Making Goo While Having Flu

 When the kids had Tylenol in their system, they felt better.  After having laid around for a day and a half, they were ready to have some entertainment.

 We used our last science experiment in our kit to make Goo.  We learned that the molecules in the Goo stick together like spaghetti.

 It was pretty fun --- and messy --- to play with.

It made funny noises when you stuck your hands in the cup with the Goo too.  It was a fun and easy activity for two kiddos with not much energy to spare.

Flu Bug

 The kids started running  fevers Sunday night, and both of them felt pretty crummy Monday.  Luckily, Monday was a holiday, and everyone was able to stay home.  Unfortunately, our doctor's office was closed for the holiday.  We had well-child check-ups scheduled for Tuesday, but I didn't have well children.  Gabriel had a flu test that came back positive for Influenza B.

Grace's flu test was negative.  Her Strep test was negative.  And her urine was clear.  It seems like all of this would be good news, but we had no explanation for her fever and general malaise.  Given that Gabriel's test was positive for flu, ultimately Grace was diagnosed with flu as well.

Highland Hills Folkstyle Classic

 Yesterday Gabriel participated in a wrestling meet at Highland Hills.  There were about nine wrestling teams participating.  He wrestled in the 13th match in the Bantam class . . . yeah, I know what all that means now.

 This kiddo from Floyd Central was a pretty fierce competitor.

 He and Gabe were pretty evenly matched in weight and in skill.  His opponent was just a little faster and more aggressive.

 Gabe kept fighting though.  He did not give up.

 They wrestled for the entire three minutes.  I was really proud of him for his perseverance.

 Here is what I hate about being a wrestling mom:
The coaches are on one side of the mat and the parents are on the other.  Essentially, you sit on the edge of the mat next to your child's opponents parents.  Wrestling parents are ruthless; they are out for blood.  So I'm sitting next to people who are yelling, "Get him!  Face to the mat!  Make him eat mat!"  And the him they are referring to is MY KID!  It is SO HARD for me to listen to that and not say anything in his defense.  This time the opponents parents actually laughed and said, "Look at him --- he's just laying there."  That was SO NOT TRUE!  Part of me wanted to punch these a@#h$%^ parents, and part of me wanted to go hug my boy and cover his ears.

 I just can't imagine encouraging Gabriel to make a kid "eat mat" or laughing out loud at kid who is trying so hard.  It's one thing to encourage your kid and coach them, but let's not wish pain or injury on anyone.  And I know . . . "eat mat" is just an expression used in wrestling.  It's not intended to be about pain or injury, but it seems a little harsh to me still.

Gabriel lost both of his matches.  He was pinned in the second match.  That makes me sad for him.  But on the other hand, we got to leave the meet and enjoy the rest of our Sunday by about noon.

Grace made this picture of the two of us at school this week.  I love collecting samples of the kids' work and seeing how their writing develops.

"Post This on the Blog, Momma!"

Grace came into the kitchen.  She and her bunny were wearing matching nightgowns.  She said, "Look, Momma!  Aren't we cute?  Take our picture.  Oh!  Post this on the blog too!  And send it to Grandma!"

Children of the 21st century . . . they're a different breed.  Ha!

Techie Girl

Dan got a new app on his iPad where you can draw or write.  Grace had the best time using his new app.  This girl loves to draw and write.

Sam's Birthday Party

 We were not able to make it to Sam's swim party, so Alicia invited us to Sam's family party at their house.  We were so glad to get an opportunity to celebrate Sam's special day with him.

 Grace, Noah, Jake, and Nora played with the kitchen set.  They were so funny playing together.  They made everyone coffee and served ice cream.

 It was almost time for cake.  You know that's the best part of a birthday party.

 Sam got lots of nice gifts.  

 We gave him a Gross Science Kit that you eat.  He can make candy spiders and other gross things to eat.  I hope it is fun . . . seven-year-olds love gross things.

Sam got micro-racers for Christmas.  Gabriel had fun playing with those during the party.  Could that be a fun birthday gift for a certain little boy??

Ellnor's on Ice

 We met the Hoyland's at the Jeffersonville Ice Skating Rink on January 5th for ice skating.  Gabriel and Grace had never been ice skating before.  Dan took me ice skating once when we were dating --- so, yeah, like 20 years ago --- and it was not exactly successful.  We were nervous about ice skating and so excited to get together with the Hoyland's.

 As soon as we got our skates on and out on the ice, they asked that everyone clear the ice so it could be cleaned.  Grace had made her way all the way across the rink and didn't know how to get back to the gate.  I was sure it would take me forever to get to her and get back.  Dan saved the day!  Look at those skillz!

 Uh oh! Falling!

 Abby and Missy are experienced skaters.

 Let me tell you about this kid . . . .  He did NOT want to go ice skating.  He wanted to stay home.  I told him that he was going to try ice skating, and if he didn't like it, he didn't have to do it again.  Once he got out on the ice, he had a ball!  We were all ready to leave after about an hour, and we had to pry this kid off the ice.  He was soaking wet and cold, but he didn't want to stop skating.

 Abby and Grace are so cute together.

 Abby held Grace's hand as Grace pulled herself along the wall.

 I love that he had such a good time!

 Abby was giving Grace encouraging words when Grace was cold and ready to be finished skating.

 After skating we changed into warm, dry clothes and headed to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  Grace was one happy girl to be having spaghetti for dinner.  Do you see that clean plate?

 We let Gabriel play his DS when he finished eating.

 Back at our house, the kids exchanged Christmas gifts.  Grace got a Lalaloopsy doll from Abby.

 Gabriel got a Lego set.  He has really enjoyed Legos lately.

 We gave Abby a Lalaloopsy make-up set.  A girl can never have too much make-up, right?

Grace and Abby played dress-up.  Grace only plays dress-up when she has friends over, and I think it's so cute.

We had such a fun evening!  We love hanging out with the Hoyland's, and I wish we had time to do it more often.

Basketball Season Comes to an End

Gabriel's basketball season officially ended last weekend.  It was a fun season, and he learned a lot.

Grace met her friend, Emilee, from daycare at the game.  These girls had so much fun playing while the game was going on which worked out great for me because I got to focus on the game.

One of my favorite things about watching this age level play basketball is that they do not know the difference between offense and defense.  There were times when two players were looking at each other with their arms in the air, and neither of them knew where the ball was or which team had it.

There is one little boy on Gabriel's team who would stand under the net and stare at the net waiting for the ball to drop out of it.  There were times when the entire team was at the other end of the court and Jordan was at the opposite end staring at the net.

Gabe's team wasn't the best team in the league, but his coach was great.

Coach Trevor was patient, encouraging and fair.  He made sure all of the kids got time out on the court playing.  He made sure that everyone got a chance to handle the ball and take shots.

I'll miss watching him play and can't wait until next winter when he'll join this league again.

Gabriel learned to be a bit aggressive on the basketball court which surprised me.  He is not typically an aggressive kid.  A few times I had to remind him that pushing and throwing elbows were not acceptable play in basketball.

At the end of the last game, each player received a trophy for their participation.  The team also received a certificate for a pizza party at Mr. Gatti's.  We're looking forward to that!

Play Date with the Lewis'

Yesterday afternoon the Lewis kiddos came over to play for a few hours.

We started by eating a yummy lunch of chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, carrots, and grapes.  The boys ate well, which is completely expected.  The girls ate like little birds.

Mazi did an awesome job sitting in a big chair and eating.  She loved the mac and cheese and grapes.

After lunch the boys played their DS's for a while.

It wasn't long before they were asking me for MORE screen time.  They wanted to play the Wii.  I told them that they could only play if I got to take a picture of their cute little begging puppy dog faces.  They crack me up!

I told Janelle that I think the girls spent more time naked than dressed.  They spent their entire time changing clothes.  Look at the mess in Grace's room!  No worries . . . we worked together to clean up.

Darbi P. was dressed for a beach party.

This was Darbi's next outfit, and Grace was dressed for the beach party.

Yep, back to the bathing suit for Darb.  The girls pretended to have a beach party in the kitchen, complete with beach towels, sun screen, and water toys.

And the boys played Mario Kart on the Wii.  Don't worry . . . I had them shut the Wii down and go downstairs to play shortly after this picture was taken.  They only spent about half of their time together in front of a screen.

The kids played so well together and had so much fun.  It was the last official day of Winter Break and what a great way to spend it.  We have had so much fun on Winter Break.  Next week is going to be a killer trying to get back in our regular routines.