Snow Day

It's still cold here in Iowa.  Having 'childcare' in my home is not really difficult, but not playing outside tends to make it feel that way sometimes.  We are usually outside for at least 2 hours in the morning and then again after nap.  In the spring we even eat outside.  I'm sad all of the sudden...

Anyway, today we brought the outside in.  I went out and got the water table and some water toys.  I got them all cleaned up and then brought in a shovel full of snow.  What fun they had!  Bennett and Will scooped snow and put it in buckets, Harrison made snow molds of crabs and dolphins (warm weather animals!) and Miles, well Miles ate the snow!  

After awhile Miles thought he had enough and he went for some real food.  I guess all that talk of food made Will and Bennett hungry because then they started eating the snow.
Eventually Will got tired of the snow as well and he went to play Cariboo (hidden ball game) so that just left my nature lovers.  They played together like that for over 20 minutes.  What bliss...

Tomorrow we may brave the real outdoors.  It's supposed to be 46!

Chapter Books

When Harrison turned 4 we started reading chapter books.  We read all of the Flat Stanley series and then I floundered a little before I remembered the Magic Treehouse series.  It is a great series of beginner books by Will and Mary Pope Osbourne.  And the great thing about the books is that they have research guides to go with most of them!  So yesterday we read Dinosaurs Before Dark and today we are going to start the research guide that goes with it called Dinosaurs.  Jack and Annie are the two main characters (brother and sister) and in the research guide they tell how much they enjoyed their dinosaur adventure and how they wanted to learn more and then they tell what they learned.  GREAT!  Harrison (like most other preschoolers, I'm sure) is always asking questions.  One of his questions yesterday was about the Cretaceous Period.  Luckily, the research guide dives right into that subject!  I was trying to pull answers from middle school science class, but it wasn't working very well!

Now I just have to make Harrison understand that a chapter book doesn't need to be read all in one sitting.  That's the point of chapters!!!  Maybe today we will make him his own special bookmark!!

Snow Much Fun

There is one thing to be said for Iowa weather - sledding!!!  We went sledding today and most of us had a great time.  Harrison thinks that sledding is his new favorite sport.  He goes down the hill with dad, by himself, front-wards, backwards and sideways; sometimes wiping out and laughing the whole way back up the hill.  

Bennett is not sold on this form of entertainment.  Our first trip down the hill was not that successful.  We made it down the hill ok, but his poor little face was just full of snow!  He went down with me and we must have been too far forward on the sled cause we got a snow shower about halfway down.  After that he tried again with Dad, but then that was it.  He just watched.  He has my sense of humor and laughed out loud when a couple of kids wrecked going down the hill.  People falling is funny!

We had a great time and are thrilled that the weather is going to let us be able to go outside and make a snowman this week!!!

Movie Night

Another Friday, another movie.  Tonight's feature presentation was Dumbo.  What a classic!

T.V. take 2

This really has to stop.  

Today while watching Beverly Hills 90210 (I know, no excuses from me) Harrison asked me where that was (referring to the mall the girls were shopping in).  This is the conversation that followed:

Me - "Beverly Hills."

Harrison - "Where's that?"

Me - "California."

Harrison - "I want to go to California."

Me - "Oh..."

Harrison - "I like milk. (pause)  Cows.  (pause)  Happy cows.  (pause)  Happy cows live in California!"

Me - (Again, laughing uncontrollably)  "Really, I did not know that."

When I worked at Bright Horizons we had conferences every year.  Every year the co-founder of the company, Roger Brown, would give an inspirational speech that usually had us laughing at the beginning, sometimes crying in the middle and then thinking deeply by the end about how we could be better people.   One year he talked about his families decision to give up t.v.  He laid out the points about more time for reading, playing musical instruments, being outside, and general togetherness with his family.

We need to do that.  Harrison is out of control.  He really doesn't watch that much t.v. but he picks up EVERYTHING that he watches.  I just don't know that Chris and I can do it.  We like t.v.  I like the news.  I like really poor reality t.v.  And most of all, NCAA basketball has just started!!!!!  We (I) can't live without college basketball!  But, sacrifices are going to have to be made.  This can not continue.  

We just got a DVR, dammit!!!!!!

Oh My Coldness

It is 17 below zero today in Des Moines and it feels like 37 below with the windchill.  In Clinton, it is the coldest in the state at 25 below zero.  Des Moines Public Schools cancelled classes.  This is the first time they have done this since I have been in Des Moines and the coldest it has been in Des Moines in over 12 years.

Harrison has asked me if he can go back each day since we have shoveled.  I have said no, it is too cold and then he fires back 'But it is sunny out!'  Today was the same thing.  "Can I go outside?"  Mind you, it wasn't even 7:30 am when he asked me this.  He absolutely loves the snow!  I again told him no and then promised to take him sledding on Saturday when the temps were higher.  He hesitated, knowing that sledding was a good offer, but he just couldn't accept it.  "But Mom, it's sunny outside!  I want to go sledding today!"

I realize that parents have been asking this question for hundreds of years, but honestly, why can't children just trust their parents?!!!!!!!!!! 

Snow shoveling and naps

Aren't my boys perfect?!!!

Miles wins the photo of the day contest for yesterday.  He was just so cute and I happened to catch it all on film!

First of all he still has nap issues.  No morning naps at my house.  So, by lunch time he is exhausted.  Well, yesterday he didn't make it to bed before the sandman found him.  I have never had a child fall asleep in the high chair.  You always see pictures of it but not my kids.  I had walked into the kitchen to get refills of something and Harrison said "Mom, come look at Miles."  Isn't he cute!!!

So it has been snowing in Iowa.  And snowing.  And snowing.  But yesterday after it was done snowing it was fairly nice.  Harrison and I decided to go outside to do some shoveling and snowball throwing.  The 3 little boys were all sleeping and I could check the monitor as need be.  Well, we were out there for about 10 minutes when I began to shovel a path to the mailbox. I went past my room and there is Miles pulling on the blinds (note to self - move pak-n-play!) telling me it is time to come in!  It was nice enough outside so I bundled him up and out he came too!  I am thinking that his idea of a good vacation is somewhere tropical with beaches versus somewhere mountainous with snow.  What do you think? 

He really did have a good time outside as is evidence by this picture.

I am not sure why he was so unhappy for the first photo but it gave me a good chuckle!

Harrison, Miles and I had a great time outside, but I think Maddie was even more excited.  She loves the snow when it is warmer.  She runs and jumps and bites at the snow.  Her and Harrison played tag and of course, Maddie always wins!

We did have a snow ball fight and when we got inside, Harrison told me he had fun but that the next time we had a snowball fight it would be the biggest, bestest snowball fight ever.  And he would win.  

I have no doubt.  I have no doubt!

It's begun

So Bennett made me a very happy mommy today.  He called me 'Mommy!'  It is way cute.  He has been saying 'Mama' but this is just so much better!  After he said it he could tell I was so proud of him that he kept saying it and saying it and saying it.  Luckily I am not easily annoyed when it comes to these kinds of things.  At least not that often...

Because... he is also saying 'No!'  This just started today as well.  He has been able to say the word but he has chosen not to at all of the appropriate times.  Well, today he began saying no instead of using his hands to ward off the enemies (Miles and Will).  I was so proud and then so annoyed when he told me no.  Oh my.  Never a dull moment!

Dear America, Harrison will save the economy

I am torn.  Most of me knows that this has to stop.  The rest of me is laughing too hard to care.  

Harrison is enthralled by commercials.  He is constantly repeating the commercial or telling me how much I probably want to go there.  

"Mom, you really want that, don't you?  I want that too.  I really love IHOP."

"Mom, you have to see this.  You want that don't you?  Are you going to get those?"

"Mom, I really want Bendaroos.  Aren't they cool?  I could use them for so many things!"

Well, today was the funniest of them all.  I was in the kitchen during nap time.  Everyone was asleep except for Harrison.  He comes into the kitchen and said:

"Mom, do you have gold jewelry gathering dust?  You can send it in for money.  And the gold kit is FREE!"  

I was biting my sweatshirt and it still didn't work.  I answered him by laughing, quite loud, and said that I would check.  I couldn't believe that he had repeated the commercial almost perfectly.  And then, about 10 minutes later he said:

"Mom, if your carpet has something sticky on it, don't clean it.  Resolve it!  We should get that shouldn't we?"

The power of persuasion works well with him.  At least if the t.v. is doing the persuading!

So don't do it

Did you ever tell your parents "When I do this, it hurts."  And then they respond with the wise advice of "Well, then don't do that."  I knew my life would come to that some day.

It snowed last night.  And snowed and snowed.  We were supposed to get less than 2 inches of snow and ended up getting over 5.  A bit of a difference.  Christopher was very excited about the whole weather issue.  He bought a snow blower (that was made in 1978) off of Craigslist and just couldn't wait to use it.  That thing is a beast.  Anyway, the boys wanted to go out and watch him and play in the snow.  So on goes the layers of clothing and boots and outside they head.

They were out there for awhile when I decided to go investigate and see how things were going.  When I got out there, Bennett had one glove off and was crying.  He said 'col-col.'  His fingers were cold.  I put his glove back on and turned around to see Harrison and Chris.  Bennett started crying again and I turned around to see his glove off (you saw that coming, didn't you?) and his hand covered in snow.  I explained that he needed to keep his glove on.  I replaced the glove and started back to the house.  Again, more crying.  This time I went over, bent down and said, "Keep your glove or you are coming in the house."  He listened for about 5 minutes and then it was inside to make hot chocolate.  Silly boy!