Remember

Edited to add:

Thank you to Sue for the link to this amazing video. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

Road trip pics

So, I took pictures of (almost) every "Welcome to..." sign on our way across the country. Finally today, I figured out what to do with them. A fun way to record a snapshot of the trip!

A message from Emma:

Gotta go!! I don't want any more "tikits"!

Thomas Derailed

Around here, we're all about Thomas the Tank Engine. Yesterday, George felt Thomas needed to leave the Island of Sodor and go exploring.
Thomas begins his journey. Pesky boulders make it difficult for this little 4x4-challenged fellow.He evades the rocks by squeezing through a tight crevase.
What a HAPPY place Thomas has found!! Giant flowers provide shade and protection from giant bees!
Um, oops, need a little help here! Too much fun in the sun for Thomas.




Think maybe I need more sleep or did these pictures crack you up as much as they did me? Yeah, I hear ya. Off to bed I go. (In my defense, these aren't posed! I just followed George around and took pictures whenever he left Thomas somewhere.)

Mommy of the Year Award

Bet you thought you were going to get it this year, right? Nope! I’ve got this one wrapped up! Jason was going to pick up Emma from school yesterday. He had a 1:00 meeting, but would have plenty of time to get back across town afterwards to pick Emma up at 2:10. Except for one thing. Yesterday was Wednesday. Wednesdays are Early Release days. School gets out at 1:10.

So, at 1:15, I’m mentally planning out the rest of the day. Let’s see, we would be going swimming so I ought to give George an earlier nap and plan an easy, early dinner. Isn’t it great that we can go swimming every Wednesday? Wednesday. A quick glance to the clock. It’s 1:15 on Wednesday. Oh no!!!!!!!!!

As I frantically call Emma’s school and grab George’s shoes, I have visions of Emma standing by herself in her classroom, sobbing her eyes out. The receptionist tells me they’ll have her brought to the office and I run out the door. Breaking every possible speed limit, I arrive at school approximately 3.8 minutes later. Okay, maybe it was 7.8 minutes, but it was fast!

And Emma? Yeah, she was having a blast. Sigh. She thought it was the coolest thing ever. Ms. AJ took her outside to look for my car, and while out there, she heard her name being called over the loudspeaker. She’s famous! In the office, they gave her a book to read and admired her outfit. So you see? I really am the Mommy of the Year! I allowed my daughter to be treated like a princess at school!

Mom asked me this morning if I plan on picking my daughter up from school today or not. Thanks Mom.

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In other news, we attended a Walk the Diamond fundraiser this morning for the Early Education Program that supports preschools like George’s. Very simple little parade around the local baseball diamond, snacks, and fun for the kids. George spent most of the time playing in the first baseline and turning his white socks brown. But he also loved the parachute (he called it a balloon), I loved watching him play happily alongside so many kids. Normally, that many people in so small a space would completely drive him crazy. All in all, it was a fun little event to gather the teachers, parents, and students and enjoy the sunshine. Several hours later, he is still wearing the little ribbon they gave him for completing the walk.

So often, we end up staying home because George can't handle big outings. I sure appreciate his school system sponsering something fun like this for kids like him. It feels great doing something as a family and breaking up the routine a bit. (By the way, George handled the routine change just fine, but wasn't real thrilled at seeing his teachers somewhere other than school! I think he thought we were going to leave him in a strange place, so he stuck pretty close the whole time we were there.)

This may only be interesting to my scrapbooking friends, but I met Ali Edwards and her son, Simon! Okay, Simon blew past me to go play, but he’s as adorable and full of life as all her pictures and layouts show. For you non-scrapbookers, Ali is the Creative Editor of Creating Keepsakes, the largest scrapbooking magazine, and an incredibly talented artist.

Pool, Glorious, Pool!!!

Wow!! Was that a success or what?!! We all had a blast the other night. I've never seen a pool like this one. Here's a pic from their website:

It doesn't look too strange, I know, but it really was so different. It's housed within a wellness center, so it's completely set up for every handicap or theraputic use. See the black stripe between the pool and spa? That's a wheelchair ramp. Not only useful for chairs, but also perfect for little toddlers, not ready to be in the big pool, but wanting to play without hanging on. Plus, the water was salt water! And heated to 92 degrees! Very, very cool!

George loved jumping off the edge into Daddy's arms and being piggy-backed through the deeper water by me. Emma loved practicing her swimming and enjoying the many floats, noodles, life vests, and toys available. Mommy and Daddy loved the spa! George thought the bubbles were the coolest things ever, so we got to spend lots of time in there! And the best part? The happily exhausted kiddos when the night was over. I had forgotten just how good post-swimming sleepiness feels. Can't wait to do it again next week!

Oh, and an added bonus: George now loves to take a shower, making hair washing night much, much easier!

When it all seems too hard...

...take a look out the window. And breathe. In....and out......ahhhhhhh, that's better now, isn't it?

This is our view from our living room window. Could it be any prettier? I love watching the sun set over the city and warming myself in the morning sun with a cup of coffee, enjoying those few moments before the kids get up!

I have lots more pictures, but it seems like the house looks different every day. One more box emptied, one more project completed, one more detail added that makes it all feel like Home. The fence went up (and with it, the play structure and Emma's garden), the downstairs bathroom was finished just before we moved in, the master bedroom was painted the day before the new carpeting went in (unfortunately, I can't stand how the color turned out, so we'll be redoing that...someday), and slowly but surely the basement has been reorganized and cleaned. As I write this, I can hear Jason dragging his new workbench into place and unloading yet more boxes. So life slowly returns to normal.

Tonight, after dinner, we're going to check out an indoor swimming pool that we can go to for free on Wednesday evenings through George's Early Education Program. This will be one of the first times George has been in a real pool (not a kiddie/wading pool), he loves the water though so I think we'll have a blast!

And now, just for your viewing pleasure (and a cuteness overload) here are the kiddos!