3 BBQs in 3 Days

We had a busy memorial day weekend. Saturday after Rebecca's dance class we took the kids to the pool, which opened this weekend. We met Rebecca's friend Amelia and her parents there, and later after we'd spent way too much time in the sun we went over to their house for a barbecue.

Sunday we took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2, because I'd spent too much time in the sun Saturday and had sunburn and a headache and couldn't handle the thought of going to the pool again. It was the first time we had taken Rebecca to a movie theater, and she did great! She did talk a lot during the movie though so we kept having to shush her. She kept yelling "It's Kung Fu Panda!" whenever he came on the screen. Later in the day Nanny and Papa came over for a barbecue, and they took Rebecca to Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a big girl bike for her (see previous post).

Yesterday we spent the morning doing some errands, including picking up Rebecca's new bike (which had to be assembled so they couldn't bring it home with them Sunday). Rebecca loves her new bike!!! She asked if she could take it to school with her today ;) She is doing very well learning to pedal it, but tends to watch her feet instead of where she's going. But she's getting the hang of it really fast.

We spent the afternoon yesterday at the pool again, and then had friends over for barbecue #3. It was a fun weekend!! And -- really hot!! It is supposed to be in the 90s for as long as the long range forecast can predict... here comes summer!!

Big Girl Bike

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Rebecca eats yogurt unsupervised

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Unacceptable for Duckies

I've long been listening to NPR as I drive the kids to and from school. I'm not surprised anymore when Ben comments on the news, but lately Rebecca has started listening and commenting too. She especially keeps an ear out for the weather forecast because she is scared of thunderstorms and wants to know when there might be one. Today the weather forecast included a comment about poor air quality, which got Rebecca quite concerned-- "The air is bad! the air is bad!" And then: "The water is bad! the water is bad!" (Despite my assurances that it wasn't). And then: "No! The water is bad! And that is unacceptable for the duckies!" (Which she adorably pronounced "unaccepable"). Unfortunately the forecast also called for thunderstorms, which really threw her into a tizzy: "Thunderstorms! Thunderstorms! AAAHHHH!!!!"

And... Still Busy. And it's Hot.

The blogging has been lacking lately. Though I am sure it will be picking up soon. This weekend we had Rebecca's dance class, two football games for Ben (one regularly scheduled and one rain makeup), a playdate and dinner with Becca's friend Amelia -- we went to Tony's pizza in Matthews which had somehow escaped our notice until now and definitely ranks as my favorite pizza in Charlotte now. We also baked a birthday cake and took Joel's parents to PF Chang's for dinner yesterday to celebrate Joel's dad's birthday.

This week (and from now on all summer long I guess) we are dealing with HOT WEATHER - in the upper 80s/low 90s all week according to the forecast - and looking forward to the outdoor pool complex at the JCC opening this weekend, as well as the community pool in our development. We will definitely be spending some time a the pool this weekend . Rebecca's been talking about it for weeks already in fact.

There's only a couple more weeks of school, and Ben has his birthday party coming up (on June 4th because we'll be away the following two weekends) so lots to look forward to!

Rock Stars Can do Whatever They Want

Last night at bedtime Rebecca was jumping around naked except for a pair of sunglasses, proclaiming to be a rock star and refusing to get ready for bed:

ME: You need to sit on the potty. Rock stars sit on the potty, too.

REBECCA [giving me a look over the top of her sunglasses]: Nooooo.... Rock stars can do WHATEVER... THEY... WANT.

Another Busy Weekend

Our weekend was busy, as is usually the case these days. Saturday morning I took Rebecca to dance class (Ben tagged along because Joel wasn't home from his conference yet), then I took the kids for haircuts, then to lunch, then home for a brief respite before flag football. Joel arrived home so we all went to Ben's flag football game together, followed by a stop at Rita's for italian ice, because Ben had received some coupons from school for being Terrific Kid and had been begging to use them. After that we stopped briefly at home again, and then headed out to Kabuto, a Japanese Hibachi restaurant, for dinner. Unlike our last visit there, Rebecca was only a little scared this time. She didn't cry or anything but seemed a bit too nervous to properly eat her dinner, even after the chef left she was nervously watching the other tables as if afraid the flames over there would migrate. But, definitely an improvement over our last visit (where she and Joel had to sit at the bar until the cooking was done).

Sunday we had a quiet morning and then two barbecues in succession to attend, so we were out from 12:30 until 7. The kids showed no sign of wear after the long afternoon out, and indeed it was pretty difficult to round them up after barbecue #2, they were having such a good time and didn't want the fun day to be over. We managed to get them home and bathed and in bed by 8. I think we all slept pretty well last night!

Student Driver

I feel as though this is a miniature version of an eerily similar scene that will be playing out about 15 years from now. I am very frightened.

Rebecca's big baby doll

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Thunderstorm

We had quite a thunderstorm last night from about 12am to 2am or so. By 1am the rain, wind and thunder was so loud and constant that both kids woke up terrified. Ben woke up first and I told him he could come get in bed with me. We went to check on Rebecca, and as soon as she saw me in the doorway of her room she jumped out of bed and ran over and threw herself in my arms. Fortunately the power only flickered off once, and the kids got in bed with me and watched a couple episodes of Big Time Rush on the DVR. It really was a scary storm, especially since Joel is away at a conference in Virginia this week. So it was just me and the kids. I kept a flashlight handy just in case, and monitored the weather from my cell phone. I could tell the storm would be moving away by around 2 am, so I managed to coax the kids back into their own beds a little after 2am, once they could tell the rain, wind and thunder had greatly diminished. We were all a little tired this morning!

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Every year I express the desire to go out to brunch for Mother's Day, but every year I don't express this desire until the day before Mother's Day, at which point it is absolutely impossible to get a reservation at any of the (many) restaurants around here that are well-known for their delicious brunch... Mental note for next year to give Joel that assignment a couple weeks ahead of time ;)

So anyway, we went out to dinner for Mother's Day with Joel's parents last night. We went to Brio, where we usually have good luck in the sense that it is good food and fancy enough for a special occasion, but big, loud and kid-friendly at the same time. Unfortunately last night they seem to have underestimated the Mother's Day crowd (not sure how, considering they were open until 3 for brunch as well - not that we could get a reservation then).

The kids' meals came I'd say a good 30-40 minutes before us grownups got our food. So by the time we got our food Rebecca was getting pretty antsy. We ordered them dessert which they ate while we ate our dinners, which helped. Ben was super good and ate a ton -- a whole plate of salmom and buttered noodles, half my salad, and some of my chicken and mashed potatoes.

Rebecca was a little unpredictable, and dropped her ice cream dish on the floor (breaking it) and had a bit of a bathroom incident - Joel took her to the bathroom but apparently she couldn't quite make it and peed on the bathroom stall floor. She was wearing a dress, so Joel threw away her undies and she went commando (in an alarmingly short dress I might add) for the remainder of dinner. Joel reported also that as they were getting ready to leave the bathroom stall she farted several times, much to her great delight, and then announced to the other bathroom occupants loudly, "I farted THREE TIMES!"

Terrific Kids

Every month a student from each classroom who exhibits the "character trait of the month" is honored as a "Terrific Kid". There's an award ceremony where they get a certificate, their picture taken, a bumper sticker and some coupons for free stuff, and a button to wear for the day which entitles them to a special treat at lunch time. This month's character trait was "perseverence". Congratulations Ben!

Congrats to my Terrific Kid!

Weekend Update

It's been a busy weekend, with Rebecca's dance class, Ben's flag football game (finally a game that was not rained out), the spring carnival at Ben's school ("Hawkfest"), dinner at 131 Main with friends, cub scouts, errands, and dinner at Wan Fu with Nanny and Papa. I'm totally exhausted today. Keep looking for ways to crawl back into bed.... don't think that's gonna happen.

Ben's been selected as the "Terrific Kid" for his class for the month of April, so look for pictures from the Terrific Kid ceremony at his school on Wednesday morning. Congrats Ben!!