Finally, the weather is improving! We’ve been spending a lot more time outside playing in the yard and walking to the park. Last year, it seemed like no matter how old Thomas got, I’d still be strapping him into a stroller or making him sit in the wagon to take him to the park. It’s really amazing how much things can change in what seems like no time at all.
Thomas loves to ride his little pedal car to the park. The only problem is that riding the pedal car is all he wants to do when we get there. Hayley wants to play on the slides or the swings but Thomas wants to keep on truckin’. So we go on to the next park and the next (there are three nearby that are all connected by paths) and by then Hayley has seen a flying bug and it’s all over; we have to go home immediately. We saw a very sluggish and sleepy bee on the ground at the park yesterday and Hayley flipped out. (I was rather surprised to see a live bee this time of year too, as a matter of fact.) She is suddenly quite imprisoned by her intense and irrational fear of bugs and it’s worrying me for the coming summer. I’ve tried explaining to her that bugs are important to trees and plants and that bugs live outside and we have to get along with them when we’re outside too. Not much of that is sinking in. I hope she can get over it before summer really gets going. Our family vacation will be one very long week if she doesn’t.
So Thomas pedals to the park, being careful not to get too far away from me – and I can trust him to not run away! (Or pedal away, as the case may be.) Tomorrow it’s supposed to be even warmer and I suggested tonight during baths that we go to a different park. I’ve seen some other neat-looking parks on my jogs and I hope we can try some of them. Thomas is ill-disposed, however. He said that we shouldn’t go to different playgrounds; “that wouldn’t be too much fun.”
Tomorrow is Spring Picture Day at school and I can’t wait to see the kind of picture Thomas brings home. He’s been very into having his picture taken lately. I’ve been selling a lot of old clothes on eBay as I lose weight, and every time I get the camera out to take snaps of these items, Thomas insists that I take a picture of him and then show it to him. It hit me that Thomas and Hayley will never know a time before digital cameras! They’ll never fool around with film and flashcubes (I’m only just barely old enough to remember flash cubes, I swear!) and waiting four days for film to be developed only to find out that Aunt Maude had her eyes closed in every single picture of her at Uncle Joe’s retirement party.
Which brings me to another aspect of life that our children will never remember in its original form: We located and purchased a Nintendo Wii this weekend. Jonathan and I really wanted one (Happy Mother’s Day to me; Happy Father’s day to him) not just for us but for the whole family. I like it better than the average game system because most of the time, you’re standing up making wild, gesticulating motions as you pretend to punch with fists, poke with an epee, display a blazing backhand or perfect a breaststroke. We were playing yesterday and I remember wondering what an alien would think if they were to watch us through our windows as we had what looked like severe seizures in front of the TV. Anyway, the point is that there is more physical activity and coordination required to play this Wii system. You would not believe how much my biceps hurt yesterday from that tennis game! I think those are biceps…anyway, Thomas loves it, too! He is actually really good at the tennis game and Hayley likes to play golf. Thomas laughs so hard when his little character waves the tennis racquet and admittedly, he’s only really able to volley the ball because he’s always moving and therefore his character is always swinging, but he likes it and that’s what’s important. There’s a little “Mii” section of this system where you can create the characters you play with, from the height and body type to face shape, hair color and pretty much every aspect of someone’s appearance. So we made characters for our whole family, plus the kids’ aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. I showed Thomas and Hayley and now they like to see who’s in the stands for tennis, who’s watching at the bowling alley and who’s on their baseball team. It’s very cute! I’m hoping that as they grow, they’ll get better-coordinated with the Wii. We bought a couple games we thought the kids would be better at, but even those were too advanced. I’m going to try to find some games that are rated “EC” for “early childhood.” Those would almost certainly be more appropriate, educational, and easy-to-play. One thing’s for sure: They’ll never remember Atari cartridges and joysticks.
Thursday or Friday, I have to go to kindergarten orientation and I feel rather unprepared. I’m not sure if they’re going to have childcare available – and I don’t know if our home school is even the one Thomas will be attending next year. If our grade school doesn’t offer an MLP class, he’s going to be bussed somewhere else. I’m going to have to call his school or our elementary school tomorrow to find out what I’m supposed to do. We’re not going to decide on Thomas’ placement until May 6, and even then we could change our minds over the summer.
We’re going to the cottage this weekend to put the pier in the water. After we were there two weeks ago, I really don’t dread it. The kids are so good up there now that this is finally the year that things get better! We’ve been waiting for it and now it’s here. Undoubtedly, God will jar me out of my reverie somehow – like I’ll get pregnant or something. (I’m not pregnant, mom. That was a joke.)
