Life At The Circus

This past week our oldest son turned 8.  As quickly as that time seems to have flown, it is frightening to me to realize in just as little time, he’ll be waving goodbye as he backs a car out of the driveway.   AACK!   In the midst of this busy stage of life, I want to take time to reflect on who he is now at this stage, so I can cherish and savor it for years to come.  He is passionate… when he is interested in something he is fully interested in it… reading, watching, playing, dressing up as… essentially eating, drinking, and breathing in that topic.   This past year those passions have been Star Wars, the Revolutionary War, Ninjago and basketball.  He is thoughtful.  In soccer this fall his coach gave him the gentleman’s award.  His coach told me that he was so considerate, always thanking him after every single practice and game.  He does the same in baseball.  I never have to remind him.  When practice is done, h...

Some people like the feeling of sand beneath their toes.  I must say I do enjoy the squish of wet sand beneath my feet as the waves lap at my ankles.  My children, however, have a whole different kind of love of sand. One which truly baffles my mind. EVERY SINGLE TIME we visit our community beach, it’s the same routine.  We drop our stuff in the sand and they make a mad dash for the water, they splash and play and swim and then, inevitably, they decide it’s time to hit the sand. As in lay down with their wet selves on the sand and make “sand angels” Being sure, of course, to flip and get both of their sides equally covered in sand And to make sure they are fully, fully caked in the sand, they will pour handful upon hand full on top of themselves, until they are covered in at least a solid inch or two of sand And when they feel they’ve got it on them thoroughly, they’ll stand up, run into the water, and wash it off Only, to run back out...

Round these parts the current show which they all can agree on when they are given the chance to pick something is Woody Woodpecker .  What’s at the top of your queue these days?

I had a slight moment of déjà vu the other day while playing with my youngest son at the park.   I snapped this picture of him playing peek a boo at 22 months. which had a striking similarity to the picture I snapped of his older brother at the same park at 23 months. Hmmm….can you tell they are brothers?

Spring break was FABULOUS!  Oh my, what a treat to have an entire 6 days off of school.  It was like a foretaste of summer vacation, (which for this homeschooling family is just around the corner).  But before we get back to the books tomorrow, thought I’d share a few of our favorite memories from the week.  We crafted… We made memories with friends (he had SOO much fun seeing the farm animals at the park with his friends) We reviewed the Easter story Our oldest son finally got to enjoy his Christmas gift by attending opening day with Dad (and saw his first Orioles win) We spent time with grandparents We played lots of basketball We went to the park and had lots of extra time with Dad. It was a wonderfully relaxing and fun filled week.  Now to buckle down, put our nose to the grindstone and finish the school year strong.

It’s been really neat to watch the bond between my oldest and youngest.   Our baby was the answer to his older brothers prayers, as he longed to have a little brother.  I’ll never forget the look of pure joy when he found out he finally had a baby brother.   I know he can’t wait for the day when they can truly play together, but for now it is so neat to see the love between them blossom.  Last night was proof that the love flows both ways.  The baby is used to falling asleep at night with his big brother on the bed across the room reading his book.   Last night, however, his big brother spent the night at a friends house.  So, when we put the obviously tired baby into his crib, he had his baby, his pacifier, light on, door closed…but no big brother across the room.  When we walked out of the room, he was quiet for awhile.  Then he started crying… truly crying.  This is something he never really does when we put him dow...

March was a rough month at the circus.  Scott had some deadlines at work which meant he worked a lot of overtime.  This happens with his work and we’ve all learned to roll with it, but that doesn’t mean that the long days don’t eventually start to take their toll.  On all of us Which is why it’s been so great the last 2 weeks having Scott around more often.  Last Monday he left work at 2 to go to DC with us, on Friday he got home at 5:30 (to which my oldest son asked, “Dad did you take vacation time to get home this early?”), Monday he was home by 5 and Tuesday he took the whole day off!  He had to use vacation time to do this, but after the many, many late nights in March, we all felt it a good use of vacation time to have him home.  Especially since we’re on spring break this week.  Yesterday after the kids woke up and were snuggling on the couch, he made a few phone calls and announced that he wasn’t going to work that day.  He just hun...

I told the kids I made them brownies for dessert tonight.  They were a little disappointed to discover the brown E’s I made for them. April Fools!