Skating, part 2

Luke had another ice skating lesson today. Emma wanted to skate too, but you have to be 5. We asked anyway and when they found out she'd be 5 in June, they let her try it.

The little kids use this walker thing. At first, she couldn't even move it. She got the hang of it pretty quickly though. It didn't take long for her to be brave. She kept pushing the walker further and further away. Within a half hour after first stepping on the ice, she skated the whole length of the rink - without her walker! - and only fell once about 2 feet from the end. I was a bit nervous to say the least! I was wondering why on earth we didn't strap a pillow to her bum - but she proved my nerves wrong. What a big girl :(





Luke on the other hand - well, he's fast. Just ask him. He doesn't really care so much about what the teacher says. He just wants to beat the other kids. Nevermind that they've been skating for awhile. Oh no. If the teacher says to do a certain thing with your skates, then you only have to do it for 2 seconds before you look to your left and/or right and see that someone is faster than you. Then you RUN with all your might. Yep, running on skates. Somehow it works for him. Thumbs up every time for beating the kid next to him. Oh yeah.



He got busted once and the teacher tried to slow him down. Uh-oh!!



At the end, they get free skate time. Luke slowed down to help his sister. We were a bit nervous about the blind leading the blind, but it was super-cute and quite heart warming to see him wanting to take good care of her. Ahhhh..... All the stresses of parenting are totally worth it when I see a moment like that.

Behavior Chart

We like to write things down around here. It helps us stay focused. We have house rules written on a chalk board in the kitchen. We've had chore charts and behavior charts. Stickers fill up the chart, and when it is full, there is a prize.

We start out really well, but soon the chart is stuck to the fridge with missing stickers and not much accountability.... and my good intentions get lost. Again.

Our most recent attempt is the healthy habits chart. We are supposed to eat 5 fruits or veggies each day, limit ourselves to 2 hours total of TV, computer, DS, wii, etc., exercise, and do something nice for everyone in the family.

Notice I said attempt.

Not sure what happened but... I guess being healthy is too hard. ha.

Emma thought we needed another chart. She made one the other day for our dogs. I was busy cleaning or something and she'd yell, "Mommy, how do you spell...?" I figured out what she was doing. But to see it - well, seeing it was WAY cuter than thinking I knew what she was doing.



Translation:

No licking.
2 hours outside.
No fighting.
Eat breakfast.
Be nice.
Play with toys.
Love each other.

Don't listen - no couch. (HA!)

She misheard some of the letters I said, but I think that just makes it even cuter.

She put it on our fridge. Too funny. And just to make sure there are no misunderstandings...




I just happened to take a picture when Maggie was yawning but I was totally cracking up that her tongue is sticking out. I like to think that she was thinking, "I don't know who you think you are, Boss Girl, but I'm 13 and I don't have to listen to rules anymore. This is what I think of your rules."

HA HA HA! And maybe that's not even that funny, but when you're a stay at home mom you make up what the dogs are thinking. Oh yes you do... ;)

The first day of the rest of his life

We took Luke to a learn-to-ice-skate class tonight. He loved it. He was up more than he was down - but not by much. He wiped out pretty good a few times. He's going to have some good bruises I think. But he'd get right back up and keep on trying though. I like to see that perserverance with him - he doesn't have that fightin' attitude with homework. But I digress.

He was cute - and quite hysterical! - to watch. The instructors were teaching him to march with his arms out. Sounds strange, but when he did as he was told, he actually looked like he was skating. Then someone would come by, cruising along. He'd lose all focus and it would turn into a race. Especially if that someone was smaller than him. Oh no, they were not gonna pass him!!

He'd be going, going.... gone. Wipe out. Ouch. Hopefully no one noticed as he hurried to get back up. He's at the age where it REALLY matters what other people think. So I think although maybe there were times when he wanted to just lay there on the ice, he got up quicker than he went down. It didn't matter that tears wanted to squirt out of his eyes.

We weren't sure if he'd want to go back. But when the hour was over, he said, "That was SO much fun! Can I come back next week? I'm really getting to be a good skater already." Too funny.

At bedtime (a couple hours later), he said to me, "Mommy, I have this thought in my head and I can't get it out. Can you help me get it out so I can sleep?" "What is it baby?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer. "I just keep thinking how bad I want to be an ice hockey player. I mean, deck hockey is fun, but I REALLY want to play ice hockey. I'm getting to be a good skater, right, mommy?" he asked as he skated (in his socks) down the hall to his room.

Keep working hard, baby, and you can be whatever you want to be!

I like seeing an 8 year old have perserverance and a dream. It makes this momma proud.

The Dark Side

It's April. Freezing cold April. We've had a handful of warm days - and I do mean a small handful. The last few days were hot even. I was more than excited to watch the thermometer climb into the low 80's. But now we are back to the 40's with rain. Brrrr.

Those few warm days are enough for the ticks. Those dirty little suckers. They get an inch but take a mile. I found one on Emma a couple days ago. They had been playing outside all day - in our backyard, not in the woods or hayfields or anything. Our backyard. Ugh.

So round two. I tried to pull this one off - and succeeded this time. No ER visit. It must've just attached. Disgusting.

The next day at lunch Emma said, "Mommy, I've been thinking about ticks."
Me: "What about them, honey?"
Emma: "I think ticks are on the devil's team. Do you mommy?"
Me: "Yes I do, baby. Yes I do."

That's the best explanation I've heard for those little suckers, that's for sure.

Oh what a night!

We had a busy night. Luke had a hockey game and then I had a meeting at church. There was a half hour between the two, so I could do both. The only problem was: dinner. Joe would be on his own with the kids and I would have to grab on the go. So we decided to do pizza. We'd pick up one after the game, I'd grab a couple pieces and we'd be on our separate ways.

Sounds easy enough. Of course it wasn't.

I thought I'd eat in the car while parked. I didn't want to attempt eating pizza while driving. I had pizza on a napkin in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. I couldn't get the water open so I put it between my legs to "hold" it so I could free up a hand to open it.

So with pizza in one hand, I open the bottle with my free hand. Except when I opened it, my legs squeezed it. There was water everywhere. And I mean everywhere where I was sitting. It looked like I peed my pants!!! My jeans were soaked, the seat was soaked.

So I set my pizza down on the passenger seat (why didn't I think of that earlier???)and wondered what to do. So I got a napkin and started wiping. Except the napkin was soaked in 2 seconds flat. I knew I didn't have time to go home and change.

So I cranked up the heat and blasted it right towards me. I tried putting the vent towards the seat - and my pants - but it was more of a blast right in my face. So I had to prop myself up on the seat with my feet up on it, so I could get the heat where I needed it to dry.

So I finished eating my pizza kind of squatting on the seat like a frog, while I got blasted with hot air. It worked. By the time I got to my church meeting, my wet pants were hardly noticable.

Okay, they weren't noticable at all - but I could still notice it. Just a bit. ha. But I sat through that meeting with no one having a clue that my pants had just been soaked.

A few hours later....

I get home from the meeting in time for the kids' bedtime routine. I'm reading a story to Luke and he says, "Mommy, I have this strange bump on the back of my head." I check, it's a tick. Ugh.

The kids were in the woods yesterday but I didn't even think to check because we haven't had many warm days and I didn't think those little suckers were out yet. Now one is stuck to Luke's head. ACK!

So I take him to the bathroom and set him up bending over the sink so I can remove this goofy thing. I hop on the internet to see if there are any secrets to removing ticks. "Just make sure you get the whole thing out." all these sites say, "Remove a tick by grasping its head and not its back or else you might not get it all out."

I'm looking at this tiny wiggling tick wondering how on earth anyone could tell if they were grasping the head or the back. All I can see is a black dot with legs.

So I grasp it with tweezers. It won't come. I tug a bit harder. Out comes half of it. There is still a black dot stuck to Luke's head. I broke off the head in Luke's head. Crap.

At this point, I start to freak. Joe and I have both had Lyme's Disease. It was the worst both of us have ever felt. We never found our ticks. We found a tick on Emma a couple years ago but the doctor removed it. She's never had any Lyme's symptoms.

So now it's Luke's turn. It's 9:10 at night, I just broke a tick in two, and I am freaking out because I don't want this miniature monster to give my baby Lyme's Disease!!

I call Med Express. I know they close at 9:00 but I'm hoping by the grace of God someone answers. Nope. I call the ER. I ask if I should bring him in and they tell me they can't answer that, I need to talk with our pediatrician. I remind them it is 9:00 at night and I won't be able to talk with her until the morning. "Nope," they say, "Pediatricians are on call all night. Give her a call."

Oh great. Now I need to bother the pediatrician at night. She returns my call in 20 minutes and tells me to take him to the ER. Off we go. It's now 9:30. On a school night. And we are just heading to the ER.

When they check in Luke, the nurse tells me, "You should've just left it attached, it's much easier for us to remove it when it's not broken in half." Um, thanks lady. A little late for that!

So we wait. And wait. And wait. Did I say wait? 2 hours later, the doctor takes 2 seconds to remove the stupid thing. And we are sent home.

So I guess the lesson of the day is - don't try to open a bottle of water while holding it in your legs or your baby will have a tick break off in his head.

Or something like that. ha.

Looking for Leprechauns

We're not Irish but this St. Patrick's Day stuff is pretty fun this year. I've never really made a big deal about it before. But after preschool yesterday, Emma came out wide-eyed and VERY talkative.

"We were trying to solve a leprechaun mystery, mommy! We looked everywhere but we couldn't find him. He even left us clues and we STILL couldn't find him. That's because he's really small and magical. And guess what! When we came back from gym, he left us necklaces! He left us all necklaces and a green coin. Do you think he is hiding in our van?"

The ride home was spent looking for him. We've been looking for him ever since. Every time one of the dogs bark - "It must be the leprechaun mommy!" Cute.

She couldn't wait to tell Luke when he got home. His kindergarten teacher did the same thing - she took them on a looking-for-a-leprechaun adventure around the school. When the kids got back, there was a pot of gold in the room. But now that he is a big second grader, he's not buying it.

"Luke, we were looking for leprechauns at school today!"
"Whatever, Emma, leprechauns aren't real!"
"Yes they are. They are magical!"
"No they're not."
Me: "How do you know, Luke, have you ever seen one?
"Well no, but I know they're not real." as his voice slowed just a bit.

This morning, he got up and got a shower and wanted to know if I could stay in the bathroom with him. I told him I had to get his breakfast and other things ready. I never stay in the bathroom with him.

"Why, buddy? What's the matter?"
"Um..... I don't know. Can you just stay with me until I'm done?"
"Luke", I say - just jokingly really - "Are you scared a leprechaun might get you?"
"Um.... yeah. Maybe."

HA! Do leprechauns come up out of the drain in the shower? Well, they are small and magical!!! ha ha ha.

So I made his oatmeal and put green food coloring in it. I admit - the coloring came out WAY too fast and made it way too green. But I was hysterical.

"Oh GROSS!" he says, "I can't eat THAT! What did you do?"
"It wasn't me, the leprechauns made your oatmeal turn green."

He wasn't quite sure what to think. He played around with it for a minute. I told him it still tasted the same so he tried a bit. He ate most of it but just couldn't stomach anymore. And then his teeth and tongue were green. Whoops! And yes, he brushed again.... He was NOT happy about that. I mean, brushing your teeth twice within 10 minutes? Horrors! ha ha ha.

Who knows what those little leprechauns will be up to today. This is fun!!!

The remnants of Luke's cereal - ew, gross!!

"Luke can't be trusted!"

We had some friends over this weekend. They're nice friends to have - their kids are the same age (and gender) as ours. And we don't mind the parents' company either :)

The boys were playing boy things - hockey in the family room, the wii, etc. Once they left, Emma started crying. I said, "What's the matter?" and she said, "I thought Luke was going to be able to take good care of me when I'm on the bus for kindergarten next year but now I'm not so sure because he never let the girls play the wii. Luke can't be trusted!!" Sob, sob, cry, cry. Cry some more, sob some more.

Never a drama-free moment around here, that's for sure.