Sarah wanted to help fold washcloths!

Sarah's accomodations...

Look what I found sleeping in Sarah's und** drawer!

Sarah's New Line

Sarah's new line of fashion will include hats that interchange as PJ bottoms...

Strange Kid Things...

Today we bought new hats and gloves. John loved his Batman hat so much, he wanted to sleep in it! He has never seen Batman... and that's ok!

Do you remember the scene at the end of Toy Story 2, when Stinky Pete is stuck in the backpack of a crazy girl who "beautifies" her dolls? Well, I was watching a crazy girl in action. Look at those poor dolls! Sarah said that they were band aids. Hummm.... should I be concerned?

Bathtime

The difference between how John and Sarah play in the bathtub is striking, and another example of how we are wired differently. Sarah took her baby dolls in and very carefully washed each one. She talked to them in a gentle, sweet voice.

When it was John's turn, the bathtub weather took a turn for the worse. Suddenly, a storm took over the calm water. John managed to abduct the freshly washed baby dolls. Now they were in the middle of the storm, whirlpool and all. No gentle, sweet words -- instead, loud noises of thunder and boats crashing.

John's 4 foot puzzle

Despite John's massive thumb wound from a staple gone mad, he managed to complete a 4 foot tall puzzle. Wow! He only had one working thumb! He was proud...so proud...he took it apart and put it back together again. ;)

John's first smiley

It just happened... John drew a smiley face! Wow! He has not been one eager to write or draw.

After his smiley face, he drew a dog for my Uncle Johnny, who just had a knee replacement. I wish I had taken a picture of it. He wanted to include the bones, stomach, and tail. Of course, it had about 20 legs. The most interesting feature was the "bump" John drew under its tail.

He said, "that's where the poopy comes out, mom!"

Interesting...

Sarah discovers her belly button...

...but still likes mommy's better...

Weekend at Dudley's...

This past weekend we did a little "Dudley sitting" while his family took a little trip to the beach.

We had a grand time! Dudley's home is a bit of a waterfront B & B, to say the least! Going from a "full" sized bed to a king... made me feel like a queen! And, wow...great sunrises on the water!

Dudley is a very cool...and very energetic Weimaraner . Dusty, our 12 year old pup, tried to help entertain the young pooch....until the jet skis started zooming back and forth. Dusty actually swam halfway across the water, twice, chasing them. Thankfully, the jet skiers helped lure him back to the ramp... I am afraid momma had all she could handle of the senior citizen dog's obsession with jet skis...so he was shipped out to stay with grampa for a few days...

We learned that you don't need quite as much bubble bath solution when there are jets in the tub...

And, Sarah thought Dudley's water dish was a new "binkie fondue". Yes... she dipped it in and stuck it right back into her mouth without hesitation...

Ban of the Belly Button

Can't I get some sweet smiles?

Well, it has been day 2 of "no belly button". For some strange reason, Sarah takes great comfort in poking her pointer finger into my innie belly button (which has increased it's innieness since the birth of this princess...). I have been telling her that I have an "ouchie boo boo" there. This, of course, is not too far from the truth, since she has been poking at it 2-4 times daily since she has stopped nursing.
The things we endure as mothers...

Boo Boo

We had home group tonight. So, I usually fix an easy dinner for the kids, since the adults eat dinner together. Tonight it was left over pizza and dino-nuggets (and broccoli, of course!).

I microwaved them together and some of the pizza sauce ended up on the dino-nuggets.

Sarah looked at the red tail and questioned, "Boo, Boo?"

Then, before getting an answer, she devours it! Such compassion that girl has!

My personality test...

ESFJ> - "Seller". Most sociable of all types. Nurturer of harmony. Outstanding host or hostesses. 12.3% of total population.

Jung Word Test (similar to Myers-Briggs)
personality tests by similarminds.com

I was curious to take this test after reading Making Home: Myers-Briggs #1: Personality Types. I took the Myers-Briggs back in college and was identified as an ESFJ also. Our professor described this personality as the "Barney" type (yes... the big purple dinosaur we all love...) Interesting that after all these years I haven't evolved into a more exciting personality....

Although, I must say, I am a "Nurturer of harmony". I am not a push over, or a wimp. I am also quite a firm momma. Just ask John....who had 4 spankings the other day...

With that said...this reminder of my personality is quite apropos for what transpired this evening.

It was 10:30 pm and I was "sweatilly" stretching and catching up on blogs after my very adventurous stairmaster experience. Of course, Sarah wakes up after hearing a loud zip of Bruce's sander. (Yes, Bruce was sanding the outside of our boat at 10:30 in the evening).

Well, usually, if she awakens, I just crawl into bed with her and present her with my belly button. She sticks her little finger in there and in a wink falls back asleep. Strange, but true...

I am sweaty and gross. I do not want to soak her bed with my sweat. So, I towel dry my legs, and proceed to get on all fours over Sarah. Yes, she finds my belly button, and finally falls asleep. What a serratus anterior workout!

Unfortunately, being a "Nurturer of harmony" can be conflicting with practicality and challenging with mothering gray areas.

Sigh...

Sarah's Morning

I am not sure where she picked this up from, but Sarah tries to swaddle her babies in blankets. For some reason, she usually prefers to use napkins or paper towels.

She also has this thing for straightening out her little pad on her changing table. She will fuss if she is unable to straighten it up before leaving.

Hopefully, as she gets older, she will love to scrub tubs and toilets!

Blue Angels Party

First of all, I must confess.... I spilled H2O on my digital camera... I am amazed that any of these shots were spared! I couldn't see what I was shooting through the monitor...
Praise God that I did get a "new" camera from Papa for my B-day, and that I didn't have that one with me today!

John's buddy, Jack, had a birthday party at the Naval Academy today. What a splendid time! I think it was 78 degrees...
sigh

Last year when we saw the Blue Angels, John was scared. This year, he loved it. It was so cool to watch those jets fly so close to each other! I don't think I could do that in my car going 5 mph, let alone 300 mph!

Jack's mom is a graduate of the USNA and flies helicopters. John told her that he will teach her how to fly a jet airplane...

Squat

Daddy (getting ready to paint the boat) and Sarah comparing hats...

John took a particular liking to the birthday card my sis sent me.

I know I read the card to him about 10 times!

Later, we played "post office". John would put various items in an old envelope and deliver it to me.

On the 5th delivery, as I was looking into the envelope, I asked, "What's in the envelope this time...?"

John said, "Squat!".

I laughed a real belly laugh. John actually made a funny. I sure wish my camera was handy to capture the look on his face.

Miscellaneous Strange Kid Things

• Sarah loves to climb up on the table next to our sitting room window (don't worry-- she is never left unattended!)


• When I was trimming John's hair the other day, he asked me if I could cut it like Grampy Al's (I almost did!)
• Every time we pray before meals, Sarah says "mommie" (because she wants to pray for me, I guess), and then, "daddy", and finally, "grandma and grandpa" (sorry to those of you she didn't mention...) Usually we pray for Uncle Robert at every meal, since he is in Malawi, Africa on a Peace corps tour.

Just nuts...

"Mommy, what does 'driving me nuts' mean?" (Just where did he here that from?!)

Ohhh! I have not been posting this past week for a few reasons....
1. my camera's memory stick was MIA,
2. I've been trying to cross some other items off my 'to do' list, and
3. well, my kids have been driving me nuts....

I feel so awful that John asked me that question the other day... I don't even remember saying it. Both children have tested positive for spring fever. And, even after lots of playground trips, bike rides, bouncy-thing bouncing, and sprint racing, they have been out-of -control!

John has been in this "I'm scared" phase. It started when a cabinet in the bathroom opened as he was standing at the 'head'. (yes, of course he turned around, and well, his whole body followed, if you know what I mean...) Well, inside the cabinet are about 2 rows of Scott tissue (the individually wrapped kind). He said he was afraid of the letters on the wrapper!?

Now, he will not go into any room on the boat by himself! AHhhhh!

Sarah, Sarah....Must she fuss at every homegroup meeting? Tonight she stayed downstairs with the babysitters for about 40 minutes (yahoo), only to scream for momma and cause a ruckus during the bible study part of the meeting....

Somehow I feel, well, relieved to have gotten that off my chest....

"Momma said there'll be days like this..." but not a whole week!!
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/personalization/music_sampler/track-icon-playing-blue._V22084257_.gif

Making Pizza!

John had a play date with his buddy, Graham, today! They played so nicely together -- a lot of teamwork! They decided to make a pizza kitchen up in the loft. John thought it would be best to make a rope door (notice the knot---is he a son of a sailor or what?). Graham was so proud of their pizza that he brought it over to me for a sample... 8).

John said later, as I was tucking him in:

" Mom, I love pizza, and I love y0u, too!"

Big Brother

John was very eager to help mommy out while I was getting lunch ready. I asked him to blow bubbles onto her tray...not into her face. Can you see the smile on his face?

I cannot believe that I permitted bubbles inside the boat. Sometimes we blow bubbles in the bathtub...but that is rare. Obviously, I was in need of 2 hands!

OK...here it is:

Top Ten Things I said I never would do:
10. Allow co-sleeping (Sarah is finally in her own bed...)
9. Give my child candy
(John was introduced at age 3, Sarah, 11 mo)
8. Feed my child without washing his/her hands
7. Feed my child without washing his/her hands in the grocery store
6. Let my child have a toy gun
5. Fail to have at least one vegetable at dinner
4. Let my child watch more than 30 minutes of tv/dvd
3. Encourage binky use
2. Run errands with dried food on my child's face
1. Wear holey underwear...

Note: In the picture above, Sarah is obviously using regular silverware. She prefers it that way....
Oh, did I mention that I never said that I would cave into my child's preferences...

Sarah and her thing for shoes...

Oh, Little Sarah! After her bath, she insisted on wearing her little dress shoes over her sleeper! I couldn't take them off (without objection) until she was passed out in dreamland...