In the books...

Well, week one of summer is already in the books, and I already feel so refreshed.  It was a productive week, and a fun week, with a lot of silliness thrown in.

We started the summer learning ticket system again, which the kids were really excited about this year.  In fact, whereas last year, Cortlan hardly banked any tickets (he would earn just enough to use for the TV shows he wanted to watch), this year, he has caught on to the idea that he can earn more to do more things.  And now that he is a reader, he has a whole new way to earn tickets.  In the first week, they were able to earn enough to get a movie and ice cream.  We will see how things continue.

Speaking of reading, Everly is picking up on reading at a surprising pace.  Her interest in doing what her brother can do is so high, it is amazing.  Yesterday, she read to me Buzz! Said the Bee, Cookie's Week, and two beginning reader books based on the nursery rhymes Hickory, Dickory, Doc and The Cow Jumped Over the Moon, all with very little help from me.  It is exciting to see her excitement in learning both reading and math.

Between the four of us, we had several appointments, including an allergist appointment for Cortlan.  Lucky him, he began allergy shots this week.  His allergies have been so bad, we are hopeful that these shots will help in the long run and he won't need to be on three medications per day (that are already losing some effectiveness).

We went to the zoo with friends, which was awesome.  Seeing the elephants get a bath was a highlight, and watching the polar bears play under water was awesome.

We also went ice skating for the first time, thanks to a friend who is taking lessons and invited Cortlan as his buddy for "bring a buddy day."  We stayed after the lesson for a bit so Everly could get a chance to try it out, too.  The experience was comical to say the least, but the kids would love to go back again some day.

As I always try to do during the first week, I did get my windows and screens cleaned, thanks in part to my kids, who did pretty well with the whole teamwork thing.

We are excited to see what the rest of summer has in store.  I am certain we will get a few more items checked off of Cortlan's bucket list.

10 weeks...

I have been quite the slacker when it comes to writing these posts.  Somehow, I always feel like I am going to have so much more time to do things like this in the summer.  But that just isn't the case.

Sometimes, I feel that we put our lives on hold for 42 weeks of the year and we have to live it all in these 10 short weeks of summer.  Considering all that we do and accomplish in the school year, I realize that isn't true, but the contrast of feeling like everything is a balancing act (and a tough one at that) during the school year versus the freedom to just do things in the summer is a stark one.  And we always seem to put things off until the summer.  And then most of those things don't get done, anyway, because, well, it is only 10 weeks, after all.  And when you spend your time at the pool, at the zoo, at family picnics, at the museums, riding bikes, running, going to gymnastics, and catching fireflies, it is hard to tackle those major projects.

I just haven't figured out how to maintain this casual and free feeling into the school year, when I have about 50+ hours a week less time to do all of the things that I am enjoying these days, plus the things I don't enjoy so much, like cleaning and grocery shopping.  And this year is going to be a doozy...with Cortlan and Everly in two different schools, with two different days and times for gymnastics and soccer, with my fall play stuff, with John's federation stuff...and then Cortlan's allergist recommended that he get allergy shots once a week. (I am still trying to figure out which day that would work.)

But the bottom line is that we are having a great summer and we are so lucky to have these 10 weeks to spend together and make great memories.  The kids spent a good bit of time arguing and making me crazy for a while, but that has lessened considerably in the last week.  We still have a great beach vacation to look forward to, and plenty more time to enjoy the summer life.

And enjoy, we will...

Summer reading...and loving.

I finally picked up a book this summer.  It has been a while, and boy do I miss the days of laying around and reading whenever I felt like it.  We have been on the go quite a bit and have been having a ton of fun (more to come on all of that).

Anyway, I am reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, simply because I found it recently on my shelf and remembered that a friend had lent it to me last year.  I should give it back, but there is a reason that I have it.  I am a bit more than halfway through, and am not 100% sure how I feel about it yet...I find it intriguing and somehow personal.

But I just read a line that caught my attention, and I just wanted to write it down.  I want to think about it some more later.

"It's the tragedy of loving, you can't love anything more than something you miss."

Thought-provoking.

Summer Learning Ticket System

Knowing my shortcomings, I decided to let my kids hold me somewhat accountable for their learning this summer.  Yesterday, we implemented a Summer Learning ticket system.  My theory is this: If they know they are getting something out of it, they will have the motivation to initiate the process, whereas I would otherwise forget, blow it off, or seem like a nag about yet another thing.

The kids each decorated their ticket envelopes and journals, and we were on our way.  There are many ways to earn tickets: 1 ticket for writing a journal entry or reviewing sight words or completing a worksheet from the summer bridge book.  1 ticket if they clean up after themselves before bed without needing to be reminded.  30 bonus tickets for learning to ride a bike with no training wheels (a one time offer).  And a few more, as well.

Deciding what they could "purchase" with their tickets was much more challenging.  Seeing what they decided to do with their tickets on Day 1 was somewhat enlightening.

An incomplete list of examples of what can be purchased: 2 tickets will buy a 30-minute television program.  8 tickets gets a movie and popcorn at home.  15 tickets may be traded in for a Build a Bear outfit (hand-me-downs that are like new from someone we know) or Lego figurines or a trip to get ice cream.  30 tickets gets a trip to the Children's Museum or Chuck E. Cheese.  (We figured that learning to ride a bike was worth that reward.)

What did I think would happen?  I thought the kids would each earn 4-5 tickets.  I thought they would spend 2 and save the others in hopes of earning a bigger prize someday.

What happened?  The kids each earned 3 tickets in the morning.  Cortlan promptly spent 2 so he could watch Phineas and Ferb.  Everly's eyes lit up when she realized that she could spend hers on Band-Aids (if there was an actual boo-boo, she wouldn't get charged) and she promptly spent 2 on a Band-Aid that she plastered across her forehead.

Later in the afternoon, they each earned 1 more ticket as we did a "Sink or Float" activity.  They chose objects and wrote down in their journals whether they thought the objects would sink or float.  Then we tried the experiment and they recorded the results.  They enjoyed the activity.  Cortlan now had 2 tickets - enough for another TV show - and he spent them.  Everly now has 2 tickets in savings.

Cortlan asked to have his training wheels off and is now more motivated than ever to learn to ride his bike.  It will be interesting to see what he does with the 30 tickets...a trip to the Children's Museum (which he has been begging for) or 15 TV shows.  Tough call.  Everly is not much into TV.  I guess I better stock up on Band-Aids.

Stained fingertips

My alarm went off at 6 AM this morning, as it has every day this summer.  I pressed the snooze alarm; ten minutes later I pressed it again.  It is nice to have that luxury.  It is also nice to wake before the kids, get the cup of coffee that is waiting for me thanks to a programable coffee pot, and go sit on the porch or deck to enjoy it. 

This morning, the air was cool and crisp...a warm welcome after the stifling heat and humidity of the heat wave that only broke on Sunday.  I believe it was seven consecutive days of above 90 degree temps that led us to this point - a point where an 80 degree day feels like a cool relief.  I will take it either way - in the 90 degree temps, we enjoyed the pool tremendously.  We also enjoyed the air conditioning every now and then, like when we took a trip to Chuck E. Cheese's for the afternoon.

But today was a perfect day to be outside.  We were at the park by 9 AM...the kids rode bikes, I ran.  We cleaned the car, inside and out.  We swung on the swings...Cort is finally getting the hang of pumping his legs.  

And then we got on our sneakers and headed to the woods for a walk.  Our neighbors told us they had found blackberry bushes, and we even got to taste one of the berries last night as a tease.  Today, the kids were ready to claim their own.  As we got deeper into the woods, we were concerned we wouldn't find any.  But as the denser trees cleared into an overgrown field with high bushes and plants of all sorts, we spotted our first prize. 

With our red Solo cups, we collected berry after berry, staining our fingertips as we went.  I told the kids about my berry picking adventures as a kid and told them how much I enjoyed walking in the woods.  "Me, too!" they both responded. 

Honestly, I am not sure which of us enjoyed it more today.

Water love

It is hard to believe that at the beginning of the summer, neither of my kids would leave the steps of the pool and neither would attempt to swim, even with flotation devices on.

It is hard to believe that Everly, for the first week of swimming lessons, cried and had to be pulled out of the group.  

And it is hard to believe that, until about two weeks ago, Cortlan wouldn't jump in the water without holding onto someone's hands.

It is amazing what time and exposure can do....and patience.  I am learning to not rush things.  I am learning there is a balance between pushing and waiting and just letting things happen.  Sometimes that is hard, but I am learning.

Napless Idlewild

Part of me kind of feels as though I have been neglecting this blog, but the reality is that I have way less computer and relaxation time than I used to.  My kids used to religiously take naps from about 1PM until 3PM or later...every day.  Now, we are lucky to get them to stay in their rooms for an hour, and the likelihood that they sleep is about 50/50.  Actually, it is Cortlan who more often falls asleep; for whatever reason, Everly has always seemed to thrive on less sleep than him.  (I clearly remember the 15 minute catnaps when she was a baby that had me pulling my hair out.)  So, while I used to get things done for an hour or so and then still have an hour left of to write this blog or read or otherwise relax and sometimes accomplish something during nap time, this summer I am generally not even getting a load of laundry done and my kitchen cleaned from lunch by the time the kids are out of their rooms again.

The reduction and soon (I predict) elimination of nap time has its positives and negatives.  On the positive side, I do feel much more confident that we will make it through a day of activity without complete meltdowns now.  Thus, I am less apt to experience the customary anxiety when we plan a day away from home.  In fact, last week, we spent a beautiful day at Idlewild with no incidents whatsoever, and stayed longer than we ever had before.  The kids rode most of the kids' rides, we walked through Storybook Forest, played in the ball pit, and went on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood Trolley ride where we invited everyone to "Come along, come along, to the castle hug 'n song!"  We were also able to ride most of the "big kid" rides.  Everly went on her first roller coaster and Ferris Wheel rides, plus a number of spinny rides.  The weather was great, and the day was nearly perfect.  The only bad thing was that my battery died on my camera after only a few pictures.

Of course, the motorcycle ride was one of the first rides of the day!

The kids surprised John and me by excitedly joining the crowd at the Thomas show.

For the first time, they were actually able to pull the handle hard enough to ride high on the airplane ride (though this pic was taken before they started).

Summer is here

Today is Cortlan's last day of Pre-K...amazing.  He has learned a ton and I am proud of how much he has grown.  Hard to believe that he will begin Kindergarten next year.  Everly will be moving on up to the next room at school, too, to the room that Cortlan started in at this daycare/school.  Time is just clipping by.

Summer is here...my to-do list is huge.  It includes cleaning our windows, doing some painting, washing my curtains and organizing. 

But it also includes going to Idlewild, the library, the museums, McConnell's Mills, the parks and playgrounds, the pool, the back yard and Living Treasures. 

It includes visiting friends, catching fireflies, drawing on the sidewalk, playing in the rain, eating on the deck, and making s'mores.  Maybe we will sleep in a tent, too. 

I love summer...I wish it was a bit longer, but I am going to enjoy every second.