Happy Birthday ZOEY!!

I wasn't sure if I would have time to post this tomorrow... Lots of fun planned for Zoey's birthday. Enjoy our little walk down memory lane...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Looking on the bright side...

The good thing about being three years old and being in the hospital is that you get to watch your favorite movie, Cars, THREE times in one day. And then again the very next day!!

That's right, I did say hospital. Hellooo from the sick house. Poor Zoey got a monster cold virus that knocked her out for a week with high fever and all that goes with that. And then Max got it, but his version sent us to the ER in the middle of the night as he was gasping for air. So it has been a pretty stressful and tired week for us, but you have to keep a sense of humor, right??? So poor Max is in the ER and they tell us that he is going to be admitted into the hospital for the day, and that he needs an IV. Well, getting an IV into the little hand of a three year old is pretty tough. Max was sweating like crazy which made the tape they were using not stick. So there were three nurses and myself trying to hold him down and get the IV in. Since they didn't want him to mess with it, they taped up the area and then wrapped his entire hand with a diaper to make a glove. When they finished, Max looked at his hand and exclaimed with worry, "oh no, my hand is missing!!" After a ten minute struggle, it was a little needed comic relief for us.

Anyway, we are all back home and on the road to recovery...

Cute Things...

Well we had our first full week of school this past week. It went well but seemed very long for everybody. You could tell the kids were tired. We spent a pretty relaxing weekend to kind of "recover." I wanted to post this picture... Zoey is really interested in words now and is always asking how to spell things. She has a bunch of her own projects going too, so if I am not paying close attention, I am often pleasantly surprised by what she comes up with. I found this when I walked outside:


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As I was putting Max to bed last night, we had a very cute conversation.
Max: Oh, Mom, I'm happy.
Me: What?
Max: I'm happy.
me: You're happy?
Max: YES

I am too.

MUST. HAVE. STARBUCKS.

I can't believe I forgot to tell this story... it is a good one!! So I must admit that our kids recognize the Starbucks symbol. For them it is not a caffeine addiction, though, but chocolate milk. (it is yummy too, try the Horizon chocolate milk next time your in there) When we lived in Massachusetts, there wasn't a lot to do on cold winter days with small kids, so we would often drive to a Starbucks (most there had fireplaces) on Sunday afternoons and have milk and cookies and coffee. Anyway, there were only a handful of Starbucks near us there, so this was really a special treat for the week or so. Living where we are now, it is a different story... I think there are something like 40 stores within a five mile radius. So it is hard to avoid seeing one. We try still to make it a special treat, so we have a few stores that are our favorite. Once we get in the area, Max (who especially loves the chocolate milk) knows EXACTLY where to go. Which leads me to this story... My mom and dad were visiting for my birthday and wanted to take me shopping. So we headed to an outdoor mall area. I figured it would be fine for Papa to watch the kids without much of a problem because there is a big fountain by the stores we were going to and they love to run around and play by the fountain. I totally wasn't thinking about the Starbucks up on the second level, one that I sometimes take the kids to when I am buy myself and need a little break, and one that they are totally familiar with. So Mom and I head into the store and Papa is hanging out with Max and Zoey... They run around the fountain for a while and then it was like they planned it...
Zoey went off in one direction (the distraction) and Max took off for the escalator! My poor Dad was trying to get Zoey when he looks up and sees Little Max riding the escalator, by himself, totally on a mission, knowing exactly what he was doing!! You could just see his little head going up, up, up! So Zoey and Papa went up after him. By the time they made it to the top, Max had run to the Starbucks and was waiting for someone to open the door for him! Luckily everyone was okay, they opened the door, and Zoey and Max helped themselves to their chocolate milks!! And Mom and I were oblivious to it all, just inside the store. Thanks Dad, I should have warned you that would happen. :)

Who's in charge here?

The kids were in our office room today playing on the computer, while I sat nearby in the living room. Out of no where Max comes walking around the corner, almost with a sad/sulking look. In his arms are Zoey's socks and shoes. He passed by me and went into their room. I followed him and watched him put her shoes away in their shoe bin. I quickly went to Zoey and asked her what she was doing. She replied, "I'm playing on the computer." And I ask, "And what is Max doing?" She smiles and says, "I let him put my shoes away." I don't know how she got him to obey that order. She's doing the old Huck Finn trick on him already.

No Game Skills Here

Zoey was playing a computer game on nick jr the other day that involved a dog collecting bones. The dog had to jump up on springs and go through tunnels and climb ladders, etc. Well, I never claimed to have any sort of gaming skills, computer or video, however, I didn't think my 4 year old would point it out so clearly...

Zoey: Mommy, I need help. Can you help me get the doggie up to here to get the key?
After scoping it out, it seemed simple enough. I mean, it is a preschool game after all. I just had to get the dog to jump up on to three different, alternately moving pieces, and get the key. Well, I couldn't do it. I tried and tried and Max and Zoey were getting very impatient... finally Zoey just exclaims, "Mommy, go get Daddy to do it."

Thanks Zoey, thanks for rubbing it in.

By the way, I still can't do it very well. She got stuck on the same part today and asked for my help. I thought we were going to have a serious crisis because Ross was at the store, but luckily I got it in the end. Huge Meltdown Avoided. I remember we had an atari when I was little and felt bad for my parents when they tried to play one of the games and just couldn't do it... oh how the tables have turned.

First Day of School! First Day of School!!

How can this day be here already? Zoey was very excited this morning. We got up and made pancakes, got her dressed in a new outfit she picked out (with a dog shirt, of course) and she wanted to wear sunglasses! We walked her to her class, where she met her teacher and found a nametag and went right in to find her seat. She very easily said goodbye and was on her way! I do hope she likes it and is better than I was!! Her only reservation was that there would be a lot of boys (understandably so). Here is our Kindergarten girl:


Here she is with Max, who also had his first day today. Somehow because his is preschool, and he doesn't have to go, it isn't quite as emotional. He went to his school this summer for three weeks, so as soon as he saw it, he ran to the door, into the room and was off to play! He loves it, so that is good thing.


So here I am, alone in the house... a place I haven't been in a long time. I have been fine and proud and happy all morning until now... I do have tears, but also a smile. My tears are for the little baby that is long gone, even sometimes from my memory! And tears knowing that this milestone just marks the beginning of time flying by even faster. As the crossing guard kept saying this morning... "Today it is kindergarten, tomorrow college." I know it isn't that fast, but from what I have learned already, it will be faster than I want it to be!! But, like I said, I am smiling too, for I know today is a good thing. I am very thankful that I got to spend so many days with both of them just playing and hanging out and enjoying them in the calmness of our house. Not having to rush out the door and on with life. I am thankful that I have been able to teach them and watch them grow and learn so much, even though they are still so young. I knew this day was coming all too soon, so the last year and especially the last months I have been cherishing the moments with them. I would often take them to get bagels or the beach and just enjoy it and hope to remember the precious moments. Like so many other times in life, when you know you are about to embark on a new path, and you know it is a good thing, and it is the right thing to do at the time, even though part of you wants to hold back, probably from fear of the unknown, you just have to jump right in and keep going... And it is a good thing. Thanks for letting my cry with you today, for letting me share my thoughts and for letting me count my blessings. I have many. It is a good thing.

Almost time

Yesterday morning Zoey woke up a little earlier than usual. I was still laying in bed and Ross was in the bathroom getting ready for work. She usually just heads out to the living room and reads a book or starts to play, but this particular morning she came into our room and said, "I'm all ready for Kindergarten." It made me smile. I hope she likes it. We went to see her classroom yesterday and peeked in the window. The room is all set up and ready to go. The big day is tomorrow... will keep you posted!

Heatwave...

So did someone forget to tell the weather it was September? We are having a serious heatwave. Now I know that 80's is NOT HOT, however, with no air conditioning, our house heats up pretty fast and does not cool down at all so we are suffering a little bit. To beat the heat we had to cool off in the sprinklers:





This morning we got another good example of how creative Zoey is and how even when lacking proper resources, she uses her imagination to make some pretty cool stuff. She and Ross made some wooden boats from a kit the other day and she wanted to have a "boat float" in the leftover pool water. The only problem was the wooden boats weren't really made for real water and so they didn't float at all. She came up with her own... It started out as a sailboat and then she made it into a fishing boat. Ross and I were amazed, as always, that she comes up with this stuff on her own. Sometimes we don't even understand what she is wanting to do until we see her do it, and thus we see her vision from the beginning! Unlike the wooden ones, this boat really floated and "sailed" around the pool. It even caught a fish.

Materials: Under $5 dollars from grocery store and around the house

Boat: Plastic storage container
Mast: Starbucks coffee stirrer stuck into Play-doh
Sail: Paper flag
Fishing line: Bendable straw taped onto boat, facing down to catch fish
Fish (can't see in photo): a foamie sticker
Imagination: Priceless

And here is our proud girl:

Enjoy Labor Day everyone!