One of the Many Uses of the Kitchen Sink

And this is what we did this afternoon...

I gave Xandri some delicious Cafe Rio rice and black beans, which she loved and had ALL over her little body and highchair (which Kitty loves eating off of). When she finally finished, I took her out, stripped her down and stuck her in the sink while I cleaned up. Avril couldn't bear to be left out of the fun, so she stripped and I stuck her in, too. Then the puppies and I got to work.
Meaning I put Xandri's tray and all the dirty plates on the floor and saved rinsing time and water. That's right, if there's nothing else these puppies are good for, they're great at consuming all the food we don't eat, spill or smear anywhere and everywhere. And if any of us have food left on our faces, well with a big, sloppy puppy kiss, that's no longer a problem!

Anyway, keep reading! I've done about a billion updates today and doctored up the dates so that it looks like I post more frequently, so I don't want you to miss out on all the fun! And I love getting comments, so by all means, tell me what you think!

Save Big On Batteries Jill? I wish...

So Jill posted this video about how you could save a bunch on batteries by taking apart a 6V lantern battery. Naturally, I went out and bought one and had Derek pry it open for me. Maybe I bought the wrong brand or something, but we definitely didn't find 32 AA batteries inside. We did have fun slamming it into the pavement on the driveway and finding out what is inside four giant something batteries, though. And we felt pretty cool, like we were the guys on MythBusters or something.

The Cuteness

Way too many cute things are running around our house lately. Here is some photo documentation of the level of cuteness I find myself up against. Notice a common theme?

A Good Place to Hang Out

Our neighbors have been redoing the siding on their house and re-roofing as well. I didn't stop to think about what this might look like to Avril until one evening we were all outside playing with the puppies and she told us she wanted to get on the roof. Derek and I looked at each other like, "the roof?!"

So, naturally, we put her on the roof.Derek helped her up onto the roof of our shed out back and she eagerly climbed all the way up to the peak and gleefully looked back at us."I'm on the roof, Mommy and Daddy!"
"You sure are! You're pretty big!"
"Yeah!"

After a few more minutes of jabbering, she realized how high up she really was. And that she would have to get down. That's when the terror set in. It took us fully ten minutes to coax her down far enough that Derek could get her (don't worry, we have a ladder, she would have been fine. We just wanted her to do it on her own if she would). Derek kept trying to get her to walk down, but she was seriously crying, absolutely terrified. I told her to sit down and scoot forward. Then the ordeal started all over when she got to the edge and had to jump down into Daddy's arms. We finally convinced her to do it and when she got down, she just hugged her Daddy while he sat there grinning over the whole thing.

Avril's First Day of School- September 4th

Ok, it was really the second. I didn't take pictures on the first day. But don't tell anyone, it's our little secret.

She was so cute, but definitely a little nervous. The night before she told me, "Mommy, the kids will be naughty to me."
-"Naughty to you? No, I don't think they will..."
-"Yes, they'll be naughty to me and the teachers will be naughty."
-"No, I think they'll be nice. I think the teachers will help all the kids be nice to you, too. Do you want to ride on your little school bus?"
-"Yeah! And it's a little tiny school bus, and you can't get on it, cause you're too big, Mommy."
-"Are you going to study at school?"
-"Yeah! I'm gonna study and the other kids will bother me while I'm studying." (throwback from Daddy's studying habits...?)
-"Well, you just tell them not to bother you while you're studying."

Next morning, we got up early and got all dressed and ready. She didn't want to eat her breakfast and insisted that she would have breakfast at school (I wasn't sure, but I knew they'd have snacks/lunch at some point). So I let her skip. I was debating whether or not to take her to school or just put her on the bus and wanting more and more to just take her. But the bus showed up and they whisked her onto it and she was off to get buckled into their crazy harness system. Her last words before they left were, "See you later, Mommy. Don't worry, I'll be back in a little while." What a sweetheart.

Roadtrippin'

So over the break before fifth quarter started (that's right-- fifth quarter-- Derek is officially a second year med school student), Derek and Avril flew out to Boise to see his family and bring this sweet little ride back. Now, naturally, Avril loved flying on the big airplane with Daddy. She felt so important. Up until now, in her memory, she's only experienced other people coming and going on airplanes--- Grandmas, cousins, Mommy's friends, aunts, uncles... Now, she can number herself in the ranks of those who ride in airplanes. Just getting ready for her trip, she felt pretty important. She packed her little purple backpack full of all the most important things she was sure to need on her trip-- pen lids, nail clippers, doll shoes, paperclips, about three miniature stuffed animals, Candyland movement pieces (you know, the little Gingerbread men. She calls them "manager guys". At least I think that's what she's saying.). When she was finally ready, we put all her stuff together and got ready to leave in the semi-darkness of the pre-dawn-- yes. We left K-ville at 3:30am. Ew.

Anyway, the week was naturally spent (for Derek) immersed in the world of Magic the Gathering, dueling and battling with his fellow wizards, his brothers. They also discovered a marvelous new version of Dungeons and Dragons--- D&D Miniatures! You get actual pieces premade and do battle with them on the table. Yes, they loved it. My nerdy husband and his brothers have found meaning in life. In fact, I was told that I would be provided with my own starter set of Miniatures, but I have yet to see evidence of this. So far it has been just a lot of fast talk and empty promises.

For Avril, the week was spent being inundated into the world of Spoiling Grandma without the balancing (aka "naughty") influence of The Mom. This translates into movies (she learned all about the Little Mermaid and her "naughty" daddy) galore, candy, any kind of yummy sugary cereal she wanted, toys, dolls, clothes, books, swimming, etc. And she got to spend time with her cute little cousin, Izabel. Apparently, they had a great time, and I have photographic evidence, but it's not available digitally. So... too bad for you.

The horrible drive back also allowed for a well-stocked fun trip for her. Grandma bought her a roadtrip care package: new Disney Princess dolls, books, stickers, coloring book, My Pretty Ponies, candy, goldfish and treats. I think she was in heaven. Derek and Weston, however, pretty much wanted to die. A twenty-four hour straight-shot drive across the country always drains the will to live. Especially when there's no A/C and no cruise control. And especially when you run out of gas 15 miles outside Laramie, Wyoming and no tow trucks are willing to come at 1am. Fortunately, highway patrol came along and gave them a ride back to Laramie and they wound up delayed a mere 45 minutes. Not too bad, all things considered.
They rolled into town Sunday (the 2nd) afternoon, just in time for Weston to get rested up for another horrible day of traveling all day Monday, this time by plane. Read: sick layovers. Thanks for the awesome scheduling, Kirksville Regional Airport. (Does the sarcasm come through? Do I need to add something else to convey it better?)

Chug it!

K, this just cracked me up, I had to post. Katherine came over today to hang out, the girls played with the puppies while we talked. Plus, domestic goddess that she is, she brought some delicious blackberry freezer jam. That's where the funny story comes in.
We finished up dinner and Avril spies the jam on the counter. It's in a small cup-looking container and it's full of some delicious-looking juice-colored substance. What better thing to do with such a cup than drink it? I came in just as she tipped it back and started (trying) to chug. I reprimanded her, "Avril! Don't drink the jam!" Unfortunately, hearing myself say that, I couldn't keep a straight face. Neither could Derek.

Black Raspberry... Mmmmm!

You are passionate, creative, and inspired. Black raspberry ice cream is an unusual color and flavor, so some people might consider it strange, but your exciting personality is what makes you so delicious. You bring a juicy burst of flavor to everything you do, and your life is packed with one memorable experience after another.

It's Official

I fear I've been rather haphazard in my use of the word "official" of late. In fact, this fear was confirmed this evening at dinner when, upon hearing my somewhat questionable use of the word, my husband replied, "I don't think you exactly understand how to use that word. I've noticed you've misused it quite a bit over the last few days. Perhaps you should go find a dictionary or a thesaurus and go make up a few practice sentences and then report back."

Her Baby...

Yes, that's right. She seems to think the puppies are her baby dolls...