Ten on Tuesday

{1}

I'm baaaack!

Its been a crazy-busy few weeks and I have had a blast, but I am more than ready to get back to our home improvin', preschooler chasin' and summer lovin' way of life.

I'll catch you up on my latest escapades (with pictures) as quick as I can.

{2}
MY HOUSE IS A DISASTER ZONE!



{3}

Its official:

I want need a Keurig.

Did I mention I have a birthday coming up?

{4}

Don't feel too sorry for the bird I trapped and subsequently killed in our basement two weeks ago. That little punk left bird poop everywhere before accepting his fate.

{5}
I whipped up a batch of this homemade fabric softener tonight.

Don't you just love the many uses for vinegar?




{6}
No kidding, with six months to go until Christmas I actually did my first Christmas shopping yesterday.

How's that for planning ahead?




{7}
Gardening 101:
Mulch is not your friend.

As pretty as it looks in your flower beds, that stuff will leave hundreds of teeny tiny splinters in your hands.
Always wear gloves when handling and weeding.




{8}
Already praying and hoping we get to spend next year's summer soltice in the land of the midnight sun.





{9}
This weekend we're doing a family photo shoot. Fun stuff!




{10}
This Week's Blessing:

My amazing hubby.
Not only did he support me gallivanting off to Texas and Seattle by myself, but he took great care of our kiddo while I was gone. I swear I came back to find Kendry's vocabulary doubled. Seeing how my boys love and interact with each other melts this mama's heart.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Soakin' up some back yard fun with the kiddo this evening:

 

{2}

And then there was the time I locked a helpless little bird in our basement and we found him dead two days later.

Not to be confused with the time I locked a neighborhood stray cat in my car overnight.

Whoops!

Try explaining that one to your husband.

{3}

My friend Misty has started a blog called Moms for Lower Expectations.

If that is not the most clever name for a blog I don't know what is.

{ Except maybe for Oops, I Craft My Pants.  hee hee hee }

 

{4}

In response to Misty's first post, I never thought as a mother I would allow my three year old to wear the same t-shirt for 24 hours straight (camping scenarios excluded). Kendry wore this 'basketball jersey' all evening, wore it to bed, and then wore it to daycare the whole next day because he simply had to show his teacher that he was a basketball player.

I also bought a pack of iron-on numbers and gave the shirt a '21' for the Dru Gimlin 3-on-3 Tournament.

Rest assured, I got the shirt off Kendry long enough to wash it before the tourney.

{5}

The basketball tourney in Quincy this weekend was, as always, a lot of fun - except this year it was fah-reezing and blustery like you wouldn't believe.

Not that that stopped Kendry from wearing only shorts and the above-referenced baskeball jersey for half the day. Crazy kiddo!

Here we are watching Daddy's team play.

 

Cuzzies keeping each other warm:

 

{6}

Things are cuh-razy around here this week.

I'm leaving my boys to their own devices for four whole days this weekend.

Now ask me why I'm even bothering to clean my house before I depart.

{7}

This Week's Blessing #1:

Getting to meet up with my bestie for a Friday morning coffee in Seattle.

 

{8}

Kendry has developed my obsession with Starbucks Petite Vanilla Bean scones.

I know moms are supposed to be self-sacrificing but...

"Jody doesn't share food!"

{20 points if you can name that show}

{9}

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

We love Seattle Reproductive Medicine.

No details to share at this point other than we did our preliminary work-up to get okayed for one last cycle, whenever we're ready...

 

{10}

This Week's Blessing #2:

The opportunity to pray at the start of the basketball tournament this weekend. I felt truly honored to be asked. Thank you, Lisa!

The Games We {Parents} Play

While reading the April issue of Parents magazine I came across these silly definitions from Kid Dictionary:



invisibooboo (in-VIZ-uh-boo-boo) n:  the site on a child's body where you unnecessarily applied a bandage to appease him when he got hurt, even though no blood ever appeared.



crydentity crisis (cry-DENT-ih-tee CRY-sis) n:  silence that falls over a group of parents at a playdate when a cry is heard from the next room and they're all determining whether the wailing child is theirs.

(My addition: this is often followed by a second silence as the remaining parents pray their child isn't the one responsible for the first child's cry. )



harrask (huh-RASK) v:  when a child persists in asking again and again for permission to do something in the fervant hope that your answer will change from no to yes.



lullacry (LULL-uh-cry) n:  the dramatic, seemingly interminable pause between a child sustaining an injury and beginning to wail.



slobbertize (SLOBB-her-tyz) v:  to use spit on a napkin to clean something off your kid's face when you're not hear a sink.  (Guilty!)




And my personal favorite, which coincidentally corresponds with the subject of this post:

chapturn (CHAHP-tern) v:  to sneakily skip pages or abbreviate the narrative when reading a long kids' book to your child. 



Dr. Seuss anyone?  Justin is a pro at ad-libbing Kendry's books when he tires of reading the same story over and over. I have told him, however, that he is not permitted to ad-lib Bible stories.

We've gotta draw the line somewhere.


Kendry owns two Dr. Seuss books - actually one book is five stories in one, so in reality he owns six Dr. Seuss books. SIX!

I should clarify here that both Justin and I love to read, and we have encouraged a love for reading in Kendry since he was an infant. Much to our delight, he is embracing it, and I love adding new books to his library. Kendry's bedtime routine includes two stories each night - one read by Daddy and another read by Mommy. Simply put, we like to read in our house.


Now, back to Dr. Seuss.

I swear that guy knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote these books. He mixed catchy rhymes with odd illustrations to get the kiddos addicted, and then deliberately made each story no less than 30 pages long to torture the poor parents. And don't even get me started on the tongue-twisters. I am a talkative person - just ask my husband. My tongue gets a good workout any day of the week. But give me one Dr. Seuss story and I swear my tongue immediately starts cramping up.

I'm building my defense here, can you tell?

A few weeks ago I posted a Ten on Tuesday in which I confessed to hiding both of Kendry's Dr. Seuss books deep in the couch so Daddy and Mommy could have a few nights of 'normal' bedtime reading. It was a matter of maintaining my sanity.

And it worked like a charm... except when I had to play dumb as Kendry searched high and low to find Wacky Wednesday.

Don't judge.


Before you feel too sorry for Kendry you need to watch this video:







I dread the day Kendry realizes Mommy and Daddy aren't always as innocent as they profess to be.  

Today its books that are mysteriously 'eaten' by the couch. Tomorrow I'll be blaming the recycling bin for snatching Kendry's artwork off the fridge.

Don't shake your head at me - you know you've done it too.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

I'm swooning over our rose garden these days.

{2}

Its that time of year again; we're looking forward to seeing many of you at the Dru Gimlin 3-on-3 Tournament this weekend!

{3}

Eating fresh lettuce and spinach from one's own garden is such a delectable treat!

{4}

I hit up my favorite thrift store on Saturday but didn't find much to much to my liking. I didn't leave completely empty-handed though. I found a $.50 copy of The Stinky Cheese Man in great condition - a book I had been looking to add to Kendry's library - and then this beauty:

Look at this dedication:

I love old books, particularly when I find classics.

{5}

Justin has never seen Ben Hur.

Its on our list to watch - right after we view all four movies in the Indiana Jones collection, which I admit I haven't watched all the way through.



{6}
We did a mini-session with Kendry out by our neighbor's barn the other night.

This one is kinda grainy, but cute.



Ever the cheeser:

{7}

Someone recently suggested that our neighbor's barn might be a bit of an eyesore for our back yard.

I disagree.

Not only does it make me feel like I truly live in the country, but it makes a great backdrop for photos.

{8}

We took the kiddo to Baskin Robbins for $1 scoop night tonight.
Thirty-one flavors to choose from and he chose vanilla.

It would seem Kendry takes after Grandpa Jack.



{9}
Speaking of Grandpa Jack...
for the life of me I cannot come up with a Father's Day gift for him.

He already has every Harley Davidson accessory under the sun - I would know since I bought him a Harley fanny pack for Father's Day last year.

I'm totally serious.


Consider this a shout out to my siblings for help.

Ideas?

Anyone?

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

A wonderful church family.

I left service on Sunday smiling ear to ear and feeling so blessed.



Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Kendry's latest style:

One of these things is not like the other...

{2}

Ten months after receiving it for my birthday I finally got my paint sprayer out of the box and gave it a try.

I can't wait to show you the results!

Think orange. BRIGHT orange.

{3}

So help me, I just might be asking for a fanny pack for my birthday.

I never thought this day would come.

{although technically this one is called a waistpack}




{4}
While dicing an incredibly potent onion this weekend (cabbage salsa rocks!) and fighting back some serious tears, I recalled a line from "The Help" where she said to hold a match between your teeth to stave off the onion tears.





I tried it for myself but was paranoid the entire time, convinced that Justin would spot me and decide I have gone totally loony. Seriously, what would I have said? "No really, honey, it has to work - I saw it in a movie."  ??




{5}
Daddy to Kendry on Sunday evening: "Okay, bud, be sure to sleep in until 8 tomorrow, okay?"

Kendry: "No, 6 o'clock, Daddy."



Are we sure this kiddo can't tell time?




{6}
None of us actually slept in on Memorial Day.

We were down at the levee first thing so Daddy could run the bridges. Lucky Kendry got to have the skate park to himself for a little while.

{7}
The hubs got a rotisserie attachment for his grill this week.
He is in BBQ heaven!




{8}
Am I the coolest mom or what?

Kendry loved his moose sandwich.



{9}
I really miss seeing moose out in the wild.



{10}
This Week's Blessing:
Bulk Peanut M&M's on sale at Costco!
Yeah baby!