pedal pedal

Roen learned to ride his bike on Saturday sans training wheels. It took about 20 minutes. No lie. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even have the camera with me because I didn't think anyone could learn so fast. The secret to our success was pedal magic, which is a video that you download with tips to ride a bike easily and it really works. I really wanted to try this because I was so traumatized by my own bike riding experiences that I didn't want Roen to be as stressed out as I was as a kid. I was 8 years old and had so many crashes and close calls that were flat out dangerous. So, I vividly remember learning to ride a bike. Roen won't remember at all because he didn't crash once. We've been on two bike outings since his learning session and he's had a few minor tips but not major splatters like I did. Hooray

HBE BRF DAY STAT (Happy Birthday United States)

fireworks
Originally uploaded by skweerell

First thing in the the morning, Ro busied himself making a birthday card for the ol' US of A with a picture of a President Lincoln with a top hat with banners on it. The picture looks more like George Washington with a top hat. He also wrote HBE BRF DAY STAT on the card, which is developmental spelling for Happy Birthday United States. Then, he cut up red paper into strips and distributed it all over the dining room to be garlands. Finally, he cut up ribbon into tiny pieces and gathered it all on a sheet of paper for confetti, which he tossed into the air after we garbled our way through the "Grand Old Flag". It was pretty funny. Roen was AMAZED the U.S. was 231 years old.

It was a rainy fourth of july. We didn't do much although we made it to the town's fireworks show. I thought we would be rained out. I have really struggled with Independence Day in New York state because fireworks are illegal here. I had so much fun with fireworks as a kid. It's hard for me to feel like I am having a proper July fourth without them but my kids have never seen or used them. So, I'd been casting around for something safe and fun for the kids to play with when it occurred to me that I could recycle the eggs from our Easter egg tree into egg "fire crackers". So, I filled them with confetti and painted them red, white and blue with lots of glitter. The kids were ecstatic about lobbing them all over the driveway. They are desparate for me to make more...and I will for next year. They are a bit time consuming and they get used up quickly. I'll need to make at least two dozen for next year. I only made 10 eggs this year. And, the kids loved them so much that they kept scrounging for larger bits of egg shell to keep tossing in the air.

tooth fairy

I finally got to be a tooth fairy. Roen swallowed his first loose tooth, so I didn't even bring up the whole tooth fairy thing. The second loose tooth was fun. We have our own mythology for things like the tooth fairy. I told the kids I'm the tooth fairy and I have my own special costume plus I go out on special tooth fairy shopping trips to get good presents. They love this idea.

a circle of life kind of thing

We went to the zoo today. It was wonderful and peaceful. The kids were really into it especially Roen. His curiosity is boundless right now. We were walking through the Monarch butterfly exhibit when a little chipmunk ran in the tent. At first, we thought, "oh how cute!" But then, it darted at a Monarch butterfly and missed. The butterfly flitted away but not far enough. The chipmunk grabbed him and ate up the body and spit out the wings. We were all aghast. It seemed so terrible to watch a cute fuzzy chipmunk eat a beautiful butterfly. Simone was saying, "Mommy, that chipmunk is being bad!" I had to agree.