kids | The Zimmer Zoo

Staycation – Day 4

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Nancy

Another really great day! (except for one melt-down where Burke had buyer’s remorse and wanted Maggie’s toy choice instead of his own…)

We took a train trip! (well, a commuter rail trip, but that’s still a train!!) Daddy and Brenda (the nanny) take the train all the time, so we knew the kids were very curious about this…and have even tried to sneak out with one or the other.

Waiting on the train

On the train

So today we walked the 3-ish blocks and took the train two stops down to a “new-to-us” beautiful town park. THE best trees there!! One was the *perfect* climbing tree. I put Burke up into it, and at first he was like, “Hey woman, what the heck are you doing to me??”

But then he got it and was totally into it.

One in the tree

Maggie went up next.

Two in the tree

…and even Logan got in on the fun!

Three in a tree

The other tree was just so big and beautiful; it gave off lots and lots of shade. We sat and had snacks under it, and then got a little wet because the fix-it guys were playing with the sprinklers LOL (For some reason, Logan wasn’t laughing as much as I was…)

Snacks

We walked around the town and played tourists for a little bit. Went into the cutest bookstore and then another pretty cool toy store. We got some new Sandra Boynton books and then Burke and Maggie picked out trains to match the tracks we have at home. It TOTALLY felt like a “real” vacation 🙂

Then back on the train to come home. We tired the kids out so much that we didn’t even get the typical “NO HOME!!” screams on the way back! They were walking pretty slowly those last 3 blocks…

Going home

All this before lunch…

Burke wasn’t interested in eating, he just wanted to open the new toys and set the tracks up – which is when he realized that Maggie’s train is a wee bit cooler than his is. Not good. Luckily, Maggie was a sweetie pie and let him play with it just enough to make him *almost* think it’s his. (She reminded him enough in certain subtle ways that it’s not…)

More back yard play with daddy until the trains were missed. LOL It was also pretty hot again, so it was good they weren’t out for too long.

In keeping with the impromptu train theme, the kids had fun playing train in on of the empty boxes we have around. Well. I should say that we have boxes that are supposed to house toy parts…but very typically end up empty. 😉

Box train

And the trains are now upstairs in bed with the twins. I’d say the theme day was a success!

Filed under: kids | Tagged: staycation, trains | 4 Comments »

Staycation – Day 3

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Nancy

Today was a GREAT day! The kids were really good (well, as good as kids can get anyway 😉 ) Gabriel came home, and it was a pretty relaxing day.

We started out lazing about until the twins’ gym class. As always, they have super fun…and are always the ones running around and not necessarily following directions. Mike was able to see them in action – so that was cool.

We came home and went for a short drive to bring the lawn mower to a local repair guy. (hopefully he’ll be able to fix it before the yard looks like a jungle, and for not too much!!).

Then we went for a short walk around the block to hang up posters for the missing cat. MAN OH MAN it was hot today!!

We hung out in the back yard and in the kiddie pool for the rest of the afternoon. Heaven. 🙂 Logan had a few firsts as well: waving to daddy and riding on a tricycle!

Believe it or not, this next picture was not staged. (okay, anyone with kids believes it – they don’t cooperate enough to sit still for a picture like this LOL!)

At dinner time, we came in and Logan had a few food firsts as well: real sweet potatoes (instead of the Gerber smooshed-up kind) and raviolis (Costco brand – which are actually quite tasty!).

Mike went outside to move the sprinklers and gave a happy shout. I knew immediately that he saw Gabe…and that he’d probably scared the crap out of him LOL But he was able to calm Gabe down enough to snag him and bring him back inside. (He’s sitting at my feet right now…)

A good day. 🙂

Filed under: cats, kids | Tagged: staycation | 4 Comments »

Staycation – Day 2

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Nancy

Today was an up and down day. There was: dinner and a movie (sorta), temper tantrums, house cleaning, and then a great gathering of wonderful ladies. I’m TIRED!

We took the twins to their first movie theater movie: Wall-E. It was pretty cute. Their attention was captured by it and they were very good through the whole thing (they ARE my little vidiots 😉 ). Burke got a LITTLE antsy toward the end, but he chowed down on popcorn and had a grand time. Logan stayed with the nanny (Brenda).

Then came the time to leave. . . screeching ensued. *sigh* It really makes me not want to bring him anywhere fun when he does this. (we had an episode leaving the park yesterday as well…) I really hope he grows out of this phase FAST.

We dropped them off at home with Brenda and hit home depot. Romantic, huh? 😉 And then went for an early dinner at the local Japanese Steak House. YUM-MY!! It’s so much fun to watch someone else cook your meal – and the guy was just a ham. It was so early that no one else was there for the entire meal LOL

We got home and I went into a cleaning/cooking frenzy while Mike watched the kids for a bit. Burke, was, again in fine form. *sigh* In a matter of under two minutes he bit Maggie, tried to pick Logan up by his head, and pinched me. Arg. If this kid lives until his 4th birthday, he’s going to be lucky. It’s a damn good thing he actually has GOOD moments that I try really, really hard to remember about during these episodes.

Then the ladies started to show up. I really love my Mothers of Twins group. 🙂 It’s such a great bunch of people who really just want to be there and offer support to anyone and everyone who needs it. I’m *SO* bad at this (looking at a room and figuring out how many people are there), but there were maybe 18 to 20 people in my living room. I’m so bummed though!! I made Chex Mix yesterday and forgot to put it out!! Oops. Ah well, the kids will like it…

And I’m surprised that we didn’t wake Logan up – we were kind of loud *blush* and I had thought we woke Burke up … who went over to bite Maggie to wake her up (cuz that’s what it sounded like from downstairs when I heard Maggie scream “BURKE BITE ME!!”), but it turns out that Burke wasn’t even awake…so maybe Maggie was just dreaming..? Strange dream though 😛

Okay – time to clean up…Mike’s done chowing down on the left-over goodies I had out.

Filed under: behavior, kids | Tagged: staycation, twins group | 3 Comments »

Zoo – the Musical

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Nancy

While in Vermont for Easter, the kids had fun playing the piano with cousin Grey.

Burke, Maggie, and Grey

Sharon and Jason (Grey’s parents) got the kids a bunch of musical instruments for their 3rd birthday. The accordion is one that is used a *lot* (thanks Sharon 😛 )

Polka Maggie

Logan wants to get in on the fun. Luckily, Aunt Kahki sent this piano for Christmas. (He’s actually pretty good at pounding tunes out…)

Logan's serenade

And my sister Meghan’s band, Busted Brix, just hit YouTube!!

Filed under: kids, pictures, sibs | Tagged: accordion, piano, youtube | 3 Comments »

Rub a Dub Dub

Posted on July 13, 2008 by Nancy

Debi’s got another one going. 🙂

Here are Burke and Maggie in December of 2005. They had just received the tub seats for Christmas.

And here are Burke, Maggie, and Logan last month.

Logan usually gets his bath in the kitchen sink with mommy, and the twins are usually bathed by daddy, but this was one night when daddy had to work late and they all NEEDED a bath 🙂

Filed under: kids | 4 Comments »

The Countdown is on!

Posted on July 9, 2008 by Nancy

Our Staycation starts in 5 days!!! Now, we just need to plan it. *grin*

We decided that we need a vacation, but that we might as well take advantage of the things around here instead of spend all that gas money to go somewhere else. (We all sleep better in our own beds anyway.) Hence the Staycation!

Some things we’re thinking about:

taking the twins to see Wall-E
Beach visit
Commuter rail/train trip
Museum/zoo/aquarium
Petting/picking farm
Playground hopping
Lounge in the back yard at the kiddie pool!

We even get a Mike and Nancy day because Brenda (our nanny) is coming one of the days! WOO HOO!

Of course, most of this depends on weather, kid attitude, parent attitude, etc…

Anyone seen Wall-E? Any thoughts on taking 3.5 year old kids (who love Pixar films) to it? Anyone have any other great ideas for us to try out?

Filed under: kids | Tagged: staycation | 2 Comments »

Daddy and His Kiddos

Posted on July 6, 2008 by Nancy

Debi did it again, and of course, I’m joining in again 🙂

Here are some of my favorite daddy and his kiddo photos. I know there are more, but I’ve changed laptops a few times, so here’s what I could find!

Helping Daddy

Zonked

Burke and Daddy

Daddy and His Boys

Filed under: BPS, kids, Mike, pictures | 3 Comments »

Yard With a View

Posted on July 6, 2008 by Nancy

Front Yard

The festivities in town are less than two miles away at the local high school. Therefore, Mike and I put the kids to bed, had some dinner and then stepped out onto our front steps to watch the fireworks. My (cool) camera has a “Fireworks” setting! This is the first time I’ve used it…not *the* best pictures, but the following were taken from our steps last night.

View From the Front Steps

Fireworks on the 5th, 2008

Finale

Back Yard

Mike took today off from work (WOO HOO!) and we played in the back yard pretty much all day with the kids. We hit church this morning (it’s just not the same with no one working in the nursery!!) and then came home to the pool and fun in the sun. A good day was had by all *grin*

Fun Food on the 4th

Mike Grilled up some *really* tasty stuff: Steak, ribs, hotdogs, kielbasa, potatoes, peppers, onions, and zucchini. And we made some corn as well. The pan fried version of it all was darn good last night too. On the 4th, we also had watermelon…Burke’s 1st piece was almost as big as him! 🙂 (yes, he had more than one…and then more for breakfast yesterday!!)

$Burke\'s Watermelon$: Burke’s Watermelon

Maggie enjoyed it too.

$Maggie\'s Watermelon$: Maggie’s Watermelon

One last picture…Logan is playing with the BoredBoard Mike made for the twins a few years ago.

Logan and the BoredBoard

Filed under: food, holiday, house, kids, Mike, pictures | Tagged: 4th of July | Leave a comment »

Rained Out (or at Least On)

Posted on July 4, 2008 by Nancy

The town we moved to almost exactly a year ago is amazing! It’s such a family-oriented town – especially on the 4th. We have festivities the entire week! We have 2 nights of fireworks – a “family night” on the 3rd and then the whiz-bangers on the 5th … both of which we can see from our front yard. (So cool!) The local “mens clubs” (and others) have breakfast, lunch, and dinners available. And there’s a whole carnival that goes on where you can purchase a bracelett to go on the rides. I can’t wait for the kids to get a little older so that we can really appreciate what there is to offer. Loving this community 🙂

Yesterday, Mike had to teach his lab, so when I got home from work I loaded Logan into the stroller and had Burke and Maggie help me push him up to the town Commons. As soon as we got outside I saw the BIIIIIIG black clouds looming overhead, but the forecast said that it wasn’t supposed to rain until late, so I ignored them (bad mommy!!)

We walked all the way up to the Commons (maybe 3 or 4 blocks? not too bad, but forever and a day with poky toddlers 😉 ), and started to hear the band playing oldies music about 1/2 way there. Burke started dance-walking … so mommy did too. Maggie was hopping along too.

We got there and listened to two songs…and then the lead singer came on to say that the police officers asked him to let the crowd know that there was a violent storm on its way and if you couldn’t get to your car to go into the high school gym across the street. Ya. . . 3 kids under 4 in a high school gym with one parent and about a million other people…not gonna happen! Plus, it was nearing bed time and I had no idea how long the rain would last. So we started home. Maggie was *so* not happy. Burke kept saying “It’s raining!” To which I’d say “Not yet! But it’s going to … Keep going!!”

And then the skies opened up. (I guess 6:30 is “late” in meteorology speak??) Logan was *so* not happy. His little sun screen wasn’t helping as the rain was coming in through the opening. I opened the umbrella and put it in front of him and he calmed down. Burke, Maggie, and I were soaked within minutes. Only a block or so to go! And then comes the thunder…and lighting. geeeeeeez. “Okay kiddos! Walk a little faster!! We’re almost there!” At least it was still pretty far away.

Burke’s still saying (over and over) “Raining! It’s Raining!” And Maggie’s wailing because she wants to go back and listen to the music LOL!

Maybe next year…

Filed under: bad mommy, kids | Tagged: community | 2 Comments »