I Used Nice Words, But It Was Too Late

It seemed like a normal day when I finished up practice and headed to the day care to pick up Taz. He said he had a bad day, but he hadn't gotten in trouble (Something I always have to ask when I pick him up). We climbed into the car and drove over to the after school care room to get the other two kids.

When we walked in the door, the supervising teacher asked me if Taz had told me what happened today. Nope.

Apparently a little girl kissed him.

On the mouth.

Yeah.

The teacher wasn't sure who started it, so I had to do a little bit of interrogation, mommy-style. Which is, of course, asking him the same question over and over in different ways to see if his story changes. He's four. He hasn't figured out my system yet. (Mwa-ha-ha!)

This was his story, and for the record, it never changed:

"I was just watching a movie, and she kissed me. I said, 'Please stop.' And I used nice words, but it was too late because she already did it. But we both got in trouble before I could tell on her."

Of course, I had to tease him, because who could resist such an opportunity. I said, "Taliah isn't going to like it that Rilyn kissed you."

He looked at me for a second and said, "Let's not tell her."

Just Ignore Me . . . Everyone Else Does

Late last night I finished a baby quilt for my youngest sister's new baby. Brand-spankin' new. Born December 10th. I think I was pretty timely on this one, considering the last two nieces' blankets (I worked on them concurrently) were a year in the making. I posted a picture and a heartfelt plea for some slack (see the last post). I mean, I still have two more baby quilts to go before I am officially caught up. And while I enjoy making the baby quilts, I'm only human... Yeah, a human with five sisters!

So, today after work, I stopped by my oldest sister's house (we'll call her Sapworth) because one of my younger sisters (we'll call her Amithea) was visiting there with her family on the way back from a long holiday trip -- just passing through, you know. My kids wanted to see their cousins, so we stopped in. I handed Amithea the two new quilts I had finished and asked her to deliver them to the appropriate sisters when she gets home. It's all good; don't have to pay for shipping that way. :)

"You know," she said. "You have to make another one."

"Oh no," I sighed. "I just wrote a special blog asking people to stop having babies, so I could catch up!"

"I'm afraid she didn't get the memo," Sapworth retorted with an evil grin.

I hope it's a boy. After four girly quilts in a row, I'm ready for a change of pace... and color schemes.

Baby's First Birthday

It's difficult to believe that this time last year I was adjusting to a new born -- something we hadn't had in the house for five years -- and now, it's hard to imagine life with out the little guy!

Taz is a cheerful and busy little boy. He started walking at 10 1/2 months (considerably earlier than both my older children), and he has been a blur ever since. Taz loves to be around the family, so if he looks around and realizes he's alone, he makes sure the entire neighborhood knows it... talk about abilty to project his voice. He has lungs you wouldn't believe!

You would think after a full year of life, Taz could spread his meals further apart, but you would be wrong. Taz HAS to eat every four hours... and he HAS to eat a lot. He's quick about it though, because he insists on a constant intake (God forbid the feeder pauses between spoonfuls to eat his or her own dinner). You gotta keep shoveling, or Taz'll let you know your error (See above lung power).

The other kids positively adore their little brother and never cease to brag on him at any opportunity. If you've been the victim of this -- I gotta tell ya -- I'm not sorry. It saves me the trouble of bragging on him myself. (Both of my older children talk WAY MORE than I do -- a gift they obviously received from their father).

Anyway, Taz made it to one. We had a little family party for him. And can I just say, Taz likes cake. And not just the frosting either. He likes cake. The funny thing was watching him take his first taste. His big brown eyes just lit up, and he looked at me to see if I was going to take it away (he may have been a little bit surprised that I hadn't already done so -- Mommy doesn't let him have the good stuff very often, after all). Then he meticulously began excavating his way through the cake one handful at a time. Somehow he managed to keep the cake just on his face and hands. Seriously. No cake in his hair at all. I don't think I've ever witnessed such a feat. I don't think his dad can even do that.

One thing is for certain. Taz is one multi-talented, highly skilled little toddler... Alright, I can't resist a little bragging of my own.

Some Summer Adventures

After complaining about our lack of activity this summer, I decided to do a couple of cool things with the kids. Since we are usually so home-bound (self-imposed, I might add), we rarely do anything new. This week we had two adventures we have never attempted before. Yee-haw!

First, we took a trip to the beach. Yes, there is a beach in Idaho... at least one. We drove up to Lucky Peak's Sandy Point for the day. It was a week day, so it wasn't too busy, and the weather was surprisingly mild: a nice breeze, plenty of shade and the sun wasn't it's usual overbearing self. The kids LOVED it! They got to build sand castles, go row boating, play in the water and have a picnic. It's definitely something we will adding to our repertoire of activities in the future.

Our second adventure was a short excursion out to the "country" to ride horses at a friend's house. Only my daughter accompanied me on this one. She's becoming interested in horses lately, so I figured she should try out a little horseback riding. She was so excited about going, it was fun to hear her chatter about it.

Upon our arrival on the site, her initial reaction to seeing horses up close for the first time was a little nervous and afraid. "Mom, I didn't know horses were so big!" she said to me. I was so proud of the way she pushed past her fear and got right up on the horse. We rode for about an hour, and somewhere along the way, she built up her courage to hold the reins herself. Then, she really started having fun. I could tell she was relaxing, because she started talking to our friend non-stop about all sorts of things. That's how we can tell when she's comfortable.
It was a great day! Of course, I still have dust in my hair...

I think I'm on a roll, because tonight we're doing something else we've never done. We're going to watch a play at the civic center! With just under two weeks left of summer vacation, it's about time we started our vacation!

That's Right! My Baby Walks!

There's no stopping him now. Everyday he gets more and more adept at walking from place to place. He breaks into a run, ends up in a face plant. It's easier to balance at a slower pace, apparently.

Since he was into everything beforehand (when he was only crawling), the only difference is the stealth mode he's operating in now. Walking is a lot quieter -- he always pounds the floor with a vengeance when crawling. So, we have to listen for cupboards opening and closing. Nothing is safe anymore. Time to break out the baby latches!

Summer Vacation

There are very few times in life that move as swiftly as summer vacation. It feels like I barely finished one grueling, stressful school year last week (when, in fact, it was just over a month ago), and I'm already on the countdown to start a new one... just three and a half weeks... a measly three and a half weeks.

And, you know, I start the summer break with such lofty aspirations: The kids and I will walk down to the park in the morning while it's still cool; we'll play for an hour then walk home. We'll do a little summer math and reading practice, then spend the afternoon in the backyard splashing around in the wading pool.

So far we've done the park thing ONCE. The other two things we've done about once a week (sometimes twice). We've been to the water park about four times, and we've been to the library four times -- and actually, two of those I went by myself. The rest of the time we've been mostly in the house (where it's semi-cool) doing virtually nothing. Pathetic use of time, I know.

I should be scheduling our days better, so they seem longer and we all fall into bed exhausted at the end of it. Now, I'm not saying I want to run us ragged so we don't feel like we've had a vacation. I'm really just wanting to have more QUALITY time, so it stretches the quantity out. When we do nothing, I feel like a horrible parent. Of course, I know a little of nothing is good now and then, and I'm okay with that; I really am. But we do so much nothing, it feels like we've squandered our summer.

The main problem is that I'm so worn out from the emotionally draining school year, I want to catch up on my rest at the beginning of the summer. Unfortunately, with three kids that is just a pipe dream. I guess what I really need to do is drink more coffee.