10 Things That No Longer Surprise Me

As a parent, I am still learning that adult logic and child logic are worlds apart and that personal space is a true thing of the past.  In honor of my sweet progeny, here is a list of ten things happening often around the house that no longer surprise me, in no particular order . . .

1.  Discovering plastic cups (and a variety of other thankfully waterproof items added while I'm not looking) in the washing machine (this after hearing a mysterious thump, thump, thump after starting the wash).

2.  That the yellow stuff around the window screens isn't always pollen but is present all year long (sidewalk chalk is also fun to use on window screens).

3.  That laying down my head on a pillow generally sends off a signal for one of the boys to wake up. 

4.  That when we get sick, snow days will happen as soon as the kids get better and can go back to school. (Twice in under a month this happened!)

5.  That the only guarantee at the dinner table is a sudden need to go to the bathroom. 

6.  That the kids will play together well until you sit down and try to read for 5 minutes.  (Addendum: they will also be silent in the car UNTIL I put in an audiobook).

7.  That the house is really a race course. (Especially true during our floor renovations as the furniture is out in a storage box and there are no major obstacles to a good race or chase).

8.  That naps are now things to be dreaded.  If Liam falls asleep in the car and ends up taking a nap, he has no desire to go to bed until 10pm and will throw crazy fits at his 8:30 bedtime.

9.  That a made bed is mortally offensive to a 3 1/2 year old and must be destroyed!

10.  That though the boys love to be tucked in with multiple blankets and their stuffed animals, they are always on top of their covers (and in Graeme's case generally completely turned around) when we check on them later.

It is always an adventure and I'm looking forward to expecting more of the unexpected.  

"Insanity is hereditary; you get it from your children."  (Sam Levenson)

The Highs and Lows of One Week in NC

Okay, so what are you thinking as you start reading this post?  Good things, bad things, crazy things? Well, it is simply going to be about the weather.  Last week we had a crazy snow storm of several inches of snow and ice, this week it is almost 70 degrees and the flowers are blooming and I've broken out the shorts.

Liam was so excited for more fluffy white stuff that he dragged us to his coat and hat.  When told he needed to add shoes to his outfit, he walked over to the shoe basket and threw them toward us to help him put them on.  (It was not quite as deep as this picture makes it seem, he and daddy built a snow "mountain" he climbed into)

Graeme finally got into the action with a grand snow ball attack.

Graeme-zilla takes on the snow "mountain"

This is the coating of ice our trees received one week ago today.

The pine needles were beautiful.

Ice covered rose hips, anyone?

And this is today, the crocus around our mailbox has bloomed.

Hope 

Not Prepared for This (And That's Okay)

Just when you think you are prepared for the world of parenting, there comes a day like today.

12:00 a.m.  My day started with my children waking each other up crying out (bad dreams, hungry, missing daddy?) from midnight to 2 a.m.  After snuggles and an applesauce for Liam, we eventually all managed some semblance of sleep until about 7 a.m.

8:30 a.m. Get ready for school and get out the door.  Though tired and the night unusual, at this point of the day I was still feeling somewhat on top of parenting-I even made the boys and I a hot breakfast before we had to leave. This part of the day was also normal crazy-we did get to school on time with everything we were supposed to bring (including m&m's for Graeme to share for M show and tell since that was all I could think of that began with M this morning-he was a hit)

9-noon I usually work a few hours on Friday, but was blessed with a day off which I used to go into the grocery store and just have a quiet few minutes.  (Especially needed with hubby out of town for 8 days)

12:30 p.m. After picking the boys up from their preschool at noon, we headed over to the second-run movie theater to meet up with some friends to watch a movie.  At this point of the story, I'm still feeling very much like I have a handle on parenting for the day.  The boys were well-behaved (though Graeme did narrate the entire plot of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) and we love popcorn and watching movies on the big screen. Snuggles with Liam and fun with friends.

This day doesn't seem so bad?  It wasn't, we had a blast with everything we did.  But the next trip to the park showed me that I had let slide a few things on the prepared parent scale-extra clothes.

2:30 p.m. The boys both do such a great job with bathroom trips that I have gotten slack in carrying extra clothes, especially for Graeme.  Normally, I try to pre-empt and make the boys go to the bathroom at the beginning of an activity.  Well, today I didn't.  We got to the playground, and indeed within 5 minutes Graeme was needing to go urgently.  It was a new playground for us so precious moments were spent locating where to go.  We made it to the bathroom before a big accident but we needed new clothes.  I had NONE in the car for Graeme, but being the giant children that they are, Liam's clothes are close enough in size that I could use the one's in Liam's school bag and problem solved, right?

NO!

We get back to the playground, where I decide to be smart mom.  I take Liam to the potty.  About 5 minutes after we get back, he is having so much fun that he does not come get me so he can go back.  I see him and know what is about to happen but the maze of the cool, giant wooden castle playset (plus the distance to the bathroom) does not allow me to get to Liam in time.  Luckily, we were at the playground with a friend who still has a kid in diapers so we were able to borrow some wipes and get cleaned up.

After this eventful first 30 minutes, the boys played, I got to hang out with my friend as much as any mom can at the playground.

4:00 p.m. We had a blast until time to head out.  Being worn out from a very busy day, the boys both ended up falling asleep (Liam on the way home and Graeme once we got back).

So while I was not prepared for today, I'm glad to say we had a blast nonetheless and no major mountains were created from life's molehills (AND since they both napped, we will likely be partying late tonight to celebrate this fact)

A Museum Outing

After four days at home from our "blizzard" (okay, even I am exasperated by the southern caution taken with this past snow), we were ready for an out of the house adventure that did not involve Target or speech therapy.  I was not quite ready to tackle an all day trip to the zoo, so we decided to check out the Porsche by Design Exhibit at the NC Museum of Art.


I had discovered this automotive art exhibit at the end of December, but illness and other craziness prevented us from going before now.  Fortunately, the exhibit was extended until February 2 (so we squeaked in and made it out on its final weekend).  It was crowded (but not horrible) plus we were able to get our tickets at the museum and walk right in.

It has been a delight for me that my boys have always done well with cultural outings.  While they are still active and have very short attention spans, I have been able to take them to Rembrandt, Titanic and other special exhibits at various museums in the past.  However, our other adventures have generally taken place with a stroller.  So this time was my first adventure to a special exhibit at a museum without the boys in a stroller, but luckily I had Mike along for the "ride".


Though we didn't get to read much of the information and the audio tour was not an option, this exhibit was AWESOME for the boys (and mommy, too).  We enjoyed checking out the many cars on exhibit, including some from the 1930s, a multitude of race cars, and cars owned by celebrities such as Steve McQueen, Jay Leno and Janis Joplin.  (Can you guess which car posted was owned by Janis Joplin?)

Note for parents-Mike and I definitely could have spent at least  an hour exploring the exhibit and would have liked to check out the audio guide which I imagine was quite fascinating.  However, moving through and seeing every car with young kids we were out in approximately 30 minutes!

After the cars, we did head over and check out a few things in the main permanent exhibits side of the museum and even got in a few of the outdoor exhibits before it started raining.

It is small steps, but I love introducing the boys to a bit of culture and hope they end up loving to explore museums as much as their mom does.

A Hale of a Snow Day

While much of the north laughs at what constitutes a southern snow day, the fact is we don't get a lot of snow in the south (this warm weather is why everyone likes to visit us in the winter ;-).  Anyway, the rare occasion where we do get more than ice or just a dusting of snow, we try to make the most of our DAY because that is as long as it generally lasts.  For the Hale family, this meant sleeping in a bit since school was canceled and we didn't have to be out of the house by 8:30.  

We enjoyed looking out our window and seeing a few inches of beautiful fluffy snow covering our yard.  Then before we played and the snow got messy, we scooped up a bowl of fresh snow and made snow cream.  Graeme likes to help me "make" in the kitchen and he was a great helper for this simple recipe.  He is now as big a fan of snow cream as he is of ice cream.

After finally convincing the boys that this unusual cold was something they wanted to try out (neither has really experienced snow since we haven't had a multi-inch accumulation of snow since Graeme was too little to appreciate much less remember it and I don't know that Liam has had any at all.  So we put on our layers and headed out.

Graeme is in a cowboy phase so he chose a long sleeve button up, his Australian cowboy hat from Papa Witt, his cowboy boats, gloves, scarf and since we can't convince him to wear a coat as a cowboy-mommy's fleece vest.  He had so much fun outside that he didn't want to come in and hardly registered any cold until he came in.

Liam was so excited to try out the snow (It's so FLUFFY!) and he loved it.  

While the snow was too soft for a snowman and didn't pack into great snowballs, we had a blast throwing the snow at each other and running around in the backyard.

We showed the boys how to make snow angels but they couldn't be convinced to lay down in the snow and make one of their own.  (The natural brilliance of children avoiding being cold in wet simply for what mommy and daddy call "fun")

Mommy and daddy engaged not only in helping the boys with their snowballs but in pelting each other as well.  Being a former softball player, it is considered a good thing to throw like a girl in our family and Mike was the recipient of a well-aimed head shot if I do say so myself :-).

The boys enjoyed learning more about the art of making a snowball from their father (okay, mostly they just wanted him to make them some ammo)

Which they used against their mother!

And each other!

We had a blast playing in our little bit of southern snow.

Cowboy Graeme and I even had a "snow"down, which he won, of course.  I take my dramatic dying from a snowball very seriously.

After some fun snow antics, we headed inside for some hot cocoa and hang out time in front of the space heater.  Then it was movie and iPad time in the back (we are still working on replacing the flooring in the living room).  Chili for lunch, more fresh snow cream in the afternoon, soup planned for dinner and that is our southern snow day.  

And we plan to have another snowball fight so watch out!

My Favorite Medicine and Addiction

We are finally getting back on our feet.  The boys are better and we are working on Michael.  We are excited to have gotten back to "normal" with preschool, speech and my occasional days at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.  And now that we are, we might actually have something of a decent snow storm (here's hoping we can post pictures of a snowman soon!)

One of the things that always helps me through times, especially the sick ones, has always been books.  I'm most excited to see Graeme starting to love them, too.  He requests a bedtime story every night and if not told "correctly" he will let us know.  His favorite book right now is a collection of fairy tales retold with Mickey Mouse and friends in the main roles.

Between working years and discovering motherhood I had gotten away from reading without really realizing it.  Then, some friends and I started doing a book club 3 years ago which started my journey back to reading and really expanded my tastes.  I've discovered a love of nonfiction and found many books I may not otherwise have ever read.

I've also added a few personal challenges to my reading lists over the last few years.  My first one that I started was the tackling of Agatha Christie novels.  A year ago I read a collection of letters she wrote while on a Grand Tour of the world and I realized that somehow I had never read the world's bestselling author.  Now I have read over 40 of her books and short story collections.

My other challenge that I have undertaken came about from being a mom.   I want my children to love books.  There are many books that I loved as a child that I want to pass on to my children (Charlotte's Web, Bridge to Terabithia, etc) but I also wanted to discover what had come out in the many, many, many years since I discovered books.

I decided to read all the Newbery books that have come out since I was born (plus some of the earlier ones as well).  I was quite shocked by how few I had read before I started this challenge.  I have loved many and been delighted by books like the Tale of Desperaux, Holes, and When You Reach Me.  I have been baffled at what others found so wonderful in a few.  Have you read the book that won the year you were born?

Hopefully, as my boys learn to read, I'll be able to help them find something that will spread my addiction to the next generation.

Trying to get Hale-thy

I didn't disappear again, I promise!  However, since last Thursday, our house has been a hot zone.

Liam started coughing mid-week and by end of the week, he was runny-nosed, coughing and miserable.  He was pitiful and adorably miserable.  The hardest part of Liam being sick is that he does not sleep through the night when he doesn't feel good (which means little sleep for mom :-()  And he was also a giver.  Just as he starts recovery . . .

Graeme starts coughing and getting congested, signaling FUN WEEK AHEAD.

The worst was Tuesday afternoon when Graeme started screaming.  (A note: we have been blessed with general good health and don't often have major cases of the cooties, so Graeme hasn't dealt with ear infections or even crazy head colds). I immediately called the pediatrician and got him an appointment about an hour later.  No ear infection, but the poor kid gets major pressure on his ear drums from the head congestion.  Dosed with Tylenol, and feeling like just having gone to the doctor meant he was all better, Graeme has been getting through the worst of his cold.

We canceled everything from pre-school to speech for the boys and bible study and working at the preserve for mommy.  Instead our days were full of Octonauts, Minion Rush (addictive iPad game-download with caution), Angry Birds, lots of liquids and the occasional walk in the stroller, and BOOKS!

Here's praying that the long weekend, Tylenol, Mucinex, and rest see us back to the land of the living next week!