Summer Fun

For me, the fear of seemingly endless snowfall and dread of long months inside watching Frozen on repeat set in shortly after the Fourth of July fireworks stopped. Coincidentally, this was also around the same time that both kids decided to boycott naps.

Pray for us.

While we are very busy preparing for our impending doom and stockpiling our winter beer collection, we have also managed to cram quite a bit of fun into the three short months God grants us with above zero temps.

Fourth of July was spent at Nanny and Papa's cabin. Tyson learned how to paddle board and even took Lola for a ride which basically means he can pick up more chicks than Brad Pitt if he wanted to.

I'm keeping him away from Lake Calhoun until he's at least twenty.

Mila got stung twice on the face by a mosquito and woke up looking like this:

She was fine after a few doses of Benadryl, but I'm saving this picture to show all of her future boyfriends.

We also spent time tubing, swimming, fishing, and just generally enjoying the fact there wasn't ice on the lake.

We've taken the kids to hit balls a few times. They're basically the next Michelle Wie and Phil Mickelson. Which is basically another way of saying they haven't inherited any of their golfing skills from Mommy.

 

 

 

 

We went on a vacation to Wisconsin Dells with our neighbors. If you enjoy calm and patient children quietly behaving this vacation would be similar to your hell.

To be fair, parenting in general would be hell if you enjoy calm and patient children quietly behaving. Oddly enough our Wisconsin Dells trip is always my favorite part of summer. I guess my kids have broken me in.

We've made several trips to the Minnesota Zoo and gotten way more back than what we invested in our membership.

For example, Dan rode this camel on our anniversary. I'm fairly certain this also counts as him getting humped on our anniversary. Win/Win.

We've filled the rest of our time with water tables, long walks, puppet wagons and parks.

While I'll never be fully prepared to say goodbye to Summer and hello to shoveling, I feel pretty satisfied in knowing we have drank every last bit of sun and fun out of the season.

It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Breaks an Arm

Early this spring, Tyson achieved a pretty important milestone for a 4 year old; he learned how to cross the monkey bars.The accomplishment didn't come easy for his spindly little arms. It took weeks of practice and hundreds of attempts with my arms cradled underneath him. He yelled at me that he could do it himself. He yelled at me to watch him try again. He fell and I caught him. Lots.

And then one day, I watched as his tiny biceps carried him across the 8 rungs to the other side successfully.

The monkey bars quickly became a favorite at the park. So much so that I let my guard down when he would go on them. I quit running underneath him with my arms out. I quit worrying about him falling.

Last week, at our tiny neighborhood park, I sat on the bench and helped Mila fix her shoe. I glanced up to see Tyson on the monkey bars-two rungs in. He started to struggle, slipped and lost his grip. He fell face first into the mulch.

It happened so fast.

There were tears. And whimpering. I wiped the mulch off of his face and out of his mouth as he told me he hurt his arm. He was able to move it without limitation and there were no external injuries visible, but he continued to whimper. Tyson doesn't whimper. I had a sinking feeling.

After a quick trip to urgent care (with a certain 2 year old currently obsessed with Doc Mcstuffins who would not stop yelling, "TIME FOR YOUR CHECKUP!"), we confirmed what I had feared- he had broken his elbow.

Because I let my guard down.

For the next 3 weeks of summer, Tyson will miss out on swimming with his friends. He'll miss out on splash pads and sprinklers and the hot tub. He'll miss his last week of hockey practice and probably won't be able to sign up for T-ball. He won't be able to ride his bike or his scooter with his friends. He can't tube at the cabin or jump off the boat.

That's a lot of Mommy guilt to swallow. I might need a glass of wine (or two) to wash it down.

I could wallow in the Mommy guilt (and wine!), but I've decided to focus on the positive. For the next 3 weeks of summer, Tyson will also learn how to be resilient, patient, and tough. He'll learn how to rely on others when he needs to. He'll learn to problem solve and think outside of the box. He'll learn new ways of doing old things. He'll learn how to ask for help.

 

He's a fast study. Also, clearly he will never learn to be careful.

While the Cats are Away.....

Naturally, while Tyson was spending a weekend camping with the in-laws and Daddy was slaving away at a candy show, Mila and I attempted to empty the bank account one stop at a time.

Ahem.

On our first ever girl's weekend, we really whooped it up. 2 year old style. Mall of America rides, American Girl Café, at attempt at ear piercing, lots of mannequin hugging, a little bit of shopping, and her first ever movie.

I had dreamt of days like this since the minute the ultrasound tech announced that our second would be a girl (minus the mannequin hugging). I imagined the secrets she will let slip out as we walk through the mall, the hand I will need to hold when she decides she really wants her ear pierced, the way she will look at me to see if I approve of an outfit, the lunches we will share, the chick-flicks we will watch and the little girl I will try so hard to hang onto.

It was every bit as magical as I had dreamt it would be.

Camping

Have I mentioned I don't camp? I mean like I s'mores. And bonfires. But, I also like mattresses and air conditioning. Also, I'm not fond of bugs and dirt and I enjoy a hot shower every morning. For the past 4 years, I've graciously bowed out of any camping trips we've been invited on because, "the babies wouldn't do well in a tent."

My babies are now 4 and 2. And the 4 year old has been begging us to take him camping for at least a year.

Remind me to come up with a new excuse.

This year, my in-laws offered to take Tyson with on their annual camping trip. In an effort to please the 4 year old and still allow myself the liberty of a hot shower, I jumped at the offer before I realized what I agreed to.

My baby boy. His first trip away from home. For a whole weekend. Without us.

Gulp.

Tyson had a complete blast and, despite my many questions, he has yet to remember everything they did. Each and every time I called (and I called a LOT) he had no desire to talk to me. He mumbled "Me too" when I told him I loved him. I worried about him for 48 hours straight. He came home tired, a little stinky and totally crabby.

It was like a crash course for his teenage years.

The good news? We both survived.

A few pictures I was sent from his Auntie Lisa so I could piece together all of the fun they were having without us:

Remind me to ask Auntie Lisa if she'll accompany him to college and send me pictures so I can piece together the fun he has there too. Sure made the whole weekend away thing easier on me.

I'm off to google other excuses I can use to avoid camping.

Hockey and Dance (Read Also: Our Life Savings and Social Lives)

This summer we signed Tyson up for summer hockey and enrolled Mila in her first ever dance camp. If they both like it, we can kiss away our savings AND our social lives. I'm told this is the definition of a parent's unconditional love for their child.

Tyson has been in ice skating since just after he turned two, but this was first go at hockey with full equipment and a stick. A stick! On the ice! After years of watching hockey, I'm just now realizing how dangerous this sounds.

Daddy and Tyson were thrilled. I was terrified.

Suiting up (is that's what you call it?) took approximately 30 minutes. That's roughly the same amount of time he had on the ice. And that was with Daddy's help. If I'm ever left to the duty by myself, we might have to budget a few extra hours. Or days.

The effort was worth it because he looked cute. I mean tough. He looked tough.

He fell at least fifty times, but got up each time with a smile on his face.  He was the slowest. But in his defense, he was also the youngest. He could have easily been frustrated, but instead he yelled to us from the ice, "I'm practicing!" On the way home he eagerly told us he thought he "really got the hang of it at the end."

Turns out he didn't just look tough, he was tough.

Mila is enrolled in a 5 week summer dance camp in yet another attempt to get her into a setting without Mommy by her side. And also because she looks ridiculously cute in a tutu and ballet shoes. Ridiculously.

"Suiting up" for her practice took two minutes, although I'm still not sure if her ballet slippers were on the right feet. Is there a right and left ballet slipper? I never took dance and couldn't seem to find a distinction. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? I guess I can always blame her lack of coordination on my inability to determine right and left.

There were a few tears when class first started, but she quickly warmed up to her teacher and the idea of dancing around a classroom with scarves and a tambourine in her hand. Perhaps she was a gypsy in a past life. Either that our a mouse because she also really really likes cheese.

 

 

 

It's been two days since her first dance class and Mila has requested to put on her dance "costume" again no less than 50 times. It's been three days since Tyson's first hockey practice and he keeps asking how many more sleeps he has until he can go back.

Looks like we'll need to start clearing our social calendars.... and our bank accounts.

Mila's Second Day of School

Dear Mimi,

Tomorrow we will drop you off for your second official day of school. I'm nervous. The first official day did NOT go well. There were tears. From both of us.

I attempted to write this letter to you last week, on your first official day, but I couldn't even go there. How am I already dropping my baby off at school?  Wasn't it just last month that you fit in the crook in my arm? Didn't I just rock you to sleep last week? Wasn't it just yesterday that I was strapping your little body to my chest for walks around the neighborhood?  How does time continue to go so fast?

You have never been in a classroom without me. You depend on me for everything. You hold my hand tightly in new environments. It takes you at least an hour to "warm-up" to new adults. If a kid even looks at you on the playground you hide behind my legs. You are shy and apprehensive and not used to life without Mommy or Daddy by your side.

And this was why I sat in the parking lot for twenty minutes after I dropped you off. Crying. Convincing myself you would be ok. As I walked out of school last week, I could hear you yelling my name and it took nearly every ounce of willpower I had NOT to go back in and scoop you up.

This will be good for you baby. It will be good for both of us. You will learn how to play with other kids and how to take direction from other adults. You will learn to smile at that little girl on the playground when she says hi and that your teachers can keep you safe. You will learn that Mommy will always ALWAYS come back for you.

On the way home from your first day of school, I asked you if you had fun. You answered, "Yes, but I missed you."

I missed you too, baby.

Here's to hoping that tomorrow is a good second day of school.

Love,

Mommy

MN Zoo

Early last week, I loaded both kids, a stroller, a diaper bag, three lunches and boatloads of sunscreen into the car by 8:30 AM. This alone is a feat worth mentioning.

I told the kids I had a surprise for them.

Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared for the ramifications of this action. Surprises and four year olds, I discovered,  go together about as well as oil and water. Tyson anxiously asked every three minutes what the surprise was. EVERY. THREE. MINUTES. "What's the surprise, Mommy?" " Can you tell me the surprise. Mommy?" "Mom, what's our surprise?"

Considering he wakes at 6:30, that's roughly 50 questions fielded before 9 AM.

Did I mention I had ran out of coffee the day before?

By the time we pulled into the Minnesota Zoo parking lot, I was exhausted from the car packing and the question answering and the coffee lacking, but these expressions more than made up for it.

Two and four might not be the best ages for surprises, but they are definitely the best ages for a trip to the zoo.

Despite packing the stroller, they ran hand in hand from exhibit to exhibit. Mila happily waved to the animals, pointed out the baby monkeys and talked animatedly to the penguin that followed her hand around.  Tyson excitedly told me about the lion fish we saw, bravely reached in to pet the stingrays in the touch pond and ran like crazy through the splash pad.

When little legs got tired, we rode the tractor to the farm to pet the goats. Without fear, they both sat down to brush their coarse hair. We found the cows and talked about all of products we use that cows make.

We had a picnic lunch in the shade near a small tree trunk obstacle course. When the kids were done eating they climbed and jumped from trunk to stump while I happily texted my Mom that this was my favorite stay-at-home mom day to date.

And it was. It's harder than I like to admit to make days like these-days where we're all happy and content. Days where the effort to create something special is worth the effort to create something special. Days when we all go to bed exhausted but so, so happy.

I liked this surprise. I can only hope they liked it as much as me.