Trip to the Pacific

We just got back from a family reunion (hubby's side). We stayed at a house right on the Pacific. The beach provided some much needed R & R and lots of entertainment for the kids. We loved seeing cousins and grandparents.

R showed NO FEAR, EVER. He went right into the waves, sand, whatever.

Are these kids having fun, or WHAT? Hee hee. I think the day at the boardwalk finally caught up with them.

We saw the most amazing jellyfish. (One of the highlights of the trip for me).

Break the Ice! Break it into little bitty pieces until the game can't be played anymore!

OK, I'm trying this hilarious experiment. I'm limiting my children's television time. Like seriously trying to limit it. Each day seems to have more hours than the last. Hmmm. In light of that fact I'd like to let out a cyber scream. Helpppppppp Meeeeeeeee! I don't feel better, but whatever. So, today was "game day". We have all these fun games and I love to play games so I declared, "OK, offspring, we're going to play some games today." They walked away. So, then I opened the dusty game cupboard and we settled on "Don't Break the Ice." Anyone know where I'm going with this? WHO IN THE WORLD DECLARED THIS A CLASSIC GAME? That game is pure parental torture! You spend a couple minutes loading those darn "ice cubes" in that plastic frame and then what happens? The kids don't obey the rules and knock one cube out at a time, they spend ONE SECOND smacking the whole thing so all the cubes come out at once. And then the fun begins again. AND what child can put the cubes in themselves? Show me that child. I feel like I've lost the last hour of my life in some weird "Don't Break the Ice" black hole.I just turned the television on.

My Fears

I was recently at a social gathering and the host announced that we were going to play some get-to-know-you games. I make it a point to avoid ANYTHING remotely resembling a get-to-know-you game. I found myself having to answer the question, "What is your greatest fear?"
Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty much afraid of everything. It's OK because I'm comfortable being afraid of everything. Everyone began to analyze my psychological state which I found very funny. So, here's my list of fears. Have a good laugh on me.

1. I'm completely afraid of birds. I was dive bombed by our pet bird as a teenager and it was all over after that (as mentioned in my profile). I don't like birds flying over my head (poop issues) and I don't like to touch birds (this posed an interesting dilemma when we had pet ducks two years ago).

2. Adding on to number one, I'm pretty much afraid of every animal. I don't ever like to touch animals. Feeling their bones freaks me out. I don't ever touch animals unless one of my children is in peril and I have not run across that exception yet. Don't tell my kids, but there's pretty much no chance that they'll EVER have a pet other than fish. Poor babies. They can dream, right?

3. I'm terrified of old television shows. Hubby has his own theories on this one. Anytime I see an old television show I have to change the channel and watch something else until I feel OK again. The list of "old" shows includes, but is not limited to: Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, The Love Boat, and sometimes Golden Girls.

4. I'm afraid of anything touching my ankle bones. I will avoid this at all costs. No matter what. Even if it means injury to someone else. If an attacker went straight for my ankle bones, I'd take him down in a nano second.

5. I'm afraid of serving food with a hair in it. Need I say more? Yuck!

6. Add to this list the usual fears of heights, small spaces, bugs, etc.

Three Kids, AHHHHH!

I enjoy three kids, but it has thrown me a little. I never thought I'd be the mom to walk into Target and realize that my three year old has bare feet. Bless his heart, we had to buy the boy shoes since we were already late getting somewhere. Lots more adventures seem to present themselves at home too. R has found the time to cut his hair and use the toaster to "try to make pancakes." And don't get me started on the challenge of my two oldest now sharing a bedroom (a hopefully temporary arrangement to protect the baby from his big brother). We've had more dirty faces, sticky hands, and messy hair lately. Sigh. But, R walked in the house today and RAN up the stairs. He was so proud that he had picked a weed for me. He told me all about how he saw it and thought I would love it. It was the nicest weed anyone has ever given me. I love kids.

While He Was Out

I have to give myself a HUGE pat on the back for my recent gifting. OK, I'll take it down a notch. Anyway, for Father's Day I planned a super fun gift for my hub. A few weeks ago I decided to completely redo our bedroom while he worked on Saturday (Father's Day Eve). I almost didn't survive the wallpaper tear down portion, but in the end it all came together. It was a CRAZY week with all the work and three little ones clinging to my ankles, but I came out alive. Hub was very surprised and I collapsed as soon as it was over. He says he didn't suspect a thing even though I was suddenly REALLY interested in prepping the walls and working like a dog all week. When all was said and done I had done the following: eliminated wallpaper (thanks, sis and mom), painted (thanks Justin and Dan), new blinds, new bathroom mirror, new light fixture, new curtains (thanks Amy). The walls required LOTS of repair after the awful wallpaper came down and I'm proud to say I expanded my home improvement knowledge to include spackle and joint compound. I'm still wondering why it took me three years!!! Enjoy some before and after pics.

p.s. I'm sure you were dying to know how my washer/toilet woes turned out. Lenny the washer now occupies Warren's old space and Darla (the dryer) now looks really sad next to the shiny white. The toothbrush (spiderman, hmmm) was successfully dislodged (kudos, Dad). On to the next thing...

The Loss of Warren and Other Woes at the Little Yellow House

I firmly believe in naming cars (Snowball, Flash, Bullet) and other large mechanical things. That way you can talk to them, be their friend in time of need (repair), coax them into working just a little longer. It is with much sadness that I announce Warren the washing machine's departure. He had a good run (almost twenty years), but I think the birth of our third child finally did him in. It was just too many clothes. It has been a week of appreciating the pioneers as I've handwashed my children's underwear in the sink. Not only did Warren die, but we also lost a toilet (someone flushed a toothbrush that caused a lot of trouble down below). I'm very excited for these things to be replaced/repaired.

The little yellow house was also host to her first garage sale. Let me start by saying it hasn't been the warmest spring on record where I live. Cue the laughter of all friends who have moved to warmer climates. Anyway, I decided to have my very own garage sale. I spent many hours pricing those oh-so-expensive-going-to-make-my-children-smart-educational-toys and setting everything up. The weather was awful. The kids were bundled and R kept begging for hot chocolate. In the end we made just over twenty dollars. Quite a ride for twenty dollars. After all the time spent, that comes out to be a profit of seventy five cents per hour!

Look at Baby L hangin tough in the cold!

Who is that masked girl?

How is it our kids make us laugh even when they sleep? I went into S's room to put some clothes away and found her snoozing away with her "luxury sleeping mask." She has a tendancy to wake up very disoriented in the night, so hopefully there are no major injuries in the morning.

Oh, R. He dressed in full battle armour after he was neatly tucked into bed. Looks cozy, huh?