groundspeed

It's Sprung

I know spring is here because I have friends in North Carolina and Texas that are now posting pictures on Facebook with beautiful azaleas in the background. A friend in Virginia posted landscapes with blooming Dogwoods and Empress tress. One of my best friends, also in Virginia, has the most amazing yellow Forsythia in her front yard. She just posted a family picture in front of it that included her newest addition, her two week old son. (Two weeks now, more like one week in the pic.)

Blooming Forsythia AND a newborn.

Now that's a spring picture.

I'm a little jealous.

Here in Florida, our weeds are looking healthier. 

I'm all about year-round beach weather, but it is a shame we have to sacrifice spring.

Still. I try. This week I added a little centerpiece to the table that cost me all of... nodda. (Salvaged the flowers from an old bouquet, had everything else, will need to spend a little when it comes time to replace flowers, but so far not a penny.)

Earlier this week Blue and I colored Easter eggs across our driveway.

On Thursday I sent Blue to school with three hard-boiled eggs and today he came home with this cuteness:

Also today... little colored plastic eggs at the mouth of drain pipes, corners of windows, tucked into plants...

I hosted a little play date and we had our first egg hunt.

Every egg contained spring stickers so after the hunt the kiddos could use their stickers for an Easter picture.

Toby was all about the egg collecting.

Then happily stickered it up.

This was AFTER we'd already made a heckuva mess inside using shaving cream and paint to color flowers.

My sensory seeking boy could not get enough.

He liked making a mess and painting my friend's knee.

But we did manage to get a few flowers painted.

As for the set up... I don't have a table in my breakfast nook. On purpose. I like it open. I like to put my Christmas tree there. I had extra disposable plastic tableclothes from a previous party so I just taped one to the floor in this open spot. Yes, shaving cream and paint still got on the bench seats and tile, but it wiped up fine. 

As for the how-to using shaving cream to paint. Go here.

And because it was a playdate there had to be a spread.


Mini fruit pizzas. Yum!

See? Even our food is getting more colorful :-)

Happy Spring! And happy Friday!

Me... As seen by the kids.

Kaden had to write a paragraph about moms for his homework last night. He wrote, "My mom goes shopping at Walmart and Publix to buy healthy food so we can be strong. My mom takes my brother to speech therapy. My mom rests on the couch with Toby sometimes.* My mom goes on dates with us and Dad. My mom goes on jogs. That is what my mom can do."

A few days ago Blue watched an episode of Sid The Science Kid where Sid's mom comes to his class to teach them about computers. He then said I should come to his school and teach about computers. I said that Mrs. Cheryl (the computer teacher at his school) was already doing that, and besides, I wasn't really a computer expert so that's not something I could teach about. I then asked him what he thought I could come teach. What was I good at? He answered, "Spelling, cooking and cleaning."

Holy crap. I am so boring.

*And as for that couch "resting" I prefer to call it snuggle time. Every morning, our routine is that after I get Toby up and changed, I hand Toby a sippy cup of almond milk and hold him on the couch while he drinks it. But anyway...

They see me taking pictures and playing with pictures on my computer and creating albums all the time. 

Doesn't factor into their picture of Mom.

They see me reading big fat books; they know I stress that they spend independent time with books; I read to them every day, and I go to a book group once a month.

Doesn't factor into how they see me.

I throw big 'ol parties, going all out even for play dates.

Ho hum.

They hear me singing all the time. They know I sing in "big church" and have sometimes accompanied me during practice or even been in a service where I've soloed. 

No impression whatsoever.

They see me on the computer. I've shown them the blog. 

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At least once a week I'm shut into the office and they aren't allowed to disturb me because, "Mommy's writing."

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And then there's the absence of faith/Christianity in their impression of me, but faith/Christianity is something we ALL do, we ALL talk about, we ALL practice.  As do their cousins, their Gran and Papa, in Blue's case his teachers and school, their church friends.... It's part of the world they take for granted and I don't think it's yet occurred to them that others don't go to church or have school chapel (Blue) or memorize Bible verses or pray in their homes. 

All that considered, none of the things that I factor in pretty highly in my own picture of myself seems to matter to them.

Because to them I just drive them to appointments, shop, cook healthy food and excercise, clean and spell. 

Which makes sense.

They see me in terms of what I do for them. (The excercise factors in because on days I know I won't be jogging by myself, we go on two-mile walks/bike rides together. This happens at least three times a week.) They see me as a nurturer and a teacher.

Ya know, a mom.

Original Pillow Pet

You wouldn't believe how long these two stayed just like this, this afternoon.

Here we go...

We're not even out the door, but the fact that I have enough time to post a photo before we leave on a Monday morning means that our week is off to a smooth start.

(In spite of the fact that Toby threw up his breakfast all over the place.)

I love mornings where I have enough time to do all the breakfast dishes and leave a clean kitchen.

And the boys have time just to chill and play.

Ok. Moment is over. Off to have them put everything away and get out the door!

Cousins and Barrels

On Tom Sawyer Island at Magic Kingdom. Could there be a funner bunch?

Week in Review

Hmmmm. Where have I been all week?

Blue got sick Sunday and missed school Monday which got us off to a weird start. 

We just didn't do much.

I did pull down the balloons I'd strung up for Daddy's birthday.

They're still all over the house, and that makes the kids happy, but no, that's not very exciting news.

The Alabama cousins are in Florida for their spring break but spring break came and went for us already so no plans to see them.  Until, that is, I found out they were going to Disney on Thursday. Then I scored some tickets and arranged for a day trip.

Getting the boys out the door by 7:15am? No problem. Entertaining them in the car with a movie and snacks? Easy. Getting them in their Gator gear, sunscreened up, and out the car? Cinch. Folding the stroller and getting 3 boys and a stroller onto the parking lot tram. Oy. Not fun. Forgetting I could have gotten Toby a special needs pass until we were already 2/3rd through the day? Oy. Not smart. 

We met up with our cousins. I got to see a college friend. A childhood friend who lives in Orlando and has season passes joined up after her kids were done with school. It was a full day seeing great people. But. Oy. Holy lots of work for this Momma. 

Toby hated more rides than he liked. We had one anxiety throw-up incident and then at the 10pm after a long, long day we were misdirected during our WALK to the van (no way I could do the tram again with the stroller that Toby was then sleeping in) so even though I knew where I was parked (Heroes lot, Simba 20! I STILL remember.), it was a long while getting there with an exhausted Blue cyring softly as he walked. :-(

But the boys slept most of the way back, were all tucked in their beds by 12:30am and just when I was about to congratulate myself on such a long day I got on facebook to see that the rest of the world was up either at the Hunger Games or watching the Gators basketball game. So we were all up together. 

And today on during school drop offs (oh yes, they were made to go to school today. They can rest up this afternoon.) we were happily chatting about favorite rides and events.

Me: Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Toby calling out his name every time they asked another audience member his/her name.

Kaden: Barnstorner! Two Times!

Blue: Buzz Lightyear Space Rangers ride (two times!), Orbiter

Toby: He was still in bed for this conversation. (Kevin is home sick today.) but he seemed happiest running around Huck Finn's Island.

Ah. The Magic of The Mouse.

St Paddy's Beach Day

Toby and I were all set to go see The Lorax today. Well, he doesn't know that, but it's just as well because I changed the plan.

It had been a good plan. Kevin took Kaden and Blue to Kaden's 9am baseball game and after that he took them to a St. Lucie Mets spring training game, so good day for Toby and I to try our first movie at a special showing for special needs kids. Lots of movie theaters do these nowadays, special needs kids are free and they try to make it a more friendly environment. Lights are up, sounds is at half volume, running around during the film is ok. I've been meaning to support such a showing for awhile now and as Toby nears three I think he might actually have fun at such an outing.

But today was not the day.

Some friends invited us to the beach and beach plans trump other plans. Pretty much always.

And it was crazy gorgeous.

I mean just perfect.

Toby was in a great mood.

And  it was low tide so he could walk forever.

Or make me come and sit so he could sit on me.

But some of the time he played with friends too.

In the evening I had plans, but I left the boys with a green dinner to observe the holiday: spinach pizza and limeade with green ice cubes.

But the beach even trumps green ice cubes.

35 Kevin and Birthday Related Things

1. 

2. Kevin flew yesterday - a long day where he was out of the house around 5am and home a little after 8pm.  The day after he flies he doesn't go into work until 9am so he can then bring Kaden and Blue to school first. For some reason, being dropped off by Daddy is waaaayyyyyy cooler than being dropped off by Mommy, so the boys love these mornings.

2. According to Blue the things Daddy can do well are: read, canoe, and fly airplanes.

3. So good at canoeing in fact that I skipped my undergrad college graduation ceremony and Kevin and I went canoeing instead. Seriously.

4. But when he graduated the following December did he replay me that kindness? Nope. I then sat through my first UF graduation....

5. Kevin shares his birthday with his (now deceased) maternal grandfather.

6. And Flava Flav.

7. The number one song on March 16, 1977, the day Kevin was born, was Love Theme from 'A Star is Born' by Barbara Streisand.

8. Daddy's birthday fell on Blue's St. Patrick's party day.


Blue came home looking even more like a feisty leprechaun than usual.

9. Blue's leprechaun hat doesn't fit Kevin.

10. Poor Kevin. Toby wants nothing to do with him these days. If Kevin tries to pick him up he just starts hollering Mommy.  Last night when Kevin got home, Toby was still awake and talking in his bed, so Kevin went in to say goodnight. When the door opened Toby said, "Mommy!" Then he saw it was Kevin and said, "Bye bye."

11.Five years ago... March 2007 Kevin and Kaden feeding ducks at a Longview, TX park. 

12. Those are the sunglasses Toby broke last weekend so Kevin will be replacing them with his birthday money this year.

13. Kevin has $100 in extra birthday money because I put $10 worth of scratch-off/lotto tix in his bday card and we won $14. He then used ten of that and bought one scratch-off that won him $100. (For the record adding a few scratch-offs to bday cards or Christmas stockings is the only time such things get bought around here.)

14. I think this will always be my favorite picture of Kevin and any excuse to post and repost should be taken...

(summer of 1999)

15. Every year since I've known Kevin you could ask me what his favorite food is and I'd have been able to say home-grilled, medium rare hamburgers with all the fixin's. Oh and the ketchup has to be room temperature.

16. Then, last summer, he had to go and watch King Corn and Food Inc and he banished factory farmed meat from his diet so he's like 98% vegetarian, and I have no idea what his favorite food is. 12+ years as a couple and I can't even tell you his favorite food. Sheesh.

17. He can do basic car repairs, basic plumbing, electrical work, anything woodwork related, flooring... I'm telling ya, super convenient guy to have around.

18. He loves planning things to do with the boys. (Camping last weekend, St. Lucie Mets training game tomorrow.) And oh how I love him for that.

19. Before we were officially a couple Kevin and I used to use 90210 as an excuse to get together. It was its last season and really, really bad, but every week, there we were in my apartment... Clearly destined to be married.

20. He always beats me at Scrabble.

21. If you had asked me the odds of Kevin watching Midnight in Paris, I'd have said slim to none. But the week before the Oscars that's the movie he spontaneously redboxed. We both loved it.

22. He's read The Hunger Games trilogy.

23. And all the Twilight Books.

24. But after Eclipse he told me he won't go to any more of the movies with me. I can respect that.

25. Now's he on a kick where he alternates fiction and nonfiction and his nonfictions kicks of late... Cival War era U.S., Palestinian/Israeli conflict, and Greedy Bastards

26. He has the worst eczema on his hands and feet and has no fingerprints. This was a big fat pain when we were adopting Kaden from Russia and we needed to be fingerprinted. Nowadays he uses the "hands hurt" excuse to get out of doing things like chopping onions and putting away laundry.

27. This is a shame because he is much better food dicer than I am.

28. Just heard him say, "Come on Florida State." I thought this was blasphemy in our house, but I guess it helps his bracket if they win a few...

29. Of course he's got brackets... entered in a pool.... for money.  He plays fantasy football too.

30. How many pilots out there have a degree in Chemical Engineering? At least one.

31. His trunk is full of old lobster traps. Ask him about it.

32. He loves to snow ski and golf but alas, now that he's a family man, never gets to do either.

33. I am NOT shy, but Kevin is definitely the outgoing one in our relationship.

34. We spent a bunch of money last year on new dressy clothes for Kevin. Tonight we're going to the MFI banquet and Kevin's back in his old clothes. Now that's he's a vegetarian he can't stop losing weight. 

35. This morning:


 

Eight into Eight...

Dear Kaden,

You’re eight days into this grand old age of being eight, and I had to get this letter written because 1. I love you and want to record memories at every birthday and 2. Dad’s birthday is tomorrow and I gotta move on so I can figure out something special for him too.

Eight, to me, IS childhood. You are still young enough to be innocent and naïve. I know this isn’t true of all eight-year-olds, but thankfully it is true of you.  You have never seen an episode of American Idol and you don’t know any current pop stars. You were given an itunes gift card for your birthday and you didn’t know what it was. What can I say? You don’t watch tv other than the commercial-free cartoons we DVR and you’re just too busy being a kid to pay attention to any of that other stuff.

But you’re also old enough to know some pretty important things too. Not things that compromise your innocence, but things that can get you places in this world. You can tell time on the new watch Oma got you for your birthday. You can count money, read chapter books, or write a letter should the inclination strike you. (Or, more likely, should your mother tell you it’s time to write a note to a grandparent or a cousin.)

While you are eight you will start 3^rd grade and 3^rd grade is the grade where I begin to have a better handle on my own childhood memories. I was in Mrs. Rayers class. I can still picture Mrs. Rayers – short, shoulder length brown feathered hair. She didn’t have the best posture, or perhaps it was just that she was always hunched with great speed toward her purpose. I loved her and remain grateful that she was tolerant of me, a very silly girl apt to giggle from the slightest glance or hint of a glance from my best friend at the time, Erin Hornsby. Erin and I did silly things like run up to high school boys and tell them we liked them. I went to a private school that went to 12^th grade and Chad Thorton of the football team held both our hearts. We even knew who his girlfriend was. (Amy Pitchford. Yes, these names are all tucked into my memory. I guess I paid close attention when I was eight.) Oh and it was Erin who convinced me to try to wear my short-strapped, purple unicorn purse over my head and shoulders, mail carrier style. Yup, said purse totally got stuck and said short-straps totally got cut to free my silly eight-year-old, third grade self. Mrs. Rayers put up with that. Although, I was in such a fit of giggles over the purse incident that she made me sit outside until I could compose myself.  Your stern, no-nonsense, momma behaved this way.  It IS hard to believe.

How I hope your 8^th year will find a friend like Erin and a teacher like Mrs. Rayers.

Oh and my other best friend was Jill Livingston. She lived across the street and had a pool and a Nintendo, two things I did not have. I pretty much lived at her house in the summertime. Since we do not have a pool or an Xbox or Wii, you should totally find a neighborhood Jill as well. Ok, and not just because she had fun stuff at her house, but because she was fun and a great listener, and she was right there across the street. The sister I didn't have. 

When I was eight I wore jams. Jams were knee-length shorts featuring the most awful possible combination of colors and patterns.  My favorite pair were red, black, white and purple and I think this pair sported, somewhere in it’s swirl of chaos, a checker pattern and grapes. Let’s just hope I never wore them with my sold turquoise Reebok. (But I probably did.)  Most of the time you wear khaki shorts and striped or solid polo shirts. Your childhood pictures will we way more boring.

But I think at your age life came a little easier to me. I was a chatterbox and emerging writer, so I wait, often not as patiently as I should, as you progress as your own pace.  At this age and stage you still struggle to express yourself.  Some days I feel as though I correct every sentence you speak. You still don’t have a handle on prepositions and use them seemingly at random. You get caught up on pronouns too, often mixing up he and she.  With prepositions I just don’t think you understand what they all mean. With pronouns, I know you know which word to use, but when you’re talking the wrong thing seems to come out. In general, I just don’t sense any ease for you when you are trying to comment on things, so you’re still in speech at school and at home we practice, practice, practice. Whenever you say something that doesn’t make sense, I figure out what you’re trying to say and have you repeat the correct sentence back to me. For school writing assignments you are probably the only kid who has a clear sense of a first and second draft. Oh to be the son of a writer. You write something on your own then I edit and proof it and you go back and start over. Just call me Tiger Mom.

Even so, you are doing fine in school. Satisfactory in every subject on every progress report or report card.  Your reading comprehension is our biggest area of work.  Often when we read chapters with you, you can’t remember a thing until we go back through it a second time. You are a learner who needs repetition.

That’s ok. The beginning of your life is, may always be, a mystery to us. We have unknown hurdles to jump. You have your own pace, but you are jumping. There is no doubt, and we are so proud. 

You are really starting to enjoy baseball. On your birthday you had practice before we went off to your choice of a Chili’s birthday dinner. I watched you easily ground an infield hit and lob it accurately to first base for the out.  I love watching how you’ve improved.  You played basketball for the first time this year and loved it. We now have a basketball net in the driveway and you are always asking if you can go outside and shoot. On your birthday I asked you what you hoped to accomplish while you were eight and you said you wanted to get better in both baseball and basketball.  I don’t doubt you will.

That wasn’t my only question. You told me your favorite thing to do is play the Wii. Thank goodness at least Gran and Papa have one at their house! You said your favorite movie is How to Train a Dragon and your favorite food is pizza. I asked if it had to have anything special on it or if you’d take any kind of pizza and you said any kind will do for you!

I asked you what you want to be when you grow and in the past you’ve always said veterinarian, but this time you said being a Math teacher. You told me that if you could go on a vacation anywhere that you would go to Alaska and go hiking there. Ah, a boy after my own heart!

It didn’t come up, but you also love bowling which is why you picked it for you birthday party and horseback riding. You are always reminding me how you want to go back to horse camp this summer even though last summer you got bit in the face by a dog. This past Christmas you made us so proud by riding a horse in the Stuart Christmas parade.  All the other riders were adults but you rode confidently as though it were the easiest thing.

You’re starting to get into Legos. You especially like putting together Lego kits with Dad. You may like pizza like any other eight-year-old but overall I’d say your palate is a bit more sophisticated. You love a good Greek salad or anything else with feta cheese. You’re all about putting hot sauce on just about anything. I make an orzo salad with garbanzo beans you get excited over, and the other night when we made Asian stir fry with cabbage and green beans you were all about it. No bribing needed for trying new foods in our house. You remain an adventurous eater.

Handsome. Up for anything. Easy going. That’s you at eight.

You make this whole Mom thing look easy.

Love,

Me

 

Thank you, Word World

I like walking through my play area and seeing that my five year, who can't read yet, is correctly spelling words he saw earlier in the day on your show.