We have had a very busy spring with both boys in soccer (different leagues, different parks) and Edward playing baseball for the first time. Three afternoons a week one or both boys have practice or game in the 5 o'clock hour. Because Edward's baseball games usually don't get done until close to 7 p.m., I try to give the boys an early dinner around 4:30 so they'll be fueled for their activity and also so we don't have to stay up too late eating right before bed.

I haven't succumbed to the drive-thru culture yet, but I definitely understand it better than ever before. If it didn't require driving completely out of the way from home to park, I'd be more tempted. But we've been managing pretty well with the crock pot and with left-overs from the few nights we're home to cook an actual meal.

I do feel like I'm always rushing them though. Precision timing is not their forte. They have no understanding that staring at their shoes for 5 minutes before actually putting them on throws off the delicate balance we're trying to achieve.

Daniel for one, is finding it all a bit exhausting.

On Friday he fell asleep in the 15 minutes it took to drive from our house downtown to pick up John and then on to Edward's baseball game. We executed a stealth drop off of John and Edward, and then I just kept driving for another 20 minutes while he slept. I'm not a big fan of driving, but let me tell you I relished those 20 minutes of total silence! Once he woke up we headed back to the park where he flew up and down the path on his scooter while Edward's team got clobbered despite Edward's consistent hitting. He's not alone among his teammates in short-attention-span fielding. In fact he almost got brained by a line drive while he was playing second earlier in the week. Totally wasn't paying attention to the hitter and only noticed the ball just in time to duck out of the way.

Edward at soccer:

Daniel at Edward's soccer:


(P.S. He dressed himself this morning. He thought the brown stripe socks went well with the brown stripe shirt. I had to check myself and admit that I was wrong to suggest he change to white socks. Who does it hurt?)

The boys were so excited about the Mother's Day gifts they made at school they couldn't wait from Friday afternoon to Sunday to give them to me. Edward made a photo holder and two nice "I love my mom because" fill in the blanks. Daniel made a pot holder with his hand print on it. He's seen the box in which I've stashed various keepsakes, most of which are hand prints, and is a bit conflicted about whether he wants me to use it for hot pots or put it in the box. For now it's hanging on the fridge by a magnet.

Maybe next year for Mother's Day they'll get a bigger chair!

Well, I got my rhododendron picture after all. I guess it's survived an Iowa "spring" before and will do so again.

May 1, 2013

It was so bright Daniel had trouble keeping his eyes open

May 2, 2013

Extreme grandparenting

I took the first picture because I knew that something like the second would happen. I've gotten the boys' picture with our front-door rhododendron most of the years we've lived in this house, but this year, there's a good chance it will freeze before it's in full bloom. So I snapped this picture on the way out the door before school. Before school, first thing in the morning, it was warm enough for shorts.

 But later in the day, as we were watching Edward's baseball game (two hits, woo!) the cold front started moving through and by this morning it was back to winter coats. At Daniel's soccer game time it was about 45 degrees. Thankfully, his game ended before the rain started. I had left by then to take Edward to soccer practice, which extended into the rainy evening. Thankfully (again) it is possible, acceptable even, to observe practice from one's warm, dry car.

Daniel, commenting on Edward's incessant humming: "Wow, he sure loves music."
John (in jest): "Yeah, maybe he'll be a professional musician one day."
Daniel, takes a moment to consider: "Then maybe I'll be a professional talker. 'Cuz I sure do LOVE to talk!"

Yes, yes you do. Case in point, yesterday at the Hawkeye Spring Game (intra-squad scrimmage; admission price was a can of food for the local food bank) we had not been in our seats for 5 minutes before I turned to Daniel with an exasperated, "Daniel! How many questions do you think I can answer? I should be counting them to see how many!"
Daniel, in response, with zero irony: "How many has it been?"

A-freakin'-LOT!

In his defense, it was a little confusing to watch the Hawkeyes play the Hawkeyes. And they had a kind of wacky scoring system so that the defense had a chance to get some points on the board. All in all, it was a lovely day to be outside, the boys got closer to the field at Kinnick Stadium than they'll ever be again, and John and I earned another year of "No WAY are we paying to take you to a game when you can't even pay attention for 10 minutes."

Later in the day, the boys and I took a bike ride and ended up running into some friends headed in the opposite direction. We turned around and went with them to their destination park and the boys all had fun playing together (these are friends with boys the same ages as ours; the younger is in preschool with Daniel.) The allure of the creek was strong and despite being told three times not to go in, Daniel and Drew ended up with full mud immersion. I do try to be patient about the love of mud, and I was much more calm about this one than the first thaw mud experience this spring which necessitated washing all the winter outerwear on an already busy evening.

However, I did tell Daniel that if he wants to play in the mud we have to be better prepared with the right gear--e.g. boots or water shoes. I was particularly dismayed at the mud-covered brand-new (three weeks) tennis shoes.

Fortunately, after a dip in this bucket, the uppers were mostly mud-free. However, we're pretty sure that every time they get even remotely wet (dewy grass, rainy day, etc.) the mud will ooze from the bottom resulting in black socks. Oh, well. Daniel himself stripped to underwear behind our front bushes, washed his hands and feet in the bucket and then went straight to the shower.

And for a bit of equal time, here is Edward with his quint-plane--five paper airplanes all attached together. It will come as a surprise to no one (except its creator) that this plane did not fly far. But there was joy in its creation and that of the dozens of other planes flying around our back yard this afternoon. Two fabulous spring days in a row on a weekend. What a gift!

Time for dinner and then a bike ride for ice cream. We know enough to enjoy it while we can. By the end of the week it's back to 50s and rain.

Yesterday started out below freezing--you know, typical April. I asked Daniel if he wanted to go out to get the paper and he responded, "No, it's too cold!"
Disappointed, I said, "Well then why do I even keep you around."
He deadpanned: "Because I'm good for other things...like cleaning toilets."

In his defense, it was quite cold. I outfitted him for Edward's soccer game in his warmest winter coat, snowpants and boots. This did not prevent him from climbing all over the playground, but he did find it was a little more difficult to crawl through tight spaces (like this web climber) with all that extra padding. He never said he was cold though!

After the game, we visited our local bike library and found a bigger bike for Edward. People donate old bikes that the volunteers fix up and sell. Most kids bikes (including ours) are $10. Budget friendly! That allowed Daniel to upgrade to Edward's former bike and we'll soon bequeath the smallest in our armada to a younger friend.

 By the time we got home for riding, it had warmed up to the 50s--sweatshirt weather.


Later in the evening, we were reading a book about Mt. Rushmore in preparation for our summer vacation. The story noted that the sculptor and his family moved around for his work to several states including Georgia.

Daniel: "Georgia!! She's famous--you know Georgia from Yo La Tengo. They named a whole state after her!"

John has been conducting music appreciation with Daniel on Wednesday evenings when I take Edward to religious ed class.