Every Morning...

as i walk bean to school...

i see a little boy who wants to be just like his big sister. he brings his own backpack. he holds her hand or sometimes he carries her lunch box for her. and he is always a little disappointed that we don't go in the building.

they are the cutest when we are walking to school. :)

My Weird Kids

this is what was going on in the backseat on the way home from the apple orchard.
i think they were trying to see who could make the best faces... or something.





where did these goofballs come from?? :)

Fifth Annual Apple Pickin' Extravaganza!

yes! it is that time of year again. the leaves are starting to turn, the nights are getting chilly- FALL is in the air! this means it is time for picking apples! hooray!

for the 5th year in a row we headed out to the orchard with mommee and her gang. i can't believe it has been that long, but clearly it has because we have 5 kids between us now. :)

the kids always enjoy picking the apples... um, i mean eating the apples. yeah, that is their favorite part. i don't blame them though, i like to eat them too!

and for the second year in a row we had a child refuse to be in the group picture- sprout i'm looking in your direction. yes, you. sigh. son, you are such a STINKER! ;)

it was a really beautiful day but some how we always manage to pick one of the warmest days to go out to the orchard. that sun was HOT today. but sunny blue skies are good for the soul, so i won't complain too much. ;)

it was another wonderful day with friends. another beautiful day out in nature. another day of fabulous memories.
now, off to make some PIE! mmmmmmmmmmmm, pie. nom, nom, nom! ;)

Unforeseen Issues...

yeah, you all thought i'd forgot about you already, didn't you?! well, i didn't. let's just say that the first week of school didn't go as smoothly as i imagined. oh, don't get me wrong! bean LOVES school! LOVES IT! she has made new friends and everything. and it isn't me either. i kinda like having her gone most of the day. (gosh that sounds horrible! akk!) but it is true. it is peaceful, i can get stuff done, and i appreciate her more when she gets home. soooo, what's the problem? one word- sprout.

sprout has NOT enjoyed having his sister at school. he misses her terribly. he moped around all last week. even looked at me at one point and said "i miss 'bean' all day!" :( he used to play on his own ok but not since bean started school. he follows me from room to room if i'm trying to get something done and when i do try to play with him... well, let's just say that mommy doesn't play the right way. i tried doing special things with him, like going to the wetlands to look for birds...

and letting him have some computer time at the library...

and playing at the playground (the eating snacks at the playground was his favorite part!)...

one day he even decided to take a nap!!!! OMG!!!

but none of those things was quite the same without his sister. well, except the nap thing... OMG, he took a NAP people!!!! i'm sorry, i still can't get over that one. ;)

today was a little better. we kept busy with grocery shopping, taking a walk, playing in the bath tub, watching sesame street, and playing with trio blocks. we made these insect like creatures that we called "battle bugs". they would fight each other until one broke, then mommy would pop it back together. he was having a lot of fun...

he laughed a lot. maybe mommy is finally learning how to play like a kid... or maybe a boy? eh, all i know is today it felt like maybe i finally did something right!

it will probably still be a few more days before he settles in to our new routine completely but i think it is starting to work. here's to more days like today, little man! :)

Kindergarten has begun!

we started off by having a little celebration the night before. kindergarten is special- it deserves cake, right? a cake shaped like a pencil! bean liked the idea. :)

then the next morning she was ready to GO! well, first she wanted me to take her picture... she is quite the posing princess. here is just one of the shots from that little photo shoot! ha!

then we did the traditional posing with my backpack pictures. i'm not sure what that facial expression is about...

she was sweet an happy and ready to go. she kept asking if it was time to leave yet. finally i told her yes and we all hopped in the car. on the way there she said, "mommy, i'm a little bit worried." when i asked her why she said she was afraid that she would miss me! awwwww! :)

when we got there she suckered me into walking her to her classroom- i told her that wouldn't be happening everyday though! she did take the lead... for a couple steps. long enough for me to take this picture.

we went back 6 1/2 hours later to pick her up. she was tired but happy. she said she had been nervous when i left but then it was ok. she had had a good time. she was excited about going back. and that, my friends, makes me very happy! :)

Just a little bit different...

i bet bean's school is different than your kid's school.

why?

they go on several field trips a year to an nature education/adventure training place. this place requires that they have a consent/waiver form on hand for each participant. i filled it out this morning....
i totally just signed a paper that said that i understand the risks involved in this type of educational experience. the risks included "falls, rope burns, pinches, scrapes, scratches, bruises, lacerations, fractures, concussions, or more severe life threatening hazards. participation in the ropes course activities entails known and unanticipated risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death or damage to me, to property or to third parties."

i bold faced the word just so you wouldn't miss it. yes, i signed a form that said that i understood that my kid could die while on a field trip. bet you didn't have to do THAT!

Love Letters

dear bean,
i understand that you get frustrated with your brother. i know he doesn't always act the way you think he should. but he is his own person NOT a puppet for you to control.
also, you are not his mother so please stop trying to discipline him.
sincerely,
the real mommy


dear sprout,
it is not ok to hit. it is not ok to hit. it is not ok to hit. it is NOT ok to hit.
thank you,
your "broken record" mom.


dear magpie,
remember our last conversation? the one where i told you to stop barking at the neighbors when they were in their own yard? how 'bout we don't bark at "invisible threats" either. i mean, there is NOTHING there! shut your kibble hole!! geeesh!
yours truly,
the people mama


dear bean,
let's not tattle on your brother 3o times a day. really. unless someone is in danger i don't have to know every little thing that he has done. using chalk to draw on his toy cars is NOT one of these things
love,
your stressed out mom


dear blueberry,
remember when you lost 17 pounds and felt awesome and looked great? you do? so how come you gained them all back? and how come you can't figure out how to lose even a single pound now?
yeah, your excuses suck! do something about it already! gah!
hugs and kisses,
your totally frustrated self

Bean and School

monday bean will start kindergarten. she is going to an alternative elementary school, a project adventure school. their mission is, "through the process of adventure education, students will achieve academic excellence, cooperation, and problem solving skills in an environment that fosters risk taking and mutual trust." there is a lot of learning by doing and other "hands on" opportunities. they will be taking special field trips, they have climbing walls and zip lines in their gym, and they go on a 3 day camping trip. i'm hoping that this is an environment where bean can grow and learn. (because it sounds damn cool to me!!) also, they recieved a technology grant and are installing smart boards in 5 classrooms- bean's is one of them. it is so cool that they will have an interactive board not just a plain old chalkboard!
before you ask, no it is not a private school. we could never afford that. it is one of the public elementary schools in our city. here you can put your kid into a lottery to get into a school other than your neighborhood school. we got lucky and got into this one. :)

she went to her assessment today. she READ two books while she was there... i didn't know she could do that. i know that she used the pictures to figure out some of the words but i don't care, she needed help with ONE word in two books (the word "write" because the w is silent). i was impressed! after that was over she didn't want to leave. she tells her teacher, "i LOVE school!" the teacher said that made her very happy and she couldn't wait to see her on monday for the start of school.

what do i think of all this. besides the fact that it is hard to believe that she is ready for kindergarten- she was just born yesterday for goodness sake- i'm ready for her to go. i don't feel sad. it doesn't bring tears to my eyes. i'm actually VERY excited for her. i think it is going to be a fantastic experience and can wait to see what she can do!

My boy...

loves him some "chocolate popsicles"!




oh yeah, really loves them!! ha ha ha!! :)

Um... yeah....

i know.

i KNOW!

i haven't posted since march. since sprout's birthday to be exact.
so much has happened... bean finished up preschool. sprout talks more, counts, and tells you what color things are. bean turned 5. yeah, F-I-V-E. i turned thirty six. sprout discovered lady gaga and fell in love with dance music (that boy loves to shake his booty!). we went on a big adventure to texas. and tons of other things.
why haven't i posted since march? let's just say a certain little boy decided, on his second birthday, that he no longer needed to nap... ever. sooooo, mommy lost her blogging time and her one on one time with the bean. once i'd adjusted to the change it had been so long since i had been on here i just didn't know how to get started again.
what has changed? well.... the bean is starting kindergarten next week. yeah, that is right, KINDERGARTEN! crazy, huh? (more about that later!) and although sprout will still be here with me i think that i will be able to manage to sneak a little personal time in while he does some solo play. at least i hope so!

so... we're baaaaaaack! ;)

oh and this is what we are looking like these days...




we are so glad to be back, we missed you all!!! :)

Two Years Ago Today...

two years ago today i had a doctors appointment where i thought we'd spend a lot of time talking about my upcoming induction. instead the doctor told me i had dilated more and she was almost certain i would have the baby before then... that very day maybe. i thought she was high...

two years ago today i almost barfed when i stepped on the scale at the doctor's office and saw that i weighed 202 pounds. ugh!

two years ago today i realized i really was in labor and was home alone with a toddler completely unsure where my husband or sister in law were.

two years ago today i went to the hospital at 6:30 pm. you were born at 9:13 pm. (mommy will be forever grateful for that buddy.)

two years ago today i became the mommy to the world's most awesome little boy. and you just keep getting better all the time!

5 days old and sucking your thumb!
you stopped doing that 2 weeks later...

my one year old little sweetie and his doting big sis.
not sure anyone loves you more... except me, obviously! ;)

my big 2 year old little man...
checking out the new big boy bed and posing extra cute!

you have grown so much and learned so much these past two years. you are a sweet as candy but have an ornery streak a mile wide. you just learned the words "taco" and "yellow" and you talk more and more every day... is your sister finally being quiet long enough for you to get a word in?? (ha ha!) you are a little daredevil and will climb up and jump off just about anything. you love to help mommy in the kitchen and make "nommy" foods. you LOVE to eat "nommy" food too! you've just found out about the beatles and are VERY fond of their music- you love to sing "she loves you", "hello, goodbye", and "yellow submarine"! you are at this VERY awesome age where every day brings a new discovery and i love watching you find your way in this world we live in.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPROUT!!!!
mommy loves you!

Note to Self:

next time you decide to paint a child's bedroom try to pick a color that doesn't need as many coats. seriously, you are on coat number 3 and it is clearly going to take at least one more.

you better like your new big boy bedroom, sprout!! you better like it A LOT.


update:
it actually took 5 coats. F-I-V-E!
and i'm not actually done. two walls are finished and i just started the other two. oh the joys of painting a room that is FULL of stuff.

remind me to never paint again, will ya? gah!

Look who's talking!

so sprout is becoming quite the little chatter box. in the past couple of weeks he has picked up a lot of new words- including my two favorites of his, bahpa (papa) and neehnah (nana).

here is a list of some of the things he is saying now:

eeeeees= cheese
peeeee= please
bubpy= puppy
eee-ow= (meow) cat
bish= fish
yie= hi
pee-ta= pizza
bah by= bye bye
raaaaaa= (roar) dinosaur
ooohoooh-ahhhahh= monkey
me= mine
mohna mohna= bean's doll 'ellie de mona' that is has taken for his own, by the way
nommy nommy= i'm hungry, food
booh= blue
blaah= block
nohwhay= no way
nuh-uh= no
yesh= yes
bee bee= baby
beh= bed
neena= peanut
bawh= ball
bleck= yuck
mooo= move
too too= choo choo
twee twee= bird
and of course dadhdy and mahmee!

and just a few minutes ago he said "deega"= digger and "dur"= dirt because we have a large digger across the street digging a hole.

he is just starting to repeat. bean is trying to get him to say polish (as in nail polish) and he is saying something remarkably like that. it is bean's new favorite game "sprout can you say...." repeat this over and over and OVER again.

he also named a stuffed animal all on his own. he now calls this small stuffed dog of mine "neena bubpy" or peanut puppy. why? i have no idea. but it sure sounds cute!

and he "reads" books. loudly. he sits there with the open books spouting a bunch of gibberish and flipping pages. so funny. i should get a video. :)

and he still has his own made up language that he uses to communicate things too. when he smacks his lips that means "i'm thirsty, i want a drink" when he makes a popping sound that means popcorn or "i want to blow bubbles" or "daddy i want to play the bubble wrap game on your cool new iphone". (seriously!) when he takes his fists and tucks them under his chin and makes wide eyes that means "i'm scared!"

it sure is a lot easier now that he starting to really be able to tell us what the heck he wants. i can't wait to hear what he comes up with next!

Rantings...

dear sprout,
your crib is for sleeping. it is not meant to be a trampoline. stop jumping and take a nap already!!
love,
your weary mother


dear bean,
your bike is equipped with handlebars. handlebars were designed for steering. you really don't have to stop, stand up, lift your bike up, and turn it around, for the love of pete! you are not getting a big girl bike until you learn this.
hugs,
your frustrated mother


dear magpie,
it is starting to look like spring. people will be outside more. people will be working in their yards. they are allowed to be on the sidewalk and in their OWN yards. please stop barking at them. it is getting old already.
sincerely,
your 2-legged mama


dear computer,
i hate you and your stupid virus. i finally got all my pictures off you so you are getting reformatted. so there! (you are SO lucky you aren't in the trash right now....)
grumpily yours,
blueberry

He's got it all figured out...

i was playing with sprout when he, um, "passed gas".
i asked him, "did you toot??"

he got a huge smile on his face.
"nooooo! daddy!!" was his reply.

:)

Letters of complaint...

dear girl scouts,
it appears it is cookie time for you all again. it also seems that i will need yet another do over on my diet. your delicious cookies are the devil. if anyone says they can eat just one i will both hate them and call them "liar". next year please warn me not to go on a diet during your cookie escapades.
sincerely,
blueberry


dear computer,
i had gotten rid of your stupid virus. you were FINE for three days. so why the frick are you acting all squirelly again. gah! if you let anything mess you up i'm throwing you away.
lovingly,
blueberry


dear beautiful children,
please turn down the volume. i'm sitting right next to you. i fear you are causing me permanent hearing loss. wondering why god didn't provide you with a mute button...
hugs and kisses,
your deaf mama

You probably forgot that you asked for these pictures....

my twin nieces are three months old today and i just realized that i've totally failed to share them with you all. what a terrible aunt i am!! ;)

here is a few shots i got while visiting with them and their sisters today...

baby k is sleeping and baby m is awake... typical. they don't understand why mommy would want them to sleep at the same time.

baby k is starting to wake up...

look at baby m's sweet little face! ... that baby k looks like a trouble maker! ;)

smiles and nearly laughs from two of the sweetest babies you will ever see!
happy three months girls!!

and no, it doesn't even make me want another. not even a wee little bit. ;)

So...

system restore to 10 days ago- check.
download updated version of virus software- check.
run a full computer scan- check.

and i did it! yay! no more virus!

i'll be able to post pictures again. aren't you all so excited. ;)

Ugh!

it appears that my computer, you know the one with all the pictures of my darling children, the one with several months of not backed-up beautiful pictures of my sweet and darling children, has gone and gotten itself a virus. it is seriously possessed. i'm just slightly on edge about this.

***

i'm going to start my "do over" for my diet on monday- starting on the first seemed like a good thing. i'm also starting to plan out my days and meals a little better. more organization for me and the kids seems like it might be a good thing. we will see how it goes though, history has shown that i'm really not an organizer or a planner...

***

it is snowing and blowing here, again. i guess it shouldn't surprise me though, two years ago we had a blizzard in march. (remember that mommee, it was such a great birthday gift for you! ha ha!) i'm really just ready to start our zoo, playground, metropark trips back up and none of those things work well in the snow- can't push strollers in the snow and sprout is not up to walking very far on his own. well, i guess i should rephrase that. he walks but just not where you want him to go! ;)

***

here's hoping i have access to my computer with pictures again VERY soon!

Really??

the sprout is going to turn TWO in one month. TWO!

it isn't that i'm sad about it. i'm not. i love this age! he is so much fun. i would not wish him back to being a baby because this is just plain better. the problem is...
can nearly two years really have passed already?? i mean, really, where did time go?

it doesn't seem like that long ago that he was born. it doesn't seem that long ago that he looked like this...

and didn't we just have his first birthday??

i guess not. because now he looks like this:and i guess that does look like "nearly two" after all. :)

Hey Mom!

"hey mom..." "hey mom..."
i heard this about 100 times last night. everytime was it followed by a bad preschooler joke. yesterday the bean moved outside the knock knock joke box and... well the jokes were odd to say the least. why did she laugh SO hard at these:

bean: "hey mom, why did the pan start on fire?"
me: "i don't know, sweetie. why did the pan start on fire?"
bean: "because it had too much grease in it! ha hahahahah ha ha ha!!!!!"
me: "oh.....????"

bean: "hey mom, why did the shirt say hello?"
me: "ummm.... gee, i don't know."
bean: "because he had a mouth!!! ha ha ha ah hahahaha ha!!!!!!"
me: "really? wow, that is a good one....."

she is quite the comedian, isn't she? ;)

Crafty Tuesday

last week was mardi gras so of course we made masks! with a mask pattern, some traced hands, assorted buttons, gems, feathers and some streamers you can be ready to go on fat tuesday!! :)


i guess i should say bean made a mask. she is the crafty soul. sprout was not interested in such a project. he did express his creativity by pouring an entire bag of buttons all over the table and floor though. ;)

you see, sprout isn't one for crayons and coloring. markers... well, he does naughty things with those. (like writing on walls and himself and well, you get the idea.) he always tries to eat stamps and ink pads. crafts don't do anything for this kid UNLESS there is paint involved. the boy LOVES to paint. though i'm not sure he understands that it is supposed to go on the paper...

yes, it is all around his mouth because he always seems to have to taste it too. if he would have stuck his tongue out you would have been able to see that it had a stripe of blue too. really.

i think you can see why he paints in just a diaper, can't you??

he is just a little paint monster and it is a TON of fun!


...maybe next week i'll be crafty instead of the kids! ;)

Getting Goofy

they were laying on the floor watching nascar with their daddy and they looked so cute i had to get the camera. well, they noticed the camera right away and they started being a little giggly and silly. they laughed and laughed... about what, i'm not exactly sure.

it seemed that if one was going always going to peek at the camera to see if i was still taking pictures.

then they came after me. and i mean they got CLOSE.

and tried to touch the camera lens while i was trying to shoot pictures.

but then they were nice enough to strike this adorable pose for me all on their own.

if only sprout didn't have pizza on his face.... ;)