new backyard visitor

Weird.  I just looked up the official name of this type of bird (turkey vulture) and google took me to an article about how these birds were hanging out near Nathan's rival high school (about 45 minutes from here) in February.  It said that due to our mild winter, they had hung around longer than usual rather than migrating farther south.  The kids and I first saw two at Seth's school in late October when we went to the town Halloween party.  Since then, rarely a week would go by without seeing anywhere between one and eight taking care of the local roadkill.  I was cooking dinner one night and this huge shadow went across the backyard (wingspan is between 5-6 feet).  This big boy perched on our fence, which was kind of scary-looking.  Then it hopped off the back side, and when I was setting the table, he had moved to a post between our yard and the neighbors.  He stayed there the whole time we ate.  Nathan scared him away (but took a plastic baseball bat for protection...it wasn't needed).  

 

testing out their fishing poles

On Wednesday morning we drove over for a sleepover at Gram and Pops' house.  Santa brought the kids fishing poles.  We made a quick run to Walmart to buy worms, and Pops got their poles all set up.  It was probably in the low 50s that day, and the water definitely hasn't warmed up yet.

 But Seth had success!  Fish #1:

 Fish #2:

 Both reeled in by him without any fuss.  Amelia quickly got bored, started playing with the worms, and then had snuggles with Gram.

Seth also did an excellent job catching the overhanging tree branches.  The last time he did it, it got so tangled up that we had to cut down the limb to get it out, and I was pretty sure Dad or I was going to end up in the drink doing it.  And I was pretty sure I was going to be in big trouble if that happened.  We are going to work on casting some more before our next trip to Cary.

That night Bryan and AB came and hung out for the evening.  Thursday was the beginning of our week of whatever that winter nonsense was...it started sleeting when I was leaving Cary, and it was just cold the rest of the week.  It wasn't a very busy trip, but the kids had a lot of fun!

park hopping

Nathan had to work the entire week of spring break, so we had to entertain ourselves.  On  Monday we decided to play on lots of different playgrounds.  We came home for lunch, but were in and out all day.  

 Before we headed home we used a groupon to Ben & Jerry's:

On Tuesday, Kim brought the girls down to play.  I think Kim just had to see with her own eyes that we're okay down here.  The kids played all day.  Kim and I sat on the couch and talked for hours.  Our third-closest Chik-fil-a had an indoor playground, so we went there for lunch.  (Where the kids traded in their kids' meal prizes for, you guessed it, ice cream...my kids had a lot of sweet treats over spring break!)

Easter 2013

We did not go to church this year.  I didn't want to "church shop" on a holiday.  Amelia wore her Easter dress for a few hours, and then changed into play clothes.  Nathan's parents were staying in Charlotte for the weekend and came over for brunch.  Grandma Sarah taught them the finer points of egg fighting, and my kids are sore losers.  Then it was an afternoon of basketball before a small ham dinner.  Nathan about ate himself sick on deviled eggs and carrot cake.  I have officially give up on the corn casserole we usually make.  Here are a couple pictures Grandma Sarah took:

neighborhood egg hunt

Unbeknownst to us, there is a common area by the pond in our neighborhood.  The social committee hosted an egg hunt where each kid was allowed to find a dozen eggs.  We had a great time getting to meet more of our neighbors!

first day of spring break!

We have started a tradition this year, that on the last day of each quarter we drive past our house and head straight to Dunkin Donuts for a celebratory donut.  (I was such a good kid; I skipped my donut AND ran during ballet!) 

 

Only mean moms would make their kids go into school on the first day of spring break.  I had to help count the second round of Boosterthon money, but it didn't take very long, the kids got to play with some other poor PTO offspring, and the librarian had some brand-spankin'-new books that she allowed Seth to read before she put them on the shelves.  (It was so nice to see he's won at least one person over this year...)

 

The kids didn't mind the stop at school, because they knew we were headed to Chuck E Cheese afterwards.  Amelia had leftover tokens from a birthday party, and then I bought one of those lunch/token deals, and we spent a good two hours there.  

Then our next stop was the mall.  Thirty dollars at Chuck E Cheese had seemed like a big expense, but the kids (Seth especially) had a blast, and I think our next two stops made up for it.  Gymboree:  I got Amelia a new shirt.  Retail $23.  Sara paid:  63 cents (that's including tax).  Dipping Dots:  groupon bought last fall.  Ice cream for three with no money leaving my purse that day!

 

At the start of the week, our spring break looked empty, but we filled it up fast!

Beginner's Night

It's official; Amelia will be off to kindergarten in the fall!  The school had Beginner's Night, where the kids got assigned to classrooms to play in, and the parents went to an informational meeting in the gym.  Amelia was thrilled that Hannah was assigned to the same room.  They have all their fingers and toes crossed that they will be together in the fall, but I think there are eight kindergarten classes or something like that.  Class of 2026!

The Wizard of Oz ballet

After Amelia had a big nap (and Seth honestly could have used a nap, but he had some quiet time reading), we went to uptown, got a quick bite to eat, and saw the Charlotte Youth Ballet perform the Wizard of Oz.  It wasn't as good as Peter Pan, but the performers were very talented.  It was pretty long.  Amelia liked it, but Seth was not impressed that it was all dance, no dialogue.

while the sister's away...

...the big brother will thoroughly enjoy having BOTH parents to himself for 24 hours.  We went out to dinner at a classic car-themed burger joint, and then we went bowling.  We bowled four games in under two hours.  Here is Seth's best game (and coincidently the only time I beat Nathan!):

The boys played some Wii, and at 9 Seth headed to bed, but after I read to him, he decided he wasn't sleepy, and next thing you know, he'd crawled into our bed to watch basketball.  That never happens.  At 10 he was ready for bed. 

 Once every five years or so, a boy just needs to have his parents to himself.  :)

Amelia's getaway

With about 36 hours' notice, Amelia was invited to go to Great Wolf Lodge with her BFF.  I was hesitant because she is so fearless, but Nathan said to send her with a disclaimer that she will claim to swim better than she can.  They had a great time, and a tired little girl came home the next day, ready to see her family and to take a big nap. Here are pictures we received while she was gone:

Flat Stanley

(You can read Lisa's version, and see more pictures here.)

 

The second grade read Flat Stanley, and then each student created a Flat Stanley and mailed it to someone.  (Sorry, Lisa, I know one of Seth's classmates sent his to Japan, so you weren't the farthest away.)  Seth's first choice was Lisa, and she agreed to play along.  She let us know he was there by sending us a picture of him standing in the snow (see her first picture).  On day two, Seth left her a voicemail wondering what Flat Stanley was up to.  I asked her if she could go above and beyond the call of duty, and send him a picture every once in a while.  Every couple days she would send Seth updates with a couple of pictures.  Here are some of the pictures I saved that she hasn't already posted on her blog.

 

Flat Stanley's snowman: 

 Ten miles to Canada!  (And three hours to Target!)

 Can you read that?  MINUS 18.  DEGREES.  Not counting windchill.  BRR.

 Snowmobiling:

 At the hockey rink!

I think Lisa and Michael MAY have had a little fun with this project.  As you can see, Flat Stanley got a couple new outfits while he was up there.  Lisa mailed the outfits back to us, and Seth has taken them in to school, so he can show off Flat Stanley's wardrobe when he presents to the class. 

Thank you, Lisa and Michael, for adding a little fun to the end of the third quarter! (And for reminding us that as cold as we were here, you were a lot colder!)

ballet sneak peak

Amelia decided to continue with ballet after her two month trial.  Seth loves going to kid care during it, and I either exercise or sit in the lobby and read a book.  (I prefer to exercise, because otherwise I sit thinking of what I could be doing at home.)  A couple weeks ago, the parents were allowed to sit in during practice.  There is a recital in June, and they have learned about two thirds of their routine.  Here are some of her warm up exercises (pink skirt? wacky hair?  That's her.):

 

science lady, take 2

Amelia's class had their second field trip to the science lady.  This time I drove Amelia and her BFF to/from the field trip.  This time they learn about the five senses.  Here they are doing touch...I think this is the one that was full of cooked noodles: 

 For taste, they sampled pretzels, sugar, and lemons:

 I'm really impressed with the Science Lady, and so glad Amelia has been able to do this this year!

 

St Patrick's Day

We had leprechauns on our minds for three days around here.  Amelia's preschool celebrated Friday morning.  I couldn't resist buying this pink and green shirt made by one of Nathan's high school friends.

The darn leprechaun made a big mess of her classroom, and she loved every minute of it!  I don't know if the leprechaun didn't make it to Seth's school, but he definitely didn't make it to his class.  Saturday night Amelia made this trap:

The leprechaun made a road of blankets upstairs and left a couple shamrocks on the trap.  The kids were not impressed.

Sunday afternoon, Nathan and I went to see Wicked.  It was actually one of my Christmas presents.

It was good, but didn't follow the book at all.  We both like live theater, and hey, it was a date, so we had a good time!

consignment, take 2

I blinked twice and half of March was gone and it was time for the consignment sale at Amelia's preschool.  Last fall I had mainly focused on clothes.  This time there was plenty of clothes, but I also went through the books, toys, and outdoor stuff.  You can't really tell by the picture, but the entire back of the van was full.  

I worked the Friday morning shift again, and I was assigned the drop off desk, which made the four hours go FAST.  I took the kids to the presale on Friday with a short list of things to look for.  Seth and I found some books, Seth got a like-new windbreaker and a chess set, and Amelia got several dresses and a CD player.  A ton of stuff for what I paid.  Late Saturday afternoon I went back for pick-up, and was thrilled all how little I left!  Everything fit in these two bags! 

My check comes next week, and it covers the last month of preschool tuition with play money to spare.  Yippee!

Boosterthon!!!!

We were thrilled when we found out that this school also participates in Boosterthon.  The week before the Fun Run the Boosterthon staff were in the car rider line making the teachers do the Cupid Shuffle.  That in itself was priceless.  This guys (and gals) come to the school and have a big pep rally to get the kids excited to participate, and then over the next week they pop into classrooms to teach core values about real-life people.  And when they're not doing that?  They run errands for the teachers, making copies, picking up lunch...they are just great.  Because Seth's school is so big, there were four fun runs scheduled. Parents are invited to watch the run, so I parked at Amelia's school and walked over to avoid the crowd.  It was freezing!  For the K/1st run, I volunteered to mark laps on the kids' shirts.  There is something very scary about 100 little people running towards you, ready to do as many laps as they can!  There was about a 40 minute break before Seth's group, so I made copies for the second grade teachers and warmed up in the workroom.  I did not "work" Seth's race, instead I was being a mom.  Seth likes being able to talk to me each lap.  But when I got home, I realized I wasn't just his mom.  Only two other parents from his class were there, so I was cheering on every kid I knew on their way around.  And don't let the clear skies fool you, it was freezing that day.  My phone said it was 40 degrees, felt like 31 degrees at the start of Seth's race.  I know that's not cold for some of you, but that's absolutely insane for south Charlotte in the middle of March.   Seth had to work through a stitch this time, but ran 40 laps in the allotted time. 

 Here are the Cheetahs post race!
 
Immediately after Seth's run, it was time for the 4th grade run.  I stayed and marked shirts during that run, then walked back to preschool to pick up Amelia.  The next day I couldn't figure out why my obliques hurt.  Duh!  It was so much fun to listen to all that party music all morning and to see the kids and teachers having so much fun.  My favorite part by far was watching the school's police officer walk laps with every grade the entire time of each run.  I joked with him that he was going to walk over six miles that day, and he said, "Now I don't have to go home and do cardio!"  I have gotten a little more involved at the school, and I've been helping to count the Boosterthon money as it comes in, and the kids raised way more money than the school anticipated.  I'm very excited to see all that money put to good use! 

early spring?

The first couple weekends of March, we thought the groundhog had gotten it right.  This picture was taken Sunday, March 10th.  The kids basked in the sun while we laid pine straw, cleaned gutters, and tore up the flowerbed right behind them.

The next two pictures were taken Saturday, March 16th.  This time Nathan and I were doing stuff in the back yard while the kids enjoyed the nice weather:

meet Chickee

Amelia was the first person in her class to bring home Chickee (the preschool version of Flat Stanley...more on that guy soon...), and she had a very busy weekend when she visited us.  She went to the library, the grocery store, and the park.  On Saturday, she had a big adventure in uptown with us!  Through Nathan's work, we bought discounted tickets to the NC Dance Theater's Peter Pan.  It was fantastic! It wasn't classic ballet, and there was a lot of humor added (without a word being spoken!)  When the Tick Tock Croc was featured, he did the moonwalk and the worm, and during his encore, he danced Gangham style!  We LOVED it.

 

striking a pose

(photography by Amelia)

fish art

(Turn your head sideways. I can't get the picture to rotate.)  This is the only substantial thing Seth has brought home from art this year.  He talked about it for a long time.  Even his Art by Me project was only a pencil sketch of a snowman.