Just before shower/bath time Dad had Benjamin come in for his annual head shaving. We do this every summer, all summer. I think he looks his best with a shaved head. Daddy, too - look his best with a shaved head. That's my opinion. And it's so easy. Ben hates the feel of the hair on his neck, or face, even arms. So, the quicker we get it done the better. (Now you know why I've had a hair-cutting cape on my gift wish list for years!)

New Grass!

Have I written about our lawn efforts? Last year we installed our sprinklers on one half of the backyard. This spring we finally felt we had the ground ready to plant grass (ie. sprayed the salt grass, pulled the other weeds, tilled and raked it smooth). So, we planted about the second week of April. The grass never grew. We knew it might not. We had been given some seed that was about 10 years old. Last Saturday Kannon and I reseeded the yard and by the middle of the week we saw grass! I did a little dance, I was so excited. (Sarah joined me!) We've discovered that the ground is NOT completely level. We have a few low spots that become puddles. And we are still trying to figure out the sprinklers. We have 6 of them and the middle and west end are always a lot wetter than the edges and east end. So, we're working out the kinks! I'm really looking forward to having a lawn this summer. I hope I will be diligent about taking care of any weeds along the way. And maybe next summer we will have a front lawn?!

Teddy Bear Tea

Today was our local Library fundraiser - The Teddy Bear Tea. This is our 3rd year to participate. Every April they announce the teddy bear categories and prizes. We have about a month to plan. They also display tantalizing prizes for the youngsters. Benjamin knew right away which prize he wanted: the bike, the spiderman action figures, the Scooby-Doo puzzles, the Diego play set and Hideaway, the Nerf Air Tech 3000. . . . . You get the picture! I made him narrow it down to one since each bear has a $3-5 entry fee. He chose the Detective Bear, prize=Scooby Doo floor puzzles and Myster Puzzle Party. The last 2 years he has come home disappointed because he hasn't won (and both years Mom DID win.) The Children's Librarian said she had an extra one that wasn't being used as a prize and she was going to give it to him if he didn't win. She knew how disappointed he would be. But, he won! I was so excited for him. He really likes these awesome puzzles! I chose to do the Princess Bear, because I thought it would be fun to do. I didn't really think about the broken hearts of all the little girls out there. But apparently there were some since we did win. I changed that from "I" to "we" because Sarah took the Princess Bear as her own when she woke up from her nap and saw it yesterday. So, I ended up entering it for her. She is the proud winner of 8 Disney Princess Pez and 4 Disney Princess Barbies! I will put them away for now, she is too young for these kind of dolls. I also entered a Pre-School Bear and a Realistic Bear, neither of which won. That's really okay. The Library raised over $2,000 dollars for their summer reading program and we will be able to benefit from that as well. I do have to add that as happy as Ben was with his Scooby-Doo stuff, he took about 15 minutes to mope (and yell at his sister) because he didn't get as much stuff as she did. That surprised me. I just thought he'd be happy for them both. I do think it might have been an effect of the Father and Sons Campout he had just come home from. Anyway, it's fun and we'll surely do it again next year.

For My Twilight Fan Friends!

I just found this fun quiz - like the jane austen one - I couldn't get the whole thing on here right now, (there are pictures!) But this should tell you a bit and hopefully the link will work for you.

Which Twilight novel character are you?
You're Esme Cullen - Your maternal instinct to take care of people and be kind draw people towards you. You're compassionate and loving, yet firm when you need to be. You appreciate hard work and value the beautiful results of your dedication to any project. Take this quiz!

No more teachers dirty looks!!!!

Yeah!!! I am so excited! Today was my last day of teaching ABC School. The kids have one more week - the letter Z and graduation - but for my part, I'M THROUGH. It has been very fun, but also very time-consuming. Granted I only had it a week out of the month, but I am the kind that thinks about it the whole month and does nothing until the night before! For the letter Y we laced yellow yarn, made "you" books filled with pictures from the year, and practiced yo-yo-ing! We also played with playdo, did "hot-cold" with a yellow Y, explored "you" by testing our skills, skipped, and played letter bingo. Plus, we had snacks: yogurt, yoo-hoo, yellow cupcakes, yo-go's, and yellow popcorn. This was spread over the 2 days we have school, and we didn't have time to do everything I had planned. That is SO okay with me. After the kids left today, I did....NOTHING! Read emails and blogs and put the kids down for a nap. Now, I have wanted to do "nothing" all week, but have still stayed pretty busy. This afternoon, NOTHING. It did feel good. And I was more ready to wash the days dishes and clean up the house than I had been all week. So, despite my 3-4 hours of "nothing", my husband still came home to a decent looking house. AND, I still had the energy to help Ben with his letter T stuff we had missed when he was sick. Now, after this day of preschool, I get to spend and hour or so with my girlfriends discussing a great book! Maybe I don't need the vacation I was screaming for 2 days ago. Then again, I'm dying for a shopping day alone (aka no children!) Sometimes I feel like I'm not being a good mother because I always need some time alone. I know mothers who don't desire that at all. But, how do you drive an hour to the stores, shop for clothes for yourself, look through the craft store and your favorite thrift store; then drive the hour home - with two little ones? If you have the solution, I'm all ears. Otherwise, I will continue to desire a day to be alone, and just try to let my children know I love them despite that need.