Moblog: Picture Time!

Cassie at Photo Texas - waiting her turn to take some picture for Miss Kimberly.

Need to relax? I give you... Sand Art!

Okay, how cool is this really? It's mesmerizing... More can be seen at Ilana Yahav's website...


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

The Joys of Summer

We've been working off and on with Jamie and Hook on Phonics. He really enjoys it and now that I have some free time, I plan on working with him to get him reading over the summer. He knows all his capital letters and their sounds, I was really impressed. He only had trouble with 2 (Y and W)so we worked a little on those. A little bit of dancing, singing, and glueing Cheerios to pictures of the letters and he seems to have it down pat. Even Cassie did really well. She knows about 6 letters and their sounds by sight.

After we were done, I decided to water the yard. I had just gotten the sprinkler set up when the kids come outside. I was so happy with them, and they looked REALLY pleased and happy with themselves.

Sooooo...I bent down and motioned them close,"Do you guys wanna play in the sprinkler?" They looked at me like "Silly Daddy...its night time."

Then I said,"Wanna do it with you clothes on?" Cassie looked around like it was some kinda "Bad Thing", looked at me and did her little Ernie laugh "Tee Hee Hee Hee" and off they went! Their hair and faces got soaked, but it is a mist type sprinkler, so their clothes were only middling damp. But it was SO fun!

Jamie told Candy later,"Daddy told us to do it". hahahaah, learning early to pass that buck!

Party! Party! Party! Party!

We had a little party here today... what a blast! About 15 kids and 15 adults... the kids played in the kiddie pool, climbed all over the playscape and ran completely wild while the adults had some actual conversations, drank too many margaritas *wave to D*... then we had hot dogs and moved inside for game time! The kids got to play kid's game (the beauty of it that we set it up in the hallway and their bedrooms so the adults could have the living/dining area; the guys played xBox while the ladies drink more margaritas *wave to D* and played board games... *laugh*... woohoo! Tom and I seriously need to do stuff like this more often. We absolutely love doing it and hanging out with friends... and the kids get a night where all bets are off :-)

Here's a pick of Casie playing the Ducky game with J... I didn't take many pics... I was umm... well, feeling too toasty to remember to take pics...

Congrats are in order...

... to my baby sister, Marcy... Congrats, you high school graduate, you!! I'm very proud of you! WooHoo! Now get your butt to college. *laugh*

Get your Free BBQ Grill

I checked this out myself. It is for real!!!! This is not a joke. You can get a free BBQ grill from any of the following stores:

A&P
Albertsons
Costco
Food Lion
Fry's
HEB
Kroger
Meijer
Publix
Safeway
Target
Wal-Mart
Winn-Dixie

Summer's here and the time is right...

... for water play! Our new neighborhood has an awesome pool and water playscape/wading pool area. We went there today and the kids were in heaven! Okay Okay, I had a great time too and it gave me a chance to really try the whole "is this camera REALLY waterproof thing"... lots of pics to share...

Do ya think he's just a little bit happy? What a huge grin!

Cassie was a little iffy at first about this whole thing, but once I went through the "rainbow" with her she was having a great time!

"Yeah, so mom... I love you and all, but PUT THE CAMERA DOWN"

Thank goodness Jamie was in a mood to pose for me!

Okay, this was totally a set up, but I saw it and well, I'm a nerd...

Hey, get your butt up and help me chase these children, buddy.

This was purely one of those very lucky shots... I couldn't have planned it better.

... yes, I have too much time on my hands (actually, I'm avoiding working at the moment)

This is a bucket that slowly fills up and then dumps over... Cassie thought it was fun to 'trick' Daddy into standing under it and then he got wet... problem is that it went the other way than it did the first time and Tom barely got wet at all... *laugh*

Tom Cooling off...

... just checking out how it does taking pictures underwater *really*... not too bad! That's Jamie's foot.

Oh, and Tom makes fun of me and my aversion to the sun with the kids, but let's face it, the sun is serious business... I just want to give a shout out to Baby Banz and their swimsuits... We got the full get up last year and I just bought Cassie a new suit (hers was a little tight today) and new hats for them both (Jamie lost his on a ride and Cassie's is getting too small)... anyway, no sun is getting through those suits and the kids think they are "cool" when they wear them.

Jamie on how to make friends... & Cassie funny

Jamie knows EVERYTHING. I'm dead serious. I want to be 5 because apparently they know it all and they won't shut up about it. We were in the car and Jamie was blathering on about how smart he is and how he knows this and that and this and that... Tom and I were talking in the front seat while he was mumbling about turtles or something. We are having a little party this weekend and we were talking about friends and the difference between women and men and their friendships. Jamie pipes up:

"It's easy to make friends. Alls you gotta do is walk up to them and tell them your name and then you can go play together. So, anyways, did you know that rolly pollys turn into balls when you touch them...."

We absolutely cracked up... "Alls you gotta do" indeed, son...

------

In other news, Cassie is fighting us less about her bath... except tonight she decided she didn't need a bath (trust me when I say she absolutely DID need a bath)...
Tom: "Yes, you are going to take a bath"
Cassie: "No, I not!"
Tom: "Yes, Cassie, you ARE."
Cassie: "No, I not, I gonna go hide" (she says this with the devilish little voice)
Tom: "Oh, no you will not, come here"
Cassie: "Okay..."

The way she said though, we totally know she was "giving" us this one... there will be hell to pay tomorrow night I fear.

----

We were noticing today that since they spend at least half the day in the yard, they are both getting quite a little tan - Cassie is SO brown... she has Tom's skin and just toasts really nicely...

Club Kid & The Screamer

Jamie apparently thinks our living room is a dance club...


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

And Cassie REALLY doesn't want to take a bath (might want to turn down your volume for this one)... yikes! I told you she's loud!!


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Video Sharing

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

Happy Birthday, Lisa (don't worry, I won't tell anyone that you are 30). Make sure you stop by her blog and wish her a happy birthday! In the meantime, I have pictures to share:

Ahhh... the kids had the right idea here...
Notice Jamie's hands... I tell him AT LEAST 30 times a day to "let go, it's not going to fly away or fall off"

Chow time! Look at how nice they all are acting... maybe it was the cake... ;)

I thought this was such a cute shot of Cassie. It was kind of startling too because I have pictures of myself at this age and she has the same stature that I had, the same way she holds herself... so I had to sepia it to make it look older or something...

Hehehehe... poor thing, her hubby caught her without the special head-gear on and made her put it back... she was such a good sport with all those people in her house!

Mike in the act... caught ya ;)

This is Lucky (her mom's blog is HERE)... she is such a gorgeous child. Seriously. You can also tell that her mom takes lots of pictures of her, I asked to take her picture, she ran up, stood the exact distance away and smiled pretty... *laugh*

New 10 Commandments Movie

Ok, just had to post this movie "trailer". One of the funniest vids I've seen in a long time.

Hope you enjoy!

Moblog: Fondant Cake Class

I am taking a cake class with my mother-in-law... This is hers

This is mine... Yay!!!!!

SPF: Wave of Modulation Inspired! & Outtakes

Christine at Random and Odd sets up these weekly photo challenges for us, I played this time.... enjoy!

1. Something Discarded - my hidden addiction.

2. Lay down on the ground and find something ugly and make it beautiful. - I tried this, but couldn't find anything, so you get this tree thing. It looks kinda cool, I guess.

3. Take a picture in the style of the person that inspires you. - I see a lot of people taking close ups of plants and stuff... this was growing on our fence. Someone might like it or something.

These are just random outtakes of ideas I had and tossed away and just misc. pics from today that I thought were cute and wanted to share:

Reading Bedtime Stories...

My kids LOVE Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Suess. It makes my eyes leak, quite frankly... every single time - it's that "sometimes you won't" line... darn you, Suess. I'm starting to think Jamie asks me to read it EVERY single night just so he gets to ask "why you crying momma" and I get to claim allergies, again... anyway, here's my little ones enjoying their book. They LOVE to be read to... I hope they both get Tom and I's love of books. We both read constantly and I hope to instill that love of reading into both of them.



These are the fuzzy socks I got with my foot bath for Mother's Day (actually I got two pairs) - cute, huh?


Oh, and photos of my kiddos at the zoo while Tom and I were out of town can be found on Jeannie's Blog... enjoy!

Jamie the Happy Helper

So I wake up this morning, and here is Cassie, standing in just her pull up. I ask her,"Where is your princess dress?" (She slept in it last night). She keeps saying over and over,"Jamie help me, Jamie help me." So I go on a hunt to find the missing clothes...

I ask Jamie, "Do you know why Cassie is naked?" He nods, "She was wet, so I helped her. But I couldn't reach her clothes."

Turns out, that is exactly what happened. Cassie soaked through her diaper overnight, but instead of waking Candy or I up, together they managed to get Cassie into a new diaper. Jamie was pretty proud of himself. "Its ok", he says, "she is still cute even without her clothes."

Sigh...here come the therapy bills hahaha

Mother's Day humor and Pictures...

Okay, this is seriously funny stuff, so I have to share...

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

... and pics of my little angels and what they got me... ahhh... the problem? The foot bath was cracked and they are out of that kind. Tom came back with another one, but it was junk, so he's back out again... poor guy, what a sport!

Happy Mothers Day!

To all you Mommy's out there, I want to wish you all a happy Mother's Day!

Especially to my Mom (Jennifer), my second Mom (Beth, Mother-in-Law is such a dirty word haha), and to Candy, my wonderful wife and loving mother to Jamie and Cassie.

Candy,

We've come a long way together. I remember a time when we thought we didn't want kids. I am so glad that we have these two little people now, I don't know what we would do without them (beside sleep more).

You've done a great job of balancing Family, friends, and work. I am not sure that I could do as good a job as you. Jamie and Cassie never lack for your love and affection. I am so proud and happy to be you husband.

Jamie-ism

Okay, I'm doing a little better with this whole kid's asking question about their bodies things... I'm getting there anyway... you see, I come from a family of girls - girls girls girls everywhere. This whole boy thing freaks me out. I can talk periods all day long, but penises... well, those are another thing all together. And let's face it, Tom (love ya, babe) and most men only care about laughing and grunting and scratching. So, that leaves me, with the wrong equipment, trying to explain it without that "That's my boy" look that the guys get.

So, a few nights ago Jamie was getting dressed in his room while we were getting ready to read his bedtime story. He starts naming his body parts... he comes to his penis and then asks me what "these" are.
I reply, "those are your testicles"
"Oh", he says and waits for long pause, "So, why are there balls in there"
"Ummm... the balls are called testicles and they are inside your skin" (thinking do I really want to start naming ALL the stuff and confuse the kid or what)
"Okay"

We finish getting dressed and then I hear, "Mom (editorial: note that I'm not called Mommy or even Momma much anymore, it's always "mom" and I secretly cringe... I wanna be Mommy *laugh*)... Mom, I'm going to call these my Testi-Balls"

Yeah, that's great, just great... whatever dude.

I even got up the gumption to explain bad touching and all that. Seriously. Can I just lock them up until they are 30 or something?

SPF 5/12: Assignment In Pairs

Christine over at Random and Odd is looking to pair it up this week and I felt like playing (and remembered!)...





1. Something you have 2 of. - This was easy (and yes, I'm taking the easy road this week, go away) I have two kiddos... and they wouldn't take a picture together so I took a picture of a picture - get over it.

2. Something you wish you had 2 more of. - Again, easy... I need two extra hands!

3. “Two” - This one was harder. My first thought was "two" is the number of hairs a certain someone, that will remain nameless would have if he didn't shave his head, but that might be construed as mean...

In the end, I decided that I would be nice... we lived in Hawaii for several years and I wish, at least two times per week that we still did...

Did ya play?

Fug Thursday: Yarn Fuglies

Welcome to Fug Thursday, brought you by our lovely friend, Kami...


A friend of mine, who shall rename nameless, is completely obsessed with crocheting. She's WAY pregnant so I'm hoping this is an odd pregnancy thing (hey, with my first I bought a zillion children's books). Her poor hubby is such a good sport, he just smiles and nods at the $20 balls of yarn she brings home... so anyway, they were over here this past weekend and she brought her stuff... a Fug Thursday was born:

I'm not even sure where to start with this lady. The color? The style? Dude... who makes this stuff up and WHY on Earth would you put it in a catalog to SELL stuff?

This child... I hope she sues her parents for emancipation rights. Let's ignore the fact that the vest is fugly, but do you SEE the crochet flower thingy on her chest? There should be laws against this...Did ya play?

Obsessed Pregnant Woman (NOT ME!!)

So, a friend of mine, who shall rename nameless, came over this past weekend... she brought her crochet stuff... (keep an eye out for my Fug Thursday tomorrow... prepare to laugh, cry... well, just cry). Anyway, I wonder if this pregnancy obsession might be going a little to far... Kami, you need to take a trip down to Austin so we can stage some sort of intervention... seriously. I'm scared to do it by myself... see the look on her face here? She looks like she means business!


Yeah, I don't think I'll be touching her yarn... she let me pet it... it was soft. She's apparently making more socks to make hubby try on and share with the blog world.

Exactly how many of these hook things do you need? And that sheep has a tape measure coming out of it's rear! Yikes! It's disturbing, really...

The Evolution of Dance...

This has been making the rounds in the blog world, but just in case you live under a rock and haven't seen it, it's well worth a re-post... this dude is hilarious... I was merely smiling until he broke out with Tubthumping, I was a gonner...

I told you kid cartoons are creepy!

I've told Tom at least 30 times that the latest batch of kid's cartoons are just downright creepy... I was reading some blogs and Crystal posted a link to this guy's post... he's got it... my top creepy one is Lazy Town though... seriously freaky stuff... Check it out

Check This Out: Improv Everywhere

My friend, Ronda, sent this to me and I swear, this is so freaking funny. I have a really sick sense of humor, I know... Suicide Jumper

The whole site, Improv Everywhere, is really really really funny! I love the latest, Best Buy one!

They earn a spot on our links section... seriously. funny. stuff.

Cassie Ballerina and Jamie's "Moves"

Cassie is feeling much better... I just took this... she LOVES this outfit that the Easter Bunny brought her and wears it every time I wash it... she calls it her princess ballerina outfit - I think she's seen that Barbie Ballerina movie too many times... *laugh*. I dunno what was wrong with her, but I'm happy to have my little girl back!

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

Jamie wanted to show of his "moves" as he calls them... listen to what he says at the end... he cracks me up!

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

Little Miss Sick...

I mentioned earlier that Cassie wasn't feeling well... sigh. Tom took her to the mall and after an hour he noticed she was getting a lot worse :( She's running a pretty high fever and coughing like crazy. Dang it. We are supposed to have friends over tomorrow. And she's preggo, so no way I'd expose to her something if Cassie is really sick. Dang it. You can see it in her face that she doesn't feel good. Is it weird that I think the pic of her with a tear falling is just too cute? Yes, I'm demented.


... and I bribed Jamie to let me take a shot of him before he left with his Daddy for a family function... I'm stuck here with Miss Sick (and if you've never been around Cassie when she wasn't feeling well, consider yourself lucky... she's a hand full!)

That Girl Can Really Swing...

Jamie has turned into a camera shy dude, so it's hard to get a shot of him, he's in the side of this one - pouting because apparently being in the "front" of the glider swing is better somehow... he got his turn after, but wouldn't let me take a video, so you just get to see Cassie...

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

And I LOVE this picture of her... such a cute little smile... she can really get that glider going - she hasn't figured out the regular swings yet though.

Hear all those pigeons in the background? They keep attacking my birdfeeder... so I got the kind they can't get it and they keep scaring away the little birds... I tell Tom the whole neighborhood is like an aviary. There's birds EVERYWHERE. It's kind of cool though. I can watch them through the window at my desk. If only the pigeons would go away...

Bad part about the birds though is the bird shit. All over my car, of course...

Spinning...

This is from a few weeks ago... that child LOVES to spin...

I don't remember what Jamie was "quitting"...


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

What's the going rate for a 3 year old?

Surely there is some black market that I can sell Cassie on. Dang, this little 3 year old girl is driving me to drink. Literally. It's just after 11pm and after fighting with her for THREE HOURS she finally went to sleep. Finally. She's been a little under the weather the past few days and I'm sure moving and all the excitement of everything being new has contibuted, but she's just being impossible about it. She has a million and one reasons - she's thirsty, she's hungry, she has to go potty, her foot hurts, her leg hurts, her ears hurt, she's scared, the lights too bright, the lights too soft, her throat hurts, her head hurts, she's not tired, she can't see when she closes her eyes (???)

Yikes. When did Jamie become the good one again? Poor little guy, he got up and got me to take the top off his drink so he could get his own water refill, he apparently overfilled the cup and even cleaned up after himself before bringing the cup back in for the top to be put back on.

Speaking of Jamie - when did he become such a little gentleman? He's been opening doors and stuff for me (like when we go to the post office), helping Cassie when she falls down or needs a push on the swing. He'll bring in the dishes from dinner to the kitchen for me, throws the trash away... WITHOUT me asking. Who is this kid? I feel like I'm in some alternate universe. He's like this little sweet person. Oh, he still has his moments, but seriously, for the most part, he's just a really great kid.

Tonight, after reading their book to them he said, "Mommy, I like it when we talk like big people. I like to tell you stuff so we can laugh." Aside from trying to choke back the tears, I am just amazed that he catches on to so much so quickly. I've been making a huge effort not to baby him as much and make him do more things for himself (if only I could get him to wipe his own rear end - he tells me it's "dirty" - no, well - shit, Sherlock).

This phase with Cassie has to end soon. I just. can't. take. it. anymore.

Confession: I'm a geek, no a real geek...

So, I have a Treo 650. I LOVE this thing. Seriously, it's my brain. If I leave home without it, I feel nekkid... I've been meaning to look into audio books for it, but just never got around to it... so I did tonight... and it WORKS!


Problem? I don't have a memory card for my beloved Morris (yes, that's his name)... so I'm stating here and how for the entire internet that for Mother's Day I want a memory card that can hold at least a few audio books and a good earphone thingy for my Treo. I don't want a remote controlled video card *snicker*... this is what I WANT. Okay???

Thank you.

Peek-A-Shoe!

Not much going on... this is from a couple of months ago... they are Mickey Mouse shoes... the hands are velcro and attach over the "eyes"... she was making them play peek-a-boo... nutball.


Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing