Long Time, No See

It seems as though lots of time has passed since my last post. I have no idea what we have been up to, although it seems as though I've rarely had a spare moment. We have had errands, play dates, etc going on. Today we had soccer at 9 am, then I worked on the house while Chuck washed and cleaned the vehicles. Then we babysat my friend's 2-year-old little girl. Chuck and I are exhausted by the time we get the kids in bed. That was today. Most days seem similar in the nonstop action, but I just cannot recall what I've been doing.

I did snap this picture today as I just thought it was too cute seeing Chuck and the kids together. We've really got to get to the portrait studio soon!

Learning Japanese

Charlie and I have started to learn Japanese! The first session I did ok...scored 72%, so will be repeating it. I have to say that it is really exercising my brain in a whole new way, but I'm liking it. I definitely learned a lot, but need some reinforcement before I try to move forward. We are using RosettaStone. You wear a headset and at times are required to repeat words and even sentences. Whew! My brain is exhausted now!

Bumbo Question...

Just how much use can you get from a Bumbo seat?

Apparently quite a bit in my house!




I have been on the lookout for a Bumbo seat for a while as I hear people rave about them. My neighborhood had a yardsale yesterday so Clara Grace and I set out with Zach strapped to me at 7 am to see what we could score. I found my Bumbo seat with tray for the cheapest I think I'm likely to get one after watching Craigslist for a long time. It is lavender, but oh well. The girl I bought it from only had boys and I learned she bought it from the lady across the street that also only has boys.

Anyway, we put the boy in the seat last night to see if he liked it and if he was ready for it. Clara Grace asked if she could fit in it...and she can lol! What a hoot! I have to say that she is also really putting those pajamas to good use too. They were my nephew's. They should have been packed up a long time ago but she loves them.

Another sweet score while checking out yard sales was an old trunk. Clara Grace had a canvas container for her dress-up clothes, and the items were oozing out. I found an old trunk to put at the foot of her bed with plenty of room. Charles thinks it is ugly and I guess it is, but I just thought it was awesome! Granted, it is a tight squeeze in her room right now, but I'll have her room arranged differently when we move to Japan so think it will work.

Beware of the Package Bandit!

This is a vent/heads up. Apparently there is a thief on the loose near my home. We have had two packages disappear since Zach's birth. And each time, the package has disappeared within 30 minutes of the delivery. I'm steaming over this. I have my suspicians but am not going to make a speculation on the blog. The spouse and I are plotting a little scenario to hopefully bait the culprit so we can find out who is behind the heists. So, in the event you find yourself wanting to send a package, please specify that we are to sign for it and it is not to be left in the event we are not home.

Say what?

Ok, this is just for a little fun. My dad called me this morning and asked if I knew what beatbox was. No. I did not. So I ask you...do you know what it is? If not, check this out and see if you are as speechless and I am...

Recent Snapshots

Here are a few pics I have snapped over the last two weeks. Nothing overly special...just my two favorite "subjects"! Here, you can see Clara Grace preparing to rope a steer.
Now, she is carting it off!

We then took a stroll to the playground.

As you can see, Zach has protection from the sun, and that is a bug net just under the sun screen. And if that isn't enough, we have sunscreen for his sensitive skin as recommended by his pediatrician.

Zach, getting a little "tummy time".

Front view.

We made some Jell-O Jigglers.

Clara Grace really enjoyed these. We'll probably do it again one day.

Saturday Clara Grace had a soccer game and then later a birthday party. This was her first exposure to bowling. This was a great first experience. No gutter balls were possible and these balls were about the size of cantaloupes. She had a great time, and I think we might do a family bowling excursion one day soon! I have to admit I was really wondering how well a bowling birthday party would go over for this age group, but it was awesome!

On a side note, I got on the scale with and without Zach and there was 11 pounds difference! He is growing so quickly. He is also throwing out the most precious smiles these days...so sweet.

Clara's Comments

Clara Grace really provides a lot of humor. Lately she has said some things that are just hilarious. Here are two things I can recall off the top of my head that happened today.

Clara Grace: Mom, I'll be five my next birthday. Then I'll be six. Then seven.

Me: Yes, that is right. I'm 31, so how old will I be on my next birthday.

Clara Grace: Old.

End of conversation lol.


The other was overheard. She likes to play in the bathtub and as she is getting to be a big girl I will often let her play as long as I can hear her singing, talking, etc so that I know her face is not in the water. It got quiet, so I went to check and she was face down, blowing bubbles, coming up, blowing bubbles. I just sort of watched, a little tickled. Then she started giggling and laughing...sat up and started splashing. She began saying things like, "Cool! Fireworks! Aren't they pretty?!?" and so on as she happily splashing water up in the air. It was pretty cute. Then she said the thing that made me actually laugh..."Fireworks dot com. Where you go to learn all about fireworks!" Perhaps it is not so funny in the retelling, but the live experience was pretty funny. She finally turned and noticed she had an audience.

I'll have to try to remember some of the other stuff. She is quite the hoot!

A New Career

Ok, Clara Grace currently wants to be a veterinarian. Which is great. Before this, she wanted to be a pilot. To be honest, she really sticks with the decision for quite a while since these are the only two careers she has wanted to persue as yet. However, she demonstrated a talent today that has me thinking I might suggest a new career option for her.

Voice Overs.

Yep. I think she could do REALLY well providing them with screams. I heard one today that I have yet to hear from her and hope it never is projected out of her mouth unless she is being paid for the effort.

This afternoon we were on the road when she freaked out about a spider on the rear window. Although she was concerned, she wasn't going nuts yet. I really couldn't do anything at the time but could see it was just a little spider. I tried lowering the window, but it produced no results. We were at a traffic light at the time, and then all of a sudden she let out a BLOOD CURDLING SCREAM. Anyone that has heard Clara Grace spaz, knows I'm pretty laid back about it, but this one really freaked me out. I thought something serious had to have happened to her. What warranted such a reaction from the wee one?

The spider had moved. By this time the light was green and I was able to swing into a parking lot. The spider had disappeared and Clara Grace had her legs as far away from the door as possible and was still freaked out.

It was a fun few minutes.

But, as there is always some sort of silver lining to each experience. I now have a suggestion to make when she one day asks what she should do for a living.

Mother's Day

I hope all of you mothers out there had a fabulous Mother's Day! I did. My morning was a bit hectic as it takes everything in me to get myself and two kids ready to leave the house by 9 AM and prepared for the next three hours at church. Hopefully that gets easier as time goes by, but whatever. Anyway, Charles did some cleaning which was REALLY nice, and gave me a very sweet card, along with a big box of Godiva chocolates. The he asked what I would like to do for dinner. I didn't want to deal with going out so at my request he fired up the grill and made us burgers, hot dogs, fries, and all. It was a great day!

On a funny note...Clara Grace wanted to know when Father's Day was. And then she asked about Child's Day.

Score!

Clara Grace's soccer game was cancelled on Saturday, but her team reserved a basketball court at the YMCA and had a scrimmage game. I was really impressed with how much she had improved since the last game. Here is the exciting news...she scored her first goal! Her coach threw her up in the air in celebration. The sad part...I missed it. Charles was working so missed it too. A couple of parents came up after the game and were praising her performance. You have no idea what a surprise it was to hear that because at the beginning she was usually looking off into the sunset instead of watching the ball. Of course it is all about having fun, but it is really nice to see her getting into the game!

He smiled!

Zach started smiling in response to me today! What an absolutely thrilling milestone! It really surprised me at first but he did it several times and it was so very sweet. I grabbed my cell phone and tried to catch it, and this was the best shot I snapped. I tried video but he just looked at me in a studious manner.

On a side note, I've got to get my camera back in readiness so I can quit posting these grainly camera phone pics.

Catching Up

Honestly, I'm not going to put you to sleep with a lengthy update. Suffice it to say that daily life is keeping us really busy. I did start back to teaching Clara Grace's AWANA class last night at church. I'm working really hard to create some sort of routine/schedule that has the household running somewhat efficiently. Clara Grace and I are working together to create a routine with built-in flexibility that includes the things we want to do and the things we must do. I'll devote a whole post to that eventually once I have something more concrete to share.

On to other things...

I wanted to share about a nifty product that I didn't know existed until this morning! Sunshine® Cheez-It® Scrabble Junior™! That is right, a tasty Cheez-It with letters on them. So fun! I picked up a box and we had an educational snack. Below you'll see Clara Grace spelling a word, but she liked it better when I spelled words for her to read and then...eat.

And then there is Zach. What a little cutie pie! When I had my dr. appointment this morning, the doctor noted he is a rather active little guy. I agree. I just couldn't help snapping a few pictures of him this morning as he chilled out on the beautiful blanket my friend, Christine, made for him.

And now a confession. I made Jell-O for the first time yesterday. Clara Grace didn't know what it was. Gasp! My daughter is almost five years old and didn't know what Jello-O was! I poured it into cute little dessert dishes (a gift from Nana several years back) and served it to her today. She loved it. Jell-O Jigglers are in the near future now.