party...

Today was the long awaited birthday party. The boy from a house down the street turned four and Ben and Hannah couldn't wait for his birthday party! They love parties...it's amazing. They love everything about it. Picking out a gift to give, making a card, wrapping the present and adding a bow, getting ready, the drive, giving the present and most of all the fun! The family had rented a Spiderman bounce house for this party and I think Ben spent most of his time in it. He came out for a little bit of pizza and definitely was out for the pinata and the cake. But that boy loves to bounce. Hannah tried a trampoline a couple of years ago but she wasn't that excited about it. She finally got the nerve up to try the bounce house out today. She loved it! It was a little hard to get her out of it. Corey had to go in at first to help her ease into it but then after a few minutes it seems that she didn't care that he was there(!). She had a blast and I'm pretty sure she looks forward to the next time there's a bounce house at a birthday party.

swimming...

Today was pretty warm and so I thought the kids could use a dip in their kiddie pool. Noah actually had beads of sweat on his brow. The end of September. Usually Hannah just watches Ben splash around from the patio but today she tore her clothes off and jumped in before Ben! They splashed around while the water filled the pool. I let it get pretty full with water because I didn't think Noah would get in. It really was a little bit cool to be in water from the hose (in my opinion). Noah didn't get in and they splashed around, swam in circles and tried to jump from the edge of the pool - although it did cave in from their weight a bit. They had a blast. After about an hour of water play they were ready for lunch.

Groovy...

We went to Toys R Us today to shop for a friends 4th birthday. Wow what fun! Every time we walk into that store we are inundated with everything that is going on around us. There are thousands of toys and gadgets for kids! Immediately the kids found several things that they could give their friend but just as fast they put them down. They also found lots of things that they would like to have to take home. And there was so much Halloween stuff around. Ben found this cool wig and tried it on. I laughed. He put it on backwards then turned it around. By the time he did that Hannah had picked one up and put it on her head. I had them pose...but I was too slow with the camera...I got this picture. Hee hee

Twins...

Last week we went to the park and met with lots of our friends there! One of the girls names is Natalie and my kids call her the Big Natalie (because there is a Little Natalie and a Mommy Natalie too!) Well Natalie wore the same shirt as Hannah! Totally by surprise. Don’t they look cute together? Hannah has the same shorts too...maybe she'll wear them to the park this week and they could match again.

War wounds...

It seems that Noah has a new scrape on his face every week. Here is his latest. He was leaning off the step outside reaching for a toy in the dirt, lost his balance and fell face first. At first I didn't think he hurt himself but halfway to him I knew that he did. Dirt scraped his forehead down his nose and embedded in his mouth and teeth. He had a mouthful of dirt and was so sad. It broke my heart especially since I seemed to move in slow-motion in order to catch him.

Sunday school, again...

Last week, some of you may recall that the kids went to their first class at the church. Well, Ben went to his first class and Hannah accompanied him and took care of him. Well, we went this morning and they just shuffled right into the room without turning back. I wasn't able to see much this morning but I did see that they brought out a Bible. Ben poked his head out of the room and said "Mommy they have a Bible just like we do!!" and then the teacher told him to stay in the room. The next thing I knew the volunteer aide walked in their room and shut the door. So we (all the parents) sat outside the room without an idea of what they were talking about today. The kids assumed that we were all out there, they couldn't come out, they were busy with learning (about what God made) that we could have easily gone to mass without them knowing or realizing that we were gone. We'll try that in a few weeks. So far so good!

The box...

The other day was hot...not hot with humid but just plain hot out. I turned the sprinkler on in the back yard in hopes that the kids would be able to cool off. Usually when the sprinklers go on the kids run crazy wild in them and get all excited about the activity. This day was different.

Corey's mom gave the kids a giant box to play with in the back yard (to make a fort or just roll around in...or whatever). Ben and Hannah got in the box and decided to run inside it through the sprinklers - the bottom was open - back and forth, back and forth in the sprinklers. At some point Hannah decided that she didn't want to get wet and Ben disappeared in the box...under the sprinkler! As I watched closely I saw Ben acting like a hamster in a cage of newspaper strips. Let me clarify...he was stripping the box as it got wet. It was peeling and coming apart so he would peel it and shove it outside the box (he was still in the shower from the sprinkler) He would peel and shove or kick the 'shavings' out...it was so funny to watch. All of a sudden he emerged from the box (or what was left of it) soaking wet and satisfied with his mess all over the grass. He discovered the layers of a carboard box and how water can absorb into it and ... well he learned a lot about boxes when they get wet!

Colds...

My life has been all about boogers the last few days. Ben and Hannah have colds and cough all night. Noah slept last night for almost 13 hours! Yes he did wake up throughout the night but I had my Mommy radar on (didn't sleep very well) and nursed him before he got too upset, so that helped with keeping the boogers at bay in the night, but he got rest. That was nice. During the day it's faucet time...not too much fun. Also he is not a light little guy to carry around all day. He has been real clingy and wants to settle in my arms for a good hour before he is ready to take a nap. That makes for sore arms and a tired back.

I hope tomorrow is better!

Something is definitely going around.

Marine...

My family has a strong Marine background of which we are proud. My Dad went to a reunion last year to see a bunch of his Marine buddies and brought Ben a t-shirt back. I am sorry to say that it did shrink a little bit but Ben loves it and doesn't really even notice that it is already getting to be too small.

So yesterday, I needed a shirt for Noah to wear because I needed to do laundry (something that I'm always behind on) and he was out of shirts. I grabbed this t-shirt out of Ben's closet for Noah to wear because I thought it might fit him better than one of the bigger ones. Well, it fit perfectly! What do you think? Future Marine?

Sunday school...

We decided to have Ben start Sunday school at the Mission where we go to church. We have been down this 'school' path before. But I'm thinking that it is only one hour a week and it should be fine.

Right?

We talked about Sunday school a little last night and how Hannah would be coming to mass with us and he would be in his little class with kids his age, blah blah blah. This morning at 7:45am we left and got to his class, met the teacher and sensed his anxiety about us leaving him alone in there. We are not alone in this 'sensing anxiety' Hannah felt it too. She told Ben that she would stay with him. Told him that it would be OK because she'll be right next to him. So adorable. So they went in to the classroom together and sat next to each other and did the activities together. Put her hand on him during the story time. Held his hand on their walk outside. Hannah didn't want to make a name tag though (she was only there for Ben) and that was OK for today. They had fun, read a story about a grumpy tree and then went outside to blow bubbles on a big tree near the school. (I'm guessing that it had to do with the story)

So afterwards, Hannah had so much fun that I asked her if she wanted to keep going to the class too...she does! Then I asked the director and teacher and they both said that it would be OK. She's the youngest in the class but was "really good!" I think it would be good for both of them to share in the experience this year. So we signed her up too!

So of course I took pictures of his first day of 'school' with Hannah there for support! Enjoy!

Ben and Hannah working near each other. Ben is working on his name tag...he wrote his name all by himself! He didn't want any help. Hannah didn't want to make one.

Listening to a story after name-tag making. Hannah cradles his head in her arm and pats his neck and back softly to assure him that she is still there.

A walk...

We went around the county running errands this morning. We were quick and the kids were good! They stuck by me and didn't get their hands into anything in any of the stores that we went to. I'm so proud of them!! Our last store brought us to the Mission Valley mall, so I thought we'd go for a chocolate milk treat. They love the Horizon milk boxes from Starbucks, so we headed over there. The Starbucks is near the trolley tracks so, instead of sitting inside the coffee shop we went to find a bench near the tracks. Noah was napping in the stroller and Ben and Hannah were slurping the bottoms of their drink boxes by the time we found an empty bench. This was such a treat for them...chocolate milk and trolley watching! I had no idea that it takes so little to please them.

After our little rest by the tracks we decided to walk along the riverwalk to the car. It was such a beautiful day for a walk. It was actually perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything different. Their tummies were satisfied for the time being. There were no arguments going on, just peaceful conversation between the three of us. The sun had just begun to poke through the clouds and make its' way to warm the ground. The hum of the trolley approaching and whizzing by us every few minutes. The occasional scurry in the bushes next to us and us assuming that it was a bird or a squirrel afraid of us as we walked by. Peeking at the river between the bushes and trees and spotting a new kind of bird or a duck floating on the water. Finding treasures on the side of the pathway and stuffing them into their already full pockets. Spotting bright orange poppies and yellow dandelions in the brush. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.

Ben and Hannah holding 'Baby Jaguar' and 'Boots' in their make-shift carriers.

Noah walked most of the way too. Hannah and Ben are nursing their animals as they walk.

Mama Says Om theme is beauty this week, go and check more entries by other beautiful women out!

Discoveries....

Typically on a Thursday morning we head out to a park to meet our wonderful friends for some playground fun. Today was turning out to be a trying day for the kids so we scrapped the idea of going out and stayed home for some discovery time.

We made something deliciously tactile called 'ooblick'. The last time we made it (yes quite a while ago...actually my first blog post) Hannah was not very old and Ben wouldn't touch it! We adults had fun with it and left it at that. Since then we haven't tried to make it but I've had the ingredients ready for the chance! We mixed it up and Ben dove his hands right in, he had a grand time mushing and gushing and ooing and gooing. He found that he can pick it up as a little bit of a solid but then it melts in his hands and into the bowl. Quite interesting. We tried to get as much as we could into our palms but it would slither and goo back into the bowl. Hannah...not too interested but she did try to put her finger into it for a bit.

Then...after that fun was over with we got some kitchen ingredients out to 'make' something. They each had bowls and spoons and ingredients like flour, salt, sugar... and they got to mixing and stirring their concoctions into gooey gloppy messes. So much fun! They tasted after each new ingredient added and in between. They really liked adding sugar and tasting that sweetness. Ben found a straw and slurped some sugary mixture from his cup. Smiles all around and a chance to do it themselves without direction. It was interesting to see the differences in their approaches.

Hannah had one big bowl and added her ingredients to it in small spoonfuls. She had one large spoon and was stirring everything together. Hannah preferred this activity much more than the ooblick from earlier.

Ben had the big bowl and a few little bowls all around him to which he added and subtracted ingredients. Each bowl had its' own spoon to mix the different consistencies. They had so much fun being creative in the kitchen! All in all, for a day that started off a little shaky, it turned out to be a fun-filled day!

Here are some pics of our kitchen discoveries.

OOBLICK

Hannah 'cooking'

Ben 'cooking'

Directions for ooblick:
1 part water
2 parts corn starch
big bowl
willing fingers to play

Hiking rewards...

At the beginning of the summer we went to the local REI store and picked the kids up a passport for our summer of hiking. The deal is that the kids go on 5 hikes during the summer, fill out the passport with pictures &/or drawings and bring it back to the store. In return for their hard work, REI would stamp their pages (like a passport gets stamped) and get a cool new water bottle. So we got busy and went on at least 5 hikes. We got to pick out which ones we wanted to include! Ben and Hannah chose the pictures they wanted to put inside the passport and we wrote a little description about what we saw and where we went. Today Corey took them to REI with their full passport in hand, got it stamped and they got a water bottle! They are so excited about it. They can't wait to take their bottles to the park.

Garden shots...

Inspired by Elaine and her family's walk around their yard the other day. I decided to walk around our yard and really look at what we have growing. It feels like we don't have much growing in our garden at this time. Since I am here every day I thought I knew what was around the house...I didn't. I found it fun to inspect the gardens and had some pleasant surprises. Enjoy!

Ornamental garlic in full bloom

Meyer lemon tree sporting some lemons

I don't know this plants name but these pretty purple flowers bloom out of it~pretty!

One of our THREE ficus trees shedding it's seeds all over the place

A little (unwanted) but oh-so-cute grasshopper munching on our lima bean leaves

Pockets...

Ben has started to collect things a lot lately. His pockets bulge with his new treasures. Found at the beach, the park, the mountains or our back yard. I find beer and soda bottle caps, rocks and pebbles, sticks and string, old popsicle sticks...and oh so much more! He's a regular Tom Sawyer! I find the treasures as I rifle through his pockets as I'm doing the laundry or as I'm vacuuming the house. He gathers his treasures and includes them into his daily play. He can get the other kids at the park to join his mission and game with the found bottle caps and have tons of imaginary fun! Sometimes he puts his treasures together somehow and to create something that will occupy him for hours.

It's awesome what that kid can do.

IKEA...

This is the weekend for big sales all over the country. Labor Day weekend. Usually we wouldn't step near a store on one of these crazy days/weekends, but we were out of food and the kids were not interested in eggs or pancakes that I make. So we headed to IKEA for their 99 cent breakfast that they have on special this weekend. Something new (yet I could have made it) and exciting for the kids. We bought 5 plates and each came with scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and either pancakes or waffles. Hmmm... Funny how kids are. They don't want my eggs or pancakes but will eat them from a restaurant. I don't mind...there weren't any dishes to do! Then we got to shop! Smiles all over.

BBQ...

Today we went to my parents house to celebrate Marissa's 9th birthday (again). It was nice to see those who showed for the BBQ...although it didn't turn out to be a BBQ...we had pizza and spaghetti from the local pizza place.

The weather has been hot and humid again but not like it has been. My parents have a pool and so we spent most of our time in there. Marissa, Ben, Eddie, Henri went wild in the water, being chased by 'monsters' (Dad and Corey) and squirting each other with the crazy pool toys that are strewn all over the pool area. Hannah warmed up to being in the pool as soon as I let the baby go to Corey (between 'monster' episodes). All she wanted to do was jump to me and be praised. She is a bit shy in the water but in a funny way she wants to be noticed for what she can do without bringing attention to herself. And she doesn't want me to tell anyone to notice...if I did she'd get grumpy and quiet. Silly girl!