Ben pictured with his babies---Fenny, Tonky (the dog) and Bot
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Good News/Bad News
The Friday morning crowd at Tot Lot has gotten pretty rough in recent weeks.
Two weeks ago Ben got pinched (or punched---he was vague on the details) in the giant inflatable bounce house. Then, on Friday, Maggie got steamrolled by the giant green bouncing ball, run over by a maverick 2-year-old driving a Little Tykes motorcycle, and was (physically) turned away at the door of the playhouse by a mean-spirited 5-year-old.
Fortunately she is the third child and is, therefore, very tough. (I vividly remember the tears that ensued when Cate was pushed down for the first time. Mass hysteria ensued and I could not figure out why she---age 18 months---was so upset, and then I realized that she had never been pushed in her entire life. But she was not destined to be an only child and so is now much more used to getting pushed...)
When Chris arrived home that night and asked how our day was, Ben was ready with the update:
Ben (pausing for dramatic effect): Do you want the good news or the bad news?
Chris: Um, the bad news, I guess?
Ben: Today at Tot Lot Maggie got handmandled* three times.
Chris: And the good news?
Ben: I did not.
Ben: I did not.
(*aka "manhandled")
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Cabin Fever
Generally speaking, I dislike this time of year. It's cold. The sun doesn't shine. Everyone in my house is either getting or getting over a virus. Even the snow looks tired and dirty.
So this week of 40-degree weather has been a welcome, welcome change for us. I've bundled the kids into their snowsuits headed outside to "shovel" snow (Cate and Ben) and eat rocks (Maggie) every day this week.
Sadly, I know that the (relatively) warm weather won't last and we'll be stuck inside for a few more weeks.
I'm not sure how we'll fill those long afternoons but I can tell you that when I consider weeks past, I realize that what really captures my kids' imagination is not the Littlest Pet Shop, the Polly Pockets, the Leap Frog Music Table (which sings in both Spanish AND English!) or the tiny toys of Happy Meals past.
Instead, they are engaged by the simplest of activities:
Creating houses for stuffed animals out of cardboard boxes.
Sorting colored milk lids into plastic containers.
Turning a cardboard box into a dinosaur habitat.
Flying paper airplanes.
I guess it's fair to say that paper and cardboard boxes should be at the top of birthday/Christmas lists for this crew.
So this week of 40-degree weather has been a welcome, welcome change for us. I've bundled the kids into their snowsuits headed outside to "shovel" snow (Cate and Ben) and eat rocks (Maggie) every day this week.
Sadly, I know that the (relatively) warm weather won't last and we'll be stuck inside for a few more weeks.
I'm not sure how we'll fill those long afternoons but I can tell you that when I consider weeks past, I realize that what really captures my kids' imagination is not the Littlest Pet Shop, the Polly Pockets, the Leap Frog Music Table (which sings in both Spanish AND English!) or the tiny toys of Happy Meals past.
Instead, they are engaged by the simplest of activities:
Creating houses for stuffed animals out of cardboard boxes.
Sorting colored milk lids into plastic containers.
Turning a cardboard box into a dinosaur habitat.
Flying paper airplanes.
I guess it's fair to say that paper and cardboard boxes should be at the top of birthday/Christmas lists for this crew.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Kindergarten Round-Up
A definite success.
Such a good time, in fact, that Cate is ready to start kindergarten on Monday.
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