B Team + Rock-n-Romp Camp

Miles and Natasha came all the way from Massachusetts to attend Rock-n-Romp camp with the boys. Liz & Vanessa sent them down with their grandmother, and she, Warren, and I took turns taking care of them. I was a little worried about them being away from home for so long, but they did great. Of course, being in an amazing camp all day long helped entertain them and wear them out, so by the time I needed to feed them and get them settled in for the night, they were more than ready.

Here's Warren dropping everyone off for Day 1.



Satchel was a counselor this year, and less than enthusiastic about it. ("None of my friends are doing it," he complained. "You need more friends," I replied. It is hard mothering an introvert! But that's a different post.)

I was a little worried about trying to cook for everyone on Monday, so we went to Huey's for dinner. Miles and Tasha LOVED it. I don't think they get to eat burgers on the reg.



Back at the apartment, Tasha and Jiro helped Miles learn his lines for an upcoming role in the Wizard of Oz.



The boys all had games and YouTube videos to watch, so I had to go old school keeping Tasha occupied.



Warren was in charge on Tuesday, and decided to introduce the kids to Jerry's Sno Cones.



Wednesday the kids finished their pet rocks. Most of them broke by the time we got them home, but they were cute while they lasted!



I decided to cook for everyone, and despite the apartment getting a teeny bit smoky, it was a total success.



As evidenced by the above photo, Satchel was siblinged out by Wednesday and started to retreat into screens. The others were much more social about it.



This is what Tasha looks like in the morning. I got pretty good at getting everyone up and fed and out the door in about thirty minutes.



By Thursday, Satchel was doing his best to get out of going to camp. We compromised--I let him stay with Warren while I kept the three younger kids.

I made dinner two nights in a row! I went with burgers again, and the kids told me they were better than Huey's! Ha! By Friday breakfast, Miles asked me why I didn't have my own restaurant!



The weekend was a little hectic, but we managed a group outing to Tamale Fest, the new playground at Overton Park and the Shell.



The kids clearly loved their new tees. I got them all to smile by saying, "Say Deez Nuts!" They were less compliant at the Shell.



Sunday's showcase was a major success. The three youngsters were in a band together called Firepit.



After two days of working on an original song, they scrapped it for a cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit." Per usual, Jiro was on bass.



Tasha was on keys.



And Miles sang!



(All black & white photos by Chip!)

They did a great job, and their moms were super proud.



All in all, it was a great week. I'm looking forward to what the future summers bring for all of us.

Father's Day

Sundays are generally busy due to O35 soccer and whatnot, plus we had the B Team arriving, so we had an early Father's day celebration on Saturday at the Brooks.

We started off at the Brushmark, where my pal, Abby, has recently taken over as head chef. She hasn't done a total menu makeover yet, so I am saving an official review for later. Warren was quite pleased with his lunch--a burger, naturally.



Then we went down to check out the Art of Video Games exhibit.



It was very interactive and included a giant Pac Man game.



(It moved really slow and reset the high score each game, so I didn't get sucked in.)

Overall I think everyone was impressed, so I definitely recommend it. I thought it would be more arty than it was, so I was happy to see that the last room contained some cool murals and painted arcade games. And tehy allow photos!



On Sunday, Warren got to spend most of the day with all FOUR of his babies, which was pretty cool. He brought them to my soccer game, which was a nice surprise.



Tasha was calling Satchel her tree, which was adorbs.

More on the B Team visit and Rock-n-Romp Camp to come.

More B Team Action

The junior members of the B Team don't like to be photographed. I think that's probably the biggest difference betweem them and the monkeys. Regardless, I refuse to stop trying!

We had a lovely visit, whether or not the photos prove it.

On Friday, I took the monkeys and Miles to see Ender's Game. Satchel was SO excited as he had just read the book over the summer. He actually wanted to get dressed up to go see it! He also had specific snack requests and didn't want anyone to talk to him before the movie started. Oh, he also requested we get there 30 minutes early. He is his mother's child!

Unfortunately, he was thoroughly disappointed by the movie. Those of us who had not read the book enjoyed it very much.

Then I got to try and come up with somewhere they all wanted to eat dinner. We had already had Pizza Cafe after trick or treating so I was severely handicapped. That's how we ended up at Picadilly. (Warren was forced to go along with the kids' decision.) Woohoo! Crazy Friday night at the cafeteria.



They do $1 kids meals after 4pm every day now, so honestly it was kind of a score. The kids totally snarfed theirs down. $20 for all of us to eat.

Then I attempted a family photo in the lobby. Because the lighting was so awesome. (Not.)



I have three of these shots and someone new is making a goofy face in each one. And you can see how limited I was on time by this final shot. Miles could only cooperate for about 45 seconds.



Saturday morning I had to run 13 miles, so Warren & Vanessa took the kids to the Day of the Dead celebration at the Brooks. Satchel decided to put this together and asked us all to sign it.



I know, right?

Anyways, Vanessa said the event was top notch.



Then we had some soccer games to coach/play/attend. Then it was Rock-n-Romp time! Chip got a fun picture of Vanessa.



Our friend Kristin snapped these while Warren goofed off behind the camera.




I love the way Miles tries to look like he doesn't exist. That Natasha is TOO CUTE!

After Rock-n-Romp, Vanessa and I got to have some quick girl time at the Cove. Warren was nice enough to feed the kids.



When the babysitters arrived, Vanessa & I picked up Warren for dinner & drinks at Tsunami. Then we went and had a night cap at the Beauty Shop and very nearly crashed a private karaoke party at DKDC.

We had a family sleepover and the grown ups managed to sleep until 9:00am thanks to Daylight Savings! At Jiro's request, Vanessa made pancakes. From scratch!



Yummy!



We had some chill time.



Then Vanessa & I took Natasha to visit the Alley-Brown compound and Warren took the boys on a bike ride.

Vanessa and I also took Natasha to Kwik Check for lunch and then brought home some sandwiches for the boys.

By then it was nearly O35 soccer time, so we called it a day.

On Monday, the kids had another playdate at the house with Warren while Vanessa & I went to yoga and then had a drink and snack at Chiwawa.

Then we had to say good-bye!!

Not sure when we will see the B team again, but Miles says he wants to come spend a week in the summer and go to Rock-n-Romp camp. I support that!

(For those of you who have made it this far and still don't know who the B team is, click here.)

Turkey Day

Ashley and I started the day off with the Turkey Trot. It was our fourth year! We both had our fastest times yet, and it was a great way to kick off the day.



After the race, I went home and did a little yardwork. I only mention it because not only did the monkeys help me, but I had four other neighborhood boys volunteer their services as well. It was a Thanksgiving miracle! I didn't get a picture, but it was awesome.

We packed up and headed to my mom's house around 1pm to start the turkey. My sister, her boyfriend and their friend showed up with about 50 jell-O shots. That was pretty awesome.



Tracey also brought gumbo. Woot!



I had planned to sneak off to a movie with my mom, but the Jell-O shots derailed that. Instead I just hung out and relaxed. The boys played an insanely complicated game with their cousin, Branch. I was thankful I did not have to explain the rules.



I also got to observe a 13 year old girl in her natural habitat.




The B Team arrived at 4pm and we eventually ate a very nice dinner. Here is the yearly pic of Warren carving his turkey.



And here is the kids' table. Tashie and Scarlett were fast friends.



We hung out at my mom's til almost 11pm, when we were finally able to drag the kids out of there. We were doing a sleepover with everyone, so back at home we made a big pallet on the floor, put on a movie, and prayed they'd actually fall asleep. While we waited for that to happen, we played Blokus on our bed until after 1am!



We are party animals.

It was a great day.

Updatey Like

Geez, things got busy and a little crazytown and I practically abandoned this blog. Let's start off with the REALLY big news. Warren is now Mr. Oster once more! He started teaching fifth grade science and social studies two weeks ago. Here he is on his first day.



So far he has been enjoying it, but it isn't easy. There is a lot of grading, planning, and organizing to be done. He's getting into the swing of things though.



If you see him around, give him a high five or pat him on the back!

Thanksgiving came and went. We kicked off the festivities a bit early, like we do, over at the Alleys' house. Making 50 dozen ravioli is my favorite holiday activity. Chip, our official photographer, must be more behind than me, because I haven't seen any photos from him. Here's the one good shot I took, which I think gives you a little glimmer of what goes on.



The B Team came to visit for a whole week, which was awesome. Vanessa is doing yoga training so she can teach her clients at the health center where she works. She needed to practice, so we had a yoga pop-up over at Weaver & Associates on Broad Ave. It was really fun, and really hard! We were all sore for days.




After yoga, we all went to Trolley Stop for lunch. Look how cute these guys are. Tasha still thinks Satchel hung the moon.



And Miles and Jiro are two peas in a pod.



The kids had lots of time to hang out and play, run wild, go to the movies, and visit various playgrounds. They even got to eat Thanksgiving dinner together. I'll save that for my next post.