This afternoon Kyle and Owen were pretending that they were setting off fireworks. They would run back and forth from the deck to the middle of the yard where MorFar had set off the fireworks for the 4th of July. They told me over and over that they were “pretending to be MorFar!” They had me standing on the deck and I was repeatedly instructed that I was to “pretend to be the Waters!” This went on and on and on for about 20 minutes. After about the millionth time of this fireworks-pretending-routine, as we were standing on the deck, Kyle said: “Mama, I want to really do the fireworks. Not pretend. Real. I want to be MorFar.” I said, “Kyle, when you are a big man, just like MorFar, then you can do fireworks for real. But now you can only pretend.” Kyle said, “But I am getting big. I am getting to be a big man just like MorFar.” I said, “No, Kyle, you’re not old enough yet.” He came right back: “But, Mama, how old is MorFar?” I said, “You want to know how old he is? Kyle, MorFar is SIXTY! Sixty years old!” He thought about this for a second, then he said, “Yes, Mama, MorFar is sixty years old. And MorMor is twenty years old.”
O.k., seriously now, y’all know my boys… y’all know how NOT crafty they are… y’all know how much they are the antithesis of craftiness. They just can’t be bothered to sit still long enough to do any serious crafting. I mean, really, why take time out from terrorizing the cat, or tearing down the driveway on a scooter, or triple-twist-flipping-into-the-swimming-pool to do something like coloring? or pasting? or any-kind-of-crafting? Why interrupt the non-stop extreme action for something that requires such extreme calm??? B-O-R-I-N-G. Let’s be honest: for them one of the highlights so far of their summer-out-of-daycare has been the heavenly release from the daycare-craftiness-grind. It is sad. Especially for me. Since I actually really love doing crafty things myself. In my feeble attempt to round them out a bit (i.e., keep them from becoming entirely immersed in a life of nothing-but-intense-brutal-physicality), and in an effort to share my enthusiasm for creative craftiness (hoping someday something might wear off on them), I have tried to do one visually creative/”crafty” activity with them each day this summer. I’ve tried everything that kids their age are supposed to love: coloring, painting, cutting, gluing, play dough, those foam sticker things, ETC. They like it. For all of about five minutes. I try to stretch it to ten minutes just to make the set-up-and-clean-up-efforts at least semi worth it. But by ten minutes into the craft activity du jour they are more than ready to BOLT out of their seats to run-jump-stomp-run-skip-ride-roll-run-sprint-swim-climb-run-slide-hang-run-run (did I already say run?). To be honest, I had sort of given up on any serious crafting with them long, long ago. But, folks, I think it is safe to say that we have had a major breakthrough!!!!!!! I think I may have found a craft that these boys actually like!!?!!!!!!! BEADING. ?!?! I had bought the supplies last week, attempting yet again to find a new craft that they might actually like. I had not yet gathered up the gumption to try it out on them. But last night Kyle and I sat quietly in the playroom together for 30 minutes straight while he made a bead necklace for MorMor. 30 minutes of uninterrupted focused crafting with my boy. I couldn’t believe my own eyes as I sat on the couch with him and watched his little fingers pick up each bead and carefully, pain-stakingly work patiently to string it onto a piece of gimp. I thought it was some sort of fluke. My theory last night was that it was a one-shot-deal — perhaps Kyle’s way of working through his post-traumatic-shock-of-MorMor-leaving-to-go-home induced state? But then this morning (after they jumped maniacally on the bed for a full half hour doing all sorts of incredibly dangerous “tricks” and working themselves into full-blown-sweats), Kyle suggested that we “do beads!” I almost fell on the floor in shock. “O.k.!!!!!” I said. Owen said, “No, I don’t want to! Let’s ride our trucks over the bump bumps Kyle!” And Kyle said, “No, beads Owen. It is fun Owen. I like it!” I ran for the supplies. Sure enough, for 30 minutes straight (yes, THIRTY MINUTES straight!!!!!) we three sat on the floor of the family room and my boys carefully, pain-stakingly strung plastic beads onto black pieces of string. The focused concentration was unlike I’ve ever seen from them before. They sat right next to each other and quietly, calmly, patiently each made a beaded necklace for Alex. Multiple times I overheard them as they proclaimed their love for this craft to each other. “Owen?” Kyle said. “Yes Kyle?” said Owen. “Owen, I like this! I like doing these beads!” “Yes, Kyle, I like it too! I like it! I like it! I like it!” I tried to play it cool, but as you can imagine, I could barely contain myself. All I could think was ‘a crafting breakthrough! a crafting breakthrough!’ Yes folks, a crafting breakthrough indeed!!!’
Heather & Kyle, December, 2005
Owen and Kyle’s new favorite pastime: Playing With Papi’s Old Ties. They each have one. They spend long extended periods of time “tying them” onto “button shirts” and “wearing ties” to go to “the airport” and “to work” and “to the big organ music church” and “tying them” and “making them on button shirts so tight on the neck” and “wearing big nice ties” to “go on the airplane” and “wearing ties that are tied” to “work at a restaurant” and “wearing ties as cookers at Carrabas Restaurant” where they “wear ties to make pasta” and “wear ties to make salad and bread and everybody eats it and it is so good” because they are “good cookers!” and then they “tie ties onto button shirts” to “drive the ferry so fast” and “tying the ties” to “be pilots driving big airplanes up in the sky” and “tying the ties” and “tying the ties” and “tying the ties.”
We spent our Fourth of July yesterday with K & O’s most adored two people on earth: MorMor & MorFar, and with K & O’s most adored family on earth: The Waters. If you read this blog you know about my parents (MorMor & MorFar) and you know about our friends The Waters. The big downer was the rainy-yucky weather. Not exactly the 4th of July pool-bbq that we all had imagined. Highlights, however, included: crazy-crazy-Waters-Johnson-McCormick MARCHING BAND, big bowls of summer fruit, MorMor’s-awesome-ice-cream-cake-dessert, and a fireworks display put on in our own back yard by none-other-than-MORFAR! He’d light one off; the kids would all go nuts watching it from our deck (with the exception of Owen, of course, who was deathly afraid and in the house getting loved on by Corey); and then the entire ‘audience’ would loudly chant/scream “MorFar! MorFar! MorFar!” (although when we listened closely we noticed that some of the younger kids were actually chanting “More Fire! More Fire! More Fire!”); then MorFar would light another one off. The level of excitement for this fireworks display seriously rivaled any major city’s fireworks shows yesterday, I’m sure of it. Anyway, we had a blast (no pun intended!). Hope your 4th was fun too.
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!
Here is the YouTube link to a new video our friend Corey Waters has made: CLICK HERE. In addition to being a wonderful mom to her six kids she somehow makes time to be an incredible advocate for Haiti and Haitian Adoption. Please watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndwBI143ctA
MorMor and MorFar arrived late Friday night for our 4th of July Visit. Kyle and Owen adore them, and are in heaven with all the playtime they are getting with their grandparents. Braydon and I adore them too, and are in heaven with all the playtime K & O are getting with their grandparents. đŸ˜‰ Since Kyle and Owen came home our tradition for the 4th of July is to have my family here with us in Pennsylvania and, importantly, to not allow my parents to “work” around here (i.e., we try hard to keep them from doing all the cooking, cleaning, yardwork, etc. that they normally insist on doing when they visit). As much as we appreciate them doing all those things (and Lord knows we do appreciate it!!!!!!), we try to keep it to a minimum for the 4th. Sadly this year my sister and her family couldn’t make it. But we’re trying to do our best to have a good time without them. In addition to all the pool-time and play-time (and exclusively eating out for dinner!!!) that we’ve been doing… we’ve also done a couple of really fun outings. On Saturday night we went to Tinicum Park for the annual Riverside Symphonia “Concert Under the Stars” (click here). This is a Bucks County 4th of July tradition. We had never been before. I don’t think we’ll ever miss it again for as long as we live here. It was awesome!!! Although the lobster salad picnic dinner we had was not well appreciated by K & O (they ate chicken and pasta salad instead), they absolutely loved the music. (and about 4,000 concert-going people absolutely loved watching them love the music). And they had a Love- (Kyle) -Hate (Owen) relationship with the fireworks (we four adults agree, however, that they were truly the best fireworks we’ve ever seen). The boys had their latest night yet — were wide awake until about 11pm. It was a good, good time. (and they slept until 9am the next morning — also a good, good time for Braydon and I who gladly slept in!). Here are a few photos.
Yesterday Braydon worked for the day and my dad treated the rest of us to a trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo (click here). We’ve been to the Philadelphia Zoo (the “Big Zoo”) a couple of times with K & O, but had never been to the — much smaller scale — Lehigh Valley Zoo. I have to say that for Kyle and Owen, right now, at age 3, the “Little Zoo” was just PERFECT. Highlights for them were the river otter, running like madmen along the zoo paths, and a horse-drawn hayride.
Highlights for me were having my parents there to help me with these two tyrants. Seriously, sometimes (i.e., when they are overtired) they are so, so
bad. And it is nice to have my parents around to: #1) help me keep them in check, and #2) help affirm for me that no I am not losing my mind and yes, indeed, they are super super super “active” and… uh…
‘challenging’ at times to parent. Most of all, though, it is nice to have my parents around to: #3) tire them out. There is no one on this earth (Braydon and I included) who can physically and mentally
exhaust them like their MorMor and MorFar can. In fact, yesterday — July 2, 2007 — something unprecedented occurred. At the zoo, at about 2:00 in the afternoon, Owen stood by a tree and refused to move. As I walked toward him to pick him up he said to me: “Mommy, I’m sleepy. I need to go to sleep now.” I stood there in shock. Then picked him up and handed him to my mother.
Oh, and also, it is nice to have my parents around to: #4) make me a margarita at 5pm.
Last night my dad made margaritas for everybody. He and my mom suprised K & O by giving them theirs (don’t worry theirs were virgin margaritas) in cups with crazy straws shaped like glasses. It was an absolute hoot! The first thing I said when I saw this scene was: “Kyle and Owen, you are not bringing these with you when you go to college.”
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