Things that Make me Cringe

*Wet socks

*Old bananas

*Insects that bite or sting

*Lack of preparation

*Being splashed

*Empty gas tank

*Kleenex that even appears to be used

*Being cold

*The unknown

*Stinky trash

*Someone else's sweat on workout machines

*Curdled milk in a sippy cup

*The phone ringing during nap time

*Sniff test - if it's on the ground, it gets a one way ticket to the laundry basket.

*Cigarette smoke

*PUKE

*Redundancy

*Sweaty workout clothes after 2 days of sitting in a workout bag

*Horror movies

*Stepping on anything wet or squishy and not knowing the origin of it

*Stepping on a lego in the middle of the night (or anytime)

*Sitting in traffic

No real reason for this picture. I just thought it was a fun shot that John caught when we were in Kansas a few months ago.

Luke-talk

Here are some of the things that Luke says that are so funny. Especially knowing that in 6 months or so, he probably will not be speaking like this. He has a hard time with the "S" sound, so there is a lot of 'th' where there might usually be an 's'. He tries so hard to talk as much as Cooper and Natalie, but they are in a league of their own right now...

• After giving him some yucky medicine: "I not like that, Da-dee!"

• On being sick and discussing a trip to the pediatrician: "I OK, I not need to go. I OK, Mom-ee!"

• After we get to the pediatrician: "I like dot-dot Raine. Me not need th-ot."
  

• On finding a mess on the floor that he obviously made: "I not know why methhh. I not know why!"
  

• When asked if he needs to go potty: "I did went!"

• On swimming: "I like th-wim! I like th-wim and th-lide!"

• On the subject of going to bed: "I not want to!"

• When Mary comes over: "I go wit you Mi Ma-ee? I go your hou-th and th-ee Scout? I like Scout! I go wit you!"
  

• First thing when he wakes up in the morning: "Chlauc-mil please! Chlauc-mil please!"

• Tattling on Natalie: "Lat-o-lee th-uck her thumb!"
  
• Right after crying: "Cooper did hit me! I tell him no!"

• After making me upset: "I th-orry Mom-ee! I give you ki-th. I make you happy???"

Natalie's First Dentist Visit

Natalie had her first dentist visit today. Wow, was she ever excited! She has been talking about it since May! Cooper went in April, so Natalie has been patiently awaiting her first excursion to see Dr. Shadle. It was very cute to see her so excited this morning, getting dressed up in a fancy dress and sparkly shoes, letting me curl her hair and skipping out to the car.

Dr. Shadle is an awesome dentist for adults and even more so for little ones. He talks to them so patiently like he has all the time in the world. He is so wonderful! Natalie did so good, answering questions, letting him count her teeth (20!) and telling him all about how we floss every night. (Thanks for making me look good, Natalie!) I told him how she has stopped sucking her thumb and that received a big kudos for her! Overall, I could not have been more pleased with how well she did. In fact, we did a 'Build-a-Bear reward trip' and here is her new pink leopard:

"Anna Banana"

A Very Cool Video

This is one of the neatest videos that just makes your heart smile. It is worth the 4 minutes of time. This guy goes beyond any ethnic, racial, military, and cultural boundaries to dance like no one (really, everyone) is watching. It took 14 months, traveling to 42 countries and a 'cast of thousands'. Just a man, a woman, a video camera and a funny little dance. You will love it, promise!

http://www.vimeo.com/1211060

Mud Puddle Pie

My good friend, Mary, gives my children treats. A lot of treats. Treats that these children treasure up and keep forever. I could buy the same thing, but it would not be near as special as when Ms. Mary gives it to them.

One of the latest things she gifted them with were these buckets. Little buckets with ingredients to make edible treats. Cooper's was Mud Puddle Pie. After he asked the 89th time, I gave in and said we could make it. I must say that I was a little excited myself (as was John) to see how it would turn out. The mix came with these green and white gummy frogs. I don't know how many it started out with, but by the time we were ready to decorate the 'pie', there were only 3 sad looking ones that had probably hopped on the floor a few times. Nonetheless, we put them on and Cooper ate them like the were the best things EVER. Here is the final outcome:

Thank you Ms. Mary!!!

If you are wondering how it tasted, I have to say (and John agrees) that is was GREAT! So great in fact that there is none left as I am writing this...

A New Park

A few months back, we 'found' a new park. The kids affectionately refer to it as the Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom Park. I guess it is the whole 'coconut tree' in the middle of the water feature that has them convinced that this park is part of the book.

They had so much playing, splashing, dashing and dancing...oh, wait that's a reindeer song. Anyway, we have a little over an hour to do something between when Mother's Day Out is done and when the kid's club opens at the gym. I think this hit the spot today. Anything that is new AND involves water, they think is way cool!

The Rearrangement

I love to rearrange furniture. I am quite limited on the rooms I can rearrange. When I do start a rearranging project, it is very thorough. After I moved both beds around, John came in and inquired loudly, "Is there something I should know about? Are you nesting?" Nesting, really? We have 3 children. If I haven't nested by now, it probably isn't going to happen.

Natalie's room (that Luke sleeps in) is about the only room I can move more than one object around, so I chose to do that room today. It started out innocently enough: Luke had wet the bed so I had to change the sheets and mattress pad. No big deal. Then I decided I wanted to find a missing shoe. Soon I was pulling the bed across the room so I could vacuum under it. After picking up 18 band aids, 14 various sizes of balls, 25 polly pocket pieces and 7 unmatched shoes, I knew I needed to finish the job. I tried 3 different arrangements, at one point having the bed and toy box sitting diagonal. That was a little over the top for John, so now the bed just juts out like a peninsula waiting to tag my knee when I go to check on Luke in the middle of the night. After all the major moving, I cleaned off the 7 feet of clean clothes off of the other bed in the room, hung up 22 dresses and proceeded to organize all the books (by size). I think I'll take a picture...since it probably won't stay that way for more than 1.2 hours. Luke was pretty excited about the new placement of the furniture, but he was even more excited about the new sheets on the bed. So excited in fact, that he told people at the pool all about his new sheets...

(Luke's 'big boy bed' & the other bed that tends to accumulate things)

By the way, my dad made these beds for the kids.

(He also made a changing table, 2 cribs, 2 kid-size chairs, 4 toy boxes and a puzzle box.)

Thank you Daddy!

Girl Time @ Putt-Putt

I took Natalie out tonight for 'girl-time'. She really enjoys one-on-one time anytime, anywhere. She was exceptionally excited to go to Putt-Putt, because Cooper has talked it up so much. I was thrilled when the 16 year old who took my money told me that Natalie was free. Sweet! Now I really did not have to feel bad for skipping a few holes. (Are 18 holes really necessary when you are playing with a 4 year old?) Natalie seemed to catch on quick that the fewer strokes, the better. She would whack the ball, get to it before it finished rolling and whack it again. If the ball got to close to the side rail, she would just pick it up and put it wherever looked best. As she made more hits, she would pick the ball up and move it closer and closer to the hole. One of the holes, I think she hit it 89 times...not that I was counting.

She thought it was great fun and cannot wait until we go again. Me too!

What fun is Putt-Putt without a zebra?

Fort Worth Zoo

We went to the FW Zoo today and it was, surprisingly, not too busy. Granted we arrived there right before it opened and sprinted past the monkey/gorilla house where we were the first to the meerkats and giraffes. We quickly took the 'elephant photo op' picture and continued in our own version of the zoo race. We took our good friend, Julia, and the kids had fun asking her a million questions. I still had the rapid-fire questioning from Cooper, but Julia deflected quite a bit of the inquiries.

I think the kids will say that the best part of the trip was Julia taking them into the bird feeding exhibit. She helped them feed the birds and get the birds to jump on the stick; she has a 'technique' that works! Natalie was a little fearful of the birds and Luke was just a little too aggressive when Julia would hand them to him. They tried to talk her into taking them into see the bats (not my forte), but thank goodness she didn't want to go in there either. I think we all had a great time!

Check out my wing span!

Super Swim Thursday

Thank you for the ride, Ms. Ma-eee!

Wow! We had the best turnout for Swim Thursday today! There were 8 families and a whopping 19 kids!! Lots of fun to be had! Most of the kids felt like showing off for the camera jumping various ways off of the diving board. Too cute! I love it when kids/people/anyone wants their picture taken. Cheese it up for the camera, I'm all about it!

Enjoy the pictures!