Surviving the Heat

We have survived, so far.  It's been incredibly hot out. Very humid, minimal cloud coverage, and blazing temperatures. Lucian says it's too bright outside! At least it is no longer cold. That's how it is around here: complain about the cold, complain about the hot. Rain and storm weather are the only rejoice. We haven't been caught in any more storms recently, but we certainly have had tornado weather. I like to talk about the weather we experience. I find some of it quite odd. Plus, it is interesting to live in a tornado region where it isn't uncommon to hear sirens go off, to see tornado inducing storms, and super strong winds with freezing sideways rain. I've stayed up some nights just to watch in amazement. It truly is neat.

Ok, back to the boys. Lucian recently went through kinderstart, a two week kindergarten prep class. He liked it. Well as he put it "It's ok for one day". Not sure how he is going to do with 3 more hours of it each day for a full school year. Around here they start at the end of July and get out in, I think, June. It's a very long year for kids, and I don't really the all year round mentality. Kids need summer. They need a break just like adults do. They need to experience being a kid outside of an institution. Every time I go to the school I envision Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. It truly is fitting. School is nothing like it was when I was a child. We didn't have desks, dress codes, and safe spaces. He did get a cool Minecraft back pack and was able to utilize his R2D2 lunch pail. He made some friends in his class, but he doesn't know any of their names (heh that's my boy). He seems to like his teacher as well, which is good. Right now, the plan is to start again in Fall and see how it goes.  I think it is going to be hard for him to go everyday all day, especially in winter when it gets dark so early. Joseph thinks he will do fine once he gets used to it. I guess I am just unconventional (and nonconforming). Worse comes to worse, I think I could be a really good teacher ;-)

Apollo is Mr. curiosity. He gets into anything he finds. He wants to eat everything too. It he sees food, he wants to try it. He has tried more things than I can count. There is very little that he doesn't like. That kid loves greens. Bitter? No problem, he will eat it. He pulls chard and mint from the garden and eats it. He loves plants and being outside. It makes him so happy. Even more than Lucian at that age. Being outside is instantly calming for him.  I'm starting to wonder if it has something to do with all the time I spent in the garden when I was pregnant with him. We go outside and walk everyday. We check the mail 3-5x a day. The neighbor probably thinks I'm nuts.  But he loves it, so why not? Now if I could only get him to keep a hat on his head. I'm always worried he is going to get burned on his head. He has strawberry blonde hair, so his scalp is still very visible. At the end of June, this little bugger will be 8 months old. He is able to crawl, he has mastered climbing the stairs, he can pull himself into a standing position, and walk with assistance. Lucian was definitely the better walker (he never crawled), but Apollo still loves to move like his brother.

They certainly have brotherly love. Lucian loves to go up to his brother and give him hugs. He has saved him from falling and hurting himself multiple times. He even includes him in games. Apollo gets a huge smile every time he sees his big brother. He always tries to crawl or walk to him. He loves to make his way into Lucian's bedroom to visit. Apollo will definitely be looking up to his brother. Lucian is such a good kid and brother. I don't know how I got so lucky.

We aren't without triumph. We have hard days too. Or, as Lucian puts it, "bad days". Days when Apollo refuses to nap and is cranky all day, or Lucian gets upset because we have to leave the house, or Mama and Daddy are frustrated because we can't get anything done. In the end, it doesn't matter. We are just blessed to have each other and the time we get to spend together. Even if it doesn't turn out the way we hoped!

Lastly, Happy Father's Day to Joseph! The Father of our house and our beautiful boys. Even when we all give him a hard time he is there for us. So thank you, for sticking with us even when the times get tough.

Short Summer is a Bummer

We officially have summer weather, which is very exciting. Unfortunately, summer will be short in this house. Lucian starts kindergarten at the end of July. Yes, they start that early around here. This week and next week is prep class that we signed him up for. It allows kids to meet some of their classmates and to get used to the kindergarten routine. Sadly, none of the schools around here have part time kindergarten unless you go to a private school. So, I guess we will see how it goes. Next option will be homeschooling. They are required to wear a specific uniform per se. Khaki or navy pants with a solid collared shirt. So much for expressing yourself at school. I certainly feel for the kids these days; it's like they can't just be kids. Well we have a few shirts and plenty of shorts (thanks grandpa). Now we just need to get the standard school list stuff, which I don't think has been released yet. At least that part is pretty fun for kids. At least, I always enjoyed it.

Outside of school prepping, we have been invaded with sickness. The boys are sick after our recent trip to the children's museum. I always hope it isn't going to happen, but kind of expect it to at this point. Happens every time. It's like a parade of sick kids are always at the museum. Licking the toys and coughing in your face. Actually, I had a grandparent cough directly in my face last time we were there. Luckily, I seem alright at this point. We also have gone to some garage sales, went to pick strawberries, and saw the Angry Birds movie. The boys really enjoyed eating, I mean picking, strawberries. We ended up with about 5 lbs. We didn't want them to go bad, so they were turned into fruit leather via the dehydrator. They turned out alright for our first fruit leather making experience. We got a little more than we bargained for in our strawberry picking experience. In the past when we've gone fruit picking it was an open strawberry field and you fill up the little container or bring your own.  This place was different. It was organized and they gave you a box that holds about 10 lbs of strawberries. They assigned us a row to go down for picking. Then you put a little flag where you stopped so they know what areas have been picked through. The boys were doing more eating than picking. Ok, we all were. Apollo looked like a zombie baby when we were finished with all the red juices dried to his clothes and face. It was cute. It was a beautiful, sunny day until the clouds rolled in and we were stuck in a storm. Freezing cold rain and strong winds cleared the fields rather quickly. People took refuge in the nearby brush. It was very cold. Joe and I were soaked from blocking the kids. Luckily, Apollo had some coverage from the backpack carrier. Lucian and I followed the old guy next to us into the wooded area for extra coverage. We survived the storm and came out only slightly traumatized. We followed it up with pie and honey sticks. Then the boys passed out on the long drive home. It was certainly an experience. Luckily, no tornadoes came through. Hopefully, I managed a few decent picking pictures.

Looking forward to our next adventure :)