hold your breath!

The proof is in the photograph. She's finally going under. And she needs a manicure. Happy Friday...

go directly to jail. do not collect $200.

Some things never change. Battleship, on the other hand has gone completely wacko and/or electronic, but Monopoly remains pretty much unscathed. I don't recall the "fast play" option but I suppose that is just a sign of the times.

We bought both games this week and I'd have to say it was the best near $50 I've spent in a long time. Do I say that a lot?

This is a shot of our ongoing game which, I have a feeling, will remain ongoing for some time. I honestly didn't remember quite how much time could actually spent on one game until we got started. This one is about 4 hours in and we've barely made an impact.

But what has amazed me most is Gage's ability to play. Really, I thought it would be a challenge but he jumped right in and was actually kicking my butt about two hours in (I caught up). It's fascinating to watch our five year old rapidly adding the numbers on two dice together (most games up to this point have just used one), counting money & making change. It's also fun to see his strategies & levels of risk he's willing to take. Come to find out, he's quite the shark. Who would have thunk?

If you have a kindergarten age child and, like me, have been hesitant to try monopoly don't wait. It's time. And it takes time. So be prepared. Don't set yours up on the dining room table like we did...cause I'm guessing it's going to be there a while...

lip service

Tonight, during the witching hour, Gage *accidentally* kicked his little sister in the mouth. I can't pretend that this is unusual occurrence but I can say that there is usually no blood. Tonight, however, was different. Blood. I hate blood.

Turns out she cut the little skin thingy that resides just over your front teeth, inside your mouth (I'm sure it has a better name than that but I didn't learn that one in Business School). Now the critical phrase to remember here is INSIDE your mouth.

After some ice and a raspberry popsicle, I decided it was safe to run a bath. Zuzu came to greet me in the bathroom a few minutes later looking like this. Apparently her boo-boo needed a band-aide. It was so cute I couldn't help but to just laugh at her. The first words I could muster were, "keep it on...let me go get the camera!"

seeing double...and then some...

The question here is truly not why our just three year old daughter has so many blonde Barbies, but instead, how in the world she can tell all of these Barbies apart. See, like most children, Zuzu likes to undress her Barbies. But when it comes time to put the clothes back on, and Mom inevitably is called to assist, she knows exactly which dress belongs to which blonde bombshell. Seriously, minus a few tell-tale hair accessories, can you tell the difference between Aurora, Rapunzel & the Island Princess? Well she can. And if it weren't for Snow White & Ariel or I'd be totally screwed.

traveling light

Today I flew cross-country with a three year old and a five year old. We woke the children at 6:30am eastern standard time. It is now 6:15pm pacific time (9:15pm eastern standard time) and we are eating dinner. Yes, I blog at dinner.

We have been up nearly 15 hours straight and consumed THE most obnoxious assortment of food humanly possible in one day. I will not tell you exactly who ate what (because that gets even more frightening) but I am willing to share our menu with you because it will make you feel oh so good about yourself today. It's listed in chronological order for the most part, and yes, I'm dead serious and I actually may have forgotten a thing or two.

But don't judge me. The kids are still happy fifteen hours and a 5 1/2 hour flight later and tomorrow, my friends, is another day...

one corn dog
1/2 of a large bag of mini chips ahoy cookies
one blueberry muffin
one package of starburst candies
handful of goldfish pretzels
snack baggie of chocolate covered pretzels
one candy bracelet
two handfuls of skittles candy
1/2 a second blueberry muffin
1 cup strawberry yogurt
1 chocolate chip granola bar
4 more starburst candies
2 mc donalds happy meals with chicken nuggets & french fries
1 in n' out burger, ketchup only
1 in n' out grilled cheese, add pickles, hold the onions
1 in n' out french fries
1 grande non-fat latte with one pump of mocha
1 sugar free fudgsicle
1 sugar free strawberry popsicle
three slices of pepperoni pizza
two bowls of spaghetti with marinara sauce & mushrooms
three slices of garlic bread

What do you think? Should I serve dessert?

vacation all I ever wanted...

Did I forget to tell you that we were going on vacation? Yes, I think I did and well, we did. We're having a lovely time catching up with friends & family and doing everything we can to entertain ourselves while avoiding the completely intolerable heat that is South Florida. Not an easy feat but somehow it's all worth it. I don't really have a heck of a lot to say so here are some photos.

This first one is of the grown women that I often refer to lovingly as "my girls". I can't tell you how long we've been friends cause that would most certainly age us all, but trust me, we go way back and have far more memories than we would all like. All college roommates of one another at some point and this week we took our collective nine kids bowling together. Yeah, I'm still getting over the shock too...


And here are some of the many ways we've entertained ourselves and kept relatively cool over the last few days... (Although the avocado adventure was a pretty sweaty one as it involved baseball bats, soccer balls & a now somewhat battered avocado tree.)

grab a seat. or two.

This photo is courtesy of my mother. These lovely commodes, circa 1970-something, were thoughtfully perched just across the street from her home on bulk pick-up day this week. Fortunately, they remained vacant all morning.

safety check

I swear. I read the trampoline manual three times and it says nothing about jumping while holding a functioning garden hose. Nothing. So it must be safe, right? Nothing this fun could be dangerous.

small print: children, do not try this at home unless, of course, your parents are nearby video taping you

the negotiation

betcha can't guess who wins...

silence is golden

Or is it?
We've all had one of those moments when we think, "Those kids are sure quiet, what in the world have they done now?"
That was me tonight.
I actually caught up on some emails while they jumped in the bath. I could hear them softly talking and giggling but then I realized something was up. Up, down & all around.
This is certainly not their first attempt at redecorating their decrepit bathroom but I'm pretty sure it's the first time I've shared it here. And this time was quite the masterpiece. Perfectly timed, of course, because the tub was just scoured yesterday. How DO they know these things?

dog days?

Did you know that "Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time 'when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies' according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813" & Wikipedia.

Mad dog? Check.
Sour wine? Maybe.
Languid creatures? Hmmmm. Not so much.

I just had to share these images from just one hour of our marvelous day today. This all followed school, camp, mommy errands, a doggy hike, a swim lesson & a trip to the sports store to purchase the new mask, snorkel and flippers (not pictured). Only now, as the sun has set on this beautiful day, are we languid.

Life is good.

sunday funnies

What NOT to do at the dining room table. Captured on film, posted on blog & titled *sunday funnies* in an attempt to teach disobedient child how NOT funny it actually was. French fry anyone?

happy hour

1. gage retaliates against all the sock stealing & toe biting by shooting the dog...after downing the bull.
2. grammy resorts to weaponry to take control of the situation. it does not work.
3. zuzu goes undercover and mom gets a preview of the inevitable goth stage ahead of us
4. rasta poppy reacts to grammy's inability to use a camera. (my apologies to poppy for the inadvertent positioning of this photograph that makes it appear that he is looking at zuzu's arse....but at least she's wearing panties)
5. zuzu the cat practices her downward dog.
6. poppy tries to regain his youth by slithering into gage's size 14-16 dolphins jersey. I know, that doesn't make sense either.
7. pirate zuzu screams *ahoy maties* and takes off before I can get a proper photograph.
8. lucy snoozes with one eye open and a paw on her light saber.
9. seems I've duplicated one of the scenes.

Happy Friday. I hope your weekend is even half as entertaining as our 5 o'clock hour was tonight...

jungle rhythm

This is for my mom. Beware, it might not interest anyone else. But she's gonna love it and that's really all that matters. Plus, she comments.

public speaking 101

Sarah Palin Vs. That Crazy Santa Cruz Lady (VIDEO)

Posted using ShareThis

Beware. Your head might explode watching this. Or you might begin to think you've been spending just a little too much time on the internet. Or you might just laugh your ass off. Or a combination of the three. But it's worth it. Trust me.

happy birthday to you. you live in a zoo.

Who can resist this darling little face at 7am? Even when she is singing herself a happy birthday song with *poo* in it.

three

Happy Birthday, my dear Zuzu.
Today you are three.
Tonight you told me that you were going to another mommy's house because you didn't want to listen to me. Then two minutes later you took a loving bite out of my ear and told me you "could eat me up".
For this, and for every other moment we've spent together in the last three years, I love you dearly.
You are my little princess and forever will be.
I could eat you up too.
Love,
Mama

kiss & makeup

Ever wonder if you should give a makeup set as a gift for a girly girl's 3rd birthday? You be the judge.

we survived!

I am pleased to announce that we've survived another year AND another toddler birthday party. What a blast we all had at Zuzu's magical, musical fairy tale party in the Grove. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day or more fabulous friends to share it with. We're still recovering this morning (and culling through the 500 photographs that were taken by the three resident photographers) but please enjoy this little preview. Thank you to everyone that came out stomp in the creek and dance in the redwoods with us. It was a day we will never forget...

lego land top ten

the top ten reasons why lego land beats the heck out of disney world.
in no particular order...

10. carlsbad, ca versus orlando, fl. really, need I say more?

9. sunny outdoor rides on planes, helicopters & racecars (seriously, not ONE ride was indoors) versus dark indoor rides with scary witches and haunted mansions.

8. five minute lines versus thirty minute lines.

7. fresh salad bars & stir fry versus...crap. I'm sorry, but it was really THAT bad.

6. independent play areas including lego building centers, play structures, climbing & water parks versus one measly little winnie the pooh playground with nothing to do.

5. three days versus one day at the same price. or maybe less.

4. southwest airlines flies there.

3. the kids said so.

2. carlsbad, ca versus orlando, fl. worth duplicating.

1. inanimate lego characters versus creepy costumed disney characters.