Chat with local author inspires

Recently, I ran into our local author in the hallway at Sydney's school and spoke to her briefly. I had mentioned to her that I was half-tempted to ask the local bookstore for her contact information because I was curious about writing a book. (I've run into her most often at the book store or library. She seems down-to-Earth and approachable!)

Among other things, I wondered what kind of program(s) she uses. (I'm pondering the purchase of a new computer.... desktop or laptop, as well as what program(s) to use.)

She scribbled her name and number onto a piece of paper and handed it to me. "I've tried just about everything! I'd love to talk! Call me!"

Today, was our agreed upon chat day and time. We spoke for 15 minutes and it was delightful, encouraging and inspiring.

Bottom line is: I need to make the time for myself to do it. I won't know if I would be successful or not unless I try it! At this point, I am the only one holding myself back. I need to get myself a reliable computer, sit down and START!!!

I'm really looking forward to the fall, when Silas will be in morning preschool and I will have time to 1) exercise and 2) WRITE!!! One of these days, I will do this...

Now, if only I knew which new (Apple!) computer I want to buy myself....

Waiting for the Tooth Fairy

Tonight, at bedtime, we watched with anticipation to see if Sydney's tooth was wiggly enough to come out..... IT WAS!!!

It is SO TINY!!! (See size comparison to a Lego man.)

Sydney was excited to go see his new smile in the mirror and proudly put it into the blue bag and tucked it under his pillow.

Despite the loose tooth coming out, he thinks he still wants to eat Dinosaur oatmeal for breakfast!

68 + 68 + 44 + 38 + 6 + 4 = 2015

Today marks the 13th human birthday of our cats. According to the internet, though, they are either 68 or 69 human years old, aging a different rate than we do.

This is the year that Mike turned double-fours.

This is the year that I will inch another year closer to the dreaded FORTY and may start to notice changes with my vision. (38 to be exact.)

This is the year that Sydney will need TWO HANDS to indicate his age and will be with less teeth.

This is the year that Silas will proudly hold FOUR fingers to announce his age and hopefully, his thumb will stay out of his mouth.

Grow bug and little stinker

The boys were SO EXCITED to grow their Easter Basket bugs (up to 600%) in a dish of room temperature water.

We started the experiment by tracing and measuring the bugs.

Silas had a blue spider. Sydney had a yellow ladybug.

Over the course of the week, the cats drank from the bowls of water and the 'bugs' grew larger and larger and changed color slightly. The blue spider turned purple and pinkish. The yellow ladybug turned the slightest hint of happy green.

They boys LOVED this project over the course of the week.

As for the little stinker, glanced outside and saw Silas creating a bridge out of his body. Dare-devil.

Easter Egg Hunt and Baskets

On Saturday, the boys used their BLUE and YELLOW buckets to search for Easter Eggs in our yard while Mike was busy planting bushes on the dreaded back corner of our property. 

Nana and the boys had enjoyed stocking the eggs with loose change and then, she hid them all over the yard.

First they counted the eggs. Then, they counted the money.

Did you know they learn how to count money IN KINDERGARTEN these days?!?!

One of the boys found a few more eggs than the other. However, the one with LESS EGGS actually acquired more money for their piggybanks. 

Afterwards, the enjoyed re-hiding them in the yard for each other.

We giggled when Silas hid a few inside the grill and threw the rest of them in a pile under the sand & water table in the yard. (No one said that three year olds are good at hide and seek yet at this age.)

They also enjoyed playing with the backyard neighbor boy for the first time ever. Nice to meet you, Oliver! (What a delightful little boy.)

For Easter morning, the boys woke to find their baskets in their bedroom!

One had BLUE items in it... Sydney!

One had YELLOW and GREEN items in it... Silas!

(Like the Wild Kratts, Sydney wants BLUE and Silas wants GREEN; although, YELLOW is the true favorite color of Silas and has been... you know, since he was a little kid!)

Easter Baskets appeared to be mostly BUG THEMED!

Butterfly nets, butterfly finger puppets, bug jar, magnifying glass, bug books, candy worms, toy bugs that grow 600% in water, and Firefly brand toothbrush

SO MUCH FUN!

Hoppy Easter!

FAMILY FUN FIRST: Go fly a kite!

Our local book store gave out kites to the first 20 children on Saturday (when Nana & the boys walked downtown!).

On Sunday afternoon, we couldn't wait to try them out!

Of course, Mommy did NOT bring an iPad OR a camera with to take pictures, but Grandpa Lowell tried to capture the moment with his cell phone. At this point, we'll take what we can get! (Thanks, Grandpa!!!) Glad to have SOMETHING to document into my Project Life album (that has YET to be started for 2015! eeeek!!!)

Here, SILAS flies a kite!


ALSO, today, we had BOTH BOYS riding bikes without training wheels! Silas isn't confident with steering AND pedaling, but he managed to ride by himself for short distances. YAY SILAS!!!

Some bunnies are EXCITED for Easter

These little bunnies were jumping with excitement that Nana was coming to visit for Easter weekend!

STATS - Shy of FOUR and SIX

Bedtime is 7:30pm. (Technically, their bedroom is set to bar time so, lights go out when their clock says 7:30, but it is really 7:20.) They normally wake between 6-7:30am.
Past few months, they take turns waking during all hours of the night and early morning, ambushing us while we sleep.
They only nap if they are sick or in the car for a long trip (so they can stay up later!)
IF they nap, they tend to "not be tired" until closer to 10pm. (yawn... LONG DAY!)

Silas

• Turns FOUR in one month.
• is a FANTASTIC hugger!
• has smiley eyes that brighten his entire face!
• Just upgraded to size 11 sneakers
• Wears his Dr. Seuss tshirt whenever he can pick put his own clothes (with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath it... like Grandpa did when HE wore his Seuss shirt!)
• Still sucks his thumb, but NEVER at school. (In the car, when he is tired, when he is upset, when he is sleeping.)
• Plays violin, slowly learning Suzuki twinke, twinkle little star.
• Loves to be outside!
• Cruises on balance bike amazingly fast
• Loves blue cheese and spicy wheat thin crackers
• Eats anything! LOVES FOOD!
• Eats all of the Dino eggs out of his oatmeal and refuses to eat the oatmeal w/o dinosaurs in it.
• Loves to be a helper
• Scratches and claws his brother often.
• Dresses like daddy.
• Writes mirror image backwards often.
• Sounds out words remarkably well, especially for his age!
• Makes us laugh.
• Doesn't talk at preschool.
• Eats at HyVee with grandpa on Monday lunch dates.
• Temper tantrums!
• Loves his sleeping monkey.
• Has PIGGIE in his bed (Mo Willems character. Silas got Piggie from the Easter Bunny in 2014.)
• Excited to upgrade to full vitamin when he turns four.
• Purple Flintsone vitamins are his favorite!
• Creamed eggs on toast or a poopy egg are his favorite.
• Sandbox
• Talks a lot!
• Likes to help put towels away in the kitchen cabinet or linen closet.
• Has to grow more hugs or kisses, sometimes stingy with them!
• Pays attention to our driving, questions why we went a different way.
• Asks THIS A LOT: Do you mean....?
• Talks out of the corner of his mouth lately.
• Mentions Sillyhead almost daily (his imaginary friend... that might be a dog who is as big as our house... or might be an alien... and did you know that EVERY DAY is Sillyhead's birthday?!?)
• Has an active imagination.
• Is an unreliable source at times. (Told mom that he and dad bought a new picture window for the dining room when they went shopping together to Theisens for popcorn. Tells us that they played outside at preschool on days that the school informed us that they did NOT go outside.)
• Confuses yesterday, today and tomorrow. Sometimes tells us that he will do something the day after yesterday, but assures us that THAT IS NOT today! Perhaps he is trying to be funny like his daddy - who often procrastinates by saying that he will do something on the second Tuesday of next week.
• Sits on the regular toilet seat to poop. (Sydney sits on the tiny child-sized seat to poop.)
• Like us to smell his breath after he brushes his teeth to smell how minty and clean he smells!
• Prefers a bath over a shower.
• Demands his juice as soon as he wakes up, out of a GREEN sippy cup!
• Cries or becomes upset when Mommy picks him up from preschool because he wants to ride in Daddy's truck.
• Is disappointed when he wakes up to discover that Daddy is at work.
• Likes "chocolate milk, BUT hot!"
• Wants to be a dump truck driver when he gets bigger.
• LOVES when we eat (homemade) salsa and chips, but eats only the sour cream and chips
• Writes his name on OR draws a giant X on almost any piece of paper he can find.
• Sneaks into the office or the junk drawer to steal the roll(s) of tape.
• Loves to staple pieces of paper together.
• Loves to use scissors to cut paper into tiny pieces, calls them confetti.
• Wants to watch WILD KRATTS on tv
• Points out any Jeeps he sees.
• When given the choice of a CUT or a TRIM, almost always selects TRIM.
• YELLOW is his favorite color. Then, GRAY.
• Smuggles his shoes into the crate of shoes, along with Daddy's.
• Picks out ORANGE candy (skittles, m&m's) to give to Mommy "...for MS!"
• Started reading the letters off of signs. (Announces F-A-R-E-W-A-Y, D-O-L-L-A-R, etc.)
• has a love/hate relationship with his brother.... best friends/worst enemies.
• begs to take the bike trailer to pick Sydney up from school.
• is delightful to be around most of the time!
• spends A LOT of time in the sandbox..... LOVING to be outside!!!

Sydney

• Enjoys kindergarten.
• Almost SIX
• Discovered lower front teeth are loose.
• Upgraded to size 12 shoes, but still curls toes for fun.
• Writes ten words per day for school
• LOVES school, except the church-part.
• Takes cold lunch most days
• Tends to be a picky eater
• Suddenly infatuation with THE WASP in his super hero book; noticed she has boobs and draws them.
• LOVES Wild Kratts!
• Can read yellow dot easy readers from the library
• Almost always moves UP the clothespin reward chart at school, tends to get RED or off-the-chart once most weeks.
• Loves to write and draw!
• Fights with his brother
• Melts your heart with his level of compassion and empathy
• Wont squish a bug because it is part of nature
• Cant make it through most children's movies because he gets too nervous
• Wants Quaker Dinosaur Oatmeal for breakfast almost every day (minimum of 2 packets!)
• Prefers rolls of turkey meat over ham.
• Eats the white part of hard boiled eggs.
• Strives to make other people happy; tries to bring gold fish crackers for snack at school because someone else asked for them
• Since adding a low bar in the office closet, LOVES to pick out his own school clothes
• Walks remarkably slow and pokey when he wants to
• Moves SUPER FAST (when he wants to!)
• Whines in a mosquito voice
• Remembers to announce "I'm done going poop. Can someone wipe my butt please?" (request) instead of just shouting "I'm done going poop." (statement)
• Wipes himself at school, but NOT at home.
• Sits on the tiny, child toilet seat to poop. (Silas sits on the adult seat.)
• Prefers a shower over a bath.
• Likes to snuggle in the recliner with Daddy at bedtime.
• Likes to snuggle in the recliner with Daddy to watch tv.
• Loves building things! (Legos, Blocks, Tinker Toys, Constructables, etc.)
• Likes to help fold towels and to help put laundry away.
• Loves books!
• Prefers to be INSIDE watching PBS kids or doing PBS kids on the iPad.
• Paces the room for movies and audio books when he gets nervous.
• Runs fast, but displays little-to-no athletic ability.
• Takes allergy medicine daily, along with his flintstone vitamin. He likes to select half-and-half so he can get 2 colors!
• Has a love/hate relationship with his brother. Best friends, worst enemies.
• Often holds Grandpa's hand when they walk. 
• LOVES to go to the park.
• Rides a bike without training wheels!
• LOVES salsa and chips!
• Negotiates meals with daddy. "How many bites do I have to eat to get.... ?"
• Think he talks too much at school because he almost never eats all of his lunch.
• is STARVING when he comes home from school (and has melt-downs as soon as he gets home!)
• claimed he wanted to be an engineer because he likes to build stuff. Lately, declared he wants to be a teacher so he can be AWESOME like Mrs. Ripley and Mr. T!
• LOVES to draw pictures and write!
• Favorite color is BLUE!
• Selects A TRIM... always.... when given the choice of a haircut or a trim.
• Prefers to have "the Princess" cut his hair. (Linda in Burlington.)
• Shows an aptitude for math. LOVES doing Bedtime Math at night. Enjoyed Math Club.
• gives great hugs!
• rubs kisses in!