Funny Michael

--When Michael wakes up for the day or from his nap, he yells, "Ma! Big Nap, MA!" And when you enter the room he says, "Whoa. Big nap. Me. Big nap." It's like he's trying to convince you that it is time to get him out of bed. So cute.

-- I have always had a weakness for kid's armpits. I know it sounds weird...okay it IS weird...but when I see them, I have to tickle them. Especially when they're babies...I cannot resist. This is a frequent diaper change torture. Except with Mike, when I nuzzle in one and he giggles and squeals and says, "No Ma!"...immediately after he holds up the opposite arm and says, "Mo?", offering up the other for tickles. Then he lifts up his shirt and points at his belly button. And so I oblige for more tickles.

-- I took him to Barnes and Nobles to play with their trains. We don't have toys trains in the house, and I've never taken him to B&N because what would the other 2 children do while Michael played trains? Well, they might have to figure it out when they get back, because Michael LOVES it. He plays happily for a few moments, then looks up at me with pure delight and exclaims, "Look, Ma! Trains! Choo-choo!". Every few minutes he repeats this. So stinkin' cute. Until we have to leave. Whew! Tantrums in book stores sound even louder.

--He is obsessed with vehicles of any type. He points out train tracks whenever we go out. He squeals with delight when we pass construction sites. And he carries around at least 2 Matchbox cars wherever he goes. He loves them. Luckily, we still have 1,234,554 of them from when Andrew was obsessed. And yet, Andrew could care less. Score another point for the 4.5 year age spacing, will ya?

-- He is fascinated by the kitchen construction. Our contractor is very friendly and nice, and tolerates Michael's close inspection with patience and kindness. He was cutting our floor to make space for the new cabinets, and it was LOUD! and SMELLY! and REALLYREALLYLOUD! And Michael just stood nearby, squatting down on his haunches, watching with rapt attention. Future builder?

-- I have been surprised how smart Michael is...alternating with how far behind he is. This poor child is certainly getting the short end of the 3 child family stick. I've been trying to cram 2 years worth of teaching into this week. What does he know? Colors...everything is green. Numbers and counting? He repeats "eight-nine-eight-nine-eight-nine" when he's counting something. Letters? Somehow this one is getting through his head...except that he only knows the sounds the letters make, not the names of the letters. I need to etch out more one on one time with this kid...end of story. Positive? In taking him out and about, his social skills are amazing...sharing, taking turns, standing his ground with pushy older kids.

A week with no pictures

I have taken not one single picture with Mike this week. Not one.

-sigh-

A few things I've learned this week:

-- Michael does not miss his siblings. He remembers them as he points to their pictures in the family room. But he does not ask for them or act sad. He is only 2 after all.

-- Michael *mostly* likes all the attention. It is hard to tell if he is annoyed that we are watching him so closely...or if he is annoyed because we keep running after him yelling, "Don't go in the kitchen! Don't touch that! No! Daddy is painting but you cannot. No! That is Simon's power tool." etc etc etc.

-- Just because you take a child somewhere by themselves does not mean you will have a good time. Logically, I knew this. I mean, I had Andrew all by himself for 3 years straight...and this blog has a lot of documentation of disastrous outings. But I had really built up how wonderfully fun and easy it would be to take Mike to places just for him. How much he would LOVE being with mommy. But it turns out he is 2. So he gets to randomly decide if he is going to be an enjoyable little angel or a screaming tantruming demon. We have had some really memorable outings...and I'll leave it at that.

-- One kid is really kind of easy. I mean, Jeff and I wanted to paint the toy room this weekend. So while one person painted, the other just kept an eye on one kid. Seriously. We wasted those 3 years of having only 1 kid. So let me applaud those of you who wisely chose the one kid route. On the other hand...ohmygodImissAndrewandLily. Bring on the crazy 3-kid juggling circus...because I love them and miss them and it just isn't RIGHT around here without them. ***

-- We leave Wednesday morning for South Carolina via Ohio. I have no sink, no counter tops, no lighting, no food. I believe I'll be able to get packed and ready in time, but homecoming in 2 weeks is going to BLOW. Can you imagine dragging yourself 13 hours home only to find there are no dishes, no groceries, no where to pluck all your CRAP in the kitchen. Ugh. I'm imagining it. But then I peek around the corner to the kitchen and I see my beautiful new cabinets, and I know it is worth it.

-- My contractor only worked 2 1/2 days last week. I feel really annoyed and irritable about it...except that he is totally going to finish in time for the counter top templating. So I guess I have nothing to gripe about. Except for that whole, "no sink for the weekend" thing...which totally could have been avoided if he'd worked a whole day Friday. Whatev-


***Giselle reserves the right to change her opinion once reunited with the older two.

a slight delay

I know you are waiting for "during" pictures. So am I.

Our poor contractor called last Friday to tell us that his daughter's ear tube surgery had been scheduled for 11:30 on Monday, so he was going to have to start Tuesday. Then late Monday night, after we'd unplugged the fridge and packed up all our dishes, he called again and said his daughter had had an allergic reaction to the anesthesia and his wife was on a business trip, so he'd have to stay home on Tuesday.

So it's Wednesday. Hopefully he'll show up today.

And I'll have pictures tomorrow.




On another note...I'm having a blast with Michael. Who knew one child was so easy! I sure didn't when I only had one. Today we're going to Sesame Place just us! Woo-hoo! He has shown very little sadness at the loss of his A-nee (Andrew) and Nee (Lily) and Shah-oo (Shadow). The first day he asked for them, and then wandered around the family room touching all the toys one by one and saying, "Mine. Mine. Mine." Yes, Mike, they are all yours...for a little while.

Kitchen before pictures

Monday begins construction! I am giddy with excitement.

Before I show you pictures, let me acknowledge that I have a very nice kitchen. I am getting it redone for cosmetic reasons...which seems really...I don't know...let's just say I acknowledge that it is a lot of money to redo a perfectly good kitchen. Except for the bolts coming out of the side of that one cabinet. And the two center panels of the cabinets that are cracked and loose. And the scratched counters that probably harbor all kinds of bacteria. And the ancient ceiling fan that collects dust and then blows it down on our food. Other than THAT... we will also probably be moving in the next 5 years or so. And we will have a much easier time selling this place if the kitchen is remodeled.

We are getting all new oak cabinets with quartz countertops. Cabinets and appliances go in next week...counters in the next 3 weeks. We can't template for the countertops until the new cabinets are completely installed.

The old kitchen: (These are in no particular order...)

Side view of the arm of counters...notice there is a half-sie breakfast bar-ish thingy there. That will be gone. No idea where Shadow's cage will be kept, as there will be a new cabinet door opening over on that side.

Here is another shot of our dorky half-sie breakfast bar thingy. Again, will be narrowed. Also, we will be extending it out one and a half cabinets...(adding a pull-out trash cabinet and 4 drawers.)

The sink will get slightly wider. There will be new recessed lighting, so the ceiling fan (viewable in the reflection) will be gone and a new light over the sink will help with the shadow issues I have when doing dishes at night. New dishwasher has also been ordered. Stainless...because that's what the people want (everything for resale...) Also, cabinet directly next to the window will be double doored.

Let's see...the cabinets on this side aren't changing much. Except that we will be putting a new microwave over the stove...and getting a sweet-a$$ new stove as well.

The fridge area. We are not getting a new fridge at this time since we just bought this one when we moved to KY (5 years ago), and we already have a spare fridge in the basement. But we are making the above fridge cabinets smaller, so we can fit a bigger fridge someday. Or the next owners can ;) The other larger cabinets will lose the middle bar, making them super wide. Also the drawers will turn into one big drawer. I envision this becoming my phone/calendar space.

I cannot wait to show during and after shots!

Funnies

My friend Katie sent me this on Facebook, and Jeff and I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

Be sure to read all the comments...they are just as classic as the post!

Prepare to be jealous

Oh! What a month we have ahead of us! And you are going to be sooooo jealous of how wonderful my parents and in-laws are. Seriously. If you are a parent hater...stop reading now.

So...let me give you a run down of the next month.

Tomorrow- I will drive Andrew and Lily and Shadow across the state of PA, into WV, and meet my in-laws at the best free-zoo/dead animal exhibit ever. They will be taking my older two for almost TWO WEEKS. Yes. And the dog. Don't forget that they are taking the dog. For a month. Best. Parents. Ever.

I will drive back home (sans children and dog) that same day. Sunday will be a frantic clean out of the kitchen cabinets. Which should be easy...what with only having one child and everything. And that one child just happens to LOVE emptying cabinets. So!

Monday construction begins on our very own new kitchen.

I am also very excited about just having Mikey. We plan on going to Sesame Place multiple times, the zoo (where he will be able to run freely and not be forced to go at his siblings slow pace), Barnes and Nobles to play at the train table (and Mommy read magazines), etc etc etc. I wish I could say I was sadder about Lily and Andrew being gone...but I'm so darned looking forward to my alone time with Mikey. It DOES make me wish that I could have a week alone with each of them. I could take Andrew miniature golfing! and bowling! and to movies! and to the Franklin Museum! and on historical tours in Philly! I could take Lily to her first movie! to the zoo to go at her own pace! to Sesame Place! do a tea party! But this week is about Mikey.

Thursday, July 1st, we will be reunited with Andrew and Lily when we drive Mikey to Ohio. Hopefully the kitchen will be completed, minus the quartz counter top...which can take up to 3 weeks to be delivered.

Friday, July 2nd, we will begin the drive down to South Carolina, where MY parents have rented a beach house...again. We just have to get ourselves there...otherwise it is paid for. Uh, Best. Parents. Ever. This will be Michael's 3rd trip, Lily's 3rd, and Andrew's 6th. It has become a place of memory-making magic...and my kids and Jeff and I cherish it. I am prepared for Jeff to begin searching realtor websites for our retirement home. It happens every year.

We get back to our house July 11th. Hopefully the counter tops will be installed that week. My crazy-awesome in-laws will drive the dog back to PA...and get the first peek at our new kitchen.

It's going to be an unbelievable month.

Anatomy lessons with Michael

Michael has learned the word penis. He says it quite well and clearly. We have always played the "name your parts" game while changing diapers...mostly to keep him distracted and prevent him from squirming away. Just in the last week, he's added the word penis. It is so cute how he gently touches it and says, "Nice. Penis." That is in response to one time when he reached down and grabbed and pulled so hard I winced and told him to be gentle.

Anyhoo, yesterday he was yet again pointing it out to me. Lily walked in buck-nekkid after going potty by herself. Michael laughed up at her and shouted, "tickle tickle", making her shriek and run away. Then Andrew walked in buck-nekkid. I know, I know, it's like a teeny-tiny nudist colony over here. Anyway, Andrew is standing next to me telling me that he has no underpants in his drawer, when Michael gets really excited.

He points at Andrew and says, "Ook! A-nudda penis!"

It kind of made his morning that he found another penis not attached to his body. Lovely. Boys are weird. Andrew of course was also thrilled that Mikey had noticed and danced around waving his parts. Again, lovely. Boys are gross.

In more disturbing anatomy lessons with Mike, later in the day I went bathing suit shopping with all 3 kids. I know. Mommies are dumb. As I was stripping off my shirt and bra, Michael points at my own nekkid chest and says, "Ook! A-nudda penis!"


Um. No. But apparently I need to dress in front of the boy more frequently. A comment like that could be really awkward on his wedding night. ;)

Recent pictures

Okay, so I SHOULD be cleaning out the toy room/basement/kitchen in preparation for our cabinets being delivered tomorrow. But instead, I'll share some recent pictures:

Andrew and his friend B. We found out who Andrew's teacher will be next year...Andrew is desperate for "B" to be there with him. We'll see...

Mud and sand pudding...complete with gummy worms! Except the pudding didn't set...so wine glasses instead of pots! Kids didn't care...I was disappointed with the end result.
Kindergarten field day. And, yes, Jeff did get Andrew an authentic Brazil World Cup jersey while he was in Brazil. This was taken on the first day of the World Cup. And, yes, he did bring me back a mug from the airport with Brazil written on it. (not bitter)

Relay

Sack race. Taken just before he face planted and spent the rest of field day crying in my arms to go home. Biggest kid in the class=biggest momma's boy.

Perils of having an older sister. Michael covets his sister's hair bows. I let him wear them...under the disapproving eye rolls of my husband. Actually, he only eye rolls when I take pictures of it and post it on the internet. Whatev'

Have I mentioned lately how much I love living here? We are 90 minutes from NYC, 2 1/2 hours from the nation's capital, 40 minutes from the birthplace of our nation...and yet where we live there are lots and lots of places like this:

Mike charging into the woods. No fear...even of the horses that we saw. And we saw about 20.

The covered bridge...so pretty. And the bullfrogs were so loud that day, their calls were reverberating through the long bridge. Freaked Lily out. It didn't help that she'd had a nightmare the night before about frogs. Nice parenting.

Mike also charged right into the creek. I probably should have put the camera down, right?

We caught toads, salamanders, guppies, snails...and lots and lots of grasses.

Lily was not as enthusiastic. But she hung in there, and let the rest of us play around in the muck. She mostly threw rocks and ate Oreos. Nature girl.

Egg carton caterpillars. Not as much of a hit as envelope birds...

But it kept them busy for a little while.

First day/Last day

First day of kindergarten...August 31, 2009



Last day of kindergarten: June 15, 2010

And, yes...when he heard I was going to post this, he requested to wear the same thing.

-

It's been a great year! His teacher supplemented for Andrew A LOT during the last few months of the school year...sending home poetry with comprehension questions instead of sight word books and double and triple digit math problems on the back of the 5-2=? worksheets. She has hand selected his teacher for next year...the very teacher whom she used as a resource to supplement him through the year.

-

I am excited for him to be in first grade. PE! Art! Lunch at school! But it has me all choked up inside. Kindergarten was a nice in between year...in between pre-school and real school.

-

I'm going to miss this boy next year.

SSC Week 3

This week I've changed everything around due to the last day of school, weather reports, you name it. So much for cute alliterative weekday names...booted by week 3!

Make it Monday- Egg carton caterpillar...you can imagine without description, I'm sure. ;) Also, I'm going to try and get the kids to make some Father's Day gifts and cards. They won't be here with Jeff on Father's Day, but that doesn't mean they can't make him something!

Nature Tuesday- Rainbows Everywhere! Put a small mirror in the bottom of a large clear drinking glass, tilt the mirror upwards, and fill glass with water. Turn off lights. Have child shine a flashlight onto the mirror, tilting at different angles until rainbows appear on the wall. Also, we're going to do sunshine art if it's a sunny day (take construction paper, put it in a sunny place outside, place opaque and fun shaped objects on top...after the whole day, the color will bleach out of the non-covered spots, leaving shadows of the objects).

Take a trip Wednesday- Andrew's last day of school is Tuesday, but the rest of the district has its last day Wednesday...which means Wednesday is the perfect day to go somewhere that will normally be busy. But I've been drawing a blank. Will figure it out by Wednesday.

Wet 'n' Wild Thursday- Ice castles (freeze water in different leftover dishes...can add food coloring...when frozen, play with outside and try to build shapes, castles, etc.). Also, Puddle prints (drip colored water onto plastic page protectors and leave out in the sun...when the puddle dries, it will leave colorful prints on the plastic. Cut out into shapes and hang for pretty sun catchers)

Feast Friday- Ice cream grahamwiches (make ice cream sandwiches out of graham crackers and softened ice cream).


Also this week, I will be needing to run errands to get ready for the kids to go to Ohio for 2 weeks without me, clear out the toy room so our new cabinets can get put in there (delivered Thursday!!!), I will be cooking creatively in an attempt to empty out our fridge as much as possible, and just generally I need to start to clear out the kitchen in preparation for next week. Also, our Odyssey breaks were recalled...or something like that...so I will be without a car Wednesday afternoon until Friday morning. Yippee!

Week 2 recap

So this week was more of a bust than not...but I still am feeling good about my basic plan for the summer.

Monday- as I posted, envelope birds were a success

Tuesday- Ow! Ear! day...totally scrapped all activities and tv ban...big bust of a day

Wednesday- Rained all day long...so we watched more tv than allowed. But I did crack out the shaving cream, and Lily and Andrew had a blast writing in it, building with it, just coating themselves in it. Michael preferred to sit next to his pile, and was very possessive of it, but if even a tiny spot of shaving cream touched him, he was DEVASTATED. Not his favorite activity.

Thursday- Take a Trip was cancelled due to an impromptu playdate with Andrew's friend from school. Totally worth it, since I was nervous about the airport anyway.

Friday- We attempted the pudding/gummyworm/cookie mix, but the pudding didn't set. Apparently almond milk is NOT the same as regular milk when it comes to pudding. But the kids had fun crushing up the cookies and slurping their pudding through straws. Eventually it was abandoned and they just devoured the gummy worms.

Woodland crowns was moved to Friday, because Tuesday was such a bust. But when I got out the paper plates (that's what you are supposed to glue your nature collections to to make the crown), the kids got all excited and declared that they just wanted to color on paper plates. And so they did, for about 35 minutes. Awesome. Even easier. And I can save the woodland crown activity for another day to boot.


Only one thing...I am EXHAUSTED. It's like I'm actually earning my Stay-at-home mom pay for a change. Oh...wait...

Only 2 days of school left for Andrew! Then I'll have a 1st grader!?!?!?

Work it...Woooooork it....

I can hear you all the way over here in PA..."Oh! Great! Another exercise post..." But wait! I just spelled exercise correctly my first try...I have truly turned over a new leaf.



To be clear, I am not one of those people trying to get back into shape. I have never BEEN in shape in my life.



I never did sports as a kid. Not a single t-ball or soccer game in my past. I was in gymnastics for one session...I vividly remember falling flat on my face off the uneven bars. I was on a church softball team one year in high school...Lou's Lambs. Lou being our pastor of the church Good Shephard. Cheesy. In elementary school, the gym teacher actually called my parents to tell them that I ran wrong...something was wrong with me.



My feet ached my entire childhood. Anytime I would walk a long distance or jump around or whatever, my feet would ACHE that night. It has always been hard to explain...I liken it to what I imagine arthritis must feel like. Not muscular, not sharp pain, just an all-encompassing ache.



In high school, I took Individual Sports (bowling) and Outdoor Recreation(fishing). And completed my PE requirements at the same time.

I am a quitter. I am lazy. I am a perfectionist that doesn't try anything so that I don't fail. I don't push myself to do anything. I am happy with how I am. I am not cute in work-out clothes. I breathe like an emphysemic bulldog and my cheeks turn bright red. I am a self-defeatist.

But I'm doing it. And by "it", I mean this website. Nothing earth shattering, but I thought I liked the idea of eventually being able to get my exercise with a quick run and I like to be outside. I wrote to a few friends for advice and encouragement. And I started.

And I'm still doing it.


A friend that is a runner gave me the best advice...just get out the door and it will happen. She loves running, and still has a hard time getting out the door. So I am not to feel bad about myself because I'm dreading it...just get out the door. And so every morning, that is my goal. Just get out the door.


I run in the wee hours of the morning. Like out the door by 5:15. But Jeff leaves for work at 6:15 am, so I have to get up, warm up, get it done, get showered all before he leaves. Sounds awful, doesn't it?

But I LOVE it. Not the running. Not the bulldog breathing or the aching muscles or the plodding along. The morning. I love the peaceful quiet. I love that the only living thing who has to listen to me are the rabbits. And, boy howdy, I have a new appreciation for just how many rabbits we have here in Our Town, PA. I love the cool crisp air and I love watching the sky turn pink and orange as the sun comes up. I love the feeling of accomplishment I have the rest of the day.

But for the record...NOT the running part. But I'm getting better...seeing improvements in my body, in my recovery after each run. And I'm starting to love that as well. This is something new for me. And this program is amazing...because it has taken someone like me, with literally no fitness background...and it is easing me in so gradually that I haven't gotten injured, I'm not in pain, I have actually been able to do it. Which fills me with pride and accomplishment.

Lame. Right now I'm up to week 4 of the program. That's basically 5 and 3 minute jogs with smaller times of walking in between. This is the first week that I'm running more than I'm walking. I was scared. But I did it! I did it! I did it!

So now I've just got to keep doing it...

(BTW...not that it matters, because it isn't part of my goal...but after 5 weeks of regular exercise I've lost exactly 0 pounds. Zero. But it doesn't matter, because that isn't my focus. But seriously...zero? Pregnancy induced bulimia and horrific dental issues remain the only way I've ever lost weight.)

Ow! Ear!

Yesterday was a bust.

From the moment Michael woke up at 5:45 am screaming, "Ow! Ear!" (although it was pretty cool that he could tell me what was wrong). We spent the next 4 hours waiting for our doctor's appointment, with pain killers not even putting a dent in the pain. TV rules were thrown out the window, as I rocked the poor little guy while watching Super Why, Curious George, Sesame Street, etc. Any time I would leave the room to do laundry, dishes, get the other kids something to do...he would follow me and moan and want to be picked up. Very clingy and needy...and very frustrating that I couldn't help him.

Our doctor's appointment was for 10:20...and I got there 15 minutes early hoping we would get in early, since I had to get home to watch my friend's kids so she could go to the dentist. We sat in the waiting room until 11:00, and then in the examination room until 11:40. At one point, I forced Andrew to sit out in the hallway away from his siblings...that's how awesome it was. Got the prescription for Mikey's ear (4th infection in 6 months in just the same one ear...and no cold or anything contributing...I see tubes in this boy's future). Call my friend whose children were supposed to come to my house, and explain that I'm not going to be home in time (I'd called her earlier that morning to give her a head's up). Drive thru pharmacy tells me they would like at least 2 hours to mix up his prescription. I lower the car window to let them hear Mikey crying and holding his ear, still yelling, "Ow! Ear!" She has it ready for me in 10 minutes.

It is now 12:15. Andrew's bus comes at 12:50. We race home, and I dash around getting lunches and medicine dolled out. Michael goes to bed at 12:45...poor little thing. Lily takes her shoes off and refuses to come to the bus stop...I leave her behind to walk Andrew to bus stop. Back at the house, I ask Lily for my alone time, so I can eat lunch and take a breath without a 2 year old hanging on me. She asks me for something every 10 minutes...I know because I wrote down the times. She went to the bathroom twice, she needed help reaching a game, she wanted to tell me she loved me 5 times, she wanted me to let Shadow in and out a few times. Very relaxing...but I can hardly blame her. It had been a boring morning for her as well.

Michael only slept for one hour, so we were back to the clinging...although the crying was less. TV was turned on and popcorn dolled out. We went outside and played a bit. Then went to get Andrew from the bus stop. Played outside some more. Michael was finally feeling better. Since it was a fencing lesson night for Jeff, we ordered pizza and watched a movie. Michael went to bed at 6:45 pm. Lily and Andrew and I read 4 books and played Uno 6 times. Time for bed at 7:30. Lily refused to go. Screaming and kicking. Very unusual. I literally threw her onto her bed and held the door shut. She almost fell asleep right then.

8:00...Momma time. Which meant folding the 5 baskets of laundry waiting for me in the basement.

-sigh- one of those days.

Envelope birds

Envelope birds were a success. I was SHOCKED how much fun the kids had doing this. I kind of thought this was lame...but they were totally engaged and excited by the end results. Go figure. Perhaps I deprive them of craftiness a bit too much.

We had a bunch of extra colored envelopes, so you make a face out of one, and then cut the triangle flaps off of other for the wings, extra scraps for legs, head pieces, etc. And of course there were stickers and markers and glue.

Michael was pretty much a disaster during the whole thing...snatching the glue stick and gluing the table, drawing on his hands with the markers, drawing on the table, throwing markers...ugh. Stickers proved a distraction, but mostly I just have to accept that glue and markers will wash off...we will not be able to avoid having him around this summer. Last summer he was still taking 2 naps (insert wistful sigh here).

The birds: (should have taken pictures before hanging them up.

Andrew's...very long wingspan.

Lily's...it did have a face on it, but that was quickly covered up by stickers. She also didn't want to add legs...according to her that made it a "silly bird...ha ha ha ha."

I had to do one too...for an example, right?

A weekend

What a lovely weekend...filled with lots of family time and lots of just me and the kids time and of course no camera. Blah!

Also? A gripe? For the last 5 days or so, we have been told by the news people that it will rain. Afternoon showers. For the last 5 days. And every afternoon, dark ominous clouds roll in, and the wind picks up. And then it doesn't rain. We were caught in a torrential downpour while buying our new kitchen appliances last weekend (2 weeks and counting....EEEEE!), but when we got home, the pavement was dry as a bone. It's like we have some kind of bubble over our little town...which totally creeps me out, since I just read Under the Dome, by Stephen King last month.

So Saturday we woke up and putzed around a bit, and then we drove to New Hope, a very artsy, hip town on the Delaware River. We mostly go there to eat at a teeny tiny French bakery (with an authentic French baker!). After wolfing down our croissants and sugar cookies and purchasing a baguette for later, we strolled down the quiet street and fed ducks and geese in the Delaware River. Then we got back into the car and crossed the river into...JERSEY...under protest as always. ;) We went to one of our favorite places, because it was Dairy Day! Dear God, we are raising our children to be geeks. We just love strolling back in time through this picturesque farm. They had different areas set aside for demonstration, like at one of the old farmhouses, they were showing you how they made butter and cheese in the 1700s. And the kids get to touch everything and explore...and it is awesome. There was a breeze and Andrew got to milk a goat ("It just feels like skin, mom") and a sweet barn cat named Patches followed Lily around begging to be petted, so even she was happy.

Michael was in HEAVEN. If ever we want to demonstrate that he has learned to talk, we should take him to a farm. He ran from animal pen to animal pen, exclaiming, "Baa Baa. Where baa baa go? Geese! Geese! Awwwww, baby geese! Where Neigh go? Whoa! Biiiiiiiig neigh. Bigneighbigneighbigneigh. Pig! Pee-you pig. Meow! Bang bang! Go bang bang!" Which is the point where he wanted to go back to the blacksmith and watch him make things. More than all the animals, the blacksmith fascinated him.

So it was a good morning. We came home and basically recovered from that for the rest of the day.

Sunday was a fencing day for Jeff. So basically another week day for me. But Jeff came in 3rd place, renewing his "C" ranking...so it was worth it. Rain threatened, so we just stayed close to home. As we will do a bit of this week as well.

Insert cute picture of Andrew milking a goat here.

And a picture of Lily eating cheese Goldfish crackers as she tells the cheese making lady that "I hate cheese."

And a picture of Mike...well...a dozen pictures of Mike running ragged from pen to pen.

SSC Week 2 plan

The days are going to be switched up a bit, since I'll be watching someone else's kids Tuesday...but Whatev! It's my schedule ;)

Make it Monday: Envelope birds (making paper birds out of extra envelopes...found it in a craft book)

Tuesday Nature: Take a nature hike and collect stuff. Come home and paste it onto a disc of paper to make a woodland crown

Wet Wednesday: Shaving cream! Give each kid a pile of the stuff and play. Rinse off in the baby pool

Take a Trip Thursday: Trenton airport to have a picnic and watch planes. Michael's dream come true...or his worst nightmare realized. Time will tell.

Feast Friday: Sand and mud pudding. Layer vanilla pudding/crushed vanilla wafers/chocolate pudding/crushed Oreos in a clean/new flower pot.


Also this week: a huge trip to BJs is needed, a trip to the dollar store to shop for craft/activity supplies, a trip to the library to exchange the God awful CD's and books that we borrowed last week...we will go to our regular library because I have a book on hold waiting for me (yay!), Andrew's end of the year party at the park is Friday afternoon, so Mikey needs to take an early nap to prepare for that. Plus the watching my friends 3 kids Tuesday morning/afternoon while she has some appointments. And playgroup Friday will probably end up at my house this week, so there will be frantic cleaning and prep for that.

Week 1 recap

Okay, so I was expecting a hard first week of our new structure. But it was really really fun. Perhaps we are in the honeymoon period? Next week will be crappola? I'll do what I try to do in parenting...enjoy it while it lasts.

Reducing tv was a success. There were no rainy days at all, so we were down to 1 1/2 hours of tv all day. Down from...well, let's just say A LOT more. The kids have done really well playing without me needing to be involved all the time. I just tell them WHEN I'll play, and they do pretty well waiting for that time.

Andrew and Lily really enjoyed it. I even caught a few moments where all 3 were engaged together:

Projects went well. One thing I already love about doing our own thing...is we can do our own thing. I had a Wet n' Wild activity planned for Wednesday, but the kids got really excited about just playing in the pool I had set up. So we scrapped the activity...and then used it on Thursday when Jeff was late getting home from work. Just having the activity planned and ready, but no pressure to do it...fantastic. To me the benefit of this over an actual camp is the flexibility...we can drop everything and do what we want to do if necessary. Downside? I have to stay on top of things.

This morning, the kids were playing together while I cleaned up the kitchen. Andrew and Lily just decided to clean up the toy room. Andrew has been given 3 jobs a day, and he loves it. I make them fairly easy and at least one of them has had an element of fun. Today he finagled his sister into helping him...Love it!

I was most worried about Michael. But he has been playing nicely (mostly) and really wearing himself (and me) out. Sometimes he brings me the tv remote and asks to watch, but mostly he is easy to distract. We've been reading more books and learning letters and having a great time together. -insert mother guilt about too much tv here-

There HAS been a lot of fighting and chasing...to the point that I think I'm going to assign uniforms for the summer. I'll be the one wearing the black and white striped shirt with the whistle around my neck.

Overall, an encouraging start. I've really enjoyed them this week. Next challenge? Getting myself to stop watching dumb tv at night. And also, I need to be more committed to my toy rotation...I've always kept a bin of toys out with the plan to rotate. In order to keep up this momentum of play, I know I'm going to have to change things up every once in a while.

Okay! Enough boring stuff! Have a nice weekend!

Bad decisions

We all make bad decisions in life...we're human. Some are far worse than others...one choice will make your life miserable for a brief moment in time while other will linger.

My recent (in the last few months) bad choices...

-- Buying a Piggie and Gerald book for our own collection. Lily LOVES these books, so I thought it would be a good idea to get her one so we don't always have to check it out of the library. FAIL. I have tried hiding it...she finds it. I have refused to read it...but she manages to weasel it into rotation again and again. Apparently one week is a good amount of time to repeat the story over and over...being able to return it to the library was a blessing. But now...I Am Going 7 times a week. For weeks and weeks. BAD DECISION.

--Insisting that Andrew wear "nicer" clothes to school. We are not fancy people, but I wouldn't allow him to wear his sleeveless shirts and sweat shorts. And then I went to volunteer at his school last week and found his classroom unbearably hot. I asked the teacher if her AC was not working...and she informed me that they don't have AC. Oops. Imagine a small Kindergarten classroom with 28 hot little bodies in it. From now on I'm sending Andrew in a swimsuit with sprinklers attached. FAIL.

--Buying a huge box of FiberOne bars at BJ's. I thought, "Hey! It's like granola except with lots of good for you fiber!" Except that they turn my abdomen into a bloated gassy mess. This morning during my run, the neighbors must have thought there was machine-gun warfare going on. Because after my dear son Andrew's ginormous head destroyed my nether regions, I have no ability to hold back my gaseous emissions. So, BAD DECISION. Worse? I keep eating them because they are yummy. SUPER BAD.

--Letting children chose music at the library. In an effort to keep away from the tv, I didn't let them pick out their weekly video from the library. Instead, I steered them to the CD collection. And let them pick out whatever they wanted. OMG. There is some bad children's music out there. So this week I've been listening to Arthur's Christmas collection, Cheetah girls sing old Disney songs, and Mother Goose rhymes sung by the Keebler elves (or someone like that). Shoot. Me. In. The. Head. Now. Just do it. BAD DECISION.

--Buying squirt bottles. I have always had one to do Lily's hair in the morning. Michael discovered it and played with it for 30 minutes. So I did what any other irrational person would do...I bought 3 more...one for each kid. Do I really need to keep writing, or can you just imagine the chaos? Are you imagining a 55 pound kid chasing down his little sister as she screams in terror at the tiny stream of water headed her direction? Are you imagining the same sister who squirts the larger child in the head and then screams when he retaliates? Are you imagining the toddler who cannot control his squirting until he gets inside the house...how in God's name does he keep sneaking it into the house? Who in their right mind would arm their young children in this manner? Who? Me! FAIL

--Making myself the most fun playmate in the house. Jeff has it right. When he "plays" with the kids, he just kind of sits there, half-heartedly stacking blocks or lying there like an abused puppy. GENIUS. Not me. I've got to talk on the phone with Chuck E Cheese and discuss Lily's upcoming marriage to Mario and build extensive ramps for the Matchbox cars with blocks and set up elaborate restaurant meals on the play room floor. Now who do they want to include in their games. Me. Not Jeff. BAD DECISION AND EPIC FAIL.

I've got to go get Michael up now. I'm sure I can and will add to this list. Big dummy.

Strawberry picking

Last Wednesday was Lily's last day of school. I decided to actually bring a camera for once to document the event, and the only picture I took was of Lily on the playground. FAIL.

On the way home from her school, we noticed that the farm on the corner had put up their Strawberry picking sign. So I decided that it would be our first SSC field trip.

When I popped into the market to grab a box for the strawberries, the lady told me that they were pretty much picked clean over the Memorial Day weekend. But the kids were geared up and ready to go, and the weather was pretty much perfect, so we drove to the field and I let the kids loose.

All 3 of them had a blast. I had a blast. It was so much fun to watch them run through the rows searching for red berries. And since they were picked through, it took a little searching to find them. Even Michael was in on the act...although he picked quite a few white berries at first.

It was a bit reassuring to see how much fun I could have out and about with the 3 kids alone and in a new place. Andrew and Lily are really good listeners, and even Michael is learning the rules (like don't run out into the street...basic rules, people). I know that all of our summer outings won't go as well as yesterday, but I'm glad that the FIRST activity went well. It fills me with anticipation and eagerness as we enter the summer season.

SSC: Week 1

Half days, since Andrew is still in school. Kind of breaking ourselves in.

Take a Trip Tuesday: Go strawberry picking at the farm down the street.

Wet n Wild Wednesday: Get soaked (from pre-school science activity book)...basically experimenting with what absorbs water, what doesn't. Child picks 12 items and lines them up. Uses squirt bottle to squirt each of the 12 items. Find out which absorb water. Great for including Michael...he loves those squirt bottles. ;)

Thursday cooking (since there was no Monday): Frozen banana pudding (from kid cookbook). Andrew picked this one out of his recipe book. We'll see how it tastes. ;)

Friday Craft Day: Silly pictures...Cut pictures out of magazines of people doing ordinary things...walking in the park, etc. Then find pictures of animals or bugs. Cut the heads of the pictures out and paste on top of the people's faces in the original cut out pictures. Voila! Silly pictures!

Good planner...not executer

So it is June 1st. The official start of the SSC. Another of my grand plans. I am a really good planner...a good idea maker. And a terrible executer. Which is why I've made hundreds of charts, detailed elaborate exercise regimens, and bought lots of equipment...but am still 30 pounds overweight. Which is why my children watch too much tv despite all the fun toys, crafts, and activity books I've purchased. Which is why we still eat tacos and spaghetti and pizza each week despite lots of cookbooks and calculated shopping.

-sigh-

So the latest? SSC. Which of course stands for S(last name) Summer Camp.

I am not sending Andrew to any camps this summer. Or Lily or Michael for that matter. But I don't want to go stir-crazy...I tend to lean that way when there are no scheduled activities. So I am scheduling the activities. And, yes, some of the scheduled activites are called, "Alone time". :)

So here's my basic layout...my plan...which I will inevitably abandon in 1-2 weeks. But it is the PLAN, gosh-darnit!

Each day of the week we will have a planned, camp-like activity. Mondays are "Make it Mondays" where we will cook something. Tuesdays are "Take a Trip Tuesdays" where we will visit somewhere we don't usually go or explore something new. Wednesdays are "Wet 'n' Wild Wednesdays" where we will do some sort of water activity. Thursdays are "Nature Thursdays" because I can't think of any more cute alliterations. And Fridays will be "Arts 'n' Crafts Fridays"...again with the alliteration.

Besides the "big" activity of the day, we will also be limiting tv to one show per child, and one computer half hour per child. More time can be earned by helping out around the house. All tv and computer rules are cancelled by rain...rainy days are to be lazy movie days.

Andrew will be given 3 chores a day of my choosing. If he completes them, then he will earn $1. He will be able to spend this money on fun trips to the dollar store or craft store...whatever. I'm hoping he will start to understand a bit more of the value of money, since he regularly wants to take us out to dinner with his piggie bank money...which totals maybe $4. ;)

Lily will officially stop having alone time in her room. It is basically a joke now anyway.

Once school ends for Andrew (June 15th is his last day), he will have to complete a writing page each day. I've always believed that kids should have the summer off...but Andrew's spelling/writing is atrocious, and I worry that if he never writes anything all summer he will really suffer once school starts. Part of this will be his summer journal. Each fun trip that we take, he'll be allowed to use my camera for a few pictures. Then we'll print them up and attach them to a handwriting sheet. He'll write a sentence or two about what we did. I'll make them into a book at the end of the summer. Voila! Summer scrapbook.

Is that all? I think so. Due to the lack of tv, one activity a day will of course not be enough. I plan on checking out music from the library for lots of dance parties, reading lots of books, pretend play (gag), and playdates and parks almost every day as well.

This isn't just for the kids, either. I'm going to limit myself to one show a day of tv. More time to read :) And other than the weeks of no kitchen, we are going to not eat out this summer. But make an effort to create a really special yummy meal on the weekends to reward ourselves. Like crab legs. Or steak and mushrooms. Whatever. Always there will be lots of wine/Mojitos/margaritas ;)

I'll try and write up what I do each week...more of a record for myself than anything. Again, knowing my history...no. I won't defeat myself quite yet. I'm on my 4th week of the Couch to 5K program...so if I can do that...who knows what I can do to stave off boredom with the kids. ;)