The Three Hour Tour

So, this weekend, my sister (Didi), my brother in law (Mark), and my niece (KK) - and their dog, Lightning, came up to visit. We swapped babysitting - they watched Mamu while I took Bebe to her dress rehearsal, and I watched KK so they could have a date together.

On Saturday, I was feeling the urge to go for a walk and since Lightning is the best dog ever, I thought I'd walk him. Didi and KK came along (well, KK, came in the stroller and slept most of the time) and we set out. We walked through a trail that I've not ever been through all the way - mistake numero uno. I thought I'd directed us on the correct path, alas, not so much.

It was pretty warm and muggy, but we kept in the shade and there was a breeze, so we didn't mind -- too much. Then we got lost. I mean really lost. Like, I recognized street names and thought "Really? We went that far?"

Luckily, since Didi has an iphone AND the google app, we found ourselves and plotted a direct path home. Our 1/2 hour walk turned into the hour and a half walk. On the plus side, we didn't feel guilty about anything we ate all day. And all the next day.

We did have some great conversations and some great sister time. I'm just not so sure that she's going to come with me next time I want to walk Lightning. Now that I think about it, Lightning might not be too excited about the crazy aunt walk either...

(Lightning - The bestest dog ever!)

--We didn't take pictures of us lost - we were pretty stinky and super duper sweaty. Here's one of us after we got prettied up and after dance recital:

(And there's MG - she's super thankful that she didn't go on the three hour tour!)

You said whhhhattt?

There are just some funny things that get said either at work or here at the house. Here's a sampling of what's been said lately:
-It's raining on me back! (Mamu - who's apparently Irish again)
-OOH... umm... it's a little - no a lot - smelly in here (one of my co-workers about my especially stinky room)
-Momma Look at me! (Mamu)
-You're having ANOTHER s'more? (My super smart husband)
-You wanna make something of it? (Me to my super smart husband)
-Bebe read to me please (LOVE IT!!) - (Mamu)
-Mom! I lost another tooth! (Bebe - 2 teeth in 5 days)
-He looked at me! (one of my students)
-MG, Granddadddydddy, Aunt Didi, KK, Uncle Mark, Felix? (Mamu wants to know when we'll see them again; BTW Felix is my parents' cat)
-No! That's Aunt Didi's chair! (Mamu; Aunt Didi was not here for that. Apparently we need to honor it while she doesn't sit in it)
- We could be like the A Team! (during a meeting at work)

I know that there were a lot more funny things said, but with less than 11 school days left, I'm pretty much good to remember my name, my kids' names, and where I live. Now, I'm going to go have s'more (and I might not stop at one). :)

The Forgotten

So, I don't know about you, but I LOVE to plan projects in my mind, buy the items, and I do have good intentions of completing it quickly, and yet, they sit unfinished on the window seat. I had a super crafting spring break this year and yet, I still got behind. I did hit some great sales at Hobby Lobby (love it when there's 50% off of things!) and I bought some wooden letters to use for a future project.

Well, awhile back, Bebe and I were at a kid's store and they had bow hangers made out of those wooden letters! All they did was paint the letters, hot glue the ribbon to the back, and bam! sell them for $15.00. In my usual "I can do that cheaper" brain, I totally told Beebs that I would make her one.

Fast forward a couple of months (only about 1 1/2!) and here I am on a Saturday night with not much to do (that I want to do - there's laundry to fold, carpet to vacuum--ok Roomba, ironing, closets to clean, you get the picture). Jason's show is in it's final weekend, so he's not home to watch a movie with or for me to go to the gym, so crafting it is! I pulled out the letters, my bag o' ribbons and paint box. I decided to be the bestest aunt ever and make KK one as well as Bebe. I started on KK's first:

I used painter's tape to detail dots onto the K to match the dots on the ribbon.

Then I put on the cutest pink paint ever! I did two coats just to cover it well.

I let it dry while I painted Bebe's.

I pulled off the painter's tape dots. Then I filled in the dots with glitter paint.

Then voila! Cuteness abounds!

All that's left is to hot glue on the ribbon to the back and then for the bows to get put on! I'll try to post that tomorrow when the paint's dry.

Totally random: Don't you just love it when your tile floors are freshly mopped? I am totally not Suzy Homemaker, but I just love it when the floors are clean. I bought a new mop today and I am so ready to mop, mop, mop! I'm sure it'll wear off soon, so I'll try to keep onto this energy as much as possible!

"You're going to have to go get the poop!"

Guess who came to visit? You've got it! KK came to see her sweet Auntie! Well, actually, sweet Aunt Didi and Uncle Mark came up to watch Bebe and Mamu while I attended my students' Kinder program at school. Jason is working a ton right now, so he couldn't be here. Luckily, Aunt Didi and crew came up to save the day! It would have been pretty funny watching me say my lines with Mamu on my hip... Anyways, Mamu and Bebe had a blast with Aunt Didi and Uncle Mark (and especially KK!). I began my usual campaign trying to convince Mark that after this post, he needs to move them closer to us. I think I did a pretty good job. Do I think they'll do it? Probably not, but that won't stop me from trying!

So, I love me some KK. She even let me hold her for a while! I got to read her a story when I read Bebe's bedtime story, got to love on her, and even let her chew on my finger (as you read this, she is cutting her first tooth!). Well, she was standing up on my lap and bouncing as the little ones do and then all of a sudden she stopped. She made the old lady face (all squinched up) and began to grunt. Well, for all of you who aren't Mommies out there, that means she's a workin' on a poop. Umm... it was quite a production! I won't gross you out with the details, but it was quite cute and funny! So, being the good aunt I am, I laughed. (Her mom, dad, and Uncle Jason were laughing too) She didn't like that. She cried. I mean cried. I'd like to think that she was crying because she was upset she was dirty, but I'm pretty sure she's scarred. for. life. So, I gave her back to her mom, who promptly stopped laughing. Well, stopped laughing out loud, but she still had tears coming down her cheeks and her body was shaking. Mark went and got a new diaper for her and Didi just changed her right on the couch. Well, umm, the solidity of the poop was great (I mean like 3 pounds!) and it umm... well, rolled out of the diaper as Didi tried to clean KK. Then, you guessed it!, rolled onto the couch, into the crevice. Didi's words were "You're going to have to go get the poop!" to me. I rescued the escaped poo, deposited into the trash can, washed my hands and continued to laugh hysterically! I'm pretty sure Mark was grossed out, but I've dealt with worse. We had a great visit and I'm thinking about starting a Facebook group dedicated to keeping Didi and Mark (and KK) closer!


Disclaimer (for people who will sit on my couch):
(Yes, I have cleaned the couch. There wasn't much damage; it was mostly wrapped in a wipe.)

The Little Chef

Mamu likes to cook. His menu consists of his favorites: hot dogs, cookies, ketchup, and the occasional corn on the cob. He uses the best invention ever - the microwave. He usually serves only Oooh Oooh (that monkey deserves his own post - have to do that soon) in the high chair. It's very rare that Oooh Oooh gets a drink, but apparently Oooh Oooh is ok with that.

Occasionally Cookie Monster, Ernie or Elmo get the privilege of sitting with Oooh Oooh for the dinner time meal, but that is only on true special occasions. You'll be glad to know that Mamu has only the strictest standards when it comes to his creations. I just love to watch him cook and feed Oooh Oooh.

Bleach water and Snow Cones

So, this week I've been experimenting with what I'm calling "bleach dyeing". I don't know the right term for it, so I've made up my own. I've seen this technique on several different websites and added my own twist to it.

Why are you doing this now? you ask. Well, let me tell you.

The Kinder teachers always paint shirts for the kids for their program and this year is only a little different. The music teacher wanted a minimal design and we were perplexed as to how to do it that wouldn't be too time consuming. I mentioned this technique that I've seen and wanted to try, so I made some examples and we were very excited about the way they turned out.

Here's how I did it:

1. Take your shirt. Any color. The music teacher wanted blue and red, so another teacher dyed the shirts. You don't have to dye a shirt, you can just use any colored shirt. Put something on the inside of your shirt. I used a paper bag with waxed paper on it, but just a piece of cardboard or a paper bag would be fine.

2. Get a template. I used a big diecut from our school and cut it through cardboard. There are a lot of freezer paper stencils out there and those would be great, however, I didn't want to iron on 80 pieces of freezer paper and peel them off. My way works well if you are ok with imperfection. If you are doing an intricate design and don't want any drops or mistakes, by all means use the freezer paper technique.

3. Put bleach in a spray bottle (you can find them in the travel section of most stores for less than $1) and some water. Pretty much 3/4 bleach and 1/4 water. I didn't measure it out; I eyeballed it. Spray on your design. I did a fine mist on some and on some others, I almost soaked it. It just depends on what you want your shirt to look like and how bleached you want it to look. I had just removed the stencil and this is what it looked like:


4. This is what it looked like after I had let it set for a few minutes:

5. Wash immediately (that's why I did it on my washing machine, it was easy to do 4 or 5 and then pull them off the paper bag and put them in the water). Dry and wear!

The next few pictures are just a different stencil that I did to mix it up a bit.

So that's what I've been doing the last couple of days. I've got the last batch of blue in the dryer right now, so they'll be headed up to school tomorrow.

We all know that when we smell certain things it brings back memories. Well, I have a memory of bleach water that makes me drool. Drool? you say? Yes, drool. When I was 15 going on 16 I worked at a snow cone stand as my first job. We used bleach water to clean everything! I got to wear old shirts, shoes, shorts, everything, since it would just get bleached. My shoes were always a variety of colors from the different snow cones. So when I smelled the bleach water I started craving a snow cone. Now, just to get to my mom's house so I can go get one! My sister tortured me today! She walked up there and got one!

Have a great day!

Happeee Burthdaee toooo Auntie!

Happy Birthday Auntie!

So, it's Auntie's birthday! Mamu has just started singing the Happy Birthday song and it's really cute! We gave Auntie a little ringaling and sang Happy Birthday to her voicemail since she was teaching a class at that time.

Auntie is my bestest most wonderful friend in the entire world! She is not my sister by birth, but she is close enough that we refer to each other as sisters. (My sister by birth rocks as well.) We always joke that we will be in the same nursing home when we are old causing all sorts of trouble. We also know that we will be best friends forever since we know too much about the other! :)

Auntie and I met in college and became friends about my senior year. She's so cool and I love her so much. We have lots of things in common and we totally get each others quirks (I do have a lot ...). We've laughed, cried, loved, and laughed some more. She's also the person that I call when anything (and everything) is going on. I even call her to ask her what wine I like to drink. She's good like that.

I can't wait until she comes for her summer visit. Right now, she lives forever away. Ok. Not forever, but like 8 serious hours or something. Enough for not a quick trip up or anything. The good news is that she ***might*** get to move up here in a couple of months! Please pray for that to happen! It would be AWESOME for her to be up here that close again.

We can't wait to see you!

Luau Time!

So we busted out the Hawaiian shirts, leis, plastic grass skirts, hair flowers, flamingos, tiki balloons, and pineapples for our fabulous Mother's Day / Welcome Home party. Unfortunately, the Texas weather didn't get the e-vite and it was a lovely 65 degrees with a few showers sprinkled in for good measure. Did that stop us? NO! We enjoyed good food, family time in the backyard (with my new chairs - my Mother's Day present), and some much enjoyed Didi and KK time! We have decided to do another Luau when Mark comes in with Lightning in a couple of weeks and maybe the weather will cooperate then as well. We *might* make it a Hick Style Luau just to make it more fun! KK definitely enjoyed meeting everyone, and I'm really excited that she's now only an hour away and I can get to see her (and Didi too!) more often.

We had a fun time hula hooping and have determined that Bebe is definitely the best hula hooper among us! We also determined that Jason's new grill works wonderfully! The smoke stack is fabulously great for toasting marshmallows and pineapple.

I'm so ready for summer to be here (for a number of reasons, for which another post shall list), but I definitely don't want to wish my days away. It was nice sitting on the patio shooting the breeze and enjoying each other's company. Enjoy the pictures:

They're here!

So today was the day! The day that I've been planning for since I found out that Didi and KK would be coming home on Mother's Day! It went off fabulously and eventhough it was very cool outside and rained a little, we still had the island feel.

Dad was watching the flight on his iphone so we knew where they were pretty much the whole time. Bebe had to finish her chapter book from school, so I figured it was a great time for her to read! We left and got there just in time to get Didi and KK - we waited maybe 5 minutes at baggage claim.

Don't they look great for being on airplanes for 9 hours? I sure think so! Mom and I did restrain ourselves from leaping over luggage and pushing past people, but I know that we were doing that in our heads! We each took turns holding her.

After we collected their luggage, we headed back to the truck to get everyone home. I'll write more about the luau another day, hopefully tomorrow.

Funny story: Didi had sent a box in the mail with all of KK's cloth diapers and other things. She called Mom and asked her to open the box and take out the diapers from the top. Well, Didi had apparently packed the swim diapers on top, so that's what Mom grabbed. [She's not used to the whole swim diaper thing - they didn't have those when we were little.] So we had a great laugh and Didi had extra diapers, so things were good. :)

Funny Tidbits from today

So we had Field Day today at our school. Jason did a great job as class dad and helped out a lot with Bebe's friends and cheered like no other!

After surviving 19 Kindergarteners and 3 preschoolers - they join my class for these things - (11 of those having a diagnosed disability of either Autism, Behavioral Disorder, or Learning Disability) I decided that it was time to go get my Mother's Day present! Eventhough I had a pretty bad headache, I decided to suffer through to get these. I've been waiting for about 3 years to get patio chairs and Jason finally said I could for Mother's Day.

Off to the store we trotted (after picking Mamu up from school) and I picked out the chairs I wanted. It took some wrangling to get them into the van since I had forgotten that the sit and stand stroller was in the back, but with Bebe's help, we got them in there and home! I'll have pictures posted from our Luau this weekend.

But the funny things were the comments in the car on the way home:

Mamu: (who had just gotten a new matchbox car and had "lost it" - his new game) "Where car go?"

Me: "I don't know. Did you drop it?"

Mamu: "It's behind me leg!"

Bebe: "When did Mamu start talking Irish?"

I cracked up!

Also, today on the playground we let the kids have some extra play time, so they intermingled with the 1st graders (which never happens). I got to see Bebe play with some of my Kinders that ADORE her. I mean they treat her like a rock star! Every day when the 1st graders walk out, they run to the side of the playground so they can wave to her and walk with her for part of the way. They also love to tell me when they see her in the hall! So anyway, I had asked Bebe after school if she had played with anyone after we had gone back into the school.

Bebe: "No, that I just walked around."

I said, "I just wanted you to play with someone your own age, since you won't get to this weekend."
Bebe: "Mom, I will STILL be 7 when I come back on Monday."

Ok. Gotcha. Not as good as the Irish comment, but it sure did make me smile!

Only 1 day left until I get to see this cutie! Notice the super dee duper cute hat her Auntie made for her!

4 Days left!

Only 4 days left until I get to hold my little K K! It's also 4 days left until our Mother's Day luau! I decided that since it'll be the first time that my mom, Didi, and I will be together on Mother's Day when we are all mothers, it was time for a big celebration. What a better way to welcome back my sister from Alaska than with an Hawaiian theme?
So last week, Bebe, Mamu and I went off to the fabulous Dollar Tree to outfit our backyard to turn it into Luau central and got some fabulous finds! Now, I just need to find Hawaiian shirts for Bebe, Didi, and myself - I don't think I can convince Jason into to get into one. Don't worry - I've got a grass skirt for him though. I've even got "Island Tunes" to play and super awesome hurricane glasses.
I am working on a menu for the luau (some themed food, some not) and I'm going to make a Hula bear cake. I've got to finish that up and get thee to the grocery store! Don't worry, I'll post pictures next week.
Bebe is super excited and ready to start decorating now. We'll have to wait until Sunday since the wind is gusty right now. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and our outdoor luau will be a success!

Seize the Day

I have LOVED me some Newsies since the first time I saw it (probably pretty close to the original release date - 1992 ish). I have the movie on VHS and the CD and this song is one of my ringtones on my phone. (Yes, I am a nerd, and I'm proud of it.)

Do you know how excited I was to hear this in the dance studio? The young boys' hip hop group at the dance studio is doing their dance to this song. So, I hear it every week while I'm waiting for Bebe's class to finish. Well, today, I actually got to SEE the dance and it was pretty darn good! Now, normally, I'm ready to NEVER hear the dance songs again (or at least for a couple of months) but not this one! One of the moms and I a couple weeks ago actually busted some moves in the waiting room to it (she loves it too). Ironically, my phone rang with this song as they were dancing to it and everyone thought that was pretty cool too (I know, another dorky moment, but us dance moms have to do something to pass the time!).

Anyway, I just hope to inspire you to do some little dancing around today or a little pick me up if you need it. If not, ignore the sweet 1920's children. (Jason says that his theater group will NEVER do this show. Something about having all of those kids ....)

Did you know?

So here are some random facts about Bebe and Mamu.
-Bebe prefers to eat her sandwiches separated - not together
-Mamu calls his showers "Rain".
-Bebe wants to be a photographer when she grows up and an artist in her spare time.
-Mamu likes to help me sew. He pushes the reversal button for me. (AND at the right time!)
-Bebe sleeps in her bed backwards (head at the foot). She says it's to hear her music better.
-Mamu loves blackberries, blueberries, and tomatoes - it's because they look like balls and he loves balls! He likes to roll them and say "Basketball, Basketball." Good thing is that he hasn't tried to bounce them!
-Bebe calls summer "Summer Break Off" - not sure where that came from, but it's cute.
-Mamu has figured out how to convince me to read more than 2 books to him at night. He's got the cute, puppy dog eyes down with "Please read Momma?" - gets me every time. Last night we read 5 books at bedtime.
-Bebe LOVES to push the little carts around the grocery store.
-Mamu LOVES to ride in the huge car carts at the grocery store. Those need a license of their own!
Well, there's some random trivia, so if you ever go on a Bebe and Mamu trivia show, you'll win!

Things I've Learned this Weekend

So, this weekend (like almost all of our weekends) was packed with life lessons. Nothing major, but just thought I'd list them tonight.
1. Don't try to recover a patio swing. Just don't. It's way tooooo much trouble. Yet, the end result isn't super bad, and it saved us a lot of money. But, it's way frustrating.
2. My sewing machine hates some threads. Not a specific brand or color, just hates some threads.
3. The gym is nearly deserted on a Sunday night. That's why I go then. (The other reason is that's the only night Jason is consistently home.... and that'll change soon with the show opening.)
4. I always feel that I should have spent more time with my kids.
5. Even though they aren't healthy, nutritious, good for you etc... Wendy's french fries still taste good.
6. No matter how hard I try, I will always have laundry to fold on a Sunday night. Along with a basket of ironing that I try to convince Jason to do - which works about 1/4 of the time.
7. I still look at people's shoes during communion at church (we kneel). I've done this since I could remember. I grew up sitting on the 2nd pew to the left if you remember that post. (If not, here's link http://bebesandmamusmom.blogspot.com/2010/04/2nd-pew-to-left.html )
8. Army Wives, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Desperate Housewives, and Golden Girls (yes, Golden Girls) are all shows I love to watch on the weekends. (Golden Girls - all week long.)
9. I can't wait to hold my KK. Between my mom and I, that poor girl's feet won't even touch the ground! I've been practicing defensive moves, agility training, and counter-moves to distract and dodge my mom so I can get to KK. :) Just kidding mom. (I know you've been doing it too!)
10. Mamu and Bebe have the greatest laughs!
11. Bebe and Jason CAN work together. They put the grill together. It helps that Bebe can read the directions.
12. That my kids can handle it when the bakery at the grocery store runs out of free cookies right as we walk up there. (Seriously, sir? You DO know the cookies are for the kids right? And it was pretty hard to ignore our HUMONGOUS bright yellow car cart ...) But props to Bebe and Mamu who handled it with NO tears! (I shed a few because I share Mamu's cookie since he doesn't need a whole one).
13. I'm still a sucker for a free tote bag. That's a whole 'nother post.
14. I need to dust.
15. Mamu told me that he loves me! AND pointed to me when he said it!
16. I always end up carrying the world's heaviest library bag.
17. I never have enough time to get the whole house clean. AND I'm sorta ok with it.
18. Mamu apparently doesn't like it when all of his books are put in his book bin. I had just put them all in there and then about 20 minutes later, there he is - reading all of them! Who can get mad at that?
19. VeggieTales are still funny.
20. I like to stall and procrastinate when it comes to folding the laundry (hence this list that was originally supposed to be 10, is now 20.)

I hope you had a great weekend!

My KK

So, last year I became an Aunt for the first time and a second time - within 3 months. My sister in law had a baby boy in June and then my sister had a baby girl - K K- in September. On my dad's birthday - cool huh? It wasn't even planned that way or anything.

Well, you might have noticed my ticker up on top of my blog. If not, look up. I'll wait.

So, Didi and KK (and my brother in law) live in Alaska right now. Courtesy of the Army. Well, I'm loving the Army right now, because they are PCSing (I think that's what it's called) to a base MUCH closer to us now - in Louisiana! Now instead of being forever away, they're only about 4 hours or so away! WAHOO! AND this happens (well, check the ticker when you read this) soon!

So, can you guess who is a tad bit excited? I've only gotten to meet KK once, so I'm really excited to see her. I skype with her, but now I get to hold her and everything.

Wanna see a picture? Or two? Or a million?!!! :)

Wait no more:

Cuteness!

KK and Didi waiting on Uncle Mark to come home!

Isn't she darling?! Bebe has a matching skirt!

Ok, so there's maybe not a million, but I wouldn't want to use all of them, because then I wouldn't have any more to share with you.

KK- Can't wait for you to come! Oh, and Didi, can't wait either. Mark - drive safe!