Shane and Jenny

Miss Manners

2012-02-11T13:16:00.000-08:00

Peyton: "Mom, everyday I forget my maaaaaan-uhs."

You Mean Situated?

2012-02-10T19:08:00.001-08:00

This morning, I could hear the girls talking in their room so I went in to give loves before leaving for work. Peyton sat up in bed and said, "Mom, my nose is stuffy."

Me: "Well, maybe you should get up and blow your nose."

Peyton (annoyed, laying back down): "It's otay. I got my nose all fituated."

Two things.....

A) My Pea Pod is not a huge fan of exerting herself beyond what she deems absolutely necessary.

B) I think she's going to have a great vocabulary.

Moon Spotter

2012-02-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

Libby (to a playmate at the playground this afternoon): "Hey, my sister is the best moon spotter in the whole world."

Now, that's love.

Looking Toward the Future

2012-02-04T10:06:00.001-08:00

This morning while the girls were in the bathtub.....

P: "When I grow up I'm gonna be a daddy."

Me: "You are? How you gonna do that?"

P: "Magic."

L: "You gonna go to Africa?"

P: "Nope."

L: "How about Argentina?"

P: "I'm gonna go everywhere that's far far away!"

L: "Like bend? Are you going to bend? I'm going to go to bend. But you gotta watch out for sharks."

Unqualified

2012-02-02T21:59:00.001-08:00

I'm on antibiotics again. Shocking, I know. Tonight, after (not really) listening to the unsolicited medical advice from my sweet husband we had this exchange....

me: "Listen, just because you like to look at naked people doesn't make you a doctor."

him: "Hey, I was a biology major for awhile."

Oh, jeez. I forgot that part. Okay, I'm all ears.

Stinky?

2012-01-31T18:06:00.000-08:00

Peyton: "Mom, you smell like teaching."

Musical Gifts

2012-01-28T12:53:00.000-08:00

Me: "Girls, just so you know.... any sort of musical ability you come away with doesn't come from the Groshong side of the family."

Libby: "I already know that. Daddy, please stop singing!"

Will You Marry Me?

2012-01-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

Libby found these cute rings in our latest copy of Family Fun Magazine and asked if we could make them. I happened to have the supplies on hand, so we made one to see if I could actually pull it off. It turned out great and we plan to make more for Valentine's Day.

The one we made was sitting on the table at dinner, so I grabbed it and said to Shane "Daddy, will you marry me?"

Mr. No Imagination raised his brows and replied, "We're already married".

Isn't he fun?

Peyton chimed in, "I want to mah-wee Libby! Libby, will you mah-wee me?"

Libby answered, "I already told Michael I'd marry him. But you can be my neighbor?"

I thought the neighbor gesture was a sweet little consolation prize. Peyton, however, looked like a second child whose older sister beats her to the punch every time.

Sick. And a Little Tired.

2012-01-18T15:07:00.000-08:00

I took a half day off of work today because I've had a cold, or another sinus infection or some combination of both. Again. I can't really tell the difference anymore. Normally I just work through it. But last night I sat up with Peyton for a while after she came into our room and said her "tummy is full". In the past that has translated into "I'm about to throw up", so when you wake with that kind of alarm, it's hard to get back to sleep. Peyton's fine. I'm tired, stuffy and whiney.

When Shane and the girls got home I noticed Libby sounds stuffy now too, and she says she has a cough. Then, she proceeded to tell me that she and Peyton will need separate water cups at bedtime tonight because, "I'm sick and I don't want to get Peyton sick too."

Peyton, not wanting to be outdone by any of us says, "No, I'm sick! I'm sick too! I have the same cough as you, Libby!" (fake cough, fake cough)

Libby looks across the table and says, "Uuuuummmm, Yeah. That's not the same cough as me."

Bloggers

2012-01-16T19:18:00.001-08:00

I'm putting up the link to a post on a blog that my friend Debra introduced me to. For a while I was obsessed. The blog is called Momastery. It's beautifully written by Glennon, a mother of three who is blatantly imperfect. Even though I don't know her, I love her. Read it. Also, Debra's blogging too, but you're not allowed to call her a blogger even though technically.......well, you know. I know her, and I love her. Read this too. And please don't use her blog to solicit free medical advice, because you may ruin my opportunity to do exactly that.

Snuggling

2012-01-15T14:57:00.001-08:00

We had a family (of five) snuggle in our bed this morning and if that doesn't constitute buying a king size bed, I don't know what will. Included in that is a (roughly) ninety six pound lab who seems to feel entitled to my pillow. When Shane reminded them, the girls ran to the window to check for Snowmaggedon only to be disappointed by nothing more than wet pavement. It did snow shortly after, but nothing stuck. Here's hoping for some white stuff in the morning. If not tomorrow, I could live with Tuesday. :)

Shane took this picture on Friday night. I love it because usually I'm on the other side of the lens and I love that he captured a moment with me and my babies. Except, look closely. They're not babies....

Reminder

2012-01-14T21:22:00.000-08:00

Last fall I was eligible for a new phone and decided to make the leap to a smart phone. I wanted the iPhone. I went to our wireless provider to get it. But the techy-smart-twenty-something behind the counter waved a Droid in front of me with a bigger screen and convinced me it was better. I took the bait. I took my new phone home and didn't like it.

Shortly after, Shane became eligible for a new phone and (because he's awesome) he said to me, "I'll take your phone. You can get your iPhone." And I did. Awesome.

Last week I updated it. And by I, I mean I plugged it in, and it updated itself. Since updating it, there appeared a new icon on the screen called "reminders". It's exactly what it sounds like. You type in what you're likely to forget, and your phone won't let you. I opened it, played with it a bit, typed in an insignificant reminder, decided (since I use a calendar app) I'd probably never use this one and closed it.

Fast forward to just before noon today when Libby and I were standing at the front door waiting for Peyton to change her clothes again, before we could walk out the door. Mind you, clothes are an issue in this house. They are our issue. Things have gotten better, but sayings such as "No, you can't wear a leotard to Costco. Okay, yes, you can wear it if you add a tutu. Not that tutu. Because it's too big to buckle you into your car seat, that's why. And please take off your ballet slippers and put some shoes on." These exasperation filled conversations are not uncommon. They're less a conversation and more of a barking of orders while pleading with them to please move faster.

We were right in the middle of such an episode today when my phone made an unfamiliar sound. Not a text. Not an email alert. Something new. I took it out of my bag, put in my passcode and got my reminder.....

Bossy iPhone.

Coincidence? Hardly.

Rockin'

2012-01-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

Look what I found in my picture archives today.....

For Those About to Read....We Salute You.

A Pledge

2012-01-08T19:20:00.000-08:00

I often have students in my class raise their right hand and repeat after me something they need to improve on, such as "I (state your name) will walk in the hallway without touching anyone." or "I will try my best in my writing even when it's hard for me. Even when it's excruciatingly difficult, I will struggle. I will think. I will write my ideas. I will try my best." Stuff like that. It's always a little comical the first time I do this because when I say "state your name" they repeat it back verbatim.

Today, I tried it at home with the girls after their bickering wore on me. It went, "I (state your name) will not fight with my sister." It worked. Not because of the commitment that is required when you take a pledge, but because learning which was their right hand and concentrating on my words provided enough of a distraction that they forgot what they'd been fighting about.

After my pledge the girls wanted to say their own. Libby's was "I love my sister. I love my grandmas and my dad. I love my grandpa. I love that we have a house to sleep in that keeps us nice and warm. I love my family."

Not bad.

Then, Peyton followed with, "I LOVE MY FAMILY! I love my dog. I love my Juju. I love my grandpa. I love my mom. I love my sister. I love my zoo. I love my dad. I love playing things. I love being in my house. I love my house and my cozy bed to sleep in. I love reading books. I love when Grandpa Dad is here. I love watching t.v. I love Mick Jr. (Nick Jr.). I love my sister. I love my dad. I love my bean bag." At this point she started looking around the room for things to add. "I love my Dora chair. I tooted (laughing hysterically) I tooted. I tooted. I tooted. I tooted. I tooted......" and she wandered off cracking herself up.

I'll take it.

Despite cold temperatures it got sunny for awhile today. So, after a morning of sewing while the girls stared at the t.v. we went to play at the park and then met Bebo and Uncle Bones for frozen yogurt. Libby has been dying to go to the new self-serve frozen yogurt place and meeting Dave and Becky there was a bonus. Becky is done with chemo (woot woot!) and has her surgery to remove the lump in her breast tomorrow. It seems like she is so far from here. Time has flown. Well, for me it has, but I realize I'm not the one fighting cancer. Anyway, if you're the prayin' sort, send one up for our Bebo tomorrow. Our family will tonight....

Fall Recap

2012-01-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

The bad news is that having a camera and computer down seriously cramp my style and cost money to fix. Bummer. The good news? My computer is fixed if only after a complete mental meltdown wherein I thought I'd wiped my hard drive of all of my data. Years worth. Work stuff, music, photos. All of it. I (literally) cried for joy at the Mac Store when the "Macologist" found my data and simultaneously became my own personal super hero. Mr. aMazing Mac Man. Not to minimize Shane's role. He stood supportively by my side to pick up the pieces if the results had been different. And he was the one who delivered my camera to be fixed yesterday. Here's hopin' I'll get the same results with that repair.

With a working computer and my phone I was able to organize the last few months worth of pictures and even take some new ones. Here's our fall in review....

Fall at Autzen

One of Libby's friends from school invited her to a princess glamour birthday party. When we first arrived, Libby wasn't having anything to do with having her nails painted or her hair done. She eventually let me paint her nails. After realizing that having her hair done in an up do was the ticket to getting the tiara, she agreed to that part too. In the end, she loved getting girly and celebrating with her friends.

Shane threw his back out last month. Reeeeeally out. Needed-a-walker-to-get-around-the-house-kind-of-out. I got this shot while the girls and I waited in the waiting room at Urgent Care, each of them entertained by technology. I have a picture of Daddy with his walker too, but thought twice about reliving that here. FYI, Shane's fine, but it took a week and some muscle relaxers to get him straightened out.

Lil' Chef

This picture was taken on Libby's birthday. Peyton was somewhat unimpressed with it not being her birthday.

Libby's five! She loves the presents part.....

....but still hates the singing part. We didn't even sing. This was a response to the notion that we might.

She loves the Mud Pie....

....but not the sharing of the Mud Pie. Oh my.

Presents from Grandpa Dad and Grandma Margie after dinner out.

Peyton

Peytie gets busy with some apps in my classroom....

....and loves her "ipod" she made with an Altoids tin. Thank you Tracy!

On our way to the Christmas parade.

Working like crazy to get caught up before vacation starts.

We went to the Bookstore to get our picture taken with the Duck in hopes that this would make a great Christmas card. Not so much. See the fear on their faces? Look how stiff Peyton is, and Libby's smile could not be more fake. I'm not even supposed to be in it. We tried.

Grammy Jane was a more cooperative subject.

Peyton watches Grammy Jane get her picture taken. See, Peytie? He didn't eat Grammy Jane.

Total focus.

School Christmas Program

Hunting down the perfect tree.

Tyin' 'er down. Apparently though, he tied it too tight. As the story goes, when he took it off the car, it had a spring loaded effect....

....and the top had to taped back on. Is he still my handyman if he's the one who broke it? I think yes.

Concerned

2011-12-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

About an hour ago, Peyton, looking concerned and holding her nose, came into the kitchen and said, "Mom, I didn't tell any lies and I'm getting a long long nose."

The list of things I wanted to accomplish over vacation is still about as long as it was a week and a half ago. Some things required the use of my personal computer which is, as we speak, somewhere in Portland getting a new hard drive as a late Christmas present. Others required the use of my camera which wasn't so lucky this year. Its faulty gear is still faulty. I can use it only by taking off the bottom plate, lubing the gear and then holding the battery in place long enough to take pictures. Oh well, right? Things sometimes just don't get done. Or in this case, life just doesn't get blogged, as it is difficult to do without a camera and the computer that holds the pictures.

What I have accomplished is a whole bunch of nothing, which is just how the girls love it. Last night we played Bingo and channel surfed till we ran into The Polar Express and then we watched the whole thing. That's good stuff.

I also super organized my Christmas stuff as I took it down this year. If you know me and my love of organizing, this was almost as fun as putting it all up. I consolidated five totes of Christmas into two, put all the ornaments into Ziploc bags with bubble wrap so I don't have to unwrap each one to know its contents and I took a load to Goodwill. I should take nine more loads to Goodwill, but I'm on vacation after all. I'd hate to exert too much energy.

Sometime in January I hope I'll have my old computer back with its new hard drive. Then, I can upload some pics and I'll be back in business. Until then, I'll be enjoying my family as we ring in the New Year together and then cheer our Ducks to a Rose Bowl victory! Happy New Year to you and your loved ones....

A few Christmas Day faves....

2011-12-26T22:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning

2011-12-25T14:26:00.001-08:00

The list of things I love about vacation is a long one. On that list.... "things I want to do, but never have time for". Today, in the quiet of the post-Christmas frenzy, while everyone was (a) ignoring each other to play with a new electronic device, (b) walking before gorging or (c) napping, I downloaded the Blogger app and I am, at this moment, blogging from my iPhone. Technology, glorious technology. Well, the only piece of technology that is currently working for me.

Wishing you a day filled with love, laughs and working technology. We're about to have our annual viewing of A Christmas Story before dinner....

You'll be happy to know I'm over it.

2011-12-20T08:43:00.001-08:00

You know the big boo hoo I had here yesterday? The one to help me get it out and get on with life? It worked. My computer is still mad and me, and my camera doesn't work, but this is how I know.....

I minute ago, Libby came running into the bathroom where I was reading blogs on my phone (don't ask), and I said, "Hi babe. What d'ya wanna do today?" And you know what she said? Get this.....

"Ummmmmm. Be with you."

Bah. Humbug.

2011-12-19T13:14:00.001-08:00

This little rant is an attempt to clear my head, have my tantrum, and get over it and move on. If you are fully enveloped in the Christmas spirit, you might just forgo reading this post.

There are a few things I need to quit being surprised about, quit complaining about and just embrace.

#1- This time of year, especially the last week of school before vacation, is a frantically paced go Go GO. The minute I stop, I get sick. It might be a cold, could be a sinus infection, but usually I'm blessed with both. Two doctors have said sinus surgery. I'm hold out hope for something that isn't sinus surgery.

#2- I've told my girls, "There is nothing you could do to make me not ache with love for you. I love you. I'm over the moon for you. Daddy and I are head over heels for you." However, I guess they don't believe me? For every time school lets out for vacation, they test me with the whiniest, clingiest most annoying behaviors that haven't shown themselves since ...... well ....... the last time school let out for vacation. Newly added to the mix just in time for 2012 ....... drumroll ............ fighting with each other! Hooray! Both are equally antagonistic. I guess I should look at the bright side. My head is so plugged with fluid I can barely hear what they're screaming at each other. And this morning at Walmart, no one seemed to notice.

(The next two on my list aren't regular visitors. I guess this is just my year.)

#3- Something is wrong with my computer. It's so slow that every time that little rainbow colored beach ball starts to spin before me I get all red in the face and have to talk myself off of the ledge. I know it's just my computer doing its thinking. But I swear, last night as the ball was spinning, it flipped me off. And as I calmly set my computer down and walked away to pour myself some Christmas spirit, I heard it laughing at me.

#4- My good camera doesn't work. Just in time for Christmas. Awesome.

#5- Right now I'm a slave to my To Do List. It's long. It's my own fault. And this morning I started crossing things off without doing them. I'm just not going to get to everything I wanted to. Yesterday, Shane and I took the "divide and conquer" approach. He took Libby. I took Peyton. As we were running around town with the other 500,000 people I said, "Peyton, I love spending the day with you." She replied, "I like being with Daddy the best." Faaaaaaantastic. After that, we just listened to the Christmas music on the radio much louder.

#6- Two artists I really can't stand are Gloria Estefan and Aaron Neville. All year long I don't listen to them. They both have a Christmas album. Apparently every DJ loves them.

Last but not least, Libby asked me this morning why I call Ella, "Ella Boo". I said, "Well, sometimes when you love somebody you give them a nickname. It's why we call you Libby Lou. It's why Peyton is Peytie Pie, Pea Pod and (Daddy's favorite) Pey-TONE! Peyton responded with this loud rant: "DON'T CALL ME PEY-TONE! I DON'T LIKE YOU CALLING ME PEY-TONE! I DON'T WANT YOU TALKING. I DON'T LIKE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING TO ME!

At which point I'd heard enough. I yelled, "Hey! Stop! That's enough!"

"Mom?"

"Whatever you're about to say, it had better be nice!

"Mom?"

"What!?"

"I love you."

Maybe my little rant worked. The girls have been quietly playing together for the entire time it took me to type this. I think I'll poor myself some Trader Joe's candy cane tea, turn on the tree lights and work on our Christmas cards. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..........

Silly

2011-12-04T23:23:00.000-08:00

"Mom, When I'm a mom, if there's a dad in my family, I hope he's silly like OUR daddy."

-Libby

P.S. I love weekends.....

Saturday Morning

2011-12-03T07:15:00.000-08:00

This morning I was laying in bed thinking about math. I teach two fifth grade math classes, and this morning I was laying in bed making a plan to grade and send home completed work, write a parent letter and highlight some vocabulary we've been using.

Then, I heard the pitter patter of Libby's feet heading my way. She climbed into bed with me and we snuggled for a minute before she asked (as they always do), "Mom, can I turn on Nick Jr?"

I said, "Yeah, but first I want to talk to you. It's important that we talk to each other, because one day you'll be an awful teenager and you won't talk to me. So we gotta talk now."

"Why?"

"Because, teenagers are awful and they don't like their mothers."

"I'll never do that mom. I'll always write you special notes."

"I hope so. I had a dream last night that you, Peyton and I were driving an air mattress down the highway. Isn't that a weird dream? It was only partially inflated and that made it hard to steer. Silly, huh? Did you have a dream last night?"

"Yeah. I dreamed that me and you and Daddy and Peyton and Grunny were watching a movie. It was that funny movie where the guy says, "Eat my rubber!" (Christmas Vacation) We can have a little fun with that here (at home) but I'm not gonna say that at school."

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

Beach Weekend

2011-11-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Warning: Picture OVERload ahead....

Two weeks ago we went to Waldport to spend the weekend at the beach. The morning we left, I woke up early and was surfing Pinterest.

Note:

has become an obsession requiring its own post on another day. Go there. You'll LOVE it.

Anyway, I ran into a picture like the one above and was intrigued by what it was. A waterfall? Where? I did a little more surfing to find out where in the world such a thing would be, and found out it's "on the Oregon Coast between Florence and Yachats". What? I'm going to be on the Oregon Coast between Florence and Yachats today! What are the chances? Seriously. So we stopped there, and I'm all, "I saw this! I know what this is! I saw it online this morning!"

Then, I took my own less impressive pictures. You should go see it, though. It's called Cook's Chasm and it's at Cape Perpetua. It this huge hole that fills from the top and bottom when the waves roll in. Amazing. I love where I live.

Family Pics

On our way to lunch in Waldport

We got into town and headed down on the beach so Shane could fly his kite. This kite was in our attic. It was a gift from his aunt and uncle. They made it, which I find impressive. He talks of it like it's the most prized possession he owns. In almost fifteen years of marriage, I've never seen it. Not once. Anyway, he was stoked and he'd rigged up some innovative handles (fishing rods) to fly it. We were all told to stand back and watch the kite MASTER at work.....

Grunny got out of the way.

Houston, we have lift off! See how far away he is? That's because when he first got airborne, the kite crashed back to Earth, narrowly missing a toddler who was playing in the sand with her family. We narrowly missed a lawsuit. After that, flying his kite was contingent on his willingness to go far far away from any other people. He obliged, because he's a six-year-old trapped in a thirty eight-year-old's body. This is one of two pictures I got of the kite actually in the air.

I took 47 pictures that look like this one.

Getting some help from my mom.

Peyton watches from a safe distance.

Libby entertains herself with a game of keep away from her sister.

giddyup.

An unwilling horse.

Libby agrees to try Daddy's kite.

The handles were a little heavy, and she needed Daddy's help.

Mom's turn.

After our beach fun, we grabbed sandwiches at Subway and headed back to Dick and Kathy's house for a little R and R.

Grammy Jane got the girls some new gloves, so they won't walk with their hands in their pockets. We know how that sort of thing turns out.

The next day Shane pulled in to a mini mart near the beach to get the girls their own kites. The master admitting defeat? I think so....

Putting on gloves isn't easy when you're three.

Libby offers a helping hand.

Kite flying. Take two.

This next series of pictures is a game of beach grass hide-and-seek with Daddy.....

Where is he?

Rooooooaaaaaarrrrr!

Run!

I love this: Daddy hides while the girls stare right at him.

When it got too windy, we grabbed our kites.....

....and headed to Newport to eat lunch at Mo's.

After lunch we headed back to Dick at Kathy's house to watch the Duck vs. Stanford game. Go Ducks!

Look Mom! No hands!

Thank you Dick and Kathy for the invite to stay at your house. We loved it!

Monkeys at the Zoo

2011-11-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we headed north to do the zoo with Lucy Bug. I took lots of pictures that weren't that great. But I did get a few little gems....

After seeing the monkeys at the zoo, we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory to feed our little monkeys.

Costume Changes

2011-11-15T21:18:00.001-08:00

How was Halloween already half a month ago? Conferences sorta took over my life these last two weeks. Getting ready for them is time consuming. Holding them takes time too. Meanwhile, my to do list has gotten outta hand and I find myself on Pinterest after the girls go to bed because I need something mindless to do. If you don't already know about Pinterest, don't go there. It's the coolest website where you can bookmark your favorites on the web. Things you love or want to make, but don't have time for.

Anyway, Halloween. The girls agreed they wanted to trick-or-treat as Elmo and Cookie Monster, since this will probably be the last year that those costumes fit. They had their own ideas, though, when it came to their parade at school. Libby chose to be a dancer and Peyton wore her favorite witch costume.

That's Libby tucked in front of Cinderella

Our little witch

Then, we trick-or-treated. I talked Shane into going as Cookie monster too. He was such a good sport. He was sick, but put on his eyeballs and trick-or-treated with us anyway.

Daddy puts Peyton's medicine on her chin. She looks great, and might not even have a mark by the time she's all healed up.

The girls watch Daddy power wash the walkway.

A Beach Weekend

2011-11-13T20:48:00.001-08:00

Conferences were last week. It's an important time to connect with families about their kids, but it's also super energy-zapping, and I always LOVE when I can check that off my list.

We spent the weekend at the beach. It was three days of awesome with the Duck win on Saturday night being the cherry on top. I sat down to put up some pictures tonight and there are just too many. I got overwhelmed. I'll shoot for tomorrow, which might be a challenge because our girls have started gymnastics. That's awesome too. Tonight was spent locating leotards and perfecting ponytails.

Here are two of my favorite pics from our weekend. I bet you can guess why I love them......

Fallin' Two

2011-10-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

The girls were at my mom's house last week. I thought I'd work a ton and get all caught up. Ha! and Ha ha! I did get a little ahead of where I was a week ago, but please...... When will I figure it out? This job doesn't end till June. I'll catch up in June. That sounds good in theory. What I did accomplish was a nap every day after work, something I did pre-invasion of the littles. Still, I'll happily give up my naps for the craziness that has become our life.

For the girls, the week ended with a walk up the Butte on Friday afternoon. I was teaching math in my classroom. My phone rang. I told my class to ignore it and keep working. It rang again. Huh. Weird. On the third ring I said, "Boys and girls, someone needs my attention." So I answered my phone. It was my sister, which was weird because I'd talked to her twenty minutes before. She said, "Hi. It's me. Don't panic." I later gave her a hard time about that opening line, because how do you NOT panic? In the end we decided it was better than, "Hey it's me. Her injuries are not life threatening." or "Hey, I need your insurance information." I couldn't come up with anything better. Suggestion box is open.....

Anyway, back to The Butte. The short story is that Peytie was walking with her hands in her pockets and fell forward, catching herself with her chin. She ended up with a pretty deep cut that required some stitches, so my mom and sister took her in and had her sewed up. She was a rock star. She's super proud of the fact that she got a shot and "didn't even cry" (though she was mostly numb already). And she thought the doctor was hysterical because he listened in all the wrong places to find her heartbeat. Silly doctors.

If I'd had to guess, I'd have put my money on Peyton to be the first to need stitches. But in fairness, when Libby bit her lip, she did require some glue. Those are our girls. We're raising 'em tough..... And you should also know that one minute before this happened my mom taught her how to put her hands up into her sleeves so in the event that she should fall, she'd be able to catch herself. But what would I write about then?

Up next......Halloween!

Fallin'

2011-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Wednesday afternoon the girls were dying to carve their pumpkins. They drew the faces and Daddy did the carving....

If you think this is scary....

.....check out this shot. hint: The neighborhood is worried we'll be giving out crack to trick-or-treaters this year.

Peyton's Masterpiece

This morning we went across the street to our neighbor Ava's second birthday party. It was a pajama party with coffee and homemade cinnamon roles. That's MY kind of party. Waiting for 8:30 to come, however, proved challenging for the littlest party goers in this house. Libby stood in front of the clock this way from 8:20 to 8:33, because I'm trying to teach her to be fashionably late.

After Ava's party we headed to the fabric store to put the finishing touches on these little gems. There's no way we'll be trick-or-treating in them because the girls can't really see where they're going. But, we did have some fun with them this afternoon. Libby was thinking she might want a monster party for her fifth birthday, so this was a trial run. Now, she says she wants to go to Build-a-Bear. Of course she does.

There is a medical clinic near our house that gets covered in a blanket of yellow every fall. The girls saw the leaves on the ground today and begged to play in them. Yes, yes and yes. But first I had to go home to get my camera.

I have to clarify one thing. I love taking pictures of my family and I aim to one day actually know something about photography. I don't, by the way. Anyway, my friend Amber commented on this picture last week and asked if it was a spontaneous display of affection by my girls. I'm nothing if not honest. I replied, "Ha! No." Most great shots I get happen by bribing, or threatening my children. But then, the shots are so sweet and love-filled it works as a counter balance to the orders I barked in the photo session. I've also heard that the secret to great photos is to take a million of them. That, I do. But I just wanted to come clean. Most shots I take look like this.....

.....and I'm thinking of making this our Christmas card.

Pumpkins!

2011-10-18T06:06:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's after school activity + dinner after = The Perfect Day.

Look at Peytie's face.

Little Load

Picking Sunflowers

Ghosties

The Beach

2011-10-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed to the beach and ended up hitting the best day of the week weather-wise. On Saturday morning I woke up, laid in my bed listening to my mom talking to the girls at the other end of our trailer. Then my mom said, "Well, it's eight o'clock. Should we get moving?" My momma looooooves to play at the beach. We started at the North Jetty. It was warm, no wind and we had a great time walking in the sand collecting sand dollars.

Writer

The lasso is actually Grunden's leash, but maybe it would work on kids too?

Love.

Wordy.

We left the jetty and stopped at a lookout for a better view.

Then, we headed for the dunes.

We can find fun anywhere.

The sand was wet, so our sleds only worked with man power.

Lunch at Mo's and a stroll along the water front.

Then, we got ice cream at BJ's and rode over to the boat ramp to watch the action from the fisherman. Just after we got there, Shane pulled up to the dock with his customers after a long, but slow day. They'd caught a grand total of two fish. We met him and went out to make a couple of passes at some Coho salmon. Within minutes my rod went down. I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I do remember that things got a little crazy at that point. Shane yelled at me to keep the fish out from under the boat. It was already under the boat, and it had wrapped itself around the prop a few time. Oops. He yelled at my mom to reel up, and she did, but not before tangling her line around the eight rods sitting in the back of the boat. Oops. Miraculously, I managed not to lose the fish and Shane netted it. We untangled the mess in the boat, killed a fish and comforted the girls who were standing wide-eyed at the horror unfolding before them. And by we, I mean Shane did all of that while rolling his eyes at the rest of us. Then we headed back up river for another pass......

Within five minutes, my rod went down again and this time my mom reeled in her fish. I offered to net it, and Shane replied emphatically, "NO! I'll do it!" Huh. Ye of little faith. When the fish was safely on the floor of the boat, my mom and I high fived each other and said, "We are SO good at this!" More eye-rolling from our guide. I reminded him that he'd been "out here all day and caught two fish. We got it done in about ten minutes." He told me I had a hot spinner. Please. I know.

Anyway, we had a great time, and having some fish in our freezer is a total bonus. Maybe I should learn to hunt. Kidding. I do love the reaction I get when I suggest such things to my guide though.

A scenic stop on the way home.

This was E week at school. Elmo Eats an Egg. Get it? And she brought an Empty box. We live by the alphabet these days.....

The littlest guide in the family helps her dad.

Ooh. I forgot to mention. We lost another fish in between the two that we caught because the spinner broke. Puh-leas. An equipment malfunction? I guess you get what you pay for.

A Shake Up. And a Few Melt Downs....

2011-10-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

I went to work business-as-usual today. I opened my email and saw that my principal was requesting a short meeting before school which is really rare. I already knew it would be about staffing in our building, but I didn't really anticipate the impact of her words, mostly because I didn't think this would really happen. It happened. She said something to the effect of, "We, and four other elementary schools who are dealing with over enrollment, received extra staffing to lower our class sizes and go back to straight grades." Jaws dropped. People cheered. Everyone took a deep breath and then kicked it into high gear to reconfigure (reconnoiter was my principal's exact word and I giggle every time she says it. So I looked it up. It's a real word. A military term. I'm adding it to my vocabulary.) our classes. Because our superintendent wants this change to take effect on Monday. Monday. Dude.

Our school rallied. IAs came to our room and took our classes. New schedules were made. New class lists drafted and finalized. Letters to parents written. And then we waited till the end of the day to tell our students. The only time I've ever had a class's attention like today was during last years Human Growth and Development unit. You want a kid's attention? Tell them how babies are made, or tell them you're not going to be their teacher anymore. I had their attention. After I delivered the news they had one question.... "Who is my teacher going to be?" That was an easy one to answer.

"I'll be keeping my fifth graders and we've got a great fourth grade team. And, you guys..... come Monday you'll have ten less kids in your class. That's huge." Still there were tears. It started with a few and spread to many. And I was honest with them. This group of 36 kids was a really nice group. But they deserve this. We all do. Learning in a classroom of 26 is better than a classroom of 36. It just is.

Props to a really great principal who was on the forefront of listening to our staff and making this happen. Now, I've got some new lists to make......

October, Part Two

2011-10-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went up the Mckenzie to Kevin and Susan's cabin for the afternoon. We had lunch, and then stayed for dinner which we weren't planning, but we were just having too much fun to leave. Here, the girls got warm by the fire. A fire that was too hot to sit by for more than a minute. It's starting to feel a little like fall....

The girls loved making brownies with Kevin and Susan.

Then yesterday, after I got some coffee in me, we made these. I found the backpacks last year for a buck each at Michaels. The girls picked what shapes they wanted for the faces and they have new backpacks for October. The best part, though, was the Sunday morning at the kitchen table. Cartoons on, fireplace running and the girls and I hanging out, doing stuff together and talking. I love a cozy weekend morning with my girls.

Well, Hello October.

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

I brought school work home this weekend. Guess how much of it I worked on? None. Nada. Zip. Instead, I spent two days doing nothing but being with my family. It was awesome. Even then, this morning I woke up so tired and this house was void of coffee. I laid by the fire for the first two hours trying to get my eyes to open. They wouldn't. Finally, the girls and I went to the coffee stand to wake me up. It was raining. Libby got dressed and put on her rain coat. Peyton put on her swimsuit. It was the perfect illustration of the differences between our girls. Then, we came home, made breakfast and spent some time being crafty together. I love a weekend.

Here is a look back at some of the highlights of the last few months.....

The girls want to start earning money, mostly because they love The Dollar Tree. Hello, chores. And saving.

These people make me so happy.

Lately, the girls seem to disagree on a lot. But they both agree on what they like to watch on t.v. My little zombies snuggle in to watch.....well, anything on Nick Jr.

Future Fire Fighter....

....or Princess.

Grunny's optimistic where there's food. Poor Grunny. The other night he followed Shane out to the front yard when he went out to his truck before bed. Shane didn't know he'd followed him out. At 1:30 we woke to the sound of whining at the front door. We're too tired and too distracted these days. Luckily, he's got that unconditional thing down that canines are known for.

Look at all of the wheeled options. S-p-o-i-l-e-d.

Someone found the sunscreen.

The girls had the best time drawing on Bebo's chalkboard when we stopped by after Dave shaved off her hair. She looks great. Libby told her (from a distance) that she looked silly, and (swimsuit clad) Peyton rubbed her hands around on her head. Many of you have asked how Bebo's doing. She says she has her moments, after all she's kicking breast cancer's @$$ and that's hard work, but I think she's doing amazing. She stopped by this morning on her way home from the farm. Her last round of chemo is next month. Woot Woot!

Grammy Jane is back with us every week and it's been so great for all of us. The girls love having her here and so do we. However, when I mentioned next year, she took me firmly by the shoulders, looked me in the eye and said, "Start making a plan for next year." All good things must come to an end, I guess, and we can't believe she's done this for us this long. Thanks Mom.

We're considering pageants. Not really.

I can't remember why Libby was so hysterical. Maybe because she's wearing nothing but a bib? I can't remember why she was wearing a bib.

Libby's more of a builder....

....Peyton, more a destroyer. Check out the intensity on her face.

An evening outside.

Libby tries, but her would-be passenger has other plans.

I took this picture today. Libby spends much of her time these days with a pencil, or a marker in her hand writing her letters, words and even copying sentences. Tonight though, I made her take a break, because she gets so frustrated when her letters don't turn out perfectly. She's her toughest critic and can be reduced to tears over lower-case a versus lower case e. We're working on making mistakes and moving on without tears.

Before I go to bed, I've got to post this. We don't even know how she learned to do it, but she just says she learned here at home with Grammy Jane. I'll get my mom on video this week. In this first video all the shouting is Peyton, right up until she's sees Daddy eating something, and leaves us for food.

And of course, if monkey see, monkey do. Check out the technique we call the head-bob. It's our favorite.

I'll end with this as they are the 36 reasons I haven't touched my blog in a month. Though, only 34 of them are pictured here. I will say this.....they are a really nice groups of kids.....

Summer, I Miss You.

2011-09-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

When my dad and Margie built their house, they built a.......uh.......a (I can't remember the name for it) tank, basically, that catches the rain water and snow melt that runs off the house to water the yard with later. It was intended to be green. But, my kids just think it's fun. It's a riverbed that can be turned on and off with a faucet. Here are pictures from last month (though, right now it seems like I took them a year ago) playing in "the riverbed" at their house.....

....and then Libby decided a water fight was in order.

Stinker.

September

2011-09-19T22:09:00.000-07:00

I worked a lot this weekend. More than I'd like to admit. And when I was expressing frustration about it to Shane he said, "I know you. This is the September you. You're still in your organizing phase. Pretty soon you'll get into the rhythm of the school year and get your program dialed. Then, you won't be so tired and frustrated with how much you're working. Just give yourself a couple of weeks."

He's right. Today, I was home by four. The girls sat with me at the kitchen table and we "worked" together for a bit. Shane asked Libby if she wanted to feed Grunny his dinner. She responded, "Yeah Dad. It's what I do." Duh. Then, we generated a list of "B" words since this is B-week in Libby's class. The list was:

Bebo

Becky

Bones

bow

boat

bathtub

Bruiser

broom

book

ball

bear

belly button

button

bee

banana

bubbles

bat

back

baby

and

bird.

Tomorrow she has to take B things for the table at school. She chose beads, a bird (stuffed) and Barbie. Holy B-week Batman. Is she really already doing all of this? She is. Then tonight after baths she showed me how she's becoming an expert at climbing the interior door jams. Daddy even lifted them up so they could hang from the molding by their fingertips. I love this family. But in September I miss getting to have so much time with them.

I'll leave you with some shots of my efforts to make Duck Fans out of my girls. So far it's working. Here they are on the last game day.....

Here We Go.....

2011-09-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Who needs pictures when the conversations with these two just get better and better.....

Libby: Mom, how do you get a baby in your tummy?

Me: Um, well it's like a tree. It starts with a seed and then it grows and grows and grows.

Libby: A BABY seed?

Me: Yep.

Libby: But how does it DO that?

Me: Well, you have to eat right, and take care of yourself and talk to the baby and watch it kick.....

Libby: But what if it's hard on you?

Me: Well babe, sometimes you were.

Note to self: Get ready to explain where that baby seed comes from. On second thought, for entertainment's sake, maybe I'll steer her in Daddy's direction. After all, he's the farmer.....

How Do You Find a Good Man?

2011-09-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Tonight at bedtime:

Libby: Mom, when I grow up can I marry Daddy?

Me: Well, not really. He's kinda taken.

Libby: I don't want to find another nice man like Daddy. (pouting) All the good ones are already taken.

I don't know where she gets this stuff, but she can't possibly know how right she is.

Big Words

2011-09-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

In our bed at five o'clock this morning:

Peyton: Mom, you sure are big.

Me: Yep.

Peyton: Like an elephant.

Me: Uh.........come again?

Feeling Old and Tired

2011-09-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Don't give up on me. I really want to be writing here, but at the moment I'm buried under nine classroom tables, piles of papers I have yet to check in, 35 kids who need Peechee folders, shoes and a breath mint and a list of emails that go on forever. Since I'm neglecting my blog I'll post something that will make you laugh. I promise. I hope I have the opportunity to grow old.....

Go watch this. Right now.

I had a conversation today that went like this:

Your kids are three and four?

Yep.

So you had them later, then?

Well, we didn't try for it that way, but yeah.

I left the conversation going Later? What did that mean, later? Just how late do I appear to you? But the truth is, when I'm tired it shows. And I'm tired. Guess I'll go tend to my bunyons, or see if I'm medicare eligible......

Awwwww. I love her.

2011-09-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Libby: Mom, can you get that balloon down for me? The one up there. On the ceiling.

Peyton: Libby, when I grow talluh (taller), I will didit (get it) for you.

Oh sweetness, they really have their moments.

Book baskets you might want to strangle me with, but only if you had to work with me.

2011-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Remember last week when I did this....

(Okay, this is the after picture, but stay with me.)

....and then, this happened....

....and then I did this, again?

Well, it gets better. Shane built shelves in my closet, something I wanted to do at the end of last school year, but didn't because, well, school got out and I went on vacation. Oh vacation, I really loved you. With all of my teacher books tucked away, this shelf opened up.

Those are chapter books A-P.

And then I found some cute baskets at Freddy's that were 50% off.

Picture books A-Z

Chapter books P-Z

Nonfiction/Reference

Shane gave me more shelves (book sets).

And, I organized my inside recess games.

Happy September to me!

This kind of organization makes me so happy, but soon the school year will be in full swing and I'll have a different focus. Amber, one of my teaching partners has endured my giddiness over my books and baskets for a week now. This morning, when Suzy, my principal, came around to say, "Good Morning" and "Welcome Back", she turned and looked at my baskets and said, "Those are cute baskets."

And I'm all (shrugging), "Thanks. 50% off at Fred Meyer."

And from across the hall Amber yells, "OH, DON'T ACT ALL CASUAL ABOUT YOUR BASKETS! (to Suzy) SHE LOVES HER BASKETS!!" And that's when I started dancing.

Incidentally, Amber is probably still at school prepping for our staff training tomorrow, as she's a trainer. And since it's time to get focused, I'll be a devoted trainee.

Bend After Blue River

2011-08-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

This post is about a month late, but after our trip to Blue River we headed to Bend, something we haven't done as much this summer. Duck Football is coming though, which means family comes this way.....

Peyton considers the sprinkler.

Libby tackles it head on.

Flatbread Pizza in The Old Mill District. Kids order ingredients and get to make their own pizza.

Fun after dinner with the boys.

Libby and Jayden got into a water fight.

Jayden gets wet....

....and decides he's had enough. Then he told Libby to look right into the hose to see why the water had stopped. She did....

....and I almost got the shot.

Peyton stayed outta the way.

Playing at a newly redone park downtown.

Dude!

2011-08-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

I made guacamole today for lunch. Libby said, "Dude! Mom, I want you to make this for my birthday because it's super good!"

Dude. My kid's droppin' "dudes". One. Proud. Momma.

Pool Time

2011-08-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

We have a pool near our house that we've grown to LOVE these past few weeks. Sadly, it closed for the season today. It's basically a large wading pool. But, it's chlorinated, clean, has two lifeguards on duty at all times, it's fenced and it's free. At it's deepest, the water probably comes to Peyton's belly button. I wish they'd keep it open for another month. I'd even pay to see that happen, and I bet others would too.

See the posse on the island? The ringleader is Libby. She basically goes around asking girls if they want to play with her. Then she leads them in a "follow the leader" type game around the pool starting with the words, "Okay, guys. Here's what we're gonna do......." and twice this week they followed. She got them to circle up, sit down, march around, jump off the edge and then change directions and do it again. As she saw new girls enter the pool she got them to join. I watched a few of the other moms watching their kids follow and worried that my kid is that bossy kid. But all the players seemed happy, so I kept my mouth shut. Afterward, I asked Libby if she knew any of her friends names, to which she replied, "no." It seems actually knowing them is secondary to them to follow her orders, and I'm happy she's a leader, just as long as she uses her super powers for good.

Man, those buns are cute.

Girlie, but Wormy

2011-08-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

We spent a weekend on the Mckenzie this summer at Cush's cabin, and while we were there we went fishing. That's a story for another time. The worms were a highlight for Libby and she loved playing with them so much that she asked her dad to buy her some more, and on the way home, he did. Every once in a while she takes them out of the bait fridge to play with her slimy little friends. I spend that time trying to hide the disgusted look on my face with an awkward smile. I was her at her age. I liked the worms better than the fishing. At some point, though, I got the idea that the worms were gross, and I'm trying to let her come to that conclusion on her own. I'm just here to make sure she washes after her slimy little play date.

Literary Misfire

2011-08-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

My class size has increase considerably from last year. In order to make room for all the bodies that contain the free spirited cherubs that will call this place home this year, I moved out two freestanding bookshelves that took up too much square footage. Then, I tried to see the glass half full and take the opportunity to organize my books in a way that I've never done before. I'm sorting by genre and author. I'm alphabetizing and arranging things in a way that, I hope, will make it easy to find what we're looking for. I've wanted to do this for a long time, and I know I'll be so glad when it's done.

My little project got off to a rocky start, though.

I've inherited a (new to me) table that was moved into my room over the summer. I put it on the tile, and put letters A-Z on sticky notes around the edge of the table. I started sorting according to author's last name. After a round of books, I'd go pick up another stack and put them in the correct pile. After one particular round, I walked away from the table. As I did I heard a creaking noise and turned to see one leg (under M) of the table give way, and all of my hard work slide off of the table and onto the floor. I stood frozen. I could only watch....

Oh. My. Literature.

What could I do? I posted a picture to facebook to garner some sympathy from my teacher friends and considered meeting Shane and the girls for breakfast, preferably at Taylor's, which makes a mean Bloody Mary. But, after a small tantrum (punching the air and jumping up and down), I reconsidered. Because Shane was home with the girls, and this task is so much easier done alone. So I stayed. And fixed it. And this morning, I returned to this:

Now, I still have to put them in bins and on shelves, but I have hope. One, that I'll finish this little project before work officially starts next week. And two, that I'll have a place for everyone to sit when school starts.

On another note, while I stacked picture books today, Peyton went into the hallway and counted coat hooks outside my door. I peeked my head around the corner to watch, but she told me to go away. So, I hid within earshot and listened to my baby count to sixteen. Sixteen! Can you believe that? Now, double that and add six and that's about how many students I'll have this year. Wish me luck!

Fair Enough

2011-08-25T18:19:00.000-07:00

Guess who was tall enough to ride the rides at the fair this year?

....and ride they did.

Then, we beat the heat with a shaved ice. I ate an elephant ear instead. The outside temperature was about 90 degrees and the elephant ear was hotter. But how could I not?

After that, a little fun in AGventure Land. Get it? Ag-venture?

We saw lots of animals. Here, Peyton takes an interest in a sheep that was doing his business. Fascinating stuff.

One more ride on the way out, and we'd had enough for this year.

My Sweet Peas

2011-08-24T23:37:00.001-07:00

I went through my summer pictures tonight to make a plan for how I'm going to get everything on my blog that I want to, before going back to work. I discovered a few overlooked gems....

See this piece Grunny? This one here? The one dripping a millimeter in front of your nose? This is watermelon. This one's mine. You can't have it. Also, I'm the boss, okay?

(If he weren't such a good boy, she'd be missing fingers.)

Mouthy

2011-08-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

Peyton: Mom, do we have a bah-eeee bah-eeeee?

Me: Um....what?

Peyton: Do we have a bah-eeee bah-eeee?

Me: A berry berry?

Peyton: No. A bah-eeee bah-eeeee!

Me: Um, what are you saying?

Peyton: BAH-EEEE BAH-EEEE!!

Me: Tell me about it. What's it like?

Peyton: A bah-eeee bah-eeee. With BOOKS!!

Me: Oh, a library? Do we have a library?

Peyton: Yeah! A bah-eeee bah-eeee with books!

Me: Yes! We have a library! You wanna go there?

For the love.

Libby's latest wasn't nearly so frustrating....

I don't even remember what Shane did now. But Libby's response was, "Dad, don't be an ass."

I responded like any parent would. I bit my lip and tried to hide my laughter. I'll claim this one. I'm actually a little bit proud to claim this one. Cause no one should be an ass. And the girls need to learn this while they're young.

He wouldn't admit it, but Shane loved it too. Because he's totally going to hang this over me later....

Sand and Water

2011-08-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Temps moved up this week, so this was the perfect time to head toward the coast and play where it was just a bit cooler. A favorite spot of mine since childhood, and the girls love it too....

The Dunes

Grunny watched another dog approach, and then he went and sat right next to the girls as they played. What a good boy. The other dog was a 180 lb. mastiff.

Libby and I picked some blackberries on the way home. Peyton slept.

Libby fell asleep like this after picking berries.

Peyton woke and saw Libby.....and well...... monkey do.

Total Adoration

2011-08-17T22:28:00.001-07:00

....and you can see, the feeling's mutual.

Rockaway

2011-08-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Rockaway Beach to spend the weekend with Shane's family. Shane's dad Tim was the oldest of six children. He had eleven cousins, all from a single family. The family gathered to honor Tim's cousin Karl who passed away one year ago. Karl's three children were there, as were many of his sisters, his brother and their families. It was a family reunion, of sorts. For me, it was the first time I'd met many of them. There are just so stinkin' many of them. But, in this crowd you feel like an outsider for about ten seconds. After that, you're family. I see why Shane is so proud to be connected to his dad's family. The whole weekend was great, really special. On Sunday we gathered to honor Karl in words and the laying of his ashes to rest in the lake behind the house. It was beautiful.

After breakfast at the house on Saturday, the girls and I headed for the beach.

Brrrrrrr....

This family does happy hour(s).

Peytie has a snuggle with Aunt Susan. Note her latest obsession. Silly Bands.

Pictured here are two things my girls loved about the weekend. #1 is Lauren. #2, pea gravel. We need to get some pea gravel. And we could use a Lauren, too.

Moni left with some of the older kids to get wood for the fire. This is what they came back with. And they put on every last piece, turning the campfire into a bon fire. Our girls were awestruck. Last year, during the same weekend, I witnessed a Groshong male (not Shane) gleefully pouring gasoline, or some other liquid fuel, onto the fire. It turns out Shane's obsession with burning things and big fires is genetic.

The hearth under the wood stove.

Garret and Grunny take each other on one-on-one.

A beautiful tribute to Karl.

Libby and Lauren

Joel, Kelly, Susan and Baby Lucy

Matthew loves fishing. Loves it. He reminds me of someone.

Peyton takes in the lake.

Help!

2011-08-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

Peyton (dancing in a panic):

"Mom! I have to go potty and I can't get off my necklace!"

I'm trying to remember at what age Libby realized she could use the potty without stripping totally naked.

Hey, Momma. Shut Your Mouth.

2011-08-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

A strong filter I do not have.

The other day I was making a mental note of my calendar, and I realized it's August. AUGUST. You know what this means? For me, it's a countdown that leads me right into fall, and a loss of my glorious summer. I don't mean to be all doom and gloom, it just is what it is. And when fall comes, so does Libby's birthday. No, not right away. But eventually. And my baby's fifth birthday is staring my in the face and I'm trying to run backwards up a very steep slope while gaining forward momentum. How is she approaching five already?

And at the very moment it occurred to me, I blurted out, "Oh my gosh, Libby! You're going to be five soon!"

Mistake. She's been planning her birthday party since those very words escaped my lips. And it's all we talk about.

She's gathering every Pez dispenser to give as party favors. She's planning a treasure hunt. She's making gift bags and guest lists. She's vacillating between themes and working on a menu. She's even invited people already. Oh my gosh. And she's driving me crazy.

So today, while she was deciding that it would be best to give her guests a choice between hot dogs or pizza and salad. I sat down on the floor with her and had a heart to heart.

It went something like this: "Babe, hey. You know, sometimes I cannot believe how fast you're growing. I swear I just held you as an infant and you could do nothing but eat and sleep. You were just a little lump. But, here's the deal.... The other day I had a little panic at the fact that you're almost five. But your birthday is still over three months away. Not tomorrow. More like in a hundred tomorrows. So, maybe we can set aside the party planning and take it up again in a few months, k?"

She was crushed. She let me hold her while she cried, and soon she was on to something else. I've heard mention of her party once today, but nothing like before. This isn't the first time I've had to apologize for my mouth. I'm sure it won't be the last.

The Best of Blue River

2011-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

I've got t-minus less-than-three-weeks left of summer and lots of pics to post and recap. So this is just a quick highlight of our Blue River weekend....

A lotta love between sisters. Sometimes. I have proof.

This is what Grunny did the whole weekend.

The girls comfort in the water has exploded this summer. Peyton just jumped in and started swimming for the boat. Uh....bye.

Girl Power! This is only seven of the eleven. And there were exactly zero boys.

Our girls and Kolbi watch the bridge jumpers from down in the water.

Kendal (5!) contemplates a jump....

....and then she jumped!

This picture is titled "Three wedgies sleeping in a boat".

Maddie finds her inner surfer. We did this too and I'm happy to say I got up on the first try, but the proof would require me to put a picture on the internet of me in a swim suit. And given that I just had a baby.....well. I know she's three. Hush. My thighs feel like it was just yesterday.

I love this picture. The girls woke up and wanted to swim before breakfast. And they could, so they did. Mine is the blue chair. See my coffee on the log? And Shane delivered my breakfast straight from the big pan. I could wake up this way every morning. On a cold, dark, rainy, January morning just before the bell rings, I'm going to look at this picture and imagine sunshine. Or maybe it'll just make me cry. Either way....

Grunny swam so much he broke his rudder. That is, his tail comes out of joint, or something like that. See how it hangs straight down?

Nelson and Valerie take in the lake over coffee.

The best breakfast seat in the house.

Nelson

Hey. Cancer. You don't know who you're messin' with....

2011-08-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, I texted her today and asked this question: Can I blog about you, or is it still too early to make this all about me? I got the green light with the caveat that I make her look hot, and rally players and prayers for TEAM BEBO. I'm on it.

Becky, a.k.a. Bebo, one of my nearest and dearest friends on the planet, told me this week that she was having a lump in her breast looked at. My text that followed was, (and I quote) "Keep me posted when you get the "all clear" from your doc. And by doc, I don't mean Groshong, though I know he'd be willing to take a look."

And then........

The call that came yesterday wasn't of the "all clear" variety. Rather, a stage two lump in her breast. U.G.H.

I actually have better words to describe the feeling that came over me, but in the event that any of my students, or their families should ever happen upon my little corner of the internet, well....I sorta need my job.

I hate cancer. Hate it. Admittedly too, I've become a little complacent about it since my mom kicked its ass in 2007. Complacency is a luxury no cancer survivor has. I don't forward the emails. I don't post about it on facebook. I do the Heaven Can Wait Walk, but suddenly that doesn't seem to be enough. With this week's news, though, this ugly, yet familiar enemy has picked a fight with another loved one of mine. So I have this to say to you, cancer....

YOU

EVEN

KNOW

WHO

YOU'RE

MESSIN'

WITH?

You are messing with my friend who always has the right words to say.

Who, by her nature, puts all others before herself and seems happiest doing so.

My friend who did this on my birthday, and this for Peyton's birthday.

Who laughed and cried with me through the birth of my second child, and only missed my first because I was out of town.

My friend who watches all of the Harry Potter movies with me.

My friend who takes better care of my own dog than I do.

My friend who, even as I'm typing this, just sent me a text which included the words, "juggles, jiggles, boobies, cookies" and is making me laugh one day after her diagnosis.

My friend who loves school supply shopping, sharpened pencils and the smell of new crayons.

My friend who's already laughing about her medical marijuana card, but might not be kidding.

My friend who loves my kids almost as much as they adore her.

My friend who loves my cheesy potatoes even though I can't cook.

My friend who sees to it that I get my roots done.

My friend who sat with with me as we lost our beloved Bruiser, and who was the last person to spark a wag of his tail.

My friend who is a lover and a fighter.

So cancer, watch yourself. You're gonna lose this battle and she'll embarrass you as she takes you down. She isn't only my friend. She's a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, entrepeneur, leader, encourager and nurturer. And though I've always known she's a fighter, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

P.S. I baked tonight.

School Girl

2011-08-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

I'll go back to school this month, but let's not talk about that yet. This is a look back at the month of June at Libby's preschool graduation. She didn't graduate, but her class sang some songs and it was stinkin' cute....

Sitting with her classmates while the older kids graduate.

Posing with her classmates. So grown up.

Yesterday I said to her, "Libby, you know what we'll be doing a year from now? Getting ready for kindergarten."

And she replied, "Mom! I don't have any school supplies!" I guess it never hurts to look ahead.

Just Fishin'

2011-08-02T18:35:00.000-07:00

Shane prides himself on periodically having a theme song. Past examples are Pink's "Let's Get This Party Started", or more recently, Britney Spears "Toxic". Yes, you read that correctly. It's his ringtone. Embarrassing, yes. But on the upside, he can actually here his phone ring, so I roll with it.

A friend of mine posted this song on facebook today though, and I couldn't find a more fitting song if I tried. Darlin', get a tissue. And watch this.

Lucy Bug

2011-08-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

These first pics are from a visit with Lucy and Amy in June. I did the MS Mud Run (this pic is Debra and I slogging through the mud together) in Portland which you can check out by clicking here. The girls and I stayed with Amy and Lucy before moving on to Astoria. Serious Girl Power!

Sharing gloss in their beautiful backyard.

Dinner

After dinner Amy put fixings into this ball for homemade ice cream. Then, we kicked it around the park to mix it up, and voila! Ice cream! Yum.

Peyton was very nervous about the hammock. See how relaxed she looks?

Then, last week we got to have some July time together. Summer seems to have finally arrived, so we were outside most of the time. Holy ab strength Lucy Bug! She gets those abs from her momma.

Ring Pops

The Sillies

Bed time for three tired girls. Make that four tired girls.

Self Discovery

2011-07-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this down because every year I publish a hardbound book of my blog and I couldn't omit this..... Sorry Libby.

Tonight I was sitting on the floor in the hallway while the girls splashed in the bathtub. I could hear Libby putting her face in the water and blowing bubbles, a skill she's acquired this summer. Or so I thought. Then, our little angel yells, "Mom! I tooted in the bathtub and it made bubbles!" I mean, can you imagine being so fresh and new to this world that you didn't know this? Bubbles!

Birthday Girl

2011-07-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

Fishing can get in the way of celebrating a birthday, which may be an obstacle we'll always need to work around. Peyton wanted a swimming party "just like Lucy". We made the decision on a Tuesday and had a barbecue on Wednesday. There was no pool, but we did bring out the Slip 'n Slide which turned our backyard into a muddy swamp. Peyton thought it was awesome.

Three. And cute. Advantage Peyton.

We waited till Thursday morning on Bebo's gift. Wouldn't you love to wake up to this? In all honesty, I totally snagged the pretzel M&Ms all for myself. And I might've eaten a bunch of Swedish Fish too. Thanks Beebs....

A new princess dress from Mark and Amy, with a bikini underneath.

Curiosity

2011-07-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

We're entering a delicate stage with Libby. She is noticing details of the world around her, and is verbally articulate enough to comment on them. Not only that, but her words are crystal clear. To me, and to anyone within earshot.

For example, just today:

"Mom! That boy is smoking a cigarette!"

"Mom, why is that man wearing a skirt?"

(I know that sounds very Eugene, but it was actually a kilt.)

And my personal (cringe) favorite....

"Mom, is that a boy or a girl? Well then, why does she have a mustache?"

The 4th

2011-07-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Still recapping....

This was a great morning. We'd gone to the Spray and Play water park one morning to see if it was done, only to find that it was still under construction. Since we were only going to check its progress, I'd put the girls in the car still dressed in their pajamas. No matter. Once we got there, they wanted to play. So they did. Have I mentioned my love of summer?

My very long time friend Jennifer was in Bend just before the fourth. Facebook reconnected us, and it was so fun to actually see each other and meet her family.

Decorating before the Pet Parade

Peytie takes in all the pre-parade activity.

Ready....

go!

Somehow we lost the laces for these converse, but isn't the red ribbon better anyway?

Lovin' on my dad.

Hollie, Grey and Gatlin

Check out the pose.

My mom got the Model T fired up for the fourth and gave everyone rides. She's getting to be a pretty good driver too. Shane wants to learn to drive it. I'd rather be a passenger.

Libby couldn't wait for fireworks.

Libby and Daddy

Once we got home we set up their playhouse that was a gift from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Susan. Can you believe this? Someone handmade it, and the frame inside is made of PVC. Because I sew, I know how much time and effort this took someone. And even then I bet I've underestimated. The girls LOVE it!

Rope Swing!

2011-07-22T09:33:00.000-07:00

I came into the kitchen this morning with the first goal being coffee and Libby says, "Mom, let's make a rope swing for our bedroom today. And let's do it while Daddy's not home so we can surprise him!"

Oh my gosh! She's Me!

It gets even better. Five minutes after our initial conversation, Shane came home and Libby says, "Daddy, can we build a rope swing for our bedroom?" He just stood there staring at her. And I think he's trying to find a way to answer without letting her down. And then he says (and I cannot believe my ears) "Um, lets go look at your room. Where do you want to put it?"

"What!?" I cannot believe what I'm hearing. He's never so eager to fulfill my ambitions. I usually get answers like:

"No."

"That's impossible."

"It wouldn't work anyway."

"That kind of torque on the eaves will ruin the exterior framework of our house."

Whatever.

But I've had a little revelation this morning.... He doesn't want to disappoint the adorable four year old when she asks. Ha! The possibilities! I need to take her out to lunch and explain to her how she has always wanted to add a second story to our house. One with a large master closet that includes a washer and dryer in the island.....

Later that day, the rope swing did get installed. But not in her bed room like she'd hoped. Don't you worry babe. We'll keep working on him together. And I think the goal was to make her happy. Mission accomplished (x2).

The Birth of a Cowboy....

2011-07-21T13:35:00.000-07:00

I went back through my pictures and I'm pretty sure I know how my cowboy got to thinkin' he's a cowboy. To his credit, he did grow up around horses. His dad played polo and Shane even had a horse of his own named Small Wonder. He worked summers on a ranch from the age of twelve. I love to hear him tell his boyhood stories. In fact, hearing him talk about his dad, it's easy to see how those childhood days shaped the man he is now. So, I guess he's got some real cowboy in him after all.

In looking back to last month, there was a moment at the rodeo when he said to me, "You know how you can tell who's really a cowboy, and who's not? Real cowboys don't where leather hats in the summer. It's too hot. They'd work wearing a straw hat."

A week later, Tex picked himself up a gen-yoo-wine straw Stetson on our way through Sisters, and a real cowboy was born.

Slugo, the Eugene Ems Mascot

The girls' favorite moment was when one of the rodeo clowns, came out riding a pretend horse that lifted his hind end and sprayed the audience from his backside. Hysterical!

Aside from all that, can you believe I grew up in Central Oregon and this is the first rodeo I've ever been too? I guess I just see myself as more of a city slicker.

Not Cool

2011-07-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

My plan for tonight was to be the cool mom. We went for frozen yogurt waffle cones at about 6:30 for dinner. And then, we headed to a park for some splash time, since the sun finally showed up today. Look at the happy faces at approximately 6:55....

Then, promptly at 7:00, the water turned off. Lots of disappointed kids scrambled around trying to find the button that would get it going again. There wasn't one. Peyton looked with them, and then she got mad. Bummer. We'll try again another day.

May Day Poo Poo!

2011-07-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

These are both pictures of Peyton taken in the last month of what appears, on the surface, to be a simple inability to slide forward.

On a larger scale, I think, it's more an illustration of our child who gets herself into trouble and usually realizes it only after it's too late. A leap before looking sorta thing. By then, there may be any number of results. Crying. Panicking. Shrieking. Often a Time Out. And it's not just on playground equipment. Yesterday, we were wrestling and tickling, I made a motion to remove myself from her choke hold, only to have her grab a handful of my hair and yank. I mean YANK. The look on her face that followed said, "I know I'm in trouble here. I really shouldn't have done that. I don't know what went wrong. It all just happened so fast. May Day, May Day! Someone? What's my next move?!"

I'll catch her having a dialogue with herself sometimes and when I interject with something like, "Peyton, I love you." Her reply without missing a beat is, "No you don't."

Ugh. What is that? She's quick. Witty. Funny even. But sometimes she so says the wrong thing and always before there's even a thought. Ah, and therein lies the problem. There's no time for a thought.

And she's at that age where everything is funnier when followed by the words "poo poo". For example, "I love you poo poo head Libby (suprisingly, Libby does not feel the love). I'm wearing my poo poo panties! I saw that man's poo poo nose! I love poo poo water balloons. I see Grunny's poo poo bottom! I'm wearing my leggings so you can't see my poo poo pooooooper!"

You get the idea. Three is sooooooo the new two.

When we got home from camp today (sticking her bottom in my general direction): "Mom, where is my lunch and my poopie buns?" I think she was telling me she was hungry, but actually making sense is always secondary to including a poo reference. Sigh.

A Jersey Girl at Shasta

2011-07-19T16:56:00.000-07:00

(and I don't mean Snookie).

Usually, I'd have just included these photos with the first Shasta post, but I got so many good pictures of our sweet friend Jersey (and her sweet family Chris and Gwen) on our Shasta trip that she gets her own post. Are you kidding me? What's not to love about a dog that will sleep floating on a tube?....

Tuckered.

Wanna Play?

A Girl and her Wubba.

Family

Shasta 2011

2011-07-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

We're home from another great vacation at Shasta, and watching our girls in the water gets better and better. Libby loved the water from day one. Peyton needed a little more time, but she was swimming without anyone holding her on the last three days. If you asked them though, they'd probably tell you that the best part of Shasta is that they get to eat Oreos for breakfast and consume as much candy as their cousins can get them. Also, going to bed filthy is a total bonus.

Our little fish.

Wake Boarding

Warming up under a towel.

Playing at camp.

This year's weather was cooler than normal. Usually, we're soaking up 100-110 degree temperatures. This year, it hovered around a cool 85. It was nice, actually. Now, if summer would reappear in the Pacific Northwest, that would be great too.

Jayden. Isn't he cute? Here's what you can't tell just by looking at him: he has a way of getting his little cousins to do things I cannot get them to do. First, he listens to what I say. Then, he takes my words, reworks them, wraps them in a beautiful package, puts a bow on it and delivers the message back to them in such a way that makes doing what they're supposed to so much more desirable.

For example, at breakfast I told Peyton, "Eat your pancakes.", which she promptly did not do.

Then Jayden said, "Peyton, for every bite of pancake you eat, you can poke me in the brain." (or something to that effect) That, of course, was wildly appealing and she started shoveling pancakes in just as fast as she could. Hey Jayden, how would you like to live with us?

Chillin'

Dad's Boat

Shane playing a game of Corn Hole in camp. You heard me right. Corn Hole. It's like a glorified bean bag toss. With cocktails. I can't play because I get too mad when I lose. In that way, for me, it's like a lot of other games.

Look at these filthy feet. And I did not wash them before tucking her into her sleeping bag. And we both lived. Happy vacation to me!

On the dock, heading out on the boats.

Hangin' Loose

Peyton and Daddy get comfortable in the water. There is more to this picture than meets the eye, and I'm feeling compelled to share it. On the day before we left, Shane and I both went to the dermatologist to have our sun damaged bodies given the once over by someone who knows skin damage. Knowing though, what the doctor would say, Shane was proactive and bought himself a hat about a week before the appointment to protect his ears. Look at the shade over his ears. Good, right? His ears did not get a single burn this trip. Mission accomplished.

However, what I could not have predicted, is that I'm married to a man who now believes he's an actual cowboy. We call him (thank you Antone) Tex.

Before Shasta, while doing some shopping at Costco, Tex turns to me and says, "You know what? The thing about wearing a cowboys hat is that it sends a message. It says to people, 'I can kick your ass.'"

"Huh. Really?" I said, "See that guy over there? The huge man wearing a tank top and overalls, who's shopping with his wife? Let me go ask him if that's the vibe he's getting from you." And as I turned toward this man, I could feel my badass husband resist the urge to tackle me to the ground because A) real cowboys wrestle calves, not their wives, and B) the man in overalls might've kick Tex's ass for kicking my ass. He did however, quietly, desperately, pleadingly beg me to come back and not talk to this man about anything.

Now if you asked him about the statement his hat makes, I think he'd just tell you that his wife made him go to the dermatologist and he's trying to avoid a sunburn.

This was the day Peyton decided to swim, "All by myself!"

Getting graceful....

....and growing confident.

Peyton snoozes after a day on the water. This wagon has a story too. Shane named her Helga. I'll tell it to you later.

Jamison turned THIRTEEN while we were there. Thirteen! Emphasis on teen. Can you believe that? He eats like it too. What I wouldn't give for the fire burning oven that is his metabolism.....

This last series of pictures I'll title The Best of Tubin'. I think the girls rode every available tube and loved them all. My favorite is the last one, which is my dad's and seemed the least likely to launch them if we hit a wake. We're raising water babies....

I had to include this one because from our perspective this is how they looked for most of the ride. Libby was having a blast and Peyton was safely tucked down so as not to get splashed in the face.

This pic is a good summary of our week. I love vacation!

Here's Why I Haven't Been Blogging....

2011-07-18T22:44:00.001-07:00

I just went through the pictures that I've already taken in July and the total is somewhere around 102, 512. That might be a slight exaggeration, but only by a few thousand. I'm so loving summer! Wait, let me clarify. I so love doing what we do in the summer, that I've not taken any time to slow down and sit with my computer. Here's a snap shot of last week's activities. More to come. And by more, I mean get yourself a snack. We're gonna be here a while....

Spacey

2011-07-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

My mom called this morning to say that she was watching the space shuttle launch on CNN. We turned it on with only a few minutes to spare and watched history being made. The last space shuttle launch for.....well......who knows. I don't know why the space program, as I've known it in my lifetime, is coming to an end. But, this was a last opportunity, and we took advantage of it. Thanks Mom.

The announcer counted down the launch and as he said "....3....2....1....", Peyton yelled (right on cue) BLAST OFF!

As we watched the shuttle climb skyward, Libby remembered two balloons that she accidentally (devastatingly) let go of in the park on the Fourth of July. She asked, "Mom, Could an astronaut get my balloons?" I liked her thinking, but explained that those balloons likely popped or came back to Earth before ever making it to space. Then, she asked, "What if they had more helium?" Maybe a future scientist...

When I told them they were watching the final launch, Libby replied, "But Jayden launches rockets." True.

When she asked how the shuttle was made, I fumbled through a list of computers, rockets, fuel and fire, she said, "I know you have to put the pointy piece on top." True again.

After the launch was over, the CNN reporters were replaying it and taking input from various experts. Peyton chimed it with, "Mom! That the gil (girl holding a microphone) on Wipe Out!" Well, not exactly, but her references are limited.

Expressive

2011-07-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

We're home from a fun 4th of July weekend, and I'll have to narrow down the pictures. I took too many. I went in to check on the girls in their beds tonight, certain that Peytie was still awake, but sure Libby had fallen asleep. I was wrong. Peyton was awake, but as I turned to leave the room, Libby quietly says, "Mom, I don't want to go to college. I just want to stay with you." Ah. Be still my beating heart. I told her she could make those decisions down the road, and that she need not lay awake worrying about that tonight. I also told her some kids go to college and live at home. We'll cross that bridge later.

Peyton isn't yet a child with so many words or worries, but she's not short on ways to express herself. I took these as she woke up at the kitchen counter this morning. Who needs words?

Irresistible, that one.

Track Town

2011-06-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Tonight, we went to....

For Oregon Track Club's first all-comers meet of the season. After all, we live in....

so, we should take advantage, right?

We started with the long jump.

Peyton's turn....

....was more of a run through, than a jump.

Then, the softball throw. Yes, that was two handed. We'll work on that.

We ended with the 60m dash.

Libby's heat. Would you look at my girl get after it!

We had so much fun and the girls loved it! Maybe the best part was that we ran into Libby's classmates, neighbors, friends and even Libby's teacher. This was our first, but it won't be our last!

Swim Lessons, Take Two

2011-06-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted about our first attempt at swim lessons here. After that experience, we decided to wait a bit and try it again later. And guess what? Good news! We're doing swim lessons this week and the girls are loving it! It helps to have Elise, who's a great instructor, but this time around my girls are totally buying in. It's so fun to watch them in their lesson....

Ready!

Hearing the rules.

Turtle crawling the wall.

A not-so-relaxed back float.

Giving chase.

Daddy's home!

Day two.

Hi Mom! Hi Dad!

Back float.

I think Peyton was cold today, because she had this look more today than yesterday. It might also be that today they did the back float a lot, and practiced flipping from their belly to their back. Awkward.

Kangaroo hops across the pool.

But she ended with this look. Success!

Let Me Clarify....

2011-06-22T18:57:00.001-07:00

Libby: Mom, now that we're home, can we run around naked?

Me: Yes, but please keep your underwear on.

(Peyton runs out of her room with underwear on her head, screaming and laughing hysterically.)

Me: When I said you need to keep your underwear on, I didn't mean wear it on your head.

Peyton: But I not doh-ing to sit down on any-ting.

Wow. Impressed again. She has a solid grasp on the reasoning behind the rule.

Summer!

2011-06-21T20:56:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't officially get her until tomorrow, but I finished my last school obligation today. Summer!

Summer Madness

2011-06-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

It's always good to be home. We stopped at Starbucks as we left Astoria this morning to get coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Libby doesn't like eggs, so I took the egg out of hers, but still she refused to eat it saying that the bread hurt her lips.

(Seriously?)

I said, "Okay, don't eat it then." The problem was that already by this time Peyton was finishing off a sucker that I'd given her after she'd eaten her sandwich. Libby knew she wasn't going to get a sucker without eating the sandwich first, so she gripped it in her hand till Portland, but just couldn't force herself to eat it. Finally, in Portland she said again, "Mom, I really want a sucker now."

"Sorry. You didn't eat your sandwich."

Silence.

Explosion: "Mom! When you don't give me what I want, I'm MAD AT YOU!"

Wow. I'm thinking those are some MAD verbal skills to put together your words, especially if you're really that mad. I'm impressed.

"Mom! When you give me what I don't want, I'm MAD! AT YOU!"

"Fair enough." I say. "I can live with that. When you act this way, and then I give you what you want, you'll become a brat. I'm not raising brats."

Make no mistake, it's not that I've never given in before. In fact, last night we ate fish and Cheez-Its in bed, while watching The Incredibles. But that was my idea, so it doesn't really count.

When we got home today we put up the bouncy house. I've been promising that we'd put it up when I got done with school. As I sit here, the girls are jumping and sliding. Occasionally, they go at it and I intervene mostly for the benefit of the neighbors.

Peyton came in the house five minutes ago and said in her most tattle-taley voice, "Mom, Libby just called me a human." Aaaahhhh, summer.

Happy Father's Day....

2011-06-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Y'know how I've not had much time for blogging in the last month? Well, I didn't come up with anything good for Father's Day this year, because instead of writing we got in the car and went to see him! He said our visit was the best gift he could've received. So instead, I'm reposting what I wrote last year, as it's all still fitting. And I'll add this.....tonight, Libby wanted to go for a bike ride around the RV park. Since Peyton rides very slowly, we stopped at one spot to let Peyton get used to riding the hills on her Strider Bike. There was a curb and I was trying to get Libby to ride off of it, an idea she wasn't crazy about. So, Shane got on her bike to show her how to do it. A bike with a peddling radius of two inches, mind you. He landed flat on his back. Twice. I think I quit breathing I was laughing so hard. His shoe even flew off both times. It was really pathetic and really funny. Libby opted not to ride off of the curb after that. Go figure.

Happy Father's Day Biker Boy. We love you.

Little Miss Sassy Pants

2011-06-17T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today was my last official day at work, though I still have a small task to complete next week. The girls played (well) in my classroom all morning and at the moment they're snitting at each other, tired of being together, not wanting to share anything. Did I mention tired and grumpy? And also, they're tired. And opinionated.

Anyway, I made them PB&J when we got home and put a few chips on their plate. When Libby counted her chips and then counted Peyton's she exploded at the sheer loathing I must hold for her, for I shorted her one chip. One. She had four. Peyton had five. Can you believe I'd do that? I'm evil through and through. I responded with, "You may have more if you eat all of those, and if I here you complain again, no chips." She complained again. I put her chips back in the bag.

Nuclear Meltdown.

Through Libby's screams, Peyton then says, "Mom, that's too LOUD, but I not doh-ing to freak out." I might have giggled.

Hiroshima.

I spent the next ten minutes explaining to her that the world isn't against her, Daddy and I do, in fact, love her very much. And though Peyton can be ~~outright funny with impeccable comedic timing~~ (cleverly) sassy, she loves you too. It's so hard to feel really big feelings. Especially the sad ones.

Oy. Over chips, people. Chips. Hellooooooo summer.

Three...

2011-06-16T22:12:00.001-07:00

Let's stroll down memory lane, wanna?

Three years ago today, I posted this.

Two years ago, this.

And last year, this.

Oh. my. baby.

She's three.

three.

...or, in her own words, "Libby, I fee!"

Schooooools Out for Summer!

2011-06-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying this.... School is OUT. O-U-T, OUT. Well, not for everyone, but it's out for my fifth graders. We had a fifth grade celebration ceremony today where all of the students received a certificate, but by far the best part was at the end of the day "clap out". The entire school, students, staff and fifth grade parents lined the hallways from our classrooms to the main doors by the office. Then, as our fifth graders walked their final walk down the hall and out the main doors everyone cheered for them. It was awesome. And it felt a little like they were cheering for me. Did I mention I just finished my first year back at school after being home with my girls? And did I also mention that I survived? I know, huh.

I work tomorrow, but it's all end-of-the-year wrapping up type stuff. Folders, clean up and I thought I might build some new shelves in my room. Now, I'm rethinking the shelves part. I think I'll do the required stuff and save shelf building for another day. It feels so good to be done.

Tonight the girls and I watched Tangled (thank you Grandpa Dad and Grandma Margie) and the girls are so exhausted I give them three minutes, tops, before they're out.

And guess what tomorrow is?! My baby turns three! She's dying to have a swim party "just like Lucy's!" so that will have to wait a few more weeks, I think. Anything that's not a swim party isn't going to cut it, I'm afraid. Someone has an opinion these days, and a strong one at that.

She's vocal too. Tonight, after both girls got a little demanding with me I explained to them that if they want something that they can get for themselves, the question should start with, "Mom, may I please have...." But, if they need me to get/do something for them, the sentence should start with, "Mom will you please do something for me?"

The second I said it, Peyton says, "Mommy will you please do something for me?" But what she wanted, she didn't know.

Then, at dinner Peyton interrupts Libby with, "Libby, you bossy to yo mudduh."

I bet you can guess how that went over. Libby was furious and on the verge of blowing her top. Sitting cross-armed in her chair (just like me 34 years before her), she was trying so hard not to lose it.

In an attempt (I think) to make her laugh, Peyton finished her little comedy routine with, "Libby, I going to poke ~~your,~~ ~~mommy's,~~ my eye." Then, she proceeded to poke herself in the eye and laugh hysterically.

Still, her audience didn't deliver like she'd hoped. I had to stifle my own laughter so as not to push Libby over the ledge, and Libby just tried not to fall off the ledge.

May

2011-06-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

I have three days with students this week, and two days without. Summer officially starts for me on Friday. I remember (like it was yesterday) how I felt when I posted this, and I was counting the days until I returned to work. Now, I'm five days away from having completed this year and getting to spend my whole summer with my family. I'm so ready for summer! I know I haven't blogged anything in a long time. But, here's a look back at May....

Libby gives Peytie a boost on one of our first (and rare) sunny days.

Before having kids this would be the oddest scene ever. Now, well....just a day in the life. Can someone please unstack the paint tower, before there's paint everywhere? Impressive though, right?

At the beginning of May we attended the first banquet ever held on the floor of the Matthew Night Arena. The banquet was held to honor women athletes who never received an athletic letter. My momma was one of many! She was honored as an athlete in tennis, track and field and basketball. Check out her name in lights!

Go Lady Ducks!

I've posted pictures like these before. But, as the girls have gotten older, they want to fly higher.

Super Peytie!

Just another wardrobe change.

Static Heads

One thing I loved about being home with the girls were slow, quiet mornings and making hot breakfasts. A few weeks ago, Libby asked for pancakes and I was happy to make them, with help.

A fun new game. Alphabet Sequence.

This picture is summary of my loss of personal space. I actually set my computer here so I could watch the girls play in the backyard, or on the trampoline. But the minute I sat down, Libby pulled her chair over and said, "Mom, I want to sit by you." And whatever Libby does, Peyton does three seconds later. And so it goes.

Neglected

2011-05-31T21:08:00.001-07:00

I love updating my blog, and lately, as the school year has been winding down, there is zero time. I have totally neglected what I love doing for what I get paid to do. Well, not totally. We just had a pretty great long weekend. Except that when I stop working for a minute, whatever cold virus has been lurking, launches a full fledged attack and I spent Sunday sneezing in bed, watching Nick Jr. with two very happy couch potatoes. For Sunday's dinner we had a can of chicken broth (which my kids loved), a can of olives, a can of peaches, a few Saltines and a handful of M&Ms. Go ahead. Judge. They loved it. Tonight, I'm so stinkin' tired that it just took me about ten attempts to spell the word neglected correctly.....and the rambling voicemail I left for the parent of one of my students today.....yikes. I'll apologize for that tomorrow.

I'll wrap it up with some of Libby's artwork from her school's art show (a month ago). She loved the idea of pricing her art to sell, and made some serious attempts to get Nelson to spring a few bucks for one of her pieces. Nelson didn't buy, but a few more beers and he might've. We'll get him next year. We're raising quite the little ~~entrepenure~~ ~~entrapeneur~~ ~~entrepeneur~~ business woman. And her business venture was a success in the end. Grandpa Dad and Grandma Margie paid the full twenty bucks for her piece "Lucy's Lake". Sorry Amy. We'll try to get her to recreate it.

I have so many postings I'm behind on. two more weeks and I'll have all kinds of time on my hands to do it! I'll leave you with this....

Tonight we went to Costco and I bought the first collection of BOB books for Libby. On the way home she said, "But mom, I don't know how to read."

"I'll teach you, Babe. After all, it's what I do. Remember? I'm a......."

(I really was trying to get her to say "teacher" here.)

Instead, she replied, "genius!"

My heart swelled. My kid thinks I'm a genius. I don't even know how she knows that word, but I'm not going to push it. Then, she followed up with this little gem....

"Mom, you're a genius, and that rhymes with penis!"

See. She's totally ready to read.

Snailicide

2011-05-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Last summer Libby wouldn't touch anything that crawled. She wouldn't go to sleep if there was a fly buzzing in the room, and if a bee came into our driveway she'd bolt into the house. Don't even get me started on her fear of dragonflies. I think it must've be the name. Dragon flies. Needless to say, she wasn't a fan.

It seems she's had a change of heart. She and Peyton like to pick up snails, touch their eyes and get cups for them to crawl in. Cups that, I might add, go through two cycles in the dishwasher.

So you can imagine my surprise as we got out of the car the other day, when Libby picked up a snail in the driveway, pulled its shell apart, dropped the poor, slimy creature at her feet and said, "There. That snail should be dead in no time."

"Um, yeah. But was that really necessary?"

A Day of Royalty

2011-05-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

The Sunday after the royal wedding I watched it on fast forward, slowing at the important parts (like the first glimpse of Kate's dress), and speeding through others (like the actual I dos). For me, it was entertainment. I had two sets of little eyes watching with me and taking it all in. Later that afternoon I found Libby having a royal moment of her own......

.....still in her pajamas. Our little princess nonetheless.

And later playing with snails with her sister. Ah, the life of a royal.

Professional Opportunity

2011-05-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Long ago Libby made the decision to be a "doctor for kids". We love our pediatrician who's a woman, and probably a week ago while we drove, Libby asked, "Mom, can boys be doctors?" I smiled at the notion that in her four year old mind it's never occurred to her that girls wouldn't have the opportunity to become doctors. Lately, she's vacillating between wanting to be a doctor and a gymnastics teacher. I'm pushing the pediatrician angle, but keeping in mind that she'll change her mind at least a thousand times before settling on a career. Even then, maybe she'll have two, even three careers. Who knows? It's a good time to be a girl.

On our way home from dinner tonight we spotted a very bright rainbow to the east and we kept tabs on it as we drove. Peyton said, "Mom! I going to slide down rainbows! I going to be a fishing guide, a doctor and a rainbow slider!" Yep, it's a good time to be a girl.

A Victory for Mothers Everywhere

2011-05-08T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is a shout out to mothers everywhere. Especially those who have eyes in the back of their head....

Peyton walked by me with these in her hand the other day. I acknowledged her absentmindedly at first, but then somewhere deep within me a siren sounded, red lights flashed and I was suddenly hyper-alert of my immediate surroundings.

"Hey Peytie. Whatcha doin?"

"I going to play huh tut (hair cut) with Libby."

"Um, but you're not, k? Please go put the scissors away."

While she stood there letting my words sink in, I snapped a quick picture to remember this as The Moment I Saved Her Sister. Libby, you're welcome. I can probably hang this over your head until you're at least eighteen. Maybe longer.

Easter a Little Late

2011-05-05T19:14:00.000-07:00

Here's a look back at a very quick Easter weekend....

Trampoline Battle. Saturday was warm and beautiful, so we took in the warm weather at the Dover house.

Weeeeeeee......

Peytie helped with cleanup after making the bunny cake.

Heading for the hunt on Easter morning.

I've said it before.... The boys are so good to our girls.

It's on!

The few minutes that the hunt went on were the only minutes that the girls let down their guard and forgot about the Hare of Holy Terror. Aside from that, they spent every moment making sure they had him squarely on their radar so as not to let him get within a two mile radius. They really want to like the Easter Bunny. They see how the other kids love him and hug him. But alas, they really hate him.

If you look closely, he really does look a little menacing. Not to mention, he put jawbreakers in the eggs for the 1-3 year olds. I mean jawbreakers? He did it last year, too. Perhaps he's a little more dangerous than all you Easter optimists want to admit?

Jayden got an egg marked with red tape, so he got to pick from bigger prizes. He chose a lacrosse set and opened it on the spot.

Later that day we had dinner and another egg hunt at my mom's. Shane looked high and low.

We got home on Sunday a little after 10:00. This little bunny was pooped.

Anginas?

2011-05-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

Mom, why don't girls have penises?

Well, because. Our bodies are made differently. Boys have penises, but girls have vaginas.

At this point Libby gets busy on something else and appears to have ignored me.

Hey. Did you hear my answer to your question?

Yes.

Well, what did I say?

You said no.

I said what?

You said no.

I said no to what?

You said no, girls don't have penises.

Right, but that wasn't your question. You asked me why they don't have penises, right?

Right.

And what was my answer?

Girls don't have penises, because they have bazinas.

Uh, no.

They have albinas?

close enough.