The Black Family

Vincent Claire Gogh

2011-06-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

I am fully aware of the fact that no one on this planet thinks my kids are more special than their daddy and I do. I know that I am biased and that I think the every-day things they do are wonderful. And while I rave about my kids, most people are probably rolling their eyes and snickering at my excess.

To that end, I'm just going to brag a bit about my girl, and you can do all the eye-rolling and snickering you want, and I'll never know! Such is the beauty of the Internet.

So, here it is. The plain, unvarnished, unbiased truth is that my girl is an arteest! That's right, a bon-ee-fyde artist extraordinaire. :-)

Her school sponsored an art program this year, and the culmination of the program was an art contest. Students could enter pieces from any medium they desired: photography, writing, sculpture, painting, drawing, etc. Claire decided that she wanted to enter a painting piece but debated right up until the deadline on what exactly she would paint.

I suggested that she paint a copy of one of Vincent Van Gogh's works simply because this was the very first artist in whom I ever heard her express an interest. She loves his "Starry Night" picture, so she decided to do that one.

We worked together. I painted a copy while she sat next to me and worked on her own version.

The top picture is Van Gogh's original, and the bottom is Claire's copy of it.

Van Gogh, she is not, but we thought she did a great job.

The night of the art show, the students gathered to hear the final results of the contest winners.

And my girl walked away with the First Place prize for first grade in the painting category.

We are super proud of her.

I tend to stress academics with my kids, as that's the area in which I have more experience and feel most comfortable, but I've always been envious of people with artistic talent. My dad and his father and grandfather are all gifted artists of a variety of mediums, and I wish that I had more of that ability.

I am overjoyed to think that my girl has maybe inherited an artistic inclination from her Papa.

Claire's friend and classmate, Emma, also entered the contest and won Best in Show for her self-portrait!

Probably the highlight of the whole experience for Claire was that the artwork of the students was then displayed in a local art gallery.

Right alongside real works from local artists hung the works of the students.

I'd like to believe that it won't be the only time she sees her paintings hanging on the art gallery's wall.

Easter 2011 - where we (and every other family in America) take every opportunity to get pictures of our family all dressed up.

2011-06-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Pretty Easter dresses and handsome Easter ties mean mom has to take every opportunity to snap a few pictures of the kids.

Just a few.

Okay, maybe several.

I started early on the way to church. Just in case those pretty clothes got ruined later in the day. Live and learn, man. Live and learn.

Hello, future Mr. Senator.

And then come the obligatory "go stand over there by your sister and act like you like her" pictures.

I think the eye roll on the little one gives it away.

Are we done yet mom?

And the close-up's

The little princess.

I'm more than a little concerned at how quickly this one is growing up. Who gave her permission to do so?

Gah! She was just in my womb yesterday! Who is this gorgeous big girl?

And then there's this little guy.

This is the "see my tie?" stance.

He's super proud of that tie.

So proud that he refused to wear the perfectly adorable vest that went with his suit all because, "it will cover up my tie, mommy!"

So I gave in.

Who could resist this face anyway?

Not me.

Mom and Dad even got in on the picture parade.

This one was courtesy of Claire.

And then the whole family.

And if you've made it to the end of this post, you deserve some sort of reward. I'd give you some plastic Easter eggs full of candy, but that's what I used to bribe my kids to get all the pictures, and they ate them all.

Sorry.

Egg Hunts

2011-06-23T12:23:00.001-07:00

Easter time around here is important. While we are busy with multiple egg hunts, and baskets filled with candy that thrill our kids and ruin mom's diet, we are very careful to stress the real reason for remembering that day. Our talks about Easter and God's love for us this year really prompted some inquisitive questions from Ben, and his tender heart was absolutely devastated by the story of Jesus' death on the cross. He told me, "mommy, I don't like that part of the story" with tears in his eyes.

Yet, as we celebrated Christ's resurrection, we also did participate in some of the local festivities, including several egg hunts.

Baby chicks!

Ben had a small plastic bottle of bubbles he found at home, and he spent nearly the entire time that day blowing those bubbles.

He really was not interested in doing anything else and had to be talked into looking for eggs. Come to find out later that the medicine he was currently taking for an ear infection wasn't working, and he was probably feeling pretty crummy. Poor little dude.

Claire, on the other hand, was enjoying herself.

This egg hunt was a bit different from others. They used real hard-boiled eggs that had been dyed with organic dyes.

They ended up being really pretty.

And, as long as they didn't crack (peeyew!), they lasted for a long time.

The mom's organization that sponsored the egg hunt also booked the kid's band: Big Bang Boom to play for the kids after the hunt was over. Someone was ready to bust a move.

And someone was not.

I think that picture pretty much sums up Shawn's attitude toward dancing in general: dancing= teeth drilled.

I was lucky to get a dance out of him at our own wedding. Seriously.

Last picture of the day. What you don't see in this picture is Shawn gripping Ben to hold him in place OR the threatening "to sit still and smile" that took place about 2 second before. Or the complete and total meltdown that occured 5 seconds later. Ah, parenthood.

It was a glorious day.

Claire's Spring Break

2011-06-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Obviously I realize that a post about spring break is entirely ridiculous given that it is currently the middle of June.
But, given that a post about spring break also starts with a picture like this one, which obviously indicates that mother nature is totally off her rocker, I'm just going to go with it.

Truth be told, I'm so behind on my posts right now, that the sheer volume of pictures and posts demanding my attention is making me want to run away and hide. Which, I've obviously done for the last 2 months. But, there's no more hiding. I'm putting my foot down. It's time to get back to business.

The fact that I'm actually about to run out of room on my camera's memory card has absolutely nothing to do with it.

Honest.

So, anyway, as you can see. The first day of Claire's spring break didn't exactly herald a week full of warm weather and fun day trips to the park.

It snowed.

At the end of March.

And then it proceeded to rain the rest of the week. We spent a lot of time baking, going shopping, and thinking of fun ways to pass the time indoors. With 2 children who aren't used to spending all day with each other. Ideal spring break? No.

It was agonizing.

And, because Mother Nature is as hormonal as all women, the weather did warm up enough a few days later to allow for Claire and Shawn to begin work on our garden.

Okay, mostly, Shawn worked and Claire "supervised."

I've taught her well.

And while Grandma's spring break didn't coincide with Claire's this year, she did come down a few weeks later for a visit. Everyone is always happy to see Grandma.

Okay, so that's one post down. Maybe in the next few days I'll actually catch up enough to post some pictures taken in this season.

Maybe.

Don't hold your breath.

Claire's song and dance

2011-03-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

Someone around here thinks she's all grown up.

She stopped sucking her thumb after 7+ years of it just this month. The dentist is thrilled. Me? I'm a little sad.

She's now in a 2nd grade reading group.

She has her life all planned out. Her goal is to be either a teacher, a scientist, or an artist. (go scientist, go scientist!)

Where's my baby? Waaaaaaah!

Last night we had the privilege of seeing her perform in her school choral concert.

Here are a few clips for you to enjoy:

Here are my thoughts on the evening (in case you cared one little bit):

Thank you Lord that it was only 1 class performing this year. Memories of last year's 2-grade-performance still give me the vapours.

The singing and speaking abilities improve with age. The song choices, however, do not.
Parents who don't bring their children to a school recital when their children have solos or speaking parts should receive some sort of punishment.

I never want to be a grade school music teacher (see #3)
My daughter is a Glockenspiel extraordinaire (a real-world skill, no doubt).

My daughter likes to make sure all the other kids do it right.

Second grade dances look an awful lot like the "hokey pokey."

Yes, I know that Claire isn't in the last movie clip. That little boy was SO DARN CUTE. I had to include it.

On the way home last night, Claire informed us that she "loved doing that and wished it (the recital) weren't over."

If she could figure out a way to be a teacher/scientist/artist/stage performer, we'd be set.

Spring has Sprung

2011-03-21T11:18:00.001-07:00

It's the first day of spring, and it's surely evident around here.

The only thing missing is a rainbow.

Wait . . .

Now, we're all good.

Benjamin

2011-03-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that Ben's first year of preschool is nearly over, just a few more months, and summer vacation will be here. Crazy.

And while all that time keeps flying by, Ben keeps growing up.

In fact, he has his whole life already planned out. He informed me the other day that his chosen profession is to be a "karate train conductor who also owns children."

What do you mean that you want to own children?

Well, mommy, you know those children who don't have mommies and daddies? Those kids can just come live with me.

Adoption/own children. Of course. Why didn't I realize that's what he meant?

While the phrasing of his heart's desire wasn't exactly stated in a politically, socially or morally correct way, it's still pretty sweet.

He loves preschool though, and loves when I come to help out.

This was the menu for his Valentine's/pajama party. Yummo!

He was only slightly excited. Can you tell?

But then again, the rest of the kids were a little excited too.

He's come a long way this year, learning so much, both academically and socially and we owe a lot of that to his sweet teachers.

Ms. Judy LOVES those kids, and they adore her right back.

They enjoyed a little Valentine heart candy bingo.

A much better use of those candies than actually eating those nasty things!

He has made some great friends, but one of his biggest achievements this year thus far is finally learning to write his name.

I understand that most 4 year olds have been writing their names for a while now, but Ben had absolutely NO interest in even attempting to learn.

But now he can. This letter came in the mail for me this week.

See?

It makes my heart explode with love too.

And now I will bore you with tons of pictures from last year

2011-02-20T10:52:00.000-08:00

I've been lax in my blogging duties yet again. This time, I blame the abbreviated monster known to most as the PTA - you know, the Parents and Teachers Association? Well, I was asked to be on the board this year, and then asked to chair a committee about which I knew nothing.

I hereby warn you mothers of young children to NEVER make this mistake.

The PTA in our house now quietly stands for Pain in the you-know-what.

Anyway, I had a big event that I was working on steadily since Christmas, but now that that is behind me, hopefully I can get caught back up here.

So, imagine yourself stepping in to a time machine that will take you back to the far off date of December 2010.

Welcome!

This picture is totally out of order, but Blogger is not cooperating with me today. This was taken on Christmas day. Uncle Zach with all the boy cousins - Ezekiel, Benjamin, and Noah. Hello, Biblically named boys!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Before Christmas break, Claire's class had itself one humdinger of a party. Seriously, the parents in her class went all out, and we had chicken fingers, cupcakes, sandwiches, veggies, fruit, hot cheese dip, and more.

Ben was super thrilled to "help" Claire with her Christmas party craft.

And after this delightful pictures of various classmates working on their craft, my camera batteries decided to call it quits. Awesome!

So, the next "hunormous," as Ben would say, group of pictures were all taken while we were up in Ohio visiting family over the Christmas holiday.

We started Christmas Eve night at Grandma's house with some serious present opening fun.

Aunt Allison and Uncle Jeff. Odd how Jeff looks like he is having about as much fun as getting a tooth drilled.

Putting those new toys to work.

The evening even included a Claire-modified version of the game Catch Phrase. Here she is giving a clue.

Papaw and Claire

Oh, hello! What's this? Aren't you 2 people usually behind the camera?

Grandma snuggles

Ben loving on Aunt Allison

And then we come to Christmas morning. We stayed with mom this year, and here are the kids sitting on the stairs waiting to come down to see what Santa left for them this year.

Ben must be shutting his eyes because he is so overwhelmed by all the excitement.

SCORE!

Obligatory Christmas morning family pic. Notice how Shawn and I are holding on to both kids by the arm. They were very interested in getting back to the toys ASAP.

In fact, Ben was so interested in everything toy-related, that it was difficult to restrain the kid at all. He was in Cloud 9 from the get go, and his joy and excitement was something to watch.

For example:

Oh my gosh! Cars! Trains! More Cars!

Okay, I'll turn and smile at you quickly, but I really want to get back to playing with my new Transformer.

Jubilation!

And, finally, my favorite of the night:

Is that the face/pose of a happy, totally psyched kid or what? Kachow!

It was a very special Christmas for this little guy, that's for sure. He was totally into all aspects of it, and was so effusive in his joy and thanks for each and every gift he got. We heard lots and lots of "this is exactly what I wanted" and "thank you, I just love it" and "this is the best gift ever." He provided lots of entertainment.

We love spending time with family while up in Ohio, but certainly one of the highlights for the kids is that they get to see their cousins.

I think I've mentioned before about despite Claire and Kayli being so close in age how radically different they are in their personalities. They get along great, but they really couldn't be more different.

For example, here is Kayli opening the gift she asked for:

That's a remote control tarantula, people. She was thrilled. Claire was perplexed.

It's not a family Christmas without a meal at the "kid's table."

Ben and his cousin Zeke.

Ben: Oh, I am so happy on this wonderful day, and I just LOVE my older cousin Zeke so much, but I really do wish that he would let me play with his hand-held game system! Yahoooo!

Zeke: This kid is a little weird.

Uncle Jesse showing the boys how it's done.

The family!

And, the funny-face family. I'm thinking this one is probably more true to life.

Christmas Night was spent at my dad's house, and I just couldn't resist snapping a picture of this moment.

Noah gets his first bike. Does that face say it all, or what?

The family.

The day after Christmas we were able to catch up with some friends from college. We haven't seen Olivia and Andy Koch in probably 10 years, so it was so nice to spend some time with them and their sweet family.

The kids were all fast friends, and I am so regretting not having video evidence of the sweet Just Dance Wii performance that Claire and Caroline did for us. They were like 2 peas in a pod, and Ben is absolutely smitten by Sylvie. He still talks about how much he loves her.

Claire, Caroline, Sylvie, Oliver, and Ben

Such cute girls.

Before we left town, I snapped a few more shots of the cousins all together.

And, finally, I leave you with this:

Classic Zeke.

The end.

Now, back to 2011!

Christmas Card

2010-12-30T16:27:00.001-08:00

There's a story behind our Christmas card this year. It mainly involves a windy, snowy, 30 degree day, a very whiny little boy, and a kid tackle resulting in inconsolable wailing by whiny little boy thus cutting short our photo session. I can't even think about it without cringing. And, so I'm going to skip the long-detailed account of it. Suffice it to say, I was certain that we weren't going to have a Christmas card this year at all.

Despite all of this (and thanks to the talents of Amber Gallimore), we were still able to get some great shots.

These were the 2 we used on our Christmas card this year.

We hope all of you had a very merry Christmas and send best wishes for a wonderful new year!

Our Cracker Box Christmas

2010-12-13T06:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas for us is generally spent up in Ohio with our extended families. Because we travel nearly every year, I am tempted to just forgo decorating for Christmas at our house. Because who loves coming home to a tree so dry it could impale you? No one. That's who.

But, decorating for Christmas is probably as much fun for my kids as is Christmas morning. There's no way we could not do it around here. So, since our families never get to see our house at Christmas time, I thought I would post some pictures here.

I'm also linking to The Nester's Christmas Tour of Homes.

Though, I have to say I'm a little nervous about that since most of those homes and pictures look like they've been done by professional stylists.

Our home? Well, there's no rhyme, no reason for what we put out for Christmas. We put it up because we have in the past, and the kids wouldn't be happy if we didn't do it again. It's sorta like Santa threw up in the living room. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

My dreams of a perfectly coordinated decorating scheme will have to wait.

So, here we go.

I don't know if it's an indication of my mood today, but this little guy is my favorite decoration right now.

What's even better is that if you push on his back, he does this:

I ran out of brown-colored jelly beans. Lucky you!

Here's the living room.

See that wreath against the window? That's actually what I was trying to capture in this horribly dark photo.

A close-up of the wreath I made. Yes. I did. Glue gun and all.

Our every color, crazy, hectic, ornaments-jumbled-too-close-together tree.

I love it. Can't help myself.

Into the kitchen. Please pardon my wrapping paper and boxes in the corner!

We started this tradition a few years ago. Each day, the kids open a door on the advent calendar and find a candy treat and a small ornament. They then hang them on this little tree. It's the first thing they do when they wake up every morning.

Hideously old-school, but I love this thing for some reason.

Some of those things I would have kept in boxes, but the kids had to have them out.

Every home with young children should have this toy. It's a hit every year I bring it out.

Our "Elf on the Shelf," Elfie decided to ride the reindeer this morning.

This was always out at my house during the Christmas season while I was growing up, and it doesn't seem right not to include it now.

And finally, some of my favorite ornaments:

My girl. Ugh! Was she ever so small?

Geesh... we were infants!

The kids love this one. Pooh and Piglet's sleigh moves around the circle when you pull the string on the bottom.

And, last, but not least . . .

Guess who!

Thanks for visiting our Cracker Box Christmas!

And a Sheep Shall Lead Them

2010-12-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

Another article I wrote for our MOPS group:

I think as moms we would all love for the holiday season to be a special time with our families when we come together to relax and enjoy each other while celebrating the birth of our savior, Jesus. We want it to be perfect. The perfect Christmas picture, the perfect gifts, the perfect memories.

However, the reality is often very different.

There's the Christmas shopping, party planning, cookie baking, program attending, card addressing, present wrapping, travel going, lack of sleeping, children whining, and a partridge in a pear tree.

The perfect Christmas often gets lost in the shuffle, or we're simply too worn out to enjoy it. Do you know what I mean?

This year, I'm trying (and not always succeeding) to remind myself and my kids to slow down, to enjoy the season, and to concentrate on our blessings rather than our wants. It's a constant battle. That's for sure.

The fact remains, however, that no matter how we do spend our holidays, the memories made during this time will stay with our children for years to come.

And now, just because it always makes me laugh to recall it, I would like to share one of my favorite Christmas memories.

It involves one of my 3 younger brothers (please, feel sorry for me, I deserve it). Seth is the middle brother and has been stubborn since the day he was born. This stubbornness made itself known in a particular way one year during our church's children's program.

Each grade level was assigned a part in the re-enactment of the Bethlehem story. The kids in my class (third grade?) were the angels. We totally rocked our pillow case dresses and cardboard wing ensembles, trust me. :-)

The oldest brother's class (kindergartners?) were the shepherds, and Jesse (the oldest of the 3 boys) was totally thrilled to wear my dad's bathrobe and walk down the center aisle herding the "sheep." The "sheep" were the preschoolers - Seth's class. And their costumes were adorable. Each child came dressed in footed sleeper pjs and were given woolly ears and a woolly tail to wear pinned to their bums. Their whole part in the program was simply to crawl down the aisle "baaing" while the shepherds walked with them toward the manger scene at the front of the church.

But Seth was totally NOT cool with his big brother being a shepherd while he had to be a lowly sheep with the other little ones. He pouted, he fussed, he threw a tantrum. But, my parents were determined not to give in to his antics, and he came to church that night in his sheep costume ready to go.

Or so we thought.

As I stood on stage singing "Silent Night" with the other angels, watching the cute little shepherds herding their sheep down the aisle, I started to hear some people laughing.

I looked and saw the shepherds, their adorable little sheep crawling and "baaing" as they went. And then. THEN. I spied one adorable, vaguely smug, stubborn-as-all-get-out sheep standing up and walking as upright as he could muster - with his nose in the air all the way down the aisle. Seth was dressed a sheep alright, but he was determined to walk with the shepherds no matter the cost.

While that program certainly didn't go according to plan, and my parents were probably mortified, that story has provided our family with many laughs for many years. I certainly can't tell you what I got for Christmas that year or really anything else about that Christmas, but my whole family remembers the moment when Seth the sheep was determined to be Seth the Shepherd. It's a family classic.

So, when all your perfectly laid Christmas plan don't happen exactly as you would hope, don't worry. Chances are that the memories made during all the mishaps will still be invaluable.

Merry Christmas!

Hello, snow

2010-12-08T08:23:00.000-08:00

So what if he woke up with a horrible cough and a touch of a fever? He didn't care. When those first few flakes began to fall, all that mattered was getting outside to experience them.

Because, to a kid, watching it fall through the window simply isn't good enough. Have you forgotten that?

So, he broke out the winter hat. The BEST winter hat.

And went to revel in the first snow of the season. That magical occurrence when everything gets better, prettier, quieter, and more awesome.

Pure bliss.

Pure exaltation.

A JibJab Disco Christmas

2010-12-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

Because it's snowing outside, and I'm feeling particulary Christmasy today, I thought I'd share this little gem with you.

Oh, who am I kidding.

It just makes me laugh.

Hope you like it too! Click on the link and enjoy!

The Black Family Disco Christmas

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving just might be my favorite holiday. Sure it's crazy getting all that food together, but oh the rewards of eating it!

I've been a little disgusted at how Thanksgiving seems to get overlooked more and more each year. It seems as though once Halloween is over, the Christmas season begins, and Thanksgiving just gets lost in the shuffle. Sadly, Black Friday gets more attention.

But, we were determined to get the most out of this holiday because, truly, we have much for which to be thankful.

It totally helped that these special people came to celebrate with us:

We took the opportunity of having a few extra hands around to get a family shot. Not often these happen.

Grandma also came, and it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving at our house without her.

My dad took this one of me and my girl.

The Little Man led us in a Thanksgiving prayer that will go down in the history books for sure. If I can figure out a way to get a sound recording on the blog, I will post it for you here. There's just nothing sweeter than hearing a little voice:

Come Lawd Jesus,

Awr guest to beee,

And bwess deez gifs bestowed by dee.

Bwess awr loved ones evwewhere,

And keep us in yawr loving keeair.

Ahhhhhmen.

We clapped and cheered like Ohio State had just scored a touchdown or something.

He grinned like he had scored that touchdown.

Classic.

We had good food (including a seriously juicy, yummy turkey and 2 desserts!) and a good time with family.

Truly, what could be better than that?

My Girl Has a Birthday (which also means she grows up. Boo!).

2010-11-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

So, something happened the other day.

And, I'm not really thrilled about it.

Someone else, on the hand, couldn't wait for it.

Apparently, she's dead set on growing up.

Little stinker refuses to listen to every argument I present encouraging her to stay little enough for me to snuggle forever. And she absolutely refuses to turn back into a little baby so I can sniff the top of her head and gnaw on her cheeks.

Why is this, I wonder? I mean, my arguments make perfect sense to me!

Seven candles, people! 7!!

There was no nostalgia for my girl. She was all about celebrating her birthday with some of her special friends . . .

her dad, her brother, and . . . and a horse (of course!)

at the place that all little kid's call "heaven" and all parents call . . . well, you know.

That's right.

It was . . .

Chuck E. Cheese's!

"Where a kid can be a kid . . . and some freaky, large-headed mouse makes you wear a silly blow-up crown in front of all your best friends!"

Awesome!

She had a blast though, and so did all of her friends.

Her little brother and her dad did too.

I forgot to ask the horse.

Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to reconcile myself with this getting older business. Apparently, she's going to do it, no matter what I say.

Thankful with Attitude

2010-11-11T14:45:00.001-08:00

My girl turned 7 last week.

I'm still reeling from the shock of it all, but I am working on getting a birthday post up someday soon (hopefully before she turns 8 which, at this rate, will be, like, tomorrow. THEY GROW UP SO FAST!).

Okay, I'm over it.

Anyway, I wrote this for our MOPS newsletter and thought I would post it here too. Sorry if you're reading it twice. :-)

One of my mom's favorite "punishments" for her 4 whiny children was to order us to: "name ten things you are thankful for." (really, she probably only made us do it a few times, but to a kid that's a lot!). Sounds like she let us off easy, doesn't it? Seriously, when my 2 start the whine fest, all I want to do is send them somewhere AWAY from me. I have a very low whine tolerance. It's the truth.

As kids, we were usually disgruntled and mad that we didn't get our way, and our typical first few "thankful for's" included things like, "the air," "my pants," "boogers," and other such sarcastic drivel.

But, what eventually happened, what always happened, and what my wise mother knew would happen (or at least she hoped!) is that by number 4 or 5, we really started to name those things that truly mattered, those things for which we were truly grateful - our family, our home, our health, etc. And, low and behold, the earlier gripes were forgotten, and our moods were lightened (usually, anyway!).

As a kid, I used to HATE doing this, and swore that I would NEVER make MY kids do this.

Well, never say never.

While I haven't yet employed the "thankful list" as a punishment per se, I have started to make an effort at encouraging my children to appreciate those blessings around them that they take for granted every day, and as Thanksgiving nears, we have begun a tradition in our home to help us be thankful more than just one day every year.

Two balls of Styrofoam, a pair of googly eyes, and a wattle and beak made from construction paper make up our very own Tom the Thankful Turkey. Every November he arrives in our home, and as each day passes, we fill out Tom's tail with construction paper feathers filled with "thankful for's" as we count down the days until Thanksgiving.

The kids LOVE doing this each night, and the contributions are always entertaining. Ben's "thankful for's" are always my favorite: "homework, the sun, Big Doggy, apple crisp, Popsicles."

My "thankful for's" of course always include my family, my friends, my home, but I also include things like "coffee," "chocolate," and this past week, I included "antibiotics" too. :-)

What are you thankful for, and how do you remind yourself and your family to be thankful every day?

There are many days the whiny little kid of so many years ago still shows her face in my mirror, and I'm always surprised at just how easy it is to forget everything for which I have to be grateful. Hopefully, with a little practice, we can all remember to be thankful for all our blessings without it having to be a punishment.

Guess what we were for Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T11:51:00.000-07:00

Can you guess?

She's not a princess (it's a Halloween miracle!).

She's not sparkly or glittery.

There are no wings, wands, tiaras, or plastic shoes involved.

Can you guess?

Whoa... what's up with the brown hair??

She's Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, complete with Toto and the requisite red sparkling shoes (okay so there was a little sparkle involved. But, if you were to ask her, she would be quick to tell you that in actuality, Dorothy's shoes in the original story were silver! That's my girl!). Click those heels together, Dorothy! There's no place like home. There's no place like home!

She got lots of oohs and ahs from people admiring her costume all night long. And though she didn't intend to, she totally freaked out her little brother.

Mommy, I don't like Clairey in that costume.

Why not, buddy?

Because it doesn't look like she's my sister anymore.

And the little man?

No masks, no fur, no Iron Man in sight (though it was a close call there!)

The fake head/microphone was the clincher on the costume choice for this guy.

Ka-chow! Hello Lightening McQueen Pit Crew Chief!

Bring on the candy!

The Race

2010-10-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

I run.

Okay, let's rephrase that.

I jog. Slowly trot. Move somewhat faster than a walk.

I do this for exercise, mainly because it's fast, and it doesn't require a fitness club or Y membership. Generally I get up before Shawn leaves for work in the morning to get my run in, and I feel great knowing that I have exercised for the day.

I've been doing this now for over a year, and while I enjoy it (to some degree), I have never considered myself a "runner" and have really never had a desire to run in races. Although, I will say that somewhere in the back of my mind I think it would be really neat to run a half-marathon

Well, about 2 months ago, I finally convinced Shawn that he needed to start exercising. He's always been super skinny, and weight has never been an issue for him (blast him!), but he's just recently noticed some of his pants getting a little bit more snug. (HA!) So, he decided to start running.

Of course, not more than a few weeks into it, he tells me we need to run a race. It must be a man thing. To run was simply not enough. There needed to be a competition.

I agreed, the only stipulation being that he run with me.

And so . . . we raced.

Here we are about 2 minutes after I finished. Yes, I said I finished. Shawn's promise to stay with me lasted all of about 2 minutes.

Official 5K (3.1 miles) times:

Shawn - 25.17 minutes

Me - 28.47 minutes

Now that we have a race under our belts, I'm happy.

Shawn, on the other hand, has already scoped out 2 more races for us to run before Christmas.

I've created a monster.

The Fair Affair

2010-10-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Every October signals the arrival of the Dixie Classic Fair, and attending it has become a family tradition, dating back to those nearly forgotten days before children.

But, there's no denying that it's all about the kids these days.

All that was missing from the day was a helping of fried butter with a side of fried beer.

And, yes, we could have bought them both.

Stuff

2010-10-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

We've taken a few "field trips" lately with the kids.

First, the now annual Tobaccoville Celebration. This fell on Ben's birthday last year, and he thought all the activities were planned for his big day. It wasn't on his birthday this year, but the kids still had lots of fun.

Can't beat it when it's free!

I actually considered buying a pig after seeing this one.

Seriously.

A sword and fire hat for brother . . .

and a butterfly for sister = good day!

Ben and I took another trip with our MOPS group to a local butterfly farm.

First they demonstrated the life cycle of the butterfly.

"in the cocoon"

Kylie the butterfly. She looks thrilled, doesn't she?

And then it was off to the butterfly house to feed the butterflies.

The white pads were soaked with sugar water to encourage the butterflies to land on us.

New ones breaking out of cocoons.

This one is getting ready to start his cocoon.

Just when Ben started to get tired, look what happened!

Love his face here.

Ben, go stand next to that butterfly so I can take your picture.

No, mommy, I don't want to.

Well, just go over there and show me your muscles.

Okay.

THE Birthday Party

2010-10-01T07:24:00.001-07:00

Ben requested a "firetruck birthday party" this year, and he insisted that we have it at our house. Thinking that this would be a great way to save some money, I wholeheartedly agreed.

But then, I started seeing all these blog and facebook posts about moms going all-out for these theme birthday parties, and I started to get a little worried. Gone are the days of just inviting your friends over for cake and ice cream or having your birthday at McDonald's (my 6 year surprise birthday party at McDonald's totally rocked, man.)

But, I decided to give it a try anyway, and while I'm not at all creative when it comes to this kind of stuff, I am VERY good at stealing ideas from the Internet. :-)

So, here are some shots from Ben's firetruck fiesta!

Assistant fire marshal's. These two were BIG helpers during the party.

Lots of games set up in the backyard to keep little ones busy.

Decorate your own fire hat with foam stickers and markers! I found the fire hats at Michael's and the badge stickers came from the local fire house.

The Four-Year-Old Fireman!

Good friends!

Good fun in the backyard! The weather was perfect, thank the Lord. I don't know what we would have done if we had to be indoors.

The only structured game we played was called Rescue the Kitty. The bell would ring with a call that a poor kitty was stuck in a tree and needed to be rescued. Being the kind-hearted firefighters they are, the kids would put on their rescue gear . . .

Hop on the rescue truck . . .

and drive to the end of the road.

Then they would run to put out a "fire" with their super-powered "water hose."

Then, they would race to the tree . . . and rescue the poor stuck kitten.

and then bring him back to his owner.

The game was a HUGE hit. The kids loved it, and several asked to play it again.

After the game, we had lunch - "hot"dogs, Doritos (because they are shaped like flames), grapes and carrots (because we have to have some healthful food) and finally cupcakes!

After making the firetruck cake for his actual birth day, I decided cupcakes would be easier for the party.

The "big" kid's table.

The little kid's table.

All done, mom. Can I go play now?

Me and the birthday boy.

Guests got treat bags stuffed with crayons shaped like firetrucks and badges, a firetruck coloring sheet, bouncy ball AND . . .

These! Sugar cookies!

And, of course, there were presents!

All in all, this whole theme birthday at home was WAY more work than I thought it would be, but it was also much more enjoyable than following your kid around at the house of the cheesy mouse.

But, maybe the best part of all, was that we also had 2 very special guests at the party.

Papa Bill and SueAnne were able to be there.

And that made everyone's day special!

BBB is 4!

2010-09-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

Our little man turned 4 this month, and it was a week full of celebrating this all-out-crazy-love you with my whole heart little guy. It's hard to believe he's been in our lives 4 whole years, but I cannot imagine life without him. He makes us laugh every single day, and is the most loving and thoughtful little kid I know.

Biased? Who me?

So the week of fun started with a party at Ben's new preschool. He just started here this year twice a week, and was totally psyched to share his special day with his new buddies.

See what I mean? TOTALLY PSYCHED!

We celebrated with a Cheezits, juice boxes, and a giant cookie cake decorated with a firetruck, ambulance, and fire helicopter.

How fast can I empty this juice box?

I'm, like totally chilled on my juice box and giant cookie sugar rush, man.

Napkin? I don't need a napkin!

No, there aren't only boys in Ben's class . . .

The girls just choose not to associate with them at snack time.

Pretty sure I don't blame them.

Anyway, after daddy got home from work, it was time to open his presents from the family.

Reading cards.

His new Lego firetruck set.

New Thomas the Train DVD.

See, they really do love each other!

Ben's doctor suggested getting him smaller Lego sets to help with his fine motor skills. So we did, thinking the firetruck set would be perfect for the boy who begged for a firetruck birthday.

After emptying the box and opening all the bags, we quickly realized just who would be getting the fine motor skills practice.

It wasn't Ben.

Oh well.

After presents, we ate dinner and had birthday cake. A birthday cake made by mom with the hopes that it somehow resembled the firetruck cake he wanted.

It's not perfect, but I was pleased.

And Little Man was over the moon excited about it.

And that's all that matters.

Just like Shakespeare

2010-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, I began to notice how often I heard my children yell out, or mutter "Dang IT!" when they encountered a situation not to their liking or when they were upset about something.

Knowing full well where they must have picked up that particular phrase (don't judge me. It SO could have been something worse!), I decided that it really wasn't appropriate for a 6 and 3 year old to be saying those words. No matter which way you slice it, hearing "dang it" from the mouth of your baby is a bit awkward.

So, I encouraged the kids to come up with some other innocuous phrase they could use when they felt so inclined due to the frustrations of their little lives.

And the phrase they settled on?

"Oh, Tartar sauce!"

I'm totally serious. I can only assume this is somehow inspired by Spongebob, but it was Ben's idea, and boy, have the two of them ever taken to it.

Have to take a nap when you don't want to?

"Oh, Tartar sauce!"

Get in trouble for hitting your sister?

"Oh, Tartar sauce!"

Get put in time-out?

"Oh, Tartar sauce!"

To get the full effect, you really need to say it putting a heavy accent on the first syllable: "oh, TARtar sauce." It's even better when said with a southern accent when "sauce" is pronounced more like "sawce."

One night, as I was putting Ben to bed, I smelled something foul. I asked Ben if he tooted, and after a moment of silence, I hear, very quietly, "Oh, tartar sauce." BUSTED!

And while it's really pretty hilarious to hear that phrase muttered at anytime, I'm totally on board with "tartar sauce" being used as a sentiment of disgust. Because, really, is there a more disgusting condiment? I don't think so.

So, anyway, my mom and Dave came to visit for a couple of days, and we were happy to see them and spend some time with them.

And while they were here, I shared the "tartar sauce" story with them. They, of course, thought it was quite hilarious.

In turn, we were discussing their long drive home, and my mom was sharing how Dave got a speeding ticket in West Virginia the last time they drove home from our house.

And what does that have to do with anything you ask?

About 3 hours after they left our house on Monday morning, I get a text from my mom.

"West Virginia got Dave again. Oh, tartar sauce!"

So, while Shakespeare is responsible for coining several common phrases in the English language, the Black family?

We claim, "Oh, tartar sauce!"

It's a proud day, indeed.

Some of us were more ready than others

2010-09-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

So, my girl started first grade a few weeks ago.

She's been ready for this since school ended last year.

She has inherited my love of buying new school supplies. Nothing is more sacred than the perfect backpack and matching lunchbox.

The dress. The dress. It must be perfect.

She was so excited to learn that nearly all of her classmates from last year are in her class again this year. She is in another combo class of first and second graders, and this seems to be a perfect fit for her.

There's no doubt she is growing up though. No more kindergarten pictures with mom at her new desk. No sir.

I just barely managed this one from the doorway.

I walked away, and while the tears threatened to flow, I was able to keep it under control this year.

Guess mom's growing up too.

Or not.

Because my girl wasn't the only one going to school this year.

I'm sorry. But, there is just not a cuter "first day of preschool" picture in existence.

He was SO proud to be going to school like his big sister.

But, he was just a little concerned that he would miss me too much. In fact, some days leading up to it all, he told me he would rather just stay at home with me. I was very tempted to let him.

Ugh.

But never fear. When I picked him up after that first day, he came running out of the door.

Mommy! I had so much fun, and I didn't even care about you!

Sigh.

The Rest of the Summer

2010-09-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

After our trip to Ohio, we spent the majority of our summer here:

Where the boy played.

And big sister took swimming lessons

Her backstroke is really pretty impressive for a 6 year old. And to think that last summer was the first time she willingly put her head under water! We are proud of our girl, for sure. There was talk of recruiting her for the swim team next year.

Seriously!

At the end of the summer we also had a visit from Grandma and Aunt Becky. They spent a week with us, and we had a great time with them.

Though it looks like Ben is trying to smack her in the face, the kids actually LOVE their Grandma!

More Summer Catch Up

2010-08-25T11:04:00.000-07:00

That's it. I can't put this off any longer. It's September, for gosh sakes! I have several "back to school" posts already lined up, but I just have to get the rest of these summer posts up first.

So, even though the sky is cerulean blue and the crispness of Fall is right around the corner, just pretend you are back in the sweaty summer.

One of our last days in Ohio included a trip to the Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. This trip is one that every Ohio child of school age has made at least once with the rest of her classmates, but my kids had never been, and we thought they (mostly Ben) would enjoy seeing all the big planes.

Kayli and Claire posing outside the museum while we waited for the rest of the family to catch up.

Yes, he's almost 4 and still in a stroller. It's more for containment purposes at this point. If you have a 3 year old boy, then you know what I mean.

Now, are you ready for lots of pictures of people posing with planes?

Here they come!

Open your eyes, Zach!

This next one is my favorite. My dad recalls seeing this exact plane during a field trip when he was in 5th grade.

I'm sure you can imagine just how funny it was for a 10 year old boy. I can just hear the whispered jokes now.

The Bockscar dropped one of the atom bombs to end WWII.

I think I've mentioned before about 3 and 4 year old boys and their "cheese" faces? I present the following evidence for just how difficult it is to get a genuine smile for the camera out of these monkeys.

Uncle Zach, Uncle Jesse, Kayli, Claire, Zeke, Tristyn, and Noah - posing with the rockets. What could be more natural?

Probably the highlight of the trip, for the grown-ups anyway, was getting to tour some of the former Air Force Ones.

Mommy, take a picture of me!

All the cousins!

It was a fun trip with Papa Bill, and my kids walked away very excited about it. Well, actually, I think Ben was probably more excited about getting to ride on a school bus to one of the plane hangers, but oh well.

We also spent a couple nights at Grandma's house due to the great AC revolt of the summer.

Storytime. So sweet.

We had a great time visiting everyone in Ohio.

Next year, everyone just needs to come visit us!

A Deluge and King's Island Baby!

2010-08-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

One day of the Grizwold Family Trip to the North included a much-anticipated visit to the "Paris of Ohio" (also known as King's Island). I had been talking up the trip to the amusement park with great enthusiasm for several weeks because I dreaded the idea of paying a big ticket price only to have my children weeny out at riding any of the rides.

Claire and Ben seemed super-psyched about the whole idea, and as the day approached, they could hardly contain their excitement.

Cue freaky lightening flashes and Noah's second flood.

We woke up that morning and were glued to the radar on t.v. (I felt a little like an old man), hoping and hoping that the storms would pass in time for us to enjoy the park. We decided to give it a go, and . . .

After a short stop to pick up Nana . . .

We hopped in the car, along with the ever-fearless-cousin Kayli Jo whose mother styled her hair that morning with the hopes that the added height achieved by her bun would allow her to ride on more of the adult roller coasters.

I can't even fathom what it would be like to have a child like she.

And, as the weatherman assured us, the clouds rolled back and we walked into the gates of Paris.

Grandma came along for some added support and Uncle Seth too.

We were ready to go.

We promptly headed straight for "Kiddie Land," and detoured into the first line we saw. Unfortunately for us (Claire) it was the line for the Haunted House.

She was histrionic the entire time, and the day was nearly lost.

To make matters worse, as soon as we exited the ride, the freaky big head Peanuts characters accosted us. She about passed out.

But, thankful, she recovered.

And, the rest of the day . . .

great fun was had by all.

The very first roller coaster I ever rode as a child is located at this park, and really, the entire park holds some great memories for me, so I was really excited to share this with my kids. I can vividly recall the mix of fear and anticipation I had as I borded that ride and the intense pride as I left it. It was a big moment in Kiddom.

It took several hours, lots of bribing, and plenty of encouragement from her fearless cousin, but we were finally able to get Claire onto what is now known as The Woodstock Express (for all you Ohioans - the Beastie).

And . . .

Wonder of all wonders . . . SHE LOVED IT!

Seriously, you could have knocked me over with a feather, but she had a blast, and even asked to ride it again!

We had such a great time.

The day progressed.

The exhaustion set in . . .

And, as we made our way back toward the front of the park, I had this terrific idea of taking Claire on The Racers. I figured, if she had such a wonderful time on the other coaster, surely she can handle The Racers.

Um, let's just say that that moment will go down as one of my worst parenting decisions of all time. The poor thing spent the entire ride moaning and groaning bent nearly double because she was unable to sit up due to the G forces. She got off that ride and nearly puked.

Awesome.

So, we decided that a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower was in order.

Someone didn't like it.

But everyone else did.

All in all, it was a great day, and we made some great memories. I got to ride The Beast again, and all was right with the world.

Amen.

A Sweaty Dad's Day

2010-08-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

Want to hear a funny story? It goes like this . . .

Once upon a time there lived a little family who, in attempts to escape the sweltering, insta-sweaty days of a NC summer, decided to hop in the car and travel north for some cooler days and time with their extended family. Their family was thrilled to see them, and while the weather wasn't quite as cool and comfortable as hoped for, they were reconciled with the knowledge that air conditioning would solve any sweat related issues.

And then . . .

A sweltering, insta-sweaty front rolled in and, AND the A.C. BROKE!

But no, no worries, never fear, it can just be fixed, right? Oh, no dear family, it must be replaced and replacement would not take place until, UNTIL . . . THE END OF THE WEEK.

Cue the sweat.

All I can say, is thank the Lord for ceiling fans.

Thus, while I was thrilled to actually get to spend Father's Day with MY dad for the first time in a long time, the above story will serve to explain any and all shiny faces in the following pictures.

Dad and Me

All the cousins. This succession of pictures cracks me up. Pay attention to Kayli (2nd from left) and Zeke (red hair in middle).

This one is hilarious.

Want to hear another funny story? The AC wasn't working properly at my dad's church either.

The muggy air must be to blamed for the look on Zach's face in this shot. Because, seriously, there is just no other reason for anyone to EVER look like this.

But, the AC was working just dandy at the restaurant we all trooped to to celebrate Dad's day with our dad.

Zach at the "kid's table." Please notice the pained looks on both Ben and Zeke's faces. This is what happens when you tell a 3 and 4 year old to say "cheese."

Posing with their daddy.

SueAnne and Dad

And so . . . the mommy and daddy of the little family decided to spend a lovely night away from their kiddos to celebrate their 10 year anniversary in the same hotel as their wedding night.

And guess what?

The AC was broke.

Ohio Summer Trip 2010

2010-08-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

Seeing that school starts tomorrow, I have finally realized that I have absolutely no more time to procrastinate on these summer posts. I need to get them up here because I'll have some first day of school pics to post soon.

I was considering just jumbling them all together in one big long post, but finally decided that wouldn't be very nice - for you or me. So, I am going to divide them up a bit, but I fear that any semblance of my usually witty remarks (just pretend) will be kept at a minimum this time around. :-)

Every summer, we make an effort to brave the long car trip in order to visit our family in Ohio. Really, apart from the car riding, everyone looks forward to this trip all year. It does get a little difficult since both of our families live there, and we have lots of people to visit and few days to do it, but we manage to fit it all in.

Another reason for our June visit this year was a Ridgeville school reunion for me. This reunion had been planned for quite some time, and I was really hoping to see several of my old classmates. Well, so much for that. Only one other girl from my class was there. Any of you old classmates reading this who didn't show up - SHAME! I really was sad that not many from my time there turned out. I was happy to catch up with those students and former teachers who were there though. Unfortunately, ding-dong packed her camera and then promptly forgot to take any pictures.

The reunion was held outside at a park in sweltering heat that apparently hitched a ride north with us, so that afternoon we cooled off at the pool with Nana and Grandpa Dave. My brother Jesse and his kids were there too, so the cousins got to enjoy some pool time together.

Zeke and Claire. Not the most flattering picture of my girl, I fear. Someone should have told her mother to fix the poor girl's goggles. Geesh!

My mom has a picture of me taken at about 2 years of age with pig-tails and a teeny bikini at this exact same pool. Even back in those dark ages, the pool was painted blue and white.

And apparently they are very intent on keeping that color scheme, as the pool was freshly painted just days before it was filled with water and, unfortunately, before the paint was fully dried. Thus, the milky/painty water. Nothing like starting off the summer with a dip in some chemicals!

Ben. Does he or does he not look enormous in this picture? My wittle baby all grown up!

And the three together.

In which I assure you we are, indeed, still alive

2010-08-18T14:14:00.000-07:00

So, it's been nearly three months since my last post. Definitely a record for me, and for the one of you (hey Claudia!) who actually noticed the absence, never fear, we are still alive. I just wanted to take a bit of a summer break from the blog.

Well, actually, the break also had something to do with the fact that I have really been wanting to upload some video, but because of some computer issues - which I could describe, but which would be totally boring - I've been unable to do that.

I've been really bummed about that because getting these short little snapshots of the kids at different times in their lives is important to me. Important because they also provide for some serious comic relief. The kids get a kick out of seeing themselves at younger ages too. Their favorite videos of late include the award winning "Um, No" and the ever hilarious "Papa Dud(ie)." You should check them out.

Really, you should. Because you certainly won't get any video in this post. Which is a crying shame because watching my girl dance across the stage in all her ballerina/perfectionist glory is really something to behold. Can't remember the next step? No problem, Claire will remind you. And if, for some strange reason, you don't think to look at her, she will stop dancing and wave her hands around to get your attention.

I know. You're just dying to see it, right?

Well sorry, Charlie.

You'll just have to make do with these two shots:

Pre-performance

And, post-performance on the stage

And now, since I've caught you up on this momentous occasion that occurred all the way back in June, I might actually get my act together and post some more about more recent(ish) summer events.

We'll see.

I am now the mother of a first grader . . .

2010-06-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

And, frankly, I don't care for it one little bit.

But, apparently, Claire couldn't care less about my sentiment because she is bound and determined to keep growing up whether I like it or not - which I don't, just in case you were unclear.

She had a great, great year, great class, great students, and really wonderful teachers.

She was excited to start her summer and was very excited on that final happy day of Kindergarten.

<----First Day

Last Day -------->

That morning - Thursday - her school held the annual Awards Ceremony for students. Claire was grouped in with all the other kindergarteners, first and second graders in the school.

She was recognized for completing her reading homework all year long.

She was also called up and recognized for her work in math that year. The school was involved in a computer-based program this year, and Claire, along with 2 other boys in her class were the ONLY kindergarters in the entire school to receive recognition for their excellence in the program. To say we are proud of her is a sorry understatement. I felt like my heart was going to come flying out of my chest. I was so happy for her.

See her? She just to the left of the teacher and has scary demon-eyes!

She's on the left of the bottom row. The two boys next to her were the other kindergarteners that was rewarded. The kids behind her are first graders and behind them are the second graders.

Claire's class did so well in this program, they were recognized as placing 17th in the ENTIRE state of North Carolina!!

Claire was also awarded an Excellence in Art certificate, along with quite a few of her fellow students.

She's in the second row from the bottom, second from the right.

We are all so proud of her, including her little brother who was tired of me taking pictures of his sister, so he asked me to take one of him.

I obliged and managed to also include capturing me telling him to "shush!"

On her way out of the auditorium.

Back in her classroom.

Her teacher gave her another award for reading over 300 books during the school year.

Showing off her awards.

Her teacher, Mrs. Boles

Teacher's Assistant, Mrs. Matthews.

She's excited to be a first grader, for sure, but apparently I'm not the only one who is sad to see time go by so quickly.

Someone's eyes were just a little wet when she got into the car that afternoon too.

Don't tell her I told you.

Wrapping Up Scouts

2010-06-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday, Claire had her final Daisy Scout meeting of the year. The girls worked hard all year to learn the characteristics of the Girl Scout Law, and they were rewarded this meeting by earning 4 more Daisy Petal Patches.

Three of the other girls in her troop go to her school but are in different classes, and one little girl goes to a different school altogether. So, it was nice for Claire to make friends with people she wouldn't have otherwise. They all ended up very close.

Showing off her new patches for learning about being: Courageous and Strong; Responsible for What I Say and Do; Respectful of Authority; and Kind and Considerate.

Each Daisy meeting always ended with a circle where each girl would close her eyes and make a wish and then squeeze the hand of the girl next to her. When the wishes made a complete rotation, they would say, "Goodnight, Girl Scouts" and spin to face the outside of the circle while keeping their hands connected. Tonight's circle included 2 new girls who are planning to join the troop next year.

Claire really had a great time this year, and I'm happy about what she is learning and the friends she is making.

However, she is currently trying to decided between doing Daisy Scouts again next year or trying something new.

The two current options are soccer and karate.

Karate???!

Field Day (otherwise known as "exhaustion 101")

2010-06-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

This Monday marked the first day of Claire's final week as a Kindergartner. And what better way to celebrate the occasion than . . . FIELD DAY!! (Actually, I can think of several ways to celebrate this occasion that would have been much less exhausting and far more celebratory, but I'm guessing a warm bath and a good book wouldn't have really "flown" with the kiddies.)

I remember looking forward to field day all year when I was in grade school. It was the highlight of the year for my competitive self. In fact, I can tell you that the very first year I participated in a field day was in the 4th grade. I was on the white team - which, as everyone knows, is bad news because the white team NEVER wins the competitions. Victory is ALWAYS reserved for the blue team who is every so often kicked out of first place by the red team. I mean, when you think of victory, do YOU think of white? Nope, me neither. The white team, as was the case that year, won 3rd.

So, I was actually looking forward to Claire's field day, ready to cheer her team on to victory. I was looking forward to it, that is, until I realized that standing for 2 hours in the blazing heat in the middle of a soccer field while trying to entertain a very bored, hot, and tired 3-year-old while attempting to snap memorable pictures of my daughter rates right up there with teeth drilling and bathtub scrubbing.

Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I was absolutely exhausted by the end of the morning.

So, I think it only fair to exhaust you with an excessive amount of pictures.

Hooray for Field Day!!

The day included:

sack racing . . .

lining up for relays . . .

intense concentration . . .

log rolling . . .

hay bale jumping . . .

running . . .

kicking . . .

plunger torch bearing . . .

jump roping . . .

crazy dressing . . .

posing with best buddies . . .

ball chasing . . .

parachuting (with the help of one very excited little brother) . . .

toe fishing (yes, how disgusting is that??!)

big ball rolling . . .

little brother distracting . . .

hula hooping . . .

mom hugging . . .

And finally . . .

Finally . . .

Some relaxation.

I'm pooped all over again just thinking about it.

But, my girl had a blast, and that's all that matters.

Memorial Day Geocaching

2010-05-31T11:39:00.001-07:00

Today, to spend some time together as a family, we decided to go Geocaching. I first read about this idea on a recent Triad Smarty Pants blog and thought it sounded like it would be fun.

What is Geocaching you ask? Well, geocaching (pronounced geocashing) is essentially a GPS guided "treasure hunt." Here's how the official geocaching website describes it:

"Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by
adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden
containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. "

All I did was to sign up for free on the official site, type in our zip code, and hundreds of geocache sites popped up. We just had to find one that looked easy enough for kids. Luckily, one cache was located in a near-by park.

So, off we went.
Daddy and Claire following the GPS coordinates.

Ben, huffing and puffing to keep up. He was not at all down with walking on the gravel path. The bits of gravel kept getting in his CROCS and that was NOT COOL with him.

WE FOUND IT!! It took a bit, but after Shawn figured out how to follow the coordinates, it led us straight to the base of this huge pine tree and underneath was the cache.

Another cool aspect of geocaching is that many of the caches are big enough to include little toys or trinkets left by others. The idea is to take something you want and leave something behind for the next seekers.

Here I am attempting to convince Claire that the beads were a MUCH nicer option than the dirty plastic Little Pony she wanted to take.

Me = 0 ; Plastic Pony = 1.

She left behind a plastic ring, and Ben left behind a miniature car in exchange for this:

Oh mommy, I always wanted a softball!

Huh, that's the first I've heard of this.

We re-hid the cache for the next seekers, and spent the rest of the morning together, walking the trails, and spying on some wildlife.

And since it was in a park, Shawn and the kids played on the playground while I got a few miles in on the running path.

We will definitely be trying this again in the future!

Strawberries!

2010-05-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

We have a bit of a family tradition every May. An old MOPS friend and her family own a gorgeous strawberry farm just at the foot of Pilot Mountain. We made our annual trip up there last week, and came away with tons of strawberries.

This was on the car ride up. I sincerely hope they always love each other this much. Doubtful, but I'm still hoping.

Ben, will you grow up and pin your sister down only to drool saliva into her face?

No, he wouldn't dare because that's disgusting, and only big jerks do that to their sisters. Do you hear me Jesse, Seth, and Zach???! Do you?!

Ahem . . .

Ben, scoping the scene.

Claire, wasting no time filling her bucket. Check out the rain boots. They are perfect for picking in a muddy field.

Ben, why is your bucket empty?

Oh, this is why.

Caught ya!

Though I often feared that more berries were going into tummies instead of into buckets, we did finally manage to fill them up.

That's 4 gallons of berries, people!!

Why I think that 4 gallons of berries is a good amount to have is beyond me. Do you know how quickly rained soaked berries start to rot? I was in panic mode baking, freezing, and canning to get all those berries used up.

No doubt next year we will return and do the exact same thing. After all, everyone has to have his/her own bucket. It just wouldn't be fair otherwise.

And we wouldn't dare miss out on the happy, berry-stained faces that the day brings.

Okay, so it's not so bad

2010-05-31T10:53:00.001-07:00

I know I've mentioned before about how, despite my 10 plus years living in the South, I still consider myself to be a Northerner at heart.

But, I have to say, there's something really special about walking into your backyard and finding this:

You won't find these beauties in the North, and there's nothing quite like sitting on the back deck and smelling the spicy, sweet scent of the magnolia as it drifts on the breeze.

So, I'm thinking living in the South isn't all that bad.

p.s. please remind me of these sentiments when I am complaining about the broiling heat and sopping humidity that will arrive in approximately 48 hours. ;-)

Linking up with Emily at Chatting at the Sky for "Tuesdays Unwrapped."

So Sorry !

2010-05-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

So, I have 2 things for which I need to apologize. I'll get to the second in a little bit, but first I really need to apologize to my parents.

Dear Dad and Mom, I am so sorry for all those years that you faithfully attended my dance recitals, choir performances, and band recitals. While my childhood naivete caused me to believe that you really did want to be there to hear 20 middle-schoolers squeak their way through "Hot Cross Buns" on their recorders or to sit through 5 classes of other people's kids singing to finally hear my 1 minute solo, I am now betting that the experience ran a close second to getting your teeth drilled.

I didn't know. I claim ignorance. I am sorry.

But now. Now, I know better.

I loved going to see Claire sing in her preschool performances the last 2 years. We never expected it to be really good, but at that age, the kids are all so darn cute, and you can always count on at least one kid to be pulling her dress over her head, another to be picking his nose, and two more to be pinching each other to get the audience laughing.

Sadly, this is no longer true.

I can't really explain why, but for some reason, sitting through a 2-hour Kindergarten/First Grade music performance was not at all fun.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED watching my girl singing her little heart out, but the rest of it . . . ?

It's probably the fact that she is in a combined First Grade/Kindergarten class, so her entire class sang with the first graders. And the first graders only got 4 songs, but then we had to sit through about 8 songs that the Kindergartners sang, or tried to sing, rather. And then there were the countless "speaking parts" which were mostly mumbled or whispered into the microphone.

My non-enjoyment may also have to do with the fact that Shawn and I spent much of our time trying to wrestle Ben to the ground so that he wouldn't make a scene. He was SO over it after 5 minutes. Watching his sister sing was not at all what he planned to do with his evening.

It all brings back memories of my grade school days when I vividly remember a younger sibling in the audience standing up at the end of our band performance and yelling, "NO MORE MUSIC!"

I hear ya, kid. I hear ya.

Furthermore, now that Claire is in "real school," the audience has gotten much larger, which means that unless you camp out for days in advance to get prime seats, your pictures of the performance end up looking like this:

or even worse, this:

Blurry-faced kids with demon eyes. SWEET!

Now, beyond the fact of seeing my girl sing her heart out AND silently mouth along with each and every speaking part the other kids had, I actually was looking forward to seeing her play her instrument (unfortunately, this wasn't until the VERY LAST song of the night!). She was the ONLY kindergartner given this job, and we are super proud of her.

However, and here comes my second apology, because I have a new camera and because our disk drive is malfunctioning on our computer, the video I shot of this moment is sideways.

I know. I'm sorry. But I just had to get it on here. Hopefully, I can get it fixed soon.

So, tilt your left ear to your shoulder and enjoy my girl keeping the beat! (I know, this will probably be running a close second to getting your teeth drilled. It's only about a minute of torture. I promise. :-)

You can view the video by clicking on this link.

My absolute favorite part is when she reminds the boy next to her when to play at the end.

A little control-freak after my own heart.

Too bad she knows the Tooth Fairy is fake

2010-05-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

. . . because this is how Claire came home from school today.

This is one proud little girl.

Here she is to tell you all about it:

Some thoughts on the video:

"Blue carpet," "the measuring"??? Apparently, we are all in Kindergarten and should know exactly what she is talking about.
Could she wave her hands around any more?

No, she is not tattooed. Apparently, coloring with markers at school is a full contact sport.

Do you like how Benjamin felt the need to correct his sister's personal story by reminding her that the tooth, in fact, fell out on her tongue and not just on her mouth like she said? (can you tell he's already heard this story a few times?)

The sweetness of the video is nearly ruined at the end by the gross protrusion of her tongue through the space between her teeth.

Oh well.

While I'm not totally down with all this growing up business (I mean, I feel like she will be packing for college tomorrow), I will say that it's about darn time for that tooth to fall out! It has been loose for months . . . yes, MONTHS!!

My timid, pain-allergic daughter was not at all interested in inflicting self-harm in order to rid herself of said tooth. She waited so long, her permanent tooth is already in appearance.

Yet, she is now revelling in the fact that she can now join the ranks of those kids "who have lost a tooth." This group has a select membership, and she has been able to tell me the names of each of the members all year long.

When she got in the car this afternoon, she very smugly rattled off the names of the those individuals who have yet to gain access to the "lost tooth club" and even proceeded to tell me the names of the poor joes who do not even have a loose tooth yet. Hunh, as if she would even deign to associate herself with that group now. :-)

Anywho, she totally called me out a few months ago about the whole Tooth Fairy business. For some reason a fat man in a flaming red fur suit sliding down a chimney seems way more plausible to her than a little fairy flying into her room and swiping her tooth.

I'm thinking her disbelief is largely due to the fact that I was unable to answer her question about "just what, exactly, does the Tooth Fairy do with all those teeth?"

Um, er . . . huh.

I got nothing.

But don't you even think for one second that she isn't still expecting to get some cash under her pillow tonight.

Humor Me? . . . Please?????

2010-05-05T08:38:00.001-07:00

UPDATE: So, we totally lost. I think the little girl that won had about 75 votes or something crazy like that. Oh well. Thanks for all your help though!!

So there is this wonderful local photographer who is having a "Cutest Kids" contest, and the winner gets a free photo session with her.

Now, I'm not suggesting my kids are cuter than yours, but we think they are something special and would love to get some great photos of them. (Lord knows I'm not the best photographer) BUT I AM begging for your vote. Even if you don't think my little ones are the cutest kids, we do, and we would love to win this contest.

If you love me, like me, barely know me, wish you didn't know me, whatever, I'll take your vote if you're willing to give it.

You can vote for each of my kids 2 different ways:

The easiest way is to go directly to Zoe Zen's blog site and leave a comment, voting for my little guys. Claire is #K21 and Benjamin is #K22. I think you would need to leave a separate comment for each of them.

OR, you can go to the Zoe Zen page on Facebook. Then click on their individual photos (they are both on that page at the top right) and leave a "vote" comment.

If you REALLY love me, you can vote both ways and really add to the total.

Please? Please? Please?

(contest ends on May 7th at 9:00 p.m.)

"Train a child . . ."

2010-04-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

. . . in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it" (Proverbs 22:6).

As you can see, we start that training early around here! :-)

In Honor of Earth Day

2010-04-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

All in a day's work . . .

Now, if only it will grow.

(secretly, I have some serious doubts.)

Spring Break

2010-04-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

Claire's spring break ended up being much shorter than it was originally due to snow day make-ups. Boy, it sure is nice having those snow days in the winter, but it's no fun when your spring break is only 4 days long.

However, we managed to fit in a lot of fun during those few short days.

We slept in . . .

explored the Children's Museum . . .

made some doughnuts . . .

went grocery shopping . . .

drove a "mighty machine" . . .

and visited a local garden to take in some of the early spring flowers.

It was short but lots of fun having my girl home.

I miss that kid.

So Behind . . . tsk, tsk.

2010-04-20T05:04:00.000-07:00

I know Easter has long come and gone, but our celebration lasted for a couple weeks, so it's really only right that it takes me a couple of weeks to get the pictures up. How's that for slacker justification?

Anyway, prepare yourselves for a ton of pictures here. Pictures of my kids, eggs, my kids and eggs . . . you get the idea.

We started the week before Easter at a local park who sponsors a great Egg Hunt for the kids. Instead of filling the eggs, they ask the kids to return the empty eggs after the hunt and then give each child the choice of a ton of really great prizes. Claire walked away with a large basket filled with treats, and Ben chose a Spiderman kite.

She's at the perfect age for this stuff. She can run fast and isn't afraid, yet she is still respectful of the other kids. I saw her several times walk away when she saw a little one going for an egg.

Ben holding up his completely empty egg basket. He had absolutely no interest in finding the eggs. Smart kid, really. What's the point in running for empty eggs? He spent the whole time swinging with daddy on the playground.

The day before Easter we met our church small group at another local park that was sponsoring a fundraiser to raise money for medical research for the cure of neuroblastoma. Lillie's Friends sponsored a HUGE race, bouncy house, kid's band, and egg hunt.

We met at the playground before heading over to the event.

If only this thing would start.

Claire and some best buddies.

Ben enjoying his very favorite park activity. He would swing all day if he could.

We also enjoyed a picnic lunch with our friends too.

And then Easter day after enjoying the church service, we met up again with our small group and ate lunch together at one of their homes. These next pictures were taken there.

Don't they look sweet? Yes, the answer is "yes."

How cute is he in his Easter vest and tie? Shawn wore a tie that morning for the first time in YEARS so the two of them could "match."

Someone thinks she's cute.

And then, like millions of other mothers that day, I attempted to get a nice family picture of all of us in our nice Easter clothes. What you don't see in these photos is all the yelling, cajoling, threatening, pleading and bribing that it took to get them.

Hmmm, let's try that again.

Oh well, good enough I guess. At least no one was crying. That's progress I say.

Grandma came to visit that weekend as she was on Spring Break too. We enjoyed having her, and the kids are always over the moon when they get to see her.

We also put on a small egg hunt for the kids in the front yard.

Surprise, surprise, Ben actually participated. He's no dumby. These eggs were filled!

The "big girls" showing off their chicks.

Hello, son. Just what evil plan are you hatching in that sweet little head of yours?

Okay, so he's not really evil.

I've been told this pictures looks like a campaign photo. It must be the tie and rolled-up sleeves because it's certainly not the freaky, flyaway hair that appears to be growing from my ear. Any good campaign manager would have edited that strangeness right out of there.

Vote for us, your local representatives of worn out parents everywhere. :-)

What Have We Been Up To?

2010-04-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I'll tell you. Amidst all the Easter excitement (stay tuned for a later post on all that), me turning a year older (poo!), and grandma coming to visit, we have also been doing some home improvement work.

It all started several (and, yes, I do mean several) months ago, when my dear husband and I decided that it was finally time, after nearly 9 years, to take down the awful border in our living room and PAINT!

When we bought it, this house had border in EVERY. SINGLE. ROOM, so by the time we finished taking it down and repainting all the other rooms, the living room was just too much. We decided we would "just live with it" for a year and then fix it. Well, 9 years later. We finally got our act together.

And even then, it was a very slow process.

I took a few before photos to give you an idea of the hated ivy boarder and how big of a job it was to take down.

And finally the process began. I won't tell you how long ago this picture was taken. Let's just say that it was around "the holidays." Which "holidays" you ask? Well, um.......

Shawn is so totally going to kill me when he finds out I posted these pictures.

Hey honey! heh, heh.

And then, when the boarder was FINALLY down, we quickly painted the trim and started the great wall paint color debate. You may remember me talking about it here. You will also note just how long ago the great debate started. To say that we take our time in making paint decisions is an understatement. Really, it's all about self-preservation. Just ask Shawn about the "Electric Yellow" paint choice of 2001. Scary, I tell you. Simply scary.

We decided to go with the top color on the left - Stonington.

In progress . . .

Shawn's getting pretty good at this painting thing. And, yes, that is paint on the top of his head. Not altogether sure how that one happened, but I just keep my mouth shut during this process. If keeping my mouth shut means he does the painting, then the mouth is shut I tell you!

Once the painting was finished, I began the curtain hunt. Getting curtains to frame the huge front window was another thing on the "will do it eventually" list. But, I was ready for it to finally happen. Thanks to some helpful ideas via The Nester, I came up with these.

Need a closer look?

Okay -

Impressed? You should be, and if not, just pretend.

Since I didn't have a spare vital organ lying around that I could sell to purchase drapes, we needed to find an economically viable option. For less than $25 bucks I made these things. Did I sew one stitch to make them? Nope. Are they perfect? No way. Are they exactly what I wanted? Not really. But it looks better than it did before, and when I get tired of the fabric, I can easily switch it out.

While I was in the mood, I decided to bring up a desk that has been in our garage for over a year now. It used to belong to my grandfather, and I've always wanted to find a place for it to work in our house. This is what I came up with.

It's currently right at the top of our stairs. I like it there. I LOVE all the drawers that it has. When you live in a converted cracker box like we do, drawer space/storage is like finding the golden ticket in a Wonka Bar.

I'm still tweaking the arrangement on the desk, but I'm a little concerned that it's not really working. For one thing, the placement of the desk there meant we had to move another piece of furniture somewhere to make room for it.

So, now the rest of our living room looks like this:

See that bookshelf thingy right next to the fireplace mantel? That used to be where the desk now is, and we can't figure out where to put it. Obviously it doesn't really fit where it is, but there really is no other place for it. The couch takes up the entire opposite wall, and there are 2 chairs in front of the window on the right. Any ideas?

I'm afraid the desk may need to return to the depths of the dark basement for no other reason than this:

I'm not sure what happened to the bottom half of this picture, but what I'm attempting to show you here is the very small space between the edge of the desk and the wall. This is all the room there is to enter the hallway. It's plenty of room. No need to turn sideways or anything, but it is a little awkward.

So, anyway, I'm still trying to figure out what to do. None of the pictures are hung yet because that will depend on the furniture placement. I'm so very ill-equipped for all this. It's sad really.

Maybe by "the holidays" I'll have figured it all out.

Here's hoping.

Patches and Eggs

2010-03-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

Claire's Daisy Scout Troop had a patch ceremony last week, and the girls all received the patches they had been working to earn for the last few months.

This first patch was for all of them going to the circus. It's not an official Girl Scout patch, but still fun. She'll add it to the back of her pinafore.

Then, she got her patch for selling cookies this year. I'm not sure what she's doing with her face here. My child is weird. What can I say?

Her "First Cookie Sale" pin.

And her 2 Daisy petals for completing her work on 2 of the attributes of the Girl Scout Law. The blue and yellow represent "Honest and Fair" and "Kind and Considerate."

This is a video of the girls singing a Daisy Song, "Make New Friends." I only caught the last verse, but then we all sing it with them again. Please excuse my singing voice!

Little brother was a special guest at the ceremony.

And afterwards, the kids ran outside and scattered all over the hill for an . . .

Egg Hunt!

"Son, where are your eggs?"

"I'm all done with that, mommy. I dumped them out."

Claire scored.

Happy family enjoying the day and celebrating Claire's hard work!

Old BenDonald Had a Farm

2010-03-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

We went on a field trip with our toddler/preschool group from church earlier this week to a nearby working farm.

It was arguably the highlight of Ben's short 3-year life to date. Actually, there's not really anything to argue. He had a ball and has been repeatedly asking to go back all week.

The farm has been in the same family for over 100 years, and the current farmers still live in the original farm house.

They met us in authentic dress, allowed us to tromp through their home, fed us honey from their hives, and brought out a bevy of animals to be accosted by the children. They get two thumbs up, for sure.

At first, Ben was far more intrigued by the rope/post "fence" they had rigged to keep the masses at bay. And, please notice the rain boots. Several times that morning I heard, "but mommy, I need to jump in that mud puddle because I have my boots on."

I'm trying to decide if now is the right time to discuss the difference between "need" and "want." Although for him, I'm guessing they are pretty much synonymous.

Ever let a bee walk on your hand?

This isn't my hand in the picture. I know you are totally freaking out that the kids are this close, but this bee was sans stinger, so all was safe.

Ben petting the baby bunny.

I was a bit horrified at the thought of the kids petting a rooster. I mean, just look at those feet! Nasty . . . and clawey (I know it's not a word, but it should be). I was surprised though. Most of the kids walked right up to pet him.

Not my son. He waited for the Hen to be brought out. He's no dumby.

The pony!

The goats eating the corn the kids got to put in the troughs.

And, just because I couldn't resist taking a picture of it, I had to include this one.

One kid desperately trying to latch on and get some of his momma's milk. What you can't really see in this picture is his twin doing the same thing on the other side of her.

As a former nursing mother, I understood the look on her face:

Patience and love with a little resignation added in. :-)

On the hayride!

This boy was having some fun. This whole ride I kept hearing him say, "this is so much fun. I'm having so much fun."

"That's right, mister. That sign applies to you too."

We were just a few feet away from these big guys (girls? I don't really know). I think this one is giving me the eye.

This one too. Back off, lady. This here's my turf.

It really was a great day. A perfect outing for my little guy and a good memory for the both of us.

And to top it off. We came home with these:

And Ben insisted that I fix him one for lunch.

After I washed off the chicken poop, that is.

Princess of the Scratchy Throat

2010-03-24T17:31:00.001-07:00

A local Girl Scout troop organized a Princess Ball and held it at an elementary school in the area. Claire was so excited about this event and was really looking forward to a night of being pampered and dancing with all the girls from her Daisy Troop.

Unfortunately, she woke up that morning not feeling well and had a sore throat. However, when I simply suggested that perhaps she should skip the ball that night and rest, she suddenly felt just fine.

It was a Princess Ball miracle!

No fever, so off we went.

First, she had to get glamorized . . .

Then, a pic with her favorite princess . . .

pose with her brand new hand-made (mostly by a sore-fingered mom) tiara . . .

smirk at a mom who wouldn't stop taking pictures . . .

smile with simple happiness . . .

ride in the carriage to meet the Prince . . .

line up with her Daisy pals and a freakishly large-headed Prince Charming . . .

flirt with said Prince . . .

and dance . . .

dance . . .

dance the night away.

Only to wake up the next morning with a fever and Strep Throat.

Awesome.

The Nester Giveaway Day

2010-03-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

I found The Nester's website a few weeks ago and have been hooked ever since. She's all about making your home beautiful without breaking the bank. She has really great ideas on DIY projects for your home, and I'm already inspired to make some new curtains for our living room.

Today, she is sponsoring a Giveaway Day. Each hour a new vendor will be introduced, and all you have to do is leave a comment to be entered.

You can even comment on earlier posts from the day.

This is going all day . . . actually, I think it is going on for 27 hours straight.

Go win some loot!

Bad Dreams

2010-03-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

We are in the midst of the bad dream phase around here lately. I remember this phase very, very vividly with Claire. It started just after Benjamin was born and continued for about a year. There were times that we were up with her during the night more often than we were for her newborn brother.

And I guess bad dreams affect each child differently, but her reaction was usually to start screaming hysterically at the top of her lungs as if she was being hacked to death with a pick-ax, causing us to bolt out of bed like the house was on fire in order to calm her. I remember many a night lying down with her in her bed with my heart pounding, panting like I had just run miles.

More often than not, a snuggle and a prayer were all it would take to calm her down enough to go back to sleep, but there was always the chance that the bad dream would return and cause a repeat of the above stated, bolting, pounding and panting to happen several times a night.

She finally grew out of it, but now it seems Benjamin has picked up where she left off. Yet, his reaction is a bit milder. Instead of the hysterical screaming, Ben's reaction usually involves crying and calling out, "mommy, mommy, mommy or daddy, daddy, daddy." It's always a crap shoot as to who he will call for each night. He's usually back asleep in about 5 seconds but will wake right back up if you dare to leave his room without praying first.

Though each of my children respond to their bad dreams in different ways, one thing is the same for both of them: they can rarely, if ever, tell us what they were dreaming about. Half the time they can't even remember they had a bad dream when asked the next morning. Why is this I wonder? Is it God's way of protecting them by allowing their little brains to forget? Are they asleep enough that they aren't able to verbalize it? Or are their dreams so amorphous that the "bad" part of it is just recognized as "bad," and that's enough?

I wonder.

One thing I do know is that when I have a bad dream now, I remember it. If the dream is bad enough to wake me from my hard-earned slumber, then it is bad enough to wake me ALL the way up and to be running through my brain.

This doesn't happen to me very often anymore, but the dreams that I would categorize as truly bad ones are ones I can still tell you about today.

When I was little, for whatever poorly-judged reason, I was allowed to watch, if not all, then most of the movie, The Invasion of the Body-Snatchers. I don't think I would have been much more than about 5 at the time, but I will tell you that I had bad dreams about that movie for a LONG time... years maybe. Not every night, but those slimy, pulsing pods of terror made for some very bad dreams, let me tell you.

And why is it that the bad dreams that we do have tend to repeat themselves over and over? I've had many students in the past write their research papers on dream theory and dream analyzing. How would pulsing pods of slime translate for Freud I wonder. Whatever the reason, surely my fears must have been playing themselves out in my subconscious somehow.

Certainly this is evident by another common bad dream of mine which involved me as a very young toddler being snatched out of the shopping cart by a stranger while my mother's back was turned. That's really all I remember about that dream. But I had it over and over for many years, and while the "stranger" may have morphed and changed over the years, the dream never continued beyond that moment when I was snatched (by the by, I just noticed that two of my dreams involved "snatching." Interesting. Odd, but interesting. Wonder what old Freud would say about that?) I always woke up right after that moment. I think because whatever was to happen after the snatching moment was just too scary for my little self to handle.

My most common dream during middle and high school, and it even continued for several years after that, was that my teeth were falling out.

No, no going to school naked for me. Instead, I would arrive at various locations only to discover that my teeth were loose and were on the verge of falling out of my head. To make matters worse, this dream almost invariably included the frustrating moment when I realized it was a dream, made myself wake up (or so I thought) only to discover that. OH. MY. LORD. MY TEETH ARE STILL FALLING OUT! This cycle would continue over and over, and my anxiety level would ratchet up, higher and higher.

A nightmare I tell you. A nightmare.

Again, Freud. Have your field day.

Since becoming a mother, my bad dreams have again changed. And, as most mothers out there would agree, my greatest fears center around something awful happening to my children, and so that's the horror that occupies any bad dreams that I have today.

The worst dream I have ever experienced as an adult happened when I was pregnant with Benjamin. Something about those hormones during pregnancy, but that dream was so vivid and so terrifying. I could describe it still very specifically, but the long and short of the dream was that I was out on a big floating raft-like thing in the middle of a lake with many people. I can't recall all the people there, but many friends and family for sure. It was dark, it was loud, and it was crowded.

And, I lost Claire.

She was 2 at the time.

I lost her, and then I heard a splash.

And then there was much searching, much panicking, and much freaking the heck out. For a long time. Long enough for me to realize that she wasn't coming back.

I woke up from that dream with my heart pounding, sweating profusely, shaking like a leaf, and crying uncontrollably. Crying so hard that Shawn woke up, and while I babbled the whole dream to him, he just kept saying, "it wasn't real. It wasn't real. It wasn't real." It took me a long time to believe him.

But, boy, did it feel real. So real that I got up and went into Claire's room in the middle of the night just to make sure that she somehow hadn't drowned in the middle of her bed.

The dream I had two nights ago was almost as bad.

This time the setting was a beauty pageant.

And I was a contestant. (Shut up.)

Yes, I understand that that in itself is a bit nightmarish and unbelievable, but that's actually not the worst of it.

For some strange reason the pageant took place outside in a large public park next to a huge swimming pool full of kids. And as I and the other contestants were walking to the stage in our Yoga Wear (this is what we decided to wear in lieu of swimsuits. Don't ask. Dreams don't always make sense, right?), I looked over at the pool and saw Benjamin in the shallow end holding hands with other kids.

While I watched, he took a deep breath and put his head under water.

I continued walking and watching him, waiting for him to come back up.

He never did.

I broke out of line, raced to the pool and dove in, only to realize that my clothes wouldn't allow me to swim well (darn those heavy yoga clothes).

I could see him at the bottom of the deep end now and couldn't get the attention of the lifeguards who couldn't hear me and who were distracted by the beauty pageant contestants.

I was treading water, yelling, choking, and watching Ben who was not moving at the bottom of the deep end.

I woke up, gasping for breath and shaking.

This time I was able to keep from crying, but just barely.

Now, why both of these nightmares center around my children drowning, I really have no idea. I'm sure there is some symbolic significance of water there. But the completely powerless and helpless feeling I had in both those dreams was so intense that it makes my breath catch if I think about it even now.

It's enough to make me wish it were just my teeth falling out. Nightmare though that may be.

I'd rather be toothless than be kidless. For sure.

In Honor of My Cavity Free Mouth

2010-02-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

Oh me, oh my. How I cannot wait to share this little gem with you. First, some background.

Part of Claire's kindergarten curriculum this month includes a unit on "Your Healthy Body," and last week, they focused on dental care. Claire's been going to the dentist since she was three, so she has been well-versed in dental hygiene and how to avoid the devilish "sugar bugs." She came home with some floss and a new toothbrush and talked about the hygienist who visited their class, and that was it.

Until earlier this week when she declared that she was going to write AND illustrate a book and "please, mommy, I want this published, so could you do that for me?"

Um, sure dear. Just let me get Penguin Press on the line.

After much debate and much commentary like - "boy, this writing books stuff is hard. Does it take famous authors a long time to write books? Man, this is going to be good. You are going to get it published, right?" - She decided on a book about teeth.

And, because I just got home from the dentist myself and was declared "cavity free," (wahoo!) I am itching to share my daughter's very first book with the world.

After all, putting it on the blog is just about like getting it published, right??

Please, sit back, relax, and try to contain your laughter (good luck with that).

I will translate the story for you underneath each picture. Her words in blue.

"Germs in Your Teeth" By Claire Black

I know the picture is a bit frightening, but you have to give the girl some credit. With a nose that small, it only makes sense that the mouth would be that big. The girl's got to breathe somehow!

Germs in Your Teeth

The Title Page - how's that for formal?

This story is about someone that had a cavity.

A wide-open mouth and a few black teeth. Uh-oh!

One day I had a cavity.

I saw in the mirror and saw sugar bugs biting through my teeth.

Those little black spots on the upper teeth = sugar bugs.

Then one of them said to me, "na, na, na, na, na . . . "
I believe this is a picture of the sugar bug and the na, na's coming out of the person's mouth???

"There's nothing you can do."

Nothing you can do, baby. Just X out that mouth!

And I said yes there is.
That would be a light bulb on top of her head, people, not some weird ice-cream shaped growth.

And I brushed my teeth.
Grrrrr !

The germ that first spoke to me said, maybe there is (something you could do)
See the germ and his word bubble???

Germ still talking - I better go warn my friends now.
See all his little black spotted friends??

But it was too late. I won the game.
Because winning the game is all that matters, baby.

I'm telling you, it's destined to be on the top seller list for sure.

At the very least, I'm keeping this till it's old and falling apart. And then I'm still keeping it.

It's my very favorite book for sure.

Baby G

2010-02-24T13:50:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to host a little visitor for one day last week and again today. Baby G has to be one of the sweetest little guys I have ever seen. Seriously, if I could guarantee that any successive babies of my own would turn out like him and not the the fire-breathing, puke hurling, screaming infants we seem to produce around here, I would be really tempted to have one or a dozen more.

I'll just let you scroll through the cuteness.

I took these last week:

Ben has never seemed so big in his life. Ben called Baby G, "Little Fella," and he was enamored with the little guy at first until he learned the very disappointing fact that G was not actually big enough to play trains with him. He got over it. Mostly.

I was slightly concerned when, upon hearing G crying because I was changing his diaper, Ben suggested that "we just put that fella in the garage." Hmmm . . . .

Claire was not at all happy that she had to go to school and miss out on all the baby fun. This morning she said, "Oh Mom, the top of his head smells sooo good!" Yep, she's a female. :-)

And I took the rest of these today:

How hilarious is that face?

Don't know why, but this last one's my favorite.

Thanks, Sarah for letting us borrow your little guy. We had so much fun loving on him!

And I promise. We never put him in the garage. :-)

Valentine's Day - The Greatest Show on Earth

2010-02-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

Instead of your typical Valentine's celebration including a quiet dinner for two, roses and chocolate, we decided to do something a little different.

We went here:
Not that you can totally tell since my mad photo skills cut off half the picture, but it was the CIRCUS, baby. Valentine's Day = Circus. Makes perfect sense, right?

Actually, it did make perfect sense to us because we were able to get discounted tickets through Claire's Daisy Troop, so it enabled us to avoid having to sell our firstborn in order to attend. Who knew it was so freaking expensive! The kids were totally bummed that we refused to buy them a $9 snow cone, but I felt that was a bit excessive.

Before the main show began we were able to walk behind the scenes and meet a few of the animals.

Sweet little miniature horses.

Elephants - up close and personal. Please ignore the freaky spots. (I'm really thinking a new camera is in order. My birthday is soon, hmmmmm.....)

They also had a floor show that included various side-show type acts, fake tattoos for kids, and a dress-up booth.

Is she ready for the Big Top?

Right before the show began.

I was pretty amazed by all the acts during the show. It had been many, many years since I had been to the circus, so for about the first three-fourths of the show, I totally forgot to take pictures. I really did sit there with my mouth hanging open for quite a bit of it. I'm sure it was a charming site.

But, I did get a few shots of some of my favorites:

How cute is this elephant??

These acrobatic troops were pretty amazing.

And this motorcycle hire-wire act was right in front of our seats. You should have seen Ben's face. Probably would have been good for me to get a picture of it, right?

By the end of the day, the kids were totally pooped, and really the day was nearly perfect.

I say nearly because we soon realized what happens when you allow a three-year old to eat a cheeseburger, cookies, soft pretzel, and half a bag of cotton candy and then put him in a sun-warmed car.

That's right, people. VOMIT!

Vomit everywhere. All over his clothes, in all the nooks and crannies of his car seat and on the upholstery of the car.

And what could we do about it? NOT. ONE. THING.

We cleaned him up as best we could (read: removed the largest chunks), and he had to sit in the mess for the remainder of the ride home - a perilous and very stinky 30 more minutes.

Ick. Ick. Ick.

And yes, the car, despite 2 full out cleanings, still has a faint vomit aroma.

Lovely.

But, all ended well. How could it not when you come home with these?

(please politely ignore the freakishly large oil slick on my face)

And, don't worry. I also had these at home too.

Make New Friends . . .

2010-02-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

I was a Brownie . . . you know, the littlest group of Girl Scouts? Those cute little girls with the brown and orange knee socks and Beanie caps? At least that's what they used to wear.

I really have no idea how I got involved in that program since I attended a small private school at the time, but my parents must have thought it would be a good fit. Either that or I saw the snazzy Brownie outfits that some of the older girls were sporting during my one year foray into the public school system (kindergarten), and I decided that I simply must, MUST be a Brownie too. I mean, brown and orange knee socks! What could be better?

I don't remember too much about my Brownie experience; though, up until about last year, you could probably have found the "sit-up-on" mat that I wove out of newspaper and covered in vinyl in my dad's house, and I still have my Brownie pin. I never did get the snazzy Brownie outfit, a fact I'm sure was torment to my grade-school self, but I do remember enjoying myself.

We went on various field trips, learned how to tie some serious knots, cooked, camped, sold large amounts of cookies door-to-door with my red wagon, and experienced my one and only up close and personal experience with a tick. Yes, a tick. It was horrifying and life-altering, as any experience with a blood sucking insect that burrows into your body should be. Amen.

For whatever reason (I'm thinking it was largely due to the tick experience), I decided to quit Brownies right when I should have moved up into Girl Scouts. But, as fate would have it, my Girl Scout experience is far from over, but now I'm the parent of a Girl Scout. Or, actually, she's a Daisy Scout. They are the littlest of the little Girl Scouts, Kindergarten and First Graders.

Claire actually started asking me about Girl Scouts this past summer, so I tried to find a local troop but had no luck. However, one of the mothers at her school also wanted her daughter to be involved, so she jumped through all the hoops required to start a new troop in the area.

Her troop is brand new; they just started meeting in January, and right now, they only have 5 girls. But, Claire is having a great time.

Here they all are at their first ceremony where they all received their Brownie pins and their first Daisy patch.

"On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country. To help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout law."

My proud little Daisy Scout.

Each meeting they learn more about the Girl Scout law, play games, make crafts, AND . . .

have a snack.

She's enjoying herself, and I hope she sticks with it longer than her mother did.

Hopefully, no ticks get in the way.

Do You Like to Pick out New Paint?

2010-02-03T12:05:00.001-08:00

Cause I don't.

Let me clarify that. I actually love to go to the store, sort through all the gorgeous paint chips and imagine those lovely colors on my walls.

What I hate about the process is when the paint that I loved on the little bitty paint chip goes up on the wall, and I realize in about 15 seconds that the color is hideous, is nothing like I thought it would be, and, oh. my. gosh. it's the exact color of our circa 1980's faux wood cabinets.

This process has happened at least once for every room in our house.

It is frustrating. I would say that it is also exhausting, but that might be stretching it a bit since Shawn is usually the one to do the majority of the painting. I just stand back and say critical things.

He loves it, let me tell you.

So, since painting our house has never been a pleasurable experience for either of us, you can understand why it has taken us about 9 years to finally decide that yes it is really time to take down that awful green and brown vine boarder and paint our living room.

Problem is, we are gun shy. Or, I guess I should say paint shy. We've narrowed it down to three choices, and now we are stuck.

We thought that buying those little paint cans of paint samples would actually help us make a decision this time. Surely, painting a large portion of the wall in the actual colors would help us make the decision. We could view it in all lights, in our setting, and the choice would be obvious, right?

Right?

Um, wrong.

Here is what my living room wall has looked like for the past two going on three weeks.

Do you see my problem? One is just a little too gray, one is just a little on the green side of the nice khaki brown we are shooting for, and the last one just may be too dark. UGH! And before you ask, yes, we've tried to find the "in between" colors, but they just aren't there.

So, here I am, all you paint and decoration aficionados.

I NEED HELP!

And, not that my camera really represents these colors as they truly are, but you get some idea.

The three colors on the top row are the ones on the wall.

Really, I'm so desperate, I think I may actually just close my eyes and point.

Just Call me Mother Nature

2010-02-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Seriously. Who would have thought that an innocent post about wishing for snow just last week would prompt the serious winter snow dumping that we had this past weekend? Granted, the storm didn't prove to be quite as big as predicted (12-15"), but I think the 8-9" that we did get is pretty impressive.

The kids were impressed anyway.

They were impressed, until they realized that it was freaking cold outside, and the only thing we can do in snow this deep is walk around and fall down. See evidence below:

They seriously lasted about 5 minutes that first day. The "hot chocolate" cry was quickly sounded, and they came back in.

And then. Then! because being cooped up in the house causes children (and adults) to go a bit crazy, they decided to create their own entertainment:

Talent, I tell ya. Pure talent.

Yesterday, the sun came out and warmed everything up a bit, so they had much more fun playing in all that white stuff.

Claire with some of the neighborhood kids.

And, finally, finally, my southern babies got to experience one of their momma's favorite winter past times:

So, it was a short trip. Who cares. They LOVED it!

Trekking back home. Notice Libby is still able to walk on top of the snow. The kids were breaking through and had a hard time. Shawn ended up carrying Ben.

And, since the white stuff continues to stick around, and since Claire was off school due to the snow, they went back outside today for more snow fun. But they weren't interested in building a snowman, no sir, because building a snowman is, like, so totally last year (seriously, they built one last year - a month ago). Today, they opted for the more mature snow construction of . . .

THE SNOW FORT:

Snowball fight?

Bring it.

The Great Snow of 2009

2010-01-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Because it's nearly 60 degrees outside and my forsythia bushes look like they may start blooming next week, I thought it high time for a post about . . . SNOW!

Perfect timing, right?

Actually, I think it is perfect timing because 60 degrees in January is just plain ridiculous, and here's hoping my post will bring along some more of that cold white stuff.

These pictures were actually taken last month during what we all now refer to as, "The Great Snow of December 2009." Catchy title, eh?

Anywho, the storm came the night of Claire's last day of school before the holiday break, so it was perfect.

These first few pictures are taken the night while it was still coming down.

Doesn't it look like Ben is a superhero, running so fast? I would love for you all to think that I actually had something to do with the cool, special effects in this picture. The truth, however, is that I absolutely did not.

This picture is further evidence of my (sad) photography skills. Sorry, Claire.

Ah, this one's better.

Put that snowball down, young lady!!

Ben was in snow heaven. He told me the other day that he wished it would snow again because:

"That's my favorite kind of weather."

The obligatory snow angel attempts:

The rest of these were taken the next day, after the snow had stopped.

Claire is modeling next to the ruler to show just how much snow we got.

Nearly 8", pretty impressive for NC, huh?

And then there's this one:

Lucky for her, she was able to mostly walk on top of the snow. Every so often she would fall through and then would hop like a bunny to get out.

We laughed.

"Cheese!"

And the best part:

What a good lookin' snowman!

Now, bring on more SNOW!

Other December Randomness

2010-01-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I had several pictures on the computer about which I never blogged, so I wanted to make sure that they got on here. I do admit, however, that it's a bit odd to be including pictures of Santa Clause in a January post, but oh well.

For the first time this year, we traveled north to Pilot Mountain to a private home that goes ALL OUT with their Christmas light decorations. Actually, it's more than just lights. They have an animated singing Christmas tree, a snow making machine, lights that flash to music, mechanical Christmas decorations, hot chocolate, and tons, tons more. Shawn heard about this place through a co-worker, and we were totally impressed by the display. This family has been doing this for many years and they don't charge a penny. It will definitely be on the list of yearly traditions from now on.

We were lucky enough to come the weekend that Santa was there, and, for the first time EVER both my kids actually sat on Santa's lap.

Considering that last year, Claire couldn't even look in the direction of the Santa display at the mall last year without freaking out, this was a HUGE step for her.

I'm actually proud of the fact that my children are no longer afraid of a fat, hairy man in a red suit who wants little kids to sit on his lap.

Something's wrong with me.

Ha!

Claire's kindergarten class also celebrated with a class Christmas party.

What is it about this age? Apparently, she is unable to refrain from making goofy faces at the camera.

Their party included a lively game of "Pin the Body Parts on the Snowman."

Here's Claire during her turn. Please notice there is no snowman in the picture. She originally tried to put the parts on her teacher's assistant and finally, after much help, was moved to the right and got it somewhere near the actual snowman.

Her classmates thought it was hilarious.

She, however, was mortified.

But, she perked up a bit when the rest of the kids tried to incite laughter by copying her and sticking the pieces on their teacher too.

That's my girl: the accidental trendsetter. :-)

Ben's Girlfriend

2010-01-17T08:35:00.000-08:00

Ben's got a girlfriend.

He's three.

I'm trying to deal with it.

Pass the Valium please.

Here they are at K's birthday party:

Are they not the cutest Cinderella and Prince Charming you ever did see?

Even in the group shot, they were sure to stand next to each other.

And when K came over to play, Ben was so happy, he even agreed to play with the dollhouse.

Now that's true love.

But, he tired of that soon enough and got out the Lego's. K was happy with the Barbies.

Uh, oh. Time for nap

Um . . .

No, no kids. We nap in separate beds!

Sheesh!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-08T11:24:00.001-08:00

I am fully aware that any interest in pictures from our Christmas 2009 has probably waned quite significantly by now, but it's my blog and I'll blog late if I want to! :-)

Actually, I have several posts to write about various occurrences from December that I will have to post even after this one. So, I'm actually breaking all sorts of organizational, chronological rules, here, but that's okay, right? Really, you should be proud of me.

So, instead of breaking down the week into separate days, I just loaded (dumped) all the pictures into this post. No doubt, unless you are a grandparent, you will become bored quickly.

It's okay. I'll never know.

So, let's get this party started . . .

We generally spend Christmas Eve with Shawn's side of the family and open gifts at that time, but because Shawn's brother and his wife were with her family at that time, the kids only opened 2 gifts that night and saved the rest for Sunday.

Here's Claire expressing her Christmas cheer.
Don't ask me. She's 6. Six-year-olds do stuff like this sometimes.

And on Christmas morning we were at my dad's. And look what Santa brought Benjamin.

Yes, another train.

And though he was super excited about his new train, Santa had some serious competition because Uncle Zach scored big by getting him the Cars movie.

I think he would sleep with that movie if he could (if he actually slept)

Christmas Chaos. The best kind of chaos there is.

Christmas evening was spent at my mom's house. Here's Uncle Seth watching his daughter, Kayli open her Zhu-Zhu pet.

Claire is either jealous or frightened.

Claire got one too!

Zach and his son, Noah.

The girls. Tristyn, Kayli, and Claire.

Is it just me, or does Kayli look a little drunk here? No more eggnog for you, young lady. Just kidding.

Jesse and Shonda.

Jesse with his mouth open - a very common occurrence.

My littlest nephew, Noah (a.k.a. "petri-dish")

This cute little booger spread some serious Christmas charm while he was with us, Christmas charm AND a frightfully nasty stomach virus. Two days after we saw him, me, Zach, Jesse, dad, and eventually mom and Dave all came down with one of the worst viruses I've had in a long time. Thanks Noah. Love you kid, but I'm bringing my HazMat suit next time.

One plus. I lost my Christmas weight!

The cousins!

Ben, Tristyn, Noah, Kayli, Zeke, and Claire

And Sunday found us all prepared to watch the Bengals game.

Little Ben. Huge Uncle Jesse.

While everyone else was watching the game, Ben tried out his new Lightening McQueen remote control car.

And Zeke . . .

Well, I'm not exactly sure what he is doing in the photo, but he sure looks guilty. I'm guessing there is at least one piece of purloined Christmas candy in that mouth.

Enjoying the game.

Little boys playing with new Christmas toys.

And then on Sunday night, we went back to Grandma's house to open presents with her and Pa-paw (Shawn's dad), Uncle Jeff and Aunt Allison. Unfortunately, this is when the first of the stomach virus made its presence known, so I spent the majority of the evening in the bathroom and moaning in agony in the back bedroom. Consequently, Shawn was in charge of the camera for that night.

Cutie new dress!

Yea! for my new train set!

(Also known as the "see my neck?" pose)

The kids with Grandma.

And with Paw-paw.

And while I'm sure you nearly sick of all the pictures you just viewed (if you even made it this far), I'm actually more than a little bummed about all the pictures that I didn't take. I really wanted some pictures of the whole families, some of my mom and Dave and some of Jeff and his wife Allison. Not sure what happened there, but I dropped the ball on the whole picture taking front.

I'll just blame the evil stomach virus for that. Really, it was evil. It deserves to be blamed for something at least.

Late and Breaking

2010-01-05T10:21:00.001-08:00

Shawn has asked me to announce the air date for the Extreme Home Makeover Show in which you may possibly catch a glimpse of his skinny, jean-wearing self (look for the skinny dude with a white, rolled-up plan hanging out his back pocket).

And, since I can count the number of times Shawn has actually asked me to put something up on the blog on . . . . um, no fingers, I decided I would oblige him.

Sunday, January 31st, people. Mark your calendars.

And, yes, I promise I will eventually get back to blogging. I've taken a holiday break and now all the pictures that have backed up on my camera seem so very out of date. I'm having a hard time getting motivated.

But I will. I will . . . eventually.

The Black Family Elves

2009-12-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

I sure hope this works.

Just in time to ring in the Christmas Season, I present to you, the Black Family Elves singing a delightful medley of popular Christmas songs.

Simply click here. Sit back and enjoy the show

(or sit back and try not to pee your pants from laughing so hard.)