Ramona is still a pest!

Even though I have a kindle and rarely buy paper books anymore, I still love perusing the piles of books at Costco. It gives me ideas of what to download on my kindle, and I can always pick up great gifts there too. I also love seeing what children's books they have, and last week, I hit the jackpot! I found "The World of Beverly Cleary", a collection of 15 books, for only $25!!!

I was an avid reader growing up, and Beverly Cleary's books were some of my favorites. C reads well on his own, and O has just started reading, so I thought now might be a great time to pick up these books. I had a vision of sitting down with the boys and slowly working our way through this collection of books a chapter a night. But, there was a small wrench in the works... They're boys! Would they be as taken with Ramona and Beezus as I had been as a young girl? I think I would have put the collection back if it had only contained the Ramona series, but luckily it also included 3 Henry Huggins books and 3 Ralph the Mouse books, and I figured the boys might at least like those. And what a steal! How could I pass up that price?!

Turns out it would have been a huge mistake to put back the Ramona books. When we came home, the boys were eager to start reading. Hooray! The big propaganda speech that I gave them on the drive home (about how these were some of my favorite books when I was a kid and I was so excited to finally get to share them with my boys) clearly paid off.  I had planned to start with "Henry Huggins" but "Beezus and Ramona" was the first book in the box, so C wanted to start with that one.  So I took a deep breath and dove in.

And they loved it! After the first chapter was finished, they begged for another, and then another, and I ended up reading until my voice was hoarse. Both boys were taken with Ramona and how naughty she could be. They also seemed to really understand how Beezus was torn between loving her sister and finding her just so annoying, because I am sure they feel the same way about each other at times. I was amazed how quickly the stories came back to me as I was reading. I began to remember exactly what would happen as we continued on, eagerly anticipating how Ramona would eat just one bite out of all the apples and how she would bake her doll in Beezus's birthday cake.  We finished "Beezus and Ramona" in two nights and immediately the boys began begging for "Ramona the Pest." While they enjoy reading, usually they are begging for TV and videogames, so begging to read a book in the afternoon was quite a nice surprise.

It's been great to rediscover these stories with them, and amazing that they are still so relatable 50 years after they were written. Hours of reading, snuggles, and a whole new generation discovering Ramona. Not bad for $25!

Challenge accepted!

C seems to be settling into his new school nicely. He really likes his teacher and I'm starting to hear the names of certain classmates over and over, so hopefully he's making some new friends too. He was so excited that the first graders finally started to have homework last week, which included 8 spelling words, a reading log, and a couple of pages of simple addition and subtraction. Last Friday, he had his first "spelling challenge" and was thrilled with his results.

:-)

All Thumbs

My mom is a great gardener.

I am not.

Every time my mom visits, she brings me a plant. Which is almost always dead the next time she visits. Did I forget to water it? Water it too much? Not enough sun? Too much sun? Who knows? I definitely do not have the magic touch when it comes to plants. My mom always takes the pathetic specimens back home and usually manages to revive them. It's amazing!

So, plants and I have a questionable history. But now that we finally have our own house, I'm hoping to improve. I've managed to keep the hanging plants that the previous owners left behind alive for these last few weeks, although that probably says more about the hardiness of those plants than it does about any improvement in my gardening skills. But, ever hopeful that I will get the knack for gardening, my mom came over this weekend and brought along some chrysanthemums and bulbs to plant in our new front yard. After digging a couple of holes, O lost interest pretty quickly, but C was quite into the whole project and kept announcing "I Love Gardening!!"  Hopefully he'll get the green thumb that seems to have skipped my generation! For now, I'm really enjoying the new additions to our front walk. Hopefully they'll still be alive next week!

And we all can't wait to see if any of those crocuses, tulips, and daffodils come up in the spring! If one afternoon of planting really leads to a spring full of blooms, I might be able to get into this gardening thing. As long as I have C to help me!

47 Tall

O: "Mom, I can't wait to be 47!"

Me: "Why do you want to be 47?"

O: "Because I want to be tall!"

Me: "But you'll be tall before you're 47. "

O: "Yeah, but 47 is a lot of tall. I want to be 47 tall."

Me: "OK."

O: "Wait, how old are you Mom?"

Me: "34. Why?"

O: "Wow! 34 and you are already tall. Mom, you're going to be really tall when you are 47!"

Jumping back in...

I feel like I keep posting "Wow, I haven't posted in a long time" posts. And that's pretty boring. So I kept waiting for something super interesting to write about, but that's just too overwhelming! So I'll just jump back in.

We've had a busy summer. We bought our first house, which I am loving more and more each day, despite the lack of furniture and lingering boxes. C started first grade in his new school and so far he seems to like it very much--a huge relief for me! O is in preK and is looking forward to staying for lunch one day a week. And Baby A, now 8 months, is an excellent sitter, a decidedly NOT excellent sleeper, and the proud owner of 3.5 teeth. I keep hoping when that other half comes in, he'll start sleeping better again. Wishful thinking, I am sure.

Anyway, hopefully I'll write more often now that we are getting settled into our fall routine. We'll see how it goes. Time just seems to disappear around here! Maybe it's because I spend too much time staring out the kitchen window...

Did I mention that I love it here! :-)

Not quite sure this is working out right....

O: "Mom, you know what makes me happy?"

Me: "No, what?"

O: "When you let me watch TV."

Me: "Really? Is that the only thing that makes you happy?"

O: "No. When you let me do whatever I want. That makes me happy too!"

Lazy Bones

As the older brother, it always frustrates C that O doesn't pull his weight when it comes to cleaning up at the end of the day. We've been working on getting O more involved by giving him specific tasks but this has only garnered mixed results.  So today I tried to motivate him with an incentive, by announcing that only boys who help to clean up the living room would have a brownie after dinner. But it looks like O is still just fine with the status quo where C does everything.

O: "Mom? Can we just make a new rule that C cleans up everything, and then I get the treat?"

Last Day

Today is C's last day of kindergarten! I was so nervous to send him off, and now I can't believe it's over! He's had a great year, made good friends, and I am sad to see it end.

He's a little sad too. As he said yesterday: "Mom...this year is going by too fast. Because Mrs. Bradley is so nice, and tomorrow's the LAST day! And she's just the specialest teacher ever."

To ease the transition, they've been talking a lot in class about how next year the kids can come back and visit their old K room anytime. But since we're planning to move over the summer, for us a visit will involve a drive over to the old school, rather than just popping by on the way to the first grade classroom down the hall. But C loves his teacher, so I promised him we can drive over anytime he likes.

We've also been to tour what will be his new school, assuming the house deal goes through, and where I just saw a regular school, he saw something great. "Mom! This school is so nice!!" I hope he ends up loving it as much as he loves his current school. And that he gets another teacher he likes as much as Mrs. Bradley.

Brotherly Love

I feel like life is moving so quickly right now and it's all I can do to keep up! The school year is winding down so we are busy with end of the year events. And after months of hunting and almost giving up hope that we would find something before it is time to renew our lease for another year, we may have found a house!!! Here's hoping that pans out.

So I haven't posted here as much as I'd like, but hopefully once things slow down for the summer, I'll be able to get back to blogging a bit more.

For now, here's a little snippet from yesterday...

Me (because I am not one to miss an opportunity to practice reading): "C! Look what Baby A got for a gift! What does his shirt say?"

C: "'Could I be any cuter?' Hey, Mom! That's a great shirt, because he is the cutest baby in the whole world!"

Me: "That's true!"

C: "Look O, Look what Baby A's shirt says! It says 'Could I be any cuter?'"

O (very seriously): "Yes... Yes, he could be cuter."

Three Generations

In what has become an annual tradition, we went for a nice nature walk on Mother's Day. This year, my mom joined us too. My mom loves gardening and hiking, so she was in her element, teaching the boys her favorite walking songs and asking them what trees they saw, what birds they heard, etc. They didn't know too many of the answers though, since I haven't taught them much of that stuff. Doh.

A really fun day!

When I was growing up, all my relatives lived overseas, so I only saw them every few years. I'm glad that my boys have the opportunity to get to know both sets of their grandparents much better.

Funnies

I've had a hard time keeping up with this blog lately. There always seems to be something else to do, like finally putting away the winter clothes and pulling out all the warm weather stuff. I've tried to sit down and write a few times, but I never get the chance to finish a whole thought.  So I've given up on that for now. Instead, here are a few funnies from the last few weeks.


In response to my asking "Why does Baby A always spit up on me?"
O: "Because he thinks you're a milk target!"
Me: "Well, his aim is really good then, I guess."

*          *          *

While I was making dinner one night, Baby A started fussing. I asked C to help me by giving the baby his pacifier. C tried valiantly, but Baby A just kept spitting it out and crying. I couldn't help laughing when I heard this desperate plea.

C:  "Baby A! Baby A! Calm down! It's ok. You don't have to get so hilarious!"

Me: "C, I think you mean hysterical."

C: "What?"

Me: "Hilarious means very funny. Do you think A is being very funny? Or do you mean hysterical, like he's freaking out?"

C: "Well, I don't know what he is, but he's annoying!"

*         *         *

On the way home from school yesterday:

O: "My tummy is rumbling."

Me: "Does that mean you're hungry?"

O: "No. That means my tummy's mustache is wiggling!"

Me: "Your tummy has a mustache?"

O: "Yes! And it's wiggling!"

Me: "Why does your tummy have a mustache?"

O: "I don't know. It just does! But Mom? All that wiggling is making me hungry!"

Well that explains a lot...

O: "Mom! Mom! I know why I was having such bad behavior!"

Me: "Oh really? Why?"

O: "Because I was stuck in un-behave mode!"

Me: "Un-behave mode? What's un-behave mode?"

O: "You know, un-behave mode! But I found the switch, and now I am switched to behave mode!"

Me: "That's great! I wish I had known about this switch so we could have switched you to behave mode a long time ago."

O: "Yeah, mom. And I changed the remote, so now it only has one mode. There isn't even a switch to un-behave mode. Now there's only one mode. Behave mode!"

Me: "I love it! This is the best day ever! Hmmm...I wonder if your brothers are also stuck in un-behave mode..."

Books

Since Baby A has arrived on the scene, we've brought out quite a few of our old baby books again. I think reading these has rubbed off on C because this afternoon I looked over and saw him making these on the computer...

The first few pages of his creation, entitled "My Book of Words".

Not bad! I'm glad I was able to convince him to print out these pages, even though, as he says, "But Mom! That's a waste of paper!"

I can't wait to see the whole thing when it's finished. Maybe he'll even read it to Baby A.

Now that would be awesome!!

About Face

O: "Mom! Mom!" (impatiently tugging on my shirt)

Me: "Yes, O?"

O: "Mom, you and Baby A are the greatest!"

Me: "Oh really?"

O: "Yeah, you are the greatest thing of my whole life!!"

I guess he does still love me! :-)

Wasn't in a rush to reach this one!!

While waiting for C to be dismissed, O often plays in the side yard of the school...

Me: "O, if you want to play outside, you need to put on your coat."

O: "No! I don't need a coat! It's warm!"

Me: "It's only 40 degrees. You can either put on your coat, or wait in the car."

O (begrudgingly putting on his coat and stomping out of the car): "I don't need a coat! I don't like you! And I don't love you anymore!"

Yes, there it is. The "I don't love you!" milestone. Wow! That came out of nowhere. Amazingly, I don't think C has yet said this one to me, but here's O coming out with the dagger at just shy of 4!

Me (swallowing a sigh): "That's not very nice. But that's fine. If it's cold, you still need to wear a coat."

O makes a growling sound and then runs off, promptly faceplanting on the sidewalk. After making sure he was ok, I couldn't help but chuckle at the karma of it all. "See, you were mean to Mommy, and look what happened. Let that be a lesson to you..."

I wonder how long before he comes out with "I hate you!"

Bright Spot

Baby A is now 12 weeks old and I am beginning to see his personality develop. So far he seems to be a fairly serious baby, and spends most of his time quietly looking around and taking everything in. But a couple of times a day, for just a minute or two, he'll suddenly be full of smiles. And oh the excitement that creates! C & O start jumping up and down. "Look Mom! He's smiling at me!" I rush to get the camera to try to capture the elusive moment. I rarely do because the smiling bursts end almost as quickly as they start.

But in those brief moments when I see this...

 Or this...

...life is perfect.

"You Wanna Be... A Loser Like Me!!"

As a former choir and band member, I've really been enjoying the show Glee since it premiered. The show follows the trials and tribulations of a bunch of high school students trying to start a Glee club. The characters on the show work hard to persevere despite being picked on, and continue to develop and share the joy they find in song. I love the message that despite what people think, music is cool!

Music has brought me a lot in my life...discipline, confidence, some of my very best friends, and even my dear Hubby, who I met in my college band. Who knew woodwinds could mix so well with brass? Looking back, I have no idea what my life would be like without music.

So far, the boys seem to enjoy music too. They love to listen to the Glee soundtrack (among other things) in the car, and we often have "dance/jam parties" to their catchier tunes. Right now C says he wants to play the trombone, and O (inspired by his favorite show "Little Einsteins") wants to play the violin. I've started looking into the best ways to teach them how to read music, and am trying to determine the right time to start them with piano lessons. I haven't quite sorted it out yet, but hopefully I won't screw things up!

For now they just love "rocking out" with their toy instruments. I can't tell you how happy it makes me when they say "Hey Mom! Maybe we can jam today?" Here they are "jamming" to Glee's latest song "Loser Like Me".

Future bandies?

I do hope that the boys continue to love music as they grow up. Maybe they'll even be in the band! But even more importantly, I hope they'll have the confidence to pursue whatever their passions are, even if their peers say it isn't cool. I hope that while they're having fun, they're also internalizing the song's message. And that they'll never lose those joyful smiles!

Not so Subtle...

O's preschool teacher pulled me aside at drop off the other day, and said "I have to tell you the funniest thing that happened yesterday! O and some of the other kids were playing house in the dramatic play area. They all were having so much fun working together putting things in and out of the house and blocking the doors. When I asked them what they were playing, I was expecting some sort of "keep out the bad guys" answer because some of the kids have been into superheros lately. But instead O said the name of their game was...

"Put the Baby Outside!'"

(hmmm....I wonder if he's trying to tell me something....)

Let's go fly a kite!

Buzz Lightyear Kite

(Note the lack of snow on the ground for the first time in months!)

 

It's finally beginning to feel like spring!!!

Quirky Qwirkle

My big boys have been lucky enough to receive quite a few "big brother" gifts since Baby A was born, and the biggest hit so far has been the game Qwirkle. We've played this quite a few times already and I love it because it's fun for adults too. It's like a cross between Uno and dominoes with more complicated score keeping. C loves finding the matches and the grownups love figuring out how to score the most points on each turn. O doesn't quite understand the game yet, but he gets in on the action by passing out the game pieces.  And we all love the thrill of completing a "Qwirkle" (a row containing all 6 matching pieces).

One of C's favorite things to do at the end of the game is to say what he thinks the final pattern looks like, because it works out differently each time.  Here are some of our recent masterpieces with C's descriptions. Don't the brightly colored tiles look so pretty?!

"A one legged dinosaur"

"A weird house with two chimneys"

"A triceratops"