4th of July

In honor of the 4th of July I will share passed 4th of July experiences we have had.

2006 = B's first 4th.  He was 9 months old.  The daycare he attended at the time took the kids on a parade each year.  They used to decorate the strollers and wagons for the kids to ride in.  The older kids made posters and things to carry.  Everyone had so much fun!

 

2008 {for some reason I couldn't find any 2007 pictures} = G's first 4th.  Both B and G were in the parade at the daycare this year.  B was 2 and G 3 months old.  The shirt G is wearing fits him perfectly, he is a Little Firecracker!  Little did we know then that his personality would be so explosive!

2009 = LG was 15 months and B was 3.  It rained this year!  Usually we go downtown to watch the fireworks.  The parking garage for Brent's office provides the perfect viewing area.  This year they ended up cancelling the fireworks due to the weather.

 

2010 = G was 2 and B was 4. The first 4th of July parade the boys rode in our new neighborhood. Each year the neighborhood kids decorate their bikes. A fire truck leads the parade around the neighborhood. G's biking skills had yet to be developed. Brent and I had so much fun bending over pushing him around the neighborhood for this parade! {If you're sensing sarcasm in that sentence you are super smart!}

Finally we end with 2010.  B was 5, G was 3, and I was 16 weeks pregnant with Baby M.  G and B were waiting for the downtown fireworks to begin here.  This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

Tonight we plan to continue our tradition and we are super excited for Baby M to be a part of it for the first time.  We will pack up the cooler, some chairs, a blanket, and a few toys.  We are heading downtown to join the crowd and celebrate our nation's birth.


****~~~~****~~~~****~~~~Happy 4th of July to you all! ~~~~****~~~~~****~~~~****


What plans do you all have?  Are there any traditions that you will be celebrating?

Catching Up

Last week (Tuesday - Friday) I had to attend workshops to learn new techniques for a learning program that we will be implementing during the upcoming school year. This would explain my lack of involvement in the bloggy world.

Over the course of the week a few glaring realities reared their ugly heads.

1. Thankgoodness for Starbucks

I decided that if I have to get up before 9ish, I deserve a treat. It's amazing how quickly I have forgotten about getting up early.

During the school year I get up at 4:30. I have to be to school by 7:35 and I need time to feed Baby M before going to school.

2. Summer has ended

School begins for the kids on August 1. For me, however, it may as well have already begun. I have to prepare my room and paperwork for my incoming class. We do have a teacher work day the day before school begins, but that is usually consumed with preparing schedules and collaborating with my team mates.

3. A Smart phone is a necessity during any meeting

Phones can be used for a variety of reasons. These reasons range from searching for new terms to setting appointment times. They are also great to communicate with colleagues across the room {This way you can read what someone thinks about an outfit or pair of shoes rather than miss what's being said because your listening to said opinion}.

4. Going out to lunch is a luxury

Sitting at a table and have a conversation that is not interrupted is flat out AMAZING! It was also so nice to be able to do this with my co-workers. Don't even get me started on having someone to bring me the food and to pick up after . . . me. Oh wow that was cool! And the tip of the iceberg = eating without needing to re-heat my meal! We're talking big time here people!

We have 30 minutes for lunch. In reality by the time we get the kids to the cafeteria, tie a shoe or two, wipe a few tears, pass out a hug here and there, settle a dispute, and finally use the restroom {ourselves that is} we truly have about 15-20 minutes to inhale our meal before needing to pick the darlings up again.

5. I miss my kids

While many of the above items are nice, I have to be honest, I LOVE being home with my kids.  Nothing can replace knowing each aspect of their day, no matter how big or small it is.  If I were able to be with them all of the time I would do it in a heartbeat! Yes, being home with them for the summer {which for me is really like 6 weeks} is nice. I'm not completely home with them though.  Nothing drives me nuts more than someone saying, "Oh you're a teacher. How lucky you are to have the summers off." Yes, I do value the time I am able to spend with my children. I feel as if this is making up for the time that they have missed out on being with their mother.  During the school year it is necessary for me to devote so much time to school. They miss out on just being with me.

Public Service Announcement: 4 year old with digital camera = DANGER!

So here you finally have the post I planned that got postponed on Tuesday.

As he is walking downstairs I hear G excitedly say:

"Mommy! You. have. GOT. to. see. this!"



He continues walking into the kitchen, where I am, while saying this. He is also rather dramatic {as usual} and at the end of each word the palms of his hands are facing away from his body as if he were ordering someone to STOP!

In his hands he has his digital camera. He received it as a gift for Christmas. He thrusts the camera toward me. His laughter causes his arms to wiggle, making it difficult for me to focus on the image he finds to be so amusing.

After trying for a few moments I was unable to focus on the wiggling image, so finally I held the camera in my own hands. It's at this moment that I too burst into laughter

at

the

sight

of

this

image:

Isn't he a beautiful Princess?!

So after seeing this I became worried about other possible images that may have been captured. To say the least I was not disappointed. G's pictures continued to maintain my laughter!

Poor Brent must have really done something to get on G's bad side!

Here we have some of G's favorite buddies arranged neatly.

Didn't Pooh Bear pose so nicely for this one?

I'll leave you with my personal favorite.

At least he knows who the real Princess is in this house!

I also came across this gem as well.

That's my little performer himself!

I would like to conclued this with a warning: 

BE SURE TO MONITOR CHILDREN WITH CAMERAS!

You never know what may be documented.

Love/Hate Link Up

I love when my children have fun riding their bikes!

I hate when they get hurt.

I love going to the fair!

*check out the name of the boat!

I hate spending an arm and a leg to enjoy the fair.

I love when my mom comes to visit!

I hate having to attend workshops while she's here.

I love the ice cream my boys make!

I hate waiting to eat the ice cream.

I'm linking up with Noel today.

How I spent $180.00 in under 3 hours

Wow, it's been a long couple of days. I originally had another post planned, but then life happened and that post is being put on the back burner for now.

Sunday night Brent and B went for a bike ride while I fed Baby M. They returned shortly after the ride began because B fell off of his bike. As Brent carried him into the house B seemed to be very calm, which I thought was slightly odd.

Brent cleaned him up and they both changed clothes.  B scraped his nose, chin, and knee.  He had a fat lip and chipped one of his teeth. The kid has 2 adult teeth and of course he would have to chip 1 of the 2 adult teeth!

After everyone was cleaned up, calmed down, and fed we were sitting on the porch, as we do some evenings.  We discovered through conversation that something seemed to be off with B. His memory appeared to have some gaps. For example, he wasn't able to recall that we had been at the pool earlier in the day. He also didn't remember how a new chair (G bought it from a garage sale on Saturday) made its way onto the porch.

Now, sometimes B likes to play the 'I forgot game' so it was tricky trying to distinguish between his playing and reality. Eventually, I called the pediatricians office. They encouraged me to watch for vomiting, dizziness, and headaches. B did not complain about any of these symptoms. I had B sleep on the floor in our room for the night just to be sure he didn't vomit during the night.

On Monday morning he woke up and seemed to be himself. I noticed that he was limping a little so I asked him why he was walking funny. He told me it was because he had a scratch on his knee. I paused for a few moments trying to see if he would elaborate about the scratch or not.  He went on to tell me that he had a scratch on his chin, lip, and nose.



Finally, I said, "You fell off of your bike yesterday. Do you remember this?" He said, "Oh that's where I got all of these scratches from then." I became worried at this point because it was very obvious that he had no clue where the scratches came from.

Again, I called the pediatricians office. I was encouraged to take him to the ER. Brent met us at home and all 5 of us traveled to the ER. Before leaving I did manage to pack snacks, drinks, and toys. Brent, G, and Baby M stayed in the waiting room. B and I went to another waiting room and were eventually taken to a small room to . . . wait.

After reading 2 books, playing both War and Go Fish 2 times, and playing 1 round of a picture game we were on our way. The ER doctor agreed that he had a pretty nasty fall, but explained that having him go through a head scan would expose him to radiation and could cause damage to his corneas. Basically, the bad outweighed the good. He also told us that some short term memory loss after a head injury is normal. B may not remember the injury, ever. Other missing pieces of information such as his birthday and the months of the year should return. If they don't I'm to contact the doctor again.

So after waiting for 2 1/2 hours, forking out $150.00 for the co-pay, and $30.00 for a new helmet (the old helmet had a chunk taken out of it during the fall) we all went home to rest! These kids should come with some kind of warranty or owner’s manual or something!

Do You know?

Do you know when I say, that's fine

       It's really not


Do you know when I say, please, that's enough

       I need you to stop and listen to my words


Do you know that I don't want to argue with you
  
      When I do it's because I am exploding with frustration


Do you know that when I do explode at you

        I spend days apologizing to you in my head


Do you know when I say, I've had enough

      I'm falling apart inside

Do you know when you don't share in my excitement
 
      I feel guilty for being happy


Do you know that I hide things from you

      It's easier to hide than to hear your disapproval 


Do you know I long to have the relationship with you that I see others have

       I feel so alone


Do you know that I don't understand why you are so excited about the accomplishments of others

       It's like mine are never enough for you


Do you know when you repeatedly tell stories of mistakes I made in the past
   
       Inside, I break a little each time


Do you know that each time you're late

      I feel as if I'm not your priority


Do you know when you laugh at my reactions and responses

      It's tells me that you don't value me or my thoughts


Do you know why I don't ask you for help

      You think your way is the only way and I'm wrong if I don't agree


Do you know that we don't always have to agree

       I still respect you and your opinion
      

Do you know that I want to fix things
  
     I just don't know how

Zoo, Where Are You? - Read. Learn. Explore Link up

Zoo, Where Are You? written by Ann McGovern

It is about a little boy named, Josh, who doesn't have a zoo near his town.  He decides he is going to make a zoo of his own.  He grabs a few essentials and heads out to look around his neighborhood for animals to create a zoo of his own.

As he searches for his zoo he imagines types of animals that he can find in specific locations.  When he actually arrives at the locations he doesn't find animals, but he does find other 'treasures'.  He brings the treasures home to share with his mom.  They discuss his, beautiful junk, and he sets out to find more.  

At the end of the story he comes to the conclusion that despite the fact that he wasn't able to find animals for his zoo, he created a different type of zoo.  He created a zoo full of junk.  Josh determined his zoo full of junk to be better  than any zoo with animals because he doesn't have to cage the zoo, feed or water it, or keep it happy.  He can just look at it and enjoy it.

This was one of my favorite books to read as a child.  As you can tell from the cover it has seen its better days.  My mom got it from a library sale when they were getting rid of old books.  I used to LOVE reading it over and over with her.  Reading it with my boy and recalling how much I enjoyed the book made our reading time even more special.

After reading the story B, G, Baby M, and I set out to make a zoo of our own!

First, we made Wild Animal Catching Bags

We used white paper sacks and foam stickers to decorate them.  G was very excited to do this project (he's 4) and put quite a few stickers on the bag.  B (he's 6), on the other hand, was content to simply write his name on the bag and call it a day.  He did write his first, middle, and last names, so at least he was working on his hand writing!

*You could also use markers, crayons, and glue small items onto the bags.  I offered these items to the boys, but they didn't want to use them.  I think they were ready to get outside.

Next, we grabbed our Wild Animal Catching Bags and set out on a walk (#2 on our activity list) in search of our Zoo

As we searched we sang, Zoo, Zoo, Where Are You Zoo, just as Josh did in the story.

Along our search we came to the pond first.  We found some geese.  B and G didn't think it would be a very good idea to put geese in the bags so we just stopped to look at them.

On the way back up the hill B found a pine cone to put in his bag.

As we continued G found some flowers that he really liked.  He was pretty bummed when I explained that he couldn't put the whole flower in the bag.  Luckily, my suggestion of a petal from the ground seemed to appease him!

I'm certain that the entire neighborhood heard the excitement in G's voice as he exclaimed "Look Mommy!  I found a wishing flower!"  If you couldn't tell, he LOVES flowers, especially dandelions, or dam lions, as he says.

After we finished collecting our things we headed home.  Once we got home we dumped out our collections of junk and shared them.

I'm not as cool as Josh's mom.  She let just dump his junk on the kitchen table.  I made my boys dump their junk on paper towel.  I have to be honest I wasn't really thrilled with having all of that on the table that we eat on.  Oh well, they loved it and that's what's important!

Last week we read and did activities with Pig Kahuna.  Check it out for more reading fun activities.

I'm linking up to Read.Explore.Learn today with Deirdre.