A Boy and Someone Else's Dog

My children have been begging for a dog for about as long as they could say the word. Big Sissy especially has always been more of a stuffed animal fan than a doll lover, but a real animal--well, that would be even better.

I have instructed them that they always need to ask the owner before they pet a dog on the street or at the park. Now Little Buddy can't see a dog without hollering out, "Ownah! Ownah! Can I pet youh dog?" They have even offered to take their quarters from doing chores to rescue a pet from an animal shelter. Of course that means that I pitch in the rest--and buy the food--and do the potty training--and take on more responsibility. I haven't really been open to the idea, especially since I'm still trying to potty train a child who doesn't particularly wish to be trained.

This week our friends went on a float trip and asked if we would "dog sit." Nervously, I agreed. I don't know a thing about dogs, but I managed to figure out what to do with children so how hard can it be, right? The thing about BJ is that she's old. Like in dog years, she would be a great grandma. So she doesn't really run and play with the kids. And though she is potty trained at her house, apparently grandma doggies tend to have accidents at other people's houses. Like a lot of them. So our trial run isn't proving to be very indicative of what it would really be like to have a dog. But the kids are enjoying being pet ownah's for as long as it lasts. And I have my scooper and Lysol wipes ready.

(Check out Little Sissy's shoes. Some things just aren't worth fighting about.)

VBS music--The Gift That Keeps On Giving

I don't know when we finally stopped listening to last year's VBS music every time we got in the van. I think it was when I took the whole basket of music and DVD's in the house "to clean them." But now it has started all over. I can't really complain when my kids don't really know who "Justin Beaver" is and beg to listen to worship music. Here's a clip of my summer entertainment.

Cinderella

One of the reasons I wish I was homeschooling is the Lifelight Youth Theatre. It reminds me of the theatre group in all the Karen Kingsbury novels, but it is here in our own hometown. One of the girls in our church is part of the group, and she was in Cinderella this weekend. When it showed up on Groupon, including a pre-show party, I knew we had to go. The pre-party was apparently only about 10 minutes long, because we were 10 minutes late and missed it. But the girls did get yummy blue cupcakes and got to get autographs and pictures with many of the cast members.

Waiting for the show to begin.

Hanging out with Cinderella and Prince Charming--every girl's dream come true.

I was kind of glad for Little Sissy's sake that this Cinderella was a brunette like her.

They were a little afraid that the wicked stepsisters and stepmother might be mean, so they went together.

We were jaded by the Disney version of Cinderella and assumed this to be her. She turned out to be the lovely Fairy Godmother.

Whoever thought of blue cupcakes was clever but does not have little girls dressing up in white dresses for the party. M-E-S-S. But oh, so fun.

The beautiful Cinderella gang.

Boy Dress Up

Little Buddy loves to dress up with the girls. Daddy made him stop dancing in their tutus, so he now wears an Asian outfit that PaPa brought him from China a couple of years ago. It is bright, shiny, and makes him feel like a prince; a good compromise. Now that he's 3, he's definitely discovering the "boy stuff." Our friend Amy made him his own superhero cape, which he loves, and he's recently been loving being our rescuer in his Spiderman outfit. It's fun to watch him developing his own style of play as he realizes he doesn't have to do everything the girls do. They are learning to play together in different ways. They can be the damsels in distress; he is the rescuer. They are the princesses; he is the prince. They are Rapunzel and Mother Gothel; he is Flynn Rider. They are the mothers; he is the baby (he really likes that one). His is going to be one strong person after he survives living in a house where he is outnumbered by girls. I am convinced that he will be a more well-rounded person and hopefully more sensitive husband and daddy because of their (our) influence.

Born To Worship

I can't believe how quickly this crazy, busy year is coming to a screeching halt. Big Sissy's almost done with kindergarten, and Little Sissy has almost completed a year of preschool. Little Buddy keeps getting left out, which he is NOT happy about. He tells everyone that he's 6 because he's tired of being called the little brother. Not to worry, little man. Much to Mommy's dismay, you are now old enough for preschool, swim lessons, choir--all the things you've been left out of before.

One of these things is not like the others. I know, I know. Don't remind you that you don't have a choir t-shirt. Sorry.

It warms my heart to hear these kids worshipping with their whole heart--and lungs.

Ready to go on stage for the final concert of the year.

Big Sissy does not get stage fright at all. She loves the stage!

If Life Gives You a Master Cleanse,

Make Lemonade!!!

For the past couple of years I have heard about this "master cleanse," which consists of water, fresh lemon juice, grade B pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. I never had any desire to do it, but I thought it was slightly intriguing.

Not being Catholic, I've never given up anything for Lent. This year, however, Hubby and I both decided to give up Pepsi. We know it's not healthy, and we just needed a reason to stop drinking it. I had one Pepsi during that time, which Catholic friends tell me is normal. Hubby says we get "a mulligan" since we're Protestant. Whatever. I'm just weak. I was still pretty proud of myself, but I was disappointed that I didn't drop any weight and my body didn't miraculously transform during those weeks.

Since I'm a night owl and a google addict, I decided to do some research (not scientific, mind you). I came across a youtube video series of a girl who did this master cleanse for 40 days, and I could see the transformation of her body and her face. Impulsively, I decided to try it. I knew I wouldn't make it 40 days, but I thought I would do the recommended minimum: 10 days. When I woke up the next morning, I packed up the children and headed to Trader Joe's to purchase the lemons and Grade B maple syrup. On the way I sent this text to Hubby: "Started a fast/cleanse today. I might be crabby. Just thought you should know."

The day I started, I also went to my doctor's office for a physical (yes, the children were still with me. That was interesting.) Of course she rolled her eyes when I told her what I was doing and just said that if I felt like I needed to do it, don't do it for a long time.

So a day and a half later, when I CAVED when Hubby ordered roast beef sandwiches for the family (except me, of course), I felt justified that I was following doctor's orders. I felt slightly guilty for eating Little Buddy's sandwich, but he was asleep and had no idea what he missed.

Here's what I learned from this little experiment:
1. I'm weak. I won't lie. I like food.
2. The cleanse didn't seem to cleanse. I found out later I was supposed to be drinking a herbal laxative tea at night, but somehow I missed that little detail.
3. Lemonade made with maple syrup is tasty, but it all gets ruined by the cayenne pepper.
4. Did I mention that I like food? Lemonade isn't food no matter how it's made.
5. You can use lemons for all kinds of things--you know, just in case you have a 10-day supply laying around. Of course they make really great lemonade with old-fashioned sugar (which is also handy when you have a child with an intolerance to yellow dye), but you can also use them to dissolve your tablets for dying eggs.
6. It's a really bad idea to break your fast with Arby's roast beef followed by a Sam's club hot dog, even if said fast only lasted a day and a half. Somehow the hot dog has more of a cleansing effect at that point than the lemonade ever did.
7. I cannot drink 60 oz. of liquid in a day even if I'm not consuming food. So to drink all of that lemonade PLUS regular water in a day was physically impossible.

Master Cleanse = Fail. But we are currently enjoying our diet of sugary lemonade and Pepsi. Back to water tomorrow. With food.

Oh, yes. He speaks.

I have shared with you some of my frustrations about Little Buddy's speech delay. He is still hard to understand at times, but it seems to be "age appropriate delays" so far. What's happening now is that he talks so much and so fast that he's hard to understand. I wouldn't trade it, though. I love getting a glimpse of what's going on in his head. And there's a lot going on. I was so proud of him today as he told MawMaw and PawPaw not only the story of the resurrection but last week's Palm Sunday lesson.

Last night I recorded him telling us what Easter is all about. Hang on to your seats. He's precious.