the Pinewood Derby

Every boy who joins Cub Scouts looks forward to the Pinewood Derby.  It's a very big deal for these boys.  Thomas has been talking about it since he joined Cub Scouts back in September.  This weekend he and Mike worked on Thomas' racecar that will be entered in the Pinewood Derby next weekend.  Mike was adamant that this be Thomas' design.  His role was to encourage Thomas and be the one to use the power tools.  Otherwise, he really wanted it to be Thomas' design and finished product.  We see a lot of parents who are overzealous in "helping" their kids and we really strive to not be that kind of parent to our kids.  Thomas worked up a sketch for his racecar, Mike made the rough cuts (the boys are given a block of wood to start with) and sanded the car smooth to Thomas' satisfaction, and then Thomas painted it per his design.  We're all looking forward to seeing how his racecar does in the Derby.  Win or lose, we think it's a fantastic racecar! 

 Thomas' lucky number is 13 

a Valentine's Day shirt

Last Monday was a pretty wet day around here.  Being inside all afternoon had us going a little stir crazy.  I started organizing the cabinets where we keep games, puzzles and stickers/stamps.  Thomas was working on homework.  Meredith needed something to do and really wanted to paint.  This old shirt of hers happened to be in the stickers area completely covered in stickers.  I told her she could paint a Valentine's Day shirt if she first removed all the stickers.  She was very excited by this idea and got to work right away.  Having watched Thomas sketch out his design for his Pinewood Derby racecar recently, she started by first sketching out a design for her shirt.  She carefully selected the colors and where they would go.  I helped her draw the hearts and then she started painting.  This photo was in progress but as soon as she wears it I'll be sure to snap a photo!

seashells

This morning we took Grandma to our favorite bakery for donuts in Cardiff-By-The-Sea (isn't that a cool name?) and a walk on the beach.  We got lucky today and found many cool seashells to bring home.  These are three of our favorites. 

Yes, I know my hands are incredibly dry.  I'm working on it!

ice skating again!

The kids had an opportunity to go ice skating today with the Cub Scouts.  The weather has been really warm and with temps around 80*, it was strange to put on warmer clothes and go ice skating.  However, it was an activity we had talked about for months and they were both looking forward to going.  It was a much different experience than the one we all really enjoyed over the holidays back in Portland.  Today this rink was really busy, it was difficult to find familiar faces, the skates were old, and the ice was really choppy.  Once the zamboni worked its magic, conditions improved but it still wasn't great ice.  Neither kid was having a great time until they scored these E-Z Skaters.  I'd prefer they learn without a crutch, but with lots of others kids using them they were very appealing to our kids, too.  Thomas and Meredith had a great time zooming around the ice with these! 

Thomas' morning with Grandma

This morning Thomas got to spend one-on-one time with Grandma.  The kids adore her and sometimes they'll both be clamoring for the attention so it's nice when it works out for them to each have their special time with her.  Today we went out for breakfast and then spent some time at the local outlet mall.  It didn't even matter that we were looking for new shoes for Meredith.  Thomas just enjoyed spending the time holding hands with his favorite Grandma!

It was "pajama day" at Meredith's preschool today!

quick recovery

Grandma brought this special blanket for Thomas: maybe it did the trick?

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This afternoon Thomas came home from school not feeling well.  He was excited to see Grandma here, but he quickly laid on the sofa and took a nap.  This is pretty much how it goes for Thomas: one minute he's out, then he takes a nap and wakes feeling much better.  He was warm but never developed a temperature and it seemed to pass quickly, for the most part anyway.  He's still a bit sniffly and not his usual energetic self.  But he woke well enough to want to attend the Pajama Party we had planned to do. 

Our library always has fun and family friendly activities going on.  I love that there is so much to do and they are, for the most part, things the kids are really interested in.  I didn't think a Pajama Party would interest them, but yesterday while at the library the Librarian told Meredith about it and she was excited to go.  It turned out to a really nice early evening activity.  It started at 7pm and lasted about an hour.  There was a fun star wand craft, plenty of bedtime stories with puppets, and even milk or apple juice with a cookie afterward.  The kids loved it.  I'll have to keep my eyes open for the next Pajama Party because I already know two kids who will want to be there!

race photos

I'm never a fan of my own race photos, but these photos of the kids are pretty darn cute!

tidepool adventures in Carlsbad

her special umbrella

It really doesn't rain enough here to justify the need for new rain boots, coats and umbrellas every year.  They would be barely broken in before they'd be outgrown.  But this is our second storm to pass through in just a few days and the rains have been heavy at times.  We walked to preschool this morning with an old umbrella we have but it just wasn't big enough for both of us and she's just so much shorter than me.  She complained the whole way about getting rain on her dress.  I promised her I'd find her a special umbrella all her own TODAY.  This was not easy.  I can find flip flops faster than I can find an umbrella in a store like Target - even in January.  Three stores later, I found this little cutie.  And although the rain had stopped by pickup, I brought her the umbrella to walk home with.  She's been carrying it around the house all day and bringing it with us in the car.  Tonight she wanted the umbrella on the floor next to her bed -- yes, it's that special to her.

*Thomas suggested she use it all year long to shade herself from the sun.  Smart boy!

race weekend

 

This weekend is the Carlsbad Marathon & Half Marathon.  That race is tomorrow and I'll be running the half marathon this year.  Today, the race held their annual Kids Marathon Mile at Legoland.  Three years ago Thomas participated for the first time.  It was a run-walk routine for him that year and took over 20 minutes to finish the course.  For various reasons we didn't have an opportunity to participate again until this year.  Meredith decided at the last minute to do it, too, so I took both kids this morning to Legoland for their races.  The race start/finish are outside the park but 90% of the race is around the outer loop inside Legoland.  The kids are grouped by age but we (and another friend and her two boys) all got in with the 6 year old group this year.  Unfortunately it was a very wet and stormy day, but the kids didn't let that damper their spirits.  I brought garbage bags for them to wear until the race start and my friend had umbrellas (and a husband who held them at the finish while we raced).  Thomas and Kyan (her 7yo boy) both took off right from the start.  I could see Thomas up ahead for almost the first half and then I lost sight of him.  Helen ran with her 5yo son, Blake, while I ran with Meredith.  She did GREAT!  There were a few brief stops to walk but they lasted 3 to 5 seconds, at the most.  One spectator called her speedy and when she crossed the finish line in 13 minutes flat, I had to agree.  Thomas estimated he finished 4 minutes before her, giving him a 9 minute finish.  I suspect that wasn't quite accurate but we'll let him believe that.  All four kids did such a great job this morning!  No complaints while waiting in the rain for their race to start, no complaints while running a full mile and nothing but smiles at the finish line.  I love that my kids enjoy running!     

Thursday dinner fun

We have Thursdays wide open while Thomas is in school.  There's a library storytime & craft hour that we try to meet friends for.  Sometimes we go out for lunch.  But mostly it's a day for me to run errands and clean house.  Thomas gets picked up that morning for school so we can ease ourselves into the day by staying in our jammies and cleaning the house.  I like the easy day, but it's Meredith's least favorite day.  She whines about being bored.  I bring out craft materials and try to get her involved in something but she's such a social person that sitting and working on something by herself just doesn't cut it.  Today she helped me clean things up and was a sport when we ran some errands so we topped off the day with an early dinner at Chuck E. Cheese.  Not my favorite place but the kids sure do love it! 

 Thomas can't get enough of this studio setup - can you see him?

tying HER shoelaces

This little sister refuses to be outdone by her big brother.  Thomas tied his own shoes for the first time last week, so she had to one up him by tying her own shoes for the first time today.  Today!  "Anything you can do, I can do better..." 

lunch & a movie via Facebook

I love how quickly something can come about when it's a no school holiday and my mama friends are on Facebook.  I have a love-hate relationship with that social media site but it does have some positives and getting a group of friends together quickly is one of those things. 

Yesterday I invited a friend and her two kids to join us for lunch and an afternoon movie.  It was a cooler day and with no school, I thought we should do something fun indoors.  This morning a different friend posted on Facebook that she didn't have anything planned yet for her three kids on this no school day.  I invited her to join us and before you know it, we had a group of five moms and their ten kids headed out for lunch and a movie.  The kids all loved the movie - Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked - and it was a fun afternoon for me spent with good friends.     

back to the routine

It's been a busy week at our house as we've all settled back into our routines (post holiday break).  The kids started back to school on the 9th and they were ready.  Dance class started back up for Meredith.  Thomas resumed the All Star Readers book club at the library.  Homework was worked on all week.  A painter came two days to paint the stairwell and the master bathroom.  We spent an afternoon at SeaLife Aquarium.  Thomas ended the week with a playdate at the park with his friend, Tommy, from school.  The first week back after a vacation is always tough.  We were ready for a quiet weekend focused on family. 

Yesterday we went out for brunch in Encinitas and stopped by the Farmer's Market for some fresh produce.  Today we spent a few hours at Legoland riding the rides.  We all enjoyed the mellow family weekend. 

tying shoelaces

Thomas is a perfectionist, just like me.  Sometimes he gets frustrated easily if he doesn't pick something up right away or doesn't do it just so.  Learning to tie his own shoes was one of those frustrations for him.  I don't know what it was exactly but something just didn't click for him - until today!  He was super proud and excited and so are we.  Way to go, Thomas!

Just because I love this photo...

This is my favorite photo of Meredith - ever!  A friend snapped it last October in the evening while we waited for the red surf down at the beach.  This is one gorgeous girl.

Unique of the Week

It's finally here!  Meredith has been waiting all year for her turn to be the Unique of the Week in her preschool class.  She has watched as all her friends brought in their posters to share, provided their favorite snacks and drinks for the week, brightened up the classroom with fresh flowers they chose, acted as line leader/flag holder/song starter/etc. She has asked many times when it would be her turn and I'm so glad it's finally here.  She's waited a long time for this!

This afternoon we put together her poster to share with the class.  We looked through photographs and she selected the specific photos she wanted to share.  She had strong opinions about how the board would be laid out, the colors we'd use, how it would be decorated, etc.  And it turned out great!  She proudly wrote all the tags and helped me assemble the photos.  She can't wait to share it tomorrow with her classmates!

recent artwork by T

drawn at Deschutes Brewery Portland Pub House, 12/23/11

recent artwork by M

Her people are drawn with more detail in the nose, fingers, eyelashes...

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a person walking Greta: I love how Greta is drawn

The New Childrens' Museum

lunch break in the middle at a nearby bagel shop

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Today we spent the day with friends at The New Childrens' Museum in San Diego.  My friend drove since Thomas and Meredith wanted to experience "a car with tv".  Once there, the four had a blast with all the hands-on activities, interactive stations, artist-led demonstrations and lots of open free space to run.  Today they studied light and shadows with an original spray painted piece of their own, hand formed models in clay, participated in a group art project after learning about the artist that exhibit is based on, spun themselves silly in these "bowls", scaled a rock wall, experimented with different bubble makers, climbed a tire ladder to shoot down a spiraling and very fast slide, explored magnetism with an interactive wall, added their New Year resolutions to a community wall, made "sea urchins" from plarn (yarn from plastic bags) that they made themselves, dressed up as knights and a princess, and more -- can you believe it?!  I love this place.  Each exhibit has cards -- one that talks about the artist and his intention and others for "what you might explore if you are a toddler/5 year old/8 year old/etc.".  This place is pure genius and pure fun.  The artists and exhibits change every few months to keep it interesting and new.  It's definitely a gem for children in San Diego!



 

heat wave

they wanted me to spray them ~ sprinkler fun below

We love warm sunny days and this week we've been fortunate to have some unseasonably warm weather.  We seem to get these "heat waves" every few weeks and we absolutely love it when we do!