Dog versus Fish

When Reilly and I went to talk to his new fish Ella last night he asked if we could take her out for a walk.... ummmmm....

She's not really like Nandi Reilly. I don't think a walk would be what she wants.

Ella's in the HOUSE!

Reilly got a belated birthday present from Auntie Amber, Ella and Grace today. It is a one gallon fish tank. We set it up today and went to the store to pick out a fish. Reilly and Kate are just so excited - Reilly named his fish Ella and after only about 15 minutes has Kate calling the fish Ella too. Here is another one of our infamous phone photos of her.

Concept of Time

Reilly's questions about time.

Is that a "long hour" or a "short hour".

I never know how to answer that one so I base it on how eager he is for the time to pass by.

Summer Camp

Today was the first day of summer camp for Reilly and his cousin Brenna. I dropped the two of them off with their big backpacks and their bathing suits on. In their instructions they are required to bring a backpack that they can carry by themselves. Put a towel, lunch box, spare clothes and a jacket in there, and it can be quite big. So... it was actually like their backpacks were taking them to camp. I can't wait to hear how it goes.

FIVE!!!

Reilly turned five and we had a little pool party for him. We invited five friends and had some family. I MADE THE CAKES! I have to say, they came out pretty good for a rookie.

She's Absent...

Okay, well, not really. Summer has been so busy for our family and everytime something funny or cute happens I say to Shad, "I need to blog that", but at the end of the day when I start to wind down... it just doesn't happen. Being pregnant in the summer sucks I decided - carrying this extra weight and losing my breath each time I walk up a step... yes, A step is a bit disconcerting. But, we're all looking forward to #3. We told the kids a little while ago and Kate was like "whatever" and Reilly just hoped it would be a boy so he wouldn't mess up his stuff like Kate currently does.(little does he know, it has nothing to do with gender!)

Reilly is growing so fast these days he's no longer my "lil guy". He bosses me around like I boss him around which is quite a challenge and he wears my watches and my socks - yes, he really is almost FIVE. He is by far one of the nicest and most thoughtful little guys you could imagine, which I just adore.

Kate on the other hand still believes that the world was put here just for her. She continues to make us smile and laugh with every move and I now, better than ever, understand why my brother - who is #2 - is adored the way he is. #2 is a real good spot.

Here is the latest youtube release on Kate's dance class, it's short so don't leave the computer or you'll miss it. She is the best toe tapper I have ever seen!

Spitting Image...

NOT! Kate and I look alike but I think at this age I probably had handmedown baseball uniforms. We are trying to give Kate some hope of being chickie - she will likely be in a hockey rink or climbing a mountain before she knows it.

Elite UK

Reilly is at soccer camp with his friend Owen this week. They are two of the younger ones in the half day program but they seemed pretty content just chasing one another around during the scrimmages. The coaches brought them in at the end of the day and had them sit in rows by team. Reilly, I noted was sitting in the "England" row, and Owen was in the "Japan" row. Each kid was given a homework assignment for the night "research something about soccer in your country". The coach then pointed to Reilly's row and said in his cute little British accent "Does anyone know the name of a player on the England National Team?" No response from the row - then Reilly, the smallest guy sitting in the front raises his hand and says "I do". The coach says "Great Reilly, who is a player on the England National Team" Reilly replies "My Mom."

Although I suspected he was going to say Beckham since it's the only player he knows - I thought it was the cutest thing ever that he thought I did. The coaches however, thought it was the funniest thing they had ever heard.

Happy 4th

The fourth was celebrated in political fashion here. We went to a local parade and watched fire trucks, political demonstrations, preschools, bagpipers, and of course a line of people representing the candidates and their issues. Bill Richardson was the only presidential candidate that was worth mentioning. Reilly got tagged by the campaign teams as you can see in this photo -he just thought he was collecting stickers. :-)

Debate Team

I was never on it... although my Dad always told me "You would argue with the Pope." After today I feel like I'm going to get beaten down by arguing two and four year old children. They would both argue with the Pope, and I suspect that one if not both would win.

It's been a very tiring day in that way... from the wet sheets, to the 30 minute wardrobe malfunction, to shutting fingers in the door, to yelling at me from the opposite side of the house about something as simple as a matchbox or a cup of juice. And I WANTED THREE, what was I thinking... UGH. I'm glad today is over and tomorrow is another day. Mornings really suck sometimes...

Elmo goes to school

Kate wore "big girl underpants" for the first time today. Guess who was on them? Yup, ELMO! I told her not to let Elmo get wet... I'm not sure she understood. She did pretty well for a few hours then "ooops".

Maybe another day.

Mr Sun Sun...

Mr Golden Sun... Please Shine Down on Me.

Reilly was singing this at the top of his lungs on the way home from school. The skies have been gray all afternoon with scattered thundershowers. He was singing at the top of his lungs, over and over again - then he blurted out "Daddy, it's working!!!!!!"

Thanks Kate

As Reilly stood at the counter and blew his nose, he used multiple tissues. Kate finally said to him "Rawley, you are makin a mess!"

I'm not really sure what that meant - if it was an audio mess she was referring to or a physical mess.... Hmmmmm.

Who's the King of the Castle?

I was talking to Reilly this morning and our conversation turned into this:
"Reilly, I am the Queen of our house and you are the Prince"
"No,we're not"
"Yes, we are, how come you think we're not?"
"Mom, you're not a Queen, you are not dressed like one"

Hmmmmm... I don't know what is wrong with yoga pants and a t-shirt. Hmmmm... was he expecting a gown, if so, it's not happening.

Love and Praise

Good Job _____________ (fill in the blank).

This is Kate's favorite thing to say to whomever is in the restroom at the time. She is so proud of anyone using the potty - now if we could just get her to do it more consistently. :-)

Congrats Michael!

Hopefully you're graduation went well yesterday and we're sorry we didn't make it down. It was a 5 year old double birthday party that took over the afternoon. Good job and good luck at Catholic U.

The Writing on the Wall

which Kate was SO proud of herself for. Kate approached me (Sat am) holding her red crayon and excitedly said "I draw on the wall for you". I seriously shreiked... not something I could be proud of her for and it became something I screamed at her for... Kate took her little red crayon and drew on the window sill and the sage green wall in the dining room. I was so mad (although I think my lack of patience was perpetuated by me being home alone with the kids for two days - Shad had an adventure race in VT). I immediately sent her to the naughty step and finished getting ready for his classmates birthday party which was to start ten minutes from the current time. It was really a whole morning of issues.... anyway about two minutes later I had taken my deep breaths and went to retrieve Kate from the stair. Oddly, she was not there... I called her and she told me she was in the bathroom getting bath toys. I remarked in a sharp tone, "you come back and sit on the step." She whimpered yet complied.

On Sunday morning we were downstairs together - she looked up at me and said "No draw on walls, only paper". I picked her up and hugged her and asked if she would like some paper. Kids can be so cute... it's a killer.

NOTE: Magic Eraser takes crayon off sills and off painted walls. Thanks Cole.

Plastic Babies

Kate has been carrying around her doll these days - taking care of the baby - which I often think is a direct reflection of her experiences. Today she rocked the baby in the chair, she took her to go potty, she held her (by the head...), she talked to her, she blew her nose, she sat with her on the couch, she watched tv... then she said "baby hit me". No sooner had the baby hit her did she have to go sit on the naughty step and was lectured about hitting people.

Hmmmmm.... perhaps she'll be a good big sister one day.

Cold Sweats

Reilly, Kate and I were driving home the other day and suddenly Kate arched up in her car seat and yelled "POOP"... I turned to see her eyes bright red and watering and her forhead with a new crease in it as she struggled. I said "do you have to poop" and she let out a "yahhhh" "ohhhh" "poop". I thought perhaps since we were less than a mile from home she might be able to hold it. I said "Oh Kate you can hold it, let's do a cleansing breath". Reilly, who has done cleansing breaths with me for a few years joined right in... in through the nose, out through and sometimes with an audible response. Kate acoompanied us in no time. I thought it was too much since she just whimpered from the back seat. I felt bad.

We pulled up the driveway, I parked the car and yanked her out and ran to the bathroom... expecting to find a big mess. I was shocked to see a small mark in the Princess pull-up that she is so fond of and a job that was in process waiting to finish. I dropped her on the potty as quick as I could and praised her for her will. She was pretty proud of herself, I could tell. She said "good job Kate".

Reilly came running in and said "is she okay and did she poop". I said nope, tell her she did a good job. He went in the bathroom, put his hand on her shoulder and said "Kate, I am SO proud of YOU!" She said "dank you rawley".

Dumbadeedah Dumbahdeedah

Why did the turtle cross the road?
He didn't because we interrupted him.

On the way to school today we found a big turtle crossing the road. Aware of it's rapid pace Reilly and I decided to unload and go watch him walk across the street. Our presence, I believe, made him return to the direction from which he came, but I don't think that was a bad thing. I couldn't imagine a destination for him in the direction he was heading... then again, I'm not a turtle so I have no clue where he wanted to be. :-)

What you don't see here is Kate who had the death grip on the back of my leg. She was not getting any closer!

Note: It's time to start bringing a camera with me instead of this phone...