Golf and Squirrels

What was just supposed to be a three-hole golf outing for Georgia and Chris, ended up being a family affair when Brody found out that they were planning to go out....golfing....without him. He ran and got his clubs and stood by the door, so we all had to go (Mom kinda had plans with the couch and the Tivo).

The kids putted, Georgia and Chris played, and I got to chase Brody chasing the squirrels.

Bunny Stalker

I think I have a wild bunny stalking me. Last week, I thought that since it was nice out, I would mow the lawn before the weekend. I'm going along and see a bunny hop directly out of my path and I think, good, I didn't run it over. Then I hear this food processor sound coming from the mower and see all these bunny guts. I killed the bunny's brother. So for the next few days I keep seeing this bunny in the front yard whenever I drive up the driveway. Everyday, in the same spot, with his little beady, accusatory eyes. Then last night, we are all in the basement and I hear this thumping noise. The bunny has jumped into the window well and is hitting the window. Chris, being the city person that he is, doesn't want to get it out until the morning. This of course means that he will just leave it in there until it reaches its inevitable end. I am usually the designated critter person, unless it is roaches. It is dark out and I have no wish to crawl out there with all of the spiders so I leave it alone. About ten minutes later, Georgia says that she can't concentrate on the computer because the bunny is looking at her. Sure enough, it had its little bunny paws pressed up against the glass. Stalker! After my easily excitable kids stopped screaming, I had to devise some way to free the little guy. The winning combination involved a rope, a bucket and a broom. I guess I made amends with him for murdering his brother, because he hasn't been back. That, or the dog ate him.

One Fish, Two Fish

This evening we had a great time fishing one of the water hazards on the golf course. The club held a Fishing Derby for the kids and they all had a blast. Both Brody and Georgia got new rods for the occasion, Lightning McQueen and Barbie, respectively. Chris had showed them both how to cast in the driveway, and Georgia was pretty good at it. Her practice payed off, as she pulled in two 14 inch bass fish. She was super-excited, but did not want to touch either of them.

Brody ended the evening with his fish, a perch of some kind that was about 7 inches. He didn't know quite what to make of it and did not want to pose with it!

This was a catch and release trip, although Georgia did ask if we could take them home and eat them. Both kids received new packs of bobbers as prizes, which was good, since mom did not get those when she got the rods.

First Day of Kindergarten

We now have a kindergartener in the house. Yesterday was her first official day and Georgia put a lot of time and energy into picking out her outfit and her lunch. I did have to gently recommend that the sequin play belt (from one of my old dance costumes), while fashionable, was probably over-accessorizing for school.

I am very proud of her and so excited that she is going to have all these fun days ahead of her. Chris was a little sad, but then she is "his girl." We all walked down to the bus stop to wait for the bus.....and waited......and waited......and waited. We eventually just drove her to school. This was a let down for her, because she really wanted to ride the bus and equates it with being big and not being a little kid.

Bus drama aside, she had a good first day, made lots of friends, learned how to "be safe" and was enthusiastic about returning the next day. Being naive, I thought that this was a successful day, but I noticed a look on her face in the rear-view mirror. She was a little miffed that her school supplies had to stay at school and that she could not keep them in her backpack--even the fancy pink scissors. That is a bummer.

So after making two calls to the transportation department, and getting two different answers, I was assured that the bus would be at the stop today. It did, and she got on and waved goodbye. There goes our big girl.

Bye Mama

Although today was a big day in our house with Georgia starting Kindergarten, Brody also had his first day away at Mother's Morning Out. I wasn't sure how he would do, because lately he has been hanging on to me like the little monkey that he is.
Poor Mom. He just walked in, got out some trains, turned around and said, "Bye, Mama."

No More Lipstick Stains

All I have to say today is thank goodness for Kleen Rite Carpet Cleaning. They were unsure if all of my little picasso's artwork would come up, but I once again have undecorated beige carpet in the hallway. Is it weird that new looking carpet can make you happy? It is like my life before I had kids. My dad has always said that when you have children, you should have cement floors and a drain. I think that he is right. It may be ugly, but would certainly be less stressful.

Revlon Revenge

You know that it is going to be a bad day when the drama starts before 7:30am. I think that a two year-old's developmental gift of exploring (i.e. making messes) is there totally to drive a parent crazy. Brody is a quiet explorer. As I was putting away laundry early this morning, I noticed that I had not heard him in a few minutes. He then ran in our room with a wildly excited look on his face and reddish brown stains on his hands. I realized that the shade looked familiar and that he had secreted a lipstick out of my bathroom drawer. I saw the devastation behind him in the hallway...large amounts of lipstick on the stairway spindles and the carpet. After my small shrieking fit which brought Chris up from the basement pretty quickly, I guess Brody knew he was in trouble. "Mess", he said. Mess indeed. I need caffeine.

Brody Turns Two

My baby is fast becoming a little boy. He is growing and growing, measuring 35 inches tall and weighing 27 pounds at his last doctor's appointment. He is talking more coherently now and often takes it up a few octives when you are trying to understand what he said, and he thinks that you are ignoring him. He turned two today with a tiny "Cars-themed" party for the four o us. My efforts at making a Lightning McQueen cake were not so bad, even though Georgia swore the icing looked more pink than red. So out come the red sprinkles and a really red car appears. We even got fancy and had both vanilla and chocolate cake. His big sister blew out his candles because he was not moving fast enough, but he enjoyed both flavors of cake and continued to sneak more icing after he was finished.

Brody had a great time opening presents and was super-excited by all the building, car and train sets. I don't know why we keep buying things with multiple pieces, but I guess all toys come that way now and we should just give up wanting an orderly house. They seem to all want to co-mingle, so I think I need to let the toys do what they want to do and stop trying to seperate them into cute colored bins. Of course when I step on one, I just want to gather them all up and placed them in that large colored bin in the garage.

Rainy Day Birthday

The kids just looked cute today, so we took pictures on the porch and watched the rain.

Chicago

We checked out Chicago for the first time since moving here (excluding O'Hare). Our hotel was all modern and hip and was right across the street from Lake Michigan. We did a lot of walking through neighborhoods and I can easily say that I could live there--which says a lot. I think Chris and I are really big city people, despite his growing up in the suburbs of Dallas and me in my tiny cow town. The food and the variety was the best we have had since moving to Illinois. We of course tried the deep dish, and I have to say I am still a thin crust kind of girl. I actually had authentic Cajun--the gumbo tasted like I was in the Big Easy. Super Yum!!!

We went to the Science and Industry Museum which was really interesting, and checked out Navy Pier and the zoo. Brody made friends through the glass with a baby gorilla that was exactly his size and was in the mood to play. There was a lot of mutual teasing going on, so I guess babies will be babies. I dont think that he could believe his eyes and we had a hard time getting our little monkey out of that exhibit.

The kids and I had a blast checking out the Magnificent Mile, which would not have been complete without a trip to the American Girl Store. For those of you who don't know about this, it is three stories of dolls, clothes for dolls, clothes for your daughter that match the dolls, and even a doll salon. Georgia's eyes were about to come out of their sockets there was so much to see. The frenzied looks and squeals from all the little girls compared to the bored, uninterested expressions of their brothers sitting at various places around the store was quite comical.

The Fourth of July fireworks were very cool, although we almost missed them taking a short cut that turned out to be not so short and ended up in a locked parking garage. I am sorry to say that I live with a bunch of over-reactors (and that is all that I am going to say about that).