Field Trip

Sammy and I got to join Daniel's class on a field trip to the theater and the park today. The performance was great (the kids were well behaved) and the kids loved playing at the park together. Besides two of the boys I was driving who were behaving very poorly in the car ride (not Daniel and Sammy thankfully) and the slight detour I had to take trying to find the theater, it was a successful outing. But field trips with a bunch of small children sure does wipe one out. What am I doing still awake? I will post photos tomorrow.

Character Trait: Lasting

It has become a bit of a game with the kids. Who's parents have shown up for Chapel this week? Oh, looks like David is going to get a Chapel award, there are his parents. Well, Suzy and I are nothing if not competitive and sneaky, so we try very hard to not let Daniel know when we are there. In fact, the picture below is taken right as he finally saw us hiding up in the balcony after he received his award for the character trait of 'lasting'.

We aren't quite sure what 'lasting' signifies, but we think it is some positive way of saying very stubborn. Actually, Suzy and I were both pretty surprised that Daniel got this award, because he really isn't that stubborn, or whatever the positive spin on stubborn is. However, he does have an enduring positive character, which is how we are choosing to define 'Lasting'.
Gotcha, buddy, you never even knew we were there! We win!

[The kid in the front row on the right side in the above picture actually saw us for a split second in the hallway, but we ducked back behind a corner pretty quickly. It turns out he was walking right in front of Daniel in line, he missed us by that ' ' much. Better luck next time, Daniel.]

[Also, I am pretty sure that this will post as Suzy, but I am too tired to figure out how to change that, so just remember, I get credit for this one!]

Home Again

Back home safe and sound. It was a wonderful weekend. Everything I had hoped for and more. I will leave you with some photos for now...

An Adventurous Day

The boys and I had quite the day of adventure today. Suzy is on Day Two of her Women's Retreat, so I have been thinking all week of what the boys and I would do for the day. I knew from past experience that I better have some plan to keep us all occupied, because if I just spent the day trying to figure things out on the fly we all would end up grumpy. Thankfully, Daniel's cub scout den is full of boys itching to party, and parents willing to go have some fun too. So when I sent out an email earlier this week asking if anyone wanted to join me, Sammy and Daniel at an afternoon showing of Monsters vs. Aliens (watch out for the noise of this link), followed by dinner at Ruby's, I figured that I would have some takers. I was right, fully two thirds of our den and their parents and assorted siblings showed up. Good movie, well behaved kids, and fun parents equals a very nice evening out for me. It was great to see the line of five little boys sitting in the row of the theater, jumping at the 'scary' parts and doing their silly laughs at the funny parts, all in unison.

Since I had scouting on my mind I decided to make a full day of it for my boys. We spent the morning doing 'Elective' and 'Required' scouting activities. For every ten electives that Daniel does, he gets a bead. He also needs to finish all of the required items to get his Tiger Cub badge. We did things like wandering around the neighborhood to practice our orienteering skills, fire drills (the boys have this one down pat, but the neighbors sure gave us some weird looks), created weather reports, talked about sun screen, tested smoke detectors, talked about recycling, etc, etc, etc! Sammy was more than happy to join in the fun, and by the end of the morning we had done about 10 electives or Tiger Cub requirements. He is now just a few things shy of his Tiger Cub badge.

Since the boys were both busy all day, they went down like logs tonight, nary a peep was heard after 'lights out'. Just the way I like it. Now if my lovely bride would just come home things would be perfect. When is she getting back?

Rockin' Robin

Friday was the annual City Tree Preschool Dance. This being my second one of these, you would think that I would be a little more prepared. Alas, no, not prepared at all. Thankfully I was paying attention to Sammy these last few days, and noticed that this was important to him. So, when I found myself at work at 2:40, when the program started at 3, I was not happy. I rushed out the door leaving little bits of code flying in my wake.

I made it down to school in record time, I had about two minutes to sign Daniel out of his class, and make it downstairs to grab a seat before the little ones paraded out. Daniel and I hustled downstairs, weaved through lines of preschoolers in various states of dress (think backstage on Broadway before 'Cats') and burst into the bright, sunlight soaked courtyard, only to come to a skidding stop. Oh, the humanity. Literally. Humanity. Everywhere. I had forgotten that this was a well attended event. Parents, grandparents, second cousins. The courtyard was full.

A quick side note, I should have had a clue to the condition of the courtyard when I dealt with the parking issue, no school spots open, I was forced to shove every last dime in the car down the throat of the Meter Monster.

So, I am down to about 30 seconds before the program is scheduled to start, decisions are flashing through my brain.... Knock out grandma? No, we are technically in a church. Bribe someone for their spot? No money, times sure are tough. Wait, what's that over there? Some seats,

'Let's go, Daniel!'

Once we made it to the unoccupied spots I realize why they are unoccupied. You remember the 'bright, sunlight soaked' comment from earlier? Yes, these seemingly prime seats were in the brightest spot in the courtyard. I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. The soft winter sun had caused me to forget about the consequences of the full follicular retreat that is happening on my considerable cranium. The sun and I are no longer good friends. Well, what could I do? Using the Program Guide as a sun shade (yes, Auntie Chrissie, you are right, it didn't quite cover the whole noggin!) Daniel and I settled in just in time to see the Two Year old Classes join together in a rousing performance of 'The Peppermint Twist'.

Thankfully, after the Twist, only a very cute 'Bunny Hop' separated us from the true talent of the day, 'Rockin Robin'. Sammy's class lined up in two rows, dressed in jeans and white t-shirts for the boys, with little 'robin' beaks on their heads. Sammy's sleeves were rolled up, showing off his rock climbing guns, and his teacher, Mrs. Denney, had gelled his hair into the latest (if you lived in the 50's) style. The class did a wonderful job, with some of the little girls really getting into their roles. Sammy's performance was very, hmmm, nuanced, for the first part of the song, but then his face lit up, and he leaped into action when a particular part of the song came on. His assignment was to dance with Amelia, his best friend in the class. Over he bounded to Amelia, they grabbed hands and bounced around with great enthusiasm. It was my favorite part of the day, and clearly Sammy's too.

Delicious root beer floats were provided after all the kids had finished, and the boys and I stopped off at McDonald's on the way home for a well deserved celebration dinner. But all I could think about for the rest of the day was how happy Sammy looked while dancing with Amelia, and what the consequences of that joy would be for me when he is a teenager. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Retreat

Tomorrow I will be heading up to the mountains (Forest Home) with about 60+ women for a retreat. And boy do I ever need it. I am looking forward to crisp clean mountain air, good fellowship and time alone. To get away from the city and all the busyness of everyday life. Just slow down and relax. I can hardly wait!

Spelling Test

I am a terrible speller. An awful speller. Always have been and probably always will be. I'm not sure why exactly, but it is what it is. I'm just thankful for Spell Check. I can at least fool people into thinking I can spell with Spell Check. But sometimes I am left on my own and the truth comes out. Like this morning.

This morning I was helping out in Daniel's class. The kids have journal time each morning when they draw a picture and then write about the picture. When they are done they raise their hand so someone can come and read their writing and correct spelling, punctuation, etc. You can see where this is leading. Kid raises hand, I come over to check out their writing and then I have no idea how to correctly spell one of their words. Really quite embarrassing. Some of the first graders can probably spell better than me.

Thankfully it appears that Daniel has not inherited my spelling gene. He is a very good speller so far. He has a spelling test each week of about 12-16 words and I think he has only missed 3 words the whole year. Must be thanks to Dan.

And Sammy can already spell simple words like cat, dog and sun. Hopefully the bad speller gene has also passed Sammy by.

If not there is always Spell Check.

Memories Made

The cousins are gone, but the memories stilll remain...

A Fun Filled Day

Well, we wiped out the cousins today. In fact we wiped ourselves out as well. Chrissie took a 2 hour nap with Kulia and Tutu and I debated hitting the sack at 8 pm tonight.

Daniel had to go to school today so it was just Sammy, Leina and Kulia. We took them up to the park and they ran and ran and ran around all morning long. Then we grabbed some lunch and headed over to Dan's work. The kids ate some and then played on all the workout equipment at work. After a brief rest time I took Sammy and Leina down to school to get Daniel. We showed Leina around school and then stopped by to say 'hi' to Nana, who had strawberries and cookies waiting.

When we finally got home the cousins all ran around outside while Tutu and I prepared yummy curry for dinner. We finished the day with chocolate and mint chocolate chip (my favorite)  ice cream in chocolate covered cones. Yum!

Before any meltdowns could ensue we washed, brushed, read to and threw the kiddos in bed. And they must have been wiped because we didn't hear a peep from their room. Except Kulia, who had a two and a half hour nap and entertained us with her cuteness till almost 9 pm.

A full and very fun day for all.

The Last Temptation of Leina

They are all down. Kulia is in the studio, having a hard time going to sleep because of her three hour nap. Daniel, Sammy and Leina are asleep in the boy's room. It was awhile before the three of them went to sleep and most of us adults had to go in at some point. The second to last visit of the night was from Auntie, and she caught Leina sneaking up Daniel's ladder. After a threat with dire consequences, Leina agreed that she would not get out of her bed again.

The last visit by an adult to the boy's room was me. I snuck up there, listened at the door and quickly barged in to catch them in the act. Leina, like the good little girl she is, was in her bed. The boys, however, were in Leina's bed. I started the interrogation and found out from Daniel that Leina invited the boys down to sleep in her bed for the night. So, Leina certainly followed the letter of the law. Her mother would be so proud. Thankfully the kids settled down and not a peep was heard for the rest of the night.

Tickle Power

Daniel threw a sock at me. Don't worry, usually I completely condone such acts as allowable, even fun. You see, in our house we play a game called, 'Sock Game'. I don't really know the origins of Sock Game, except Suzy and I have been playing it as long as we have been married. The premise of the game is this:

Take a clean sock. Call out the other players name.

'Hey Suzy.'

Announce the beginning of the game.

'Sock Game.'

Toss the sock 'gently' at the other player. The other player is obligated to not move or flinch. If you get them with the sock, you win.

I know, fun game, right?

So, Daniel hit me with a sock tonight after dinner. Completely legitimate, except for one minor detail. He used a dirty sock. The official rules of Sock Game call for a punishment of up to, but not exceeding, 35 seconds of tickling.

At about the 7 second mark, Daniel made a weird noise,

'Um, grr, oh!'

Being the situationally aware person that I am, I stopped mid-tickle to discover the cause of the strange guttural noise. I looked down at Daniel, and saw this small, white, somewhat bloody object in his hand. Yep, that's right. I tickled his loose tooth right out of him. That'll teach him to break the rules of the Sock Game.

A Tale of Two Advil

Yesterday morning (was it only yesterday? It seems like days ago...) Sammy woke up seemingly fine. By noon he had degenerated into a moaning, whining and crying mess thanks to an ear infection. I had the perfect solution for him - Advil. The end all be all for ear pain. A miracle worker for desperate parents of ear infected children. But Sammy did not want to take it. It was going to taste bad and he wanted no part of it. Really Sammy, could it be that bad?

Two little purple tablets?

Apparently so...

He was a mess.

But then he decided to taste one. Not too bad.

Chewing...

Not so bad at all, in fact, he gives it a thumbs up.

Now pop the lollipop in the mouth to get rid of the disgusting taste.

One more to go.

It starts again.

Are we being a wee bit dramatic?

Who knew two small tablets could cause so many tears and suffering to a small child. Don't worry Advil, I still love you.

Ear Infections & Strep Throat & Staph Infections, Oh My!

Took the boys in to the doctor today just to have them checked out since I found out I have strep throat. We walked out with one staph infection, one ear infection and one strep throat (possibly two, but since Sammy needs antibiotics for his ear infection any strep would be wiped out as well).

So now three out of our household of 4 are on antibiotics. I am still a little dazed from the whole ordeal. It was a lot to deal with. But at least now we know. And know hopefully we can all start feeling better.

A Visit to the Doctor

After three days of a very painful sore throat I decided to go have the doctor check it out. With my sister and parents coming down in a few days I wanted to make sure I did not have strep throat (it has be circulating around school). I am so glad I went in because the doctor swabbed my throat (boy does that not feel good) and three minutes later we had a positive result for strep. The good thing is I will not be contagious when everyone gets here and I am already feeling much better.

I know I have been promising to post a photo of our class Gala Art Project. I tried to get a good picture, but there was so much glare it just didn't come out very well. Luckily I scanned each painting before putting it all together so I can recreate a digital version. The painting sold for $950 at the Gala. It was a bidding war between a parent and grandparent and the Grandma won. I'm already thinking about what to do for next year. Any ideas?

Backyard Adventurer

Day light savings + Camping Stuff = Backyard Adventurer

It has made Daniel very happy that when he gets home from school it is still light out. He loves to be outside, enjoying God's creation. A silver lining on Suzy being under the weather recently has been the opportunity for me to come home early from work and run around outside with the boys when they get home from school. Football, soccer, basketball, tag, it doesn't matter, we have been doing them all.

He has been having so much fun outside that he gets pretty bummed when we have to go in for dinner. After dinner tonight he wanted to go in the backyard with all the camping gear that Tutu and Papa so kindly left behind. He still hadn't done his homework for the day, so we compromised. Yep, he surrounded himself with camping gear, brought out a pencil, and was doing his homework in the great outdoors.

I am not sure if he was deep in the heart of a jungle, climbing a towering mountain or trekking across a desert, but it sure looked fun. I want to do my work out there too.

Day of Rest

Dan played the part of Mom (and Dad) today as I was not feeling very well. I spent most of the day in bed reading and sleeping. Hopefully I will be back on my feet tomorrow. I have to get up to speed because my sister and her two rascally, but very cute, daughters will be descending on the Wall's household on Friday along with Tutu and Papa. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with four kids between the ages of 3 and 7. But it is always a blast to get all the cousins together. Can't wait!

The Aftermath...

I am wiped. Dan is wiped. The boys even seem wiped. It was a great night. Crazy and fun all wrapped up in one. I am extremely grateful to the wonderful group of women and man (my hubby) that made it all possible.

And now, to sleep...

Almost There

Tomorrow is the BIG day. The Rhinestone Rodeo Gala 2009! All these months of hard work will finally pay off in a wonderful and fun (I hope) night. I will post photos of Daniel's class art project. I have to remember to take pictures before it is raffled off because this time I will not be taking it home with me. I have been told by the parent of one of Daniel's classmates that I am not allowed to win the art project this year.

My parents are coming down tomorrow to join in the Gala fun. They will have to leave Sunday, but the boys and I are looking forward to their visit. I'd better get my sleep now, because tomorrow will be a long day...

Trash Day

Do you remember how I was talking about trash cans overflowing with tissues yesterday? Well I wasn't exaggerating. I took some photos just to prove it.

Anyone want to come over and empty the trash for me?

Sniff

Our household is full of the sniffles. Trash cans are overflowing with Kleenex. Between Daniel and Sammy it is a never ending chorus of sniffing and nose blowing. I really don't know how much more I can take. I got to the point today that I thought I might lose it if I heard one more phlegmy noise. Blow, sniffle, cough, snort...

Will it ever end?

The Never Ending Day

Today was a long, long day. Actually, put one more long in there and that was my day. Dan has been leaving the house early (6AM) this week for some training he is doing up in Temecula. This greatly impacts me because normally Dan rousts the boys from bed and gets them dressed and teeth brushed. Well, this week all the pre-school preparations are left up to me. And this morning Daniel was supposed to be at school 45 minutes early for a Cub Scout Food Drive that's going on. So this morning I got up extra early. I planned to get the boys ready, grab bagels on the way to school and get there nice and early for the Food Drive. Everything was going smoothly until Daniel walked over to the trash can as we were leaving the bagel shop, declared he wasn't feeling so well and then proceeded to throw up into the trash can. And then once more just for good luck. That was the start of my very long day.

So I had Sammy AND a sick Daniel home with me all day AND I had about a million things to get done. Dan was home for about a grand total of 5 minutes before heading out to a School Board meeting this evening. Like I said, it was a long day. I am hoping tomorrow will nice and short.

Meetings, meetings, meetings...

Between a Gala meeting at lunch (Zanzibar's - yum!) and a Church meeting at dinner (Rubio's - delicious!) I was in meetings for 5 hours today. I kid you not. 5 hours! That is just wrong. Now I think I will go and collapse in my comfy bed. Good night!

The Home Stretch

I am afraid that this week is going to be a bit crazy. We are now T-minus six days until the big City Tree Gala. Next Saturday night will be the dinner/auction/extravaganza that is THE fundraiser of the year for the boy's school. Suzy is neck deep in preparations, even I have been roped into helping out. Add to that, I will be out of the office most of the week, training on some new software/hardware up in Temecula, which is about an hour north of San Diego, not to mention the normal stuff (Suzy has a church meeting tomorrow night, I have a School Board meeting on Tuesday). Yikes. What a week.

But, by this time next week the Gala will be over. My wife will have returned to me. And hopefully, the damage to my wallet will not be too painful.

By the way, I don't know if Suzy has posted what her class project looked like for the Gala this year, but it came out awesome. I think that I am even more impressed than last year's quilt. You really have to see it in person to know how great it came out, but her Warhol inspired class painting is just incredible. My wife is a woman of many talents.

Parties & Haircuts & Early Mornings

Parties...
Daniel has been to a handful of birthday parties this year. A jumpy party, ice skating party, party at the New Children's Museum and today he want to a birthday party of a boy in his class. But this party was much different. It was a party like the ones I went to as a kid. With games and pinatas and good old fashioned fun. They kids (or I should say boys, all 8 of them) had a blast. Daniel was quite excited to be the winner of two games, pin the tail on the donkey and tossing coins into a can. They also got to decorate cupcakes and make ice cream sundaes. Now that is what I call a party.

Haircut...
I got my haircut today. It has been a long time since my last haircut so I came home with it much shorter than when I left. Sammy said I didn't look like Mama and that my hair looked like a flower (huh?). And Daniel couldn't quite put it into words, just said I looked weird. Not exactly what I was hoping for.

Early Mornings...
I was woken up this morning at 5:00 AM! Sammy was going to the bathroom and being quite loud about it. Needless to say I was not too happy about it. And I am not looking forward to tomorrow morning as we will now have to get to church an hour early because of the time change. I love having the longer days, but I could do without having to drag myself out of bed an hour earlier. Who came up with this whole time change thing anyway?...

I think one of the biggest achievements of Daniel's life has been learning to read. Walking was a pretty big one. Being potty trained was also big. But reading? Reading has surpassed them all. Reading opens up a whole new world. It gives so much meaning to so many things. As we drive and walk around Daniel can read all the signs and labels and words surrounding him. And it is so exciting to see.

Last week when Daniel was home sick instead of watching t.v. the whole time he was able to read his books. At night when we say goodnight he is already flicking on his reading light and pulling out a book or magazine. And many times I find or hear him reading to Sammy. How cool is that?

And next it will be Sammy. Dan has already started to teach him how to read. I can hardly wait.

Like Mother Like Son

Remember all that treasure (rocks) the boys dug up in the backyard a couple of weeks ago? Well, I came downstairs the other day and found this...

Sammy had meticulously lined up all his rocks along the edge of the coffee table...... in nice straight lines.I am afraid Sammy has inherited his mother's OCD tendencies. I'm sorry, Sammy. So very, very sorry.

Prayerful

Daniel got his first chapel award of the year. I didn't know what he was getting the award for, but I was not at all surprised when they announced the award was for kids who demonstrated the character of prayerful. Daniel does like to pray and prays often. And I love that his prayers are not just done out of ritual, but thoughtful and caring. Daniel often tells me he is praying for me to feel better or to have a good day. He is a prayer warrior in the making.

Finger Prick

Last year at the boy's annual check up things were going great until the nurse informed them that she was going to prick their fingers to take some blood. For some reason that set them both off. I could just see their little brains rolling through the questions.... 'You are going to do what? To my what?'

What a difference a year makes. For some reason today Daniel was pumped up about the finger prick. This from the kid that cowered under a desk at the sight of his brother's blood. He was fascinated by the whole process.

'What are you going to do? Is that what you are going to use? Can I watch? Oh, that didn't hurt at all. Are you going to take more?'

Just question after question for the astounded nurse, who clearly didn't know what to do. She, no doubt, was more used to screaming and fighting, not inquisitive and polite. Since Daniel was going this route, it rubbed off on his brother, who also took the finger prick very well.

Unfortunately for Sammy, it didn't stop at the finger prick. That was just the beginning. Four shots was his quota for the day. The nurse was great, she pounded through those four shots like Usain Bolt running the 100 meter dash. But, four shots was more than Sammy could handle with curiosity and politeness. He was pretty unhappy, but toughed it out pretty well. And thankfully that is the last big set for him. Other than the flu shot, both boys are done with immunizations until they are 11. Happily, though, they get to experience the wonder of the finger prick every year.

Three down...

Another member of our family has fallen victim to this flu/virus that has been spreading like a wildfire during Santa Ana season. Dan is currently curled up under the covers with aches and chills. This is not good. Not good at all. We need some rain and we need it now.

Thankfully Daniel's ear infection seems to be going away and he was able to go to school today. I am hoping by Wednesday Sammy will be good to go. But for Dan, poor Dan, this is just the beginning. I am praying it will be short with a quick recovery.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I took these pictures a couple of days ago and now looking back at them they just make me laugh. They are so representative of my two boys.

Daniel with a cool Lego creation he just made.And Sammy with his gun.

These pictures say it all.