A week!

Zoinks! A week has passed since I journaled! What have we done? Last Sunday we explored low tide at our pal's private beach, then ended up in his pool for some good 'ole chlorine fun!

Daddy is on the right in the middle of the pool. :)

This is one of our favorite families to hang out with. Molly and Em were in the same preK class and became good friends. The daddies play on the same softball team together and the Mommies? Well, we just seem to have heaps in common so it is a win win for us all. Ben and baby Megan are good pals, too.

Come on in, the water's perfect!

While Mommy was at the hairdresser getting her greys hidden Tuesday morning, Henry's mom did some kidsittin' and the kids had a blast playing with umbrellas on a bright sunshiny day as the lawn guys were testing all the sprinklers.

Photo credit: Henry's mama

We've been playing tons of board games this Summer and Ben is still mad for his Duplox legos as well as regular legos. Can you tell he is dressing himself these days? His buzzed head is slowly growing back. It feels like peach fuzz now...

He called this structure the "Piggy's apartment" - it was quite impressive.

Quick update

The celebration continues. I swear the 6 year old gets to celebrate all Summer long. Ben of the future (BOTF - from here on out), you do get ripped off. Sorry you were born in January after everyone is partied out...

Thanks Aunt Miki and Uncle Sean! I'm headed to the toy store!

Em came with me to Walmart to get some household stuff. She asked if we could go to ToysRUs and I told her not until Wed which was days later - she wanted instant gratification, so Walmart toy section it was. She did a great job walking up and down the aisles before choosing too quickly and settled on this Barbie pool that Daddy got to put together.

As a matter of fact, this is my dining room table!

Sad to say, most days we eat on a table that looks just like this - stuff just gets pushed to the center and we chow around it. *Sigh...* It's tie for a declutterification once again.

Gramma Lou, Em loves her lego friends set. She plays with it daily!

And makes up pretty elaborate stories.

We have been rocking the high 90s all week and have escaped to HERE every single day. We are so very grateful to live just 5 or 8 or 10 minutes from three amazing beaches.

Come play with us!

BEN IS EATING HAM! BEN IS EATING HAM! Well, the deli stuff which isn't all that healthy, but whatever - it is a new flavor on his palate. Em still continues to rock the raw fruits and veggies - love me this girl and her healthy eating habits...

I'm cute when I eat healthy foods!

Daddy tried to trim Ben's hair last night and Ben moved which resulted in him getting the closest head shave ever. He looked in the mirror and said, "I look like Caillou!" Seriously, he is bald. I hate it but I love it - it's very strange. It sure does showcase his super cute face. Daddy thinks he can play Kelly Slater (#1 surfer) as a kid in his biography.

I'm Ben in the future! BOTF!

We hung out indoors all afternoon - too hot to do anything so we got our arts and crafts on. Hand art is so simple and fun - ours is beach themed, of course.

Don't be crabby, it's Summer! Squid you like to play with me? Don't be beachy, Summer's peachy.

And lastly, this is what Saturday night dinner looks like when you forget to pull a meat out of the freezer. Dino chicken salad!! All the left over veggies with some black beans and sunflower seeds.

Jealous of this "Mel's kitchen" masterpiece??

Chow time

The dolphins and parents have been busy busy busy. It is one billion degrees here right now so beach beach and more beach it has been. I have no pics to share as beach + water = bad for iphone so I cannot post their "a picture is worth a thousand words" expressions of joy!

We have also been playdating up a storm. Tonight's "family" playdate started at 5:00. Daddy took the parents aside and helped them with their budget while the 5 kiddos and I built a pretty intricate lego friends tree house. Let's sidebar about these OVERPRICED lego friends sets. They are like $35 for a treehouse and a pool. BUT, the dang kids really enjoy building them. But, at my kids ages (4 1/2 and 6) they still need guidance (I mean they don't have the patience to follow the simplistic building pictures - they want instant gratification and just start building stuff...), so I wonder if the price tag is worth the experience. Maybe next Summer?

After the work/play date, we two families headed to our fav family restaurant in our village, Tommies. We decided to eat outside (despite the heat) - the patio is shaded and right off the water so a decent breeze. It was AWESOME and the kids did well for 79% of our time there. The other 21%, they were those kids. But I have developed a thicker skin this past year (note, not "thick" - that takes more time) and am allowing them to be "kids" on occasion. (Although during the 'kids' time I did remind them other people were trying to relax and enjoy theirs dinners, too...) They really were generally respectful, which we are grateful to see...

Bday goodness

Every once in a while we sacrifice something important for something important. Yesterday, Emsadoodle's birthday evening was one such occasion. As you know we own our own business so we can have control over our time - you know, never have to ask a boss for time off. That does come with the ability to make choices. As Em will "celebrate" her special day at least four times (FL, NY  x2, PA) we figured it was fine to choose to hold a special seminar on her special day knowing she would be in the great hands of her BFF and her awesome family. 

What a night for her! They took her out for dindin to McDs. I got this text, "Um, has she ever been to McDs before? She seems kinda confused..." I replied we were more of a Wendy's family. They laughed and said, "Oh, no! I hope we aren't ruining her!"

She enjoyed her happy meal and especially her minion toys! 

Next they went to Rocketship Park where I received this text and pic stating, "Sorry, she may need a bath when she gets home!"  

Then, to cap the evening - they could not have made it more special(!), they made their own ice cream sundaes after a fun water fight in the yard and sang to her. 

Look at the natural joy in that face. Now compare it to the fake smile I got when we sang to her at lunchtime!!! Ha!

Happy Birfday, Emma!

Looky who is turning 6!

Aren't you glad I made it black and white so you don't have to see all the blood and guts everywhere?

Emsadoodle, how did that tiny little black haired babe grow into a 6 year old blondie, with giant brains, a huge heart, and moxie moxie moxie! It must be because you are such a great eater! Thanks for blessing us on a daily basis with your smiles. Thanks for challenging us to be better parents every day with your sass. Thanks for being an awesome big sister (mostly - just remember, Ben will be bigger than you soon enough...). But mostly, thank you for being YOU. Don't ever change!

WE LOVE YOU!

Switcheroo

The kids got their placements for school next year. Em will not be with her best friend, Anna, but she is with a few other great pals so all is good.

Ben, on the other hand, got a teacher I wasn't thrilled with and will be in a class with all new kids. The all new kids part I am not at all concerned with - Ben is a social butterfly and can make new friends easily - it's the teacher I wasn't thrilled with that ultimately caused Daddy and I to make the decision to pull him from the AM PreK session and enroll him in the PM session. There is only one PM session and the teacher is the same one Emma had - I just know Ben will thrive there!

I have had numerous conversations with parents regarding this teacher. Apparently if your kid fits inside the square of an ideal child in a school setting (think Emma), your child will thrive in this teacher's class. But if your child has some quirks and listening challenges, there have been reports of not-thriving happening.

The decision turns out to be a win-win on many levels. Ben is my perfect little quirky man and will now be with a teacher who will nurture his quirks! He will be in the same class as four kids from his preschool including his very best bud, Sammy. Sammy's mom is happy because we can now possibly help her out with childcare (she is going back to work in the Fall). Our neighbor is a single mom of twins. The twins are in the PM class, she also needs childcare help. I am the queen of the kidswap - me helping them during the week means they can help me on the weekends. I can officially fire my Saturday morning babysitter who I haven't been too thrilled with the past few months.

Dear Ben, I just bought you one more year of not having to be out the door by 8:30am Monday through Friday. Aren't I nice? The least you can now do is SLEEP IN and take advantage of the time. This morning's 5:21am was beyond unacceptable!

The Batter Dolphin Bunch

As I was going through my phone deciding which pictures to post, I came across 50 (YES, FIFTY) pics very similar to this one. Apparently someone got a hold of my phone the other morning when he woke up a 5:45am and the iPad battery was dead.

Not Guilty! Would this evidence be enough in court?

We had an awesome 4th of July! What a better way to start out the celebration of the birth of our great country than at our village's parade with good friends. We decided to watch the parade this year (last year we marched with the PTA - we will alternate every year, I think...) and it was a blast. The entire parade is about 90 minutes - the bulk of the "good stuff" is in the first hour. It was a billion degrees with a million percent humidity, but we survived in the shade. Afterwards, we hit up the fire station for a free BBQ - Daddy and I had hot dogs (that is right, I actually ate a hot dog - I'm up to about one a summer now) the kids were too hot to want to eat.

Where's Bendo?

Is it wrong that I just want to eat her freckles every day??? Love this kid.

The only candy my kids really want to eat (besides chocolate which is a food group not candy) are lollipops.

We walked to and from the parade - about 10 minutes there and 15 minutes back. The extra 5 minutes was caused by hot whining children and uphill on the way home...

Where's Bendo, once again?

After the parade we rested up for a bit in the AC, then headed over to our very first pals ever on LI and partied the afternoon away. And by partied, I mean the kids got into the pool and WOULD NOT EXIT FOR THREE HOURS. They were absolute prunes - but happy prunes, and I was happy to just have to hang out on the side of the pool and relax and NOT have to be in the pool all life guard vigilant. My babies are growing up... Emma has turned into a super stud swimmer and no-fear Ben has finally realized that if he wears a floaty device when the water is over his head, he can have a ton of fun in the pool. Woot! Woot! Oh, yeah, I GAVE AWAY our cool "puddle jumper" floaty contraption two weeks ago because he was refusing to wear it. Grrrrrrrrrr, Benjiboogleheimer, you are so very lucky you are so dang cute.

Emma is the one swimming under water and Ben is all in pink on the far side of the pool. Only real men can pull off pink.

It doesn't get much realer than this! I love swimming, Mom!

What can we learn from this picture?

So much to learn from this picture!!!
1) The train table is GONE and the tv is now centered in the living room and much more enjoyed from all angles of our comfy sofa.
2) On the left are Ben's sandals. Yes, SANDALS! Remember this kid single handedly keeps the sock biz in biz! Yet Abuelita got him sandals for the Summer and he is now ONLY wearing them sans socks. Phew!
3) Daddy replaced my 15 years old stinky stained gross throw pillows with these lovely Walmart purchases.
4) Under the chair on the left is Emma's paper happy birthday crown from school three weeks ago. She still wears it daily...
5) Random toys scatter the floor - I can't even identify them, I simply sweep around them. :)
6) Ben could not have been more proud of this cheerios creation, "Look, Mom, I made Caillou!" For those of you without pbs kids children, he is a creepy 4 year old with no hair - but his show teaches great life lessons and the kids adore him...

Funny boned Ben

Some quick Benisms:

Today Daddy, Emma and Ben were watching a documentary on oceans while I was at work. At one point Daddy was rubbing the dogs ears and he whined a bit. Ben leaned over with perfect timing and said, "Awww, Dodo, it not scary. Don't cry." - as if the dog were whining over the tv.

In Florida, Abuelita was telling a story about her niece over consuming vitamins and how it ruined the enamel on her teeth to which Ben replied, "Yeah, I've got vitamins in my ears."

On Tuesdays the kids go to my pal's house for a playdate so I can teach a class at my office. Tonight when I picked them up Ben was fake sleeping on the couch. (95% of the time he is for real sleeping.) I thought he was faking it, but then he is such a good actor / comic, I doubted myself! It turned out he was faking and in uber cuteness, he opened his eyes and asked, "Mom, can I sleep on couches forever?" (He then proceed to fall asleep in the car on the ride home about 6 seconds into the drive. This kid can falls asleep with the snap of a finger.)