Friday, August 22, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
New School!
Our new school... hopefully until 7th grade.
This is the area Ethan et al. gets to come to everyday and pick, as a socialistic society, what they will all pretend for the day... Spacemen? Grocery Store? Japanese Tea House? I went in the other day and they were having a Mexican Fiesta complete with sombreros and flan. I hope they teach him some math one of these days or something. No- for real. He's been very happy there, so we are very happy as well.
I was going to take some more pictures, but he asked me to leave so he could go play instruments. I took my cue and put my camera away.
And... here's the newest picture of "Baby Pot Tart".. not the best pic in the world, but inside the bubble, theres a head, a torso, Pop Tart is hugging him/her self, then there's some legs. I wish I could really get to the bottom of what Ethan thinks Baby Pop Tart is. This is what we've gotten so far:
"Baby Pop Tart is in my belly. He is still growing. He's going to POP OUT! when I am three. He does not have arms. He is going to cry alot, I will not eat him."
Weirdo.
I think I should get accolates for TWO posts in ONE day. Shaun is going to Dallas next week, so I'll be alone with the toddler. Think of me.
I can handle it, Mother of the Year
This is the area Ethan et al. gets to come to everyday and pick, as a socialistic society, what they will all pretend for the day... Spacemen? Grocery Store? Japanese Tea House? I went in the other day and they were having a Mexican Fiesta complete with sombreros and flan. I hope they teach him some math one of these days or something. No- for real. He's been very happy there, so we are very happy as well.
I was going to take some more pictures, but he asked me to leave so he could go play instruments. I took my cue and put my camera away.
And... here's the newest picture of "Baby Pot Tart".. not the best pic in the world, but inside the bubble, theres a head, a torso, Pop Tart is hugging him/her self, then there's some legs. I wish I could really get to the bottom of what Ethan thinks Baby Pop Tart is. This is what we've gotten so far:
"Baby Pop Tart is in my belly. He is still growing. He's going to POP OUT! when I am three. He does not have arms. He is going to cry alot, I will not eat him."
Weirdo.
I think I should get accolates for TWO posts in ONE day. Shaun is going to Dallas next week, so I'll be alone with the toddler. Think of me.
I can handle it, Mother of the Year
Beach Bums
Hey everyone. These pictures are in the reverse order that I intended them, but I can't bear to re-do them.
We made our annual pilgrimage to the beach, where Nana and PawPaw always set us up for a nice vacation. PawPaw hauled off and bought a convertible Thunderbird, so the days of Nana's overpacking are over. She brought just the essentials, and we still had a great time.
Ethan split his time between Emily and Eli... but mostly Eli. They entertained eachother from sun-up to sun-down. Ethan brought all his sports equipment, and played t-ball with anyone who would participate. Unfortunately, he was only afraid of the water for one day, and then had to be tailed pretty closely so he wouldn't wander off to sea. Shaun caught more fish than I've ever seen him catch right out in the waves. We ate them last night, which was creepy, but I don't know why that should be creepier than eating a frozen fish rectangle out of plastic wrap... it was just weird seeing the fin in my kitchen. We froze them, people. They haven't been sitting out for a week. Anyway, anyway...
This was a mildy stressful vacation for me for multiple reasons: 1. I'm in pregnant chubby phase, so everyone who saw me in my bathing suit didn't know I was pregnant, and probably thought i had just eaten too many oreos.
2. I was in charge of logistically setting Rachel up for her surprise engagement. Oh, yeah... Rachy's gonna get married! She has this crush on this guy named Matt, and he surprised her on the beach and asked her to marry him. Way to go Matt!
Other than that, a stress-free week.
Let's see, what else. Ethan wanted to Boogie Board so much that I actually took him out in the waves to try. It was the most physically demanding feat I have ever tried. I finally convinced him that the orange blow-up pool was where the big boys boogied.
Hope everyone enjoys the pictures. Ethan started at his new school, The New School, when we got back... so that will be my next post. I picked him up the other day and they were having a Mexican Fiesta. I didn't hear them talking about anything specific, but when we asked him what he wanted for breakfast this morning, he said "I'd like a sausage biscuit... with NO SOUR CREAM!"
Later, E
We made our annual pilgrimage to the beach, where Nana and PawPaw always set us up for a nice vacation. PawPaw hauled off and bought a convertible Thunderbird, so the days of Nana's overpacking are over. She brought just the essentials, and we still had a great time.
Ethan split his time between Emily and Eli... but mostly Eli. They entertained eachother from sun-up to sun-down. Ethan brought all his sports equipment, and played t-ball with anyone who would participate. Unfortunately, he was only afraid of the water for one day, and then had to be tailed pretty closely so he wouldn't wander off to sea. Shaun caught more fish than I've ever seen him catch right out in the waves. We ate them last night, which was creepy, but I don't know why that should be creepier than eating a frozen fish rectangle out of plastic wrap... it was just weird seeing the fin in my kitchen. We froze them, people. They haven't been sitting out for a week. Anyway, anyway...
This was a mildy stressful vacation for me for multiple reasons: 1. I'm in pregnant chubby phase, so everyone who saw me in my bathing suit didn't know I was pregnant, and probably thought i had just eaten too many oreos.
2. I was in charge of logistically setting Rachel up for her surprise engagement. Oh, yeah... Rachy's gonna get married! She has this crush on this guy named Matt, and he surprised her on the beach and asked her to marry him. Way to go Matt!
Other than that, a stress-free week.
Let's see, what else. Ethan wanted to Boogie Board so much that I actually took him out in the waves to try. It was the most physically demanding feat I have ever tried. I finally convinced him that the orange blow-up pool was where the big boys boogied.
Hope everyone enjoys the pictures. Ethan started at his new school, The New School, when we got back... so that will be my next post. I picked him up the other day and they were having a Mexican Fiesta. I didn't hear them talking about anything specific, but when we asked him what he wanted for breakfast this morning, he said "I'd like a sausage biscuit... with NO SOUR CREAM!"
Later, E
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Oh Nana! What a trooper. She came for a whole week on her own volition. I halfway expected to come home to find her collapsed on the T-Ball diamond. Shame on me for doubting The Great Nana. I've spoken before of her magic dust she comes and sprinkles on our boy... she did it again. He was even potty trained for her... not so much luck for the regular old parents.
Nana showed up with her craft box. Ethan has little skill and no interest in stringing beads. He liked to stack them up and knock them over, but that was about it. She did get some reading and some Bingo playing in between innings.
Ethan now likes to "slide" when he plays baseball. Mom said it took him wallowing in the one pile of dirt he found in the backyard for quite a while to get dirty like the baseball guys. Note the tad of dirt on his shirt. Disclaimer: He picked his own uniform.
Ethan asked me where Nana was this morning. He said he missed her. I'll bet he does- as I won't wear a helmet, get in his pool, tackle him, play T-Ball in the noon sun, or bake in the sun as he practices his chip shot. They had a great week together and we had a fun time watching them together. Ethan NEVER lets me hug on him after his nap. No lap, no hug, no nothing. He would crawl right up on Nana's lap and snuggle in after every nap he took. Whatever.
Since Nana left, we've had to bribe Ethan to go to sleep. Shaun told him that if he would go get in his bed, he would get him a really special football shirt. He complied, so Shaun let him sleep in his LSU tshirt. It swallowed him up, and Ethan said "Oh Daddy! It's beautiful!"
Talk soon! E
Nana showed up with her craft box. Ethan has little skill and no interest in stringing beads. He liked to stack them up and knock them over, but that was about it. She did get some reading and some Bingo playing in between innings.
Ethan now likes to "slide" when he plays baseball. Mom said it took him wallowing in the one pile of dirt he found in the backyard for quite a while to get dirty like the baseball guys. Note the tad of dirt on his shirt. Disclaimer: He picked his own uniform.
Ethan asked me where Nana was this morning. He said he missed her. I'll bet he does- as I won't wear a helmet, get in his pool, tackle him, play T-Ball in the noon sun, or bake in the sun as he practices his chip shot. They had a great week together and we had a fun time watching them together. Ethan NEVER lets me hug on him after his nap. No lap, no hug, no nothing. He would crawl right up on Nana's lap and snuggle in after every nap he took. Whatever.
Since Nana left, we've had to bribe Ethan to go to sleep. Shaun told him that if he would go get in his bed, he would get him a really special football shirt. He complied, so Shaun let him sleep in his LSU tshirt. It swallowed him up, and Ethan said "Oh Daddy! It's beautiful!"
Talk soon! E
Saturday, July 19, 2008
BOYNASTICS! Maybe we're a little early for organized sport experiences. He followed his coaches' directions well for the first 10 minutes, then the lure of the wide open floor couldn't be contained. He ran laps in-between all his turns. It was an empty gym with 2 and 3 year olds, so he was safe, and I only became THAT MOM one time from the observation deck. So I used his whole name, and I snapped, and I told him to listen.... Shaun sat me back down. Mine wasn't the only kid not sitting where he was supposed to be.
It's funny. There's this study, that all kids really want is boundries, and they tested some preschoolers on a playground with a fence. The fence was up for a while, then they wanted to see what happened when the fence came down. All the kids were terrified, and wouldn't step foot outside their previous boundry. My segue- Ethan was running laps, but he confined himself to the tape line of the floor. His very patient coach would wrangle him in as best she could for a while, but then she realized that he was on a very planned course, inside the line, and wasn't going to deviate, so she let him make laps instead of playing in the castle while the other girl was going.
I won't say he was advanced, but my boy's got some skills. Luckily, Northwest Arkansas doesn't have any competitive boy's gymnstics programs. I looked into it before we started. I'm not going to gymnastics meets. Been there, done that.
He wanted to take his shirt off the whole time like the girls, and I'm waiting for a request for a leotard. I'm sure it's coming.
Ethan is staying home for Camp Nana next week. She asked for it! I'm sure we'll get good pics out of it.
E
It's funny. There's this study, that all kids really want is boundries, and they tested some preschoolers on a playground with a fence. The fence was up for a while, then they wanted to see what happened when the fence came down. All the kids were terrified, and wouldn't step foot outside their previous boundry. My segue- Ethan was running laps, but he confined himself to the tape line of the floor. His very patient coach would wrangle him in as best she could for a while, but then she realized that he was on a very planned course, inside the line, and wasn't going to deviate, so she let him make laps instead of playing in the castle while the other girl was going.
I won't say he was advanced, but my boy's got some skills. Luckily, Northwest Arkansas doesn't have any competitive boy's gymnstics programs. I looked into it before we started. I'm not going to gymnastics meets. Been there, done that.
He wanted to take his shirt off the whole time like the girls, and I'm waiting for a request for a leotard. I'm sure it's coming.
Ethan is staying home for Camp Nana next week. She asked for it! I'm sure we'll get good pics out of it.
E
Friday, July 18, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
This dang shirt. Is it just me that notices its frequency in pictures? He loves it. He really does have other clothes, but sticks to his three favorites, and does not deviate.
I love independence! Even when it means those yellow pants again.... independence!
Cooper came over while the parents went out for a date. Babysitters are commanding high dollar these days (worth it!), and we share whenever possible. We promise our friends that we don't just invite them to save money on Jenna.
Apparently, Ethan wanted to hold Cooper, but changed his mind once it all happened.
Jenna said that he was a big helper the whole night, but was ASTOUNDED at how many rules Cooper was breaking. She said the he told him "No whining Cooper!" " No screaming Cooper!" and "That's the rules!" Perhaps we are getting through to him...
This morning Ethan was telling us about someone at school, and how he pushed him. Shaun said "did it hurt?" Ethan said "Yeah, it hurt right here" and pointed right under his throat. Shaun asked him where it hurt? on your belly? on your chest? Ethan said "no, right here, it hurt my feelings."
My sweet sweet boy...
I love independence! Even when it means those yellow pants again.... independence!
Cooper came over while the parents went out for a date. Babysitters are commanding high dollar these days (worth it!), and we share whenever possible. We promise our friends that we don't just invite them to save money on Jenna.
Apparently, Ethan wanted to hold Cooper, but changed his mind once it all happened.
Jenna said that he was a big helper the whole night, but was ASTOUNDED at how many rules Cooper was breaking. She said the he told him "No whining Cooper!" " No screaming Cooper!" and "That's the rules!" Perhaps we are getting through to him...
This morning Ethan was telling us about someone at school, and how he pushed him. Shaun said "did it hurt?" Ethan said "Yeah, it hurt right here" and pointed right under his throat. Shaun asked him where it hurt? on your belly? on your chest? Ethan said "no, right here, it hurt my feelings."
My sweet sweet boy...
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Garrett and Sarah came to town! We had a blast with the cousins- had a jam-packed 5 day weekend- and Ethan wishes that those two didn't have to go back home. They were pretty much 12-14 hours of daily entertainment.
We ended up with excellent seats for the July 4th baseball game. We were on the front row behind the dugout. During the 7th inning stretch, Ethan turned on his charm, atop the dugout, and scored NOT ONE, but TWO balls... one from a "baseball man on the field" and one from a promo guy. I counted them today while I was cleaning up, and we have NINE baseballs. They are all white, but each has a unique calling- old real baseball, new real baseball, squishy one, hot ball, soft ball, Naturals ball, play ball, other white ball, and white ball. Nice.
Ethan's going to have to adjust back to boring old Mom and Dad, and he can't wait to see Garrett and Sarah again.
Later, E
We ended up with excellent seats for the July 4th baseball game. We were on the front row behind the dugout. During the 7th inning stretch, Ethan turned on his charm, atop the dugout, and scored NOT ONE, but TWO balls... one from a "baseball man on the field" and one from a promo guy. I counted them today while I was cleaning up, and we have NINE baseballs. They are all white, but each has a unique calling- old real baseball, new real baseball, squishy one, hot ball, soft ball, Naturals ball, play ball, other white ball, and white ball. Nice.
Ethan's going to have to adjust back to boring old Mom and Dad, and he can't wait to see Garrett and Sarah again.
Later, E
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
SuperNanny Commentary
There is no picture to accompany this. We watch the Super Nanny every once in a while, mostly just to make us feel like excellent parents, and also to remind us to make Ethan swiffer, take his plate, and not turn into a brat.
So JoJo the super nanny told a kid last week that Penelope the Pacifier Fairy needed all his pacifiers and that he should leave them in the mailbox, then he would find a nice prize in the mailbox the next morning. Sure! Great! We're ready.
I glitter up an envelope, we make a big deal out of it... Penelope wrote him a letter asking for his pacifiers for all the new babies, this is how it went down:
Me: Blah blah blah.. "so go find all your pacifier and we'll put them in Penelope's envelope"
Him: But I don't want to
Me: Oh, but all those babies need them, and Penelope will leave you a cool prize in the morning
Him: Nope (Takes all the pacifiers, runs to his room, then comes out with each one in his mouth and says "NOPE!" ... there were 3 trips)
8:30 pm "Mom, I'm ready now for Canelpeepee"
8:35 Pacifiers are sealed and in the mailbox
9:30 pm "Go get my paci out of the mailbox!!!" The flag is still up" Go get it!!"
I was strong! I did not go get those pacifiers. Penelope had already taken them, she had flown away! Now all we could do was wait for our prize!
8:00 am Received three suckers and a Miami Dolphins jersey. Score. Worth it.
8:00 pm today: " I wonder what Canelpeepee will bring tonight?"
So JoJo the super nanny told a kid last week that Penelope the Pacifier Fairy needed all his pacifiers and that he should leave them in the mailbox, then he would find a nice prize in the mailbox the next morning. Sure! Great! We're ready.
I glitter up an envelope, we make a big deal out of it... Penelope wrote him a letter asking for his pacifiers for all the new babies, this is how it went down:
Me: Blah blah blah.. "so go find all your pacifier and we'll put them in Penelope's envelope"
Him: But I don't want to
Me: Oh, but all those babies need them, and Penelope will leave you a cool prize in the morning
Him: Nope (Takes all the pacifiers, runs to his room, then comes out with each one in his mouth and says "NOPE!" ... there were 3 trips)
8:30 pm "Mom, I'm ready now for Canelpeepee"
8:35 Pacifiers are sealed and in the mailbox
9:30 pm "Go get my paci out of the mailbox!!!" The flag is still up" Go get it!!"
I was strong! I did not go get those pacifiers. Penelope had already taken them, she had flown away! Now all we could do was wait for our prize!
8:00 am Received three suckers and a Miami Dolphins jersey. Score. Worth it.
8:00 pm today: " I wonder what Canelpeepee will bring tonight?"
Friday, June 20, 2008
Minutia alert. This one's gonna be a doozy. Nana is out of school now and has little to do other than pester me to post (I kid, I kid)... and that Nana wants ALL the details of our vacay, so... other readers, you've been warned.
We drove and drove and drove. We picked up Nana and PawPaw's trailer and gigantic diesel guzzler and headed South. We made stops just about everywhere you can make a stop. Finally at the Diamond Shamrock in Corsicana, Texas (they sell ice cream AND nudie magazines!) we got an ice cream treat and no nudie magazines. I told you this was going to be detailed!
We arrived in Waco for our first night of camping just in time to hook up the trailer and hit the pool.
Ethan loves bridges, tunnels, basically any structure that spans water, trees, rocks, or another structure... so this was a big treat. "I go over the bridge!.. You see that?"
Ethan met two boys at the pool, who naturally became named Waco. We kept telling him that we were going to Waco and we would get in the pool, so I guess he was looking for a concrete representation of Waco. Now all young men between the ages of 5 and 9 are Waco.
I, personally, don't feel like I'm on vacation until I can eat cookies naked on the couch. Just a little something I passed on to Ethan.
Waco was a quick stop enroute to our final destinaton: The Blazin Star Luxury RV Resort. We're trailer people now. I'm not sure that anything subsequent will live up to the Blazin' Star. We had a nice "yard" for our gross motor sports... it had an excellent playground and a lovely pool. We could have signed up for massages and card tournaments (for real!), or visited the arcade in the clubhouse. When not at Sea World, we were in the pool, or (woops!) locked out of our trailer. My bad. It was totally my fault. Luckily, that fine husband of mine has been workin' out and fit through that iiidy biiidy door that SOME OTHER GUY'S key opened. Hmmm. Suprisingly, that was our only trailer goof-up. All the wheels stayed on, nothing got broken.
We all had a really nice, relaxing, fun time and we wished we could have stayed longer. There were suprisingly many young families at the Blazin' Star. We thought we'd be the anomoly amongst blue jumpsuits and velcro shoes... but we were pleasantly suprised. There were kids everywhere... and they were all named Waco?!
We came back through Shreveport on our way home and spent some time with our brown-eyed cousins (and Sue too!). We ditched the deisel in Little Rock and we're thankful to be back in our gas-guzzler at a mere $4 bucks a gallon. I could do a whole commentary on the culture of truck stops... I'll keep Nana waiting for that one. I could also comment on the snobbery of the RV world. It put me back to wanting those hi-top Reebocks in the 4th grade. There is definately some BRAND COMPARISON in the RV world. How long's your rig? You got pull-outs? Cable? You're pulling it with what? I don't know if my key will open your door- you're rig looks too old. WOW!
Did I spell anomoly right up there? I'm sure Nana will tell me. If everyone else is bored, then I have done Nana proud. At least I'm not going to send you a christmas card... think of it that way.
Looking forward to our next vacation!!! E
We drove and drove and drove. We picked up Nana and PawPaw's trailer and gigantic diesel guzzler and headed South. We made stops just about everywhere you can make a stop. Finally at the Diamond Shamrock in Corsicana, Texas (they sell ice cream AND nudie magazines!) we got an ice cream treat and no nudie magazines. I told you this was going to be detailed!
We arrived in Waco for our first night of camping just in time to hook up the trailer and hit the pool.
Ethan loves bridges, tunnels, basically any structure that spans water, trees, rocks, or another structure... so this was a big treat. "I go over the bridge!.. You see that?"
Ethan met two boys at the pool, who naturally became named Waco. We kept telling him that we were going to Waco and we would get in the pool, so I guess he was looking for a concrete representation of Waco. Now all young men between the ages of 5 and 9 are Waco.
I, personally, don't feel like I'm on vacation until I can eat cookies naked on the couch. Just a little something I passed on to Ethan.
Waco was a quick stop enroute to our final destinaton: The Blazin Star Luxury RV Resort. We're trailer people now. I'm not sure that anything subsequent will live up to the Blazin' Star. We had a nice "yard" for our gross motor sports... it had an excellent playground and a lovely pool. We could have signed up for massages and card tournaments (for real!), or visited the arcade in the clubhouse. When not at Sea World, we were in the pool, or (woops!) locked out of our trailer. My bad. It was totally my fault. Luckily, that fine husband of mine has been workin' out and fit through that iiidy biiidy door that SOME OTHER GUY'S key opened. Hmmm. Suprisingly, that was our only trailer goof-up. All the wheels stayed on, nothing got broken.
We all had a really nice, relaxing, fun time and we wished we could have stayed longer. There were suprisingly many young families at the Blazin' Star. We thought we'd be the anomoly amongst blue jumpsuits and velcro shoes... but we were pleasantly suprised. There were kids everywhere... and they were all named Waco?!
We came back through Shreveport on our way home and spent some time with our brown-eyed cousins (and Sue too!). We ditched the deisel in Little Rock and we're thankful to be back in our gas-guzzler at a mere $4 bucks a gallon. I could do a whole commentary on the culture of truck stops... I'll keep Nana waiting for that one. I could also comment on the snobbery of the RV world. It put me back to wanting those hi-top Reebocks in the 4th grade. There is definately some BRAND COMPARISON in the RV world. How long's your rig? You got pull-outs? Cable? You're pulling it with what? I don't know if my key will open your door- you're rig looks too old. WOW!
Did I spell anomoly right up there? I'm sure Nana will tell me. If everyone else is bored, then I have done Nana proud. At least I'm not going to send you a christmas card... think of it that way.
Looking forward to our next vacation!!! E
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