A Change of Scenery

From here.....

(Sighh....)

To here......

And here.....

To here...

Much, much better, don't you think?

Hummm...I wonder if Mom will let me take this as a souvenir

Mom??
NO! PUT IT BACK!

OK, Mom! I'll just take that home with us instead! Would that be OK?

Uh.. NO. THAT needs to stay right where it is.


BOYS.....they're just so....just soo... I don't know.....

The Gruesome Twosome

The Gruesome Twosome.....



They've earned their reputation...the littlest prince and his niece. (Yes, that is his niece).

From the time they were little, (well, they're still little, but they think they are all grown up) they've played well together, and entertained us (we don't tell them that) with their antics. They love to escape from the "big kids" into their own world of fantasy. And they talk NONSTOP!

Once when they were little, (like 3 years old), they were playing on the bottom bunk bed while the princess's mom dozed on the top bunk - until she heard, "let's get naked." That will wake a mom up!

The princess, although younger, potty-trained her uncle. Despite every trick in the book that Prince Charming and I tried, the little prince would not potty-train. Until one weekend when I was sick and he spent the weekend with his sister and neice.

"Do I need to change your diaper? You stink! Why aren't you in big boy pants? I wear big girl pants!"

The humiliation was too great for him. By the end of the weekend, his neice had him potty-trained.

Someday, like at the rehearsal dinner for her wedding, he'll tell that story and laugh. I don't think he sees the humor in that story just yet.

This past week he spent the afternoon playing with his neice. On the way home, he was giving her some "Uncle Advise" on watching movies at the movie theatre.

1. Always wear a coat or a hat to pull over your eyes if the movie gets sad or scary.
2. Always sit beside someone you can hug in case you need one.
3. Make sure to always go to the bathroom before the movie starts.
4. Make sure and get your favorite snack so you can focus on that if the movie gets scary or sad.

Pretty good advice from a 6 year old. I hope they are always this close, and that the little prince always watches out for the little princess, protects her, and keeps her safe, and that the little princess always watches over the little prince. And they live happily every after. (I hope they realize they can't marry each other....hmmmmm....well, if they don't, maybe we can wait and break it to them when they are a little older).

Dog Door Update

My memory yesterday jogged step-daughter 2's memory, and she sent me this picture.....




You know, that dog door really was convenient.

A Memory

A memory I don't want to forget...

Being outside on the deck with dinner guests when a gallon of ice cream pops out the doggy door, followed by a hard-working 11 month old. He had opened the bottom freezer all by himself, retrieved the ice cream, pushed it across the kitchen floor, through the family room, heaved it out the doggy door, and then crawled through after it. A baby with a mission.

Yes, of course he got a big bowl after all that hard work!









Here he is with big sister, almost all grown up.



I wish I had written down more of the entertaining things my kids did when they were little, but at the time they were little it was all I could do to keep up with them, the house, work, life.

Now that they are a little older and a little (not much, just a little) more independent, I try to reach back into my mind and bring forth those little memories that I used to think of when I needed a "happy thought". Time and age are cruel however, and I find I can remember less and less of those things I thought I would never forget.

So, thanks for indulging me as I jot down that little memory of a one year old so a year from now, two years from now, I can still remember. It may be one of those things where "you had to be there", but trust me, it was pretty funny.

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time, a long time ago (like 7 years or so), a little prince and a little princess lived happily, never fighting, always playing perfectly, helping their mommy (The Queen of Everything) and their daddy (Prince Charming) whenever they had the chance. And they always did so cheerfully. (Since we're in the middle of a fairy tale here.)

One day, while the little prince and princess were helping their mommy and daddy make a new flower bed to plant flowers in, a bed that would always allow the flowers to bloom abundantly and never allow weeds to grow within it's borders, the little prince hit the little princess right smack dab in the middle of the mouth with a shovel. (For the record, it was Prince Charming who allowed the Prince and Princess to dig in the same hole). (And for the record, it was an accident, according to the Prince).

The Queen of Everything rushed the little princess to the Queen of Teeth who gave them the sad, sad news.

"This tooth must be removed. See how it is split in half? I'm afraid it can't be saved. And not only that, but the beautiful princess's mouth, unlike the prince's, will never be the same, being injured at such a tender, young age. I'm afraid she will be destined to be a slave to the evil dragon whose name is "Braces." But, it will be but for a short period of time, a year or two perhaps, but inevitable we fear. The prince, thank goodness, has perfect teeth and will never have to face and slay the evil Dragon, "Braces".

Ohhh...the Queen and King grieved! Oh, what will happen to their little princess? How would she face this evil Dragon?

As fate would have it, the little princess escaped the clutches of the evil dragon. Instead the Dragon came for the prince, and the princess grew up to have perfect teeth.

Isn't that justice?

Before:


After:

OK...That's close enough! We see them, we see them!

Little boys

Little boys are so sweet, don't you think?

The youngest left his brother this note on the bed yesterday.

"My brother is the best brother in the world. I love you."

Isn't that nice? I know the picture isn't great, but you can feel the love, can't you?

The same little, sweet, innocent boy, drew this picture which I found on my dresser later that day.....

Isn't he sweet?
It says, "I love my mom"

Doesn't that just melt your heart?

What a sweet little boy you say.

Bring that image to a screeching halt! This same little boy later in the day stuffed pennies between piano keys where they proceeded to become stuck. How can a little boy be so sweet one minute, and then turn around and do something like stuff pennies beneath piano keys?

Does anyone know how to get pennies out from beneath piano keys? I really, REALLY don't want to call in a professional......

Before he stuffed pennies beneath the piano keys, this post was going to be all about spontaneously doing nice things for one another. How sometimes it's just nice to let someone know, out of the blue, that you love and appreciate them. Wouldn't that have been a nice post?

But now, all I can focus on is how am I going to get those pennies out from beneath those keys?

Nothin' cuter

Nothing cuter...



Than a little boy......



Who has lost a tooth....