Cabin Fever

I have caught it! I am desperate to buy a cabin so we can just escape on the weekends. It must be within an hours drive, about $75,000, 3 bedrooms, and near absolutely nothing! I can't stop talking about it to everyone--bugging Jack the most about it. I need it! But.

So on Weds afternoon our friends the Stickleys (THANKS SHARON AND BOB!!) called and said they had rented one at Claytor Lake (about 8 minutes from our house) and wouldn't be staying through the weekend. It was already paid for, would we be interested? Jack jumped and came home to tell me he got me a cabin--for a weekend!

Here are some highlights...

The boys being able to roam freely and walk to the recycle bins alone--please note our Ralph Lauren cutoffs. Stylin' trashy is totally in now.

COMBOS-pizza flavor, the only kind worth buying & Glo-Stick tag

"Fishing" and the dock in general

Swimming with snakes (literally--Jack thought the lifegaurd was coming to nab us for not having S in a swim diaper, but no--to warn us to get out because of the snake...)

Chillin' on the patio with Pringles Sour Cream and Onion--again, the only kind worth buying (are you sensing a pattern?). G wanted me to capture the digestive process, & chocolate war paint

Just general relaxing and playing (especially monkey-in-the-middle) and running with NO tv, video games, or boundaries! It was great!!

Regrettably, the only down side was that this has fueled my cabin fever (as if it even needed fueling), so I am putting it out to the world...anyone want to invest in our cabin with us?

"Look kids, it's the Good Year Blimp!"

But it really was...You know you are small town when everyone hits the telephone at once to tell everyone else to step outside, the Good Year Blimp is just above! I got more than one call to hear the big news. And BIG news it was--it was so cool!
In spite of how silly it made us feel afterwards to have such a grandious reaction, we felt pretty big and bad when it was right above us! Test your eyesight...can you see G blending into the fence?And hey, when's the last time the Good Year Blimp was in your backyard?

Singing our way to Summer

For their final choral concert of the year, the theme was cenetered around Earth Day (notice everyone wearing green...). It was fun to hear them perform the songs F has been singing throughout the house for months. As one of only two boys in his grade performing in the choir, we were so proud of him. Here goes my first attempt at posting video. Thanks for the conversion tip John! F is in the middle in the green and white stripes.

Mother of Year--to three anyway!

2008 Mother's Day

G's class held a Mother's Day tea on the friday before Mother's Day. They made all the snacks (40 little hands touching everything we ate...guess how many kids were out sick on Mon--half!) and sang some fantastic songs.

F wrote a poem about me--endearing, but clearly I need to work on being remembered for saying better things...

Recipe for a Great Mom

by F McKinley

Jaime

Mother of F

Nice, beautiful, Extraordinary, Crazy

Says "This is not the time to ask!"

Likes Mexican food, watching tv, playing adult games

Lover of a tidy house, cabins, my brothers and I

Clemmer

Oh, and I need to teach him a new term for "adult games." Seems a little out of place in the Mother's Day poem. And I think I read more than watch tv, but isn't it funny what our kids notice?

The boys made me 3 meals fit for a queen, so by the end of the day I was stuffed! I also got to take an uninterrupted nap, which was the best gift ever. But the Juno soundtrack from Jack, flowers made by F, a candle candle holder made by G, and a ceiling fan for the bedroom from S were also fantastic gifts. I felt loved and adored--and a a tad guilty for relishing in it all as my worst parenting moments came flooding through my mind. Thank goodness for selective memory--theirs and mine!

Thanks boys!!!

My long lost son!

It is great to see a picture of my new nephew of undetermined name. It is what I always figured my sons would look like.--but never did. So Brittany (and John), thanks for helping me in this visualization exercise.


We are so excited for your now family of 4! BTW- As I stole this pic from your blog and saved it to my desktop, I saved it as max.jpg. Hope that inspires you.

**Editorial note--After this post, at 9:45pm Th May 15th, my nephew was given the name Jasper Clyde Carpenter.

Addendum to Bad Babies

More proof-I was switching laundry and heard them pulling the chairs across the kitchen floor above me. I thought I would have time to finish switching loads, but I was wrong.

Please note the goldfish in the frying pan! One wanted to cook, the other to clean. At least someone thought the breakfast mess should be attended to-and at least they are contributing bad babies!

So I shuffled them back downstairs and went to send an email. Went in to check on them and they had both climbed into the TOYROLA and were throwing blocks out of the barrel. At least them were working as a team, eh?

The problem was that each time I found them engaging in bad, yet photo worthy behavior, they would catch me and turn to say, "Cheese!" Great parenting, huh, rewarding the behavior I despise.

Bad Babies, Why Can't They Be Good?

So our youngest and his buddy are constantly into things--they are mischief makers! We affectionately refer to them as "bad babies" from the aptly titled song by Sandra Boynton (as referenced in the title--which I highly reccommend if you haven't heard it). So our bad babies like to get together and move furniture around, get into lipstick and jewelry, run onto the soccer field, sneak a snack or two, and poop in unison. Hoodlums at age 2! While these bad babies are bad, they are so funny & adorable, I have to laugh as I am pulling my hair out (mostly laugh anyway). I will take my bad baby over boring baby anyday! (well, most days)

A Bad Babies Jam Session-using the game cube bongos (thus infuriating the older boys)

A Bad Baby Houdini act-he would not come out of that suitcase, or rather, he wouldn't stop trying to stuff himself in the suitcase, until he heard a commercial for Pop-tarts ("baby crack").

A Bad Baby at the Soccer Field--though not pictured during the soccer game because I couldn't take my camera this season to soccer because I was too busy chasing baby off the field!!

A Bad Baby and his Beloved Skateboard -The boy loves skateboards. One of his first words--"Hawk", for skateboard, from the cover of the tony hawk game he saw/heard his brothers play. He takes his Tech Deck to Sac Mtg and tries to skate on it (for those who are unaware, it is the size of your index finger), he often sleeps with a skateboard, and he constantly is sneaking a board into the house!

And while some may say age 2 is not a baby, or argue the term "bad baby" is not an appropriate affectionate pet name --I defy them to say it to me!