Kids reading corner: Catch Up

I have been horrible at posting the books that the kids have been reading or I have read to them. I am hoping to play catch up the next few weeks. I thought it would be fun to have the kids rate the books 1-3. 1 = eh, not so much. 2 = Enjoyed it. 3 = Loved it!

Nobody likes a Goblin (Ben Hatke) – The kids enjoyed this book. Meli thought it was adorable that his friend was a skeleton. It is a good book to use to use as an example for stereotypes. No one likes a goblin, but the kids can see that he is a nice goblin.

Meli’s Rating: 2

Colin’s Rating: 2

King Baby – (Kate Beaton) – Meli LOVED this book! I had heard about it on the New York Times Book Review Podcast. I also thought it was a cute book. She thought it was funny that the baby was talking like he is a king.

Meli’s Rating: 3

Colin’s Rating: 3

The Princess and the Pony (Kate Beaton) – This is by the same author as King Baby. I looked for King Baby at the library but it was checked out, so I tried this one. Meli thought it was cool that the princess was a warrior. The horse was also super cute.

Meli’s Rating: 3

Colin’s Rating: NA

Ida, Always (Caron Levis) – This was a very sweet book. I will admit that I teared up. It does deal with death. Colin liked hearing that this was based on the life of two real polar bears.

Meli’s Rating: 2 

Colin’s Rating: 3

Leave Me Alone (Vera Brosgol) – Colin loved that this had her going into outer space. Meli thought it was funny that she could not be alone. They both liked the ending.

Meli’s Rating: 3

Colin’s Rating: 3

Echo, Echo (Marilyn Singer)- I personally love this book! It does poems about Greek myths. So it is a good way to show the stories young. It also does poems that can be read reversely, which are called reverso poems. One side of the page has the poem read top to bottom, then the other side of the page has it flipped. The first reading would be based on one character (like Perseus) and then the reverse poem is from the other character’s side (Medusa). I loved it! I love poetry and am impressed when people can write this style. Especially over 10 poems all on one topic (myths). Colin noticed that there were two other books similar to this Echo, Echo and Mirror, Mirror.

Meli’s Rating: 2 - Meli loved the art - but was not really paying attention to the poems. 

Colin’s Rating: 3 - He loves mythology right now.

A Library Book for Bear (Bonny Becker) - The kids loved the one about the visitor but this one did not grab their attention as well. It may have been an off night. I did not enjoy reading it as much either.

Meli’s Rating: 1 

Colin’s Rating: 1

No Sleep for the Sheep (Karen Beumont) - this one read very well. It tends to repeat the last two sentences each time.  Almost like a song. Meli tends to listen to those more.

Meli’s Rating: 3

Colin’s Rating: 3

Almost...a Six Year Old

Alexandria, VA - 36 Weeks

We are getting ready for Meli’s birthday next month, I cannot believe that she is going to be six! Once they start elementary school, it just seriously flies by and so many changes occur. They seem to transform from little babies to kids overnight. As I tend to do this time of year, I reminisce on my pregnancy with Meli, her birth, and the years we have had. Facebook assists in this with all my time hop pictures.

I love brick 

 My pregnancy with Meli was (in certain aspects) more enjoyable than with Colin. My first pregnancy the morning sickness never seemed to went away. So, with Meli I had the expected 3 months or so and then I was done. No more. I craved food that was abnormal for me to do so with Meli. I surprised Will by requesting a steak dinner more than once! I am pretty sure that was our first time eating at Outback together. I also started to like peanut butter! That one stuck, but the meat cravings did not.

Mama

My position at work during this pregnancy required traveling, which was an interesting experience. I got a chance to see how other countries approach pregnancies. Like in Italy the restaurant owner insisting that I have a liquor shot after my meal (I thanked him and snuck it to my co-worker).  I will say that European airlines treat pregnant ladies so nice! It is like the princess treatment compared to US airlines. At least in my experience. I should note that most of my conus travel was done United Airlines,so I can only really say that about them. I was not treated horrible whatsoever, but a stark contrast to the European airlines I traveled with (a few different ones) throughout my pregnancy.

Love

One of my favorite things about my pregnancy (for selfish reasons) was that my doctor prescribed me to have ice cream every night. This was because once I had reach the time where you typically feel the baby kick and move, I was not feeling Meli. The only time that I would feel her was when I ate ice cream. I was totally OK with this. I love ice cream, but my stomach does not always do well with it. During my pregnancy with Meli, I had a stomach of steel. All my typical triggers for an upset stomach did not seem to bother me. So, I enjoyed my ice cream time guilt-free!

Alexandria

One reason we had to monitor Meli, was that at one point very early on she seemed to have been trying to come way too early.  My doctor kept an eye on her from then on.  This was also due to her discovering with my first birth that my body did not create the best placentas. She had likened my placenta to what they call “Smoker’s Placenta”. Now, from recent lessons-learned – I should clarify. For those who do not know me very well, this DOES NOT mean that I smoked during my pregnancy. It only means that my body creates not so great placentas and like those of someone who chooses to smoke during the pregnancy, mine deteriorate earlier than most. This is not good for the baby. That is why I have had to be induced with both pregnancies. I was not able to sustain both babies in my womb past a certain number of weeks. For some women, they have things that cause it to be difficult to deliver without a c-section, for others producing milk is difficult…For me, creating placentas is not my body’s strength. We all have our things. My doctor even told me after delivering Meli, that “I was built to deliver babies – I just cook them too fast”. Rest assured, I did not smoke at all while pregnant. I have never been what I would call a “smoker” anyways. I was what you would call a “stress smoker”. Meaning I smoked only under extreme stress (like a major break-up or my parents’ divorce) and only in my super early 20’s. I would buy a pack and then maybe buy another one 3 or even 6 months later. I have never had a cigarette while Will and I have been together (which covers both pregnancies). I do not condone smoking while pregnant whatsoever. There was even a young girl who was in the same pregnancy week that I was (IAP) that talked about smoking while pregnant. I am fairly certain that she left the group due to the comments that myself and the other moms made. Not that we were mean, but gave our thoughts and encouraged her to quit. Hopefully that clears up any confusion that maybe out there from my past posts. I hate the thought of people getting the wrong idea of me.

National Harbor

Meli has been such an interesting girl. She is such a free-spirit, stubborn (just like her mom), funny, and a tad grumpy. Her body knows when she needs food (meaning she gets hangry) and she needs her sleep. She definitely dances to the sound of her own drumbeat. I am so glad for the privilege of being her mom. It may have its difficulties at times, but any parent knows that comes with all kids. None of them are very likely to be a cake walk.  I love her difficulties and all. 

Alexandria

One of my faves

Greece, 28 weeks

Italy - 27 weeks - sadly my ownly belly pic from there

I tried to post different pictures than I usually do for post about my pregnancy with Meli. All of the Alexandria pictures and National Harbor were taken by my sweet friend, Amy.

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

Wardrobe Expression

She loves accessories

And my socks

Something that I never thought I would get complimented for as often as I do, is letting Meli wear the outfits she wants. I have had several people (young and old) say “good for you, letting her express herself” or something close to that. At first, I thought maybe it was a way to tease me.  I was not sure if it was kind of related to a “bless your heart” kind of thing. Where it sounds like a compliment, but it really is not.  Like “Oh my, you really let her wear that”... Now, I think it really is a compliment. 

Meli is definitely allowed to show her personality through her daily clothes (and more recently hair) choices. I do not want her to feel that she has to fit into a certain box made up for her. I may not agree with her combinations at times (I do despise red and pink together), but it is what she chooses to put out there and show the world – “this is me”. I wish I would have done that more as a child. I loved bright and a little more out there outfits, but I was so shy that I did not like standing out. My mom would have let me wear what I wanted to, but I learned (somehow) pretty early that I did not want to get attention for standing out.

She asked me to do her hair this way

Now, the only time I use the mommy card for controlling an outfit is on holidays. I still let her pick, but I do make them match a bit more. Mostly, for the sake of my family pictures. If I can get Will to cooperate.

This is Meli on Easter, she wanted to have a polka dot shirt underneath the dress, which I did veto. I did let her wear her little cowgirl boots. I think she did love her outfit even if it was a little more “put together”. She loves long dresses right now. 

                                               ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                       The B Family

3 Ugly Eggs

Our ugly egg contestants

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter weekend. Saturday was a very busy day for us with Will’s band recording all day and then Colin having a soccer game and birthday party. We also threw in a trip to the library and Easter egg decorating.  Even with such a filled day, we enjoyed ourselves.

Meli thought ugly eggs meant they were zombies!

The kids were bummed that Will could not join us for coloring the eggs, but it was still a fun time. At one point, Meli dropped an egg she just finished into another color, which she then thought was ruined. Great Mommy Save: I suggested we have an ugly egg contest between the three of us. Dad would be the judge.

The Eggs

The kids were thrilled to try and make the ugliest egg. Colin’s is on top, then mine, and Meli’s. Will voted mine the ugliest (maybe not to choose between the two, because I am pretty sure Meli’s was). Will said that Colin’s was too cool to be ugly, which made the little guy proud.

Colin's, Mine, and Meli's

We had a lot of fun with this and am sure we will be doing it next year. For some reason, I decided to have the kids dye more than 30 eggs. So, we will be eating hard-boiled eggs at pretty much every meal for a while!

                                                     ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                             The B Family

Charlie's First Outdoor Excursion

Finally! Charlie can go outside! Our vet had suggested to wait since the previous owners had a dog and we did not want to risk exposure to parvo. So, he is fully vaccinated and now able to go on walks, to the park, and free to run in our backyard.

It was very interesting watch him be attentive to all of the different noises and objects. I have never had a dog wait so long to go outside before. He gets a little braver each day. It is neat seeing all of the wonder from a little puppy's perspective.

The cone pictures are from his actual "first walk" and the cone free is once he was done with his healing period.

He loves walking the kids to the bus stop and we were even able to pick them up today when they were dropped off. Such a beautiful sunny day - yay for spring!

                                                     ~ Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~
                                                              The B Family

An Draíocht na Óige (The Magic of Childhood)

“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.” - Elizabeth Lawrence

The title is hopefully a correct translation for "The magic of childhood". I have been thinking about this a lot lately. One of the things I love most about honoring St. Patrick's Day at our house is planning a trap for the leprechaun. Colin really gets in to the planning of it and the possibility of catching one. He is in 3rd grade now, and I know that we may lose this glorious wonder that he carries as a child. The way children look at the world is amazing. What a gift to have for however many years you can stay beneath that veil. Or even luckier if you can carry some of that wonder into adulthood. 

I know some will be astonished that my son still believes in Santa and things like fairies and leprechauns. Although, I do think that he is avoiding really asking himself. I am honest when he ask me questions. I have been fortunate that he has not really asked the "right" ones. Like for Santa, he ask me if I believe. I honestly said that I would love to believe that someone cares enough to try and brighten the day of every child that celebrates Christmas and hopefully the others in different ways. I hope that he carries this as long as possible. Especially in the direction that our country is going. A little hope and cheer is a good thing.

I am truly going to miss this time. Colin's belief in all possibilities is so inspiring to me.  A reminder to be positive, hopeful, and open-minded.  I am not one to get super emotional, but the thought of this chapter ending makes me tear up. What a wonderful period to be a witness too. 

This year we did a simple approach, Parchment paper, maple syrup, and chocolate kisses for bait. Yet again, it did not work. However, the next morning there were little green (we think) footprints on the paper, our toilet water was green again, and some green candy was left.

I hope everyone had a fun St. Patrick's Day!

A Month into it

Charlie has been with us for a little over a month now. I was a little hesitant at first that this was the right decision for our family, especially since Will has never been a “dog person”. I was totally surprised when Will said that maybe a dog would be a good idea. We had been talking about a kitty before Christmas, but I was not super motivated to go for it. I like cats OK, but knowing my kids I want something that would be cuddly and with cats (in my experience) it is hard to tell if they will be as a kitten.

I am glad we waited, because Charlie is a good fit for us. We are still having some growing pains with the potty training and biting/chewing. Potty training will be easier once he can go outside. The end of this month cannot come soon enough. He will be able to use up more of his abundance of energy when he can run his little heart out in our backyard.

It is so cute seeing Will and Charlie together. I think Will is very surprised by how much he loves and enjoys the little guy. Charlie absolutely adores Will. They are buddies who hang out with each other most of the day. So, that is good that the whole love thing worked out. 

                                             ~ Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~
                                                      The B Family

Welcome, Charlie!

Charlie

It only took me 10 years of trying...but we got a puppy!! Anyone who knows my husband, knows that he is not really a dog person. Mostly, because he has never had one and a few bad experiences. He was chased by a big dog as a kid and he had a cousin who had a horrible experience with another big dog. I get where he is coming from, but I LOVE dogs!! To be honest though, I have not really pushed the topic because I needed a break from animals (as much as I love them). I had to say goodbye to my puppy Baxter and cat Citrine after a break-up. Plus, before that I had lost my bunny Foley and had a few other cats that I had to leave with my mom. Growing up I was very fortunate to get my first dog, Sandy, when I was 9 and she passed 21 years later. That is truly unheard of. She had such a long life. By this time, I was needing a break from the sadness. 

But recently...I have been wanting a little pet again. I was so surprised when Will was like, "whatever you think". OMG!! I had to jump on it before he changed his mind. 

We did not tell the kids. When we went to go pick out the puppy, I told them I met some people who said I could bring the kids over for a playdate with their new puppies. They were so surprised!!

Charlie just fits in with us! I can tell that Will has totally fallen for him! He is a "surrendered" dog that was with a foster family. I loved working with Wiggly Tails. They were so helpful with helping us find our perfect fit. Charlie (originally Cupid) has such an adorable personality. 

He loves to cuddle and has a great amount of energy for the kids. I am so glad that we chose to go on this adventure.

Precious

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A Scone Treat

Over the holidays, I found a cute bag of scone mix at World Market (one of my fave stores). There were several flavors but I went with the white chocolate and raspberry. We tried it this morning and it was so easy to make and delicious! It made about 12 scones and my kids ate most of them! Meli is picky and hard to find things she likes.

If you see this brand, I highly recommend!

Our heater is not working, so we opted for breakfast by the fire!

                                                  ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                             The B Family

Sometimes, I have 3 Kids

The kids had a snow day yesterday. I am fairly sure their school year just got a little longer with all of the closed days.

Of course they wanted to go out and play in the snow. So did Will! He actually beat them to it and did this...

I do love his nerdy side.

I have to admit, that I thought I would leave all of the snow days behind in VA. I do not remember having too many snow days during my childhood. I am fairly certain the kids have already had more than I did my whole school career. Or I just blocked them from my memory. I do remember specific ones, and I feel that is partly because they were rare. I like snow, but prefer to go visit and leave. I hate driving to work in it. At least in DC they were experts at plowing and clearing the roads. Oregon...not so much. Actually not at all.

                                                       ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                 The B Family