From small screen to shrinking machine

What to do on a rainy afternoon, after naps but before Daddy's home, you ask? You guys are really in sync with me, in my mind.

Well, you Shrinky Dink!!! That's what you do.

Cashing out!

I knew there was a reason "pool time" and "sprinkler nights" counted as a bath!!! From about 8 months to 20-ish months my kids get a minimum of three baths a day. More if we have messy snacks. I think we've earned them, so I'm cashing out.

Pool definitely counts.

Puddle jumping counts as long as we rinse off with the hose after.

Hose time outside counts!

Beach counts. Just kidding. But the outdoor shower does count.

No T.V. land

Right after this picture, someone skipped someone, cards were thrown and lollipop guy is scarred for life.

Magical City

I talk a lot about wanting to move out of the big city but the truth is that I want to live in a magical city where we have all the diversity and culture of a big city, only it's small, everyone knows their neighbors and there's lots of room for the kids to run and be wild. Anyone know of this place? And I know what you're thinking, but no, the suburbs don't count.

Miller Outdoor Theater - Jack and the Beanstalk put on Children's Express Theater

Herman Park - I know. There are no ducks. I think the screaming and huge chunks of bread pegging them in the head, scared them off. The pigeons, on the other hand, were on the attack!

No T.V: Week Four

Our ginormous tv is dead. We had a love-hate thing going on. Hubby bought it before we were married and I HATED it but loved him. Love-hate. For the last year, ginormo has been teasing us with a prolonged death. Losing some color here and there, then a speaker in and out and the whole time I was dreaming of another. Smaller, thinner, and mounted. But the damn thing held on for almost a year! Alas, the dinosaur came down. A month ago and we have yet to welcome that sleek and sexy new tv into our home. At first it was a battle of wills, between my husband and myself. I wanted small, and discreet. He wanted huge and manly. Whoever could go the longest without could pick the tv. Then I caved. He laughed. I got mad and changed my mind. We still don't have a tv.

Our lives have changed. After the first week the kids stopped asking to watch Dora and Diego. After the second week they woke in the morning anticipating which games to play that day and Daddy started planning activities for after dinner. Some time in the third week I had a breakdown, but after that stopped crying. (Really, this no tv thing wasn't a we-are-too-smart-and-inspired-to-watch-tv thing. We aren't sitting around having cumbaya moments with each other or anything. I wanted to WIN but I caved first. So when Daddy laughed, I was a sore loser and threw a fit. Now it's just pride carrying me out to sea.) Now we are on week four with no tv and I think we've come over the hump. We'll see. If this part of my post is missing in a few weeks you know it got worse.

Busy living

... more like surviving.

I know there were short lapses of time *haha* between my blog posts so far this year. Buuut (me whining like my four year old, because for some reason it's catching. Like that song, "This is the song that never ends..., it goes on and on my friend..." You know the one. Yeah, you'll be singing it all day. HA!) Ok, so yeah, buuuuuuut we still did a lot of livin', even though I wasn't able to actually sit and upload pictures, or write about them or even remember my name. Don't worry, my kids remind me hourly that it's "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaa". Got it!

Anyways, my life always looks great in a montage. So without further ado, here is a picture montage of my life for the last six plus months. Enjoy.

You did it!

Your big boy cake! 18 days without your toot and still counting.


I have tons of pictures over the years of you just like this one. It was part of you, what you needed, and what eventually would send me into a panic when it went missing. So, alas the time came when it was lost for good and you had to leave behind a little more of your babyhood in order to venture into the big, scary world of boy-dom. Goodbye toot, you will be missed.

Allie and Nana

N: Allie, go get some panties and pajamas for bed.
A: NO! Just panties.
N: Are you going to sleep in just your panties? No pajamas?
A: Yup, I like to sleep in just my panties..... Nana?
N: hmmm?
A: You know, momma doesn't even wear panties to bed? Really. uhhuh.
........................................................................................................................

Well, that's the story told by Allie repeated by Nana, in front of me for my husband's amusement.

How can I share with the whole world of 11 people who read this, you ask? In turn, I ask you: Could it get worse than my MIL knowing I sleep without panties? Well yes, there was that time my Mom found my vibrator.