NOLA Jazz Fest 2012

Where to begin... This year's Fest was one of the best ones we've attended. Just like last year, we had three days at fest and NO rain! (No other years since we started going 12 years ago can boast that.) We also had no meltdowns by Eli (bonus!), and we had some new travel companions.
The four of us hit the road early on Thursday morning. On the other side of the country, two grandparents boarded a flight at the same time. Somewhere around 4PM we all met in New Orleans and the kids got the surprise of their lives. We took a trolley to one of our favorite restaurants and spent the evening making Fest plans. The kids could not contain their excitement; sleep did not come easy Thursday night!

Friday morning we woke up with plenty of time to spare, so we drove to Metairie to visit Morning Call and partake in some beignets. Our temporary residence was well within walking distance to the fest, so after breakfast we loaded up and made our way to the Fairgrounds. We wanted to be there when the gates opened so that we could see The Revivalists at the first show. What a way to kick off the weekend :) From there we moved from stage to tent to stage to tent again, stopping here and there to get more food, do a dance, or take in a 2-minute parade. The four of us met up with some local friends for dinner that night; Maddux caught a nap in the car on the way. Everyone fell asleep a little quicker this night.

Saturday morning we opted to head to Jackson Square for some sightseeing before Fest. We took in a Muffuletta, some art, and the boats in the river. It was just after lunch by the time we hit the Fairgrounds, but we still managed to fit in a full full day. Maddux fell asleep promptly on my lap while we sat in the Blues tent, mid afternoon. By the time we hit the Soul Rebels show to end the day, she was full of energy for dancing.

Sunday morning we went to Fest even earlier; Trombone Shorty was playing the second show on the big stage. That stage is one we usually avoid, but the kids wanted to see Shorty, so we gave it a shot. Maddux slept through the first act while the rest of us held down our front row spots. Just about the time Shorty's show was finishing up, Eli and Maddux were both asking to leave. (That stage puts you in direct sun and forces you to stand and watch.) We hit a few more tents, a few more stages, and ate our way through the rest of the day. Our final stop was Tuba Tuba where the kids danced their feet off. No problems sleeping this night, and the kids even slept until 8AM the next day.

Golf

Eli loves sports...all sports. He gravitates towards baseball most consistently, but when the wind blows, he'll pick up a new one and stay focused on it for months at a time. Right now, the sport de jour is golf. Partially fueled by Masters weekend, he's picked up his hand-me-down clubs again and has taken to swinging in the front yard. Lucky for him, Grandpa Jim breezed through town this weekend for 24 hours. Just long enough for he and the kids to enjoy one of the most beautiful afternoons at the driving range.

Maturity

I'm not sure when it happened, but there has been a definite shift in Eli's maturity. For the better.

It's the little things that I noticed first. He'd be up later than normal and NOT have a meltdown. We would have a day of errands or other not-fun stuff and things wouldn't necessarily go his way, yet he was able to express his frustration without totally losing it. I realize I just called those occurrences "little", when they are really big for us, however, when they are not meltdowns, they aren't so big.

This week I've noticed some bigger things. Eli and Maddux have definitely made strides in their sibling relationship in the last year or so, but lately Eli has taken even more an interest in his sister. Two specific events come to mind.

• Maddux made a paper plate craft at church on Sunday. Later that day, Eli walked by the mudroom and saw it on the counter. He said, "Hey Maddux. What is this? Tell me about it..." Very cool, because it wasn't something that was particularly eye-catching; Eli was just trying to engage her.
• Tonight Eli had a baseball game. I didn't know ahead of time, but Maddux drew a picture and put it into Eli's ball bag. After the first inning, Eli came out of the dugout to get his water bottle just as Maddux and I were walking by. He found the picture and said, "Hey Maddux...did you put this picture in my bag? Cool...Thanks!"

To say I'm excited about this new level of sibling relationship would be a huge understatement.

The Bald Eagle

Eli was assigned his first research project just before Spring Break. He was given over two weeks to learn about, compile data on, and prepare a poster displaying information regarding his chosen animal. He did not choose a shark, as I would have guessed. Or even a dog or whale or cheetah, which are all also animals of interest for him. Instead he chose a bald eagle, randomly.

Lehr spearheaded the beginning stages of this project, helping Eli research characteristics, eating patterns, habitats, etc. We were given very little direction with this project, so most of what we did, we chose to do. Along the lines of being only as much work as we wanted it to be. (Pretty cool.) This last week found us doing a little bit on the actual poster each night. Eli typed out six lists of information from the research he'd done. He printed, colored and cut out a picture of a bald eagle. And then he asked if we could make the poster look like the American flag, due to the obvious ties to the eagle. All of this was done by him which is really cool. So even though it took probably 14-ish 'sessions' of working, his poster was done with no arguments, no work by Mommy or Daddy and passed off as work by Eli, and no stress. (Sidenote: I stopped by the school today to see the display of the posters and I was so glad to see the broad spectrum of presentation. Some posters had a scribbled picture and a few words, some had glitter and glitz, some had no words and lots of pictures, and some had toys taped to the paper instead of pictures. Eli's fell very snugly in the middle of all of it. Sooo glad his first experience of this nature was a good one, and I'm so glad that his peers, the work he's probably comparing his to, was all so unique.

Easter Weekend

This weekend was a full one! The kids wanted to take me to SkyZone for my birthday last month, but at the last minute, Eli came down with a fever. We pushed off the plans until we could find a day with an opening, but unfortunately it was this last (busy) Easter/Spring Break weekend. We had a great time, but the crowds meant that we could only jump for an hour. Eli mostly stuck at the Dodgeball area, dodging balls at the back of the back rather than risking jumping out in front to actually THROW the ball. Maddux stuck with me and alternated between stunt jumps into the pit and open jump. We had a blast!

On Sunday we attended church and then played in the front yard; the weather was amazing! The kids were excited to find that we'd made 'fancy dinner' reservations too, as a birthday redo/Easter celebration. We took the kids to Sotto Sotto, one of our long time favorite restaurants. We ordered a few appetizers and a few entrees and shared it all. Even though my kids both love southern Italian food best (aka red sauce 'stuff'), they tried everything and definitely enjoyed the risotto and mussels.

Spring Break, Part II

While the first part of the week was spent in Kentucky, the second half was equally as full, even though we were 'only' at home. I had several errands to run on Wednesday, the first day after we returned from our trip. Unfortunately for the kids that meant a lot more car time. However, I did mix it up a little and they had some fun things here and there. Plus, the game "War" was rediscovered recently, so they played that in the car between Costco and the bank and all of the other boooring places I had to drag them to.

Thursday morning we ran a quick errand and then headed out to DACKids, which both Maddux and Eli love. We brought our lunch and spent about three hours there. The kids played in the sand, on the wooden structure, with the nerf-ball blasters...it was a blast! Maddux and Eli really had a great time playing with just each other; we weren't able to coordinate schedules for anyone to join us, but the two of them didn't seem to mind at all.

On Friday we ended our week-o-free-schedule with a trip slightly north to visit the Tellus Science Museum for the first time. We walked through exhibits on the evolution of transportation of all kinds (including shuttles!), exhibits on gems and fossils, and many 'bone' exhibits. At the end, we watch a movie on space in a planetarium and got to dig for our own fossils. Eli found a shark tooth and was so excited. This week was a great preview of our summer!

Spring Break

What a week, and it's not even over yet! This week was Spring Break for both kids, so we decided to take a trip. Good friends of ours moved to Ohio about a year ago, so spur of the moment we decided to meet them at the halfway location for a few days of fun. Cumberland Falls, Kentucky is where we ended up!

We arrived at the cabin just after lunchtime on Sunday. The family we were meeting had three of their four kids with them: a second grade boy, a first grade girl and a three year old girl. Our kids all played together very well in the past, but they hadn't seen each other in so long that we were not sure what would happen. They took all of about one minute to reacquaint and then hit the ground running. The girls all played in one of the bedrooms and Eli and Titus (the boy) went outside and found rocks and mud to play in. We went for a short hike at the falls and then came home for dinner and a fire. The kids were having so much fun that we had to separate them at bedtime just so they could sleep.

The next morning we got up and had a big breakfast before heading out to the river for some kayaking. Maddux rode with me and Eli went with Lehr. They all enjoyed having their own paddle and helping. We had to stop at the grocery store before dinner, so our car went into town while the other family went back to the cabin. Eli and Maddux were sleeping in their carseats not three minutes after we left the river.

Once we returned 'home', we quickly changed and then drove up the street to a horse farm in hopes of getting a quick ride before dinner. Horses are not something I have any experience with, but I thought the kids would love it. All five kids got to ride the pony by themselves for a few minutes and then we saddled up on the real horses. The BIG horses. Eli went with me and Maddux went with Lehr, but the saddles were not big enough for two, so Eli was very squished and uncomfortable the whole time. There were a few kinda crazy moments on the horses, and about ten minutes in, the other mom asked if we could turn back. I was relieved! Eli and I and the mom and two girls went back and got off of the horses. Maddux and Lehr stayed though, and enjoyed a whole ride.

We finished the night with s'mores and this time the kids fell right asleep. One more big breakfast and the kids played all morning before we got on the road back to Atlanta. Maddux absolutely LOVED having two 'sisters' to play with. She adored taking care of Leah (the three year old) any way she could, and playing with Bekah (the 1st grader) made her day. Eli and Titus spent a lot of time playing catch and running around outside. It was a trip they won't soon forget!

Another Gem

It's almost over the top....Eli and Maddux get along so well most days that I KNOW it's gotta to move to a new phase of not liking each other soon. Until then, I'm loving every minute!!

Eli had two baseball games slotted for this weekend, so this last week there was much conversation about the 'schedule'. The last game we went to, Eli requested bubble gum and I told him if he wanted to bring a nickle for the game, he could buy himself some gum. So while we're driving somewhere this week, Eli asks (again) if he has a game on Friday night. When I answer affirmatively (again), he says, "OK, then I need to remember to bring ten cents." When I inquire about it, he says to Maddux and I, "Maddux, since you're so good in going to all of my games with a happy heart, I'm going to get a piece of gum for you and me on Friday." Pretty awesome, even if it was borderline 'bossy'.

Siblings

Many times I have commented on how much I LOVE the phase Eli and Maddux are in, as siblings. For so long (so it seemed), Eli wouldn't give Maddux the time of day, and sibling playtime was non-existent. Not only do they play together now, but they really seem to enjoy each other's company and Eli even seeks Maddux out!

Recently we had a great weekend example of this. Saturday mornings usually find Eli waking around 7AM because his internal clock is used to getting up at 6AM for school. He and Maddux will sometimes play together or come and 'bug' Lehr and I to get out of bed. One particularly awesome morning, Maddux later told me that she woke up (around 7:30) to find Eli lying in her bed with her, kinda snoozing. He was waiting for her to wake up and play. (BTW - on this particular day, he did NOT come to our room first.)

One afternoon before our small group came to visit, I gave the kids the task of tackling the secret room for a solid five-minute clean-up effort. I expected much moaning and groaning from Eli, but instead, I heard him divvying up the work: "Maddux, you do the front part and I'll work on the back." It was really cool to hear them talking it out and working together.

In the same week, I was getting dinner ready and told the kids to go out front and start playing, and I'd join them in five minutes. As they were getting shoes on in the mudroom, I watched them negotiate what they wanted to do.

• Maddux - "Should we do the same as yesterday where you throw the ball to me and I'll throw it to you?"
• Eli - "Yes, but we need to work on grounders and pop-ups."
• Maddux - "OK, so you throw me a grounder and I'll throw you a pop-up. Like 'grounder, pop-up, grounder'?"
• Eli - "Exactly"

I couldn't smile any more if I tried.

Two Peas In A Pod

The weekends bring all sorts of new traditions for us as time goes by. Now that Eli is in school, he often still wakes early on Saturday mornings. He's usually pretty good about staying in his room and creating Lego masterpieces or drawing pictures and lists. A few months back, the two kids started getting up and playing together, which is cool. Some mornings we hear them playing chess or cards, loudly whispering to each other their protests with the other's move. I often hear Eli wake up and go rouse his sister so they can start playing immediately.

This morning was a new, awesome installment. The kids woke a little early; we had ball games, so that was just fine. We heard them playing quietly so we got up right away and got them moving in a productive way. Later this afternoon, Maddux randomly brought up something about the morning to me. I asked her, "Did you wake up on your own, or did Eli come in and wake you up?" She told me that she woke up and saw him lying in her bed, sleeping next to her. So she snuggled him and then they got up and played. If that's not awesomeness, I don't know what is!

Faith In Action

The kids joined us for another Faith In Action this morning. As usual, they worked with Lehr while I wandered around taking photos. The three of them started outside, working landscaping by pulling weeds and raking. After an hour or so, Maddux grew tired of it, so I took her and a friend to the gym to play with the other kids. Eli hung with Daddy for another 30 minutes and then he walked around with me. When we next saw Lehr, Eli re-joined him, just in time for mulching. This was a difficult task, but Eli loved it. He shoveled and shoveled the rest of the morning. Later, Eli commented that he was going to be sore the next day because his arms were so tired. I love that they have been so involved in so many FIAs!

Game Two

Maddux had her second softball game yesterday morning. She was so excited because she was playing her friend, Anni's, team. We got all suited up and went to the game as a family, which tickled Eli and Maddux both. (Eli had a scrimmage at the same time as Maddux's first game, so he missed her in action last week.)

Maddux did great, hitting by pitch once and off of the tee the next time. She played several positions, including pitcher, which allowed her to throw to first a few times. (Throwing is her strength; she's still a bit stand-offish when the ball is thrown in the air to her.)

My favorite part of the morning was how into it Eli was. He knew a boy at the field and the two of them played football for most of the softball game, but Eli did stick his head in the dugout a few times to converse with and encourage Maddux. I didn't notice the best part of this until later when Lehr and I looked through my pictures. When Maddux was up to bat the first time, Eli stopped throwing the football to focus on Maddux's chance at the plate. Love it!

Season Opener

Eli had his first game of the spring season this afternoon, after Maddux's game this morning. (Busy day!!) It was sunny, cool and absolutely perfect for baseball. Eli played short stop and 1st base. WOW - talk about excitement for him! Lehr and I both agree that his strengths keep him in the short stop/2nd base range, but every kid wants to play 1st base at some point. He hit a couple of good hits, but got thrown out at second base one inning. Eli is still the happy-to-play kid that doesn't get upset by an out here or there; life is good!

What-What!?!

This is Maddux's favorite expression. Truth be told, I use it, especially with the kids. Just cuz it's fun. As of late, I've heard Maddux use it on many occasions, most of the time, appropriately.

• (After making three matches in a row during a game of "Rememory" with me.) "Three, Mommy! WHAT-WHAT?!?"
• "Rock-paper-scissors-shoot! Paper covers rock..What-what!"
• "What's for breakfast, Mommy?" "Pancakes." "WHAT-WHAT!!?"

Love that girl.

Mad Dog's First Softball Game

What a spring this will be. We got both Maddux's and Eli's ball schedules this week and it pretty much filled our calendar up until May. Yikes! Tonight Eli had a scrimmage at the same time Maddux had her first game. Lehr is assistant coaching Eli and I'm assistant coaching Maddux, so it was a night of divide and conquer. The good (?) news is that Saturday they both play, but at different times. So while we will be spending all day at a field of some location, at least we'll all be together.

The league we put Maddux in is very basic and 'loose'. Her game tonight consisted of each team going through their lineup completely while the other team practiced some fielding work. Then we switched. We did that twice by the time our hour was up. I got to lead the team tonight in the head coach's absence, which wasn't as scary as I thought. But that may be because I was on the field and not in the dugout while our girls were up at bat :) Since Maddux is one of three girls who can throw the ball with some distance and accuracy, I put her at pitcher for the second inning and she loved it. Even though she didn't hit any balls pitched to her tonight, she played well and had fun. Life is good.

Food Drive

It has been quite a week. A few months ago, we decided (as a family) to head up a neighborhood food drive to help a local ministry with their dwindling pantry after the holidays. Due to spring sports schedules, we weren't able to get as much help with the food pick-up as we'd hoped, but since we'd already planned on this date for the drive, we decided to just make it a full day event.

Eli's best buddy and family helped us out with a small amount of grocery bag distribution, but that was definitely the biggest job of the whole thing. The kids and I put in just over an hour Tuesday afternoon, but that barely touched our big neighborhood. Maddux and I still hit a handful of houses each day the rest of the week, before she went to school, and I ended up distributing about 100 on Thursday morning after I dropped her off at school. We WILL plan better for that portion next time.

The morning of the food drive was supposed to be rainy, but we were blessed with a little wind and lots of sun. We tackled the neighborhood starting at 10:00AM and were done before noon! Combined with Eli's friend's family, we collected about 100 bags, which we were able to drive to MUST Ministry immediately. The kids did a great job with loading and unloading the bags, and Eli was excited to be working with his friend (even though they were in separate cars). Hopefully this will be an annual event for us!

Teach Them As You Expect Them To Go....

For the last six months or so, we have had a verse displayed in the kitchen that we've been working on it. Each week (or so) we let the kids take turns picking the verse and the intent is to recite the verse throughout the week as well as look for it in action in their daily lives. The kids have enjoyed it and (at least for the week) they have done a great job of learning and remembering new verses.

This week it became obvious to me that they even understand the application of the verses, more than I'd imagined. Maddux and Eli were playing on the back deck while I was making dinner one afternoon. Eli got the basketball and started playing. Even though Maddux wanted to play, he told her that he wanted to play alone. She then grabbed the ball away from him and ran away. He asked her several times (in a voice I wouldn't call 'nice', but definitely not in a mean tone) to return the ball. When she refused, he came in and (calmly) told me, "Mom, I got the ball for myself to play and then Maddux took it. I asked her to give it back to me, but she won't so I'm coming to you."

This is exactly the way we've asked them to approach such a situation (basically, try to work it out between yourselves first), so I was super excited because Eli usually struggles with all of that AND calmness. I thanked him and then called for Maddux to come in and have a chat with me. I reminded her that taking something from a friend is not a good way to make them want to play. Then we quickly reviewed our current verse: Love your neighbor as yourself. She agreed that she doesn't like it when others take toys from her, so she shouldn't do that to Eli.

Off she goes, back outside. I hear her ask Eli again if she can play with him and he declines, a little harshly. She huffs and looks at him as she says, "Eli, you just gave me that red balloon today and that means you're nice, so you can't be mean to me. Love your neighbor as yourself." As solid as her delivery was, Eli was not convicted to share his basketball.

Lists

Eli is my son, through and through. One of the most obvious ways is through his lists. Even though the kids don't see 99% of my lists because they are on my phone, or on my workspace, or by my bed, I make a lot of lists. Things to do, errands to run, etc.

Eli is a list maker too. Every week I find a list of his, in his room or downstairs or in his backpack. Sometimes they are lists of animals, or books, or movie characters, but the ones that are more 'telling' to me are the lists of things to do.

This morning I found a list downstairs of items he wanted me to get at Publix. Love that boy.

A Glimpse of the Harvest?

I have not been shy about documenting some of the hard and harder moments we've had with Eli. While fatigue seems to be the only common denominator, I'm still searching for the main 'trigger' that makes him change from a happy boy to someone so out of control with rage.

I'm posting tonight because a few times in the last two weeks, including today, I've witnessed Eli controlling himself very well in situations that normally would have found him arguing, disobeying, and maybe losing control. Hallelujah!

I'm fairly certain that those fits of rage will still show up, but these little glimpses of awesomeness have me so excited. Today the kids had swing shift parents: Lehr was with them from breakfast until 2PM while I was at rehearsal, and then we switched for the remainder of the day. While the kids were with Lehr, they were living it up. They had their special Saturday breakfast of waffles and eggs, basically dictated by them, followed by a fun birthday party with games and pizza and candy. They arrived to me after that party, having gotten whatever they wanted all day.

This can spell disaster for Eli because he has a hard time transitioning out of that mode. I knew I was pushing it when I informed the kids that we could play at the house (inside or out) for an hour, but then we were going for a walk/hike at a spot we used to visit weekly. Eli did not like that news and started to cry and complain. I told him it was his choice how he spent the next hour-ish, but Maddux and I were going into the other room to play a game. After ten minutes or so i checked in on him and he was calm as he decided to go out front to kick the soccer ball. When Maddux and I finished our game another ten minutes later, we joined him outside. We played for a bit before Eli's friend from across the street came over to play soccer with him, something they have really enjoyed doing for the last few weeks. Fast forward to the time when we needed to leave: Eli and his friend approached me five minutes prior to ask if they could go inside to finish a Lego project they started earlier in the week. I reminded Eli that we were leaving and we wouldn't be able to do that now, but that tomorrow we'd have plenty of time after church. Eli totally obeyed and told his friend he'd see him later. Then he picked up his soccer ball, put it away and went to the car.

After I picked my jaw up off of the ground, I got Maddux and myself into the car. Our trip to the horse fields was great; Eli was enjoyable and patient. He asked a few times about the time of day (hoping he could still fit in some playing when we got home), but he was never rude or persistent about it. When we arrived home, his friend was inside for the day, and Eli's response was, "We'll have time tomorrow...no problem." (His normal response after a tiring, indulgent day would have been to whine and tell me that I'd made us stay too long at the fields, or that it was too far away and that's why he couldn't play now. There was none of that!)

So, deep breaths for Mommy. Lots and lots of thankful prayers. And validation that some of the things we are doing ARE working. My go-to verse has always been Galatians 6:9 - Do not be weary in well doing for at the right time, if you do not give up, there will be a harvest. I am resting in the possible glimpse of a harvest tonight!

Batter Up!

About a month ago we signed Maddux up for a low-stress softball league. This weekend was an introductory clinic to get the girls together before their first practice. Since Maddux has no baseball clothes of her own (and I know any 'street' clothes I'd send her in would be covered in Georgia clay), we dressed her in some of Eli's outgrown baseball stuff. She loved it. Even better, HE loved to share it!

We got to the field to find all girls, eight and under, working together for a warm up. Many of the girls were wearing cute pink pants and white t-shirts and I was grateful once again for having already stained baseball clothes for Mad Dog. After a quick talk and warm-up, they broke the girls into smaller groups to work on a few skills. Maddux stuck with her friend, Anni, the rest of the morning. The two of them got to hit off of the tee, throw and catch grounders, and do a little bit of 'soft toss' catch. She had a blast and can't wait to go back for practice on Wednesday.