Adventures of Super Mom

So today I should be awarded the Super Mom prize. I managed to get my living room clean (including dusting - even the knick knacks and the blinds, clearing off the mantel and getting rid of piles), color a picture of Strawberry Shortcake for Camille, spread turf builder/weed killer on the lawn, spend some time helping Caleb learn to read, make the kids ice cream sundaes for snack, let the kids fingerpaint and do play doh and even watch a movie. Plus, we read stories and sang songs and rocked in the rocking chair before bed. And everyone got their teeth brushed and were in bed relatively on time. Not bad considering I also squeezed in some time for myself - reading a new book and cutting out the fabric for the new baby's crib bumper and watering the garden. Needless to say, I will be going to bed early.

Here are the action pictures of kids at work:

Caleb just starting to paint - the end result looks nothing like this!


Camille was much more worried about keeping her hands clean for most of it than painting on her paper!


Tomorrow should be a busy day. The kids and I are planning to head down to the Dogwood Festival. (It's one of those small town festivals that are popular down here.) The library will have a kids booth set up where they can do arts and crafts and get their face painted, so we'll be sure to stop there. I want to look at the crafts for sale. I'm hoping the booth selling the peonies will be back again this year. Those are my favorite flowers and they were so lovely last year. I'm also hoping to get another herb plant or two to put in my herb garden. We'll also listen to some of the free concerts and enjoy being outside!

A busy afternoon

Today was another eighty something degree day, so we decided to fill up the little wading pool and let the kids splash a little bit to cool off. The kids amused themselves playing "Cannonball" - Caleb ran full-speed to the pool, yelled "Cannonball" and then jumped in the tiny pool splashing as much as he could. Camille jogged slowly to the pool, yelled "Cannonball" and carefully stepped into the pool, except for the couple of times she kind of slipped and did a belly flop into the pool. I think I made a good case to Rob on why we need a bigger pool, so hopefully that will materialize before summer officially starts!



Caleb makes a splash:


Camille steps gingerly into the pool:


While they were busy splashing, Rob and I were busy starting the garden. Well, technically Rob was. He had trucked in another load of dirt and spent some time mixing it with last year's dirt and getting it all ready.



Then we planted the tomato seedlings I bought yesterday, as well as some cucumber and summer squash seeds. The kids helped with the watering.



I need to head down to the hardware store for some zucchini seeds and then I think we'll call the garden good. We're minimzing this year. I did get my herb garden started yesterday - I planted a beautiful little basil plant, a lavender plant and then seeds for cilantro, chives and dill. I may hit the plant booth at the Festival this weekend to see if there are any other herbs I need, but other than that I think I'm done. I'm downsizing this summer.

The Blue Ninja strikes again and other adventures

Today Caleb (aka the Blue Ninja) spent some time outside honing his fighting skills. Here are some action shots.






Meanwhile, Camille prepared for a career in modeling (or princessing or being a camera hog or what have you).






We had some excitement last week when we (Caleb, Camille and I) went to a State Park with Caleb's preschool class. The most fun part was watching Camille act like a big kid. She sat with the kids on the floor during the "Birds and Beaks" presentation (where they learned how to tell what birds eat by the type of beak they have), held hands with some of the little girls and even found a place in line when it was time to go for snack! It was a sad day for her the day after when she realized that she wasn't going to be able to stay at preschool.

Here's Caleb's whole class (note the cute red head in the front!)



And here's Camille with Keyley, Carolina, Sophie and Elvis (yes, that really is the kid's name).

U is for Upside Down

Last week at preschool, Caleb's class studied the letter U. One of the things Caleb learned started with u was "upside down" - apparently one of his teachers showed the kids how to stand upside down on their heads. It's become one of the feats Caleb is determined to master (along with the somersault and the cartwheel). Here's a picture of his latest attempt.

Make Way for Ducklings

So tonight as we were eating dinner, we noticed that our next-door neighbors were standing in our driveway looking very puzzled. We went outside to learn that there was a mother duck and her ducklings in our carport! Where they came from, I don't know. I also don't know where they were headed. When the mother duck heard us, she took off - feigning an injury so we'd chase her and leave her ducklings alone. We quickly went inside (after snapping this quick shot) and soon mother duck was back. She led her ducklings all across our backyard. I wish we had gotten a picture of that. It was pretty impressive. I don't know how they got out of our back yard - they must have found a hole in the fence big enough to squeeze through. It was definitely something interesting, fun and out of the ordinary at our house!

Here comes Peter Cottontail

Happy Easter! I had an early meeting at church today, so Rob got the kids ready for church all by himself. Doesn't Camille look cute?




Unfortunately, by the time I got home from church to take pictures, Caleb had taken off his church clothes and replaced them with his Incredible Hulk t-shirt.

Anyway, the Easter Bunny came this afternoon and left baskets filled with bubble wands, jump ropes, magic washcloths, coloring books and crayons, stickers, fruit rollups and fruit snacks. The kids were very excited! The Easter Bunny left some eggs too - filled with peeps, goldfish, Reese's cups, and coins. (The kids were thrilled to get money to put in their piggy banks - actually, Caleb has a penny jar and Camille has a money bunny.) Once I figure out how to post videos, I'll post our video of the easter egg hunt. Here are a couple of action shots to tide you over.

The Princess and the Blue Ninja (Part Two)

Because the Easter Bunny bought some things that just would not fit into the Easter baskets, and because we thought it was better not to give the kids dress up clothes before church on Sunday, the kids got to get a couple of Easter presents early this year. Now they are appropriately dressed for their roles as the Princess and the Blue Ninja.

Here is the Princess with her new finery:



And here is the Blue Ninja, ready for action:



We can just see Caleb living in this costume, so we set some ground rules: he can only wear it at home, inside. Not school. Not church. I know...we're no fun!

The Princess and the Blue Ninja (Part One)

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Camille (or, depending on the day Princess Erika, Princess Annaliese, Maggie, Baby, etc.). She lived in a castle with her parents, King Daddy and Queen Mommy, who loved her very much. The princess loved her home where she has her very own big girl bed (complete with trundle for any family or friends who want to come visit) and fun toys. The best part about home? The resident Ninja (that would be the Blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle - Caleb) who - when they are not fighting - serves as her personal protector.

Here the fair princess watches as the Blue Ninja fights for her honor.



Action shots of the Blue Ninja fighting Shredder, the evil threat to the Princess.




The beautiful Princess glories in her trophy - a pretty pink tulip the Blue Ninja picked for her in the front yard.



The Princess has decided to wear dresses whenever possible. Here is one she likes because it has a butterfly on it.



She has also taken to wearing her crown and some jewelry whenever possible. Caleb's preschool teacher thinks it's funny and always makes a comment similar to "Oh look, the Princess is here..." One old lady stopped us on the street the other day to ask Camille where she got her crown.

I'm not quite sure why her sudden adversion to pants and other easy-to-play-in clothes. Perhaps it has something to do with this:



Caleb has become increasingly interested in swords and sticks and anything that can be remotely construed as a weapon. Here he shows his brute strength as he lifts this giant stick over his head.