Top 10 Countdown

Since Ethan was born it has been one of our missions for him to like good music. I get that kids like Polly Wolly Doodle and This Old Man and that, but I didn't want to have a child that wanted to listen to that every time we got into the car.

So, we have programmed Ethan to like stuff that we like. And we've found some kiddie-type music that all of us can listen to.

Ethan's Top 10 CD's in order of how I'm remembering them:

1. White Album: Beatles--Ethan loves most of these songs. He can live without Wild Honey Pie and Happiness is a Warm Gun. The cutest thing was when he thought "Dear Prudence" was about a deer.

2. All Together Now: Beatles Kids Album--kids and adults singing Beatles songs.

3. Here Come the 123's: They Might Be Giants--the song about the number 7 is a favorite, this is the best kids album ever!

4. Snacktime: Barenaked Ladies--this one is really good too. So cute and funny. Plus it has a song about Ninjas.

5. Little Shop of Horrors: Movie Soundtrack--Ethan loves this. He was big into this one last month which coincided with his first dentist appointment. He was understandably a little freaked out to go.

6. Juno Soundtrack: Various Artists--he loves this a lot. He reminds me when the swear words are coming up so I can turn it down. ("F*& Bush and f&*% this war" is a "turn it down Mom" lyric. But if he were to swear, that's not the worst thing he could say, is it?)

7. The Muppet Show Soundtrack: Various Muppets--I love Muppets. I wrote in a previous blog that when I was little I wished they were real. Ethan loves them now too. Nothing better than hearing your 4 year old belt out a wicked rendition of Rainbow Connection.

8. Sesame Street Soundtrack: Various Muppets--see above. I frickin' love Muppets! This one is a little more controlled in the car. You can't listen to this over and over again like the others on the list. But, again Muppets are wonderful and "Monster is the Mirror" is hilarious. And a little Elmo never hurt anyone.

9. Seussical the Musical: Various Whos, Horton the Elephant and others--Ethan loves elephants, he names every stuffed/figurine elephant Horton and he loves these songs.

10. The Star Wars Trilogy Soundtrack: Various instruments, such as trombones--Ethan especially likes the Ewok movement.

Green Thumb

I am not good with the plants. I normally kill everything. These flowers above are beautiful and thriving. My mom planted them. Surprisingly enough, I can maintain these because they take little to no work.

Well, the thought of having a garden is totally appealing to me, but also pretty daunting. I'm not sure I have my mom's green thumb. But, some of my favorite things to do as a kid were to plant seeds, pull carrots, dig potatoes, and snap peas and green beans. I want all the E's to have that same experience. So, Mama Schmeck in her infinite wisdom bought me a gardening book and introduced me to a way of gardening that even I shouldn't screw up.
This is called Square Foot Gardening. You build these little boxes and set the grid and plant something in each square. It's above-ground, and you fill it in with the perfect blend of compost, peat moss and vermiculite. It was totally easy. In the next couple of months, this little bitty garden should yield: 1 tomato plant, 4 green bean plants, 4 pea plants, 1 zucchini plant, 2 cucumber plants, 16 carrots, 1 parsley plant, 2 chive plants, and 1 cilantro plant. Plus, I had 7 squares left over for flowers. Check back for my itty bitty garden's progress!

Why Not Minot?

We all went to Minot a couple of weeks ago for a wedding. Now, don't let your jealousy keep you from reading on. I had never been to Minot before, but it was actually a pretty fun place to go. Who knew?! We went to the zoo, stayed at a waterpark, ordered pizza and watched Harry Potter. All in all, it was a nice trip. Minot is something like a billion miles away on a 2-lane highway with little to no scenery. But, who says a vacation shouldn't be earned on the way?!

Always the comedians, Ethan and Emma have to act out a scene in every picture.
Elliot cooperates for the camera, but it won't be long before I can't get a normal picture of him either. Corrupted by siblings!

Happy Birthday Elliot!

Our lil' Elliot turned 1 on May 23rd, with little fanfare. We were out of town for a wedding, so he had a wedding cupcake and some post-wedding swimming at our waterpark hotel. I can't believe he is already 1 year old. -RL

Run Liens Run!!

Woo-hoo!! We came, we saw, we conquered! The 1/2 marathon was so much fun; I am still on the endorphin high of finishing it! Really and truly, it was such an amazing experience. People lined the streets and cheered us on all day.

It was my personal goal to: A. Finish and B. Not get last place. For those of you who don't know this, I did complete a triathalon at the age of 18. I got 12th place of 13 people. So, even finishing 2nd to last would have been fine by me! Well, I have come to find out, I came in more than 500th to last....not bad!

Chris, Sara and I ran together for the first 8 or so miles. Then those 2 pulled ahead (showoffs) and I finished about 5 minutes after them. I, of course, cried when I finished because I was just so happy to be done and there were so many wonderful people along the way. A amputee woman running, a man pushing his brother in a bed-like wheelchair because he suffered a stroke, but wanted to be a part of the marathon, a very elderly man who finished the full marathon in 8 or so hours coming in after everyone else had been long done. It was just one incredible display of strength and endurance after the other. I loved it.

Ethan got to accomplish his own "kids marathon". We ran 1/2 a mile together. I'm not pointing at that random stranger and laughing at him. In fact, I am pointing out Chris and Emma who were cheering him on. I was so proud. The wind knocked him over at one point and he kept going. Running the whole time.

Now he saw them! This is almost the finish line. The last marathoner (must have been 90+ years old) came in just before the kids race. Everyone cheered loudly and gave him a standing ovation.

Here's all of us with our medals. Elliot will be running soon enough and hopefully, we can get Emma back into it. (She fought us on it for months....we let her have her way and sit out....she regretted it today and talked of running next year....you really should listen to your dad and stepmom sometimes.) All in all, it was such a great day. I encourage any of you reading this to try this at least once....it is an indescribable experience. -RL

Bravery...

It took Ethan 4 sessions to build up the courage, but he finally did it! He climbed onto the "big bar" at gymnastics and dropped into the pit. Elliot looked on, unimpressed, but I was very proud.

Tubby Time!

If you are looking at the picture above and not oohing and ahhing, then you are a robot. That picture is damn cute. Until...... the bucket face-smashing starts. Not as cute, but very funny. He looks like he's being sucked back into the Matrix. But then......
there's my cute little punk again. Clean as a whistle, with the wildest hair I've seen on a child.