Ben says...

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While playing with alphabet blocks....

"Mom, I'm going to make a squillion towers! Do you know what squillion means? Squillion means lots and lots!"

How's that for a vocabulary word.


Update: Apparently squillion is an actual word, meaning "a very large, unspecified number"

How's that for a smart kid!

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Girly Girly

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Presenting....

Missy Lou (a.k.a. Emma)

Queen Girly Girly

Yes that is not one, but two tutu's on top of maymoos (Emma speak for pajamas)

Now I'm not sure which is more adorable...

...Emma's outfit or...

...the fact that she calls her princesses "mommies"...
(if only all us really mommies could look that nice)

...or the fact that she makes her "mommies" dance...

Who am I kidding it's all adorable!

Spring and sadness

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Today the weather was FINALLY nice enough to spend more than thirty seconds outside so the kids and I...

...went for a drive

...stopped to discuss our vehicles...

...shared a few smiles...

...had a little snack, before...

...going back to play...

...and then took a nap.

It was a good day.

Except for the sad part...

...my camera lens is broken...

sniff...sniff..

makes me want to cry.

Thrifty Finds

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Thrift stores can be so darn fun sometimes. You never know what you're going to find. The kids and I went to Goodwill the other day in search of some ugly ties to send my brother for his birthday, while he's on his mission. We came home with these beauties.

I actually like the pinkish one, and almost decided to keep it for some unknown reason, even to myself, and Tyson was particularly drawn to the brown paisley one. So I guess maybe they aren't so ugly, especially considering there's an old Jerry Garcia thrown in there, well except for the brown clip on, that one is really and truly ugly. So at least Will will get one ugly tie.

But these aren't the treasure of the day.

These are!

Now don't roll your eyes, I've always wanted to learn how to Rollerblade, but never wanted or could spend the $70 it would take to buy even the lowest end model, especially since I'm not even sure I'll take to it. But Tyson has a pair and as been wanting me to get a pair for a couple years now so at a sweet $9 I couldn't resist. I'm sure they'll be many misadventures while these are on my feet.

Child Prodigy

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We have a child prodigy in our home, did you know that?

Yup we do.

It's Emma...

She reads.

Did you just faint from the cuteness?

I sure did.

Questions

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Last night I was cordially invited to give a talk this coming Sunday. Despite my best efforts to wiggle out of it, well...let's just say I'm giving a talk this Sunday. So I could use your help, dear readers, the topic I've been given is "Fortify your family against evil". So I have a couple questions for you. If you would be willing to answer them, either by e-mail or by leaving a comment below, that would be wonderful.

1) What does "fortify your family/home" mean to you?

2) How do you fortify your family/home?

3) How did your parents fortify their family/home while you were growing up?

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your help!

Appreciation

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Last night we had tacos, which is not altogether unusual, tacos are one of my favorite meals. What was unusual is that I made homemade tortillas. Tacos with homemade tortillas was often my requested birthday meal. I'd never made them before so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Well I have a whole new appreciation for my mom. Rolling out those darn tortillas is hard work, or maybe I'm just weak, but either way I'm pretty sure I was using some arm muscles that haven't been used in awhile. After all that effort I couldn't even get the darn things remotely round.

See...

...and that was the the cream of the crop.

They still tasted good, but it made for some interesting tacos. Most of the tortillas were so skiwampus that you really could only fit about a teaspoon of meat, a shred of lettuce and cheese, and about one small chunk of whatever else you wanted on it without it turning into a huge mess; and you could just forget about any sour cream or salsa. So thanks mom for making rather round tortillas from scratch just because I asked you too.

By the way do you have any tips on how to get them round?
I'd even settle of roundish.

Ben says...

The other day Ben, Emma, and I were watching some kid's show on TV, what it was I don't remember, (I normally am doing about 30 other things while the TV is on) but I do remember a commercial.

Why, you ask?

Well, it was a commercial for whole grain cheerios, which I wasn't paying any attention to until, Ben said...

"Mom, we need to get some whole grain!"

Excuse me? Need?


Man, they're good!

I should write to General Mills and tell them their commercials work.

Maybe I'll get a couple boxes of free cheerios.

That would be pretty sweet.

Sneak peek...

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So remember when need vs. want went head to head, well, they actually both lost and I ended up doing something completely different, namely chatting it up with some friends. But I did finally get around to both the need and the want. I'm pretty sure you're not all that interested in seeing a picture of me sleeping, especially because I've been known to drool upon occasion, but here's a sneak peek of what I needed to work on. It's still not quite finished, but it's getting there.

What do you think?

Friday

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You know, for most of my life Friday was that magical day. The day that signified the end of the work week and the beginning of two days of freedom. Pictures like this seem appropriate for that.

Then (cue the dun, dun, dun, music) we turned into grad students and Ben started school, and Friday turned sinister. Now it's the day that Ben's home all day, and the day that is before the day that Tyson works another 12-13 hour day instead of a weekend. Of course I love Ben, but it throws the routine when he's home all day and can occasionally result in some major meltdowns from everyone (including me). Sigh....I keep telling myself it's just for now, but frankly that doesn't help. How do you guys feel about Fridays? Is it still magical like it was when you were younger?
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Conversations

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I had a conversation with Andrew today. It went something like this...

Me: Do you know what today is little mister?

Drew: No.....

Me: Why don't you guess, twenty questions.

Drew: Don't you do that to me! You know I hate that game!

Me: Okay fine. Today you are 3 months old!! You're ancient!

Drew: No way!

Me: Way!

Drew: Does that mean I can drive the car?

Me: hmm....maybe later.


Wow, three months. Can you believe it?
Apparently Drew couldn't.