Finding a balance

As parents we want our children to be independent, but still need us. We want them to be self-starters and self-entertainers, but we also want them to want to do stuff with us. It's a hard balance to find sometimes. Lovey always wants to be entertained, whether by me or electronics. Telling him to find something to do usually results in whining or him asking if I wanted to play a game or do something with him. Littlebit has more of an imagination and is content to talk to herself and build in the sandbox.


This summer has been a challenge since their best friends moved in December. Last summer I rarely saw Littlebit and Lovey because they were in the cul de sac with their friends and I could keep an eye on them out the back windows. This summer friends are farther away and I can't watch Lovey as he plays. We started sending him with a watch and a time to be home, but this usually resulted in him returning just to ask if he could leave again, disrupting whatever game he was playing with his friends.


We decided to invest in walkie-talkies. This way he can go out and not have a set time to be home, but I can call him when I need him. At first when I told him the plan, his first words to me were, "I do not wanna be that kid!" He wanted a phone! Nice try. I told him it was this or he could come home every hour to check in. The first run with this was a little bumpy. The battery died because he kept playing with it checking in with me every five minutes. (His doing, not mine!)Then when the battery died he just kept playing and I had to go look for him when I couldn't get a hold of him to tell him to come home for dinner. We had a little talk about when it dies, coming home for his watch.


Yesterday I decided the kids needed to go out and get dirty and play. And not in our postage stamp of a backyard. Some day we hope to have more space, but it is not in the foreseeable future. There is a tree tract one house down that I usually don't let them go in, but yesterday I relented. When I was his age, I was riding my horse through the woods and along the trails by the power lines. And I didn't have a walkie-talkie or cell phone. Our house didn't even have a cordless phone! (Where they even around then?) I remember riding my bike across the highway to the convenience store. Yes, I was probably older than Lovey, but not much because I stopped riding bikes when I was thirteen. Now you couldn't pay me to try to ride across that highway, but different times. I want my kids to experience some freedom, but I am not ready to let go totally. I also don't want to be seen as that parent. The one who lets her kids just roam around. We live in a society of wrapping our kids in bubble wrap and while I don't want them to get hurt, I want them to take risks and have fun. So today they are in the tree tract jumping over sticker bushes, chopping at dead limbs with a spade, and climbing trees. Lovey came home for his watch because the walkie-talkie was almost dead. Good boy!


I hope that when they look back on their childhood, they remember the fun that they had together playing in that small patch of trees near our house. I hope this fosters creativity and independence in them as well.

Summer

We just wrapped up the first week of summer!


It was hard to say good bye to preschool, but it is time to move on to other things. I had an interview at an elementary school, but I didn't get the job. Boo. My interview was much better than the one last fall, so that is a definite bright spot. Littlebit keeps asking if I am going to be an "home mom". I don't think she remembers when I was a stay at home mom.


We don't have any plans this summer, except for a baseball for Lovey and gymnastics camp for Littlebit. I am excited because they are the same week! A week to myself!


Now to soak up some of that beautiful sunshine we are having. Almost 80 today. Yippee!

Spring Break

Last week was spring break and it was fantastic! The weather was beautiful. We are talking 60s! Time to break out the capris for me and the shorts for the kids. We had one day of rain, but even then I managed a little yard clean up. After enduring 40 preschool conferences, a week off with sunshine was well deserved.


Unfortunately Big Daddy was studying for a test and didn't get to enjoy the week with the rest of us and of course that test was on Friday of spring break. Boo!!! The kids and I took full advantage of the sun. We played with friends at the park and enjoyed some time at the history museum. The kids even set up a stand in the front yard trying to sell their Origami Star Wars figures. They were not successful, but they didn't seem to mind.


Big changes are happening in our house. Lovey turns 10 this month! How can that be???? Littlebit has a big gap where she lost her two front teeth. And I have decided that this is my last year teaching preschool. (I say that now, but I might be back. God is funny that way.) I think that it is time for me to go back to elementary school. I can't believe it has been 10 years since I have worked full time. I applied for a few teaching jobs, two at my kids' school, where I really want to be. After my disastrous library interview this fall, I don't think that I will be called for an interview there but I keep hoping. If not, I plan to sub and maybe prove that I am not a bumbling idiot and that nerves really got the best of me.


Spring break ended too quickly and we are back to our super crazy schedule of dance, piano, baseball and fast pitch. This week seems to be jam packed with an added music concert and Easter again snuck up on me. Two more months and it will be vacation time again!

Saying Goodbye

It has been a tough week in our house. We are learning how to say goodbye to best friends. We have done this before, but Lovey was 5 and Littlebit was 2. Littlebit and Lovey's best friends are moving to Korea. It is the downfall of living in a military area and not being a military family. Your friends always leave. We've known for a few months that they were moving, but it just seemed to come up so fast. For the last two years, they have lived in the cul de sac behind us. It was perfect because I could send the kids out to play with their friends and still watch them from the comfort of my home. The last few weekends have been full of sleepovers, but as the movers came the last two days and they are no longer staying in their house it has become real.

We made each of them care packages and hope that they will write, but my heart breaks for my kids. There are several other girls Littlebit's age in the neighborhood, but not many other boys Lovey's age. I am hoping a family just like this one moves into their house. For my sake and my kids!

Disneyland

In November we took the kids to Disneyland as an early Christmas present. We went during conference week at school, so both kids only missed two half days of school. We had such a great time. The weather was beautiful, even a little too hot at times.

I had not been to Disneyland since I was 8, so it was so exciting for me too. Grandpa and Grandma were able to join us which was fun.

On our first day we started to follow the plans on one of the apps we had, but then decided to make our own plans and just use the app for line wait times. Littlebit did not like the first ride we went on which was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. She said it made her tummy hurt. She loved the Matterhorn though. She was not so sure about space mountain, but we all loved splash mountain and went on that twice! Grandpa was a good sport and sat in the front both times. Poor Grandpa was soaked.

At California Adventures, Lovey was brave enough to go on California Screamin. Littlebit and I stayed behind and went on the carousel, but everyone else went. Grandpa loved it and went a second time. We all loved Radiator Springs and managed to go two times. Thank goodness for fast passes because the wait was always over an hour long. Lovey wanted to go on the Tower of Terror, so Grandpa, Grandma and I took him over there. Right before we got into the elevator he decided he didn't want to do it (much to my relief because neither did I). Thankfully the cast members showed us the exit and Lovey and I left to wait for Grandpa and Grandma.

We met up with some friends by chance while we were at California Adventures which was fun! It is always fun to see people you know.

We were a little disappointed our last two days in Disneyland because they were filming the ABC Christmas special and the parade we wanted to see and quite a few rides that we wanted to do were closed. It was fun to see the performers and the concerts, but the rides that were open were crowded.

On our last day we went to Goofy's Kitchen for breakfast. It was a little expensive and not all of the characters came over to where we were sitting, but it was fun. Littlebit was so excited that I let her have ice cream for breakfast! (After she ate some eggs and pancakes.)

We were all very sad to leave and are looking forward to visiting again!

Thank you DreamWorks

While out walking Ballou tonight, Littlebit and I were commenting on the moon. It was big and bright and full. I asked Littlebit if she could see the man in the moon. She said no because you can only see him when the moon is little and he is sitting on the end of it fishing. It took me a moment to realize that it was the DreamWorks logo she was describing.

Busy week

This week has been busy. Lovey spent four days at baseball camp. It was 9-4 everyday. It was warm out and they were outside all day except for lunch. He loved going to lunch because it was in the university cafeteria. He loved it and had a great time, but is exhausted.

Littlebit had her first sleepover this week. She was supposed to go to a slumber party in June, but she got pink eye the day before. She has been dying to have a sleepover! Saturday night, her friend, K came over to stay the night. They stayed up past 10, which is late for Littlebit, but they didn't start playing together until almost 7 that night.

K had Littlebit over on Tuesday for a sleepover. Both girls were so excited. Littlebit wrote it on the calendar, so she could yell, "Sleepover Day!" when she woke up that morning. They had a spa day and put coconut oil on their faces and cucumbers on the eyes. Too cute! I wasn't sure how Littlebit would do, but I didn't get a late night phone call!

Now that it is Friday, I declared it a stay at home day since by 10:30 I was wishing for bedtime for them. They are so tired they are constantly yelling at each other. Oh my! A stay at home day is probably just what we all need.