I think they like each other.

2010-05-28 Brian's 011
Originally uploaded by grammyB

Us -- from Nanny's camera

2010-05-28 Brian's 005
Originally uploaded by grammyB

News of Late

Well the paternals just left and I got ZERO pictures on account of I spent most of the time walking around in pajamas and a bad mood.  I have a sinus infection. But, despite my attitude, Nanny & Grampy stayed around for the entire planned visit and kept the kids while Brian and I worked last week. THANK YOU!!!  (I'm sure Nanny will send me some fantabulous pics soon.)

Friday was Brian's last day as a 4th grade teacher.  He will be moving back to the middle school level next year, teaching 6th grade science.  This is likely to make our entire family happier.  Now he is off for the summer and my real work is just beginning. Summer school begins for me tomorrow and I'm teaching an overload in order to make more money so I can expand our square footage by screening in the back porch. It's all about the money in my field. And it's all about the space in my house.



And now the important stuff:

1. Sam is now sitting up unaided! This is so much more fun than rolling round, I'm sure.
2. Brian is on a 5k kick. He did his first one today. I'm still in training. I'm using the Couch to 5k program with great success. Meaning that I've successfully printed the training schedule.
3. Last but not least, John-John has now lost his SECOND baby tooth!  The Tooth Fairy was equally frugal this time around, and I noticed that he put both of the quarters into his "saving" (rather than "spending" or "giving") jar.  He's such a good boy.

OUS,
k

Crib Time

Station 6 Swimmer

John graduated from station 5 last week and is now over halfway to a place on the swim team (station 10 is the highest)! He has mastered freestyle swimming with a breath every 3 strokes. Now it's on to backstroke.  How can it be so difficult to wet and shampoo the hair or a child who has mastered this level of water sport?  Sheesh.

Evolution?

Secret Attack

Hard core fighter guys will attack from anywhere, anytime.

Six Months of ...

Weird is Relative (or relatives, depending on your family)

After IGBOK (see previous post), I want this as my next bumper sticker:






Case in point:

Today I went for my usual hike with the Bambino Brigade and then decided that a trip to Whole Foods was a must. We were totally out of colloidal silver for crying out loud and I haven’t had any Arctic cod liver oil in I don’t know how long. Maybe since I was pregnant. Unheard of.

But first I had to go to the restroom, and as I was washing my hands, the woman next to me said, “I know this is weird, but I just bought this deodorant and I really needed some. It’s weird isn’t it?”

I just looked at her, but she pressed on: “I know you think it’s totally weird, but it’s better than stinking. Right?”

And what I wanted to say was, “Yesterday my five-year old pooped in the neighbor’s backyard just before they hosted an outdoor party, and earlier today I hiked with a woman who had her placenta freeze dried and encapsulated into 60 ingestible tablets because her doula told her it would ward off post-partum depression. Are you seriously asking me if applying deodorant in the bathroom is WEIRD?”

But of course, that’s not what I said. Instead, I went with, “You gotta do watcha gotta do in times of water shortage.”

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And now, onto more important matters … namely, the scary children:

Here is a video of J and S in Mississippi (yes, I took the jumper seat).

Here’s one with John-John telling knock-knock jokes.

Another one ... brudderly love.

And fourthly, we have John-John and a choir of stuffed animals singing that classic children’s song, “I Kicked My Ball into a Gated Community.”

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Now, is anybody else disturbed by the fabric pictured below?  I stumbled upon these guys while perusing the Christmas section of the most recent Hancock's of Paducah fabric catalog.  I went to college with Amanda Hancock, and I'm just not sure her people know about this.

As you were.

Pace Reunion 2010

We're back from the Pace reunion. Here's the one decent picture I took in 3 days.

Today's Videos

I've been making lots of videos of the boys and hardly posting anything. Here's one of our rainstorm today ...

you can see that the water is pouring through the gutters into one of our 55-gallon barrels. Ten minutes after I took this video, it was totally full and overflowing! If we had a few more, we'd be in business.

Click here for a video of The Great Sambino.

The happy graduate and his family.

The next time you see him in a cap & gown, he'll be 18.

This is what the photographer told me in order to convince me to spend $40 on a package of these photos.

Side note: That is not his awful, old-man, maroon tie.  They dressed him up without my consent.

Graduation 2010

Today John graduated from pre-K.  I love this first picture of him whispering to the audience while his teacher discussed what a great year they've had.

Mrs. Audrey

According to John, this was the best part.

Assistant Teacher, Miss Amy

You can see a video of the two songs and John's poetry recitation here.

Congrats to our big boy: Kindergarten Bound!

Carrots doing well; tomatoes not so much.

The flood waters did a number on my Sudduth's Brandywine Beefsteaks. I am heartbroken about this as they were the heirloom seeds specifically passed down from a Tennessee family for 100 years. Oh well, at least we still have a house.

Lettuce rejoice that the floods didn't kill everything.

That collar. It just about does me in.

A Prayer for Flood Victims

Hey there ... LADIES!

John's new favorite quote. I kid you not. The squint and point always accompany it. And you have to say "ladies" like the "Ladies Night" guy on SNL. And no, he hasn't seen that skit. But he has seen "Choppin' Broccoli" and loves it. I used to think his potty humor was bad. Now he's into what I call "Annoying Repetitive Word & Noise" humor. Songs too.

Don't you wanna come over?

Sometimes I let the older children torture him a bit.

As long as he's not crying.

This Waffle House hat kept a 4 and 5 year old entertained for half an hour.

Happy Mama's Day!

I always thought I wanted a girl.   But even rock stars know you can't always get what you want.

But if you try sometimes,
You just might find,
You get what you need.

Plus, being the only girl means I am still The Princess. Who, this morning, got exactly what she WANTED. To sleep until 8 and then eat hashbrowns and bacon.

And if there is anything in this world better than bacon and boys, I don't know what it is.

It figures.

I stay home with him for 5 months and no word of thanks. Brian stays home a few, um, DAYS, and now Sambino saying "Da-da."

However, I think he's getting red-headed, so I'll let it slide.