Good Big Sister

This is a blurry picture of Natalie while we were at Willie's Icehouse on Saturday. It's blurry because I was trying to get a quick photo before Natalie started hiding her face, which she does every time she thinks I'm about to take a picture. Eric had his end of school year piano recital, and he chose to go to Willie's for dinner afterwards.

In the car on the way to the restaurant, I heard Eric squeal from the back seat. Natalie started laughing and said, "I was just affectionately rubbing Eric's arm....pit." In other words, she was tickling him. He didn't seem to mind being tickled, and they were having fun together.

Patrick went to a convention in Dallas this weekend, so he was not there to give Eric some tips during the swim meet, and to talk about Eric's butterfly and other strokes. I talked to Natalie about maybe taking Eric to the pool and giving him some "tips". She remarked that she saw Eric swimming the butterfly and that "he looked like he was about to die". She meant that he was expending way more energy than he needed to, because he was not swimming the butterfly correctly. She agreed to teach him.

We went to the pool on Sunday, and she spent a good half hour or so getting him to swim each stroke so she could tell him what he was doing wrong. She also told him what he was doing right. She spent much of the time on butterfly, but she told him something about each of his strokes. What was amazing to me was that Eric rarely pays much attention to what Patrick tells him about swimming, but with Natalie he was very attentive, even asking questions, making corrections, and showing her how he was swimming with the corrections--"Like this, Natalie?" She was also very patient with him.

They even played a game with water guns. They were each trying to shoot each other in the head, and if they succeeded, they could name the stroke that the other one had to swim. I took this photo when Eric was swimming the backstroke after Natalie shot him in the head. Without lan guides, Eric started swimming in a circle while doing backstroke. Natalie also got to swim some backstroke and breaststroke during their game.

For a few weeks now, Natalie has been reading to Eric every night before bed from Rick Riordan's book "Percy Jackson's Greek Gods". Even when Natalie wasn't feeling well, she still made time to read to him. They finished that book and now she is reading "The Lightning Thief" to him. I heard them in Eric's room so I walked in and immediately snapped this picture, catching Natalie before she could hide. She can be so sweet to Eric.

Patrick didn't get back until about lunchtime today. I was at work and the kids were all home this morning. Natalie walked with Eric to the playground so they could play on the swings. She had talked to me about it last night, but I was still a little surprised that they did that. They both got up early and got back before Alex woke up around 9am.

On Friday, Natalie and I were shopping at La Cantera Mall, when she told me that she didn't want to be a mother, and that she didn't think she would make a good mother. She then said that one of her friends said that she was a good big sister, because she made Eric something in class (they did some crafty things in her classes during the last week of school). I told her that being a good big sister was almost the same thing as being a good mother, except of course that being a mother was more work. She said, "Maybe I'll be a good mother then." She's a bit young for me to think about her being a mother, but Natalie is most definitely a good big sister, and that's good enough for now.

Summerfield vs. Inwood Hollow 2015

Yesterday was our second summer swim meet this year, and it was an away meet. This pool was tiny compared to our neighborhood pool, with only four lanes for racing. We were anticipating a long meet because of that, but it actually went until about 12:30, which is typical.

Natalie went to two swim practices this week, and she says she is still feeling "good", so we signed her up for next weekend's meet. Patrick went out of town, so she went with me to this one to support her team and so she could help me with Eric.

I didn't take very many photos at this meet, just a few of Eric plus videos of the five races he swam in so Patrick can feel like he was there. I love taking pictures of Eric with his swim cap on. It really changes what he looks like!

There was no rain this week, unlike last week, but the sun also didn't beat down like last weekend either--it was partly cloudy. We were able to get a shady spot under a permanent structure they had at that pool, so that was even better. Eric was busy reading his new book "Dinosaurology", so he didn't ask for the iPad at all.

Eric had asked for that book a month or two ago saying, "If I'm good, can I get Dinosaurology?" Really, he's usually "good", so that meant I was going to be getting it for him. He is the only child who, on a weekend morning after having breakfast, will say, "I might as well go ahead and put away the clean dishes" from the dishwasher. We have to ask the other two repeatedly, and then Natalie will say, "I thought I washed the dishes" when she hasn't. I told him "if he was good" then I would give the book to him on the last day of school. Well, that was on Thursday, so he got the book on Thursday.

Eric swam in the same five races he swam in last week, but this time, there were no disqualifications--more on that below.

Event #2 (Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay)
--Eric swam the last leg and his team came in 3rd place overall (out of four teams) with a time of 2:40.85. His team was made up of different boys than last week with a much slower time.

Event #14 (Boys 8 and under 25m Freestyle)
--Eric got fifth place overall (out of 13) with a time of 29.75, which was about the same as last week (when he got a time of 29.50).

Event #26 (Boys 8 and under 25m Backstroke)
--Eric was 9th overall (out of 13 boys that swam) with a time of 43.13, which was much slower than he swam last week when he had a time of 31.59. He was probably distracted, because he lost his goggles almost immediately after the start of the race, and he looked like he was about to cry as he swam his race. Natalie saw his face too, and rushed to the finish so she could comfort him as soon as he got out of the pool. What an awesome big sister! Anna R., one of Natalie's good friends, dove into the pool after the race to retrieve Eric's goggles from the bottom of the pool. Thanks, Anna!

Event #54 (Boys 8 and under 25m Butterfly)
--Eric was not disqualified this week! Before the race, I reminded him to move his arms together and his feet together, and he did it! Coach Cindy, who used to coach the neighborhood swim team and who Natalie credits with teaching her how to swim breaststroke, told me as she watched the race, that Eric was the only one in the pool at the time who was swimming legally. When he touched the end of the pool with one hand and I saw the stroke judge's hand go up, I thought for sure that he had been disqualified, but that must have been one of other boys. Eric placed third overall with a time of 52.19. I didn't care what his time was. I just wanted him to not be disqualified! Five of the eight boys who swam were disqualified.

Event #64 (Boys 8 and under 100m Medley Relay)

--Eric again swam the first leg, which was backstroke. He was much faster this time, with his goggles firmly in place. Neither Summerfield team was disqualified this time, and Eric's team got first place (out of three teams) with a time of 2:13.94.

Despite Eric's successful meet (as far as I'm concerned), our team lost the meet. That's okay, because all I care about are my kids anyway. Eric had fun, and Natalie had fun, even though she didn't swim. In fact, Natalie didn't even wear a swimsuit, and she made comments about how someone would have to loan her one if they wanted her to swim. She also made comments that she would look funny if she was loaned a "guy's swimsuit", so it would have to be a girls' swimsuit. What a goof. I'll be able to report on Natalie's races next weekend--crossing my fingers and saying some prayers!

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of school. Yay! I am post-call, so I'm sleep-deprived, but it was worth it to be able to be here when the kids got home. This is a picture of Eric carrying his now huge backpack home from the bus. He brought home all of his workbooks and school supplies left from this year. He made some comment about his back "breaking" from the weight of his backpack, but when I offered to carry his backpack for him, he didn't want me to take it. I guess he just wanted to complain...or show that he could carry it himself.

When I showed him this picture, he told me, "You can probably send that to Anthony." I usually like to keep Anthony informed about what his younger siblings are up to. Anthony texted back, "What a goof :)".

For the record, Eric wasn't actually walking bent forward like that. He just did it so he could show how big his backpack was. It was so full that he didn't have room for his pencil case, which he carried instead.

Eric showed me this sheet of paper that they filled out in school. On the collar, it says "summer", which he says is his favorite season. On one sleeve it says "non-fiction and fiction", which are his favorite types of books. I think those two cover pretty much all books. :) On the other sleeve, he drew grapes and a blueberry, which are his favorite fruits. On the bottom, he wrote "jumping, swimming, and running", which are his favorite activities. I'm glad he didn't write "playing on the iPad", but that may be because he figured he isn't "active" when he plays on the iPad. The big number "6" is his favorite number. I had him write the other items around the shirt, like his name and "June 2015". He also put "favorite stuff" on there without my prompting him, but it makes the rest of the shirt more self-explanatory. As he was describing his "favorite stuff", he also explained that he colored the shirt in with two of his favorite colors. At the bottom right, he wrote "1. gold 2. orange 3.blue" for his favorite colors. I love that this piece of paper sums up what he is all about at this time.

He also brought his report card home. His grades were all 95-97, with all "E's" for "excellent". Interestingly, there were two other letters on his report card that stood for two standard messages. One was "A" for "Achievement is Outstanding". The other one was "X" for "Controlling Talking" which Natalie said she also got when she was his age. He also said that he was at a level "R" for reading, which is a fourth grade level. He's a smart kid like his siblings.

Natalie didn't say too much about her day. They made ice cream today, but she said it was a little salty because they must have gotten some of the salt they used to make the ice cream in the final product. She was apparently back to her old self this morning. Since last weekend she has complained of a headache and feeling dizzy. She even missed school on Tuesday because of it. We're not sure what is up with that, but today she must have been completely better, because she was talkative and silly this morning. Patrick texted me this morning saying that she told him, "Shooting somebody with a banana is totally legit!" Yes, that is what life can be like at our house. She even went to the neighborhood swim practice tonight, for the first time in a month. Her back was doing okay this week, but the headache thing kept her from swimming.

Eric wanted to wait to go out for ice cream until Natalie got home, so when she got home, we went to Brindles Awesome Ice Creams. Natalie told me that she wouldn't have come with us if we were going to Baskin-Robbins. Am I raising ice cream snobs, or what? We took a brief trip to Half-Price Books after ice cream. I had promised Eric that I would get the "Dinosaurology" book for him when school ended "if he was good", so I gave him that today, after buying it on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. I felt like I should also get Natalie a book too, and she picked one out after being in the store for a few seconds. She also got two monkey toys that I will have to describe in a different post.

Alex had early dismissal days yesterday and today. He only had one final exam this week, so he has been bored at school. He hung out with friends after school today. Patrick took him to Thin Air, a local trampoline park. Alex got a ride home and got home at about 7:30pm. He'll have some friends (we don't yet know how many) over tonight.

Also, Mindfest was earlier this week. Patrick and I volunteer for that every year, and it was originally started by the GT (Gifted and Talented) teacher that used to be at the kids' elementary school until she retired last year. The kids are broken down into small groups of 3-5, and they rotate through different stations where they get to do logic puzzles, brainstorming, and other activities designed to make them use their brain. This is a picture of Eric doing the tangram puzzles that I had at my station.

I had the first graders at one point, and they were supposed to name things that came in "pairs". Most of the answers involved body parts, like "eyes" and "ears". Occasionally, a kid would think of something more out of the box, like "nunchucks". One kid exclaimed, "Buy One Get One Free!" I'm still chuckling over that answer.

Summerfield vs. Canyon Springs 2015

Our first neighborhood swim team meet was this past Saturday morning. Natalie has not been swimming still, so she did not compete at the meet. Her back is feeling a bit better this week, but now she has been sick (headache, low grade fever, etc.). It's ironic that a few months ago, Eric said he didn't want to join the neighborhood swim team because he didn't like going to the meets. We told him that he would have to go to the meets anyway because we would be there with Natalie, and on Saturday, he was the one competing at the meet. Luckily, he has not complained about swim team or swim meets since swim team practices started on May 4th.

Eric is still a willing photography subject. I always have to take a picture of him in his swim cap because I think it's hilarious how the swim cap contorts his face by pushing down on his forehead. I adjusted it a little so that at least he could open his eyes more easily. :)

Eric swam in five events. This is a picture of his arm after I marked it with all of his events (E), the heats that he would be in (H), and what lane (L). I added another column for what position he would swim for the two relays. For the record, I wrote down his events on the heat sheet, so I would be able to keep track of when he needed to be at the starting block, but the arm writing is so that if any adult in charge wondered where he should be, all they had to do was look at his arm. The following stats are the results, with comments:

Event #2 (Boys 8 and under 100m Freestyle Relay)
--Eric swam the third leg and his team came in 2nd place overall (out of five teams) with a time of 1:45.97.

Event #14 (Boys 8 and under 25m Freestyle)
--Eric got second in his heat, and 11th overall (out of 24) with a time of 29.50.

Event #26 (Boys 8 and under 25m Backstroke)
--Eric got second in his heat, and 5th overall (out of 21 including four boys that were DQ'd) with a time of 31.59.

Event #54 (Boys 8 and under 25m Butterfly)
--Eric was disqualified. We expected that, but the coach wanted him to swim it anyway. Patrick tries to give him tips, but Eric doesn't really listen. Five of the eight boys that swam this race were disqualified, so he is in good company.

Event #64 (Boys 8 and under 100m Medley Relay)

--Eric swam the first leg, which was the backstroke. The boy who swam the second leg was supposed to swim breaststroke, but he was not even waiting at the end when Eric finished his leg. He was running from somewhere else, and then when he dove in, he started doing the freestyle instead. Needless to say, their team was disqualified. Eric was already out of the pool by the time that boy got in, and he knew that their team had been disqualified by the time I got to him to tell him what a good job he did.

We're not supposed to sit in the pool area, because space is limited there, and they wanted to limit the area to swimmers, volunteers, and spectators watching the particular race going on. In the past, we still sat in the pool area so we could direct Eric to wherever he needed to go. This time we put our chairs outside like we were supposed to. I still spent most of the time near Eric to make sure he got to where he needed, so maybe next time I'll go ahead and bring a chair.

Patrick said that I am more scarred than Eric from the time two years ago when he missed his race and got very upset. I doubt he even remembers that now. Eric came out to sit with us for the short break between his fourth and fifth races, to play on the iPad. I didn't want to leave the iPad with him because chances are that he would leave the iPad on his towel that was on the ground, and some kid would carelessly trample on it.

The morning started out cloudy and rainy. Luckily, the thunderstorms didn't come, and the rain stopped, but it did get a little hot when the sun came out. Still, it wasn't as hot as it has been in the past, so that was a good thing. Natalie came to watch most of the meet and also to chat with her friends. This is, of course, the only photo that I could get of her--hiding her face as usual. Hopefully she will start feeling better and be able to swim in some of the future meets. This Saturday will be the next meet. Wish us luck!

My Day with Eric

After I volunteered at Field Day, I checked Eric out of school and took him with me to North Star Mall. I had ordered a Star Wars Rebels swimsuit for him, a size 7/8, that was way too big, so we went to the Disney Store to exchange it for a smaller size. The size 7/8 went down to his ankles and wouldn't even stay up. The size 5/6 were at least somewhere below his knees and stayed up, but even then, I still had to take it in around the waist. Eric is just a little guy, that's all.

While I was making the exchange, he found a book about Marvel Superheroes, and started to read it. I let him do that for a bit even after I was done exchanging the swimsuit, then I tore him away so we could have lunch. His choice was Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets (10) and a small vanilla Frosty, of course. I got a large Great Wraps Mango Berry smoothie for us to share also plus a gyro for me. He was so full that he could barely have any of the smoothie. So much for sharing.

This trip was all about Eric, so I let him stay at the Lego store for quite a while. I tore him away a couple of times so I could get a little exercise. I didn't get to go to the gym since I had volunteered at the Field Day. He gave me a hard time, saying that he didn't want to walk anywhere. Still, when I did convince him to take a little walk with me, he was almost running away from me, so I tried to keep up and so I got at least a little active exercise.

There was almost no one at the Lego Store, quite different from when we were there last on Memorial Day weekend. I took that opportunity to get this photo of him staring at one of the Lego sets. He loves pretty much any type of Lego set. His favorites are currently Star Wars (and Star Wars Rebels, Ninjago, and the new Jurassic World sets.

I love how Eric really looks like he is studying the pictures on the box. Unfortunately for me, there are no seats at the Lego Store, so I got a bit tired of standing there. I wanted to give him plenty of time, but I wanted to walk around. I must have been tired from the morning activities and what exercise I got at the mall. When I finally tore him away from the Lego Store and the Disney Store, we went home and I took a two hour nap. Eric got some iPad time then.

In the late afternoon/early evening, I took him to the neighborhood swim practice, then I let him play with his friends for a while. Every Friday, a parent volunteer brings snacks for all the kids. Today's snacks were huge Klondike bars. One of the other parents talked about how parents like these raise the bar on the snacks. One of my friends took a photo of her daughter with ice cream all over her face. I thought that for sure, Eric would have the same ice cream face.

When I found Eric, he only had a little ice cream and a tiny bit of chocolate on his face, and there was only a tiny bit of chocolate in the wrapper. I suspect that he licked that wrapper clean, because there was no way on a hot day that the ice cream did not melt even a little.

After that big snack, we went home and gave him a bath, then he ate some Easy Mac. He didn't have much time after that before he had to go to bed promptly at 8pm. He was a little upset about not being able to stay up on a weekend night, but he had a swim meet the next morning.

Eric and I had such a full day, and I enjoyed every bit of it. I will miss this little guy when he grows up and doesn't want to spend the day with his Mama anymore.

Field Day

I requested this day off several months ago, because the Friday before the end of school is usually Field Day for Eric's school. Patrick and I have volunteered at Field Day for several years now. I volunteered to set-up and usually we both volunteer for the snow cone station, but that was already taken by the time I saw the sign-up sheet. It didn't matter what we had signed for anyway, because that all changed when they decided that the threat of rain was too high and they moved the whole event indoors.

I got up early so I could make Eric's requested breakfast--orange rolls. I had to be at school at 7:15 (or so I thought), so I took Eric with me. It rained quite a bit last night, so at that time in the morning, plus the fact that the temperature felt cool, I was sure that it was going to rain again soon. Patrick had to take Alex to school, so he came later.

There were lots of people there to help set up, more than what was needed, but there was less set-up for the indoor activities. There was a fire drill in the middle of set-up, so we all had to stop to go outside for that. Apparently, several people backed out of volunteering at the last minute last night, so they did need everyone that showed up for the activities after the set-up.

They changed everyone's assignments because of the change in activities, instead of the "Cooling Station/Playscape" where I would be in charge of giving out water to the kids and supervising them in the playground, I got assigned to "Tether Ball". I had signed up for the former so I could stay in the shade. Instead, I got the one activity that was outside. It was actually nice and cool during the time I was there--until about 10:30. It was even sunny. After canceling all of the water activities that were supposed to be outside and moving everything else inside, it didn't rain at all the rest of the day.

Patrick volunteered for the obstacle course--one of those inflatable obstacle courses. He brought me some sunglasses to wear, because I had not anticipated having to be outside nor I had anticipated that it would be sunny. I also switched around with another mom so I wouldn't have to be out in the sun the whole time. There fewer indoor activities than all of the outdoor ones, so there were plenty of volunteers. I felt a little superfluous sometimes, so I rotated to various other activities to lend a hand.

One of those activities was Tug of War. Earlier, a couple of the Dads were volunteering there, and they ended up participating in the activity. The kids had a lot of fun even when the parents weren't joining in. When I helped out at one point, I found myself making sure the kids didn't start pulling too early, trying to make sure at least it started fairly. Eric came in around that point, so I took some photos of him pulling the rope with everyone else. Sometimes it would be girls vs. boys. Sometimes the sides would be so obviously unequal. They let the kids go to whatever activity they wanted, instead of the more organized movement from one station to another in past years, but in the end, the kids still had fun, which was the important part.

After the end of my third shift/hour, I signed Eric out from school so I could spend the rest of the day with him. I was going to put everything in this one post, but it's already too long, so I'll post about the rest of the day tomorrow. Now, I have to go to bed, because the first summer swim meet is tomorrow morning.

Changing It Up At Starbucks

I decided to take Eric to Starbucks for breakfast on Monday morning (Memorial Day). He used to order a Strawberries and Cream Frappucino way back when. Along the way he changed to the Vanilla Bean Frappucino with "caramel drizzle all over". Alex had suggested that to him (that's the drink that Alex orders), and he said he liked it, so he started ordering that every time. Sometimes the barista will put just a little caramel drizzle, and sometimes they'll put more. Today they put a whole lot of caramel drizzle. I commented on that, and Eric suddenly said that he doesn't really like the caramel. What??? He said that he thought the caramel just went with it. He always drank most of the drink, so I had no reason to think he didn't like the caramel. I reassured him that from now on, if he wants, he doesn't have to order the caramel.

Also, ever since I started taking Eric to Starbucks, he has always ordered a Frappucino and a blueberry scone (unless I told him we were only getting drinks, he always ordered both). He diverged from that for the first time yesterday. Before, I usually ordered their Bacon Gouda Artisan sandwich for my breakfast (or Patrick ordered it if he went with us or went with Eric without me). In the past year or so, Eric would always ask for "a bite" of my sandwich, but he often ended up eating half of the sandwich. I've asked him before if he wanted to order the sandwich for breakfast for himself, but he always wanted to get the blueberry scone.

Yesterday, he decided to order the Bacon Gouda Artisan sandwich for himself, and he finished all of it. I didn't actually order any breakfast. I just had my Frappucino and that's it. If I had ordered the sandwich and Eric didn't, he probably would have eaten my whole sandwich. It's a good thing Eric ordered his own sandwich.

Memorial Day Monday

After all of that activity on Saturday, we spent most of Sunday at home. We did venture out to the movie theatre to see Tomorrowland, a new movie starring George Clooney. Alex actually got up "early" and went with us to the 11:30 showing. We've been enjoying seeing more movies at the theatre this past year or so. Yes, it's pricier than seeing it at home, especially when you factor in the obligatory popcorn and Blue Raspberry Icee, but it's fun with the whole family, especially. Eric got so excited at some of the special effects and dialogue in parts of this movie, that he got a bit loud at times. I love seeing him that excited.

It rained a little on Sunday, but not nearly as bad as it did on Saturday. It was supposed to rain again on Monday, so Patrick decided to grill burgers on Sunday instead. We spent the rest of the day at home, even Alex.

After breakfast at Starbucks today (more on that tomorrow), I took Eric to Target. We were almost out of paper supplies, and I love looking around at Target. Eric was acting particularly goofy. At one point I looked back at him, and he was about to step in amongst the paper towel packages. He actually stopped when he saw me, but I couldn't resist getting a quick photo, so he pretended he was doing it again, complete with mischievous smile, and I got this photo.

We thought it was going to rain all day again, although the sky was brighter than it has been, so we decided to go to North Star mall because it's indoors and we could keep dry. This time, Alex went with us, and Eric didn't bring a book.

Every store we went into, Eric immediately looked for a place to sit. Usually it was a table with folded clothes, but occasionally he would start playing inside the clothing racks. At JC Penney, he decided to try to climb onto one of the beds in the bedding department. He had a lot of trouble because the beds were so high, but finally he made it. Natalie saw him and decided to climb up on one of the other beds. I immediately pulled out my camera, and she immediately hid her face behind a pillow. This past week when she wanted a photo of herself with Patrick, we couldn't find one she liked. Either she didn't like her face or her hair. Of course her face is hidden in many of the other photos.

Eventually, Eric couldn't take the waiting anymore and he started asking to play on my phone. I let him play in short spurts, because the games he plays eat up my battery life. At Hollister, he found this comfy chair to sit in, that seemed a little closer to his height than that bed I mentioned above or some of the other chairs, so I took a picture of him--then I gave him my phone to play with.

Alex and Natalie both got some more clothes. There were some pretty good sales, and Alex never wants to pass up a good sale. He was so funny--when he got home, he laid out his new stuff on his bed so he could look at them/take a picture. Natalie was enjoying trying on clothes, too. It takes her a couple of days to get hers out of the bag and hung up, though. In the end, I think I bought two shirts, and the rest of our purchases were for Natalie and Alex. No wonder Patrick doesn't want me to go to the mall with them--it gets expensive. ;) At least everything we bought was at least 40% off.

To close this post, I have to mention that Memorial Day isn't really about the sales or the cookouts. Working in a military hospital, I'm acutely aware of what holidays like Memorial Day are really about. I've personally seen too many fallen soldiers, and we should all remember them and their families for their sacrifice. Freedom isn't free.

La Cantera Mall Shopping

After we went to the Witte Museum on Saturday morning, I wanted to go shopping. I knew there would be lots of Memorial Day sales. In particular, I wanted to go to Ann Taylor Loft, which meant that we would have to go to La Cantera Mall. La Cantera Mall is an outdoor mall, and I worried about getting caught outside in the rain, but the forecast predicted rain for the next week, so I figured we might as well go.

Natalie is usually not keen on going out. She would rather lay around on her bed in her room and watch shows/read books on her iPad mini or Kindle Fire. She really wanted to go to Barnes and Noble, though, so she agreed to go to the mall. Eric liked the idea of going to Barnes and Noble also, so he agreed to go also. Both of them brought books to read in the car on the way there.

Poor Eric had to wait "for a long time" while Natalie and I shopped, first at Macy's, and then at Ann Taylor Loft. Instead of leaving his book in the car, we brought it along, knowing that he would have to do some waiting. That didn't mean that he didn't do some complaining along the way, but at least he was happier.

We did pass by Build-A-Bear Workshop along the way, and they had their new Minions stuffed toys on display. When I mentioned this a couple of days ago, Eric got excited, so when we saw them in the window, I told him to go inside so I could take a picture. Not only did he pose for a picture, he started rubbing his face on the one he's holding in the photo, because it was "soft". This boy really loves Minions.

After Macy's, I wanted to give Eric a little reward by going to Barnes and Noble before we did more shopping. That was a good thing, because while we were there, it started pouring outside, with thunder and lightning. We were there for at least an hour, and the power even went out for a few minutes. Natalie and Eric were happy enough. Natalie was reading one book that she didn't want to buy. Eric was reading a bunch of different Star Wars related books, eventually wanting to buy two of them. When the rain let up enough that I felt like we could venture out of the store, we went ahead and checked out. I also took the opportunity to buy some gift cards for Eric's and Natalie's teachers as end-of-school-year gifts.

We were on the way back to the car when I decided that I had to go to Ann Taylor Loft, so we made our way there. In the end, I only bought one skirt there, but Natalie got two pairs of shorts, a top, and a skirt (I think). I welcomed her buying the shorts there, especially, because the shorts the stores sell for girls her age are always way too short. The ones at Ann Taylor Loft were nice and covered everything they should. She also got a dress, a lace cardigan-type of item to wear over the dress, and a T-shirt at Macy's, so baby girl was cleaning up.

The rain started coming down again when we were ready to leave the store, but it wasn't nearly as hard as before, so we went for it. We were ready to go home, especially Eric, who had almost finished his first book that he had brought with him to the mall. We stayed home the rest of the afternoon/evening.

Witte Museum Ice Age Exhibit

The new Ice Age exhibit opened today at our local Witte Museum. When we got the flyer in the mail, Eric was particularly interested in seeing the "saber-tooth cat", and he always likes to explain that it's a "cat" and not a "tiger". So, of course, I had to take a picture of him with the saber-tooth cat. All of the animal displays were moving, so that's why this one is a little blurry, but I thought it was cool looking over Eric's shoulder.

The exhibit was free for members this weekend, so that meant lots of people were there. This is the first time in a long time that we have been to the Witte, and it was a bit shocking to see part of the building torn away for their renovations. That also meant going into the new back entrance that was particularly muddy with all of the rain we've had recently.

This Wooly Mammoth was near the outdoor entrance. We came up to about three Wooly Mammoth's during our visit, and Eric wanted to cuddle up to each one. They aren't particularly cuddly, but he was enjoying himself anyway.

The new entrance was outdoors with a little overhead covering over the actual ticket booth. I hope they finish those renovations quickly, because visiting museums is a nice rainy day or hot summer day activity, but the outdoor entrance would make this unpleasant. It started drizzling while we were in line.

The exhibit began with a movie basically showing computer-generated animation of Wooly Mammoths and Saber-Tooth Cats roaming around and interacting as they would have during the actual Ice Age time period. There wasn't much to the movie, but Eric soaked in everything. He was also reading every plaque with information on the various creatures.

Eric couldn't remember what this creature was called, but he said that, "It's probably a 'Terror Bird'." Can I just say that I don't know what that is? He seemed very sure about it. All the animal exhibits were bigger than what the info plaques stated that they were supposed to be. That made them seem more formidable. I got one picture of a Giant Beaver that was really scary big--bigger than Eric, when the sign said that they were supposed to be smaller than Eric.

It was tough getting some of these photos because there were SO many people and the mood lighting was so poor. I forgot my big camera. I'm so used to not carrying it around that I actually forgot all about it until we got to the museum and I saw the low lighting. We don't have a lot of sports events to go to anymore, with soccer being over and Natalie still not swimming.

Eric and I were going at a slower pace than Natalie and Patrick. He read every single sign, sometimes twice. There was also a Members Activities Area where he squirted water onto a block of ice (with some other kids) to reveal a toy Ice Age animal. We spent a few minutes there because he really wanted to see what animal was in that block of ice. The activity was supposed to show what erosion does to reveal the fossils left behind.

After the Ice Age exhibit, we visited the kids' favorite area in the museum, the HEB Treehouse. It's not actually a treehouse, but it is a tall building that extends up into the many trees on the property. There are lots of hands-on activities there, and they had some new activities since the last time we were there.

Eric started off at this activity where it basically filmed him running a short distance, then it displayed how fast he was going and how long his stride was. He kept wanting to do it over and over again. His fastest speed was 11.2 mph with a 3'11" stride. It also calculated an energy score which it didn't explain. It just gave the number "5.0" as the "energy score".

One of the activities that I think might have always been there (or at least the kids have all done this activity before) where they try to pull themselves up using a pulley system. The point of the activity is that the more pulleys, the easier it is to lift yourself up. He had a fairly easy time pulling himself up using the four-pulley system, but he could barely manage to go up at all when he used the two-pulley system.

I took one picture of Natalie and Patrick. Natalie had a project this past week where she needed photos of various family members, including herself. She couldn't find one she liked with her and Patrick, mostly because she didn't like her hair. She didn't like her hair in this one either. She had braided her own hair, and she thought it looked like she didn't have any hair in this photo because it is all down her back. Really?!!

I took this photo of Eric using the binoculars-type gadget, because he was really getting into weird contortions to be able to look really high and really low. In the end, I just laughed because he said he couldn't really see much. He really looked like he was getting into what he was looking at.

Honestly, Eric could have spent the whole afternoon at the museum, but we wanted to go eat lunch. He spent only a few minutes in this interactive water feature area before we made him leave. We had a great time at the Witte Museum. There are several new exhibits coming in the next few months, so we'll definitely take advantage of our family membership and go again soon.

Alex's Awards Ceremony

Alex was invited to the Awards Ceremony at his school tonight. We didn't know ahead of time what award he was going to get. All we knew was that he was getting something. He had wanted to volunteer to help at the ceremony, but he couldn't do that anymore when he found out that he was getting an award.

I don't have any pictures of the ceremony itself. I was working late and there were some tough cases, so Patrick arranged for a good friend to take Eric to the mandatory practice swim meet, and he went to the ceremony.

Patrick did manage to get a short video of Alex walking across the stage to get his awards. He got Perfect Attendance and Academic Excellence in Science. He also got an award for his nuclear project getting first place in the state competition. He says he was the only one in the category, which he took to mean that he won because his was the only entry. We're so proud of him. He works so hard, not just getting the good grades, but also to really understand the material. I don't get to brag about him that much because he really downplays his accomplishments.

Spring Band Concert

If looks could kill! At the end of every band concert, Natalie's band director tells all the students to stand up one instrument section at a time, so that the parents can take pictures of their little darlings. Since Natalie is in the percussion section, and they are in the very back of the band, he also makes them walk to the front, stay a bit, then walk back, since otherwise it would be difficult to get a good picture of them. Additionally, Natalie never looks at me or my camera, so I've stopped bringing my big camera to the concerts.

This time, I decided to take a series of quick burst photos (36 in all), by leaving my finger on the shutter release button on my phone camera. In a few of them, I was able to catch a glimpse of Natalie giving me the stink-eye as she walked towards where Patrick and I were sitting. This one is probably the clearest one. I think Natalie looks beautiful, despite her shooting daggers at me with her eyes. :)

I prefer to think she looks happy in this photo. She was probably feeling a little embarrassed about walking to the front of the band. The concert part was pretty short. They combined the Concert, Symphonic, and Honors Bands for the performance. They all played during the first piece, "Creepy Crawlies". The top 2 bands, the Symphonic and Honors Bands played "Plaza de Toros". Natalie is in the Honors Band, which is the top band. They played a fanfare when the top boy and girl for 7th grade and 8th grade awards were announced, and they also played "Game of Thrones" theme song.

Natalie is trying to decide what classes she wants to take next year, and Band is just one of the electives she is trying to decide on. The other two are Journalism and PALS. We're not exactly sure what PALS is, but according to Natalie, is a class where she helps other kids, maybe tutoring? She enjoys band, and she has a lot of friends in it, but she knows she can't be in band in high school, because she plans on swimming. She had to apply for Journalism and PALS, so she doesn't want that work to go to waste. She'll be making the decision (with some help from us and her counselor) in the next week.

Speaking of swimming, Natalie's AAAA Northside Swim Banquet was this past Saturday. Natalie got this certificate (with her best times) and medal when she checked in. She met up with some of her old friends, and Patrick and I sat down with the few people we still know that are there (others have left for various reasons). Natalie had specifically asked to go to this banquet, but after a few minutes, she came up to us in tears and said that she wanted to go. That just broke my heart. She said she felt "different"--still not sure exactly what she meant by that, but she was moodier than usual anyway, because of that time of the month. In any case, I wish she would get better so her life is normal again. It's been a long struggle, and we're afraid of the psychological fallout. At least she has found some happiness in band, and I hope she stays in it for another year.

Farewell

Just last Saturday, Anthony came home for the first time since Christmas. In the blink of an eye, he left this afternoon. :(

I took this blurry photo at dinner last night. Anthony spent the night at his friend Alejandro's house on Wednesday, and Alejandro came over to our house last night, and had dinner with us at El Mirasol. El Mirasol was one of Anthony's list of places he had to visit while he was in town. He had his usual Chicken Flautas. Eric was going around the table hugging everyone, so I snagged this picture while he was with Anthony. Both Anthony and Alejandro made this their profile photo on Facebook. :)

This morning, before I took Natalie and Eric to Starbucks for breakfast and then drove them to school, they said their goodbyes to Anthony, who had been asleep upstairs (he didn't mind, of course). When Natalie came downstairs, she was in tears. I couldn't get her to smile after that, but at least I tried to make her feel better by buying her favorite things at Starbucks. Eric at least knew that he would see Anthony at lunchtime.

Eric had "Kids' Cafe" today during his lunch period at school. That's when the kids get rewarded for good behavior by being allowed to eat with someone of their choosing on the stage (which is in their cafeteria. He asked Anthony to eat with him. Sweet! Anthony brought Eric's "usual"--Wendy's spicy chicken nuggets and a vanilla Frosty. He brought him 10 nuggets (instead of the usual 8 that I bring him--Eric's request) and a medium vanilla Frosty (I usually get him the small). Apparently, Eric ate everything.

Anthony then entertained Eric and his friends with some jokes. Patrick texted Anthony during lunch and asked him if lunch was going okay. Anthony texted back that Eric's friends liked his jokes. That meant that they were enjoying each other's company.

When I picked up Eric from the school bus this afternoon, I told him that Anthony had just left for the airport. He said, "You mean I don't get to say good bye to him?" I pointed out to him that he had gotten to see Anthony at lunch. Eric told me about one of the jokes that Anthony told him (and his friends). Eric said, "What's the opposite of a flamingo?" The answer was "Flaminstop." That is definitely a joke for an eight-year-old! Apparently also, when Eric introduced Anthony as his older brother, Anthony said, "No, we're twins. I'm in second grade." Thankfully, Eric's friends were smart enough to realize that wasn't true.

Tonight, when I was putting Eric in bed, I told him that I needed a big hug because I already missed Anthony. Eric replied, "I can give you lots of hugs." At first he started saying, "for the next 12 years", then he must have realized that the math wasn't exactly right, so he changed it to "for a long time". I do love my Eric hugs. They're not exactly like Anthony hugs, but I will definitely take them. I miss my oldest big boy already.

Daily Breakfast

I've been off of work this week. Originally, I asked for this week off so I could be at home with the kids. Patrick had planned on going his nephew's graduation in Albuquerque on Tuesday. A few weeks ago, however, his sister called and said that Joe was in danger of not walking at graduation due to a failing grade in Calculus, so Patrick didn't buy any plane tickets. Well, his sister called last week to say that Joe would indeed be graduating this week. Of course, it was too late to get plane tickets.

I also decided to keep the week off when we bought plane tickets for Anthony to come home for this week. I didn't think he would want to hang out with his parents all week, but at least this way, I could be available to do stuff with him. We were able to have with him twice this week, for example. I'll detail the rest in a separate blog post.

So, really, the only things I'm doing differently this week, since I'm off work, is exercising more (four times this week so far), and taking more naps. I also decided to get the kids special breakfasts this week. I made breakfast three days this week already.

On Monday, I made banana chocolate chip pancakes. I used to make these almost every Saturday. I stopped making them when I got the waffle maker and the kids seemed to prefer the cake waffles that I make. It's faster and easier, so why not?

Alex loves bananas, in fact, he recently announced to me that bananas are his favorite fruit. His request was to leave out the chocolate chips. He has been concerned about his acne acting up every time he eats chocolate, so he's been avoiding chocolate. Otherwise, he usually loves the combination of bananas and chocolate. His favorite shake at Sonic is their chocolate banana shake. Just tonight he had Banana Fudge ice cream at Brindles. I made probably 6-8 banana (only) pancakes and he said he ate all of them. The rest were banana chocolate chip, and Natalie and Eric really enjoyed them. That made me very happy.

On Tuesday, I made crescent rolls, some filled with cinnamon sugar, and some filled with chocolate chips. Natalie and Alex only eat the cinnamon sugar ones. Eric likes both, but prefers the chocolate-filled ones. Patrick and I only eat the chocolate ones. I made four tubes of crescent rolls (8 rolls for each tube), and after breakfast, there was only one cinnamon sugar one left. The rest were chocolate ones. That also made me happy.

I left Wednesday alone since Wednesdays are designated Pop Tart days. That was the one morning that I didn't get up early to make breakfast. It was raining hard that day, so I also let Patrick walk with Eric to the bus stop. Today (Thursday) I made scrambled eggs. I guess I didn't bother taking a picture. I made two eggs for each child (not including Anthony since he doesn't usually get up until after 10am), although Eric ate only half of his but also had some Go-Gurt (actually, the HEB generic brand). The eggs are far easier and quicker to make than the other two breakfasts this week.

Tomorrow, I'm taking Natalie and Eric to Starbucks for breakfast. We haven't done that in a while, so I thought it would be a nice treat. After breakfast, I'll take them to school. I'm doing a whole lot extra this week while I'm off work, but I'm happy I get to do these things, especially spending a little extra time with the kiddos, even if it means getting up early to make them breakfast. Doing things like that for the kiddos (and having them appreciate it) makes me happy.

Happy Mother's Day 2015

We went to church this morning as a family. It was a sacrifice for the boys, who stayed up very late last night, but they did it. We then went to Paesano's 1604, one of our favorite local restaurants, for lunch. Grandma and Grandpa are always early, but today, they got stuck in some traffic jam (on a Sunday!) near them, so they were late. Today, the restaurant wasn't guaranteeing reservations, and they didn't seat anyone until their whole party was here, so we waited. I took the opportunity to ask Patrick to take a picture of me with my beautiful children. We had to encourage certain children to smile, or at least not frown, so I'm very happy with this picture.

Alex started playing with the bread at our table at one point, and made this "Stonehenge" out of the bread. Of course this prompted questions such as "Where is Stonehenge?" This is why I love having a smartphone, I was able to google "Stonehenge location" and we had the answer--Wiltshire, England. We also realized that Eric didn't know what Stonehenge was. What cracked me up was that the way we explained it to him was that Stonehenge was in last year's Thor: The Dark World movie. Natalie remembered that, and Alex then told Eric, "Remember in Thor where the guy was running around naked? That was at Stonehenge." I was actually thinking about that example too. Eric thought about it and replied, "Oh okay. I remember that." I love that we were all on the same wavelength! Too funny.

Eric sat next to me during lunch, and he was quite fidgety. He was cold and wanted me to warm him up. He started getting underneath the table for some reason. He wanted to interrupt the conversations I was listening to so he could tell me something. He required a lot of attention today. Despite the inconvenience of having to stop what I was doing frequently to redirect him, I never mind sitting next to him. I keep saying that he is the perfect youngest child because he gives me lots of hugs, unlike what the other kids. This is what being a mom is about, right? Giving love and getting some of it back--perfect for this Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day!

He's Home!

Anthony is home! He arrived today, a few minutes early even. Alex wanted to go with Patrick to the airport. Natalie would also have gone, I think, but she was gone all day on a field trip with the Honors Band to Corpus Christi.

Eric has been excited for the last 10 days, when we started counting down to Anthony's arrival. Every night when I put him in bed, we would talk about how many more days. Some times Eric would then bounce a little and say, "I can't wait!" This morning, Eric said, "Hours until Anthony gets here." He was just a little bit excited to see his big brother again.

I stayed home with Eric because he wanted to stay home and wait for Anthony. When he heard the garage door opening, he ran to the garage. When they got in the garage, Anthony quickly got out of the van and ran up the stairs to greet Eric. He grabbed him and picked him off his feet. :)

I, of course, also hugged Anthony, except that he was still hugging Eric. Alex was still at the bottom of the stairs and commented on how Eric looked like he was getting crushed between us, so he took this picture. Poor Eric does look like he's being crushed, but he also doesn't seem to mind!

I had made sausage-stuffed jalapeños for Anthony's arrival, so he and Alex snacked on that while playing chess. Alex missed playing chess and other games with his big brother. He also missed having someone who is a similar size. He told Anthony that he feels so tall when Anthony isn't here. After chess, the three boys and Patrick played Smash-Up. It was like old times.

Natalie didn't get home until after 9pm. Of course she was excited and Anthony greeted her at the door as she was coming in. Now, my family feels complete.

National Junior Honor Society

Natalie was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society yesterday (Thursday, May 7th). By the time we found out when the ceremony was going to be, it was a little late to be changing my schedule. I missed the ceremony because I was on call that night. Patrick said that it was short and sweet ceremony. They started on time, and it wasn't long and drawn-out. Of course, this is the ceremony that I missed. :)

I was so happy to receive the above photo from Patrick while I was on call. Finally, Patrick is remembering to take pictures regularly, because he knows I love pictures. Because I couldn't be there, at least I felt like I could share in this event. The above photo is of Natalie with her friends Monse (on the left) and Alli (on the right). The second photo is of Natalie with her group of friends. From left to right is Kelsey, Mackenzie, Chava, Lexie, Abby, Alli, and Natalie.

I love Natalie's smile in these photos. I don't know if she smiled during the ceremony, but since I wasn't there and all I have are these photos, I choose to think that she enjoyed herself and that she did indeed smile through the event.

This Week's Recap

We just have the usual activities going on, so I haven't had much to post about. Neighborhood swim team practices started this week, and Natalie did go to one of the practices and went to her AAAA practice once also. I supposed that's better than nothing. Tonight she was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society, but I'll do a separate post about that later. Eric only made it to one swim practice, because he had gymnastics on Monday, piano on Tuesday, and since I'm on call tonight and Patrick took Natalie to her NJHS ceremony, he couldn't go tonight either. Alex has been busy working on his Math project all week. I'll have to post about that separately too. I hope he'll take a picture of it when he's done.

We had a somewhat busy weekend last weekend. Alex participated in Relay for Life on Thursday night and ended up with a couple of friends at our house at around 3am. He stayed home long enough to let Patrick and I go to the Riverwalk area to have dinner with one of Patrick's old friends from grad school, Jim. Jim was in town with his girlfriend Heidi, and we had a great time trying some new dishes including that huge bowl shown in the picture.

Patrick went out with Alex and our friend Al on Saturday night looking for somewhere to watch the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight. Rather than stand the whole time for $20 a head, Patrick and Al ended up watching the game at Al's house. Alex got picked up by his friend Jeremy so they could watch it at Jeremy's uncle's house.

On Sunday morning, we all went to see the new Avengers movie, Age of Ultron. Natalie was a little disappointed that I only bought the "Kids' Pack" which includes a small amount of popcorn in a carrier tray and a small Icee, especially since she and Eric were sharing. The movie was fun, and when it was done, Eric was the only one who would pose in front of the movie display in the lobby--of course.

We went to mass on Sunday afternoon. Eric just had his First Communion last weekend, but when we went to Communion, he still wanted to cross his arms in front of his chest. When he got to the priest, he didn't hold his hands out to receive the host, which confused the priest. He still drank the wine, though, which I found amusing, since I almost never drink the wine.

Eric is always making me smile. On Friday, when I asked Eric what he wanted for breakfast on Saturday morning, he said he wanted orange rolls. So, on Saturday morning, I found him in his room reading, so I told him to get dressed so we could go to the grocery store to get some orange rolls to make. I went downstairs to clean up the dinner dishes from the night before. Eric still didn't come downstairs so I went upstairs to see what he was up to. I found him reading in his room again. I said, "Eric, do you still want to go with me to go to HEB?" He had forgotten. I asked him to put on his socks and shoes then I went off to do something else downstairs. He still wasn't coming downstairs so I went back into his room. He was rolling around on his bed! I just had to laugh at how distractible he was.

On Saturday night, when he changed into his pajamas, he decided to tie the shirt that he had been wearing around his head into a ninja-like headdress. I told him I wanted to take a picture to send to Anthony, and he got into his ninja pose. After the picture, he went on the iPad with the shirt still around his head. He just cracks me up sometimes.

I could use that little guy to pick me up right now. Today, I found out that my grandmother died. A few years ago, my sisters and I went up to New Jersey to visit her because she was moving to the Philippines. We knew that it was likely that we wouldn't see her again. She turned 100 last November, so she lived a full life, but I'm still sad that she is gone. Tomorrow when I see my little guy again, I will hug him tightly and I'm sure he'll say or do something to make me smile.

Camera-Shy Cousins

I tried to take a few photos of my daughter with her cousins last weekend, but they refused to cooperate. I found it interesting, though, that they gave Eric a camera phone so he could get a picture of them, but when I came into the room, this is the scene that I found. I'm assuming that they were trying to hide from me, because why on earth would they give Eric a camera, but then hide from him, right?

They did eventually allow me to take this picture, which is probably the best photo I got of the three of them all weekend. I'm glad that, even though my daughter doesn't have any sisters like I did, she has cousins that are like sisters--maybe even better, because she doesn't bicker with them like I used to bicker with my sisters. Of course, that could also be because she doesn't live with them. I know she wishes that she lived closer to them, though. For this reason, I'm forever trying to get pictures of the three of them together.

As you can see, this attempt to get a picture of the three of them did not go well in this photo. As soon as I raised the camera up, they all hid their faces.

I really wanted to get a picture of the three of them dressed up for Eric's First Communion, but they adamantly refused. Besides that, they didn't emerge from the room until it was time to go, and they changed out of the clothes they wore to church as soon as we got home.

The next time we get the girls together, I'm going to try to get a picture again. They're going to love that.