Max's Violin

For the past six months or so Max has been learning to play the violin at school. In our school every third grader learns the violin, and every third grader takes one home to practice. Funny thing is, if you don't practice, you won't get any better! Max learned that the hard way when he got two "S's" on his report card - meaning, he didn't get an E or an O for both effort and achievement. Anyway, he has picked it up a bit more since that report card and wanted to share some songs here!

And She CRAWLS!

Really, it's lost. Not missing, just gone.

Yes, I lost two bottles. And I have NO IDEA where they went. Usually you can peg where you've lost something as large as a bottle - left it at a restaurant, in the rental car, at someone else's house, you get the drift. It's almost like leaving your purse behind - you certainly go back to get that. And it's not a cheap pair of bottles that we lost - they are like $9 each (CRAZY if you ask me). SO we are down to one lonely bottle, plus the two that spit back when you use them, and I coughed up another $9 to purchase one more bottle in the hopes that our sweet lovely almost 11 months old will take to a sippy cup. Those are much cheaper to lose...trust me, I know.

Pain in my BACK!

Once again I have wrapped the muscles up in my back into little tiny knots (actually one BIG HUGE knot). And once again I waited too long to get help (according to the doctor at least). But hey, it was Memorial Day Weekend and I didn't really feel like bothering anyone, and well, honestly, while it really hurt, I thought I could beat it. Yeah. THAT worked out well. Now with some muscle relaxants and some pain meds, it is slowly coming down. Oh well. Maybe next time I'll catch it sooner, get help sooner, and not have to spend two days in bed. Yeah, not likely.

Cake Wrecks

You simply MUST check this blog out - this post in particular. It's almost like watching an accident in progress - it totally captures you - but much, much funnier.

Give a Kid A Camera

Not anything philanthropic here, just giving two six-year olds a camera. And boy, did they snap away (good thing we are all digital and can delete!). But here's a representative sample of the pics they took:

Pics of other people's rear ends (a standard in their eyes)

Pics of trees and nature
Pics of soccer stuff (we were at a game, after all)

And those random portraits that go slightly awry

Not bad if you ask me! Might have to really teach them how to actually use the camera now - or get them cameras of their own! (YIKES!)

Bling, DOH!

Ian: Mommy, does bling bling mean jewelery?
Me: Sigh...yes, it sort of does...

Baby Friends

I thought it was so cool when Max made his first baby friend. Then along came Ian and Sam, and while they noticed other babies occasionally, they were really more interested in each other. Now Lucy is at that stage where she's meeting other babies and she's actually interacting with them. It's such a cool stage as they learn to interact, and in Lucy's case, as she tackles them so they can't get away. Yes, tackles them. On two occasions in the past few weeks Lucy has gone to grab and then hug a nearby baby friend. Problem is, these baby friends were attempting to crawl away, and they werent too terribly happy about it. Seems she wants to tag along and they aren't taking too kindly to that. Cute part is, though, that after basically tackling them as they try to crawl away she leans in with her head and gives them a big old hug. Gotta love that girl!

Shopping!

Not your typical story about shopping with your daughter, but then again, my daughter is just 10 months old. We didn't have a temper tantrum, no demanding of clothes, and no stomping out of the store because she didn't get what she wanted. Nope. Instead we had our very first experience seeing ourselves in our stroller in a mirror! Lucy kept peeking at the baby in the mirror every time we walked past:

Very cute!

Cover your windshield wipers lately?

I saw this recently:

Can anyone tell me WHY you'd want to cover your rear windshield wiper in plastic? Just curious.

Run, Max RUN!

This past Friday night Max participated in his very first track meet - a Hershey's Track meet. It was just about the coolest thing I've ever seen. I was having flashbacks to my own short lived HS track career (somewhere along the way I realized that I wasn't built for running, but that basketball suited me just fine). While Max and his relay team didn't win their events, they did a fantastic job and accomplished all the goals that they set out to accomplish. For the relay team (yes, a relay team made up of 8 and 9 year olds) their goal was not to drop the baton, and not to step out of their lanes. They not only did that, but all the members of the team ran the fastest they've ever run. Max nearly run down the kiddo in front of him, but in 100 meters, there wasn't quite enough time to catch him. Anyway, they got 2nd place in their heat! In Max's other running event, the 400, he started out really strong - in the end too strong to finish up that fast. But, he ran a very good looking race, and considering he'd only run the 400 about 6 times total before that evening, and he certainly saw that with a little more prep next year he really can fly!The long jump - the standing long jump - was a different story. that one needs some work. But considering he never really practiced this one, it was a fun thing to participate in.But, all in all he had a fantastic time, and we are super proud of him for running in his first track meet!

There's an app for that

For the past two years I have groaned and complained about my phone service and my cell phone. You see, I don't get reception in my house. At all. Ever. On a good day I'll get a bar - one bar - but not enough to get a decent signal. And then about six months ago my phone started failing. Failing as in I'm going to shut down now even though I'm halfway done with charging just to make Suzie mad kind of failing. I replaced the battery about a year into the new phone and expected it to last as long as the original, but it didn't really come close at all. The phone itself was causing problems too (missed calls, missed messages, dropped calls, wonky internet access when it worked at all, etc.), so you can understand why I was counting the days until the end of my contact. At 30 days before it ended I called up and was told that it would cost me $60 to cancel at that point, plus $60 to cancel Tom's phone too. That means I would have spent $120 just because I wasn't patient.

So finally the day arrived. It was sunny out and the kids had just finished up their soccer games. I dragged everyone to the lovey and beautiful (and very nice and helpful) phone place, and got myself one of these:

And now I'm in love. I know that I've forsaken my husband for other bloggers, for food, and even for electronics in the past, but this one wins hands down. I'm still trying to figure out the ins and outs of it, but it really is cool. Super duper cool. I feel like I'm finally catching up to the tech wave that we used to ride but now chase after, and finally I can use my phone in the comfort of my own living room. And yes, there really is an app for that. And that. And that too.

My Kids' Teachers ROCK!

I have to get up early tomorrow - very early, so what am I doing up at 12:15 AM????!!! Well, I am sharing with you WHY I am getting up early - I appreciate my kids' teachers - more than you could ever know. My kids are happy - at home AND at school. Three of my kids can read (the fourth is only 10 months so we'll give her a pass on this part). My kids can count, in English AND in Spanish. And to be honest they can count up pretty darn far! (Again a pass for the little squirt - we'll just excuse her from the rest of this...even though she loves the boys' teachers too!)

Anyway, there folks spend a good chunk of time with my kids for a decent part of the year, and the kids are clearly well adjusted (well, except for the random comments), and are clearly happy. So it is definitely my pleasure to do what I can to show my appreciation for these teachers (and the rest of the staff to be honest) by helping set them up with food. And thus year, it's LOTS of food. We did breakfasts four days last week, and are doing a luncheon tomorrow along with gift baskets. Parents have really stepped up and are supplying a bunch of food, and they too are showing their appreciation by feeding the staff. But not all of them volunteered to be up early and show their appreciation at 7:45 am. But I shouldn't complain - my hubby - my dear sweet, doesn't function in the AM hubby was up at school last Friday at 6:30 cooking pancakes for the staff...

So now I can go to sleep. My kids' teachers really do rock, and I don't mind losing a few winks to share that with you.

Happy Mother's Day!!! I plan on sleeping in (check - hey, 9am counts now!), eating a fully cooked by someone else and WARM breakfast (check - McD's hotcakes to the rescue!) and hanging out all day with the family (still to do!)! Hope that your Mom's Dad is as happy as mine is!

Ian questions - they kill me.

Ian: "Mommy, can you make any more babies?"
Yeah, he really did ask that.
"No Ian, but we can always adopt more."
And Tom didn't even blink an eye.
Man has four kids and now nothing phases him.

Happy Star Wars Day!

May the 4th be with you!

Did you know?

Here are 13 things I bet you didn't know about me:

1. I get physically uncomfortable when the TV volume is on an odd number.
2. I make my kids order their own food at restaurants - and have since they could talk.
3. I have FIVE holes in my ears, which has nothing to do with the volume of the TV, so the odd number doesn't make me uncomfortable.
4. I clip my toenails to relieve stress.
5. I used to get my hair cut to relieve stress, then I got a few bad cuts and that stressed me out more than it helped, so I stopped.
6. I don't cook. I actually avoid cooking as much as possible because I dislike it that much.
7. When I was in college I made my Dad fly my dead (and frozen, of course) guinea pig back home to Texas to be buried next to my collection of other dead animals.
8. I am a night owl - a real night owl. If the world operated from 11am until about midnight (instead of this silly 7am to 6 pm) I'd be a much happier camper.
9. I love watching cheerleaders compete and perform.
10. I am afraid of scary, scary movies. I don't see them because they give me nightmares. I'm even afraid of sort of scary movies. Still.
11. I dislike Elvis, John Wayne, and hot dogs.
12. My husband calls me un-American because of the last item.
13. I have never worn makeup, with the exception of my 7th grade year when I wore eyeliner. Thick heavy black eyeliner. Oh yeah, and my wedding. I did wear make up at my wedding.

The Worst Yard!

A friend of mine, Beth, is trying to get the DIY folks to help her yard out. She has entered her own sad looking yard in a contest for them to come out and fix it up. After massive flooding, a tornado, and finally a septic system that went haywire, her yard is a big old mess, and she is trying to get them to come out and rehab the yard for their show - America's Most Desperate Landscape. Take a minute to check out her very sad looking yard (and her cute dog) and then vote for her (and leave a comment if you like). Her hubby is now deployed and she's really got a black thumb as she puts it, so she needs all the help she can get! Go HERE for the video when you have few minutes - she'd really appreciate the support!

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

This ain't your mamma's Transformers (that sounded way cooler when I said it in my head!). Anywhoo, I am SOOOO pumped about this one - especially after seeing the third trailer out yesterday: