Camping Shots

Happy, happy girl!



This rock shelf was so cool. It was so smooth and large enough that the kids could have a shallow splashing area. Sophy was singing, "I believe I can fly..." while Jack pretended to do just that.

We visited a cavern near our camping site. It was a really interesting stop. Sophy, upon realizing how oozy, drippy, dirty, and "icky" the belly of the cavern was, immediately began asking to go shop for jewelry in the cavern gift shop where they had tons of stones and silver jewelry. She bought some dragonfly earrings, a necklace with a dolphin flipper pendant, and an elephant for her elephant collection chiseled out of green agate...or some such rock-mineral-thingy.

Our tour guide girl was so obnoxious. Y'all. Words can not express how spoofable this chic was. She was an episode of Saturday Night Live WAITING to happen. By the end of the hour and a half long tour, I had almost chewed through my tongue in an effort to not guffaw in her presence. She was hilarious, and she didn't even know it. Jack, ever the science nerd, looked at her all googley-eyed and breathless and said, "Wow. You're so smart."


I love this shot of the guys fishing.

Things I learned while camping with my family.

The Pinkies just returned from a camping trip with the Gramps Pinkies, the cousin Pinkies, the Auntie/Uncle Pinkies, etc. We had a super-terrific time, and I hope to share some photos in the days ahead. For now, I'd like to sum up some of the things that were affirmed for me on this trip.
1. I hate camping.
2. There are times when you just need to be $@#$@# to someone.
3. I don't want boob implants.
4. Your period is still your period (only magnified) in the woods.
5. My dad is like a really old child. Bless my poor Mama's heart.
6. Someone with more authority than myself needs to revoke my husband's driver's license. And fishing license.
7. Television matters. I don't care what anyone says. I want it and lots of it.
8. Migraines are for my brain what viruses are for my children. They only show up on vacations or school holidays.
9. No matter how hard I try, I will always be phobic about not being able to see my feet while standing in cloudy water. End of story.
10. I am thankful I have my dad's sweat glands instead of my mother's. She sweats like a 400 pound lumberjack on crack.
11. Texas is truly the hottest planet in the solar system.
12. When a sign says HIGH WATER, do NOT attempt to drive past it.
13. Sometimes something that looks like a snake is actually a very large stick placed by your 6 year old to frighten you. Ahem.
14. I hate camping.
15. My husband has no qualms about stealing a coffee cup from a Hilton hotel. (Yes, we stayed at a Hilton on our way home from camping. So shoot me. Free Paris.)
16. Me and my siblings are slowly morphing into our parents. Which is odd because our children are slowly morphing into versions of our young selves. QUANTUM LEAP! Remember that show?
17. S'mores should be renamed S'Messy.
18. Mud is mud no matter where you are.
19. Nike soles are no match for a campfire.
20. Bear Grylles is an inspiring fellow. I dedicate every adventurous moment from my week to him, including this one that involved a trek through waist deep, CLOUDY river water. OMG.

The secret is out.

The secret is out. I have four children instead of 3, and one of them is extremely overgrown.

Nice day for a crawfish boil.

We skipped on over to our neighbor's house today for their annual crawfish boil. I'm sure their "party" will rage way into the late hours, but Mr. Pinkie has a wedding to shoot this evening, so we made it for the early afternoon swim/crawfish eating. As one lady at the party said, "I have a hard time eating anything that resembles it's carcass." Yeah! That sums it up nicely for me. I don't do mudbugs, but Mr.Pinkie loves them a lot, so he was a happy guy. The kids ate burgers and swam for hours before we had to leave. Sophy and a little girl at the party couldn't stand the thought of the crawfish being eaten, so they rescued several of them and put them in the pool. Now, our neighbor's pool is a saltwater filtration system, so I'm sure the saltwater was less than pleasant for them. I mean, I don't know that it was unpleasant. The crawfish didn't mention any specific discomforts, after all. Here is Soph with her favorite of the bunch. She named it Shelly. Those little boogers were quite ferocious, so the boys wouldn't pick them up. Sophy wagged hers around for hours before he scampered away, and she lost sight of him. He was probably hiding behind a shrub, panting.



One would've thought that our children were deprived souls judging by the way they reacted to getting in a pool for the first time this season. It was almost embarrassing. They had a really good time. Duh.

So far on Saturday...

Mr. Pinkie had a family shoot today, so once again he has sprung free into the world while our beautiful children and I attempt to coexist peacefully on a Saturday morning. It's not working so much today.
Jackson tried to stuff the cat into the window seat storage in the bedroom at which time our, typically, laidback kitty cat became possessed by something supernatural and frightening. Jack bled.
Sam dressed himself, involuntarily, as we're working on the finer points of being a six year old. Today's lesson being: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE YOUR CLOTHES AND DRESS YOURSELF BY NOW WITHOUT WHINING/CRYING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO HELP YOU BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU TOO TIRED TO DO IT FOR YOURSELF. So, that was a fiasco. He did end up dressing himself in a church shirt, undershirt, camo shorts belonging to his brother and 3 sizes too large, and a belt to cinch it all up with the shirt tucked in and the shorts pulled up under his chin. Prior to this episode he had already constructed a 3-story zoo with Lincoln Logs for his sister's Pet Shop animals to live in. At some point there were artistic differences on the design of the building of the rabbit pen, and Sophy took her animals and went home. Now the Lincoln Log zoo stands like Mayan ruins in the boy's bedroom.
Sophy disappeared into the treehouse very early this morning, clad only in her pink duckie nightgown and bare feet, where she found the cowbell that Sam had placed up there as an "alien alarm" and proceeded to alert the neighboring homes of an alien invasion of epic proportions. My attempt to have a meaningful discussion on why we do not ring the cowbell so early in the morning earned me a "whatever" from my 5 year old. Which earned my 5 year old a very warm sensation on her backside. Which earned me a nice 2-3 minutes of Sophy crying/holding her breath/almost passing out. Shortly thereafter, Sophy was using a mechanical grabber toy as a crutch and pretending to limp while saying, "Mom. I think you broke my butt. Can you call the ambulance?" She still has her makeshift crutch as I type and has added her neck and ankle to her "broken" list. Drama? What drama?
A few minutes ago I came upon an illegal scam going operation that involved Sam taking toys that belong to his brother and trying to sell them BACK to his brother. Who they already belonged to. Sadly, Jack had his money box down and was attempting to "make a deal" with his brother to "buy back" his belongings. Needless to say, we had a fairly lengthy discussion on when and when NOT to make a deal with someone, selling things illegally, and smart money matters.
All of this before 9:30. I bet somewhere in this world there are people still sleeping.
Now. If you'll excuse me. I hear the Wonder Pets are coming on. I happen to love me some Wonder Pets like nobody's business. That Ming-Ming. That duck is something else.

The Free Kool Aid Campaign

On Mother's Day, Sam decided it was time he exercise his right to free enterprise. While the kool aid was free and lukewarm, he did earn $2 from some of his more sympathetic customers. The afternoon was not without heartbreak. Sam had to exercise his more elusive right to PATIENCE. After some shouting and fist waving at passers by, he finally settled into a more patient frame of mind. Here you see him contemplating his lack of customerage.

It boggles the mind. It really does.

1. Why do they only put pull-top cans on Spaghettios and Raviolis? Ya know? Would it kill Mr. Del Monte to put a pull top on ALL of his vegetable cans as well?
2. Would it be impossible to make a pizza box round? Think of the wasted cardboard/paper products that are being wasted in the unused corners.
3. Why are sanitary napkin/pads referred to as "pads?" Isn't that a weird thing to call something that you stick in your drahs?
4. Why do people continually call "alzheimers" the less correct term, "altheimers?"
5. Is Tweety bird a boy or a girl? I need to know.
6. Why must I have more body hair per square inch than my husband? Ok, maybe I exaggerate, maybe I don't.
7. What is it about body odor that makes the offending person's armpit stench undetected by their own nostrils?
8. Who invented the egg toss? And why?
9. Why will hair grow on the ears of a really old man, but not on top of his head?
10. Vienna sausages. Were they invented there?
Just some things I've wondered about today.

Crazy!

Wow, has life been crazy lately?! I don't even know where to start. First of all, I'm going to be making this blog an "invitation only" blog. You'll have to sign with a google account before you can read. I know it's an extra step, but I think it's what I want to do for now! Email me and let me know if you're interested!

The kids have so much going on at school, and I am knee-deep in class party planning, awards ceremonies, teacher gifts, field days, kindergarten graduations, etc. Sam will be GRADUATING from kindergarten next Wednesday, and we're having an ice cream sundae party for his class on Tuesday. Jack will have an award's ceremony next Thursday, and we'll all be finished with school a week from tomorrow. CAN IT BE TRUE? Oh, it better be true.

Did I mention that I enrolled Sophy in kindergarten last week? Oy!

Meanwhile, I am also neck-deep at my own school with class parties, 8th grade graduation, awards ceremonies, field day, etc. I must say that I enjoy all of the above mentioned activities much more when my own children are participating. Tomorrow is 6th grade field day. JOY! Some time next week, I'll be attending 8th grade graduation and high school graduation to see my former students graduate/be clean/dressed up. We finally have our state test results, and my students did very well! Superbly well, actually. I was beyond proud of them.

I'll update soon about our upcoming trips, events. Plus, I want to take some time to gripe about Survivor and lament over Lost.

Vanderbilt?

Just curious as to who is reading my blog with an IP address from Vanderbilt University? Inquiring minds want to know!

Tree House Party! Yipeee!

(If your kids watch Noggin, you're familiar with DANCE PARTY! YIPPEEE! Well, at least if you watch Jack's Big Music Show. Moving on...)
Here are a few pics from our Tree House Open House that we had Saturday night. We invited mostly family and a few friends to come celebrate the official completion of TGTHEB '07. The kids had a ball!

Blog Tag

OneCoolMama tagged me for this one, so I hold her responsible for the atrocities you are about to behold. Hehe!

I rarely, rarely carry a purse. When shopping (be it for survival, sport, or leisure,) I carry my ID and debit card in my pocket. I've been that way my whole life. However, certain outings with my children necessitate a bag. Hallelujah that we are beyond the diaper bag days. Never fear! I did my time, we're just beyond that now! YAY!
Here you have:
A pink leather checkbook
Box of matches (no, I do not smoke)
GasX (yes, I do have gas/bloating)
Various writing utensils (pencils, crayons, pens)
M&M's (plain-half eaten bag)
Pink leather Bible
Spongebob Yoyo
Curious George
Bracelet
Pink, sparkly lip gloss
Cinnamon Altoids
Littlest Pet Shop digital game
$2.46 in change
Pocket knife in decorated case
A very smushed package of Kleenex
Hot Wheels Corvette (yellow)

I do not know how to do that cute little linky thing, but I tag Sarah, Elaina and EJo!

Climbing the walls.

She climbed out of her walker when she was 7 months old, out of her play pen when she was 8 months old, and out of her crib when she was almost 10 months old. When she was just over a year old, she climbed to the top bunk of her brother's bunk beds...without the ladder. Needless to say, in the photo, she was being "a spider named Charlotte." And you thought she was being another poisonous tree frog....

Dear Folks at the International School of London

Ahem.
I do apologize profusely for the traumatic experience I must have inadvertently caused you regarding the Daily family's recent tree frog attack. I was under the impression that about 3 (possibly 4) humans visited this blog. I'm unsure of your numbers, but however many of you there are, I do sincerely regret having potentially scarred you. I can only hope that you will recover from the pain you must have to overcome from visualizing a poor, pitiful 6th grade teacher/mommy of three dance around nakey while warding off a tree frog.
So. Have a great week. Again, my condolences. Uhm, thank you for stopping by. I hope to put forth a better representation of myself in the near future (but don't count on it, okay?) Teehee.
((I'm secretly having a crush on all of you because you talk so darned cool!! I LOVE YOU ALL even though I don't know you from Adam.))
By y'all and yeehaw!
GardenPinkie in Texas

Nudity + Tree Frog = Unhappy Mommy

Here is where I breathe a sigh of relief at the fact that a whole 3 people read my blog (please Dear Lord, let there be only 3...) Apologies to the three of you. I think you'll find it interesting, if nothing else.

Picture, if you will, a naked woman (while you're at it, visualize a nice body..k?) It's 6:00 AM. Her eyes are still fused shut, and she is running her bath water in hopes that the steam will unfuse them.

As she prepares to take the her seat on 'the throne,' her red headed child (who is also naked..it's how we roll in the morning) screams, "MOM! NO!" She tells him, "Hey. Listen, kid. You've been in here long enough. You've had your chance to pee. You'll just have to stand still and get back in line."
Red head, even more frantic than before, screams, "WAIT! MOM! DON'T SIT DOWN!" He lunges. Clasps his pudgy little fingers around something rather wriggly. His mother, becoming slightly uneasy, backs up. Red head giggles while something green FLIES about 3 feet across the room and sticks to the wall.

His mother screams for a weapon. Something. Anything to squash this CREATURE that is flinging himself from one side of the bathroom to another. Red head is giggling with sweet abandon. The father of the home rushes to the aid of his young bride, sees her standing in her birthday armor, dodges the latest spirited leap of Mr. Frog, and begins hooting.
Did he help her?
No.
He's laughing like a wild hyena on crack.

Mr. Frog knows who his intended victim is because she's screaming like a KMART shopper on the day after Christmas. What does Mr. Frog do? Lunges. Lunges at his poor victim. He aims. Misses. Repeatedly, he launches himself like a ballistic missile, while red head happily tries to capture him. In the meantime, his mother flails, flaps, screams, darts, dodges, slaps, hops, jumps (nice visuals, huh?), crows, stands on the toilet, and threatens said creature with every torture known to man. Red head finds this all thoroughly entertaining. Mr. Frog continues to bounce from wall-to-floor-to-wall, and in what seemed like an eternity but only turned out to be about 65 seconds, the entire family bonded.
You'd not be surprised to guess that everyone left the situation with a different feeling. Father and son high-fived and snorted in a fit of laughter as they retreated down the hall with Mr. Frog in tow. Mr. Frog, by this time, was feeling rather like a failure since he didn't get to mortally wound his screaming victim. Sweet daughter shows up to stroke her mother's hand and coo at her (with a very noticeable smile in her eye), "Don't worry, Mom. Daddy took him away."

Fantasy Island

Sometimes I wonder just how much creativity and pretending is normal for a child. I mean, Sophy is ALWAYS being some kind of animal, fairy, etc. I'll say, "Sophy! Time for supper!" To which Sophy will respond, "I'm not Sophy! Call me Snowball! Meow. Meow." This usually extends to her calling me a character as well. Last night, she was Elina (Fairytopia) and I was Lumina. ALL evening. Do you suppose this is normal? I should tell you that when she is a kitten, she WILL lick you. Maybe I should start saving my money for therapy? Oh. In the picture above, she was being a "very poisonous tree frog."
((BTW. Fantasy Island. My favorite show of all time...second only (E. JO!) to Three's Company.)

The Garden of Pinkie

((What am I doing blathering on and on when there is American Idol Tivo'ing? Typing fast....))
It's a bit early yet, but maybe you get the idea. Any significant patch of dirt that you see is loaded with zinnia seeds. I also have some Honey Bear sunflowers planted around my fence edges in certain places. They need to hurry up and grow, so I can see them and kiss their faces. Sigh...I have kicked around making this garden a tad larger, but our North yard is next on the outdoor project list (I may get the gazebo I've always wanted!) Alas, the larger garden may have to wait a season. Or three.

Mr. Pinkie calls it annoying, but I name all of my plants. Well, the ones that choose to live. The giant Knockout rose that you see there is Rosie NotDonell. She blooms all year long, and she responds very well to a severe pruning whenever I dish one out. I love her for that. The dirt around it is covered in zinnia seeds right now. Last year, my zinnias were about 4 feet tall and gorgeous. Thank you Miracle Grow! (The kind in the bottle that looks like 7UP that you attach to your water hose, in case you wanted to know.)

This is the back side of the garden. There are cannas coming up in the center there with some Creeping Something or Other underneath it that has the most beautiful, tiny blue flowers in early February. I also have more zinnias and cosmos planted in the spare dirt in this area. Along the back fence, I have my Honey Bears planted. Kiss, kiss.

Look at this face. This Rosita Fresita. Which is, I believe, Spanish for Strawberry Shortcake. Sophy named her, and I'm not kidding about that.

Can you believe these Purple Wave petunias lived through the winter and came back this thick? I'm just saying...buy some Miracle Grow.

All of the monkey grass you see here came from this yard. I just keep dividing and dividing and dividing and dividing....Anyone need some monkey grass? Look way in the back and you can see the Mexican Feather grass that is growing everywhere. I guess it must seed profusely...

This has nothing to do with the garden, but I thought it was a pretty pic of the front porch area.

Sam would like to know....

The following is a mere sample of the 101 questions that Sam is likely to ask you on any given day. I try to not grow weary during the inquisitions, but it's so hard. So very, very hard. "Not another question. Do you hear me?" Yes, I've said that to him before.
1. Do bees have boogers?
2. Why do we have hair on our arms?
3. What is that cable called that is up on the electricity pole?
4. Why do we have names?
5. How come they're called 'flowers'?
6. Why did God make the Earth?
7. Can we drink blood like mosquitoes? (This was followed by, "See Jack? I told you!)
8. What happens when you drink milk?
9. Why does poopoo stink?
10. Where does electricity come from?
11. What do they do with all of that trash?
12. Why does water and dirt make mud?
13. Why do we have to sleep?
14. Does Santa Claus feed his reindeer all year long?
15. What makes your breath hot?
16. When are you going to have money?
17. Why do girls look like that?
18. Does the North Pole ever melt?
19. Why can't we make our car run on water?
20. Why is blood red?
See? It goes on and on. Every day. Every. Waking minute. Of his. Day. Natural wonder is a good thing, but SHEESH already!

At the ballet

We saw Cinderella today performed by the Shreveport Metro Ballet downtown on the riverfront. It was a nice little diddy. We went with Grandma Pinkie (mother to Mr. Pinkie), sister of Mr. Pinkie and her daughter who is 9 months younger than Sophy. The girls had a ball (no pun intended.) I have some of the cutest pics known to man that I may or may not have Shutterflied to you if you are reading this, but since Cousin Pinkie is in them I'll not post them here. I try to not post pics of other people's kids unless I can help it. I'm considerate like that.
Here we are posing with Cinderella and looking mighty happy!

Skipping to the theatre...

Showing Cinderella some moves....

Checking out the fountains as we stroll...

Randomness

Is randomness a word? I'm not sure about that. I'm not sure about a lot of things. For instance, why my husband is reading over my shoulder. HELLO! Glad I'm not carrying on a steamy conversation with my boyfriend, Bear Grylles. I'd hate for him know about that. Ahem.
Know what else I don't get? Dave Matthews. What is up with that cat? I just can't like him.
Wanna know who I can like?? Bear Grylles. Wait. Have I said that?

This picture from last summer makes me drool at the thought of a swimming pool and, I don't know, WARM WEATHER! Ug. By the way, that's Sophy Claire surfacing after a stellar dive. In case you've never witnessed it, she's been quite the swimmer since sometime around her birth. Just kidding. It was more like when she was 2. Her nickname is Aqualung. She can swim underwater like a Navy seal (I exaggerate.)


While I'm nostalgating (is that a word?) Here is a pic of Jack learning the butterfly last summer. Isn't that water gorgeous? Sigh......


Since I can't leave out the Red Monster, here is Sam from last summer...sans water. We're pretty excited about the fact that Sam was swimming pretty nicely by summer's end. He's very cautious (go figure) in the water, so his progress has been more tentative than the other two.


Where was I? Oh yes, randomness. I want to get that software (?) that shows you who reads your blog and where they're located, so I can see all 2 of you. AHHAHAA. Seriously, I have this blocked for the most part (I think), so just a random person can't find me without having the link. When I had my journal on another site, I made so many friends all over the US, one in the Netherlands, one in Australia, and a couple in the UK. Now I feel so restricted that I think I have about 2 people who read this. Which is fine. Really. Sniff. PFfft. I try to print out most of my entries pertaining to the kids, but the rest of these wonderful, educational entries are just brain fodder. Bantha poodu. Is that how you spell poodu? I'll have to ask Jabba the next time I see him.

I think I should go read and go to bed. It's ok to be random, but it's time to stop when you start referencing Jabba.

I want to write a romance novel...

but I want to write it under a fakie name. I keep trying to hatch up a name that just smacks of good, old fashioned romance. I dunno...like Kelly Valentine. HAHA. Or...hhm.....Christine Lovejoy. HAHHAHA. Ok. Maybe I won't.