Birthday boys.

June 21st is a REALLY big day in our house.  Two birthdays on the very same day.  In 2004 we spent the entire day in a birthing suite waiting for Will's arrival.  Over planning has always being one of my strengths, so I had birthday gifts wrapped and ready for Aaron in the back of my car.  I sent him down to the parking garage to fetch them as soon as the epidural was in full effect.  [The nurses thought I was Wife of the Year!]  Presents were important because Aaron wasn't too sure about sharing his big day, but I knew how great it would be.  You see, I share a birthday with my dad. [Amazing coincidence, right?]  It was great to celebrate together and I wouldn't think of having it any other way.  Aaron now feels the same way.

Since Will's first birthday, we have hosted large family celebrations!  Cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a few friends made for great backyard barbeques. 

With a milestone birthday this year for Aaron, there are multiple celebrations.  [I promise to fill you in on the details from his 40th birthday party very soon! ]  Will already partied with his friends and it was pretty much the best party for nine year old boys.  Why not pull up an RV loaded with video games and screens and throw sixteen kids in there for 90 minutes?  Best. Party. Ever.

All my love to my birthday boys! 

Keeping summer minds active

Let them run, get dirty, stay up late, sleep in, eat s'mores, and just be kids! Summer is pretty fantastic in so many ways!  However, doing work that looks like school can be a total drag.  I am taking a new approach this summer.  I am throwing out the workbooks [actually I just didn't buy them] and being more creative.  I thought I would share my new approach with you.

Here are few [fun] summer learning ideas to keep their minds active:

//Board Games//
Scrabble- Builds spelling, creativity & strategy, math skills. 
Rummikube-  Builds problem solving and math skills
Apples to Apples - Excellent game to build vocabulary and practice reading. 
Balderdash - Players must use language creatively to create a definition of an unknown word. 

//Reading//
Books on CD- My oldest loves to listen to novels on CD. He enjoys the narrators. Look for them at your local library for check out.  It is a great way to spend a lazy afternoon. [Picture books are also available with CD recordings!]

TumbleBooks - eBooks online.  We have access to TumbleBooks through our county library system.  Ask if your library has TumbleBooks or something similar.

Read a book/Watch the movie - Don't you love to read a book and then see the movie?  So do kids!  The possibilities are endless.  Hoot was the last book/movie combo Big W completed. 

//Math//
Roll coins old school style.  Grab some paper wrappers from the bank, give your kids your spare change jar, and get counting.  Perfect for skip counting practice and coin recognition.  Who needs Coinstar?  We've got kids!

Cool Math games  An amazing assortment of math games.  Little Man would play for hours if I let him!

Bake from scratch.  On a cool day [or any day of you have A/C], bake something from scratch.  Recipes reinforce following directions and the understanding of fractions. 

//Writing//
All about Me- A wonderful keepsake!  Kids fill in the pages all about themselves!

Send postcards. - Sadly, many kids don't have many opportunities to send mail.  Don't wait to go on vacation.  Find a few postcards at the local drugstore, write a quick message and address it.  Great practice for writing addresses in the correct form.

Start a Blogger blog. - Yes!  Kids can have blogs too.  They are easy to set up and free.  Any topic can work for a blog as long is the writer is passionate about the subject.  My kids write about their summer adventures.

Story Stones - Stones with images help kids tell or write a story.  You could make your own or purchase these incredibly cute hand painted stones.  [I think they would be a great gift!]

//Creativity//
Ed Emberly - These learn to draw books are perfect for kids [and grown ups].  They are so easy to follow and kids feel successful right away.

Creative Haven Coloring Book- These graphically beautiful coloring books are amazing for older kids.  Believe me, they still love to color.

Doodle Books  - Ever heard, "I don't know what to draw?"  The doodle books help kids get their pictures started with a few lines already on the page and a prompt on how to finish the drawing.  Hours of fun!

Create a photo book - Let your kids take pictures throughout the summer and help them make a keepsake photo book. 

LEGOS- This link is to a blog that presents 52 LEGO challenges. It includes challenges to build a bridge, a playground, and a flag.

//iPad Apps//
Where's My Water? 
Where's My Perry?    
Stack the States
Mathmateer 
Word Bingo  

{image via  }

a first day. a last day.

[first day.  Fall 2010]

This little guy had squeezable cheeks, no glasses and awesome style! [I truly loved it when I got to dress my guys.  I made sure they looked hip, but I digress.]  He was eager to be at school like his big brother and ready to make some of his own friends. 

[end of year party. June '13]

This little man finishes Kindergarten today and is officially a big kid in my eyes.  Finally, the last day!  He complained each day, including every day this week, about school.  Too long [6 1/2 hours] and too much work [40 pages of work sometimes!].  He may exaggerate just a bit, but he never wavered on his feelings toward school.  He is nothing but consistent.  In spite of himself, he grew leaps and bounds this year.  He even learned to read, but chooses to hide it.  We call him "the super secret reader".  He is such an amazing kid in so many ways, but school isn't his thing.  It may never be.  I find that sad and disheartening and so desperately want to change his mind.

I was once asked to give one of my dearest friends advice at her baby shower.  I advised, "Love her for who she is, not who you thought she would be."  I have decided to follow my own advice.   Hank is set in his ways, emotional, and quick tempered.  Not always easy to manage, but witty and funny.  I love to be around him and will defend him to the end of my days.  I often go in his room at night and watch him sleep.  He is content, safe, and still so, so little. I can't change who he is, so I will try and help him become the best version of himself. 

Parenting.  Firsts, lasts, and everything in between.  It is quite the ride and never know what to expect.  Here's to the next first!

A hand written thank you

I am taking a moment to write thank you notes for my boys' teachers.  I know that many parents, usually moms, freak out about what to give a teacher at the end of the year.  Some spending hours and hours on craft projects and keepsakes.  From my 10 years as an elementary school teacher, the hand written notes are actually the gifts I treasure the most.  Each of them include heartfelt words that express gratitude and explain the ways in which I touched their child's life.  These are things you don't hear everyday in the classroom.  Many times I had no idea the impact I had on children and their families.  It was touching to read their kind words at the end of a long school year.   I have many tucked away for safe keeping.  I make a point every year to write a note and personally hand it to my sons' teachers.   [I usually tuck a gift card inside because one person can only have so many coffee mugs.]

If your child's school year has not yet ended, take a minute and thank a teacher in your own way.  Believe me, a card can be enough.

I found this adorable thank you card at my local bookstore.  I loved the anchor as ode to summer. 
The Brush & Mallett has creative hand drawn greeting cards [made here in Seattle] for every occasion.  Check out their website or their Etsy store.

Keeping the fun it.

Yes, that is an orange that Big W is about to hit.  The big guy had a playoff game this week.  The boys were treated to some fun during batting practice prior to the game.  Why not smash the skin off an orange to get you pumped up for a big game?  This entertaining departure from regular warm ups made me [and the boys] very happy.

The boys were elated for the obvious reasons.  I, on the other hand, loved that our coaches were keeping the kids focused on what is truly important when you are playing baseball [or any sport for that matter] at the age of 8 or 9.  They were focused on fun.  Our boys were talking about orange juice spraying in their face and wiping their bats with baby wipes when they entered the dugout.  [Exactly what second and third graders should be doing!]

My hope is that my boys continue to play for coaches that keep a great perspective and teach them well.  Coaches that teach them hard work pays off and consistent practice will lead to improvement.  Coaches that teach them tenacity and resiliency, in sports and in life, make you a stronger human being.  Coaches that teach that the greatest athletes are also great teammates.  I want them to learn that winning is fantastic and losing pretty much sucks. 

But in the end, I just want them to love playing and I want them to have coaches that keep the fun in it!

look in the lost and found

Where is your [          ]?  The blank can be filled with sweatshirt, backpack, lunch box, hat, kendama.  You name it, my kids have lost it.   When our elementary school career started four years ago, I was not the picture of calm when Big W would bound out of the school doors missing an essential item. Honestly, there was usually a freak out on my part and tears for him.   As a Kindergartner it would often be the largest thing he carried to school everyday, his backpack!  [That we could usually find in the classroom.]  Everything else had to be searched for in the lost and found.   Have you ever dared to peek at an elementary school's lost and found?  Good gracious!  It is not for the faint of heart.  The sheer volume is staggering.  We could clothe a small village of children from our lost and found alone.

With two boys at school to loose their stuff,  it seems I am there multiple times a week this year.  Gone are my freak outs!  I calmly march them inside to sort through the piles of sweatshirts, jackets, lunch boxes, and hats.  [While quietly biting my lip so I won't mutter, "How is it possible that you lost your sweatshirt again?"] Somehow we have found every item lost this year.  I am sure many have not been so lucky.  Or the poor mothers don't even know it is missing.  Time is ticking and before you know it the school doors will be closed and those precious items will be gone forever.  Double check your house for items you haven't seen around in a while and then tell them, "You better find your stuff!"

[folded lost and found items.  sweatshirts and coats three or four deep on two long tables]

guys read

We are entering the gray area of the school year.  Not yet over, but motivation is diminishing [on all fronts.].  We have to keep them reading!  Finding a book they are excited about is key.  I wanted to share with you the titles of two series that are huge hits in our house!

little guys read: Elephant and Piggie

Elephant & Piggie books by Mo Willems are some of Little Man's favorites.  They are great for new readers.  The text is simple and predictable.  The story lines are easy for kids to relate to and the characters are hilarious!  The newest title, A Big Guy Took My Ball, arrived on our doorstep this week.  We highly recommend these books for kids of all ages. 

big guys read: Wings of Fire

Wings of Fire [Books 1 & 2 so far....] is series about five dragonettes, baby dragons, with a destiny to save their world.  Big W, almost 9, was hooked from the first page.  He devoured the first two books and has been anxiously awaiting the release of the the third installment, due out in June.  My oldest is a reluctant reader, so if he is jazzed about this series I can only imagine that many others would be too.

What books do your kids love to read?

Remember, Guys Read, is a great resource to find books boys [and girls] will love to read.
[Read about other favorites in hour house here and here.]

cooperative subjects.

I am smack dab in the middle of a fairly intensive photography course.  My mind is swimming with new vocabulary, settings, and functions.  I have weekly assignments, which I submit for critique, that ask for me to find cooperative subjects.

I thought it might be comical to share with you a few outtakes of my "cooperative" subjects.  Taking pictures of my boys is a full contact sport.   

[Just a note.  These are straight of my camera with no editing. Also, the colors may seem odd because my assignment included experimenting with picture style.]

This is the picture I submitted for critique.

I am learning.  Let them be as nuts as they want to be and just keep clicking.  Every once in awhile you catch a great moment.

[And on the flip side, I love the outtake shots!  Gotta love them for who they are, right?]

watch your mouth!

"Watch your mouth or I will wash it out with soap!" Bring back any memories?  Let's call it throw-back mothering.  And, yep, I have shouted that a time or two in the last few months.  It seems my boys [9 and 6 years old] know all the major swear words.  Super!!  My sweet little babes have the knowledge to swear like a trucker. 

Is there a more effective tool than a bar of soap?  I think not.  I use good old Dove soap to wash my face, so I had a bar available when I needed it.  [Luckily it appears that my boys are quick learners.  Once was enough, thank you very much!]  However, most modern day moms only have liquid soap around the house.  So what is a mother to do?  A friend recently shared her swabbing technique when a bar of soap is not handy.  Simply squeeze a small line of Dawn dish washing soap on your index finger and swab the inside of their mouth.  [An alternative would be to rub the soap on their front teeth.]  I could not stop giggling as she described her method!  If only our kids knew the enjoyment we get from discussing their demise.  Evil I tell you, pure evil. 

What techniques do you use to dissuade your children from swearing?

Old school methods are effective, including throw back snack service.  Why fix it if it isn't broke?


image via

they made me a mom.

 [these monkeys make me a mama]

Oh yes! They are completely crazy, but they are mine. They made me a mom.  Nothing has been the same since I held my little men in my arms.  Instant love.  Nothing has ever made me so happy.   I know you feel the same. 

My hope is that you are celebrated in every way this weekend!  Celebrated for making lunches, signing permission slips, reading books at bedtime, planning birthday parties, playing chauffeur, doing the laundry, finding a lost toy, calling the furnace repairman, going on field trips, cheering at games, working extremely hard at your "other" job in the outside world, burning the candle on both ends, worrying you are doing right.   Celebrated for being kind, graceful, loving, loyal, committed, fierce, beautiful and real.  Happy Mother's Day to all of you!  xoxo
{P.S.  I love you Mom!}

And the text from my very first blog post in 2009.  I was just a mom trying to survive. And so [Where is June?] was born. 

Ever think you are the only one?

Why blog? Because the cool kids do it? No, I want to write as a form of free therapy! Often times at the end of the day, I wonder if I am the only one that needed to send a child to his room 8 times for not listening and talking back. Or if any other mother had to add a lock to the door into the garage so that her toddler wouldn't sneak out to sit in "daddy's car"! Or if am the ONLY ONE who feels like the hostess, waitress, cook, bus boy, and the dishwasher. And no one ever seems to leave a tip!

If you would like to "listen" in....I am happy to share! Any advice? I would be happy to take it!

an after school snack: golden nugget mandarin

I may be late to the party, but we are loving the new Gold Nugget mandarin oranges in this house.  They are larger than your typical mandarin orange and look a bit odd with an extremely bumpy rind.  However, they are easy to peel and extremely sweet and juicy [plus no seeds].  Big W ate 3 in one sitting.

I will be serving up a Golden Nugget mandarin with cheese and cashews for a quick "fill-me-up" before a baseball game today at 5pm. 

Look for Golden Mandarins the next time you are in the supermarket.
What are you serving for an after school snack?

a slice to go

To say packing my children's lunches each morning is difficult is an understatement of grand proportions.  Near impossible is more like it.

Big W has always found it difficult to eat in the lunch room.  There is way too much going on for him to concentrate on food.  Since Kindergarten he has eaten most of the contents of his lunchbox at snack time.  Little Man can count the foods he eats on one hand.  He has recently decided that he no longer likes Nutella, which basically sustained him for 3+ years.  So it goes without saying- I have to be creative. 

A recent lunch box staple is cold pizza.  I bake a pizza early in the week and put once slice in their lunch each day.  If I was a real go getter, the pizza would be homemade with organic ingredients.  Since I am NOT, I buy California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizza and call it good.  So far, they are digging the pizza and actually eating it.  But I know it is only a matter of time until I will need to think of something new. 

What are your solutions for packing your kids' lunches? 

{PS.  I have you seen the blog Lunch Box Blues? It is crazy what this dad packs everyday.}

a nutcase

It is bike riding season again.  Finally!  After a long, long winter it is time to ride bikes to school.  I run. They ride.  Little Man isn't old enough to ride without an adult [school rule], so he is stuck with me.  I love it because I get a quick workout in and I don't have to deal with the car drop-off circle.

And you know, when you are riding bikes..... Safety first!
We recently found the best bike helmets ever.  They have totally fun graphics and an easy magnetic closure, which means no pinched skin.  Nutcase makes kid and adult helmets for every kind of activity you can think of. 

 

 {Big W wears a Little Nutty "Silver Fly"}

{Little Man rocks a Little Nutty "Superstar"}

On the back of all the helmets it reads: i love my brain.  How clever is that?  

Many bike stores to carry Nutcase helmets, but all of the styles are shown in the online store.  Check it out.  All of their helmets are really creative and fun. 

Happy riding!

mom says no.

Little Man got a new pair of kicks last week.  I think they are pretty cool.  He is not as pleased as I am.  Why not, you ask?  They don't light up.

He is desperate for shoes that light up when he walks.  The Stride Rite: Star Wars Captain Rex 2.0 would be his first choice.  The answer is, and always has been, no.  I am not sure when [or why] I decided no on light up shoes, but there is no caving on this one. 

Now that he is six, I thought the fascination would have diminished and he would be more interested in shoes that make him run faster, jump higher, or look cooler.  Nope.  He is not giving up on the dream, so the battle will continue in shoe department.  However, this round goes to me.

When it comes to your kids' clothes, what is one thing will most likely never say yes to?
[Because when it comes to kids- I have learned to never say never.]

opening day

Tonight is the home opener for the Seattle Mainers.  Both of my boys were lucky enough to be at home openers for their very first big league game.  I remember how excited we were to take each of them!  The games were not warm and it even snowed during Little Man's first game.  [Thank goodness for the rolling roof.] But we bundled up, packed the diaper bag, and bravely went to watch the M's. 

[Big W. '05]

 

 [Little Man. '07]

Outings, such as a ballgame, with wee ones was never easy.  [As you might have noticed Little Man was tiny and that is a bottle of breast milk I brought along with us.]  But now I can happily share with them the pictures and tell them the story of their first game.  

This coming Saturday they will both be suiting up for their first Little League games of the season.  From babies to little men....and we are along for the ride!  How lucky are we?

[team thomas.]

invest your love

{image via}

invest wisely. 

I am spending a whole week with my boys.  No school, no homework, and no schedule.  [Unfortunately no beach, but we will make the best of it!]  It is wonderful change of pace for all us!  Spring Break for life.

pick up your LEGOS.

[via]

A LEGO mom's dream.  All LEGOS in their proper place.  There is nothing worse than stepping on a stray LEGO piece in the dark.  How can a small piece of molded plastic cause so much pain?

These storage containers are dreamy.  Shaped just like a brick with a removable top.  They stack just like the smaller pieces and are just so darn cool. 

The storage heads are pretty fantastic too!

[via]

Since I am such a total sucker for storage containers, I just bought a few to get us organized.  Now the trick is to get the boys to actually USE them!!  That is an entirely different challenge.

[I also found them here, here, and here.]

guys read [Lunch Lady]

I will be honest, it hasn't always been easy to find books my guys [grade 3 and Kindergarten] are eager to read.  When we find one that gets the green light - I promise to share. 

The Lunch Lady series is one such hit!  These graphic novels are funny and imaginative.  The Lunch Lady and her kitchen assistant Betty are the heroines - using crime fighting gadgets disguised as kitchen tools to save the day!  "Serving Justice! And serving lunch! "There are eight books in the series, thus far, and each of them has been equally fantastic.  Boys [and girls] can't put them down. 

[via]

Book:
Lunch Lady Book Series:  Books 1-8

Author:
Jarrett J Krosoczka
http://www.studiojjk.com/

Read this great interview with the author. 

Remember http://www.guysread.com/ .   This site is the ultimate resource for finding great books for your guys! 

soggy bottoms

A little ingenuity and a sense of humor got us out of a soggy situation yesterday.  Little Man was eager to run off some energy at a neighborhood park.  He bee-lined it to the super, fast slide and down he went.  In the rainy northwest, every park veteran knows to check slides for water before sliding.  My guy made a rookie mistake.  His pants were soaked from waist band to hemline-all the way through to his underwear.  Yep, pretty much ended park time.

We hustled to the car and I quickly shifted into crisis management.  I had him strip and wrap up in a blanket, which I luckily carry in my emergency box.  I didn't have time to go home, so I used my car heater vents as a dryer.  The pants would have taking a week to dry, so I dried his underwear instead.  Little Man giggled and giggled in the back seat.  We were headed into Seattle, so I bought him a new pair of warm ups when we arrived and the rest of our day went off without a hitch.

What crazy solutions have you come up with on the spur of the moment?

the pressure of a name

I recently read of parents naming their baby girls interesting names.  Rainbow and Jett.  I worry for Rainbow.  That is going to be a tough, tough road.  On the other hand, I actually really like the name Jett.  Unique, strong and a great name for a girl to grow into.  Why is one unusual name likeable and the other - not so much?

Naming a child is a huge job.  I will admit I was a little nutty.   Making list after list.  My husband and I didn't decide on our boys' names before they arrived.  There were top choices, but the final decision came after we held each one of them.  In the end, we chose traditional names for our little men.

What do you think about Rainbow or Jett as a first name?
What did you consider when you named your children?

[a post about babies?  I couldn't help myself.]

william james

henry vaughn