Michael and Claire Gain Some Independence

They may hate me for doing this, but I'm just doing my crazy job.  I remember watching a video of my Mom and Dad following me in their car while I was on the bus for my first day of Kindergarten.  They videoed the whole drive . . . through the windshield . . . wipers going because it was raining.  While it was a bit crazy (mostly because of how big video cameras were back then), I loved that they videoed it because it was a good view of a big piece of my life!  While getting donuts isn't a truly significant event, watching Michael and Claire gain some independence is.  They were both nervous to walk the block to Yum Yum Donuts.  Damien and I were a bit nervous too, but I think they did a great job!  They may hate that I did this now, but years from now when we are cracking up together while sharing the donuts their kids brought us, they will thank me.  Okay, not thank me.  A little wink letting me know they forgive me will do.

Matthew, His Friends, and a Photo Bomber

Matthew had three friends over for a play date today!  So fun!!!  We went straight to Emma Prusch Farm 'Home of the Canadian Killer Geese' to have some fun!  Unfortunately, one of the kids was afraid of any 'bird type' animals.  And because the birds/ducks/geese/chickens/roosters/hens are very friendly here, he was really freaked out.  I felt bad for him so we played on the toys, stayed away from the farm area (which is the majority of the place), took a few pictures, and then back to the house for some lunch and play time.

I'd like you to meet Emily.  She is a lot of things to a lot of people.  She has a lot of different nicknames.  She is also a self proclaimed photo bomber.  She can't help it.  It is in her nature to get into everyone's own personal situations.  Photo with your three best guy friends from school?  Photo Bomb.  Picture with your basketball team who just won a trophy?  Photo Bomb.  No one is immune.  Not even Matthew and his friends.  #photobomberforlife

What Do We Do During Baseball Games?

Let's face it.  Baseball games can be long.  Strike that.  They are always long.  Don't get me wrong . . . I love going to the boys' games but I especially love watching them at bat and when they field balls in the infield.  The rest of it . . . can get a little boring.  That's nothing that a Coke and some nachos can't fix, though.  If you were to come to one of the boys' games, this is what we might be doing.

Matthew and the Hot Rods!

Matthew is loving his first year of T-Ball on the Hot Rods!  This weekend was team pictures and they all looked adorable in their little white pants.  I just love baseball uniforms!  I feel like it is a right of passage for little boys to wear the uniform and glove at least once in their adolescence!  I managed to take a few sneaky shots of Matthew as he posed with his team.  Proud Mommy over here.  I love my little guy!

Emily's Tonsils. Third Time's a Charm?

Emily at the ENT.  It's no surprise we learn
she needs her tonsils out.  

There are no fluffy words.  No amazing story about how we realized that Emily would be the third child in our family that needed her tonsils out.  We have known it for a while.  No doctor necessary to diagnose.  I am a pro at this now.  Garbled speech, snoring at night, having a hard time swallowing food, two giant balloons in the back of her throat.  My attitude this time simple.  Let's get this tonsil show on the road!

Emily had to give blood today.  Not an easy thing to convince a little three year old to do.  But I've been here, done this.  Here's where I get to show people my 'Pro Tonsil' card.  I can talk my kids through this process like nobodies business.  (Useless Swendsen Child Fact:  all four of my kids have had to give blood at some point.  And not just as babies.  As young as two and as old as seven.  We are so cultured!)

First step- "Let's bring a friend with you, Emily!  That way your friend (stuffed flamingo) can be brave with you!"  Somehow having a stuffed animal makes it so much easier!

Second step- "I know you are scared, but do you know that this doesn't hurt as bad as a shot?  It's scary because you have to see the needle but the poke doesn't hurt much at all.  Plus, we get to see what kind of blood you have.  Will it be Doc McStuffins blood?  Flamingo blood?"  (For the record, Michael had Spiderman blood.  Matthew had Lego blood.  Claire had Strawberry Shortcake blood.  Not sure why they were so comforted knowing the kind of blood they had.)

Third step- Just as the technician puts the tourniquet on (which at this point you hope they know what they heck they are doing and can hit a vein on the first stick) I told Emily to look the other way.  "Look the other way!  I will tell you when we can see what kind of blood you have!"  Then the quick poke and Emily watched in complete amazement as her Flamingo blood filled the vile!  And presto!  She was done!  Phew.

I mustache you to get my tonsils out!

Oh, wait.  We're not really done as surgery is scheduled in a few short days.  I can't wait until this is surgery is behind us.  Mostly for Emily.  She is miserable with those lousy tonsils.

Anyone Want Some Lemonade?

Matthew has been begging us to let him have a lemonade stand.  This time, the weather was perfect so we had to help him out!  His goal was to make enough money to get a Skylander.  In fact, a girl in his kindergarten class (Mya) was going to do the same thing and then they planned to pool their money together to see what they could buy!

Matthew picked lemons from our neighbor Sam's yard and before we knew it, we were ready to sell!  Really, I only made the sign and took pictures.  Damien really helped Matthew through the whole process which was really sweet.  What a good Daddy!

Wow!  What a generous neighborhood we live in!  Not sure if it was Matthew's cute face, his Toy Story piggy bank, his adorable sister running up and down the block flailing her arms begging for them to stop, if people were just thirsty- but Matthew made $28 in a matter of thirty minutes!  Damien mentioned that he was in the wrong field and that maybe selling lemonade was more lucrative than he first thought!

Our neighbor Sam stopped for some lemonade, cars stopped and just gave Matthew money.  It really was encouraging to see the number of people who just wanted to make this little boy happy!

I am thrilled for Matthew that he had such success.  What a fun experience and what a great lesson on hard work!  The only problem now is that he wants to do it everyday!

Sunny, Precious Days

Today was one of those days where I just wished that time stood still.  Matthew and Emily wandered in the front yard and giggled over passing bumble bees, walked the curb like a balance beam, waved at cars and cracked up when the people in the cars waved back.  Simple, sweet, perfect.  

Next year, Matthew will be in full day school and I will miss having him here.  I know that Emily will miss her 'partner in crime', too.  They are just starting to gel with one another.  Emily has bridged the gap to the point where Matthew finds her fun to play with!  These two babies.  My last babies.  Simple, sweet, and perfect.

King Mouse Love

If you didn't know, now you know.
Emily loves the King Mouse.

Michael's Walk Thru the Revolution

In 5th grade, the kids study the American Revolution and Colonial Life.  Think Boston Tea Party, The Stamp Act, The Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and bad wigs.  Michael has really enjoyed immersing himself in this rich history and was so excited to wear this outfit to school today!  Good thing it looks so natural on him.  He was tasked with dressing up like Roger Sherman.  Ya, I have no clue who that is.  If you don't know who he is, Google him.

Oh, we went all out folks.  Blue chambray shirt, suit jacket, wig bought on Amazon, white baseball pants, black socks, and black dress shoes.  It really doesn't get any better than this!  (And if it does, please don't tell Michael.)

My other kids thought Michael looked awesome but was worried he was going to look silly at school.  As we pulled up in the carpool line and saw about 45 other 5th graders wearing white wigs, they calmed down and realized Michael would fit right in.

I am going to miss these days.  Good thing I get to go through this three more times!  I wonder if this wig can last that long?

Emmy and Daddy

Emily made Damien the cutest little note today.  One of my favorite things about having little kids is how they draw people when they are toddlers.  I love that she and her Dad are these little unassuming circles with short stubby lines for arms, long lines for legs, two really big eyes, and basically . . . no face.  But the sun she drew is amazing!  If you can't read what she wrote it says, 'Dad Emily'.

I. Just. Love. This.

Emily at Emma Prusch Farm

Today was a normal day.  I wasn't overwhelmed with lists of things to do or places to go.  I found myself at home with my sweet girl.  As we were refilling our bird feeder, I felt motivated by the sun and the sweet face of my daughter to go out and explore!

After talking about a few potential options, we both decided to go to Emma Prusch farm together.  The petting zoo is really wonderful and there is a sprawling park that begs to be explored.  It took just a few short minutes to get there and begin our adventures!

Being without the bigger kids, I was fascinated by what caught Emily's eye.  I thought it would be the 'big ticket' attractions, but she seemed to find something special about every bush, every overturned rock.  She wanted to explore slowly and thankfully, we had the time.

We saw cows, ducks, goats, pigs, chickens, sheep, Canadian geese, strange bugs, and an enticing peacock who Emily couldn't leave alone.  Because we had the time, I let her follow the peacock but let her know not to bug it too much as they can get mad quickly!

We ended our day in the chicken/goose area where Emily and I truly shared a moment of pure fright and hilarity!  I have known the Canadian geese in this area to be aggressive.  There is a station where you can buy goose food for $0.25 and I came loaded up with quarters for my sweet Emily.  There were a few others in the feeding area with us as well.

All started out well.  We got a few handfuls of food and sprinkled it around, much to the happiness of the geese!  And then, things got weird.  The geese started forming a circle around the food dispenser and consequently, us.  There were others in there with us so I felt like we had safety in numbers.  Yes, I am a bit of a 'chicken' when it comes to animals getting too close to me when I don't want them there.  It was obvious in this moment that Emily inherited this trait.

She sensed the geese were angry and I pretended to act like I had it all under control.  (I didn't.)  The geese started honking and attacked the pants of the man next to us.  I swear, about five geese pulled his pant leg so hard he almost fell down!  Emily was screaming and I was trying to find an exit- but we were in a fenced in corner.

The geese started flapping their wings (it was in this moment that I truly appreciated the wing span of a goose) and it was pure chaos!  Hearing all of the commotion, one of the handlers at the park came and broke up the geese riot.  Oh . . . my . . . goose.  Emily was bawling, I was still looking for an exit .  Let's be honest.  I basically blacked out so I really don't remember how we got out of there alive, but we did and I take full credit for it!

After The Great Goose Attack of 2013, Emily ran for her life.  Literally, she got out of the fenced area and ran and ignored my requests to come back.  I eventually caught up to her and calmed her down.  I also laughed and told her that I had never seen her run so fast!  I tried to distract Emily by pushing her on the swings.  She didn't want to stay much longer.  After a quick photo shoot by some pretty flowers, we were outta there.  And yes, every three steps on the way to the car- Emily looked over her shoulder to see if geese were following us.

In true paparazzi fashion, I interviewed her once we got to the car to hear the harrowing details of her day at the petting zoo.  My heart melts every time she says the word goose.  She says, Doose.  I am not sure we will be returning in the near future.  It sure is tough being three.  Good thing her Mom is so darn brave.

 

Michael's Game "Under the Lights"

Earlier in day, Michael played a baseball game for his team 'The Nationals'.  Then later in the afternoon, Michael was offered an amazing opportunity to play on an older team in Willow Glen Little League's "Under the Lights" game.  This game only happens once a year.  They bring in lights to illuminate the field at night, bring in food trucks, and a lot of the town comes to watch in support of the two teams!  Only one team from WGLL plays in this game so it truly was an honor from the league to call Michael up to play with the Pirates!

We knew that Michael wasn't going to play the whole game but we also knew that they were going to give Michael the opportunity to pitch.  We were nervous for him so we could only imagine how nervous Michael was!  The manager of the Pirates put him into right field during the second inning and we all went crazy!  He even fielded a great ball that was hit out there!

Mark, Joc, and the boys, Heavenly and Pascale, our family, and E and Papa attended the game- which made a great cheering section for Michael!  A lot of people we knew were there, too which made it so fun!

Before we knew it, Michael was up to pitch!  He looked calm and collected and struck two guys out to end the inning.  It was spectacular and certainly an amazing moment for not only Michael- but all of us.

I am so touched that the league gave Michael this opportunity.  Michael, you are amazing and I hope you enjoyed each and every minute of this experience.  You deserve it and played so well.  Mom and Dad are so proud of you!

Claire is SUPER into wearing these glasses.  I love it.

This is how we found Emily after the game at home.
She NEVER does this.  She always fights to stay awake
so she doesn't miss anything.  I guess four games in a day is her MAX!