Trailhead Park

I had forgotten how nice it is to go to Trailhead Park. Boogs has not been there since right about the time he turned one. We used to go there with one of the mommy groups I belonged to. The wooden play structure has several bridges and slides so we spent at least an hour playing “troll”. Boogs led our expedition on the walking trail. He found a stick and carried it around, poking at everything he could reach. It sprinkled on us while we were on the trail. That is the only thing that made Boogs want to turn back towards the car. He would have explored that trail for hours. We stopped at a bunch of big rocks. I did not think he would be able to climb them. He did and he was fast. He is such a big boy now. My little baby is long gone.

Catching up on last week

We were busy last week and I let the blog writing get away from me. I have started a new eating plan and have been calorie counting. So, if I pass my calorie limit in a day, I have been getting on my elliptical machine to make up the difference. I had three gym workouts last week and put in 24 miles with walking, running and elliptical. I was exactly 4 calories over my limit for the week. Not too bad. But it is taking up more of my evening after Boogs goes to bed.

It rained a lot last week. We took a few walks in the rain. Boogs discovered that he can fit behind the shrubs in front of the house. We had to find indoor things to keep us occupied. We read a lot of books last week. Last Tuesday, Boogs and I went to visit my brother in Buda and take him lunch. My brother had back surgery and is kind of stuck in the house for a bit. Boogs said he liked going over there because Uncle Robert has good cartoons on his TV. On Wednesday, Boogs had a friend over for the day. We went to the library story time, made a 4^th of July craft, and played for hours. Thursday was a quiet day for us. We ran errands and just hung out around the house. On Friday, we went to Belton to visit friends. Boogs’ loves Ms. Chris’ house. There are 3 dogs and 4 kids there. “B” and Boogs spent a lot time playing with an overhead projector. It startled me at first when I walked in “B’s” room and saw the writing on the wall. Boogs had a good time. We came home just in time for bed. Saturday was a quiet day for us.

Monster Monday Preschool Camp

We had MONSTER MADNESS here on Monday for our preschool theme. I made sure to emphasize friendly monsters so that the kids would not be scared. I found some really cute monster cards and sorting mats here: http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/monster-printables.htm

We talked about the different attributes of the monsters – color, number of eyes, teeth, horns, and antennas.  We each chose two monsters to dance with and jammed to The Monster Mash. Then I had the kids go into the playroom while I hid the monster cards in the living room. They had a great time going on a Monster Hunt. Boogs was really sweet about making sure his friend was able to find some cards, too.

After all 28 monsters cards were found, we used the sorting mats to sort the monsters by color. Then we made a tally chart to see how many monsters were in each color. Next, the kids helped line up the mats from least to greatest.

I used the Colorforms Silly Faces game as our monster game. Boogs liked playing the game and started putting things in odd places, like hats for ears. We had to play it a couple of times. I found it interesting that Boogs wanted to continue playing this game as a monster game, but really has had no use for it as a silly face game. Maybe I should start renaming some of his other toys.

We read three monster books: Where the Wild Things Are, Go Away Big Green Monster, and Grover’s on the Case. We sang - If you are a monster and you know it grunt and groan, stomp your feet, make a face, show your claws, gnash your teeth.

For our cooking activity we made monster toast. The kids put a few drops of food coloring into small bowls of milk and used the milk as paint. I bought new paintbrushes just for this. We toasted the bread and enjoyed eating it with a little bit of butter.

For our craft today, we made monster masks. Michaels had a good deal on packages of face masks. I simply opened the craft cabinet and let them choose whatever they wanted to use to decorate their monster face. Boogs decided that he did not want to get too messy today so he used stamps and inks for his mask. The other child used mostly buttons.

It was a really good day. Boogs likes knowing that Mondays are for company.

Busy Weekend!

Whew! We had a busy weekend. After VBS on Friday, I took Boogs to my mom’s house. Saturday was my 40^th birthday, my mom took Boogs so my husband and I could go out and spend some time together. Boogs’ cousins were also visiting my mom. Boogs had a great time with them. I am not sure he really wanted to come home on Sunday.

Friday afternoon, I went over to a friend’s house for a pool party. I saw people I have not seen in years. It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since I have been in an elementary classroom. It was a fun, childless afternoon.

My husband took me out to dinner Friday night. I can’t remember the last time we had a date. Saturday morning, he got up early with me and went to my yoga class. Later, I dropped him off at a posing session while I took Boogs’ carseat to my mom’s. Oops, I forgot to leave it on Friday. I picked my husband up from his session and then we went to our gym for a workout with our personal trainer. I had fun hanging upside down on the newly installed rope at the gym. I may be 40, but I am still just a big kid. We went shopping for accessories for my birthday present, an iPhone. Then we had dinner, saw a movie,  and  called it a day. This is the most time I spent with my husband since Christmas vacation.

Sunday morning I went for a run, the longest distance I have ever gone. 7 miles. Boogs came home a little while later and told me all about his weekend with his cousins and grandparents. He was very excited to give me a birthday card, gift card, and a homemade robot. I think he was most interested in the carrot cake. My husband bought one piece for us to split. Good idea…I could eat an entire carrot cake by myself in one sitting. It was a busy weekend, but a lot of fun.

Every year I pose with my cake and show how old I am. Man, I am looking old in this one!

VBS Finale

At the closing of VBS, all of the kids performed for their parents. It was really cute. I know it is hard to see Boogs in this shot, but he was definitely into the song. He is easy to pick out of the crowd with that blond hair.

VBS

Yesterday's VBS newsletter said, "Tomorrow is Clash Day, so let your kids run wild and pick their most obnoxious clothes combinations!" Sounded like fun, so here is what Boogs wore today:

Apparently, no one else reads the daily VBS newsletter. My boy was the only one dressed in obnoxious clashing clothing. I asked the person in charge of his age group why no one was dressed like that. She said she did not know about it. So, I showed her the newsletter. She did not realize that was in there. Neither did any of the other teachers or parents. Oh well, that is what I get for trying to be up to date on things. At least he is young enough not to be embarrassed about it. 

Slow week

It has been a slow week for us. Boogs is in Vacation Bible School (VBS) from 9 to noon each day this week. I am not feeling well, so I have not done much with Boogs in the afternoons. Hopefully we will get back into our groove soon.