Fun Park and Fannie Goat

I have been cleaning out the kids' closets and rooms and organizing everywhere! I told Brian I am psycho-nesting. LOL As usually happens when organizing, things have to get worse before the get better. It is starting to drive me a little crazy having boxes of stuffed animals and toys in our master bedroom. But the girls' room is not set up yet, so I don't want to move toys, etc., etc., etc., back in until it is ready for that stuff. The kids were watching Madame Blueberry (Veggie Tales) the other day and I just had to laugh about her with all her stuff, thinking about us with all our stuff! ;) We have thrown a lot away and also put a lot in the garage to possibly have a garage sale next year (I know, last year I said no more, but this would be a BIG garage sale!!).

Having toys in the master bedroom is such a new thing for Lauren (though Brian and I are not crazy about having the dollhouse, stuffed animals, Little People, etc. in our room!). But she's rediscovering toys. This week it was the Fisher Price Little People barn and amusement park. We actually have a book about the same FP amusement park, with the same FP Little People in the illustrations, and they call it the fun park (hence my title...). I collected Pampers Points when Julia was a baby, from all the boxes of diapers we bought her. They had a program going on where you could get free toys, depending on the number of points you collected, and one of our free toys was this fun park.

I took all these pictures yesterday. Lauren said the Little People blonde boy was Austin and the black-haired Oriental girl was Lauren. She was also making these two horses kiss. Mmm-mwah! Not exactly sure why they were kissing...




Just a couple cute close-ups



A funny picture: my view looking down, these days... ;) Julia asked why I took a picture of my foot.... I had my 34-week doctor visit today and all is going well. I'm always thankful for the non-eventful appointments! Brian and I figured tonight it costs about $10 for me to drive up to San Luis Obispo and back. Just one trip to the doctor! Yikes! We stopped at Vons to get a few groceries afterwards, and noticed their cheapest gas is $4.21/gallon!! And that is pretty much the lowest price in the area, +/- a very few cents.


Lauren reading her Bible story book. Although she said she was reading about Hama and Antonis. Not exactly sure where she came up with that either.




Julia only has 9 1/2 more days of school! Last night was the second-grade play. Three classes performed Three Nanny Goats Gruff, based on the Three Billy Goats Gruff story. Julia was SO excited for the play to come. She reeeeeally wanted the part of Fannie Goat, because Julia said it would be her first *long* solo, as Fannie had to sing a whole song. Well, she got the part! The kids had to very loosely audition. There was only one girl solo part and one boy solo part. Mrs. F told Brian last week at Open House that Julia did an excellent job singing her solo (during practices), and that she had perfect pitch, "which is not always the case." :) Well, it wouldn't have been the case with me. But Julia does have a very nice singing voice and *did* do a wonderful job at the play! I asked if she was nervous, and she said she wasn't. She sang clearly and "out" and completely on key.

The kids who were goats (most of the chorus) were supposed to wear white shirts and blue pants tucked into white knee socks or soccer socks. Weeeell, we are rule followers (first born mom and dad and daughter and all...:D ), so that is what Julia wore. You can see some of the other kids interpreted the costume suggestion a bit differently. ;) Of course it all turned out just fine, though, and the play was very cute.




Tomorrow Brian plans to take the van in to get smog-checked. I want to clean the carpets as they are getting really nasty! I told the kids this afternoon that I plan to clean them, and Austin said, "Yeah! Look at all those dirty spots!" Hee hee. I agree, and spots on the carpet really annoy me! Before we had the carpet cleaner I would go around and clean *every* spot or spill by hand. Do not like to see them!

Mother's Day, Hot Days, and Today

The Saturday before Mother's Day Julia and I went to the Mother's Day brunch at church. Julia was so excited to go and kept calling it a teaparty. A week ahead of time she planned what she was going to wear. She said she had to wear a fancy dress, and chose her Easter dress. She also told me I had to wear a pretty dress. I told her I didn't have one that would fit my big tummy and she told me I had to wear a skirt then, no pants!

Brian took this picture of the kids and me after church. He took 60!! =/- to get about 3 good shots! Also, we went out for lunch at a Mexican restaurant, Old Juan's Cantina.


Cards and gifts: Julia was sooo excited about the Mother's Day present she was making at school and had me open it Friday night at dinner; she could not wait! It was the pillow here. The kids had to draw with crayons on the fabric, then their teacher ironed the drawing and sewed the front and back together. The kids had to stuff the pillows and whipstitch them shut. I asked Julia if the picture was of her cleaning the cat box. She said no, that it is me doing the laundry! :D I could tell she'd drawn our fireplace with the candles, etc. on the mantle, and wondered about the cat box. Laundry does make more sense, as that is where I fold it! She also made the pop-up card at school. She gave me the petunia after church--the kids had decorated the cup and the little people sticks. She made it look like herself. Austin gave me the lily and MMMMMMMMMMM paper with those doily triangles from Sunday School, and he made the card at Cubbies. The paper flowers are crafts Julia had Austin and Lauren make one day!! And Austin made the other MMMMMM card that day too. Brian gave me a digital picture frame, but it had to be returned as the screen was damaged. The best gift from him was having him paint our main bathroom! It looks SO much better, and so pretty. I just love the color! Pictures of that to come soon.


Last Thursday - Sunday we had a heatwave. It was very, very, VERY hot, in the 90s!! I felt like I was drinking, drinking, drinking all day long and still getting some swelling. It was just so hot! Finally Monday was cool and I could get my ring off again. ;) Friday the kids went in the pool and sprinkler. They loved it, except for Lauren who didn't want to get water on her head. She liked the pool ok.






And of course some ice cream to help cool everyone off.


Silly kids--said they were going on a trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma. Lauren was driving them all, or at least trying... Julia is sitting on the back of the car here, and you can only see Austin's elbow sticking out b/c he is trying to help Lauren move the car by pushing it!


Saturday I went to an all-day scrapbook event at church. It was a lot of fun, and I got a lot done! My friend Teri brought this Bitty Baby doll to give to Lauren, as her daughter doesn't play with it anymore. Lauren looooves Bitty Baby. She named it Baby Emiwy (Emily). Lauren was hugging her and said, "Mmmm I wuv Bitty Baby! She is my favorite toy!" (For now anyway...) This afternoon we made pudding for a snack, and I told Lauren she had to eat her apricots from lunch first. I told her I was putting her pudding in the fridge until she ate them up. She told me, "That is NOT a good plan!" (Though it sounded more like, "Dat is NOT a dood pan!" :D She was quite serious, too! She did eat the apricots and soon got her pudding.


The other day Austin was drawing pictures and asked me how many legs a starfish has. I told him they have five, and he continued the conversation, telling me, "Jellyfish have 200 legs!" I asked, "They do?" He replied, "Yep! The Bible says so!" Then today he was hungry for a snack, after the pudding. I asked him if he wanted some nuts. He asked, "Like tissues?" I said, "Pistachios?" And indeed, pistachios are what he wanted! At bedtime Austin told Julia, "I felt the baby kicking today." He had, while we read stories at naptime. Julia said, "Oooh, I bet that hurt you...", a bit sarcastically, as I think she was jealous! He replied, "Nope. It felt like bump, bump, bump..."


Austin and Lauren played outside in the dirt this morning. They had fun constructing things with the garden stakes. Austin made this "A for Austin". When Lauren heard that, she right away said, "I make an L for Lauren!" And she did.


Not exactly sure what this is. Julia saw this picture when I was going through them earlier and asked Austin what it was, a teepee? He said he didn't know either! Quite the contraption, anyway.

Three!

Lauren turned 3, May 6. Since Julia's birthday, Lauren has said that she wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for her birthday! Julia and Austin joined in dancing with ChuckE for free tickets. Yeah!! More tickets!! They understand what that means... Lauren started dancing and then started crying and left the group. I think she was intimidated by all those kids... ?


Twisting with ChuckE. And Lauren with her tickets.


Lauren opened her presents Sunday afternoon and we did her cake after supper. She chose a bunny cake this year. We had to get the same Betty Crocker cake book from the library for her to look through. (It's tradition, after all...they can never discard that book!) All the kids like looking through the cake book, and sometimes Austin and Lauren even choose it for their bedtime story, though it is not a storybook at all! Lauren wanted a chocolate cake, and the mix makes two layer. Each bunny is made from one layer, so that is why she got two bunnies. Julia said their names were Happy Bunny and Hoppin' Bunny. Hee hee


I took these last Tuesday, on her actual birthday. We went for a little walk down to our neighbor's house where there are lots of pretty roses and other flowers. Then she (surprise there!) wanted to keep taking pictures, so we did some more on our front porch.


Austin was peeking out the window at us. He'd gone to the doctor this day for his Kindergarten checkup and booster immunizations. They gave him a car for being so brave. :) He had to have 4 shots, one was a TB test, and he just said, "Ow ow ow!" for the first three. But the last one hurt, and he burst out crying! :( Julia and I told him how she cried for that one too, and the nurse says it is the most painful, which is why she saves it for last.

Austin is learning more and more numbers, figuring out there are many, many numbers! He has chosen 200 to be the largest number he can think of, and uses it when he talks about a huge amount of something. For instance: While walking through the park (on different days), he says, "There are 200 pinecones in the tree! And, seeing the park man mowing the grass, "There are 200 grass in the lawn!" Then, discussing Lauren turning 3, and how she'll be 4 next, "After Lauren is 12, THEN, she will be 200!" On and on it goes.


Lauren was doing "May Sue" here: "May Sue--clap clap-- May Sue--clap clap-- May Sue from Alabama, something something Louisiana, Sitting in a rocker, Eating Betty Crocker...." (And that is all *I* know of May Sue) Julia brings home these little ditties she learns at school, and teaches them to Lauren. It's pretty funny hearing Lauren repeating them!! May Sue turns into May Too, and Eating Betty Crocker turns into something like Eating bunny crackers. :D

Big Boy Room

We got Austin's room all put together. It was just white before, nothing had been done to it since we moved in 4 years ago. I didn't take "before" pictures because we started moving stuff out before I thought of it. Brian and I both said that Austin's walls were the in the *worst* shape of all the rooms we've painted! Dings and scratches, etc., many many of them! The color is Sherwin Williams Ecru, and we had Home Depot color match it and used their Glidden flat scrubbable paint. The color looks different in all of these pictures. Which is it really most like? Well, take your pick! It changes with the light!

Looking in the doorway of his room. He is now using the double bed that was in Julia's room. I kind of wanted to paint it red, but then thought not much of it really shows anyway, so white it is, for now.


Bedding is from Company Kids. Austin chose navy blue sheets and a navy blanket (from Penney's).


View from the corner between window and bed.


We had this shelf for years; I'd stained it brown and planned to display birdhouses on it in the master bathroom of our old house. However--I never liked how the shelf looked, nor several of the birdhouses! But I kept the shelf and repainted it red when we were plannin Austin's room. Brian and I made the pegboard coat rack to go underneath it. The red paint is the first red I'd chosen for our dining room when we painted it, three years ago. It about scared me, on the wall! Too red and too bright for that room, and Brian ever-so-nicely agreed to repaint it a better red! :)


Austin's map painting. One day we were walking through Target, on our way to check out, and he saw a stack of these painted canvasses. He was fascinated with it, asking me where people live (in other states). Now that it's on his wall, he still asks me about where places are. On the back of a cereal box there was a picture of SeaWorld Orlando, and Austin asked me where that is. He led me to his room and asked where Florida is! And, how long would it take to get there?.... :)

Queen of Hearts

Last Thursday I took these of Lauren. She and Austin were playing outside. He was wearing a Lightning McQueen shirt, and I asked him if he was Lightning McQueen. He said that he was, and, "Wauren is the Queen of Hearts......because she has hearts on her shirt." :)

The day before as we were driving north to a doctor's appointment, passing the ocean on our way, Lauren said, "Dere's de ochean! I tee de ochean!" Then, a few seconds later, "Dod made de ochean. And Dod made de tees. And Dod made de tars!" Austin had been quiet up to this point, but then pointed out seriously, "Wauren. God did not make the cars." They had to both consider this for awhile, and we discussed how God gave people the ideas to make cars. It's fun to almost be able to see the wheels turning in their heads as they process things!