Pictures Worth Posting Part II

There are a handful of shots each year that make the trip to the Blue Bonnet Festival worthwhile. Someday when our kids are older maybe they will remember these trips and laugh about the little things like burrs in the butt, falling out of the tree, or my frustration with getting them to pose. Memories I have of doing crazy/silly/special things with my parents and siblings are some of my most treasured possessions. I hope that Gavin and Laynie will enjoy the time we spent as a family, develop of love for nature, and be grateful for each Spring. Even though it feels more like a disaster-in-the-making than a peaceful afternoon, I will always look forward to the Blue Bonnets blooming and our trips our to Brenham.

Pictures Worth Posting Part I

Although I couldn't get Laynie to look at me all day, I still thought this was a beautiful shot.

Couldn't ask for a better picture of Benson!

Gavin was his typical self and refused to look at me or smile. But he is so photogenic, that even his "dorky" face shots turn out pretty well.

Our annual toss-Gavin-ridiculously-high pictures. It's a good thing Laynie is terrified of being thrown around. Anyone wonder why?

The Wallace Family and the "Lizard Tree." Although we didn't see the giant lizard this year.

And here we are in the flowers. Don't mind Gavin's face. He's about to get a burr in the butt anyway.

The Truth About Blue Bonnets

For every good picture I take when we make our annual trip out to Brenham, I get twenty that look like my kid is thinking, "What the H@#* is that smell?"
Or, "Mom, this rock is way more interesting than you."

Or, "I'm not sitting on Dad's shoulders for one more second!"

And of course my personal favorite, "When are our parents going to realize we are allergic to this stupid flowers!" And that is not a joke...

My Worker Men

Today Gavin's biggest dream came true. He got to me a "worker man" with his dad! He even donned a ball cap and safety goggles.

"Worker Man! Keep working!"

Happy St. Patricks Day!

What does the sexy M&M have that Laynie doesn't? She's sweet and delicious! Who needs a thin candy shell?

Check out those legs!

Riding the Bench

I've always wanted a bench for my entryway. I figured a seat there could serve three major purposes: 1) a place for my kids to sit when they take off/put on their shoes, 2) a place for shoe storage (it always drives me crazy to have shoes all over the entryway...the first thing people see when they open the door to my house is shoes. YUCK!), and 3) a gentle reminder that if your shoes are muddy/wet you should take them off before you track crap throughout the house. Not that there hasn't already been (literal) CRAP tracked through my house, but I'd like to limit that as much as possible.

Good news! I found one yesterday! It's a little shorter than what I wanted but it came with the shoe storage baskets and was reasonably priced.

Gavin loves it. The whole way home he kept asking me where I was going to put his bench. As soon as we got home he grabbed all of his shoes (even those that don't fit) and put them in the baskets.

Laynie loved it too. Until she fell and slammed her face into it. Later last evening she also fell face first into a table leg. It left a lovely bruise on her cheek. I forgot how dangerous it is to let these little ones walk on their own. I guess they have to learn.

Bevo, Bunnies, Babies, Oh My!

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo! And boy, was it an adventure!

We started off the morning with a brisk pony ride. Well, it would have been brisk if the operators wouldn't have stopped the horses every time one pooped. And they pooped ALL THE TIME!! Gav enjoyed it though...

Then we went and fed the goats. Laynie barked the whole time. She'd pat their heads or run her fingers down their backs...and bark. They were mostly mild mannered, although one of the bigger ones jumped up on me and almost knocked me down. There were also pigs, donkeys, a kangaroo and a giant llama that was taller than I was.

Then we went to see the tractors.

Gavin was in heaven. It was hard to pull him away!

He and Bay had a blast together. He kept telling me, "I'm almost the biggest one. I don't have to stay with the babies."

Before we left even Laynie got a Pony Ride. (Notice: She has no shoes on. One of the goats pulled one off her foot and we could never get them back on).

But the best part of the whole day was...

the vibrating chairs (aka foot massaging chairs)! If we had done nothing else but let the kids "ride the chairs" they still would have had a blast. My eyes aren't actually closed in that picture. I'm just laughing hysterically. It really tickles!

Preschool and the Poop Parade

Every Thursday a few friends and I take turns teaching "Preschool." Mostly the kids just play, but we do read some stories and a few activities that focus on a letter.

Last week, I taught the letter R and the theme was Rabbits. The kids wore Rabbit ears.


Ran Rabbit Races.And later ate raisins, ravioli, Ritz crackers, red apples, and rabbit food (carrots). It started out like a pretty normal morning, the kids played and had fun. Then the disasters began. Without going into the gory details, by 11 a.m. I had changed five poopy diapers (two blow-outs), cleaned up a vomit and then dealt with this...

While I was addressing one of the bodily-function-related disasters, the boys went in Gavin's room and played "garbage men." They took EVERYTHING, books, toys, clothes, shoes, train tracks, etc. and dumped it on Gavin's bed. There was nothing left in his dresser or on his shelves. It took a solid hour to clean off the bed (which I did once everyone had gone home). Gavin has done this little garbage game before, so he knew that the punishment for "treating his toys like garbage was to make them garbage." I made him help me put all his toys in big black garbage bags, and after he cried sufficiently and swore he would never do it again, help me put everything back the way it should be. Call me a mean mother if you wish...I made my point.

If that wasn't enough watch the video below. The Rabbit Ears, Races, Peter Rabbit Puppet Show, and Ravioli was for naught.

At least I had something to laugh about.

If you think this wasn't enough to make me want to shed tears(I never actually cry), the next day was nearly sufficient.

All seemed perfect in the world, the sun was shining, Gavin and Laynie were playing nicely, I was happily doing dishes. Then Gavin walked into the kitchen.

"Look at my foot mom." Gavin holds up his Sasquatch foot in a green camo croc. His pale white skin is covered in a sticky brown substance.

My mind races. We haven't been outside, he hasn't eaten any chocolate. Alarms in my head start blaring.

"Did you poop your pants Gav?"

His head bobs a happy little yes.

Blood pressure rises, hands began shaking. "Where is the poop, Gav?"

"I don't know. I think there is some in my shoe."

There was more than a little in his shoe. The crocs have met an untimely demise in our "poopy diaper" garbage can. And there was more than a little tracked all over the toy room. Which brings me to the down-side of speckled carpet. I had to quarantine the area while I crawled around sniffing. The joys of motherhood. Thankfully, the other five days of the week were really good...no major disasters to mention.

A Typical Morning in the Wallace House

Gav loves to help "wake" Laynie up.

Then the kids eat breakfast and I do Laynie's hair. Here's the finished product...notice, the curl did not hold.

Then they make disasters.

Or we get ready to go places.

At some point we all snuggle up and read stories.

And then make more disasters.

Then take baths right before bed (so we don't have anymore disasters).

It's Fun to Be One!

Every Princess needs a "throne" for her birthday!

And a crown.

And delicious food to eat.

Or to wear...

Underneath all that cake was a cute little girl in her "birthday suit."

Thanks to all who sent or brought gifts! She'll be the most stylish toddler on the block!

Hi, I'm a PC. But, I Wish I Was a Mac.

If you think the Mac vs. PC commercials are all hype, you are dead wrong!

We bought a Dell Laptop in November and it has already given up the ghost. Luckily we paid for the extended warranty and service plans. After three weeks, several visits from Ali (the Dell hardware guy), and a call to Dell Software support, our computer is functional. It now has a new motherboard, memory stick, keyboard, and touch pad. And by "new" I really mean, refurbished. Dell doesn't put "new" parts into laptops that need repairs. So now I have a "new" laptop full of refurbished parts.

Here's the punchline...it wasn't a hardware problem. It was VISTA!