Leader of the "Cat Pack"

Yesterday I arrived at Ava's school a little early. The kids were still outside playing on the playground. I looked everywhere for Ava, not seeing her. Suddenly she appeared, crawling out from underneath the slide on all fours, "Merowing" at the top of her lungs. I watched her, smiling, then I observed three other little "kitty cats" following closely behind her (merowing as well!)...Ava's own little entourage. Somehow I feel that maybe the apple didn't fall far...When I went in to pick her up, little miss Ava showed me a Mum's day card she had made for me (yes it is celebrated early here). She pointed out the "Spectrununum" that she had colored especially for me. I looked blankly at the rainbow and asked, "What's a spretrumumblemumble?" Ava looked at me wisely and said, "Don't worry Mom, you'll learn that word when you get bigger".

Showing off her "spectrum"

Eli has been busy inflicting bodily harm...on himself! He smashed the top layer of the skin on his finger off a couple days ago. If you ask him about his plaster (band aid) he will tell you, "Dat door bonked me on da singer! Not nice not nice, not good not good!" Today he matched his skull against the flight of stairs...both fortunately survived intact! Both kids are still in the middle of a growth spurt, so Eric and I spend a good deal of the day running the "soup kitchen" in an attempt to keep those kids somewhat satiated!

My big news is that I got my official admission into Grad School....Oh please pray for me! I am really excited to start this next Big Thing. I am not so excited about rediscovering homework...yuck!

We are off to Normandy on Saturday morning. Eric is so excited...he has always wanted to go...something about a battle or something...(I won't have to take any history classes in grad school right?) We are also going to Mont Saint Michel- can't wait!

I remember when....

She claims to be a fairy cowboy...I certainly wouldn't argue!
When I was a little girl, I sometimes got to go and stay with my Grammy. If I was very good (or if she just felt like spoiling me a little), I got to have "applesauce with suzielocks". I have no earthly idea why red hots were known in my mind as "suzielocks", but so it was. So yesterday, when I gave Eli his lunch on his favorite "CARS" plate, I decided to pass on the "suzielocks" tradition...he wouldn't eat it....so I did...and it was just as delicious as I remembered! Oh to be a kid again...maybe I will eat a bologne sandwich and Twinkies for lunch tomorrow...or maybe just some more applesauce with suzielocks...

Time out...

big, big...time out...

S'mores in February

We just had to have one more toy to make our garden look so nice. Many know that my husband professes himself to be a bit of a pyromaniac...so just look how happy my big (and jr) fire starters are! I did make him pull the thing a little farther away from the house when the embers started to his the wall outside the kids bedroom...something about that seems just a teensy bit unsafe. Of course moving a fire pit in full blaze isn't exactly brilliant...we aren't idiots, really!
It was fun to watch my husband get a marshmallow skewer stuck to both his hand and back of his shirt...looked like he was trying to fight it off instead of cook with it! Then we got to giggling because Eric had "purchased" the fire pit from a buddy for a bottle of booze. Yes, we are such classy people!

Please send food!!!

Our kids have two settings...1. Growth spurt=eating everything in sight, sleeping like normal kids, then eating everything in sight. 2. Not growing at all=living on air and random cheerios and other floor snacks, taking short or no naps, then refusing to eat again. Both kids are currently in "stage 1". Eli is working on "fourth breakfast" as he has already had eggs and toast, then kix, then Life cereal. I just gave him peanut butter on a spoon in an effort to find something that will fill the poor child up. Ava is a bit more mature about her growth spurts. She eats enough to satisfy a sumo wrestler and then is able to go a good 3 hours or so before gorging again. Don't get me wrong, as a mother of two "on the small side" children, nothing makes me happier than watching my children eat instead of pick and whine at their food!
This was a few minutes before waking him up from a three and a half hour nap...heaven...
It is "snot season" here in England. Enlarge the picture to fully appriciate this fact...
Poor little Ava got a nice glimpse into what her life is going to be like having a little brother...Last night Eric had the kids over at a friend's house. He had bought them some french fries for third dinner. He gave half to Eli and saved the other half for Ava. Ava was happily playing upstairs with the other kids and ignored Eric when he called her downstairs to eat her fries. So when Eli showed up a half hour later asking for more french fries, Eric gave him Ava's. Ava remembered that french fries had been offered when they were driving home and she started to whine that she now wanted them. Eric explained that he had called her to come eat and she had ignored him so she didn't get any. Before she even got a chance to throw an all out fit, Eli turned to her, eyes gleaming, "I got french fries!"
I had to just add this picture...Peanut Butter=Happy Eli!