If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it's a formal gown!

So I'm terrible about whipping out the camera phone to document the oddities I come across when I'm out and about, but this was worth hunting online for a picture and posting about:

- While at the craft superstore, I was searching for some green craft tape. Not floral tape, but the kind they have in the church resource room. I had run out of time to order from my trusty school supply catalog and I thought surely craft superstore would have some. They did not. What they DID have was this:

(colored duct tape)

And here is what it is advertised for:
Duct tape for making your prom dress. Yep. That was the intended use indicated on the package. I'm thinking if I just started taping up the kids before school, it would really cut down on laundry and we could just wipe or spray them down. And, if they start whining or complaining - you guessed it! One extra strip right over the mouth! And think of the durability! Baseball pants fashioned from duct tape with a sporty stripe down the leg - he could slide into second and home plate all day and I wouldn't bat an eye. Just whip out the 409 and send him back out there while all the other moms moan and groan about mornings to come spent bleaching white baseball pants to no avail. I think this is the ticket.

Berry Nice

Rella and I went to the berry patch last week without the big kids (they are still grumbling...) and, I claimed, without the camera. But I was reaching into my backpack for a wipe to clean some red juice off her face in the field, and lo and behold, a stow-away! Mr. Fuji came along for the ride. His poor battery indicator was blinking red - charge me up mama!, but he persevered and eeked out a few snaps for me. But more importantly, Rella and I were out of the house, doing something fun together on a beautiful day, and we all enjoyed the fruits of our my labor for the rest of the weekend.

There's not much better than kneeling in the soft earth with the warm sun on your back, listening to the satisfying snap of a perfectly ripe berry as you pop it off it's stem. The thunk of berries filling your bucket, while a little blond toddler with sticky fingers and juice dripping from her chin moves about you, quietly humming "Twinkle Twinkle" with the occasional word thrown in between bites. Heaven.

****ADD ON****
The berry picking was the same day as the previous post's pudding incident. Here she is at home enjoying the berries. When she was done I just stripped her down, filled the kitchen sink with water and bubbles and let her play "tea party" in it until it was time to get Fancy from school.

Mommy lost her mind and we all just laughed

Since yesterday I have been living in the car. Errands errands errands - doctor's offices 3 times, school office 3 times, post office, drop off at a neighbor's, play date, goodwill donation, grocery store, strawberry picking, ballet lesson, AWANA, orchestra rehearsal, carpool 4 times, Target, Staples, Michaels, Chick-fil-A... I am wiped out. And I think that's why I had a brain fart this afternoon. I had been home with the girls for all of 30 minutes before we needed to go fetch Hi-Hat from school. Rella was just starting a snack that Fancy had helped her to. "Girls, can't we wait on that? we have to go NOW." Rella was not having it, and so I literally thought, "oh well, it's just around the corner. I'm sure she'll be fine with it in the car." I think I have to turn in my mommy license for that one. Oh yeah, did I mention that the snack was a cup of chocolate pudding? I think I left my mind at the post office with a huge stack of shower invitations. If someone receives it, kindly return to sender.
And here is my view from the carpool lane. She was not eating her snack. She was painting herself with it using an infant feeding spoon. Of course the principal was calling carpool numbers today and I had all the van windows down. I just started laughing, grabbed the camera phone and hoped Mr. Principal didn't think we were all loons. Next time we'll stick to vanilla.

****ADD ON****
Forgot one of the errands was to the dance shop for some recital tights for Fancy. Little Rella starts dance in June, and we all ended up in the dressing room with her trying on the teeniest little leotards I have ever seen. It was so much fun. Our bag was a little fuller than I originally anticipated going into the shop, but her round belly and diaper poking out of the leotard were too stinkin' cute! I can't can't can't wait to see her first class!

Rookie Debut

Hi-Hat had his first t-ball game today (though for the most part it was coach-pitch). He's on the Ripken league "Rockies," and he got his uniform at last night's practice. He had three at-bats in the 4 inning game, and his stats are 2 hits and 2 runs scored. He probably had a few errors, but I don't think anyone keeps track of that yet! At this age, any errors are just cute and are really what the parents want to see (like getting a hit and running to third - Hi-Hat had one of those, and not because he's left-handed. He bats right.). He had one turn at the pitching position (fielding at the pitcher's mound after the coach pitched), and then covered all the other outfield positions in the other three innings. He showed some hustle out there, and played so shallow that he often ended up dueling with the 2nd baseman to field grounders. At one point he was in ready position, actually standing on second base waiting for the hit. He was sent back to center field. :) I think the score ended up 20 to 20, but I can't be sure, and isn't that the way it should be in t-ball? He's been practicing batting all afternoon and feels much more confident and ready for the next game! We're lovin' it!

This post brought to you by prescription medication

For now, our thoughts about getting a dog for Fancy are resting on the back burner.  Hi-Hat did not react well to Mocha this weekend. :(  After dosing him with his inhaler, allergy medication and prescription eye drops, he started to de-puff and felt a little better, but this is not how we want him to live every day!  Sorry Fancy. (though she insists that Hi-Hat needs to try out all different dogs to see if he's allergic.  She doesn't think he'd be allergic to the kind she wants.)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
~John 20:26-29

Peanuts and Cracker Jack

We started t-ball around here this weekend. Remember - was it just last year? - when Hi-Hat started soccer and cried on the field the first day and got ridiculed by the lovely stereotypical soccer parents and so stopped soccer? I think that, combined with an introduction to baseball through the numbers-based simulated play of Statis Pro Baseball scared him off from t-ball (and yeah, I read this link and tried to understand the board game and still have no idea how in the world this game works. I can't say I blame him for being worried about having to deal with all the dice and numbers on the field!). It took lots of convincing and practice in the backyard to show him that he really was actually pretty good at hitting the ball, but he finally agreed to sign up. So he's now a proud member of the Grizzlies in the local Cal Ripken League. The first two practices were this weekend and he drilled fielding grounders. PFP! Gator! Chest! Block step! Throwing position! (ok, everyone duck because he's going to throw it now!). He really liked learning the drill, and he really liked playing short stop during the second practice. He was even a little assertive about going after balls (look alive second base!). So no tears on the field this time, and I think we're going to have a fun spring out at the old ball game this year!

First time for everything

Seems like every other day is some sort of preschool/kindergarten holiday/special day/Hallmark day/the kids just need more sugar day. I've never done anything for April Fool's Day, but I'm in the mode, so I set up a few pranks. Very mild, not even sure they qualify as pranks. But I got the ball rolling and have some fun ideas for next year (this year's ideas were all straight out of Family Fun magazine - I'm not an original, creative mama. I just play one on TV, reading my lines straight out of this mag). Here were the tricks I played:

The milk in the kids' cereal kept getting bluer and bluer as they ate! That baffled them.

Wormy apples for their lunch boxes.

I opened their snack crackers, replaced the crackers with blueberries and resealed the packages. This was fun - Hi-Hat was mystified!

And a few other random pictures I like this week:

Kidz Praise Concert. This about says it all (and Hi-Hat is the letter "U," second row, out of sight, right where he prefers to be - good thing he wants to be a drummer. He can hide out behind the drum kit).

Fancy wants to be in the choir SO badly. She managed to thoroughly enjoy herself at the concert and happily sang along from her seat in the 4th row - have I ever mentioned here that she intends to be an opera singer when she grows up? I'm going to have to record and share some of her "opera songs" that she has made up.

And finally, proof that this girl, who is changing and looking so much older these days, is really still very little. :)

g'night.