Ice Cream Party

One of my fondest memories of my childhood is going to my friend Meghan's ice cream parties.  Every year she and her two siblings would invite all of their friends over and run around and play and make awesome ice cream sundaes.

Since she has an older brother and a younger sister who also got to invite all of their friends it was an interesting mix of kids.  I remember watching and hanging around the older kids-- mostly boys, ooo, la, la.  One year we made a huge tunnel out of all their moving boxes. Lining up was a major part of the party. We had to line up from youngest to oldest and by darn we figured out when everyone's birthdays were and got it right to the day! What a commotion that was! I have pretty vivid, albeit disconnected, memories of these parties...the invitation from one year, standing in line another year, the noise, the excitement in the air as we all anticipated going back to school. 

Now, as a parent, I can really appreciate what a lovely tradition this is and what wonderful memories Meghan's mom, Mary, was creating for her and her siblings. So, I totally stole the idea and started our own tradition before Evan's first day of Pre-K.

Plus, it seemed like a nice, easy way to throw a party.  The adults enjoyed themselves just as much as the happy, sugar high kids.   Thanks Mary!

Going to the Fair

The summer is getting l-o-n-g and Evan is increasingly difficult to keep occupied.  We've been buying workbooks full of mazes and dot-to-dots.  Anything to fill the hours.  We're also taking advantage of all there is to do in our area and sometimes beyond.

The Trumansburg Fair celebrated its 160th year this summer with a zoo, farm animal display, rides, games, food and a quintessential fair atmosphere.  We decided to check it out.

Evan liked the games and came home with two prizes.  Total cost= $9
We had some fair fare.  Ice Cream and a funnel cake.  Total cost=$6.50
6 tickets which got us onto 3 rides.  Total cost= $6.
Entrance fee  $4

Evan was really worried the tortoise was going to run away.  But at this pace I don't think there's much to worry about.



He did go on 3 different rides but only liked the 2 sissiest ones.

Home Depot Project

We've been taking many trips to Lowe's and/or Home Depot these days as Russ tries to finish the home improvement projects before the semester starts.  Although, he seems to find new things to do every day.   Hmmm.

 

One trip to Home Depot, they gave us this cute apron and a pencil box project kit for FREE.  It sat around for awhile but then Russ helped him put it together and let him paint it with real house paint.  I think he had a good time working on it.  What do you think? 

Mini-Golf

As the summer winds down I find myself trying to have as much fun with Evan as I can before he has to start school. I think he'll have a ton of fun at school and be happily engaged doing lots of interesting things all day. But, I'll miss him. (At least sometimes)

So, I thought it would be fun to check out the new, and very beautiful, T-Burg Mini Golf up route 96. It was a bit hot and we were out at the hottest part of the day but he and his friend Cedar had a blast. They kept hitting that little ball until it made its way into the hole one way or another. Cedar, whose father is a hockey fan, used his excellent hockey stance and grip to his advantage. Evan had some rather interesting techniques but we all had fun.

Strange Fears

Evan has this unexplainable (at least to my memory) fear of balloons and all things inflatable. So, it was a bit sad when his Uncle Andrew and Aunt Annika sent him this totally cool Toy Story bouncy/ride-on ball. He would cry hysterically if I even brought down the box. So, it sat on the shelf out of site for months.

Until recently.... I managed to covertly get this thing into the car, along with both boys, drive to a gas station and inflate it without Evan noticing.

When introduced to the ball already fully inflated and looking rather stable (his biggest fear is that it will spring a leak and fly around the room) he acted indifferent about it, but at least not scared. After a week or so and after a few friends came over and thought it was fun, he has come around.

Thanks Annika and Andrew! It's a hit, finally. :)

New Skills and Interests

Before Alec was born Evan had discovered legos in a big way. He got a set of the "little blocks" for Christmas and then he got sets for his birthday, for becoming a big brother and lots of other reasons. We liked having legos around almost as much as Evan did. They would keep him occupied for so long. He would even just read the instruction books over and over, turning the pages saying "bigger and bigger and bigger" as he pointed to each picture. Hopefully he'll come back to the bricks again and again over the years but he's just not into them right now.

Now, the "in" thing is puzzles. Lots and lots of puzzles. It took a little bit of coaching and doing them with him but now he can do all the puzzles you see here on his own.

Alec is also acquiring new skills. It seems that after a visit from his slightly older cousin Joel, he thought batting at and grabbing toys looked like fun. So, he's been practicing. He does this intensely every morning, early in the morning.

I've also noticed that often now when he's acting cranky he's just bored. If we go outside or walk around the house he's much more content then to be sitting in the living room or dining room AGAIN.

Storyhour at the Farmer's Market Downtown

We've walked over to the Tuesday downtown farmer's market twice so this summer. There are lots of yummy things to buy and eat and a nice story hour for toddlers. It's a bit young for Evan these days but inevitably we run into lots of other parents with kids that we know and it makes for a lovely time.

I love the expressions on Alec's face in these. So serious, so full of personality. Love it!

Co-Parenting

I have a friend who blogs about being a step-parent. She often talks about co-parenting her stepchild. She co-parents this kid with the kid's dad and the kid's biological Mom and her husband. It's a term I hadn't heard or used but it got me thinking.

Russ and I co-parent Evan and Alec too, sort of. I have to say I feel so lucky that our employment situations allow for us to CO-parent in ways that many families cannot. There are times that I wish I was at home full-time, but the fact that I work (a whole 185 days a year) allows for Russ to be around a lot too. Well, and his schedule doesn't hurt the situation either.



If we are lucky enough to still have our jobs for the next many years I really like to think about how the boys will get to spend so much time with their Dad. Hopefully, they will pick up his love for knowledge, his wit and sensitivity and thoughtfulness. If they get his cooking and housekeeping skills too, that would be fine.

Decisions, Decisions

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Originally uploaded by Russ Posegate

Alec has been really fun lately. He's smiling and babbling and almost giggling. It makes all the sleep deprivation and diaper changing so worth it. It makes me really want to enjoy every minute of these next 5 months or so before I will, most likely, return to work.

Evan has been fun too. He tells incredibly long, detailed stories or recounts his dreams in vivid detail. Sometimes it takes all of my concentration to focus, listen and comprehend. It's not that complicated, I'm just that tired.

So, today we made the decision for Evan to go to the public school pre-K program. (Deep breath) I'm terrible at making decisions. Somehow a good part of me thinks there is always more research to be done, that there is one perfect situation if I look long enough or that there is one right answer.

Luckily, as I'm getting older, I realize this isn't true and I'm able to suppress these ideas long enough to make a "good" decision- not "right", not "perfect" just "good". A big part of being better, although only slightly, at decision making is the fact that I'm also getting better at making the best of things. Finding a way to look on the bright side is a skill that is very handy in the life of a parent. (Ok, so my kid just spit up on me. Well, that must mean he won't need to burp and may be less cranky now. Yay!)

Parenting decisions are some of my hardest. This isn't just about me. I really want was is best for the boys, so I debate even longer and agonize even more when it's something for them. Slowly I'm learning to find the right fit for us instead of just what is "right". This takes knowing who we are as a family, who I am as a parent and being ok with that. A tall order indeed.

10 years

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Originally uploaded by Russ Posegate

Last month we celebrated 10 years of being married. As the saying goes...time flies when you're having fun.

It's amazing all that we've done in those 10 years...we've gone through several cars, lived in two different homes (right next door but hey), bought our own house and started fixing it up, both earned our master's degrees, paid off all of our education, we both made career changes, half a dozen shore vacations, and on and on.

There have been the different "obsessions" that have entertained us and probably our families... gardening, and growing/canning an insane amount of tomatoes was one. Cooking crazy hard recipes...like french onion soup and homemade pasta. We both went on health kicks where we did crazy amounts of running/swimming and exercising. Including one year when I ran two marathons. There was the era when somehow I let Russ teach me how to ride a motorcycle and then thought it would be a good idea to own my own. (That didn't last long) The Simpsons were huge for awhile...but now we don't watch that at all. There was a list of 100 movies that Russ worked his way through for awhile. Attending lots of our friends weddings...sometimes being in them. Then there was France...ah France.

Now (and the last 4+ years) of course it's our small super cute kids-- and knitting and model aviation when we can sneak it in.

Really, these 10 years have been almost all good stuff. And when there was some bad stuff, we managed to get through it together ok.

I'm really looking forward to the next 10 years(and the next, and the next, and the next...) I'm sure it will be pretty "kid focused" but that's tons of fun too. So...here's to us.

Day at the Beach

We spent a lovely day at Long Point State Park. We had never been there before but it is just a beautiful little spot... rocky beach to swim and play with shade trees very near by. There's a nice, new playground that kept Evan running and climbing.



It's been a long haul through our renovations and it seems that summer has come and gone with far too few days like the one we had today. Just sitting and staring at the lake, watching the seaguls, a bit of reading, lots of playing. I packed our lunch and snacks the night before so we were well fed on fun stuff all day. And then we stopped for a slice of pizza in town before we landed at home. So, with no meal prep or clean up, no toys on the floor constantly asking to be put away, no laundry or dirty bathrooms right there waiting, it was truly a vacation day. Sitting outside at a sidewalk table eating our pizza it felt like we were in some far away city on a long vacation. Ahhh...

Renovation

A huge thanks to all who made this possible!