Alex's 6th Birthday

Since I was in the midst of recovery during Alex's 6th birthday (July 12th), it was a very low key event. We invited a few family members and served pizza and salad. Alex didn't notice who was missing or who came, he just cared about his presents and how much money he had received (that boy STILL has $50 held over from July). He is big into DS games so of course, he got a couple. We told him he now has to wait until Christmas before purchasing any more DS games. He owns about 15 now. He also loved getting Auntie Jill and Uncle Rob's Transformer toy in the mail. These kids are blessed with so many family members that love them and remember them on their birthdays and holidays.

It's been a long, long time

Lots has happened. I don't think I'll play catch up, but start from here. Isn't that how life should work.

Its beautiful in California

This is perfect weather for me. High in the mid 60's, sunny but still chilly enough for a sweatshrit. I love sweatshirts. I can cover up all the winter fat!
Today I worked in Alex's kindergarten class. I try and go in every week and it's only worked out for every other week. Alex LOVES when I'm there. He comes up and gives me kisses and hugs the whole time. His class rotates between 4 tables, so he was only with me once. I had a couple of interesting conversations - I asked one young man to get a Kleenex because his nose was dripping, which sparked the topic of boogers, which I explained are really called mucas and that mucas has germs that our body is trying to get rid of, so that's why you need to blow your nose, and not suck it up. And one girl pointed out that's it's not a good idea to pick your nose because you will get germs in your nose. On another rotation, one girl had a VERY loose tooth, so we talked about what would happen if you swalloed your tooth? I said that the tooth fairy would still bring you money and that you would just poop the tooth out. The girls thought that was funny!
I sat in on Samantha's piano lesson this week. I haven't really listed to her since her first lesson and I was very impressed with the knowledge that she has already gained. She wants to take drum lessons after her 2 years of piano are up. I told her Daddy can teach her that. We will defeniatly need a bigger house just for the drum set!

Pictures of the kids

These are Alex and Samantha's school pictures as well as some pictures I took on Halloween morning.

Trick-or-treat

The kids had a spooktacular Halloween this year and managed to gather 6 lbs. of candy each. We first headed to our downtown district of Turlock were most of the business hand out candy. If they are participating, they tape an orange paper in their window. This is my favorite part of the day because I can window shop and find new store downtown. I found one little handmade country store were I bought a bar of homemade almond oatmeal soup and put on my mental list a set of hand sewn placemats with matching napkins. I also came across a children's consignment store and I think I'll knit a couple of hats to sell there. Since Grandpa Ron has his apartment on Main Street above the storefronts, we were able to get treats at his house. 2 bowls of goodies waited for the kids along with a nice place to make a potty stop and rest from walking. His place is slowly coming together and is perfect for him.
Later that evening, Grandpa Ron took the kids in our neighborhood and I was surprised at how long they stayed out. I want to say it was close to 2 hours. When they returned, Ron claimed they walked all the way to Modesto (about 15 min. away from us). Overall, it was a fun Halloween, with way too much candy, and I've already eaten my share of it.

Alex had a hard day....

Alex must of had some bad karma floating around him or luck just wasn't on his side yesterday. I got 2 calls from his school. The first one was asking me to bring him a new pair of shoes because his broke. He ripped off the back strap on his red clogs. I wasn't anywhere near home so I had to go to Rite Aid and buy him a new pair of shoes. The red ones ended up in the garbage, which was fine with me because they never fit right anyway.

The 2nd call was by the school nurse informing me that Alex had been "accidentally" hit in the face by one of his classmate, but she put ice on it and he was fine. By the time I picked him up, an hour later, his poor left check and eye were still red. I asked him if one of his friends had hit him and he told me the boy isn't is friend anymore and he had kicked him in the face...Ouch!

Later that evening....we are having dinner and I just happen to be sitting next to Alex (not always the case) and notice something little sticking out of his ear. A closer look revealed a rolled up piece of paper! I pulled it out and demanded answers, Why did you put it in your ear? (I don't know) When did you put it in your ear? (At lunch time. It was a sticker on the table) Did you put anymore in your ear besides this little piece? (Only one on this side and two on this side) That got Neil moving to find his flash light and a pair of tweezers. Neil extracted the remaining pieces. I felt we should take him to the doctor, Neil felt he got it all and they were blocked by big chunks of wax so they couldn't have gone very far. Alex was very remorseful especially after we lectured him that he could loose his hearing. In my best mom voice my final words to him were, "You don't ever put anything in your ears, up your nose, in your eyes or up your butt." (Did I name all of the orifices?)

Weekly updates

Neil is on a motorcycle trip with 2 of his fellow traffic officers. They origianlly had planned on going to Reno but due to the weather, they went to Las Vegas instead. So far he is having a great time. Yesterday they took a trip to Hoover Dam and Neil called home from the very top. He also spit to see what it would look like! He will be headed home tomorrow evening.

Samantha has started piano lessons and is going on her third lesson. She has picked it up rather quickly and loves it. I brings me back to my own piano lesson days and how much I hated to practice! My grandma told me I would regret quiting some day. So, no matter what, Samantha will take piano for at least 2 years. After that, she can pick a different instrument if she wishes.

Alex is excelling in kindergarten and it's remarkable to see how quickly he learns. He is still in soceer, although we have missed 3 games so far (out of town, sick, and raining).

We went to out friend Nathan Wallen's 2nd birthday yesterday. The theme was balls so I made him his own football cake. I was privledged to make his 1st birthday cake as well which was a horse's head. He was having a bit of a hard time with all the people and it was his nap time.

I have my application in for a part-time job at 2 different places. One is for a teachers aide at a nursery school and the other is to be a caregiver here in Turlock. Both would be flexable and work around the kids schedules. I'll keep you updated.

Neil's dad, Ron, moved to CA from Wisconsin this week. We are so happy to have part of Neil's family here. He has offered to help with the kids while I'm working. Alex adores his Grandpa Ron and wants him to live forever in our house. Ron is looking for something close by. He is used to the bachlor life for the last 15+ years.

Alex's Kindergarten Life

Alex has had a bit of a hard time adjusting to school. This was the end of week 3for him and it ended with triumph. Alex won over his wiggles and running feet and made it through the day without any time-outs. He earns a prize from his "prize bucket" when he accomplished this tremendous feet. 2 out of 4 days this week were good days for him. The other 2 gave him a bit of trouble. The beginning of this week started out wonderful because it was the first time he didn't cry and say he would miss me. He even ran out of his classroom a few times! One morning I had to drag him in by his backpack and the next day I had to carry him. But, the 3rd week brought no tears and no whines. I think he really enjoys it (especially all the girls - he seems to know all of their names).
Al started soccer 2 weeks ago. He practices on Wed. evening for 1 hour and we will start games in the next couple of weeks on Sat. mornings. He is the one always lagging behind, not listening, standing on his head during discussions, stopping to fart in the middle of a drill, and so forth. Although, this week seemed to grab his attention more. That's my boy. He has his Daddy's attention span and my gas!

Alex's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Alex started Kindergarten in Mrs. Diaz's class on Monday with great enthusiasm. He acted like he didn't even want to bother with Dad and Mom and went straight to work. Mrs. Diaz asked that the parents didn't "hang around" on the first day, so prior to the first day we attended a meet the teacher day where I took pictures of him. He is very happy that he has a friend from Preschool in his class as well as our old next door neighbor on campus. Crane school has 5 Kindergarten classes as well as Headstart Preschool on the other side of the campus. Alex attends the after school program everyday for an hour, that way I can pick up both my kids at the same time. Both of their school are clear across town so I'm trying to make only 2 trips a day. Thank goodness for the new car.
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Alex's second day didn't go as smoothly as his first. He told me he wanted to walk himself to his class, so I walked him to the gate and watched as he made the trek. He kept turning around to wave (and make sure I was still there). After he hung up his backpack, he came running back to me to tell me his shoulder hurt and he would like medicine when he gets home. I kissed him better, sent him on his way, and headed back to the car. All of a sudden I hear my darling baby's cry, "Mommy! I don't want to go to school." He was running as fast as he could trying to catch me before I made it to the car. I walked him back to class, alligator tears streaming down, and whaling like he was in agony. Luckily, Mrs. Diaz is very kind and compassionate and promptly took control of the situation and shut the door so he couldn't escape. My heart broke (but I quickly got over it). Hopefully he had a fun filled day and will want to return tomorrow.

Alex's first kite flight

This is Neil on Kellie's blog. She felt it was better for me to write about Alex's kite flying adventure, since I was there. I'll warn you, I bit more lengthy than my lovely wife. Well...here it goes.
Alex got a Spiderman kite from our friends', Greg and Melissa, for his birthday. He had been hounding me about flying it every five minutes. I kept telling him, "Son, it has to be windy to fly a kite." The Central Valley bakes like an oven in the summer, usually with little to no wind. Tuesday, however, was beautiful. There was enough wind to make my flag flap. Kellie and Samantha were both gone, so I told Alex, "Get your shoes son. We're gonna go fly your kite."
Alex could barely contain himself on the way over. When we got to the park, which is a large grassy drainage basin, we found it nearly empty. The wind had picked up considerably, as if in answer to my son's prayers. I explained to Alex how you have to keep the string tight and to always hang on tight. I told him if the string went slack, the kite would fall. We went over the launch procedures. I knew he wanted to hold the kite, so I was dreading the "kite launching run" I would have to do at 95 degrees. I noticed the kite was getting a little temperamental in the wind. I held it above my head and it launched!! Not one strained step did I have to take!! I let the string out about 10 yards and handed it off to Alex.
He was beaming.
He watched it as it flew about with the glorious red plastic tail flapping in the wind. It would dip and turn and dance in the air.
After about 10 minutes (an eternity for a five-year-old), Alex tired of our location in the middle of the park. I let out the string all the way. The kite soared at 50 feet. I'm sure Alex was hoping that it would have a near miss with an airplane as high as it was.
We began to move forward to a small hill flanked by trees. We sat down in the shade and watched his kite. Alex was getting a little bored. I believe the magic of flying a kite had worn off and now he was just thinking about the playground behind us. Just then, the string went slack and the kite plummeted 10 feet. As I yanked the string tight, the red and blue Spiderman wedge lept high completing a full loop!! Alex wanted to see it do a loop again. As I reached for the string to pull it slightly, Alex let go of the handle. The wind pulled the kite away with the handle dragging on the ground. I said, "Go get it Al!" He ran with all his might. He caught up to the handle twice. But as young ones are, they can't run and grab at the same time. He would stop, then try to reach for the handle. The wind harrassed my son as each time the handle would jump away. They were now about 60 yards away from me and I slowly realized this kite was not going to fall to the ground without string tension. It was approaching a major 4 lane roadway and took chase. You have to understand, I've been a motorcop for a year and a half now. We generally don't get in foot pursuits, so I'm a little out of practice. But I gave it my all. I passed Alex and lunged for the handle. Now the wind had a more formidable opponent - me. Unfortunately Mother Nature was the better. A large gust of wind blew the kite up and away entangling the handle on a tree branch about 8 feet off the ground. I was looking and planning how I was going to get the kite down as I heard my son wailing behind me. His cheeks were wet with big fat tears as his lips quivered. "My kiiiiiiiiiite!" he screamed. I got down on a knee and hugged him. I told him we could get it back and that I could climb up just a little bit and get it back. Alex calmed down and I turned around to the tree. To my dismay, the lower branch released its hold on the kite. The kite flew higher and caught on a branch about 20 feet above us.
I shook the tree. I kicked the tree. I hung from a lower branch and pulled vigorously. Nothing. It was stuck. The kite was flying strong about 70 feet in the air for all the passing motorists to gawk at.
We walked home, hand in hand, with my son's head hanging low. I told him we could get another kite, but he wanted his kite. We were home for about a half an hour when I remembered I had a collapsible pole used for changing lightbulbs on our high ceilings. I said, "Get your shoes on son." We drove my truck to the scene. I had planned on trying to reach it with the pole. If it wasn't high enough, I was prepared to drive my truck into the park and stand on the roof to get my son's kite back. As we got closer, we saw his kite. Still flying high. However, when we got up to it, we discovered that it had untangled itself from the high branch and the handle was stuck in another tree - about six feet off the ground. I simply reached up and freed it. We brought Alex's kite down with him jumping and dancing about. My son was thrilled. How many lessons did a five-year-old learn that day? I'll probably never know.

Alex under water

Alex loves to swim in our pool and has taught himself to do all kinds of things. He'll put on this diving mask and put his face under water. I got in the pool the other day and let him take his floaties off so he could swim free and clear.
He has no fear, so I had to watch him very closely. He can only touch the bottom by the ladder because the pool is a little uneven by the filter side.
But he's doing great for teaching himself. I've never had Samantha or Alex do swimming lessons because I thought it would be a waste of money when they have a pool of their own and can practice everyday.

Pre Birthday Joy

Thanks to Grandma Judy and Grandpa Nick, Alex was able to kick start his birthday a few days early, (July 12 is the real day). When the big box arrived we let him open it right away. Inside were packages wrapped in Sponge Bob wrapping paper which was quickly ripped and tossed to the floor. What a big suprise to find a new cd player/radio, new cd to rock out too, and a huge collection of books to stimulate his mind. He was truly excited, and wanted to call Grandma right away to thank her.

Weeks Happenings

This week at the Cervenka household:

I went with Alex's preschool to visit a vet's office. What a fun day! They had stations set up so the kids could rotate between them - a stuffed animal operation, a sonogram of their hearts, a bug display, and a xray room. Some of the kids had lots of questions.

Alex learned to ride his bike without training wheels. And he is a pro at it now. (the kids not even 5 yet). He also started taking showers instead of baths.

Samantha and Alex went to the dentist and no cavities to be seen. Yeah!!

I worked on some "recycling" projects. I turned 2 pairs of jeans into this

It's a bowl for newborn pictures. I have it listed on Etsy.

Hannah Montana was at our house...

Or was it just her hair? Lyndee's mom took her shopping for clothes on Monday and she talked her into a wig as well. We made Alex try it on.

I've been a fan of Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus since the beginning but my views of her have recently changed. She preformed on American Idol's "Idol Gives Back" show and I felt she acted way to provocative for a 15 year old. Neil and I couldn't believe the sex appeal she was throwing out to the audience. And so many pre-teen girls look up to her. I worry that my own girls will want to grow up to fast. I hope that Miley's parents will give her rules and boundries appropriate for her age. I wonder if she will become the next Britany Spears, growing up way to fast, no rules, every boundary crossed before she left adolesence.

Easter Pictures

Neil took these pictures on Easter morning and no matter how much he tried, he couldn't get Alex to smile "normal".



We went to Robert and Melissa's house in Livermore (my cousin, Bev's son). They have a beautiful new condo. Melissa had Easter baskets for the kids and we had honey baked ham and turkey and yummy carrots that were made with ginger ale and lots of butter.

Funny things Alex says

So I've been compiling a list of some of the funny things my boy says. They are to good to not share....

"You are the best mom in the whole LIVE world" (he said to me this morning)

"I'm so exciting" (but what he means to say is "I'm so excited")

Earf (instead of Earth)

"You ruined my life" (he said to me after he discovered I put his HOHO's in the freezer)

Power Mangers (instead of Power Rangers)

Alex loves WOMEN

So my 4 year old son is obsessed (already) with women. Let me explain. We see a woman, any shape, size or age, who smiles or talks to him in public and he wants her as his girlfriend. This desire for a girlfriend started this summer with a darling 12 year old girl, Miriah, whom he feel in love with. He couldn't stop talking about how beautiful she was and how she let him watch movies. Well he's moved on. And it's always older women, never someone his own age. A couple of days ago, we were having dinner talk and I told Neil I ran into one of my mom friends at the grocery store. Alex piped in and said he loved her and wanted to marry her. We told him that she is already married and had to pick someone his own age like our next door neighbor Kelly. Sam and Lyndee were really pushing him towards Kelly being his girlfriend. Alex said, "No I want Andrea" (who's Kelly's mom and my age). I whispered to Neil, but was obviously overheard, that Alex likes women (with boobs!) Alex then comments, "Mom, sometimes I want a WOMAN." Dead serious and lusty, yuck! "I want to marry a WOMAN". What a horn dog already, gees at 4! I wonder when Neil started because those are two peas in a pod.

Recap of Weekly Events

I thought I would recap the events for the week to keep all of our family and friends informed.

- Samantha had one of her baby molers removed. It was hollow and dead and started giving her pain. She was a trooper with the Noviacane shots and went back to school after a short nap and lunch.

- Samantha went to a play, Straw into Gold, at University Stanislaus, with her class on Thurs.

- Alex had Pajama Day at school. I was really glad it wasn't my day to work in his class. The excitement level was exceptionally high that day.

- Neil went on a motorcycle ride with 2 friends. They toured down to the Santa Cruz mountains.

- I completed a couple of knitting and craft projects.

- I went over to Rachelle's house for dinner with our book club then to a movie. We saw Juno (I ate 2 candy bars...thanks Rachelle!) and laughed our buns off.

- Neil and I went on a date Sat. eveing and saw the movie I am Legend. Really awesome movie.

Future Motorcycle Officer

Neil was fixing his helmet one night and Alex asked if he could put it on. I thought photo opp because he looked so cute. Then Neil decided to do the whole set up. Earlier that day, Daddy and Alex had a conversation about what Al wants to to when he grows up. He says he wants to be a motorcycle racer!! And of course, Neil was encouraging this over being a police officer. He said far less motorcycle racers die each year verses police officers. Why can't he pick something less dangerous like being an accountant.

Dance Party USA!!

The kids love to put on performances for Neil and I. Now that Lyndee is part of the family, she brings her innate ability to dance, flip and sing. Samantha has long been a fan of creative play, opting for it over toys. Alex loves to get in there too and he can almost do a perfect handstand. Lately the music has come from High School Musical 2 and I know almost all of the words to the songs. This particular evening brought Neil and I a great laugh do to the costumes!