2012_07_15 Sunday

Our last adventure of the summer is in full swing. I drove the kids to South Carolina!! We stopped along the North Carolina border to overnight, and then hooked up with our friends to caravan the rest of the way. Some highlights:
-We ate at Applebee's for dinner. Jonathan was very disappointed there weren't any apples.
-While changing E's diaper after being in the pool, she asked why my raindrops were falling on her.
-We've seen a real shark (which was 30 yrds away from the swimmers) and a sea turtle.
-Some of the adventures we went on included: Ripley's Aquarium with "real" mermaids; an arcade; the beach (2xs); a hibachi restaurant; riding in a golf cart; a ferris wheel that was fully encased; putt-putt that Jonathan won; swimming every day in the pool.
-Jonathan tried shrimp at the hibachi place, and he does not seem to be allergic to it (great news!) or particularly like the taste of it either (bummer). And, his eyes tripled in size when the chef not only caught a bowl of food in his hat but also lit a 'volcano' of onions on fire. That was truly priceless, and I'm disappointed I didn't have my camera ready for that.
-On our last day, we went to the beach very ill-prepared (ie no bathing suits, etc). I let Elise run around naked, and she proceeded to rub sand in every crevice of her body. We couldn't stop laughing, but she sure thought it felt good.
-The kids were really great together. It was fun to watch them play, cooperate, and share together.

Then we stopped in Arlington to visit and overnight with friends, and we saw the old house. And, we stopped by Nanie and Grandpa for lunch and to pick up some b'day gifts on the way home.

Enjoy:

2012_07_12 Thursday

I was having a normal, fine, blah day today until I was pulling away from Jonathan's camp pick up. The director flagged me down (and I braced myself for what she might report to me), and she said this: "I have been meaning for 100 days to tell you how grateful we are to have you here and for all you do for our program [she was referring to the teachers' gifts, boxtops, etc]. You are a wonderful mom. I see a little bit of me in you." It went on (and on), but that was the gist. She even read this blog, and she said it made her smile because she keeps one too, and we joked a bit about who it's really for and who benefits from our efforts. Boy, did she make my day. I sat a little taller and fewer things bugged me for the rest of the day. Thanks!

2012_07_10 Tuesday

It's Master Hardwick's 5th birthday (1,819 days alive, eh!? who feels old now?!)! Overall, it was a great day. He had cupcakes and a crown at school. We had cupcakes at home. He wore the crown for most of the day, and boy is it's sweaty, but he got lots of good wishes from strangers that he thought was pretty cool. He got two LeapPad cartridges, three packs of Pokemon (which we think has a math component to it), and a scooter (which I'm not sure was the right one). He wanted to go to the burger joint in town for dinner, and I wanted the traditional ice cream for dessert, so that all worked out well. He got a real charge out of knowing exactly when he was born, as he was eating a hamburger, and hearing a brief recap of his birth. He got to goof with dad online for a long time. But, he dropped his LeapPad on the floor and wasn't carrying it in his "murse," so I flew off the handle, and he had to sit and think for 5 minutes. A nice cool bath calmed everyone down, and then both kiddos were off to bed.

Enjoy:

2012_07_09 Monday

(I have a &*^ ton of trip reports to back-fill, but I need to get today up first..)

Today was Jonathan's last day of being a 4yr old, and he went back to summer camp. Elise and I ran around all day doing errands, preparing for Dave's departure later today and ours later this week. We picked Dave up at the train station, and he brought back 'birthday popcorn and pretzel.' Within 30 mins of his arrival, we had to pack us all into the car to take him to the airport and then on to Jonathan's swim class. Jonathan did great, when he wanted to, at swim class. He did some great scooping (maybe 5 strokes, including breaths); he did some good floating, although he doesn't understand that you can't put your feet into the air without sinking. He even did a few dives/bellyflops from the side. But, come time to leave, he threw a full-on hissy fit: screaming, crying, wiggling, running back to the pool and jumping in (!). He just wanted to stay at the pool, but even without swim gear, I would NEVER consider it with that behavior. And, as he was sitting and thinking, wouldn't Lady Luck be on my side, the daycare called b/c Elise had a nasty diaper. I tried to get him back to the locker room to change fast, but he refused, so I began to walk out (he wailed, parents gave hairy eyeballs). We picked up Elise (he was still in his bathing suit w/ sneakers). By then, he was begging to change, so we went back to the locker room so he could change, and I could change Elise's bomb. YIKES. When we got to the car, I told him in no uncertain terms that if that behavior ever happened again, I'd cancel swimming class and he could go to the daycare with Elise while I swam.

By the time we got home, he was fine again. Dinner probably helped too...He fell apart reading a second book (not even trying to sound out words, but rather just making noises), so I put it down (he flipped out), and I explained that his eyes and brain seemed really tired, so I read his chapter book.

...I'm onto some newly acquired wine...

2012_06_25 Monday

We returned from a few days in Ocean City, MD over the weekend. Wow, was that an incredibly fun vacation. We played dino mini-golf (the same place J2 and I went last year); we went to the beach in the late afternoons; we went to a water park; and we went to a giant waterpark with go-carts and got a raincheck to come back the next day. Of course, we also got to spend a lot of time with PopPop and Uncle Sam, which was a highlight. And, Dave and I got to go on TWO dinner/movie dates. Elise was sort of torture at the minigolf, but J2 had fun. That day was the hottest of the trip, so it was a little unpleasant anyway. The beach was wonderful: mostly empty, not too sunny, mild waves. We also found a giant (dead) horseshoe crab to investigate; J2 also collected a few whole shells. We also investigated what makes the air bubbles in the sand when the water recedes: sand fleas, and some that we found were rather large! Finally, we all flew a kite one afternoon. We got rained out on our last beach visit there. Jonathan drive a go-cart by himself and then co-piloted with Dave. Elise fell asleep wearing a lifevest on a ring with me in the Lazy River, but she had a couple of kiddy pools and a wave-maker pool to play in. Jonathan went down one very high water slide that was pitch black by himself. Then he took me down it to race! That was really neat. He had to wear a lifevest too, so we were both much more at ease with him in the water. And, he trusted us enough to go on some of them more scary rides and really enjoyed them. Other than one night of massive meltdown by J2 (sorry PopPop!), it was a fabulous time. And, I'm the only one with a minor sunburn.

Enjoy:

2012_06_17 Sunday

It's Father's Day!! Although Dave was up way before the rest of the house, he showered and got back into bed so we could deliver homemade blueberry French toast, watermelon, tea, milk, a breakfast bar, and two types of nuts to him. Jonathan helped me make the French toast and helped put the tray together. Dave got two cards, two hand prints, 4 ties, and 2 packages of socks from his babes. Then, we visited the Cassidy's at brunch, and they decided to join us for Madagascar 3. Elise is napping now (Jonathan and I played a heated game of Uno, and Dad's shopping online for some clothes). And, we're off to dinner later.

Yesterday, I finally got 30 hosta plants to soften up the front retaining wall. Dave started each hole; I dug them out and planted each plant. It really only took about an hour. Jonathan was supposed to pick out the bigger rocks but got distracted by just about anything else. He also went bike-riding with our neighbor to the school yard, where they allegedly didn't ride at all! And, a day later, they all are still alive and look pretty sharp!

2012_06_15 Friday

We had a lovely day. Today was a neighboring town's farmer's market. I gave Jonathan $20; we circled the entire market; and then he made his choices. He bought: a pint of strawberries, two snickerdoodles, a bag of salad, snap peas, two tomatoes, a pint of peaches. He had to make all the choices and do all the transactions (with minimal help from me). In the end, he had $.25 left over. So, we had salad for dinner (along with leftover noodles from the night before. And, I had homemade olive hummus too). What a nice experience. I'm hoping this weekly adventure will also start to introduce math and currency along with making choices (and dinner!).