This is SO going into my book

People who hang around me know that I have several running lists that I keep in my mind, and I often say "This is going on the list." One of these lists is actually an idea that I have to make my millions: a book of all the crazy things that moms say on a daily basis. It will be titled "Things That I Never Thought I'd Say." It will be 750 pages long, yet it will barely scratch the surface of this topic. Now, a good start on these millions would be actually writing some of these down instead of leaving them in the colander that I call my brain. However, I have three from the past ten minutes that will go straight into the book. In the book, these will be anonymous so that no one knows that it was the children that I parent who caused these phrases to be uttered. . . .

"BOYS!!! Stop smelling each other's bottoms!"
"Abigail Elizabeth! Your vagina is private. In our house, we do not ask people to smell it." (Because, apparently, I felt that in other houses, such a request is appropriate?!?)
"How could she have knocked your plate on the floor from all the way across the table?" (Answer: Push the plastic picnic table cloth that is inexplicably still on my table from two barbeques ago REALLY hard.)
"I just mopped the floor after dinner last night. Just pick up the sandwich and eat it. It's fine. Hold on! Don't eat the apple that fell in the syrup!" (And people wonder why Kate from John and Kate Plus 8 mops the floor three times a day.)

Ten things I love about summer. . .

School has been out for 16 days, and I have been loving every minute of it. OK, so there may have been a minute or two that I didn't love, but mostly I am one happy momma.

Top Ten Things that I Love About Summer 2008

#10 That Abby is two. While there are a lot of negative things about being two, the best thing is that she loves to "help." And sometimes at two, she actually is helpful. At what other age is feeding the cat a huge privilege?

This picture has nothing to do with helping, but isn't she too cute?

#9 Sun kissed skin. I am obsessive about sun screen, but as I have previously pointed out, I think I am part albino, and apparently, so are my children. So they have pink cheeks, farmer tans and the occasional too red skin.
#8 The summer reading program at the library. My children love books, but in the summer, they become a little crazy about reading. And I love it.
#7 A gigantic jug of lemonade. A few years ago, John bought a five gallon drink container, and I mocked him. Let me just say this--I am a fool. It is the best item in our house!
#6 Picking berries on a warm Sunday morning. Inspired by a few friends and their pounds of berries, we headed out to Farmer John's to pick strawberries this morning. The kids loved it and we had five pounds of berries in about 8 minutes.

#5 Eating five pounds of fresh, hand-picked berries in one single day! No, I am not kidding. I don't know what happens to your body when you eat that many berries, but we are about to find out. Can you OD on antioxidants??

I snapped this several hours into the feeding frenzy. This bowl did not make it through dinner. . . .

#4 Sunscreen hair. On an adult, sunscreen in the hair is far from cute, but on a little kid, it is the best. They smell like summer, and somehow, they look even cuter than normal.

#3 The slip 'n slide. The kids have been having the best time. They each have a gigantic bruise somewhere on their bodies because, let's face it, the slip 'n slide is probably the most dangerous toy ever invented. But the squeals of laughter and smiles (plus keeping cool in this heat wave) mean bruises are a small price to pay. Says the one person in the house who has not yet braved the slip 'n slide. . . .

Although they had fun taking these pictures, the lighting just didn't work. Josh's didn't turn out at all!
#2 Sitting on the patio until bedtime watching my lovely children play.
#1 The blissfully empty calendar of activities in my kitchen. By August, I may be wishing for some activities to keep us from killing each other, but for now I am absolutely loving the lazy days of summer!!

A few quick comments on "fun" summer water toys

It will be quick. I promise. #1 My daughter, who says every word with hilariously funny mispronounciaton, calls the boys new super soakers "uper oaters." #2 The "looks fun on TV" colored-water-super soakers are not actually all that fun. Nor does the "washable color dye" actually wash out of anything. Including an adorable baseball rug. Great. #3 Wouldn't you think that a person could predict that two big brothers with Super Soakers plus one little sister who chose to buy a cheap Wal-Mart sprinkler instead of a Super Soaker would be a bad combination? #4 Two year olds do NOT like to take naps in the summertime! Off to put my screaming, kicking two year old to bed. . . .

Miss independent!

Before I begin, I'd like to thank Kelly Clarkson for putting out a song that gets stuck in my mind every time I even think the word "independent." And do you know how many times a day a person thinks that word when that person has Abby as a daughter????

So, my Miss Independent slept until nearly 9 today--what a diva. (And please do not ask my boys who also stayed in bed until that time while they held a Wii baseball tournament. . .) When everyone was finally up and going, we decided we had better have breakfast before it was lunchtime. The boys each wanted something different, and I thought "Why not? It's summer," and started to fix a breakfast buffet. Abby had other ideas. . . .

Me: What do you want for breakfast?
Abby: I make it my own self. (I love that little phrase!)
Me: Well, you can help me.
Abby: No (with insistence and a tone that clearly implied that I was losing this battle) I. Make. It. My. Own. Self.
Me: What do want to make?
Abby: (without missing a beat) Sauchage--the wound tind, Tu-wel-el, Milt in a tup, trawbewies, chewies, and cheese. Wittew cheese. (for those of you unfamiliar with the language of Abby, that would be a Sausage patty, cereal, milk in a cup, strawberries, cherries and grated cheese.)
Me: (wondering how she would pull this off) How will you make all of this?
Abby: You pick me up. (Clearly)

And so, with a bit of assistance from me, she made it her own self. She grated her own cheese (pretty much), placed all of the items on her plate, pushed the start button on the microwave, poured her cereal in the bowl, and nearly spilled the milk trying to pour it on her own. Here she is, enjoying the fruits of her labor.

PS The milk in a cup on the side? A few weeks ago, she wanted to pour her cup of milk on her cereal BY HERSELF and, not particularly wanting to mop AGAIN, said no. So, she improvised: She put the cereal into the cup. I know that I should have said no to that as well, but seriously, she is so cute and smart, I just can't resist her!

PPS Although you can't see it in the picture, she also put on her own pajamas: an old stretched out hand-me-down princess shirt paired with a pair of fleece pants with ballet slippers on them. Do both of these items have a matching partner? Of course. Does Abby care? Absolutely not.

As promised: The mostly true and definitely schweaty adventures of Josh, Allison, Andrea and Tyler

OK, first off, after much discussion of the word "schweaty" and an Internet verification of the spelling, I promised to name this post something with the word "schweaty" in it. And do you know why? Because the adjective "sweaty" doesn't really describe the sticky, hot, sweaty experience of walking at least twenty miles (OK, maybe a slight exaggeration) in DC in late June. Plus, schweaty is pretty fun to say. Try it. You know you want to. . . .

And now, in technicolor (well, black and white with a few cute slide shows/collages inserted in for effect) our adventure:

Day one: Arrival

I am a nervous nellie. This we all know. So, the idea of being dropped off at the front door of the airport with my precious oldest child and left to my own devices was a bit daunting. But, we did it. We even had plenty of time to go to Starbucks for hot chocolate and a cute cafe for a hearty breakfast. Because the stupid plane does not serve lunch any more. Our flight was bumpy, but fine. Josh kept busy and I was even able to read several hundred pages of my book. (Can I just take a moment to tell you how glad I was that I did not have James and Abby to contend with? I love them, but. . . six hours on a plane! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!) We arrived in Philly, walked in the direction that Andrea had instructed me to walk, and just like magic, Andrea and Tyler appeared. Josh wanted me to make sure that I mentioned that Tyler was holding a balloon that said "The Party is Here." That cracked him up. After driving through an incredible thunderstorm (Armageddon, anyone?) we arrived at their beautiful home, ate dinner, and caught up with each other.

Day two: Rehoboth Beach

What a fun day! Josh and I waded in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time, the boys played skee ball and carnival games, we shopped in the cute little town, and we had lunch at a restaurant named "Crabby Dick's." No, I am not making this up. Every item on the menu was a tee-hee inducing joke. My personal favorite? CRAB BALLS Crabby-Dick’s famous balls with Seaman Sauce. Perhaps we are a bit immature? The boys didn't get it (thankfully) but a good time was had by all. We returned to the beach for a ride on the bumper cars, and then headed home for dinner, where Josh again amazed the Jang family with his bottomless stomach. Here are four amazing things from that day: 1) The Atlantic Ocean has only one wave at a time. 2) There are a lot of people there who wear bikinis and really shouldn't. 3) The people and their gear on the beach completely cover the sand. 4) It is possible to get sun burned even when you have faithfully applied SPF 5,000 to your skin. I must be part albino.

Day three: A Bridge, A LOT of traffic and a cemetery

Andrea bravely drove us into DC (a two hour drive from their house) partly via a five mile bridge. I don't think anyone likes bridges, but this one is a doozy. You can look down from the passenger side window and see the water. Plus, to help alleviate the massive amount of traffic coming out of DC on the weekend, they converted one lane of our side to a lane going the opposite direction. So the cars are driving TOWARD you. In your lanes. With no barrier of any kind. Yikes. Luckily, we had trusty Navvy/Carmen the Garmin/Sandy (the GPS) to guide us and after inching through Friday afternoon DC traffic, we arrived at Arlington cemetery. If you have not been there, it is amazing. We saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Lost Soldier, JFK's grave, RFK's grave, and experienced the sticky heat of DC for the first time. Here are three things I learned from that day: 1) If you run to see the changing of the guard ceremony, you will begin to sweat and will not ever stop. Ever. As in, not until you reach Portland again. 2) Apparently explaining to my child that you take off your hat to show respect is not information that he can easily transfer, as he had to be reminded at each stop to remove his hat. 3) Although I tend to be a little unpatriotic, Arlington is a very moving place. Then, it was off to the hotel where we had comfortable beds and free breakfast buffet. Good job on the hotel, Andrea. After a quick dip in the pool, we headed to Five Guys. Yum, yum, yummy von yummerstein (that was just for you Andrea, since you are most likely the only one who has made it this far in this post that never ends.) Five Guys makes the BEST burgers, and their fries are made in peanut oil! Delish. Who doesn't love a restaurant that has only four items on their menu: burgers, hot dogs, fries and pop (I mean "soda")? Here we met up with some friends of Andrea's from their Virginia days. Really nice families, and they had two soon to be fourth graders who amused Josh and Tyler with their antics. Then bed, way too late.

Day four: Monuments, Nirvana, and Bob Dole
So we saw all the monuments. They were all amazing, all awe-inspiring, all moving. Josh and I agree that we liked the World War II monument the best. It is the newest, and the fountains and statues are incredible. While we there, we also saw Bob Dole. Although I am not a big Dole fan, it was pretty cool--he was a senator and a presidential nominee. Living history. Most people have been to DC, so you know the drill. You walk the mall, ooh and aah over the monuments, and appreciate being in the middle of history. Which we did. And as we reached the Washington Monument and collapsed in the shade (where I gave thanks for my new comfortable shoes and shade) leaning up against the monument itself, Tyler suddenly remembered that we were parked in a 3 hour parking spot. Luckily that boy has a near photographic memory for signs because he was indeed correct. We hurried back to move the car to a pre-determined parking area that happened to be near a food court. By this point, it had been over four hours since breakfast. Andrea expertly drove to the street where the food would be, and we found. . . a blocked road. So, searching for a parking place, we drove. And drove. And drove. Which did have the added bonus of allowing me to see a lot of DC that I never would have seen. I swear that every building there looks stately and important. Me: "What's that building? With the columns and the statues?" Andrea: "I don't know. . a law office? The Department of something?" Finally, she decided to bite the bullet and pay for a garage parking. The price was, well, let's just say that it was NOT a bargain. And then we started walking. And walking. And walking. We were trapped by the BBQ festival that had caused the initial road closure problem. And just as we started to wonder how we were going to carry two eight year olds around DC, we found a food court!!!!!! It was cool; it had something everyone would eat; it was, as Andrea put it, Nirvana. Finally fortified, we headed another 5,000 miles to the Smithsonian museums, toured the two we thought would most interest the boys, drug ourselves down to the capitol building, drug ourselves back to the car (through our new favorite event--the BBQ festival, where, for quite possibly the only time in my entire life, I found myself to be the only white person that I could see.) And then back to Virginia to eat (at McDonald's, at 9pm, in a huge electrical storm, while watching Larry King) and go to bed.

Day Five: Under the Water, and through Maryland, to Hibachi we go

We drove under the Baltimore harbor this time. As I spent the entire time in the tunnel wondering how the built the walls strong enough to withstand all the water pressure, I'm not sure if it was less scary than the bridge or not. We arrived back in good old Middletown, Delaware in time to go to Hibachi for dinner. It is a chain back there, a lot like Beni Hana. I think it was Josh's favorite part. The food is cooked at your table, and he did manage to catch the shrimp that the chef tossed into the air at him. I enjoyed it because they have a dish of butter the size of Josh's head that they use to cook everything. Then we watched National Treasure 2 and saw all of the places we had seen the day before in DC.

Josh with the shrimp he didn't catch.

Day Six: Heading Home

For some reason, I bought tickets that didn't leave Philly until 8:40 at night, so we had most of the day to hang out. (The hanging out was great, the flying in what felt like the middle of the night. . . not so great.) We went to the neighborhood pool, relaxed in the shade (where I again got burned--apparently sun doesn't have to actually touch my skin to burn it,) drank at least a gallon of ice water and laughed some more. We played at the house, packed our stuff, had an early dinner (did I mention that the stupid airline doesn't serve food anymore?) and headed to the Philly airport. We got there WAY early because I am paranoid, and we had enough time to buy a Webkin (the cheeky monkey, named Phil, of course) because that is an obvious choice for a souvenir--something that you could buy at home, get ice cream cones at McDonald's, play a game of cribbage, and realize that PDX is a very nice airport. Philly's airport is old and dirty and has no good stores or food places. Not enjoyable. The flight home was A LOT bumpy, and I sat next to a very old, very talkative lady who chatted the ENTIRE flight home.

Thanks for sticking with me to the end. I will read this later and smile about the memories. (And probably wonder why so much of the post was about food.) It was an amazing trip. I'm so glad that I took the plunge all the way back in January and bought tickets. Josh and I will never forget our hilarious, sweaty adventure!

You guys are always laughing!

Said Josh, accusingly, to Andrea and I, after getting frustrated about not being able to hear the TV. I should mention two things 1)this sent us into even louder gales of laughter and 2)there were four people in one hotel room in Virginia, and it was 2 hours past Josh's bedtime, so we should not hold his brattiness against him too much.

We are home after a very fun trip to the East Coast. And what Josh said was true. I have not laughed so much in I don't know how long. Andrea even kept a list of funny things for us to remember just exactly what it was that cracked us up. Most of it would never seem funny to anyone else, but what a great time we had! One thing that kept us rolling were the funny signs that we saw everywhere. Check out Andrea's blog at The Queen of Good Intentions to see them.

Really, it was just two really good friends who really get each other. And while seeing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and seeing the sites in DC were exciting, the real thing I'll remember from this trip was laughing. A lot. I'll be blogging later (tonight if I can stay awake long enough) about our adventures and the boys, but for now, here are the pictures Andrea and I took of each other on the bumper cars at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. Dorky? Perhaps. Funny? Definitely!

Off to DC

We are about to head off to DC. The car is packed (with stuff and snacks, including of course, salt and vinegar chips for Mr. Spoiled,) the GPS is programmed, and the kids are in fine form. Andrea has assured me that I can, in fact, bring my license and that no one will rip my back pack off my back with the express intention of keeping me on the East Coast forever (because obviously I have thought of every problem--stolen wallet=stolen license=no ID for the airport. Clearly.) What a good friend she is. . . After quite a bit of discussion about lunch, we are having two breakfasts today. Feeding two picky eaters is proving to be a bit of a challenge, but breakfast makes everyone happy. For the most part. So, we had cereal for breakfast and are having breakfast sandwiches for lunch. Although I just heard talk from the other room about pizza?? Which is obviously not for my child. Who refuses to eat any form of tomato sauce. Including (to Tyler's horror) pizza sauce. Pictures and much more from the amusing adventures of Josh and Allison later. . . .

We're off to see the wizard. . .

if the wizard lives in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia or Washington DC. I have so much to blog about (my last day of school, my birthday, a great time with friends at the Melting Pot, Father's Day, and a lot of list-making and packing) but for now, we are off to bed to get ready to awaken at 5:30 and head to the airport. More to come about Josh and Allison's Big Adventure. (Wow! Two non-applicable movie references in one short blog.)

There's no Place like Hope

Cute slogan, huh? I usually find event slogans to be a bit cheesy, but I liked this one a lot. There were even people dressed as Wizard of Oz characters wandering around the survivors area and a yellow brick road leading to the important areas. There was a full band there (the brass, woodwinds, etc kind, not the rock star kind) playing a montage of Wizard of Oz music. For some reason, "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" really got to me. I am usually a pretty stoic person, especially when it is something like this (John is the one that you will find with tears streaming down his face) but for some reason, the sight of all the purple survivor shirts and the feeling of celebration while that song played. . .well, let's just say that I had my share of tears. It is a really neat experience--there are people who had cancer years and years ago, people who are in treatment, and some who probably won't make it to the next Survivor lap. But you see this big sea of people who are all people from our area who have all fought or are fighting cancer. Amazing. And my sweet boy is at the head of the pack with a big smile on his face. This was the first year that he braved the walk alone. John and I can't decide if this was his fourth or fifth year, but we do know that John has accompanied him on the walk each year. But this year, he took yet one more step towards independence. He was most excited that the survivors received medals this year. That boy loves his trophies and medals. We tried to take a picture of the medal, but couldn't get one to turn out. It has a man releasing balloons in the middle and the outer circle says "Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back." And on that note, I'd like to ask everyone who reads this to keep little Liam in your thoughts. I have mentioned him a few times, so you probably know that a little over a month ago, he was diagnosed with ALL. Unfortunately, he has run into some complications that Josh did not have to face, and his family received bad news today: He will have to have a bone marrow transplant. He has some chromosomal abnormalities that indicate that a transplant is his best option. So whether you pray or send positive energy or do whatever you do, let's all hope that his little sister is a match and that he can get started down the road to his transplant.

I'm pretty proud of myself that I figured out how to make captions on Picasa. Click the thought bubble to see them!

Sniffle, sniffle, sob, sob. . .

I sent these two grown up kids off today for their last day of second grade. Josh and I figured out the other day that this day marks the half-way point of elementary school. It is hard to believe that they have just completed their THIRD year of elementary school! Last year as I dropped them off for their last day of first grade, the song "100 Years" started to play on the radio. If you don't know the song well, the idea is that time passes quickly and suddenly you realize you are fifteen, then thirty, etc. So. . . . I cried all the way home. This year, no tears (well, maybe just a few) but I really am just amazed at how time flies. It seems like just the other day that Teresa dropped little four-month old Diana off for her first day here and Josh (10 months) toddled over to peek at the baby. Little did I know then just how close these two babies would become. When they were in preschool, they convinced many of the high-school "teachers" that they were twins, and it sometimes seemed that they were. Although they have found other friends, Josh will still admit (at home, when no one can hear him) that Diana is his best friend. They have been through their entire childhoods together--through getting new teeth and then losing them; through growth spurts and the big move into the big kid booster seats; through every possible cold and stomach virus; through preschool, kindergarten, first and second grade in the same class; through new siblings and all of the "joys" that come with them; through Josh's steriod regimens during treatment, when I think Diana may have been the only person that he could tolerate through his grumpiness; through learning to read--in English and Spanish; through all the bumps, bruises, hurt feelings, and tears; and most importantly, through all of the fun of the

first eight years of their lives.

Enjoy this slide show of my two favorite THIRD GRADERS through the years!

End of first grade last year--they've really grown up!.

Do I complain too much?

That is a rhetorical question, people. I already know the answer. . .

Yesterday morning, I heard James and Abby scheming, but wasn't really paying attention. I have found that when they are getting along, it is best to just let them be. I heard some rustling in the closet, but as it was giving me a chance to actually get the dishes into the dishwasher, I just went about my business. Pretty soon, I heard. . .

James: Mom, come here!

Abby: Yeah, mom, tome heew.

James: Since it is going to be cold forever. . .

Abby: Foewer.

James: Shhh, Abby! Since it is going to be cold forever, we got dressed to get ready.

And this is what I saw as I rounded the corner.

After assuring them that it will indeed get warm again (right? It will, right?), I did take a moment to make a vow to myself to quit complaining about the weather. And then I took another moment to wonder why a penguin would need a coat and two scarves when he is clearly suited to cold weather without them. By the way, my vow? It lasted about 40 minutes. All the way until I stood in the cold wind, buckling the car seats on the way to kindergarten pick-up. . .

Josh's new haircut

Well, you'll have to see it in person to really believe it, but Josh has a pretty different new hairstyle. He has been asking if he can shave his head, like Dad, for a while now. Tonight, John agreed, and much to my chagrin, off they went to cover the bathroom with hair. I did ask that they leave some hair actually on his head, and whether or not they did is up for some interpretation. See below to decide for yourself. Josh may be the only person in the world to make it through two and half years of chemo without ever having a short haircut, so this is the shortest I have seen it. Ever. It was even longer on the day he was born. I suppose I'll get used to it. . . .

When Dad pointed out that hair grows (not especially comforting as I held back tears) Josh quickly responded "And then we can do it again!" At least it's not blue. Or a mohawk.

Finally!

Today was an exciting day for Josh--he finally got to pitch for an inning in his baseball game. He has been playing catcher in every game. In fact, he has only played another position for one inning of one game this season. However, the coaches have been having him practice with the other three pitchers, so he knew he might get the chance eventually. I don't know what it is about pitching that is so appealing, but he was dying to try it out. It seems like an awful lot of pressure. In the bottom of the sixth inning today (that would be at the one hour and forty five minute mark. Yes, I am serious.) the coach sent him out to the mound. He did pretty well for his first time out. He struck out a batter and no runs were scored. And in my (admittedly shaky) understanding of the game, that's not too bad. He'd love to pitch more, but apparently, he is a pretty good catcher. I don't know what it means to be a good catcher, but everyone says he is one. At least the catcher gets to touch the ball every inning. . . . and at least I know where to find him on the field. (They all look the same in their uniforms. I must say 100 times a game: "Who was that?") I have to say, it was pretty fun to watch my favorite player out there on the mound in his cute little baseball pants (don't tell him about the cute little baseball pants part!)

The weather

I know that I have been complaining about the weather a lot. Which is actually not like me because I love Oregon weather. The rainy spring days, the warm but not hot early summer days, the fantastic, crisp clear fall days, even the non-stop cold rain of winter. But, it has been gray forever.
On Wednesday, as most everyone knows, I got to take my class of sixth graders on their end of the year field trip: Tom Sawyer Day. We read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer throughout May and then head off to play hooky at the city park. We cook breakfast on buddy burners, have a treasure hunt (complete with clues in code), make homemade ice cream in a coffee can and play old fashioned games. It is so fun-probably my favorite day of the year. Our day was OK--a little rain, pretty cool, but overall pretty good.
And then today arrived. I went for a few hours to the Tom S. day of a teacher who had not had the experience before. First off, I have to say that it was SO FUN to be at the day but not in charge! Second, it was the WORST WEATHER! It was cold, and absolutely pouring down rain. As in my hair was dripping little rivers of water, it was raining so hard. All fifty sixth graders, thirteen chaperones, and three other adults (me included) crammed into a tiny wooden picnic shelter to cook breakfast. Picture a space about as big as a typical driveway. And then picture 66 wet people standing on it. Cooking over on a coffee can, under which a tuna can filled with wax and cardboard is burning. As in open flame. And smoke. And you know what? It was still fun. Bacon was sizzling, eggs were burning and pancakes were flipping. One group cooked (and remember, this is on the aforementioned cooking contraption) the best pancake I have ever tasted. Ever. Amazing, huh?
So, let's all hope for some sun (and soon) and be really glad that we were not Dave Larson (the teacher from this morning) who had to spend the afternoon watching the Tom Sawyer movie in his room. With fifty wet, sweaty, smoke-scented twelve year olds each of whom had consumed bacon, eggs, pancakes, ice cream and an entire baggie of "treasure hunt treasure." Otherwise known as a bag full of simple sugars and hyperactivity. . . .

Re: Comments

For all you comment type people out there--first, I really like you. A lot. Nothing like an audience to make me happy. Second, don't you love the section that says "Choose an identity"? I think I'd like to be Superwoman. Or Reese Witherspoon. Or the mom who has a clean house while simultaneously doing art projects with her brilliant children and cooking gourmet meals. Yes, I'd like to be her.

As the saying goes. . .

There is an old saying that says something about not poking a sleeping bear. But maybe the bear isn't sleeping? And maybe it isn't poking him? Anyway, the saying, whatever it is, was written about Abby in the morning. I have never met anyone who is less of a morning person than she is. You know those kids who awaken smiling and delightful? Well, Abby would like to punch them in the nose and probably would if she were given a chance. She wakes crying most mornings and then whines and complains for fifteen minutes before she gets out of bed looking like a little mole (the animal, not the beauty mark) with her eyes squinted shut. We then have at least ten minutes more of moaning and snapping at her brothers while she sleepily wanders the house ruining whatever it was that her brothers are doing. Knocking down the basketball hoop. Lying (not kidding here, people) in front of the makeshift soccer goal being used for the Webkinz soccer game (and we do, in fact, own enought Webkinz to field two entire soccer teams. With subs. ) And my personal favorite: finding the cereal/Clif Bar/apple slices that the boys have been snacking on and cramming half into her mouth and half into the carpet. Luckily, we all know that by the time her eyes unsquint and her voice returns to normal, the wonderful Miss Abby has arrived for the day. Today, however, it went something like this:

Crying over the monitor.

Abby: Moooommmmmmy. . . .

Me: (sticking my head through the door and saying from faraway) You can get up when you're ready Abby.

Abby: Moooommmmmy. . . .

Me: (going to the bed) Do you want me to get you up?

Abby: Nooooooooooo!!!!!!

Me: (making a swift retreat) We'll see you when you're ready.

A few minutes later, we hear the door slam open, and little angry, stumbling feet approaching.

Abby: Where James is?

Although James was trying his best to hide from her on the couch, I was happy to throw him under the bus.

Me: He's on the couch, Abby. (I even managed the Mommy sing-song voice for this.)

Abby: I want to 'nuggle wis him.

And she did.

Grandma and Grandpa have arrived. . . and I forgot my camera. Again.

After my Tom Sawyer Day field trip at the park today (a LONG full day that always reminds me why I love teaching part time) John called to tell me that the showing of our house was over (nothing exciting--they weren't interested) and that his parents had arrived in town. For those of you that don't know, they are moving to Dallas (about 25 minutes away) for retirement. Since we have only seen them once or twice a year for our entire marriage, this will be a big change. To kick things off, they drove into Mac, took us to dinner at Ruby Tuesday (which, surprise, surprise, has yet another new menu) came to Josh's baseball game and took us for ice cream at Dairy Queen. The trip to Dairy Queen marked the fifth time that we have been to a fast food restaurant in the past few months where the cashier greeted James by name. Oh, the joys of Bear Hugs pre-school. Interestingly, the cashier tonight was in my class in sixth grade as well. Then the guy making the Blizzards turned around--he was in my class too. I don't really know how much it says about my teaching skills that not one, but two, of my former students were working at Dairy Queen. . .
Anyway, back to the original point, we will now have two sets of grandparents within a short driving distance. While we will have a lot of new logistics to figure out over the many holidays of the year, it will be so fun to have them close by so that our kids can get to know them better. If I were that organized mom that I so long to be, I'd have a cute photo to insert here of the happy family reunion. But we all know that I am not that mom. Oh well.

Some random things. . .

. . .for a RAINY Tuesday. Seriously, is it going to be rainy and cold forever? I have been promised that the East Coast is very hot in June, and I certainly hope so since I will be there in only 14 days!
Anyway, I don't have any idea what to say today, so here are some things that I think I'd like to remember later.

1) My boys do not know how to match their clothes. And despite being enthusiastic about learning (Hey mom, do these dark blue cords, black T-shirt and red sweatshirt match?) I am not seeing much improvement.
2) Abby is starting to get the idea of clothes matching. Probably because she is a complete clothes horse. Today she insisted on wearing her new "cwose por gymoree," featuring, of course, a monkey on the shirt. You should have seen her at Gymboree, trying to scam more clothes out of me by pointing out that all the "cwose goes togeter." She may have a future career there. . . .
3) The day that my children learned the word "actually" was not a great day. It is a (rather cute) way of pointing out how very wrong I am about just about everything. Abby has recently picked it up (her version is achewy) and now most of her sentences start with it. And it seemed so cute two weeks ago.
4) Speaking of Abby's version of words, I am discovering just how cute and funny speech impediments can be. Every letter that can be pronounced incorrectly, Abby pronounces incorrectly. I think it's adorable, so please, someone promise to tell me when it isn't cute anymore and she needs to go straight to the speech therapist!
5) Abby and James are rocking out to their Hannah Montana 2 CD, which reminds me that I strongly dislike Hannah Montana's music. And yet, I catch myself humming the songs ALL day long.
6) And finally, embedded far at the end of this long post when every kid would have gotten bored long ago (saving Josh the embarrassment of knowing I posted this) here is something just for the moms. Last week, we had to do something that I thought was years away. Josh was standing next to me and put his arm around me and I thought "How sweet" and just as quickly "What is that smell?" I am a middle school teacher, so I am well-educated in the scent of BO. So, off we went to purchase some deodorant. He is very proud of himself, and said (this is the embarrassing part, perfect for later blackmail) "Yes, now I'm a MAN!" And it came complete with a guy-like arm pump in the air.

Go figure, I did actually have something to say today. Anyone who knows me will not be surprised.

Camping Trip

We had a good time camping. We came home very tired and VERY dirty and with a least half of the sand from the beach in our car--just as any good beach campers should. The weather was marginal--cool but dry on Saturday, rain started just as we headed to bed, really wet when we awoke on Sunday, rained through breakfast (in Josh's words--"Breakfast was MISERABLE."), but then it cleared up enough to basically dry out the tent, and we saw some sun breaks at the beach in Pacific City. We crabbed, clammed, hiked (and not just to the bathroom), had dinner with some friends who came to visit, dug, climbed and tumbled down a mini-sand dune behind our campsite, cooked (steak, eggs, pancakes, hot dogs and s'mores were on the menus), played in the tent, pretty much slept the through the night and awoke before the water leaked in enough to get someone wet, scrapped the sandwiches and ate inside (read: dry and warm) at the Pelican Brew Pub on Sunday, climbed to the top of the giant sand dune in Pacific City (Abby and John didn't make this trip!), looked in the tide pools, jumped in the ocean wearing swim trunks and coats, and finally drug ourselves to the car where all three kids slept all the way home to McMinnville. Even with the rain, it was such a success that we are busily planning our next trip. John and I, however, will need at least a few weekends to recover from sleeping on the ground and lugging the kids all over the Oregon coasts on our backs/shoulders/hips! My first attempt at an "embedded" slide show is below. It seems to work on my computer, but someone let me know if it doesn't work! On my computer, I can click on it to see the pictures bigger?? And I apologize for the length--I didn't realize exactly how long it takes to flip through 100 pictures!