Children's Museum

Now that it's been 5-ish days of inflammation all over my legs and parts of my arms (last night's soak did wonders!), I have a theory as to the cause. A few days ago, I ran out of my usual soap, so I used some of Lilly's Johnson's baby wash (as opposed to Raj's Irish Spring, which makes my skin itch just thinking about it). Being formulated for babies' gentle skin, it seemed the logical choice. I won't make that mistake again! This morning, I googled "allergy to Johnson's baby wash" and came up with numerous links. They mostly targeted babies' skin reactions, but that's generally who uses the stuff, so that makes sense. Web-MD cited a formaldehyde-releasing chemical, quaternium-15, which are known "potent allergens that can trigger rashes and other skin inflammation problems." Ah-HA! I think I'll try to avoid that one from now on! In the meantime, coconut oil and Vani-cream are working overtime to repair the damage.
The morning was productive: I did a load of laundry, the dishes, and  cleaned kitchen all before Lilly woke up! Once she was up and we were all fed and ready to go, we met our Gymboree playgroup at the DuPage Children's Museum. It was a fun afternoon. Even the moms had a chance to chat while the kids explored, which wasn't so much the case last time we tried going there!  What's that say?

 Lilly was mesmerized by a speeding pinwheel just outside the wind tunnel.

Shawn always makes a point to play with the circuits and electricity. Lilly liked turning dials and flipping switches with him.

  Shawn was very proud of building himself a fort from life-sized tinker toys. He normally doesn't spend much time here - I'm glad he did today!

Here's some of the  Gymboree Playgroup crew that was still left at the end of the afternoon: Liam, Lilly, Shawn, Evie, Katherine, & Vicky.

The museum closed at 4:00, which is perfect to give us plenty of time to get to karate... IF we didn't chat in the parking lot. So, we were late to karate. Oops!

On the way home, we stopped at Walgreens for some formaldehyde and quaternium-15 free soap for me, among other things. While we were there, Raj called to say he had a meeting tonight and wouldn't be home until late, so the kids and I went  next door to Culver's for dinner & dessert. At the end of our dinner, an elderly waitress (?) offered to take Shawn up to the counter so he could get his free dessert and I could stay with Lilly. We politely explained that he has learned how to do it on his own using his very best manners and that he takes great pride in this "grownup" task. She wasn't sure how to react to this - I think she *wanted* to take Shawn to the counter. After he figured out what he wanted to order (chocolate and vanilla swirled frozen custard with maraschino cherries), Shawn marched up to the counter to place his order on his own. Though I couldn't hear what was being said, I saw Shawn turn and point to me, so I waved and nodded - perhaps to acknowledge permission or maybe to show the waiter where to bring the dessert when it was ready (Culver's provides table service), I'm not really sure. Regardless, Shawn came back to our table, beaming. And a few minutes later, his dessert arrived - even better. THEN, while he (by choice) shared his frozen custard with Lilly (awwww!), I left him "in charge" and went to the counter to order a frozen concrete for myself (chocolate raspberry custard with peanut butter and brownie bites mixed in). I came back to find two waitresses chatting with them, but the staff frequently makes rounds to all the tables offering to throw away garbage, etc. so I don't think they were specifically checking on them.  (Lenore S. would be proud.) 

As we enjoyed our desserts, an older couple stopped by our table on their way out. The man said, "You have quite the handful there!" I'm not really sure what he meant because they were far from "handfuls" at this particular time (maybe eating by myself with two young kids?), but I replied, "I'd have it no other way!" Then the woman commented on what well behaved children I have and how I must treasure this time because it goes too quickly. She made a lot more sense than he did!

When they left, Shawn asked if we could do some Bed Time Math  problems. Since I have a backlog of days we've missed, we did a few while we finished dessert; after all, who am I to discourage math practice?!

At home, it was time for bed. Shawn did a great job getting ready for bed right away, a rare occurrence. I kept finding things that sidetracked me from bedtime (arg!), but both kids were sound asleep before Raj got home. I feel badly that he didn't see them awake today. It's a good thing we had quality time this weekend! (I'm hosting a Moms' Night Out for Mothers & More at our house on Friday, so Raj and the kids will have more time together then, too.)

The rest of my sidetracking-from-bed chores will have to wait until tomorrow... Right after I do one more thing!

Shawn vs. The Board

The movie

Lilly knows what she wants

Lilly went straight for the plastic Easter eggs that we left out yesterday. Now, she knows exactly what they're all about! She'd pick one up and shake it. If it made noise, she'd put it in my hand and motion/grunt for me to help her open it. She was able to open a few on her own, but she mostly asked for help. She'd find stickers and try to stick them to herself (without taking the backing off, which doesn't work so well). She found coins, which make the best noises in the plastic eggs. But, the little woman was on a mission for M&Ms! She'd get incredibly excited if she found the 'right' egg. The jelly bean filled ones were ok, but not as gratifying as chocolate - 'atta girl!

At lunch, Lilly attempted to sign 'water!' She doesn't have the dexterity to make the sign properly, but it was a really good attempt and very clear what she was trying to do. Her version is an open palm and sucking on her thumb, like a straw. (The real sign is 3 fingers in a 'w,' tapped at the chin.) She even did it consistently throughout the meal and even at dinner later!

Almost forgot about karate class this afternoon. We did forget Shawn's gloves. Oops. They made it from his room to the kitchen, but not all the way to the car. Oh, well! They are Shawn's responsibility. Luckily, it didn't prevent him from testing today, which I thought was next class - geesh! Get it together today! Shawn started the test with 3 others, who were going for their stripes. They did hammer fists, high blocks, and ax kicks. When the others finished the moves they needed to pass, they sat down & Shawn did a few extra blocks with Mr. Hund on his own. He had to do inside and outside blocks, but all with this same arm. It was a little confusing because Mr. Flight (his usual teacher) hasn't done them that way before, but Mr. Flight wasn't there today and having different teachers is a good learning experience. In the end, despite his initial confusion, Shawn was promoted to the next belt - double gold. Way to go! He couldn't wait to tell Raj this evening. They're displaying his belts on a shelf in Raj's home office. (I need to find a better display system/method though...)

Dinner was 3 different combinations of ham and other leftovers. Yum! For dessert, Shawn had a root beer popsicle and I had banana, chocolate, & caramel swirl gelato.  I maaaaay be starting to have a problem with Target's gelato section. A very tasty, decadent problem.

While I was putting Lilly down to bed, Shawn helped Raj continue putting together a play kitchen she got for her birthday. Lilly had a hard time going to bed tonight. I think her nap schedule is starting to change, and it's throwing her off a bit. Or, her bedtime routine was off because I was trying to put her to bed without Shawn, and she was protesting. Or, it was just a tougher night than usual for her. Whatever. When she closed her eyes for a little while, and I retrieved Shawn from the basement, she woke again within minutes of him brushing his teeth. They both fell asleep after a few pages of Ramona the Pest. I was ready too. For a slow and easy morning and afternoon, this evening seemed really long and challenging for some reason!

Time for bed.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter! Shawn woke up looking for eggs, but since the Easter Bunny was out late last night, he/she wasn't prepared as early as he was! Raj took him to Top Golf driving range while Lilly and I kept watch. (Shawn made me promise if Bunny came, we'd leave "A-mmediatly!" so we wouldn't frighten him/her away or ruin the magic.)

No wonder the Easter Bunny hadn't brought the eggs to our house yet - he/she's too busy playing golf! Somehow, while Lilly and I were upstairs, Easter Bunny must've snuck in because when the boys came home, Shawn started screaming, "Eggs! Eggs! They're everywhere!" Hehehe! Lilly and I came downstairs and found eggs scattered around the living room, kitchen, music room, and dining room. 
While trying to track down all the eggs, we found the back door opened, just a bit, with some fuzz stuck to the screen... image.jpegSo THAT's how the E.B. got in! :)

Shawn had a hard time focusing on finding all the eggs because he kept opening them and digging in to their contents. Lilly caught on to the egg hunt pretty quickly and even figured out that they were supposed to go into her basket. It wasn't until later that she understood there were goodies inside the eggs - it was like a sweet epiphany!

We had to ration out the M&Ms to her and Raj even let her sample a few jelly beans, but she clearly preferred the chocolate and candy shell - there was plenty of it dribbled down her chin! She had fun with stickers from the eggs too.

I had a sticker moment ago... Where'd it go?
To get away from the sugar overload, we went to Home Depot for a little while - mostly for gardening supplies: a rake, hedge clippers (large & small), a ladder, furnace filters, mats for the mud room doors, etc. However, when we walked in, the greeter pointed us to free cotton candy. Of course there was! (??) Sure. Why not? Shawn was thrilled to try it for the first time; I was relieved that he decided he had had enough and didn't really care for it after eating about half of it. Anyway, we got everything in our list except for bathroom mirrors for the main floor and basement. A very successful trip aided by very eager (bored) employees.
When we got home we spent a few hours enjoying our yard. Lilly's really getting the hang of the slide and sometimes, after I prop her at the top, she'll even wait for me to get to the bottom to catch her (other times, I'll just hold on to her from the side and guide her to the bottom). Shawn played with his new Iron Man toy on the playset. Baron brought me 3 different balls to fetch, though he decided to actually retrieve only one of them. Raj installed a bracket by our front patio for our flag pole, programmed the number pad on my garage door, and set our new hoses on their stands in the yard. There were times I'd actually reposition myself into the shade because it was a bit warm in the sunshine! That hasn't happened in a very.long.time.

For dinner, because we hadn't had enough sugar today, I cooked a glazed 1/4 spiral ham, herb potatoes, broccoli, and green beans. Raj and I enjoyed beers and Shawn proudly drank milk from a glass cup. Shawn made me giggle when he really laid it on thick by saying, "Mom, you make the best ham and Easter dinner EVER!" I'll take it though!
After dinner, Shawn and Lilly changed into their pajamas and we headed back outside for our first fire-pit lighting. Shawn helped me gather twigs, pinecones, etc. to use as kindling. Shawn was really excited (and cautious) to help me light the fire. Raj helped keep the fire going by bringing out some boxes from our recycle pile. Once the logs took over and we had a great, hot fire going. (We both commented how it was noticeably hotter than what our gas fireplace produces.) And, because we still hadn't had enough sugar today, we made s'mores for dessert. I used super dark chocolate on mine, which no one else cared for - gee, darn. At one point, Lilly tried running away with a Hershey's bar.

Shawn also had fun exploring with my old telescope, though I'm not sure if he actually saw much at all. We eventually started bed time stories outside, but finished inside. It was hard to come in - what a gorgeous day it was! (It'll be even better when we find some patio furniture!) Happy Easter to all and to all a good night!

Better Lawn and Gardens

I think Lilly's trying to say Baron! She was saying, "Bay-ay" every time she saw a picture of a dog while we were looking through a magazine this morning. (I'm guessing that she's associating all dogs with Baron.) Whenever she wanted to go back to see the picture again, she waved her hands around screaming, "Bay-ay!" until I'd go back to the right page. Then she'd point to it and smile. I was able to

 catch a tiny bit of it on camera, but nothing like she was doing earlier.

Raj hired Perez & Sons Lawn Care, Inc., who arrived today. They were very busy trying to reclaim our plants from being overgrown and neglected since (at least) last fall. They cut and fertilized the grass, trimmed bushes and trees, removed dead leaves and grass, and generally cleaned up the garden beds. They even removed 4 small dead/dying trees by the archway by the corner of the kitchen that they think were hurt by the drastic winter. Shawn had fun supervising from a distance - especially watching Mr. Perez using a power blower to clear out the mounds of dead leaves in the flower beds; though, we stayed inside and watched from the windows so as not to be in the way. Raj has the crew on a schedule to come back for mowing, fertilizing, and more plant maintenance. There's still some pruning that I think could've been done today, but it looks remarkably better. Even spending an entire weekend working on it ourselves, Raj and I agreed that we could not have accomplished all that Mr. Perez's crew did in about 4 hours this morning. Still, Raj is sure we won't need Mr. Perez's crew for very long. It is incredibly helpful to get the yard back in shape and see what it's supposed to look like though. Hopefully, we'll learn to maintain it by watching what they do - and we're getting a few yard tools this weekend so I won't need to borrow Shawn's plastic rake anymore!

While the crew worked, Shawn and I marbleized a couple of eggs with nail polish. I initially caught his attention by calling it an experiment, but I had trouble getting our strings to stay inside the eggs, so Shawn had trouble staying interested while I fumbled with them. He also wasn't keen on getting any of the polish on his fingers, but he did like pouring the drops of polish into the water bowl and watching if the globs would float or sink. I don't have a wide selection of colors to choose from, but I think it's still a fun project.

We spent the rest of the day in the back yard. While Lilly took a 3 hour nap, Shawn and I read a few books that we got from the library yesterday. We set up our folding lawn chairs on the back patio and brought out popcorn and drinks and enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon sun while the temperatures were in the high 50°Fs.

We spent the rest of the day in the back yard. While Lilly took a 3 hour nap, Shawn and I read a few books that we got from the library yesterday. We set up our folding lawn chairs on the back patio and brought out popcorn and drinks and enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon sun while the temperatures were in the high 50°Fs.

Spring weather

Glad Lilly's party was last weekend & our visitors were here in reasonably good wx. Here's today through the screen:

Cousins on adventures

Primrose Farm

a full car

Pottawatomie Park on the Fox River