Monday, December 28, 2009

The Joy of Christmas

I think the kids got a real good dose of what Christmas is all about. From church service, in which Gwen enjoyed singing her own songs of "Someday my prince will come" and talking about seeing Baby Jesus at the top of her lungs. Not quite understanding the idea of being quiet in church. Next year, Trevor will hopefully be able to process in the bringing in of the manger scene. Father Mike is very nice about knowing who his audience is for the earlier Christmas Eve service.

As tradition has it, we then go to "Grandma's House", so the kids can open presents with them. Then hurry back home before Santa arrives. Trevor was typically excited about Christmas and woke up early to come in and stay with us before we went downstairs. After Christmas morning, we let Gwen take an early nap before going over to Papa and Bubba's house for dinner and birthday events. And we finished up our Christmases last night at Grandpa's house. I can't convey my thanks to everyone for making the kids feel so loved. It is so nice to have the kids around all of the family during the holidays.

While the kids haven't been able to play with all their gifts yet, I'm happy that the ones that Santa brought were well received. The only tricky part is all the video game playing during the break times. I did want to save some of the games and books for the plane ride in almost two weeks.

The weather was interesting, but Trevor has gotten to be outside for some playtime which is nice. So lots of cleaning and organizing for the next few days. It will be nice to have the house back in about a week or so. Although sad to see the holidays behind us. We talked a lot about moving to Australia or Hawaii to be in the warm warm weather during Christmas.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Before the holiday starts

I figure I'd get up to speed on where we are at. Trevor has been enjoying the elf and has been very into all the Santa stuff...videos and cards and such. He has also calmed down, much the opposite of Gwen. She has been a bundle of energy, and Trevor has been behaving himself very well.

Trevor has been trying to get through all his Thank-you cards that he had to write for his birthday presents. He finished the last one yesterday. However, he got another gift the other day, and his reaction was, "Oh no, I'm going to have to write another thank-you card." So I think we are going to forgo the thank-you notes for Christmas. So he doesn't see the present and think thank-you card. It was a good tool to help him practice his printing though. And it seemed like everyone appreciated them.

He made a card for his teacher to give as part of a gift, and said that he read his card to her. I bet that she enjoyed getting the card from him. And he seemed very happy to get a thank-you card from her as well.

Gwen has been running and jumping all over everything, as I'm sure she feels the craziness in the air. I know she's really going to have a great time over the next few days, and we are planning on a trip to the lake for New Years. Hopefully the weather will be ok to be able to play outside for a few times.

We were very lucky to have had a scheduled handy helper last weekend. My dad was supposed to come over to help with the trim on a remodeled closet. The day before, our humidifier broke. So in addition to helping with the trim, we got another person to help with the humidifier. Unfortunately, it required a replacement part which could not be gotten without going to a dealer. So dad has graciously found the part and should be at our house soon. I have no doubt that Russ could have done this without the help, but having another person, and one that found the part without having to use our time, was such a blessing. Thanks dad!

On a side note, the air in our house is so crazy dry. Gwen's hair is almost stick straight and there is so much static in the air. I might ask to put on the humidifier for a few hours just to get some moisture in the air.

We are also waiting to see what this big storm is going to do. Hopefully it won't change many plans, and that we get where we need to go in a reasonable amount of time. Safe and happy travels everyone!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

A little behind

I meant to post earlier this week about a few things that Trevor has done this week. He had two events that I want to remember. His doctor well-check appointment and finishing this session of swimming lessons.

Last Monday was his 6 year well-check with the doctor. While he has gotten the flu and his share of colds, we haven't had to be in to see him since his 5 year appointment. He was up to date on his immunizations, although I did get some questioning about not getting his second H1N1 shot, the doctor didn't really pressure me either. I explained that he got the virus, then got his first vaccination, and we decided not to get the second one. I had also already promised him that he was done until next year.

On the blog (that will be visually changing soon, I promise!) I have included the kids growth measurements so far. Trevor measured in at 55lbs and 48". He's in the 90% for both. I think there is no chance for him to be under 6', which will be interesting to see how fast and how tall he does become. The entire meeting with the doctor, he didn't stop talking. He answered the nurse's question of "does anyone around you smoke?" with, "Yes, I smoke. We all smoke outside." I think it was funny that that is what he thinks it is.

The doctor also didn't remember him being that talkative. I explained that yep, he has always been our "tour-guide Trevor". Perhaps he remembers more that Gwen is a little timid around him, and not as talkative with him as Trevor. The doctor has two kids, which go to the same Elementary school and church, so he was even able to talk to him about school. Trevor talked about wanting to be a doctor, or maybe do the news at school. I have a feeling that's what's going to happen. But we'll see.... I was informed that he doesn't have to go back in for a well-check until he's 8 now.

The other event that happened this week was that Trevor completed his 7 week swimming lessons. He started off that he was able to float on his back, and dog paddle a short distance in the pool by himself. And now, he has gotten to the point where he can do the back crawl the entire length of the pool. I believe it is a 50 yard length pool. The tricky part about these lessons are that they were the oldest group of kids, and 3 other groups were also in the same general area, so when they were trying to swim unassisted, the teachers of the other classes had to make sure they were not in his way. But as a swimmer, I can't imagine how hard it was to pretend like they weren't there. So next session it will be interesting to see how easy it is if there aren't the other classes to worry about.

He was so proud that he could swim as far as he did on his back without any help. I think swimming, besides the benefit of safety, has a certain appeal to Trevor in that he can get better, and faster, and it is sort-of race-like for him. So not only is he happy that he can swim by himself, but he also feels so much faster than he used to be. I'm so interested to see how he does in a pool not for swimming lessons. We'll be trying it out next month in Boston!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Crazy busy

I can never seem to remember how busy this time of year is. Thankfully, I'm reasonably organized, however you throw in a few new events, and I am not perfect at planning as I need to be. This weekend was full to the brim with activities and things that needed to get done. Trevor had a birthday party to attend, two hockey practices, Sunday School, and a Children's Theater show. It was a beautiful weekend to be outside, but I decided to throw together 3 batches of holiday cookies and Russ was gracious enough to take the kids outside to play in the snow. They all had a great time, from what I could tell. I made the house smell all gingery and warm.

On Sunday was when most of the activities took place, and while Trevor was at the birthday party, I ran as fast as I could to 6 stores in an hour, and ended the final hour shopping at Target. I was so lucky to get so much of the Christmas shopping done, so that I don't have to do it another day. I also put together and mailed our Christmas Cards. Unfortunately, we don't have any more stamps, and when I tried to go to the Post Office to get more, the line was crazy and the self-serve kiosk was out of order. So that's still on my to-do list.

I also couldn't do the homework I should have this weekend, so I was a little behind today for the due date of tomorrow. Russ had to work late for work, so I kindly asked my mom to come over to play with the kids while I did homework. After the Tuesday deadline, I have more activities to get done before I can even concentrate on Christmas gifts and such. I really am at "one day at a time". I can't even think that Christmas is 10 days from now. Friday is as far as I'm looking right now.

Believe it or not, I am still enjoying the season as well. The kids love to look at the lights outside, and we try to keep the radio on to listen to the Christmas music whenever we can. Gwen was able to help with both the frosting and cutting of the sugar cookies. I think she could have cut them out for an hour or two. I thought Trevor would be more into it, but I was happy that one of them was.

Such are the holidays. Very busy for us. Even when Trevor is off of school, we have things going on to keep the kids busy. It's going to be 2010 before I know it. Happy Holidays!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Another week closer to Christmas

It is amazing how fast that holiday sneaks up on me. I have been accumulating a few gifts for people, but I think tomorrow during Trevor's friend's birthday party I'm going to do most of the rest of the shopping. I'm not a big shopping girl....strange I know. But I guess it is a little better when I'm shopping for other people rather than myself.

We have also adopted a new tradition, thanks to my mom. It is called Elf on a Shelf. An elf came with a book explaining his magic. Your job is to read the book and name him. Every night during the pre-Christmas time, he travels to the North Pole to report to Santa how everyone is behaving. Then every morning when you wake up, he is in a different place. The big things are that you can't touch him or he will lose his magic, and that every Christmas Eve, he disappears until next Holiday season. Trevor has decided to really get into this one after being reassured that it is the real deal. It has helped on occasion with his behavior, although he also seems a little freaked out by having to find him, but yet making sure that he doesn't touch him.

I also think I'm going to do some cookie making today. I know tomorrow it will be impossible, and Trevor has been looking forward to decorating cookies, so I guess it'll be time to try a few cookies out to see what the kids like. We'll see what happens.

On a different note, I think Gwen's 2 year molars are trying to poke through. She has splotchy red cheeks for the past few days. That will be nice to have done sooner rather than later. And I think that I'd rather have her nuks gone before we start traveling.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Playing in the snow

Well, a few of the metro schools had a snow day yesterday, but I hear that it is few and far between that our school district closes for snow. Regardless, this is the first big snow of the season, and I figured I had to at least let the kids walk around in it after lunch yesterday. I will admit it my biggest challenge as a parent. I HATE the cold. I think it is because I don't like how cold I feel outside. I don't own snowpants and with as little as I'd use them, I don't find them necessary.

So after about 15 minutes of getting ready, primarily having Trevor try to get himself ready seeing as how he's going to have to do it for his recess time next year, we got ourselves outside. Man was that wind biting. But I know the kids were bundled up and warm. I had to bring Gwen in against her will. She wasn't a big fan of trying to get around in the snow, but loved throwing the "rocks" at my legs. Trevor just wanted to make snow angels, which he did, and have a snowball fight, which the snow was a little tricky to do that with. Next year, we are going to have to wait for a weekend before the kids are going to be able to get outside together, which makes me a little sad. Trevor really enjoyed playing outside, but not by himself, and Gwen needs a little bit more strength in order to get herself around. We are also going to have to get ourselves around and find good sledding hills and such because Trevor would really get a kick out of that. My parents backyard would be perfect except for the distance.

I did decide to get better gloves and mittens for the kids, so hopefully they can keep their snowball making and throwing hands warmer. I also know that soon Trevor will have friends he will want to play with and as such I won't be the one that needs to take him outside....and again I feel a little sad about that. The kids grow up so fast, don't they?

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Putting up the tree

I was trying to remember what we did when Trevor was Gwen's age for putting up the tree. The way I remember it, we put it up with the heavy and breakable ornaments on the tree higher than he could reach, and any ornaments that he wanted to play with, never ended up on the tree. Even last year, he had the Buzz/RC car, Thomas and Percy, Lightning McQueen and Mater, and all the Star Wars Vehicles off of the tree so he could play with them. I guess I didn't expect Gwen to want to play with a lot of the ornaments, but I guess I wasn't sure.

Trevor seemed to want to try to have more ornaments on the tree this year, although right from the beginning the Star Wars vehicles were found, and they ended up out of the box, but never on the tree. He told me he really wanted to find Lightning McQueen and Mater so he could play with them. We got the tree yesterday morning, and let it settle and warm up for the rest of the day. After dinner, we were going to try to watch a movie and put up the decorations, but Trevor didn't want to move. So Russ and I put the lights and the garland on the tree before the movie was done, and once the ornaments started coming out, then Trevor was game. We put on some music instead. I tried to work it out so that Gwen had some stringed ornaments that she could hang on the tree herself while I continued to unpack the ornaments.

It was amazing to see both of the kids' awe over the different ornaments. Once I started to help Gwen by hanging the ornaments where she asked me to, it became a huge game for her. She could have done it all day. We opened all of the ornaments that we had. Even ones that we had never used before. She kept looking for more.

Since that time, it seems as though she is trying to relive the event a little bit because any ornaments that are within her reach, she takes off of the tree to get them put back on by someone else. Although if she had her pick, she also likes to play with the ornaments we have that look like fruit.

So that's our Christmas preparation to date. Trevor was remarking that he was feeling like Christmas was really getting closer. The weather is probably helping that too. But I do agree...it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas here!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Back to the weekly grind...

School started again this week for me after a week off. Trevor went back to school for a full week of Kindergarten. Gwen did her weekly activities with me. Gwen has been begging to play Trevor's games that he got for his birthday. She also wanted to use some safety scissors to cut paper. So we've done that at least 3-4 times this week. Oh AND she learned how to do a somersault completely by herself. And she can do it straight too. She's been counting without switching the 4 and 5 a few times by herself. She's getting so big so fast.

Trevor has had a book to read every day, a few times a day, for the whole week this week in addition to writing thank-you cards, and his weekly and monthly homework assignments. It's amazing what adding the book and thank-you cards does to his frustration level until he understands that it will become routine and doesn't fight it anymore.

I brought both of the kids straight from Kindergarten pick-up to the mall to get Santa pictures today. I brought a lunch for the kids to eat in the car. I had no idea how busy it was going to be because all the other times I went, it was during school hours, right when the Santa photo shop opened. There were 4 groups ahead of us, and it went pretty fast. Of course Gwen got freaked out as soon as she saw that I wanted her to sit on Santa's lap. So I got to join in on the chair this year. And right afterwards, she was talking all about how she got to see Santa today. If they could have put a big fake head over this guy's body, she would have enjoyed it more. I think the fact that it is a real person, and a male figure at that does not put her mind at ease at all. Since Disney, she has no fear of characters and wants to give them all hugs. When we were at the Gopher's hockey game, she was SO excited when we found Goldy Gopher walking around so she could give him a high-five and a big hug.

I'm not sure if I can brave the crowds next year with Trevor, but we'll see how it goes. It's nice to be able to do this while they are this young.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Taking out the Christmas stuff

Every year it is a little different. It's interesting to see what Trevor remembers and what he needs a little help remembering. And now that Gwen is a little more interactive, it's fun to see what she picks up on.

We don't have our tree yet, so it isn't all done yet, but we got out the things that Trevor really wants to see. Movies, books, stockings, and some other wall decorations is all we have. We do have our new LED outdoor icicle blue and white lights out. Last year it got too cold too fast, and we had too much going on to get them out there.

I'm a little surprised that Gwen isn't into the books yet. I suppose it could be just that she isn't into books in these last few days. She is into the nativity set, although she calls it the "night-night" (or phonetically - ni-ni). And she is also very good at understanding what we don't want her to play with and gravitating towards that in any way possible. Trevor and Russ were trying out the Mouse Trap game that he got for his birthday, and Gwen new that it wasn't for her, yet she climbed onto the back of the chair to get her chance to play with it. She played with it by herself, taking it apart and playing with the figures in the game for a good 15 or so minutes.

She also wants to play with the Mickey Mouse Advent Calendar that we have had for a few years now. Trevor is trying to peak at the Christmas ornaments that are in each of the boxes, so it is fun for him to look at it, but I know if Gwen got a hold of it, we wouldn't be able to find any of them when it came time to put it away.

And of course I was directly asked if Santa Claus is real while reading him the Twas the Night Before Christmas book this evening. I tried redirection, and talking about St. Nicholas, but basically I had to explain that St. Nicholas is real, and he can talk about it at Sunday School. Argh....Hopefully he won't ruin it for Gwen next year until I'm sure she asks about it....

So back to school for Trevor tomorrow, and me on Wednesday. I don't know how they are going to do the holiday break for us. I guess we'll have to see. Maybe I should start reading ahead in my Humanities book. Or maybe not.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Party over

Well, we are done with our three parties in a week's time. All I can say is WHEW. Although I don't consider myself a party pooper, I am definitely pooped by parties! Especially since we had to host all of them. Next year I'll have another day between Thanksgiving and Trevor's birthday and don't know what if anything we'll be doing for a birthday party with Trevor's friends.

Trevor had a great time on his birthday, and I'm glad he decided to skip his hockey practice. He was able to wrestle and run around with his uncles, aunts and grandparents. Which I know he REALLY enjoys. Today was supposed to be the day to get out the Christmas decorations, movies, and books, but Trevor is too into all his presents. Unfortunately, he has cleaned out his wish list, so now we have to figure out other things to get back on the list. He is such a lucky guy to have such a caring family.

Now for a few days of down time....oh and found out my grades came back for my two classes....Aced them both with a perfect score on my Accounting Final Exam. ;-) Yay for accounting!

Friday, November 27, 2009

6 years of living with Trevor

It is absolutely amazing that it has been 6 years already since we were making the calls to the grandparents and new aunts and uncles saying that Trevor had been born. I have learned so much about myself and how to be a better parent, and I am so thankful that I've been able to share it all with him. This past year has been the most difficult in terms of him coming into his own personality, and battling his parents. Although I can't say that he's going to be more difficult when he is going to be a teenager, I am glad that he has waited this long to be slightly sassy in his ways. He never was a temper tantrum kid. Thankfully, Gwen really isn't either. But if boys have the difficulty in their toddler/early kid years, we have been in for a real treat, compared to some. Now he is at the age where he can express what is going on, as long as he wants to.

Over the last year, we have really gotten into a good routine, even though we have gone through a lot of changes. Going from the end of preschool, to summer programs, to every-day Kindergarten has been a big change, and we have had to change our routine if things got too difficult for him (or me for that matter).

Trevor really has also had a lot of development with his feelings of fear, whether rational or not. It was pretty painful for the first part of the year, but gradually it has gotten much better.

Trevor lost his first tooth which was a pretty big deal for him, especially for him and being fearful. He has yet to lose his second tooth, but I'm hoping it won't be as big of a deal. I guess we'll see.

His strength and ability in sports with his confidence has really improved. We are still trying to figure out if he wants to throw a ball with his right or left hand.

He loves Joe Mauer and any Twins. He likes to ask people who they cheer for in sports, and is deciding that he can cheer for more than one team, unless those teams are playing each other.

He is also getting better at playing Wii games.

I am a little surprised that he has yet to ask for anything really. I'm not exactly going to pressure him into asking for anything, but for the most part, I have to initiate asking what he would like, or if he would like something. When we get the toy catalogs, he looks through them, but never really cares about trying to actually get anything.

Well Trevor, it has been a great year. Tough at times, yes, but I need to keep in mind it is only temporary, and hope to see you grow stronger and more kind in the years to come. I love you baby boy.

And the Thanks continues

Well I'm back from Black Friday shopping for the boys' presents. I have 20 more minutes left of a 5 year old, but I wanted to express my Thanks again for the wonderful day yesterday. For some reason the stars were aligned and everything turned out perfectly. I can never seem to get the timing of the Turkey to match up with everything else, but this year, it seemed to make a difference in the way it tasted....in a very good way. I had heard that if you are done with the turkey earlier, you keep the tenting on it and then place a bath towel on top to keep the heat and moisture. Also, we had turned the temperature down because I already knew it was going to get done too early. So if it was a combination of both or one or the other, we had a very delicious turkey this year. The rolls turned out, the pies turned out, the gravy and potatoes, the stuffing, the wine, the snacks, the green bean casserole....there wasn't anything that didn't work.

This morning I woke up to a completely spic and span kitchen. I'm still a little dragging due to my early shopping excursion, but perhaps I'll be able to take a nap. If my mind slows down.

So Thank You one last time to everyone that made the day perfect. It is wonderful to be able to share the day with anyone who can come. So bring on the birthday boy!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

So much to be thankful for

What wonderful kids we have. While some days are more difficult than others, I am very thankful to have each and every one of them. Over the past month I have really taken the time to notice Trevor's maturing. Especially his understanding of things and the way he talks and discusses things with me. I treasure our short car rides and lunch times where I get to talk to him about school or whatever else is going on. The other day in the car while going back from swimming lessons, he really seemed like he wanted to talk with me about the movie I was going to go see. It helps that I have been to his classroom and know most of what goes on during an average day so I can talk with him about it.

His patience is greatly increasing, and that has helped a lot. He still has snap reactions when something is upsetting to him, but it isn't every time like it used to be. As always, it is helpful to him to know what to expect if he doesn't behave like he needs to. He can be pretty tough on himself, but I do try to talk to him about that as well, to make sure that I'm not falling into the "no news is good news" trap. I don't want him to think that the only thing I expect to hear about are the not-so-good things that happen when he is out and about.

I am a little surprised that his teacher has been gone a lot over the course of the year. Some of the time, she has her own meetings, but others she is sick. I really hope that she is doing well. Trevor's birthday celebration at school was yesterday, and she was sick that day as well. But I think Trevor did better than he usually does. I'll have to ask him about it next week.

It is amazing to think that we are fast approaching winter break. I am very thankful that the weather was at least tolerable this month. I'm also thankful for being able to get out a few times this winter. Which reminds me, I have to put a note into his school to make sure it isn't a surprise. Hopefully nothing too bad will come of it. I hope everyone of my friends and family know how thankful I am to have them in my life...even if at a distance. Have a great Thanksgiving all!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Well Trevor, you are almost 6

I was a little nervous, and probably too paranoid about the whole thing. Trevor had his surprise birthday party today. Because his birthday isn't until 6 more days, that was really the only thing he didn't really understand. And it's not like I could explain it to him. Even Sam tried...."Trevor, I didn't have my birthday party on my birthday either..." He quickly got over it, and the kids loved the "SURPRISE" part of the party. Mark this day down as well. It was warm enough for the kids to go outside and play for a little bit as well.

Trevor had hockey practice, so the kids could come over in advance, and I could decorate and clean a little bit. Gwen went down from her nap before the kids arrived as well. I had some balloons that the kids decided they wanted to throw up in the air when Trevor came in the house. And the first thing out of his mouth? "But it's not my birthday today." He had a very puzzled look on his face.

We played some party games...pinata, beanbag toss, pop-the-balloon, had some Phinneas and Ferb music playing (which Julie loved), played some games outside, had ice cream and cake, ate some candy...and ended with Disney DVD Bingo. Kind of funny seeing as how the moms of the kids that were over love to go out and play Bingo together when we can. And just like her mom, Julie could not get a bingo to save her life. Gwen woke up about halfway through the party, so she was able to play with the kids too. She and Abby played with the dolls and after she had gone home, Gwen kept asking about her playing with the dolls.

Thanks to hubby for helping wrangle the kids and all the moms for letting the kids come over and play! I don't think that Trevor really thinks it was a surprise party. I think Russ said he said he was ALMOST surprised. So maybe another year he'll just have to have another almost surprise party. We'll have to see if he suspects it......

Friday, November 20, 2009

And then he goes and does this....

So today was the big day. We asked Trevor to behave himself this week for the substitute teacher that we knew was going to be there. So he had a good day on Wednesday, a tough day on Thursday, and I was just hoping and praying that today would go better. As always, we go to school to meet him after class. We met him today with a big smile on his face. He was so proud to tell me today how great his day went. It was so heartwarming to see him and how proud he felt knowing that how he behaved was what we were looking for. He had gotten a cold overnight on Wednesday night, and last night wasn't good for his sleeping either. But I think his will was stronger than his cold or his tiredness.

He also did a great job on his homework for the weekend. Things that involve routine are generally good and easy for him to do. He knows what is expected and can get it done easily.

Add to that, that Gwen decided on her own that she wanted to wear her Cinderella dress today. She had to check herself out in the mirror and it is just so adorable.

It's been a good day for my heart. Now if I could get a few extra hours of sleep and more time to finish school and get ready for the other parties.....ah well, such is life. I'd much rather enjoy this heart warming feeling....

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The goings on

Well, as usually happens with me, I post a gripe about something, and then it seems to turn around. According to my dad, Trevor did really well listening to him at the Gophers Basketball game. While we have an issue here or there, Trevor's attitude (at least to me) has greatly improved. We keep talking about all the ways he can be a great listener or helper and concentrate on that.

Also, we have finally put Trevor's mattress up on it's bed frame. Gwen just saw it today and wasn't very happy that she couldn't climb onto his bed by herself. And I think I heard Trevor fall (or jump) off of his bed during naptime, but overall I think it has emphasized that he's getting to be a bigger kid. He still wears a pull-up at nighttime, and has been asking about it recently. From what I know, it is not at all uncommon for his age, and his doctor says that there are things we can do if he asks it, but it is not something that should be worried about until he says so.

I have finished my last week of class, and this next week is our final exams that we have the entire week to complete. Then a week off before the next session starts. My accounting class was a nice review from over ten years ago. My law class was very interesting, I thought. I learned a lot and unless I flunk the final, I think I got a good grade.

Gwen has come down with a cold, so she is a bit out of sorts this week. Except for the fact that she feels a little weird, I think it would be a great time to get rid of her nuks. She can't breathe when she has them in because of her cold, and she does not need them to get to sleep. But I think I'd rather her teeth come in first. For sure I'd like to do it before she gets into a new bed. Unfortunately, I've heard bad things about both taking the nuks away, and moving into a big bed. A lot of people have said that one of the above leads their kid to get rid of their nap. Oh well. I guess we'll see. Maybe a New Year's Resolution for Gwen.

A few more days until Trevor's surprise birthday. I think I have a few fun games for the kids to play. Hopefully it will all run smoothly. I just realized we are going to have 3 parties in 7 days. So if I can survive next week it'll all be wonderful. Here come the holidays!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ah Trevor, how you can frustrate me

I remember thinking that he was such an easy infant and toddler. He's such a smart kid that I think a lot of the frustration a lot of kids have at a young age, he didn't because he could communicate effectively. Gwen is the same way, however I think she gets more frustrated than Trevor did because she is not the only one that wants my attention.

Anyway, I have known that Trevor has been testing his limits both at home and at school, and I've heard that it is pretty bad for first born boys. That now is there more difficult time, whereas with girls, it is when they are teenagers. Anyway, I think he has slightly settled down with his regular kindergarten teacher, however he's now acting up whenever a substitute is in his class. This week was pretty difficult at home and at school, where he was pretty argumentative and doing things he "knows better" to not do. And it's always been a struggle to stay on top of what will motivate him to stop doing the bad behavior.

He's tried a lot of techniques as to explaining why he does things. And knows that when he answers a "Why?" question with "Because that is what I chose to do." He knows there isn't anything else we can really say. And really, this behavior, it could be much worse.

His childhood is one that has promoted his self-esteem and he has so much confidence in his ability that I think that is what is going to be hard to change his behavior, yet keep his useful confidence. His uncles, while being 20 years older than him (or so) play with him and have such a great time. I'm pretty sure he looks at them and thinks they are his friends. It is such a unique situation. He is a first born, boy, and first grandchild on both sides. So he is used to so much attention and so much praise, that it is hard to teach him that even if you know what you are doing, you need to respect other people.

From what I hear, he doesn't have any problems with his peers. He doesn't ever try to overpower them either physically or with mind games.

Arrgh....you know it's a frustrating time, when as a parent all you want your child to do is make the good decisions. But that while that might happen some of the time, it is not going to happen all of the time, and that it's hard to let go and not be a hovering parent. Just frustrating.

Vent over....hopefully soon this will be a distant memory.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Discovery of new things

So it's getting close to that time of year. Doubly close with Trevor's birthday thrown in there. We actually had our ECFE class discuss toddler toys and all the different inexpensive or free things you can do or make that your kids might like. Coincidentally, the day before Gwen had gotten out one of our lei's from Disney World. The way that she plays with it, she broke the string and all the flowers came off. They are silk...I think. Not the shiny kind, but the dull, soft kind. I didn't notice that she had broken the necklace, and was putting the dishes in the dishwasher when I heard her singing a song like London Bridges. Recently, we had been singing a song about falling leaves to the tune of London Bridges, and noticed when I watched her that she had thrown a lot of these flowers up in the air like we did with the silk leaves to sing the song. While I have since gotten all the unnecessary pieces of the necklace out of the way, she LOVES these "leaves". She will lay on the ground and want you to throw them up in the air and land on her. However, she gets too excited and can't stay on the ground. I had considered going to Michael's to get some leaves like at ECFE, and now I don't have to.

Then yesterday, with the great weather we had been having, we were outside playing after lunch. I had been looking for our box of chalk, and can't seem to find it. But I did find a few bunny shaped chalk that we could at least play around with a little bit. Gwen just wants to have the bunnies hop around and will draw a little bit with them. Trevor wasn't really interested in them a whole lot until I started using them to write words. Then Trevor realized that he could do the same thing. I wrote random words, not trying to write anything in particular. So that's what he did. He had such a good time, and we spent a good part of the time doing that, so I figured I would break out the window crayons for the porch area. That was a great hit with both kids. Trevor could draw and write words, and Gwen could pretend she was just like Trevor. If Trevor let her on the same window that he was on. I don't know how much longer it will work, because it already was a little chilly on the windows. But it was an inexpensive way to play with the kids for a while.

Last night we had our H1N1 vaccinations. They were out of the mist, so unfortunately, Trevor was a bit upset when he found out that he would have to get a shot. But we did take care of our seasonal flu shots for Trevor and I, and I think we are going to be done for the season. They may get more of the H1N1 for kids under 9, but with the fact that Trevor actually got the flu, and the vaccine, I am comfortable with him being adequately immunized. I'm not sure what they are going to do for next year. Now we go to the doctor soon for Trevor's well-check. And he has no reason to be nervous.

On a good note, the nurse that helped us with our shots, was very nice and complimentary for both kids. They recovered quick, and Gwen got freaked out when she saw me get a shot. But I think that helped Trevor realize (after the fact) that I didn't think the shot hurt. So Trevor is happy to say that he's done for another year. Perhaps there won't be any more shortages of the mist, and we'll be good for a long time. At least with Trevor. Gwen's got more shots in her future. We'll see how that goes.

Friday, November 6, 2009

First school conference

I guess technically Trevor has had two preschool conferences already, so this wasn't his first. However, this was the one I was nervous for. And now that it is done, I'm happy to say there wasn't anything I was surprised about. His teacher is very comfortable working with Trevor on his issues which mostly revolve around not retaliating and not arguing. In terms of academics, the only thing he needs practice with are his small motor skills. Something that I did know already. Meanwhile, Gwen is already holding her markers and crayons correctly, which is something Trevor wasn't doing as well until last year.

In another month, he can be tested at higher reading levels than grade 1 and a half. That's where he is at now. He seems to like doing both math and reading skills. He appropriately colors things in, however he pushes down on the crayons harder than is necessary, which she would like to discourage. According to Russ, it is something he got from him. He's also going to be getting more "homework" to do by the end of the month. He'll be doing a lot of reading comprehension books to read and be tested on, and some math skills to be tested on.

It was also nice to hear that there are two other kids in his class that are at or near Trevor's reading level, so the teacher mentioned that she can bring the three of them over to do some reading time and they can be taught together. It really makes me feel much more comfortable that he's learning what he needs to. Good first conference Trevor.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

So much going on

It's the first week back to school after being out for almost a week. Gwen can go back to her activities, and Trevor goes back to school. He got a packet of homework that I got for him to do during the weekend, and a note from his teacher. He really enjoyed the note especially. It said that she, along with the class missed him and hoped he was feeling better soon. Immediately he wanted to write a note back to the class to tell them to remember the times he was there and that he would be back soon.

Gwen has been enjoying her playtime with her dolls, and coloring when Trevor is doing his homework. She has also always really taken to singing and dancing. They both really enjoy the first season of Phinneas and Ferb's songs. They did a show where viewers voted on their favorite songs and they played the top 10. Gwen loves to sing and dance to her favorite few. And she also tries to do the movements she sees on TV. Which is pretty funny considering that they are animated. She also likes to sing the part of the Thomas song that lists off all of the trains. Most of the rest of the show, she could care less about.

Trevor has also had his first swimming lesson since before summer. He was a little unsure about it because he swam at a friend's pool this summer, and at the lake but I don't know if he was sure he even remembered how to swim since last lesson time. He got lucky this session in that he is in class only with one other kid. Their max is 4 kids, so it isn't ever a busy class, but now he doesn't have to wait very long for his "turn" to do his lessons. I watch from up above, and he very easily does exactly what the teacher asks, but isn't putting it together as to the fact that by doing the front crawl, he motors around and is actually swimming on his own. He swims to a rope and back, no problem, although he needs to figure out when to breathe, and when he gets a few arm lengths away, he pops his head up and drops his feet down so he doesn't swim effectively anymore. The last time he was at lessons, he also was able to jump off the platform into the deep end and swim to the side without any floatation device. This time, he knew he could do it, but still has his teacher "catch" him when he's jumping. That is something I'm sure will develop in a week or so when he gains confidence. I have a feeling if we keep him in swimming lessons for the next few sessions he's really going to be swimming along well.

It is hard to believe that Gwen is now about a year out from her own swimming lessons. She has been going through a bit more separation anxiety, but nothing too crazy. I'm just happy she's still in her crib. Someday soon we'll have to get rid of her nuks. That's probably not going to be much fun.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween 2009

I've never been too huge on Halloween. At least not that I can remember. We had a fun time at class parties, seeing what everyone was wearing that Halloween and such. And it was a fun social event if someone was going to have a party. But it was really nice this year to have a great Halloween, and know that Trevor was looking forward to it, and was thankfully healthy enough to enjoy the actual day.

We were invited to a party for a few hours before trick-or-treating, and it was nice to see everyone in their costumes. Gwen had to be woken up from her nap, so she was not in the mood to put on her dress. But after the party, she was very willing to put it on, and ride in the wagon while the kids and dad hit a few houses. It was pretty chilly outside, so it wasn't a long walk.

But when they came back inside, they both were so excited to "tell" about their adventures. And I think Russ wants to record an event from that night.

So Trevor and Russ went to a few houses, and Russ wanted to make sure that Trevor used his manners after getting the candy, so was often asking him to say, "Thank you." At one of the houses, they were generously giving out candy to the adults that were going around with the kids. Then, after that house, they went on, and Trevor was asked again by Russ, "Trevor, what do you say?" To which, Trevor says, "Can my dad have some?"

So it was a good night for all. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters, so we have plenty of candy if anyone wants some....

Friday, October 30, 2009

Day 3 and 4

Well, things have gotten better in the fever department. Trevor didn't have a fever all day yesterday. However, he developed a bad cough in the middle of Wednesday night, and kept him up most of the night on Thursday night. He does a good job of coughing into his elbow, however, it hasn't allowed him to get enough rest. So we are staying home today from school.

Hopefully he'll be able to start kicking the cough soon because without doing that, he can't get enough rest. I'll be getting some things from school today to work on this weekend, and with Halloween we should have enough to keep us busy. So it looks like the bug is on its way out.

Hope it stays away from everyone!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Day 2

Well, it has past the 48 hour mark of Trevor's first fever. Trevor had a rough night of sleeping last night, as he always does when he gets sick. I remember sleeping in the same bed as him when we were in Disney and how fitful his sleep was. I am a light sleeper, so it is only on trips that I sleep with him. I still have a monitor in his room, but he still needs to make a lot of noise for me to be woken up. Or to simply open his door, I'm usually awake.

The first night, he didn't get any additional tylenol/motrin, but did when he was up for the morning. Last night, he got more tylenol around 5am. Tonight, we are hoping for an improvement. He is also not able to go to school tomorrow, because he still had a temperature when he got his medicine before going to bed tonight. I think it would be better for everyone if he didn't go to school on Friday either. Regardless of if his temperature is gone or not. He is coughing a lot, which is a sign of H1N1, so I'm sure he'd be able to infect other kids nearby if I did send him.

His appetite has drastically been reduced, but at least he's still eating. He's not drinking as much water as I'd want him to, but he's also not dehydrated. And that's as best as I can do. He has a lot less energy than he did yesterday, but I think we've hit the worst of it. I'm guessing he'll be fine for Halloween. Not back to normal, but well enough to go to some houses.

Russ has almost completely recovered. Hopefully he can get a good night's sleep tonight and be good to go for the rest of his week.

Gwen and I are still symptom-free. I'm guessing the reason she didn't get it is because she doesn't really touch a lot of the same things as he does. I've been good about watching the things she grabs, and she doesn't play with most of the things Trevor does. And we've been pretty good about sanitizing everything that Trevor has been playing with.

So we'll see where tomorrow takes us. We aren't really doing much of anything, so when we finally are able to get out of the house, I'm sure it will be a welcome relief. Until then.....

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Day one of influenza-like sickness

While the day is not over, enough has happened so as to report what has been going on.

I got to bed at a decent hour, however, Gwen had a bout of insomnia from 3:30-4:30 where she read her musical books to herself. I'm just glad she wasn't upset. Then a little before 5, Russ was up needing more tylenol before going back to bed.

Trevor woke up with a fever this morning, around 8am. I gave him some tylenol. He was hungry enough to have breakfast, so that was a good thing. Gwen slept until almost 9am, but I think that was due to her lack of continuous sleep last night.

Trevor started to perk up about an hour or so after he was medicated. I've noticed this for all the other times he has needed fever reducing medication.

Russ has been up one time, again for more Tylenol, but not to eat much. He slept 16 hours or so last night.

Gwen and I seem to feel fine. She has a cold but no fever, and no energy issues. It was a gorgeously sunny day today, so while I thought I could take her outside while Trevor and Russ were inside resting, as soon as Trevor heard we were going outside, he had to come too. And he even went on a walk around the blocks with us. He was a little slower than normal, but that just made less of a gap between him and Gwen and I.

Both kids are sleeping now.

I did get a message back from the doctor. They are not testing for h1n1, however they still recommend getting a vaccine for it due to a lot of flu-like sicknesses being very hard to differentiate.

If I had to guess, I would bet that Trevor will still be able to go trick-or-treating on Saturday night, but he won't be in school the rest of this week. Hopefully Gwen will avoid the illness, so that this won't drag out longer than it has to. If the weather stays sunny and warmer, it will make the days slightly more tolerable.

Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes. We are all doing as well as can be expected. Hopefully I don't go stir crazy by the end of the week.

Monday, October 26, 2009

The story of H1N1, Johnson style

I figure I'd update specifically about how some type of flu bug has invaded our house. I have no confirmation of what type of flu it is. Especially since in the last few hours was the first time Trevor came down with any sort of fever.

A week ago today (Monday), Gwen had her 2 year well-check. She had two vaccinations due to a shortage they had at her last appointment. She also got the seasonal flu mist, and the doctor warned me that she could not have the H1N1 mist due to it being an active virus, and they cannot get more than one every 28 days. I was never told when their system was going to have the H1N1 vaccine in, but I had heard it was going to be in the next few weeks.

On Thursday after Kindergarten, Trevor got a note saying that his class has been exposed by someone that had H1N1. They don't specify anything else in the note. It could have even been someone in the PM class, since he is in the AM group.

On Friday, Gwen started acting sick, and had a slight fever. Her mood wasn't anything different than usual, except for some slight irritability. I figured it might have to do with her seasonal flu shot.

On Saturday, we all went out to the Gopher Hockey game. Gwen didn't last very long, and again I attributed it to her cold/flu shot. She didn't have a fever any longer.

On Sunday we kept her home from the church nursery. Trevor went to his Sunday school, and in the afternoon he started acting lethargic. Gwen didn't nap all day, but still didn't have any fever. Trevor took a short nap and seemed to feel better.

Today, Trevor woke up with no problems. Didn't seem sick at all. But when I picked him up from school, he seemed run down. Still never had a fever, and I was always was checking. He occasionally would cough, but nothing that was too worry-some.

Oh, on Saturday night, I heard that our health care provider had H1N1 vaccines in stock, and that the kids fell into the group qualifying to get their vaccine. So I knew I would be calling on Monday to get their schedule. I found out that you call, and confirm that you need to schedule someone for the vaccine that is within the group, and they assign you a time. You do not get a choice.

So the kids have both of their vaccines scheduled. The first one on Nov 10th, the second on Dec 8th.

And then, after Trevor came down from his nap, he had a fever over 100 degrees. Which means he can't go to school tomorrow, and is probably H1N1. As I'm giving Trevor his tylenol to break his fever, Russ comes home and has the same symptoms as Trevor.

I'm now in conversations with Trevor's doctor about if we need to test for H1N1, or continue with the vaccine or what. I guess we'll see what happens. The school is saying the common amount of time to be out with H1N1 is 5-7 days, but he cannot come back to school until 24 hours of non-medicated lack of fever.

So that's the story as of now. I'll update more when I know more

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

A little behind

I'm a little late in blogging lately. I'm happy to say that we made it through the first extended school break of the year. As I've posted, the wonderful playdate made me really look forward to future breaks! Then, on Friday evening, Trevor lost his first tooth. He was afraid at first, but every day, he seems to have gotten more and more brave because of it. Or at least that is what he claims his bravery comes from. The questions about what his tooth is "saying" haven't stopped, but I'll take the questions over the fear feelings any day.

Gwen had her two year well-check at the doctor on Monday. We had a nurse that we haven't had before. I don't know if she was a substitute one or not, but she really did not seem to have a way with kids. She basically had me try to do everything that I could to help her with Gwen. Gwen has already stepped on a scale at urgent care, no problem. But when the nurse asked her to use this scale, she didn't want to. One of the other pediatricians told the nurse to try another scale. She also had me try to convince her to measure her head.

The conversations with her doctor and his check of her went fine. She is about the 75% for height and weight, but again, not something I would depend on based on how we got her measurements. According to them, she is less than an inch shorter than Trevor was at 2 years. The doctor asked me about Trevor losing his tooth, and if he was not scared about it. It was like he either knew exactly how he was going to feel, or his kids do the same thing.

Trevor and I played battleship yesterday. He has no problems with that game. I looked on the box, we have a few games including that one that are for ages 7 and up. I had to sit and think that he really isn't that much younger than 7. He's going to be turning 6 in a few weeks. For some reason, I'm stuck into thinking that he's still around 4 or something. I am excited that he's really getting how to play these games. Now we can really start playing games. And in a few more years Gwen can join us! How fun!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Finally getting into the groove

And then winter shows up. Summer? Never happened. Fall? Oh didn't you see it? Or did you blink? This weather is absolutely horrible for my spirit. I HATE winter. I HATE being cold. A few days in the past week, I have just laid down in the sunlight that came in through the windows. Trying to feel warm and get my additional Vitamin D. Didn't work.

Ok...vent over. Gwen caught the cold I had last week that really drained me. I thought I caught a cold from one of the kids, but neither of them had it as bad as I did. And now Gwen has it. Just in time for her well-visit. Hopefully, she'll be on the up slope from it though. Two things I have been meaning to write down about her.... 1) She is very confident in her thoughts, and if you try to tell her otherwise, she will stand up and say, NO...that's an elephant mama! (When I try to say, "That's Dumbo sweetie...") She says it with such seriousness and force it is hilarious. Hopefully, someday she will learn how to learn from other people. 2) This is the second week in a row at "school" where the teacher has said that if one of the kids is crying after she has settled down, she goes over to the kid and says, "It's ok Dylan. Mom will be right back." And tries to give him a hug, or share a toy, or something similar. I have found that leaving her is much easier if I hand her off to a female adult, or at least older teenager. She has no problem going to a stranger, but me putting her down....she hates it.

School is going well for me....hopefully it will continue to take less and less time to read, study, and write papers. It has taken me a little while to remember how to do everything.

I have noticed a huge improvement in Trevor and his anxiousness. I won't know for sure until teacher conferences in a few weeks, but from what I pick up from Trevor, he seems to be still testing his teacher's limits, but is very aware of what he can expect if he doesn't do what is required. The one thing that is going on right now is his tooth. He had a very fun and exciting day today, and asked to go up for a nap early. But came downstairs when he almost lost his tooth. I saw that it was bleeding (no way did I tell him this) but that it was still holding on by a little bit. So after I reassured him 20 times or so that he will not actually LOSE it, either by swallowing, or in the carpet, or even in the toilet (don't ask me where that came from) I think he's calmed down enough to take his nap.

I cannot believe it is only the middle of October. With this weather and how long it seems since he started school, it feels like we should be in December. Just fast forward to March please! I am already sick of looking at snow falling outside.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Almost a week later

Since the birthday party. Gwen will rotate everything she got as gifts through her cycle of toys she plays with on a daily basis. However, I still haven't gotten the purple tu-tu or Cinderella Dress on her yet. She loves the shoes, and wears those throughout the day. Thank goodness she is still ok with her pink sparkly "real" shoes to go out in. Now that the temperature has dropped, it has made taking the play shoes outside very difficult. The card also gets opened at least 4-5 times a day as well.

Trevor and I went to see the Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3D last Sunday. It was cool to see a preview of the Toy Story 3 movie, but it wasn't as 3D as I thought it would be. Most of the movie wasn't even that "blurry" if you took off the glasses. I think the best part in all of them was the snowing scene at the end of the first movie, as you heard a lot of kids, including Trevor, remark or try to grab the snowflakes. I didn't see it as Trevor had lost his glasses through his chair and was using mine. Then, at the end of the 2nd movie, they had the "bloopers" reel, and Trevor enjoyed that as well. He hasn't seen the 2nd movie for a good while, so his sense of humor has grown so much that he thinks the physical humor is pretty funny.

We all (with the exception of Russ) have caught a little cold. It's amazing how horrible you can feel not just because of a cold but a cold with the fact that it is near the freezing mark. I REALLY don't want to have to start wearing my sweatshirts because I know it's going to be a LONG 6 months of wearing them.

Gwen has been talking up a storm to whomever will listen to her. I had her answer the phone when Russ called one night, and even he was surprised at how much she really had a conversation with him. I'm guessing that she doesn't quite understand what she is talking about, but she sure makes it sound like she does. "Hi Dadda. How are you doing today? I'm fine. I'm watching Sid the Science Kid. He's talking about sneezing. I went to go play today. I got stamps....see???" Unfortunately, she doesn't let me near her when she has the phone because she thinks I'm going to take it away from her so I often can't hear what she is saying. Mostly though, if the person on the other end says good-bye, or can I talk to mom, she will politely give me the phone....and then expect to talk to them again in 2 minutes or sooner.

I got Gwen's 2 year pictures done. Trevor's Kindergarten pictures came home from school this week. Holy cow do I have old kids. They both look so OLD. Trevor like he's at least 10, and Gwen looks like she is the Kindergartner. I have to scan in Trevor's picture, but Gwen's are up on facebook. She did really well. I highly recommend that if you go to JCP, to go before they open. Now they have a way to book your own appt online. I also picked a time where no one was before me or after me. It was so much less stressful. We were in and out in under 30 minutes. And I love the picture I got.

Next week Trevor only has school for two days. We are hoping to fill the week with a pumpkin patch, and a playdate. We'll see what next week brings!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

My Baby girl is 2

Another year has passed. We've come a long way since being a family of just 3, 2 years ago. I have learned a lot from my little girl in these two years. How different a boy and girl can be....of course second child syndrome kicks in pretty bad, although I have tried to be as equal as I can. But when you have an older brother to keep up with, there is bound to be a lot more toys to play with than when Trevor was around at her age now.

She loves playing with her dolls in the dollhouses, and for a while I thought she was going to be a car person, just like Trevor since that is what she always saw him playing with, the way that she plays with cars, is to treat them like they are dolls. She puts the cars in the dollhouses, makes them ring the doorbell, and talk to each other as if they are people.

She loves playing in the kitchen, to make coffee for anyone, and to put things in the microwave. She loves to look at photos in the photo album. She loves to read books. She has taken to figuring out the leapster that Trevor has owned for the past almost 3 years...I think. Or maybe we got it for him when he was 2. But after watching Trevor play it, she has figured out where she wants to go on each of the games. And Trevor has moved on to playing our old Game Boy system (or purple leapster as he calls it).

Yes, it has been my influence, but she also loves princess things. Dolls included. She doesn't sit through any movies, but likes to watch the first few minutes of most of them. I did venture out and get her the first Tinkerbell movie, which is like an hour and 15 minutes, so if she can hold her attention, maybe she'll enjoy that one.

I remember Trevor's stage of loving shoes, however I wasn't able to nurture that love as I have with Gwen. Finally she has some play shoes of her own.

She can clearly communicate her wants, which is very helpful to me, however frustrating for her if she can't have her way.

Thanks to our wonderful families, we had a wonderful birthday celebration for her today. We had been talking to her about it, and due to our other family's birthdays, she knew somewhat what was going to happen. And I remembered from when Trevor was her age that I needed to speed through the gift opening so that she could get on to the playing of the toys. We have such kind and caring family that it is impossible to think of anything that she is going to ask Santa for come another 12 weeks! Even the things we got her, I was unsure if she'd like them, but she dove right in. I have seen little girls running around with tu-tus on, and I figured Gwen would enjoy it too. As soon as she figured out how easy they were to put on, she was showing everyone her cute dress. However, posing for pictures was not something she did willingly.

By far, the biggest hit of the night was a birthday card. It wasn't even close. She opened and listened to the recorded message from Bubba and Papa followed by the princess song again and again and again and again. Thankfully we captured it on video. I will post it soon. It is the cutest darn thing. And I know Trevor would enjoy one too, even now, but for some reason....she just loved it. We pretty much had to trick her into giving it up.

It was a wonderful birthday. Both our kids are so lucky to be so close to all our extended family. Spoiled too, a little, but so very very lucky. Thank you to my mom and dad (aka Bubba and Papa), my brother (aka uncle 'Bacca), my other brother and sister-in-law (aka Uncle Tinkerbell and Kelsey), Vicky (Grandma), Jerry (Grandpa), Derek, Kyrsten, (uncle) Jason, Teresa, Tracy, and Amy. Our family loves you guys and I can't say Thank you enough. THANK YOU! Let's do it again in 8 weeks! ;-)

Friday, October 2, 2009

A mom volunteer

So this was the first week of Kindergarten where they asked for parent volunteers. It is a weekly thing called Friday Stations. I'm not sure if it is always the same thing, but I'm guessing a lot of it revolves around arts and crafts. So I took part, and their weekly topic this week was "apples". I helped out on two tables. Mostly I was in charge of the table that got to make 4 step pictures of how a seed turns into an apple. Then at another station, I helped the kids put cutouts of apples on a picture of themselves as if they were balancing them. Then they had to "count" the apples by drawing numbers from 1 to 10.

Another thing Trevor and I did outside of school is their weekly homework. Russ did his weekly homework with Trevor last week, but I knew this weekend was going to be crazy full of stuff which wouldn't leave a lot of time to do his homework.

So both at school and at home, I noticed something that I don't think I have before. Trevor is VERY careful when it comes to drawing things with a crayon, specifically working on drawing people. When I came into class this morning, he was finishing up the last page in one of his books that he brings home and puts into his book box. He was drawing himself with crayons. Most of the rest of the class had finished, but he was still working on his. Then when I was finished up with the stations, he was still working on his last station, which involved coloring a picture of himself at school. Then at home, for his homework, he had to draw a picture of things that started with the letter M. He choose a mummy and Mario. Both of which resemble humans. So it took him a while. But I didn't pressure him, and neither did the teacher at school. I think it's a good trait he picked up from Russ's side. I am always quick to finish my work. I hate dwelling on things because then I start to second guess myself, and will always talk myself out of the right way of doing things for me.

Anyway, just something interesting I have now learned. Not sure if it will stay with him or not. He does have a tendency to race and want to be the first done, so if there is something that sends him in that direction, hopefully it won't distract him from simply doing his best and continuing to do well.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

In some way's she's my girl

So when it came to choosing between vehicles or action figures, Trevor has always been a vehicle guy. He has never really been as interested in stuffed animals or action figures like Kevin and Brian were. With girls it is the same way. I liked dolls....Barbies and stuffed animals. Gwen is becoming more and more like that. There were many pictures of all of us kids playing inside suitcases with our stuffed animals. We loved to get squished inside them with all the soft toys. Trevor has a few stuffed animals, but he hasn't ever really done the "pile as many into your bed" as possible. The closest he has come was playing "washing machine" where he swirls blankets and pillows around in an effort to recreate what it would be like in a washing machine.

Gwen on the other hand, has now created a crib full of dolls and stuffed things. The more the better. She then takes about 5 books to sleep with her as well to read to these animals. It is pretty cute, but I look at her crib and don't know how she can even find room for herself. Plus with her birthday coming up, something tells me she is going to get even more dolls and such to put in her crib.

Yesterday, Gwen and I went to Edina's indoor play park where they also have a swimming pool. Gwen was a little confused that we weren't going swimming at the lake, but at least she was excited to go. I remember bringing Trevor to the same thing but the results were completely different. Gwen loved to use a dumbbell floatie to just hold on and float while I held her back or stomach up. Trevor would have wanted to kick, jump, climb, you just knew he was full of energy he wanted to get out. Gwen just loved to relax, look at bubbles that formed in the water.....oh well. I'm glad she had a great time.

Meanwhile, Trevor went to his first "memorable" movie to see, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." He really enjoyed it, from what I could tell. He knows the book well, so he was able to tell me all the parts where it was different from the book. I'm pretty sure we'll be back to see the Toy Story series in 3D. Probably not next weekend but soon.

It was a good time for both kids....I always feel like a good parent when I can make sure both kids are having a good time. Oh and as far as Trevor and Kindergarten, I'm pretty sure he's doing great. No news is good news, and he has always said that he is getting good comments from the teacher. Granted, for some reason this has led to a much worse listening time at home. But I'd rather have to deal with it than the teacher.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

I'm a PTA mom!

So this week, I attended Trevor's school's PTA meeting. I have to say it felt a little strange. My mom attended the elementary PTA meetings, although I'm not sure how many she attended in Jr. High and beyond. I felt almost like "I belong more with the kids than I do with the mom's." Simply because I knew a few of the moms from morning drop off. Yes, they did sit around each other, and talk to each other. But I was ok with that. It was the first meeting of the year, and the group was happy to see so many Kindergarten parents there.

Counting the group, I'd have to say there were about 30 or so parents. I figured there would be more, but I had no idea either. A lot of the parents had kids in the 4-5th grade, but also another one going to Kindergarten next year, or one in 1st grade too, so they would be there for a while.

It seems like a very efficient group, in that they only have meetings every other month, they have binders for any committee chair, and that they are very open to any suggestions, but I'm guessing there isn't much to have to improve upon. The principal of the school was there and talked for a lot of the meeting, but that is his style. He shares a lot of information and takes a lot of information back to his groups that he is involved in. It is very obvious he loves his job. However, one thing his is, is not short-winded. Trevor really likes him, and tries to say hi to him anytime he sees him. I think if they both had the floor to speak, it would be interesting to hear what was said.

Anyway, I want to sit this year out, as far as being any big volunteer of any committee, but perhaps sometime in the future I can do something more. Maybe Treasurer? That sure would be fun. I am looking forward to trying to shift my own way of thinking. I CAN be a member of PTA....not my mom. And bring on the activities! I feel organized enough to be able to handle it!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Oh Poo

Disclaimer for those that are not parents, or have a weak stomach. This might not be for you. The week has started off great. It has been interesting already. No issues what so ever with Trevor. A little treat for Gwen before bedtime is that she gets to wear "Dora diapers". It is a pull-up style diaper instead of the traditional tape style diaper. And she has more often than not kept it dry the entire night. So in the morning, I let her wear the Dora diaper until she needs it changed. It might just be possible that she's going to be out of diapers overnight before Trevor is. But that's not something that we'll be talking to him about.

Anyway, Monday is our grocery day. So instead of walking to school, I bring the kids in the car so I can head over to the grocery store after drop-off. When the kids were getting in the car, I saw that the cat got into the garage. So I was looking for her when I opened the garage door and before I backed the car out. As a side note, I thought that Gwen needed a diaper change, but knew we didn't have the time to do it before school. As I got into the car, the kids let me know that the cat decided to come with us to school.

I dropped Trevor off, making sure the cat didn't escape, and we headed to the grocery store. When I took Gwen out of her car seat, I discovered she had gotten into her diaper and got poop on her shirt and pants. Probably wondered what it was and then wiped it off on her shirt and pants. So we washed her and my hands and I got her back into the car-cart and started the shopping. She got her usual cookie as we checked out, and when I was packing the groceries, I noticed she had poop coming out of the back of her diaper, all along her back, pants, shirt and car-cart. The only thing I could do was unpack the groceries, try as best as I could to wipe her down, as well as the cart, and get her home for a bath. All the while still making sure the cat didn't escape outside. We made it home, cat inside, Gwen bathed, and finally I was able to unload the groceries. Unfortunately, I still have to take apart the car seat and wash everything with that. But first we have to go pick up Trevor. And there is a slight chance of rain, so I can't do the walking thing again.

So what a start to the week. I suppose it would have made things a little easier if I had a change of clothes with me, but that should teach me to leave her night-time diaper on longer than an hour. It won't be long before she'll be doing the potty training thing. But hopefully I learned my lesson.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

School is back in session

And with it all our activities that run during the school year. It's a big change for Trevor to go to school every day. But this week, he improved every day. The teacher didn't have to talk to me after class, which was a big win, and yet Trevor has the ability to tell us if something happened during school where he was asked to do it appropriately next time.

According to him, after Monday, he didn't get in trouble at all. But we were introduced to all the wonderful papers that get sent home with your child now that they are in school. There was sports and cub scouts registration. There was school projects and homework to do. And now, we even have a PTA fundraiser for Trevor to bring back to school in two weeks. I think I might send out an email to people just in case they want to purchase things. It seems it is time to start swapping kids fundraiser items!

We have also been trying to have a little fun on the side with the whole family. My friend Heather introduced me to Pandora which I play on the kid's computer. It's a radio-like program where you pick the songs you like and dislike and as you rate them, it suggests other songs until you have a regular playlist. Another new activity is Disney DVD Bingo. While Trevor has played the game a few times before, Gwen now really enjoys identifying all the characters during the number calling. I'm excited for her birthday in a few weeks so that I can get a few more Disney characters for her. She has really taken a liking to Tinkerbell in addition to all the Princesses.

On the school front for me...this week was my first week of classes. Of course, one of my sessions was dropped due to lack of enrollment, so I had to switch into a different class, after they had had their weekly lecture. It isn't too big of a deal, but I had to play a little catch-up, and as long as I don't get behind I'll be good. Nothing like trial by fire for your first session!

So we are still waiting for our Sunday School to start in a few weeks. After that, our activities will be in full swing. Not to mention our birthday/holiday celebrations. Here we goooo!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

That girl Gwen

She cracks me up. While I wouldn't describe her as completely outgoing like Trevor, if she is in a safe place with me, she loves to talk to people we see. If she's in the grocery store, if we are going for a walk, she will unprompted say, "Good Morning!" And then I get the oh my gosh look.

She loves to sing and dance. Or to watch dancing with music. Especially to clap for the performers after they are done. She likes to play with the dollhouse, zoo animals, carry around her dolls, play Mr. Potato Head, and now will try to do anything that Trevor does. She also loves to color. As a result, she knows all of her colors.

Thankfully, she is finally off of the usual two choices for lunch. I think if she had to choose a favorite, she likes what are called "Dinosaur Chicken". They are breaded chicken in the shape of dinosaurs. But she has a little trouble saying it the correct way....so she says, "Dinosaur Kitchen".

It's hard to believe that she's going to be two in three weeks. Some days it seems like she is 2 going on 10. I have a feeling she's going to give me a run for my money in different ways than Trevor has.

Trevor's first week at school

I wish I could say it was awesome. I wish I could say that he didn't have any issues, and that he is so confident and makes friends with everyone.

But if I'm honest, he's had a few issues. Nothing that I'm worried about, or reason for concern. His first day with me was fine. He was checking out the lay of the land, and maybe since I was there, he was well behaved. On a regular day, he has been having more issues than usual listening and behaving. He has his usual fights with Gwen and simply chooses not to listen to me if I ask him to do something.

So on Wednesday, part of it was misinformation that I gave Trevor about picking him up from school. But another part was Trevor deciding he knew better than the teacher what was going on and what he was supposed to do. He ran out of the room near the end of class saying that he was "done". After a lot of convincing by the teacher, he came back to walk with the kids up to the front of school, only to take off again to try to run out to the car.

I talked with both him and his teacher. To his teacher, I explained that he is going through an, "I'm bigger and better than everyone phase, and I know better than everyone as well." Also, that I would talk about the rules that they are teaching, and use some of the same ones. Specifically, be safe.

So on Thursday, I got a report that he had a wonderful day. He even told me how he helped one of the kids do an activity that they were doing. They were doing a fun "find the gingerbread man" game that introduced the kids to the school and the different people that work there.

Then on Friday, he had another issue. This time, he tried to explain his way out of standing up for the Pledge. And then, he wouldn't listen to his teacher, he started yelling at her. So now we are talking about "being respectful". When I picked him up from school, he was pretty upset because he thought I was going to be angry with him. But his teacher and I reassured him that it was only his 3rd day of Kindergarten. I said that that is why he goes to school. To learn how to act and to learn lots of new things.

After we got back home, Trevor was asking me about when he could see his old preschool teacher again. I think a lot of this transition is harder for Trevor than I thought it would be. He has a very small class, and not very many boys in his class. He knows one girl from preschool, but they didn't play much together in preschool. So for the most part, it's almost like we moved and he has had to change schools, and make all new friends. I'm not concerned, but I wish it were different. What mom wouldn't wish that her kid has a perfect time adjusting and is a little angel at school?

On a different note, Trevor was eating an apple for a snack and made one of his lower teeth pretty loose. Now, that is all he does...wiggle that tooth.

So now we just have to work on being as consistent as we can and wait out this development.....ah the joys of having a school kid.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

We did it!

The first day of Kindergarten is under our belts. Trevor again did wonderfully. The teacher talked to them, and asked them to walk to the door to go make a book box, and Trevor knew since he was being watched, he better do the thing requested of him.

It looks like his class size will only be around 12 or 13 kids. But that we got the big scoop from the teacher. Lots of expectations, and ideas, and directions for the parents that she'll be explaining to the kids today.

The only thing that was a little crazy today, was that Gwen had her first day of class and it was for longer than Trevor had his school. Trevor seemed a little unhappy about that, but like I told him, it was just this one day.

He's going to have homework, every day, it will be our responsibility to take out his 3-ring binder and check off any notes for the day, the class website will be a place to check out other things that are going on, and also be able to write a note to the teacher as well.

I might even have it worked out so I can swap going to class with another mom that has her kid in the PM Kindergarten class. This month is just getting up to speed in the class, so the teacher said they are going to be playing on the playground every day instead of starting the hard and fast schedule that they will get to in October.

I'll be interested to see how Trevor likes his first week. It should be fun for him. Glad to have survived the first day of school!

Monday, September 7, 2009

104 days of summer vacation

Have finally come to a close. Now I honestly don't know if it has been 104 days or longer, but Trevor discovered a Disney Channel show called Phineas and Ferb that he really likes. Their theme song starts off by saying, "104 days of summer vacation....." something about and then school comes along to end it. So we are on our last hours of having two kids at home before sending one off to his school experiences.

This weekend we were at the lake again. The weather was really nice, although the lake water temperature was not cooperative. I'm pretty sure I got some nice Vitamin D, and could have used more sleep, but it is always nice to spend the time with family.

Today Russ and I got to play golf with some members we know but haven't had the chance to play with before. From going to Twins games, to the State Fair, lake trips, t-ball, Children's Museum, family dinners, sleepovers, trips to various parks, playing with friends, roller skating, it was a very good summer. If only the weather would have been warmer. I was going to try to take the kids to the free waterpark in the area. But it never hit that really hot temperature that I was hoping for.

So a new adventure begins. Trevor asked me yesterday when he gets to see his preschool teacher again. I told him when Gwen goes to preschool there. It seems that he isn't too sure that he wants Gwen to have the same teacher that he did. Although by the time it happens he might have a different thought in mind.

We went to the back to school rally on Thursday and met his new teacher. He unpacked his school supplies and put them where they belonged. He met two boys that he shared SO nicely with. Although neither of them are in his class. It is as though he knew he had to turn on the charm and be on his best behavior in order to make a good first impression.

His first real day of school is Wednesday, as tomorrow I go with him to class. I wonder if he even wants me to come. I think he's really looking forward to being more independent with kids that are older than he is. He is no question ready for it. And so ends the summer vacation....next chapter to start soon.....

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Week one of two

We have two weeks until school starts, well...now we are down to one. But last week I spent trying to find things to do for the kids to keep Trevor occupied. It went ok, but he really is needing to get back into the swing of school. We have different things to do at the house, games, books, and toys but the toys are getting stale, and with the weather being nice, there are only a few days left before it's going to be too chilly to be outside too. I can already smell fall in the air.

So the kids and I and Brian all went to the Children's Museum on Thursday. At least that got some energy out. Saturday night Trevor and I went to the Twins game. The seats were great, 3 rows behind the Twin's dugout so there were plenty of balls that were thrown into the stands near us. Unfortunately we were unable to get any of them. I kept thinking that I would have to remember these seats, but then I figured it was going to be the last time we were watching a game in the metrodome. Therefore, we had to stay until the end of the game to be "blown out" the doors when they opened them at the end of the game. I remember loving that as a kid too.

I guess the chance that we will be back isn't zero due to the fact that the vikings play there too, but watching a football game isn't the same thing as a baseball game. Not nearly as fun. In my opinion. So with a fond farewell, I say goodbye to the baseball watching times at the metrodome. I can't wait to see what it's like at the outdoor stadium.

Then our other big activity was yesterday when we all went out to the state fair. While the drive and parking part of the day was the hardest for everyone, I think everyone had a great time while we were there. We saw all the animals, we rode on the skyway, rode down the big slide, twice for the kiddos, ate mini doughnuts, cheese curds, corndogs hotdogs, fries, jalepeno poppers, and a bucket of sweet martha's cookies. Then Trevor got to bounce on the big trampoline thing. Pictures will be up in a few days. I have had to reformat my computer, so I haven't reinstalled the camera software yet.

Only a few more days of summer vacation, and then it'll be time to start the school stuff. It is hard to think that I have a school-aged kid in the house. Then I open my eyes and look at him and know he's ready. And VERY willing. I know his preschool thoughts were short lived once he started telling people he was going to be going to kindergarten. I think he really feels grown up.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

The game of Monopoly

We have a few things going for us with this game. Trevor likes to play games....what kid doesn't?.....and has seen mom play some games on pogo's site including Monopoly. We have the game for Wii as well. In addition to a Twin Cities version of the game (in "real life") we also have the Nintendo version. This is Trevor's favorite. And now that I've given him two dice to play the game with, he is doing really well understanding the game. I'm not playing with him yet, because a big part of playing the game is his imagination to come up with how to play the game. But slowly I've been teaching him how the game works. I LOVE how fast he is becoming familiar with the addition of the two dice. He started out having to count everything out, but now, he recognizes a good portion of the rolls and knows what the sum is almost immediately. So if anyone needs a fun thing for kids to learn their addition, I do recommend playing a game with two dice.

Most recently, he has been using the property cards, which in this case are characters from the most popular Nintendo games. He matches the cards up to where they are on the board, and is starting to talk about buying them. Hopefully soon we'll be actually able to play the game. I did look on the box, and it is recommended for ages 8 and up. I thought it was 10, but we still have some time.

Of course Gwen would love to be playing whatever we are playing, but she is ok with coloring and coloring and coloring. I've finally gotten out her new 16 color box of crayons, and upgrade from her 8 box that was pretty worn down. She was in heaven. All the new colors, including PINK that she never had before, and how new the crayons are.....she loves to color. Maybe she'll have a career in the arts.

Trevor got a little cold this week, but it was gone pretty quick. Now Gwen has it, and she isn't really having a good time with it. She is much more irritable. But I guess it is our turn. We haven't been sick much at all this year. She should be better soon. Right now, she was up this morning, but asked me to shut the door and seems to have gone back down for another rest.

As a side note, I shot my best round of the year at league on Tuesday. A 46 with 4 pars, two of which should have been birdies. Too bad I couldn't post that on Sunday, maybe we could have earned more money than we did.

So this week is the last week of summer. So far we just have a trip to the fair this week, and then heading to the cabin for the weekend. Tonight is Trevor's Twins game with me. It's our first date night.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Woo Hoo, we got a trophy

Well this weekend was the Couples championship at our golf course. The first year we played in it, we won. Last year we came in 3rd or 4th place. And this year we won again. Unfortunately, I wasn't the one that carried the team. I haven't been playing well this year at all. Except for a random day here or there. Oh well.

So we got our trophy for our win and were able to show Trevor, which I think was something that he was happy about. But he was pretty confused by how if we both won, how we both didn't each win a trophy.

Thanks to Grandma, Tracy, Derek, Teresa, Amy, Kyrsten, Jason, and the pets for helping with the kids while we were at the event. It was a beautiful day to be out golfing as well which also made for a great time. Now we have our relaxing week to get back into the swing of things....And we get a few more days of summer.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The summer programs have ended

Although this week wasn't very good weather-wise, the week completed with a camp called "Twister Moves" after the video game that makes you dance in order to get points. I guess they also played Dance Dance Revolution, which Trevor is familiar with due to us owning it for the Wii. They also played a lot of other activities, and Trevor seemed to do well and have a good time. He rode the bus for the last time this week and gave the bus driver a card that he had made, thanking her for driving him this summer.

I really think that even though he did pretty much the same thing as last summer, he really has learned a lot, even if it was socially, this summer. I'm glad he had the experiences he did on the bus, and I can tell the fact that he isn't the biggest is finally starting to become realized. We had our not-so-good days, but we had some pretty great days too. The understanding that sometimes I need to take care of Gwen when she is out of sorts doesn't seem to spur as much jealousy as it once did. The fact that she wants to do things just like he does is what really gets to him now.

There are a few things left on the to-do list before school starts in a few weeks. But it all does include a lot of time with Gwen, so hopefully he'll be ok with it. We have the Children's Museum, the Zoo, the Library, the State Fair, and perhaps an indoor park or two.

So there went the summer. I've felt the end near, so a lot of organizing and setting things up for school has happened. A big Thanks to Russ for re-doing our mud room closet. Now the kids can hang their things up without needing someone to reach the hanger for their coats. And my computer was having issues, and the computer geek resolved that one as well. What would we do without him? Love you sweetie!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

A few noteable things

From the past week, there have been a few things going on. Some will remain unmentioned, but you know what you are. Trevor finished his week of Sports Camp and without even asking, he told me he had "so much fun" during that week. He played soccer, t-ball, "team ball" (taking a volleyball, throwing it to a teammate where that person could only take 3 steps before throwing it to another teammate, and trying to shoot a goal), street hockey, and parents vs. kids kickball. It was the hottest week and Trevor was sweating every day after class. We left on Friday after class to head to the lake for the weekend.

Gwen was much more ready to head into the water this time and of course didn't want to get out, even if she was exhausted and hungry. Although usually, once she understood that everyone else was getting out, she partially complied.

The weekend flew by, and the kids are now trying to play catch-up with their sleep.

I am now registered for 2 accounting classes on my way to getting an accounting degree through an online university. My academic advisor tried to tell me that registering for two accounting classes isn't something that he recommends because it is a lot of accounting to dive into, and unless you really like accounting, you might get sick of it. As kindly as I could, told him that uh DUH....I HEART accounting. If I didn't love it, why would I be majoring in it? It reminds me way back when, when my academic advisor told me that she advised against registering for 4 classes my first term because she wanted me to have a social life. When I came back and was graduating in 3 years, she said she remembered our conversation and was sorry for doubting me.

So my classes start the week of September 14th. I'm very much looking forward to it. Rick Moranis, you are my idol. ;-)