PDO & Preschool Update

Both boys are doing great at school so far.

Rylan walked right into his classroom on Thursday and Tuesday.  On Thursday he was showing off his Mickey Mouse to his teacher and on Tuesday he had gifts for them that he was showing them.  One of the teachers always takes him right in without me and they hang up his bag and set him up to play.  I haven't even stepped into his classroom yet.  I think that since Rylan seems comfortable now, I may sort of barge in (at least for pickup) because I really want to talk to his teachers more to find out how he's doing.  I pretty much have gotten nothing out of them so far other than "he's great".

On the bulletin board outside of Rylan's classroom on Tuesday was a list of what the kids told the teachers their favorite thing about school was.  Rylan's was "stickers" (which 2 or 3 other kids also said so they may have been offered that as an answer when they didn't come up with anything).

Rylan's class hasn't been doing many art projects yet - everything so far has been apples.

I guess they are "stuck" on the letter A still :)

Carter is also doing well.  I think the hardest thing for him is the short nap.  They are only scheduled to have 35 minutes of rest time (though I think it ends up being longer).  He almost always takes a 2 hour nap at home so 3 days in a row of this short of a nap is hard for him.  Today he was so cranky that he cried about everything for the first hour after I picked him up.  For instance, on the drive home he started crying because he said Rylan made a scary face at him.  He eventually got over it.

I get a little more out of Carter's teacher.  It's definitely less chaotic at drop off and pick up.  She has a very calm, reserved demeanor while Rylan's teachers are sort of hyper.  She's told me little details about the day (like Carter was picking her mushrooms on the playground and that she and Carter had a race on the playground).  Plus Carter can tell me more about his day than Rylan.

Carter's gone to "big boy school" twice for speech with Ms. Judy so far and Ms. Vicky came to his preschool class on Tuesday.  Her notes were great about Carter and Carter talked positively about her being there.  I'm not sure what time she came and what Carter missed out on, but he didn't seem upset about it.

Carter's class is also all about apples so far for their art projects.  Though he did tell me today that "b is for baseball", so they must be on the letter B now.

Carter has "homework".  We have to make a poster showing things about Carter for him to share with his class.

On Tuesday Carter learned about fingerprints.  Carter was so excited about this that he made me go back into his classroom to show me what they had done (look at their fingerprints through a magnified glass and determine what type of pattern they are).  I'm happy that he's learning about things I haven't thought to teach him yet.

Playground Picture

Dowden, Carter, Luke, and Will.  So cute!

Soccer Game

Carter had his first soccer game on Saturday. 

The teams split up into two groups and play against the other team on separate fields.  We really didn't follow any rules except no picking up the ball and stay within about 10 feet of the out-of-bounds lines :) Missy and I just followed the lead of the other team's coaches since they'd coached before.

I had Carter in my group.  He did well except that he isn't really aggressive yet.  At this age there is no team work and it's everyone trying to score (which includes taking the ball from your own teammates).  There were 5 kids from our team on our field.  Two of them only played part of the time (they preferred to sit with their parents on the sideline) and the other two were dominant and just kept taking each other out trying to take the ball.  The opposing team wasn't very into playing and so it was pretty much our two dominant players playing against each other trying to score.  The score was a whole lot to 2 (which were own-goals scored by our team).

We've worked hard to make sure Carter is nice and gentle to other kids but now we need to teach him that it's okay during soccer to push a bit and get in there!  He does it against his brother, he just needs to play that way with other kids!

It rained some during the first part of the game but Brian managed to take a video from under the umbrella.  Carter is number 7 in blue.  I split it into 2 shorter videos here:

Carter was a little disappointed that he didn't have the ball more but he was super excited when he scored 2 goals.  Overall I think he had fun.  And he was still excited about practice today.

Firepit

Last night we finally made a fire in our firepit!

The front that came through overnight really cooled it down so it was a perfect night for a fire.  The rain also cleared out all the haze and the stars were amazing.  The boys were so excited to wear their new sweatshirts.

Carter and me hanging out on the steps waiting for the fire to really get going ...

Eventually it did and thankfully put off some good heat because I was cold!

The boys enjoying the fire ...

Popcorn snack before bedtime ...

Carter was so worn out that he eventually asked to go to bed (it was only about 30 minutes past the boys normal bedtime).  Apparently Carter's first soccer game wore him out!

Black Widows & Ticks

We found 2 black widows in our yard in two days.

The first one was already dead.  We had a bag of firewood next to our deck for a few months now.  Brian took it out of the bag yesterday afternoon and put it on the patio in anticipation of making a fire last night.  Then last night as we were getting the fire started, Carter was bringing the wood over to Brian.  He dropped a piece he was carrying and yelled "Spider!"  When I went over to check it out, there was a black widow on the patio next to the wood.  Luckily it was already dead so I wasn't completely freaked out that we had let Carter move the wood.

Then today I was putting mulch around our trees in the front yard.  The tree between the sidewalk and the street is still watered by the neighborhood maintenance guys so they have a water bag around it.  I took the bag off the tree and started mulching when I saw a black widow on the trunk of the tree.  This one was alive.  I got Brian and he smashed it with his shoe.

I'm not a fan of finding that many black widows in our yard but at least both of them made sense where we found them.  We just need to be more diligent with the kids and what they play with outside!

And then, I also found a tick attached on Rylan on Friday morning.  We have ticks on us often enough with how much we go hiking and are outside (especially Brian).  But usually we get them off before they attach.  And when they do attach, Brian and I are usually good at removing them.

Brian had already left for work when I found the tick on Rylan.  It was on his hip along his diaper.  I thought it was a little scab at first but then didn't remember him having a scratch there.  I got out a flashlight and when I started poking at it, saw the spot had moving legs.  This was the tiniest tick though that I'd ever seen.

I was able to get Rylan to lay still by turning on the TV and had Carter hold the flashlight for me while I attempted to get ahold of the tick with some tweezers.  Like most ticks, it did not want to let go as I tugged on it.  Eventually I got it but when I put it down on the counter, it was dead already.  I'm used to them still being alive and having to kill them so I figured I must have ripped off the head.  It did feel like there was still something in Rylan's leg too.

I put the tick in a bag and we headed off to Brian's office to get his opinion.  We decided to take him to the pediatrician since we didn't want to risk leaving the head in (the nurse agreed when we called).  We got in for an appointment after lunch and our pediatrician was able to look at the tick with a magnifying light and determine the head did NOT break off.  She agreed something was still in Rylan's leg but thought it might be a pincher.  She tried to rub it out with a tongue compressor but said his body would eventually get rid it on its own.  So all is good. 

I'm over dealing with bugs (or arthropods or whatever they are called) though!

One Project Complete

We finished the bed next to the garage today.

Here is the before from last weekend:

And here is the finished project:

Today we planted 2 Lemon Thread Flase Cypresses and a Red Flowering Crabapple:

And a Aphrodite Rose of Sharon Altea:

We also moved the edging we put in last weekend a little and mulched.  It was a little cool this morning (so nice!) but warmed up quick.  Here are our little "helpers" as we got started to work this morning.

We did some work on getting the bubbler rock set up in the backyard too.  The basin is buried, the rock is placed, and most of the tubing is connected.  We ran out of patience from the kids tonight to finish it up but hopefully it'll all be done (except for running the electrical) by next weekend.

Soccer Practice #2

We had soccer practice last night since Monday (our normal practice day) was Labor Day.  Brian was able to come this time to watch Rylan and took a few pictures for me.

Missy and I felt like practice was a little more unorganized this time but that it went okay.  It may have been because we scrimmaged some and got to see a little of what our first game on Saturday is going to be like (a crazy mess!).  Plus it was super hot again and even though we took breaks every few minutes to let the boys get water, a lot of them wanted it constantly.  I can't wait for it to cool off.

Here are some of the pictures Brian took (I'll be sure to get him to take a video of the game on Saturday):

Lego Duplo

The boys are currently OBSESSED with Duplos (the bigger Legos) right now.  We have several sets that have now been combined into one large box.  Every morning when we come downstairs, the box gets dumped out on the floor and the boys play with the Duplos and pretty much nothing else.

Carter is also obsessed with rockets and spaceships.  He absolutely loves the Little People space shuttle he got after his first day of school.  Brian even built him a launch pad for it last night.

Carter also likes to build what he calls spaceships with the Duplos.  He has to put the computer in each one he builds (which is actually a piece that is supposed to be a cash register that goes with the grocery store set).  And each spaceship has to have a window (which is a transparent blue piece that is supposed to be ice that goes with a zoo set).

Brian showed Carter some videos on YouTube tonight of space shuttles taking off and he was in awe.

Rylan is more into building towers and solid buildings.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of preschool for Carter and Parents' Day Out for Rylan.

Both boys were saying they were excited about school.  But yesterday when I asked Rylan about going, he said "and Mommy, and Daddy."  When I said that we weren't going to school with him, he just sat there staring into space for awhile.  He continued to answer that he was excited this morning but his excitement seemed to wane a bit as we drove to school.

I missed orientation last week because of soccer practice but Brian got the boys' schedules when he went.  Carter has Chapel this year and gets to check out books from the library.  I think he's going to enjoy getting to do some new things this year.

We were ready to leave (and done with taking pictures) about 1 1/2 hours before it was time to go (these boys get up way too early!).  Carter and Rylan both kept asking if it was time to go yet (Rylan kept going to the door too).

When we arrived at school, I took Carter to his room first.  He did awesome - walked right in and started eying all the new toys.  He was a little quiet and shy but didn't seem scared.  He found his name on his hook right away on his own and hung up his bag.

There are 3 kids in Carter's class from his class last year.  His teacher had sent out a list of kids a few weeks ago so we knew who was in his class.  He's been listing off the 3 he knows and keeps adding that one boy from last year isn't in his class (he's the one that hit and push and took some of Carter's food once).  I too am glad he's not in Carter's class - he's not a terrible kid, his parent's just don't believe in suppressing his creativity or disciplining him.

After dropping off Carter, I took Rylan to his room.  We put his lunch and diapers in the baskets outside his room and then Rylan decided he didn't want to go in.  He turned his back to the room and kept saying no.  I ended up picking him up and handing him over to one of his teachers at the door.  I heard some "Mommy!  No!" but that ended pretty quick and when I peeked through the window in the door a minute later, he was sitting on the rug.  He had his pout face on but wasn't crying or complaining.  I mustered my strength and headed out then :)

With my 5 hours to myself, I ran a bunch of errands and then went home to get some stuff done there.  I realized that this was the first time I've ever been at the house without any kids.  I had the TV on and kept thinking I needed to turn it down because the kids were napping and then remembered that I was home alone.  It was weird!

I took a couple of toys out of our toy stash and put them in the boys' carseats as a "First Day of School Surprise".

I went to Rylan's room first to pick him up.  The lights were off in his room still from nap so I waited outside for a few minutes.  A handful of other moms showed up and one of the teachers finally opened the door.  She said Rylan was still sleeping so I went to Carter's room to get him.

Carter was up and coloring a picture for me (he said it was a rainbow).

Carter's teacher (Ms. Anne) said that Carter did great and that he's super sweet.  I didn't get much else out of her.  I'm looking forward to getting to know her better so that I can find out more about how Carter is doing (she doesn't seem as comfortable with parents as Carter's teachers were last year).

Then we went back to Rylan's room.  He was up now and came walking out to us holding his Mickey (I sent it in his school bag for his nap).  He was happy to see us but not overly excited (as I had expected).  One of his teachers (Ms. Jayne) said that he did great.  She said he was happy, smiling, and playing all day.  Yay!  He even waved to Ms. Jayne as we were leaving.  We'll see how he does tomorrow when only Carter is getting dropped off and then how he does on Thursday when I also drop him off!  I also hope that Rylan's teachers are more open soon.  They seem to want the kids left at the door and then they bring the kids to the door to you.  I haven't set foot in Rylan's classroom yet!

Rylan's art project today was an apple:

I'm so glad both boys did well today!  And I'm looking forward to having time to get some things knocked off my to-do-list!  I love staying at home with the boys but I think we all need some time apart.  It was a good summer but our patience with each other has been getting a little short lately.  Hopefully school will be good for all of us!!!

Weekend Projects - Landscaping

We been dodging rain storms and working on landscaping projects all weekend.

On Saturday and Sunday we worked on the bed we installed sprinklers in a few weekends ago.  We have lots of plans and are starting to make some progress.

We spent most of Saturday buying rocks.  First we went to J&R Garden and Stone and bought a bubbler rock and the basin.

Then we rented a U-Haul trailer and went to Beasley's Yard and bought flagstone and 3 boulders.

When we had the fence installed, we had a double gate put in so we were able to drive the trailer into the backyard to unload it.  Those boulders are not light!

As we unloaded the flagstone, we built a path from the patio to the edge of the bed.  We haven't installed the flagstone yet (put down paver sand, etc) but we at least figured out how it will all fit together.

Here is the bubbler rock.  We have a lot to do before this is working ... install the basin, install the pump and piping, and run an electrical outlet and switch to the edge of the deck.

The basin requires one big hole!

This is one of the boulders we got at Beasley's.  We are putting it near the screen porch and will use it as a seat when the boys are playing with the bubbler rock on the other side of the path.

We aren't sure where these other boulders are going but they can go anywhere since the ground cover in the bed will be rock like we put under our deck.  We'll be adding plants throughout the bed as well.

The rest of the flagstone we are going to use for a path through a bed we are adding on the other side of the house.  We are planning on putting this one on both sides of the fence to shield our yard from the road some.  I've been replacing the pinestraw in our front beds with cypress mulch and have just been moving the old pinestraw to where this bed is going to be to help kill the weeds so we don't have to use as much Roundup.

On Sunday we had some heavy rain in the morning and had to dodge showers all day.  We started off the day at Lowe's getting some plants for the bed.

Then we dug the huge hole for the basin.  It took FOREVER!  I dug most of it while Brian mowed the entire lawn.

We were hoping to do more last night but we got a lot more rain and it left a huge puddle in the bottom of the hole that didn't drain because of the hard clay.

We would have liked to work on this project more today but the hole still had a lot of water in it and the entire bed was just a mud pit.  So moved over to the bed next to our garage.  We wanted to make this bed bigger because the grass along the house wasn't getting enough water to survive.

Our list of projects to do with this bed are:

• Move lawn sprinker
• Add 2 bed sprinklers
• Move drain pipe for gutter inside of bed
• Add black edging along expanded bed
• Roundup grass
• Change mulch to cypress
• Move boxwoods to side of house
• Add a tree to center of existing bed
• Add some additional plants

We actually completed a good portion of this today.  All we still have to do is buy and plant a tree and some other plants, roundup, and mulch.

Here is the before:

And here is the after:

Hopefully we'll have some time to work on these projects this week after Brian gets home from work and then this weekend.  It would be great to get the bubbler working before it's too cold to play in the water!