Zig's Birthday: The Presents

Behold, King Ziggy and his pile of presents:

And if this boy can have a near aneurysm over a Batman toothbrush...

Imagine what he thought of his new shirt:

And his new costume:

Batman lives on.

Zig's Birthday: The Cake

Zig worked most of the day practicing his new age a la fingers:

And did you notice the quick-change to the new Batman shirt? Zig had to match his cake, of course.

Speaking of, kudos to the Pa for a great cake:

And to the Ma for cutting the cake with finesse:

Oh, and hats off to the Zig for being so stinkin' cute.

He has promised me for a few months now that he will not turn four on his birthday. That he will stay three years old and be squish squashy forever. He also promised me that he would never move out of our house and will take care of his Ma forever.

I'll let you know how that turns out.

Batman At Last

What might this be?

Mmmm-hmmm. The Batman Birthday Blast has finally come to pass.

And my baby boy is four.

More pictures to come.

Why Quiet Is Never Good

I didn't sign up for this, really I didn't.

I must have missed something in the fine print.

Calgon, take me away. Oh, and get that marker off my girl while you're at it.

Friends Are Friends Are Friends

My fears are abated. My faith is restored. Seems my boys actually have social skills. What, with home schooling, they are For Sure And For Certain to become Ingrown Introverts.

(Hey, I just report it like I hear it.)

But it's not like these kids don't have two strikes against them already, with both the Ma and the Pa avoiding social situations like the plague.

We like people. We do.

Especially the ones on TV.

So about those kids!

In Pa's regularly scheduled weekend outing to the parks around town, it is becoming more common for Campers and Zig to Make Friends and Create Games and Have Fun With Humanoids Outside Our Family Unit.

I mean, shocking!

So here they are with another such child, submitted as proof:

Well, but it appears Zig has to take a break from the crowd and pray to the playground gods:

And it looks like the Campers has to withdraw as well, for some much-needed "alone" and "thinking" time:

I figure a 23:1 ratio is good. 23 hours a day alone, 1 hour with people.

Oh wait. That's my need.

"Let's have three (four) kids," she says. "Who needs peace and quiet?" she says.

Sister Susie And A Discussion About White

At the park, on an 88-thousand degree day.

Please try to get past my blindingly-white arms (legs, face) and focus on the babe:

Yes. Much better.

Who looks cute in white?

And in shorts?

Certainly not the Ma. But who needs to look good when I have three kids to do that for me?

Oh, but Suz wanted to show you her knees.

With the shorts comes the scabs.

But the pudgy legs make up for it.

Picnic Prep

Grandma From The South captured this ridiculous shot of The Ma prepping for a picnic:

"To go boldly where no Ma has gone before! Climbing new heights every day!" And all that just for the happiness of the crowd.

I do what I can.

So we had ourselves a nice picnic in the park this past weekend:

That will be the first of many, for sure. Picnics are a favorite of the Ma and Pa Clan.

Stay tuned for other late-breaking headlining news.

Ma and Pa! And the kids! Ate outside!

And it was nice.

Birthday Girl - The Cake

At last the the butterfly birthday cake was decorated (completely) and good to go. We had to keep the cake (brownies, actually) in the fridge all day to keep the frosting from melting away.

Suz particularly liked the antenna:


Yeah, and we figured out how to get her to sit still. Serve up the cake.


Yep, she was really into that cake.


Even after everyone else left the table:


And had moved on to funner things:


Get the hose, folks. We've done had us a birthday party.

Birthday Girl - The Presents

The Suz turned two last weekend. Two!

But she is a perpetual busy body, so I guess I can believe she's reached That Glorious Age.

She spent most of her unwrapping time running around her presents, and away from her presents. All that was before the cake.


I nearly had to apply Velcro to her bottom to get her to sit still:


Oh! A chair might help:


Or not.

Off she went, mopping up the lawn:


Sweeping the driveway:


I might add it was 9000 degrees that weekend. And I'm only off by about 8906 numbers. Woo-eeee! We could have fried an egg on that sidewalk. But instead, we ate cake. Happy birthday, little Suz.

I Got Me A New Look, That I Did

And if you think I'm talking about my hairdo, think again. I change 'dos about every 15 years.

It's my blog! With a new design!!!

Compliments of the Pa and his Extra Extraordinary Abilities.

Junk In The Trunk

When the badonkadonk is larger than the purse, it's time to get a new purse.

That or a husband who is really good at Photoshop.

Sweet Tomatoes

(This shot is for our friends whose Sweet Tomatoes experience is epic.)

So we took the gang out to eat, which is an epic occasion all its own.

Campers was so delighted! At all! The food! It was everywhere! And all you could eat!

He told me that he wanted to eat there! Every day!

There's nothing like an all-you-can-stuff buffet to make your stomach cry out in pain. It was a good pain, though. I figure--if you're going to overeat, it might as well be on salad.

Well, that or cornbread:

Or cuteness:

Oh, wait. That's not food. But we still eat it up.

Or frozen yogurt, with sprinkles and chocolate sauce:

Happy times. And I had to get up from my chair only 867 times.

That's about 324 fewer times than when we eat at home, so I guess maybe we will eat at Sweet Tomatoes every day.

First Haircut

In preparation for her second birthday, I took Sister Susie for her first official haircut:

She just got a little trimmed off the back, to even up the ends.

And it sure seems like her hair is taking its own sweet time to grow. But here's a one-year-ago shot just for kicks.


Yeah, that's my girl.

The Kid In You

Being a kid means that if the garden tour bores you, you don't have to feign excitement.

Nose Pointing, Eyes, And Tickle Chicken

(Click to play)

Seems that Susie cannot point to her nose without pickin' it. Her brothers have taught her well.

And her "ears?" That spoken word is beyond her verbal ability. So, her ears have become her eyes.

And "tickle chicken" is just one of those goofy phrases Pa has her say because it's well, funny.

Note To Self: Orange Is Good

With the 90 degree heat wave busting in, I had to make a quick trip to the store for some new summer clothes.

Hope you like orange, because you'll be seeing a lot of it this summer.

That Zig? HE'S NOT WEARING THE BATMAN SHIRT.

And he's handsome, and growing up, just like his brother:

And may I just say that orange is a perfect color for keeping track of three squidgets at the park?

And orange you glad I showed you these pics?

Brings New Meaning To The Phrase, "Fake Smile."

Before a picture is taken, Campers will ask all snarky-like, "Am I supposed to SMILE for this picture, or what?"

And Zig just puts on his happy face, which needs a little help from the hands.

Reason # 1358 why we never go to Sears Portrait Studio anymore.

Family Fun Night At The Gym. Not Just For Kids Anymore.

So, I'm not sure how Grandma got talked into this, but it sure is funny:

And way to go Campers, pulling a mere 90 pounds in that load!

(I am soooo earning points. Cha-ching!)

And Ziggy took a spin on the trike, happily wearing the all-season shirt of the year:

Let the good times roll.

The Stuff That Memories Are Made Of

So the Suz had a birthday recently. And Pa is the official cake decorator, seeing as he possesses one major item of which I am in dire need of: Nerves.

So this cake. Pa started decorating the butterfly late at night before the day of the party. And for whatever reason, he forgot to connect and frost the tail piece of the butterfly. And so we woke the next morning to this:

And if you can look at that cake without tee-heeing and hoo-hawing, well, you must have attended some kind of finishing school that *I* did not.

And the boys?

I have never heard such giggling and non-stop silliness in my life.

So Pa set to frosting that tail real quick-like so that we could get on with our lives.

And here's the finished product:

Well done, Pa! Party pictures to come.

Oh, You Know. Ma The Teacher.

Since I just can't seem to get enough teaching in throughout the week, I decided to take up the challenge on the weekends too.

We are part of a church plant in our city, and I, in my aren't-I-so-loving and good-with-children ways, was asked to do the main lesson time with the kids.

I'm not sure who was more shocked at that request: Pa or Yours Truly. Because really, I am much more suited to hiding in the closet and doing "ministry" from there.

I like groups of kids, I do.

Just from miles and miles away.

So anyway.

Each lesson corresponds to what the adults are learning in Big Church, and I usually try to come up with something messy and hands-on for the chitlins to do. It's a true test of my creativity to keep a variety of kids engaged. Mostly I just sweat a few bullets until it's over.

Whowoulda thought? Ma Meets Children's Ministry. Shocking.

Lazy Days And Sundays

It's pretty normal that on weekends, I will spend the afternoon at home with Sleeping Sister Susie (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) while Pa takes the boys out and about.

So here they are at a park:

Playing between a couple of big trees:

Digging in the dirt, of course:

And showing Batman a stick.

Lazy days and Sundays. Can't get much better than that.