Play-Learn-Grow-Repeat

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
It is important to spend time together with my family. I love playing board games and puzzles at home, talking about our day at dinnertime, and taking trips together. Now that Tate is more confident riding his bike, we can finally add family bike rides to that list. With the hundred miles of bike paths throughout our town, we are definitely going to put them to great use.

Tate is working on mastering his biking skills. He feels more secure riding up and down our street. We ride all around our neighborhood going over the standard safety rules. The hills are extremely tough, but his little legs do their best to make it to the top. Jack is teaching him how to pop a wheelie, stand up, and ride with no hands. I hope we don’t have any major accidents from those lessons.

This fall, I want to take more bike rides, especially now that the weather has cooled down. It’s a fun activity we all enjoy and I want to promote an active lifestyle to the boys. I’m excited to explore new places around town, together as a family.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
The boys and I are in Pennsylvania for the week visiting family. Summertime is really the only time we can travel without too many scheduling conflicts. So we flew home using our non-revenue passes with my husband’s airline employer. 

My grandmother and great aunt both passed away this year, so my family has been going through their old photo albums. We did a slideshow of some very old photos of my family from the last 50 years. Jack and Tate couldn’t believe their eyes. They were amazed when they saw pictures of their grandparents and great grandparents when they were only kids. It was fun looking at pictures of myself as a kid, too. I had never seen most of the pictures, and I was surprised how similar Jack and Tate looked as children.

We also spent a fun day with my husband’s family, including my sister-in-law and her husband and two children. We are rarely together in the same place, so it was great to get the cousins together. Despite the age differences, the kids played well all afternoon. There was plenty of laughter and fun. 

We’re all looking forward to more fun over the next several days. Unfortunately, my husband is working hard at home and could not join us. He wants our boys to have great family memories. I’m glad we’ve made plenty already this summer. There are only a few more weeks to make more. I hope you and your family find time to do the same.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Over the last year, we made some minor improvements to our home…basic things like painting and replacing a few fixtures. We decided to splurge this year and install some wood floors and stain the existing ones to match. It is a large task, especially while living in the home.

We scheduled this project to coincide with our vacation, since the strong oil smell requires you to be out of your home. Well, with a moisture issue, and longer drying times than expected, and it’s delayed the process several days.

Our gracious neighbors offered their basement to us until it’s safe to get back in our house. We couldn’t be more thankful for their generosity. They have four girls of their own, so Jack and Tate are happy to be around friends.

I’m feeling a little impatient with this whole project, because all I want is to relax in my home after being gone for over a week. I feel badly about living with our friends for more time than I’d like. I know this isn’t the end of the world, and I’m lucky to have the opportunity to update our house. Jack and Tate, however, are handling the situation wonderfully. They have instant play dates and love the sleepover-like atmosphere. It sure does make my life easier when they’re content.

We hope to return to the house mid-week and carry on with our lives. I want the project to be done right, so I’m willing to uproot our lives for a few days. My hope is this will teach Jack and Tate a lesson that life has many hiccups, and you have to be flexible with the situation. I’m looking forward to new shiny floors and my own bed.

This week, we met my parents, my sisters, and their families at the beach. It is rare that all fourteen of us are together, spending time together. Our schools, sports, jobs, and distance make it almost impossible for us to be with each other as a large family. Needless to say, I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time.

The word of the week is relaxation; even with fourteen people under one roof. We are all escaping our personal hectic schedules. It is nice to relax with loved ones and ignore the stressors of day-to-day life. 

Our hilarious nephews/cousins are great together, despite their generational differences. Even if they are loud and crazy, their love is worth the volume. Ranging from a rising high school senior to a second grader, there are only a few times they will all be young together, and this week is one of them. 

Jack and Tate are newfound beach bums. They both have boogie boards and surf skills. Even with a few wipeouts, nothing is stopping them. Tate is on the lookout for sharks, and Jack promised he would scare them away. We’re taking advantage of the beautiful scenery on the bike trails. We even saw a few alligators on our ride. 

I’m glad to be with my fam in such a warm and fun environment. Beach week is a vacation for every generation, and I am happy we get the opportunity to spend it together.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
My sister and her family drove from Pennsylvania all the way to Georgia to spend several days with us. We relaxed and even managed to find time to do some home improvement work. It was great to see them, and we’re already planning their next visit.

Jack and Tate were excited to play with their big cousins. They think they are “really cool” teenagers. Our kids don’t get to see them often, partially because of the distance, but more so because of our conflicting schedules. The boys’ game of choice for the week was epic nerf dart gun battles all over the house. They also enjoyed swimming, board games and time together. I could tell they were making up for the last several months apart.

Jack and Tate are big fans of all their cousins. They look up to their older ones for guidance and influential support. Fortunately, my nephews are great examples for my boys. My nephews helped entertain the boys and even helped minimize some meltdowns from Tate. Lately, that’s a huge job in and of itself. I hope there are some long lasting positive behavioral gains from play with their older cousins. Jack and Tate are very lucky to have such great cousins.

Our house was full, very loud, messy, and generally crazy over the last week. However, watching all the kids smile and laugh together as one big happy family absolutely melts this mama’s heart.

From Friday Mom – Erin:

We took the kids to the National Aquarium in Baltimore last weekend.  Rory was in HEAVEN.  As I think I may have mentioned, he loves animals.  One of his favorite shows is all about animal powers, and he is constantly building animals out of Legos, toilet paper rolls, or whatever he can use with his imagination.

So when he first walked in to the giant entry way, filed with its shark tooth display and vast tidal pool, he was just thrilled.  He got to touch starfish, point out the numerous different turtles, watch Dolphins jump, and even touch a saw fish saw.  He was attentive and enthralled through each exhibit, and had a hard time saying good bye.

When asked which part was his favorite, his response was, “all of it.” I’d say that was a success.

Charlotte did okay, though strollers were not permitted, so she mostly ran around like a crazy person giving mommy her exercise.  But she was clearly impressed, too.

It is fun to be able to see new and exciting experiences through the eyes of children.  Granted, it’s a pretty neat aquarium to begin with, but I definitely saw it with renewed excitement when holding his little hand in mine.  

For the last few days, we traveled to Toronto, Canada to visit some relatives and attend a wedding. Like any parent, I was nervous about air travel with little ones, but it went pretty well. Every time they even touched the seat in front of them, my heart skipped a beat. But the people sitting around us as well as the flight attendants complimented me on how good they were. We head back today so hopefully it goes just as well.

It was really fun catching up with relatives and introducing them to Hudson for the first time. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins. Haley also really enjoyed learning more about the culture of the Indian side of her family. Her favorite part was definitely dressing up in her festive clothing. She was so proud of herself—she knew how cute she looked!

I feel very fortunate to be able to give my kids new, exciting experiences. It’s also cool to know that as they get older, they will be able to handle much more. Perhaps, in the future, trips to international cities will involve more than just the hotel pool! The kids were certainly troopers, but I couldn’t push them too hard to sightsee or shop. But whatever they get out of it, I’m happy about it— even if it’s just the fun of eating room service in bed. After running around two kids every day, I’m partial to the relaxing-type vacation myself.

From Wednesday Mom – Janelle:
Yes, you read that right. We’re moving! Soon, we’ll be packing up our family belongings and moving to suburban Atlanta, for good. Our family is ready to finally put roots down in a small town we can call home. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to for some time.

After years of military orders, my husband got off active duty. For the first time in our adult lives, WE finally got to decide where we want to live. As a pilot, we could live anywhere in the US, but we felt anchoring in Atlanta was the easiest option to minimize his commute and still enjoy small town living with big city access. We are excited the most for what the area offers our children; great schools, neighborhoods, sports and opportunities.

When Jack and Tate learned the news of our upcoming move, they were a little hesitant. We moved to Mississippi when Jack was 2.5 and several months later Tate was born here. This town is all they know. They love their school, their friends, and can give you directions to their favorite places. However, once we drove them around our new town while house hunting, they got more excited. Now they’re eager to move, try new things, meet new friends, and have more space to play. The neighborhood pool and water slide definitely helped ease their concerns.

Although Mississippi wasn’t our favorite duty station, we did meet a lot of wonderful people over the combined nine years we’ve lived here. Some friends have moved on, but others call it home. We’ll always have fond memories we made here of the friends who bent over backwards to help us when we didn’t have family nearby, and the military friendly community we thrived in.

Cheers to a new adventure!

One of my favorite ways to spend quality time with Jack and Tate is snuggling on the couch watching a movie together. It’s a time where we’re all relaxed and able to enjoy a story line all in the comfort of our home. The popcorn and treats are a nice bonus, too. We have these nights often as a family, but I find myself hosting more when Daddy is out of town.

Over the weekend, after a LONG day on the soccer fields, we decided a movie night was in store. I scrolled through Netflix looking at our options. Jack insisted we watch ET. I was excited, and shared with him my childhood memories of the movie. It’s been decades since I last watched ET, so I was up for a good walk down memory lane.

The boys sat next to my side nestled in their blankets. At first, they were a little scared of the eerie music and weird alien, but quickly became enthralled in the story. Jack and Tate were curious where this alien came from, and I was getting a kick out of all the 80’s attire, toys, technology, and random flashbacks. By the end of the movie, Jack and Tate were sad to see their alien friend say goodbye, but agreed it was a great flick.

The movie was a great way to end our Saturday night. The boys were calm and went to bed without any negotiation- a rarity in our house. Before I know it, Jack and Tate will have plans of their own on the weekend, and I am sad to even think about that. For now, we’ll share lots of snuggles while we can.

From Friday Mom – Erin:
We’re preparing for a relatively low key (I hope) weekend with Charlotte and Rory.  Rory is very jazzed about the Easter Bunny coming.  Although when asked this morning what he thought might be inside the eggs the the Bunny brings, he informed me that he would be bringing socks and fruit snacks.  I hope the Easter Bunny got that memo. . . 

Charlotte is having a mini-egg hunt with some of her classmates from school tomorrow.  I’m excited to see how she does with it.  I’m also glad that she’ll get a warm up before getting run over  by her brother on Sunday morning.  Given her tenacity, I imagine she’ll do just fine with both events, but I’m quite curious to see whether she “gets it” or not.  As I recall, the difference between Rory’s egg hunt at 1 and 2 was remarkable. 

Obviously there is more to Easter than egg hunts and candy stashes, but it’s definitely another one of those times when I relish the joy of being the one “in charge” of the activities I used to love so much when I was young.  And it’s doubly fun getting to see the “firsts” a second time around with Charlotte.  

Here’s hoping to a successful, calm, and sunny weekend with lots of laughter and family.  And maybe even some good behavior in church.

Happy Easter!