My Confession

I've done something that I said I would never do. Even when everyone else said it was okay and that they were doing it, I knew in my mind that it was just downright creepy and worthless to any human being. In society today, it's hard enough to raise a family, but then the problem with modern technology is that new warnings about products come out every single day. I mean, I had seen a commercial for a news story on how your automatic garage door could kill you. Ok, that's why the sensors are at the bottom, right? But back to my confession... before I had kids, I had so many opinions about others' children and thought that most of the bad things they did was a direct result of their parents' failure. Not any more. I said mine would eat vegetables and like it. I said they would not use a pacifier past age 2. I said they would not watch much TV at all, especially in the van. I said that they would listen and obey me because I'm the mom and I said so. So, I must confess that after a long and dreary Monday, we had simply run out of toys to play with and things to do inside. L&D had cabin fever and the house was a wreck! They were whining, hitting, and trying to break things, so I had it. I needed a release before I screamed myself. I needed 5 minutes to just check my email and have a glass of lemonade. This fatigue and despair brought me to the one thing I said I wouldn't do. That all other moms did before me and will most likely after. I figured it wouldn't HURT them necessarily, so I........ brace for it...... here it comes..... let them watch Yo Gabba Gabba. There, I said it. I thought the show writers were on drugs and that it had zippo educational value. But I turned to my children and there they were staring in amazement. Then they started laughing and dancing to the music. They had so much fun. So, I did something even WORSE today.... are you ready?...... I tivo'd it and let them watch it again... twice.

A New Song

I sang a new song today for L&D and decided to show them the video for it. It was a great motivator to each that PBJ sandwich for lunch today. They loved it!

Busch Gardens

We had such a great time on our vacation to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg! We went to see the new "Sesame Street Forest of Fun" and even had breakfast with Elmo and his friends. I had outfits made for L&D and they looked so cute. Libby wore a monogrammed Cookie Monster pillowcase dress and Drew wore a monogrammed Elmo jon jon. I got them from a new seamstress, Patsy, that I met on Etsy.com (cool site for hand-crafted items). I like her work so much (she helped me with 2 other orders) that I'll be selling a lot of her things on my Cayenne Paper website. So, look for it soon...

We went to the breakfast on Monday morning, which was great because there was only 9 families there (when the room seats 35 tables). We got to meet and take so many photos and videos with ALL of the characters- Elmo, Cookie Monster, Oscar, Bert, Ernie, and Big Bird. L&D were like deer-in-headlights for the first few minutes, but they loved watching them sing and dance and giving hugs. It was so fun.

The park itself was also fun as they had a lot to do for the little kids. There was one section that had the kiddy boats, swings, airplanes, etc. We saw the Clydesdales and they are enormous! We even took photos with one of them, Marty. He was in several of the Budweiser Super Bowl commercials.

We saw lots of animals at the Jack Hanna Wild Reserve and went into an aviary where birds flew right onto you and played. We watched a show with pet tricks called "Pet Shenanigans". They had cats, dogs, mice, ducks, pigs all doing funny tricks. It was cute. We ate good funnel cake, walked ALL over and were pooped by the end of day 1. We went back again the next day and it was much more crowded, but also very sunny and hot. We decided to do lots of indoor stuff (like special shows) and played in the waterpark in the Forest of Fun. We went to a few shows, including one with Irish dancing, and even a 4-D Elmo movie. I had never been to one of those. You wore 3-D glasses and things were really coming out at you. Drew kept trying to grab them. Then, whenever it rained or wind blew, water fell on you or your seat shook, etc. It was cool. But Libby did NOT like it one bit! She mostly sat in my arms facing the other way!The characters came out for a show and it was great b/c we were able to meet and take photos with Grover, Zoe, and Abby since they weren't at the breakfast.

I was excited because in France, we got Libby and Drew's silhouettes done. I have always wanted these and found out they were very expensive and hard to find here. The young girl that did them was so nice and flexible with 2 toddlers before lunch. She sat down and while they wiggled and chowed down Fruit Loops (new-found vacation treat courtesy of Embassy Suites free breakfast bar), she hand-cut these without drawing them or anything. I thought they would come out horrible, but I think they look pretty good. Libby's hair is a little "big", but it was poofy that day from the humidity!

We drove home late that afternoon and have been trying to catch up on 2 days without naps and sleeping in a hotel room ever since! I made 3 different slide shows because we had SO many photos...

Breakfast with Elmo & Friends:

Day 1 at Busch Gardens:

Day 2 at Busch Gardens:

Libby's New Love

Libby has been so cute lately because she's starting to take more interest in being maternal with her baby dolls and stuffed animals. Uncle Jeff actually gave Drew a big stuffed tiger for Christmas. But Libby has basically taken it over and Drew doesn't seem to mind. She is always hugging it, carrying it around, giving it kisses, and asking for it when she's upset. At the end of this school year, our office made a big move to other buildings. There was a play car there-- and "vintage" since it was a woody station wagon-- that was about to go into the trash. I took it home, gave it a good scrub, and it's good as new. Libby and Drew have a hard time sometimes, though, because it only has room for 1. But it was so cute the other day when Libby brought her tiger out for a drive. She was talking to it, giving it "mwuh" (sound effect) kisses, and singing. Today, she wanted to put it in her chair and feed it a snack with the play food. Then, she put it in her baby doll stroller and grocery cart and pushed him around. It's really sweet to watch. I was able to catch some photos and a video:

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! We went to see the fireworks at the country club in our neighborhood on Friday evening. It was nice having a picnic with friends, listening to the band, and then watching fireworks. The weather was so nice! We actually were chilly once the sun went down and needed sweaters. So strange for JULY! L&D had a lot of fun. They were mesmerized by the very tall Uncle Sam walking around on stilts (he was nice enough to bend down for a photo by their wagon). They danced and Drew was so excited to hear "Life is a Highway" come on because it is in the movie "Cars", which is his favorite right now. You can see him singing along in the video below. Then they visited the firetruck and even got to get on it. That was a lot of fun for them.

They were so good, especially for being up 3 1/2 hours past their bed time with stomachs filled with funnel cake, popcorn, and just about anything else they could get their hands on! They didn't seem to be scared of the fireworks at all. I think by that time they were just zombies. The next day, we went to some friends' house for crabs, which were delicious. L&D partied again that day and stayed up a little later than usual. So, by Sunday it was time to get back to our usual schedule. After church, they napped for 3 1/2 hours!! So, we're back to "normal" now, I guess.










Watching the parade:


A little Michael Jackson tribute, which was really cute:


"Life is a Highway":


"I'm almost as tall as Uncle Sam!"

Summer Fun

I've been so bad about blogging lately, so I'm uploading tons of stuff for you. We've had a fun summer so far. We have mostly been playing outside when it's not TOO hot. L&D love the water table and sprinkler. Plus we went to the pool for the first time this summer last weekend. They have almost outgrown their little boats we have for them, so we'll have to get new ones eventually (or floaties)! They liked the baby pool, but poor Libby got scared when her face went in the water a little. I hate to see that happen!

Last Saturday, we went back to Great Country Farms for blueberry picking. They hadn't fully ripened, so it was slim pickings, or so we thought. It was HOT and buggy, even with bug spray covering us. But we managed to come home with 3 pints and they are delicious! Already made a batch of Lemon Blueberry Muffins from Deceptively Delicious (snuck in some squash this time). Yum!

Yesterday we went to the public library for the first time. L&D had so much fun. They loved the big stuffed animals and kept kissing them, which I just had to let go out of my germ-o-phobic mind. They don't understand the concept of quiet, but I think most kids were loud like them. Thank goodness! We're gonna try and sign up for some fun library story times and music shows soon, so that should be fun. I was so proud of both Libby and Drew. Drew picked up a book and sat at this table to read all by himself! And Libby took her time looking through them on the floor with me. Thank goodness for cell phone cameras! They're growing up so fast.