Room by room part duex

Let's walk through the rest of my house and decide what needs to be different. What a fun and depressing exercise!!!!

Upstairs

Bathroom
What I like: the color scheme
What I dislike: the blank walls, mismatched sconces and mirror
What I can do: hang something up! change the mirror or the sconces

Our bedroom

What I like: Most everything is finished in this room.
What I dislike: My dresser drawers aren't organized, nor is my side of the closet. The trash can is too tiny and ugly.
What I can do: Get rid of clothes that I do not wear. Put a light in the closet. Clean out the top shelves. Stop being lazy when I put away my own clothes. I put away everyone else's in some sort of order, but I stuff mine in wherever there is room.  Buy a nice trash can.

William and Elliott's room:
What I like: Everything we've done
What I dislike: William doesn't have a nice blanket or sheets. Some empty spots on the walls. The overflowing, always messy bookshelf.
What I can do: Buy William's bedding. Hang up some stuff. Scale down the books.

Hallway
What I like: Nothing.
What I dislike: Blank walls, wall color, ugly mirror that is too small for the wall, disorganized hall closet.
What I can do: Paint, hang family pictures, organize the closet and stop being lazy when I put things in there.

Basement
I can't even start on this one.

Room by room, function by function

When I imagine a comfortable home, I think one of that functional and comfortable spaces. I think our house is missing a little of that. I'm going to go room by room and figure out what could make it work better for our family.  Again, this is a brainstorm.

ROOM ONE: Living room

Our living room is an awkward shape, long and narrow. The door is placed in the middle of the room, so when you walk in you immediately see the fireplace. It wasn't easy to create a seating area.
What I like: The two couches and chair are a good enough seating arrangement. I like having a lamp in between the couches. I like having a small table by the door, and I love our mantel. I am in love with a curio wall shelf I finally bought thanks to the ladies at Ten Maple in Centerville who were gracious enough to call me when they found one. I like our bookcase well enough, although it always seems a little disproportionate with the couches. I like the framed photos above the piano.

What I don't like: I don't like the big blank spaces on the walls. We need more pictures on the wall.  I don't like that the curtains aren't hemmed. I don't like that the photos above the piano are askew. I don't like the photos on the small table by the door. I don't like that the rug shows every bit of dog hair and gets dirty very easily.  I don't like the empty space in the fireplace. I don't like that the side table is a black hole for books and magazines on the bottom shelf.

What I could do: Find art for the walls.  Get someone to hem the curtains. Vacuum and wash the rug. Get a nice basket to go inside the fireplace. Replace the side table.

ROOM TWO: Dining room
FUNCTION: Eating, storing extra plates/dishes, entertaining
What I like: The black table and chairs. The mirror. The walls.

What I don't like: The gigantic expanses of blank walls.  That drives me batty. Not having a nice tablecloth. The unhemmed curtains. Not having a buffet.

What I can do: Pick out art/ photos for the walls. Hem the curtains. Buy a table cloth.
Buy a buffet.

ROOM THREE: Kitchen
FUNCTION: Cooking, eating, working/playing at eat-in table, storing food and plates, etc.
What I like: The color scheme (even if the yellow is the wrong shade). The plate cabinet. The kids cabinet. The three hanging plates.

What I don't like: All of the other cabinet organization systems. The square table (needs to be round) The old picture in the eat-in area (we've had that cliched thing for 10 years.) The floor tile. The pantry. The mess that accumulates on the counter. The blank space above the computer.

What I can do: Reorganize the cabinets. Replace the table and chairs. Get new art for the eat-in area. Find something to hang above the computer. Get a better solution for the junk that piles up on the computer area. Start saving to replace the floor.

ROOM FOUR: The playroom/family room
FUNCTION: Watching TV, playing, reading, relaxing
What I like: The couch. Being able to store toys in the closet.

What I don't like: THE CURTAINS!!!! The disorganized messy looking entertainment center. The big leather chair. The messy closet. The side table. Having the TV visible.

What I can do: Replace the curtains. Organize and clean the closet and entertainment center. Sell the leather chair and replace it with a smaller chair. See if Ikea carries doors that would be able to cover the TV.

ROOM FOUR: Downstairs bath
What I like: The fixtures, the white beadboard, the shower curtain, the alcove

What I don't like: The blank walls, the empty alcove

What I can do: Hang up some pictures, decorate the alcove

To be continued

Sorting clothes: The brainstorm

With three boys, I have the luxury of passing down a lot of clothes.  But with that comes the difficulty of sorting and storing the clothes when they aren't in use.

In their closets/dressers, they will need

Elliott: 4T and 5T summer and fall

William: 2T and 3T summer and fall 

Henry: Newborn, 3 to 6 months fall and winter

I think I will keep the fall and winter clothes in marked containers in the closet and switch them out with the summer clothes in late September. That way it's accessible in case we need jeans and long sleeves in mid-September, but not out in the dressers until we really need it daily.

So that means that in the closets, I will need containers marked

For Elliott: Winter 4T/5T

For William: Winter 2T/3T

For Henry: Winter 3 to 6 months

I will need containers waiting and labeled 

Summer 4T/5T

Summer 2T/3T

Right now, many of those clothes are either in containers in the attic or strewn about in the closet floor. 

Make room for baby: Winter gear

I am 21 weeks pregnant. I can feel the little guy moving around in there right now. I look around and see a house that is so far from ready to handle the chaos of a newborn. So what to do? Clean, fold clothes, declutter a closet? 

No way! 

BLOG ABOUT IT INSTEAD!!!!!!

One thing that is keeping me up at night is thinking about all the winter accessories that we go crazy trying to keep track of - gloves, socks, hats - they disappear on the coldest days of the year. It's particularly frustrating for Tim. I might just wrap a kid's hand in a warm sock in a pinch, but he prefers the actual glove.  Gotta give him credit for desiring some sense of normalcy. 

So, with a baby due in mid-November, I am thinking about how to get all of the winter gear in place before Nov. 1.  Tonight I made a list of what each boy needs for winter.  I'll start shopping our own closets as well as stores to try to get these items in place sooner than later.  I'm thinking about creating a zip bag for each child with hats, gloves, extra socks, and long underwear and attaching it to the hanger with their winter coat. 

The baby will need his own set of winter gear: hats and gloves and a warm cover for the car seat (which I think we have). 

Other winter essentials to have in place. Ready. go.

* Car ice/snow scraper

* Salt for the driveway

* Warm throw blankets for the downstairs

* Hot chocolate mix (duh)

Next up: Christmas planning in July

Basketball q&a

Elliott keeps an old basketball trophy of mine in his room. He sometimes sleeps with it. Tonight he got it down from his shelf and put it in his bed. Just as I was about to pray with him, he said "Let me do it." I thought he meant pray. "No, I just want to talk about it." He meant the trophy. This ensued:

Why do you jump when you shoot? Why do you bend your knees to shoot? Why do you wear those shoes? Why do you shoot the basketball into the basketball hoop? Why did you win this? What did you say when you won the game? What did you say before you won the game? Why did Daddy get me this bed? I don't like beds. I want to sleep on the floor. How fast did you go when you dribbled the ball? Where is the blanket with you playing basketball on it? Why did we stay in the place with no stairs last night? (a hotel room)

He might be on his way to being a reporter ...

The first time we met

William is going through some separation anxiety issues, so he is crying at bedtime. Tonight Elliott came downstairs from his bedroom and said "Mommy, William needs you!" I knew Elliott wouldn't be able to go to sleep with William still crying, so I just brought E. up into my lap to wait with me. We were sitting at the computer, so we pulled up the pictures of his birth (not his actual entry, rest assured!) We have an iPhoto album of pictures of the two of us together for the first time, minutes after his birth, as well as him with various family members later that day. He loves hearing me tell him about the first time we met. He also loves looking at himself as a newborn and seeing who all came to see him when he was born.

What a joy to look at these pictures with him. I'm finding more and more as a parent that the best moments are spontaneous. These childhood years are fleeting, and we often have to steal moments when we can get them. Sure, he should have stayed in his room, but had I forced him back upstairs, I would have missed out on a very sweet 10 minutes with him looking back at those newborn pictures and reinforcing to him, in many ways, of how loved he has been from his first minutes on the planet. (William stopped crying in 10 minutes, by the way. He used to be such an easy sleeper, now he is fighting tooth and nail to stay up).

I certainly value routine and schedules, but I delight in the moments that come when I can just focus on the child and not worry about the time or what I think I "should" be doing. I've had to remind myself that no parenting police are going to come barging in at 8 p.m. asking why my children aren't asleep yet.

(Is it ironic that I am writing about this in the context of another child crying it out alone in his bedroom? Let's not spend too much time thinking about that one ...)

Random kid quotes I don't want to forget

Elliott, sitting on the toilet before bed but acting disobedient. Tim threatens to spank him if he doesn't stop.

Elliott: "You can't. My butt is hidden."

Before bed discussing our sleeping arrangements when we visit my family:

Elliott: Don't leave me in the room alone at Granny's.

Me: What if William is there with you?

Elliott: No, I need a grown up.

Me: Why?

Elliott: That's what friends are for.

Random variation of William's constant declaration of himself as our "baby."

Me: You're my buddy, William

William: No, I'm rabbit's baby.

Me: Who is rabbit?

William: Daddy.

Another William conversation, oft-repeated:

Me: Who is your mommy?

William: Tracy

Me: Who is your daddy?

William: Boo Boo

London highlights

I would like to post a nice long entry about our trip, but after trying to tell that bird story I am so finished with writing. Here are a few pictures. None of these are really the best of the photos Tim shot while we were there, but these stand out in my memory:

(Above) At the Royal Observatory, a display asked visitors to contribute a story their own story of when "Time Stood Still." I was moved by this one.
(Above) At the Tower of London. Most definitely one of the most interesting parts of our trip. We could have stayed much longer, but it was raining and we had to get back to our hotel to check out.

(Above) At Kensington Palace. What a gorgeous place.

Eating lunch at a gastropub called Norfolk Arms. Best meal of the trip.

(Above) Random touristy picture. I loved the red telephone booths and mailboxes.

The bird story

I just spent nine days on my first international trip. I could share so much. But instead, I bring you the story of the dead bird, also known as "What can go wrong in 30 minutes."

On Monday, I came home from a neighborhood Bible study around 9:30 p.m., took out the trash and made a quick trip to the grocery for dog food. I lazily left our recycling trash can, which fits under our sink, outside. My hands were full with the dog food. But mainly, I was lazy.

Tuesday came. The trash can remained outside. Wednesday came. The trash can stayed outside.

I thought about bringing it in. I knew I should just go grab it.

But by this point my strange neurosis had kicked in and stood between me and the trashcan.

I couldn't bring myself to actually go get it because I was so guilty about not bringing it in when I should have on Monday night. I tend to avoid situations that I know I should have already addressed (returning an overdue call, mailing a late bill, taking a year-old pile of clothes to the dry cleaner). (If any psychologists are reading this, I welcome your diagnosis in a private message). I have greatly improved in this area when it comes to most major things (work, bills, library books). But still, it can creep up on me ... and in this case, it did.

So on Wednesday morning, the kids and I walked out to the car. I noticed a small bird perched on the side of the recycling trash can. It was just frozen there on the side. I was a little (okay, a lot) freaked out. But I am trying to not raise my kids to be afraid of animals so I bravely marched past it, waiting for it to fly away at any moment. I walked by, Elliott walked by, and even William, carrying a baseball bat, walked by the bird. It stayed perched there. I watched it as we backed away .... still sitting right there.

When we returned a few hours later, the bird was walking alongside the house just a few feet away from the trash can.

Fast forward a few hours, and I took out the trash. I glimpsed inside and THERE WAS THE POOR BIRD in the bottom. I wasn't sure if it was dead or alive because as soon as I spotted it I shrieked and ran away.

I went out later. Flies swarmed. The bird was definitely dead.

I hoped that Tim would take care of it when he got home, but I also thought he might refuse to do it because I had left the trash can outside.

I waited until Tim was finished with dinner to tell him about the bird. As I suspected, he said "Wow, what are you going to do about that?" I half-begged him to take care of it. I didn't know how to deal with a dead bird, not to mention the fact that I was deathly afraid of approaching it. He said he hadn't dealt with a dead bird either. I threaten to hire a teenage neighbor to come deal with it. He didn't say anything. I was a little annoyed, but I felt like this was my responsibility given that I had left the trash can out in the first place.

I called my grandmother for support. I put Kroger bags on my hands and grabbed a trash bag. I stood in the yard gathering my courage. Elliott called me over to look at some broccoli plants. My granny told to quit wasting time and just do it. I walked close and shrieked. Finally, I approached it again, flipped the trashcan over into the garbage bag and let it sit there. I couldn't bring myself to actually shake the contents of the can into the bag and close it. I finally did it, but the bag was kind of disgusting and I knew I needed another bag before I could put it in the trash. My neighbor Joe happened to be in the yard so I solicited his help. He got another trash bag for me and held it open while I put the bird body bag into it. I thought I felt the bird move in the bag. I start to think about my friends who rescue the poor hurting animals they find ... and here I am suffocating a half-dead (half-alive?) bird. What kind of person am I?? But I digress ...

I finally drop the bag into the trash, and catch up a little with Joe. I feel my legs starting to itch uncontrollably. In this time, I have gotten at least five bug bites that were swelling and turning my legs bright red. Then, William comes running up in hysterics. I pick him up, but he wiggles back down. I ask him what is wrong and he starts to pull down his diaper. He has a dirty diaper ... but his reaction was much more intense. I rush him inside - my legs still on fire - and pull down his diaper. He screams when I start to wipe him up. He is bright red in the nether regions ... screaming and thrashing around on the changing table. I call my grandmother back (she's kind of a crutch in this whole story, right?) and she tells me to get him in the bathtub. I run water, rummage for bug bite medicine for myself and realize that my best bet is some Aveeno oatmeal bath stuff. I get William in the tub and start making a paste for my legs with the Aveeno. Finally I get a bit of relief. William, on the other hand, can't even sit down in the water. I remember that I have some A&D ointment for him in his diaper bag ... in the car. Then I hear the rain pounding the window. It is now pouring. I take him downstairs, naked, and put him on the couch with Elliott (who is now eating an apple he wasn't supposed to have and something else that I can't remember now). I scrounge around for a rain coat and shoes, and now William is crying again so I have to take him outside with me to the car.

A while later, we are upstairs and I have everyone calmed down. Tim gets home from praise band rehersal. I recount the past two hours. He looks at me in surprise. He had just been joking about the bird. He had been planning to take care of it all along.

Head, desk.

However, it did reinforce the power of natural consequences when disciplining children. Despite my fear of dealing with animals dead or alive, it was my problem to solve. I will NEVER leave the recycling can outside EVER AGAIN. If Tim had taken care of it for me, I might not have learned my lesson. I know I'll always remember the dead bird whenever I decide whether to bail out one of the kids or let them deal with the natural consequences of their behavior.

Car rides

A glimpse inside a car ride:

It's not uncommon for us to see Mickey Mouse, Chip n' Dale, glittery women or gorillas on the side of Far Hills Avenue trying to draw attention for apartment complexes, jewelry stores or whatever retail establishment decided it was wise to have someone look foolish to attract customers.

Today we saw Mickey with a sign around his neck advertising "Free First Month Lease!" After some concern/exclamation about Mickey having a sign around his neck, Elliott said he was going to look for Mickey's Clubhouse. So he started looking at the clouds. He "found it" but apparently the clubhouse in the clouds was missing an ear. A few minutes later he "found" the missing ear. I said "You're a regular cloud detective (dorky I know). His ever-so-cocky reply: "Yep, that's why I'm smart."

Then he decided to find something else in the clouds. He found "Mom Mom" (Tim's mom). Sure enough, the cloud did look like a person. A headless, one-footed person. Elliott then had to look for her head and her lost foot. I was thankful they weren't too far away.

Elliott talks most of our car rides. Poor William struggles to get in a word. But today, he mustered all of his verbal skills, and repeated a line Elliott often says: "Red is my favorite color." You could hear the concentration as he tried to say the full sentence. It wasn't even his normal tone of voice. Of course, this led to some discussion about whether they could both have the same favorite color. I think I prevailed.

Mall play areas

We spent some time in Columbus this week, including a stop at Polaris to let the kids burn some energy at the mall play area.

It's one of the nicest I've seen, sponsored by the Columbus Zoo with a huge tree in the middle and tons of fun animals to climb.

But that night it was truly a zoo.

It was crowded. But that wasn't the main issue. There were tons of older children riding roughshod everywhere. One group in particular, whose dad watched and only once intervened, was particularly zealous. They worked together to push one of the animals across the entire play area, using it as a boost to get up in the tree. A mother stepped up to get the dad (who I swear was wearing jegging capris) to intervene. Once he did, he allowed the kids to push the giant hippo head back across the entire place to its spot while he went back to his seat.

I let William and Elliott keep playing through all of this wackiness, although I should have probably left. But I wanted them to be able to run and play for a while and didn't feel like we should have been the ones to leave.

Then a second group of older kids stormed the place while their mothers sat on some couches far across the mall. If your children are old enough to go in alone, they are too old to be in there!

We survived, but with the level of chaos in that "zoo" there could have been some serious injuries.

Will they match????

We signed Elliott up for preschool this fall in a small and simple preschool down the street from our house. He has been quite excited to point to the church where the preschool meets each time we pass it.

Unfortunately, the church could no longer afford for the school to operate in its building. This was a big bummer for us because the location was the driving factor for us to choose the preschool, or really even to send him to preschool this year at all.

The preschool director scrambled and was able to move the school to a different church in our city.

I waited until I knew the exact location of the school to tell Elliott that it would be in a new place. We found out today.

I told him and his face dropped. He had several questions, but the most puzzling to me among them was "Will it match?"

"What do you mean? Will it be the same?"

"Yes, will it have the dog?"

Finally I remembered that the old location had a Snoopy window decoration facing the street.

I really doubt that Snoopy will make the trip to the new school, but I said that I didn't know.

I asked if he'd like to drive by the new school. He finally agreed it would be a good idea. I drove up the street to the front of the building, which is a striking Episcopal church on the northwest end of Oakwood . I said "It's really pretty isn't it?"

"No," he said. "It doesn't have a dog."

exercise update

I loaded up the boys and went to the gym yesterday only to see the entire nursery gutted.

I was shocked.

I had no idea they were planning renovation work. Last week when I joined, no one mentioned that the nursery would be closed for two weeks. No one mentioned it when I bought a child care pass.

Apparently, they didn't know that the work was going to start. The architects designed the room too small, so now it has to be fixed. That's great, and I look forward to leaving the kids in a bigger space.

But to say that I was derailed by this is an understatement. For someone who struggles to start and maintain an exercise routine, having to miss an entire week in the second week of it is very dangerous. I'm not quite sure what I would have done differently had I known about the nursery construction, but I am pretty sure that knowing would have kept me from crying in the lobby in front of the staff ... that I will have to see again when I return! They did give me four extra weeks on my annual pass and a free childcare card ($18 value).

I can figure out some other way to exercise, but we don't have a DVD player, the kids aren't reliable in the stroller (which is a regular one and not an easy-t0-push jogging stroller anyway), and I'll be on my own with them until Friday so I can't duck out in the evening unless I hire a sitter.

Okay, I'm done complaining now.

What I can do:

Purposely run around with them outside

Exercises in the house or yard

Watch how much I am eating

Stay off my bum as much as possible during the day

Keep focused on the next time I am going to the gym, which is either Friday or Saturday

Web round up

Think your slip and slide is cool? Try this backyard splash pad featured on Ohdeedoh

Will someone build one of these for me?

The boys bowled for free this week. If you haven't heard of this offer, check out the kidsbowlfree.com. It's legit and easy to sign up. Kids bowl free, just buy the shoe rental (and, if you are me, some french fries)

Exercise

I joined a gym yesterday. I am beyond out of shape. Since August, I have gained 20 pounds. This gym has childcare, so that can't be an excuse. And with my pass, I also have access to a fitness room and walking track that's even closer to my house that I can use when Tim is home to watch the kids.

Even though the working out will certainly help, I also must start making better eating choices. I really hate preparing meals, so sometimes I'll just make something for the kids and not eat. Then when we are out I'll be starving, so I'll go through a drive-thru and get something stupid like Tim Bits. I also tend to get Starbucks or some other kind of treat on the days that I work outside the house. I'm not sitting down to super sized extra value meals, but the series of small high-calories items is enough to keep me piling on weight, not to mention the overall health impact of those kinds of foods.

The bad thing is that I am fairly unmotivated to work out or eat better. In fact, when I think of eating better, I can only visualize the world's largest donut. No joke. I saw a woman, probably in her early 50s, in the grocery store the other day. She was a bit overweight, but looked very elegant in her clothes. Granted, these aren't clothes that are appropriate for a 30-year-old woman. But I actually thought, I wish I could just be in my 50s and it would make sense if I wore those clothes and was that size! There is something wrong with that mindset!

So, let's consider the huge motivators for me to get in shape:

* Long term health. I really don't want heart surgery. It would be embarrassing to develop a health condition just because I couldn't stop eating trash in my 30s.

* Clothes. If I can lose at a minimum 20 pounds, I will be back into the land of easier shopping. I already face the challenge of being tall and having giant feet, so adding plus size shopping into the mix makes it a hellacious experience to go near a mall.

* Child-free time to work out. I have two hours child care whenever I go to the gym. HELLO!!! Why am I not there right now??

* More energy. I know that exercise and healthier eating will give me more energy, which would be a nice perk given that I have two energy monsters in my care.

* General self-esteem. I don't like being overweight. I might never be super slim, but I can at least lose the weight I've gained this year.

My mother-in-law has done a fabulous job of losing and keeping off weight for several years now. She has gone with Weight Watchers, smaller portions and working out. It's both healthy and sustainable. I can't decide if WW would be a good choice for me. The point system seems like something I would fail miserably. It suits her personality, though, and has worked well for her.

I weigh 218 pounds. Last June, I was losing weight and falling into the mid 190s (walking a ton, still nursing William, etc). That's not skinny, but it's not a terrible weight for me. I thought I might be on my way to my goal weight of 170 pounds. Unfortunately, instead of losing 20 pounds I gained it. I went back on birth control when I stopped nursing, I developed a several month long sinus infection/allergies and I kept deluding myself into eating more and more to try to get rid of the headaches. Then I stopped walking since it was winter and also the boys really hate the stroller. Then the holiday season came, followed by a long winter and rainy spring, and here I am.( I didn't join the gym because we didn't want to spend the money. Obviously I should have).

I am going to avoid focusing on the numbers at first. My initial goal is to go to the gym at a minimum of three times a week and eat fewer sweets. I am going to make an appointment with a trainer to get a workout routine going.

Maybe I'll update the blog with some progress. Here's hoping it's progress in the right direction!

Mysteried it

One of the most interesting things of being a parent is watching your child learn to speak. Lately Elliott has come up with hilarious uses of words.

Today he picked up a little thing that falls from our tree. He peeled back the layers to show me that there is a seed inside. I asked him if someone showed him the seed or if he discovered it on his own. He said he "mysteried it." I love this because it is obviously his attempt to say that it was a mystery to know what was inside, and he found out.

Then, later in the evening, he changed into his UK jersey to play basketball outside. William didn't put on his. When they started to play, Elliott proclaimed that William was a "misser" because he didn't have on a jersey, and Elliott was a "goaler" because he was wearing his jersey. William promptly made a shot, disproving the magic jersey theory. Elliott pushed him away and reminded him that he was a "misser." Poor little brother.

Music

Some thoughts on music:

* Elliott and William constantly beat box. I couldn't get Elliott to calm down for bed last night because he couldn't stop beat boxing. I love it. This is much better than their knock knock joke obsession. They are fairly limited in their beat box stylings at this point, but I predict big things. I'll post a video as soon as I figure why the one I have won't post.

* I've tried to be careful about what kind of music the boys hear. There's no reason for them to be hearing adult-themed music as toddlers and preschoolers. However, Elliott really loves our new Over the Rhine album. He especially loves "The Laugh of Recognition" and "Oh Yeah, By the Way," which aren't racy, but deal with life issues well beyond his years. He doesn't pick up on it, and it's nothing that would get him in trouble if he repeated it in public. It's just funny to hear him singing along to it in the backseat. His favorite line is "Goodbye yesterday, goodbye yesterday," which is part of "Oh Yeah, By The Way, " a very melancholy song about a lost love.

Speaking of the Over the Rhine album "The Long Surrender" ... they are brilliant lyricists. I have some all-time favorite lines on this album:

From "All My Favorite People are Broken":

"All my favorite people are broken/believe me/my heart should know/

Skeptical dreamers/orphaned believers/ step forward

You can stay right here/You don't have to go"

From "Undamned" (notice the themes of grace here)

"I’ve got a thousand lost songs
(Far too many they just got away)
I’ve done a thousand things wrong
(Far too many for me to name)
But I’m not too far gone
To fall
Headlong
Into the arms that love me"

And from Days Like This:

All I wanna do is live my life honestly
I just wanna wake up and see your face next to me
Every regret I have I will go set it free
It will be good for me

* But, the hands-down favorite in this house among the under 4 set is "Hello Everybody." This is the theme song for Music Together, a music class for children. We have done it twice before William was old enough to have to tuition, which made it too expensive :(. William is a "Hello Everybody" fanatic. He will seriously sing it in every tone and voice at just about any time of day.

* Made up songs. Elliott has a classic song called "I love fireworks!" (He doesn't). William likes to repeat anything Elliott sings and then add his own special "Oh yeah!" to the end. It's his unique twist.

I'll have to record some of this soon, lest I forget it.

Family photos ... thanks Kelly!

We snagged a great deal with Kelly Crabtree Photography to support some friends who are going on a missions trip to Trinidad this summer. Here are a few of the results:

Summer to do list

First a song to set the mood:

June Hymn by The Decemberists

1. Go swimming. This seems pretty obvious to most people, but our family NEVER makes it to the pool. Seriously last summer we went for the first time all summer on the last day of Kettering Rec Center's pool.

2. Hike more. We have beautiful parks in Dayton. It's much cooler under the canopy of trees than in the direct sun, too, so we ought to spend more time hiking and exploring the woods.

3. Natural play areas. Five River Metro Parks turned me on to this idea. They've cleared invasive plants at several locations to create special children's natural play areas. Natural play areas can be found at Englewood Metro Park's Patty Shelter; Sugarcreek Metropark near the main entrance trailhead; and at Hills and Dales near the White Oak Camp. I plan to check out Hills & Dales very soon (maybe today) so give me a buzz if you want to go with us there sometime.

4. Get to know our neighbors. Block parties are very common in our community. I've pulled the paperwork to have one on our block. It requires getting the approval and signature of every home owner on the block. I have to get moving on that one.

5. Do more things as a family during the week. Summer is full of fun opportunities, but they are often get relegated to the weekend - which means crowds and in general, a lack of time to get to all of the fun stuff. Tim has scheduled a few days off throughout the summer so we can get out and play during the week. I am so thankful he is willing to make his family a priority and take the time to spend with us.

6. PATIOS! I love eating outside in the summer. Dayton has some really great patio restaurants: Thai 9, Dublin Pub, El Meson. I want to make it to El Meson at least once this summer.

7. Pick strawberries. We have never been berry picking, but I really hope to do it this summer. Our boys love strawberries, so I think we'll start with that.

That's all for now ... what do you want to make time for this summer?

Typing his name, the modern child

Elliott can write his name with a little help, and often the letters are a bit wonky. But he has recently discovered that he likes to type his name. I pull up a Word document and let him type it. He then likes to "sweep" it away with the delete/backspace key. Then he always wants to type his friend Sarah Beth's name, but he gets a little distracted after the S-A-R and trails off into a bunch of keyboard nonsense.

Still, it strikes me as sign of the times when your preschool-aged child can peck out his name on the keyboard but can't really write it with a pencil. Maybe he'll text me before he can write me a note ...