Chrysalis

...and eventually a beautiful butterfly emerged.

Supper

Alice made me supper. She said, "Mommy, your supper's ready! I made you petal stew, a plate of food, and some tea!"  I bet that's what she feels we give her every night-- a plate of food!

Coincidentally, my friend on vacation was having nearly the same thing for supper:

Alice with Izzy and Ms. Sandra after guitar lessons

Since Simon was still a bit under the weather (sore throat, feverish) I picked the kids up early from school on Tuesday. Alice had just finished up her guitar lesson, and was getting to put a sticker in the sticker book. I think this is her favorite part of guitar lessons.

Marble Run

Zac and I like to buy toys for the kids that we also like to play with. This is one of our favorites.

Swimming in the Rain

Monday evening after supper, we were relaxing on the porch when Alice, our active idea generator, decided they should play in the pool. Alice filled it up with water from the water barrel to supplement the rain.

Then it started raining really hard, so they came up on the porch to warm up, by eating ice cream. Simon wanted pickle ice cream. He didn't eat the pickle and he barely ate the ice cream, but he sure was happy about it.

Once the downpour subsided, they headed back out.

Playdate at the Science Museum with Grayson

Since it was still raining on Monday, the third day of the three day weekend, Lindsey and I had arranged to meet for a playdate at the science museum.  Since we often go to the museum for special events like Reptile Day or Astronomy Day, where it is quite crowded, when we go on a normal day the place seems so peaceful and empty. Alice went a little bonkers (hyper) here and there, but overall she did a good job looking at stuff with Grayson.

War and death

As we drove to the science museum on Monday morning for a playdate with Grayson, Alice noticed the fleet of road construction machines were all inert.

"Mommy, why are all the machines stopped?" Normally when we drive by on Saturdays, they are all working.

"Well, Alice, today is a government holiday, Memorial Day, so all the workers are having stay-home days too."

"What's memorial day for?"

Suddenly, I realized that to answer this question I have to explain war, soldiers, and death to my daughter who is just shy of five years old. We teach her a lot, but we've avoided things like this. I sigh. I just finished teaching All Quiet on the Western Front about WWI, so I had been immersed in the pointlessness of war and the terrible toll it takes on the soldiers for the past month and couldn't muster a patriotic or simplistic answer. Plus, at my most cynical, I think memorial day is just a way to throw around emotive words like glory, honor, sacrifice and hero, that will keep the people thinking fondly of war so that we will happily march off to the next one.

But Alice was waiting for an answer.  So I bungled around a bit, and said something like, "Some people's job is to go where the government tells them to and they have to fight the bad guys there. Like Izzy's dad--he's a soldier. It's his job to go where the government tells him to go and try to solve the problems there. Right now he's in another country doing what our government tells him to do. But because soldiers are fighting, sometimes they die. So Memorial Day is a special day to remember all of those people who fought in wars and died."

"So, all the construction workers are dead?"

"No, no. Everybody just has the day off work to think about and remember the service members who fought in the wars."

It took a while, but I think eventually we got it sorted out. Then Alice asked, "Mom, is Izzy's dad dead?"

"No, no, he's fine. He's very good at his job." I'd just had a conversation with Izzy's mom when we were at Grayson's birthday party, about how she sleeps at night while her husband is stationed in Afghanistan, and she said, "You just can't go there. I just don't think about it. He loves his job."

The science museum was near the capitol building where a little memorial day ceremony was taking place. As we stopped at a light, a man in uniform crossed the street in front of us. Alice asked what he was, and I said he was a service member going to the ceremony. She said she thought he looked like a statue. I said, "Yes, there are a lot of statues of soldiers. But this guy is moving. Statues don't move."

We had a great time at the science museum, and back home that evening the kids had a lot of fun playing in the pool and in the rain. At end of day Alice said, "Mom, I think the government gave everybody a memorial day holiday so the weekend would be longer and the week would be shorter and everybody would be happier."

"In my hands, Simon! Barf in my hands!"

So, at bedtime snack, Simon didn't have much of an appetite.  How can you tell, you might ask, given that Simon rarely voluntarily eats much.  Answer: Because he had no interest in watermelon, one of his favorite things to eat.

So it didn't really come as a surprise when he started throwing up. It went on the table, his shirt, his pants... I didn't want to change him right away though, because I thought more might be on the way. However, when he said, "I want you to make me happy, mommy" I overlooked the puke and put him on my lap. It soon appeared as though the vomiting had stopped, and we took off his yucky clothes.

So we gave him a bath, and he wanted out right away, and he didn't even want to read book afterwards. I just rocked him and snuggled with him and he soon fell fast asleep.  This is also rare--although he almost always falls asleep while being rocked before nap, he never does before bedtime. And last night, for example, he was awake in his crib until after 11pm.  This after spending all day at the beach and only taking a 25 minute nap in the van on the drive home.

So he was sound asleep and when I stood up to put him in his crib, he blurted out, "No! I want to read three books!"

So much for that.

So I turned on the light, and a few seconds later Simon whimpered then started retching again. The trash can was too far away so I tried to pull up his shirt to catch it, but that didn't work--I could only cup my hands.

So that's why I was saying, "In my hands, Simon! Barf in my hands!" He got two good rounds in my hands, but the rest went on my leg, the chair, the floor, hoot owl...for a kid that seems to barely eat, it was quite amazing how much was in there.

So, Zac heard the chaos and quickly came in and got Simon undressed while I went and washed my hands. And changed my clothes. And washed my hands again.

So I gave Simon a quick bath again, then snuggled with him in his towel in Alice's room while Zac cleaned up all the upchuck.

So then I had to start all over again. Put on the night diaper. Put on the pajamas. Read three (ok, four) books. Convince Simon to turn off the light. Rock him and snuggle. Put him in bed.

So that was one part of our evening.

Lots of Play on a Rainy Day

Day 2 of the three day weekend was very rainy. We mostly stayed home, feeling the need to recover from the beach day. The kids played inside some, but also outside in the rain. We also got out the water table, putting it back on the porch for the summer season.

Sandling Beach

On the first day of the three-day weekend, we headed to the beach. For the last couple of years, we've always gone to the beach at Jordan Lake, but it occurred to me that there were also beaches at Falls Lake, about the the same distance away as Jordan Lake, but in the opposite direction, that we had never been to. 

So on Saturday morning, we went to Sandling Beach. It turned out to be great. The beach seemed bigger and flatter than the one at Jordan Lake, but the best part was the area around the beach. We ended up taking several walks with the kids out of the official swimming area and along the shoreline. It was useful because this area was shady, but also because Simon was afraid of the waves (mild as they were) and some of the other shoreline was less wavy because of plants and the like.

The one downside was that in our excitement for beach day, we brought way too many water toys with us. This wasn't a problem in and of itself, but the beach ended up being quite crowded with tons of kids, and somehow or another, a lot of them ended up playing with our toys. Again, not really a problem, but we just didn't want it all to get lost or abandoned at sea.

Not much was photographed because we didn't want our phones destroyed by sand and water.

The upside to all the toys was that the kids made a lot friends. Some kids dug a big hole in front of our beach tent, and with the help of Zac, they filled it with water. Since Simon was still scared of the waves and wouldn't play along the shoreline, it turned out a big puddle was perfect for him.

I thought we'd stay at the beach for two hours. We ended up staying for six.  Needless to say, the kids fell fast asleep on the way home.

What do you get if you put two plastic hot dogs on a kitty cat?

According to Simon, "It's a hotdog kitty cat!" He was so proud of himself.

Bloodbath

When Simon got out of the car after the music concert and pizza pickup, he had a little dried blood around his nose. I didn't think much of it, because he often scratches the side of his nose with a fingernail on accident.

Then, during supper, his nose spontaneously started gushing blood. I don't think it hurt, but he started crying because all the blood freaked him out. Luckily we'd already taken his nice shirt off and he was wearing a red T-shirt more suitable for pizza consumption. We eventually got the bleeding to stop, and changed him into another red shirt.

That evening in the bath, Zac's washing his face triggered another nose bleed.  This time Simon really freaked out because the blood was mixing with the water and running all over his belly and arms and he seemed to think he had blood coming out of everywhere. It was very traumatic. I briefly thought of trying to get a picture, but it was even too gross and creepy for me. Plus it was taking all my attention to keep Simon calm and keep wiping the blood until Zac constructed a nose-bleed plug out of a napkin.

So that was just another fun aspect of today.

Opening a package from Grandma Cam

Thanks for all the fun stuff!

Kids Musical Concert

If those three words don't strike dread deep into your soul, they should. And after you watch any part of these videos, that dread will be deepened.

Last year the kids sang songs at their end-of-year celebration, but because the music teacher will be on vacation at that time this summer, they decided to do it earlier and separately.

Just like last year, I kept thinking, why are they trying to get preschoolers to sing these complicated songs? They could totally nail "The Wheels on the Bus" but don't stand a chance with "Hallelujah."

Well, anyway, here are some snippets. Watch at your own peril.

First off, the guitar recital. We've been paying 40 bucks a month extra since last summer for Alice to have guitar lessons at daycare. We have no hopes or aspirations whatsoever; we just signed her up because all her friends were doing it and we didn't want her to feel left out and deprived. Plus music is good for brain development. Welcome to modern parenting.

There were a total of four small-group performances like this so that each kid who took guitar lessons had a chance to play.

You can see Alice is still working out her shyness issues. Hiding behind her hands seems to be a good coping mechanism, as long as it gets her out on stage.

And now for some singing...

Alice is clearly the kid in the class with the most/only stage fright. It's just ironic that she wants an audience the whole time we are at home, but as soon as she has a real audience giving their undivided attention to her, she freaks out and shuts down.  The other irony is that she was sooooo looking forward to this and had been talking about it for weeks.

Alice told me she would be singing at the microphone for "Riley the Singing Raccoon." I had never heard of the song, so I tried to find it on youtube, thinking she could get in a bit of extra practice. But nothing showed up. At the concert, Ms. Sandra introduced the song by explaining that she wrote it herself for a former student named Riley who really loved music.  That's pretty cool.

Hallelujah, the end is near. For the last song, they did the now famous song "Hallelujah." Alice had been telling me about this for a while, because her favorite line is "She tied you to her kitchen chair." Alice was very interested in that part of the song. But, as you can see, none of the kids, except Rye, can sing it. I mean, Alice maybe could mumble along, if she wasn't so terrified. So it ended up being this weird thing where the teachers sang and the kids squirmed. I only filmed a bit of it.

Then it was off to Simon's concert. Last year he screamed and cried through the whole thing, so I was rather worried about how it would go this year.

Here is how it went. We go to his room, and he's beyond excited and happy to see both of us there. He told anyone who would listen, "My mommy and daddy are here!" But soon, the parents were told to go out one door and the kids had to go out another. I was anticipating a breakdown right then, but luckily I managed to pass him into the arms of a teacher, and forestalled the inevitable.

So here's the video. It's chaotic and painfully annoying, but quite interesting at the same time. In the beginning, keep an eye on Simon's face. He's the kid towards the back wearing the blue plaid shirt. (We dressed him up so he would look classy while having a meltdown.)

Well anyway, we all survived and he didn't scream and cry, so it gets a little easier every year. To be fair, I could see why he freaked out. The audience was full of giant people (parents) all staring intently at the kids and holding their phones up. Even I felt intimidated.

After we came out from his concert, Alice was devastated to discover her playground was empty and everyone was going home. She burst into tears, wailing, "The fun is all over. The best day ever is over!" She must have inherited my sense of the "moments" in life and didn't want this one to end.

Luckily for all the parents involved, it did end and we headed home. Since it was already supper time, we decided to pick up a pepperoni pizza on the way home from our beloved Little Caesar's "Hot n Ready" drive thru window. That seemed to make everything better after the trauma we all had suffered. 

First backyard pool use of the season

The original idea was that the kids would wear their boots and could float things in the pool. You can see how that ended up.

They were doing a really cute ring-around-the-rosy, but of course by the time I disentangled myself from the hammock enough to take a video, it had died down.

And of course, because Alice can never be content with anything in one state for very long, she wanted to dump the water out. Simon went along with it, but then seemed quite disappointed.

Kids in the couch

These couches provide no end of fun in the capable imaginations of Zac and the kids.

Owl Pizza Party

As far as I know, this bizarre owl pizza party ritual is entirely their own creation.

Simon sucking up the owlies, and other adventures at Green Park

On Sunday morning, I took the kids to green park to play while Zac got a gazillion chores done at home (he's way more efficient than I am when given kid-free time). Due to the ominous clouds, the park was empty when we got there, but after a while a few other kids showed up.

When Alice was not yet two years old, we took a trip to Ikea in Charlotte just to see what all the rage was about. One of the things I got there was this little plastic set for making ice cream cones in the sand. I'd hidden it away for three years, but this seemed like a good morning to bring it out. Since it had rained so much the night before, the sand would be damp and formable.  Alice got right to work.

Later, Simon was playing in the woods, and was so thrilled to discover he could pick up this log.  "I'm carrying a tree!" he announced.

Then he found a hole in a tree that looked like just the sort of place a miniature owl might live. He played with this stick for a long time. My best guess for why he says he is "Sucking up the owlies" is because he thinks he's imitating Zac sucking up the fruit flies in our kitchen with the vacuum hose.

Meanwhile, Alice had befriended some kids, and was having great fun one the spinny wheel thing. I am always grateful to other park parents who give Alice a push while I'm keeping an eye on Simon.

Here are my kids, nearly 3 and 5, having a blast in the baby swings.

But then Alice got back to playing with her new friend, 6-year old Aiden.

The kids went to play under the pine tree bushes (I really need to learn the names of things) and Alice quickly spotted this snake.  I didn't even see it. They had fun watching it, until it eventually slithered away.

It's always tough to time the trip home. The kids have to be worn out, but not too worn out that they can't walk home. Luckily, I timed it just right and we made it home without me having to carry anyone. I don't even think anyone cried, but I could have blocked it out already.

In and Out of the closet

I can remember liking to play in closets as a kid.

Tidy room and counting to 100

Trip to the NC Zoo

Alice had been asking to go to the zoo for a while, but I had been putting it off. The NC zoo is really spread out, so it's a lot of walking for just a bit of animal viewing. We're at a rough age with the kids right now because they're too big for strollers or carrying, but are not quite capable of walking long distances yet. Also, I hate crowds of people and the zoo is full of crowds of people blocking your view of the stupid animal you just walked a mile to see. So, I had been forestalling Alice for a long time, but I might have accidentally said at one point that we might go after my birthday, and she had lately been reminding me that it was now after my birthday. If you know anything about Alice, you know that once you enter into a contract with her, it is unbreakable and non-negotiable and any qualifiers such as "might" have been stricken from the record. And she remembers all the details, especially anything in her favor.

So, at last, the perfect day arrived. It was going to be cool (high of 70) and there was a chance of rain. This was perfect for us, because we do not mind getting wet and we hoped it would thin the crowds. So on this dreary Saturday morning, we headed to the zoo.

The drive is an hour and a half, and I had lots of opportunities to do math problems with Alice along the way as she continually asked how much longer until we would be there. I would check the GPS, then convert it. For example, if there were 28 minutes left, I would say it was two ten-minute timers, plus two four-minute timers. At last, we arrived.

The first super fun thing was taking a train-bus from the parking lot to the other end of the zoo. The kids loved it.

One of the main things Alice wanted to see were the giraffes, but we couldn't find them anywhere in their designated area. Just zebras.

We did bring our stroller, thinking we could use it to have the kids take turns riding. It turns out they had a better idea.

The lions were posing nicely for us, up on a rock.

Here, the kids are making their "lion roars" as directly by the photographer, Zac.

The kids loved all the animal statues. More than the actual animals.

Here were are at the chimpanzee enclosure, watching a video of chimpanzees rather than the actual ones. (In our defense, we wanted to eat our sandwiches in an out-of-the way place, since you're not really supposed to be picnicking).

The kids watched the baboons for about 30 seconds. Again, it is frustrating to visit this zoo because there is so much walking to get from place to place, and then the viewing areas aren't even that good and our kids just weren't interested in looking at the animals for very long. Simon kept telling me he wanted to go in the animal enclosures. I think all the rocks and fallen down trees looked really fun to him.

We watched the rhinos for a few minutes (even although Alice whined the whole time).

Here are the kids climbing elephant statues rather than looking at the real elephants.

The elephants were up really close to the fence at one point, and pretty cool to see. Whenever I go to the zoo now, it reminds me of going on rides through Etosha National Park in Namibia, where you could drive all day in hopes of spotting elephants or lions or rhinos. So even though we have to walk a lot at this zoo, it still seems too easy in some ways, like we haven't earned it. (For the record, I personally love walking. It's just a hassle with the kids.)

After the Africa section, we decided to take the bus thingy to the other end of the park, rather than trying to walk all the way through the middle. We'd sprung for a year membership to the zoo, since it includes free admission to this zoo, a few other places in NC including the aquariums, and also free admission to partner zoos in other states (like the one in Columbus!). So we decided this will be our year for animal viewing. Planning to come multiple times in one year takes some of the pressure off and helps me to not stress about "missing" things.

In the North America section, Alice really wanted to see the polar bear, but we could not find him anywhere. We did find these seals. Or were they sea lions?  Otters? Walruses?  Who knows. Big swimmy thingies.

At least the kids got to have fun playing in a pretend ice-cave for a few minutes.

Then, it was on to the real attraction of the zoo: the kid play area. We'd seen this on our last trip two years ago, but not until the end when we were all exhausted and the zoo was about to close. Really, we should just see two animals then come here every time.  The kids had a blast.

We hadn't brought suits for the kids, but they really wanted to play in the water. So we made them wait until the end, knowing we had a change of clothes in the van.

The kids played here for a long time--probably at least an hour. They could have stayed forever, but because it was a cool day and Simon's non-swim diaper was about to explode from absorbing so much water, we got the kids out and changed them into dry clothes. Even although it was about 4pm and neither one had had a nap, they were still going strong, so we decided to check out the nearby animals.

When the kids were finally at their breaking point and the zoo was about to close, we headed out.

The both passed out within five minutes of leaving the zoo.

Unfortunately, Alice woke up and really had to go potty (even although we went before we left to zoo) so we stopped to let her go when we were just 15 minutes from home. Then Simon woke up, and was really upset that I couldn't hold him. Usually when I try to make a video of him crying, it makes him stop. Not this time.

But, all in all, it was a successful trip. The zoo was not crowded and the kids had fun. We didn't see a lot of animals, which means we have something to look forward to when we go back next time!