hello nastykins

big day, saturday!

pancakes!

family swimming at the YMCA!

chik-fil-a for lunch at the food court at the mall!

BUILD-A-BEAR!

the library!

running around town like an unwashed mess!

all in the name of celebrating potty training!

it was 2 year old heaven!
as our last ditch effort/reward to hammer down the final nail on the potty training coffin, we started pulling out the big stops, promising all sorts of things to help scarlett realize that potty training was here to stay. i'm not ashamed at my ploys, they totally worked. we are an accident free zone. and nothing could be nicer. scarlett has a list of things she wanted and we promised them all. except for the icee at the gas station. next time, my dear.

at build-a-bear, she picked out the cheapest bear available and i couldn't have been prouder! i was most relieved that she overlooked the talking jonas brothers bears that the two girls in front of us selected. she named her bear, flip flop, and the accessories she chose were lots of pink ear bows and a set of diapers. but most of all she likes the "bear house box" that he/she came home in. she still hasn't decided his/her gender, which makes the name flip flop even more perfect.

scarlett "putting the guts in the bear", a direct quote. you can't teach that kind of verbal eloquence. it's innate.

for reals, build-a-bear is a little place i like to call terrible. i despise the place. i dislike stuffed animals(ruffy is REAL! i promise you!) and i especially have disdain for over-priced parent traps. i know, it's a personal problem. there is nothing wrong with build-a-bear. i'm the debbie downer. i'm a big fan of capitalism and build-a-bear is making a killing and i should applaud their(nauseating) efforts.
the unwashed masses. HELLOOO NASTYKINS! we were a parade of pool water, sweat, sunblock and snarly hair. do you see that man trying to shoo us away without besmirching himself or his child? there was a bar of soap in his palm trying to ward us off. it got worse with each stop during the day. i haven't felt more filthy since girls camp 1993 when i didn't shower for 4 days. but the minions were thrilled with the long day of non-stop activities and as long as the bribes and threats hold out, i'm sure we will do it again. next i'll be penning a parenting book entitled, "look ma, no hands! how you too can bumble through your children's most crucial developmental years!"

a final note- on the way home, scarlett had an accident in the car. perfect ending to a perfect day.

don't hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself

i recently realized something. i don't have any babies anymore. i have two fork using, sentence speaking, potty using, bed sleeping kids. it's weird. those are all things that i do too. even meatball does most of those things.

reagan update:

reagan insists on pushing the buggy whenever we are at a store that requires a buggy(grocery cart for the rest of you). in a word, it's horrible. especially if you value your ankles. in other reagan news, he's joined a baseball team, graduated from preschool, and still asks quite often when his mizzzouri friends are going to be getting alabama houses too. the big move has definitely been the hardest on him.

scarlett update:

scarlett defies death daily. she could care less about safety. and being fully dressed. we finally made it over the potty training hump. we really need to give the credit to meatball. she became fascinated by meatball being so well potty trained that she decided she wanted to be like him and "use the facilities outside". whatever works, right? she is coming to understand one of life's most cruel realities, that some things are more socially acceptable for boys to do in the yard and not for girls. there is no such thing as equality in potty training.


heidi update-

i've stayed busy with my new calling at church, back as the primary secretary. apparently, i really have something to learn in the primary organization since i keep getting called there. perhaps i need to learn to love children, be more patient and especially be more reverent in church? it hurts but i'm trying. at least i'm not den mother, right?

i've also resumed my running here. and i'll tell you what, it's a lot harder to run here. A LOT. we live in the foothills of a mountainous area and 3 miles feels like 10. and i spend 75% running in ditches and on gravel due to the lack of sidewalks and paved shoulders. i've kissed my consistent pace goodbye and i am trying to enjoy crying while i run up and down hills. the local fire department has already been called once. and it was really embarassing. but i will be more than ready for the kansas city half-marathon in october. and i just threw down the gauntlet for the rest of you considering running it too.

thomas update:

thomas has actually said, "i really like my job." and that makes me happy too. he is thriving in the humidity and can't wait for the 100+ degree weather. and only 3 short months until football season. the kids have stopped asking who "that man" is and starting calling him daddy again. his new hours are great. he's still very busy, but is enjoying more flexibility.

a special thanks to everyone for complying with my navy, black, white, blue dress code. some unwittingly. others not. too bad we never got a complete family picture.

i'm sorry mama

you certainly didn't raise me to talk like this(i can hear your voice in my head). good thing i didn't actually say any of these things. just took pictures.



mother's day at our house was fun. thomas and i both spoke in church so the kids made it even more special by being very loud and restless during our talks. it's nice to have your kids around to make you seem like even less of an authority when you are speaking on the importance of mothers.
and then after church i took a nap and then we went for a walk around the 'hood and picked flowers and strawberries in our backyard. a very little house on the prairie mother's day.