Track and Field Day

Ryan had his first "Track and Field Day" today and based on his previous conversations with us about finishing 2nd to last (remember, the girl in front of him tripped on the last hurdle), or being, "too tired" to run faster, I have to say it, I wasn't expecting much.  In fact, I was just hoping he would participate in his activities and not end up crying - does that make me a bad mom?  Should I expect more of my kid?  Whatever, I'll figure that out later.  Anyway, Lauren had school today so I stayed home with Ellie and Colt to wait for her while Trav headed to the school early so he could see all of Ryan's events.  And wouldn't you know it, the kid came through in the clutch.  Not only did he compete and finish both of his events, he actually took 1st place - wowza!  So the good thing was, he did great, the bad thing was that I didn't get to actually see him in the first two events since I was still at home waiting for Lauren.  By the time I got there, we were able to catch the class tug-of-wars, and the shoe kick (Ryan's final event) - both of which, he didn't do so great at (I'm starting to wonder if I'm bad luck?).  And to make matters worse, he was "injured" (I use that term loosely because ultimately, I think he just got a little rope burn, but he was convinced a trip to the nurse's office was necessary so after we left, his teacher agreed to let him go there to get an ice pack which apparently fixes everything).  After the tug-of-war catastrophe, Ryan still had to compete in the shoe kick (which let's face it, isn't real demanding on a person's body), but due to his "injury", he was not feeling up to it and had shed more than a few tears.  When I finally convinced him to participate, he stepped up and took so long to kick his shoe that the teacher facilitating the event didn't even recognize that he was participating.  Oh well, lucky for us Ryan didn't seem to care as he was still focused on getting his ice pack.

So all in all, Track and Field Day was a success.  Ryan proved he can actually do something when he puts a little effort in (or, when he has his "fast" shoes on which he wore to help him out today), he walked away with 2 blue winner braclets, and most importantly, I think he had a good time.  It's always fun to see your kid in different settings to see how they act, and to see how they are on a "normal" day for them.  Looking forward to many, many more Track and Field Day - we'll try to keep the future events "tear-free."

Here are a couple of pictures from the class tug-of-war . . .

My not so discreet life

So I wasn't sure if I should write this post or not, but after thinking about it, and deciding that I don't really care that people might sometimes know way too much about me, I decided to go ahead and do it.  So here it is . . . all the lurid details of my life with my kids (plus one - Colt).

About 2 months ago (I only know this because it was the day before Avery and Charlotte were born - won't they be happy to know I remember this because of their birth into the world), I was having some issues "down there."  Stuff was itching and burning, and I knew something just wasn't right.  Well, having the "issues" was one thing, but treating them was another.  I tried some cream from drugstore and after two treatments, nothing was improving so that left me sitting at home on a Sunday with lots to do, but no time to do anything because my lady parts literally felt like they were on fire (this is one of those times I wished I was a man - no internal issues to deal with).  Anyway, I asked (more like pestered Trav) all morning while I was trying to decide if this would just go away with some more cream, or if I should I suck it up and go see a doctor - the downside, the only way to see a doctor was to go to the ER - no this isn't life threatening, but damn did it hurt!  So off I finally went to the ER and wouldn't you know it, I had a yeast infection - super!  Anyway, this is where it gets interesting.  When I got home, the kids were asking me if I was alright, and "why did you go to the doctor again?"  I told them that I had a problem with my private parts so I had to have a doctor help me out and that was that - no more questions about it, never got brought up again, end of story - until two days ago.  That's when Ryan comes home from school and says to me, "Mom, I told Sean and Jebril that you had to go to the doctor to fix your vagina problems."  Um, okay, what do I say to that? First all, the kid just learned what a vagina was because after months of Lauren saying that all girls had, "two butts", and boys had "wieners", I finally decided it was time to tell the kids the "proper" terms for their private parts.  And like any new word Ryan hears, he immediately started using the word vagina in any sentence he could . . . "hey Mom, how's your vagina" - "super, thanks for asking."  Or when I'm changing Ellie's diaper, he points and says, "look, there is Ellie's vagina" - you get the idea.  Well, apparently his obsession with the word vagina, coupled with his little mind working overtime was enough for him to put two and two together and come up with the fact that when I went to the doctor (2 whole months ago) and had my "private parts" taken care of, what I actually meant was, "I went to the doctor to have my vagina problems fixed" - great, now a couple of 7 year old boys know all about my issues, and I'm still sitting here wondering, "how does my vagina come up in a conversation between three first grade boys in the first place?"  Maybe I'll never know, but I did inform Ryan that talking about private parts, vaginas, or whatever else, was not appropriate with other people.  His response, "don't worry Mom, I told them it was a secret so they won't tell anyone" - oh, well in that case, no worries!

So now that everyone knows about my vagina, I'll move onto my bathroom behaviors.  When I go to the bathroom at my house, I always leave the door open (unless I have to do a #2, in that case, the door will be closed) so I can hear what is going on because with three kids and my plus one (Colton), you never know when trouble will happen.  Well, apparently I didn't close the bathroom door hard enough the other day because as I sat there trying to take care of business, in walks Colton and right behind him, Ellie.  They walk right in, say "hi" (which was thoughtful of them), and sit right down and start laying out their Memory game - all of this while I'm sitting on the toilet just minding my own business.  I try to tell them to leave, but they just stand up and try to get closer to me for a "better view" I guess so after two or three attempts to get them out (which clearly did not work), I just wrap things up (saving myself for a more convenient time when children and board games are not involved), and get on with my day - this is my life

When did my life become an open book - no privacy, no common sense or respect, everything is just out on the table?   Oh yeah, that started right about the time I had Ryan - guess having four people watch as you push a child out of your crotch was a good start, everything from there has been downhill.  Can't wait to see what the future holds . . .

Blogging vs reading

This has been my battle the last few weeks  . . . . do I blog, or do I read?  Lately, reading has won.  I plan on finishing up the last few books I borrowed, and then I'll give reading a break and get back to more regular blogging - I'm sure you'll all (all could be 1 or 20 people) be very happy!

So, onto the good stuff . . . we've been busy lately with various outings, but all in all, we've just been relaxing.  This past weekend we started the Mother's Day celebration early when the doorbell rang on Friday and to my surprise, a delivery man was at the door with a wonderful fruit bouquet for me and a card that said, (and I quote) - "Happy Mother's Day to the #1 Mom,  love, Ryan, Lauren, and Ellie."  Those darn kids, always coming up with something!  And to think they all pooled their money together to get me something so nice (or maybe Trav helped out, either way, it was much appreciated).  So thanks to  my #1 kids and my #1 husband for making this, and every Mother's Day, special!

The rest of Friday was spent watching, "We Bought a Zoo" - great movie, intended for the family, but Trav and I ended up watching most of it on our own and we both enjoyed it.  It is a real "feel good" kind of movie.

On Saturday, we packed up and headed south to St. Pete for Ash's "gender reveal" party.  It was fun to spend some time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather with the fam, and even more fun to find out that Ash is having a baby ****** - just kidding, she hasn't revealed the sex to everyone yet so I'm not going to ruin the surprise.  Either way, it is exciting to be thinking about another new family member.  The Loken/Quast/Kleist clan is geting bigger everyday it seems.  After the stop in St. Peter, we packed up again and this time headed to Waconia for another get together.  This time it was with friends and all of their kids so the house was crazy, busy, and most importantly, FUN!  The kids had plenty of room to run around outside, and plenty of other kids to play with so Trav and I both had a chance to catch up with some old friends.  On a side note . . . a sure sign that we are indeed getting older (and maybe wiser) - in the past this gathering has included drinks, bonfires, and late nights, on this particular Saturday, every guest but one had at least one kid/baby with them, and Trav and I were the last to leave with our kids . . . it was only 8:30pm! Could this indeed mean we have grown-up and really figured things out?  The upside to this early night and light drinking . . . no headaches on Sunday - not a bad trade off!

After our good night on Saturday, we spent Sunday (Mother's Day) doing lots of things I "wanted" to do, such as . . . patch the yard where the dog dug a huge hole, sharpen the lawn mower blade, and run to Menards - doesn't this sound like every Mom's dream day?  It may be hard to believe, but doing these things did indeed make me happy, and once we were done, we spent the rest of the day outside playing badminton (Trav did this with the kids), having a nice 2-on-2 soccer match, and just enjoying the gorgeous day, and each other.  And to end this nearly perfect day, Trav and the kids took me to the best restaurant on earth . . . The Buffalo Tap, for my Mother's Day dinner.  Like I said, the perfect day!

 Thanks again to these four for making me the happiest Mom around - love you all!

Pretty in pink

It is happening again . . . another daughter who loves pink - how did this happen to me?  Everyone knows Lauren would wear pink anything and everything every day if she could, and it seems her passion for pink might be wearing off onto her little sister.  Today Lauren picked out her outfit for preschool . . . it consisted of pink leggings, a pink skirt, a lighter pink t-shirt, Hello Kitty socks with pink ribbing, a pink hoodie, and her pink shoes - she looked fabulous if you really like pink, others might say it was a touch too much - the jury is still out on that.  Anyway, after she finished dressing, she took one look at Ellie in her capris and white polo (which I had picked out) and declared, "Ellie needs some other clothes."  With that she went into Ellie's closet, and pulled out one of her new birthday outfits (thanks again Grandma Connie) which was full of the color pink . . . pink polo, striped pink leggings, a jean skirt (which luckily was not pink), and some pink sandals.  Once Lauren convinced me to change Ellie, she was so happy because as she said it, "we both look pretty in pink."  Check out the pink divas working the camera before school . . .

In other "non-pink" related news, Ryan told me last Friday that Breanne (a classmate) likes him.  I said, "that's nice."  He said, "no Mom, she really likes me.  Like she wants to kiss me on the lips."  At that point I turned away from whatever it was that I was doing and said, "well, you tell Breanne that no one kisses you except your mom."  His reply, "ok, but she is fabulous and nice sometimes" and walked away.  With that, our conversation was over, but I really hope Ryan doesn't give into this "fab, sometimes nice girl."  He is far too young to be talking about girls and kissing and just a month or so ago he was saying this same girl treats other girls like, to quote his exact words, "a slave" - no need to be getting involved with a girl like that!

Runt of the litter

Ellie had her 2-Year Well-Child Exam today and as we suspected, she is the, "runt of the litter."  While Ryan and Lauren were still at, or above the 90% for height, Ellie came in at just (and yes, I know that she is still tall, but not in comparison to her siblings) the 83rd percentile with a height of 2 feet, 11 and 1/4 inches (Ryan was 3 feet and 1/4 inch, Lauren was the giant at 3 feet, 1 and 1/2 inches).  She also joined her brother in the weight rankings, Ryan was 29.2 lbs putting him at 65% while Ellie was a mere 28lbs, but did rank higher in the percentiles with 66%.  Lauren was again the biggest of the bunch with a weight of 32 lbs and a 95% ranking - she was large and in charge!  The head circumference was the only spot Lauren didn't completely dominant in.  She was 19 and 1/2 inches, Ellie was 19 and 1/4 inches, and Ryan had a head so big, he could hardly hold it up straight (just kidding, but he did come in the biggest at 19.9 inches).  So just as Trav predicted, Ellie is not only taking after Ashley in all of her personality traits (Trav is convinced our kids are a mirror images of me and my siblings growing up), but she is also following in her Auntie's footsteps when it comes to being the "little one" of the family (in all senses).  Not sure if this is something we should be happy about, or something we should be fearing!

All in all, Ellie did great at the appointment.  There were no shots so that always makes things easier, and just to ensure that no tears would fall, Dr.Gears gave Ellie her Dora sticker first, then did the exam second - nice work doctor!