Spring Break

"Yeah, figure out what's ailing me, momma."
Poor kid has been coughing for three weeks straight here. Last two weeks I've been giving him Zyrtec in the evenings and Nebulizer treatments three times a day, but have found no real improvement in the cough during the day (Trenton, however, has all but stopped coughing, so I think the Zyrtec has worked for him). I'm watching Ollie carefully, though, as I've decided to split his 1/4 tsp. dose into two doses, one in the morning and one in the evening. But he's been all over the place-- waking up at 4AM, sleeping until 7:30, and then today not napping for longer than a half hour! I've read some horror stories about all the nasty side effects of Zyrtec and I'm getting to think that I might just stop it altogether unless we see some real improvement. He HAS cut down on his daytime coughing, but that might be because we've been inside for the past two days. Due to RAIN. Ugh, I'm so done with rain... Thankfully, it is going to be high 60s/low 70s and sunny from tomorrow on...
Dad came over on Saturday night for dinner. Mom was out of town and Jim had gone into the city to meet up with old college friends. The boys love it when he gives them a bath and reads bedtime stories.
Dad likes it too ;)
With Spring Break this week from school, we've been filling up our mornings with playdates. Above, Trenton and Bobby in the playroom. I did my best not to be a helicopter parent, and let them play alone most of the time. But I had to intervene when they'd taken every single game off the shelf and had all the pieces everywhere. Have to be better about teaching them how to pick up one area before playing with something else. But that is easier said than done...
I remembered these PJs from when T wore them. He must have grown out of them quickly, though, as they're in really good condition! Ollie loves riding Ponkey and really has good balance. Below, he gives hugs and high-fives to Daddy before he leaves for work.


Tuesdays are gymnastic days this spring. I finally remembered to bring my camera to take pictures. But because the gym is so large, the flash didn't carry too far.
I bet T would be happy with the picture above, anyway, as he always says he likes the "blur".
Here he tries to walk his feet high enough on the mat so that he's touching the chalk-drawn face. Below, he hangs on the rings.
He really likes gymnastics class but I'm not sure if we'll continue with the next session. Seems like something better done during the fall/winter/early spring months. We'll see-- he's signed up to go until mid-April.

I decided to brave the rain and drive up to visit Great Grandma Lacina today in her nursing home. She's still in good spirits, although can't always say what she wants to say. She recognizes me and the kids and was constantly telling Ollie to "Get down from the fish tank! You're going to knock it over!" The facility had a rabbit this week who had just given birth to bunnies. Both the kids liked looking at it through the cage. Last year they had chicks around Easter time!

Shoes

Our neighbors decorated their lawn with some eggs and giant carrots.
The boys had to touch them.

I took them to Stride Rite last week to get their feet measured. Ollie is a 5 wide and T is an 11... crazy! T hasn't grown much in awhile. Poor Ollie was wearing size 4.
I bought most of T's shoes at SR when he was little. They've held up well, and it's a good thing I saved them. I didn't see any shoes there that I really liked this time, but when I got home, I checked in the attic and found a perfect pair for Oliver to wear.
And for Trenton, we headed over to The Red Balloon (a consignment store) in Manasquan. In the fall I'd found a like-new pair of shoes for Trenton there and some cute Robeez for Oliver. I really think people buy shoes for their kids and then they outgrow them before they can even wear them, because these shoes were in great condition!
Anyway, we found a great pair of Merrells for Trenton to wear. I'll have to get a pic of them soon. He loves them.


Then we headed over to Curtis park for some playtime before getting pizza for dinner.
T loves the fast slides.
Oliver kept walking up the stairs, across the platform, and going down the slide on his belly. Very self-sufficient.

Rainy Days

Here's T, rockin' with his new Spiderman raincoat.
Only it isn't new.
It was ACTUALLY Jim's raincoat when he was a kid!
It went through Jim, Jason, then onto the cousins: Elise, Christian, and Kaj...
Aunt Irene found it and mailed it to us this week, after hearing about how much Trenton enjoys his superheros.
The day after we got it, it started raining.
Gone to the days of 70 degree weather and sunshine!

The rain did help my daffodils to grow, though. Trenton is very interested in the progress they are making. Weeks ago he spotted the green shoots and leaves pushing up through the rocks.
We have to make sure Hop isn't sitting in the wrong spot ;)

Indoor activities: Play Doh ("Mom, it's you, with hair!") and Science Kit experiments (thanks, Aunt Red!)
Man, he wanted to do the volcano soooo bad... I'm saving that one for an outdoor experiment.
Instead, we mixed citric acid, baking soda, and water with red cabbage leaf powder to produce some neat colors.
And this is what the flowers look like today. T is a bit sad by the fact that they are so droopy... But excited about the fact that the petals are opening up!
Progress!

Boom Boom dance from Sheryl Konopack on Vimeo.

Now, if you can ignore the "crazy ball", you'll see Ollie lip syncing to Boom Boom Pow (the Fergie part). He totally knows to "wave your hands in the air!" and makes us all crack up when he 'sings'. In retrospect, we should have bought the radio-edited version of the CD...

March: In Like A Lion...

So this is what our front lawn looked like just a little over one week ago, when I took this picture.
Each time we'd walk to or from the car to the front door, both boys would somehow veer off the sidewalk and into the snow. Or the squishy muddy grass. Or both.
Ollie can form and throw a mean snowball.
The front of the house is almost always in the shade. So we were really waiting for the temperature to increase to melt it all.
Which means more time playing inside!!!
And trips around the kitchen in the laundry basket!!!
Cheap thrills are the best fun, right?


Not his best angle...
"Whaddya want? I'm helpin'!"
Moving on to nicer weather... The sun finally decided to come out last week. Oliver was all excited about wearing this jacket, as he could clearly see Elmo on the front of it. He also says "Cookie" and "Bg Bd".
I have him enrolled in a mommy-and-me music class once a week, while T is at school. He generally likes it. Plays with the instruments at the beginning then bangs on the drum with the group later.

Bells and shaker eggs are his favorite.
By the last 20 minutes (the class is 45 minutes long), he's lost it, though. Usually he runs around the room, acting as the leader of the other babies. I actually saw him "talking" to another baby, then pointing to the door, then walking over there and trying to turn the handle to escape!
Today he was all about the ladybugs that were crawling all over the window. (How do they get inside? Vents? We have them all over the kitchen, as well). I watched as one poor bug was caught and crushed between two little fingers all in the span of ten seconds. Yuck.

Ah ha! And YOU thought WE'D forgotten!
Well, we kinda did. Jim had to remind me a week late...
But we can pretend!
Here's Trenton, wearing his Illini shirt for the fourth year in a row, standing on our bed.
You can see his hands through the holes this year.

Last weekend, we were at the Konopacks' for an early Easter dinner. They're leaving soon for a fishing trip to Canada, and won't be around for the actual Easter Sunday.
The boys had a great time finding the hidden eggs. Especially when hidden alongside mounted former live animals!
T was especially happy when Chrysanne hid the eggs again later that day.

And the next thing you know, it's St. Patrick's Day.
Mom gave us a little book about the origins of St. Patrick, which I've been reading to T. He was especially interested in the page that described leprechauns as "pretend".
However, when he got to school on Wednesday, there seemed to be leprechaun sightings everywhere. They turned the pudding green, left footprints in the hallway, and were even seen running outside on the sidewalk! So he came home telling me that the book was wrong, and that "Leprechauns are REAL, Mom!"

Yeah, and, so is Hop. To Ollie, anyway.
He is very excited that Hop is no longer buried by the snow.
He says hello to him each time we pass by. Above, he tries to give Hop a kiss.
Below, he feeds him rocks.
Not too much of a stretch, considering the thing is made of ceramic.

And of course, with warm weather, comes our return to walking to school. I brought the camera with me and allowed T to bring his as well. He was taking pictures of trash and the sidewalk for awhile, then turned to birds and trees.
Here's hoping there's nicer weather wherever you are, too.
It is supposed to stay warm-- around 70 degrees-- this weekend. My plan is to spend as much time as possible outside with the kids. :))))))

Trenton's Winter Projects

Keeping with the tradition of saving about 2% of all Creations By Trenton, and photographing about 90%, I give you:
Stuff Trenton Made This Winter, That Was Hanging Around Our Home, And Is Now In the Trash

My personal fave, and something I tried to save to hang up next year. Just love the half-smile on the guy.

(Shhh... don't tell him... he can't read yet... ;)