Quick Note

The Boy, my camera, my tax check, and I are heading out for more adventures in banking today. Wish us luck...both to get my check cashed and to take some pictures. I have several fun doctor's appointments tomorrow so I have to get this done today. Afterwards I may need a little retail therapy. Pictures tomorrow I promise!

The Rules---Angi Make Sure You Read This!! ;)

I learned an interesting thing today. Apparently banks will not cash tax checks. This is odd to me since the check is from THE UNITED STATES TREASURY! Why won't they cash my check? Do they not think the government is good for it? I tried opening a checking account with it at two banks but they were too busy to get to me (I had to meet Mike and it was 4p.m., two people in front of me at both banks) so I finally just went to try and cash it and was told they wouldn't do it. I called my friend who works at a bank and told her and she said she thinks her bank does it. Too bad that bank is 600 miles away! So, now I have to go back again tomorrow and wait my turn to open a checking account...again. I'm not mad about it, okay I was at the time, but I just think it is a little odd that they won't cash a check from THE UNITED STATES TREASURY! Next year, direct deposit for sure. Hear that Dad?

The Boy and I had a huge fight while sitting on the potty today. He is adamant that he is not going to poop in the potty. I think he has anger issues...can't imagine where he gets them. He was so mad at me he was hitting me and himself. In his defense, once he got off the potty he laid down on the bed and was instantly asleep. Too tired. Still no excuse for hitting Mommy or himself though. I don't know what it is going to take to get him to go on the potty.

So, another day with no new pictures, sorry Gramma. Tomorrow Jayke and I have some flowers to plant so maybe I will take some pictures of the tiny gardener for you.

My friends are planning a trip to the river boats while I am visiting next month. I've been on these trips with them before so this time I'm laying down some rules. I'm not scared, I have backup. The designated driver will be on my side. Here are the rules:
1. NO PUKING IN THE CAR!!! This is by far the most important rule.
2. No smelly food in the car if someone feels they may puke.
3. No interrupting a really good song, like Funky Cold Medina or anything by Too Short! I can bring my Ipod programmed with our travel music.
4. Only the driver can override a song choice...this is only because I don't want anything thrown at me, or anyone else.
5. Any calls to have the boat held because we are coming from "Way Above Indianapolis" will be made by Angi and only Angi. She does it so well.
6. We will not clarify how far above Indianapolis we will be coming, it could be Anderson, it could be Canada, you never know.
7. There will be no yelling at your spouse in the car. Not even by the driver. He doesn't want something thrown at him. I will try to abide by this rule too, but since I made the rule I can amend it as needed.
8. There will be no badgering of those who do not gamble as much as others. I'm...er, I mean some people are perfectly happy to gamble their $20 and quit.
9. There will be no last minute attempts to beg, borrow, or steal money from any one else so that you can "Get well" as we drag you from the boat!
10. Anyone who feels it necessary to talk the entire 3 hour ride without pause has to ride in the very back.
11. There will be NO puking in the car!
12. There will be no "Calling the ball", we won't be in the green bullet.
13. There will be no forgetting of IDs.
14. We will leave at the scheduled time, coming and going.
15. There will be no spilling of drinks.
16. The driver will attempt to keep his speed below 90mph.
17. There will be no puking anywhere!
18. I reserve the right to add rules as I think of them.

It is going to be a great trip! I hope I survive. I received an itinerary today of what I will be doing while there. I better stay a month to fit it all in. Maybe if I spend the first week with my Dad my mom won't be ready for me to leave after a week...maybe not.

Mexico and Snow Flakes

The Cabo trip is getting closer to being nailed down now. I think it will be September 30th that we leave for a week. I still don't know who all is going but I know I am! The resort looks really nice and I've already found a boat tour I want to go on if Mike goes with me. They have a photo gallery of the resort at, Pueblo Bonito, if you want to check it out. Here is one picture of the resort and pool.



Another boring weekend here in The South. It rained yesterday. Jayke and I spent most of the day cuddled up watching Spongebob. It was one of those days you just want to sleep through so we did our best.

Today I have an exciting afternoon of laundry and other housework planned. Since the NASCAR race was postponed last night, Mike is busy watching that all afternoon. I used to be a big fan, not so much anymore. I watch occasionally.

Here is the today's shot of The Boy for the Gramma's. We have been practicing his alphabet a lot and I think he almost has it. I will try to record him when he gets it down a little better. So far so good on the potty training. No accidents for a couple of days now. He has decided he wants Heeleys and bunk beads. He doesn't even sleep in the bed he has so he is NOT getting bunk beds. As for the Heeleys, he'd kill himself and I doubt they even make them in his size so he will just have to wait for those too. He goes around pretending he has them. He is now at the point where ever commercial he sees he wants whatever it is they are advertising...unless it's girl stuff. He came out of the bedroom the other night and kept telling me he wanted some snow flakes. Snow flakes? What are snow flakes? "You know the ones with the Tiger on the box!" Oh, okay, Frosted Flakes cereal. Now I got it.

Potty mishaps, Cabo, and Good Chips!

Not been a good day in the world of potty training today. Woke up soaked, had an accident on the way to the bathroom, then another one about 30 minutes after getting him dressed for the day. I don't know what is going on with him today but I hope he gets over it real soon.
Maybe he was traumatized last night when he was made to sit on the potty and I did this to him while he sat there...



I doubt it though. He asked for me to paint them since I was painting my own. His dad was not very happy about it. Made it even better that we did this too...



Once again, he chose his tatoo. He has Superman on the other arm. A good balance. I told him to make a funny face so I could take his picture and this is what I got...



He then had to take some very lovely pictures of me which I am not going to share with you. I will just give you one last very sweet picture of The Boy.



So, after my big pity party I was having for myself the other day...complaining that no one was coming to visit, I wasn't going anywhere, etc. Not only do I have a trip home planned but now there is a trip to Cabo San Lucas in the works!



That trip will be at the end of September/first of October instead of Vegas this year. I think I would like to start doing Vegas only every other year or so. I don't need to go there every year. Maybe next year I will have a reason to go to Vegas again, a hem...Angi, Kim. Any way...the Mexico trip is still in the planning phase so I don't have anything else to report on that at this point other than I am ready to go back and go to a different area of Mexico. I've never been to the Pacific Ocean so that will be something new for me too. Note to self...book mani, pedi, and facial as soon as we get there!

When my mom was down here a few weeks ago we had to run into Sam's Club for something and since whe is hitting her Weight Watchers diet hard she was looking for something to snack on that would not ruin all her hard work. She found these chips that at first I thought had to be terrible. I was very wrong. They are so good! How can something this good be healthy? That is what their bag even says.



Flat Earth Chips. The apple and the Peach Mango are the ones I love! I haven't tried any other ones except Berry which I wasn't crazy about. The other two though, I have to stop myself or I would easily eat the whole bag they are that good. Jayke really likes them too. So now I can munch on my fruity chips while Mike is eating his greasy potato chips and we are all happy. I am recommending you try them! You can get them at Walmart also, in case there is no Sam's Club near you. Yummy!

The weather is gloomy today, we are hoping for rain. It has cooled off a lot too so The Boy and I are hanging out doing laundry and running to the potty all day. Exciting times at the Casa de Howell, exciting times.

A Wicked Book Review

Since I have that Spring Reading Thing banner up there in the corner I thought I better post something about what I've read. So far, other than a very few children's books and my usual magazines, I've readWicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
I had a love/hate thing going on with this book. The story is that of the life of the witch starting at birth and running all the way up to wear Dorothy accidentally kills her. The beginning was slow going. There is a lot of difficult language to get through but eventually that changes and the reading becomes easier.
It is an interesting story of how Elphaba, the little green girl, becomes a witch after many years of stuggling with politics, religion, social class, dissapointment, and loss. You will find yourself sympathizing with her and understanding why she was perceived as a witch. Their are comparisons to our political struggles today and comparisons to Nazi Germany made by the predjudices toward Animals. It was a little too political for me. The best part of the book, in my opinion, were Elphaba's years at University. There were times when I couldn't put it down in anticipation of what was about to happen, but I felt a little let down at the final climatic moments. I felt like I was always inching toward the edge of my seat only to slump back down when the book didn't deliver. Even knowing how the story would end there were possibilities for this book to go beyond what I felt, was an anticlimatic ending. All though I was a tad disapointed in the way it ended, I'm definately glad I read it and am considering the sequel, Son of a Witch.

Headin Home!

I am heading home to Indiana...on the 31st. While I'm there I will be going to see Gwen in concert with Angi, Kim, Melanie, and all their girls. I am even going to brave the lawn area at Verizon Music Center...something I said I would NEVER do. It will be a total GIRL'S night out...literally as there will be 4 girls under 10 with us. Not exactly the "Girl's night out" I was hoping for, but It will be fun watching them dance and act silly. And I won't have a child there to be responsible for because Jayke will be staying with my dad.
We will both be staying with him at the first part of our visit because my mom is moving into her new house that weekend and doesn't want us there. Big Meanie! No...she doesn't want Jaykeb distracting her and getting in the way of the movers. We will be staying with her later in our visit.
My sister is coming up from NC and it is going to be my Dad's birthday too. Dad even promised to turn on the AC if it gets too hot for me. He has something against air conditioning for some reason. AJ will be there...no that wasn't a request, it was a statement. She WILL be there along with her mother, my other sister. Someone call the cabana boy and tell him to start warming up his blender.
The cabana boy is my father...we all sit by the pool and have him bring us drinks, when we can get him to.

Kim--stock up on firewood, I will be over to burn stuff! Maybe Brannon and I can go steal a stop sign.
Angi--if you want decorating help get out your checkbook so we can go shop. I don't mind helping but I like to see some results of my work.
Gramma--Turn down your TV so you can hear us. You will have to give up watching your FOX news long enough to go eat Thai with Mom, Jayke, and me.
Jim--stock up on your drink...I have no set date of when I am leaving.
Gramma Rain and Grandpa Dave--we will be up to see you too!
Mom--Make up your mind which breed of dog you want so we can go get one while we are there!
Kelly--Come visit Gramma while I'm there too!
If I forgot anyone I'm sorry...leave me a comment and I will include ya in my visit.

My SIL has started a blog and I'm really excited about it! She is new to the blogging thing and is just getting started so jump over there and say hi. You can find her at FullHouse. She is in my blogroll over at the side too.
TTFN!

Look Oma, All Clean!

I spent the better part of the day cleaning The Boy's room. It was worse than I had ever seen it. It is kind of hard to clean right now because he has so much stuff and no where to put it. I've scoped out a piece of furniture from Pottery Barn that will help tremendously, now I have to save enough money to get it. Here is what his room looks like from the doorway. No room to spare.


He was a happy little dude though once I got it all straightened up. He even asked to eat his lunch at his little table, now that we could find it again.


He spent the rest of the afternoon driving his cars in there since he had room again.

We took him to get ice cream at Baskin-Robbins for the Fire Department Fundraiser thing they had going on. $.31 a scoop. Can't beat that! I don't know what flavor that was that he got. It had 3 or 4 different colors which he wore proudly.



I have yet to find someone to do my hair since moving to South Carolina (it has only been a year now). I normally get it done when I go home to Indiana by my girl up there. I haven't been back since Christmas though and my highlights (which were way too light to begin with) were growing out so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I have never colored my own hair so who knew what would happen! I take really craptastic pictures and I have been outside in the near ninety degree weather so you are warned.




It is dark but it will lighten soon, I'm sure. At least it is all one color again. Everyone always says I look just like my mom. I never see it though. When I looked at this one I saw it for maybe the second time ever in my life. I thought I looked like her in this one. I think it is in the eyes. Maybe it is the goofiness...I don't know. Just kidding Mom!



That is my messy white board behind me where I keep track of my life. Notice all the empty boxes on it because there is nothing going on. Still waiting on my tax return, still trying to figure out when I will be heading North, still waiting on someone to come visit me.
Now I have to go spend time with the husband because he has been feeling neglected lately...hence the bad mood yesterday. Hopefully this will fullfill my grandmother's need for daily pictures of our lives.

TONIGHT ONLY AT BASKIN ROBBINS!

Great thing to take the kids to! You can read about it on the Baskin Robbins website. Proceeds to go to the Fallen Firefighters Fund.

I Live With a Bunch of Crazies!

 

No Wild Card Wednesday today. I haven't been taking any pictures the past couple of days. Still concentrating on potty training. I did learn a couple of things yesterday though.

NEVER make hamburgers for dinner if you don't have onions to put on them. Apparently it is the end of the world as we know it if you don't have onions on your hambugers...or at least that is what I was told last night.

Apparently I do NOTHING around the house. Ever. I think I might just start doing nothing and see what happens.

Then I walked into the bedroom and Jaykeb told me, "When you get little and I'm big and you try to hit me with that whistle, you're going to see GIANT MEAN JAYKEB!" WTH. What is wrong with these people I live with? They are all flipping out on me. I don't know what whistle he was talking about or WHY he was talking about it. Thank GOD they both just went to bed early last night. And hopefully they will not have the grouchies today.

Random Bits About Me

I've been tagged by Italian Babushka! I've never been tagged before. I'm kinda excited! So here is what you do.

Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to blog about their seven things and post the rules as well. At the end of your post, choose 7 people to tag and list their names. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog! OK, here goes...

1. I was a nail biter until 3 years ago. Stopped cold turkey...don't know how or why.

2. I've had 8 speeding tickets in my life. Yeah...I have a major lead foot. I won't tell how many wrecks I've had.

3. I met my husband on the internets. He sent out a random email and I answered. That was almost 8 years ago.

4. I have 7 dogs, 3 cats, and 1 fish. At one time I had 10 cats, a hamster, and a bird with the 7 dogs and fish. Nuts? Yeah, probably.

5. I prefer to sleep during the day and stay up all night. I can't do that as much now with Jaykeb but that is what I would like to do. I believe it is because I was born at 5:03 p.m. so that is when MY day begins.

6. I love books about Mt. Everest. I know, weird. I've read Into Thin Air 3 times. Can't explain this obsession either.

7. I miss my job every single day. Someday I hope to open my own Interior Design store like the one my Mom had. I want to name it The Blue Pineapple. I can't think of one other job I would like to have other than the one I had and hope to have again someday.

There you have it. I don't know if there was anything surprising to anyone in this list. Pretty boring. So, now I have to tag 7 people. Well, I don't know if I know 7 people to tag but I will try. AJ, Katie, Movin Mom, Patti, Bossy and that is all. I don't know who else to tag and I know a lot of people have already done this one.

Lizards, Potty Talk, Dog Pools, and Plans

 

Something I haven't gotten used to yet living in South Carolina. The lizards. They are all over the place. There are a bunch of different kinds too. Some don't bother me, others kind of look like snakes with legs. Those are the ones that scare the crap out of me when I'm working outside. The little green guys that look kind of like this one, only green move so slow I just know I'm going to end up with one in my house when The Boy gets up the nerve to grab one. This particular lizard was just hanging out on my rain chain yesterday. They seem to like my new deck. I guess I don't mind as long as they eat their share of bugs.
Yesterday was another great day for the potty training saga. The Boy went to school in his "Big Boy Pants". I was worried that he wouldn't want to use the potty in a strange bathroom so I packed enough clothes for a weekend getaway. It was as if I thought he would wet his pants every 5 minutes I packed so much stuff. When I got there to pick him up, after his 3 hour class, I was thrilled to find out that he told the teacher when he had to go and went right in with her to do it, no problem. Yeah!
After the triumph at school I thought he was ready to go run errands all afternoon. We headed to Target after getting him his "atta boy Happy Meal", then to Ashley Home Furniture, Petsmart, and Lowes. He decided he needed to christen the Lowe's parking lot so I opened the car doors to make a little stall he could go in without us getting picked up for urinating in public. No problem.
After all that success we had a minor setback when we got home. He took off after a cat and disappeared behind the barn. When he finally came out he was wobbling along screaming, "I had an accident! There's something in my underpants!". At least he isn't constipated anymore. Poor guy. Oh yeah, he wakes up dry and goes straight to the potty first thing in the morning! That only took like 2 days to accomplish.
So enough potty talk. On to what else we did yesterday. While on our big shopping excursion we picked up a little baby pool for the dogs to cool off in now that the weather is getting stinking hot.


Jayke decided that he needed to test the pool before the dogs got it. It is way to small for him but it was perfect to put on the deck and let him play in the water for a while.

 

We don't have our big pool up yet. I'm hoping to wait until after the tree frogs mating season to put that thing up after what happened last year.



So, he went to school, went shopping, swam on the deck, played with his friend from next door, helped Mike in the yard, swam some more, then fell asleep while eating his dinner. It was a very early bedtime last night which allowed me plenty of time to get my friends on three-way to attempt to plan a weekend trip which at the end of the conversation, turned out to be a gambling-camping trip. Not sure how that works yet. And there is a condition that I have to gamble more than $1. It will be difficult for me to part with Mike's hard earned money but I think I will manage.

Blonde or Brunette?

 

I thought it might be interesting to see what The Boy would look like with my hair color. Still a cutie! His hair will probably darken eventually since both his dad and I have dark hair.

Note: I did not color his hair...did it with the computer. Stop freaking out Mom!

We have done nothing but work on potty training this weekend. Jayke has graduated to using the toilet now. No more peeing outside. One more little hurtle and we will be on the home stretch. So far all he has done is pee in the potty. We are waiting for the other and when it happens he has been promised a trip to Red Lobster. His favorite! I think his dad just really wants to use his gift card but whatever. Jayke does love the cheddar bisquits. We also told him he could have another monster truck. At this point, we just need to get him to go once then I think he will do it without hesitation. So far he is holding out. Everything has been easy so far but this.

I was expecting a drunk dial last night from Carrington Woods but never got it. I got a warning call early in the evening but no full fledge drunk dial. I am greatly disappointed! A day spent in the bathroom potty training and drunk friends, what could be more entertaining?

My Little Indian

I was going to make it a rule not to post on Saturdays but since I was told by my grandmother that she is so disappointed when there are no new pictures I thought I better slap a couple up here. So, even though it is still Friday, this is my Saturday post.


This is the boy with his Indian gear. We got the headdress in Georgia on our way back from Florida and the other thing on the reservation. Speaking of Indians, I wonder if there are any arrow heads any where around the house up there of Grandpa's that Jayke could have? I'm sure he would like that. I would put it up until he was old enough to have it, of course. So, Mom...Grandma...anyone? Let me know. Here is another shot of Chief Talksalot...



He has been sick the past couple of days. High fever and just not feeling well. This evening he started talking non stop for about 2 hours. My sign that he is feeling better. Now if I can just manage not to get it. I've had a headache all day. His fever kept us from going to the baby shower today, so I have no pictures to share. Sorry. We pretty much slept all day since we were up most of the night. I had to put him in the bathtub at 4 a.m. to break his fever. After that he was finally able to sleep peacefully for a while. We've been hitting the chicken noodle soup and Sprite all day and now he is resting while watching a SpongeBob marathon...and finally quiet again.

Not Very Good at Following Instructions

Today is the TWO year anniversary of SPF! I found out how it all got started over on Kristine's site...you can go there, check out her fridge and read how SPF was born. Now on to the assignment.

Today in honor of the very first SPF Kristine told us to take a picture of our fridge...Cribs style(that is a show on MTV where celebrities show off their houses and always show what is in the fridge, for the unhip family...er uh, people who are reading this). I almost didn't play when I learned that I had to post a picture of my fridge because it is usually in a state of disarray. I went and peeked in to see how terrible it was and it wasn't too bad so I figured I would go ahead and grab the camera.
I took my pictures then went and reread the assignment...oops, apparently I was supposed to be in the picture too. I could have gone back and taken a new picture but I thought you may not want to see me in hot pink and green jammies, no makeup, and hair a mess. Plus if I was in the picture you wouldn't be able to see the fridge items, not that you really care, but that was my thinking. I was supposed to throw up the number two for the camera which I did. That would be why my very bright hand is in the picture...note to self, turn off flash when taking picture of fridge.



If you played let me and Kristine know so we can come see what is in yo fridge!

Finger Paint Recipe

If you saw my post earlier this week about our Messy Craft Day and were thinking of doing something crazy like whipping up a batch of homemade finger paint and inviting a gaggle (how many is a gaggle, anyway?)of children over to play in it, you may want to print off this recipe. This is the original recipe our host used to make her paints although afterwards she mentioned a few minor changes she would incorporate for next time. I will tell you what they are after the recipe, which I took from this The Family Fun website.

With a batch of this quick and easy finger paint (which keeps for at least a week in airtight containers), your child can finger paint to her heart's content for just pennies. It's perfect for using on paper or in the bathtub.

• Mix together 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/3 cup of cornstarch in a small pan, then slowly add 2 cups of cold water.

• Cook over low heat, stirring until the mixture becomes a smooth, almost clear gel (about 5 minutes).

• When it's cool, stir in 1/4 cup clear dish washing liquid.

• Scoop equal amounts of the mixture into containers and stir in food coloring (or, for even more vibrant colors, use food coloring paste).

Another fun painting option for little kids is to cover a tray or cookie sheet with waxed paper and have your child spoon tempera paint over it in different colors. Cover with another sheet of waxed paper. Your child can press down on the colors and watch them blend and move.

Because of the way in which we used the finger paints it would be better to use tear free baby shampoo instead of dish washing liquid. We had a little one get it in her eyes and it stung, of course. Fun, fun activity! I am going to make some and just dump it in the bath tub for The Boy one of these days. I should also mention that the food coloring did NOT stain The Boy's shorts or underwear he was wearing. I was a little worried about that at first. You can also freeze the fingerpaint and when it is thawed it returns to it's original consistency.

So there you have it...a recipe for a day of good clean fun!

Giant Mean Mommy

Since The Boy already thinks I'm no fun I decided to convince him I'm no fun AND mean. I actually made him pick up his toys today. GASP! You would have thought I had pulled his toenails out or some other kind of torture. The tears the snot the screaming. My mom told me 3 is way worse than 2 and she wasn't kidding. Only 9 more months until he is 4 and hopefully gets over this screaming, everything revolves around him business. I don't have any idea why he would act that way...a hem. I certainly don't know anyone like that...snicker. He told me I am "Giant mean". I guess that is his way of expressing REALLY mean. Well, he is going to be GIANT upset when I get a GIANT trash bag for his GIANT pile of cars in the middle of my kitchen floor. What, you don't believe me? I'm getting tougher. Just this morning I didn't give in to him when he wouldn't use the potty but still wanted something out of my WalMart $.88 bag of rewards. I wouldn't even show him what was in the bag so he could decide if it was worth torturing himself on the potty for. A 20 minute fit ensued which I just walked away from...patting self on back.

I've been informed of the disappointment I cause when there are no new pictures or stories posted on the blog. Sorry Grandma. I will try to get my posts up in time for you to see them in the morning from now on. I hate to disappoint people. It is kind of hard to write an interesting post on our day though when all we did is laundry and throw fits. I am planning to go camping very soon...like next weekend...which I am sure will be plenty interesting. AJ has requested that I actually video the experience since she knows how I am. I'm not really the camping type, but will gladly do it for the boy and to have something to put on the blog. I don't think I want that on tape but I'm sure I will take some pictures and have plenty to tell about.
I would have gone this weekend but Mike can't go camping without his own sleeping bag. Jayke is the only one who has one. I was just going to use a regular blanket but Mike seemed to think people would think we were the Clampets out for a weekend getaway. He also thinks our tent is too small for the 3 of us. Now I have been in this tent with Jayke and my mom and there was more than enough room. Me thinks he just wants to go buy a ton of expensive camping gear that we don't even know if we would ever use again. I say we go Clampet style for the first time and if I agree to ever go again then we go buy what we will need to do it right. I will get back to you on who wins this argument.
I have a baby shower to go to tomorrow for one of the girls in Mom's Club who I really like. I try to plan something every other day to make sure I bathe and get dressed at least 3 times a week. If anyone complains I will just tell them I am saving money by not using so much water to wash myself or my clothes. Sounds good to me...I try to do my share to help out ya know.

Mommy is No Fun at All!

It was "Messy Craft Day" with the Mom's Club today and messy it was! This was the first thing I've gone to at someone's house and this woman was brave is all I can say. When we got there there were tables set up with different crafts ready to go but the main attraction was clearly going to be what was set up in the driveway. There were individual stations with card board taped to the drive way and paper taped on the card board for finger painting. Then there was a huge area of long sheets of paper where the kids could have a free-for-all together. The host, Kristin, had made finger paint and put it in plastic bags to make it easy to just dump blobs of paint out on the paper for the kids to use.



It began nice enough with each child at their own station painting away but before long they all moved over to the big area and pretty much turned it into a slip and slide in paint instead of water.




I was a little nervous because it was so slippery kids were flying all over and falling down pretty hard but it didn't seem to bother them. They just popped right back up and went at it some more.

As usual Jayke found a girl to play with right away.

As the kids made their mess the mom's all stood around and took pictures. I'm sure the neighbors were wondering why all these women were standing in the driveway taking pictures of half naked children.

There were a couple of little ones who were happy enough to just sit and watch. This is little Etta Bea in her cute hat watching the crazy kids make a huge mess.



One lucky mom who had on shorts got slimed by the boys. There were a few times I had to run from being attacked by a slimy child. I didn't make it out completely clean though. I had red paint all up one arm much to Jayke's delight.



After all that mess we had to clean them up somehow so Kristin brought out the sprinkler. Unfortunately that didn't quite do the job so all the kids and the moms headed for the bath tub. I've never seen so many kids in one tub of green water. And so many moms climbing on the toilet, counter, whatever to get pictures. I did not get any pictures of the kids in the tub, I was just trying to get The Boy washed off and get out of there.



After everyone was cleaned up they got to play with Nolan's toys for a while. Jaykeb found a truck and a trailer he really liked. He was still playing with his little friend too.



We left and went to get lunch. Because Jaykeb has done so well with his potty training Oma sent him some money so he could pick out his own surprise. We ran to WalMart and Jayke got to pick out two large trucks and several small ones as his reward. He was even more deserving of it since we went to Craft Day without a diaper and he didn't have an accident and he made it to Walmart and back dry too. Very happy mom here. The car ride home was torture for him, holding his new truck in his lap and talking a mile a minute about it the entire way. "Mommy, can I ask you a question?" Then he would ask me 100 questions about his new truck.
Eventually his big day caught up with him though and I made him go try to take a nap. As I was putting his pull up on for the nap he lay on the bed trying not to cry and said to me, "You're no fun! You are no fun to play with at all!" So that is the thanks I get for taking him to a super Messy Craft Day, out to lunch, and then to Walmart to get all those new trucks. Tomorrow he can just stay home all day with his no fun mom and drive his new trucks.

That's a Big Pooh!

Because I'm too tired to be creative and nothing eventful happened today other than the boy using his potty twice, Woohoo! I give you Winnie the Pooh and boy too!



Taken at the Children's Garden in Greenville Saturday. Please let she who doesn't like to think or cause other's to think, TKW, and me both know if you played.

FINALLY!

The Boy is finally potty training! He got to put his first sticker on his chart yesterday! This is big news in our house. Everyone was starting to think he would be wearing diapers to school. We are starting slowly but so far so good...no accident. Granted he hasn't actually used the potty yet, he is peeing outside (such a boy)and hasn't done the other since we started. He has issues with sitting on the potty, I figured we start with the yard for now and then move to the potty. I will drag that thing out into the yard for him if I have to. Whatever works! First thing this morning when he woke up he went and got a pair of his big boy underwear out of the dresser and brought them to me. "I want my big boy pants on Mommy!" No problem! I was proud of him but at the same time I realized he probably could have done this a long time ago. Little turkey!

Road Trip!

Must have been something in the air this weekend because Mike was in the mood to do stuff. Not only did we go Cherokee and Artishpere, on Sunday we just got in the car and started driving. We took the Blueridge Scenic Highway thru the mountains stoppping off here and there at state parks and different lakes. We took this picture at Lake Jocasee in Devil's Fork state park. I'm putting the picture on here because now Jim(my step-dad ) thinks he wants to buy/build on this lake. I'm saying no, too far away. It is about an hour to my house. That is too far. All I need do is tell my mom that the website says there are black bears around this lake and that will settle that matter anyway.



Probably the prettiest of the three large lakes near us. The water was crystal clear and the lake bottom was white sand instead of the red clay like Lake Hartwell. We didn't stay here long because we wanted to go see a waterfall. Yes, we had just seen the one on the Reedy River the day before but this one was out in the woods with no development around it. Totally natural and untouched for the most part. It was a short drive to Issaqueena Falls...located in another state park. This is where we found the waterfall.



You can't really tell in the picture but this is a pretty big waterfall. It drops 200 feet into the valley below. There is nothing keeping you from hiking down to the bottom of the falls and climbing out on the rocks...well, almost nothing...my husband kept me from attempting it in my flip-flops. I was poorly prepared for our road trip. That is what happens when you jump in the car and head out with no plan.

There were a couple of observation decks you could get a better look at the falls from. This was taken from the lowest one. I don't know if it will show up on here but in the background there is a man standing at the top of the falls that gives you a better perspective of the size of the falls. I should have climbed down, flip-flops and all to get a picture looking up. Next time.


There was also an unfinished tunnel in the park that was begun before the civil war in an attempt to connect Charleston to the midwest states but when the war began construction was stopped and never resumed. Unfortunatley the park was closing and we didn't get to go explore the tunnel. We will go back sometime to do that.

This last picture was on top of the falls. With my severe fear of heights this was as close as I could get without toppling over the edge...remember the flip-flops? Not good shoes to walk on rocks with.



We left the park and headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. While sitting at the table Jaykeb clarified for me that he understands the proper teminology for his boy parts now when he, very loudly, told his dad, "YOU ARE A BIG PENIS!" A perfect end to a perfect day.
NOTE: In my defense, he has not EVER heard me call his dad that so stop blaming me! I don't know why he started yelling that all of a sudden...in a restaurant...with lots of people around...causing me to almost fall out of the booth. I covered well though by saying, "Yeah, they are GOOD PEANUTS!"