Twins & a Toddler

Does a Mother(s) Proud, the Trifecta

The trifecta was completed this week with our third student of the month for the school year.  As you'll recall, Cuppie was devastated when Linus received the student of the month award earlier this year.  And when Pete received her the following month, she was determined to work even harder at school and it paid off as she was the student of the month for her class for May. 

Cuppie was singled out for being a positive role model in her class.  Her teacher commented that "she sets a great example for other students.  She is always ready to learn and follows directions in class." 

This year has been a great one for Cuppie in school.  She started reading on her own in the fall and hasn't stopped.  She is following in her big sister's footprints and always seems to have a book that she is reading.  She always has a great attitude about school and I think she helps keep her brother in line too!  Thanks for all your hard work this school year Cuppie.  Your Mom's are super proud of you!!

 

The two year project

Last spring we started talking about putting in a garden.  We've actually talked about it for longer than that but were seriously at the point where we could really make it happen last year.  We did some research, talked about it, checked out some books from the library, talked about it.  Scoped out the land for the perfect spot, talked about it some more and before you knew it, fall was here.  This year however, we had a plan and we were going to execute it.  Well, we had a plan and A made it happen. 

Throughout our many discussions, we had decided on putting in a raised bed, square foot garden.  With the help of Pap, A plotted out where he would rototil, then A went to work building the beds.  Next came filling them with nutrient rich soil and this weekend we finally were ready to plant. 

First we had the kids pound in nails to help mark off the individual squares and then we started planting.  Each kid helped out in a different way.  Linus was more involved in the nail pounding and stringing, Pete was our master planter and Cuppie did a little of each but mostly supervised.  We planted a combination of starter plants and seeds.  We are hopefull that some of it will produce nice healthy veggies and fruits for the family. 

Here is the final photo of the project with all but one step left unfinished.  This is to run wire for the climbing plants to grow on.  After getting everything planted, building the climbing frame and installing the fencing around it (we have many animals who live on the property with us such as racoons, opossoms, red foxes, deer and more) we were too exhausted to finish the last step. 

Keep your fingers crossed that our big gardening adventure works!

The End is in Sight

Yesterday was the beginning of the end of a journey that started three years ago for me and the family.  As many of you know, I decided to go back to school for an associates degree in Radiologic Technology (x-ray tech).  I spent a year doing pre-requisites and was then admitted into the program at Kettering College.  Yesterday, my classmates and I graduated, well, we went through the motions of graduating even though we still have one remaining class before we can take the registry exam to become licensed x-ray techs. So we're almost graduated!

The past three years have certainly been a whirlwind.  I never imagined that I would ever go back to school again after graduating with my bachelors in business management in 1991, but here I was learning about anatomy and physiology, physics, writing papers in APA style and learning how to take x-rays safely.  I could not have come close to accomplishing what I did these past three years without the support of my family and friends.   There were times when it really took a village to juggle all of the committments of school, home and family and I appreciate all the help along the way.  Especially from A.  Without her, I would never have been able to do this and keep my sanity.  She allowed me time to study, kept the family running smooth and listened to me panic endlessly about exams and listened to x-ray talk that I'm am sure bored her to tears at times.

Thoughout this whole process something unexpected also happened.  I made friends with some amazing people in my class and at clinicals.  When I went through college the first time around, I was young and still figuring out exactly who I was at the time.  I didn't really leave college with close friends that I would keep in touch with for years to come.  This time around, I did.  I went through this journey with some really awesome people and I can see us keeping in touch with each other for years to come.  I think that is what made yesterday's graduation so special and different from my bachelors graduation.  I was truly honored to be receiving our degrees as a class together.  And for my kids and my family to be there with me.   

So thank you all and remember, I'm almost done.  Only eight more months....oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm continuing on to receive a certificate to become a CT (cat scan) tech as well.  Can you hang with me for eight more months family and friends?  The end is in sight for sure now!

Foiled Again

Once again, the Leprechaun was not fooled by the kid's traps and managed to sneak off with some gold coins and left behind a handful of tricks.  His tricks included sticking shamrock earrings on Linus and Cuppie; he put green x marks on all of our hands, he wrote on many of the mirrors and windows taunting us that we can't catch him!  He even wrote on the van window.  His best trick of all was wrapping the kitchen table in green foam tape and leaving a lepruchaun angel in the lucky charms.  He did however leave some goodies for everyone including green cookies, pokemon cards and other assorted goodies.  I personally think his most amazing trick was the after effect of the green cookies.  Quite a surprise for us all a few days later.

In other news from the homefront, we have finally ditched the training wheels for good in the house.  Linus and Cuppie have both graduated to riding two wheelers.  Linus took off a couple of weeks ago and hasn't looked back since.  Cuppie is doing well but still has a tendency to "freak out" and psych herself out after a few tries.  I'm hoping that we can go on a nice bike ride soon where she has some flat ground ahead of her to finally break over her fear.  Videos are up on facebook of them riding their bikes for anyone interested in seeing their accomplishments.

Upward basketball just ended for all three kids.  A coached Pete's team and I coached Cuppie's team.  All the kids had a good time and made good progress in their skills.  Cuppie was even catching the passes by the end of the season.  I was proud of all three kids for giving it their all.  They also enjoyed testing their non-basketball skills during the half time performances too.  That's Pete trying to catch ping pong balls in a cup tied to her head.  At times I'm not sure which they enjoyed more, the basketball games or the half time activities.  Two of the three plan on continuing to play next year and one wants to return to cheerleading.  I'm sure you can all guess which kid that is.

Hockey also just wrapped up for the kids.  So much fun to watch their progress each week.  Linus and Cuppie went from barely staying up on the ice to being full fledged hockey players by the end of the season.  Pete really got into the groove and enjoyed playing all positions, including goalie. 

So what's up next you ask?  T-Ball of course!  Linus and Cuppie will be giving t-ball a try this spring and they are both very excited.  Pete is going to stick with swimming so she has a few months off before that starts.  Whew...that was one busy winter if you ask me. 

 

Does a Mother(s) Proud, Part Duex

We have our second student of the month in the house.  Pete was selected by her teacher to be their student of the month for February.  She was selected for the character trait of Self-Motivation.  Her teacher stated that "Pete is an excellent and well-behaved student.  She is very self-motivated to learn and apply as much as she can.  She often goes above and beyond the regular classwork."

Pete really seems to love the second grade and her teacher.  She is always excited to have a project to work on at home and even picks out extra projects to work on.  She has adapted quite nicely to her new school and we are thrilled with her new found love of reading.  It is not uncommon for Pete to come home from the library with 10-15 books and start digging right in and reading them.  And once she finishes them, she will often start back over again. She reads in the car, on the bus, in her room, at dinner, in the bathroom...you name it, we've probably found her nose in a book there.  Her favorites are the Wierd School Series, Captain Underpants and the Pokemon books.  She has an in with our local librarian Miss Maggie and she helps Pete locate new authors and books that she thinks she would like.

Mommy, Mama, Linus and Cuppie are all proud of you for your accomplishments.  Keep up the good work kiddo.

Wise Beyond Her Years

Last night as I was putting the girls to bed, Pete and I had the following converstation:

Pete:  Mom, can you get me my book?

Me: Sure, where is it?

Pete: It's on your wife's nightstand in your room.

Me: Um...what did you say?

Pete:  Mom, you know, on your wife's nightstand....your wife is Mama.

Me: Well, I guess you are right but you know...

Pete interrupting me: I know, I know, you aren't technically married but if you were, she would be your wife and she really is your wife because you love each other and when you can get married you will.  So, would you please get my book off your wife's nightstand?

Me:  Ok, I'll be right back.

Cuppie:  And when you get married, I get to be the flower girl right?

Me: Yes, yes you do.

 

 

You Lookin' At Me?

This week the kids are celebrating 100 days of school.  Pete's class did their 100 day celebration on Monday (they started before the littles) and all week the littles have been doing activies leading up to today, which was the 100th day for them. 

The Littles had two major projects to complete for the week.  The first one was to bring in 100 items of something.  Cuppie choose 100 Hershey Kisses and Linus selected 100 different bottle caps from his collection.  And yes, they were all from his beer bottle collection.  A big thank you to all who have consumed a variety of different beers and saved the caps for our little man.  He was super proud to have 100 different varieties to take in!  I expected that we might find a note back from his teacher about how inappropriate 100 beer bottle caps are for a kindergartner to bring in to school but so far no note and we have not been summoned into the office!

For their second project, they needed to make something out of 100 things.  This was a hard one.  At first, Linus was going to make a bee out of 100 Bavaria bottle caps (yes, he has 100 of those as well.  Not sure who contributed to that stash but it was either the neighbors or the O's).  But then A found a project for him that was right up his alley.  A monster shirt with 100 googlie eyes!  The boy put all the eyes on himself and then outlined the shirt to make the body of the monster.  It turned out great!  

Cuppie's project was right up her alley as well.  She found a wooden R cut out at the hobby store and then found jewels to stick all over it.  So she has a jeweled R for her room now and she couldn't be prouder!   

Great job Littles on your 100th Day of School projects.  You hit this one out of the ball park.

Does a Mother(s) Proud

Today our little man was honored as the student of the month for his classroom.  The notice came home a few weeks ago and you can imagine the surprise when we found it in his backpack.  Even he didn't know it was in his folder!  He was so proud of himself and just beaming.  Cuppie was boarderline furious that she was not selected but she quickly calmed down.  Pete was excited for her brother. 

According to his teacher, "Linus was selected for his positive attitude.  He is always using encouraging words in class. And he is a great role model for his peers and the students love his uplifting comments."

Some people were surprised that our little man was selected but not me.  He may be the youngest in the family (by 5 mintues), and he is usually the goofiest, but he is also the most caring and sensitive boy and he really cares about his family, friends and classmates and wants to be everyone's friend.  Good job buddy.  Mommy and Mama are very proud of you and someday you'll make a wonderful president....of your fraternity.

Eight is Enough

When I was trying to figure out what to write about for Pete's Eighth Birthday post (which is today by
the  way), I came across this article from Parents Magazine listing 44 things every kid should do before they turn eight.  I'm not sure when it was first posted but they rounded up a variety of people and asked them to share the greatest moments of childhood.  I thought it would be neat to see how many Pete has checked off the list on her way to turning eight. 

1. Learn to manage your allowance, and think of the best ways to use it.
    Check - while she doesn't get an allowance each week, she does manage her money she has received for birthdays and holidays and spends it wisely, at the dollar bin at Target and for other assorted treasures!

2. Run in the sprinklers. And make sure at least one of your parents runs with you.
    Check - and I have photos to prove it

3. Take part in a march for peace. Or something else you believe in. I recommend making a colorful sign to march with.
    Semi-Check - Pete probably doesn't remember doing it as she was 2!

4. Ride a roller coaster.
    Check - many, many times!

5. Play tag in the rain.
    Need to work on this, hard to believe but she does not like to play in the rain.

6. Watch tadpoles hatch into frogs.
    Check, and praying manthias too.

7. Catch and eat your own fish.
    Half-check - Pete has caught many fish but never eaten any and I doubt she would.

8. Learn a bit about astronomy and observe the stars.
    Check - each year Pete and I get up in the middle of the night and try to catch the Perseid Meteor Shower.  We have seen a few falling stars but this past year it was too cloudy.

9. Go to one -- or more -- major-league ball games.
    Semi-check - Pete has been to countless minor leage baseball games.  We'll need to try and catch a major league game soon.

10. Read at least one chapter book from start to finish.
    Check - Captain Underpants and The Fairly Odd School books are a big favorite around here and she often finishes one or two a day if she has the time.

11. Suffer a major disappointment and learn to live with it.
    Hmm...I'm going to guess that she might feel like not being an only child is a major disappointment and she is learning to live with it!

12. Experiment to find out how many different ways you can squirt water out of your mouth.
    Check - I'm pretty sure this one has been covered and will be covered again and again.

13. Learn how to ride a bike. I'm talking a two-wheeler without training wheels and extra points for gears.
    Check on riding a bike, no extra points yet.

14. Travel to the moon. Nothing is impossible before you're 8.
    Pete tells me that she hasn't yet, but she would like to and she read a book about it at school.

15. Get exactly the haircut you want -- not the one your parents want.
    Check - she usually tells our hair dresser how she wants her hair cut.

16. Make a yarn pom-pom. It's very zen and very soothing.
    Not yet

17. earnLay igPay atinLay.
    No, but she tells me she would like to learn how

18. Make up a recipe, cook it, and name it. (Bad example: "Anchovy Peanut Butter Surprise.")
    No, but she would really like to do this one!

19. Write a song, then sing it for three people and one animal. It could be a stuffed animal. But they tend to be more critical than live ones are.
    She says no but I think she has as we make up songs all the time.

20. Raise money for something or someone you care about.
    Check - on her 5th birthday Pete collected donations for the animals at a local nature center.

21. Befriend a kid whom others are making fun of.
    Yes and she told me that sometimes she is the kid whom others are making fun of and this just breaks my heart. When I get the name of the kids, I'm going to go beat them up.

22. Realize your parents are just some old kids trying to act grown up.
    She says we are not kids!

23. Learn how to pour a bowl of cereal and turn on the TV. (So your parents can sleep an extra 30 minutes on weekends.)
    Check, Check, Check!  We love this about our Pete!

24. Realize that you should never outgrow hugging your parents.
    Check

25. Figure out how to tell a joke that doesn't involve poo, pee, or butts.
    Check - oh yea, she can do this!  What is red, white and black?  A sunburned penguin!

26. Discover that bleeding owies can make you look tough even though they hurt briefly.
    No, she is not so sure about this one.

27. Learn to give a good handshake. No bone crushers or limp fish.
    Check

28. Hold the door for someone at the mall.
    Check - she does this a lot.

29. Clean up your own room.
    Check

30. Learn how to make lemonade -- from real lemons.
    Not yet, but she would like to learn how and so would her sister.  Although I doubt Pete would drink it.

31. Experience the strange and wonderful feeling of wandering around one's house alone, very late at night.
    Check - although Pete says no, she is often our late night wanderer and comes to our room at night!

32. Break up a fight between two younger children.
    Check

33. Find the perfect hiding place in your bedroom for a secret object. This might not be so handy at age 8 but will be very important later, so it's best to find it now.
    Check - and she will not tell me where it is!

34. Eavesdrop and take notes. Tip: Pressing the rim of an empty glass against the wall will help you hear what is going on in the neighboring room.
    Check - she just informed me she has done this before at school and she liked what she heard.

35. Start a collection of something. It could be anything -- model cars, baseball cards, sand from different areas.
    Check - all those poor butterflies...

36. Try at least five different types of food -- Chinese, Greek, Mexican -- you pick the other two.
    Chinese - check, Mexican - check, Italian - check, Greek - no, American - yes!

37. Make a good paper airplane. Then fly it 20 feet or more.
    Check

38. Read a newspaper with a parent.
    Check

39. Look through a microscope and a telescope.
    Check, check.

40. Help serve or deliver food to the needy on Thanksgiving or Christmas.
    Not yet, but she wants to do that next year.

41. Hand-write thank-you notes for birthday and holiday gifts.
    Check

42. Open a savings account.
    Check

43. When greeting an adult, learn to look him in the eye and introduce yourself.
    Check

44. Make sure you've had enough piggy-back rides.
    Not nearly enough yet!

I think it is safe to say that our Pete is off to a great start for year eight.  I still can't believe that the baby girl who started us on this adventure is now eight.  Eight seems so old.  And while Pete totally gives us a run for our money at times, she is the kindest, sweetest kid who loves nature, animals and still wants to cuddle up with her Moms.  Love you lots kid.

For those who want to take a look back at previous birthdays, I have links below to birthdays three through seven (one and two are archived away in a word document). 

Seven

Six

Five

Four

Three

 

And that's a wrap

Hard to believe that 2011 is coming to a close.  Where did the time go?  The year certainly went by in a blur.  Last year A and I rang in the new year in San Antonio, TX, this year we will ring it in with friends and the kids.  This will be their first time staying up for New Year's Eve and they are very exicted.  I'm not sure they totally get why we are celebrating but Cuppie knows that at midnight the ball drops and she needs to find someone to kiss for good luck.  When I asked her who she is going to kiss, she walked away and said "everyone".  Linus is not so sure about the kissing part and would like to just kiss his own hand but he may kiss his friend M, if she'll let him.  Not sure about Pete yet.

As I looked back through the photos of 2011, I see that we were quite busy as usual.  The kids participated in karate, basketball and cheerleading.  We went snow tubing for Pete's birthday and took a mini-vacation to Chicago.  We tried to catch a leprechaun on St. Patrick's day but were foiled and left with a bunch of tricks that he played on us.  A and I decided to start exercising but A ended up with a  stress fracture on her femur and I suffered through a number of back problems.  A spent a few weeks on cruches and we all survived just fine.  The kids hunted easter eggs in the spring and I hunted down some monster morrel mushrooms.  We also hatched a praying mantis pod and released them after a few weeks (we found a new one near the house and already have it ready for next spring).  The end of the school year brought us to the end of our preschool journey and the end of Pete's time at the Montessori school.  The Littles participated in their tap recital and Pete had her first piano recital in the spring as well.

Summer brought us family time at the lake, summer camps for the kids and fun at Kings Island.   For A and T, it brought us to the Warrior Dash where we did crazy obstacles with a group of amazing friends.  We are already signed up to do it again in 2012.  Summer also brought with it swim team for Pete, picking strawberries, triathalons for the kids and our extended summer vacation.  This included one hot steamy week at the lake and then a wonderful trip out west to visit our friends and their kids in Oregon.  So much fun was had with them as we tried to cram in all we could during our limited time with our west coast family.

The end of the summer had us getting ready for soccer season for the littles, horse back riding lessons for Pete and some last minute summer fun with the cousins from Michigan.  Then it was the start of a new school year for us all.  Kindergarten for the littles, 2nd grade for Pete and my second year of Rad Tech school.  We also had a surprise party for Nana, which all the family gathered for and Pete participated in the local children's theater. 

Fall rolled in with the kids taking some break dancing classes, our annual harvest activities of corn mazes, pumpkin carving and the 2nd annual spooky halloween party with friends.  Fall also brought us the start of a new sport for the kids and we've been hitting the ice rink for hockey ever since.  The kids celebrated Thanksgiving with their own special feast inspired by Charlie Brown.  December brought with it the usual craziness including a mischievous little elf and the Littles surprise 6th birthday party. 

Christmas this year was so much fun.  The kids made and decorated cookies for Santa, left carrots for the reindeer and were surprised to see that he visited us on Christmas eve while we were celebrating with Grammy and Grampy.  They checked out all the presents before going to bed.  Pete would not let anyone open their gifts until Christmas morning even though the Littles pleaded with her to let them open them that night!

We were all blessed this Christmas to be healthy and able to enjoy the company of friends and family.  2012 has a lot to live up to but I have a feeling it will be up to the challenge. 

Happy New Year to friends near and far.