We are back at the Farm, where there was a little bit more snow than St. Louis. Within an hour of being there, Dad had dug out the old sleds and we were sledding. Baby G showed no fear, but didn't quite get that she had to bail before she hit the treeline. Luckily, she didn't get hurt and had a blast. Bean Dip, on the other hand, liked to bail before he was halfway down the hill, and didn't even want to ride with me. I wondered if all those Calvin and Hobbes comics made him a little wary. He did not think it was funny when I asked him if wanted to go down Dismemberment Hill.

We all went down at least a few times. Sledding is so much fun. Then BD started a snowball fight and things escalated from there. We finally all headed in, cold, wet, laughing and covered with snow.

The Dragon and the Cat

For the last few days BD has been pretending to be a dragon. His name is Red Flame, and he can set fire to himself. Being a dragon means walking in a bear crawl and communicating in roars. He needs a trainer to keep him in line.

In response to the dragon, G has become a cat. She is Just Gwyn, and moves in a bear crawl as well. She communicates only in meows.

I was a trainer until I was informed that I had been upgraded to a dragon. My name is Blue Flame. However, I walk upright and speak English.

Tonight I have to bathe the dragon and the cat, clip their claws, clean their teeth, and apply scale moisturizer.

A trainer's work is never done.

Snow!

We got some snow, finally. It snowed a little Christmas night, but not enough to cover anything. Last night it started snowing and today we have about two inches.

Perfecting her snowball making technique

Caught mid-throw

Baby G was the first one out. We stayed out until her hands got cold. Then she went into warm up and eat oatmeal, and BD came out with me. I took some pictures, then put my camera away and we had a great snowball fight until his hands got cold. Now we are inside, cozy, and watching The Avengers.

The Things Bean Dip Says, Christmas Version

12/12 Bean Dip: "I just love Christmas. Not just the presents. I love the lights, the tree, all the decorations."

12/23/12 Bean Dip: "I think I'm going to get half coal and half presents. But even if I get all coal, that's fine because we can use it to grill!"

and ... "I'm going to hold the door for everyone, even strangers, and be really good, because tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

Later, I asked him about the coal and said, "Maybe you'll get coal, and a big raw steak to grill," and Bean Dip said, "Maybe Santa knows I'm a dragon."

12/25/12 Bean Dip: "I'm so glad I didn't get coal for Christmas."

If I had gotten my act together, this would have been my Christmas card photo. 

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Party

Win's family had their annual Christmas party this weekend, and we were here for it. It was lots of fun; it's always good to see all their friends. Some of Win's friends came too, so I got to catch up with them as well, and hear a few new stories about Win back in the day.

Baby G got all dressed up in her Christmas outfit, and was so excited for the party. She is just like Gramma -- she loves people. She stood at the door greeting everyone, telling them her name and saying she was three years old. But she only lasted until 7:30, and then she took herself up to bed. Bean Dip lasted much longer, running around, bar tending, and playing with Win's friends (Jim paid him a dollar for doing 20 burpees.) BD did not dress up. He straight up refused to wear his nice shirt. He dressed himself in his red henley, green camo pants and red Chucks, and declared himself ready to party.

I asked Bean Dip on Saturday afternoon if he still hated The Nutcracker. I thought maybe after he had had time to think about it, he might like it better, and I was right. Everyone who asked him about it at the party got a "It was good," answer from him. And he told me, "Maybe we should see it again." I think he would like to sit up in the second tier of seats.

The one thing he really wanted was a Nutcracker. He called my mom right before they left to come to the party, and asked if she could bring him the one she had at home. She did, and he was so happy. It was kind of funny, because of course G wanted to play with it too, and they were fighting over it, just like Clara and her brother in The Nutcracker. But they got over it.

We found some pistachios (the only nuts that we had still in a shell), and he stood in the kitchen cracking nuts and sharing them with everyone who walked by. I think he made quite a few friends that way.

The Nutcracker

Today we went to see The Nutcracker. The performance was at Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis. (We drove up yesterday for Christmas break.)

We got all dressed up, and both Oma and Gramma went with us. It was the matinee, and our seats were front row and center. It was a little low for the kids, who couldn't quite see over the stage, but of course there were plenty of laps for them to sit on.

I thought the performance was fantastic. I loved sitting so close -- we could see all the detail in the costumes and the dancers' faces. Baby G was just entranced by it all, and Bean Dip was too, though I think for different reasons. I think he enjoyed watching the sets change, and of course the battle between the toy soldiers and the mice was very exciting. My favorite parts were the snowflake fairies -- it was a magical performance with snow falling -- and the waltz of flowers.

I think Bean Dip would have been perfectly happy with the whole experience if we had left at intermission. The second half was the parade of sweets, and it was one dance after another, and not very exciting for him. He got squirmy and complained, but quietly, and both he and G were very well behaved for the entire two-hour performance.

I'm so glad we went, and I hope that maybe this will become a Christmas tradition. I was so excited to take the kids, because, as I told BD when he was complaining about how he hated the ballet (on the way home, when he was hungry and sick of wearing his dress clothes), it was a cultural experience. And I can't wait for G to start her ballet lessons in January.

Information:
Touhill Performing Arts Center
The Nutcracker

"Who knew that a five year old named Lem who was into dragons could cut cardboard?" -- Lem on Sunday

I still don't know exactly what he is creating, so I'm glad he is doing it all by himself.

Winter Salad

So I've been doing something my mom does in winter for salads. I'm adding winter fruits to it. This has become one of my favorite combinations, although in this picture I have mixed greens, and I've decided I prefer baby spinach. It's very simple -- baby spinach or greens, toasted sliced almonds, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, dried cranberries, chopped apple, and pear if you have it. I've been making a simple dressing of 1part Dijon mustard, 2 parts honey, 3 parts red wine vinegar and 3 parts olive oil, or more or less. I simply play with the mixture until I like the taste, and shake it all in a jar to mix. A little salt and pepper, and you are set.

My mom came to visit this weekend, because I begged her to come keep us company. It was great, because it poured all weekend, and so she was there to help entertain the kids (and me).

We didn't do a whole lot, just enjoyed being together. We had a neighborhood play date on Saturday, until the fighting (Bean Dip and Mason) and rain started again. That night we ventured downtown to go to the Blackhorse Brewery, which is probably the best restaurant in town. BD did the word search on his kid's menu, and Baby G ate all her pizza and then begged BD to finish his (he let her have the last piece).

Oma and BD reading The Joy of Cooking.

Sunday. Still pouring. It stopped long enough for us to go to the Greenway with the kids' bikes, and started raining as soon as we got there. BD rode ahead with Oma, and G started crying immediately because Oma was leaving her. So ... we went like that for about 15 minutes, then headed back to the car.

We stopped and got food at the newly opened Greek restaurant up the street. We took our gyros home, and they were really good. Next time I am definitely going to try the falafal. They have hummus for a side dish so this might be a new favorite of ours.

Sunday night I successfully roasted a chicken, and that night Mom and I watched "alamar" a foreign film that was available for instant viewing on Netflix. It was about a boy and his father fishing off the coast of Mexico. it was only about an hour long, but it was a beautiful movie.

Sunday Dinner

I successfully roasted a chicken on Sunday, for the first time. For some reason, I've been unable to do this properly -- getting the skin crispy and the meat juicy. I've had slimy skin and undercooked meat, but I think I may have figured out. (Random note, I have not had trouble with the few Thanksgiving turkeys I've done.)

I think the magic must be in my big turkey roasting pan. And, of course, The Joy of Cooking. Mom and I followed the simple directions, and voila! A real Sunday dinner.

Sinterklass' Visit

St. Nick came last night and filled shoes left out by the fireplace. Christmas ornaments, new pajamas and some chocolate coins made for a cheerful morning.

The Sugar Plum Fairy

Tonight, we went to the Clarksville Public Library for a chance to see the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nashville Ballet. The ballet company was in town to perform The Nutcracker at the university. Because we are going to see The Nutcracker later this month, I though it was a great opportunity to introduce ballet to the kids.

It was crowded, but we arrived in time. The ballerina started by reading the story of The Nutcracker to us. Then she and a few other dancers performed. And after that, she invited "all the little ballerinas" to come down and dance with her. BD said right away, "I want to go!" So he went, but G decided to stay with me. We watched BD attempt to dance, surrounded by all these little girls in tutus. There was at least two other boys, and I was glad he wanted to do it.

We waited in line to meet the ballerina afterward. G was just in love with it all. BD was more interested in the logistics of it: "How do they stand on their toes? I can do that!"

I hope they will enjoy the ballet. We are listening to the music at home as well, and I have ordered the book so we will be able to read it at home before we go.

Baby G got all dressed up to put on a show for me. She began by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, please and thank you to be quiet. No talking during the show!"

"I just love Christmas. Not just the presents. I love the lights, the tree, all the decorations." -- Lem

Over pancakes this morning, we discussed:

Addition and subtraction, including negative numbers
The battle of Jericho
The center of the Earth
The Geneva Conventions

Now Bean Dip is saying he will not throw his POWs into a volcano, but instead he will feed them macaroni and cheese and treat them like pets.

The Things They Say

10/12 Gwyn: "Amials" for "animals."
10/12 Gwyn: "I don't want to go places." or "I'm tired for going to places."

10/29/12 Lem, when I woke him up in the morning: "Is it Halloween?"
               Me: "No, you have two more days."
               Lem: "Then why do I have to get up?"

11/12  Lem, on being sick: "I'm worried my blood cells are dying."
           Me: "What made you worry about that?"
           Lem: "The Magic School Bus."

11/12 Gwyn: "Mama, I have a lot of love for you."

11/12 Lem: "Gwyn, you aren't a grown up until you can use a chainsaw. I think I could use one if I wanted
          to, but I'm not ready yet."

11/12 Gwyn: "I'm sick. I have a throat."  (What she meant is "sore throat.")

11/12 Me: "Hey Gwyn, what do you have in your purse?"
          Gwyn: "Baby bottles, appetizers and candy. Everything I need!"

11/12 Gwyn's latest compliment: "You're a genius!"

11/12 Gwyn likes to pretend she's a rock star. But when she's done she says, "I'm too tired for rocking."

We had a really wonderful day today. Nothing fancy, just everything went smoothly. (I'm going to pat myself on the back for this one.) No fights. No whining. No TV.

Gwyn fell asleep on the way home from school and slept until it was time to get Lem off the bus. Of course, now it is 9:15 p.m. and she is still awake, but I think she needed the nap. She even woke up to come lie down with me, and then we both fell asleep. Heaven.

We got Lem off the bus, then we played outside until dark. We've been working on an epic driveway chalk drawing -- a giant road map for them to drive their cars on. It started with homes, then businesses, schools and parks, and then mountains, campsites, and finally the beach. The beach scene was done today, and it comes complete with a pink sun umbrella, a person surfing a tidal wave, and a shark.

The little boy across the street came over to play for a bit. Then Lem decided he wanted to get his bike out. So we all did a lap around the street -- Lem on his big blue bike, Gwyn on her little pink bike (she always says, "I want pedals."), and Cameron on his trike. Then Lem decided he wanted to take his training wheels. He searched through his tool box for a wrench, and when he couldn't find one that fit, Cameron's dad got his tools and helped him remove them.

And then ... he was off! I ran with him, holding on, but when I let go he was actually riding! And then he veered off into the grass, so he could crash gracefully. I was really surprised that he did it, but man, I guess when they are ready, they can do it.

After dinner and a bath, the kids played play dough while I made Ina Garten's amazing Ultimate Ginger Cookies. Seriously. They are amazing. Then we read, and they went to bed. No one even mentioned TV, and no one complained.

I just hope I'm not jinxing us tomorrow by bragging about today.

Uncle Paul got his play time in, too. We don't see him too often, so he made sure he got his "uncle time" in wit the kids. They loved it so much that Bean Dip informed me that Paul has been upgraded from his nickname "Poophead" to "Paul." (I believe Lindsay is still "Melon," but that one isn't so bad!)

The Tree Climbers

A trip to the Farm isn't complete these days without a little tree climbing with Uncle Mike. Both kids got a turn this time, and I think it's only making them more fearless.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving dinner on the porch.

An after-dinner walk.

We were in Illinois for Thanksgiving. I hadn't been home for Thanksgiving in five years, since Bean Dip's first, which was a family reunion as well. It was great to be home and share the holiday with family that I haven't seen in ages, and also for them to meet Baby G.

It was a classic Thanksgiving at the Farm. The weather was warm enough that we were able to eat outside on the porch. Baby G started out in the dining room, but after everyone had filled their plates and headed outside, she realized that we were the only ones left inside. She was so confused: "But there are places for everyone to sit!" I carried her favorite chair outside, and we all sat down as a family. (She was fine with Bean Dip sitting outside though. She said, "Lembo can sit outside!" He did, choosing the head of the table.)

The food was amazing as usual. After dinner, some of us took a walk, to make room for pie. And then it was time for pie -- two kinds of pecan, apple, pumpkin, and G's new favorite -- cranberry mousse. (It was pink!) She had three pieces and another one for lunch the next day.

Bean Dip, Abbey and Jack joined some of us later for a game of Catchphrase. Aunt Sue had the junior version, so the kids could play with us. And of course, there was some football watching.

We all really had a good time. On Friday, we packed up and headed West to St. Louis to spend time with our other family, and enjoy leftover Thanksgiving with them. It was great to see all of them as well. Bean Dip got to go see Wreck-It Ralph with Doc, which was fun for both of them. BD was super excited to ride in the Blazer. And after the movie, they went to the coffee shop for coffee and hot chocolate. I know BD liked having some time alone with Doc. And he loved the movie.

Baby G was upset that she couldn't go. I explained to her that BD needed some time by himself with Doc, and I promised her we would see the movie at a later date. I also reminded her that she had had an outing with Grandpamp, all by herself. She had gone to town with him to run some errands, and she got to ride in his truck. She actually understood that.

She was also fine because she got to go shopping with Katherine and I. Katherine took me clothes shopping for my birthday, and I happily found some things I love. After, we went to our own coffee shop, for tea and a treat for G (a fruit tart). So we all had our own special outings.

And now we are home and back to the grind. Only a month until Christmas!

Thanksgiving Project for Kids

The Friday before Veterans Day, Bean Dip came home with a family project. He had a construction paper turkey, and it was our job to "disguise" him so he wouldn't get eaten on Thanksgiving.

I will admit, I didn't exactly know what the teacher meant by disguising. But the next week, disguised turkeys showed up at G's school, and the Pre-K teacher there explained it to me.

BD decided to dress his turkey up as Harry Potter. We gave him a cape, glasses, wand and a Gryffindor scarf. BD was pretty happy with it. This past Friday was the due date, and the class voted on the best disguise. BD said the one that won was dressed up as a Christmas tree, and only the turkey's feet were showing.

I thought it was such a fun project, and it was great to see and hear how creative everyone was.

Turkey Potter

Thought-Provoking Links

This week I have read several good articles that have found their way onto my Facebook wall. I shared them on there, but I'd thought I'd share them here, since they are so wonderful.

The first is about a woman engineer who is creating an engineering toy geared specifically to girls, because, as she said, taking a "boy" toy and turning it pink doesn't exactly make it appealing to girls. The quote I loved was, "Yes, we love pink, but that's not the only thing about us." Or something like that.

http://www.upworthy.com/move-over-barbie-8212-youre-obsolete?g=2

The second is a tribute to military wives, one of the best I've seen. It pretty much sums it all up. It also might make you cry.

http://ashleighbaker.net/2012/11/this-is-to-you-the-military-wife/

The next two are about moms -- the first about how important it is to tell your daughters that you are beautiful, too, and the second about getting in front of the camera instead of hiding behind it.

http://offbeatmama.com/2012/11/telling-daughters-im-beautiful

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-tate/mom-pictures-with-kids_b_1926073.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

And the last is something brilliant from Sesame Street, that I found myself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHICz5MYxNQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I love these all, but the only thing I worry is, what about the boys?

The One About Kids and Makeup

I know this is a hot topic, and an inevitable issue when you have a little girl. I've read the articles/debates, but I honestly didn't think too much about it. But here we go. Baby G is three, and suddenly she is all about makeup. Now, here are my two disclaimers. I'm not a makeup wearer. I do wear powder occasionally, but that is about it. So she has watched me put that on, and I usually give her a little if she asks. The other thing is that her aunt works for Clinique. Before she moved away, we would frequently go to visit her at work, and G always got a "makeover." She has a little collection of makeup brushes from Jessica, and also her little Happy perfume.

So now, Baby G loves makeup. I had an extra powder compact, so I gave it to her. She has her perfume and some chapstick, and a little case to put it in. When she got her school picture taken last week, she took her makeup in her purse with her.

But here is the funny part. Bean Dip is jealous of all her little makeup things. Today I found another compact (mostly used up) and a brush for him. That helped, but he still likes all her stuff. Tonight he asked, "Why do girls have to be so cool?" What he meant is why do girls get all this fun stuff -- makeup, hair barrettes, purses, etc., and boys don't? I don't even know how to answer that, except to give him his own set of things as well.

So. My daughter (and son) will continue to wear her powder, perfume and chapstick when she wants. But when she said, "I have to put makeup on to look beautiful," I told her, "G, you look beautiful no matter what you wear." And she said, "Oh, thank you, Mama!"

The Family that Poops Together ...

That's right.

Baby G has taken to joining Bean Dip in the bathroom when he's pooping. She sits on the floor in front of him, and they read magazines together.

It's so sweet and so disgusting at the same time.

My sweet boy came home from school today and announced he had a surprise for Baby G. As Star Student of the week (along with Ivy), he got to pick from the prize box. And what did he pick? A Dora the Explorer puzzle for G. He said, "There were things boys would like but I know she really likes Dora."

How sweet is that? Of course, he helped her put it together, and she was over the moon with happiness.

Being Sick Means ...

Sleeping with Mama in her bed.

Ginger ale with a silly straw and chicken noodle soup.

Morning cartoons and movies in bed.

Pajamas all day long.

Tonight we tried something new. Well, really, Bean Dip tried it. That thing was Karate.

I'd received a coupon for two free weeks at one of the local marital arts academies. Tonight was the first part, an one-on-one introduction and assessment.

Bean Dip says he really liked it. The instructor said he did well. From what G and I could see from the waiting area, it looked fun. So the next part is attending the class the instructor picked out for him.

Of course, right now Bean Dip wants to sign his life away (it's a minimum six-month commitment). I'm a little leery after the whole football fiasco, but we'll see after he tries the class.

Although, on the way home, he asked, "When do I get to break boards and tables?"

We spent our Veterans Day at the Nashville Zoo. The zoo offered free admission for veterans and their families, so I took the kids to check it out. We went with the Meetup group, but ended up going around on our own after we got there. But the good thing about caravaning with the group was that we got there early, before the crowds.

It's a nice zoo. We actually did not see many animals, because the kids wanted to  go on the carousel, and play on the bouncy castles and jungle gym instead. But we did see the gibbons, which were making lots of noise and swinging from the trees. And we went into the reptile/aquarium house, which was really good. It had great displays of a lot of different animals, including the biggest snapping turtle I've ever seen and the cutest little tree frogs.

The jungle gym as fantastic -- really it was a giant playground -- but it was so big I couldn't keep track of both kids. Luckily, they were tired and didn't put up a fight when I said it was time to leave. I promised them that we will come back with Win. Then they can play with two adults to watch them.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo last year on Veterans Day. Perhaps this will be a continuing tradition.

Fall Hike

Doing a little land navigation at the trail intersection.

The kid was happy to be out in Nature.

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago, when the weather was warm and the trees were in full color. We spent Sunday afternoon at Dunbar Cave State Park, taking a little hike through the woods by the lake and cave. We did the short loop, which is about a mile long.

A Late Halloween Pic

A Monkey and Harry Potter

What Makes Me Happy: New Music

 This is my latest favorite band, The Lumineers. You may have heard this single on the radio:



I cannot stop listening to their debut album, The Lumineers, and I will be waiting impatiently for their next one. Here's another one from them:

Bean Dip's choice of president is "Rock" Obama. He voted for him in his school's mock election, for this reason that he gave Win tonight: "Obama is trying to end the war. And if he can end the war, maybe you can come home early."

If that isn't a good enough reason to vote for someone, I don't know what is. Here's to hoping for another four years.

We had a really good weekend. My parents came to visit, to help us celebrate my birthday. They were a little late in arriving, because they got lost on the way down. I thought it was hilarious. Mom said they were chatting and missed their turn, but they didn't realize it until they crossed the Mississippi into Missouri! So they were about an hour late. Mom said she hadn't turned on the GPS because she figured they knew the way, and she hadn't even brought her atlas with her. To be fair, we've missed that same turn before, but we realized it immediately.

I got some time to myself on Saturday -- I went to a baby shower for a friend. It was nice, there were only four of us and we went out to lunch at The Looking Glass, a local restaurant in Clarksville. The theme is Alice in Wonderland, and it was pretty good. Definitely a place for ladies who lunch.

When I got home, I had a surprise party! Well, just Mom and Dad and the kids, but they'd decorated and made me a cake. I was reallly surprised. Bean Dip was the king of the poppers, and G helped me open all my presents. Win called on Skype in the middle of it and got to be a part of it all.

Dad also fixed up my lawn mower. It stopped working right before we went out of town for Fall Break, and when we got back I had someone mow it for me. But Dad changed the air filter, the blade, and also the oil, and now it sounds like a happy mower again. I think I might have the guy cut it again for me one more time, but then mow it myself in the spring. We'll see.

While we were out doing that, our neighbors across the street came over. They have a young son and he drove over his big truck -- one that two kids can ride in. He shared with BD and G and they drove all over the yard. Then our other neighbors came over with their boy (he is also in kindergarten and rides the bus with BD) with his big dune buggy. They all had a blast and we got to chat with all the neighbors.

We went out to dinner at Olive Garden (My disclaimer: I know it's not real Italian, but I was craving pasta! And if you just take it for what it is, it's pretty good. And I love their eggplant parmesan.)

So that's about it. Mom and Dad left Sunday morning. We had a quiet day until Mason, the kindergartener who rides the bus with BD, came over and asked if he could play. BD ran over immediately. Then, of course G wanted to go too, so we invaded their house. I had to drag them home later, they had so much fun.

We ended the day with a belated movie night. We watched the Lorax and ate popcorn.

Halloween

We had a really good Halloween this year. It was great, because the kids were so excited about it. The waiting was a little tough -- every day G would ask, "Is it Halloween?" And on Monday, two days before the holiday, when I woke Bean Dip up in the morning, he said, "Is it Halloween?" When I told him no, he said, "Then why do I have to get up?"

We carved our giant pumpkin on Saturday. Well, I carved it. G supervised and BD was the videographer. We got out our "spooky" decorations, and BD declared our house the scariest one of all. And we scared at least one little kid with our fake skull.

There were not celebrations at school, and we skipped all the weekend events around town. I thought the one night would be plenty. We had macaroni and cheese for dinner, and were just starting to get ready, when we got a Skype phone call from Win. So it was great, we got to talk with him, and he got to watch the kids get dressed up. They were so, so excited.

It was dark when we headed out. We went longer than last year. I think the kids liked seeing all the other costumes and decorations just as much as getting candy. G gave up on the "trick-or-treat" and started announcing what she was instead: "Monkey!" BD got lots of compliments on his costume, and lots of older kids asked him if he was Harry Potter. One woman told him that he was very famous (which BD did not know), and then one woman said to him, "Mr. Potter. I've been expecting you." He got a kick out of that. He did look good, and his robe looked cool billowing out from him.

There was one scary house that got us all. The people had made a little haunted house on their porch, and we had to walk through to get to the candy. Strobe lights, loud noises, creepy clowns and ghosts, and no warning that perhaps it wasn't for little kids. But we made it through, the kids got their candy, and although G whimpered a bit, she didn't cry and cheered up right after. Bean Dip just talked and talked and talked about his self defense plans.

We headed home to hand out candy. But we were the only ones with a light on, on our street, so we didn't get too many trick-or-treaters. But we got enough that the kids got to hand out some candy. Towards the end, a group came, and this cute little Batman (he was probably two) freaked out at our skull. He was just screaming and screaming. So I gave him a whole bunch of candy. And explained to BD and G how different things frighten different people. The last doorbell ring was two teenage girls, and I pretty much dumped the whole bowl of candy into their bags, They were really happy (and really polite).

I let the kids eat what candy they wanted. BD ate just a few pieces, then wanted Oreos. G opened a lot of candy but only ate some. Her favorites were the five suckers she opened and held in her hand like a bouquet, licking each one in turn. We finished the night with Dora and Harry Potter, and milk and cookies.

Oh, and a good teeth brushing with new toothbrushes.

The quote of the night was from BD. Tired of all my picture taking he asked, "Is this Halloween or picture-ween?"

Last week, we had sunny, 80-degree weather. This week, it's barely hitting 60, sunny, but with a cold wind blowing. The dramatic change has been rough on us. Bean Dip refuses to believe that it's actually cold out, saying it won't get cold until it's winter. He puts up such a fight about wearing clothes outside, that I've given up and started letting him go outside in whatever he wants.

This evening, he did the same. While G and I were putting on shoes, winter coats and gloves, Bean Dip was ready in just a pair of sweatpants. No shirt, no shoes.

He lasted about 30 seconds outside, not even long enough for me to snap a picture of him and G together. He ran inside to get a sweatshirt, but then threw a fit because I would not go get his shoes and socks for him. He said he didn't want to keep going inside. He stood in the garage and cried until G was ready to go in.

He is stubborn, but he is no match for me. I hope he realizes now that he should listen to his mother. That's what I told him, when I told him I wouldn't run around gathering up his things, when I had already told him to put them on before we went out.

At least he didn't try to go out in just shorts.

On Wizards and Witches

I've written about reading Harry Potter, and how Bean Dip is now into wizards, magic, Quidditch, and all things Hogwarts. I don't think I've written much about Baby G's interpretation of magic. Her information comes from Dora the Explorer, and apparently, in Dora's world, the witches are always mean.

So, last week we were outside enjoying the warm, summer-like weather by playing a game of Quidditch. (I'm sure everyone driving by wonders why I'm walking around my yard swinging a bat.) Baby G joined in, with her whiffle-ball-bat turned broomstick. But when she plays, she's a mean witch. It was really funny to see my normally sweet daughter scowling and pretending to zap me and kill me, while riding a bat-broomstick. And then, she decided to turn her broom into a beater (for Quidditch) and come after me. So we had a little sword fight. Meanwhile, Bean Dip is flying around in circles, scoring goals with the Quaffle.

The best part is, she thinks its great fun, and her scowl doesn't last long, but breaks into a grin and a chuckle. One of my favorite things about G is her wonderful sense of humor.

Fall Break

The schools here take a whole week off for Fall Break. We busted out of town as soon as Bean Dip got off the bus on Friday, and headed north. The temperature dropped about 40 degrees in the four-hour-drive, but we arrived at the Farm safe and sound.

We spent the first half of the week there, not doing much but hanging out at the farm. The kids (and I) needed some country time. I even squeezed in a shopping/lunch day with Mom, and of course the kids, after I chopped off my hair on Monday. Tuesday we had the Farm to ourselves, and spent it mostly outside. And on Tuesday night I had a dinner date with my favorite high school friends. It is always fun to catch up and see them, and our standing O'Charley's dinner date is becoming a great tradition.

The second half was spent in St. Louis with Win's family. It was much of the same, hanging out and visiting with everyone, including Katherine's wonderful cousins, who were passing through and heading home from a summer out West. On Friday, I caught up with Rachel, my college roommate. She was on bed rest, so I brought her lunch and we spent the whole afternoon catching up. Saturday we wandered around Webster Groves, which was having an art fair. We heard great live music, saw Irish dancers performed, visited the bookstore and saw all kinds of interesting art. Sunday morning, we ate breakfast out at the incredibly popular Boardwalk Cafe in Webster Groves.

It was a great visit home.

Drama Queen

A few of Baby's G's recent favorite sayings:

"Everyone ruin my life."

Her go-to excuses for not doing what I ask:

"I'm too tired."

"I can't walk."

Just picture her saying those with the most pitiful whine/cry/pout you can imagine. You'd think she has it so rough.

So proud of my little boy this morning. He went over to the group of bigger boys playing football while waiting for the bus, and he joined in. He knows one of them from sitting with him on the bus. I was even happier to watch those boys greet him and include them in their game. And when the bus came, my five-year-old-going-on-15 said, "Don't yell for me like that when the bus comes." I guess it was embarrassing to have his mom tell him to come get on the bus.

He still gave me a kiss goodbye, though.

Watching kids be nice to each other always makes me happy. It seems like there are always horrible news stories about bullying, so much that I think we sometimes forget how good kids can be. It's just little things, like the bigger girls letting the kindergartners get on the bus first, the big boys being careful not to trample the little ones on the playground, that kind of thing. It's just so nice to see.

My Young Reader

Bean Dip is reading. It's still a bit of a shock to me, because, to me, it seems like it happened overnight. Of course, it didn't, but one day he just sat down and read me the entire Cat in the Hat. Just like that.

It really shouldn't be a surprise, because Win and I both love to read, and have been reading to the kids since the beginning. Bean Dip and I are on the third Harry Potter book, and we have read Calvin and Hobbes more times than I can count, as well as all the children's books we have.

BD brought home a note explaining the Book It program. Do you remember doing that in school? Where you keep track of all the books you read, and when you get to 25, you get a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut? So we've been keeping track of all the books we read together. Right now we are definitely on a Dr. Seuss kick. I don't remember reading a lot of him as a kid, but now I really enjoy them, and understand why they are so good for young readers. All the rhyming and repetition is perfect for them, and it's so much fun to read.

The kids also get High Five the young children's magazine from Highlights. Remember that one? They love it. It is their preferred bathroom reading. We also just started getting National Geographic Little Kids.

So BD is reading everything. Including the TV guide. The other night I flipped to a show I wanted to watch, and he said, "I don't want to watch 'The Big Bang Theory.'" Yep, totally read the name on the guide.

Preschool Field Trip

Friday was Baby G's class field trip. It was also to a pumpkin patch, but a different one. The trip started out a little inauspiciously -- confusion about leaving, me freaking out about the parking situation, and G's teachers getting into a car accident -- but ended well. Firstly, the school does not have buses, so every parent was to drive their own child. I went to the school first, but then everyone started leaving so I just ended up following the directions instead of following a line of cars. Secondly, the parking at the farm was pretty haphazard, on the side of an unmowed field, and I was terrified we'd get stuck. But we didn't. Third, G's teachers got into a car accident right as they were leaving school and didn't make it to the farm. They were fine, thankfully, and we had the two four-year-old class teachers with us.

What was nice about this farm was that although there were other classes visiting, they were finishing up and gone by the time we did our tour, so we were the only ones at the farm. We had the educational talk about pumpkins, then had a tour of the farm animals, which included the biggest turkey I've ever seen, some elk, and a camel (that gave the teacher kisses). They also had some beautiful miniature horses, including a foal, llamas (like Llama, Llama, Red Pajama), a cute pot-bellied pig and a giant, 800-lbs. pig. After we saw all the animals, we had a little hay ride around the tobacco field, and then got to play for a bit. We did not go to the pumpkin field to pick a pumpkin, but chose from the ones they had on display. The tour was only an hour, and that was just about perfect.

Gwyn was so funny, she wanted to be with the teacher the entire time. She was always asking where she was, and saved her a seat on the hay ride. The teacher said they had hung out a lot the day before at school, and she had kept calling her the wrong name and finally had gotten it right.

And I have to share what Bean Dip said when G told him about the trip and the teacher:

G: And Mrs. Noon was there!

Bean Dip: Mrs. Noon? What does she show up at lunchtime or something?

A Little Sad

The news that Newsweek is officially ending its print edition and going completely digital came out yesterday. Although I stopped reading it a few years ago when the editors did the redesign, it still makes me a little sad. My major in college was print journalism, and I loved Newsweek. I worked for (almost) a year at a daily newspaper after college, and there is something so wonderful about having a freshly printed newspaper or magazine in your hands, just waiting to be read. It's the same for me with books, which is why I've only dabbled in the new world of e-readers. I know it's the changing of the times, the direction the world is moving, and better for the trees, but I still feel like we are losing something.

I do get most of my news online these days, and we don't subscribe to a newspaper. But we get Time now, and The Atlantic Monthly, and a few other magazines. And I always look forward to them arriving in the mail.

Here's the article: http://news.yahoo.com/newsweek-magazine-stop-printing-digital-2013-115928285--finance.html

An Extravagance

Ten days ago, it was a warm, sunny day, and all I had planned was mowing the lawn. Now let me just explain this first. We have a huge yard. It's one of our favorite things about this house. But a huge yard needs to be mowed, and what we own is a dinky little push mower. I am envious of all our neighbors with their riding lawnmowers, who just zip out and mow their lawns in 20 minutes.

Normally, Win is the mower. He says it is relaxing (my dad calls it horticulture therapy), and it usually takes him several days to get the entire yard mowed. Now that I've taken over, I've figured it takes a solid three hours of mowing, which I try to squeeze in during G's school hours (the weather doesn't always cooperate, though).

Anyway, ten days ago, I went to start up the mower. It started up, but didn't sound right, like it didn't have enough power. I soon gave up, after mowing just enough to look bad. My dad says it's probably the oil filter, but there is no way I'm tackling that on my own.

So, today, we are back in town, and back to our neglected grass. I made one phone call, and the guy came out today and mowed/weed-eated the yard. And let me tell you, this is one luxury I'll keep for a while, at least until someone fixes my mower.

Kindergarten Field Trip

Bean Dip had his first field trip of the year on Friday, and Baby G and I went a long. It was to the pumpkin patch, and it was quite the adventure. Not only were all the kindergarten classes at BD's school going, but also several other schools as well.

I had to drive, and Ivy's mom rode with me. It was great, because it was a 45 minute drive, and we really got to get to know each other. It was fun to hear what Ivy says at home about Bean Dip, and finally figure out some of what BD tells me about Ivy.

We met up with our kindergartners on the farm, just before they started the tour. BD and Ivy were so giggly, and so affectionate with each other that their teacher threatened to separate them. But they were good, just excited about being out of school and with their moms.

So we did the tour of the petting zoo, then hopped on the wagons and headed out to the pumpkin patch. They all picked a little pumpkin, then after that we headed back to the farm for our picnic lunch and some free time for the kids.

The farm had a great playground, but with so many kids it was hard to keep track of everyone. I was glad that Ivy's mom stuck with her and BD while I helped G. She climbed all the way to the top of the tunnel slide, with an impatient mass of bigger kids behind her, then stood at the top and cried until I came and rescued her. I went down the super-fast slide with her, and then she played in the much quieter sandbox.

Like I said, it was a little bit of chaos. And our teacher kept losing kids. There were just so many other classes running around that it was hard to keep track. Matching shirts would have helped. But all made it on the bus, and we were all exhausted. BD got a little whiny before lunch, but happily for me, Ivy was whining, too. It was an unexpectedly warm day, and we were all overdressed.

Now we have two cute sugar (?) pumpkins at home, waiting to be made into something delicious. Any suggestions?

Weekend(-ing)

One good thing about this area of Tennessee/Kentucky is there is always something going on during the weekends. This past weekend, a WWII era naval ship docked in Clarksville, on the Cumberland River, and was open for tours. The USS LST 325 is an amphibious vessel designed to land tanks, troops and supplies directly onto shore. This particular ship did just that on D-Day. After the war, it spent 35 years in the Greek Navy, then in 2000, it was brought back to the United States, and now is still fully operational ship, but also a museum. Its sole funding comes from the tours and merchandise it sells. Its home port is Evansville, Indiana.

I honestly didn't think it would be really crowded, but it was. We waited in line for about 20 minutes, and it stretched much farther behind us along Riverside Park. The wait was totally worth it, though. The tour took us through the front doors -- the ones that would open to land tanks, etc., and into the hold, which could carry up to 20 Sherman tanks. (That is what LST stands for: Landing Ship, Tank.) Then we went up through the crew's mess, up onto the top deck, where we checked out all the guns, and then wheel house. We saw the officer's cabins, the kitchen, then back down onto the main deck, and then finally, through the troops berthing and back out through the hold. All along the tour there were the volunteers who run the ship, ready to answer any questions. Lem asked two -- what kind of gun one was (a .40 caliber anti-aircraft gun), and what the naval flags mean (letters and numbers to send secret codes). He absolutely loved it. I loved it because I always like this kind of stuff, and this ship is a special piece of history. Gwyn didn't love it, but she didn't hate it either. Some parts were too loud for her. And it was crowded, and at some parts claustrophobic.

We ended with a walk past the souvenir tables. Lem and Gwyn came home with a light up bouncy ball each. I figure it counts as a donation to the continued operation of the ship. I am so glad I decided to take them.

For more info:
http://lstmemorial.org/

Butterfly Festival

Saturday afternoon, we went to the Butterfly Festival at War Memorial Park in Oak Grove, Ky. We'd never been there, and it is a really nice park! We went late so we would be there to see the butterfly release at 5 .m., at the end of the festival. We didn't do much, just watched a kid-friendly presentation about recycling, and after that, found the playground. It was packed, and it took my full attention to keep an eye on both kids. Bean Dip, of course, was on the monkey bars. He was good about taking turns. I tried not to cringe at all the kids falling while trying to do them. Baby G found a climbing wall -- that seems to be her new favorite.

We ran back up the big hill to the stage to watch the butterfly release. I think they let free 500-750 butterflies. Before the release, they read a Native American poem about how if you want the Great Spirit to hear your wish, you need to catch a butterfly and then let it go, and it will carry your with to the Spirit. Great story, but then all the kids were trying to catch the butterflies after they were freed. I wish everyone would have just enjoyed watching them fly away.

Anyway, we went right back to the playground and stayed until Bean Dip's blisters broke open. We ended up playing on the big hill for a while, with them rolling and running up and down, and me taking pictures. It was a beautiful fall evening.

More Info:
Butterfly Festival
War Memorial Park

First Thing This Morning

The very first things the kids said this morning:

Baby G: "I farted, and it woke me up."

Bean Dip: "I want a big, juicy steak for dinner."

Our Week

It's funny how a week can slip by almost without you knowing it, and then all of a sudden, it's Monday again. We spent last week recovering from being sick. Baby G was sick Monday and Tuesday, but not nearly as bad as Bean Dip was. Wednesday, G and I walked and then had lunch with our friends, Vivian and her two little boys. Gabe is G's age, and they just love each other.

I sent G to school on Thursday, but she had a bit of a rough day. Her teacher thought she still wasn't feeling well. She took a long nap that afternoon. Katherine showed up that evening, on her way home from North Carolina. We had a great one-night visit with her, with the kids taking all her attention. Seriously, Bean Dip got mad every time I tried to talk to her. He even slept with her, and both kids were really sad that she had to leave.

I've started Friday Night Movie Night for us. I've been getting a kids' movie, and we all watch it together. This week it was Yogi Bear. They both got a kick out of it, and were laughing quite a bit. So far, we've watched Big Miracle and Journey 2: Mysterious Island. I'm hoping to do Cinderella next. Friday Night Movie Night is something Ivy's family does, and Bean Dip really likes that we are doing it too, now.

The Perks of a Fever

So while Lem has been suffering through this and now recovering, Gwyn's been waiting (semi-)patiently for her turn. Starting Saturday morning, she's been constantly telling me, "I'm sick.

Sunday afternoon, after we'd gone to the pool, Gwyn crawled into my bed and lay down, not sleeping, but just lying there saying, "I'm sick." I took her temperature, no fever. And on our thermometer, a smiley face or sad face pops up, depending on the temp.

After dinner (she didn't eat much), she went back in my bed and said she was sick again, and said she wanted to sleep in my bed. I told her I'd take her temperature again before bedtime, and if she got a sad face she could sleep with me. Well, she wanted me to take her temperature right then, and, once again, she got a happy face. When I showed it to her, she frowned and said, "But I have a sad face!"

Later, at bedtime, I took her temperature one more time, and sure enough, she had a fever and got her coveted "sad face." I've never seen a child so happy to be sick. She got a huge smile and said, "I get to sleep in you bed!" And so she did, and even got some Tylenol, which she slurped down like it was a treat.

She's not as sick as Lem, but she was still pretty sick today. By this afternoon she was not nearly as happy to see that sad face, and was quite eager to lie down in her own bed and take a long nap.

A Little Bit of Magic

I kept Lem home again today. He is definitely better, but I think he'd have been really worn out after spending all day at school. This morning he asked me to go play Quidditch with him outside, and after we played two short matches, he came inside and lay down on his bed for a while.

Lem and Gwyn got a mysterious package today in the mail. The return label said "Ollivander's, Makers of Fine Wands, London, England." And you'll never guess what was inside it. Two carefully wrapped felt packages addressed to each kid, and inside, a magic wand! Gwyn, of course, loved hers. The label read: Silver / 14 inch / Light / Wizards in Training, Level 2. It is silver with a star on top. Lem was a little more suspicious. He just couldn't figure it out. His wand is a polished stick, and his label read: Willow / 10 3/4 inch / Light / Powerful Wizards ONLY. When I read the last part, his eyes lit up. He said, "I don't know if I should try the Whole Body-Bind Curse on you." And I immediately said, "No! Do not try that one one me!" So instead he practiced a few Aloramoras to try it out. And then I warned him not to break it, because I was pretty sure he didn't want to be belching slugs like Ron.

I told them that I had no idea who it was from (I do have an inkling, though.), but I said, "This is truly magic." It definitely brightened our day. Thank you!

Murphy's Law of Deployment

Ask any military spouse, and they will tell you: The minute their soldier deploys, everything goes wrong. Cars have to go to the shop, appliances break, and kids get sick.

We had our first ER visit last night. Don't worry, Lem is fine. He had a fever in the afternoon, perked up after I gave him some ibuprofen, but when I checked on him at 10 p.m., his fever was up to 103.8. Then he woke up and was coughing and throwing up, and really miserable. So I called my mother-in-law (so thankful to have a P.A. and pediatrician in the family), and she told me to take him in. I woke up Gwyn, got everyone dressed, put his car seat in the truck (more about that later), and headed to post.

There were only a few people at the ER, and we were seen quickly. The nurse gave him some more ibuprofen (he'd thrown up the Tylenol I'd given him), and then we went back to see the doctor. Lem was really miserable and decided he didn't want anyone doing anything to him. At least the doctor was nice about it. After Lem bolted for the door and then did a slow motion punch toward the doctor, all he said was, "He's an aggressive little boy, isn't he?" He quickly diagnosed him with croup, and got him started on some steroids for his throat and a saline nebulizer treatment. I had to really work with him to get him to even put the mask close to his face, but once he did, it immediately started working. I watched him get better as he lay there, and by the time we left, he was asking the nurse questions and even asked if he could keep his mask. She gave it to him, and he was so happy.

He stayed home today, and we slept in (didn't go to bed until 1:30 a.m.) so Gwyn didn't go either. They spent all day playing with the mask, and he's much better.

Oh yeah, about the car ... we had been rear-ended in July on our way to St.Louis, and I'm finally getting it fixed. It was just a fender bender, no one was hurt, but there was some damage to Beemy. So I had taken it in yesterday to drop it off, and didn't have Lem's car seat installed.

The Black Keys

Here's something to rock out to this holiday weekend:

The Art of Losing

Lem is through is second week of flag football. It's been a little rough for him (and me). He was so excited to play, and so happy to go that first practice. Then the flags were put on, and the minute his flag was pulled off by another kid, he lost it. And for the next three practices, it was the same. As soon as he'd get "tackled" (flag pulled off), he'd get mad and storm off the field and say, "I hate football!". Twice he sat out almost the entire practice. And let me tell you, this was really frustrating.

This football is a wake up call for him, because, unlike in soccer, he's not the fasted kid on the team. There are six-year-olds on his team that have played before. There are two kids who are a full head taller than him, and the coach's daughter (who's on the team) can outrun him. And he's new to the game, and doesn't always know exactly what he's supposed to do -- "What is offense?"

So I've been talking to him about losing. About how there are always winners and losers in a game, and sometimes you will be the loser. That sometimes you will not be the fastest. I explain that in NFL games, teams try over and over to get a touchdown and sometimes don't get one. I tell him that even if you lose, you need to be gracious and just try harder. I tell him that it is just a game, and the whole point is to have fun. I pass on Win's advice, that Flash doesn't always win, but he always gets up and tries harder. To that, Lem said, "Flash always wins."

Yesterday, he was in a good mood when we went to practice. We talked and talked about it, and he said he would try not to get mad. And to his credit, he did pretty well. He only stormed off once, but went back in. He scored a touchdown and even pulled a flag off a kid. And he had fun.

Hopefully, this will continue. Thankfully, his coaches have been patient with him. Now, I just have to be patient as well.

Young Love

Tomorrow is Ivy's birthday. I just finished wrapping her present. Lem chose for her a Justice League coloring book and some crazy colored pencils (crazy because they have multi-colored lead). He insisted that she will love the coloring book, because they "always talk about superheroes!" It was his choice, and he clearly knows Ivy better than me. (He also said he hopes she'll let him color in it when he goes over to her house.)

Three months of summer didn't change his feelings at all. After the first day of school, he told me that he was still going to marry Ivy, because, "I don't want to have to look for anyone else!" But he has assured me that they aren't getting married for a long time. And according to her mom, Ivy feels the same way about Lem.

This Weekend ...

... I did my best to wear the kids out. On Saturday, we went swimming. G was so excited to wear her new pink swimsuit she got for her birthday. But she wouldn't let me take a picture of her! I'm a big fan of Lands End swimsuits ever since my friend Michelle gave Lem one for his second birthday. So when G said she wanted a new pink swimsuit just like Dora, I went online and got her two new ones, on sale.

We had new toys to play with this time, water wings and diving rings. I'd held off on getting the kids water wings, because I thought it would be better for them to learn to swim first, without any aids. I don't know what I was thinking. Gwyn loved hers, and she could float just fine with them, and also try swimming. Lem liked them alright, but he was much more excited to do the diving rings. He even jumped off the edge to me, and then swam back to the edge. He is a totally different boy in the water from the beginning of the summer. I'm so happy the swim lessons went well, and he loves the water again.

So we swam until they were ready to go home. Both almost fell asleep on the ride back home. So on Sunday, we did the same thing, only we went to Lem's favorite park instead, Rotary Park. I let them play until they had worn themselves out. There were kids there their own age, and Lem made a friend with a little girl who was also five years old.

The Things They Say

7/12 Lem's zombie joke:

        Why were the zombies awake in the morning? Because they are zombie-urnal.

7/12 Gwyn: Mommy? I want a motorcycle. A pink one.

7/12 Gwyn's story: A rabbit went to the store and then he pooped. Do rabbits have toilets?
         Me: No rabbits poop on the ground. People are the only ones who use toilets.
         Gwyn: And kids. Boys have wieners. Girls have ginas (vaginas).  ... I farted. It stinks.
         Win, when I related the conversation to him: She's such a delicate little flower.

8/12 When I told Lem I was impressed that he remembered the names of his preschool teachers, he said, "Well, yeah, that thing in my head that's like a hippopotamus is huge!" He meant the hippocampus (which he learned about watching "Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman."

8/12 Gwyn: I want a skateboard. With a helmet. A pink skateboard.
        Gwyn: I want to go to the moon, in a rocketship!

8/12 Lem: The clouds are in space. Is it always sunny in Philadelphia? (And it was a struggle to say Philadelphia!)

8/12 Lem: I'm going to marry Ivy when I grow up. I don't want to have to look for anyone else. 

The First Day of Preschool

Ready to go but not happy

Baby G's first day of preschool was a little rocky. All the way up until it was time to leave, she was going back and forth between "I want to go to school!" and "I don't want to go to school. I want to stay here." And then she cried when I dropped her off, and then I cried when I heard her crying, but about an hour after school started, the secretary called and left me a message telling me that she was doing just fine. And as you can see from the "after" photo, she certainly enjoyed her first day. I think it will take a little getting used to, but I think she will really like it.

So much happier when I picked her up.

Today ...

... Was the second full day of school and first day of football practice. Yep, Lem chose to play flag football this fall. I really wanted him to play soccer, but it was his decision.

Anyway, the morning started out pretty rough, because he didn't get his usual TV time to wake up and drink his milk. (For the record, instead of watching TV, he finished his chess game with Oma.) It turned into a huge fight and ended with him losing TV for a week and both of us mad. He was still mad when he got on the bus, but at least he wasn't crying.

Fast forward to the afternoon. He gets off the bus in a fantastic mood. He's wearing a crown, awarded for being the star student the first week of school (which was only two days). He also has a slap bracelet and a flute, which he bought with his good behavior tickets. He's in such a great mood, saying he loves me and I can share his slap bracelet with him.

I was in a much better mood as well, and had already decided that no TV for a week was pretty harsh. I know, I know, you are supposed to follow through with your punishments, or your kid won't think you are serious. But I'd thought about it, and decided that perhaps that wasn't the best route this time. He's going through a lot right now -- dealing with starting school, Gwyn's birthday, and also Win leaving. It's a lot for a five-year-old to handle. He'd been doing well, but this past weekend was rough. As I expected he'd react to the deployment -- he's angry. (Gwyn is sad.)

So, it helped that he was in such a great mood. And it lasted the rest of the night. I think football will be fun, he pretty much just ran and ran for an hour. Gwyn did too, she does her laps across the field. And it was pretty awesome that the coach was wearing a Flash t-shirt. Lem introduced himself to the team as "My name is Lem, a.k.a., The Flash," and the coach was calling him Flash. And his team color is red, his favorite color.

Gwyn's first day of preschool is tomorrow. She is not excited about it. I hope that she is happy once she gets there. She has her Dora backpack and a Dora lunchbox, and it's only half a day.

So many changes these past couple weeks.

The First Day of Kindergarten

The first day of Kindergarten. He rode the bus. I had picked out nice clothes for him to wear, including his "wedding shirt," which is what he calls his latest polo shirt (he wore it to my cousin's wedding this summer). He picked this out instead.

Also, apparently this is his new facial expression whenever I ask him to smile for a picture.

Here's hoping to a great school year!

The Dress

Gwyn has been wearing this outfit everywhere lately. She has been on a dress kick lately, but as of right now, this one is her favorite. She always wears it with her purple sandals, and sometimes adds her little purse as well. The girl has good taste.

Life

Life has gotten in the way of blogging. Lots has been going on in these last few official weeks of summer.

Swim lessons were a success. Lem is now swimming with his head under the water, but he hasn't figured out how to come up for air yet. He is more confident in the water, which is great and terrible at the same time. He thinks he can swim but really can't ... which means going to the pool has a whole new level of stress for me. Gwyn puts her face in the water now, and is really good at her kicks. But she only jumped off the side by herself once. But I'm OK with it, I read somewhere that kids really aren't ready to learn how to swim until age 5, which I'm seeing just by watching Lem. But I think the experience was great for her.

Lem missed the last swim class, because he got some mysterious illness that started with eye boogers and led to two doctor visits, eye drops and oral antibiotics, and several days of fever. He is fine now, but man, he is not a happy patient. He got so crabby and would bite your head off if you asked him how he was feeling.

Oh yeah, and Gwyn has a cold as well, different than Lem. Hers is just piles of boogers/snot and some coughing. Coughing that keeps us all up at night.

And then, this week, we have been busy with school preparations. We had Open House and Kindergarten Orientation for Lem. At open house, we found his classroom, met his teacher and saw that (thank the Lord) Ivy is in his class this year. At the orientation, Ivy and her dad sat next to us, and she and Lem were so happy to see each other. We never did get together over the summer, so they had lots to chat and giggle about. Ivy even had a card to give Lem, which her dad said had been on their fridge all summer. Two other kids from their pre-k class are in this year's class, and they all were happy to see each other. So even though Lem was mad about having to go to school (and miss Curious George), I know he was glad to see everyone. He has one day of testing next week and has his first day on Friday.

And on Tuesday, we had Gwyn's preschool orientation. She is going to a Lutheran preschool, two days a week for three hours each. The same as Lem did. She has been hot and cold about the whole idea, but she was excited to go play in the classroom with one of the teachers while I filled out paperwork. There are just two classes -- the three-year-olds and four-year-olds, and all the teachers and aides were very nice. The pastor was very nice too. I'm pretty happy with my choice; I just hope Gwyn is, too. She still has a couple weeks before she starts.

Swim Lessons

The kids started swimming lessons this week. They are both in the same Level 1 class. And despite Lem's threats ("I am not going.") and tantrums about being signed up, they've both been enjoying it. Yesterday, they were both ready to go and pushing me out the door early. It's unheard of. (By the way, I really hope I don't jinx my good luck by writing about it.)

The class has seven kids and two teachers. Gwyn is the youngest by at least two years, but the teachers have been very nice to her. The first day, they had them all sit on the step and do big kicks, and Gwyn was on the end. All the big boys were splashing like crazy, and she just covered her ears and cowered. But she listens and does what the teachers ask, even jumping off the side (still holding onto a hand).

Lem has been wonderful. He's putting his head completely under, reaching for diving rings. He's leaping off the side, and even swimming by himself a little bit. Then he sinks like a stone. What I'm most happy about is the fact that he's got a huge smile on his face. He's enjoying it, thank God.

Hopefully they learn a little bit, and keep having fun. I may or may not have promised getting a pool if they learn how to swim.

Reading is Fun

Another Hot Weekend in the 'Loo

We headed home again this weekend, to see family again, and also to go to another Cardinals' game. This time, we got tickets for Saturday, which worked out much better for us. Win took Friday off, but ended up having to go in anyway, so we got a late start. Then we sat in road construction traffic for an hour, got rear-ended (that was no biggie, since we were going about five miles a hour), and then because of all that, sat in rush hour/bridge construction traffic when we hit St. Louis. But whatever. The kids were good, and we were all happy to head west.

The game was a lot of fun. We just hung out at home during the day. Lem and Gwyn helped Katherine in the garden, and then, after a long battle, finally fell asleep for a much needed nap. We headed downtown early, to eat dinner first. We ate at Bailey's Range, which was fantastic. Upscale burger and fries, and homemade milk shakes. I got a salad, a Southwest Chicken one, and it was fantastic. Spicy, but great flavors. And delicious avocados. It was a fun place too -- kind of like a cafeteria, with Mason jars for water glasses. And best of all, it was a short walk to the stadium.

Our seats were much better this time (Win was not a fan of my choice of nosebleeds last time), but only got three tickets and thus only had three seats. And we were surrounded by people. Kids under three don't need a ticket, but they don't get a seat either. So it was a long, hot sweaty ball game for she and I, but we still had fun. They played the Cubs, and it was awesome how everyone was good-natured about the rivalry. They had Fred Bird making fun of the Cubs, and when they had the "Guess Which Hat Hides the Ball," they did a Cubs version -- only one hat to make it nice and easy for them.

And the game was great, no scoring except for the seventh inning, when the Cards scored 12 runs. It was a record, and really exciting. Even Gwyn and Lem got into it, cheering and clapping every time someone scored.

Sunday, we had delicious Imo's for lunch, picked up some Schlafly's (love, love, love their Yakima Wheat Ale) to take home with us, and headed to the Farm for a little bit of fishing before heading home. Win and Lem fished and each caught huge bass, and Gwyn swam in the baby pool and played in the sandbox. I talked with Mike and picked some tomatoes to take home.

Lem slept then entire four hour drive home. And because of that, he, and Gwyn, were up until almost midnight. A little rough for Win and I.

Info:
Bailey's Range
St.Louis Cardinals
Schlafly Beer
Imo's Pizza

At the Movies

Saturday was dreary and rainy, so after dinner we went to the early showing of Brave. It was our first time attending a movie as a whole family. Win had hoped to see The Amazing Spiderman, but Lem voted for Brave.

It was good ... but not as good as I'd hoped. It was more serious that it needed to be, and way too moral. The message was a great one -- be yourself and all that -- but I'm not a huge fan of having it shoved down my throat ever five minutes. But the kids liked it, so I guess that it really what matters. I would have much rather watched Tangled again.

I think I might take the kids to a weekday matinee showing of the new Ice Age movie. Those are always entertaining, and I want to see it as much as the kids do.

Now, who will go see Magic Mike with me?

Gender Studies by Baby G

It's funny, but Gwyn has developed some of her very own, very definite rules about girls. I don't know how she came up with them, but I know they would make her feminist aunts cringe.

Here they are, there are just two right now:

"Girls don't like beer." What I really think she means is little girls don't like beer. Which is fine with me. But I always tell her that girls do like beer, and that I like beer. And also that girls can drink beer (when they are old enough), not just boys like Dada.

"Girls like pink. Boys not like pink." Purple is included in this as well, even though we've discussed how both Lem and Win have purple shirts. And neither one is opposed to pink either. But somewhere, she came up with this.

Does it all go back to nature vs. nurture? Having a boy and girl, I've really seen how different they are. And also having both a boy and a girl, I think we've done a good job of balancing out the gender-based toys and also, roles. Gwyn will play with trains and guns the same as Lem, and he will cook and play princesses and knights with her. But he likes to fight and wrestle, and she likes to wear perfume and pretend she's wearing long dresses.

... It's very, very interesting, and always entertaining.

A New Addition

We have a new member of our extended family! My brother and his fiancee welcomed a son on July 2. They are in California, so we have all had to wait for those few first photos via text message and Facebook. Everything went well, and quickly, and I am so happy and excited for them.

What We've Been Reading and Catching Up

We've had a busy last two weeks -- celebrating a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday, going on vacation and visiting family. I am going to be posting entries for the last two weeks, so keep checking (by scrolling down on the page) to see if there are new ones, all the way back to June 22. I also need to free up some space on my computer so I can upload the many, many pictures I took the last two weeks.

So it's summer, and summer is the best time for epic stories. I started reading the Harry Potter series again. I've read these books more times than I can count, and they never fail to entertain. This time, however, Lem took an interest in what I was reading. He kept asking what number I was on (I'm starting No. 5 next), and studying the book jackets. Then he asked if I would read it to him

So I have. We are about 2/3 through Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I wondered if he would understand it, but he seems to. He is always asking my to read it, and the morning after we read the chapter where Harry learns about Quidditch, Lem woke up and said, "I dreamed I was playing Quidditch, and I was the Seeker." I also wondered if the story would be too dark and twisted for him, but then I thought about all the Batman, Spiderman, Justice League, etc. cartoons he's watched, and figured it's not any darker than those. And ultimately, it's a story about good triumphing over evil, and that's always a good story line. And this has been fun for me too, because I love these books, and know them well. And also because I've been desperate for a break from Calvin and Hobbes.

Gwyn, by the way, has not been too interested. She calls the book "Harry Potty."

The other series Win and I are both reading now is The Game of Thrones. He asked me to get him the first book for him, and he read it first. Then I started the first one, and it took me an entire week at the beach to finish it -- it is so long and so dense and so gripping. I have yet to see the TV show, but the books (I'm on the second now, Win is on the third), are very entertaining. And did I mention how long they are? I love a good, long story.

The story is about a kingdom set in a fantasy land, in the way that The Lord of the Rings was. The main story line is the succession of the king, or kings, and the wars because that. But the stories of all the people involved are fascinating -- each chapter tells and continues the story of several main characters. The writer, George R.R. Martin, is very descriptive without being too flowery. So I'm a fan, and I'm interested to watch the show, after I've read the books. There are five in all.