Domestic Help

Wesley washed some water bottles and plastic dishes (the things we don't put in the dishwasher) yesterday. Chris asked me if I gave him a reward for doing it. Thirty minutes of playing in soapy water was reward enough for Wesley. Maybe he should do the dishes every day.

Zesting and Cutting

I work three mornings a week and on those mornings it sometimes a mad dash out the door. One day last week the kids ate poptarts in the car. Yes, I know that that processed food is bad for everyone but sometimes bad nutrition wins out over waking the kids up early. They usually only sleep past 7:00 on the mornings I work. It is some type of sleeping-in irony.

This morning when Wesley asked for pancakes, I didn't have a good excuse not to make them or not to let them help me. So, we made these pancakes. They like to dump the stuff into the bowl. Wesley likes zesting lemons.
This was Lydia's first time trying the zester.

I also let the kids slice up bananas with a butter knife.

It looks like Lydia was really concentrating.

Of course both kids sampled some of the bananas.

The pancakes were delicious and the kids had fun cooking.

My Middle Finger

Today started our great. I walked around Lake Accotink with Lydia in the jogging stroller (Wesley was at school). The almost 4 mile walk was beautiful and I really enjoyed it. Then we had a fun playdate with friends at the playground and a picnic lunch.

When I got to Wesley’s schools, I dropped my key down between the driver’s seat and console. I couldn’t reach them at first. I pushed the memory button to move the seat back to Chris’ position and then I reached for the key. Stupid move! My finger got ran over by the mental mechanism that moves the seat. It hurt very badly and I just had to wait for the seat to stop moving. There was a lot of blood and I grabbed some napkins and asked another mom to watch Lydia. The school secretary gave me a frozen sponge in a baggie to put on it.

I think I was just panic mode at the school and it didn’t hurt that much. One the way home, it started throbbing and it felt like it was still being crushed. I started crying which surprised the kids. When we got home they were so sweet.

I called Chris in tears and begged him to come home so I could go to the ER. I went because it was hurting so bad. I cried through checking in but eventually was able to stop the water works. Thankfully the ER wasn’t busy and I was seen right away.

I tried to talk the physician assistant out of x-raying it because I didn’t want to pay for it but she really wanted the x-ray. She numbed my finger first and I was so grateful! Finally, it stopped hurting. They doubled shielded me in the x-ray room and x-rayed my finger three times.

I have a “fracture of the terminal tuft of the third digit.” The treatment is to just splint it.

After the ER doctor and PA told me about the fracture, they consulted the hand surgeon via the phone. I bet we will be paying for that also. He told them to cauterize my fingernail (burn a little hole in it to relieve the pressure).

At this point my finger was throbbing again so I begged the PA to numb it again. She eventually did but not before trying to talk me into taking Vicodin. Narcotics are safe during pregnancy but thanks to watching House I am afraid to take it.

After the PA put in two stitches, I took 1000mg of Tylenol. She also gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. I paid my $100 copay and learned I have a $300 deductible.

Lydia had a lot of questions about my finger when I got home. She was so sweet and cute. Wesley was busy playing Wii games. Chris had been working from home so the kids watched a movie and played video games. They had a great afternoon.

Fire Truck Song

Lydia loves singing this song.

Early to Bed

Today Lydia didn’t take a nap. She came downstairs several times and I kept putting her back in bed. After it had been over an hour, she was quiet but I decided if she wasn’t asleep I would let her come down stairs and help make a dessert with Wesley and me. When I opened her door, she was sitting in the floor, looking at a book, and she had on her pajamas! Why can’t she put her pajamas at night by herself?


After making the dessert, Lydia wanted to paint. It seems like she has gotten over her adversion to finger painting.
After using her fingers she went back to using the brush. She told me she painted a brown bear.
Wesley loved cutting the stuff from the Kumon cutting book.

After painting, Lydia was ready for cutting. I have these great activity bags that a friend recruited other moms to put together and share with each other (she assigned each of us one activity to complete for 20 or so other moms). Lydia loved cutting up the old catalog.

She also loved gluing the smaller pieces with the glue stick. I am really glad the glue stick was in the bag because we normally use glue dots for craft projects and Lydia really enjoyed using the glue stick. I just let her do it on her own.

So, after a great afternoon do you think we had a great evening? Yes and no. Dinner tasted good (and it was healthy) and the apple crostada was delicious.

After telling me how great the stir fry was for dinner Lydia starting being very naughty (purposely poured her milk out, back-talked). So she went to bed at 6:30 without really eating much. She went right to sleep. I wonder at what time in the morning I am going to regret putting her in bed so early.

Umbrellas

Have you heard the expression, “Don’t open an umbrella indoors or you will have bad luck”? That really makes no sense to me and I used to wonder why people repeat old wives tales. How did some of those expressions even get started? I feel like I now know. I think some desperate mother told her children that in hopes that they would stop playing with their umbrellas inside the house. I have not said that to my children and I hope I never do (it would just bring up even more questions) but I can certainly understand wanting to say something besides, “You are going to hurt each other!” or “If you do that again, you won’t be able to use them the next time it rains!”

The next time it does rain, I think we will take a walk around the block with our umbrellas. Maybe we can get it out of their systems.

Ballet

Lydia started ballet last week through the county parks and recreation. The class is affordable and she loves it. We drive 20 minutes to this particular rec center but the time is perfect for our schedule so it is worth the drive.

Fieldtrip to See Animals

Today I chaperoned Wesley’s fieldtrip to Frying Pan Farm Park. This was his second fieldtrip there.

I was worried that Lydia would be upset because her class wasn’t going. The preschool doesn’t take the two year old classes on fieldtrips. Surprisingly, she didn’t seem to care at all. She loves school and was happy to have a regular day at school.

Wesley enjoyed petting a lamb. His classmate thought the sheep were sticky and he didn’t want to pet them. I didn’t find the sheep smelly, but the pigs sure were.
In the farmhouse a nice young lady explained how the appliances were different than they are now and how you had the flip the bread over in the toaster to toast both sides.
Wesley enjoyed "climbing" a tree.

The kids learned a song called "a turkey is a funny bird" in November and I couldn't help but think of the song as I looked at this turkey.

Wesley's teacher talked to the boys about the peacocks. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with her today.

Of course, the kids loved playing on the little tractors. The kids didn't have snack time today and by 10:45 they are were all begging to eat lunch but they had to wait until 11:20. It was fun to eat outside on such a beautiful day.

After lunch, the kids enjoyed playing on the playground. Before we got back on the bus, Wesley's teachers lined up the kids for a group photo. The teachers were busy taking pictures of the kids so they aren't in the photo. I love his teachers and he has had a wonderful year in their class. What a blessing!

On the way back to the school, a couple of the kids fell asleep and the rest of them looked very tired. What a fun morning!

Tennis

Here are a couple of videos from Wesley's second tennis lesson.

Digging Up Rocks

Yesterday Chris and Wesley dug out the flower bed in front of our house.
They found this big rock and another one like it. They also found a large piece of concrete.

I am surprised that we were able to grow flowers for the last seven years with all those rocks stuck in there.

Wesley loves to help out with projects like this. I am grateful for that and hope it continues.

Is it July?

No, only April. And it was Easter Sunday. I remember Easter Sunday always being cold in Virginia but this year, it was warm, hot even. I loved it! I imagine this is what Easter is like every year in Florida.


The kids wanted to play with their water table. Why not? They put their swimsuits on and were ready to go.
They like to "paint" with the water.
It is hard to tell but he is laughing in this picture. The water was cold but he liked it.

I pulled the weeds out of the flower bed on Saturday and the tulips opened on Easter. Compared to the day before, the flower bed looked beautiful. Now, if only I can find the motivation to plant some bulbs this fall. The previous owner must have only planted one or two bulbs.

I think I have mentioned this before but the squirt bottles are a great way to increase hand strength and improve hand writing. We just have a no squirting anyone else rule.

Tooth Extraction

On Thursday last week Wesley got some laughing gas. He calls it "Laffy Taffy Gas". While we were on vacation a few weeks ago, an abscess developed above the damaged front tooth. He had to take an antibiotic for ten days before the dentist removed the tooth. When he complained about his gums hurting, the dentist told him, "breath through your nose." At one point he said, "I feel like I am going up, up, and up."

The dentist told me, "I usually make the Dad's sit down. Do you want to sit down?" No, I was just fine. When it was all over she said, "It is usually harder on the moms than the kids." I felt like a cold-hearted mom but it didn't bother me at all. Wesley was fine and I was just interested in watching what she was doing.

I am glad he had the laughing gas. Can you imagine a child tolerating that needle over and over again without it? Once he was good and numb, the dentist easily got the damaged tooth out with what looked like very large tweezers. She gave him some chocolate pudding which was a great treat that we never have at home.

For dinner that night, Wesley was only supposed to have things he could eat with a spoon. He had apple sauce and yogurt and little tofu from the stir-fry everyone else was eating. After dinner, the whole family went out for ice cream.

Happy Easter

This weekend our family had fun celebrity the resurrection of Jesus. We finished opening our Resurrection Eggs and colored Easter eggs.
They turned out very well and the kids enjoyed eating them.

Lydia was excited to find pink Peeps in her Easter basket.

Before church we tried taking some family photos.

We bribed the kids with jelly beans but they only cooperated briefly.

This is the best family photo of the morning.

Here are the kids with Nana and Pawpaw.

Tonight we reviewed all what each item in the Resurrection Eggs represents and Wesley did a great job telling the Easter story. Lydia chimed in some also. As I kissed her good night I asked her, "What did we celebrate today?" She said, "Candy!" but then quickly said, "Jesus." She did have A LOT of candy today but we also talked about the resurrection throughout the day.

A Popular Day to Go to the Zoo

Yesterday after we left the Tidal Basin, we headed to the zoo. I thought if we got there close to 10:00 we would be able to park at the zoo. What I didn't know was that the Harvard Street Bridge entrance is closed for repairs. I zipped over to the zoo on Rock Creek Parkway, but once I exited for Harvard Street we realized we couldn't go in that way.

While I was on Connecticut Ave, we actually met up with the Best Family. We were supposed to meet at the panda cafe. The road was very backed up because they closed the parking for the zoo because it was full. It wasn't even 11:00 yet. I don't think I will try going to the zoo next year during spring break.

We ended up parking for two hours on Connecticut and walking to the zoo. Since we had to go in the main entrance we took a picture by the sign.
We walked around the zoo for about an hour and a half before heading back to our cars.
Even though the zoo was crowded, the kids had a great time. Michelle and I need to visit the zoo together more often than every year and a half.

The Cherry Blossoms

This is my favorite time of year to walk around the Tidal Basin. The cherry blossoms are so beautiful. In a city filled with memorials for famous men and men who are trying to be famous and important, it is nice to see our Mighty Creator showing off His splendor in nature.
We started at the Jefferson Memorial and walked counter clockwise.

I love the way the water reflects beautiful trees. I was a little worried about Wesley getting too close to the edge.

Especially when he was standing with his back to the water.

Here is a picture of my parents.

And one of my mom in front of some of the blossoms.

One last photo before heading back to the car. There are no photos of Lydia because she was having a horrible morning and would not cooperate for anything not even photos.

It is fun to go into DC and be tourists.