Sunday, April 24, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Stormy Weather
This is what we kept an eye on this afternoon. At 3:38 PM EDT to be exact.
See that arrow just west of the letter "C" in Cary? That is where we live.
All that bright red and purple had us running for our designated severe weather safety location: our master bedroom closet. At one point there were six separate tornado warnings over a four county area.
When we told the kids to grab a couple of lovies and head to our closet, Will became very concerned.
Thankfully hugs, reassurances and prayers helped Will relax as we all crammed into our closet with our most prized possessions in hand. Mine were my laptop, iPhone and Nikon camera, naturally.
Chewbacca took advantage of all the blankets and warm bodies and took a nap. I don't think we will be able to depend on him as any kind of early warning system.
Eliza Grace, who is blessed with an amazing spirit that finds an element of fun in nearly every situation, created her own fort and settled in to play her DS.
Thankfully the very worst of the storm missed us by a couple of miles. Unfortunately, the storms did a great deal of damage in the surrounding areas and our thoughts are prayers are with those who were affected.
See that arrow just west of the letter "C" in Cary? That is where we live.
All that bright red and purple had us running for our designated severe weather safety location: our master bedroom closet. At one point there were six separate tornado warnings over a four county area.When we told the kids to grab a couple of lovies and head to our closet, Will became very concerned.
Thankfully hugs, reassurances and prayers helped Will relax as we all crammed into our closet with our most prized possessions in hand. Mine were my laptop, iPhone and Nikon camera, naturally.Chewbacca took advantage of all the blankets and warm bodies and took a nap. I don't think we will be able to depend on him as any kind of early warning system.
Eliza Grace, who is blessed with an amazing spirit that finds an element of fun in nearly every situation, created her own fort and settled in to play her DS.
Thankfully the very worst of the storm missed us by a couple of miles. Unfortunately, the storms did a great deal of damage in the surrounding areas and our thoughts are prayers are with those who were affected.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
He Caught Up To Me Again
Last Wednesday Will woke up and asked, "Do you know what the day after tomorrow is?" to which Scott answered, "It's my birthday!" After giving him a bit of an exasperated look, Will said, "Um, well maybe, but what it REALLY is is my first tee-ball practice!"It was at that point I decided we should probably wait until Saturday to celebrate Scott's birthday so we could all take time to focus on the other important stuff going on in our lives.
Uncle Gus (aka George Dusek) stopped by with a birthday beer for Scott just in time to help us sing.
Welcome to 44, Scottie.
PS - Quit tracking the package every 5 minutes already. I am sure your new toy will arrive soon :)
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
A Small Harvest
Scott's garden is doing well and I grabbed some lettuce for dinner last night.Green strawberries are appearing, tomato plants will bloom soon and the cilantro is almost ready, too!
Fresh and organic from the back yard. Delish!
Monday, April 11, 2011
Learning to Back Off
I admit it. I can be one of "those moms."
I tend to be fairly cautious. I watch my kids pretty closely.
Although I want to expose them to all kinds of experiences, I find it hard to just "let them be" while they experience it.
I feel the need to provide some sort of running commentary: "be careful," "find something to hold onto," "could be poison ivy in there," "look for snakes," "that's high enough."
This is common sense, right? It is my job to make sure my children are safe, right?
But the entire time I am doing this, there is an inner dialogue running though my head:
"You used to ride your bike 4 blocks from home and spend hours at Miller Park, climbing trees, talking to strangers, wading through storm drains and capturing crawdads - with no parent in sight."
"You would swim way past the breakers and play until you were exhausted and you never got swept out to sea."
"How are they going to learn on their own if you do not let them make some mistakes and see what happens."
"Who cares if they get muddy! Get grip, Jacque. Mud washes off."
"You got poison ivy as a kid - a lot! - and survived."
It is the age old battle between knowing how I should react versus the reality of what I actually do.
I have always been partially jealous and yet slightly appalled at parents - first time or not - who can just let their babies and toddlers crawl and wander all over, watching them from a distance while doing their own thing.
I cannot tell you how many times I have caught someone else's child as they fell off play equipment or grabbed them just as something was about to hit them in the head.
A couple of year's ago I actually grabbed a struggling toddler from under the water after she had wandered away from her mother who was on the other side of the pool, chatting away. When I returned her to her mother, her mother just gave me a little smile and said, "Oh thanks, I wasn't sure where she was." I wanted to say, "Really, you did not know where your 3 year old was?! Isn't knowing where your 3 year old is the one thing you should always know?!"
Anyway, the point of this rambling is that I understand that balance is the key to most things in life and I am striving for greater balance when it comes to backing off and letting my kids just be.
And I think I am doing better, because the entire time I was video taping my kids yesterday, in my head I was screaming, "ticks! snakes! mud! disease! nasty! gross! do not fall! do not get hurt! I do not want to go to the ER today!"
Ok ,well, as I watch that again, I admit I still have a long way to go.
But, hey, at least I let him walk across that stream on that old, rotten log while grabbing poison ivy invested vegetation to haul himself up!
Aren't you proud of me?
I tend to be fairly cautious. I watch my kids pretty closely.
Although I want to expose them to all kinds of experiences, I find it hard to just "let them be" while they experience it.
I feel the need to provide some sort of running commentary: "be careful," "find something to hold onto," "could be poison ivy in there," "look for snakes," "that's high enough."
This is common sense, right? It is my job to make sure my children are safe, right?
But the entire time I am doing this, there is an inner dialogue running though my head:
"You used to ride your bike 4 blocks from home and spend hours at Miller Park, climbing trees, talking to strangers, wading through storm drains and capturing crawdads - with no parent in sight."
"You would swim way past the breakers and play until you were exhausted and you never got swept out to sea."
"How are they going to learn on their own if you do not let them make some mistakes and see what happens."
"Who cares if they get muddy! Get grip, Jacque. Mud washes off."
"You got poison ivy as a kid - a lot! - and survived."
It is the age old battle between knowing how I should react versus the reality of what I actually do.
I have always been partially jealous and yet slightly appalled at parents - first time or not - who can just let their babies and toddlers crawl and wander all over, watching them from a distance while doing their own thing.
I cannot tell you how many times I have caught someone else's child as they fell off play equipment or grabbed them just as something was about to hit them in the head.
A couple of year's ago I actually grabbed a struggling toddler from under the water after she had wandered away from her mother who was on the other side of the pool, chatting away. When I returned her to her mother, her mother just gave me a little smile and said, "Oh thanks, I wasn't sure where she was." I wanted to say, "Really, you did not know where your 3 year old was?! Isn't knowing where your 3 year old is the one thing you should always know?!"
Anyway, the point of this rambling is that I understand that balance is the key to most things in life and I am striving for greater balance when it comes to backing off and letting my kids just be.
And I think I am doing better, because the entire time I was video taping my kids yesterday, in my head I was screaming, "ticks! snakes! mud! disease! nasty! gross! do not fall! do not get hurt! I do not want to go to the ER today!"
But, hey, at least I let him walk across that stream on that old, rotten log while grabbing poison ivy invested vegetation to haul himself up!
Aren't you proud of me?
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Batter Up!
This past week was a banner one for Will as he began his first ever team sport: tee- ball.
Although he was a bit reluctant when I first signed him up, once he learned that his best buddy Gabe was assigned to the same team he got pretty excited.
Buying his first glove (and baseball pants, socks and rubber cleats) was a hoot because the kid was so excited he was literally bouncing through the store. Accessories apparently make the man.
The first practice was Friday night and, though he was shy at first, he got over that quickly. Frankly it took all my strength not to march onto the field and tell him to quit chatting and messing around and pay attention to the coaches. I didn't do it because, well, I did not want to be one of those mothers....even though I totally am.
When we first arrived it was warm but within 5 minutes, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the wind began to blow. Despite the weather, practice went well. I thank God that there are men who have the patience and willingness to introduce these 5 year olds to the sport and the three coaches for our Rockies seem really great.
Scott and I are excited to see how much Will learns and how much fun he has over the next 16 weeks.
Here's a quick video of the first day of practice. Apologies for the wind noise!
Although he was a bit reluctant when I first signed him up, once he learned that his best buddy Gabe was assigned to the same team he got pretty excited.
Buying his first glove (and baseball pants, socks and rubber cleats) was a hoot because the kid was so excited he was literally bouncing through the store. Accessories apparently make the man.
The first practice was Friday night and, though he was shy at first, he got over that quickly. Frankly it took all my strength not to march onto the field and tell him to quit chatting and messing around and pay attention to the coaches. I didn't do it because, well, I did not want to be one of those mothers....even though I totally am.
When we first arrived it was warm but within 5 minutes, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and the wind began to blow. Despite the weather, practice went well. I thank God that there are men who have the patience and willingness to introduce these 5 year olds to the sport and the three coaches for our Rockies seem really great.
Scott and I are excited to see how much Will learns and how much fun he has over the next 16 weeks.
Here's a quick video of the first day of practice. Apologies for the wind noise!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Aaaacting!
The kids and a neighbor friend dragged Eliza Grace's "theater" out of storage the other day and sorely tested my engineering skills.
After a few missteps, I finally got it together and and then the fun began.
Getting ready for the show. Will has already secured his popcorn and candy.
"I'm gonna to sing a little song. Like to hear it, hear it goes."
Jadon delighted the crowd with jokes and riddles.
Even Chewie was rolling on the floor laughing.
A little waltz during the intermission.
And Will finished the performance with an aria...or a really loud belch. One never knows what will come out of his mouth.
After a few missteps, I finally got it together and and then the fun began.
Getting ready for the show. Will has already secured his popcorn and candy.
"I'm gonna to sing a little song. Like to hear it, hear it goes."
Jadon delighted the crowd with jokes and riddles.
Even Chewie was rolling on the floor laughing.
A little waltz during the intermission.
And Will finished the performance with an aria...or a really loud belch. One never knows what will come out of his mouth.
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