  Riley usually stands back and lets Tanner make the first assault and then launches in on Todd while his hands are busy. Cunning little devil!  They wrestle and then they ALWAYS get piggy back rides up to bed. Todd has given piggy back rides to bed for the better part of 4-years.  I think it's safe to say that he has many, many years ahead of carrying children on his back up to their bed.  Gotta love family traditions!

Family Talk

Here's the conversation from our dinner table tonight:

Riley: Mom, where is the most beautifulest place on earth?
Mom: Well, that depends on who you're asking.
Tanner: Mom, the most beautifulest place on earth is the Temple
Mom: (why didn't I think of that?!?!)
Riley: Is that true?
Mom: Absolutely!
Riley: I was going to say that too.

About A Boy

Some interesting things have been happening with this boy here:

First of all, we have just found out that Riley has perfect pitch.  For a frame of reference, about 1 in 10000 Americans have perfect pitch.  I sat down at the piano yesterday, per my grandma's suggestion, and had Riley sit on the couch and close his eyes.  I played a note and asked him to tell me what it was, without looking.  I played 8 or so notes and he got every single one of them right!  I was blown away.  So, then I started playing broken chords in 3 note increments and asked him to tell me what they were, in order of how I played them.  And wouldn't you know it, he got those correct too.  Crazy!

On another note...no pun intended...today was Riley's parent teacher conference.  Riley is in the top 98-100% for the first graders in his school.  We have been getting Riley tested for everything under the sun over the last 6-months due to his behavior issues (that he was born with!)  Everything from Aspergers to Epilepsy.  ALL testing has come back negative.  So, now we are going to have his IQ tested at his school.  Maybe this will be our explanation.  We'll see.

Riley wrote us a note that his teacher gave me at our conference.  Here is what it said:

Dear Mom and Dad, 

    Thank you for coming for conferences.  The 2 things I am doing well at is reading and math.  The 2 things I need to work on is ______________ and _________________.  Thank you for helping me with work.  

                          Love, Riley

His teacher and I laughed and laughed.  She had no idea that he didn't put anything in the "needs work" category.  Apparently Todd and I have helped Riley so much with his "work" that he has nothing else to work on.  Man, we are GREAT parents! I had no idea...(are you hearing my sarcasm as it screams from this post?) 

I predict great things in this boy's future....

My Feisty Girl

Here is a conversation that happened in our car the other day when I picked Riley up from school:

Ava:  I'm the princess, Riley is the King....and Tanner is the frog
Riley:  (laughing)
Tanner:  Whaaat?  Noooo!  I don't want to be the frog
Ava:  Um yes.  Tanner, you the frog.