The Big Party

This past Saturday was the big day! It was a hot one, too, so out came the small pool and sprinkler for the kids (and a few of the adults too).

The kids really enjoyed the cupcake display and of course the singing of the birthday song.

After the food had been eaten and icy beverages enjoyed, we hope that everyone had as good a time as we did.

Happy Birthday Max & Charlie!!

Uninvited Guests

On the day of the big birthday party I went out to the back yard in the morning to water the garden and heard a funny hissing sound. I looked up, and there were 4 raccoons on top of the fence, not more than 15 feet from me. I immediately dropped the hose and ran in to get the camera!

They watched my every move and eventually continued along the fence to the neighbors fence. Whew. Don't want to make that a regular visit!
I wonder where they sleep. It's not like we live out in the country or anything. Under someone's front porch? They are nocturnal so it has to be some place very quiet during the day.

Don't know. Goodbye Raccoons!

Charlie's 2nd Birthday

Oh my, it has been well over a month since my last post. Well, this is the perfect reason to get back into it; my youngest child turning two! Hard to believe that two years ago we had an early party for Max's 2nd birthday and then the next morning went in to the hospital to have Charlie.

The big party this year fell right on Max's birthday, but we wanted Charlie's actual day to also have some fanfare. This year she received from us a wooden dollhouse. Both kids love it!

Wow - I actually get to have my picture on the blog? Amazing.

Max has to be told frequently that this is Charlie's new toy and to not take things from her!

Char through the dollhouse window

Mama and Char through the dollhouse window

Happy Birthday beautiful girl!!

Quick One...

At first glance this morning, it appeared that a yellow ball
had been tossed into my zucchini plant.
As I got closer, I realized that it was a huge blossom!
It has to be 8-9 inches across. Does that mean the
zucchini will be that big too? ;)

Meanwhile, the kids are busy at work creating masterpieces
for the fridge. I had to get Charlie's look of absolute
concentration. Note the pursed lips:

This is serious work.

A happy day to all!

What's A Sprinkler?

OK, so it's pretty well-known that we aren't lawn people. At all.
A byproduct of this is that our kids don't know what a sprinkler is
or how it works:

Charlie is holding a mini watering can over the water going up.
Not so effective at filling the can!
Max's turn:

Is there any in there yet?

The whole 'gleefully running through' the sprinkler that most
kids do doesn't even occur to them.
One of these days I'll have to show them how it's done!

Safety First!

Good Kitty!

This morning I was awakened by the scuffling sounds of a cat
running around and playing. That doesn't happen too often
anymore with Cliff. He is 12 years old and just doesn't run
around like he once did. I started telling him to stop, then
realized he was actually chasing something.
A mouse.
He literally had it pinned behind a couple of presentation boards I had leaning against the wall in the corner of the bedroom. So I pushed a heavy pair of shoes up against one side to make sure it stayed there while I went to look for some way to get it out of there. I guess I pinned it too hard because by the time I got back in there with my silicone oven mitts and a container, it was dead (I think it must have suffocated). Well, that's one way to deal with it. As disgusted as I am by it, I do feel kind of bad for it. Oh well.
But now something my mother has always said about mice comes to mind, 'If there's one, there's 9 more waiting back at the nest!' So I am left wondering how to deal with them. I want something that is
a) humane (or at least kills them quickly)
b) environmentally sound and
c) not a trap from which I will have to clean the bodies (traditional mouse traps give me the heeby jeebies). Any suggestions? How do you deal with mice?

Oh, and by the way, J, I told you he was a good cat!!!

Trying Something New For Dinner

I thought we would try something new for our first 'girls dinner' this weekend, so we got a couple of salad wraps from our local friendly deli (those who haven't already must try the New Seasons deli!) and I sauteed up some zucchini in a little butter and garlic. Char also had a slice of cheese and a glass of milk to round out her dinner. She has been quite good about trying things in the past, so it wasn't that much of a gamble that she would get enough to eat without me resorting to getting other foods out for her. She absolutely loved the zucchini - I think she ate more of it than I did!

Next, she tried some lettuce from the salad wrap:

Not so sure about it...
Nope. She REALLY didn't like the lettuce!

So we'll go back to the cheese for a few bites:

In the end, we both had enjoyable dinners. Good to know that I can send zucchini her way once we start getting it from the garden!

Just Us Girls

Its is just Charlie-girl and I at home this weekend after dropping the boys off at the airport to fly to Chicago for Justin's sisters wedding. Happy wedding Aine! I am thinking of you!
So far this morning Charlie has asked for and eaten 3 larges pieces of cheese, after which enjoying a great playdough session all by herself. She had a lot of fun and discovered that playdough, even the homemade kind, doesn't taste so good. Maybe later we'll live on the wild side and take some cans and bottles back to the store.
We're crazy like that.

Here's to a girls weekend!

Here We Go Again...

I walked into the kitchen at one point this morning to find Max sitting on the time out stool.

Me: What's up, Max?
Max: Chahwee said time out.
Me: Oh, did you do something not nice to her?
Max: Yeah.
Me: Hmmm. Maybe next time you won't do that to her.
Max: Yeah.

Then he gets up and calmly walks out of the room. I wonder how many more time outs Charlie will dole out before Max figures out he doesn't actually have to go?

I Should Open My Own Food Cart

OK, so maybe the hours would suck, I would have to make the same things over and over again, and who would want to be stuck in a little bathroomless trailer all day? But I think I have had a great idea with my pick-your-own-filling burritos.

Today's burrito:

Cheesy scrambled eggs, salsa, and black beans

The real key to the yumminess is the searing in a non-stick skillet to get the tortilla nice and toasty crunchy.

Char got her own cheesy scrambled eggs and some grapes for lunch.

I had to force myself to put it down so I could get another picture!
Yum, yum, yum.
I have put lots of different fillings in - leftover quiche, pasta with tomato sauce, any type of bean, and of course lots of cheese. They are all terrific inside this wonderfully crunchy tortilla! It is also fast to assemble while getting the kids lunches ready and most important, fast to eat!

My, That's Quite A Trailer You Have There

Dada has what I consider to be an
unhealthy obsession with his utility trailer.
He recently decided that the plywood sides needed to be replaced with new plywood, which of course must be painted on all 6 sides to prevent rot (the reason the previous boards didn't last as long as they could have). Instead of going with the same green they were before (note the old boards lying on the ground) Dada decides to liven things up and paint the entire trailer red. (Where is the trailer? I don't know, I can't see it. I'm blinded by the glowing RED thing in the corner of the yard.) Then he decides that he needs special tie downs and hooks which of course require extra 2x4 sections installed for support and stability, which then must also be painted red.
Dada was so proud he had to be photographed next to the trailer with his handy-dandy drill.

An update to the earlier post about the lack of ladder on the fort:
Monday after work, Dada, with my help, made and installed the ladder. The kids (especially Charlie) were SO happy to be able to scramble up the ladder and go down the slide over and over! They slept well that night. ;)
Next up, the bottom level floor will be installed, the entire structure must be primed and painted (green, to match my raised garden and the kids sandbox, thankyouverymuch) and finally the color block tarp roof can be installed. Whew!

Max's Big Day

Yesterday afternoon Dada came home and took Max to get his first paid haircut (the man in the hawaiian shirt got paid, not Max)

It was a father-son bonding time, which Max loved.

The result, after returning to Dada's office for some apple juice and popcorn!
Not too bad, eh?

Of course Dada thought it was hilarious for the newly potty trained Max to use the big-boy urinal in the office bathroom. It is pretty funny - he is barely tall enough for it!

What a big adventure for him. Then he fell asleep during dinner. (too bad we didn't get a picture of that!)

At Last We Have A Play Structure!

Dada spent his father's day this year building the play structure for the kids. Dada's parents bought the kit and lumber for the structure last summer and the makings have been in a corner of the yard ever since, waiting for both nice weather and the completion of some other projects to start. Hooray for Dada!

The ladder isn't attached to the back side yet, but Max figured out in about 1/2 a second that he could climb up the slide to get up there. Needless to say, he was thrilled!
Char got to swing in her own little swing chair for quite a while this morning which made her completely happy. Wheeeeee!

What Kind of Holes?!

Even if you don't sew, this is funny:

(Hint: They forgot the 'on' after 'butt')

OK, so perhaps this shows quite a bit about my level of humor, but you don't often see this sort of mistake in patterns.

Time Out Now!

So this evening we were all sitting on the floor in the blue room just playing and spending some time together before the bedtime routine starts. Suddenly, Charlie gets mad at Max and says, "You no do that! Time out! Time Out!" With finger pointing at the door for emphasis. Justin and I don't say anything, figuring that it is a good thing for Charlie to stand up for herself. Max gets up and walks out of the room. Is he actually? Did he really? We walk out toward the kitchen and sure enough, Max is sitting on the time out stool in the kitchen.

I guess the policing each other is working - ?

Girl power! ;)

Hooray for Max!!

One of the lesser known jobs of a parent is to document as many things that will mortally embarrass the children as possible and some day show to girlfriends/boyfriends and spouses. This falls into that category. We have been in intensive potty training mode for the past week and Max has been quite successful in using the potty! Hip, hip, hooray for Max! He now only wears a diaper at night and big boy briefs during the day. Whew. Only 2-1/2 months until his 4th birthday! ;) Way to go, Bubba. I knew you could do it.

The Sunny Weather Wear

Many months ago, Grandma & Grandpa Nutmeg went to Hawaii and brought back some quite cute outfits for the kids. It has taken until the past week for it to be warm enough for them to wear them! Above, Char and Cliffy found a sunny spot on the warm tile.

Doesn't Char look like a little model in this pose?
Adorable!!!

With the way Max has been growing, he likely won't be able to wear his outfit for too much longer. Who said he was allowed to grow like this?!?

A Little Monkey Trouble

The first one to break the new rule of no throwing stuff in the water was Char. She had a couple of warnings but continued so Dada put her in time out.

Max is not used to having someone other than himself getting a time out, so he thought he had to sit down too!

Char getting big on the dramatics. We would like to think that she is dwelling on what she did wrong so she doesn't get in trouble again... but you know, that probably isn't the case. She is pretty good at wrapping us around her little pinky finger.

Everything is rosy again when Dada talks to her and lets her get down.

Water Weather Finally!

Aaaaaah, we had some wonderfully sunny weather last week. The kids finally got to break out their wading pool and hop in. We had to make a new rule for the kids that no sand, dirt, wood chips, grass, or leaves get put in the water (to make 'soup', as Max calls it) so that others can also enjoy the water.

Look at those thighs on Char! I love it.

After nap time, we got to get back in the pool.

How Dada enjoys pool time.