Mrs. Helpful

A friend and I have been swapping babysitting for the last couple of weeks, so we are each able to have a few hours a week to get some cleaning/errands/alone time. It has been really nice to have a few hours to get something done without the kids, but I have found that you need to be really diligent with the time, or else those 3 hours will go by very quickly and nothing will get accomplished (aka: interuptions with phone calls, quick glance at the blog, etc..).

Anyway, today was my time to get something done, so I planned out what I was going to do with my time before 9am this morning. And seeing as how cleaning my house wasn't much of interest (even though it probably could have used it), I decided to mow the lawn. Now, normally this is my husband's job, but he has been so busy lately I decided I would surprise him to help him out!

Needless to say, it didn't go very well. I have mowed the lawn, oh...probably 4 times in my lifetime (pathetic, I know, but true). I knew in the past how to start the rider mower, but it's been awhile. Anywho, I couldn't get it started. I decided to let the surprise go and call my husband to see how to start it. He explained how I couldn't start it with the mower deck on (duh), and that I needed to fill the tank, and blow up the rear tire with the air compressor since it periodically goes flat. Whew! This was turning out to be more of a project then I intended. Nevertheless, I got it started and was on my way. Typically it takes 3 hours (for my husband) to mow the lawn, since we have a rather large yard, so I knew I wouldn't get it done in my now being only 1 1/2 hours left, but I thought better some than none. I was having fun, getting the hang of the bouncy mower while balancing my coffee, when the hardest part of the lawn approached. We have a fairly steep decline by our driveway, but my husband always seems to manage it, so I attempted a try. Yeah, that was a bad decision. The wheels started spinning, and I began to feel the mower tip to the right. The thought of rolling over down a hill on a lawnmower was a tidbit scary, so I quickly shut off the ignition and got off. I tried pushing the mower down the hill while in neutral, but that didn't work. Needless to say, that mower wasn't going anywhere and I was stuck.

So, I guess my thoughts of being helpful to my husband were not so helpful. Now, he has to get the mower unstuck and mow the rest of the lawn! I've gotten stuck on the driveway in the snow before, but never in the summer time! Oh well, hopefully he sees it's the thought that counts. Love you honey!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Our kids kept us laughing all week with things they said and things they did. If you want to read some other cute kid talk, click here: http://notbefore7.blogspot.com/2007/09/tinytalk-tuesday.html

For now, here are some of the things my kids said:

While reading an animal book:
Mom: Kyra, what is this animal? (it was a chinchilla)
Kyra: Well, that is a tricky one
Mom: I'll give you a clue, it starts with a ch sound
Kyra: Oh! A chinrabbit!

While reading an alphabet princess book:
Mom: What letter is this?
Kyra: An S
Mom: What is this a picture of that starts with the letter S?
Kyra: (pausing) Ahh, Sleeping Booty!
(I had to try not to laugh when she said that one)

At Logan's Restaurant in the bathroom:
Kyra: This potty has a black seat. I love going potty on this black toilet.
Mom: (half answering back, since it's been a few minutes) That's great Kyra, but try hurrying up, we have to get back to the table. (then I make the mistake of looking over her shoulder to see if she's actually done anything)
Kyra: Mooom, I went poops. You can't touch my poops, you can only look. It's got germs on it, so don't touch, but you can look at it if you want.
(of course that was said really loudly with several in the bathroom. They always pick the best timing)

While walking down the sidewalk, with several small bugs behind her:
Kyra: Come on fellas!

After running into the car during a steady rain:
Kyra: Mom, I want the rain to go away.
Mom: I know sweety, so do I but there isn't much we can do about it.
Kyra: I can get rid of it.
Mom: Oh really, what can you do?
Kyra: I can fly up to the clouds, and tell them to stop making the rain.
(now how did she get so smart)

Kyra Chat

A conversation today with my 3 year old daughter on the way home in the car:

Kyra: Mom, DO NOT say a word.
Mom: How come?
Kyra: Just don't say a word.
Mom: (pauses, with silent laughter at the dramatics of this little girl)
Kyra: We have to be quiet for the chrysalis.
Mom (whoa, amazed she learned such a big word, wondered where she learned it, and does she
even know what it means?) Kyra, what is a chrysalis?
Kyra: It's the part when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly!
Mom: (well, apparently PBS is teaching her something)

A prodigy in the making?

While in college, there was a group called Dance Guild that I joined. I wasn't involved in any choir, sport, or band so I figured I should get involved in something. So, as a freshman I joined the Dance Guild primarily because no prior experience of dance was needed. To my surprise I loved it, and remained in the club all 4 years. I learned how to tap, do some liturgical dancing, even a little swingdancing. It was fun and exciting. Of course in 4 years you only learn so much, but it was still exhilerating and I found myself wishing I had entered into a career of dancing at an earlier age (of course that is only hindsight, because I know I did ballet in kindergarten and told my mom that year was the last year - so she did try).

So maybe I never became a white swan, but there is hope for one of my daughters right? Duhn, duhn, duhn. Maybe I can live vicariously through Kyra! Could she be the next dancing prodigy? Okay, well maybe not. But crazy as it is, at 3 years old I spontaneously decided to put her in dance lessons. I teeter tottered over putting her in and all, thinking maybe she is too young to be spending what I consider a substantial amount of money, but what if....? What if she loves it, and does well? Is that too foolish? Anyway, despite my wishy washy feelings, I decided to go for it. And the look on her face after she got her first pair of ballet slippers tonight was priceless. I peeked in on her during class, and she was having a blast (which was good, because half of the kids were crying). I guess if anything, she will learn some balance, discipline, and fun. Recitals here we come!

Trip Continued

On our trip, we stayed at a resort called Boyne Mountain (also a ski resort). The place was perfect for the kids, because they had planned activities throughout the day, many pools to choose from, and a brand new playground right next to our room! I would take a shower and actually have some alone time, while hubby took the kids to the park. Then we could take a quick dip in the pool and still have enough time to make a quick lunch and put the kiddos to bed for a nap. It was perfect. And they did well the whole time. Much to my surprise, Katie hardly ever yelled (except for the beginning of the trip where we went to a nice sit down dinner and I had to drag a kicking tired child out of the restaurant), and Kyra didn't nag on her sister. We went bike riding through Petosky State Park (so beautiful, it made me want to camp - for a brief moment). And searched for rocks at the Park's beach. But perhaps their favorite part was riding up the ski lift and taking in the beautiful view. It was a free ride that the resort provided and the girls liked it so much we had to go a second time the following night (they said hi and waved to every passerby going the opposite way on the lift!) Kyra loved every minute of it, and kept asking through the weekend if we were still on bacation? We will definitely have to remember this bacation stop for next year!

Relaxation

Well, our trip was a great success. That's saying a lot for me, seeing as how the last two vacations we were on, were more exhausting than fun. After the last trip, I pretty much vowed not to take another vacation with the kids until they were all school aged! Okay, so they weren't that bad, but it was a bit of a challenge following a toddler around that gets into everything. The thing I discovered vacationing with just your own family, (fun as it may be to visit with extended family) is that you feel more relaxed when things don't go as planned. You don't have to worry trying to please everyone. If your toddler screams for an hour straight, you don't have to wonder what other people think of your parenting skills (granted you probably shouldn't be worrying about what other people think anyway, but it happens). And best of all, you get to have quality time with your husband who works so hard during the week, you begin to think you are strangers living in the same house. In general, you become more relaxed. And that was what our trip was. It was very relaxing. We took many wrong turns trying to find certain places, but who cared, we were on our own agenda and no one elses. It was a short trip, but because it was so great, I feel like we got a week of relaxation. Life is good.

Weekend Getaway

It is 5:30 AM and I am taking one last glance through all the blogs before we leave for a weekend getaway (of course I told my husband I would get up early to start packing, but I had to take a peak at any updates before I left for 3 days).

We are headed for the Petosky area of Michigan, which we've visited many a time this part of the year, but never with children. The lakes, bike trails, cutsy shops, clean air, vineyards, and of course ice cream shops are plentiful and inviting. I am looking forward to going there with my family and enjoying the change of scenery, mostly because this will be our only trip this summer spent alone with just our little family. Hopefully, it will be a great bonding time and refresher before we switch to the next season (that is of course provided that there aren't too many breakdowns and Katie doesn't scream in the car the whole trip, which she frequently does).

So here's to what I mark as a vacation to end one season and start fresh with a new. I look forward to the fall and have many new goals to begin next week. For now, I will enjoy my Mackinaw Fudge ice cream!