Soccer isn't so bad afterall

This week John is doing a sports sampler camp through the Herndon Community Center. He's doing it with a good neighbor friend and it is in the mornings from 9-11am for just this week. Yesterday, and again today, they focused on soccer. Other sports they might do include: t-ball, basketball, golf, and football. In the spring of 2008, John participated in a popular kids' soccer program and hated it. He had been really excited about it, but then when there were too many new kids all at once, it was awful. Ever since he's been pretty much against any efforts to play or try a different (a.k.a. smaller) program. But after two days of soccer exposure at this camp, he's very interested in it again. Today, on the way home, he even asked why we don't have goals at our house. Really? Well, probably because you hated soccer three days ago! Anyway, now I'll have to be creative about finding new ways to engage this interest on his part and see if I can keep it going. He's also very interested in t-ball, so I'm hopeful that they'll do that one day this week too so he can give it a try. Camps are such a great way to give new things a try!

The Sun Shines Again

The first part of this summer has been so rainy here many people we know started talking about building an ark. Which was very hard on the kids and I, to spend so many days cooped up indoors and not drive each other nuts. Finally, this week the sun has decided to grace us with it's wonderful light! And I couldn't be happier about it. We've been getting outside each day so far - to a big park, the pool, and the playground all in just two days. We even walked over to our playgroup location yesterday, which was a lot of fun too. The kids have been sleeping better, as have I, after all of our outdoor activities. We have also just been having fun getting to spend so much time with our friends. It has really been great. And it's just now Wednesday morning! The next few days is only going to bring more warm weather, which means more time at the pool and more time with friends! Yahooo! I feel like summer just finally got here and now we can run around and truly enjoy it. Bring on the sunshine and warm weather!

Thankful Thursday

I'm up early this morning, with a totally quiet house, so I'll do a second post while I can think in peace.

Today I am thankful for:
1. the quiet of the house this early in the morning.
2. the really good book I'm reading - The Red Tent - a must read for anyone who hasn't read it yet!
3. a quiet, unscheduled morning ahead.
4. the playdate we have planned for the afternoon with preschool friends.
5. a dry house on a rainy day.
6. beautiful Kara and her long crazy curly hair.
7. sweet John and his loving caring funny personality.
8. a hubby who is taking some big steps right now.
9. some really great mom friends, without whom I would have trouble making it through the day.
10. a weekend ahead without travel.

Changes Looming Ahead

I have been feeling a little funny lately and couldn't quite put my finger on why, until yesterday. As I was walking with a neighbor in the early morning hours and we were talking, I realized that there are a lot of big changes coming in the not-too-distant future for my kids. John will go to kindergarten (that's probably the biggest change coming at us), but is also working hard on getting better at riding his bike and thus will be ready to take off the training wheels before long, and is progressing with his swimming skills too. Kara has a bunch of pretty big things herself - preschool starting in the fall, which forces the issue of potty training this summer (yikes), and another biggie - moving out of the crib and into a big girl bed (which pushes me into doing a complete redesign on her room - ugga). All of these life changes are coming within the next couple of months and I'm not sure I'm totally ready for them! Some days I wish I could just press the pause button and stop so I can better appreciate things now before the changes start coming at us. But truly, I know that can't happen so I do try to take a breath now and again so that I can be more in the moment for myself and for the kids. Most of the time it works. ;-)

By the way, just had to share an awesome dinner I made last night for Matt and I. Felt like the ultimate nutritionist meal, but it was quite tasty! Brown rice, with salmon with yogurt dill sauce, and steamed broccoli on the side. The broccoli and dill were both from my parents' garden. The salmon dish was so easy - just grill or broil the salmon, however you prefer. The sauce was just blending up 1/4 c. dill with 1 clove of garlic. Then blend in 1 tsp. lemon juice and 1 c. plain yogurt. Drizzle it over the salmon. That's it! So easy and so tasty! I used some of the sauce on the broccoli too for good measure. I've been trying hard lately to find good healthy meals for us and definitely felt like I accomplished that last night. Score 1 for Mom!

Rainy Day Memory

This morning my father-in-law provided me with a little break and took John for the morning (thank you Grandpa!!). I took advantage of just having one child and went out to run a bunch of errands, even in the rain it's easier with one kid! Anyway, as Kara and I were driving around I remembered a funny day a few years ago with John. He must have been about Kara's age now, maybe a bit older. We were in the car and we started telling jokes. I remembered an old classic knock knock joke.

Me: Knock Knock
John: Who's there?
Me: Banana
John: Banana Who?
Me: Knock Knock
John: Who's there?
Me: Banana
John: Banana Who?
Me: Knock Knock
John: Who's there?
Me: Orange
John: Orange Who?
Me: Orange you glad I didn't say Banana???

We must have done the joke 10 times over and he was laughing hysterically. The best part was that I was laughing too, even though I'd heard the joke so many times before, mostly due to his cute little voice and the inflection he gave it when he said "Banana Who?" The "Who" part went up about 4 notches in pitch to make this funny little question when he said it. I couldn't stop laughing at how cute it was and he couldn't stop laughing because he just thought the joke was so funny. It was a great day.

Busy Saturday

Today has been productive and busy and fun already and it's only 2:45! We so rarely have a full weekend with hardly any plans, it's very nice. I got up early and went to our farmers market with a neighbor, without our kids. ;-) The weather was perfect and there were so many beautiful fresh veggies there. So yummy. Once I got home, we got the kids geared up for a walk/bike ride down to the preschool. John's getting much stronger with all the bike riding lately, and his confidence is growing as well. It's great fun to watch him learning and figuring it all out. Anyway, then we had an easy lunch all together and while Matt and Kara took naps, John assisted me out in the backyard. I've been wanting to take out a much-too-happy butterfly bush for some time now, but the rain and our schedule hasn't given me an opportunity. Today was the day! I started clipping it back only to discover that the ground was soft enough (thank you rain!) that I was able to just pull out the bulk of the roots! Yeah! I was able to do a lot of other work on trimming rose bushes and weeding that I wasn't thinking I would get to today. It all left me feeling very productive and pleased.

Now if I can get to the pool, menu plan for the week ahead, and get a shower in before dinner, this day would be just about perfect. Oh yeah, I guess I also need to figure out what dinner is going to be! Well, I'm not going to rush into these things!

Dutch Wonderland

For those that live anywhere near us and have preschool aged kids, you have GOT to take your family to Dutch Wonderland! It's in Lancaster, PA, which is about 2 hours and 45 minutes away from Reston. We went last week for a couple of days and had a great time. Dutch Wonderland is a theme/amusement park geared totally for kids aged 2-7. It had all the traditional rides, games, shows, and park-style food options, only it was all kid friendly. There was nothing there that John couldn't ride! Some things he needed to do with a grown-up, but he was riding roller coasters, swings, boats, bumper cars, slides, trains, and so much more. And he loved it all! There was also plenty that Kara could ride, by herself and with an adult. It was fun for all - no child was left behind! There was also a water-play area that we didn't go into, but it looked like fun as well. We went for a few hours on a Sunday evening, and then went back on Monday for the day. It was not crowded, since it was early in the season, which allowed us to ride everything we wanted with very few waits. The kids had a great time, the adults were exhausted just trying to keep up with the kids! Clearly we will need to build in an annual theme park trip into our budget for the future.

We spent two nights in Lancaster, which allowed us to relax and enjoy the trip without feeling rushed. The last morning before we headed back we stopped in a nearby Amish "village"/shopping area to browse some stores, have a snack, and see some animals. There is so much to do in the area, we had a very hard time deciding what to do!

This trip was a birthday present for me from my parents and it was a great gift and enjoyed by all! Thanks again Mom and Dad! :-)

Pool Slide - Here We Come!

Well, after all those swimming lessons this winter, I'm seeing the fruits of John's labors. Yesterday afternoon we ventured up to our neighborhood pool for the first time this season. We've been to several other pools already, but this was the first time to the one we're likely to get to the most this summer. Anyway, we went with a neighbor and her two boys for a quick swim before some thunder forced the lifeguards to close down the pool for awhile. As we got into the pool the water seemed pretty cool to me, but quickly felt better, thank goodness. The kids all had a blast with the swimming and splashing. Then they started asking about going down the slide. The guard said it was okay, so up John went. He had his swim vest on and was very excited. He came flying down and went splashing into the water and was thrilled! He went down about 10 times and loved every minute of it. I was at the bottom with one arm extended for him to grab, but several times he missed me and was on his own - going all the way under and coming back up. With a few blinks and a moment resting on the side, he was ready to go again. It was really great to watch him be so much more comfortable in the water than he has ever been before. I have no doubt that this summer will be great for him with LOTS of swimming time with and without his swim vest on. Bring on pool season, I think we're ready!!

Thankful Tuesday

I'm feeling really tired, but really thankful for many things today, so I thought I'd share:

Today, I'm thankful for:
1. My husband and kids.
2. Many many great friends and great moms
3. Our fun playgroup that came over this morning. I enjoy it more and more as our group has grown.
4. The many great preschool families that we have grown to know so well over the last year or two. Many playdates and fun times are on the calendar for the summer to keep us connected to the preschool families and I'm very thankful for that.
5. All the activities that are already on our calendar for the summer.
6. A warm, sunny day.
7. Kids that sleep through the night....mostly.
8. John, who has grown so independent and is constantly challenging and charming me in the same breath.
9. All of the kids' grandparents that we get to do so many fun things with.
10. Long-distance friends that I miss dearly, but am happy to know that we're still good friends.

Alright, I believe Kara's waking from her nap, which means it's time to go to the grocery store! On the run!!!