I scream you scream

We all scream for ice cream!

I'm back! I know it's been a long time. I finally got my camera back 5 weeks after I sent it in and I'm ready to start blogging again :)

We're at the beach this week (with horrible weather no less) and the kids are livin' it up. Tonight we took them all out for dinner and then an annual tradition of ice cream from this local ice cream shop. We've been going to this place for the past couple of years. I don't have any great beach shots yet since we have literally had one day of sun. Well let me rephrase that. One day of sun but with low 70 degree weather and 20 mph winds. We only have 2 days left here and we're hoping we may actually see some decent sunshine tomorrow. For now, the ice cream snaps will have to do

I'll write more soon! I have a lot to catch up on :)

Oh, and the big thing on J's chin--not ice cream unfortunately. He fell by the pool yesterday and scraped his chin. We're supposed to have family pics done on the beach on Saturday. Perfect time to fall and have a huge boo boo on his face!

Nekked

I feel so nekked. The last week or so I've been walking around aimlessly with my hands empty. I sent my camera baby in for a little tune up last week and later found out it might be 3 weeks before I get it back. It's been there for 5 whole business days (plus two weekend days) and it's still not in the system yet. I've been stalking the Nikon repair site for a week now waiting for an update. I should have one today hopefully (at least that's what they say). There isn't anything really wrong with it per se. Some of the images coming out of it aren't as sharp as I think they should be. I'm not sure if it's the camera body or the lens I'm using, so I sent them both in for a little tune up while they are still under warranty. If they tell me nothing is wrong, well then, I have to look at the possibility that it's user error....and of course we all know it's not user error :)

So, I won't have any pics with this update unless I decide to dig through the archives. Sad that I still couldn't get something done by Tuesday, but that's how it goes these days. It might actually be a few weeks before I'm able to post any pics actually. Maybe that's a good thing since I'll have time to go through some old ones and possibly post those. Sad that we don't even own a point and shoot so that I could get a temporary fix. I might have to run out today and get me one of those......

1. Little J is doing well in his bed. I can't complain too loudly. I did have to put those child things on the door knobs though to prevent him from opening the doors. He started to get out of his bed and wander around upstairs. Usually he would wander straight into his sister's room and play with her (or wake her up early in the a.m.). She still to this day will not get out of her room in the morning when she wakes up. She waits for us to come get her. But there have been a couple of occasions where Little J will go in there, wake her up, and coax her out of her room. Next thing you know they are both in our room looking to get up and go downstairs.

Naps are a little challenging. He's really behind on his sleep but I'm having trouble getting him to stay in his bed and take a nap. I guess that will all work itself out soon enough. I hope.

2. Miss C is in summer camp this week. She did one about 2 weeks ago and seems to be having a good time and I'm glad to get a break from having two of them all summer long. The one this week is all about bugs. She's been into ants, etc. lately. And not because we seem to find them all over the house these days. No, that certainly isn't why she sparked an interest. Yesterday someone brought in a snake (along with a few other critters) and Miss C actually held it. I about died when I found that out. I'm glad she wasn't scared, but I would never go near that thing with a 10 foot pole. Little J seems to share my feelings on that one. He didn't have any interest in going near it either.

3. Little J seems to be talking up a storm. He's using the pronouns more and more lately. He's pretty consistent with 3-5 word sentences and it's cute to try to watch him get his point across. I really need to get video of it. We really haven't brought out the video camera much these days because I'm really into photographs and spend so much time with a camera in my hand. It would be nice to capture some of this though. Maybe I'll dust off the old camcorder one of these days.

4. I feel like I have been neglecting so much lately. I want to get a few house projects done and clean up a few rooms. I've really let the housekeeping go by the wayside (stop nodding J). It's almost to a point where it's a little overwhelming. So I've decided to make a list and get one project done a day. I think maybe I'll start this Saturday and try it for 30 days. I know I have at least 30 things to keep me busy. Actually, I'll probably reserve the weekends for projects that will most likely take 2 days. So 22 things in 30 days. Hopefully I'll feel a little more accomplished in a month!

5. Speaking of going by the wayside, what happened to my 52 weeks project!?

6. The kids are getting so brave in the pool. Miss C pretty much will swim by herself with her floaties on. She's ok with getting her face wet, but won't go fully underwater. One small step at a time. Little J is almost swimming by himself with his floaties on. He still wants to hold onto one finger just for "support". He's actually doing it by himself, he just doesn't realize it. He's pretty brave with jumping off the side too. Much braver than Miss C was at this age. But then again, he's trying to keep up with her.

7. Little J keeps showing signs that he's ready to start potty training, but I'm holding off because I'm just not ready. He tugs at his diaper after he goes and tells me he needs a new one. He talks about going "pee pee on the potty" and gets a kick out of flushing it. It would be even cuter if they both didn't fight over flushing the potty after I go. It's become such an issue over here. I'm so tired of trying to keep track of who's turn it is that I try to sneak into the bathroom when they aren't looking and flush it myself! It just cracks me up. Who the F cares if you flush the potty or not. It's not like it's that great. But I guess to a 2 and a 3 year old it's the be all end all. So much so it's all out devastation if one gets to flush it when it's the others turn. Interestingly enough, it always seems to be Miss C's turn. I'm just dreading the fights over who gets shotgun.

8. We need to give Little J a haircut soon. I'm dreading that too. Not only because he will probably let us know in his special way that he hates getting it cut, but because I love his hair just the way it is. J did make me cut the "wisps" at the base of his neck behind his ears because he just couldn't stand it anymore. But that's about as far as I'm willing to go for now.

9. Here's a flashback from the beach in 2007. Miss C was about 21 months or so. I did a little bit of different processing on it. I kinda like it.

10. For kicks, here's a 52 week pic. It's from just about 2-3 weeks back, but it's all I've got

Special big boy bed

Whaaaaaa! My babies are all growing up. Last night we moved Little J to his big boy bed. It was kind of bitter sweet. I'm so proud to have such a big boy, but so sad to have to pack up that crib and admit my babies are not babies anymore.

I remember the day J and I bought that crib, just about 4 years ago. I even remember the day that we put it together and put it in C's room while we patiently waited for her arrival. I remember how small my babies looked in that crib when we put them in it for the first time. I remember the day I caught Miss C gnawing on the side and almost having a heart attack because she was making marks on the furniture. I remember buying plastic guards to prevent her from chewing the crib only to have her rip them off after 2 minutes. I remember the day we moved the crib to Little J's room and thinking I hope we can hear him all the way down the hall when he cries. Little did I know that we would never need the monitor with him because that boy has a set of lungs. And I remember the day that Little J first stood in his crib and knowing it was only a matter of time before that monkey would climb his way out.

Little stinker. I'm not ready to give up this crib, I don't want my babies to grow up. Before we took it down, I decided to snap a few pics

I often found him like this

My buddy and his beloved binkers

And finally the new bed. Little J was really excited about it, but once we got it set up, he didn't want to have anything to do with it at first. He didn't even really want to get in it. So Miss C jumped on the chance. I love this pic of her.

Little J eventually warmed up to it and now refers to it as "my big boy bed. it's special". So far, he's doing great it in. I think I'm having a harder time than he is. That night I went in there before I went to bed and snapped a few pics of him sleeping in it.

So farewell crib. We are packing it up and sending it to Uncle M and Aunt J to use for their baby when he arrives in September. I hope you have as many great memories with it as we did!

Christmas in June

Last Christmas, Miss C asked for three things.....roller skates, a red guitar and a playground. A girl with simple requests, huh? Well she got the guitar and eventually the roller skates, but Santa just couldn't deliver on the playground. I know, I know. These kids are so deprived. Don't you just feel sorry for them?

This summer J and I decided to finish up the landscaping and finally get those poor kids a playground. We bought it a couple of weeks ago but have been waiting to get approval from the HOA to put it up. We've also been calling around trying to find someone to put the set together for us. Unfortunately, we did have much luck. Either we never got a phone call back or they wanted more than what the play set costs to begin with. So J and I decided we would put it together ourselves. Let's just call it a temporary lapse of sanity.

So this past weekend (oh and it was the hottest weekend yet this year too boot) we decided to give it a whirl. We started Friday night separating and sorting all of the parts and pieces. We should have known we were doomed when the bag of screws and bolts weighed about 50 pounds alone. But none-the-less, we started 7 a.m. Saturday morning bright and early. Here's a pic of J so optimistic about the project

Mee Maw was nice enough to bring in donuts in hopes of us giving us a sugar high and keeping us motivated to work. Unfortunately the kiddos got into the donuts (oh, and a little sunflare too)

Taken with my 50mm......I need to use this lens more often. It's been neglected lately

Which kind of backfired because they were the ones on the sugar high. Actually, it wasn't so bad. Here is Miss C helping. We probably would have had an easier time putting the thing together if we hadn't left her responsible for reading us the directions. Maybe that's why it took us so long.

Goomps and daddy putting the structure together. This was by far the hardest part. We were trying to make sure it was square and level on the ground which was neither square nor level. That kind of made it a little difficult.

Fortunately for me, I had to take the kids to a birthday party at 10:30 that morning. We went to a pottery store and had fun painting and eating cupcakes.

The next 1 1/2 days were kind of a blur to me. Once I got home from the birthday party I got right back to work. J and I worked for a total of maybe 12 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday. J had to leave for a business trip Sunday night so we didn't get to finish, but it's 75% done. We just have to put the swings up, build the picnic table and monkey bars and finish the decorative touches on the roof. Oh, and we have to build a wood structure around it and have it filled with cedar chips. Ok, maybe we're like 50% done.

Regardless, the kids just love it.

Tribute....

Well, it's a sad day. Michael Jackson died yesterday. It's the end of an era. I grew up listening to his music. In fact, Thriller was my first cassette tape (and if you don't know what a cassette tape is, I don't like you anymore :) ). To make myself feel better, that cassette player was of the Fisher Price variety. So I'm not that old! I even remember where I was when I watched the video Thriller for the first time. How random is that?! Anyway, we'll miss you MJ. Even though you were kind of a weirdo, you sure did know how to make great music.

And in the spirit of great music, I give you Miss C and her song du jour. I may love me some Michael Jackson, but Miss C's song of choice as of late is No More Monkeys Jumpin on the Bed. Miss C is just lovin' that song. She got out her CD player (with the headphones) and was jammin' on our walk yesterday morning. I'm talking about at the top of her lungs kind of jam. It was too stinkin' cute because you know she doesn't understand that she's the only one that can hear the song. Little J loved it too. He was swayin' to her singing. Unfortunately, I now have that song in my head. It's set to the little diddy "Jungle Boogie" and I'm afraid it's going to be lingering in my head for awhile.

No more monkeys.... no more monkeys..... no more monkeys.......can you just hear it!?

Here is Miss C in all her No More Monkeys glory:

And look at snicker-doo on the left. Just waiting patiently for the right moment to totally piss his sister off. Gotta love siblings!

I have so much more to catch up on including J's new teeth, father's day and a whole bunch of random tidbits. As soon as I can edit the pics, I'll post more!

10 on Tuesday

I'm going to give this a whirl today and see how it goes. I may have some outdated pics though (well from 2 weeks ago). I took a bunch the other night and through no fault of my own, they got deleted after I thought they transferred successfully to the computer. Stupid MAC. My hubby will appreciate that comment. I'm a windows gal and just can't seem to make the leap to this MAC that we've had for 3+ years now :)

1. Miss C had her last day of preschool last week. They had a little "graduation" for them where they got a little certificate. They sang a song and then each got up and told the crowd what was their favorite part of preschool. I swear, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Miss C's favorite thing was "reading books." She's such a little book worm. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of this momentous day. Why, you ask? Oh, because the MAC ate them. Stupid MAC.

2. About 3 weeks ago (maybe even 4) we went strawberry picking with the kids. I let them each get their own basket and pick their own strawberries.

That lasted exactly 2 minutes before they decided to eat anything they picked. All in all, it was a fun time.

3. This is what happens when you leave your camera lying around. I have no idea what to even say about this one. Why men think stuff like this is funny is beyond me. And why they think that when you teach a kid to do this the kid can distinguish the difference between doing this in front of daddy because he's laughing and doing this in school to an audience of horrified teachers. Or better yet, doing this with something that is long enough to pull out of your kid's nose versus doing this with a teeny tiny piece of food (or toy) that will get stuck up there and require mama to take time out of her day to take said kid to the ENT. Yeah, real funny dad.

4. Here's my little sunshine a couple of weeks back. Someone should have told him it would have been a lot easier to ride the scooter without the rubber boots on. But he just had to wear them.

5. This photo just sums up Miss C lately. At-ti-tude. That girl has got some sass on her. Everyone told me to watch out when they get to be about 3 1/2. Man, they weren't kidding. Sometimes I don't know who she thinks she is. I actually didn't even request this pose for this shot. When she's coping a 'tude she throws those hands on the hips like she owns the place. J and I are trying to figure out how to discipline this type of behavior. I've realized that her behavior is extra spicy when she's tired. So we try to get her to sleep as much as possible. It helps on the days where she decides to take a nap, but that's not very often. So we've tried to be consistent with time-outs. We also give her choices and make her suffer the consequences when she makes a bad choice. It's so hard, but hopefully it will pay off. Some say I'm pretty stubborn (me, really?) so I think I can win in this battle of wills (stop laughing).6. Little J and Miss C have been playing together so much lately. I bought Little J one of those balls that you sit on and bounce (Miss C already had one). The two of them love to race each other up and down the front hallway. Little J is actually getting pretty good at it. They also like to pretend together. Miss C would always want to role play with J and I. Usually it was doctor/patient or teacher/student type scenarios. Now Little J is interested in playing and they take turns back and forth role playing. It's so cute to watch. The other day Miss C and Little J were in their cardboard house (ugh, that thing is still in our house) and Miss C dragged in a stool to sit on and was reading a book to Little J. He will pretty much do whatever she asks, no tells, him to do.

7. Miss C started a ballet class this summer. She cried a little when I dropped her off but the teachers told me she did really well. Here she is with her friend A on their first day of ballet. That leotard was mine when I was a little girl. I started ballet classes when I was just about Miss C's age.

8. We took Little J and Miss C to the mountains to ride the railroad. The day we went, Thomas the Train was there as a special feature. They also had a little amusement park (all the rides were designed for kiddos under 45 inches tall) and various other activities. The kids had a ball.

9. Miss C has been asking for binoculars for her birthday forever. Our neighborhood had its annual yard sale last weekend. We decided to walk around to see if their was anything we couldn't live without. Guess what we found? A pair of binoculars. I only paid $1 too boot. How sweet is that?!

10. Here is a pic of me with the kids taken last week. Consider it my 52 week submission. I know I missed a couple of weeks in there, so I'm trying to get back on track. By the way, did I mention the sass on my 3 year old? Just look at the face she gave us when J told her to smile.

Whew! I made it. Now off to watch one of my guilty pleasures. The Real Housewives of NJ. Gosh, I love my trash TV :)

A boy and his tractor

This little guy just loves his tractors.  I took him out last night at sunset and tried to practice using light in a different way.  Not easy if you ask me!  I'm kind of mixed on the results, but I love the image because it captures little J to a T.  This boy is so content just sitting and rolling his tractors (or trucks, cars, trains, etc.) around.  He'll sit like this for hours and just study how they work.