No More Fairy Tales In This House

E:  Please, God, help me to find my true love.

Me:  You already have your true love...Jesus.

E:  I know, but I want him to help me find my true love like a husband.

Mars

 

Our catch-learn-release pet program had been stagnant for far too long. 

Leave it to Mars to initiate a revival.

 

 

Miss E was pretty skittish around this slithery friend, but she did have some pretty brave moments too.

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately for us and fortunately for the poor snake, Mars' stay was short-term due to an upcoming vacation, so we didn't have the opportunity to witness a feeding.  Rest assured, we'll be on high alert for more "pets" this summer.  If you come across something interesting (and without venom) and you're willing to capture it, we'd be delighted to have a learning experience.

My Jack-O-Lantern

 

The top tooth was just a little bit loose, but when J had a firm encounter with the laundry basket, it got knocked out.  J was bleeding and screaming like crazy.  E was just screaming like crazy and saying, "I'm so worried about J."  After all the drama died down, J let me take a closer look.  Yuck.  I know this should be a cute, exciting event, but this missing tooth stage kind of creeps me out.  I better get used to it though because it's only just begun.

A Dream Come True

 

She couldn't believe her eyes!

 

A dream come true...

 Daddy's $10 garage sale bargain will have this girl smiling for years to come.

Piano Man

I had a technical difficulty at J's piano recital, so I made him perform for me at home instead.  He was determined to memorize at least one piece, but after a lot of self-driven practice J was able to play his first and last songs from memory. 

 

 

 

Keep up the good work, J!

Purple Blanket

Me:  If you had to pick only one to sleep with, would it be your purple blanket or your pillow pet?

E:  Purple blanket, but don't ask that about purple blanket and squishy bear.

Me:  Purple blanket or squishy bear?

E:  Purple blanket.  Keep asking me these!

So I did.  On and on it went...

Me:  Me or purple blanket?

E:  Purple blanket.

Me:  What?!?  Purple blanket or Daddy?

E:  Purple blanket.

Me:  Purple blanket or H (greatest daycare provider ever!)?

E:  H


And that's how much she loves her purple blanket and H.  I am happy to report that after a little thought she requested that I re-ask the Daddy and Mommy questions, and E chose us the second time around.  Lil' turkey!

Wilbur

(I've been browsing through some old photos lately.)

 

Way back in December, E and I were walking through the store.  As always, she asks to look at the toys, so on that particular day we did.

 

She immediately fell in love with a piglet that oinks and wiggles its snout and tail.

 

I'm talking love...smitten, enamoured, gushing love.

 

 

My bouncing beauty excitedly purchased him with some of her Christmas money from Grandma and Grandpa and off we went.

 

Before I even buckled her in the car, she was begging me to get her little guy out of the box.  So in the parking lot of Kohl's, E was beaming with pride as she held out her arms to receive her new "baby".

 

If you're a mom, you know the kind of proudness I'm talking about.  The kind of proudness that leaves you speechless except for oohs and ahs.  The intense emotion that has you gasping with every new discovery.  The feeling that is so overwhelming that it just brings tears to your eyes.  E was that proud, that radiant.

 

She named her sweet babe Wilbur, and her deeply innate nurturing instincts kicked in without missing a beat.

 

She was so melt-my-heart sweet with Wilbur.

 

No worries though...

 

She's still the princess around here. 

Wilbur didn't steal E's thunder.

He just added to it.

 



And they call him Mr. Touchdown...

I came across this photo from fall flag football,

 

 

and I remembered that I needed to upload his touchdowns from this spring season.

 

 

I know that the combo of my videography skills and sub-par equipment results in less than stellar clips, but a TD is still a TD.

 

Nice work, buddy!

We'll take one order of therapy, please.

Discussion while Steve and the kids were waiting for something today...

Steve:  This is a good opportunity to practice your patience that you'll need for our trip.

E:  I have patience if I'm eating.

Steve:  Food gives you patience?

E:  No, food keeps me company.

EEK!  The diabetes educator in me died a little bit when I heard this, but I guess I don't have room to judge.  I'm the one who skipped my long run today and ate a bag of Doritos instead.  The good news:  I haven't felt lonely one single time today.

Summer has Arrived

Q:  How does a single family home go from pretty darn tidy to a complete wreck in less than two day?

A:  It's VBS week.

It's summer!  That means a fun week of vacation bible school, but I'd be lying if I claimed to be keeping up with any domestic tasks.  Actually, I haven't even attempted to do one thing around here.

Our schedule on the first two days...

7:15 a.m        Leave house for daycare and work
4:30 pm         Leave work
4:45pm          Pick up kids and chat (love to chat with H!)
4:55ish pm    Drive across town to our house
5:20 pm         Arrive home, change clothes, throw food to the ravenous beasts children
5:35 pm         Back into car and buckle up
5:45 pm         Get our VBS game faces on
8:30 pm         Arrive home

J's favorite part of VBS has been the games. 

E's favorite part...any guesses?

E:  Mom, I got a snack.  It was great!  I had marshmallows and chocolate chips!

Surprise!  E's favorite station at VBS is snack.  Shocker.

My favorite...my group.  I'll admit that I was a bit uneasy as the first day neared.  I am hanging out with the 4th and 5th graders this week.  I'm not naturally drawn to groups of kids, so this has been quite the stretch for me. There's more than one reason I never pursued a career in education.

Pleasantly surprised, I really am enjoying my self.  It probably helps that this age group can sit still for more than four seconds and are independent in the bathroom, but I truly am loving my small but mighty group.  Plus, one of the sweet girls guessed my age at 27 years old.  What's not to love about that?  I just wanted to hug her, but since they already think I'm a complete dork, I refrained. 

Praise God for a successful first two nights!  Here's to two more...

I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever.
                                                                                             Psalm 145:1

If You Want To Get Technical

J:  When you stepped on that bee when you were little, how'd you remove the stinger?

Me:  I don't know, probably grabbed it with a tweezers or squeezed it out.

J:  You're not supposed to squeeze them.  It releases more toxins.

Me:  Oh.  You sure have some good survival skills!

J:  Huh?  What have I actually ever survived?

Me:  Uh...well, I guess not much.

J:  Exactly.  I think you meant I have good survival knowledge.