Six years ago, on October 18th we got a call from our doctor telling us to come to the hospital so we could have a baby. I was 2 weeks over due and our wonderful doctor decided today was going to be the day that baby Sayler was born. Jennifer, soon-to-be Grandma Sayler, and Carol came to the hospital and waited with us. We waited forever! This baby was a stubborn one. After being in labor for 20 some odd hours hours, Russell Cleveland was finally here, making his birthday October 19, 2002. Weighing in at 8 lbs 15 oz he was a very large first baby. It seems like just yesterday we called all our friends and family and told them the news. Russell has been a joy since we first held him, swaddled in a little hospital blanket.

A few facts about Russell:

• He once renamed himself Doody Dot. This confused the preschool screener who, when asking what Russell's name was, got the answer, "I go by Doody Dot". This name has stuck for quite some time.
• Russell has been to the emergency room 3 times. First he had an allergic reaction to an antibiotic. Second he fell and hit his head and needed stitches over his eye. Finally he fell again and broke his arm. Really, I am not as horrible of a mother as this makes me sound! He is a boy, he has accidents.
• He always enjoys wearing a blazer and suspenders.
• When he was a newborn, Russell would nap with/on R.C. daily.
  
• Dinosaurs have been a part of Russell since he was 2. We thought that the interest in them would pass, like most other things, but they have stuck with him. He is determined to be a paleontologist and travel to The Gobi Desert/Patagonia to dig for dino bones.
• Russell still has 2 of his blankets he received when he was first born. They are worn and tattered, repaired and patched, but they still need to be coving him each night in the say order. Silky first, then Blankie, topped off by any other blanket that is on his bed.
  
• He talks nonstop. I'm NOT exaggerating.
• Russell can spell really well.
  
• Still, after 6 years, he hates to have his hair washed. Each bath starts out fun and pleasant, but soon takes a turn for the worst when the shampoo is brought out.
  
• When he was 3, he announced to a table full of grown ups that David Bowie was his favorite musician.
  
• Russell is a very early riser. Except when I get up early, then he sleeps until 10:00am.
• Russell was not pleased with the name Grandpa and Grandma Soman. He renamed them Grandpa and Grandma Polka (because they used to dance the polka with him when he was a baby) and it is still the name of choice (even for Maxwell).
• Russell once sold a 2 week old newspaper to a woman for $0.25. He was dressed as a newsie and I guess she couldn't resist.

A few pictures to recap Russell (again I must complain about our computer. A few years of our lives, in picture form, have been lost. This is the reason for the gap between age 3 and now. All the others I was able to scan in using a real photograph and scanner. It felt so old fashioned to do it this way):

So, Russell, Happy 6th Birthday!

This could be a very lengthy post, but I will keep it short and sweet.

Today in Target Russell pointed out that there were Christmas items out to be purchased already. I looked and sure enough, tucked behind the Halloween candy and costumes, were Christmas trees and ornaments waiting to take over the aisles. I quickly turned our cart and tried to get away from the glitter of the ornaments when I ran right into (literally, I was so worked up over seeing Christmas things I ran into the end cap) an aisle FILLED with Christmas cards. The Halloween costumes and candy will soon be pushed aside and maybe, if we are lucky, we will catch a quick glimpse of a turkey table cloth, but don't hold your breath. Glitter and lights will soon take over. 

 

I am a firm believer in celebrating the season you are in and not jumping holidays. I HATE how Thanksgiving (one of my favorite holidays) gets lost and people forget to be thankful. I don't discuss Christmas ideas/plans willingly before the last Thursday of November. Everyone always makes the comment, "Oh, boy, Christmas comes earlier each year." It doesn't have to. If you boycott the Christmas aisle until it's due time maybe other holidays would stand a chance. We could turn into a country of perpetual Christmas if we aren't careful. Let's enjoy the beauty of autumn, the smell of hot cider and pumpkins, yummy apples and the color orange. Red and Green, glitter and lights, and ho ho ho will come soon enough.

Disclaimer:

I don't want anyone to think that I believe glitter and lights are what Christmas is about. I think the true meaning of Christmas should be thought about year round. I am purely talking about commercialized Christmas.

side note-- our computer is going downhill quickly. If you come here purely looking for pictures of cute little boys, you will not find any. We are no longer able to upload pictures. We are trying to fix the computer, but it seems to be a bleak future for our beloved Apple. I am holding on to the hope that R.C. can fix it in the next few days. He can fix anything. Right?!! 

2 in one day. I know, it's hard to handle so much Sayler excitement, but our computer was down for days (please don't let this be the last days with our computer!!) so I am finally able to use it. We finally got it up and running, but it has lost a lot of our "things". But, anyway, now I can fill you in on our past days. 

Over the weekend we went to a RISD alumni art sale. First of all the boys were able to take turns riding the bus with R.C.. Why this is such a thrill for them I will never understand. Russell and I met up with R.C. and Max awhile later, and found Max listening to some great music, dancing and tapping his foot. He did not want to leave. This boy LOVES music. I find it funny that in one moment Max can go from dancing to Gwen Stefani (loud, hip hoppy stuff) to being completely chilled out, with just a toe tapping, while listening to jazz. 

We then found that the nature lab had a meet and greet with a turtle and a drawing table set up for kids inside. The nature lab is a favorite place for the boys to visit. We also found a sculpture down by the canal that we have seen in a Rhode Island tourist book we check out at the library.

We finished the night off by enjoying WaterFire one last time. It was a beautiful fall evening and we walked around a bit more than usual taking in the sites and huge crowd. 

This is Max and his long hair. Both boys have been trying to grow their hair out for some unknown reason, but Max has had enough. 

We finally found some good (inexpensive) clippers and Max got his wish of a haircut. He looks and acts like a whole new boy.

Russell's favorite saying right now..."Let's hit the campaign!" (as in campaign trail) I guess he has heard talk of the campaign trail a bit too much. He uses this anytime it is time to go somewhere. For instance:
Me: "OK, boys, lets get shoes on and go to the library."
Russell: "come on Max, let's hit the campaign."
He says it with such enthusiasm too. I hope Obama and McCain are as excited for their campaign as Russell is for his.


Maxwell has been using the word imagine in a new way:
Maxwell: "mommy, could you imagine if I had a drink of juice right now? Could you imagine it?" (with a very questioning look on his face)
Me: "would you like a drink Max?"
Maxwell: "Sure. Could you imagine if I had some carrots right now?"
Me: "would you like some carrots Max?"
Maxwell: "Sure. Could you imagine that?"
And on and on his imagining goes. It's really a clever and cute way for him to get what he wants. I could tell him that, no, I in fact cannot imagine you having some carrots right now, but who could say no to a child and his "imagining mind"?

Yesterday (Saturday) we spent the day going on a field trip for school. We found that the Audubon Society of Rhode Island had a family weekend so we headed there for the day. We did a scavenger hunt in the display area where kids were to find a bird, turtle, crab, sea star, etc.... Russell did a great job and found everything on the list with very little help from anyone else. We did a craft and enjoyed a nice walk outside with plenty of stops for Russell who wanted to stop and draw everything he saw.

This is R.C. teaching the boys how a sail works on a sailboat.

After our walk we enjoyed a picnic lunch we had packed, and then went back inside for another look at the animals on display. This time we were able to talk with one of the workers. She allowed us to touch the animals that were in the "tide pool". Russell and Max each were able to touch and hold a sea urchin, a crab, fish egg sacks, sea stars and snails. We then went to a classroom where they had a barred owl "meet and greet". A man spoke about the owl and the boys were intrigued to see the owl up close since this is the owl we had in our backyard and would call to in Greenville. As we were leaving we had the crazy idea to drive to Cape Cod since we were already in the car and had the camera along. It was a beautiful drive with the trees starting to change. We decided to try to find some seafood on this trip since we have been in The Ocean State for a month now and have had NO seafood. A shame I know. So we found a little "seafood shack" and ordered fish and chips and a lobster roll to share. SO GOOD!! Russell was put to work as we were waiting for our food. The owner was showing the boys lobsters from the tank and when he took them out, he would ask Russell to pick them up and carry them to a different tank. A group of men standing behind us got a good laugh out of Russell carrying live lobsters around the store. Max was offered the job also, but was a bit nervous of the claws. We continued driving until we came to a beautiful beach just as the sun was setting. We walked along the beach, dug holes and found seashells and seaweed until we were all frozen. There were huge houses all around and we joked that one had to be the Seinfeld's house. They vacation in Cape Cod and so we thought maybe they would be there. It was cold though, so maybe they were at their home in Malibu. Someday...someday.

Setting: Me, standing on a soapbox...

Let's go back in time to October 1, 2008. Yes, just a few days ago. I shared a story about pop (soda to some of you out there) drinking and my want to share it with my son for one split second. Yesterday at the park I was chatting with a woman who has a girl about the age of Russell. Maybe a year younger. She was asking about picky eating habits, if naps are still taken, and school. She seemed very nice and intelligent. Then she said, "I allow ____ to drink fruit flavored soda since it is so similar to drinking juice. Take away the bubbles and it's practically juice. ____ loves it." WHAT!!!??? It's no wonder childhood obesity is on the rise. Now before we go much further and people start calling in (calling in??) with complaints, yes, I have let Russell drink pop before. As a special treat, VERY rarely, not on a daily basis or as a substitute for 100% juice/milk/water (or when I was not looking. I know who you pop sneakers are...I'm a mom now, I know all, right?). This woman's comment is on repeat in my head. I can't stop thinking about what she said and how many other parents out there have the same ideas she does. This goes beyond just pop.

20% of children are obese in America. Someone (parents??) is to blame for giving kids these bad food choices. School snacks consist mainly of store bought cookies or cakes. Even on Sunday morning when Russell and Max head downstairs for Sunday school, their teacher gives them a handful of chocolate chip cookies for their morning snack. Maybe I'm crazy and maybe I was raised in a wacky house (I don't think I was), but when I think of a snack, I picture, dare I say, an apple, celery and peanut butter or cheese and crackers. Keep treats as TREATS, just a small taste as just a small taste and snacks healthy.

I'm not anti-sugar completely. I understand that part of being a kid is trying these tasty things and sneaking them when you can. I guess it concerns me when parents, who are supposed to be the go to person for all information learned by a child, have bad information themselves and think pop is anywhere close to juice, or fruit snacks are close to fruit. Kids have enough energy without the added high fructose corn syrup that is planted into EVERYTHING (really check it out sometime). I DO let my kids have a cookie or a dish of ice cream for a treat, but really, everyday, several times a day?


I would sneak plenty of sugar as a child, but my mom and dad never willingly gave it to me if they knew I had not eaten healthy food before the treat. I recall sitting at the kitchen table, mad that everyone else got to eat tapioca pudding, while I sat starring at a pile of peas I was NOT going to eat. But it taught me that veggies were not something that could be negotiated. You had to eat them, and guess what....I actually grew to like them (shhhhhh). Kids can grow to like veggies/fruit/real juice/milk, but they have to be offered these things first.

So all in all, thank you Max for turning your nose up at the thought of pop. I guess somethings I try to instill in you (good eating habits) are actually taking hold.

Homeschooling is going great. I really enjoy teaching Russell and I feel like he is learning new things each week. He is doing a fantastic job reading and writing. He is also impressing the neighbor kids with his math skills. They quiz him on addition and are SHOCKED when he answers their questions with the greatest of ease. He enjoys learning so we "hit the books hard" during the day. At least harder than I remember doing in kindergarten (No offense Mrs. Pickett.).

Today I woke up around 5:30am (that's VERY early in this house), scooted R.C. out the door to catch a bus to NYC, and sat down for a quiet cup (or 5) of coffee. The boys soon awoke and we decided today was a day to relax. We ate some scrabbled eggs and yogurt and came the unanimous decision that today was a pajama day. We did some reading, sang some songs, mastered shoe tying (!!!), took an afternoon bath with extra bubbles, put clean pajamas on, and colored. That pretty much sums up our day. Even kids in "normal" school have days when nothing gets done so I don't feel one bit bad about wasting a day lounging.

Tomorrow we are going on a field trip to the Rhode Island Audubon Society. They are having a family weekend at the environmental education center so we will talk a bit of science tomorrow (Saturday) to make up for today.

Maxwell thought it only fitting to accessorize his dinosaur footie pajamas with an Indian beaded belt.
Russell wore his freshly tied shoes all day with his thermo-dino pj's (sorry you can't see the shoes, but I'm sure you all get what I'm saying when I say he can tie a shoe).

Some things just don't go together. Hot chocolate on a hot summer day. Chocolate chip cookies with a glass of water. A dog without a leash. Battery operated cars that have a really difficult on/off switch to find and a small boy who is growing his hair out. 

This last one I learned the hard way - or should I say Max learned the hard way. Hair was lost(a good amount but not enough to notice in his shaggy mane) and tears were shed. But all is well.

sidenote: the boys are STILL growing their hair out. Russell doesn't want to cut it...ever! He wants it to be long enough to tuck it behind his ears. Max has asked for a haircut, but our clippers are broken, unfixable-broken, so we need to replace them before he can get a trim. Until then I will chuckle as they sing along to The Beatles with their shaggy hair. 

Yesterday we had a visitor! Grandma Sayler came for the afternoon. She was in the area (New York) and decided to take a day to visit us in "Little Rhody". It was great to see a familiar face and the boys were very excited to have grandma in their new home. We went downtown and R.C. gave a tour of the RISD buildings and his studio. We walked across the canal and up and down the steep (STEEP!!) areas downtown. We seemed to run into everyone R.C. is familiar with and introduced them to his mother. 

The boys were able to show their ice cream buying techniques by getting one last ice cream treat from the ice cream man, "Mr. Cool".

They enjoyed their treats on the front steps with grandma. Thanks to the cooler weather they didn't melt nearly as quickly as the last time.
After supper together, a quick story read by Russell and a puzzle, Grandma had to head back to New York. She will be staying a few more days there before heading home to Illinois. Thanks for the visit Grandma!

I used to be young. I mean really young. Between the age of 3 and 6. I also used to take naps. Well, I liked to pretend to take naps. During this pretend nap time my mom liked to sneak a Pepsi. She thought we were sleeping. We weren't. We heard the popping of the can and would inch our way out the door, begging for just a taste. We loved it!! (But my mom always drank caffeine free Pepsi. I don't know how she did it, I need all the energy help I can get and I only have 2 kids. She had 3.)

Fast forward to today. I am the non-napping mother of 2 young boys. I require the boys to take a rest time, even though they don't usually nap (i.e. I need time to breath during the day). Today as the quiet filled our apartment I decided to get an ice cold Pepsi from the fridge (real Pepsi. Not even diet or caffeine free. Sorry mom.). I popped it open and began to pour it into a glass when I see 2 little eyes peaking around the doorway. Maxwell was standing there watching me. In that one second, I was filled with memories of my childhood and the delicious taste of Pepsi when I was to be napping. I thought I would also give that memory to my child and he would remember it for years to come. I was all prepared to be a really "cool mom" and give him a sip of goodness. (Even though I am the limited sugar, no soda under the age of 10 kind of person. I can make exceptions now and then.)

Maxwell instead gave me a look of disgust. "You're going to drink that stuff?" was his question. He then went back to his room and told Russell, "mommy's drinking yucky drink." Man! Talk about feeling guilty! I guess I have to figure out a better way to be a "cool mom" in the eyes of a 2 year old. 

This afternoon Russell and Max had a great time painting their little pumpkins. I find it funny because they are both such neat little kids. They don't like to get their hands and fingers dirty. Even with 10 bottles of paint out I only had 3 tiny spots to wipe up when we were done. Thank you boys!

We have rules. Obviously we have always had rules in our home, but they are now spelled out and posted in the time out area. Everyone is expected to follow the rules. If you are sent to time out you need to read the rules and figure out which one you broke and tell me what it is before you are allowed to return to normal activities (Max can't read but always picks number 5 which is usually correct). If you are planning to come visit, please review the rules and be on your toes, the boys are quick to correct anyone who may slip up and not say please or thank you. 

The past week has been quite uneventful. At least nothing that is worthy of a lengthy blog. Here are just a few highlights:

* Russell is able to read several Dr. Seuss, and other books, by himself. He is to spend 30 minutes reading aloud each day, usually to Max as I am preparing lunch, and it is paying off. He loves to read and Max loves to listen to him. 

* R.C. went to NYC for the first time with his class. 

* Max is able to leave the house in real underpants and not have an accident!!!! Diapers are only needed at night and if we are going to be out of the house for the entire day. But even then, he keeps them dry and clean!! I am one happy mom!!!

* We went through 5 gallons of milk last week. (What!?)

* I found a great park and walking trail for the boys and I.

* I have grown fond of my TINY "pantry kitchen". At 6:00pm it is beautiful with my window of prisms filling it with rainbows. 

* The noise from all the people outside no longer bothers me. I wonder what is going on if it gets too quiet. The noise is comforting. 

* Russell has found that Seinfeld is not only good for a laugh, but for building houses.

*It takes approximately 2 hours, one adult, and 2 young boys to use every lego in the house to build one crazy looking lego house. 

I will leave you with a few pictures of the boys. That may be all some of you are looking for. I (and you) know who you are.

Last weekend we spent some time downtown. R.C. took us to his studio space and we took the boys to The Nature Lab where they were able to see hundreds of stuffed animals, insects, skeletons, and even some insects and fossils that were around when dinosaurs were living. A perfect place for a kindergarten field trip.

The highlight for R.C. was the skateboard demo that was taking place just a few blocks from his studio. There is a skate shop R.C. has found that is owned, and run, by a famous skate boarder, Donnie Barley. Donnie had set this demo up and hundreds of kids came out to show their tricks. All I saw was complete chaos! Kids rolling around everywhere. Some had good tricks, some had no idea what they were doing. I was expecting to hear screams of pain when kids fell, and an ambulance on standby. People did fall, but you could tell they expected that, and didn't worry about a bump or scrape. There was also always some other kid helping the fallen get back on their feet. Russell and Maxwell were completely intrigued in what was going on. Russell even spotted a little boy, who looked his age, out there skating with the big kids.

Finally R.C. spotted him. Donny Barley was a few yards away, skating gracefully through the crowd. A shy smile came across R.C.'s face, much like a little girl might do when spotting Miley Cyrus in a Starbucks. We stayed to watch as long as we could but had to get going before our parking time expired. 

We finished off the night by watching WaterFire. This time we were able to get a bench so close to the water that we had to hold the boys tight for fear they might fall in. It was "the best seat in the house" as far as we were concerned. R.C. stayed downtown to work late in the studio while I brought the boys back home to get to bed. So far Providence is being good to us. 

This little 24 square foot patch of sod is called (by the city of Providence) a park. This park is conveniently located at the end of a graveled parking lot with a busy street, a sidewalks width away, on two sides. Webster defines a park as :  a large public green area in a town, used for recreation : a walk around the park. 

Yes, this is a green area, in a town, but what recreation could you do here? A game of baseball? no. Frisbee? no. One person could sunbathe, but if anyone else tried you would be too close for comfort. I guess if you haven't seen grass in 10 months or more, a quick walk across this in your bare feet might do you some good.  All I hope is that no person gets asked out on a date to go for "a walk around the park". This would be the shortest date known to man.

We held off as long as we possibly could. With Providence having the most Dunkin Donuts per capita, it was hard to see temptation around EVERY corner and not buy a dozen to take home and gorge ourselves on. We told the boys we would get these for the first day of school as a treat, but the first day (week) came and went without anyone wanting to go down the street to pick some up. Yesterday morning R.C. woke up early and set off to buy the first dozen to surprise the boys (I was quite excited for the "surprise" as well. I made coffee a little faster knowing I would have a delicious doughnut to go with it instead of cold cereal).

After a bowl of raisin bran, the boys were able to sink their teeth into soft dough and chocolate. They would not mind starting each day this way. 

Today was the start of school for Russell. He was so excited to get things started! For the past few days I had been getting things prepared. It could not have come soon enough for Russell. He would ask daily if it was the day school was starting. I would kindly tell him, "no, not today", but he kept asking (over and over and over again!!). I am happy he is so excited. Maxwell also became interested in school after hearing Russell talk about it so much (and after a trip to Staples where we picked up new crayons and stickers for school time use only). 

First day of school picture. Max really is smiling in the picture. He has a new smile where he thinks he needs to squint his eyes and show his teeth. He looks quite scary, but if you could hear him, he was giggling. 

We started the day out with a recap of name writing. He has had this down for quite sometime, but he is figuring out how to keep it on a line and use lower case letters. This happiness you see on his face is real. He kept the same attitude all day long and even wondered why we had to stop when the "school day" was over. I believe he would be happy doing worksheets and reading all day long! Please let this attitude remain until he is through college!

You may be wondering where Max was during this time. He was right with us working on drawing nice circles and straight lines, listening to stories and painting along side Russell. He was very happy to join the activities and learn some new things also. 

It has only been one day and I am already so happy that we chose to home school. This is such a fun way to spend my day and I love being the one to teach my kids new things. The boys are both so excited to learn they make it fun and easy!

We finally went to the beach yesterday! A great time was had by all. Russell and Max don't quite fathom how big the ocean is, but they found it very interesting to think about all the sea life that shares the same water they were playing in. We tried to keep them thinking about sharing the water with whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and other "friendly" marine life, but all they wanted to think/talk about were the sharks. 

The water was chilly at first, but after playing in it awhile it felt nice. We watched people attempt to surf, saw 2 men carrying buckets of freshly caught clams to their truck, and enjoyed the sun (maybe a bit too much?). We look forward to spending more lazy days being beach bums. Although this week kicks off the start of school for R.C.. I am also starting Russell this week, so our lazy days may be over just when they got started. 

I'm sure very few of you will care, but we finally found some dining room chairs! This is a relief as R.C. and I were sharing a board that we laid over a box for the past weeks. We only have six chairs, so if you are planning to come visit please only come in twos. If you have a family larger than 2 we recommend bringing your own chairs. Only kidding! Come one, come all!!  

Also you will notice our shelf which R.C. built for our computer. It's great having a husband who is, not only able, but also willing, to build most anything we can think up. He is quite handy to have around. 
What better way to break in our new chairs than with a rousing game of Candyland with some popcorn. 

We heard the tell-tale music coming from a few blocks away. The excitement was almost too much for the boys as they both got the "ok" from mom (the most difficult "ok" to get)  and ran for the door forgetting their money. They quickly ran back, picked it up and shot down the steps. They wanted to run down the street and meet him, but they learned that if you wait at the sidewalk with a goofy grin and an "I need ice cream" look in your eye, he will stop right at your door step. The ice cream man came and Russell and Max were the first in line!