DC Trip

We made it! We just got back from our big vacation to visit my Dad in Washington DC and had a fantastic time. We took our first plane trip in almost a year. That's saying a lot because it took me that long just to recover from the last time we put Max on a plane. But this time, with a backpack full of entertainment and snacks, he did just fine.



My Dad has a huge yard and the boys had a great time just running around. He also has a sizable garden in the back. Just to show you what city folk we are, when the kids saw the garden, they asked where the cows were. They thought he lived on a farm. It's obviously not a farm, but he has more land and trees than they will ever see here in North Texas.



On Sunday, we went camping in the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can't really describe the beauty of these mountains - wild and natural. It felt like a completely different world - one where you saw the presence of God everywhere you looked.



Luke and Max loved it. They were superheros and adverturers. They hiked and climed and scouted for animals. They searched under rocks for bugs and played racecars around the camper. We couldn't keep them out of the woods which lead to a few encounters with prickley bushes and bugs that I could have done without.







They boys were facinated with the animals and everywhere they went they would shout for the animals to come out. Wouldn't you know it, they often did. We saw a chipmunk right ouside our camp and ran into some bucks on a hike.
In the evening, half a dozen deer came right up into our camp. They were so close, we could almost touch them.



The bear, yes that's real. He was about 60 feet from us. They boys were so excited. I was happy to keep my distance. Fortunately, he turned and went the other way. He was pretty small but still, a bear is a bear.



All in all, we loved the trip. Merk is even talking of taking some camping trips around here. Texas is not the same as the Blue Ridge Mountains, but we both want to spend more time outdoors as a family.



Check back later for part two of our trip.

Superman

Today we went to McDonalds after swim lessons. Yes, even the best of us succumb to a Happy Meal from time to time. This time our Happy Meals had Superman!!! The boys couldn’t believe it. For them, it was like winning the lottery.

As you can guess, we played superheros all afternoon. Luke was Superman, of course. I was Supergirl and Max was Superbaby. We had a lot of fun and I must say, this is probably one of the only times a Happy Meal actually made me happy.

I always check on the boys before I go to sleep and tonight, I found Luke sleeping with Superman clutched in his hand. I don’t know why, but this was really touching for me. It’s just like Luke to be so excited about something that he has to physically hold it while he sleeps.

He’s done this a few times before with special toys, but this is the first time I was able to get a picture. Don’t ask me how we did it - yes flashlights were involved. I still can't believe we didn't wake him up. Merk still thinks I'm a little crazy.

I just wanted to capture him in this moment. My sweet little boy who completely melts my heart.

Baseball Game - Take Two

We went to another baseball game this week. This time it was a minor league game. It was close to home, in a smaller stadium and much less expensive so we decided to take Luke and Max. I should have known better - we only made it one hour.

Everything started off great. We got our hot dogs and sat down. Max wasn't interested in the game, so the food helped get us through the first inning. During the second inning, Max noticed my Dr Pepper. It was sitting in the cup-holder on the seat in front of me. He asked if he could have some and I said no. He said okay and I thought that was the end of it. About five minutes later he starts making "mmmming" sounds. I look down and he's sticking his fingers into my Dr Pepper and then licking them. What? I can't believe he did that. I have to be honest, I'm a little concerned that he's so resourceful.

The Dr Pepper gets moved and Max starts to get restless. Thankfully, the Chicken comes out and the boys are entertained for another 15 minutes. When the Chicken leaves, things start to go downhill with Max, so we get some cotton candy hoping to hold him off for a little longer. But Max and Luke had no idea what to make of it. At first, they wouldn't eat it, they just wanted to pet it. We finally pulled some off and put it in their mouths, but they didn't like it. Again...what? Who doesn't like cotton candy? Apparantly, my kids don't so Merk and I ended up eating the whole thing.

Max made it to the top of the fourth inning. Luke was having a blast and would have stayed longer, but Max had started a major meltdown and we had to go. We'll go back, but it may be a while before we take Max again.

Bad Hair Day

And I thought I had crazy hair in the mornings!

Summer Blues

It's amazing the difference a few years makes.

I ran into a neighbor friend this week who has two children in grade school. We were talking about summer and soon realized how differently we thought about it.

For her, summer is about spending more time with her kids while they're not in school. It's enjoying concentrated time with them with the added bonus of family vacations, swimming and baseball games. She is dreading the beginning of school and wants to squeeze every last drop out of these hot, lazy days.

As the mother of preschoolers, I have a very different opinion. No question, summer is fun and we've done some neat things. But the day in and day out of summer is torture for me. We do playdates and see our friends, but the kids are basically sick of me. We've been together non-stop for 9 weeks. All the creativity I had at the beginning of summer is gone. We've done all the fun things I had planned. We've done all the crafts and read all the books. I'm out of ideas and we still have 5 1/2 weeks to go.

There are some good parts to our non-structured days. I'm embarrassed at how many times I've let them stay in pajamas until past noon. They've barely worn shoes since May. We've had more than our fair share of ice cream and we keep running out of sunscreen because of so many days spent at the pool.

So here's to summer and to the final stretch. I'll do my best to enjoy these last few weeks, but my heart really lies in the fall. We all need the structure, they need to spent time with people other than me and quite honestly, I need a break.

Potty Talk

For me, there are few things worse than potty training. Sure, the first time they go, you are filled with a special kind of pride and excitement. But it speeds downhill from there.

First, there’s the self-imposed isolation while your child runs around naked for about 5 days. This was the hardest part for me. Max loved it, but we’ve already established how much he loves “naked.” Luke of course wanted to get in the game and I spent the entire week telling him to put his underwear on.

Then came the questions. Will he be able to do it again? Should I use pull-ups? Would that confuse him? What about Church? There are about 16 kids in the class and I’m not sure the teacher will remember. What if he has an accident in public? How long can we be out in public before I have to start looking for a potty? Will he ever learn to poop in the potty? It’s overwhelming and all-consuming.

The worst was when I took the potty with us when we went to visit friends last night. By the end of the evening, he must have made 10 trips, four successes and six false starts. To top it off, he couldn’t decide where he wanted his potty to be, so he kept moving it around their house. It was everywhere, including in the kitchen while we were having dinner. By the end of the night we were all tired of Max and his potty.

But, that’s were we are. We’re in the second week now and things are looking up. Hopefully in a few more weeks, we’ll be free and clear. Then I’ll be crying about how sad I am that I don’t have a baby in diapers anymore. You can’t win.

Poor Scout

As we were eating breakfast this morning, I noticed that Luke only had his pajama top and underwear on. So I said to him, "Luke, we need to put your clothes on."

Max gets out of his chair and goes to take a look. He gets an angry look on his face, points a finger at the dog and says, "Scout ate your pants."

Poor Scout.