Damn you Berenstain Bears

Life continues in this house of 5.  I'm slowly getting into a bit of a routine with getting Colby ready and out the door to the bus stop, getting Lincoln off to his preschool 3 days a week and managing Vivienne (already 13 weeks) all the while.  Some days I make it look easy and others (most) I'm just trying to keep my shit together.  Yesterday I needed a little bit of help so I called my good friend, the television, for help.  She was on early and helped entertain the kids while I tried to function like an adult and get some things done around the house. After realizing that Vivienne wasn't going to nap before going to the grocery store I put a baseball hat on over my gross hair, used some make-up remover to clean my face from yesterday and headed out the door to get some much needed necessities. (Like peanut butter for Lincoln's most requested peanut butter and fluff sandwich for lunch) As soon as we got home and I attempted to put the groceries away Vivienne woke up, started crying and Lincoln was tearing around the house like the mad man that he is.  I, like any good mother, called in my good friend again.  I told Lincoln I would turn the TV on and asked him what he would like to watch and this is what I got in response....

"Mom, remember the Berenstein Bears book, Too much TV? I think we have had enough TV today. I think we should just sit together and play a board game.  I'll go get Zingo!"

Yup, mother of the year.  My son's moral compass comes from a family of bears. So I put the cold stuff in the fridge, left the rest on the counter for later and played some Zingo with my boy while nursing Vivienne.  Just call me Mama Bear:)

Certificate of Acheviement

I love that Colby goes to a school that still has holiday parties, parades for Halloween, able to send in cupcakes for birthdays and celebrations for everything.  The school does a great job celebrating milestones and achievements in classrooms also. For example I turn to one of Colby's favorite classes, PE.

What kindergartener doesn't love PE. (I call it gym but Colby always corrects me that it is PE, gym is where it's at!)  He's not a boy that comes home and tells me all the details of his day but I do usually get a play by play of PE.  He loves learning and playing all the different games and sports  they have to offer and once they move onto another activity they come home with a certificate of achievement once that unit is done.

As shown above, he did a fantastic job at bowling. He told me he even enjoyed setting up the pins over an over again. (who likes that?) These crowning certificates are taped on the door for all to admire. 

 The basketball certificate cracks me up. "Awesome effort" translates to you tried but boy you sure don't have the hang of it.

And here effort is  mentioned again!  An "active player" translates into you ran around and burnt off enough energy that you can go back to your classroom and not burst and drive your teacher nuts!

And then, my personal favorite, the certificate that will serve him well later in life....

Cup stacking really?  Isn't this a gate way to flip-cup? And no effort mentioned on this certificate, just an awesome job in achievement in stacking!  That's my boy, this skill will take him far in life (or at least in drinking games in college).

Warning Labels

With a 4 and a 6 year old I had long past the stage of worrying about finding soft, age appropriate toy or trying to latch a baby into a 16 point harness seat, swing, highchair or concerning myself with newborn warning labels.  Well, those days are back.  And with being a third child myself I feel completely fine saying that Vivienne will survive with whatever I do for her.  Don't worry she sleeps on her back and I strap her into her bucket car seat correctly and keep the 4,000 legos off the floor around her. But sometimes  you have to throw caution to the wind. 

Warning labels sometimes take it to the max. I love the "at all times", what about when they are in the car and you cant see them, or you leave them on the floor to go to the bathroom or if they are screaming bloody murder because they are so tired and need to soothe themselves. I don't smother Vivienne with blankets and stuffed animals but when you have a snuggle item that soothes her you keep it with her. 

I mean are you going to try and take this from her! I sure as hell am not.  Watch out world, she's got her eyes on you.

My New Love

So I've been absent for awhile.  I've been busy with the holidays and having a baby.  Yes, all good things with great stories and pictures to tell.  But that will come another day.

 Last week I finally got out to do a little retail therapy.  Here in the fabulous Upper Valley that means hitting up a handful of stores.  Seeing that I've only bought maternity clothes over the last 9 months I was excited at the idea of finding some cute clothes for myself. As I maneuvered the stroller up and down the isles I figured I would grab what I liked and return what didn't work out.  (I've had to adapt with a newborn, don't push my luck on time) I started finding some cute things and then on one of the clearance racks I saw a pair of black sweat pants.  I've got tons of yoga and running pants (because I do so much of that) but no real pair of sweatpants.  I mean, does anyone purposefully buy sweatpants.  I feel they are something that come into your life from different avenues, stolen from the husbands drawer,  mysteriously acquired in dorm room in college and you have had them for years (or decades) or your favorite sports team gear that everyone has to have. What I don't need is more comfy clothes but, alas, I found myself grabbing them, purchasing them and bringing them home. Later in the day when I was trying on my new finds I had almost forgot about the sweatpants.  As I proceeded to go through the bags and being satisfied with my haul I came across the pants in the bottom of one of the bags.  I had tried everything else on so I slipped into the pants and I immediately ripped off the tags. I tell you, I hit the jackpot.  I now understand why some people wear sweatpants in public.  It was like coming home, but to a home that was more comfortable than I had remembered. I admit, unapologetically, that I have worn these pants everyday since their purchase.  I have taken them off and put on other clothes when I go out (the bus stop doesn't count, they stay on then) but I come back to them everyday.

Why do I share this story of my new favorite pair of heavenly black sweatpants? The reason is simple, the happiness that it gives me and the smile that it brings to my face. No really, I found myself laughing at my pure joy and thought that I should write about it.  I'm hoping to be back at the blog again and I figured I would start with some humor before I smother you with stories of newborns. Thanks for coming back.

Today's Lesson

Living in the upper valley provides some great opportunities for Colby's school to take advantage of. Tom and I are fortunate with our time to be able to learn and then teach a science lesson to Colby's class once a month.  (Yes, me teaching science! I realize this is hilarious seeing that the only science I took in college was oceanography which consisted of a lot of hanging out at the beach.) Nevertheless, it's a great opportunity to get in the classroom and see the mind of 5 and 6 year olds working.  Clearly, coming to class and teaching has shown us in a new light to Colby.  The last time we taught he came home that afternoon and set up his own presentation for us.

 

He took his lesson very seriously and explained how a castle works and how you protect yourself when under attack. (very important life lessons, much more interesting then the lesson we taught on ecosystems) 

 

He even asked questions that we needed to raise our hands for to answer.  In the above photo Colby is calling on Tom to get his answer after I failed to provide the right number of ladders needed to escape off the top of the castle. (the answer is 2)

I love how his mind works and how he translates it into his play.  I also like that he sees me as more then the person that cooks, cleans and drives him everywhere.

Introducing Cal Kitty

It's been some time since we said goodbye to our beloved cat Isis.  (Stupid terrorist group had to name themselves after the best cat ever) We have missed having a pet around but the break has been good....not having to make arrangements when we go out of town, worrying about shutting the door before the cat tries to get outside and cleaning the litter box.

The timing was right for a cat but not a permanent one.  Enter Cal Kitty....

 

 

 

This pretty little guy is my parents cat.  He originally was my sister's cat when she lived in California (hence the name) and then made his way to Maine where he resides with them.  My parents have a big trip coming up and we have a pet free house; this was a no brainer.  He has been with us for almost 2 weeks and will stay about another month.  He has settled in very nicely and everyone is happy to have him around, especially Colby.  He loves animals but has a soft spot for cats.  They already knew each other but Colby has taken this time with Cal to get more familiar with him. Colby decided to start with drawing Cal's portrait.  He took his time and Cal was a very good model.   

 









 

I think they will both enjoy their time together.   It will be a fun month. 



Starting Lists...

It's only October but thoughts of Christmas have started to creep into this house. I'm certainly not complaining, I love Christmas and don't mind it sneaking into our lives early. One big bold clear way this is happening is through the number of catalogs that have come in the mail.  I often recycle them before they make it in the house but a few have snuck in under the radar.  Colby and Lincoln love looking through them over and over again.  Colby has started to circle some items he thinks he may want.  At one point Tom saw him circle a princess dress-up collection and he asked if he really wanted it.  Colby just laughed at him and informed him he had circled it for his friend Harper.  He then wrote her name down beside it so as not to confuse anyone else.  I loved that he wasn't just thinking about himself as he looked through the catalogs.  He even picked out some items that he thought his brother might like too. 

 

 

 

The lists will change as the catalogs get recycled over the next couple of months but the ideas they give me will help me give the big man in red some hints!