Annabelle's Sunflower

On her last day of school, back in May, Annabelle brought home a tiny sunflower plant in a paper cup. Not expecting it to survive at all, I transplanted it into a small pot and stuck it on the window sill by the kitchen sink. Within a few weeks the stem had grown to be about 8 inches tall, definitely too big for the small pot, so we planted it outside.

A couple of months later...

VOILA!!!

My Husband, The Farmer

Who knew that back in like April, or May, when Nick came home one day with a few packages of seeds and announced that he was going to start a garden, he was serious?

Certainly not I!

No, no. I was a bit skeptical.

But alas, the boy tilled his soil, and planted his seeds.

Some didn't survive (like the pea plants), as they were without water for a week while we were away...

But surprisingly, others did (like these here carrots).

And there it is, living proof;

I was wrong.

Blocks

I'm always amazed when, after a long period of silence from the Monkeys, I enter a room and find evidence that they were actually playing... Rather than the normal mischief making.

Jack put this little set up togther. When I first saw it, I was shocked that he was playing with just the blocks... Then of course, I noticed the car- there is always a car.

Comedy Central

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Annabelle slowly enters the room, wearing a STETHOSCOPE around her neck. She looks around, then purposefully walks over to Jack:

ANNABELLE
I'm the Doctor and you're the patient.

Jack glances towards the exit. He realizes that Annabelle is blocking his only way out. He has a look of uncertaintly.

JACK
Um, OK

ANNABELLE
What seems to be the problem, boy?

Jack looks concerned. He hesitates slightly.

JACK
Doctor, I ammmmm... well, I'm a bit smelly.

Laughter can be heard from the corner.

Olympic Hopeful

Getting ready for the 2020 summer Olympics

(also doing his best Michael Phelps impression)

Traumatizing The Boy

I completely horrified Jack today; I made him pee in a bush!

We had walked to a playground, about a mile from home, when Jack suddenly announced that he "had to go pee." There was no facility within a half mile and, judging by the urgency in his voice and the fact that we were on foot, I knew that he would never make it. So I surveyed the area and dragged Jack over to the nearest bush.

When I told Jack he would have to pee outside he initially refused to do it, claiming that peeing in a bush is "yucky." I quickly pointed out that it was either the bush or his pants, either way he had to make a decision and live with it.

He chose the bush.

After the fact, while I was pushing him on a swing, I had to listen to him complain about how yucky peeing in a bush is...

"I can't pee in a bush, that is so yucky. Bushes are not for peeing, they are for squirrels. I'm not a squirrel, I don't use a bush!! You made me pee outside!! I peed outside!! That is sooooo yucky!! You can't pee outside, how are you supposed to flush? Where does the pee go? There is no way to flush! Squirrels need to pee outside. Squirrels don't flush?"

On and on he went.

For the next 20 minutes.

Until finally, acceptance settled in.

And peeing outside was suddenly cool.

And then he told me that when he got home he was going to pee on the tree in front of our house... The one with the sticky sap.

Basketball Girl

Pregame warm up; lollipop.
She shoots,
she shoots,
she shoots,
SHE SCORES!!!!!!!
Mission accomplished.

*she actually scored several times, I just missed the shots...

New Toy!

Ooooooo, eeeeeeee, ahhhhhh; my new camera bag arrived today!

Very exciting, I know... BUT, I just ordered it YESTERDAY afternoon, from Amazon.com, so I am excited that it is here so quickly! I signed up for amazon's prime membership, which is good for a one month free trial, and got free overnight shipping! I ended up getting the 7 million dollar home by Crumpler.

So far, I'm very happy with the bag- much larger than I need right now, as I only have a couple of lenses, but there is definitely room to grow!!

Graffiti Artists

The monkeys were playing on the back porch, I could hear them from the living room:

Jack: Look Annabelle, Mommy is going to be so happy at us!!

Annabelle: Really?

Jack: Yes, Annabelle! Mommy will be very happy at us!!!

Annabelle: OK Jack, hand me some chalk.

Annabelle: She sure will be so proud of us!

Jack: Uuuuh-haaaa! She will be so proud and happy at us!!

When I went to investigate, this is what I found:

They were so excited to show me how they had decorated the bricks, I was not so proud of them, nor was I happy at them, but still, I could not help but smile.

Fools In The Rain

We had planned a little BBQ in honor of my mother's birthday, unfortunately it started raining.

Fortunately though, not even torrential rain can keep men from a BBQ.

eBay Rocks!

The kid next door got this awesome radio control Subaru from eBay, which Jack is crazy about... Not really into the remote control part, just really likes the car itself. Being the nice mum I am, I went onto eBay and found a non battery powered version of the same exact car and put a bid on it for Jack.

Wouldn't you know, we one the car! I was so excited to give it to Jack, I knew he would be so happy... That is, until it arrived:

Hmmm, for some reason I was under the impression that the car would be much bigger.

Way to go eBay.

Being Three

Jack: "Mommy, how many cars do I have?"

Me: "Looks like you have quite a few"

Jack: "I don't have quite of me"

Me: "huh?"

Jack: "Not quite of meeee, how many cars?"

Me: oh- "No, not- quite of you, FEW. You have quite a few"

Jack: "Not of you, Mommy. How many do IIIIII have?"

Me: "A lot."

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Jack: "Mommmmmmmeeeeeee, you carry me?"

Me: "I can't carry you right now, Jack. My back hurts."

Jack: "You carry me in the front."

Swimming Lessons

Last week, Annabelle and Jack had their very first swimming lessons!

They both absolutely LOVED it!

I was a little apprehensive about Jack going at first, as he sometimes likes to do things his way, but he did great! He is such a big kid now- it's kind of scary how much he has grown up in the past few months.

Every day they would march into the locker room, find a locker and store their things, take their showers, and then file out into the pool area and sit on the bench to wait for the instructor to come and collect them. They seemed so grown up, just sat there waiting, like little cherubs they were. I thought for sure I would be chasing Jack around (or fishing him out of the deep end), but he was so good; he waited right there on the bench with Annabelle...

And when the instructor came over and called for the Fish (their group) to follow her, he got right up and followed along. He didn't try to run, or make a break for it, but went right over and stayed with the group. He must have been paying attention too, because, after a couple of lessons, he definitely seemed more confident in the water... By the end of the week he was even going down the slide!

Annabelle, of course, did fantastic. She is always super keen and aims to please. Naturally she took to swimming like a fish in water. She is very excited to sign up for another week of lessons!

My Big Kid

Jack is now officially potty trained! He has been completely accident free for over a week and had maybe two accidents while we were away, surviving two long car rides and a boat trip! He's loving his new big boy boxer shorts... He has been flashing everyone!!

Cape Cod

Once again, we spent a week on Cape Cod with our friends from New Orleans. We had fantastic weather and everyone had a great time (I think).

We spent many lazy days on the beach:

and a lot of time trying to get the kite in the air... We took a day trip over to Martha's Vineyard,where we didn't ride these: but later on, ended up riding these...

We played some putt-putt,

and played some more... Ate lots of ice cream, and jumped on the trampolines (surprisingly, only twice this year)!

until everyone was beat...
There are many more pictures in the link to the right, or here.

Big Boy Bed

Jack finally got his big boy bed!

He was sooo excited that he wanted to go to bed right away, his sheets were barely dry and the rest of the bedding was still in the dryer!

These pictures are from his first night in his new bed. He seems so tiny in the full sized bed...No more babies here!!

"Hoopa Loop"

Jack

Wee Master

Nick taught Annabelle how to use the wii.

Big mistake.

She kicked his ass in bowling... Twice.An appropriate shirt, me thinks.

Mother's Little Helper

Annabelle has been working over time to earn stickers for her super helper chart . I've been trying to give her little chores to do to earn stickers so that she can keep up with Jack and his potty chart, which he has been doing great with, because she gets bummed out every time he gets a sticker and she doesn't. Although she is super encouraging with Jack, she is also very competitive and likes to be in the lead with the sticker count.

On Friday Jack completed his first sticker chart for potty usage, so yesterday, as promised, we took him to the giraffe store (toys r us) to get a reward. He chose a pack of cars- big surprise. Coincidentally, Annabelle also completed her chart before the big reward purchase- she opted for a pink yoga mat. When we returned from our shopping trip yesterday, I printed out new sticker charts. Both kids are now back to square one.

And Annabelle is very keen to take the lead.

By the time I got out of bed this morning, Annabelle had helped Jack take his pajamas off... and his diaper. She also helped him use the potty, put a pull-up on (backwards), and was in the middle of helping him get dressed when I thanked her and took over, which caused her to have a mini meltdown; she was very upset because she wanted to do it!!!

A few minutes later I found out that the reason she wanted to do it so badly was because she thought she would be earning a sticker for helping Jack!

Awesome

Nick hasn't sweat this much since he ran the L.A. marathon, in 2000!

Why is he so determined to master the boxing game on his new wii?? Because I KICKED HIS ASS and knocked him out THREE TIMES in a row!!!

My arms hurt.

Happy 4TH of July!

Marshmallow mouth; favorite blurry shot:Roasting marshmallows with friends:

Happy Birthday Nick!

The kids put themselves in a box and wanted me to wrap them as a birthday present for Daddy... As tempting as it was, I thought Nick might prefer the present we purchased rather than two he already had. Also, I thought they might need to breathe.

Cheeky Monkey

When we were at the grocery store this morning, I was reminded of an event that happened a few weeks ago; The kids and I went to a local Comcast Cable center, to exchange our broken cable remote, when Annabelle encountered a young woman who, although looked as though she may belong to a street gang and/or "packing" (a gun), was wearing socks and sandals. Annabelle approached the young woman, tugged on her shirt, and said, "um, excuse me... you're not supposed to wear socks and sandals." Fortunately the girl chuckled.

And we lived to tell the tale.

So, this morning we're walking along in the grocery store when suddenly Annabelle shouts out, "MOMMY!!! THAT LADY IS WEARING SOCKS AND SANDALS!!!!" *no response from me* "LOOK MOMMY, LOOOOOOK!!!!!" *still no response* "CAN YOU SEE HER? SHE IS WEARING SOCKS annnnnd SANDALS!!!!" -pointing her out as if she were wearing an elephant costume- *I shushed Annabelle -but inside, I was laughing*

I never did get a look at the woman Annabelle was shouting about but, coincidentally, a few aisles later some woman was giving me the evil eye. Just as I was wondering what her problem was, I looked down and noticed her feet; socks and sandals. Explains it all.

Jack Of All Trades

I was cleaning out my car while the Monkeys were outside driving around in Super Car when suddenly, they both jumped out of the car, ran into the house and came out with a bunch of paper towels and a couple of squirt bottles- I guess they decided that they should clean up their car too.

In the middle of washing the car, Jack announces that he "needs his skateboard" and bolts back into the house. I was thinking that he must be bored with the car, and wondering if I should go find a helmet and knee pads, when I see him put the skateboard down in front of the car and try to slide himself under it! I asked him what he was doing and he told me, "I'm tending (pretending) to fix the car!"

...Sadly for Jack, he and his makeshift dolly were too big to fit under the car.

Queen Crazy

So yesterday we were in Target, just before heading off to the local pond for some swimming, when both Annabelle and Jack decided that they just had to have goggles. Not quite sure what prompted the goggle desire, but whatever, a goggle hunting we went.

Once said goggles were located, Annabelle immediately pulled hers out of the package (before even paying for them) and put them on. She continued to walk around Target like this while we finished our shopping. She wore them in the car and kept them on for the rest of the morning, taking them off only when we got to the pond.

This morning I was woken up AT 5:30 AM by two giggling, goggle-clad children.

Strawberry Picking

Strange things I have noticed about us going strawberry picking:

1) We went on almost the same exact weekend last June, but it was Sunday the 24Th.

2) When we went strawberry picking last year, Jack coincidentally wore that same shirt... Weird that it still fits.

3) Both times, I took almost identical pictures of Jack eating vanilla ice cream. Both times, the pictures were blurry. Odd.

But we did go to a different farm from last year, which was a good thing because the strawberries at this farm were much better, and bigger, than last years... Just ask Annabelle; she tasted each and every one before placing it in her container... I actually had to dump her first container and have her start over because there was NOT ONE strawberry in there without a bite taken out of it!!

We took a hay ride out to the picking fields and while we were on the ride back from the field, the skies opened up and it started to downpour. It was fun though, the Monkeys enjoyed eating ice cream in the rain!

Sibling rivalry at it's best- Annabelle kicked over Jack's container because she thought that his strawberries were bigger than hers!

Everyone's A Winner

Why, who knew, other than Supernanny, that sticker charts were so effective?


We started this chart this morning when, after a loooong hiatus from potty usage, Jack decided to give it a try. A successful try it was, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES today! So what if he peed on himself twice, it's the thought that counts, right?

We explained to Jack that every time he successfully uses the potty, he will receive a sticker. Once all of the spaces are filled in, he will be taken to the giraffe store (aka Toys R Us) to pick a prize. He seemed to really like the idea... And who said bribery wasn't an effective motivational tool?

So effective in fact, that when Annabelle saw Jack's reward chart, she tried to convince me that she needed one for potty training too! It took a while to make her understand that she has a bit of an unfair advantage- already being potty trained and all, but once she did, she was willing to accept a SUPER HELPER CHART- in which she receives a sticker for doing good deeds; like cleaning up, and LISTENING. She is so keen to earn stickers that she has been putting toys away while Jack is still playing with them!

So, not only do I get two kids who are willing to do unspeakable things in order to earn stickers, I have also, finally, figured out a way to use up the 1,000's of stickers we have lying around from the recent onslaught of birthday parties!

Another Blonde Moment

...Or is she just constantly messing with me?

Me: Annabelle, would you rather have carrots or corn with dinner?

Annabelle: I think I want to have both.

Me: I'm not going to make both, choose one or the other.

Annabelle: I'll have the other.

Me: Which other; carrots or corn?

Annabelle: Which one is the other?

Whatchoutalkin'bout

In this picture, little chubby chops was all bent out of shape because he wanted to go to the playground instead of watching Annabelle's soccer game- I just love the facial expression!

In other cuteness... About an hour after we put him to bed he started calling for me. When I went into his room we had a little conversation:
"Mommy, can you change my diaper? I'm wet."
"Sure."
"Thanks Mommy, you're a peach."
"I'm a peach?"
"Yes, you are a peach."
"Well then, you are an apple."
"I'm an apple??!!" "That is sooooooo silly, Mommy!!" "I'm an apple." (laughter ensues)