You Park, You Preach!

Today we took the kids to the church parking lot to ride bikes... Little A thought that parking her little bike in the pastor's parking spot was pretty funny!


The sign reads:

RESERVED FOR

LEAD PASTOR

ONLY

AT ALL TIMES

YOU PARK, YOU PREACH

Friends, Food And Fun

Today was filled with friends, food and fun!

After church Big A and I went to the mall to meet a friend of mine and her son for lunch. We walked around a bit and it was neat to watch the boys just be boys. Neither of them had their little sisters around to bug them, we were in an open place where they could run ahead a little bit and we could still see them, etc. I don't know how to describe it other than to say it was 'neat'.

After the mall we went home and rested for a bit, wrestled on the bed with Little A, and got ready to head out again after dinner. This time we met a different group of friends for mini golf and a few arcade games. I'm not sure who had more fun on this outing, the kids or Rich!

It was a good day spent with GREAT friends! I wonder what tomorrow will bring (besides MORE RAIN)....

Hot Dogs Pizza, Baseball (Awards) and Apple Pie Frozen Yogurt

Tonight the kids had their baseball awards party at a local pizza parlor. Seven little boys and two little girls (plus a handful of siblings) running loose through the restaurant! That's the great thing about this particular restaurant... They're used to it, and they don't mind! Combine that with the fact that they have very reasonably priced food and great coupons, and it probably has quite a bit to do with why you can almost always find a sports team there on any given weekend!

The adults talked while the kids played and then the coaches passed out the awards. Each child received a certificate (which doubles as a coupon for a free child's steak at a local steakhouse) and a medal. My kids could care less about the certificate, but LOVE their medals!

They were SO excited! And do you know what the best part is? They can't wait to play again next year! This year was iffy since Big A had decided after his first year that he didn't want to play anymore but both kids had a FABULOUS time and they actually cried when we finished out last game!

So... For the time being we'll wait patiently for soccer to begin... But thanks for a great season, Coach!

(And in case you're wondering about the frozen yogurt part... Well... We MAY have gone to our favorite frozen yogurt shop AGAIN tonight. Because... You know... We weren't there last night or anything... And not Monday night, either!)

Home Of The Free And The Brave And The Cutest Kids You've Ever Seen!

Tonight was the Spring Show, "Red, White and Blue and Other Colors", at Little A's school. The whole school walked in and walked up to the front.


The kids were asked to wear red, white and blue, and of course Little A HAD to have a new dress for the occasion. I mean we wouldn't want her to be seen in LAST YEAR'S T-SHIRT, right?!?!


All of the school kids together sang three or four songs and then the preschoolers and toddlers were ushered offstage to sit in the choir loft with their teachers. With the distractions three and four year olds out of the way, the elementary school kids performed a skit and recited bits of US History for the audience.

They sang a few more songs, as well. There were two boys in the group who sang their hearts out (at the TOP of their lungs) in COMPLETELY the wrong key. It was pretty cute! They certainly get an A for effort!

It was another great show... I can't wait to see what's in store for us NEXT spring!

Through The Years...

Just because I've been thinking a lot lately about how quickly the kids are growing and changing...

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

Makes me a little sad sometimes! It's all happening TOO FAST!

Field Trips And Fire Stations

Today I accompanied Little A's class on a field trip to the fire station. Talk about fun! They showed the kids the fire house, all of the different equipment, let them climb through the fire trucks, raise a car up on inflatable blocks, look through a special camera used for finding people in a fire/field/darkness/etc., and spray the hoses.

After all of the kids had been given a turn at spraying the hoses, they let the parents have a turn. For us they turned the pressure up full blast so we could feel what it REALLY felt like. It was so powerful that one mom lost control of the hose and water sprayed EVERYWHERE... Imagine letting go of a blown up balloon that's shooting water everywhere.... It was actually pretty funny but could have been dangerous! Good thing the firefighters were quick!

Did you know that the fire station will do birthday parties?!?! I wish I'd known THAT fact a few years sooner! Big A thinks he's a little old for that now, and Little A is into more 'girlie' things. Bummer!

Always Good For A Laugh

I know, I know... I've posted these before. But I have to tell you... They never cease to make me laugh because they're just so me! After all, I may be the one who went into a local restaurant and upon seeing the GIANT animal pelt on the wall pointed to it and asked, "Is that a beaver?" I may have ordered a Big Mac at Cinnabon once, too. And finally, I MAY know something about people running past the gym on the main drag in a neighboring town waving their arms in the air yelling, "THE BEES! THE BEES!"

So, without further ado, here are a few ways to maintain a healthy level of insanity...

1. In the memo field of all of your checks write, "For Marijuana"

2. Order diet water whenever you go out to eat and do it with a completely serious face.

3. Specify that your drive-thru order is to go.

4. Sing along at the opera.

5. Five days in advance, tell your friends that you can't attend their party because you have a headache.

6. When leaving the zoo, start running towards the parking lot yelling, "Run for your lives! They're loose!"

7. Tell your children over dinner, "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go." (Okay, so MAYBE this one isn't funny, nor would it help with your level of insanity... Unless your kids are in high school or something...)

And the final way to keep a healthy level of insanity...

8. Pick up a box of condoms at the pharmacy then go to the counter and ask where the fitting room is.

What crazy things have YOU done?

Family Fun

Today was a day of all work and no play... B worked overtime while the kids and I cleaned their closet, removed clothes that no longer fit, played our 2nd to last baseball game, and worked on Big A's reading. When B got home shortly after 3 we decided it was time for some fun.

Big A suggested the beach and little did he know, he and I were on the same wavelength (no pun intended!). I didn't want to go to the beach to play, but I DID want to take a drive out to scope out some campsites so we grabbed some jackets, piled into the van, and headed for the coast.

We have reservations for a park out at the coast in a couple of weeks, so I wanted to check out the park and our campsites. I'm not overly impressed (and I went in knowing full well that I wouldn't be) but the point is to go out and have fun, and that's what we're all excited about. We also drove through another park out there with our map in hand and circled sites that suited our needs. As a side note... I've started a camping binder that holds all of our campground maps with our favorite sites circled so that making reservations will be easier for future trips.

After driving through a couple of parks, seeing the sites, spotting some wildlife, and watching the parachute surfers, we decided we'd have a bite to eat at a local seafood restaurant before heading home. We were JUST in time to get a table by the window and not have to wait. We all enjoyed coloring, watching boats, and just having fun together!

When we were getting in the car to head home, Big A started crying. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "That was just SO much fun! I don't want to go home!" He's SO sweet and sensitive! I LOVE that boy!

Bedtime Stories

Picture this... Two kids and a mommy in their jammies snuggled together on the bed ready to read a bed time story. The story du jour? Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle, Big A's pick from the library this week.

"This is a long book, we probably won't be able to read it all tonight," I tell the kids as I start to read... But then we start, and we can't put it down. We read page after page about the adventures of Nubs, an Iraqi dog of war, and Brian Dennis, an American marine in Iraq. At one point I look over at Big A and he's staring at the other side of the room. "Do you want me to stop for tonight?"

"No, keep reading," he tells me. I'm wondering why he wants me to keep reading if he's clearly not paying any attention. I read another couple of pages and check on him again. Again he's staring at the other side of the room and again I ask if I should keep reading. "Keep reading," he replies.

I read a couple more pages and as I begin the third page, my voice starts to crack. It's at this point that I realize that Big A is NOT zoning out as I'd previously thought, but rather hiding the fact that he's trying not to cry. I continue reading and find that the more my voice cracks, the harder he cries and the harder he cries, the more Little A starts to cry and by the time I get to the end of the page, all three of us are in tears.

I continue trying to read through the tears and through the tears we're cracking up at the fact that the three of us are in tears. It must have been quite a site to see.

Good book... Happy ending... Tears of joy... We highly recommend it!

More Funny Stuff From Little A

I know my posts have been full of Little A isms lately, but I just can't help it. She CRACKS. ME. UP. I don't know WHERE she comes up with this stuff!

Today she got sick right after she ate breakfast and again right after she ate lunch. It's odd because she's perfectly fine except for throwing up twice. It's one of those times when you're in a real quandary about whether or not to send her to school tomorrow morning and to her play date tomorrow afternoon, you know?

Anyhow... We were finishing dinner and I was hoping that she would make it through dinner without getting sick. She finished her meal, excused herself from the table and headed straight to the bathroom where she started spitting into the toilet. Big A and I were trying not to laugh because as every parent knows, laughing will CERTAINLY encourage the behavior.

Well... She continues leaning over the toilet spitting and I guess the fact that Big A and I were ignoring her, was not to her liking. She starts screaming illegible "I'm trying to be funny and get attention" noises and words and Big A and I continue to ignore her (or at least from what she could see we were ignoring her.) I guess our lack of interest was too much for her because she started screaming, "OH GOD! I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!"

After the screaming she'd stop to wait for our reaction then lean over, spit, scream, repeat... She made it through three of four cycles before deciding that she wasn't going to throw up and we weren't going to give her any attention so she flushed and rejoined us at the table. Too funny!

__________________________________

While sitting on the couch after dinner, Little A came up to me and said, "Do you have worms on your eyebrows?"

Me - "What?"

Little A - "Do you have worms on your eyebrows?"

Me - "Where did you get an idea like that?"

Little A - "Big A told me."

Me (looking at Big A) - "Did you tell her that?"

Big A - "Mrs. R told us that there are worms that eat in your eyebrows."

Me - "No, Big A. That's not true."

Big A - "Well Mrs. R said it and she's right. You're wrong."

Me - "I'm sorry, Big A. It's not true. There are not worms that eat in your eyebrows."

Big A - "I'm going to tell Mrs. R you said that."

Little A - "There aren't worms in your eyebrows?"

Are You Smarter Than A Preschooler?

A PRESCHOOL TEST FOR YOU

Which way is the bus below traveling? To the left or to the right?


Can't make up your mind? Look carefully at the picture again.

Still don't know?

Preschoolers all over the United States were shown this picture and asked the same question.
92% of the preschoolers gave this answer, "The bus is traveling to the left."

They were then asked, "Why do you think the bus is traveling to the left?"

They answered, "Because you can't see the door to get on the bus."

How do you feel now???

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

Little A's bedtime prayer tonight...

Dear God,

I love you so much and I hope you have a fantastic time in heaven. The lord is with you always.

Amen

I HEART KOHL'S!

You may or may not know that I'm a HUGE FAN of Kohl's! I'd say that 75% of the clothes in my kids' closet have come from Kohl's (and if they're not from Kohl's, they're probably from Target). I'm an even bigger fan when I have a 30% off coupon, but I'll shop at Kohl's any time!

In fact, just yesterday I was there getting jeans and unders for Little A. She's sprouted up in the last few weeks and is outgrowing all of her fall/winter clothes. I'd already done my spring/summer shopping and those clothes fit her but I hadn't purchased any more pants because I was counting on our weather warming up.... HA! If the rain and hail storms we had off and on yesterday are any indication of our weather patterns, we'd better continue working on our ark.

Anyhow, Kohl's has just about everything! They have clothes, shoes, jewelry, toys, small appliances, stuff for the home, gifts, etc. They have all kinds of styles and colors and varieties... It's just a great store!

I'd like to thank Kohl's for advertising to all types of people, as well. Apparently they're up on the times and know the 'in' style for boys! Even their mannequins are up with the times!



Thank you, Kohl's! I can always count on you!

Thou Shalt Not Judege A Book By It's Cover

Dear Mrs. H. -

I'd like to thank you for all of the time, effort, and hard work you've put into my son's education this past year. I'm continually amazed at what he is learning and what he is capable of. Just today he picked up a very large book and began thumbing through it. I was certain he was just killing time doing anything but what he was supposed to be doing... BOY WAS I WRONG!

As he thumbed through the pages of this very larg book (With very small print, I might add...) he suddenly turned to me and said, "MOM! There are SOOO many sight words in this book!"

He was actually READING the book, not just being a pain! Yes, my son was reading....

THE BIBLE!

Puke, Parrots And Pizza

Yep... The title just about sums up our day! B was gone this weekend at a church conference and the kids and I were left to fend for ourselves. Whenever just one of us is home for the weekend we try to do some fun things with the kids that we wouldn't normally do. This weekend we are having "SLEEPOVER IN MOM'S ROOM!"

We spent Friday evening at Costco and dined on Costco hot dogs and pizza. You really can't beat the price of dinner at Costco! We got two hot dogs, two drinks, one slice of pizza and two churros for just over $7!

After Costco we came home, put groceries away, set up our slumber party and hit the hay (or the floor... Or something like that...) We were all sleeping peacefully when suddenly I was ripped from slumber by the words, "MOM! I'M GOING TO PUKE!" Let me just tell you that it takes very little time to wake up when a child is telling you they're going to puke!

"RUN TO THE BATHROOM!" Thank goodness he made it! For the first time EVER (daytime not included) Big A woke up BEFORE he was going to be sick and managed to get to the bathroom in time. I can't tell you how thankful I am for this.... And considering that Little A was sleeping between him and the bathroom, I'm sure she's thankful, too!

Anyhow... Big A DID get sick once in the night which put me in a funk thinking that our entire weekend would be spent with one kid bouncing off the walls and one kid sick on the couch. To my surprise, Big A woke up bouncing off the walls like nothing had ever happened and was completely fine! We watched a little TV, ate breakfast, got dressed, went to baseball, stopped for hot chocolate on the way home, and made our plans for the rest of the day which included seeing Rio and going out to dinner. However, as soon as we walked in the door, Little A decided that she needed to 'spit' and next thing I know, she's getting sick too!

At that point I had NO idea what was going on and was REALLY praying for some Calgon, but she bounced right back and she was fine, too... GO FIGURE! After lunch, a quick rest, and making certain that everyone was feeling fine, we headed out to see Rio.

After the movie we headed to one of our favorite local pizza joints and then we came home for night two of 'SLEEPOVER IN MOM'S ROOM!" I'm praying for a good night's sleep and no more puke!

Never A Dull Moment...

Crazy laughter from the bathroom followed by...

"LOOK, MOMMY! CINDERELLA IS IN THE POTTY!"

And then more crazy laughter...

____________________________________________

"Carl's Junior. $2.99 at the first window please."

____________________________________________

"Little A, can you please load the diswasher?"

"Sure, Mommy!"

And... Perhaps this would explain why my dishes don't get clean...
____________________________________________

This girl CERTAINLY keeps me on my toes!

And I SURE DO love her and all of her crazy antics!

Can You See Me Now?

A demonstration in window washing, by Big A...

First you get the window REAL wet.

It takes a LOT of concentration and hard work to get the window very clean...

And it's too high to reach, so it's easier if you just get on the hood of the car.

Hold on tight so you don't fall....

THERE! The window is good and wet!

Now it's time to squeegee...

R... E... A... C... H...

After each pass you must wipe the squeegee with a paper towel.

And... VIOLA! (Okay, so this is actually the BACK of the car, but you can rest assured that the front looked EXACTLY the same if not worse!)

Thank goodness for Grandpa batting clean-up!