March's Charity

Rion: My mom did a March charity and it was so fun cuz we got to deliver

books to the library for people who didn't have them. So, we did that and
not that much people bought our books cuz I saw them. They were still there.
Owen: We got books we didn't like anymore. We got some Princess books and
books we don't like. I wanted to keep one book, but mom said no, so.
Rion: Which book?
Owen: I wanted to keep this I Spy book. It was really fun picking books out
and helping mom. It was still pretty fun doing it and I really like doing
it, so that's it.
Month #3 - Book donation to the Villa Park library

Birthday Thank You Time

Maple Syrup

Rion was learning about maple tree sap and wanted to see it come out of a tree. The Morton Arboretum has a class on the topic, and they let you try the sap, partially boiled sap, and syrup. It was freezing this morning, so cold the sap was frozen on the spile, but we all learned something. - N

Today we went to the Morton Arboretum and we learned about maple syrup. This is how they make it into maple syrup. They get the sap from the tree, then they bring it into their kitchen and they boil it. It has to be 219 degrees Fahrenheit to turn into maple syrup. I got to see a real maple tree and I got to drink the sap from the maple tree. It tastes like when you put syrup in water. We got to dip animal crackers in some syrup that was boiling and in plain maple syrup. After that we went back to section 1 and we got to sing a song. It was really, really, really, really, really awesome. And, we got to see a tree cookie. A tree cookie is a part of a tree, a cut down tree, and we got to see how many circles were on it. And if it is already over 40 years old you can tap it. And, Rion got to do this thing where there was this log down on the ground and you have to spin a handle, and put your hand on top of it, and spin a bar clockwise to put a hole in the maple tree. And, one tool to help you get the sap is called a spile. Done. – Owen

I went to maple syrup school and it was fun, fun, fun. And then guess what. We went to the maple syrup place. We got to drive in our car there and it was fun. All of us went. And, we went inside for awhile and then the first time we were inside we got to try maple syrup that was boiling. Then we got to dip a cracker in to see if it was good. And then the second time we dipped it in, they putted maple syrup in. We went outside and I got to try part of maple syrup. I made the hole there in a log. It was super hard. The end. – Rion Stufflebeam

Milwaukee

For Rion’s birthday, we took him to his first hockey game. It was the Milwaukee Admirals vs. the Chicago Wolves. We also stayed in their favorite hotel with the red water slide. We started visiting Milwaukee when the boys were babies because it was a quick get-away and we could get home quick in case things went bad. Now, even though they can handle much longer trips, they still ask to go to Milwaukee more than any where else. – N

The day before yesterday we went to Milwaukee. That night I got to sleep with Rion, well sort of. And, also, I got to go to the swimming pool. It’s me and Rion’s favorite hotel. We call it the big red waterslide hotel. And, last year I did research about Milwaukee in my writer’s notebook. Um, and we also drove there on Friday for about an hour and thirty minutes or so and when we got there we… we went to the Admirals game. The Admirals won against the Chicago Wolves. It was a really good game. The Admirals were awesome. After the game, we went to the hotel and we went to bed. Done. - Owen

I went to Milwaukee. And I went on the big red waterslide. Then, I was playing in the deep, deep, deep pool. It goes super deep. I went to the Admirals game against the Wolves. And, guess who won - the Admirals. It was 4-1. And then I went to the hotel. Then, in the morning I went to eat breakfast. The end. – Rion Stufflebeam

Kindergarten Roundup

I went to Kindergarten Roundup and it was awesome. The first play time I was scared and then the second play time I wasn’t. During the first time I peeked and saw my brother’s room and then I was OK. And then I went to the table and I got to color a rainbow, like one of my brother’s friends did. I met my teacher and her name was Mrs. Guftason and then after tables actually we went to, after school, we went to the library. I got seven books and I got a cook book. I got a library card. After that I’m going to talk about something else. I’m going to talk about I went to McDonalds. I was at McDonalds and I got a happy meal. And then in the car I got to play with it on the way back to my old school. I’m done. – Rion Stufflebeam

I took my pumpkin to Kindergarten! In the fall, we’ll have two school age kids and we’ll both be “almost 40”. We’re feeling old in our house right now. Anyway, each spring Ardmore hosts the future Kindergarteners. This allows the kids to meet the teacher and explore the class, and it allows the parents to learn about the school. Rion was excited about the idea of going, but freaked out a little when we got there and none of his daycare friends were there. Once we peeked in Owen’s room he calmed down and had a great visit. From there, we got his first library card and went to McDonalds for lunch. He loved the happy meal toy and climbing in the play area, but as always, missed his big brother. - N

Quote of the Day

Mommy: Look! It snowed last night.

Owen: O-M-G!

Rion: Um, R-I-O-N!

We have no idea where Owen learned OMG, and Rion is always trying to pretend he’s as grown up as his big brother.

OO's Birthday Party

My name is Ri and that’s my name and I had a awesome birthday. It was amazing. After that I tried to dress as Power Ranger costume. My uncles came, some of them. I went to see my brother, cuz I was about to hide from my grandma and my grandma was super. My mom said I have to go out of her room. I went to open my presents. I got the movie Despicable Me, I got a police helicopter, and I got three police stuff, and I got five Power Ranger stuff, Power Ranger Samurais. That day I went to my friend’s birthday and guess who came. My dad. I ice skated and I didn’t even know how to ice skate. Done. - Ri

A couple days ago it was me and Rion’s birthday. It was my birthday in March because me and Rion wanted to have a birthday party together. I wanted to have it in December, but Rion said no I want to have it in March. So, I agreed with him. It wasn’t really my birthday but it was my birthday party. I got lots of legos for presents and I played cars upstairs with Grandma Michael and I played my DS with Kameron. We played Mario Bros. Here are some of the people who came here, my two grandmas, Grandma Michael and Grandma Rick, a couple uncles, one grandpa, and three cousins, and a couple aunts and uncles, and… (Conversation with mom: my step mother? Grand mother? No grandparents? Right?) … two people I know, named Leonard and Donita, came. And my favorite thing I got for my birthday was DS games. They rock. Done. - Owen

For the record, no, we did not get divorced and remarried. Leonard and Donita are the boys godparents, but they typically refer to them as their stepparents or grandparents. All of the “titles” confuse them a little. For a while, everyone was “Uncle”.

On Sunday, we celebrated both boys’ birthdays with our families. When Owen’s party had to be postponed by bathroom cabinet scheduling delays, he chose to wait and celebrate with Rion. He got to spread out his gift receiving, and I only had to host people once. It was win-win.

Also, Rion is very particular about how we “sign” his posts. I’m not sure where Ri came from. It’s a first. In preparation for school, we have been practicing 1) responding when someone calls him Or-ion and 2) saying the sentence, “You can call me Rion.” - N

Rion's Movie Party

I had a birthday at the movies and I was awesome. I played with my friends. We were playing Star Wars while the movie was on. And guess what movie we watched? We were watching Season One of Star Wars Clone Wars. I didn’t get to eat my ice cream because I wanted to watch more to the movie and I wanted to play Star Wars. I loved the movie because it was super awesome. It looked like Anakin and Obi were fighting Grevious but it wasn’t that movie. It was kind of funny because when Grevious was in this blue thing it was super funny. I almost ate a whole hot dog and then I played after food time, I played with my friends. And then when all of them leaved we gave them books. One of my friends got me a AT-AT Walker and one of them got me Grevious’s light saber, and one of them got me Anakin’s light saber, and two people got me Obi’s but Dad said they are the same but they are not. For real, they are not the same. Doney, Doney, Done. – Rion Stufflebeam

Rion and 16 friends celebrated his 5th birthday by watching Star Wars Clone Wars cartoons at a local theater. His favorite? The popcorn, ice cream, and cake, and the 5 light sabers he received. - N

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick’s Day! I got four leaf clovers from Charlie. And, I think that Leprechauns are real. I think that Ireland is where they first started St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick is somebody that was captured and sent to jail. And I know that there is something called a shamrock shake at McDonalds and it’s for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. And, tonight we are going to have green lemonade. It’s going to be so amazing my head is going to fall off. The end. Done. - Owen

Today was St. Patrick’s Day and guess what we made! At our school we made popsicles. Today I brought popsicles and today we made them. Today we got to have a treasure hunt! Today I had my birthday and I got to stand up two times. And, in the afternoon we had my birthday popsicles and in the morning we had popsicles from when my whole class made them. The end. – Rion S. 

Florida, Spring Training, Rion's 5th Birthday and Grandpa's 90th Birthday

This is the story of Florida. On Saturday we left to go to Tampa. And we went to the strawberry patch. I had a beef sandwich and I only ate half of it. The strawberry shortcake watered in my mouth when I took a bite out of it. On Sunday we went to a baseball game for Grandpa’s birthday and we also went to Jesse’s. The Yankees and the Twins were playing against each other. The Yankees lost by seven but it was OK that the home team didn’t win. It’s just a game you know. Their pitching was horrible but when they were in the field they did really good because the game was super fast. Uncle Nick bought girl scout cookies, his favorite kind thin mints! On Monday we went to the Oyster Bar for Grandpa’s birthday with his friends Patsy, Mary, and some other ones of his friends. After dinner we went to Patsy’s house. SHE HAD A POOL!!! And, she also had card games. On Tuesday we were leaving. In the morning we watched Jake and the Neverland Pirates and we went to the swimming pool. We had to go in the outside pool and on Rion’s birthday we went in the indoor pool, just to mention it. So, that’s our trip to Florida. All done. – Owen

On one Saturday we went to Florida and guess what! We saw our grandpa and I know how to buckle my seat in the car. Now guess what! I have an exciting thing to tell you. On the second one, on Sunday, my birthday was on Sunday. And, on Monday it was our grandpa’s birthday. And then on Tuesday we went home. And in the plane, I screamed because our dad. And what we did in Florida, one morning something turned on and Owen screamed and it was like something was growling, but the sprinklers were hitting our house. We went to the pool one day and guess what! We went swimming on Sunday and on Tuesday. Then, guess what. We went to the Yankees game on Sunday, my birthday. And guess who won. Not the Yankees. It was at their spring training stadium. We went to the beach and we made a big tree and we’re not sure if anybody knocked it down, a little tree and a big tree. Do you know why we made the little tree? Cuz we were super excited, we just wanted to make trees. And you know what? We couldn’t even see the little tree from our car. We knew the big one was still up. We do not know if the big one is still up because we are at home now. Done. – Rion S.
The four of us, along with Nick, made a quick trip to Florida this weekend to celebrate Rion turning 5 and to surprise Grandpa on his 90th birthday. He was shocked to answer his door and see the boys. I’m shocked that we were able to make it a surprise. As soon as we got there Rion asked Grandpa to take him to the strawberry patch for strawberry shortcake. We then all napped. The 6am flight may have been cheaper, but getting up at 3:30 was very early. Sunday was Rion’s 5th birthday. He wasn’t crazy that we were taking Grandpa to a Yankees spring training game that day, but in the end he said it was his favorite thing, more so than swimming in the pool. He also loved the giant brownie sundae from Jesse’s. On Monday, we went to the beach and they loved being able to get into the bay. That night, we had our last surprise, a 90th birthday party with Grandpa’s friends. Owen decided that he LOVED pineapple upside down cake, which is also Grandpa’s favorite. Now, I have to make him one for his party on Sunday. Tuesday we were able to see the manatees and swim in the outdoor pool. It was a warm, sunny day and we hated to leave! Four days was not enough, but we made the most of it. The boys decided that we are going to surprise Grandpa Florida for his 100th birthday too. He said that it will be a big surprise if he has a 100th birthday. J - N

Soccer

A couple of days ago I went to indoor soccer, it was fantastic. We played all sorts of games like score, don’t steel my eggs, we also played my favorite get this trash out of my yard. I love soccer. I think that I’ll be with my old coach Coach Omar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am all done. - Owen Stufflebeam

Owen is very excited about spring soccer. He had his last indoor class on Saturday and registered for outdoor last week too. He’s waiting to hear what team he’ll be on and hopes it’s the same coaches as last year. He also wants to do a soccer camp this summer. I thought he’d pick the Bulls or White Sox camp, but he’s all about soccer right now. On a side note, Owen typed this post by himself. They are working on typing skills in first grade. This is the first post he's done with the proper finger placement on the keyboard. It is crazy how young they are learning this stuff! - N

Kindercare Update

I have a color at Kindercare and it is in the closet. We can't touch it
because they want to know what color I am on. And, I have to be good if I
want to stay on green. And, this is how I stay on green. At 1:00 nap time
starts. Then, and we can have a cot toy at 2:00. And then we have to be
quiet with the cot toy. OK? And that's all about my color, so the end.
I am learning about space and I know one constellation, Orion and the Big
Dipper. And I know a star. It's called the North Star. And don't you know, I
know another constellation, the bear constellation. I'm done. Wait, I'm not
done. And, did you know I know something else? In space, in our home living,
it's only space now. It all looks like space. And, there are two jet packs
and four helmets. You have to get along with the jet packs. And, done. -
Rion S.

Rion has had some behavior trouble at Kinderdcare the past few weeks. We are
working on the color chart, hoping that it motivates him to improve his
behavior. The past few days have been better, yellow instead of red, but he
just can't keep it together all day long. Today, he pulled his penis out of
his pants and waved it around during group time. If nothing else, he is
entertaining. We think they are getting ready to ask him to leave. They have
been documenting every little thing. We'll see how it goes. I need him to
just make it through for one more year! - N

Moving out

The easiest way for Rion to get a door would be to turn the upstairs into 2 bedrooms and for us to move back downstairs. Following is our most recent conversation on the topic.

Mommy: How old will you need to be for you to sleep in our room and us to sleep downstairs?
Rion: Ummm, 35.
Mommy: Then how old will you be when you don't live with us?
Rion: 39
Daddy: No!

Mike doesn't weigh in on a lot of decision making, but this one he had a definite opinion on.

Orion

It's a first and only took five years to happen! I told someone Rion's name, including the spelling, and 1) they pronounced it correctly and 2) made the connection with Orion the constellation. We named him after his great-grandfathers, not the constellation, but thought that's what people would reference. It has not turned out that way. Most people reference Orion Samuelson (pronounced OR-ee-uhn) from WGN radio. Maybe it's a Chicago thing and people are more likely to listen to WGN than to see the stars.