These lucky, lucky kids

My kids are so fortunate to live so closely to a theme park. They are able to grow up with roller coasters in their backyard! We have season passes, so they get to spend loads of time playing here. On this last trip, Aden conquered a fear of the swings. He never really wanted to try these, but then Mia ran over to them so Aden decided to try it out. Turns out he LOVES the swings! They rode this twice and then had to run back to ride one more time before we left for the day.

We went on the first Friday that Six Flags was open during the week and there were zero lines. It was amazing. This doesn't happen often, so we really enjoyed not having to explain to two toddlers that they had to stand still in a line for 20 minutes before each ride.

Also, it was a gorgeous day. Just perfect! In the high seventies and clear skies.

Ethan enjoys rides that he can go on too. He already has a few favorites, and he was the only one of the three kids that wasn't afraid of the Yosemite Sam cave ride. (Which is strange because both of the other kids have been on that ride about 15 times and rode it just fine). I know he can't wait until next year when he gets to go on all the rides that Aden goes on.

Ethan really loved the giant sized stuffed animals. When Wylie Coyote held his hand, Ethan stuck his thumb in hismouth like he does when he has a stuffed animal. So cute!

When nature is not our friend

After naptime today, the boys and I got the water table out and played a little in the sun. After about an hour, Ethan was ready to eat so he and I went inside while Aden stayed outside for a little longer.

Every couple of minutes, Aden would stick his head inside to tell me something and on his third trip in, he was about to say something when he looked down at his thumb and then started screaming and swatting. I jumped up in time to see a bumble bee rolling on the floor in a daze. My poor baby got his first bee sting! Right on the tip of his thumb!

I swatted the bee with a shoe, scooped Aden up and took him the kitchen, removed the stinger and applied ice, all while Aden screamed and shook. Of course Ethan also screamed and shook because he was totally and completely freaked out to see his hero of a brother in distress. I was sweating.

I grabbed the Benedryl, the Tylenol and the Cortizone. I had also called my mother-in-law to ask if she knew any remedies for the pain. Because I couldn't hear a phone call due to all the screaming, she texted "toothpaste" and I was off like a flash getting the Crest.

Finally, the three of us cuddled on the couch trying to calm ourselves while the meds kicked in and I applied pressure and blew on his thumb. Once I got both boys down to a whimper, I broke out the popcycle. Soon after, Lola showed up with a Starbucks cupcake and finally all was better.

Thank you God, Aden is not allergic to bee stings.

Aden with his toothpaste thumb and cupcake box

Ethan wandering around sobbing, not sure where to go or what to do to help his brother

Could not be more relevant.

One month, 11 days

One month and 11 days after pulling the boys from daycare, Aden asked about it. In fact, because he hadn't said anything to that point, I wondered if he even missed it. And since Ethan couldn't be happier staying home with me, I was starting to feel slightly less guilty about it all. Slightly.

But then one month and 11 days after I was laid off, the boys were at the table beginning to eat lunch and I was in the kitchen when I heard Aden say, "Why aren't we going to school?"

I thought I misheard him and asked him what he had said. He asked again why they weren't going to school. I explained that mommy doesn't have a job right now, so they are able to stay at home with me until I find something new. I asked if he missed school and he said he did sometimes. I asked what he missed about school and he said, "I miss my friends."

Heart. Break.

I know it's hard to have friends that he played with everyday, has basically grown with them for nearly 4 years and suddenly, without notice, he no longer sees them. I've been there. I also feel terrible that he isn't learning the types of things he was learning when he was at the school. He'd come home with all kinds of stories and songs. I teach him these things too, and I teach him to write his letters and am trying to teach basic addition and counting to 100. But Aden is the type who learns better with peers. So again... I'm feeling guilty.

On the other hand, Ethan LOVES the situation. He has a whole house to explore now that he's mobile, rather than a small room, and he gets to eat his food and my food and maybe a few treats that he sweet talks me into along the way. He gets constant love and attention, lots of mommy kisses and gets TONS of field trips and outside time. And best of all, he gets to play with Aden all day. Aden is his favorite playmate.

Meaning, when I'm employed again, I'll feel great that Aden is able to play with his friends again and will be able to come home and tell me all that he has learned, but I'll be sitting at my new job miserably thinking about Ethan and knowing that he is missing his home, his mommy and his Aden.

Brain Fog

EEEEE GADS! Sometimes I have one of those days where I lose my mind. Brain fog? Maybe. Last Monday was one of those days. I was trying to juggle getting Aden ready for swim class, getting Ethan up from nap and get him dressed, feed him, pack a bag, deal wth a temper tantrum, find a lost shoe, make Aden a small snack, get his water bottle ready and get everone and everything in the car only to make it to the YMCA and find it virtually empty. No one was in the pool. I asked the closest person to the pool if classes had been canceled and she just shrugged and walked off.

We walked back to the front desk and I asked if swim classes had been cancelled for the day. No, they would start on time - - in an hour. I was an hour early! Oh sheesh.

What to do, what to do? So the boys and I headed down to the park nearby. Luckily, I had E's little red car with us. We walked by the ducks and played for a little while on the swings before heading back. It turned out to be a good confusion, as we all three had a great time and it was a perfect day. But sometimes I wonder where my mind went.

I know one little 10-month-old who thinks ducks are pretty funny. Comedians in fact.

Crawfish Boil at Lone Star Park

Aden with his first bet ticket

We took the boys to Lone Star Park for a Crawfish Boil last weeked, and it was Ethan's first time at the track. He loved it. He loved seeing the horses, being outside and eating the food... most especially eating the food.

Starting with funnel cake with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream and moving on to coconut snow cones. Heaven. He cracked me up with the funnel cake. He'd work on a bite for a minute and then when it was gone, he'd bang his hand on the picnic bench for another bite. This happened about 20 times in a row. I couldn't stop laughing - he couldn't stop eating!

He also took some time between snacks to check out the place.

Aden has been to Lone Star several times a year for the past three years. He got to walk down to see the horses up close and picked the horse he thought would win or show. Daddy placed his very first bet! (He didn't start off on a winning streak, but the horse almost came in third, good pick Adie!)

We also found a live crawfish on the ground close to the cookers and he was attempting to make an escape. I the photo above, you can see that the crawfish is begging to go home and be a pet, Ethan thinks the crawfish is the coolest thing ever and Aden is really, REALLY not so sure about that thing at all. (Can anyone be as similar to his mommy as this child?)

First Pancake

Guess who had his very first pancake? And boy did he LOVE it!

A Day at The Museum

We made a little trip to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History to visit the Children's Museum. We got to take Mia along with us too! They have completely redone the whole place and the kids really had a great time. We didn't get to see it all, but we'll definitely be going back.

The first photo is Ethan with the museum map. He was ready to get started!

We first headed to the tinker toy exhibit, which had several small tables with different activities for the kids. Aden's favorite was a makeshift pinball machine that popped marbles up and around different metal objects to make cool noises. the least favorite part was, surprisingly, a shadow box. Mostly because there were tons of kids in there already I think.

Then we headed over to the dinosaur exhibit. This was just okay. There were some impressive dinosaur bones, but not so many things for the kids to do hands-on, so we were in and out of there pretty quickly.

You can see by Mia's face how excited she was about the dinosaur room.

It was pretty cool of them to have some bones that they could touch - although this leg bone may be a replica.

Then it was time to go into the new Children's Museum section - SO FUN! Talk about hands on... this was definitely the place we spent the most time. They even had a little area for babies.

Aden spent a ton of time at a giant Thomas the Train table... er, tables... since this thing spanned about 6 tables. I don't know why I don't have any photos of that. Mia's favorite part was the pretend grocery store. You grab a cart, pick your food from shelves in different areas, then go to a checkout station and check out.

We had gotten here right after a large field trip came through, so it was quite picked through. But still fun!

Mia's other favorite part was this little TV which went as slow or as fast as you could turn the little dial. I have to admit, I was kind of mesmorized by this too.

There were also little things throughout the place, like this air exhibit which blows pinwheels and ping pong balls and the boys loved it.

And there were also little stations for emergency vehicles, a giraffe that tells you how tall you are and baby nurseries with a full medical station - complete with x-rays.

Behind the balancing beams was a small table for spinning tops. Mia was actually pretty good at this, and Ethan really wanted to eat them.

On our way out, there was a video camera where you can see yourself on TV and Mia stopped to dance. It was adorable! We went next door to the Cowgirl Museum, which was very cool but they don't allow photos. The kids got to see a talking horse, a saddle made of gemstones and they got to ride a bucking bronco!

A trip to the zoo with friends

Field trip! We love meeting up with our friends Tyler and Brooklyn, and their mom Shera. They met us at the zoo last week and it was an absolutely perfect day for being outside.

I do feel badly that Aden doesn't have a classroom full of kids to play with each day - like he did at daycare. So it was especially nice to see him able to goof around with kids. And Tyler and Brooklyn are awesome!

Our only complaint about the day was that the cheetah was hiding. Aden and I were looking forward to seeing him. But the monkeys made up for it - they were VERY funny!

Ethan loved the train. He had a smile like this the entire time he was on the train. He loved being at the zoo and being outside, but by far his favorite parts were the train and the flamingos. He smiled and giggled and went crazy when he saw those pink birds. This boy LOVES him some flamingos!

(Showing their big teeth)

We hope to be able to spend lots more time with Tyler and Brooklyn this summer!