Fun And Exhausting Day

We visited the state fair today. The day started out a little dreary and we got caught in a few sprinkles. By the end of the day we were all hot and tired. The sun came out in full force around lunch. We visited the horse and cattle barns, Hannah and Elias tried milking a cow. All three kids got to pet a calf, cows and horses. One horse, Snickers, really loved the attention we, rather I, gave him, he seemed to like looking at the children as well. We left the horse barn and I reminded Maya that now that she is a Junior Girl Scout we could arrange to do a horse badge sometime. She wasn't quite as enthusiastic about it as I was. We stopped for ice cream and shakes before leaving the animal barns. We never made it into the pig barn but we did get to see some piglets and lambs in the Miracle Of Birth center, We didn't witness any animals giving birth ( I think it would have freaked out the kids anyway) but we saw a number of baby animals that were anywhere from a few hours to a few days old.

We ate a lot of food, went on rides (including the Giant Slide) and did a lot of walking. We came home exhausted. Then it was right back out the door for back-to-school night. We met the new teachers, visited the old teachers, and dropped off all the school supplies. The real first day of school is next week. Maya will be in 4th grade. She has a new teacher this year. She got a kick out of walking around and figuring out who would be in her class that she knows. Elias will be in 1st grade. He is in the same classroom as last year but his primary teacher has changed. He has a male teacher this year, something I am very glad about. There were a number of children (mostly girls) who shouted their hellos to Elias in the hall. He just beamed. All the teachers seemed to be happy to have the school full of kids again. Almost all the teachers asked how long it would be before Hannah would be going to the school. It feel so wonderful having a school where you feel like you fit in and my kids are comfortable there.

Camping

This past week we enjoyed our fist camping trip as a family. Though I grew up going camping, I have never ventured out on a true camping trip in the years since Maya was born, until now. We had great weather and everyone got to try at least one new thing.

Our first day was packed full of adventure. We rented a pontoon boat and tootled around Lake Itasca. This was Hannah and Elias' first boat ride and Maya's first time driving a boat. All three also got to see loons for the first time. We came upon a loon family. It looked as if the parents were teaching the baby to dive. We even saw one loon with a fish in its bill. Later we headed out to the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The kids and dog loved being in the water. We even walked down the middle of The Mississippi River for about a quarter mile. The water was anywhere from 6inches to 2.5 feet deep. One point the water was too deep for the dog, she started jumping from side to side of the river then eventually realized that she knew how to swim. By the time we made it back to the car we were all wet so we decided to go to the swimming beach.

That evening we built a fire to cook hot dogs and s'mores. Everyone slept well that night. The rest of our trip involved exploring the park and a visit to the headwaters again. I learned quite a bit about the history of Itasca State Park (the kids weren't too interested). We all got used to eating outside and sleeping in a tent. Hannah practiced looking for cars in the street every time she headed to the bathroom.

Maya helped with a lot of the initial planning of the trip including meal planning, packing lists and budget planning. In addition she helped a lot with the cooking, cleaning up and keeping track of her siblings. The two of us spent the evenings out in the dark listening to the sounds of the night and star gazing while Elias and Hannah slept. For all her hard work she earned her first Junior Girl Scout badge.

We all had fun on our trip. Each child will willingly tell you their favorite parts of the trip. We returned home tired, dirty but happy. I'm looking forward to our next camping trip.

There's a bug on your head!

Is there a bug on her head?

Our summer has been busy! Two nights a week of baseball, two nights a week of track, one night of tennis. Maya and Elias are still in school until the end of this month, Hannah is at daycare daily. Mixed in we have had family visit from out of town, Maya went out of town to visit my sister, brother in law, niece and nephew and I have tried to do some fun summer activities with the kids.

Now that tennis and baseball are finished we have a little more time to spend together. Yesterday afternoon I had plans to pick up the Hannah from daycare after Elias and Maya got home and then we would go to Target to get the last of the school supplies (for next school year), a couple of grocery items and then pick out fun stuff to make for a raffle basket for the upcoming all school picnic. Those plans were squashed as we left daycare.

We headed out to the car after daycare, Maya started opening the sliding door and Hannah, behind her, kept walking forward directly into the car door! Hannah fell backwards on to her rear end, threw her hands to her forehead and began to cry. I went to help her up and found that her forehead was bleeding. I picked her up, grabbed open my door and found a clean, absorbent paper towel to hod to her head. The bleeding didn't stop for quite awhile, Hannah continued to cry and Maya began crying as well blaming herself for the injury. I got Hannah calmed down and inspected her wound - definitely needed stitches. The bleeding was just a tiny trickle so I got her in her car seat and instructed her to keep holding the paper towel to her head. Maya was still upset but got into the car buckled up. I pulled out my cell phone, called the pediatrician and got the car headed south. The pediatrician's office was hesitant about doing stitches on a 3 year old so I kept heading south to work, Children's Hospital. After a quick visit from the resident we sat and waited for the topical numbing medicine to take effect (45 minutes). We had some visitors, Sam and the child life specialist, Amy and we started to watch Ice Age. The child life specialist was great, she brought in a suture kit, minus the needle, and let Hannah, Elias and Maya explore it, trying out the different parts. When it came time for the suturing Hannah did wonderfully. Having the chance to see and touch the instruments being used beforehand was perfect preparation, she wasn't scared and didn't complain or cry. Suzanne did a great job suturing, only 4 little stitches. Once it was all done all three kids got a popsicle and stickers and Hannah picked out a stuffed cow to bring home. We were in and out in about 1.5 hours.

So our first visit to the ER (for any of my kids) went smoothly. I am somewhat surprised that Hannah is the first one to need stitches, she doesn't play nearly as hard as Elias. Though they were all impressed with having to go to the ER Maya was a little more awestruck than the other two about being able to see where I work. She claims that she doesn't like blood and such, but she handled watching Hannah being stitched up without cringing or getting nauseous. Maybe there is a future in medical care for her.
Elias told Hannah last night that it looked like she has a bug on her head. Indeed it does. Hannah still doesn't quite understand all that has happened. This morning she pulled the bandaid off, looked in the mirror and complained, "Mom this is still here". Yes and it will be for another 5 days!

My Son, Elias

Elias is playing baseball this year. He is quite athletically talented and catches on quickly to anything new. Last summer he had the chance to hit a few wiffle balls with a plastic bat as well as practice throwing a plastic ball. I signed him up for little league figuring he would love it. I gave him a baseball glove and ball for his birthday but we never had a chance for him to practice catching with the glove before the first little league practice due to the ugly weather we have had this spring. On the day of the first practice I realized that not only had he never held a metal bat, never threw a baseball nor caught one in a glove, but he really didn't know any of the rules of the game, like which order you run the bases or what a strike or an out is. Everything was new to him. That first practice when it was his turn to bat he needed help on positioning himself next to home plate. Then with each swing of the bat he took a step forward with his left foot but never repositioned his legs before the next pitch. Pretty soon he was standing with his feet as far apart as they could be. The bat seemed heavy in his arms and he was swinging it like an axe, not following through with his body but rather stopping just after it crossed home plate. He practiced with a smile on his face and claimed he was excited for their next practice and game.
Later that week I told him that my brother or my dad could help him practice his swinging, catching and throwing over the weekend because he wasn't quite "getting it". He began to cry, put his head down on the table and exclaimed "You don't think I'm good at baseball!" I reminded him that he had never played baseball before and I didn't expect him to be good at it the first time he tried and I told him that even those baseball players that we watch on TV didn't know how to play baseball until they started practicing when they were younger. He perked up a little but was still upset that he wasn't perfect.
Elias had a game on Wednesday this week. He has been practicing and playing baseball for about a month now. I noticed that he does a great job getting his right elbow up and out, holding the bat correctly. He has a great swing and gets a hit every time he is up to bat. His throwing arm is amazing and he does pretty well catching as well. As we were walking to the car after game the grandma of another player asked if Elias had been playing baseball since he could walk, she thought he was a great player and looked as if he had been playing a long time. I told her that he had never even held a glove or metal bat until a month ago and didn't even know what baseball was a year ago. She was shocked and stated that he must be really talented to have picked it up so quickly. I just smiled and nodded.
I am excited that my son is talented in athletics. I'm more excited though that he is a nice kid and cheers on his teammates when he is not playing. He knows every boy on his team and cheers when they get a hit and shouts words of encouragement when they don't. He will go further in life as a team player who is nice to everyone than on talent alone. That is my son, Elias.

Two months of updates

I knew I hadn't updated in a while but I hadn't realized that it had been two months! So here's the news: At the end of Feb. I was in a car accident. All 3 kids were in the car, no one was hut thankfully, but my car did take a beating on the front passenger door. It took more than a month for the insurance to figure out what they were doing and finally assigned liability to the other driver ( he hit me on the right as I was turning right!?). So I brought my car in to get fixed in early April. The next day the insurance called to say they were totaling my car, they would pay fair market value for it and pay for the rental car for 5 more days. So I scrambled and looked up fair market value of my car. I then had to negotiate with the insurance to pay me a better price than their first offer. I then searched the Internet for used cars that I could afford. Finally, on the fourth day my Dad and I found the perfect car in my price range - a Mazda minivan! Just in time for the hike in gas prices I purchased a gas guzzler. However, the kids can spread out and we can transport extra people if needed and it is a really comfortable ride if I ever decide to take a long trip.

Early May brought us Maya's birthday. We had a fun filled day on her actual birthday. First we drove an hour out of town to meet a dog that we did end of adopting and bringing home. (It sure was nice to have the mini van to make the longish drive with 4 kids and then later a dog.) Her name is Minnie, a 2 year old black lab/border collie/something else (Whippet?) mutt. She loves people, she'll follow us around the house until we sit, then collapse in a heap on the floor near our feet, content to sty near us until we move again. Even the cat decided (after a week) that the dog was okay to have around.
The rest of Maya's birthday was spent with a family birthday party at my parent's house and then Maya had a friend sleep over for the night. I was exhausted at the end of that weekend.
We discovered that this year that our ages are all multiples of three. Hannah is 3 years, Elias is 6 years, Maya is now 9 years old and I am ... also a multiple of three this year. How funny!

Elias started baseball a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't been able to get outside to help him practice catching with a glove before the first practice due to the wet weather we have been having. So he showed up at the first practice having never caught with a glove nor ever having picked up a metal bat. He is so quick in learning and is so coordinated that by his second game (only a week after the first practice) he was able to hit the ball on his fist pitch ( a nice hit to right field). He still doesn't quite understand what a play is and how to get someone "out" but by the end of the season I'm sure he'll play like an old pro.

I'll try and post more updates and share some silly stories soon.

Bossy, Bossy!

Lately Hannah has become increasingly bossy. I think she thinks of herself as a little mama. One night Elias came downstairs to use the bathroom after I had already said goodnight to him. I reminded him that he is not supposed to get out of bed and that using the toilet is part of his getting ready for bed jobs. After I left him to do his business Hannah climbed out of bed, walked into the bathroom and yelled at Elias for getting out of bed. Never mind that she just gout out of bed to tell him this, never mind that she is 3 years younger than him, she had to be the boss and put him in his place. Of course, I had to step in and point out that she wasn't supposed to be out of bed and that what Elias does is none of her business, but it was really hard to do without cracking up.
This past weekend we got some snow. Maya and Elias headed out to shovel the driveway. Hannah took her time getting ready to go out and when she was finally ready she stood at the door crying because "There is no shovel for me." I told her she could go out anyway and just play in the snow. "OK" she says then proceeds to open the door and yell "Elias, Mom said you share shovel with me." She repeated this about 3 times, until Elias finally came in to ask me if he needed to share with Hannah. I told him that he could take turns with her. After they both proceeded outside I sat in utter shock at how "Hannah the Little One" had completely taken the situation into her control so that the outcome was in her favor. I guess I'll need to watch her a little closer in the future and discipline for deception. Who thought I'd need to do that with a 3 year-old?

Happy Belated Birthday Elias!

Elias' birthday was last Monday. We did celebrate on his birthday but I didn't have time to get pictures up. Elias brought treats to school to share with his class on his b-day - Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls -YUM! We had pizza for dinner, then we went to my parents for cake and presents. Elias loved all his presents - play dough, legos, pajamas, dinosaurs, and a basketball.
Elias is still a joker. Just look at his face in the picture with his pile of unopened presents for proof. He continues to be happy most of the time. I'm told he still smiles all day long at school. He loves to play outside, run, sing, play legos, play with his sisters, anything sports, tell jokes, laugh at all jokes and read. He is doing great in school, starting to sound out simple words and do simple math problems. He desperately wants to be able to read as well as Maya.
Last week Maya and Elias started a new session of swimming lessons. They both love being in the water. Hannah went to the doctor for her 3 year check-up. She is now in the 10% for height and weight. When she came home in July she was only in the 3% for both. She's grown out of a lot of clothes and shoes this winter. I measured all the kids on the wall last week and then have all grown 1.5-3 inches since last fall. Elias goes in for his check up next week. I can't wait to see what his numbers look like.
The kids got the opportunity to go out on a frozen river last weekend. We saw a lot of people ice fishing,dogs, snowmobiles, and cars out on the river as well. I think it was the first time for all 3 of them to be on a frozen body of water. It was a fun activity for all of us and it was free! I need to seek out more of these fun free activities.

Busy Vacation Week

Last week Maya and Elias had the week off from school. I was able to take some time off work and ended up having a little vacation. On Monday we had Girl Scouts. Tuesday Maya, Elias and I went to the Ronald McDonald House to deliver breakfast bags, then on to the zoo with the Girl Scouts. Wednesday I took all three kids to a big indoor playground for a few hours. Thursday we picked up Girl Scout cookies then on Friday we headed out of town to visit my sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew for the weekend. While there we had a mini birthday party for Elias and my niece, went bowling and played outside. The kids had a great time sliding down a big snow pile in the back yard of my sister's house. Bowling was a big hit too, Hannah had 3 strikes and Maya did better than me. Elias wants to have a bowling birthday next year.
The up coming month is busy as well. Next week Elias turns 6 years old. We have a Girl Scout overnight coming up and two Girl Scout cookie booths. Maya and Elias started a new quarter at school today and both are excited about new classes and new subjects they are learning.
Unfortunately we were in an accident last week. We were all in the car and everyone is safe and uninjured but my car has a huge dent on the front passenger door. It happened as I was dropping Hannah off at day care on Thursday. I had my right blinker on and pulled to the left to give myself a wider turning frame to turn into the narrow driveway space. The guy dringin behind me saw me pull to the left and assumed I was turning left. He then proceeded to try and pass me on the shoulder on the right just as my car was turning. Now I have to deal with insurance and getting my car fixed. Hopefully it will all work out easily. He did say was going to try and contest the ticket he got claiming icy conditions even though the only part of the road that was icy was within one foot of the curb on the shoulder. We'll see what happens I guess.