Warm December Day

Today we went hiking at Caledon State Park with our neighbors. It's amazing to have such beautiful state parks so close to home. It ended up being a 3 mile round trip hike. The weather was beautiful and the beach are on the Potomac was fantastic. I even found a sharks tooth.

I loved it and the kids only complained a little bit. Daddy had to go a half mile with Bug on his shoulders on the way back.

Roo had a hurt foot until I distracted him with a cool looking tree. After that he was fine.

Bug said at bedtime "I don't want to go hiking again, it's painful." I think we'll ignore him.

Nice List

The boys got greetings from Santa this morning via Portable North Pole. The look on Roo's face was priceless. He was well aware that he was a good boy this year and very intently listened to what Santa had to say and was very happy to hear that Santa knew so much about him. He was pleased to hear Santa put him on the nice list.

Then in was Bug's turn. Bug was very excited to hear what Santa had to say. He agreed with Santa when he said this year Bug was working on no more temper tantrums. And when Santa said lets see if you're on the nice list, Bug shook his head no, very seriously. With that same seriousness, he turned to Roo and said "you're nicer than me." Imagine his surprise when he found out he made the nice list.

When I got home from work today, I gave the boys letters from Santa that were in the mailbox. They loved them and were happy to hear again how good they've been and how much Santa knows about them.

They're finally in bed now. All night they wanted to go to bed. Now that they're in bed, they can't fall asleep. Love their excitement!

First Day of Winter

Yesterday was the official first day of winter. We had amazing weather, more like summer than winter. I loved wearing flip flops all day. The kids were able to leave the pool without having to change (which means I didn't have to chase them through the women's locker room!). And we had a bonfire and roasted smores (no toes were burned this time)! The one good thing about a winter bonfire is that it's dark early, so the kids can enjoy it at night and still get to bed on time, that's a win all around!

If..

Roo was sick and missed school on Thursday and Friday. I sent his teacher an email to let him know why he was missing school and he replied saying that Roo had made us some gifts and if I could to stop by and pick his stuff up. I did, and as I looked through everything (but the gifts), I found this project and it brought an instant smile and chuckle!

It says "If I lived in a snow globe I would play hide n go seek inside the snow."

The View

Best.Quote.Ever.

From Bug: "Mommy's a princess, Daddy's a terd."

What?

On the way to swimming tonight, I got a phone call from Daddy and Bug wanted to ask a question. As the conversation went on, Bug wanted to speak with Roo. I passed the phone to Roo and the conversation on my end sounded a little bit like this:

Roo: "what?!"
Bug: blah blah blah blah blah
Roo: "what?!"
Bug: blah blah blah blah blah
Roo: "yes you can play with my Cars game, so I'll play with your Pokemon cards"
Bug: blah blah blah blah blah
Roo" "what?!"

You get the idea. I was cracking up. I've always been entertained by their discussions; for two small humans, they talk about some interesting stuff!

Am I Grounded?

The theme tonight was grounding. When I picked Roo up at daycare, he told me that he lost all three of his pennies today. Each day each kid in his class starts off with three pennies. I'm not sure what happens if they keep them for the day, if the add up or something like that but it seems that it's upsetting to lose pennies. He's never lost all three of them. Today he told me as we were leaving that he lost all three. As we were getting in the car he explained that it was from talking when he wasn't supposed to and then something else about a pointer.

He said his friend was using the pointer (like a retractable one) and that they weren't supposed to, so he was telling his friend to put it away. So I asked if his friend also got in trouble, yes. I'm having trouble understanding how Roo got in trouble for trying to do the right thing. So I ask him to explain more about the talking. He doesn't explain this too well. So then I ask him again about the pointer. Roo finally says, "okay, I'll tell you the rest of what happened." And he explained how they had a sword fight with the pointers. Of course, you're only in first grade, and you're boys, what else would you do with the pointers is what I was thinking. So what I actually said was that he knows better and that it's dangerous and not to do it again.

Roo asked if he was grounded. He also asked if he was naughty. No to both. Not grounded, Friday ice cream not taken away, and definitely not a naughty kid. This is the second time he's asked me if he's naughty and both times I have told him that he is absolutely not naughty. He's a very good kid, with a big heart, who likes to follow rules, who occasionally has a quarterly brain fart with his behavior. He asked, "so a naughty kid would have just blamed it all on his friend?" I told him that the naughty kid would have just told me he had a good day at school. He knows and we've repeated that we are always proud of him for telling us when he makes a mistake or gets in trouble. If he continues like this, he should be a well behaved teen!!

And so onto Bug. Later in the evening Bug shared something with us and worried that he would be grounded. We asked him to show us and we told him not to worry that he wouldn't be grounded. We explained how he could fix it the next time and to ask for help if he needs to in the future, but that he wouldn't be grounded even if it happened again. The topic is poop, no further details needed.

Man, it sounds like we do a lot of grounding in this house, but we really don't. It's rare and is only for really serious infractions.

Pig

I think if I do end up blogging more often it include things about not just the kids, but all of our lives in general.  With that, I give you this story.

Today we were driving to town to meet up with my parents for lunch. On the way as we were approaching a curve that seems to have more accidents than some other spots on the road, there was an accident.

As we passed by slowly we looked and saw something one would only believe if we took a picture.

A pickup truck was smashed in because it hit a pig. But not just a normal pig, this was the biggest pig I've ever seen. I didn't even know pigs could grow that big. Made me wonder when it's no longer a pig and considered a hog.

We contemplated turning around and driving past it again to take a picture. But we thought that would be very rude.

The police were already there and it was hard to tell with all the dirt across the road if the accident was in the early or late stages of being cleared.  Hopefully everyone was okay.

There are farms nearby so it's hard to say if the pig got free and ran away or if it was being transported and fell out of a vehicle. But it was a huge pig.

If I ever find a picture of it, I'll be sure to add it to this post.

Planning Vacation

After our trip to Williamsburg and Great Wolf Lodge this past weekend, we were reminded how much we love going on trips as a family. This summer we had one short trip to Ocean City. Between my surgery and the costs associated with it, we just didn't have the time or money to go on more trips.

So, we're already starting to plan for next year. I would like to take a long weekend to a somewhat local vacation spot over Spring Break, got to Maine for a week, a late summer long weekend, go to Disney or a Disney Cruise (less likely unless it's a bargain) and maybe a trip over the holiday's...not a short list, for sure.

We were thinking one way to make this possible is to spend less on the Maine trip, but that would mean not staying in the house we love.

So we called the boys in to get their opinion.

We asked: "When we go to Maine, do you want to stay on the beach and catch crabs, or on a lake?"

Roo said he wants to catch crabs.

Bug said: "well, I don't know, how about after we catch crabs, well, if the crabs don't bite me then lets catch crabs."

To which Roo said we could wear globes (aka gloves).

Time to get them some crab catching globes!

Holiday Musical

Tonight was the kids holiday concert at daycare. We always enjoy going to this and the daycare is great about scheduling it for pickup time so we don't have to miss work.

As Bug's class entered the room, there was bug, in tears in arms of his teacher. He cried the during his classes entire portion of the show. Normally, Bug is our outgoing, happy to sing in a crowd kiddo.

Roo's class was the last to come and sing and our normally reserved, pained when in front of an audience child, was all smiles and singing merrily along!

Copy Cat

Mom told me I didn't post anything about Bug's birthday and implied that there's an amount of delinquent blogging that's allowable, but missing a birthday is the line. So, to copy my friend Barb, I will try to do one short post a day for the rest of December. Maybe that will create a new blogging habit! I will also take advantage of today's snow day and try to post blog post!

Happy Hanukkah

The kids enjoyed celebrating an early Hanukkah this year. They got one big present from us, a trip to Great Wolf Lodge, and didn't understand that this is something that they should get really excited about. They'll understand once they go!

Future Leah

The boys are very excited about Uncle Matt and Leah's engagement. We have said that she is "future Aunt Leah" which has been translated in kid language as "Future Leah" by Bug.

Forts

The kids had fun building a big fort with the Hannukah gift they got from Uncle Matt and Leah.

Thanksgivukkah

We started what may be a new Thanksgiving tradition this year and had Thanksgiving dinner at the club where mom and dad live. We all had a really wonderful time and the kids were super well behaved and played with their new toys while we all ate. At one point everyone's napkins started to disapper. Then a while later, Bug came out from under the table with a huge pile of napkins. It was hilarious!

The kids also enjoyed celebrating Hanukkah with their family and loved all the awesome gifts they got. We all loved listening to the jam session Grandpa conducted with Roo and Bug (can't see him in the picture) with their new guitars, it was fantastic.

We all had a really wonderful day and mom's key lime pie was amazing. It was a great Thanksgivukkah!

5!

Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet Love Bug!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

I went with Bug on their preschool field trip to Belvedere Farm. As always, the kids had a blast. We stayed after with his best friend to enjoy everything the farm had to offer. It was a really fun day!

Happy 7th Birthday Roo Bear

We celebrated Roo's 7th birthday this weekend. For his birthday on Friday we spent the day together as a family. We sang happy birthday to Roo first thing in the morning and let him open a few of his presents, and he was super excited that Bug gave him two Ultra Magnus Transformers that he has been wanting very badly!

We went to Wegman's for breakfast and let them each pick out what they wanted to eat. Then we went to the movies and saw Planes, which we all really enjoyed. After that we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house and enjoyed cupcakes and more presents; a super awesome r/c speed boat he can drive on the lake. We stayed at their house for a bit and then went home and had dinner at the neighbors house. It was another dock building weekend so dinner was a good break for Daddy.

When we got home after dinner, Roo took a few phone calls from family members and enjoyed their happy birthday wishes. He opened his gift from Grammie and PopPop and was excited to see it was a Kreo Optimus Prime with trailer.

Roo woke up early on Saturday to begin construction of the trailer and we spent most of the day having fun inside. Once the men were done building the dock, the kids went swimming and Roo got to paddle in his new kayak we gave him for his birthday for the first time. He loved it! We had dinner at home and the excitement for his birthday party continued to build.

Roo got up early again on Sunday and continued building his Optimus Prime. He and Bug eagerly awaited for his birthday party to start and all his friends to show up. Once they did, it didn't take long before they were all enjoying the lake. It was raining in the morning but we really lucked out with a clear afternoon!

After the lake, the kids enjoyed pizza and cake and playing a bit. Then Roo opened his gifts and was so excited about everything his friends and family gave him. And he read every card out loud, he certainly wasn't reading last year!

He really had an awesome weekend and said it was his best birthday ever. We still can't believe he's 7 already! What happened to our little Roo Baby?! He's still our cute Roo Bear who we love with all our heart! Happy Birthday Roo Bear!!

Little Orange Kayak

For Roo's birthday we got him an orange kayak. Daddy wasn't so sure about the idea at first but I insisted and Roo loves it. And so do all his friends. He loves it so much that he agreed that we should get one for Bug, we just need to figure out what color! Happy kayaking!

The Beach Incident

When we were at the beach last week we spent about half the day Thursday afternoon on the beach. The kids had fun darting through the waves and playing super hero games in the sand. At one point the kids approached the big hole of sand that was right next to the area we were sitting at. The big hole had shovels circled around it. There were no other kids around.

Roo, Bug and their two friends decided to dig the hole even bigger and use a couple shovels that were circiled around the hole that were theirs and a couple others that belonged to someone else. 

As they were digging a few older kids approached and said that the hole was theirs. Roo offered to share the hole with them. They declined and insited that they were there first. Roo said that they were digging a boobie trap and they could help them dig. They declined again and insisted that the younger kids get out of their hole and dig in the smaller hole that was adjacent to the one they were digging in. Once again Roo said they could all dig together, or that the other kids could go dig in the adjacent hole.

You could tell the older kids were ready to pick a fight but Roo stood his ground and I think was perplexed at why someone wouldn't want to just share the really cool big hole with them. We didn't intervene, though I was ready to go mamma bear on the older kids, we tried to let the kids work it out.

The parents of the other kids came by and removed the older kids. Shortly after, the older kids came by and asked for all of their shovels back. That's one way to stop the younger kids digging in the big hole. That left our four kids with 2 big shovels and several small ones, which led to some disagreements that they eventually sorted out.

I was disappointed that the parents of the older kids didn't suggest that their kids just join in the fun. At one point an even older sibling was about to come over and try to regulate, but the parents held him back. In the end, most of that family and their shovels left shortly after taking their shovels back. There was a mean little girl who remained with her portion of the family and starting digging a tiny little hole with her shovel, all alone.

I'm really proud of how our kids, especially Roo handled this situation. I'm glad he didn't back down or try to fight either (it's not in his spirit to do that!). But the situation was still perplexing to me as an adult as I would have directed the kids to share the hole and shovels with the other kids; it's nature's sand and sharing is generally a good thing for people of any age.

Keeping Up With The Blog

For some reason it seems more difficult to keep up with the blog these days. I'm not quite sure why, but it is. Looks like I haven't written anything since May, but looking back on my cell phone pics today, all sorts of fun has been happening since then. Maybe I'll have enough time to go back and update, maybe not, but I can at least write about some of it now, while I'm taking the time to update the blog!

It was fun looking through all the pictures on my phone. I had several from the Fun Run at Roo's school. They had a fundraiser that culmunated with the kids running a mile. Family members gave Roo pledges for his laps and he ran all 26, a few more since he finished before the end time and was having fun running. He was pretty serious and it was really fun to watch him. He'll probably enjoy running as he gets older and can join the running club at his school.

Both boys really enjoyed baseball. Bug was super competitive and very energetic at all of the games. Roo was quiet about it but picked it up very quickly and was one of the better players on his team.

In late May, Grammie and Papa came to town for a long weekend. Everyone enjoyed the visit and the kids loved seeing their family.

Roo graduated Kindergarten and had a wonderful school year. His teacher was very happy with his progress and we couldn't be more proud. Hard to believe he's going into first grade!

We've had a few fun get togethers with some of our friends. We've been over to some of their houses and they've come over to ours and the kids all have a wonderful time playing while the parents all enjoy each others company. It's really nice that we live in an area where we work and socialize with the parents of our kids friends and that we all live nearby. I'm grateful that we decided to stay in this area and have been making such great friends.

Bug has started swim lessons again and is making good progress. We really love his swim instructor, she's the same instructor that taught Roo to swim. She's great with him and you can see him getting over his fear of the water and getting more excited about learning to swim. We're not sure if he'll ever want to swim competitively like Roo does, but just learning to swim and being more comfortable around the water is great!

Roo is swimming on a summer swim team and is learning a ton. He is having so much fun swimming and at the meets and it's great to watch his progress. He's a fish!

We went on vacation to Ocean City last week and had a good week. The boys loved playing with their friends and we enjoyed some relaxation time. Bug got sick on Wednesday and the best option for him to be seen was at the ER. It was quick and easy and they gave him the appropriate meds. Roo caught the same illness when we got home and we used our furlough days to stay home with him. I think next year we'll do a long weekend in OC and hopefully resume our normal Maine vacation, or possibly visit a different National Park out West, we'll see!

Other than that, Daddy has a torn miniscus and needs to have surgery, which will wait until I have surgery in the next couple of weeks. I'm not thrilled about the surgery but it seems to be the only way to solve the issues I'm having, just not what I planned on at 35. We are grateful it is nothing worse and that we already had kids! After all of that, Daddy will still need to have his hernia repaired, perhaps they can do both at the same time for him! Hopefully by the holidays we'll have a couple of days to take off with the kids, but until then we'll be at work!

And finally, we are building a dock! This will be so fun when it's complete. And it's a fantastic furolough project for Daddy and the boys and whatever friends want to come over and help us build it! Can't wait to see the end result, and hopefully it doesn't sink :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Roo has officially finished kindergarten! We are so proud of him. He did so well this school year, he learned to read, his handwriting improved (for most of the year, the last month, that's a different story) and he loved learning math and using the computer. He is such a great kiddo and really enjoyed everything about school, except homework of course! Can't believe he'll be in 1st grade!

Great Train Race and Caboose Run

Yesterday the boys ran in the Great Train Race and Caboose Run. Roo participated in the 1 mile train race and did great. His time was 9:27 and finished 72 out of 175 or so kids, not too shabby for his first race. We were only able to get once practice run in since I wasn't feeling well at the end of the week, so  our goal for next year is to teach him how to pace himself.

Bug ran in the caboose run which is a quarter of a mile. Daddy ran with him and held his hand for the hill portion to slow him down since he was running so fast. He was very proud to tell everyone that he ran faster than his daddy!

Both boys had a great time and it was a wonderful family morning!

http://freelancestar.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=47085554&event=1649396&CategoryID=8904