Silly Girl

Cora got silly one afternoon while at nana's. She said she was mimicking a scene from the cartoon version of "Robin Hood". I guess it's a secret pledge or something that kids in the movie do. Either way, she had me laughing with her antics.

Family Time

I love taking pictures such as these. I love having our kids with their cousins - on both sides of the family tree. Whenever I can gather all the little chickies together I snap a few shots. When they are teens and in college I hope they remember their childhood memories and continue great friendships with their cousins.

Free Entertainment

A rainstorm is a parenting bonus in our family. This is a free and exhilarating activity for the kids. I love watching them run and scream with delight. They feel as though they are breaking all the rules when they get to run and jump in their clothes. The boys were even body surfing in the gutter water. They all had a blast! This is also a good way to get your kids acclimated to thunder and lighting. They should be cautious for sure, but not afraid of nature's hiccups. Aren't my kids' so squishable?

His First Fight

I had the kids in the 'child watch' center at the YMCA and from where I was I could hear Mason crying/whining. Normally I would let Jen handle the crying, but she was in the pool swimming laps and I didn't want to disturb her so I started towards the sound. As I came closer I could tell that this wasn't your gratuitous whining. As I opened the door I saw that Mason had a bloody nose! The first thing he told me, as he pointed to a boy next to him(that was about six inches taller than him), was,"He punched me and gave a bloody nose!"

I asked, "Mason, did you hit him?"

"Yes."

"Did you hit him first?"

"Yes, but he gave me a blood nose!"

I remember when I 'almost' got into a fight, but that wasn't until I was in sixth grade. Mason's only 4 and already his first fight. Hopefully he learned his lesson that when you hit, other kids will usually hit back. If anything, at least don't hit kids that are six inches taller than you.

Latex Lovers

This is what happens when Noel moves all her belongs into the living room because Jennifer hasn't organized a space for her sister yet.

I will say that Cora actually looks very fashionable in her cap! There is something about the shape of her face that reminds me of Noel and Kara when she is photographed. Is it the cheek bones or a mix of cheeks with angled chin? I dunno, but those two chicas are hotties so Cora is on a great path to beauty.

Chirp Chirp

Noel, this one is for you. I've been thinking about it today and laughing to myself:

"Also, chicken is my favorite food. Also, chickens are yellow and that's my favorite color!!"

Blue Party

love notes from family members were strung along the wall for noel to enjoy

she was bawling tears of happiness and appreciation from the moment she walked in the house
baskin robbins ice cream cake for the occasion. noel felt so loved by everyone.

wiped out

fried, spent, exhausted, wasted, tuckered out, toasted, blitzed, worn out, tired, pooped

that would be summer 2009

i am enjoying being home with the kids, but my mental picture of this summer was a lot slower-paced. it makes me long for autumn, but what good is not living in the moment of here-and-now?

maybe i over scheduled myself and the kids. maybe i'm just tired.

i want to go there (see above)

just paco and i, no kids. i want to fish, swim, hike, canoe, sleep, and cook. it would be so lovely. a lovely dream indeed.

instead i have been

scouts
scout camp
swimming lessons
swimming, daily
tri training
babysitting
teaching church lessons
attending mutual
running to basketball
running to soccer
arranging play dates
attending play dates
water aerobics
doctor appointments
hair cuts
quilting
interior decorating
organizing closets
math/reading/writing homework
summer reading program

laundry can be inserted at every other line. that and fixing the kids something to eat every two hours. they are like infants in their food demands. no wonder they grow so much in the summer months.

i just want to say again, all you home school mommies - more power to you because i need my kids to leave and return everyday.

they've left me spent.

Mr. Helpful

I had to go in to the office for a few hours over the weekend and took Cristian with me. While we were there, we made a trip to the men's room and Cristian made the observation that the faucet he was washing his hands in had very low water pressure. He turned to me and said "Dad, this faucet doesn't work. We should put an 'Out of Order' sign on it."

I couldn't think of a good reason why not, so I indulged him and said we'd go back to my office and find something to write a note on. I have plenty of post-its so Cristian wrote his sign in blue highlighter and scampered back to the men's room to put up his sign. We left about an hour afterwards and I didn't think about Cristian's sign the rest of the weekend.

I showed up to work on Monday and when I made my first trip to the restroom I noticed that Cristian's sign was still there. My first instinct was to take it down so that there wouldn't be any "issues" over handwritten signs around the office. I resisted and left it there to see how long it would last. I went back a number of times throughout the day and his sign was there every time. I thought that for sure, the cleaning crew would throw the post-it away when they made their rounds at the end of the day on Monday.

When I went to the restroom on Tuesday morning, not only was the sign still there, but the building fix-it guy was working on the faucet! Who knew that a seemingly fleeting observation from an 8 year old would actually get our faucet fixed. I hadn't used that faucet for at least year because of the low water pressure! Go figure.