Friday, September 24, 2010

Three

Dear Natalie,

Earlier this month you turned three. It felt like a natural progression until I sat down to show you videos of yourself when you were Liam's age. Just two short years ago we were oohing and ahhing over first steps, communicating with you in baby sign language and chasing you around the house trying to keep you from playing in toilets.

Now you're almost fully potty-trained, like to say "Actually" and dance with your father around the house calling him "Prince Phillip".

/sigh

I suppose it DOES give me hope on Liam's extra cranky days. That this too shall pass. But then, maybe I shouldn't WANT them to pass. Maybe I should be cherishing every single minute rather than thinking about where we NEED TO BE or if LAUNDRY NEEDS DONE or if you're not EATING YOUR DINNER or if you're RIDING YOUR BROTHER AROUND LIKE A HORSE.

Your little birthday cookout was a fun time. We had a couple of your friends over and you shared the limelight with your brother, since he hadn't had an official party, per se. You were cool with it. Perhaps since you didnt know yet, but really I hope you're always cool with sharing things with him.

We started out the day giving you your big birthday present: a dollhouse. It was an instant hit. Thankfully - As your Nana and Mom had driven all over creation a few months ago trying to find it. Yes, I bought it off Craigslist, but its in near new condition and I got it for a steal! I think you'll probably appreciate stuff like that when you get bigger. I've already heard you walking around the house saying "I bought it on sale!". Ha!

You played with this all morning. I do think it was the best birthday present money I've ever spent on you thus far! Liam even liked it!!


Liam played King Kong


I'm not sure what this face means, but I'm sure it was something about how girls are stinky.

Later that day we went to Toys R Us for you to spend some birthday money from Mommo and Poppo. I'm not sure WHAT you're doing in this photo, but kid, you're too funny.
I've since come to think that Toys R Us is a black hole. We spent about an hour and a half there and while we DID have a good time, we were all about spent by the time we left. And this is what we left with...

Mommo and Poppo's money was put to good use!

Natalie, before you were born, your father and I SWORE we'd never push the princess thing. But I think we've come to realize that you absolutely LOVE princesses and there's not really much pushing we've done about it on our end. We also have realized that the whole "being polite and kind to puppies and woodland animals (to include your brother)" portion of the princess gig is a pretty nice quality and corrects our original thinking that all princesses were "divas". Sorry kid, no room for a diva in this house, but if Aurora or Ariel or Cinderella will get you to clean your room, be nice to your brother, go pee pee on the potty and any other such things, then bring on the princesses. They can march in my house and throw up all over everything if that helps! Well okay, I have to put my foot down at princess decor, but then again, I was never very much for "character-themed" decor. But I digress...

So the party was a "royal barbeque". Well, it was really a barbeque, but I figured you'd like to dress up with your friends so that's why we threw that in there. After having the party - which was so informal really - I think I realized that I'm never going to be one of those "party" moms. Don't get me wrong. I'm DEFINITLEY in to birthdays and celebration, but something about herding even a few 2 and 3 year olds along with their infant siblings was a little crazy. You seemed to love it though - so really that's all that counts.

Sequoia and Natalie
Combating the mosquitos out back.

Liam celebrating 1!

You blowing out three candles.  Your (and Liam's) crowns were made by my friend Heidi who I think bleeds craft glue or something.  She's a crafting queen!

So you're growing up so fast. It's hard for me to believe that you're in gymnastics and going to be starting preschool next week. It also shocks me that you can seemingly remember everything that happens to you - like the comments I get about you falling down in the CVS 6 months ago EVERYTIME WE PASS IT. Sheesh! With that sort of memory I've gotta watch what comes out of my mouth!

You're a pretty special part of our every day, Natalie. Your dad and I think you are just the best little girl we've ever known and are SO thankful we get to call you ours. I believe your dad's also said that it's okay with him if you live at home until you're thirty. Hmmm... I'm a little divided on that, especially if you still keep such a messy room, but I'd be totally fine with next door.

Love,
Mom and Dad

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Organizational Frenzy

So I've written recently that I've been on an organizational frenzy. While I havent had as much time as I've wanted to devote to projects, I've noticed that I've become very AWARE of what a mess certain spaces are in my house. I'm going to try to photograph my progress to either inspire you or show you how much of a nut I am.

Last week I attacked the cabinet under my kitchen sink. After causing an avalanche (see below) in searching for ONE item, I decided I'd had enough. I had these wire racks (purchased from Walmart) in my craft room and I ripped them out of their current location to organize this space. Yes, the craft room is in shambles at the moment and I'm in limbo about the whole space because I don't really use the room to craft in per-se. However, it does hold all of my clothes (in the closets) and store all of my crafty things. I'm sure you'll see a craft room reorganization down the road.


But I digress... Here's the after. Ahh.... Something about organization that just makes me take a sigh of relief.

Yes, yes, I'm well aware that I'm remiss in posting 3rd birthday pictures. Stay posted next week for pictures of that as well as some recent camping stories.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Liams Mad Walking Skills

Yeah, my kid is a walking genius. I'm not partial or anything. Feel free to take a look for yourself. Cringe with me toward the end when I debut my singing voice for YouTube. /groan

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Freecycling

So I'm in this mode of cleaning stuff out of my house and selling it on Craigslist. It's liberating getting rid of all the stuff we have sitting around that just collects dust. It's also nice seeing the little bit of cash that comes in as a result. I'm currently up to $110 and I do a little jig everytime I add another $10 or so to the total. In fact the other day I found out I had a $10 library fine and just about broke down in tears as I realized that was the same amount as the carseat I had just worked so hard to sell.

This is all very ironic for us because up until recently we've been in "spending mode" and even $100 didn't seem like a lot. We both realized how sad this was because we've both had points in our lives where we sweated hard for a mere $7/hr and $10/hour seemed like we were rolling in it. We also were wondering where exactly all of our money was going! So I've taken to the task of saving money in the everyday expenditures by just NOT spending and reading a lot of blogs on couponing and such (you may have noticed a lot of new blogs to the right under "blogs I follow"). I'm learning a lot of new things and MAY venture into the extremes like making my own laundry detergent, etc. We'll see if I become THAT adventurous. There's something a little weird about that in my mind still. Like I need to have hair down to my rear end and have 10 kids or something. But, I'm trying to remain open!

Anyway, back to the title of this post, I got a freecycle update this morning alerting me to some items someone was GIVING away. I emailed the woman and she told me I could have them BOTH!! So exciting!


Four wire bins with dust covers. Not sure what I'm going to use these for yet, but they should come in handy with all the organizing I've done recently!

I've wanted a sand and water table for a while and ALMOST spent $40 on one at the beginning of the summer. Now I'm cringing at the idea of that. I'm so glad I didnt and can't believe that I'm getting one free... Wooohooo!!

So this "new perspective" is good. It's kind of a reassessment of what's really important and trying to be a good steward of what we've been given. I hope this isnt a phase for us. It feels good to save the cash we'd normally spend on eating out, unecessary consumer items and such and it doesnt feel like THAT much of a sacrifice.

If you are interested in making a change to your family's budget, check out a great book I just happened across called "Be Centsable" or one of the thrifty blogs I've linked to on the right. I'd also love to hear about ways you cut your family's budget without sacrificing all the fun.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jog!

A couple weeks ago I made the brave venture to my home state of Missouri. It was brave only because it involved me traveling with a one and two year old BY MYSELF on a plane for 2 1/2 hours. I know people who have done more. But this was my Everest. Let's just say... I survived.

Barely.

Well, the trip TO Kansas City was the WORST I've ever experienced with kids thus far. I opted to give Liam Benadryl, as authorized by my pediatrician. I had given it to him a few days prior as a dry run and he seemed to sleep much longer during his nap. So it seemed like a good idea.

Famous last words!

Liam doesn't ever get rocked to sleep or held to lull him to bed so he's pretty used to being left alone and stretching out in his crib. Since he couldn't do this on the plane we had one unhappy baby on our hands. He kicked and screamed and screamed some more. (Imagine that ear piercing scream that makes you want to hit the snooze button really hard)

Let's just say that I didn't have many friends on the flight.

The lady in front of his car seat (with seat reclined) turned around and asked if I could get him to stop kicking her seat. Oh yes, let me just ask a 1 year old to please stop having a meltdown and refrain from bothering others around him! Why hadn't I thought of that??? Maybe if your seat wasn't reclined he wouldn't be able to reach it to kick it? She claimed later that her seat was broken. Perhaps it was. It would have fit nicely with the kind of trip I was having so far.

Toward the end of our flight Natalie informed me that she needed to use the bathroom very urgently. I acquiesced and carted her and her slobbering, cranky brother up to the front and asked the flight attendant if she'd hold Liam while I took Natalie to the potty. The attendant looked less than thrilled to hold a wet, sticky one year old with graham cracker all over his shirt, but she agreed. The look she shot me when I retrieved Liam from her and commented that they should offer a babysitting service was priceless. Let's just say that she's good on birth control for another 5 years.

I arrived in Kansas City only to discover that the airline had lost my bag (on a DIRECT flight). The belts in Baltimore were broken when we left so it would appear that my bag never made it on the plane. LOVELY. The airline rep was less than helpful and I left the airport thoroughly annoyed.

Alas, my trip gets SO much better from there.


We celebrated Natalie and my mom's birthday, complete with pink cake and pink icing (Natalie's request)!


The kids played with Nana and Papa's array of fun toys (a lot of vintage stuff from when my sister and I were growing up).


Natalie got a princess dress from Nana and Papa (her favorite things are princesses these days). You'll probably see this dress again at Halloween!

(Taking a break with Aunt Lib from all of the dancing she was doing in her dress)

The kids and I drove down to my hometown (Springfield, MO) to stay with my friend Miriam and spend time with my other friend Angie and their little girls. The kids got along like old friends and it was so nice seeing them play together. I know that if I lived there still the girls would all be great friends!

Natalie, Addison, Reese, Jasmine


Miriam's twins Jasmine (back) & Addison (front)

Miriam's Stella

Angie's Reese (sister Aubrey not pictured)

Natalie making herself right at home at Miriam's house

Dress-up photo op!

Angie, Miriam and I got a night out on the town one night sans kids. What a luxury! It reminded me of when Miriam and I were new friends and we were trying to get into the 21 and over hot spots in Springfield. It wasn't so much that we wanted to drink - it just that in a town of 125,000 people there isn't much to do and most of those places had a band or SOMETHING going on. Springfield has grown up a LOT since then with fun, swanky restaurants and cool gourmet grocery stores. We ended up hopping around to three of those restaurants in the downtown area. It was a fun opportunity to see how much has changed.

Miriam and Me at Kai

Miriam, Me and Angie

Flaming Sushi at Kai. I wasn't sure what to expect with small town sushi, but I was actually impressed!

Miriam, Angie and Me at Maria's (we also went to Flame *not pictured*)

I guess I really ate my way through Springfield (I mean, what's a vacation without food?) I also stopped at Pineapple Whip and my favorite Springfield Chinese, Lucy's.


Doing the hula at Pineapple Whip!

After getting back from Springfield I still had a few more days to hang out in Kansas City. I got together with my friend Rachel and her kids Lucy and Asher for a playdate.

Lucy

Asher


We made pizza from scratch at home one night: Margherita (pictured), BBQ chicken with bacon, and white pizza with spinach, sausage and mushrooms. YUM!


Then my sister and I went out for tapas and gourmet ice cream (we're talking goat cheese, Thai curry, spiced chocolate, salted pretzel). So bizarre and fun!



All in all my trip to Missouri & Kansas was SO fun. The flight back was MUCH better too. Thanks to all of you who were praying for us. I was convinced I was going to arrive in a straight jacket or they were going to kick us off the plane in Ohio - but alas the screaming was kept to a minimum and we avoided a major meltdown. I'm sure we annoyed a FEW folks sitting around us with a bit more noise than they'd care for, but if they would have said anything I was all ready with "Honey, you should be thankful. This is NOTHING!"

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Thursday, August 12, 2010

379 Days

My Dear Liam,
I'm late writing this letter. But please know that it wasn't because I didn't want to write it or just forgot. I've been busy chasing you around the house and keeping your sister from ending your life. You'll thank me when you're older.

A couple weeks ago you turned one. I really dont know where the year has gone - can it really have been that long? We celebrated by taking you out for a picnic in the park, giving you a gift from Nana and Papa (thanks for the bath toys!) and swinging you on the swings. You loved it.


The next day we rolled out and took you camping with Grandma and Grandpa. This was your second camping trip. I'd say you loved, it, but I know that you were thoroughly annoyed at the fact that you couldnt get down and crawl around like you usually do at home. You DID seem to love getting someone up at 6am and enticing them to walk you around the campground so everyone else could sleep. Stinker!

I'm envisioning you enjoying camp trips much more next year and even the next although I'm sure we'll be uttering things like "Where's Liam?" and "Liam don't touch that!" and "Liam take that poisonous spider out of your sister's hair!".


The awesome pool at Jellystone Campground in PA.

We celebrated your birthday at the campground and had mini chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and sprinkles. You made short work of that cupcake and had no question what to do with it. I think you've got your Mama's sweet tooth!

You also appear to be our picky eater. We still haven't been able to get you to eat eggs and you're not too keen on whole veggies so we've had to stick to baby food veggies. I believe you could practically survive on fresh fruit though. You follow in the family tradition of getting very excited about food in general. Its a very primordial sort of response. There's usually shrieking involved (well, THAT happens all the time). This sort of excitement is really a good thing, because, around here, we love to eat! I'm just wondering what you'll be saying when you start to talk!



It's really hard for me to imagine you as a walking, talking little guy. I'm interested to see how your personality manifests itself. Especially in relation to your sister. I'm sorry for all of the hard times you've had to endure at her hand. Just the other day she was delighted to be the one to greet you after your nap so I agreed to let her climb into your crib with you and play for a few minutes while I finished a few things in the next room. I'm sorry she decided to put you in a choke hold with her thighs and your face had the misfortune of being wedged in her crotch. It didn't look pleasant and I imagined the future-you dying of embarrassement that such an event ever took place.

I also have to apologize for the general shoving, pushing and holding down that she puts you through on a daily basis. You really are a good-natured kid and I notice that you try not to out her too readily (although she thoroughly deserves it). You seem all to happy that she would play with you, even if you are on the receiving end of her evil schemes. Oh what a good playmate you'll be! I must confess, though, that I'm looking forward to when you can defend yourself a little bit more (for your sake, that is).

Buddy, you are such a smiley kid. I hope this always is the case. This world has lots of things that can bring you down, cause you heartache and generally steal your joy. I pray that this never happens to you and your infectious smile continues with you throughout your entire life. Besides, that, it has the effect of melting my heart.


Ms Jody giving Liam his birthday present


Bubbies, I can't imagine my life without you. And I'm so entirely grateful for the opportunity to be your Mama. Please promise me now that you won't grow up to be a thrill-seeker/dare devil/stunt rider or any such thing? Okay, well I'm also hoping not to raise a 30 year old mama's boy either (although, you will need to call me at least once a week). Somewhere in the middle would do. Perhaps an accountant or maybe an IT guy? (because all know how normal THEY are!) =)

No, really, I'm excited to see the man God wants you to be. Let's just hope that just doesn't happen too fast.

Love,
Mama

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Grilled Chicken and Artichoke Braid with Homemade Pesto


Hmmm... what to do with a bunch o' chicken breast I'd thawed out for dinner tonight? No time to marinate and not interested in just grilling and eating with vegetables.

This recipe really came together out of a need to use a bunch of ingredients I had on hand. Fun that it came together even in the midst of kids crying, etc. Ahh... dinner time is always such a LOVELY time at our household. *rolling my eyes*

I used this recipe as inspiration.

And then made my own pesto using this recipe. It seemed to need a lot more olive oil though. Maybe I used too much basil? I DID follow the recipe. Who knows?

I roasted artichokes (from the can) while I cooked the chicken (coated in Penzey's Pizza Seasoning) on the grill.

I built my braid first with the chopped up chicken, roasted artichokes, then dollops of pizza sauce, dollops of pesto, mozzerella and feta cheese, slivered red onion, and topped it with sliced roma tomatoes (from Kevin's garden) before folding it all up.

It probably could be a prettier braid, but, hey, I've never made one before, so it just had to do.

Brush with egg wash and throw it in the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes.

Kevin groaned the whole meal. (The good kind of groaning when one eats food!)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Downyoceanhon!

You have to read the title of this post all together and hold your nose while saying it. Then you'll be on your way to a true Bawlmer (Baltimore) accent.

A couple weeks ago we went to the ocean (Ocean City, MD to be exact). We always have a good time, but we've decided that going with little ones is more of a "trip" rather than a vacation. A vacation has to involve me taking a nap on the beach or by a pool without kids to watch. Will it ever happen again?!?!!

Liam decided that 530am was the appropriate time to rise in the morning whilst at the beach. I disagreed but didn't have much say in the matter since all four of us were sharing a tiny bedroom. Needless to say we got a lot of naps!



We shared a condo with Kevin's parents that literally was 25 feet from the beach. For all of the hassle it is to get two little ones out TO the beach, I'm so thankful that it wasn't that far to go. Kevin's brother's family was in the condo right next to us so it made it nice that the cousins could all play together. It helped our sanity many a time as Natalie rarely got bored.



We had crabs, went to the boardwalk one evening, biked the boardwalk one morning, toured the bay on a pontoon boat, hung out at the beach and did putt putt. Such a fun week!

Grandma reading to Natalie. Natalie put up such a fit everytime Grandma put on her reading glasses (wanting her to TAKE THEM OFF) that Grandma bought Natalie a pair just for her when they read together. That fixed that and the result is too cute.


We went out to eat a couple times and lemons kept Liam from screaming (happily) through the entire event. He LOVES lemons, but you'd never be able to tell from the faces he makes!

To top it all off we had several friends who were staying downyoceanhon the same week we were so we got a chance to meet up with them twice to hang out and go swimming in their pool.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Oh My Word...

I started out with SUCH a good attitude today. And perhaps that should have been my first clue. Like maybe that's akin to asking God... "Hey, give me a little lesson in patience today. I'm READY!"

So we get up at 730 and are on a mission to get ready and get out the door by 930. Hey, those of you WITHOUT kids may think, "TWO HOURS?!". But when you have yourself, a 1 year old and an almost 3 yr old to get dressed, feed and get out the door (while trying to clean up after yourself and pack for the days necessities) then, yes, it really does take that long.

Here's a run-down of what happened after that...
1. Within the first hour of being up I had to tell Natalie to stop pulling or pushing Liam three times. By the third or fourth time I'd had it and I punished her for pulling him down the hallway by one arm. Seriously!

2. I put Liam in his carseat only to realize that the bananas he'd had for breakfast were stuck to his pants and low and behold they were now completely smashed into the side of MY shirt as well. Roll the car windows down, run in the house, throw on a new shirt, run out the door.

3. At our first stop, Target, I ALMOST locked the keys in the car. Thank the Lord I did not. I did spend 5 minutes in the parking lot digging in the depths of my purse for them though. Sweating commenced.

4. In Target the items on my list were not advertised on sale (as the circular had mentioned). Spent 5 minutes in the diaper aisle looking for coupons and calculating price per diaper on my cell phone calculator. Liam screams (not upset but just being REALLY REALLY vocal). Because that's just what he does.

5. Realized, after 5 minutes, that the diapers weren't THAT good of a deal. Decided not to get them. Shoved coupons back in purse while trying to get out of the way of other customers.

6. Realize I've lost my list. Spent 10 minutes looking for list. So far there's NOTHING in my cart and I've already been there for 15 minutes. Grrrr.

7. After praying FOUND my list (thank you, Lord).

8. Broke up fights between my kids for taking things from one another and "He's touching this", etc. Quarantined Natalie to the back of the cart.

9. Hightailed it to the checkout to find that one item I'd bought was the wrong one. Left my groceries with the cashier and ran to the socks (of all things) to get different ones and then back. After all that decided I didn't like the socks on sale. /sigh

10. Raced to the library, 15 minutes late, for a playdate with a friend who's got a son Liam's age. Realized she was late too. /Sigh of relief

11. Chased Liam all over children's area of library while trying to look for books for Natalie and keep an eye on her too.

12. Apologized to the ladies checking us out at the counter because Liam was screaming so shrilly (it literally hurts your ears so much that one of them was plugging her ears).

13. Left the library and went to Chick fil A.

14. Had Natalie use the car potty first in a VERY crowded parking lot (I wonder what people think when they see my preschooler peeing in the back of our SUV?)

15. Fielded two kids eating lunch while grabbing things away from Liam within his reach that he couldn't have. Cut up food for both kids, blow on it to cool it off, throw food in my mouth, hold cup for Liam, shove more food in my my mouth, try to hold a conversation with my friend, stop Natalie from tipping up her cup to drink it (it had a straw in it). I swear its an Olympic event feeding both kids, cutting up food, throwing food in my mouth, making sure Liam doesnt throw everything on the floor, etc, etc.

16. I miss Natalie tipping her cup up again and she gets a deluge of milk in her lap. My cup leaks tea all over my lap. I go get a refill and Liam grabs my straw shooting tea all down my shirt and inside my bra. We could all officially use a bath.

17. We play at the Chick-Fil-A playground and then head off to the car for another round of potty in the car and de-germing from all of the crawling around on the playplace floor. And then it's homeward bound.

It's only 1:30 and I already feel like I've run a marathon!!! Looking forward to a little downtime this afternoon before craziness commences again!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Summer Bounty


Kevin's the gardener in the family. I wont even pretend that I've got a green bone in my body. I have trouble keeping any plant alive. Although I have been known to grow a mean weed (that's the "pest" kind... not the DEA-knock-down-your-door kind, mind you).

Anyway, last year was our first year at the garden and while I helped out more then, I was really just the cheerleader. I mean... how much help can a fully pregnant woman really be in the whole gardening arena? I can imagine if we lived in the plains in the old days being pregnant wouldn't have gotten me out of much. Oh well... thank the LORD for modernization (and air conditioning)!

We made some mistakes last year (i.e. planting too early and getting hit by a couple frosts) and suffered garden envy as our neighbor across the street would constantly yield exponentially more tomatoes and cucumbers than we ever did. Yet we decided to try again.

Well, to be exact I decided to WATCH THE KIDS while Kevin did the gardening, but that's beside the point. Come on, you can't really have a 1 year old crawling around in the dirt with the bugs and pesticides now can you? What did those frontier women do in the good ole' days? Strap the kid to their back? With no sunscreen? And bugs? And that whole natural childbirth thing? With the doctor in the next town and maternal death rates what they were? Let's just say God knew what He was doing when he chose for me to be born with all of the comforts of microwave ovens, the internet, a grocery store 5 minutes down the road and Kotex.

Because you dont even want to THINK about THAT aspect of life as a woman on the frontier. YUCK!

Anyway, I digress. We got back from the beach on Sunday and Kevin's vegetable garden was busting with growth. We had gotten so much rain while we were gone (a blessing as everything was pretty brown) that the zucchini and the melons literally took off!

Natalie had a good time helping pick all of the ripe produce and did a better job than last year at refraining from plucking the green tomatoes from their place on the vine. (Last year you might have thought she was color blind!)

We were hoping that by picking things like eggplant and zucchini and fresh green beans she'd be more likely to eat them. Alas, that has not yet proved to be true, but we'll keep trying.

The broccoli was a hit though. It was more on par with broccolini (if you've ever seen that). A bit smaller than regular broccoli and every bit as tasty (especially smothered in cheese). Okay, you could probably smother an old tire in cheese and it would taste good, but that's not the point.


This is the picture of the harvest we brought in. It's exciting as it's the first major harvest this year. Our tomatoes are still pretty green as we planted kinda late this year (perhaps we were gun shy after last year). But if you look at the garden now, you can tell that there's going to be lots to come. Hooray!

Of course the neighbor across the street STILL has better looking plants and we're envisioning some sort of National Lampoon style sabotage going on. If you come over to our house and notice the motion detecting camera set up on the garden, you'll know what's up!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Playing Catch Up

I know, I've fallen off the face of the planet. Bear with me. It's been more than a little crazy and I've got lots of pictures I need to go through to post.

We've been enjoying the summer as it's now in full swing. For the 4th, we celebrated with some friends (Dave and Jill) that live close to us (on Rumsey Island) with a cookout and fireworks over their cove (their townhome backs to water).




Jill and Sequoia



Stud Muffin Deluxe


We had a blast that night except for all of the bug bites Natalie sustained from rolling around in the grass. That part was NOT so fun to deal with the week following and we went through a LOT of cortizone cream. =)

The pool is now open for business and quite the backyard hotspot. The plastic slide support broke at the end of last season so Kevin rigged up a log and a couple paving stones to support the slide in it's stead. It's right next to the extra commode and broken washing machine we have in our backyard (just kidding!). Feel free to stop by if you need to take a dip though. It will really cool down your ankle!




Well it's late and I'm signing off. I'm planning more posts tomorrow... I promise!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Kevin Doesn't Like It


because he thinks that it's a 17 year-old's haircut.

But I dig it!