Benny's Birthday

Benajmin's birthday celebration was carried out over several days. With busy schedules and family out of town, we had several days of birthday time!

The ultimate dinner -- French fries and pancakes. We were supposed to have sausage links, but someone (no names) has issues with getting meat cooked all the way through, and somehow ruined about 20 sausage links. Anyway, Benjamin's favorite meal.

Welcome to the Terrible Twos:

Sarah took this one. Interesting.

Jacob's Career Plan

Our car's been broken for a week, so Greg's been driving me to work. 

Jacob: So, if they can't fix the car will we buy a new one or just keep doing the same thing? 

Me: Probably keep doing the same thing. 

Jacob: Why wouldn't we buy a new one? 

Me: They're expensive. 

Jacob: Well, I have an idea. We should wait a few days, make a lot of money, and then buy one! 

Me: Um, great idea, but how would we make the money? 

Jacob: Well, you could get a different job, like maybe be a doctor!

Me: Well, that takes a long time. You have to go to school for a long time, then train for a long time, then practice for a long time...

Jacob: Well, when I grow up, I want to be a doctor or... what are the people who tell you what the laws are and go to court?

Me: Lawyers.

Jacob: I want to be a doctor or a lawyer.

Me: Um, how did you decide that? (Naively thinking my precious 5-year-old wants to help people or loves school...)

Jacob: They make a lot of money.

Oh. 

If that doesn't work out, he could always end up being a translator... 

The other night when I was saying goodnight to Jacob, he said:

Jacob: Mom, do I have to be [mumble, mumble, mumble]?

Me: What?

Jacob: Mom, do I have to be [mumble, mumble, mumble]?

Me: What?

Jacob: Mom, do I have to be [mumble, mumble, mumble]?

Me: Jake, I don't understand you. 

Jacob: Mom, do I have to be [mumble, mumble, mumble]?

Me: I have no idea what you're saying (he kept trailing off at the end).

Jacob: I'm speaking French. Do. I. Have. To. Be. Neuf. To. Go. To. Kings. Island.

The day before, Greg had told him we'd probably wait until he's 8 or 9 to go to an amusement park, so he's big enough to ride most of the rides. And silly me, I never thought to listen for French words from my just-getting-out-of-preschool-hasn't-even-started-kindergarten-yet child.

Benny's Pre-Birthday Celebration

George Bob, Papa, and Auntie Anne came for a quick visit this weekend. In about 24 hours, they squeezed in lunch at the peanut place, swimming at the hotel, fun back at the house, a pancake and sausage dinner, breakfast at the hotel (cinnamon roll, Fruit Loops, and yogurt!), Chutes and Ladders, and birthday presents for Benjamin. :) What a wonderful, busy weekend!

Benjamin sporting his no-pants look.

Jacob really wanted me to take a photo of him throwing this stuffed bird.

Gift bag hats...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. :) Motherhood is such a gift, and treasure each day with my precious little ones. As I type, Benjamin is watching Thomas the Tank Engine with Greg. He keeps saying, "Thomas! Thomas!" over and over again. He wants to watch it each night before going to sleep.

Greg and the kids washed my car today and spent the afternoon outside so I could relax inside. Jacob bought me a few delightful presents -- a 12-pack of diet Coke, gum, Apple Jacks cereal, and a card with a cat and a dog on the front (the inside says, "We have to pee."). I love gifts chosen by small children.

As I get older, I see myself becoming more and more like my mom. I understand her reactions so much better than I did as a child. And I appreciate more and more everything she did (and does) for us. My childhood was very happy. I never doubted my parents' love for a second (well, unless you count the obligatory stage at 13 when I just knew they hated me). I hope my boys look back on these days and remember them happily as well.

I love you, Momma!

Sleeping Baby

I have been really bad about taking pictures lately! I turned on the camera tonight to upload any old photos left on it... and realized I hadn't taken any. Whoa. So, here's a quick one of Benjamin sleeping. This is how he falls asleep each night - on a comforter on the floor in the family room. He's usually just in a diaper with his polka dot blanket on. He prefers this comforter and this blanket. 

Jacob's Mad Lib

My friend Layton and I wanted to help save the environment, so we volunteered for a beach cleanup day. We stocked up on purple trash bags and loud gloves, and headed for the shores of the lake. You wouldn't believe some of the junk we found. We picked up 1,000 aluminum dolphins, a rusty 4-wheeler, and even a worm-covered National Geographic magazine. Suddenly a stinky wave ran onto the beach and washed up a treasure chest covered with a shark. My heart started eating as we pried open the chest with a scorpion. There were at least 15 scrap coins inside! My friend and I yelled, "We're rich!" and started flying up and down like shrimp. But when I scooped up some of the coins, they painted all over my hands. The coins turned out to be chocolate wrapped in colored foil. But we had a great day anyway, because we helped protect the environment.

Times Are Changing

I loved the song "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys when I was in fifth grade. Jennifer Livingston loved it, and I thought she was cool, so I loved it, too. We played it at my first-ever boy-girl party. It was a big deal. We got to hang out in her basement, play music, eat chips (Doritos!), and talk with boys.

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go

Jacob likes that song quite a bit, but here's what we heard tonight:

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya
Bermuda, Bahama, come on baby mama
Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go



Oh my.