Little Habit

I have a habit. it's not a bad one. (unless a huge clothing allowance in your budget is a bad thing!) I love to buy childrens clothing...it gets better, I love to sell it on ebay when I'm done with it!

So, with that said, I have huge piles waiting to be listed. I think I took around 110 pictures, so I have a lot of stuff to get up. A little of this, a little of that, but mostly Gap, Janie and Jack and Gymboree. I love to shop.

And, with selling, comes more buying, of course. Our drawers get VERY full of summer clothing as our summer is LONG (we have TRUE summer for 6 solid months) and our warmish weather comprises a couple of months too. So, gotta get to buying. I've already bookmarked items on CWD Kids, filled a cart and Boden and have been drooling over cute things at Janie and Jack! (The big boys, for the record, have a few things that will still fit this summer.)

I love me some Crewcuts too, but that is a small obsession as they don't have as many clothes to offer. My fave brands in no particular order are Janie and Jack (best for boys under 4. after that, they get a bit weenie!), GAP (again, baby Gap is really better, but boys GAP is okay too!), Mulberribush, Crewcuts, Hanna Andersson (Babies only! Girls are good too, boys not so much), and Crazy 8 is shaping up to be okay, too! There are more, but dangit, this brain lacks the usual cells needed!

Why don't boys over the age of 5 want to wear plaid? Something to ponder...

How many balls in the air?

A reference, of course, to how many things were going to have going on very shortly. Today was Sawyer's tee-ball meeting, Cam's is Monday. Of course, practice will start soon for both of those. What about basketball, you say? Still going on, until March, of course!

Let's also discuss athletic supporters and I'm not talking about rabid fans. I'm talking about the kind worn in ones undergarments to protect external genetalia. (Is there something funny about the word genetalia? i sure think so!) Both boys and GIRLS have to wear the cup. Isn't that funny? I knew this last year and it was funny then, too. I suppose it's the kind of thing that will continue to be funny to me until the end of time. Girls will be sporting their pink helmets that are equipped with holes for ponytails - and don't forget their athletic supporters. good stuff, really.

Can you count how many times I said funny in that last paragraph. It was quite a few.

I love to read a good blog

I sure do love a good blog. For a long time, i was an avid reader of http://www.dooce.com/ - since then, I've found a new blog to voraciously devour. http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ She's just fantastic.

I first found Ree's website/blog through her cooking website, the pioneer woman cooks! she has great food on there -- yummy, creamy food with lots, and lots of butter. who doesn't love butter. she has amazing food photos - great step by step directions.

Sawyer has amazing faith in me. Last night, I told him I was going to get him a tee shirt to wear for his birthday that has a big number 5 on it made out of Spiderman fabric. He lit up and then proceeded to give me all sorts of things that could also go on said shirt. He had phrases he wanted on there. But, most of all, he wanted white spiderwebs all over that. He sure thinks I have talent, doesn't he? Even if I could *imagine* such a thing, i certainly couldn't create it. I would have thought that this boy would have figured out by now that I *BUY* things, not make them!

Rain, rain ...

I would like to finish that by saying "GO AWAY". It's cold -- didn't make it to 50* and the rain makes it feel even colder! But, it does make everything green. Tough choice.
I watched an inspirational short piece on the internet today. It was called something like "the dash". Basically, a man gives a eulogy at the funeral of a woman. He talks about how there is a date for your birth on the tombstone and then a date for your death. But, what really matters is the dash in between.
I already try to live my life that way -- by thinking about what REALLY matters -- don't be so quick to anger, think about how others FEEL, watch the little things around you and really LIVE. Even though I already think about it -- it's a great time to watch that and think about it again and what things you can do to make a great life even better. Sure, you have bad days -- but doesn't everyone?
So, from that - I will end the email to Thing 1's teacher by expressing my appreciation for her and all that she does. I will offer my help to an overwhelmed friend. I will hug my kids a bit tighter tonight - because these things matter. The fact that I don't have time to help, that my laundry isn't folded and that dinner is a bit late doesn't matter. People matter, I matter and how I live my life and the example I make for others matters.
On that note, the little itty bitty cold rain drops are all part of the equation. I should be happy that it's not *really* cold, like -20, and enjoy that it's raining and making my landscape colorful!

what for today!

what shall we do today? thing 1 and thing 2 are both home today. ALL day. they are already into their second WII game and I don't know that I can survive the fighting and name calling that comes with that...thing 1 thinks he's hot, he does little dances and trash talks to thing 2 (or me, if I'm so lucky to play with him)

funnily enough, though, thing 2 has all of the mii's on the wii named. so, when this dark skinned gal with a bun on her head comes up to hit (in baseball!) he calls her granny. thing 1 then gets irate and screams about how granny doesn't have a wii. that matters not, really, because granny lacks the pigment in her skin that the mii she's named for has. (thing 1, thing 2, andy, ricky, christie and I have our own named mii's - mine is called big momma. i think that is pretty funny!)

harrison is delightful as ever - smiling and talking lots. unfortunately, he's still a bit wee so it's too cold to take him out to the park for hours today. (Or maybe it's not considering the severe temps elsewhere. 55* hardly seems cold when considering below zero temps!) We'll see. still pondering the options and taking suggestions for what to keep these kids busy.

Lots and lots of dots

Well no dots. But, there is lots and lots.

First, I hate being sick. It stinks. The headache, sore throat, stiff neck and the CHILLS. Ugh. Thankfully it has vacated the building.

Miss Lynda has left the hospital and is home. I spoke with her over the weekend and feel so grateful she's doing well. It's amazing how life can be so fragile and you don't even realize those small moments. Must do better about enjoying life and those around us. the moments can be fleeting. Lynda's taught me a good lesson I must hold onto.

Harrison is dreamy as ever. He's sleeping wonderfully - I don't think the other two slept this well *this* young. they did well and they were young. But, I don't think they went for 10 hour stretches at 2 months. reason number 32 why he's just so yummy! A list of his dreaminess sounds like it's in order!

Thing 2 started his new school on Monday. He's now attending Crossroads Christian Preschool until Lynda is better. Sounds like he'll be there longer than I had hoped, but I'm glad I got him in somewhere in the meantime. He really likes it and plays with the boys on the BIG playground. he told me the other day that he chased the girls. I would have never predicted this from him - but it happened! Crazy, crazy boy.

Another good day...love that. Evening out at Dos Lagos with good friends tonight. really looking forward to it.

Grass

Oddly enough, the areas around me are starting to grow grass. Now, that sounds odd -- but unless you water it twice a day, no grass grows here. In neighborhoods green is a popular color. The regular landscape, however, is mostly brown. BUT, we've had a little rain - so now everything is starting to look green! It's really quite interesting.

What is NOT interesting, however, is the preschool search. Thing 1 attends the most wonderful school, Ms. Lynda's Learning Tree. But, Ms. Lynda has been in the hospital since before Christmas with awful, terrible pneumonia. She's doing better (that doesn't take much) but is still in bad shape and is not going to be home until at least the end of the week. So...we're trying to find a new school for the interim.

A popular (and huge) Christian Church around here has a large preschool. We're going to tour it tomorrow. We'll see how that goes, but Thing 2 needs school. (Even though he's very good and working well with me here)

The baby had his 2 month check up. I deferred his shots -- not doing those yet. BUT, we did do all of the regular things that they do at well baby checks -- including checking his WEIGHT and HEIGHT. He's now 13 pounds and 8 ounces and 23.25 inches. That is a 6 pound increase and a 4.25 growth in height! Way to grow. (But, now, stop. I don't want to see you in a wink of the eye at 4 years old. I want you to stay just as you are.)

King Pin?

I'm not quite sure the boys qualify as kingpins, yet. BUT, I'm sure they are well on their way. Today, I took Thing 1 and Thing 2 bowling with a whole slew of other children (Audrey, Olin, Ian, Sydnee, Caden, and Carley. Of course their mothers were in attendance as well).

The bowling alley is this Las Vegas style entertainment type place - lots of bowling, games, restaurant and even a velvet lounge...a nice place for Lake Elsinore. Anyway, after a frame or two, the kids all needed the bumpers (They came up out of the gutter! High tech, to be sure) and it was a much more pleasant experience.

Anyway, my two professional bowlers had high scores of 72 and 58. Sawyer beat Cam. (In Cam's defense, he tried bowling without the bumpers for more frames than Sawyer did) it was plenty of fun and Sawyer claims he'd like a birthday party there. We'll see. He claims that he wants a birthday party everywhere, then always reverts back to Chuck E. Cheese. (A popular '90s birthday party spot - and where he had his party *last* year)

After McDonalds for lunch, we're back home for plenty of bowling on the Wii. Perhaps I'll even try throwing a strike or two. (though, truth be told, i prefer practicing my serena williams backhand at Wii tennis!)

Harrison

harrison is the cutest. really. just the cutest thing I've seen in recent history. he coos and smiles and is just happy. love it. the boys love it. what a good thing.


Couldn't be cuter, could he? Didn't think so.

I've not been very positive, so I've chosen to not post any words for fear they might dwell on the negative. I don't feel much more positive, but not afraid of the negative, either.

9+ days until the big trip. We haven't traveled much since Christmas and we've never done a trip like this before. On Wednesday August 8 we'll be leaving the hot desert for the mountains of Colorado. We'll enjoy part of 3-4 days there, then head forward to Iowa. While in Iowa we will sweat, eat and sweat some more. Maybe that is just what I will do. We'll visit the Iowa State Fair and farmland too. (We haven't been to any farms for many years -- for me it's been in the double digits -- my great grandma left the farm in the early nineties and I have not been back since)

Both boys are looking forward to the trip. Due to misbehaviour, we had to threaten to leave them at home for the trip. We pulled the Nanny McPhee card and that seemed to work for Sawyer. But, like everything else, Cam was pretty well onto us. Sawyer is most looking forward to staying in the hotel -- and Cam, well, I'm not sure.

A few things left to do before now and then...hoping getting a new air conditioner is not one of them. (Because the days are never below 95* here. I love the heat, but your skin literally feels baked...)