Two Great Lines That I Didn’t Write…

…But wish I would have.

(1) From my brother’s blog about a utility sink installation he was doing in their garage:

"How cheap can I make this project" turned into "how much do I have to spend in order to not call a plumber."

I’d have to change “plumber” to “Papa Jim” but the sentiment is fully understood.

 

(2) From a blog on ParentMap, by Stephanie Olson.

If I am staying at home and I am a feminist, I had damn well better raise two boys who are kind and respectful and gentle in this world.

Again, I’d have to personalize it a bit:

If I am staying at home and I am a feminist, I had damn well better raise 3 kids who are kind and useful and pick their nose in private…and do it better than anyone I could have paid. 

How would you other Stay-at-Homes finish this thought? If I am staying at home and I am a feminist, I had damn well better raise ____ kids/boys/girls who are ________________________.

New Camera!

I have not gotten the old camera to work since that last fateful picture of us at the beach.  I can start blogging again, since I bought this little dandy off craigslist.  It’s faster, better, and—being used—cheaper than my old one.  And I haven’t let any kids touch it.

 

My first shots—isn’t fast enough to catch Kyla smiling?  In a darkened car?  Pass and PASS! 

Last Shots of the Rope Swing

We went to the Island for 6 days over Spring Break.  We made it to the beach Friday and then not again until Monday.  Over the weekend, the rope swing had been cut, quite high up, so it simply couldn’t be used.  My friend, Jen, found these pictures of the kids using it in mid-March.

 

Never fear, beach.  Dwayne and I have already bought a replacement rope and do0hickey.  I’m also looking to upgrade it with a disc swing—looking on craigslist right now!

 

Hey, Buddy, you smile a lot. Thanks.

 

I just love how pretty the death-defying trip down to the beach is.

Friends + Beach + Skivvies

I finally got Sus and her boys to join us for a weekend at the cabin—we were ecstatic! 

We went to the beach during the last hours of sun we would have for the weekend.

 

Can you believe Sus got that many pictures before the kids started stripping?

 

These two were the first to shuck and dip.  A group of teen girls had a good laugh at Wesley streaking down the beach and me yelling after him, “Put your underwear back on—keep the sand out!”

Installing an outdoor shower at the cabin is on the top 10 list….

 

You can’t read to just one of them.

 

Thanks for the great pictures, Susanne, during my camera drought!

Play, Play, Play, That’s All We Ever Do

Six days at the cabin. Three friends and 4 kid friends.  Three sunny days.  It was one of the best times on Whidbey yet.

 

I always think I’m overpacking for the cabin, but at the end of almost every day, I have a full load of laundry to do (shake sand out first) and the kids all seem to be down to their last clean, intact pair of pants.  This is Piper’s second (of three) outfits and it’s only noon,

 

And another thing to add to the list of Things That Make Me Wet My Pants:  Runny up the skate park and vaulting over the top.  (Laughing and sneezing generally top the list.)

 

There are so many things to do at a skate park when you don’t have wheels. 

1) Rip your pants.  (Kyla)

2) Rip your pants. (Piper)

3) Rip your pants. (Wesley)

4) Wet your pants. (Anonymous)

 

This girl knows how to enjoy herself.  If only she had a cold root beer in that hand.

 

Again, this child just needs a beach and some shells to keep her busy for a long, long time. Four hours, in fact, as long as I feed her occasionally.

 

This is worth preserving, simply because Wes is still wearing his clothes.  While near water.  (Hint: it won’t last.)

 

Tyler didn’t have to convince Wesley too much of the Greatness of Construction Trucks at the beach.

 

Cutie!

One of the many, many times Wes stripped down to his skivvies over the week we were on Whidbey.  I’m actually going to buy him boxers next week to be slightly more socially acceptable.  If 3-year olds can ever be socially acceptable.

 

Piper: You know what would be a really, really good idea?  Using these old trucks as roller skates to go down this sand pile!

 

Wesley:  I am so in!  I don’t have pants or shoes on, so I’m set.
Wesley: I’m down. 

Wesley: That was fun!

 

Tyler:  What could go wrong?

 

Piper decides to fall on her face this time instead of her bum again.  She really likes to mix stunts up!

 

The last picture possibly to ever be taken on my camera.  Piper snapped some shots of Wes falling asleep on me.  The camera hasn’t worked since. 

Another Cabin Improvement

My friend, Susanne, had a medicine cabinet leftover from a remodel a year or so ago.  She wanted it out of her garage so our cabin got an improvement.  Thanks, Friend!

Before:

 

After:

 

I also worked on the front yard.  There’s a circle of “flowers” (okay, mostly weeds and overgrown grass) in the middle of the lawn.  It will look better and be easier to maintain when I can dump some dirt and grass seed over it.  But it will be slow progress, done only when it’s warm, dry, and we’re not at the beach.

 

Two birds with one stone:  moving pretty purple flowers next to the deck where they won’t be mowed over and another opportunity to plant something where I want Dwayne to build.  There’s always a master plan, my friends.

 

And this tree is significant in that it’s not dead.  It was supposed to be a weeping flowering cherry, but it has grown straight and tall and was overshooting the space in our own yard.  So I uprooted it, pruned it down to size, left it in the garage overnight  before it was tossed in the back of Jim’s truck and carted over to the cabin.  Jim will be the only one more shocked than myself to see how well it is blossoming.  Seriously, how did I not kill it?  Well done, tree.  Use well your second chance at life.

It’s Bedtime. Where are the Kids?

There are four twin beds for three kids to choose from.

No one here.

 

Or here.

 

There was a kid here earlier.

 

Ah.  Snuggly like a ferret.

 

And the next night.

Flitting with the Fairies at Meerkerk

I’ve written about Meerkerk Gardens before, a rhododendron plus garden with an additional 40 acres of nature trails.  The garden also specializes in fairies, and we happened to be in the neighborhood on “Make Your Own Fairy” day. 

 

Volunteers had scoured the gardens for wings, bodies, and appropriate fauna accessories and then provided hot glue guns and some beads and ribbon scraps.

 

Luckily, the kids didn’t know about the cupcakes and apple juice until after they had spend lots of time creating their dolls.  Wesley was happy to decorate a single fairy wing.

 

And the Woodland Fairy Queen was happy to pose for pictures with the interns.

 

Piper just likes putting things on her head.

 

We meandered through the gardens until the girls came across the 1 mile nature hoop and they badly wanted to explore it.  All three kids walked the whole thing quite happily!

Kyla’s Talent

“Talent” is Kyla’s word not mine, but I will admit she is resourceful.  It’s a lot easier to climb up a log wall than a regular straight one.

 

Monkey see….

On Spring Break—Playing Harder Than Usual

Ten days off school and six of them to be spent at the cabin. 

Ready….

Set…

             Giggle!