Oh, and, this is what happens when I try to have the boys "rest" in the afternoon so I can catch up on blogging (and so they don't fall asleep on the way to R.C.'s show tonight)...

There is just no shaking these 2.

Growing up we were always taught to recycle and pick up trash. My father, and some of his brothers, are the kings of recycling. When we were young it was annoying (I'm not going to lie). We would dread hearing the words, "come on girls, let's go sort cardboard". With a furniture business there was A LOT of cardboard that passed through our hands and each and every piece was sorted and recycled or reused. My father's recycling was so neat and organized when it was set at the curb for pickup, that it almost made it sad to watch it get crushed in the recycling truck. At home we would string milk jugs and laundry detergent bottles on a string to keep them nice and neat and easy to grab for the recycling men. We would take walks on Sunday afternoon to pick up cans along the country roads and we would spend Labor Day (or was it Memorial Day? Or was it both?) cleaning the garage and smashing pop cans so they could be recycled.

When we got older we found humor in recycling. I remember one specific time when all the Soman family got together for pizza and when the meal was over and people were ready to leave, everyone (well, maybe just my dad and his brothers) wanted to take the pizza boxes home with them for their recycling. They each thought these pizza boxes would be a wonderful addition to their weekly recycling pile. I don't remember who actually won rights the boxes, but I do remember laughing, along with sisters and cousins, until we cried, at these grown men who LOVED to recycle. You name it, and we recycled or reused it in some way.

Due to all this, recycling is just what we do now without even thinking (my phone even says "recycle" as the wallpaper, for crying out loud!). For years Greenville had no form of recycling so R.C. and I would save our recycling and wait for the day when my parents would come and visit. They would take our bottles, jugs and newspaper all the way to Wisconsin with them so it could be properly disposed of. Finally, the day came when Greenville got a recycling "center" so we could take our items across town instead of it traveling hundreds of miles in the back of a station wagon. Now we just take it to the curb.

We try our best to please Mother Earth. No plastic water bottles or plastic shopping bags for us (once in a great while we have to use a plastic shopping bag if I forget my Envirosax or if they are already being used). We use "green" cleaning supplies (such as these AWESOME ones I recently discovered). We walk when possible and drink tap water. We turn the thermostat down in the winter and wear an extra sweater and we recycle envelopes to use for other items needing to be mailed. I could go on and on about the ways we try to care for our earth. I'm not saying we are perfect!! Please, don't read this and think that I am saying we do no harm to the earth. I know that everyday, each and everyone of us does something to add to the pollution problem we have gotten ourselves into. I think it's the little things we do though that will help slow the problem down. It's really not that hard to switch to different cleaning supplies so water is not polluted quite as much or using a reusable water bottle instead of buying bottled water (not only are there 40 million water bottles being put into landfills each day, but bottled water is stinkin' expensive!).

Yesterday, as you know, was Earth Day. To celebrate this day the boys and I set out to pick up trash in our neighborhood. We got a bag full of recycling and a bag full of trash. Yes, we did use plastic shopping bags to pick this stuff up, and NO I did not throw the bags in the trash. The bag used for picking up trash was emptied into the trash can and the bag was put into recycling. I hope to make my kids love to recycle such as my parents did with me. So far Russell is very happy to recycle. He picks things up and carries them home if we are out walking and even got after Aunt Chrissy for even thinking of throwing a pop bottle in the garbage can. He made sure she carried it home in her purse and put it in recycling. Max took a little convincing yesterday, but soon became very interested in picking up trash. He wasn't interested in the big pieces, he went for the tiny scraps that were almost too small to pick up. Russell liked the big pieces, so together they made a GREAT team.


After a morning of work, we got home and washed our hands extra good so we could enjoy a popsicle that we made the day before.
These little guys really do help make it easy to do all we can to care for the earth. It would be nice to know that their grandchildren won't have to walk around with gas masks on 24/7 due to mistakes that I made.

(I'll step down off my soapbox now....)

For starters...what's not to love about this...(other than Russell is missing)David is here visiting for a bit so we took him to our favorite beach. It was windy, but the temperature was perfect! People were even able to take their shoes and socks off. It has become a tradition to build a boat out of trash found on the beach and then sail it in one of the streams near the beach. After it has set sail, R.C. gives "the call" and we all bomb it with rocks and try to sink it. It's really very fun. Don't believe me? Come visit and we will bomb a trash boat together. You will love it!

We decided to take another beach trip, a day later, and head to Cape Cod. It was a beautiful drive, but a bit chilly. We enjoyed the beach, but were really looking forward to a cup of nice hot coffee for the ride home.

We made it out to Provincetown, and walked along the beach and found several crabs. Everyone found and held at least one. We also found a live shrimp, some sort of sea worms and more sea gooseberries.

Once again we were able to go barefoot. Max was brave enough to wade in the water a bit and he didn't think it was too cold.

It's great having David here helping R.C. get ready for his show this week. The boys also LOVE having him around. They have come up with several names for him, and he has introduced them to Gumby. One afternoon we (I say we because I was sitting there talking, but I really didn't help "create" anything) spent time making Gumby, Prikle, Goo, and someone else but I forget the name, out of clay.

In other boy news: Russell has been taking several "quizzes" so I can determine if he retained ANY information from this school year. I was very pleased with how well he did. The only thing that tripped him up was the state that Mt. Rushmore is located in. Other than that, he is ready for 1st grade! We are still in session for a few more weeks, but it is going to mainly be review. One thing that Russell is interested in now, that is not required for kindergarten, is map reading. He LOVES to look at maps and tell the streets that intersect and how to get to a certain place if you are here or there. He doesn't always find the most direct route, but he does find a way that will get you where you need to be if time is not an issue.

Maxwell has been obsessed with mazes lately. I print out several mazes each day so he has something to work on while I am working with Russell, but he is done so quickly that it doesn't work out how I would like. He is also working on writing his name and other letters. Max has yet to get rid of his dancing bugs. He is getting quite good at keeping a beat, and LOVES to be recorded while dancing. Both boys are into Where's Waldo books right now also. We have checked out all I Spy books at least twice and all Seen It books at least 3 times from the library and then R.C. remembered Waldo. We looked through, and conquered the first 2, not we have to find a library that has the other 4...maybe it will go on our summer to do list...

R.C.(along with the other first year sculpture grads) has a show opening on Thursday night. It should be really great and I'm sure he will post pictures and information about it later. I don't know what more to say about what he is doing in his studio other than he works stinkin' hard there! I have said it before, and I will say it again, I just don't know how he does it! The hours alone would kill me, not to mention the hundreds of pages of reading, papers to write, art to make, working a TA job, lectures to attend, and not to mention patting 2 little boys heads. It's crazy!

That's all that has been happening in our home the last week. Earth Day is tomorrow and I had planned on taking the boys out to pick up trash around the neighborhood, but it is supposed to be very rainy. We may have to wait until the weekend, when it is supposed to be 80 degrees.

In case you were thinking that I had not blogged in awhile due to lack of excitement here, well, let these pictures put your mind at ease. There is plenty of excitement and hopefully tonight I will get around to posting more pictures for your enjoyment and some tales of our fun being had.

Maxwell looks like this for at least half the day each day. The boy needs a guitar and a stage!

Russell has solved a problem that didn't need to be fixed. He was concerned that when he and I are not around each other I might start to miss him. His solution: make a paper Russell that I can take anywhere and dress up in his clothes. Here you see him laying on the living room floor wearing pajamas. This would be great to have if I feel myself missing him. So far though, since August, The longest I have been away from the boys was 2 hours. Maybe someday I will get to have a 3 hour break and I will find myself longing to see Russell's toothy grin and this will help me get through.
After I took this picture and stepped around "Paper Russell" I accidentally stepped on the hand. Russell (real Russell) screamed in pain and yelled, "OUCH!!!! Mom, you stepped on my hand!! Be more careful please!!" This boy doesn't miss a beat.

More to come...

Each year it seems the week before Easter Russell and I have the same argument, and this year Maxwell joined Russell's team and they were really angry with me together. As soon as we see the egg dye kits in stores I start hearing that we must get one. We have to get one or we can't dye eggs. We must have eggs with stickers and glitter and bows and whistles or it just won't be Easter. Everyone gets the kit, it's the only way to do it!! Each year we leave the store with no kit and each year Russell has been angry (ok, so maybe he wasn't angry when he was in infant. But, as soon as he knew what the kits were all about he was angry). We leave the store with pouty faces and I hear nonstop talking about how we won't have cool eggs.

Well, in all my 6 long years of being a mother I have never used a store bought kit, and yet, each of these 6 years we have colored Easter eggs. No, there's nothing wrong with the kits. They are perfectly fine and if you use them, I still like you. Personally, I like food coloring and a white crayon. The food coloring makes the eggs a deeper color and with the crayon you can draw all sorts of fun things on the egg. Not to mention you don't have to buy these kits for _____ (I have no idea how much they cost...) and you can use up some of that food coloring you have sitting in your cupboard. Each year the pouty faces have quickly changed when the little bowls of colored water are set out and the eggs are boiled. I'm still waiting to hear, "mom you were right! We don't need to buy those gimmicky little kits. You're the best!" Hmmm....I'm not going to hold my breath as I am sure this will never be uttered across the lips of these little boys.

Happy Easter

When you leave your home for a long weekend away, please, oh please, remember to check and make sure your alarm clock is turned off. It seems someone (ahem....upstairs...) could have used a checklist before walking out the door. For the last couple of mornings, at the exact same time, we are awoken with beautiful music. Yes, it would be nice to listen to while cleaning or playing a game, but when you are not wanting/ready to roll out of bed, a woman singing in a high pitched voice, very loudly, is not something I want to hear...especially if I have no control as to whether it gets turned off or not. We must then listen to it for an hour until it shuts off automatically. Sure, this is better than a beeping alarm clock, such as the one Elaine had to deal with in the 9th season of Seinfeld, but it's annoying none the less.

I sure hope they come home soon...

As many, if not all, of you know, Russell is a talker. He talks about everything and anything. He will talk about things he knows a lot about, and he will talk about how he does not know certain things but wishes he did. Some things that he says make sense, and some things I have to stop and say, "where in the world did you come up with that?" He often talks just to hear himself. Maxwell has begun to roll his eyes and say, "Russell just talks and talks and talks......". It is quite funny and oh so true.

So, this morning when Russell informed me that he was going to be "no talking man" today, I was somewhat excited. I had to go to Target and pick up some essentials for the home and I thought it would be nice for Max to get some words in while driving instead of just Russell. He told me before we left that he was "no talking man" and all the way to Target he kept telling me how he was not going to talk today. All through Target he asked what he would get as a special treat if he made it through the entire day without talking. He even informed the cashier that he was "no talking man" today. All afternoon he has been discussing with Max how he is not going to talk to him today. It is now evening and he is still talking about not talking today.

Does anyone see something wrong with "no talking man"? He needs to change his name to "nonstop talking man".

I really think that he wouldn't stop talking if his mouth were taped shut. Which some days I have thought about. (Really, I'm kidding! I would never tape his mouth shut! Please don't start calling asking if things are ok...) :)

Max can, and will, dance just as much as Russell some days. Today Max has really had the dance bug. Even when no music is playing his feet are moving/dancing to something. In "music class" we have been working on finding a beat in music and tapping or clapping along with it. It's much harder for kids to catch on to than I would have thought. But, Max is catching on, as well as Russell. Max also has been perfecting his air guitar, as you will see if you watch this little video...

We met this family (Hartter family) years ago when we were brand new parents to Russell and they were expecting their first little girl. We instantly clicked and became GREAT friends. For years we lived next door to each other, or just a few blocks away, and did almost everything together. Meals weekly. Birthday celebrations. Zoo trips. Cook outs. Walks. I can not even begin to explain how wonderful "the golden years" of living next to each other were.

Over the last few years each of us has made big moves and we no longer live close. When we do get the chance to get together it seems that not a day has passed since "the golden years". When we got a call last week saying that Lil was thinking of coming with the girls, the excitement was almost too much to handle! We were definitely in need of some quality time with this family. Jake was greatly missed though. Here is a quick recap of our week:

A break from playing to have some popcorn.

The beach

We found several of these on the beach. We later found that they are called a "sea gooseberry". They are a type of cone jellyfish that do not have tentacles or sting.

Max holding a sea gooseberry.

A trip to the beach is not complete without a stop at our favorite ice cream place. Even though it was pretty cold.

Russell's blazer was a hit with the girls.

We were able to go spend some time at the Y on a rainy day.

Lobster! Along with clams and scallops. Oh what a delicious meal!!

R.C. and his little friend

Trying clams. All the kids liked the shells, but not the meat inside. Oh well, more for us!

It is amazing how well these kids play together. They are very content to play anything together and very little parenting is needed. If there was not a need to make a meal I feel the kids would not have needed us one bit. Lil and I were able to just sit and chat while the kids played for hours on end. The boys were shown how to play with fairies properly and the girls were shown the art of legos and dinos. It's obvious that they don't care what they are doing so long as they are together. There are so many funny little stories to share, but this is already incredibly lengthy. Just know that a great time was had.

Thank you Lil and girls for coming to visit!! We miss you again, already!

I will be M.I.A. until late next week.
Lil and the girls are coming today for a visit so we are going blog free to spend as much time as possible with them. The boys are bouncing off the walls with excitement! I must admit, so am I!
So, until next week...

With R.C. gone so much, the boys and I sometimes get bored and have to come up with something to occupy our time. Sure, we read, do puzzles, draw, play games, bake, and all other sorts of fun activities to keep us busy, but sometimes we don't want to do anything. It's during these times that we sit and play "photo booth" on the computer...




But maybe we need a new hobby...who am I kidding, we have plenty of hobbies and do plenty of activities. This may seem like a waste of time to many of you, but then you have not heard the nonstop laughing of these little boys when we are doing this. So long as they laugh and smile I will keep hitting the "take picture" button and filling our computer with lovely (?) pictures.

Today Russell said he saw a car that had it's lid open.
R.C. corrected him and told him that it was called a trunk.
I thought he knew this was what the back compartment of a car was called.
I guess not, but no big deal.
As I was getting groceries out of the back of our car Russell said, "mom, you have a lot of junk in your trunk."
Huh.
I am left speechless so often.

Our computer was fixed sooner than we had hoped, so here is a recap of our trip...

Friday morning my alarm went off at 5:15 am and I stumbled to the bathroom to get a shower and try to figure out how I was going to wake the boys. I had just closed the bathroom door when it opened back up and in walks Russell. "You didn't have to wake me since I am up so early." He has been waiting to get to The American Museum of Natural History since he first fell in love with dinosaurs, some 4 years ago. Maxwell slept in while we all got dressed and ready to go, but when he did decide to roll out of bed he was happy and also ready to go.

We got to the bus stop at 6:30 am to make the 7:00 am bus to NYC. Max sat on R.C.'s lap the entire trip (even though he had his own seat) and soon fell asleep, along with R.C..

While R.C. and Max slept, I had this guy sitting next to me talking the entire trip. He was so excited! Russell talks a lot to begin with, and when he gets excited he talks even more!! Oh man!!We got off the bus and decided to take the subway to The Museum of Natural History first. The boys loved the subway! When we were standing on the platform and the train whizzed past us they looked a bit frightened, but once we boarded they were happy as could be and both said a highlight of the entire trip was getting to hold the pole on the subway. It takes so little to make a child happy!

We had a great time at the museum! The best part...obviously, the dinosaurs. Max really (REALLY!!) wanted to see Attila the Hun. We searched and searched for him, but could not find him anywhere. When we got home and did a bit more research we found that Attila the Hun is not a part of this museum. Sorry Max!

Maxwell showing how fierce a dinosaur is.

We did see more than just dinosaurs, but I do not want to bombard you with pictures!In this part of the museum it was dark. They made it look like you were underwater so you could look at the sharks, seals, fish and other sea life and feel like you are really underwater. At one point Max and Russell were looking at a display and R.C. and I were standing behind, to their left, watching them. Max turned to his right and tried to tickle a lady, who he thought was me. He quickly realized that it was not who he thought it was when we started laughing. "I got confused!" was what we heard for the next 10 minutes.

When we left the museum we walked through Central Park and enjoyed the beautiful day along with hundreds of other New Yorkers. We listened to a man playing the saxophone, saw a horse and carriage, dog walkers and loungers. Next stop, MOMA (Museum Of Modern Art). Walking on 5th avenue was exciting, to say the least. There were stores that I had only read about in my Glamour magazine, and everything made me think of Seinfeld episodes. We also walked by Trump Tower, but The Donald was not to be seen. As we were walking we came across a little toy store called FAO Schwartz (as if you've never heard of this). 3 floors of toys! The same one that TomKat (Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes) closed down for Katie's birthday. Inside we found, well, toys, but also Legos. A life size Batman, Star Wars characters and the Harry Potter clan were among the many Lego structures. Before we went into MOMA we decided to grab a New York hotdog from a vendor outside the museum. The boys were hungry, but after a few bits of yummy hotdog they perked right up. Max decided that he loves pigeons on this trip. As we were sitting on the sidewalk eating (literally sitting on the sidewalk...no picnic tables in NYC) R.C. gave a bit of bun to a pigeon and Max went crazy! He jumped up and was talking to the bird and chasing it. Passers by were loving the little show and soon Max and Russell were laughing so hard they almost lost their hotdogs.

We went inside MOMA to find it packed with people. We got in line to check R.C.'s backpack (you have to check bags. Only purses are allowed.) and soon realized that we were going to be there awhile. After waiting and waiting, we decided to make a change of plans. We jumped out of line and decided to skip MOMA and save it for another day. We instead walked the streets and made our way back to the bus to get home a little earlier than we had planned. If there's one thing we have learned with having kids, it's that you must be changing plans at all times. We were having a great day and noticed that the boys were beginning to fade so we were going to call it a day and end on a high note, instead of dragging half sleeping boys through the rest of the city. Why run everyone to their breaking point. There's always another day. On our way back we saw:

Rockefeller Center. (No Liz Lemon to be found)

Max got a shoulder ride. He and Russell did so great walking! I knew they would, but I was still impress with how great they did. By this time we had walked several miles, not to mention the walking in The Museum of Natural History. R.C. decided to give Max a lift since we were coming up to Times Square.

This is only a snippet of Times Square. As we walked through there was NO way I could stop to take a picture. The crowd of people was so thick that I could hardly see Russell, even though I was holding his hand. The visual stimulation was almost too much to handle. All the billboards flashed from one ad to another. There were movie trailers playing, news stories being broadcast, music blaring, and people shouting in your ear. It was during this time that the boys got very quiet. They were obviously trying, but unable, to take everything in. Their eyes were HUGE and their mouths just hung open. This was also the only time that Russell clenched my hand the entire day.

We made it back to the Port Authority to catch our bus at 6:00 pm. Everyone was exhausted! R.C. and Max were sound asleep before we left the city and Russell soon joined the sleeping duo. We were greeted back in Providence with cold weather and a wet lap (Max was a bit too tired to realize he had to go potty. Ahhh...the joys of motherhood).

This was my first trip to NYC and I was pleased with how great it was. I realize that I do not quite fit in to the New York crowd quite yet (or ever will). There were 12 year old girls (just an assumption on the age) that wore more makeup and walked better in high heels than me. I did realize that I might have fit in better than I thought. I got the ultimate boost of confidence when a woman asked me (ME!) for directions. Of all the people on the street did I look like I knew where I was going the best? Did I really fit in that well? Do you really not need high heels and a scowl to look "New York"? I guess not! I did let this lady down when I quickly answered, "I have no idea!" But, hey, at least I was asked! I look forward to another (maybe more?) trip to NYC in the future. I am also confident that I never want to live there. Just visit.

I know I forgot some points, but you get the idea. We had a GREAT time.

New York city was a success!
Our computer is getting fixed, so please come back later. In a few days, when our computer is back, I will post pictures and tell about our trip.

Russell received a wonderful surprise in the mail this week (not that all the other mail he has received was not wonderful. Trust me, it is!). All his friends from his preschool class last year wrote him letters and drew him pictures. He remembered all of the kids and the little quirks that went along with each kid. He loved all the pictures and was so happy that they all remembered him. I do think the best part of this surprise was a letter he got from "Mrs. B". She was his preschool teacher and he thought the world of her. My sweet little Russell actually teared up when he read the letter from her. He has been working on a letter and pictures to send back to tell them all about his new home. How great! Pen pals!

Max was really excited to see the pictures too. Some of the kids remember seeing Max each day when I picked Russell up from school, so they asked about him as well. He was excited that one kid actually drew a picture of him.

In case you were ever wondering how Russell stays so slim and trim, well, here is his secret. He dances like a maniac! The boys and I dance almost daily as exercise and just a way to get our wiggles out when it is too cold/rainy/windy (or I just don't want) to go outside. On these days we turn some classic rock up a little louder than usual and dance, dance, dance! Usually during this dance time the shades are pulled down tight so the outside world can not see the craziness that is happening inside our home.

This video does not show me dancing at all (you can thank me later for this), and Max only makes a quick appearance, but Russell, oh Russell...he is unstoppable. If you have 1 minute and 34 seconds, please enjoy my little dance machine...