Meg's first trip to the aquarium and I barely got a photo off! I think this interactive screen was a big hit. but the string rays stole the show. They touched us!!! This time the big tank was under construction, so views were no so great. Maybe next time will be cooler!
Pip has turned a basketball corner. All last year he lacked the muscle strength to reach the basket. Then he started this year shy to even try. He developed into a great defensiveman and awesome passer. He has a mean fake pass and strong bounce pass. Then the 3rd to last game of the season he found himself under the net without heavy coverage. I yelled "SHOOT IT PIP". I have no idea if he heard me, but he did shoot it ... and it went in. The man nearly leapt out of his skin. I screamed like a banshee and probably alienated every other parent in the building. Don't care. So proud of him!
Then next time down ... did it AGAIN. And again! Three baskets in a row on the day. For a bit it was hard to get him to pass. We think he's pretty awesome now being a triple threat ... pass, shoot, and steal!! Go Pip! Balas's never give up!
Pip and Phil made an awesome tank for their first ever Pinewood Derby. They worked hard on it but maybe went more for style than for speed. We thought it looked great and reflected about where Pip was in terms of his own level of effort and understanding. We went into it knowing a teaching moment about winning and losing would ensue. Teaching moment indeed.
The cars all lined up:
Pip, before reality hit.
Voting on best looking.
Everything is digital now. Pip was in track one to start...
then took third in his first race.
Hopeful.
This is priceless. You can see Pip trying to restrain his immense disappointment. The juxtaposition with seeing his good friend Jack win. Hard for a 6 year old to take. Sometimes even hard for Mommy if truth be told.
Watching from the sidelines.
Smiling after is harder.
The tank got thrown onto the floor when we got home. "Dad said I could do whatever I wanted with it when it was over". I was jostled and yelled at. Nothing was consoling my man. Finally he needed to chill out by himself for a bit. When he emerged from his room a few hours later he was able to talk it through and finally did call Jack for a congratulations. That turned into a playdate at Jack's. Even got some pointers for next year. Parenting is hard!
Pip's idea for celebrating Martin Luther King Day today .... make homemade Black and White cookies. Meggie approved. There was some debate about whether the cookie represented segregation or integration, but either way it sparked some dialog.
Vivie LOVES gymnastics class. She really shines. She listens intently and tries her best at all times. She is really making great progress too and is often the model for the coach. Go Vivie!
Meggie LOVES to clomp aorund in my big shoes. If I ever leave a pair out she immediately slips them on and struts her stuff. She can actually get going pretty well! She has a good helper in Vivie too.
We probably only got 5 inches, but Pip and Viv made the most of it. Even tried out their snow block maker and made two battle forts. If only Pip had someone to battle with. Agh! The real misery of Phil's knee surgery.
My love got tubes in his ear. He was so brave. Really and truly brave. Because the little guy was scared and he did his best to keep putting one foot forward through it all. We had to leave the house at 5:30 to get there by 6. No food before surgery so he was hungry. We were ok through the nurse check in. He was not fond of the tiger scrubs but did eventually get them on. Down in the prep room next to the operating room we choose watermelon flavoring for the anesthesia (does not recommend) and watched Pink Panther videos on my phone to stay calm. It took a bit longer to go into surgery because they needed to clear the room of latex. Finally we were called and he braced himself. MGH is a great hospital, but as we were wheeled into the operating room, it was all cinderblock & metal and just too much. He was like NO WAY. There was no turning back now. I had to hold my man down as he bucked and screamed and pleaded for all he was worth. Another nurse helped (he is quite strong!) and the anesthetist got the mask on. Thank god it was quick and he slipped quietly to sleep. By now I was in tears myself.
The nurses led me to the waiting room where I watched the clock tick by for about a half hour. Finally they called me back in. The doctor said there was a lot of fluid in his right and some in his left. He was very groggy coming to afterwards. Before they took him in they warned us he would probably be grumpy coming out if it. I think that scared him the most because he said he didn't want to be grumpy. Don't think he likes other people "controlling" how he's going to feel. Mostly he was extremely tired and nauseous. I was thinking it was going to be a long recovery. But at around 10 he threw up and did a 180. We left shortly after and stopped at Dunkin. A wakeup wrap and 10 munchkins later he was good as new. I think he got to school around noon and ended up having a great day.
One of the benefits of a not-perfect house is you can get dirty and it doesn't matter. On this day we decided to cover the table with paper and go nuts. We ended up with a beautiful table "cloth" for a week! Only problem, when I went to take it off, I found lots of spots really stuck to the table where copious amounts of paint were applied. Need thicker poster paper!
Vivie decided she wanted curls one day. I think some of her friends at school have curls and we recently had a playdate with a girl named Caroline who had beautiful corkscrew curls.
Attempt #1: braids through the night yielded solid results.
Attempt #2: Curlers halfway up the hair. They were not comfy to wear all the way tight to the scalp, so we let them hang down and the curls were not all the way to the base. But they were still beautiful!
Phil craves this meat pie he remembers from childhood. Just beginning to be able to bear weight on his knee, I think he needed to make it to feel the nourishment only true comfort food from Mom can provide. I can see why it was a favorite. The flavors were classic.
