Music Makers

Our sweet and extremely talented friend, Lisa, moved back to AZ and started a wonderful program back up (that we stopped having when she moved) called Music Makers. Siena used to go when she was little and now I'm taking Spencer. He loves it, as do all the kids and moms, too. Sometimes we moms get into it more than the kids. It's a good workout! We have singing and puppet time, finger play, whole body movement, marching with instruments, and story time. I love it and I'm so glad Lisa moved back and started the program again even though her kids are in school. How amazing is she?

A Note of Thanks

Last week Lily went to her yearly appointment with her Neurologist and we were amazed at her rate of growth this last year. She has weighed 3o-32 pounds between the ages of 6-8. She is almost 9 and now she weighs 38 pounds. That is a big jump in a year. Her head circumference and height has also increased. She is now in the 25th percentile for height for her age. That is also a big deal because she has always been well below the curve on all her measurements. Kudos go to Lily's teacher/aides at her school because they spend half their day feeding her and they asked me to send in larger amounts of food. They also give her extra from the goodies they make at school. I know she wouldn't be doing so well if it wasn't for their valiant efforts in feeding her. I was so excited after her appt that I made them a candy-gram. Who doesn't love a candy-gram!

Spring Break is over and I'm worn out!

We didn't go away for Spring Break, but we were never at home either. I wanted the kids to have a fun time and not complain at the end of the week that we didn't do anything. Well, there was no chance in that because we stayed so busy, I think we were all glad when school started again just to sit down for a while. Monday we spent the whole day at the mall looking for clothes for Siena because she has outgrown almost everything she owns. However, we only left with a couple of shirts. I've decided I don't really like the mall. I'd much rather go to Kohl's or Target. However, it was still a nice day. Then we race home to get Siena to horseback riding lessons.
Tuesday we went back out to the stables, then out for lunch at a Thai restaurant, then we went to My Tee Paintworks and painted ceramics for the rest of the afternoon, then more shopping at Marshalls for Siena again. Here's what the kids made. Cute, eh? Spencer has been asking to go back everyday, but I told him that is a special treat that we do once every year or TWO because it is ridiculously priced (but so fun)! I told them they had to make something that wouldn't clutter or be useless. Spencer loves to eat off his plate. I have to wash it by hand so that it is available for every meal. He wanted to make sure and show both sides.

Wednesday I thought we would take it easy. We watched a movie that morning and then went out for Subway and for a picnic at the park. Afterwards we went to Walmart for groceries and to pick out t-shirt decorating materials. We ended up spending hours there and by the time we got home with Siena's friend in tow, I was too busy making dinner to decorate t-shirts with the kids so Siena and Erika worked on theirs. Then I was off to Book Club.

Thursday we went to the library for a teddy bear picnic and then to the Rec center to join the pool for a month. Siena and I have decided to participate in the city's sprint triathlon in April so we need to start swimming laps. We went home for lunch then back to the pool for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday we went to the Cleveland Indian's spring training game at the new facility here in town with our friends. It is really nice, but I wish it had been cooler than 90 degrees. The kids showed very little interest in the game, but enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. After all the heat of the day, we were back at the pool. Everyone is loving the heated pool. It is even warm enough for Lily. It's still cool, but enjoyable. Lily likes swimming more and more each year, and Spencer is having fun learning how to swim again. Siena has always been a fish and is planning on leaving me in her wake during the triathlon. I'm sure she will.

Saturday and Sunday were a blur with Paul and I working on a year's worth of finances and taxes almost non-stop. We worked till we were hung over with numbers. Lily was exhausted and cried a lot those days. Spencer and Siena played video games and watched movies. We did go swimming again which was nice. Another fun thing we went to was the Luke Airforce Air Days. There were all kinds of aircraft on display and a really nice airshow with all kinds of planes showing off and doing stunts. It was a lot of fun. I'm sure we will go back again. I don't know why we never went before. Lily came through for us again and got us a great parking spot. Her wheelchair placard comes in handy for big events like that. We always shout, "Way to go, Lily! Thanks for the great parking spot. You're awesome!" While others had to park miles away and either walk in or get bused in, we got to park inside the base with only a few minutes walk to the airshow.

Hours of fun

I decided I was sick of my kids just wanting to watch TV or play video games, so I pulled out the old book of tricks and decided to make homemade play dough. It is so fast and easy and it works out your hand muscles at the same time because you have to mix in all the food coloring. It is like one of those stress relieving balls. So Spencer and I had fun making the dough and the actual playing with it has been hours of fun. We've had it for almost two weeks now and it is still not too dried out to play with. Lily had fun with it and so did Spencer and his friends in our babysitting co-op. Just give them some play dough, cookie cutters, and a rolling pin and they are good to go!

Here's the recipe: 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 2 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 cups cold water. Mix all in a saucepan, cook uncovered on medium heat for 5 minutes- stirring constantly. When thickened, remove from heat and divide into 4 portions. Add 6-8 drops of food coloring and knead. Store in an air tight container if you can ever get your kids to give it up. Have fun!

Boys with Guns

I don't know why anyone thinks that keeping guns away from their little boys will have any significance whatsoever. Spencer doesn't own an actual gun, but shooting must be an instinctive act. Anything that he can imagine to be a gun, becomes one!

A crayon or a witch's broomstick

An electrical connector to the TV or a sword and a bat

Lately he has become a gun designer with legos.

More legos or a tool for an Easy Bake oven

A toothbrush or "a natural" with a toy gun

There have been so many more that I haven't caught with the camera, but you get the picture!

Are you upside down or am I?

No, this picture did not get flipped around. Our fish likes to float upside down inside our rock tunnel. He knows it is wrong and he doesn't like to get caught doing it. Everytime I see him, I run to get the camera and by the time I am back he has flipped back over and acts all innocent. But I started putting the camera right beside the tank so I could catch him in the act. I am lucky to have caught this one because he flipped back over before I could take another one. I think it is some kind of self-stimulating behavior. What do you think? Why would a fish do that and not like being caught doing it?

Gardening update

With a lot of work we got out garden completed. Siena and I laid down the weed barrier, placed the boxes, mixed up all the dirt, and filled the boxes with Paul's help. Then we all worked on putting in the soaker hose which took quite a bit of effort up front, but now makes watering so easy. Then Siena, Spencer and I planted some plants and some seeds to see how well either way works. We planted tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno, rosemary, mint, basil, cilantro, strawberries, leeks, carrots, onions, spinach, summer squash, watermelon, lettuce, cucumber, and pole beans. Then we made a trellis for all our climbing plants. Hopefully, they will have enough sun because it is on the shady side of our house. It all looks great except our water leaks a little. It's been a fun endeavor which I highly recommend because we are all so excited to see it starting to grow and I think it will even be more fun to eat from it, if all goes well.

Superboy

About 10 years ago my friend Brooke made such a cute reversible superhero cape for her son that I knew I wanted one for my future son. So I recently made one for Spencer with reversible Superman/Batman logos. He doesn't really know much about Superman, but he loves a Batman playstation game. He loved the cape so much for the first two weeks that I made him another one so he and a friend can play. It is a reversible Robin/Superwhy cape. He loves Superwhy and was so excited when I told him I would make him one. When I finished it, he tried it on and took it right back off and hasn't touched either of them since. I'm going to get him to try them on just to show you how cute the are. Then maybe I can talk him into keeping it on for a while.

One good thing about the four capes is that I have four Halloween costumes halfway completed for the next four years.

Update: Spencer had two little friends over who were interested in playing with the capes. They were all fighting over them, so now I feel like I need three, but no way am I going to make another one that doesn't get used, so I just made them take turns.