Bunny Cakes and Tea Parties

These days, when I know there will be a holiday party sign up sheet at our pre-school, I find myself rushing to get there early to have first dibs. Because, who would want to bring grapes or baby carrots or juice boxes when you could do something like this:


It's even better that the buddies can help me create the goodies. We happily spent our afternoon today listening to music while baking and decorating bunny cupcakes.


We ran out of time to make dinner so we had an impromptu tea party dinner on the back deck. Both boys told me the tea (a root beer from waaaay back in the fridge) was yucky and requested water and milk.

Eggs

A few eggs were dropped, and then very quickly peeled and eaten, during our dyeing process. So, not quite a dozen for each boy. I bet we'll have even fewer left come Easter morning.

A Firefighter's Diet

After our egg hunt and park play date this morning, the buddies and I stopped off at Subway for a quick lunch. You can't beat a foot long sandwich, on freshly baked whole wheat bread, with extra veggies, for $5, that can feed all three of us! As an added treat, during our meal, 3 Round Rock firefighters stopped in to have lunch. I pointed them out to the buddies as we ate and the firefighters stood in line at the counter. Our conversation went something like this:

Ben: Firefighters! I didn't know firefighters ate lunch!
Me: Of course they eat lunch! They're people, just like us.
Ace: Yeah, Benny. They usually eat lunch at a meet.
Me: A what?
Ace: You know. At a meet. When they get together to learn about safety or talk about the rules or watch a video.
Me: Oh, a meeting. Yes, sometimes they eat together at the station at a meeting. But, I bet these firefighters were out on a call because their truck is in the parking lot.
Ben: Do you think they ordered extra vegetables for energy?
Me: I bet they did. Definitely. Firefighters eat lots of growing foods.
Ace: Do they eat candy?
Me: Well, sure. I bet they do sometimes. But, mostly they probably eat growing foods.

And on and on...

Then, as we were leaving:

Ace: Look Mom! That firefighter is getting water!
Me: He sure is. Water is good for us.
The firefighter laughed and waved at us.
Ace: Do you eat candy?
Firefighter: What?
Me: He wants to know if firefighters eat candy.
Firefighter: (laughing) I eat candy sometimes. But, when I do, it's just a little. And, I always brush my teeth afterward.

And then we left. Because it just couldn't get any better than a firefighter telling my boys to eat just a little candy and brush their teeth.

Easter Egg Hunt #2

We met our playgroup friends this morning for our 3rd annual Easter egg hunt. Some of our hunts in the past have been free-for-alls, with the moms evening out the baskets once the kids had lost interest. Not so this time. Most of the kiddos carefully counted out 12 eggs for their basket and then stopped collecting. No crying, no whining, just shear joy in the completion of the task! It makes me sad that this is our last hunt with this group.

Happy Easter Week!

Visit with the Easter Bunny - check!
Annual Bunny Breakfast with balloon animals, face-painting, egg hunting, and crafting - check!

Now we are ready for a week filled with egg hunts, pre-school parties, egg dyeing, and bluebonnets.

Rodeo

After a fun birthday party this morning, the buddies and I decided to hit the Austin Rodeo, on its last weekday of the season. Today was "Farmer Day", which meant if you dressed in overalls, your entrance fee to the fairgrounds was waived. You can bet your boots that we wore our overalls! I even donned my GAP overalls, circa 1994, after I discovered they way in the back of my closet.



Our adventure at the fair began with pony rides. But, Ben wouldn't ride because he had a tummy-ache after eating too many Skittles at the birthday party. Ace chose the biggest pony of all and trotted around happily. After that, we watched a Western shoot-out between two outlaws and a sheriff. Good prevailed and we they even slipped in a little lesson that even a blank can shred an aluminum can. Ben perked up after the show, once there was talk of ice cream. And then, we were off to see a real milking show. The boys said the show had "too much talking" but they liked the milking demonstration. At the end of the presentation, Ben said he had a question (we're really into questions these days) and asked the dairy farmer, "What is strawberry milk?"



Then, we discovered the real highlight: the Turbo Jump. For 7 bucks each, the buddies got 2 minutes of flight time. A bit expensive, yes, but totally worth it to see their smiles. After that, we took a quick trip through the petting zoo and then a buzz down Livestock Lane to see the farm animals.








All in all, it was a great outing. Next year, we'll be back for the carnival rides.

Arrowhead Ranch

This morning, we visited Arrowhead Ranch with our playgroup friends. The owners call the ranch "a li'l bit of country, right in the neighborhood". What that means is, this working ranch, which has been owned by the same family since the 1940's, has slowly been surrounded on all sides by suburban neighborhoods.

For just $5 per kid, the buddies rode their first full-size horse (albeit a slow one with arthritis), fed goats, pet bunnies and a donkey, and got a balloon at the end. What a bargain! Of course, all of that took about 20 minutes and then there wasn't much else to do.

But, the owners couldn't have been nicer to our rowdy bunch. We'll visit again, when we're in the neighborhood!

Barton Creek Greenbelt

One of our favorite working-mom friends took the day off yesterday and invited us out on an adventure. We hiked Barton Creek Greenbelt on a lovely Spring day. The last time we visited, the creek bed was dry but yesterday the water gushed. We marveled at the waterfalls and the buddies and their friends enjoyed throwing rocks and sticks into the creek. The water was still a bit cold for wading so we climbed trees and rocks and even explored a cave.

Ben, climbing.

Ace, posing.

The mama's (thanks to Ace for snapping the photo).

Saint Patrick's Day Play Day

Gone are the days where we celebrate Saint Patrick's Day at crowded block parties or Irish pubs. However, now I always have at least two handsome guys by my side.


Plus, lots of their little friends.


These days, instead of parades and pub-crawling, we celebrate with scavenger hunts and games of pin the shamrock on the leprechaun.


Yet, some things haven't changed all that much. If you look closely, you might find this:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Sea World Take 2

Woo hoo! We took another road trip to Sea World today to use our season passes that the great-grands gifted us for Christmas. We met up with some long-time friends (who live right around the corner) that we don't see often enough. During today's outing, we saw the Shamu show, the new Azul dolphin show, and rode the Shamu Express eleventy-billion times. We also rode Journey to Atlantis and the Texas Splashdown. The buddies are all about the rides at Sea World.

We weren't able to squeeze in time to feed the dolphins or sea lions so the buddies reminded me that we'll have to return again soon.

Lake Boys

As we walked into pre-school this morning, I commented on what a beautiful day it was. And so Ace said, "I know! We should go to the beach after school!" Indeed we should! I posted a message to just about every person I know in the Austin area, since a beach trip is always more fun with friends. We didn't get a single taker, so I called up my cousin, a fellow "Adventure Mom", who jumped at the chance to join us.

We quickly raced home, changed into our swim suits, grabbed our sand toys from their hook in the garage, packed a cooler and headed on our way. When we arrived, we did a little dance for joy. We love spring-time!


And then we busied ourselves with our sand toys.


And jumped off the pier about a dozen times each, into the chilly water.


And built roads and castles and swimming pools and houses with the cousins.

We wish every day could be like today!

Dinosaur Valley State Park

You just can't beat a quick day trip to see family members and dinosaur tracks! Today, we met the grandparents and cousin-Micheal at Dinosaur Valley State Park to celebrate Micheal's 11th birthday.








We explored the trails and marveled at the prehistoric tracks along the beds of the Paluxy River. And tried hard to keep three wild boys from falling off a cliff as they explored. Add a picnic lunch, some playground time, cupcakes, and races with their cousin and it was a near perfect day for the buddies.

Wacky Wednesday (on Thursday)

The buddies came home from pre-school on Tuesday excited to tell me that Thursday would be "Wacky Wednesday". And that Ms. K said they should dress wacky. Then, she told them that they could color their hair a wacky color...but only if their parents said it was okay. Well, that was okay with me so we headed off to the party supply store right away.

Ben chose orange.

Ace chose blue. But then was disappointed this morning when Ben's orange was much, much more vibrant than his blue. So, Steve gave him an orange stripe.


I really hadn't thought very far ahead to the clothes, but sent all three boys (Steve included) off to get dressed this morning and this is what they came up with. They were easily the wackiest two at school. And, definitely the wackiest kids at the park where we had our picnic lunch. And, absolutely the wackiest at our gym this afternoon.

Green Eggs and Ham

Say!
I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!
And I would eat them in a boat.
And I would eat them with a goat...

And I will eat them in the rain.
And in the dark. And on a train.
And in a car. And in a tree.
They are good, so good, you see!

So I will eat them in a box.
And I will eat them with a fox.
And I will eat them in a house.
And I will eat them with a mouse.
And I will eat them here and there.
Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

I do so like
green eggs and ham!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am!

-- Dr. Seuss

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Thank you for the many books
that grace our shelves and make us laugh.

Early Voting

With Ben out sick (just a little) from school last week, I had the rare opportunity to take just one boy where I normally wouldn't dare to take two. We voted! In the car ride over, I explained that I was going to vote. Because our country is a democracy and all people get to help decide how it is run and what the rules and laws are. And that we do that by voting for officials that will decide on the rules and laws. He asked, "But, why don't I get to vote?" And so I explained that one day he would, when he is 18.

We entered the voting trailer and the poll workers greeted us (but mainly Ben) excitedly. A nice lady asked for his ID and asked if he was old enough to vote. His response? "I'm only 4 1/2 years old. You have to be 18 to vote!" They liked that.

I selected my choices at the one kiosk with a chair, so that Ben could sit and watch. I pointed out our good friend Karin Crump's name and he thought that was cool. And at the end, he pushed the red button that submitted my vote. And then wore his "I Voted" sticker proudly for the rest of the day.

Wild West Days

Today was Wild West Day at school. Unfortunately, one of the cowboys had to stay home with me because he was feeling ill this morning. But, he rallied in time for the party and we were both able to catch the last 20 minutes of the festivities. The kids made bolo ties, sat around a campfire and told stories, ate a cowboy lunch (hotdogs, bbq potato chips, and root beer (which mine wouldn't touch because of the bubbles)), and listened to country music. Yee haw!

Texas Sledding

After trying all night to upload our video, I'm giving up. There seems to be a problem. Check it out here instead.

Snow Day!

We didn't really believe the weathermen that predicted 1-3 inches of snow in Austin. Because we have spent an entire winter watching the rest of the nation enjoy record snow falls without getting so much as a flurry. Well, we did get one flurry that was lovely and lasted about 10 minutes and didn't stick, but that was it. So, when we awoke this morning to big, beautiful flakes falling (and sticking!) it was a nice surprise! Our preschool teacher called to tell us school was canceled, so we bundled up and headed outside to play.





And play, we did! First, we caught flakes on our tongues while we waited for the snow to accumulate. After a few hours, the snow packed into fantastic snowballs and we had a blast pelting each other and our neighbors. Someone, and I won't name names, but it starts with a B, hit me square between the eyes.








We even managed to build a respectable snow man, complete with a hat, stick arms, a celery nose (because we didn't have a big carrot) and two eyes made out of coal. Our snowman wasn't around for long though. I barely had time to take a picture before two wild boys knocked him down and then laughed and laughed. In fact, we built him three times, just so I could get all the pictures that I wanted.







And since decent snow fall happens (maybe) every 10 years in Austin, we HAD to make snow ice cream. The next time we get this much powdery white stuff, the buddies might be in college! Luckily, our backyard gazebo created the perfect clean snow collection site. I mixed up a quick batch (it couldn't be easier!) and then we set it out on the front porch with bowls and spoons and invited the neighbor kids over. A second-grader seemed thoroughly confused by what she was eating and kept asking me if I mixed Blue Bell into the snow. I took that as a compliment!

We spent the entire day bundling up, heading outside, playing until we were frozen solid, heading back in, throwing our wet clothes in the dryer, getting warm, and then bundling back up for more fun. It was a fantastic day for all. And now that we've had our fill of snow, we are very much looking forward to the 60 degree weather that is predicted tomorrow. Ah, Texas weather! As the saying goes: "If you don't like it, wait a day!"

More pictures here.

Little Campaigners

How many four year old's out there can say they have hosted a Campaign Party? Our two can, as well as many of their little friends. This afternoon, the buddies and their friends threw a "Get the Vote Out" Party in the Park for our very good friend, Ms. Karin. The weather was gorgeous and our fellow Austinites flocked to the park, which was great because we really spread the word about the campaign. We bounced (thanks to Annie, for the loaner) and munched on pizza and cookies while the kids ran around in the sunshine.

Early voting is going on now through Friday with the official Voting Day on March 2nd. Get your votes in! And if you happen to vote in the Democratic Primary in Travis County, Precinct 2, vote for Karin Crump!

Entertaining the 4 year old Crowd

We had a rare day today with a completely free calendar. And since I had a few things that I wanted to get done around the house, I decided to try an experiment and figure out which quiet activities can best occupy a couple of 4 1/2 year old boys. I'm still not sure I have the answer, but we sure had fun today. Here are the activities we tried:

Mosaics
We used My First Sticky Mosaics, which are perfect for beginners. I set my stopwatch to 00:00 and we began. 3:35 minutes into the project, Ben had about 10 stickers placed and said he was tired. Ace powered through and at 15:21 had a finished product. He loved it! I managed to drink a cup of coffee and wake up during this time.

Pipe Cleaner Free Play:
Next on our agenda: fun with pipe cleaners! This idea came from a friend. I handed each boy a pile of pipe cleaners and told them to "create something special and surprise me". And then I started my stopwatch, left them to it, and promised not to peek. Here is what went down:

2:50 - Ace said he was done. It was too hard.
3:48 - Ben triumphantly showed me his spider-robot.
4:13 - Ace (who was still trying, despite telling me he was done) said, "I can't make ANYTHING!"
5:22 - Ace (sobbing hysterically now), "It's too hard!!"
6:36 - I finished consoling Ace and gave him another mosaic to work on.
9:24 - Ben finished his "squiggly, wiggly spider!"
10:17 - Ace: "I'm tired."
13:56 - Ben started crying because he wanted to make a flower and was struggling.
16:16 - I made the &*@! flower and we called an end to this activity.
Despite all the interruptions, I managed to unload the dishwasher and load our breakfast dishes. And have another cup of coffee.

Cookies
I needed to bake 5 dozen cookies for an event this weekend. And the best way to occupy pre-schoolers when you need to bake cookies is...let them help! Honestly, I can't remember the last time I made cookies alone. It takes twice as long with little helpers (and I won't even talk about the clean-up) but they have so much fun. They scooped and measured and dumped and we practiced simple math skills. I forgot to set my stopwatch but the time really flew by. Check out the cloud of pudding powder as they dumped and shook.


Puzzle Time (which turned into Spider Man Activity Book Time)
I got to work rolling the dough into balls while the buddies went into our toy closet to choose their puzzles. Ace came back with a large transportation puzzle. Ben returned with a Spider Man activity book.

00:00 - Begin!
4:15 - Ace's puzzle was complete. Then, he took it apart so he could do it again.
8:26 - Ace's puzzle was complete (again). Then, he packed it back in the box, fetched his Spider Man book and sat down with Ben.


14:30 - Ben finished copying a slew of letters on a word scramble page. He didn't unscramble them but did a nice job copying them.
32:16 - Ben finished connecting the word LIZARD as he followed the path.
I cleaned up the colossal mess that was created by the cookie-dough making, baked the cookies, and made migas for lunch.

Stick Puppets
Actually, I just handed the buddies some popsicle sticks and markers and they decided to draw faces on them and put on a puppet show.

00:45 - stick puppets completed and puppet show rehearsal began.
01:37 - "Mo-ommmmm! We're ready! Come watch our show!"
32:33 - I watched the last of a very silly series of puppet shows.
I didn't get a thing done during this activity.


Game Time
I left the game choice up to them. What did they choose? Twister. This particular mat used to be mine in the late 70's, early 80's. Time burned: 19:08.
I did some minor housework and chatted with a neighbor who stopped by. We marveled at how small and closely spaced the dots are, compared to how we remembered them.


Highlights High Five Magazine
Our March issue of High Five arrived today. We spent 13:08 checking out our favorite recurring features, all in the "Let's Puzzle It Out" section. Then, we found a cool triangle collage in the "Let's Make It" section. One of us decided to make one. Total time burned: 31:03. While Ben was drawing, clipping, and pasting his triangles, I finished cleaning up our lunch dishes, started a load of laundry, and packed two lunches for parent's night out at the YMCA. Wahoo!!

Of the activities, their favorites were Mosaics (Ace) and Pipe Cleaner Fun (Ben). Isn't it funny that the activity that each of them liked the best was the one that the other didn't manage to complete?