Spring Music Program

Tonight was the school spring music program. The kids did a great job, and seemed to have a lot of fun. Especially Keely, who just loves being on a stage :) The theme of the program this year was Broadway hits, and Keely's class did Singin' in the Rain and two baseball themed songs. This clip is from "Seventh Inning Stretch", and it really captures how much fun Keely is having up there. I even think she looks directly at our camera at one point, even though she didn't know where we were sitting.

Quinn's class sang Supercalifragilistic etc. from Mary Poppins and this song called "I Want to Be Happy". The cutest part is when they all pull out kazoos and play a verse with them. And you can tell it doesn't take much to get parents to say "awww..." about their kids :)

It was a nice program, but they changed the format from last year and each grade left when they were finished singing, so no one got to see each other. Then they made them go back to the classrooms, where they put on movies and let them eat sugary snacks, and drink root beer...so that we could take them home and try to put them to sleep! Okay, that's my gripe but I hope you enjoyed the videos!

The Last Hurdle

While I was on the subject of Keely last week, I meant to discuss a milestone that she finally seems to have achieved. But first, I must make a confession -- one that mothers don't always like to admit, and will often stretch the truth about -- in order to look like better parents. I am guilty of letting Keely sleep in our bed, and not just for a short period of time, but for years. She must have started shortly after she was moved into her twin bed, when she was just about 2 years old. I am not certain that she slept in our bed consistently since that time, but I do know that it had become a quite regular habit. You see, I like my sleep. No, I mean I really like my sleep (just ask my dad how I used to yell at him for trying to wake me up at 11 AM on a Saturday!). Keely always started out in her bed, falling asleep on her own. But at some point in the night, she would come into our room and I would pick her up and put her in the middle of us. Most times, I would have no memory of this and then would wake up hours later extremely uncomfortable because I am now squeezed on the edge of the bed because of the girl next to me. I was rather inconsistent about bringing her back to her room, and when I would try she would throw an absolute fit. I would usually cave and then we would end up back in my bed. I even tried a stint of laying in her room with her, but it was (a) uncomfortable and (b) I could not leave her room without her waking up so then (c) we would end up back in my bed again. It was a vicious cycle, and I really felt like it would never end. She would always wake up (for the day) in my bed, and there were very few nights that I could remember that she ever stayed in her bed all night. We saw the doctor for her kindergarten shots and she told us of a method to try. Keely understood what we were talking about, and kept telling me she could do it because she is a big girl now. But in the end, she had to do it on her own time and her own way. I can now proudly say that the past two weeks or so, she has slept in her bed all night and most of those nights, we have not seen her in our room until she either woke up in the morning (and by that, I mean 7 AM) or I had to wake her up for school. Even the nights that she has come into our room (now measurable because they are rare occasions), she has gone easily back into her bed and it's just one time a night. I can assure you also that I had virtually nothing to do with this new behavior, except that I became more vigilant about bringing her back to her bed. I wonder how long it will take me to get used to waking up to my alarm clock and wondering why I haven't seen Keely since I put her to bed :) And now that I have sufficiently jinxed our new routine, I will stop talking about it.

Gooooooal!

Quinn's team had their second soccer game this morning. And I do mean morning, bright and early at 9 AM on a cold, rainy day. Thank goodness it wasn't raining, but the field was slick and we were all freezing after being out there for an hour. The boys played well, absent the first quarter when they just didn't seem to be awake yet. And the most exciting -- Quinn scored the first goal of the season in the 4th quarter today! Of course, I missed how it actually developed because I was subbing kids in and out (coach duties!). But I did look up in time to see him in front of the goal, and then kick it in. It was so exciting, not just for Quinn and us as his parents but all the other kids and parents. They had been very close to scoring throughout the game, and really Quinn was just in the right place at the right time. As my dad liked to say when he was my coach, "You're knocking on the door, now open it!" (along with "I'll rip the shirts right off your backs!" but that's a story for another day, or not any day at all lol). In laymen's terms, it means you have had lots of chances to score, but just haven't gotten one in yet. Anyways, it was amazing how my adrenaline was flowing from Quinn scoring, and seeing the team play well. I think I may have been a bit too harsh about 7 year old soccer, because today things really worked well and you can see them learning. I'm officially a soccer mom, now I just have to refrain from yelling at the referees :)

Also, Quinn finally pulled out his loose tooth last night. The Tooth Fairy didn't have change for a $5 bill so that's what he got...definitely his most for a tooth yet, and hopefully not a precedent because that's not what he will be getting every time. So it was a good day for Quinn!

5.5

Today is Keely's 1/2 birthday...she is now halfway to 6! As James pointed out, her last 6 months were a whole 10% of her life, so that's a pretty big deal :) To celebrate, we made cupcakes when we got home. Funfetti cake mix, with strawberry frosting (because it is pink of course!) in case you were wondering. For Quinn's cupcake though, he demanded white frosting because he doesn't like strawberry (he's his Mama's son, that's for sure!). We even lit some candles, and they made wishes....Keely for a pool in the backyard this summer, and Quinn for his extremely loose tooth to fall out. Quinn's will inevitably come true because that tooth is hanging by a thread but Keely's, well we will see. Here they are, posing with cupcakes and candles.
Quinn is now sporting his summer buzz cut, the easiest haircut for boys and the only way he doesn't have bed head every morning.
Happy 1/2 Birthday, Sweet Keely :0)

TV Turnoff Week

Today was the first day of what the kids' school calls TV Turnoff Week. We have pledged to stay the entire week, until next Monday without the TV being turned on in our house. Let me say that we do not watch a lot of TV, especially during the week. The kids wake up and watch for 30-45 minutes while eating breakfast and getting dressed for school. That's it for the week, then Friday night we have movie night. On Saturday and Sunday, we usually watch some TV in the late afternoon and evenings. Oh, and I forgot that we have starting watching some TV on Thursday nights because the kids (and us too) like The Office and the new show, Parks & Recreation. James and I will usually watch TV from 9-10:30 PM, at which point I fall asleep sometime during the news and we go to bed. So let's calculate -- total of 20 hours max for the week. This morning was the first and I have to say it was quite pleasant. By the time I got downstairs, Quinn was all dressed and had already eaten breakfast (made entirely by himself...a bowl of cereal, but still all by himself). He helped James with feeding Callie, and then me making his lunch too. Keely ate breakfast at the counter and I helped her get dressed. All in all, it was a much calmer morning. I didn't have to fight for their attention from the boob tube. I didn't have to raise my voice once, and I even had time to eat breakfast. I think this might just be a change we make for good, not just this week!

At Long Last

Quinn had his first soccer game on Saturday, 3 weeks late. The good news is that they will be making up the two rained (I mean, snowed) out games at the end of the season. The bad news is that it is supposed to rain again this Saturday :( Ah, Spring is such a fun season!

The team played well in their first game. Quinn played goalie, offense and midfield. He proclaims offense to be his favorite, as most kids do because that is where the glory of scoring goals usually originates. He did well and had fun, the most important part. Technically, they lost 1-0 but it was really a close game. As a parent and coach, it was particularly frustrating for me to watch kids that age try to play some semblance of the sport. I should clarify that as a parent who has played soccer, and one who played until I was nearly 22 and a senior in college, that it was particularly frustrating to watch. I played when I was 7 or so, but it is so hard to remember what that level of soccer looks like. I have now figured out why parents get so excited to watch their kids play in middle and high school...because they have likely suffered through years of watching them when it really doesn't look like soccer at all. Oh well, I am glad that they did well and had fun, and I will have to put my frustrations aside for the time being :)

Book Reviews: Gathering Blue and Messenger

Catching up on my two most recent reads, I finished out the trilogy by Lois Lowry that I first reviewed with The Giver. The second book in the series is called Gathering Blue. It is a totally separate book from the first, dealing with another strange village but this time a little girl who has a magic gift. It was not as dark as the first book, but did leave some unanswered questions for the third book. It also started out a little slowly, and I really didn't get into it until halfway through and then I could not put it down.
The last in the series, Messenger, ties the first two together (so I would really recommend reading them in order). The characters from the first and second book are both in this one, although the story really centers on a supporting character in the second book. I read this one pretty fast, as it was interesting and I wanted to see how it all wrapped up. I would say after reading the three that the first is definitely the best but the two were also interesting. For those of us that read Lois Lowry as kids, this is a whole new side to her that I think is worth delving into. They are quick reads, and they would be good to read with your kids aged 10-12 or so (or at least I think they would even though I have no kids that age).