Jam packed day

It has been non-stop all day. Ben had school this morning. Liam and I took care of several chores and then picked Ben up early to meet friends at a bounce house. After jumping for over an hour, we headed home for lunch and break time. I decided to try out the new "break box" concept on the boys and prepared these boxes ahead of time.
This one was for Liam.

And, this one was for Ben.

I'd say it was pretty successful. They were very excited about the boxes and happy to head to their own rooms. I was able to watch Liam on the monitor and he explored all his goodies for a good bit and then "read" his books for awhile. Ben also remained in his room (except for a quick trip to the bathroom) and told me about each item in his box later in the day. He was especially interested in the "little statue".
I told them that their break boxes would change regularly but they were only allowed to look at them during break. I think I will get a timer for each room so they know how long break will last.

After break, we headed downtown for the local festival which started today. First stop was a train spotting. We are pretty lucky that the tracks run right through the middle of town and we can see many trains a day if we hang around downtown.

Cutest Toad in Town.

There is a large area set up for young children on the courthouse lawn. This sand pile was a huge hit with the kids. Check out the concessions in the background.

If I hadn't had my eyes glued to the boys, I would have been able to do some amazing people watching. The crowd was pretty small at this point but it was starting to pick up. Rob joined us shortly after we left the sand pit. Good thing, it was getting harder to keep an eye on both boys.

I am not much into carnival rides, which is a large part of the festival. But, apparently it is tons of fun. Check out these smiles.



That is Ben on the left.

And, me and Liam in the middle. There were some big squeals of delight coming down that slide.

It is hard for me to justify the expense of these rides until I get to see the sheer joy on the boys faces.

Really.

They are having THE.BEST.TIME.

That was it. Three rides. We called it a day at the festival and headed to dinner. Ben refers to eating out as "Going to a meeting". On the occasion that Rob and/or I go out to dinner, we do not refer to it as "going" to a meeting. In fact, we purposefully say that we meeting friends for dinner. (Establishing that it is important for mommy and daddy to do things with other people too.) But, apparently the "meeting" friends part stuck the most and now Ben wants to go to "meetings" too. So, we headed out for tacos. Yum.

When we got home, the boys wanted to go for a bike ride. We jumped on bikes (Liam in the adventure ship) and went for a long ride. Perfect finish to a perfect day.

In Ben's words, "that was the best day ever".

Taxi

I maxed out the car today with four kiddos and myself. We enjoyed another fun filled afternoon with Maggie and Riley. There was an extended period of car time - so everyone got a drink and we sang many rounds of Old McDonald and If You're Happy and You Know It. Thankfully, everyone was happy!

All pooped out

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Ben stays at school until 2:30pm. The children have an afternoon rest time to lay quietly on their cots for about forty-five minutes. Ben hasn't fallen asleep in a long time during this break in the day (nor does he nap at home). But, his teachers are always so complimentary of how good he is during this time. I have been trying to figure out a new "break-time" routine for home because both boys are struggling with resting. I don't require naps of either of them. Most days, they don't need the nap and it often messes with their night sleep if they get one. I would just like everyone to rest - peacefully - in their own space (ie. not my space) for an hour each afternoon.

When I picked Ben up last Thursday, his teachers couldn't wait to tell me what had happened that afternoon. Ben got up from his cot (something he, apparently never does during rest time) and came to them with his lip quivering. He said, "There's a caterpillar on my cot and it pooped on my sheet." After investing, Ms. Angie said, that indeed there was a caterpillar. It had left behind a substance of some kind on Ben's sheet and then had crawled into the end of a rug that was rolled up against the wall where Ben rests. Gross.


Upon further investigation, Ms. Angie discovered quite a number of tiny items Ben has been stashing in the end of that rolled up rug. These little gems are what's keeping Ben occupied during that forty-five minutes of rest time.


Ben is not sure how the caterpillar got on his cot. Rest time does follow lunch, which follows playing outside. Who knows??

I'm thinking of cleaning out my junk drawer and making up special box of goodies that Ben can play with - only during break time.

Now, what to do with Liam....

This post is dedicated to Uncle Paul

Cousins, Riley and Maggie spent the afternoon with us. We all had a blast. We painted, rode cars around the house, played in the jump house (for hours), ran all over the yard, ate pizza on the floor in the living room, had chocolate pie for dessert, AND Riley passed down his Nintendo to Ben. The boy's Uncle Paul gave this Nintendo to Riley five years ago and now it is Ben's turn to play. Oh, the joy. Now, to establish video game rules...

Maggie and Liam painting in the living room. Sweet babies.




Riley giving Ben "gentle" lessons on how to work the controller.

Ben in sheer heaven over his new toy.

Dinner. Everyone ate. Everyone was gleefully happy. Life is good.

Thanks, Riley and Uncle Paul. We will never be the same.

Happy Birthday

to me!

Today is my birthday and we got to celebrate by having Daddy home all day and going out for a special middle-of-the-day treat!


Yum. Yum.

My Ben, the volunteer

Ben has decided he wants to start a sticker chart for volunteerism. He came up with the idea on his own and we are helping him put together the "rules". This just came up at dinner tonight but he has already asked about 100 times if something he has done/ is doing is volunteering. It can take some explaining to understand that volunteering means to do something that you are not already responsible for and without having to be asked (that last part is my rule). Ben has had countless sticker charts over the past two years. He loves them.

Tonight he earned four stickers.
1. Putting away Liam's shoes.
2. Throwing away a piece of paper that was on the floor.
3. Pulling Liam's chair up to the table (it is pushed against the wall after meals).
4. (One other thing that I can't remember right now. It's kinda been a long (but good day) and it just isn't coming to me.)
I especially like that he was helping his brother. And, he did it with a smile.

Speaking of smiles, this one is pretty cute too.

"MAMY's HOOOUSSSSEEEEE"

My sister's name is Amy. Mamy to the boys. It is no wonder Liam was thrilled to go with me to her house (twice) this afternoon. She is pretty cool.

Paleontologist - that's a big word

Ben's class has been studying dinosaurs the past two weeks and he has loved it. He has asked many times how to say that word - "you know, mom, the person that studies dinosaurs". And, he has been anxiously awaiting the Dino-Dig field trip that was this morning.

In anticipation of today's event, Ben spent yesterday afternoon looking for fossils in our yard. When Rob got home, we decided to head over to a nearby creek and see what we could find there.

He was so excited and gathered up all the tools he would need for the dig.

Liam didn't quite get the point but he loved being down in the water, thowing rocks.

Ben did find a lot of rocks that he wanted to investigate more closely. He loaded up his bucket and we headed home to wash and study our fossils.

First, he put a portion of the rocks on a sifting tray.

Next, he washed them.

If a rock was of particular interest, he used a brush to check for fossils. Then, we took a really good bath and scrubbed off all the creek water.

This morning we went on the Dino-Dig field trip with Ben's class. It was a bit more of a Dino-Hunt, as the dinosaurs were found pretty close to the surface (laying on the ground). The kids had a blast hunting for mini dinosaurs and then headed for the play ground.

The boys have loved swinging lately.


Ben and his best buddy from school. I never remember to dress him in his school shirt on field trip days. Oddly, he has never mentioned that all his friends are wearing red.

Liam had a great time with all the big kids. He really wants to be a big kid, too.

There is no Planet B

Protect the one we've got.


Happy Earth Day from our little corner of the world.

A happy home

The boys had a picnic lunch in the backyard today. It was Ben's idea - a good one, I thought. It was especially sweet that they sat so close together and seemed to be having a rather pleasant conversation between bites.



Ben has been saving bird nest materials in a plastic bag for several weeks now. Today was the day to put all his efforts together into one happy little home.



Ben is very sensitive when it comes to animals. He is the one that always tells Liam not to squash the bugs, pet cats gently, and put worms "back to nature". So, this little project was right up his alley. And, he was pretty pleased with the outcome.

Quite nice. I hope someone moves in soon.