Sick Day

I got to stay home with Brody today.  Yesterday afternoon and evening he couldn't get very far from the toilet, so we decided not to send him to preschool and daycare and risk spreading whatever bug around.  However, he was perfectly fine today.  Oh well!  It couldn't hurt to rest up after fighting off that bug.

So I did get a little decluttering, vacuuming, and laundry done.  I certainly could have done more, but I guess I'm happy with what I did.  Brody got to play with his 'guys' and dress up as Captain America, and play video games, and watch his shows.  We sat together on the chair to watch Barney and Caillou, not exactly my favorite shows, but we did watch Sid the Science Kid too).  Love to be able to spend the day one on one with each child every now and then.

Brody will be back to school tomorrow.  Braedon has a doctor's appointment and Ron has the day off to take him.  I'm heading in early to work to figure out what I need to prepare/adjust.  I was not in the room Friday (inservice) or today, so I'm sure I have things to catch up on before the kiddos get there.  Tomorrow night Colby has a music concert, that I keep forgetting about.  So we'll do that too.  

Superbowl Plan B

Superbowl Sunday... We planned to have friends over to enjoy the game, the commercials, and the food together.  However the snowstorm yesterday changed our plans.  Seems to be a good thing.  Our antenna tv proved unreliable at bringing in NBC tonight.  And my four year old couldn't stay off the toilet for long.

However we did enjoy fun, food, and family earlier today.  My siblings and their families were all together for pizza and other treats at my parents' house.  The boys got to play in the snow with Kayleigh (their 2 year old cousin) and I got lots of Jacob time.  Love holding my little nephew!  He's just a couple months old and super cute.

And Colby got an invitation from the neighbor boy to come over to play and spend the night last night.  This was his first sleepover and we weren't sure he would stay, but he did and really enjoyed himself.

I get to have one more day off work tomorrow with a sick kiddo.  Plan to have 15 minute spurts of cleaning and computer time throughout the day coupled with some snuggling on the couch with Brody.

Honey, I'm home!

My last post was from mid-August.  That is my busiest time at school.  Between preparing my classroom, doing home visits, and attending teacher meetings I don't have much time for extras.  Throw in getting three boys ready for school to begin and you can see why I had to take a bit of a break.

Once I got out of the routine of blogging, writer's block set in.  Then I just didn't know where to begin.  My mom and my hubby and my sister have nudged me off and on for awhile now to get back to blogging.  Ultimately, it seems strangers are dragging me out of seclusion.

I've had a fellow blogger leave a couple of messages while I was 'gone' (I wasn't really gone, I check several blogs daily) to check on me.  And it seems I just won a contest on another blog and my blog was linked to that announcement.  How embarrassing--to have folks coming here to this sad little place that seems to be abandoned.

I have decided that I will begin blogging again a little at a time.  My initial focus is going to be to record the happenings of our family here on the blog.  As I get back in the groove I will try to delve back into sharing some preschool and bargaining adventures.

I have never figured out a good way to share pictures on the blog and I'm currently without a camera.  So that will be a goal for the upcoming months.  (I have discovered Pinterest and I would love to create a two way connection between this space and that space.)

So welcome back.  Make yourself at home.

Summer Bucket List, Week 11

We have a Summer Bucket List, thanks to Kelly over at Little Wonders' Days.  This is simply a list of fun things we want to do or accomplish this summer.  We completed our eleventh week of summer and unfortunately the end is in sight.  I start back to work full time this week, Braedon and Colby next week, and Brody the following week.  I plan to continue to check things off the list until the end of August, though we might be moving a little more slowly toward this goal.


Our previous weeks can be found here: 
week one, week two, week three, 
week four, week five, week six,
week seven, week eight, week nine and week ten.


1.  Visit ten parks to play and picnic:  We had already completed this one, but we revisited a playground this week and it is worth mentioning.  We had so much fun meeting up with Kim's Daycare last week to play and picnic that we did it again.  My kids get along better with each other if they have other kids to play with as well.  So Friday we met up with Kim and her kids at the lower playground at East Lake.  This is the original play area and much of the equipment has been there since Kim and I were children.  It's fun to see our kids explore the merry-go-round and other equipment that used to be prevalent in playgrounds and is now pretty rare.


7.  Iowa State Fair:  We went yesterday.  We couldn't go until mid afternoon since Ron had to work and the rest of us had to do farmers' market.  So we didn't experience as much as we would have liked to.  We met up with some friends and with my sister and her family.  The boys did the giant slide, played in the sprinkler park and a playground, and had corndogs.  We also saw some art exhibits and a giant sand castle the artist is carving to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the butter cow.  We also went through the building that had the animal babies inside.  We saw a chick hatch and viewed baby ducks, pigs, and an ostrich.  Then we parted ways--Ron, Braedon, and Colby went off to their concert (more on that later in this post) and Brody and I saw the butter cow and some other exhibits before the buildings closed than we ate some more fair food and Brody fell asleep waiting for the concert to end.


28.  Swimming Lessons:  The boys finished this week.  Who knew it would be so chilly in August?  Colby has made progress, but still needs to work on some skills and ultimately on getting more comfortable in the water.  Braedon has just blossomed in swimming lesson the past two weeks.  He was so excited and proud to go in the 12 foot to practice some skills.  He passed his test, though still needs to work on efficient treading (he kicks so fast that he tires quickly).  He even braved the diving board during fun day and jumped off 5 or 6 times.  Each time with a huge grin on his face!


Other things we did that were not on the list:
*We went to a cousins birthday party that involved cake, ice cream, and sprinklers.
*Saturday was Customer Appreciation Day at our farmers' market and we enjoyed listening to a local dentist sing and play his guitar as the entertainment.
*Ron and his friend Kris have been wanting to see a Def Leppard concert together since they were teens, many years ago :).  They got to go last night at the fair.  Since my boys are eighty hair band fans, the older two (and Calob) also went to the concert.  I hear that much fun was had by all.  Brody and I enjoyed the post concert fireworks as well.


I'm back to work this week, but Ron is home most of the week with the boys.  Next weekend is Braedon's birthday party.  Hopefully we can check a few more items off the list.  :)

This Little Piggy...

While watching his brothers in swimming lessons this week, Brody and I were sitting in a reclining beach chair at the pool, barefoot.  I took his toes in my fingers and recited the nursery rhyme.

This little piggy went to market.
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy had roast beef.
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home.

After I finished he recited it his own way.

This big daddy piggy went to farmers' market.
This mommy piggy stayed home.
This piggy had hot dogs.
This piggy had roast beef.
And this piggy had nuts.

He now insists that I only say it his way from now on.

Summer Bucket List, Week 10

We have a Summer Bucket List, thanks to Kelly over at Little Wonders' Days.  This is simply a list of fun things we want to do or accomplish this summer.  We completed our tenth week of summer a few days ago--yes I'm late in writing this post.


Our previous weeks can be found here: 
week one, week two, week three, 
week four, week five, week six,
week seven, week eight, and week nine.


This past week was super busy with two types of lessons acting as bookends to the day.  We definitely checked some items off.  Let's see what we accomplished.


1.  Visit ten parks to play and picnic:  We actually did two this week, numbers ten and eleven.  On Sunday we met my mom, sister, brother in law, and niece at a park in Indianola to watch the hot air balloons.  We watch from this park every year since the kids can play while we wait.  This year Mom went all out with the picnic--sandwiches on croissants, chips, little debbies, candy, cheese sticks, and a variety of drinks.  (more on the balloons later in this post).  And on Friday we packed a lunch to follow a presentation that took place at a park.  A friend of mine, Kim, also brought lunch for her daycare kids and we hung out for a couple of hours allowing the kids to play, eat, and play some more, while we just talked.  It was a lovely day--the weather was great, the presentation was informative, and the company was fantastic.  


27.  VBS:  Last week was our church's Vacation Bible School.  I can remember attending bible school there thirty years ago (man, that makes me feel old).  I volunteered as a junior high and high school student.  And now for the past eight years or so I have been volunteering as a parent.  Most of those years I have been either the preschool or the preschool-kindergarten teacher.  Due to the way the program is set up, there is not a good way to predict how many kids will be there on any given night.  Last year I had 35 or so children in my class.  As the kids piled into the sanctuary on Monday night I tried to herd my children into the first two pews, which then moved into part of the next pew, and then we ran out of space and we just sat where-ever there was a spot to fit into.  That first night the entire program (preschool through sixth grade) had between 80 and 90 kiddos, 42 of those were in my class.  Whew!  Thankfully, our program is a set of stations and I just have to maneuver my group from station to station.  I also drew in more volunteers as the night and the week went on.  Brody was in my class and while he was attached to my leg at times, he did participate in several activities this year (last year he just watched).  Colby was excited to see some of his friends from other churches attend VBS with him.  Braedon loved to sing and dance to the music.  It was fun to see my oldest jump up to the front of the sanctuary and rock out to the music.


28.  Swimming Lessons:  I was afraid I waited too long and let this one get by me.  However I got the two older boys enrolled in the last session of the summer.  They were both nervous as lessons started last week, but have grown more comfortable as the week went on.  Braedon has been blossoming and is so excited that he can go in the twelve foot and not be scared.  Colby still struggles to relax and to put his face in the water.  When Colby was two he fell in the pool and splashed around for a few seconds before we could get to him.  He was never in danger, but I think that episode has imprinted itself on his brain.  I hope that he continues to feel more secure in the water as he grows and learns new skills.  Colby was also upset that 'his lifeguard' was not there this year.  Andrew is in college and I believe he is probably working somewhere else, but he was so good with Colby for the three years he worked with him.  We are finishing swimming lessons this week.


47.  Hot air balloons:  Indianola is a half hour's drive to the north of us.  Every summer for decades they have a BalloonFest during the first week of August.  I remember going as a child.  And we have always made it a point to take the boys up each year.  There is just something magical about a hot air balloon.  We alway watch from the park across the road from the festivities.  While the direction of travel varies with the wind, we can always see them from our vantage point.  This year we got a special unexpected treat.  One balloon landed in the field adjacent to the park where we were watching.  Ron and the boys (and several other folks) hiked over to investigate.  The pilot said he always tries to land where there is a crowd so that folks can see the balloon up close.  Several adults grabbed onto the sides of the basket and moved the still floating balloon to the grassy area of the park where we were sitting.  Ron, Braedon, and Colby got to see and touch the balloon, talk with the pilot and crew, and help fold and stuff the deflated balloon into a bag.  Brody and Kayleigh got to see it up close too, but were a little taken aback by the size and chose to watch from a distance.  This up close and personal experience is something my boys will remember forever.  What a wonderful coincidence that we were in the right place at the right time.  


Other things we did that were not on the list:
*This past Sunday the cub scouts had an open swim at the pool.  The boys talked me into going down the waterslide--that thing is fun!  
*While we have yet to make it to a bike path, the older boys and Ron have been joining the neighbors in bike rides around the neighborhood.


This week summer is fading into preparing for the new school year.  I'm going to continue to check items off the list through the end of the month, even as school starts in a couple of weeks.  Have a good day!

Summer Bucket List, Week 9

We have a Summer Bucket List, thanks to Kelly over at Little Wonders' Days.  This is simply a list of fun things we want to do or accomplish this summer.  We just completed our ninth full week of summer.  


Our previous weeks can be found here: 
week one, week two, week three, 
week four, week five, week six,
week seven, and week eight.  


Can you believe Monday is the first day of August?  That means I head back to work full time in a couple of weeks.  The two older boys start back to school August 22 and my baby starts preschool a week later.  Summer is coming to a close before we know it and we still have items to check off the bucket list.  Let's see what we did this week...


1.  Visit 10 parks to play and picnic:  It's been a long time since we had rain, so we went to Warren park.  It often floods, but not this week.  We took the easy route and picked up some Lunchables and chips from the grocery store.  Brody got brave and walked across the monkey bar bridge, with my help.  


4.  Swimming at the Pool:  Ron took the boys to the public pool after Tuesday's Farmers' Market.  I have enrolled the older two in swimming lessons starting next week and they are nervous about not remembering some of the skills they learned last year.  So they went to the pool to cool off and to practice.  I think they are more comfortable now.  All three went down the water slide--Braedon on his own, Colby on his own (for the first time) with Ron catching him at the bottom, and Brody with Ron (for the first time).


31.  Eat Chinese:  The boys and I made a trip to the local Chinese Restaurant after Farmers' Market today.  They were quite brave and readily tried lots of new foods.  They all found something they liked, something they didn't care for, and got full.  We visited with their friends Howie and David (the sons of the owners) and actually got a compliment from another family about how cute they were.  The family had just been at the market an hour earlier too.


48.  Look for pictures in the clouds:  We found a rabbit in the clouds this week.  We really have not had very good picture clouds lately.  We'll keep working on this one.


Things that we did that were not on the original list:
*Thursday evening we enjoyed music, food, and kiddie carnival games at Thursday Night at the Park.  Braedon and Ron stayed home, but the younger two boys and I enjoyed ourselves.  They tossed rings and beanbags, got tattoos and balloons, ate 25 cent popcorn and snowcones.  This was followed by an outdoor movie on the square.  We watched Toy Story.  The weather was perfect.  The movie was familiar, but we hadn't watched the first one for awhile, so it was kind of new too.  It was a lot of fun!
*Our Friday Fun Tour took us to 'behind the scenes' at our local HyVee Grocery Store.  The kids enjoyed seeing all the huge refrigerators and freezers and the oven big enough to wheel two carts of baked goods inside.  They also got a sucker and two cookies each.
*We picked up lunch and a movie and played with the toys at my preschool while I got a few things done.  It cracked me up watching the kids enjoy Beatlejuice.  Braedon can't believe they are still selling movies made in the late 80s.  :)
*Ron and the older boys just took an impromptu bike ride with the neighbors.  


This week we have swimming lessons and VBS.  Tomorrow we are going to see the hot air balloons with family in Indianola.  We'll have to see what else we can squeeze in.  What are you doing to make the best of the rest of your summer?