Your influences at work. We all love you around here!
This one’s for you, mom!
1
About my Saturday
Let me tell you about my day. It started at 6am, as they all do, with Lex at my bedside. We had a nice morning, read the paper, did the crossword, and then I went to a double-header cardio class at the gym while Alan took the kids to touch-a-truck, a popular event that seems to be springing up everywhere. We got home around the same time and over lunch the kids asked if they could go back to touch-a-truck in the afternoon. We debated, but Alan said they were behaving super well and didn’t get to see everything, so we had a short rest after lunch and headed back to touch-a-truck. This time I got to go too! :)
Eve, pulling the air horn on a huge tow truck.
Silly Eve in a Jeep
That sweet girl just does not belong in an open-top Jeep with a skull for a gear shift and a tricked out horn. I told her she looks like a puppy with her tongue hanging out!
Once she found the bounce house it was all over. She jumped until she nearly passed out from exhaustion and heat, it was a hot day! (The pictures are all of Eve because I followed her around while Alan followed Lex.)
When we got home the kids agreed to help me make applesauce. We still have (had!) a half bushel of apples from when we went apple picking. Lex was actually really helpful with the process! Not only can he turn the handle on the apple peeler/corer, but this year he can do the whole thing. Put the apples on, turn it, take them off, reload. The whole thing! It was great. For awhile he even set it up for Eve and let her do the handle turning. He used such a sweet voice with her and taught her how to use it. Truly helpful!
Lex and Eve, peeling apples.
At this point I went a little apple crazy. I was hoping the applesauce would use up the rest of the apples, but I filled the biggest pot I have and it still only used about half the apples. I really wanted that bushel off my (very limited!) counter space, so I made eight jars of applesauce, plus apple bread, apple spice cake, apple pancakes (for dinner) and some sourdough bread because we were out of sandwich bread. Whew! And we still have over a dozen apples left! I’m going to keep those for eating. Amazingly everything went very well. Dinner was on the table at the usual time, everyone was thrilled to have apple pancakes and fresh applesauce for dinner, bath and bed went smoothly, and I made it through the kitchen cleanup before it got too late!
When the kids got done helping in the kitchen they decided to have some computer time with Alan. I love my little family of computer geeks.
I like bundt cakes. I don't get to use this pan very often.
Yum!
While I was cleaning though, and finally breathing again, I started thinking about how goofy I am. I spent 2 hours in the gym this morning, busting my butt, and then spent the evening in the kitchen making delicious baked goods. I like to say “they’re for the kids” but really we all know who will be eating them. I certainly won’t let the kids eat an entire cake! It’s like my inner Jillian Michaels and my inner Martha Stewart are duking it out, in my neutral body. Some days it leaves me paralyzed and other days I accomplish a lot, though not always towards the same goal!
Overall we had an awesome day. Everyone was happy, no fighting, no crabbiness, fairly productive… pretty great. I credit it to a few things:
- Alan took the kids to touch-a-truck this morning, giving me time to exercise. Everyone came home happy.
- The kids were super sweet and well behaved. All day. They helped each other and took care of each other and listened to us. I couldn’t ask for better behavior!
- Computer time. I definitely got through the final kitchen craziness smoothly because they plopped down in front of the computer to play Starfall. Lex reads the stories to Eve, stopping frequently and asking her to read a few words. She does and he heaps on the praise. They are so sweet!
Here’s to a sunny Sunday as well!
Doing the weekend crossword puzzle
Lex read the comics today and then decided to do the crossword puzzle. He got it all folded up, found a pen, and said, “I just need a little help from you mom. Will you tell me the answers?” :) So he read me the clues and I did my best to tell him the answers. I love that boy!
He tried so hard to write small.
I love his writing. It's so cute!
5K
Now that the kids are in school (for a few hours a day at least) I decided to join a “Lose Big” challenge at the local gym. It’s fun, so far. Definitely a marketing event for them, trying to recruit new gym members, which I will not be, but I am enjoying using the facilities for the next six weeks. Then back to tae-bo in the living room. As part of this I will be running a 5K in October, proceeds to benefit the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. If anyone would like to donate, please make checks payable to The River Valley Club and have them to me by October 15th. Thanks! :)
Stickers and sticky apples
Eve took a great quiet time today, almost two hours! I was worried about what I’d find when I went upstairs to get her at the end. Here’s what I found!
The stickers came from a Halloween book we just got out of storage. Isn’t she funny?!
This afternoon we made caramel apples. Alan wanted one from the orchard, but they didn’t have any so I told him I would make him some. We made ten. The kids and I shared half of one this afternoon and decided the rest were for Alan :)
Turns out it's harder than anyone thought to put in the popsicle sticks!
Lex had a few bites and decided he did not like them. Too sticky and hard to eat.
Eve said it hurt her teeth, but continued eating it anyway until I took the apple away :)
All that and we still have two full bags of apples! :)
Hidden Pictures
This morning Lex asked me to draw him a hidden pictures. I absentmindedly said ok, I’d think about it. He immediately grabbed some paper and a crayon, drew a box, and said it was time for me to draw! Umm… ok. I did my best and he was thrilled! Then they argued because Eve wanted to help Lex and he didn’t want help, so I drew her one as well. Nothing fancy, but I love being able to make my kids happy! :)
An applicious weekend
We celebrated the start of fall with a trip to a new apple orchard. New to us anyway. They had a petting zoo and delicious homemade donuts (YUM!!) and tons of apples. We went with the neighbors, brought a picnic lunch, and had a great time. Now we are thinking of ways to use two giants bags of apples. Today we made apple pie and caramel apples, tomorrow will be applesauce and apple butter… hopefully some apple spice cake in there too!
Eve was nervous about petting the sheep, but she happily followed Parrish over.
This smart cow knows that the food comes from that little machine. She was right there whenever a kid went over and she stayed afterwards and licked the machine! Even inside the door. Smartie cow.
Lex took a few minutes to work up the courage, but eventually pet the goat.
This farm had lots of peacocks. None spread their feathers for us though :(
We rode the wagon up to the orchards. The kids were excited :)
Boys in a tree
Eve picking apples
Lex in a tree. He climbed every tree he could!
Smiling Eve
I tried to get a picture of them together, but this is the best I got. Some day maybe they will both smile and pose at the same time for me!
The kids ate lots of apples. Well, we all ate lots of apples! When I was packing the picnic in the morning, Lex said, "Why are you packing lunch? Can't we just eat apples for lunch?" :)
Robina was helping Eve pick apples (while I took pictures!) A few minutes prior to this picture we saw a snake slithering around. Moments before this picture Eve dropped an apple on the ground and said, "We'll just let the snake eat the apple." Robina is laughing at the inadvertent biblical reference.
"It's like a pocket" said Eve, when she realized she could carry apples in her skirt. Like the fancy outfit she chose for apple picking?
Two bushels of deliciousness!
I commented on the delicious smell of donuts when we first got there and the rest of the time Eve kept asking, "Where's my donut?" After lunch she finally got her donut and they were gooooood!
Three little apples
Nice view! (and I love the lone apple on the floor of the wagon)
I don't even know how to caption this one.
Some pictures
Eve doing stunts on her bike.
Waiting for daddy to go for a bike ride.
We have slowly been working on our front garden. This weekend we bought rocks and compost, then layed down the leaf mulch I've been cultivating the past few years. I need a few more rocks and new edging and then I think this tiny garden will be done :)
The kids were reading so sweetly together yesterday. I snuck in to take a picture and got this evil look, followed by Lex's polite "Mom, please don't take a picture of us."
Homework
Lex came home with homework Friday afternoon. I said “Homework?! In kindergarten?!” He said, “No mom, it’s a game! Let’s play!” Good job teacher. He was super excited to play a game of “shape bingo” and eagerly cut up the pieces and set it all up. So we played, and played, and played, and I tried not to laugh at the fact that both Lex and Eve are very familiar with shapes so it was a quick, easy game. I signed the form saying that yes, in fact, we did do the homework and Lex was thrilled. He’s such a fun boy!
Smart girl
Eve is getting rave reviews from her preschool teacher. She came home the first day calling her teacher Jeff, which surprised me, so the next morning I asked him if that’s what he told the kids to call him. I think she heard me saying it to Alan one day because I couldn’t remember his last name. Anyway, he said he introduced himself as Mr. and that’s what the rest of the kids call him, but Eve calling him by his first name seems to amuse him. He told me a story (and apparently found it so amusing he told his wife about it as well :) ) that when he was helping one of the teaching students cut up strawberries for snack Eve came over and said “Oh Jeff, I don’t like strawberries.” The student looked at him with big eyes and said “She just called you Jeff!” :) That cracked him up. When he told me the story I laughed because she loves strawberries! She’s so funny. In that conversation he kept telling me what a smart girl she is, and so verbal, and funny, and just a pleasure to have in class. Nothing new there, right? :) But I do like hearing it from others!
She loves school and was sad on Friday that she didn’t get to go again. We call it “three year old preschool” (to differentiate from the PreK Lex went to last year), so I told her three year old preschool is just three days a week. Every day she asks if it’s Tuesday yet :)
Lex brought home homework on Friday (HA!) that was a game to help the kids learn shapes (HA!) and we all had fun playing (HA!). Seriously though, Lex and Eve had fun even though they both are very good with shapes already. I could probably leave her in kindergarten and she’d be fine :)