Video Time!

A few clips for Daddy...
Derek the Destructor

Dancing Queen

Motor Boat

I got my hairs cut.

Here is the fresh-from-the-salon, never-to-be-replicated head of hair.



EXTREME CLOSE UP
My plan is to never wash it and sleep sitting up to retain the salon-effect.

The Big Top

An old-time one ring circus came to town and since not very many things actually come to this town we thought we'd check it out. It was interesting in a very mediocre kind of way.

Here is a picture of what the circus tent looked like. I think it had seen better days.

Simone was not only the trapeze artist, but also announced for other acts, rode a unicycle, and I think even hawked snow cones for awhile.
I was actually impressed with this act. Along with her husband, they also did a juggling bit.
We thought she looked familiar and the realized that she was the one running the bouncy house before the show started. Her juggling husband took our tickets at the door. Are you sensing a theme here? I must say these are probably the hardest-working circus performers I've ever seen. Here is another picture of Simone on the unicycle...on a side note I do believe that the top the man is wearing was meant for someone with a little more ummm, brawn. (To get the full effect, you should click on the picture to see it bigger.)
This is us while we were still having fun. Then the 95 degree weather combined with a tired baby and cranky toddler became too much and we exited as the world's oldest elephants walked in circles.

We'll chalk it up to a life experience. I must say that the circus poster claimed that the show was "Internationally Renowned." They must have been a big hit in Rwanda or Myanmar.

I have two nemeses:

Potty Training and Weed Eating.

Thankfully one has been conquered, but the weeds still grow.

Let me tell you with all seriousness that my daughter literally took a YEAR to potty train. And YEARS off my life. Finally, finally we are at a point where she can actually do the unthinkable--stop what she's doing and say "I have to go potty." Then she will go into the bathroom, do her business, wash her hands and come back out. Without me! It's a miracle :)
There have been many days/weeks this past year when I thought we had it down...I'm ashamed to say that I even dared to offer advice to other mommies training their kids! (head hung in shame) Sorry! Apparently when I dismissed all the writings that say "Don't potty train during times of transition" I was making a mistake. A BIG mistake. My advice to other moms now is 1) don't ask me for advice unless you want to train your kid for a year and 2) if you aren't going to listen to #1, then whatever you do, don't train your kid while living in temporary lodging, about to move into a new house, moving them to a toddler bed, and 2 weeks later pushing out a sibling. Things may start off well, but they go downhill quickly!

Whew, rant over. Really, I'm just happy that it's in the past.

Now on to nemesis number 2: The weed-whacker, now known as That Thing.

Josh, I think I needed a more in-depth tutorial on this before you left. Now in my dear husband's defense, I must let my blog reader(s?) know that Josh has told me time and again that I can just hire someone to do our lawn. But for some reason I'm resistant to this (read: cheap). So a few days ago instead of just mowing I decided to pull out all the stops and put That Thing to work. Well, it didn't. I pulled the string out too far and then couldn't get it back in. So I'm leaning way over in an effort to whack the weeds and not me. I'm mostly just tearing up the grass and whacking the concrete at first. Then I apparently got too close and That Thing attacked my ankle! This hurt. Badly. Then it started smoking and smelling badly. That's when I quit and decided that I hate weed eating and don't care if the weeds grow all summer long.

And if you made it all the way through my complaining post, I will reward you with these pictures of my super-cute kiddos.


I was just telling them about the painful, scary, smoking monster known as That Thing. I think their faces say it all.

My kids are weird.

Some examples:
1) My daughter likes to make requests by contorting her body into images of what she wants. "I want cheese. Tiny cheese that looks like this." Then she lays down on the ground with her arms at her sides in what I can only assume is what she feels "tiny cheese" would look like if it were a 3-year-old girl who rarely wears pants. Or, "I want something white and long like this." At this point she wraps her arms around herself giving the opposite of the long look she mentioned. In this case, I know that she is asking for dental floss. Which brings me to point 2)...is it normal for kids to want dental floss? She asks daily and then proceeds to lick the string for the mint flavor.
(By the way, tiny cheese refers to shredded cheese and she actually could just ask me for the dental floss instead of impersonating it but chooses not to.) Let me not forget to mention that Alex has 3) an Irrational Fear of Men. This is another post in and of itself.
So as not to pick only on Alex, let's talk about the little man. Derek will not eat any food with any texture other than puree. What the heck is this kid going to have on his birthday in a month? I see visions of a candle standing in a Gerber jar of Mango dessert. No soft chunk of banana, pear, avocado, ANYTHING has passed willingly through his lips. But of course he is willing to choke down on Spiney Fish's fin and suck any piece of paper until it dissolves in his mouth.

My kids are weird.

Deployment Days

So Josh has been gone for 43 days now, which puts us at about 1/3 of the way through the deployment. Boo. It feels like forever already; thank goodness for a full calendar of visitors and trips for the next month or so. I certainly didn't think it would be easy, but the monotony of daily life without him here is draining. Thankfully we get to talk to Josh on the webcam most days, which is a blessing. He's been able to see Derek crawl, check out his new teeth, and keep up with Alex's latest shenanigans (and of course, tell me that I'm beautiful despite not having showered and wearing snot on my shoulder courtesy of D-- I think God approves of some lying for the sake of marital harmony.) Thank goodness for technology! (which is the opposite of what I say when I can't get the DVR to tape my show, the computer breaks, etc. But I reserve the right to be fickle.)

Trying to get Alex to talk to the camera and actually say something that makes sense is like working with a monkey. Sorry Josh, I know you wanted to see some clips but this is all I could get out of her today...

(My friend Nicole sent Alex that outfit when she was a new baby...I can't believe she's old enough to wear it now!)

Proof! Josh contends that Derek is still bald because his hair is so light that on the webcam you can't see it. So I got a shot with it wet to prove that he does indeed have some hair.

Here are his long locks blowing in the wind :)
Missing you Daddy! Here's hoping that the next 80 or so days go by quickly!

Home Again

Good news! After 5 nights in the hospital Kennedy is back home! :) Other than 10 more days of oral antibiotics the doctors don't anticipate her needing any more treatment or further surgery. Thanks to all of you who said a prayer for her!!