Top Ten Thursday

I figured I'd join in on Top Ten Thursday, since Sara said it would boost my brain power! I'm just going to use her topic:

When I am not on blogger what top 10 websites can you find me on?

1. Facebook-Everybody I know is on there! Plus it's waaaaaay better than MySpace.

2. The Madness of a Mom-a private message board for moms.

3. armstrongmywire.com-My homepage, where I read all the news articles and check my email.

4. Yahoo-gotta check some more email!

5.

Meet Bob

That would be Bob Frog. Dylan's new pet.

I never thought I'd say it, but Bob is actually quite cute. It must be those huge eyes.

Dylan is obsessed with frogs. He has about 32,000 (that's just a rough estimate, may be exaggerated a bit) toy frogs, and is always looking for a pet frog or toad. After finding and releasing several toads this summer, Dylan got lucky. His Papa allowed him (against my wishes) to keep Bob. A new home and supplies from Papa sealed the deal.

There is just one rule: If Bob becomes unhappy in his habitat, we have to let him go. I really do hope he does well though, because he is turning out to be a fun pet!

Also on the list of rules: *Bob Frog can only be held gently while he's still in the cage. *Mama will not feed Bob Frog because Mama will not touch crickets. *Mama will not touch Bob Frog. Mama's love is shown only by looking at Bob. *If you touch Bob Frog, you must immediately wash your hands afterward, because frog germs gross Mama out.

I think that's fair.

How did Bob find his way into our household? Well, when we were visiting my brother's family in Erie last Friday, Dylan spent hours trying to catch the super fast frogs in the puddle in front of their house. So, my super clever boy set a trap. He placed a sand pail filled with grass at the edge of the puddle. He checked that trap every few minutes. I had just strapped Lexie into her seat to go home, when Dylan said he was going to check his trap one last time. I was almost positive we were home free. And then I heard the jubilant scream. "I caught a frog! I caught a frog! My trap worked!!!"

I shuddered as he held the frog up to my face, and told him to let it go. That brought on some tears, and the pleading. "But I love him! He's my friend! I want to keep him!" Those words worked their way into my dad's heart, and Papa declared, "Oh just let him take him home."

And so, the newly named "Bob" came home with us. He now has a deluxe condo, complete with a swimming pool, in Dylan's room. He has a voracious appetite for those live crickets, also residing in Dylan's room.

Bob would be pretty cool if we could just get past that cricket part. Have pet frog, have pet crickets. I can't bring myself to feed him, so that's Grant's job. As a matter of fact, there is a cricket wandering through my house as I type this. He just happened to escape during feeding time tonight.

Dylan loves Bob Frog, and so it seems the rest of our family has grown to love him too.

It's those eyes. I can't resist them.

Tuesday Tid-bits

After writing last week's Tuesday Tidbits post and photographing "the small things" that I want to remember, I realized that I want to keep up with it. I'm going to be so grateful to reminisce over these someday!

Dylan loves action figures. His favorites are those chunky little figures. He started out with the Star Wars Galactic Heroes sets, then moved on to some Indiana Jones, Spiderman, and Wolverine ones. He has tons of them (as in hundreds of dollars worth...EEEK!) and spills them out on the floor everyday. Of course, I am always stepping on them or picking them up, but he loves them. Someday (all too soon) he'll stop playing with them, and I'll be missing them!

Lexie's favorite phrase right now is "Smacka my butt!" She sticks out her little rear while she says it. Which is *especially* charming when it's bare.

Lexie got the cutest pair of sandals for her second birthday. They were metallic pink, with flowers all over the top. She loved them, and wore them all the time. She got so many compliments on them. They are so worn and faded now, and the strap just broke, so I know I have to pitch them. They are going to be hard to part with!

Dylan recently learned what a zombie was. He insisted that they were called "Miss Zombies" until just a few days ago.

Speaking of funny pronounciations, Lexie has a few that crack me up. Some sentences that frequently come out of her mouth are, "I take my shoes opps?" "Dylan, that is enupps!" And my favorite: "Eww, that skinks!" Just to clarify, that would be off, enough, and stinks in Lexienese.

After Dylan says hello to a family member or friend, he asks them, "So...what's up?" or "So...how are you doing?" Aww, way to start a conversation, buddy! He's growing up way too fast!

And finally, nothing melts my heart more than seeing Lexie playing with her dolls. Well, and looking at those sweet little piggies.


Oh-and a big shout out to my sister, Pam...Happy Birthday!

Blog Award

I received this award from Erin at Every Day Brings Something New. Thanks, Erin! I love your blog, and appreciate the award!

What I have to do is confess up to five of my current obsessions, and then pass on the award to five bloggers.

* I am obsessed with lip balm/vaseline/lip gloss. My lips can never be bare. If whatever I have on them starts to wear off, I have to reapply immediately, before I go crazy! I have a large tub of vaseline that I take into the living room when I wake up, and keep next to my side while I sleep. On top of that, I always have at least 3 lip balms/glosses in my purse, and 1 in my pocket, at all times.

*I am obsessed with sweets. I could eat them all day long. I have a stash of Swiss Cake Rolls, Banana Twins, and Cosmic Brownies in my closet, and I eat one of those every day!

*I am obsessed with taking pictures. Really. I'm the mamarazzi. I have taken 3000 pictures in the past 6 weeks. I love my current SLR, but I'm ready to upgrade!

*I am obsessed with reading. I always have two magazines and one book going at the same time.

*I am obsessed with buying clothes for my kids. As long as they have closets filled with cute clothes, I'm happy.

Thanks again, Erin, for the award! You are so sweet!

I'd like to pass this award on to:

Jenny at Beyond Our Wildest Dreams

Tiffany at Paging Doctor Mommy

Emily at The Pilot's Wife

Erica at Scottsville

Elizabeth at Small Town Blessings

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a crazy busy weekend, as usual! After spending all day in Erie on Friday, we had full days of activities planned for Saturday and Sunday.

First on our list was a combination birthday/baptism party. Lexie's adorable BF turned 2 on Saturday, and his little brother was baptized! I took my camera but only got a few shots. It was so hot outside that I had to just concentrate on breathing! The kids enjoyed themselves, though!

After the party, we went to an Ice Cream Social and a movie at Dylan's school. Say hello to Lex Miserables and Mr. McCheesy.

The kids had a lot of fun at the Ice Cream Social. I have no worries about Dylan making friends in Pre-K. He was a social butterfly! Only a few families showed up, but he met 3 of his classmates, and became fast friends with them! I have a feeling he just may get in trouble for talking too much!

The Veggie Tales pirate movie ended well after bed time, so the kids quickly fell asleep once we got home.

On Sunday, we had a cookout at Grant's parents house. While we were there, Grant's dad took Dylan to the borough building so he could sit in a police car, and turn on the sirens. He was so excited to meet the policeman, and pretended he was a cop the rest of the night!

We had a lot of fun this weekend, but I was grateful to stay at home today. I got a nice break, because Dylan spent most of the day with my sister and her kids!

We have many more busy weekends ahead of us before we will actually get a break!

Not Me Monday

Another Monday has arrived, and it's time for my free therapy session, courtesy of MckMama. I get to hide all the imperfect things that have happened over the past week, by saying, "NOT ME!"

The mom who flashed her bra to all the customers sitting on the MckDonald's patio? Not Me.

The mom who had her breast squeezed twice, in front of her in-laws, during dinner? Definitely Not Me.

The mom who had her swimsuit top pulled down multiple times? Not. Me.

The culprit in all of these incidents? Definitely not a certain golden haired toddler.

I did not continue to try to get a picture of my kids before Dylan's Pre-K Ice Cream Social, even though Lexie Bean was screaming.

I did not leave bags of new fall clothes in my kids rooms, for over a week. They are most definitely put away.

It wasn't me who was almost an hour late for a swimming playdate, because I spent too much time shopping.

I was not the frantic, frustrated, LATE mom dragging her kids across the parking lot, and back into the store restroom, because her son left a toy there, and only remembered after he and his sister were strapped into their carseats. The leave your toys in the car rule was not born on that day.

I did not leave my dad and kids in the hot car, and spend 25 minutes shopping in Carters, when I was only supposed to be making a quick stop. What can I say? The sales attracted me. I did not blame it on a REALLY long check out line.

I do not think Dylan's new frog cute, even if it grosses me out.

It's not me who is completely confused and wondering if we should start trying for a baby this fall or just wait until next fall. Decisions, decisions.....

Just A Little Day Trip

The kids and I joined my dad on a little trip today. A few months ago, my brother moved his wife and five kids to Erie, which is about an hour and a half away from where we live. Baby Emily is turning 1 this week, and we won't be able to make it to her party on Sunday, so we decided to visit them today.

The kids were so excited to go to camp. My brother is the caretaker of several Girl Scout camps, and they live at one, so there are plenty of things to do to keep the kids busy.

They did so well on the drive there. We made a quick stop at McDonald's for lunch, and did a little shopping at the outlets. My dad put me in charge of picking out some clothes for Emily, and I did some shopping of my own while we were there. ;) The kiddos watched "Happy Feet" the rest of the way there.

When we got to Erie, it was really hot out, so we decided to go for a swim in the camp pool. Lexie is a little water baby. She has no fear, and was leaping into the pool on her own. EEEK!

My nieces Mikayla and Emily soon joined us.



Lexie got a bit mad that her cousins were stealing her pool toys. Love the pout on her face!
Dylan with his "twin" cousin, Sarah
The kids swam for hours, until it was time to head back to my brother's house to rest and have some dinner.

In case you were wondering, Dylan is covered in hives...he appears to have an allergy to something outside. After dinner, we sat outside until it got dark. Lexie and Dylan played with their teenage cousins-Lexie was glued to Mikayla's side all night, and Dylan was biking and catching frogs with Nick and Alex. While we were there, we got to witness Emily taking steps behind a push toy for the first time!


We pulled out a parachute, and let the kids play under it for a while. They had a blast!
Obviously, it was hard work for them.

Sadly, it was getting dark and our visit had to end. We had some watermelon before getting back on the road. We didn't get a chance to see my brother, because he was in meetings all day. I'm sure we'll be heading back very soon though. Everybody had a blast today!!!
Lexie was asleep within minutes of leaving. Dylan followed shortly after...clutching his new pet in his arms. A frog. Fabulous.

I was so happy to see my sister in law, nieces, and nephews again. We had a wonderful time together! Emily is so darn squeezable...she is just so cute and sweet! Happy 1st Birthday, cutie pie!

Ol' Boy

My oldest "kid" turned 11 today!

That would be my chihuahua, Pepe (aka Meester Pepito Beesmol), who happens to hate everyone but me. Well, maybe not hate. He tolerates a select few, but strongly dislikes most.

I got Pepe when I was 18. He was a graduation gift from my parents, because I always wanted a chihuahua. When I got him, he fit in the palm of my hand. Now, he's a rather large chihuahua. Perhaps that's an understatement. He's over ten pounds. Need I say more?

Dylan and Lexie were so excited when I told them it was Pepe's birthday today. They immediately ran to sing "Happy Birthday" to him and gave him a present...a bag of Marrobones. The giant dog ran in and stole his first treat, so we fed him many, many more. He spent the day sunning himself outdoors, and soaking up the extra attention..and treats!

It's hard to believe that he's 11 already. Happy Birthday, Ol' Boy!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Come for a walk with me down Memory Lane!
And if you have a "Memory Lane" post, head on over to Scottsville to join in on the fun!


Tonight, I was looking through old pictures in my Photobucket account, and came across a bunch of Lexie's baby pictures. I can't even believe how grown up she is. (Don't even let me get started on Dylan!) Was she ever really that small? Who is that little stranger? When I came across this one, I started laughing...


Lexie was just a day shy of turning 6 months old. She had just figured out how to crawl, and was on the move. She was playing on the floor, and kept pushing that ball around. I was preoccupied with Dylan, but I kept glancing over at her. Once I realized she wasn't moving around anymore, I walked over and found her fast asleep on the ball. Crawling is tough work!

This started off the trend of falling asleep in odd locations. She actually slept through a wedding reception last year, even though she was directly in front of a blaring loudspeaker. It runs in the family, though. I have picture after picture of Dylan falling asleep while climbing off the couch, and numerous pictures of them both falling asleep at meals.

What can I say? My kids love to sleep. Especially on baseballs. At least it was soft!

Tuesday Tid-bits

Last week, I read this post, and thought it was a great idea. I really didn't think much about it that day, but as I was putting Dylan to bed that night, I spotted his beloved backpack, laying on the floor. I was struck with the thought that the little bag is not going to be here forever. Someday, it's going to be tossed aside because it's too babyish, or thrown away because it became too worn to use anymore. This backpack is such a huge part of our every day life right now, but one day, I'm going to struggle to remember what it even looked like. Same goes for all those hilarious or cute things that my kids say or do. So I decided to start capturing the little things with my camera, and writing about the cute, funny moments with my kids. Some day, when the kids are all grown up, I'll be so grateful that I recorded these!

Without further ado, here is the backpack that started this. We bought it for Dylan when he was 2 1/2, on a trip to Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, to visit his Great Uncle Scott. Dylan puts his favorite toys in the backpack, and takes it with him, almost every time we leave the house.

The other day, Lexie was sitting on the potty, flipping through a magazine. She was completely silent. Out of the blue, she began frantically pointing at a page in the magazine, and yelled, "Hey! I want that dress!"

Dylan loves learning about animals. He has several books about animals, which he refers to as his "Animal Channel Books."

Lexie loves to carry around toy figures, even Dylan's Star Wars figures. (Is it bad that she knows the names to all of them?) She refers to all of her figures, both girly or boyish, as "My Guys!" I love seeing her chubby, little hands curled around her "guys."

Recently overheard in our living room:

Dylan: Knock Knock.

Lexie: Who's There?

Dylan: Ah.

Lexie: Ah Who?

Dylan: Bless you!

Lexie: Thank you!

Ahhh, I love these kids!!!