Gymnastics

The kids have been taking gymnastics at the Y once a week for the past few months. Warner's class is a "parent observation" one, and actually it's only him and two other boys with the instructor. I wasn't sure if he'd like it, but he loves it, telling me he wishes he had "ganasticks" every day. The instructor is teaching them things like forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, handstands against the wall, and pulling themselves up on the bar.While Warner is in class, Maren is in the child watch room. She cries each time I put her in there, knowing Warner will be playing in the gym while she's stuck in the playroom. Even though I assure her that her class is right after Warner's, she still puts up a fight. I think Warner likes the fact that his class is first and he gets me all to himself for 30 minutes.

Maren's class is a "mommy and me" format for 18 month to 3 year-old's. While Warner's class is pretty organized and structured, Maren's class is basically 30 minutes of toddler chaos. There are about 8 kids in the class and they just run from station to station, spending a few second in each spot. Maren's favorite part is when the instructor pulls out the parachute at the end of class. She runs under the parachute and usually lies on her back in the middle of the floor, staring up as the parachute goes up and then down ... the entire time.There's only one week left in the summer session for gymnastics, but given their fondness for it, I think we'll be signing the kids up again in the fall.

Mommy guilt: it comes with the territory, right?

Whenever I get behind on blogging I get stressed out. I think of everything that has happened since my last post; the pictures I haven't taken, and the entries I should have made. Add in the fact that I still haven't finished the 2010 blog book that was supposed to be Mom's and Linda's birthday gift (in February) and you catch a glimpse of my guilt-ridden feelings toward my blog.

Lately I've felt overwhelmed. While some aspects of parenting have gotten easier as the kids are now almost 2 and 4, other aspects have gotten more difficult. I'm not just concerned with what they eat, how much they sleep, and how often they poop. Now I'm concerned with Warner learning his letters, being more polite and interactive with adults, playing kindly with his sister. I'm concerned with Maren's speech, her motor skills, and her aggressive behavior.

Side note on the aggressiveness/hitting issue - Warner told me this today: "Mommy, sometimes Maren tries to hit me when I take a toy away from her. So then I run away from her, and she chases me, and we run in circles, and then we start laughing, and then we get the hiccups". I had to laugh.

I haven't gotten Playdoh out for them to play with in months. They don't know as many Bible stories as I'd like. They don't color that often and Warner still can't hold a crayon the correct way. The list goes on and on and on. And then I often think I want a third child. So yes, what you're thinking is correct: I'm crazy.

I'm trying my best to get through each day as gracefully, happily, and engaged with my children as possible. Even though they're currently watching Caillou as I type this. I promise it's the first show they've watched today. So, as with my other catch-up posts, here are a few random pictures ...We took the kids to JumpZone last week. They both ran around like crazy people. Warner was a hot sweaty mess 10 minutes into our visit. Maren kept up with Warner, even going down the BIG slide (on her belly) with him. I've since purchased a Groupon for more visits to JumpZone. Since we can't go to the pool (Shigella outbreak in Northern Kentucky: no un-potty-trained kids allowed in public pools. Ugh) JumpZone, the Zoo, and the Children's Museum will most likely be hot spots for the Platt kids this summer.
Picnic lunch last week. It was a bit bright - hence Warner's face. I think it was a better idea on paper than in practice. But we had a nice time.Maren treats Larry the Cucumber like one of her babies, pushing him around in the car seat on top of her grocery cart. She's a mess.This is one of my favorites. Rachel, our babysitter, took this while Kevin and I were out celebrating my birthday. They love Miss Rachel.And, the reason I haven't gone completely insane: Kevin. My sweet, supportive husband who also happens to be the best dad on the planet. This was taken at church Sunday - Father's Day. I'm bummed that you can't see his shirt. He is wearing a "#1 Dad" badge that Warner made for him in Sunday School. Precious.

Garden

Kevin's parents came up Saturday to help us get our garden planted. With all of the rain this spring, this was the first opportunity we had to till and plant. Better late than never, right?

Our dirt looks just lovely this year. We rented a big tiller again, but the dirt broke up so much better than last year. After adding lots of topsoil, lime, sand, and manure, we were in business. I never thought I'd be so excited about dirt. The tiller was seriously hard work, so Joe, Kevin and I all took turns.Kevin also planted his Arbor Day trees in the yard. Although Linda tried to keep the kids in the house/out of our hair, they couldn't stand to not be a part of the action. Please excuse the fact that they're still in their pajamas. In all of the garden excitement I neglected to dress them that morning.And here is the finished product. It's much bigger than last year, so we squeezed in: three tomato plants (including one cherry tomato plant - I'm very excited about this one), three bell pepper plants, one hill of zucchini, two hills of yellow squash, a row of white onions, one okra plant, and four rows of green beans. Here's to hoping it actually grows!

My, how the time flies

I blinked and suddenly, it's June. How did that happen? Warner's preschool year ended last week, not without tears from yours truly. Mrs. Eubanks made a book for each child with pictures and crafts they'd made throughout the year. I was a complete mess as we walked out the doors of Lakeside Presbyterian Preschool for the last time this year. Maren has graduated to a booster seat at the dinner table. This was primarily due to me being sick of the highchair taking up too much space in the kitchen, but she's thrilled with her new spot. I still have to strap her in most of the time because she tries to climb out otherwise. I have a feeling this girl will be strapped in/down a lot before it's all said and done.And, the kids have figured out the computer. I was in the shower a few weeks ago and came down to see this. Warner somehow opened a new tab in Firefox, clicked on the Playhouse Disney bookmark, and started up the Cars games section. I have since set the computer to be password protected just to be sure he doesn't go online and buy new cars for his collection without me knowing. I wouldn't put it past him.We participated in the Autism Awareness walk at Coney Island a few weeks ago. One of Kevin's coworkers recruited us to his team. It was a wonderful event, followed by free rides at Coney Island. I had to peel Maren off this ride once it was finished. I believe we have a dare devil on our hands.Our first official trip to the lake was Memorial Day weekend. Golf cart rides in the morning (or afternoon, or evening) are the best. Don't worry, the kids don't ride on the back while we're driving.Riding Grandpa's boat. The water was chilly but that didn't stop the kids from swimming (or me from skiing) in the lake. Perhaps Warner will waterski this year? Kevin would probably kill me but I did always say my kids would ski as soon as they could walk. At the very least, both kids love the boat and are not afraid of the water. That's a good start.

Surprise Visit

The kids and I surprised my mom last week by showing up at their house in Dallas on Thursday. Dad and I made the travel arrangements without Mom knowing. The look on her face when we walked in the door was priceless. A second surprise came the following day when Kevin arrived for his first visit to Texas.

I was a bit apprehensive about flying with the kids by myself, but both flights went without a glitch. Maren had her own seat each flight (thanks to nearly empty flights) and was strapped in with our travel lifesaver: the CARES Kids Fly Safe child restraint (http://www.kidsflysafe.com - if you are flying with a squirmy child, don't leave home without this). It was also tremendously helpful to have a DVD player and an iPad this time around. One device for each kid is a much better ratio than one device to two kids. Mom and I took the kids on a real train ride from Grapevine to Bransford Park on Friday. We had so much fun! It was a shortened version of their longer train ride to the stockyards in Ft. Worth, but the 60 minute duration was perfect for my squirrely ones.We went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards on Saturday. We saw the live cattle drive and the kids even sat on one of the longhorns afterward. I'm not sure if they were impressed, but I thought it was really cool.We ate lunch at Riscky's Barbeque (YUM) and got the kids balloon hats before we left. Longhorns for Warner and a flower for Maren. The rest of our trip was spent playing at parks, swimming at the Larson's pool (my parents' friends), and eating. Texas has some darn good food. It's probably best that we don't live there. Mom said our visit was the best surprise she's ever had. Mission accomplished.

The Ice Cream Truck

The kids and I were playing outside Saturday evening while Kevin was mowing the yard. Suddenly I heard the Kona Ice truck's music and went into a bit of a panic. My wallet was inside, the front door was locked, and the kids were in the front yard. I told them to stay put while I dashed around to the back of the house, grabbed my money, and ran out the front door. I felt like a kid again myself - the ice cream truck was here! Is it me, or does anyone else remember that feeling of excitement when the ice cream truck paid your street a visit? I was so excited to share that with my kids.

I told the kids the truck had ice cream in it and they gave me these looks like "you've got to be kidding me. This is so cool". So they got the ice, and the truck had the flavors on the side so the kids applied as much as they wanted. This was a poor design decision in my opinion, seeing as my children made soup out of their Kona Ice, but they loved it.
They ran around back to show Kevin their ice cream, screaming the whole way. As we sat on the deck eating (I was monitoring the dripping but wasn't very successful - sure hope Tide gets purple Kona Ice juice out) Warner says "I so happy the ice cream truck came to our house. Next time, I want you and Daddy to get ice cream". Probably so we won't eat any of his. Smart kid.

Easter Sunday

The kids before church on Easter Sunday:
And, separate pictures of the kids with each parent ... next time I'm going to ask someone at church to snap a picture of all four of us.We had a great time at church. I felt so hopeful as we sang about Jesus being alive and bringing new life to those who trust Him. After church we had brunch at our house. As Warner says, we celebrated Jesus today. Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Easter

Easter is such a fun holiday, and certainly the most important holiday for Christians. It's the cornerstone of our faith. But I've learned that explaining it to children is quite difficult. Christmas is easy enough - they get the whole birthday concept, know what babies are, etc. so celebrating Jesus' birthday makes sense.

But Easter? First of all, I don't fully understand the concept of Easter myself. I think if we're really honest, none of us would admit to fully getting it. The God of the universe, in human form, endured the cross, and by doing so, somehow took upon himself all of the sin in all of the world. Oh, and then he was raised from the dead three days later. Mind blowing. Really.

So anyway, back to parenting and explaining this to my sweet three and one year-old. This year, I tried adding Resurrection Eggs to the Easter festivities mix. If you're not familiar with them, they're basically 12 plastic eggs with an item in each one that tell the Easter story. So I pull them out earlier this week and the kids just start tearing through them, looking at the "treasure" inside each one, while I'm frantically trying to keep up and explain what each "treasure" means. All the while I'm so upset they aren't opening them in the correct order and they're putting the items back in the wrong color egg. I'm not sure what I expected but clearly I expected too much. The second time I pulled them out I'd ask Warner what each item meant and he'd say "umm ... Jesus?" I'm thinking we'll revisit the Resurrection Eggs again next year.

Warner has caught on to a few spiritual concepts along the way however, and it blesses my heart to watch his little mind process what he's being told. This week he told me "Jesus is my friend and he got a boo-boo from the bad guys but then he was alive and went up, up, up in the sky in the clouds to heaben (heaven) and wants I go there with him too". And then last week as we walked into church he heard the worship music and said "they're celebrating Jesus in there, Mommy".

The kids made binoculars (out of toilet paper rolls) during MOPS on Monday. When I picked him up he said "look, Mom! I made noculars at MOPS and I can look for butterflies in them, or if I look waaaay up high, I might see Gob (God)".

And then a few nights ago before bed and after we read the Easter story in the Children's Bible:

Warner: Mommy, I don't think I want go heaven.
Me: Oh, I know it's a little scary but heaven will be wonderful. You'll be with Jesus and God and everyone you love - Mommy, Daddy, Maren ..."
Warner: (after thinking about it) Maybe I go heaven when I get big like you and Daddy. I want go heaven.

So we've got a long way to go on teaching the kids deep, meaningful, life-changing spiritual principles. In the meantime, they do understand eggs and candy, so we enjoyed both of those at Leslie and Bill's house in Lexington today.We hunted eggs outside, between rain showers.
Warner got so many eggs he needed two baskets to hold them all. Maren took to the egg-hunting concept quite well too, so we'll be eating Easter candy until Halloween I imagine. Unless I take one for the team and help eat the candy, in which case it could last a week.Maren would pull the candy out of an egg and if it needed to be unwrapped she'd find the nearest adult, hand them the candy, pat her chest to indicate herself, then point to her stomach. The adult would then unwrap the candy for her and she'd go on her merry way. No wonder she doesn't talk.
Egg decorating was a hit.Leslie coordinated a scavenger hunt to plant flowers. The kids found the pots, soil, flowers, and watering cans.Happy Easter!

Cars, Cars, and more Cars

Sometimes I wonder about Warner's love of all things Cars. He is fascinated with the movie, characters, and merchandise that have the Cars theme. At last count, he has over 40 die-cast cars. I'm not sure if you understand how many cars that is. It's a lot. They fill his entire Cars rolling suitcase. The collection includes six different Lightning McQueens - all a bit different (the marketing behind these things is amazing) - two Chick Hicks, and at least two Ramones.

Warner works incredibly hard each day to earn stickers for his Cars chart (no longer called a chore chart). He brushes his teeth, clears the table, helps clean up, etc. etc. and after each chore, he says "I get sticker for this? I get car?". Every time he says this. Each day he gets all of his stickers, he gets $.50. He then saves his money and can buy a car from us for $3.00. I must admit it is the sweetest thing in the world when he earns a car. He is so proud and will say "I so happy I earn a car". Of course not all of his cars have been earned. His Grandparents have added quite a bit to his collection.

He also sleeps with a car during nap time and at night. Before we head upstairs to read books, he roots through his collection to choose the lucky car for the day. He'll often mumble as he's digging: "well, I slept with Fillmore yesterday, and I already slept with Sarge ...". He studies each car before he goes to sleep and catches so many small details that even Kevin and I overlook. For instance: Doc Hudson has only one side mirror. Warner pointed that out to me the other day.
Kevin's mom got him pajamas (Chick Hicks and Lightning McQueen) that he adores, so when he wears them he sleeps with the corresponding car. He also takes a car with him when we run errands or even go to school or church. I have a feeling this obsession will not slow any time soon, especially since Cars 2 comes out this summer. So if you ever have any questions about the world of Cars, Warner's your man.

iLove my iPad

Kevin splurged and bought me an iPad 2. This is something that I consider a major luxury, especially since I stay home with the kids and our budget is tight. I was against getting such a toy at first, and would have never bought it for myself ... but let me just say it is the coolest gadget ever.
The bad news is the kids love it about as much as I do. I've downloaded a few games for the kids and Warner now asks about three times a day to play with my "new pigger" (I know, strange pronunciation but it means computer).

Perhaps the newness will eventually wear off and I can have my new toy all to myself? Wishful thinking, I'm sure.