The boys have discovered Vitamin Water.
You know, those 20oz. bottles filled with pastel-hued water, each flavor claiming to posess a different proprietary blend of nutrients, vitamins and anti-oxidants, without which your personal health will not be complete? They seem to be stacked near the checkout at every local grocery store and darn it, they're visually appealing. They have those simple, graphic labels and every bottle is a different shade of the rainbow, in a washed out, not totally Kool-Aid offensive way. And hey, did they mention it's good for you!?
I believe the interest began at the holidays when a certain relative we were visiting, who shall not be named but shares a middle name with my oldest son, purchased some and shared with Andrew. It's good stuff. There's not much not to like. Then, over the course of the winter, I believe Andrew might have talked another relative he lives with, who shall not be named but has a first name that rhymes with Park, into purchasing it occasionally.
The trouble is that the smallest person in our home has now discovered the merits of Vitamin Water and greatly enjoys the orange-flavored variety. (Andrew thinks he likes the red one, but since I won't allow red drinks in my house anymore, he has to like the Lemonade.) Aside from knowing that the vitamins and anti-oxidants and immune-boosting zinc are good for him, we've assumed that Thomas is so enamored by them because he simply likes drinking something that Andrew and daddy like.
We went to the grocery store this afternoon and there they were, in all their technicolor glory right by the self-checkout. I should have said no, but it was dinnertime and everyone was hungry and tired and we're running on little sleep around here so I did the simple thing and let them each choose a bottle.
We arrived home with our "juice!" and they obediently ran to the table to wait to be served. I opened each bottle and put them on the table while I went to grab cups for them. While I was across the kitchen, both boys grabbed their bottles and began drinking. This works for Andrew. For Thomas, this results in Vitamin Water all over his shirt and all over the table. It's akin to him drinking out of a fire hose, but this fire hose is serving up orange juice. This seemed like a logical time to pour some juice into the cup and offer it to each boy.
Andrew, because he seems to have sporadic moments of maturity lately, took the cup with no complaint. Thomas, because he's two, took the cup and began screaming at me that he wanted the bottle and then poured the Vitamin Water I had offered all over the table - this time on purpose, just to illustrate his point.
This is when we discovered that it's really the bottle he likes, not so much the Vitamin Water. After a series of negotiations and good behavior he got the bottle back in his paws and proceeded to down almost the entire thing. The rest is in the refrigerator where I have already added water to it and it's waiting for him to be delighted by it again tomorrow.
I'm thinking I've purchsed my last Vitamin Water for a while because if he likes to drink out of a gallon jug, I don't need to spend $1.19 for him to do it!
May 30, 2008
May 26, 2008
A thousand words
It's been a big weekend for Andrew. Aside from getting to choose new goggles and having two friends come play yesterday, he's mastered two new skills. He can now proficiently ride his bike without training wheels and he can dribble a basketball and sink a shot on a real goal. (Low, but real!)
He started riding a two-wheeler last weekend but was a little tentative until today. It seems to have really clicked tonight. He did have a tumble on the driveway that required some attention but he didn't shed a single tear and wanted to go again. On the night he first rode without the training wheels, I told him I was so proud of him my heart just might explode. He beamed and then said, "Mommy, I'm that proud of me too!"
He's also gearing up for basketball camp with daddy and he's been a practicing fool. We went to the Wards' for dinner on Saturday and Scooter gave him an official KU Camp Ball. To say he's delighted with it is an understatement and he's figured out how to shoot it without clunking himself in the face with it. Our neighbors are out-of-town and have a goal in their driveway so he has used it liberally this weekend. He's going to be disappointed to see them roll in next week. We're probably due to install one of our own, but we'll have to figure out how to clear some driveway space for the court!
Both boys helped me collect trimmings from our shrubs this afternoon, by filling their little wheelbarrow SEVEN times and then dragging it into the garage to go in the trash can. Their work ethic exceeds mine!
The other thing we've had a lot of this weekend is thunder and rain, and it always seems to start just after the boys go to bed. Young Thomas does NOT like thunder so another dominant theme in our weekend has been consoling him back to bed. It's just started again so I'm typing feverishly, hoping against hope that he'll tough it out tonight. It's a good thing he's so cute. We could certainly have worse 2 a.m. company.
He started riding a two-wheeler last weekend but was a little tentative until today. It seems to have really clicked tonight. He did have a tumble on the driveway that required some attention but he didn't shed a single tear and wanted to go again. On the night he first rode without the training wheels, I told him I was so proud of him my heart just might explode. He beamed and then said, "Mommy, I'm that proud of me too!"
He's also gearing up for basketball camp with daddy and he's been a practicing fool. We went to the Wards' for dinner on Saturday and Scooter gave him an official KU Camp Ball. To say he's delighted with it is an understatement and he's figured out how to shoot it without clunking himself in the face with it. Our neighbors are out-of-town and have a goal in their driveway so he has used it liberally this weekend. He's going to be disappointed to see them roll in next week. We're probably due to install one of our own, but we'll have to figure out how to clear some driveway space for the court!
Both boys helped me collect trimmings from our shrubs this afternoon, by filling their little wheelbarrow SEVEN times and then dragging it into the garage to go in the trash can. Their work ethic exceeds mine!
The other thing we've had a lot of this weekend is thunder and rain, and it always seems to start just after the boys go to bed. Young Thomas does NOT like thunder so another dominant theme in our weekend has been consoling him back to bed. It's just started again so I'm typing feverishly, hoping against hope that he'll tough it out tonight. It's a good thing he's so cute. We could certainly have worse 2 a.m. company.
This picture truly is worth a thousand words! This is Andrew at 8:45 p.m. after an activity-packed Memorial Day weekend. I think this might sum up how we all feel tonight. He fell asleep sitting up, wearing his new jammies and his new swim goggles. I got those off of him without waking him up because, well, I'm just that good.
May 18, 2008
Picture parade
Mark updated the Flickr stream and as I was browsing through some recent pics, I thought that a few of them probably deserved a little narrative. Hope you enjoy!
Thomas is developing a distinctive fashion sense. This outfit is entirely his doing. He favors neutrals and who says that you can't wear Rudolph slippers in May?
This is self-explanatory, but I love how it just embodies sheer delight!
This is a glimpse into all the help that Mark had in fixing our storm-downed fence a couple of weeks ago. That's T on the right, manning the shovel, Andrew's in the middle running with a 2x4, and our neighbor on the left, joining Mark in his perfectionist tendencies as he hand packs dirt around a post. It's a good thing he's become accustomed to supervising teams of contractors.
This is my Mother's Day. The boys were upstairs and it became ominously quiet. I yelled up to inquire about what was happening and Andrew responded by saying, "Mommy! You should come up and see what we've gotten into!" I grabbed the camera on my way up because I knew that it was going to be a sight. I had forgotten that I had a box of craft supplies in the dresser in Thomas' room and, well, they had found it. You'll notice T is doing a little work with a glue gun and Andrew's working on some important measuring.
Thomas is developing a distinctive fashion sense. This outfit is entirely his doing. He favors neutrals and who says that you can't wear Rudolph slippers in May?
May 17, 2008
Dear punk
Dear Neighborhood Punk Posse,
I remember a time in my life during which, when with a group of friends, someone might have gotten the bright idea that it would be really funny to go ring peoples' doorbells and run.
Tonight someone decided it would be hy-sterical to ring our doorbell a couple of times around 10 p.m. There is a long list of reasons why this isn't really all that entertaining to me these days. The least of these reasons is not that it wakes small children. You can add to the list that I wasn't really looking for an adrenaline rush this evening.
It's funny how "funny" changes so dramatically over the course of 15 or 20 years. It's probably unrealistic to think that neither of my children will ever, on a warm spring night, decide to engage in a similar activity but I will remind them someday of how funny our family didn't find this tonight.
I actually don't know anyone over the age of 15 who would find this activity entertaining and that probably includes the local police department. While I'm certain they have a number of more important things to do and what you did probably doesn't break a single law, I'm also sure that if there's a power-hungry police officer in the vicinity, he would be happy to drive around shining his little light in our local roundabouts.
I'm getting old and grumpy and I've called them to report lesser offenses in the last year. I'm sure you can run really fast and you're probably pretty good at hiding in your neighbors' landscaping. But, just for fun, if you ring my doorbell after dark again for no good reason, I think I'll give them a call and see if you enjoy a good adrenaline rush as much as you probably think you would.
Sincerely,
The Old Hag
p.s. If you're the same kids who thought it would also be funny to rifle through the cars parked in the driveway last week, I hope you're enjoying your iPod transmitter and next time, please take the Jeep.
I remember a time in my life during which, when with a group of friends, someone might have gotten the bright idea that it would be really funny to go ring peoples' doorbells and run.
Tonight someone decided it would be hy-sterical to ring our doorbell a couple of times around 10 p.m. There is a long list of reasons why this isn't really all that entertaining to me these days. The least of these reasons is not that it wakes small children. You can add to the list that I wasn't really looking for an adrenaline rush this evening.
It's funny how "funny" changes so dramatically over the course of 15 or 20 years. It's probably unrealistic to think that neither of my children will ever, on a warm spring night, decide to engage in a similar activity but I will remind them someday of how funny our family didn't find this tonight.
I actually don't know anyone over the age of 15 who would find this activity entertaining and that probably includes the local police department. While I'm certain they have a number of more important things to do and what you did probably doesn't break a single law, I'm also sure that if there's a power-hungry police officer in the vicinity, he would be happy to drive around shining his little light in our local roundabouts.
I'm getting old and grumpy and I've called them to report lesser offenses in the last year. I'm sure you can run really fast and you're probably pretty good at hiding in your neighbors' landscaping. But, just for fun, if you ring my doorbell after dark again for no good reason, I think I'll give them a call and see if you enjoy a good adrenaline rush as much as you probably think you would.
Sincerely,
The Old Hag
p.s. If you're the same kids who thought it would also be funny to rifle through the cars parked in the driveway last week, I hope you're enjoying your iPod transmitter and next time, please take the Jeep.
PSA
I'm one of those suckers in the grocery store checkout who is enticed to purchase new flavors of chewing gum. You know, Strawberry Kiwi!, Polar Burst!, Cinnamint!
The boys and I just returned from Wal-Mart and I think I owe it to the internet to alert you to the following: Orbit Sangria Fresca!, does not taste like Sangria or Fresca.
As you were.
The boys and I just returned from Wal-Mart and I think I owe it to the internet to alert you to the following: Orbit Sangria Fresca!, does not taste like Sangria or Fresca.
As you were.
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