We’re wrapping up another busy weekend at the Turner house! For the kids it’s been three days long.
Hallie stayed home from school Friday to go to Travis’s end-of-the-year party at Shelley Lake. After 2.5 hot hours of climbing, running, and feeding ducks and geese we cooled off with an afternoon of ice skating. Though we got off to a shaky start, both kids ended up doing great. Travis was miles more confident than I’ve ever seen him. And I even had some sore leg muscles the next day, which means I was doing a lot more laps than I’m used to. Read the rest of this entry »
Said over dinner with an enormous, dramatic sigh, “Life is soo tiring!” (She then went on to thoroughly enjoy her ice skating lesson. I guess she had a little energy left.)
Then, at bedtime, “I wish there was nothing but books! No breakfast, no dinner, just nothing but books!” She must have been anticipating enforcement of our “no reading at the table during meals” rule at breakfast, and resenting the time her meals take away from her reading. But when I said, “What, no ice skates? No bicycles? No soccer balls?” she replied, “Well, OK, those things. But mostly nothing else but books.”
Maybe if Hallie didn’t wake up so early to read in bed before the rest of us get up, she’d find life less tiring? Just a thought.
Just as I got home from picking up Evelyn and her bike for some neighborhood riding, it started to rain. Undeterred, the kids and I got on our bikes and Mark got his Rollerblades. We picked up next-door-neighbor Lily and her scooter as we headed for the cul-de-sac. Then it started to pour. We spent the next 20 or 30 minutes getting thoroughly drenched as we rode in circles and did laps around the neighborhood. About the time the sun came out, everyone decide to go inside. Now that we’re all dry we’re making plans to go to the pool. Things seem a bit backwards today, but we’re having fun.
For quite a while, the kids were pretty regular about watching their 30-minute movie each day. Often they’d ask for it as soon as we’d walk in from getting Hallie. And if a busy afternoon kept us from watching one, they’d mope about and wail that they needed to have two the next day.
How times have changed! As often as not, now, we’ll move through an afternoon and evening with no mention of a movie at all. Other times, Travis might ask to watch one and Hallie will say, “No thanks, I’m just going to keep reading.” It may be that they are finally getting tired of the Popular Mechanics for Kids series. They’ve certainly watched them enough times, and we don’t have a lot of other choices. Or it may be that they don’t need that down time as much as they used to. They’ve also gotten better at keeping themselves occupied, Hallie most often with her books and Travis with his cds and his Legos. Whatever the reason, it’s cool to watch.
Yesterday we went on our first family bike ride with four independent riders. It was great! We rode on a flat stretch of the greenway between Atlantic Avenue and Anderson Drive. We probably covered between two and three miles, and the kids were beaming. They still have a bit to learn about greenway etiquette–staying to the right, staying single file, no passing on curves, etc. But they did really well. I look forward to covering more ground on our next outing. Maybe tomorrow?!
Last Saturday night, Hallie and Travis had their first sleep over. They both spent the night at Carson and Emily’s house. Travis and Carson are best buds from school. Hallie and Emily have become friends during several joint family outings.
When Lisa first suggested a foursome slumber party, I thought she was a little nuts. But she insisted, and we found a date that worked. Not only did she and Craig have both kids over, they wanted us to bring them early and leave them late. So, from about 4 on Saturday until 11 on Sunday, Mark and I were footloose and fancy free. Read the rest of this entry »
Until today, Travis had never had a trash can in his room. This wasn’t really intentional. We just never got around to putting one in there, as there were others nearby. He’d asked for one a few times but I never did anything about it.
Today T and I were straightening up the disaster of our playroom, put through its paces during last week’s Carson playdate. When I put some art projects in the attic, I spied a spare trash can and brought it out. When Travis saw it, he went over the moon. “Is that the trash can we’re going to put in my room?” he yelped.
When I said it was, he grabbed it and started dancing around with it, hugging it. At one point he declared, “This is going to be my ninja trash can!” Ninja trash can? Whatever makes a guy happy!
Travis spent the rest of our cleanup time looking for things he could throw away. He was still enthusiastic about it when Mark got home. I’m sure the novelty will wear off, but for now what a day for a guy: Independence on his bicycle and his very own trash can! The mind boggles.
It feels like it took forever. And it feels like it happened overnight. One day we had kids who needed help on their bikes. The next (it seemed) we had kids cruising around the neighborhood on their own while we chatted with neighbors.
The first few evenings we spent watching the kids ride around on their own, I was a nervous wreck. But I’ve gained confidence as they have. They’ve really got it down, now, and it’s a delight to see. (Once I got over being teary-eyed the first time or two.)
Hallie’s balance buddy came off last week, and boy was she delighted. She gleefully presented it to her friend Evelyn, who’s been waiting to borrow it. It felt like a rite of passage.
Last week Travis still needed a little bit of help getting started, so we left his on. Mark took it off tonight, prematurely I thought. But after a time or two with a hand on his seat, Travis was starting and stopping on his own like a pro. And cackling maniacally every time he did it.
By the time I came in to fix dinner, Mark had gotten out his own bike and was cruising around with the kids. We’ll definitely be hitting the greenway this weekend. And maybe posting the trail-a-bikes on craigslist.
Congratulations, Hallie and Travis!
People look at me like I’m crazy when I say I don’t like summer. Apparently that’s a fairly deviant attitude. I’ll admit there are plenty of nice things about summer, especially swimming and the extra daylight. But I’ll take fall, winter, or spring any day.
Spring and fall are generally lovely. And I like sweaters and scarves and bundling up, so winter’s just not that bad. It’s never a problem to add more clothes, but there are only so many you can take off. And being hot just makes me grumpy. I feel more trapped inside during summer than winter in NC, no matter how chilly winter might get.
The things that top my “I don’t like summer” list are sunscreen and mosquitoes. I understand the need for sunscreen. And I’m pretty responsible about using it on myself and the kids. But it’s just a pain! As far as the mosquitoes, I know I’m preaching to the choir. But after having our backyard playtime this evening rudely interrupted and then cut short, I remember just what a nuisance they are.
I’m sure we’ll get into a pattern of sunscreen, bug spray, and baths every night (instead of every other night or “as needed.”) And the pools will open soon. And our yet-to-be planted tomatoes will grow. And the free time with the kids will be fun (for a while at least). But I’m already looking forward to fall.
Hallie had her acting debut, all 5.5 minutes of it, at school this afternoon. Her first-grade class performed Sandra Boynton’s board book Barnyard Dance for a class of kindergarteners and assorted siblings and parents. As the narrator, Hallie had the main part. She did a really good job!
She was excited about getting into her character. Her drama teacher had a cowboy hat for her to wear, so she planned her outfit around that. She asked for cowboy boots, but I wasn’t up for that investment. But she did pick blue jeans, a white shirt, and a bandana around her neck. Combined with her two pony-tails, she looked pretty cute if I do say so myself.
Despite our emphasis on it during her practice at home, she could definitely have been louder. Even a full-out shout would probably have been appropriate. Hallie even said afterwards that she wished she’d been louder. But she paced things well and clearly was enjoying herself. What impressed me most was that she didn’t seem the slightest bit nervous taking center stage.
I’m really glad that Conn has a drama program (at least for now, the way budgets are getting slashed). I hope that’s something Hallie will get more involved in as she gets older.
