Scrub-a-dub-dub

Scrub-a-dub-dub THREE men in a tub...

Bath, Book, and Bed time in a house with 3 boys can be quite crazy! It's often the most hectic and chaotic time of day.

Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the amount of noise in the bathroom, the tons of water on the floor, and all the water-logged toys I have to pick up afterward. I try very hard to remember to be thankful that they are happy, healthy, and active little people. And that they are capable of having a good time together and love each other very much. One day they will bathe themselves and get dressed on their own and I'm sure I'll miss these times. Sam's already very close to being completely independent. I only have to follow-up with him now to make sure he's done everything thoroughly. So, I am realizing how short this phase is in the grand scheme!

In the meantime, to organize the chaos as much as possible, we usually bathe Ollie solo and stagger showers for Sambo and Fu. BUT sometimes we get really brave and throw all three in at once! And occasionally we'll put them in as little boys and they come out as old men with white beards!!!













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School-year's-eve

It's SCHOOL YEAR'S EVE!!! And how does What's Bakin' spend the last official weekend of summer vacation? Well...

I've kinda had the gotta-cram-as-much-as-possible-into-these-last-few-days syndrome because I always wonder if we've done enough, if they've enjoyed themselves, and created good memories. I'm pretty sure they have but I just want to be reassured.

We decided to spend our last Friday being lazy and staying in pj's until lunchtime one last time. In the late afternoon we made a lemonade stand. It was no average lemonade stand. Sam named it the "RUSH HOUR LEMONADE STAND"! We live on a quiet street and rarely have steady traffic, except at peak hours. We figured rush hour would be the best time for customers. And who doesn't need a refreshing drink after work?!?

The crew at Rush Hour Lemonade Stand

 Sam's signage
I love that Sam is his mother's child. He wanted to coordinate the sign with the red polka dot pitcher and yellow lemonade. Presh!!!

We ended the night at the park after supper hitting some baseballs and running wild!

Sam at bat

Oliver

My Fu monkey

Saturday, Sam participated in a pick-up baseball game with some of his PBL buddies. He went 3 for 4 at bat, which is great for a rusty little ball player.

My catcher

In the field

We topped our day off with a back-to-school/daddy's birthday dinner at our fave Japanese restaurant. Even with uber stuffed bellies, they still begged to go get frozen yogurt at yummilicious. When we got home Sam said, "mommy, this was the best back to school night ever!!" And Fulton chimed in, "yeah, it was awesome!" It made my heart smile!

Being super busy, Sunday rolled around quickly! And what better way to celebrate the upcoming school year than with...

A School Year's Eve Party!!!!

Shannon and I hosted an ice cream social at our pool. It rained cats and dogs just as it was time to start, but that didn't stop anyone! The parents took cover and the kids swam in the rain!!!

We returned home because Shan had a meeting to go to, which was going to hinder our "birthday party" plans for him, but fortunately, he didn't have to go at the last minute. So we had an impromptu supper and cake to celebrate.

 Happy 37th, Shan!!!! We love you more than you know!!!

 My favorite testosterone posse having a bedtime birthday party for daddy

It's best to keep the ollie monster stripped down until he has destroyed his cake and ice cream

The diaper wasn't even salvageable! I think that's a sign that he enjoyed it.

The boys were all tuckered out and ready for bed early after a fun-filled school year's eve. It was a delightful end to a wonderful summer!!!

Best wishes to all of you starting school this week!

Friday edition of Have You Ever

My 5 readers will probably have me committed after this post. If they don't, they'll definitely say..."homegirl is losing it!" And technically, this the 1st edition of "Have You Ever", but "Friday Edition" sounds like something people always look forward to reading.

Any-who!

Have you ever...
Felt sorry for something that doesn't actually have feelings?
No?
Oh well! I do.
So, here's my story.

When I was a little girl I had several favorite stuffed animals (lovies, as they are called now). I'd snuggle up with all of them at night. There were about six or seven of them. Every night as I'd be drifting off into dreamland, I'd have a few on either side of me. As a rule, my arms had to be stretched across each one of them. If not, I would feel sorry for the one(s) left out. I remember waking up and noticing the lone lovie and thinking, "awww, poor Puff-a-lump!"

I know it sounds weird, but times have not changed. I often find myself still doing that. In recent weeks it was over a plant that was given to us when Sambo was born. I have been nurturing this plant for almost 9 years. Now it looks like this...




We went to the beach and I returned to find it looking oh so sad and have not been able to revive it. I'm pretty sure it's a goner. Which really stinks because my goal was to give it to Sam when he bought his first home.

Back to my point...
I have found myself feeling sorry for the dumb plant!!!! Does it feel neglected and sad? How will it feel on the trash pile? Perhaps I shouldn't feel sorry for it at all. Maybe it was relieved to get out of this crazy house and move onward to plant heaven.

Then today, I was eating baby carrots and hummus for a snack and it brought more feelings of sympathy (if that's even possible, because i'm the only one with feelings). Not because I was eating the carrots, but because of this...





The poor abnormally long carrot in the bag of baby carrots. I wonder how it must have felt. That is, if it could feel.

On a different note...
School starts back on Monday!! So hopefully I will regain some sanity and you will no longer have to read posts like this. ;-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone...cuz dats how I roll, yo!

Pool days

Pool days, pool days

Soon to be the school days!

My goodness, how the summer has flown. I think it's gone faster than any I can remember. We have really enjoyed our trips to the lake and beach with great friends and family, lazy days hanging around the house making paper guitars and air planes, our mornings at the gym with fellow gym-rats in the nursery, and our afternoons at the pool with friends.

I'm always a little sad to see the summer go and school start. However, it doesn't take long before the routine sets in and we get the hang of it again.

We have lots to look forward to this school year. Fulton starts 5k! Real big-boy school!! Even though he did the all-day 4k program last year, this is still a huge milestone. Sam will be in T-H-I-R-D grade. I can't even say it!! I really remember 3rd grade. Ya know? I have some memories of 5k-2nd, but I REALLY remember 3rd grade. Don't you?

Any who...as the pool days are numbered, we are soaking up the sun and good times at the QL. Hanging on to it as tight as we can!

Fu's monster goggles

Water baby

Sam walks on water

Fulton's jack-knife

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