Kiddie Park

This past weekend, I met up with my girlfriends and their munchkins for a trip to Kiddie Park. Kiddie Park is America's Oldest and Original Kids Amusement Park. It has been a San Antonio landmark for kids since 1925. Previously, it appeared somewhat run down and dangerous, but they closed for a couple of months for renovations, including getting rid of the roller coaster of death. They recently re-opened under new managment. All the kids had a wonderful time. There are only 8-9 rides and they are all geared towards the under 8 crowd, but it was perfect. Plenty of shade, no long lines, cheap tickets, confined space to let your kids safely run around. The girls would just run from one ride to another, or ride the merry-go-round 3 times in a row. It was so much fun we spent a couple of hours there in the morning, and then came back again after dinner.

Scariest ride in the whole place...the helicopters.

Which they rode 3 times in a row. Even Casey and I took a spin. Elizabeth's favorite ride. Casey hated it.

The bus was another popular ride, the girls loved how it jerked going around the corners.

Casey got a kick out of driving the little cars.

Pumkin Patch

It is that time of year again when everyone is blogging about pumpkin patches and apple picking. We made sure to capture our share of fall fun. The kids were off on Monday for a teacher training day, so we had big plans for an outing. There were some small hick-up due to all the rain we have had lately. We desperately needed it, but it has turned everything to mud. Two of the pumpkin patches were closed, but we finally found a third that was open and we were on our way. An hour later, after listening to "are we there yet," we arrived at Love Creek Orchards in Medina, TX. Then it was sensory overload. Tractor and pony rides, hay bale mazes, shows, a petting zoo, pumpkin muffins and apple pie, plus lots of room just to run around. The kids had a wonderful time. We may even do another outing this season, so that Ryan can join us next time.

Tractor Time

Casey likes anything with a steering wheel. Maybe NASCAR is in his blood. Ava and her new best friend. An pitiful attempt at a family picture. Don't look too close at the strange faces, or the fact that Casey is covered in mud from rolling down a hill. Special treat of the day Casey loved catching chicks and trying to rip their head off or poking them in the eyes. Shh, don't tell PETA. Elizabeth told me, "Mom, I can just sit here all day and hold this chick." True love. They dressed him. Guess who picked out the pink pants.

Project Runway

This was a project that I started before Ava's accident. I found a blog about making these twirl dresses and they looked simple enough to complete with my basic sewing skills. Ryan is always telling me to get a hobby. As if I have time for a hobby while raising 3 kids and working full time. However, the dress looked so cute, I figured I should put my sewing machine into action more than just Halloween. The blog warned that these dresses took a lot of time to assemble. I should have given that statement more merit. It took me about 5-6 nights (with a 2 month break in between) to cut all the squares, sew all the rings of squares together, and then attach all the rings. I think Elizabeth's dress has 140 squares in it, and Ava's only has a few less. Well I am finally finished! I think they turned out really well, and the weather is still warm enough for the girls to wear them. They have plenty of room to grow with their dresses, and if they get too big, I can always pair them with leggings or turn it into a skirt. Bottom line, they are going to wear them forever.Next challenge...the Halloween costumes.

Pre-Season

Ryan will have to come in here and add the explanation to the wrestling pictures. Don't expect me to tell you the difference between a cradle and a single leg. So enjoy the pictures and videos for now, and check back later for verbiage.

"I WANT THE BUM, Rrrr!"

The Crew

They are all mine!

Speaking of Sleep Habits

This is from a couple of weeks ago, just prior to Ava's head scan. The imaging place suggested sleep depriving Ava prior to her CAT scan to make her more compliant to lay still. I was skeptical. I certainly didn't want to stay up all night and then go to work in the morning, and I thought she would end up more difficult because she was tired and cranky. In the end, I decided to shave a few hours off her normal 10-11 hours of sleep. I put the girls down at the same time, as not to get Elizabeth all riled up because Ava was getting special treatment. However, I went back in after the girls feel asleep to wake up Ava and let her stay up watching a movie until Daddy came home around midnight. Trying to get Ava up and out of bed was harder than I thought it was going to be. I pulled her out of her bed and set her on her feet. Immediately, she started circling like a dog looking to make a bed. Not finding her bed, she just laid down on the floor. Then she started pawing for her blanket. Not finding her blanket, she just gave up, stuck her thumb in her mouth and pretended to hold her blanket. All of this without opening her eyes. After taking this shot, I dragged her out of the room and fully woke her up. She and I watched Aladdin, but she didn't make it to the end. She did do a great job laying still in the "Ba-chine," but of course was cranky and fidgety while waiting for the disk of images.

Oops

Ryan came into the bedroom last night and asked me if I had something to tell him. I couldn't even begin to guess where he was going with that line of questioning, so I told him to spit it out. He asked why there was a book about divorce on the kitchen table, and if there was something that I was not telling him. I still had no idea what he was talking about, so I headed to the kitchen to see a kids book on the table titled the following.

Standing on My Own Two Feet A Child's Affirmation of Love in the Midst of Divorce

It turns out this was the book that Ava picked out at the library the other day. I let the kids choose their own books. I wasn't doing any censoring other than making sure the book was in English and was age appropriate. I glanced at the book Ava was holding and saw the words "My Own Two Feet" and the image of the little boy. I thought it was a book about getting dressed by yourself. Oops! I guess I will be taking that one back, and doing a better job in the future of double checking what we are borrowing from the library. However, if you are ever looking for a children's book on divorce this does appear to be a good one for younger children.

It could be worse...

At least we don't have septic issues like Annie and Billy, but we do have our own problem now with a broken A/C. The fan motor died which also probably took out the compressor. The whole unit is 12 years old (15 year life expectancy), so now we are looking at replacing instead of rebuilding. Not fun! At least it is not July or August with record setting temperatures. We now have high in the high 80s or low 90's during the days and most evenings it dips into the 70s. That gives us a little time to get some other quotes and compare options.

Cute but Infuriating

Yesterday, we went over to Gram's house to go swimming and celebrate her birthday. After the kids polished off a dinner of chips and cake (I did try to get them to eat real food), I figured I better take them home before things really got wild. I got everyone home and in bed just after 8pm. This is already an hour past their normal bedtime. The house was quiet and I moved onto laundry, trash, and pulling some things together in the garage for donation. After chatting with my neighbors outside, I came back in at 9pm to greet two little girls in the hallway. In synchronized sing-song voices, they recited "Mom, can we wake up now?" It was almost like they had been in their room rehearsing this for the last hour. It was pretty cute, but highly infuriating since it was now two hours past their bedtime and they still were not asleep. However, they were looking pretty cute alsleep in the same bed when I checked on them later.

Ava-ism

Chronologically, I know this is a little out of order, but I thought it was still funny enough to share with you. Better late, than never. "Here mom, that's for you," handing me a $20 bill when she opened one of her birthday cards. She ran off with the card, and I was left holding a $20. Hey, who am I to complain, I can aways use some cash. No, I haven't brainwashed her. In fact, Ava loves money and always has some in her suitcase and car seat. She just prefers coins over paper. Let's just hope she doesn't become obsessed with plastic.

Costa Rica

Ava: Update

Ava got another CT scan on Tuesday and met with the doctor for a follow-up visit on Wednesday. While there is still evidence of the crack in her skull and trauma to the brain, no one is worried. She is acting normally and is slowly healing. Unfortunately, heads do not mend as quickly as arms or legs, so it will still be a few more months before we can let her go full steam. Now, if I could only get Casey to slow down. He loves to run, but his top half gets ahead of his bottom half, and next thing you know is that he is doing the flying Superman into the floor head first.

Back to Reality

After returning from Costa Rica, we quickly jumped back into our normal routine of laundy, dance class, and birthday parties. Ryan and Casey stayed home to watch college football, while I took the girls to a birthday party for one of Elizabeth's T-ball teammates. The little boy's grandmother loves to take pictures, good ones at that. I thought I should share the pictures of our fun afternoon with all of you.

The Gang!

Cupcakes, Yum!

Candy, Yeah! More cupcakes. A little discussion about sharing and not whining. Everthing is good now. Some serious bouncing! I think she could pass for Supergirl.

Taking a swing at Batman.

Looking out for her little sister when a boy tried to cut in line.

Ava finally gets her turn.

By the way, if you didn't notice, Elizabeth loves superhero birthday parites.

Sound Familiar?

Backlog

That is what happen when mom gets sick. 8 loads of laundry, dishes piled in the sink, messy house, crabby kids, and no blog updates. I am caught up on almost everything now, and looking forward to my vacation next week.

Dancing Fools

Elizabeth and Ava started their dance class this past weekend. It has re-energized their love for music and movement. Casey just never seems to stop moving. Finally, he slows down.