groundspeed

This Dad Thing

Kevin became a dad in July 2005 to a scrawny 16-month-old Russian who went by Dima.

It's kinda incredible what a family and food can do for a kid. 

I didn't doubt Kevin would be a good father. He'd grown up with dozens of young cousins at all his family gatherings. (One of Kevin's 1st cousins was a ring bearer at our wedding.) He was used to kids. He was used to the chaos of kids. He could take it in stride.

Then there was me... who grew up pretty much an only child without any close-in-age cousins and I'm still all like, share? What is this "share" concept? And WHY ARE YOU TOUCHING MY STUFF. Because growing up, no one touched my stuff.

So yeah. Kevin came into this parenting thing better equipped.

And then this happened:

And nobody could be equipped for this.

Hey Blue... If you could buy Daddy any present what would you buy him? "A pet bird." Um. OK.Do you really think Daddy wants a bird. He shakes his head with conviction. What should Daddy name his pet bird? "Rio." What if it's a red bird? "He'll paint him blue."

Yes of course. Meanwhile when asked this question Kaden simply said, "New golf stuff like gloves and balls."

As if our family experiment weren't enough we let this happen:

Do you like how I was able to get Toby in the same pose as the other two?

Exactly.

So pretty much, with our particular crew, Kevin is over-achieving and showing off at this whole dad thing.

I mean, the guy is bald, and he's got zero shame in posing with his kids next to a Wookiee, the hairest creature on the planet.

Ok, ok...Kevin's not a perfect dad. Holy wow did he make me mad just the other night when we didn't agree on something and sometimes there's a level of laid-back he can take on that, well, clearly God put us together so I can be the one to swing the pendulum back in the direction of anal helipcoptering more attentive parenting.

We learn as we go.

When I asked Blue, what makes daddy happy? He said, "When I behave." So, I said, "Does that ever happen?" And he said, "Yes. I can calm down and play nicely."  

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Kevin should have his PhD in parenting by the time Blue gets to third grade.

(Meanwhile sensible, non-lying Kaden said that "going out to baseball games or movies or dinner" made Kevin happy.)

A few more of those questions:

What is something Daddy always says to you? 
Blue: Elbows off the table.
Kaden Keep your feet square to the plate.

What do you love to do with Daddy?
Blue: Going swimming with him.
Kaden: Playing Putt Putt

What does Daddy like most about me? 
Blue: You're pretty and you're nice to him.
Kaden: When you're beautiful, dressed up for church.

How do you know Daddy loves you? 
Blue: He always hugs me goodnight.
Kaden:  Because he's my dad.

He's their coach, their tutor, and their barber. He's their example of a husband and a provider, a Christian and a missionary.

This dad thing is not for the weak of heart, so my gratitude, love, and respect couldn't be stronger for the man who has mine.

Happy Father's Day, Kevin.

And We're Off!

Off from school. Off from routine. Off to South Carolina (and back again).

Summer has begun.

This first week Kaden has camp at The Environmental Studies Center while Blue is just up the road at The Florida Oceanographic Society. As a beach lover, it's important to me they attend a marine science camp at least one week each summer so they come to understand, grow to respect, and desire to preserve their home environment.

When Kevin planned a quick trip up to South Carolina to be the guest missionary for Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Orangeburg there was no chance Kaden and Blue would miss camp and get to come. So... Oma took over the home front with the older two while Kevin, Toby and I headed north to the deep south. (Funny how that works.)

But I refused to get on the road Friday until after school pick-ups so we could celebrate the kids' last day with a little froyo. 

 

Then off to Orangeburg where we stayed with our friends the Tuckers!

Our friends daughter, Avery, is an only child who wants a little brother, so she was happy to play the role of big sister to Toby for a few days. 

We even went to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia on Monday after Avery got done with VBS. Leave it to me to drive an hour to a zoo when there's a 90% chance of rain. Kevin's all like, "I wouldn't go." (He stayed back for lunch with the director of Catch the Vision) And I'm all like, "Courtney's working. What else are we going to do? It'll probably work out."

And it did work out. Of course it poured just as we got about 5 miles from our exit but by the time I got gas (stalling tactic) and got over to the zoo it was down to a drizzle and this zoo has a bunch of things that are actually inside buildings. So we went to the bird building, then to a cafe for snacks, and then to the aquarium and reptile building, and by the time we were done with all that it was done raining.

Plus we mostly had the zoo to ourselves because who else is dumb optimistic enough to go to the zoo with that kind of forecast?

In other words, I am never going to learn my lesson. 

Toby offering the gorilla some kisses. And the gorilla... clearly not knowing what to think about that.

Avery was a very patient "big sister."

The baboons were a hit because... well...

Funny stuff. Right, Toby?

Oh yes, Mommy! So funny!

***

Beach camps, visiting friends, and a zoo trip?!

In other words, our summer is off to a great start. 

Third Grade, You Will Not Be Missed.

Today is the last day of school.

This hasn't been the best school year for Kaden.

Or me.

Or my pride. 

You know all those end-of-the-year pictures proud parents are posting of their kids holding up certificates and medals. That is totally awesome. Unfortunately... none of that is going on over here for the oldest. No honor roll. No citizenship award for good conduct. But we're still celebrating, but we are celebrating that THIRD GRADE IS OVER. BY THE HAIR ON OUR CHINNY CHINNY CHIN, WE PASSED, SO SEE YA LATER SUCKAS.

We celebrated when D's became C's so finally, finally he'd be off restriction. 

We celebrated that he passed the FCAT. Never mind the score. He passed. Don't look back. It. was. OVER.

There was a behavioral issue early in the year where home-schooling may possibly have been used as a threat. Later in the year when NOT passing reading or the FCAT were serious possibilities we had many conversations about moving him to private school and repeating third grade with different material in a new environment.

It is hard to have these conversations when, for yourself and your husband, school was easy. Awards racked up. Standardized tests were no big deal.

Ha.

Sigh.

Tears.

You think you're smart and then you get married to a guy you KNOW is smart, so you imagine how fun it will be to have smart babies. Oh the clever things they will say! Oh the funny ways they will entertain you! Oh how awesome it will be to watch their curious and creative minds master new subjects and develop interests and passions!

And then... because... life... you find yourself on a very different path. And nothing is a given.

Passing third grade was not a given.

Most days the new path is fine. Many days the new path is challenging in a good way. Some days the path is even a little... Exotic? Inspiring? Exciting? (Here's an exciting scenario: Let's see how Mommy does today on no sleep! When Child A hands her an F! And Child B screams and pulls on her while she's cooking dinner! And she discovers C has lied about his agenda report and really has quite the doozy of a note in there! If all this goes down within the same ten minute stretch, maybe her head will explode!) 

Adoption! Crazy genetics! Whoo!

Fine. School is hard, but can't we at least score a conduct award?

Christians kids do not put in zero effort and produce sloppy work. Christian kids do not give their teachers attitude. Christian kids do not lie. Christian kids no not stab classmates with pencils, hit classmates with backpacks, steal classmates' juice boxes, or look up girls' dresses. (Ok maybe I'm no longer talking about Kaden here.)

I feel like all the other Christian families are raising kids who do their work diligently, make honor roll, take violin, and ask their moms in super chipper voices, "Can we volunteer in a soup kitchen today!" but only when they aren't saying, "I want to send my allowance to Haitian children!" 

I feel like we are on the path that should produce such progeny. We sit down as a family for nightly dinner. We moniter television. We don't have a game system. We do fun family things like go to the beach and Disney and baseball games. We started off the school year with a Vacation Bible School where I was the music leader who got every kid in the room, including my own, to holler with deafening enthusiasm that they would, "SHINE GOD'S LIGHT!" Throughout the year, when either of my big two "made bad decisions" we talked about it in context of "shining God's light." All year long. We did this. Over and over. (And over.)

Oh and my kids can't send their allowance anywhere because they never earn their allowance. HOW HARD IS IT TO MAKE A FRIGGIN' BED?

We prayed before school. We prayed before bed. We discussed bible verses. We've had their butts in church. (But apparently, from the discussions in the car afterwards, we didn't always manage to get their heads there.)  

Check. Check. Checkity check.

There are no givens.

So this is a post for all the parents who are doing their best. Carrying on. Pinning their hearts out only to have pinterest fail after pinterest fail. 

I feel ya.

Here's the "summer bucket list" (Person who invented that term, don't come near me. Just don't.) for the kid who barely passed third grade:

1. Water balloons.

2. Beach Days.

3. Camps with water balloons and beach days.

****

Oh how I wish the list could end there. I do. I really do.

But we've got to gear up for fourth grade because rumor has it, these grades, they just get harder.

So there will also be...

4. A summer journal.

5. A summer reading list

6. Summer computer time logged into math programs

And oh... I may even have bought this to go through with the boys:

7.

Because I'm... Delusional? Psychotically optimistic? Trusting that if I remain consistent, keep the Word in their worlds, train them up in the way they should go... that no matter what path they choose for themselves I'm still going to get a, "Well done good and faithful servant."?

Yes.

Disney's Hollywood Studios Orlando with Kids

The last time I went to Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando it was called MGM studios. The Sorcerer's Hat built in 2001 that stands at the center and represents the park - new to me! So I knew it would be like a whole new park from visits past, and I knew that going with kids would be a whole new experience. (Especially since one of those kids has special needs.)

I asked others what there was to do with kids and all I got was, "The shows," or "The Toy Story Ride." One ride that was good for my kids age, huh? Hmmmm.

But I'd also heard about Star Wars Weekends and the Jedi Training Academy and we're all about Star Wars in our house, so I figured those were must-dos. Jedi Training Academy exists even when it isn't a Star Wars Weekend, but I still thought it would be fun to see what SWW was all about. 

The Stars Wars Weekend component meant that there were more shows - Star Wars related, some actors were signing autographs, and lots of Star Wars characters were on hand for photos. 

We didn't do most of the shows or any autographs but we met Darth Maul, Chewie, and Princess Amidala.

No Toby for this pic - we didn't figure he'd like Darth Maul. Probably a good choice. This guy was not friendly!

Chewie, on the other hand, was awesome.

Toby did meet Padme too, but he's totally picking his nose in the picture he's in!

The fun thing about going to a park with only one goal (Jedi Training Academy) is that you feel pretty laid back throughout your day and not so frenzied about seeing/doing EVERYTHING. 

But we still did a lot.

Here's how it went:

I'd read on-line that sign-ups for Jedi Training Academy happened in the morning and that once they were full that was it. We knew the park opened at 8am and we did our best... I'd say we were in line for sign-ups (which take place at the Indiana Jones area) by 8:20. I headed off with the boys while Kevin stood in line to get our Stroller = Wheelchair sticker.

Wait? What?

Tobes. He has Fragile X, remember? So we get the all-day disability fastpass pass. We also get a sticker to put on the stroller so we don't have to park it and instead can take it anywhere a wheelchair is allowed to go. SO. EXCELLENT. (And pretty much the only way theme park days are possible for us.) Here's Toby in his stroller in a no stroller line and look how happy he is!

Were he out of his stroller he probably would have been anxiously trying to move through the line in spite of the, ya know, people. Or he'd be scratching his brother's eyes out which is totally not good.

So Kevin gets this magic sticker and then meets up with us. We're in this line for about 30 minutes and we manage to score a 5:30pm time slot. Yup. That's how fast Training Academy fills up. Yowza.

Oh and Training Academy is for 4-12 year olds. Toby just turned four but he is not up to typical 4-tear-old speed. The entire time we were in line we were discussing what to do about Toby. He has seen Star Wars. He can wield a light saber. If he saw Kaden and Blue on stage he would for sure be jealous. But what would he do on stage?

We get to the sign up and we register Kaden and Blue. Then I point to Toby and explain that he is, in fact, four, but he has special needs. So... there's no way he will follow instructions and there's even a possibility he'll have an anxiety-induced meltdown and need to be removed immediately. Could they work with that? 

They said they could.

God bless Disney.

Here's Blue in line for Jedi Training sign-ups very seriously showing off his Star Wars gear.

And check out Toby's shoes:

After that we're all like, now what? It was about 9am and we had some time to kill before 5:30!

Toby likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Jake and the Neverland Pirates so first up we went to the Disney Junior - Live on Stage show.

The Mickey Mouse group sets the frame for the story and then the stage turns for different sets/characters. First up Sofia and her crew do a song, then Doc McStuffins, and finally Jake. Special needs parents take note: In every one of those song segments something falls from the ceiling ("snow," bubbles, and tissue paper gold dubloons. Also, for whatever reason, Cedric from Sofia in the first song scared Toby a little. (But he's never seen Sofia the First so that didn't help.)

Watching the show...

From there we headed off to the ride we were told was the absolute must-do: Toy Story Mid-Way Mania.

Indeed. It's super fun. It's a 3D shooting game similar to the Buzz ride at Disney and the Lost Kingdom Adventure in Legoland. Except it's 3D AND instead of riding and shooting, you ride, park in front of a screen and compete with your car-mate to hit targets, ride some more, got to another screen... And you have a air gun not a laser. Trust me, it's cooler.

But... this coolness comes with a 2 hour line price. Yuck! Even in the fastpass line we waited about 20 minutes the first time and 30 minutes later in the day when we went back. A fast pass is a must for this ride! 

From there we headed over to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. The map calls it a "Movie Set Adventure." It's a playground. Actually Kevin and Toby headed there. Kaden, Blue, and I met Darth Maul first. But then we joined up and Kevin quickly tagged me to be Toby's partner in the giant maze of ant tunnels and grass blades. We slid...

We climbed through the rope maze...

We got wore out!

But not so wore out we couldn't pose for one more pic before heading off to lunch.

We ate right around the corner at the Studio Catering Co which was cheap (for Disney) and actually had a supper yummy grilled vegetable sandwich that was the best vegetarian fare we've come across in the Disney parks at this price level.

Next up we stayed in the area to hear about Monster's Inc University from some recruiters...

(I love how Toby was all like, heeeyyyyy, I'm here, where's the party?)

From here we walked down Streets of America (except it's one street) to get to Star Tours. Kevin took Kaden and Blue while Toby and I hit up the Tatooine Traders Store. If you check out one store in the park this is it. You can build your own droids and your own custom light saber. There are also funny Mickey-characters-StarWarsified toys I hadn't seen before that were super cute.  BUT on SWW it was crazy crowded. There were lines to make such droids and light sabers. I still managed to get a bag of goodies to be saved for Christmas time, tucked said bag at the bottom of the stroller, and Kaden and Blue never knew!

The boys didn't take that long (thank you Disability Fast Pass), so we were off to more fun.

We checked out the Backlot Studio Tour (where Kaden got scared?!), the Voyage of the Little Mermaid (where Ursula scared Toby), stood in line for the Jack Sparrow show for all of 5 minutes before talking ourselves out of it deciding it would be too scary for Toby, went back to Star Tours so I could go while Kevin sat out with Toby, drank "Goofy Gushers" while standing in line to meet Chewie, and after all that it was finally time for Jedi Training Academy.

Pretty much... the plan for Toby with this was that I was allowed to be with him the whole time, but when he was on stage we left it up to the "padawan" to take care of him, but I was right off to the side in case of a needed intervention. 

It went so well!

The kids meet up in a room near the ABC Sound Studio to check in and get their robes.

Then they march off to the stage area (which is right next to the Star Tours ride) and awaited instructions and placement.

Because it was a SWW they double the class size and have one group on stage and one group on the ground (usually there's just a group on the stage). The stage group trained and then fought Darth Vader whereas the ground group had to face off with Darth Maul. They put my kids on the stage because they thought Vader would be less scary for Tobes which was great because the stage made for better pics!

First the Jedi came out and they trained. Toby always had extra training help from the stage padawan.

Blue and Kaden just had fun.

Then Darth Vader came out and they each had to face off and use their newly learned moves against The Dark Side.

Kaden was first to take on Vader.

Then Blue.

And finally... Toby!

Who needed a little extra help from the Jedi (notice Toby's light saber isn't out yet).

But he got the hang of it. Vader was no match for our guy!

But the time our kiddos passed their Academy training it was dinner time. Fighting The Dark Side works up an appetite! So we were off down Sunset Boulevard for the first time in the day The main attractions - Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster weren't even considerations for our day with young kids so there wasn't much reason to be down this way until dinner and our decision to go see the Beauty and the Beast show.

With our stroller/wheel chair sticker we went down to the very front which was great... except it ended up being overwhelming for Tobes. We made it through about 2/3rds of the show but when Gaston storms the castle it proved too much so I scooped him up, climbed the 1,000 steps holding my 4-year-old, and we stood in the back for the end.

It was a really good show though. If, for some reason, you have to choose between Beauty and the Mermaid show - go with Beauty.

By then it was 7:30pm so we secured our spot for the Hyperspace Hoopla show (A SWW thing). Before the show started there was a DJ so the boys broke it down.

Then I bought snacks.


And Toby chilled.

And chilled some more because we had a little rain delay... but finally!

This show is a dance off between the good guys and the bad guys. Good, silly fun. And then we hurried on out in perfect timing because within ten minutes of being in our car the skies opened up with some serious rains. 

I'd love to go back adults only and do the Rock n Roller Coaster, check out the Jack Sparrow and Fantasmic shows, and do the American Idol Experience (heck yeah I want to try out!). Sooooo... date day? Girls day/night out? Sometime next year? Anyone?

It's still a great day with young kids and if you had a few grandparents along you could even sneak in some of the more adult attractions, but even without this option there was PLENTY to do and keep young ones entertained. We were there for more than 12 hours!

Happy theme-parking, everyone. May the force be with you. 

Me n' Sooz

Saturday night we had dinner in Orlando at our friends Susie and Evan's home.

(Orchids and Heleconia in their garden.)

I met Susie my freshmen year in a Hume Hall stairwell at the University of Florida. She told me to vote for her for Hume Hall President. I responded that I'd been planning to, and so some fly-by campaigning turned into a conversation about how we kinda sorta knew each other. (She had worked with my dad at a HOBY event I'd also attended.) 

Then we became friends.

And we ended up being stalked and harassed by the same guy Freshmen year. If that doesn't seal the bond of friendship, what does? Nothing like going downtown together to give your sworn statements to the police together! 

Sophomore year we roomed together this time in Broward Hall. It was a practical choice because we both only planned on being on campus the first semester. In the spring we both planned to study abroad. She in London. Me in Salamanca, Spain.

That semester we played flag football with girls on our floor and we dealt with a person or persons in our building who thought it was hysterical to pull the fire alarm at 3am. Susie was the less tidy of our duo and during one such false alarm, I jumped off my top bunk and landed painfully on some of Susie's things. In all our years of friendship, that's the only time I ever got mad. I'm pretty sure we were the most drama-free roommates and traveling companions in the history of time. 

While abroad our spring breaks coincided and we took what still ranks number one as The Craziest Trip of My Life. Let's just say it was bookended by a rugby team. As in we encountered them at the beginning AND end of our trip. In between there was a woman who may or may not have been a witch and what was definitely the most disgusting youth hostel experience of my life. Ah, Dublin. Somehow we still had fun.

After our semesters ended she, along with my mom, joined me in Spain and then we traveled for a few weeks going through Austria and then over to visit my relatives in Germany and finally on to Prague where Mom and I flew out and Susie continued on.

And at some point we went to Lisbon together too.

We girls. We got around.*

Junior year we finally got an apartment with another friend. (Hi, Donna!) A three bedroom three bath apartment that we furnished with real furniture. Um. Yeah. We were a 'lil bit spoiled. We may have been the only college apartment in all of Gainesville with dining room furniture who used said furniture to host fondue parties and tea parties and cookie exchanges. Seriously. Were we college girls or little old ladies? Sometimes it was hard to tell.

Senior year same apartment, but with the presence of Kevin. Like... all the time. 

Needless to say Susie was a bridesmaid. :-)

Now here we are. Both married with kiddos and since we've been back in Florida we have been able to do fun things like double date for Valentine's one year and meet half-way for a beach play-date. I've gone up for a baby shower. She's come down for some birthday parties. It's two hours but it's worth it to get our growing families together. 

This weekend we did it again for a dinner party at her house. Five boys between us. Add to the fun a rambunctious dog and it was a party.

Kaden shucking corn for dinner.

Gabe. Is there anything cuter than a two-year-old in glasses?

Luke. He may have been the littlest, but he kept up!

So did Annie.

Busted lip rocker Blue.

Toby putting a little on the sidewalk... a little on his face...

This house has good memories. It's where all my gal friends crashed for my 30th birthday gals-only party weekend in Orlando. It's fun to see how the office became Gabe's room. Then Gabe's room became Luke's room and the guest room became Gabe's room. It's fun to see our kids playing together there now.

Kazoos are so cool.

Almost as cool as friends like us.

*Except we didn't. Not at all. When we graduated bricks fell from Century Tower. ;-)

One more story on that note: At Susie and Evan's rehearsal dinner Evan's college friends took turns telling stories, so I felt like I had to get up and tell a college story as I was the only member of the bridal party that was part of Susie's undergrad life. Except... she and I didn't have any of those kinds of stories. When we turned 21 we split a bottle of champagne three ways. And in terms of boys... we had a little a drama, sure, but even when presented with an entire TEAM of... uh, friendly rugby players TWICE we remained very good girls.

Chef Kaden

Kaden's been pretty burnt out on reading and writing homework assignments. When I realized (just a few weeks ago) that they weren't being factored into his overall grade I decided we could take some liberties with the reading/writing work we were doing at home. 

It was suggested to me to let Kaden do more practical and active reading work - work where testing for comprehension was built in -- such as reading and following a recipe. 

Tonight I finally used this idea in lieu of the usual reading/writing choices for his homework assignment.

Kaden has never so much as made his own peanut butter and jelly sandwich so I was on the hunt for something super easy. When a "Homemade Healthy Dole Pineapple Whip" recipe showed up on Pinterest I knew it would be perfect. 

Instead of just handing him my computer open to the pin, I typed up instructions to make it even easier to follow. 

Let’s see how well you follow directions!

Tonight YOU get to make dessert.

The kitchen tools you need are already on the counter (blender, measuring tools, etc.)

You will need to assemble your ingredients.

1. You will need one cup of almond milk, one bag of frozen pineapple, one tablespoon of honey.
2. Pour your pineapple chunks into the blender then add the almond milk and the honey.
3. Blend until it’s creamy and you don’t see any more chunks of pineapple.
4. Pour (or scoop with a spoon) some into the dishes Mom set out.
5. Announce to the family that dessert is ready!

He needed help finding the pineapple and when things were just getting too stuck in the blender I made the decision to help him out by adding another splash of almond milk, but other than that, his first foray into the kitchen was independent and successful.  

One day and one week till summer break, one day and one week till summer break, one day and one week till summer break... (We can do this.)

Measuring = math work too!

Our Littlest is Not So Little

We have been very busy celebrating Toby turning four.

Drumming in Animal Kingdom.

Mickey love in Animal Kingdom. (Yes, there is a Toby buried in that hug.)

He got a birthday card signed by all his Disney pals!

Loving the Safari Trek!

The Boneyard in DinoLand was a big hit. He did not want to leave.

And then, after a day of just swimming and hanging out, we resumed celebrations in Magic Kingdom.

Hey, Mickey. So nice to see you again. 

Toby loved climbing up and down the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse at Magic Kingdom.

 

Apparently, checkers are only for stacking into towers and knocking down. (On Tom Sawyer's Island)

And finally... Downtown Disney and a celebratory lunch at Rainforest Cafe before heading home.

Toby tries out the merchandise.

Having a blast in the Mr. Potato Head accessories store.

Yummmmm.

Once home, we snuck in another celebration.

Birthday Eve dinner! 

A special guy deserves some special celebrating and so we have. Now today, on his actual birthday, we have the not-as-fun task of heading down to Miami for a day of appointments at the Fragile X clinic. Not-as-fun but important.  As Toby gets on to the business of being four, they will hopefully have some opinions on the best possible way he can go about that. 

Happy Birthday, Toby.

Four.

Here we go...

The Year of Theme Parks and... Duckface

So... Disney.

Our crew plus my mom at Animal Kingdom

We just squeezed in a little Disney vacation. We got on the road Saturday morning and went straight to Animal Kingdom, took a true day of rest on Sunday where our day's itinerary looked like this: swim, watch a movie, swim, hit up Magic Kingdom on Monday, and came home today but not before getting in a stroll and lunch at downtown Disney.

Sooner than later we'll use the 3rd park on our Florida residents 3-park deal to go to Hollywood Studios.

Kevin doesn't like to do Disney, but I got him to agree because:

A. I let him buy a new tv for our bedroom even though our 11+ year old box tv we bought shortly after we got married WORKED JUST FINE.

B. I promised him we wouldn't do birthday parties for Blue or Toby because these Disney trips would count as their birthday parties instead. (Blue's birthday is in December, so we told him we're celebrating his half-birthday this year.)

C. I promised him we didn't have to go back to a Disney theme park for 3 years.

Whew. 

Said promises are now published on the blog so, internet, keep me accountable. :-)  

(Having two families over for dinner tomorrow night for Toby's birthday is JUST A DINNER, NOT A PARTY, BTW.) 

I supposed I'll eventually publish more pics here or do a facebook album photo dump, but for now here's a pic I took at the resort in which Kaden's inner teenager is clearly emerging as this sure looks like an attempt at duckface to me.

An Opportunity to Poke Fun at My Husband

Opportunities to make fun of Kevin don't come often, people. 

I'm taking advantage.

You know those marriages where the wife is always right? And the husband expects this? And then everyone is happy?

I didn't end up in one of those marriages.

We are both opinionated, stubborn, head-strong people, well-educated, as well as smart within our particular areas of expertise. With Kevin, if you are playing an updated version of Trivial Pursuit with pop culture questions you will totally need him on your team to answer anything that comes up about hip hop or rap. Meanwhile if you need a Gilmore Girls or Jane Austen novel expert, I'm the one to come to.

In those areas, we bow to the other's authority.

In many, many others we butt beads.

I knew I was in trouble when, while we were engaged and picking out our first set of bedding, Kevin had an opinion! And, like, vetoed stuff I wanted. Um, as the female don't all the decorating and design choices automatically fall to me? Apparently not. (Although, in this house I did get him to agree to a lavender-walled master bedroom and that's something, I think.)

He disagrees with how I cut tomatoes and loves to make fun of how I eat corn on the cob.

I'm a little hen-pecked, I tell ya. Or in this case I guess it would be rooster-pecked?

But I'm a strong woman and I use my middle finger a lot, so it's all good.

(Gasp. A missionary wife did NOT just write that.)

Ok, so on with my little window of opportunity to make fun of Mr. Always Right.

Last night we went to our First St. Lucie Mets game as a family of five. Kevin has taken Kaden and Blue many times, but it was mine and Toby's first go. Of course Toby fell asleep on the way there. Of course he did.

So... I pulled up and let out the biggest three boys. Kevin, upon getting out, instructed me to, "Look for them at third base around the second level." No problem. I've been in this stadium many times dropping off and picking up Kaden from baseball camp. I know where third base is. I proceed to park, wake up Toby, deal with his I've-been-woken-up grumpiness, feed him a little dinner (we ate Tropical Smoothie wraps while he was asleep), and get him going.  

We walked up and skipped the entrance that would have dropped us over first base, gave our three extra tickets away and continued to pacify the growing anxiety of my three-year-old. After a stop at the potty we headed over to third base and started looking. And we kept looking. And kept looking. 

I told Toby we are looking for Daddy and Kaden and Blue and he wanted to find them and I can tell, I can feel, that his anxiety is growing because we haven't found the. Plus noise and people and smells and... we need to hurry up and find them. He's getting too big for it, but I held Toby on one hip (because at this point if I let him walk he'd be throwing himself to the ground) and manage to fish out my phone from my Rhode-Island-sized purse.

Me: We're at third base. Where are you?

He: We're here. Just look around.

Me: We have been looking around. Toby's getting anxious. WHERE ARE YOU?

He: (With that you-are-being-stupid edge to his voice) Do you even know where third base is?

Me: YES I KNOW WHERE THIRD BASE IS!

He... He who played t-ball and then baseball for... forever. He who played intermural softball at UF on a team that won National Champs. He who is currently assisting his oldest son's baseball team. He said (After a moment of silence where he inevitably mourned his own stupid mistake.): I meant first base.

Me: I am SO making fun of you for this.

And because I also know where first base is, we walked right over to them, but luckily, on the way, I passed someone Kevin works with and got my very first chance to tell the story.

Justice.

And then we were together.

To watch baseball. (And see... SEE where this picture was taken. Above FIRST base.)

No, we weren't really there to watch baseball. Apparently we were there to let the boys run around at the top of the stadium and stress this mama out that they might be hit by a foul ball.

I felt better when they sat under here:

We also met Klutch.

Danced to the music:

And stayed to the very end, a first for Kevin, Kaden and Blue, but good because then the kids got to get on the field and run the bases.

The final score ended up with the Mets falling to the Palm Beach Cardinals. Booooooo!

But, it ended up being a successful night. New experience for Toby. Fun for Kaden and Blue and ammo in my arsenal for when Kevin critiques my tomato cutting. No fingers will be raised. I'll just smile and say, "At least I know where third base is."

Marriage. Fun stuff.

Big Kid Blue

After 6 years, 5 months, and 9 days Blue finally lost his first tooth. 

He's also started drinking coffee.

Seriously. 

Every morning a cup of coffee with a splash of milk and a shake of stevia.  It's supposed to have the opposite effect on kids with ADHD and... Is it working? Let's put it this way. In the two weeks before we started the coffee he got a good report (smiley face in his agenda) once. Yup, ONE day in ten.

His poor teacher.

And it wasn't just "had trouble staying in his seat." I don't even care about that. He's six. He's a boy. OF COURSE he has trouble staying in his seat. I mean, sure, every morning in the car I remind him to get out his "magic glue" and squirt it on his seat before he sits down so he won't have trouble. But, gues what?

There isn't really any magic glue.

And he's still six and he's still all boy.

But now that he's drinking coffee - smiley faces every single day.

Nevermind the hair that's grown on his chest.

Maybe it's mental. Maybe it's really working. I haven't asked his teacher to find out if his behavior is better in the morning and tapers off. Whatever it is - we're seeing change at a much needed time. It looks like we're going to survive the end of the school year.

Back to that tooth.


This morning he noticed that I packed carrots and almonds in his lunch and he asked if they would help his tooth come out. I told him only if he used his loose tooth. Biting them with his back teeth wouldn't do it.

He listened because guess who lost his first tooth at school, at lunch, compliments of a carrot stick?

He got sent to the nurse who put it in a cutie little white plastic tooth. 

And it's not just the tooth and the coffee.

Last month he learned how to tie his shoes.

Two weeks ago he started soccer. One week ago he scored his first goal.

In 21 days we'll be attending his Kindergarten pinning ceremony.

He's growing up so fast, not only has he lost his first tooth, but his big kid tooth has already grown in!

More often than not, he still drives me crazy (Oh there are so many things I'm choosing not to share!), but not so much that it overshadows these fun, celebratory, my-kid-is-growing-up times.

Happy First Lost Tooth Day to Blue!