Check Ups - Check!

The Zoo Babies had their annual check-ups yesterday. All is well! We got to meet our new pediatrician who took over our retiring pediatrician's patients back in June. And she is lovely! An added bonus is that her eldest daughter who is five has struggled with severe eczema all her life also (and still has problems), so Dr. P understands the struggle that we're having with Tooter.

It's nice to have someone with a true sympathy for the daily frustration and battle.

All their lab work came back "perfect", and they are growing like the little flowers that they are. ::awwwww:: ;-)

In all seriousness, though, everything is on track - and we give all the glory to God for their good health!

To Our Veterans Everywhere

Thank you for your service and your loyalty. For your bravery and your sacrifice.

We always want them home, but we always need them there. THANK YOU!

You're looking for what?

So, last night, we went over to Patty and Rodney's house for an impromptu burger grilling. Patty and I have ideas of getting all the kids familiar with each other so that there could be some possible date night trading some time in the future.

The kids have "eaten" (Grace was the only one to actually finish anything at all), and the grown-ups are sitting in the kitchen enjoying some great burgers et al, and Poodle comes buzzing through the kitchen with an I'm-on-a-mission look in her eyes. And she let's us all know:
"I'm looking for my diarrhea".

Excuse me?

The four of us are laughing, she has NO idea what is so terribly funny, and I get the impression from her that she thinks we're all a bit looney.

I tell her to let me know when she finds it, because let's face it, I'm really curious to see what poor object has been renamed diarrhea.

She scoots around a corner, bends over and picks up the missing object, and declares with pride "I found it!"

Poor Grace's flower-adorned DIARY is the recipient of this unfortunate nickname, and I dare say Poodle may never live it down.

Happy Birthday MooMoo!!!

We love you!!! And hope that you have a wonderful day today!

Since our schedule cleared...

I thought I'd post this picture from Robert's birthday dinner last week! We went to a local Indian restaurant, and we all got to try some fantastic food that we had never had before. It's one of Robert's favorite places, and I can understand why. Super nice. They were really accommodating of the kids, too.

This was supposed to be a picture just of Robert, Jaime, and Baby Audrey - but as you can see, Poodle didn't want them to feel lonely. ::ahem::

Now, as to why our schedule cleared today. Poodle had a bit of an upset tummy last night. Threw up about 30 minutes after she went to bed - but, didn't run any fever at all, and hasn't thrown up since. I feel like she just ate something that disagreed with her (maybe too many cashews yesterday afternoon!), but just in case, I decided to keep them home from our community service project this morning with the CHEC group. I think there is a bit of a tummy bug going around, and in the slim chance that she did have it, I didn't want to pass it on to anyone else. We were supposed to help them stuff goody bags for their big fundraiser this weekend. Hopefully we'll be able to go back soon!

Treat or Trick - 2007

The Zoo Babies getting ready to Trick or Treat this year!

Poodle was a ballerina. (I swear - totally her idea. Absolutely no help, hints, or nudges from me at all. She even put together her own costume!)

Tooter..... okay. Long story. lol.... See, he WAS just going to ride in the stroller. Let's face it - trick or treating at not quite 2 years old is more for the parents than the kids. But, this was Poodle's first year to go ToT'ing, and she was so excited, and she just felt like Toot HAD to be dressed up as something. And then I found this old (and too small) costume in the back of his closet that MooMoo had bought last year just for a dress up thing for funsies..... and, well, one thing led to another - and by the time Jmk got home from work on Halloween day, Toot was officially declared a Manny Bug! (No, he was NOT a Lady Bug. He was a Manny Bug).

So, anyway, the kids went ToT'ing for the first time ever, and were home before dark, and managed to be in bed only about 30 minutes past their regular bed time. It was a lot of fun, and Poodle was SO proud of herself. When she finished her first house, her exact words were "I did it!!!" And she was laughing and skipping and having the best time. It was so fun! And she keeps talking about all her "nice neighbors". I think Jmk and I had a pretty good time too.

Poodle was really excited about getting to go this year! I think she was a little nervous, but was SO proud of herself after she got thru with the first house! I'll hopefully get October pictures up sometime this week so you can see more of her escapades.

This would be arabesque a' la babyballerina for those playing at home.

The trick or treaters at work.

Actually, this is the only house where we let Toot go to the door. We know Mr. Sammy well enough that if Toot had beebopped into his house, we wouldn't have been completely embarrassed.

For MooMoo & GaGa

All the little ballerina pictures must have you reminiscing. I thought you'd enjoy seeing this. (Click on the picture to see a bigger image, if you need to).

:-)

Website Update

Good afternoon!

I've got pictures up from September and from Poodle's birthday. Website address is described above. Happy Friday!!!

I'm jealous.

Okay, see, some 7'ish years ago, my mom gave each of her munchkins the complete set of Narnia books by C.S. Lewis. For whatever reason, I never got around to reading them.

Well, I just did.

First, let me say that these books are so wonderful!!! I am really looking forward to my kids reading them. Almost as much as I'm looking forward to Poodle reading the Anne of Green Gables series. No.... I think just as much! Anyway, they are just great, and being able to read all of them - not just The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - has been SO much fun. Even if I am "30'something".

Now, the whole jealousy thing. I am jealous. Of little Lucy. Queen Lucy. Specifically, the relationship that she has with Aslan. Obviously, she is an example of the type of relationship - the type of overwhelming, all encompassing relationship - that we can have with our Lord, Christ. One where the mere mention of His name brings swelling love into our hearts, and we become fully distracted trying to seek Him.

Oh, I became so aware of the utter lukewarm'ness of my faith and my feelings. I told Jmk about how I was feeling somewhere around Prince Caspian, and he totally knew what I was talking about.

I need to be walking closer in my daily life and I need to be less adult and more childlike in my faith in order to love Him more. The love that brings joy and true happiness. Lucy-love!

Happy Birthday Amy!!!

We love you!!!

(And Happy Halloween to the rest of you boring normal people who don't get to have your birthday today. ::wink:: )

AND - Happy Birthday Robert!!!

We love you!

God designs the children.

For the past week or so, I went through a mommy-burnout slump. It's something I'm sure all parents go through every once in a while, but the stay-at-home variety (for those who deal with burnout), tend to have a more dramatic time coming out of it. Mostly because, as you can imagine, there is no break from what is "causing" the burnout. One can't take a vacation day.

ANYway, (and I wasn't fishing for sympathy there, I promise!) during said burnout, I wasn't the most pleasant thing my children have ever seen. My fuse was short, my ability to remember to pray for patience was apparently on the blink, and my aptitude for understanding fell quite short of acceptable levels.

Oh, for the sake of pete. I was a BEAR. An absolute bear.

So, anyway, yesterday, I got to leave for a couple of hours for a Junior Miss meeting. Tooter (who usually doesn't do this) got a bit distraught that I left, and according to Jmk, never really got happy about the idea of my being gone. And today, he has been quite the velcro baby.

My point, you ask? (What - you can't tell from my disjointed story?) If they were adults, and I had spent the past week being.... well, the way I was being.... I doubt either one of them would have wanted much to do with me. But our Father doesn't create tiny adults. He makes children who are loving and forgiving no matter what. WE're the ones who turn these precious little things into, well, adults. Tooter wasn't happy about my leaving for a couple of hours last night, even though I haven't been a model mom lately. Even though.

God is the author of Even Though. You've probably heard it called Grace and Mercy.

Truly Delightful Movie

Miss Potter starring Rene'e Zellwegger and Ewan McGregor

If you haven't seen this movie, or if you're like me and didn't know the movie existed until you saw it recommended on someone else's blog (hat tip to The Beehive!), then you have missed a wonderful treat. Put it on your list, and get it delivered asap. It's wonderful, it will make you smile and laugh and feel good and cry a little bit too.

AND, since I didn't know anything about Beatrix Potter's life, it was so interesting to me too.

Big double thumbs up from the Zoo!

Dirt dirt dirt.

What's better than being an almost two year old boy and having an entire truck full of DIRT to play with?











Jmk was spreading topsoil in the bare spots in the backyard, so as to spread some rye seed for the winter. Hopefully cut down on the muddy spots - and the kids got to "help". Poodle felt so grown-up.... But Tooter just thought it was the coolest thing in the world that he could play in the dirt with absolutely NO comments from Mommy!

Our Trip to the Fire Station

I hate to bump the pictures of Jmk's mom's fantastic work, but I promised to get these posted.

Since our trip to the Canton Corn Maze was canceled today due to inclement weather, I feel that I just ought to get the pictures posted from our field trip last week!

Some of the kids from the CHEC group met up at a local Fire Station to learn and have fun. It was a little advanced for my munchkins - Toot was mostly irritated that I wouldn't let him out of the stroller, and Poodle got lost in some of the technical talk. BUT, overall it was a good trip AND was fun for all the kids. Some of us stayed and enjoyed a picnic in the park afterwards and the kids got to play and get dirty. The moms mostly sweated. It was H-O-T hot that day!

This first picture shows a really smart thing that the fire fighters did for the kids. One of the men dressed out completely in all his gear, mask included. Their purpose was to let the kids know that if they are ever in trouble (God forbid), they should not be scared of someone dressed like this. Pretty good idea! They also let us hear the automatic siren that is activated when a firefighter is motionless for more that a minute. Eerie sound. They told us that if we were to ever hear footage (not see, hear) from 9-11, we would hear these sirens going off from the rubble of the Towers. It was a clarifying moment for us.

One of the really neat things they did for the kids was raise the ladder on their ladder truck, and then one of the firemen climbed to the very top of it.

You should have seen some of the kids' faces - they were captivated!

Watching the kids watching the fireman climb the ladder. That was the most quiet they were the whole day. Not counting the oooh's and aaah's, of course.