School Choice

I've always been a supporter of school choice. The voucher system and such. It's the economist in me (I majored in economics in college). If a parent has choices and can cast a vote with that choice, the schools will improve in order to compete for students, and ultimately all the schools - and all the students - will benefit. I realize it doesn't always work that way, but in a perfect world, where parents had full knowledge, it would.

We have a little mini experiment in school choice working just that way in our neighborhood. HISD is a district of choice, meaning students can go either to their zoned school or to any other HISD school of their choosing provided there is room. To be sure, we don't have a perfect world with full parental knowledge. To the contrary, the public school application process is incredibly complicated, requiring a parent to understand multiple types of applications, multiple types of transfers, testing dates and matrices, Vanguard classes versus Vanguard magnet schools versus "regular classes" versus magnet schools and how all those interrelate, other opportunities such as I.B. programs, dual language programs, etc., etc., etc. Nevertheless, in our little slice of HISD in the Heights, there are multiple elementary schools competing for students via some or all of the above (including the two, Travis Elementary and Harvard Elementary, that we are considering for the boys). A choice of two phenomenal public schools, right here in inner city Houston. It works.

And I don't like it one bit.

Oh, I like it in theory. We have two fabulous choices. But what I didn't factor in is the fact that I can't make a decision.

Choice #1 is Travis Elementary. It is a Vanguard magnet school, which basically means that it specializes in gifted and talented programs. Great school. Been highly regarded for several years.

Choice #2 is Harvard Elementary. With a new principal in recent years, it is giving Travis a run for its money. Math/science/technology magnet. Working on getting an International Baccalaureate program. Lots of great things happening there.

Charlie tested into the Vanguard program at Travis Elementary. Joseph did not.* Joseph can still attend the school, because we are zoned there, but cannot participate in the Vanguard program. Both boys were accepted as magnet transfers to Harvard Elementary, so they can both go there too. Charlie would be in Harvard's version of the Vanguard class. Joseph might be allowed to "sit in" in such a class, too, but we we'll have to make our choice before we know about that. Three years down the line, Will and Helen can automatically go to Travis, but would still have to test into Vanguard in order to take advantage of that program. They would have to rely on a magnet or sibling transfer -- likely, but not guaranteed -- to be able to go to Harvard. The boys would LOVE the math and technology bent at Harvard, as well as the I.B. program. But if they are truly smart, they might benefit from the years of experience that Travis has in teaching "gifted" children. Can you see why this is difficult?

*Yesterday morning, Joseph wanted to know how many months old he is (we had mentioned Will and Helen being 22 months old). I told him 5 years old and 12 months in a year, so 5 times 12. It only took him a few seconds to answer "60." He then preceded to deduce what year Gramma was born based on knowing her current age. How does this kid not pass the Vanguard test?

Beautiful Spring Day

This past weekend started out cold - especially for the 8:30am t-ball practice! - but by Sunday it had warmed up into a beautiful day. We went to the zoo Sunday morning and had a great time. Then Sunday afternoon after naps, we did some spring planting. We planted some herbs, with the hope that we'll be able to use them in cooking. Rosemary, cilantro, oregano, and basil. Yum! The kids had a great time planting.

Everyone hard at work


Helen and Will in their cool new gardening gloves


Charlie - "More dirt, Mom?"


Joseph really enjoyed it, and Will enjoyed helping Joseph


Helen getting it just right

Makes my Monday

People often ask me how in the world we get four kids into and out of daycare alone. Especially since our daycare is located on a busy downtown street. Well, the method has varied over the past year and a half, depending on the age (and mobility) of the little ones. But for the last few months, this is how.

The kids get out of the car and sit on the ledge outside the building until everyone's ready. Then we go inside. In the evenings, the kids go out the door and sit on the ledge, and we put them in the car one by one. Granted, some of the other kids at our daycare sit nicely on the ledge like this as well, but we have four who do it! And really, it's not an option for us to have them running freely along the downtown city sidewalk (or street!). I'm always proud when I look over there and see them sitting so nicely together. It makes my Monday!

News Flash

Yesterday, for the first time, Helen actually used the potty (as opposed to just sitting on the potty, which she has loved to do for awhile).  

Just gotta record all the milestones.  When she's a teenager, I'm sure she'll be thrilled to know that her mother was not organized enough to put a single thing in her baby book, but was quick to write about her bodily functions on the world wide web.

Things we learned the hard way

It is impossible for one parent, alone, to teach twins how to roller skate.

Does this happen to anyone else?

I got up this morning at about 6:15. The kids got up at 7:00. I dropped them off at school from 7:45 to 8:00 (it's a lengthy process). I stopped in the tunnels to grab some breakfast, and got to the office around 8:30. I ate breakfast at my desk while I checked emails and blogs (some are work-related blogs, really!). I started researching some appellate matters, and have been doing that for about an hour. Now it's 9:45, and I begin to smell something. I looked all around my desk and my office and didn't see anything. Then, as I absent-mindedly put my hand to my head, it hit me.

My hand smells like kid poop!

It has been at least 2 hours and 45 minutes since I've changed a dirty diaper, and my hand has smelled like this the whole time. And I'm just now noticing.

Healthy Five-Year Olds

Yesterday was the boys' 5-year well child checkup. We love our pediatrician, who has a great touch with kids. Here are the highlights, in no particular order.

• Charlie was 43 1/2 inches tall and Joseph was 43 inches tall. This confirms that we made the right decision in adding a folded up pair of socks to Charlie's shoes to reach the 44-inch requirement to ride Space Mountain at Disneyworld.


• Charlie's blood pressure was 98/63 and Joseph's blood pressure was 100/61. I have no idea if this is within the normal range, but Joseph seemed satisfied that beating Charlie by 2 points on his systolic blood pressure made up for the 1/2 inch that Charlie beat Joseph in height.


• As proof that he is getting bigger, Charlie demonstrated his whistling skills to the doctor.


• Both boys wowed the doctor with their math skills. The doctor came in and, noting that they were both there for a 5-year appointment, asked if he could just do one 10-year appointment (a joke both boys totally got). Then he teasingly asked whether they needed shots and -- their steel-trap minds remembering that he told them, long ago, that there would be no more vaccinations until age 11 -- they pointed out to him that it would be 6 more years before they needed shots. That's when the doctor commented that they were very good at math, and I said that they love math. So Charlie volunteered that he knew what 5 times 5 is, but got it wrong (he said 20), and Joseph corrected him with 25. So the doctor asked what 7 times 7 was and they got really quiet. It looked like they were shy because they didn't know. So he started asking them further questions about football, soccer, etc.--topics he knows they love. They ignored him, refusing to answer. But I knew what they were doing. A few seconds later, having figured it out in their head, first Charlie then Joseph shouted, "49!"


• Both boys passed their hearing and vision tests. And they got to use the "big" eye chart with letters rather than the one for little kids with just pictures. I knew they would like the letters better. The nurse seemed surprised that they knew their letters, but surely most 5-year-olds do?

• The vision test was in Room L, which is the same room that Joseph got his infected head wound drained, without painkillers, during Will and Helen's 1-week baby appointment. He has been terrified of that room for the past 2 years, but yesterday, once I calmly explained that we would be in Room L but what we were doing wouldn't hurt at all, he not only went right in, but he went first!


• Both boys were in the 50th percentile for height (finally getting up to average!) and the 25th percentile for weight. Oh, how skinniness is wasted on the young.


• Keeping up the mean mommy persona, I refused to let them have lollipops after the appointment. I have reserved lollipops as a panacea for the bad things that happen at the doctor's office, like shots. Daddy would totally have let them have one.

Boys

We just got finished bringing in some groceries through the front door. As I was going to close the door, I checked outside. Charlie and Joseph were standing, back-to-back, on our FRONT sidewalk, peeing into the grass on either side. And Will was standing on the porch looking on with interest. I blame Cort. I just do.

I made Cort deal with it, and he told the boys, in no uncertain terms, that we can only pee in the back yard, not the front yard. Good. I'm glad we've got the ground rules down.

Helen and I are so outnumbered around here.

In Honor of Daddy's Birthday

Today is the day that Daddy catches up with Mommy and turns 38. We are both getting perilously close to 40. Lately, on a lot of the "mommy blogs" and on Facebook people have posted their kids' answers to a set of interview questions about their mothers. In honor of today being Cort's birthday, I turned it around, and last night I had Charlie and Joseph, both age 5, answer these questions about their dad.

1. What is something your dad always says to you?


C: "Nice things."
J: "That's hard. Can I give you a hug?"


2. What makes your dad happy?


C: "When we be good."
J: "No whining!"


3. What makes your dad sad?


C: "When we be bad."
J: "Whining!"


4. How does your dad make you laugh?


C: "Probably everything."
J: "Silly things."


5. What was your dad like as a child?


C: "Mmmm, I can't know that. Mom, do you know?"
J: "I don't know."


6. How old is your dad?


C: "38. He's gonna be 38."
J: "38."


7. How tall is your dad?

C: Holds one hand up as far as he can reach and one hand down as low as he can reach. "I think he's taller than that but I can't really put my hands that high. This is just how high I can do it, but he's taller."

J: "That's hard. Something inches."


8. What is his favorite thing to do?


C: "Play with us."
J: "Play with us."


9. What does your dad do when you're not around?


C: "Ooooh. I don't know."
J: "Look for us."


10. If your dad becomes famous, what will it be for?


C: "That's kind of hard."

J: "Ohhh, famous for what?" Then ensued a long conversation where I tried to explain the definition of famous to him -- essentially that a person is famous when everyone knows him. So then he answered, "Because everyone knows him."

11. What is your dad really good at?


C: "Slam dunking the basketball." (Here I must note that our basketball goal is usually set at 6 feet high.)
J: "Doing trash and recycling."


12. What is your dad not very good at?


C: "Probably nothing."
J: "Whining."


13. What does your dad do for his job?


C: "Help clean up with whoever's turn it is to be a kitchen cleanup helper."
J: "Trash and recycling."


(I think by "jobs," they are fixated on their chores, as both of these things are on the chore list.)


14. What is your dad's favorite food?


C: "Soup probably."
J: "Pizza!"


15. What makes you proud of your dad?


C: "Me proud of Daddy? So I make Daddy proud?" Here I explain that it's the other way around. "That he helps me."
J: Joseph didn't understand this one at all. I tried to explain for awhile, and then tried to give him some examples. So he answered: "Things that you said."


16. If your dad were a cartoon character, who would he be?


C: "I don't know, probably Daddy."
J: "What's a cartoon character?"


17. What do you and your dad do together?


C: "Play together."
J: "Play."


18. How are you and your dad the same?


C: "Probably like when we smile the same."
J: "We like doing the same things."


19. How are you and your dad different?


C: "When we don't smile alike."
J: "Because we're not the same years old."


20. How do you know your dad loves you?


C: "Probably everything. Everything."
J: "Because he hugs and kisses me."


21. Where is your dad's favorite place to go?


C: "Probably everywhere. Except places we don't go to."
J: "That's hard. I can't think. I'm thinking. Double Dave's Pizza - the one close to Daddy's office."

National Anthem

The Star-Spangled Banner, as written by Joseph, age 5. At least until he got tired.

"Oh SAY CAN U see Bi the Doser We Li WhAt So PROWDLe . . . ."

Newest accomplishment

When Cort went in to get Will and Helen up this morning, this is what he found:

I've heard of kids doing this before, but my other ones never did. In fact, I'm pretty sure that Charlie and Joseph were at least three and a half before they could undress themselves when we wanted them to. I guess for now I'll just consider Will advanced, at least for our family, and be proud of him. He was certainly proud of himself.

Right after this picture, however, he peed through the slats of his crib. Amazingly, he didn't get anything actually in the crib, but still. Besides, what really worries me is that normally--as in when he's not recovering from a stomach virus--Will is a like-clockwork, every-morning-before-he-gets-up, pooper. That, my friends, could be a problem.

Hap-py You You!

Saturday was the boys' birthday party. Even though Helen didn't attend, she has been walking around the house since then singing her version of "Happy Birthday to You," which goes something like "Hap-py You You!"

We had the party at our house because we knew we would have a lot of kids (we invited the 20 kids from their class, plus 15 other kids whose families we are friends with!) and none of the birthday party venues the boys chose would allow that many kids. Of course, it was cold AND raining, so for the most part we had 30 kids, and their parents, inside the house. And although we ordered a bouncy house that we planned to put up in our carport, it never showed up. Neither did the table and chairs, which we ordered from the same place. Miraculously, although it was TOTAL chaos, the house survived quite well.

The loose "theme" of the party was St. Patrick's Day. Good thing my boys are so open to suggestion. I was pushing for something easy! Here are my little 5-year-old leprechans.

Charlie, age 5!

Joseph, age 5!

As we did last year, we were able to convince the boys this year to ask their friends not to bring any presents. It is amazing how easily they agree to this. Last year, we asked that people bring a treat, toy, or food for the animals at the SPCA. It was a great lesson, because kids got to bring something concrete, and the boys got the experience of taking it to the SPCA. This year, they understand a little bit more. So we asked that people contribute $5 to our "pot of gold" which we then donated to the effort at their school to build a new playground. People were generous, and we were able to donate over $275 to the cause! (I think. I let the boys count it, so who knows.)

Joe made the sign: "Cathedral House playgrownd pot of gold"

All the kids basically just ran crazy throughout our house, then we had cake and green ice cream. And green lemonade, which I forgot until all the kids were pretty much done eating, so we have a lot left over! We managed to get most of the kids to eat outside, so the mess, all things considering, was fairly minimal.

Yummy cake from DaCapo's. All the kiddos had to eat Kroger's cupcakes though.

Making birthday wishes!

The mayhem on the porch.

Enjoying the ice cream!

Family picture (minus the sick ones). And I wonder where the boys get their silly personality?

The next day, Sunday, was the boys' actual birthday. Continuing the theme, Cort made them green pancakes. They know that they were both born at 8:20am (although, luckily, it has not yet occurred to them to ask which one came out first). Unfortunately, at 8:19am, Will threw up. We sang and celebrated at 8:20am anyway! They also opened their presents from family. The rest of the day they did pretty much whatever they wanted, exerting their birthday privileges to their full extent. We were homebound since the younger kids were sick, but Sunday night my best friend from Henrietta, since all the way back in the third grade, was in town with her family and came over for dinner. It was great seeing them, because we see them far too rarely, and even better their 10-year-old played terrifically with the boys. She played basketball with them, which they loved, and then even had them playing house! They are still talking about her days later. All in all, a great weekend for our new 5-year-olds.

Opening presents


The boys got Tampa Bay Rays t-shirts from Uncle Rick.


Continuing with the baseball theme (baseball season is right around the corner, you know), Gransan and Grandad bought them a pitching machine.

Way Back When-esday

This picture is from October 2007. Will was almost five months old. I love the picture because it is one of the first ones we have of him smiling. He did not smile at all until he was three and a half months old (according to my records, the other three kids all smiled at five weeks old). In retrospect, this delay, along with his delay in focusing on us, was probably due to his strabismus (no doctor ever told us that, but it is what I suspect). Plus, he had reflux, and he may not have been all that happy that often. But when we captured this picture, it was my favorite for a long while, because I thought we were finally seeing his true personality come out. Now, a year and a half later, he still has that very same smile, and he shows it to us ALL of the time. He is absolutely the sweetest kid on earth.

Better

It was a good afternoon.

I think they are on the mend.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I was trying to take this picture as we were hurrying out the door this morning, because Will has the cutest St. Patrick's Day shirt. It says "Kiss Me, I'm Cute." Isn't that just about the most perfect shirt for this sweetheart? Unfortunately, he missed the boys' St. Patrick's Day themed birthday party due to sickness, and he is also missing school today for the same reason. So no one will get to see him in his adorable shirt. And this picture didn't exactly capture it either. Oh, well. Here's to St. Patrick's Day, and hoping maybe we can get a little lucky around here and knock out this virus!

Unfortunately, it was stomach bug #1

Poor Will. It wasn't strep throat. It was a stomach bug. He was sick Friday (but not too sick -- he was in a good enough mood that we decided to take him out for Mexican food and let him eat salsa, which is retrospect was not one of our better moves), Saturday (for the boys' birthday party - although luckily he and Helen slept through most of it), Sunday (the picture above was taken on Sunday, and he was truly pathetic then), and Monday (improving, but very slowly). Given his performance today, he will definitely stay home from school again Tuesday.

He also gave it to Helen, who was sick Saturday (she also missed the birthday party), Sunday (was hoping she was already improving Sunday, but no such luck), and Monday (this is when it really hit for her). She'll also be home from school Tuesday. That will make three days in a row for me to miss work. And the week before that I missed two days when the boys had strep throat. Have I mentioned that I get paid by the hour? And that we still have two mortgages?

Our house is awash in liquid poop. My hands are raw from washing them so often. If the rest of us don't get this, it will be a miracle. If the rest of us do get this, Lord help us.

Makes my Monday

Five years ago today I was in the hospital, in pain after a sleepless night with insufficient pain medication following a c-section. And I couldn't be happier.

Yesterday, my first babies turned 5 years old. While I had always wanted kids in an abstract sort of way, I was unprepared for how utterly wonderful being a mom is, and how much joy these guys would bring us. And while during my pregnancy I was at first dumbfounded, then terrified, that I was having twins, now I can't fathom having done it any other way.

Happy birthday Charlie and Joseph! You have made the last 5 years the best of my life, and Daddy and I love you very much!

Strep Throat #4 or Stomach Bug #1?

We keep discovering that this blog's "readership" is broader than we knew (which, actually, is a little freaky to me). But I know that you people tune in for scintillating tidbits about our life, like this one.

This morning the boys were planning to take donuts to school to celebrate their birthday, which is Sunday. Cort was taking all the kids to school, and while he was in the drive-through at Shipley's, Will started throwing up. Of course, there was a line, and they still had to get the donuts, so he stayed there until the donut mission was accomplished. Poor Will. About 15 minutes later, Cort delivered him -- carseat and all, still strapped in with all the puke -- back to me, and the rest of the kids went to school. I took Will to the doctor mid-morning expecting that, like his siblings, he has strep. But his quick strep test was negative. So now we wait until Monday to see what the culture shows. He either has strep throat, meaning he's the last kid to get it, and once the antibiotics kick in we're done. Or, he's got a stomach bug, meaning he's the first kid to get it and we can look forward to a few more weeks of sick kids and, if we're really unlucky, sick parents.

As one of my friends commented, it's a sad state of affairs when you are hoping for strep throat.

Like father, like son

Hmmm.  I wonder where Will learned this?

Wordless Wednesday

In my defense

I sometimes feel like the kids' school views me as one of THOSE moms who sends her kids to school when I should keep them home sick. Certainly, I do not keep them out for every little sniffle -- I'd never go to work! But lately it seems that I've taken kids to school, assuring their teachers that they were faking their complaints, only to have them throw up or spike a high fever later in the day. But in my defense, this is why I do it.

Yesterday, at the dentist, Charlie started complaining that his stomach hurt. He was still complaining when we got to school, and I thought he looked pale. So I took him home (much to Joseph's distress - he threw a fit!). I made him some soup. He scarfed down the soup, a bowl of applesauce, 4 crackers, and a big plate of noodles. He chattered the whole time. Then somehow basketball came up and I told him he could not play basketball outside, because he was home sick. His answer? "But I'm not sick anymore. What can we do?"

Makes my Monday

This weekend, Cort did some spring cleaning and found a piece of paper where he had written down this conversation he had with Joseph. I wish I knew when it was from, but regardless, it makes my Monday!

Scene: Joseph is supposed to be asleep, but is making noise in his room. Cort goes in.

Cort: "What's wrong?"
Joseph: "I need you to fix my diaper."
Cort: "What's wrong with your diaper?"
Joseph: "It's open."
Cort: "Why?"
Joseph: "I need to check on my penis."
Cort (presumably with a straight face): "Why?"
Joseph: "I need to check on my penis one time."
Cort: "Did you check on your penis?"
Joseph: "Yes. I check on my penis one time."
Cort: "Can I fix your diaper?"
Joseph: "Yes. I put my penis back."
Cort: "OK. I fixed your diaper."
Joseph: "Yes. Goodnight."

72 teeth, no cavities!

Just a quick post to say that WE TOOK ALL FOUR KIDS TO THE DENTIST TODAY AND THEY WERE SOOOO GOOD!!!

Granted, it was a little crazy. There were NINE forms to fill out, which I did while Cort corralled kids. Then Charlie decided he had a stomachache. Then Will and Helen took off all their shoes and socks. Then Cort got a nosebleed (really, does he need to vie for attention too????). But they all laid down, opened their mouths, and had their teeth cleaned without so much as a whimper. The boys did a great job of going first and "showing" the babies how to do it, and the babies did a great job following their big brothers' lead! And best of all, turns out we now have dental insurance and we only had to pay $8 of the $500+ bill. Yippee!!

Does this constitute potty training?

Yesterday, as Helen and I were about to go downstairs, she grabs the back of her pants.

Helen:  "Poo-poo?"

Me:  "Do you have poo-poo in your diaper?"

Helen:  "No."

(I check.  She doesn't.)

Me:  "Do you need to go poo-poo?"

Helen:  "Yes."

Me:  "Do you want to go poo-poo on the potty?"

Helen:  "Yes."

(We go to the bathroom.  She sits on the potty.  She farts.)

Helen:  "Oh yeah!"

Three down, one to go

On Tuesday afternoon, Joseph was sent home from school with a fever, chills, and a sore throat. He stayed home Wednesday as well.

On Wednesday afternoon, the school called to inform us that Charlie had a rash. I picked him up and took them both to the doctor. They both have strep throat.

On Saturday afternoon, as we were preparing to take all of the kids to a birthday party, Helen threw up. Five times. Cort took the three boys to the birthday party, and I spent almost four hours with Helen in the emergency room. She also has strep throat.

We know Will will get it. We are just praying that he waits until Monday, so we can take him to the regular pediatrician instead of the ER.

And Disney too!

Because Astros spring training is so close to Disneyworld, and because they didn't have a home game on Sunday, we got to spend a day with the boys at Disney! We did the Magic Kingdom, and I must admit that we all had waaaayy more fun than I anticipated.

I was a little worried about Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and all the other characters because, as previously mentioned, Joseph does NOT like such things. The last time I went to Disney was over a decade ago, and those guys were all around. Turns out now, not so much. The characters are all busy at "character meals" and if you want to see one of them, you have to either book such a meal or stand in a ridiculous line to get a picture. We could hardly get a glimpse of a character if we tried. Worked out well.

I was also a little worried because neither Charlie or Joseph is all that brave, truth be told. I wasn't sure how they were going to handle roller coasters, or even rides with a lot of lights, sounds, or various scary/gruesome things. But it was all good. One of their friends from school was finishing up a weeklong Disney trip the day we were there. So we spent all morning with his family, letting them show us the ropes (Fastpasses - best invention ever!) and letting him psyche the boys up for the rides. The very first ride we did was Thunder Mountain, a roller coaster, and although Joseph wasn't thrilled, both of them rode it TWICE! Later, Charlie even rode Space Mountain. Everyone loved the Buzz Lightyear ride, where you got to shoot a space bad guy with a laser gun and rack up points. Other favorites included the Speedway ride (where they could drive their own car), the Matter Hatter teacups, Goofy's Barnstormer (a much tamer roller coaster), Mickey's Philharmagic (3D movie, was much cuter than I anticipated), and It's a Small World. (I know what you are thinking - It's a Small World is about Joseph's speed. But really, he liked it because he loves all the different countries.)

The only downside to the trip was that it was COLD and we wore shorts and t-shirts. We bought the boys some sweatshirts, and we survived. The good thing was that there were almost no crowds. We are already thinking about how we can manage to go again next year, and maybe do Epcot too (again, Joseph loves different countries), but still beat the crowds. I can't believe we are having to work around school schedules already!

Our very first ride, the Thunder Mountain Railroad roller coaster. The look on Joseph's face confirms that this was not what he expected!

Charlie was a bit shellshocked on Thunder Mountain as well.

Joseph and Cort on Buzz Lightyear - a big hit

Charlie even rode Space Mountain! Is it wrong that we packed his shoes with an extra pair of socks so he would meet the height requirement?

Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster was more Joseph's speed.

Charlie was excited here, as we took off on the Barnstormer. But when it was over, he said, "That's it?"

The boys took Mom on a magic carpet ride

A Disney classic - the spinning teacups

Joe loved them!

Another classic - we couldn't resist riding the carousel

Charlie even talked Uncle Rick into getting on a horse

They have these for badly behaved kids - luckily, both boys were GREAT all day

We almost had to leave Uncle Rick there. He had to take his shoes off to get out!

Mom and Charlie on the Jungle Cruise

The boys with their buddy Ethan at the 3D show, Mickey's Philharmagic

Joseph really liked driving the cars on the Speedway

You can't tell it from this picture of Cort, but sometimes riding with the boys driving one of these cars was almost as rough as riding a roller coaster!

Mom with her boys

This picture is proof that Disney really is a magical place

We got to ride in the front of the monorail on the way home after a long, cold, exhausting, but FUN day!

First annual spring training trip

This past weekend, we fulfilled a longheld Maddux family dream: we went to spring training. This dream has been longheld mostly by Cort, but I admit I've been looking forward to it for some years too. For five years now, Cort has been saying that we were going to take the boys to spring training as soon as they are old enough. They are almost 5, and sure enough, they're old enough. We had a great time. The Astros hold spring training in Kissimmee, Florida (conveniently, a stone's throw away from Disneyworld, the subject of the next post!). The stadium is nice, and we scored tickets right behind the bullpen. Several of the pitchers (most of whom are still hoping to make the team, so I, at least, didn't know them) talked to the boys a couple of times and fed them some sunflower seeds. The boys got lots of great autographs--Hunter Pence being the most prominent. (And, for good measure, Charlie signed his ball himself too. So if he really ever becomes a famous baseball player, we'll auction it off.)

At the entrance to the stadium


Cort with the boys


Uncle Rick, Cort's brother who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, joined us


Joseph - that's the bullpen in the background - see how close we were?


Charlie enjoying the game


Amy with the boys


Before long, Joseph will be keeping a scorecard


Charlie with his rally cap - didn't help


A true fan - tuckered out, but still holding onto the baseball