we dance

There are times when I feel like I'm ready to break. I don't feel like I'm cut out for this mom thing. I catch myself watching the clock. Instead, I turn on a little Michael Bublé  and start dancing.

The kids are in the dining room throwing food(which makes me crazy). I crank the music and instantly I have an audience. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I come around the corner into the dining room and dance for them.

 

 

 I pick up both of their sippy cups and they become microphones.  Towels make great boas.

 Encouraged by my outrageous antics, Ruby jumps out of her chair and puts on her tap shoes. We spin, dip and make up moves. Confidence is written all over our faces.

The boys get their turns too. Usually I'm holding one and the other one is at my feet waiting his turn.

 

 

 

It lightens the moods, changes the attitudes and it makes the last few hours of the day run more smoothly. 

 

Take a bow, buddy!





ba loooo

 



 I remember the winter when Ruby was 2 years old and it had been cold out for what felt like ever. Tim thought we need to mix things up and brought home a few balloons with rubber bands attached to them.  It brought a smile to Ruby's face that could have lit up my living room for weeks. They played with it and bounced it, threw it...

 

... you know regular things that you do with a balloon but to see someone experience it for the first time was something short of bliss. From then on a balloon would always provide hours of amusement.

 

 

 

 

 

Until that moment when her balloon pops in the hot van as she's getting in the car. You hear her say "bummer" as she often does. Her pink balloon is deflated so has her happiness. The boys balloons are instantly up for grabs in her book. All of a sudden their colors of blue and green will be just fine. The plotting starts as she is good with convincing them why they should give up their own balloons.

The convincing didn't work. They know the happiness that balloons always provide. She even tried to get us to go back to the store and get her a new one.

 

Redirection is still working with her. We put her in charge of walking with the boys and she was good with that. She loves those boys and wears her big sister label well.

She wouldn't let me take off the pink balloon string.

Dude lost his pants.

 

He acted like he had no idea and was just carrying on.

Tim gave me a look and I snapped this picture!

 

Once Ruby and Simon saw what happened they too found it pretty amusing. Oliver thought it was no big deal.

 

Simon with his ballooooo...

 

 

You can see Simon saying it... "ba llooooo"

 

 

Ruby leading the boys until Simon somehow cut and run free.

 

They took this as an opportunity and ran with bliss. It was all over their faces.

 

 

And Ruby emerges from another balloon victory unscathed. Just wait until they are older, girl. You days of balloon stealing are numbered.

old school'n it

I don't think I ever had a car seat when I was growing up. In fact, I think seat belts were not required. As kids we loved riding in the back of the pickup truck. And when I say, "in the back," I mean not in the cab but in the back bed! We were told to sit with our backs up to the cab and sometimes we would venture out and sit the tail gate at our backs. If you were really adventurous you'd sit on the tire bump. Soon you'd see your parents signaling you to sit back where you were told and we'd adhere to the request knowing at anytime they could stop that truck. 

 

 

Parks were different then, too.
 

 



 

The swings had chains that seemed miles long. As a kid my goal was to get as high as I could to see if I could touch the leaves hanging from the tree branches.  Parks of the past didn't have spongy floors to absorb wipeouts, but instead were dirt and gravel. Hardcore.
 

 



 

We came across an old school park in Seward the other day. You quickly remember how much fun they are. Those swings give you butterflies like no ones business and you don't need wax paper to go down the slides. There are no bolts holding the slide together so you don't get shocked on your way down.

 

 



 

Just look at that face of approval. You can fake that kind of glee!

 

 

We all went down the slides and swung on the swings. Laughter and squeals of joyous approval were  all very much apart of these moments. 

 

It brought flashbacks of me as a kid playing at a park like this. Vivid memories of sticky hands from eating ice cream bought from the ice cream truck, and being soaked in wet swimsuits after leaving the pool near by. 

 



 

 I bet this park has brought many years of kids squealing as they got tummy butterflies. The equipment didn't seem unsafe. Parents used to let their kids play unattended.

 

We were so happy that we stumbled across this gem. I'm happy to know my kids experienced a park in a different way. And as fun as it was, now that I'm a parent I'm glad that parks are safer. It was fun to step back into 1984 and laugh like a kid again!

a first

 

"Ruby, are you sure you want to wear a dress for a bike ride?"
 " Yes, mommy. All princesses wear dresses when they go for bike rides."
 I guess I can't argue with that.
 This is our family of five's first bike ride together!
 

 

 

We road down to the blue stair sculpture which is probably less then half a mile away.  She did really well. She was stopping her bike, waving and ringing her bell to be sure she got their attention as the other people on the bike path passed her. Everyone loved her as they giggled with unexpected joy back at her. One guy even rang his bell back at her.

 

 



 

I heard her say she wanted to go speeding fast. And she did. Her little legs were going in small circles on the peddles. The faster the better. That was her only way to get to the stairs... "speeding fast."

 

 



 

The boys enjoyed the Burley. The faster I went the more giggles I heard from them.  As Ruby would pass by us I heard them smacking their lips waiting for that salty kiss for their sister. She'd blow them a kiss explaining that she was too busy right now.

 

They liked their helmets. Sadly, when we put them in the Burley with them on, their helmets were so big they had to lean forward and had no room to turn their heads without bumping into each other.

 

 



 

The ride was a success. I came home with a proud little girl and happy little boys.