Sunday, October 9, 2011

where is thumbkin?

miss gracie had her speech evaluation with the school this week & passed their testing no problem.  so, no speech with evsc at this time.  but momma is working with her the best i can & will look into other options.  i am very thankful that she herself is not concerned about the fact that some can't understand her.  but i want her to be able to sing one of her favorite songs "where is thumbkin?" without sounding like she's saying the f-bomb.  i'm sure the music teacher at her preschool church blushes when she hears that being belted out!   & those tricky k sounds (that sound like a t - kitty with a t is said quite often) & gr sounds (her name is not tracy, folks).  momma & daddio both had to take speech when we were little & she's kinda destined for it i guess.  not a biggie.  she'll get those words. she's one smart cookie & doesn't give up.

the goings on lately..

soccer.  big surprise!
after gracie's triumphant return, the next game was against the team she played the first time.  & that team was why she didn't want to play anymore.
i think the girl standing next to her was one of the shorter ones on that team.  they were good.  really good. and aggressive.  really aggressive for a 4-6 year old league.  they never let up & bit much i thought, but that's momma bear here.  i was proud of our girls for not giving up though.

that game caused her breathing issues to flare up in a major way.  friday, the day the kids had out from school we were planning on something super special while ben was at a birthday party.  it ended up being a doctor visit.  not too special.  by the time we getting the prescription, reality set in that we weren't going to the fall festival or to chuck e cheese (the special things we were thinking about doing).  she was mighty upset about this fact & started crying in the drugstore that turned into a cry you just can't stop.  i was holding her while in line & talking to her, trying to make her feel better.  a lady in her 60's got in front of us in line & told gracie to be quiet, she was being bad & nobody wanted to hear her.  really??  i told my gracie girl it was ok, she is a good girl & i was sorry she was sick.  & i did then tell the lady that my daughter was sick & upset.  quite the drama scene in walgreen's.  another lady about the same age then offered gracie a piece of candy from pocket (that kind that my grandma always carried).  god bless her.  


we've put up a soccer goal in our yard & ben wants to play all the time.  he's getting pretty radical (one of his new favorite words), i must say.  he just kept scoring & scoring on saturday. 
at one point, coach daddio told him to pass it to another teammate or wait for them at the goal to let them score.  & he did.  he had taken that ball down the field & kinda stood in front of the goal, dribbling, waiting on a teammate.  he wasn't showing off, he was really trying to do what coach said. the other team eventually kicked it away, but that was ok.  he was trying to share.   daddio said he gave him a big smile after that.  i love that boy.

miss gracie was sporting the tie dye dress we made for ben's soccer games & my sunglasses.  too cute if i do say so myself.


we've started some "chores" around here (help with bed, clothes, teeth, dishes in sink or dishwasher, help with picking up).  the kiddos will get either a quarter or a treat if they do what they are supposed to all week.  of course, benj was immediately trying to negotiate a better deal of a daily payment.   

here was the list ben created of his to do's: 
 what they are.. i'm not quite sure.. those first words no clue... but make my bed was the end of the first one.  
gracie's list she helped make included 5. have fun  6.feed froggy 7. patience 9. pray 10. bed  
 they did get a "treat" for completing their first week of helping more around the house.  the game Guess Who? from the basement stash of toys.  & they love it! (they love every game - especially ben)

today, we went for a scooter/trike ride in the neighborhood.
check out their new shirts.
 it's a picture ben made in art class & they sent home paperwork to have it made into a shirt.  we scanned his artwork & ironed it onto shirts we had.  

this yard decoration is at a home in our subdivision.  it just doesn't seem safe to me...
 it's right by the road.  i'm all for shabby (a bit too much daddio would say), but rusty spikes just don't seem like a good idea to me.   

1/2 way through, gracie just left her trike to the wayside & then ben did.  
 pretty typical for our walks.   
gracie had a wipeout too.  she said she wished the roads "were made of pillows to soften her landing." 

racing time.
 
someone got a head start!  


worn out time.   
 she just plopped right down on the road.  silly goose.  she got carried / pushed most of the way back, as she was wiped out & couldn't breath.  at least now we have an inhaler for her.  get strong lungs, grow strong!

& i have to add another going on... toots.  i guess it's a boy thing.  i asked ben if he had to go to the bathroom yesterday.  he replied,"no, i just like to toot a lot."  what a stinker. 






Tuesday, October 4, 2011

feelin' a bit froggy round here

our cement pond had become a refuge for frogs in the past few weeks since we hadn't been putting in the chemicals & just trying to find the time to close it.  i am sooo happy daddio closed that thing up this past weekend.  thank you hunny! every day, multiple times a day, we would have to check the pool skimmer for frogs - which entailed me lifting that basket out & dumping out whatever was inside & gracie grabbing every frog for her to save in her nice little froggy habitat she created in our cooler. 

here are some of the froggys gracie "saved" in the past few days... they were named daddy frog, momma frog, baby frog, baby frog, baby frog, baby frog (too many "baby" frogs to name).
nice, huh?

it was getting a bit too much for momma to handle (they wouldn't eat the frog food or fish food those little boogers), so last night we had a release of the frogs to find the rest of their froggie families & head somewhere a bit warmer.
 before the release, a family picture.

she sure does love froggies!! & i look forward to the day when mr. b will give me a smile again.

& here she is letting them go.
she had to pet each one &give them a little squeeze before releasing them towards the lake.

benj is a bit more like his momma, not caring so much for the sliminess & squirmyness & jumping.
but, he did release some of the baby frogs.

there's that smile i love!

i thought the frog release would never end!
frogs everywhere that gracie had to love on before release.  ick!


& one of the last ones was the big daddy frog.  that dude really freaked me out.
& gracie loved that fact.  (& a side note - check out her dress momma made for her from old shirts- just don't look too close at my lack of sewing skills!)
can ya tell? 
 
 at least, my sweet boy was trying to protect me with a "shield" as gracie kept wanting me to get a better look. i think he was a bugged out as me!
 
adios, froggies.. until next year when you try to overtake our cement pond. 



she's back in pink!

well, miss gracie decided to give it another go at soccer thanks to big brother's pep talks.  & love it she did.  it helped that she had some of her favorite people, dave & kate (& baby in the belly), in the crowd cheering her on.  one of her favorite places was still on the bench, socializing & cheering "let's go shockers, let's go!" though.

but guess what - little miss came back in pink with a vengeance!  a goal!!!  woohoo!
ok, she might have been at the right place at the right time thanks to coach susan, but it was a goal!
all in a day's work for miss grace. (at least she looks that way after her goal)

& she ran & played & most of all had fun

 & not away from the ball, but with the crowd!


keep up the good work & fun, my little shocker!