New hat

Serafina and I went to a huge second-hand sale on Friday. She picked out this hat.  It doesn't fit very well and its loud pattern clashes with everything.  Oh well, at least she's wearing a hat.

Experiencing some static on the slide.

After school today, Leo decided to fill some containers with water and add different things - salt, pepper, Altoids. He called himself a scientist and enjoyed it very much.

On the slopes

The weather has been very nice as we get into spring, but that doesn't stop us from squeezing in a little more skiing.  Here's the crew lined up for the lift.

Tom decided to use the harness with Serafina and they had two really fun mornings of skiing.  

After lunch, Tom and Leo went back out for some "big guy" skiing.  Serafina and I had to entertain ourselves.
Here's a fun activity that Serafina created.

Pouring water from cup to cup kept her busy for a while, but there was quite a mess.

Each day we take a walk to see some of the houses near the ski lodge.  This one is our favorite.

Butterfly girl

I worked in Serafina's classroom yesterday. I helped the kids plant wheat grass to grow at home for an Easter project next week. I did the exact same thing with Leo's class two years ago.

 Since it was my turn to work, it was Serafina's turn to share.

Fashion statement

Serafina often picks out her own clothes; the results are usually questionable. Today's outfit included a poke-a-dot dress, stripped jacket and leggings with little cats.  She prefers to tuck her leggings into her socks, and her shoes...well, I won't go into the shoe drama.

I occasionally will tell people "she picked out her clothes today", but I don't really think it's necessary.  I doubt anyone thinks I would intentionally dress my kid like this.

It usually isn't a problem, but yesterday she wanted to wear a summer dress even though there was a chilly breeze.  So she ended up hanging outside like this.

Yesterday Leo had the choice of going to the hardware store with his dad or the grocery store with me. He decided to come with me.  We don't run errands together very often since he's in school all week, but I told him we use to do everything together when he was a baby.  

He was a good shopping partner and he spotted this Easter baking display.  I would have walked right by it and not noticed it was a little house, but he was charmed by it.  

Opening Day and First T-ball Game

Today was opening day for Sunnyvale Metro Little League.  Leo got dressed in his hat, shirt and baseball pants, and headed to Raynor Park.  They had their pictures taken first, and then had to wait for the opening ceremonies.

Serafina tried to have some fun while waiting for her brother.  

It helped that her buddies Bella and Ashley from school were there.  They also have big brothers playing T-ball.  

The team lined up to run the bases.  The T-ball teams were last and his team, the Red Sox, were the last ones on the field.

Here's the team being announced and running out on to the field.

The national anthem.

Shortly after the ceremonies, we had to head over to a different park to play his first game.  Here he is getting some tips from dad during the pre-game warm-up.

His pants are a little big and when hiked up...well, he looks like a totally doofus.

In "ready position" on the field.  He played first base, second base and right field.  Not too surprising for my lefty, but positions don't mean much in T-ball.

It was hot out and pretty boring for Serafina, but her dad gave her attention and kept her happy.

At bat.  

Getting goofy on the field.

They played three full innings, which was a little bit painful.  Here's a typical field play...

This is his final time at bat.  There were some kids that could really wail on the ball.  He did a solid job every time he was up.  He does better at home, but there was a lot going on at the game.  

Running home, but forgetting about the "home" part.  

Congratulating the other team.

I was happy with how it went today.  The parents and coaches are super encouraging and enthusiastic while still trying to teach these kids a few things about baseball.  Leo was engaged in the game and had fun.  He got tired towards the end, but hung in there.  There are a lot more games to be played this season and I hope he continues to enjoy it.

Leprechaun trap

I had a meeting this morning at the Elementary school office with the preschool board president. We ended up going over a lot of stuff, so Serafina was a little bored.

I let her play with my sunglasses and my phone.  I ended up with over 100 pictures just like this.  That's my hand in the background.  I'm not sure what I'm pointing at.

Leo had another half-day, and when I went to pick him up, he was still putting the finishing touches on his leprechaun trap.  His class has a 3rd grade "buddy" class and they often do projects together.  He was paired up with a big kid and they constructed this elaborate trap in case leprechauns come in the classroom over the weekend.

He showed Serafina where they put the gold to tempt the leprechaun.

After lunch we went to our favorite bargain sporting good store.  Leo and I both needed new shoes.  I also got him some baseball pants.  They didn't have an extra small, so he sort of looks like a clown in them...or M.C.Hammer.  I didn't try to do nap time with both of them home, so we just took a walk in our new shoes.  Serafina didn't want to wear any shoes and just hung out in the wagon.  I thought she might fall asleep when she got cozy in there.

She didn't.

Fire station field trip (and more)

Today was a little strange....

After I dropped off Leo at school, Serafina and I came home to meet the new cleaning lady.  She was suppose to come between 9:15 and 9:30.  At 10 she hadn't shown up yet, but called to say she had car trouble.  I figured she'd arrive while we were at the field trip, so Serafina and I headed over to the station.  She was coughing, but hanging in there.  

She was happy to see Ashley...

and they ran around a little bit.  

They let all the kids sit in the truck.  She didn't like it as much as everyone else, but stayed up there long enough for me to snap a picture.

Then they took the kids inside for a tour of their living quarters and some safety instructions.  The fireman asked them what number they are suppose to call when there is an emergency.  One little girl piped up that her mom said she's not suppose to make phone calls.  Ha!  He told them about 911 and said they should use it if someone is hurt or if there is a fire or if there is some creepy man outside the window.  If she wakes up with a nightmare tonight, I'll know who to thank for that.  

Here's Nathan demonstrating "Stop, Drop and Roll".

The tour was running a little late so the kids didn't get to spray the hose individually like Leo did, but instead did it in a group of boys and girls.

Apparently last year, they didn't get to spray the hose at all, so these kids are lucky.

Group shots.

From the field trip, we rushed over to Leo's school since he had a 1/2 day and was done at noon.  My parent/teacher conference was scheduled for 12:45pm.  We stopped by a nearby park to have lunch, but the kids mostly played instead of eating.  During this time, I assumed the cleaning lady was taking care of business.

The conference went well.  According to the teacher, Leo is a star student.  He takes a while to write (I think it's because he's a lefty) and she wants us to keep practicing, but overall he's smart and well liked. The teacher often praises Leo and thinks he's just wonderful.  At one point she was saying all the kids want to play/work with him because he's so generous and kind and he doesn't get upset about things.  I had to cover my mouth, apologize and start laughing.  That is the total opposite of what I experience at home. Recently, he's been flipping out and hitting his sister for messing with his stuff.  He's totally over dramatic and flips out frequently.  I told her that I'm glad he's being great at school.

When we got home, it was clear the cleaning lady had just arrived.  The house was almost as filthy as we left it.  We sat outside for a while and the kids finished up their lunches, but Serafina was getting tired and they wanted to go inside.  I checked and very little progress had been made, so I loaded them in the car and drove around for a while so they could sleep.  I hadn't had lunch yet though so I eventually made my way to an outdoor shopping/eating spot and had a veggie burger.  The fence behind them in this picture surrounds a mini playground, which worked out very nicely.  It was almost 4pm and we needed to head home.

And guess what?  The cleaning lady was still at my house when we got there.  We got ourselves ready for T-ball practice.  When we were leaving for practice at five, she finally left.  She failed to change the sheets on the kids' beds or even vacuum two rooms.  Also, I'm pretty sure she was at my house for four hours.  FOUR HOURS!  Crazy.

Leo got his hat and shirt for T-ball.  He's on the Red Sox; Tom is handling that surprisingly well.

Playing first base.

Getting some tips from an assistant coach.

Running to second.

After practice, I made the kids some dinner and then headed out to a preschool board meeting.  It went long since there is a lot of business to discuss when you are running a business.  I have spent very little time in my house today.  My kids were real troopers about the whole thing, though at one point, Leo said (loudly) "is that lady still here?"  Serafina is still under the weather, but I hoping she's going to turn the corner soon.