A Day Out with Thomas

This summer was the summer of Thomas trains.

The kids played trains most days, and the train track was/is a semi-permanent fixture on our living room carpet. A lot of time is spent debating who is which train, and who is faster, etcetera. A lot of time was also spent by the older two throwing their bodies on top of their piles of trains to shield them from the approaching baby brother, which often made things worse.

We visited my cousin's family the other weekend, and picked up some great Thomas paraphernalia that his son Dylan had grown out of, to fan the flames of Thomas hysteria, and prepare for an upcoming Day Out with Thomas. Lots of new wooden trains, some DVDs, games, puzzles, and books, as well as some clothes. I also bought a Day Out with Thomas t-shirt on ebay ahead of time, so we wouldn't be pressured to shell out the big bucks at the event to buy memorabilia. I thought that was pretty clever and forward-thinking. We only caved and bought the big kids Thomas pez dispensers.

Our family trip to A Day Out with Thomas was in Lakeville one Sunday morning earlier this month. Here the kids posed with Sir Topham Hatt. Colin started crying when Mike tried putting him in the picture, and I don't blame him! He is the Master of the Railways, however.

I think the train we rode on was a reject from the Metro commuter rails we used to take downtown Chicago from the suburbs back in the day. It sure was a different experience riding the train with our three children- we've come a long way! The view from inside Thomas the Tank Engine was not too spectacular (Lakeville farm fields- oh, I mean the magical island of Sodor), but the kids had a nice time. And we managed to keep Colin seated for the majority of the ride with a snacktrap full of Goldfish.

First Day of First Grade

Annalise had a terrific first day of school. She sat in her own seat (both to and from school), and Manny the bus driver had the radio playing- talk radio and two songs. She navigated the bus ride and walk to her classroom without any difficulty. She played a game, "it was called a class activity", with two hula hoops that had to get around the circle without anyone breaking their handhold. Ms. F read two chapters of Junie B. Jones to the class, and they did some kind of step building with 12 blocks "that was supposed to be math."

She brought a lunch from home today just to keep things simple, and she doesn't want to try hot lunch until Thursday and Friday. Her ID# is like 7 or 8 digits long, so we'll have to devise some type of tag that she can wear to not forget it. She sat at a lunch table with all girls today, and didn't think too much of the lunch offering at school today. "It looked bad."

Mike and I have been so excited about this day, and so pleased that everything went so well for our first-born. I hope she has a wonderful first grade year.

This melted my heart, and made my day!

A few weeks ago, I was snuggling with Bennett in our bed before getting ready for work. I said to my sweet middle son, "I love you SO much, little boy!"

And he responded right away, "I love YOU so much, big girl!"

Fun Day with the Kids

We had fun around the house yesterday building a fort, and later put up a tent in the backyard. I filled the kiddie pool, and Annalise and Bennett splashed around, while Colin (who doesn't have much interest in swimming) watered the garden with watering cans filled over and over again from the rain barrel. We made some corn muffins and jello jigglers, and headed to a party last night. Mike was unable to make it back from his fastpitch tournament in Wisconsin in time to join us, so it was a little hectic, trying to manage all three on my own. We headed home through the rain drops, with lots of tear drops falling on the inside of the vehicle. Luckily, my obliviousness to the weather didn't matter, as we didn't have any storm damage in our neighborhood at all.

Today we went for a drive to my cousin Jay's in Coon Rapids, and picked up some cool Thomas things that his son Dylan didn't want anymore. After that we stopped by to visit HH and family, and now the kids are "resting" (euphemism for napping), and Mike is keeping up with his suburban lawncare responsibilities.

Have a nice week!

Twilight, twilight, first boy I see tonight...

Danielle, Hope, Katie, and I went to see Twilight Eclipse last night. Everyone was amicable, even though there was a division into Team Edward/Team Jacob. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you're probably not 12. Thanks to Danielle for the excellent pre-movie spread. It was nice to lounge around and chat in a quiet, cool, empty house.

I got home from the movie, and was glad to see that Mike was feeling better. Since he rarely gets sick, when he's not feeling well, it really freaks me out. Of course, my mind starts making up a very interesting differential diagnosis. I stopped short of scheduling him for a doctor visit and rectal exam. I've got to stop letting my professional life carry over into my personal life.

Misc.

After work today, I took A and B to ice skating lessons while Mike stayed home with Colin. B doesn't seem to be very into skating, but Annalise loves it and is so competitive, and has improved so much since the last time I made it to lessons two weeks ago. When we got home from lessons, Mike had ordered pizza, so we had a few slices, and shipped the kids off to bed. Mike is feeling a little sick, which is very weird, since Mike is never sick (and no, not that 24 hour flu that he always gets after seeing his UMM friends), so we're just going to hang out on the couch, and watch some more Mad Men, season 3, before Mad Man starts back up again in 10 days.
Tomorrow night is girls' movie night (Twilight Saga- Eclipse, of course), and then a weekend full of possibility. We are headed to a friend's BBQ, but don't know if it will be with Mr. Mom or not, as he may be selling his fastpitch services to another team this weekend. We'll see. I'm trying to blog daily for a week or so, just to see if I can do it, hence the stream of conscience blog post about nothing. Sorry to disappoint all my husband's fans with my rambling, but this blog was mine first. Have a great Friday!

July 6, 2010

This is the day I did something with my children that made me feel like we'd finally joined a majority of parents. It was nice to feel like I was finally sharing a common experience with my friends who have kids. Annalise, Bennett, and I went to a MOVIE....in a movie theatre! Now, for those of you who are up to date on your Milk & O's history, you remember that G&G J got movie tickets for A, along with a hard copy of Horton Hears a Who for her 4th birthday, but she proceeded to run from the theatre only minutes into the flick. This time around, we also laid the groundwork for a successful movie-going experience by watching Toy Story and Toy Story Two (VHS tapes borrowed from The Three Kings- thanks!) about a week prior to our movie date night. On the way to the theatre, we talked about how the sound might seem really loud, but they'd get used to it, and we also talked about how it wasn't real, and if they got scared they could cover their eyes, or snuggle on my lap. We had popcorn and Milk Duds, and I brought juice boxes for the kids. They did really well! Bennett kept his eyes on the screen the whole time, shoveling in handfuls of popcorn, and loudly asking for more. I had to go to the bathroom near the end of the film, courtesy of Large Diet Coke, and asked the kids if they needed to go. Annalise came with me, while Bennett insisted on staying to watch the movie alone. We ran down the hall and back, and Bennett wasn't even fazed that we had left him. He of course wasn't able to tell us how the toys got into the garbage truck, but Annalise and I had a pretty good idea of what we had missed. We really enjoyed Toy Story Three, and it was so much fun breaking it down on the drive home, and listening to the kids relay the story to Daddy on our bed after everyone was in jammies. They were so excited to tell their favorite parts, they could hardly wait while the other was talking. I don't know when another movie will come along that I think our delicate crew will be able to handle, but I hope it isn't too far away- now that we are a tried-and-true movie going bunch, I'm excited to go again!

Happy Birthday USA!

July Fourth in Okabena

Photo by Annalise

Watching the tractors proceed

Loudest boy in America does not like fire engine sirens!