The Cat Fixation

If there were any doubt about how strong Charlie is, here is proof that she could be a tiny tot weight lifter:

Mommy carries around Cliffy, why can't I?

Oof.  Hey, Cliffy, you ever think about going on a diet?

No Cliffy!  Don't run!  Why do you run away from me?!

Oh Cliffy, you are my favorite.

Walking for the Cure

Yesterday I walked in the Portland Race for the Cure with my mom, Gail (center, in survivor pink) and my mom-in-law, Roselyn (right).

Look at the crowd!  And this is while we were just trying to cross the starting line.

This is almost to the half-way point.  You can see how far people are going in front of us, and it was the same behind us - over 45,000 people participated!

Woo hoo!  This was my 5th year of participation, and for the first time ever I asked for sponsorships with the goal of raising $77, the cost of one mammogram for a woman without healthcare coverage.  My friends really came through - and donated $152 for me!!

Thank you!!!

Flowbee Round 1

Dada decided that he wanted to give Max a Flowbee haircut instead of taking him in to pay for a haircut.  So he borrowed a flowbee from friends to see if it would work out before buying one.  He carefully explained to Max that the vacuum would be running and it would be loud but that it is just a haircut and it might tickle a little bit.

Evidently it did tickle a bit at first!

Charlie felt it important to comfort Max by holding on to his legs and saying 'OK, Max' over and over.  Not sure it actually comforted Max, but cute nonetheless.

Max really didn't like the trimming around the ears.

Then Dada used the flowbee on himself.

Not bad haircuts, eh?

Charlie

These ones are just because I think she is so darn cute.

Hugging Buddha has lately become very important when we are playing in the back yard.

SO photogenic!

I made the little capri pants she is wearing, but she refused to model them standing up.

School At Last!

Preschool begins at last for Max.

Yesterday morning was Max's first day at preschool for this year.  Of course I forgot to take his picture before we left in the morning so I had to try to get one of him after lunch.

Hopefully next year I can remember to take his picture in front of the dogwood again!

His Best Cheerleader

Overheard this morning as the cars are whizzing across the dining room floor:
(Max) 'Woohoo! Yay Max! Good job!'

Well, I guess when you need to be cheered on and are playing by yourself, you do what you need to do, right?

Max's Bike

This year Max has graduated from a tricycle to a big boy bike with all the wheels.

He and Dada went on a special shopping trip the morning of his birthday to pick it out.

It didn't take him long to have his first spill,
but Dada helped him up

And he got right back on. What a tough guy!

Happy Birthday Max!!

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!