Kindergarteners Say the Darndest Things

It's the night before Kindergarten and Leo just said two smart/funny things:

"I like it when you have the carpets cleaned. Then they roll up my rug and it's more fun to make up stories. It's a symbiotic relationship. You get your carpets cleaned and I get to make up stories."

Then, after giggling over that, I gave him a hug and said, "I love you and I'm proud of you." He asked, "Why are you proud of me?"

I said, "Because you're big enough and smart enough to go to Kindergarten."

He said, "What? Everybody goes to Kindergarten! It's part of life. It's not like I won a reward or something."

Can't argue with that.

Good luck to his teacher!

Ice Bucket Challenge

Leo and Gus loved watching videos of people doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. So when Leo was nominated, they already knew exactly what to do. But there weren't a lot of people left to nominate so we went with some pseudo celebrities! 

Coming Soon…er or later

Lately I have noticed ridiculously specific "Coming Soon" type signs.

At LegoLand in Grapevine on August 6th: The boys and I walked past a barbed-wire fence with some construction going on behind it. There were people digging but it wasn't obvious what they were building. Then I saw a sign about a little water park, like Aqua Lego Land or something. It was hot so I silently wished that it had opened five minutes ago. But the sign promised it would open soon:

Coming August 2014

August 2014? That's real soon. That's now. And the only thing done on this attraction was a few holes--and that barbed wire fence. It wasn't even going to be close to ready by August 31st.

Later that week I saw a sign in Frisco's "City Center" about an apartment complex.

Ground Breaking Spring 2014

Well, Spring 2014 has come and gone, folks. Summer's almost over too. And that ground ain't broken. It's just a field, a field with a fictional sign on it.

I'm sure when the people make the signs they think the projects will really happen at the expected time. But why, why do they think that? Because has any construction project in the history of businesses, houses and water parks EVER been completed on time? I know this and I'm not even in the construction business.

So why not build in a little time on those "Coming Soon" signs? Or better yet, be a little more vague: that's why someone invented the phrase "Coming Soon." Who's to say what is soon? It could be next week. It could be a few months. It could be a few years. You're totally safe in the "soon" zone.

My dad had a good idea for a sign of this nature. I can't remember exactly what it was so correct me if I'm wrong, GR. But I think it was something like:

"Coming Before You Die."

And maybe the sign could have a little footnote: "…unless you are really old already or you are in an unfortunate accident, in either case you won't be missing much."

VA Beach 2014

The first time we went to Virginia Beach Leo was the only Simcik grandchild and he had just learned to walk. This year we took our fourth trip there and now there are six Simcik/Prince grandchildren and all can walk! We met up with Popsy's siblings and their kids and their kids and altogether we had about 40 people in three houses. 

Here are some pics from our fun week. 

Cousins after church

 Leo on the boogie board

Popsy and Gus on the beach

Raising the flag to let everyone know we are a house full of scary pirates

Our home for the week, Lyon's Den

Hanging out at Baja (the local restaurant/bar near our houses) with the 20 and 30-year-olds (Uncle Rob, age 50, not pictured)

Popsy and Leo sitting down on the Stand Up Paddleboard:

Leo and Ellie were attached at the hip (or the hands) all week. Cute cousins!

More cute cousins on movie night

The Lewis Family came to visit from Richmond! Here are Leo and Gus with Dawson

Me with Debbie; So good to see our friends!

If we keep up our tradition of going every other year, the boys will be 8 and 5 next time we go back. 

Everyone should watch out because they will be even scarier pirates by then! 

Serious Biking

I wouldn't normally post about the same topic back to back but I must document this new biking milestone! So, to refresh your memory (or you could just scroll down), Leo learned to ride his bike without training wheels and Gus learned to pedal his trike a couple of weeks ago. Then we slacked a little bit on the biking practice plus there a was a week-long, bikeless vacation. But today, Leo really, truly biked on his own, way more than he did in his first biking endeavor. (Gus is still a little slow with the tricycle pedaling; there was a long, frustrating ride from the pool to our house in which both of us may have cried…we'll keep working on it.)

But back to Leo…Frank took him to the elementary school parking lot and this time, he took off the balance bar handle. And here's what happened:

Now he can get himself going and everything! Pretty good for a kid who used to be terrified of being off balance. 

And here he is riding to the pool on his bike and he's already doing tricks! 

We are hoping he can ride his bike to school this year. Of course I will run along beside him while Gus throws a tantrum on his tricycle. 

Biker Boys

We've sort of failed our boys in the biking department (which is weird since, as a spin instructor, I am kinda like a pro biker). We just haven't put enough time and effort into teaching Leo how to ride his bike or Gus how to pedal at all. 

Sure, we got the balance bar for Leo so Frank could hold onto the back but we only did that a handful of times. And poor Gus. We just let him ride his trike Flinstone-style most of the time. 

But for some reason, Frank decided that yesterday, on a 100-degree afternoon, he wanted to teach Leo how to ride his bike without training wheels or the balance bar. He took him to the elementary school parking lot and did the whole "let go without telling him" trick and it worked. They celebrated at our hang out, RaceTrac. 

There was no video evidence so we all went out tonight to see if Leo could replicate his success on the sidewalk (a little trickier terrain than the parking lot). He did great; Frank had to grab the balance bar a few times. And the best part was, when he did fall, he didnt freak out. And to our surprise, Gus decided to steal a little thunder and finally pedal his tricycle! 

So without further ado, I give you proof of Leo and Gus' biking milestones: 

Very proud of these boys! 

Missing: One Shoo Shoo

It's not like an emergency situation. Nevertheless, it is a situation. We used to have three shoo shoos. Now we have two. We may or may not have left the third shoo shoo at a car dealership. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't "Jerry Durant's in Weatherford, Ten Minutes West of High Prices" which means an hour and a half from our house.

Here are some recent pics of shoo shoo for your reference. We called this moment between Gus and Paloma "Shih Shoo Shoo"

Life with two shoo shoos is complicated. We used to have one for the car (car shoo shoo), one for downstairs (play shoo shoo) and one for his crib (night night shoo shoo). Now I'm shuffling two shoo shoos between the car, downstairs and his crib. So tonight, for instance, we were about to read books before bed and he said, "Where is my shoo shoo?" Well, the one from his crib was now in the laundry after an unfortunate aiming issue in the bathroom. So I had to schlep to the car to get the only alternative. That means tomorrow I have to be vigilant about remembering to grab a shoo shoo before leaving the house.

Like I need something else to remember! I've got a company move tomorrow between the library and make-up swim lessons.

I went ahead and searched online because, really, how are we expected to live in these conditions? But I'm a little worried they don't make shoo shoo anymore. And by "they" I mean "Just One You made by Carter's." This little sub-brand is sold exclusively at Target so if they don't have it, I'm shoo shoo screwed.

I suspect they now make this newer version of shoo shoo:

I mean, it has the same look and feel of shoo shoo but instead of stars it has whales. Could he be fooled? Methinks he is too smart. 

But wait. As I was searching for images I happened across some shoo shoos on eBay! I think I'm going to bid on one that only has one person at $.99 so far. I've never bought anything on eBay before, but for this, I feel compelled to try. If I have to wait up late at night, right before the auction ends (like I've seen Frank do) and bid way over the amount shoo shoo would ever cost in a store, I will do it! And while I'm at it, I might get two more. It will be nice to have a spare in case this crisis situation ever happens again. 

My Threenager

Me: Gus, would you like some milk?
Gus: NO!!!!
Me: Well, what would you like?
Gus: I WANT MILK!!

This is a typical conversation lately with what used-to-be my sweeter child. My sis-in-law Laura told me there's a term called "threenager" and it couldn't be more true of Gus. Ever since he turned three, he has been somewhat of a mess.

Now, he wasn't unlike a teenager before. He has a tendency to be lethargic. He loves to sleep in. And when I go in to get him up (Yes, I usually have to wake him up!) he'll say, "No, it's not morning time yet." Same goes for after nap. I totally deserve this, by the way, since Leo was so nap-resistant and has always woken up at 7am or earlier, no matter if he went to a bed at midnight.

Gus also seems a little bit older, not into babyish things…except sucking his thumb and his shoo shoo. But he can totally hang with the big boys.

Now that he is three, he's more than just lazy and cool. He's prone to melt downs and is so stubborn. I honestly used to think he was kind of a pushover (compared to Leo at two). Not anymore.

And he just makes no sense.

Like today, we were in a public restroom and after Gus had done his business I was trying to help him wash his hands (which always sparks drama) and not only did he not want me to help him, he kept insisting, "I don't HAVE to go potty! I don't have to go potty!" And I would say, "You already went potty. Now we are washing your hands" to which he cried and screamed repeatedly, "I don't have to go potty!" Foolishly, I repeated my last explanation to which he became more agitated and repeated HIS argument. Full of frustration I yelled, "Why am I arguing with a three year old?"

When we got home he wanted to go in the backyard to "mow the lawn." He asked me, "Do you think the lawn needs to be mowed?" I said, "Well, the boys did it yesterday but you're welcome to mow it if you want." He asked his question again. I answered again. He became upset and screamed his question. I tried rephrasing. He started to melt down, asking the same question over and over, no matter how I answered. Finally (and might I add that it was way too hot to be in the backyard in the first place), I said, "YES! THE LAWN NEEDS TO BE MOWED!" To which he completely stopped screaming and said, "Okay." I heard him doing the same exchange with Leo a few minutes later so I gave Leo a head's up: "Just say yes."

In the last month I think Gus has had more melt downs than he's had in his three years. And I think his first language is whine. So this is just a preview of what it will be like in the teen years. Except I bet he won't be this cute.

Shroomin'

I still have my addiction to avocados. But I've added another vice--mushrooms. I like 'em together on really, anything. I mean, what are they putting in these things? Whatever it is, I am currently crazy about mushrooms.

Now, compared to avocados, mushrooms are a real pain in the pan. That's because I have to sauté them before I put them on my wraps, salads, pasta, burgers, breakfast. (I have no limits when it comes to shrooms. Well, I might stop at dessert.)

 I often think, "Ooh, mushrooms would be so good in this pita pocket," (Oh, that's another thing I love right now!) but then I'm all, "Do I want to get out the pan, the oil (olive or coconut are my faves) and then sauté them and then clean the pan and spatula?" Usually my answer is, "YES! Shrooms are totally worth it!!"

And they're good for you too--they've got Vitamin D, antioxidants, and B vitamins. Of course different kinds have different stuff but I'm not picky. I like portobello, crimini, white button, whatever.

It's getting to the point where I can go through a box (is it bad that I buy them in a the box and not fresh? Is it also bad that this blog is full of parenthetical phrases?) like every three days? I'm constantly making avocado and mushroom runs. (Side note: Avocados have gone way up in price lately so my addiction, like most addictions, is also bleeding me dry.)

So in conclusion, I freakin' love mushrooms.

Next up: Totally Trippin' over Tomatoes.

What a difference...

Six years makes!! 

What a difference...

Three years makes! 

"We Want Gus!"

Gus just turned three yesterday but in a lot of ways he reminds me of a teenager. He loves to sleep hard and play hard.

Over the weekend he had a killer pool party, foreshadowing many future parties in which his friends will be chanting his name.

At his pool party this past weekend (summer birthdays are so fun!), we were all ready for Gus to blow out his candle but our birthday boy was detained in the bathroom. Popsy started the chant, "We want Gus!" and when Gus finally arrived, he strutted in with quite the swagger for a three-year-old.

Here are a few more pictures from Gus' party-animal birthday weekend:

So long, Preschool!

Hello, Kindergarten! 

Leo completed his coursework at St. Francis of Assisi preschool a couple of weeks ago. Now there's all this talk of Kindergarten. It made me think back to a post I wrote just a few days ago about how Leo took his backpack to his first playgroup. I titled it "Kindergarten Already?" and I remember when I wrote it, thinking that Kindergarten was SO far away. 

I found that blog tonight and, whaddya know? I actually wrote it in July of 2008. So it turns out it wasn't just a few days ago. It just felt that way. 

So here is a throwback to when Leo was six years away from Kindergarten followed by pictures of him finishing preschool, just three months away from from Kindergarten. 

Kindergarten Already?

No, not yet. But Leo was excited about bringing his new backpack to playgroup. Although I think he is smart enough for kindergarten. He already reads! Well, he doesn't read but he stares at the books when we read them to him and sometimes he even tries to turn the pages. His favorites? Anything by Dr. Seuss. He's also a fan of Leo the Late Bloomer and any books that involve hippos, belly buttons or both.

"Thanks for not making me go to school yet, Mommy. Sorry I spit up all over my new outfit."

Tia Kristin, your premonition was right!! See below.