Timber!!!!

After dropping Daddy off at work, we headed right downtown to check out the Old Couthouse Museum. They had some neat things there, most of which we didn't even get to...We did explore the "Corn" display, a history of American corn farming (with farm toys and a combine for the boys to play in/on) and a hot air balloon exhibit. By the end of our visit, David was complaining that he was "chilly" and so tired. So I said, "Let's go home, then." That's when I realized that I had lost sight of Michael. I glanced around and noticed him two rooms away playing with a necklace that was hanging from a big metal Christmas-tree-like structure full of necklaces. I sped over to him and said, "Michael, those are for looking not touching." Up until that point, he had been touching the necklaces very gently, but when he saw that I meant to ruin his fun, he freaked out and pulled as hard as he could on the necklace and literally took down the whole tree! Fortunately, I was able to catch the tree and set it right before any damage was done to Michael, me, or the necklaces. The staff person was so friendly. "Kids will be kids," he said. My Michael.

As it turns out, David had a fever and the chills and spent most of the afternoon "resting" in his bed, voluntarily. Poor little man...

Creepy Crawly Things

First of all, the Internet has been spotty over the last few days and it is RUINING MY LIFE!! I can't arrange the social plans I want, or make the "business" phone calls that I want to make, or make the dinners that I want to make. I am missing important news on email, I am unable to Skype, and I am generaly getting more and more pissed off ;)

After hanging out at Sherman Park in the morning where the boys blew bubbles, played basketball, soccer, and football, and did water paintings, we headed off to the zoo for about an hour (it's right next to Sherman Park!). That's the nice thing about being a zoo member in Sioux Falls. You can stop by for an hour and its no big thing. Unlike being a zoo member in Chicago, where it takes 20 minutes to get there, $14 to park, and 5 more minutes to walk from your car to the zoo.

At the zoo, the boys got to touch a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, some sort of snake, and a millipede. I was surprised at how adamantly Michael did not want to touch the animals. I thought he was my brave boy ;) They also fed the ducks, geese, and swans which was thrilling for both the boys and the birds.

Hopefully, the Internet will stay up and running for the rest of my life ;)

Paper Bag Ladybugs

Paper bag ladybugs, muscle cars, guacamole by the spoonful, a field full of fire, and the fastest engine on the island of Sodor. Just a few of our highlights from the weekend...

All of our Saturday plans were altered due to the rain :( We missed out on Zoo Day, but maybe it was for the best. We were able to head to Barnes & Noble where the preschool I am most excited about for David was hosting an event. Storytime, crafts, a chance for both kids and parents to meet the teachers. David and Michael both had a great time. While Brian and I chatted with new friends and chased Michael around, David was able to interact with the teachers and to enjoy the activities mostly independent of his folks. He seemed to really like Ms. Heather, the teacher, as did we...

After naptime, the sun peeked out long enough for us to head to the Fairgrounds for Automania. Rows full of old refurbished cars (Brian's favorite was a Grease-like shiny black and red '57 Pontiac) and muscle cars. David had a GREAT time. He must have asked for his picture to be taken in front of about 30 cars. For each one, he had a different, but equally "hammy" pose.

Then off to dinner at one of Sioux Falls' few "Mexican" joints. I add the quotes because the place doesn't even have carne asada on the menu, exclamation point, excalmation point! Brian asked about it, and they said that they tried it out a few years back and the response wasn't great, so they took it off the menu. Who doesn't like carne asada??? Crazy South Dakotans ;)

After dinner, we headed off to what would have been a 30 balloon hot air balloon race had not the low cloud cover messed everything up. For a lame consolation prize to all of us who had showed up anyway, the pilots sent up the flames that would have filled their balloons with hot air had Mother Nature cooperated. Maybe next year...

Finally, David completed one of his sticker charts for violin practice and as a reward, chose to head to Kidtopia, the toys store, and buy Spencer the Train (from Thomas & Friends) for the two boys to share. They were in heaven.

Second-Rate Meterology

Ok, so I am about to facebook my cousin, Jim Cantore, well-known meteorologist of The Weather Channel fame. I need to know if there is something about Sioux Falls SD that makes it very hard to predict the weather here. I feel like it's always much warmer or cooler than they say it's gonna be, it doesn't rain when they say it will, and it rains when they say it won't. This sort of B Grade Meteorology is terribly inconvenient for a stay-at-home mom. Today they were calling for more than 50% chance of rain all morning. Ya, not a drop. We stayed home, partly because of the weather report and partly because David threw such a temper tantrum on the drive to the park that I literally needed to turn the car around and just go home. (BTW, the tantrum continued for 15 minutes after we got home, during which time he would periodically yell from his room, "Mom, can we PLEASE go to the park? What are you thinking Mom? What in the heck are you???) Then for the afternoon, I considered going out but then there were all these flash flood warnings and I got all freaked out so we stayed in again. Again, not a drop. What the heck, you crazy weather guys? What were you thinking? What in the heck are you????

We did get out of the house for a little while to grab pretty darn authentic Neopolitan pizza (who would have guessed that Sioux Falls would offer such a thing!) with Daddy-o (as the kids call him)

Don't let this rare homebound day fool you. We have a packed weekend planned and I PROMISE to take more pictures!

I started shopping around for David's future preschool today. Interesting choices...More on that to follow, I am sure.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Rainy morning in Sioux Falls. Fortunately, we had social plans and headed off to our first SD playgroup. Another beautiful Sioux Falls home, with a basement that was essentially toy heaven. Heck, they even had one of those inflatable jump houses down there! There had to have been 20 kids there from about 6 months to 9 years (one woman brought 5 kids all by herself!) The boys seemed to have fun. I felt torn because I wanted to socialize with the moms upstairs, but I am just not comfortable leaving my boys alone downstairs. Part of it is that the boys don't know any of those other kids yet. Part of it is that in Chicago, Michael didn't have much experience with stairs and I worry about him navigating them on his own. Part of it is that in Chicago, most people had small enough spaces that there was nowhere for the moms to go but the same place that the kids were, so I am not just not used to not being in the same room as them. And part of it is that I am a nut job ;)

We spent the afternoon shopping for Father's Day. Our last stop was a toy store called Kidtopia. The kids were in heaven there. It was alot like Timeless Toys, the place right across the street from us in Lincoln Square, and I think it felt like a piece of home to the boys.

You know your kids are watching too much Thomas the Train, when as they are playing with the display trains in the toy store you over hear your 3 year old say, "'Bust my buffers', gasped Emily, 'I'm almost out of fuel.'"

Duck Duck Goose

If we have anything planned in the morning time, it is hard for me to muster the energy to go back home after dropping Brian off at work, only to have to pack the kids up again and get them out the door again an hour after we get home. So, that explains why we have shown up at some parks recently at 8:15 am. Beat all the other kids there by a good half hour ;)

After spending a beautiful morning running around Sertoma Park and its many playgrounds, we headed to the library for a puppet show based on Peter Rabbit. David was laughing throughout the performance and he seemed to enjoy it so I was surprised when he said he didn't think it was that funny. I said, "Really? Because I kept seeing you laugh and laugh." He said, "Ya, I didn't think it was funny, I was just laughing because the other kids were laughing." And, David, if the other kids jumped off a cliff, would you too? ;)

Post-nap, we headed to Arrowhead Park. No playground action, but rather hiking trails and waterfowl. We had some close encounters with ducks, geese (and goslings) along the way, and many close enocounters with said birds' "doo doo" as David called it. We played for an hour in this clearing that David called "a secret place," and we all thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful June day.

Beginner's Luck

It's so hard to be dumb. Having to learn the same lessons over and over again. I know my kid is noise-sensitive. I know that he collects ear plugs and has to carry them with him everywhere he goes. I know that he goes ballistic if the music, or the TV, or the applause, or Michael gets too loud. Then, why oh why, when I took him to the Children's Theater production of Rumpelstiltskin down in McKennan Park did I sit us right next to one of the two speakers? Because I'm dumb, that's why. During their "Testing 1-2" shenanigans when the speakers make that god-awful screeching noise, guess who was right there to catch the worst of it? Us. And guess who grabbed for his ears and started screaming at the top of his lungs that he wanted to go home? David. And Michael right behind him. I managed to convince them to stay, but we had to go stand in the background around 25 yards away from where the rest of the audience sat. And David held his hands hovering over his ears most of the show. Despite all the trauma, David did say, after all was said and done, "What a great show!"

We hosted our first playdate today. A "park" friend named Emily and her two boys, Preston and Connor. Her boys are within weeks of the exact same age as mine, and we all had a very nice time together. Slowly but surely, making friends.

And now, on to Bunco. This is the game night that I was invited to play tonight where I knew neither anybody there nor anything about the game. First, the company. Everybody there was very nice and social with me, and I was grateful for their hospitality. Who knows, maybe one or two of them will be my good friend in a few months...Now, about the game. 12 women. Each puts in $10 to play. 4 at a table. The person seated across from you is your teammate. 3 dice per table. 1st round, roll for 1s. 2nd round roll for 2s, and so on and so forth. One point for each time you roll the target number. If you roll 3 of the target numbers at once, that is called a Bunco. If you roll 3 of any "off" number that is a Mini Bunco. Buncos are worth 25 points, and usually mean that your team will win the round. In rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4, I rolled 3 Buncos!!! I won each of my first five games. Over the course of the night, I rolled 2 more Buncos, and a slew of Mini Buncos too. For you mathematicians out there, there is only a 1/216 chance of rolling a Bunco. And I got 5 of them in just 12 rounds! At the end of the night, the pot is divided as follows: $60 to the person with the most Buncos. $40 to the person with the most wins. $20 to the person with the most losses. I had the most Buncos, AND the most wins (with 9 of 12), but you can only win in one category, so I walked away with a net gain of $50. Bunco rules ;)

Last but not least, I found David a new Suzuki violin teacher today. She is in the Philharmonic Orchestra here. (On a related note, we were looking at David's Time and Money game the other day, and I showed him the picture on the five dollar bill, and said, "Who is this?" "Abe Lincoln" he said. I showed him the picture on the one dollar bill and said "Who's this?" "Mozart," he confidently replied. ;) A true musician at heart, that David.