Swirling around in my head

I was all prepared (in my head!) to do another theme this week. However, the weekend was busy and I am tired, so it will just be a variety of things!

And because I know you thrive off the itty bitty details of my life, I will start the week off with a weekend review. I can see the thrill on each of your faces!

And yes, there are bullets involved!

~ A invited a friend to the house Thursday and had her first real sleep over. They did pretty good, and even L got included in on the fun. They did not go to sleep until 11:30 PM and I have some fun pictures to share. When my husband gets back with my camera.

~ We met our friends for an impromptu dinner on Friday night. There were 2 sets of parents, 2 sets of twins, 1 set of siblings, and 1 uncle. Luckily, we were out on the covered patio where the noise level was never questioned. It was really fun, but I am just hoping it did not hinder my "I Want To Have Another Baby" campaign!!!

~ In addition to playing with their friends for 5 hours during coop, the kids got lots of Daddy-time this weekend because I was a vendor at something called Main Street Market in the Dallas area.

~ I usually do 1-2 a year. This was my third year with this one. Last year, I did well. This year, I did really well! I am excited not only about my sales, but also about how many people were genuinely interested in learning more about the products and were happy to have me follow-up with them in a few weeks. Don't worry, I know oh too well the fake interested conversation and look that can happen at the booth, so I don't say that I am excited lightly! :)

~ However, those vendor things wear me out! It was a 2-day show and the combination of sitting and standing during that time means a few aches and pains over the following few days.

~ I usually miss out on all the great shopping when I do those things because I am the only one at my booth. Of course, that is not always a bad thing! I did buy a cute item for my MIL and I could not resist buying a jewelry set for myself. I will tell you more about it later when I have pictures to post! Both of my purchases came from my vendor neighbors!! Easy shopping!

~ And now the last word about the show actually involves one of my pet peeves. Just know before I say anything, that the likelihood of this referring to your practices with your children are HIGHLY UNLIKELY!! I am also going to be inferring a few things because I did not get the whole story. Two booths down from me was a lady (60's), a man (40's), and a young boy between the ages of 12-15 months. They had one of the TEN jewelry booths there! What I do know is that the boy was adopted by the man and the woman was the man's mother. OK, I can live with that.

UNLESS!

They both sit at their booth almost the whole time when one person could have easily handled the job. They both barely pay attention, much less interact with the boy who is sitting/bouncing in an EXERSAUCER ALL.DAY.LONG.FOR.TWO.DAYS! I am only exaggerating a tiny bit. I mean they did take him out once each day to change his diaper and let him actually walk a bit up and down the aisle. Just to be fair, I think the man briefly held the boy 1-2 times each day. I never saw them in extended interaction with him, whether that be eye contact or talking. That poor boy! You did not have to be a therapist to know that he spends a lot of time in that thing. His quadriceps were terribly overdeveloped and when he did get to really walk, his legs were already bowing because of the overuse. Unfortunately, I did not hear a lot of "talking" either. He was either quiet (but happily bouncing), whimpering/crying, sleeping (in the contraption), or laughing hysterically while he was free to roam. No other sounds. He seemed a bit on the small side, which makes me wonder about his adoption origin and history as well. Near the end of day two, the woman took him and left somewhere. As I started to load my car, I saw them in a single-cab truck. He was in his car seat and she was reading a book. As I finished up loading my car, I noticed they had moved the truck closer to the building to finish loading themselves. Too bad they decided it would take both of them to finish the job and just left the boy in the truck by himself while they went back into the building! He was a precious blond hair, blue eyed boy with a sweet infectious laugh. I was sad to leave him there! With them.

There are so many more things I want to say, but will stop there! Phew, thanks for letting me get that off my chest!

My problem with the exersaucer? They are almost always unnecessary. The typical age that children are in them is actually the worst time for them to be in them in terms of their development. It can lead to overdevelopment of their calves and quads and underdevelopment of their upper body, trunk, and hips in relation to movement. It does not help kids stand or walk better! Kids at that age should be rolling, on their stomachs, on their hands and knees, crawling, pulling up, cruising. You get the picture!

Now before you stone me in the comment section, remember, I am probably not talking about you! And I do understand how they can be useful at certain times; running to the mailbox, getting dinner started, taking a shower, running up and down the stairs, etc.! I am a mom-I do understand!! That goes for all my friends-commentors and lurkers-who like to give me a hard time in a teasing way about my soapbox!

Boy, I bet you did not see that coming!

Just don't mention the word "johnny jumper" and I think we will all be just fine!

~ Let's end this on a fun note! I can't name names due to privacy issues, but this story is too cool to pass up! Last week, I emailed some friends about a great summer movie deal our school was offering as a fundraiser. I wanted to know if they would like to get some tickets. I included a few local blogger friends in my email. Blogger friends I have never met. Cuz I am a BBFF! One of those such people emailed me back.

Are you feeling it?!

Here is the edited version of what happened after that:

Friend 1/Email #1:
This sounds fun! I can't get over there to do it, but I forwarded it a few friends who live near you.

Friend 1/Email #2:
Okay, this is funny, my good friend that I sent this to just wrote back and said her daughter is in your daughter's class and that she knows you. :) Small world.
(names deleted). We went to high school together.

From me/Email #3:
SHUT UP! I love (blank)-she is so super sweet!!! You should come this way for a playdate!!!!

Friend 1/Email #4:
She's one of my best friends- we were in each other's wedding and our girls are friends. Funny, huh? :)

**I proceeded to call Friend 2 and get the whole scoop. Then we laughed!! She laughed the hardest when I told her I had never even met her BFF in person!

Friend 2/Email #5:
It's a crazy/small world! Below is the link to my blog.

Is that the most fun thing!! Makes you smile doesn't it!

Hi Girls! I know you are reading this! Don't feel obligated to comment. I would not want to be held responsible for your revealed identities!!!

Stacey

The Bunny Trail

Because I have grown weary of the many useless containers that get hidden away each season (or after each holiday), I decided to try something different this year. And since my kids can't read all these words yet, I am going to save time and refer to myself in first person. You know, instead of saying "The Easter Bunny" each time! I got the kids each a bag they could use for travel, school, books, church, whatever! I loved how they looked filled with goodies! They each got a puzzle, a new Color Wonder book (I love those things!), slinkies, chalk, a tic tac toe board (A), a set of small dinosaurs (L), a movie which cost me $1 each from Half-Price Books, marsh mellow bunnies, and ONE candy item. We have candy overload at our house, and I wasn't about to add to it! OH, they did each get their own big bag of gum! They love it and I never seem to have any!


I typically try to keep the costs reasonable, but as you can see, someone's bag 'o goodies might have been a bit pricier than his sister's. That is OK, he deserved it. He had been begging for a Webkinz just like his sister's and I could not wait until his birthday. He has now officially adopted Sparky and is taking good care of him!


Here is the scene of them checking out the goodies!








Oh sure, we are all happy with the sugar going in....


until it metabolizes us into a grumpy little person who won't cooperate for any of the individual or family pictures.....


but somehow manages to be as sweet as sugar once we are on the way home from all the festivities!


That is OK! I can always count on my little princess to pose! I loved her hair like this!






He loved checking in with the cotton-tailed fella!


They scored more goodies than I possibly have use for, however, I have decided to use them as "rewards" for household duties!








Quite a pair!


Stacey

9

Y
E
A
R
S

If we can survive that, then surely I can convince him that we could survive the aftermath of something that only takes

9

M
O
N
T
H
S

Happy Anniversary to us!

(wish me luck!)

Stacey

My Little Spring Chickens

My kids spent Spring Break on the "farm" with my husband's parents. For the first time in a few years, the break times matched up. His mom teaches ESL in their local public school.

I almost never feel guilty for shipping them away during their longer breaks. Believe me, when you see the pictures, you will understand! Between the fishing, the tractor, the motor vehicles, Gigi's cooking, and a few trips to the Dollar Store, how could you blame them!

When his parents built on this property 4 years ago, there was a lot of work to be done, including preparing the pond for use. It took a LONG time for it to fill up since rain always went around the town. Now that it is full of water and fish, the kids enjoy fishing off the bank or dock. This trip included a few boat rides. My daughter has been in the boat before, but this is the first time you could pry my son's fingers off the deck to get him in it. It is hard to tell from the pics, but he was pretty white-knuckled the whole time and begging his sister NOT to tip the boat! I found the whole thing almost as hysterical as his new fear of larger BUGS!!

A boat tour with Papa






There is a circle drive in front of their house. Upon arrival, it takes the kids about 2 minutes to fire up their engines and hit the "open road"! Seriously, you can usually find them out there right as the sun rises and close to sunset!






My daughter was so disappointed she could not take her larger bicycle on the trip so she could show off her improved riding skills. However, she did discover that on this bike she can do tricks! I envision some serious scabs in our near future!






They got to take a day trip to a zoo about an hour away. I have never been there, but from all the pictures I saw, it looks like a really nice smaller zoo.

These large barrels were a big hit for all the kids.


And from what I hear, "Girls Rule, Boys Drool", when it comes to conquering the barrels!!




I am afraid that after this trip to the zoo, my kids may ask for a kid instead of a dog!! They loved all these creatures (stinky!), and in turn, got a little love back!













I just threw this one in because I thought it was such a pretty picture!


We hope you enjoyed your time at the zoo today! Thanks for coming!


Stacey

Bag People

I love bags! And thanks to genetics, my kids do too! Oh, I guess their environment, which happens to be filled with bags of all sorts, influences them as well!

Several months ago, I made a real effort to start using bags. For reasons other than carrying around wipes, lipstick, and money! You know, for things like groceries and such. Honestly, I have not always been a good steward of bags in these other areas. I forget sometimes. I have plastic bags around the house from previous purchases that need to be used and reused. So I don't feel too guilty about them being around.

I know many of you already use bags way more proficiently than I do! But if you don't, I would just like to encourage you to start. Try it with one, then grow, grow, grow your collection!

You can get them lots of places.

These are my Target ones. They are good for the most things. They are a little on the thin side, so be cautious. I already tore one of my bags. Good canvas bags may do better for the long run, but these do work fine most of the time.

Smallest version


Largest version (I just found a mid-size version that I don't have a picture of.)


The size difference of between the large and small ones.


The small one folded up for easy storage!


A cute girl and her fav new bag!


A cute boy and his fav new bag!


So far, we have used bags for:

Groceries
Library books
School
Work
Long trips
Day trips
Dry cleaners
Goodwill drop off


Bags work for me!

Head over to Rocks In My Dryer for more great ideas!

Stacey

Growing Up

Last week, A lost her second tooth! Another bottom one, PTL! She turned 6 in January, but I have yet to get her pics taken. I am thinking April will be my deadline for that because I want it done before a top tooth starts to loosen! What happened to the good ole' days of scheduling pictures within the week of their birthday!

Sorry, no toothless pics this time! At least none I have downloaded!

The other exciting news is that L may have finally turned the corner on wearing underwear to bed AND waking up dry the next morning. We were on a roll of waking up dry 2-3 days in a row. I still dreaded the extra laundry on the other days. So, when they left last Monday for the grandparents for a week, I made sure to send pull-ups for each night. I sure wasn't going to put that burden on them.

Upon my arrival, I learned that he had gone WITHOUT pull-ups EVERY night AND woke up DRY EVERY night! Yea for my little man! I have braved it every night since being back, and knock on wood, I think we are headed for life without diapers or pull-ups for the first time in 6 years.

Mmmmmm, maybe I should have anoth...... Oh, never mind, that is for another post!

Anyway, when I saw this picture I took during our snow adventure several weeks ago, I was struck by how much he has truly grown up this past year.

Where did these long, scrawny legs come from? Everyone told me my pudgy little boy would evolve into this, but to see it!


Even last year, he still had his cuddly cushion around his bones! But obviously, his love of not wearing pants has not changed!


And just to prove my point some more, when did this face....


turn into this face?


Sigh!

Oh well, more memory lane strolls later this week!

Stacey

Theme Week continues.....

KIDS!

OK, like I ever need an excuse to talk about my kids or post pictures related to them! Couldn't you tell last week that I was dying to use some random pics of the kids as I managed to make them work for my grandmother's birthday! Go figure!

Basically, I don't seem to have enough energy this week-and yes, it is only Monday!-to muster deep thoughts about anything. The next two weeks are kind of busy with some stuff, so unless I find a window of opportunity-or a coherent thought-you are stuck with mindless chit chat!

This week, you will share our adventures of.....

Growing up




Bags


Spring Break on the "farm"


and

Easter festivities


In addition, you will click away enlightened by the wisdom of young minds!

Happy Monday!
(I think it is still Monday!)

Stacey