I'll try....

to not run over any kids in the parking lot as I leave school tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. I'll be laying down rubber that's all I know! And probably throwing some gravel too. We have a three day weekend, and tomorrow is an early release day (don't kid yourself...those days are longer in teacher world than the short days. It's a scientific fact, as Jack would say.)
What's the plan, rubber band? Well, we plan on swimming after we get home and for the better part of the evening. We'll probably grill or something scarey like that for supper. Saturday we have NO early plans, although DH did promise the kids he'd either make them his famous flying flapjacks (thank you Little Bear) or go get them doughnuts. Knowing DH, he'll go get doughnuts. He's an addict. Saturday evening we're going out to dinner with some neighbor/new acquaintance/friends(?). We've actually known 'of' them for a while, but we've only just started getting to know them. They are about our age with two little girls somewhere around Jack/Sam's ages. She is a teacher, and I'm not sure what he does. I'm looking forward to getting to know them. We're leaving the kids out of this outing....we were afraid we'd frighten them (the neighbors...not the kids, nothing scares them except maybe telling them Pluto isn't a planet anymore.....that really sent them over the edge. I'm not lying.)
We just found a lost episode of Dirty Jobs on our Tivo that we haven't watched yet!! Guess where I'm going.........

Yes, we have no bananas today.

Sophy eats like 4 bananas a day and has since she was like a year old. Heaven help us when, like today, we have no bananas.

We went swimming after school today. Jack learned how to do the butterfly stroke. I was amazed at how quickly he picked it up. As long as he doesn't develop those freaky, Olympic swimmer shoulders, we'll be alright. We debated between soccer (Jack's choice) and swim team (mom's choice), but we let Jack choose. He is such a great swimmer, I can't stand not getting swimming experience. We will.












Here you see a pic of Sam staring into the flare of a nuclear explosion. Isn't that what it looks like? I dare you to say no! You be a lie!! I like this pic, even if it does seem to be radioactive somehow. Sam always seems radioactive. It may seem hard to believe, but he does literally glow in the dark. Just like a glow stick.



Sometimes Mr.GP forgets that his daughter is only 4. These moments of unremembering usually occur when Sophy is begging to be thrown, launched, or catapulted into the air (most likely while swimming.) They scare me. Regularly. After she plunges to the bottom of the 10ft deep pool and resurfaces, she'll swim back to her daddy in a fit of giggles to say, " LETS DO IT AGAIN!!"

I'm feeling ya EJo...

((Talk about pervert...ha! No, I'm not literally feeling you..hahaha!)) About wondering how the fact that your kids are so close together affects their lives. I wouldn't fret too much about Morgan. Maybe she doesn't have a 'problem' yet, and they're trying to keep it that way. Kids go through learning spurts. Just give her some time. You could've worked with her every night of her life, and she could still be struggling OR she could be the best reader in her class. There is no way to know. I've not worked with Sam or Sophy to a great degree. Sam can't read a lick, and Sophy can read whatever you put in front of her face. Doesn't mean a thing in the world. Sam will read when he gets ready, and Sophy may flunk reading when she hits 2nd grade. WHO CAN TELL? Don't beat yourself up about it!

I do feel your pain though. It's strange how we cross the same bridges at the same time (or maybe it's not so strange...since we had a baby every year together..haha.) Our recent growing pain has been over soccer/dance/extracurricular family things. We had initially planned to have all 3 kids play soccer this year. After giving it some thought, we finally woke up from our dreamland to realize that, Hello!!! There is no logistical way that we could manage three separate practices and games (in addition to LIFE) during the week! I still can't come to terms with not letting Sophy play. She has talked about it and looked so forward to it. Still, in the end, we didn't sign her up. We just didn't know how we would do it. Ben's thinking was that she in only 4. The boys didn't start sports/tball, etc until they had turned 5; therefore, Soph would just have to wait her turn. I agree...almost. I hate it for her though, but we had to draw the line somewhere. Hehe. We draw the line a lot!!! Hhaa. But ya know what? I know you feel like I do in that you wouldn't spread out your kids in age even if you were able to. The good points far outweigh the bad. Sometimes it's just hard to see the forest for the kids. :-)

Look at it this way. Think of all the split ends your saving Morghan by not curling her hair with the curling iron each morning! She should be thanking you!!!

Barbie has been murdered!!

Some creepy, stalker person left a comment regarding Sophy's new room that concluded with, "It's as if Barbie has been brutally murdered and her hot pink blood has coated the walls." How freaky!! What a sicko?? How do these weirdos find my blog? HAHAHA, I mean...hi..Elaina, that was a funny joke you made..HAHAHA! Seriously, I totally agree. I was just hoping that no one would find out about Barbie's demise at our hands. Thanks a lot. THANKS A LOT!! I'm sure they'll be coming for me now. Should I move to Thailand first, so I can get a first class ticket, champagne and fried fancy things on my way to jail? Wait, first I want to have my sideburns lasered off. They're starting to need a trim...ahem.


Whew, what a week. Despite a perverted (which means a normal family probably didn't miss a lick, but at this house...with 3 kids...it is slightly...well...insane) amount of homework, we're doing good. Jack tells us interesting tales about poopoo from the 2nd grade boy's bathroom that was "shaped just like a potatoe" that the janitor "couldn't get rid of" while Sam entertains us with his thrilling (and totally incorrect) version of the "Rock n' Roll Hokey Pokey." Good times, good times.

I am so very happy with my sixth grade group this year. We've hit the "it's time to pick up the pace" mark, and they are totally right with me. YAY!! Some years, that doesn't happen. We're just bumping through the 'ol reading textbook right now, focusing on vocabulary and story elements. The good news: this group recognizes the term "story elements." Does it get any better, I ask you? Soon we'll be starting a novel unit on Helen Keller that I am seriously excited about. I've got some neat things planned...like learning the Braille alphabet, having a "blind snack", and other things.


((Meredith if you're reading...I am so happy that I made your ovaries quiver!!! Little Violet may be speaking from the womb!! For future reference, it's "Frosted Berry" paint that you'll be needing!! Hehe))

**Oh, Dirty Jobs is on...GOT. TO. GO! If you don't watch Dirty Jobs...well...you should be ashamed.**

It was a loonngg weekend!

Well, the great room swap has occured. Who knew I could swap 2 entire rooms AND 2 entire closets (YIKES) in one day?! HGTV called. They want to hire me. HA!
The boys are now in the bigger room (sniff, sniff...poor Soph), and Sophy is happy as a clam in her newly painted, extremely bright, pink room. The curtains are on their way, thanks to Ebay. I'm on the lookout for the perfect curtain rod that I have envisioned but that probably doesn't exist. Oh well, I'll know it when I see it. I also plan on painting the rod iron head board white once the paint fumes from this weekend die down. Hehe. The picture you see above is of Soph's room as we were reassembling it. Did I mention it's pink? And really, really bright? Yeah. It is.



Can you believe that when I took this pic (just a wee few minutes ago)the room was pitch dark, and Sam was asleep? That's some flash on my new camera! Ha. Looks like high noon in there! I just realized that we need to switch the ceilings fans too. Sam will croak when he realizes that there are butterflies on his ceiling fan!! HAHAHAHAA.

It was Monday today. All. Day. Long. But, it's over and things can calm down anyyyy minute now. I attended a funeral today of a dear, sweet friend (great-aunt of 2 friends). Today was her birthday, and I find that so odd...or fitting? It's not like she died on her birthday, but yet, what a neat, little package her life was. She was 93 years old, and I can only hope that I am as content and happy as person as she was. She never married...maybe that's why. HA! There will be a whole in this world without her, that is for sure. Up until recently, she was still joking that she would still be driving if her niece hadn't sold her car. What a woman.
So, it's about 9:45. I still need to pop over to Shutterfly and make a picture order from our beach/Florida pics before I forget and never remember again, get backpacks and lunch boxes lined up, clothes set out for the kids, my school clothes ironed, and a few chapters read in my latest read, "Under and Alone", by William Queen. It's the story of an undercover ATF agent who infiltrated the motorcycle gang, The Mongols (direct rivals to the Hell's Angels) and the psychological mess he had to pay to do it. It's supposedly an excellent read. I'll let ya know.

I don't care what you say! It's still summer.....

School may have started, but it's still summer! We set out to prove that today. Mr. GP had a meeting with a potential bride (for portraits, he's not looking for a replacement..hehe), so I took the kids to mil's for the day. It is still hotter than blue blazes (whatever those are, but my grandmother used to say it...so it must mean something), and I can only imagine what our upcoming birthday parties, soccer practices, and other outdoor activities will feel like. Actually, I know what they'll feel like. 105 in the shade. Once we made it home this evening, we ordered pizza and stayed inside. Sophy had missed Princess Snowflake, so she spent the rest of the evening pushing P.S. around the house in her new baby carriage. It's really cute. For some reason, she walks like her legs are broken when she's pushing the baby carriage and tells us that she is "walking like a mommy." It would seem that I need to evaluate the way I walk. And soon.







Jack wrote a letter this evening. It went like this: Dear Astronauts, I wish I had a toy Saturn 5 rocket to play with. Can you mail me one from ebay? I also wish I had a REEL Saturn 5 rocket to ride in. I want you to send one too. I seen you astronauts on tv. You sure go sonic speed real fast. Love, Jackson NASA
HAHAHAHA!! When we were on vacation we took him to an Air Force museum which had a pretty neat gift shop. He picked out several different patches from the space flight missions. I plan on starting him a quilt/throw blanket where we can attach his patches as he gets more of them. Maybe I can get on that before Christmas. HA! Seriously, I'm gonna try.

Sam and I practiced the counting thing tonight. Sam has serious disagreements with whoever is responsible for the whole numerical order placement. #15 is in the wrong place!! As are about 19 other numbers! The kid is insane!!! Seriously, by the time we were finished at the kitchen table tonight, he had it. He really did. I just am not used to Sam's learning style. Sophy and Jack just absorb things. Sophy can count to 100, read, do simple math. Jack could count to 100 by the time he went to kindergarten, could read, etc.
Sam ***COULD*** if he ***WANTED*** to. Oh, yes he could. However, that would involve him doing what you say, not questioning the number system, and not trying to make things into something else! Jack and Sophy are so visual. Sam is more jump in, get your hands dirty, build something and see if it falls down-type of learning. For instance, I printed him a number line from the computer. It was so cool with these little red dots by the numbers. I turned my back for 4 seconds, and he had the stinking paper scraps dangled and braced amongst themselves to make a "Barn." UG!!! The good news is that he can count to 20 now. We're not going past that for a LONG, LONG time. Ha.

And so ends the first week of school....

One week down, 35 more to go. My new group of sixth graders are pretty normal. There are a few that I can, with any certainty, say for sure are droids. I have a supreme and unreal fear of robot overlords. Sometimes, sixth graders look like prime candidates for droids in disguise. If Elvis was an alien, sixth graders must be far, far worse.

It was actually a really low key week. I will go so far as to say it was probably THE most uneventful, first week of school in my 10 years of teaching. Having said that, I'm sure we'll be overtaken by robot overlords next week and all Hades will break loose.
The boys are loving school, so that makes me just about the happiest person on the planet. I was so afraid that Sam would cry and hate school, which in turn would make me cry and hate school. HA. Nope. He absolutely loves his teacher and one classmate in particular named Muffin.

Mr GP has family portraits this weekend, and I have a baby shower to attend for a former student of mine. She had her first baby at 15. Babies #2 and #3 are due any day now (yeah, twins). She'll be 17 soon. She sort of grew on me during her middle school years, and I've tried to be there for her as much as possible. She doesn't have much, but she has a HUGE family. I know they'll be helping her a lot, so that makes me feel better. She asked me to take her to get an abortion (WHAT??) when she found out she was pregnant this time, and I told her no. She called me this evening to thank me for talking her out of it. Poor kid. Can you imagine? 3 kids less than a year apart? Oy. So, I'll be going to the baby shower tomorrow. I'll be the only non-Spanish speaker there. Could be interesting!!!! Her family has always been very warm and welcoming to me, so I'm not worried about that. I'm sure we'll have some good laughs.
Hhmmm. Oh yes, we'll be starting soccer next week. Originally, I had planned for all 3 to play this year. I think, however, that the boys will play while Sophy takes dance. We'll see.
Better run. We're having movie night tonight to celebrate our first week of school (being over...haha!) Gotta go make popcorn!!
Later~

ERICA!!

I just found a t-shirt on ebay with Jack Tripper on the front???!! You need one! HAHA. SSQQUUEAALLL!!!I just had to share that with you! I better run. My other boyfriend, Mike Rowe (on Dirty Jobs), is waiting for me on Tivo! I'll always love Jack, but...well, do you watch Dirty Jobs? Mike Rowe is hot. Plus, I love the show. Ok, ok. I'm addicted to the show. Sort of like those little, white powder-y donuts, but that is another story entirely!

Words of Wisdom

We're back at school as of Monday. I thought I'd pass along some words of wisdom as told by Jack, Sam, and Sophy thus far in our first week of higher learning.
Jack:
(When asked what he liked most about second grade....long pause for thought, and then) "Well, Mom. Actually. I don't like too much about second grade yet."
In Jack language that is code for, "They made me work, pay attention, and not watch television." Ha. He did tell us last night that a little girl had "a surprise" for him that she planned to give him "tomorrow." We were at the supper table, and I promise, Daddy and Mama BOTH stopped chewing. As far as I know, he didn't come home with any surprises today. Yikes.

Sam:
(In the car on the way home after the first day) "Mom! Guess what?!!! I pooted today, and the teacher didn't hear me!" (Followed by) "Man. Our school has the coolest bathroom. It's just a lovely place. What does lovely mean? Does lovely mean good? Ok. Then it's lovely." (Followed by) "Mama, there was no school when you were a little girl because that was a way long time ago?" Sigh.

Sophy:
(On being left-behind with her Mimi, while everyone else goes to Big School)..."((Lloonngg ssiigghh.)) Well, Mimi. I guess you'll just get to be my fat, old teacher." This made me laugh realllly hard. Maybe Mimi wasn't laughing as much.

At the carwash

The kids were washing the car this evening while I continued on my back to school cleaning frenzy. Everytime I looked out the window, Sam was chasing someone new with the hose. Jack, Sophy, Mr. GP, passing motorists...sigh. I guess it's better than the time he set up a road block on our street and demanded identification from every driver that stopped and shouting derogatory remarks to the ones who wouldn't stop. Choose your battles. That's what they say, right? Right?



Thank goodness we did create one child who likes to keep things running smooth and organized. Poor kid, he has his work cut out for him. Having Sam and Sophy for siblings will be awesome training for ANYTHING Jack chooses to do in his adult/professional life. See how well he points? He gets that from me! Too many chiefs and not enough indians in this household, for sure!









Not that Sophy attempts to do manual labor. She mainly just shows up to wear a bathing suit, play in the suds, and look cute. Although her daddy did persuade her to scrub a tire or two, albeit not very willingly. Not long after the carwashing started, she came inside and asked me if she could take a bubble bath. She gets that from me. Truly, I passed on all my best traits. HA~

Where I ramble on and on about the garden...

Sophy has really let the garden go to pot. HA! I wish I could blame Soph. Maybe I can blame the garden fairies that she claims live in our secret garden. One thing is for sure, it's no secret that our garden is a mess. The entire front half is one big weed!! EMBARRASSING!!! Luckily, there are still nice views on the walk through. It's just been so hot, as if that is any kind of excuse. After all, it's a garden. I knew it would be outside when I started the blasted thing. Really, April-June, I'm fine. July and August, well....we tend to let it grow with wild abandon. I'll brave the weeds sometime mid-September to give it one last punch before the end of the season. After that, we'll turn loose Sam and his chopper and start cutting back for winter. I'll try to get a pic of "Garden Kitty" the next time he visits. I have no idea whose cat he actually is, but he stops by every evening and waits for me in the garden. He's the prettiest silver cat, and he's awfully sweet considering how Sam has tortured him with the water hose. He returns faithfully, so he must like us a little bit. I think he likes eating my butterflies. It's doubtful that I could get a picture of the green, grass snake that we see fairly often in the garden. I swear it's the same one, but MR. GP says he rather doubts it's the same one. I don't think it's the one that Sophy caught and brought to me last year. That fellow was black with yellow stripes. And then he accidentally died. On purpose.
Last post for the day, I promise.

Love

Here we have a portrait where my children are all blissfully in love with one another. Ahem. Right. Regardless of the truth, it appears that they can stand each other. For that, I am thankful!






Of course, the love in this pic is the real kind, not the pretend kind!







More love for Daddy and the guys! I can't believe how big they look in this pic! It was so hot! Can you tell?

Behold, The Second Grader!

We are at T minus 4 days and counting. The final countdown to school is officially under the 5 day mark. YIKES! We won't even get into how THIS teacher feels about the end of summer. What we will get into is how hard it is for me to realize that my oldest child will be in second grade. Wasn't he just 4 years old? What happened?
Strangely, you'd think I was freaking out that Sam, the red monster, is going to kindergarten. I am excited beyond words about Sam's big day,as well as anxious, nervous, and thrilled. All of that doesn't compare to the shock and, yes, awe of having a second grader. Old ladies have second graders. Really old ladies. Ahem.

Perhaps it has to do with birth order, but Jack's life always seems to be passing me by at warp speed. Or maybe it's because Sam and Sophy seem like twins, so they consume my mental energy only for me to wake up in spurts and realize that Jack has grown, changed, etc. No, I honestly think that Jack has tapped some secret time code and has acquired the ability to fast forward his life whenever he feels necessary. Jack has powers!!

Some days I really feel like I am in a strange Star Trek episode with Jack (remember the one with the little, rainbow furry things that kept multiplying? I digress.) It's like he went to kindergarten so fast (maybe he has an inside contact with Mr. Scotty? Captain Kirk?) Then before I knew it, he was six...then 7...then 8. Sam, on the other hand, seems as if he should've been in kindergarten years ago, for reasons I can not explain. Again, all I can attribute this phenomenon to is Jack's time travel abilities. You may recall he once jumped through our living room window in an attempt to "jump to the future." We had been watching Back To The Future. Snicker, snicker.

SECOND GRADE.
Oh my stars.
Will I ever not feel old when he reaches all of our family's first childhood milestones?

Baby

To anyone outside the family, this might look like a sad excuse for a little girl's treasure. Some might even say it holds an uncanny resemblance to a potato. At our house, Baby has a special place in our hearts. Sophy rescued Baby from a lonely existance at a local antique shop. As we passed the doll bed where Baby was sleeping one morning in a quiet antique store, Sophy let out a gasp and grabbed sweet Baby and began to hug her as if they had known each other before. I tried to encourage her to leave Baby in the doll bed where she would be safe and warm(after all, she DID look like a potato.)
But no, Sophy would have none of it. She wrapped her in a hug and whispered to her, "I'm so sorry Baby. I'm so sorry." Sophy, with tears in her eyes, (yes, this was as dramatic a scene in the store as I am relaying to you right now) begged her daddy to let her buy Baby for the low, low price of $4.99. Daddy, without a sentimental dolly bone in his body, almost passed into convulsions. He would not pay for Baby, he said. Baby must stay at the store. He took Baby from Sophy and put her back in her quiet, little doll bed in the back corner of the antique store. All the while, Sophy cries, "I'm sorry Baby. I can help you. I can help you."
It was heart breaking. I couldn't take any more and became very persuasive to the father of our clan, who in turn, decided that maybe Baby *did* need to come home with us after all. Maybe, just maybe, she really was worthy of her low, low price of $4.99. We mommies can be so convincing, can't we?
Baby has been a princess. Baby has been a baby, a friend, and a traveling companion. She has dried tears, eaten peas, and played hide and seek. Baby has had her head sewed up once, her arm sewn on once, and a leg seam reinforced. She is no potato! Though she has no face, fingers, or toes, she is our BABY!!

As a reading teacher, I feel qualified to give any one reading this a homework assignment. Read the book: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo. The adult in you will balk at the assignment. I understand that. However, you will thank me when you finish the book. I am certain of that. It's the best story I've ever read. There may be books around that are more philosophical (maybe not), but you'll not find a better "story" anywhere. If you have children who will be old enough soon to be read to, buy the book. You'll thank me, and you're welcome. READ THE BOOK, and you might just think of Baby.

Cake.

The kids are going down for the night, and I thought I would update while I have a little computer time. (I know what you mean Erica about one child being 'cake.' HA! Just read that...) We've hit the same milestones for what, 5...6 years now? DH and I recently had almost the same conversation about realizing how different our lives (and children) are now that the kids are getting older. Almost everyone we know, from friends to family, has a 0-18 month old child, a 2 year old, or all of the above. Our friends recently had their third child, and after visiting with them in the hospital, we came away waving our hands in the air and shouting HIP HIP HOORAY for us. Not that babies aren't a sweet blessing, and not that we haven't loved every one God gave us, but it's so odd to see people knee-deep in the baby trenches. Knee deep and you're not. It's odd, but not a bad sort of odd. Maybe it's just that our life now is so stark in comparison to our life 1 to 2 years ago.
5 years ago, almost 6, Jack was 3 and a half, Sam was not yet 13 months old, when Sophy made her appearance. 2 babies, that was cake. Throw in a third, not quite a year after the second, and things just sort of exploded after that. There were people in our lives that were so unrelenting of what they expected from us. I look back at that time now and think, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? How did they even expect us to have laces tied and button holes matching? Seriously. I mean, at the time that you're in the trenches, you're just on auto pilot. You just go from one butt to the next. One bottle to the next. One sippy cup to the next. One bed to the next. One foot in front of the other. I know not everyone who has 2 or 3 kids has such the hairy life as we did. Three kids spaced apart may be easy as pie. I dunno. I didn't flip that coin. I got the coin that had three heads,and they all pooped, ate, puked and pee'd at the same time. HA!
Still, it's all so tedious. Measure this. How many poops? What color is the poop? Man, we just don't do that anymore. Don't get me wrong. Our poop was blue last week, but it was from a package of gummy fruit, and we moved on. Yeah, I'm with you Erica. It's all cake now. And I love me some cake! We made it out friend! Onto new the new frontier. Big Kids. YIKES!! ((For instance, today. Sophy tells us after church--with a huge grin on her face, "Mom. Tucker was kissing me at church." Yeah. Her daddy almost flipped his lid. I had to remind him that Tucker is 4, and that Sophy DID say she hit him with a truck after he kissed her....Big Kids. Oy. Maybe I want to trade my cake for...pie? A cookie??))

Favorite Thing

I wanted to share a pic of one of my vintage hand mirrors. This is my latest ebay find, so it's my favorite for a while. I have 9 or 10 on the walls in our hall bathroom, all of different shapes, sizes, etc. I'd love to eventually have the walls of the bathroom covered in mirrors. Another excuse to lurk around on ebay. HA!

Emergency Visit #5...or maybe 6.

Sam slipped while entering the pool last night at Uncle Michael's house. He fell back and whacked the back of his head on the side of the pool (which just happens to be edged in river rock. Ouch.) Mr. GP made it to him immediately and fished him out of the water. By the time we had his feet on the ground, he was covered in blood and looked like something out of the movie Carrie. Head wounds bleed so profusely, plus he was wet. In retrospect, it's kinda funny. He really looked like something out of a horror movie. He had blood running in his face to the point that he couldn't open his eyes (yes, the gash was on the back of his head.) His entire torso and back were covered in blood. The cousins/sibings were all screaming/fretting almost as bad as Sam. Jack, on the other hand, ambles over to check out the scene and goes, "We get to keep swimming, right Mom? We're not leaving are we?" Sort of amusing, since his brother was covered in blood.

Being our 4th such head injury, I knew immediately that he would need several stitches or staples. Mr. GP adamantly opposed a trip to the ER. "It'll close up on it's own." Uhm. Ok. Men (rolling my eyes!)
I left immediately to take him to the hospital. The little red monster had intermittent bouts of bravery, occassionally pausing to whimper (or whail) "But I want to keep my old head. I like the one I've got. I don't need a new brain."
Sigh.
Our E.R. visit is another entry in itself (scarey, scarey people--the person in the adjoining room separated by a curtain was having some sort of Meth meltdown. Yay!) Anyhoo. Long story made a little shorter, Sam is the happy recipient of 2 staples in his head. I was so proud of him. The other time he had stitches involved 4 nurses, a large doctor and myself trying to restrain him, he was put in one of the pediatriac papoose, straight jackets, which he levitated out of 3 different times, and we were told never to come back to that branch of Quik Care again, etc.

While we waited on the doc this time, we talked about it hurting and how he was just going to have to "take it." When the the time came, they cleaned the wound. Then they opened up the wound and made 3 injections of numbing medicine INTO the hole that nearly sent him over the edge. Bless his heart, he just laid there on his tummy, face down and took it like a man (while screaming like someone off of Braveheart.) The stapling occured immediately after the numbing injections (which apparently hadn't kicked in yet.) Yep. More blood curdling screams, but he laid there like a soldier and squeezed my hand in two. I was so proud of him. When it was all over he shook the doctor's hand and told him, "Thanks for not letting my brains fall out."

Build-A-Bear...er, cat..uh, mermaid.

After several months of begging every day to go Build-A-Bear, Sophy finally got her wish. Aunt Jewel took her today, and she was so excited. She chose a sassy, white cat and named her Princess Snowflake. Of all the possible outfit choices, she came home with a mermaid costume and a hula outfit (which has a coconut shell bikini top...too cute--seen here wearing her mermaid costume!) She hasn't turned loose of Princess Snowflake since she got home. Thanks Aunt Jewel!

Thought I'd share a pic of our dear, sweet Pongo, aka Sweet Pea, Peepee, and Pongo the Wonder Mutt. We keep his hair cut pretty close these days, but I really think he is much cuter when he's a big hair ball. Mr. GP doesn't agree, so the hair gets cut pretty regularly. Pongo is our resident 2 year old complete with pouting spells, hiding when he is in trouble, hiding the kids toys from them, crying, fighting with the kids, etc. Sometimes we're really freaked out by how human his emotions are.


Well, we're off to go swimming and eat pizza. Later taters!


((Can anyone tell me how to add pictures in the middle of your post? somehow mine always add to the top of the entry?))

Hey, Teacher. Leave them kids alone.

Sam and Pink Floyd have a lot in common. In a little more than a week, he'll be starting kindergarten (Sam, that is, not Pink Floyd. I mean, as far as I know.) Not that Sam WANTS to go to school. He insists that he has, "already learned everything I need to know." We're still working on the building up of enthusiasm, although it's not really working. Not long ago, I spent a morning at the kitchen table trying to encourage him in his letter writing/recognition, etc. He refused to cooperate. Finally, he tells me that he "already learned to talk" and that was enough for him. HAHAHAA. If that was our only goal in life, we'd all be alright.
Sorry, Boss. Can't do nothing else. See, learning to talk really took it out of me.

Bad hair. Bad.

(Edited to say: I do not have a mullet. My hair is tucked behind my ears. Whew, I feel better now that you know that.)
I wanted to post a pic of me and Mr. Pinkie (boy, would he hate that name if he knew I was using it!! HAHAHHAA) from the trip. Jack actually snapped this pic at the aquarium. He did a pretty good job! My hair is doing something really freaky these days, but you may sleep better tonight knowing that I have a hair appt. in a matter of weeks where my head will be stripped of most of it's hairs. Is hairs a word? Hhhmmmm. Anywho, tropical/beach conditions + my hair = disaster. Keep that in mind.

Random thought: Sophy had speech this morning, so I took advantage of the fact that the boys were with my mom and went to Walmart. Grocery shopping with 3 kids is not my idea of a good time. At least now, they are mobile. When Jack was 3.5, Sam was 1 and Sophy was a newborn, grocery shopping alone was right up there with root canals and pap smearing. Anywho, $189 worth of "groceries" isn't a bad haul. I actually got the fixings for a taco salad, spinach/feta tortellini, and chocolate cupcakes (per Sam's request.) Of course, the school supply shopping never ends. Just when I think I have it all, I remember something else that I forgot to buy.

Random thought: My latest tea fix is Black Negrili from www.stashtea.com. I really like the flavor of the tea once you add a splash of milk. Once upon a time, I wouldn't have dreamed of drinking milk in my tea. Now, I can't live without it. If you like tea, try Black Negrili.


Back to the hair. If you've seen French Kiss (I have not) with Meg Ryan, that is the hairstyle that I'm after, or so I'm told. I've not seen the movie. (Edited to say: Maybe it wasn't French Kiss. Anywho, it's Meg Ryan with short, straight, choppy, messed up hair.)
I'm thinking it should work well for me since I have enough hair to populate a small village. Maybe even a medium sized one. If I look good after the cut, I'll post a pic. If I'm ugly, you won't see a thing.

Ta!

Dear Elaina,

If you are reading this journal and like the pretty pink flowers, the nice categories, the cute little guestbook link at the bottom, etc., then you must send a sweet note of thanks to dear, sweet Elaina. You may not know her, but you wish you did. Trust me!!
Thank you for helping me...(even though I know you were laughing at your monitor at my ignorance..it's ok. I can take it.)
:-))
Muchas Muchas.

Am I smart? Am I? Am I?

Does anyone see where you can comment? Did I do it right?