Some Things I've Learned

So here are a few things I've figured out over the last week or so:

1) Apparently only 8 people read my Blog... that is about 4 more than I thought, so that's pretty good.

2) I don't like kids! I love MY kids of course and if you are reading this, I probably like your kids, but I think kids are mean and I don't like any one else's kids!! Case in point - Henry came home last week & said that someone at school wouldn't let him play soccer at After School, because he couldn't kick. Thankfully, Henry was given the opportunity to show that he could kick, he kicked it far, so they let him play. I tried to talk to him about standing up for himself & that HE DECIDED to play; not that they LET him play... that they are not the boss of him & if HE WANTED to play, then he could. I said, "Because who is the boss of you?" And Henry said, "You are."

3) Sad days are a comin' at the James House.... Brad is making me clean out the attic of all baby toys, baby supplies, baby gear & baby clothes. We have so much stuff in the attic, it is impossible to get stuff OUT of the attic; a fact Brad points out every time he has to take down / put away Halloween or Christmas decorations. So I have to do it - I have to part with my baby stuff.... not all of it mind you - there will be things I know I simply wont be able to part with... but I absolutely dread having to do this. It will really break my heart. I only hope I can think of a good charitable organization to give my prized baby stuff too. I also wish I knew how to quilt - I'd love to have a couple of quilts made of each of my kid's clothes. Know anyone that does that?

4) Further to point #2 above, the time has come to move Kyra in to a real bed. She is still sleeping in the crib, which has been converted into a toddler bed... but with pillow, stuffed animals & blankets, she is running out of room in there. Now, I love her room - I think it is so pretty, but she is 2.5 years old and likely ready for a big girl room... but this crib has been a fixture in our house for over 5.5 years!! Not seeing it somewhere makes me so sad - Brad will HAVE to find room for that in the attic!!

Wish me luck!

The Maize Maze

Yesterday we went to Rural Hill Farm.  In addition to a small pumpkin patch and bounce houses, they have a 7 acre corn field that they've turned in  to a maze.  The object is to find 12 pieces of the maze puzzle (which are strategically placed in mail boxes throughout the maze) & get out of the corn field in as short of a time as possible.

Henry was VERY excited to go through the corn... we spent about an hour walking around the corn field.  Brad and I had to take turns holding Kyra after the first 15 minutes of walking... but I'm proud to say that we found 10 of the 12 puzzle pieces!!  It was a lot of walking though, so afterwards, we went on a hay ride around the farm to rest, before hitting the bounce houses one more time.

Brad needs to carve our pumpkin, which I fear might not get done before Halloween, but here are some pictures of our day.

Just Another Manic Sunday

Today we decided to have another Arts & Crafts Day... even Daddy got into the action & made Henry a very cool picture of 2 football players facing off over the football.  Henry used a sticker to put the football down in the middle of the page & Daddy did the rest.  With that, they were both done w/ Arts & Crafts Day.

Kyra on the other hand, used the new stamps, and got crazy with (thankfully) washable paint.  She painted for about a half hour.  She required some serious clean-up afterwards, but it was worth it.

When we were done with that, Henry went to his computer to check on all the football games... this is something he does every Sunday afternoon & Monday evening... he logs on to NFL.com and watches the replays of every game.  Then for the rest of the week, he reminds us who played who and what the score was.  Scary Genius that one there!!!

Meanwhile, Kyra & Daddy (and Hobbies) opted to rest & eat a snack.

And what did I do???  I baked my children some chocolate chip cookies AND made them some mini muffins for their morning snack!  So domestic I was this afternoon!!!

The Very Busy Columbus Day

Today was one of my favorite days - in addition to being over 85 degrees and breezy, it was a bank holiday!!  Bank holidays would be one of the reasons I work for a bank!!!

Henry still had school though, but Kyra and I did our best to include him in our day.  First she came with me to drop him off at school, then we went to Dunkin Donuts for coffee (for me & Daddy -  not her)!  We came home to beautify and then met Henry for lunch at 10:36am at his school!  He was SO excited that we were there and Kyra loved the pizza they were serving... since it looked & smelled EXACTLY the same as when I was in school 18 years ago, I opted to pass on any cafeteria food today!

Then she and I did the following:

1)  Got our toes painted - she chose blue again & I picked red... I let her get her fingers done too!

2)  Went to the mall so she could play a bit, and I bought myself a pair of pants & 2 shirts

3)  Went to PetSmart to buy $60 worth of dog food & cat food - madness!

4)  Picked up Henry from school & took him to get a much needed hair cut  

Then we came home & the kids played outside for ever!  Kyra fell asleep at 7pm which was an added bonus to the day!!!

How Cute is This Outfit???

Even the socks & shoes match!!!!  Granted, these are supposed to be capri pants, but I accidentally bought the wrong size.... the socks have a brown flower on them & the brown shoes have pink flowers on them!  How precious is that?!?!

Saturdays with Kyra

For the past 3 weeks now, we've been taking Kyra to dance class on Saturday mornings. It is at 10am & is 45 minutes long. They do ballet for about 1/2 hour & then tap for about 15 minutes. Kyra finally got her tap shoes today & loved them! I tried to take pictures of her before class, but they came out terrible - I think maybe because the room is pink?? Anyway, this first picture is the best of what I took.

Now, as you can see, her hair is getting kind of long... I've never cut it in her 2.5 years of life! I'm thinking that maybe I should, but I'm kind of scared to. I love her hair. SHE loves her hair - loves to choose which barrette she'll wear in the morning or whether to wear two pig tails vs. one pony tail. Sometimes, she likes to practice on me. She'll go get my brush and try to brush my hair, try to put it in a pony tail and she'll say, "Do you want it up here or down here?" and "Look here. Turn your head there. Stay still. Don't move." These are things I say to her so it cracks me right up. When she was getting nowhere with my hair today, she turned to her Daddy, who was kind enough to let her do his hair... he took direction very well I might add!

Happy Birthday Daddy

I let Henry choose what we'd have for dinner tonight to celebrate Daddy's birthday... to Daddy's immense delight, Henry chose pizza & wings from "Taste of Buffalo Pizzeria."  It is THE BEST pizza around and what's great is that the whole inside decor is done in Buffalo Bills motif!  :)

Daddy LOVED his homemade cards & paintings.  He is going to hang his paintings up at work (for however long he can that is).... and my cake - a HUGE hit.  Henry wanted two pieces & Kyra ate only the frosting... Daddy was too full from all of his wings to eat much cake but I think he was most pleased with his birthday!!  

Even Hobbies got in on the action & helped us sing "Happy Birthday!"

 

Call Me Betty

I was going to take Henry to the grocery store tomorrow, after I picked him up from school, to pick out a birthday cake for Daddy... but then I figured that I could make one for a whole lot less... and given that Daddy works for Wachovia (for now that is), I decided to be frugal!

The kids really love to bake - I think it's because I let them lick the bowl.  The cake may be from a box, but I'm going to make homemade chocolate frosting... thankfully the kids are now in bed, because they'd be brown if I let them lick that bowl!

In unrelated news, Henry got his first "Mid Term Progress Report Card" today.  They are graded with a 1, 2 or 3 - 3 being the highest.  Henry got a 3 in everything!  Interestingly, they seem to think he "exceeds expectations" in Writing, but only "meets expectations" in Reading... odd don't you think, given that he's been reading for over a year now?  I'm going to let this go though & will wait for 1st week of November, which is Parent / Teacher Conference time!!!