2013 :: week 48

Will really likes to draw and is getting pretty good. Jellyfish (pictured above) are one of his specialties. He told me these are nice jellyfish because they are smiling.

I didn't mention in the previous post that Anthony lost his voice at the BYU game. He had a cold and raspy voice going into the game, but by the end of the night he was barely audible when he talked. The kids loved watching their dad get into the game. Will repeated many of the things Anthony said and Lauren looked at me and smiled when TJ got excited.

We headed to Boston for Thanksgiving 2013. Will fit right in with the throngs of holiday travelers as he walked through the airport pulling his own suitcase (at his insistence).

Will gave Nana a hand sorting the trash and recycle. Will loves to help.

The kids enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner so much they needed a post-meal bath.

Friday morning some of the John ladies headed to Concord, MA, to visit the Orchard House. The Orchard House is the adult home of Louisa May Alcott, where she lived when she wrote Little Women. 

Saturday morning the kids helped Nana and Papa pick out a Christmas tree. The farm had a few goats and llamas, and after getting the tree loaded on the van we stopped to feed them.

BYU MBB in KC

A few months ago Anthony saw a billboard announcing the BYU men's basketball team would be playing in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center the week of Thanksgiving. Naturally, we had to go. And invite/encourage as many of our friends as possible to come too. TJ pulled a group of 27 people to get seats together.

The kids in the group took advantage of the empty rows around us and spread out. There was serious dancing going on and some well-deserved big screen screen-time.

Will enjoyed sitting with some of the older kids in our group.

Lauren had fun sitting with our good friend, Bailey.

Santa, aka my Dad-with-a-beard was there too. He brought some binoculars that the kids loved using.

We lucked out and got to watch a really fun game. The last few minutes of the game everyone was standing as the score was close and it could have gone either way.

Worth remembering:

• The school bands didn't travel to the tournament, so they hired local high school bands to play. The band and dance team they hired for BYU was from KCK and slightly more ethnic and edgy than the Cougarettes I remember. 
• Will told Anthony he had to go to the bathroom with about 90 seconds left in the game. There was a timeout and Anthony put Will over his shoulder and ran to the bathroom. Due to timeouts and fouls they made it back just in time to catch the last minute of the game.

2013 :: week 47

Sunday was so windy. When we stepped out of church the kids were nonplussed about the it. Usually when we get outside they want to do their own thing, aka run off down the sidewalk, but this day they were happy to let Dad help them walk to the car.

We did some more crafting. I kept an eagle eye on Will and the use of glitter was kept to a minimum. 

Tuesday we headed to Aldi after picking up Will from preschool. When we got out of the car we looked over and saw Will's "best bud" from school, Sam, and his family getting out of their van. Suddenly it was the best shopping trip ever. Will had fun walking around with Sam and Lauren liked waving at Sam's mom and baby brother. I think the key to happy shopping trips in the future is coordinating them with Sam's mom.

After taking a few weeks off from the library's evening storytime (due to illness and excessive grumpy behavior) the whole family went Wednesday night. Will loved the stories, both kids danced their hearts out and Lauren made some new friends.

 

Lauren loves to sneak and put on Will's glasses when he takes them off. It cracks me up because she puts them on upside down half the time (not in this picture). When she's wearing them she looks even more like him. 

Friday after dinner we cleaned out our fridge and pantry. Among the things we threw away was a bag of rock-hard marshmallows. Will scooped up a bunch and tried to spoon fed them to Lauren. As you can see, Lauren enjoyed chowing down.

Saturday Will accompanied Anthony on some errands over the lunch hour. The boys stopped and got some Wendy's on the way home. Will loves Frostys.

11.12.13

Last year I blogged about our day on 10/11/12, so I thought I'd do the same again this year.

The day started with Will waking me up at about 7am. I told him I needed a few more minutes. At 7:40 I decide I can't avoid the day any longer. I was a little concerned about what Will had been up to for the past half hour, but when I walked out of my room I see that Anthony got Will breakfast before he started work and feel grateful for the extra half hour of sleep/lounging in my warm bed. I stayed up too late the night before, and resolve to be in bed by 11 in the future.

For the next half hour I eat breakfast, visit with Will, tidy the kitchen, and check my email and social media.

Lauren gets up around 8:30. She's been sleeping in later and taking shorter afternoon naps. I get her dressed and read Panda Bear, Panda Bear What do you Hear? several times. She has to eat her breakfast quickly because we are headed to the community center.

Water Aerobics is my go-to fitness class, but I have been wanting to branch out a bit. My friend Holly also works out at the community center and I made plans to attend a class with her. The kids are nonplussed about having to wear their coats, and even though it's 22 degrees outside I'm feeling hot as we get in the car after battling the kids to get them in the car. Lauren has been particularly difficult lately.

I finally make it to the Stretch and Strengthen class where I get schooled by a studio full of people 2+ decades my senior (excluding Holly). Post class I visit with Holly and feel motivated to make good, healthy choices.

The kids and I go to the explorer room and the kids climb and play for a few minutes before we head home.

When it is time to go both kids throw fits and again, by the time we get in the car I am feeling warm and frustrated.

I had planned on taking the kids to Wonderscope in the afternoon, but scrap that plan after the trip to the gym. When we get home I turn on the TV for the kids and veg out for a bit, looking at my phone while the kids watch PBS kids.

We eat lunch and then Lauren goes down for a nap.

Will and I do battle over his eye patch. He has done so well wearing it the past four months, but has really lost steam in the last week or two. He fights and cries every time I bring it up. Yesterday (11.11) he met with the ophthalmologist who said he has made a lot of progress with wearing the patch and probably only has to wear it for a few more months, which was encouraging for me, but apparently not enough for Will. I think he only wore the patch for an hour and a half. I was feeling discouraged, so he just watched a movie and I read my book until Lauren woke up from her nap.

Post nap I decide we need to get out of the house. I am feeling claustrophobic and the kids are grouchy so I figure a good dose of Vitamin D will do everyone good. Unfortunately it is still about 30 degrees, overcast and windy.

Lauren refuses to ride on the stroller, insisting instead that I "hold you, hold you," which is her way of saying she wants to be held. We abort the walk and go back inside.

When TJ is done with work we make our way to the park. It is still really cold and I didn't have the kids wear gloves. They both want to swing, but refuse to touch the cold chains. They were so miserable, their faces say it all. Mom fail. They both climb for a few minutes, then we head back home. I keep thinking about how much I hate winter and worry about how I will survive the next four months. Walking to the park for an hour before or after dinner was my go-to move to improve the family morale this spring and summer.

I have ground turkey so I give the kids three options for dinner--stroganoff, spaghetti or tacos. They choose stroganoff and actually ate a few bites each which I count as a success.

Anthony and I decide that an early bedtime is in order. We bathe the kids at about seven.

Lauren gets out first, and Will stays and plays in the water for awhile longer.

Lauren wants to read Panda Bear again. Will wants to listen to Jingle Bells. We do a little of both for a bit.

 
By 7:45pm both kids are down. This is a bit earlier than usual, and they will most likely wake up early the next morning (they did) but they were grouchy enough that we are willing to do that dance.

I make a quick trip to Michaels to pick up a few items for some holiday crafting I have planned with my 25% off coupon.

It was nice perusing the store without busy helpers. I was a bit annoyed that my coupon included discounts on SALE items, but not items that were on CLEARANCE, but was happy with what I was able to get.

When I got home we turned on the the new PBS special about JFK. It was interesting, but we've read and watched a lot about JFK this year, so there wasn't much new.

I work on my cross-stitch and then head to bed around 11:20.

Unfortunately, for the sake of this blog post, Tuesday ended up being the "worst" day of the week last week. I promise I am not usually this negative. Looking back almost a week later it is pretty clear to me that sleep, or lack thereof played a big part in our grumpiness. I know that, but sometimes it is good to be reminded.

November 2013 resolution: get 8 hours of sleep a night.

2013 :: week 46

Sunday evening Anthony had some church meetings, so the kids and I settled in and watched some Christmas movies on youtube. We started listening to some "Jingle Bells," and ended up watching Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie. I had never heard of it before, but it features some new, sure-to-be classic Christmas characters like the villainous Stormella and doltish elves Boone and Doggle. The kids really liked it, but they also watch the same episodes of Curious George over and over, so keep that in mind when considering their endorsement.

We went on a family outing to the mall and let the kids ride the carousel. Both kids wanted to sit in the spinny cups, but Will likes to spin and Lauren does not, so we split up.

The kids like to hide behind a curtain in Will's room as part of the bedtime routine. Will started doing it awhile ago and Lauren has really embraced it.

I like to look at this picture and be reminded of the wonder and excitement that was in Will's eyes as he got to work on his "orney-ments." Of course, I could also glance around the house at the glitter that spread every.where. and also be reminded of the ordeal. Things started out great, but then I thought I could do a little crafting of my own in tandem with Will and, let's just say, he got very creative with the glitter while I was distracted. At least he had fun.

Lauren watches everything Will does. Everything. She recently decided that she could get her yogurt out of the fridge in the morning by herself. Unfortunately, Will really liked helping me by getting Lauren's yogurt out of the fridge as we prepare breakfast. That's him in the background wiping the tears off his glasses after he got put in time out for knocking Lauren to the ground when she tried to grab the yogurt out of the fridge really quick before he could get it.

Friday we got Papa Murphy's for dinner. It was just one of those days.

Saturday evening we went to out friend's surprise 30th birthday party. Will was really excited to try his hand at some pool. We are grateful no one was seriously injured by his cue.

wanna hear a joke?

If you do, Will's your man.

This summer Will decided he really liked jokes. Unfortunately for the rest of us, most of them were original to him and involved made-up rhyming words. He was telling these jokes often enough that an intervention was necessary. We helped him find some new material and things are much better now.

2013 :: week 45

Lauren wasn't feeling too hot on Sunday. She's had a cold that (at that time) seemed to be neverending. Mom was the only person she wanted, even though she continued to whine and cry when I was holding her. Being sick is no fun, especially when you are learning how to communicate.

For Will's preschool we fill out a form each morning letting his teachers know how he is feeling, how he slept last night, what he ate for breakfast, and any other information we want his teacher to know. Will loves filling it out and asks us the questions even on his off days.

We never got around to carving a pumpkin before Halloween, much to Will's disappointment. My parents volunteered to let us come over to the their house and help us carve one of theirs, which ended up being perfect because TJ and I were under the weather most of the week.

We made a "Thankful Tree" for FHE Monday night, and added some additional leaves Wednesday. Will is very proud that he can write most of his blessings by himself, with only a little help when someone dictates the letters. He told Tony that he (Tony) is grateful for the piano and he told me that I am grateful for the computer, which truth be told, felt like a bit of a rebuke.

When we were feeling up to it and the weather finally cooperated, we took several "nature walks" to the park. I love sunshine. I can tell when I am not getting enough in my life and I definitely didn't get enough at the start of this week.

My bedside table features the items that helped me survive this past week. The cold I caught from the kids turned into a sinus infection, but thanks to some drugs things are looking up. 

 

We were one of the families assigned to clean our church building this morning, as were the Kelsos. Shannon was very patient and helped my kids "help" clean the windows. Will was pretty pleased to hang out with Ally.

miscellaneous fall fun

Sometimes I wonder about myself. Part of me likes gray, rainy days because I feel justified in staying indoors, wearing my loungewear (aka daytime pajamas) and relaxing all day. But I also feel trapped since the possibility of taking a walk or going to the park is off the table. It's hard for me to get work done when the house feels dark and shadowy, so I let it slide, and after a few days the house feels extra messy, which makes me long to escape even more. We've had several days this week like that and I find myself longing for the beautiful weather we had this past month. The Fall of 2013 may go down in history as being the best early fall ever, save a few days here and there.

scarecrow festival

In early October we went to Shawnee Scarecrow Festival. We went a few years ago and had a good time, but had even more fun this year with older kids.

The kids went right to work decorating their pumpkins.

Lauren was thrilled by the variety of markers.

 Will gave his a mustache. What is with him and facial hair lately?

After we decorated the pumpkins we headed over to the eponymous activity of the morning.

Will had a blast stuffing the scarecrow. After the scarecrow was sufficiently stuffed he went back into the huge pile of straw to play.

Meanwhile Lauren and I were working on making a face for the scarecrow.

While there a woman told me that Lauren looked like she could be a "Jolie-Pitt baby." That made me LOL.

parks




The kids love parks and we are lucky to live in an area with a lot of them. Most of our park time is spent at our neighborhood park, but we enjoy visiting other parks too.

 

 

 

 

 

hayride

My friend Mitzi organized a hayride and Lauren and I had a great time. It was another gorgeous evening and we had fun riding around SM Park visiting with our friends.  

Lauren loved throwing the hay. Unfortunately for me she got a handful down my shirt. When I got in the shower that night a nice pile of hay fell out.


arboretum

We spent a fun family night at the Overland Park Arboretum. The kids had a great time exploring. It was nice for me to have Anthony along because I always worry about one of the kids falling in the water. And it turns out my fears are not unfounded! We saw a kid fall in the pond while we were sitting on the bridge.  The arboretum is beautiful, every time we go I'm glad we made the trip.