Wednesday: wind and food basket

We started out the day with a trip to an indoor playground.  It's been a while since we had been there, and it was perfect...not all that big, but it was new and not many other people were there.

Then we went to Kids' Food Basket to help pack bag lunches.  Aunt C wasn't able to watch Joshua at the last minute, so he joined us.  He held up pretty well; he spent most of the 40 minutes putting his thing (celery or pudding) in a bag.  He was not so good at moving the bag to the next person, but I think we caught all the double puddings.  Isaac did well too.

Then Ben came home early because we had large waves at the beach.  Both boys loved it and it was the parents who were ready to go first.  I think the boys thought it was a bit more dangerous than we did, which is why they didn't want to leave.  (Also, it's hard to get the waves at their maximum.  The video does a pretty good job, but they weren't the highest.  Some went well over the walkway behind us.)

Monday: school update

We got some letters in the mail today.

We did not get in at Black River.  While I was expecting this, it is still disappointing.  It probably would have been an easy decision.  We are 55th on the waiting list.  I prayed that we wouldn't get in where God didn't want us to be, and it seems as though He was rather clear.  But I'm still a bit sad.

We did get in at Eagle Crest.

Holland Christian is still on the list.

We will probably hear about West Ottawa Montessori next week; applications are due on the 10th.

Stay tuned.

Weekend: Fort Wayne

There was a lot of playing that occurred.  Playing with parents, playing with CC, and playing with each other.  

We took a walk today.  It was a bit cold, but still nice.  I asked Joshua if I should throw him in the river and he said no.  He then told me, for the next 5-10 minutes, that I shouldn't throw CC, Isaac, Uncle Nathan, myself, coats, hats, mittens, shoes, or pants in the river.

There were some beads to play with.  They were a big hit, both to wear and to play with.  I think they were currency for something and a train track at one point.

Isaac and Evelyn were trying to step on CC's shadow.

We went to the science museum.  It was busy, but there were many fun things to do.

A parachute is coming down, although you can't see it here.

Joshua enjoyed spinning.

Friday was Nathan's birthday.  There was a delicious cake.  The fact that they got cake and ice cream was one of the first things that Ben was told when we got home.

Thursday: time travel

Physics lab today was two air carts bumping into each other and then going in opposite directions.  (An elastic collision.)  One poor group was having a terrible time with their data.  It looked okish, not great.  They took it again, same thing.  We finally looked at it very closely.

Cart 1 bumped into Cart 2 at time = 0.25sec.
Cart 2 bumped into Cart 1 at time = 0.50 sec.

Hmm, well that isn't ideal.  I sent them to work at a different computer, since time travel really messes up conservation of momentum.

(It turns out a computer restart probably would have worked.  Why don't I think of that sooner more often???)

Wednesday: Grandma's birthday

In keeping with our birthday celebrating tradition, we made mug cakes for Pat's birthday today.

The biggest problem was the Joshua woke up from his nap on the wrong side of bed.  Oh my.  I did something wrong about every five minutes for the next two hours.  I also made Isaac cry when I took out some of his checkers and then won the game.  (It was his first time; he did a good job besides being to invested.)

Anyway, we trying Face Timing Pat to sing Happy Birthday, but when that failed we just ate the cakes.  There was no way I wasn't giving it to Joshua with the mood he was in.

Joshua finally broke out of his mood when Isaac opened some new Legos and let Joshua watch/play for a little bit.  Phew.

Tuesday: and the thunder rolled

"Who took my slippers??" I questioned.

Joshua broke out into a big grin and went to get them.  As he picked them up, near a window, lightning flashed.  A second later, when he was in the middle of the room, the thunder rolled.  It was loud, but not the crack of really close lightning.

Joshua freaked out.  He dropped the slippers and ran to me as fast as possible, cuddling with me for minutes.  For the next 20 minutes we heard heard the story.

"By the TV."
"Thunder scared me"
"Outside"
"Loud"
"Scared"

Anyway, bed time rolls around and he's still a bit out of sorts.  There is still some thunder rolling around, but not very loud.  I put him in bed anyway, and tell him that we'll be downstairs.  Two minutes later he's done.  This feels real to me and he was so scared earlier.  I put him in a sleeping bag in the basement office.  That way he can see us but can still go to sleep and Ben and I can play Warcraft.

It worked well, as long as it doesn't become a regular thing.

Monday: mostly Joshua

Joshua was rather photogenic today.


He snuggled with Ben (and bear) after eating nothing for dinner.  (He had just finished his snack a few minutes before dinner, and he usually doesn't eat much.)

This was right before nap time.  He had the required things: bear, elephant, wipe, water.  He had some semi-optional things: blue bear, teddy bear.  He had a new thing: EE.  Lately when he gets out of bed he attempts to gather all of them up into his arms.  I wish he'd at least leave the water there.

Story time before nap time.  Joshua set it up, because if it was up to me there'd be more cuddles.  Teddy Bear had a coaster and a seat too.

We all wore orange shirts with black pants.  Ben wore an orange shirt too, but was out the door before Joshua was dressed.

After bath snuggles.  During this time he pointed out that lots of things have butts: kitty cat, Mom, Dad, Joshua, Isaac, Puppy Dog, Grandma, Grandpa, and bears.

Friday: exercise

Ben and I have been trying to do a little bit of exercise every day after dinner.  It isn't a lot, but it's something.  The kids have been enjoying it because we've been using them as our weights.

We also went to story time today.  For one of the books Isaac asked Joshua if he wanted to sit on his lap.  It ended up being more of a between his legs, but it was still cute.  During the second book Joshua wanted to do it again, but Isaac declined.

Thursday: quilt

My quilt is hanging up at QuiltCon!  QuiltCon is a large quilt show for the Modern Quilt Guild.  It is one of the biggest ones in the US.  Now, to be fair, my quilt is hanging in a special exhibit to which all the applicants got in.

Wednesday: projects and outside

We started the day with a project.  The goal of the project was to come up with an automatically closing door for the basement.  Flurry likes to come in to say hi, but she doesn't close the door very well and all of our nice warm air quickly escapes.  Ben and I have been mulling this over for a while, since we didn't want to harm the door.  I finally figured out a solution.

Command Hooks.  Seriously, why didn't I think of them sooner?  There is a string that goes from the doorknob over the command hook on the door then over the command hook on the wall and down to the mug.  I was hoping to have a light rope instead of string, but we didn't have enough on hand.  If the string stretches too much I'll replace it at that time.  I also covered the mug with some left over batting to help stop scraping against the wall.

After the first try, the system works very well!  The door also stays open if you open it all the way, which is a nice bonus.  However, Flurry hasn't tried it yet so it still needs to pass its final test.

(Update: Flurry got in!)

We went to the Nature Center with some friends after rest time.  It was a beautiful day, so it was nice to get out.

Joshua has his hat on because "sometimes I'm cold."

Tuesday: cold

I teach in a cold classroom.  Usually after three hours in it I'm close to being an icicle.  Today I spent an extra hour in it.  I was cold until I got home and could change into something warmer.

Monday: haircut, three wheeled things

I gave Isaac a haircut today with the buzz cutter for the first time.  We did it outside so it was easier to clean up.  I think it came out pretty well, although I'll probably make a few changes next time.

This afternoon we went for a walk around the lake.  Isaac biked...it is probably the first time that he's actually biked around the whole lake.  Usually we watered the plants half way through and then turned around.  Anyway, he did a great job.  I pushed the stroller with Joshua; he was very excited about the stroller.  I also pushed a scooter, although the scooter was put in the stroller.  Isaac rode it for a short time, but it was a lot more work.  Joshua declined the scooter.

Sunday: half birthday

Today is my half birthday.  The kids, especially Joshua, have been so excited about birthdays that we've been celebrating the half birthdays too.  On our way home from church I mentioned that it was my half birthday and we'd probably do something in the evening.

Well, it was also our turn to host Bible Study.  We finished lunch and I started talking to Isaac about the dessert.  He wondered if it would have candles on it.  I said we'd do that later, but someone else heard and said we should do them now!  So while we talked about the book chapter that we had read, Isaac put candles on the dessert.  A lot of them.  But it was fun.

Saturday: doings

This morning I started working on the food for Life Group tomorrow.  Joshua helped with strawberries for the first time.  I didn't give him many to do, but he did a good job with what he had.

Later in the morning some of Ben's cousins came and took a bunch of our baby stuff.  There was a lot.  I'm very glad to have it gone and to know that it will be used again...the exersaucer that Jacob, now 16 years old, used is still going strong.

This afternoon we went to Riley trails.  Isaac has a love for pine cones, but I told him we couldn't take any out.  So here he saved a few from the trail and put them all together in a pine cone family.

Friday: playing

This morning we went to the indoor playground.  This is the spot that Isaac always asks to go whenever I ask him what he wants to do today.  I kept it a surprise until we were at the door; he thought we were getting ice cream and apparently stopped thinking about where we actually were.  We were there with a bunch of friends and it was nice to see them again.  We stayed for about four hours...and the boys probably would have stayed longer.

After nap time we went outside for a little bit.  Isaac rode his bike and Joshua did the scooter.  At home they rode little riding toys down the drive way.  There is a bit of a hill, and after watching them make sudden stops at the end of the driveway I had them put their helmets back on.  I'm also not sure it's a good long term activity, as Isaac's shoes will get ruined...he's too big for the toy and the tops of his shoe kept dragging on the ground.  Or he needs to wear some old shoes or something.  Normally this wouldn't be a problem in February, but the forecast is looking rather warm, with highs in the 50s to low 60s.

I also worked with Joshua a little bit on the balance bike, but it didn't go all that well.

Thursday: Blue-footed

We were watching Angry Birds during dinner, and suddenly Isaac turns to us and exclaims, "Blue-Footed Booby!"

picture from Wikipedia

"We learned about them in school!"  "Ok," I said.  "You can tell me after the movie is done."

After the movie was done, he started talking about them more.  "We learned about their dance!"  As he started flapping his arms and lifting his feet.  He asked how to spell their name.  Joshua joined in.

Of course, every time the boys said their name Ben and I laughed a bit.  Like immature children.

Wednesday: food basket

Today Isaac and I went to volunteer at Kids' Food Basket.  We, along with other volunteers, packet about 550 bag dinners.  Into a brown bag went a banana, carrots, granola bar, and wrap.  Isaac did the granola bar.  He did an excellent job.  By the end he was being rather silly, but he didn't start it and he didn't hold up the line at all.  So it really just made it more fun.

Leaving we were looking at a poster and he saw some people on it..."1 in 5 people [or kids, I can't remember] in Michigan is hungry."  I tried talking to him about it.  "Do you get hungry sometimes?"  "Yes."  "But we have plenty of food.  What would you do if you didn't have enough?"  "Come here."  Well, ok...not quite where I was hoping his train of thought would go but also not a bad start.

In other news...

Both boys were sleeping in the same position last night.  This is highly unlikely because they have very different sleeping positions.

We had an upside down  sunglasses moment.  Because you need to protect your eyes in this cloudy weather.

Blue Bear enjoyed his first pony ride.  Joshua kept him safe.

Tuesday: break!

Today was winter break.  I brought the kids to school.  They were excited for their Valentine's parties.

This morning I did work-ish things.  I cleaned all my quilting areas, something I probably haven't done since Joshua was born.  I farmed some food for WoW.  You know, important things.

Ben asked me out to lunch so we went to the Wild Chef.  It was quite empty, probably because most people would be going out in the evening.  It was nice.

Then I relaxed in the afternoon.  I've started watching Travelers, and am quickly watching the season.  I also did some quilting.

For dinner we had pancakes.  I like making pancakes alone because the first few never work out quite right and trying to get everything ready while still being hot.  Isaac was giving me too much feedback on which pancakes he did, or didn't want.  After the second one of "I definitely don't want that one" I threw him out of the kitchen.  Especially since it was not that bad.  In doing so, I managed to make him cry for the second time that day.  (The first time was when I said it wasn't very nice to call the heart I made for him blah.  It was just a passing comment to me, but apparently not to him.)  I understand why he cried and I semi-quickly called him back in and we talked...both of us could have handled it better.  Luckily, he still loves me.

Monday: Duplos

Joshua made some amazing Duplo creations today.  Below is a helicopter...it does spin.

Before dinner he made an amazing birthday cake.  He really wanted it to be his birthday today.  We "discussed" it for about 20 minutes.  And I almost yelled at Ben for saying the words "cough suppressant" when he got home because Joshua heard the word "present" and almost started the whole thing again.

Sunday: reason

"Am I being reasonable?"

I feel like this is the latest I find myself asking myself a lot.  Usually the answer is yes.

It's a bit easier with Isaac because he can articulate his thought process a bit better.  Even if he doesn't do exactly as I ask I can understand what he thinks and sometimes I change and sometimes he needs to change.

It's harder with Joshua because, well, he's two.  I asked him to put his dirty laundry in the basket today.  He got the basket to his room, but then gave up and decided to "sleep."  It was just about nap time anyway, so he had the choice of going to sleep right away or doing his laundry.  He didn't choose laundry and went to the bathroom instead, which I mentioned should be done before his nap.  I did his laundry.  He was very sad to find out upon returning to his bedroom that I meant it and that it was too late for laundry.  After trying, and succeeding, in controlling how many socks he was wearing to bed he finally started to calm down.

Hmm.  We seem to be having the biggest problems around nap time.  Maybe something needs to change.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Saturday: winter

One of my favorite things about cold weather is the ability to put food in the garage to keep it cool when there is no room in the fridge.  It's awesome.

I took the boys to a dance party at the library today.  When we got home, they wanted to change into pajamas to be like Ben.

Friday: meh

As with all days, there were many good parts to the day.  However, there seemed to be more bad parts today than normal.  (Including me almost putting Joshua's crib side back on when I said it was nap time and he wouldn't stay in bed.)

He had this pose in the grocery store.  When I got my phone out he wasn't smiling.  Just propping his head up on his hands.  He looked tired.

We also had some heated discussions about music.  Mainly that Joshua wanted it louder and I said no.  We did find that the headphone bags work ok as backpacks for the phone playing the music.

Isaac and Joshua painted their wood letters from Wednesday.  They did an excellent job keeping the mess contained.

Wednesday: Grandpa's machines

Friday we ended up going to Ben's work to see his desk and all his circuits.  We also looked at the other interesting things in his workplace, including the machines.

Joshua was rather distraught when we left.  He loved the machines.  (He still asks Ben about his desk and if he used the circuits that are on it.)  I suggested that maybe we could see Grandpa's machines sometime.  Joshua remembered, and we set up a time with Dad.

We went the the machine shop.  First Dad showed them all the machines.  Then Dad cut some wood and the boys used the drill press to drill circles in the shape of their initial.  Oh, Dad also used the sander to smooth the wood.  I saw lots of smiles while the "smoother" was being used.

Isaac was still curious about the metal cutting machine, so we went back and Dad made a few cuts.

Dad mentioned that his grandpa was a carpenter and that he remembers sitting on a step, watching him cut his pieces with a table saw.  It was fun to see him demonstrate it to his grandkids now.

Isaac: 61 months

Isaac turned 61 months...a week ago.

on the future: we've put Isaac name in the lottery for some schools; we'll find out near the end of the month or early next month if we're in.  Isaac would choose his school based on the playground if he were given a choice.  Yesterday I told him that he was growing up so fast and it made me a bit sad.  He asked why, and I said he would move out someday.  That almost made him burst into tears, so now he is living next door to us and will send pictures, texts, emails, and videos daily, along with seeing us.

on being a puppy: oh, he his still embracing his puppyness.  Joshua has joined in, and now Ben and I often have two puppies crawling around, barking, with their tongues hanging out.

on family: Isaac and Joshua are still getting along very well.  Isaac helps Joshua often, but they play together a lot too.  There are periodic sadnesses between them, but they tend to be resolved fairly quickly.  I am still the favorite parent, but he also has several special things that he does with Ben.

on having fun: He still really likes his screen time, but Legos, circuits, running, and going places are all high on his list.  He can usually turn anything into a game.

For the most part, it's still the same as the past few months.  Isaac is a wonderful boy to have around.

Sunday: something I'd never do

Today I did something I was sure I'd never do.

I sorted Legos by color.

I know, it seems weird.  But growing up all the Legos just went in a box.  Ben's collection just has everything in a box.  Why spend the time sorting the Legos when you're really looking for a specific shape, not a color.  Why spend time sorting Legos at all when it is rather fun to hunt for a piece you need only to find something that will work even better?

But it turns out that I have a son who is enjoying putting Legos together using the instructions.  (That makes sense to me.  I enjoy that too.)  However, this son is still having a hard time searching through a large amount of Legos to find what he needs.  To facilitate fewer "Mom, I can't find this piece" calls, I decided it was time to sort them by color, as the book recommends.

I feel I've started down a slippery slope.

Saturday: shows

Joshua gave me a few music shows today.

During the last one, Isaac decided to be the dancer.  "I'm the person you watch" is how he put it.  It might be one of those videos that only parents care about, I'll warn you.