Have a Ball!

Carter wrapped up his first ever soccer season this weekend. I was a little unsure of how things would turn out when we first started. There were tears (mostly his) and a whole lot of running around screaming and flailing (again, mostly his). By the end of the last game, he seemed to understand what the point of the game was and had a better grasp on the only two rules a 4 year old needs to know in soccer: keep your hands off the ball, and kick it toward the OTHER team's goal. Of course knowing those rules and actually following them are, of course, two different things...

Here's a video of Carter in action at his last practice: (if you're reading this on facebook, you may or may not be able to see this...try going to www.carrieann123.blogspot.com)



And of course, you can see that Carter took this whole soccer business *very* seriously...



He did, of course have a strong support system from his family. This is Bella cheering for him (kinda) from the sidelines of his last game...



The next soccer season starts up in January. Now what in the world am I going to do with my Saturday mornings in the meantime??? :)

My Civic Duty

Like so many other Americans today, I readied myself to join the huddled masses waiting to sound off at the polls. I told Carter I was going to vote and he was curious what this whole "voting" thing was all about. I tried my best to explain it to him in my best four-year-old-friendly terms, but he still seemed confused. I realized I wasn't going to clear up this issue for him on the 2-minute drive to Umma's house, so I said "ok, let's take our own vote. Raise your hand if you want to go to Umma's house." Carter and I raised our hands, Bella looked at us like we were crazy. "Ok, there you go, 2 people voted to go to Umma's house and that's most of us, so we're going to Umma's house." (wild applause ensued). I said "See, Carter, you just voted." He nodded his head - I think he got the general gist of things.

I dropped them off and went to vote. There were three lines: A-E, F-L, and M-Z. Seriously? M-Z??? Do we have no idea of how to count letters??? Having the severe misfortune of a T last name, I was stuck in the line that wound all the way around the room and snaked back around again. In the meantime, the A-E line was completely empty, so they started pulling the "F" people from the almost equally as short F-L line. Meanwhile, I waited, and I waited and I WAITED, until finally it was my turn. I took my ballot, filled it out, dropped it in the box and got my little I Voted sticker and was on my way.

Then it was on to Starbucks for my free coffee, of course.

After doing my grocery shopping, I went to pick up Carter and Bella. When we got in the car, I pointed my sticker out to Carter. "Where's mine?" he asked. "Remember earlier in the car when I voted?" I told him he could have mine, but when he's 18 he can go vote for real and get his own sticker. "If I vote twice, can I have TWO stickers???"

"Sure. Something like that." We'll cross that bridge some other time.

Don't I smell beautiful???

This morning I was changing Bella's diaper while Carter was changing himself out of his pull up and using the potty. He came out of the bathroom slowly, watching me intently, looking a little smug. He inched up closer to where I was sitting on the floor with Bella. I knew something was up. Finally he said, "Don't I smell beautiful?" Uh oh. His hair looked wet.

Then it hit me. It wasn't a bad smell - just overpowering in a way that made my eyes water.

Instantly.

I asked him "did you put something in your hair?" A huge grin spread across his face as he nodded. "Doesn't it smell beautiful?" he asked me again.

"What did you put in your hair?" I asked, now a bit frightened for his answer. I began to recognize the smell though as I waited for his response.

"That spray stuff on the back of the toilet!" He inhaled deeply, his smile widening. Febreze berries and paradise air freshener.

Awesome.

"Wow, you sprayed the air freshener in your hair?"

"Yes, but that's not all..."

Oh crap. "That's not all???"

"Nope, I sprayed it here too." He turns around and points to his naked rear end. "Now I smell beautiful ALL OVER."

*sigh*

It's raining, it's pouring

So, I'm stumped. I've only been off of work a month and a half (if you don't count summer vacation) and already I feel like I'm running out of ideas for how to keep two active little ones entertained. When it was sunny out, we would go to parks, go jogging, play in the front yard, whatever. Now that it's raining, we're all starting to climb the walls a bit. We're tired of play dough, blocks, cars, coloring, cooking and keeping the TV turned OFF has become a constant struggle. So, my question is: what is something you have done with kids that A) doesn't cost much (any?) money, or B) doesn't require the use of an outdoor facility?

Gas prices are starting to come down a bit...I saw it at $2.85 a gallon and got really excited. Then I remembered that $2.85 by any normal standards is still expensive. So I'm trying to stay close to home.

Just to illustrate how frustrating it is for the kids to be sitting around the house, as I'm typing this, Bella brought me her shoes (although she's only wearing a onesie) and started whining and pointing at the door. I put her shoes on and went back to typing. Next, I hear more whining and then I look down and she's holding my tennis shoes (I'm still in my pajamas). I think she's trying to tell me something. Now if only I knew what it was...

In other news, we went to the zoo yesterday, dressed in our costumes for Zoo Boo. One of my favorite moments was when we were walking up to the aquarium and Carter looked up and said "wow! Look at all that shampoo!" Perplexed, I started looking for what Carter could have deemed to look remotely like shampoo, and realized, we were walking through a forest of bamboo.

Bamboo, shampoo...it's all about the same :)

I must remember...

As a general rule, if you stay up until 1 AM, your kids WILL try to wake you up at 5 AM. Good luck keeping up with them all day.

I need coffee.

NOW.

That's all.

The not-so-golden arches

McDonald's is forcing me to question my faith in humanity.

We took the kids there today after a doctor's appointment. It was a shrewd move, I know. Your kids are upset because they just got shots? Why not give them the gift of childhood obesity to calm their nerves? That'll clear up their clean bill of health in no time. But I digress...

We sit at a table inside the play area, which is PACKED. Kids are running around like maniacs, screaming. Parents are having casual conversation, completely ignoring their kids. At one point, I look up and there is a little boy (probably 2-3 yrs old) cracking up laughing as he is pushing someone else's baby around in a high chair. I'm sure that's what the wheels on the high chair were intended for, right? He was running full-kilter around the play toy, ramming the high chair into various objects and people. The baby was laughing, but all I could think is am I the only one seeing this??? Why aren't there two sets of parents jumping up to stop this inevitable train wreck??? And the kid just kept picking up speed. Finally, I see one parent, apparently the mom of the boy doing the pushing, look up and smile and say "not too fast now."

Seriously?

Next thing I know, the lady next to me starts SCREAMING at her kid. Now, I'm not perfect. I've lost my temper on many occasions when pushed hard enough. And I only have two kids. This woman had at least four. But this was exceeding the bounds of decency. I was already on edge, so I looked up without even thinking and then quickly looked away without making eye contact, instantly recognizing that this was not the right move. I could tell that she had seen my reaction though. The lady started screaming even louder at her kid(s), "Now look what you've done! That lady over there is giving me dirty looks like I'm some kind of trailer trash or something!"

Amazing. Although kind of funny that one would jump to that conclusion. Sounds kind of like a guilty conscience to me.

It kind of made me almost wish I had gotten a dirty look in. I don't know why I even go to McDonald's any more. I just walk out feeling dirty. And guilty. And maybe even a little bit angry.

From now on, I'm only going to eat at Burger King. (Just kidding).

Naptime Blues

I knew this day was coming, I just never thought it would come so soon. It seems that both of my kids have officially sworn off naps. Now, Carter, I get. He's four and spent a year attending preschool during his naptime, so his naps have been inconsistent, at best. But Bella??? She's only 18 months. We got a good solid three years of dependable napping out of Carter before he threw in the towel. I remember reading somewhere that sleep patterns go all haywire at around 18 months, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's just a phase.

So it is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I bid a fond farewell to my daily two hours of peace and tranquility. Naptime, you have been a dear friend to me for so long now. You will be sorely missed. As will my sanity.

That is all.