Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label basketball. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Sunday, March 08, 2015
Snow, More Snow, Basketball, and a Fat Cat...
So we got some serious snow. The kids hardly even wanted to play in it. Even they are ready for spring! I think they spent a total of MAYBE an hour out there?
We also made snow ice cream for the first time. The kids loved it. Me? Not so much. The sugar didn't dissolve so it was super gritty and awfully sweet!
The birds were happy I had put a feeder outside. :)
The cat was entertained, though slightly annoyed he could not go out and "play" with his "friends".
We were initially quite creative and busy…. Jonathan wanted to replicate something he had done at school with snow, baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring. This kept them entertained for about 45 minutes, so totally worth the mess! After this, everyone dispersed throughout the house to play Legos, build forts, and ask me every three minutes if they could play Wii.
We also made snow ice cream for the first time. The kids loved it. Me? Not so much. The sugar didn't dissolve so it was super gritty and awfully sweet!
These pics were the day before the snow, but I had to share. We were at PetCo and saw this cat. The photo does NOT do it justice. I have never seen a domestic cat so big. It HAD to weigh 30 pounds, at least….
And this is my littlest monkey waiting with me in the carpool line. He sometimes asks to have his picture taken. I happily oblige. :)
In other news, Ben's basketball team WON yesterday, which means they are one of the two teams in the championship! First year since Ben has been playing that has happened! They usually win the first playoff game and lose the second one. The game got kind of physical and Ben actually fouled out. He was SO upset. But it worked out in the end and now he's just excited to be in the championship game! So, we are back on Wednesday for what will (finally) be the last game of the season. :)
Thursday, March 05, 2015
Wacky Wednesday...
When last we left our intrepid baby humans family…..
Let's see….
Much to everyone's surprise, Ben's basketball team won their first playoff game last night! They play again on Saturday and if they win, then they have to play again on Wednesday. As cool as that would be for them, I partly hope they don't win because he's signed up for this Wednesday night dodgeball league thing at SkyZone and he has already missed the first two games for basketball. :\
It was Wacky Wednesday at preschool yesterday. Always super cute! The kids follow handprints on the floor to go in a different entrance and crawl through tunnels to get to their classroom where things are all kinds of wacky. I, however, neglected to consider how averse my youngest child is to "wacky" and changes in routine. LOL. We got through the first part of the wacky entrance (a back stairwell) and he stopped dead in his tracks at the first tunnel, looked up at me and said, "I do NOT want to go to to school today!" Thankfully, I was abel to distract him and hustle him through to his classroom and bypass the rest of the wacky before he started to freak out. I think the rest of the day went ok… WHEW. Close call. ;)
In other Jonathan news, Simon came home from school with J's kindergarten packet two days ago! Weird to be filling all this stuff out for a third time. (insert requisite "Wasn't he just born?!" "Time goes too quickly!" statements here)
Our kindergarten roundup appointment is on March 30th! Still not 100% sure on the kindergarten thing for J, and likely won't be until August…. but still registering him and we'll see how it goes. Roundup day will actually be very telling and helpful as far as seeing how good of an idea this is… will he go with the teachers to the stations? Will he be compliant for the screening? Stay tuned.
Not much new in Simon-land. We have discovered a new chapter book he likes and wants to read on his own. Its title will come as a surprise to no one. LOL. And by "discovered" I mean it had been on his shelf for months? Maybe since his LAST birthday. A friend of mine was talking about it last week and how much her son liked it and I said, "Wait! I think we actually HAVE that!" I had put it on the shelf and forgotten about it because it's a TOUGH book… no pictures and tons of words per page. I didn't consider its read aloud possibilities though… so that's what we're doing….
Let's see….
Much to everyone's surprise, Ben's basketball team won their first playoff game last night! They play again on Saturday and if they win, then they have to play again on Wednesday. As cool as that would be for them, I partly hope they don't win because he's signed up for this Wednesday night dodgeball league thing at SkyZone and he has already missed the first two games for basketball. :\
It was Wacky Wednesday at preschool yesterday. Always super cute! The kids follow handprints on the floor to go in a different entrance and crawl through tunnels to get to their classroom where things are all kinds of wacky. I, however, neglected to consider how averse my youngest child is to "wacky" and changes in routine. LOL. We got through the first part of the wacky entrance (a back stairwell) and he stopped dead in his tracks at the first tunnel, looked up at me and said, "I do NOT want to go to to school today!" Thankfully, I was abel to distract him and hustle him through to his classroom and bypass the rest of the wacky before he started to freak out. I think the rest of the day went ok… WHEW. Close call. ;)
In other Jonathan news, Simon came home from school with J's kindergarten packet two days ago! Weird to be filling all this stuff out for a third time. (insert requisite "Wasn't he just born?!" "Time goes too quickly!" statements here)
Our kindergarten roundup appointment is on March 30th! Still not 100% sure on the kindergarten thing for J, and likely won't be until August…. but still registering him and we'll see how it goes. Roundup day will actually be very telling and helpful as far as seeing how good of an idea this is… will he go with the teachers to the stations? Will he be compliant for the screening? Stay tuned.
Not much new in Simon-land. We have discovered a new chapter book he likes and wants to read on his own. Its title will come as a surprise to no one. LOL. And by "discovered" I mean it had been on his shelf for months? Maybe since his LAST birthday. A friend of mine was talking about it last week and how much her son liked it and I said, "Wait! I think we actually HAVE that!" I had put it on the shelf and forgotten about it because it's a TOUGH book… no pictures and tons of words per page. I didn't consider its read aloud possibilities though… so that's what we're doing….
I read a chapter to him very night and then he usually tries to read some on his own, which is AWESOME! He even took it to school this week as his "drop everything and read" book. I love that!
He has gotten really into his Rubik's Cube lately and was excited yesterday because he "solved the blue side". I didn't have the heart to tell him that he'd have to UNSOLVE the blue side to solve the other colors…. LOL. He has asked for a triangle shaped Rubik's Cube for his birthday…. for anyone needing a birthday idea for him! ;)
More snow today. Thankfully, I made it to the library yesterday while Jonathan was at school. Came home with a pile of books. I also have ingredients to make an awesome cake, broccoli cheddar soup, and homemade bread today. Can you tell I have high hopes for this snow day? ;) Also, miraculously, Tom hasn't tried to leave for work! Not sure if he will…. hoping he just works from home today.
Still enjoying my Facebook hiatus, but I'm worried I'll end up cheating today since we're stuck here with the snow and all. LOL!
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Stupid Cold… sports...birthdays…. cellos….
Argh. It did turn out to be a cold. Jonathan has it too and seems to be on the same timeline, so I guess we picked it up at preschool or the grocery store. LOL. Ah well… could be worse. Still, annoying and time sucking. I haven't gotten anything done this weekend.
Ben's basketball team lost their last game of the season to a tough team yesterday morning. Close score though, so super frustrating. Even more frustrating is that we are scheduled to play the first round of playoffs Wednesday night against the ONE team that beat us really badly during the season. Ugliest game of the season. Kind of discouraging since, once you lose in the playoffs, you're out. On the other hand, it immediately frees up all upcoming Wednesdays and Saturdays until swim season. ;) So, positives and negatives there. ;)
He says he wants to play basketball for his school team next year, which I think is AWESOME. It will provide a built-in frequent and regular social outlet, which he desperately craves and I can't always give him enough of because…frankly, two little brothers sometimes make that challenging. He likely won't make the "A" team as a sixth grader (and a tiny sixth grader at that), but they have a "B" team. There are barely enough kids to make an "A" team, so he'll be able to play in some capacity no matter what. (Hooray for small schools! LOL!)
Trying to decide what to do for his 11th birthday. We were talking about a cool home-party glowing backlight bash, but a few days ago, it occurred to me that he has only been invited to ONE birthday party this year, which makes me think maybe 11-year-old boys don't really have "birthday parties" per say… and that this is some unspoken rule i'm not aware of since he is my oldest? Anyone have any intel on this?
Tom and I were talking and we're thinking maybe we'll offer him a cool day out/trip somewhere (Philly? Great Wolf?) and then let just let him invite two friends over for a sleepover one day soon.
Yesterday, I took Simon to cello and met the teacher for the first time. (Tom took him last week) He's very nice. He does GREAT with Simon. I was particularly impressed when the lesson was over and he said goodbye. Simon sort of mumbled goodbye in reply and looked the other direction (as he tends to do) The teacher actually stopped him and said, (very nicely) "Simon, can you look at me when you say goodbye?" OMG! This is something I always encourage teachers to do with him because we are REALLY working on this.
Anyway, Simon is doing much better with the individual instruction. He has taken him back to the very beginning and is working on perfecting his bow hold and tone, which the large group teacher didn't really have much time to focus on with the kids. He says he is doing very well! When he practices, he takes it very seriously now and is doing a great job. I think this is definitely going to continue be a good activity for him in many ways. :)
Not much else to report. I have been going combing through my archives, starting at the very beginning, replacing pictures whose links long ago went dead. Also adding labels. Those weren't an option way back "in the day!" LOL. It's a long project, but I've just been doing a few pages a day. It's amazing to look back at the very beginning…. when I first found out I was pregnant with Ben, his ultrasound, all the crazy things I cared about as a first-time mom… I even have an entry about his first cold with a photo of a pile of "supplies". I'm sure these elementary school years posts will seem just as funny a decade from now when I have a 21, 18, and 14-year-old. (OMG) I love having it all to look back on and laugh and revisit though. :)
On a sadder note, in light of current events in our little town, I also find myself being incredibly thankful for three healthy pregnancies and deliveries…. and, even more importantly, three healthy kids. You see, one of Simon's preschool classmates who also goes to our elementary school, is losing her battle with leukemia after a third relapse. It's heartbreaking and, to my mom-brain, completely unfathomable and unfair. As I revisit old posts about stitches, colds, ear infections and just regular childhood stuff, I can't help thinking how Ava's mom has not lived without constant worry for her daughter's life since she was two years old. :( Praying for them often…. I can not even imagine.
Ben's basketball team lost their last game of the season to a tough team yesterday morning. Close score though, so super frustrating. Even more frustrating is that we are scheduled to play the first round of playoffs Wednesday night against the ONE team that beat us really badly during the season. Ugliest game of the season. Kind of discouraging since, once you lose in the playoffs, you're out. On the other hand, it immediately frees up all upcoming Wednesdays and Saturdays until swim season. ;) So, positives and negatives there. ;)
He says he wants to play basketball for his school team next year, which I think is AWESOME. It will provide a built-in frequent and regular social outlet, which he desperately craves and I can't always give him enough of because…frankly, two little brothers sometimes make that challenging. He likely won't make the "A" team as a sixth grader (and a tiny sixth grader at that), but they have a "B" team. There are barely enough kids to make an "A" team, so he'll be able to play in some capacity no matter what. (Hooray for small schools! LOL!)
Trying to decide what to do for his 11th birthday. We were talking about a cool home-party glowing backlight bash, but a few days ago, it occurred to me that he has only been invited to ONE birthday party this year, which makes me think maybe 11-year-old boys don't really have "birthday parties" per say… and that this is some unspoken rule i'm not aware of since he is my oldest? Anyone have any intel on this?
Tom and I were talking and we're thinking maybe we'll offer him a cool day out/trip somewhere (Philly? Great Wolf?) and then let just let him invite two friends over for a sleepover one day soon.
Yesterday, I took Simon to cello and met the teacher for the first time. (Tom took him last week) He's very nice. He does GREAT with Simon. I was particularly impressed when the lesson was over and he said goodbye. Simon sort of mumbled goodbye in reply and looked the other direction (as he tends to do) The teacher actually stopped him and said, (very nicely) "Simon, can you look at me when you say goodbye?" OMG! This is something I always encourage teachers to do with him because we are REALLY working on this.
Anyway, Simon is doing much better with the individual instruction. He has taken him back to the very beginning and is working on perfecting his bow hold and tone, which the large group teacher didn't really have much time to focus on with the kids. He says he is doing very well! When he practices, he takes it very seriously now and is doing a great job. I think this is definitely going to continue be a good activity for him in many ways. :)
Not much else to report. I have been going combing through my archives, starting at the very beginning, replacing pictures whose links long ago went dead. Also adding labels. Those weren't an option way back "in the day!" LOL. It's a long project, but I've just been doing a few pages a day. It's amazing to look back at the very beginning…. when I first found out I was pregnant with Ben, his ultrasound, all the crazy things I cared about as a first-time mom… I even have an entry about his first cold with a photo of a pile of "supplies". I'm sure these elementary school years posts will seem just as funny a decade from now when I have a 21, 18, and 14-year-old. (OMG) I love having it all to look back on and laugh and revisit though. :)
On a sadder note, in light of current events in our little town, I also find myself being incredibly thankful for three healthy pregnancies and deliveries…. and, even more importantly, three healthy kids. You see, one of Simon's preschool classmates who also goes to our elementary school, is losing her battle with leukemia after a third relapse. It's heartbreaking and, to my mom-brain, completely unfathomable and unfair. As I revisit old posts about stitches, colds, ear infections and just regular childhood stuff, I can't help thinking how Ava's mom has not lived without constant worry for her daughter's life since she was two years old. :( Praying for them often…. I can not even imagine.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Busy Weekend....
Our weekends just get busier and busier. Even with one activity per kid at the moment (and not really, because Jonathan doesn't have anything yet!), it feels like we just run from one thing to another. Such is life during these years, I suppose.
Anyway, so Saturday started off with a basketball game for Ben. Simon and Jonathan save up screen time for this and spend the entire game playing in the corner with their devices.
It was a great game! Ben was starting at a new position and coaches Tom, Clayton, and Pap had a new strategy for the team. It resulted in our first win of the season and Ben scored three baskets! (the most ever in a game for him!) He was on cloud nine!
Anyway, so that started the weekend off nicely. :) After that, Tom reminded me there was a big football game on. (I assumed it was Sunday, not Saturday, because I pay zero attention to these things) He hates watching the big ones alone, which I understand.... but I was SO tired and had kind of a long to do list. I rallied though and went to the grocery store for dinner ingredients.... so he texted his younger brother.... called his parents... and I texted my other sister-in-law. (trying to give her a fighting chance at her husband NOT dropping what he was doing around the house. LOL) Two out of three came and, much to Ben's excitement (our little house extravert), we had a house full of people for the game. It went ok... everyone enjoyed dinner and dessert and Jonathan didn't have too many tussles with his cousin. So I really can't complain. But I am glad football season is finally over for the Ravens. The constant football stuff grates on my nerves. (not the having people over… just constantly hearing about football in general)
Sunday, we headed off to church, then out to lunch. Home for some chores and, you guessed it... more football. (so much football this weekend.... gahhhhhhhhh)
I helped Simon out with his cello practice and he cooperated and did really well! He's learning to read the music a little and can play all three pieces reasonably well that they are working on right now. (two are just pizzicato... which I really hope they move on from soon!) We also worked on piano. He gets really impatient with this, so I'm trying to take it slowly. But he can find middle C now, and all the other Cs on the keyboard, and can play the first two basic pieces in the little piano book I got. I feel like he's starting to get a little confidence with it, but it's very challenging to overcome his resistance to anything that requires effort. It can be done... (as I have seen with cello) but it has to be carefully and slowly or he gets frustrated. He definitely has an aptitude for this, so I am determined to keep it up and build on it a little bit at at time.
At 5:00, Simon had his first Lego League meeting. We were invited by another mom, but it's this super small, new little group and she had to get approval from the mom who runs it. She said it was okay for us to join and it sounded right up Simon's alley. They spend the first 20 minutes learning Scratch programming and the rest of the time building Legos with a theme/challenge. One of the dads is a programmer and teaches the Scratch part, and the mom who runs it does the Lego part.
The whole time the dad was talking and explaining what they could do with Scratch, Simon could barely even stay in his chair, he was so excited. He finally blurted out, "I can make a GAME with this!!! Like MINECRAFT!!!"
It was really neat to see him among kids who are like him.... none of them really play sports... they were all SUPER into this programming thing and just wanted to talk about Minecraft and Terraria (which is a game Simon doesn't even know about yet!) During the Lego building part, they all got a little off track, but all in the same way... building robots and armies. The mom let it go because they were having so much fun.
I realized that I think this is the first time ever I have seen Simon really fit in with a group....
To say he loved it would be an understatement. He came home and spent the rest of the evening working on Scratch and basically had it all figured out by the time he went to bed.
Came home from that.... dinner. Simon played Scratch the rest of the evening and Jonathan joined in. (we are seriously needing another laptop around here these days.... I hate sharing my computer!!) Ben happily did some homework he had left.
And this morning we have a delay (and possible closure) for ice! YAY! (no, seriouslly YAY! I am still in jammies!) ;)
Anyway, so Saturday started off with a basketball game for Ben. Simon and Jonathan save up screen time for this and spend the entire game playing in the corner with their devices.
It was a great game! Ben was starting at a new position and coaches Tom, Clayton, and Pap had a new strategy for the team. It resulted in our first win of the season and Ben scored three baskets! (the most ever in a game for him!) He was on cloud nine!
 |
| See the coach behind Ben? He's actually a major league pitcher who currently plays for the Pirates. (that's his son with him, A, who was in Ben's class at JES) Anyway...so here's the funny thing about this. He's a pretty competitive guy, right? You'd think? Pro baseball player and all....? He spent part of the game yelling in Tom's direction, "It's JUST A GAME!!! Settle down!" LOL. In fairness, Tom is an intense coach.... it's NEVER just a game. He is SO LOUD. (I sometimes cringe on the bench and pretend I don't know him) So the major league pitcher is less competitive in rec basketball than my husband. Holy cow. That's scary. Who knew? |
 |
| I didn't notice the woman holding her ears in this photo of the final score until I uploaded the picture. I had to laugh... because there is a decent chance she is holding her ears because of Tom's aforementioned loudness. (Tom is black sweatshirt, left) LOL! |
Anyway, so that started the weekend off nicely. :) After that, Tom reminded me there was a big football game on. (I assumed it was Sunday, not Saturday, because I pay zero attention to these things) He hates watching the big ones alone, which I understand.... but I was SO tired and had kind of a long to do list. I rallied though and went to the grocery store for dinner ingredients.... so he texted his younger brother.... called his parents... and I texted my other sister-in-law. (trying to give her a fighting chance at her husband NOT dropping what he was doing around the house. LOL) Two out of three came and, much to Ben's excitement (our little house extravert), we had a house full of people for the game. It went ok... everyone enjoyed dinner and dessert and Jonathan didn't have too many tussles with his cousin. So I really can't complain. But I am glad football season is finally over for the Ravens. The constant football stuff grates on my nerves. (not the having people over… just constantly hearing about football in general)
Sunday, we headed off to church, then out to lunch. Home for some chores and, you guessed it... more football. (so much football this weekend.... gahhhhhhhhh)
I helped Simon out with his cello practice and he cooperated and did really well! He's learning to read the music a little and can play all three pieces reasonably well that they are working on right now. (two are just pizzicato... which I really hope they move on from soon!) We also worked on piano. He gets really impatient with this, so I'm trying to take it slowly. But he can find middle C now, and all the other Cs on the keyboard, and can play the first two basic pieces in the little piano book I got. I feel like he's starting to get a little confidence with it, but it's very challenging to overcome his resistance to anything that requires effort. It can be done... (as I have seen with cello) but it has to be carefully and slowly or he gets frustrated. He definitely has an aptitude for this, so I am determined to keep it up and build on it a little bit at at time.
At 5:00, Simon had his first Lego League meeting. We were invited by another mom, but it's this super small, new little group and she had to get approval from the mom who runs it. She said it was okay for us to join and it sounded right up Simon's alley. They spend the first 20 minutes learning Scratch programming and the rest of the time building Legos with a theme/challenge. One of the dads is a programmer and teaches the Scratch part, and the mom who runs it does the Lego part.
The whole time the dad was talking and explaining what they could do with Scratch, Simon could barely even stay in his chair, he was so excited. He finally blurted out, "I can make a GAME with this!!! Like MINECRAFT!!!"
It was really neat to see him among kids who are like him.... none of them really play sports... they were all SUPER into this programming thing and just wanted to talk about Minecraft and Terraria (which is a game Simon doesn't even know about yet!) During the Lego building part, they all got a little off track, but all in the same way... building robots and armies. The mom let it go because they were having so much fun.
I realized that I think this is the first time ever I have seen Simon really fit in with a group....
To say he loved it would be an understatement. He came home and spent the rest of the evening working on Scratch and basically had it all figured out by the time he went to bed.
Came home from that.... dinner. Simon played Scratch the rest of the evening and Jonathan joined in. (we are seriously needing another laptop around here these days.... I hate sharing my computer!!) Ben happily did some homework he had left.
And this morning we have a delay (and possible closure) for ice! YAY! (no, seriouslly YAY! I am still in jammies!) ;)
Monday, March 03, 2014
Again.
Another snow day. On the bright side, we have Tom here today, which is kind of a fun twist.
Ben has taken to yelling at the sky when it snows now. He wants summer back more than anyone.
In other news, Ben's winless basketball team won their last game of the season and THEN won the first game of the playoffs! They play again Wednesday night against the league's #1 team. It likely will be quite ugly, but, at least they got there. :) This is the year they stop giving participation trophies (huzzah!)... only the teams who come in 1st and 2nd get trophies.... I wonder how that will go over after four years of getting one for just playing? (stupid participation trophies!)
Simon started with a new swim teacher on Saturday and that went well. We'll be paying out the nose for two sets of private lessons from now until summer, but it's an investment that is well worth it to have competent swimmers as Jonathan will require at least 95% of my pool attention this summer, for certain. Would love for him to get back in and do lessons with Simon's new teacher too, but not sure that will happen.
Jonathan.... he spends a lot of time in timeout these days. Oddly, when he is not in timeout or doing something to get himself put there, he is seriously amazingly sweet and wonderful and possibly my most affectionate and effusive kid. No one outside of my house would probably believe this because they hardly ever see this Jonathan. When we leave the house (or bring other people into the house) he becomes crabby, anti-social and contrary.
He is definitely QUITE strong-willed and tests boundaries like no other child of mine ever has. For example, when in timeout, the rule is, he may not get down from his bed. (or move up and down on the steps, depending on where we do the timeout) So instead, he will hover his feet as close to the floor as he possibly can. (or hover himself over the next step) In the picture below, he had thrown his sleeping bag on the floor and was putting his feet on that and saying, "See? My feet are NOT on the floor, they are on the sleeping bag." Yes. He exhausts me and he is way too smart for his own good... but we are consistent and hoping to work out the really tough stuff in the next months ahead before his 4th birthday. He just needs to know we mean business.... not that he will ever stop testing limits, it's part of who he is.... but at least he'll have begun to really understand consequences and perhaps make better choices.
Simon! He lost his third tooth last weekend. We were out to dinner and he said his tooth hurt. Turned out it was just loose (suddenly!). It came out the next evening before bed, just in time for the tooth fairy to pay a visit. :) It was a bottom one next to his two new ones. I'm guessing the one on the other side will not be far behind.
Other things happening --
* working on a possible August Disney trip. I'm kind of meh about the idea, but the rest of the family is into it, so we'll see....
* we've used a new chore chart system for about a month now that has had amazing success, will share about that in a future post!
Ben has taken to yelling at the sky when it snows now. He wants summer back more than anyone.
In other news, Ben's winless basketball team won their last game of the season and THEN won the first game of the playoffs! They play again Wednesday night against the league's #1 team. It likely will be quite ugly, but, at least they got there. :) This is the year they stop giving participation trophies (huzzah!)... only the teams who come in 1st and 2nd get trophies.... I wonder how that will go over after four years of getting one for just playing? (stupid participation trophies!)
Simon started with a new swim teacher on Saturday and that went well. We'll be paying out the nose for two sets of private lessons from now until summer, but it's an investment that is well worth it to have competent swimmers as Jonathan will require at least 95% of my pool attention this summer, for certain. Would love for him to get back in and do lessons with Simon's new teacher too, but not sure that will happen.
Jonathan.... he spends a lot of time in timeout these days. Oddly, when he is not in timeout or doing something to get himself put there, he is seriously amazingly sweet and wonderful and possibly my most affectionate and effusive kid. No one outside of my house would probably believe this because they hardly ever see this Jonathan. When we leave the house (or bring other people into the house) he becomes crabby, anti-social and contrary.
He is definitely QUITE strong-willed and tests boundaries like no other child of mine ever has. For example, when in timeout, the rule is, he may not get down from his bed. (or move up and down on the steps, depending on where we do the timeout) So instead, he will hover his feet as close to the floor as he possibly can. (or hover himself over the next step) In the picture below, he had thrown his sleeping bag on the floor and was putting his feet on that and saying, "See? My feet are NOT on the floor, they are on the sleeping bag." Yes. He exhausts me and he is way too smart for his own good... but we are consistent and hoping to work out the really tough stuff in the next months ahead before his 4th birthday. He just needs to know we mean business.... not that he will ever stop testing limits, it's part of who he is.... but at least he'll have begun to really understand consequences and perhaps make better choices.
Simon! He lost his third tooth last weekend. We were out to dinner and he said his tooth hurt. Turned out it was just loose (suddenly!). It came out the next evening before bed, just in time for the tooth fairy to pay a visit. :) It was a bottom one next to his two new ones. I'm guessing the one on the other side will not be far behind.
Other things happening --
* working on a possible August Disney trip. I'm kind of meh about the idea, but the rest of the family is into it, so we'll see....
* we've used a new chore chart system for about a month now that has had amazing success, will share about that in a future post!
Saturday, August 03, 2013
Thinking Ahead....
'Tis the season for fall/winter activity planning and schedule. Every mom friend I know is busy with this right now. I used to be pretty immune to it, as my kids didn't have much interest in extracurriculars... but with them being older, that has changed.
I sent off the check for fall swimming yesterday. Before I put it in the mailbox, I lectured Ben about how he was NOT allowed to freak out and say he wanted to quit on the first day. First off, it's expensive... like five times as expensive as summer swim team. Ridiculous. Absolutely worth it in the end if he continues to enjoy it like he does now and/or continues to progress at the rate he has. Conversely, recipe for major parental annoyance if he pulls a "Ben."
So, I told him if he wanted to have a freakout, he needed to save it for in the car AFTER the first practice because I can't deal with that with the two other kids with me, plus he's NINE and he's has done swim team before now so he needs to just deal since he told me this is something he wants to do. Also? He's NOT quitting. We're only signed up for Sept - December right now (can decide about December - May later) and he can stick it out that long.
So there's that.
I've decided it's really crucial we find Simon a "thing" sooner than later too. We are seeing some pretty clear middle child issues surfacing and I think a lot of it could be helped if we find him something he can be really good at. Currently, he is not really "athletic". Ben wasn't either at this age, but he liked sports. Simon doesn't even really like it... he whines the whole time. He also does not have a competitive bone in his body. Maybe he'll eventually find a sport he loves and I'm not ruling that out.... but for now, he needs something else. So I think we're going to start him with piano lessons in the fall. An old friend (who actually also taught my brother piano) is going to come to the house one evening a week and give him lessons. I actually would have liked to have found someplace for him to take violin instead, because he talks about this a lot, but I can't find anyone who gives lessons at peoples' homes and that element is kind of crucial for this to work. Just too hard right now with all three.
December to March brings basketball season and Ben will play again, of course. He's already excited. Simon says he wants to play too -- he would do clinic this year. I have my reservations about him actually liking it (soccer was a total disaster), but we can try it. It might be good for him and would make me feel less guilty about making him sit through Ben's games all season. LOL.
The swim team commitment has me the most anxious. Practices are three times a week but you can go to as few or as many as you want. I'm going to shoot for one weeknight and the Sunday evening one.... but the weeknight worries me.... I tend to lose motivation to leave the house once it's dark and freezing at 5p.m. LOL. BUT, we made summer work and that wasn't easy at first either... so I'm determined.
Can't believe it's almost fall... summer flew! Enjoying the last three weeks before school starts now. :)
Saturday, February 23, 2013
B'Ball Tournament...
Ben's team won game 1 of their tournament!
Going back at 3p.m. for round 2. I am a little bit torn about how to root for this game as Ben is invited to a birthday party at 4:30 for one of the kids on the team/in his class... as are two of the other players. So if we win, Ben has to make a choice... plus, we most likely lose the other kids to the party. Ugh.
Bad position!
But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
Update: THey lost! Whew! ;) I know that sounds bad... but everyone involved with the birthday party was kind of relieved!
Going back at 3p.m. for round 2. I am a little bit torn about how to root for this game as Ben is invited to a birthday party at 4:30 for one of the kids on the team/in his class... as are two of the other players. So if we win, Ben has to make a choice... plus, we most likely lose the other kids to the party. Ugh.
Bad position!
But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
Update: THey lost! Whew! ;) I know that sounds bad... but everyone involved with the birthday party was kind of relieved!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Mascot
Ben went outside early yesterday to play basketball and he had his uniform for the game later on.
We heard Jonathan upstairs saying, "Want basketball shirt tooooooooo!" and Ben gave him his shirt from last year. Then he ran around in the driveway for a half hour yelling, "I'm playing basketball!!! Like Ben!!!"
HILARIOUS.
He wore that shirt all day and then to Ben's basketball game at 4.
He did NOT want to sit on the sidelines with me and just kept saying he wanted daddy and Ben. I finally told him that whenever he heard the buzzer, he could run over and visit. So at the end of every quarter, as soon as the buzzer sounded, he took off across the court like a shot and jumped right into the team huddle or sat on the bench until Ben would take him by the hand and walk him back over to the sidelines so the game could start again.
It was adorable. Seriously, crazy adorable. That is, until the third quarter, when he didn't return on his own and I had to run across the court like an idiot and go get him. Did not enjoy that. But otherwise... adorable.
We heard Jonathan upstairs saying, "Want basketball shirt tooooooooo!" and Ben gave him his shirt from last year. Then he ran around in the driveway for a half hour yelling, "I'm playing basketball!!! Like Ben!!!"
HILARIOUS.
He wore that shirt all day and then to Ben's basketball game at 4.
He did NOT want to sit on the sidelines with me and just kept saying he wanted daddy and Ben. I finally told him that whenever he heard the buzzer, he could run over and visit. So at the end of every quarter, as soon as the buzzer sounded, he took off across the court like a shot and jumped right into the team huddle or sat on the bench until Ben would take him by the hand and walk him back over to the sidelines so the game could start again.
It was adorable. Seriously, crazy adorable. That is, until the third quarter, when he didn't return on his own and I had to run across the court like an idiot and go get him. Did not enjoy that. But otherwise... adorable.
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Basketball Tournament!
Update: Well, Game 2 was a slaughtering. But, the kids played well and managed to score 20 points! It's just that the other team scored 34. Heh. Oh well, it was a fun season! Can't wait until next year!
Game 1 of Ben's basketball tournament was this morning. It was SO exciting!!! And the best part? They WON! We get to back back 2p.m. for game 2.
Unfortunately, Game 2 is against a team that only has one loss sooooo.... we'll see how it goes. But winning Game 1 was fun! ;)
Unfortunately, Game 2 is against a team that only has one loss sooooo.... we'll see how it goes. But winning Game 1 was fun! ;)
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Ben's Foul Shot...
Magic happened at yesterday's basketball game. (which was the first one I have been able to attend in WEEKS because of naptime and illnesses)
Ben is not bad at basketball, by any stretch, but he is prone to major distractibility. I have confess, it's a little cringe-worthy to watch sometimes because he often likes to dance around and act goofy on the court and has to be reminded to keep an eye on where the ball is.
When he's paying attention though, he's actually looks really good out there!
Yesterday was a better game than most for him. He got lots of playing time because they were missing some people. He had just taken the ball all the way down the court and gotten fouled by a player on the other team, so went to the line to take his foul shots. We all held our breath... he's good at this at home, but we didn't know how he would do under pressure.
He missed the first one. I knew he would be so excited to score a point for his team, so I hoped against hope the second one would go in.
And it did. You can see the instant boost it game him. I love his celebration. We were definitely all celebrating with him! He has watched the video over and over again too. :)