Prepping for the beach

Open Studio 7

Rudi
10x8"
pencil

Two for Tuesday

1. I wish I'd had my camera today for our trip to the zoo this afternoon with our friends Michelle and Beatrix. Jack and Bea held hands for a lot of their walking around to see the different animals. At one point, he seemed like he was about to fall over, he was so tired, and he was lagging way behind. I tried to get him to get in the stroller or hold my hand, but he cried, "No, I wanna hold Bea's hand!" So away he would run to grab it. He awlked most of the way around the entire zoo though. I'm expecting nice long naps.

2. The kids and I are leaving on Saturday for an almost three week (gasp!) to Maryland and North Carolina. We wish Mike could join us and that we didn't have to be gone for soooo long, but that's just the way it worked ou-- and of course, it will be nice to see family. My mom was planning on taking my brother, Roma, down to North Carolina for football camp and staying for a week at my grandmother's, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to see her and the folks that way. Then, we'll be heading to the Outer Banks for a week with the whole family-- minus Rob and Mike :'( After that, Mike has to go to Portland, Oregon on business for a few days, so we figured we may as well stick around Maryland, where we'd be going back to after the beach anyway. I'm hoping my mom has room for me and the kids and all of our gear for that amount of time in her van!

New digs on the block

We stumbled upon the Jackpot a second year in a row at Ressi's Fun Flair tonight. Or Jack did. I saw them, all of the trucks and bulldozers and cranes and cement trucks and cars taking up the whole of one table top and the floor beneath it. It was as if a field drew in the little magnets in Jack's eyes. He ran to them and knelt on the floor, commencing the digging and lifting and rolling, and whatever it is that little boys do when they're getting lost with trucks. He was now on a construction site. But then his eyes rested on two familiar faces that he knew by name. "Shhcoop! Muck!"


The boy doesn't watch much TV, but I checked out Bob the Bulldozer-- I guess it's really Builder, but not in this house-- for him from the library once as a reward for something, and he had instant stars in his eyes. It was 1/2 off night, so we let him get both for $1. After paying, he went back to the construction site and unearthed a third friend. "Lofty!" Somehow we ended up with him as well. In the spirit of being fair- and supporting our parish's Fun Flair, we picked out a couple of little things for Abigail, but we figure that all of the trucks that Jack usually plays with (which she's always trying to grab) will be fair game to her now. Mike discovered when we came home that they make noise. They are now "sleeping" on his dresser.
Step aside, all other toys.

Five on Friday

1. We decided last minute yesterday to go to the member's only night at the zoo. They had free carousel and train rides, though we didn't make it on the train. Abigail insisted that she ride the carousel all by herself. She swatted my hands away and said, "New. New." (no.)

All of the other kids went up and gave the shark hugs. Not on Jack's life. This was as close as he would venture.

We only saw one of the two tigers in the tiger area. I guess Jack got to pet the other one.

Poor thing had to get shots in the morning, and unlike last time, she actually reacted when it was administered.


Since the lines for the $1 food weren't going to get us out of there before midnight tomorrow, we had ice cream at the Zebra Ice Cream Station right outside the zoo (thanks for telling us about this, Wards!). I think we broke a record for getting in and out of the zoo, too.

2. Not often does one threaten her child with "no trip to the dentist" if the child does not finish his breakfast. Worked for Jack. He was so excited to go, but as soon as we walked into the check-up room, he protested. Until the technician gave him her Pirates teddy bear to hold. He stood enthralled the entire time as the dentist drilled and filled a little fisher in the back of my mouth to prevent any cavities from forming. Perhaps not the best time to have as a spectator, as I was fighting back tears (mostly when they blew air on my sensitive teeth). Excruciating.

3. Funny that Jack's been going around the house saying, "Call nine one one one one, and the police they gonna come and help you," as that's just what I had to do, minus two ones, on Wednesday. After making a return at Kohl's, I buckled the kids in the car, and Jack complained of it being hot, so I stuck the keys in the ignition, MADE SURE THE DOOR WAS UNLOCKED on the other side, ran the cart back and came back to find that I couldn't get into my van. I'm sure I saw with my very own eyes that the door was unlocked, but the locks on this van haven't done us any favors since we got it. So I flagged down an older couple and asked if they had a cell phone. Of course they did and were happy to be of help once I explained my predicament. I was giving the kids sympathetic looks the whole wait, just thankful that the AC was blowing full blast inside. One policeman showed up within minutes without any way of getting us in-- for moral support?-- but I was glad to have him to help occupy the kids. They were mesmerized by him making faces at them through the window. Then another guy showed up with a slim Jim and unlocked the door. Good thing.

4. Flies. Everywhere. They disgust me so much, and when I go into our kitchen or dining room, I can hear a loud swarm of them. I'm wondering exactly how they're getting in here or where they are coming from. Mike and I just grabbed some Better Homes and Gardens and killed about two dozen (yes, we're keeping track, and Mike is winning), after killing a bunch this morning, but that isn't nearly all of them. They seem to migrate toward the windows, so I keep trapping them between the glass and screen, then quickly pushing up the screen to let them outside.

5. The kids have been very sweet lately. They have their many moments, but Jack is finally showing signs of being a gentlemanly big-brother. "I wanna share with Abigail!" They take turns pushing each other around in Gail's doll baby stroller, with Gail laughing at Jack all the while. She thinks he is the funniest thing and will sometimes just laugh and laugh when he's merely talking- about anything, especially at dinnertime. Out-of-the-blue the other day, Jack spouted out this lovely little bit: "Mama loves Jack. Dada loves Jack. Mimi loves Jack. PopPop loves Jack. Gamma loves Jack. Gampa loves Jack. Tay loves Jack. Hevver loves Jack. Wiwwie loves Jack. Roma loves Jack. Madi loves Jack. Binny loves Jack. Kitty loves Jack. The Park loves Jack." Who doesn't?

Don't buy stuff you cannot afford

Obviously, some people are eluded by this simple concept...
I'm always flabbergasted when I hear radio commercials say, "If you are more than ten thousand dollars in debt..." I thought this SNL sketch humorously summed it up.

Have you taken the tags off your kids yet?

I know I've had a lot of Jack stories lately, but this blog is mainly for me- to look back on from years to come, and I want to remember these cute little sayings.

Jack came up to me yesterday, holding up his foot and said, "Can you take the tag off?" He had a little hangnail. So I removed it and he held out his hand and said, "Can you take this tag off?" Sure enough his thumb had one too.


We were about to head out to the park this morning, and I ran upstairs to get some socks for Abigail. When I came back down, Gail was sitting on the bottom step, holding out her foot for Jack as he attempted to put on her shoe.

All work and no play

Jack to Abigail today: "No Abigail. I not playing. I working."