Whats Mine is Mine and Whats Yours is Mine

Anyone who has kids under 5 understands that one of the hardest concepts for kids to understand is sharing. And for those of us lucky enough to have two kids under 5, well it is just twice as fun. I spend a great deal of time refereeing over everything - from who has the Tom and Jerry milk glass to who gets to get out of the car first when we get to school.

When the kids were first old enough to get into the sharing squabbles, I tried to solve the problem by getting two of a lot of things. Unfortunately I made the rookie mistake of getting things that were not identical. Clearly the purple sippy cup was far superior to the red one and I don't even want to talk about the legendary fights over the green crayon. So obviously my second solution was to buy things that were exactly the same. Not surprisingly, that strategy also failed miserably. Somehow, it always seemed that whatever toy one had the other thought that one was vastly superior, even though they the held the duplicate in their hands. So what's a Mom to do?? (Other than the obvious of teaching my kids how to share better).

Today was my stab at solution number three. The kids for awhile have needed new buckets to play in the dirt and so today I bought them each one. But I also bought them some stickers to go along with it - in particular letter stickers. The kids really enjoyed using the stickers to put their own names on their buckets (and a good spelling lesson too as well as fine motor) and I got them other stickers to help decorate them. Voila...

We played outside for a good hour or so and their was not one argument of whose bucket was whose and when Raif got home from work they couldn't wait to show him what they made.

I think I need to invest in a lot more letter stickers....

Belated 4th of July Pics

First Pigtails

Row, Row, Row Your Boat....

Gently down the Harpeth River...

Last week I saw an ad with a happy family floating down a stream in a canoe and thought "Hey, we should do that." The closer we got the more nervous I became. Would the kids like it - especially Greyson? Would we tip over like 1,000 times? What the hell was I thinking???

But as it turned out - we had a great time. It did start out a little rough, though. They were nervous getting in and to make matters worse the river was a bit shallow in some places (quite the understatement) and there were a lot of times when the bottom of the boat would hit rocks. They certainly didn't like the bumps and Raif had no affection for having to get out and push as often as he did. But the deep, calm places were a hit. Once they got comfortable enough to move around a bit they thoroughly enjoyed putting their hands in the water and splashing around and eventually they even tried out the paddles. The movement from one side of the canoe to the other definitely kept Raif and I on our toes but we managed the whole trip without tipping once. We saw fish and turtles and for awhile chased a heron down the river which the kids loved. All things considered a pretty good start to our holiday. All of us in a canoe for 2 1/2 hours and not one fight - impressive.

A Cultured Evening Out

Every Thursday in June and July at Cheekwood (our local botanical garden) they have "Family Night Out" where different performers come and sing or have puppet shows and the like for kids of all ages. Tonight was Rachel Sumner's Patriotic Extravaganza. We went a bit early and explored the ponds of Cheekwood.

Then it was off to have a picnic dinner on the grass...
And finally the entertainment. Rachel had a very participatory show. At first the kids were hesitant to join but when Rachel brought out the shaky egg Quinn couldn't resist. After that she was hooked. When Rachel called for 6 year old volunteers Quinn went up.

When she called for the 8 year olds Quinn went up.

And when she called for dancers of all ages Quinn went up. Quinn shook her booty and played a shaky egg as well as an old-time washboard using a toothbrush. Rachel was also big on home made instruments and actually played a couple of songs on a turkey baster if you can believe it. Greyson, you ask? Well it should come as no surprise that he enjoyed the show from the comforts of the blanket - far far away from anything that would be considered participatory..

Fun at the Hoodin Stop

G: I am leaving.
R: Where are you going?
G: To the Hoodin Stop
R: What is the Hoodin Stop?
G: (obviously exasperated at the question) "Geez, it's where you get dirt and gas." (Drives trike to mud-pile and proceeds to shovel dirt into the rear bucket).
R: Can I come to the Hoodin Stop?
G: No - you are too old.
R: Oh
M: Greyson - how do you spell Hoodin Stop?
G: (even more exasperated at the idiocy of this question than the last) Mom - can't you read the sign right above us that says "Hoodin Stop?" It's right there.

Can't believe I missed it.

The Science of Summer

And cooperation....