Bubbles

Another herald of spring, bubbles!  To be outside and blow bubbles, sheer bliss.

Tea Party

What a good dad to have a tea party in a blanket fort with his little girl.  He can't tell her no (much). Anthony joined in too.

St. Patrick's Day

Several years ago, I think when he was five, Brendan dreamed up and built his own leprechaun trap.  He helped Rita and Anthony build one of similar design.  The idea is simple.  You post signs saying "gold this way" at the bottom of the ladder.  Once on top, he will see the rainbow and run toward the end of it.  At the end of the rainbow is a trap door leading into the box.  Inside the box are Lucky Charms cereal to keep him occupied until we can see him the next morning.  As with Brendan's attempt, we did catch one (muddy footprints all over are the evidence), but the rascal got away.  The picture of Karl and Anthony is nearly identical to the one taken of Brendan and Karl.  Same shirts, different kids.  All in all, a fun "leprechaun day".

Brendan and Karl

I Know Sring is Here When...

Mud happens.

Having a Little Time to Myself

I am like a magnet.  If I sit down for one second, the kid blanket descends upon me.  Sometimes I get irritated, but then I remember that some day I will have lots of time to myself and will be very lonely.  I do love my kid blanket.

First Ski Lessons

I don't ski.  I never have and have not the slightest interest in strapping boards to my feet and hurling down a mountain.  But I want my kids to have the opportunity to decide if they like it.  Brendan has been skiing, though not frequently, since he was three.  So I thought that since the twins were 5, it was high time to try it.  Karl was unavailable to take them due to work deadlines.  So, I put on my big girl pants and took them to that foreign land know as a ski resort, Black Tail Mountain.

This was nerve racking for me.  Since I don't ski, I don't know anything about skiing.  Like how to put on boots and things that are basic.  So I was nervous.  Plus I had never been to BTM before. 

Anthony was sick that day, so I kept him with my mom and me and Rita and Brendan did their lessons. 

All went fine, but the funniest thing was that I didn't even know how to attach the pass to the kid.  I asked Brendan, who said "I don't know."  I thought he might know since he had done this before.  It earned him a mommy growl.  So, I covertly glanced around and saw the sticker passy thingy attached to the wire thingy called a wicket or a widget (can't remember).  I ran down, grabbed a wicket/widget and put that sticker right on their.  So proud.  The looked at thingy and realized I was supposed to put wicket/widget on kids zipper BEFORE putting the sticker passy thingy on it.  Ack!  I ran down the stairs in a panic and the kind lady gave me a new pass and asked if I understood the use of the wicket/widget now.  Yep!  Back up I ran in my excitement and proudly attached Brendan's pass to him.  Back down I ran to get another because I forgot I needed one for Rita.  Whew!  After all said and done I got both kids to lessons on time and joined mom and Anthony in the restaurant for a snack and a beer.

 Rita's Lesson

 

After Brendan's lesson, he took of on his own, but begrudgingly gave me a pic first.

Two weeks later, Anthony was well and did his first lesson.  At first he didn't want to, but once he started he didn't want to stop! Karl was able to come that day, which made my life much easier.

Fairies and Superheroes

Rita and Anthony come up with some pretty creative ways to play with both the "girl" toys and the "boy" toys together.  Rita set up her Playmobil fairy pond set and Anthony's Super Hero Squadies came over for a dip in the the pond.  As things with boys goes, they got a little rowdy and got kicked out of the pond eventually.