Mommy: Ryan do you want goldfish or pretzels for snack today?
Ryan: I want Pretzels and goldfish and Sponge Bob crackers.
Mommy: We don't have any more Sponge Bob crackers.
Ryan: You've got to be kidding me!
[taking his snack of goldfish and pretzels out to the living room where Thomas has just ended]
Ryan: Oh no! Thomas is all done and I didn't watch it. The TV has got to be kidding me!
Friday, July 28, 2006
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Quick updates
-still very busy
-Zach got his cast off Tuesday. He still has to wear a brace.
-Vacation was awesome- check out pictures below
-Visited Mom-mom and Pop yesterday- pictures soon
-Zach got his cast off Tuesday. He still has to wear a brace.
-Vacation was awesome- check out pictures below
-Visited Mom-mom and Pop yesterday- pictures soon
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
I'm back and I have pictures!
We spent a wonderful long weekend vacationing with my family. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg which was fantastic. It has an indoor waterpark right in the hotel. We spent quite a bit of time in there. Ryan rode his first waterslide... and his second...and third over and over. He loved the waterslides. The big ones he had to ride with an adult and the little kiddie ones he rode by himself(though we caught him at the bottom). Zach was able to enjoy the water park as well thanks to his stay dry pro-pump cast cover. My dad, Jay and TJ all had fun playing with the kids and squirting unsuspecting passers by from the big fort. Lily loved the water. It was great letting her enjoy the water without having to worry about her getting burned since she is too young for sunscreen. The lodge also has activities all day long in their 'cub club', story time and an arcade for the kids enjoyment(including Jay of course). My mom and I got facials that were as relaxing as any massage I've ever had. We spent most of our vacation right there in the lodge. We did get out on Thursday to hit Busch Gardens, one of my favorite destinations as a teenager. It was great. There really was something for everyone. Of course the roller coasters and other rides for the big people and Land of the Dragons for the little ones. I was surprised a how many rides there were for the kids. I guess when you go there as a teenager you just overlook those. I didn't take my camera because with a toddler and an infant I felt like I already had enough to carry around all day. I think my dad took some pictures though. I'll see if he has any good ones to post. It was really an ideal vacation for me at least. With all the willing extra hands I was able to enjoy time with each kid individually and some by myself. I think everyone else enjoyed their time with the kids as well. I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all.
**pictures to come. Ryan wants to play right now**
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Bye-bye bouncy Seat
Last week Lily started sitting up in the bouncy seat. The biggest problem is once she got herself up she didn't always get back down in the right place; She might end up off to the side or with her head against the flashing lights bar. This is not good. So we said goodbye to the bouncy seat and hello to the exersaucer. I went in the basement, dug out the exersaucer my aunt gave me, cleaned it up and viola- new baby holder. The exersaucer was the one thing I really wanted to have for Ryan that we never got. It's pretty cool. Even though Lily doesn't spend more than 10 minutes in it without wanting out- even with me talking to her from a few feet away. The girl loves human contact. She values being held or looking at someone's face over any type of entertainment. Though some entertainment can provide a few minutes of distraction. A blanket on the floor with toys seems to be the favorite non-human kind of entertainment. Though her favorite blanket toy is a mirror, so I guess she is still looking at a face even if it is her own.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Friday, July 14, 2006
Thursday, July 13, 2006
The One Ryan Must Never See
I try not to post stuff that might embarrass the kids. I don't tell you guys how Ryan likes to tell me the shapes he produces in the potty, but let's just say there are a lot of snakes and pretzels around here(oops). I don't share the numerous gender difference questions he has been asking lately. But this is too cute to keep to myself. He got the front of his shirt a little wet when he used the potty. He said, "Mommy I need to change my shirt. I peeped on it." I'm not sure why I think peeping is so much cuter than peeing, but it is. Maybe because it reminds me of little marshmallow chicks.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Blogroll Playdate -Jen's Take
We were the last to arrive at the playground, but that's not uncommon for me(especially since my best friend is early to everything!) By the time we got there the other mommies were trying to encourage playing in the shade. The kiddies didn't necessarily agree that those would be the most fun places to play. We were having fun, though my camera batteries decided to act up on me and I didn't get any pictures:-( It was so sad because my camera would give me these little moments of hope when it would focus and I had such a great shot, but it wouldn't snap the picture. Very frustrating. So, if you want to see pictures you will have to look at Erin's. When the heat got to be too much we headed for a McDonald's with a play place so we could continue the fun times. Claire and her boys were as sweet as can be. I loved how she would call Isaac Pumpkin or Angel even when she was giving him a time out:-) Now that's a momma's love for you. That Isaac is a smart cookie. I can see why someone once said she breeds geniuses. And Jacob is so sweet. He and Lily had the best conversation. It left them both with huge grins on their faces. Oh man those two were adorable together. I could barely contain myself(and neither could they). Erin and Ben though equally sweet and fun are old hat for us by now;-) Seriously though, we love each and every time we get together with them. Ryan is always asking about "friend Ben" and I love the adult conversation.
It was so fun. I wish I could write more, but I need to go to bed.
It was so fun. I wish I could write more, but I need to go to bed.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Make New Friends, but Keep the Old
Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. We are meeting Claire, Isaac and Jacob! I've been reading her blog for a while now, but we've never had any real person to person contact. She and Erin discovered that she only lives about 40 minutes from here. She is coming down for a play date with us and the baby human family. I've never met anyone in person that I first met on the internet, so I've got some mixed feelings. Mostly I think it will be fun, so I'm excited. Hopefully Claire doesn't turn out to be Carl or something;-)
Friday, July 07, 2006
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Cuties
When I talked to the newly engaged Christina this weekend she mentioned a lack of cute pictures on my blog lately. So here you go...
Monday, July 03, 2006
For Your Reading Convenience...
and because even I was getting confused;-) I have tinkered a bit to start each post with an indication of who wrote it. I think I have it working right now. I'll work on aesthetics when I get a few extra minutes(HA!).
Sorry, couldn't resist
 | Needless to say, I was pleased by my results to this quiz. I promise not to litter Jen's blog with meaningless links to various online quizzes and other complete junk, but this was too fun to pass up. Here are my results: You scored as Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones is an archaeologist/adventurer with an unquenchable love for danger and excitement. He travels the globe in search of historical relics. He loves travel, excitement, and a good archaeological discovery. He hates Nazis and snakes, perhaps to the same degree. He always brings along his trusty whip and fedora. He's tough, cool, and dedicated. He relies on both brains and brawn to get him out of trouble and into it.
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com |
In which my head becomes friendly with a Crowbar
Well, well. Not everyday you get to play the role of a murder victim, complete with gushing head wound and a bloody glove (actually two). I suspect Colonel Sanders, with the Crowbar, in the Parlor... oh wait, that's a different game. The game I got to play was called, "what-happens-when-brainless-workman-leaves-a-crowbar-on-top-of-a-ladder-outside-the-house". Perhaps better known as "unsuspecting Jay gets beaned in the head with a crowbar, while moving said ladder off of children's play-area".
Ahh, the perils of having a conscience. I could quite probably be well on my way to being a millionaire, simply by invoking the pain-and-suffering routine used so effectively by that lady at McDonalds who spilled coffee on herself.
Except in this case, I had no reason to expect that by moving a ladder left propped against the kid's wooden boat, I would dislodge a sharp metal crowbar conveniently hidden lying flat on the top step of the stepladder. That McDonald's lady at least should have had an inkling that dumping hot coffee in one's lap might risk less-than-satisfying results. In any case, by moving the ladder, I unexpectedly was greeted by the sharp end of the crowbar gashing a nice hole in my temple, just above the hairline, eliciting a loud metal DING-ING-ING-ING, prior to a much louder howl of "OWWWWWWW!" as I realized the ladder had attacked me.
What does one do, standing there after a ladder drops a crowbar on your head? Well, apparently I just stood there for a second, trying to figure out what had just happened. Given the loud noise made by impacting against my skull, I don't think I realized right away that I had suffered anything worse than the blunt impact one usually gets when a metal tool is dropped on their head.
I guess it was after my gloved hands instinctively went up to protect my poor head (too late) that the full benefit of a gaping head wound became apparent. Apparently my head had been transformed into a fountain, as blood soaked through the gloves, and began soaking my hair and face, and began accenting my nice blue shirt with polka-dots.Which is probably what propelled me to run into the house, yelling for the wife to wake up from her nap and provide assistance. I've been known to pass out like a sissy from getting a shot at the doctor, which is why I was so desparate to get to the wife - there was a good bit more blood involved and I wasn't sure whether I'd pass out or not. Fortunately I didn't go all weak-kneed and such, and simply passed the time in the bathroom soaking through one towel, while my wonderful wife fashioned an icepack using the old dishtowel-and-frozen-vegetables trick.
Quite honestly, what I was thinking about upstairs in the bathroom was that my skull must be made of metal to have made such a nice "DING-ING-ING-ING" sound, and wondering if I could attach magnets to my metal skull. I was also curiously developing a resentment towards the guilty crowbar, and trying to devise ways to punish it accordingly. Apparently I had already made my revenge against the ladder (I discovered later that I had hurled the ladder across the lawn after it dropped the crowbar on me) I was also feeling sad that the experience hadn't been captured on film, as it would have gone great accompanied with a Tom 'n Jerry soundtrack.
To cut the story short, the highlight of the trip to the Patient First office was having the doctor stick a needle INTO MY HEAD, by which he adminstered the numbing agent which allowed him to then stitch me up. Call me crazy, but I wasn't really enjoying the whole stick-another-sharp-object-into-my-head deal, as I'd had my fill of that already, thankyou very much. I am now sporting two blue stitches, and a bald spot in my bangs, where the doctor was kind enough to sew me up.
After getting home, I called the foreman of the construction company, and left a message on his cellphone informing him that I really hadn't appreciated the crowbar falling on my head, and could his workman kindly put sharp tools away, especially those being used on objects next to the kids PLAY-AREA. Geez, I guess it could have been worse, Zach or Ryan getting clocked in the head with a crowbar. And you know, I'd probably not have as much of a problem with wanting to sue their lousy pants off if that had happened. But as it is, I don't quite feel entitled to millions in damages. Hey, if they want to donate the rest of the house project free, they can knock themselves out. I could certainly use a couple grand. But seriously, in life, as always, stupid stuff happens. People have been getting bonked on the head for hundreds of years, and the only thing suing has done is glamorized careers of sleaze-bag lawyers, and greedy opportunists who would gladly trip on a neighbors sidewalk and pull their hamstring, if they thought it could reap a payoff.
Ok, so sometimes people do have grounds to sue. And maybe I do too. But really now, aren't I pretty good at hurting myself anyway, without someone else's negligence playing a part? Maybe I should sue the tree I fell out of 4 times as a kid. And sue that kid who tripped me on the playground in 6th grade. Nope - I think I'll just let it ride, and not worry so hard about it. Although, if I do get the urge, I may go out and take a sledge hammer to that crowbar. Just to show it some love.
So, that's my adventure for the day. Three cheers for my wife, who managed to staunch the fountain of blood that was my head, as well as round up three kids for a trip to the doctor - I love you, dear! Hope I can have a little less drama for the rest of the week. Happy (early) 4th of July, all!
Ahh, the perils of having a conscience. I could quite probably be well on my way to being a millionaire, simply by invoking the pain-and-suffering routine used so effectively by that lady at McDonalds who spilled coffee on herself.
Except in this case, I had no reason to expect that by moving a ladder left propped against the kid's wooden boat, I would dislodge a sharp metal crowbar conveniently hidden lying flat on the top step of the stepladder. That McDonald's lady at least should have had an inkling that dumping hot coffee in one's lap might risk less-than-satisfying results. In any case, by moving the ladder, I unexpectedly was greeted by the sharp end of the crowbar gashing a nice hole in my temple, just above the hairline, eliciting a loud metal DING-ING-ING-ING, prior to a much louder howl of "OWWWWWWW!" as I realized the ladder had attacked me.
What does one do, standing there after a ladder drops a crowbar on your head? Well, apparently I just stood there for a second, trying to figure out what had just happened. Given the loud noise made by impacting against my skull, I don't think I realized right away that I had suffered anything worse than the blunt impact one usually gets when a metal tool is dropped on their head.
I guess it was after my gloved hands instinctively went up to protect my poor head (too late) that the full benefit of a gaping head wound became apparent. Apparently my head had been transformed into a fountain, as blood soaked through the gloves, and began soaking my hair and face, and began accenting my nice blue shirt with polka-dots.Which is probably what propelled me to run into the house, yelling for the wife to wake up from her nap and provide assistance. I've been known to pass out like a sissy from getting a shot at the doctor, which is why I was so desparate to get to the wife - there was a good bit more blood involved and I wasn't sure whether I'd pass out or not. Fortunately I didn't go all weak-kneed and such, and simply passed the time in the bathroom soaking through one towel, while my wonderful wife fashioned an icepack using the old dishtowel-and-frozen-vegetables trick.
Quite honestly, what I was thinking about upstairs in the bathroom was that my skull must be made of metal to have made such a nice "DING-ING-ING-ING" sound, and wondering if I could attach magnets to my metal skull. I was also curiously developing a resentment towards the guilty crowbar, and trying to devise ways to punish it accordingly. Apparently I had already made my revenge against the ladder (I discovered later that I had hurled the ladder across the lawn after it dropped the crowbar on me) I was also feeling sad that the experience hadn't been captured on film, as it would have gone great accompanied with a Tom 'n Jerry soundtrack.
To cut the story short, the highlight of the trip to the Patient First office was having the doctor stick a needle INTO MY HEAD, by which he adminstered the numbing agent which allowed him to then stitch me up. Call me crazy, but I wasn't really enjoying the whole stick-another-sharp-object-into-my-head deal, as I'd had my fill of that already, thankyou very much. I am now sporting two blue stitches, and a bald spot in my bangs, where the doctor was kind enough to sew me up.
After getting home, I called the foreman of the construction company, and left a message on his cellphone informing him that I really hadn't appreciated the crowbar falling on my head, and could his workman kindly put sharp tools away, especially those being used on objects next to the kids PLAY-AREA. Geez, I guess it could have been worse, Zach or Ryan getting clocked in the head with a crowbar. And you know, I'd probably not have as much of a problem with wanting to sue their lousy pants off if that had happened. But as it is, I don't quite feel entitled to millions in damages. Hey, if they want to donate the rest of the house project free, they can knock themselves out. I could certainly use a couple grand. But seriously, in life, as always, stupid stuff happens. People have been getting bonked on the head for hundreds of years, and the only thing suing has done is glamorized careers of sleaze-bag lawyers, and greedy opportunists who would gladly trip on a neighbors sidewalk and pull their hamstring, if they thought it could reap a payoff.
Ok, so sometimes people do have grounds to sue. And maybe I do too. But really now, aren't I pretty good at hurting myself anyway, without someone else's negligence playing a part? Maybe I should sue the tree I fell out of 4 times as a kid. And sue that kid who tripped me on the playground in 6th grade. Nope - I think I'll just let it ride, and not worry so hard about it. Although, if I do get the urge, I may go out and take a sledge hammer to that crowbar. Just to show it some love.
So, that's my adventure for the day. Three cheers for my wife, who managed to staunch the fountain of blood that was my head, as well as round up three kids for a trip to the doctor - I love you, dear! Hope I can have a little less drama for the rest of the week. Happy (early) 4th of July, all!
Sunday, July 02, 2006
4 Months Old!
Happy Month-day sweet girl!
Official chair picture...please ignore the big black spot over Lily's head. It's the cow's eye on the chair. I have found that it looks pretty silly in pictures. I may have to change the monthday chair. I will also have to write something tomorrow...right now I'm too tired(see previous post).
Whew...
It has been quite a day at the Periwinkle house. Lily was still sleeping after church, so I got busy weeding the garden right away. When I was done my arm itched and had bumps all over the underside. With all the outbreaks of poison ivy in our families lately I decided to play it safe. I washed my arms three or four times (probably overkill, but with Lily nursing I didn't want to take chances) and took some benadryl. Then I told Jay I took Benadryl because last time I took it I was pretty out of it when the kids woke up in the middle of the night. Meanwhile Jay is busily doing yard work. Mostly he was trucking dirt to the back yard in the wheel barrow to fill in the ground where our tree used to be. I went out to him about an hour after I took the Benadryl and told him I was practically falling asleep holding Lily and she was not going to fall asleep with me. He agreed to take an hour break from the yard work to be inside with the kids while I took a nap. I don't know what time, but he brought Lily in because she was hungry. Then Lily and I went back to sleep. Later I woke up hearing "Jen, I need your help. Jen! I NEED your help!" I expected to find Jay holding Ryan at arms length with something running down his legs. Instead I find Jay with blood streaming down his face. A wee bit scarier. After asking all the concussion questions and making sure he wasn't going to pass out I got to find out what happened. Apparently one of the workmen left a crow bar (sp?) on top of a ladder. Jay moved the ladder to get it out of his way and said crow bar fell on him. We decided to go to Patient First because I couldn't see the cut clearly and it was a head wound after all. He needed stitches, but they didn't seem to think it cracked his skull or anything. Incidentally, Jay said it really did make the BOI-OI-OING sound like in the cartoons. You may commence with the hard head jokes now...
Boy was it interesting keeping all 3 kids under control while trying to be there for Jay if he needed me. Jay cleverly diverted their attention with a game of I spy. Thank goodness because my mind was definitely not thinking very creatively (or even clearly) at that point. Lily learned to make a new sound while we were there. It's this awful high pitched shriek. She didn't seem to be terribly upset when she did it, but it was not pleasant to listen to. She seemed to like her new discovery and continued even once we were home. I learned something while we were there too. When your recently potty trained toddler says he has to use the potty- take him, even if he just used it two minutes before...nuf said.
Boy was it interesting keeping all 3 kids under control while trying to be there for Jay if he needed me. Jay cleverly diverted their attention with a game of I spy. Thank goodness because my mind was definitely not thinking very creatively (or even clearly) at that point. Lily learned to make a new sound while we were there. It's this awful high pitched shriek. She didn't seem to be terribly upset when she did it, but it was not pleasant to listen to. She seemed to like her new discovery and continued even once we were home. I learned something while we were there too. When your recently potty trained toddler says he has to use the potty- take him, even if he just used it two minutes before...nuf said.
Congratulations to Chrissi-tina
Chrissi is finally goin' to the chapel, so to speak. She and Dave got engaged last night! Hooray for love and marriage :-)