Pinewood Derby

We were supposed to have the Pinewood derby last month, but it got canceled due to snow. So, we did it this month instead of pack meeting. D and A were totally stoked! A put the finishing touches (stickers) on her car after school. And I didn't let D put his wheels on until after school also. However, we went to the church early, and had a picnic dinner there. At which time, D was goofing off with a friend of his, and had taken his car (which was supposed to stay in the padded box until the race) They were goofing off, and he knocked his nail and wheel off, chipping the wood around the nail so that it wouldn't hold anymore. The friends' mom 'fixed' it with superglue, and they came racing back to the kitchen to tell me. *sigh*

I told him that I wasn't sure that superglue was the best option; it has to be applied very carefully so that it doesn't get on the wheels. Now,... perhaps i should have just kept my mouth shut, because they go RACING back to the car, and the boys themselves decide to stop the gluing process. *doh!!* They ended up getting the wheel and nail COVERED with glue.

The lady apologized all over herself and helped D and M to work off most of the superglue so that the wheels could actually turn. They did a better job on it that i thought possible, and D was happy, which was all that mattered to me!

There were only 6 cars (7 if you count A.) And D came in 4th. He did get a ribbon with the design award for 'Most Futuristic.' The biggest hit of the evening, i would say, was the snack 'mini-racing cars' that the kids made from twinkies (something my kids NEVER get ;-) The evening turned out allright, but I'm just glad we're done; there's MUCH more drama in cubscouts than you would ever expect!

Lowe's and Scooby-Doo

We've been staying very busy lately,... A and D went with me to a build and grow clinic at Lowe's on Feb 14th. They both got to make a jewelry box - complete with heart shape on the front, and mirror inside. I was really impressed with the set-up they had, and the kids were just STOKED about having their own tool aprons and kid sized safety glasses and hammer. D gave his to C as a valentine's day present, and I STILL haven't gotten a picture of A's; she's painted and decorated it ALL over!! And was busy doing such when i had the camera out. D and A had a blast, and were SO excited about going to the next one - until i told them that it conflicted with the primary activity :-( Ah well,... there will be more opportunities.



A was SO excited the other day after school!! Some WONDERFULLY kind soul had ordered something from their fund raiser that they'd done last December. So, she came home with her 'glow in the dark' Scooby-Doo shirt, and combination radio/sunglasses. I must say that the sunglasses are MUCH cooler than i thought they'd be; and A LOVES them, and has worn the Scooby-Doo shirt as many times as i've allowed since she got it (if she had HER way, she'd wear it every day! ;-)

new workout plan

The kids have had swim lessons at the Y in the evening the past couple of weeks. I had grand intentions of using the opportunity to jump start myself back into working out. It hasn't quite worked out that way - i spend all my time feeding the kids dinner during lessons (which start at 5PM for E), and then picking up one kid, dropping off the other for their lessons(A is at 5:30PM), getting them changed into swim clothes, getting them showered and dressed AFTER lesson(D is at 6:15PM.), and then giving them all a snack after lessons (they're ALWAYS ravenous!) before finally dropping them into the babysitting(thank HEAVEN for the YMCA babysitting!)

To make a long story short,... i wasn't getting ANY time for a workout for ME! So, i've started coming in the mornings with only E and C and using the babysitting then. Sometimes it means i'm driving up the Richmond twice in one day, but i've LOVED getting a decent workout in! It's been a bit of an adjustment for the little kids - i actually wake them up now instead of letting them get up on their own. C, in particular, has felt the lack of sleep. I dragged the kids back from Richmond once this past week and set them straight up into their stools while i prepped for dinner, and C didn't even stay awake the 5 minutes until dinner was ready - she was one TIRED girl! It amazes me sometimes what positions and circumstances that kids can fall asleep in ;-)

roller skating

Last saturday, my loving hubby was working on the septic line (dirty job - but someone had to do it ;-), so, i took the kids to our local roller rink. They have a kid's skate for 12yrs and under on saturday mornings. They had a marvelous time!

D was the daredevil all over the place - he's always been fast and reckless, but he seems to be finally gaining some control. He didn't have NEARLY as many bruises this time skating as he did last time!




A, being MUCH more cautious, spent the majority of her time right next to the railing,.. but she got better at falling later on, gettomg a little more willing to venture out into no-man's land.










A was also VERY willing to help C & E, when she realized they'd LOVE to be with her! and were perfectly content to go 'walking speed.' She was a HUGE help to me, and a wonderful older sister!



E wasn't very enthusiastic to begin with, and didn't end much better. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go just as fast as D right from the get-go. He didn't like the toddler skates, and was the first to tell me he was ready to go home. Interestingly stubborn behavior from my typically 'easy' child. Perhaps he just isn't inclined as much for something 'new.'

C LOVED skating! She never went faster than a slow crawl (literally,) and relished pretending to 'fall,' and then having me help her back up. Most of her energy went into climbing the railings like the little monkey she is; most of the other kids just didn't know what to think of her - they'd watch her just fascinated at the thought of climbing all over the place while wearing skates.


A particular favorite of the morning was the smoke machine; once E and C realized where the smoke came from, they refused to move from that spot. Just stared continuously up to where the machine was, waiting for more smoke to come out as people whized past them on the floor.


BTW - i LOVE living in a small enough town that a kid-skate at the roller rink is sparsely attended enough that i could feel comfortable with my toddlers on the floor, and carry around a camera taking pics. There were probably only 25 kids total, and only one parent chose to skate with their kids - the rest stayed on the sidelines watching.

high winds, sad kids.

Last night, we had some pretty high winds come through the area. They were saying they'd be 65 miles an hour - although i don't know if they ended up getting up to that. With all the partially down-ed trees and broken branches though, it made for another night without electric. The tornado watch happened when i was in Richmond at piano lessons - and the power was out when i got home, so we headed to McD's to eat dinner. It was PACKED!!

The power came back on at 2AM - and M thought he'd set the alarm, but i guess not. D came running in all traumatized this morning because they'd missed the bus - we didn't wake up until shortly after 7AM and the bus comes at 6:38 or so. A was in tears (she REALLY likes school!) They've never been dropped off tardy before, so they were worried about the procedure and what they'd miss of school. D was much happier once he realized the valentine party wasn't until tomorrow (he's got his priorities ;-) I'm glad school is important to them, even if it's probably not for the same reasons *I* think it's important.