Yes, we are college educated. Why do you ask?

So Meghan has these flash cards that are supposed to help her identify the states. They happened to be sitting on my nightstand one night so I took a look at them.

I mentioned to Ryan that I thought they would be pretty difficult to identify the states. He thought it would not be too bad. Ah ha, a challenge!

Do you know how many times we had to go through before he could identify the states*? Also, do you know how difficult it is to identify the states outside of the map itself and without any type of scale applied to them?

Some of them were easier to identify than others.

And, my gosh, there are a lot of states that look pretty much alike.

After the first or second time through I decided to give him some facts provided on the back of the cards as hints.

Uhhhhhh.

Eventually, I started to provide my own hints.

Like, “we have both been to this state but not at the same time.”

Or, “I traveled here for work.”

And the low point of the evening?

“If this state had a first name it would be Hannah.”

The age range on the cards was 4 and up. Seriously? Looks like Meghan is own her own when she studies this in school. But, we totally have math covered.

* I’m not saying I could do much better. I just was the one flipping the cards.

This has been our summer so far.

 

I’ve been pretty bad about updating lately.  I don’t know why.  It’s not like we have been spending time outside.  So, in an effort to bring this blog back up to date, here is what I can remember about the last week or so.

Rain – It’s been endless.  And quite depressing.  And it is still raining today.  Moving on…

In an effort to do something outside the house, I took the kids to story hour at the local Barnes & Nobel.  (Note to self:  Never go to story hour on a rainy day.)  The place was MOBBED.  I was quickly reminded why I don’t like to take Sean to these events.  It’s waaaay too stressful.  Sean kept escaping by weaving his little body through the sea of parents, kids and strollers.  I had to take the long way around to catch him.  One time, as I was making my way to him, I saw him put something in his mouth.  There were too many head in the way for me to see what it was.  When I got closer I realized it was a straw….attached to a milk box.  ACK!  I have never been so happy that he cannot yet drink out of a straw.  Needless to say we left after that.

And speaking of Sean, we were hoping that he would graduate from the Growth and Nutrition center after his last visit.  No such luck.  He gained what is considered below the normal amount of weight between appointments.  So we get to go again in August.

Meghan has become addicted to playing games on the internet.  This is where you can find her while Sean naps:

And, if I don’t get Sean as soon as he wakes up, this is where I find him:

 

 

I think I’ll finish this post with our excitement yesterday.  Sean had a tick on him.  That’s right, a tick.  Even though we were stuck inside due to rain.  They are starting to invade the house.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time either of them have been in an ambulance.

 

A few weekends ago* our town had something called “Truck Day”.  A bunch of trash trucks, fire trucks, police cars, etc. are parked in a lot for the kids to climb in and all over.  The town holds this event every year but this is the first time we attended.

 

 

 Meghan pulled the cable to blow the horn on this one and jumped so far off the seat she almost hit her head.

 

 

*I know, I know.  I have not posted much lately.  But it’s not totally my fault. Meghan has been hogging the laptop.

Three hours chasing Meghan around a farm.

 

Last weekend Meghan went to a party at Stowe Farm Orchard.  I had never been there.  No idea that it even existed.  But she had a great time.

It was H-O-T hot out there.  Meghan is a sweaty kid to begin with so her head was sopping wet by the time we left.  There was a lot to keep the kids busy there.  My goal was to get out of there before it became necessary for either one of us to use the one port-a-potty available.

The first thing Meghan did was make a beeline for the pen of puppies for sale.

There was a hayride for the kids.  I could not get Meghan to look at the camera if my life depended on it.

She’s the one is Sean’s tan hat.  Yup, I forgot her hat AND the sunblock.

The farm has an area where the kids can do their own mining for pretty stones.  We came home with a bag full of rocks.  I’m not sure what I am supposed to do with them but the water did help cool her down a bit.

The one activity Meghan had been looking forward too since the day she got the invite was the pony ride.

That was NOT a pony.  I think I know a horse when I see one.

Pony, horse, it didn’t matter.  She had a blast and we made it home before the potty became an issue.  Win-win.

One year down, one more to go.

 

I had planned to write a whole picture laden post about Meghan’s last day of preschool for the year (no kindergarten yet, she was another year to go).  But then, almost the entire time they were putting on a little show for the parent Meghan parked herself DIRECTLY BEHIND another kid.  I was only able to get a few pictures where you can actually see her head.

 

 

She got a portfolio of some of the work she did during the year (which was great because I am really bad at saving that stuff).

Next year she will go to school four times a week instead of three.  First we have to make it through a summer of “Why am I not going to school today?” and “I never get to go to school.”

Should I worry?

 

I asked Meghan to draw a picture for her teachers.  The idea was to scan it and make it into a card.   

“Oh”, she said.  “I’ll draw Mickey Mouse.” 

Great.  Sounds like a plan.

This is what I got:

 

Where should I start?

Um, color choices?  I am pretty sure that Mickey is not red and green.  But I can overlook that considering the state of our crayon box.

Me: What is that red dot?

Meghan: His belly button.

Me: Meghan, where are his ears?

Meghan: He doesn’t have any ears.

Me: ?????

Meghan: They are behind his head.

Okay.

Me: What about his arms?

Meghan: They are behind his back.

Hmm, sure.

Me: Meghan, one more thing.  What is this?

Meghan: That’s his poopies coming out.

.

.

.

I supposed it could be worse.

We are working on a new picture.

The Recital

Saturday was Meghan dance recital.  Here is what we learned:

1. Little girls are adorable in little dance costumes with tutus.
2. So is a little boy dancing in a little tuxedo.
3. Preschool dance routines are hilarious.
4. There is only so much dancing one should be required to watch in a day.
5. The school grossly underestimated how long the show would run.
6. If you lose someone in the caravan on the way there it is not easy to guide them back through Worcester.  Especially if the person doing the guiding really has no idea what the street names are.

Meghan was one of the first groups to perform.  She did great.  All of the girls kept gravitating to the middle of the stage so they can see their teacher.  Meghan kept getting a bit crowded by the girls next to her which threw her off a bit.  But it was really cute.  We were not allow to take video or use flash photography.  But I did record her rehearsal.

 

The Rehearsal from Dorene on Vimeo.

 

Overall it was a cute show.  However, it was really way too long.  Poor Sean had to sit through it all.  He made it most of the way through without causing a fuss.  He got so excited when Meghan was on stage.  He kept trying to stand on my lap and was yelling “Meme!  Mama, Meme!!”  (Yes, he calls Meghan Meme.)

We did take some pictures after the show.

The dance school already sent the dates (and costume bill) for next year’s recital.  At least now we know what to expect.

I’m not sure this post even deserves a title

 

I’ve been having trouble sleeping.  Actually, I’m having a problem keeping my eyes closed.  Every time I close my eyes I feel like my eyeball are doing some sort of crazy dance.  They keep jumping around behind my eyelids.  I feel like if I don’t open them again they will permanently roll back in my head.  I could try cutting back on the caffeine.  But come on, we all know that’s not gonna happen.

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Meghan asks to go to a restaurant at least once a day.  I chose to believe that this is because she like the excitement of going out to eat and not that she has an aversion to my cooking.

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Meghan’s new imaginary friend is Kiki from the JumpArounds. We have to keep tabs on her because she is always making sure Kiki is included in things.  Like wanting to order food for her at a restaurant.

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I’ve learned not to expect much of the seams of Old Navy pants.  Especially when one is bending and stretching to plant flowers.

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I’m watching Jon & Kate again.  I cannot help myself.  The kids’ birthday episode?  I kept thinking of what the parents thought when their kid came home with that invitation.  “Does this mean I have to buy six gifts?  Crap.”

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When I sing along with the radio in the car Meghan tells me to stop.  And that I am giving her a headache.  Humph.

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Sean may have inherited Ryan’s anti-shopping gene.  At Target yesterday he kept saying “Go home now.  Go home now.”

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Aaaand now I was going to end with a cute picture of Sean I took from my iPhone.  Because, lets be honest.  This post is full of absolutely nothing and the only thing that will make it worth publishing is a cute kid picture.  But, now?  The iPhone will not start.  I just have the apple staring back at me.  This is going to mess my day up.  I won’t be able to concentrate on anything until I get it fixed.

 

Oh!  Oh!  It’s ALIVE!

 

Here is Sean at his group session with his little smock on.  He looks so cute in that thing.

Questions for Meghan

I read this little interviewing exercise at All & Sundry and, since I am wanting for blog posts topics as of late, I thought it would be fun to do.

What is something I always say to you?

I love you.

What makes me happy?

Giving hugs

What makes me sad?

Getting no hugs or kisses

How do I make you laugh?

This (sticks her tongue out).

What do you think I was like as a child?

Like me

How old am I?

Um, I don’t know.

How tall am I?

This tall (touches top of my head).

What is my favorite thing to do?

Give hugs.

What do I do when you’re not around?

Play with Sean.

If I become famous, what will it be for?

Because I love you.  (Apparently she will be so famous that her love alone will make me famous.)

What am I really good at?

Ummm, this (points to my laptop).

What am I not really good at?

Standing on your head.  (True, very true)

What is my job?

To take care of me and Sean.

What is my favorite food?

Chicken

What makes you proud of me?

Because I love you.

What makes me proud of you?

You love me. (I’m not sure she knows what proud means….)

What do you and I do together?

Plant flowers.  (We did this once)

How are we the same?

We both have white skin.

How are you and I different?

We both have different color hair.

How do you know that I love you?

Because you give me a hug.

What is one thing you wish you could change about me?

You can have pink pants.

What do you wish you could go and do with me?

Ride my bike.

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I then tried this with Sean not expecting to get very far.  Here is what I did get:

What is something Mommy always say to you?

Me!

What makes Mommy happy?

Sean!

What makes Mommy sad?

Crying.

How does Mommy make you laugh?

Happy.

How old is Mommy?

One…Two…Three

And this is when he wandered off to watch Sesame Street.

Wordless Wednesday – Poise and Grace

 

Let Me Show You - The kids’ table

 

I wanted a way to make it easier to feed the kids lunch outside.  Now that the weather is getting nicer (finally) I’d like to go outside as much as possible.  Not to mention if they eat outside I don’t have to sweep up the mess (Bonus!).

We bought this table.

 

It took awhile for us to get around to setting it up.  But the kids love it.

 

Want proof?  Here, have some pictures.

 

   (This picture reminds me that I need to buy more sunscreen.  That is some WHITE skin.)

I am looking forward to next week.

 

This week is Meghan’s dance recital.  And although I cannot wait to see her on the stage the stuff that needs to be done leading up to that point is causing me stress.

Tuesday is her dress rehearsal.  I need to get her to the theater buy a certain time.  A theater I have never been to in a city in which I am not comfortable driving*.  Plus it is in the middle of a work day and we were told that parking may be challenging.  Perfect.  In addition she needs to arrive there in full costume and ready to go.  This means hair neatly done in a ballerina bun (with hairnet), appropriate amount of makeup on**, and foufy yellow costume with a full tutu attached on her body.  I have no idea how I’m going to buckle her in her car seat dressed like that.  Not to mention keeping the costume in one piece and clean so she can wear it for the recital on Saturday.  I have enough trouble getting her from the house to preschool without her walking into something dirty.  I am seriously considering pulling the car out of the garage and carrying her into it.  Because I would have no idea how to approach cleaning that thing.

 

*Although Boston is bigger I am more comfortable there.  At least if I get lost there there are many places I can get to that I know will lead me to someplace I know.

**What exactly is an appropriate amount for a 4 year old?