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...

How Big?

Once again, not a great photo but I'm still thankful to have a phone during these times...


Reilly was fishing for the first time this weekend with his friends Brendon and Maggie. It was more of "drop the line off the dock and see what will bite." Well... lots did, in a matter of 20 minutes he had probably caught five fish. The first four were sunfish and the last was a bass. I don't think Reilly knows that fishing is not typically this easy, but... it was cute nonetheless.

Like Father... Like Son

The more and more these two hang out the closer they get. It's pretty darn cute.

Saturday Night Lights

This photo isn't the best, it was with the phone and in low light. But... you get the energy.

On Saturday night we went to our first hockey game with the kids. It was part of the Calder Cup playoffs. The game had fireworks, loud music, it was dark to kick it off, and the kids hated the first 15 minutes. Kate conceded after a little bit and accepted that she was going to watch the game with us, from my lap. Reilly got involved once he got to see the Zamboni's and he was featured on the big screen dancing in between periods. Shad and I were excited they transitioned so we got to see the whole game. It was the first time in a long time we have actually had to pay to go to a hockey game. Bummer.

Smirking all the way

Reilly came home from school yesterday and came to me with the biggest smirk on his face, and something behind his back. I looked at him, smiled, and said, "hi... why are you smiling so much?, What are you up to?" With even a bigger grin, he brings his hidden treasure out from behind his back....

I said "what is..." and before I could finish, he said "these are the people I want to invite to my birthday party".

Funny thing is, his birthday isn't for a while. He had all these little guys sign this sheet, and he came home and read the names to me and told me why they should be there.

I'm not sure how I can say no. Then again, I'm not sure why this exercise took place.... several months prematurely. :-)

Hiatus.... or Vacation

Reilly and I headed to San Fran on the 5th for two weeks. I spent a week working and during that week Dad and Kate joined us. So, the four of us have been hanging out at Grandma and Papa's - swimming in the pool and playing in the yard. It's been a week of little computer use, hence my absence. Give me a couple days and I'll be back with a recap.

Happy Mother's Day

On Mother's Day we trekked over to the beach to take a photo of the kids, the big kids and the whole family (including the outlaws like me) to give "Papa" for his birthday. This is one of the photo's that struck me - mainly because of the bug on Kate's forehead, the consumption of sand by Grace and the obvious biting bug on Ella's neck - of course Rye is posing!