Lately

We are enjoying our first (non)winter in the great (not) white north. We've had so little snow that I can see grass in our yard and, while it's making me love Alaska a little bit more, it's apparently ruining good winter fun. My kids wouldn't know; they're too busy learning to be little skiers on the man-made stuff. They joined the on-base downhill team as never-evers the week after Christmas and last week they participated in their first race. I'm humbled every week by their enthusiasm and bravery to just get out there and get after it. With snow on the horizon and two more Alaskan winters to come, I'm pretty excited to see their skills by the time we move back to the lower 48!

My little racers:

So Here We Are

Does anyone have any idea what happened to summer? I mean, I would have sworn Wyatt just finished school a few weeks ago. As I looked forward from May in this new place with no outdoor pools, summer seemed to stretch endlessly before us, but instead we had a whirlwind, amazing summer. We have had such a fun few months - lots of blogging to catch up on - but first, this: how are my kids both in school all day?! I have been looking forward to this day for a while, but now that it's here I'm sad. Glad for them and all that lies ahead, but... I mean, I've had a fairly constant companion for eight years and now I'm supposed to get through thirty-five hours a week by myself. Millie isn't even great company anymore.

I have some projects in mind, mostly those things that never get fully executed with a move (organizing closets, anyone?) and that are hard to accomplish with kids here (purging toys, anyone?) but it seems like maybe those will be finished soon. Certainly I hope to find stuff for my own mental health (baking, building, volunteering, regular blogging - could it be?) but I have a feeling things will seem out of balance for a while. I'm already committed to some time at their school, which I love because I get that behind-the-scenes view, but I still find myself thinking, "now what?" and creating mental lists of things that might never happen.

On the bright side, the two products of my last eight years' work are good kids, bringing home good behavior reports and seemingly well-adjusted. In other good news, Wyatt really is the big brother I suspected he is when we're not looking. He's been incredibly encouraging to Natalie about 'real school' and has even been known to wait for her on the playground and to sit with her on the bus. There are still the standard bickerfests, but we can't expect magic, now can we? Natalie is still adjusting to the pace of all day, every day school but I think she'll find her balance soon and she seems excited that homework started for her this week.

Better late than never, my kids on their first days of school:

Incidentally, proof that Fall arrives in one fell swoop here is in the above pictures taken exactly one week apart in our yard. Wyatt started school at the end of summer when it was still warm enough for shorts and Natalie began a week later at the start of Fall. This place is pretty amazing!

It's a Profit Deal

The proverbial 'we' (i.e. the two small people) in this house are struggling with turning off lights, flushing toilets and picking up shoes. In a fit of total frustration a couple of weeks ago, I announced I'd be charging a quarter each time I had to do it for them. Wyatt is extremely motivated by cash and the plan is working well in keeping him motivated. Natalie only half cares about money, which really means that she has minimal understanding of what it can really do for her but she does like the shiny ones! By the way, that difference in their motivations could explain why yesterday's piggy bank counting shows Wyatt has his sister beat by $265, but I digress.

This week it has become apparent that Wyatt understands the concept of clearing his dishes but takes great delight in leaving them on the counter instead of putting them in the dishwasher. I'd love to give him the benefit of the doubt, but after watching him look for a reaction a few times when leaving them out instead of in the dishwasher, I can confidently say that he's just choosing to ignore the request to put them where they should be. Therefore, I decided that the quarter-per-infraction should be implemented for dishes, too. It's been a day and Wyatt is already reformed.

Natalie is a different story. She has been great about taking care of her dishes all along, so I was ill-prepared for what occurred tonight. Dinner just ended a bit ago and, as my parents and I were still sitting at the table chatting, Natalie asked to be excused and went straight upstairs. She reappeared in short order with a quarter, handed it to me and smiled. When I asked what it was for, she informed me she'd like for me to take care of her dishes and said it with a giant smile on her face. All three adults cracked up and it seems a whole lot like I'll need to work on a different plan for Natalie, or maybe just open a new bank account.

Clear as Mud

During dinner tonight, Jeff and I were chatting about whether we could have a zip line or slack line in our backyard. Wyatt told us that he thought it would be awesome if it go from that tree to that one to that one (we have no idea where he was suggesting, exactly) and Natalie piped in with some description of a toy (we think?) that she saw that involved zip lines, ninjas, bad guys and walls that break down. She told us about it with her normal Natalie fervor, hand gestures, big eyes and excited face. I didn't know how to respond but Jeff hit the nail on the head by simply asking, "What is a ninja?"

So she took a deep breath, sighed, and said in all seriousness, "Well, Daddy, they're frogs. That can ninja." Then she just smiled and basked in the glory of being a five-year old whose got it all figured out.

Back When I Was a Blogger

I used to record funny little things my kids said and did. Now I just try to remember them, but who am I kidding? I'll forget even these little gems from the last three days.

Natalie tends to wake up talking and only takes breaks for eating, drinking or television-watching. Those activities don't eat up much of a day, so there's a lot of talking. She's especially verbose on our rides to school - those ten to twelve minutes are jam-packed with every random thought that pops into her head. Sometimes I can see where she got the topic, sometimes I can't, and sometimes I tune her out. Don't judge;  you would need a little break, too. Imagine my delight two days ago as I was half-listening and I heard this:

…and there are koalas and kangaroos, and sometimes sheep or lions or horses or cows. And some of these animals will be females. And some females, like the lion, will pee backwards.

Woah, what?! So I asked her what she said and she repeated it. So, of course, I burst out laughing to which she replied, "Mom, I'm serious. Do you not believe me?" I assured her she's probably right, but that I was surprised and she makes me laugh. She, in all seriousness, said, "well, Mom, I try to make you laugh at least once a day, sometimes more, sometimes not as much, but I'm glad I made you really laugh just now." Indeed.

So then today, before we'd left the neighborhood, she'd already covered the topics of who will be line leader (she desperately hopes it's her), explained how they handle show and tell (it's after everything else because then they can play and it's a secret) and led straight into, "Mom, can we sing the Bambi song? What is the Bambi song? You know, one about him being shiny? Or having a shiny head?" Note: those questions are rapid fire and impossible to answer one at a time. I got three-tenths of a second to process the inquisition and realized she wanted to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Makes sense, right? Shiny-headed baby deer equals famous reindeer with light-up nose. Anyway, she could remember the first part, but not the rest so I sang it for her a couple of times before she told me she had it and to please stop singing.

Now, Natalie has always been adept at rephrasing (i.e. I ask her to tell Wyatt dinner is ready and it turns into "Wyatt, go wash your hands so you can eat") so she relied on those skills when she realized she didn't quite remember all the words. It went something like this:

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose, and if you ever saw it you would even say it glows. The other deer friends used to make fun of him then tell him he couldn't play and that wasn't nice...

Not quite, but she's two-for-two on making me laugh.

The Fair is a Smorgasbord!

Does anyone else remember that song from Charlotte's Web? Or at least I think that's where I learned it…that's a prime example of why I can't remember to take chicken out of the freezer for dinner, by the way. My brain is full of useless lyrics and random information that has no bearing on real life. But I digress.

So. The fair. While it is, indeed, a smorgasbord, we didn't partake of the food this year. Much to my dismay, we didn't time our visit well so I wasn't hungry for any deep fried goodness or even the homemade salt and vinegar french fries. We did, however, make multiple appearances at our county fair and started with opening night. As we whizzed around on the ferris wheel, I wondered if maybe we should've let a few more people ride first to make sure the kinks were out.

The kids' expressions might tell you a little about the speed.

the view from the top - it's a humble little fair but packed with fun!

I was smart enough to pre-purchase our all-you-can-ride passes this year so we wouldn't be shell-shocked at the gate. The kids got our money's worth out of their handstamps, maybe on the giant slide alone which Natalie did at least five times in a row.

Both kids remembered this roller coaster from last year.

Natalie was really excited to ride the bumblebees but Wyatt declined.
I think he'd had enough of the 'going around in circles up and down' by this point.

Ah, the beloved frog hopper that takes them up, up, up and then 'drops'
them from varying heights.

Horribly blurry, but I love that Wyatt's just a flying, wide-armed, green-shirted blob in this.
Nat's right behind him.

They had so much fun! Natalie also took a turn on the bumper cars with me as her driver and Wyatt and Jeff took a couple turns on the hang glider. We rounded out the evening with a stroll through the swine and equine barns. Piglets are cute! I was humbled when a percheron (whose owner was there, tending her horses and telling us about them) stuck her head out over the rail for me to pet her. We had a great night and thought that was a pretty great way to do the fair, but then….

Wyatt came home from school on Wednesday afternoon saying he had art at the fair. And I had already remembered a note coming home saying something about art, the fair, etc., yadi yada, with his name on it. I kind of thought every kid got a note home about art at the fair, quite honestly. I had already done a little research of my own on Wednesday morning questioning other first grade moms if they'd received such a note, so let's just say it was no surprise when Wyatt said his name was called on the announcements and that we'd missed his art debut. As any guilt-ridden mom with a husband working ridiculously late would do, I decided to take the kids back to see Wyatt's art. And no, for those wondering, it was not well-received that I didn't pony up for rides a second time.

W's art is the top left. 

We missed the poultry house the first time, so it was fun to go through
and look at all the chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, quail, guinea hens and pigeons (weird, right?).
The kids were delighted when offered a chance to pet a baby chick.

Last but not least, Wyatt went a third time with his friend Xavier yesterday afternoon. Lucky kid! Natalie was crushed, of course, that her brother was getting to go ride everything without her so I did what any self-respecting mom would do and bribed her. Between that and some back-to-back episodes of My Little Pony, she was good to go in no time. Xavier's mom reported that both kids had a great time; Wyatt convinced Xavier to go on the hang glider (no surprise), they apparently rode some things we missed on our visit and Wyatt was still laughing about the pig races today (his favorite part: pig #1 was named Kevin Bacon). My personal victory is that despite all these trips to the fair, we managed to leave without a fish! Both kids have already asked about the fair situation in Alaska, so I think it's safe to say we'll be looking forward to the state fair next year. I can't wait to see what animals are on display there!

The Neglect is Starting to Show

Natalie suffers from second child syndrome. We all know it's not a rare disease, nor is it fatal (I'm proof  of that), but it is a condition slow to show itself until - dun, dun, dun - it's too late. Or nearly, anyway. Common indications of this syndrome include, but are not limited to: a lack of baby pictures displayed in one's home, a tapering of blog posts chronicling milestones, increased screen time in comparison to the first born, earlier exposure to sugary cereals and fizzy drinks, and often a delay in starting extra-curricular activities because the parents are "too busy" carting the first born to its lessons and such. And finally, it can show itself in more academic ways (as it's begun to around here, much to the father's dismay). I give you the following examples:

1. When asked what city we live in, Natalie is likely to answer any of the following: Souf Taroyina, America, Da Unided States, Norf Taroyina or Ayaska. She is highly unlikely to say Sumter, unless given the prompt of, "what's the name of your soccer team?" in which case she says we live in Sumter Soccer Club.

2. Tonight she announced she wanted to count by tens. It went like this, "ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, free, two, one, byast off!" Wyatt and I smiled, I applauded her counting backward from ten and she beamed.

3. Then she announced she wanted to count to one hundred. It went like this, "one, two, free, nine, twenty, huh?" We laughed.

4. Then she announced she wanted to count by M's. That's when the severity of her condition hit me.

As her mom - of the stay at home variety, to boot -  I take much responsibility for her lack of academic prowess. Maybe I should've been willing to put her in preschool as a two-year old; I mean, Wyatt got three years of preschool and he knows all this stuff. Maybe we should be doing worksheets in the afternoons. Maybe Nick Jr. isn't actually preschool on tv like it claims. Or maybe it's just that our adult brains are older and slower so we think Wyatt knew these things at four-and-a-half but he really didn't. Or maybe…brace yourself for this one because it's a wild theory… my kids are really different from each other!

I mean, Natalie could make you scrambled eggs or macaroni and cheese from a box without much adult assistance. She's been riding her bike for well over a year, can run like the wind, is mastering the scooter, knows the habitats of a lot of different animals (thank you, Wild Kratts), is a master frog-catcher, showers herself pretty effectively and can clean a bathroom with the best of them. Not bad, I guess.

Like most kids with second child syndrome, I suspect she's sandbagging on a few of those academic questions just to keep us on our toes. Or maybe she thinks she's funny and just wants to make us laugh.

Done.

My Momma Said...

That I should write more stuff down because I'll forget it. Seeing as how I sometimes forget why I've entered a room, that's probably true. So here's some more of what's happening lately:

1. Natalie started school.

Her first day was only a half day but she's now on day two of regular, three-hour days and loves it so far. Why wouldn't she? Her best friend from last year is in her class and she has the same teachers Wyatt had when we got here. They were sweet to her then, they were sweet to her last year when she was in a different class and now they're loving her up for three hours every morning. Preschool teachers are really the best and I'm so thankful to have kids who love school.

2. We've had  a lot of rain this summer and it has yielded a bumper crop of tree frogs. They're everywhere, they're tiny and they're cute. Natalie is my kid, for sure, and loves holding all creatures. 

That second picture is of Natalie and the big snail we found on our garage door. That was pretty fun until she broke its shell and tears followed. I'm sure the snail was equally sad since it was his house that she cracked! Thankfully, it was a broken edge and I'm optimistic that snail will heal itself in time. Not pictured is the baby snake that floated around the driveway for a few days. Jeff found it, already dead, when he was using the blower to clean up after mowing. We all looked at it and talked about it, but only Natalie insisted on moving it around. When I had to utter the words, "no dead snakes in the house" I knew it was time to make it disappear for good, science lesson or not. She wasn't too happy when she found out I threw it away. 

3. Natalie has a giving heart and often wants to share her things with others. She might have gotten a little carried away when I was on the phone one afternoon.

Let it be said, AGAIN, that Millie is a pretty awesome dog. She looked a little gangsta to me with all the 'chains' on, but I think it was the Hello Kitty medallion that really made the look. She wore her necklaces just long enough that Wyatt could see them and then we relieved her of all adornments. I don't think it actually bothered her too much - maybe every girl likes dressing up now and then!

Whirlwind

Whew. Wyatt's on day three of school and I feel like I'm just starting to come up for air. Last year, I was overwhelmed at the beginning of the year because we were on month seven of Jeff being gone more than he was home and elementary school seemed to come with so many more pieces of paper, rules, and logistics. I'm happy to say that this year I'm overwhelmed by none of those things. Instead, I'm digging out of the hole we created this summer by having too much fun. We packed our break with friends, swimming, beaches and travel. It was perfect (maybe I'll even get around to writing about it so we can look back and remember how great it was).

Even with all that fun, it would be inaccurate to say that Wyatt wasn't chomping at the bit to return to school! I'd like to think he loves learning, but I suspect he loves the structure, activities and friends more. Here's my guy on the first day with our obligatory picture.

That's the Wyatt the teacher probably thinks she has.

This is the Wyatt she'll discover soon enough...

And lest you think I'm sitting around eating bonbons, that will have to wait another couple of weeks until Natalie starts school. Until then, I'm a cruise director for an active four-year old whose copious words have had more than one target for the last couple of months. My ears are tired, yet constantly amused.

The World According to Natalie

Nat just randomly asked me how many days it is until Christmas. I did some rough estimating and told her it will be, "205 days or so." So she hopped up, saying, "Oooh, let me go tell Wyatt!"

Then I hear this: "Wyatt, it's two thousand forty days until Trismas!"
"What?!", he replied.
"Ummm, it's two hundred coins until something."

Confused? Us, too. That sums up Natalie pretty well these days.

Font of Knowledge

Natalie listens to the radio as she falls asleep at night, but apparently is starting to pay attention to what's being said. Namely, she listens to the non-music aspects like ads and dj's. A few days ago, she wandered into the kitchen for breakfast telling me all about how the weather was going to "be a yot yike yesterday, sunny and tool" which I didn't really think much about. I figured she'd gotten up, looked out her windows, heard me telling Wyatt what to wear to school and put the pieces together. But no. She later informed me she knew it because the man on her radio said so.

Please imagine my delight when I just went in to check on her quiet time and she told me that "on Monday, we tan get tickets to Disney, and then we tan get ice!" You guessed it, she heard an ad for Disney on Ice coming to a nearby arena. Fortunately for me, she believes will be unable to get the Disney Ice "betause we are going to church and den yeaving for dampa and dandma Rock's." Dodged a bullet.

Conversations

My girl is pretty sure she's got stuff figured out and I dare you to tell her she doesn't. For instance, today on the way home from school, we had this conversation:

Me: What where you working on today at school?
N: Well, we were practicing the letter seven. And I already know the letter seven (said in an exasperated voice).
Me: Oh, really? What do you know about seven?
N: I know that it's down and then across.
Me: So then you also know that it's a number and not a letter, right?
N: No, it's a letter. And is it the one that has a dot over it?
Me: It's a number, Natalie. and none of the numbers have dots over them. You might be thinking of a lower case letter i or a lower case j.
N: No, I'm thinking of a lower case one.
Me: There's not a lower case one, Nat. There aren't any lower case numbers. Only lower case letters.
N: No, Mom. That's not what I'm talking about! I'm talking about the lower case one that has a dot that my teachers put on my papers.
Me: Are you maybe thinking of an exclamation point?
N: Yes, Mom, that's what I said.

And a few weeks ago, we had this conversation while driving and listening to music:

N: Mom, this is Adele!
Me: You're right, this is Adele.
N: What's the name of this song?
Me: It's called "Rolling in the Deep."
N: No, it's Adele.
Me: Right, it's Adele singing her song that's called "Rolling in the Deep."
N: No, Mommy (in an escalated voice), this is ADELE. I know because Daddy told me.
Me: And that's right, Adele is the singer and this is her song is called "Rolling in the Deep." She has lots of other songs, too.
N: Mom. You're not listening. Daddy said this is Adele, so this. is. ADELE.
Me: (realizing this is a ridiculous conversation) Yes, Natalie. You're right and Daddy is right. It's Adele.
N: Thank you, Mommy. That's right.
30 seconds of silence
N: Now what's the name of this song, Mommy?

Or just now, she came barreling into the kitchen with her keyboard and microphone (thanks again, Mom and Dad) and, with a delighted expression on her face, said, "Mom! I've got some really loud noises in here! Let me show you." She then proceeded to push the volume button all the way up and play before saying, "I told you it's loud!" Indeed, Natalie. Indeed.

Current Events

*As I type, my kids are playing in their "spy fort" under the dining room table. We know this because

1. Jeff told them he could see them in there, to which Wyatt responded, "okay, but don't tell Mom where we are."
2. Natalie asked if they could spy on me some more (only she says, "fy", darn those tricky sounds) and when I said yes, she excitedly ran to tell Wyatt, "Mommy said we can FY on her!"
3. We can hear every bit of their conversation which has included snippets like, "Natalie, we are not cats, dogs or animals so we don't hibernate, we just sleep."

*My new favorite phrase of Natalie's is delivered when she sees trash on the ground then tells me that someone has "glittered." Ah, yes, glittering is so rude.

*Wyatt has read three books out loud to his class this past week. So proud of him!

*In the past few weeks, Natalie has mastered pumping her legs on the swing, therefore rendering me unnecessary at the park, and just last night she mastered the monkey bars. My baby girl is strong and fearless.

*Wyatt watched a little bit of Top Gun last week - his first time ever. Now I'm hearing new phrases when he has dogfights with his airplanes and seeing new drawings of tactical flying in his art. Two nights ago he demonstrated a flat spin with his Tomcat and told me that's what happened in the movie. If it involves airplanes, he's a sponge.

*Both kids are playing church league basketball through the Y and it's highly entertaining. Natalie is very interested in the water breaks and the wearing of her team shirt, but mostly stays out of the fray of the game (and there is much fray with a few boys who believe tackling is part of basketball). Wyatt is improving weekly, aided in large part by the amount of time he spends on the back patio with his new basketball goal, and manages to ignore the ceaseless flirting from one of his cute little girl teammates.

*We have one fish (swordtail) who has survived for a month. It's a record and, now that I've typed this, he'll probably float belly up too soon. For now, we're all feeling good about reducing our fish-killer reputation.

*Wyatt received the board game Othello for Christmas. It's not a well-known game but I grew up playing it and loved it. My parents realized he was probably ready for it and they were right - it's played almost daily, most often with Natalie who's okay with losing since her brother is playing with her. It's a pretty great arrangement since Wyatt enjoys playing more when he wins.

*Thursday marked our one year anniversary here in little ol' Sumter. To say that it has been better than we expected is a vast understatement. We are blessed with a great network of friends, a church that feels like home, two kids who love their schools and a sense of being connected to the community that we haven't always had. 

*Natalie is ramping up her birthday talk. To refresh your memory, she began talking about her 4th birthday only two days after her 3rd birthday and the topic has come up every few days for the past ten months. This week, her planning has begun in earnest. She's whittling her guest list, planning the cake and games and deciding where we'll have it. All of this despite me telling her she might not be having a party.

*The kids saw me looking at beach houses online last night and Wyatt wanted to know if South Carolina had beaches. I reminded him about our weekend in Myrtle Beach two months ago and he was only kind of convinced. Looks like it's time to get serious with a map since I refuse to have geographically illiterate kids.

*I have good intentions of blogging more. I'm told my audience of one will appreciate it (here's to you, Mom).

Breaking Radio Silence

life, blah, blah, blah…but I couldn't fail to record this gem from my little girl:

Apparently they're doing a little rehearsal for the upcoming Christmas program and I've been getting snippets sung to me as we drive around town. From what I'm hearing, they're either doing a kid version of traditional carols or maybe - just maybe - Natalie is a little confused on the lyrics. I mean, unless the rest of you know the song, "No Telling on the Mountain," that is. When I suggested some alternate lyrics like, oh, say, "go tell it on the mountain" she assured me I don't know the song. Can't wait for the rest of the show!

That Went Well

We've been observing the fish hourly, just waiting for Orange Flipper, the fair fish, to swim to the tank in the sky. We've been open about the fact that he doesn't seem long for this world and Wyatt has been okay with it. I mean, I guess if your parents are telling you your fish is awesome but will probably die soon, you guard your heart a little.

It turns out, though, that if you're the one whose fish seems to be doing well and no one talks specifically about your fish dying, it's a little harder to take. Yes, that's right, Natalie's fish (she who was called Kangaroo, Fish and toward the end of her life was simply Natalie Sarah Fish) will be getting the giant flush just as soon as I get Wyatt out the door for school. She's a little upset, though now that it's been fifteen minutes since the discovery, she's only really sad when it seems convenient. I think she'll be okay.

Looks like I just added Petco to my list of errands today.

Lately

We've been living the life here lately, engaging in a wide range of activities. Natalie is really into her babies, so they got to go the park one day.

babies were carried

babies did the slide

babies had to see how big their hands are

babies used the swings

babies had to sit in time out for a little bit

on another day, babies were fed in the kitchen

and babies are always given lots of love.

Then there's Wyatt, and his ever-loving engineeringish brain. I was called to his room one day in a voice that suggested something might be wrong ("Mom! You have to come see this!") but this is all I saw when I arrived on the scene:

I was perplexed. When I asked exactly what I was looking at, he explained it to me. There were moving parts, etc. and I'm still not sure what it was BUT I do know that in his brain, it was something. So there's that. Besides, it's inherently cool because it involves a light saber and a tape measure.

A couple of weekends ago, we made a family outing to the Congaree National Park. It was pretty cool; a great diversion from our normal routine and a great chance to be in nature. That said, I'm not sure you could pay me enough to go there on a hot, humid day. It's definitely a fall/winter/spring kind of place!

Then there was our annual round of croup; this one took Wyatt out of school for four days - the first two days it was kind of nice to have him around, days three and four were less enjoyable for all of us. In the midst of it, we realized the seal bark was not going down without a fight, so we paid a visit to our doctor for a breathing treatment. Even in this get-up, he was smiling. In that moment, I was reminded that he's  a pretty great kid. He was also given a dose of prednisone in the office and when I asked him if it tasted like grapes he cracked up and said, "No! It tasted like rotten cherries!"

Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of taking a day trip with a couple of friends. It involved lots of shopping (really more looking than shopping, but it's the thrill of the hunt), some good food that we can't get around here and lots of laughing. The kids were thrilled to have an entire day with "just daddy!" They squeezed a lot into their day, including the purchase and assembly of some new rockets. Jeff then had to work on Sunday, but rockets were on Wyatt's mind. He spent a fair amount of time making his own, including a launch system. Again with that brain that's so different than mine. I love it.

rockets all lined up, ready for launch

this is his "launch system" but then post-countdown, he hopped up and tossed
the rocket toward the ceiling.

And lastly, we experienced local culture at its finest by attending the Sumter County fair yesterday. Whoo, boy, that was some people-watching. More importantly, though, it was a Saturday afternoon together.

ferris wheel - much speedier than the ones in Japan!

little drivers

they would've done this on eternal repeat if we'd let them

she couldn't wait to get in the purple car - before the ride started, another little girl
joined her and they spent the whole ride grinning at each other as they 'drove'

this ride was awesome - it flung them around the ovals of the track
and my little thrill-seekers loved it!

Of course no fair is complete without games, so both kids played the 'ping pong toss for fish' game. In all truth, Natalie and I were on a ride when Jeff agreed to let Wyatt try. He says he didn't think Wyatt would win, but as I was spinning around on a bumblebee, I looked down to see that indeed, Wyatt's ping pong ball was in a container. Of course Natalie needed to try, too. She wasn't as lucky skilled, so we cut our losses after one round and told her we'd take her to Petco to buy a fish. Well, you know one thing leads to another so now we're proud owners of a two-gallon tank complete with fake plant, tiki mask and two goldfish. Their names are Orange Flipper (Wyatt's - and he doesn't look as though he's long for this world, as most fair fish aren't) and Natalie's Fish (it's had multiple names so far: Kangaroo, Fish, Natalie and Sarah. I'm not sure what its name was at bedtime).

And now you're kind of caught up - that's life around here!

Tastes like Chicken?

Last night's dinner was ham, which was chosen by Wyatt but is quite possibly my family's favorite meal. In all honesty, it's not my favorite, but it moves up on my list because everyone else will eat it with smiles. So, ham.

Now, ham and Natalie have quite a relationship. At a young age (under two, I believe), Natalie was known to eat nearly her body weight in ham and the girl's never, ever, ever met a piece of bacon she didn't like. I knew she'd be good with the dinner choice, but I didn't realize it would be so entertaining. Here's how it went last night:

N: Mmmm, Mommy, this is good chicken. Can I have some more chicken? This is gooooood chicken, Mommy!

Me: You like it? I'm glad.

(Jeff and Wyatt were just smiling, going along with the chicken thing.)

N: Yeah, Mommy, this is good chicken. But it's funny!

Me: Really? What's funny about it?

N: Mom, it's so silly! This chicken tastes just like ham and cheese and turkey on a plate.

Me: You think it tastes like ham?

N: Yeah, it's so funny that this chicken tastes like ham!

Me: Natalie, that chicken is ham.

N: Brief silence. Well, it is good ham. So can I have some more chicken?

The Good, The Bad & The Funny

Good:
1. My kids are loving their respective schools.
2. Natalie is really enjoying gymnastics, but is disappointed they don't do every apparatus every time.
3. Natalie is such a good bike rider now that she rode a couple of miles around the neighborhood this morning while I ran. Pretty soon she'll outpace me, but for now it's perfect.
4. Jeff's back after having been gone for a while. Life is better when he's here.

Bad:
1. Wyatt had a repeat EGD scope last week and still has issues.
2. Wyatt has now been diagnosed with an allergy to both milk and eggs.
3. Milk and eggs are in a LOT of things. Lots of label reading and modified recipes happening over here. Feeling fairly overwhelmed, but the panic of it is decreasing by the day.

Funny:
1. At Natalie's gymnastics last week, the teacher told us all we could (should) leave for the 45 minutes and that if there were any issues, we'd get a call. That's when one mom piped up about her daughter and said, "okay, but just so you know, if she falls at all, she'll hold her breath until she passes out. So either don't let her fall or offer her a band-aid as soon as she does; usually that distracts her enough that she won't pass out." I'm thinking maybe gymnastics isn't the best choice for that three-year old?

2. Our local paper ("The Item", that in itself is a funny name for a newspaper) is thin, to say the least. So thin, in fact, that they don't even produce a Monday paper. No news Mondays, I guess. Anyway, I suspect it's filler, but they print details of every crime report in the county. Today's favorite:  a woman was caught on surveillance video stealing a bottle of bleach and some cleaning supplies. The value was four whole dollars. The best part? She'd filled out a job application at the store immediately prior to her petty larceny. Super smart.

3. My other favorite crime report from recent weeks: a number of items were stolen from a home out in the county and the list read something like this: a handgun, a shotgun, an xbox, a playstation, cash, a television and a bag of chicken nuggets from the freezer. Those must have been some fancy nuggets.

Mantra

For most of Natalie's short life, we've noticed that she has a strong notion that if it's good enough for Wyatt, it's good enough for her. In this week's installment, I give you Exhibit A: neighborhood bike riding.

Most days of the week, you can find a pack of kids riding around and around and around and around in the cul-de-sac. They often take breaks to dart into someone's house for a drink or someone's yard for different play, but they always return to their bikes in the cul-de-sac. Nat is now among them.

And Exhibit B: soccer time.

Wyatt has his first soccer practice of the season this week and little miss decided that if he needs cleats and soccer socks, well then so does she. Luckily his old shoes fit and he was happy to share from his stash of socks.

She's a real princess, that one.