Boy and Girl Day

**note . .. I've mentioned I'm a camera hog, right? I sent Andy with the film camera. Those pictures haven't been developed yet. So right now, the pics are all of girl day! ::vbg::

This day was what sealed the deal when we told the kids about this vacation . . .the day they dubbed as Boy and Girl Day. Andy took Ian to a Cubs game at Wrigley field. I didn't get much out of them, except they walked as far as they could, then took a taxi (Ian was thrilled) . . . ate hot dogs, bought a pennant, watched 8 innings (the score was either 11-2 or 9-2 with the Cubs losing when they left), and they took the El back (Ian was thrilled again). You know boys. . .they don't talk much.

Now the girls. . .we did American Girl Place. We've been preparing for weeks. Allie's read some of the American Girl books, they've both been looking at catelogs, trying to make the best decisions. We walked over there, had Andy take a pic of the 3 of us, and headed inside. We looked around a little, but saved the real looking for after our lunch reservations at the Cafe. Oh, the cafe! It's all decorated in Black, white and hot pink . .. .so girlie, and so scrapbook inspirational! I now want to decorate a girl's room this way, but I *think* it might be a bit overwhelming, all this black and hot pink in an 11x12 room. tehehe I was taking pictures of everything! ROFL . . .I'm sure people thought I was crazy when I took a picture of the seat back with a huge button on it!

tehehe . . just so darned cute!







The girls loved having their bitty babies sitting with them at lunch, and we had a great time at lunch. Actually, one of the most relaxing meals I've had with the girls. Oh, and the dessert dishes. . . .so cute! I can't wait to get the pics uploaded.
















Then we went shopping .. . ::sigh:: good thing we don't live close by! Alaina picked out the bitty twins (her b-day gift for October. . .she's getting them early), and Allie ended up picking out Kit (I tried real hard for Samantha, but alas, I didn't win on that one). Alaina also got a hairbrush, baby care kit, stroller, set of outfits, and diaper bag for the twins. Allie got a horse (from my inlaws), an equistrian outfit (not Kit's, but I told her that was okay), a horse book, all the Kit books, and Kit's PJs. EEK . . . . plus, Am Girl Place Chicago t-shirts, and little flowerpots like what they served the desserts in. Then we caught a taxi back . .. and the whole time they jabbered about having never ridden in a taxi before and Alaina kept talking about not being in a car seat. ROFL













Swimming and Subway finished out the night. . . and a game of Aggrevation . . .in which I got very aggrevated! ROFL

A great time was had by all.

Things learned during day 1 in Chicago:

-- American Girl is paradise! . . . but oh, watch the wallet!
-- Subway's never tasted better than after spending way too much money for many meals.
-- We don't have Boy and girl days often enough . . .adding this to the calender for when we're at home.
-- Tehehe . . maybe we need to find a Taxi stand in dallas . . .short rides could be cheap entertainment!

Get me Outta This Town!

So, the plan was to go to breakfast, then onto the Arch . . .that was the plan. One hitch . . . Ian didn't want to go up in the Arch. Started out as a conversation that he didn't want to go up one side and down the other and turned into he just didn't want to go up that high. Try as we might, we couldn't change his mind. . .talk, cojole, wheedle, etc. So after the buffet that took forever, we
headed over to the arch and got tickets for the riverboat ride and for Andy and the girls to go up the Arch. These pictures are of the kids (and Andy) while on the Riverboat.

















We enjoyed seeing the sights on the Mississippi river. Alaina kept saying "One Mississippi, two Mississippi . . . " as we rode along. Then it was time to split up. Allie tried to back out . . .she was lazy and didn't want to climb all those stairs again. But we got her to, and the girls, while apparently scared part of the time, went up the arch, while Ian and I had lunch.


Then it was time to head onto Chicago. . . . or so we thought. We couldn't get out of St. Louis! They were doing construction on part of the bridge and we couldn't take the exit we needed to take to get to it . . . got sent on a detour that turned out to be the most poorly marked detour I'd ever seen. We assumed we'd turn around and hit the highway coming in the other direction .. .but it wasn't even that simple. It wasn't one of those little turnaround things. . . we went several blocks away from the highway before we turned back around. How an out of towner was supposed to know this, i'm not sure! I know Andy ticked off a lot of people getting in the right place. Probably not as many as the little white convertable that pulled off on the bridge and blocked traffic though.

Alaina slept a good portion of the time, thank goodness. And I had another migraine starting .. .another relpax and a nap for me.

We hit Chicago about 9:00 . .. just as things were gearing up for Venetian. Exits blocked, etc. We did finally get to our hotel . . .another Embassy Suites, and we got Giordano's Chicago style pizza delivered. The kids had never seen pizza like this before! ::vbg::













Things I learned on the way to Chicago:
-- When in St. Louis, get to the buffet early.
-- Don't assume the kids will want to do something just because it looks cool.
-- Let that lost person on the highway in front of you . . .they probably didn't see the signs!
-- Make sure you look out the windows.. . you don't wanna miss the lighted palm trees on the boats!
-- Zantac does help . . .even with Chicago style pizza.
-- Kids will all cram in a sleeper sofa bed, even when they don't have to.

(Read below for previous days)

Meet Me in St. Louie . . ..

So, we left Claremore and headed for Joplin, MO. We had some good friends that moved from Frisco almost exactly a year ago who now live in Joplin that we wanted to stop in and see. Their oldest dd was in K and 1st with Ian, and Charlotte (the mom) and I had done several Beth Moore studies together. Unfortunately, Helen (the dd) was off with some girls from her church at a retreat, and Ian couldn't see her. We did enjoy seeing Charlotte and the other 2 girls.

5 minutes into the trip to Joplin and Alaina's already saying "I got nothing to do!" Oh, are we in for trouble. Thank goodness we've got the DVD player.

We stopped and visited our friends, admired their beautiful house, decided we wanted to buy the one that was for sale next door (tehehe), and went for lunch at Decker's Dogs. Then it was onto St. Louis.

About an hour down the road. . . Road construction! EEK . . 12-15 miles an hour (see the pic? No lying on the speed limit). ::sigh:: By this point I've taken a Relpax because I've got a migraine. . . so I spend the next several hours dozing while Andy drives.


We finally get to St. Louis (See pic of our first view of the arch? Looks so tiny there, doesn't it? tehehe) and we can't find the Embassy suites there. . .they've hidden it, picked it up and moved it elsewhere.. .1st street is not the easiest place to find. After 2 calls to the hotel and 45 minutes, we finally find it. I've lost count of how long this leg of the trip was!


We take the kids to the swimming pool . . it's freezing, but you know kids, they wanna swim anyway. Swim about 45 minutes, most of which I spent sitting on the side of a round baby pool, then come back to the room. Andy leaves for pasta, I get kids showered. Into bed they go . . .all 3 of them in a sofa bed that's the smallest sized queen mattress I've ever seen! We, however, have a wonderful King sized bed.

Things I learned getting to St. Louis:
--Maybe I could move to Joplin afterall! Charlotte's house was gorgeous, and HUGE . . .and a finished basement! Wow, what I wouldn't give for one of those. I told her to get Andy a job at the hospital her dh is now working at and we'd talk!
-- No matter how much stuff you have for the kids, they're always gonna tell you "I'm bored" way earlier than you expect them to.
-- $1 toys from the buck store can keep them ocupied for a long time, especially if they've been wrapped
--Call the hotel for directions BEFORE you hit the city, so you can get directions from the highway, instead of assuming "near the arch" really means really near the Arch! ROFL . .. dumb us!
--kids will sleep 12 million to a sofa bed. . . just for the allure of sleeping in a sofa bed.

(keep reading below for our time in Claremore)

Sisterchicks

If you've ever read a Sisterchicks book, you know the definition . . .

Sisterchick /n./ a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you're being a brat.

From the first moment I read a Sisterchicks book (check my nightstand for a link), I knew I'd found the definition of what Terri was. She's my Sisterchick.

We don't get together as often as either of us would like, but when we do. .. it's like we've not skipped a beat.

My crew arrived in Claremore about 4:30 . . .quickly checked in the Microtel, and headed over to Terri's store, Simply Scrapbooks (once again . . check links to the right). I was prepared.. . I had my DRebel, so we could get some pics of us . .. then left the darned thing in the car. ::sigh::

She taught a Rusty Pickle recipe book class. She put me next to someone she thought I'd click with .. . .we chatted all night long and missed half of Terri's directions! A good third of the class wanted to use the sample recipes as their own . . .guess they cook even less than I do! Got my shopping in . .. I'd rather shop at Terri's store than any LSS in the nation!

Off to dinner and talking at Chilis and we didn't get to spend nearly enough time together. . . but it was time well spent, for sure.

I'd planned on putting a pic of Terri and I right about here. . . .guess that will have to be updated with an older one when I get home. I find it very funny that the LSS owner and the scrapbooker never seem to take many pictures when they get together!

Oh, I should post that Andy took the kids, and they went bowling and to the Rib Crib. . .and to WalMart to pick up yet more things we'd realized we'd forgotten. ROFL He was so great to let me spend this time with Terri.

We left so late we didn't go through OKC to see the Memorial . . .so we'll have to go there another weekend soon. We both want to see it.

Things I learned in Claremore (or getting there):
-- It doesn't matter how long the packing list is, you're gonna forget something! (or several somethings. . .we had to turn around twice!)
-- Microtel's come equipped with a micro-pool, but no iron and ironing board (micro or otherwise)
-- When travelling with Alaina, it's a good thing to come with bandaids .. .lots of 'em.
-- And last, but certainly not least (and not even some new, really), any moment I spend with Terri is bound to be one I'll cherish.

A child's ultimatum

I'm downstairs ROFL hysterically. Alaina's upstairs issuing an ultimatum to Andy.

"I'm not getting clean unless it's a bubblebath."

I hear the shower running.

I don't think she's winning this one.

Packing or Scrapping?

Okay, so we're leaving soon on the mammoth trip and I *should* be packing, cleaning, washing clothes, etc. What am I doing instead? Well, my box from Stampington arrived today, and i'm making a purse for Alaina's room like the one in Donna Downey's Photo Decor book. ROFL I've got my priorities in order, don't I? I've been waiting for this little paper mache purse since June 29th when I ordered it (It got lost in the mail the first time and they had to ship it again).

I'll post pics when I get it done.

Off to finish. Then I'll go clean, and wash, and pack, and . . .

A Day of Seconds

Today was mostly a day of second attempts. Allie took a second week of swim lessons in an attempt to get over her fears of swimming, so today was her second "show off" day for us. Look at that determined look on her face! ROFL . . .she did show us smiles too, but she had such a look of determination here. For two weeks, she'd been refusing to stand up and jump in the pool to Ms. P, and today she did it! And just like in her first week of swim lessons, she lost another (second) tooth.

I made a second attempt at fireworks pictures from the front yard tonight. I had a little bit more success. A few pictures that turned out a bit more clear than the ones I took last Wednesday. But still not the crisp, clear fireworks pictures I'm aiming for. ::sigh::

This wasn't a second. . . for anyone I don't think! Mimi, Andy and I took our three kids plus their cousin Isabel to Planet Pizza after the girls' swim lessons (Isabel took another week too). They had a blast riding all the rides, especially when they ended up having one run just for them. They spent 2.5 hours riding rides and eating pizza. And at the end, I got to make a run into the scrapbook store that was in the same shopping area. YIPEE for me, huh?

The Race to the Finish

There they are . .. . Andy and Ian.. . . racing to the end of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Andy actually made it to Chapter 24 last night, and Ian's at Chapter 16. Ian gets distracted by the PS2, and Andy's more single-minded .. . he read for 3+ hours last night. I caught the 2 of them reading simultaneously on Monday and snapped a couple of shots.

Me. . . I just sit around a smirk. I've become the "all-knowing, all-powerful Mom". Well, as all knowing as you can be at the end of one of JKR's books. Now I hunt out places to read peoples theories about what will happen next and read JKR's interview from the weekend.

Shhhh . .. don't tell 'em I've finished 2 more 400+ page books since Saturday. That just irritates Andy. I don't think he fully appreciates my speed reading skills.

In other news. . . we took the kids to my parents' VBS this week. Was the first time since Ian was born that we had 3 date nights in a row. Last night was family night. They had a monkey doing tricks (don't ask me what a monkey has to do with VBS!) and all sorts of games and inflatables (bounce houses and such). And I saw so many people from the days when I ran the preschool over in Garland. . .it was great! And the kids. . .wow. . .the kids were all getting so big. It was great making those reconnections, gathering phone numbers, making plans.

An Evening with Ian

So, last Friday, July 15, I went to Barnes and Noble with Ian. He heard there was a PARTY for
Harry, and he wanted to go. Party was an awfully strong word! ROFL . . .we were done with all the activities by 8:30. Left us an hour and a half to mill around before the costume contest. There were some cool costumes. A huge sorting hat (that brown thing Ian's pictured with). And the winner was Professor McGonnigal. She got a poster autographed by the illustrator (a lot of people misunderstood and thought it was autographed by JKR . . .hope the winner wasn't one of them), got to count down at 11:59, and got to buy the first book. They had stacks and stacks of boxes behind the counter. Ian was so glad to get his hands on one, especially after a 25 minute wait after midnight!

I ended up with a migraine and alternated between reading and sleeping on Saturday and finished the book up. So now I have one guy in my life telling me not to say anything (Andy), and the other begging for info (Ian).

A bit of good luck

Another week, another set of summer activities.


We had our Super Looper picnic last night. Both the older 2 kids have been involved in the "looping" program at our school -- means they have the same teacher and the same kids in their class for K and 1st grades. So every summer, they have a get together half way through. We had it at Friendship Park here in town. It was a park that was built by the community. A couple years ago, it was burned by an arsonist and we hadn't been back since it was rebuilt. The kids loved it. As you can see, Alaina didn't want to leave!

Ian spent another 4 days playing in the creek at The Heritage Farmstead. He loves this program, both creek camp and the farm camp. The girls love farm camp. It's a cool little place,smack dab in the middle of a regular street. I'm guessing the creek he plays in is the same one that my brother and I used to play in when we were kids.. .just a bit further east.

Ian and Allie finished up The Handwriting Clinic. It's amazing the difference 2 weeks have made on both their handwriting. If you're in the DFW area, and you need serious handwriting help for a kid, I highly recommend them!

Today, I spent a good chunk of time scoping out Targets for document boxes in the $1 spot (not out anywhere yet), Gymboree (trying to find something to exchange a couple of things that didn't fit . . .not much luck), going to Hobby Lobby to get some Hermafix refills at 1/3 off (they didn't have any, sigh) and "stalking" Donna Downey on her blog. She's giving away what she calls her "garbage" and let it be known today's giveaway would be between 3-5 EST. Well, that's all you gotta tell a bunch of us Donna fans, huh? ROFL . .. She needed to put a chat room on her blog (can you do that???) to keep all of us occupied while we were hitting F5 waiting for her post. I had the best luck all day there! I ended up lucky enough to win her giveaway for today. And it certainly wasn't garbage!

Big question for the day. . .who gets the DRebel? DH or I? I'm taking Ian to the HP party. . . DH has the opportunity to shoot more fireworks in the front yard with the tripod. ::sigh:: I guess I should let him have the digital and I take a regular SLR, huh? Have I mentioned I have control issues with the camera?

Sometimes, I love my house!

Shocks some of you, I know! I've been talking about getting this house ready to move for almost a year. But then you have nights like tonight. When the fireworks start. I don't mean a big huge fight. I mean fireworks. . . at the Ballpark. . .and we all gather in the front yard and get a free display. Fireworks for us don't mean it's the 4th of July, it means the Frisco Roughriders have decided to bestow a colorful gift on us! This season, every Friday night home game is a beautiful gift to see. Why we gone a gift this Wednesday night, I don't know! I need to have the tripod handy next time so I can get crisp pictures. . .but for tonight, you guys get to see what happens when this gal takes 46 pictures in 5 minutes time! ROFL







Ian liked all the pictures like this. They did make for some wierd effects. I'd be irritated if this were the only time this year I'd get fireworks pics, but I figure I'll get another chance in the next couple days!

H20

Never thought I'd actually WANT to do laundry . . . until we were instructed that we COULDN'T today! Seems as some welding point on a huge water pipe burst early, early this morning and they're worried about the cities in our county running out of water. So we're on an emergency water restriction. No outside watering (I can handle that), no filling your pools (no big deal there), no washing your car (haven't washed it in 2 months or so, why would I pick today), no washing off your sidewalk (why would you do that anyway?) until Saturday. Then they said "Please no laundry until tomorrow afternoon." Well, I won't do ANOTHER load, now that I've been told. But I'll admit, I snuck in a load into my high efficiency washer (see my lovely set here? Ahhhhh . . .bliss!) before I heard no laundry, even though I suspected as much. But hey, I had exactly zero pairs of capris or shorts for tomorrow. . . so I threw in a hodge podge of clothes that we all needed for tomorrow. I'm just glad that we can shower tonight, and we can flush toilets (who would've ever thought I would've been thankful for THAT?!?!?!) as some sensational journalists were saying we couldn't do either of those things!

Gallon water jugs were totally gone when I went to Super Target today. I bought some regular sized bottles, just in case.

God. . . well, he's got a sense of humor. He sent rain, TONS of it, today.

Give me an a! d! g! q! What's that Spell?

I know, you think I've lost the last brain cells I had left! But when you've got kids in The Handwriting Clinic, adgq are circle strokes that start at 2 o'clock (for Allison), or clock climbers (for Ian). Allison's had 8 hours of class and Ian's had 4, and you can already tell such a difference, especially in Ian's cursive. Heck, you can READ Ian's writing! What a nice change this will be . . . starting the 4th grade with both his parents and his teacher able to read what he's writing! And Allison -- she's making her strokes correctly, and she's stopped using her left hand to guide what her right hand is doing. She's still quite tentative, but hopefully with lots more practice, she'll feel more confident!

This week will be a super busy one, Ian starts his four days in the creek on Tuesday. . . and we'll have 3 days of the creek until 1, Allie's handwriting clinic from 1-3, and Ian's from 2-3. Thank goodness for Mimi! She'll pick up Ian at the farm each day and take him to her house for a quick shower before clinic. Then Thursday night is Allie's mid-summer Looper picnic. She'll get to see all her friends and her teachers. Yippee. . . the park in 100 degree weather. Can you hear my enthusiasm?

"Hey Mom! Meet Six!"

My Sweet Allison,

What an amazing journey this past six years has been. You were the "baby sider" that Ian insisted he was going to have, and we've so loved having you as a part of our family. We've watched you blossom and grow into such a precious young girl. You are so sweet, kind, and tenderhearted. You are the one who wants to come and take care of Mommy when she's got her awful headaches and sing them away with a quiet song. You're still the little snugglebug. . . just like you were from the day you were born. We thought you might be our 4th of July firecracker, but were terrified you might be as big as Ian, or bigger, so induced you 3 days before your 4th of July due date. But somehow you must know . . . you think the 4th is all about your birthday!

I loved having Ian, and was so happy to be his mom. . . and would've loved another boy, but my heart yearned for a daughter. God blessed me with you. God blessed me with a way to quit my job as a high school teacher and finally become a fulltime mom to both of you and how lucky I have been to watch you grow and learn.

I know it's hard to be the middle kid sometimes. . . remember Mommy was one too. But most of the time, you handle it so well. And I hope that on those days, when you get lost in that middle child shuffle, you'll come and tug on my arm and ask me for another "pocketful of kisses".

You've grown so much over this last year. You went off to kindergarten. For about the first 3-4 weeks, I drove by at recess time to make sure you were okay on the playground. You kept talking about being alone, and that made my heart sad. But then I'd drive by, and I'd see you there on that swing. . .swinging higher and higher and higher and I knew you were okay. You were thrilled that you'd picked up that skill about 2 weeks before school started. And your teacher assured me you were okay . . .you were making friends. And you did. Mostly with boys. Shhhh . . .. again like your mother!

This week has been a big week for you. You had swim lessons. This isn't by far the best picture of you, but the one most representative of your week of lessons. . . holding your breath, tentative of what's coming next, with those darned goggles that just kept slipping down past your ears. You were still terrified of jumping in from the side of the pool, and still terrified that Mrs. P. would let go of you while you were floating, but thrilled that you swam through her hula hoop! We've signed you up for another week, and you don't seem to be upset about that! Then Wednesday, you lost your first tooth! Thank goodness, as the adult tooth is about a 1/4 of the way in behind it already. Yesterday, we squeezed in your party before swim lessons, then last night, you went to Build-A-Bear (and built a cat), then went and got your ears pierced! You were scared, and thank goodness they double shoot! You jabbered about what age you really were . . .were you older than "3 and 3-quarters?"

So, here we are at today . .. .July 1. You greeted me in the hall this morning with your thumb pointed towards your chest and said "Hey Mom! meet Six!" And so I did . . . with a small tear in the corner of my eye. . . inwardly waving goodbye to five. I grinned . . . .and I met Six.

Allie, my sweet girl . . . I love you!

Love, Mom