You Want Me To What?

Big A has had quite the attitude lately (overtired I'm sure, but an attitude nonetheless....) so a little bit ago, after arguing with Big A about something and having him respond in a not so nice tone, I suggested to B that he make Big A have a thinking time on his bed. The conversation went something like this:

B - "Okay, Big A. I'm tired of your attitude. You need to go lay down on your bed and get an attitude adjustment until you can talk nicely to people."

Big A - "FINE!" *STOMPS OFF TO HIS BED*

Big A - A few seconds later... "DADDY! DADDY!"

B - "I told you not to talk to me like that."

Big A - "BUT DADDY! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT AN ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT IS!"

What Did You Say?

This week B and I are teaching vacation bible school at our church. B is a group leader for six 1st graders and I am directing the preschool and kindergarten program. I have 48 kids, 6 teenagers and 4 adults. It's crazy chaos in my room, but it's a lot of fun! Just about the time everyone figures out what they're doing when and where, VBS will be over! Oh well... At least the kids are having fun! (Oh... And even though I'm so tired I'm about to fall over, so are we!)

Anyhow, we've been making the As listen to the VBS CD in the car so that they will know the songs already. One of the songs is talking about Jesus and the feeding of the 5,000. The song is sung by the little boy who is bringing food to share with the people and he sings, "One basket, two fish and, five loaves of barley bread."

The first time Big A heard that song he said, "Mommy, did he say five loaves of garlic bread?"

Oh how I love those moments! Kids are great!

Good Food, Good Friends, GOOD FUN!

Tonight we had some friends over for dinner ('Trademark Taco Salad' and 'Angel Cake') and swimming. We had a BLAST!

"I'M JASMINE!"

Yeah... There are NO words to describe this!

Just another CUTE firefighter!

"DOGPILE ON SEANNIE!"

When a little Cool Whip fun...

Turns into an all out Cook Whip WAR!!

If we had this much fun over taco salad and angel food cake with berries, just imagine what kind of damage we could do in a campground VEGAS, BABY!

YOU GUYS CAN'T MOVE! We'd miss you SOOO much!!

The Aftermath of the PEZ Incident

On the night that Little A finished off an entire package of PEZ BEFORE dinner, she was MOST unhappy when I told her she could not have an OREO AFTER dinner....

CT Scan Update

Of course being a mom who's child is having a CT Scan you're anxious to know the outcome, right? Yesterday while Big A was having the scan I was in the 'camera room' with the tech. I asked the him how soon they'd have results and boy was I surprised when he said they'd have them in 30-45 minutes! He told me that the radiologist across the hall would look at the scans and then send the notes to the doctor. He told me to call my doctor today.

I called the doctor this morning and his medical assistant answered immediately (no leaving a message, no nothing! MAN! This is TOO EASY!). I explained what I wanted and she said she'd give him a message and have him call me. It could not have been more than 20 minutes and I was on the phone with the doctor himself!

He said that there didn't appear to be any abnormalities(!!!) but that he did not yet have the 'official report' and that when he got it he'd run it by his 'got-to person' just to be sure. I asked that he contact me after that was all done and he assured me that although it would be quite awhile, he would do that.

THANKS, DR. Z! YOU ROCK!

Surgery and a CT Scan

As promised, I'm explaining the 'surgery' reference from yesterday. Here goes!

As you may or may not know, Little A has had chronic ear infections since she was 9 months old. Between 9 and 12 months of age she had four infections but then they stopped. October came and they started again. This time she's had 9-12 infections in 8 months. After MANY rounds of antibiotics, MANY doctors appointments and a few second opinions (is it possible to have more than one second opinion? ANYWAY!) it was determined that she needs ear tubes. And there you have it... That's the story... (See, if you were paying attention this is the part where you're saying, "But what about the CT Scan?" HA! I caught you not paying attention!)

Okay, well maybe not quite the end of the story... We WISH it were that simple, but it's not. Correction... It's that simple for Little A, but this is where Big A enters into the story.

Big A failed two hearing tests at school so we followed up with his pediatrician. He failed two hearing tests at the pediatrician's office, so he was referred to an Audiologist and an ENT. (Keep in mind, we'd already been around the block on ENTs and which one we would end up with, so there was no need to go through all that again). Big A had a hearing test with the Audiologist and failed once again.

It's been determined that Big A has hearing loss in his left ear which would normally be associated with prolonged exposure to loud noise such as construction work or rock concerts. (I know, I know... We've really got to crack down on his rock star habits or at least make him wear protective ear ware!) The ENT wanted to perform a CT Scan on Big A to rule out Enlarged Vestibular Aqueducts. We did the CT Scan today and Big A did AWESOME! He had to lay on his stomach for a few minutes and then on his back and he laid SOOO still. I was SO proud of him! We should have the results of that test tomorrow or the next day.

A good ending place for the story, right? WRONG! During Big A's visit with the ENT I had him check Big A's tonsils. They are HUGE (and I do mean HUGE! They practically touch each other even when they're NOT swollen!) and he has trouble swallowing and snores like a buzz saw (my theory is that the prolonged noise exposure is from HIMSELF!). The ENT took one look at those babies and said, "Those need to come out, and the adenoids too. He will be a different person. It will stop the snoring and the throwing up. His voice will be different after the surgery." (That, my friends, scares me! I've listened to him for 4 1/2 years! I don't WANT his voice to change! *WHINE WHINE WHINE*)

The nurse came in and scheduled surgery for both kids, and that's that. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, July 23. Please keep us all in your prayers!

Seriously... THIS is the end of the story (for now)... You can go back to work now!

"Cause You're A Mommy..."

I just put the kids to bed. After tucking in Big A, I moved to Little A's bed. While snuggling her, Big A said to me, "Mommy, aren't you ever going to send Daddy to live in his own house?"

Thinking that this was QUITE odd (and hoping for some juicy story... LOL) I said, "Honey, why would I do that?"

Big A - "Because he does stuff wrong."

Me - "What do you mean?"

Big A - "Well he doesn't know how to do stuff that you do because you're a mommy."

Me - "Like what? What doesn't he know how to do?"

Big A - "Well he doesn't do the laundry all the time." (This is COMPLETELY false! B does the majority of our laundry and I do all of the kids' laundry!)

Me - "Wouldn't you be sad if Daddy wasn't here?"

Big A - "Well we could go visit him."

Me - "But wouldn't you be sad if Daddy didn't live with us?"

Big A - "Well if he didn't give me water at his house I'd be sad."

Me - "We'd miss Daddy if he weren't here. Wouldn't you miss Daddy if he didn't live with us?"

Big A - "Yes, I'd miss him."

Me - "Okay. Let's keep him!"

Crazy kid!

DETERMINATION!

After a long afternoon at the ENT's office, the kids asked for a snack when we got home. Promising to fix them dinner right then (that was an hour ago and still no dinner) I told them that they couldn't have a snack. Big A asked if they could have a PEZ. They had done AWESOME at the ENT (more on that later) and they deserved it so they each picked from their bag of PEZ dispensers and I filled them up. I told them they could each have 3 pieces, which they did. Then they went outside to play and I sat down at the computer to read up on some medical terms.

A few minutes later Little A came in and informed me that she was going to help me make dinner (which she usually does). I said I'd be right there and off she ran to the kitchen to wait for me... Or so I thought.

Here's what was REALLY happening...

Notice Tinkerbell on TOP of the microwave...

I SWEAR my kids have monkey toes...

S... T.... R..... E...... T....... C.......... H.........!!!

SUCCESS!!! And the PEZ are ALL gone!

NOTE TO SELF: When there's a 2 1/2 year old in the kitchen and it's too quiet, something is not right...

Little A Isms...

This afternoon Little A was getting ready for nap and gathered her blankie and binky. Big A, making every attempt to annoy his little sister being a typical big brother, took her binky out of her mouth. She got mad and said, "GIVE ME MY BANKY!"

Big A said, "Little A, it's a BINKY. Say BINKY."

Little A, who has absolutely no problem saying binky, said, "BINKY."

Big A said, "GOOD JOB, LITTLE A! Now call it a binky forever."

Little A looked right at him and said, "GIVE ME MY BINKY FOREVER!"

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While driving down the street towards our house the other day, Little A saw a house that was being painted. It had some different colors or paint on it (old paint, new paint, old trip, new trim, sample colors, etc.) and she looked at it and asked, "Why they're painting their house rainbows?"

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Little A's new saying when she gets mad at Big A.... *STAMPING HER FOOT* "FINE! I'm going tell my mommy!"

Mission to Mexico

In April, B accompanied our church group on a Mission to Mexico to build a house for a family in need. This opportunity arose at the same time he was contemplating going to the Bronx to compare life today with life in the Bronx in the early '90s. You see, he was in the midst of planning his senior project for graduation from SSU.

After much discussion (and probably a WEE bit of disappointment) B decided that for safety reasons, money reasons, and his desire to do the Lord's work, the Mexico mission was a better option. And boy was he right! He had a great time and can't wait to return next year.

Here is the video that he put together for the presentation of his senior project. ENJOY!

TAG, YOU'RE IT!

TAG... Here are the rules...

* You can ONLY answer Yes or No
* You are NOT ALLOWED to explain ANYTHING unless someone messages or comments you and asks (and believe me, the temptation to explain some of these will be overwhelming)
* Tag some friends.

Have you ever/Do you:

Kissed any one of your Facebook friends? YES

Been arrested? NO

Kissed someone you didn't like? YES

Slept in until 5 PM? NO

Fallen asleep at work/school? YES

Held a snake? NO

Ran a red light? YES

Been suspended from school? NO

Experienced love at first sight? YES

Totaled your car in an accident? NO

Been fired from a job? YES

Fired somebody? NO

Sang karaoke? YES

Pointed a gun at someone? NO

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? YES

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? YES

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? YES

Kissed in the rain? YES

Had a close brush with death (your own)? NO

Seen someone die? NO

Played spin-the-bottle? NO

Sang in the shower? YES

Smoked a cigar? NO

Sat on a rooftop? YES

Smuggled something into another country? NO

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? NO

Broken a bone? NO

Skipped school? YES

Eaten a bug? NO

Sleepwalked? YES

Walked a moonlit beach? YES

Rode a motorcycle? NO

Dumped someone? NO

Forgotten your anniversary? NO

Lied to avoid a ticket? NO

Ridden on a helicopter? NO

Shaved your head? NO

Played a prank on someone? YES

Hit a home run? NO

Felt like killing someone? YES

Cross-dressed? NO

Been falling-down drunk? NO

Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? YES

Eaten snake? YES

Marched/Protested? NO

Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? NO

Puked on amusement ride? NO

Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? YES

Been in a band? YES

Knitted? NO

Been on TV? YES

Shot a gun? YES

Skinny-dipped? YES

Caused someone to have stitches? NO

Eaten a whole habenero pepper? NO

Ridden a surfboard? NO

Had surgery? NO

Streaked? NO

Been taken by ambulance to hospital? NO

Passed out when not drinking? NO

Peed on a bush? YES

Donated Blood? YES

Grabbed electric fence? NO

Eaten alligator meat? NO

Eaten cheesecake? YES

Eaten your kids' Halloween candy? YES

Killed an animal when not hunting? NO

Peed your pants in public? NO

Snuck into a movie without paying? NO

Written graffiti? NO

Still loved someone you shouldn't? YES

Thought about the future? YES

Been in handcuffs? NO

Believe in love? YES

Sleep on a certain side of the bed? YES

I tag: Anyone who wants to do it! (Come on, people... You KNOW you want to do it!)

My Walking Commercial

The following conversation took place on a recent trip to Target (one of my all time FAVORITE stores!) with the kids...

Big A - "MOM! We need to get this Oxi Clean, remember?"

Me (a die hard ZOUT user) - "Oxi Clean? Why?"

Big A - "Because the man on the TV said it's the best! Don't we need some, mom?"

Me - "No, we have some ZOUT at home."

Big A - "Hey! Let's get this dog food in case we ever get a cat!"

Me - "Silly, you can't feed dog food to a cat! What kind of food is that really?"

Big A - "OH! It's cat food! Let's get some, in case we ever get a cat!"

Me - "No, we're not getting a cat so we don't need any cat food."

Big A - "Mom, do we have a home security system?"

Me - "No, we don't have one of those."

Big A - "Why not?"

Me - "Because we can't really have one at our house, Honey."

Big A - "Mom, do we have too much credit card debt?"

So let's take a vote... Does my child watch too much television???

By the way... WHEN did they stop putting kid commercials on during cartoons, and start putting ADULT commercials on during cartoons??? Whoever came up with that one, is a genius! These kids are SOAKING THAT STUFF UP!

Wordless Wednesday

A Camping We Will Go...

Rented marshmallows, anyone? Don't ask me... That's what Big A thinks you do to marshmallows when you're camping. You rent marshmallows!

Yes, it's true... We took the kids on their first camping trip this weekend. We were a little apprehensive since when we told them we had a surprise for them and then told them that the surprise was a camping trip, they just looked at us with blank stares... But boy have things changed now!

We left immediately following Big A's last day of school family pot luck on Friday and arrived at the Cloverdale KOA well ahead of their 1pm check-in time (12:02, to be exact). There was NOBODY there except one straggling family who just HAPPENED to have been camping in the site they were trying to assign to us and were late checking out. (HUH? There are 48 other EMPTY campsites and you want us to wait for that family to pack up?) Besides the fact that our originally assigned campsite was occupied, it was not in the trees, was right next to the main road and was too close to the playground. We returned to the office/store and in my most syrupy-sweet-I'll-get-what-I-want voice I asked the lady if there was "ANY possible way to switch sites as that one just is too close to the road for my two small children..."

The lovely lady was more than happy to oblige and told us to drive around and see what we liked. We returned once again to the office/store with a list of 4 sites we liked and she gave us the one that would be "GREAT for the kids because nobody has reserved the two sites next to you so they'll have tons of room to play," (See... You CAN get what you want! Thanks, Mom, for teaching me that important lesson!) and with that we were off to set up camp.

Now those of you who are familiar with KOAs know that they offer many activities such as a playground, arcade, mini-golf, swimming, fishing, movies, etc. Seeing as how our next trips are planned for State and County parks which do not offer such activities, we did not want the kids to get the idea that those things are what camping is all about... On the contrary, those are things we can do at HOME! We had packed a few outdoor toys (bats and balls, sticky mitts and balls, badminton rackets and birdies, buckets and shovels and tractors, etc.) and the kids were PERFECTLY content playing with those things and getting filthy. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED... The true meaning of camping... Family time and enjoying the great outdoors!

The kids made new friends (Zoe and Cameron)...

Roasted marshmallows (we did NOT however, rent any marshmallows)...

Ate good food...

And cried when we left (sorry, no pics)! They can not WAIT for the next trip.

So... Anyone want to join us for a camping trip? Name a date and a place! We're in!!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week, but first check out what I have not been doing this week... HERE GOES!

Ah, what a week! Last week was Big A's last week of school and was filled with a field trip, water play day, and end of the year family pot luck followed by a last-minute weekend camping trip (stay tuned for more on that!). By Friday I was beat and the hard part was yet to come!

Wednesday was water play and Hawaiian day at Big A's school. As requested, I sent him to school in jeans with his bathing suit underneath them. When B picked him up from school, Big A was definitely not wearing underwear that weren't his, the teacher did not ask B to return them on Friday for someone else to use in an emergency and we did NOT lose them sometime in between. I'm super organized! I wouldn't do something like that! And the missing underwear may or may not have been found in the kid's laundry pile, I can't say for sure.

On Friday while packing the car for our trip I did not leave Little A strapped in her car seat while I packed. Why would I do that? I LOVE having her help while attempting to sort through the mess that was our garage at the time!

While camping this weekend I did not mistake a tree for a bathroom in the middle of the night because I was too scared tired to walk up the hill to the bathroom. I did not let Big A do that, either. We ALWAYS used a proper restroom facility complete with flushing toilet!

On Saturday I did not not take a three hour nap with Little A while B and Big A went to a graduation party. I dutifully worked on vacation bible school stuff, JUST LIKE I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD! (And by no means am I starting to feel the pressure of needing to get myself moving faster on that front!)

And Sunday when we returned I did not have Little A pee in the gutter in the back parking lot of the community center after she told me she did not need to use the restroom while we were inside. I made her wait until we got home! Potty training two year olds should ALWAYS be able to hold it. She most certainly did not pee in a bucket in the Target parking lot today because it would have made us late to unbuckle everyone and take them back inside, either!

All in all it was a GREAT, albeit tiring, week! Come back next week to find out what I didn't do this week! See you then!

If You Didn't See It, It Didn't Hurt...

Have you ever wondered why it is that if your child is playing and they fall down, they only cause a huge scene if you saw it happen? Have you noticed that? They fall down and then look around to see if anyone noticed. If they catch you looking or reacting the waterworks start but if not, they shake it off and keep playing... Why is that?

Yesterday Big A was running around the path int he back yard at Grammy and Papa's house and he tripped and splattered on the sidewalk fell. I honestly didn't see it happen but when my father in-law pointed it out I said, "Just pretend you didn't see him." We all turned around and kept talking (while keeping a secret eye on Big A to make sure that he truly was okay...) and guess what? Big A got up, looked around, saw that none of us were paying any attention, and kept on running.

And really, it was a hard fall! I'm not sure that I wouldn't have cried myself I'd been the one to fall like that!

Little A's New Hat...

Today Little A got a new hat....

Or something like that... Don't worry, they're clean!

Oh, the things we mommies will do to turn tears into smiles...

"MOMMY! I HAVE TO GO POTTY!"

Okay, SERIOUSLY!?!? My daughter has gone to the bathroom a million times today. Now I'm totally in favor of the potty trained, dry at night girl, but this is out of control!

My friend watched Little A today while B drove on Big A's field trip. About halfway through Little A's stay my friend emailed to comment on how much Little A goes to the bathroom. I was a little surprised as Little A has been going MUCH less frequently lately but we chalked it up to the fact that she was with a friend who is also just about potty trained and they were playing off one another in the "I have to go potty..." game.

The thing is, this has gone on ALL day! We went back to the same friend's house after I got off work and in the 45 minutes we were there Little A went two more times. She went once at dinner and has gone 3 times in the hour we've been home and then she told me her "pee pee hurts..." So now she's got me thinking about a UTI... YIKES!... QUE PASA???

"MOMMY! MY TUMMY HURTS!"

UGH! Wish me luck!

Out Of The Mouth Of A Preschooler...

While walking through Target one day Little A and I were singing, "I love you, a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck..."

Big A, in typical '4 1/2 year old change the words to everything' fashion started singing, "I love you, a bushel and a pecker..."

This was one of those times where you just keep your mouth shut and keep walking... YIKES!

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A few weeks ago after church, Big A was questioning why Grandpa doesn't take communion with us...

Big A - "How come Grandpa doesn't go up to the front with us?"

Me - "I don't know, Honey. That's a good question. You'll have to ask Grandpa."

Big A - "I think it's because he doesn't like that food!"

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For those of you who have never seen Milo and Otis, there is one scene (that I found out about WHILE watching Milo and Otis for the first time with the kids) in which Milo's 'girlfriend' cat is giving birth to kittens. As soon as I saw this I though, "Aw crap! I hope Big A paid not attention to that!" No such luck...

Big A - "EW, MOM! That just came out of her butt!"

"SAY CHUNKY MONKEY!"

B and Little A like to play a game in which B squishes Little A's cheeks together with his thumb and forefinger and says, "Say chunky monkey."

The other morning Little A was laying between us in the bed watching a show while we tried to catch a few more minutes of sleep. Suddenly I felt her little hands squeezing my chin as she's yelling in my face, "SAY CHUNKY MONKEY!" I must admit it was pretty funny!

Now she's taken to playing the game with whomever is around. Today she was on the potty and I was kneeling in front of her. She reached out and pinched my nose and said, "SAY CHUNKY MONKEY!" When she finished going potty she said, "Now Big A is going to do Chunky Monkey," and she ran out to the living room where he was watching a movie. She ran up to him, jumped up on the couch next to him, pinched his nose and yelled, "SAY CHUNKY MONKEY!" He and I both started cracking up.

Thanks, Daddy!

Going... Going.... GONE!

Well, Big A officially made it through his first baseball season. That's right, Rohnert Park Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Pee Wee Baseball ended last Saturday. This was an awesome experience. Those coaches took a kid who had never played a lick of baseball in his life and worked with him on fielding, catching, throwing and hitting. In the last game of the season Big A actually hit the ball past first base!

The nice thing about this particular Pee Wee baseball league is that the focus is entirely on learning and fun rather than on winning. There are no outs, strikes, balls, fouls, etc., and no score keeping. The coaches pitch until the kids hit or until they decide to use the tee (usually after about 4-6 unhit pitches). Every kid hits every inning. In the field, every kid plays and they rotate through the different positions each inning. Each game lasts one hour or until each team has had equal at bats. I must say, it was a pretty neat system.

Opening Day Parade - Phillies

"How does this thing go?" - First Game

Hit it out of the park, Big A!

HE SCORES! (Or not, since they don't keep score!)

"Hey, batter batter batter...."

Throwing to first base (the kids are taught to throw all balls to first base)

Big A LOVED baseball and is looking forward to playing again next year! Stay tuned for soccer which he's even MORE excited about!