What are we doing today?

I think I hear this question every morning by either Tim or one of the girls.  Between all of the lessons, appointments, and other activities I find it easier to have everything on a calendar posted on the refrigerator.  It has been my goal this summer to be a little more flexible with our schedule.  Everyone in our family is used to routine and sticking 3 months in the middle of the year without a routine proves to be a challenge.  With Elizabeth starting kindergarten in the fall (mostly likely she will attend in the afternoon) I have tried to wean her from taking naps.  For the most part she has done pretty well, but there have been some days when she has had a meltdown around late afternoon and early evening.  Just the other day I gave her the option of taking a nap...bad decision!  Of course she opted to stay awake like most children.  She proceeded outside where she found a 4-year old neighbor girl and some of the bigger kids drawing on sketch pads using materials from Leah's creativity chest.  I'm not sure how long she was actually outside before Leah came in the house, told me that there was a problem, showed me her hand with chunks of curled hair, and mentioned that the our next door neighbor wanted to talk to me.  The Terrible Twosome, which we have affectionately labeled them, decided to give each other haircuts with scissors from Leah's craft container.  Both girls needed a new hairstyle and thankfully our neighbor is a professional hair stylist!  Aside from the additional haircut that Elizabeth received, our family managed to do some other fun and less naughty activities.  We picked blueberries from a local farm, had fun playing in a lake near my friend's cottage, went to Dutch Village, and visited the zoo in Grand Rapids.  In addition both girls started a 2 week session of swimming lessons at Camp Geneva.  Leah also had her post surgery visit and was told that everything in her mouth has healed well.  While we have many more fun things to do next week I plan to keep the scissors far away from all of our heads!

Can you tie your shoes?

So many children these days do not know how to tie shoes and it drives me crazy!  Each year I am amazed at how many 2nd graders are void of this skill.  Leah knows how to tie her shoes, but not as well as I think she should.  When I tried to teach her before kindergarten she was more interested in "doing it her way". 

Yesterday Elizabeth and I went shopping while Leah was at gymnastics class.  She is naturally drawn to shoes (like most females) and loves trying them on whenever she can get a chance.  While I browsed the shoe section Elizabeth found boxes with her size 10 and began the fun process of trying them on.  Immediately she was drawn to a pair of sparkling shoes that lit up.  Although they were on sale and I had an added discount the pair was still quite pricey.  I usually like to run "high end" purchases past Tim, but when she suggested that I teach her how to tie her shoes they were instantly sold.  I think she asked me 3 times today for a tying lesson and it was just before dinner when we finally got started.  I prepared her prior to the lesson by saying that she might get frustrated and that it would take her some time to learn.  Wow, was I pleasantly surprised when after a 10 minute session she was able to tie all by herself.  She is so proud of herself and so am I!

How's the book?

See more Wordless Wednesday entries at 5 Minutes for Moms.

Where's the beach?

The weather is starting to heat up and so are our family activities.  With Leah's surgery and recovery complete and the 4th of July over it finally seems like summer.  Both Leah and Elizabeth have continued with gymnastics and Leah has returned to her tennis lessons.  This week in between lessons the girls and I spent some time with friends at a concert in a park and then went swimming at another friend's pool.  We tried to beat the heat at the Warren Dunes this past Saturday with some of my extended family.  Leah and Elizabeth also had fun spending a few days with their grandparents and cousins camping one night, spending another night at a hotel, and a final night back in Illinois.

How did you celebrate the 4th of July?

This week our family's favorite activity was watching the fireworks in Grand Haven last night.  As a family we had never attempted going because of how late the show always started and with our daughters' fear of fire and noise.  There was fire, but we sat across the channel FAR away from any debris.  It was noisy, but we brought along ear muffs to muffle the sound.  It was late, but none us seemed to mind as we sat in our kitchen eating ice cream at 11:45 PM.  Of course because we were up late we missed our annual breakfast with Tim's great aunts this morning.  However, we did get a chance to see the candy fair parade in Grandville.  It was a tradition Leah and Elizabeth couldn't miss even with the near 90 degree temperature.  Although the girls raved about the BIG fireworks downtown (Elizabeth claimed they were the best she's ever seen!) we did have fun watching our neighbors put on a display of their own in our cul de sac on Friday night.

How are you feeling?

Leah underwent surgery this week to remove her tonsils and adenoids. She was quite nervous and a bit fearful of the whole process. For weeks before the surgery Leah didn't want to talk about it. If someone even said the word "surgery" she would walk away or cover her ears. Days leading up to the surgery she started to talk more openly about the procedure and was looking forward to eating ice cream and popsicles. On the day of the surgery everything went very smoothly and Leah did a fabulous job! For as active a child as she is keeping low key has been a challenge. Just today she asked if she could go rollerblading (only 5 days after her surgery). We are very proud of how she has handled the whole situation. Now we just need to pray that she doesn't get strep throat ever again!

Are you crying Mommy?

Tonight our family was taught a hard life lesson that comes with owning a pet. After spending the night celebrating dads and a couple of birthdays, we came home to a nonliving toad. Tim noticed it first and called me to come check it out. Leah and Elizabeth overheard Tim and went with me to see. Spotty was perched up against the wall of the terrarium appearing to look out at us one last time. At that moment I wasn't sure how to feel. Quite frankly I had been preparing myself for this day for years (Spotty lived almost 8 years with me), but the tears still flowed. As a family we walked back behind our house to a place where Tim dug a hole to bury our beloved frog. Making the situation quite comical Elizabeth stated that we would need a big hole to bury Jazmin in...something I am not looking forward to doing. After Tim covered up the hole with dirt we talked about keeping him buried and what would happen to his body. Then later before I kissed Elizabeth in bed she said, "Mommy, do you think Spotty is up in heaven with balloons up there for him?" As tears welled up in my eyes I told her that was a nice thought and I walked out of her room. I am amazed at how long such a little creature can live and am thankful that our family was able to experience this together.