Thursday, July 31, 2008

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

what would you do? and a recipe.

Going back to work in about 3 weeks. Not sure if I want my students/parents to have public access to my blog (i.e. not sure if I want to censor everything....not that I say anything bad, but it's nice that I can....) Not sure whether to make blog private or what. Any thoughts? I want to be able to share pictures, but also to share stories, and more importantly say bad words if I need to. Plus, I'm sure a student will do something incredibly share-worthy. You know, like the time the cutest kid, a kindergartener at the time, said to me in the morning, "Mrs. W, you are one of the greatest women I've ever met," then in the afternoon said to me, "You are the worst music teacher in this school." (A real low blow since I was the only one at the time). Then what?

What would you do?

An easy peasy chicken dinner from last night:
Crock pot. Frozen chicken breasts. Can of cheddar cheese soup. Jar of salsa. Cook it up on low for an afternoon, or however long. Serve with Mexican rice, some refried beans, and a Corona. Delicioso.

Wordless Wednesday


Tuesday, July 29, 2008

5 faves

I was tagged by Kami to list the 5 favorite things of our house right now. (Sorry it took me so long!) So....without further ado....

Owen and Henry's Five Favorite Things

1. Wow! Toys. We have the fire truck (pictured), the airplane (both which we got from E, and we recently aquired the bumpy tractor and the mini-van from GaGa. The boys are crazy about these toys. They don't need batteries, they just GO! They have little people and animals that come with them. I keep finding the people everywhere. H keeps putting his in the fridge water dispenser tray. I keep taking it out, and it keeps appearing back there. Tonight, Owen spent 30 minutes taking the sheep in and out of the mini-van. My favorite is the kayak that comes with the mini-van. Awesome.

2. Sesame Street, and in particular, THIS sketch. No idea why, but they love it. I couldn't find "Baa Baa Bamba" on youtube, but that's another major favorite. And of course, Elmo.

3. Bike riding. We have started taking the boys on bike rides around the 'hood. They love it. Every once in a while, one of them will get off the bike and whine. Todd and I will yell "SWITCH!" and they do and seem satisfied until the next incident. Owen gets off and pushes his bike down hills while Henry just goes full tilt yelling "weeeeeee!" the whole way. They ride these bikes, which they got from GaGa and Papa for their birthday:

4. Pizza. "AHpizza" as Owen calls it. They love it. And Domino's Cinna-Stix. They have to fight me for them, though.

5. Me. Can you blame them??
PS. THIS IS MY 300th POST!!!

TT (9)

"Why does this goldfish
Feel freezing and taste funny?
And what is this fuzz?
Oh, I see the problem now.
It came from the A.C. vent."


-Written by Henry

Monday, July 28, 2008

New do's

Here are the boys playing in the spaceship at the park today. Not the greatest pics, but you can see their new haircuts. Sign 'em up!

mommy bootcamp the third

Man are my shoulders sore! It was rough going getting up today after a week of no bootcamp. But I did it. And survived. But I am always dead last when we run. And really, any other activity too. Dead last.

We thought the boys should look like they were going to bootcamp too, so we gave them haircuts yesterday. Pictures coming tonight. Stay tuned.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Richmond Fun

We spent a few days in Richmond this week so we could meet our cousin, Sophie! WHAT A CUTIE!!! The boys created her new nickname and I am pretty sure this one will stick. Sorry, MIMI!

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We had a lot of fun at GaGa and PaPa's house. We were lucky to be able to play on with this cool table:

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We also had a blast playing in the backyard "pool":

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Mimi and Henry enjoyed taking turns in the bouncy seat. H was reminiscing.

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We met our friend Abby at the squirty fountain at the mall. It was soooo fun!

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Great Grandma came to visit on Tuesday and Wednesday with Aunt Lynn, Cousin Courtney, Aunt Meriann and Uncle Scott. It was so great to see them.

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We went down to the James River to check out their playground with GaGa. Here are the boys taking different perspectives of the blue spinny thing:

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Owen and me sticking our feet in and Todd and Henry (aka GROUCHY) doing the same:

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GaGa and the boys going to the river, and GaGa and Owen coming back from the river, deep in discussion:

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Survivor: Backyard, and Henry loves blueberries:

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On Friday, Scott, Meriann, and Courtney invited us to Busch Gardens. It was awesome. We had such a great time with them!!!! (And we can't wait to go camping! And on the boat! And in the hot tub! And.....)

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Here's Scott and Henry at the dinosaur eggs:

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Here's Henry, dying for a big white polar bear from the softball-in-the-jug game. The next picture is Todd pushing the big white polar bear in the stroller. Yay Todd! (Disclaimer: Todd didn't win it. This wonderfully nice couple watched us blow $30 at the booth and gave us theirs. So nice. We LOVE our charity bear!)

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How to Look your Best in Photos

When having professional photos taken, here is some advice for you.
1. Bring sippy cup. Drink at every possible moment.

2. Always keep eyes half open.

3. Definitely give mean stares to everyone you can.

4. Be pissed.

5. Hide behind anything you can. The effect is even better when closing eyes.

Tuesday update

For those of you looking for an update on little Tuesday....she had surgery this week and starts chemo today. She has been in a lot of pain, but her wonderful family is positive she will pull through this. If you want to donate money to this family you can click one of the links on my sidebar for t-shirts and for paypal donations. Also, if there is another way you'd like to help, please email me at jwaldrop23 at yahoo dot com. We have a number of activities going on that you can help with if you want. Here is a picture of TuTu and her twin, Piper, on the piano:

teaser

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Tuesday needs help.

OK, we need some good vibes, prayers, whatever you personally call it sent to a very special little girl in Colorado. Her name is Tuesday and she was just diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer. We have met this lovely little lady and her beautiful family before and I consider Tuesday's Mom to be one of my closest friends.

I know she can beat this.

Updated picture....here is Tuesday last night in the oncology playroom. As her Mom said, "She is too cute to be sick!!"

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Mark your calendars!

Save The Date!
Saturday, August 2nd
9:00 AM
Ashburn Park (The Dinosaur Park!)
Will Play For Food
Bring a food item to benefit a local food bank.
Together, we can teach our children to help others.
BE A FEEDER!!!

Click here for the original Will Play For Food site.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

interesting

Which Famous Artist Are You?

You are Andy Warhol. Your artistic talent became clear at an early age. As a result, you are still developing your talent now, chasing the dream. A big fan of commercial art, you see greatness in the ordinary.

Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

WOW.

I am cleaning out the camera to get ready for our visit with Sophie and here are some gems I recovered. First is the boys playing with Grandma Estelle's silk cloths. I am making the boys pillows out of some of them, and beanbags out of others. Well, that's the plan anyway. I love the look on Owen's face right after he pulled the cloth off of his face.

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And here are some eating pictures. The boys stuffed their faces with applesauce bread (thanks to audrey for the recipe!)

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We had pizza tonight, and the boys loved it. Here is Owen saying "cheese!" to me, and Henry saying "Cheese!" to his pizza.

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Bathtub woes

I took an epsom salt bath. It was a humiliating experience. But it actually did help my symptoms. Unfortunately, shoving my fat ass into a m...