Waterbabies!!

I love that my kids love the water and beach because I love it too!!!

After school the other day, we went over to Junior's sister's for a little swim time and a cook out.  The kids had a blast :).

So FLIPPIN  CUTE!!!!!!

 Showing off her Handstand Skills :)



A boy's gotta do what a boy's gotta do!

I kept my cousins Anthony (4) and Julianna (2) after school the other day until their parents got home from a concert.  I picked them up from their Grammy's house, and as I was catching up with Grammy and PawPaw, Anthony was getting more and more impatient.  He was ready to GO play with Tyler.  So after about the 4th time he asked if we could go, I told him to go to the car, get Julianna buckled in, and toot the horn 2 times, and I'd come out there and we could go. I smiled to myself as I watched him think about it, then he takes action!!

So, he goes over to Julianna, and says come on, its time to go, they sweetly join hands, walk out to the car, and proceed to try to do what I asked.  After a few minutes of letting them work, Grammy and I come out there to see Anthony climbing over to the driver seat to toot the horn.  Then he informs me that he could only get one side buckled.  We told him good job, and we're proud of him for trying.... and here's the result of his handywork :).

Pretty cute, huh?!?! Needless to say, we left then :).

Happy Birthday Olivia!!

What do you get for a child that not only has everything she needs, but has everything she needs and more TIMES 2!!

Well, There is a set of bunk beds at Olivia's apartment for her stepsisters, and she loves it when she visits there when they're not there because she gets to sleep on the top bunk.  That's the only thing I could think of that she wants that she doesn't have.  Olivia already has a nice bed, so we got her a loft bed to put over the full size bed she already has.  It worked out great, but is a little (okay a lot) taller than we expected.  We'll see how it works out, but we may have to put the ladder on the other side due to the location of the ceiling fan!!

Here she is when she woke up to her Birthday Surprise :).

A new one

This was on an email I just read.

What if someone said this to you????

On a cold day in December,
some years ago: A little boy,
about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the
roadway, barefoot , peering through the window, and shivering
with cold.
 
A lady approached the young boy and said,
'My, but you're in such deep thought staring in that window!'
 
'I was asking God to give me a pair of
shoes,'was the boy's  reply.
 
The lady took him by the hand, went into
the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks
for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water
and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
 
She took the little fellow to the back
part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed
his little feet, and dried them with the towel.
 
By this time, the clerk had returned with
the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him
a pair of shoes..
 
She tied up the remaining pairs of socks
and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, 'No
doubt, you will be more comfortable now..'
 
As she turned to go, the astonished kid
caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears
in his eyes, asked her.
'Are you God's wife?'

Last day of First Grade

Olivia's last day of first grade was yesterday, and her Birthday is tomorrow.  We will have cupcakes for her at daycare on her actual birthday, but I wanted her to get to do something special with her class too, so I brought in muffins and juice.  They were having the end of the year party that afternoon, and I knew they'd already have cupcakes and junk for that afternoon, so we had "Birthday Breakfast." That way, I'd get to be there for the fun.  Olivia didn't even eat any muffins, but she was so happy about passing them out to everyone else.  She cracks me up.  The juices came in packs of 10, and there are 21 students, so I brought Olivia a Sierra Mist out of the refrigerator in case everyone was there, and I called it a "special birthday girl drink" since she doesn't usually get a whole can, especially not at 7:45 am.  She may not have wanted any part of the muffins, but she sure was glad to have that drink :). Here's me and my first grader, for the last time :(.

Twice in one night!

Over the past couple of weeks, Tyler has rolled off the bed several time, and stayed asleep in the floor.  Junior puts him back in the bed, and he never even knows what happened.  Last night, it happened twice in the same night!  I guess he's having some active dreams or something :).

Little Graduates Class of 2011

Last night was Tyler's Pre-K graduation.  He was very excited and informed me the night before that his teacher told them they have to wear their "Handsome Clothes." And, BOY was he HANDSOME!!!

And here's his handsome Daddy trying to sneak a bite of cake :).

Fun on the Farm

Olivia's first grade field trip was to Densmore Farm in Skitts Mountain.  It was a lot of fun... and lucky for the teacher that the ONLY PARENT VOLUNTEER that showed up was ALSO a teacher.... there was lots of organizing, and behavior managing necessary...

Loaded up and ready to go :)

 Petting a goat (Daisy, I think)

Goldfish Pond



Picky Eater!

Olivia and Tyler, both, are pretty picky eaters. But I've almost figured out how to give them balanced meals with the few things they'll eat.  They both like cubed steak, which is what we had for dinner tonight, but for some reason, Olivia decided she wanted something else.

I told her that I was cooking dinner for everyone, and if she didn't like what we were having, she'd have to fix her own dinner.  After trying to negotiate chips for dinner, this is what she came up with... ALL BY HERSELF!!!!!!  She did everything!

A turkey sandwich wtih Mayo, and some cheddar "cubes" that she "cut" up herself. I thought it was TERRIFIC.  She even put the turkey, cheese, and mayo back in the fridge when she was done, and put the twist tie back on the bread (we need to work on that skill a little, though).  I did end up trading her some of her cheese for a carrot, but you can't blame a girl for trying.  She loves cheese ALMOST as much as her Aunt Lindsey!!

Good advice

I don't remember where I read this, but I remember 2 pieces of motherly advice that I have heeded to many times. 1 - never buy the largest picture package (my mom always bought the smaller ones, and she still has tons of wallets, and 3x5's that have never even been cut apart, still in the picture envelopes from school days past). and 2 - when a kid wants a bandaid, just give it to them, whether they need it or not. I usually buy our bandaids with coupons, so it doesn't even waste that much of our money, either, and it makes the kids SO happy.  Olivia came out of the bathroom one day (after the Easter Bunny brought her Barbie Bandaids) looking like a pink and purple collage.  She'd even put a bandaid on a line of marker ink on her leg! HA! But I just kissed all the bandaids and told her I was proud of here for being a big girl and taking care of herself :).

Well, after a slight oversight of leaving a razor in the bathtub when Tyler went in for a bath, he plays, gets out, dries off, then finds 2 little slices in his finger.  They're just in the skin, there was no blood involved, but he was certain a bandaid was necessary.  A little later, he and Junior were playing with cars in the livingroom floor, and I don't know how it happened, but he smashed a finger on his other hand too... poor baby.  But I'm telling you, that bandaid sure did help!

Here's the healed up, and happy patient showing off his Toy Story 3 Bandaid, and Spongebob Bandaid all tucked into bed.

Junior told him to get the towel and dry his hair a little before bed.... I think he missed the "get a towel" part, though, because he asked for my assistance with the blowdryer, and ended up with this wacky and wonderful do :)... it fell down by the time we got up the next morning, though.

Swing Batta Batta

I am SO LOVING watching Olivia and her sweet little team play tee ball this year.  She's actually pretty good.  Junior overheard one of Olivia's coaches talking about what an arm she has, then a little later, heard an opposing team's coach telling the kids to back up when she came up to bat. I LOVE IT!

Look at 'er go :)

Mothers' Day +7 other days

My mom was out of town on Mothers' day, and my children were with their other mother, so we rescheduled Mothers' day for the following Sunday.  My sister prepared a DELICIOUS cookout and had us, my parents' and her boyfriend's mom and sister over. We had a great meal, and a great time, then as we were digesting, relaxing, and chit chatting, I find this:

My Dad, reading a Motorcycle Book with Tyler :). LOVE!!

A little planning goes a long way... and a little spontaneity never hurt either...

I think I look forward to lake afternoons more than the kids do.  So I get packed up, complete with peanut butter, bread, snacks, capri suns, sand toys, and swim suits!

The spontaneous part, was when I decided to pick up our cousin, Anthony, on the way to get the kids... too bad Ant's allergic to peanutbutter!!! So his mom packed him up some ham and cheese to make his sammy with :). We Mommys are magical like that :).
The kids were excited to see Anthony, excited to play.... but Miss Olivia didn't do her homework like she was supposed to, so the boys got to play while she finished her work, and I made the sandwiches.  Then a little quick-change for the girls, and dinnertime.... picnic in the sand!!! *sigh*

Good times!!!!!!!!!!

Sweet Saturday Squeeze

Its not secret that Junior, Olivia, and Tyler are my main squeezes, but Junior had to take Olivia to the Doctor last Saturday morning, so he was my main man!!!  We heard through the grapevine that Lindsey and Matt had a big bonfire in the back yard to burn some brush they cleaned out, so we got our skewers and some marshmallows and headed that way.  Tyler wanted to walk, but we were leaving from there to go to the store, so I drove the car and watched.  He's such a big boy! He likes to walk down there and back by himself, but we always watch him.  He even walked home in the dark one night while Junior waited on the front steps for him, and I watched from behind a bush. Matt's house is the fourth house while ours is the first.  Its a pretty good walk for a 4 year old.

Yes, he's wearing baseball pants and cleats that Junior had to get for him since Olivia got some for Tee Ball this year.  He loves them :).

After the store, we came home to get our plants we bought at Home Depot the day before ready to plant. Of course, we couldn't do the planting without Olivia, but we did need to water them so they wouldn't die before we put them in the ground :). I got them those baby watering cans last year because the 2 gallon one is just a little too heavy for them.  Its perfect for the herbs we planted in pots, though.  And they love them :)

Its so cool watching him grow up.  He's getting pretty good at it :).

The Egg Baby Diaries

For the first time ever, I assigned my students a project.  For 3 days, each students was the proud mother/father of a hard boiled egg.  The assignment was to care for the egg and make sure that it was unharmed for those days, and take it everywhere with them.

Some students came prepared on the day they were to recieve the eggs with baskets and pouches to keep the eggs in.  Some carried the eggs around gingerly for the entire time, making sure not to crack it.  Some even went so far as to "bathe" the egg with hand sanitizer. And then there was this:

Mrs. Sacamano: Mrs. Lance, (holding up a ziploc bag with a smashed egg) I took up Cameron's egg. Do you need it back to have proof of what kind of parent he is?
Me: No.  Thank you for taking it from him.  Sorry for the interruption.  What in the world did he do to it?
Mrs. Sacamano: Oh, he was eating it!!!!!!!
*** Then I called his mom to warn her that me might be sick for the next couple of days, and to explain to her what had happened.

Madison: (with a very sad, face) Look at my egg babies (she had twins).
Me: (looking into a brown paper bag filled with crushed eggshells) Oh my goodness, Madison, What happened?
Madison: I set their bag on my desk and they rolled out and hit the floor and cracked.
Me: Where's the rest of them?
Madison: I had to throw the insides away when I creammated them.
***BWAhahahaha

Ms. Walton: Mrs. Lance, I don't think some of your students are going to be very good parents.  I had to tell 2 girls that they could not lock their babies up in their lockers.

Mrs. Rivera: I was watching those egg babies.  I told all my students that I'm with the Department of Family and Egg services, and I WILL place their babies in foster care if they don't take better care of them.

Mrs. Bell: One of your girls in my class gave her egg to a babysitter first thing this morning.  I asked her why she needed a babysitter, and she said she just didn't want to take care of it.   Then I had to have a little talk with her.

Overall, this assignment was a blast.  It was great to have other teachers so willing to help, and nice to see the students who took it seriously really put forth a sincere effort. I don't know if I'll do it again, but it was fun :)

Creation

On the way to Church Sunday, we had a little talk about where people come from, and how God Created all of us.  Tyler and Olivia have a slightly different concept of how people came about.  I still don't think they quite understand, but at least Tyler's misconception has been corrected.

We were talking about our friends, and how God made all of us, then Tyler comes up with, "Mexicans are made out of Monkeys" (I think this has something to do with Dora and that little Monkey on her show, but I'm not quite sure how he knows Dora is Mexican, I don't actually know her nationality).  We quickly set him straight, then Olivia informs us that "Mo is made out of Jesus." Mo (Moriah) is one of her friends at church.  She is one of the sweetest, and most patient with children, 13 year olds that I've ever known.  Olivia thinks she is the best thing since sliced bread.... and of course she is since she's made out of Jesus!!!

SO SWEET :)