A New Career Path

For the past few weeks, Ben has been telling me that he wants to be a farmer when he grows up. We're leaving for a vacation in Vermont soon and I thought it would be fun to try an visit a farm while we're there. A quick Google search revealed that "agri-tourism" is pretty popular in Vermont and there are plenty of opportunities to visit farms and learn how to milk cows and feed llamas.

AND, in case you were wondering, the irony of living in Iowa and traveling to Vermont to visit a farm is not lost on me.

Hoping that Ben would be excited about the prospect of visiting a farm, I asked him, "Ben do you still want to be a farmer when you grow up?"

"No," he said.

Surprised, I asked, "Well, what do you want to be then?"

"An ogre," he replied.

Hmmm. Finding a vacation-oriented activity centered around ogres will require a very different Google search.

Playing Outside at Grandma & Grandpa's

We spent the weekend in Harlan, celebrating Chris' niece's birthday as well as attending a wedding shower for our soon-to-be sister-in-law. The kids were able to spend a significant part of Saturday afternoon outside and it's clear they loved every minute of it.

She Likes It!

Despite my intention to hold off on introducing Maggie to solid foods until after vacation, I bought a box of Gerber rice cereal today at Hy-Vee.

So tonight while Chris was cooking, the kids and I gave Maggie her first taste of "real" food.

Unlike her older siblings, who immediately and dramatically indicated their intense dislike for rice cereal, Maggie seemed to think it was...well...okay.

She wasn't gobbling it up but seemed willing to eat a few spoonfuls before grabbing the spoon from my hand, chewing on it, waving it around in the air, and then tossing it on the floor.

Most Favorite Picture. Ever.

My talented friend, Alicia, took this picture when Maggie was 3-months old. She's photographed my children since Cate was a newborn and I am always amazed by her talent--her photos are simply filled with light.

Thanks Alicia for capturing this moment.

You Know You're Reading Too Many Fairy Tales When...

You overhear your children saying things to each other like, "Stop it! You're mean and wicked!"

Another sign of fairy tale overload is that your children start posing questions like, "What do you like best: witches, ogres or big bad wolves?" and then you find yourself, quite seriously, debating the merits of each and you realize that you really do prefer witches to ogres or big bad wolves.

Conversations from the Backseat

Usually the conversations from the backseat of my car (okay, minivan...) go something like this:

Cate: Mom, look! I saw a dump truck!

Ben: No you didn't!

Cate: MOM! Ben says I didn't see a dump truck!

Ben: Stop that you mean old racket!

Cate: MOM! Ben called me a mean old racket!

Me: Ben, don't call you sister a mean old racket.

(15 seconds of silence)

Ben: Stop that you mean old packet!

Cate: MOM! Ben called me a mean old packet!

Me: Ben...that's enough. Do not call your sister a mean old packet.

(15 seconds of silence)

Ben: Stop that you mean old tacket!

Cate: MOM!

And so on...

Today we were in the car on the way to Cate's doctor appointment, out of nowhere Cate announced, "Benny, I love you."

To which Ben replied, "Me too."

Unable to let this unusual display of sibling love pass by without comment I said, "It makes my heart happy when you guys are so nice to each other. Why can't everyone be this nice every day?"

To which Cate responded, "Oh Mom. We were saving this for a special occasion. Right Ben?"

If a trip to the doctor's office qualifies as special occasion, I'll take it.

Big Girl.

It hardly seems possible but Maggie is starting to sit independently.

Well, for a few seconds anyway...

I Like to Call This One...

Cate "Shares" Maggie's Photo Opp with Grandpa Doug While Ben Attempts to Spray Ice From the Refrigerator Door Onto the Floor But Is Thwarted By Great-Grandma J and Her Cat-Like Reflexes.

Oh the memories...

Who Says There's Nothing to Do in the WC?

Chris was out of town this week so I packed up the kids and the dog and headed to Webster City for a few days.

After dragging out every toy in Grandma and Grandpa's toy closet, we hit the pool. It was our first outing of the season, made easier by Great-Grandma J's willingness to watch Maggie for us!

We also explored the great outdoors at Grandma and Grandpa's house, painted the driveway with our cousin Nathan, browsed K-Mart in a futile search for a Slip-N-Slide, went to the park, played with Great-Grandma J and celebrated her birthday, and read lots of stories with Grandpa Doug.

Aside from the fact that my children are incapable of sleeping well outside of their own beds and that my mom was on a work trip and we missed seeing her entirely...we couldn't have asked for a better trip.

Miss Maggie: Five Months

Likes: Mommy, being outside, watching Cate and Ben, "You Are My Sunshine" (especially when sung by her siblings), rolling in all directions, playing in the Exersaucer, "talking" and having others talk back, putting toys in her mouth

Dislikes: being held by anyone she doesn't recognize, sleeping in a Pack-N-Play, long naps (sigh....)

Funny Bunny

Cate had her very first dance recital today. She's had a wonderful experience and seemed to enjoy every minute of both the classes and the recital.



Although I had my doubts about dance classes, Cate assured me from the very beginning that she would LOVE it.


And she did.


On her very first day of class Cate came into our room at 6:00 in the morning, fully dressed in her pink leotard and tights.



She's already talking about what dance class she'll take next fall, who her teacher will be, and which of her friends might be in her class again.



Here is a picture of our funny bunny shaking her little cottontail on stage today:

City Park Baby

I've lived in Iowa City for 10+ years and, until Friday, had never even seen the rides at City Park.

Anytime I mentioned the rides to an actual Iowa City native my comments were met with eye rolls and shoulder shrugs so I wasn't sure what to expect.

My kids, however, were completely blown away by these rides. all four of them. (Keep in mind that they haven't been to Disney World, or even Adventureland, so they had pretty low expectations).

With no crowds to fight we didn't have to wait in line AND, most importantly, we got our pick of the carousel animals.

Sand Art

Cate loves to do art projects and would probably paint, color, draw and glue all day long if she could. Ben loves art projects as well although his attention span isn't as long as his sister's.

Now that Maggie is older and I like her to sleep in her own bed we find ourselves spending more time at home. I'm always on the lookout for new/interesting activities to keep us entertained. Inspired by projects we created last summer at two local events (Move It, Dig It, Do It and Sand in the City) we tried our hand at some sand art.

Cate loved this project because she loves all art projects. Ben loved this project because it was very messy and very dirty. I loved this project because we did it outside and there was no mess in my house.

I bought two bottles of Elmer's glue and six containers of colored sand from Hobby Lobby. I drilled 5 tiny holes in the top of each sand container (for easy shaking) and cut up a giant cardboard box into paper-sized rectangles.

Then the kids were ready to squeeze (or dump...) glue on the cardboard and cover with the colored sand of their choice.

Instant art. Not the kind you can hang on your wall or mail to your grandma but art nonetheless.

Splash!

Whoever invented the Splash Pad must have had me in mind.

After watching Ben, aka Child With No Fear, (completely ignore Chris' command to "Wait until Daddy is ready!") jump into the hotel pool, go completely under water and then come back up with big grin on his face I had resigned myself to a summer without water. How could I manage 3 kids under four at the pool when one of them thinks he's Evil Knievel?

Then today my friend Kathleen invited us to meet up at the new splash pad at Wetherby Park. Maggie and I lounged in the shade and watched Cate and Ben run under the sprinklers and fill up buckets of water and dump them out. There was even a giant mud puddle nearby, perfect for stomping and splashing.

An ideal way to spend a hot afternoon. And I didn't have to dive into the water to rescue anyone.

And Me Without My Camera...

We had a great Memorial Day weekend.

We traveled to Steven's Point, Wisconsin for my cousin's wedding. Although I was excited to see my extended family, I was dreading the trip---four hours in the car (actually six when you factor in all of the food and potty breaks) and then all five of us sharing one hotel room---I was certain that this was a recipe for disaster.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

The weekend was great.

The car ride went smoothly. Everyone slept reasonably well. (Well, except for Chris and I, but you can't have everything. As Chris pointed out, it's hard to sleep with your 2-year-old's feet in your face).

Cate and Ben swam in the hotel pool three days in a row. We played at the Kid's Are Special Here (KASH) playground, which was the most amazing playground I've ever seen. (Check out the picture below if you don't believe me).

We caught up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins and were able to introduce Maggie to the Hyland clan. And I have to say that my family rocked the wedding reception. We are definitely a family of fun-lovers. I will always treasure the memory of dancing with Cate, my parents and cousins to "Stayin' Alive."

Cate, of course, was thrilled to stay up late--until 10:00! When we left the reception Cate looked up at the dark sky in amazement and asked, "Is this midnight?" (And, if you know me at all, then you know this is probably the latest she has ever been up in her life. It probably felt like midnight to her).

In all, I have only two regrets about the entire weekend. First, I wish I had my camera with me to document these memories, especially those of Cate on the dance floor. Second, I regret that I was in the bathroom when the DJ played, "Come on Eileen."

I love that song.