And so it begins

Drew started his first soccer clinics on Saturday. He loooooooved it. Andy said he was running around patting all his former preschool friends on the back and whooping it up like the Mr. Extrovert that he is.

He also said Drew did really well. Which is not surprising since he comes by it honestly — my dad played soccer for the Air Force Academy, my brother played his whole life and for Covenant, and Andy played through high school and intramurals in college.

It’s like a family requirement.

Wherein Drew is spoiled rotten

Drew had his big day-o-golfing with Daddy and Papa yesterday. Andy and Dad golfed for real while he was at VBS and then my mom and I dropped him off after a quick bite to eat. (Chick-Fil-A of course.)

They did a 3-par course, which was perfect for the little guy. I wish I had thought to drop off my camera as well.

(Because I’m sure we would have all loved to see pictures of him chasing the geese…an impulse he apparently inherited from his father.)

They stopped for chocolate shakes at Sonic on their way home, so needless to say, Drew was riding high on life yesterday. He only had a mild fit when we told him he couldn’t finish the entire thing before naptime.

(And what do you think was the very first thing out of his mouth upon waking up?)

I enjoyed a quiet afternoon here, which I needed after running around like crazy the last few days. When my sisters got home from work, my mom, Cassandra and I went over to my grandma’s house for a little impromptu tea party. Which, you know, are really the best.

Andy, Cassandra, and I took Drew and Madeline to see “Earth” last night at the $1.50 theater. We got there a little late and were forced to sit down near the front, and then as soon as we had sat down, Madeline looked up and exclaimed “TURTLE!!”

Five minutes later, “FOX!!!” And then after two beautiful scenes of flowers, “it looks like the ‘Secret Garden’!!” Our shushing her clearly wasn’t meaning much. (There were other kids there so it wasn’t a big deal.)

But then she and Drew started begging for water (what do you know, salty popcorn makes one thirsty) and we had a few up-and-downs for that. I’m just thankful the entire tub of popcorn didn’t spill or something equally as embarrassing.

On the way home Drew started asking about the rest of his shake again, and we told him it would be nice of him to share some with Madeline. She piped up with “I’m only going to eat a teeny, tiny bite because you got your special shake from McDonalds.” (Sonic.)

Drew, a touch condescendingly: “Madeline, that’s exactly right.”

And the grown-ups died laughing.

Learning patience

So this morning turned out a lot differently than I expected… I had an appointment with my midwife scheduled for 9 and took Drew along with me because I was hoping to be able to get his stitches removed at his pediatrician’s office afterwards.

When we walked in, the receptionist told me she was with a patient at the hospital and would be back around 9:30. So Drew and I left and went to the store, which worked out well anyway since we’re celebrating Madeline’s birthday tomorrow.

Got back to the office and ended up waiting well over another full hour!! But it’s one of those things where you don’t know how long you’ll end up waiting and hate to leave in case you’re going to be seen in the next five minutes.

They have toys and books in the waiting room, and I did get some good time alone with Drew. (Even though he bugged me the whole time about how he did NOT want to get his stitches out. The boy is relentless.)

My actual appointment was quick and easy and we were soon on our happy way to his. (Er, I was on my happy way, he wasn’t quite so enthusiastic.) It was close to lunch so I didn’t know if they’d be able to squeeze us in or not but they said to go ahead and come.

He panicked, and it’s no wonder with the trauma of getting the stitches in. But once she had snipped a couple of them he realized it didn’t hurt after all and he was calm for the rest of the ordeal. Plus I’d brought him a new Lightning McQueen car (he had lost his other one and has been asking for a replacement for some time now) and that successfully distracted him. Nothing a little bit of materialism can’t fix.

It’s gross. There might be some lingering gravel in there because it’s started to ooze (I know, sorry) a little. But the stitches are out and we just have to keep Neosporin on it and keep it bandaged and all that. She put him on a different antibiotic in case there IS anything in there that’s keeping it from healing clean.

All that to say, those two appointments and staying up late last night to clean wiped me out. Thankfully my older kids play well without my supervision and I was able to take a quick snooze on the sofa while Adelaide napped in her bed.

I think we’re going to stick around here and make cupcakes tonight. Because what birthday is good without cake?!

Cabin Fever

Because of Drew’s injury and stitches, he’s not supposed to take baths; the laceration can’t get wet. So that means, by extension, he can’t get too dirty. Yeah, easier said than done.

And you know what? It is nearly impossible to keep a five-year-old who is used to spending more than half his day outside content while being cooped up indoors for an entire day. At least the off-and-on rain gave me a legitimate (to him) excuse. He really could care less about getting dirty.

(You know those really careful and clean kids? I’ve yet to have one.)

So here’s how we spent the Day that Dragged Onward:

It’s hilarious to me how different they play with Play-doh. Drew uses one color and actually plays with it; Madeline smashes every color into a jumbled mess and stacks the empty cups:

And when you’re suffering from cabin fever, what better way to pass the time than to draw on your legs with markers?

They lounged and watched Signing Time in the afternoon:

And watched a movie (with popcorn!) at night:

(Rinse and repeat for today.)

Memorial Day 2009 – One for the history books

I had a mental lapse yesterday morning and agreed to go hiking with Andy and the kids.  It ended up being the hike from, well, you know where.

For one thing, everything was wet; wet leaves, wet dirt, wet rocks.  Which meant that everything was slick.  And there are parts that if you were to slip off the side of the trail, you’d fall about 40 feet.  (We made the kids hold our hands during those lengths, obviously.)  So I was a little on edge to begin with.

We all did mostly fine getting up to the falls, and when it got kind of rocky, I started carrying Adelaide.  We were at a fairly level spot of just big rocks to step on or around, when I slipped on one and fell.  Cut my elbow and scraped/bruised a patch on each leg.  (Adelaide was fine since she landed cradled in my elbow.)

After that we decided to call it a day and head back down.  The kids got distracted by another family splashing in this little water pool we passed and we had a hard time getting them to focus on being careful with their steps downward.  And our puppy was just altogether a nuisance.

Both girls cried pretty much the whole way back to the car.  Madeline wanted to ride Andy’s shoulders but her jeans were sopping and muddy and Adelaide wouldn’t let me put her down even though my arm felt like it was going to fall off.  I was also bleeding and my legs were sore – I SO just wanted to snap my fingers and be home!

We had a very low-key afternoon consisting of lunch and naps.  We put the kids down early because we needed to leave in enough time to pick up fruit and chips and get to some friends’ house for a Memorial Day cook-out with several other families (mostly from church).

(Side note: of course it would start pouring the very minute I was getting out of the van to run into the store.  Goodbye, smooth hair.)

We managed to make it through the meal and ice cream treats without incident…unless you count Adelaide covering herself head-to-toe in fudgesicle:

And then Drew came in with a scraped and bloody knee.  We cleaned it up and applied a band-aid and he ran back outside to play.

It wasn’t three minutes later one of the kids said Drew had fallen.  There was a little confusion because at first we thought they were referring to the first time.  But then one of the guys carried him in, blood streaming down his leg.  I’ll spare you the details but he basically split his knee open and Andy ended up taking him to the ER.  The girls and I stayed for a while and then got a ride home.

He said it was an entirely miserable experience.  First Andy was directed to clean the wound, (something about kids taking pain from parents better?  Don’t ask me) and then he and two nurses had to hold Drew down for the numbing Novocain shots.   The little guy got so worked up he couldn’t breathe (he sounded a little wheezy yesterday for some reason) so they also gave him two steroid shots in the rear to get the swelling in his neck down.

The doctor had a very poor bedside manner and Andy said for that reason alone he was glad I wasn’t there.  (Hmph.)  Drew got 9 stitches and almost as many stickers (which are now stuck to my living room wall).  They had given him Tylenol with Codeine for the pain and so of course Andy had to tell him to stop running in the parking lot.

And also?  The ER ain’t cheap.

So I think for today we’ll be staying inside, trying to avoid further catastrophe.

I think she has ESP

On Tuesday night (Andy’s day off), he told the kids to get a stack of books and they’d read together before bed. Madeline brought him this:

We took it as a sign and told them about THEIR new baby. You would have thought we told them Christmas was in the morning.

Drew was very helpful with name suggestions. The first was “if it’s a boy, let’s name him Andrew!”

Me: “We already have two Andrews.”

Drew: “NO! We have Andy and Drew, and then Andrew!” (That wouldn’t be confusing or anything.)

Next, he suggested ‘Baby Sebastian,’ but “NOT like Nicky’s Baby Sebastian, this would be OUR Baby Sebastian.”

And then the next morning, “How about Baby Olivia?”

Thank you sweetie, but I think we’ll come up with something a little more original than the recent baby names of all our friends.

And I definitely have to put my foot down against any suggestions of ‘Baby Max.’

In the fast lane

Drew usually provides me with a running commentary whenever we’re in the car.  Most often it’s “MOMMY, YOU’RE BEATING ALL THE CARS!!”

Ahem.

Admittedly, I tend to stick to the left lane.  (Probably because I’m perpetually late.)

(At least I come by it honestly.  Hi, Mom!)

Anyway, I’ve heard several variations of that this week because we went to the last mom’s fellowship at church on Tuesday morning and then today we met up with some friends at a park and then had lunch at her house.

I don’t know why it is that something almost always happens that keeps us from walking out the door on time.  You think I would just plan on leaving fifteen minutes early but apparently some lessons are never learned.

Which is also why I was glad Andy was home this morning to take Drew to his kindergarten assessment.  And yes, they made it on time.

He did great!  In typical Drew fashion, he managed to surprise his daddy – that kid definitely knows more than he lets on.

The End of Preschool (Or, Pass the Tissues)

Today was Drew’s last day of Pre-K. It was carnival day and it sounded like a lot of fun, including a special lunch of a corndog, ketchup and chips (yes, that is what he said), watermelon, and juice – ON A TOWEL. I’m assuming that meant a picnic.  He also came home with a rainbow painted on his face.  (No idea.)

Andy and I had gone up on Tuesday for the closing chapel, and I have photos from that burning a hole in my computer. Sorry in advance for the length I know this post is going to be. It’s a milestone, what can I say?

First the kids showcased the music and Bible verses they’ve learned this year (I think this first one might be of all the pre-K classes):

Drew’s class with their Fruits of the Spirit:

Signing a Bible verse (can you guess which one?):

In his classroom afterward, looking at the memory book his teachers put together for each of the kids.  It was such a special surprise and will save me a TON of work:

A closer look (and no, I won’t bore you with every single page):

He also had the ABC book he made; a basket with mini Fruits of the Spirit; his Bible verses all paper-clipped together and tucked into the “Bible”, his certificate, and a few other little things:

I told you I’m sad to see preschool end!

One Very Happy Little Boy

The kids haven’t had bike helmets for a while since I kept forgetting to replace the old ones that got trashed.  Finally I decided yesterday was the day and told Drew and Madeline that we’d go buy new ones when they woke up from their nap.

(Sidenote: I love having legitimate things to entice my children into being excited for naptime.)

We went to Wal-Mart and tried on all the black helmets (Drew’s color choice).  Of course the only one that fit him had no packaging or bar code.  I thought they’d do what they usually do in such cases and just pick a fair (and low!) price and call it a day.

That. Did. Not. Happen.

After the cashier had wrung up our order, another clerk finally took the helmet to go try to ascertain a price.  I knew it was pointless because I had looked myself.  I stood there for the extra 10 minutes, trying to maintain orderly children (which is hard enough for them without having to stand still and wait for something they don’t understand).

Still, no price.  Another manager came and said he needed to suspend my order and go back to the “guy that puts all the bikes together” and see if there was a book from where he could look up a price.

I said no thanks, I’m not waiting a minute longer.  Target will now get my business.  I tried not to think about how crushed Drew was and told him he could ride his new bike in our backyard and not worry about the helmet and we would get one today.  He was happy enough that I had bought him a bigger bike (it was high time).

So today while he was in school, I was able to get him a helmet at Target.  And what do you know, they are several dollars cheaper than Wal-Mart (score one for me).

Andy took him and Madeline straight to the bike path after school and they rode and rode and rode.  I took them tonight after dinner and they rode and rode and rode again.

Which means Drew’s pretty much living on Cloud 9.

Bedhead: Morning No. 1,942

Not your average day

Today was anything but normal. I had to be at the pediatrician’s office at 9 a.m. sharp for Drew’s 5-year-old checkup and kindergarten shots. They also did a hemoglobin finger prick, which happened first, and he wasn’t watching the nurse when she did it and immediately yelled, “OUCH! SOMEONE HURT ME!” (As if it had been a ghost.)

She and I had a little laugh over that. Then came all 5 of his shots, poor guy. He didn’t cry much but certainly made a loud squirming ruckus. You try holding down a strong little boy when someone’s poking and prodding him – it isn’t easy!!

We pulled into the drive thru at McD’s after and got two small chocolate shakes, ignoring the fact that it was 10:40 a.m. Doesn’t everyone love shakes that early in the morning? (Although Starbucks would have been a better choice for me.)

The whole way home he would randomly say, “Mama? I don’t like shots.”

You and everyone else, kid.

Brite came over for a glass of sweet tea this afternoon, and we had us a little chat. Adelaide was already napping but the other two were running around, inside and out. Right before she left I held her baby so she could use the bathroom, and when we walked out the door together a few minutes later, both of my kids were down in the ditch, stripped down to their underwear.

Only me.

She even got photographic evidence (I still can’t find my camera). They had been playing in the rainwater that had collected in the ditch in front of our house and had obviously gotten pretty wet. I guess they thought that it’d be better to be naked than hampered down with soggy clothes. I’m just glad they still had on their skivvies. (You really never know with those two.)

(Being so close in age, well, my theory is that they come up with things together that they would never think of on their own. I.e. the sum is naughtier than its parts.)

So into the bath they went (and don’t tell them, but at that point I was actually very glad I wasn’t the one who had to peel off wet dirty clothes). We all got naps today, which I was very thankful for, especially after being out so early this morning.

The kids talked me into heading to the park after dinner tonight, and I’m glad we went because they really needed to expend some of that energy. Yesterday was rainy and this morning was still pretty wet, so they’ve been cooped up a lot the past few days. I even had them run on the bike track.

The last thing we did today was a quick run to get gas in my car and diapers at Walmart. The rest of this week is going to be pretty crazy and I didn’t want to have to stop for those things. Unfortunately, I forgot the toilet paper. And we’re totally out.

I’m helping in Drew’s classroom during lunch tomorrow for Teacher Appreciation Day. So I’m sure I’ll have a story or two from THAT.

Back to Normal

As you can see, yes, I’ve changed back over to my normal color scheme now that Christmas and Valentine’s Day are over. I almost forgot what this looked like, didn’t you? (And, if you’ve stumbled across my blog sometime since December, THIS is normal. Hope we can still be friends.)

Andy’s got Drew and Madeline at the waterfall (“waffle”), so I’ve got a few minutes to jot down a couple of kid stories and phrases that have been bouncing around in my head this past week. (My mom always tells me to write these things down so I won’t forget. This happens to be the place where I write things down.)

Drew came home from preschool one day two weeks ago with the bottom half of a pint-sized juice carton filled with wet dirt. The teacher mentioned something about giving it a ‘haircut’ when it grew:

He’s lovingly trimmed it twice. It’s the little things.

My sisters have been baking cupcakes in our kitchen recently and one of the times Drew ate at least three cupcakes and probably just as many cookies (I only noticed after the fact). So I wasn’t surprised when his tummy started hurting and he literally bounced off the walls.

The next morning he said, “Mommy, remember last night when I ate too much sugar and it hurt my heart?” He was VERY concerned about sugar intake for the next, oh, half hour.

The morning I was leaving for Blissdom, I went in to get Adelaide out of her bed (a miracle, really, since usually she climbs out of the crib herself) and found her stripped down naked, diaper and all. She had apparently SPENT THE NIGHT THAT WAY.

Every last shred of bedding, blanket, and stuffed animal was SOAKED. I went in to check on her a few nights later and sure enough, she had taken her jammies and diaper off AGAIN. What am I supposed to do, tape her clothes on??

At least she hasn’t pooped in the tub in a while.

Wherein I remind myself that God is in control. Of everything.

It was Red Day at preschool today. You know, like ‘R is for Red’? I told Drew that last night and he said, “No, I’ll just wear blue for B.” (We’re lacking in the Indian category in this family. All chiefs.)

I’m not sure how much I’ll be updating this weekend, but hopefully I’ll be able to check in while I’m at Blissdom. Whenever I’m going to be away from my family I get these ridiculous panic attacks that something is going to go wrong (tell me I’m not alone).

At least I don’t have to fly on an airplane. That’s a whole other can of anxious worms. (And my dad’s a pilot! Go figure.)

For now, I’m off to paint my toes. If for some reason I don’t catch up with y’all ‘till Monday, have a fabulous weekend!

Why we love us some Signing Time

Drew signing ABC’s from Please Pass the Salt on Vimeo.

Hat tip to Jeannette.

(And yes, he signs the ‘Z’ backwards and upside down.)

"I’m 5 now, Mommy."

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

That’s half-way to 10.

A certain little boy I know turned 5 today.

Busy, busy, busy

As I’m sure you have been, too.

Would you believe it, I got stuck running last-minute errands on Christmas Eve – the ONE thing I didn’t want to do. But I had forgotten a few ingredients so it couldn’t be helped.

And then I left the two dvds I had bought as stocking stuffers for Andy with the cashier at Wal-Mart and had to go back and retrieve them.

Not a bright and shining holiday moment but it was either that or lose out on the $20.

Our Lessons and Carols service was wonderful. Drew spotted Vangie and John a few rows behind us halfway through the service and made a beeline for them. I then spent the rest of the time trying to corral Madeline, who wanted to go sit with them, too. But we weren’t going to play musical chairs in the middle of the service and I had firmly told her no.

My brother and sister-in-law came over afterwards for fondue and snacks. We had a great time, but they didn’t leave ‘till midnight! So I was up very late playing santa and rolling the coffee buns for Christmas breakfast.

Thankfully the kids woke up after 8 on Christmas morning, and it was so sweet to just be our little family and spend the morning quietly at home. We did Skype with Andy’s folks a bit (we got them a webcam this year) and around mid-afternoon I got my second-ever turkey in the oven.

(This time I tried brining it first and I will never look back. Oh, MY.)

I had planned on spending the afternoon cooking. But then, Andy got it in his head to set up the kids’ gift from all the grandparents, even though we’d agreed to wait because of the recent weather and the tree situation. I got roped into helping him and my cooking plans were neatly tossed out the window.

That huge box sitting in my dining room? Was this:

Unfortunately it’s been mostly dreary so the kids have only gotten to play on it maybe an hour so far. But I’m sure they’ll use it to death in the coming years.

I did finally get the holiday meal thrown together before Micah and Erin showed up again (and another friend, too). It was quite a lot of food, but then again I won’t need to cook the rest of the weekend. Possibly the best turkey I’ve ever had. And another great time had by all.

Late yesterday afternoon, the kids and I went to John’s family’s open house. I knew there would be tons of kids there so I didn’t think twice about going alone (Andy had to work) and I’m so glad I went. They had hired a couple of teenagers from the church to help with the kids and I actually got to socialize. (And it was the last time I got to hang out with Vangie since they leave today.)

My favorite gift? My folks got Andy and I a flip video, and so I will leave you with a taste of the hilarity that’s ensued:

Also entitled “He cracks himself up”:

(I used the quick upload, so the quality isn’t as good as it can be… I need to play around with it more.)

***Edited to add his lyrics: “1,2,3,4,5, I picked a fish. 6,7,8,9,10, I threw it back again.”

“Why did you let it go?”

“‘Cause it bit me!!”

For Grandmommy

Recently discovered:

Heart, soul, mind from Please Pass the Salt on Vimeo.

Preschool. All you ever need to know.