Tuesdays with Mama

We lost our Tuesday/Thursday summer sitter for July due to vacation and volleyball camp.  Since I have plenty of time built up, I decided to take off every Tuesday in July.  It's a win-win situation really, I don't lose my time and we don't have to pay daycare for an extra day each week.  Oh and of course it gives me some bonding time with my sweet babies. 

We're on Tuesday #2 now, and the weather forecast this morning was cloudy in the morning and 50% chance of rain in the afternoon.  I don't usually make the forecast a part of my posts, but it's important here because Tuesday #1 was a rain out and I have all these grand plans of fun things to do with the kiddos - of course all of them are outdoor activities.  

I decided to not let the weather get the best of us this day, and took the kids to the Binder Park Zoo in the morning.  It was cloudy and a little misty, but you can't really go wrong with a trip to the zoo.  The kids always have fun on the train - we found out this time that the engine is neither a 'steamie' nor a diesel, it's a Ford gasoline engine.  New to the zoo this year is the American black bear exhibit - it's quite well done and the bears were actually wandering about close to the viewing area.  You can see Mya below doing her best bear impression.

Of course the highlight of any zoo visit is feeding the giraffes lettuce, or as the kids like to say - salad. The good thing about going in the morning on an otherwise drizzly day is that we didn't have to compete for giraffe time.  We could hang out and watch them and not feel like we had to get out of the way for other kids.

Of course as I sit here and write this, the sun is bursting through the clouds and the 50% chance of rain has been reduced to 0%.  Here's to hoping the next two Tuesdays turn out much like this afternoon so we can pack more fun into these Tuesdays with Mama. 

Mya Turns 4!

Our sweet little Mya turns 4 today.  Where did these years go?  I can still feel her bitty newborn self in my arms.  We celebrated her birthday last weekend in conjunction with Father's Day with all our Michigan family.  It was a beautiful day for our beautiful girl.

Given her age, it's not hard to guess the theme Mya wanted for her party - Frozen!  This mama loves that movie and had no problem planning and decorating for the day.  Mya helped me with the party set up on Saturday, getting out all the decorations and exclaiming over each piece I set out.  We had Elsa and Anna centerpieces, a wintery "Happy Birthday" pennant garland and I used pink snow flake wrapping paper as table runners.

The menu had a Frozen theme, too.  We had "Frost Bite" marshmallow pops, "Kristoff's Ice" Jell-O cubes, "Coronation" Caesar salad, "Sven Snacks" of pretzels, carrots and cheeses, "We finish each other's sandwiches" from Jimmy John's and "Elsa's Icy Punch" to drink.  I get carried away with these things.  I blame Pinterest for all the ideas.

Since we were only having family over, I decided just to do two small activities with the kids.  Of course they were Frozen-themed too.  The kids (even Mason) all got to decorate their own crowns, though Mason didn't want to pose with his since he didn't want me to go showing everyone.  (He knows me so well!)  I did get a picture eventually, but will respect his wishes and not share it.

I made princess wands for all three of them (Mason's is a "magic wand" though) with Frozen color ribbon to wave around while wearing their crowns.  And lastly we had a rousing "watch out for my butt" water balloon fight.  Oh, Olaf - you're so good for comic relief.

After games it was time for Mya to blow out the "4" candle on her cupcake.  We also sang to Megan for her birthday and all the dads for Father's Day.  We're equal opportunity celebrators!  Lastly was the all important present opening ceremony.  Our gift to Mya was a Frozen bike.  She hopped right on and owned it.  I just love the determined look she has in the picture of her on the bike.  That's our Mya in a nutshell - Ms. Independent determined to do everything on her own.

I can't wait to see what the next year has in store for our little princess.  No doubt it will be a memorable one! 

Another Season in the Books

Another soccer season has mercifully come to a close.  In spite of my constant anxiety during games, it really was fun to watch them play (when they actually played).  Mya was much more timid than I expected her to be throughout the season.  One game she came over to the sidelines and told us that she was nervous.  I'm not certain she actually knew what that meant, but we kept cheering her on anyway. A crying pouty face was just as common as a hug from her friend, Averie.  In spite of her nerves and pouts, she was always really excited for soccer practices and games.  That's a win in my books!

I can't say that Mason had as much fun as it seemed Mya was having.  With a few games left to go he announced he wanted to play baseball next year instead.  I never thought I'd say this, but I hope he sticks to soccer.  His final game of the year was by far his best game in three seasons.  In spite of the opposing team having a bunch of Pelé spawn, he held his own.  These three pictures below perfectly sum up the year and his final game.  The first picture, he finds himself somehow alone with the ball and actually kicks it!  Yeah!  But he kicks it directly to a kid from the other team and promptly cringes as  he's certain the ball is going to be kicked right back at his head (picture two).  Seeing that we were completely overmatched by the mini-Pelé's, I told Mason the best thing he could do was get in the way of the other team.  So in picture three, he's doing just that.  Sometimes he does follow direction!  Yes, the other kid really is dribbling around Mason.  I'm not kidding, that kid scored several times with high shots from midfield.

It may have only been six short weeks (and one weekend was a rain out), but it was a fun and tiring six weeks.  Just think, the fall season is just a short summer away.  This soccer mama can't wait!

Soccer Momming

Soccer momming | verb | bringing one's children to soccer practices and games

I created this word, I suppose because Adam and I like turning nouns into verbs.  But also because it makes the fact that I've turned into a soccer mom just a little more funny.  Most of you who know me know that soccer and hockey are my least two favorite sports.  A whole lot of running/skating and not a lot of scoring.  I rather watch golf or tennis or baseball any day over soccer and hockey.  

Yet Adam and I found ourselves in a pickle last spring when we received a note home about spring soccer through the Wattles Park Men's Club.  We asked Mason if he'd like to be on a soccer team, as we always ask him if he wants to take part in the activities we learn about through school.  Thus far he'd said no to art classes, science camps and everything else.  I thought this would be the same, but instead he shrugged his shoulders and said "sure."  And so the soccer momming began. 

This is Mason's third season, and after two seasons of being the cheerleading sister, Mya decided she wanted to join a league of preschoolers.  Lucky for us, one of her best friends from daycare is on her team.

Now, another thing anyone who knows me knows is that I'm kind of competitive and I love sports.  Watching sports, cheering on my sports, but I'm not very good at sports.  Unfortunately for my kids, they got my unsportyness (yes, another new word - I'm full of these things).  Fortunately, they didn't get my competitiveness so they don't really care that they're not the best.  

Still, it's a lot of fun to watch them.  They both usually run on the outskirts of the pack of kids that actually have the ball.  Sometimes they watch the ball, sometimes they wave to us on the sidelines.  Sometimes they get themselves caught in the net because they're playing goalie and are bored.  Sometimes they just stare off into the distance.  

That's me on the sidelines cheering/yelling/pleading/soccer momming for them to kick the ball.  Just kick it, please.  Just once per game is all I ask.     

Birdwatchers

At the closing on our new house last May, the previous owners told us about a few of the springtime happenings around the house we'd just missed.  The azaleas blooming in the front yard and the robin babies underneath the back deck were the two things I knew I'd be excited about this year.

The azaleas bloomed splendidly - basically the first color other than green in the neighborhood.

But their color couldn't compare to our excitement when we saw a bird nest on the support beam under our deck.  We'd peek at it through the slats in the deck every couple of days.  The mama robin sat there ever vigilant so we never were able to see the eggs.

This past weekend Mason came running to tell us there were babies in the nest so we all took turns looking through the deck slats, trying to count the babies.  There were three itty bitty babies in the nest!  From then on every time we went outside we took another look.  Just two days after spying the babies, Mya exclaimed, "The babies are gone!"  Sure enough, babies and mama were gone.

Now I'm not an avian biology expert, but I'm fairly certain those babies wouldn't have been able to fly yet.  I scoped out the ground below the nest and found no trace of the robin family.  Obviously something had climbed up the support beam and gotten to those babies, but of course I didn't have the heart to tell the kids.  Thankfully, Mya came up with a good reason they must be gone - surely the mama and babies went to visit their grandma.  I'd like to believe her ending too.    

My First Marathon

I'm not one to brag about my accomplishments, but after the workout I had this weekend I figured it was worth mentioning.  I built up my stamina and calluses over the past few weekends on the front yard and decided this is the weekend I'd finally do it.  I'd get that backyard raked once and for all. 

Now I know this is the part where the runners out there will probably beg to differ with me, but I'm not kidding when I say it felt like I ran a marathon.  I spent 6 hours with minimal water and lunch breaks doing the spring hard rake on our backyard.  Throughout the entire day I kept thinking that I wanted to quit.  I'd just finish this section and throw in the towel.  But I'd pause, survey the yard and tell myself just to get it done.  It was the same feeling I used to have about running track.  Break up the race into manageable sections and just get each section done one at a time.  One step in front of the other, one leaf pile at a time. 

And when I was done, I was so proud and yet so mentally and physically tired.  I came in the house, nearly burst into tears as I collapsed on the ground and then hit the showers.  See - just like running a marathon.  Okay, okay runners, I know it really wasn't the same but a lot of the feelings were the same. 

I will be happy to go back to my support role for spring yardwork next year - helping to carry out the lawn furniture and weed the gardens, even raking a little here and there between herding the children.  But at least I can say that I did it this once.  And so I will proudly slap this 0.4 (acres that is) bumper sticker on my car, I mean blog.  It was a long hard race, but somehow I made it through.

Easter Fun

I love holidays - every single one of them is a big deal as far as I'm concerned.  The house gets decorated and I try to find fun things to do with the kids.  Egg-dying is a must of course so Saturday we set out to do that.  It's so funny to watch these kids' personalities shine through on even the smallest activities.  Mason did the typical boy thing of dipping an egg in every single color.  (Surprisingly, it ended up a dark blueish purple instead of the brown I was anticipating.)  Mya tended toward the pink and purple and reds, and bedazzled them with stickers after they were dry.  Mason was so distraught when he caught me peeling the eggs to make deviled eggs.  Even though I'd taken a picture of them with their eggs, he'd still wanted to show grandma his handy work in person. 

After egg-dying, Adam and I decided to give them our Easter presents.  We normally don't give them gifts, but since we're not taking a vacation this year while Adam heals, we decided to get them little scooters.  We have a lot of outdoor toys, but they always seem to fight over who plays with what.  We figured two scooters would lead to peace and harmony on the driveway - and we were right!  Mason picked up on what to do right away, but Mya struggled.  Big brother stepped in right away to teach her his "step, step, glide" technique.  Peace and harmony!

Later that night we set out a plate of carrots and treats for the Easter bunny.  This was all Mason's idea - after all, if we leave a treat for Santa, why wouldn't we leave something for the Easter bunny?  He was excited to see the treats and carrots were gone the next morning, and they both had fun scurrying around the house looking for their baskets.  Somehow I didn't get a picture of that action - but they both received perfect little gifts from the Easter bunny.  Mya found a Disney princess Duplo set (that she can play with while Mason plays with his Legos - he does not like her near him when he plays with them).  And Mason found a Disney Cars track for his dozens of Cars.  (Seriously, how did Disney not think to make the Story Sets sooner?  The poor kid has been pushing these things around on the ground for years!)

Normally I'd now tell you about the quirky thing the kids did in church, but we skipped Easter mass this year with Adam recovering from surgery.  It definitely felt strange, but the kids and I sat on the couch in our fancy Easter clothes and read children's Bible stories instead.  The thing is, I'm sure they learned more listening to the stories than they would've not paying attention in church.

Shortly after Adam's parents arrived and the Easter feasting began.  I have to brag a moment about the food I had ready for snacking - brie & blackberry tarts and a root vegetable tray (in honor of Petter Rabbit), prosciutto-wrapped mangoes/pears and arugula (how Springy!), cheese and crackers and of course deviled eggs.  The only thing Adam helped with was cutting the cheese and prosciutto wrapping.  If you've ever been in my kitchen, you know that I'm never in it so this was quite an amazing feat for me.  I hope Adam doesn't start thinking I can handle these things.  ;)

My goal with all these holiday celebrations is to make it fun for the kids - no matter whose house we end up at or how big or small the holiday.  Maybe someday they'll be passing on the same traditions to their little ones.