Soccer

We signed Quinn up for a pre-k spring soccer league. She is by far the youngest (turning three during the season opposed to almost 4 or even almost 5), the smallest, and the most off task on the team. BUT, for the most part she really likes it. They have had two practices, and a game (plus a cancelled game) so far.

Quinn loves to run around on the grass during practices and pick flowers. When you ask her what she is suppose to do during soccer, she'll usually tell you, "listen to coach."

Right before the second practice as I was getting her out of her carseat, I was reviewing expectations with her, I said, "At soccer, you need to listen to your coach, kick the ball, and stay by your friends, understand?" She replied, " Understand. And pick flowers." Ha.

One of the other moms told me her little boy told her, "Quinn doesn't want to play soccer. She just wants to pick flowers." Very observant little guy.

Quinn does like doing the tiny kicks (dribbling), and finding "letters" on the field. The corner kick area is a D, and there are T's and L's all over. She also loves to sit in her ball. All the kids do, actually. Oh, and she loves to give out hugs to the other kids.

Quinn was sad the morning of her game, and instead of being wild and not playing, she was pouty and not playing. Poor girl. The other kids were really adorable. And hopefully, next week Quinn will be in a happier mood.

A Nice Little Saturday

We had a pretty busy, but fun Saturday. Dalan was feeling good (for one of the first times in weeks), so we took advantage.

In the morning, Quinn and I met up with Amber and Lexi at the Hilltop sale. We found tons of great stuff, plus you can't beat the prices.

Quinn's soccer game was rained out. Boo! But it did give us a chance to go check out a local farm that sales grass fed meat. We bought some to try, and if it helps Dalan feel better, we will likely end up buying a half of a cow (along with VaRonica's family) in the future.

We ran some other errands, and stopped by a gluten free bakery that was recommended to me and Dalan got some bread. He loves it! I hope he can continue to feel good and find things he likes to eat.

Next, we took Quinn to Scheels. She was too short to ride the ferris wheel, but didn't seem to mind. We let her ride the escalator standing, instead of being carried, and she thought that was awesome. We took multiple rides.

She also loved the fish tank. She is talking more and more, but often sounds like a a person speaking English in a stereo-typical Italian accent. She thought the fish "looked kind-a like-a Nemo" and "kind-a like-a Dori".

She also had fun in the play area, and eventually we had to ambush her to get her out. Ha, ha!

We then had quiet time, and Quinn watched Nemo. After the movie, we took a walk over to the school so Quinn could play on the playground. The minute she saw the playground, she jumped out of her stroller, and started sprinting.

There were a lot of big kids on the playground, but Quinn held her own. They were playing tag. They asked her if she wanted to play, and she said, "yep!" But didn't quite get it. And one point "the little girl was IT," but we couldn't get her to tag anyone.

It was so fun, and so good to have Dalan up and feeling well!

Busy Bees

We are going to be busy for the next seven weeks! It's a good busy (well, most of it), but busy none the less. Here is all that is on our plates...

- Ali and McKay's wedding. Hooray! We have been looking forward to this day for so long, and now it is almost here. We will be busy with showers, crafting, and all the other fun last minute wedding things.

- March for Babies. One month until the walk, and beside fundraising, I am on the family teams committee. So this is keeping me a little busier than usual.

http://m.marchforbabies.org/Quinners

- Soccer. Practices, games, and a wild preschooler. Oh my! (More to come on that later.)

- Health. Dalan's health has been not the best lately. Celiac's is a jack ass disease., between feeling crappy and doctor appointments and menu planning, it is like another full time job. Poor guy.

- Full time jobs. Oh yeah, we both have full time jobs. And I have 31 second graders in my class. That is a lot!!!

- Quinn's birthday. You know I can't resist putting together a little party for number 3!

- Volunteering. I am also volunteering a couple of times a month at the NICU and helping plan the reunion in June.

Whew! Too bad I am a stress eater, or I would say all the busyness would help me shed a few pounds.

Spring Break Summary

We did a lot of fun things over spring break (beside the zoo and the baby animals), including hanging out with friends and hanging out at home. It was fun. And it made me wish for summer vacation! Here are some photos.

12 for 12 (April)

Oh yes, we are counting down! 

My students amaze me every year with their generosity!

Selfie...I am wearing Ali's old clothes.  Her fat clothes are my skinny clothes. 

Splashing!

Quinn eating a snack!

Dalan eating a snack- rice!  He has been very sick.  Celiac's is a jack ass disease. 

Fun with stickers!  (Thanks Linda)

Playing outside....Quinn in the dirt, and Dalan listening to the baseball game. 

Redbox kind of night.  We got Argo.

A selfie of Quinnie and me waiting for Dalan.

First, we watching Monsters Inc and ate snacks. 

Being silly with my favorite almost three year old!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's almost that time of year again. Can you guess what I am talking about?

Clues:
- Last year, one person asked, "all of this is for just one child?"
- I have already started cleaning out Quinn's closet in anticipation.
- And also taking inventory of the summer clothes we already have.
-I have been pondering 2T vs 3T.... Got to take growth spurts into account. Weight is always going to be under the recommendation.
- I am getting giddy thinking about sun dresses and shorty shorts.
- I know we don't need any toys!

I am talking about Hilltop's Spring Consignment Sale, of course. You know, where the majority of Quinn's clothing has been purchased.

I love buying Quinn's clothing gently used. It just makes sense. It makes sense economically, and environmentally. Plus, Quinn (almost) always looks sassy, cute, and fashionable. I don't think anyone would ever know that most of her clothing was bought used, but of course, I always blab on and on about it, so everyone knows! Ha, ha!

The sale is on April 19 and 20 this year, with a private pre-sale on the 18th. And in the fall, I discovered a way to save even more money! On Saturday, a lot of the stuff goes 30% off! I scored a ton of clothes at a ridiculous low price, plus a toy that retails for around $80 for $7!!!! Talk about a shopper's high!

So, who wants to go shopping???? Let me know by commenting.

Here is a small sampling of some of my Hilltop purchases.

Baby Animals

Yesterday, we headed up to the Baby Animal Days in Wellsville. I had seen pictures of other people doing this with their kids in the past, and missed it last year. Luckily, this year Ali sent me the link and I saved the date in my phone.

The website recommended getting up there as soon as it opened, so you could see the baby bears, so we left out house at 8:30, and arrived right at 10:00. It was already really busy, and I am glad we got there when we did. We also listened to the same five songs from Quinn's Cars CD over and over the whole ride up there!

We headed straight to the baby bears, and waited up ten minutes to get into the building. First, we got to hold baby chicks, baby ducks, and baby turtles. Quinn was in heaven. She is really into babies and tiny things, especially chickens (although she liked the baby ducks better) and the look of pure joy on her face was awesome. However, by the time we made it over to the bears, she wasn't so interested, since you could only look at them, not touch them. I am glad we didn't wait very long for the bears. (Later there was an hour wait for them.)

Next, we went to another building and got to pet baby pigs, calves, kids, lambs, and a donkey. It was so much fun!

We were going to go on a pony ride next, but you had to be at least three years old (ie a paying customer) to ride, so we skipped that and headed to the train. This might have been Quinn's favorite part. She loved it, and I think would have just rode it over and over.

We next saw some non-baby goats, and donkeys. Quinn liked climbing on the rocks best in the goats' pen.

Next we saw baby bunnies, ducks, and chicks. I thought Quinn would love the bunnies, but it was the ducks who stole the show again. She loved those ducks so much!

We saw a foal, and got to pet a calf. Then it was time for the candy cannon. The sign said children eight and under only, so I prepped Q to go and grab candy solo. However, once the cannon went off parents went running with their kids, and Quinn was a little overwhelmed. So I went with her. As I was teaching her what to do, I said, "Look Quinn, there are some skittles!" (In a pile there were two packs of skittles and a bunch of small candies). As Quinn went to grab one of the skittles a grown man who clearly heard me, made eye contact with me, and scooped up the whole pile before Quinn could. Dalan said I should have punched him. Ha, ha!

Then, we went on a wagon ride. Quinn lived being pulled through the squelchy mud, and ended up playing with and making crazy faces with another kid on the ride. After, we practiced our roping and decided to call it a day. It was lunch time (and due to Dalan's dietary restrictions- we had brought lunch) and Q was worn out. We ate our food, and Q fell asleep. She woke up 45 minutes in the worst mood. If I even looked at her she told me, " no Mommy," and kicked her legs at me. At one point, she also rolled her eyes at me. Ha!

It was a great time, and we will be heading back next year.