pick, pick, pick

Ruby loves to pick her nose, almost as much as she loves picking a fight. Today in the car I told my dear little children that I loved them and she replied, with every ounce of passion she could muster, "No, I love you!"
You bet I'll be bringing that one around whenever she's in one of her contrary moods.

Oh this Poor Neglected Blog.

It's been so long since my last post, I don't know where to start. So for now, here are some random things that have happened around here:

• Miles asked me if I believed in God (yes, I replied) and then told me that he believes in Transformers. Yes, he believes that they exist in another galaxy "far, far away."
• We've been talking about Jesus and Santa a lot lately. Miles told me one day that Jesus' spirit guides Santa when he's landing his sleigh on the roof. (He may have had some influence from promos for the new Christmas special "Prep and Landing." We're looking forward to watching it.)
  
• Ruby has incorporated "no way" into her vocabulary, again. She continues to boss us all around, which especially upsets Miles. Lots of lessons to be learned here.
  
• I took the boy shopping for most of the day today. He needed several things and he also wanted to get a gift for Ruby because, as he told me in the bookstore, he "loves his sister."
• He certainly does, but he also "was consequenced" twice in the past 4 days for pushing her off the ottoman. Oops. More lessons there.
• We broke down and bought an artificial, pre-lit (with colored LEDs) Christmas tree. I'll miss the pine smell but not the winding of those light strands around and around and trying to get the darn thing straight in the tree stand.
• Miles sat on Santa's lap (a first) at Phipps yesterday. They had a nice talk. Ruby refused to sit but did exchange some shy glances with the big guy.
• Our 3rd floor front room is now remodeled enough for visitors. New paint, windows, blinds, ceiling fan, and window seat. George's dad had the honor of being our first guest. The bathroom is still cluttered with tools but he didn't seem to mind.
• A good lunch at school for Miles is when he gets to sit beside either Kylie or Mya. He was excited one day last week because he got to sit between them!
  

Gift-Crazy

Miles has gotten into the habit of getting gifts--they were pouring in before, during, and after his birthday, but now the harsh reality has hit that the gift days are over. Today he made me a little gift at school, because I told him the expression "good things come in small packages." So he drew a picture, folded it up, "wrapped" it in another sheet of paper, and taped in shut. He was quite excited to give it to me when I picked him up. At bedtime tonight I asked him what his favorite part of the day was. After thinking for a while, he said it was making the small package for me at school. Then he wondered if I would give him a "thank-you gift." He even got the brilliant idea that I could give him such a gift on Thanksgiving, because it's a Thank-you day. Hmmmm. Well, I offered him hugs, kisses, special Mommy-time as possible thank-you gifts, but he was thinking a toy would be more acceptable. Just any toy I think he might like! HA! We're going to have a hard time breaking this habit. He did get some birthday cash in the mail today and decided to put it in his college fund. He hasn't quite figured out that he could use his own money to buy toys, which I am thankful for, at least for now.

Polar Bear Swim

It was such a nice day yesterday that Ruby and I played hooky and visited the zoo. The polar bears were the highlight. Here's some video of them playing in the water.

The Force is With Us

Here you go! (Thanks for the push, Barbara!)
I finally got the computer glitches worked out so I can post our Halloween photos! Here you can see Miles as Darth Vader and Ruby as Ladybug, our pumpkins and milk jug ghosts, the costume parade at Miles' school, and Ruby in her fleece jumpsuit as we headed out for our fitness walk last Friday morning. The kids and I have been battling a cold the last week or so. No fevers or aches, thank goodness!

Sticky Song

Miles had a song stuck in his head last night. He was singing it over and over, and when we explained the expression, he tried to shake it loose. But it stuck. He said it was there even when he wasn't singing it out loud. He finally lost it by this morning.
Ruby is increasing her vocabulary. Last night she had picked a book to read but when we started it, she changed her mind. "Actually, mommy" she said, she wanted a different one.
Halloween has come and gone and I have some cute pictures to share. Somehow it seems, however, that my photo software was deleted from the computer. Thus the delay. We're working on it, and the computer is now secure from little hands!

Video fun

Talk about losing track of time! I went to the Apple store today for another lesson on imovie. It inspired me to sit down and put together a little compilation video. Check it out.

Two cuties, now and then

These were taken at my parents' house. I think the curtains are the same!

Worm Farm

Seeing how October is here, I decided it would be a good time to pull the tomato plants out of their little front yard garden plot, thus providing a nice little patch of dirt, perfect for digging and playing. I uncovered several worms while weeding in the backyard, and we decided to relocate some to the front yard, which seemed to be worm-deficient. The kids were really helpful with all the digging and worm-moving, and we had a good time getting dirty. Miles built a "worm house" from dirt, sticks, and leaves, to welcome the worms to their new home. Ruby made "sand castles" in the dirt. She quickly got over some initial squeamishness about handling the worms and yesterday when we were digging and playing she pulled one apart, making a wiggly worm pair. These, she decided, would be happy living in the sandbox.
Of course we also had to bring some critters in the house (don't ask me why) so Miles filled a stryofoam cup with dirt, worms and a roly-poly. We covered it with plastic so they wouldn't escape and punched holes in the plastic top so they could breathe. Well, wouldn't you know it--I found a roly-poly near this cup a few days later. Turns out those "air holes" were also perfect escape routes! Time for our "pets" to return to the wild!
After playing and working hard all week, we had a family "movie" night last night. It was especially rewarding for me because both kids watched and liked the videos, and they were favorites of mine as well. This doesn't happen often with a four-year-old and two-year-old. We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Close Shave" with Wallace and Gromit. Miles caught on to some of the Peanuts humor this time, and was talking about how poor Charlie Brown only got rocks in his treat bag. Ruby sat in rapt attention the whole time, and was mostly quiet!

Background Music

This video is from Labor Day weekend, about 4 weeks ago. Ruby now provides background noise to our daily lives, with her constant chatter. It only stops when she's watching a video or sleeping. She manages to talk and eat at the same time, though we try to discourage this! When she's not narrating her activities, she's bossing someone around, or generally making her wishes known. Tonight she told her doll to stand up, even though the poor thing is really meant to be held and cuddled. She told it, "Stand up, boy! Stand up!"
George tried to explain to her that she could talk more softly, but she insists that "Ruby is loud." I wonder if this will be a life-long trait?

Sometimes it pays to own a mini-van...

We kicked off Labor Day weekend with an outdoor movie in the front yard. George made up the invite, I printed them, and Ruby helped me deliver them up and down the street. We had a great turnout, with about 15 kids on the grass and a porch-full or parents. We showed the Iron Giant, using the side of the van, covered in a blanket, as a screen. It worked out so well that we did it again last weekend, with Cars as the feature film. Popcorn, pizza, neighbors, and a few drinks...we really do have an awesome street!

Pittsburgh Welcomes the World

Pittsburgh is gearing up for the G-20. In that welcoming spirit, I thought I'd share some Pittsburgh photos (from Mt. Washington and the Hot Metal Bridge) in an attempt to entice any readers out there who'd like to come visit. (After the G-20 chaos is over, of course!)
There have been some crazy rumors floating around, warning the locals to be aware of violent protesters swarming the city, smashing windows and flattening tires. Kind of reminds me of people being so concerned about the Swine Flu when it first hit that they ran to the ER with a headache. Let's hope these rumors are as overblown as I think they are! (And that Pittsburgh's police force doesn't bungle things too badly. See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113108920)

School Days

Miles has been going to PreK now for about 2 weeks. He is not loving it but seems to be adjusting. He misses his friends from preschool and hasn't made a new best buddy yet. He did give his teacher a big hug and kissed her hand when it was time to leave yesterday. He always loves the teachers, if not the school experience. He doesn't tell us too much about his day, just that he is "nervous" to go to school. The teachers told them not to take their shoes off during naptime, because they sometimes have to leave the building quickly, in the event of a fire drill. This made Miles especially nervous, as he half-expected a fire to break out every day during naptime. Once they had the fire drill, he seemed less worried about fires. And he told me they only have one per season so it will be a long time before another one. Whew! He told me that the stools in the cafeteria are attached to the table...wondering why that was...and that an officer visited their room and had handcuffs. He's also mentioned the school janitor and what his job is...but not so much about the other kids in his class or what they do during circle time.
He is definitely learning about the big, wide, world of public school!

Living History

Here's a video clip from our trip to northern Michigan. We visited Fort Michilimackinac, which is on the south shore of the Straits of Mackinac, near where we camped. The Fort was built by the French in the early 1700s and and served as a supply post for fur traders. They do a great job of re-creating the time period and have lots of opportunities for participation. We wandered by while they were doing rifle training. As much as Miles loves playing with pretend guns, he got shy when the rifles were being handed out. Ruby stepped right up though! Everything went well until she realized she had been separated from mama.

Ruby Two

We celebrated Ruby's second birthday on Friday with cake, friends, balloons, and a few special drinks for the grown-ups. Ruby was excited to get out the Elmo party hats and she seemed to enjoy the presents too. She wasn't that interested in the cake (even though it was chocolate) but she was happy to have a Popsicle earlier in the day. She's been on quite a popsicle kick lately, and will declare just about any time of day "Popsicle time!"
Among her other 2-year-old tricks--screaming, sinking to the floor when she doesn't get her way, and bossing. She tells me to "stop it" when I sing to her, complete with her little palm out to me. Yesterday at the playground she told me to "sit on the bench" while she played on the slide with George and Miles. She can often be heard (by the neighbors I'm sure) saying "put it back!" (in reference to her comb) or "pick me up!" And "Ruby out!" is her favorite way to ask to be excused from the table, approximately one second after Miles is excused. She is quite loud, this one!

Catch-up Blog

I feel like I'm in summer limbo--having some time at home between trips. Our last trip was to York to visit with Oma, Opa, Kris and Kalea for 4 days, and our next trip is multi-stage, starting with 4 nights of camping with friends in northern Michigan. Much more preparation for that one! I'm dreading the 10-hour drive on Friday, but hoping the kids will stay occupied with the new DVDs from the library and the many small diversions I have ready for them (gift-wrapped too!)
In York, Ruby and Kalea did lots of Ring-around-the-rosie at home (and chase around the house), and Oma and Opa took us to Lake Tobias one day for a bus ride through the animal park. Miles liked feeding the animals right from the bus and he got up close and personal with the goats at the petting zoo. Opa also took us to see the new robots at the candy factory. Fun!

Back in Pittsburgh, Miles has been spending lots of time at Wil's house, three doors down. Yesterday we went down to visit but they weren't home. Then we tried 3 other friends on the street and 2 a few streets away. Miles and I walked around the neighborhood, then had popscicles on the porch, while Ruby and George napped. It was nice to spend some one-on-one time with him, just hanging out outside. When he is home during naptime I'm constantly reminding him to be quiet and he's constantly wanting me to get involved in his pretend play, which often involves pirates, fighting, flying on rocket ships, crashing, and firefighting. I find all this a bit tedious and will usually try to sneak away...which is futile of course! I'd much rather get out and take a walk around the neighborhood.
Ruby is always ready to go too, of course. Maybe she is like me in some ways after all! She's added some new words to her vocabulary, which I have not been diligently keeping track of as I did with Miles. But I can recall that she's started saying "fluffy" although not always applying it correctly. Yes, the duck in the book is fluffy, but mama's chin? I hope not. She also added "butt" (as in "baby butt," one of Miles' favorite insults) and "I don't want to" (in reference to getting dressed or going to bed, never to going in the car). She has a great appreciation for mamas and dadas and is always pointing them out in her books, whether they are people or animals. She is somewhat obsessed with Mickey Mouse and his clubhouse and will watch the same episodes over and over. (Not that she spends all day watching TV, just when I need to shower, cook, or maybe think.) She interacts with Mickey and friends, and she knows all the answers to his questions pretty well by now. She had been saying something I couldn't quite interpret, along


with a gesture of putting her hands over her mouth. I finally figured out she was trying to call "Oh Toodles" with her hands around her mouth, as Mickey does. Too bad the handy magic tool guy never shows up!

Ruby is Ready to Go!

Ruby is perpetually ready to go in the car. She doesn't say where she wants to go...anywhere will usually do. Here she is trying to convince her Daddy to get up and go.

space pillow

This is for Aimee--we made this video long ago (when Aimee moved to Chambersburg) and I recently started learning about editing and publishing these things. He was coached (can you tell?) and experimenting with various voices, so sounds kind of strange, and his on-camera persona needs some work! Maybe he can get some tips from Morgan. Miles is enjoying some quality time with Aimee again this summer and is in love with Baa-Baa all over again.
Thanks!

I Heart Pittsburgh

Although I rarely admit it, winters in Pittsburgh can be challenging--due more to the the gray skies than the cold or snow. The summers more than make up for those gray months though. The weather has been especially nice lately--cool at night, with low humidity, warm temps during the day, and lots of sunshine. With so many fun things to do, I fall in love with this town all over again every summer. This past weekend alone we took in the Regatta shows (man on wire!), science center (robo-world!), fireworks (multiple shows from one private vantage point!), classical music in the park, and the pool. Since Miles' school ended in May we have been to the zoo, aviary, Children's Museum, Kennywood, natural history museum, Phipps gardens, hiking in the parks, and to Heinz Hall for the symphony. (George and I were lucky enough to get tickets from friends.) The constant flow of free summer festivals, concerts, and movies--as well as the delicious summer produce, makes surviving the winter worthwhile. Of course, our annual trip to Florida in March helps too!
Miles is back to his "new school" for 3 days a week this month, so Ruby and I can get back into our routine of morning activities and afternoon rest. We took the stroller to school this morning and dropped him off at his new room, with a new teacher (another Emily!) and he was happy to be there, and to see his friend Mateo who he's been missing since the end of the school year. I'm enjoying the quiet of naptime!

Strong and Brave, and Jedi-like!

We spent last weekend at Oma and Opa's cabin in Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The Smouse family drove up from Richmond to join us and we had a great time hanging out with them. Miles espeically enjoyed the company of Evan and Jacob and he learned all about Bakugan, a game/toy with a culture all its own, a la Pokeman, but smarter. The boys were obsessed with their new Bakugan pieces and tried to educate us all on the various attributes of each one. Miles took it all in, and is currently wishing (or "urging" as he puts it) for his own set. Something new to look forward to!
We also enjoyed the beautiful weather and got outside to play at the lake and beach. On Sunday we all hiked the Pole Steeple trail to a spectacular vista overlooking Laurel Lake. Ruby and Katie rode in style in our Ergo packs and the boys hiked with surprising patience and stamina. Being at the top, Miles reported, made him feel "strong and powerful." Back at the bottom, he announced that the hike was fun, but that he's "not much of a hiker....more of a Jedi."
Ruby was getting tired, and tired of being confined. When I sat down at the peak she tried to climb out of the carrier. She seemed to be eyeing up those cliffs!

Kennywood Story

In a moment of weakness, I decided to take the kids to Kennywood. It was "Moms Rule" day, where moms get in free with a paid admission. Actually, I got in free without paying, because I took Ruby with me and she is free. Miles and his buddy William got in on a BOGO deal, two for $20.99, and my friend Tanya got in free with her 18-mo. old, Ruby's friend Gavrie. So at least admission wasn't expensive. Miles has refused most rides at the various places we've encountered them--including the train at the zoo. So I didn't expect him to be excited about the rides, but I thought maybe he'd be brave enough to try some, especially with William's encouragement. He did ride the train, so that was a breakthrough of sorts. He liked it so much (as did all the kids) that we rode it three times. During the ride, we heard the "story of Kennywood" about the park's long history and changes through the years. Lovely, relaxing, and educational! Miles also was hoping to get a toy at Kennywood. Specifically a set of toy light sabers (like his friend Wil, not William, has). So after we tried unsuccessfully to get Miles interested in riding motorcyles, cars, boats, etc...and watched William, Tanya, and Gavrie as they pursued thrill after thrill, we found the gift shop with the light up swords, and Miles' dream was realized! We also ate some ice cream along the way and tried to stay hydrated with water, water, water. It was a hot day! Miles cheered up when he finally got his toys, and was excited to give one to William as well. When we got home I asked him what his favorite thing about Kennywood was, expecting he'd say getting the light-up swords. He surprised me though when he very matter-of-factly reported that his favorite thing was the story of Kennywood. He also has said he'd like to go back "once each day" to ride the train!