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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Super Mommy Thursday

Here is one for the books. I would be ashamed of this menu on most days, but it was decidedly not most days.

Start with the...
Breakfast Of Champions

1/2 huge Cinnamon Roll
Strawberry Yogurt
Apple Juice (diluted with water) =)

Follow with...
Lunch Out and About
(thank the Lord for the Baptist Campus Ministries lunches to raise funds for summer missionaries)

2 bites of Lasagna
1 1/2 Breadsticks
Whole Piece of Chocolate Cake
Water

Sensational Snack

Package of Welch's fruit snack
Water

And for the Grand Finale...
Dinner

1/2 Peanut Butter Sandwich
1/2 Can Peaches
Chocolate Milk

And there you have it. I actually wondered what was eating at my kids today. They were fussier than usual. Nothing bad, just a day full of those little annoyances. Whining, picking at each other, you know. That sort of thing.

Moral of the story? Sometimes it's not what is eating at your kids, but what your kids are eating.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Decaffienated

Coffee does not rank high on my list of favorites. I am not fond of the smell. I am afraid to drink a beverage that people take 'black' or 'strong'. Plus, it smells bad to me. Then, there is that nasty residue it leaves inside a cup. Plus, it stinks. And my Mommy & Daddy told me it could stunt my growth, though I think this was just one of those things that parents tell their kids to deter them from desiring something. Oh, and the smell of coffee. Have I mentioned that?

Joshua is a coffee drinker. Several of my very dearest friends are not just coffee drinkers, but rather coffee connoisseurs. One even refers to herself as a coffee snob. Another once swore she would convert me to a coffee lover. That was six years ago. You see the stand point I am writing from. I did not cross over. Most of my family drinks coffee, the part I was born into as well as the part I married into. I am surrounded by coffee drinkers.

Then, there is this whole mess of cappuccinos, caffichillos, mochas, lattes, expressos, and the list goes on. I used to get tickled working at the pre-school. Upon occasion, the staff as a whole would need a coffee run. The stuff that came out of the coffee pot in the kitchen just didn't cut it. Often as not, I would find myself in possession of the coffee needs list and everyone's monies. Off to Atlanta Bread Company I would go, get up to the counter, and rattle off my list. Then came the questions from the cashier. Would you like ________? And I would stand there with this uncomprehending look on my face and say 'I don't know?' I inevitably messed up someone's order, and yet, within a week or so I would find myself in the same predicament.

Wanna know what that says to me? That all these drinks taste so much the same that no one knew the difference in what they ordered and what they drink. While I guess that is not true, it certainly seemed that way to me. The token non-coffee drinker.

Today, at 3:00 in the afternoon, I passed a Starbucks. (an establishment that manages to astound me with the amount of business they get) It was 85 degrees outside. Sunny, nice cooling breeze, but most assuredly not an afternoon that could be mistaken as chilly. And there were cars wrapped around the building. At 3 in the afternoon. On a considerably warm spring day. Probably ten or twelve cars.

I have it on good authority that Starbucks serves cold drinks too, but for the love, so does McDonalds, Sonic, Wendy's, and the corner gas station. All for less than the Starbucks premium. Or, so I would imagine. So what gives? Is it just the snifty, snooty, yuppie logo that these folks need on their cups? Or are they really ordering COFFEE in the middle of a summery day?

You are wondering why I am writing this post? I am too, frankly. I am sure there could be some spiritual point to be gleaned. Let me know if you figure it out.

Monday, March 26, 2007

More Playground Updates




Yes, I have been MIA for a bit, but have no fear, we are all here. Though one is still in the oven. It would seem that some of yu'ns are restless for more pictures of my cutie patootie kids. Who can blame you? However, I must confess, I have not used the camera much lately, so the three you see are all you get. Seriously, the only ones I have taken since the last batch. This Mommy is getting lax with photo ops!

So, the kids have learned to tummy swing and fly through the air in a safer style. This eases my heart pains quite a bit. And they are all for it because it means independence. Something my kids seem to crave...or at least until I walk out of sight. Then they tend toward the Mommy-itis side of things. Anyway, we got rocks poured under the picnic table part of the playground and my children relished the filth and fun for nearly two solid hours of entertainment. Hooray for the rocks!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Funny Things

I have been meaning to share for quite a while now an odd, but endearing, little trademark Thomas has picked up. He has this crazily mixed up salutation list. It all started with Merry Christmas, then Happy New Year, then Happy Birthday (my parents, then his Daddy) and Valentine's Day. Thomas will cheerfully send Joshua off to work each day with one of the following phrases, with no particular leanings towards one or the other. 'Happy Balentine's, Daddy' or 'Happy Birfday, Daddy'. What he means is have a good day, and on the rare occasion, that is what he will actually say, but usually he sticks with valentine's or birthday.

To add to the cuteness that is my kids, let me tell you about Thomas waking up from naptime today. He came up with this grin on his face (he was sleeping on my bed) and says 'Cookie, pwease, Mommy?' I gave him a cookie, right there on the bed and let him eat it. He was thrilled to be eating on Mommy's bed. Left a smudge of chocolate to prove he was there. I was downloading pictures from our camera, and he announced he wanted to have his picture taken. He posed with several funny faces for me.





Then there is our little Sarah Grace. She wants to be just like her brother. If he smashes his finger and cries and asks for it to be kissed, she holds her finger up , produces real tears and asks for a kiss. If he drinks from a big cup, she drinks from a big cup. If he gets his shoes, she gets her shoes. If he sits on the potty, she sits on the potty. If he reads a book, she reads a book. If he sings a song, she sings a song. You see the method to the madness here? It is cute, but it can be maddening, too.

We recently bought Thomas a baseball cap. He likes it pretty well, and has even learned 'cap etiquette', if you will. He will take if off (even if he does just toss it to the floor) when it is time to come to the kitchen to eat. Anyway, Sarah Grace has decided she needs a hat , too. Since I haven't found her one yet, she just makes off with Tom's occasionally. He does not appreciate this, I can assure you. So last night, she was prancing around in his hat and he decided he wanted it. Since it is his, we gave Sarah Grace one of Joshua's hats. She promptly donned the coveted hat, backwards no less, and threw on a necklace to go with it. Cuteness ensues, once again.

Spring


Thomas zooming in with a fly-by kiss for Mommy!


Thomas and Daddy exploring and explaining.


Sarah Grace enjoying the wonderful freedom of bare feet!!!



For those of you who do not live in the glorious South, my heartfelt condolences. It has been mid 70's, nosing awfully close to that 80 degree mark around high noon! Our family has been lapping up as much of this wonderful sunniness and warmth as possible. The kids and I play outside, or rather they play and I monitor from a seat. *grin* We broke out popsicles, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but popsicles aren't nearly as good if they aren't dripping down a child's chin and hands due to the sun. We have had picnics with friends, and even one with Daddy at the park AFTER he got off from work! HOORAY for daylight savings time! I am loving that it came a few weeks early this year. It means more time for children to get all their wiggles out and more time for them to play with Daddy. (We budged bedtime back to 8:00 since the sun is 'out' longer.) And my kids are sleeping more soundly at night and sleeping later in the mornings (though I am afraid to say that out loud for fear it will no longer continue!) I could get entirely spoiled to this way of life.



Picnicking with our friends Jeremiah and Elisabeth.




And there is my never emptying vase of flowers. I never fully appreciated flowers until I had a home of my own to put them in, and Joshua is pretty good about surprising me with a colorful bunch. But those are not the kind of flowers I am referring to this time. Our yard is showing all the wonderful signs of Spring. The flower beds are blooming, which is cool because I didn't know what was planted there. Still don't know what the different things are called, but they sure are pretty! The grass got it's first trimming of the year this past weekend. And those crazy little purple flower-weeds that pop up everywhere are not ignoring the plot of ground we call our yard. Thomas and Sarah Grace are sure to pick me a 'flower' or two every time they take a jaunt out doors (which is wonderfully often). So, now I have a small bud vase that graces my kitchen window that has continually fresh weeds, er, uh, flowers in it. My sweet little blessings come barreling in the house with their flowered fists bellowing for 'Base, Mommy. I dot fwowers for da base.'


It is so sweet and those little flowers are every bit as precious to me as a bouquet from the florist.

Sunday, March 04, 2007

Da Pwaygwound

If you remember form any of the comments I have made about our as-yet-put-together swingset, you will be happy to know it is done. Finished. Completed. Mostly.

The story of the swing set dates back to Summer '06. Joshua and I had hemmed and hawed back and forth about getting one of those gigantic swing sets for the kids to play on. Not the metal kind, but the nice sturdy wood kind. My parents neighbors happened to have one that their kids had outgrown, and when they offered it to us at a fraction of the cost of a new one, the decision was made. So, one afternoon, Joshua and my Dad jaunted on over to take the thing down and load it up for the trek to our house. It was not put together immediately once it reached our yard. There were a few minor fixes to make, so the tower was stood up and the rest of it piled, neatly, over against the fence.

Then the wind storm came. You would think the tower would have stood up to it, especially since the 'tent' was not on it yet. But no, it fell. And cracked a support piece or two, demolished a couple non support pieces, and in general, just looked pathetic. Since we did not wind up getting the thing until October or so, it got cold on us, and the poor structure sat on it's side in our back yard waiting for sunshine and decent weather.

While it weathered the cold months, Joshua and his Dad were working on cutting new pieces to fit in where the old ones had been broken due to the fall. (It just boggles my mind that this thing actually fell over...) So, Saturday, the boys worked all day long to get the new pieces nailed into place, new screws to replace old rusty ones, and finally, the entire set standing.

Today, Thomas and Sarah Grace were ecstatic about their new toy, or 'pwaygwound' as they called it. They both enjoyed the slide and the platform under then tent. Thomas had a good time on the swings, though we need to get a swing for Sarah to sit in rather than sit on. Sarah Grace decided that she was still perfectly content to play on the little slide and watch her brother's antics on the big set.

Both kids took knocks to the head as they learned not to stand in front of a child in swinging motion, and to hold on to the chains if they were in the swing rather than to let go. No major bumps or bruises, and all in all, they had a great afternoon.