To the Faire

The whole W. family, including our "daughter" Taryn, headed to the Ohio Renaissance Festival today. It's been years since Duane and I have been and the kids (including Taryn) have either never been or have no memory of it. Hopefully we made some good memories today.

Once Wesley and Ryan could tear their eyes away from the knife thrower about to pop a balloon being held between a guy's legs, we did a little shopping.

Checking out the skull in the window

Animal charm necklaces

Wesley's version of trying on chain mail.

We told each child that they would be able to pick something to bring home as a souvenir. Boy, did that cause some agony today. Both boys wanted something they saw in the first 20 minutes - Wesley wanted a tail, and Ryan wanted a geode windchime - but we managed to talk them into waiting until we had walked the festival and they had seen everything. Good thing we made them wait. Not 10 minutes later they found marshmallow catapults that they wanted. But we still made them wait.

Time for a ride before the first show

Our first show to watch was The Swordsmen. We love them and see them every year we attend the festival. 

Dirk Perfect (one of The Swordsmen) posing for picture for Aunt Susan

All of the kids went on stage when the parade passed by. Don't my kids look thrilled?

A bit happier here

After the show ended, Wesley said to me, "I didn't really understand what happened in that show."  Which, if you've ever seen The Swordsmen, is probably not entirely a bad thing.

The next show we went too was the Mud Show. This show was filled with mud (duh), potty humor and wedgies. And of course my boys loved it. At the end of the show they were clapping and cheering "Encore! Encore!"

Next we headed to the games to give the boys a little something more active to do.

Flipping "frogs" onto floating lily pads

This picture was taken moments before Wesley changed his mind about the spinning ride he had begged to go on.

The ping-pong ball crossbows were a hit (get it? a "hit?")

Slide time

After they did a few rides we continued around the festival looking at stuff. Taryn was on the lookout for a new pair of horns and, once she found them, Wesley decided he needed a green pair for himself.  Again, we managed to convince him to wait until he looked at everything.  Although I have to admit, Taryn looked quite fetching in her new horns. Ryan also found two more things he HAD to have - more rocks and a sand art style candle - and we also forced him to wait some more.

Luckily, there were war horses to ride to help take their minds off all the things they wanted us to buy for them.

Yes, I took pictures of Taryn riding the war horse, after all, she's "our" kid too! Plus, I'm pretty sure there are pictures of her riding the horses at the festival some 15 years ago floating around someplace

We ended the day with the joust. The boys really enjoyed it - especially Ryan. It seemed to make him a little nervous, but he couldn't tear his eyes away.  At the end of the joust, they sell pieces of broken lances to raise money for the care of the horses (which by the way, are rescue horses). One of the knights jokingly told a story about how much he wanted a broken lance when he was kid and his parents wouldn't buy him one. He ended the story by saying, "And if your parents don't buy you one kids, it's because they don't love you."

Ryan called out, "That is so not true, Weirdo!"  Gotta love that kid's devotion.

So, are you dying to know what treasures the kids finally chose to bring home? Wesley decided on the marshmallow catapult. Ryan chose the sand art style candle. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with their choices.

Their favorite things from the day? Ryan said his was the joust, while Wesley stayed true to his third grade boy roots and chose the mud show.

And Ryan's already planning a return trip next year. 

Reporting for Popcorn Duty

Wesley and Ryan starting selling scout popcorn around the neighborhood today. Before we headed out, Duane and I went over what the boys should say when someone opened their door.

"Hi. My name is ______. Would you like to buy some popcorn to support the Cub Scouts?"

Nice and simple, right?  Well, despite it's simplicity, Ryan had a bit of trouble with it at first.

"Hi. My name is Ryan. Would you like to buy some popcorn to report the Cub Scouts?"

Luckily he's so cute that people decided to support his efforts instead of report him.

In The (Sort of) Still of the Night

Since becoming a parent I have learned that you never know what the overnight hours are going to bring. We've had wonderful, restful nights and nights of nosebleeds, projectile vomiting, tears, nightmares and just about everything in between.

But the last few nights have been unique in their own ways.

Duane has been trying to turn Wesley's nightlight off when he (Duane) comes up to bed at night.  The first night he tried it, we woke up in the morning to find the nightlight on again.  The second night was when things got interesting. About 3 minutes after Duane turned the nightlight off we could hear Wesley cry out for me in a frightened voice.

"What's the matter, Wesley?" we asked, pretty much knowing what was the matter.

"It's too dark in my room! It got really dark. I can't sleep!"

Duane dutifully got out of bed and went to turn the nightlight back on. In the twenty or so seconds it had taken Duane to get there, Wesley was back asleep and snoring.

I think we'll leave the nightlight on for a while longer.

Ryan has been doing his own "special" bedtime things as well. Let's see, there was the night I found him with asleep with two pillows Velcro-ed to the sides of his head (don't ask). There was the early morning he came into our bedroom while we were sleeping, and started stroking and kissing the side of my face and hair while saying that I am a good mommy and he loves me - which is cute now, but would be downright creepy if he was a little older.

And I don't want to forget the night I found him asleep on the floor so he wouldn't disturb his stuffed animals, who appeared to be camping out on his bed.

At least he was being thoughtful (?)

Searching for Bigfoot

Wesley and Ryan have a scout camping trip coming up here in about a week and a half. Wesley, being the more experienced scout, has been busily telling his little brother all about the things they'll do at camp.  One of the things Wesley is looking forward to is going on a Bigfoot hunt. This, of course, led to a discussion about what Bigfoot must look like.

Ryan: I think Bigfoot is probably kind of little, like my height, but with really big feet.

Wesley: No, I think Bigfoot is tall, like a grown up, but with only one really big foot because if both his feet were big, they'd have to call him Big Feet instead of Bigfoot.

School Skate Night - With Blurry Pictures

Tonight was the school skate party at the local skating rink. We haven't been to the school skate party since Wesley was in Kindergarten. He pretty much hated it then and announced that he was never going to skate ever again.  Ryan liked it that night, but at the time he was still in diapers and had a lot of padding on his rear end when he fell.

We've managed to avoid the school skate nights since then. We just never mentioned it when they came up and the boys didn't seem interested in it.

Yep, life was good. Until tonight.

This afternoon the boys got off the bus talking about skate night, begging to go to skate night, pleading to go to skate night. They even tried everything on their plates at dinner they wanted to go to skate night so badly.

So off to skate night we went. The last minute planning will explain why every picture from tonight is dark and blurry. Since we weren't planning to go to skate night, I didn't charge my real camera and the iPhone wasn't the greatest at capturing all the action.

And there was action. Wesley and Ryan both did a really good job skating. Yes, they fell, but they each got back up over and over. Ryan spent a lot of the night in the practice area using a "walker" but Wesley held my hand and did lap after lap after lap with me.  I never would have thought he'd do that.

Ready to roll

Taking his time

Getting balanced

Wipe out

Wesley is even asking when we can go skating again. What a difference a couple of years makes!

Their Entire Relationship in Two Pictures

"Hi Ryan. Do you want to play? Do you need anything?"

"I am SO going to get him!"

Case of the Mondays

Three quarters of the W. household has had a case of the Mondays at some point today. It may even been all four of us, but I have barely seen my husband, so I can't tell you how his day went.

Wesley woke up in such a bad mood he wouldn't even talk - and that's saying something for him. Instead, he moaned and groaned and grunted if I dared ask him a question. But the best part was when he refused to walk and dragged himself around the house on this stomach by using his arms while moaning, groaning and grunting. It was a party alright.

While Wesley was doing is impersonation of a grumpy snake, Ryan started complaining that the top of his foot hurt whenever he put pressure on it. He'd take a step and cry out "Ow!" And this lasted for twenty minutes until Wesley found his voice and began to complain about the changing seasons.

Wesley: I hate winter and it's getting closer.

Ryan:  I love winter.

Wesley: I hate it.

Ryan: Remember when we went sledding down the driveway?

Wesley: Remember when we just about froze solid?

On the up side their disagreement took their minds of their various aches and pains.

My day at work went really well, but after work it went to heck in a handbasket.

•  My "check engine" light came on and the car place can't fit me in for a week and a half. 
• Dinner didn't cook in anywhere near the time the packaging claimed it would take, so Duane didn't really get to eat before leaving to help out at the scout popcorn sale
• As the boys and I were finishing dinner, Duane called to say that yes, Ryan's den was having a meeting, but it wasn't at 7:00 like we thought - it was starting right then.
• I arrived to the meeting late (and in a bad mood) only to discover that no one wants to be the den leader, there weren't really any activities for the kids tonight, and the guy running the meeting would spend 10 minutes answering any question with a long anecdote when a quick, 1-2 minute answer would suffice
• After my hour meeting where nothing got done, I discovered that Duane still had another hour meeting to go to.
• Back home to the dinner dishes and messy kitchen were waiting for me from when I raced out of the house to arrive at the scout meeting late.

So now I'm cranky and trying not to be cranky, which isn't working. I still haven't figured out what to do about my truck since I don't really want to wait a week and a half even though it seems to be running fine. I've gotten some good suggestions from a couple of friends, but I have to find the time to actually do it.

Maybe I'll go have another piece of cake.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I am not reading a book so creepy that I almost called Duane up to bed early because I was too freaked out to try and fall asleep alone. And I certainly don't have to finish it because it's for a professional review.

I did not have a nightmare in September about not having started my Christmas shopping.

I did not tear up when Wesley was presented with his Bible at church.

There is no way that whenever the daughters of any of my friends come over I end up wishing (at least a little bit) that I also had a girl. 

Third Grade Bible Presentation

Today the third graders at our church received their own Bibles. I have to tell you, I was pretty excited for Wesley. I still have the Bible I received at my church in third grade, and, although it isn't the one I use on a regular basis, it holds a lot of special memories for me. I used my "third grade Bible" for first communion and confirmation. I used it all through youth group and it holds many highlights and unlined passages that spoke to me throughout my childhood/tween/teen years.

I pray that Wesley finds comfort, and questions as he reads his Bible and learns more God's word. I pray he will be inspired to grown in faith. I hope his Bible sees him through tough times and happy times and that it becomes marked up and worn with use.

Columbus Food Adventure

Last night Duane and I celebrated our birthdays by taking a food tour with Columbus Food Adventures (link the company name for the link). It's something we've wanted to try for a long time and our birthdays seemed like the perfect excuse to give it a go.

Since we consider ourselves to be somewhat adventurous eaters, we chose to go on the Alt Eats tour (again, tour name is link.)  It was wonderful and unique and a great way to spend the evening. The group went to five different establishments in the northeast part of town and got to sample delicious and unusual food at all of them.

Yes, I was the person taking pictures of my food - but only so I could share it with you.  Don't you feel special?

Our first stop was Udipi Cafe for Southern Indian food. The restaurant is all vegetarian, but even a die hard carnivore like me didn't miss the meat.

This was an appetizer called a vegetable cutlet. It tasted a great deal like a samosa filling that had been deep fried in a batter. They were really tasty - possibly some of my favorite food of the night. They came with a spicy green sauce and a tamarind sauce.  Of course, I was all about the spice.

This was some kind of dosi. I can't remember exactly which one it was, as the restaurant serves a number of a differnt dosi. It was also quite good. The lighter sauce was coconut based while the other sauce was a bit spicy and can be used as a sauce or eaten as a soup. 

From Udipi, we headed to a Mexican Bakery called Panaderia Guadalupana.  We walked in to the amazing aroma of fresh baked goods and spent several minutes drooling over the pastry case.

The item was got to sample here was not from the case of delicious looking pastries. The pastry chef prepared fresh, hot, filled churros for us. Some of them were filled with vanilla cream and some had a dulce de leche filling. Duane and I lucked out since he got one kind and I got the other, so we each ate half of our own, then switched.

Our next stop was a restaurant owned by a Nigerian couple called the Intercontinental Restaurant. The gentleman that spoke to us said that while the food is African inspired, they cannot use authentic African ingredients all the time and he called it more of a United Nations Cuisine.  We each received a plate that contained small samples of several different dishes.

Clockwise from top: moi moi, stewed spinach (spicy), plantains, black eyed peas and rice, jollof rice (YUM!)

Next we headed just across the street to sample what turned out to be Duane's favorite food of the night.

At this Vietnamese place, Mi Li,  we got to sample the most incredible banh mi!! The bread was made fresh, the pate was made by the owner, the pate was made by the owner. ALL the sandwiches are made by the owner. It was fresh and and delicious and, to be honest, I could go for one right now.

Our final stop of the night was the Haitian & American Restaurant. This was in some ways the furthest from my comfort zone. I have had Indian food and Vietnamese food, I haven't had Nigerian food, but I have had Ethiopian food. Haitian food though? Never tried it.

Here we were treated (and yes, I do mean treated) to a delicious goat stew and mushroom flavored rice. The goat was really quite mild, not gamey at all, and had a richness not unlike lamb or beef. It was stewed on the bone and was so tender! The rice is cooked in water that has been infused with a certain kind of mushroom that imparts the dark color and a nice, earthy taste.

I can honestly say that there was nothing on this tour that I disliked and quite a few dishes I look forward to having again. It was fun and educational evening. I can't wait to try another local tour.

That's What Brothers Are For

This morning Ryan asked me to do something for him, but I was in the midst of doing something else.  Instead of bugging me, he turned to Wesley for help.

A little while later Ryan said to me, "I don't need your help anymore, Mom. Wesley showed me how to do this."

"That's great," I responded. "Wesley's a pretty cool big brother."

"Yep! He taught me to read and everything."

Even better, Wesley applauded Ryan's efforts and told him was a great job he did.  Now that's what big brothers are for.

She Should've Put a Ring on It

We were listening to the radio on the way to soccer tonight when the song, "Single Ladies" came on. I turned the volume up and was bopping along, singing, "If you liked it then you should've put a ring on it," when Ryan spoke up from the back seat.

"Mom, this song reminds me that M. broke up with me today," he confided.

He and M. are very good friends, but sometimes have a bit of a love/hate relationship.  I know that they will be back to climbing trees and trading secrets in no time, but it cracked me up that he could "relate" to a Beyonce song at 6 years old. 

I guess Beyonce, like Cyndi Lauper, is a wise woman.

Missing Summer

We've hit a cold snap here in central Ohio. Normally that wouldn't bother me since I love autumn so much, but I feel like I didn't get enough summer this year. I love my jeans and sweaters, but I'm still craving blazing hot days that send you scurrying for the swimming pool. Despite my love of all things fall-like, I am not looking forward to the shorter days and the upcoming winter. 

Apparently I'm not the only one who is lamenting the hot days of the past. This morning I told the boys to grab jackets on their way out of the house. Ryan put his on right away, but Wesley shoved his in his backpack.

"I don't get cold," he insisted. "And I wish I could have worn shorts instead of long pants today."  Mean ol' mom makes them wear long pants if it isn't going to be at least 75 degrees out.

"It's a bit too cool for shorts today, but you ought to be able to wear them again by Friday or Saturday," I said.

Wesley's face immediately lit up. "Really!? It's like a wish come true!"

I guess that makes Mother Nature the nice mom.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not catch myself humming Christmas songs one day when I have a strict "no Christmas music until after Thanksgiving" policy in my house.

I did not drip melty peanut butter on the front of my royal blue dress while I was eating breakfast. And it certainly didn't happen twice. And even if it did, I know it didn't happen when I didn't have enough time to change clothes, forcing me to go to work with a big stain on the front my clothes.

I know I didn't use the term "sweaty locker room" to describe the scent of my six-year-old's bedroom. 

There Are No Accidents

This morning as we were walking into church Ryan accidentally stepped on the back of Wesley's foot.  Wesley overreacted a bit and was really ticked off at his little brother for the perceived slight. 

"Calm down, Wesley. It was an accident," I said.

Wesley glared at Ryan, shooting invisible daggers at him. "Well, I'm sick of his little 'accidents' " he told me.  And yes, he actually did the air quotes with his fingers. Which sent me into yet another round of "I can't laugh but I'm dying to laugh" parenting.

Oh, children.

Sweet Nothings

I love how sweet and loving my boys are. Last night as I was saying goodnight to Ryan, he pulled me down on the the bed with him. He planted a big kiss on my forehead then said, "I love you so so much, Mommy."

"I love you so so much too," I told him.

"I'm going to love you until I die," he said.

I immediately felt tears spring to my eyes as I answered, "Me too, bud."

And that makes it all worth it. All the temper tantrums and soccer games and PTA meetings. All the late nights and worries. I love these kids more than I ever could have imagined.

Splitting Hairs

Wesley is our pretty boy.  He's a handsome kid, always has been. And no, I'm not the least bit ashamed about my bragging. Of course, his blond hair is his crowning glory. It's thick and, when he was a baby, had a bit of wave to it. I love his hair.

What I have fallen out of love with is doing his hair every morning (read: wetting it down and combing it.)  Even if you comb Wesley's hair after his shower, when he gets up in the morning it looks like he slept with his finger in a light socket. We've had years and years of fixing his hair for him in the morning and, quite frankly, we are done.

As Wesley's ninth birthday approached, we started to warn him that once he turned nine he would be responsible for doing his own hair in the morning. We went over how to wet it down and which way to comb it.  The fateful day came and went, and Wesley took over the morning hair care routine - for the most part.  It's still rough going and there are some temper tantrums that get thrown. In fact, there have been enough temper tantrums that Duane has informed Wesley that if he can't do his own hair without help by the end of the month, he'll have to get a haircut like Ryan's. Wesley HATES that idea, so he usually gives it his best shot.

Some days I just cannot stand to let Wesley out of the house with his hair sticking up in the back. On church days we give a little extra assistance. Some mornings I send Wesley back to the bathroom several times to look in the mirror and try again. Some mornings I bite my tongue and pray no one laughs at the way his hair looks.

And then there are days like the one we had earlier this week. A day when no matter how many times Wesley attempted to tame his hair, it refused to give in. After many trips to the bathroom mirror, Wesley came up to me with frustration shining in his eyes.

"Can I ask you a question, Mom?" he calmly asked.

"Of course you can."

He pointed to his hair and nearly screeched, "How do you put up with this crap!?"

It was one of those parenting moments when I had to fight so hard to keep a straight face because all I wanted to do was burst out laughing.

"First of all, Wesley, I know Mommy and Daddy talk like that sometimes, but we don't like you to. Please try to chose better words. Yes, doing you hair is a pain. Daddy and I did it for almost nine years, that's why it's your turn now. It's called a bad hair day and everyone has them."

Then I decided to try and lighten his mood, "Well, everyone who has hair has them."

He cracked a smile, "So Daddy doesn't have them?"

"Nope. And neither does Ryan."

Somehow I still don't think that will be reason enough for Wesley rock the buzz cut.

Along Came a Spider

The boys and I were in the kitchen making breakfast the other morning when Wesley suddenly cried, "ACK!!! A spider!!"

"Where?" I asked.

"It's on the freezer! A little one!" he yelled as he backed away from the refrigerator.

"A little spider?" I asked, since I'm none too fond of spiders myself.

"Yes! On the freezer!"

I weighed my options for a minute and the desire NOT squish a spider before breakfast won out. "Do you need something out of the freezer?" I asked.

"No, but you should kill it. It's a spider," he insisted.

"Let me get this straight," I said. "There is a little spider on the freezer minding his own business and, even though you don't want anything out of the freezer, you want me to kill it."

Relief spread across Wesley's face. "Yes!"

I shrugged. "I don't want to kill it. If you want it dead - you kill it."

Wesley stopped his freak out, looked around and muttered, "Okay....I just need Ryan's shoes and a catapult."

I don't know what exactly his plan was, but I'm kind of glad the spider ran off and I didn't have to find out.

Slobbery Sou Chef

I recently started signing up to take cookies to church for the refreshment table. I love to bake and we're at church just about every week, so I figured it would be no problem to sign up to bring sweets once a month. 

I decided to make snickerdoodles as one of the kinds of cookies this week. If you've never made snickerdoodles, part of the process is rolling the dough into little balls, then rolling each ball in a cinnamon sugar mixture prior to baking. 

Ryan loves to help with the "rolling in sugar" part. He's actually very good about making sure the whole thing gets coated and spacing the balls out evenly on the cookie sheets. 

However, the other night as we were baking, I caught him as he was about to lick the cinnamon sugar off his hands between batches. I made him go wash his hands (just to be safe) and explained the importance of keeping clean and not spreading germs when cooking. 

And, I may have told him that after we were done, he could lick all the cinnamon sugar he wanted off his hands - provided he wash his hands again after he was done licking. I think I may have inadvertently discovered why Ryan is always willing to help me bake.

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama.

I did not pull into the driveway, see that Duane had opened the garage door for me, and then, purely out of habit, promptly close it (without pulling my car in)

We did not spend several days looking high and low for the title to a car we paid off years ago only to have to throw in the towel and go to the title agency for a copy after all that work.

I did not wear jeans on a day I would normally deem too warm for jeans just because I didn't want to be bothered to shave my legs.

I was not a little bit sad that Duane had to leave his wedding ring and I had to leave my family ring at the jewelers because they both had loose stones.  And even if I was, I know I didn't spend part of the day feeling absolutely naked on my right hand and checking Duane's left hand every few minutes. That would have been silly.

Bedtime Weirdness

Do anyone else's kids get weirder the closer it gets to bedtime? Tonight Ryan spent his entire shower calling "mom" and "mommy" in as many different inflections as he could come up with. He didn't want anything from me. He just wanted to see how weird he could sound.

And then there's Wesley. First he decided to run laps around the couch so he could count it as exercise. Then, when his shower was done, he sat on the couch to watch TV and watched it through a pair of binoculars until Duane told him to cut it out.

Kids are weird.