500 Pirates!

It all began with a giant box...

and a wonderfully creative and enthusiastic husband...

It took many helpers...

and lots of paint...

But soon enough a pirate ship was born.

Would you like a tour?  It has doors that open...

a wheel that turns...

telescopes for telescoping...

and portholes for all!

So come on all you scurvy pirates!  Arrrgh!

There's treasure to be found!

Ahoy mateys! What's that you see?

Why, it's only a scurvy pirate pug!

So hurry up and join our crew- adventure awaits!!!

Backyard Beauty

Pictures of my little cutie... just because!

Potty Training the Wonder Twins

Let's just get the cuteness out of the way and start with a photo of the Wonder Twins back in the day:

All together now, "Awwww!"

Ok, on to business:
I try to keep the bathroom stories to a minimum around here.  Really, I do.  If you're relatively new to my blog and you're not squeamish, you might want to read about the time the contents of a diaper went missing or the time Dan exploded.  But it's entirely up to you.  I refuse to claim responsibility if you're grossed out.

Anyway, a year ago while Joe was learning how to use the toilet I remember thinking what a circus it was going to be when Daniel and Mikea would be potty training together. (It really was pure madness back then.) I'd been making half-hearted attempts every now and again, but a few weeks ago I finally decided enough was enough and we just had to get serious about this potty training business.  And you know what? We've actually had a lot of success.  I think the success if due to two factors: The kids are truly ready for it now and I reward them with M and M's.  Forget the sticker charts.  M and M's are the ticket.

However, there are still many days where the madness takes over again.  Let me set the scene from a couple of weeks ago . . .

There are five of us all crammed into our downstairs half-bathroom.  The kids have just finished lunch and have been taking their turn on the toilet before they go down for naps.  Joe is standing on the stepstool at the sink washing his hands: I am reminding him the proper washing sequence and technique.  Daniel is perched on the toilet: I am coaching him on how to "aim" and not make a mess.  (I am sitting on the floor directly in front of him so if he misses, I am toast.)  Mikea has already finished her business and is wiggling around on the floor:  I am trying to put a clean diaper on her.  In the middle of all this Baby A. is crawling on top of me:  I am trying to keep him from climbing onto the toilet and getting in the way.  And they're all talking/babbling/screeching at once.  And I think to myself, "I am going to remember this moment for the rest of my life.  And now I will laugh just to keep myself from crying."  And I did.

I must confess that now I get a kick out of how proud the kids are when they put on their underwear or how cute it is when Mikea asks for her "W".  (For some reason she started calling M and M's "W's" and although I'd love to think it's because she recognizes that an upside-down M looks like a W, I don't think that's why.)  And I should add that even though Joe's a master at using the toilet, sometimes he likes to bypass the hand-washing so we give him an M and M if he remembers to do it on his own.

All-in-all it's pretty easy to forget the headaches of it all and see the big picture:

Oops, not that big picture . . . the big picture that the 500 Babies are growing up and I'm simply beyond blessed to guide them through these precious days!

Ready for Summer!

The Memorial Day weekend was just a taste of what's in store for summer...a relaxed pace, family fun, and a rested and calm mother.  There are just 5 more days of work left for my husband and then the 10-week weekend begins!

After a morning of shopping together in which all 3 toddlers got new underwear (Daniel for the first time!), we treated the kiddos to a cold treat. Have you ever seen a child look this unhappy about eating ice cream? 

In Daniel's defense, he wasn't really unhappy - just hot and tired.  Plus his ice cream was left off the order so he had to wait a little longer to get it.  Poor Daniel. 

Joe and Mikea were a good deal more enthusiastic about eating theirs.

Oh the joys of eating ice cream on a hot summer day!

Now Baby A. would like me to tell you two things.  First, he's happy to report that our family is now officially the adoptive placement for him and in less than 3 months I can show you his gorgeous face.  (I'm not bragging, but well, yes I am - he has the most beautiful eyes and beaming smile you've ever seen.  He gets compliments every time we go out!)

Second, he wants you to know that he's been working very hard this past week learning how to walk! 

He can even hold an object and walk at the same time.

Each little step towards independence - whether it's wearing underwear for the first time or walking - is cause for celebration!  And yet it also makes me just a tiny bit sad because before I know it, my baby birds will be going to school, driving cars, and then leaving the nest...and I don't think I'll ever be ready for that!

Daddy-Daughter Date Night

Over the next several days, Billy and I will be taking turns going out with each one of our children by themselves.  We're hoping it will benefit all of us to spend some quality time with each other one on one and will help us be more positive and patient as we count down these last several days before summer break. 

 Mikea and Daddy got to go first!

They went to the pet store to look at fish, turtles, snakes, kittens, and more.  As they were leaving the store Mikea noticed a puddle and said,"I wanna live in water like a fish."  Then they devoured ice cream sundaes.

        

And I mean "devoured".  From what I hear, that ice cream didn't last more than a few seconds after this picture was taken.

You can tell by the look on her face how much Mikea enjoyed her special evening with her Daddy.  Tonight it's my turn to go out with the Danimal!

500 Babies Go to a Softball Tournament

This past Saturday the 500 Babies went to their first sporting event!  Daddy was playing in a softball tournament and the kids were thrilled to get to go watch.  In my mind, it was going to go like this:  We go to the first game at 11:00, sit on a blanket, each a picnic lunch, watch the game, go home and take naps.  I figured the team would have another game or so and Billy would be home by the time the kids woke up. 

What I didn't figure on and what happened instead: the kids slept in the car on the way home from the first game and didn't want to nap at home and Billy's team kept winning and winning.  The winning part turned out to be a good thing, of course.  After a few hours at home I knew I had to get out of the house with the kids.  So we packed up again, grabbed some fast food, and headed back out to the field.

It's probably only the second time in our kids' lives they've had an actual Kid's Meal with a toy and everything.

And they were thrilled to drink milk from a straw.

But food lasts only so long, and the natives began to get restless.  So I suggested they try to push down a tree.

When they got tired of that we traipsed over to the playground for a little while.

After that, I let them mill around an empty field.

Keep in mind there's one more little one you haven't seen much, but he was there, too.

Needless to say, I didn't get to watch very much of the games.  But we all still had a great time.  And the icing on the cake?

The Masters Elementary Team won the Championship! Way to go guys!

It's Actually a Chrysalis

Ever since we received a copy of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar for Christmas, I knew we absolutely had to do caterpillar and butterfly crafts ASAP.  Of course around here ASAP somtimes means 5 months... 

I do just love listening to the kids saying "cocoon" - it's the cutest thing ever.  They go like this, "Koo-KOON!" I make them say it over and over:  Koo-KOON!  Koo-KOON! (Yes, I know that technically butterflies form a chrysalis and moths form cocoons, but the book says cocoon so that's what we're going with for now.  And if you want to know like I did why the book uses incorrect vocabularization click here.)(And if at least one person finds the humor in the fact that I used a made-up word for a word that means um, words, then I can sleep in peace tonight.  Can you tell it's late?  Can you tell that the father of my children has been excessively busy lately, meaning I've been parenting solo waaaayy too much this week???)  <crickets chirping>  Sigh.

Back to the point....So on a dark, rainy morning we made caterpillars, cocoons, and butterflies.  The caterpillars are simply pom-poms glued onto cardboard, the cocoons are bent pipe cleaners wrapped in yarn, and the butterflies are coffee filters colored with markers and then painted over with water to make the colors run together. The kids did great with everything except the yarn-wrapping which is appparently beyond their skill level.  No one told me this so I found out the hard way.  Nevertheless we had a great time as long as I kept repeating, "It's the process that counts, it's the process that counts" while Daniel globbed exorbitant amounts of glue on top of the pom-poms after he'd already glued them to the cardboard and Mikea tried to color her coffee filter again after it was soaking wet.

So there you have it.  All in all they were pretty simple projects and now I have something to replace the shamrock decorations that have been hanging up since March.

Project 52: Club Aranda

When I found out that my husband decided on this idea for our date literally 5 minutes before it happened, I was shocked.  Not that he waited so long to plan it (I've been there, too) but because it all came together so perfectly and was hands-down our most fun date yet.  We had had a minor disagreement earlier in the evening (about something ridiculous, as it always seems to be, in retrospect) so Billy decided we needed to just cut loose and have some FUN.  So my ever-creative husband transformed our living room into a night club!

He turned off all the lights, created a Dance/Club Music station on Pandora and played strobe light videos from YouTube. We ate grilled weiners on sticks (with 4 different dipping sauces because he knows I'm a fool for dipping sauces! oh yeah) and drank ice cold beverages. 

We grooved to a couple of songs and then I remembered we had some unused glow sticks from our trip to the coast a few weeks back.  I'm telling you, the glow sticks took the night to the next level.  See for yourself:

Even Brad, our pug, joined in the fun with his glow stick collar:

The night was just what we needed:  fun, silly, and out-of-the-box.  It proved you don't have to leave your house to have a night of dancing and I can't wait to do it again!

(Insert Your Own Clever Post Title Here b/c My Brain Cells Are Currently Napping. Thanks.)

Last Friday was Christmas morning all over again for our kiddos.  Aunt Deb and Uncle Lanny stopped by with some furniture for us, and they also surprised the kids with loads and loads of toys!

These toys used to belong to Cousin Jordan and are still in excellent shape. They're classic toys that have stood the test of time like wooden blocks, Tyco building blocks, Little Tykes vehicles, and even an electric train set that Joe is going to LOVE! (Sshh....we haven't told them about it yet!)

Anyone who knows Daniel will understand that he natually gravitated to the work bench.  He's dangerous a man on a mission when he gets a hammer in his hand.

The kids were loving the toys so much that the next morning they didn't even ask to watch TV! Now that's what I'm talking about!

Even the little guy gets in on the fun.

And I have to admit that I've been enjoying spending more time on the floor playing with the kids now that we have these fun new toys.  So it's a win-win for everyone!

Shucks!

I briefly had a moment of confusion trying to figure out the correct terminology: do you shuck corn or do you husk it?  Anyone else have that problem?  Just me?  Oh.  Anyway, thanks to Google, I learned that's it's both.  Now that that's cleared up, my children would like to demonstrate the task of shucking/husking corn:

Begin by peeling back the outer layers of the husk.  Wearing a sailor hat upside down will help you concentrate.

Keep pulling off layer after layer.  You may think it's all for fun, but you're saving your mom some work.  Plus, I'm sure there's got to be some fine motor skill development in there somewhere.

Keep going.  Don't freak out if you find a worm.  Your mom will freak out plenty for everyone.  (Thankfully, no worms were found during this shucking.)

Don't give up if you can't figure it out. 

Once you get the husk peeled off, start pulling off the tassels. (Or is it silk?  Or both?  Why is corn so confusing???)

                

You did it!  Now all that remains is to snap off the end and throw the corn into a pot of boiling water.  (Yes, your mom needs to do that part.)

              

And if you still can't husk your corn, just give it a nice hug.

       

Any questions?