The Kelly Post

Funnies

2012-02-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

Cole:
We were playing cars in the morning and I was supposed to be racing my cars (as dictated by Cole). While it may have looked like my red car came in first, I must not have gotten the updated script that my red car was supposed to come in "twoth" place.

Will:
He was in a generally grumpy mood and snapped at one of the other kids. I called him over to me to ask if there was something bothering him. He said, "Well, I just feel crummy." I said, "Oh, is your cold still bugging you?" Will: "No, I mean I actually feel sticky and crumby and I just need to get clean." As a neat / clean freak, I completely got that that made him grumpy.

Great Weekend It Was

2012-02-12T20:55:00.000-06:00

There is nothing like a relaxing weekend after a quite un-routine, busy week! We worked in plenty of fun and relaxation, and this afternoon we even made it to the local rollerskating rink as a family! Cole was still hanging onto a cold, so the crowd and loud music (and I'm guessing his keen sense of germination occurring all around him in his not-so-sterile surroundings) had him and Rich leaving early. The bigs and I hitched a ride with my sister and her family after an additional hour of skating. Great way to expend energy during cold weather!

This weekend also brought us farther along in our Star Wars trilogy (x 2) goal. Will had received the original trilogy for Christmas (episodes 4-6) which we finished. So we watched episode 1 and half of 2 this weekend. This is a movie franchise that the whole family agrees on and is equally excited to watch, so it is great fun! The boys have also been checking out Star Wars books from libraries, so our Jedi minds are full of knowledge. We have learned that fear will lead you to the dark side and that Yoda speaks in juxtaposed sentences. So tonight when we stopped the movie to head up to bed (it's a school night, after all), Cole said in his best Yoda voice, "Skip brushing teeth we will." No, young Jedi, we won't.

What A Kid Can Teach Us

2012-02-09T21:31:00.000-06:00

Over the last eight weeks, I have been a part of a committee aimed at making school boundary change recommendations to the school board due to a few overcrowded schools and the opening of a new junior high. As one can imagine, this is naturally an emotional topic. At least it was for me when I entered. And then I was educated and enlightened and realized how fortunate I am to have good schools, transportation to those schools, good teachers and good staff. Don't get me wrong; I'm well aware of the percentage of my taxes that goes to public schools and so to some degree, I expect that. However, I am not entitled to have my children attend one school over another, nor do I think I could even rank schools on a scale of desirability, as they are all quite good.

Enduring meeting after meeting with at least 200 community members voicing opinions and (often) scrutinizing and criticizing our work has not led me to cower and further dislike confrontation. Instead, it has motivated me to be a vocal proponent for level-headed thinking, open-mindedness and positivity.

While I fully believe that vocalizing opinions and concerns is vital and imperative when making such a decision, let it be known that there are some people out there who are good at doing this with finesse and wisdom, and there are some who rant and rave. Truth be told, logical minds don't hear the latter nearly as much as the former.

I completely understand that some people do not like the scenario that is being painted. It was definitely a position of choosing the best of the less-than-desirable options. But, in my opinion, those parents had an amazing life lesson teachable moment that they failed miserably. They could have educated themselves on the process, and, yes, voiced their opinions, but then embraced the probable outcome and clung to the positive points that will surface from this change. And they could have shown their children that THAT is how you react to adversity in life. Because there are larger obstacles in life than having your whole elementary school attend a brand new middle school that, yes, may be farther from your home than your current middle school. Much larger obstacles.

My children are possibly changing elementary schools. While this would mean moving to the more logical school that is close to our home, it is change nonetheless. Paige caught wind of this possibility and confronted me about it. She was emotional at the thought of switching initially. I acknowledged that this is understandable. Transition is never the most fun. Then I focused on new and different things that this new school would bring. A direct quote from her, "You know, I'd be happy staying at [current school], but I think [new school] would be pretty cool too." Time elapsed: 10 minutes. My 9-year old grappled with change and her perception of adversity and rose above it in 10 minutes. I'm not suggesting she is superhuman. I AM suggesting that kids can do this. And they are pretty good at it. But not quite as good if they have parents with preconceived notions holding them back.

When Kids Get (Out)Smarter

2012-02-06T21:09:00.001-06:00

Cole is almost 4 and I've mentioned that he is finally taking an interest in letters/numbers which is great. Along with this more mature thinking has come the ability to outsmart. Here is my example. If he notices that an answer he has given me to a question / demand is going to anger me, he quickly wedges in an "it's opposite day" exclamation. Oh! No wonder! Now I'm not so mad! Here is how it often plays out...

Me: Okay, Cole, go slip on your shoes.
Cole: No.
Me: Scowl look as if to ask "do you want to rethink that answer?"
Cole: It's opposite day! No means yes!

This happens at least a couple times a day.

In addition to his maturity has come his (misled) thought that he is in charge. For example, while reading a book, if he needs to jump up for a tissue or to re-situate himself, he will demand, "Pause the book!" "Pause" is a button on a remote control, not a command to direct at mom's voice.

Tonight at dinner, if the conversation was continuing without him getting his two cents in, he would shout, "cut!" and say what he wanted to say. He did this at least 3 times as if he is a Spielberg apprentice or something. I think I need to either letter his name on the back of his chair or nip that little habit quickly.

Funny Things I Happen Upon

2012-02-01T20:40:00.001-06:00

Every morning when I come down from getting ready, there is a new animal on a leash chained to Cole's breakfast chair. Today it was Tigger.

I think I wrote about this last one when it actually happened (I'm thinking circa 2008). But while looking for a scratch piece of paper in my bedside table, I found it. And it cracked me up all over again. This is a doodle from Paige that I found on my post-it note pad. For some reason, I start to hum the song, "One of these things is not like the others..."

Diffi-Cole-ties

2012-01-30T22:12:00.000-06:00

I've mentioned before that I LOVE hanging out with Cole. There are challenges, though, when we're one-one-one. Here's an idea of what that's like...

The minute the big kids are whisked away on the bus leaving behind a flurry of breakfast dishes and other messes, Cole wonders if I can play (probably something involving cars and tracks) with him. Everyday I tell him I need to straighten up the kitchen first, then I will. The good news is that he now still asks me, but prefaces it with, "you can clean the kitchen first." Thanks. The bad news is that he'll check-in roughly every 90 seconds to see if I'm done yet and ready to play.

Cole is at the rough age where he can speak clearly and explain things well. He also has enough mental capability to know and be frustrated when his message is being received incorrectly. Take, for example, the other day. Cole wanted to cook those things. You know, those things we got from the basement? Me: what did it taste like? They're yummy. When did we make them? The yesterday. [10 minutes pass with explanations still not clear.] Show me. Cole proceeds to go downstairs and open the cabinet to the board games. I'm officially baffled. Finally, he utters the word "cinnamon" and I know what he wants. Frozen whole-wheat apple cinnamon muffin dough. There were 6 left. We baked them for no other reason but to refuel after that exhaustion.

Naptimes are dwindling. Unless we're just having a freak couple weeks. Either way, it's not surprising and he can handle a day nap-less pretty well. It's the several-days-in-a-row that becomes a problem. Usually the result is a short temper, and somehow usually hitting or pushing Will is involved.

Of course, none of this outweighs the fun we have. Today we had a "restaurant lunch" in the playroom. He was in charge of the ambiance. For him, this included a candle in the middle, place mats, (all of the) napkins, roughly 10 minutes spent on wrapping and taping silverware in napkins, and music he chose on my iPhone. It was the best restaurant ever.

My Grade = F

2012-01-26T22:11:00.001-06:00

That grade applies to my efforts in keeping up my blog! Luckily, my kids' grades (which came home on Monday for 2nd quarter) were opposite. Both are doing excellent in school right now and really seem to enjoy themselves. Since I haven't been good with the day-to-day anecdotes that I love to record, I'll have to overview this week. I'll organize by kid:

PAIGE: Is super excited about the upcoming 3rd grade musical and is lobbying for a "main speaking part," which comes as no surprise. She is also enjoying her new cheer squad. Moving up an age bracket has made a major difference. This week, Paige moved up a level in swim lessons as well! (Psst...don't tell her, but this is the point at which I was going to allow them to quit if they wanted. I'm not saying a word.) This past weekend she went to a skating rink for only the second time for a birthday party and did much better than her first!

WILL: Has graduated from the reading program they have for 1st grade. Now he does something different when it is time for "baggy books." He feels cool being able to say he's officially a chapter book reader. Will also changed swim teachers this week and looked like a different swimmer! Hopefully this means he may be moving up soon too! And this just in...Will announced to us today that he has his first crush. Her name is Avenley. And actually Aiden has a crush on her, too. They've made a pact not to tell anyone, so you didn't hear it from me. I took Will with me for his first time on roller skates this past weekend and after just 1 lap he didn't want to hold my hand! At the end of the time he was sweating!

Looking cool - jamming to Vanilla Ice!

COLE: Such my good bud! Cole is moving at a snail's pace in swimming, but his teacher is patient and kind and he totally enjoys going, so we'll take it! He has not had an interest in letter sounds or letter writing AT ALL. I try hard not to let this concern me, as I know that if I wait for the interest, it will be time better spent. Finally, he is starting to get it! Today, a colored picture came home from school with "mom" written at the top. And he recognized that "Mater" starts with "M" like "Mom." Huge. He also got an invitation from a good bud in preschool for a birthday party! Also, he is much enjoying his indoor t-ball class. In fact, he was quite upset last week when he didn't have time to apply a fresh tattoo so he could show it to his coach!

A snack made by Cole. The bigs LOVED it as their after school snack and he felt super cool! (Cinnamon sugar baked tortillas dipped in frosting.) Warning: will result in sugar high.

Ninety-One Years

2012-01-22T21:19:00.000-06:00

This weekend we celebrated my Grandmother's 91st birthday! It was a house full of people all here because of her and my grandpa.

Me and Grandma

Grandma - harmonizing "Happy Birthday" like always!

Sledding down the backyard hill! (Grown ups' turn)

Evolved into MEGA snowball fight!

Happy in the snow!

Skyping with cousins that couldn't make it.

Emotions, by Cole

2012-01-18T20:57:00.001-06:00

PLEASURE
Using the phrase, "so bad." As in, "I love 'Dark Vader' movies so bad!"

SADNESS
Using a pouty lip. And today this was accompanied with this phrase, "Do you know what my sad is for? Because our garden is gone."

ANGER
Using the word "ever" to add enthusiasm is popular. Like tonight, when he tripped over Paige's foot and landed hard on the ground. He promptly stood up and stomped off shouting, "Paige! Don't EVER stand there (in the middle of the kitchen) AGAIN!"
p.s. He hasn't had a nap for 2 consecutive days which may explain this temper.

Snow Days

2012-01-15T20:46:00.001-06:00

With a 3 1/2 day weekend and the first real snow having fallen Thursday, our one goal of the weekend was to get out in it!

The kids and I played in the yard, field behind us, and on snow-plowed mountains on Saturday. On Sunday, we all went to a hill and tried out our new sled. Cole is cool with going down by himself now (one woman who was on her way up while he was on his descent said I should have gotten a picture of that open-mouthed scream the whole way down!). Will aims for anything that will give him a little ski-jump, and Paige prefers to go feet-first on her stomach so she can't see what's coming!

10 Steps to a Drama-Free Day

2012-01-12T21:42:00.002-06:00

Insist that your 3-year old goes to the bathroom before preschool even if he says he doesn't have to go. His waiting-to-the-last-minute habit lately will result in a wardrobe change at school. Again.
Remind your 1st grader about staying aware of where the afternoon bus is to avoid the bus driver shutting the door and pulling away with him and his friend still on the bus.
On a related note, don't charge on the bus you just hailed down looking for your son, because that's frowned upon, apparently.
Remind daughter that her math is getting more difficult; it's going to take longer than 3 minutes and that rushing for the sake of a watching TV will result in multiple mistakes and, therefore, no TV.
Don't suck your dog's tie-out cable up in your snow blower. It won't go well.
Don't take your minivan out for an errand, because your sliding door will get jammed and won't open OR close all the way, only to work perfectly when you have your husband take a look at it.
Don't enable Internet on your daughter's DSi. Because this will lead to the need for setting parental controls, and she will likely protest.
Don't buy a large new winter coat for your 6-year old hoping it will last 2 seasons because he won't like the bulk and will wig out at the mere idea of trying it on (which will lead to exchange errand mentioned in #6).
Don't be outside shoveling your driveway when the new plow company is plowing your cul-de-sac because he probably isn't a pro and won't be watching out for you. Hailing down a bus when the plow is at work...also not a good idea.
DO have some me time at the end of the day. Because there's no telling what type of drama the next day will bring.

For the Record...

2012-01-09T21:02:00.001-06:00

I'm so happy that I get to spend my days with this little guy. He is so fun! Today's task of organizing the crawl space in the basement might have been a little tricky with a preschooler hanging around. But he found a box with a stack of old puzzles in it and silently pieced together each one. (For the record, those puzzles then made their way to the donate pile...which kind of made me feel bad since they just bought me an hour of productivity, but thanks to the organizational article I read in Real Simple magazine, I'm over it.)

We don't have young adults...yet

2012-01-08T21:54:00.000-06:00

I am completely aware that I have kids that are pretty much big now. (In fact, my youngest will only allow certain semantics to be used when referring to his maturity, lest we accidentally refer to him as a "little boy"). But with some things still remaining constant, like that this house is still pretty much quiet between 1:30 and 3:30 pm for nap time, sometimes it's easy to forget that my kids are getting big. (But not like "young adult" big, which is how Paige would prefer to be called - thank goodness!)

However, there are some times that I stop and look around and realize that time is, indeed, passing by. One of my closest friends had that same epiphany recently and just wrote about it too, here. I definitely had playground moments this last summer when I realized I had 2 free hands and could finish a full sentence with adults around me. Today's moment came at church. The bigs were at Sunday school and Cole comes to service with us. We sat in the pews marked "reserved for families with small children" as we always do. It was a particularly noisy morning in church today. There was a toddler to our front who loved to blurt out sounds, a 1-week old behind us whose mother was desperately trying to feed her, and several other vocal little ones that were carried out in tantrums or bribed to be quiet for another 2 minutes. And, well, you know you have graduated from the "family with small children" when your 3-year old leans over and complains about the crying babies as he is quietly driving cars along his body.

Another reminder came later today when Rich and I were able to complete a tiling project in the bathroom. Yes, during kid waking hours! They played with each other, got snacks for themselves and (except for shouting questions from downstairs instead of coming up and speaking to us) were barely noticeable at all!

I'm not being nostalgic about it. Yes, I desperately wanted to hold that 1-week old today in church just to see what it feels like again, but I surely would have wanted my own 2 arms back shortly after. And watching home movies a couple weeks ago did make me long to hear the slapping hands of a crawling baby on the floor. But we did that. And now we get to see things like two kids in a heated game of Battleship, or hear two kids having inside jokes with each other (not about us, of course), or hear three kids reading (well, for Cole it's more like memorized playback), or have an in-depth discussion of what age is worthy of the "young adult" classification.

And at the end of the day, we still get some pretty hysterical reminders that they are, indeed, still kids. Like when Cole puts his nose in the bend of his elbow and states, "Hmmm, my armpits smell like candy." Yup, still kids.

A few of my favorite things

2012-01-04T21:09:00.001-06:00

Happy kids bounding off the bus.
The spaciousness my house takes on when Christmas decor is packed away.
Seeing Will in the middle of the floor with a pile of Legos and a look of determination.
Paige's notes to me. The latest was last night when I was at a meeting and she was excited she finished her book, Matilda.
This winter's weather so far. Yes, snow would be fun, but air that doesn't hurt your face? Good.
ALL of my Christmas presents.
Evening TV time with my husband. We've vowed to stay up later to get some in every night (since lately we're often working on "stuff" until late).
Cole's catch phrase after reading with him at night, "Mom, let's lay down and talk about our days." (Yes, I know it's a ploy to stay up later with company, but...he wins.)
My friends' new years lists. I look forward to this...my group of friends do a new year's "favorites" list of everything from beauty products to books/movies from the past year for each of us. They are SO fun to read and gain from.
The fact that organizational products are often on sale this time of year. I get giddy over this.

The Back-to-the-Grind Report

2012-01-02T22:04:00.002-06:00

As of 5 minutes ago, the house is officially de-Christmassed and tomorrow morning we will resume our regularly scheduled lives. It has been a wonderful break. Nobody is super-pumped to get back to the grind, but Rich and I could feel today that maybe the kids are in need of a little more structure anyway. Here's the state of everyone as I see it:

PAIGE: Vocal about having enjoyed just having more time with me to do as she/we please. Did a much better job keeping herself busy in unscheduled time (thanks to entertaining gifts from her birthday and Christmas). Slightly out of sorts tonight going to bed (I think because she has a little anxiety about being up and at 'em tomorrow morning.) But she's got a new outfit picked out and jewelry to match, so I think she'll be ready!

WILL: I'll admit it, he'll probably go through video game withdrawal. After that, however, I think he'll enjoy getting back to doing "projects" and seeing his friends. A change of scenery (from Legos or video games) will probably be welcomed. He has been the least vocal about "dreading" going back to school, so this is good news.

COLE: His current motivation for preschool tomorrow is seeing his friend Matthew. His pesky cold (which randomly sends him in a frustrated frenzy due to his sore nose and lips) has him thinking school tomorrow might be iffy. He has no doubt enjoyed having his sister and brother around to hang out with and play / fight with.

RICH: Has had a much-loved week off of work and it has been glorious. We've both learned that time off over the holidays isn't a good time to expect a project list to get done, but his main objective of having some extensive quality time with the kids was met. I'm betting he'll like some mental stimulation on Tuesday, though.

ME: Will pray this night of sleep for Cole gets his symptoms under control because I'm ready for a normal day! I had a couple barely-get-out-of-pajama days with the family this break (which I do not do easily) and have to admit that I really dislike the feeling of not being productive. Hmmm, that scarily sounds like my dad! So while I may have to set an alarm for my normal wake-up time, it doesn't mean I'm not ready to get up and moving!

Unattained Goal

2011-12-30T21:39:00.000-06:00

I believe my last post mentioned something about posting here and there over this two weeks and, well, this is my next post and the two weeks are over...just about. Oh well, turns out these 2 weeks FLY by and so that little list I made of fun things to do / projects to accomplish was written in vain because we didn't even touch it. This isn't to say we didn't have a great time during this break. There's just enough naturally going on in these couple weeks that actually planning things isn't necessary. Here's a post-season wrap:

Kids and I had a fun first week with playdates and a mall trip before Rich was off work.
Kids had a sleepover party at Grandparents Cumpata with cousins.
Family Christmas on the Cumpata side lasts a solid 8 hours with great fun, gifts, and food.
Paige's pet hamster died (just reaching its average lifespan of 2 years) the day before her birthday.
Decide to get her a pet parakeet for her birthday (requires a disclaimer...because of our only-one-pet-at-a-time rule, we had already gotten her a different birthday present knowing she REALLY wanted a bird . Dead hamster made us do it.)
New bird is awesome, but turns out it's so docile because it's sick and dies overnight (Christmas Eve). Paige handles it gracefully.
Had a great Christmas morning!

Family Christmas on the Kelly side - making Christmas feel complete!

Paige and Cousin Kate

Went back for new bird. "Lulu" is doing great! We can hold her on our finger and we're starting to hear her sing as she gets more used to her new home.
Paige's Slumber birthday party!

It was a rockin' good time that went into the morning...

Recovery period.
Bowling and great dinner out with the family. Cole wishes to wear bowling shoes home.

Christmas BREAK!

2011-12-19T21:25:00.000-06:00

It's Christmas break. Although I'm tempted to take a break from all things regular, I still hope to post a few here because if there's one time I'd like to look back on and get a "feel" for how things were, it is during the holidays. So, what a great time than the first "official" day of break for the kids (meaning, they would normally be in school, but they're NOT!).

Instead of flailing around not knowing what to do with themselves (like I was fearing they might do), the kids stayed very busy and had fun with each other. Since Will is experiencing cold symptoms, I decided to plan a stay-in day today and we made/decorated sugar cookies.

Finally I learned to give them all a hunk of dough to do as they please. Teamwork doesn't work here since some people's standards are different than others.

Decorating time! Cole ditched us for this part - I think because eating an unimaginable amount of raw dough wasn't involved in this step.

Did you know you can make your own colors of sugar simply by adding food coloring to sugar? It's true! I might be the last one to know it. Paige wanted yellow sugar for the stars, but we didn't have any, so we made it and it worked great! Will, then used the yellow sugar on the snowflakes and made a joke about yellow snow and, well, the conversation kind of went downhill from there.

***

Tonight on the way home from swimming, Paige was complaining about a little pimple on her nose. (Random, minute bump). Anyway, Cole asked, "What's a pit bull?" And Will provided this fantastic answer, "PIMPLE, Cole. It's a little bump of skin and if you bug on it too much it will bleed." Guess he's ready for adolescence!

Osum things today

2011-12-14T21:15:00.002-06:00

First, Will came home today with a gift for the family. It was a little wreath made of red and green painted puzzle pieces glued together with his picture in it. Super cute. What I thought was super cuter was the card that went with it:

My favorites: "olpin" because that's just how he pronounces "open." And, of course, "osum," because that's just, well, awesome.

In other news, Cole hasn't been eating at mealtime the greatest. I told him no snack today after school time (a favorite time I know he looks forward to with Paige and Will). Plus, he has had a Kit Kat in his seat for over 24 hours just waiting to be utlized once he ate well enough. I told him he could have a fruit or vegetable during this time and that is it. He asked to whisper in my ear (usually the case whenever what he is saying is questionable) and stated, "Pretzels are a fruit, I think." We muscled through that afternoon snack time (I stuck to my guns - he had half a banana), and dinner was a new recipe. Not a favorite. It included roasted shrimp that we all were not raving about. Except Cole, who enthusiastically ate his quota for the beloved Kit Kat prize!

Paige got a very cool calligraphy pen set for her birthday. We finally had time to get it out today and she was almost squealing she was so excited to use it. She happily wrote all her thank you notes for her birthday. (Note to thank-you recipients: what they lack in detail, the notes make up for in pretty pink calligraphy ink)!

Paige Day

2011-12-11T21:02:00.001-06:00

Today was Paige's first cheer competition! It's safe to say she thoroughly enjoyed herself. Because we usually have her family birthday party earlier in December, and because many of the family would be coming to the cheer competition anyway, we decided to combine the events into one!

First, we watched the competition. Little girls in cute matching outfits everwhere, kind of remembering the routines they'd been practicing for weeks. But Paige's squad did pretty well and took first place (okay, so there were only 2 squads in her division size) and got a trophy! Here are some pics!

Paige and some of the girls

Paige and I

She's the one in the center front

After the competition, we went to a nearby restaurant for some birthday celebrating!

It's what you do when the birthday girl doesn't like cake (but loves peace sign anything)

A slushie machine!

Happy 9th to Paige!

My sincere thank you to all our family for making it such a special day for her!

Awards

2011-12-07T21:13:00.001-06:00

FUNNIEST AWARD: Do you know those crazy people who put antlers and red noses on their cars this time of year? Well, today, I was driving with Cole when he stated, "Ha! Mom! A kangaroo car!"

MOST POLITICALLY INCORRECT AWARD: Paige was looking at a piece of mail that was a request for donations for the Smile Train (program for kids born with cleft palates) and states, "Awww, look at these poor kids with messed up faces."

BEST IDEA AWARD: Use making his bed as currency for Will. (He's good, I make it. Problems = he makes it).

MOST CONFUSED AWARD: Cole has show-and-tell every Thursday. Last week was "bring something you wore as a baby." This week is "bring something that reminds you of Jesus at Christmas." Tonight, when I mentioned show-and-tell Cole stressed out a bit and huffed, "but I don't have any of Jesus' baby clothes."

Skid out!

2011-12-05T21:35:00.001-06:00

It's surprising to be reporting Cole's first major spill off a bike/scooter being that he is a speed demon and has sent my heart into arrhythmia on several occasions. But it happened today. He was on his plasma car (which he enjoys screaming down the driveway, placing one foot down and doing a 360). This time, however, he was just racing along the sidewalk and hit something that stopped the scooter, but not Cole.

He hit the pavement with his face and I was several feet away at the bus stop and knew it was going to leave a mark. I checked to assure that his teeth were intact first (been through that with Paige and drastically affects the difficulty of the situation), then surveyed the damage. Nose abrasions, lip abrasions, chin abrasions and a massive upper lip. He cried (though now he's not admitting to that), but handled it well.

What's funny is to see the other kids' reactions to it. Here they are in a nutshell:
PAIGE: quickly gathers candy and small trinkets in a gift bag and presents them to him to make him feel better
WILL: Gazes with a look of disgust and amazement at his face. Points out all of the abnormalities. And while this is all being said with his "awww, buddy" tone, it is not received well by Cole.

So, he missed swimming lessons tonight and though very interested if we could still see it (uh, yes. yes we can), I'm hoping it doesn't play a major role in going to school tomorrow.

He posed for me a little and insisted on pointing to the injury (as if it would go unnoticed otherwise).

His nose is shiny because literally the whole top layer of skin is gone and at this point the swelling of his lip is about half of what it was initially. Poor guy.

A Stay-Home Day

2011-12-01T15:09:00.001-06:00

Especially during this season, it's very hard to find a day where I can just be home and stay home. Yet, I feel that it's important to do this every now and then in order to dial things down a bit and have some good quality time with Cole that doesn't involve buckling seatbelts and holding hands in the parking lot. I also think that it's a good lesson to teach kids - you don't *need* external stimulation to have a really fun day.

Wednesday we had a day like that and I have to say we had a blast. I let Cole generally decide the activities for the day and it went something like this:

Cars
Painting
Board game
Baking
Puzzles
More cars

I have to break up the cars-playing monotony for the sake of my sanity as I think he'd really choose to play that from morning until night. And, yes, lists of to-do's and to-go's were running in my head, but nothing that couldn't wait.

It's road with a rainbow and then a river running through it...

More me watching and him doing

I love that I have documentation of this time with my kids, as a line in the TV show Modern Family got me thinking last night. A high school daughter and her dad were arguing after he embarrassed her (horribly) in front of her peers at a college visit day. While talking it out, he said something to this effect, "It's just that watching over you has been my job your whole life. And I kind of love it. And I guess I just feel like I'm being forced into early retirement."

I'm quite positive I'll feel the same way.

Things I learned today

2011-11-29T21:15:00.001-06:00

1. Yup. Wind is still my least-liked weather condition.

2. I can knock off a BUNCH of to-do's in in very few kid-free hours

3. Despite feeling like Cole's allergies are getting better, initiating experiments with new foods is still scary. (Tried soy cheese today, but he only took 2 bites and had a cough later that may or may not have been associated. No conclusions drawn.)

4. My kids eat lunch in their coats at school. Weird. They go to recess after lunch and have to bring coats with them and while some sit on theirs, apparently most eat in theirs. Which explains the yogurt down the front of Will's coat.

5. My 3-year old still likes to be held and sung to...even though his legs are hanging down to my knees when I hold him.

6. I love UPS deliveries this time of year.

7. There IS something to shopping small, local shops.

8. I don't have eggs in the house at the present time. Bummer. Guess that pumpkin cranberry bread will have to wait.

9. Will hasn't been making his bed in the morning and despite my irresistible urge, I left it unmade for him to do after school today. I learned his reason for not doing it was because it's, "like, hard."

10. Paige now dislikes all cafeteria food offerings. Which is why we're not reaching the 'buy at least 1 meal a week' goal I set in the beginning of the year. Thankfully, I learned that she is also a very good brainstormer for more packed-lunch ideas.

11. Cole has a best bud in preschool. It's Matthew. And he wears his watch everyday to school because Matthew digs his watch.

Dinnertime

2011-11-27T21:25:00.001-06:00

We enjoyed at wonderful extended weekend with the holiday. It included a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at my parents', some shopping, chores, family movie nights, Christmas decorating and project making.

We've tried to emphasize the thankfulness purpose of the holiday. Because of that, tonight at dinner Paige suggested that we go around (again) and say what we're thankful for. We heard the repeats of those on Thanksgiving - family, friends, pets, home, until Cole's turn who answered that he's thankful for, "Hot wheels, beat that!" (which happens to be the Hot Wheels slogan). He wants hot wheels for Christmas...along with just about everything else currently advertised on TV.

Of course, then he called the couscous for dinner (which was actually quinoa) cous-bumps which cracked everyone up a second time.

So I'm thankful for dinnertime and all the comedic family time that comes with it.

Will & Cole and some current phase fun

2011-11-21T21:31:00.001-06:00

Recently, Will has found it his job to correct Cole in every mispronounced word, misunderstood concept and all around actions whenever absolutely possible. I remember this phase from Paige, so I'm confident it is just a phase. But let's just say it's a safe bet that age 6 won't be my favorite age.

It leads to many arguments. For example, tonight in an attempt to defend himself, Cole announced he was going to "constroy" Will. Of course, he meant "destroy" and it just added to the criticism.

And I can't even begin to explain the conversation that ensued after Will heard Cole singing Mary Had a Little Star. It wasn't pretty.

But Cole has his phases too. First of all, he has added syllables to words for emphasis. For example, instead of "I know," it's "I know-ah." Another favorite is "okay-ah." It's pleasant.

He is also good at acting like he is giving you a choice in a matter, when really he's not. Here's a prime example I overheard tonight.

Setting: I'm in kitchen making dinner. Rich is in living room playing with kids. Cole is sitting at piano.

Cole: Dad, what kind of song do you want to hear? Pretty or scary?

Rich: (in the middle of a conversation with one of the other kids)

Cole: Dad? What kind of song? Pretty or scary? Do you want a pretty or scary song, dad? Dad? Dad! I'm going to play a song do you want it pretty or scary, dad? Pretty or scary?

Rich: Finally tunes into the monotony and replies A pretty one, bud.

Cole: No, I'm going to play a scary one.

Good times.

Messy

2011-11-20T15:42:00.001-06:00

Messes have been peaking around here lately. Take for example, last Thursday.

Woke up to dog puke on the stairs. Messy. (My fault - forgot the little one can't handle those treats)
Will was home* with his 14+ day cold that is still sending tissues one by one to the wastebasket with a thud. He finally got on an antibiotic for a suspected sinus infection.
Cole thought he could wipe himeslf. Let the record show that he is not yet ready to be independent on this task. Messy.
Discovered dog puke in location #2. Small mess.
Cole meets a Hostess cupcake. This is the mess.

Will and Cole are out of practice of being home alone to play with one another. Obviously. It was a mess of arguments.
Cole and I made a dairy-free milkshake. He was a big fan. But it was messy.

But we got to wash the mess away this weekend at cousin Riley's 7th birthday at a nearby hotel pool and overnight. The kids had a blast and enjoyed the good clean fun!

* With an increase in bickering around here since school has started, stumbling upon this note-passing between Paige and Will was heart-melting. She had left the "get well" message on his door in the morning when he didn't go to school and he replied.

Progress...I think

2011-11-15T21:06:00.001-06:00

I'm proud to report that Cole can confidently say "THank you" instead of "sank you" or "gank you." He is extremely proud of this fact, and thankfully uses the phrase often. He even sticks his tongue halfway out to reeeally assure the "th" is clear. He sounds so sweet, appropriate, and...old.

On the other hand, I learned today that he thinks "light bulbs" are "light balls."

Stream of Consciousness

2011-11-14T20:56:00.001-06:00

I'm not kidding when I say it's hard to sit down and write about anything that has a definitive beginning, middle and end. My own thoughts don't have those integral parts. I'd post about funny conversations I have with the kids, but they're so odd and random that it would all just seem like one big stream of consciousness. Here's an example of conversations that just occurred after school through bedtime today.

Paige's progress report for my packed lunches went something like this, "Mom, about my lunches. First, there's not enough food. I'm still hungry. Also, I don't like mayo THAT much."
After a conversation at dinner about safety pins (?) Cole entertained us with a likely fictitious story about how when he was little he walked around with a diaper safety pin stuck in his skin.
Will's "free writing" papers that come home are ALWAYS notes to "dad" asking if he can play Wii or certain iPhone games when he gets home. Complete with illustrations.
SEVERAL lines from the movie "Elf" were recited on the way to swimming as the song Baby It's Cold Outside came on the radio.
A speech from Paige about how she likes the olden days and she likes the future (you know, like when robots will be waiting on us and stuff), and we're stuck kind of in the middle, so she guesses that's good.
Rich visited Will's class today and talked about the doctor profession. The class later had to write about what they want to be when they grow up. I asked Will what he put. He answered, "a nurse." Literally *never* heard this before from him.

So, luckily, I have these couple hours after kids go to bed and before I do that I can think clearly and completely instead of jumping from safety pins, to futuristic robots, to movies with Will Ferrell.

Open For Business

2011-11-09T22:15:00.002-06:00

Lately it has seemed as if I wake up in the morning with a sign that reads, "Open for Business" on my face. Instantly, I'm bombarded with wardrobe malfunctions, sibling tiffs, hair that needs to be done, special breakfast requests, etc.

It seemed to peak today when I step out of the shower at 7 a.m. dripping and Cole comes running into the bathroom to ask me if I can come in his room and help him with his puzzle. Uh. No. I let him know that it's really early and I have to get ready and get Paige and Will out the door (as if he hasn't been present here and seen this very routine done every day this school year) so we could do it later.

He proceed to pout and then STOMP off as if trying to leave Cole foot-sized holes in our floor on the way out (but only with 1 foot...couldn't quite coordinate both pounding so heavily). I followed him and had a short but effective talk about how throwing fits doesn't work to get our way.

He recovered well. But tomorrow, around 6:45 a.m. I'll reopen and will address whatever issues the day has brought thus far...happily.

An Apology...

2011-11-08T21:27:00.001-06:00

...to Will.

Will and I both have rotten colds right now. My constant-feeling-like-I-need-to-sneeze nose is driving my batty and has worn down my nerves a bit. Unfortunately, Will has a stuffed-so-thinking-listening-and-coordination-is-compromised head which does not mesh well with my situation. This has led to:

more whining
more crying
pouting. Lots of it.
stomping
spilled milk
my computer keyboard plummeting to the floor
This black eye (also courtesy of being in a bounce house with several boys)

Struggles with homework
And the answer to today's Myth Buster: What will happen to a travel pack of tissues that "travels" into the washing machine? Contrary to my theory that it would explode, it actually formed the world's largest spitball. No complaints here. At least it was easy cleanup.

So, bud, here's to both of us feeling a bit better and getting back on track!

It's Hard Being a Kid

2011-11-06T16:22:00.001-06:00

I've noticed that I write a lot about how it's difficult being a parent. This weekend, though, I was thinking about how it's kinda hard to be a kid, too. Specifically, it's probably hard for kids to understand the contradicting messages we send them. Have you ever noticed? Here are a few that came to mind...

We strive for more sleep, more sleep when they're little. Then, they get to school and we're nudging them to wake-up already!
We warn them not to talk to strangers; then we correct them for not willingly exchanging pleasantries with a new adult acquaintance.
We don't let them get down from the table until they've eaten enough; then they get a little older and we practically need a "kitchen is closed" sign.
We tell them they shouldn't worry about what others think; then we fuss over outfit and hair for events.
We spend their first several years building up their confidence and telling them how great they are; then we don't want them to be arrogant or brag.
We tell them to turn the other cheek; then we tell them to stick up for what they believe in.

So, yeah, I get it. Being a kid is, like, hard.

Halloween!

2011-11-02T20:49:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween from my Skeleton Phantom, Lightning McQueen, and Pink Witch!

And along with the Halloween theme, here is a story. Cole has recently become quite attached to a stuffed monkey that happens to be Paige's. And is hot pink, which doesn't seem to bother him. We've been taking him on bike rides, car rides, etc. Anyway, today he mentioned that he should have taken him trick-or-treating with us. And I said the monkey would have to dress up and asked what we would dress him up as. Cole answered as if there was no question about it, "A gorilla!"

Weekend in Numbers

2011-10-30T21:57:00.001-05:00

1 Fun day off Friday with the kids filled with shopping/cleaning/lunch out

2 Dinners with families

3 Carved Pumpkins

4 Family picture candids taken that are actually usable

5 Halloween costumes ready to go

6 Muddy shoes from today's mini-hike

7 Members of the family (+ dogs) who enjoyed a cozy, rainy afternoon

8 o' clock - the time I hope to still have the kids in bed by on Halloween night

9 PM - my bedtime after working a 3rd grade Halloween party
10 The number of points Penn State scored on the Illini for another sad loss

You Know What's Funny?

2011-10-27T20:53:00.002-05:00

It doesn't matter how many times I use the correct term "scratch and sniff" - as in refering to the stickers his teacher hands out. Will is going to call them "itch and smell."

Who'd want to wish this away?

2011-10-26T21:29:00.003-05:00

Usually I do pretty good with the dinnertime insanity. Let me paint the picture: Dinner burning in a skillet, 2 kids simultaneously asking homework questions, 1 kid wants nothing more than to "help" me make dinner and 2 dogs at my feet. This is pretty typical, but tonight it must have gotten to me because my main dish was headed to the oven without the main ingredient in it yet. *sigh* Thankfully, I caught it in time.

Or tonight at dinner when each kid was bursting with stories and had to be told numerous times to "hold that thought" as another got a turn. (Nevermind that Cole's story was the same. Three times. And one of Will's stories must have gotten too long for Cole because he leaned toward me and said, "Okay, is that enough of the talking?")

But I'm careful not to wish this partial-insane dinnertime away. They contribute to my daily chuckles. And I think that there are studies that show that laughing daily leads to longer lives...er...something.

And here are some other things I don't wish away...

That Cole still says "sink" instead of "think."
That Cole says, "that remembers me..." instead of, "that reminds me..."
That Cole calls windshield wipers "wish wipers."
That Will uses his free writing time at school to write notes to remind himself things. Today was "Ask mom and dad if I can play Wii Sports tonight."
That Paige is totally pumped that I'm coming to do her class' halloween party

And stumbling upon things like this:

It's a makeshift towing system with the strategic use of the ever-strong Scotch tape.

Fresh Air Weekend

2011-10-23T21:42:00.000-05:00

It is almost with fearful desperation that I plan our weather-friendly weekends because I am constantly reminding myself that soon I won't want to step foot outside. At all. And this weekend was perfect!

We...

walked the dogs
hiked in a nearby forest preserve
had friend play dates
played outside at my parents'
rode bikes
played games
did household chores

And I would do it all over again next weekend if we're lucky enough to have this awesome weather.

Fam + 1 friend checking out the fish down below

The kids "investigating" a hole they found. They're pretty sure they saw eyes.

My only complaint would be the inability to sleep in, as the kids are in early-rise mode due to school. When Rich suggeted one night that they "sleep in." Cole's response was telling as to whether we'd get that wish..."Sleep in what?"

Drama and whatnot

2011-10-19T22:07:00.001-05:00

Just as I was piecing together a blog post about how nice this week has been so far in that it has been drama-free, there was drama. I have been warned about the rockiness that is 6-year old boys and I can safely say I understand now.

Though his sweet demeaner is still there, Will's emotions are closer to the surface lately and usually manifest themselves in the form of whining and inconsolable tears. It's exhausting. Tonight it was that he had a make-up swim lesson (due to a lesson being cancelled) alone tonight (since I couldn't reschedule them all at once like they usually do). Yet, he went to his lesson, did great, and was happy as can be. So, why the drama...why, we wonder. Here's hoping this phase...phases out soon.

On a good note, Will brought home a paper from art class today that was a sketch he completed in art. It was awesome. One was a tree frog and another was a snake winding up a tree. He said he looked at a book that taught how to draw animals. I asked if he put the paper over the pictures and traced them first. He said no; he just looked at them. I then compared my data with that which Rich got with a similar line of quesitoning and the answer was the same.

I feel a little ashamed that we figured there had to be some other explanation, but the fact is that he comes from two people who don't necessarily excel in that area. Yet, it shouldn't surprise me. He loves to draw, loves details and loves the days his class has art. I look forward to his future works!

Happy Fall!

2011-10-17T21:16:00.002-05:00

We usually have a fall fest that takes us to a big farm in the fall - with all the corn mazing, pumpkin picking, animal petting you could want. But this year this wasn't in the plans, so we made it to a smaller nearby pumpkin farm to pick our future jack-o-lanterns and they had a never-before-seen corn clubhouse/maze that the kids enjoyed.

A series of 4 huge water containers connected by tunnels and filled with corn. Genius!

Racing rubber ducks down gutters with water pumps.

The Answer...

2011-10-13T20:43:00.001-05:00

...to the age-old question when buying school supplies...why do school kids need 500 glue sticks, can be found below:

Because of kids like my son, who use an entire stick for one simple craft. (See the solid chunks?) So...sorry. I also like how he started coloring the pumpkin solid orange and then decided that was too tedious, so just circled it a few times to get the general idea across. Love it!

And while I'm on the subject of Cole, I would just like to offer a word of warning. Any story of his that begins, "Once when I was Paige's age...." should be believed with caution.

How NOT to Win Mom Over

2011-10-11T21:19:00.000-05:00

1) When trying to convince Mom that you've eaten enough breakfast, don't show her your tummy and say, "See? It's big. It's as big as yours," like Cole did this morning. No brownie points.

2) Don't come off the bus blurting, "Mom, that fruit you gave me for lunch was totally rotten," like Will did today. (It was red pear slices and they were *slightly* browned).

3) Don't talk all. the. way. to the hair salon and then turn on the mute button when the stylist asks you to remind her if you're Will or Cole (like Cole did). Or I will tell her to call you Frank. Which she did.

4) Don't tell Mom she "should" do anything.

5) Don't stand inches away from the TV as if you're actually following the "turn off the TV" order only to watch another 10 minutes of it (like Paige did). Being within an arm's reach of the power button doesn't count. The TV IS STILL ON!

6) Don't admit to mom that when you don't feel like cleaning your room, you just put the small things on your bedside table, Will. Because now I know.

Who's the Boss?

2011-10-05T20:57:00.000-05:00

There is no doubt that hanging out with Cole is fun. It's super fun. But I'm not going to lie to you. He's getting kind of bossy. And when he asks you to play with him? He really means just sit near him and watch and listen. Because what you do will be wrong. And don't have any of your own ideas. Ever. I've got some proof of this independent leader...

I was the tools. Only I wasn't loading them in Handy Manny's toolbox right, so I was fired.

Cole, sprinting ahead of me when he spotted the bridge he INSISTED I was taking us the wrong direction to.

Telling me we're going to wait here until a train comes. (Put my foot down on this one. I think we could have been there for days.)

Telling me he knows how to hike without holding hands near water. (Like, what? He's done it a million times? Oh, maybe that I was when I was still in his tummy.)

Just gotta love that kid! And moments like this, when you are reminded that momhood is the best job ever. It was a sneak video job, so visual is poor.

Random Thoughts

2011-10-03T21:18:00.001-05:00

1. Cole is getting real comfortable with swimming lessons and his new male instructor. He can be seen across the pool bobbing his head and pointing his finger while telling his teacher what he IS and IS NOT willing to do today. When Will expressed anxiety about his lesson tonight, Cole even chimed with his advice, "Just tell your teacher you do NOT want to put your head under water." Because that's exactly what he does.

2. I feel like I usually have a pretty good start at Christmas ideas/lists by this time of year. If this is true, it's safe to say I'm behind.

3. Cole told me over the weekend while we were making homemade applesauce (that tasted fair) that I didn't remember that he tried homemade applesauce before because it was when I was still in his tummy.

4. We have blown through our fall household to-do list - and that feels great!

5. I am in a one-woman fight for good customer service. My weapon is positive reinforcement. Instead of complaining when it's bad (or, let's face it - average lately), I'm going to make sure I am vocal about the good.

6. Is there anything better than a whole house that is clean all at one time? No, really, someone tell me because I wouldn't know.

7. Paige has a fashionista gene that she did not inherit from me.

8. My dogs - they got probably one of their last outside baths today due to the season change. Bailey is a wonderdog - seemingly reaching the end her road, then jumping back into normal. Milo has become a sucker for any comfy place to snuggle, much to the pleasure of the kids.

9. This upcoming weekend - it's a three-dayer. The way all weekends should be.

10. I've been able to enjoy some 2-hour spurts of alone time while Cole is in school and I've learned a couple things. 1) It's amazing how much I can get done alone. 2) It's a little piece of heaven - but doesn't compare to seeing his little face when I pick him up and he shares his stories with me.

Moments

2011-09-28T21:15:00.001-05:00

It has come to my attention that since the school year has started, my zest for blogging has decreased. I think it may have to do with the following:

2/3s of my kids (my subject matter) are gone most of the day
I'm just plain tired come evening (blogging time)
Things are more routine. Not many people want to hear that we did homework, took showers and then read. Every night.
My kids are getting older. Some discussions / subject matters I don't deem to be the business for the Internet world. (Entertaining, yes. Appropriate, no.)

And much like my lack luster blog, I am feeling the doldrums of school year routine. Yes...already. But I'm adjusting, with my new epiphany that "quality" time with my kids is now not a day trip to a park/zoo/attraction like it was in summer. Now, they are the small moments that I soak up and savor. And the funny thing is that they can be just as sweet! Here are some:

A heart to heart discussion about "friends" with Paige while in bed
My day with Cole today - anything we felt like doing
Will's dimples when he gets off the bus and the subsequent squeeze around my waist
Rocking with Paige last night - because she just had the urge and hadn't been rocked in a long time...
Watching Will start to tackle homework with me - smiling ear to ear
Lunch dates with just Cole
Cole's help. He wrapped the vacuum cord up for me today because he "knows how. Really." It was a mess. I happily put it away that way.
Finding fun new hairstyles with Paige in the morning. (Braids are SO in right now, apparently).
Reading time
Dinner time

Weekend Agenda Fulfilled

2011-09-25T21:08:00.000-05:00

Weekend agenda: restful fun.

This means no major plans, just whatever we feel like whenever we feel like it.

And that was a perfect plan because Will came home (from his 1 day of school this week due to croup) with what looked like black eyes. It even initiated a call from the teacher to assure us that he did not get hurt at school. He was just still fighting this virus. So rest and relaxation was in order!

We are grateful for some impromptu things this weekend:

Impromptu carpet stretching service (on our fall to-do list) thanks to being in the right place at the right time
Impromptu carpet steam cleaning thanks to steam cleaner guy having a cancellation!
Impromptu double date night with friends to nice restaurant made possible by....
Impromptu babysitting by my parents!

Combine this with a great family movie night in the basement, playdates and halloween decorating and weekend agenda fulfilled!

Cole, in charge of window clings on the playroom door. Unfortunately, this had to be re-done during naptime because mama couldn't handle the mess of fingerprints on the glass. Shhhh! The kids also turned the entire living room in to a "fort" of fake spider webs. I know this for sure because I just had to army crawl to retrieve Will's water bottle to wash up. Cole didn't play in this much, though, because one strand of fake spider web stuck across his face evoked freak out 2011 and he was pretty done with it.

Is it Friday yet?

2011-09-22T21:25:00.003-05:00

BAD NEWS
Will was diagnosed with croup and has yet to go to school this week. We're hoping for tomorrow.

GOOD NEWS
I have been reminded of how nice it is to have the 2 boys home together at the same time...entertaining each other.

BAD NEWS
Rich was gone this week at a conference

GOOD NEWS
I had the DVR to myself and he brought back "stuff" for everyone!

BAD NEWS
I currently don't have faucets in my master bathroom.

GOOD NEWS
The bathroom remodel is almost complete!

BAD NEWS
Cole has surprised me with his separation anxiety during preschool drop-off.

GOOD NEWS
Today was a cry-free day!

BAD NEWS
Having Will home has thrown off my more-routine exercise routine.

GOOD NEWS
Cole told me today that I have skinny elbows. So, like, that's saying something.

BAD NEWS
Cole refused to hold my hand while heading into a store last night.

GOOD NEWS
When I asked if he was too cool he said, "No, YOUR hands are too cold." Thus, reminding me that he is still nice and little and not at all too cool!

BAD NEWS
This week seemed double in length than it should have been.

GOOD NEWS
Tomorrow is Friday!!

Boo, Germs

2011-09-19T21:20:00.001-05:00

The timing is about right. Cole has had a little cough/cold after just 2 days of preschool and now Will is down for the count with a fever/headache. Never mind that it's the first week of "real" homework for him that the teacher has been gearing them up for. And never mind that this is just 1 of two weeks of the year that Rich travels for work. *sigh*

So, I pray that I just saw the worst of it (high fever/chills) and that things improve from here - including not spreading to other members of the family.

In other news, Cole earned a small prize on Thursday for holding it together at preschool drop off. (And it was not easy, judging from the turned down lips and quivering chin). I have a feeling he'll be tempted to let his emotions go tomorrow, too. So, I'm prepared with another positive reinforcement in the form of a McDonald's lunch (drive-thru only, since we'll have the sick one in tow). We'll keep you posted!

Ahhhh...footbal!

2011-09-15T21:55:00.003-05:00

Fall is my favorite season and it's not just because of the colors, smells, and weather. I also love football season. Not that I'm too "into" the games, but I lovethe simple sound of a football game on TV and football on Thanksgiving and football in searing heat and freezing cold! All part of fall.

And we always try to make a trip to Illini territory part of our fall, too! We made it last weekend for a beating against Sout Dakota State. But let's adimt it, we went for the hotel stay and tailgate! It was fun!

Hotel pool - a must-do

"GO ILLINI!"

SISTERS! And honorary Illini cheerleaders! :)

Tailgate! Lots of food and scooters for the kids which allowed them to scoot around the nearby parking lot which was a blast for them.

Riding in Cars with Cole

2011-09-13T21:14:00.002-05:00

If you've seen Disney's Up, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Doug the dog is known for becoming quickly sidetracked by squirrels:

This is exactly what it's like while riding in a car with Cole. Only, your nice, chatty conversations are ubruptly interrupted with a variety of words such as, but not limited to:

DUMP TRUCK!
TRAIN TRACK!
CAMPER!
AMBYLANCE!
POLICE CAR!
TOW TRUCK!
MONSTER TRUCK!

and more. And trust me, every vehicle of interest will get mention. It's so fun.

Where I Was

2011-09-11T14:35:00.001-05:00

Ten years ago on this day I was somewhat newly married, getting ready for my work day in my bathroom with the bedroom TV set to the Today show, as it always was. I remember hearing Matt Lauer's tone change when they interrupted their piece with news that a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I went into the bedroom and sat on the bed for the next several minutes, completely careless to the fact that I would be late for work, or that my 4-month old puppy was dying for my attention. I made my way to my car for the short 10-minute drive to my work, which happened to pass the outer limits of a small airport. What was normally a sky with at least some small craft action was completely quiet, clear.

Thankfully, being a new dietitian on staff, my schedule wasn't full and I spent my free time in my boss' office watching the story unfold, seeing the towers fall. I remember alerting my husband to stay tuned to the news if possible and hearing a coworker utter some Middle Eastern name that was practically unheard of to me at the time, but quickly became a common household name.

For days to weeks following, I was glued to 24-hour news television trying to understand the stories, the politics, and process by which this nation would heal.

All three of my children have been born in this decade following 9/11. And ten years later I am still glued to shows that depict the events of that day. Not because I'm riveted by dramatization, but because for the sake of those whose lives were lost and their loved ones who are left with such a feeling of loss, I want to remember what happened...every detail that I can.

And last night while we watched such a show, a certain 3-year old made his way out of bed and was hiding behind the couch. When I picked him up to replace him into his room, I gave him the tightest hug with his arms wrapped snuggly around my neck and was intensely saddened by the the thought that so many people didn't get to do that just one last time because of that day.

Sock season

2011-09-08T21:01:00.001-05:00

Today wasn't a stellar second day of preschool for Cole. He cried. Consequently, so did I. But, he recovered and seemed to enjoy his day after the first 5 minutes or so. I will report after a couple weeks how he really feels about preschool.

Onto more important things...sock season: the pros and cons.

If you asked me in the summer if I liked bare-foot season, I'd have said 'no.' Afterall, look at all the negatives:

Can't take off your dirty feet, therefore, dirty floor
Feet that need a literal scrubbing nightly
Toenails: dirt under them too
Sand and leaves that stick to feet - then make themselves at home on the floor
Puddles/drips that come from feet that were recently in a pool/slip'n slide now on floor

So, in comes cool weather and the need for socks. Only, I'm not feeling so relieved as now I contend with:

Laundry-loads of what seems like just white socks that only differ slightly from each other
Socks stashed in random places in the house when the person deems a couple minutes of bare-foot time is necessary.
Dirty socks that don't get white white ever again
Stinky socks I have to touch and sort

Since this is obviously a lose/lose situation, I've decided to start placing boxes of footies at my doors for family members to put on while spending some time in the house and toss when they're done. You know, like at home open houses? It's going to be cool.

Yes, this subject matter did deserve it's own post.

And he's off...

2011-09-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

It's official! Cole is a school kid. He did great on his first day! He was dressed and ready in the outfit we picked out the night before (like we do for the big kids) and happy to wear his backpack (and a little concerned about where it was going to be when he was in class). Though bummed that he isn't attending school with Paige and Will or taking a bus, he already has a sense of ownership of his school.

Not sure why he looks half bald in this picture. No worries. He's not.

Cutest sentiments from him:
On the drive there he murmers, "I hope they share their friends" (Assuming that surely everyone else is already friends with each other)

At breakfast he pities me and says I'm going to be all alone (a big sigh of relief from me who wasn't quite sure if he caught on that I'm not staying), but assured me that Bailey and Milo will keep me company!

His feedback was all positive: liked the snack, loved the playground, liked the toys and the play-doh. His one admission was that he almost cried because there were so many people, but he didn't.

Now, I could have ladened this post with mush about how I have had 3 chances to do this "first day of school ever" event and this is the LAST one. Ever. Or that when I left him at that preschool building I didn't have a toddler's hand to hold onto on the way back to the car. Or that I got to be a fly on the wall and watch him on the playground when he didn't know and guess what? He seemed fine without me. Because all of that is just sad on an otherwise very happy day.

Catching the Cuteness

2011-09-01T21:19:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've tried to make mental notes of the little cute happenings that I've been seeing. And since mental notes aren't good enough, I've actually written them down so I could record them here. And here they are:

Will's infatuation with the dogs grew to an all time high this summer. So, understandably, he misses them the whole school day. One can be sure to catch him in serious snuggle time with both dogs at some point after coming home from school.
Cole has a pair of slippers. If he looks down and sees the rugs are removed from the tile floor (meaning that I have recently mopped), he runs and puts his "wet floor" slippers on.
The fact that a refurbished swing set can have kids outside playing in the sand at 7:30am before school!
The fact that these outfits are not coincidentally similar. (Whenever possible, Cole tries to pattern his outfit for the day off of Will's.)...

A little taste of what crazy is like.

Paige's comment to me tonight when reading a nonfiction book about mammals: If you won't let me get a bird and if they were sold as pets, I'd love to get a zebra.

Days With Cole

2011-08-30T15:18:00.000-05:00

I've been excited about the opportunity to have extended alone time with Cole this year. Last year, even though Will went to Kindergarten, it was when Cole napped. Though heavenly, it didn't make for much quality time.

But he's older now and much accustomed to big brother and sister playing, occupying, and entertaining him. So now, those people are...ME. And little did I know (because it wasn't all addressed to me) that that kid has a lot to say! But we're working on navigating through our days with just each other. Translation: I'm re-learning how to play cars / super heroes and he is realizing that some of the one hundred gazillion comments he makes a day simply won't get a response because there's a quota of uh-huhs? and reallys? that I can say that I would otherwise reach by 10am.

But really focusing in on what he DOES have to say can definitely keep me laughing. Here are a few examples:

We were playing on our "chalk town" on our driveway and he was visiting me at my house, but then invited me to his house for dinner. I asked when I should be there. His answer, "A lot of times."

The fact that he still calls "guitars" "tuigars."

The fact that every time we see a cute dog he says we should get one like that when Bailey and Milo get dead. (well, not really funny, but still how do you not chuckle?)

Ah! The weekend!

2011-08-28T21:53:00.000-05:00

Even though we only muscled through 3 days of school last week, the weekend was a welcomed break before a full-fledged week! And it was a nice weekend with some shopping, a project, and a birthday party for a cousin!

Our project was re-staining our playset. It needed a major overhaul and so we also did a little renovation too (lost the picnic table and made the sandbox bigger with benches). We also bought some replacement accessories and did a full power wash / re-stain process. Because this was indeed a process, it became a family affair Sunday morning in which all hands were on deck to stain. The kids did awesome!

Will even helped Saturday, too. He was totally into it!

Then, tonight, it was a school night and both kids expressed an interest in tomorrow being Saturday again instead of Monday. Maybe it's the picture-perfect weather; maybe it's that they haven't become engrossed in the routine enough yet, or maybe it's because Paige isn't the most keen on her teacher (after last year's whom she SO adored). Either way, summer mentality is still hanging on! And the bigger sandbox is calling their names!

First Day! The Good and the Questionable

2011-08-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

The GOOD:

The kids were up and at 'em at 6:30am. Their enthusiasm was palpable!
Cole and my day was so relaxing and enjoyable...and productive
Both Paige and Will appear to like their teachers!
Will had art today. He loves art!
No homework (yet)!

The QUESTIONABLE:

Will's lunch came home with a 1/2 empty bag of carrots. I didn't give him carrots.
If you're going to drive a bus route all year, wouldn't you do a dry run? Like, at least once?
Kids were ~20 minutes later than their posted time off the bus leading to very hot and tired kids
Cole's face LIT UP when Will said he'd play cars with him today after school. (I read that as mom's play doesn't come close to big brother's).
I missed my kids. Alot.

What I'm Looking Forward to...

2011-08-23T17:42:00.000-05:00

...with the start of school (in no particular order):

A house that stays clean for more than 5 minutes
More silence
Hearing my name less-frequently
Feeding only 1 kid a lunchtime (which is cancelled out by the fact that I now have to pack 2 lunches at night.)
My one-on-one time with Cole!
More regular exercise regime
My favorite time of day: after-school pow wow
Seeing my kids learn new things
School functions
Shopping with less (or no!) kids!
Less talking (let's hope Cole doesn't set a goal to make up for 2 mouths missing)
Getting to know the teachers
Seeing the kids in some of their new school clothes
Did I mention the silence? (I type, as I hear one child singing a made-up song about wanting a bird and another crashing an RC car into walls). Yeah, bring on the silence.
Let's admit it - a new school year brings new seasons of TV shows and earlier bedtimes! Awesome.

The One Where Paige Makes ME Feel Better

2011-08-22T21:33:00.000-05:00

Tonight I had another blog topic planned, but due to events of tonight I thought I'd jot my thoughts down while they're fresh. My other topic (what I'm looking forward to when school starts) I'm sure I won't forget anytime soon.

Tonight was preview night at the kids' elementary school. It was more than just meeting and greeting as it usually is because they didn't make class lists public before this night (only the names of children's teachers were able to be viewed) so the kids got to learn who was in their class with them as well as meeting their teachers / seeing their classrooms.

Will has the teacher Paige had for first grade. I am thrilled with this in that I was very happy with her and he seemed pleased and happy to see a few good friends in his class.

Paige, however, had a new teacher that we weren't familiar with. Tonight we found out that she is BRAND new (like just moved her stuff out of college new). The plus is that that college was U of I - so we know she has wise taste! Third grade is a big year curriculum-wise and I would think experience would be key in easing kids into this change/increase in intensity. In addition, while 3rd-5th grades are on the second level of the school, this new teacher has her classroom on the first floor due to space purposes. I was instantly frozen with anticipation of what Paige's reaction would be to this. She was amazing.

Not only did she not have a problem with this, she went on to point out the pluses of having a first floor classroom (some of these included easier fire/tornado drills, closer to recess, closer to music/art, closer to lunch, and being the ultimate oldest on the floor). And she was sure to explain these benefits to some friends that pitied her while we were out playing on the school playground afterwards.

She has enthusiasm, confidence and positivity enough for two people. Even my concern about her teenage teacher started to dwindle as I watched her thrill for the new year only grow.

This town recently was listed in Money Magazine's Top 100 small towns in the U.S. Among the attributes measured to arrive at this list were schools. There are so many things about our school district that currently urk me. And so I hope the school board rises to the occasion of this title and starts making wise, confident decisions, because the more stable and secure our schools are, the more students will feel that security and comfort entering each year...like Paige and Will do this year.

Summer Wrap-Up

2011-08-21T22:07:00.000-05:00

In looking through my blog at this time last year, I realize that we tend to wrap our summers up the same way each year: our annual trip to Six Flags, Farm Day, and some good family time before the firm schedules ensue.

This year, we added an overnight after Six Flags at my sister's house where she and her husband recently purchased a boat. My kids were instant fans of boating and we were blessed with perfect weather for it! Thank you to them for their hospitality and awesome boat. Here are some quotable quotes from the day:

Will (after kicking it up to 40mph): This is MUCH faster than a canoe
Cole: Why doesn't this boat have seatbelts?
Paige (out on the tube): Faster!

Swimming off the end of the boat. Rich literally congratulated me for doing this, you know, because it's not chlorinated and stuff.

Cole hanging out on the boat

Will - with this permament smile the whole time

Will and Riley looking on Jamie and Paige (a tubing pro)

Me and Paige. I was made fun of for my paranoid face. Let the picture prove that I AM SMILING! I missed uploading a pic of Rich and Will tubing - but it was hilarious with Will's body bouncing all over - all the while smiling!

Cousins!

Paige - making tremendous strides in water!

Picnic at the marina!

FARM DAY! Paige helping grandma work the food tent.

Cole's first pony ride, I think. I was not allowed to hold on per his rules and he would have much rather that I not walked along side also. I don't think so.

Hay ride! And I didn't include a pictures of white 3-week old goats but I believe Paige's quote was, "I'm SO asking grandpa to get one of those!"

Imagination

2011-08-16T21:22:00.000-05:00

If ever Will's imagination was doubted, here is the proof I need:

I mean, not only is it a chicken made out of the outline of his hand, but it has FOUR legs! (chuckle, chuckle) And I must say, it seems to be walking much better with the extra two. Maybe Will's onto something!

Who's Line is it Anyway?

2011-08-11T21:02:00.000-05:00

Today the kids played pirates.

Eye patches: Check!

Skeleton telescope: Check!

Weapons: Check!

Lines: Despite endless coaching by Paige and Will that it's "Argh, Mateys," Cole never strayed from his pirate catch phrase, "Argh, Ladies."

School's Out For Summer!

2011-08-09T21:15:00.000-05:00

Seems like just last week I chalked that very sentence in gigantic letters on our driveway for when the kids got off the bus. Now, they're going back. Soon.

I can't say I'm the type of parent who is counting down until his/her freedom when school is back in session. I have just SO enjoyed this latter part of summer! Take today, for example. I had made a list of 4 things we could do today for the kids to vote on, which included hiking at a nearby forest preserve. What was the unanimous choice? Stay at home and play. And so we did.

From 8am-12pm the kids were in the basement playing (and only then did they get dressed for the day). What started as Play-Doh morphed into Easy-Bake-Everything-We-Can which turned into a mock birthday party which transitioned into an all-out dance party complete with disco lights! I mean, you can't PLAN this stuff! Then, later in the day, they removed a screen from a back window and played McDonald's drive-thru complete with happy meal toy giveaways!

Combine this with the fact that it's been a while since we've sat down to eat in the evening and Cole hasn't deemed the meal "the best dinner ever" and I'm pretty much in heaven! He even gave me the title of "best maker ever."

Who would want this to end? Not me.

On Relaxing

2011-08-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

It has come to our attention lately that we can do alot more relaxing lately. An outing is no longer a careful balancing act between holding a kid, watching another, carrying multiple bags, fighting away the next meltdown, or cleaning up a mess. We can sit back and relax more and (gasp) have enjoyment for ourselves, not merely enjoyment through our children. We're fans.

Our vacation was a good example. Going to the public pool this past weekend is another. Our kids were somewhere else and Rich and I were finishing our hot dogs. So many keys to that statement:
1) Not having to hover over our kids
2) Finishing a meal
3) Quality time with each other

Today I took the kids to the mall for some school shopping and guess what? My hands were empty! Paige insisted on pushing the stroller (which I still take because Cole has wounded leg syndrome that strikes at random times) and catering to Cole's every whim. We had a great time! (Caution: not being preoccupied and juggling many things while shopping can lead to increased purchases).

But here's a time that I WASN'T relaxed! This was literally the 2nd time the kids have attempted the skate park on the their bikes. Paige was doing the same as Will, but isn't in the video...

Getting older...

2011-08-03T21:50:00.000-05:00

The end of this summer will mark Paige going into 3rd grade. Though just the next grade, I find it to be a leap in terms of maturity. I don't know if it's simply being able to be around her more (and less peer influence) or just a maturing age, but Paige is just plain enjoyable to be around. Rather talkative, yes, but enjoyable.

Today she made up this game for the boys to play (water whack). It's a sort of water balloon / pinata combo that had them busy for 2 hours this afternoon!

Last night, after coming in from my run (she was supposed to be in bed) I walked in the door panting from the heat. She came to the banister and asked if I was okay. I said I was just really hot. Her response: I think I established that. What 8-year old says that?

She has also become more interested in mothering Cole - and even Will, for that matter. Saying encouraging words to them about their reading/drawing/biking much like a teacher or parent would. It's refreshing and, personally, makes my heart swell to hear such sweet (okay, and maybe a little condescending) words from her to her brothers.

Lastly, after watching Pocahontas for the first time in at least a couple years, Paige admitted that she still likes princess-y movies. And she said that that is one thing she doesn't like about school...that people ask you if you like certain things and if you do they call you names. As she matures, I will do all I can to encourage her to stay true to herself and her beliefs/tastes. To hear her talk now, I'd say she's on her way to being that strong-minded confident girl.

Ba-cation!

2011-08-01T21:07:00.001-05:00

Traveling the expressways north to Wisconsin, Cole finally asks, "Is this bacation?"

Yes. Yes it is.

But if you ask Will, it's not official until you step foot into your hotel room (which he often confuses with the the word "apartment.") And for Paige, it starts when they hop in the vacation mobile and see their "prizes." (In this case, each got an activity book and a pack of orange Tic Tacs - a favorite).

We opted for a getaway this summer that was light on the travel, so we went to Blue Harbor Resort on the Lake Michigan coast of Wisconsin:

It was perfect in that the room seemed to be made for us with a separated room with a set of bunk beds and another twin bed shaped like a boat. We enjoyed the indoor water park, outdoor pool, festival that was going on, restaurants and more! So here is a pictorial tour of our 4-day stay.

I'm building one of these rooms in our house because we had GREAT sleepers every night!

Eating in the room. "This is the BEST. DINNER. EVER," said Cole. Only it was lunch. And it was Subway.

First night there - looking out over the foggy lake

Cole had a blast in the outdoor pool

Ahhh...the good life!

We visited the beach. It was gross. I tried to mind-over-matter it, but it wasn't happening. The kids had fun exploring, though.

Will, looking for fish.

Cole, diggin in the sand for a bit. See those seagulls in the background? Well, they left their mark ALL OVER the beach.

And it was dead fish season! Happy dead fish season. P.S. don't plan on coming to the beach during dead fish season

Ahhhh! Nicer sand at a state park!

We went for a little hike!

Then we traveled further north to the Maritime Museum. Very neat museum!

And we toured the USS Cobia submarine. It was SO cool!

There was a kids' section where they could float boats and try different things like canals, dams, and wind.

And we couldn't be right in her neck of the woods and not visit my friend Kelly who moved back to her home town not too long ago! She did a fantastic job making great recommendations to us for the trip and it was great to see her and her family!

Some Fun Things

2011-07-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

1) A relaxing day at a local park / mini zoo that was so nice with just the kids and my mom:

Didn't plan for the splash park - but didn't stop the kids! That's Will.

2) A visit from a friend in St. Louis who just had her 3rd boy five weeks ago! An ultimate playdate!

Cole and Jared - have the same picture of our two oldest boys, too!

Babysitter for hire

Both boys were enamored with the baby. I thought about how maybe we need another one. Then I remember how much I cherish 2 free hands...

William Quinn and how he's 6 now

2011-07-24T21:50:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (July 25th) Will is going to officially turn 6! I say "officially" because we had a day of celebration for him this past Saturday with a kid party in the morning and family party in the evening. (And Paige sandwiched a kid party of a friend of hers in the middle of the two!)

I drove five 6-year olds (with siblings/cousin coming in another van) to a go-kart/mini golf/bumper boat place nearby for some serious fun. Will was in his glory! One of his friends came up to me and said he "never wants to leave this place." It was a good time!

Will and his friends. This was Will most of the day - a ham.

Getting ready to drive! You could see the first timers were nervous their 1st lap, then got the hang of it and let loose!

Lunch/cupcakes

Water balloon wars!

Unwrapping wonderful treasures!

And after a brief intermission, was the family party:

Intently listening to big sister read the card

Legos! Legos was his day today. Insatiable appetite for legos.

I love this picture because 1) he's wearing his new Cubs hat and 2) sitting in the background making a blowing expression with her mouth as Will blows out the candle is his great-grandmother...84 years his senior!

I can so vividly remember when he was born and was so quiet in the hospital...so quiet that I actually had to wake him to feed him because I was afraid he was going too long without eating. (I later found out that under eating was not going to be a problem of his). But this good sleeping holds true still as last night he slept through a loud and bright storm that had the whole family (including dogs) up for a good part of the night. That's what I love about him - he has a strong sense of self and knows what he likes (like a good night of sleep)...at the ripe old age of six! Happy Birthday, Will!

Today's Funnies

2011-07-21T20:58:00.000-05:00

With the weather being so hot, the kids and I have gotten real comfortable with just finding fun things to do around here. It has been fun spending some relaxing, unscheduled time with the kids. They have truly been having so much fun together as well! Arguing is at an all-time low.

Here are some things that made me giggle today:

We were shopping at a grocery store and I pointed out a package that was retro (a marketing ploy many manufacturers are using now) and I told the kids that's what those foods used to look like when I was little. Rounding the end of an aisle I overhear Will to Paige, "Hey, Paige, I bet when we're older things will look different than it does now. Yeah, like cooler."

Paige is on a new "I want my very own puppy" kick lately thanks to rediscovering a book we have that outlines details on many breeds. She has decided a Schepperke would be perfect based on it's adaptability, size, demeanor, and look. So today I walked in her room and find an unfinished book on her bulletin board titled, "Days Without A Puppy: Starting July 20 and Ending Whenever I Get A Puppy."

I'll admit, when we're in our (pretty private) backyard, I've been known to send Cole to the bushes for a potty break instead of in the house (like if we're all dripping wet from the pool). Tonight we went for a hardly refreshing dip in the pool and Cole was mid-changing back into his clothes (yes, outside) when he decided he had to go. I don't take all the blame for what happened next. He marched, naked from the waist down, into the middle of the wide-open lawn, spead is legs and let loose. Of course, his siblings roared with laughter which I'm sure elicited a "I'm gonna do THAT again sometime" response in his head. But, of course, I was laughing too.

Cabs, Trains, and Automobiles

2011-07-18T21:19:00.000-05:00

Keeping up with the summer events on my blog is a bit difficult. It seems by the time I am able to sit down and write a (what has been) short post, I only have it in me to hit the major points. What's missing are the little daily details, funnies, and moments.

Like today, when Paige and I got home from dance class and Will had a present for her wrapped by the back door with her signature peace sign on it. (He had found a feather in grandma and grandpa's yard for her). Or the fact that Cole claimed to Rich that he needed to be carried down stairs because his legs were too little and he's scared of the dark. Or the fact that Paige could not be any more helpful around the house than she has been lately - chopping vegetables, running to fetch things from the basement, helping Cole out, feeding dogs, you name it. I feel like I have reached a sort of summer utopia.

But, now let's move onto the major bullet points: our train trip into the city to the Shedd aquarium. It was a day for many firsts: train ride, major museum, and taxi rides. What? We don't even need seat belts? Do you have ANY idea how much our kids would bob around the back seats if this were always true? A lot. I saw first hand. Then again, that was cabby-style driving in Chicago.

We had a great time! The aquarium was more crowded than I would have liked, but the entire experience was priceless! Paige was practically in tears with disbelief as sharks were swimming over our heads, "I can't believe it! I've read so much about sharks and now I'm actually seeing them LIVE!" Cole's quotable quote came about 2 1/2 hours after being in the city, "Hey, wait, is this Chicago?" And then my personal favorite was Will as we were walking through Union Station, "I feel like I'm in China." (Note to self: get the children more well-travelled).

Here are some pictures:

First time on a train

First time in a taxi

A silhouette of Paige in front of our view during lunch

Walking over stingrays - you can see one in the upper right corner

3 kids in a boat

Paige and Cole watching the dolphins (see the fin?) before the show began

Keeping Up

2011-07-13T21:34:00.000-05:00

Cole's status on keeping up with the bigs (or "the kids" as he refers to Paige and Will):

Biking - the kid can pedal that little 12" bike like there is no tomorrow. He can easily go 2 1/2 miles with no complaint. I still carry the "pooped out" trailer behind my bike for boy and bike when needed, but lately, it is needed less and less.
Swimming - it has been a slight struggle , but let's remember that the bigs' classes at age 3 were pretty much about splashing and having fun - not actually accomplishing goals. Today, however, he happily entered the water, blew bubbles and retrieved toys! (With his trademark "thumbs up" to us after each trick).
Play - He's right in there. Yesterday Paige and Will were excitedly running up the stairs and Cole was following just as excitedly behind them and turned to me and stated, "I don't know WHAT these guys are doing!"
Activities of Daily Living - He excels in dressing himself, brushing teeth, putting shoes on and buckling seat belts. Truly a big boy about this stuff!
Family Games - He's still a little lost at organized games, whether it be kickball or board games. Tonight during family game night he wasn't finding his niche in the game that was being played and so I agreed to get him a puzzle car track for him to build and play beside us. He was having a small fit and I asked him if he knows how to build that track. Through tears he cries, "No. I need a boy or a grown up."
And tomorrow (say a little prayer) he has his first dentist appointment!

So - still some growing to do - but he's keeping up for sure!

Summer: A Midterm Report Card

2011-07-11T22:24:00.000-05:00

Well, we're almost at mid-July and I've been thinking of my vague goals for summer and whether we have reached them, or it seems like we will. Here's our current status:

1. Taking Advantage of Outside/Backyard Play: A-
Our pool has made heading outside more fun when it's super hot. Granted, keeping the water blue and clear requires a chemistry degree and a 10 minute storm can completely undo my careful balance of chemicals - but the fun and increased comfort in water has been worth it.

We LOVE evening family bike rides, but with other activities in the evening right now, those aren't happening as as much as I'd like.

2. Organized Activities: A
Paige loved her week-long volleyball camp and is loving dance class. Will is in the middle of his first-time baseball season and practically plays with a smile on his face. All the kids are doing swim lessons. While we have a schedule, I don't feel like we constatnly have to be on the go.

3. Extra Activities: B+
There are SO many of these that I had listed (in my head) for summer and I am just now feeling like we're working down the list. Friday we went to Blackberry Farm with friends. (See pictures below) We went to Bouncetown today (thanks to the free pass earned from the summer reading program at the library which has been great), and we have planned a train ride to the city to the aquarium. We just went to one of at least a couple movies I'd like us to see in the theater this summer.

4. Travel: B
We have overnighted in Michigan and camped out at my sister's, but that's about it. Luckily, it looks like this grade will go up because we have a 3-night stay in Wisconsin planned soon that should hopefully mean waterpark and beach time!

5. Chores: A
I started a daily to-do list for the kids at the beginning of summer hoping to establish some sort of order and expectations for the kids. This has worked out great, with kids doing their respective tasks now without even having to look at the list!

6. Overall Harmony: B-
This continues to be a struggle. We tend to have a glorious day followed by a wretched day. Main issues are bickering and complaining. Here are some tactics I have employed that seem to be working: Zero complaint tolerance. If there is whining about what show we're watching...TV is simply turned off, for example. It gets attention. Another tactic is that if someone is "wronging" another, chores get shifted accordingly. It's an adventure daily.

7. Home projects: A
So- the biggie was window replacement which is done. Other than that, we didn't have our sights set too high, thankfully.

So far, so good for summer, I'd say! I'd also say that I'm not ready to see school supplies in stores yet! I need some more time to work this summer average up to a solid A+!

Paige, learning about the reprussions of answering a question wrong in the post-Civil War era in a little schoolhouse museum

On the open-air train ride. Cole was a major fan!

Friend Adam, Cousin Riley, and Will. (a.k.a. "Boy Club" on this day - they even had a little cheer they did)

The girls: cousin Renee, friend Christiane and Paige (and my friend Lisa in back)

Harvest Time

2011-07-07T21:30:00.000-05:00

Remember when I posted about starting a small garden? Well, we did it! We grew something! We are super excited and today was the first day I let the kids loose on the green beans. It's still a little too early for the others in the garden, though things are looking good!

That was us

2011-07-06T21:06:00.001-05:00

Attention fellow swim lesson takers: Big apology from me and my 3 year old. The reason your lessons were cancelled today? Yeah, that was us. Seems he swallowed a bit too much water, coughed and spit up a bit (and I mean a very little bit). But per protocol, everyone exited the pool like the plague had entered and lessons were cancelled.

Um...sorry.

Fourth Fest

2011-07-05T21:55:00.000-05:00

Super country celebrated with a super weekend!

We had a great dinner with Rich's side of the family Saturday night, then traveled up to my sister and her husband's house for an all-out camp-out party! Beautiful weather, generous hosts, and great company and food made it simply awesome! I tried to capture the mood and fun with these pictures...

Where did I sleep? (Hint: The least exciting option)

Backyard oasis

Jump House!

Having fun - and sweating!

Grandpa stopped the ice cream truck! The only kids that's missing is Cole who was being a bit picture stubborn.

S'mores time!

Will's pumped about s'mores time

I never DID get a bite of that!

Paige - hanging 'til midnight, her personal goal.

Lined up for Shawn's firework extravaganza!

The morning after. Waiting for the parade in the shade!

Cole-isms

2011-06-29T22:07:00.000-05:00

Remember that post yesterday about my sleep predictions? Yeah, well, I still simply don't know anything. Cole was up with the sun and crawling in our bed and only slept an hour at naptime again. Go figure...or don't, because it's impossible to figure! I've tried.

The good news is that he has been more agreeable and fun(ny). Here are some recents:

1) Realized today that he thinks "umbrella" is "gumbrella." Which makes sense, because it protects against sun and rain and...any falling gum?

2) He whined a bit in the car because I wouldn't turn on the "conairditioning," which only took me 5 repeats to realize what he was even ASKING for!

3) After a morning of super chattery kids, we sat down to lunch and there was silence. I commented that now I know how to quiet them down to which Cole replied with 2 fingers up and nodding, "Peace, dude. Peace."

4) After doing a super cool trick on the couch, he lands and says, "I sink. I have. A wudgie."

That's my Cole!

More On Sleep

2011-06-28T21:30:00.000-05:00

Looking back, I see I have many posts on sleep. Sleep is important. For kids, even moreso. I have alluded to the fact that I feel good sleep fuels good sleep and lack of sleep fuels less sleep. It takes a significant leap to get back into that sleep-fueling-sleep cycle. I'm happy to report that after NOT being in it...Cole might have taken the leap.

Here was the track record:
Late night to 11:30pm
No nap following day (I know, illogical)
Following day only a 50 minute nap (usually 2 hours)
Rough time at bedtime
Following day only 50 minute nap
Rough time at bedtime
TODAY: 2 HOUR NAP!
Bedtime (which was early because we are having an issue with throwing toys at people and biting) was a breeze despite not getting read to! And trust me, that would have resulted in insta-meltdown on a previous night.

The longer nap got him over the hump and I'm pretty sure we won't get an early morning visit and snooze from a certain 3 year old because of it!

Another Fun Weekend

2011-06-26T15:30:00.001-05:00

This weekend was especially exciting due to a last-minute stay from our friends the Diehl family! They were headed this general direction to see their new baby niece / cousin, and stayed with us! They were here for about 12 hours and with only 5 hours of sleep, the kids maximized their playtime! It was so fun and only left the kids wanting more!

Breakfast time - Cole hadn't quite rolled out of bed yet

Standing in chronological order

Pen Pals

Then, the kids earned their prizes for the first half of the reading club at our library, one of which was a free bumper boat ride at a local fun center. They did go karts and bumper boats and were big fans!

Little nervous, but ready

Will (1st) and Paige (2nd) taking the curves

Rich and Cole (with Cole borrowing his hat as a shield)

Cole opted for 2 rides in leiu of mini golf. Motorhead.

Quotable Quotes

2011-06-21T15:16:00.000-05:00

1. While practicing counting with flashcards, I asked Cole how many noses he had. Cole: "One." Me: "How many ears do you have?" Cole: "Two." Me: "How many fingers do you have?" Cole: "ALOT!"

2. While walking through Walmart, Cole saw a Caution: Slippery Floor sign with the falling person icon on it. He declares, "Look! That says boys and girls are NOT allowed to jump on their butts."

3. I came downstairs this morning and Cole had one sock on. I asked him why he only had 1 sock on to which he replied, "My pinkie toe wasn't going in this one right so I just stuck it in my pocket." I guess he figured he'd try THAT again later!

Let's Put It This Way...

2011-06-20T19:59:00.000-05:00

...two thirds of my kids slept AT LEAST until 8:30 am today.

That's a definite sign of a GREAT weekend! It was the annual summer festival in our town that entertains us with music, rides, a parade, and food! We didn't make it to bed before 10pm for 3 nights in a row! Crazy kids!

The SWINGS! These used to be my favorite and this was Will's first time! He said it was "so relaxing."

Parade! LOVE the bag pipers!

Climbing a gigantic tractor with cousin Renee during "wheels go round."

Camel rides! Cole's quotable quote while riding - "What IS this thingamajiggie?"

Motorcycles, of course!

Bummer, it's blurry! Super scary cliff hanger ride with Dad!

Fast cars!

Cole's favorite carnival food!

Paige ran her first road race and got 64th place in the 1 mile run! :)

One of our gifts to dad. Hope everyone had a happy father's day!

A Mom's Vantage Point

2011-06-16T21:36:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from a mom's vantage point:

Watching lessons - he LOOKS like he's enjoying it, but trust me...not so much!

Morning cartoons = quiet coffee

Watching concentration as a child learns something new

Overlooking the baseball onlookers

Coach Dad and son (crouching)

My favorite quotes of the day...

2011-06-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

They're more on the sweet than funny side, which I needed as today wasn't my favorite.

Paige: We were cooking dinner together as the boys were out baseball glove shopping. She was trying a new way to wrap a burrito (chicken and black beans stuffed burritos - YUM!) and I hear her mutter, "Wow, this is a lot easier on Cooking Mama."

Will: Wanders into Cole's room as I'm reading to him before bed and asks, "Um, when you're done reading to Cole, can you come back in my room and snuggle me some more?"

Paige: "Do you think tonight instead of going to bed I could pretend to be you for a littler bit? Because, I just think you're cool and a really good role model."

Yes. I know that last one is just a ploy to stay up later, but it was still good to hear! The answer was 'no.'

Adjustment Period

2011-06-14T21:12:00.000-05:00

Just as kids have an adjustment period when a school year starts, I think parents have an adjustment period when school ends. I'm adjusting...slowly.

It's ironic because despite that fact that my kids are older and can feed themselves and take potty breaks independently, I still could believe I may have ran a marathon each day when it comes to a close. I think that though physically I don't have as much to do (no more holding, stroller-pushing, etc), mentally...I'm feeling the burn. There are so many questions, inquiries, mom-look-at-this's, can-you-open-this's, where's my ____, and refereeing, that by the end of the figurative marathon I feel the need to stretch and hydrate.

Don't get me wrong. I'm loving the relaxed schedule and the fact that the kids are getting more home influence than peer influence and just plain hanging out with them. It's just that I'd like to take a full stride without running into a kid or dog and I'd like more silence to collect my thoughts. But I'm adjusting.

When It All Catches Up...

2011-06-13T21:00:00.001-05:00

What a busy non-regular schedule time we've had! Let's do the math:
3 nights with thunderstorms: broken nights of sleep
window installation: no nap
trip to Michigan: no nap + late night

It should equal a horribly unruly, irritable 3 year old. Only, Cole wasn't! The 4 hour trip to Michigan was (dare I say) dreamy! We don't have a great history with car sleepers, but with a movie, games, and books, there was just about never a complaint.

Then, the night was late with another wake-up due to Cole falling out of bed (he was okay and I had taken precautions for this that helped...this might have been due to Will being sprawled across the whole bed they were sharing). And low and behold, the ride home (with no sleepers) was just as enjoyable! Will read Cole books, played his Leapster and did workbooks. Paige was content as could be with her workbooks, MP3 player and books. Cole ate snacks, played with toys and serenaded us with songs like "Kung Fu Fighting." We had a great visit with family and are so glad we went.

But...you know it had to happen. And it wasn't until about bedtime tonight. Cole. Lost. It. I had signs of his short fuse as the evening progressed so I had already promised him a piece of candy if he took a bath without a problem. Only when the time came he wanted two pieces. *meltdown* Then he didn't want to brush his teeth. *meltdown* Then he ONLY wanted mommy. *meltdown* It was hard not to laugh at the utter hysteria that he was. Finally, after getting him to chuckle (to break the ice), I rocked him and sang him the song I always did when he was an infant - "This Old Man." Only one round into the lullaby and he was crashed on my shoulder. Sigh. And when do you put a 3 year old whose cheeks are within perfect kissable distance in his bed? The answer is when you absolutely have to go to the bathroom...but you soak it up as much as you can until then. Here's to a good night's sleep!

Leave of absence

2011-06-09T21:03:00.000-05:00

I'm taking a blogging leave of absence for a while. Isn't summer supposed to be kick back and relax time? I've definitely felt busier and crazier. Of course, today didn't help. Mother nature seems to have gotten her panties in a bunch and after storms, we lost power early this morning for 5 hours and sump pump issues ensued. (Try explaining "no TV" to a cranky 3 year old. It goes something like this: No, not even a DVR'd show. No, not a DVD either. I can't turn the TV on. You try. See?")

Things are good now, just in time to take window treatments off windows and prepare for installation tomorrow and Saturday. Only there's an 80% chance of severe storms. Both days. That should work out well. Follow this up with an overnight in Michigan for a grad party and blogging will be on the bottom of the cleaning, laundry, window treatment shopping, child care to-do list.

On Losing It

2011-06-08T21:46:00.001-05:00

1) I've completely lost my cathartic naptime/catch up time in the afternoons. It's devastating. With the bigs home, the little knows he's missing something and...well...I'm left never feeling quite caught up.

2) Since we've lost patio space with the pool, this awesome scaled-down picnic table that my dad built arrived with perfect timing! Makes for good pool party picnics!

3) Money. This week is our long-put-off home maintenance task of new windows in our house. It's expensive and will probably be an annoying couple of days, but the end result (windows you can actually SEE through) will be much appreciated!

4) Have you seen the commercials for learning centers that tout that students can lose up to a third of what they learned in the school year? I have summer workbooks for the kids that I hope for them to work out of this summer. I was reminded of these today when Will read the word see-saw as "see take away saw." It didn't seem odd to him that a mathematical sign snuck its way into his story? Yeah. We need to stay on top of things!

Summer Start

2011-06-06T21:18:00.002-05:00

The weather definitely has us in summer mode! While I'm tempted to throw caution to the wind and adopt the 'so what? It's summer?' mantra, I AM trying to keep some sort of order/schedule to things.

Unfortunately, our first weekend was spent mourning the loss of a relative of mine. Though of advanced age, it was a sudden loss of life that reminds us to count our blessings daily. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend time with relatives I so rarely get to see and I'm thankful for the chance to discuss life and death to my kids - further strengthening their faith in God.

Will was able to make it to a birthday party of a school friend of his this weekend. They learned karate. It was the cutest ever (and I was tempted to sign him up as they HAVE to say 'yes ma'am' at all times).

They had to shout hy-YA!

Broken board - signed by the sensei - super proud of this

And, we broke down and got a bigger temporary pool hoping that the lifespan might be longer and the fun level might be higher. No kids in it at this time due to frigid water temps, but later they braved it - but it should provide hours of fun once it warms a bit more! (Or perhaps I'll get a raft and a good book and use it myself!)

Beginning and End

2011-06-02T21:16:00.001-05:00

Will and his friend jumped off the bus today - their last day of school - and announced that they are 1st graders! I reveled in the excitement and joy in Will's face and can't believe how far he has come this school year.

We started with tears every afternoon and a hug "quota" that had to be reached before he'd climb aboard the bus. Then we graduated to getting in the groove of things and going with the flow. Then we entered "too cool" phase where he wished to ride the bus home despite mom being at school leaving at the same time. But I haven't lost the giant hug after school in the afternoon and I'll take that for as long as it lasts. And I hope it's long.

First day of school. He still wears this outfit so he hasn't grown leaps and bounds.

Just a few weeks ago when his class's eggs hatched.

It's Coming

2011-06-01T21:10:00.000-05:00

Summer, I mean. I'm super excited and nervous, if I'm being honest. Excited because the kids are that much more independent, because they are taking/doing some fun things this summer, and because I am ready for a change of pace.

Nervous because I'm now full-time entertainment chairman for 3 busy kids. Let me paint the picture of what I see in my immediate future:

SITUATION: right after dinner, kids had been excused

ACTIVITY: Rich and I taking five to catch up on the day

SIMULTANEOUS INTERRUPTION 1: Cole standing on the arm of the couch pleading with us to watch his awesome stunt

SIMULTANEOUS INTERRUPTION 2: Will literally pulling on Rich's arm to come see the wicked cool Hot Wheels track he set up in his room

SIMULTANEOUS INTERRUPTION 3: Paige, pointer in hand, wanting everyone's attention so that she could teach us all about the most common Illinois birds according to the poster she earned from school that she mounted on the kitchen wall

So with a printed kids' "chore" list, the library reading program, and a larger temporary pool in contemplation, I slip on the flip flops and dive into summer. Ready or not.

A Decade

2011-05-26T21:17:00.000-05:00

Today Rich and I celebrate 10 years of marriage. There is definitely something different about this anniversary - being able to say that it has been an entire decade. I'd like to refer to this first decade as the "build decade." It is the decade in which we built our foundation for marriage, and built our family as we know it today.

We woke and were getting ready in the bathroom and Rich mentioned that it was just like the morning we got married. "Because it's rainy and cold?" I said. "No," he replied, "because we're getting ready in a bathroom with 3 kids and 2 dogs popping in and out." Okay...so things have changed...majorly.

Tonight we traveled to a fun little restaurant in town for dinner as a family (the solo dinner will wait until maybe this weekend and will have its perks - like no rush trips to the bathroom) and at one point I sat back and just soaked in all we have and thought about how there is no where I'd rather be.

Except maybe doing the same thing in Hawaii.

Awards of the Day

2011-05-24T21:41:00.000-05:00

CUTEST QUOTE AWARD:
Cole, turning on an electronic game close to where Paige is doing her homework, "Paige, is this too loud for you to do your ABC's?"

WORST MOM QUOTE AWARD:
"Next time that back door opens you're staying on whatever side you end up on until lunch!"

WEIRDEST THING TO HAPPEN UPON AWARD:

It's a comb tangled up the strings of mini blinds. At least it's not hair. At least it's not my hair.

FUN FIRST AWARD:
A promise to take Paige out to a "girl's night" (which was really a home selling party for 2 different products) was a total success. Paige was making conversations with women I really didn't even know that well and came off as a seasoned shopper!

CUTE PHOTO AWARD:
This is Cole up in the swing set fort. He was pretending to drive his cousin Kate (17 years old) to Chuck-E-Cheese. The role of Kate was being played by dog Milo. He was a dead ringer.

A No-Words Weekend

2011-05-23T21:29:00.000-05:00

The title might imply that this will be a post in pictures. Unfortunately, I took only a handful of pictures of my weekend and they were with my phone, giving poor quality.

The "no-words" refers to the type of weekend that is simply too much to sum up in words. We celebrated a milestone birthday for my mother with a visit from her sister from out of state and a (surprise) girls-only night away on the Lake Michigan coast of Michigan to meet up with relatives from that state. It was fun - in that fun was our only goal. It was unique in that it was a different place and different circumstance with no kid responsibilities. It was special because it was a brief but wonderful celebration of women and family!

I feel that the occasional very brief break from mommy is a good thing for kids. I'm ALWAYS so ready to see them again after I've been away. Perhaps next time I need to stay away longer. Here were their reactions:
PAIGE: Greeted me not unlike each day when she gets off the bus from school
WILL: (because we met up at another family party) came up and asked if he can have pop
COLE: When asked, said he didn't miss me. Then he reiterated with, "No, really, I didn't."

Wednesday Funnies

2011-05-18T20:51:00.002-05:00

Today Will and I were looking at the weather radar to determine if we should expect rain. There was a giant green blob to our West, so we know we could probably count on a little. Later that morning we were out on the driveway riding bikes and Will kept yelling at Cole to go right on the sidewalk. I asked him why, as Cole can go whichever way he wants. Will replied, "Because that's left and the rain was coming from the left."

I think it's hilarious that when I open my freezer there are a bunch of glue projects on paper sitting there. Why? Because despite my explanation of how glue dries, Will thinks freezing it surely must help it along.

So, lately I have challenged myself to increase our dinner repertoire. To accomplish this, I am preparing 1 new recipe a week for my critics for a pass/fail grade. This week was Sesame Beef on Vermicelli Noodles. It got rave reviews and will be added to the rotation. Then tonight I tried a new product from the freezer section - Citrus Mango Tilapia. Rich, Paige and I enjoyed it. Will is probably the least open to new things, and had made up his mind before tasting. Therefore, his taste test was full of grimaces. He later agreed that he'd like the fish without the glaze. Meanwhile, Cole wanted to draw attention to the halo over his head and informed everyone that he was going to try it. He popped a heaping bite in his mouth and announced "I like it!" This was swiftly followed by a grotesque look and emergency request for a napkin. Nice try.

The Magical Powers of the Telephone

2011-05-17T21:53:00.000-05:00

It is a mystery. I would probably donate to the efforts that attempt to explain this phenomenon. Comment if you are a parent who experiences this or has ever experienced this:

I must preface this with the fact that I am not a phone talker. I don't sit for hours on the phone and I NEVER just sit and talk. It is always paired with some other task that's possible to do while on the phone.

Here's the scenario: The kids are seemingly busy and quiet. I decide it's a good time to make that phone call. Usually this is paired with a warning shout-out to alert them that I am going to be on the phone. When all of the sudden...the kids need me. They need to talk to me. They are arguing. Someone got hurt. There is a potty emergency. There is a picture that was drawn for me.

Today, we had just gotten outside for the boys to ride bikes when my phone rang. Only 1 trip down the driveway and Will had to tell me something. It was obviously an emergency, as they've been told x-teen times that if it can at all wait until I'm off the phone, it should. Turns out, he's been seeing a lot of robins out lately. Definitely time-sensitive.

And while I'm on the subject...if anyone has any tips on how I can let Cole know that holding up my index finger in a "just a minute" sign does not mean repeat and repeat and repeat in a whisper voice, that would be great. It means don't talk to me! For now.

Weather

2011-05-15T21:48:00.001-05:00

Weather. It can really make or break certain plans. For example:

Thursday night the weather MADE for a great single A baseball game near us. Will scored a a free ticket from a reading challenge at school and the warm, sunny weather held out for us to enjoy the entire evening - junk food, Ozzie the Cougar, socializing with friends, and oh yeah - baseball and all!

With their treats of choice

What? There's a game going on? I can't see through these girls!

Leaving with our souvenirs

Then, as with Midwestern weather, we took a steep dive in temperatures and a garage sale I decided (somewhat last minute) to prepare for because it was the weekend for the community-wide sale was a bust. Apparently garage salers got used to the summer-like weather because 50s and windy caused them to retreat to their homes. The kids were a HUGE help to me and were so enthused about the sale so it was a let down. However, we packed up strategically and will plan another attempt soon!

Day In Pictures

2011-05-10T21:25:00.000-05:00

A little piece of heaven to me

Painstakingly planting bean seeds

Contents: bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, green beans, carrots

Well-deserved treats!

Monday's Random Stories

2011-05-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

1) This evening after school the kids came barrelling in from the backyard to announce that they hear the ice cream truck. I've said no to this once already this season so with the nice weather I agreed we could go get some. So we ran out front to catch the creepy ice cream truck guy. This is where things got ugly and here's how it went down: they were told their treat will wait until after dinner, so in order to avoid melting the two bigs sprint for the house with Cole trailing behind and getting the door slammed swiftly in his face at which time he begins bawling which Rich can hear from inside upstairs and shouts to Paige and Will to let their brother in too (I'm still making things even with the ice cream guy). Hearing this Paige shoves Will hard to go open the door (because obviously it was all his fault) and he begins to cry.

Happy summer! The ice cream treats will wait until tomorrow night, pending much better behavior.

2) Tonight in bed Paige read a story about a girl who plays baseball, but her mom makes her take ballet lessons against her wishes. At the end I asked Paige if she saw herself as more of a "ballet girl" or a "baseball girl." Without hesitation she answered, "baseball." I used to feel she was a girlie girl, and while she likes pink, fashion, and pop culture, I picture this weekend alone: mud up to her ankles, tractor-driving, picking up chickens, digging in the garden, adopting pet worms, eating a 1/2 slab of ribs and think - yeah, maybe "girlie girl" doesn't quite fit.

3) Proof I may need to chill a little: Cole came into where I was ironing (least favorite domestic job) and I heard a strange noise. I dismissed it and continued talking to him. When he started talking to me and moved his head I heard a horrific sound. It sounded as if there were loose bones in his neck as his head bobbed around while talking to me. I abruptly knelt down to check him out and he got an embarrassed smile on his face. He lifted up his baseball hat to reveal a 1/2-filled Tic Tac container on his head. Loose bones...Tic Tacs....easily confused.

4) Last year I bought a grape tomato plant and planted it in a pot among our landscaping. It did wonderfully! So well that we decided we could practically be farmers, so we decided to put in an actual small garden. Paige has ALWAYS had an affinity to planting/growing, but Will's interest has been surprising and super cute. He helped picked out the plants and seeds today and it will be a family affair to get the mini garden planted tomorrow night. Hopefully I'll get a few pictures!

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of digging this mother's day thing more and more each year. As the kids get more into school, they come home with some adorable projects / artwork for such occasions and nothing quite makes a mom appreciate her unpaid job as much as poem by her 8 year old:
Rose are red
Violets are blue
You are my mom
and I love you
or a bouquet of tissue paper flowers, or a coupon book offering to take the garbage out or set the table from a certain 5 year old, or a book that says he likes it when "my mom gives me kandy" and that I am "as pretty as a flour in a yard." Love it.

And even at my age each year I find myself appreciating my own mother, mother-in-law and grandmothers more and more. While you may find some who cynically feel this is a Hallmark invented day, I say so what? Since when was there too much love and appreciation being passed around. Since never.

Here are some random pictures from my phone today:

Rich and his grandmother

Paige driving a load of kids

Cole and one of his Uncle Steves

My mom and her 3 kids (bad picture quality)

The Bickering - Part 1

2011-05-05T15:19:00.000-05:00

So, it would be an incomplete journal of parenthood without allowing a glimpse into what is currently being referred to by me as "bickerdom." This is a "perfect storm" sort of combination of all the right ingredients resulting in maximum bickering. These ingredients include: still the lack of total outside play, a 3 year old who has learned to stand up for himself, a 5 year old boy, an easily annoyed 8 year old girl, etc.

I'll begin with the bickering between Will and Cole. Don't get me wrong, when they find a groove they can be the best of pals. When they don't, there is often a lot more discussion about semantics than necessary. Here are examples:

Is this a dog bone or dog treat?
Is this day sunny or bright?
Do I have a two-wheeler or a dirt bike?
Is this called a jacket or a coat? I want to wear a jacket, but Will says this is a coat.
Is Cole a toddler or a big boy? I mean, he's not big like me, but he's not really a toddler. (We settled on preschooler).

And they argue about this. Back and forth. It's a dog treat shaped like a bone. End of story. Well, the sun is shining from behind the clouds, so it's bright, but you can't really SEE the sun. As you can see, I do a lot of "you're both right" and "let's talk about something more fun." It's tiring.

Tune in for Part 2 entitled: His big toe is touching me.

They're NOT Twins, but...

2011-05-03T21:29:00.000-05:00

When I'm out and about with Will and Cole I get asked many times if they are twins (never mind that 2 years and 1 foot separate the two). I guess it's the hair cuts, brown eyes and round faces. They are certainly their own individual, but there are such similarities.

Cole is going through a phase right now that I feel like was just yesterday with Will. Here are some characteristics:

One hundred million trillion questions a day
Stuttering (repeating his beginning word, like, 6 times before moving on with the sentence - I was very worried about this with Will but quickly learned it was just his mind thinking faster than his mouth - as with Cole)
Pointing with his middle finger. I remember this because I hate it.

Then this video popped up on my computer (from August 2009) and I thought - they may not be twins, but they are definitely brothers!

The Weekend

2011-05-01T21:01:00.000-05:00

A First
This weekend I had a super fun reunion with college roommates for the Illinois 10K in Champaign-Urbana. The race was energizing with 18,000 participants (there was a marathon, too) and driving around to see the changes on campus - and taking our picture in front of the residence hall where we all met - was priceless! Great time! I returned to a post-race gift of scented bath salts/candle and card from my kids and husband. You'd think I had won the Boston marathon instead of trudged through 10 kilometers, but I'll take it!

An Always-Fun Repeat
Then Sunday was the annual Spring at the Farm event at a local farm that my parents volunteer for supported by the conservation society. The kids always look forward to this chance for hayrides, animals, hot dogs, machinery and freedom to roam:

My kids and cousins - plus a couple extra Harvey kids!

Will, taking a super close look at bees at work in a hive

Paige showing off her hula hoop skills I did NOT know she had!

Paige making felt out of wool

More On Cole...

2011-04-28T21:04:00.000-05:00

It's been a lot about him lately. That's mostly because he's pretty fun to be around and I'm around him ALOT.

Today he tried his hand at more domestic activities. He fixed me a Pez drink in his kitchen and then did some light ironing...

Then, he took care of this little baby he named Cole. This included feeding, burping, diaper changing and putting to bed. It's something I don't get to see from him often (how he would treat a baby) and it was absolutely adorable.

Of course, it was this sweetness with some added chuckles: like his facial expressions and the fact that he keeps thinking he turned 5 on his last birthday and the fact that he thinks "air" is "arrow" and "privacy" is "privaceipt" that complete the Cole experience.