Quack, Quack!

We recently took a walk around Town Lake and fed the ducks.  Most of the time when we go we end up having to hunt for hungry ducks.  This time we ran out of feed for them before we were 1/4 of the way through our journey.

Merritt was SOSOSOSO excited!  He was talking up a storm.  I tried to capture it with some success (see video at the end of the post).

He could not get close enough.  He would have walked right into the "lake" and kept going if we weren't there to distract him with other ideas.

What you can't see is the over 5 feet of distance between that edge and the bottom.  I was a very quiet mommy for those few minutes that the boys wanted to walk along the edge.

Step One:  Start Digging

Step Two:  Take Off Shoes

Step three:  Dare the Ants to Bite

We really did have a great time. We made it all the way around the "lake" with lots of play at the park, petting lots of dogs, watching a team of girls play softball, and saying hi to all the walkers/joggers.  The best moment was when we were able to say HI to a policewoman and pet the horse she was riding.  Oh, that was a MOMENT for Merritt! 

Today in School: Next Stop, France

Here are some links I used to do my planning:
http://www.pocanticohills.org/france/france.htm
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/france/
http://www.french4tots.co.uk/
http://www.mamalisa.com/?p=22&t=ec&c=22
http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Countries-Around-the-World-Themes.aspx

Lots of cooking and language for our study on France.  And, let's face it, who needs a huge excuse like this to make crepes!  Our favorite!

We've got to make some cave paintings (oldest one is in France).  Our own Eiffel Tower.  I'm tempted to do this one.

ART: Well, there is a Henry Matisse piece at the Dallas Museum of Art, but the exhibit on Jean Paul Gaultier will be there in November. We'll see if we have time before we move on to Dubai this weekend.  (I do wish we lived closer to the Met to show them Monet; there is nothing like seeing that in person. I'd make time for that.)

We'll read The Little Prince.

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Today, we held a Tour de France.  (great way to get Everett excited about riding the big wheel and his scooter.  We are finally making headway in helping feel comfortable in taking chances on wheels) 

We also used Putamayo's French Cafe CD to get in the mood--love Putamayo CDs. 

And, we had, ah-hem, lots of chocolate.  All in the name of learning, right!  (we'll have to try the favorite kid snack in France of two pieces of bread with a chocolate bar in between the slices)

Note from Dad

Ciao Famiglia – 
Wow!!!  Buonissimo!!  I am so impressed with your Italian finale.  I wish I was there.

I am off to France.

Love you,
Dad

"Mom! You have to come see this . . .

" . . . But it has to stay in my bedroom."

9:10 pm

Everett's bedroom

Yes, he is supposed to be asleep, in bed.

No, he isn't.  He is busy putting others to bed, evidently.

Evy takes very good care of his baby lion and baby "cat." 

Today in School: Italy Finale

We cooked up the pasta and sauce, worked together to decorate the table (candle and FAST cars, because, you know, Ferraris).

Lemonada in light-up cups, spagetti with meatballs, lasagna, snippets of operas by Andrea Bocelli in the background, and lots of "cheers" with clinking of our cups (a must as described by Everett)--"Salute!" . . . and gelato.

We talked about everything that we had learned about Italy.  It was quite a bit!

We love you, Dad, and we'll "see" you tomorrow in France!

Boys in Action

Today in School: Magic Milk

It was beautiful outside today.  This morning we had school with Merritt mostly outside.  I used an idea from here because it is cool and I already had all the items for it.

We added food coloring to containers of milk and then used a MAGIC wand (toothpick dipped in soap) to watch the colors move.  And, boy did they MOVE.  It was magical to watch.  Evy's magic milk really would churn for a minute or so once he used his wand.  He did use quite a bit of coloring and layered the colors on each other before using the wand.

We then sponge painted with the dyed milk.  Everett enjoyed that part; Merritt went off to play in his water toys.

Conversations with Dad

We talk to Dad over the internet, with our webcams, when he is away.  He recently took some pictures, without us knowing, during one of our chats.

Here is a typical snapshot of what our conversations are like. This was towards the end of the conversation.  I was ready for a naptime:

You can totally tell that Merritt has a plan.  I was just hoping they weren't going to lick me.

Yep, there he goes!

The boys are for sure able to help Dad feel right at home when we talk.

Brag Alert: The Duvet Cover

Evy is all about comfort at bedtime.  The silky, minky blanket that I made for him when he was a toddler is a bit too small for him now.

I found a down duvet on sale this summer (thanks to a friend who took me to the mall  . . . something I hadn't done in months.  no, I don't get out much).

And, I finally made the duvet cover this week with two flat sheets and a borrowed sewing machine (thanks, Mom!).  Perfect timing for the cooler weather.

He is ready!

Today in School: Italy Field Trip or Merritt's First BeeSting

Today we went wild with olives, gelato, cheese, and picking out food for our Italian Dinner tomorrow. At first as we drove into Dallas, I wondered at the wisdom of taking the boys into Dallas during rush hour. In the end, the trip was worth the effort. Love field trips!

Evy was amazed at the variety in sizes of the olives.  Didn't want to taste any, but did comment on how he wondered how they "stuffed" them.  This helped us.



Evy's first lasting response to the video:  "Don't their hands get tired?"  Second lasting response:  "That cap machine is COOL!"

Our drive-by the Ferrari dealership (of course we remembered those awesome cars are from Italy) was derailed for the outing because of traffic . . . so, we went to the park with dinner and lemonades, only to be attacked by bees.

Merritt took the brunt of the attack with his face.  (Okay, we weren't really swarmed, but we were "mobbed" by the bees.)  After Merritt took a hit, Evy screamed like he did as well.  No worries, just bee fear ignited.

We rushed to Grandma's house, near the park we were at; she very bravely drove back to her house to let us in even though it made her late for her Friday Night plans.  (Double score for us because Grandma is a NURSE!  Oh, yeah!)

THANK YOU, GRANDMA!!

An application of meat tenderizer, some benadryl, and a *brownie* (thanks, Grandma!) . . . well, he was as right as rain and ready to feed the beloved family dog some treats.

In all, he was pretty lucky. 

You should have seen the size of the stinger.  It was ginormous, much bigger than I thought was attached to the bees that were around us.  I am not severely allergic to bee stings, and Erik isn't severely allergic, but neither of the boys had been stung before today and I was a little worried.  Poor Merritt.  He started complaining before bed that his head owie was hurting. Hopefully the ibuprofen will help him.

So, in school we practiced our Italian, saw lots of food from Italy, ate some things from Italy, planned to eat more things, and learned about bee stings.  Almost sounds like we could skip the next day of school!  Nope, we've got Ferraris and pastas on the brain at our house.

So Kah-ewt

Merritt is really starting to express himself these days.  One of the words that he likes to use is:  cute.

He points at the broken sewing maching:  Kah-ewt!
The banana:  Kah-ewt!
The trashcan:  Kah-ewt!
The puppy:  Kah-ewt!
The picture of the baby: Kah-ewt!

So, I point at me and say, "Is mommy cute?"

"NO," he says firmly and without hesitation.

Snaps from my birthday

Just look at Merritt freebasing that icing.  Full fist and all.

Head Baker

This is how preschoolers learn to match.  "Oh, it is ALL Lightning McQueen!!!!!"