Snowy Activities

all of us reading (biographies for Owen, history for Mama, Scooby doo for Jack)

all of us playing with some weird goo that Owen got from one of his friends for Christmas

Jack at his Batcave

Mama finished the final details of the two reversible batman/superman capes that I made for someone at the boys’ school

Owen back at the pile of books

 

Mama fixed the drawers from under the boys’ play table that have broken several times (this “fix” is much uglier- the silver brackets in plain view-  but much sturdier and I hope this will be the last fixt!) I was really happy about getting that project done – and it spurred me to help(force) the boys do the final organization of their rooms – they did not appreciate this particular snowy day activity, until is was done, and they had loads of space to play!

 

Two straight hours in the snow for the monkeys.  The kids were bundled in their Smartwool socks and hats, their pajamas, snow pants, down coats, and gloves – the were toasty warm!

Mama working on a poster for the book fair at the school – the kind of project that you think is going to be straight forward, but ends up taking far far more time than you anticipate! (And have mercy gravity! When I went to take a photo of this poster, I forgot that I hadn’t finished gluing everything down. I guess it is going to take a little longer now, oh well…)

hot chocolate after playing in the snow!  We made the special kind that Grandma Mary made for Christmas which made it extra special.

Mama cleaned all of the laundry! (now I just have to fold it and put it away…)

And that is only PART of the whole day – there was still dishes, and cooking, and more art projects, and rediscovery of old toys, and a complete take-over of the upstairs for the important set-up of a “pet store” of stuffed animals! And if you know anything about the amount of stuffed animals that grace our presence, you know that I am not exaggerating when I used the term “complete takeover of the upstairs”…

It was a satisfying day.   I got more done than I normally do, and the boys were busy, and happy all day.

Late Snow

The monkeys spent several hours in the snow today in one long go.  I kept waiting for them to get cold or bored, but they just kept going and going.  I finally convinced them to take a break when their entire faces were pink (instead of just noses and cheeks) and their snow pants and coats and gloves were to the point of being soaked through!

I tossed the clothes in the dryer and served an early dinner (as hot chocolate was lunch…) We were barely done eating when Nana and Dock and Tyler showed up.  Back went on the snow clothes!

Again, they lasted and lasted!

Dock pulled all of the boys around the yard on a sled for a super human amount of time.

I think that Owen actually moved on to snowball fights before Dock gave in and said he was tired!

The monkeys thought they were pretty clever ganging up on Dock…

until Dock revealed that he had his own secret snow weapons behind his back!

Tyler preferred to sit out on the snowball fights, but he loved loved loved the snow.   I don’t think I have seen a kid his age be so happy and interested in snow.  He love the sled, and was happy walking around (and falling down) in the snow for quite a bit of time)   It was so sweet to see him so happy. 

The monkeys convinced Nana to pull them on the sleds.

And then their Mama.

And while I did not have the stamina that Dock had, I did help them get the most air!

Waiting For Snow

Maumau came over on Saturday, hoping for a promised snowstorm. But no snow was forthcoming despite the fact that she brought snow clothes and even stayed the night. (Or maybe no snow was forthcoming because she brought snow clothes and was prepared to spend the night…hmmm)

Owen loved that he and she both have fur on their coats, and made me take a photo, which cracks me up.

We hung out on Saturday evening, and finally took the boys to the open gymnastics session at the gym when we realized the snow was obviously going to stay away.  

Still no snow overnight!  We bided our time hanging out, making a special breakfast including making great-grandma’s homemade applesauce, Dutch Babies, and lattes. (I was impressed with Jack, who peeled a whole apple by himself - He has so much more patience when he is cooking)

The boys were pining for snow, and the forecast promised several days of it, but since Maumau wasn’t already stuck, it made more sense for her to try to make it to work on Monday from her own house rather than from our house on a high hill…too bad.

We consoled ourselves (that she was about to leave) by drinking Maumau’s special hot chocolate, and playing yahtzee and bingo.

After Maumau left, the monkeys and I headed down to the library.  Apparently the snow got the message that someone was supposed to get stuck, but it got confused on the ‘who’ part…

An hour at the library brought several inches of snow to the community.  The clear roads and lawn were now covered with several inches of snow!  Luckily we made it back up the hill and into the safety of the garage.  Then the boys played for almost two hours building and destroying snow forts.

Drive Through

Tonight I made a simple bean soup and knew that we would have enough to share.  So I sent a text to Nana to pick some up on the way home from work.

I told the monkeys that they could “deliver” the soup to Nana through her car window when she came, and they got very excited about the idea that we had become a drive-thru restaurant. 

Owen had the idea of making a menu, which turned into a receipt-or-sorts that he stapled to the outside of the bag.

• Bean Soup
• cheese
• onion (red)
• truffles
• lots of love

Jack wanted to be able to deliver his own bag through the car window, so I grabbed another small paper bag for baby Tyler.  We put some food for him in the bag, and then noticed that our bin of baby toys will still sitting out.  Jack picked carefully through the toys to find the perfect Happy Meal toys.  Tyler’s list included:

• carrots
• parsnips
• Fuzzy car
• ambulance

“You say, ‘Thanks for your order!’ and you say ‘Please come again!’” I whispered to the monkeys as they walked out the door.  As Nana pulled away, Owen yelled, “”Enjoy!'” which cracked me up.  Owen was tickled by his unscripted creative moment.  “Did you hear me mom?!” he squealed once he came inside.  “Did you hear me?  I yelled, ‘enjoy!’ at the end.  I thought of that all by myself!”

PS- According to our most recent review, we have “a very satisfied customer!!!!”

Creepy

This afternoon the boys and I went to visit Aunt Mimi and Lauren for a little while.  Lauren wanted to go to a store that was about 45 minutes away in the opposite direction of our house.  The monkeys were game for the long drive for two reasons.  First, there are 4 live ferrets at the store and second, I promided we would stop at McDonalds playland on the way home.

Lauren shopped at the store to her heart’s content, Owen did his homework next to the ferrets – writing all his spelling words in sentences that also contained the word ferret…  Jack gaped at the ferrets and chattered to the store owner, then me, then the ferrets for the entire hour.

But having ferrets in a store is not the creepy part.  McDonalds is.

We ate at McDonalds and the boys played at the giant playspace while Lauren and I chatted.   About 5 minutes before we were were going to leave, I went out to the car to get pajamas for the boys to change into.  As I walked out I noticed a man  leaning against a wall near the door talking on the phone.  He wasn’t eating, just chatting .  I think he may have been the only other customer in the restaurant despite the fact that it was a large McDonalds.  As I walked out, another man was just outside the door, smoking a cigarette and also talking on the phone.  My car was parked directly in front of the double doors of the restaurant.

I opened the back door of my SUV which has one large door that swings to the right.  I glanced at the man on the phone.  He was still to the left of my car up well up on the sidewalk.  I had to dig through the bag that I had for a minute or two, but only found one pair of pajamas.  I suddenly noticed a movement in my periphery and glanced to the right.  The man who had been smoking was now standing next to me –  looking over the hinges on the other side of the door.  When he saw me notice him, he immediately turned around and walked back toward his original position by the door of the restaurant.  I was very unnerved that he had walked so close  to me, though I thought maybe he wasn’t paying attention since he was on the phone.  Then he to the sidewalk, turn around and started coming back toward me, saw me watching him, and turned around again to walk away.  I shut and locked the car, and went back into McDonalds with just just the one pair of pajamas that had been in my hand. 

As I walked back in, I noticed the other man still talking on his cellphone and heard the word, “parking lot” before he made eye contact with me and turned his body away.    I walked into the play area,called the boys to put their shoes on, and sat down to catch my breath.  The “inside” man followed me into the play area (which had no other kids in it apart from Owen and Jack) and pretended to look around the tubes before sitting at a distance from where Lauren and I were.  Lauren has started saying something to me, but turned as the man walked in; her sentence trailed off and she  furrowed her eyebrows at me. 

At that point my heart was really beating.  I knew it was possible that I was making something out of nothing.  Even if there was something amiss, I figured that most likely the man inside – if he was anything dangerous at all - was probably just a lookout for the man outside who wanted the bike that was in the back of my car.  Still, I felt very uneasy and have learned to trust my instincts, and  definitely wanted to get out of there. 

I grabbed my purse and the boys’ shoes, and told the boys that I couldn’t find their pajamas.  Lauren sensed something was up, and eased out with us, asking no questions despite the fact that I had just shoved the “unfound” pajamas in my purse.  “We don’t have shoes on,” the boys worried when we got to the front door, but I assured them that their socks were already dirty and they would be much more comfy in the car with no shoes.   That satisfied them, and we all climbed into the car. 

I pulled quickly out of the spot as both men watched.

Creepy.

Oops!

I always joke with Owen that I want to be the one to pull out his loose teeth.   I usually suggest methods of pulling that my parents shocked me with – like tying one end of a string to his tooth and the other to a doorknob, and then slamming the door.  Or tying one end of a string to his tooth and another to the car bumper, and driving away.  For some reason, Owen never thinks these are good ideas…

Owen has had two adult teeth trying to grow in.  The baby teeth have not fallen out, so the adult teeth are growing in behind the spot where they are meant to be.  The dentist recently told Owen that he should wiggle his teeth a lot because it is much better for the new teeth to have the spot and the babies to get out.

Owen thought that advice was funny, and quickly pulled out one of them, but the other has been stubbornly staying put and Owen has grown bored with the game. Tonight, I reminded Owen to wiggle the tooth, and he was half-hearted, which I just don’t get.  I remember getting a kick out of making my mom squirm when I was little by pulling my teeth out in front of her.  (probably as payback for her evil tooth extraction suggestions…) Furthermore, the tooth has been sticking straight out rather than up and it just screams to be pulled!  So, I reached over and twisted his tooth (with his permission, of course.)  I felt a little give in the tooth, Owen said “huh?” and then his tooth started bleeding all over.  Oops!

Both of us were really surprised!  I joke about pulling out Owen’s teeth,  I certainly don’t want to steal any of the excitement and pride that my 6 year old feels when he has pulled out a tooth.  Luckily the bleeding was easy to stop and Owen didn’t seem to mind that I had been the one to actually pull it out.  He just kept laughing about it.  I felt relieved that he was still excited -which I attributed to the immanent arrival of the tooth fairy. But, Owen wasn’t laughing because the tooth fairy was on her way, he was laughing because he had a story to tell!

Owen called Eric right away.  “Dad, I just called to tell you good-night,” he began, as smooth and as casual as ever. “And that Mom just ripped my tooth out!!!” hysterical laughter…

Owen later informed me, I “can’t wait to tell my teachers and friends how you ripped my tooth out!”

What do you think the tooth fairy give for teeth that have been “ripped out” by the owner’s mother?!?!

A Round of Applause

I had plans to take the monkeys to have dinner at Eric’s office today (He works next to a group a restaurants on his campus).  Jack and I picked up Owen after school and we drove toward Eric’s work.

We had an hour and a half to kill, so I decided to stop at Half-Price Books/Starbucks that is on the way.  During the extremely looooooonnnng ride (10 mins) Owen was quite confident that he would die of starvation before we got there (as I did not hand him his muffin while we were still in the school parking lot – as I customarily do.) 

At Starbucks, I got in line to get the drinks and the monkeys found a table.  Owen apparently decided that starvation was no longer imminent – and wanted to wait to get his milk before he started eating his muffin…  (He did not find it funny that I had my phone out poised to call 911 just in case he didn’t make it…)

As the barista put the drinks up on the counter, Jack yelled across the restaurant (in an extremely loud voice), “Mom, get a straw for mine!” to which I responded (in a much less loud voice), “yikes, try that again.”  Jack quipped in his sweet-sing-song-happy but still-very-loud voice, “Mama, will you please get a straw and put it in my milk for me?”

At this point, an old lady sitting at the next table sprang back a little in her chair, flung her arms and legs high up in the air, turned to Jack and yelled, (equally as loudly as Jack) “Good Job!!” And then she began to clap.  Another lady, who was sitting with the first, also yelled “Ahh!  Yes!  Polite!.  Boy!” (or something to the same effect) and began clapping too.  It seems that the politeness of a five year old is a very exciting event, because several other people in the restaurant also began clapping, and even more began to laugh.

Jack smiled a smile of shock, then of happiness, then of embarrassment, and finally hid his face behind his arm and under the table a bit, leaving just his eyes out.

I am not sure if this event is more likely to encourage Jack to continue to be polite, of if it will do the opposite.  (He suit jacket and tie have gone that “opposite” way because  he gets so much attention when he wears them…)

Oh! and although this event lasted at least 10 seconds, my dear readers will be glad to know that Owen did NOT die of starvation.  He actually found the whole situation quite comical and forgot completely about his earlier troubles and chatted happily about his day at school.

Let it Snow!

Jack was telling me that he was learning about winter in class today.  He chattered about snowmen and snowballs and games to play in the snow.  He suddenly got very excited as he remembered that he had a little vile of “snow” from his stocking that he has been wanting to play with.

So we got some water and his little vile, and made snow. 

Jack was thrilled with the experience of the quickly growing snow, and made lots of it.

Jack made winter visit the Eiffel Tower…

Then a snowstorm hit!

While Jack is exploring the “snow” in various other ways, I snuck upstairs to write this blog…

…I am fairly sure that the snow will have covered the floor by the time I hit Publish.

Stripy Shirt

Anyone who spent any amount of time with either Jack or Owen when they were two will recognize this shirt.  It was the start of my Janie and Jack reversible shirt craze.

When Grady wore it to our house the other day, it made my heart do a little flip.  Once, because I especially loved that period when my monkeys were that small – and I can hardly believe that they were that small. And then again- because I can hardly believe that Grady is big enough to wear it!

Bike Ride

Today we decided to check out how Jack would fare on the new bike that he got for his 5th  birthday.  Jack’s old bike had no gears and was small, so he had to work quite a bit harder to keep up when we went on a family bike ride.  The new bike has 6 gears and is similar to Owen’s.  Jack is still a little nervous to start an stop as he cannot reach the ground from the seat, but he is excited to have such a big boy bike.The beginning of the ride was a race between Owen and Jack to see who could be the leader.  Neither one had the advantage and they kept overtaking each other again and again.  As boys seem to to do, they upped the competition and got faster and faster,and started taking more risks.  Eventually I had to nix the competition since the boys were deciding that it was the perfect time to pass when the boy in front slowed down to pass a walking group!!

Owen than vacillated between doing “fancy moves”  and slowing down enough to watch the grass grow.  “Fancy Moves” was my preferred activity for him- such as standing on his pedals and  having no feet on the pedals – which he found thrilling.  That is, until he decided to add to his repertoire – seeing how close he could get to the people he was about to pass, before he actually moved over to the left to pass them. 

Jack loved zooming ahead and then slowing down to weave violently back and forth while still staying balanced.  He did this crazy weave over and over, and was definitely doing it on purpose.  He has always had amazing balance, but I have no idea how he did not fall today. 

The boys were dragging by the time we returned to the car, but they were proud that they had ridden so far – 4.6 miles.