Do 6yo Boys Dream of Electric Sheep? Nope.

He's part of our team....

Mrs. LIAYF came into our bedroom trying to hold back her laughter last night.  "What's funny?" I asked.

Once she told me, I laughed too.  It was perfect.

Allow me to backtrack just a bit.  It's been unseasonably hot here in Seattle recently, reaching the 80's most of the week, but cooling down in the evening.  So, when we put Lukas to bed last night we left his window open to cool off his room.

Then at about midnight, my wife went in to close his window before coming to bed herself.  She doesn't normally walk into his room in the middle of the night, so her entering obviously startled Lukas.

But didn't wake him up.

Instead, he sat up quickly, still glossy eyed and fully asleep.  That's when he sang out "EVERYTHING IS AWESOME" before falling immediately back to a prone position once again into his deep sleep.  That, of course, if the catch line from the LEGO Movie song and gets sung around here all the time these days.

He didn't remember any of this.

Too funny.  We've always said this boy dreams about LEGO, but we weren't meaning it literally.  Now we have proof.

Yes, everything IS awesome.  Especially our son.

Free Hugs

Lukas and I stopped in to pick up Annabelle a yesterday at her day care center.  Once we had punched in the secret code to the front door, signed her out, navigated the hallway, and entered the main room where the toddlers are usually congregating, we didn't immediately see her.

Of course, we wondered where she was.

It was at that time that both he and I heard emphatic crying from another room.  "Is that Annabelle?" Lukas asked.  "Maybe, but there are a lot of babies in here bud, so it could be anyone." I responded.

At that point we opened, door #3 (really, it was the third door we had to open to that point) and there, in front of us, was a small fry crying his eyes out.  Now, that wouldn't have normally been anything to blog home about, but you see that wasn't all that we witnessed upon entering that room readers.  Not at all.

That's because, although that boy was crying, he was getting comforted, and not by the staff member on duty mind you.

No, Lukas and I witnessed our Annabelle, all 21 months of her wrap that slightly taller boy in her arms in a big ol' bear hug and start patting him on the back with one of her hands.  Not at all un-similar to how we comfort the kids when they are in need of some love.

"Ahhhhhh, that is sooooo cute." another Mom nearby let everyone know.  I agreed.

Apparently, the two of them had run smack into each other while playing.  And like a tailback running into a solidly built linebacker, this boy had taken the worst of it.  Annabelle was unfazed.  She has a big brother after all.

But simply the fact that she notices when a friend is hurting, and is there with open arms to offer comfort and support, is just another sign that she's developing a strong sense of empathy.

And that she's tough as nails.

I'm just glad she didn't give him the stiff arm.

Back to School Haul

Push me Brutha!  We're off to school!

Wow, summer is speeding by here like a 7-year-old chasing his little sister around a dead lawn.

And that is fast, readers!!  We don't have a dog, but the dog days of summer are certainly upon us now, with August in full swing.

August used to only mean dog days, hot weather, water fights, and stay-cations in the LIAYF household.  But in the past couple of years August has taken on a whole new, not so fun meaning.  Back to school shopping. You can tell how I feel about shopping, can't you?

In fact, a mall or department store is the last place I, or Mrs. LIAYF for that matter, want to be spending our time during the summer stretch run that is August.

Enter Kohl's.  Sure Kohl's has a brick and mortar store near you, but what you may not know is that Kohl's also has an awesome back-to-school online site where you can do all your back to school shopping from the comfort of your back deck while the kids are in bed and the sun is finally setting on a sun drenched summer day.

And that is exactly what we (and by 'we', I mostly mean Mrs. LIAYF) did recently as we used some timely deals from Kohls, who is teaming up with Office Max, to net a great haul for back to school.  Through their collaboration with Office Max,  Kohl's is now offering all the supplies you will need from folders to notebooks and pens to pencil cases.  (Note to readers - stop by next week and I will be giving away a Kohl's gift card perfect for your back-to-school shopping).

Lukas' school uses uniforms, so we were happy to find that Kohl's has a school uniform shop.  We choose several practical uniform pieces, but also selected a few fun items that he could wear on weekends and after school.  We didn't want to leave out Annabelle, so we got her some cute clothes for "back to daycare" (well, she never really left, but now she looks stylin').  And, because every family with kids is cash-strapped, we went for clothing that could mix and match with items we already owned.  For example, Lukas already has several pairs of Converse high-tops, so we didn't purchase any extras, but Kohl's has an awesome selection of Converse if you want to check it out.

Here are just a few of the looks we were able to winnow from the vast online selection:

Lukas: Pique polo navy uniform shirt,  khaki canvas shorts,
cool hipster hat and blue high-tops (already owned),
Annabelle: Striped tunic in navy,
Levi's jeggings (awww), Hello Kitty blue hairclip.

Lukas: Striped blue hoodie,  Levi's 511 slim fit,
blue hightops (already owned)

Lukas: Bicycle "7" Tee,  navy canvas shorts,
Keen sandles (already owned), steely grimace
(from taking too many pictures)
Annabelle: Bicycle Tee,  Hello Kitty hairclip,
blue check shorts (already owned)

Lukas: Whale Tee,  Levi's 511 slim-fit,
 check shirt and blue hightops (already owned)

Finally, back on the topic of school supplies, we also got these amazing water bottles we used last year in his lunch box.  We love their size, packability (is that a word?), and that they held up to heavy, heavy abuse.  Lukas also likes their bright graphics.

Juuuust right for lunchboxes!

As for the rest of the supplies, Lukas' school supply list has not been provided yet.  So, we are putting in an order this weekend for all his school supplies, using the Kohl's cash we earned online with our back-to-school purchases.  In addition to the water bottles, we anticipate we would likely be ordering one of the basic school packs offered by Kohl's, which includes pencils, paper, glue, markers, scissors, etc.  And, of course, the ubiquitous box of Kleenex (why does every teacher ask for these - oh, that's right, 7 year-old-boys and runny noses).

Disclaimer: The fine people at Kohl's provided me with compensation in order to purchase these fine products and to write here about all the great stuff we received.  It's worth noting though, that our experience was terrific throughout.