In All Fairness....

You know, sometimes we joke about Rachel and her strong personality. People will ask if we are going to have any more children and our standard answer is something to the effect of "Uh, no; you've met Rachel" kind of thing. And yes, she has been a handful since she was in the womb, (using my bladder as a trampoline- no wonder she's such a good jumper now), but she really is so stinkin' cute and so full of personality, I was thinking I would indulge in a little motherly bragging about Rachel. You are forewarned!!!!
Her big thing right now is to go to bed early, lights out, then she gets up turns on her light, plays with her toys quietly for about 30 minutes or so, then gets back in bed and waits for us to come turn out her light again. AND, when she gets up from her nap, she'll get up and play. We'll open her door to check on the lil' booger and she very calmly asks us to shut the door and she goes back to playing. And, when I say playing, I mean she's spreading her toys and hair bows all over the floor, so you can't see the carpet.
She is also into dancing at the moment. She does this thing where she says what she's going to do and then she does it. It goes like this "Oh! I know! Clap, clap clap. Stomp stomp stomp. Wiggle, wiggle wiggle. Sliiiiiiiiiiiide. Sliiiiiiiide. Ta-Da! Yea, Rachel!!!!" Her little wiggles are so cute - that diaper gives her a bit of booty. She'll even 'teach' the dance to a character or imaginary friend. Instead of saying ta da, yea Rachel, she'll say "That's great, Daisy. Let's try it again". I think Daisy is Daisy Duck. Sometimes she'll teach it to a character on the Little Einsteins.
Her new phrase at the moment is 'not really'. Rachel, do you want some ___________? "Not really Mom" Rachel, do you want to take a nap? "No (shakes head) not really".
She is a little stingy with the hugs and kisses. But sometimes, when you are lucky, she'll take your face in her hands (one hand on each of your cheeks) and give you tons of kisses. When she wants to snuggle or sit in your lap, she calls that 'me me'. "Mama, I want me me" and then proceeds to push anything or anyone out of the way. The pushing part is not so good, but her little voice gets a high pitch to it and it sounds so sweet.
Now, when she gets mad and is upset, she asks for a wipe. When she is all done wiping her face, she says "There, that's better". And when she is in trouble (what, Rachel in trouble???) she always asks for a hug, like that will make us forget she pulled the cats tail or did whatever it was that got her in trouble.
Okay, enough cute stories for now. But, tune in next time when we write all about Russell's t-ball adventures and how Aimee was convinced Rachel was running a fever and had to buy a new fancy thermometer because she was also convinced the old one was broken!!!!

I'll save the suspense on that - it wasn't broken. I did, however, get a really cool new thermometer!

The Big Trip to Dothan

Many of you may not that know that Adam and I LOVE museums of any kind. I guess you could call us museum junkies!! When Adam's mom was temporarily working in DC about 7 years ago, I had the opportunity to stay with her for a week and spend hours upon hours in museums. It was terrific! Of course, we are sharing our interest with the kids. In OKC there were lots of good local museums to get out and explore, but here in Panama City, not so much. And the ones that are here, well, they are, uhhhhh, well, you could say that they are___________ (you fill in the blank).

Because the museums here are ____________, that means we are off for grand adventures to find the good ones. We've been a couple of times to the air museum in Pensacola. It is terrific, but a long drive. We've been to a couple in Tallahasse - one bad, one good on that tally. And there are more to discover there, but last weekend we decided to head north to Dothan, Alabama. Doesn't it seem weird to think that Alabama is NORTH???? Anyhoo, we headed to Ft. Rucker, outside of Dothan to visit the Army Air Museum on its base. It was about 90 minutes away. Dothan is a pretty non descript place, but they do have a bigger mall than we do! I think Dothan is a farming area, what they farm, I have no clue. Anyway.....................

As we arrived at the museum, the kids were getting excited - a lot of helicopters and small planes outside and the building actually looked fairly large, so the potential was there. We get inside and discover that there is some ceremony taking place in the main exhibit hall where all the cool stuff is. Lots of people in uniform or dressed in suits, etc. And, it is so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. Not exactly ideal circumstances for a 2 and 6 yr old. I'd tell you what the ceremony was if I knew, but noone seemed to know what it was for. Even the little lady in the gift shop was clueless. Oh, and there are a few tables with catering trays, punch bowl, etc. Good grief. I won't go into the details, but there was some screaming from a certain member of our family who is 2 years old. She very specifically said "I want that way" pointing towards the ceremony (they all ignored us). Finally the ceremony was over (we went outside for a while and came back in after it was over) and now it seemed appropriate to go in the main hall to look at the great displays. But then someoone wasn't happy with her sippy cup and was eyeing that punch bowl. The visit ended with me taking her to the car while the boys finished up oohing and aaahhing at all the big helicopter displays and then we made our way home.

"It Wasn't So Bad"

So, this morning was Russell's 6th Birthday Party! It was terrific! Look at the smile on this kid's face - I don't think he liked it at all!! Ha! 90 minutes of pure bouncing fun with about 20 kids and their parents. It was exactly how we had hoped it would be - a nice group of kiddos and their parents just having a blast and minimal work for us! I am now a convert; no more birthday parties at home.

I need to 'document' (for lack of a better term) that Russ has been so excited for his party and has been especially thrilled that his friend, Kerri, would be there. Here's what he has to say about Miss Kerri: Kerri has 2 Rs in her name and she's a very nice girl. Her dad is a firefighter and he helps people. It is so funny - he's just enamored with Kerri. Not sure if she is just as enamored, but she does seem to like Russ and they spent a lot of time playing together today. Pretty cute. Okay, you want a picture of Kerri...

So, we get in the car after the party and Russell is all grins. We ask him how he liked his party, what he thought of it, etc. His reply "It wasn't so bad".

Little fart.

What's the going rate for a tooth these days?

Russell lost his first tooth last Weds. at school. From what we know, it was during PE and according to him "it flew out of my mouth and into my hand and I ran and told Coach!" He is THRILLED!!!!! They have chart at school about losing teeth; they get a certificate and a box for the tooth, so obviously, it is huge deal in the land of Kindergarteners. On the way home from school that day, he said he needed to go to the dentist and get his new tooth. (You can forget trying to tell him it will grow in.)

Now, I believe that he actually lost the first tooth he got as a baby, but I'm not 100% sure. So, bedtime came and we put the tooth in its little blue box from school and put it under his pillow. I explained the tooth fairy would bring money and he said toys or candy would be okay instead. So then I had to tell him how small the tooth fairy was and she couldn't carry toys and candy. That seemed to be reasonable.

Well, would you believe she came and left a whole dollar for that one tiny tooth!?! She (well, he...) even folded it up really small so it would fit in the blue tooth box to go back under the pillow sans the tooth! Wow, a dollar! Needless to say the toothless boy thought it was amazing to get a dollar folded up in a tiny square and decided that his tooth fairy must be 'medium sized' and not tiny. How else could she fold up a dollar into such a tiny square?

Indeed.

On Thursday mornings, I am able to volunteer in Russell's class for an hour. (Rachel is at nursery school during this time, although she'd love to spend time in class with all the kids!) It is a real treat to get to know all the kids and work with them and get to know Russell's teacher and the aide in his class. Every once in a while Mrs. Reinstatler and I can 'conference' a bit about Russell and keeping him on his successful pace; something I really value. The latest Russell chat was about his reading level and critical thinking skills. On the scale of 1 - 5 (5 being the highest), Russell's indivual reading level is a high 4 almost 5. And apparently Russell will ask questions and make comments about everything they are doing in class that none of the other kids ask or notice. An 'out of the box' thinker at appropriate times! His teacher has said to me before that often times when they are repeating a skill he has already mastered in group, she can tell his mind is elsewhere and wherever he is, he's having a great time. She says she'll think to herself, Russell, where are you and can I go too???

On the potty front - Rachel used it twice last Sunday, but that is it. No new tinkles. Ha! It's a start, we'll get there.

And a 'Year of Fitness' (you know, THE voice) update - a bad sinus infection has set me back. I spent all of the last weekend on the couch or in bed and watched way more TV than I wanted to. Adam is still on track, using the treadmill and his workout DVDs. I hope next week I will have my stamina back to really get going again.

And one last Aimee story before I sign off. Earlier this week a fellow AF spouse (who I've never met) calls and invites me to a 'last minute baby shower' for another spouse (who I do know) this Sunday and wants to know that second can I come? Uhhhhhhh. Oh, and did I mention the kids are fighting over something trivial and are both screaming loudly AND Adam is at school, so I can't give him the 'quiet your children' stare!!! ; ) All I can think to say is "Isn't the Superbowl on Sunday????" Her: "I have no idea" Me: "Yes, I know it is. What time is the Superbowl on? I think it is in the evening." Her: "Yes, I think if it is on, it is usually on in the evening" Me: "I'm sorry, my children are screaming and my husband is not home. Here's the deal, if the Superbowl is on at night, then I can come to the shower that afternoon. But, if the two coincide, I can't come. We are big NFL fans." I am such a loser and I am sure she thinks the same. However, Peyton helped me win the Superbowl last year, I can't not root him on while he's playing in HIS Superbowl. That would just be rude!!! Ha! But, as it turns out, I can go to the shower and get home in time to watch the big game. Go Colts!