Yes, Sammy is still awesome!

Sammy just gets awesomer and awesomer. With no internet connection in our home for a few weeks, Sammy, being out of school for the summer, was looking for ways to fill his usual Netflix-viewing time. I recommended a DVD set that I have owned for many years that Sammy has never noticed: Firefly. It took Sammy about 2 days, total, to watch it all and have a viewing of the spin-off movie, Serenity. Needless to say, Sammy is now an official Browncoat and has joined the cult of complainers that always whine that it shouldn’t have been canceled. (Well, it shouldn’t have been!!!! Danggit!!!!)

I was clever enough to get a picture of Sammy as he started watching episode number one:

If you look closely, you will notice the face of Captain Mal on our flat-screen TV.
I wonder when Sammy will notice the Mal/Han Solo similarities?

So…I am hoping that having Netflix back will help get Sammy & I both through the next few months until the new season of Doctor Who begins! Or multiple viewings of this trailer:

Short, Funny Quip

Sammy just told Jayla, his best friend Josh’s sister, to not let our dog Fang lick her. She asked why & Sammy replied, “Because you will have Fang crotch on you.”
DUH! So funny!

Sammy is Awesome……IS BACK!

WAT? Where haz Sammy beenz? Sammy has been busy being awesome, as usual. It’s been over 6 MONTHS since we updated this blog of his awesomeness. Several things Sammy has said lately reminded me of how awesome he is, so here I am, his humble mother – giver of life, owner of the womb that held such awesomeness for 37 weeks – and I am going to remind you of why this sweet child o’mine is worthy of a blog all about him.

Things Sammy has said lately that cause me to ROFL:

This morning, Sammy told me that his eye was irritated, but he said it like this:

“Mama, it hurts when I blink my ball…my eyeball.” Thank you LSP from Adventure Time.

On the same topic…Sammy was in the bathroom with me while brushing my teeth. He was checking out his ball (eyeball) in the mirror. I told him to not mess with it, especially with dirty hands. I asked him if he had even washed his hands yet today; he replied: “Yes, I washed them earlier right after I emptied the urine tank.”

Of course, I laughed…and said, “Sammy, you are a goober!” He replied, “You are a mommy.” This is true, folks. This is true.

So now for random pics of the awesomeness that is Sammy’s life, and mine – our little family and the good times we have been having.

Sammy loves Friday nights at mom's. Why? Cause he can watch his favorite shows on Netflix (Psych, Buffy, Malcom in the Middle & Raising Hope) & then just pass out on the couch with Fang, to be found Saturday morning like this.

 

Sammy had a great time hanging out with Uncle Michael, Aunt Mandy & his 2 year old twin cousins, Ceci & Abbi. While he was there, his older brother & I went to see a movie, then took shots of each other at the awesomest stop sign in our town.

 

 

Sammy's dad made him this AWESOME costume for 6th grade Ren Fair. He does have a giant Nerf sword, but fake weapons aren't allowed at school. Sammy did walk around all day saying, "NONE SHALL PASS!"

 

Me & Sammy at Ren Fair. You can't see it here, but I support my son - wearing my "Spamalot" shirt with the black knight on it, and on the back, "It's only a flesh wound!"

 

Sammy's older brother, Michael, and I enjoyed some "us" times yesterday. We got ice cream after the movie, and I dropped him off for his job-shadow day in the morning at the tourism bureau, so I had to get a shot of us there.

 

Please keep in mind that I make "duck face" on purpose to make fun of those who do it for real, thinking it looks good. ; )

 

This is top-runner as my favorite picture of the year, so far. We were at the twins 2nd birthday party, and they were goofing around & having fun, and I caught them walking around like this. These moments are rare, but I cherish them so.

 

One last thought….as awesome as Sammy is, I must mention that he didn’t become so alone. Sammy, from the day he could see straight, has always admired & looked up to his brother. Even when they fight, bicker, pick on each other (which is the job of a big brother – torturing his little brother, and Michael is a pro!) they realize that they would be lost without each other. Michael may taunt & tease Sammy, but guess what? He doesn’t allow anyone else to do the same. Michael is the awesomest teenager I know. If only he’d agree to allow me to have a blog all about him….sadly, no, fourteen year olds don’t want their mom blogging about them. So I’ll have to be content with mentioning his greatness here and my own blog.

To conclude – Sammy IS awesome, but so his is big brother, Michael – and Sammy wouldn’t be so awesome if he didn’t have an already awesome big brother to look up to & show him the ropes.

Sammy’s Doctor Who movie

Sammy had to write a story for school, the theme being “How you would help someone if you had special powers.” Of course, he wrote a Doctor Who story.  He had to have something to go along with it – a storyboard, prop, etc…but he asked his teacher if he could make a movie instead. She said yes…and he began. Enjoy the movie!

Sammy is a Magic Maaaaan!

Sammy has perfected his “Criss Angel” disappearing/reappearing trick. Prepare to have your mind blown and watch it on YouTube at this link: http://youtu.be/q4uLl_lJav0

Then watch the “Magic Maaaaan” from Adventure Time at this link…you might learn a life lesson…..and you might not sleep well afterwards.

Vote for an All Star!

Sammy came up with his own slogan…but thanks for your votes! He decided it will be “A vote for Sammy is a vote for an All Star!” It’s perfect! This upcoming week is campaign week for Student Council elections, and Sammy will shake hands and kiss babies all this week at school, with the the help of his friends. Just kidding, he won’t shake hands.  ; )

On Wednesday morning, all that are running for Reporter, like Sammy, will record a 30 second or shorter video of their speech or slogan or whatever it is each kid chooses to do. Sammy has a GREAT speech, that goes wonderfully with his campaign, but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet, so you’ll have to wait till later for that little bit of Samawesomeness. Hey, did I just invent a new word? I think I did!

Anyhow, I have spent the last few nights, into the wee hours of the morning, working on his posters and hand-outs. I finished his 2 posters tonight…then got right onto making more hand-outs. I decided last minute to use the paint bucket full of unused pencils that came from my mother-in-law’s house. Now let me tell you…this bucket has been collecting pencils for about 25 years. There are some GOOD ones in there – The Little Mermaid, Lisa Frank rainbows & bears, some good 80’s graffiti, holographic ones, even a pencil from the World’s Largest McDonald’s! I took 60 of those pencils and attached 2×4 fluorescent shipping labels to them, stuck to themselves, at the top near the eraser, to make a kind of flag on each one. One side has the “Sammy for Reporter” All Stars circle logo and the other side says Sammy for Reporter. He’s passing out the pink Lisa Frank ones to get the female vote, you know? Heck, if a politician came to my house today and gave me a Lisa Frank pencil with unicorns on it, instead of a dumb ol’ pamphlet, I would probably vote for them! Little girls who liked Lisa Frank just grow up to be big girls who still like Lisa Frank.

Alright, it is about 1:45 am on Sept. 12. While making all of this, my husband and I have been watching 9/11 docs and talking about that memorable day 10 years ago. It was so surreal and it still is, to this day, while watching the news videos. Sammy was one year old, almost two. He doesn’t remember any of it, but he has heard about it every year of his life since then. He came in here to tell us goodnight, and sat down for a moment. About that time, they showed the footage of the second plane hitting the tower. Sammy told me, “Mommy, that is the first time I have ever seen that.” I didn’t realize it – this major event that is commemorated this same day every year for his whole life, and he had never seen that image…that shot of the plane and burning towers that is so unforgettable…that I just now watched, literally, played in slow-motion, dramatically, on my HD-TV. I had to stop typing and remember to breathe.

How will he think about it now, since he has actually seen the footage? I talked to him about it, reminded him to say a little prayer before he went to sleep, to remember to be grateful for everything he has. The look on his little innocent face was just…man. I can’t explain it. But I remember sitting in front of the TV for days, glued to the news, and Sammy’s little happy, toddler self was blissfully oblivious to it all, smiling and making me happy when I really needed it. Michael was almost 5 and understood a little more – he was always so smart and advanced for his age, so he had lots of questions and wanted to know everything he could about it. I filtered what he heard and say, but I didn’t lie to him or candy-coat it. It did change our lives – we went to war. In 2004, my husband became part of those deployed troops, and almost lost his life in Iraq, because of a suicide bomber in a truck with an improvised explosive device. I thank God everyday that terrorist’s plans didn’t pan out – but he is no longer on this earth to know it.

Wow, I started this post out as one thing and it is ending as another! I wanted to show you the pictures of the posters I made for Sammy…but I think I have just depressed myself and maybe the readers of Sammy is Awesome! If I have, I’m sorry! I will show you the posters, maybe that will give you a smile before you leave.  : )

I drew and painted this thing by hand...the things we mamas do for our kids!

This is where my schoolin' of design layout from the 80's comes in handy...ha ha ha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, I will keep you all updated on how it goes. If he doesn’t get elected as Reporter “officer” there are 2 back ups, Senator and Governor, the the ones who get the 2nd and 3rd highest number of votes.  Doesn’t matter – it’s been fun doing all this poster and hand out making stuff anyway!

Sammy is an Awesome 6th Grader

It’s happened. He has surpassed elementary school and moved up to…middle school. Scary, mean, uncomfortable middle school. But he seems to be handling it pretty well. Aside from forgetting his agenda is his last hour class a few times…

Sammy is also running for Reporter for Student Council in his school’s elections next week. He wanted to come up with a catchy, fun platform for his posters and handouts, so here is what we came up with (and this mama spent 2 1/2 hours last night making and is only half-way finished).

For the posters, they will be a giant Converse All Star high top with this on them:

Is this cool, or what?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For his handouts, Sammy & I spent an hour at a Sizzix (sp?) machine cutting out 200 red and yellow high-top tennis shoe die-cuts. I spent that 2 1/2 hours last night putting 1 inch stickers on them and making them look like this:

It also comes in red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The round part looks the same as the big one above. I know the cut-out stripes make it look more like a Tretorn shoe (heh heh how many of you remember THOSE?) Sammy loves wearing Converse, and right now, he wears the neon blue and the buttercup yellow. I thought it would be clever to go with some kind of slogan like, “Vote Sammy for Reporter, he’ll Converse the facts.” – OR – “Vote Sammy for Reporter – He’s a Shoe In!”

Let’s have a poll, and you can decide his slogan.

What the…?

A lot of times, I sit on the floor at the end of my coffee table, working on my laptop, designing websites and such. I stare at the computer screen and look to my left occasionally to see what the boys are watching on TV. Yesterday, I must have been VERY distracted. Sammy was sitting in the living room, about 5 feet from me in the recliner. I glanced over in his direction. He was quietly watching TV. I said, “Sammy, DON’T MOVE.”

Normal.

Only this child. After taking this picture, I also learned he wasn’t wearing a shirt! How, you may ask? Well, he removed the mask. He placed it on his tummy and asked me, “Is this a good impression of a spirit emerging from my stomach?” What the…? He says and asks me the FUNNIEST things! Just last night he asked me if you put two really strong magnets on either side of your head, what would happen? Would your brain just go, “Ca-psheeeewwwwww!” Then I took a french fry and said, “Is this a good impression of a french fry emerging out of my ear?” He said no, you have to give it more “pizazz” and proceeded to show me how.

Ahhhh….Sammy, there is no other kid like you out there.

Sammy & Michael think deep thoughts.

I took the boys to the pool a few days ago and we packed some snacks to take with us. Sammy made himself a lunch of PB&J, pretzels and a banana, all stored in a gallon-sized freezer bag and placed in my ice chest.

After we swam for a few hours, we decided to sit out and dry off, while snacking on the food we brought. Sammy had his sandwich earlier, so he ate a few pretzels, but stopped short when he realized they tasted like bananas. I told him that is what happened when you store all of your food in the same sealed bag as a banana. He peeled his banana in preparation for the yummy treat. He took a bite…and spit it out. I asked him what was wrong with the banana…and he said, “It tastes like farts.”

I almost fell off the bench. I laughed so hard! I said, “Sammy, how do you know what farts taste like?” He said, “I don’t know…I just know that banana tastes like farts.” The lady sitting behind him was giggling…I hope she was telling this story later,  too.

So, after sitting there eating for a few seconds in the silence, Michael looks at me and says, “Does that mean that farts taste like pretzels?”  This started an entire philosophical conversation about the circle of food tastes…so in the end, we concluded that it goes without saying, that if a pretzel tastes like a banana, and a banana tastes like farts…then farts taste like pretzels.

Doctor Who Call for Art!

Hi everyone! Last night, while perusing the Interwebs, I was inspired by my favorite shopping site www.thinkgeek.com and this family to do a “Call for Art” for Sammy’s bedroom! Sammy would really like a room adorned with all kinds of Doctor Who goodness! Aside from one poster and a magazine tear out, he really has nothing else to show what a little “geekling” he is for the Doctor! He has some of his own art and various posters….but he REALLY wants his wall covered in Whovian art.

I need Who art! : )

So what can YOU do to help? Get your geeky Whovian hats on! Start drawing, painting, Photoshopping, air-brushing, whatever you do, something the Whoniverse! You don’t have to be a world-renowned artist – Sammy will love ANYTHING that is one-of-a-kind and made by YOU! He loves the Tardis, Daleks, Cybermen, Ood..etc…and his favorite Doctors are the new ones, 9,10, and 11 with 10 being his favorite of those. His favorite companions are Rose first, then Amy Pond and Rory. Weeping angels freak him out…so if you do one of those, have their eyes covered please! And he is freaked out by the Silence. He doesn’t mind watching them on the show…but I want him to actually want to SLEEP in his room! LOL!

If I start getting this in, I will post them on here for all to see! And…here is the deal. If we get at least 10 separate pieces of art for his walls, I will do something Sammy has been asking me for. I will personally paint the outside of his bedroom to look like the TARDIS door. Yep, I will do it! So come on! Make a kid’s dream come true, he deserves it! Email me for more info. My email is on my website at www.michellemccrary.com.

Our mailing address is below:

 

Sammy is Awesome Artwork

c/o Michelle McCrary

426 Pennsylvania Ave.

Shreveport, LA  71105