T-ball

Well, my little boy is growing up. Last week, was Trevor's first week of T-ball (and this was week #2). Boy was I nervous to see how it would go. But first, let me go back even further, to about March...

I saw a notice about t-ball sign-up coming soon and thought Trev would really enjoy it. But, I know Trevor WAY too well! He is hesitant to take lessons from teachers, especially one's he doesn't know. Anytime we suggest soccer, swimming, etc. he asks if his preschool teacher will be teaching it. Once we say no, Trev is out. No interest, no desire, no way!! Past swim classes have not gone well once it was just him and a teacher (no mommy in the water). SO..... I approached t-ball in a slightly different way...

Me (reading flyer): "Oh, this sounds really cool!"
Trev: "What, Mommy? What?"
Me: "Oh nothing...."
Trev: "What, Mommy? What?"
Me: "Nevermind, it's nothing you'd want to do."
Trev (more urgently!): "What, Mommy? What?"
Me: "Well, it could be fun, but there's a teacher and it's not Miss C"
Trev: "Mommy, I wanna do it!"
Me: "Really, you want to play t-ball?"
Trev: "Yes, yes, mommy! Who's gonna teach me?"

And so, I suckered him into playing!!! 1 point for Mommy!! We signed up, kept talking about, kept reminding him Miss C wasn't going to be his coach, and kept playing t-ball in the yard (something we've done for about a year now). About 2 weeks ago was the first team meeting (at a pizza place-so Trev was happy) and we met the coach and team. Still Trevor was happy. We got team t-shirts....light blue. Still Trev was happy (but he would have been happier if it was Yellow!). And so last Saturday came.....and he was still happy!!!

And he did GREAT!!! He had a blast, didn't have a fit or even think about not participating! It was awesome!! As for the actual 'game'. Quite entertaining. Picture nine 3- and 4-year-olds, trying to throw, catch, hit, and run! It was funny!!!

The first half is just practice..... thank goodness, cause they need it!! Trev was throwing the ball miles, and the poor kid who was supposed to catch it wasn't appreciating it. But catching was tough on Trev too.... most of the time he watched the ball land in the grass and then went to get it. And that glove on his left hand, just keeping his hand warm.... not really useful at all!!! He doesn't care for the batting helmets either!

Then comes the 'game'. Each team has a turn batting and in the field. When batting, each kid gets a turn to hit, they run to first, and then as more kids bat, they run around the rest of the bases. Well, that's the coaches plan at least.... but someone forgot to tell the kids. So kid #1 comes up to bat, hits the ball, and stands there. Coaches and parents are trying to help either yelling "Run" or "Get the ball". So what happens?? The batter grabs the ball!!! How funny! Repeat four or five times. Eventually, they start to catch on (with a coach at home plate), that after they hit, they run to first. Meanwhile, the kids in the field, start to catch on that THEY are the ones who should get the ball... but then what do they do with it??

Ready for our first game!
Trevor, #2, practicing his throwing with a team mate.
Playing 2nd base.
Getting ready to bat.
Running the bases.
Running the bases... week 2.
Get ready to hit....
Now run!!
Well, they're working on it.... and they're darn cute! They take turns playing various field positions, and this week (#2) Trevor while playing 'pitcher', got a ball and threw it to first, and basically got the game's first/only out, as the kid running didn't run!! Go Trev!!!

Pennies

Tonight, I made 2 cents from my son. Yup, I got 2 pennies from a 2 year old. Pretty cool!! At this rate, I can buy a can of pop (yes, I call it pop, after being in IL for 15 years) at the end of next month!!

Seriously.... About a month ago, after bunking the boys together, I realized how much time I was spending going back and forth to their room after bed time, asking/telling them to go to bed and be quiet. Back and forth I would go... yelling would increase, kids would not be asleep, I would be stressed (to say the least).

So I borrowed an idea from a friend, and it saved my sanity. It goes like this... Each child gets three pennies at bed time. Each time they call out for something, have to be talked to/yelled at for misbehaving, etc. they lose a penny. So, three strikes and they're out (not sure what happens if they run out and are still bad.... hasn't happened yet!). Any remaining money in the morning, is their's and goes in the piggy bank. After explaining this, the first night was a breeze. We read stories, set out their pennies, said good night, and that was it. The next time I checked on them, they were down for the count!! My sanity cost $0.06!!!

Well, the novelty has worn off a little, and we've lost some pennies here and there, but for the most part, the idea still works. Trevor is a little money hungry and can't handle ANYONE taking his money. He is, however, more than willing to tattle on his little bro' and try to get extra money!!!

Tonight, a new variation. Off to bed at 8:15, with 3 pennies each. Trevor asleep by about 8:45, no issues. Blake still awake at 9:45. He's been good and quiet, but consistently saying he doesn't want to go to sleep (even if it means he can't go to the zoo tomorrow!). So, at 9:45 Daddy goes to check on him, and the "No!" fest starts. No, I don't wanna go to bed. No, No, NO... to everything. They're sitting in the hallway having a nice little conversation. Then...

Blake: "I wanna go see Mommy."
Daddy: "No, it's bed time."
Blake: "I want Mommy."
Daddy: "Sorry, it's bed time."
Blake: "I give you penny to go see Mommy?"
Daddy: "Okay."

So Blake pays up, and comes to visit me. Happy Boy!!

A few minutes later (how long did you think a penny was gonna get ya?) and Daddy says it's bed time. Again they argue, with tears and fits on the floor this time. Finally, Blake says, "I sleep in Mommy's room? I give you penny!". Daddy says yes, and Blake practially skips over to get the penny, gives it to Steve, and runs to our room!!! Ah, what a penny will get you these days!!

After about 30 minutes on our floor (in the dark), with pillow, blanket, and Elmo, he just decided he wants to go back to his bed. Daddy said sure, and off he went to his own room. I hope he doesn't want that penny back!!!

Grandpa

The boys (and I) had a visitor today. Grandpa Jim drove up for the day from Aurora, and I think the day was a pretty good success. We haven't seen Grandpa since Christmas, so you never know what to expect from a 2 year old and 3.5 year old. But.... No meltdowns , no shy "Who is this guy?" moments, no major disobedience, just fun! How cool!!!

Grandpa came prepared, with a balsa wood airplane to put together and fly, and a book which he remembers from his childhood. Both were hits with the boys, but I'm sure you know which got more attention... Yeah, the plane. After repeated attempts to fly it, we decided the wind was better suited to kites, so we got those out (but forgot to take pictures)!

Getting ready for flight...
Grandpa and Trevor ready to launch the plane....
Break time for a story....
"Let's launch the plane from up here, Grandpa!"
And it flies.....
And it crashes....


Good times, good times! Thanks for making the drive up to visit Grandpa... come back anytime!!

Tractors

Friday was a great day! (Told you I would post about it when I wasn't cranky!!)

We spent the day close to home, and babysat for a friend. The boys love H, and she loves them. She's about a year younger than Blake, so she's become the boys adopted little sister at times.

After playing for a while at home, we took a jaunt to a neighborhood park....about 1.25 miles away. Trevor gladly rode his bike, and B & H cruised in the double jogger. While walking to the park, they polished off an entire bag of goldfish (lovingly provided by H's mom!). The bag of goldfish was between them and it was cute to watch them both reach into the bag at the same time.... kind of like 2 people on a first date at the movies, sharing popcorn. They were so cute....but no photos of that moment! Oops!

Trevor on his bike... no feet since it's downhill!
For a while, we played happily at the park, both on the equipment, and in the field picking dandelions and running around.



Then we heard the sound of a tractor. Yup, the park is next to a corn field (you aren't surprised, are you???!). The boys ran over to watch it! They were SO excited. H could have cared less!! The tractor came towards us, turned around and went away. They watched it forever....and then were very sad they couldn't see it again. Back to dandelions! A few minutes later, here came the tractor sound again. We went back to watch, and this time after turning around, the tractor stopped.

"Oh no, Mommy, is it broken?" asked Trevor.
"I don't know. Let's see what happens." I said.

Nope, not broken. A REALLY nice farmer (young and cute too!), saw us watching and stopped so the boys could check out the tractor!! Way cool. We walked out to the tractor, saw the planting mechanism, and seeds. Trevor was bummed to find out it wouldn't be corn this year, but soybeans (he even yelled at the farmer, "No, I want corn!"). We walked around the tractor, climbed on it, and everything. H just looked at all of this from the safety of my arms!! Girls!!

Tractor...
Boys in AWE...
Posing in the wheel! They were SO dirty, they loved it!!
Picking corn and checking things out!

Finally, it was time for the tractor to get back to work. We said goodbye, walked back to the safety of the grass and watched the tractor drive away. "Bye bye" both boys yelled at it. Then Trevor looked at me (holding H) and said, "Mommy, why does H only have one shoe?". Yes, one of her pink Crocs was missing!!! So back into the field we tramped looking everywhere for a bright pink shoe.

Thank goodness it was bright pink, right? Easy to find, right? Wrong!! We searched around all the dead old corn stalks and found nothing. I started to think I was gonna have to invest in a new pair of Crocs for a kid that isn't mine (mine wear knock-off's! I don't buy brand name anything!!) Eventually, we gave up and we walked back to the park. There in the middle of the dandelions was a bright pink Croc!!! Yay.... who knows how long ago she lost it, but who cares! We found it!!


After that, both Crocs went in the stroller, and so did she. Trevor got back on his bike and we prepared to go home for lunch. Only, Blake didn't want to get in the stroller. Fine, walk, I don't care. So he walked, the ENTIRE 1.25 miles home.....and never slowed down, stopped, or whined about it!!! Geez, talk about energy!!

Laundry Update

Well, it's Monday morning, and now you all know what that means in this house..... Laundry!! And as usual the laundry is out and all over the floor. But this morning, there's a twist..... see for yourself!




Yup.... today, Spider Man and Elmo (the faithful respective side-kicks) are wearing the laundry! Who knew!!

Grrrr

I was all ready to post tonight about our great weekend, all the fun stuff we did Friday and Saturday. But then, the kids happened...... GRRRRR!!!

Between 6 and 7:35, each had been in time out about a MILLION times (I'm not exaggerating!) each for the same repeated offenses, and finally there was no reasoning with them. Bath time rescheduled, just throw them in jammies and in bed. No stories, no routine, no nice-ness.... I'm DONE!!! They just made me crazy!!! SO much so, that I just can't write nice happy things about the fun we had..... so I'll have to do that later!!! GRRRRR!

Laundry

Monday's are laundry day! Yay, a thrilling thing on my to-do list now that I'm an adult. Now that I'm home part-time I should have time to do laundry, but that's not usually the case, and even if I had time, it still isn't one of my favorite pursuits. The boys, however, feel differently!!

As we get up and get going on a Monday morning, I inevitably push the laundry baskets out of my closet and into the upstairs hallway. And for T & B, the fun begins!! They climb in the baskets, Elmo and Spider-Man hide in the laundry, and they BEG to be allowed to "play laundry". Usually, I make them wait until they are fed and dressed (mean mommy!), and then total chaos begins in my living room.

Below, a few photos documenting the mayhem.





Not pictured: flying from on top of the couch into the large laundry pile, Trevor wearing 5 pairs of Steve's undies at the same time, and the boys jumping from on top of the laundry baskets onto the pile at the same time and landing on each other. All of these are common occurrences too!

Of course, they HATE when it's time to actually put the laundry into the washing machine....why would you want to do that? However, Trevor now enjoys searching the pockets before we wash, as he's making a TON of money off Daddy's pocket change!!

One of my favorite parts of laundry day.... when people unexpectedly ring my doorbell during all this commotion. Whether it's Grandma, the mailman, or a total stranger, you just hesitate to open the door, when your 2-year-old has mom's bra on his head, and his brother is calling him a "boobie-head". I can only wonder what the mail man thinks of me!!! Oh well....

Oh and to all my mom friends out there, sure bring your kids by on Monday morning, and let them join in on the fun.....the more the merrier!!

March of Dimes

Well, 10 days ago I did the March of Dimes...March for Babies. Yay me! I walked a 5K, at a pretty brisk pace, with 2 friends, while pushing the 2 boys. All in all it was a good day!

After a week of wonderful weather, the morning started out at about 37 degrees!! Yikes.....but I threw winter coats on the boys and blankets, and brought my earmuffs. We were ready! After all, I HAD to bring them. If only because it was my first chance to use my NEW double jogging stroller that I have wanted for like 7 months!!

While waiting for everything to begin we had lots of munchies. Correction, I had a donut, Blake had a granola bar, a banana, a donut, and pretzels (he had already had breakfast at home!)

After waiting for the opening ceremonies we were off. Getting through the crowd at the beginning was the tough part, but with two other "experienced" mom's, we knew how to get thru the crowd! Soon it was just us and the open trail. It had warmed up and walking got us warm too! We finished in under an hour, and thanks to Susan for pushing the stroller at least half way!

The walk was awesome, the weather turned out pretty good (it was supposed to rain and didn't), the stroller is fabulous to push, and the boys were really good. Blake slept the whole time, after he finished all his breakfasts!!! We finished up and hit the park for the boys to play, since they sat so nicely for the whole walk. Of course, the only pictures I got were of the kids at the park, but oh well.... I know I did the walk, even if there's no photos to prove it!






Thanks to ALL my friends and family who donated. I am proud to say I raised $250 without even trying very hard!! I'll plan to walk again next year too!!

Hair Cuts

For weeks I've been noticing the boys needed hair cuts. Even Trevor has started pointing out that his hair is "extra long". For weeks, I've avoided this, and done nothing about it. Today, I realized I could avoid it no longer. With a promise of picking a toy out when they were done, PROVIDING they were good during the hair cut, and promising, McDonald's and playtime at the mall, we agreed that getting hair cuts was a good idea. Whew!

Before:




After:


Playing at the mall:
I think the playing at the mall was quite entertaining today-for me and them!! For $1 they rode on a kiddie roller coaster that was a simulator of going on an actual coaster....very cool! Trevor even got into it and put his hands up and screamed during the down-hill parts!!



They also had a great time playing in the kiddie play area at the mall. It was recently redone and while better than what was there before in my opinion, it leaves the boys wanting more. It is geared at very young kids. So my kids, and others, just decide to climb the toys, since they're too boring to just sit in or on!!


I talked with another mom of 2 boys who do the same thing! They were all having a great time climbing everything in site. But we know there are just some mom's out there watching us and our kids thinking, "How dare they let them do that!". Well.... sometimes there really isn't any choice! I pick the battles these days, and this was one I wasn't going to fight! At least they didn't get hurt, or hurt anyone else. What more can you ask for?? Sleeping on the way home....that's what!!