How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 4

Week of July 11, 2009

Theme of the Week: Now we're cookin'! This week the weather was finally drier and there were lots of fun activities with friends.

Saturday: It was a beautiful day at Story Land - the sun was shining & the temperatures were warm enough to get wet but not unbearable if you didn't. The Dandelion was able to enjoy the park a lot more this year and loved riding the rides, especially driving the tractors. The Tumbleweed rode all of the "big kid" rides and gave all but the Twirling Turtles a thumbs up.


Sunday: Another gorgeous day for our final day in New Hampshire. We spent the day at Attitash. The Eagle took the Tumbleweed on the Alpine Slide and the "Sidewinder" Tube Waterslide, and she could have bounced forever on the Euro-Bungy trampolines! Both kids played in Buddy Bear's Playpool absolutely loving the slide. It was tough to leave!

Monday: It is always tough to return to reality after vacation, but we were up and at it for a playground playdate & gymnastics.

Tuesday: The Tumbleweed was really looking forward to today's "Fancy Nancy's Frilly Fun Playgroup". The girls had a great time & I had fun preparing themed food & activities.

Wednesday: Another morning at the playground with friends. The kids are getting better at knowing their boundaries at the playground, and today was slightly less stressful than usual. The afternoon was interesting as I attempted to get the Dandelion to nap during dance class, but failed & he fell asleep on the way home.

Thursday: 3D Sidewalk Chalk & riding scooters were a fun way to spend the morning at home, before heading out for gymnastics & grocery shopping to pick up some ingredients for some new recipes to use up our CSA share.

Friday: Blueberry Picking - finally! We had been rescheduling our first trip to Tougas for blueberries due to delayed berries and both kids were eager to go picking as they both love blueberries. I was surprised that neither of them ate very many blueberries in the field --- in the end we picked 10lb of berries for eating, baking, freezing & making jam.

Adventures in Cooking: Our Share

This year we are first-time members of a local CSA. A farm only a little ways from our house is the pick-up location for shareholders in the Community Supported Agriculture program. So far we have had 5 weeks of distribution and this week was the largest share so far (the season starts off slow in the spring & harvests pick up mid-summer).

This week our share included: a bunch of radishes, a head of lettuce, a bunch of braising greens, 1/4lb of snap peas and a bunch of scallions. I must admit that in the past I might have only bought half of these items a the grocery store and probably not even in the same week. So it is going to be an adventurous summer as we try new foods... and learn to cook them!

This week we have had three straight dinners with our fresh veggies - two that we have had in recent weeks (chicken wraps with lettuce & radishes and chicken spaghettini) and one experimental dish with braising greens. Having never eaten a braising green - nevermind cooking them - I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I found a recipe that sounded worth trying & it was a hit (see recipe below).

Stay tuned - I am sure there will be more to share as we eat more local & seasonal foods!



Braising Greens w/ Pine Nuts & Golden Raisins
Serve this with pork chops or pan-fried sausage (we had grilled pork chops)

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons golden raisins
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 pound mixed braising greens
2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cover the raisins with water and let stand 30 minutes to soften. Drain.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the pine nuts until golden and fragrant, 7-10 minutes.

Wash and drain the braising greens. Transfer the greens to a large pot with just the water clinging to them. Cover them and cook over moderate heat, tossing occasionally with tongs, until they are wilted and tender. Add additional water if they threaten to cook dry. Drain the greens in a sieve and chill under cold running water. Drain them again and squeeze to remove the excess moisture.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a skillet over moderate heat. Add the garlic and saute until lightly colored. Add the greens, raisins, pine nuts, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat greens with oil. When the greens are hot throughout, remove them from the heat and stir in the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Serve immediately.

Serves 3 to 4.

Bargain Hunting

I searched through all my posts and to my surprise I have never posted about coupon clipping, bargain hunting or good deals! I find this to be strange, as I usually spend some time each week on these things.

Over a year ago I read the book "Coupon Mom" and got really into clipping coupons and finding grocery deals. Since then my bargain hunting has had it's ups & downs based on the time I have to devote to pre-planning my shopping trips, but thanks to some friends who have joined the in bargain hunting (and tip me off on bargains) I am back on an upswing & enjoying the thrill of a good deal.

I try to be very attentive when I shop - knowing the prices of the things I regularly buy and when a deal is a good deal or not. For example, I never buy V8 Fusion at the grocery store regular price ($4.69) or even the Walmart/Target price ($2.99). Instead I wait until it is 2/$5 and buy enough for about 6 weeks, as that is about the frequency of their sale - and I usually top that off with a coupon or two making it 2/$4 on some of them. Although I have to say, one of my best deals was the week I got 9 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios for $12 (thanks to a good sale price and 3 $1 off coupons that were doubled by the store)!

It is this strategy that lead us to invest in a freezer chest this past February. It is now filled to the brim with some of my favorite bargain hunting... buy 1 get 2 free on bread & English muffins and $1.98/lb boneless chicken breast. I also have a stock pile of Eggo waffles bought at 50% off (the kids current favorite breakfast) and several good cuts of meat that I purchased multiples of while they are at a good price (flank steak, pork shoulder and pork tenderloin). Since the freezer and pantry are stocked, there often weeks where I don't even need to go to the grocery store --- I love those weeks!

Since my friends are always tipping me off to grocery deals and deals at CVS (gotta love Extra Bucks!) I thought I would share a few deals this week too. I was quite excited when I saw the AC Moore ad this week - and not because of the scrapbooking supplies (shocker!). Actually, they have their entire collection of Thomas the Tank Engine toys on sale for 40% off. This past weekend we took the kids to the Day Out With Thomas event and now the kids are totally into all things Thomas - but man the trains are pricey, 40% off makes them slightly better (the Dandelion just got Thomas for his birthday, but otherwise we hadn't bought any others). The other thing I went for was their Crayola Sidewalk Chalk Toys --- they had all of the the regularly $6.99 items at 3/$10 - including some cool chalk tools and the 3D glasses. Now that the weather is nice we have been going through lots of sidewalk chalk... so it was perfect timing for both! Here is what we got...

Full Price - $61.92 (with tax). We Paid - $34.44 ... saving 44%!

Next up - a Coupon Swap playgroup... then my favorite time of the year... Back-to-School! There is lots of good bargain hunting to be done in that area... more coming on that later!

"No, I wanna time out!"

The Dandelion knows how to climb over the family room gate. I think he sees it as a challenge to find a way over it when I have tried to remove everything he could stand on to get over (he needs about 1"-2" of a boost).

Today was no exception. He used a green chair to clear the gate, and appeared at my side quite proud. I sent him to Time Out (in the living room chair). He sat there contently and said "Sorry, climb my gate" to get up. I put him back in the family room.

A few minutes later he appeared again. He walked straight to Time Out and sat down. A couple minutes later I went over for my apology, which he gave, and put him over the gate again. He was not happy. I reminded him that it was almost naptime and he ran to the other side of the room.

The break was short lived, as I heard the gate rattle a couple of minutes later. I caught him about halfway over, picked him up and said "Okay Buddy, it's naptime". Instant tantrum... "No, I wanna Time Out!"

I might have to rethink the Time Out location, the penalty for climbing the gate, or maybe the gate altogether.

Chalking Up

At gymnastics, the Tumbleweed is starting team this summer (Level 1) and will be going twice a week for 1 hour each time. So far she loved the first few classes. There are 5 girls in her group and on Mondays they even have the gym to themselves. So far they learned the team warm up routine, how to walk two at a time on the beam and pivot at the ends, and all about chalk. She was pretty excited about that!

She was also excited that they get to climb the rope every day, but got a little frustrated when she wasn't the best at it. Boy she is competitive!
Another new thing... running drills!

One Sunday Morning

Once upon a time a little boy lay in his crib.

One Sunday morning the sun came up and "pop" out of the crib climbed the little Dandelion.

The Dandelion was very hungry, so he went to look for some food.

First he woke up his sister. But that was not enough.

Then he woke up his mom, who got him some milk, but he was still hungry.

He ate a hole in a slice of bread but he was still hungry.

Then he ate one banana but he was still hungry.

Finally he ate through one cup of yogurt and he felt much better.

He went into the bedroom, and after ten minutes out came a silly boy!



---

This Sunday we were woken up at 5:00 in our hotel room to the pitter-patter of little feet. Not just one set of little feet, but two. The Dandelion had climbed out of the pack-n-play, and woken his sister. Together they came out & woke us up, looking for food & drinks.


We got them all set up with food & the Disney Channel, but that only lasted for a short while. Soon the Dandelion was back, and on the floor he found a dime. "Geeuses money" he said. The Eagle & I started laughing. It sure sounded like he thought the money was Jesus'. So off he went with the money...

We heard a bit of a ruckus in the bedroom --- drawers opening & closing --- and a few minutes later, out came the Dandelion. "Read book" he said as he climbed up in our bed. What book did he have? The one you find in the bedside table at a hotel - The Bible. At this point it didn't look like we were going to get any more sleep, so at 6:15 we were all up.



[Side note: Later I figured out what he was talking about with "Geeuses money"... he meant "Cheese's money" as in Chuck E Cheese. We went a couple months ago and he was obsessed with the coins. I am surprised he still remembers!]

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 3

Week of July 4, 2009

Theme of the week: Back on track! After two "unscheduled" weeks, we are finally back to having scheduled activities - something the kids and I are both more comfortable with.

Saturday: The 4th of July. We had a great holiday - with a road race for the whole family in the morning, and an afternoon at Nana & Papa's house. The kids had lots of fun playing outside at Nana & Papa's since the weather was finally decent!


Sunday: The Tour de France was underway, and we enjoyed a quiet morning getting chores done and watching stage 2. The kids and I did a little strawberry picking on the final day of the season at Silvermine. And for dinner we headed to a friend's house for a BBQ.

Monday: The start of a busy week!!!! The first day of soccer camp meant that we were up & out of the house at 8:30. The Tumbleweed took a little time to get into the spirit of things, but once she did, she was tearing up the field. Afterward, the Tumbleweed had her first day of summer gymnastics. I was concerned that she might be too tired to do both (we already had soccer camp on the schedule when we got the gymnastics schedule), but she actually handled it quite well. The Dandelion was not a fan, though that wasn't really a surprise.

Tuesday: Safari Day at soccer camp... The Tumbleweed was totally into the it, wearing my new Tilley hat most of the morning. The Dandelion handled watching a little better today, fortunately today he didn't have to sit through 2 activities. The afternoon left us without power for a little while while a storm rolled through - the Tumbleweed and I spent the afternoon doing puzzles and getting all the pieces back into the right boxes.

Wednesday: My Terrible-Horrible-No-Good-Very-Bad Day. While we got a late start, I thought I had recovered getting everyone to soccer on time. The Eagle came to watch, which the Tumbleweed loved, and so did the Dandelion because Daddy let get out of the stroller a play. We headed straight from soccer to the free movie - Madagascar 2 - at the theater. Things went downhill from there... "Mommy I want more food", hiding behind the seats because it is too scary and at the end the Dandelion had been sitting in wet squishey gummy snacks. We headed home. No need for details, but the rest of the day wasn't much better. I went to be early.

Thursday: The last day of soccer camp, followed by gymnastics, the a trip to the grocery store. The kids did pretty well at the grocery store --- and they were even handing out samples of hot dogs - Free lunch! When we got home, the Eagle had found an awesome special surprise for Friday and we were excited to get packing for our trip. After dinner, I headed to MOMS Night Out for some fancy s'mores and conversations by the lake.

Friday: We packed up and hit the road early to arrive in North Conway for the special surprise... A Day Out with Thomas the Tank Engine. The kids got a huge kick out of the whole experience. The it was off to the hotel to get some rest for the rest of the big weekend!

"Coach Pole"

Today was the last day of soccer camp, which the Tumbleweed absolutely loved! ["We have to go back next week and the week after that!" she said when we left... there isn't camp next week, sorry kiddo.]

Her favorite game was "Grumpy Old Troll", which she called "The Dora Game". I am not really sure the British coaches got her reference, but most moms of preschoolers probably would have. They played the game the first day, and each day afterward she insisted they had to play it --- and for some reason they did, even keeping the kids late on Tuesday to prevent her from crying... I guess she had them wrapped around her finger!

So today, as we left the field I was asking her about what she did today and mentioned something to the effect of "When Coach Paul had you ..." and she stopped me mid-sentence with "No Mommy, it's Coach Pole" I could hardly stop laughing! She got mad that I laughed. I guess that is her interpretation of his name said with a British accent.


Being chased by "the grumpy old troll"

Adventures in Cooking - Strawberry Jam

This weekend, we managed to catch the final pick day of strawberry season. We picked 6lbs more (bringing the total to 21.5lbs for the season), with the intention of attempting to make jelly.

I've never made jelly before, but I followed the instructions for Strawberry Freezer Jam in the Ball Original Fruit Pectin package. It seemed pretty simple, and didn't take too much time beyond cutting up the berries. I ended up with 5 half pint containers of jam. I am looking forward to tasting my final product - I hope it turns out well.

This season, we have enjoyed lots of fresh strawberries, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberry shortcake and strawberry glace pie. I also have stored 3 strawberry toppings and two bags of smoothie berries. I look forward to carrying this new hobby forward into blueberry picking season and beyond.

Wet & Wild 4th of July!

This year we spent the Fourth close to home. The Eagle was back in town for the weekend after lots of travel for his new job, so it was nice to have some family time.

We started out the morning at the Millbury Independence Day Road Race. It was a 2.5 mile (or 2.3, depending on what description you read) run through town. Since they had no rule about strollers (I guess no one had asked before?) the Eagle ran with the Dandelion in the stroller, and the Tumbleweed and I ran alongside them. The Tumbleweed paced us, stopping to walk when she needed to. We all crossed the finish line together near the end - but were not last either :)


We spent the rest of the day at Nana & Papa's house, where the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool. They took turns splashing each other, pouring water on each other, "swimming" (laying on their stomachs), jumping in & out and "fishing" (with a little toy game).


When they were done with pool and changed into clothes, the water fun didn't stop. The Tumbleweed wanted to water Nana's flowers with the hose, and since the Dandelion couldn't be left out, he started chasing her. So she sprayed him with the hose. "Daddy, I don't know what happened but his clothes are all wet" Oh well, he loved it, so I guess it didn't matter too much.

The irony was that later the Tumbleweed was at the edge of the pond (aka - golf course water hazard) tossing in rocks and fell in with all of her clothes on. She wasn't too pleased about that, but I suppose it was the universe telling her not to soak her brother with the hose :)

Two year old cute moment of the day:
The Dandelion saw Nana deliver me a brownie sundae bowl with a birthday candle, so he went over to her and said "my burfday, too. I ha eye kweem?" She gave him a bowl of ice cream, but that didn't make him happy. We finally achieved satisfaction when he said "candle" between tears, and we gave it to him. He then proceeded to repeatedly lick his ice cream off of it. Strange.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 2

Week of June 27, 2009

Theme of the week: Do as much as you can on the sunny days, because you never know when you'll have another one!

Saturday: We celebrated the Dandelion's birthday with a little family party & a homemade Cars cake.


Sunday: The kids & I marched in the Millbury Independence Day Parade with the MOMS Club. Then I went off to my scrapbook club, while the kids helped Grandpa with a "project".


Monday: Grandma & Grandpa said goodbye and headed for home, while I spent my day doing my final reports as MOMS Club president. We ended up staying home all day --- and lived to tell!

Tuesday: The kids had dentist appointments first thing, then we met the MOMS Club at Davis Farmland. It was our first trip to Davis. I entered the park with no map & no plan, and it all worked out OK! LOL...this was vary stressful for me at first, but we managed just fine. The kids had a blast & we stayed until 3:30.

The kids & I on the hayride

The Tumbleweed earned a pony ride

The Dandelion loved "dwiving" the "Twakter"

Wednesday: The rain returned and we ad no official plans for the day, but the kids & I made do. We went to a local nursery where they have a special green house with butterflies. The Tumbleweed & I were able to find butterflies, as well as chrysalis and caterpillars.


Thursday: More rain - and we were stuck at home all morning while the my cracked windshield was replaced. We spent the afternoon at the scrapbook store planning my next two classes :)

Friday: The sun was out! We headed out to walking group and then the playground. From the playground we took a detour to pick cherries at a local farm, since it was probably the only day they were going to let people pick this season. One the way home we stopped and had ice cream (for lunch). And since it was my birthday, we went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and had cookie cake when we got home (my favorite!) A crazy & fun day!


--

Next week we are finally on more of a schedule with several of the kids' activities starting, but there is still a lot of unplanned time as well.

Ticket Taker

When I remember, I like to watch SuperNanny or Nanny 911. Sometimes I watch to feel better about myself by watching other children behave worse than mine and other times I watch to find new ways to solve problems at my own house.

One of the techniques she often employs is a reward system for good behavior. On the show this usually involves some kind of jar with marbles or something like that. I have always liked the idea, but found the application of it not too practical for our busy lifestyle. That is until yesterday morning, when I had a moment of inspiration...

We were about to leave for a busy day with a trip to the dentist followed by a trip to an amusement park. As I was grabbing things to leave I saw a roll of raffle tickets. Still unsure exactly how I would use them, I grabbed about 20, stuffed them in my pocket and we were on our way.

While we were in the car, I explained to the kids what the plan was for the day. Then I set my newly thought up system into place. I told the Tumbleweed that for everything she did well she would receive one ticket (this included doing as she was asked when she was asked, helping without being asked, and other good deeds). I also told her that for any problems she would lose a ticket. At that point I wasn't quite sure what the reward would be, but I told her that when she had enough tickets she could "trade" them in for something she wanted. She seemed to like this plan...

It really worked well, especially at the amusement park. I held all of the tickets - the ones she had earned were in one pocket and the rest were in another pocket. When she earned one (or lost one) I just moved them from one side to the other. At lunchtime we counted them and talked about what she might want to do with her reward. She decided that going on a pony ride looked like fun. Since she had 7 tickets at that point, I set the mark at 10 tickets to earn a pony ride.

The threat of taking a ticket away was enough to discourage wandering & whining most of the time. She did lose a couple for yelling at Mommy or not doing what she was told, but at the end of our day she had earned enough for a pony ride.


After the trial run, I am continuing the ticket system. It seems to work in several ways ---

1. when she wants something, I can set the number of tickets she needs to earn to get it (ex. she did nice things all the way through the grocery store today to earn FruitaBu fruit rolls).

2. when there isn't something clear that she wants, I can ask her what she'd like to save her tickets up for and we can make plans to do that when she gets enough.

3. She is learning the concept of earning "money" & "paying" for things

4. She can see that there are tangible consequences for bad behavior, since Timeout isn't always enough. (In the past I would take away a reward for bad behavior, but she didn't really know how close she was to earning it. Now she can see that she is so close & doesn't want to mess up!)

5. It is more portable than SuperNanny's jar system. We are on the go way to much to wait until we return home to transfer balls into a jar - I could never keep track!


I hope the novelty doesn't wear off too quickly & that this continues to work for a while! It has been pretty peaceful on the four-year-old front for the past two days. I still have a "terrible" two year old to deal with --- I guess I will be back watching SuperNanny for tantrum-busters....


Here are a few old SuperNanny-inspired posts:

Daily Schedule - August 2008
Time-out - January 2009
Meal Time - May 2009

Funny Business

The Tumbleweed has had a couple of funny comments lately that I want to remember...


1. Riding along in the car is a good time to random questions, and this was a good one...

"Mommy, when people were invented, how did the first baby go to a doctor?"

I guess the egg comes before the chicken in her world. My answer, "I don't know honey, Mommy wasn't there."

--

2. Since the Eagle is away, we have been relaying stories to him over the video chat. After our trip to the dentist, the Tumbleweed had this to say...

"Daddy, the dentist used gum on my teeth"

What she meant was that she had bubble gum flavored tooth paste. I am sure dentists aroud the world are cringing at the thought of using gum to clean teeth.

--

3. We spent a day at Davis Farmland. While we were there, the Tumbleweed had the opportunity to milk a goat. That evening at bedtime, she said...

"Mommy, how does the goat get all that milk in his belly?"

Well, for starters, the goat was a girl....

Best Present?

Save your money ... just buy a card!

The Dandelion had his second birthday party this weekend and the surprise hit of the party was a card! OK - it was an expensive Hallmark singing card, but he loves it. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he picked it out about a month ago and it kept him busy for about 20 minutes in the store. It has Lightning McQueen on the cover and he doesn't really care what it plays, but is fascinated by the fact that it plays music when you open it.

Two year olds are so funny!

I guess it is time to clean out the baby toys & make room for more Lightning McQueen, Thomas the Tank Engine & Handy Manny Tools...

How I Spent My Summer Vacation - Week 1

And so it begins.... we are now officially on Summer Vacation. I am going to attempt to keep track of the things we did this summer with a weekly update post. Here is the first one...


Week of June 20, 2009

Theme of the Week: Surviving a rainy week without school & our "regularly scheduled activities"!

Saturday: Mike raced in the Patriot Half-Iron Triathlon and finished in under 5 hours! The kids & were able to watch a little from the bike course and then find seats for the finish.


Sunday: We spent Father's Day visiting with Papa who had just returned from his trip to Kuwait.

Monday: Little Reader's "Harold & the Purple Crayon" Playgroup


Tuesday: I changed my name. Yes, it took 5 years for me to actually make it to the SSA office and make my married name official. oops. Now I can renew my driver's license. Phew.

Wednesday: In honor of the Dandelion turning 2, we had a Pancake Picnic with our MOMS Club friends.

Thursday: After 4 days of rain, the weather was finally decent, so it was off to meet friends at the park. Later we opened up the water table for the first time this year.


Friday: Grandma & Grandpa were in town & took the Tumbleweed for a day at Mystic Seaport. The Dandelion and I went to storytime at Purgatory Chasm, and then did the grocery shopping. Later in the day, the Eagle returned from is business trip and my sister arrived for the weekend.


... bring on the weekend!

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

Amateur Gardener - 1, Lily Beetles - 0


As you can see, I have my first lily blooming, and several more are ready to bloom this week I think. For the time being, I have conquered the lily beetles.

Now if I could only conquer the slugs... my strawberry count is up to 6 harvested (there should be at least 4 more by the end of the weekend). Slugs have gotten another 6, and the lovely rain has rotted 3 or 4 more. I suppose that is six more than I have grown before.

Mr. Sandman

Today was the Danilion's first time in a sandbox. He loved it. At first he drove a few trucks around, but then he found a shovel. That shovel kept him busy for at least a half an hour. What did he do with the shovel? He dumped sand ["duht"] on his head. That's right, on his head.

For a half an hour he stood in the sandbox, bent over and dug up some sand, lifted the shovel over his head, let the sand pour all over his head, giggled, shook his head from side to side, smiled with glee and repeated it all over again. Everyone around got a huge kick out of it, mostly out of the fact that he was loving it so much. Or possibly because I was letting him do it.




Okay - so it was messy, but I did get to sit down at the playground for 30 minutes! And all that sand did make him sleepy when we left...

Ringing off the hook

I don't recall the last time our phone rang so many times in one day. Who were they all calling for... a little guy who turned two today and doesn't really know how to talk on the phone. He did his best with "Hi"s and "Bye"s, and was thrilled to be handed the phone so many times - including once during a diaper change, once while he was covered in frosting eating a cupcake and once while he was getting his bedtime story read to him.

Happy Birthday Little Buddy!


The Dandilion at 2...

- likes to sing "ADCDs" but doesn't quite have all the letters
- only eats dinner when he feels like it, but always needs a fork
- climbs ladders, and everything else
- counts to 13 - and then repeats "fur-teen" over & over
- loves "Wow, Wow, Wubbsy", "Backyardigans" and "Go Deigo Go"
- knows triangle, square, circle, star - but not colors
- can jump - finally - but doesn't jump off the side of the pool
- still loves to wear other people's shoes
- always wants to go somewhere, "Shoos on. Red-ee to go, mom-ee!"
- likes to say "go potty", but is totally clueless about what he would do with one.
- love blueberries, but won't eat a strawberry
- "sings" with the Backyardigans CD in the car, but usually only gets the last word of each line
- throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way
- says "Cheese" for the camera, anyone's camera & unprompted
- doesn't mind having water dumped on his head and always wants to take a bath
- size 24 months/2T, but the pants/shorts are a little too big
- shoe size 6/6.5, but has been wearing the Tumbleweed's old size 7.5 sneakers for months

Slugfest 09

Calling all slugs --- there is a big party in our backyard! I even left some beer out there for you [be careful, it might be a trap].

There are slugs & wormy things of all shapes & sizes taking over my garden. We must have the best plants in the neighborhood because every time I go out there are more slugs. This morning it was only sprinkling lightly, so I went out to check on things and found the slugs munching on my strawberries (again). I collected about 15 more slugs. Uggg slugs.

So anyway, we have picked 5 edible strawberries from our garden. The slugs have eaten 4. There are still more growing --- hopefully we get a few dry days soon. The ones that we have harvested have been pretty good sized & quite delicious.

In other garden news... the weeds have officially taken over the wildflower garden, some of my "infested" plants seem to be rebounding but none are blooming yet, and I haven't seen a lily beetle in a long time.

Did I mention that we had a hummingbird last weekend? They seem to love the columbine, that's where we saw one last year too.

Two Pies

I love that the kids are getting old enough to play together. One of my favorite things they do together started about a week ago, and involves me getting some extra sleep - whoo-hoo! Here's the formula...

1. Both kids wake up at relatively the same time (doesn't matter who is first, but it needs to be within about 5-10 minutes or before the Tumbleweed leaves her room).

2. The Tumbleweed goes into the Dandilion's room. He is still in his crib, but has already started talking (she knows not to go in if she hasn't heard him).

3. She adds enough toys & books to his crib that he can barely move. He giggles as each one gets added.

4. When she runs out of things to add to the crib, she hides under the crib and pops out saying "Surprise!" He laughs & tries to guess where she is going to pop out of the next time.

5. This can last up to 30 minutes before one of them asks for food or drink, and needs me to get it...


The Dandilion has caught on to the game, and now will also hide from her (behind one of the numerous toys he now has), and the yells "Two Pies" when he pops out. It is hysterical, and he will do it at other times too.

After the latest round, when it came time for nap we had lot of animals to clean out of the crib, so I had him help me toss them back into the toy bin. With each one he tossed out, we said "[name of toy], get out of here!" He got a huge kick out of that!

So, the "Two Pies" will be on the Tumbleweed tomorrow if he starts throwing the toys back at her...

Graduation Day

The grand finale to our crazy busy week was the Tumbleweed's preschool "graduation". This year was her first full year of preschool (last year she started in January when she was old enough). As I collected her extra clothes (in case of accidents or spills), I noticed how much smaller they were. She has really grown & changed since she started in the fall.

Unfortunately, the rain this morning meant that the graduation ceremony was in the classroom. It was quite crowded and a little more difficult to see & photograph than last year when they had it outside. The kids did a great job with their songs & poem lines (the Tumbleweed's line was "My teachers were Miss Kate and Miss Bonnie"). They had all been practicing for a while, and everything went very smoothly. Afterward the teachers gave them each a portfolio of their work from the year and a handprint pillowcase with handprints from the whole class. They had obviously put a lot of time & effort into making the day quite special.

Her preschool program was a good match for her activity level, as there was a lot of time to run & play built into their day. As expected, she enjoyed playing with anyone who would play "Chase Me". I was also impressed with how much academics she soaked up... from the order of the colors in the rainbow to the upper and lowercase letters of the alphabet to counting past 100, she really seems to retain information well. I can only hope that her love for learning continues. We are so proud of her!

She is very much looking forward to her "new school" but has already said several times that she is going to miss her teachers, friends and everything about school. It is hard for me to believe that she is moving on, we have become so used to our "school routine".

Hmmm... what ever will we do next week?

Our Little Fish & Toddler Lock-up

Today was the final day of spring swimming lessons. I was very pleased with the progress both kids made this session!

The Tumbleweed seems to have gotten over her fear of jumping in and actually participated when the class learned kneeling dives. During her final class she was able to swim from the wall to the lane line (about 10 feet) with just a little push to get started. Her "report card" says that she needs to work on her back stroke (she doesn't like leaning back) and accepting help (she really doesn't like it when someone helps her lean back!). But even with that she was recommended for the next level, Eel.

The Dandilion also had a good last class. He has no problem getting his face wet, and even sticks his face in voluntarily to "blow bubbles" (actually drinking the pool). He loved the last class because they had the slide going into the water, which he must have done at least 10 times! He also seemed suddenly able to kick & paddle at the same time. I can tell he can't wait to be independent in the water. He is sick of having Mommy holding him, much like his sister at the same age.

I think the funniest moment of all was the Dandilion playing in the locker while I helped the Tumbleweed in the bathroom. It is the perfect size for him...

Gym Show #3

Today was the Dandilion's day. After watching all of the Tumbleweed's activities, he finally got to be the star. Although there was a bit of chasing & wrangling involved, I consider his Nursery Gym show a success. He did at least one turn on every station, he didn't have a complete meltdown (there were a few small ones), and he stood on the line before & after.

Standing still during the introduction (total shocker! I couldn't believe I was able to get far enough away to take a picture!)

Swinging on the Rings:

He added pommels & parallel bars to his show...

Balance

"One, Two, Three, Bow"

"Cheese"

In the car on the way home, he kept saying to the Tumbleweed, "My Medal". He likes wearing it too --- a few times he has called it a "nek-wiss" (necklace).

Another "Proud Mommy" day.

Marathon Day: Gym Show #2, Soccer Finale & more

Today was the first of this week's crazy days. Things started out somewhat slow...we had a recipe swap playgroup in the morning, lunch at home and the Dandilion took his nap. While he napped I took care of finishing the gift for the Tumbleweed's gymnastics instructor.

At 1:30, the plan went into action...

First up was our first CSA pickup... we got a bright, colorful basketful, with a pint of strawberries, a head of lettuce, a handful of snap peas & a bunch of Easter Egg radish. Yummmm.


Then it was off to try to get seats for the Tumbleweed's gymnastics show. Since her class was in the afternoon, the gym was quite crowded and despite our early arrival, we still didn't get great seats. I can't say if there really was a "good seat" because it seemed like there was always some equipment, other kids or parents blocking me from getting a good picture. But, even though I don't have a lot of great pictures to prove it, the Tumbleweed put on a great show!


She particularly enjoyed watching the team girls who demonstrated during the show. Afterward she said, "I want to be 10. Because then I can do my routines all by myself" (Several of the girls were announced as being 10). Needless to say, she is very excited about starting Level 1 this summer.

We had about 1 hour from the end of the gym show until the start of the Tumbleweed's final "Maroon Team" soccer game. After grabbing some Sammies at Quizno's (one of the more popular fast food choices in our family), we headed to the soccer field.

The Tumbleweed played a great game! And my concern that she would be too tired to play was unfounded as she seemed faster than ever! She had two goals, bringing her season total to 6. I think she was almost a little sad to get her medal after the game because it meant the season was over. She has already asked when it starts again - I guess we better plan to sign her up again :)



It was a long & crazy day, but a good day :)

The Curious Case of Pushing Buttons

Verizon FIOS: Day 1

Yesterday, we had Verizon FIOS installed. The installation finished around 5:30 and I went out to dinner, so I really didn't spend much time playing with our new remote. I am still fumbling to find the right channels and our universal remote is still not set up. But despite that, I managed to find the Disney Channel so I could take a shower this morning.

When I returned to the family room after getting the Tumbleweed & myself dressed for the day, the Dandilion was sitting on the couch with the new remote, looking wide-eyed at the TV as a big WB logo came on the screen. Definitely not the Little Einsteins... uh-oh. I hit the back arrow to be face with the choice "stop live television". I selected it and up popped the window showing what I had stopped. The Dandilion had ordered a $4.99 On Demand Movie - "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

I guess we will be watching that tonight. And making sure we put the remote up high from now on or we are going to have an astronomical Verizon bill!

A little competitive?

The Tumbleweed has been really getting into soccer this spring. She is MUCH improved since she first played in the fall. Our U6 "Maroon Team" this season has been a good mix of older kids (5 going on 6) and younger kids (3.5-4) and everything in between. The Tumbleweed has really been able to see how the older boys play, and has become much more aggressive after practicing with them.

At this weekend's game, she was quite evenly matched with a girl on the other team --- who also happened to have the same name (until now, we've never met another kid her age with her name). Talk about confusing, when you are in a league where the coaches are on the field giving directions having both coaches yelling the same name and giving the opposite directions is a bit confusing! At the beginning of the game, the Tumbleweed even turned to look at the other girl's mom on the sidelines to try to figure out why someone she didn't know was saying her name. Fortunately both girls adjusted and there were no major "wrong way" incidents - at least not involving them...

As is evident in these photos, the Tumbleweed has inherited her parents' competitive genes and takes the game very seriously.


By U6 standards, this was a very good match-up and actually more physical than most. It has been great to watch her improve this season. She really seems to love soccer, and especially scoring goals :)

Ack! and Eww!

It has been rainy for several days, so this evening was the first chance I had to get outside and check on my garden. My garden has problems ---- first it was lily beetles, then the hail storm damage, and now many of my plants are dying or deformed from unknown sources. In the spring I was so optimistic about how beautiful my garden would be at this point, but now I almost dread going out to see what new ailment has descended upon my flowers.

So after all of this rain --- regular watering is good for plants --- I was hopeful. I noticed some good things first:

1. I don't see any lily beetles or their larva on the lilies. Lily buds are getting bigger.

2. One of the tiger lily plants (all of them sustained heavy hail damage to the leaves) has 5-6 bud stems.

3. There are multiple strawberries growing, one is starting to turn red.

4. My lupine is blooming! [I bought a plant about a month & a half ago, after failing to grow them from seeds the past two years --- they were the only plant that was eaten by a pest those years!]


After my initial enjoyment came "Ack! There's a slug!" Sure enough there was a slug munching away on my wilted-looking daisies. And after closer inspection, there were LOTS of slugs & wormy-things all over my daisies.


Thinking quickly, I grabbed a bowl of water and my garden gloves and headed out to start picking them off. After touching the first one (with my gloves of course), I couldn't help but think, "Eew! Slugs are really gross." In the end, I think I got at least 20 suckers off my four daisy plants. I hope that helps. I also set several "slug traps" (a jar with 1 T. cornmeal in it laying on it's side) for any that I might have missed.

Grrr... why must my garden have issues?!?

Quotable Kids

A few notable quotes from the past few days...

The Tumbleweed:
~ "Mommy, I am so exasperated!" [In the car on the way home from school when I had told her that she could not have snacks before lunch. Yet another Pinky Dinky Doo word]

~ "My brother will be 2 this month. On June 24th" [Talking to Miss Jen, the gymnastics teacher and two days later to Miss Patti, the dance teacher. She had not been told recently what his birthday was, so the fact that she remembered shocked me.]

~ "Mommy, don't go this way! They moved dance, remember?" [Driving past the Millbury Post Office approaching the traffic light. I had mentioned to her a few weeks back that her new dance class would be in a the new location - couldn't believe that she remembered where the old one was and that we were about to pass it]

The Dandilion:
~ "I awk in cuddle, pweees?" ["I walk in puddle, please" - he really wanted to step in the puddle, so I let him. He barely splashed :)]

~ "Ahhhh. Wook Ow! (covers eyes) I ca wook." ["Ahhh. Look out! I can't look." So funny. We were sitting in a parked car. Don't know where he learned it, but he has been saying it all day since then.]

~ "Aht hows bootifuh" ["That house is beautiful" he was copying what the Tumbleweed had just said about a house we drove past, but his attempt at "beautiful" impressed me. And then he said it a bunch more times while pointing out the window.]

~ "Book. Papair. sickars." [Pointing at the things in the scrapbook store. He sure knows his way around!]


...that's all I can think of right now. Kids sure do say the darndest things!


Also worth noting, the Dandilion has made a lot of progress in the "hand holding" department. He seems to understand now that if he wants to be allowed to walk he has to hold my hand. We have successfully walked in & out of stores holding hands and today he went to get the mail with me and never once tried to get me to let go. He does have his moments, but he has made great strides recently. Phew.

Gym Show #1

Next up on the end of the school year calendar was the Tumbleweed's Preschool Gymnastics Show, and of course it fell on an already busy day...

The morning started with the Dandilion's gymnastics class' final show rehearsal (ie - Mommy chasing him all over the gym & trying to get him to follow the class). While he didn't really do everything, he did demonstrate some strength (on a station he wasn't supposed to be on).


After his class, we staked out a good seat (as if there really is one). Much of her show was too far to get good pictures, but Miss Ashley did help me get a few when they were on beam.













At the end, the class was given medals. I was a bit sad that she didn't call it a "Medal Winner" this year, but she still seems totally thrilled to receive it and then to take her bow - which thankfully she didn't wipe out the kid next to her with the "dramatic bow" that she had been practicing.


And since the day wasn't busy enough already, the Tumbleweed started her summer dance class this afternoon. She was so excited to dance again. The Dandilion, on the other hand, was not so happy about it. I'll have to come up with something other than toys, books, coloring, food & drinks to take for next week.

Dinner on the Deck

Now that the weather is warm, the Eagle has been grilling up some yummy dinners. This weekend the Tumbleweed put in a request that we eat outside... so she & Daddy washed all of the deck furniture and we had dinner outside.

The most amazing part was that the Dandilion ate dinner at the little picnic table ... not strapped into the highchair as he usually is. He did get up after about 15 minutes, but that was actually better than I expected.

My New Toy & Garden Update

In an attempt to be able to manage the yardwork while the Eagle travels for his new job, we decided to put some reward points towards a reel mower. This way, I can take care of the front lawn (the part people see) while he is away and I don't have to use the gas mower.

It arrived yesterday, so this morning he assembled it and gave it a tour of the front yard.



It was nice to be able to have the kids outside while we were mowing - and you could even talk while pushing! It was a little tough to push at times, at little hills or under bushes, but overall very doable for me.

In the back yard, I checked in on the garden and must say, I am a bit frustrated. Several of my plants have yellowing or holey leaves and the flower buds are looking a bit deformed. I am exploring several theories... 1- Hail Damage, 2- Bugs, 3- Virus. I can't decide. It seems as though the flowers at one end of the garden are worse than others. I am still hopeful that I can find a solution and they will bloom, although it already looks like some will not :(

Also disappointing is that my wildflower garden is not seeming to grow. Maybe I will try prepping the soil again and re-seeding.

On the plus side - I have been policing the Lily Beetles, and snagged some more larvae from the leaves. I haven't seen an actual beetle in about 2 weeks. Here is what the larvae looks like on the leaves.



My strawberry & tomato plants still look promising, and the blueberry bush I planted is 50/50. I also have a beautiful purple & white lupine blooming, some pretty columbine flowers & one surviving foxglove... Hopefully these will bring the hummingbirds back this year!

Donuts & Dancing

As the school year comes to a close, the next few weeks are jam packed with end of the year activities. Today kicked off the festivities at preschool...

This morning the Eagle took the Tumbleweed to school for "Donuts with Dad" day ... and early celebration of Father's Day on "Donut Day". It was very cute. The kids had made lots of little presents for the dads. The Tumbleweed was particularly excited that her Daddy was able to come to school with her, as she knows that he usually has to work while she is in school.

The day ended with her "Preschool Prom", which was a prom-themed "Parents' Night Out". Now, we didn't really have the night off because the Dandilion was not old enough to attend, but we thought it would be sad if the Tumbleweed missed the special event. They took "prom photos" when the kids arrived - and gave them to us when we picked the kids up. There was lots of food, quite a bit of dancing (to Hannah Montana) and even cake at the end. The Tumbleweed came home with a prize for winning the limbo contest... Me: "How do you win the Limbo Contest, honey?" Her: "You see how low you can go, and don't use your hands!" Then she fell asleep - as the event had us out an hour past her bedtime.



It was a cute day... and I am sure there are more to come in the next two weeks.

MNO

As a mom, it is often necessary to get out for the evening. But as someone who does not work and who is not from the town I currently live in, finding people to "go out" with for the evening can be a challenge. That is if you aren't a member of the local MOMS Club.

I can't imagine where I would be today with out the MOMS Club...probably hidden away in a padded room somewhere banging my head against the wall wondering why my kids won't listen to me. LOL... at least now I know that no one's kids listen :)

Tonight I had a wonderful evening with friends at our end of the year banquet. There was good food, reminiscing, no children, interesting conversations, hilarious "awards", no children, fabulous slideshow, a gourmet cake (made by one our members!) and, did I mention, NO CHILDREN! A great time was had by all!

And now I'm sitting at my computer crying.

I can't exactly explain it, but as ready as I am to pass on my duties, being MOMS Club President has been very fulfilling over the past three years. I am going to miss it.

Okay, now I wish the tears would stop already!

Back to tonight.. we had lots of fun looking back at the early days of the chapter, back when we first moved here, and seeing how far we have come. We have more than quadrupled the number of members, most of us have at least doubled the number of kids we had back then, and now we are doubling the number of chapters. Without the hard work of the Executive Boards, Committee Chairs, volunteers and the members none of this would have happened. It has been really rewarding to be a part of.

I am so thankful to everyone who has made this a really positive part of my life... and that no one made me get up & cry in front of everyone tonight. That wouldn't have been much fun would it?


... BTW - I cleaned out my purse before leaving the house... just in case... and it was a good thing I did.