Monday, March 25, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Zoofari
The kids were ready to go after the drive and anxious to see some animals, especially the "rah-tahn-er-rous" (translation of Lukese: rhinoceros).
We started off with the alligators and reptiles. The kids love turtles ever since the Creature Teacher at school brought one in to show them. They were quizzing me about what kind it was and I had to fudge my turtle knowledge a bit. I'm only familiar with the teenage-mutant genus of turtles myself.
We managed to catch the feeding time for the seals, which the kids thought was really great. They also thought it was gross that the trainer was feeding the seals raw fish with her hands (I concurred). Then we got to view the seals at the underground view tank. It was pretty neat and the kids loved that the seals would swim right up to the glass.
The zoo also had a garden themed playground we played at and a 4D movie theater, carousel, and train rides (that were all closed until April, bummer). Oh, and it also had walking. Lots and lots of walking. This is a BIG zoo and while having lots of land for the animals is great, it is not so great for little kids legs. They did great though and only struggled at the very end of the day when we had to walk back to the entrance.
As usual, things other than the main attraction (the animals) proved to be the biggest hits:
Pretend-eggs that they could pretend-hatch out of - Entertainment value: 20 minutes.
Statues of bison because the bison were lounging too far away to see - Entertainment value: 15 minutes (could have been more but we rushed away when Peyton began questioning and touching the bison statue's nether regions).
Playing with the binoculars that required a quarter to use (we had no quarters, rendering them useless) - Entertainment value: 25 minutes, and we still had to drag them away.
Overall, the zoo was a success. Next time we'll be sure to make the walking more manageable (more breaks and/or tram rides), but the weather was awesome. I'm against being within the immediate vicinity of wild animals if the temperature is above 70 degrees (heat + wild animals = stench I'd rather avoid), so we lucked out with it being cool and sunny.
As for now, our visitors are gone, I have pretty flowered plants on my porch, and my nose is itchy and stuffed up. Spring is in the air!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Wordless Wednesday
We have guests coming and a busy weekend planned, so pictures will have to suffice for today. We've been busy lately and can't believe that spring is (finally) coming!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Obsession
I've decided that all preschoolers go through phases of obsession. They get locked on to something and then they are hooked. Sometimes it lasts a few days and sometimes it can be months and months. Each of my kids has an obsession as of late and I thought it would be fun to share them so that they can see what they were so smitten with in a few years time.
Sam
Obsession: Star Wars and (still) airplanes
Sam still likes his Luke Skywalker and can often be found running around outside with Luke fending off Darth Vader. He even has gone so far as to construct Start Wars paraphernalia from his blocks (see the Walker above). Even though his love of airplanes is not as feverishly focused as before, they are still a regular topic of conversation and he still wants to be a pilot when he grows up.
Peyton
Obsession: Ballet, Singing, Performing
Peyton is definitely obsessed with singing and dancing. She told me the other day that she "just didn't know why God decided to make her such a good dancer and singer." Obviously modesty is not one of her current obsessions. She regularly holds concerts in the bathtub and always counts down the days until the next ballet class.
Adah
Obsession: Stuffed animals and their "habitats"
Adah has the imagination of ten children combined and you can often find her putting it to use with her stuffed animals. She is particularly fond of dogs and when left to her owns devices I will often come upon something like what you see in the pictures above. She creates homes, play structures, restaurants, etc. for all of her animals that somehow find a way to use every available toy at her disposal. The elaborateness of the scenes is crazy. She loves her "pets" and I always find them perched on the chair beside her at snack time or lined up in height order on the couch.
Luke
Obsession: Basketball, basketball, and basketball
Luke is definitely our most obsessed child at the moment. The kid lives, breathes, and eats basketball. He willingly sits and watches games on TV (he doesn't care who is playing) and will brave below freezing temperatures to go outside and "shoot the hoop". The kid has even snuck a basketball jersey on under his coat to wear to school without me noticing. Of course we feed this obsession since we are big basketball fans ourselves, so hopefully it sticks around for a while.
Watching the kids discover new things that excite them is so much fun. I love seeing how different they are and am always wondering what the next obsession will be. My next obsession is warm weather. Come on spring!
Sam
Obsession: Star Wars and (still) airplanes
Sam still likes his Luke Skywalker and can often be found running around outside with Luke fending off Darth Vader. He even has gone so far as to construct Start Wars paraphernalia from his blocks (see the Walker above). Even though his love of airplanes is not as feverishly focused as before, they are still a regular topic of conversation and he still wants to be a pilot when he grows up.
Peyton
Obsession: Ballet, Singing, Performing
Peyton is definitely obsessed with singing and dancing. She told me the other day that she "just didn't know why God decided to make her such a good dancer and singer." Obviously modesty is not one of her current obsessions. She regularly holds concerts in the bathtub and always counts down the days until the next ballet class.
Adah
Obsession: Stuffed animals and their "habitats"
Adah has the imagination of ten children combined and you can often find her putting it to use with her stuffed animals. She is particularly fond of dogs and when left to her owns devices I will often come upon something like what you see in the pictures above. She creates homes, play structures, restaurants, etc. for all of her animals that somehow find a way to use every available toy at her disposal. The elaborateness of the scenes is crazy. She loves her "pets" and I always find them perched on the chair beside her at snack time or lined up in height order on the couch.
Luke
Obsession: Basketball, basketball, and basketball
Luke is definitely our most obsessed child at the moment. The kid lives, breathes, and eats basketball. He willingly sits and watches games on TV (he doesn't care who is playing) and will brave below freezing temperatures to go outside and "shoot the hoop". The kid has even snuck a basketball jersey on under his coat to wear to school without me noticing. Of course we feed this obsession since we are big basketball fans ourselves, so hopefully it sticks around for a while.
Watching the kids discover new things that excite them is so much fun. I love seeing how different they are and am always wondering what the next obsession will be. My next obsession is warm weather. Come on spring!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Big Girls Do Cry
The other day Peyton and I were talking about something - I can't even remember what it was - that caused me to say, "I remember when that happened to me and it made me cry."
She looked at me in disbelief and said, "But mommies don't cry!"
I then had to explain to her that yes, in fact, I DO cry, that everyone cries. She then chimed in with, "But Mommy, I've never seen you cry."
Score one for the rising kindergartener.
She's right. I can't remember a time where I've cried in front of my kids. I don't count the baby days when sometimes I would weep from mere exhaustion, they don't really count because the kids don't remember that time in their lives. But, over the last few years, I cannot remember a time when they saw me shed a tear.
Now part of this has to do with the fact that I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve. I keep my feelings close and guarded, worried if someone sees me feeling out of step or wearing thin. I'm the first to admit that it takes a lot to make me break down. I'm just not a crier ... but I DO cry.
My conversation with Peyton got me thinking though. I want my kids to share their feelings with me. Not just now, but later on down the line. In those scary tween and teen years I want them to talk to me, to open up, to let me know if they're sad or hurt or joyful inside. And the only way that they're going to learn how to do this is by watching Matt and me. By watching us share and reveal our hearts and feelings to them, the good and the bad. Admittedly, I can't become a "feeling-sharer" overnight, it's just not in my nature. But I can make a concerted effort to make sure my kids know what I am feeling so that they too can learn what feelings are, how to identify them, and how to share them with others.
I've started trying to share more feelings with them lately and I can already see a difference. I talk about when I'm sad and why I'm sad or if I'm having a good day I'll share and tell them why. It's helped tremendously when I've been frustrated or angry. Rather than erupting in anger or yelling, I'll just start spewing how I feel. Things like, "It makes me really angry when you won't do what Mommy asks you to do. I'm upset because now we all have to sit here and wait because you aren't ready. That means we're going to be late and I get angry when I'm late to an appointment that I've made with someone." It seems a little harsh in writing but I'm telling you it has made a world of difference. The kids are seeing I have feelings and instead of just knowing that I'm angry because I'm raising my voice, they know WHY I'm getting angry. It also makes me feel better and decreases the likelihood that any yelling is involved.
I could tell the kids were really liking it when they started drawing pictures of their feeling to show me. One time when I didn't let Sam have a piece of gum, he went and drew a picture about what he felt like instead of crying and being upset. He showed it to me and we talked about the picture and how he felt. I think by letting them tell us their feelings, they feel validated and more willing to accept any punishments or repercussions that we dole out. Knowing how they feel has softened my approach to them and how we talk about arguments or disagreements after the fact. And, hopefully, it's helping them understand that having feelings, understanding them, and sharing them are normal things for our family to do. Now if only I can guarantee that this will still be the case 10 years down the road ...
She looked at me in disbelief and said, "But mommies don't cry!"
I then had to explain to her that yes, in fact, I DO cry, that everyone cries. She then chimed in with, "But Mommy, I've never seen you cry."
Score one for the rising kindergartener.
She's right. I can't remember a time where I've cried in front of my kids. I don't count the baby days when sometimes I would weep from mere exhaustion, they don't really count because the kids don't remember that time in their lives. But, over the last few years, I cannot remember a time when they saw me shed a tear.
Now part of this has to do with the fact that I'm not one to wear my heart on my sleeve. I keep my feelings close and guarded, worried if someone sees me feeling out of step or wearing thin. I'm the first to admit that it takes a lot to make me break down. I'm just not a crier ... but I DO cry.
My conversation with Peyton got me thinking though. I want my kids to share their feelings with me. Not just now, but later on down the line. In those scary tween and teen years I want them to talk to me, to open up, to let me know if they're sad or hurt or joyful inside. And the only way that they're going to learn how to do this is by watching Matt and me. By watching us share and reveal our hearts and feelings to them, the good and the bad. Admittedly, I can't become a "feeling-sharer" overnight, it's just not in my nature. But I can make a concerted effort to make sure my kids know what I am feeling so that they too can learn what feelings are, how to identify them, and how to share them with others.
I've started trying to share more feelings with them lately and I can already see a difference. I talk about when I'm sad and why I'm sad or if I'm having a good day I'll share and tell them why. It's helped tremendously when I've been frustrated or angry. Rather than erupting in anger or yelling, I'll just start spewing how I feel. Things like, "It makes me really angry when you won't do what Mommy asks you to do. I'm upset because now we all have to sit here and wait because you aren't ready. That means we're going to be late and I get angry when I'm late to an appointment that I've made with someone." It seems a little harsh in writing but I'm telling you it has made a world of difference. The kids are seeing I have feelings and instead of just knowing that I'm angry because I'm raising my voice, they know WHY I'm getting angry. It also makes me feel better and decreases the likelihood that any yelling is involved.
I could tell the kids were really liking it when they started drawing pictures of their feeling to show me. One time when I didn't let Sam have a piece of gum, he went and drew a picture about what he felt like instead of crying and being upset. He showed it to me and we talked about the picture and how he felt. I think by letting them tell us their feelings, they feel validated and more willing to accept any punishments or repercussions that we dole out. Knowing how they feel has softened my approach to them and how we talk about arguments or disagreements after the fact. And, hopefully, it's helping them understand that having feelings, understanding them, and sharing them are normal things for our family to do. Now if only I can guarantee that this will still be the case 10 years down the road ...
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