'Cause Ya Gotta Have Friends!

The Rascal turned 5 this week (!) and he celebrated in several ways. The first thing we did was have a Christmas birthday with his class [his brother's birthday is Halloween, so he felt it only fair :)]. We went out to dinner with my folks and he got to "ride the saddle" while the whole place sang to him. Later in the week, we joined a friend who also turned 5 this month for a Build-A-Bear excursion.

It's been just plain neat to see him interact with all his buddies and even with the people around us in public places. He has this smile that lights up from within, and he generally treats others with kindness, empathy, and humor. Many of the kiddos he knows have been together since birth, and have known him since he was 18 months old, so they're all pretty tightly connected.

And I think about my Elder-- he's pretty independent, but he is able to get along with all kinds of kiddos. Want to talk about drawing and art? Can do. Learn about snakes or other animals? Yep. Run around like a Tasmanian devil, climbing trees, throwing rocks at the lake, getting dirty? Absolutely. And I LOVE the comments I hear from the parents of friends he visits. They always tell me how polite he is, how kind, how easily he finds compromise to keep the activity of choice moving forward... all things that make a mom's heart full to bursting.

So three cheers for friends! Life made more interesting!

at the Pumpkin Patch, 2007

Sláinte!

Hope everyone has a most merry St. Patrick's Day!

Suppa Club!

For the past few months, we have been having a most delicious feast with 2 other couples, trading off hosting responsibilities and "visiting" epicurean delights of other regions and countries. Tonight the theme is "French Fowl".

Anyone who knows me is fully aware of my hopelessness inadequacy absolutely dreadful need for further practice in the culinary arts. So tonight my contribution to the whole meal (other than the wine) will be a bottle of the cheapest French dressing I could find. Palate pleasing? Not so much. But it's bringing me a giggle. Mais oui!

Pullin' That Wagon

I have strep. Big, swollen, yucky strep. I feel absolutely LOUSY. Where's the marie-ment in that?

Well, I'll tell ya. The Mister is SO AMAZING. He is the chief cook and bottle washer, boy wrangler, and general keeps-the-house-going most of the time, but when I am down for the count, he steps it up even more. I don't have to do ANYTHING but take my antibiotics and get better. That's IT.

I've said before that things work better when all the horses in our family are pulling that wagon in the same direction. I'm so grateful that right now, when I'm just riding on the hay, our wagon keeps rolling forward. Thank you, Gorgeous! When I get disentangled from this sweaty lump, I owe you BIG TIME.

Puppy 500!

So Mister got up early to fit in a gym work-out before a long bike ride (I know!)and right after he left, the pooches decided to start running laps on, under, and around the bed. ZOOM! Puppy across the head! BANG! Rasslin' dogs slam into the footboard! BUH-DA BUH-DA BUH-DA the pounding of 8 paws on every inch of space in the room!

Well! Sounds like my precious little darlings need to be tossed into the yard a little outside time, so I stumble downstairs and let them out. BOTH of them immediately sat on the deck by the back door to be let back in. I give them a few minutes to TCB and then in they come. ZOOM! BANG! BUH-DA BUH-DA BUH-DA! Back outside. Sitting so sweetly. Back in. ZOOM! BANG! BUH-DA BUH-DA BUH-DA! Wha-at?!? Back outside. Sitting so sweetly! Lather, rinse, repeat!

And now?

The pooches are sleeping very sweetly. OUTSIDE. Awwww... :)

Play Ball!

After much discussion, the Rascal has been signed up for tee ball. Is it wrong that I am looking more forward to watching his bench-warming shenanigans more than his hitting, running, and fielding?

More as the season unfolds!

Balloon Boy Bounces!

subtitle "Chimps Use Tools"

The Rascal discovered a balloon in his Valentine loot this morning, and has been having more fun than a barrel of monkeys trying to keep it from hitting the ground:



At one point it drifted to the top of the TV, and he needed a little help getting it down (which I happily gave). Pretty soon, of course, it floated up there again. I said, "guess it will have to live there for a while", thinking he might be more careful with it from then on. But that little chimp found an unsharpened pencil and used the eraser end to coax the balloon to the edge where it fell off, bringing it within his reach. You go on, Curious George. Good on ya!

[And yes, he is still in his jammies and there is a day-old heart painted on his face. What? That's how we roll on a Saturday!]