Halloween Candy Houses

Most excellent...this will be a yearly event!

Kaleidoscope Children's Museum Field Trip

This place is great! The kids had lots of fun and we could have stayed all day long.

They had a grocery store that was well stocked, although Gwen bought most everything available! LOL She's so used to the way that my grocery cart looks, she thinks they all have to be filled to the top! This section was the first one we visited and it was a hit right away.
They had a very cool Post Office set up with boxes and different types of scales for weighing packages.
They had a stage set up with LOADS of costumes and a real working microphone. By the end of the day, Gwen was singing every song she knew and a few made up ones. She promised the audience she would return for autograph signing and interviews. :)
Alyssa's favorite part was the 20 foot rock climbing wall that she climbed over and over again. She reached the top several times and had weak hands by the end of the day!
The staff was very nice and the moms and dads that I met were having just as much fun as we were. We will be heading here often and Gwen has decided she wants to live here...I'm thinking of working out an arrangement with them! LOL Some of the other sections include: a cafe, a jail cell, a crime lab and a fabulous climbing/sliding toy that will guarantee a good night's sleep for all who participate! I highly recommend visiting and enjoying the day.

Fun on the Farm

Friday was our annual pumpkin patch field trip and this year we went to Livesay Orchards in Porter. We brought our picnic lunch and enjoyed our sandwiches under one of the large tents with hay bale seats. Next we piled onto the tractor drawn hay ride and we were off to the patch. The weather was beautiful and the patch still had plenty of pumpkins to choose from. Of course Alyssa picked one so big she had to roll it from the patch. We ended up with four very nice pumpkins and sun bronzed faces.

In addition to lots of educational stuff, they had a hay maze, rocks for digging, fake cow teets for milking (eeeww) and fun carnival-y games to play.


Overall, it was a great day!

The State Fair

Corn Dogs, Orangeade, Turkey Legs, Gyros, Dippin' Dots..

Caged Animals, Freak Shows, Face Painting, Games Galore...

Creaky Rides, Loud Music, Fun and Thrills...


Alyssa tried the Trapeze Ride...and yes, I considered having to throw my body down to break her fall when she bounced off the mats onto the concrete floor...a mother's always ready!


We rolled home about midnight and everyone was sleeping before they hit the pillow...the State Fair Rocks!

I love the smell of gourds in the fall...

it smells like paint.

Next Stop...Double Digits

Nine years ago I was sleep deprived, bloated and holding a baby I wasn't sure I was ever going to have. Today, I am still sleep deprived, still a little bloated but looking at a beautiful nine year old girl I am so lucky to have. Alyssa was born early, less than five pounds, but healthy and I was tired, scared and excited. As a baby, she was calm and happy. Little did I know that if you never set her down, she really didn't have anything to be unhappy about! I remember holding her and eating straight out of the pan on the stove and holding her while sleeping soundly in what could have been the most uncomfortable position ever and holding her at times when a normal person would just put the baby down for pete's sake!! When I wasn't holding her, someone else was, it seemed normal and totally OK with me. I took the "not able to spoil a baby" thing very seriously! I remember telling the doctor that she wasn't rolling over and I was getting kinda freaked out by it and he asked me if I ever put her down to actually try and roll over and it dawned on me that I probably didn't! But what did he know? Eventually she rolled over, just don't tell him she was two at the time! Just kidding!

Alyssa has always been an old soul, someone who gave you the impression that they had emotional knowledge you just couldn't understand. She's always been quiet, a deep thinker and pretty freaking rational. I'm not sure where that comes from, but I can honestly say, it ain't from either side of her family! I chalk it up to communication. I was one of those freaks who talked to her baby in the grocery store about what to make and what isle we were trying to find. That constant communication has been an integral part of relationship and I think it's made it much more open. I have always thought that if people took the time to explain things to their kids, they'd have a lot fewer problems. I rarely played the radio in the car so that we could talk about things or just enjoy the scenery. She used to sit and look out the window on long drives and seem so distant...deep in thoughts I couldn't understand. I often think she was planning her life or contemplating her last one. I really don't know. I just knew she wasn't simply staring off into space.

That would be Harry Potter next to her. Over the years she has become a beautiful young lady who makes me proud and I feel honored to be her mother. We are close and I am happy about that. I know the teenage years will be stressful and thinking they won't be would be ignorant on my part, but I believe that we share a bond that will take us through those rough times and we'll come out stronger on the other side. She's confident, yet cautious, polite, but not a doormat and has insight that some adults can't claim. Here are a few fun facts about her that you might not know...

She loves the Dungeons and Dragons role playing game and is now campaigning and running two characters at the same time. She has an elven fighter and a human mage, but she is considering creating a cleric to move in and out of adventures. So much fun is had during our adventures!

She is having a great time exploring different kinds of music and her new iPod. A favorite? Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band. Love it. Her iPod is filled with Metallica AND country favorites like Shania Twain. We are an equal opportunity musical household!

On Saturdays she likes to go roller skating at the Skatehouse...many bruises, lotsa fun! We don't get to go often enough. One Saturday I rented skates for myself and had tons of fun skating like I was a kid again. I bet it had been 20 plus years since I had been on skates, one of my favorite activities as a kid. Many weekends were spent at the skating rink, many a babysitting dollar too! I'm glad Alyssa is enjoying it as much as I do!

She is a foodie. She has baked and decorated several of her own birthday cakes as well as cakes for other people. She is creative here and I see lots of fun baking in our future.

Oh yeah, and she loves to beat horses with a small bat, well, paper horses anyway.

2008 Olympics...Homeschool Style!

To kick off our Olympic fun, we set up an obstacle course and had LOTS of fun. We have been enjoying all aspects of the 2008 Olympics, from the fantastic Opening Ceremonies to discussing the controversies surrounding the venue, the scoring and the athletes.




We made Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to honor all of the amazing accomplishments we have been witnessing. Although Victor insisted that Princess Leia awarded him his medal for defeating Darth Vader. I guess we all have our own personal Olympic goals!

With only a few days left, we still have lots to see, lots to learn and lots of foods to taste. This has been the most fun we have had with a subject in a long time. Homeschooling has given us the time to truly immerse ourselves into the games. It's times like this that I forget all the times when I was about to pull my hair out in homeschooling frustration.

Here's to a few more days of Olympic fun...Homeschool Style!

What we have been up to...

After the release of our butterflies, we made clothespin/coffee filter butterflies. No, that's not a sour sucker in his mouth...that is his smile.


Blendy Pens...although I was not all that impressed with their "blendy-ness", the kids have been having fun with them for the past couple weeks. Gwen saw these on TV long ago and talked about them a LOT. She got these for her birthday and it was one of those gifts I stick back and spring out when something new needs to be explored. Overall, they have been fun.

Swimming...what can I say, it's become our lives. Since arriving home from vacation to our new, fabulous pool, we have spent lots of time there. Alyssa is having the best time doing flips and handstands. Gwen has excelled in learning to swim. She taught herself how to swim underwater! Victor is swimming with his floaties, but continues to want to swim without them. He jumps off the ladder yelling "cannonbaaaall."

Vacation and Beyond

Can you believe this photo? I think it's adorable and represents how much fun we had on vacation. This picture is midway through in Keystone, South Dakota. This is the cabin that we stayed in for 2 nights. It was GREAT! There was plenty of room for the kids to climb around and explore and the cabin was fabulous and clean. Keystone is a fun place to visit and I will consider staying 3 days next time we go. Alyssa and I took a trail ride through the mountains here and it was really beautiful. It rained a nice soaking, cold rain for the last 30 minutes of our ride but it was totally worth it.

Our stop in Minot, North Dakota to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins, was by far the most fun my kids have ever had. From the mini-motorcycles to the buffet style meals, the kids were in heaven. All three kids bonded quickly with my cousin's daughters and there was fun to be had. My aunt made the best food and we always had plenty. My uncle shared his love of remote controlled aircraft and the kids had tons of fun chasing the parachute man!! Overall, we had a great vacation and minus the tornadoes, flooding and a round of snotty noses, it was something that we will all remember with great love in our hearts.

When we got home from vacation the fabulous pool my mother-in-law purchased was set up in the front yard and ready for swimming. We have loved it every day since. We swim one or two times a day and it reminds me of my young summer days spent by the pool. I still think Bugels Corn Chips taste better with pool soaked hands! We started swim lessons the first of June and they will last until the first of August. After that, it will be back to soccer for Alyssa and gymnastics for Gwen. Gwen is really itching to get back to tumbling. I am thrilled that she likes it and I think she has the skills necessary to do well. The Olympics are going to be a HUGE hit around here. Alyssa moves to the all girls soccer teams and she's a bit bummed. She prefers mixed teams, even though the boys tend to mess around a lot. Olympic soccer is on before the Olympics officially start, I hope we get the channel it's on!

We also received our caterpillars in the mail and started our Butterfly Habitat Project. It was amazing. We all had fun watching the stages progress. Victor took an immediate interest and he was the one who noticed they were emerging! We are definitely sending off for more caterpillars, and soon! Two thumbs up for this project.

Independence Day was very fun. 4th of July means yummy food, friends and family and a great show! I tried a new salsa recipe, which was supposed to be a clone of Chili's Salsa. It was good and it almost tasted like Chili's. It gave me hope that I can make my own salsa this year when the garden overflows with tomatoes! I also made Candy Bar Apple Salad and it was OK, I think I need less apples next time. Alyssa's best buddy, Guy, spent a couple of nights and all the kids had loads of fun. We sent him home red as a lobster (oops, sorry Savvy!) but with lots of fun memories for everyone.

Cleaning up the next day...not as fun.

iPod Anyone?

What the hell is an iPod and why should I care? Well, because I have a soon-to-be tween and honestly, I just can't let my kids surpass me in techie knowledge...I just can't. Alyssa will be nine next month (*cringe*) and she has started down the path of music exploration. I am thrilled. I remember how much of an impact music had on me as a young person and I can't wait for her to feel the vibes. Personally, I am not musically inclined and you would surely tell me to shut the heck up if I started singing at your wedding...or in your presence. BUT, I can remember spending hours listening to the radio, playing records and trying my best to push that record button on my cassette player so I could have my favorite songs on the radio on a fabulous mix tape. Ahhh, the days of the mix tape. Kids these days just don't understand the painstaking process of mixing a tape. Point and click, how hard is that? What happened to running across the room and flinging yourself over your bed to the cassette player as soon as you heard Raspberry Beret by Prince? Now that is music love.

Noticing that this music thing was not a passing fancy, I decided to look into an iPod. When walking through Wal-mart, I saw the iPod Shuffle. It's cute as can be...and on sale! Whoo Hoo! Because I try to be an informed consumer, I went online and checked them out. Not only do they get great reviews and are simple enough for a nine year old to use, when you order yours directly from Apple, they will engrave it and ship it FREE. Yeah, you heard me...FREE. I'm in love. I let her pick the color and what she wanted to have engraved on it, but I am not letting her have it until her birthday...I'm mean like that. She is really excited and frankly, so am I. Commercial free music of your choice, that's portable? What a freaking concept!!!

Commenting on my blog

My advice is to actually READ the post that you want to comment on BEFORE commenting on it. Check out the comments from 1892 gold mine on my Vacation Continuation post. Annoying.

Horse Camp 2008

This is Alyssa and Bert, aren't they adorable? Yes, that is Gwen's head in the corner of the picture...I believe that Alyssa has a lifetime of Gwen's head being in the corner of her picture. Bert was Alyssa's assigned horse for her week at Horse Camp. She had to feed him, clean his stall, groom him and of course, ride him. They were a team...he pooped, she scooped. After arriving home from vacation on Thursday (a vacation blog is coming!), Alyssa started Horse Camp on Monday. We had to wake up each day last week at 6am so that we could make it to camp by 8am. It took almost an hour to get there and after our L-O-N-G vacation, we weren't sure if we would make it. We did. The excitement of the whole thing nudged us out of bed and spurred us to be on time every day, anxiously awaiting the day of fun.

The Vacation Continuation...

Boo! Did I scare ya? Well, I've been here all along, searching and contemplating all aspects of the vacation. W-A-Y back in February, I posted about the vacation we would be embarking on at the end of May. Did you know that May is here already?! After many computer hours and several days of the kids running naked and starving to death (not really, but you woulda thought I abandoned them), I have all of the plans finalized and reservations have been made. This has stretched into a 10 day trip and I am both excited and apprehensive. Normal feelings for me when major excursions take place. So forgive me if this rambles or is less than helpful in explaining our plans...and because I am lazy, I am cutting and pasting from my first post and just adding to it...your welcome. All black text is new.

Day One ~ start from here and drive to Overland Park, KS We will arrive in town around lunchtime and visit The Deanna Rose Farmstead in Overland Park, KS(http://opkansas.org/_Vis/Farmstead/index.cfm).

From the website:
Admission to the Farmstead is free. Please look for donation boxes to help support the best park in town, or consider becoming a Friends of the Farmstead Member today at our join and support page. Visit the Farmstead with your family and here's an example of what you will see:Charming One-Room School HouseKwanza Indian EncampmentInteractive Dairy Barn with in-house 'Moovie'Stocked Fishing PondPony RidesPlaygroundAuthentic Mining ExhibitJohnson County Extension Master Gardeners farm crops, veggies and flowersHorse Drawn HayrideKiwanis Repose GardenButterfly Garden & ChimesConcessions and Picnic PavilionsAnimal Exhibits including goats, chickens, rabbits, sheep, pigs, cows, peacocks, prairie dogs, turtles, fish, bald eagle, hawk, bob cat, ducks
Whoo Hooo! Sounds fun!

Day 2 ~ We leave Kansas City and head for Sioux Falls, SD In Sioux Falls I booked a hotel that has a small waterpark inside. I decided that having a few hours of water fun and dinner would be just as much fun as anything else I could have found...not to mention cheaper (a major factor on this particular vacation, as gas is literally going to cost as much as the lodging for the entire trip). The "waterpark" hotel seems to be the new thing and to be honest, I am thrilled about it! In comparison, this hotel has a tiny waterpark, more like a water play area, in my opinion. BUT, that is just what this mama wants. Some of those places are thousands of square feet and INSIDE a hotel, not the place I want to try and keep track of 3 kids. I am a paranoid freak, there I said it. Anyhoo, this stopover will surely bring lots of laughs and wrinkled toes.

Day 3 (4, 5 and 6) ~ We leave Sioux Falls and head to Minot, ND At our final destination, my aunt and uncle's house, we will unpack, eat all the food they have and then sleep in all their beds, all while they wonder what the heck they have gotten themselves into! We will spend the next three days enjoying the company of my aunt and uncle, cousins and their kids (five girls! whoo hoo). We will be heading to the Space Aliens Restaurant (http://www.spacealiens.com/) and possibly the zoo (http://www.rpzoo.com/), but for the most part, this section of the trip is unplanned.

Day 7 and 8 ~ We leave Minot, ND and head to Keystone, SD Here we will stay in a modern cabin on 75 acres near Mount Rushmore (http://www.holysmokeresort.com/). We will be here 2 nights so that we can fully enjoy the fun that Mount Rushmore's surrounding areas have to offer. The resort offers horseback riding and Alyssa and I are going to take a one hour ride together first thing in the morning on day 8. My mom will stay back with the little ones and explore nature...or dig holes and pile sticks...whatever. We plan on hitting a gold mine and panning for gold http://www.bigthundermine.com. Now, when I told the girls that we would be panning for gold, they began dreaming of finding necklaces and diamonds. When I explained to them that it was a "makeshift" kinda thing and that it's basically for tourists, they began dreaming of finding lost watches and wallets...ahhh, move over Indiana Jones, treasures await my children!!! Even after all the laughing I did, they are still convinced they are going to find something of tremendous value...I was hoping something a bit educational, but the world needs pickpockets too right? There are SO many other things to do in and around Keystone that I decided to note a few and then decide while there which ones to try. We will be in Go-With-The-Flow mode here.

Day 9 ~ Leave Keystone, SD and head towards Omaha, NE Due to arrival possibly being late in the evening, I did not schedule anything here...this is merely a stopover for sleep and refreshment before heading home. The hotel I booked is really cool and has themed rooms and castle turrets on one end, but that is the extent of it's excitement. They do have an indoor pool and really, who needs anything else? The hotel is in a central part of town with malls and screaming kid pizza palaces, so if necessary, we have an out. There is a hotel close by that has one of those HUGE waterparks inside...yeah, I didn't choose that one (see above). At this point, even the most avid vacationer would long for home and I am already foreseeing my future of longing.

Day 10 ~ Head home, fall out of the car, sleep on the lawn...

**While planning this trip I made sure of some things: 1)all rooms have micros and fridges so that there will be plenty of already purchased quick meals for kids who insist they are starving before bed, a nightly occurrence here at my house. 2)all breakfast meals will be ones that I brought or are provided by the hotel (or my sweet auntie)...no restaurants for breakfast! 3)all hotels have indoor pools, my free fun distraction. 4)every event is 2 year old friendly...you must always plan with the youngest child in mind and although museums are a fave for Alyssa and me, they are no fun with toddlers...a second museum focused trip will be planned at a later date and will include daddy.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Just go for it!

Sometimes you just gotta cook out some dogs, listen to loud music and pop those fireworks left over from the year before...oh yeah, and get really dirty.

24 Months

Twenty four months sounds like a lot, yet it doesn't. In the life of a child it's a mere pin prick of time. The changes made from baby to toddler are so amazing. I think time goes so quickly so parents aren't aware of how fast their little one is growing...I know I would cry everyday if I had time to think about how fast my kids have gone from needing my constant attention to needing me only when they can't figure it out for themselves. Victor has changed our family and he has changed me. I started out such a strict mama, with rigid rules and schedules to follow. When Alyssa was a baby, I actually kept a chart of her diaper changes...no joke. I have mellowed and become somewhat less rigid, although, my personality warrants some rigidity just to get through the day. But I am less concerned about issues that have no bearing on my children's happiness.

Taking on a third child was a huge challenge for me and I sort of retreated into my comfort zone. Gwen was 2 when Victor was born and she was having a great time reminding me that Alyssa's personality is what made Alyssa such an easy child to maintain, not necessarily my parenting skills! I was struggling with an independent 2 year old, a 6 year old that still needed me in many ways and an infant. I stayed home.

And then he was one year old. How did that happen? He seemed so big, yet so tiny. He turned into the family clown. Funny faces, funny noises, anything to make you laugh. We couldn't believe his comedic timing, not to mention his insight into what makes a person laugh. Surely mothers of famous comedians everywhere have said this for years. With two sisters who adore him, he will surely be a ladies man, constantly charming their friends with his wit and dimples.

Still the funny man, he has eye rolls and head tilts that will drop you to the floor laughing. Maybe these things are what have loosened me up as a mom, who could scold a child with such comedic timing? The family is constantly finding themselves laughing behind books, hands, anything to throw in front of their faces, while trying to be firm about whatever he's not supposed to be doing. He has taken a liking to a pair of blue rain boots that I purchased for Alyssa when she was about his age. They were in perfect condition when he confiscated them, but now, they are broken at the ankles and smell like we have kept garbage in them for the past 6 years. He LOVES these boots, first thing in the morning he puts them on and he reluctantly relinquishes them at night...he would sleep in them if I let him. You can literally smell them when he walks up to you. His Mimi and his Granny and Poppa have tried, in vain, to convince him he needs a new pair, but he has made it clear that there is no other pair of boots for him. He also has a cowboy hat that Alyssa gave him (more like gave up on ever getting it back) and he wears it regularly. It is made of plastic and has been stepped on so many times it's cracked and well worn. Again, not even a new, real cowboy hat would convince him to change over. He is clearly paving a fashion path all his own.

Some of the other things that he loves: Star Wars toys, particularly Storm Troopers, cars, all things Scooby-Doo, watching his sisters and daddy play video games (while holding his own Spiderman controller), all Superheroes and their villainous counterparts, reading books, scrambled eggs, playing outside, his double barrel shotgun (yes, it's a toy!) and poking people (he thinks this is hilarious). He can sit by the bookshelf for 30 minutes looking at various books and discussing them with himself. While playing in his room you can hear him have conversations with his toys and make up dialogue for his adventures, it's adorable. I am sure that it comes from being the third child but his vocabulary is large and he speaks in complete sentences when necessary. Both girls were not as verbal and spent some amount of time using baby signs to communicate. I never got a chance to teach him signs, as he was speaking before we ever thought he would. I am not at all trying to convince anyone (including myself) that he's some kind of genius, but we are all constantly amazed at his ability to carry on a conversation. He is also extremely adept at repeating what you have just said to him...sometimes this bites me in the butt...'nuff said.

And this is his smile.

Happy birthday buddy, we can't wait to see what you have accomplished next year!

FINALLY!

After weeks of waiting we finally had our first soccer game. It was cold, windy and misty but they played. Note the stocking caps and gloves...it was NOT soccer weather! We did not win this game, but honestly, no one cared. The only score our team managed was made accidentally by the other team!


This second picture was taken of our team and the coaches having fun congratulating each other on a good game...note the happy, laughing faces...now that is a sign of great coaching (not to mention great kids!) when 8 year olds can have this much fun after losing their first game.

Games we play...

We love games around here, card, board, video. We are game-y...uh, in a good way. LOL Recently Gwen has taken to challenging each and every person in a game, or several, of cards. Currently the favorites are the Spiderman Crime Stopper Card Game and Clifford's Beginning, Middle and End Card Game. We have played MANY hands of these games in the past week. She also has an I-Spy Card Game that she enjoys playing.

Board Games are also a big hit around here. Our most recent faves include, Clue Junior, the original Clue game and the Harry Potter Mystery at Hogwarts game (similar to Clue). Gwen also enjoys a mean game of The Backyardigans Mission to Mars/Pirate Treasure Game. Monopoly is one of Brian's favorite games and one of my LEAST favorites, so I occasionally have to suffer while he and Alyssa enjoy a L-O-N-G game of Star Wars Monopoly. Funny though, it seems like I always win...ironic ain't it?

Puzzles are prominent in our game cabinet too. Gwen can do pretty hard puzzles and enjoys the challenge. Alyssa is mostly a joiner of puzzle fun...it would not necessarily be her choice of game to play. Brian is a fan of puzzles and likes really challenging ones, I, on the other hand, like the ones with little wooden handles on each piece...LOL...well, not THAT easy, but pretty close! We have some "family" puzzles to start on one day, but we have to wait until the youngest child can control himself around things that need to be left alone...tick tock. Due to my anal nature, I like a puzzle you can put together, enjoy and then put away...all in less than an hour. Puzzles that must take up table space make me uncomfortable.

Video games, well, that would be ALL Brian's influence because I could really just leave them...shhh don't tell anyone! Computer games, X-Box 360, PS2 and Wii are all options around here and let me tell ya, they all offer something completely different. We ALL love the Wii and it's simple little sports game that comes with the console. Fun, Fun, Fun. Alyssa tends to dominate on the Wii...something I can not explain. Gwen has been trying her best to get through the Scooby Doo Unmasked PS2 game and she is putting a real dent in it. Over the past year she has gone from making everyone else fight the monsters to getting through levels without any help. She is fast approaching the level that Alyssa, Brian and I have been unable to beat. We are stuck. I will be thrilled to see Gwen just beat the heck outa that level!

Here's to games...and more games. Brian and I are currently discussing introducing Alyssa to our favorite pastime of all, Dungeons and Dragons. I can not wait to begin adventuring with Alyssa and eventually bringing in all the members of the clan...we will be unstoppable!! LOL