and i'm done

I'm starting to think Neland may be a little bit better off without my parenting.  On Wednesday, I could hear the boys arguing (and Neland whining - it's a high pitched whine mixed with tears) and I knew he was going to come find me soon to tell me what terrible offense Teague had committed. Sure enough, he appeared in the doorway and tells me Teague took the truck that he had. As he wipes tears from his eyes, I so ungraciously and completely fed up replied, "Neland just take it back." To which he looked straight at me and said, "But I don't want to hurt his feelings."

And at that point I realized my five year old was a much kinder person that me.

He also currently has a cold and was struggling to sleep last night. We eventually sent him to our room to sleep thinking he might be more comfortable (he claims our covers are much better and softer than his). Twice he got out of bed and came to the playroom to ask us when we were coming to bed. The second time he added, "I just really want to snuggle you Mommy." Needless to say, I went to bed. Too soon he'll be six, and then sixteen and those snuggles are going to disappear before I'm ready.

He has become very independent recently. There were a few mornings he woke, dressed, made his bed, brushed his teeth, all before coming to see me. He was proud and told me that he's ready for kindergarten soon. The pictures are from him dressing himself. Some days are more impressive than others.

spring training

Three weeks ago, Neland started T-ball.

And loves it.

And on Saturday mornings, Chris and Neland leave the house early for a special breakfast together. Afterwards they head to the baseball field an hour before practice to work on skills. I think they both cherish the time together. Teague and I appreciate the time sitting on the couch in PJs waiting for our breakfast to be delivered after practice.

The first weekend of practice, everyone went (including Grandma and Grandpa). Teague is not easy to entertain, which is one reason he doesn't go anymore. 

roly pollies in the grass

The Mighty Lasers (the team name) have their first game in one week!

A special visitor

The morning after we returned from California we had a very special, surprise, plan. Neland's teacher was visiting from Ireland and we were having breakfast! The boys did not know the plan, but I did tell them we were seeing someone special.

We were on California time, Miss Jean was on Ireland time, but we all had a great time!

Miss Jean is very loved and very missed by all of us!

California - part 2

The Friday and Saturday of our visit, Chris ended up spending a lot of time with the boys (and grandma and grandpa). I had girl time preparing for the wedding. Unfortunately it means I don't have pictures. I hear there was a lot of pool time, Gayles (our favorite restaurant) and maybe even a Target run.

Once we met up at wedding and reception, photo ops were every where.

The bluff where the wedding took place

As I walked down the aisle, I saw Teague seating on the end of the aisle. I even got a wave from him. By the time I'd reach my spot and turned around, he was sitting with Grandpa and during the ceremony, fell asleep. He slept the entire walk to the reception and through cocktails.

There was a playground adjacent to the reception site. Once the kids saw it, they stayed there until it was too dark to play.

After playground festivities, the draw was cupcakes. I think the boys may have had one of each (cookies and cream was a favorite, but mango was a close second).

And the final big event for the boys - DANCING!

There was a lot of dancing, but Teague tired quickly. Neland could have danced all night.

Teague, exhausted, demanded anyone he could convince to dance while holding him. 

Needless to say, we had a very quiet Sunday morning. It was chilly but we took a walk to the cliffs.

On the way back Neland said he saw deer. I completely thought he made it up, but we walked down the path and there they were.

The boys loved the trails at the resort and felt at liberty to follow them.

The next series of photos are some of my favorites, not necessarily for the quality but for the story. 

The boys love building blocks and Bea loved tearing them down (which is usually Teague's role but for some reason he was building them this time and not destroying). I took this moment to remind Neland it's what little ones do, and then asked him if he still wants 100 more brothers and sisters.

Monday morning we headed to the aquarium. I don't think we've ever made it all the way through (although maybe if you put our two trips together we have). The boys could only talk about sharks the whole way there.

The jellyfish exhibit had their attention for quite awhile. But then we spent a lot of time watching sharks in the big tank (no good pictures though).

The boys (and Mumsie) explored catching food as sharks and as whales. 

Teague love penguins. He probably could watch them all day. One even swam right in front of him for a while. We thought we might head back to the aquarium after lunch, but the boys were exhausted. Teague even slept all the way home (and then in the car while we sat there and let him sleep).

I think I could claim her as mine, no one would question it right?

We met up with Roshan, who according to Neland, should start making books on tape. He enjoys Roshan reading to him (mainly because the Roshan reads the Library of Congress page which sounds like gibberish to a five year old - or maybe anyone).

Snuggles with a special auntie before the days adventures.

While the ladies shopped, the boys hiked (although technically Teague was carried)

After the days adventures we ended with a trip to the beach before dinner (and which was followed by another trip to the beach for smores).

An archery lesson before dinner. 

After dinner we took a golf cart down for smores on the beach. 

Apparently it was smores on the beach in hurricane force winds. The fire blew completely sideways and there was no chance of a marshmallow catching fire for too long because the wind would blow it out immediately when it left the pit.

Our brave group, all bundled up. The boys had pjs on under their clothes and then we wrapped them in blankets which was still not enough. It was cold.

The next day bright and early we headed back to the airport. We turned in our awesome minivan, hopped on the train and made our way to our gate.

Then we endured the very long flight home. Where Neland, as always, was sweet and listened, and Teague, as way too often, was demanding and argumentative. Landing involved a lot of screaming, including the phrase, "Bad Mommy" and kicking the seat in front of him as hard as he could. I'm usually really happy to exit a plane, but I think nothing could top how excited I was to get off the plane after that experience.

After our trip, about once a day, I had to answer the question of when we could go back. Which honestly I think is a question we all have.

California - part 1

A few weeks ago we went on an adventure to California. We went for Auntie Eliza's wedding and like the last time we went (two and half years ago - preblog), we decided to stay Wednesday to Wednesday. It gave us time to enjoy wedding festivities and to explore afterwards as well.

I'm sure it's no surprise I took a ton of pictures (although unfortunately I did not have my camera for most of the wedding day). I thought I'd start documenting with our flight out there and first full day.

This time, unlike the past, we decided to take a direct flight (Chris sacrificed a day in Vegas in October by giving up his seat for a later flight and thus getting a voucher that helped even out the expense of going direct - always looking out for his family). It cut our travel time down quite a bit and made me a less nervous flyer (one take off and landing beats two in my book). Teague was so excited to fly! The last time we went he was 6 months old so this was a big deal to him. Neland was thrilled as well. During the flight the boys snacked, watched Curious George on our iPod (that is probably as old as Neland), read books and did puzzles (and dropped puzzle pieces on the floor). After six hours in the air, Teague was completely done with flying. Landing was me wrestling him to keep his seatbelt on. Last time we flew the boys were in car seats. I thought for sure Teague was old enough to understand "keep your seatbelt fastened" but I really regretted not having the car seat on the plane for him. Another fun thing about landing is that when you fly into SFO it looks like you're landing on the water. Neland flipped out on our last flight, and this time Teague was sure we were in landing in the water as well. It didn't help they'd taken out the emergency landing instructions during our flight and asked why the plane in the pictures was in water (seriously not questions I want to answer while I'm shaking in fear from flying already).

The boys were invited into the cockpit after we landed. Neland had a lot of questions.

Once one the ground it took us a good two hours to get our bags, our new car (another huge deal to boys - we got a minivan - Neland's dream car). An hour into the drive Neland said, "See guys I told you minivans are fun."

We arrived at our home for the week and fell in love immediately. We were on cliffs overlooking the beach with three heated pools at our disposal. Add that to the fact we now had a minivan, and the boys could not have been happier. Even better, we were very close to Aunt Liz's house (Neland's favorite house by far) and a lot of people we love.

Neland was so excited to be at Aunt Liz's house, with family, dogs and toys.

Within walking distance of the resort was a little shopping "village" with groceries, restaurants and other fun things. Most mornings we'd walk to a coffee shop for lattes, bagels, eggs or oatmeal. This was our view on the walk.

We headed down to see the beach. The water is cold, very cold, but it did not deter Neland. He was so excited to be at the beach. Teague was as well, but he was not a fan of the cold water.

After the beach, it was time for the pool.

After a day on the beach and swimming in the pool, the boys were able to head back over to Aunt Liz's  to see family and have dinner. It was a great beginning to our vacation.