Rub-A-Dub

Abigail enjoyed a nice long bubble bath tonight since her brother went to bed at 5:00. As I type this, both of the babes are sound asleep. I have a feeling it's going to be a long night.

Happy Girl

Let's hope Abigail is this happy all day...

Tony

Donny brought me the camera this morning and asked me to take his picture. When I was finished, he said, "Okay, now send it to Tony." Tony works at the firehouse with Big Daddy and Donny loves him. So Tony, this one's for you.

Once Again

Donny went to bed with a temperature of 102.2 and an extremely swollen gland, so it's off to the doctor in the morning. Longer than two weeks this time, in fact, just about a month to the day.

So Long Sidewalk

Big Daddy relocated the sidewalk today, of course his helper was there every step of the way. Donny calls the new temporary sidewalk his boat. The clock is ticking, how soon before I wipe out? Big Daddy calls me Grace for a reason.

I Waked Up

For the past week or so, Donny has been coming into my room announcing "I WAKED UP." I wouldn't mind so much, however this usually happens between 5:00 and 5:30. He isn't happy until the entire house is awake. Once everyone is up and the coffee is brewing, he sits on the couch and looks like the photo. A couple hours later he starts to complain that he is tired. I am trying to cut out his naps, but he is making the process quite difficult. I thought about locking him in his room, but then he would still wake us by banging on his door until we acknowledged him. I'm looking for a specific clock that turns a different color when it is okay to get out of bed. Maybe I'll tell him that the turkey vultures hang out in the living room until Mommy and Daddy wake up, that will keep him in his room, but then I will have to answer 1000 questions about turkey vultures.

Mr. Sunshine

The rain has been falling for about a week and a half. About two weeks ago, I noticed the neighbors pond was low, no longer the case. I feel as if we are living in Seattle. The sun was actually out for a few hours on Thursday, so I filled the turtle "pool" so Donny could play outside. The color of his skin pretty much sums up the weather. The pools in Ohio have been open since Memorial Day weekend, our pool still hasn't opened. I believe it might open today, if it doesn't rain, but the pool is closed on Mondays and closes for the season on August 14, so if we're lucky we might get there at least once.

The Ricky Saga...

When we walked to the car this morning, we startled the very large turkey vulture that was dining in the yard, if you know what I mean. I think Donny might need counseling because the turkey vulture took off, flew up to the treetop and scared him into silence. He didn't leave my side while we were running our errands. He was afraid the turkey vultures were following us and would carry him away. By the time we returned, there were two more in the yard. At this time, they are circling the house. I may never get him outside again.

Eeewww!

Donny and I stepped off the front porch when he stopped and said, "Mama, I smell cows." Well, I'm here to tell you that stench was not from cows. Remember the really nice neighbor who removed Ricky the raccoon from the yard? He must not have moved Ricky that far, because the stench that has fallen over the entire property is one of death. I was so happy when I saw the sun today, however I have a feeling Mr. Sunshine is making Ricky ripe.

Standing

Today is a big day for Abigail. I put her in the crib for a nap, she grabbed the rail and stood up. Donny and I just looked at her and she smiled. Donny thinks that since she stood for five seconds, she will now run into the living room and play cars with him. He was a bit disappointed when I told him it would be awhile before that happens.

For Nanny...

On the ride to Walmart, Donny asked me if he could play with girl toys. I told him he could and asked if there was a toy he had in mind. He said he would like to get a horse trailer for his pick-up and a Barbie.

How Did This Start?

Why is it that Donny refers to women as someone's wife? Example: "Donny where did you get those bubbles?" "From Mr. Craig's wife." "Her name is Miss Lisa."

"Mommy may I go talk to Jay's wife?" "Donny, her name is Miss Rosa."

Now, you might think he is using the term wife because he can't remember their names, not true. The boy doesn't forget anything. I think Big Daddy needs to have a talk with him if this continues.

Happy Anniversary

Big Daddy and I have been married for five years. I can't believe how quickly time goes by. I was thinking about our wedding weekend last night and had a good laugh when I remembered an incident that happened. My sister went to Lord & Taylor (a department store) to pick up some last minute items. For some reason, whenever the two of us go shopping, we always come home with a story. On this particular day, the rain was coming down in buckets. I told my sister to wait under the awning, she was pregnant and I didn't want her to slip on the way to the car. I pulled the car up to the store and she got in and told me the gentleman standing under the awning wanted a ride to his car.

If you know my sister and I at all, you would know that we have a thing about true crime. We have watched too many Lifetime movies to count and read quite a few true crime books. In fact, our favorite book is Blind Faith, we highly recommend this read, and we refer to the story quite often. Anyway, we start to discuss the danger of taking this passenger to his car. Can we take him if he tries something and so on. We were so involved in our conversation that we didn't notice the man took it upon himself to get in the car. We both looked in the backseat and there he was just waiting for a ride. At this point I couldn't ask him to get out, so I followed his directions to the car. I drove one car passed his and he made me back up. He got out of the car and we just looked at each other and said no one is going to believe us.

It's Only 8:30!

When little Donny crawled in bed with me this raining morning, I thought how nice, we'll just sleep in and cuddle. However, he woke Abigail and fell asleep. On the other hand, Abigail and I were able to watch the 5:30 broadcast of the local news. I never get to see the news. Everything seemed to be going okay, then around 8:30 Big Daddy called from the fire house, you know what that means. As I was on the phone, Ashley was outside on the only grass we have left doing her thing. I noticed that she was walking over to the one area that is muddy, rainy season and all. I was not happy about this because I gave the very neglected, was at one time the number one princess, a bath last night. (I was too tired to even write about that experience. I had a helper.) Anyway, she was acting very weird, nose to the ground and slowly inching forward. I took a closer look and there it was---a large, dead raccoon just lying there on the side of the house.

I stepped outside to chase Ashley away from the racoon. All of the sudden the bathroom screen flew out of the window and landed very close to the racoon. All I heard was the sound of a giggling three year old. I hung up on Big Daddy, put Donny in the naughty spot and grabbed my boots. As I went out, the dog went in and tracked her muddy prints on the floor. I replaced the screen and realized that it was going to be a long day. I just want to know if Kitty was the killer!

Two Letters

I needed to mail two letters at the post office this morning, so I told Donny to get his shoes. He told me he had to wear his boots, so everyone will know he is a firefighter. Boots on and standing at the door and he announces, "I'm going to need panpakes for the ride." I told him we were just going to the post office and would be right back. He wouldn't quit so I gave in and gave him a small container with three pancakes. As I was backing out of the drive, he asked for milk. We are often in the car for long periods of time, so I will usually pack Donny some milk and a snack. Does he think this is an airline? He expects in-flight food and entertainment every time we get in the car.

We finally get to the post office and now he wants to bring his pancakes with him. I agreed because I just want to mail TWO letters. Can we PLEASE go? I put Abigail in the carrier and grab his free hand. Once inside, Donny spots the little bell, "May I ring the bell?" "Yes, you may, but just once." "Okay Mama." DING-DING-DING-DING-DING-DING

The nice postal worker comes around the corner only to have a pancake shoved in her face, "Panpakes! I'm a firefighter." She was very nice and had a small conversation with him while I finish. At this point, there is a elderly gentleman standing behind us and Donny shows him his boots and pancakes. The man tells Donny pancakes will make you fat. I feel the need to explain that I try to make them as healthy as possible, whole wheat flour, green beans and so on. The man looks at me like I'm crazy, point taken.

I have finally finished, pay the postal worker and escort Donny into the double doors. I took my eye off him for one moment and heard him say, "DIRT!" I looked over and he was playing in the little rocks in the ashtray/trashcan with all the cigarette butts. I screamed, "Don't touch! That's dirty!" "I know mama it's dirt." I try to explain that some dirt is dirty than other dirt. I push him and his dirty little hand outside and forbid him to touch another pancake. We are almost to the car when the elderly man walks past us. Donny starts to follow him, "Excuse me sir, will you please take my letter to my Grandpa in Ohio." The man just smiled and laughed. I threw the kids in the car and went home. TWO LETTERS!!!

Ballerina

Donny is mesmerized watching his best friend dance. "Is she a ballerina? She is a pretty princess. Can she show me how she dances sometime?" He tried to have a conversation with her through the computer, however the music was apparently to loud for her to hear him speak to her.

Yard Update

When we bought the house a few years ago, the realtor forgot to mention the rainy season of Dover. I can't believe how much rain we have had in the past week. Even with all the wet weather, Big Daddy is making real progress with the yard. The two of us see things progressing along nicely, our neighbor on the other hand was concerned. He stopped by last night to make sure everything was okay. He happened to be driving by, saw the yard and thought there was a problem. I don't know what he's talking about...

Here I Come.

Look at her! She knows she is one step closer to terrorizing her parents with her big brother. Time to lower the crib, I found her like this the other day. She is now pulling herself up on anything she can get her reach.

Pickles

Aunt Karen and I made a trip to the Farmer's Market over the weekend. We stopped by the very popular pickle man's stand, our mouth's watering the entire time. I brought home a pint of his delicious pickles and they were a bit hit. Donny put his pickle between his pancakes and Abigail just gnawed hers.

What Are You Doing?

Yesterday just after we returned from Larchmont, Donny mumbled to me, "Mama, blah blah blah out back." Then he went out on the deck. I looked out the window to see my son with his pants around his ankles, peeing off the deck and smiling from ear to ear. When I asked him what he was doing, he simply replied, "Peeing Mama."

I'm So Kickcited!

I took the kids to Larchmont today to visit Big Daddy at work and then to Grandma's. Here are a few shots of the little guy with Big Daddy.

Small Miracle

It is 7:00 am and everyone is still asleep, even the dog. I have had two cups of coffee and a shower. Most showers I take when Big Daddy is working, compare to some sort of game show. The object is get through the shower as fast as possible without too much damage to the house. You have no idea what Donny can accomplish in five minutes. I have to wait for Abigail to nap, lock her bedroom door then lock all doors except for Donny's. Give him strict instructions to play nicely in his room, then run to the bathroom, lock the door and GO! The first time I attempted a shower alone, within two minutes Donny was banging on the door, "Mama, I'm gonna need a knife!" Shower over. Not today, still a fast shower, but very quiet. I think it's going to be a good day.

Mama Look At Ashley

I came into the room and found the poor dog sitting like this...

Surprise.

All this time, I thought Big Daddy was grading the property, but he was really putting in a pond.

School's Out.

Today was Donny's last day of school. Unfortunately, the water activities and outdoor picnic were cancelled, but we did have a nice picnic inside. The cold rainy weather lately has been awful. Is summer really here? What happened to global warming?

Donny and Mrs. Matthews (one of his teachers)

Busy Day.

Below is the yard just days ago...

This is the yard today. Big Daddy had a small problem and the backhoe broke down. He spent a large part of the day fixing the problem. It's not really a project until a little helper is involved. He really helps when he walks away with Big Daddy's tools.

When Donny finished helping Big Daddy, he helped me make soft pretzels. The pretzels turned out much better than the first attempt a few months ago, the kitchen however, did not fair as well. Between the flour everywhere and little fingers trying to eat the dough rather than roll long snakes, I was unable to photograph this project. I think it is for the best.

Prunes.

Although her face tells another story, she really likes prunes.

Recent Trip to Walmart.

Donny noticed a gallon of juice on the floor as we passed an aisle. I told him the Walmart man would put the juice in the proper spot. A few minutes later many aisles away, "Mama, I very worried." "Why sweetheart, what is the problem?" "I'm worried someone is going to trip and fall over the juice in the aisle." The juice was soon returned to the proper spot and Donny was quite relieved.

Look At Those Legs.

Am I Being Watched?

***Donny is looking through the hole in the chair.

Is That My Pump?!

I am pretty certain my breast pump wasn't made to fight fires.

Gated Community

Since Abigail is now crawling around the room, we decided it was time to put up the gated community. Within ten minutes, Donny had flipped the gate over, added a room (the box he is sitting in) and made a fort.

Hero

Donny insisted on wearing his fireman coat and hat to the grocery today. One lady said, "Wow, your a hero." Donny replied, "I'm not a hero, I'm a firefighter!" He looked at me like the lady was crazy.

Please Help Me

"Mama, please help me."

"What's the problem?"

"I have a shoe wedgie."

Apparently, a shoe wedgie happens when your sock gets crumpled up inside your shoe.

"Panpakes" Please (Updated Below)

Many children have one food that they want for every meal, Donny's food of the week is pancakes. I was worried about his lack of vegetables so I decided to add them to the batter. I made green bean pancakes using Abigail's baby food. Since I use whole wheat flour, the pancakes weren't really that green and I added a few sprinkles to throw him off the veggie trail. He didn't notice anything different and had four for breakfast and again at lunch. Broccoli pancakes are next.

****UPDATE****

I made the broccoli pancakes tonight. Just so you know, I do not feed Donny pancakes for every meal. He had chicken, broccoli and corn for dinner. He saw the pancakes I was making and had two for dessert. He didn't notice a thing. I did add some baby pears just in case the broccoli was bitter. I am loving this, what can I make next?

Police Blotter

I found this police report on the Larchmont Loop and burnt the inside of my nose with coffee after reading. My first thought, I would be the parent organizing the manhunt to track the guy down.

On The Move.

We're in trouble! Abigail is now able to cross the room quite quickly. Yesterday was her seventh month mark and if she is like her brother, she will be walking in just five months.