Princess Dance Camp!

For the most part I don't hate working full-time and the kids seem to enjoy school, but I do regret that there are some really fun things that happen during my working hours that we just can't do. I thought we were going to have to pass on Princess Dance Camp this summer (which I know Katie will just love), but I think we might be able to work it out. It is from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and just for that week I am thinking about taking Katie out of school and having Lance pick her up (just don't know what his schedule will be at that time) and I can probably drop her off. I am so excited that we might be able to find a way for her to do the camp, because I know she will absolutely love it. The princess camp comes highly recommended and our friends with girls say that it is the best experience for little ones who love to dance and play dress-up (sounds like Katie). We weren't able to coordinate swim lessons since they are at 5:00 and I can't really get there by then, but hopefully we can fit it in when work slows down a bit (ha) and I won't have as much trouble leaving a bit early. If all else fails, dance class ends in May and then we could do the Saturday class.

Tyler participated in an autism study last week (as a "typically developing" comparison) and goes back next week to finish up. He did so well answering the questions and playing games and the doctors and researchers just loved him. He was so full of himself, but it was pretty cute. The lady who was doing the assessment asked him if he was a silly boy and he said "no, but my daddy is" and then said "I'm actually a handsome boy!" Wonder where he heard that - ha ha - I tell him he is my handsome boy all the time because one time he got upset when someone called Katie a pretty girl and didn't tell him he was a pretty boy! The study requires him to lay still with his arms by his side for 30 minutes and we are supposed to practice that for the next session with the scanner sounds cd they gave us (haven't quite found time for that yet, either). She said we could put a movie on since that is what they will do there (they are surprisingly still not that captivated by movies, though), but we discovered some crazy (worse than Yo Gabba Gabba) show this week - Lazytown - that they absolutely love and that might do the trick to keep him still since it is mesmerizing for some reason to them. I am going to try to see if I can get a dvd copy to take with us.

Nothing, however, mesmerizes them quite as much as the Leapfrog games, though. They love those things (and we are seriously regretting not getting the same one for them since they fight over who gets the "good" one) and are doing pretty well figuring them out. I think they have really helped Katie with her letters and numbers, and especially with drawing and writing letters. We ultimately want to get them the tablet style Leapfrog, so we are trying not to spend a lot on games and accessories for these, and don't want to get another of the kind that they like best because we are probably going to replace them next Christmas, or maybe their birthdays. It is hard, though, because I know they would be just as happy if we got another like the one Tyler already has and then they could play the same games at the same time. We got Katie a different one because it was supposed to be better for younger children, but had no idea that she would love a game that is only available on the one Tyler has! The tablet one has a camera, plays music, and is more touch than controller based so I do think that will be the best option eventually and we will just deal with the arguing over who gets to play Mr. Pencil now! Katie is learning to draw letters in one of the games and just yesterday drew me a picture at school with an "n," "o" and "t." She is really coming along with learning letters, and even sounds and is ahead of Tyler in being able to write them, and I do think it is a combination of those games and her being competitive and getting tired of hearing Tyler praised for knowing them! Tyler enjoys the e-books (and they are great for sight words which I think is the next step for him), and they both really like the building/drawing/coloring/shape game that happens to just work on one of the games (we have one Leapster Explorer and one Leapster 2). I like that the games are really good at reinforcing shapes, colors, problem solving, basic vocabulary, etc. so I will deal with zombie kids in the car and try to make sure they aren't playing with them too much beyond that!

We had a good weekend, but didn't take any pictures :(. We went to dinner with So-So and Ray, went to one of our favorite breakfast places in Leipers Fork and had ice cream! Sounds like a lot of food now that I write it out and makes me realize why no pictures were taken - we were too busy eating! I was still sore yesterday after boot camp on Thursday, and I played tennis last night (yeah) and have boot camp tonight again so I don't imagine we will have any big plans the rest of the week since I will undoubtedly be whining and complaining about not being able to move (boot camp is serious), but hopefully this weekend will have something fun in store!

Go here, go there!

I never would have imagined that we'd need to employ elaborate planning to keep up with the schedule when the kids were just three years old, but it sure seems like organization will be key in the next few months! Katie is still enrolled in dance class (and absolutely loves it). She will have a recital in May and classes every Saturday up until then. Tyler is begging to go back to Tumble Tots, and we may after a session of preschool swim lessons. We are anxious to get them swim lessons because they love the water and we love taking them swimming, but would be more comfortable if they had a little training in water without us and especially some safety lessons from someone in addition to us! Those start next week and I must admit that I am nervous as well as excited - it will be hard to watch them and not be in the water to hold and guide them! We have talked about doing soccer and the kids say they want to, but we will see since I hear a lot of people say three is too young for organized sports. To top it all off, my tennis season starts soon and I am enrolling in a boot camp (eek) at the Y starting this week. Lance's business has picked up some (woohoo), and getting everyone where they want and need to be will probably be challenging in the next few months, but I think it is good for all of us to get to play and enjoy hobbies and in the case of the kids, find new interests.

I still have the lingering stress of trying to figure out the school situation, but after calling everyone and getting information from all places with PK and Jr. Kindergarten I just don't know how we can swing it. Even the metro PK program at the elementary school they will attend is pretty expensive when you factor in two children (even though it is at a public school they do charge for PK), and the equally as taxing expense of after care. It seems that most people I know have both parents working, but none of the programs (at schools or the Y) seem to be very working parent friendly. The PK programs end at 2:00 or 3:00 and then charge an arm and a leg for aftercare, and all of the things at the Y start at 5:00, which is pretty difficult to get to when I am not even off work until then! I will still probably try to get them into the PK program at the elementary school by our house and if they get in see what we can work out in terms of before and after care (I may be able to switch around my work schedule to get done a little earlier if need be). Who knows, maybe by then we will have won the lottery :) (although I guess we need to start playing in order to win)!

Gatlinburg Trip 2012

After a pretty rough start, we had a really great trip to Gatlinburg this year. When we made it to the cabin we were anxious to start a fire and shake off the chill of the snow and cold chalet (a few inches up there). We collected wood, started the fire, opened the flue damper and then promptly the whole house was engulfed in smoke! After we got on the phone with the owners of the chalet (which Katie kept calling a shadow), managed to get the smoke alarms turned off, and tried everything imaginable to get the smoke out of all of the rooms in the A frame, all while keeping the kids outside on the snow covered deck (the smoke inside was unbearable and not good for Tyler's asthma) we finally figured out that that the flue was stuck and the only fix was a good yank. The rest of the weekend Lance got to be the pyro that he loves to be and make warm, cozy fires and grill in the snow. That was enough fun for us since it combines two of our favorite things, but it got even better with a couple of great breakfasts (Pancake Pantry and Applewood), rainbow trout at Park grill, a visit to the aquarium, a day spent at Cades Cove, a drive through the National park, and one of the highlights for the kids "swimming" in the hot tub. We are already planning to make a trip back to go to the indoor waterpark and Ober Gatlinburg which we neither had time for, or the patience since it was really crowded pretty much everywhere and impossible to even park after 9:00am at Ober Gatlinburg (first real snow of the season). The kids kept asking if we were going back to the "cool" house whenever we were out and about and I think they enjoyed sleeping in bunk beds and playing in a new environment almost as much as seeing the much talked about sharks!

Ever since our beach trip they have been fascinated with jellyfish!

Touching the crab, playing with penguins, and watching the sharks swim overhead were big hits too!
Cades Cove was awesome, even though deer were the only animals out and about. The kids had some pent up energy after the drive there and were pretty silly, but enjoyed running around and even learned a little about mills from dad!
Our visitors who "trapped" us in the house the last evening there - obviously they have been fed a lot because they were bound and determined to get in the house and couldn't be spooked!

Drama

One of our favorite book series (meaning ones that I can deal with reading over and over again and the kids will actually sit still and listen to) are those about Llama Llama. A phrase that always sticks with me from one of the books is when the Mama Llama begs little Llama to "please stop all this llama drama." Yesterday, I definitely felt like begging for all of the drama to stop! Most people reading this (since you are the special ones privy to knowing how crazy I really am) know that my anxiety levels ratchet up tremendously when on the interstate and especially when there is merging and tractor trailer trucks involved. Well, imagine that all of that is compounded by being a disabled vehicle on the side of a busy interstate while trying to manage two children who keep questioning "why we don't go, momma" and you get a glimpse of the state of panic and fear that I was in yesterday when my car tire blew out.

In my mind we were in the absolute worst place for it to happen since it is a part of my daily trek that I dread every day (cars merging from one interstate to the other with one lane oblivious that cars will be IN THEIR LANE in no time at all), and is embarrassingly not an interstate that I was totally sure of the name or direction of (I know now) since I literally merge for 1 minute and then take the first exit from there. After pulling off to the side of the road I immediately called Lance and as I was watching in the rearview mirror was becoming more and more afraid and hysterical. I have had to drive on the shoulder a few times because people failed to let me merge, and I could see that others were doing the same thing and coming dangerously close to us at high rates of speed. Plus, it being right at the end of morning rush hour, people were also unable to get over (move over law) to give some separation once they saw the car on the shoulder and were whizzing by, shaking the car and freaking me out even more. I was admittedly in a state of extreme panic, unable to stop crying (even though Katie kept telling me "it's ok mama." I opened the door to get a look at the tire and realize that I could not continue driving at any speed, and then edged as close to the guardrail as I could manage and didn't move until Lance pulled up (and then I still crawled across, not about to open that driver side door again)!

Lance saved the day and came to give us his car while he ended up sitting for over an hour waiting for the wrecker (and he said that it really was a very frightening spot to be in so it wasn't just me being an interestate wimp). It was an unusually busy morning in Nashville with accidents around the whole city, which accounted for the long wait. Nevertheless, USAA roadside assistance was again fantastic and I am so glad that we "accidentally" signed up for their driver program years ago. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life because not only was it a nightmare situation for me personally and my phobias, but also because I could not get my kids out of that situation and all I could think about were the numerous reports of disabled and emergency vehicles in accidents from the same type of scenario. It didn't help that Katie refused to keep her arms in her carseat straps, and Tyler immediately opened the car door on the traffic side when we put him in Lance's car!

The day ended with going to the mailbox and receiving what I thought initially was an audit notice from the IRS (which probably would have been worse news), but ended up being a correction to our 2010 filing which means we owe money. Katie has been somewhat of a nightmare lately, testing all boundaries of every kind of discipline we can throw at her and she was proceeding to have one of the biggest tantrums of her life as I was reading the incredibly difficult IRS jargon. They are both definitely testing us at every opportunity now, but for the most part are just fun, fun to be around these days and tantrums, whining, grunting and screaming (in Katie's case) are not overly abundant (knock on wood). Luckily too, we have a trip to Gatlinburg planned this weekend. It will be great to get away, to spend some time in the mountains, and enjoy some fun activities with the kiddos! I think a visit to the aquarium, some yummy rainbow trout, and a trip down the Alpine Slide are great rewards for dealing with some drama!

Merry Christmas

Well, I realize that we are now into January, well after the Christmas festivities, but it has been a whirlwind with no time to post so I figure better late than never. We had a fantastic Christmas this year. The kids are at a great age to really enjoy the magic of Santa Claus, not to mention all of the toys that they finally like more than the packaging they come in! We got to see most of the family the weekend of Christmas, but didn't see my dad until he came up the following weekend to watch the kids while Lance and I want to the Vandy bowl game. That was a lot of fun too, and we were very grateful that we got to go AND the kids had a fabulous time playing with Paw Paw and the girls.

It is difficult to take a lot of pictures Christmas morning when so many things need to be opened or exclaimed over, but here are a couple! We are making another trip to Gatlinburg in a week, and although it doesn't look like we are going to be lucky enough to get snow we will visit the Aquarium again and get some pictures there too!

Posing in their cute, cute Christmas pajamas from So-So. They have very different gift opening strategies (kind of like my and Lance's vastly different opinions on how exactly Santa leaves gifts under the tree). Tyler takes his time and really notices what he unwraps - Katie tears through them as if she is being timed!

Tyler is still a big fan of matchbox/hot wheels cars and really enjoyed his parking garage. He has found a new love too though - squinkies! They are these tiny little squishy figurines that get lost and scattered around the entire house, but he loves to carry them, play pretend with them and see how they can interact with all of other favorite toys - dinosaurs, blocks, and his new airplane and train set from Paw Paw and Tia.

This picture kind of sums up what made Katie a very happy little girl Christmas morning. A playhouse (from Grandma and B-Bob) that Uncle Matthew and Ray-Ray so graciously put together since Santa didn't, the princess dress that was the only thing she consistently said she wanted from Santa, and Hello Kitty pez that she was carrying around in her new purse (and she insists on carrying her purse everywhere now if we are out and about).

We went to breakfast this morning (the first time the kids sat without boosters or high chairs and they did really great) followed by a trip to Target, and as we were walking the aisles (trying to entertain them and wear them out) they pointed out things they wanted next Christmas. I don't think they have any idea how long of a wait it will be, but hopefully the year has so much fun in store that they won't notice!