Perceptive, Isn't He??

I have to share a really funny story that happened a couple of weeks ago.

Noah got off the school bus and informed me that he had seen our neighbour, 'Mr. Paul' get pulled over by a police officer that morning. He said that it looked just like Mr. Paul's car, and there was a police car behind it with the lights flashing.

Wanting to prevent my son from spreading slanderous rumours around the neighbourhood, I quickly tried to convince Noah that it could have been anyone...and it likely wasn't really Mr. Paul. You see...Mr. Paul drives a black Honda CRV. I explained to Noah that there are many, many black SUVs on the road, and it would be very easy to confuse Mr. Paul's car with another. I went on to explain that we can't spread rumours about people. Noah was very insistent (no surprise to anyone who knows him!) and said that he saw the person in the car and it looked like Mr. Paul. Noah also wanted me to tell Mr. Paul's wife, 'Miss Laura'. I flatly refused.

Noah wouldn't let it go. A day or two later, when he saw Miss Laura himself, he told her what he thought he had seen. She laughed. She then went on to explain to Noah that that is what is referred to as 'karma' because, apparently, Mr. Paul had recently made some sexist comments about women drivers. She said that she would be thrilled if it was really Mr. Paul who got pulled over, because it would serve him right!

I thought nothing more of it, until two days later when I ran into Paul at the school bus stop. Paul waved me over laughing and said, " I can't believe that little kid ratted me out!".

Yes, it really was Paul. After Noah told Laura about it...she called him and asked him about it. He told me that initially, he denied it...and then started laughing...because he couldn't believe that Noah spotted him from the school bus and told his wife!

It turns out that Paul was pulled over for speeding in a school zone after he dropped his son off at school. He ended up admitting to Laura that it really was him....initially he had planned to pay the ticket in cash...thereby not leaving a paper trail. Noah derailed that plan. *hehe*

The Search Is On....

One of my goals as a parent is to help my children find their passion. An activity, sport or artistic outlet that is food for their little souls.

Rebekah is crazy about horses, and really, all animals in general. For the last ten months or more, she has pretended that she is a dog. She barks at other customers in the grocery store, growls at people, crawls on all fours CONSTANTLY, encourages Noah to throw food to her on the floor and eats from her plate/bowl without the use of her hands. In short...she is driving me crazy. I keep waiting for this phase to pass.....but it STILL hasn't! Other people laugh and think it is cute...but there does come a time when the behaviour won't be age appropriate any more! I hope she outgrows it before then!

So, back to my original train of thought....since our move, Rebekah has begun to take horseback riding lessons. I really think it might be her 'thing'. She is really good! I credit her instructor with being quite brave to take on a four year old...most instructors won't work with children until the age of seven or eight years. I must say though...at the risk of sounding like a proud momma...he is really impressed with her! I have learned a lot by watching her lessons and asking a lot of questions too. I think it is a time each week that we both enjoy.

In the above video clip you can see Rebekah 'posting trot'. It is a lot more difficult than it looks! It is a timing thing...you have to have the same timing as the horse for the trot to be smooth. It also takes a lot of balance...all in all...her teacher is quite surprised that she can do it so well!

OK...enough bragging for this evening....check back another time for a second dose! *grin*

He Did It....Again!

You may remember that I have posted in the past that Noah had earned his yellow belt in Taekwando. One of the frustrating things that occurred as a result of our move, was that he had to start over again at a new school here in Ohio. The schools that are here happened to teach different styles of martial arts...so back to the beginning he went!

I am happy to report that Noah has just done it again! He earned his yellow belt again....this time with such a high grade that he got an extra tip (stripe) on it too! He worked hard...mostly to overcome his nerves. The classes are a lot larger at this school...and he had to recite his student creed and test in front of many people.

In the photo below, Noah performs a side kick...look at that height!

Noah admitted after his test that the most nerve-wracking part of his test was when he had to state his name, his favourite thing about martial arts, and four examples of where he has used improved discipline. Notice in the pic below that he is looking up and to the side...not directly at the crowd! :)

Below, Noah receives congratulations from his teacher. You can see all of the other kids that tested that same day in the foreground.

It was a big day. Even bigger than the accomplishment of earning his belt...I think that Noah is beginning to gain confidence in his new school...and it can only build from here!

Questions I've Been Asked....

I have to say, that lately, Rebekah is on a roll with her question asking. The best questions usually come up in the car on the way to or from preschool. I then get to share them with Kevin in the evenings so that we can have a good laugh together. The other night after one of these such discussions, Kevin made the comment, you've got to write this stuff down! So, that is what prompted me to get back to my blog.

I think about it all the time...I just haven't been making the time that I should to record all of these things. I know that if I don't though, I will regret it later! I love having that log of the things past...and I hope our children will one day love to have it too. There are so many fun and exciting things we have done since we have moved here four months ago. There have been trips and photos and changes to our house. Lots to record!

Now, back to Rebekah and her questions.....

1) Mommy, how fast can monkeys run? (I believe this came from watching Go, Diego,Go!)

2) Mommy, do dolphins and fish live in the water tower? Where do they go? (We drive by the town water tower several times a day).

3) Mommy, why do the leaves change colour?

4) Mommy, do birds have tongues? How do they drink? (perhaps a curiosity ignited by Diego again?)

5) Mommy, listen...can you hear that? (Me) I don't really hear anything. (Bekah) I can hear it. That's because I have good ear-sight.

The last question...I still can't believe she asked! My mother was the recipient of this one...when Kevin and I were away in Alaska.

First, let me set this up. Both of our kids realize that there is a difference in anatomy between boys and girls. They are getting to the age now that we are encouraging them to use modesty, and there is a rule in place in our house that they must knock before entering a room, although Bekah follows this rule a bit sporadically. So, long story short, Bekah decided to question my Mom about who had which body parts.

From what I understand the conversation went something like this:

Bekah: Nana, do you have a 'willy'?

Nana: Do you?

Bekah: No, I'm a girl.

Nana: Well, I'm a girl too. Girls don't' have 'willies'.

Bekah: Does Papa have a 'willy'.

Nana: (blushing and panicking about the rest of this conversation, I'm sure!) Well, I suppose so.

Bekah: How big is it?

Oh my goodness, did I ever laugh when I heard about this! I can imagine my Mom...my very old fashioned Mom, trying to have this discussion with Rebekah! I wish I could have been a fly on the wall that day! I'm not clear on how my Mom actually answered this question. I'm sure she was pretty vague, if I know my mother. Whatever she said, Bekah seemed contented with the response and the subject was changed...much to my Mother's relief, I'm sure!

I am sure there will be more interesting questions to come...and I look forward to recording them for the memory books. :)

Crash Course....

We have now had our first visit to the area Children's Hospital. That didn't take long now, did it? We have been here in our new home a grand total of about seven weeks.

It happened first thing Friday morning. Noah and Rebekah, true to form, were begging to go outside before the clock had even struck nine. Kevin was working from home that day because we had friends from our college days visiting. They had arrived the night before, so Kevin planned to work from home in and effort to condense his day a bit. Good thing. By 9:30, there was screaming and blood...more than I had seen come out of one of my children before.

Apparently, Rebekah had been speeding along on her two wheeler bike, chasing Noah. She skidded out on a slight slope and came down on the pavement on her chin. Ouch. Kevin jumped into action making phone calls to figure out where we needed to take Bekah (we hadn't even been to the pediatrician yet) while I did damage control and applied pressure. The advice was to take her to the Children's Hospital.

Once we got there, everything was smooth and efficient with almost no waiting. It took six stitches to put things back together. They froze the area with a topical gel. It took about a half hour of watching cartoons in order to give the gel time to work, and then there was a lot of poking, flushing, cleaning and prodding that took place.

Bekah was completely unfazed by the whole process. She wanted to go swimming and ride her bike again the very same day. Sigh....

Meet The Neighbours!

We had a surprise waiting for us when we moved into our new house. It started as the sound of cows mooing in the distance. Then, before we knew it, the cows were right next to our driveway! It turns out that the empty field that runs along side our driveway is in fact not really an empty field. It is the corner of a cow pasture. We have a ravine that runs along behind our property, and I wouldn't have thought that cows would climb through a ravine...but now I can tell you, they will.

Every few days the cows decide to come to our little corner of their field for a visit. The kids get a big kick out of it.....me, not so much. They happen to bring a lot of flies with them too.....

In this photo, you can see the cows right up against the fence by our driveway. Yes, that is our minivan in the foreground of the photo. They get really close.

Here we have Bekah with the cows. :)

Bekah and one of the many young cows checking each other out.....

Here we have a video of the cows on one of their visits. I had another video clip that I liked better...but it is longer and blogger didn't seem to like it very much. We have had MANY problems with phone and internet service since our move, but I will save that long, sordid story for another day. So, here is the short clip of the cows.

Enjoy the footage! :)

Two Wheels

About two to three weeks ago, Kevin asked me what I thought of taking Rebekah's training wheels off her bike. I gave him the thumbs up....although, truthfully, I had no idea if she was ready. I figured that the worst that could happen would be that he would have the inconvenience of putting them back on, right?

So, I went to take my shower, and by the time I came back outside my four year old was riding on two wheels! This was the scene in front of me.....her backside pedaling away!

Go Rebekah!

And here is the video to prove it. Away she goes!

Noah didn't learn to ride on two wheels until he was five and in kindergarten. I just assumed we would teach Rebekah at the same time. I guess I underestimated her. :)

Bekah's New Friend

So much is happening here in our new home. I am networking and trying to find playmates for the kiddies, and mommy friends for me. It is tiring. I have met a lot of nice people, but haven't spent enough time with them yet to consider them 'friends'. Getting close to people is WORK! It doesn't help that every time I meet someone, the leave on holidays!

One of the places that the kids and I recently got to explore is the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. It is a wonderful park, and we had fun despite the stinkin' heat.

We ended up walking out of the zoo with a membership, but not just a regular membership, it's a gold membership. I am such a sucker. At least part of it is tax deductible. :)

I loved the manatee exhibit. I was surprised that the kids weren't more into it though...they loved the baby tigers the best. Did you know that manatees eat lettuce? Big heads of romaine lettuce. Yum... Below are the kids with the manatee statues.

Here we have Noah on the Rhino at the front of the zoo (no, it's not real).

The gorillas were amazing to see! There were about 7 or 8 of them. This was obviously the alpha male of the group. He had such a presence about him. He was absolutely massive in size! We called him the Papa gorilla. Whenever we see something big, my kids say that it is the Papa of the group. Papa is the name they have for my dad....and anything that is small is 'Bekah sized'. Look at the look on his face....grrrrr.

This little guy decided to hitch a ride...just like my kids!

This woman was walking around the zoo with a baby wallaby in a carrier. We were able to go right up to them and ask questions. We learned that the wallaby was being groomed to be put in the Children's Zoo. This woman would walk around carrying the wallaby every two hours so that the animal would get used to encountering children. When we got home Noah told Kevin that we saw a lady with a kangaroo in her purse. :)

The highlight of the day was when Rebekah got to feed the giraffes. Noah preferred to watch from a distance (wink), and I was in charge of photography, so Bekah stepped up and fed the giraffes without hesitation. That's my girl!

Here we have Bekah feeding the giraffe on video.



Overall, it was a great day and we can't wait to go back! Maybe next time I will get to feed the giraffes. :)

Some Updates...Finally!

Well, we made it to our new home! We have been in our house two weeks as of yesterday. This will be a quick post...just to give you the highlights, and I will try to write more later.


- Noah had his first bee sting on our first day in the house. It was strangely reminiscent of when we moved into our last house and I was stung. He survived the ordeal with only a few tears, and now he just runs whenever he sees something remotely resembling a bee.


- Bekah has developed a new fascination for bugs. She has learned how to flip off the top level of retaining wall stones in our yard in order to find what she refers to as 'rolly pollys'. They are disgusting, fat, little bugs that roll up into a ball when you touch them. The real kicker was when Noah came running up to Kevin and said "Rebekah has a rolly polly in her hand and it's having babies!". GROSS! Kevin checked it out and sure enough, there appeared to be a trail of something-or-other coming out of the bug in Bekah's hand.


- We have also learned that fireflies do not fly fast enough to out-fly Rebekah. We came home after dusk one night and she discovered that she can catch them in her cupped hands. We could see the light shining through her pudgy, cupped, little hands. She even managed to catch one to give to Noah. :)

- Cows are our neighbours...and therefore so are a lot of black flies. :S One of those things that isn't really disclosed on a property disclosure agreement. We have a house on one side of us, woods on two sides, and a field on the other side. We didn't initially realize that the field is connected to a farm and the cows come right up the hill to graze. They are close enough that the kids can stand nose to nose with the cows through the fence.


- We had a deer in our front yard this morning. He looked like he was eating something close to my front porch...I am hoping it was the weeds.


- One night on our way home we had a mother deer and two of the smallest baby deer we have ever seen run across the road in front of us. The poor little things were panicked and didn't know how to get over the guard rail. One ducked under, the other one ran back and forth along the side of the road while I yelled at poor Kevin to go and rescue it. Fortunately, it didn't come to Kevin running in traffic too...the little guy found his way under the guard rail to safety before Kevin could make his move.


- We have all but our basement unpacked. Nothing is hung on the walls....but trust me, it will be soon. I am getting ready to wield the hammer myself.


I think that is the update for today. My bed is calling.....

Things Are Looking Up.....

After a very wet and rainy day at Sesame Place, we caught a break in the weather. Friday turned out to be sunny and about 80 degrees for much of the day.

Here are some photos from our day (in reverse order....it's just how they were uploaded!).

We finished the day with a last minute stop at Indian Echo Caverns. This is something that Kevin had discovered when planning our trip, but we had put it on the back burner, not really thinking that we would get to it. Once we finished our tour of the Hershey factory, we decided we still had some energy left, so off we went to tour the Caverns.

The photo below is of Kevin and the kiddies inside the caves.

This is one of the underground lakes inside the caverns...it is called Crystal Lake and although a bit difficult to see in the photo, it was probably the clearest naturally occurring water that I have ever seen.

This is our tour guide, Danielle, with Noah and Rebekah. Of course, Noah couldn't resist being foolish, and made a face instead of smiling nicely....sigh.....

Here we have some flow rock formations. Look closely and you might see the Easter Bunny winking at you!

Below the kids 'working the line' at Hershey's Chocolate World where we went on a tour to see how chocolate is made.

In the photo below, Kevin and the kids stand at the entrance to Hershey's Chocolate World. You can smell the chocolate all over town. By the time you finish taking the tour, they have pretty much convinced you to buy one of everything in the gift shop. Who can resist that smell?!

Before we made it to Hershey, PA we meandered our way through Lancaster, PA. This is the area where many communities of Pennsylvania Dutch people live. It was fascinating to see them in their traditional clothing, riding in buggies pulled by horses, hanging their washing out to dry. We met a five year old girl and her mother when we browsed in their family's furniture store. She looked like she had stepped out of a time in the past, with her braided hair and long, plain dress. One of the most amazing things we saw was in the parking lot of a popular restaurant....there were parking spots for horses and buggies (note the shopping cart in the foreground)!

Overall, we had a very good day. It was fun and educational....and the shining sun made it even better!

It Rained and it Poured But Nobody Snored....

Thursday was spent at a very wet, cold version of the warm and sunny Sesame Place that you see advertised in travel commercials. It poured the entire day. Actually, the rain did let up to a slow but steady drizzle in the afternoon for about 45 minutes. It was during that time that we took this pic on a ride. I can't remember what the thing was called...but it basically bounces you up and down until you feel like you are going to toss your cookies. The kids loved it.



We met one character up close and personal...the rest we saw during the parade. This is Bekah's meeting with Abby from Sesame Street. Noah refused to join in the picture...Bekah likes all the characters whether she knows who they are or not.

We saw one show during the day....Elmo's World. It was cute...just like the set you see on TV with the piano, Mr. Noodle through the window, and Dorothy the goldfish.

Before the show began, the kids got to check out the set. Here are Kevin and Rebekah in front of Elmo's piano.

This is how we all looked for the majority of the day. Coats zipped, hoods on, and umbrellas in action!

Noah and Kevin went on this roller coaster six times. Three times at the beginning of the day and then three more times before we left. The one good thing about the torrential rain was that there were no lines. :)

Here are Noah and Rebekah in the fire engine from the Sesame Street firehouse. They couldn't sit down on the bench because of the inch of water pooled there...so we had them stand on the seat for a quick pic in the pouring rain.

If you happened to be wondering about my title....it refers to the fact that in addition to the fact that the day was a washout...the kids didn't go to bed well either. I really think they were overtired. Noah felt nauseous after dinner, but was fine the next morning and Bekah woke repeatedly during the night to cry and carry on without any apparent reason. It was one loooooong day.......

Goodbye

Our goodbyes are finished and a new chapter is beginning. We said our final farewells today, and headed west towards Ohio. I am not really sure about how I feel about the whole thing....it may not have completely sunk in yet. I got away with fewer tears than I anticipated, and I am not sure if that is a good thing, or a bad thing. Time will tell.

We made it to PA today. It took us about 5 1/2 hours because of a dinner stop and some traffic around NYC. Kevin thought we would skirt around the Big Apple...but apparently, the GPS had a different idea. We drove right through the Bronx and into New Jersey. We got fabulous views of the Manhattan skyline, and that was fun to see again.

Sesame Place is on the schedule for tomorrow...unfortunately, the weather is grim. There is a 70% chance of rain ALL day. Ughhhhh. Hopefully, the weather man is wrong. I really hate being partially wet and partially dry. If I am in a pool, that is fine. If I am completely dry, that is fine. It is the in between part that I really hate.

The packing and cleaning of our house went well. Nothing notable happened. The new house is ready for our arrival...overgrown hedges and all. Kevin said that one of the bushes has overtaken the sidewalk. I guess yard work will be pretty high on the list of things to get done when we arrive!

Here are a few of our moving pictures. Here we have Kevin and Noah checking out the moving truck......

This is Noah and Rebekah inside the cab of the moving truck. The kids were thrilled to be given a ride in the truck to the end of our cul-de-sac when the driver had to turn around. The crew was excellent...very friendly with the kids and happy to do their best to accommodate us. Noah followed the poor guys around with incessant chatter peppering them with questions for two days straight. I am sure they will be grateful for the quiet on the long drive to Ohio. :)

This is Bekah with the moving crew just before they pulled away. Noah was at school at the time...so he didn't get to be there. He was disappointed. In the middle is the crew chief...Denzell (the one that Rebekah affectionately calls 'the one with the big belly'), and on either side there is a Ryan. Yes, they both have the same name. It makes things easier that way!

One of the nice things about this move is that we get to have the same crew at both ends. When we came from Switzerland to the USA there was no continuity...for obvious reasons, the people at either end were completely different. We already feel like we know these guys and they have a good understanding of us (well...mainly me) and our quirks. Denzell said that the picture became clear when he saw how neatly my children's drawers were folded and the colour coded closets helped to hammer the message home too. We have already talked about how we will systematically unpack and keep things as organized as possible. Stay tuned.....

It'll Be No Problem....

Our entire house is now packed and ready for the big move. The crew is still working on loading the tractor trailer, with a bit more to be finished tomorrow.

In funny 'moving news' though...the poor guy who got stuck packing my craft room/spare bedroom will never be the same! After the job was done, he admitted to us that he thought that the task would have been 'no problem', but he soon learned that looks can be deceiving. He said that he had moved executives for Creative Memories before, and his exact words were that 'they haven't got anything on you!'. It didn't help that there were boxes and boxes of photos from all of our travels stored under the queen size bed. I am sure that took up a few of the forty (yes...I did say forty!) boxes that were taken out of the room.

Well, I am low on battery, and Kevin is waiting for me with a cold drink after a long day. I will be back with more updates later!

Big Changes!

Wow....so much has happened since my last post in the fall! I have so many things to chat about....so many memories to record. I feel the need to get back to blogging to that I don't forget all of the everyday moments.


We are on the move again. Our next home will be in Ohio. Our last move, from Geneva to the Boston area, prompted the start of this blog....so I guess it is only natural that another move would revive it. :)


One recent, exciting event in our house took place when Noah earned his yellow belt in Taekwondo. He has been taking classes since January, and his Sa Bum Nim (coach) prepped the kids to be able to take their test before Noah had to move away. He had to perform his Poomse (a series of eighteen steps, punches and kicks), as well as selected techniques and the biggest and most exciting moment was the breaking of the wood. I muttered a silent prayer that he could actually do it...as they had never practiced breaking wood before. He did it on the first try!

Here is the video of his Poomse:

And, here is the big moment...the breaking of the wood!

I hope the video can be viewed successfully....this is the first time I have uploaded video. It seems to work at my end!

Enjoy, and be sure to check back for footage of Bekah's very first dance recital! :)