A Lunch Date

My favorite spot in the universe for lunch is at school with Allyson. As the little ones have gotten older, it has become easier- although balancing three school trays is nothing short of a miracle. Even so, I love to step into allyson's world, sit at the 'special' table, eat my chicken nuggets with honey and use a spork. It is always an awesome lunch date.

And today was my last lunch date with a third grader. They are closing the cafeteria to visitors through the end of the year in an effort to order only the food they need. So the next time I sit in for lunch, it will be with my forth grader- Lord willing. Not to mention it will be inside of the brand new school. Yikes- next year offers so many changes.

On our way to the school office, we were tagging along behind a kindergarten class. They looked so little, so cute, so chubby and independant- marching along in perfect order on their way to wherever kindergarteners go. And I looked over, and Emily had gotten into line with them. You bet your boots I snatched her right back into reality- not yet my love. Just let me savor these last few months before I turn you over to complete and total strangers and the public school system. I need her to be my baby for just a smidgy more. And I need to begin preparing myself for the Fall when I let her go begin her elementary school adventure. 'sniff'

Hello there!

Ever wonder how your pet would look as a hat? We don't.

The delicate art of eating...........

Who could not sit and watch a pre-schooler eat all day long? Except those without children of course. I mean little kids and food can be a disgusting thing to watch, but they are so delicious. So focused in the task at hand, so rhythmical in their actions, so intent on enjoying they food they are consuming. I love it. It's so awesome, and grotesque all at the same time. The lack of manners is something to be overlooked, and the cuteness of their action far outweighs their table etiquette anyday. If you don't believe me- check this out:That was 1/2 of a doughnut- gone in seconds! What an amazing thing to watch! Wow! For those of you who do not find this facinating, please accept my apologies for forcing you to look at that.

Something in Red...............

I've lost my sexy. Not that I ever really had any sexy, but I definately don't have any now. At least I used to wear matching underware, and perfume, and jewelry- all at the same time. I had 'cute' clothes and I was thinner. Now, I'm lucky to just get a shower. Shaving is not even really something that I get to do frequently. I'm a mess. A mess of a momma.

How do you find your sexy when you are up to your armpits in laundry, dishes, kid stuff and the rest of the laundry list of things we mommas do? I know it's possible, I've seen 'those' moms at preschool. You know, the 'ones' with the hip clothes, high heeled shoes every day, make up AND hair done all at the same time. How do they do it? Do they arise from slumber at 2am in order to have time to get themselves ready and then fight the children battle? What gives.

Could sexy possibly being having a homecooked meal and the house semi-ordered when my husband comes home? Could sexy be washing the clothes and actually managing to fold and put them away on the same day? Could sexy be being covered in little girls glittery lotion that they 'massaged' me with? Could sexy be rearranging furniture to be functional? I sure hope so, or I'm just plum out of luck.

Remember that song by Reba McIntire- Looking for something in red? See, even Reba lost her sexy, at least she thought so. Personally, I think she has always been so dag gone pretty. But there she is in that song, looking for something in red (like the one that I wore when I first turned his head. Strapless and sequined and cut down to there. Just a size larger than I wore last year. A guaranteed number to knock a man dead. I'm looking for something in red).

My song would be more like I'm looking for something unstained. Something that's comfortable and cute is my aim. Cotton and hole free and all buttons on. Preferably clean but I'll take what I get. Something that covers my way to big gut. I'm looking for something unstained.

Told you I lost my sexy.

Florida- finally for crying out loud...............

Florida was awesome. We had a great time with many adventures. I have lots and lots of mediocre pictures (a photographer I am not- so suffer through these if you can)We experimented with new hairstyles...................Allyson dug for clams every time we were at the beach. Then she would bring these slimy wiggling clams back to the condo and sit and play with them. Then the next day she would take them back to the ocean and free them. It was all we could do to keep her from dragging a baggie of them back to Indiana.Sam absolutely would NOT wear shorts. And most days he wanted long sleeves. Poor little Indiana snow boy. There he was in Florida tropping around in pants and long shirts.Here is Dan peeing in the parking garage on our date night. I just couldn't not share this picture.

We went to some military museum and saw some really really cool gigantic airplanes............
We ate like pigs. And check this out- a PoFolks! I worked at one when I was young here in Indy, then it closed and I am still mourning the loss. Then we drove by one on our way to the condo and my heart went pitter pat. Everyone took pity on me and we went there for lunch one day and it was AWESOME! Tons of really greasy food, biscuits and lots of country folk slang signs to read.Emily was so happy just to play in the sand. Then she hooked up with a bunch of other little girls and they spent an hour or so building a huge mountain of sand. It was sweet to see her so super content and happy- she just was loving the sun and the sand and the surf.It was a long drive there, and a long drive home- but worth it and fun none the less. Hopefully in another year we will be ready for another long drive to get back to that gorgeous ocean.

Meet our newest family member...............

That silly easter bunny brought us a guinea pig! The kids were thrilled to say the least and have held him basically every waking hour since.
Meet Giblet. Also know as Gibby. He is a very calm and patient pig- thank goodness. He is adjusting to the new handling style of his keepers, and some are a bit rougher (by accident) than others.

Sam likes to look at him but wants in no way shape or form to touch the 'skinny pig'. He is sure he is going to bite his ear off. Probably better that Sam steers clear of him, I'm not sure how good he would be at rangling a wiggling creature.

Emily informed me that she dropped him this morning, but not to worry, she picked him up before Lew ate him. Thank heavens for small miracles I suppose. Not only did he survive the fall, but I didn't have to explain why certain animals eat other creatures. Whew!

Just a thought for the day- are you aware of how much litter is in the bottom of a guinea pig cage and how it seems to scatter all over the entire house non stop all day long? Some things don't come to ya until it's too late. Oh well.

Happy Easter

I hope you all had a blessed Easter. It is a very special time of year as we reflect on the gift of Jesus and what His death on the cross means to us all.

We had a wonderful Easter day, church, family and Easter dinner. Add in scrubbing puke off a neighbors trampoline and digging playdough out of shoe tread and we called it a day.

Like father like daughter...............

Sunglasses to snow boots................

Well this is a fine how do ya do. We drive, literally, from shorts and sunglasses into snow. Welcome home. If this is a welcome home present, well, I've had better. It is freakin freezing here.

We had a great time, despite some unwanted rain on more than one day. Still got a few great beach days, which was wonderful. White sand, clear ocean, happy kids, wonderful.

Feels good to be home, despite the winterish weather. I'll post some pictures as soon as my husband tutors me on how to get them off the camera. Yes, I am still a canon moran. Whatever.

Yesterday was a 'back in the saddle' kind of day. Run run run- work, grocery, vet appointment (lew lost over 2 lbs- yeah doggie weight watchers), piano lesson and doggie obedience class (what a hoot- allyson entered lew in 4H!) Vacations are necessary to save us from our lives of run run run.