The weather in VB was absolutely perfect this weekend. After a long, hard winter, I wanted to spend as much time as possible out in the glorious sunshine. Which meant we had to come up some fun outdoor activities. After doing the park (a couple of them at that), the zoo, and even the beach in recent days, I was looking for something a bit different. So we made kites!
These were the easiest, most basic kites you could probably ever make. And if you're a little crafty like me (or maybe even if not), you'll likely have all the supplies on hand. All you need is:
large paper or even a grocery bag
scissors
wooden dowels or skewers
tape
yarn
crayons to decorate
To make them, simply cut out a kite shape from paper. Tape dowels or skewers along the edges and across the middle as shown.
Truthfully, you probably don't even need the outer edges ones, but I found it helped to hold the kite better together. Tie and/or tape (I suggest doing both) yarn across the kite lengthwise. Finally, tie another long piece of yarn to the one you just tied. And voila, you have a kite...
I let the boys decorate their kites (which lasted all of about 2 seconds).
And then we took them outside to fly.
We quickly realized there really wasn't enough wind, though, for our kites. Luckily, Mt. Trashmore (VB's lovely man-made mountain) is only a few minutes away, so we packed ourselves up and headed there instead.
You may not be able to tell, but we were more successful there (despite the fact that I lost my keys on top of the mountain and then we spent a half hour tracking them down...). As easy and low-budget as our kites were, they certainly held up well enough to entertain these boys and give us a good morning!
We have been pretty fortunate to have a kid like Colton. He is a very easy-going and even-keel kind of kid who rarely gets worked up and has never had a tantrum (at least in public)...until the other day! And let me tell you, it was the most infuriating, frustrating, embarrassing event I can remember.
Let's set the stage, shall we? Colton has been playing soccer after school for the past few weeks through a Soccer Shots program. Basically, he stays after school for an hour while they come and teach them the basics of soccer. After a rough first week, he has loved it. Well, this Monday was the final session, so the director sent out an email inviting parents to attend the awards ceremony. I was confused as to whether that meant we should come for the final 15 minutes or so or for the whole session, so I emailed back to ask. When no one responded, though, I just took a chance and showed up about 15 minutes into the session.
When I got there, Colton was sitting on the side not participating. I asked him why and the other parents who were already in attendance (yep, messed that one up) told me he had been crying. He's never been good with me not watching him, so I assumed we would be in the clear now that I had arrived. Especially when his coach started handing out jerseys for their "game" and Colton eagerly lined up to get his. All was going great. Colton was having a blast playing soccer (although he seems to think soccer means trying to tackle other kids as evidenced by this video...he's the tiny one in a red jersey and black pants).
And then the game ended...before his team got a goal. He stood in the middle of the field, crying, and refused to give his coach his jersey. I tried to let him work it out, but I also didn't want him to ruin the ceremony for the other kids who had already gathered nicely in front of the coach. So I marched out there and told him he needed to join the group or we were leaving. He went and sat about 3 feet away from the rest of the group...with his back turned to the coach. Can you say brat?!? So again I marched over to him to inform him he needed to get it together or we were leaving. Finally, about 5 kids in the coach called his name to get his award (a medal he was very excited about), and he refused to go up. I yanked him up, and we walked out.
I was fuming, he was screaming as we walked out, and poor Levi was just following us! It was not pretty!
When we got home, I sent Colton to his room for a nap. He hadn't taken one for about a month (not for lack of trying...I still put him in each day, but he was not sleeping), and had pretty much handled it well. Until Monday. When he crashed! He slept for over 3 hours after his tantrum, a break we both very-much needed that day!
That night as I was giving him his bath, he said "mommy, I didn't like you very much earlier." To which I replied, "I didn't like you very much earlier either." He said, "but I like you now." And I replied, "I like you now too, and I love you always."
It was a painful, but good lesson for both of us.
I love that my kids are growing up in an interfaith household where they get to experience so many wonderful traditions, customs, and holidays. But a couple times of year that means we are super busy! And Spring is one of those times...
Last Monday, we all gathered at my parents house for our annual Seder. A Seder isn't necessarily a very exciting event (at least compared to egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, etc), but the boys did get to taste matzo ball soup (which they loved), hunt for the afikomen (a hidden piece of matzah), and play with the Passover stickers Nene got them.
Over the course of the week, I tried to teach the boys a little about honoring Passover. As Jews, we are not supposed to eat anything that has risen (mainly bread, but basically anything with flour/yeast so pasta, baked goods, and some even take it to rice, corn, etc). So, we substituted matzah sandwiches at lunch time and even tried matzo brei (a delicious scrambled egg and matzah combo that I have always loved and my boys agreed!) one morning for breakfast. And that was pretty much it for our Passover celebration!
Of course, we also had to fit Easter in.
We dyed and painted eggs.
And we made some chocolate peanut butter eggs to give away as gifts.
And when Easter morning rolled around, the boys were very excited to find that the Easter Bunny had indeed come and left them some goodies behind.
Colton and Levi were super excited to find out that the Easter bunny had even left behind some eggs out front for them to hunt for.
When they were done with that hunt, the boys headed over to their Gammy and Pop's house for another egg hunt (this time with their cousin Gavin who was going to church afterwards hence his spiffy appearance) and some breakfast.
At night we concluded our celebrating with dinner at Josh's parents house.
It's no secret that I love traditions and celebrating, so I must admit I am a little sad that our celebrating is over...until the next holiday rolls around anyway!
Towards the end of last summer, somehow the idea of a buzz cut for Colton came up. Josh and I decided that since a buzz cut was a very summery do (at least here in VB where surfers abound!), we would revisit the topic towards the start of the next summer. So now! When the topic came up again, Colton immediately latched on to the idea and very much wanted to get a hair cut like his daddy's (although Josh doesn't really have a full-on buzz cut, but Colton seemed to think it was the same!). Despite a bit of waffling on my part...I mean, my baby has had the same hair cut his whole life!...we went ahead and did it. And now I introduce you to the new and improved Colton Hoyte...
More for my benefit than anything, I went ahead and did a little comparison shot:
It's like the hair cut took away any last shred of baby he had in him, and now he's officially a big boy! Combined with the fact that he's now riding a bike (with training wheels), swinging on his own, swimming, writing his letters and name independently, and many other signs of progression, it's clearly time to accept the fact that this guy is officially growing up! Luckily, he's still pretty darn cute, undeniably sweet, and shaping up to be a fun, cool, smart big kid...not that I'm biased or anything!
It always surprises me when people ask me if my two boys are twins. With nearly two years between them, I feel like it is fairly obvious there is an age difference between the two, but it is a question I get pretty frequently!
And lately it seems the boys have started embracing the idea (even though they are unaware of the questions to begin with!). It all starts each morning when it is time to get dressed. My diva-in-training (Levi) is going through a major phase in which he is very insistent on what he wears. Some days it's Crocs, some days exercise pants,sometimes a white t-shirt to be like Daddy, but most days it's a character shirt, and more specifically his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (an affinity he picked up from Colton who picked it up from who knows...all of a sudden, my boys were both obsessed with TMNT and (at least to my knowledge) had never seen anything TMNT). I've learned with our strong-willed Levi that you have to choose your battles, so I go along with it for the most part.
And then it's time to get Colton dressed. He's definitely the more easy-going of my two children, so most days I pick out his clothes, he puts them on without paying any attention to what it is, and we are off. But if Levi is sporting his TMNT or a few other character shirts that they happen to share (Superman, Batman, etc), Colton generally insists on wearing his as well. Again, choose your battles, right? So frequently now, my children leave the house in matching outfits...
Obviously, I have tried buying them different shirts, but that backfired on me recently as well when Colton threw a fit that he didn't like the TMNT shirt I had gotten him and wanted the same one Levi had gotten. In one of my not-so-proud parenting moments, we headed back to Children's Place to exchange it. And because I feel like I should justify that a bit, I should explain that Levi and I got the shirts while Colton was at his first day of soccer. He was already in tears when we got there (he has since learned to love it...thank goodness!) and became even more distraught when he noticed Levi's new shirt that he was already wearing. Let's just say, it wasn't even worth it!
I've always thought it was kind of corny to dress your kids the same, but now I guess, the joke is on me! If given the opportunity, I am usually quick to mention that I didn't choose to dress them the same, but oh well! I'll just keep repeating my mantra: choose your battles!
Colton's Superhero bash was last weekend. Like any party I do, I had been obsessing over all of the details of this shindig for months and months. I had meticulously selected party activities, menu items, favors, etc. and crafted and bought our way to what would hopefully be party perfection. We had a big bounce house booked, so the party was slated to be outside. But as the day approached, rain was increasingly part of the forecast. The day before the party the forecast seemed to suggest that the heavy rain would be gone, that perhaps we would see an 5-minute shower, but that it would overall be an ugly, dry day. Colton was so excited about his party, though, that we decided to go for it.
Well, that was probably the wrong choice. The day was awful! It rained pretty much the whole time. The rain made the bounce house wet and slippery to the point where the kids didn't even want to use it (until an adult would get in and completely towel dry it until the next rain shower)...$250 down the drain! Plus, the kids barely attempted the other outdoor activities we had set up...time down the drain! And to top it off, a lot of them flocked inside to our playroom, which I had really wanted to avoid since it had gotten destroyed the last time we had 20+ kids in there...and this time was no exception (although it was a bit better than the last time).
Basically, it was a really frustrating experience for me. It was a lot of wasted time, wasted money, and anxiety! BUT, you know who didn't notice one bit of it? This guy...
In fact, he (and his brother) loved every single second of it.
And at the end of the day, that is all that matters! So, the party may not have been the perfection that party planner me had hoped for, but it was the perfection that mommy me had!
I will be back the rest of the week with details on all the party specifics...the decorations, food, favors, and activities.
I am married to my best friend, a mom to 2 active boys, and a doggy mom to a crazy cockapoo. Life is hectic, but this is where I document my successes (and failures) as I take on domesticity my way. I DIY projects, I cook, I plan parties and a whole lot more. Check out the above tabs to find out more. Thanks for stopping by...please come back often!
Posts
