pictures and words

We took the kids to see The Lorax a few Saturdays ago. I loved it. Danny was glued to the screen the entire time. I only had to take Cate to the restroom once. It was delightful.



And I am a goober. It's true. Sometimes I can't help myself. It's easier than trying to be dignified and refined.

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Our order of Girl Scout cookies arrived last week. I'll always support the Girl Scouts (since I was one for 10 years and even earned my Gold Award and I brag about it every chance I get because it's the highest award you can earn, kind of like the Eagle for the boys and we all know that's a big deal). I'm not sure how many boxes I'll be buying when the price goes up again. They were $3.50 for a box this year. I remember selling Girl Scout cookies in front of the Kroger grocery store way back in the day. They were $1.50 a box. That was easily 30 years ago so now I feel really old.



I bought Thin Mints (which are not even tempting to me because I don't like mint and chocolate), Thank U Berry Munch (because that's just such a clever name), Samoas (also not tempting to me because I don't enjoy the coconut/caramel combination), Peanut Butter Patties (but I don't remember the name they go by nowadays and Danny and I ate the whole box the first day so I can't check) and Dulce de Leche. My favorites are obviously the peanut butter patties. Coming in second place are the Dulce de Leche. They're yummy and small. Portion control is easier when they're small (if you care about such a thing when you're eating cookies).



Danny took a bite of the Thin Mints and decided he wasn't a fan either. That's what he decided was a "bite." He's a funny kid.

I was standing in line at the grocery store last night and saw a little display selling Girl Scout cookie flavored lip gloss and chap stick. If I had been alone I would've snapped a picture with my phone. Sadly, at almost 10:00 at night there were a few people in front of me and a few behind. Late night shopping for everyone. Would you buy Girl Scout cookie flavored lip gloss? Yuck.

I noticed the lady in the checkout next to me was buying every box of Gogurts in the whole store. It seemed like that at least. And boxes and boxes and boxes of Reese's peanut butter puff cereal and Cap'n Crunch. I'm pretty sure she was one of those crazy coupon ladies but come on. What are you going to do with all that Gogurt? Freeze it I guess. Do you really need it though? I don't understand. I totally understand the Reese's puff cereal though. That's one of my favorites.



Ray Ray put on Cate's pink shoes. Then he pushed her shopping cart around (after he had filled it up with stuff and draped a blanket on top). He got mad at me for taking his picture, kicked the shoes off and went away to pout in private.



When I taught school I ordered some practice books called Drops in the Bucket. I got all the grade levels (since I taught such a variety of ability levels in my class). I found the kindergarten book and have been giving Danny "homework" every once in a while. I don't do it all the time because we all know that worksheets are not the best way to learn. I know. I know. He doesn't know that yet so worksheets it is!

He seems to enjoy them. We're just working on the math ones. I've got the reading ones somewhere out in the garage in all my boxes of school stuff. I don't want to overwhelm the poor kid though. Plus, he seems to really enjoy math right now.

He's become quite mathletic. I'm very proud. We were driving past a gas station the other day. He said, "Mommy, what's 59 plus 9? 69!" I said, "Well..." and he answered back, "No. Wait. 68!" He's a genius.

He wasn't thrilled when I asked if I could take his picture. Notice the mad eyes.



And he still doesn't enjoy writing his name. I did the D and the a. He's going to be so thrilled when he starts school and the teacher makes him actually write every day.



Danny and his adorable future brother-in-law. They're just too cute.



When I registered Danny for kindergarten last month I put him on the waiting list for the morning class. I'm not really sure why I did that. He's not a morning person. He needs a few hours in the morning to get going. He likes to take his time eating breakfast and spend time with his Legos. Get up, get dressed, go go go is not something he's good at.

I was worried about Cate's preschool schedule so I attempted to work around that. Then I got to thinking that Danny's the important one for next year. Kindergarten trumps preschool. I called the school and switched Danny to afternoon. There's no waiting list for afternoon kindergarten. Apparently morning is the popular spot to be. I guess lots of people have early risers. I don't know.

The morning I called the school and switched him to afternoon, he slept until 9:45. Um, yeah. Pretty sure I made the right choice. Then I had to wake him up and rush off to Talking Time. He was not thrilled about that. The kid needs warm up time in the morning. That's what he gets for sleeping until almost 10:00 though.



Speaking of Talking Time, Danny still doesn't want to sing anything. This past week he hummed though. It was funny. He was humming really loudly. The teachers were smiling and praised him when the song was done so I guess that was a good thing. We're making improvement.

He got chosen to lead the goodbye song again a few weeks ago. He chose a stick with a fish on top and then just stood there, looking down at the floor during the entire song. I could see that his face was bright red too. I know how he feels. That kind of stuff kills me too. I wish I could figure out how to make it better for him.

He's making lots of improvement with his words. Last week his homework was a lot of s blends. He used to say chop instead of stop all the time. He'd pretty much substitute ch for the beginnings of lots of words. Now he's got the s (and not a lisp anymore!) and the st too. Woohoo. He's practicing sl words this week and it's not easy for him. He's getting better though. Slug. That's a tough one.



Aunt Nancy came for a visit and Sunday dinner a few weeks ago. We put her right to work playing games and tea parties. That's what happens on Sunday afternoon in a house where nobody naps anymore (well, Dan naps but that's about it.)



Did you know you can recycle your pantyhose? I had no idea.



I thought old pantyhose were supposed to be used for craft projects.

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You know today is Pi day. March 14th. 3.14. Get it? Somebody taught Danny about pi. Or is it Pi? I don't know. He already knows about infinity (and beyond) and negative numbers so pi seems fitting too. I explained to him that pi is 3 and a little bit more. I think it might be time to make a number line on my big empty dining room wall. Maybe use a little more of that chalkboard paint.

Anyway, I was going to make some pie for pi day. So very original. I know. I'm not going to though because that just seems like a lot of trouble. I don't think Danny would understand the calendar connection quite yet. Maybe next year. I was going to make these apple pie foldovers but now I'm not. Too much work. Plus, I'd end up eating too many and that's not good for anyone.

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And last but not least, Danny said to me the other day, "I love nothing more than Hard Puppy and you!"

Proof that I'm not so bad after all.

'tis the season

Time for a little potpourri. My Christmas gift to you. I'm feeling very generous.

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The kiddos are loving the Christmas lights we see around town. This house is their favorite. Lucky for us, it's only a few blocks away.

I took this picture one night on the way home from the gym. Just stopped right in the middle of the road and snapped a picture. It was 10:00 and I was the only car around. Don't worry.

When we drive past this one I go slowly so they can take it all in (because quite frankly, there's a lot to take in). Danny said one time, "It. Is. So. So. Beau-teeee-ful." He wants to live there some day. I'm not sure how that's going to all go down but he likes to dream big. He told me he thinks old people live there so I guess he's thinking they'll just die and he'll move in.

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I came across this printable manger scene while perusing the internet one day. I thought my kids would love coloring the pieces (you can also print it in color but what's the fun in that?). Cate had fun coloring Mary, Baby Jesus' swaddling clothes and the cow. She got mad at me for coloring the angel's hair orange. It was supposed to be pink. Duh. I ended up coloring the rest of the guys.

I love how they turned out.



Cate wanted us to act out the scene. She's very into that kind of thing. Danny even participated. And Dan too but he was still in his pajamas so I kept most of him out of the picture to protect his privacy (and his messy bed head).

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How to make your very own Santa beard...

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In an effort to avoid the crying this year (although it is adorable right?), we had pictures taken with me dressed like Santa instead. I think they're pretty cute. I'm pretty sure my children would have refused to sit on Santa's lap and have a little chat anyway. They might not have cried this year but you never know.





That box was empty in case you're wondering.

I saved my favorite shot for the Christmas card. I wasn't going to order any this year but after our little photo shoot, I couldn't resist. It's too late to send them out but I'm hoping they'll get here in time to bring around to the neighbors along with their non-chocolate goodies.

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Every morning we change the number on the countdown to cousin Kris' birthday. Then we change the number on the Christmas countdown. Then we eat one chocolate out of the advent calendars that Grandma gave us. Danny usually eats his and mine and Dan's if he can sneak it. Then we add an ornament to the tree I made.




I know. I'm so very crafty. Don't be overwhelmed by the sheer genius of it all. It's just a lot of paper and tape and a little glue. And and even littler amount of glitter.

I don't own a fancy countdown calendar thing-a-ma-bob so I made one. Out of stuff from the closet that I already had. Everything was free. You can't beat free. I'm pretty much a slacker when it comes to the paper ornaments to stick up there though. I had this grand plan to have a whole bunch made so they could pick which one to stick up each day. Yeah, that didn't happen. I turned it into a big now you get to tell me what kind of ornament to make and sit there and watch me while I make it because I'm too lazy and unprepared to make them in advance kind of thing. They don't seem to mind.

There's a lot of snowflake ornaments up there because sometimes I'm just fresh out of creative ideas and snowflakes are easy. There's even a few circles because those are even easier than snowflakes.

I make the kids pick questions out of a jar each morning before they stick the ornament up. All the questions are about the birth of Jesus. Who is Jesus' mother? Who is Jesus' father? What did the Wise Men bring to the baby Jesus? Muuuuuh (that's how Cate says myrrh since she can't say her r's. it's adorable.) After a few days of these questions Danny said, "Are these all about church?" Yep, they are.

Some of the questions aren't really questions. Sing Away in a Manger. Sing Silent Night. Give your family a hug and a kiss (he did NOT like that one). I've got a Christmas matching game in there too that I printed off the computer last year. I have no idea where I got it from or else I'd share.

I know my tree is nothing fancy and you probably have something much nicer at your house. I had a big tall blank wall, lots of paper and two kids who needed to be reminded every day that there's more to Christmas than Santa and presents. So that's what I came up with. I'm sure I'll toss it in the trash when we're done and make something completely different next year.

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We don't have an Elf on the Shelf at our house. I can't say that I really want one either.

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Cate has been watching our Frosty the Snowman DVD a lot. I heard her singing the song in her room one morning just after she had woken up. Her version goes a little something like this:

Frosty the snowman you have to go to your room because you don't have any pickles to eat and you are not going to be my friend but you should go play at Idda's house and we will go to Target and then they want to wash their hands so they don't have pee on them and I want to have a picnic with you so will you do the puzzle with meeeeeeeeee!

That's not a direct quote, mind you.

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I won't be baking any friend/family/neighbor treats that contain anything chocolate. Not because I don't love chocolate. It's because I do. Too much. Just thinking about last year's friend/family/neighbor treats makes me gain 5 pounds. Those were yummy.

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I'm very tempted to do this to my hair on Christmas morning. I'm not sure I can pull it off though since I'm not an 11-year-old girl. Also, I'm supposed to be playing my flute for the Christmas program in church and I don't think Rudolph on the back of my head would be very appropriate. I'm saving it for when Cate has enough hair though. Is it ok to have a blonde Rudolph?

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Guess what I'd make this year if I was super organized and crafty and not overwhelmed and feeling like I have zero time?

Snow globes!

I currently have 13 of those jars. I can't throw them away. They are too cute. And they are perfect for snow globes. Now I'm glad I've been saving them all year. Look out next year, neighbors, teachers and friends. You're all getting snow globes. Don't say I didn't warn you.

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We went to a family Christmas party last night at Aunt Cindy's house. Cate had a blast playing with Rusty. I'm pretty sure she just bossed him around all night but they both looked happy. Mostly.

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We went to the dollar store last week to pick out stuff for the gift exchange at preschool. I don't remember what was going on but I know that by the time I got to the check out I was ready to be out of there. (Three little kids at the dollar store is hard work, even if one of them is strapped into that tiny green shopping cart.) Danny picked out a package of very small Christmas stockings that he wanted to get for his puppy (the stuffed one he sleeps with). There were two little stockings stuck together (on purpose) with one of those white plastic things. I said ok.

When we got to the checkout, the guy beeped our stuff and bagged it. When he got to those stockings, they wouldn't beep. He tried several times and then asked me (HE asked ME), "Are these a dollar?" I just smiled and said yes but what I wanted to say was, "Are you kidding? Do you know what your store is called? EVERYTHING'S A DOLLAR. I believe that's the name of your store. Some people call it the Dollar Store. So, yeah. They're a dollar." Are there things at that store that are not a dollar? Maybe some of the candy at the checkout? Otherwise, don't you pretty much take a chance a figure stuff is a dollar. Do they do a lot of price checks at the dollar store?

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I remember watching Mr. Krueger's Christmas every year when I was a kid. I'm pretty sure that's my favorite Christmas movie. And here's my favorite part, because sometimes I need to be reminded that Christmas is more than Santa and presents too.

it's a beautiful day for some potpourri

Cate sometimes starts her sentences with "It's a beautiful day for..." and it just cracks me up. Where does she hear this stuff? Sadly, it's not from me. It's a beautiful day for the park, Mama. It's a beautiful day for some ice cream, Mama. It's a beautiful day for preschool, Mama.

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That's Baby Ray Ray one year and one day ago. He didn't really love being plopped down in that pile of leaves for pictures.

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The kids and I raked some leaves for our neighbors yesterday. I wasn't trying to make work for them, just us. Turns out, I made work for them. Oh, well. All I was trying to do was teach my kids that it's fun to help out our neighbors without being asked (in hopes that maybe they'll learn that it's also fun to help out around the house without being asked).

We just raked two big piles and then the leaves got dumped in the back with the horses. I guess they eat them. Yuck. When we were walking away Danny whispered to me, "Who are we going to help next?" with a hint of happy anticipation in his voice. Try and not smile when that happens.

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I mowed the backyard yesterday too. I knew the storm was a-comin' and I wanted to get it done. I've never mowed over dead leaves before. It's kind of stinky, like something's burning. I was a little worried the lawnmower might explode but I just kept going anyway. It didn't explode.

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I made some chocolate peanut butter pretzel bars late last night while I was watching the episode of Grimm I had recorded. That's a spooky show. I like it. Reminds me of X Files (which I also like). I liked the chocolate peanut butter pretzel bars too. Especially yummy since I doubled the chocolate layer.

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I took this picture of Danny and Ray Ray a few days ago. Can you imagine how cute it would have been if it hadn't been so dang blurry? Someone please tell me how to take non-blurry pictures of kids indoors without using the flash. Please.

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I took the kiddos to the doctor yesterday. The coughing and runny noses had gone on long enough. They've both got medicine to take now. I threaten Danny with calling the doctor for a shot if he won't take his nicely this time around (see last time if you don't know what I'm talking about). So far it's worked. I also tell him that if he doesn't brush his teeth then he'll get cavities and the dentist will have to give him a shot inside his mouth before he uses a drill to make a hole in his tooth to get the rotten parts out. That works pretty well too. I'm evil but he loves me anyway.

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The kids had a sleepover in Danny's room last night. I'm the dimwit who said yes to it. How could I not expect that they'd be waking each other up with the coughing all night? What is going on inside my brain sometimes? I have no idea. We were ok until Danny had to go to the bathroom at midnight. Cate had migrated to the bottom bunk with him. He woke her up. I decided to take Danny to my bed and make Dan go sleep in Danny's room with Cate. Cate didn't like that idea so she cried and cried. I got her settled in her own bed.

When I got back to my bed, Danny was already back to sleep (with his legs all the way over into my territory). He tossed and turned and coughed for about an hour. I asked him if he wanted to go back to his own bed. He said yes. Dan slept on the top bunk. Danny on the bottom. Pretty sure we were all extra tired this morning. No more sleepovers. I don't know how you people sleep when you have kids that share rooms every night.

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The other day Danny said to me, "I wish I could be with you all the time!" I don't know when he thinks he's not with me. Preschool twice a week? When I'm in the shower? Night time when we're asleep? That's pretty much the only time we're apart.

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I broke the rake this week. Lucky for me it was after I had filled up the green waste container with about a zillion dead leaves. I was remembering the raking I did 5 years ago when my belly was filled with baby. I raked and raked and raked but I couldn't bend over to pick any of it up. Nothing. Too fat.

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Cate slept until 9:41 on Tuesday morning. I feel like that is noteworthy.

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We passed this house on the way home from preschool last week. See those green things over the porch lights? They're those cheap jack-o-lanterns that kids take trick-or-treating. I'm thinking you just cut a slit up the back and slip them over the lights. Very clever. I'll have to remember this one for next year.

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I've been grounded for a week. Our wireless quit working and now I have to be plugged in. It's annoying. I think being grounded actually cuts down on my screen time though. That's probably a good thing.

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I clipped Cate's fingernails. Shortly after that she came to me and said, "Now I can't get my boogers out!" I asked her why not (not having a clue why she was telling me that). Her reply, "Cuz you clipped my fingers!" Danny saved the day. He shoved his finger up his nose and said, "Look, Cate! My finger gets them right out!" I told her to stop picking her nose and go get a tissue.

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Sometimes I think that if this mothering stuff was my full time job and I could punch a time card, I'd punch it at 5:55 pm. I can't seem to function past 6:00. The patience is gone and I just hit the wall. Done. Done. Done. Every day. Just like how Danny cried from 5:00-7:00 every single night for the first month of his life. Every night. Crying. Crying. Crying for no reason and then at 7:00, done. It was so weird and exhausting and extremely frustrating.

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I've felt a very strong urge to get Christmas shopping done early this year. That started in about August. I'm done. Have been for a while. I've never done this before. I'm usually shopping in December (which I hate with a passion). I kind of worry that maybe something horrible is going to happen to me and that's why I got it all done. At least my kids will have presents under the tree even if this horrific thing happens. I'm really hoping nothing horrible happens and that I'm just being very prepared this year and I don't have to go to the store in December. Maybe I'll still go to the grocery store but that's it.

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Cate and Danny had a field trip this week. Their class went to see a play about pirates. Except the morning of the field trip Danny woke up saying his throat hurt and that when he coughed it sounded like he was honking. He stayed with Aunt Judy while I took Cate to the show. It was fine and dandy until she ate all her popcorn (before the thing even started) and then choked on a piece and puked it all back up.

Luckily, I'm the mom who has learned her lesson with this kid and eating popcorn and her tendency to puke. I had an extra cup. All the puke got in there. The kind lady in front of us offered me a wipe and wondered if Cate was sick. I told her she's just got a very sensitive gag reflex. The mom kept telling her daughter to stop staring at Cate. I'm glad Danny stayed home because I'm not sure he would have liked all the singing and dancing. I'm not sure I liked all the singing and dancing either.

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We got our first snow of the season this morning. That's why I wanted to get the raking and the mowing done. It was barely noticeable but the kids were happy. Cate licked snow off the dead leaves. She's crazy.

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We went to the fun kid place again this morning. Danny loved the fake grocery store again. It's so funny watching him walk around with that little cart. He was picking out ingredients for soup.



Cate dressed up as a bear and got on stage. I hated to make her leave. She was having a blast. Dan came with us this time. He said it was torture. Following kids around and trying to make sure you don't lose them. He's right. It is torture but we do it because we love them. The cheese fries we ate on the way home made up for it though.

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And last but not least, Grama Bama had a little procedure at the hospital on Monday. I told Dan she better make it out ok or else she'd ruin Halloween for the kids. He told me she better make it out ok or else we'd be really sad. Very true.

She's fine. Hallelujah! She'll probably be mad at me for mentioning it but oh, well. She can come be mad at me to my face when she gets here in less than 2 weeks. Hallelujah again!

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Time for bed. Even though the powers that be say I get an extra hour to sleep, my kids do not agree. Stupid time change.

weekend potpourri

I think I figured out the key to success and happiness this week.

Extremely low expectations.

That might not work for you but I think that's how it's gotta be for me.

I didn't wash the dishes Monday night (probably because I'd already washed them once or twice already that day). Tuesday we went to a preschool open house in the morning. Then we got ice cream and played at the park. The kids played at Aunt Judy's for a while so I could be at the vet without them. We went to walk around the gardens with cousins after that and then home with two extremely cranky, hot and tired kids.

So when I saw that growing pile of dishes in the sink I decided I just didn't care. We played and had fun. The cleanliness of my house suffered but it was worth it (that's for you, Candis). I'm not trying to be all inspirational and cheesy or anything but sometimes I just have to walk away from that monster pile of dirty dishes and forget about them (and hope that nobody comes over to visit to see that I'm neglecting my dishes in favor of my kids).



Somebody found Mama Cat in Spanish Fork. She's been missing for about 2 months and somehow trekked her way across Utah County. I like to think she hitchhiked at least part of that. Or maybe it does take 2 months to kitty walk 25 miles (or something like that). I took her to the vet. She spent two nights there. I paid $495 and they let me take her home. Dan gets to give her medicine twice a day and she's eating special soft food that smells like puke. I sure do hope she makes a full recovery and never pulls that kind of stunt again.

I know pets are part of our families and we love them like they're our children and blah blah blah but I can't remember the last time I spent $495 on one of my human children. I'm crying softly inside about this one. I'm glad she's home but holy crap. Sure glad I could help the vet buy Christmas presents for his kids this year. Sheesh.

The assistant lady actually told me I should really think about having her microchipped. You know, in case she gets lost again. Um, she was returned to us because she had on her collar with our address and phone number on it. Don't you think that proves that a name tag works just fine? Call me crazy. She's just trying to get me to pay for her kids' Christmas presents too.



I took the kidlets to the dinosaur museum a few weeks ago. Near the entrance is a dark room to walk through with just these little blue dots of light. The stars of the universe. Where the earth beings, the sign says. Cate was scared to walk through without squeezing very tightly to my hand at first. Then she watched Danny go through over and over and over again and she got brave.

I started singing the Imperial March song (you know, Darth Vader's theme) since there was nobody around and I wasn't worried about making a fool of myself. Cate thought that sounded fun so she sang da da da da da da da da really loud (to hear her echo) over and over and over as she went through the dark room over and over and over again. That was a nice way to kill some time.



We have melons! Homegrown organic (I suppose since I haven't sprayed with anything to keep the bugs off and the only fertilizer in the soil was cow poop) melons! Dan thinks this is a Crenshaw melon. It's yummy. Kind of tastes like a cantaloupe and a honeydew. I'm just excited to have fruit from our garden. I like vegetables of course, but fruit is just so much better.

Next year I want strawberries and raspberries too. Oh, and cucumbers, beets and green beans. Maybe no zucchini. I'm getting tired of zucchini. I have two ginormous ones sitting at my house right now if anybody wants them.

Maybe no big tomatoes next year either. Just my pear and cherry varieties. Although we did have some really yummy BLT's last night for dinner and again today for lunch. I'm just not big into the whole canning and salsa making thing so all these tomatoes can get a little overwhelming and boring.



I took Danny to see Cars 2 last Saturday during Cate's Quiet Time. I'd have to give it two thumbs down. Danny seemed to enjoy it so that's all that matters. It was fun to be with my favorite boy for a few hours though. I can't complain about that. Or the popcorn and Diet Dr. Pepper. That was good too.

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Top Chef Desserts is on again. I'm happy about that. There's a chef on it named Katzie. I'm not usually a big fan of weird, funky, made-up names but I kind of like that one.



We went to the splash park again yesterday. It was my first time being in charge of three little ones. I think I did ok. Danny's been loving this whole babysitting Cousin Ray Ray thing. They're very cute together. Ray Ray pulls on the bottom of Danny's shorts to get him to come with him. Yesterday morning Danny wanted to lay on the bench in the front yard to wait for him to come.



And since it's September now and there's a teeny tiny bit of a chill in the air at 8:00 in the morning, he decided I needed to get out his winter clothes so he wouldn't freeze out there. I said no so he settled for a blanket and pillow instead.



Here's a few cute things Danny's said about babysitting Ray Ray lately:

"It's a two person job to keep an eye on one baby."
"When will Ray Ray be two so we won't have to keep an eye on him?"
"This is the easiest babysitting job EVER!"

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I'm ready for fall. So ready that I pulled out all my flowers in the front on Thursday. September 1st means summer is over, right? The flowers were kind of sorry looking anyway so it's ok. Cate was excited because she found 2 snails to play with in the dirt after the flowers were gone.

I also mowed the front and back lawns on Thursday. First time ever doing that by myself. Usually Dan gets it started for me and then I mow (and by usually I mean that one other time I mowed, not like it happens a lot). And being the super woman that I am, I mowed it all by myself, no auto pilot (or whatever it is you call it when the lawnmower pulls forward and you don't have to push...just steer).

Ok, so maybe a little bit of super woman and a little bit of clueless when it comes to knowing how to use a lawnmower. Next time it'll be a way faster job but I won't get nearly as good of an upper body workout.

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Cate put her finger in between her teeth and said she lost a tooth. Then she went to her room to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. She didn't really lose a tooth, of course. She just has small gaps in between each tooth. She's a funny kid.

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She calls popsicles pock-uh-sulls. Makes me smile every time.



I made blueberry muffin cookies yesterday. Danny wanted cookies. I had a blueberry muffin mix and ideas of making something yummy. I just added eggs, oil and a little bit of flour until the mix looked like cookie dough. I must say they ended up quite tasty. Ray Ray wanted one in each hand. The kids raved about them. They were amazed that they tasted like blueberry muffins. Imagine that. Dan thought they looked like muffin tops. I'm thinking they were more like biscuits. Definitely best when they're warm out of the oven.

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I'm loving this thing on facebook that reminds me what my status was on this day in the past. On this date in 2009 I wrote that I sent a two-year-old back to bed in his Halloween costume. I remember that. He woke up before 6:30 and wanted to wear his fireman suit. I put it on him (minus the hat) and then made him get back in bed.


And that helped me remember that it's time to start thinking about Halloween costumes again.

And planning a birthday party for a five-year-old.

Yikes.

in case you hadn't heard

found it here

And because I'm such a big deal over here, I'm going to tell you a few things.

And you are going to think these things are pretty awesome (and not at all lame and you won't wonder why on earth I'm blogging about such things because I'm a big deal and the things I tell you are awesome).

Plus, I'm not a very big deal anywhere else so I figure while I've got you here (since you obviously think I'm a big deal too or else you'd be somewhere else) I might as well share.

Here goes.

I hate it when I go to punch the period on my phone and I punch the :) button instead. Then I send the text before I realized I punched the :) button. It irks me. I hate the :) thing. Then when it goes through as a text it looks like a smiling green alien head. Who thinks up this stuff?

I sent a text to my mom the other day telling her to text Dan something. I guess I didn't spell Dan correctly and my phone spelled Saab instead. I texted my mom and told her to ask Saab something. It was funny.

I ordered a side salad at Chick-fil-A a while back. Danny saw the little broccoli pieces and wanted to eat one. I gave it to him and he popped it right into his mouth. He loves broccoli so I wasn't surprised. Cooked broccoli (what he loves so dearly) and raw broccoli are two very different things. He spit it back out onto his hand and then dropped it back into my salad. Before I said anything to him Cate said, "Oooooo, broccoli!" and grabbed the piece that he had JUST SPIT OUT OF HIS MOUTH and ate it. I'm not even kidding. We're not going to be winning any awards for dinner time etiquette any time soon.

I do laundry almost every day. It's not really necessary but sometimes I just can't help myself. I like the sight of an empty dirty clothes hamper. Except ours isn't a hamper. It's a big drawer that my grandpa built next to the dryer. I really like it when it's empty.

My favorite house is for sale.

It's perfect and symmetrical and across the street from the big park. I need to go to an open house so I can see inside.

Cate wanted to make me some water cake in her pink kitchen one day. I'm pretty sure that was her way of justifying the use of real water in her toy kitchen (something that she knows I frown upon). She's a clever little baker.

There was a kid in the Danny and Cate's art class named Nixon. Another one named Finn. Jarrett was invited to a birthday party for a kid named Kodiak. What is up with these names? Don't their parents know that they're never going to find key chains or those tiny license plates for their bikes with their names on them? I had a hard enough time finding ones with Cathy instead of Kathy. I'm well aware that Cate might have a hard time too.

Sometimes when I feel like I have too much to do, too many responsibilities, too much to think about (you get the idea), I end up doing nothing instead. That usually doesn't make me feel better about all the stuff I have to do.

Danny mentioned the mini pepperoni that I bought a while back. He thought it was funny that I put the minis on a pizza for him and Cate and the regular size on a pizza for me and Dan. I reminded him that Dan put some of the minis on his salad. I said, "Isn't that funny?" Danny replied, "I know! He's the funniest dad ever!" Too cute.

I went to IKEA with Candis. I had some stuff I wanted to find for Cate's bedroom. I found a few of them. Look what I found for my dining room wall. Maybe two of them side by side.

And this little number made me miss being a teacher and having my own classroom to decorate.

A little red file cabinet. I want it. Someday...

Know what else makes me miss my classroom? School supplies for sale in July. I was in Target today and I heard a young girl complain to her mom, "Oh, no! School stuff already?" I smiled because it was kind of funny and because school stuff makes me happy.

Cate calls straight pretzels crazy pretzels. I guess straight instead of twisty is pretty crazy to a three-year-old.

I was teaching a lesson to the young women a few Sundays ago about overcoming opposition. I shared about when my kids drive me crazy. That was my example of opposition in my life. Sheesh. So now I feel like a crappy mom because I shared that my kids are a trial in my life. Isn't that lovely?

Dan's practicing his ukulele right now. Getting ready for camp. I'm most looking forward to his rendition of Goober Peas. That's a good one.

Sometimes when I'm craving chocolate late at night (and there's none in the house because I have no self control over such things anymore) I just click over to Pinterest and add to my Chocolate Goodness board. Yum. It's not as satisfying as a big chocolate brownie though.

My garden is growing. The zucchini plant is ginormous. I'm getting excited for the pear and cherry tomatoes to stop being tiny and green. My grandma always had pear tomatoes in her garden. That's why I wanted to plant them in mine.

July is not my favorite month.

We visited the family last night to celebrate a cousin turning 7. Danny practiced his moves with the 4-year-old cousin. They were swinging punches and doing what looked like ninja hand moves at each other on the deck. I went out to tell him to be careful and to knock it off. He said, "Mommy, we're just practicing our moves." Then he got smacked in the face (not by me) and the practicing was all done. Little boys are funny.

As soon as we got in the car to drive home (which takes a little over an hour), Cate said, "Are we there yet?" I asked Dan if she was kidding and he said yes. I'm starting to question the decision to road trip it back from Alabama in a few weeks. I might not make it home alive.

That's all for now.

a little potpourri in the morning

Is this a beautiful sight or what? Trust me. It is.

My friend called a few days ago to see if Dan and I would be interested in some composted manure soil mixture for our garden spot. Of course, I told her yes. She even offered to bring it over and have her husband till it. She's a good friend.

I'm pretty sure this garden thing is going to be a lot of work. Danny is thrilled about it so I guess I will be too.

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Grandma gave Danny a Leap Frog educational thing-a-ma-bob that sticks to the fridge. He can push a button that gives him a prompt and then he can record his response. He loves it. One of the prompts says something like, "Pretend you're a dad. What would you say?". Here's Danny's response: I love my kids so much that I want to wrestle them. I love it!

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Cate thinks donkeys say ning nong.

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I ran three miles on the treadmill last night. I might have gone longer had there been something interesting on tv. My choices were some kind of lyrics game show, news, hockey or Outsourced. Ug. I rode the bike and read stuff on my phone for 20 more minutes and then went home (where the kids were both sleeping thanks to my wonderful husband putting them both to bed while I was away).

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I have lovely neighbors. I really do.

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Danny fell at the park the other day and scraped his chin on the wooden bench. He immediately needed a band-aid (although there was no blood shed). The only one I had was pink with Dora on it. He was so upset that he didn't notice. I was tempted to let him go to preschool with a Dora band-aid on his chin. I didn't though. I'm such a good mom.

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I think about chocolate a lot. Like every single day.

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I bought that sign for myself for Mother's Day. I like it. I think it's crooked. It's hard to tell though since it's cursive. It'll bother me until I fix it.

Dan said I need more for Mother's Day so I told him I'd gladly go buy myself a new outfit to wear to church on Sunday. Maybe new shoes too. That should be enough. We'll see...

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Danny "made" this flower for me at preschool yesterday. He was very excited to give it to me when I came to pick him up. I asked him if he colored it. He said no, the teacher did it. How cute that she colored it kind of sloppy to make it look like a kid had done it.

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A knock knock joke from Danny.

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Eggy.
Eggy who?
Eggy has a Z!

I think this kid needs to work on his material.
His good looks will only get him so far.

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Cate woke up 2 hours early this morning.
That means I woke up 2 hours early this morning.
That means I'm going to be thinking about chocolate a lot today.
And she'll be taking a nap.

Happy Friday!