Happy Halloween
We found out too much candy is a little like too much of something else, in that it can make you fall backwards into bushes.
. . . . We are not, however, looking forward to tomorrow.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Conversations in the car
Helen: "Daddy, C-A-T spells cat."
Cort: "Very good. What does C-A-T-E spell? Remember that the E is a silent E."
Helen: "C-A-T [using a long A] spells Cate!"
Joe: "Ha! Like Cate [last name omitted]"
Charlie: "Yea, she was the first girl I kissed on the lips."
Cort: "Very good. What does C-A-T-E spell? Remember that the E is a silent E."
Helen: "C-A-T [using a long A] spells Cate!"
Joe: "Ha! Like Cate [last name omitted]"
Charlie: "Yea, she was the first girl I kissed on the lips."
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
The little advantages that come with having twins
When one kid comes home with the word "frixy" on his spelling list, it's nice to have another kid in the same grade. Because then you can look at his spelling list and figure out that the word is actually "frisky."
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Times Are Changing
We've been busy lately. But it's a different busy. A carting-kids-to-multiple-activities busy, not a chasing-after-multiple-kids busy.
A couple of weekends ago, we had an even-busier-than-usual Saturday scheduled. In addition to the usual two soccer games and one baseball game, Joe was participating in a UIL competition. And, Cort decided that he wanted to do a 150-mile bike ride around Galveston Bay.
Three years ago I would have told Cort he couldn't do the bike ride.
Two years ago I would have let him go, but I would have sulked about having to handle the kids alone all weekend.
This year, however, I was fine with it.
The day was busy, yes. But, relatively speaking, it was easy. I wasn't having to chase after toddlers. I was taking four kids to their respective activities. Four kids who can carry some of their own stuff, know where to go and what to do when they get there, and aren't going to go run away from me if I don't have my eye on them every second.
This was just once of many times lately that it has occurred to me how much these kids have grown up recently. I think I'm only starting to realize, looking back, how much work it really was to have four very small children at once. But no longer. My kids are growing up, and things are changing.
P.S. It was busy. We left for Charlie and Joe's soccer game at 7:40am. Afterwards we came home so Joe could shower and then went right back for Will and Helen's soccer game. Before the game was even over, I took Joe to the prelims of his UIL competition (thank you to Claire and Peter for taking the rest of the kids home!). After we found out he made the finals, we headed home for lunch. Then we went back to the UIL competition for the finals. Immediately after the finals over we came home, the boys changed into their baseball uniforms, and we went back to the ball fields for their baseball game. We got home around 7pm, ordered pizza, ate, and went to bed.
However, we ended the day with two wins in soccer, a goal for both Charlie and Joe, a win in baseball, and a first place finish in UIL solo acting! And despite getting rained on, Cort successfully finished his bike ride on Sunday.
A busy day. But a really, really good day.
A couple of weekends ago, we had an even-busier-than-usual Saturday scheduled. In addition to the usual two soccer games and one baseball game, Joe was participating in a UIL competition. And, Cort decided that he wanted to do a 150-mile bike ride around Galveston Bay.
Three years ago I would have told Cort he couldn't do the bike ride.
Two years ago I would have let him go, but I would have sulked about having to handle the kids alone all weekend.
This year, however, I was fine with it.
The day was busy, yes. But, relatively speaking, it was easy. I wasn't having to chase after toddlers. I was taking four kids to their respective activities. Four kids who can carry some of their own stuff, know where to go and what to do when they get there, and aren't going to go run away from me if I don't have my eye on them every second.
This was just once of many times lately that it has occurred to me how much these kids have grown up recently. I think I'm only starting to realize, looking back, how much work it really was to have four very small children at once. But no longer. My kids are growing up, and things are changing.
P.S. It was busy. We left for Charlie and Joe's soccer game at 7:40am. Afterwards we came home so Joe could shower and then went right back for Will and Helen's soccer game. Before the game was even over, I took Joe to the prelims of his UIL competition (thank you to Claire and Peter for taking the rest of the kids home!). After we found out he made the finals, we headed home for lunch. Then we went back to the UIL competition for the finals. Immediately after the finals over we came home, the boys changed into their baseball uniforms, and we went back to the ball fields for their baseball game. We got home around 7pm, ordered pizza, ate, and went to bed.
However, we ended the day with two wins in soccer, a goal for both Charlie and Joe, a win in baseball, and a first place finish in UIL solo acting! And despite getting rained on, Cort successfully finished his bike ride on Sunday.
A busy day. But a really, really good day.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Observations of a Sports Mom
1. I'm a sports mom. Who'd have thunk it?
2. Remember last year when I said that we were definitely only going to let the boys play one sport this fall? Yeah, famous last words, and all that.
3. Charlie is a coach in the making. When he's not in the soccer game, he is constantly yelling from the sidelines. "Guys, spread out - don't bunch up!" "Who's got #6?" "Pass the ball!" Etc., etc. He is also vocal with his teammates on the baseball field. And I caught him, after one of his younger teammates at the bottom of the lineup struck out, giving the kid a very sweet, guy-like, "it's ok you'll get it next time" pat on the batting helmet as he passed him going to the plate.
4. I really love baseball. I'm glad the boys do too. But it is so much more nervewracking than soccer as a mom. It's harder for your child to single-handedly miss a play in soccer.
5. I can't wait until spring when Will and Helen start t-ball. T-ball is less stressful than baseball. And way cuter.
6. Joe has really, really improved his hitting. He's quite consistent at making contact with the ball. He still can't catch though. Which brings us back to the nervewracking part -- I know it's good to let the kids play different positions, but I'm so nervous when Joe plays infield.
7. All of our boys are slow. Excruciatingly slow. When Charlie and Joe run to first base, I just want to push them.
8. Will and Helen have loved the idea of soccer for awhile. The reality, not as much. That led Cort to promise Helen a lollipop if she scored. And, given the relative odds, to promise Will a Jeep. A real Jeep. Guess who scored a goal in his second soccer game? Yep, there's a parenting lesson in "be careful what you promise your kid" right there.
9. You don't really appreciate something when you have it. For example, Charlie was a natural soccer player at age 3. He scored goal after goal after goal. Joe didn't score a goal for the first two years he played, and he still scores far less than Charlie does. And here's the thing. Never once have a seen Joe cry about this. Helen, on the other hand? A different story.
10. Helen has always been our strongest and most coordinated child. That's why it has surprised us that she hasn't been better in her first sport: soccer. But suddenly, she's getting there. She was incredibly tentative in her first game. She cried half of her second game because she "couldn't" score. But then she played hard in her third game, and even though she didn't score she announced that she wasn't going to cry anymore. By the fourth game, she scored two goals. This morning on the way to school, she was talking about how many games her team had won and lost and how they would definitely win the next time they played the team that beat them.
11. Cort is amazing. He is currently the dugout coach for the boys' coach-pitch baseball team, the assistant coach for the boys' U8 soccer team, the head coach for Will and Helen's U4 soccer team, and the U4 division director. And he's so good at it. It's especially cool to see all these little 4-year-olds listen and actually learn.
12. My main job in all this is to wash and keep track of 5 water bottles, 6 jerseys, 4 pairs of soccer shorts, 2 pairs of (white, ugh) baseball pants, 2 baseball belts, 2 baseball caps, 6 pairs of cleats, 8 individual shin guards, and 12 individual socks. I'm actually pretty proud I've managed this so far.
2. Remember last year when I said that we were definitely only going to let the boys play one sport this fall? Yeah, famous last words, and all that.
3. Charlie is a coach in the making. When he's not in the soccer game, he is constantly yelling from the sidelines. "Guys, spread out - don't bunch up!" "Who's got #6?" "Pass the ball!" Etc., etc. He is also vocal with his teammates on the baseball field. And I caught him, after one of his younger teammates at the bottom of the lineup struck out, giving the kid a very sweet, guy-like, "it's ok you'll get it next time" pat on the batting helmet as he passed him going to the plate.
4. I really love baseball. I'm glad the boys do too. But it is so much more nervewracking than soccer as a mom. It's harder for your child to single-handedly miss a play in soccer.
5. I can't wait until spring when Will and Helen start t-ball. T-ball is less stressful than baseball. And way cuter.
6. Joe has really, really improved his hitting. He's quite consistent at making contact with the ball. He still can't catch though. Which brings us back to the nervewracking part -- I know it's good to let the kids play different positions, but I'm so nervous when Joe plays infield.
7. All of our boys are slow. Excruciatingly slow. When Charlie and Joe run to first base, I just want to push them.
8. Will and Helen have loved the idea of soccer for awhile. The reality, not as much. That led Cort to promise Helen a lollipop if she scored. And, given the relative odds, to promise Will a Jeep. A real Jeep. Guess who scored a goal in his second soccer game? Yep, there's a parenting lesson in "be careful what you promise your kid" right there.
9. You don't really appreciate something when you have it. For example, Charlie was a natural soccer player at age 3. He scored goal after goal after goal. Joe didn't score a goal for the first two years he played, and he still scores far less than Charlie does. And here's the thing. Never once have a seen Joe cry about this. Helen, on the other hand? A different story.
10. Helen has always been our strongest and most coordinated child. That's why it has surprised us that she hasn't been better in her first sport: soccer. But suddenly, she's getting there. She was incredibly tentative in her first game. She cried half of her second game because she "couldn't" score. But then she played hard in her third game, and even though she didn't score she announced that she wasn't going to cry anymore. By the fourth game, she scored two goals. This morning on the way to school, she was talking about how many games her team had won and lost and how they would definitely win the next time they played the team that beat them.
11. Cort is amazing. He is currently the dugout coach for the boys' coach-pitch baseball team, the assistant coach for the boys' U8 soccer team, the head coach for Will and Helen's U4 soccer team, and the U4 division director. And he's so good at it. It's especially cool to see all these little 4-year-olds listen and actually learn.
12. My main job in all this is to wash and keep track of 5 water bottles, 6 jerseys, 4 pairs of soccer shorts, 2 pairs of (white, ugh) baseball pants, 2 baseball belts, 2 baseball caps, 6 pairs of cleats, 8 individual shin guards, and 12 individual socks. I'm actually pretty proud I've managed this so far.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Mr. Long Term Memory
You can send him upstairs to brush his teeth, and by the time he gets to the second floor Will has completely forgotten what he's supposed to be doing. But at the same time, he's got a somewhat freakish long term memory.
Example One: I got Helen a shirt at Target in September. It has a little saying on it. Because she is starting to read, I was trying to get her to sound out some of the easier words.
That's when Will piped up, "I know what it says: Play like a girl. Beat the boys!"
Since he can't read (at least, not nearly that well), I was floored. And thoroughly confused. Then he told me that it was just like the shirt that another little girl, Carter, had while we were on vacation.
He saw that shirt once. In early August. Someone read it to him.
And over a month and a half later he remembered exactly what it said when he saw it again.
Example Two: The other night, I picked Will and Helen up from school. We were planning to pick up some food somewhere and bring it home to eat, so I asked them where they wanted to go. They picked Chik-Fil-A. An excellent choice, except that there are no Chik-Fil-As near their school or our house. (Yet. Rumor is that we may be getting one close by soon. Yippity skippity!! But anyway . . . .)
So I told them that we couldn't go to Chik-Fil-A because there weren't any close by. They reminded me that Daddy brought Chik-Fil-A to them at the baseball game last week. I said, yes, but there is a Chik-Fil-A by Daddy's office so he got it from there. There is no Chik-Fil-A around here. That was the end of our Chik-Fil-A discussion, and we started discussing other dinner options.
About five minutes later, Will said, "Mommy, so are we a long way from Greenway Plaza?"
Greenway Plaza is the group of office buildings where Cort works. But we never say "Greenway Plaza" to the kids. Just "Daddy's office" or, at the most, they know that Mommy works downtown but Daddy doesn't. I have absolutely no recollection of ever telling Will about Greenway Plaza. But apparently at some point I did. Because when I asked him how he knew about Greenway Plaza, he told me that I told him once that Daddy worked there.
And he remembered it.
Example One: I got Helen a shirt at Target in September. It has a little saying on it. Because she is starting to read, I was trying to get her to sound out some of the easier words.
That's when Will piped up, "I know what it says: Play like a girl. Beat the boys!"
Since he can't read (at least, not nearly that well), I was floored. And thoroughly confused. Then he told me that it was just like the shirt that another little girl, Carter, had while we were on vacation.
He saw that shirt once. In early August. Someone read it to him.
And over a month and a half later he remembered exactly what it said when he saw it again.
Example Two: The other night, I picked Will and Helen up from school. We were planning to pick up some food somewhere and bring it home to eat, so I asked them where they wanted to go. They picked Chik-Fil-A. An excellent choice, except that there are no Chik-Fil-As near their school or our house. (Yet. Rumor is that we may be getting one close by soon. Yippity skippity!! But anyway . . . .)
So I told them that we couldn't go to Chik-Fil-A because there weren't any close by. They reminded me that Daddy brought Chik-Fil-A to them at the baseball game last week. I said, yes, but there is a Chik-Fil-A by Daddy's office so he got it from there. There is no Chik-Fil-A around here. That was the end of our Chik-Fil-A discussion, and we started discussing other dinner options.
About five minutes later, Will said, "Mommy, so are we a long way from Greenway Plaza?"
Greenway Plaza is the group of office buildings where Cort works. But we never say "Greenway Plaza" to the kids. Just "Daddy's office" or, at the most, they know that Mommy works downtown but Daddy doesn't. I have absolutely no recollection of ever telling Will about Greenway Plaza. But apparently at some point I did. Because when I asked him how he knew about Greenway Plaza, he told me that I told him once that Daddy worked there.
And he remembered it.
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