Haircuts

Both the kids got haircuts yesterday. Brother because he needed one, Little Bitty because she wanted to sit in the chair and get a lollipop. They both look cute although Little Bitty drew the short straw and got stuck with the old buzzard senior stylist who butchers any hair she comes in contact with. You can't really mess up LB's hair... but she did take off more than I asked.

Anyway - here they are this morning on the way to school. It was the best picture I could get. They look so grown up!

My laptop died - but I'm back now.

Geez. I don't know what I do to laptops, but I just lost my third. Really, I think it's because my job keeps giving me old pieces of junk. But, now - I am set up with a snazzy, brand new, HP. Let's cross our fingers that this one holds out a while. It's not my husband's Mac... but I think I like it so far.

On more interesting news - we have good friends coming to visit this weekend. We are really SO excited. It is hard for people with young kids to get away and so we haven't had many visitors since we moved - other than family (which is always great too) - anyway, we can't wait to show our friends a fun time and just get to hang out like the old days. I think there may be some vodka and cranberry juice involved.

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And for a little bit of Little Bitty humor:

Mommy: [Little Bitty] did you go po-po?

Little Bitty: NO.

Mommy (knowing that I'm not imagining the stank) : [Little Bitty], in our family we always tell the truth. If Mommy asks you a question - you need to tell me the right answer. If you went po-po and need a clean diaper, you have to tell me 'yes'. So, did you go po-po?

Little Bitty: NO!

Mommy: Well then - who put that big po-po in your pants?

Little Bitty (very seriously and considering the question): Ummm, Daddy.

I know, my parenting skills are admirable. If anyone wants any additional tips or insights on how to so successfully instill these great values in your toddler - just email or comment and I'll get back to you.

A week out of town...

First, I took the kids to surprise my mom for her birthday. My siblings and their families were all there too. She loved it and it was perfect. Then, I've been gone all week to D.C. to attend a conference. It was fine... I like DC and got to see an old friend (you know you're getting old when you realize it's been 10 years since you've seen someone who you've only been friends with in your adult life) - and my dad was in town too - so that was cool - we had a great dinner and evening hanging out. I do not, however, like being without my little dude and dudette or my husband. So - I am very happy to be home.

And - if several days away aren't enough to make me thankful and feel incredibly blessed to be home with my family (it is and I am) - there is this. One of the few families left fostering in Guatemala is having big troubles with their adoption case. The couple has been fostering their daughter for longer than Little Bitty has been home. They've hit every bump in the road imaginable and are now at risk of the unthinkable. PLEASE think of them, send positive thoughts, vibes, prayers - whatever you think would help. I don't know them personally, but I know how screwy the system is and I know how much they love their daughter - and I know that they must be really scared right now. One more thing - she has a very unique Etsy shop with some incredible Guatemalan crafts. Check it out.

Thanks!

Some short blurbs of our week thus far...

• First week of school - going pretty well. Brother is characteristically have a hard time saying goodbye in the mornings but is having fun the rest of the day. I either love his new teacher - or she is just so much better than the previous one that I think I love her. Time will tell.
• Little Bitty is enjoying the new big girl playground that she has moved up to. I found her yesterday sitting in the sand box barely recognizable due to the inch thick layer of sand all over her face. Her teachers reaction was "Oh - that must have JUST happened". Uh huh. I think she's enjoying her new class but has been a little less than her fun-loving self at home this week... it may be the transition. Or it could be two year molars, which I blame everything on and really have no clue if they've come in or not because she'd bite my hand off if I tried to get in there and look.
• I am having a busy week. I'm on call for work - which last night meant getting paged about 4 times as I tried to sleep. If I were awakened to go save someones life, it would be OK. But, I'm awakened usually to point out to someone that they've paged the wrong person and or that you have to actually turn on your computer to get it to work, etc. Ah well, that's why the pay me the big bucks (she said sarcastically). ;)
• My awesome husband has been building me a new sewing cabinet which is looking very cool. I can't wait for the finished product (currently the dining room table serves this purpose). However, he vetoed my request for a dangley crystal knob. He doesn't have quite the same vision for the cabinet as I do... but I will let him be the expert on the woodworking projects and I'll stick to the sewing projects. Which, by the way are going well! I'm a busy bee on that front and loving it!
• Brother and Daddy went to watch an NFL practice yesterday. Fun times.
• Little Bitty now uses "Dude!" as an exclamation. For example, "Dooo! Wawa deeeeep!", at bath time.

The County Fair

We've had a great weekend. It started as we met some friends at a county fair on Friday night. People around here apparently take their county fairs pretty seriously. It was the nicest fair I've been to in... maybe ever. Of course, I come from a place where the carnies once kidnapped our dog - so I may not have a concept of what a real county fair is supposed to be like.

The kids loved it and even though we spent so much money that we may not be able to pay our mortgage this month. I think it was well worth it.

Little Bitty wasn't tall enough to go on some rides, so we cheered Brother on.

Brother and his friend cruise for some county fair babes.

Little Bitty was tall enough for this - and suddenly became timid and needed her Mommy to ride with her. I let her drive.
Brother and his friend on another ride. Remind me not to let Brother ride around with this kid when they're about 16. ;)
Little Bitty feeding a goat at the petting zoo. She LOVES animals. I really wish we could get her a dog. Or an alpaca.
Brother got braver as the night went on and actually took a solo flight on the dragons.
Brother and Little Bitty both got to ride the ponies. We didn't get a good picture of Little Bitty - but they both enjoyed it so much! And Mommy got a special treat from "Andy" (that was Little Bitty's pony) when he peed on her foot. Really though - I think that was some of the cleaner stuff I came in contact with at the fair. One last stop at the roller coaster so that Brother could prove to himself that he could do it. He had refused at the beginning of the night - but after his ride on "Shadow" (see above) he was ready for anything!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for the new year. Brother is moving up to Pre-K III and Little Bitty will be a 2A'er. I pray they both have great years and I can't wait to share stories and pictures from this next stage. ;)

Aquarium!

We had a fantastic time at the aquarium. The kids all enjoyed it. Little Bitty did sleep during the IMAX movie. It was a 3D one about dolphins and whales. Brother spent the whole movie trying to pet the animals swimming toward him. Just when you think your kid's the smartest thing since Einstein - they do something like that for 40 minutes straight.

Below are pictures of the day. My husband pointed out that I'm not in any of them. It's partly because I took most of them, or maybe my husband doesn't find me as photo-worthy as he does the kids. Next time, I shall swim topless in the stream like Little Bitty did to ensure that I make it into some of the pictures. ;)