Nerf Wars birthday party: The execution

The main event of Jake's birthday party was 3 rounds of a Capture the Flag game. The guests were randomly split into two teams, The Desert Dogs:

 

Versus the Woodland Wolves:

The battle was intense and fun and extremely close but the Desert Dogs edged to victory:

Back inside, everyone decided to get in more target practice:

The strategy that worked so well for the Desert Dogs was hiding their "ace in the hole", the only girl in the battle, Jake's cousin Madison who hid in the fort and shot anyone who got near their flag:

And even though one round did go to the Woodland Wolves, in the end the Desert Dogs edged them out claiming the third and final round:

In between rounds, I had more traditional birthday party activities inside so everyone cool down and re-energize with food and drink. I loved this scene where all the Nerf gear was compiled before heading inside:

The activities included singing happy birthday:

And opening gifts:

Overall I think everyone had a really good time and if exhaustion is a good indicator, I definitely think the party can be considered a success. And as a PS, I am pretty sure I will be finding random Nerf darts throughout the house and yard for some time to come. 

Nerf Wars birthday party: The inspiration

Jake really wanted to have a Nerf themed birthday party and for the first time, I couldn't just jump on a party supply website and order everything I needed because well, they don't have a line of Nerf party supplies. So I did my research and got some great inspiration from blogs like The Blackberry Vine, Michelle Paige and Just Deanna. Of course, it all starts with the invitation. 

I then stocked up on paper goods in yellow, orange and black. Sure it could be seen as Halloween-ish, but it is the most traditional of Nerf colors. I then used the Stencil font in Word and went to town making signs and made sure that all our guests would be well-equipped for battle - as they arrived they were issued a Nerf gun if they did not bring one, a label if they brought their own, protective eyewear, fresh new bullets and a bandanna to signify which team they would be on for the big showdown.

To warm up, I created three separate exercises for the guests to test their accuracy - a traditional target and tin cans and army men to try and knock down. 

To make sure that no one went hungry and in keeping with the theme, the food served was carrot darts, cheese bullets, orange bombs and (not shown) target pizza:

And of course no birthday party would be complete without cake, or in our case cupcakes! Once again my good friend Rose rocked my request and we were able to assemble this:

Outside, these two forts made out of washer and dryer boxes I procured from a local appliance store with an entrance and window cut out and doctored up with a ton of black and green spray paint served as the bases for the two opposing teams. In between were a few sawhorses and other obstacles to serve as "cover". The kids basically participated in 3 rounds of capture the flag with the rules being that if you were hit  from the shoulders down, you had to go back and touch your base before continuing the game. If you accidentally hit someone above the shoulder, you had to go back and touch your base before continuing the game. Whoever made it back to their base with the other team's flag while still being in possession of their own flag, won the round.

Favors for the guests consisted of the eyewear and bandanna used in battle along with a water bottle and mini dart gun with fresh bullets:

So with all this preparation, the real question is, how did the party go? Well for that you will have to wait for the next post.

It just can't be

It just can't be that on Monday my "not so little" boy will be turning 8 years old. EIGHT! Wow that sounds old. Where did the time go?

Today he is celebrating his birthday at school, the last day before they get out for spring break. Sunday we will be having his birthday party (Nerf theme and I am having WAY too much planning it. I think it is going to be epic and I apologize in advance for all the posts and pictures I am sure include on my blog. And yes, the planning of said party is the primary reason for my absence in the blogosphere/Facebook/Twitter as of late.) Anyway, as I was saying - Monday Jake will be 8 years old. I can keep saying it over and over but it continues to be very surreal to me.

So what is Jake like at this age? Well there are things he is into that are not my favorite - all the guns and military and shooting games, interests that have carried over to his wardrobe, which now almost daily includes camo shirts or pants, dark sunglasses, sometimes a beanie or camo cover and gloves with cut out fingers. It is the first time he has wanted to participate in his clothing choices and so I am trying, although it is extremely hard for me, to let him exert his independence in this way. And he has becoming increasingly independent in other ways too. He wakes up and gets ready in the morning with literally no help or reminders from me. He comes home in the afternoon and likes to "do his own thing". However, since I have tried to become more involved in the things that are important to him, I am happy to report that I have gotten my snuggly "little" boy back and I couldn't be happier that we can cuddle up while reading a book (Magic Tree House, Super Diaper Baby, Bad Kitty, Skippy Jon Jones are among his favorites) or watching a movie (Puss in Boots, Hop and The Muppets have been in heavy rotation lately).

Jake is still very athletic. He has decided that soccer is his favorite but with this being in second year playing machine pitch baseball, he is enjoying it much more then last year and has really found his groove, hitting really well and actually fielding the ball. He always gives it 100% and is extremely competitive. The downside to this of course is that he can be kind of a sore loser but I think that is pretty typical for boys of his age (and maybe of any age, LOL!).

Jake is also still very math-oriented. He loves to build and solve puzzles and he always does his math homework first. Sometimes it blows my mind the things he can figure out without my assistance. But even though he doesn't love to write, he has the neatest printing I have ever seen for his age and now that I have found books he enjoys and with the encouragement of the accelerated reading program at school, he is reading at almost a 4th grade level. While very smart and generally a good student, he still doesn't "love" school and typically only does what he has too. Again, I think pretty typical of many boys his age.

Jake has NO patience whatsoever (and I have no idea where he got that from, haha). He never can seem to save his allowance for big ticket items, choosing instead to spend it every chance he can get. He always WANTS and I wish there was a surefire way to stop that but I truly think it is just part of his personality. On the flip side however, he can be so giving and thoughtful at times that I can't help but just smile. Case in point yesterday Jake and I went to Wal-Mart and he decided to spend reward points on a treat - a small box of colored goldfish. When we got to the car I asked him if he wanted to eat his treat and he said, "No, I want to wait until we get home so I can share them with Jadyn". And he does little things like that ALL the time. It's just so sweet.

Jake only likes to do things that he can do well. He is sort of a perfectionist (again, no idea where he got that from either, haha). This was apparent from a very early age when he didn't really start coloring pictures until he could stay in the lines and do it well. He also tends to over think things and I think this is the downside to his thoughtfulness. Sometimes those thoughts can get the best of him and make him reluctant to try anything new.

One of my favorite things about Jake is that his smile can light up a room and his laugh is infectious. Nothing can make me happier than to listen to him giggle and luckily for me, he likes to have fun, be silly and laugh with friends and family as much as possible.  His thoughtful and friendly personality is evident by how many friends he has, at school, from sports teams, he even makes friends in the brief time we might be at a park or other similar outings.

I feel incredibly blessed to have a son that is as thoughtful and smart as Jake. I am extremely proud of the boy he is and love him with all of my heart. I can't wait to see where this journey of life will take him and as we get ready to celebrate his 8th birthday, I just have one request from him. Can you please stop growing up so fast?

Jadyn's Decision

I have written on several occasions how Jadyn been very insistent about wanting to play soccer (for 2 seasons now) and now this year, try t-ball in addition to dance. And I have also written about as a general rule of thumb, I had always thought I would limit the kids to one extracurricular activity at a time and I made an exception for Jadyn to do sports and ballet at the same time. But I knew that at some point, she would have to make a choice, particularly I thought by the time she starts school next year, because as a first grader (when did that happen, seriously?) she would have a full day schedule.

Well over the last several weeks Jadyn has not been wanting to go to ballet. I kept finding reasons for it - she is tired from the time change, she is worn out by the time Thursday rolls around, she will be more excited once they start preparing for recital, etc. etc. But guess what? They started working on choreography for the recital. She got to see the costume. And yet still. And guess what else? If she has a t-ball game or even practice later in the week, she is always raring to go. So I sat down and talked to her and sure enough, she doesn't want to do ballet anymore.

So Jadyn's made her decision. She likes and wants to play sports. Honestly, I think the writing has been on the wall for awhile now and I pushed it but really why? I played both soccer and softball growing up and loved it. So why am I having such a hard time with her decision. Why do I find myself disappointed and sad?

As my very wise husband pointed out - Jadyn loves to sing and dance, maybe she just doesn't particularly like ballet. That's true. He also pointed out that just because she doesn't want to continue ballet now, it doesn't mean she won't change her mind in the future. That's true too.

I really want the kids to be able to pursue the things they are passionate about - things that they love to do, skills they want to improve upon and hone. And I want it to be theirs. Not mine. Not the things that I would choose for them. Not the things that I did as a kid or wished I would have done as a kid.

And to be absolutely clear, my mom was always very supportive of me trying something new. I remember being little and taking piano lessons and performing in ballet and tap recitals. Then I moved onto soccer and softball before eventually pursing dance in high school after roller skating competitively in Jr. High. I even tried my hand at BMX racing for a short while if you can believe it. My only regret was not having that "one thing". I wished I either would have stuck with sports and played them in high school or taken dance consistently as a child so I could have been a more technically solid dancer when I was a teen. However, I can not let my regrets cloud my judgement as I guide my children. And I definitely recognize where that is coming into play here.

Jake loves loves loves soccer and he really enjoys baseball. I have mentioned other activities before and he has shown no interest in them so I guess for Jake it is easy. For Jadyn it is more complicated, I think not only because she does show interest in multiple things but because she is a girl and I see so much of me in her.

I am hoping that writing about my feelings will be cathartic in some ways. And if not, I only need to wait for Jadyn's next t-ball game to watch her smile as she holds her helmet and runs the bases and know that she is doing something she enjoys. As a mom, I don't think I need anything more.

Easter 2012

We had a very nice Easter weekend filled with family, friends, egg dyeing, hunts, finally some decent spring weather, much needed haircuts for the kids and multiple showings of the holiday themed movie, "Hop".

The kids cuddling up close at the park after haircuts Friday:

The local gang after a very fun Easter egg hunt and playdate:

Concentrating hard on making those eggs beautiful:

And then showing them off afterwards:

Getting giggly and silly for the camera:

Look what the Easter bunny brought!:

Egg hunt #2 at Aunt Leigh and Uncle Aaron's:

All dressed up and posing for the camera:

Whitewater Preserve Take Two

Last April, we took Kuma with us for his first outing as we discovered a new place to go hiking at Whitewater Preserve.

I'm embarrassed to say it has been almost a year to the day before getting a chance to go back and although the circumstances were a little different on this trip, the outcome was still a success. Our original intent was to go for the "catch and release" fishing they offer on certain days. Otherwise we probably would not have chosen this particularly windy and cool early spring day to venture out to the preserve. Once we arrived however, we found out that the website does not very clearly (in my opinion) spell out that you need reservations for the fishing so the kids were unable to participate. Luckily they got over it pretty quickly and we headed out on a trail and to revisit the stream that was such a big hit with the kids and Kuma last year. It did not disappoint.

Siblings

I don't know what I did to have kids that love to snuggle but when they are not snuggling on the couch with Joe or I, lately I have been catching them snuggling a lot with each other. It may just be a means to an end, as in "hey it's kind of cold this morning, let's gather up close to stay warm while we veg out to cartoons" but regardless the reason, I can't pass up a chance to capture the moment.

Of course, I have to be stealth because Jake has recently decided he does not want his picture taken and he tries to hide when he realizes what I am doing. My DSLR is quick enough to get him most of the time, my iPhone camera, not so much.

The other thing the kids have been doing a lot of together is play wrestling, tickle fights and giving each other the cheese touch (see again, Diary of a Wimpy Kid). Like on this morning:

But don't get me wrong. While Jake and Jadyn are incredibly close and get along well most of the time, they still have their typical sibling fights. Like when I came home on the same day as the above picture was taken to find these signs posted on each of their doors.

Joe assures me it was only a brief time of bickering that led to the making of the signs and honestly, it gave me quite a good laugh.

Yes, they are definitely siblings.

Mother and Son

Awhile back I had alluded to an impending post about finding it difficult to spend quality alone time with Jake. So here it goes....

Jake has always been quite a Mama's boy. He was very shy when he was a toddler and needed lots of cuddle time with Mommy. I was so happy when preschool helped him become more social and break out of his shell and when Jadyn was an infant, I planned special dates for just the two of us. It was a good balance.

As the kids have both gotten older, I have found it harder and harder to find things that I can do with just Jake. Many of the ideas I come up with are things that Jadyn wants to do too, and frankly Jake gets along so well with his sister, he usually wants her to come along. The other thing that complicates things is that as Jadyn gets older, we have even more in common. I can take her with me shopping or go for a pedicure. Even if it is at home, she loves to help me cook, clean or do arts and crafts - none of which really interests Jake. Add to that the fact that Jadyn and I get 2 hours alone together 5 days a week because as a kindergartener, she gets out 2 hours earlier than Jake. It just really starts to feel uneven between the two of them and the kicker is that it only really seems to bother me. Jake is unfazed.

In fact, when I was recovering from surgery and even more restricted in what activities I could do, I found Jake giving me major attitude. When I tried to talk to him he admitted that he didn't like that I couldn't do anything and it didn't really make him want to be around me. Ouch. That hurt. But I have to respect his honesty. It was then that I started talking to some of my other friends with boys of similar age and found that I was not alone. While that doesn't solve the problem, it did make me feel better.

My solution was to get involved in something that he really liked. There was no way I was going to learn to play war games on the Xbox (urgh!) so I settled for learning how to shoot a Nerf gun and participate in a Nerf battle. It turned out to be a really fun family activity and Jake's demeanor toward me immediately changed. It was an important lesson to me that I can't always expect him to want to do what he used to like or what I think he would like. Sometimes I have to make the effort to meet him halfway. In turn, he was then more willing to do things with me that I enjoy more like playing board games or getting frozen yogurt together.

Last week, another opportunity to spend quality time with just Jake presented itself when the school hosted a mother/son put-put social. It was the companion event to the father/daugther dance, which is pretty funny because even Jake said, "No fair! All Jadyn and dad got to do was go to a dance and we get to golf!". Of course, Jadyn was quite pleased to get dressed up and show off her daddy but Jake didn't see it that way.

Jake and I went to Sonic together for dinner since Daddy had taken Jadyn to her t-ball game. I can't say the evening was a complete success - Jake is a man of VERY few words and trying to have a meaningful conversation with him is like pulling teeth but he did enjoy golfing, except when he got frustrated because I was beating him. So yeah, it wasn't a perfect night but it was fun.

Now, if you are on Facebook, you have probably already read these but some interesting tidbits concerning Jake came out on this particular day.

1) Jake's teacher made me aware that a girl in his class has been turning in all her assignments with Jake's last name. I know the girl - she was in Jake's class last year and has admitted to me that she "likes" my son. I actually feel sorry for her because Jake is still completely clueless and uninterested in girls.

2) As mentioned above - Jake is still a sore loser. I had been talking it up all week how I was going to beat him when we played put-put but apparently he didn't believe me. Then I went and got several holes in one, a few very lucky ones that impressed even fellow moms and sons. Jake didn't take it too well.

3) We have seen Diary of Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules FAR too many times. Jake and I were signed up to clean up after the event. Jake did what he could and then was on stage with a classmate while the parent group, myself included cleaned up the food. The principal had music playing, which the boys were dancing too (so stinkin cute!) and offered them the microphone to say something. So in front of the principal and esteemed members of the parent group, what does Jake choose to say??? "Somebody farted!" I don't actually know how many heard him and how many were just being polite by ignoring him but I couldn't have been prouder of my son than at that moment (NOT!)

As the kids get older and go through certain stages, our relationships are bound to change and evolve. My goal is to be the best mother I possibly can, be there for them, guide them and make the best of it, even the ages and stages that are not particularly my favorite. I feel like the past few months with Jake have been a challenge for me but that we and our relationship are going to make it out the other end even stronger for it.

Ketchup

Wow! I knew it had been awhile since I blogged but when I actually sat down to try and rectify that, I realized it has been (gulp) a full 2 weeks since I last posted anything. Whoopsie! I'm going to attempt to get caught up and hopefully not stay away this long again.

So as I left things, we had celebrated my birthday, gotten sick and then well, redecorated the office and started gearing up for baseball season.

We celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday with lots of reading. And yes, that weekend we went to see The Lorax, which was pretty good. Here is Jadyn reading "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish":

The following Saturday found both kids with preseason baseball games. How cute are they together in their uniforms?:

Jake's game was up first. I tried to get a picture of him in action but he managed to hit the ball on his first swing! I hope this is a good sign of things to come because he really struggled with the pitching machine last year. I did get a picture of him and I together after the game. I am serving as team mom for his team again this year. It's a lot of work but I do enjoy it.

Jadyn's game was later that afternoon. She was put at first base at the very start of the game and when she realized that meant all the balls fielded would be coming to her, she ran off the field in tears. Daddy and I gave her a little pep talk and got her back out on the field, although not playing first base and she did great the rest of the game. I do think once she gets more used to it, she will enjoy t-ball as much as she does soccer. The real test will come when she starts having to make tough choices between continuing dance or organized sports.

Reciting the Little League pledge:

And running her little heart out after a good hit:

I am just going to apologize now for all the posts and pictures about baseball that are sure to grace my blog over the next several months. That is of course assuming I am diligent enough to keep up with my blog, which I am really going to make an effort to do, although I do believe I ended my last blog post with a similar proclamation.