They hatched!

We received our ladybug larvae and food on April 3, and I put them in the "Ladybug Land" and started giving them two drops of water every other day. They grew in size quite a bit over the next two weeks (and molted many times as well). By last Friday almost all of them were in the pupa stage. Only a couple of them attached to the walls so I was really nervous about the ones that were on the bottom of the habitat, but today they hatched! When the butterflies hatched last year, we were blessed to actually be able to watch most of them coming out of their cocoons.

I was hoping to see some of the ladybugs come out this year because they emerge as soft, pale adults and then in about an hour their exoskeleton hardens and their spots appear. Unfortunately when we saw them this morning they already had their spots. We fed them two water soaked raisins today. I am planning on releasing them outside in a week because they can live up to one year outside whereas the longest they'd live in the habitat would be three weeks. This is the best way to teach science, in my opinion! I will take some pictures of them before we release them.

P.S. I am enjoying my new lens! My most favorite lens is the 50mm one, but sometimes I can't back up enough to use it (because I have a crop body camera and 50mm really is a lot farther for me). I was able to get these today without asking the kids to move. I just snapped (using my new 35mm) while they were playing on the iPad. Proof that I just snapped is the fact there is a Kleenex on the couch (which I wish wasn't in the photo but I am not going to take the time to Photoshop it out). This is real life, folks. Further proof would be the Mr. Potato head eyes on the floor under the couch in the first photo, and the fact that Ian for some unknown reason is holding an ice cream scoop from the play kitchen. :)

Thankful Tuesday

1. The kids enjoyed playing dodge ball at gym class on Friday morning. This week it will either be kickball or soccer depending on the weather

2. The weather was heavenly on Saturday (high was 83) for the kids' first soccer games and a 3 mile walk in the afternoon. I was thrilled with how Ian played soccer!

3. We enjoyed having Paul's parents up to see the soccer games on Saturday and to church on Sunday to hear the kids sing. Ian has improved so much over the past year when it comes to singing on a church platform!

4. Nadia, Ian, and I enjoyed seeing the musical, Mary Poppins at Milton High School on Sunday afternoon.

5. Oliver didn't take a nap yesterday (albeit I tried for one solid hour to get him to do so). I think it was because he took a three hour nap on Sunday. I think two hours is the longest he should nap. I was very relieved when he took a two hour nap today.

6. The flowers have started blooming. So far the daffodils and hyacinth are in bloom. Beautiful! I will be mowing the lawn for the first time this year sometime this week. Hopefully soon the trees will be green!

7. Oliver, Ian, and I enjoyed having dinner at Perkins yesterday while Nadia was at gymnastics. Because I used a coupon for a free meal, our bill including tip was less than $7. Nadia and I enjoyed dinner at the Watson Inn tonight. Because my meal was free, our bill was less than $10 including tip. I brought home half of my chicken parmigiana. It was lovely to have that one-on-one time with my daughter!

8. I really enjoyed watching The Miracle Worker with the kids (the 2000 version). I remember enjoying the 1979 version of it when I was a child. Similarly, I have been enjoying seeing Pollyanna again (1960 version).

9. Paul and Nadia came home with flowers for me yesterday. Nadia picked them out. They are so pretty!!

10. Paul's last labs were last week. He met very briefly with his two lab sections this week, and next Monday will be his last lecture for the semester. He is looking forward to having about four months off of teaching and is hoping to make progress with a research project.

11. I received several lovely birthday cards through the mail and a couple in our mailbox at church. It's so nice to be remembered in some cases by people whom I haven't seen in awhile.

12. Most weeks there are only three people I talk with on the phone - Paul, my mom, and Paul's mom. Today I also had the treat of talking to my sister, Yvonne (who lives in Turkey)! Her whole family serenaded me with the birthday song. Loved it!

13. I received several wonderful birthday presents. Yvonne gave me an air pump for blowing up air mattresses. That will make it much easier than blowing up by mouth! Paul's parents gave me some money. Paul gave me three wooden letters that spell JOY (photo prop I hope to use with the kids in the future), four new cereal bowls, and a step stool so Nadia can get things out of a kitchen cabinet without climbing onto the counter (which is what she had been doing lately). My parents got me three things for my camera (lens, reflector, and white balance filter). Photography has been my favorite hobby the last few years. I look forward to learning how to use the new "toys" as I take pictures of my three precious, dearly loved children.

Nadia's Legos!

In February Nadia saw an Elsa Lego set at Walmart and decided she wanted to save up enough money to buy it. I was dubious that she could accomplish this task because including tax it cost $42.40. In the past she had never accumulated anywhere near that amount of money. She worked very hard over the past two months to earn the money. Almost every week she cleaned the bathrooms and did other extra chores. Most of the time she was earning the money one dollar at a time. The two exceptions would be that I gave her $7 for stopping sucking her thumb at night, and I also gave her $7 birthday money two months early. I did that because I was so proud of how hard she was working toward her goal. This morning she earned the final dollar by helping me clean the three bathrooms, and after she finished her schoolwork I let her open the box of Legos. She was SO excited. She put together about 2/3 of the castle today. I'll take more pictures tomorrow of the finished project. While she was at gymnastics Oliver smashed it on the ground (on purpose), but I rebuilt it before she came home. Nadia did a great job with following the instructions to build the project!

Nadia holding "Sparkle," her beloved stuffed animal

Step in Time

This morning the kids and I were out the door at 8:05 to head to church. The kids' choir sang "Jesus Loves Me" in both services. They sang two verses in English while doing it in sign language and then sang the same two verses in Spanish. Our church has a worship service in Spanish every Sunday and also provides an interpreter for the deaf for one service. I wasn't at a good angle to see Ian for the video in the 9:00 service. Paul and his parents came to the second service, and Paul thought he was recording a video (at a much better angle to see Ian), but he forgot to hit the record button. Ian has come a LONG way over the past year. A woman I saw after the first service came up and told me what a good job Ian did. Yay, Ian!

Paul's parents graciously offered to take us out to lunch as a birthday treat, but I had tickets to take Nadia and Ian to see Mary Poppins at 2:00. I had made spaghetti and meatballs before leaving for church this morning so they came to our home to eat that instead. We loved the musical. The special effects really impressed Nadia and Ian. My favorite part was the "Step in Time" song and choreography. It was interesting to see what parts of the musical were the same as the book and what parts were the same as the Disney movie. The show lasted three hours including the intermission, but Oliver napped for three hours so Paul was able to work while we were gone as Oliver had just woken up a few minutes before we arrived back at home. Since the kids won't be able to sing in the musical the kids' choir is putting on at church next month, I didn't take them to the rehearsal this evening and don't plan to take them back until September. Nadia had her audition for the Annie musical on Friday afternoon. I can't wait to find out what speaking part she'll have or what solo she might get to sing! She memorized Annie's lines for the scene with the officer and the stray dog (Sandy) and also sang the solo "Tomorrow" for the audition.

A taste of summer

The high was supposed to hit 78 degrees today. I am not sure what the actual high was, but I think it was at least that warm. Whatever the thermometer said, it was a gorgeous day that felt like summer. I wish it was here to stay, but it was just a taste of things to come. The kids got up earlier than normal today. Even Nadia was up at 6:30, which is unheard of for her, but it actually worked out well because we needed to be out the door a little after 8:00 to get to Nadia's first soccer game of the spring season. There are seven girls on her team, and they place five on five. Her game was at 9:00 in Mifflinburg, and one girl couldn't make it today. Paul's parents met us at the field. It wasn't Nadia's best game, but I am confident she'll get back in gear as the season progresses. Since Paul isn't coaching her team, it means I'll always have help watching the boys during her game, which is a big plus. Today the ration was four adults to two kids during Nadia's game, and most of the games in the fall I was watching both kids by myself (and trying to take pictures of her game), which was VERY challenging because Oliver didn't want to stay put. I also think he's matured some and will be easier to handle, although he did try to dart on the field once during Ian's game because he wanted DADDY.

Immediately after Nadia's game we hopped in the van and drove to Ian's 10:30 game, which was at a field about 15 minutes away from her game. I thought the game was going to be a total disaster because he did NOT want to shed the light coat I let her wear as he watched Nadia's game. It had warmed up a lot during Nadia's game, and he definitely didn't need a coat, but he always goes through a struggle when he has to switch to wearing short sleeve clothes. He entered the field crying his eyes out over this. Lovely. Thankfully he got it together by the time it was his turn to play on the field. There are ten kids on his team, but they split the team in half so that five kids are playing five kids from the opposing team. They play three on three. Ian did much better at kicking the ball than he did during most of the games in the fall. I was very relieved. At one point he could have scored a goal as he had a breakaway and was kicking the ball down the field, but then he ran a little ahead of the ball. As a side note, I know Ian's shorts just look plain ridiculous. I am going to buy him new ones that are much SMALLER. Those were the smallest ones our league had available. Nadia has been wearing her same uniform for a little over two years, and it finally fits her now!

After Oliver's shorter than usual nap, we headed to the playground. I let the kids pick which one, and they picked one that is a longer walk. I forgot to bring water bottles, but since Paul was home grading exams we were able to call him, and he drove to meet us and delivered water bottles. We were very grateful! I made the mistakes of having this long walk be my first time wearing sandals this year. Oops! I also discovered I need to buy Ian a pair of sandals. I did find some that fit Oliver. This evening I also discovered I should have gotten out the sunscreen for the first time this year. Oops! After dinner we watched some more of the Miracle Worker (about Helen Keller), and then we spent some more time outside. Paul took a break from grading to work with Nadia for about 30 minutes on her bike riding skills. She is getting better at learning how to ride without training wheels! She hasn't mastered it yet, but I think the end is in sight. Whew.

One of my FB friends posted a link to an article that listed the 100 best places to take kids in DE, MD, PA, VA, and DC. We have already taken the kids to sixteen of the places (the two in italics we haven't been to yet but plan to take them to this summer): Crayola Experience, Maryland Science Center, National Zoo, Philadelphia Zoo, Sesame Place, Pirate Adventures on the Chesapeake, Port Discovery, Maryland Zoo, National Aquarium, Bushkill Falls, Hersheypark, Six Flags America, Knoebels, Strasburg Railroad, Air and Space Museum, and Colonial Williamsburg. I also saw twenty places listed in the article that we haven't been to yet that I'd like to go some day: Great Wolf Lodge, King's Dominion, Assateague Island, Newseum, International Spy Museum, Mount Vernon, Idlewild Story Book Forest, Independence National Historical Park, Luray Caverns, Landis Valley Museum, Gettysburg, Franklin Institute, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Turkey Hill Experience, Fort McHenry, Medieval Times, Historic Ships in Baltimore, Please Touch Museum, Dorney Park, and Busch Gardens. The article was written by a newspaper in Maryland so naturally the majority of places listed were in that state, which is probably why only 36 of the 100 caught my attention.

Thankful Thursday

1. The grass is GREEN again. Last Thursday I could have said it's partially green, but over the past week it's turned totally green. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the trees turn green again.

2. We have been wearing short sleeved shirts! I enjoy seeing the kids wearing different clothes. I was ready to put away the winter stuff, but of course I haven't totally put it away yet because we're in that transitional phase of the year when it comes to clothing. I have loved wearing capris again!

3. We had a nice time at the Children's Museum on Friday night. It was a lot more crowded than usual, but it was a treat because #1 it was free, #2 they had yummy snacks available, and #3 Paul's parents and Paul joined us. Because of this trip I've decided to skip the $2 Tuesday this month (would be the 21st). I think our next trip there will be the $2 Tuesday in June.

4. Ladies Bible study resumed this Tuesday! We are doing a study of 1, 2, and 3 John. I'll miss two of the seven sessions due to our trip to Florida. Nadia was excited because Camille (who wasn't there during the last study) was there again today. She's a kindergartner who goes to a half-day (PM) Kindergarten so Nadia had a girl close to her age to play with during the two hour study.

5. The weather has been SO lovely! It hasn't rained as much over the past week, and it's been in the 60's or 70's. YAHOO! I've finally been getting some MUCH needed exercise!

6. Nadia and Ian had a great time at Paul's parents house last weekend! They enjoyed the workshop at Lowe's, lunch at McDonald's, shopping at Walmart, and visiting Aunt Millie's bakery.

7. Paul and I enjoyed our time with just Oliver while they were gone. We got some shopping done at Walmart and used gift cards to have dinner at Applebee's. Yum!

8. We enjoyed seeing the production of six of Aesop's' fables on Sunday afternoon.

9. Paul watches far more movies than I do, but there have been two movies lately that we both enjoyed. The most recent one was Million Dollar Arm (wasn't quite as good as "When the game stands tall", but it was a pretty good baseball movie).

10. Nadia wanted to read Anne of Avonlea. The book is at the 7th grade reading level so it was a bit too hard for her, but I love that she tried to read it herself. I will read it to her sometime, and it won't be TOO long before she'll be able to read it herself. We'll finish Pollyanna tomorrow, and then next up will be Pinocchio.

11. Oliver has been taking a nap every day without any issues. WHEW! The only day he didn't in the past 10 days was Sunday, and that was because we were at church from 8:25-12:15, then came home and had lunch, and then were back in the van by 1:20 to go see the play. I'm taking Nadia and Ian to see Mary Poppins this Sunday afternoon, but I'm not taking Oliver so he can have his nap at home with Paul. He has been napping for 2-3 hours every day. Much better. I actually had to wake him up from his nap yesterday (so we could go to get the oil chance), and I woke him up today so we could go to the playground before dinner and soccer practice. I did let him sleep 2 hours both days before waking him up. :)

12.The kids and I enjoyed having dinner at Friendy's last night (thanks to a gift card Ian received in February) while the oil was being changed on the van. The oil only needs changed every 10,000 miles on it, which works out to about once a year! I decided not to attempt to take the three kids roller skating at the AWANA family fun night. The waitress was really nice and gave us an extra bowl of goldfish (two for the three kids to share whereas we were only entitled to one) and gave Oliver a chocolate milk at no charge (I didn't order a meal for him and so expected to have to pay for his drink). How kind!

13. I was able to make our reservations for our Fast Passes, and aside from not getting any to meet Anna/Elsa, I was pleased. I was thrilled to also get a reservation for lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant! Our vacation will be here before we know it! Nadia and Ian will be leaving with Paul's parents on May 4, which is less than three weeks from now!

14. Last week I decided to sign up for a month of the dvd service through Netflix (costs $8) because some movies we wanted to see weren't available at the library. I guess because we hadn't used it for awhile, when I signed up they said the first month was free. Great!

15. While we were at the mall last night I took advantage of three coupons and got Nadia some clothes for this summer and next fall/winter and Ian some for next fall/winter. The original prices of the 9 items at JCP would have been $134, but I paid a grand total of $18.91 (saved 86%). I don't recall what the total of the original prices would have been at Sears, but I paid $16.23 total for a bathing suit for Nadia for this summer plus two long sleeve t-shirts for her for next fall/winter (Hello Kitty and My Little Pony). I don't enjoy shopping at the mall with all three kids, but I do enjoy getting some good bargains!

16. I joined a Shutterfly group on Facebook several months ago, and it has been SO beneficial. I've learned how to receive more codes for freebies (photo books and such) from various places, and sometimes people within the group trade codes (ex. maybe I received one but I'd rather have a photo book and someone else received a photo book but wants what I have). I used to average paying about $15 for a photo book (including tax and s/h) but now I rarely pay more than $9. Today someone posted that she had gift cards for Amazon that she wanted to trade for Shutterfly codes. I traded a photo book code for $20 on Amazon. Paul used that $20 toward my birthday gift. Score!

17. Yesterday Ian made my bed for the first time ever. He came in around 6:30 and was in bed with me, and at one point I got up to go to the bathroom, and while I was in the bathroom he made my bed. It was very lumpy because he forgot to straighten the sheet, but he did a nice job with the bedspread. What a sweetheart! This is proof Nadia serves as a role model for her brothers.

18. Nadia and I have been studying inventors lately as we near the end of her US History curriculum - Edison, Ford, Wright brothers, etc. We've gotten some great books and dvd's from the library to learn about these inventors. I also got a book and dvd that have been helpful in reviewing many of the topics we've covered over the last year - one being Remember the Ladies: 100 great American women and the other is a set of two dvds of the show "This is America, Charlie Brown." As a side note, I did skip one of the 100 women (Margaret Sanger).

19. Usually on Wednesdays Paul is at school for 13+ hours straight, but yesterday he came home in the afternoon for awhile and then went back in the evening. He was mostly working at the computer in our bedroom while he was at home, but he did take about 30 minutes out of his day to spend with Nadia and Ian during Oliver's nap. Usually they don't see him at all on Wednesdays so that was a special treat!

Be our Guest!

Our first family trip to Magic Kingdom was in May 2013. Several new attractions had just been added to the Fantasyland area including a new restaurant that looks like the Beast's castle. I had planned for us to eat lunch there, but when we arrived at 11:00 the line was already two HOURS long and every time we passed it was at least that long. We weren't interested in waiting that long to eat lunch! Last year I didn't have my hopes up of eating there, and the line still looked too long (we didn't ask how long the wait time would be last year). Part of the problem was that I didn't know I could make dining reservations. I thought only people staying at a Disney resort were able to book dining reservations. OOPS! Had I known this I would have started trying five months ago to get a reservation there (you can make them 180 days in advance), but I only started checking several days ago. It kept showing that there wasn't anything available for that restaurant on May 15 (the day we plan to be at Magic Kingdom), but I kept checking *just in case* something opened up.

This morning was my first chance to book our Fast Pass+ reservations for that park (can be done 30 days in advance if you're not staying at a Disney resort or 60 days in advance if you are). I considered getting up at midnight to work on it, but I didn't end up getting up until 3:30am. If this doesn't prove I love my kids.... Ha ha! After working on those 18 reservations (3 per ticket but Oliver doesn't have a ticket), I decided to check the restaurant one more time, and at 4:30 this morning I found a table for 4 available at 8:15 for breakfast. I was so happy! I entered my credit card information and everything else and hit submit and then got a message that their system was down. Sigh. When I got up a couple of hours later, I checked and their system for dining reservations was still unavailable. I kept checking and when it was up and running again, there wasn't anything available all day. However periodically throughout the day I kept checking and finally at 7:15 pm I got a table for 4 for lunch at 10:30. I have read several places that it's okay if your party is bigger than your reservation. Worst comes to worst, we can offer to have the three kids sit on our laps and then we'll only need four seats. Oliver actually prefers to eat sitting on my lap (even at home) so really six seats would be plenty. No meal at Disney is cheap, but lunch at Be our Guest is not any more expensive than other carryout places on the premise, and the ambiance looks to be WAY more special. I had to make some adjustments to our ride reservations after booking a 10:30 meal, but it wasn't too complicated. This will be a bit of a splurge for us because in the past I've brought in food for lunch for myself and the kids. The kids and I have only bought dinner in the park the last two years. We eat breakfast in our resort suite before we leave, but lunch at the Beast's castle is not anywhere near as expensive as a character dining experience (which we have never done as a family but I have fond memories of doing when I was a child).

I did our FP+ reservations for Hollywood Studios on Monday. Those are pretty easy. I picked Star Tours, Toy Story Mania, and the Frozen Sing-a-long show. Once the last one is used (for us it will be about 3pm) we can request additional ones. Last year we got a second set for Star Tours and then for the Fantasmic show at the end of the day. Getting the tickets today was more complicated because some of the rides Oliver is not tall enough to ride. I think he is tall enough for Barnstormer this year! Nadia is tall enough for Space Mountain, which is very exciting. She's never been on that ride before. I got 4 passes (Paul and I plus Nadia and Ian) for Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain and 3 passes for Space Mountain (Paul and I plus Nadia).

I was REALLY hoping to get 2 for meeting Anna and Elsa for Nadia's sake. We had two in July 2014, but there weren't ANY available for May 15 as of 3:30 this morning. I felt so badly for Nadia, but at least she did get to meet them last year. Maybe the stand by line will be reasonable at some point that day. We shall see. I did get 2 passes for meeting Ariel again. Over the past several months she's lost interest in some of the princesses (such as Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle), but she still loves some princesses (Jasmine, Mulan, Ariel, Elsa, Merida, and Tiana). I will keep checking periodically over the next 4 weeks to see if any passes become available for Anna and Elsa, but I'm not expecting it.

The hardest decision I'm having right now is whether to ride the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first thing or go to Enchanted Tales with Belle in the first hour. Last year I had FP+ for Belle and we didn't need them as the standby line was almost nonexistent so in the park I changed those reservations to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Last year even at 9:00 the line was already very long for the Mine Train. If any of you have input as to which of those two attractions it will be easier to get a FP for later in the day (after we've used our three reservations), I would greatly appreciate that feedback! Although the kids liked the Mine Train last year, I think if they had to pick between the two they'd pick Enchanted Tales with Belle. Nadia really wants to be the Beast again (she was picked the last two years for that role and it means you get to dance with Belle for a minute). I have tried to include a few experiences and rides in our plan that the kids have not done before. This year we are planning on signing them up for the Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios, for example. I haven't typed up our agenda for Sea World yet, but that is a much simpler task than Magic Kingdom. I am not complaining though. I LOVE the Fast Pass + system. I remember standing in LONG lines as a child at many amusement parks, and we rarely wait more than 5-10 minutes for any ride at Disney World with this system. I just hope and pray none of us have the stomach flu when we're at Disney this year like we did when we were at Magic Kingdom last summer. It certainly takes some of the "magic" out of the day!

Pet peeves

Probably everybody has at least one pet peeve. Nadia's biggest one is that she wants her plate cleaned in between eating different things. Her plate gets washed multiple times in one meal most of the time. Even if only ONE tiny spot of the plate has a crumb or ketchup or water on it, the whole plate is deemed unworthy of being used unless the plate is cleaned. Heaven forbid if you asked her to have a sandwich AND pretzels on the same plate. Sometimes she gets a napkin and puts the other food on the napkin to avoid cleaning the plate. I would say her next two biggest pet peeves would be if her clothing gets wet (and I just mean the tiniest drop of water) she wants to change clothes and she doesn't like it when Ian wants to play with her All The Time. I keep telling her that it won't be long until Ian is mostly playing with Oliver and she'll be having plenty of time to play by herself. Oliver does not like his hands or face to be messy while eating. You think this would inspire him to use utensils instead of his fingers. Nope. I wash his hands and face multiple times every meal, and he also goes through a few napkins at every meal. I wash his hands and face far more times a day than I ever washed the other two kids. Thankfully he usually doesn't mind if his shirt gets wet when I'm washing his face.

One of Ian's pet peeves is things not being done in the way they are usually done. It really upsets him if we eat our main meal at noon instead of at 5:00pm. We often do that on Sundays. He used to always get really upset when his clothes got wet. That hasn't been an issue lately. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not washing his face any more or because this doesn't bother him any more.

If I had to pick my two biggest pet peeves, I would say they would be clutter (things not being put in their proper place and also just having too much stuff) and certain noises. Ever since I was a child I haven't liked the sound of other people chewing. It doesn't bother me when I'm also eating because then I can't hear their chewing. However if I'm sitting on the couch and someone next to me is eating or chewing gum, I have a desire to plug my ear; if I start chewing a piece of gum that also solves the problem. I also like to turn the fan off as soon as I get out of the shower because the sound of a fan in a bathroom really gets under my skin. I have certainly had to deal with more clutter now that we have kids, but I'll take a messier house, if it's because kids live here!

The time it was the hardest for me to deal with clutter was when I got home from the hospital in 2012. After spending about 18 weeks in either a hospital room or Ronald McDonald room, I had a hard time coming back to clutter as those environments were extremely stark. The kids were complaining a couple of weeks ago about cleaning up, and Oliver loves to make messes; so I took a LOT of toys to the basement. I have to say the kids haven't seemed to miss them at all, and it's been a lot easier to clean up and the house looks less cluttered. Probably at least some of them will come back up in the late fall when the weather gets cold, but during the months when the weather is nice and we spend more time outside, I doubt they're going to miss them.

On a totally unrelated note, yesterday I took a quiz online regarding what type of homeschooler you are. My top three were Unit studies education (25), Montessori (25), and Charlotte Mason (20). My lowest was traditional education (negative 23). I thought I'd share in case any other homeschoolers read my blog and might enjoy the survey. :)

P.S. Oliver walked all the way across the rope without ANY assistance from an adult today for the first time. Way to go, Oliver! (see first pic)

Aesop's Fables

This afternoon we took the kids to a community theatre to see "A Bagful of Fables." They performed six of Aesop's fables - “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Fox and the Grapes,” “The Tortoise and the Hare,” “The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing,” "The Boy who Cried Wolf," and “The Sun and the Wind.” I had read all three kids several of Aesop's fables last week. All three kids enjoyed the play, but since it was at 2pm it meant Oliver didn't get a nap today. Oliver was really miserable starting around 5pm. The boy needs a nap! For the next year or so I'm going to try to avoid buying tickets for a 2pm show (unless Oliver and a parent are staying home). Lesson learned! 

Paul surprised us by walking to the playground with us this afternoon. Nadia walked all the way across the rope without holding the ropes that are there for your hands for the very first time. Oliver walked all the way across the rope using those ropes for the first time today. In the past he had held my arm as he walked across the rope. Ian has no desire to be on the rope at all, yet. I am SO glad that spring has finally sprung. The only downside is that my allergies have kicked into high gear. Not fun.

Just the three of us

We've been parents of at least two children for five years and four months now. It's been awhile since we were the parents of "just" one child. Nadia was 17 months old when Ian was born so we were never the parents of "just" a two-year-old. They don't call them the "terrible twos" for no reason. We didn't really experience that with Nadia, aside from her not wanting to eat veggies when she was two. Oliver definitely is our most challenging two year old (hitting, throwing things, spilling milk, etc.), but today I came to the realization that taking care of him is MUCH easier when he's the only child at home. Although he really wanted to go to Grandma's house, it was nice to have a day where it was just the three of us. Paul took a 90 minute nap during Oliver's two hour nap. After his nap, I pushed him in the stroller to a playground. I walked over 3 miles round trip. It was about 60 degrees out and sunny, and on Monday it's supposed to get up to 75 degrees! The ten day forecast shows the high every day at least 64 degrees! Woohoo it is almost time to break out my sandals and paint my toenails.

Aside from Friendly's, we usually don't go out as a family to a sit down restaurant. Usually Paul and I go when we go out on a date, which then involves paying a babysitter $10/hr. I suggested to Paul that we should go out tonight since we only had Oliver with us. I fed him a hot dog right before we left, and we shared some of our food with him at Applebee's, We picked that restaurant because we had gift cards plus we wanted to buy a couple of things at Walmart (and the restaurant is right beside Walmart). We got the 2 for $20 special that includes an appetizer and two entrees. Considering how much Oliver likes string cheese, it wasn't surprising that he liked our mozzarella sticks. I ordered him a chocolate milk but not a kid's meal. We just shared with him. They didn't charge us for his two chocolate milks which was nice. It was also nice to have a break from encouraging Ian to eat today. I really missed them though, and I really missed reading Pollyanna to them. They enjoyed their first visit to Aunt Millie's bakery today after the Lowe's workshop and lunch at McDonald's.