Gay Pride Parade!!

We had a great time today! There were so many people and they were all so nice and free spirited. I really enjoyed myself and I know Bob, Bree and the boys did as well. There weren't as many people as we had hoped and while we got a lot of people that we can refer to other firms, not a lot that will be for us. But that is not a bad thing, referrals to other firms brings files referred to us, so not a total loss. Although I think Bob and I spent way too much time printing information that people didn't care about.

So I was running late, as always but we made it there with plenty of time. It was sooooo hot and we were all dripping. Luckily, Bob brought towels so we all got to wipe down every once in a while. The boys behaved perfectly and I was really proud of them. Nick listened really well all day and was really a good boy. We walked around a little after the parade and got to see a great stand for families trying to adopt. They had bouncers and some water fun which Nick really enjoyed. I signed up to help and hopefully when the Bill is in Florida for voting again, it will be passed and anyone will be able to adopt. Currently the law is against Gays in the state and they can't marry, adopt but, ironically, they can do foster care. Hopefully it will change next year so that some of these families already around and wanting to be started can be complete.

There weren't a ton of protesters. A few in the beginning and then they were corralled into a specific area after that. The first guy had a loud speaker phone but you couldn't hear a thing since a lesbian couple behind him had a siren sounding on her speaker phone. SOOOOO funny. Hopefully I am not offending anyone, but it was really enjoyable to watch it. There was one church that was in the parade supporting gays and they have a lot of members and are considered an Affirmative Church. Can't remember the name though, sorry. Overall, we had a great time and did a lot of stuff. The kids were pooped and really hot but it was fun. We will definitely be there next year!

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False alarm.

So I am apparently a mom who freaks out over nothing. The nurse met us outside, took a couple of looks at Alex and said - nope not the pox. So, better safe than sorry. We continued on to the library where Nick and I read several books, one being - "Don't Bite" (Nick's choices here), "Do's and Don'ts" and "Vehicles". After that we got "Flags of Our Fathers", I just got done with Flyboys and LOVED IT!!! Very well written for non-fiction, almost reads like fiction so it was wonderful to read. We also got a few other WWII books as I have become obsessed with the subject, mainly the Pacific War. After that we continued on to BayLife Church to give the Mayhews our stuff, they were so sweet and Annissa knew me by name, what a considerate and nice person and a great family! After that we went to Cracker Barrel and were able to meet Jeff for lunch since he got off right when we arrived. What a nice day and although I am now behind on work, it was well worth it. So no trouble with Gay Pride Day. Although they said that we might encounter protesters, I hope so. I told Jeff I would beat them with my children if I do. So I will give you an update after the Big Day!

Polka Dot Fever!

So, there is a possibility that Alex has the Chicken Pox. Rachel Mayhew, who goes to our church had them after Church Camp, which means that every child at Church Camp was exposed to them and then probably went to church on Sunday. The doctor's office said there have been a lot of cases of them lately and they will have to start doing 2 vaccines for them.

We are going to the doctor this morning to find out if it is actually Chicken Pox. It is like a top secret mission. We have to call them when we get there and someone will come and take us directly to the room. Alex is definitely not feeling good and has been super cranky the last two days with today being the worse. I had to make sure with Jeff's mom that he had the pox so he doesn't get sick. Luckily, his brother Mike brought them home in Kindergarten. I hope this doesn't mess up our Gay Pride Day celebrations, we will have to see. . .

Our sissies!

We love our sissies. Nick is having a hard time remembering that lately as he thinks Angel is a toy we got for him to play with, but I will beat the memory into him until he is nice to her.

Shawnee smiles!

I know it is a little scary, but Greyhounds are known for "Smiling". Shawnee is so happy, several Greyhounds I know will do this when they meet someone and bark at the same time, they are literally "Smiling" like a person. It can be a little intimidating when they run up to you showing their teeth.

WHAT A WEEKEND!

So I started the weekend at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, fed the baby and then got to work. Jeff did too, so at least I wasn't alone being up that early. We continued to clean out the house and toys, I learned that I get entirely too much junk at yard sales and it is time to stop shopping! There is a fund raiser this weekend for Peyton Mayhew from my church so I wanted to give them some stuff. I managed to scrounge up a measely - 6 garbage bags, extra car seat, a huge box, a bouncer, 2 swings and various other items. I can manage to crawl through my garage now and believe it or not we are making a difference (can you imagine how bad it was before the 6 bags!) We then had my friend Bree over to hang out and went to CiCi's for dinner. We had a great time with her and always love to see her!

On Sunday we got up early and went out to eat at Cracker Barrel where Jeff gets to serve us (Lucky him, he can serve me at home AND at work). We continued on to Church, then home for a nap. After that we went to our friend Samanth's daughter's first birthday party. It was at their community pool and we had a great time.
What a great goody bag.

We had a hard time leaving the wonderful and cool water but finally left and went to a softball game with some friends. Jeff arranged the entire game and it turned out great. Although we lost by a ton, we had a lot of HOT and SWEATY fun. It was hotter than Haitis and I was sweating like an old man. The kids were exhausted but had a great day.
Alex and Grandma

She watched boths the kids while we played. It was great to have a few minutes away from the babes.
Alex learned to hold his sippy cup, he loves the thing and now I can possibly leave him for a few hours and not worry! He wouldn't touch a bottle, both times we tried:)

Happy Belated Father's Day!

So it is a little late, but


HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!





For Father's Day we made a cute and useless "Love Bouquet". We painted Daddy a picture and then cut out our (not me) hands and feet and put them in a pot on straws. So, even though its late (wasn't at the time), we still mean it. To my Daddy - Hope you had a great day, still haven't spoken to you, but I'm sure you had a good one and got my message!
Nothing says "I love you" like some video game action! Yes, I let Nick watch TV for this, although Jeff knows he isn't usually allowed, does he care - Nope.

FEED ME SEYMOUR!!

The Monster has come out! Lurking in the dark he has now fully emerged. What seems like an extremely happy and easy going baby can turn (in a second), into. . .

LITTLE BABY OF HORRORS. . .
When he says FEED ME, he means it! He will not settle for Hang on a Minute, Let me finish what I'm doing, or even, this isn't baby food! He wants food and he wants it NOW! So watch out!!

Jeff!

Does anyone find it odd that Sarah, Emily and I are all married to Jeffs! It is always odd talking to Sarah and saying "Tell Jeff I said hello" and she says "Tell your Jeff I said hello too". Well now Emily can tell her Jeff hello as well.

Speaking "Nick"

He played with this house the other day for about 1.5 hours, what a great toy (which we have had for 2 years now and he loves it!).

So Nick has his own language going on right now. I can translate for most people but sometimes I don't even get it. He loves to read his Pooh books, we have almost 20 of them and he can't get enough. He will tell you which one he wants to read - "Pecial" translates to "everyone is special", "home weet" translates to "home sweet home", "up isten igger" translates to "listen up tigger" and so on. Sometimes he will call them by something other than the name to just give you a story of what happens in it. They usually start with one word, for example:





Nick: Bloon!


Me: You see a balloon?


Nick: Igger Bloon!


Me: Tigger had a balloon?


Nick: Tree!


Me: Tigger was supposed to tie the balloons to the tree?


Nick: Pop!


Me: Tigger was supposed to tie the balloons to the tree but he popped them?


Nick: Kanga roo!


Me: Kanga told tigger to tie the balloons to the top of the tree but he popped them?


Nick: Sorry. . . igger say sorry?


Me: Kanga told tigger to tie the balloons to the top of the tree but he popped them and then he said sorry.


Nick: (just smiles and remembers the great story)

THEN:

Nick: Muck!


Me: What?


Nick: Muck!!


Me: You want milk?


Nick: Mik?


Me: You want milk?


Nick: Naw. Muck!!!!


Me: What?!?


Nick: Muck!!!! (he runs and goes into his room)


Me: MUD????


Nick: Muck, Igger muck baff.


Me: OOOHHHH, Tigger took a mud bath.


Nick: Pecial.


Me: Tigger took a mud bath in Everyone is Special?


Nick: laughs like a mad scientist and thinks of the great story.





Tonight I found a pull up someone gave me about 4 and a half years ago when we didn't have kids. I thought, mmm, tonight we can get a good night sleep if Nick wears this. So I put it on him after his bath. He was holding it and looking at it funny, I think it had Disney on it and he had no idea who that was (not a lot of Mickey stories around). I asked him: What is this?, he said: A Napkin. I said: No, its a diaper, we just don't use these kind. So I put it on him and he said "no naps?" - "no snaps"; "no cover" He thought it was very odd to wear a napkin to bed without snaps or a cover! What a riot!!

Brothers and Sisters

They love eachother!

Nick is talking A LOT now (although you can't understand too much) and he loves to talk to brother who laughs at everything he says. We call them both brother, like the Bernstein Bears. Mainly that is Alex's name: Is brother sleeping? Show brother your toy? Good morning brother! When I was growing up I was always Sister and I loved it. The girls (Shawnee and Angel) are the "Sisters".

I loved the story of this photo. It really talks to me for some reason. Angel loves her brothers and they love her! She is always laying close to them and gives kisses as much as possible.

Doggie kisses!

My Sunshine!

Alex loves to have his photo taken, he thinks the camera is wonderful (so does Nick for that matter)

He can't sit up yet but I swear he is close to crawling! I can't wait until he can chase Nick around the house.

He just started eating solids and LOVES everything. He is so happy to sit at the table and eat with everyone else, he goes after everything like it is food.

He is attacking the teddy bear (ginormous teddy (2.5' tall) I made when Nick was a baby, I love it and so do the kids!) The quilt was made by my sister from this last Christmas, it is my favorite and I use it for everything now.

(The ginormous teddy)

Premier Jewelry?!

So a friend has talked me into starting with this company and I admit I am pretty excited. The commissions are really great but the start-up amount is insane. I have cheated the system and I am trying to buy all of the initial jewelry on ebay because I am just plain CHEAP! I am going through the company for the paperwork and the main stuff, but the jewelry I can get so much cheaper through other people. Although I am getting a ton of stuff for my money (if I win the bids). So any input anyone can give me I would appreciate.

I won't sign the paperwork until Monday or Tuesday, so at least there is time. I really hope it works out and I make some moula! The girl who is signing me up made back her start-up money after 3 shows. I hope I can be that successful, I know I am a good salesperson and love to talk, so it shouldn't be that hard.

Also, anyone want some jewelry, I know where you can get it! And I have to tell you this stuff is really beautiful and not that expensive, this coming from someone who doesn't really wear or own hardly anything. I loved it once she brought out her display stuff.

Ybor City

We went to Ybor City today for dinner and had a great time. It is the historic 7th Avenue which originated as the hispanic factories that made the cigars near downtown Tampa that has been brought back to its original glory. There are historic electric trolleys and it is really fun. I love to go into a cute consignment store that has original historic outfits. Everything is around $80-$400 so it is just fun to look.



Alex got tired on the trolley.
Nick got a cute paper trolley to play with, he loved to watch the construction and hear the bells ringing for traffic.
It was a windy day and Alex's hair was flying around.

We rode the trolley to a park and had a great time playing around.

Here I am in my new skirt from the 50s or 60s.

The boys had fun wrestling.

What a great day.

GOODBYE my love!

ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!

TO. . .

What a good boy, he is sitting on phone books and as still as can be.

The quarter in his pocket doesn't hurt, the prize of candy is extremely tempting!

All of his beautiful hair disappears!

See the happy look on Daddy's face, he hated the Hawk!

SIR, YES SIR!

And then we have a happy and militant looking little boy. When you ask about his hair all he talks about is how he got candy and had to chew it.

At least it is less work. . . until it is my turn to cut his hair again!