It's nice to be home.

No, wait. Scratch that. I WANT TO GO BAAAAACK!!!! We had so much fun! The only thing I can say about driving for 8 days is I am sure glad we bought that DVD player. I can NOT see us surviving without it. Thought Rachael wasn't entertained by it much (except for the time when we let them watch 'S.tar W.ars' Nothing like a beeping trash can to make a girl happy) it kept the boys occupied and even quiet at times. Two days into the trip I discovered that Rachael's car seat she inherited from brothers was so old and the padding was so far gone it hurt her to sit in it. She was basically sitting on plastic and she let us know quite loudly how unpleasant it was. Point taken. I will be putting some padding there today. I don't want to get her a new one because this one is semi-reclined and she can sleep comfortably in it. It's impossible to find something like that new unless we are willing to pay a lot of money. Which we aren't.
Back to the trip. We stopped in St. Louis for a couple of days since we prefer to observe the Lord's Day. We worshipped in a PCA church, went to Covenant seminary to look around and then headed to the Zoo. The kids loved it! Their zoo is very impressive and in theory free. Until you add up the parking fees, the fees to visit some of the areas of the zoo, fees to ride a train and a 8$ nuggets for the kids' meal (they tasted awful, too, but it was better then nothing) Still, it was worth visiting. Unfortunately we forgot the camera so there's no pictures.
We arrived at M's sisters' house late Monday night. They had a tough evening as their 2yo fell off a chair and split her head open. They took her to the emergency room and she ended up with four staples. Poor little girl. The next day we decided to keep it low key and went to this fancy shopping center that had great fountains for the kids to play in.

We went to the air museum

and the beach:



More to come, stay tuned :)

Jadin Made His Momma Proud.

You know how every mom is hoping that her kids will take the lessons they have been taught and put them to good use in new situations? That has been my hope, too. I want to not only correct their behaviour at the moment but also to teach them principles they can use later in life to base their decisions on. Like, taking responsibility for their action.
So, I come back to the nursery after a workout the other day and this volunteer tells me she's been having a hard time with Jadin. No, nothing terrible. He was just being a 5 yo he is. There was another boy his age and they were playing kind of loud. She told them over and over to quiet down. And Jadin would, for about 3 minutes. And then he would start again. I know the other boy, and I understand why it was hard. We had had a similar situation with another boy before. They both ended up in time out three times. It's interesting how kids' reactions differ depending on the ammount of dicsipline they get at home. He was opently defiant. He even thretened me (he said that his mom beats up teachers). Jadin was having a hard time with it. It's hard not to react when someone keeps stirring up trouble. So when we got home that night I explained to him that having to be put in time out three times is not acceptable. I told him that when someone gets in trouble he needs to walk away and find a puzzle or some colors. And then he got a spanking. Next time the boy came in Jadin stayed away from him. Someone pointed that out and said how amaized they were to see that kind of change in a 5yo.
So, back to that situation the other day. I asked Jadin to come and talk to me. I explained what I was told about him and that next time he will need to quiet down the first time he is told. That he is only responsible for HIS OWN actions, regardless of what other kids do and that if it happens again he will be given another spanking. He listened quietly. When we were done talking I went to get Daniel and Rachael and I see him apologizing to the volunteer and giving her a hug. No, I didn't tell him to do it. He did it by himself. The volunteer had tears in her eyes! My little guy is learning. He sure does make his momma proud.

And here it is...

Remember when I said we had about 20,000 bikers every year? I was wrong. It's a lot more than that. A LOT more. Someone told me just yesterday they are estimating as many as 750,000 this year. I think the number is a little too high, but you never know. We just stay home with exception of going to the YMCA and don't try to turn unless there's a light. It's pointless.

We are almost ready for our big trip. We are going to visit M's sister in Alabama and then a close friend of mine in Florida. I am SOOOOO exited, I can't stand it! We will be spending two days in St. Louis, visiting a PCA church, a seminary and a zoo. And did I mention Gulf Shores? I think everyone would agree that that's as close to heaven as it gets. We will get to play with cousins, too! And I get to meet my friend's hubby and kids for the first time! WOO-HOO!!!!!! Let's hope Rachael doesn't pee all over their carpet. :)

I will not have access to my computer. That means I will not be able to read or comment on your blogs. I will sure miss you all!

I will also be missing Valia P's B-day. Happy Birthday, sweet girl! I hope this next year will be extra special.

Now, back to dreaded packing. :)

Awkward

So, after my boss called me yesterday about the free swimming lessons I rushed to the Y to find F to sign Daniel up and to get a quick workout. She was gone. I went to the gym and was doing the usual routine when I saw her giving a tour. That was strange (she's the director of aquatics department, what was she doing downstairs at the gym giving a tour?) but whatever. I got off the machine and went to ask her about the lessons. She is very hard to find so if you see her you better take your opportunity. I addressed her by name and immediately she said 'Oh, I am not F, I am P' pointing at a HUGE name tag. Can you see my face turning red? It was sooo embarrassing! They look so much alike that I didn't even stop to look at the name tag, I was so sure it was F. Ooops.
Anyway, I found her later and she told me she signed up BOTH boys for the same class. Free. That was wonderful except that Jadin graduated from that class 6 months ago. She was on the phone so I couldn't really tell her that and after all it was free. He will be the star of the class, I am sure :)

It's Monday.

Again. Which means I survived another Sunday at church without C, our pianist. It's though, I am glad she will be back next Sunday. Because when she's gone I have to play 5 songs, an offertory and something for Communion. With no time to practice, obviously, due to three little helpers fighting over the two spots on each side of me while I am attempting to at least look at the music. I have to say that yesterday went quite well. I was especially nervous about the offertory and the Communion since that's when I play by myself and everyone can hear it. I had to pick something on the spot for offertory because the two pieces I prepared were long enough to last through Communion only (it seems like EVERYONE and their dog was in church on Sunday! Praise God!) I decided on 'Let All Things Now Living' It's one of my all times favorites and we also sang it at our wedding. So, I went on stage and pretended I didn't know there was a professional pianist visiting and tried to hit the right notes at the right times. It wasn't too bad. It's nice not to have to worry about getting something new ready for next Sunday, though. C, you are sooo welcome back!
We went to the playground early this morning to get some play time before the crowds hit (four bus loads of kids, to be exact. I don't understand why they ALL came to this particular park, aren't there more parks in our town?) The playground was mostly empty, except for a few girls who came with their older sister and were particularly rude to Jadin (he went over to meet them and they started making fun of him soon after. He is too young to understand what was going on. I did yell at them, they were old enough to know better) We stayed for two hours until those buses of kids arrived. Rachael was hungry anyway so the timing was good.
I fed Rachael (the boys snack on leftover pizza) and put her to bed when my phone rang. It was my boss from the Nursery. She told me that the aquatics department was looking to fill their swimming lessons (Daniel's level) and even had scholarships so if I called right away I wouldn't have to pay. I called but the person was out of her office (she usually is out in the pool area all the time) i hope she will call me back. I am going to ask about that again when I go to work out. They are not very expensive, about 30$ a child for two weeks Mon-Thurs. but for some reason we are always broke by sign-up time :)
Oh, an we will be leaving for vacation in two weeks. I CAN"T WAIT!!!