1st Grade Field Day

First Grade Field Day. Obviously the pinnacle athletic event of the year. The day kicked off with a full 1K run, with the boys toeing the line around 9:00 AM. Dad, the distance running expert, was there to provide some last minute tips on hydration, staying focused during the lengthy race, and how to manage the hills late in the course. Mom, it should go without saying, was there to photograph. Our big kid ran the entire distance, and rounded the final turn to the finish line somewhere in the top 10. The rest of the day was spent playing various games, including the always popular pastime "No Pictures Please!!". Similar to Hide and Seek, except mom is always It, and follows you everywhere so you never actually get to hide….

Spring

The weather this Spring has been extremely unpredictable. Cold. Rainy. Then blazing hot. Temperature swings of 20+ degrees from one day to the next. Any time the skies clear we run outside to soak up the sun before the next weather front moves into the area. Lucky for us, the day we hit the Rodeo fell during a break between storms. The Big Kid was even more adventurous than last year and tackled the giant slide All By Himself. Little Sister was perfectly happy to watch from ground level. The Farm and the carnival games were favorites with both kiddos, as usual. And the giant pizza slices. Shocker. The butterfly exhibit also received a visit from The Saplings. It was our first trip there since The Big Kid learned to read, which made for a whole new experience. You could just see the wheels turning in his head. Lots of Wide Eyed staring. Meanwhile, the Tiny Lady is now exactly at eye level with most of the big bug display cases. She squirmed and squealed. More Wide Eyed staring. A perfectly understandable reaction to Hissing Cockroaches. Shiver. Our tiny butterfly bid farewell to one of her teachers this Spring as well. She retired after dozens of years at the Child Care Center. She will surely be missed!

Sibling Squabbles

My kids fight over the most meaningless, and also the most bizarre things. This goes way beyond "she touched my toy" or "he's not sharing". These seemingly inconsequential events have each threatened to escalate into World War III in my house, with both kids firmly believing that the other was definitely out to personally offend and / or injure them. I usually don't even register the seemingly mundane incident or comment that has initiated the Total Universe Destruct Sequence until I hear one kid whine the other kid's name...stretching the final vowel sound out into a full ten second long wail. Or I start hearing exclamations of "nuh-UH" followed by increasingly emphatic "YES-HUH!!". And round and round they go until someone ends up in tears. Please tell me mine aren't the only ones who do this. Don't get me wrong - sometimes it's all rainbows and unicorns up in here. But the fun and games screeched to a halt when:

1. Sister peeled the wrapper off of one red crayon.
2. Brother entered the car through the door on the side with Sister's car seat.
3. Sister selected the same snack as Brother, which constitutes "copying", and is therefore "annoying".
4. Brother tossed his 12" square quilted soft lovey through the air ... and it landed near Sister ... and ALMOST hit her.
5. Sister was first to wash her hands for dinner.
6. Brother farted, which is "yucky".
7. Sister wrote a string of letters and said it spelled Star Wars (full disclosure: to mom it looked more like "ObCTEniRl").
8. Brother picked the TV show that Sister was already going to pick.
9. Sister pretended to be asleep when she was really awake.
10. Brother played basketball in the driveway.
11. Sister mowed the cement with her bubble lawnmower.
12. Brother played a 7 in UNO.
13. Sister said the Ewoks appear in Episode IV.
14. Brother picked his yogurt flavor first.
15. Sister proclaimed March 3rd as Christmas Eve.
16. Brother used the scissors with the blue handle.
17. Sister stared at one of Brother's Lego figures and COULD HAVE knocked it down.
18. Brother wouldn't trade one of his fruit snacks for an identical fruit snack from Sister's bag.
19. Sister walked from the car to the back door ahead of Brother.
20. Brother was dropped off at school first (as he was every day of Kindergarten last year, and the first 6 months of 1st grade this year).
21. Sister turned off the TV in the middle of the commercial that comes on AFTER the end of the movie.
22. Brother asked what we were having for dinner.
23. Sister sat on the left end of the couch (next to the two mammoth piles of Legos covering the remaining two cushions).
24. Brother used the yellow crayon.
25. Sister asked for Legos for her birthday.
26. Brother pushed the button to turn on the computer.
27. Sister pushed the button to turn on the TV.
28. Brother said it was bright outside.
29. Sister walked through Brother's room to get to the jack-and-jill bathroom between their rooms.
30. Brother sat in one of the two open seats on either side of mom.
31. Sister rushed through Grace before dinner, instead of speaking perfectly in unison with Brother.
32. Brother ran up the stairs.
33. Sister got a drink with one of four identical cups that are Brother's favorite color.
34. Brother pointed out that Sister had spaghetti sauce on her shirt.
35. Sister said getting dressed for school was a race.
36. Brother played with the Winnie the Pooh ball.
37. Sister talked to Mom.
38. Brother wore white socks on the same day Sister wore white socks.
39. Sister said it was Friday. "No, it's Wednesday." ... "No Friday." ... "NO. Wednesday." ... "HUH-UH - FRIDAY." ... "NOOOOO! WEDNESDAY!! " ... "NOOOOOOO FRRRRRIIIIIIDDDDAAAAYYYY!!!!!" (tears)(wailing)(time outs) (And I'm pretty sure it was Thursday.)

I feel it necessary to prove the existence of the aforementioned rainbows and unicorns. Thus I give you Exhibits A - C taken during happier times:

Warmer Weather

Two of our favorite friends celebrated turning FIVE recently, and we were happy to be invited to their birthday festivities. The kids have always loved Acrosports, but it's been a long time since we've been there. It was striking to watch how much more independent both our kiddos are, and how much more daring. The grand finale of their time in the gym, the parachute, was the highlight as usual.

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The winter edge has eased off of the temperature in the last couple of days, so let the kids run wild in the park after the party. The wind was still fairly intense and poor Rapunzel was lost in her locks most of the time. I'm pretty sure I can actually hear their squeals of laughter through these photos.

6.5

Oh this boy. First born. Lego FANATIC. Math whiz. Book lover. Still SO serious at times. Super sports fan. Sports of all kinds, though lately on personal a hula hooping mission (getting in hours of practice at home in prep for Hula Hoop Wars at recess and during PE). He is crazy obsessed with the color green. If he picks out his own outfit he ends up in a green shirt and green pants (of differing and often clashing shades, of course - he's a boy). And his shoes have neon green accents. He has gained a world of confidence in school, and life in general, this year. He just seems so at ease. His teachers have nothing but praise - and constant compliments about "those big brown eyes". I don't think this kid realizes how cute he is (says his totally unbiased mom). Another tick on the growth chart and another six months in the books. High five, big kid.

Penguins

We joked that this was actually the second time our tiny girl went on the penguin field trip. The first time she was snug in the belly, a few months away from entering the world. Mama waddled around on that trip just like the penguins. This time our girl was quite the independent woman, rattling off the various types of penguins to the astonishment of our tour guide. She showed a little of the nerves from her last aquarium visit, rarely letting go of my hand and asking to be carried through the big (and dark) shark-tank-tunnel. It all proved too overwhelming in the end, and she shut down for a quick naptime in Mama's lap during the grand finale movie. Snuggling with Mama, just like her first trip.

Happy New Year

Besides all of the usual Eat Healthy, Exercise, Get More Sleep, Watch Less TV, Spend More Quality Time With My Kids, Generally Be More Awesome All The Time resolutions, I came up with a few personal (and hopefully actually achievable) ideas. You know, because I don't have enough to do (she says on the blog that's perpetually three to six months behind...). Here's to 2013:
• Craft Supplies - use them! Stop hoarding them and let the kids be creative with whatever they want (within reason…I have no desire to spend time scrubbing bright red glitter glue out of the carpet).
• The Girl's Hair - brush it! Ok, it's not THAT bad. Or maybe it is. Over the holiday break I realized that I'd better get in my fill of Mommy-Daughter Beauty Parlor time while she still lets me style her Rapunzel-length locks. • The Piano - play it! The Boy has almost reached the age when I started taking lessons. I want him to love music and enjoy the lessons that I'm going to enroll him in (whether he likes it or not). Time to start leading by example.
• Photos - upload them! Don't go months without moving pictures from the camera...to the computer...through Photoshop...to the internet. And while I'm at it, I recognize the need to be IN more photos. I get it. Really, I do. We kicked off 2013 with a visit from Grandma, and later a small concert at the Child Care Center. Our little diva stood in the front row and sang several tunes with her classmates. Luckily I was able to wipe the spaghetti sauce out of her hair before her big on-stage moment.

Winter Break - 2012

Nineteen days off from school. These words were music to my kids' ears. But I must admit they put an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. In order to prevent cabin fever and all out anarchy, I once again crafted a vacation schedule that carefully scheduled every micro-second. The good news is that 19 days allows plenty of time for baking, crafting, cleaning, movies, Lego building, organizing, princess dress-up, gift wrapping, gift opening, stories, coloring, bike riding, painting, and decorating with stickers (not just paper, but also several walls and the kitchen table...).

Cookie Extravaganza - 2013 Edition

We are professionals at this routine now: bake cookies, gather children, consume sugar, photograph. We marveled at their increased independence this year. A far cry from our early days when the two babies in the group sucked icing directly from a tube (as we happily watched...don't judge). Nowadays they all still use a ridiculous amount of icing, but it (mostly) goes on the cookies, and there was even some decoration pre-planning. Like trying to make a tree look like a tree…rather than just a cookie hidden under two inches of icing and sprinkles. I said mostly. The parents were able to sit mostly undisturbed for an entire meal. With wine. And grown-up conversation. We were basically high-fiving each other throughout dinner to celebrate this achievement. Like I said - mostly. At some point one of the biggest kids requested a little assistance upstairs. Specifically, "how do you spell 'kick'?" Huh? Not long after we were delivered a very specific message from the tiny, sugar-high, terrorists.... Our valiant efforts at a group photo were no match for the kids' icing-induced-insanity. They were crazed with laughter. Tackling each other suddenly seemed like a great idea. They ended the night with an impromptu Christmas carol serenade from the second floor balcony. And then we all crashed.