Deep Water

Kiddo is all about going to the store these days. Every day he asks "Mommy, go to da store?" and is sorely disappointed if I say no. So, against my better judgement, I try to do something every day, even if it is a brief outing. Yesterday was no exception, and though I could have easily put it off, I did need to run to the bank and post office, so when asked I told him we needed to run a few quick errands but that we weren't getting out of the truck. He seemed ok with that until we started heading home, and the wailing began.

We have a little kiddie pool that my sweet neighbor gave us, and I have been meaning to pull it out, clean it up and let Kiddo take a dip. But I am lazy (and I hate cleaning) so as of yesterday it was still propped up against a tree in our back yard. As Kiddo was wailing in the back of the truck I decided then and there that we were going to swim when we got home. My promise stopped the wailing (though he was a bit confused and whined some when we drove into the driveway). I had to basically sprint from the truck to the back yard to show him our pool before he threw another tantrum (thinking I had lied to him or something). Soon enough, and with little effort on my part, the pool was being filled up on my back deck.

I remembered the first time I put Kiddo in a baby pool. He was a little less than a year old and I had purchased one of those $5 blow up pools from the local big box store. I remember setting it up in the back yard and being so freaked out by any little thing that got in the water. I screamed at the dog to get away because the water had to be perfectly clean for my darling angel (can anyone say "new Mommy"???) and I spent the entire time picking things out of the water while Kiddo splashed around. Yesterday? Well, not so much. I mean, I cleaned out the big stuff, but the water was plenty dirty before he ever stepped foot in the pool. My how things change! He loved it just as much though yesterday as he did then .OMG!!! Wasn't he a little, fat, bald CUTIE?!? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! My BABY!!!! :) :)

Ahem, anyway it was fun watching him yesterday, though I was a bit irritated that I couldn't leave him alone there for even a second and I hadn't really prepared for that. So, as usual, I occupied myself with taking pictures.

First I noticed his unusual contribution to one of the sculptures in our back yard. Strategic and skillful stacking if you ask me!

But then I focused on the little fishy in the water. He really surprised me with his bubble blowing abilities. I have pictures of him choking on the water he inhaled too, but I'll spare you (and him) the agony. Bad Mommy, bad, bad Mommy! ;)

I did get this Cutie Patootie grin though. Gawrsh he makes me smile. Anyway, the pool has this goofy little built in slide thingy, and unfortunately, nothing to hold on to and so my poor Kiddo fell out of the pool a few times. It never really bothered him, and in typical little boy fashion he would just get right back in, but the last time he slipped and landed on his face. I was waiting for him to pick himself up and he started crying a bit so I walked over and picked him up. He had his hand over his mouth and it was full of blood. My heart just stopped. I scooped him up and ran into the house with him bleeding everywhere (just like his daddy, this boy!). After a quick wipe down/clean up it was obvious he had just given himself a bloody nose, but lawsy mercy I had visions of ERs and stitches and I just don't have the nerves for that kind of thing. I was a nervous wreck for about an hour afterwards. He, of course, was totally fine and back in the pool within about 3 minutes.

And later that evening at 7PM he promptly passed out asleep. We could not get him to get up for supper and he slept until 8AM the next morning.

We should swim everyday! ;)

I was editing pictures for this post and came across this one from his first pool experience.

What grabbed me about it is how strikingly similar it is to one of my favorites from yesterday...

Awwwww!
Until,
D :)

Color My World

Yesterday Kiddo discovered the paints I had hidden in his closet. So of course, we had to paint. It took me at least an hour to convince him that He was supposed to paint, not me. He kept trying to hand me the paint brush and make me draw something. But eventually, he gave in and colored a bit by himself.

And of course, I had to take pictures! :)

Such intensity!

Mommy draw Lightning McQueen?

Please?!? I am super cute! Here's the paint brush.


Fine. I am coloring, see?! Take the picture, here is my smile. Ffffftpt!Until,

D :)

Miles to Go

So I just don't really get this whole potty training thing. (for the record, I am not really training Kiddo, I secretly hope he will just be one of those kids that eventually gets it. I am in no mood to clean up accidents all over the house.) I mean, don't most kids follow some sort of pattern?


Kiddo has never had a fear of the potty. Nor has he really had much curiosity about it either. He's very blasé about the whole thing. You want me to sit on the potty? Sure, ok. Tee tee? No problem. Poo? Yup, I can do that too.


Whenever he does anything out of the ordinary we make a huge fuss about it. We sing songs, we dance, we cheer, whatever. He consistently tee tees on the potty every night after his shower, but it is just part of the routine now. For the past couple of weeks, he has pooped in the potty every time he needed to go. Not one poopy diaper was made in my house for over a week. The problem was, he would wait a day or two (he is usually more regular) before he had to go and then it was a big, and unfortunately painful production. But, he was definitely more inclined to go on the potty because it was ultimately easier.


BUT - in that process I think he discovered that he has control. Yes, control. And with that control, he can get Mommy and Daddy all excited by asking to go poo on the potty and then get lots of attention while he sits there, not doing what he promised. Then we run into the trouble that occurs when you hold stuff like that in (and you know what I mean) and then he won't go because it hurts.


Now today, he won't tee tee in the diaper; he asks to go to the potty and tee tee and he has tried to poo in the diaper all day (but of course nothing is happening in that department because he held it too long).


I think I am more confused here than he is.


I guess the main thing is that it's driving me crazy.


But I did manage a new self portrait today. Here it is:

And I got Kiddo a cool, motorcycle man do-rag! ;)

It's not the best picture, but I think he's still pretty cute with his little pasty skin and mouth full of frozen Gogurt.

Until,

D :)

We Wait and We Wonder

I want to apologize in advance if my next few posts are a little less than interesting. I am apparently experiencing some sort of Seasonal Blogging Disorder, and for whatever reason, I am having a hard time making myself sit down and write. So, in an effort to overcome this illness, I am forcing myself to post. Ok? Ok. :)

Kiddo has really changed this week. From day one he has, for the most part, been a late bloomer when it comes to speech - not enough for me to really worry or anything, but just enough for me to get frustrated, especially when I witness really cute/intelligent things other kiddos (that are the same age) say. I knew my Kiddo was understanding things just fine, but his constant mimicking everything we say while seemingly failing to have independent thought was troubling me a bit.

But this week it was like a light bulb went off. Suddenly he was answering questions, with real answers - not just the standard "no" or repeat of the question. And he is now asking questions; things that make sense and show true thought about what he wants to know. Suddenly I am able to have conversations with him and know that he "gets it", you know? It is very invigorating and it makes me so happy. He talks about the funniest things - he cracks jokes and comes up with his own material. He is really developing a great little personality of his own. And his speech has gotten sooooo much clearer. He can repeat a hard word or phrase on one try where before it took him several tries to get it.

For instance, a couple of weeks ago I was in the bathroom putting on my makeup and Kiddo was playing on the floor in front of our closet mirror. I hear him behind me, babbling away in his little kid language, and I noticed he was repeating the same phrase over and over. This is how it went:
"babble, bleeble, blabble, blah, blah, blabble juice peeze"

"babble, bleeble, blabble, blah, blah, apple juice peeze"

"babble, bleeble, blabble, blah, small apple juice peeze"

"babble, bleeble, pepper, blah, small apple juice peeze"

"babble, dopper pepper, blah, small apple juice peeze"

"large Dr. Pepper and a small apple juice please"

He was quoting my regular Sonic order! Oh boy!

Anyway, now a phrase like that rolls right off his tongue. Names are easier now too, and he actually has conversations with people on the phone where before he wouldn't say anything or only repeat what I told him to say (in a quiet little voice no less). I was on the phone with my friend the other day and he wanted to say hello. I said, "this is Aunt Rhonda", and handed him the phone and he says "HI Rhonda!" in this enthusiastic booming voice. It was just the cutest thing!

The mind of a child is such an amazing thing. Every day is a new adventure.

Until,
D :)

Have Mercy

Aw, sorry I haven't posted. This has just been a rough week.


Tuesday night was really rough. Hubby had scared me half to death by not calling that day, and then finished the job by calling well past midnight. The day had been so frustrating on so many levels that after that late call I was a wreck. After much debate I decided to go ahead and take a very short trip to the inlaws so I could save what little sanity I had left. Before we left I made myself clean up a little, because, you know, who really wants to come home to a nasty house, right? I made a special effort to clean the master bath - mainly because it desperately needed it, but also because I was going to leave the dog in there overnight and I wanted the least amount of stuff for her to chew on in there as possible.


Now, let me tell you a bit about my dog. She is the most amazing, wonderful animal. I talk bad about her on a regular basis, but only because she is such a lover of the kind of attention that I can't provide. You give her a quick pet and she instantly thinks that she is a full on lap dog with never ending petting privileges. But, her redeeming qualities are great. She is crate trained, and so very good about staying quiet when she is in her "house". My dog also has one amazing bladder of steel. The first time we ever took her on a big trip, we drove from Phoenix, AZ to Paso Robles, CA to visit some friends. She did not have to pee the entire time we were on the road, and it even took her several hours before she went once we arrived at our destination. She was only a pup then, but has always been this way. Whenever Hubby and I need to take a quick trip somewhere and only stay a night or two, we put our dog in the master bath with her crate and food and water and some newspaper. 99.9999% of the time she does not need to relieve herself until after we get home.

BUT - because Hubby has been away for a week she has been SUPER clingy and nervous and freaked out at every little thing; and stupid me should have known better than to leave her for any length of time by herself. I left late Wednesday and came home mid day Friday - not gone long at all, so I was thinking she'd be ok. I am just not up for the gory details (and you will thank me for this) but when I got home tonight I was completely, totally, absolutely horrified by what she had done to my beautiful, sparkly clean master bath. As I told Grammy in an email, it took 4+hours, a generously soapy dog bath, 2 rolls of paper towels, approximately 15 small grocery bags, one big trash bag, 2 squirt bottles full of bleach solution, mopping, mopping, wiping, scrubbing, detail work and lots and lots of air freshener to get my bathroom back to livable conditions. I have never, ever been faced with such a disgusting mess.

And therefore, to save what little of my sanity is left, my neighbor and I are running away to her parent's beach condo for the entire weekend, by ourselves, sometime very soon.

Oh. Yes. We. Are!

Until,
D :)

Take Me, Break Me

Oh, Mrs. Moore, how well you know me.

Actually, I am not that bad. Right now I am in a really good place, but there are moments (far to frequent) that a post like this would really speak to me.

Right now I have far too much else to think about. I got a call from Hubby. *sigh*

You know, it just wouldn't be a Hubby trip without a little bit, ahem, ok, a lot of drama. Oh, sorry, I mean adventure. I swear the boy gives me grey hair.

N-E-Way...... I went to IKEA today with the neighbor and her kids. You know about my IKEA obsession, right? Well, bless my poor neighbor's heart, her kiddos gave her a run for her money today. I felt really bad that nothing seemed to be going her way (including those absolutely ridiculous shopping carts!). But, as usual, I spent waaaaaayyyyyy too much money (mostly business expense though) and enjoyed it waaaaayyyyy to much. Had some yummy Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce and picked up an absolutely GORGEOUS floor sample rug for next to nothing (and there is NOTHING wrong with it! woo hoo!!). Now I have to figure out where to put it. I also picked up a really cool little wooden crane for Kiddo. I just love the simplicity of their toys. They are so basic and yet so fun.

And now I am sitting here, eating my weight in fresh, homemade guacamole.

Because. I. can. :)

Until,
D :)

Sweet Temptation

Whenever Hubby is away, I tend to cook all the things he doesn't care much for. I eat baked potatoes and cereal a lot too, but there are some meals that I just can't resist making at least once a year. One of my favorite meals my mom made when I was a kid involved the following three ingredients. Yup, that's it. You make the mac-n-cheese, drain the peas and tuna and just throw it all in together. Most people turn up their nose at it, but it really is good! Kiddo is not a big fan of tuna, so I pulled some mac out for him before mixing everything together. We had a nice, easy, cheap dinner!

Another thing I like to do when Hubby is away (or when I am bored, depressed, happy, hungry, full, tired, wired, etc. ) is bake. I really wanted brownies, but didn't feel like making them from scratch. The problem was I didn't have a mix on hand either. I did however, have a chocolate cake mix and various other things and after a bit of digging, found a YUMMY easy brownie recipe that I could work with. All you need is a cake mix, a box of pudding, some chocolate chips and 2 cups of milk. I had the chocolate cake mix, but only vanilla pudding, so I added some cocoa powder. I had the chips and also a bag of mint chocolate chip that needed to be used. Let me just say - YUM! These are the most oooey gooey brownies I've made in a while. If you want to make them, mix all ingredients together (just the powders, the chips and the milk), spread in a greased 13x9 pan and bake for about 40 minutes (give or take) at 350 degrees.

And, because I am the coolest mom ever (and there weren't any raw eggs in the mixture) I let Kiddo lick the bowl. Let me just say he was one happy boy! Just look at this face!

He could not get enough. I got to taking pics of him and asking him if it was good - his response was something between "mmmmmmmmm" and "YES Mommy!"

I asked him to show me his chocolate face. When I showed him the picture, he says "Mommy I have a chocolate moustache!"

He quickly abandoned the provided spoons and dug in with both hands.

He got it everywhere...

Can you see that he even got chocolate up in his nose???!? Yup, that's my boy! And as if that wasn't enough...

I think they got the Kiddo seal of approval! Shall we call it the Kiddo Treat of the Month? Of course!

Until,

D :)

Down So Long

So night number one wasn't too terribly bad. I stayed up way too late, watching tv and reading. I got to see a fabulous episode of Frasier - the one where Niles is finally trying to divorce Maris and she is dragging things out. Donny, the lawyer (that used to date Roz and ends up dating Daphne), finds out where exactly Maris' family fortune was made and Niles says the classic line, "She's managed to have her urinal cake and eat it too! ". Priceless!

Another quotable, from an episode of King of the Hill: Peggy's Dad says something to the effect of "Don't much know what the sky is sayin', but the soil keeps few secrets". Of course, it was late and I was feeling a bit weird, but I liked it anyway. ;)

Anyway, of course, because I went to bed shortly after midnight it was only fitting that Kiddo wake me up at quarter to one. Then the cat decided to howl at 2:30, at which time I felt it appropriate to check all the locks again. Then at 5 AM Kiddo asked for milk so we went to the couch. At 7 I left him there and went back to bed, the phone rang at 8 (it was a fax machine - such a joy to hear ringing in your ear after a long night) and Kiddo woke me again at 8:30. Hmmm, that doesn't amount to much sleep now does it?

Today we went shopping and Kiddo fell asleep in the car on the way home (stinker). I managed to get caught up on all my taped shows finally. The Gilmore Girls series finale sucked, but whatever, the season sucked too I guess. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck happened on Grey's Anatomy - but I suppose that could be a whole other discussion.

And this post just keeps getting more and more interesting...sorry.

I am hoping that by tomorrow my silly pity party will be over and I can get on with being normal (whatever that means). I talked to Hubby for 1 minute 32 seconds today. It really wasn't enough.

And why the heck do I not have a brownie mix in this house? What is wrong with me?

Oh, in much better news, Kiddo has asked to and succeeded in pooing on the potty two days in a row! Woo hoo! I think his traumatic experience at G&H's last week made him realize how much easier going on the potty is. Anyway, I see it as a positive step. Yay!

Ok, I am leaving this awful post with a wonderful song from my girl, Jewel. It is called Down So Long. Appropriate, huh? ;)

Until,
D :)

Long Gone Daddy

*sigh*


Hubby just left to go on an 8 day trip, motorcycling through the Arizona desert. I don't know how we are going to make it so long with out him. I miss him already. Kiddo cried from the moment Hubby pulled away in the truck until the moment he fell asleep - passing out at 8:30 from sheer exhaustion. He normally goes to bed around 10. All I feel like doing is eating. blech!


I keep thinking of all these things to blog about and as soon as I think the thought, it disappears into the recesses of my brain. Or perhaps the thoughts are falling out my ears. hmmmm, would ear plugs make me think better? Maybe I just need to put on my mp3 player and get lost in some music. Nah, it's too late tonight. Maybe tomorrow.



I am sad.



I should just go to bed. But I'm pretty sure I'll be up late. Because I can be.



Here is another photo of Grammaw I forgot to put in the last post. She was showing Kiddo all her little toys.

Don't you just want her to be your Grammaw too? :) She's pretty awesome. Did I tell you about her candy bowl? Oh yeah! She's got a candy bowl with only the best candies and a glass cake plate and cover that holds neat little stacks of Oreo cookies. Grammaw rocks!

Anyway, say a prayer for me and for Hubby, will you? Thanks.

Until,

D :)

Drive To You

So on Saturday we decided to drive to Hubby's Grammaw's house. We set off far too early in the morning and arrived around noon. Kiddo did pretty well; with Hubby and I on either side to entertain, we didn't even pull out the DVD player. When we got there, we picked up Grammaw and met up with an Aunt, Uncle and Cousin at a local seafood restaurant. I did take some pics in the restaurant, but the lighting was pretty poor.

I did get a shot of Kiddo playing his favorite game with Happy. "Pull the Empty Sweet-n-Low Packet Off Happy's Finger" Good times! ;)

After we left the restaurant, the ladies took our full bellies over to the Aunt's house while the men folk (minus Kiddo) went to visit Granddad at his care facility. Unfortunately, Graddad didn't feel much like socializing so the visit was cut short. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't go because I really wanted to get some pictures of him, but I guess it would have been impossible anyway.

At the Aunt's house we played with their dogs a bit and saw their newly redone kitchen. It looks beautiful! A few days prior, Cousin had rescued a poor, poor pitiful Beagle that was homeless and very, VERY pregnant. She is due to pop any day now and boy was she sad. Her belly was so huge that when she laid down her back legs were almost extended straight down (as if she was still standing). She looked like a watermelon with ears!

We left Aunt and Cousin at the house and took Grammaw back to her place to visit. Grammaw was worried that Kiddo wouldn't like her...

I don't think it was a problem! :)

Actually, Kiddo was really lovey dovey that day. He gave everyone big smiles and hugs and kisses. I think he is just at a good age for dealing with family. Even Grammy got in on some snuggle action.

Grammaw's house is not exactly Kiddo friendly, but thankfully there was a Biscuit to chase around. This is Biscuit the second (or is it third?). He's a sweet boy and really loved Kiddo playing with him. Kiddo wore him out!

Thankfully, Hubby's Uncle is an optometrist, and since Hubby's glasses broke last week, Hubby and I went with Uncle to get a new prescription. When we got back, everyone was out on the back porch. Da Boys were putting together a little wooden boat.

The ladies were watching some sweet little baby birds cry for their momma. I wanted so badly to get a good picture of them, but I was afraid to get close. After taking about 30 pictures of the bird house from afar, I decided to get right up on it and that is when this happened.

I guess they thought I was Momma! :) There actually is three of them, but one was being shy. It was fun to snap away, capturing the family a bit this year. The last couple of visits I haven't been able to really take any pictures because I was constantly chasing Kiddo. I was photographing Grammaw a lot, and just before we left I told her I was going to get in real close. She replied, "well, what are you photographing, my wrinkles?"

Every beautiful one, Grammaw. Every one.

I just love photographing her, she is so beautiful to me; she's one of those people that makes me wish I had known her all my life. And when we are around her, I just want to soak her in and never leave.

But eventually we did have to go, and that is when I got my wonderful reading time in the car. Kiddo passed out asleep after a royal fit because we forgot to bring the power cord for the DVD player (*ahem* Happy forgot. ;) ), and it was my cue to don my headphones and drown out the world for an hour or so. I did manage to snap this shot of the Hubby.

Hubba, hubba! Actually, this is his "why are you taking a picture of me?" look. He was mumbling "what are you doing?". The reality was I was trying to figure out a good exposure so he could take a picture of me reading my book. I am always thinking of the blog! ;)

Thanks for reading!
Until,
D :)

The Weekend

Ok, so first I have to tell you the exciting news. Week before last I got an email from Katrina over at Callapidder Days informing me that I had won a book!!! I couldn't believe it! Turns out, it was the exact title I really, really wanted from that week's selection. I happily forwarded my address to her and than kind of forgot all about it. So on Friday I checked the mail and there was the book, Diva Nashvegas by Rachel Hauck! I was terribly excited to have a good book to read this summer, and even better it came practically to my door (so no effort involved - sweet!). But then, I opened it up and discovered that the very sweet and thoughtful Ms. Hauck actually wrote me a short note and signed it! I was giddy with excitement! Call me simple, but I just think that is the coolest thing.

Anyway, it turns out that we decided last minute to take a trip to the inlaws and I eagerly anticipated practically uninterrupted reading time in the car. How often does that happen, right? Our plans developed into a drive to the inlaws on Friday night, and then a whirlwind day trip to Hubby's grandmother's house and back on Saturday. Sunday afternoon we returned home. All totaled, the drive time came to about 14 hours. Thankfully, it was broken into 3+ hour spurts and only half of that was in our non-air conditioned car! The drive back from Hubby's Gma's house on Saturday was my prime reading time, and I managed to make it about 3/4 of the way through the book.

See, that's me tuning out the world. Oh Yeah!

I just wanted to say a big thank you to Katrina and all the publishers and authors who make her book giveaways possible. It really is such a thrill to win something like this, and it completely made my weekend!

More later,

D :)

Mother's Day

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to hop on here briefly to update a bit and to wish all my mommy friends a wonderful Mother's Day. I know I am a day late, but we were gone all weekend and I didn't have much lengthy access to a computer.

I am so thankful for all the wonderful comments on Myspace and the ecards and well wishes sent. Mother's Day is a time we should lift each other up and show our appreciation and though I was not able to do that personally for very many, I do completely appreciate the gestures made to me. I hope you all had a wonderful day and were appreciated properly for the amazing and difficult job you do every day.

I have been catching up on blogs this morning, tearing up at all the moving messages wonderful moms have written about motherhood and all the joys that come along with it. You ladies are so much more talented than I; the words are so hard for me to come by sometimes.

I did have a wonderful Mother's Day - so much better than I ever expected; and though the weekend as a whole was long and tiring, I am thankful for the opportunity to do what we did. I have tons of pictures to sort through, and once that is done I will tell you all about it.

Until then, I wish you well,
D :)

Inspiration

I have been frantically searching for something I wanted to share with you about a subject near and dear to my heart; something I wrote a couple of years ago, but I can't find it. In all that searching I was forced to leaf through some of my old notebooks. They are where I keep things I have written over the years, a place for letters others have written to me; things I hold very dear. Included in the pockets and between the bound pages were envelopes from people I love, people I once loved and people I don't even remember. But, with every hand written letter, every loop and mark I was taken back to that very place and time in my life in which the correspondence was sent.

It's funny how when you graduate from high school, staying connected to the people you saw every day for so many years (and totally took for granted) was so important at first. The letters told me useless information; line after line of new class schedules and big talk about all the partying that probably never happened. But in between those lines of fluff were sentiments; emotions of joy, pain, wonder and loneliness. Some screamed "you better write me back" while others only smiled with a "see you soon". It's amazing to me how in 15 years I have only seen a few of my "BFFs" a handful of times. I miss those emotional, soap-opera days sometimes.

Ahh well, since the day hasn't exactly turned out like I thought it would anyway, it seems only fitting that my intended blog post would follow the same lead. As I was going through all that stuff I came across a poem I wrote back in September of 1992. Now I don't claim to be a poet, but it kind of sums up the journey I took today as I was looking back through all those letters.

Inspiration

-the book
its cover clean and new
never tarnished
never flawed
well kept

-the spine
tall and straight
strong leather
satiny smooth
flawless

-the pages
filled with stories
experiences
music
memories

-the effect
laughter
tears
anger
love

-the impression
at first not good
over time better
soon loving

-the reader
blind to emotions
loaded with faith
the drive to go on

-the stories
some never told
never read
others worn with love

-the final chapter
overloaded with conflict
broken hearts
losing love
lost hope
same as the first
and second and third
never ending
not final at all

-the last page
a happy beginning
off in the sunset
loved forever

-the reader
finds her hope
through the leather binding
strength in the pages
reads again

-the book
sits on a shelf
well read and worn
an anchor to her soul
sometimes closed
only to open again
and tell a story
to heal her wounds
and bring back memories

Thanks for reading!
Until,
D :)

Dark Horse

So where was I? Oh yes, Friday. So we went to the park and then came home to mad clean for the arrival of G&H. I got the house all spiffy, fielded about 4378267827527187329 questions from Kiddo about seeing G&H, (Mommy, see Grammy Happy today? repeat to infinity) and then we waited. and waited, and waited. Turns out G&H bypassed our house and went on to their property to meet someone. Poor Kiddo, he was in a panic about seeing them. So we loaded him up and took him out there. He was excited because not only was the tractor there, but a bulldozer too AND G&H were putting together a little toy tractor for him to ride on. (too bad Kiddo doesn't yet know how to pedal! Oh well.)

Saturday Kiddo got to hang with G&H and Hubby for a while so I could finish up proofing some images from a photo shoot. It took me a bit longer because I had to reload all my programs back to my computer in order to make the web page for the client to view, and I kept getting interrupted. Hubby came home and he and I met Kiddo, G&H for an early dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

Sunday we went to church, and though we had a nice, lazy time in mind for the rest of the after noon, our master bath toilet had other plans. I will spare you the details, but suffice it to say it wasn't pretty. Ick.

Now on to Monday. Even though I really was not motivated to do so (sleeping in and lazily drinking coffee is my favorite Monday thing to do you know) I packed Kiddo up early and we drove out to Sweetberry Farms to pick strawberries with our mom's group. We went back in October for the pumpkin patch, but right now it is strawberry season.

The last time we went I wasn't too impressed by the whole "group tour" thing, but I think we did a bit better this time around. At first, Kiddo got a bit spooked by all the people and kids and started having a melt down. After a strategic move of the wagon to the outskirts of the group, we were able to calm down and somewhat enjoy the activities. The kids really loved the farm kitties and one in particular got more lovin' from the group than most cats get in a life time! The veggie digging activity was a bit over the heads of some of the younger kiddos, but the rest of the tour was fun. They gave each kid a lady bug to release on the strawberry plants and told them a bit about their part in keeping aphids at bay. Kiddo was fascinated by the lady bug.

Once we released the bug on the plants, we headed over to the picking area and each child got a little bucket to put their berries in . Kiddo named each letter of his name as I wrote it on the side of the bucket - I was so proud of him!

He really seemed to enjoy picking the berries, and we hunted for the red under all the green leaves.

Mommy, lookit de red straw-bear-wees!

Mmmmmm, smells good!

It was pretty hot out there in the sun, so once the buckets were full we headed over to the picnic tables for some shade and a light lunch. Kiddo's favorite thing from the last visit, the blessed goats were unfortunately no where to be found, but we did spy the horses and donkeys down the path and quickly headed that direction. Kiddo was completely enamored with the horses.

He even played googly eyes with the donkey... ;)
Only the promise of ice cream lured him away, and shortly thereafter we departed. It was a sad ride home. Kiddo was exhausted, and in his fade to sleep I could see him thinking about the day. The wistful look in his eyes showed the fun of picking berries and running with the kids and then just before he drifted off to dream land he thought about - the horses. His eyes turned to glass and filled with the biggest of crocodile tears, his little mouth puckered, then spread thin and turned downward, and then, the wailing began. Da HORSES!!!!!!! He screamed. Mommy, da HORSES!!!!! Wahhhhaahhhhhhhh!!! Go back Mommy, see da Horses!!!! eeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

All. the. way. home. (for an hour on twisty, hilly, dangerous roads) yup.

He fell asleep about 5 minutes from the house. *sigh*

Overall, it was a good day though. I'm pretty sure he had a blast.

Until,

D :)

Daddy

Well, we've had a busy few days. As we were gearing up on Thursday for Hubby to leave on a motorcycle trip Friday, we found out that one of the guys that was supposed to go with him was in the hospital. Thankfully it is nothing serious, but the trip had to be put off for two weeks. Poor Hubby; he has been a mess. "Right now I'd be pulling into this town and setting up camp for the night. Right about now we'd be looking out over the ____ and riding the ____ trail." That's all I've heard all weekend. *sigh* I want this trip over already!

Friday I managed to take Kiddo to the park. There is this amazing rec center in a neighboring town that has the most wonderful play scape on it's property. Kiddo absolutely had a blast, and only the promise of seeing Happy and Grammy got him out of there. They were coming into town later that day. Note to self; it is a mistake to mention seeing G&H unless it is happening within the hour, even if it gets the Kiddo to do something you want. The crying and whining and constant questioning is never worth it! It was hot and humid and I was ready to go after about 5 minutes! But we had fun, climbing, jumping, exploring and swinging.

Kiddo had a blast "peeking" at me from behind the play scape! "Mommy I'm peeking!"

But the most fun came from the tire swing. *Artsy Fartsy Shot*

I simply cannot get over how much Kiddo looks like his Big Daddy (my dad) in the shot below. He really is a mini version of my dad. Speaking of; out of the blue the other night, I was getting him ushered into the shower and he turned to me and said "Mommy, Nana says....Now den!" :) :) I can't believe that after a month he still thinks about that. (inside story; Nana will get it ;) )

More to come!

Until,

D :)

Fragile Heart

Here is the reason Hubby needs to clear out the brush piles in our back yard...

Don't let his beauty fool you. This little guy was over 3 feet long.

Sorry about the cruddy pictures, but as you can imagine I wasn't too interested in getting terribly close! I discovered my "little" friend after apparently stepping right over him to retrieve Kiddo off our play scape. I only noticed him when I heard a sssshhhhhhhing noise behind me. He was slithering along a bunch of leaves headed under our back deck.

After rounding up the Kiddo and animals and figuring out what kind of snake he is (a mere Garter snake in case you were wondering), I went back out to photograph him. By then he had crossed the great expanse of our yard and gone into the side yard to bask in the sun.

I read on line that when they reproduce, litters can contain 7-25 babies!!! YIKES!

Thankfully he's not poisonous, but holy moly who really wants to walk up on something almost as long as you are! He got me all in a tither, and I really love snakes.

I have officially aged 10 years I think.

Until,

D :)

Carnivore

Mommy Draw Tiger?

My little artist. Isn't he a cutie pie? Unfortunately, his medium of choice today is skin. He was making himself into a tiger. Joy.

and a little camo for the face...

Project Completion

Thank goodness for washable markers! The bad news is, even after I scrubbed off a layer of epidermis, the stripes are still there. I guess he's wearing long pants for a couple of days.

Until,

D :)