Moving On

Today was a beautiful day at the park. We loaded up the boys' bikes and rode and picnicked and swam in the big public pool and dove off the diving boards and just had a great day wearing ourselves out.

Oh Baby, baby.

Joel's fascination with the Georgia wildlife just went to a whole new level today. He found a nest on the ground with two baby birds in it. We put it back in the tree where he found it, but when we came back in the afternoon, the babies were on the ground, not in the nest. Not sure what to do, we brought them home and started researching. Feeding them seems necessary in the short term. Tomorrow, we take the nest back to the tree and try again to attract their parents, but with the nest in a sturdy box higher up in the tree.

They are precious, though. He's totally in love with them and is heartbroken at the thought of doing what is best for them. Meanwhile, I'm becoming more and more convinced that, with his innate nurturing instincts, he needs a pet of his own to take care of.

GA Summer

We're in Georgia for a couple of weeks. It's hot, but we're all having a great time. I need to take photos, and maybe I'll add some to this post tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Joel's got a better name for hush puppies, if you can't remember what to call them: doodle poohs. They got to try them with their bream fish that they caught at Charles' pond this morning. Jamie, who has the least amount of fishing experience of all of us, was the fisherman of the day catching a dozen, at least, including a huge one that bent his hook and got away. Joel kept losing his bait while Jamie fished one out after another. Neither of them liked hush puppies, whatever that means.

Speaking of catches, Joel is continuing his tradition of catching GA wildlife. Thus far, we have a Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, a green anole, a beetle that we let go, a tadpole and a few dozen minnows that we thought we'd fish with but decided against. We're going to need some bigger cages, I'm thinking.

Fears and Tears

Teaching Joel to ride a bike has been difficult. He's a very stubborn and cautious child. That's sometimes great, sometimes not so great. He was the toddler at the playground who watched all the other kids slide down the big slide but would not get beyond enjoying the view from the top. He wouldn't even try walking until his pediatrician insisted he do it at his 15 month checkup.

He has been studying other kids riding their bikes for years. I could see him longing for their freedom and independence. They could ride all over the place! Their parents weren't within arms-reach! They could feel the wind in their hair! But as he tried to ride with training wheels, he never seemed confident enough to try going without them. In fact, he was tearfully afraid to remove them. We would raise and lower them and offer to help him and ask him to try and keep our distance and leave him alone. Nothing seemed to work. This past year, I watched his hope of ever being able to ride a bike diminish as his attempts to ride decreased. It felt like a window of opportunity was closing for him to learn to ride a bike. He had all but given up.

So on Saturday morning, we all sat down together to make a list of all the things we wanted to do this summer. They listed quite a few and I added some of my goals for them. It was a pretty long list. Then I made a chart for both with all of their activities on it with room to check them off as they do them each day. I explained that if they check off everything on their list in a day, they will get a special prize, because it wouldn't be easy. There are things like write in a journal, complete workbook pages, read a book, play an xbox game, play an instrument, watch a movie, play in the backyard, work on a new skill, complete a cub scout requirement, etc. I added practice riding a bike without any apparent protest.

Joel got right to task. (This is when being stubborn really pays off.) He spent the day checking things off one after another, his brother working right alongside him. Then he said he was going to go ride his bike. We offered to take him to a big parking lot with lots of room to ride, having to really pitch the idea, but he consented, finally. Jamie brought a riding toy and off we went. This was day one. [Incidentally, Joel earned his special prize that day.]

Day two we raised the training wheels, I think without his knowledge, and he did just fine. We made a game of trying to complete a circle without touching the training wheels to the ground, which he managed a few times.

On day three, I bought a cheap bike from Target first thing in the morning that did not have training wheels. I left it in the garage to surprise Joel. When he saw it, he cried not tears of joy but of despair. Consoling him didn't work. "I'll never ride it." I told him that kids don't usually cry when they get a new bike and that he'll be kicking himself once he tries it and sees how fun it is. But he wouldn't hear it, or so I thought. We loaded up all the bikes and went down to the big empty parking lot. Since there's only one bike with training wheels, Jamie and Joel had to take turns with it. During Joel's turn, Jamie tried out the new bike for size and didn't seem much afraid of it. While Joel was bitterly waiting for his turn with the little one, Jamie urged Joel to try it, because if it fit his little body, it would definitely fit Joel's. That was a sweet gesture to try to encourage his big brother to give the big bike a try. Finally, I offered to hold him while he rode, and he consented to try it once. He immediately took off faster than I could run. Once he realized he was riding unassisted, he called out, "You were right, mom! I am kicking myself, because this is so FUN! Jamie, you can have the little bike all to yourself!!"

Mission accomplished!

Birthdays

I love throwing my kids' birthday parties. Each time one approaches, I ask them, where they want to have their party. As I'm listing off the choices (bowling, bouncy, skating, swimming, park), I'm very careful to make "home" the most pleasantly inflected and awesome sounding.

I can't help it.

I love having kids' parties. I love the silly games. I love the yummy food and watching them eat it. I love all the screaming and the excited ruckus. I love the special decorations. I even enjoy all the planning and crafting that I do before it. It's like a final exam that involves the research, the presentation, the visual aids, the Q&A afterwards.

The downside of my serious preparation is having to swat at all the sneaky fingers intent for the cakes, frostings, candies, and treats I'm making the week before the party, both mine and the boys. "Saturday" is said a lot. But it's so fun. It's worth it!

90 lbs.

A newborn calf

4 1/2 automobile tires

8 average housecats

Posh Spice

2 elephants' hearts

2 small bales of hay

A bald eagle standing on top of a gold brick

Three gas grill tanks

A bloodhound

Random notes

I like reading the 1000 Awesome Things blog. It makes me feel like I'm doing my part to look on the bright side of life.

Public education is not what it used to be. At least, when I was growing up, I don't remember the challenges that my kids face in public school now. I'm trying very hard to make the best of it, though. But since I'm not getting paid to do all this work, I can't help but feel sometimes like asking for some of our tax money back. Is there a provision somewhere in our constitution that allows people to penalize government if it fails?

Facebook has made high school reunion invitations way easier.

Last Wills and Testaments are creepy.

I need a female BFF. Loneliness isn't about not having someone around. It's about everyone around you being unavailable to share your experiences and understand you. My kids need BFFs, too.