POOL is OPEN!!!

FINALLY!  Jeremiah has been saying, "pool! pool! pool!" for weeks now, waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to open it so he can go in.  So Saturday, we seized the opportunity, with a beautiful, warm day just waiting for us!  

Jeremiah was so excited, he didn't care how cold the water was, he just wanted to go in!  Jesslyn, on the other hand, is a little lady, and like her Mommy, was not pleased with the temperature of the water.  Jeremy tried to take her in, and she was still crying by the time he carried her up the stairs for me to hold.  Awww...

I was quite impressed with Jeremiah's swimming skills this year.  Last year, we bought him a floaty suit thingie, so he could learn to balance in the water himself, but he wasn't quite ready for that yet.  This year, however, he's become a regular fish!  By the time we left, he was walking down the steps into the water and swimming over to Daddy like he'd been doing it all summer!  My little man--such a big boy now!  

And Jesslyn... well, she was perfectly happy sitting on a blanket with me.  :)  So the gals chilled poolside while the boys froze their bums off.  Sounds like a good day.  :)

How to suck your thumb:  By Jesslyn Wilcox

Insert thumb (left or right, doesn't matter...) into mouth.

Hand may be opened or closed--your preference.

When switching sides, be sure to gently remove thumb from mouth, first.

Commence sucking.  

The end. :)

"That?"  I think he was pointing at the boat across the pool.

Climbing out, all by himself, with a fishy in hand (it's actually supposed to help warm the water, but it was too breezy that day to use it.)

"It's not cold--see how happy we look???!"

Swimming all by himself.  What a big boy!

Jesslyn preferred to crawl around and be cute on the blanket.

"It's too cold to swim, Mommy.  Why did Daddy take me in?  It was too cold!"

"Okay, I feel better now.  The sun is nice and warm."

"Aww, c'mon Mommy, I don't wanna pose..."

Not for the quesy...

I've got some fun pool pics coming, but for now, here's what Big Fella was up to tonight.  At some point, he found a bird, killed it, and then begged to come in the house to eat it.  Well, that wasn't happening!  So he sat there.... and ate it in front of us.... Well, not all of it.  Just the head.... Gross. 

Umm.... yeah, kinda graphic.  Not for the bird lovers.   

Part 2

A Day at the Farm

This is the weather I've been waiting for!  Sunny, warm (lower 80's) just slightly breezy.  A perfect day to head to the farm!

For those of you who don't know, we live right across the street from Frying Pan Farm and Park.  It's owned by the county, so totally free to get in, but also has an actual working farm on it, complete with lots of animals and crops and tractor rides throughout (which I have yet to do, and it appears that the price has gone up, so we'll see if we get around to it...)  

On Wednesday mornings, from May - October, they have a Farmer's Market with a bunch of different vendors.  It started last week, I think, but today was our first chance to get out there and check it out so we did!  And I must say, I think it's going to be even better this year than in years past (at least the two seasons we've been here.)  Before, there was one of each vendor--one guy each selling veggies, fruit, meat, bread, herbs and spices/dips.  Now there's another 'goody' vendor (mostly cookies, cakes, muffins, etc,) and I think TWO other veggie vendors.  This is good, for me at least, because I didn't care for the produce from the veggie vendor that was there before.  And they're all priced the same (they kinda have to...) so I can go around and find the best of the best.  Looking forward to it!

Of course, we had to stop and play on the playgrounds, which were a little busy, but I've seen them busier (so I'm guessing most of the crowds had left for lunch, since it was after noon.)  It's really neat to see Jeremiah on the playground this year, because when we first started going, he would need help just walking up the steps to go down the slide.  Then he was able to do the slide on his own.  Now, he can do so much more!  But he's still very passive and cautious--if someone pushes him out of the way to go down the slide ahead of him, he just sits there and waits until he has a chance.  This frustrates me as his Mommy, of course.  If he's playing fairly, why can't the other kids?!  But alas, there's little I can do except applaud Jeremiah for being such a good sport and waiting his turn!  

Jesslyn could really care less about being there.  She kinda kept freaking out when I would go help Jeremiah with something, probably thinking I was going to leave her in her stroller alone.  So I had to carry her around most of the time, which was okay.  She did like the "walk" part of our trip, until it was encroaching on her lunchtime.  Then she'd had enough!  So we came home....

But not before we stopped to look at some animals!  I usually do this on the way out, since we got there near the end of the farmer's market.  We didn't stay very long, though...  Went to look at the piglets that were newly born, and Jeremiah sorta freaked because the bench they had to stand on was really wobbly, and I'm sure he thought he was going to fall off.  I had to keep my hands on him the entire time!  And Jesslyn, once again, thought I was leaving her, so I had to hold her, Jeremiah, and the camera, trying to shoot some pics and videos of everything.  Yesh.  

After the piggies, we looked at the baby goats and cows.  One of them "sneezed" (I think it was a sneeze) that kinda sounded like a fart (that's the best way I can think of to describe it, but I don't think it was...) and that made Jeremiah laugh.  :)  The sheep, though, not so much.  He was fine for a little bit, watching them walk in the pen, and baaa-ing.  But then he got down, waiting for me to put him back in the stroller, and was startled when the sheep gave a great big "BAAA!"  Yeah... if you know Jeremiah and how he is with loud noises, you know he didn't like that one bit.  

So that was the end of our trip to the farm!  At this point, I was once again carrying both kids (one crying and starting to make the other cry,) and trying to push a stroller.  As soon as we got outside, I tried to strap 'em in for the walk home, but Jeremiah could still hear the sheep and was not happy about it.  I was finally able to get them both in, and we were on our way.  I don't think Jeremiah was ever so happy to leave the farm.

"Get me outta this stroller!"

"What's going on over there?"  Checking out the Farmer's Market.

"Mommy, I'm too busy to stop so you can take a picture! Just let me play!"

Here, he realizes that there's "stuff" all over the "rocks" and he doesn't like it.  I had to help him up so he didn't have to touch anything.  So silly!

"WHEEE!!!!"

Checking out the piggies on a wobbly bench.  He is smiling right here, though, since I had one hand on him.

I know many a Mom's who can relate to what this mother pig is feeling, I'm sure... The video is funny, as at one point, they all stop, like they had just noticed we were there, and were watching us... Kinda creepy, actually.

The offensive goat. :)

Looking at the sheep, not too sure if he likes those "baaas" or not...

This is immediately post-BAAA!  You can see the fear on his face, as he breaks into a yell and cries the whole way out... My poor little man...

NYC!!! HOLA!

That's "hola" as in "holler" but with an "a" at the end...  

There was a time when I didn't know that, either...

Wow, what a trip!  It was such a blast.  Here's the play by play.

Saturday morning, 1:30 a.m.

Go to bed.

5:30 a.m.

Wake up, stumble around, shower, pack last minute things, make "London Fog" (that's what Starbucks calls it, at least.  It's just Earl Grey tea with milk and sugar.  And my version cost less than $.50.  $4 a drink? I don't think so.)

6:15 a.m.

Kiss husband/kids goodbye (kids still sleeping...)  Drive down to end of pipestem; wait for travelling buddies.

6:25 a.m. 

Wonder if anyone's going to show up.

6:28 a.m.

Wonder if I missed an email that said to meet somewhere else.

6:30 a.m.

Liz and Uyen show up, followed by Shelley and Kristen shortly thereafter.  Load up, drive off!

7:00 a.m. 

Arrive in D.C., park, wait in Bolt Bus area.

7:05 a.m.

Run with Liz and Uyen to Starbucks for coffee.  Yes, I've quit Starbucks, but for someone who's used to getting up at 8:30 instead of 5:30, coffee with shots of espresso necessary for survival.

7:15 a.m.

Still waiting in line at Starbucks... okay, people, let's not have lengthy conversations with the baristas... And baristas, stop flirting with the clientele and make my &$%#@-ing drink!  

I did say I'm not normally up at 5:30 in the morning...

7:20 a.m.

Get drink, add lots of milk and sugar, run across street to board Bus.  Thankfully, it's still there.

7:30 a.m.

We're on our way!

7:35 a.m. 

Driver explains the rules of the Bolt Bus.  No drinking alcohol unless you have enough to share.  Make sure to wipe the seat if "your aim is less than perfect." No removing of shoes from ripe feet.  Got it.

9-ish a.m.

Coffee has struck, must use bathroom on board.  Aim is fine, no need to clean anything.  However, Purell dispenser is empty.  Mine is on diaper bag (did not bring!) Thankfully, Uyen came prepared.  Crisis averted.

10-ish a.m.

Driver stops at rest stop in Jersey.  Since it's Jersey, I stay on bus. ;) 10 minutes later, back on road.

11:30 a.m.

Arrive in NYC!  Unload, thank driver, get bag, fight crowd on sidewalks.

Noonish

Unload at hotel, take a breather, plan route on subway map to CHINATOWN!

12:45-ish?

Head out to subway, find right train, board.

1:00

Arrive in Chinatown.  Walk towards dim sum restaurant.  Avoid crowds/vendors on sidewalks.

1:15

Arrive at Jing Fong restaurant.

1:17

Seated in restaurant.  There is a couple seated with us--both from Europe.  One from Germany, one from Sweden? I think? Food begins arriving immediately.  

1:20

Eat.  Mmm.... soooooo good.  

At this point, lost track of time.  Eventually, we're all stuffed, and leave the restaurant.  I learn that Kristen wants to stop and buy a handbag (y'know, the Chinatown kind.  :)  At some point during the walk, Kristen turns around and starts following this little Asian guy down the street.  We follow, and it seems like we're walking forever.  They disappear around the corner, and we see they've gone into a shop.  But the shop is empty, for the most part.... (And I'm thinking, "What the heck is going on?")  We follow him into the backroom of the shop, and he opens a door in the wall (didn't look like a door--looked like part of the wall,) out come several gals, so that's reassuring.  He takes us down a dark staircase, and opens another door.  On the other side is a room, probably about 12 x 12, if that, full of people (30?) and handbags covering the walls.  Woah!  It was pretty crowded, so I stay with Kristen while everyone else heads back upstairs.  Most people in the room follow suit, and it's a more comfortable space to move in.  We shopped a while--Kristen found a couple of "Coach" bags, and I found a "Dooney" that was nice.  Score!  We go to leave, and have to wait for one of the "sales" guys with a walky talkie to unlock the door.  We emerge, alive and well, with our new bags, and continue on our NYC adventure!

Sometime later...

Take subway back up to Time Square.  Walk around a bit, try to figure out Central Park is walking distance away.  Kristen stops to ask cute cop for directions. ;) He lies and says it's only 10 minutes up, but we don't know any better, so we head on our way.  (We're not sure exactly how long it took, since we stopped in a few shots to check out the souvies, but it definitely took longer than 10 minutes.  Also noticed t-shirts were 7 for $10.99...

4:30-ish. 

Arrive at Central Park.  Enter park, find soft place to sit--sit on rocks.  Relax.  Ahhh...

4:45

Start to leave park, take subway back to Time Square; walk back to hotel.

5:15

Arrive in room, take few moments to relax before getting ready for dinner.

6:15

Supposed to be downstairs 5 minutes ago.  No time to ask front desk to make up pull out bed, or bring more conditioner (yes, I meant to do those two things, and was irritated with myself for not getting down there in time to do so.)

6:17

Try to hail cab, little luck.

6:18

Car service car pulls up, says he'll take all 5 of us for $20 (cabs should only take 4, so it was a good deal) Liz and Kristen, (I think?) pile in front seat, rest of us in back.  

6:30

Arrive at Eatery NYC for dinner, with a 6:30 reservation!

6:45

Finally able to order, waiting for food.

7:05

Food arrives, we devour.  It was good, but nothing worth writing about. :)

7:30

Time to leave--gals going to 9 to 5, I'm off to the Rock!

7:33

Friends to meet have not yet arrived, other gals catch a cab and head to theater (though I'm told they gave up on the cab ride after 10-15 minutes of going nowhere, and proceeded to walk the rest of the way on foot.  Thankfully, theater was pretty close.)

7:37

Paul & Fabienne arrive, and off we go!

8-ish

Sun begins to set, and we arrive in Rockerfeller center.  It's very pretty.  

8:30

At the top of the Rock!  The view is breathtaking--cameras don't do it justice.  You'd need an Omni screen, or an IMAX to get the scale and feel right, at a minimum!  It was awesome!  I tried to get some steady shots, but nighttime is tough with a camera.  Finally figured out to use the top of the binocular thingies to steady the shot.

9:15

Wonder how far away Empire State Building is, if the view is any better, and how long it would take to get there.....

9:20

Leave the Rock, start heading towards Empire State Building!

9:45

Arrive at Empire State Building.  Not as crowded as originally thought.  Should be up there quickly.

9:55

Get off elevator at 80th floor (still 6 more to go, but that's a different elevator. Boring ride by the way... Rock was better.)  Get in back of HUGE line... start to worry about time.

10:10

Halfway through line, still worrying about time.

10:13

Staff guy announces elevator line will take about 30 minutes.  Or, the stairs are open.  Only 6 flights.  Should take 2-3 minutes.  We leave the line.

10:14

Up first flight of stairs.  Piece of cake.

10:15

Up 2nd flight.  Not too bad, I can do this.

10:16

Up 3rd flight.  Really?  3 more?? Grrr...

10:17

Up 4th flight... Omigosh, this sucks.

10:18

Up 5th flight.  Only one more! You can do this!

10:19

Start 6th flight.  Legs burning.  Look up, and 6th is really 6th and 7th and 7.5th!  What a scam! 

10:21

Exit staircase.  Force to climb 4 more steps to viewing level.  %$&@#!!! 

10:22

Catch breath, see view (through crowds of people,) have to catch breath again.  ;)

Eh, it's no better than the Rock.  Still awesome, though.  But way more crowded, with far less space for all the hundreds of people trying to look.  Really windy.

10:28

Watch seagull flying over head.

10:29

Watch said seagull use the air above our heads as a toilet.  Crowd goes, "Woah!!!!!" and duck for cover.  Wind blows seagull poop away.

10:30-ish.

Hear from gals at show, but between wind and reception, hard to hear what's going on.  Decide to leave ESB.

10:45

Legs hurt.  Tired of walking all day, yet still feeling energized.  Stop in Walgreens to buy gatorade.  Tastes so good.

11:00 

Arrive back at hotel.  Roommate isn't feeling well.  Off to corner deli for drugs (Pepto Bismol and such.)

Sunday, 12 a.m.

Chat about show, Mommy hood and who knows what else with roommate. 

1 a.m.

Get in bed, read gossip magazines, still chatty.

1:30 a.m.

Sleepy time.

8:30 a.m.

Wake up, throw clothes on, head downstairs to get good table for breakfast.  Eat.

9:35 a.m.

Get in line for elevator... It takes forever to show up.

9:45 a.m.

Head back to room, shower, pack, leave.  Receive text message from Jeremy that swine flu confirmed in the city.  Remind everyone to thoroughly wash hands.  Eyes roll.  :)

10:40 a.m. (I think.)

Uyen and Liz split from us to get ready to catch bus.  Kristen, Shelley and I get on subway to go to Staten Island Ferry.

11:20 a.m.

Arrive at Staten Island Ferry terminal.

11:30 a.m.  

Ride ferry across river.  Feel wind blow through hair, bask in warmth from sun,  take pictures of Statue of Liberty.
  

12:00 p.m.

Disembark.  Get Slush Puppies (I got red! I think it was supposed to be watermelon, but it just tasted like sugar water.) Wait for ferry to take us back.

12:30 p.m. 

Back on ferry.  Enjoy view from other side of the ferry.  Get hot dogs and nachos to munch on en-route.

1:00 

Back at the terminal.  Start schleping to subway.  

1:15 

On subway.  Plan to buy cheap t-shirts in Time Square, then head back to hotel for bags before getting bus.

1:30 

Arrive in Time Square.  Packed out.  Takes a while to walk through crowds.  Running out of time.

1:40

Shelley and Kristen head back to hotel to get bags.  I look up, t-shirt place is two blocks away.  Buy shirts quickly and head back down towards bus.  Buy hot nuts along the way (will later almost choke on said nuts... but I survive.  Ha ha, nuts!)

2:10 p.m.

Arrive at Bolt Bus stop.  Load up, find seat.  Kristen and I go for NYC slice before leaving. Mmm... pizza.

2:25

Back on bus with slice in hand (well, in a box, but you get the idea.)

2:30

Bus leaves.  Back to DC!

2:45

Stop somewhere downtown.  Another stop.  Boo.  Use stop as opportunity to get book from suitcase.  Yay for reading material!

3:00

NOW we're headed to DC!  Driver relays rules whilst in Lincoln Tunnel.  On this ride, we can tap on driver's shoulder and whisper in his ear to ask him to raise/lower temperature on bus.  Guys, no such luck.  :P  

7:00

We obey rules and arrive in Washington DC!  

7:15

Leave bus terminal.  Parking only $10?!?!?  Sweet.  Drive home.

7:40

Arrive home, Kristen and Shelley get their things.  Goodbyes are said, and I go in to see my kids/hubby.  Amazingly, house is still standing, kids aren't filthy, and they're even dressed!  House is even picked up, and front lawn mowed.  Awwwww.....

Glad to be home.  Had an awesome time, but missed my family.  It's good to be home. :)

Final thoughts:

~I will definitely do the Rock again.  Empire State?  Ehh... maybe.  But only if I were willing to pay extra to go up the additional 20 stories.  That might be cool.  But it was too crowded and not well organized, so the "experience" wasn't as nice as at the Rock.  Plus, the Rock had this cool light room that sensed where you were in the room and lite up accordingly.  It was like being in a video game.... 

~We're quite proud of ourselves for figuring out how to navigate via subway, but weren't very happy they diverted some of the trains we wanted to take.... We managed, but it was a pain.  Oh well.

~The dim sum was AWESOME!  Will definitely be back for that.  And store-bought/frozen just isn't the same.  No comparison.

~Uhh... I got the handbag bug!  Will have to stop in Chinatown again for more bags! Hey, I don't even care if they're not the "real" thing.  Since I can't afford the "real" thing, I don't mind having something that at least LOOKS nice (and, as far as I can tell, is pretty well made.)

~Central Park definitely demands more time than we gave it, but it was nice to see at least a little of it, and enjoy the sights and sounds that go along with it.

~Souveniers in Chinatown are much cheaper than in Time Square.  Except for t-shirts--those were the cheapest right around 48th and Broadway (in Time Square.)  

~While the city may never sleep, drugstores do.  They were all closed by the time I got back to the hotel, unfortunately.  The one near the ESB, though, was open 24 hours, but that would have been a little bit of a hike from the hotel.  So if you need essentials, or just cheap drinks, stop there before heading out for the night.

That's all for now.  Two hours is enough time to spend on one post.

Howdy howdy

I've discovered a new purpose for this blog.  Well, less "discovered" more "redefined."  I was reading a friend's blog which is written with the idea that someday they may not remember what their kids were like, and what they did, or even who they are!  And their blog serves as a "living autobiography" or "biography" if you will.  So I think that's what my focus needs to become.  Not that it will really change much of what you see here, but I think it will take a little bit of pressure off me to post a lengthy, well-thought out post on a regular basis.  I do try to keep things updated regularly, especially since children are constantly "updating" themselves!  But since I usually "blog" at night, after the kiddies are in bed (and the TV is on.....) it's become harder and harder to create a quality post here.  I shall try harder.

Okay, that aside, where do I start?!  I'll start the way my FIL always seems to start... "The weather has been quite interesting around here lately."  That is usually followed by a comment on how cold it is, or how much snow there is, up in the frigid north (Calgary, AB, for those keeping track at home...)  Here, though, things have been quite different.  Two weeks ago, it was absolutely GORGEOUS!  We're talking HOT (90's hot) and SUNNY!  I've got the tan lines to prove it, too!  It was a great time to enjoy the outdoors, and so we did.  Jeremiah and I washed the "cars" (neither are, but that's just easier to say,) and played with the hose while Jesslyn napped, one day.  Daddy managed to plant the garden, so hopefully we'll have some yummy veggies this summer!  I think he planted tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, squash, basil, and.... something else, I dunno.  And now that the new swing set is up (new to us, at least,) Jeremiah has something to do besides push his cars down into the street (at least it takes a little while to get down there.)

And then... the rain came.  And it came again.  And then again the next day.  And now it seems like it will never stop.  I think the first day we're expected to have solely sunshine is next Monday, which would make it rainy for, what seems like, weeks!  Yeah... And it's no fun bundling up and going out in the rain.  Jeremiah likes getting wet, but Jesslyn doesn't, and I don't want to wear shorts when it's 50 out, so my pants get all wet and blah.  But the plants/grass/animals are loving it (poor worms, though... they all drowned... the driveway is littered with little worm corpses...) 

I did head out of town sans husband/kids for two days--went up to the Big Apple (which has a really boring back story as to why it's called that... something to do with race tracks.  I'm bored just thinking about it.)  It was uber fun, but that post will have to wait for another time--can't do it justice here!

Kid wise, Jesslyn is moving too fast for Mommy to keep up!  One minute, she's in the middle of the room, the next, clear on the opposite side!  Still not "crawling" at least not by the legal definition of the word.  More like, scootching/lobbing herself forward (which is pretty funny... she crawls like a seal, I guess you could say. Heh.)  But hey, it gets her from point A to point B, so I don't think she minds.  I think we're going to have to lower her crib soon, though, as she's been trying to pull herself up.  So far, the furthest she's gotten is up on one leg out to her side... if she gets the rest of the way up, I'm pretty sure she could flip right over the side.  Yup, it's time to lower that mattress.  

Her two "teefies" are really there now.  And they are SHARP!  Yeah, just a fair warning--don't let her grab your fingers and expect to escape unscathed.  I know she thinks it's funny, too...  I suspect there are more on their way, but have yet to see evidence of such other than bogus naps... Seriously, my sweet little napper has not been interested in doing so lately.  Morning naps usually end up fine--still pullin' two hours there.  But afternoon.... forget it.  I'm lucky if she sleeps and hour or so.  Yesterday, I think she was so exhausted from fighting said nap that she ended up sleeping 2.5 hours--that's more like it!  But today, not so much.  :(  Oh well.  It's not like I was napping.  That's when I hate the short naps, especially when you get to that pre-sleep phase of sleeping, where you're too asleep to open your eyes, but you're still semi-aware of what's going on around you.  Just when your body finally gives in and then, "WAAAAAH!!!!"  

Grrr....

She's super-sweet, though.  Lots of hugs and kisses.  Loves to play peekaboo.  Loves her favorite big brother.  Loves to explore and taste every little speck of dirt on the floor (eww....)  She's been eating really well, though I think her growth spurt is over since she's not eating as much as she used to.  There was a while there I dubbed her, "the bottomless pit."  No longer.  Back to normal amounts of foodies.  No favorites, that I can dissern, but she's now tried peaches, bananas, apples, squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and broccoli. She gets three meals a day with bottles in between--we're using a lot less formula now!  Yay!  We may not have to buy anymore... still have 3 big things, and only 4 more months.  Okay, we'll probably have to buy one or two more, but at least the end is in sight!

Jeremiah has been handling the rainy weather well, considering how much he loves to play outside.  I went "yard saleing" Saturday, and got him some little cars that he LOVES (he also loves the little police car and taxi cab I bought him in NYC,) and he just pushes those around all day.  We've been reading a lot, too--bought a bunch of Berenstain Bear books at Dani's Duds (only a couple at yard sales... I'm still looking, though!) so we've been trying to go through some of those.  Also picked up some Mercer Mayer books, but he's not really into those yet.  I guess I bought 'em more for me than him at this point.  He'd rather look at a book with lots of trucks in it than read a story.  But someday he'll be into it, I'm sure!  If not, they're ready for Jesslyn.  :)

He's still working on expanding his vocabulary, and it's slowly building up, but definitely at HIS own pace.  If he doesn't want to say a word, he won't say it.  And if he does, he will.  So I'm pretty sure it's not that he CAN'T say a word.  He just chooses not to.  With the exception of "hello" (which comes out, "ah-woh") all the words he says are said almost perfectly.  And the rest, he just doesn't want to try.  It still just comes out, "nah nah."  But that's alright.  We're meeting with the country Thursday morning (yay...) and will probably take him to a therapist if we can find one locally that in in-network for our insurance.  Otherwise, we're not really worried about it.  Seems like a lot of boys in Jeremy's family took their time learning to speak (or choosing to do so,) so I'll chalk it up as him channeling the "Penn/Wilcox" in him.  :)

Oh, there was one thing he did which made me "oh so thrilled."  He decided to re-decorate his room after a nap one day, and tore all the Spider-man wall border off his wall behind his crib.  Awesome.  Now, I'm not sure what to do.  I know I have a little extra, but I see no point in putting it back up only so he can tear it down again.  But it looks pretty lousy as is.  I guess I'll just have to deal?  Sigh... thanks, Jeremiah! :)

What a little ham, huh?  I'm not allowed to take pictures of Jesslyn without taking a few of him, too.  :)  Not that I mind, of course. 

Awww, I loved this little dress Jesslyn wore on Easter!  Too bad it'll never fit her again...  :(

Blueberries and TEETH!  What a combo.  :)

And that's all the interesting stuff that's been going on with us.  Wooo... good times, eh?  May is turning into a busy month, though, so hopefully we'll have some fun stuff to share--a possible trip to the Outer Banks is in the works!  And then off to NY (upstate, not the city... boo...) for wedding.  yay...

Coming soon---purple hair???

Jesslyn's rat tail...

I just don't have the heart to cut it off-she's had it since birth!

Can't escape it...

Well, the TV is on, as it's a rainy day, and no one, except Jeremy, has been feeling very well.  I will not be happy, though, if Jesslyn's cold robs her of a good morning nap.  Not looking very good...

Anyway, yeah, I'm going to try to do this despite the distractions. 

Yay, the kids have colds again!  I think Jeremiah caught it playing at JW Tumbles.  It's a new "baby gym" that opened up about a mile away, right next to the grocery store we frequent the most!  They had free open play all last week so everyone could try it out, and I'm pretty sure that's where the bug got caught.  Boooo... Well, it saves me some money--I was going to enroll Jeremiah in a class, but if he's just going to catch colds there, then forget it.  It's all good, though, since Jeremy and our favorite "Uncle James" set up the swing set yesterday.  Jeremiah will be on it non-stop, I'm sure!  Too bad we have severe storms to look forward to all day today... And possibly tomorrow.  And the day after.  Sigh...  

This past weekend was crazy, at least for me.  I worked the Dani's Duds consignment sale Friday, and will never.... do.... it.... again.... It was 6 hours of standing at a table, pulling tags off items people were buying.  That wouldn't be so bad if the table weren't so low--I spent most of the night hunched over it, or bending over to get tags off larger items.  Plus, I haven't had to spend 6 hours straight on my feet in a LONG time.  Years ago, when I worked for EB (or even Sony) a shift like this would have been a piece of cake.  But yeah, it's been a while.  Plus, I don't think it was really worth shopping that much earlier than everyone else.  Unless you're willing to stand in line for 2-3 hours beforehand, all the good stuff is gone by the time you get there anyway.  So I'll just consign from here on out.  Or work before/after the sale instead of during... But yeah, no more 6 hours hunched over a table... Crazy.

And I get to do it again Thursday!  Well, kinda.  There's another sale this week, called JBF or Just Between Friends.  But I think I'm working a pre-sale shift, which will be more organizing and working on the floor instead of pulling tags.  Plus, it's only FOUR hours instead of six.   And, they use an electronic tagging system, so I don't think you even have to pull any tags off--just scan the barcodes, and go!  Pretty neat.  Hopefully, I'll find some good deals there!

Then.... it's off to NYC!  There's a small group of us from my Mom's group going for a night, leaving at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.  We're going to have REAL dim sum, ride the Staten Island ferry (to get some shots of the skyline/statue of libery, etc...) see a show (well, I'm not... going to meet up with family instead,) Time Square, etc... It'll be fun!  And weird--this is the first time I'll be going anywhere without the kids OR Jeremy!  How strange it will be to eat a meal with two hands, instead of one on mine, one with a spoon for Jesslyn, or not have to worry about fixing them something before I can sit an enjoy myself.   I'm definitely looking forward to it!

And that will end the craziness.  Hopefully by next week, everyone will be well again, and we can go back to enjoying the beautiful weather that has finally decended upon us--minus today... tomorrow, and the day after.  The weekend looks gorgeous, though, so Jeremiah should have lots of fun!

It's all the camera.

Seriously, I'm a point and shoot kinda gal.  I would like to get better at it, but just haven't made the time to devote to it.  

Thankfully, the sweet camera I got for Christmas (from my wonderful hubby) makes it easy--point and shoot.  It does the rest.

And I must say... I'm impressed.  :)

Here are some flowers/trees in our front yard:

This is our neighbor's fence.  I thought it looked very "farm-ish" with the flowering bush in front of it.  Looks like a nice relaxing place, huh?  Yup, it's our front yard!

And in the background there, really is a farm!  And between the bush and said far is West Ox Rd, so I'd have to wait for the cars to pass before taking my shot.

Random little purple flowers that grow along the walkway to the house.

This tre normally has leaves.... I don't remember it being flowers.  But very pretty right now!

And now, some photos of the kids, which is admittedly more difficult, since lighting is a key factor.  However, it is far easier to get the pics to look good outside than in...

My little "flower girl"!  We took her pants off because they were white (yes, her diaper is to, but I figure if I can get poop outta her diapers, I can get grass stains, too.) She didn't seem to mind the prickly grass, though she did try to eat it.

Yard sale toys!  In their matching jean jackets (Mommy has one, too, so usually if one of us is wearing it, we all do--just so people can say, "Aww, isn't it cute how you all match."  Yes.  Yes it is. :)

Heh... He's clearly too big for this ride on toy, but he doesn't care.  And he'll ride that thing alllllll the way down to the street before you even realize he's gone.  Gotta keep an eye on that one...

These were taken on yet another beautiful day, after coming home from church (I think it had been a dreary morning, so we were pleasantly surprised to find the sun out after lunch.) :

I love this... he just looks so grown up and cool.  My little man.

Okay, not the best pic, but I thought it was adorable the way she had her hands folded.  It's almost like she's thinking, "Yes, I could be playing with toys and bikes, but instead, I choose to sit, pray and focus.  Yes, I am a deep thinker."  Or something.  :)

This is his 'model' shot.  Again, so cool and grownup!  My little man!!!  Mama love....

And my little lady, looking as sweet as can be...

That's all for now.  I know, just a bunch of pics, but it's been tough for me to find time to "write!"  I can't focus on blogging when the tv is on, and it seems like the only time I actually have to sit with my laptop is during those times (when the tv is on....)  Someday....

Oh, and I just thought I'd note that MOST of the pics you see here come from my other cameras, especially my camera phone.  While I do love my new camera, it's definitely not what you pull out when the kids are being cute and you need a shot, quick!  Plus, it's way too big to stick in my pocket, and requires a bag, so yeah, I only pull it out when I want "nice shots."  I'll try to do better, though, as I really do love the quality (the colors are so vibrant!)