The Butler Bulldogs

It's March Madness and that means family brackets. It's a fun tradition with the kids (and frankly me) picking their teams based on the name of the school. Well this year, Theo picked the Butler Bulldogs to win it all. And if you've ever lived with a four year old boy, you'll know why he picked Butler to win. Nathan confidently (and dare I say a bit smugly) thought he'd have the winningest bracket. But, we were all put in our place by the spirited boy who even had a Butler Bulldog dance to go along with his team wins.

Theo became a bit of a legend receiving texts, emails and calls from my family (no, he doesn't have his own cell phone or know how to check email, or read for that matter) after each win. Margie, his teacher at school, was beside herself after each win to discuss the game with him and she loved sharing his story with her friends.

He'd bound down the stairs in the morning to check the paper and squeal when his Bulldogs won. And he was so close to taking it all - though I'd say a Final Four try is pretty impressive.

The video is of him watching the end of the game and then dashing up the stairs to tell Grammie the news!

Bonus Trip

Because great distance separates us, we call any trip outside of a major event a bonus trip. How wonderful to have Mom visit in March. The kids were thrilled as was I.

We shared the Drumlin Farm Sheepshearing Festival with her. It was a frigid day but very interesting.

This old sheepshearer cracked us up. Doesn't he look a bit sheep like?

And the strangest part of the festival - your choice for lunch: vegetarian or mutton chili! WHAT?!?

Grammie arranged her trip to see the kids' skating lesson.

A puzzle project was completed.

Grammie introduced Maddie to rag curlers. She looked so cute in the morning with ringlets.

Grammie and her kids (Maddie in the cape that Grammie made to match Felicity's little one).

We even had some mother/daughter time with a shopping trip and me being treated to some new spring clothes, and lunch and a tour of the Museum of Fine Arts. Such fun!

I Will Blog Again and Hopefully Catch Up

The loves are growing up. But, life is moving quickly with end of school, brownie camping trip, HBS reunion and no time to breathe. Soon...

Musical Carpet

Sanders Super Heros

What's better than flying into Daddy's arms before bed? Not much! Both boys put on their super hero capes and took off from the changing table. I have the cutest video if I can figure out how to upload it.

Terrible pic but look at the joy on his face!

The Hat, Scarf, Headband, Sunscreen Applicator

I do love the Invention Invasion at Angier. It is such a wonderful night of ingenuity by the children. Maddie, Taraneh, Avery and Avery's sister Delaney got together again to invent. And the end result: a hat, scarf, headband with sunscreen applicator. This is quite an improvement from the hat, scarf, headband with make up applicator which us moms dubbed the anti-feminist invention. Anyhow, they had a lot of fun brainstorming and cooperating.

Here she is.

The inventors explaining their creation.

Theo and Gabriel loved exploring the gym. Theo is my independent one who likes nothing more than to be given a long leash to go off. He was very proud to be able to roam through the gym looking at inventions without mom breathing down his back.

I took the boys across the hall to see the Lego club display. The club had set up their Legos on a low platform. As I was talking to a friend, I heard the crowd gasp. In slow motion, I turned my head to see this small two year old in cowboy boots with a devilish grin on his face lift up his foot for the second time to stomp on one of the creations. I simply froze unable to process that it was my child doing the stomping! How horrifying!!! I finally sprung into action, scooped him up and gave him a stern talking to. Thankfully, they were able to repair the damaged piece. Theo kept saying incredulously, "He was smiling when he did it." Oh boy...

Mother Daughter Ice Skate

All the Newton Brownies got together at the rink for a fun mother/daughter ice skating hour. Maddie loves the ice. She whips around with great foot control. And I cannot believe this, she is interested in hockey for next year!

Maddie, Avery, Kira, Reghan and Ashley

We had a great time skating and then went out for sushi the two of us. She was such a little lady, enjoying her edamame and sushi selections. It was a great date for the two of us!

The Color of Winter

Winter is a dirty messy season. It's really only beautiful for about 10 hours after a snowfall. This is what we see along the side of the road for most of the season.

And I had a sobering realization. I spend two hours a day dropping off and picking up kids. To say I am having a hard time with that number is an understatement! Two hours - oof.

Snow Garden

In an effort to make our world a bit more springlike, we hosted a Safe Routes to School walk to school and plant a flower in the snow. The results were beautiful!

It's been fun chairing the Safe Routes committee. In fact, I was even asked to speak at the statewide conference, a daunting but invigorating experience. That said, I'm ready to move on to something else in PTO and plan to head up another committee next year.