House Rules

Riley decided yesterday to write down a bunch of rules for the house. According to her, this is what they are:

1) No having gas on Mommy.
2) Jeremy has to wear his eye patch. (He has a bad eye, and we're working with the eye doctor to get his vision somewhat back to normal.)
3) Be nice.
4) Play nice and play by the rules
5) Help Mom make something.
6) No complaining
7) Dad does not take the blankets from Mom and don't snore and leave the TV on.
8) Don't wake up people.


This list was entirely written by her. I merely suggested number one because Jeremy has a gross tendency to do that. So far several of the rules have been broken (mainly by Jeremy and Dad), but we have yet to determine a punishment. Maybe that's Riley's next task!

Parent/Tot

Back when Riley was 2 and Jeremy was just born, I was going stir-crazy. Add to that the fact that Jeremy was a colicky baby and that I was now a stay-at-home mom, and I was a bit out of my mind. We had been receiving the school district newsletters, and in the newsletter was information about a Parent/Tot program that was held at one of the elementary schools. It was free of charge and available during the school year.

Somehow I survived the summer with the kids, with the help of many park visits and stroller rides, and in August I trekked over to the elementary school to check out this program. And I fell in love with it. It became my refuge on certain days, and both the kids and I looked forward to heading over to "Miss Carla's." Miss Carla is the name of the woman who was in charge, and she soon knew our family by name. We made a habit out of going once a week, and it was there where Jeremy would practice walking. It was there where Riley made some friends. And it was there where I found some dear friends myself.

Once Riley turned 4, she could no longer attend. So Jeremy and I would go on days when she had school. He enjoyed having time to himself where he could play and not have to be in her shadow. And I enjoyed spending time with him. Last year the Parent/Tot center moved to Riley's school (it was at another elementary school), which made it more convenient for us. 

We made it our goal to try to meet up with our friends Ryan and his mom Cheri every Thursday. The boys have sisters who have become the best of friends, and the boys love playing together. And Cheri and I really enjoy chatting about anything and everything. The boys just lit up whenever they'd see the other. This year, they spent one day completing almost 100 puzzles, and another day they spent more than an hour trying to catapult every Little People character through a hole in a caterpillar tunnel. A month later, Miss Carla told me that a parent came up to her to ask what those boys were doing that one morning with all the Little People!


I'm so grateful for such a service that the district provides. Miss Carla came to be one of our dear friends, and she knew how much Jeremy loves hockey. She would ask him the scores on the days that we came in, and would love to hear what he's up to. Sadly we won't be attending anymore, but I may just have to pop in and see her whenever I'm at the kids' school.


Here are some pictures of our last day at Miss Carla's.

Ryan and Cheri.

Sweet boy by the Play-Doh.

Jeremy hiding in one of the drawers.

The boys working on a block cage for their animals.

Posing for the camera.

Jeremy and Miss Carla.

Taking a Break

Sometimes you just need to take a break. From life. From chaos. From everything. Kids are no different. They look so peaceful when they're sleeping. And I caught J resting one afternoon and took advantage of it with a picture. He tucked himself in all by himself. Sweet boy.

He's my Little Dude.

 

Kids Through the Years

Every Father's Day since Jeremy was born, I take a picture of the kids sitting on the couch. The pictures are framed and hung outside their rooms, and it takes me back just looking at them. Enjoy a walk down memory lane.

Riley age 2, Jeremy 3 months

Riley age 3, Jeremy age 1

Riley age 4, Jeremy age 2

Riley age 5, Jeremy age 3

Riley age 6 (and not wanting to cooperate), Jeremy age 4

Riley age 7, Jeremy age 5

Riley's Soccer

I just uploaded a ton of pictures off the camera--I hadn't done that since mid-May! Needless to say, I'm doing some catch up on here as I want to write a bit about spring sports, Jeremy's last day of preschool and Parent/Tot, Jeremy skating, Riley's last day of school, Bible school, you name it! But first--Riley's soccer.

As you may remember, we had a lackluster team/coach in the fall. So much so that I didn't want the experience to damper her enjoyment of the game. We were able to get her on a new team in the spring, thank goodness! And my, what a difference makes!

Her coach was so supportive and enjoyable. I even was asked to coach one game while our coach had to attend a funeral. Man, that's a tough job! It's so much easier to watch and critique than it is to coach a bunch of kids who all want to play specific positions and never want to sit out. 

But Riley had a great time, and after the last game of the season, the coach treated the kids to some Culvers. Not a bad way to cap off the season. She was asked this summer to partake in some 3v3 practice games with kids who are around 10 years old. She's holding her own in those practices, and I couldn't be more proud. They start travel soccer out here once kids head into 3rd grade, so looks like we might have another soccer star on our hands!

Riley with the ball. She scored a goal in the last game.

Ignore Phil's hand, but Riley in goal always makes me nervous!

Oh, Riley

Me: Riley, please stop arguing.
Riley: I'm not arguing.
*sigh*

Me: Riley, it sounds to me like you're complaining.
Riley: I'm not complaining. I'm whining.

Hockey Talk

The Blackhawks made a trade earlier in the week, getting rid of one of their star defensemen for two players from the Florida Panthers. I broke the news to the kids in the morning.

Me: Brian Campbell was traded yesterday to the Florida Panthers. The Hawks got two players I've never heard of.

Riley: That's OK, Mom. I'm sure Jeremy knows who they are.

Of course. Jeremy knows all. Especially when it comes to hockey. :)