Slowing Down for the Season

Whew! The week is over--parties, teacher gifts, Christmas cards, Christmas programs, etc. Our household is exhausted. In fact, we got home from the taekwondo test results (yellow belt, decided!) & potluck by 7:00, changed right into our jammies, cuddled under the blanket for "It's Christmastime, Charlie Brown!", opened the next Advent door and we're ready for bed by 8:30--all of us!!
It's Friday, so Nate and Amelia were having a sleepover in Nate's loft bed. I had just finished the last of the night-time to-dos and crawled in bed myself when I heard little voices from across the house shout in unison, "Mom, will you sing us a lullaby?" Of course I was exhausted, but what would any mom in the trenches do at that moment? I rolled out from underneath the covers, put my slippers on and walked down the hall to sing soothing Christmas carols and the final request, "Hush Little Baby." I returned to my warm bed (I'd left the electric blanket on in my absence) a little after 9:00. Jason was already asleep and I soon followed.
We must have been in a deep slumber! We woke up in the morning with Nate snuggled comfortably in our bed (we typically carry them back to their beds after a few snuggles when they come down to our room at night). Neither Jason nor I woke up when Nate snuck in last night. He said, "I came down here so Amelia could get some sleep. She kept tickling my feet and being silly and she needed sleep because she's sick. The clock said 9:53 when I came running down here in the dark." Hmmmmm, we were O.U.T. and it felt G.O.O.D!
I DID go to Target this morning--at 10:30 on the Saturday before Christmas--that's sort of the opposite of slowing down and relaxing; but we survived. Tonight? Saturday service at Woodcrest followed by Christmas lights and cocoa!!

12-12-12

So, we wanted to make today special, which in the eyes of a child means a PARTY!! A pizza party to be exact. And then, just to make the day memorable, Nate and Amelia tried a Twinkie for the first time. Nate's observation? "Twinkies are just little cakes." Amelia said, "yum! I like frosting."
It was a sort of farewell party--the end of the world (according to the Mayans) and the end of the Hostess Twinkie (since they went bankrupt last month). And if the world is going to end soon, why not fill your belly with pizza and processed sweets?! ;)

DOES Mommy Know Best?

Amelia is struggling with her strong emotions right now. We hear "I hate you!" a lot. We remind her that those are strong words. They are hurtful words. Her response? In all innocence, "I know, but I
just hate you right now." Then today she was upset about one of my decisions and after stomping her foot and shouting "arghhhhh!" she starts singing, "Mother DOESN'T know best" (a play on the song from "Tangled"). I must say, that girl has a quick wit.

How Summer Vacation Should Be

This morning we had a short, relaxed NRS play date at Jane and Woody's Wacky World of Animals. Nate and Amelia fed a camel, miniature donkey, and chickens; watched flipping pigeons and fainting goats; saw the elusive llama and Turkey Tom; and we bought a dozen blue eggs. The weather was a perfect 68 degrees (quite a cold snap). This afternoon we played at the Barton's with Carrie and her kids (a mutual friend from the neighborhood). We finished the day with a Taekwondo class. I thought the chilly evening (59 degrees--the temperature dropped throughout the day) called for soup, so homemade chicken quinoa soup for dinner and s'mores on the fire pit out back for dessert. YUM!

School's Out for Summer!

Nate was excited for today! Yesterday he brought home his desk--handwriting books, memory journals, science notebooks, fiction and nonfiction journals, free choice notebooks AND the school yearbook. Nate and I spent most of the afternoon perusing the accumulation of a year in school.
But today:
*tie-dyed red, white and blue class shirts
*special "last day of first grade lunch"--salmon and tuna sushi rolls
*half-day of school
*afternoon playdate with Drew and Kate
AND
*Celebratory pancakes for dinner!!
I made a collage of his first and last day of school. When you put the two photos side-by-side in direct comparison, it's striking how much he's grown this year...there's no more l'il kid, he's ALL BOY! (*sniff!)

Order Up!

Today was our first Columbia Family Fun Fair of the season. As is tradition in the Goodwin family, we went to Flat Branch Brew Pub for dinner before walking down to FB park for the face painting, bounce houses, balloon sculptures, live entertainment and family activities.
At the restaurant, I was talking to the hostess and the patio checking on the wait time. Nate walked inside, marched up to the BAR and ordered a rootbeer for himself and a chocolate milk for the l'il lady!! Always Mr. Independent. ;)

Happy Happy Birthday. Part 2

It seems like all we've been doing is partying--Mother's Day, my birthday, last day of Bible School, last day of EEE, last day of this, last day of that, and Jason's birthday today! We have the last day of school and Memorial Day weekend just around the bend and then we'll be living "normal" for a few weeks! ;) Well, if you call summer vacation "normal."

Tonight we "kidnapped" Jason after work and made our first trip to the Beach Club this season. The water was COLD (which we'll appreciate in July!) Then we piled back in the van for HuHot (kids eat free on Wednesdays). Jason passed on his free birthday dessert in favor of the red velvet cupcakes waiting at home (not to mention the kids were NOT on their best behavior). He opened many cards. Out gift to him was a new iPhone case. Our joint gift to each other is going to be a Vegemix. We already make fruit smoothies about four times/week. It will be nice to add more vegetables. Jason would LOVE to branch into peanut butter and what not. I think we're ready to bite the bullet.

We'll HaPpY BiRtHdaY, Honey! Welcome to the "upper" 30s!

Last Days and Hard Choices

It was the last day of Nate's First Grade EEE (Enriched Educational Experience) today! However, Nate's class at Paxton Keeley also had a full day of fun planned--a trip to Smithton park and popsicles, class plays (Nate had a role as cat) and his last art class of the year (his favorite special). Two fun options...that's a tough choice. If they are at school, the students are expected to attend EEE. It is the final day of the year...I'm sure there are things to take home. I told him I think the right choice is to go to EEE, we hadn't told anyone he wasn't going to be there and it's what is expected of him. But, I put the decision in his hands. I did realize it would be hard to turn down a trip to the park and popsicles, so I offered to take him to the same park and let him pick out a treat after taekwondo this evening. In the end, he chose to go to EEE (helped solve their final mystery--in a class with second and third graders and brought a bagful of miscellaneous papers and projects). He then had an awesome taekwondo practice--earning his second stripe on the road to testing for his orange-striped belt! And here we are enjoying orange push-ups at the park!!

Last week of school

Today was our final Spring Semester Monday for 2012! Our normal morning routine: breakfast, hygiene checklist, pack Nate's lunch (next year HE is in on this gig), and backpack ready. Then garbage and recycling to the curb at 8:10, up to the bus stop in the van, release Nate to Ms. Joyce a few minutes later, continue on to BodyFlow with Amy at Wilson's on Rangeline, 45 minutes until swim lessons so we play at the Parents As Teachers resource room and grab a snack, then Amelia's beginner swimming lessons at Macher Swim School. She has made a lot of progress! The first two lessons I thought perhaps this was going to be a waste of money--she wouldn't even put her face in the water. Give her a floatie and she's a fish, but not so much when she feels insecure. By lesson three she was catching on. Hold your breath, then monkey face face in the water. Now she's putting it all together--hold breath, monkey face, take a new breath when you lift your head out of the water. I almosy want to keep going so as to keep up the progress. Is it sad that it feels like quite an accomplishment when lunchtime rolls around and we've hit all the above windows on our regimented morning schedule?
Today was an extra special surprise, I had a voicemail in the way to yoga that our neighbor, Ariya, was celebrating her 4th birthday with a very last-minute celebration today at 11:00. So Amelia and I partied it up in the cul-de-sac until about 2:30. All in a day's "work!"

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Early morning snuggles and bday greetings from Nate (5:50), Nate's meltdown (frustrated with Dad), Amelia's meltdown (she wanted braids), Woodcrest service, IHOP brunch--our 2 free "rooty tooty fresh and fruity" plates AND the "Happy Happy Birthday" song complete with ice cream sundae from the waitstaff (kids thought that was GREAT), J let me take a short power nap, fun Facebook greetings, and finally a home-cooked meal from my love--hand-squeezed margaritas, marinated shrimp on the BBQ, roasted brussels sprouts, polenta and red-velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting (from scratch)! The kiddos sang "Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, you look like a monkey and you smell like one too!" Then they giggled and helped me blow my candles out. Finally, a quick walk and nice talk with Becca out in the fresh air around the Cosmo track. Thank you to Jason, Nate, Amelia, my friends and extended family for helping to make my day so special!

Wonders of Wildlife

Setting up our new 8-person tent for the very first time (gutsy move...luckily all the pieces were there!), wildlife calls on the turkey box, s'mores at the campfire, 5:15 am wake-up from the kids (as soon as the sun peeked over the horizon!), Kids Camp (Amelia excitedly shouting, "Mom, I caught a fish! I caught a fish! And I flew a kite!"), nature photography, windy canoeing (saw 4 Canada geese and 7 goslings, red-winged blackbirds in their nests, and a water snake we chased to the landing), and geocaching course (took home trinkets for the kids), wild-game lunch buffet (loved the venison marinated in "cheap beer and BBQ sauce!), and most of all SUNSHINE and FRESH AIR. Thanks for the hard work and preparation Wonders of Wildlife crew!

We All Scream for [Snow] Ice Cream!

We had another snow last night--about 1.5 inches. This is only the third snowfall this winter. The kids know that snow is fleeting around here. They make it a point to get out and enjoy it before it melts. We didn't get out today until after lunch, so as you can see most of it was gone. We skated on the ice-covered driveway and Nate invented a game called walnut curling (using nuts gathered from the walnut trees in our yard). We did have enough snow left in the shade of our front yard to make snow angels and gather a big bowl of fresh snow for another batch of snow ice cream! I liked this recipe better:
Big bowl o' snow
1 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk
Chocolate syrup to taste

Yummy AND easy-peasy!
It got rave reviews from the critics as well! :)

Today I Hear...BIG WORDS!

At 70 degrees, today was an absolutely perfect day for a picnic and a hike at one of the plethora of parks around town. Hmmm, but which park should we choose? Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial at Battle Gardens, of course! (Today being MLK Jr. Day and all!)

We played tag with a family who was there for the official MLK celebration (I guess we missed it by 10 minutes!), had our picnic, read a short bio about Dr. King from our "Tales of Famous Americans" book and read quotes (taken from a variety of his speeches) chiseled on granite pillars in the park. After our short commemoration, we hiked part of the MKT trail. Highlights? Throwing rocks from the old RR bridges to see if we could break the ice (it was deceptively thick!), seeing the red-tailed hawk grab a mouse scampering atop of the ice, and racing to the next exercise station.

Not only did we take advantage of this gift of warm sunshine in the middle of January, we were able to pause to honor a hero of our national history on the day set aside just for that purpose! What better way to meditate on his big words than on a peaceful stroll through a tunnel of trees with the ones we love best?!