Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Are they made from Unicorns?
Good grief. As many of you know, Nate barely tolerates being clothed at any given minute during the day (or night, for that matter). For the most part, he'll only wear fleece or athletic pants, which means all of the beautiful corduroy and khaki pants and jeans we bought for Brendan and carefully packed away for Natey are pretty much good only as dust rags.
I recently discovered almost completely by accident a pair of jeans that he will deign to wear. They're denim, but have a soft, knit, stretchy waist with no button or zipper. I was lucky enough to score one pair from the clearance rack at Gymboree. When he went through a recent growth spurt (aka a "grossburg," TM Nate), Mike and I went in search of new pants. Because I'm kind of getting sick of seeing him wearing track pants all the time, I tried to see if we could get a few more pairs of the acceptable denim. Apparently they've added a dinosaur emblem and marked them right back up to their totally ridiculous full price.
I went back to the actual mall store over the weekend to see if any pairs were lingering on the clearance rack (got one! ), and encountered the most annoying and obnoxious group of people, all trying to cash in on their GymBucks (a promotion they use to get you back in the store a month later to spend more money). Nate patiently waited as we stood in a line that stretched all the way across the store, while every single person in line put their choices on the counter, then argued with the sales staff when it didn't reach the minimum purchase amount needed for the discount. They'd leave the pile on the counter and then wander through the store, trying to find a pair of socks, or tights, or a shirt, to make up the extra amount, leaving the rest of us to sigh impatiently in the stiflingly-hot store while we waited. It turns out that every single person in line was either really good at politely refraining from eavesdropping on the transaction in front of them or just really stupid, because as soon as they'd step up to the counter, we'd go through the same thing.
Eleventy hours later, we had one measly pair of pants. It's a good thing I love that kid.
Then, we went to Walmart and bought track pants in every color they had. *sigh*
p.s. No, I'm not forgetting about the pinewood derby. I need to get the camera from Mike to download the photos. I'll just tease and say it went really well!
I recently discovered almost completely by accident a pair of jeans that he will deign to wear. They're denim, but have a soft, knit, stretchy waist with no button or zipper. I was lucky enough to score one pair from the clearance rack at Gymboree. When he went through a recent growth spurt (aka a "grossburg," TM Nate), Mike and I went in search of new pants. Because I'm kind of getting sick of seeing him wearing track pants all the time, I tried to see if we could get a few more pairs of the acceptable denim. Apparently they've added a dinosaur emblem and marked them right back up to their totally ridiculous full price.
I went back to the actual mall store over the weekend to see if any pairs were lingering on the clearance rack (got one! ), and encountered the most annoying and obnoxious group of people, all trying to cash in on their GymBucks (a promotion they use to get you back in the store a month later to spend more money). Nate patiently waited as we stood in a line that stretched all the way across the store, while every single person in line put their choices on the counter, then argued with the sales staff when it didn't reach the minimum purchase amount needed for the discount. They'd leave the pile on the counter and then wander through the store, trying to find a pair of socks, or tights, or a shirt, to make up the extra amount, leaving the rest of us to sigh impatiently in the stiflingly-hot store while we waited. It turns out that every single person in line was either really good at politely refraining from eavesdropping on the transaction in front of them or just really stupid, because as soon as they'd step up to the counter, we'd go through the same thing.
Eleventy hours later, we had one measly pair of pants. It's a good thing I love that kid.
Then, we went to Walmart and bought track pants in every color they had. *sigh*
p.s. No, I'm not forgetting about the pinewood derby. I need to get the camera from Mike to download the photos. I'll just tease and say it went really well!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Pinewood Derby
Don't forget! 9am Saturday, at the church. The big boys go first, so Brendan's car should have its first run right at or shortly after 9.
The format will be different this year. For the finals they're just taking the fastest twelve cars from the whole pack, instead of from each den. And they're combining the same-age dens for the first stage (for instance, both Webelos II dens will be combined and all compete against one another). At least that's how I understand it. The end result is that the event will be appreciably shorter. Instead of lasting all day, it should be over by around 1pm.
We're brainstorming for bake sale ideas. Because of the shortened timeframe, I'm not sure cookies and sweets are the way to go. Although I guess nine year-old boys will have no trouble eating cookies at 10am, it makes me a little queasy. So I'm trying to think of something that's a little more breakfasty, but still portable. I'm still going to make some of these, because they're just too darn cute to pass up:
Can't wait to post pictures! Natey's car is all finished, too.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Violating my kids' right to educational privacy
one report card at a time. . .
Brendan brought home an EXCELLENT report card today! All As, with the exception of Reading/Language Arts, in which he got a B, and let's just say significantly improved from last grading period.
He also apparently scored in the 99th percentile on his standardized tests for science. Oh, yeah, and somewhere around the 50th percentile for listening skills. Who's surprised by that? Oh, no, go ahead, I'll wait for everyone to raise their hands. Nobody? Shocking.
Natey also did really well, but we have some work to do on his fine motor skills. Either way, I think everyone has earned a brownie sundae or something.
Brendan brought home an EXCELLENT report card today! All As, with the exception of Reading/Language Arts, in which he got a B, and let's just say significantly improved from last grading period.
He also apparently scored in the 99th percentile on his standardized tests for science. Oh, yeah, and somewhere around the 50th percentile for listening skills. Who's surprised by that? Oh, no, go ahead, I'll wait for everyone to raise their hands. Nobody? Shocking.
Natey also did really well, but we have some work to do on his fine motor skills. Either way, I think everyone has earned a brownie sundae or something.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Soccer games - updated
Double-header on Saturday, February 11, 2012.
4pm against NEO
and
7pm against Cleveland Internationals.
Both games at Lodi fields.
Look forward to seeing you there! You can get a peek at Brenny's new neon green indoor shoes.
In other news: Abbabella Louise (TM Nate) is getting big and really enjoying the snow. Duke the wimp goes outside to play for fifteen minutes and then cowers on the back step, pleading with his big brown eyes to be let in, but she can stay out there for hours! She's nearly as tall as him! We ran into a 6 month-old sheepdog this weekend at Petsmart and boy do we still have some growing to do!! I'll try to post some pictures soon. He's definitely benefitting from having a pesky little sister in the house. He has a little playmate to run with outside, and the exercise seems to be really helping his leg injury. All in all, so far she's the smartest pet purchase we've made (*knock on wood*).
4pm against NEO
and
7pm against Cleveland Internationals.
Both games at Lodi fields.
Look forward to seeing you there! You can get a peek at Brenny's new neon green indoor shoes.
In other news: Abbabella Louise (TM Nate) is getting big and really enjoying the snow. Duke the wimp goes outside to play for fifteen minutes and then cowers on the back step, pleading with his big brown eyes to be let in, but she can stay out there for hours! She's nearly as tall as him! We ran into a 6 month-old sheepdog this weekend at Petsmart and boy do we still have some growing to do!! I'll try to post some pictures soon. He's definitely benefitting from having a pesky little sister in the house. He has a little playmate to run with outside, and the exercise seems to be really helping his leg injury. All in all, so far she's the smartest pet purchase we've made (*knock on wood*).
Friday, January 20, 2012
Soccer Tournament in February
Just found out there's going to be a soccer tournament in Cleveland @ CSU the weekend of Feb 18. Mark your calendars.
More detailed regular game calendar to be updated soon.
p.s. anyone want to volunteer to watch Natey that weekend? He'll be bored out of his skull sitting around watching soccer games all day long.
More detailed regular game calendar to be updated soon.
p.s. anyone want to volunteer to watch Natey that weekend? He'll be bored out of his skull sitting around watching soccer games all day long.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Change in plans
Saturday, Jan 28 is going to be Pinewood Derby, not soccer. I absolutely cannot believe it's his last year!! And not long after that, he's going to be a full-fledged Boy Scout! What a journey this has been!
Next year, it's Natey's turn, although he's been building his own cars for two years now. Hopefully he'll get a chance to run his down the track during a practice run or something. He's really more into the stickers that go on the car.
Next year, it's Natey's turn, although he's been building his own cars for two years now. Hopefully he'll get a chance to run his down the track during a practice run or something. He's really more into the stickers that go on the car.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Kalahari 2012
Just hanging out in our room, being adorable (and yes, Aunt Cindi, Nate's shirt is on backwards).
He really liked the wave pool.
This one's like a not-so-buoyant fish.
Brendan was surprisingly good at this ride.
Natey, shredding. I was so, so proud of him for being brave and trying this! I think the teenage girls running the ride had a teeny crush on him.
Hi!
Faced with a new soccer season, I decided that creating a blog might be an easy way to keep everyone up to date on game schedules and photos of the boys.
First off, we just had an awesome weekend at Kalahari! Thank you again to everyone whose generous birthday gifts made it possible! The boys had an absolute blast. I'll post some photos later. Pictures of Mike on the boogie board ride might go to the highest bidder :)
Also, just found out that Brendan will be on the Canton United U-11 White team for Winter II. Their first game is Saturday, January 28, 2012, at Lodi fields (field 2, I think), at 9:30 a.m. The address is 8809 Lake Rd., Seville, OH.
First off, we just had an awesome weekend at Kalahari! Thank you again to everyone whose generous birthday gifts made it possible! The boys had an absolute blast. I'll post some photos later. Pictures of Mike on the boogie board ride might go to the highest bidder :)
Also, just found out that Brendan will be on the Canton United U-11 White team for Winter II. Their first game is Saturday, January 28, 2012, at Lodi fields (field 2, I think), at 9:30 a.m. The address is 8809 Lake Rd., Seville, OH.