Bounce U

Today we spent 90 minutes bouncing, climbing, screaming and getting crazy. 
Bounce U in Rocky Hill just might be Wyatt's Wonderland.
This first video is one of the first trips down "the big slide".  This is the slide that Abby was insisting to us the night before that should "not go down without holding Mommy's hand", she would "not go down alone".

Wyatt had no such reservations.

A nice big group slide.  All of my pictures were coming out either blurry or snapping too late
(they were flying!) so I had to switch to video.

 

And in this last video, you can hear Wyatt scream as he approaches and shriek all the way down the slide.  This one sums up his day pretty well.

And here are my blurry - but very cute & fun - pictures.  I took about 80, these are the best I got!

Tiny feet ran/climbed up those stairs as fast as they flew down the slide.  In a herd.

Oh Yeah.  I got in there.
(This was the super high slide, they needed help getting up, I needed to get back down!)

Crazy's kickin' in here...

Wyatt with his first true love, Taylor.  They hop around and screech and hug when they see each other.

These are the days that eliminate the bad ones.  These are the days that make me question if I've ever even had a bad one.  It is all soooo good.


{Love you, babe.  Thanks for doing what you do so that I can do what we do.}

I can see Clearly Now...

So, snow is frustrating when it piles up, freezes, piles higher, keeps falling from the sky, freezes more, piles higher and never seems to end.
This kind of snow can cause an uncommon amount of stress into one's household.  Even to the point of one's 5 year old, sensitive and darling daughter to say "no!  I don't want any more snow!" when a simple 3-6 inches is in the forecast for the overnight.
Each storm that has hit since Christmas was a big one.  Not one storm that has been forecasted has failed to perform.  In fact, most have outdone themselves.
And each. one. has. been. on. a. weekday. while. Jay. was. away.
I have plowed, snowblowed and shoveled more snow in the past 2 months than I have ever moved in my life.  Seriously.  You can ask my dad.

Then, we had 2 beautiful days in the 50's.  I actually wore my flip-flops to bring the garbage pails up one day when it was a balmy 36.
The snowbanks melted down more than a foot.  My driveway and the roads widened.  We can see our new pool deck again and the mailbox is reachable from the road again.  I could actually resume our mail delivery.

With the big meltdown came some wet ceilings and walls.  There's water in the walls, water in the ceilings...  who knows where else.
Annoying but certainly a homeowner's claim - not a life-threatening issue.  Our roof did not collapse, we did not lose water, power or run out of oil.

Bathroom ceiling.

We could just style the rest of the living room in the same "Jungle Striped" theme that the wet ceiling started.

Aside from an aching back and some snippy moments of exhaustion, I think I came out of "January 2011" relatively unharmed.

It's cold again.  And tonight we're getting "3 to 6".  But the snowbanks and patchy lawns are dirty and crusty with snow so the fresh snowfall will be a lovely change of scenery.  The stores are displaying Easter decorations and gardening supplies.
The promise of spring is in the air.  And maybe we can actually get out in it tomorrow and have some fun.  I'd like to show my daughter that snow is still fun.  (Especially now that we can walk in it without getting stuck up to our hips.)

This is a picture of my "footprint" (mid-thigh, really) where I fell through while digging a path for the oil delivery guy.

It's the time of year I start to look forward to raking blisters, the smell of dirt and pansies in every color I can find.
Crocuses and Daffodils will pop up earlier than it feels like they should.  The kids & I are going to start our flowers from seeds, probably earlier than we should.
I'll rake out the flower beds and count down the days till I can plant and mulch.

One thing this winter taught me was that I am much stronger than I thought.  Physically, for sure.  But also mentally.  I managed to keep my cool (most of the time) during what, at times, felt like catastrophic snow & ice.  I took care of the house, the kids and the minor emergencies that cropped up while Jay was out working his end of things - stuck in airports, delayed, missing connections and then actually having to work 40 hours in 3 days and get back into the uncertain skies to return home.
All of this reflection about a "winter" that was really only a few weeks of the season.

I refrained from buying the beautiful wrought iron dragonfly hooks that I saw in Joann's today.  I could just picture the lineup of brightly colored towels hanging from them on my new pool deck this summer.  But, it can wait.
First I will buy seeds & soil. 

This is why I write.

The little, day-to-day stuff that happens with Abby & Wyatt gets seen, laughed at and appreciated then forgotten.  They are so funny and so cute and everything they do is a step closer to being the great big people they are going to be one day.

I like blogging the litte things so that we don't forget everything.  I am with them all.  the.  time.  So - sometimes I forget how cute they are when how annoying they can be is more at the forefront.

Today was a good day.
Today was a school day for Abby so we got up and out on time for school.  Getting the 2 of them ready has gotten considerably easier.  I set up their bathroom stuff, they brush & wash.  We generally choose their clothes the night before and they dress themselves.  Getting myself ready while watching them get ready, keeping them on track and possibly even showering is not easy but it's not that hard, either.  It just requires a bit more patience than morning usually presents me with.

After we dropped Abby off at school Wyatt and I went into town for a cup of coffee.
Ok, we drove up to Main Street and I got a coffee & a bagel from the DD Drive-Thru, he got hashbrowns.

We drove back down to school and went in for my first official PTA meeting.  The PTA was good enough to host their meeting during the day while providing childcare for the little ones.  I was so excited to attend my first official meeting and of course, I had plenty to "add".  And of course, I got myself a job and volunteered for a committee.
I will be building a Facebook Page, and maybe a blogger page too, for the PTA.  A way to keep everyone updated and plugged in.  These days, all the moms have a FB account or are constantly on their Blackberries or whatever...  so I will help the PTA connect with them when you know they're not reading every colored paper that their kids bring home every day.  The kids bring so much home each day plus all the "school" stuff every Tuesday.  Now multiply that by 2, 3 or 4 kids and add a full-time job on top of that.  Not every mom gets as excited as I do for Tuesdays.  And I'm guessing it will lose some of it's luster for me by grades 5 & 6.

By the time the meeting was over and I was done BS'ing with the other ladies I found myself standing inside Abby's school at 10:40, knowing that I have nothing to do until 11:20 when I am supposed to pick her up.
I didn't want to take her out early but I also didn't want to sit in the parking lot for 40 minutes and what was I going to do for 40 minutes to be back in time that wasn't a giant waste of energy?
So, Wyatt and I went into her class and were so graciously asked to stay for snack and story time.  The day was almost over anyway and I know Abby's teacher well enough by now that if she did not want us there, she would have said so.
Parents are always welcome, little brothers...  not so much.  But Wyatt settles right in (this was not his first visit, lucky little bugger!).  All the kids know him and want to sit with him and play with him.
He listened very quietly as one of the teachers read a Clifford story and when it was snack time Mrs. Monarca set him up with a water and a little bag of pretzels.

Wyatt wants, so badly, to go to school with his Thomas backpack and pack a snack.
He has a few friends in Abby's class.  They're little and they're only 21 months apart so sharing friends comes pretty easily at this point.  Plus, our playdates are almost always sibling-fests as so many of their friends are close in age, as well.
Mitchell is Abby's "boyfriend" even though as far as Wyatt's concerned Mitchell is his boyfriend, too.  Taylor has been Wyatt's little "girlfriend" since last September as her older sister was in Abbys pre-k last year and the 2 of them were always together when the older girls played.
I love thinking about all of these little friends going through the next 10 - 12 years together.
I do cringe when I think of them leaving the sweet, safe little nest that is Preschool, though.  That's for another post, though.

When school was over we headed out to BJ's.  The kids were so good.  They listened and used manners and stayed close to me and didn't beg and scream and cry for every candy, movie and toy they saw.  In fact, we spent several minutes browsing through the DVDs and when I said it was time to move on, they moved on.
My kids are good, they're better than lots of kids, I'm sure.  But they are 3 & 5 so to get them through a store, really - ANY store, without a fight is a more-than-pleasant surprise.
It did not go unrewarded.
When we passed the Monster Jam Hotwheels trucks, it was a no-brainer.
See, this past weekend Jay took the kids to see Monster Jam in Hartford and while we weren't sure if the noise and smell would send them out after 10 minutes, they fell head over heels in love with Monster Trucks, loud noises and doing cool stuff with Daddy.
The toys were necessary - it just made them so unbelievably happy.  When I said "I will buy these for you if you promise to share with each other and with Daddy", Wyatt swore he would share and Abby stared at me, mouth wide open, shocked and said "We can have them?!"
That proved 2 things to me 1) I have been sticking to my guns and not buying them stuff for no reason (as promised to my loving, hard-working husband!) and 2) my kids are not spoiled, stinking, assuming brats that demand toys from me.
It was so nice, I was so happy to buy the silly things.

But wait, there's more.
Wyatt insisted he would "set up a monster jam show".  At first, i had no idea where he was going with this plan.  The day was so nice and happy and my patience level was very high so I let it roll.
He proceeded to take every chair in the kitchen and set up an arena of sorts.
He went up to his room and brought down a bunch of regular sized cars and lined them up.
Then, the show began.
Of course, Abby wanted Monster Mutt all to herself and Wyatt kept telling her that it was his show.  So, in my own selfish desire to keep the ever-lovin' peace, I suggested that maybe a few Barbies would like to be the audience.
That's when the shit really blew up.

I have never had that much fun in a messy, disorganized kitchen in my life.
My kids are awesome.

Dinner and bedtime were uneventful but I will leave you with this:

Cheeseball Diva in her new big girl room!

I missed you.

I've missed writing.  I've missed sharing.
Mostly, though, I've missed saving all the little anecdotes that I fantasize about my kis reading some day and laughing at, loving or being horribly, horribly embarrassed by (either for me or because of me - either way, as long as they're reading.)

I needed the break so that I could clear my head and remember why I started blogging in the first place.

Journaling is therapeutic, but I'm me.  I crave attention.  So, knowing that someone, somewhere might read, think about, care about what I have to say - that made me happy and satisfied.  It made me more committed to writing, it made the writing more fun.  And the writing helps me clear my head and feel good, so it all works together very well.

When I go back and read some stuff I have written I can definitely see trends in my moods & attitudes.  I think that has gotten more even.  And I think that is, in part, because I had this outlet.

So, I'm back.

I'm still a mama & a wife.  I'm still fat and dieting/exercising.  I'm still happy.