The Puri Family

Morning?

2011-12-17T08:35:00.002-06:00

Raj woke me up to say goodbye on his way to work this morning, as he does every Saturday (I’m awake before him during the week). A few minutes after I drifted back to sleep, he woke me up again. He asked, “Do you mind skipping swimming class this morning so I can borrow your car to go to work? It snowed last night and I don’t have my snow tires on yet.” Ugh. It’s supposed to be our last class of this session, when we get Shawn’s report card. I know it’s going to say the same thing as all the other report cards have, something along the lines of, “Move up to Pike if possible, otherwise Pike with Parent.” But, I don’t like missing class. When we overslept and missed class two weeks ago, even Shawn showed disappointment. Maybe playing in the snow today will distract him and make up for missing class. Hopefully.

Anyway, the opportunity to sleep in presented itself and who am I to turn that down? A late night last night pretty well guaranteed that Shawn would not be waking before 9:00 am. Sleeping in could easily distract me and make up for missing class this morning! And yet, I laid awake. Frustrated. I tried to go back to sleep. Couldn’t.

So, at 7:30 am, about the same time I wake up during the week with an alarm clock desperately trying to coax me out of bed, I conceded defeat and gave in to productivity. Laundry started. Bills paid. Toys put away. Not how I planned to spend a Saturday morning! At least I'll get some blogging done…

Team Work

2011-11-22T21:51:00.060-06:00

It was a very wet and gray Chicago fall day today. Thank goodness we could burn off some energy at Gymboree! I was so anxious to get the kids going that I got my times mixed up. I thought our art class started at 9. So, we were running late and I bustled Shawn and Abby out the door. We got there well after start time, so the Ms. Kim (at the front desk) and Ms. Mary Beth (teaching a Play & Learn Level 4 class) asked me which class we were attending. I explained that we were running late this morning and were supposed to be in the art class that was well underway. After a few giggles, they both looked at me and said, “I don’t think so!” It turns out, the class that was going on at that time was a Level 1 Art class for 18-24 month olds (though no one actually showed up for it). Our class, Level 2 Art, didn’t start for another hour! Ooops!! Luckily, they are very accommodating and invited us to join Ms. Mary Beth’s Play & Learn Level 4 group, even though the other children were 16-22 months old. Then, we even got to participate in half of a Level 5 until our real class was ready to begin. Oy! I know everyone makes mistakes, but it’s not the first time I’ve done this! It’s been about a year since the last time, so it’s not like it’s a frequent occurrence, but… still! Get it together, woman!

While we spent all morning at Gymboree, Shawn and Abby did a great job playing with the younger kids. I think they had a good time doing some of the activities that they don’t get to do in the older levels anymore (like playing the Freeze game on the air log, a lap ride to The Noble Duke of York, etc.)

Shawn's a work horse pulling a wagon.

Playing with the Rainbow Rope (bungie)

Two horses going over a big hill.

Giddyup!

Abby shaking her horse tail

Shawn with running with his horse tail

It was fun to watch them interact with the little ones too. Shawn definitely recognizes that there’s something about the children younger than he is. He is very gentle and careful when he’s around them, especially babies. Other people that notice this make sure to point out, “It looks like Shawn’s ready to be a big brother!” Yup, I totally agree he’ll make a great big brother…

In Art class, Ms. Kim subbed for Ms. LouAnn, who was out of town for the holiday. We did a review unit combing all the shapes that we’ve worked with over the past few weeks. After free painting for a few minutes, we started our projects. The first involved stamping various shaped blocks into paint. Ms. Kim encouraged the kids to combine their shapes into new things, like stamp a triangle over a square to make a house or a triangle over a circle to be a face wearing a hat, but the kids (not just Shawn and Abby) were more interested in covering their papers with randomly stamped shapes. The grownups tried to point out their accidental creations like, “That line of circles looks like a caterpillar!” but after a while, the kids just stamped freely. The second project was a simple collage of paper triangles, felt circles, tissue paper rectangles, and circle smiley-face stickers. (Neither project were very creative or original – and, unfortunately, I don’t think it had anything to do with Ms. LouAnn having a sub today! I sure hope they pick up the slack in the next unit… or I may just have to start suggested some resources for new ideas!)

When we got home from Gymboree today, Shawn and Abby played while I got lunch ready. Abby was the first one eager to sit down to eat, but lately she’s convinced herself that she can’t get into her chair by herself - even though she’s done it hundreds of times before! As the problem solver that she is, today she got Shawn involved. Here’s how it unfolded…

What a team!

Yawn

2011-11-13T12:05:00.006-06:00

*Yawn*

Shawn woke up around 6:30 am this morning. This is extremely out of character, as I normally have to drag him out of bed between 8:00 - 8:30 am during the week. I was really looking forward to sleeping in today too, of course. So much for that dream!

*Yawn*

He woke up once earlier in the night, but he went back to sleep pretty easily. This time, he was wide awake and I couldn’t even talk him into snuggling for very long! He was ready to play, wanted to get Baron from the kitchen, and resisted the notion of anything deviating from his plan.

*Yawn*

The catch – he’s definitely got a cold. In spite of the medicine I gave him (which he loves), he spent the majority of the morning sneezing, coughing, sniffing, and dribbling all over everything. (My efforts to teach him to cover his mouth have obviously failed tremendously.) I made him a cub of chicken broth in a fun apple-shaped cup with a squeezie spout (like a sports bottle), to encourage him to drink plenty of fluids. My scheme worked initially, but you can lead a toddler to a sippy, but you can’t make him drink!

*Yawn*

Shawn played, asked “Let’s get out of here!” and “What are we going to do today?” as if he was in tip-top shape. Yet, when I sat him on my bed to read a story (after much cajoling to get him to actually sit and not stand), the next thing I realized, he was fast asleep and snoring softly. It was only 11:00 am. (His normal naptime is around 1:30 or 2:00 pm.)

But, now I’m awake!

St. Martinstag

2011-11-12T23:11:00.000-06:00

To celebrate St. Martinstag yesterday, I made a German-ish twist to a Creamy Beef Stroganoff (see the recipe below), sauerkraut, and green beans. Raj & I had some beer from the Galena Brewing Company (not German, but good). We finished the frozen store bought pretzels I had left from Oktoberfest (not the greatest, but they did the trick). I was going to make Apful Kuchen for dessert, but realized too late I only had one apple. It wasn't a big deal, we were full after the pretzels anyway! We could've done our lantern walk last night, too, but I didn't feel like the lantern was quite done yet and it simply got too late to go before we realized it!

Creamy Beef Stroganoff (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 (10.5 ounce) can beef consomme

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

8 ounces wide egg noodles, cooked and drained

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in flour and salt until blended. Stir in soup, consomme and mustard. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir in the noodles and sour cream; heat through (do not boil).

However, as it usually happens with recipes, I really didn’t follow this too closely. I left out the extra salt, only had beef bouillon crystals, added some garlic, chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, and parsely, and had to substitute for a lack of sour cream (with a mixture or cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, and lemon juice - thanks to my very handy book Substituting Ingredients: An A to Z Kitchen Reference by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Klein). And, to help boost the German-ish feel, I swapped the wide egg noodles for Spaetzle. Even with all of the substitutions and deletions from the original, the final dish seemed to be intact. It turned out pretty well and it was nice to try a different recipe. (I should’ve reduced the amounts in the sauce though, I have waaaaaay too much left over and no more Spaetzle!)

So, we waited until this evening for the lantern, but we did that part of the St. Martinstag tradition, too. I used a guide to help get me started on a balloon and paper mache lantern, but once I read through it, I remembered that it really is pretty easy. I only made one lantern, since *ahem!* NO ONE else was interested in helping and I didn't think it was quite reasonable for me to make three alone! (grrrr...) I tried to get Shawn excited about making or at least helping me make a lantern, but he was absolutely not interested at all. (Sometimes he’s all about getting his hands messy, but lately it seems to turn him off completely. Bummer… in a way.) Raj used Shawn as his ‘out,’ too. Oh, well! I had fun doing it! Once it was done, Shawn (finally) got excited about it. He helped Raj find a stick that we could use to attach to the lantern.

(No, I didn't draw any of those pictures myself, they are clip arts that I've used on our lanterns for the past few years.
Wish I could claim them as my own, but not even close!
After paper mache-ing them onto the balloon, I used permanent markers to dress them up a bit.)

Once it got dark out, Shawn got really excited about going on a walk with the lantern. Raj did express a little concern about looking strange as we paraded around the neighborhood, but I made sure to point out that Shawn and I had just returned from a short walk and only saw one person the whole time, and besides, who cares?! The weather was still holding on to a few warm degrees before dropping into Chicago's sub-zero winter that is looming just around the corner. (Though, the gusting winds were a bit tricky at times.) In past years, we've kept the lanterns inside due to weather. So, we took advantage of the evening, and it was a lot of fun! Shawn got even more excited about the lantern when he saw the green glow stick to put inside of it and then watched the whole thing turned into a radiant orb!

My camera's flash was too bright to get the full effect!

Gusting winds and an excited 2 year old swinging the lantern around made it a bit tough to get focused pictures!

Shawn carried it for the majority of the walk, but I think the long stick got a little awkward to hold and maybe even a little heavy after a few blocks. When we were almost home, and Shawn was starting to lose interest and slow down, I took the glow stick out of the lantern and the three of us took turns tossing the gleaming rod a few feet ahead of us and then watching Shawn squeal, giggle, and race to retrieve it in the darkness. NOTE: Glow sticks + outside + night time = FUN! (Duh!) Once that happened, there was no way I was going to get the glow stick back into the lantern – even back at home! So, Raj had fun teaching Shawn ‘light-saber’ sounds and Shawn was his fully-attentive student.

Next year, maybe Shawn will be more willing to get his hands gloopy. Or, maybe I’ll find another way to make lanterns. Either way, it’s fun in the end and I’m thrilled to be bringing back some of our old family traditions!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T23:01:00.174-05:00

Shawn's Eggs

Abby's Muffins

We started our Halloween morning with a little fun with our breakfast.

Since we don't have any scheduled activities today, we ran to Meijer to pick up a few last minute things for our costumes. Back at home, we played with play-dough and did a mini-art project (thanks to Jennifer for forwarding the idea!). I traced the kids’ feet and hands onto white paper, cut them out, and then decorated the upside down shapes as ghosts. So easy! Abby loved being traced, so we made a few sheets of ghosts for her. (Bill’s birthday is on Friday, so we’ll make a birthday card for him using her ghosts.) Shawn liked having his hands traced, but I think his feet were too ticklish to keep from wiggling while I was mid-trace. I got a couple, but I’ll have to be creative when cutting them out to get the wiggled lines to resemble his feet!

I finished my costume last night. With black pants, a gray sweatshirt, a bunch of scrap fabrics, and a glue gun, I’ve ‘built’ a building ablaze. (I hate to admit that I burned myself more than once in the process! …I guess that’s appropriate…) I altered a red night shirt (also with a glue gun), added stripes with electrical tape, and Raj added Chief Baron for our Fire Chief’s costume. Shawn’s dog was store bought (from our Mothers & More Resale) and I’ve been working on his fire truck for the past few days. It started as an apple box from Costco, but with the magic of paint, the glue gun, and some random materials, a fire truck has been manufactured. I put some finishing touches on fire truck during naptime (the hose, drivers, lights, and siren). DONE!

When Bill picked up Abby, I thought I had a little time to wake up Shawn, get him changed into his costume and truck, put my costume on, and then get Baron ready to go, but I didn’t have nearly as much time as I had hoped. It seemed like only a few minutes later, Abby (Lady Bug), Bill, Viola (Olivia the Pig), and Heidi were at our front door ready to go. I had my outfit on, but hadn’t done the flaming make-up or false lashes that I had planned. I quickly tossed Shawn into his suit and then belted him into his truck and we left Chief Baron behind. I almost forgot to grab Shawn’s Trick-or-Treat bucket as we rushed out the door!

Shawn loved being able to put on his fire truck, though I wasn’t sure he’d ‘wear’ it for long. It didn’t make walking very easy, bumping into his legs with each step. In fact, as we were rushing out the door to join the gang for Trick-or-Treating, Shawn took a massive tumble over the step at our front door. I think the fire truck got caught up on either the step or the door frame, which threw off Shawn’s center of gravity, tipping him forward, over (and off) the front stoop, into the void where there should be bushes (luckily, there aren’t any right now!) where he landed on top of the fire truck completely shocked, disoriented, and scared by the mid-flight somersault he had just made. Though the fire truck caused the accident, I think wearing the cardboard box actually prevented Shawn from getting hurt at all! Thank goodness! But, what a way to start the adventure of Trick-or-Treating ! It can only get better from here…

And, it did. I was able to adjust the length of the arm straps to lift the box out of the way of his legs a little, but then Shawn said they were too tight. So, we just walked slowly and I helped him up and down the front steps at the houses we visited. Surprisingly, Shawn wore the fire truck the whole time we were out with Abby and Viola. He even insisted on holding onto the fire hose, rather than tucking it into his arm straps, and preferred that I carry his treats bag. (So, just to get this straight, you want to carry a pretend hose, while I carry candy? OOOOOOKAAAY!) We stopped at a handful of houses of people that Bill knew, but then Abby and Viola were ready to go home. Shawn and I decided to go back out and visit some more houses.

As we past a group of other trick-or-treaters, one little boy stopped us and, with total exuberance, asked, "Did you make that?!" pointing to Shawn's costume. Needless to say, he was in an entirely store-bought, plastic, one-of-a-million-just-like-it costume. In fact, I hate to admit it, but I don't even remember what it was! Maybe seeing us will inspire him (or his parents) to be a little more creative next year... maybe... I can hope...

We tried finding our dog park friend, Ms. Katie, who would have really appreciated Shawn’s Dalmatian costume, but I only had a vague idea of which building she lived in within the neighboring townhome association. It was really difficult to tell which residents were welcoming Trick-or-Treaters in her neighborhood, since some buildings had communal front doors. Though we didn’t find Ms. Katie, we did stop at a plenty of other houses before heading home (well past dark).

I wasn't overly surprised, but still a little disappointed, that I only saw one other parent dressed up (a very elaborate witch) with the kids. It's a fun excuse to do something silly with your child and there are only so many years that they'll let you get away with it before they're too old to tolerate having that kind of fun with Mom and/or Dad! I say take advantage of the time while we have it!

Shawn did great and I had fun going out with him in costume, too. He managed to find a just-loud-enough voice to say some combination of “Trick or Treat!” “Happy Halloween!” and “Thank You!” at each house. He wore his fire truck a lot longer than I had ever anticipated and even when he was tired of wearing it, he still held on to the hose! The fire truck’s lights and siren were fading just about the same time that Shawn and I were. It was time to go home.

Raj had been home for a short time handing out candy and his customary (and now requested!) toothbrushes. He dressed as a crazed dentist… hmmm…

After Shawn changed out of his Dalmatian suit and into little boy pajamas, he continued to play with the fire truck and hose. He was frustrated that the lights and siren wouldn’t work anymore, but at least the hose still stretched!

He and Raj greeted the last of the trick-or-treaters while I made dinner. Our menu for the evening consisted of crocodiles’ eyes, lizards’ skins, owls’ tongues, rats’ hearts, frogs’ toes, and vampires’ teeth stirred in a cauldron of orange monster blood and topped with spiders and webs. And, we nibbled on witches’ hats and severed fingers.

In other words, we had carrot, cashew, and ginger soup (orange monster blood), to which I added meat stuffed tortellini (crocodiles’ eyes), diced onions (lizards’ skin), corn (owls’ tongues), diced red peppers (rats’ hearts), diced green peppers (frogs’ toes), and pine nuts (vampires’ teeth). Then, I garnished it with swirls of plain yogurt (webs) and cheese cut-outs (spiders). On the side, we had baby corn (severed witches’ fingers) and garlic dusted crescent rolls (witches’ hats). (Raj helped me come up with a couple of the Halloween-y names for the ingredients.) We had fun eating the ghoulish concoction and Shawn has now renamed baby corn as "witches’ fingers"!

We put the fire truck in the basement, since it’s still being played with, but I don’t want it to be run into the ground! Raj thinks we might be able to use it for something next year, but I have a feeling Shawn will be ready for something different a year from now. (It was a relief to see it last longer than a walk around the block. Still, I kind of wish we could’ve used it at the Gymboree Pumpkin Patch Party, the Mothers & More Fall Family Party, or the wear-your-costume-but-no-accessories-please Language Stars class next week. Oh, well. It served its purpose. I’ll totally admit I had fun making it, and I’m just glad it was worth all the effort and time!)

However, now that the festivities are over, I’m ready for another weekend!

A Sick Day - Abby's Turn

2011-10-24T22:14:00.007-05:00

Abby hasn’t been feeling well the past few days, so this morning, when she still wasn’t feeling well and her fever returned, Bill decided to keep her home. We have nothing on the schedule today, so I let Shawn sleep in and wake on his own. He’s still getting over the tail end of his icky-ness from last week too, so I figured that the extra sleep would be good for him. (As Oma reminded me, “He is his mother’s son, afterall!” We do love our sleep… in the mornings, at least!)

Once he did wake up, Shawn met me at the top of the stairs with a big smile. Nice! I like those kinds of wake-ups! After I helped him change out of his clothes from yesterday that he fell asleep in and into fresh clothes, I asked him what he’d like for breakfast. “Eggs! …and yogurt!” That was easy. We shared a double egg omelet, though I would’ve preferred to add cheese or something to it he politely requested, “Just eggs, please.” Afterwards, Shawn helped me clear the table. Then, while I was emptying the dishwasher, he helped me by sorting and putting away the clean silverware. When he was done, he gave me a hug for being such a good helper! (I'm not sure what I said to get him so excited about sorting silverware, but I hope I can remember it for next time!)

A little later, we tracked Oma down at work via Skype and chatted for a little while. We wouldn’t want her to accomplish too much in one day! We also figured out how to add email subscriptions to our blogs. This will definitely help me stay on top of the news from the Barony and the NJ Hardwicks (if we can get her to join the bandwagon) better.

During lunch, Grandma Fanny showed up at our doorstep unexpectedly. In her very broken (yet improving) English, she explained that her passport issues were finally resolved and that she was on her way to O’Hare Airport hoping to try to get on a stand-by flight back home to Hong Kong. Needless to say, she wouldn’t be coming over for our English lessons anymore, as long as she could get on a flight. (This summer, she was planning a trip to meet some friends in Toronto. The night before her flight, her daughter was helping her get ready and realized that they had let her passport expire – by. ONE. day. So, she couldn’t go on her trip. For the past three or four months, her family has been trying to get her passport fixed. The winters here are very hard on her, there’s a big family wedding back in Hong Kong coming up, and her husband, who she hasn’t seen almost a year, is still in Hong Kong. She got her new passport today, and she’s very excited to be able to go home again.) We gave each other a big hug and I wished her a safe trip home. Though I don’t think she understood the words I was saying, I’m sure she understood the idea. She turned around and hurried back to her daughter’s house two doors down from us.

I’ll miss our twice weekly sessions, deciphering her attempts to tell me a story in English, trying to explain certain spelling patterns or grammar rules in as simple and basic language as I can manage, and (mostly) interacting with a student who is so incredibly motivated to learn something that is challenging (ahem - foreign!) to her. I’ve had a lot of fun dabbling into teaching / tutoring again and I feel like I’ve actually been able to use some of the things from my Reading Specialist program, which I haven’t needed a whole lot in the past year. I’m happy that she finally gets to go home again, but I’m sad to see her go.

A few minutes later, our doorbell rang again! Grandma Fanny came back just to give Shawn a pack of his favorite orange flavored yogurt drinks that she picks up for him each time she shops in Chinatown. They’re the perfect size for little hands and little mouths. He loves to guzzle them down and since they’re small servings, I don’t mind too much that they’re really mostly sugar. After I thanked her profusely for being so thoughtful and generous, I was able smuggle the drinks into the refrigerator without Shawn seeing them. They’ll be a nice surprise for dessert or something later. I'll need to ration them out, since we won't be getting any more!

When Shawn started to slow down at lunch time, I asked him if he wanted to finish lunch or if it was time for his nap. The first time I asked him, he said he wanted more lunch. The second time I asked him, he admitted he was ready for a nap. WOAH! I think this is a first! I can’t think of a time he’s ever been ‘ready’ for a nap or bedtime! Put this day on the calendar!

While he napped, I intended to accomplish a list of jobs around the house. Instead, I emailed more with Oma, Skyped with Jennifer and Jonathan, and blogged a bit. Before I knew it, hours had past and I heard Shawn rattling his doorknob, announcing that he was awake. Darn! Well, maybe I’ll get to those things later!

After a bit of play time together, we went to Staples to pick up a few supplies for a gift certificate that I made for Mothers & More. We are contributing to two new mom gift baskets that will be put into a silent raffle. I’ve created a glossy card that opens to reveal a free year membership to our chapter. I also wanted to attach our business card to the inside, but I didn’t want to be permanently affixed. That’s what led me to Staples, in search of temporary, repositionable glue or tape or something. Luckily, I found some! The dispenser looks like white-out tape, but it basically turns paper into Post-It notes! Now, our business card is inside the card and won’t fall out, but can be removed without destroying it or the gift certificate. Perfect!

We also stopped at Costco before meeting Raj at home for dinner. At the end of the day, I didn’t get done nearly as much as I had hoped (especially for having only one child and no scheduled events today), but now that I see it all in writing, I guess it wasn’t a total blow-off of a day!

I got a text from Shelley saying that they took Abby to the doctor, had a throat culture, but everything is clear – even her ears. She just has a cold. That’s great news. Therefore, she’ll be back with us tomorrow! Shawn will be very happy to see her again.

Goebbert's Pumpkin Farm and Garden Center

2011-10-23T23:23:00.011-05:00

After a late night with the Puri family last night, it was really nice to sleep in this morning. At least, that is, until Raj woke me as he was leaving to watch a football game with some friends/cousins. It was a sore subject and not a good way to start the day.
Shawn and I leisurely got ready and had breakfast before we picked up a stack of children’s books (including Curious George and Little Bear) and a Sansaveria (or ‘Mother In Law Tongue’) plant from Freecycle. Then, the two of us went to Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm and Garden Center in South Barrington. The parking lot was incredibly full and we ended up in a spot on the far opposite corner from the entrance to the farm! Oh, well. It’s a great day to be outside (~68°F), and the walk will be good for us.

When we eventually made it to the entrance, there were vast displays of pumpkins and gourds of all shapes and sizes for sale. Scattered throughout the pumpkin fields were wooden cut-outs of various children’s characters: Peanuts, Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Toy Story… just to name a few. Shawn would pose at one and then run to the next when he’d see another exhilarating character. I had to click the shutter quickly! He also found a fire truck among a meadow of climb-able structures. He was trying to avoid being climbed over by a group of bigger kids, when Raj caught up to us after the football game. We figured out which attractions we wanted to visit, so Raj and Shawn got in line for tickets, while I held a spot in line for a camel ride. That’s when Shrenik, Heena, and Veer found us for an impromptu playdate. By that time, we had made it close to the front of the very long line, so we offered to take Veer with us so they wouldn’t have to get in line themselves. Veer rode with me, Shawn with Raj, and Heena and Shrenik took pictures from the ground. It worked out very well.

Next, the kids rode ponies. Then, we went to Animal Land. We started by climbing up ramps to a lofted platform that brought us to eye-level with two giraffes! A very different perspective from way up there! We also visited with some piglets before touring three very large tents that housed 55 different types of animals. It was a mini-zoo! Somewhere along the way, Veer decided he had had enough and they ended up going home, but Shawn was enjoying the day, so stayed to see what else was around.

The highlight was when Shawn, Raj, and I got to have our picture taken with a 12 week old white Bengal Tiger. The handler worked tirelessly to get the cub to look in the direction of the camera for a good picture. (I thought it was hard to keep my own focus on the camera instead of on her or the adorable cub laying just inches away from us!) Afterwards, she explained that when the barometric pressure changes, her cats get very excited and have a hard time paying attention and cooperating, part of their instinctual nature to find shelter before a storm. With rain in our forecast, it made sense.

Are Shawn and the cub wearing the same expression?

I had hoped to watch the pig race, where a group of piglets race around a track for an Oreo cookie. The description of the races said:

Come cheer on your favorite pigs. “Kermit the HOG”, “Miss Piggy”, “Hillary RodHAM Clinton”, and “Kevin BACON” are all here to race for that Oreo cookie. We are sorry but, Arnold SchwarzenHOGGER will not be competing this year due to a pulled HAMstring.

But, we spent too much time in the tents looking at animals and didn’t realize that we missed it.

Raj vetoed the corn stalk maze after he and I got lost in one a few years ago at the other Goebbert’s location in Hampshire. Instead, Shawn and I ventured through a straw-bale maze that had an old west, kiddie-town façade. Every once in a while, a dead end would actually be a photo-op for the friends and family outside because the kids would look through windows, which turned out to be funny props with holes for faces. Shawn had a great time running through the maze and deciding which path to take… Until, three girls came from around a corner and bumped into him. He was startled. He was knocked down. He bumped his cheek on a straw bale and got a little welt. The maze fun was over. Luckily, I was tall enough to see over the bales, so we found our way out quickly and looked for other fun things to do.

We saw a pumpkin eating dinosaur demolish a couple of pumpkins and then belch smoke from his nostrils. (It didn’t have any arms, legs, hands, or feet – it was just a head, neck, and small body. It looked a bit like a small construction crane, which was draped in orange cloth to cover the mechanical workings inside.) It would position its head over a pumpkin, open its mouth wide, then reach down to pick it up. Then, it would lift it high over our heads and crunch its jaws until bits of pumpkin came crashing to the ground. Sometimes, very large hunks would fall and splatter at its ‘feet.’ The ‘man behind the curtain’ must have had fun at the controls because he’d pick someone in the audience for the dinosaur to interact with. At one point, he picked me! I’d wave, he’d bobble his head from side to side. I’d shake or nod my head, he’d mimic. It was fun, though Shawn wasn’t too sure what to make of this huge creature with very large teeth, jerky movements, and growling roars. We kept reminding him that it was just a pretend dinosaur, but even after we left Animal Land, he’d occasionally ask, “Where’d the dinosaur go?” and look around nervously. It’s a good thing there was plenty to see and do to keep him distracted!

We ran out of time to go on the tractor pulled wagon ride, but Shawn played on some more on the fire trucks and a train before the staff made their rounds to announce the farm was closed. On our way out, we picked up two large pumpkins. (Hopefully, we’ll decorate or carve them in the next few days!) Then, we headed back to our cars. By the time Shawn and I hiked back to the minivan, Raj had already left the property!

I told Raj that we should get dinner before going home – partially because I knew Shawn would fall asleep on the drive home and I wanted him to eat first, but also because I simply didn’t feel like cooking! So, we met at Chili’s for an easy dinner. Sure enough, after filling his tummy, Shawn fell asleep on the way home (~8:00 pm). Luckily, I managed to transfer him fairly smoothly to bed. Later, I went to bed as a thunderstorm was starting.

I guess the Bengal cubs’ internal barometers were right!

Diwali

2011-10-22T23:54:00.025-05:00

Shawn and I started our morning with the last swimming class of this session. He had a hard time waking up this morning, so I started him easy with a 3-float belt to give him a chance to wake up and enjoy the fun of swimming before making him work too hard. He was hesitant to get in the water, but once he did and realized he was buoyant, he grinned happily and kicked his feet vigorously to maneuver himself around our lane in the pool. After a while, I took off the belt to give him a chance to practice more on his own. He slowed down a bit, but still showed that he could kick and splash with the best of them! Ms. Brittany gave us a new trick to work on getting Shawn to lift his arms up and out of the water – giving high fives! He loves high fives, so it worked pretty well to get his arms moving more. (Though, I think it would work even better if he was working with his favorite, Ms. Becca!)

After class, we played a little while with Tanner and his mom, Kathy, before warming up in the showers. I think that’s Shawn’s favorite part of the whole swimming lesson! Once we wrestle his wet swimming shirt and trunks off, he nestles his head onto my shoulder like a newborn and just relaxes as the warm water massages his back. We cuddle for a little while under the shower and when I ask if he’s all done, he asks for more! Eventually, we get back to our locker to change into dry clothes. Shawn loves taking responsibility for throwing away his swimming diaper while I get dressed. We’ve also started a routine of drying our suits in a centrifuge-style machine. (When the lid is pressed closed, it spins the water out of the suits.) As we hold it closed together, we count to ten in English, Spanish, German, or French – Shawn’s choice. It usually takes a few tries before our suits are reasonably dry, so we get to practice our multi-lingual counting three or four times. Love it!

After class, we picked up a Freecycled double stroller for a Mothers & More friend of ours. I also printed two wedding pictures in preparation for an anniversary gift to Raj on Friday. (I wish I had done this earlier, so I could’ve gotten higher quality prints, but they’ll work for now. Maybe I can get better prints made and swap them out later.) When we got home, Raj gave Shawn a real bath before naptime, so he’d be fresh for our Puri Family Diwali party this evening. Meanwhile, I went to The Great Frame-Up to have our wedding pictures matted and framed. The choices and combinations were a bit overwhelming, but the woman helping me was very patient. I think the final products will look really nice. I’m excited to put them on display! (Stay tuned!)

In the evening, we went to Kusum Auntie and Gulshan Uncle’s house for Diwali. (The actual date isn’t until Wednesday, but Saturdays are much easier for large family parties.) We gathered in the basement for a ceremony of readings and rituals. (Raj gave cousin Amit the camera, so there's almost a full memory card of pictures!) The children rang bells and read (or had help reading) verses about the triumph of good over evil. Then, the food began! The appetizers alone were enough for a full meal, but of course, there was more! Shawn was content with the fruit platter from the appetizers, but I was able to sneak in a few bites of dinner, too. Kusum Auntie distributed gifts to each child (Shawn got a black and white Nike suit) and then set up a row of folding tables for them to work on a project. The project involved painting a wooden picture frame (Shawn’s was a car) with a palate of paints, a very small paintbrush, a glitter pen, and then decorating it with stickers. I helped Shawn hold the paints and tried to avoid getting anything on his nice clothes, but I wasn’t completely successful. Luckily, he listened pretty well as I carried him upstairs to the bathroom sink not to touch anything with his paint splotched hands. We cleaned off our hands pretty easily, but his shirt will need more help at home or at a dry cleaners. Oh, well! He had fun working on his project and that was the whole idea. (I just wish I had known ahead of time, so I could’ve changed him into a spare outfit I keep in the car!) The rest of the night, Shawn played with toys and (sometimes) cousins, Raj played poker, and I switched between watching the kids and chatting with the aunts and female cousins who weren’t playing cards.

I was sure Shawn was going to fall asleep on the way home, but when he didn’t, I was glad I was able to change him into pajamas and brush his teeth before going to bed. He buried himself under his blankets and listened to a few classic poems from Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne before goodnight kisses and falling asleep.

[adapted from In the Dark]

We’ll play a lot tomorrow…

We’ll think a lot tomorrow…

We’ll laugh…

a lot…

tomorrow…

Goodnight.

A Bee-Boppin' and a Pee-Peein'

2011-10-16T22:01:00.024-05:00

Shawn slept until around 8:15 am, when Raj brought him into our room to snuggle. (Raj must have been tired, because he never wants to have Shawn sleep in our bed!) We all fell asleep for another hour or so. Then, the boys went downstairs to have breakfast, while I hung out in bed, but awake. It was a very
                         nice
                                             slow
                                                                      morning.

Eventually, we started moving a little faster. Raj gave Shawn a bath and got most of his little black dog-nose off from last night. By the time Mike and Bill came over to take another look at our leaky toilet, everyone was up and ready for the day. Unfortunately, it turns out that Mike needs to order a part, so they weren’t able to finish fixing it today either. Hopefully, though, by the end of this week it should be back in business for ‘business.’

While Raj went to the Bears’ game and Shawn and I went to the Roselle Public Library to see a jazz concert. Shawn was really excited about seeing the instruments. We saw the Eric Schneider Trio featuring a saxophone, clarinet, keyboard, and bass. Shawn and I were the youngest ones in the audience by at least a few decades. I think we were the only ones that hadn’t retired yet! At first, I found a seat on the edge of a row (for easy an easy exit, if needed), but then I opted to find a seat for us on the floor off to the side in front so Shawn could see the musician’s hands better. (I made eye contact with the librarian who was hosting the concert to make sure it was okay that we weren’t sitting in the provided audience chairs.)

Throughout the concert, Shawn had stellar behavior. He watched the concert, listened quietly, and clapped when he was supposed to. During the brief intermission, when we found some cookies and water, a few of the blue-hairs came over to talk to Shawn and comment on how surprised they were at how interested he was in the concert. Apparently, a few of them were paying almost as much attention to Shawn as they were to the musicians they came to see! Before the show resumed, I brought Shawn to the instruments so he could see them up close, yet explained that we couldn’t touch them. He noticed that the clarinet and saxophone had “metal on them” and that the bass was made of wood, “like the harp!” He was a little confused about keyboard versus a piano, but did point out it had a pedal, “like the harp, too!” When the musicians returned from their break, we rushed back to our place on the floor for the remainder of the concert. Afterwards, Shawn told the musicians (I translated), “I really liked your music, thank you very much!” A few more blue-hairs offered their compliments and then we went upstairs to the children’s section. We found a stack of CDs (songs, instrumental, as well as stories), a few ABC books, a few Dr. Seuss books, and a few potty training books (some for kids and some for parents).

When we got home, we stripped off the pull-up and really focused on potty training. We read the kids’ books while we ate a snack. We sat on the potty seat on the toilet while we read them again. Shawn didn’t reject the idea of sitting on the toilet a single time this afternoon/evening/night! Sometimes in the past, he’d say, “I don’t want to go pee-pee OR poo-poo!” at the slightest mention of the toilet, but not this time. He was much more willing to sit, whether he had to go or not. So, I took advantage of it. I had him ‘race’ to see how fast he could put on or take off his underwear - off is much easier! I had him ‘race’ to see how fast he could put his seat on the toilet and sit on top. I had him ‘race’ to see how fast he could put it all away. He was loving it – though it was nothing that I hadn’t done before! I’m not sure what made today different, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. Not a single accident all afternoon or evening… until he pooped in his underwear. But that was the only one! Without a doubt, he earned another Toy Surprise for filling up his Potty Paper with stickers. This time, he pulled an armored half track military jeep/pickup truck from the bag. He (we) had never seen a truck like this before so I explained that it was a truck that carried soldiers on the benches in the back. We talked about how soldiers and other the people in the military were very special people. The military is a little bit like the police, but they keep all of America safe, so we can be free. I also told him that Opa, Pappy, my Grandpa Bill were all in the military. (I’m not sure if he understood all of what we talked about, but he seemed to be listening and concentrating very hard.)

Things were going so well that we didn’t even think about naptime. He didn’t get to sleep at 8:00 pm, like the other non-nap days, but today wasn’t quite as exhausting as those were either. He was tucked in bed before 9:00 pm, which is still far better than 11:00 pm!

Shawn had been long asleep by the time Raj came home around 11:00 pm. I got some cleaning, blogging, email, laundry, and reading all done in the meantime. And, celebrating with a little glass of wine…

It was a good day!

Party 'Till We Drop!

2011-10-15T22:41:00.039-05:00

Shawn completely lacked confidence during his swimming lesson today. He clung to me, the wall, or any floating device he could reach – practically white-knuckled. I’m not sure why. Ms. Becca and I agreed, since there’s only one class left in this session, Shawn needs another round of practice at this level, then we could revisit moving him up. Even though there are kids at the Pike level who can’t do some of the things that he can do already, because he’s so young, the director has higher expectations of him in order to move up. Oh, well. I’m disappointed, but I understand, especially after his ‘off’ day today. Another session of Pike with Parent certainly won’t hurt!
After class, we dropped Baron off for grooming. I made beer bread and spinach and artichoke dip (both from Tastefully Simple boxes) for a Mothers & More party this evening. While Shawn finished lunch with Raj, I picked up Baron from grooming. (They got out lots of his shedding fur out of his coat – phew! The fur balls he’s been leaving on the floor were big enough to sprout their own legs!)

I quickly showered and got ready for the Gymboree Pumpkin Patch Party, the first festivity of the evening. Shawn wore the Dalmatian costume that he picked out from the Mothers & More resale. (He’s been reminding us that he didn’t want the lion costume that I showed him that day because he liked the ‘Dalmatian Dog’ better – how does he remember this stuff?!)

At the Pumpkin Patch Party, we saw our friends Andrew (the cow), Alex (the pirate), and a few other faces that we recognized from various classes, but most of the attendees were pretty young in comparison to Shawn. (Probably because the party took place in the late afternoon, so little ones with early bed-times could come to this one.) There were a lot of really cute costumes, including three Tiggers, a Pooh Bear, a dragon, a catepillar, a fire fighter, a lion... the list goes on and on! Not surprisingly, a few parents (and even a teacher) asked where Abby was and how odd it was to see us without her. We sang songs modified for the Halloween season. Even though the equipment was still set up in the same configuration as the ‘Animals in the Zoo’ theme from last week, they re-named each station to be associated with the holiday and season. We visited an arts and crafts table where Shawn decorated a foam pumpkin and Raj decorated a real one. A little later, we came back to the same room for Halloween cookies and water. On the way out, we said our thank-yous and good-byes to the teachers, who then gave us the rest of the party balloons to take to our next shin-dig!

Then, we headed out to Naperville to the DuPage Children’s Museum for a Mothers & More Fall Family party. We got there an hour early, so we visited a park around the corner to kill the time. It was a little odd having our little Dalmatian running around the playground, but it was a nice day to be outside and his costume kept him warm.

Once the party started, we had the whole place to ourselves. Shawn remembered being at the museum with Oma and with his friend Anna before. (Again, his memory amazes me!) It was fun to show Raj around to the different exhibits, since he’d never been there before. Shawn had no trouble jumping right in to all of the hands-on play-learning. Since it was a private event and we didn’t have to battle the crowds of kids who are normally there, we got to play in the bubbles area and work in the carpentry/handyman room, which we’ve never had a chance to do before. (Raj commented how fun it would be to host Shawn's next birthday there, but was disappointed when I told him that it wouldn't be a totally private event like this was. We may still look into what a party would entail and if it's even possible, private or not.) The kids lined up for a costume parade, which zig-zagged around the main floor. (Yet again, we never made it to the other floors, but I heard that there’s not much there and what is there is more directed towards older kids.)

It was a lot of fun. Even without a nap, Shawn did amazingly well. While we were refueling in the snack room, Shawn finally hit the wall. Raj and I joked about him falling asleep before we would get out of the parking lot, but Shawn even beat us to that! He fell asleep before we got out of the museum (~8:00 pm)!

Like last weekend, I wasn’t able to transfer Shawn to bed as smoothly as I had hoped, but since he woke up, I was able to change him from a Dalmatian back into a boy (wearing pajamas). He had a hard time settling down for the night and woke up a few times upset and screaming, but each time, he was later able to tell me, “I’m okay now, Momma.” When he was finally able to fall asleep for the night, it was still just about 9:30 pm.

I’m starting to wonder if we should cut out naps in order to get the early bedtime… 8:00 pm is much more reasonable than 11:00 pm!

It's Just Not the Same Without Crepes

2011-10-14T23:58:00.008-05:00

We started our morning with a Level 5 Play and Learn class at Gymboree. We visited the ‘Animals at the Zoo’ again, but instead of a book at the beginning, we looked at pictures of animals that we might see there. Both Shawn and Abby loved finding hidden bananas that were scattered around the room. (They’ve gotten very good at returning Gymboree toys to their proper baskets, even if it’s not intentionally part of the activity.) They also had fun swinging across the monkey bars, calling out, “Ooo-oo! Ahh-ah!” as they went. Abby likes to hang from one, let go, grab the next with both hands, let go, and repeat until she gets all the way across. Shawn likes to move one hand at a time from one to the other, and needs just a little help to support his weight. They really were little monkeys today!
When class was over, we played around for a few minutes, but when the babies’ class was ready to start, we took a break in my car. I played a CD of Dr. Seuss stories and read a few Thomas the Train stories while we snacked and enjoyed the sunshine. I’m sure there won’t be too many more weeks that we can do this before it gets too cold to hang out in the car!

An hour later, we came back inside for Family Music. We studied country and folk music again. Shawn and Abby helped pick animals for Old MacDonald, duck and horse respectively. They love their maracas and drums! They even got to do Bah-Bah’s into the toy microphone today, which we haven’t had time to do in a long time. They got very excited when their turns came around. It’s amazing to watch these two in music class. They participate and follow directions extremely well. Shawn gave a maraca to a three month old who was in her car seat while her mom and older brother participated in class – he gently placed it in her hand and made sure it didn’t fall out while she tried to grab it. Abby wants to help everyone around get their instruments back to the teacher or basket when it’s time to clean up. They can so incredibly sweet and considerate!

After class, we made our weekly trip to the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market. But, to our dismay, there were no crepes! I’m not sure if the crepe stand closed early due to the wind (up to 40 mph gusts) or if they weren’t there at all, but , oh, the calamity! Hopefully, they’re not done for the season, the market is still open until the end of the month. We made the best of our visit and visited the apple orchard stand for some cider (and a free apple cider donut sample), the olives and hummus man for black bean and chipotle hummus, garlic hummus, and black olives (and free olive samples), a farmer for potatoes (which Abby and Shawn helped me pick, but I must have left the bag somewhere at the market because I didn’t have them when we got home!), and a fruit farmer for apple butter (and free samples of various types of apples and cranberries – pucker!) Without our crepe snack, it didn’t feel like our visit was complete, but as we were going back to the car, the vendors were shutting down.

When it was time for naps, I guess Abby didn’t think it was quite time yet. She didn’t object to going down, but she certainly wasn’t ready for sleeping. She talked and sang to herself from about 1:15 – 2:30! After listening to her for a while, I remembered to grab my SmartPen and I recorded her! I slid the pen under her door and captured her saying things like, “How about… How about…Mr. Sun? No! How about.. let’s sing B-I-N-G-O!” I could pick out a few lines from Old MacDonald, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Bingo… but eventually (around 2:30 of the recording), she settled down and finally went to sleep.

P is for Pumpkin, Potty, and Pfffffft!

2011-10-11T23:37:00.075-05:00

I woke Shawn in time to catch the garbage truck come around our circle, which also meant he was awake to greet Abby and Bill when they arrived. Suddenly, he wasn’t so bleary-eyed anymore! It’s play time!

Bill explained that Abby’s doctor didn’t think she was ready for potty training yet, so they were going back to diapers. Bummer, but okay!

Abby and Shawn played in the living room with some trucks and books until breakfast was ready. Then, played some more until it was time to go to art class.

Art class focused on pumpkins today. Too bad Shawn didn’t focus on pumpkins today! He was all over the place and not very interested in participating in the projects.

Abby's

~~Shawn's~~ Mine

I will admit that Shawn helped stuff the paper bag with newspapers in the beginning, but when it came time to paint, his contribution was done. Every once in a while, I got him to hold the paintbrush, sometimes with me sometimes independently, and made a couple of dabbles, but he just wasn’t into it. Meanwhile, Abby realized that scrunching the giant sheet of newspapers was a bit too tricky for her fingers, so she figured out how to loosely roll up the paper, then fold it into (about) thirds in order to get it all to fit inside the paper bag! Great problem solving! She had a great time painting her bag and was very aware of any brown bag showing through. (Ms. LouAnn even commented on her attention to detail!)

While the kids ate Winnie the Pooh cookies, Ms. LouAnn read Pumpkin Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington. It was a simple story illustrating the growth of a pumpkin, starting from a seed.

Shawn was a little more interested in the second project. They painted an apple orange and stuck stickers on it to make a jack-o-lantern face. Shawn figured out that rolling the apple in the paint was a much faster way to cover it, but we managed to use the brush to spread the paint around. He loved putting the stickers on, too. (Meanwhile, I thought it was a weird project to do at all!)

For the last activity, Ms. LouAnn uncovered the tub/table and the kids found balls and foam blocks. She set up a game of 'Pumpkin Bolwing,' since most of the balls were orange and the blocks could stand up like pins. It was a good practice in taking turns and waiting patiently.

I had a chance to chat with Shelley while kids napped. Since Abby’s enjoying wearing underwear and using her potty seat, Shelley decided to continue potty training as we have been. (Phew!) There have been other instances that she hasn’t been happy about with their current pediatrician, and this sealed the deal. Now, she’s on the market for a new doctor. Shelley said she had someone lined up to get a second opinion and I shared Dr. Lin’s business card, just in case they want to shop around.

I’m so glad I closed the windows in the kids’ rooms before naptime. The house stinks of exhaust from the roofers’ machinery and generators. It’s a shame to shut out the beautiful day, but there’s certainly no fresh air circulating around here today!

Abby woke around 3:30 pm and was not happy with all the noise over our heads. She was all smiles by the time Bill came to get her though. Perhaps being back in underwear for the first time all day had something to do with it…?

When Raj got home, he and Shawn went out to Open Gym at Gymboree. When they came home, Shawn had a goose-egg / strawberry on his forehead. He was excited to tell me about the Elmo ice-pack he got to use though, so the bump must not bother him too much!

After bath time, we were each doing our own thing in different rooms. Suddenly, I heard a sound that I haven’t heard in 20-something years, yet I knew immediately what Shawn was doing. We keep a cassette (yes, cassette) of German/English songs in the tape player of the mini-stereo in his room. I heard the familiar, though distant, swooshing sound of the tape being pulled from the inside of the cassette. Argh… Using the eraser tip of a pencil, I managed to re-wind it all back inside, but as I was spinning the pencil around and around, I kept reminding myself, “This is why no one uses cassettes anymore!” Though I got it all back in place, Shawn had it pretty crumpled in spots, so it may be history… like the rest of the world’s cassettes! (It would be a shame not to have those songs anymore…

...oh, well...

...it is a cassette!)

And Now... Presenting the Amazing Sleeping and Peeing SHAWN!

2011-10-10T23:14:00.017-05:00

After almost 14 hours of sleeping, I finally had to wake Shawn around 9:45 am. I would’ve let him sleep a little longer, but the cleaning ladies were here and I prefer to get out of the house so we’re not in their way. Besides, we had exciting plans today! The Magic and Illusion of Rick Allen was being presented at the Elk Grove Library. I found out about it through the with Northwest Suburban Families group, though I didn’t actually see (or recognize) anyone there. The description about the show was:

With personal stories and mind blowing magic, you will see and hear how Rick, as a ten year old boy, used reading to help achieve his goal of becoming a magician. During his show, you can actually hear your children "ooh" and "ahh" when beautiful live doves make their magical appearance, a table seems to float, and yes, one of the kids from the audience will levitate in mid-air!

And, it was right on. I tried to watch and predict how some of his tricks were done, but he was a pretty good master of illusion, because I couldn’t tell how he got the white doves to appear from behind scarves, a rabbit from a box that looked empty, or a second grader to float! He did a decent job touching on the importance of imagination, reading, science, and education in general and how they are integral to his magic; but, I think the kids just wanted to see more tricks!

Workers began replacing the shingles on the roof of our building today, but won’t actually make it to our end until about Wednesday. With all the old shingles being thrown from above, I’ll be sure not to park in the driveway when they get here!

Their work, even though they were at the other end of our building, made naptime a bit challenging. With all the hammering, nail gunning, yelling, radio blaring, and crashing debris on the ground, it wasn’t exactly a peaceful or relaxing afternoon. I was hesitant to close the windows to block some of the noise because of the absolutely gorgeous weather yet again today. (Partly cloudy, high 76°F / low 54°F) But, I promised myself that if the kids had trouble sleeping, I’d shut the windows right away. Luckily, the commotion outside faded into white noise fairly quickly, because both fell asleep without much dispute.

Abby woke just in time for Shelley to come home early. They were going to a doctor’s appointment for Abby and needed to leave a few minutes early to get there on time. Shawn woke just in time to say goodbye to them.

A little while later, Grandma Fanny came over for her English lesson. I introduced the short u sound today. She loves the sets of picture cards I’ve given her for each short vowel sound. I can tell that she practices with them all the time. I told her that I have an activity for Thursday that will review all the vowel sounds. She was a little anxious to hear that, but I think she’s ready to apply the sounds to more than just the set of pictures she’s been working with.

After our lesson, Shawn declared that we needed to go to the store for milk and salad. He was right about the milk, but I’m not sure where the need for salad came from! He said that he wanted to get it for Dadda! I agreed to the trip, but tried to explain that we had enough salad already and Dadda wouldn’t be home to eat it for dinner tonight anyway. (Raj worked late and then met up with Shrenik to watch the Bears’ game.)

When we got back home after our grocery run, I asked Shawn what he wanted for dinner. He replied, “Milk.” Good thing we just bought some! “What else would you like to eat?” “Carrots.” “Anything else?” “Potatoes.” Alrighty! You said it! So, we had seasoned potatoes, some carrots, and some leftovers. Shawn did a great job eating and then decided he didn’t need any dessert. I was happy to get in so many vegetables after such a rich dinner last night!

After dinner, Shawn earned his final sticker on his Spiderman Potty Paper. (He almost had a meltdown when there was one more sticker to go because he reeeeeally wanted a ‘toy surprise’ NOW! But, we managed to hold off for another 30 minutes until it was time to try again and he earned his last sticker. It was worth the wait.

He pulled a heavy tow truck from the Big Black Bag of Toy Surprises. We even figured out how to hook it up with the ice cream truck, and (as long as we were extremely gentle) we could actually tow it around the floor. Shawn seemed pretty happy with his new truck. He was sure to show Raj and tell him all about it when he got home.

When Raj came home, he said he finally made an appointment to see a doctor about his sinus issues (that he’s been having for months). Apparently, Raj has a sinus infection, which explains why none of the over-the-counter pills and sprays that he’s been using religiously have helped at all. So, over the course of the treatment of the new meds (10 days), he should notice an improvement. (Keeping my fingers crossed!)

My cousin, Andrea, made a post on FaceBook that I had to share:

EIGHT DAYS of 100% sun—glorious start to the best month of the year! ;) Oct oct oct...

Love it.

The Chicago Botanic Garden's Model Railroad Garden: Landmarks of America

2011-10-09T21:08:00.009-05:00

This morning, we drove to the Glencoe Metra Station (actually taking the Metra would’ve been fun, but incredibly inconvenient for this particular trip). We parked a few steps from a waiting trolley, which carried us to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. In addition to being a fun ‘adventure’ for Shawn, the trolley saved us money, too - $4 for two adults (Shawn was free) versus $25 to park the van in the Gardens’ parking lot. (Though, we didn’t actually know that until we were already there. We just got lucky!)
As we walked through the Visitor Center, I found a free Bingo Board to play with as we explored the grounds. Shawn had a lot of fun placing the provided stickers on the pictures when he’d find the various objects. When he found the very last item, just before we were leaving, he ran over to show me his completed Bingo Board and asked for a “Surprise Fruit Snack!” How could I resist rewarding all that hard work? (Though, I’m not sure how much of a surprise it was then…)

We sat at the edge of a pond and admired a water fountain, a rainbow in its mist, and very large fish that were inches away from our toes. We dabbled our fingers in another water fountain for a little while before finding our friends, Shrenik, Heena, and Veer. Then we made our way over to the Model Railroad Garden exhibit – the real reason we were there in the first place!

The Chicago Botanic Garden has a temporary exhibit (May – October) that has returned for the past few years called the Model Railroad Garden: Landmarks of America. The website’s description was:

The 7,500-square-foot Model Railroad Garden features 17 garden-scale (G-scale) trains on 1,600 feet of track. The garden-scale trains are 1/29th the size of life-sized trains. Train and garden enthusiasts, young and old, return year after year for the delightful sights and sounds of the miniature trains traversing high and low through tunnels, across bridges, and around buildings — all intricately handcrafted with natural materials, including twigs, bark, leaves, acorns, and pebbles. More than 5,000 tiny trees, shrubs, groundcovers, and flowering plants of close to 300 varieties re-create the topographical landscape of America. Vignettes of tiny people and animals give the exhibit a storybook feel, while sound effects and a working geyser capture visitors’ imaginations.

It also had two very cool videos about it:

It was a lot of fun. The train exhibit was a little smaller than Raj and I expected, but they packed a lot into the space. The attention to detail was amazing. There were landmarks from all over the country represented. (Shawn can now indentify the Statue of Liberty and when we saw the Liberty Bell from Pennsylvania, he pointed out that's where Oma and Opa live!)

(A video might be coming... if I can edit it better!)

By the end of our ‘adventure,’ my pedometer had recorded that we walked for a total of 2 hours 27 minutes 44 seconds, covering 4.247 miles, had taken 8961 steps, and burned 242.5 KCAL. (Unfortunately, it’s a cheap pedometer and it doesn’t always register all of my steps correctly, but it at least gives us an idea of how far we walked.) Here’s a map of the gardens to show just how big a place it is – we did a pretty good job covering most of it, too!

While we were waiting for the trolley to take us back to our car, Raj entertained Veer and Shawn. While they sat in an empty tram that had been parked for the evening, Shawn surprised him by pointing out, “There are two bicycles on the right, Dadda!” Raj was impressed that in fact there were two and in fact they were on the right side of them!

What a great day to spend at the Chicago Botanic Gardens with great friends! The creativity and handiwork behind the Model Railroad Garden alone was well worth the trip, but I'm so glad we saw the other gardens and made a whole day of it. Not many more days left like this in Chicago this year! But, this was had another 80°F day (and 30° swing from the low to the high). I don’t think we saw a cloud the whole day.

Back at the car, Raj drove quickly to grab dinner before Shawn fell asleep. (He didn’t get a nap and had only snacked all day, so I didn’t want him to fall asleep before having an actual meal.) Raj got us to Bucca di Beppo in Wheeling just in time. I was able to hold Shawn’s interest on the way there by giving him a portable fire truck & station toy that he doesn’t get to play with very often.

For dinner, we had cheesy bread Florentine, baked rigatoni with spicy sausage, chicken stuffed with prosciutto, all served family style (and had plenty to take home when we were done). While we ate, we tested Shawn to see if he really did know if right from his left. He correctly identified his left and right hands, ears, eyes, and cheeks. Just to see if he was paying attention, I asked him where his ‘left mouth’ was – he giggled, said, “Nooooooo!” but pointed to his mouth anyway. Not bad for a two year old!

On the way home, he started off a bit wired, sang songs, and made lots of goofy noises, but when I put the toy away and out of sight, he fell asleep almost immediately. I wasn’t able to transfer him to his bed as smoothly as I had hoped, but after just a few moments of very tired and frustrated crying, he settled down, gave me a goodnight kiss, and fell back to sleep. The best part – it was only 8:00 pm!

After spending a gorgeous day outside, it’s an early to bed night for all of us.

Sweet dreams.

Did I See a Pike Shucking Corn?

2011-10-08T23:44:00.068-05:00

The YMCA Swimming Director approved Shawn’s graduation to Pike (without parent) - IF he can swim a few feet on his own (preferably without floats), be comfortable in a back float (with help to stay afloat), in addition to the other things he’s already done like blow bubbles, bob, kick, splash, reach… SO, we have a strong focus on strengthening a few skills in the next 3 sessions before this class is over!

I put two boxes of old papers and files from when I was teaching into the back of my van before swimming class. Afterwards, we stopped by the Roselle Train Station for a free public ‘shredding event’ to dispose of them. (They’d been sitting collecting some nasty cobwebs and old leaves in the garage for at least two years, probably more, so it was time to say goodbye.) It felt good!

Then, Shawn and I went to the Kline Creek Farm Corn Harvest, which was an outing sponsored by Northwest Suburban Families, but the only member that showed up was on her way out when we arrived. That’s okay though - Shawn and I probably had more fun on our own. A blurb from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County’s news release summarized what we did:

Help with the real farm work of harvesting and storing corn that will feed the farm’s cows and sheep this winter. Use authentic techniques of the era to try shocking, or stacking bundles of corn to let them dry; shucking, or removing the ears of corn from the stalks; shelling, or removing the corn kernels from the cob; and storing the corn in the corn crib.

So, we pulled ears of corn directly off the stalks. We tried to leave the husks left on the stalks, but some people took them to another station to learn how to make corn husk dolls or 'action figures,' depending on the audience. (We didn't make it to that activity.) We tossed the corn into the back of a horse-drawn wagon.

Then, we left the field to other workers and explored the rest of the 'living-history farm' grounds. Shawn even got to turn the crank on a machine that twisted lengths of twine into a pretty nice looking rope.

This is Shawn making a rope, but the video of this in action wouldn't load properly.

Later, the wagon returned from the field full of corn, so Shawn helped toss the ears into a corn crib.

I asked a few times if he was all done, but he kept on working! Other parents and I teased about the ease of child labor, when it doesn't involve their own toys and chores. Eventually, we visited with some chickens, a mare, sheep, and cows.

With another day in the 80’s, it was a great way to spend the day. (High 82° / Low 54°F with scattered clouds or mostly cloudy until the evening when they skies cleared up.)

Shawn fell asleep on the way home (Raj was napping after work, too) and when he woke up, Daddaji had come over for dinner. He brought chocolate covered mini-donuts, the perfect size for small hands. I cooked Indian food, which I’m always a little nervous about when there are other people consuming it, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. He stayed for a little while after dinner to chat and have some chai. Rather than the usual Lipton with sugar and milk, I served Chai of the Tiger (black tea, chopped and powdered ginger, chopped and powdered cardamom, chopped and powdered coriander, chopped and powdered cinnamon, chopped cloves, chopped black pepper, rose petals, lavender, and jasmine buds from Serene Teaz, where Mothers & More had our Open House a few weeks ago) in our fancy Ingenuitea infuser/steeper (a Christmas present from Oma and Opa a year or two ago). Daddaji was impressed by the infuser/steeper, though I think he’s more accustomed to his usual Lipton version. Oh, well, I thought it was great! Shawn gave him the fish he made in art class a few weeks ago to display on his refrigerator. When the evening was over, Daddaji went home with a paper grocery bag full of leftovers to hold him over the next few days.

After a day of swimming and working outside, it was definitely bath time! Later, while Raj relaxed in front of the TV, Shawn and I followed along with a few Dr. Seuss stories on YouTube. Then, he said he wanted to use his workbook, so we did a few pages (Shawn really enjoys matching and pattern exercises) before reading a bedtime story and saying goodnight. Finally, Shawn put himself to sleep and I did some blogging.

What a full day! But, I have a super exciting adventure planned for tomorrow…!

FYI – There was no roofing work today… I kinda figured as much, since it’s Saturday, but not sure why the company claimed they’d start today!

Extra! Extra! at Gymboree, the Farmers' Market, and of Summer Days

2011-10-07T23:09:00.020-05:00

We took advantage of two Bonus classes at Gymboree today.We started with Level 5 Play and Learn.(I prefer Level 6, but this fit our schedule and a Level 6 didn’t this week.)The theme was ‘caterpillars and butterflies.’After looking at pictures of them, the kids crawled all over a ‘tree’ structure and ate its ‘leaves.’They also made a cocoon (crawled inside the fabric tunnel) before emerging as a butterfly with brightly colored scarf-wings.

Emerging from the tunnel cocoon.

Another butterfly hatching from the cocoon.

Then the toddler butterflies ‘flew’ off of a foam block and landed on a squishy mattress.

Flapping her pink butterfly wings - and wearing the perfect shirt for it!

They also got to find finger-puppet butterflies that were hiding all over the main room. It was a lot of fun and we even got to play with our friend Andrew and his mom, Stacy, who used to be in our Family Music class. Even though I got her to join Mothers & More, it’s still fun to run into her at Gymboree.

When Level 5 was over, we got to hang out for an extra few minutes before the next got started. I saw Meghan, a harpist friend from U of I, and her 18 month old! It turns out that she recently moved to Lombard, the town where Shawn’s second birthday party was, and now she’s enrolled this Gymboree. Small world!

When her class was ready to begin, I ushered Shawn and Abby outside to the car for snack time. I contemplated finding a park during our Gymboree break, but they had actually worked up a sweat from running and playing so hard in class and the transition time! Besides, I was a little nervous about how easy it would be to tear them away from a new park, to bring them to music class. So, we relaxed in the car with the doors and windows open, listening to music, snacking, and coloring some wipe-off boards.

Ms. Wendy led the music class today. (I think she’ll be doing it on a semi-permanent basis now). It was a country and folk song theme, but I've forgotten them already, so I'll have to get the names of all the songs next week. Ms. Wendy read She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain by Philemon Sturges and Ashley Wolff. At one point, Abby did a ‘fall of faith’ (that’s the best way I can describe her act of plopping into my lap without looking, much like those trust-building exercises). Normally, she falls into my lap backwards, so we’re both facing the same way, but today, she came at me face first. Actually, teeth first. She bumped her front teeth right on the bridge of my nose. At first, I was worried that she hurt herself too, but she didn’t seem to notice that anything was any different from her past ‘catch me – ready or not!’ moments. Meanwhile, I’ve got a bright red mark in the middle of my face now! Note to self – catch sooner! The final song of the day was a song about falling leaves that I found online and shared with Wendy:

Guess What's Falling From the Trees?
(To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")

Guess what’s falling from the trees?

Slowly, slowly come the leaves!

Red and orange and green and brown,

Twirling, swirling to the ground!

Guess what’s falling from the trees?

Slowly, slowly come the leaves!

©Ashley K. Alaimo

It was a good day to go to the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market. I found the parmesan bread that Raj liked so much and when I bought it, the vendor gave me three free muffins. I stopped by an apple vendor to buy a gallon of apple cider and we each sampled free apple cider donuts, we said hi to the Olive Man and he gave Shawn a free pack of black olives, even though I offered to pay for them! AND, when we got our habitual crepe (strawberry and Nutella this time), Shawn and I were filmed for a promotional video! (They were interested in Abby, too, but I didn’t want to give permission for something like that without talking to Shelley first.) I had no idea what to say, but I stumbled through some blabber, hoping they’ll be able to use a second or two of it to help promote their business. On the way home, Abby informed me, "I'm sticky. I need a bath at my house," and I promised to let her parents know!

Weather Underground claimed that today reached 84°F and, after sitting outside for our break between Gymboree classes and perusing the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market, I believe it! However, it’s hard to believe that we had a 30° swing in temperatures today! Mother Nature just can’t make up her mind about what season we’re having!

When Raj came home, he and Shawn put up Halloween decorations in the front yard and in living room. I took the opportunity to Skype with Oma, Jennifer, Jonathan, and Elise. (I'll fully admit to a twinge of jealousy that they all get to see each other this weekend without the aid of video-conferencing, but I guess I should be happy that we at least have that!)

Gymnastics + Potty Training + Construction Excitement + Pavlov Response + Full Tummies + Good Books = Good Sleep (for some)

2011-10-06T23:53:00.095-05:00

Again, last night Shawn looked up at me after laying in bed for a few minutes and told me that I could go to sleep in my own room. I’m liking this!

When Abby arrived, Shelley warned that she was a bit cranky this morning. Hopefully, gymnastics will help work out (or simply distract her from) whatever is bothering her today. Though Shelley was running a little late to work, she ran back home to retrieve Pink Baby Doll so we wouldn’t have a naptime crisis later. (Thank you!)

Before I woke up Shawn, I made a new Potty Paper to start today. It’s Spiderman themed. I’ve had Shawn help design the last few sheets, but I thought he’d get a kick out of this surprise. It’ll be in the main floor bathroom waiting for him. Meanwhile, he only has a few more stickers to go on the Potty Paper in his bathroom upstairs, though we don’t use that one as often! (Still haven’t read my library book about potty training…)

We didn’t see Abby’s Auntie Jamie at gymnastics today, but the kids did great. After our usual warm ups and various styles of jumps down the trampoline, Coach Beth led us through an obstacle course. It had a few minor changes from our usual track, but both Abby and Shawn flew through it. (I was out of breath just trying to keep with them from the side!) The only thing that really threw them off was that the foam log that Coach Beth normally uses to help them do back flips, was now a ‘shaky log’ that they had to scramble over while she rocked it back and forth. More than once, Abby and Shawn turned around and started to lay down on it in preparation for a back flip – they certainly are creatures of habit! Another part of the obstacle course included a balance beam. It was wide, but about three feet off the ground and resting on other obstacle equipment on either end. When he’d step onto the beam, Shawn would test his courage and balance by holding my fingers at first, but then letting go to walk quickly across – with a grin from ear to ear. Abby would follow right behind, but wasn’t so anxious to go it alone just yet. After we made our obligatory stop at the foam pit, we swung from rings (at the request of Mr. Shawn, himself). Class finished with parachute games and then stamps and ‘mail.’ I’m not sure what the fascination is, but Shawn was very curious if Coach Beth would have any mail for him today and Abby made certain to keep hers in sight until we got back home, where there were other things to do. (It turned out the mail wasn’t that exciting – just information about referral rewards and enrolling in the next season of classes, which didn’t really apply to us since we have the unique privilege of being connected to Abby’s Auntie Jamie!)

Back at home, Abby and Shawn’s pants and diapers came off, underwear went on, and our focus returned to potty training. Abby had a few accidents, but is much more willing to sit on the toilet whether she has to go or not. Shawn, surprisingly, didn’t have any accidents this morning or afternoon! (Though, he had two this evening.) He really likes the new Spiderman Potty Paper. (Phew!) It’s very helpful to have Abby sit on her potty chair while Shawn sits on his toilet seat at the same time. I don’t know if it’s peer pressure, power of suggestion, or what, but he’s much more likely to cooperate when she sits in front of him and they go through the process together. Whatever works is fine with me! (…Too bad they can’t go together all the time!)

After lunch, Abby and Shawn played in the living room while I cleaned up the kitchen. I’ve set an alarm on my cell phone to ring when it’s time to start thinking about naptime (or head home from whatever adventure we may be on). They recognize the ring tone and know exactly what it means. (Even though, we have had a little fun with it before actually heading upstairs.)

Pavlov would be proud!

Grandma Fanny brought over chocolate wafer sandwiches this afternoon when she arrived for her English lesson. Meanwhile, Shawn and Abby were both still napping! Abby woke up a few minutes into our lesson, but Shawn didn’t wake up until afterwards. At least, that’s what I think happened. I went to check on Abby at 4:45 pm and she was laying quietly in the pack-n-play, but awake. So she could’ve been laying there for a while, but I really have no way of knowing. After Grandma Fanny left, I went upstairs to check on Shawn and he was in the computer room! When did this happen?? Surprise! So, again, I really have no idea when he actually woke up – I didn’t even hear him open his door! Sneaky, sleepy kids!

Once everyone was up, the kids wanted to investigate a very noisy and very large truck that was parked in our neighbor’s driveway. It turns out that a roofing company was delivering materials to our building for work that will be started on Saturday. (Hopefully, not during naptime… but what are the chances?!) By the time the kids got their shoes on, a worker met me at our front door and asked if I could move my car so they could reposition their truck on our other neighbor’s driveway. (This massive truck had braces on either side that stuck out a few feet. So, although it would be parked in our neighbor’s driveway, these braces would cross over onto my parking spot.) This really sparked an interest for two toddlers! After I moved my car to the parking island, I brought them outside to watch the workers (and their truck) in action. Using a machine that I can only describe as a crane with a forklift attachment (Shawn called it a grapple truck, but I don’t think that’s accurate either), they hoisted pallets of shingles onto various sections of our roof. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to impress these two! (Every once in a while, their interest would shift to the crunchy leaves on the ground, but they'd go back to the truck after a few seconds!)

Abby stayed until 6:15 pm because Shelley had a meeting with Australian clients this evening. I told her that if she had to do any face-to-face meetings, I’d be willing to go through the tremendous hassles of packing and accompanying her, just so that Abby wouldn’t have to miss her mom during the very important business trip. Shelley said she’d be sure to let me know…

When Shelley came over, we talked a little about the joys of potty training and reassured each other that it will happen, eventually. We also talked about discipline and how Abby has been hitting, pushing, bossy, and sassy lately. Shelley confirmed that she wants to “nip this in the bud,” so after a warning, Abby gets a time out. For repeat offenses, privileges get removed. Some days aren’t an issue at all, but it’s good to know that Shelley and I are on the same page.

For dinner, I made a dish that included chunks of chicken and veggies with a cream of mushroom sauce all over a croissant. Though I didn’t stick to the original recipe, naturally, I got the idea from a great cookbook called Desperation Dinners! Home-Cooked Meals for Frantic Families in 20 Minutes Flat by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross. (I highly recommend it.) Though I’ve had the book for a few years, I still haven’t tried many recipes - I usually revisit specific ones. Those I have tried were very easy and delicious. Tonight, I ventured to a new dish and everyone loved it. Raj said it reminded him of chicken and dumplings, but “There’s a lot of veggies in this!” We giggled while watching Shawn wrinkle up his brow and nose trying to dive into his jumbo-croissant (from Costco), which I served on the side for him. I was grateful to use up a handful of leftovers and not feel like we were eating… leftovers!

As we were winding down just before bedtime, I set Shawn up with Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, which he got from Aunt Holly, and a jazzy recording of the book on CD that we got from the library. While Shawn listened and tried to follow along (from a distance, I’d cue him when to turn the pages), I put away some laundry and straightened up a few stray toys and things. After two readings, I tucked him in and read Itsy Bitsy Spider flap book by Margaret Spengler. Shawn wasn’t quite as prepared for me to leave tonight as he was the last two nights, but he eventually snuggled down and agreed that it was time for me to go. Unfortunately, he called me back in for “a little bit of drink,” and had a hard time getting re-settled, but once he did, he was done for the night.

...now... if only I could sleep…

An Adventure to Sonny Acre Farm

2011-10-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

Spanish class focused on body parts. Our friend, Gavin, wasn’t in class again, but a little girl, named Mia, joined us for the first time. (I’m not sure if she’s in our class now or if it was just a one time deal.) Shawn loves the opening song, Buenos Dias, Amigos! Though he only chimes in to reply, “Muy Bien!” he does it with gusto! Abby sang along with the ending song Hasta Luego, Amigos! including hand motions, of course! Our project was simply a coloring sheet, but we had more fun singing and dancing to Mi cuerpo hace música / My Body Makes Music:

Mi cuerpo hace música

(track 10, Around the World with Language Stars)

Mi cuerpo, mi cuerpo hace música. (2x)

¡Mis manos hacen clap, clap, clap! (2x)

¡Mis pies hacen tomp, tomp, tomp! (2x)

¡Mi boca hace la, la, la! (2x)

¡Mi cuerpo hace cha, cha, cha! (2x)

My Body Makes Music

(track 10, Around the World with Language Stars)

My body, my body makes music. (2x)

My hands go clap, clap, clap! (2x)

My feet go stomp, stomp, stomp! (2x)

My mouth goes la, la, la! (2x)

My body goes cha, cha, cha! (2x)

After class, we headed for an adventure in West Chicago at Sonny Acres Farm with Mothers & More for a Mom and Tot Outing. The newsletter said:

Let's enjoy the day at the pumpkin farm. At Sonny Acres you'll find everything relating to Halloween, fall and harvest time - including huge mounds of pumpkins! They also have hay rides, haunted barn, amusement rides, pony rides, and a Kiddie Koral where little ones can run and play.

What a day for an outing! It was 80°F without a cloud in sight! (This is October, right? In Chicago? Really?) We met the other moms and kids in the Kiddie Koral. It was a fenced in area with lots of things to explore: tunnels, a tractor, slides, fun Halloween props…

When we left the Koral, Shawn and Abby were drawn to some rabbits, chickens, goats, sheep, ducks, and llama (or is that an alpaca?? I really don’t know.)

Suddenly, they realized there was a mini-train ride right behind them and the animals were no longer exciting enough! I restocked my supply of tickets and they eagerly hopped aboard. …Until it started moving, then Abby didn’t think it was such a great idea anymore. She finished her ride, but was sure to be the first to get off. On the other hand, Shawn loved every moment of the ride and would have stayed on all afternoon if he could have!

After revisiting the animals, we went on a 15-20 minute wagon ride pulled by a tractor through a ‘haunted’ forest. Though it was set up to be scary for nighttime visitors, in broad daylight, without spooky sounds, lights, or animatronics, it was perfectly suitable for little ones. They even had child-friendly characters hidden among the ghosts, goblins, and skeletons, like a cardboard cut-out of Big Bird perched in a tree!

We finished our outing wandering through rows and mounds of pumpkins.

It was a great way to spend the day! When we got home, Shelley was home early from work. So, Shawn and I said goodbye to Abby and headed off to a well deserved naptime.

All day long, Shawn was having a pants problem kind of day. Not just pants, but a pull-ups problem too! Every few minutes I’d notice that he was imitating a plumber! Oy! A very (overly) concerned (read: nosey) mom from our group actually asked me if I’d stopped dressing Shawn in diapers when she saw his pants slipping down. I tried to explain that we’re potty training and done with diapers, but that he wears pull-up type diapers when he sleeps and when we leave the house. When he’s running around as much as he was this afternoon, his little wiggly waist just doesn’t have enough girth to keep the darn things up very long. And, when we’re at home, it’s even more of a struggle with underwear… but there’s rarely an audience there, so it’s not a big deal. And, really, is a little toddler butt that big of a deal anyway? Who doesn’t like toddler butt??!?!

Speaking of potty training, Shawn filled out another Potty Paper with stickers this afternoon. He pulled an ice cream truck out of the toy surprise bag. It’s fun to watch him pick his surprise toy because he knows he’s not supposed to look inside and can only put a hand in. (I’ll try to remember to catch it on video next time.) Since he’s not familiar with what an ice cream truck is, I tried explaining it to him, but realized it’s something that’s better seen in person to really understand. Oh, well. It’s a new truck to add to his fleet.

Note: Steve Jobs, of Apple Computers, succumbed to pancreatic cancer today. It’s interesting to hear, read, and see people’s reactions to the passing of such an influential man.

Good Night to the Autumn Leaves That Fall from the Trees

2011-10-04T23:30:00.047-05:00

We had a great start to the day!

At Gymboree, Ms. LouAnn started art class by giving the kids orange paint for free painting. After a few minutes, she added a squirt of blue to their pallets. Almost as soon as the first drop of blue landed on Shawn’s paper-plate pallet, he announced, “Chicago Bears!” Ms. LouAnn was beside herself (especially since they were off-shades of blue and orange, but he still made the connection). Dadda will be so proud!

The rest of the class time focused on a fall theme. The kids colored the outer rings of paper plates with red, yellow, orange, and green creamy crayons. Then they glued on various shapes, sizes, and colors of leaves that Ms. LouAnn had collected.

During the break, she read Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert while the students had Winnie the Pook cookies and water. For the final project, they glued a brown rectangle to a large piece of paper. Then, Ms. LouAnn passed out sea sponges and we practiced dabbing them on the paper before she gave anyone paint. One color at a time, the kids received red, orange, and then yellow paint to sponge onto their trees. Finally, Ms. LouAnn showed them how to tear apart leftover leaves into little pieces and stick them onto their painted trees. (I thought they looked great without the added leaves, but that’s okay.)

For the last activity, Ms. LouAnn revealed a tub full of balls and shapes that they pretended were leaves. The kids had fun throwing and retrieving the ‘leaves’ from the tub over and over again.

Throughout the day, at random moments (like riding in the car), Abby would break into song. Not just any song though, she’d sing, “No more pee-pee in my underwear!” (A little ditty that I made up in an effort to encourage… well, I guess it’s pretty obvious…

This evening I had a doctor’s appointment to follow up from my visit on August 24. The lump in my left breast is still there, but I feel like it has changed a little – softer maybe? They did a pregnancy test, since hormones can do all kinds of crazy things - negative. They sent me to get blood work to see if my thyroid is to blame. I also have to set up an appointment for a mammogram and an ultrasound to make sure what we think is a ‘collapsed cyst’ really is just that. I’m not looking forward to my first mammogram, but I am looking forward to finding out the results!

Meanwhile, Raj and Shawn opted to play outside in the gorgeous weather rather than go to Open Gym at Gymboree. Abby joined them with her mom and grandfather for fun time with chalk and ‘baseball.’ A great evening to be outside!

When it was time to tuck Shawn into bed, I had him read Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown to me. It was interesting to listen to his rendition. (I’ll definitely have to record him ‘reading’ sometime.) Afterwards, I read it to him and he helped me fill in missing words. When he noticed that the “old lady who whispered, ‘Hush’” was no longer in the room with the little rabbit, he asked where she went. I explained that she went to sleep in her own room. A little while later, we pulled up his covers, gave each other goodnight kisses, said our, “I love you – always and forever!” lines. With the lights turned off, I sat on the ottoman next to his bed while he settled in for the night. About five minutes later, he looked up at me and revealed, “You can go to sleep in your bed now, Momma. It’s okay.” Really?? Seriously?? And before he had a chance to change his mind, I kissed him one more time and left. Good night to the little boy who grows up so fast!

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

2011-10-03T23:55:00.047-05:00

An email to Oma, Opa, and Jennifer:

Haben Sie eine wunderbare Tag der Deutschen Einheit!
Liebe,
~ Shannon

Have a wonderful Day of German Unity!

Love,

Shannon

I've got a great excuse to have German food tonight! I’m trying a new slow-cooker recipe and for dessert I have brown bag apple pie, ahem, Apfelkuchen, from the Long Grove Apple Festival we went to yesterday. Can't wait!

Slow Cooker Smoked Pork and Sauerkraut Dinner

Ingredients:

Use 1 1/2 lb. peameal bacon roast or a smoked pork loin roast.

Use 4 potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold because they are firmer and don't fall apart as easily.

Use one 28 oz. can Sauerkraut, drained.

Liquid - 1 cup of either apple juice, orange juice, or water.

Instructions:

Put Peameal Bacon Roast and Sauerkraut in slow cooker (crock pot).

Add peeled potato quarters to the slow cooker, making sure the potatoes are pushed well to the bottom. Potatoes need to be in liquid to cook properly. Even though there is not enough liquid in the cooker to start, there will be once it cooks for a few hours.

Pour in about 1 cup of apple juice, orange juice, or water.

Cook, covered on low to medium, for about 6 hours. Check your slow cooker instructions for approx. times.

Remove potatoes, meat, and sauerkraut. Keep warm.

Put cooking liquid into saucepan, bring to boil, and thicken with 1 - 2 tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in some cold water. Use as sauce for the meal.

Serves 4.

Abby came over shortly after 7:30 am this morning, while Shawn slept in until a little after 10:00 am! That gave Abby plenty of uninterrupted time to play with a box of books and Shawn’s new magnetic Thomas the Train book all to herself.

Gymboree’s free Bonus Class schedule changed this month, so we were left without a class today. I had plans to take the kids to a much needed excursion to Costco, but instead, we spent the day playing at home. Ahhh… the simple pleasures of a pile of boxes. (I keep meaning to put these out to recycle, but I just don’t have the heart to take them away! Maybe tonight will be the night.) Here, they show off their favorite game – riding a Choo Choo Train!

Sometimes staying home is just as much fun, if not more, than running out to planned activities.

After a stretch of great days, potty training seems to have taken a setback today. I feel like both Abby and Shawn are peeing every 10 minutes or so – whether they’re on the toilet or not! Lots of clean ups today. (sigh) On the other hand, Abby got enough stickers on her Potty Paper to finish her sheet and take it home!

Luckily, I got a break when both went down for naps easily. Abby woke up minutes before Bill arrived and Shawn woke as she was leaving. It was an early wake up for Shawn, but he also went to sleep faster than he has lately. I was a little nervous that Shawn’s sleeping in this morning was going to mess up the rest of the day, but (phew!) not the case. He must have just needed a few more hours of shut-eye.

Grandma Fanny came over for her English lesson. We reviewed short a and short e sounds and introduced the short i sound. I've given her small picture cards of words that contain those short vowel sounds rather than written words and she LOVED sorting them. It helped build her vocabulary, her spelling (I had her write the words on the back), and it gave her something to practice at home between our sessions. She has a hard time differentiating them and an even harder time getter her mouth to cooperate when trying to enunciate, but she’s such a hard worker and incredibly motivated. What a difference it is to work with her and struggling middle schoolers!

After emailing with Jennifer, Oma, and Opa, I added soft pretzels to the German meal. I cheated and bought some frozen from the grocery store. Not the best, but they fit the bill. Shawn loved his! After all the food from dinner, we didn’t have any room for the Apfelkuchen for dessert! It’ll have to wait for another day.

Long Grove Apple Festival

2011-10-02T23:39:00.029-05:00

Happy 142^nd Birthday to Mahatma Gandhi

Shawn and I slept in while Raj went off to tailgate for the Bears’ game. Though I was half-awake long before, I really woke to the sounds of Shawn playing in the corner I set up for him in the computer room. (There’s a small table, crayons, and drawers with paper, coloring books, etc.) It’s rare for him to get out of bed on his own, not to mention wander into another room without calling for attention. I took advantage of his independence and listened to his quiet playtime from a distance. Eventually, he ran into greet me and we snuggled and played under the covers until the lure of eating breakfast was too strong.

This morning Shawn proclaimed, “Momma, I was a baby. I’m bigger and bigger. I’m a boy. And, I’m starting to get a man.” You are absolutely correct, just not too fast, pleeeeeease!

I had planned to spend the day at the Apple Festival in Long Grove. But, it took a lot longer than I expected to convert the van from a harp-hauler to a child-hauler. The fact that our neighbor’s daughter, Yazi, came over didn’t exactly speed things up. She and Shawn decided to pull toys out of the garage, which would have been a great way to occupy Shawn while I got the van setup, but it didn’t work out that way. I ended up chatting with her mom for a while… we investigated a praying mantis on their back window… Yazi and Shawn ended up playing in the van (though I did get her to 'play' with the hand-vacuum and suck up Shawn and Abby's stray snacks!)… and by the time I had everything ready to go, I looked up to see Raj home from the Bears’ game and we hadn’t left the house yet! So much for spending the whole day at the festival!

Luckily, I convinced Raj to go to Long Grove with us. We only got to spend about two hours there, but it was worth it. Shawn got to ride a pony and a tot-sized train. We bought a mini-caramel apple pie, full-size apple pie, a caramel apple dipped in cinnamon sugar and white chocolate, and chocolate mummy on a stick (which we ate right away - YUM)!

I took pictures of Shawn playing while we were there, but ironically...

...where are the apples?? (I swear it really was an APPLE fest!)

We stopped at Barnaby’s Family Inn for dinner on the way home, since the food vendors at the fest were shutting down. It wasn’t at all what we expected, though it was certainly family friendly. I wasn’t impressed with the food at all, but it was priced about right. There were patrons of all ages and the parking lot was full. (Shawn was mesmerized by a table of squealing tweens next to us.) It was a popular place to come, but I don’t think we’ll be revisiting any time soon!

Just before bedtime, Shawn told Raj, “I have to go pee-pee!” and pulled down his pants. Raj was busy brushing his teeth, so after he quickly escorted him into the bathroom, I helped him get onto the toilet. And, he peed!!! He hadn’t announced it after-the-fact, like he has in the past, he announced it BEFORE he went and was able to get to the toilet in time to actually go! YIPPEEE!!

My Tike the Pike and a 'Season'al Wedding

2011-10-01T23:12:00.002-05:00

Ms. Becca challenged Shawn to new swimming skills today. While Ms. Brittany was with the other students, she coached us on blowing bubbles in the water and bobbing under water, neither of which Shawn had ever done before. I’ve tried to get him to blow bubbles before, but he would just end up inhaling the water and choking instead. But, not today! After practicing how to blow above the water, then on the surface, he managed to blow a few bubbles with his mouth partially under the water!! Wa-Hoo!!! Then, Ms. Becca positioned Shawn and me next to each other holding on to the side of the pool. She had me show him how to go under the water and come back up, a bob. Then Shawn did it, too! He didn’t quite get his whole head under water, but she explained that at this level, going under up to their eyes is all that is necessary. Fantastic! (It’s amazing what Shawn is willing to do for Ms. Becca!)

With the successful demonstration of blowing bubbles and bobbing, Shawn got a progress report that indicated he is ready for the next level of swimming classes, Pike (withOUT parent) – under one condition, Ms. Becca has to get her director’s approval because Shawn is not old enough. Pike is designed for students who are ages 3-5. After looking at the program descriptions online, I noticed that Shawn’s current level, Pike with Parent, is technically a transition class for 3 year olds who are “new to swim lessons or group participation and still need a parent to accompany them in the water. The instructor will try to work one-on-one with each child to get them accustomed to the lesson environment.” If he’s already technically in a level for 3 year olds, I’m hoping it won’t be too difficult to convince the director to let him move up. The next level, Pike (without parent), is to “learn the basic paddle stroke on their front, back, and sides, kicking skills, and become comfortable with having their face in the water while blowing bubbles and swimming.” It seems like such a huge difference from basically playing with water toys, singing songs in the pool, and a dabble of other swimming skills tossed in (depending on the teacher)! At this point, my biggest concern is how Shawn would respond to a new teacher without me in the pool with him. If he gets to work with Ms. Becca, I think he’d transition pretty smoothly; however, there’s no guarantee who his teacher would be and he just hasn’t responded to some of the teachers he’s already had. When he didn’t respond to one, it wasn’t a huge deal because he’d just work with me most of the time anyway; but, at the next level of classes, I wouldn’t be in the pool with him to help. On the other hand, he’s got to learn how to work with all kinds of people eventually, so we may as well start!

If the director won’t approve the next level, I wonder if Ms. Becca could give private lessons… either way, I’ll keep my fingers crossed…

This evening I played the harp for a black-tie-optional wedding at the Four Seasons in Chicago. The bride is friends with the mother of a Phi Sig with whom I went to college. (They’ve helped to pass my name around to brides-to-be a number of times. In fact, the only times I’ve actually seen Jackie since we graduated from U of I have been at various weddings!) I played the prelude, processional, candle lighting, recessional, cocktail hour, and during dinner at the reception. Aside from my sore, pink fingertips and aching hands afterwards, it felt really good to ‘gig’ again. I’ve had a few small jobs, but it’s been a very long time since I’ve had something like this. (Not that I enjoyed navigating the maddening streets – and pedestrians - of downtown Chicago, though.)

Though I met with the bride and groom a few weeks ago to discuss the music for the ceremony, things didn’t go quite the way we had planned. First of all, it took a LOT longer to find my way to the loading dock and security office in order to unload and use the freight elevator than I had anticipated. Once I got to the loading dock, there was no one around to point me in the direction of where the freight elevator was! (It’s a very unsettling feeling to be roaming the underground labyrinth of a city hotel alone!) Once I found it, it was fairly easy to find my way to the ceremony room, but still no one was around. No wedding coordinator or workers... No members of the wedding party... No officiate… Again, it was a bit eerie! Then, I had to go back down to the loading dock to move my car. I drove around the block (which is more complicated than it should be because of all the one-way streets) to the valets for parking. (It’s a good thing I didn’t intend to self-park or I may have been late to the wedding!) I had just enough time to quickly tune and warm up, during which the photographer arrived, but I still hadn’t seen anyone else! In all of my other weddings, there’s someone to touch base with or someone coordinating the event. The bride told me that there would be someone like that today too, but they must’ve been coordinating other people because I didn’t catch a glimpse until the wedding was about to begin.

Anyway, after all of that rushing around to get there, the wedding coordinator didn’t open the doors to the ceremony room for the guests to come in. Just a few minutes before the ceremony was to begin, a guest opened the door himself and asked if they could come in. So, I had a few extra moments to get settled and catch my breath and I was able to save a handful of pieces to play later in the evening, since I didn’t have to play for very long prelude. The bride requested that I play Gram’s Lullaby by Nancy Gustavson as the final piece of the prelude, as the signal that the attendants should get ready to walk down to the next song, Processional by Linda Wood. When I got the signal from the wedding coordinator, for lack of a better title, to begin, I played Gram’s Lullaby… and the officiate, groom, and attendants walked in! They didn’t walk in at the beginning of the piece either - they walked in ¾ of the way through! So, there wasn’t enough music to get them all down the aisle and it wasn’t at a point where a repeat would flow nicely, so I jumped to Processional (as the intended piece) just long enough to get the last one up to the altar. That wasn’t exactly the way we had discussed the procession to go! Fortunately, the rest of the ceremony went much more smoothly.

At the cocktail hour, I realized I should’ve set up in the opposite corner from where I was because there was barely enough light for me to read my music. Luckily, the atrium was loud enough that I don’t think people really noticed my musical blindness! During the reception, the DJ played background music and I was able to take a break while guests were getting seated and toasts were made. The bride and groom arranged to have dinner available for me, so I ate quickly in another room while I had the chance.

When I was done playing for the evening and I was packing up my things in the atrium outside the reception hall, an old bartender handed me a glass of wine and said that my work was done. At first I resisted, but I wasn’t exactly in a rush to go back to the loading docks, so I sat and relaxed for a few minutes. I needed that! I took my things to the freight elevator and talked to a very friendly security officer about leaving my harp and things in his sight. Then, I went to the front lobby to retrieve my car from the valet. I asked if they would deliver it to the loading dock, but because of security purposes, that couldn’t be done. However, a valet, who had just gotten off duty, helped me find an easier (and much less scary) way to bring the freight elevator to the street level and then helped me load everything in front of the hotel, which I thought was ‘strictly forbidden’ according to the information I had received from the hotel before the wedding, but who was I to complain?! (Just before put the harp in my van, a taxi pulled up beside me and a whole party of women poured out to come in to the hotel. As they walked/staggered past the open trunk, they giggled and pointed at the mattress. I cordially justified that it’s for the harp, which was just inches away, and they half-apologized.) I thanked the generous valet profusely for all of his help… if only he had been around a few hours earlier when I had first arrived! And then, I headed home.

Shawn was still awake when I got home. He was very excited to tell me he watched the Disney/Pixar Cars movie and ate popcorn with Daddy. Even though it was very late, it took quite a while to let go of all the stimulation of his evening and finally fall asleep. Eventually, I crawled into my own bed and drifted off with Gram’s Lullaby playing in my head.

Easter Egg Hunt at Loretto Convent

2011-04-10T21:54:00.015-05:00

We slept in until 9:30 today - WOW! When we did wake up, we couldn’t believe how warm and bright it was already. Raj had the wonderful idea to go out for breakfast, so after quickly getting dressed, we headed to The Brunch Café for… brunch. It’s the first time we’ve been able to get in because our other attempts have required an hour (plus) long wait for a table. Though it seemed pretty busy this morning, we only had to wait for fifteen minutes. Our food was fantastic. Raj had stuffed potato pancakes with a side of sausage. Shawn had a bowl of mixed berries (can’t go wrong there!), a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, and bites from our plates. And, I had a huge Mediterranean omelet with feta, spinach, and sundried tomatoes, with a side of pancakes. Everything was delicious. We will definitely be going back… next time we get out in time for brunch!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today. It was a perfect day to be outside at the Easter Egg hunt at the convent where Mona works. (Although, it turned out Mona had a family emergency and wasn’t going to be there this year.) Actually, it was even a little warm - the thermometer in my car read 86 F!

In the basement of the convent were two rooms set up for the festivities. One room had various prizes for a silent auction as well as dozens of gift baskets for raffles. There was also a table of pizza and salad and cookies, but most of that was already gone by the time we got there – it’s a good thing we ate a big breakfast! Down the hall was a room of activities for children. A series of Easter themed games wound around the room (putt-putt, buckets, ring toss, dig for prizes, etc.) and the Easter Bunny was set up in a corner for pictures. Shawn was a pretty reluctant about going near the Easter Bunny. Each time we reached for his hand to encourage him to move closer, he’d duck out of the way. So, Raj held him and they took the picture together.

Outside, the children lined up by age groups so the youngest ones could have a few moments of a head start so they wouldn’t be trampled by the bigger kids. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic Easter eggs scattered across the yard of the convent. The plastic eggs had candy inside, so of all the chocolate ones had turned to mush after baking in the sun for an hour or so before the hunt started. Any attempt to handle them just resulted in the chocolate seeping out of the wrappers. Though I suggested putting them in our fridge, Raj didn’t think they’d make it all of the way home without turning to puddles in the car first, so all we brought home were a couple of lifesavers and Tootsie Rolls. I was disappointed to see the chocolate wasted, but it’s probably for the best.

A little girl, who looked not quite a year old, lost interest in collecting the Easter Eggs when she found a mud puddle created by an old tire track to be much more exciting. Taking no notice of her mom in the distance making desperate pleas for her to stop, she ran right to the juicy puddle and kicked her feet about making fantastic, brown, sludgy splashes all over her brand new Easter dress. In her puddle splashing merriment, she lost her balance and toppled over, landing with a great splosh! in the middle of the puddle, covering any remaining inch of her Easter dress with brown goop. The little girl’s mom was completely frozen with dismay, while she giggled with delight in her glorious mud bath. Seeing her mom virtually distraught, all I could offer her was a partial pack of wipes that I had in my purse. I wanted to get her a towel and some clean clothes for her daughter to change into, but my well stocked purse wasn’t quite that accommodating.

After the East festivities at the convent, Shawn napped in the car on our way to Melissa, Tom, and Blake’s house for dinner and a playdate. We hardly ever see each other since I’m not at Blackhawk anymore, but we’re trying hard to get together when we can. (It doesn’t help that we live 30-45 minutes away from each other now either!) Shawn had a great time playing with Blake – and his toys. Raj and I had a great time catching up with Melissa and Tom. And, dinner was delicious. Sure wish we could do it more often!

At bed time, Shawn and I traded places and he "read" me one of his favorites stories, Happy Man and His Dump Truck. Obviously, he was just looking at the pictures and remembering a few key phrases, but he even read some of it with the same expression that I do. It was really cute. I’m hoping to catch it on video sometime!

An Aquatic Break Through

2011-04-09T21:33:00.010-05:00

Shawn woke up at 7 am! Happy as can be. Give me a few more minutes to sleep in, buddy! I went into his room and laid down with him, hoping he’d go back to sleep. Instead, he sat on my hip and announced, “I’m riding a bicycle!” and when I tipped him off to the side, he giggled, “I fell of the bicycle!” Ok. I get it. It’s time to play. I’m up.

Shawn had a total BREAK THROUGH at swimming class this morning! Miss Becca gave him a floaty belt, which he’s worn once before, but this time she also gave him a floaty that looked like a long bar-bell. He loved it! He actually reached out for it and smiled. The combination of his belt around his chest and the bar-bell he was holding onto, I could actually let go of him (though cautiously). I could pull him by the bar-bell and he’d giggle and smile and ask for more. I even got him to let go of the bar-bell with one hand and splash a little with the other! (This isn’t an issue during bath time, but he’s never really moved his arms around much during swimming lessons.) I still couldn’t get him to kick (even when I’d tickle his feet or move his legs for him), but at least he was having fun. About half-way through class, Miss Becca traded the bar-bell for a kick board. It was a lot harder to hold on to, but once Shawn figured it out, he smiled and giggled on it, too. I towed him around in circles and up and down the pool a few times. Miss Becca pointed out that maybe he doesn’t understand what to do when we say, “Kick,” since it feels different from kicking a ball when you’re standing on the ground. So, I’d lay on my back and kick a few splashes behind him. It worked! He laughed hard and started to kick!!!! (With all the splashing, kicking, and whatnot that Shawn did today, his teeth didn’t chatter and his lips did turn as blue nearly as much as they usually do.) Thank you, Miss Becca!

Next week is our last class, for now anyway. In addition to getting our report cards (!), it’s “Boat Safety Day.” Apparently, we’re going to practice putting on life vests and getting in and out of a boat. Interesting… I’m not really sure why this is a part of this particular class, but okay.

Now that it actually feels like a swimming lesson and not just play time in the pool (though we still sang songs and played with toys, too), I’m more willing to sign up for the next class. I asked her about the next session of classes and if she’d be teaching it or if our original teacher would be back. (If our first teacher is signed up for it, I think we’d pass! Miss Becca actually looks at the skills individual kids are learning, offers the parents suggestions, and - what a concept - knows the kids’ names! What a difference a change in the teacher has made.) It turns out that she will be teaching the next session and there’s only a week or two break between the end of this session and the start of the next one. I was thinking that we’d just go to the Roselle pool and do our own thing, but now maybe we will get one more session of lessons in before the outdoor pool season starts.

Today was a GORGEOUS day (60 F). Abby came over to ask Shawn to play outside when he woke up from his nap. Of course, they pulled out the toy lawn mower/bubble blower. When Abby and Bill went in for dinner, Raj, Shawn, Baron, and I went for a walk to the park. Raj showed Shawn how to climb a structure that looks similar to the rungs of a curving ladder. I think I held my breath each time Shawn went near it. I’d like to say that it was too difficult for his little toddler legs, shaky balance, and unsure footing, but, to my dismay, he proved he could navigate it with little more than a watchful eye and an encouraging word. I will admit that it was exciting to watch him conquer the difficult equipment, but it’s still not exactly my favorite part of the playground for him to play on!

1, 2, 3, Throw the Ball!

2011-04-08T23:47:00.029-05:00

We started the morning by running laps around living room, hallway, and dining room. (By ‘we’ of course, I mean they – Abby and Shawn!) I don’t know where all the energy comes from, but I think they finally wore themselves out!

(It's my first attempt at video editing with a new program. Now, I know how to do captions. My next task will be to figure out cutting and trimming! ...Sorry, this one is so long - it was too late at night for more experimenting.)

I love the “1, 2, 3, 5!” counting (around 3:12 and 3:54)! I’m not sure what happened to 4, but it’s been missing for a while. It’s a challenge to get Shawn to say it at all these days! Hopefully, 4 finds its way home before too long.

Throwing the balls and running circles around me must not have worn them out too much. They had plenty of energy to get them through a Family Play and Learn class at Gymboree. The equipment was still set up to pretend it was a farm from last week. Shawn and Abby love how Miss Elizabeth gets involved in the pretend play with them. She got all the kids to squeeze under a structure so they could be animals sleeping in a barn. It was pretty funny to watch them all try to squish under the shelter of a small parachute draped over a monkey bar set up. Then, she sang a song that went something like this:

The (little pigs) are sleeping. The (little pigs) are sleeping.
Please be very quiet. Oh, be very, very quiet
If you wake them, If you shake them,
Then they’re going to (oink, oink, oink, oink, oink)!

When the “animals” woke up, all the kids would jump to their feet and shout out their proper sounds. Miss Elizabeth must have run through this routine at least a half a dozen times with different animals that the kids suggested (most were farm related, but not all). They had a blast.

This evening, I had a victory on Freecycle! I got a stack of chunky, wooden puzzles! Most were perfect to give Shawn and Abby new challenges, but there were even a few that could wait a few years (like the states of the US)! I think I have enough now that I can have a rotation of a couple of puzzles at a time so they don’t get burnt out from doing the same ones over and over. (That’s what was happening with my limited selection before.) Gotta love Freecycle!

Chicks, Ducks, and Wheels on the Bus!

2011-04-07T23:02:00.032-05:00

It was week four of the library’s Drop-In Story time. Ms. Nancy’s theme this time was “Chicks and Ducks.” We read:

The Chick and the Duckling by Mirra Ginsburg
“A chick and a duckling hatch at the same time. The chick can imitate the duckling except when the duckling goes swimming.”

Just Ducky by Kathy Mallat
“A lonely little duckling looks into the pond and sees its reflection. The duckling thinks that it has found a new friend.”

Peep! by Kevin Luthardt
“A duckling follows a boy home. The boy is sad when the duckling is ready to be reunited with other birds of the wild.”

Wee Little Chick by Lauren Thompson
“Other farm animals comment on the tiny size of the little chick. Little chick is proud of everything that it can do.”

We sang and danced to:

FiveLittle Ducks from Raffi in Concert with the Riseand Shine Band

And, we recited a few poems:

Baby Duckling
One baby duckling, he’s brand new.
Here comes another. That makes two.
Wait, here’s another. That makes three.
Three baby ducklings waddling across the floor.
They meet a little friend, and that makes four.
Four baby ducklings, watch how they dive.
At last they see their mother. That makes five.

When a Yellow Duck
When a yellow duck walks down the street (hold up hand)
Quack! goes his bill (open and close thumb and fingers)
Waddle! go his feet (waddle hands back and forth)
He comes to a puddle and with a bound (pretend to jump into a puddle)
In goes the yellow duck and he swims around. (pretend to swim)

The Little Chick
This little chick heard a loud horn (hold up index finger)
This little chick ate all the corn (hold up middle finger)
This little chick saw a big ball (hold up ring finger)
This little chick said, “Please don’t fall!” (hold up little finger)
But this little chick said, “Peep, peep, peep!” (hold up thumb and wiggle it)
Please be quiet, I’m trying to sleep!” (wiggle thumb)

Each time we saw a picture or read about a chick, Shawn and I would whisper, “Just like the chicks at Oma and Opa’s house!” Maybe next time we visit they’ll have some chicks for Shawn to see up close. (He and Abby got very good at quacking and cheeping and peeping during story time today!)

At the end of naptime, I could hear Abby chatting to herself for a little while. At one point, I think she was trying to sing Ring Around the Rosie! I also heard her say, “Abby awake!” Before I went to get her out of bed, there were strange rustling noises in Shawn’s room. Here is what happened when I went to check them out:

In case you need an interpreter, Shawn’s phrases included:

“Momma, go see Abby?”

“It’s really bright.”

“Let’s go find out!”

“Ready? Watch!”

“Shawn opened the door.”

“I have a good nap, Abby.”

I guess it’s time to go play some more!

After Abby went home, Shawn and I took Baron for a walk. (Or did Baron and I take Shawn to the park?) Shawn loves climbing on the playground equipment, but he prefers one particular corner…

Never knew that playground equipment could double as a performance stage, eh?

A Very Musical Day

2011-04-06T23:41:00.016-05:00

Music class focused on Rock ‘n Roll today, specifically the band Queen. (We did include a few spring time and rain songs, too.) A few of Queen’s songs that we played were We Will Rock You! (we worked on the short, short, long rhythm), I Want It All (we played bells to a steady beat, then fast, and then stopped), and Under Pressure played in the background while the kids explored the box of instruments. Abby wasn't quite sure what she wanted in class today. She switched back and forth from running around the room to wanting to be picked up. But, when the microphone came out, she lead the way in the Ba-Ba activity!

Shawn fell asleep on the way home, so I left him in the car seat while Abby and I had lunch. I had a little down time between the time that I put Abby down for her nap and when Shawn woke up. When he woke up, he happily announced, “I want to play with Abby!” But, since she was still napping, I explained that he could play with her in a little while. It was a nice treat to have some one-on-one time with both kids today.

Abby’s really starting to expand her vocabulary and language skills. She makes me smile now that she’s saying, “I funny!” She’s even learned that she’s much more likely to get what she wants if she asks politely. So, she’s trying very hard to remember to say, “May I have ___ please?” (Her polite smile afterwards is the icing on the cake.) She really made me giggle when she said, "May I have poo-poo please?" (I'm pretty sure she was trying to tell me something, rather than ask for something...)

It was definitely a good day between Abby and Shawn. Shawn confirmed it while he was getting ready for bed. I’m just glad my camera wasn’t far away - and that he didn’t get camera shy!

… His growing repertoire includes love song serenades as well as action-packed ditties with tricky foot work...
American Idol's got nothing on this budding vocalist!
Now appearing in his world début... SHAWN!

Oma: Next up: add a word and do Abby Road.
Great songs; better than Am Idol, fur sur

Me: LOL - I'm trying to get some of his other songs caught on camera, but sometimes he gets camera shy. "Abby, Abby" had a verse about "Shawn, Shawn," but when the camera came out, he forgot the words! ;)

Oma: LOL. I understand completely.

2011-04-05T18:37:00.014-05:00

This morning, Shawn asked me, “See Daydo (Diego)? Play with Daydo’s (Diego’s) toys?” Yup! It’s Spanish Class today! Once we got to Language Stars, it took Shawn a little while to warm up, but he was chiming in before long. Abby made an attempt to say, “Me llamo Abby (My name is Abby),” but could only get out “Me… Abby!” Even when we’d prompt her for the missing word, she’d skip it and go straight to “Abby!” She knew exactly what was going on and what we were doing though. Both of them were fully participated in the Buenos Dias / Good Morning song, including giving two big thumbs up when we say, “¡Muy bien! (Very well!)”

Good Morning

(track 1, Around the World with Language Stars)

Good morning friends,

How are you? Very well! (2x)

Hello friends, (3x)

How are you? Very well!

We’re well! We’re well!

We’re well, well, well! (2x)

Buenos días

(track 1, Around the World with Language Stars)

Buenos días amigos,

¿Cómo están? ¡Muy bien! (2x)

Buenos días amigos, (3x)

¿Cómo están? ¡Muy bien!

¡Estamos bien, estamos bien,

Estamos bien, bien, bien! (2x)

This unit is about naming body parts. We focused on la cabeza (head), el brazo (arm), and la pierna (leg) today. We gave a teddy bear a bath, naming his parts including los manos (hands) and los pies (feet). While he got clean, we sang En la tina/In the Bathtub.

In The Bathtub

(to the tune of “This Old Man”)

In the bathtub I wash

My arms and my hands

My legs, face and hair

Now I am clean.

En la tina

(To the tune of “This Old Man”)

En la tina yo me lavo

Mis brazos y mis manos

Mis piernas, mi cara y mi pelo

Ahora ya estoy limpio.

Our project involved making funny faces on a piece of paper by gluing los ojos (eyes), las orejas (ears), la nariz (nose), and la boca (mouth), which were all a review, onto the frame of a face and coloring el pelo (the hair). Diego worked with Shawn while I helped Abby. When we were done, Diego confessed, “Mine is not as cute as you!” Now, I am absolutely certain that he meant, “The funny face project that Shawn and I made with cockeyed features did not turn out as well as the one that Abby and you made.” …But, I like the way his broken English version sounded better!

At lunch the kids really wanted to share their food!

While both kids napped in the afternoon, a neighbor pulled out of his driveway and hit both his garbage can and his recycling cart that were still on his curb from this morning. He didn’t stop to take them inside or even to move them out of the way. He just left them toppled over half-way into the street. I guess he must have been late for work or something! It would’ve been kind of funny, except for the fact that Baron jolted into guard dog mode and all of the commotion woke up Abby, somehow Shawn amazingly slept through it all. Baron calmed down pretty quickly, but Abby, who was scared out of her wits, needed a little help catching her breath and relaxing in order to go back to sleep again. (Thanks a lot, Frank!) About 15 minutes after she fell back to sleep, there was a delivery to the house next door. The delivery truck’s door made more racket which woke Abby up. Luckily, this time she wasn’t frightened. She just thought Daddy was here to pick her up. When I didn’t go in to get her, she simply drifted off… again. Poor kid.

It has been a GORGEOUS day!! It’s only 45F, but the sun is dazzling, the sky is bright blue, and the big, puffy clouds remain to be giant, floating cotton balls and haven’t turned gray or threatening… so far. (Rain is in the forecast in the next day or so). Even though it is still pretty chilly in the shade, which includes half of our house at any given point in the day, I opened the windows and doors to let in the fresh air. On the sunny side of our house, it was actually a little warmer outside than inside! I did close the windows in the kids’ rooms at naptime, since the breeze cooled down the rooms considerably. Besides, the landscaping crew was out and about today, so closing the windows at naptime helped muffle any noise they might make as they go by. (It wasn’t enough to block out Frank’s garbage can collision or the clatter from the delivery truck though!)

Word of the Day: Loquacious

2011-04-04T21:02:00.007-05:00

Shawn interrupted our lunch today with, “Ah-ehm, ah-ehm, ah-ehm! (tapping his throat) Tengo, tengo, tengo sed!” ( I am, I am, I am thirsty!) It took me a moment to figure out what was going on and that he wasn’t just speaking in jibberish before I realized he was trying to sing part of a song we do at Language Stars before water is served during snack time. Sure enough, I’d forgotten to give him his sippy cup. Always full of surprises…

We went to Open Gym at Gymboree and saw some old friends, who we haven’t seen in a while. Abby was excited to play with a few girls a little older than her. Shawn joined a game of basketball with a little boy who exclaimed, “Slam dunk!” each time his ball went through the hoop. Before I knew it, Shawn was calling out, “Slam dunk!” each time he threw the ball - into the basketball hoop or elsewhere. (I’m not sure I would’ve been able to interpret what he was trying to say if I hadn’t seen the story unfold, but since I knew the context, it was pretty funny!)

We didn’t stay at Open Gym the whole allotted time because Abby was giving me the impression that she was getting tired. She’d find a ball and then sit on my lap to watch the other children playing. If she lost her grip on her ball and it rolled away, she’d get up to retrieve it, but otherwise she was content to sit and watch, sometimes even leaning her head back on me. That was my cue that it was time to go.

Moments after pulling out of the Gymboree parking lot, we saw a semi-truck with the silhouette of a horse in its logo. Abby was very excited to see the horse and gave out an energized, “Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!” And, for the entire 18.1 miles and 40+ minutes it took us to get home (I stopped at an ATM along the way), Abby impersonated an extremely loquacious pony. (Loquacious – good word, eh?) I’m not sure what happened to Sleepy Abby that I saw back at Gymboree, but we must have left her behind! This Abby’s rhythmic repetition was so mind-numbing that it actually put Shawn to sleep!

When we got home, I parked in the garage and left Shawn in his car seat to nap. (With the rocky sleep he’s been having lately, there was no sense in disrupting him.) On the other hand, Abby was no longer interested in sleeping. So, she put Blue Baby Doll in time out (I wonder what she did!), had a leisurely snack, and then I put her in the Pack & Play. She talked to herself for a good 30 minutes (including a few versus of No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!") before finally drifting off. In fact, Shawn woke from his nap before Abby did, which NEVER happens. I even texted Bill that Abby was still sleeping, so he decided to keep working until I let him know that she was up. When she finally did wake up, Shawn joined me to get her out of bed. He rushed up to the side of her Pack & Play and asked, “Abby, have a good nap, Abby?” and she answered with a wholehearted, “Yeah!” I would say so!

A Triangle, Momma!

2011-04-03T21:35:00.006-05:00

We all got to sleep in until 8:00 am today. That was nice. (Ahh, gone are the days when 8:00 was still getting up early!) Shawn (and I) slept much better last night. My cold/allergies are still giving me a hard time, but at least Shawn let me sleep for more than an hour stretch at a time!

While he was playing, he decided to put his potty seat on toilet, pull up the stool, and sit down – all by himself! I wasn’t even in the bathroom with him! His diaper was on and pants were still up, but I was very impressed!

It’s official – Shawn knows his shapes. Raj was at an orthodontics class, so Shawn and I had dinner on our own at the kitchen table. All of a sudden, Shawn started pointing at the back door exclaiming, “Triangle, Momma! Triangle!” I tried to correct him and explain that the back door was actually a rectangle, but he wouldn’t have it, “No, Momma! Triangle, Momma! Triangle!” still insistently pointing at the back door. I saw the reflection of our light fixture in the glass of the back door, “This? This is a circle, Shawn, not a triangle.” Getting very impatient with my apparent lack of knowledge about shapes, “NO! NO, Momma! NO! There’s a triangle, Momma!”

Sure enough.

I finally saw it.

There clinging to the screen door was a moth, whose wings were in the shape of… a triangle. When I finally pointed to it and asked if that was what he had seen, Shawn had an enormous, satisfied grin from ear to ear, “See, Momma? See it? A triangle!”

We watched the moth dance in the light on the sliding glass door until it found another light to visit. But, even after it was gone, Shawn continued to look for the triangle on the window, which he now knows is called "a moth."

T is for Tanner, Trucks, Tunes, Toys, and Teddy Bear

2011-04-02T22:05:00.018-05:00

It was a rough night last night. We didn’t sleep much. Shawn and I slept in a little, but he still woke up on his own in time for our swimming lesson. Again Raj suggested we skip class and sleep in, but with both of us awake in time, it didn’t make much sense. We didn’t get to the pool early enough to get in before class started, like we normally have been, but we got there just as they were taking attendance.

I wasn’t very impressed with the swimming lesson today. We had a lot of play time (a.k.a. down time)! The water was cold – 83F water, 85F air, which sounds warm enough, but kids’ lips were blue, chins were chattering, and limbs were shivering. A few of us asked if temperature could be turned up, but management said no because lap swimmers complain it’s too warm to do their exercises. So, I guess our babes will get hypothermia instead – sure, that’s reasonable! Grrr….

Tanner’s mom asked me if we were going to sign up for the next session of classes, but I haven’t been very impressed by this one, so I don’t think so. The only real benefit that I’ve seen from these lessons is it’s at a set time each week, which actually gets us to do it. If we don’t have an activity scheduled and on the calendar, then we’re not likely to do it, whether it’s something in the community or a playdate. So, saying that we can just go to the pool this summer sounds great and logical, but if we don’t actually plan it, it’s not likely to happen. Maybe I’ll look for swimming lessons through a different group, like the park district, and see if we get anything more out of it.

When Shawn woke up from his nap, Raj and I heard him talking to himself – something about a truck and a house. We opened the door to find him sitting in his rocking chair, reading The Little House, “I’m reading stories in the rocking chair all by MY self!” What a character.

Shawn has been very vocal today. He sang Baa, Baa Black Sheep while playing with his farm. Throughout the day, he sang many other songs, some real and others made up (or perhaps medleys of a few real ones). He can now fill in the missing words when we sing I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, A Tisket, A Tasket, Frere Jaques (in English though), Humpty Dumpty, You are My Sunshine, Merrily We Roll Along, and a few others, which escape me at the moment.

Shawn’s also getting very quick at putting together his chunky puzzles. I may need to see if there are any new ones available on Freecycle. He never really showed much interest in the puzzles before, other than playing with the pieces individually. I think he’s learned a little from Abby, because she loves doing puzzles and is very fast to put them together.

Surprise! Shawn knows the letter T. He’s been pointing it out in different contexts all day: on Dadda’s flavored water bottles, in his books, on the computer “buttons”… I’m not sure where this came from, but I guess we should run with it!

While Shawn was playing for a little while before going to bed, he pulled out a teddy bear and an empty plastic box that’s made to hold wipes. He proceeded to tell us that Teddy Bear’s diaper was dirty and he needed to change it! He laid Teddy Bear on the ground, pulled out pretend wipes from the box, lifted the bear’s legs, and told us that he was cleaning up Teddy Bear. Raj and I just watched and giggled. I love his imagination.

April Fools!

2011-04-01T23:38:00.010-05:00

Hmm… was that today? No jokes or pranks or anything exciting happened. I’m quite okay with that! Maybe when the kids get older, it could be fun to do something for April Fools, but I don’t think they’d really understand it yet. Again, I’m fine with that!

In the morning, Abby, Shawn, and I went to a Mothers & More Toddler/Preschool Playgroup at one of the moms’ houses. As we were getting ready to head over there, I caught Abby and Shawn on camera demonstrating their fantastic climbing ability. When did they get so independent?

After the playgroup, we went to Gymboree for Family Gym. There was a farm theme, which was pretty cute. The kids pretended to be pigs and roll in ‘mud’ as they rolled down ramps and they put ‘hay in the cows’ troughs’ by putting scarves inside an inner-tube. There were lots of activities, including a story, that Shawn and Abby really got into. Of course, Abby’s favorite was riding the rocking horse and shouting, “Neigh! Neigh! Neigh!”

It was a busy day! Full of excitement and (as my sister, Jennifer, would call it) adventures. Unfortunately, Shawn wouldn’t unwind enough for a nap while Abby slept, but wasn’t acting cranky either, so he and I played quietly on our own. However, after she went home and I explained that we couldn’t play with her anymore and that we needed to go to the grocery store, Shawn got very upset and demanded, “I want to play with Abby! No grocery store!” Then, he quickly fell asleep in the car on the way to Target. Of course! I was sure he’d wake up while I was getting him out of his car seat, but, luckily, he even stayed asleep while I did some quick shopping. The cashier, who gushed when she saw him sleeping on my shoulder, asked if he’d stay asleep now for the night. Doubtful, though with our jam-packed day, it’s possible! Minutes later, as we were leaving the store, his little head popped up and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. I thought he might go back to sleep in the car, since he’d only napped for about an hour (and his usual naps have been between 2-3 hours lately), but no such luck. Curse that check-out clerk! He stayed fairly quiet on the drive home and even was subdued while he played and I made dinner… until Dadda came home. Then life was exciting again! Just as I was hoping to get him ready for an early bed time - naturally! I still managed to get him to bed a little early, but not as much as I had hoped. It turns out that it didn’t really matter… it was a rough night and neither of us slept much as a result.

Hmmm... is this Shawn's prank for April Fools Day? I am not amused.

A Good Day Outside

2011-03-31T17:56:00.037-05:00

Today was a significantly better day than yesterday! (There was plenty of room for improvement!)

We arrived at the library a little early for story time today, so Abby and Shawn got to play in the children’s corner for a few minutes. We also found lots of animals painted in the mural and the stuffed animals that live among the bookshelves (out of reach) in the story room. Ms. Nancy was very impressed with how many animal names they knew. When she was ready to start story time, we were the only ones in her audience, but a few others showed up later. Today’s theme was “Going for a Walk.” Shawn, Abby, and I really liked the first story, I Took a Walk by Henry Cole. It had beautiful and very realistic illustrations showing different places a child went outside and the things he saw there. There weren’t many words to the story, though there were a lot of labels identifying various things in the pictures. It was really hard for Shawn and Abby to resist running up to the book to point out something they found on each page. (If we had been the only ones there, I probably would have let them, but when they managed to slip from my fingers, they blocked other kids’ views.) Another boy who would rush up to point at something was called back by his mom a few times too, but he was a little older and was pretty easily redirected. The second story Ms. Nancy read was Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchins. It was about a hen, Rosie, who had no idea that a fox was following her as she walked around the farmyard. Rosie reminded me of Oma and Opa’s chickens at the Barony and, oddly enough, the fox reminded me a little of Wiley Coyote - each scene showed the hen walking safely by various objects, which inevitably fell on, hit, or somehow battered the disaster-prone fox. I Went Walking by Sue Williams was a very short book about a child pointing out familiar animals. It was a lot like Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. It was cute, but not very memorable for me though – I had to look it up on Amazon to refresh my memory! We also read Spot’s First Walk by Eric Hill. We have one of the books from this series at home. Shawn and Abby both like to discover what’s hidden under the flaps on each page. Spot encounters surprises along his walk, which Ms. Nancy revealed from under the flaps. Toward the end of the book, a fish warns Spot, “Don’t fall in!” as he’s about to drink from a pond. The next page shows Spot shaking water off his fur. I smiled when his mom asks him what he did while he was gone. You see him next to various things he picked up along his walk, but, just like the typical kid, he tells her, “Nothing.” The last book we read was also by Eric Hill. Spot’s Walk in the Woods told about things Spot saw during an adventure into the woods. Since it was written as a rebus, Ms. Nancy had the children help her “read” the words that were replaced with pictures. They got pretty excited about interpreting the pictures with her. Abby liked the ending of the story, when Spot was back home and discovered a frog from the woods had jumped into his backpack. She started hopping each time Ms. Nancy read the word ‘frog.’

Ms. Nancy taught us the sign for ‘walk’ in sign language. We danced to Walk Outside from Raffi’s Box of Sunshine CD and tried to sign ‘walk’ whenever it came up in the lyrics. We also recited a few rhymes:

Read a Book

(To the tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Read, read, read a book

Travel anywhere

World-wide, you decide

A book will take you there!

Around the Yard

Let’s go walking around the yard. (walk)

We’ll keep on walking, then we’ll stop. (stop)

Let’s go walking around the block. (walk)

We’ll keep on walking, then we’ll stop. (stop)

Let’s go walking to the library. (walk)

We’ll keep on walking, then we’ll stop. (stop)

Going for a Walk

Going for a walk is so much fun (walk)

We look at all the lovely trees (cup hands over head)

We don’t’ hurry, we don’t run (shake head)

We watch for birds and watch for bees (flap hands and make buzzing sound)

After the library, we played outside. Abby and Shawn pulled out a lot of toys. The bubble machine is Abby’s favorite. The Cozy Coupe ranks pretty high with Shawn.

Balls, buckets, and shovels littered the yard, too.

We even wished for warm weather by pulling out the kiddy pool! Shawn and Abby had a blast pretending to swim and splash and toss toys into the non-existent water.

Unfortunately, we had to stop our pool party short because Shawn tripped and scraped up his fingers. It was time for lunch anyway, but it would have been nicer to end the festivity without the need for Band-Aids!

When Abby woke up from her nap in the afternoon, I heard her say, “Hi, Baby!” She talked to herself a few minutes before I went in to get her. We played together while Shawn continued his nap.

After Shelley came to pick up Abby, Shawn woke up. He found a book on his bookshelf (I could tell by the sounds of him rattling around in his room), then tried to open his door (I was on the other side secretly trying to help him). When he got it open, he rushed out smiling and then made a bee-line to Abby’s pack & play, “Abby? Abby?” He was really disappointed when I explained that she had already gone home. He just stood in the hallway looking at the stairs going down to the front door. I had to take his hand to get him to snap out of it! Then, he went back into his room and found some books to read, which were quickly spread across the floor. He misses her already. It’s a good thing there’s still one more day with Abby this week!

Firey Abby, Dueling Shawn, Melodious Mom, Pixies, Wizards, and Dragons! Oh, My!

2011-03-30T22:35:00.001-05:00

It was a rough morning. Abby threw her breakfast of scrambled eggs on the floor. She and Shawn were like oil and vinegar today. They bickered all morning and couldn’t figure out how to share any of the plethora of toys. This doesn’t happen often, but WOW!

Thank goodness for a change of scenery at Music Class at Gymboree. Miss Elizabeth subbed for Miss Kim. There were many of the usual students missing from class, but there were also lots of new people in class either coming as makeup from other sessions or newly joining us. Miss Elizabeth used Abby to demonstrate the movements for some lap-riding songs and my lap was happy to take a break from having two “riding along”! Shawn was pretty quiet today (maybe all of the bickering earlier wore him out!), but he participated and followed Miss Elizabeth’s directions for each of the songs. Whenever a new tub of instruments was brought out (maracas, blocks and sticks, or the music exploration box), he’d suddenly jump to life and sprint across the room to pick out his instrument. He and Abby always want their maracas to match. They even pick matching ones for me to use, too. (Sometimes that means taking a little longer to find “the perfect” colors they each want to use.) Abby was very hot and cold in class today – one moment she’d be enthusiastic and excited about the activity and the next minute she’d cuddle on my lap or (if we were standing up) she’d want me to pick her up. (I don’t think she was tired because she normally puts her head on my shoulder when that’s the case.) Even with her unpredictable mood today, she was an absolute star during the “Bah-bah” activity. Miss Elizabeth held the microphone to Abby first and she showed the class exactly what to do. When it was Shawn’s turn next, he froze like a deer in headlights! Rats! I thought last week was the beginning of a new trend! Oh, well. We’ll try again next time. It turns out that Abby was one of the only kids in class who did the “Bah-bahs” today! Way to go, Abby!

After class, we had a few minutes to play in on the gym equipment before heading home for lunch. A few of the parents from music class asked about Shawn and Abby and I had to explain that they’re not related. More than once, I heard about how well they get along with each other and how nice it is that they get to do things together… I have to agree - though maybe I wouldn’t have this morning!

On the way home, Shawn called out, “FedEx mail truck!” each time he saw one, and we must have been on a busy mail route because we saw many of them. We also practiced identifying colors by naming the signs, cars, and trucks that we saw on the way home. Abby figured out pretty quickly that when in doubt, the signs are green (at least on the highway)! She asked for a pink sign, too, but as hard as we looked, we didn’t see any. Maybe we’ll try a different way home sometime or maybe one day we’ll see a billboard that will be pink. In the meantime, we’ll keep looking.

I assumed Abby would be more than ready for lunch when we got home, so I got the kids in their boosters right away. Abby gobbled down her yogurt without hesitation. She looked like she was enjoying it so much that Shawn asked for some yogurt, too! While the yogurt was disappearing quickly at both seats, I warmed up Abby’s mac & cheese and cut up some turkey and cheese for Shawn. I presented Abby with her main course as well as a side of blueberries, a granola bar, and her cookies for dessert. I guess I didn’t have to rush quite so much though because all she wanted was her yogurt – nothing else interested her. Not even the blueberries or cookies! This is not normal for Abby. I got her to eat a few fork-fulls of the mac & cheese, but only if I fed it to her. (She’d be tight lipped until I got it to her mouth and then she’d take the bite with no problem.) Meanwhile, Shawn kept eyeing her untouched blueberries, so I made sure to get him a bowl of his own.

About halfway through the meal, Shawn started making requests for various songs: The Wheels on the Bus, Ring Around the Rosie, The Monkeys on the Bed, Mr. Sun, ABCs, and Boogie Woogie Piggy… just to name a few! As I performed my best repertoire of children’s songs (which you will NOT be finding on video! Again, I’m instrumental, not vocal!), the young diners helped me with the words and actions when they could and when they couldn’t they giggled encouragingly at Silly Mommy! When it was pretty clear they weren’t going to eat any more and I was getting weary of my own song & dance act, we were off to nap time.

Abby woke up from her nap seconds before Bill knocked on the door to pick her up. She was definitely still drowsy when I brought her downstairs with her head on my shoulder. When Shawn woke up from his nap, I found him climbing into his rocking chair with a book. When I greeted him, he replied, “Abby at home. I see Abby to-mon-ow (tomorrow).”

Raj got home from work just in time for us to go to a Mothers & More Family Outing to MagiQuest in Lombard. We had never been there before and really didn’t know much about it, but this was a good excuse to check it out. It was a sort of a living video game. The website describes it as, “an interactive live-action, role playing game where players embark on quests and adventures in an enchanted fantasy world using real magic wands to solve the mysteries of the game.” The interesting thing about the wands is that they ‘remember’ what quests you’ve done and what you’ve already accomplished on each quest. Repeat visitors can buy their own wand, so their progress is recorded and so they can visit other MagiQuest locations (or online) while adding to their own profile. (Of course, the store in front as all sorts of trinkets to buy in order to ‘personalize’ the wands, too.) When we got there, we were given a Magic Wand and a pamphlet sized guidebook, or Ancient Book of Wisdom, to use along our ‘quest.’ The Magic Wand worked as a sort of remote control to trigger things to happen along the way. We’d point the wand at a treasure chest and it would open to reveal the loot inside. We’d point it at a forest scene and the monitor would reveal a nymph or wizard who would grant us a charm or give us a clue for our next step. Shawn figured out that the wand caused things to happen, though he didn’t always point he wand at the hidden sensors in the scenery just right, so he’d start shaking it wildly in hopes that something would react to it. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t! He really liked pointing at the gemstones that would light up in different colors. Later, we actually went on a quest to find all of the gems and Shawn was thrilled to revisit them, so we already knew where most of them were. Along our quests we found a Pixie, learned from a wizard, fought a goblin, and tricked a dragon. Though it’s a good thing we could use Shawn as our excuse to be in this living video game, I can honestly say we had a good time and it was fun to act like kids running around on secret quests through dungeons!

Car Seats, Costco, and Party Hostess - Phew! What a Day!

2011-03-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

There was no Spanish class this morning. Language Stars is on Spring Break. Instead, we took a fieldtrip to Costco.

As we were getting in the car, both kids climbed right in to their car seats! Surprise! Shawn can do it now, too! Just like Abby’s first time by herself, he got in as if he had been doing it easily for months. The give away that it was a new conquest was his immense squeal of delight, gleaming smile from ear to ear, and contagious giggle that followed. Now, for their next goal: buckling themselves in!

At Costco, we found a new dog bed for Baron. However, just like everything else sold there, it was economy sized! Since we had already been filling the cart, there was no room inside for the gigantic cushion, so I balanced it on top of the other groceries. It actually worked very well because when it was positioned just right, Shawn and Abby could lean way back and rest their heads on the super plush, fuzzy bed. They had the softest shopping cart seats of any other kids in the warehouse!

A few aisles later, I was looking for a barrel of mini pretzel squares. (I think they’re called Snaps, but I’m not sure.) When I couldn’t find them, Shawn caught on to my disappointment and echoed, “Bubber, bubber, bubber!” (Bummer, bummer, bummer!) Abby giggled each time she heard us protest. (I think we even got a couple of smiles from other shoppers walking by!) We did find pretzel rods instead, so it wasn’t a total failure. Shawn actually would rather have the big sticks or full sized pretzels anyway, but I still like the size of the mini shapes. I had to distract him from seeing the new barrel in the cart, because he wanted to dive right in!

Naptime brought on more freckle kisses from Shawn. I just wanted to give him a huge hug and not let go.

This evening I hosted my first (and probably only) Tastefully Simple party. Thanks to everyone who came. Abby, Anna, Veer, and Shawn played with Raj and Veer’s Dad (Shrenik) in the basement, while the ladies sampled the goods in the living room and dining room. I will admit that, while hosting these parties isn’t my ‘thing’, I did have fun having everyone over – to socialize if nothing else.

When the house finally emptied and quieted down and I finished cleaning up the dishes and leftovers. It was well past bedtime (for all of us). Shawn had a tough time going to sleep and I had a tough time staying asleep!

'Hel-talk-oos' in 'Ooo-neee-nee'

2011-03-28T23:44:00.002-05:00

During breakfast, we watched airplanes coming in to land at O’Hare. Even though this happens virtually 24-7, they thought it was pretty fun to announce, “Another airplane!” when they saw a new one in the distance. Abby kept asking for a “hel-talk-oo” (or as Shawn would say, “het-top-ter” or as I would say, “helicopter”), but we were much too late to catch the traffic copters in the air.

After breakfast, Shawn and Abby held hands and ran around the living room saying, “Whooo wooo! Choo choo train!” They were giggling and beaming the whole time. These two are something else! Later, they helped me put up Spring and Easter decorations. We stuck window clings on the front window and mirror, poured plastic eggs into various vases and containers around the house, and hung some miniature decorations of bunnies, birds, and Easter eggs from the dining room chandelier. They had fun checking out the new décor.

It’s deceivingly pretty outside today: crystal blue sky, hardly any clouds, bright sunshine, little/no wind – but 25 F. It’s a bit chilly for a walk to the park today. Rats! Looking forward to the days when we can play outside without going numb - though I’m not a big fan of heat stroke either!

This evening, just to see what would happen, I told Shawn that we live in Chicago, Illinois. Now, we’re practicing, “Where do you live?” “Ooo-neee-nee” If he’s ever faced with telling someone where he lives, he’ll definitely need a translator! Too bad we don’t live somewhere easy like… Hawaii!

When I was putting Shawn down to sleep for the night, he pointed to the freckles on my cheeks. I told him, “Those are Momma’s freckles.” He gently tapped them a few times, then leaned in and kissed them on both cheeks! He made the pucker sound and all! I couldn’t help it - I almost teared up. My sweet little man.