Cooperation

To say my son is obsessed with Legos is an understatement. With the exception of eating and watching/playing hockey the boy would build Legos 24/7. I can't say that I mind because it is such a nice quiet activity..especially when he does it at 6:30 in the morning which allows me to get a few more minutes of sleep. But even better than building Legos...building them with somebody....anybody.

So last week while I was making dinner both Daddy and Quinn sat down and built with Greyson. The rule: each person could only put on two pieces then had to pass it to the next person. So around and around they went until dinner time when they presented me with this...

It's a boat, it's a plane, with the tree on top it is clearly environmental. Quite impressive what three brilliant minds and a little bit of cooperation can come up with.

One Fish, Two Fish

We have completed Week 1 of swim lessons and as you can see from my little fish, it appears to be money well spent. I would have taken a picture of Greyson but he was FAR too busy playing with his BFF Yohannes to be bothered with his Mom.

Trainspiration (A Week of Art by Greyson)

Happy Father's Day...

To an amazing husband and father.

Love you babe!

Things That Go (A week of Art by Quinn)

(A UFO (or as Quinn calls it a rocket ship for aliens), a rocket ship for humans, a plane and a hot air balloon)
(School Bus)
(A Train)
("Stained Glass" Train)


And stay tuned as we get her clay pieces back in mid-July.

My little Clairee

I am a girl of the 80's which means by law, one of my favorite movies is Steel Magnolias. One of my favorite lines from my favorite movie is when Clairee Belcher slyly bemuses "If you don't have anything nice to say about anybody, come sit by me."

Yes, on occasion, I might have a, shall we say, SLIGHTLY derogatory comment to make about a person or two. And generally my husband is the only one who is lucky enough to hear my personal commentary. I mean, my children who are only 4 and 5 years old, they can't possibly really listen and comprehend what I am talking about, right?

Last night as Raif and I were eating dinner and telling each other about our day, I MIGHT have mentioned my slight frustration with the woman sitting at the table with Quinn and I at art camp. I might have told Raif that I was slightly annoyed at the fact that she was doing all the projects herself and her son really wasn't doing, what was suppose to be her child's art project. I mean, we talked about a lot of things last night, so I can't really remember whether I actually said that or not.

All that being said, I have no idea where the idea came from when my daughter, in her very straight forward and a tad condescending voice, piped up during art class today and said "You know, you should really let your son do his own work." to the woman across the table from us (who by the way was doing all the work). Where do kids pick this stuff up....must be TV (oh wait Quinn doesn't watch TV)....must be school (oh wait, she is out of school). Hmmm, I must look into this further.


(Oh, and Grandma, lest you think that I am the only one guilty of said crimes you may need to help me figure out who put the seed in Quinn's mind about the little girl who screamed in class because yesterday while out on our daily walk Quinn kindly informed the Mother "Your daughter shrieks a lot.")

The Perils of a Multi-Discipline Education

Out of the blue Greyson asked me today.....

"Can we play Chihuly?"

(For those of you who don't know, Dale Chihuly is a master glassblower. His work is amazing and we saw his exhibition here last summer at Cheekwood.)

Hmmm, that is an interesting request but I thought, well he is in art camp this week more than likely they are talking about Chihuly so perhaps that is where he picked it up.

"Absolutely Greyson, go for it."

He ran off and I was expecting him to come back to me with some art material requests. After a few minutes he returned, walking on his feet and hands with his butt up in the air.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing Chihuly."

"Then why are you doing that?"

"This is how Chihuly walked when he was a little boy."

Hmmmm, I am pretty sure that Chihuly did indeed NOT walk on his hands and feet with his butt up in the air when he was a kid but I went with it.

"How do you know that?"

"We read it."

"Really, did you read that in art class?"

"Mmmmm" (Not really paying attention.) "OK Quinn, you do it too."

Now I had two butt walkers.

"Seriously, Greyson, where did you learn that?"

Very exasperated at this point "We read it in the book, Mommy."

"What book?"

"The book about his life."

OK, we have a Chihuly book but we haven't read it to the kids and I know it doesn't discuss such topics. Then it dawned on me.

"Are you actually playing Mowgli from The Jungle Book?"

"Yes, Mowgli."

Master Glassblower - Man cub raised by wolves. It is tough to keep all those people straight in one's head, I suspect, when you are 5.

A Little Peace

This week is one of our favorite weeks during the summer. Art Camp!! And for the first time my little man is old enough to go to camp by himself (sniff, sniff, he is growing too fast). Every morning he happily heads off by himself to his art studio and will be spending the week doing art projects all about trains (seriously what could be better for a boy of 5?) leaving Quinn and I to tackle her very last Mommy and Me class before she heads off to big girl camp next year. Quinn enjoys the one on one time and I enjoy having a little girl for just a moment longer.

But while I am enjoying art class with my little Quincess it is actually the hour after class that I am savoring. With Quinn's class ending an hour before Greyson's we have some time to kill before we can leave. We have found quiet places to listen to nature and dance through the trees and gardens; hunted the perfect spot to sit and listen to a story (I listen, she reads) and laugh and giggle in the warm summer breeze. I am happy.

Dancing Queen

(Deep down inside I am really happy that this day is all about Quinn....it is just really, really deep down.)

(See...I have a little love for her)

How Far We've Come

Greyson this week had his first of several camps....basketball at BGA. He spent his afternoons dribbling and shooting and Quinn and I spent our afternoons running errands. I sneaked in on his final day to try to watch his pick-up game and snap a few shots, which, as you can tell were sad and pathetic.


He did well and even his coach remarked to me that he was good. But none of that really mattered to me. What mattered to me is that my little boy, who less than a year ago clung to my skirts for dear life when anything unfamiliar came his way, every morning ran into the gym without a care in the world and with a half hearted goodbye to me over his shoulder as he went.

We've come a long way.

And is it crazy that I now am sad that he doesn't even give me a hug goodbye anymore??

All Dressed Up......

After a week of living in either jammies, underwear, swimsuit or a random combination of any of those I thought it might be nice to look a tad presentable when we went to Cheekwood to see Conductor Jack in the first of the Family Night Out Series.

Greyson took my idea to heart, begging to wear his new suit. After gently explaining that a suit in 90 degree weather might not be the most comfortable we compromised on this....

Unfortunately, I didn't take the picture before he took off his navy blue socks and suede Sperries - they really made the outfit.

(That is Quinn in the background trying to make him smile. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she needed to be where Greyson could actually see her.)

I wish I could say that Greyson was the best dressed man there but alas there was one man with more daring fashion sense than my son. Conductor Jack.....


It takes a bold man to wear overalls past the age of 3.

As you can tell my kids had a miserable time.....

Looking forward to the rest of the Family Series this summer.

Summer Is....