Farm Field Trip

All the kindergarten classes at Tyler's school took a field trip to the farm today. (This is the same farm I took the kids to at the end of last summer.) Grandma C watched Danielle so I could enjoy the trip with Tyler. (Thanks, Mom.)

The parents got to ride on the bus with the kids, which Tyler thought was pretty cool.

The classes went on an animal tour where they learned a little about the various animals on this particular farm. The kids especially liked the calf, baby llama, and little kittens. There weren't any baby bunnies this time. Tyler really enjoyed feeding the deer. It's amazing to me how big the buck's antlers grow in just a few short months. He's just starting to grow them now. If you click on the farm link above and check out my pictures from August, you'll see how big his antlers were then.

After our animal tour, we took a hay ride up to the woods. The guide talked about different animal habitats and how seeds are spread. Tyler thought the guy stopped the wagon and talked too much. He just wanted to ride & cover me with straw.

After the hayride the kids had time for a break in the playbarn, then they each took a turn riding a horse. This time Tyler rode Spongebob.

Tyler's class

They finished off their trip with a picnic lunch and more time in the play barn. It was a good trip.

Once again I feel the need to thank my husband for the opportunity to be a stay-at-home-mom. I realize it's a team effort, but he works very hard to make it a reality. It would have been very difficult to be as involved as I have been this past year (including the past two days) if I had to schedule around a job. Our kids won't always want me around, but right now they're really enjoying sharing these experiences with me. I intend to take advantage of that as long as possible.

Preschool Graduation

Danielle had her preschool graduation tonight. It might have been a little more special if she was heading to kindergarten next year like some of her classmates, but we'll be doing this again next year too. (She misses the kindergarten cut-off by 8 days. I'm glad.) Of course, it was important to her and she enjoyed getting to be in the spotlight for a few minutes.

Today was also her last day of school. Her class went to the park for some games & lunch. She woke up super excited and stayed that way most of the day. After spending the morning at the park with her class, I can see why her teacher is so fond of her. Some of those kids make Tyler look like a saint!!! Danielle was so well mannered and polite. She was also a very good listener! I was so proud of her. Tyler was there today, too, and I couldn't have asked for him to behave any better. I was very proud of both of my children!

Danielle's class

Here is a video of Danielle singing Who's the King of Jungle? at her program tonight.

Ever Felt This Way?

I read this comic in Sunday's paper, and it hit a bit close to home. (Click on it to view it larger.) I was talking to another mom today who was struggling to contain her 2 1/2 year old, and she referenced the same comic. While I felt bad for her, it's nice to know I'm not alone. I think we're all a bit hesitant to share our inadequacies or perceived failures, especially when it comes to being the perfect parent (or grossly missing that mark).

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

After lunch today the kids and I went to a park to play and fly kites. Ron and I first took the kids to fly kites the summer we were living in the apartment. We didn't try last year. The kids were actually able to get the kites into the air without help a couple times today. Tyler got the hang of it a little quicker than Danielle.



Did you catch Danielle's "Uh oh!"? Right after that their lines crossed and Tyler's kite got caught on Danielle's. The spool of string slipped out of his hands and slid along her line. So basically, Danielle was flying her kite and her kite was flying Tyler's kite. As I reeled Danielle's in, his spool broke loose and his kite blew across the park. I've never seen him move so fast! Fortunately the wind died down for a minute and he was able to pounce on the spool, thus saving his $1 kite.

Danielle's Last Soccer Game

As the title suggests, today was Danielle's last soccer game of the spring season. Fortunately there is also a fall season, so she won't have to wait an entire year to play again!

Although it was extremely windy and a bit chilly, we finally made it through one game without the threat of rain. Danielle had a good time and did a great job. I think she was sad that her season is over, but she was excited about her medal and eager to play again in the fall.

I guess her season was over at the right time - next Saturday starts Tyler's t-ball season.

For Everything Else, There's ...

An apple for the road: $0.34

2 gallons of gas: $7.76

5 garage sale Barbies, 3 little sister dolls, 9 outfits, & a Barbie corvette: $3.00

An afternoon watching Danielle play quietly with her new treasures: Priceless

Making Progress?

If you recall from one of my previous posts (My "Butt" Problem), Tyler learned how to spell the word butt around the beginning of the school year. He thinks the word is pretty funny and has gotten himself into trouble more times than I can count for his misuse of the word over the past nine months. He initially started by just writing "b u t t". Then he progressed to "Mom butt" (for example). Well, after almost a full year of kindergarten, he has now progressed to full sentences, including punctuation. This is what I found on the easel in the kitchen this afternoon:

Ron and I had a good laugh about it in private. He's too smart for his own good.

Happy Mother's Day

Last week both kids came home from school bearing bags with secret gifts. Danielle brought hers home on Thursday and quickly hid it in her room. Tyler brought his gifts home on Friday. When he got off the bus that afternoon, he immediately launched into a story about how he tripped when he was getting on the bus and all the dirt spilled out but he brushed it all back in the bag and hopefully everything was ok... I felt bad for him because I could just imagine him hurrying to the bus, excited to get home with his prizes. Then he tripped and spilled everything. How disappointing. I reassured him that whatever was in the bag was probably still perfect.

When we got in the house he begged me to open his gift. Danielle ran upstairs and grabbed her gift, too. They were so excited and proud of themselves. How could I resist?

I especially liked Tyler's bag because I could tell he wrote the words on it all by himself. (It said "I love you" on the other side.) His bag held a flower (and some loose dirt). He decorated the "pot". He also made a little book to go with it. He said he wrote the note by himself, too. It was interesting to read what he enjoys doing with me. His handwriting looks so nice! It was very sweet and definitely something I'll hang onto for years to come.

Danielle proudly presented me with a butterfly and heart that said "#1 Mom". She was especially proud of the heart. They were both beautiful and I was touched by how meaningful her hand crafted items seemed to be to her. I know she had me in mind while she made these. This was the first year she got to work on something special for me, and she really took pride in it. These are going in my keepsake box, too.

This morning each kid gave me a potted plant and a card. It's so amazing to look at how much their handwriting (in their cards) has improved just since last year. My mom, stepdad, & brother came over to celebrate with us today, too, and we had a very nice time. It was a good day to be Mom.

Soccer Pictures

While we were on vacation the soccer team had team and individual pictures taken. Since this is the first organized sport Danielle has played, I really wanted a picture. We contacted the photography studio and they made arrangements to let us come in and have her picture taken. (They wouldn't paste her head over one of her team mate's in the group picture, though.)

I took her in for her pictures today and left feeling a bit disappointed. It wasn't that the picture wasn't decent, it just wasn't wonderful. It was another one of those "I could do that just as good myself for much cheaper" moments. Danielle was disappointed she didn't get her picture taken in front of the soccer goal (since we were at the studio), so I decided to find a soccer field and take my own pictures. Danielle was in the mood to pose and fool around, and we had fun laughing together. (The poses were all her idea. I just asked her what she wanted to do.) Here are some of our pictures.

A Mother's Revenge

I suppose when he's a bit older he may not appreciate this, but isn't this just a hilarious picture of Tyler? Really, you can come up with so many captions for this photo. (Obviously it wasn't the exact moment I was trying to capture.)

The school year is winding down for both kids. Tyler only has 10 days of school left, and Danielle only has 6. I reminded her tonight that tomorrow is her last chapel for the year. She cheered and said, "Mommy, I love Jesus, but chapel is just a lot of boring stuff." I've attended churches and chapels where I've felt the exact same way. It's cuter coming out of a 4 year old's mouth, though.

Passing the Blame

The kids seem to be going through another "phase". They have been more disrespectful, apt to talk back, and less likely to listen lately. Of course, any behavior issue is always magnified when Ron is gone. My brother was quite the saint today. He stayed with Danielle while I helped in Tyler's class. Then he stayed the rest of the afternoon, through dinner, and until the kids went to bed. The kids misbehaved just as much while he was here, but it was nice not to have to face it alone. (Of course, every afternoon spent with my children probably decreases the likelihood that he will ever want his own children!!)


As soon as he left tonight I ushered the kids up to bed. I was so tired and frustrated with them that I denied them any bedtime stories and hurriedly tucked them in. I was very short with them because I feared I would either erupt with anger or melt into tears. I just wanted to get them into bed so I could shut their doors and walk away! My son, who was in trouble countless times tonight for not listening, kicking his sister, being disrespectful to his uncle, being disrespectful to his mother, and not listening (did I say that already?!) gave me a hug goodnight, totally missed the reason behind my mood, and said, "Mom, I will always love you, but I don't really like it when you act like this."

Sounds like something he may have heard once or twice (or a dozen times).

Learning to Hunt

Ron is in Germany, with stops in the Netherlands and Denmark, this week. That means he had to travel over the weekend, so we were left to entertain ourselves today. We spent the day with Uncle Ron and Grandma & Grandpa C at one of our state parks. The kids had never been there before and it had been years since I had been. We had a nice time. It was a beautiful day to be outside.

While we were there, Grandpa thought he'd teach Tyler how to hunt snipe. I don't think Tyler ever fully believed snipe were real, but he wasn't 100% sure they weren't either. Danielle kept calling them snape, which made it even funnier. He was a good sport when he finally realized Grandpa was teasing him. I have tried about 10 times but cannot get the video of him showing Grandpa his snipe to upload on YouTube.

My Artists

Tyler's school did a fund raiser featuring each student's artwork. Each child drew a picture of their house. The school sent home an order form with a list of items you could have the artwork printed on. I don't imagine it raised as much money as some fund raisers could because the market was limited. (It's not as tempting for Grandma to buy a picture of someone else's house but she'd surely buy a candy bar or magazine.)


We purchased a clock to hang in our kitchen. We got it yesterday and it looks so good! I thought Tyler did a really good job capturing our house! He had to use purple and orange because they didn't have gray for the siding or cement colors. He was also a bit upset because he thinks one of his windows looks funny, but I think it looks great. I will look at this for years and remember the 6 year old kindergarten boy that created it. I guess that's much better than any candy bar or magazine.


Danielle presented me with these drawings of a daddy tiger, baby tiger, mommy tiger, and their cave home this afternoon. I thought they were so good! It's hard to get her to draw anything other than a princess, so she was really branching out! I especially like the feet. (These are keepers, too!)













The rest is not art related, but still significant (to me, anyway).





Danielle scored another goal during her soccer game today! We were surprised they didn't cancel the game (due to rain), so we ran out of the house in a hurry to make it there and I forgot to grab my camera. She is so cute to watch! She smiles the entire time and is just bouncing around on the field because she's so excited. It has been a great experience. Too bad there are only 2 games left! This is something I think she'll be doing for many years to come.







When the kids were little, one of our favorite bedtime books was Goodnight Moon. Ron especially liked reading this to the kids and still has most of it memorized. We haven't read it for a long time, though. Yesterday Tyler brought this book home from the accelerated reading library at school to read to us. After all those nights when he cuddled up on our laps to hear this, this time he sat on the bed and read it to us. Wow. I have to admit it made me feel a little emotional. I'd say it's just a mom-thing, but I think Ron felt the same way.


Our kids are so amazing.

Funny Things Tyler's Saying

Jokingly, I'm borrowing the idea for this post's title from Leah. Somehow the things that come out of a 6 year old's mouth are generally not as endearing as the things that come out of a 2 year old's.

Tyler was mouthy about cleaning up his plate after dinner, so Ron made him clean up the entire table (at my suggestion). This went over about as well as you'd expect. In response, Tyler made the following comments that really made Ron and I laugh:

When I'm a grown up, I'm never going to punish my kids.

When I'm a grown up and my wife tells me what to do, I'm not going to do it.

Tyler continued his mouthy behavior the rest of the evening. As I was helping him shower, he knew he was pushing his luck. When he jumped out of the shower his hands immediately covered his rear end. He said I better cover my hindquarters! He thought the word "hindquarters" was pretty funny. He giggled and added, My hindquarters are my butt, you know.

A few minutes after I tucked him in, he reappeared in the bathroom while I was helping Danielle shower. He was holding a toy and explained that he was crawling under his bed (?!) when his hip cracked the toy. He said I think we should get some Mighty Putty for this. Mighty Putty can fix anything! (He is such an infomercial junkie!)

(These pictures are of the kids using the sidewalk paint we made today.)