Maya's Cabinet Inventory

Maya was standing on a chair "helping" me put away the dishes, and announcing everything that was in there. "Mommy, here's your cup, and my bowl, and Daddy's cup, and here's a plate, and this is a dead chicken, and here is a tiny cup..." What? I asked her to show me the dead chicken. She held up a piece of ginger root that was in there. I knew it was there, that's where I keep it. Maya, however knows nothing of ginger root, and just assumed (why on earth I will never know) it was a dead chicken, but was less than alarmed by it. Hmmmm Maybe that kid needs more to worry about.

I'm all about glass half full, but mine is overflowing...with all of this RAIN!

The rain won't stop. I am running out of things to do with all of these children. We had a half of a sunny day on Saturday, then right back in the soup. I think Mother Nature didn't get the memo. It's almost JULY you bitch...send me some sun!

Outtakes from last night when the girls were up way too late

For some reason, the girls were not all about bedtime last night. Usually we nip that right in the bud because Will and I like our time together in the evenings (and hey, they need their sleep). Last night, however they were being extra cute and funny and were just a joy to be around in general. We sort of pretended to get them to go to bed, but then invited them out on the porch with us. I had the camera out there, and we went a little crazy with the photos. The one in my header pretty much accurately describes our life on a daily basis. I think I will send it as our Christmas card this year. I kid, it is much too early for that photo! So here are some pretty funny shots, none are good from a photography stand point, but the fun time we had makes them perfect to me. We had such a blast, and they slept in this morning, so I guess we all won.

Could that be...sun?!

It has been raining here for what seems like forever. Today, for almost four hours (so far) it has actually been sunny! Yeah! We went out to play and Allie found the need to play with...an umbrella. More rain is forecast for tomorrow.

The Sweetest Thing

Will is sitting on the couch painting Maya and Allie's finger and toe nails with such concentration and patience it makes me want to weep. I love this man.

Father's Day 5k

Yesterday, Father's Day, My dad and I ran a local 5k. We have been running together off and on for about a year now, taking a long break last year after my car accident. Yesterday was our favorite weather for running. It wasn't quite raining, but it was heavily misting, and cool. It was the first annual run, and there were over 1000 runners. It was a family friendly run, but due to the weather, there weren't many kids around. My dad is much faster than I am, but he stays with me so we can do it together. I have only been running about year and a half, and he has been doing it for ten, I think. I love that we can do this together, and we decided that we will do this race every year on Father's day as our gift to each other. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mainerunningphotos/3654972667/in/set-72157620116984699/
During the race, Will got his Father's day gift. He got to sleep in. My Mom kept the girls, and they got to play, do crafts and have a tea party, which they love more than anything. When he got up, he got his other gift, the new Tiger Woods game for the Wii. He spent a good portion of the day playing it and remrking on how cool it is. I am glad I listened to him and got that game. After we got home from the race, I made a huge breakfast for all of us, and then we just hung out together. It was a great family day.

Still Raining, Still Pouring, Still Optimistic

What do you do on Summer vacation when it is raining buckets? You go on a puddle walk in bathing suits with umbrellas! We had a blast, and the umbrellas were ditched shortly after the walk began. We were out for about half an hour, and found some incredibly deep puddles, lots of splashing, and some interesting stares, but we had a blast!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

The kids are having a beach party in their room. They are all wearing bathing suits, all the beds have been stripped, and converted to beach and the floor is the water. Currently, they are having a picnic on the "beach". When they woke up this morning and saw that we were not going to be able to go to the beach, they weren't even disappointed, they just decided to have a house beach party. Gotta love the glass half full optimism!

Is it Wrong...

That today, the first day of summer vacation, that my children were waiting for the ice cream truck with lolipops in their hands? Then after it came they were double fisted, lolipops and ice cream...
Just wondering.

Last Day of School

Today is Lilly's last day of school! Wahooooo! I can't wait to have her home all summer!

Grandmother

Lilly was in a play at school last night. It was extremely sweet and well done. The kids are all first and second graders from her class, and all had roles in one of three plays. The first, the one Lilly was in, was Little Red Riding Hood. She played Grandmother and had to pretend to be eaten by the wolf (whose ears kept falling off) and then hide as if she was in his belly. It was very cute. It is so funny to watch, and was so nice to see her performing. She said that she was nervous, but didn't act that way. I was so proud of her.

Lemonade Stand

The girls decided to have a lemonade stand this morning. They wanted to start at 8:00, but I held them off until 9:30...I thought it was still too early, but they had a steady stream of customers for about two hours. They made their own sign and decided to have chips, candy, and cookies as free snacks to go along with the lemonade. They charged a quarter for each glass of lemonade, and made thirteen dollars! Some of it was from tips, but still impressive. They took us all out to ice cream with their profits.

Budding Artist - Day 2

Maya drew me this morning. I told her how to spell Mommy, but she wrote it without help. I can't believe how big she is getting!

Happy Birthday To You?!

Maya and Ryleigh play happy birthday every day. Even when it's no one's birthday. They are slightly obsessed with birthdays since theirs in April and May.This consists of collecting "gifts" and singing the birthday song ina very sweet, loud, a little bit of the wrong words kind of way. They come find me wherever I am and give me their very thoughtful gifts. Today, for the first time, I received a drawing of "a dragon with stripes and petals and wings" and also "a tree with petals" from Maya. I love her creativity.

Diego's dark secret

I think Diego may not be potty trained, which is odd since he can fly a helicopter...

Jump Suit and Sparkly Shoes

Allie got a leotard trimmed with sequins around Easter. I swear, every day since then she has worn it. Every day. We have implemented a rule, she must wear pants, a skirt or shorts over it if we go out anywhere. She fought me on this for many days, until she realized that she wasn't going to be able to wear it at all unless she followed the rule. Now, when we are home, even in the yard, I am fine with her just wearing her leotard (she calls it her jumpsuit). It has become her uniform, and the only shoes that she will wear with it are sparkly (and I mean sparkly like you have nightmares about and that leave a trail of glitter behind her wherever she goes) pink Mary Jane type shoes. I thought she would tire of this outfit, but she hasn't. I am starting to think she may start kindergarten in that damn jumpsuit. Which would be just about right for Allie. I love that kid, and her sense of style.

The Dog Who Could Fly (or so she thought)

We have a porch off our bedroom, which is on the second floor. Sully likes to hang out there with us in the evenings. We usually sit out there for some time, and she watches the birds and squirrels. Sometimes she will put her front paws up on the ledge and look over, but Will and I both thought she just wanted a better look. Tonight I was sitting on my bed and she was out on the porch, looking over like she usually does, when I see out of the corner of my eye, her jump onto the ledge. I yelled her name, and she leaped over the side. Seriously? From the second floor?! What the hell is wrong with my dog? I heard her crash through the brush and thud onto the ground. I raced downstairs and out the door expecting to find her dead or paralyzed on the ground, but instead she comes trotting around the corner and takes off for the neighbor's yard. Their son caught her and I brought her home. As of now, she seems fine, but I am waiting...I am sure she will be sore tomorrow. No more porch privileges for her.

Update: As of this morning (AKA the day after the jump) she seems fine. She is being a bit more cautious about everything, but I think I like her better that way.

It's a big week for Lilly

Lilly has had quite a week. She lost her third tooth, the left top front one, and she learned to tie her shoes. Lilly has always worn Crocs, sandals, Velcro sneakers, or dressy shoes. She has never had shoes that tie, because she never picked any with laces. Yesterday she got her first sneakers with laces, I showed her twice how to tie them, and she has been tying every shoe she can get her hands on. She tried to teach Allie, but after about two minutes Allie said, "Oh, just tie 'em for me!" So now Lilly is the resident shoe tyer. A very cute one, with that sweet jack o lantern grin. I love it when the girls are genuinely proud of something they have mastered.

She does this on her own

Maya insists on having many stuffed animals and characters in bed with her every night. She always has Dora, that specific baby (who laughs when you squeeze her tummy and who on more that one occasion has scared the crap out of me during the night), Mr. Hippypotamus (she call him this because of 'Charlie and Lola'), and her big monkey. She spends a good five minutes tucking in and arranging each one just the right way before she arranges herself. Seriously, with those hands folded, I just want to gobble her up.

Pre-School Graduation

Allie graduated pre-school last week. It was a very sweet ceremony. Diplomas were given, and each child got a personalized hard back book. They put on a performance and then the 'seniors' (the 4 turning 5 kids) put on caps and marched in and their teacher said some very sweet things about each child. Allie was thrilled to graduate, but doesn't really like that school is over for the year. The school she goes to is a co-op, so all the parents are required to work in the classroom a few times a month, and we all have jobs as well. I was the field trip coordinator, so I well, you get it. The really cool thing bout this school is that during the summer, each family (families who have a child who has just graduated, those who have a child returning the next year, and new families coming in the next year) hosts a play day that we call 'art camp'. Each week is assigned to a family who picks the location ( a local playground, the lake, the beach, their back yard, etc.) brings the snack and provides an art activity for all of the children. This way, the kids don't get a chance to really miss their friends, the new kids get to meet the kids who will be in the class again in the coming year, and the parents all get to visit. This is my favorite thing about the program, the transitions piece is great, both coming and going. Allie is already saying that she can't wait to see her friends again at art camp, and she has nothing but fond memories of pre-school.