February Girl Scout Update

It has a busy month for our Girl Scout troop! As usual, the Tumbleweed has been hard at work doing individual badges in her free time, especially during February vacation. I have been keeping busy finishing up the troop quilt, planning the badge ceremony/open house and trying to keep up with the Tumbleweed's requests for badgework. Here is a quick run-down of the month's activities:

2/4-2/5: YWCA Swim & Fun Overnight The Tumbleweed was counting the minutes to her first sleepover. She had a great time playing & swimming, but wasn't all that thrilled when they started a movie at 10 pm when she was ready to fall asleep. She was the first one to sleep and the last one to wake up... and she followed up with a 4.5 hour nap in the afternoon. Even with the lack of sleep she was eager to plan another overnight!


2/12: Cookie Booth #2 Yet another frigid day to sell cookies. Thankfully they let us sit inside the entryway! We didn't sell nearly as many cookies at this booth, but we had great troop participation.


2/14: Troop Meeting We received our first letters from our New York Brownie pen pals. The girls were so excited to read them! We set up sewing stations for the girls to make their troop quilt while earning their Stitch It Together badge. Thanks to lots of extra hands, the girls learned to sew on a button, stitch a felt patch and sew on a sewing machine.


2/23: Pajama Dance Party Despite needing to arrive late because of dance class, the Tumbleweed had a blast at the Pajama Dance Party. She got a tinsel strand put in her hair, had her face painted and dance & tumbled until they turned off the music. I thought I might regret taking her out to an event after dance class (8-9pm), but she held up well and had a great time.


2/28: World of Girls Open House We concluded our World of Girls journey by finishing the last story in the book, talking about all of the places we had learned about and what Brownies are called there and having an open house for the parents to see the things the girls had been working on. We had a display of the girls "Historically Speaking" projects (the Tumbleweed did Egypt, Israel & Italy) and I had completed the troop quilt (except hand stitching the binding) so the girls could show their parents the squares they made. We concluded with a patch ceremony.

And while that might seem like a lot, March marks the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouting, and is going to be just as busy!

Color Splash Party

The Tumbleweed is turning 7 this year, and due to our busy schedules, and particularly full March weekends, I decided to do her party during February school vacation. For the first time we had the party at an outside location, Michael's Craft Store. The Tumbleweed wanted her party "somewhere other than home" but she did have some ideas of what she wanted to do at her party. Most places that hold parties in the area have package deals and it is hard to incorporate the themes & crafts she wanted. However at Michael's you can just rent the party room for two hours and I could do the crafts and activities that she wanted. Perfect. No mess at home, a helper provided by the store and a location parents are familiar with.

The Tumbleweed had selected some badge activities out of her Girl Scout books and I helped her modify them a bit for a party setting. We started the party by giving her friends shirts in all the colors of the rainbow so they wouldn't get their clothes dirty. The first activity was a pointillism painting (her current favorite technique) on a cover of a homemade notebook. I had thought this would be the messiest part of the party, but I was wrong, the girls stayed pretty clean!


The cleanliness was short lived, as next we made chocolate fondue. Yummy & messy. I only wish I had eaten some myself! We moved straight from fondue to frosting cupcakes with a rainbow of colors. The girls got to try some of the different cake decorating tips, making flowers and writing letters. After a little singing, they got to bite in and found that the cupcakes were rainbow-colored on the inside too (the Tumbleweed had found the idea in the American Girl magazine).


After presents & pictures, we made a much cleaner craft - braided and beaded belts. Each of the girls had their own style. The Tumbleweed, of course, had to put her beads in a rainbow.


The Tumbleweed was thrilled, the kids had fun and I was exhausted --- I'd say it was one successful party!

Grow Your Own Cat Toy

The Dandelion has been enjoying checking out cat books from the library. His favorite is "Kittens". Coming in a close second is "How To Care For Your Cat". So yesterday, as he was picking out a few books I spotted another book I thought he would like, "Grow Your Own Cat Toy"

Of course, he was thrilled about the idea of "growing" a cat toy, so this morning I got some catnip seeds and after school he planted his seeds. He is sure they will "grow a cat toy" for Kitty to play with. Not sure he understands that it will grow a plant that can be made into a cat toy.



We will wait & see...

Pass It On

As in most families, the second kid in our house is bound to get some hand-me-downs. Track pants, soccer cleats, books, toys, t-shirts - the usual. Of course, since we have a girl and a boy, some things don't make sense to pass on, like princess nightgowns, pony tail holders and pink pants.

For a moment this afternoon, the kids were in a sharing mood. I was enjoying the sound of them playing together nicely, so I took a few minutes to get something done.

A short while later, the Dandelion came in to see me. Holding up what was in his hands, he said, "Look, [the Tumbleweed] gave me her underwear that doesn't fit anymore. They are for 4 year olds!" [noting the size 4 on one of them]

Chuckling, I told him that they were "girl" underwear and pointing out that they are different from his Cars "boy" underwear.

"Yeah, but I don't mind. She said I could have them." he said, and ran to his room with them. He had to put away these special things that his sister had actually given him. I could tell that it was the fact that she gave him something of hers that was so important to him.

So far, he has not actually put on a pair of princess underwear. He's probably saving them to wear to school - LOL :)

First Day of School - Take #2

The Tumbleweed finally got to head back to school after the original first day was canceled due to Irene-related damage. It was a little strange to have the first day of school called off!

The Tumbleweed had gotten to tour her new classroom the Friday before. She was excited to see the names of the other kids in her class, and she has several friends in her class. I was glad to get some pictures of her at school because I don't get to do that very often :)




Once First Day #2 came, she was pretty eager to go to school. We were ready about 20 minutes early to do pictures before the bus came. As usual, she was a cooperative model. The bus came and picked her up going the other direction, foiling my 'get-on-the-bus-turn-and-wave' picture. Then she was off to Second Grade!





It was a long wait until the bus brought her back. I think it was a little easier than last year, but it was so hard to wait! She gave a thorough description of her teacher, describing her as, "She looks like Auntie but she has curly hair in a pony tail. She was wearing a red dress with white polka dots." And finally, "She looks like she is 21, but she isn't." LOL. And that was most of what we got out of her about how the day went.

She didn't have homework, yet but when she got home she found her desk had been cleared and re-arranged by the "homework fairy". She wasn't too thrilled about this, but seemed to accept it. I am interested to see what second grade homework looks like!

Preschool 2

The Dandelion has been waiting rather impatiently for his first day of "Preschool 2". We spent a lot of time at the gymnastics center, where his preschool is located, over the summer and we would often run into to the Dandelion's classmates who were in summer daycare or camps there. Some days we would even see his teachers passing through the lobby and they would tell him how they were getting the classroom ready for him. He was quite excited to go to the upstairs classroom (for the older preschoolers) and even more excited to eat his lunch at school.

Fortunately for him, his school starts earlier than most schools, including the Tumbleweed. He got dressed and ready to go very quickly for orientation day and even mostly cooperated for pictures.



Once at school he jumped right in playing with his buddies from last year. He was rather disappointed when I told him I was staying with him the whole time. He wanted to go back as soon as we left --- which was complicated by the fact that we did go back for the Tumbleweed's gymnastics practice just a few hours later.

Finally two days later, he got to go back for the whole day. He was surprisingly easy going about being dropped off, especially considering that he cried and/or whined when being dropped off most of last year. And even though his best buddy did not come that day, he was eager to stay at school and eat lunch there. At the end of the day he reported that his favorite parts of school were "lunch and recess" and that he had a new "best friend" (a little girl in his class). Sounds like school is a success so far.

Make Your Own Fun

Last night we read a story to the kids about how it is their responsibility to "make their own fun", meaning it isn't anyone else's job to find them something to do if they are bored. It had been a rainy day with a larger number of squabbles and "boredom" episodes, so this seemed fitting.

The Tumbleweed had heard the lesson before (from "7 Habits of Happy Kids"), but this was the first time the Dandelion had heard it. And of course he has already tried it out. This morning he was up before 7:00, which meant he was supposed to go back to sleep and not wake me up. Actually, both kids came and asked for breakfast at 6:25, but were sent back to their rooms.

Two hours later, I discovered what the Dandelion had done to keep himself busy.


He emptied every book off his bookshelves, every stuffed animal out of the bins, and took out a bunch of toys from the toy box.

This comes on the heels of his comment last night while putting away his laundry, "some things are re-ranged, in case that makes you confused". I guess he has decided it is time for a room clean out, because seeing it all lying on the floor makes it look like an awful lot (especially when it has to be cleaned up at once).

Back to Blogging

It is almost time to head back to school and we have been crazy busy since I last posted (beginning of June!?!?). The end of the school year was hectic as all of our activities all came to a close within about a week and we jumped right into summer, with about a million things we wanted to do. So as the kids get ready to go back to school, I am getting ready to get back to blogging and record our memories of the past couple months before I forget.

My blog topic to do list:

1- SuperKids Triathlon
2- Spring Soccer Season
3- Insanity Day
4- Last Day of 1st Grade
5- Preschool 1 Graduation
6- "Insanity Day"
7- Gymnastics Shows
8- Dandelion Turns 4
9- Dance Recital
10- Inky Fingers
11- 4th of July Weekend
12- Patriot Place
13- Girl Scout Camp
14- Picking Fruit
15- Summer Gymnastics
16- Davis Farmland
17- Soccer Camp
18- New Hampshire Vacation
19- Flat Juliette Visits
20- Haunted City Junior Triatlon
21- Lost Tooth #2

There are probably a few more things but there are at least 21 things I want to remember to remember...

Deadline: September 15th - one month from today, a little over 2 weeks after the kids start school and my childhood friend Kim's birthday (funny how some dates just stick in your head, isn't it?).

Scouting

The Tumbleweed has loved her first year of Girl Scouts. It was no surprise to me that she was excited to earn patches, and that has not changed though the year. With or without patches, she has really enjoyed the things she has gotten to do and learn.

Sundown Safari @ Southwick's Zoo: This was a a neat program where we got to walk around the zoo with one of the owners, who personally introduced us to the animals and interjected great little stories and interesting information. Among other things, the Tumbleweed got to pet a baby kangaroo and visit the inside of the new giraffe habitat to pet the young giraffe (a place where zoo visitors will not be permitted to go). She asked several great questions and has even been caught using the information she learned at other times since the program, which I love to see!



Memorial Day Parade: Despite getting rained on, the Tumbleweed was absolutely thrilled to put on her uniform and march through town in the Memorial Day parade. She proudly helped carry the banner with the girls from her troop and smiled the whole way.



Daisies by the Sea @ Duxbury Beach: On a weekend while we were down visiting relatives on the south shore, we had the opportunity to go to an event put on by a neighboring Girl Scout council. At the beach, the girls were shown some examples of what to look for after low tide and given buckets to go hunting for crabs, clams, periwinkles and hermit crabs. We found some great living things, which we left on the beach, and some pretty shells & rocks to take home. The Tumbleweed soaked up so much information from the program leader and eagerly conveyed it back to the rest of the family when we got home.



The year is wrapping up and she will be bridging to Brownie Girl Scouts soon --- and guess who is going to be her troop leader?

Goodbye Training Wheels!

Last weekend, while I sat waiting for the Tumbleweed's dance class to finish, I received a phone call. On the other end was the Dandelion with something exciting to tell me, "Mommy, I rode my bike with no training wheels!"

Sure enough, Mike had taken him over to the park so he could ride his bike on the paved track. After a few laps, he decided the Dandelion was ready and took off his training wheels and petals. Apparently he was a quick study because only a short time later he got his petals back and was riding around the track.

And after a week of rain, I finally got to see him in action...



He was one proud little boy!



Meanwhile, the Tumbleweed was also riding laps around the track learning to use the hand breaks and change gears on her new bike.


They both look so grown up compared to last year.

Movie Merchandising in the Grocery Store

If you have met my son, by now you know that he likes the movie Cars and anything to do with it. And if you have seen us recently, whether you know us or not, you also know that the new Cars 2 movie happens to be opening on his 4th birthday, June 24th. In 38 days, to be exact.

And since Cars 2 is the latest Disney-Pixar movie, we are now under attack. Disney has got to be #1 in getting their name/characters on "stuff" and Cars 2 is no exception. In fact, I think it is worse than Toy Story 3 last year at this time. Here are the latest grocery items they have taken over...


Fruit snacks are almost always available. Cheez-Its and Mac & Cheese I had expected after they were themed with Toy Story last spring. Go-Gurt and pretzels (in a nut-free brand) were a nice surprise. But Cars 2 Cereal and 9 different flavors of Juicy Juice, each with different characters on the box?!?! I even saw an ad for chicken nuggets shaped like Cars!

What will they think of next? Well, I hope it will be "Mater's Tomaters" (grape tomatoes), "McQueen's Lightning Bolts" (carrots cut like lightning bolts), or "Fillmore's Organic Fruit & Veggie Fuel" (any number of different ways you could go with that). It seems like a shame to put all of the money into "junk food" when they could actually help us parents out by putting kids favorite characters on the foods/packaging that we are begging them to eat! Come on Disney, give us a hand!

Kids Tri Too

The Tumbleweed kicked off the triathlon season with a splash. She had been working hard in her swimming lessons to do the two lengths without assistance (bubbles/noodles). Early on we figured out that her best stroke was probably backstroke. This is pretty ironic because swimming on her back used to be a huge battle.

At the race she did exactly what she had planned - backstroke, no noodle! From there she was off to transition, where unlike last year she did not need any help. She mounted her bike and off she went!


She finished strong with the Dandelion running much of the way along side her (he so badly wanted to be in the race!)

Long Jumper

The Dandelion is taking an All Sports class at the YMCA this spring. They started off the first week with a track & field theme. Week 1 was running and hurdles, and this week, Week 2, is jumping and throwing. Of course the running week was a big hit with the Dandelion, but I could not have predicted how much he took to the long jump!

When the teacher explained how the kids were to run up and jump onto the mats, the 3 & 4 year olds sat along the wall and waited for a turn. The first couple of pairs of kids took their turns, but didn't really jump and just ran across the mats. With no one before him actually jumping, I think the teacher was a bit concerned that her long jump idea was going to be a flop. But have no fear, the Dandelion got up for his turn and, when she said go, he did exactly what they were supposed to do. He ran about 8-10 steps, took off from one foot before the mat, flew about 3.5 or 4 feet (to the 3rd color panel) and landed feet first before flopping forwards, just like they do in the Olympics. You would think he'd actually seen it or done it before!

Since I didn't have my camera ready during the original attempts, we took a few pictures after class.

in the air

feet down

forward momentum

Gonna Find A Rainbow

I have decided we need a theme song for Monday mornings at our house. I have selected The Brady Bunch singing "Gonna Find a Rainbow", because each and every Monday morning the Tumbleweed has to find clothes to wear that have every color of the rainbow on them. Thankfully we have numerous different ones to choose from.

Why, you ask? Because Monday is Art Day.

Not enough of a reason?

No, they aren't required to wear multi-colored outfits for inspiration or to disguise spills. The Tumbleweed wants to wear every color because the teacher calls colors to decide the order the kids get to pick their seats and she wants to be first.

It's competitive seating, and she wants to win each and every week so bring on the colors!

Carving Treasures

It is finally spring & the kids are excited about going letterboxing again. We took our first trip of the season afterschool on a nice afternoon, and the kids have been asking about it since. Unfortunately, our schedule and the weather haven't lined up properly, so we have begun doing some indoor letterboxing preparation.

In a couple weeks we will be introducing the Tumbleweed's Daisy Girl Scout troop to letterboxing so we decided to prepare a new stamp to hide for our trip. I have only carved a couple of stamps myself, but since the Tumbleweed was so eager to try I let her help me carve the "Daisy Learning Petals" stamp. She did a great job :)



We have picked up stamp pads in each of the colors of the Daisy Girl Scout learning petals for the girls to use on our hike. They look great with the stamp :) I will be heading out to hide the new letterbox before the event in a temporary location, then afterward we will move it to a permanent location. I am participating in a letterboxing challenge to plant 100 Girl Scout themed letterboxes in Connecticut before the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts next year, so the box will eventually find a home in northeastern Connecticut.

It's About Time

Some projects tend to get pushed aside. What seemed like a pressing thing at one point in time gradually gets put off and practically forgotten. That is what happened to my kitchen chairs.


Notice how they chair fabric doesn't match the curtains or floor? Well I noticed that too. In the summer of 2006 when we moved into our house.

I picked out the blue and yellow chair fabric in 2000. I didn't have a kitchen yet, but in my dream world it would match my future kitchen. And it did match our townhouse kitchen from 2001-2004. And it worked fine in our apartment from 2004-2006. But when we purchased our house I knew it was time to go, so I bought some fabric. And that is as far as I got...

Some days I didn't mind the old fabric. Those were the days when the kids were spilling chocolate milk on them. Some days I would look at them and think, "I really need to get to that project!"

Well, almost 5 years after I bought the fabric I have finally recovered the chairs. Tada!

Chair Close-up

The finished kitchen!

Thanks to my sister for the blog post of her refinished kitchen table that reminded me that my kitchen need a little facelift too. Thanks to the Eagle for taking the kids on a little overnight so I could get out the staple gun. And thank you to my organizer, who told me I should get rid of the fabric if I was never going to use it, which reminded me I should move the project up on my to do list!

Breakfast Elves

Yesterday morning, much to my surprise, I walked into the kitchen to find this:


the Dandelion making his own breakfast, and his sister's!

How cool is that? Do you know what is cooler? He did it again this morning with no help. And while he did that, the Tumbleweed made my breakfast (cereal & milk). The Tumbleweed is working on an activity for Girl Scouts where she does nice things for other people and leave a little paper behind that says "A Girl Scout was here". External motivation or not, I could really get used to this!

First Race of 2011

The Tumbleweed kicked off the 2011 race season this week, participating in a 1 mine fun run at her school. The race was a fundraiser for a group running in the Boston Marathon in a couple weeks and it was the perfect way to start the year, except for the fact that it was at the same time as the Tumbleweed's gymnastics practice.

Initially, I said no. She already had a commitment and there would be other races to run. Which was the truth. Having already read the notice that came home from school about the race, she was really upset and asked why we couldn't skip gymnastics just this once. Parenting dilemma - is this the time to discuss "commitment" or is this a time to say "okay, if it means that much to you we'll change our plan"?

Since she has been at every gymnastics practice all year except one (strep throat in October), I decided to compromise. She could run the race, but we couldn't stay for the whole event, we would leave when she finished and head straight to gymnastics for the second half of practice. A stressful plan for me, but she was thrilled.


She was even more thrilled with how she finished the race. She won 3rd place in the 6-7 age group! Having just celebrated her birthday, she was probably one of the youngest in that group too. She got a 3rd place award sticker, which she refused to stick to her shirt so she could save it "forever".

We made to gymnastics a little later than I would have liked, but better late than never.

Gallery Wall

My mom and my sister got me thinking about wall photo galleries with their recent blog posts. If you have been to my house, you've probably seen my wall gallery in the family room.


A combination of matted professional photos from the kids' first birthdays and Photoshop collages of them as babies, it is our own little time capsule.

*See this blog post on The Inspired Room Gallery Wall link party.

Family Workout Time

aka Mommy Gets to Sleep In Time

Yesterday the Eagle decided to try taking the kids down to his workout space in the basement while he got a training ride in. He put the TV on Nick Jr and set them up with some chairs and breakfast. Before long, the kids were asking to exercise too. And "Family Workout Time" was started.

This morning, despite the fact that they had already woken me up, they asked the Eagle if they could do it again. So off they went to put on sneakers and I got to see what they did yesterday...

The Tumbleweed showed me her chin-up practice with the TRX bungees:


The Dandelion walked on the treadmill while he watched TV, under the control panel!


Then the Tumbleweed got on the treadmill and cranked up the speed to a run


Amazingly, they don't seem tired after an hour of "treadmilling" (the Dandelion's term).