Hallelujah for Vacation Bible School?!

I don't know if it's their ages, or I just got really lucky, but we haven't had a problem with the kids teasing and bugging each other. Until recently. So between summer, and this new past time of torment, I was more than excited for Bible school to start. During the school year, the twins Pre-K, and Gavin's Kindergarten overlapped their 2 1/2 hour time slots, so by the time I dropped everyone off at their respective schools (a good 15 min. apart), their was little time left for errands. So, 3 hours of fun for them, all at one drop off (the twins school), and grocery shopping, flower planting, house cleaning, closet organization, and a little baseball with Cohen, my sidekick for the week, made me a better mom to my sweets when they bickered the rest of each day. They loved the crafts, songs, seeing old friends, and of course, the snacks. With Power Lab as the theme, one of the snacks was root beer floats -the experiment being...would the ice cream float or not? Last week went so smoothly with less bickering, more park visits, picnics, and the pool after VBS, that I wanted it to last.

My neighbors were going to a different VBS this week, so I signed my kids right up (having had such a grand week, last week). This one, with a "God's big back yard" theme, takes place during the hours of 6:15-8:45. How cool is that? Brett and I could go out to dinner, play some tennis, or just stare adoringly into each others eyes (and Cohen, too) for 5 nights. It's not going so well. Turns out, Brett is out of town all week. Cohen is immensely overtired from the time he wakes up, making it a little tougher to stare adoringly into his eyes. When Brett's gone, I usually have the kids in bed by 8 pm (yes even when it's light for another hour and a half). The others, while having fun at VBS, are not conditioned for a 10pm bed time either, when they wake up at the same time each morning. The gnashing of teeth has increased among all. I didn't get my dates with Brett (and Cohen), and I didn't get my happy kids. Who's idea was it to have VBS at night? Never again.

Cicada Mayhem!

WARNING! This contains graphic images, those with sensitive stomachs should visit another day. Let me start with some background. I am from the West Coast and never experienced cicadas. I was excited to get to see such an unusual bug, only surfacing every 17 years. The excitement is no more. They are at invasion status, I'm waiting for the seagulls to come. It hasn't been as bad in our neighborhood, but is getting worse. Gavin's away baseball games take place in some historic neighborhoods with old trees and thousands of cicadas. It started out nice enough as they seemed pretty mellow, finding a place on the tree to attach and crawl from their exoskeleton, and looking for a lovely mate. The cicada calm is over and now it's just a mass frenzy of flying bugs with poor steering skills and high pitched buzzing you can't seem to drown out. They fly straight into us when we're outside playing, we hit them left and right on the freeway, and while I know they won't hurt you, still they are big ugly bugs in mass quantity. Addie is terrified of them as she's had a few unfortunate encounters with their big, beady, red eyes, and poor choice of landing place. She went to play at a neighbors today and sprinted all the way there -in a zig zag pattern with hands waving in the air. We went to Kings Island last week (and were attacked by cicadas at the entrance gate -actually pretty funny, because several grown men were kicking and karate chopping at them while others just ran in circles screaming) and while Gavin and I waited to go on a ride, we were informed by the operator that if you pull the cicadas leg off, the head will pop off. Of course this information had to be tested by Gavin for accuracy. Sure enough, much too my horror...or satisfaction, it proved true. So come after us, and ...off with your HEAD! We know your secret and aren't afraid to use it -well, Gavin anyway.

* If it helps, Gavin does knock them out before dismembering them. Also note, his ease with them does not always mean noble, brave defender from big, flying, bugs. At the park the other day, he collected 50+ in a water bottle. The need arose, to come show me his prize while I was pushing Addie and Cohen on the swings. He took the lid (wide top) off and began shaking them out, creating a huge swarm. Addie couldn't get away, as she was going pretty high on the swing, and the bugs were flying recklessly EVERYWHERE! Poor girl couldn't relax after that, and so, per her request, we won't be gallivanting around parks for the next couple of weeks.

Interesting fact: The male cicadas mating call can be heard as far as 440 yards.

Not funny!!

Yeah, 5 years old...Grrrrr....TWINS! They have been a tag team of mischief since their wee years. This happened during "quiet time", when I was trying to get Cohen down for his nap. While they are both in time-out right now, it's hard to discipline when she grins with pride at the artwork her and her accomplice created. And what is that, the itsy bitsy spider crawling up her back?

Happy 5th!

Really, already 5? We are so happy to have Eli and Adalie as part of our family. Both have brought so much joy and growth in our character . It's so fun to see their relationship with each other, and how it changes from year to year. It's so sad I don't remember much of their life as babies and toddlers -I may be blocking it out for a reason? I do remember both brand new from the hospital burrito rolled so tight, not a finger could escape. They would sleep right next to each other, and when the hunger started setting in, they would start to stir and find the others cheek or nose to suck on. It was amazing what they could sleep through. They were so different from the day they were born right down to the way they smelled. The way they ate, toys that interested them, the way they interacted...Addie all girl, Eli all boy (following stereotypes). They are so different but love each other so much, but of course not as much as we love each of them. Happy Birthday Shmee and Swirls!