Random Sunday night thoughts

I watch a lot of Discovery channel... well, I should say... when I watch TV, it is usually one of three channels: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet or Food Network (I do love Cupcake Wars).

Problem is... when I watch these channels, I feel like I can do anything. Currently, here are some of the things on my list to do:

1- Cook cupcakes everyday so my house always smells like -- well -- cupcakes.

2- Climb to the summit of Everest. {See THIS}

3- Go camping in a rain forest, for a month WITHOUT getting lost.

4- Get an online degree {there are a LOT of online education commercials on these channels}

5- Own every Shark product ever made.

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Okay, that was just something random. Now for the 'real' stuff :-)

We went to the St Louis Zoo today.



It was very fun to go back and see how things have changed since we were there last (3 Jul 05). Lots of changes. Rob was disappointed in some things, but overall everything was great!

It's so fulfilling to see the kids' excitement -- and knowledge of certain animals. Though today, the focus was on poop. Yep, I said it. Poop.

Every time we went to a new area, I'd ask the kids what they saw.

"Elephants" or "Monkeys" or "Lemurs" is what I would hear... but one of them would always chime in with ".. and poop" {or in Bones's case "... and pook"}.

Don't know what it was about, but they were fascinated. By the end of the day, every time somebody would say "poop" somebody else would say "well, everything poops". Funny kids I have!

Glitches...Why are there always glitches?

So, as you can see, I used the advice given and found a new background. Problem is... i can't adjust the width of the posts to accommodate my huge pictures. SO... I will be sizing down the pictures in the future. Where's the glitch?

I can't get PhotoBucket to size down the pictures already on here. Well, that's not exactly true. If I go to photobucket, they are sized down. Since they are linked to the blog, it should automatically happen. And it does... sometimes.

Oh well, from here on, I think I've got it figured out. Just know that if you want to see those huge pictures, they will be overlapping the column on the right. Maybe if I put the column on the left... hmmm

I'm going to try that now.

Soccer pictures are coming. Bubba has his next game at 1300hrs today -- that's right... 1300hrs. Ugh... I only like soccer season when games are over by noon. Yikes... did I just put that in writing?!? It's true though. We can't really *do* anything when the games don't start until after noon. Oh well...

Blog Template

So, I was trying to change my template and lost it... so I'm back to the basic. I'll figure it out, but it may take a while (mainly until the kids are back in school this week).

Why was I trying to change it? Because I can't stand when there isn't a date stamp on the blog entries. My old one just had a timestamp, but no date. Finally got past the point that I could stand it anymore.

I really want a cool background, but need something I can modify the template (to accommodate my big pictures :-)) Anybody have any good *free* template sites they would recommend?

Blog Catchup...

Lots of stuff going on... here are some highlights :-)

Gasp... has it been this long since I've blogged?!? Josh's birthday... I can't believe he is FIVE! Since he is ALL about cars now, we got him some motorcycles that race. This was taken just before the red one busted into my knuckles! Ouch!


The world's longest game of Hopscotch -- or a good effort at reaching it! This stretched from our house, up the street past about five other houses. Quite a game! And quite a bunch of kids!


Rob got promoted! WooHoo!

This is me, changing his rank out. Josh was happy to have the old CPT rank :-)



My sweet husband had flowers for me -- in Engineer colors, no less!




And we took our first trip to St Louis. It was a bust. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that the day we picked to go would also be football season opener games for Mizzou (downtown STL) and Washington Univ (Forest Park, aka the zoo) AND a Cardinals baseball game. Traffic was INSANE. We were late to our Arch reservation, had to pay for parking (though we had a free parking pass for making reservations online), and got our patience tested. By the time we made it over to Forest Park (still not knowing about the Washington game), we were redirected AWAY from the zoo. All we wanted to do was go up in the Arch and go to the Zoo. We didn't get to do the zoo. Next time. Next time... we will do a bit more research into that one.










If you've never gone up into the Arch, this is the 'pod' you have to ride. Horribly small. Horribly creaky. Horribly cramped. Horribly small (did I mention that?).





And apparently, I wasn't the only one feeling a bit claustrophobic. Check out the terror in that face!



Since we weren't able to do everything we wanted to do, we felt like we'd let the kids down a little. That is, until we drove by and saw this baby lit up...



Ahh... fresh and hot. A yummy ending to a not so great {but quite a learning experience} trip to St Louis!

Parenting Techniques

Let me start with two disclaimers. First, I do not think I am the perfect parent. I make more mistakes in one day, as a parent, than other people do in a week. In general, I don't think there are 'good' parents versus 'bad' parents. Second, this turned into a rambling rant... sorry!

I am not the poster child of motherhood. But I kiss each of my children to bed each night, after saying (or listening to) prayers with them and before telling them I love them. I thank God daily that I have been blessed to be their mama.

However, I am fiercely protective. Sometimes overly critical. I am not one of those uber-patient parents... I have surprising LITTLE patience. I have been known to raise my voice. I use guilt when they have done something they know they shouldn't. And I have extreme expectations of them.

I got that. I own it. I make mistakes. Hopefully, though, I learn from (at least most of) them.

That being said, sometimes I get fascinated by other people's parenting. I'm not at all saying that I am RIGHT and they are WRONG. Just different ways of accomplishing what we are all trying to accomplish. Raise good, strong, independent people. There are times, though... well, let's just say, I'd like to be the kind of person to walk up to another and say "WHAT were you thinking?!?"

Example? Okay :-)

We went to the water park again yesterday. Awesome time. This time Rob went (though he was nursing a severely 'tweaked' back). Fun time. BUT... we were standing in the shallower area with the boys while the girls were playing just to our left in some deeper water (though still not more than 3-1/2 ft). All of a sudden, the lifeguard jumps in just beside the girls. {Talk about scaring this mama to death!} There was a little guy -- smaller than Bones -- underwater. Couldn't swim. No flotation device being worn. No parent in sight. Takes a few minutes to locate mom... who was too busy TEXTING in her chair by the side of the pool. Really? WHAT were you thinking?!?

Now, I know that I don't know everything. Maybe there were circumstances. Who knows? Maybe she was a 'plant' to test the skills of the lifeguards. Maybe she was getting a text from her husband who's in Afghanistan and is telling her he's safely home from a convoy. I don't know. I just know that the thought of sitting on the side of the pool paying no attention while my toddler (no older than 2), who can't swim, is in water over his head makes me nauseous.

Maybe I'm overly cautious -- no, I take that back. I KNOW that I am overly cautious with my children. I wouldn't let G & F go in the deeper area without a parent. In my mind, I'm keeping them safe. They are both weak swimmers, at best. Maybe my cautious-ness (is that a word?) is why they are not better swimmers.

I have thought of that little guy all night. I don't want to be a judgemental person. I try not to 'judge a book by its cover', but all I can think about is -- if this little guy is getting that little attention at the POOL, what's he getting at HOME? So... Bones is getting attention enough for two today. He has been sitting in my lap this whole blog post, watching SpongeBob, still in his PJs. And I don't think he could get much happier. Well, unless I gave him a cookie. But it's only 0915hrs... and this mean ol' mama doesn't allow cookies until at least 10!

very thankful Sunday

1- We went to church this morning. Always a great start to a new week. Probably my least favorite part of moving {yes, even less than saying 'see you later' to two years worth of friends and packing everything we own} is finding a new church. Unfortunately, Rob and I have some pretty specific things we like... and don't like... in a church. If you've ever had THAT church -- you know the one that feels like HOME -- and have had to move away from it, you know that it is devastating. Every church from here on will be measured against that church. Herein lies the problem. Nowhere will ever be there. But you can't let that beat you. You have to keep looking and find a church which feels, maybe not like home, but like somewhere you can find a niche... make your own home away from home. So, anyway... church this morning was good. And it was the second time we visited the same church. It may not end up being the one we stick with, but at least we haven't let the search defeat us. We got up. We dressed. We got in the car. We went. We were in the pews. We worshipped. It was nice.

2- The kids and I joined Jane and Little Miss Ava at the SplashZone this afternoon for some good ol' fun in the sun... and water... and sand. This place was AWESOME! Not only is there a zero entry pool, complete with turn-the-lever-water-shooters, but there was also a lazy river and a whirlpool! {There were two 'big' waterslides too, but none of the kids were tall enough to ride, so we didn't go there.} Now, what could make this even better? A huge sand box... with water works in there too! So, when the kids needed a break, they would wander over to the sandy area and cover themselves with wet sand. All while they were making rivers and dams. Awesome. {I don't have any pictures from today -- I just couldn't see having to keep a camera dry and sand free in such a place. It was much more fun to actually get to PLAY with my kiddos!}

(since I don't have pictures, here are two of my cuties... in water... does that count?)




3- I watched the season finale of Hot Shot with Rob tonight. Not something I ever wanted to watch, but he hardly ever asks to watch something specific, and he liked this show so we ended up watching the season. After a while, I ended up actually liking it too! And the guy I liked from the beginning won. Yay! {He reminded me of this hottie... yum!}

4- We have a kids' table that our kids love. Over the time we've had it (it was a hand-me-down), it has been splattered with paint and covered with crayon. It is loved. However, it has started to look... well, not so great. While the kids and I were at the SplashZone today, Rob stayed home. He took the table apart and started the sanding process. The table is getting a facelift! I think we're going to make the top a chalkboard -- even though we all know I really, really dislike chalk. But the kids like it.

5- I love my husband. Does it hit you sometimes? Tonight I was sitting here, uploading some pictures from yesterday and it just hit me. I sure do love him. And guess what? He loves me too :-) I'm about the luckiest lady I know!

First Day of School!

Yesterday was the kids' first day back to school -- and Bubba's first day in 'real' school. I can't believe that I have a 3rd grader, a 1st grader, and a Kindergartener {plus my little Bones at home}! Here are some of the pictures from the first day... before school. I took my camera to get some afterschool pictures, but with a heat index of 105, I didn't remember to take any. When I got home, there was a sweat line {TMI?} from where I had the camera slung across my chest to the back. Gross. Very, very hot and very, very gross.

Anyway, here are the pictures!

Cheese for mama!


Ready to GO! look how big their backpacks all look!


Big G


Kicker


Bubba


Is this the look of excitement or what?!? Very proud 3rd grader right there!


Proud 1st Grader - who was happy to already know somebody in her class that moved here from Fort Knox too!


A little bit of a nervous Kindergartener (see his nervous hands?) -- until he saw other boys. Then, he was all "see you mom" :-p


Bones didn't understand why HIS picture wasn't being taken... so I snapped one of him next to Bubba.


It's only about 1/4 of a mile from our house to the school (via a trail through the woods), but it was hot. Did I mention that already (remember that sweat line?!?)? I made Bones walk on the way back -- at least, he walked the downhill portions. By the end, he was throwing his water bottle down and kicking it because he didn't want to carry it anymore. This was taken after one of those episodes. He wasn't really happy anymore.