Extra Special Jack Night

I kidnapped my first born on Friday after school.  He had no idea what I had planned, or that I had even planned anything for that matter, when I showed up in the carpool line to pick him up.

He kept asking why he wasn't taking the bus.  All I told him was that I was kidnapping him for an Extra Special Jack Night.  And then I threw in, 'by the way, it's only okay for your parents to kidnap you'.

This was a much over do excursion for me and my big boy.  This elementary school thing is tough.  I miss my Jack.  And I'm pretty sure he feels the same.  Not to mention, once he gets home it's homework and after school activities.  And if it's not one of those, well, he has two little sisters that demand A LOT of my attention.  We were way over do.

We took an excruciatingly long ride to downtown.  And that was mainly due to Friday afternoon traffic.  Ugh!  A few times I thought Jack might fall asleep in the back seat.  But I kept assuring him it would all be worth it.  I'm not sure he was buying it.

When we pulled up to the Westin he still wasn't overly thrilled.  A little confused and I'm sure thinking, 'where are we'?

It was only when I popped open the back hatch and the valet came around to get our luggage that his precious face filled with elation.  If only, I had a picture of that moment.  It was certainly one of my highlights.

When he reached in his over night bag and saw his blanket and his lovey {yes, he still sleeps with it...sigh} he exclaimed, "we are spending the night?!?!".  Yes, my sweetest boy, you better believe it.

We checked in and got settled in our room right away.  I pulled out my bag of tricks which included a plethora of board and card games {a few new and some old trusties}, a bathing suit and goggles.  Life couldn't have gotten any better for him.

Since it was Extra Special Jack Night he got to choose first.  It was no surprise when he said he was hungry.  Dinner first.  We walked across the street to a pizza place of his choosing and enjoyed a dinner date.  Just the two of us.  We hardly knew what to do when we could complete an entire conversation without the interruption of two littles.  And let me just tell you, I got some good stories.

We then followed dinner up with dessert, of course.  Jack had a great debate over room service or the local ice cream shop.  Just when he thought he had made the decision on room service, we passed Sprinkles and he could not resist.  The temptation pulled him right in.

He enjoyed his orange ice cream topped with sprinkles, chocolate chips and gummy bears like never before.  Needless to say, I had to politely decline when he offered me a sampling.

We then made our way back to our hotel room and dove right into that stack of games that was awaiting us.  My favorite quote of the night, "we can play on the floor because Lucy isn't here to destroy it".  {see I told you our evening was way over do}  We spent the next few hours rotating between Connect Four, Sorry, UNO, and Old Maid.  I officially have an Old Maid lover on my hands now {one of my faves as a kid too}.

When we could hardly keep our eyes open any longer we changed into pjs and snuggled into bed for a movie.  Jack chose Nut Job, not so sure I recommend it, but I do recommend some snuggle time with this guy.  How lucky am I?

We woke the next morning and enjoyed cinnamon rolls and orange juice before hitting the indoor heated pool.  And as luck would have it, another six year old boy was there.  The two of them spent several intense minutes discussing Legos.  A perfect way to top an already perfect stay.

We came back to our room, played a few more games, and then packed it up.  All the while, Jack was telling me how much fun Extra Special Jack Night was. 

Little did he know, I had one more surprise up my sleeve before we made our way back home to the rest of the Cibula family....a trip to the ever coveted Lego store.

After one extra special night, Jack is the proud new owner of the Lego Grand Prix Truck and an expert Old Maid player.  

And I am one happy mommy that I had an evening all to myself with my most favorite big boy in the entire universe.

After an amazing bonding experience, I vow to keep this tradition alive, maybe not to this magnitude each and every time, but I vow.  Most especially once each of the littles hits Kindergarten.  Life just gets way too busy...got to stop and enjoy these most extra special God given beings.  

xoxo Jack.  Mommy thinks you are pretty extra special.

School Days

I've had the pleasure of spending my week gallivanting between schools enjoying various activities that each entailed.  It's nearly impossible for me to believe that we are closing in on school years.  Time does fly by.  So every opportunity I get, I'm there.  

I started off as a chaperone for Jack's Kindergarten Field Trip to the Children's Museum.  Nothing like getting the opportunity to ride a school bus with my favorite first born and seeing him in his element.  

What once was a monthly adventure to the museum has now become very few and far between with this guy.  Elementary school does not leave much wiggle room for our fun day trips around town.   So he and I were very ecstatic to revisit our old stomping grounds.   

The exhibit was Sonic Sounds.  So I took my little group of five around to each station and tried my hardest to keep up with them.  I must of done a role call check every 10 minutes.  I have three children of my own and I was a former K teacher, you would think keeping track of five kiddos would have been a piece of cake.  Hardly so.

If you ask Jack what the best part of the day was, he would surely say the walk to the park for lunch  and the playground.  He's already verbally added it to his summer list.

Though it was bit windy, the sun was shining and it was an absolutely fabulous day to be outdoors.

I closed up my week with Maggie's Spring Sing.  Now get ready for this one.  Before the day even arrived, Maggie declared "I'm not going to sing".  Fair enough.  I expected as much.  Although, she is Maggie the Pop Star around the house.  I can hardly get the girl to stop belting out tunes {not that I would ever want to}.

So when Daddy told Maggie he had a meeting during her Spring Sing, but would be happy to reschedule, Maggie responded with, "Don't come Daddy, I'm not going to sing, just go to your meeting".   Dear Grandma got the same response.  I assured the family they were better off not rearranging their day for the performance.  Maggie is a strong willed little thing, sweet as sugar, but strong willed, and what she says she means.

Lucy and I hardly fought for a front row seat, but we did want Maggie to know we were there.  So we sat close enough for her to see us, but I couldn't have lived with myself if I had taken the best photo op position for a child who had already stated that she wasn't participating.

I knew what was I was in for, but I must admit, I was not prepared for this....

Yes, every child faced forward, singing or not, and my darling Mags had her back turned to the audience nearly the entire time.

I must give her a little credit though, she did make one sideways glance through her hair to peak out into the crowd and then quickly turned her back again.

Meanwhile Lucy stood in the chair next to me, mimicking all the children's dance moves and singing right along.  Maybe she's our performer.

When it was over, Maggie melted into my arms with a flood of tears.  I commented on a "nice show and how hard the children must have worked" and dropped the subject.  After a warm hug and dried tears, Maggie very matter of factly said, "everyone can come to my ballet recital because I'm going to dance at that".

And so we will leave it at that.  Sweet Mags....my sugar and spice.

Top O' The Morn

Before you go thinking that I have too much time on my hands, I assure you I do not.  I just happen to have been a former teacher with a "March" box and have another box filled with "rainbow" birthday party supplies.

That being said, my kids enjoyed a festive breakfast this St Patrick's Day morn.

Because it was a school day for Jack, we had two celebrations this a.m.  Jack woke to find shamrocks through the hall, down the stairs, and straight into the kitchen.  He was convinced a leprechaun had spread the trail, "even though we are not Irish!".  I could not begin to argue with his deductions.

He was even more thrilled when he found his plate filled with a  rainbow cantaloupe, fruit for the pot of gold, two shamrock pancakes, and green milk.  {Just how I like my kids to start the day-with a shot of food coloring.}  Add a dash of Lucky Charms {which only happens once a year}, and well, my boy was feeling pretty lucky.

After I combed his bed head, I sent him off to school with an equally festive lunch....green apples, green grapes, a shamrock sandwich, green jello, pistachios, and a green yogurt.  And I must note the lunchbox came back empty....yes, he eats that much.

Jack's day only continued to get better.  He had a leprechaun hunt at school and each student even built a leprechaun trap.  I was happy to hear the leprechaun had escaped and didn't come home with him.  I don't think I could handle anymore shenanigans around here.

Nearly two hours later, the girls woke for round two.  Maggie followed the shamrock trail down to the kitchen with Lucy quick on her heels.  Maggie was in awe of the "beautiful rainbow table".

It was only when she saw her breakfast that all her luck ran out.  You see she wanted 'white milk, not green', 'cut up canteloupe, not a rainbow one', 'a round pancake, not a shamrock one' and 'cheerios, not that cereal she'd never seen'.  I promise...I'm not even kidding.  She wasn't ugly about it, but her face said it all..."this doesn't look like my normal breakfast".  When I prompted her a bit, she got rolling with all that  was wrong.

Believe it or not, it was actually cute and so Maggie.  We worked through it with a little explanation and all was well.

She even gave the green milk a try.

Meanwhile, Lucy didn't miss a beat.  She dove right into her leprechaun day breakfast and was over the rainbow with satisfaction.  Before long she was asking for "moh" of that sugary stuff that Maggie had turned her nose up at.  I do adore my easy eater.

Happy St Patrick's Day from me and my three little leprechauns!

D' Backs Season

One of the many things I enjoy about spring is baseball season.  Most especially when my favorite big boy is playing.  I am happy to announce that he seems to enjoy it as well.  When asked what his favorite sport is, he replies, "baseball is my favorite team sport and karate is my favorite individual sport".  We'll take it.

Because if you know Jack, you know he's had some hesitation with anything involving a team. It's a little of that type A, perfectionist, and control personality streak that seems to genetically run through every vein in his body.  I can't imagine where that would come from.  Happily we are making significant progress {in all areas}.

So given that, you can imagine my elation when he hits the field running whether for a game or just a practice.  And trust me, there are plenty of both.

With the sun shining {hallelujah}, Grandma and I packed up the girls and headed to field 8 to cheer big brother on.  This was already Jack's fourth game of the season and I digress, this is the first game I've taken the girls to.  But, geez, it has been cold.  I couldn't bare to put them through it.

We arrived to see Jack out on the field donned in his D'backs uniform.  Can I just say, what a cutie?  That boy wears his uniform well.  Lucy was just about beside herself when she spotted him.  "Jah! Jah! Jah!".  She was so loud that Jack had an unfocused moment of waving to his littlest.  Sweetness!

When Lucy wasn't cheering for her brother she was sneaking into the dug out to get some love from her Daddy.  I think she thought she was big stuff in there with all those boys.

I set the girls up with a picnic right by the fence.  It was the best view for them to watch Jack out on the field and up to bat.  I must admit, Maggie spent most of her time socializing with anyone she could find under 4 feet.  Some of the "friends" were feeling kind of shy and when I mentioned Maggie is often like that, I was looked at as if I were nuts.  Followed, by 'I never would have guessed that'.  I suppose she was feeling kind of social butterflyish today.  I'm thinking those cool Arial shades boosted her confidence.

As I mentioned, Jack seems to enjoy himself.  Whether he's on the field or not.  I love that he's getting a taste of team spirit.

We all watched in great anticipation as Jack came up to bat in a tie game.

But, none more than littlest Lu.

It's a hit!  The D'backs pulled out a 16 to 17 victory!

And Lucy could finally relax and enjoy the rest of her lunch with Grandma.

We are looking forward to many more SUNNY games this season.  I think it's fair to say we all enjoyed the beautiful day and watching our big boy play.

Getting Ready...

I feel very absent from our blog.  It's been over a week.  So unlike me.  And I am surely missing my evening 'decompress and reflect on why I really do love my kids' time.  Because sometimes after a long evening...I need those pictures to remind me.

But, honestly not much has been going on.  Just a lot of prepping for days up ahead.  We are getting ready for St. Patrick's Day.  Please take "getting ready" lightly here.  We've prepared some sweet over the rainbow treats for the teachers.  And I'm still in great debate mode about how big of deal to make it around the house.  It's most likely pending on if I can make a dollar store run before the 17th.

And speaking of dollar store, I found these cute green cups for the teachers there.  We filled them with a cello bag of skittles and a separate cello bag of hershey gold nuggets.  We then tied rainbow ribbon around the outside and attached this cute little tag that read, "you are the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow".  I'm hoping the teachers feel special.  They certainly deserve it after all they do {speaking from experience}.

We've also been getting ready for Jack's big 7.  I can hardly believe I just typed that number.  Wasn't he just 17 months old and giving me a run for my 'first time mommy' money?  Where does the time go?

So, I'm thinking this might be his last biggie.  We *may* go a little more low key from here on out with a few friends and a destination.  Just thinking {and kind of wishing}.  But, his party request this year is anything but low key. He has requested and I quote, "an animal adventure party".  So that's what I will be spending the month of March getting ready for.

And other than that, we've been hitting the field getting ready for baseball season {which we are  now three games in}.  I vow to post on that soon.  Getting ready for summer...woah, it will be here before we know it.  I've booked Maggie's June and July camps and Jack's June.  And we are still waiting for that perfect camp to make itself known for Jack's July.  Any ideas?

And speaking of summer, I have spent many a nights this past week on the computer researching Disney Cruises.  And I am happy to say, we have finally scheduled and booked one!  YAY!  But, shhhhh...don't tell the kids.  I'm not sure how I'm going to present one of the most awesome summer vacations EVER to them yet.

Okay...I'm off to get ready for the many things March precedes.  Hopefully my kids will do something really cute at one point this month so I'll have more to share.

Ta ta for now!

Lions or Lambs?

I'm still pretty skeptical on March following its's prophecy of "coming in like a lion and leaving like a lamb".  I actually foresee a little lamb and a lot of lion up ahead.  However, you will not find me complaing about this weekend's weather.

We were overdue for some much needed sunshine.  We pretty much hung out in the driveway every chance we could get this weekend, most especially Sunday.  After loading it up with nearly everything that had wheels or could bounce, my kiddos hit the concrete playing.

Add a few Cibula smiles and a lot of neighborhood kids and it was the kind of weekend that had me longing for Spring.

Yes, that is a banana and Zeba {from Great Wolf Lodge}.  Only my Maggie.

One of my favorite things about Lucy...her impromptu hugs.  I'm pretty sure her brother adores it too. 

I'm convinced that she thinks she is at least four.  She grabbed Maggie's helmet, put it on, and was on the tricycle before I could blink.  Next thing I know she'll be riding up to the neighbors houses inviting herself in for a play date.

This was Maggie's "Pet Shop On Wheels".  How I adore her girly-girl self.

After our little stint in the great outdoors I've got my fingers {and toes} crossed for an early Spring.  Wishful thinking after the winter we are having, huh?  Lions and lambs {humph!}