Running buddies

Colin has been my little running partner lately, I prefer to do sprint intervals over straight distance running so it is perfect for a kid to do. I find I get bored just running straight even with music. Plus, I love the feeling of that ran hard super out of breath, chest pounding and lungs burning. Colin is a good motivator for me. He wants to beat me so badly in one of our sprints. I have been very clear that I will not let him win. Colin's time of victory will be well earned. Sadly, it may happen sooner than I would like, but you never know. 

A couple of days ago, Colin was in big trouble (like super, big trouble that I will have to post about sometime), so he could not run with me. Meli was pleading with me to let her go with me. "I have been so good. No timeouts today!" She was just so stinkin' cute...I gave in. Boy was she so excited! She had to put on shorts, because that is what you do when you run. So, after an outfit change we headed out the door. She somehow took three stuffed animals with her that I did not notice until we turned the corner. I made her take them back. She ran all of the way home (not too far) and ran back. Then she was so tired from running she was thirsty. So, she ran all the way back to the house and got a drink. After running all of the way back to me, we started. Ten minutes and Meli is the only one who got a workout so far. After I warmed up my bad knee by walking for a bit, I was ready to run...as I take my first step to run my ankle goes funny and a sharp pain hits me. OMG! This was turning out to be the most unproductive run ever! I tried to jog on my ankle, but mostly had to walk it out. Meli had a blast though. Doing anything but running. She looked out at the river, climbed whatever she could. Even though it was not really a workout for me, it was nice having some mommy/daughter time.

A Kindergartner is Coming!!

Meli had Kindergarten registration the other day. Oh my! I cannot believe that she is starting big girl school. I am not an overly emotional person, but this one may get me a little bit. She was so excited to be at Colin's school! She will be 5 in a few weeks and this just put the idea upfront in her mind. She is a big girl! One that is very quirky and fun - but also very stubborn and sometimes moody. Not sure who she gets that all from (haha). She reminds me a lot of me as a kid but I was a lot shyer. So, certain aspects of my personality were only shown around ones that I was super comfortable around. 

I like how they have it set up. They are staggering the start days over the first two days, so that they can see the personalities of kids before placing them with their teacher. The first month they may still move the child to a different class. They really want to have each child with the best fit teacher for them. They also will not do full day for the first month. That is nice. Even though Meli is in preschool/daycare now, she has not been going all that long. Plus, she only goes part-time. We plan to up it this summer to help her adjust to full days better. 

Well, on to the next chapter of the B Family. Both kids in school. 

Will took a few days off last week, so he took Meli for a daddy/daughter breakfast. It was the first day of rain in awhile, so Meli got in cold weather mode. She wanted gloves and a hat (no sweatshirt or coat for some reason) and two extra hats - "just in case" (her new phrase). Below she is playing in their little kid area. 

Meli enjoys cooking! I love this and not so much at the same time. I really enjoy having the kids help me out, but sometimes when I am in a rush or cooking a lot of different dishes it can be stressful and a lot more work. Most of the time it is a fun experience.  Below is a picture from this weekend of all of our plates. Meli wanted to help with breakfast. She decided what we were going to have. I reminded her that we needed a fruit, protein, etc. Then she remembered that not everyone liked certain things. So, I would say who likes mushrooms. She would say "not Meli and daddy". So we each had our special plate. She even scrambled the eggs! 

Until next time! This is parenthood...
                                                                Hugs, Love & Kisses
                                                                        The B Family

Flashback - 3 Years Ago

Rest area break - they were so small!

Facebook reminded me that three years ago this last week, we said goodbye to our life in Virginia and started our drive to Oregon. I enjoyed looking at the pictures that I had posted during that drive. Meli was so small, not quite 2 and Colin was 5. I remember being nervous about the drive because Meli hated being in the car. Anything that restricted her was not cool. That is why I opted out of flying with just her. I knew it would only be one day, but man I could not imagine her in such a restricted place like a plane. Colin was a great flyer at 2, but I was fairly certain Meli would not be the same. 

Colin was set

Surprisingly, she did fantastic in the car. We had a few tricks up our sleeve. Like each day she had something new like a book, coloring book, or toy to entertain her. We also bought a DVD player for the car. We were not big on the idea of that but for long trips such a lifesaver. 

Sleepy Mae

I cannot believe that is has already been three years! A lot has happened in that time. I am so glad for our move and I think it was the right choice, but I really do miss the east coast too. 

Continental breakfast are wonderful!

I think this is Wyoming. 

Meli loved the hotel rooms!

My Little Fishies!

The kids are both doing swimming lessons and love it! I cannot believe how big they have both grown the last few months. Meli passed two levels recently!! One had to do with bobs and then holding her breath under the water. Colin just passed his 2nd level! He was working on that for a little bit. He could not quite get the back floats down. I am so proud of him. He did his 2nd level and learning to ride his bike. Master Colin is on a roll!

Sunflower Project

The kids and I are working on a spring/summer science project of growing sunflowers and some herbs. Colin and Meli love watching them grow from seeds and for the responsibility of watering the plants. Meli totally dumped the seeds in the bigger pot (well kid pail) we used. I will definitely have to split them apart at some point. The ones we planted in the small mini pots are not as happy. Probably because their dirt keeps coming out when Meli over waters them. They are still doing well though. I actually did not expect them to sprout. 

Below is Colin's sweet basil. It is really starting to come up!

Meli's cilantro is starting to appear. Like one or two...but she did put more dirt on top of the seeds then she was supposed to. We will see though. I hope it works. I love cilantro!

Proud Mama Moment

While I was away on a kid-free weekend, my son accomplished something that he has been too nervous to really try - he learned to ride his bike without training wheels!!! Colin has always been a very logical, common sense kind of kid - which made him a little more timid when it came to swings, slides, bikes, etc. He was always aware that there was danger involved (Meli is the complete opposite). Last summer he was ready to take the training wheels off, but once we did he had no interest in getting back on the bike. I would try to convince him that it was safe and we would not let go until he was ready...but he would have none of it. It did amaze me the few times he did try how much effort it took on our end to keep him straight up. That kid would be leaning over so far. He even made me nervous.

About 4 months ago, he learned how to ride his scooter. To me, that seems a lot harder than a bike. Then for some reason, once I leave for a weekend he decides to try his bike...and does it!!! As much as I hate to have missed that awesome life moment, I am so happy that he has accomplished something that he saw as such a hard thing to learn. He is just growing up too fast.

                                               ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                        The B Family

The Kid's Reading Corner: March

I have mentioned how Meli will usually pick very random books. Well, she loves Santa...so we usually always have a Christmas book. This one, A Bad Start for Santa, was very cute. Meli really got into finding the missing glove. 

Colin has a goal of trying to read two chapter books each month. In March one that he really liked was Galaxy Zack. I think this is a series, so I need to check that out. It was perfect size chapters. During spring break I had him read a chapter a day. The print was not overwhelming for a kid new to chapter books. The art was cute too. 

With a crazy month at work, I failed to take pictures of our favorite library books. I will do better in April. Some other favorite pics were:

•  Elephant and Piggie (My Friend is Sad)
• Elephant and Piggie (Today I will Fly)
• Skippyjon Jones Cirque De Ole - this was on CD as well. The author does a great job with the voices. We listened to it a lot.

Working hard for the money...haha!

Colin wants to order a new Battle Beast (well technically used because they were sold in the 80's) on EBay. Will has a few from his childhood that he has "loaned" to Colin. I am pretty sure when Colin moves out the Battle Beast will remain behind with their true owner!

To help him out, I told Colin he could pick up a few more chores and help me with yard work to earn some money. Oh my, he was such a stinker. I had to constantly remind him why he was out there. Finally, I told him that he would have to come to me and ask what he could do. I was no longer going to chase him down. In the first hour Colin had earned .25 cents and Meli a dollar. After our talk about work ethic, he improved tremendously. Another hour and Meli was at $2 and Colin $1.50. It probably helped that we were pulling out bushes and planting flowers. Meli loves dirt!!