Rock Band

This week, we started letting our kids watch us play rock band so they could learn how to play eventually. Well eventually turned out to be the next day in their minds - so every night before bed, we play rock band as a family. Although we only have 3 controllers, the 4th person pretends to be part of the band. We rotate positions so each of us play on instrument. Gavin is actually pretty good on drums (God help me) and Evie loves to sing in the mic. Here is a picture (from my camera phone - sorry) of Patrick and the kids jamming out!!!

Smart Organizing Technique for kids

I know things are much easier to do when they are organized and well labeled. I was never (and am still not) an organized person, much to my husband's dismay. But, having a type A hubby has made me want to teach our children some of his techniques to help make their lives more orderly. So this morning, Evelyn and I went through and organized her room. She has these 6 cute pink buckets that fit in storage cubes, as well as a toy chest. So we grouped her things into categories and found pictures on the internet that represented each category.

We have:
1. My Little Pony
2. Disney Princesses
3. Dress Up clothes
4. Dress Up clothes (she has a lot of dress up things)
5. Hair accessories
6. Stuffed animals
7. All the rest (to go into the toy chest)

This way, she can pull out ONE bucket and play with it. When she is done, she is allowed to get another bucket, etc. But she has to clean up the first one before moving on. If she has friends over and things get wild, it also helps when it is time to clean up. We also found some sneaky extra storage for some of Gavin's toy also in his room (an empty drawer where we used to keep diapers). Now, he can keep his batman accessories in one place! Here are some pictures!

A big week of changes

Gavin in his big boy seat

Gavin waiting while Evie got her hair cut


Before


During


After

My kids are growing up. I know it is inevitable - but it is so easy to try to hold on. This week, we did a LOT of milestone reaching.

First, we converted Gavin's car seat from a 5-point harness to a high-back booster. He was perfectly content in the 5-point, until we bought a spare booster to keep in Patrick's car and he realized how much "cooler" it was, so he wanted the one in mine to have the seat belt "that goes down like a hill". Luckily, my girlfriend Jessica is a car seat nut (aka technician) and came over to help properly convert it and install it. She also made Gavin listen to ground rules and promise to abide by them (since we all know that kids won't listen to their own mom - so it was best this way).

Second, I have been doing my quarterly cleaning of the closets. On of my friends, Keren, is going on another mission trip to Honduras and is taking as many clothes as possible for the families there. In the past, I have passed down the kids' clothes to other friends - in hopes that one day we may need them again (although we have no intentions on it, it was nice to know they would be around if we wanted them) - but this time, the clothes will be in a different country!!!! It's a bit sad to see some of my favorite outfits go - but I know they will be going to a good cause.

And most recently, today we took Evelyn to get her first hair cut. She has the MOST beautiful hair, so I have been very hesitant to do anything to it for fear of changing it's texture, fullness, etc. But the ends were starting to get straggly and she was starting to chew on it (yuck, I know) so I decided it was time. We go to Cookie Cutters, a national chain, that is great for little kids. Gavin has been going for years, so Evie is used to the environment. We always go to the same person (Wendy) so Evie was really excited that she would be able to sit in the cool car and watch a DVD while Miss Wendy cut her hair. Well, she must have been REALLY excited...because as soon as she sat in the chair and Miss Wendy spritzed her hair with water...she peed herself. I didn't even know until we were getting in the car and I realized she was wet. I asked her what happened and she said "I peeped when she sprayed me". Oops!!! But, hey, her hair looks great!

I am also taking the door knob cover off of her door. She is finally good enough to be trusted (a little bit) to go in and out of her room as she needs. This is huge - since containing her was about my only option in discipline. Please send good thoughts our way that she will not tear our house to shreds while we sleep!

Buckeye Land

As a tried and true Penn State fan, it was a little weird coming to a place like Columbus. I have never lived in a place where EVERYONE was so crazy about their college teams. OSU is literally 10 minutes from us - with no major pro teams around (except ice hockey) so the entire area is filled with Buckeye fans. It is actually really cool to experience. Places shut down for business when football is on, kids learn the "We all hate the whole state of Michigan" song in preschool, and every single person owns something grey and scarlet.

Last night we went to our 2nd men's basketball game. The 1st one, we were given first row seats (thanks Ashli) and this one I won from a financial presentation at the hospital. They were in the Huntington club box...and although the excitement wasn't as cool as on the floor, it was much easier to view the game and they were playing another Big Ten team, so it was exciting. Families with newborn children were there, super old men who have been Buckeye fans for decades were there, and of course a ton of OSU students were there. Although the college kids looked eleventeen to us, it made us proud that WE ARE allowed to be part of that (get it...a little Penn State mantra thrown in there :-). Seriously, it has been fun being a part of this crazy Buckeye community - and I know that they will always be a close second in our hearts. The kids have jerseys and cheerleading outfits that I promise we will continue to wear (as long as it is not against Penn State)!


A bad camera phone shot from the box level.