I'm So Bright My Mother Calls Me Son

Please tell me you can see the perfectly round bruise in the middle of Gavin's forehead?!?! He found one of those old-school-plastic-popper-things and got it stuck on his head. Awesome, right?

Boo Box 2010

A few years ago my mother-in-law started giving (mailing) the grandkids awesome Halloween prizes. They've come in the form of books, bags, buckets, boxes and now lunch boxes, all handmade and decorated! We got the package today and couldn't wait to open it up.

The boxes have stamps, coloring books, scary-looking-rubber-duck things, a bevy of treats, puzzles, etc.

And of course a Halloween flashlight.

My sister-in-law Looli made the super cute shirts. I love Laynie's witchy boots!

Thank Guggy! We love our boxes!

FarmTastic!

Today is a super special occasion: Jamie got to go to Cox Farm with us! He's been so busy, working lots of Saturdays, and we were so glad we go to share this special day with him.

At least mostly...

Don't worry. The day got much better.

The farm is two miles from our house. Need I mention how beautiful an area we live in?

This is a nervous little dinosaur turd.

And this was a turd the dinosaur was glad to let out.

Yeah. You know this tractor is sexy.

Some boys were meant to be farmers. Gavin would have been happy to do nothing besides sit on this tractor and play with the gear shift. It's all fun and games until you're actually plowing a dusty field.

There are so many funny things about this picture, but I'm going to let you guys try to imagine what I'm thinking. If you know me well, you can probably guess.

No trip would be complete until you've milked the cow.

Laynie was a little less enthusiastic.

Happy Cows come from Virginia.

Right....because we're the ones that get lost. Except for today. I lost Jamie for a little while.

That's me on the slide. I'm such a fun mom.

Gav on the obstacle course. He's going to be exhausted tonight. He climbed over, under and around things for at least thirty minutes.

And every good obstacle course must end with a rope swing. Luckily this one ends over a tramp, not a mud pit. That would be a true disaster.

Gav's in animal husbandry heaven.

"It tickles!"

The Goat Girl.

Hey from the Hay Ride!

I wish our Pig Whisperer was here. Aunt MeMe come see us!

King of the Mountain (of hay).

There it is! The proof that I 1) have a husband and 2) that Exxon doesn't dominate all of his time. Just the majority.

Gav had a hard time deciding which pumpkin was his favorite. Then he asked, "So Mom, when are you going to making pumpkin pie?"

My little pumpkin.

"Mom, can we please, please have a duck pumpkin?"

We'll get to go back to the Farm for one of Gav's upcoming field trip. We are excited, even though Jamie won't be able to go with us a second time. There will most certainly be a thousand more pictures on this theme. Stay tuned!

A Truly Horrific Dinner

I'm not a great cook. I have some "safe" recipes that I take to sick folk that I know won't make them sicker. But I've never had a complete failure in the kitchen.

Until today...

This is what happens when you write down 13 instead of 30. Can you see the two beautiful Roma tomatoes in there? How about the multi-colored ravioli? I was supposed to add seven ounces of pesto to 30 ounces of ravioli. Umm....for future reference there is such a thing as too much pesto. And this is exactly what it looks like.

Mt. Dew and Macaroni for dinner. Yum. At least I'm guaranteed the kids will eat all their food. Gavin will probably lick his clean.

Snake Skin is IN!

Yes, my son is holding up a four-foot-long piece of snake skin. We found it on our walk this morning. I saw it dangling from some rose bushes on Loudoun County Parkway and thought it would be a great "science subject." I intended to show it to the kids, talk to them about how and why snakes shed and then leave it behind. Ummm....no. It had to come home with us.

I stowed it in the stroller basket and tried not to look at it. Every time the wind blew it wiggled and I could just imagine it coming alive and hissing at me. Anyone want to guess what my nightmares will be full of tonight?

Gavin is 42 inches tall. The snake skin is longer than that and the head (with it's nasty inside out eye scale) had at least another six inches attached to it. Sorry. I couldn't bear to pick it up and bring it home. I'm a good mom, but not that good.

What would you do if you saw that monster in your yard? I can tell you right now that I would never, ever garden again. Ever.

The skin is rolled up neatly in the garage. It will stay there until my husband gets home and figures out what he wants to do with it. I personally don't want it in the house, but I usually don't get my way.

At least Gavin has something awesome to take for his "S" show-and-tell. Right?

Gatorade Wants Me

Soccer started today. Gavin wouldn't play no matter the threats or bribery. Finally, I used the "I've-got-better-things-to-do-than-watch-you-sit-on-the-sidelines" card. It totally worked.

I walked home. Then he scored two goals, named his team the Cheetahs, and won his first scrimmage.

Where do my children get their bull-headed nature? I mean honestly!!

The coach brought Gatorade and won his heart.

With those blue eyes...and lips...Gatorade should totally use him in their next print campaign.

He says he's not going to play next week. I guess we'll see.

P.S. See the bad haircut? That's a discussion for a whole separate post.

School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days

Gav was less than excited to start school.

Despite his awesome backpack. The wings are zipped inside.

And his character shoes.

He's at a new school, with a new teacher and lots of new classmates. He only stayed the first day because I threatened to take the Cheetos out of his lunch box.

Miss Vickie is a real stickler for the rules and good manners. She's not touchy-feely and expects the kids to take care of themselves. If I can get him to go without a fight, then it will probably be a good fit for Gavin. He's the kind of kid who needs a lot of structure.

Laynie's glad to have her one-on-one time back. She had to grab her "purse" before we went to the store on the first day of school.

And even though I'm a little embarrassed to post this picture....here's Gavin's new bedding. Jamie and I had this discussion prior to going to the store:

Me: "I'm thinking something, maybe plaid, that picks up the colors of his room. I really want something he won't grow out of tomorrow."

Jamie: "Sure. That sounds great."

Do any of you see anything plaid about that blanket? I was hoping for something a little more collegiate, pennants on the walls, cute old-school sketches of sports scenes. Well...unless you say those exact words you end up with Ironman. Awesome.

Here's the follow-up conversation:

Me: "IRONMAN? I wanted something he wasn't going to grow out of."

Jamie: "It was $19! We can replace it next year."

Sigh.

It will be replaced soon.

Little Miss Independent

Laynie spoiled me for almost two years. She was sweet, congenial and a perfect sleeper. The last six months have been challenging. Laynie is a girl with an opinion.

She was crawling out of her crib in the middle of the night. So we upgraded to a full-size, and let her choose the bedding (by the way, the mural was on the wall from the previous owner. Totally not my taste).

Can you say disaster? She got up at least three or four times every night, sometimes staying awake for three hours. I hope (fingers crossed) that she's beyond screaming, "This bed is yucky! I want to sleep at GArdy's!" The last two nights have been great.

That doesn't mean she's not exerting her taste in other areas. Like picking out her own outfits (sans pants), socks and sandals (she's a Utahn...I guess), and going potty without any assistance (and sometimes not wiping).

But she's a great conversationalist.

And quite an entertainer. I can't post the video of her singing and dancing naked on the fireplace. That will have to wait for her wedding.

Gav's Gear

Gav is obsessed with "army men." Since we couldn't go to the pool today and it's too hot to play outside, Gavin decided to play army in the house.

He's got it all figured out: camo hat, goggles, binoculars, backpack with wings, and laser weapon. Look like he's ready for combat.

This is his life-long enemy. She looks super dangerous, huh?