Picture Catch Up

Happy 5th Birthday! Lacy requested chocolate crinkle cookies instead of cake

Still shy sometimes when you snap a picture!

Haley & Colby hanging out before Jennifer hit the road

Front porch popsicle time!

Haley LOVED her first popsicle!

Happy girl!

' 'Cause you need goggles in a pool that's 4 inches deep

Painting our pots to plant flowers

Harper making her MESSterpiece

Love doing crafts with them!

Lily & Lacy's birthday party!

Harper making sure she eats every last crumb

Lacy with her peeps

Lily with her peeps

Preschool Graduation...they even played Pomp & Circumstance. Jason had to roll his eyes at that!

She LOOKS super sweet!

Action shot...blowing out the candles on the cake she & Lacy decorated

Opening Rapunzel

Pink Rubber Pancakes

Need to blog about birthdays and parties but didn't want to forget this...Lacy requested pink heart shaped pancakes for her birthday dinner. On their birthday, they get to pick whatever they want for meals that day. So, after spending time making the batter the right shade of hot pink, using our heart shaped pancake mold, produced her requested pancakes.
Me, "How do your pancakes taste?"
Lacy, "Well, you know how when you haven't eaten something for a long time and then you eat it..you know how it kind of tastes like rubber?"
Me, "What?"
Lacy, "You know, when you haven't eaten it in a long time, it tastes like rubber"
Me, "Are you saying your pancakes tastes like rubber"
Lacy, "ummm..yeah"

What will I look like?

Living near a cemetary always leads to questions about Heaven, dead people,etc. & yesterday, as we headed to the park on a hot, sunny day (finally!), here was a snippet of their conversation:

Lily, "That's the where the dead people are"
Me, "That's where their bodies are, I bet alot of their souls are up in the Heaven"
Lily, "Will I go to Heaven when I'm 6?"
Me, "Probably not, probably when you're really old"
Lily, "What will I look like when I'm really old?
Lacy, "Probably like Grandpa"
Lily, "No, I won't! I don't look anything like Grandpa"

Caught!

So, we had our first experience with STEALING! And I just knew it was going to be Lacy, she's such a "stuff" person and our big hoarder of the group. I routinely clean stuff out of her bed because if I don't, she tends to accumulate tons of little things which are then put into various containers that she also collects like Altoid tins, oatmeal containers, shoe boxes,etc. So, I opened up her oatmeal container to find some coins, chapsticks, littlest pet shop pets, some Barbie shoes AND an unopened little container of Mentos gum. I was LIVID! I called her upstairs and began the inquisition.
Me, "Lacy, where did you get this?"
Lacy, "From the toy store" lip is trembling at this point
Me, "That's stealing, you know that's stealing? When you take something without paying for it?"
Lacy, "Cause I didn't ask you?"
Me, "It's against the law to steal, to take things from the store without paying. Mommy is just so upset"
Lacy, "I'm sorry"
Jason was in a meeting but I sent him a text, "Lacy stole gum. Any advice?" Of course he replied we should take her back to the store to return it and apologize. Figuring doing it right away would have the most impact, woke the little ones up from their nap, told Lacy to get her piggy bank because she was paying for the gum and loaded everyone up. Of course Lacy couldn't steal from Walmart a mile up the road, she has to steal gum from a store all the way in Gurnee. So, during rush hour, Lacy and I practiced what she needed to say & even though I was so upset and embarassed, I was also proud of her because when we got to the store, she spoke up when I told her it was time and said, "I'm sorry I took your gum and didn't pay for it" When Jason got home, he read her a Ten Commandments bible story and explained it's not just our rules but it's one of God's rules that we don't steal. I hope & pray she got it and that Lily got it too. Later, Lily asked for a snack and I told her no. She said, "we're not having a snack because Lacy steals???" Progress not perfection!

Lacy's Mother's Day

Lacy's school put together a cookbook compiled of all the kids favorite recipes that we sent in & then the back page were questions that the kids answered about their Moms. Here's what Lacy's said:
My Mom's name is Jenny (great, she knows my name)
My Mom's favorite color is: Aqua (this is really Lacy's favorite color)
My Mom always wears pants
I want to buy my Mom a new faucet for Mother's Day (when I asked her why, she said it's because ours is so dirty, awesome)

Jason also gave the girls each gift cards to give me from different stores. Lacy gave me one from the GAP, she said it's so I can buy more sweatshirts. Ummm...I guess I should start wearing some different shirts besides GAP sweatshirts since she can now read GAP and counts it as one of her sight words.

I just teasing...

I'm fixing lunch, Harper's already at the table and yells out, in her happy go lucky sing song voice
"Mommy, I pooped in my panties"
Me, "Harper, you what?"
Harper,"I just teasing Mommy"
She did this ALL day long today...outside, playing in the playroom. Jason thinks it's hysterical that she knows how to tease and make up jokes already. Which is great,I just wish her jokes didn't center around something I may have to potentially spend time cleaning up.

Happy Mother's Day!

This year was a little more special just because the girls prepared their gifts as a surprise at school. I never thought I would get sentimental over the "treasures" that they made but I did get a wee bit choked up. Days before Mother's Day, here was a conversation before school one day.
All of us are watching for Lily's bus in the playroom.
Lily, "Mommy, I'm not going to tell you what I got your for Mother's Day but I will give you one clue. It grows"
Me, "Hmmm...is it a baby boy? Babies grow and we don't have a boy one."
Lily, "Nope. I'll give you one more clue. It's got dirt"
Me, "Maybe a worm. Worms grow and they like dirt?"
Lacy, " I know, it's a plant!"
Lily, "LACY! I'm not giving anymore clues because I don't want you guessing!"
So, on the way to church, it comes up again...
Lily, "I'm not going to tell you what I got you for Mother's Day but I'll give you a clue, it has leaves"
Me, "Maybe a Christmas tree? It has leaves."
Lily, "No, I can't grow a Christmas tree & I GREWED (still working on our verb tense) your present"
Me, "Gosh, I don't know what it could be!