Discovery Center

Well, I still can't get the video loaded which is odd since I can watch it on my computer so I would assume that it isn't too difficult to upload, but I do give up for now! Here are some pictures, though!

Tyler walking on the balance beam. Katie concentrating on her painting. Trying to skip rocks at the creek. Lance was the master. Tyler was fascinated by the water table, until he saw that he could control the conveyor belt!
Katie had to feel how cold the spring water was.
The kids had a good time, the exhibits were interactive and just their size!

HOT days, inside fun!

Friday night the kids stayed with So-So and Ray-Ray while we visited with a college friend. They seem to have had a lot of fun - Tyler keeps telling me that So-So let him cook with her (they made pizzas and cookies), and we had a great time hanging out at our old stomping grounds singing Karaoke! Saturday was eventful. Tyler broke out with (and still has) a mysterious rash all over his body. He hasn't had a fever or acted sick so all of the common things you would think don't seem likely. We took him to the doctor and they said it looked like contact with something that he is moderately (skin rash but no breathing issues) allergic to, or a reaction to a bug bite (which he has). He seems to feel fine, still has no fever, and it doesn't seem to itch or hurt (although the bug bites do itch so he thinks he is itchy all over). So, we are just watching it and hoping it clears up. We can't think of anything that he has used as far as lotions or soaps, etc. that is different, or anything that he has eaten differently so it is odd. They napped late, so we decided to do attempt two at a movie - The Smurfs. It was unexpectedly fun, for all the wrong reasons. Tyler did pretty well once the movie finally started (previews were endless), but Katie was scared of the villain (who she called a pirate). Screaming, crying get me out of here scared. So we let Tyler and Lance stay in and watch the movie and she and I went shopping (TJ Maxx) and to get ice cream at Sweet C C's (so yummy and Katie loved making her own). Lance and I both had fun spending some one on one time and the kids seemed to really enjoy it too. Today we opted to go to the Discovery Center at Murfree Springs in Murfreesboro. It is about an hour away, but it was worth it! We stopped at Steak and Shake where kids ate free all weekend and had a yummy lunch complete with milk shakes. We then went to the Center where they had a creek to skip rocks and see turtles, ducks and fish in the wetlands, and they had a firetruck, cars, and a train that you could climb on. They had all sorts of other fun things like a coal mountain the kids could scoop, cars you could put "gas" in, block and train tables, music rooms with bongos and xylophones for the kids to play, and an art room where Katie painted and they could write on the walls, and the hit - a conveyer belt as part of a farmers market/kiddie grocery store. I am attempting to post a video of how obsessed Tyler was with the belt that would put things in a basket. He loved it, and thought it was the best time ever - putting things on the belt, spinning the "driving wheel" to get them to either go to the register or to the basket. The video is long and I can't figure out how to edit, but hopefully I will get the hang of it and can post more! I'll do some pictures next post - they were taken with the ipod same as the video so not very good quality :(. Tyler in his exhausted no nap state kept saying he "had lotta fun," which was primarily courtesy of this exhibit!

Well, I can't get the other video to upload. This shows the belt I was talking about but not how much fun Tyler was having with it, oh well :(!

"Perfect" Timing

The school coordinator just came into my office to tell me that we are going to begin to transition the kids to their new (and separate) classrooms next week and they will be in them full-time the following week (eeek). He went to speak with their teachers about their readiness (since children usually aren't transitioned until they are at least 3 but with school starting it works out better to do them earlier). The teachers for both kids said that they were more than ready to move to the next classroom, and in fact probably needed to be in the "back building" which is for the older children where they begin to learn to read and identify sight words and have more of an academic focus (and rest time instead of nap time). They said that they really think both kids (but especially Tyler) are very advanced in terms of the preschool skills like identifying colors, shapes, numbers, and letters that they will work on in the next year, BUT are more behind in potty training. That is completely our fault, and it is pretty telling that my first thought when he said that they have to be in underwear all day with no pull-ups was about our beach trip - I never said I'm not selfish! I can't imagine what a pain it will be to try to make an 8 hour trip with two toddlers in underwear and having to stop for the restroom, or at the waterpark, or when we go to the park - you see why they are having issues now! Lance and I both put them in pull-ups whenever it is going to be a hassle to find bathrooms, coerce them into the bathrooms, or logistically get them in and out of the bathrooms in a timely manner and that apparently is exactly why they are having trouble. On weekends they spend most of their time in pull-ups (since we are usually out and about) and definitely do not understand that they should treat those like underwear. When they get to school they wear underwear, but it is always a couple of days adjustment after the weekend because they forget that they are supposed to be telling the teacher! I guess next week we will really get serious about it, really, truly! No matter how much I can't believe the munchkins are getting older - they are - and no amount of dragging my feet on the potty training issue is going to change that! Should be some fun times around our house in the next few weeks as they adjust to new teachers (always takes a while), new classmates, and not having each other around, in addition to the increased amount of time we are sure to spend in our bathrooms and others around the city!

Toys!

Yesterday Tyler's teacher came into my office to tell me that he was limping around dramatically and complaining of his shoes hurting his feet even with a bandaid on his heel (very telling since they love bandaids and think they cure-all). Lance was having a busy day and I couldn't really fit a trip all the way home in, so I told the teacher to just let him go shoeless until the end of the day if they weren't going outside. I didn't realize that my particular and routine -oriented little boy would not have any of that since he is certain that shoes are supposed to be worn at school and he wanted to do what he was supposed to do. For instance, last night he asked Lance to take a book into the "dance room" (what they call it from when they were little and the tv was broken so it could only play music) and Lance forgot and set it on the shelf, only to hear Tyler yelling as loud as possible for "Daddy put the book in the dance room." He would not lay down and was very upset that it wasn't where it was supposed to be and that dad had not done what he said he would. He has a very precise sense of how things should be done and gets upset if they aren't as he thinks they should be. Once the book was in the dance room and he saw that it was in its place he was fine and went to sleep shortly thereafter. Anyway, the point is that different shoes were imperative or else he was going to wear the ones that hurt his feet versus none at all.

I decided to go to Target to get some water shoes that I have been intending to get (for our beach trip and frequent Nashville Shores visits) and just let him wear those for the remainder of the day. It ended up not working out, because he couldn't be convinced that they were actually his! He did put them on once I picked him up and told him that I got them for him along with another surprise. I couldn't resist getting a cheap little toy for them once I saw what I eventually got Katie. On clearance was a disney princess toddler cd player that she can operate herself, and wear around her neck. She LOVES it. I had Lance's voice in my head when I was picking out something for Tyler (of course I couldn't just get something for Katie) and even though I saw lots of things I know he would love I knew Lance would say that we didn't need any more toys (and we don't "need" them) so I got him an inexpensive dinosaur toy (the dinosaur from the dinosaur train show) that he likes alright, but is certainly not as big a hit as the "mooskic" player. What was fun, though, was looking at all of the options and realizing that toys are about to get good (for us)! For their birthday I am going to try to convince Lance to let me get Tyler a car track or building set (he loves to take things apart and try to build real objects), and finally Barbie dolls for Katie or maybe dress-up stuff (which she absolutely loves at school). I much prefer those kinds of toys, and can't wait until they can really get the hang of those as well as corny (but oh so fun) games like Candy Land!!! We are very close to them being able to swing themselves, too - which will be a GOOD DAY! I don't mind swinging them for short stints, but Katie is obsessed and would stay in there all day demanding to go faster and more, if you would let her and that gets a bit tiresome. So, I am counting down the days until we get swings where they can touch!!!

We had a good weekend - Nashville Shores on Saturday and Sunday. We intended to just go to the Y pool on Sunday since it was overcast and threatening rain, but someone got sick in the pool and it had to be closed :(. Sunday morning we did go over to the grocery store across the street on the way to the Y and they had a free jumpy house AND the Weinermobile with games and prizes (whistles, loud whistles) which the kids really enjoyed. You can pack a lot of stuff into a day now that we have officially given up weekend naps!

The kids thought the "hot dog car" was awesome. Please excuse the way they are dressed - it isn't worth fighting with them about what "matches" and doesn't, so I just let them pick whatever they want!

Katie really liked the whistle, but apparently not shoes. We went to the Y after this and the pool incident involved a lifeguard blowing his whistle to tell everyone to get out of the pool. Needless to say the kids imitated that repeatedly, all afternoon!

The Waterpark!

We went to the waterpark again today. So much fun and it keeps the kids from being grumpy from missing a nap, plus they are really getting the hang of "swimming!" Katie was so worn out that she fell asleep eating her cheeseburger (that we got on the way home to try to keep her awake). I can't wait to go to the beach in August, it is a blast hanging with the kids at the pool and in the water!

They were all smiles! They were being extra sweet to each other today, at least they were after they kept "squeezing" each other which we finally figured out meant they were pinching the heck out of one another.

Slides, swings, and cannons - some of their favorite things!

They are doing great swimming without holding hands or being cling-ons. I really think they will pick it up fast when we do swim lessons on their own this Fall.

So much energy!

We have had a active and fun-filled weekend again already, and Sunday is just beginning! It amazes me that the kids are on go from the minute they wake up until they finally fall asleep (these days around 9:00 after much begging, reprimanding and cajoling). Friday night we went to Joe's Crab Shack. The kids had gone with my mom while visiting her and Tyler has continued to talk about it so we made the trek downtown (and remembered why we never go down there when we had to pay $10 for parking just to eat). It was delicious and the kids had so much fun dancing in the aisles and eating all of my food - Tyler had my corn on the cob and devoured it and Katie had what seemed like half of my crab legs (she loved them)! They were given shark toys, had yummy popcorn shrimp and fish sticks of their own, watched big kids dance and danced in the aisles with them, and really just became even more convinced that it is one of the best restaurants ever. Yesterday we went back to Nashville Shores. Fun times again - the kids really are at a great age to really enjoy that place and even though it was really crowded we still managed to swim and play. Katie is soooo brave - she was "swimming" by herself everywhere and wouldn't let anyone touch her (she had her lifejacket on) - even in the Lazy River! The jets carried her away at one point and Lance was desperate to catch up with her and really hurt his toe - BUT he wants to go back today so that tells you how much fun it is. Rides on the little Shoreliner are part of the ticket price/season tickets and we were too late (saw it boarding as we were eating lunch) to get a seat up top but the kids loved it regardless!

HELP!!!

Ok, so I definitely spoke too soon in the last post when I said bedtime was getting better. It is 10:00 (normal bedtime between 7:30 - 8:00) and Tyler is still awake, alternately singing, getting out of bed to turn lights on, and getting in Katie's bed with every pillow, blanket and article of clothing he can find. Nothing is working! Praise and special treats the last two days obviously didn't help, stern warnings and admonishments to no avail, silently putting them back in bed - nothing, arghhhhhhh! This can't keep happening. Tyler is grumpy all day because of lack of sleep, he keeps Katie awake (who pretends to be asleep even though she isn't), and I fear that he is going to hurt himself since he can remove outlet covers, climb anything, and figure out how to open, dismantle or break anything in his path. We really need a discipline method that works and so far they are definitely winning. Lance was annoyed with me the other day and told me that I desperately need a break, but really what I need is an answer! I have to go back up there since the light is on again and he is calling for me (Lance and I are taking turns) - I hate not knowing what to do!!!