Duh!

Seth's class took a trip to the Charlotte Children's Theater last week. We were walking home from the bus stop that day when the following conversation occurred:

Mom: Seth, how was your field trip today?
Seth: I didn't go on a field trip, Mommy.
Mom: Yes you did, you went to the Children's Theater, remember?
Seth: That wasn't a field trip, Mommy. We didn't go to a FIELD!

At this point it dawned on me that all other "field trips" Seth has attended have, in fact, been to places with fields. Gotta love the logic of this kid!!

Thoughts from Mike on Katey

Last weekend, Jen ran away from home took a much deserved break and left me with the kids. This is usually a welcome time for me, since I enjoy some solitude once in awhile, even from such a lovely angel as my wife. Of course, I also get to understand what Jen goes through every day of the week have quality time with Katey and Seth, and this was no exception.

Katey decided to join me outside while I worked on the lawn. This was the official start of Spring, and Katey was exulting in the glory of the new season. I mean that quite literally. She was doing her best impression of a leaping ballerina, all while shouting,"Spring is here, Spring is here!" (Jen would have now inserted a picture of Katey exulting.) She did this for a little while before stopping abruptly. She looked down at her shorts, and then quickly zipped them up, as apparently this was forgotten in the rush to get outside.

This incident was a good summary in many ways of Katey's personality. She has grand visions and plans, but is often humbled by the mundane realities of life. So far, this has not stopped her from coming up with new visions and plans. As a parent, I often catch myself putting the damper on these schemes. (No Katey, we can't build a boat out of dead trees from the woods in the backyard and sail down the river drainage creek.) While I obviously am put in her life as a voice of reason, I don't want to unnecessarily dampen her spirit of creativity. She'll have plenty of time later to learn about things like budgets, regulations, gravity, and the other limitations of life. God willing, I will appreciate this time in her life when everything seems possible.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Last Friday started off a great weekend of GIRLS! Mike had to work late and Seth was heading to have dinner and a movie with his bud, Andrew. So, Katey and I spent the afternoon and evening with 2 of her friends, Abby and Tori. Since it was a gorgeous day, we were outside for almost the entire afternoon and evening. We even had a pizza picnic on the lawn! Here are some fun shots of the girls enjoying the great outdoors:

Playing Frisbee Golf

Doing what Katey loves best...digging in the dirt (for bugs)

On Saturday, I had the wonderful opportunity to get away with some very good friends. There is nothing quite like spending time together and laughing with friends!

Alison, Anna Barrett, Elizabeth and I met on Saturday in Durham, NC for a quick, 24 hour trip together. We spent the afternoon shopping (what girls' weekend would be complete without shopping?!?) and enjoying coffee. One of our stops with REI for some sandals and we discovered some very curious looking shoes:
They are very ugly and I don't plan to ever own a pair, but they were amazingly comfy!

Later on we got cleaned up for dinner at The Melting Pot. We had an almost 3 hour dining experience and all walked out feeling so full it wasn't even funny! One of the highlights of the dinner was this:Alison HATES broccoli...or so she has always said. But, she got brave and tried a bite - which was what made this moment so very camera-worthy. :-)

After dinner (at almost 10!) we made our way back to the room. After Alison demonstrated the proper way to check for bedbugs (it is a global world after all, right Al?), we were able to all snuggle down into bed. That is, until...

Some story about something needed a little action to complete. Awesome.

I have to mention here that Anna Barrett and Elizabeth are in the same bed. We are very proud of AB (our very modest friend) for allowing Elizabeth to sleep in the same bed as her - we are pretty sure this is a FIRST as the last time AB was supposed to share a bed with a friend she slept in her car instead!

The next morning we enjoyed spending time together before having to head back home. What a fun, fun weekend. Thanks to Anna Barrett for organizing it for us!!

Worksickgreenfellasnakes

Mike worked hard last weekend to clear out the rest of the overgrowth in the back yard. It looks so different out there now! Katey helped carry the branches/limbs/small trees to the wooded area across the "river". (It is really a drainage creek, but river sounds so much more majestic, don't you think?!)

I didn't get any pictures of Katey helping because I wasn't feeling well. I'm not the only one in the family who was under the weather. Seth had 3 doctor's appointments in 5 days!! One antibiotic (for possible Strep or bronchitis), one steroid (for croup) and a round of breathing treatments (for wheezing) interspersed with Sudafed and Mucinex and he is almost back to his normal self. Geesh.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!

Katey was elated that I found a pair of green pants for her to wear today. Never mind the fact that she had a crazy amount of unmatching shades of green - it is of utmost importance to this child that she be covered from head to toe in the appropriately colored attire. Mission accomplished!


This afternoon was spent telling tales of leprechauns and how naughty they can be. Apparently one turned all the toilet water green in Seth's classroom! The kids drew up plans to create traps for the wily little fellas and Katey actually created hers with pipe cleaners. She even turned one of Seth's stuffed animals into a mock-leprechaun to test out the trap. Seth's idea involved wood and metal bars (to look like a mouse trap) so we never did create a model - but it is all down on paper...see:

It says: Wood; Glitter; Metal Bars; Leprechaun Trap

Mike and the kids recreated the legend of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland:


And, the most exciting event of the day? I attempted a family picture to show off our green and we got a nice shot after only ONE take!!!! Truly a St. Patty's Day miracle. :-)

Real, Literal Tears

As a parent, one absolutely expects tears to be shed over boo-boos, discipline and hurt feelings. Maybe even over bed time and missing out on something because you are sick. But, what we experienced earlier this week was a little shocking to me.

Katey brought home math homework. It was all about telling time. The first few problems involved writing the time shown on an analog clock-no sweat! And then came the next part: "Write out the time as you would say it." Seems pretty straightforward, right? This is how the next 5 minutes played out:

Katey writes 3:30 as Three-ThirDEE and 4:45 as For-ForDee-fIve
I shake my head in confusion and tell her she needs to spell the words correctly.
"But Mommy, it says to write it as you would SAY it, not as it is really spelled."
"Katey, it means to write out the time using words, correctly. You know how to spell them right and you need to do so."
Tears are now streaming down her face.
"Katey, why are you so upset about this?"
"Because, Mommy, it says to write them like you say it and the spelling isn't how you SAY the words. I need to do it how the instructions say."

And it went on from there. In the end, she wrote the words using correct spelling and agreed that if her teacher said it was incorrect that she could blame me...which led to the following:
"Mommy, if Ms. Dunleavy says you were wrong, I will ask her to write you a note and tell you that you were wrong. I'll also tell you."

Where does she get that NEED to be right, anyway? (says her mom who may or may not frequently insist on being right as well)

A Break from the Norm

It is 2:30. The kids have just gotten off the school bus and entered the house. The start of our afternoon together usually goes something like this:

Mommy, can I have a snack? Mommy, can I play on the computer? Mommy, can I play on the Wii? Mommy, can I watch TV upstairs? Mommy, can I play outside?

In fact, this barrage of questions is so frequent and predictable that I would not be willing to wager any bet against it.

So, you can imagine my utter shock (and amazement) when one day this week I heard:

Mommy, can I clean the windows?

Why yes, YES you can!

I Don't Matter

Seth has "learned" a new phrase. We have had several recent conversations that went something like this:

Me: Seth, get your coat so we can go.
Seth: I don't want to wear a coat.
Me: Yes, put it on, it is chilly and you might get cold without it.
Seth: (Runs to get coat...then returns without it) I don't matter, Mommy. I don't want it.

At first I was rather taken aback...until I realized he actually meant: It doesn't matter to me! How do you explain to a 6 year old the difference between those two statements?!? Hoping he gets it soon - and we don't get a call from his teacher wondering what kind of destructive self-talk we are teaching our son!

And speaking of explaining things to a kid...Katey brought home her spelling words this week and had to look up the meaning of words she didn't know. The 3 she looked up were:
Artifice: Cleverness; sneakiness
Torrent: Turbulent of water
Essence: The intrinsic or indispensable properties of a thing

So, I didn't even know artifice was a word! Then, after Katey looked up essence we had to define the words in the definition! How do you explain to an 8 year old what intrinsic, indispensable and essence actually are? After trying to put it in words she understands, she wrote down: What the thing is.