Disgruntled

I have been feeling a bit like a disgruntled employee lately. My hard work is going completely unrecognized! I have been suggesting some changes that could be made in the workplace to make my job more enjoyable and to make my tasks easier to complete, but to no avail!

I have been trying to convince my child employers to expand their own job titles and descriptions to help alleviate some of the backlog of work, but my pleas are either ignored or answered with an outright, "No!"

They'd better give me a BIG Christmas bonus!

Too Cool

"Hey, what up?! I'm starting a hip-hop group-- anyone wanna be part of my posse?"

Lovely Fall

Today we experienced what I consider to be some great fall weather. We had a little bit of everything-- rain, wind, clouds, sun, all with a slight nip in the air. Going out to enjoy it for a while was a must.

Big loves being outside:

Bud, looking nervous (he knew I was about to discover he was covered with berry juice from a neighbor's bush):

Ginger, having a great time:

I know this picture's blurry, but I just had to post it. Check out the look on her face:

I love this time of year-- sunburn is less of a worry, the temperatures are cooler (but not too cold yet) so the kids can stay out for longer without getting overheated, the air is crisp, the leaves are turning, I can wear shoes without feeling like my feet are going to overheat and pop like sausages.... As I do every year, I happily say good riddance to summer and welcome all that the lovely fall season has to bring (I can eat soup!). 

Pen's 10!!!

Today is Pen's birthday. I can't believe she's 10! I made her requested dinner (potato chowder, cornbread muffins, green salad), and dessert (chocolate cake, frosted with chocolate pudding). 

I thought the chocolate cake frosted with pudding was too brown-blobish, so I bought some strawberry marshmallows Pen has been wanting to try, sliced them up and fancied up the cake a bit. I don't think it turned out too bad:

  

Here's Pen opening her first gift:

Thanks, Auntie Art!

Opening the necklace Bud and Big picked out:

Happy Birthday, Pen! 

Blowing out the candles in 2 tries:

Big sure does make a cute gift!

Thanks to all who came to help celebrate! We love you, Pen!

Ewww, Grody!!

This morning, just before heading out the door to take the girls to school, Big toddled into the living room smelling a little suspect. My nose was a bit stuffy, so I decided to take a sniff to be sure it wasn't just gas-- I didn't really have time for a diaper change, after all.

So, I lifted Big up and angled my head around his back to take a whiff. Now, this typical mommy maneuver is used by a lot of moms out there, usually with no negative repercussions... but, no! I couldn't possibly be so lucky on this day!

What I didn't know, as I used my cheek against his back to keep him from twisting away, was that I had lifted Big's top a bit as I picked him up and (now this is a vital bit of info coming up), oh yeah, his diaper was a leaky one-- So I discovered.... as my cheek was SLIMED with pooh!! Ewww, Grody!

Lovely! Very nice! I wiped my face with a diaper wipe and have washed it numerous times, but I still feel it! Big has been saying that everything is "grody" and "gross" since this morning. Makes me glad I didn't let anything more colorful spew forth (I sure did think it, though!)

Craving Thai

I have been craving Thai food all day today. Probably because when I was trying to figure out what type of exercise I wanted to do this morning Bud told me I should do "Pad Thai Bo". 

I Love Bummies

I really love it when kids pronounce things incorrectly as they are learning to talk. Big has been fixing his pronunciation problems a little more quickly than I might like, however. I hardly have time to enjoy it! I mean, he only said "bummy" for a few days before switching to a very carefully enunciated "bunny". It's almost as if he waits to utter words until he's sure he can say them right (I wonder if he practices when I'm not around?!).

I think my favorite mispronunciation to date has been from Bud. When he would jump off of things, he would squat in preparation and announce loudly, "I'm going to take a jump!" But, since he couldn't say his "Js" very well, it always came out as, "I'm going to take a dump!!" (at the top of his voice, mind you, and with the pre-take off squat....) Priceless! It made me laugh every time without fail. My kids really do bring joy into my life. Thanks kids!