Oh the irony...

So tonight before heading out to the office before Sarah - our sweet babysitter - arrived, I read the kids the story of Confucius. He is known for his good teachings but this particular story focused on how honest of a person he was. It was a great story and a good chance to have a conversation with the kids about right and wrong, honesty and integrity.

Upon returning home late this evening I checked my email and I had a notification from the school cafeteria program that Emma's prepaid balance was low. She only purchases lunch on Fridays (pizza day) and the occasional day when there simply isn't anything in the house to pack her for lunch! She begs me often to buy snack, but its all sugary or empty calorie crap that she doesn't need - I'd rather send her in with my choice of sugary or empty calorie crap (!), at least I know what she is intaking.

I was surprised to get the email because I planned out exactly what she would need for the rest of the year when I last paid it. I logged into my account and clicked on the purchase history to see if anything was out of the ordinary:

Well, lookie here. Someone bought a "snack" even after I specifically told her not to.

Now, let's get something clear - I'm not mad she bought a PRETZEL (better than a cookie or ice pop, etc), I am just disappointed she bought it after I told her no, and then she didn't fess up.

So, what does a mama do. Our night owl was still awake (10pm) so I went into her room and asked her to read the screen to me. When she realized she was caught, her eyes got big and round and she immediately teared up and BLAMED IT ON HER FRIEND, "Kiki has been pressuring me to buy a snack all year and I just couldn't take it anymore!" Me: why didn't you tell me? "I didn't want you to get mad!" Me: Do I look mad? "No." Me: How do I look? (me trying hard just to look disappointed) "I don't know." Me: Well, I'm not mad, I'm just sad that you were not honest with me. Which made her cry more.

Oh, Confucius, how about coming over for dinner and instilling some of your virtue on the almost 7 year old?

Things that make me happy

We love to entertain in our new home. We especially love to entertain the VIPs in our life, the Hughes family.

Let me share a little somethin' somethin' special about this family. They were our first friends upon moving to the island - whether they liked it or not (!) - because they lived one floor down and to the left from the penthouse and because they had kids the perfect age. (Just to be clear, the first time I met Mama Hughes she was 38 or so weeks prego w Jane in her belly sitting on the front stoop playing with Henry - Ben was 1 year 5 1/2 months.)

Our kids have spent the last 4 years growing up together - we didn't hang out every day, but there was something calming knowing that they were just a few feet away if we needed them. Since moving to the bungalow we have missed them dearly - yes, they are only a 5 minute drive away - but my perfect calm has been interrupted, until tonight when they came for a family play date.

During dinner, sweet baby Dottie was fussin' so I snatched her up and wandered into the sunroom so Mom and Dad could eat. 2 awesome things were noted by me:

1) WE LOVE THE HUGHES family!

The above pic makes me so happy for various reasons. a) We love having friends over! b) We especially love these friends! c) The bungalow really is a good space to entertain.

But 2d) D was the most important. Every once in a while I kick myself for closing up the baby kitchen so quickly. Sometimes I look at families with 3 or 4 kids and think, awww, that should be us! Then I look at my "perfect" children and hold a sweet baby and I'm all, NOPE, the kitchen is closed! Hahaha

Besties. They really miss each other.

Here is sweet Dottie. Don't let her serious face fool you. She is pure perfection.

Hey, mom, can we keep her? NOPE!

Ben actually SURPRISED me when he asked mama Hughes if he could hold Dottie. He did good for about 8 seconds, then wanted to shift her around so he could see her face but - as you know - babies don't necessarily move around your lap like stuffed animals do. :)

Mom, can we keep her? Ben, for you, anythinnnn - I mean NOPE! Man, he almost had me.

Good deeds. Good times.

This beautiful Sunday morning, some of the folks from our office joined together to walk for the Sunrise Day Camp charity that gives children with cancer and their siblings free day camp all Summer long.

Our team: 

There were tons of before and after activities for the kids, like:

Don't let this pic fool you, she was very excited about this!! Ben wanted NOTHING to do with it.

And

What happens if I shake it? You ruin all the rainbow colors. I'm gonna shake it!

And hanging around in tepees:

Emma spun the wheel and did not win which made her sad, then Ben spun the wheel and won which made her burst into tears!!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

We opted for the shortest of the three walks because some of the adults had things to do afterwards and the kids had already gotten sight of the carnival at the finish line:

Are we there yet?

It tastes like clue snow.

They were not big fans of the snow cones. Emma said next year she will chose cotton candy instead. Ben took two bites and threw his out. "I'm gonna get popcorn next year!"

They had a good morning. When we got home I told them to go wash their hands. Emma said, "Why, mom? Because we were at a camp where kids have cancer?" (As if she could catch it like a cold.) It was sweet which led to a good conversation about the disease. 

Dinner is served

Once a month the bunch goes out for dinner. We usually choose a kid friendly place, but once in a while we are like, "What about us???" and force the kids to eat something WE want to eat.

Last Friday's version of IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PARENTS took us to our neighborhood sushi place. Wowsa. Yum. Ben did not eat the fish, but he did enjoy some chicken and noodles. He even WANTED to try the wasabi - THANK YOU, Mater from Cars 2 - "Do NOT eat the FREE Pistachio ice cream. It has turned!"

More noodles, please.

The female offspring, on the other hand, ate everything in sight. Which seriously poses a quandary - sushi is not cheap. I like it, I like it a lot. Daddy likes it a lot, too. NOW, EMMA LIKES IT. Crap! Our bill was $85 not including tip and we all drank water!

College schmollage! I don't need a 529, I need SUSHI!

The bungalow is coming so very nicely together. Daddy picked up this sweet bbq and PUT IT TOGETHER all by himself - it's a good thing we don't have any living room furniture yet - made for a great building space. Putting it together from 800 pieces was just like putting together one of Ben's lego creations - just follow the manual!

"Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when...."

Three burners - oooh, aaaah, oh!

Even Mommies can light it without losing eyebrows!

Our very first family outdoor BBQ at the bungalow. Burgers!

Where's Dodo? By the messiest kid!