Playing Catch-Up
Looking back on 2006 and 2007, I see I did a much better job keeping this blog up to date back then. I don’t know exactly what the problem has been this year, but I will try to do better.
May
Aden’s Cub Scout Pack hosted a bike rodeo on a course laid out in chalk and cones. Everyone brought their bikes and learned about bike safety. Danielle had a new bike, but it was still a little too big for her, so she rode one of Aden’s old bikes. Aden hasn’t needed training wheels for a while, but Danielle still uses them. One of her training wheels no longer touched the ground and she’s been riding around fine. I convinced her to take it off because she wasn’t even using it. A little while later, I persuaded her to have the other one removed. She relented, but lost confidence and quickly changed her mind.
Danielle’s graduated from Montessori daycare. Just like Aden’s class did two years ago, the 4-year-olds recited all the presidents in order, recited Spanish numbers and colors, and sang songs to showcase what they’ve learned this year.
We went to see Scott’s parents and took the kids strawberry picking. Afterwards, we had a picnic at Landsford Canal and saw the spider lilies in bloom.
I signed up to take a beginner cake-decorating class as part of my birthday present to me. I learned enough to make Aden’s sheet cake for his birthday party. It wasn’t very professional looking, but not bad either. He had his party at the new Mad Science Laboratory. The theme was light and electricity. The Mad Scientist put on a light show while the children experimented with “rainbow glasses”. Next, they played with a Tesla Coil. The kids enjoyed the indoor fireworks display and making their own slime they got to take home. (I’m sure some parents hate me for the slime part.)
Aden and Scott trying out their new roller blades. (Our birthday present for Aden.)
June
Both kids did a week-long day camp hosted by our church. We dropped them off in the morning on our way to work and picked them up late in the afternoon. They had fun singing songs, playing games, and doing crafts. The last day of camp they went to a local rec center pool. Danielle still thinks she needs a “floatie”, but she really doesn’t. Both kids signed up for swimming lessons at day care again.
We went ice-skating with the Cub Scouts. It was my second time on skates, and I did much better than the last time. Despite wearing better socks, I still got a terrible blister. If I continue to skate with the kids, I’ll need to invest in my own pair of skates. Danielle’s rentals gave her much better ankle support this time and she was able to skate on her own.
Aden played in an exhibition chess match with Grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik.
GM Ftacnik was playing 20 simultaneous games. We initially went to the exhibition to watch, but after watching for a few minutes Aden said he wanted to play. There were three other children around Aden’s age playing. Two of them were members of a local chess cub. Aden did well, playing a very defensive game, and didn’t get much help from dad except with keeping track of the moves on the score sheet. The GM announced checkmate on the 28th move. The hosts of the exhibition match invited Aden to join the local chess club, which we haven’t done yet. First of all we’re too busy as it is. Secondly, Aden needs to learn a bit more game etiquette on how to be a gracious winner and loser. Not saying he behaved inappropriately in any way at the exhibition match – he just needs to learn that skill in general. Scott suggests I play more games of chess with Aden to try to improve his game. As I have mentioned before, holding back in games runs counter to Scott’s instincts.
Throughout the summer, I was Aden’s Sunday school teacher, and Scott played assistant a couple of times, too. Summer attendance is always low, and frequently it would be just Aden and one other child there. We enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.
July
The same week Danielle was in acting camp,
we had evening Vacation Bible School. I taught Danielle’s kindergarten class. My kids love it the fact I’m their teacher, although they also think it’s a license to get away with things they wouldn’t with their regular teacher. This year’s theme was a rainforest. Each year we get a CD of the VBS songs about a month in advance in the hopes the parents will work with the kids at home to learn the words. Ours stayed in the van’s CD player and received frequent requests.
The Cub Scouts had a water fun day. We thought it was just going to be water balloons and sprinklers. Turned out, they had giant water slides. Neither kid had a swimsuit with them, but they had fun anyway. At least we remembered to bring towels.
Aden had a week-long Cub Scout camp. We’d drop him off after work and pick him up way past his bedtime; he was a real trooper about it. He was able to complete many of the advancements and electives needed for the coming scout year, so it was well worth it.
Aden had his turn at acting camp later that month. His class put on a mini production of Disney’s Lion King. Aden was Timon, but the camp didn’t have a meerkat mask, so Scott helped draw Aden a new mask. I’m so glad I have an artistic husband.
Bowling birthday party given by one of Danielle’s friends.
We had our hardwood floors refinished. Our house was built in the early 1970’s and has the original hardwood floors in the living room, hallway, and bedrooms. The previous owners put down carpet just before Scott bought the house, and it needed to be replaced. When we ripped up the carpet in the living room, we discovered a 3 by 6 foot section of the floor had been cut out and was replaced by plywood. Apparently, there had been water damage under the front window. But our contractor did a wonderful job matching the flooring.
Before
After
While we were staying at the motel, the kids got to swim at the motel pool and show off all they had learned from taking swimming lessons. They thought staying in the motel was a great vacation and wanted to know when we were going to stay there again. (Silly monkeys – the week before they were bemoaning the fact I was getting rid of their “Favorite Fluffy Carpet”.)
August
We went to a local church production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”. For a community theater group it was amazing. One of my co-workers was in the cast and invited me to come. I’m so glad I heard about it.
Both kids completed the library’s summer reading program. From mid-June until August, we made biweekly trips to check out new books and get prizes. For Danielle’s age group (pre-readers) for every two hours she had someone read to her, she got a prize. At the end of eight hours she got a certificate and a medal. Since Aden is a reader, he had to read to himself or out loud to someone else for four hours for each prize. At the end of 16 hours he got a certificate and medal. He thought he was getting a raw deal since someone reading to him didn’t count and he had to read twice as much as Danielle. Ahh, another lesson in “fairness” in his young life.
While Scott was in Indianapolis, I registered Danielle for school. How come he always seems to be on a trip when school registration comes along? Wrangling two kids through a maze of booths, lines, and fees is not my idea of a good time! I did not have one of my finest “Mommy Moments”.
The Cub Scouts kicked off their fall registration with an ice cream social. We were handed the calendar for this Scout year and Aden got to see his Scout friends. Over the summer I sewed two mascot flags and four den flags for his Pack for use in meetings and ceremonies.
School started for the kids.
I can’t believe Danielle is in kindergarten! We like both of their teachers and are looking forward to a great school year.
Our church hosted their annual mother/daughter tea party.
Danielle with my mom.
Danielle and my sister.
Aden got a new bike since he had outgrown his old one. We wanted to wait a couple of moths after his birthday since he got so much stuff already. Danielle finally grew enough to reach the pedals on her bigger bike. She had us put both training wheels on. I hope to get rid of both of them by her birthday.
Summer is over. [sniff]
September
Danielle started Daisy Girl Scouts.
Dance also started for Danielle. It was tough for her to decide whether she wanted to do a ballet/tap combo class again or a tap/jazz class. After a conversation with her instructor, we felt she would enjoy the tap/jazz class much more. Off I went to buy new tap shoes and a pair of jazz shoes. Whew. I’m glad I save money buying their clothes at consignment stores and yard sales.
Last year I had heard about the Columbia Children’s Theater. I had wanted to take the kids to see “How I Became a Pirate”, but couldn’t fit a performance into our schedule. When we heard their new season was opening with “Miss Nelson is Missing”, we had to go. The performance was wonderful! I even wanted to go back the next day to see it again. (We didn’t of course, but that’s how good it was.) I now have the rest of the season scheduled in our family calendar so we won’t miss a show.
October
We took the kids to see the USC Ballet perform “Carnival of the Animals”. (The music to “The Swan” is one of my favorites.) Friday night is normally family movie night at home. The “Carnival of the Animals” was a one-show performance and interfered with Aden’s pick for the movie. I did something that I often regret – I asked for input from my children. However, Aden surprised me and said he wanted to go.
Aden participated in an all-day Cub Scout event. Like last year, he practiced archery and shooting BB guns. He earned a belt loop for playing marbles and for learning about maps and compasses.
We took the kids to the SC State Fair.
We went to Boo at the Zoo.
Since Aden dressed up as a pirate for Halloween, we thought I would be neat if he learned how real pirates used to live. We took him to the library to hear a southern author speak about pirates of the Carolinas.
We went camping with the Cub Scouts. Scott and I tried out the rock wall (so did the kids).
Aden played basketball and both kids learned about how the Native Americans used clay. Aden caught his first bass – a three-pounder!
We had pumpkin carving – Scott helped Danielle design her ladybug pumpkin to go with her costume.
Later we went tent-or-treating.
Just before lights out, we took the telescope to a vacant field. Aden was able to pick out the constellation Cassiopeia and we showed him the Pleiades. The sky was gorgeous and the edges of the Milky Way were clear and bright. With the telescope we were able to see the Dumbbell Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. Since our telescope isn’t exactly state-of-the-art, they just looked like grey smudges. Nonetheless, it was cool, especially when the kids and I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle" as Scott was setting up the telescope.
May
Aden’s Cub Scout Pack hosted a bike rodeo on a course laid out in chalk and cones. Everyone brought their bikes and learned about bike safety. Danielle had a new bike, but it was still a little too big for her, so she rode one of Aden’s old bikes. Aden hasn’t needed training wheels for a while, but Danielle still uses them. One of her training wheels no longer touched the ground and she’s been riding around fine. I convinced her to take it off because she wasn’t even using it. A little while later, I persuaded her to have the other one removed. She relented, but lost confidence and quickly changed her mind.
Danielle’s graduated from Montessori daycare. Just like Aden’s class did two years ago, the 4-year-olds recited all the presidents in order, recited Spanish numbers and colors, and sang songs to showcase what they’ve learned this year.
We went to see Scott’s parents and took the kids strawberry picking. Afterwards, we had a picnic at Landsford Canal and saw the spider lilies in bloom.
I signed up to take a beginner cake-decorating class as part of my birthday present to me. I learned enough to make Aden’s sheet cake for his birthday party. It wasn’t very professional looking, but not bad either. He had his party at the new Mad Science Laboratory. The theme was light and electricity. The Mad Scientist put on a light show while the children experimented with “rainbow glasses”. Next, they played with a Tesla Coil. The kids enjoyed the indoor fireworks display and making their own slime they got to take home. (I’m sure some parents hate me for the slime part.)
Aden and Scott trying out their new roller blades. (Our birthday present for Aden.)
June
Both kids did a week-long day camp hosted by our church. We dropped them off in the morning on our way to work and picked them up late in the afternoon. They had fun singing songs, playing games, and doing crafts. The last day of camp they went to a local rec center pool. Danielle still thinks she needs a “floatie”, but she really doesn’t. Both kids signed up for swimming lessons at day care again.
We went ice-skating with the Cub Scouts. It was my second time on skates, and I did much better than the last time. Despite wearing better socks, I still got a terrible blister. If I continue to skate with the kids, I’ll need to invest in my own pair of skates. Danielle’s rentals gave her much better ankle support this time and she was able to skate on her own.
Aden played in an exhibition chess match with Grandmaster Lubomir Ftacnik.
GM Ftacnik was playing 20 simultaneous games. We initially went to the exhibition to watch, but after watching for a few minutes Aden said he wanted to play. There were three other children around Aden’s age playing. Two of them were members of a local chess cub. Aden did well, playing a very defensive game, and didn’t get much help from dad except with keeping track of the moves on the score sheet. The GM announced checkmate on the 28th move. The hosts of the exhibition match invited Aden to join the local chess club, which we haven’t done yet. First of all we’re too busy as it is. Secondly, Aden needs to learn a bit more game etiquette on how to be a gracious winner and loser. Not saying he behaved inappropriately in any way at the exhibition match – he just needs to learn that skill in general. Scott suggests I play more games of chess with Aden to try to improve his game. As I have mentioned before, holding back in games runs counter to Scott’s instincts.
Throughout the summer, I was Aden’s Sunday school teacher, and Scott played assistant a couple of times, too. Summer attendance is always low, and frequently it would be just Aden and one other child there. We enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.
July
The same week Danielle was in acting camp,
we had evening Vacation Bible School. I taught Danielle’s kindergarten class. My kids love it the fact I’m their teacher, although they also think it’s a license to get away with things they wouldn’t with their regular teacher. This year’s theme was a rainforest. Each year we get a CD of the VBS songs about a month in advance in the hopes the parents will work with the kids at home to learn the words. Ours stayed in the van’s CD player and received frequent requests.
The Cub Scouts had a water fun day. We thought it was just going to be water balloons and sprinklers. Turned out, they had giant water slides. Neither kid had a swimsuit with them, but they had fun anyway. At least we remembered to bring towels.
Aden had a week-long Cub Scout camp. We’d drop him off after work and pick him up way past his bedtime; he was a real trooper about it. He was able to complete many of the advancements and electives needed for the coming scout year, so it was well worth it.
Aden had his turn at acting camp later that month. His class put on a mini production of Disney’s Lion King. Aden was Timon, but the camp didn’t have a meerkat mask, so Scott helped draw Aden a new mask. I’m so glad I have an artistic husband.
Bowling birthday party given by one of Danielle’s friends.
We had our hardwood floors refinished. Our house was built in the early 1970’s and has the original hardwood floors in the living room, hallway, and bedrooms. The previous owners put down carpet just before Scott bought the house, and it needed to be replaced. When we ripped up the carpet in the living room, we discovered a 3 by 6 foot section of the floor had been cut out and was replaced by plywood. Apparently, there had been water damage under the front window. But our contractor did a wonderful job matching the flooring.
Before
After
While we were staying at the motel, the kids got to swim at the motel pool and show off all they had learned from taking swimming lessons. They thought staying in the motel was a great vacation and wanted to know when we were going to stay there again. (Silly monkeys – the week before they were bemoaning the fact I was getting rid of their “Favorite Fluffy Carpet”.)
August
We went to a local church production of “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast”. For a community theater group it was amazing. One of my co-workers was in the cast and invited me to come. I’m so glad I heard about it.
Both kids completed the library’s summer reading program. From mid-June until August, we made biweekly trips to check out new books and get prizes. For Danielle’s age group (pre-readers) for every two hours she had someone read to her, she got a prize. At the end of eight hours she got a certificate and a medal. Since Aden is a reader, he had to read to himself or out loud to someone else for four hours for each prize. At the end of 16 hours he got a certificate and medal. He thought he was getting a raw deal since someone reading to him didn’t count and he had to read twice as much as Danielle. Ahh, another lesson in “fairness” in his young life.
While Scott was in Indianapolis, I registered Danielle for school. How come he always seems to be on a trip when school registration comes along? Wrangling two kids through a maze of booths, lines, and fees is not my idea of a good time! I did not have one of my finest “Mommy Moments”.
The Cub Scouts kicked off their fall registration with an ice cream social. We were handed the calendar for this Scout year and Aden got to see his Scout friends. Over the summer I sewed two mascot flags and four den flags for his Pack for use in meetings and ceremonies.
School started for the kids.
I can’t believe Danielle is in kindergarten! We like both of their teachers and are looking forward to a great school year.
Our church hosted their annual mother/daughter tea party.
Danielle with my mom.
Danielle and my sister.
Aden got a new bike since he had outgrown his old one. We wanted to wait a couple of moths after his birthday since he got so much stuff already. Danielle finally grew enough to reach the pedals on her bigger bike. She had us put both training wheels on. I hope to get rid of both of them by her birthday.
Summer is over. [sniff]
September
Danielle started Daisy Girl Scouts.
Dance also started for Danielle. It was tough for her to decide whether she wanted to do a ballet/tap combo class again or a tap/jazz class. After a conversation with her instructor, we felt she would enjoy the tap/jazz class much more. Off I went to buy new tap shoes and a pair of jazz shoes. Whew. I’m glad I save money buying their clothes at consignment stores and yard sales.
Last year I had heard about the Columbia Children’s Theater. I had wanted to take the kids to see “How I Became a Pirate”, but couldn’t fit a performance into our schedule. When we heard their new season was opening with “Miss Nelson is Missing”, we had to go. The performance was wonderful! I even wanted to go back the next day to see it again. (We didn’t of course, but that’s how good it was.) I now have the rest of the season scheduled in our family calendar so we won’t miss a show.
October
We took the kids to see the USC Ballet perform “Carnival of the Animals”. (The music to “The Swan” is one of my favorites.) Friday night is normally family movie night at home. The “Carnival of the Animals” was a one-show performance and interfered with Aden’s pick for the movie. I did something that I often regret – I asked for input from my children. However, Aden surprised me and said he wanted to go.
Aden participated in an all-day Cub Scout event. Like last year, he practiced archery and shooting BB guns. He earned a belt loop for playing marbles and for learning about maps and compasses.
We took the kids to the SC State Fair.
We went to Boo at the Zoo.
Since Aden dressed up as a pirate for Halloween, we thought I would be neat if he learned how real pirates used to live. We took him to the library to hear a southern author speak about pirates of the Carolinas.
We went camping with the Cub Scouts. Scott and I tried out the rock wall (so did the kids).
Aden played basketball and both kids learned about how the Native Americans used clay. Aden caught his first bass – a three-pounder!
We had pumpkin carving – Scott helped Danielle design her ladybug pumpkin to go with her costume.
Later we went tent-or-treating.
Just before lights out, we took the telescope to a vacant field. Aden was able to pick out the constellation Cassiopeia and we showed him the Pleiades. The sky was gorgeous and the edges of the Milky Way were clear and bright. With the telescope we were able to see the Dumbbell Nebula and the Andromeda Galaxy. Since our telescope isn’t exactly state-of-the-art, they just looked like grey smudges. Nonetheless, it was cool, especially when the kids and I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle" as Scott was setting up the telescope.
posted by Jen at 9:20 PM
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