Apple Picking

About 2 weeks ago we took a quick outing to go apple picking.

Andrew, do your cheesy face!

Grace, smile!

Andrew's favorite part was riding the tractor out to the orchard.

While Kevin picked all the apples, Grace sang "Here Comes Johnny Appleseed", Andrew ate an apple, and JuJu and I loved on Baby Andrew.

Where are you going Andrew?

"juju"s house! Big purse go too!"  Thats my boy.

iPad art

Last night, Gracie went to eat dinner and left me with the iPad.  She asked me to make her a pretty picture.  So I spent her entire dinner making this....

And she LOVED IT!  She insisted it go on the blog.

Horrible things I say to my kids that I only kinda mean, and you all want to say but won't admit it.

"Stop acting like a GIANT BABY!"  Usually to Andrew when he is tantruming about something. 

"Seriously.  Stop talking."  I say this about a dozen times a week, usually to Grace.  Make that a bakers dozen.  In my defense, she talks constantly.  She usually asks a question three times before I can even come up with an answer.

"Andrew, get down from there or you will fall and crack your head open.  That would be an expensive mess."

"Grace and Andrew, be nice to each other.  When mom goes crazy and is sent away, you will need each other."  This is one....I maybe shouldn't say.

"Leave me alone."  Usually I want to say this out loud to many people, but only really say it to poor Kevin or my darling children.

"If you continue to act like an animal, I treat you like an animal. I will make you sleep outside in the dog kennel behind the garage with all the squirrels and bunny poop." Note that carrying the child out to the dog kennel would definitely drive home the point.  Not that I ever did that....

"Do not touch Mommy!"  I hate being touched.  Makes me cringe.  Creeps me out.

I know these sound just horrible.  However, my kids simply ignore me.  Excellent survival skills.   My pleas to be left alone and untouched, usually result in extreme cuddling.  Picture two kids on my lap and Grace's face plastered to my cheek and their grubby little paws all over me.  Maybe I should try reverse psychology.

And I have saved the best for last.  I cannot remember where I got this from... 
"If you don't stop that, I will beat you like a rented mule!" This always makes Grace giggle. I am sure someday I will be explaining this to some teacher or social worker.

First day of school!

So yesterday was Gracie's first day in K4.  Finally!  Seems like we have been talking about this day forever. 

She is definitely ready for school.  But this past weekend, whenever she was asked about school, she would say, "I am a little bit nervous."  In the cutest, sweetest little voice. 

That morning she was a bit apprehensive, but overall very excited.  And she loves getting her picture taken, so she was happy to pose with everyone in her new uniform.

When we got to school, we had to wait outside for the teachers to comeotu and meet the class.  This was a long wait, and there were a few moments of this....

But mostly, Grace was smiley and excited.

When I picked her up a few hours later, she was so happy.  She got to play outside, have a snack, and do some artwork.  She also talked her teacher into giving her a barbie band-aid for her papercut.  Before we could leave she had to run and give a little girl from her class a big hug.  "Mommy, she is my best friend in the whole wide world!" 

"Thats great Gracie!  What is her name?"

"Umm, I don't know?"

Birthday Boy!

This past weekend we celebrated Andrew's 2nd birthday.  We opted for a farm theme party at PopPop and JuJu's.  Their house really sets the "farm" mood.  Bonus - I didn't have to clean my house!

Here are some snapshots from the party.  Andrew does not like sweets, except for donuts.  So I made him a donut cake.  So easy

.

And for those of us that like sweets, I had sugar cookies and cakes in mason jars. 

Every little one got a gift bag with fun toys. 

Andrew and Mikey loved playing in the water fountain. 

We also had a fun game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey.  Grace totally cheated.  Here she is precisely placing the tail right on the donkey, looking through the edge of the eye patch.

Mikey embraced the spirit of the game and Andrew just played with the stickers.

And the largest kid, Uncle Mark, even got in the fun.

Check out my sweet tattoo.  It is a pig and it says "Oink, Oink!".  Funny story, later that night I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thought, "Geez, why do I look so trashy?  Ah yes, because I have a tattoo on my arm."  No offense to my readers who like body art.  I don't.  I think tattoos are a mistake and will be regretted later.  Like the lady I saw at the pool this summer who has a tattoo on her upper thigh (horrible place for a tattoo), that is a picture of Winnie the Pooh and says "Carpe Diem."  Seriously.

Andrew loved having Happy Birthday sung to him and he tried to blow out the candles....without spitting!

But of course, he didn't eat his donut.  Oh well.

Andrew loved his gifts, gave out a lot of hugs, and had a ton of fun!

Gracie Quotes

Kevin: "Grace, it is really hot today so you are going to need to drink a lot of water.  When it is hot, we sweat and then we need to replace that water...."
Grace: "I know Dad.  I need to re-hydrate." (July 2nd)
         Update (July 28th) ->  "Mom, I am going to have water before sports class.  I need to rehydrate before I dehydrate!  Right?  Rehydrate not dehydrate!"


Me: "Grace, this weekend we are going up to a cottage to visit Kelly!  It is going to be so fun because there is a lake right there and you can go swimming and play on the beach!"
Grace: "Will it be like Mexico?" 
Me: "Sort of, there will be water outside, but no pool.  It is more rustic.  It is a cabin in Wisconsin."
Grace: "Will there be a bar?"

"Mommy, look at my Mrs. Potato Head!  Isn't she so fancy?!"
"Yes, Grace she is.  I love her purse.  What is in it?"
"Well it is really small, so she only has an iPhone."

"Mommy, Andrew just push-ed me!"
"Grace don't be a tattle tale."
"Mommy, I never, ever tattle.  Ever.  But Sophia, at daycare, she tattles all the time!"  (The irony of this was lost on Gracie.)

"Mommy, do you know why I love Daddy more and Andrew loves you more?" 
"This is going to be good."  Grace decided she was not going to win any points continuing the conversation, and changed the subject.  Smart girl.

A great day for the zoo

Landscaping!

My faithful blog readers, I know you have been waiting for the final landscaping pictures! 

Remember what the yard looked like a few months ago?

And the demolition in process?

Here is the interim....a pile of dirt. 

We lived with this for about 6 weeks until....

We had grading done, sod planted, a row of arborvitae and 2 accent trees planted.  We also had a cobblestone edge installed.  Please appreciate the cobblestones.  Its been too hot to really enjoy the yard yet, but we LOVE it.  We added so much more space to our little yard. 

This is an ivory silk lilac (clump form) tree.  This is what our landscaper suggested in the initial bid.  Instead of listening to him, Kevin and I decided to look at every single tree that would grow in that spot.  And because we enjoy torturing ourselves, we picked the ivory silk lilac.

This is a tina crabapple.  It will bloom white flowers in the spring.  It will stay short and cute.  I love it.

I also planted a hydrangea and row of weigela bushes (they should have pink flowers on the next year and they grow really fast). 

When I planted these bushes, I kept running into tree roots.  So I dug around them and either pulled, chopped or cut them out.  I was really proud of my brute strength. 

We are done with the yard for this year.  But next year we are going to:

1. Build a playhouse for the kids.  Actually, PopPop is going to build the playhouse.  And maybe we will have a shed built behind the playhouse.  Exciting stuff.

2.  We are going to pull out all these hastas and plant some more interesting plants.

3. I am going to dig up this hasta, that has grown up under the fence from our neighbors yard.  Split it.  Give half to my mom and plant the other half somewhere you can actually see it.  Isn't it pretty?

4.  I am going to get something pretty growing on this side of the house.  In July, while the kids were napping, I came outside and pulled out all the weeds that were back there.  The entire area was filled with knee high weeds. It took a long time.  A very long time. 

When I got married, I told Kevin that I would not do any yardwork.  Somehow I am the one trimming the bushes, mulching, pulling the weeds, and doing all the planting.  As Grace would say, "How crazy is that?!"

In all fairness, I must say that Kevin does all the snow removal, lawn mowing, and deals with the wacky trugreen people.

Trip to the Library

I never have a good experience at the Wauwatosa library.  I will tell you why. 
1. I never seem to follow protocol by doing things like bringing my library card, bringing a non-expired library card, bringing a drivers license with a current address to renew said expired library card, having money to pay library fines...I could go on. 

2. My kids are, uh, not quiet and calm.  And I chase them around like a crazy person. 

3. The people at the library are not very sympathetic.  You know how when your kid is freaking out at the grocery store, there is some nice person who is like, "I've been there, please take my place in line."  or gives you a sympathetic smile?  Not at this library.  Lots of sighs and dirty looks.  You would think these characters went there for the peace and quiet or something. 

4. It is pretty darn clear that the librarians in the children's section are totally not into kids at all.  They act super annoyed if you ask a question about like a book or something.  God forbid we pull them away from their computerized Dewey decimal system.

Anyways, today, against my better judgement, I took the kids to the library.  I say "against my better judgement" because of all the reasons above, and that Andrew is consistently HORRIBLE at the library.  I am not sure what it is about that place, but it brings out the worst in Little Buddy.  Well today, with the exception of yelling "Grace! Grace!" at the top of his lungs, standing on a table, and running away 5 times, he was really good.  Then I realized why, he found a book he can relate too...

Here are all the books we checked out.

For Grace, a book about not saying we hate people.  Not that she says that about her little brother or anything...just in case it ever comes up.  And a book about starting school (the only one I could find) and reading.

For Andrew, one book about the potty and two about being dirty.  He is a dirty little guy these days.  His feet stink, he has grubby little paws, he rubs food all over his face, and his hair is always matted with a pomade of bug spray, chlorine, ketchup and sunscreen. 

And finally, here is Kevin reading to them right before bed.  In this weather, my kids sleep without clothes on.