Time to be honest. Summer vacation can be a stressful time. I love spending time with my boys, but there are days when the fighting, bickering, and other sibling squabbles get old. Then, moments like this happen out of the blue and for absolutely no reason at all…
There was no prompt. I was just lucky enough to have my phone close by to capture this amazing moment. The boys simply curled up on my bed to stay cool and read. JSL rolled over by NHL. Where something could have happened, it didn’t. Instead, NHL pulled his little brother over for a kiss. A genuine sweet moment between two siblings. There was no screaming, yelling, or complaining. The only things I noticed were smiles like this…
The moments like these make the others fade away a little faster. I will cherish these moments because our 18 summers together are happening way too quickly.
P.S. One other message to get out there today:
Happy Birthday to Uncle I! We all hope that you are having a wonderful time and can not wait to see you all soon.
Last Sunday, I decided to head out just with you. Our goal had been to look for a birthday present for NHL. Since the three of us are together every day, it is hard to shop and make things a surprise. When I asked you where you wanted to go, you said to the mall with Build-A-Bear. I agreed to take you there, but told you that we would only look.
When we walked into Build-A-Bear, I watched to see if you noticed the bin of Papa Smurf dolls sitting there. After a while, you stared to ask to make something. You saw Kermit, a cute bear with stars, and then Papa Smurf. You had been asking for Papa Smurf since he came out just after you made Snowflake.
I sent a text message to Daddy. I mentioned that you had some birthday money and perhaps if you really wanted something after your rough week we could let you. When Daddy agreed, you were not sure if it was a trick. Then, you narrowed it down to two choices.
After some time to think about it, you decided that you really wanted to bring Kermit home to your friends. Yes, Kermit had a special place in your heart because he was also a puppet. We both had a lot of fun together during this time. I think to this day you are still shocked that you were able to make him.
In the end, the smiles on your face, the laughter, and the adventures that Kermit has been on have made it even more of a wonderful experience. I can’t wait to watch Kermit continue to bring you comfort. More about our fun making him soon.
The summer months are a beautiful thing for children. It is a time where they are typically more free to select books that they want to read. Rather than being focused on literature that a teacher like I used to select, they can pick items that hit their unique interests.
JSL is not reading on his own just yet, so we have spent a lot of time reading together. He still likes to pick out an occasional picture book, but the Magic Tree House books have become a new favorite. He loves learning where Jack and Annie are going to head next. I love that he helps me read the books, guess outcomes, and retell the story and details when finished reading. Here’s a little fun video that I captured the other night when JSL helped me read his favorite part.
The educational value in the series is huge, while telling a great story with two believable characters. Since JSL ended preschool about a month ago, we have read 24 of the books. We started reading about half a book a day. Then, he begged me to finish off the books. In about 45 minutes before bed, we can go off on an adventure in the Magic Tree House to places near and far, and often very long ago.
Last summer, NHL was busy reading the A to Z Mystery series. They helped him to get rid of the chapter book phobia. This year, he is catching up on some of the last Magic Tree House books. As a gift for the end of third grade, I also bought him the book on the left. Looks funny doesn’t it?
Thanks to his love for all things Muppets, and a very unique writing style from Kirk Scroggs, he quickly read Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet. Listening to him laugh made me add this to my list of must reads. I will be ordering the second book and soon to be released third book shortly. I hope that NHL will also do a video review of the book for me shortly.
In addition to this, TechyDad and NHL are reading a book together. The boys had never read any of the Harry Potter series. (I read them all years ago.) TechyDad has seen all of the movies, and NHL has seen the first two films. Now, the two of them are almost half way done with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
We have told NHL that to continue on with the movies, he must first read the books. TechyDad and I feel that the level of darkness rises up a lot from the second to third movie.
What are you and your family reading this summer? What have you read recently? Please be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else. Tuesday Tales are all about spreading the love for books.
Disclosure: One Amazon affiliate link is included and should you purchase the book mentioned I will receive a small percentage from the sale. As always, all opinions are my own.
As a parent, we often have to pretend not to be worried in front of our children. You know what I mean. Like when the doctor tells you they hear something that is not quite right with your child’s heart. You can not stand there and crumble into pieces. You have to be brave, find out facts, and wait patiently to figure things out. Then, you can also have your child distract you with a major reaction to a vaccine that they had the same day. Yes, that is the way it goes. You move from one worry to another and just keep swimming until you get more answers.
I often joke that this summer is filled with a lot of doctor visits. The first major one was when I had to take JSL to see the cardiologist. I was rather quiet about this leading up to the appointment. Was I worried and scared? Yes, but I also know that many children and adults have innocent murmurs that doctors detect. When we went, I explained to JSL what they would be doing. The EKG was rather traumatic to him. He was not scared of the test itself, the location and window next to him got him very upset. He did fantastic when it was time for the chest x-rays. You would have thought that JSL had done this before.
Then it was time to sit in the exam room to see the doctor. He was fantastic and listened to why we were there. Next, he listened to JSL’s heart and lungs. Seconds later, he told us that we had nothing to worry about. The murmur was innocent, had nothing to do with his heart valves, and no further testing is needed.
Of course, this visit really seemed to take a lot out on JSL. That afternoon he had a dentist appointment. Much to my surprise everything was a struggle. X-rays caused him to gag. He was beyond upset with the water spray during his cleaning and more. Thank goodness our pediatric dentist office is amazing and understood it had been a long day for everyone. After a quick stop at the craft store and the bakery, we made our way home. Just as I was about to pull into the driveway, I looked back and saw my little parrot sleeping.
That day is over, but my parental worries still there for other items on our plate. I hide them well from the boys, but sometimes I think they can read me too well.
How do you mask times when you are stressed and worried so your children do not pick up on them if it involves them?
The two of you adore making crafts. With a smaller house, it is sometimes hard to get into more elaborate items in our space. Last summer, we spent a lot of time at Michaels for their passport art program. One of our favorites was the sand art (Tibetan sand paintings) for China. This year, the library had a sign up for a Sand Card Art activity run by the Scotia-Glenville Traveling Children’s Museum.
When we walked into the room, everything was set up. This is what you both found on the table that we sat at:
Each of the tables around the room were set up the same way. There were items to trace, pencils, scissors, cardboard for glue, glue, q-tips to use with the glue, and cards to design. Then, in the front of the room, there was a table that had a table cloth strategically set up on it.
One of the librarians introduced the nice woman from the museum who explained the steps in making the sand art. She also showed everyone some card examples. Once she was done, it was time to get to creating. Both of you wanted to make a dinosaur, so you began with that.
After the dinosaur, you both created some other items and it was fun to watch. NHL, you wanted to make the scar that is on Harry Potter along with his name. JSL you did more modern art and mixed sand color technique.
One other thing that I noticed was the table where the sand had been sitting at the start. The sand colors on the table cloth were just fascinating to look at themselves.
Although it was hard to keep up with both of you at the same time, it really was a lot of fun. I can not wait to head to more events over the rest of the summer with you. Oh and perhaps we will get some supplies to try sand art for the holidays.
Love,
P.S. A huge thank you to the libraries in the area for hosting such amazing programs for the kids over the summer. Your patience and smiles are greatly appreciated.
. Listening to him laugh made me add this to my list of must reads. I will be ordering the second book and soon to be released third book shortly. I hope that NHL will also do a video review of the book for me shortly.
