Lizard Lou's Cuz

Remember this guy?  Well, his cousin hitched a ride with us to church last week.  He not only made it all the way to church, but he made it with a beetle in his mouth.  The excitement of trying to get out of the car without letting him in gave the kids much to tell their teachers.  Right before we left to come home, one teacher said, "You think the lizard is waiting for you?"  I figured two hours later there was little chance.  However, I was wrong!  Cuz was still there waiting to go home with us.  Whether or not he really made it, I am not so sure because he made a dash for the inside of the car (probably wanted a more comfy ride home) when I opened the trunk to put in the stroller.  I explained in no uncertain terms that his ticket was for outside-only passage.  He got out, but we soon lost track of him under the car.

(PS, it was a bit creepy driving down the road with him only inches from my face on the side of my window)

some rowdier cows with permanent spots

This year's trip to ChickFilA for Cow Appreciation Day was almost too much for me solo at lunch time.  It is just challenging keeping up with three little cows who are all less likely to eat and more likely to run in and out of the play room, back and forth to the bathroom etc... We did get to see a calf though.

Dinner was quite a bit easier with Daddy.  (not to mention the second restaurant layout is far more conducive to little kids).

Both locations had the ChickfilA cow walking around waving to the kids.  Abigail was entranced and kept waving and saying "Hi!  Hi" but the minute he came over to her, she was far less certain and a bit nervous.  She was all entranced again though the minute he was an arm's length away.

We experimented with our spots.  Black and white contact paper were nowhere to be found at 2 different stores so we tried duct tape instead.  I discovered the permanence was a bit more than we hoped for.  The tape residue was extremely hard to remove once we pulled them off.  Fortunately, all but one set of shorts did come clean.  Next year, we will all sport trash bags with spots...

Why this post is late...

I had intended to post this post for June/July pics of E and D mid month.  Let's just say, the reason for the tardiness has everything to do with the latest in the life of one of these two.

I was so appreciative for a post that one of my friends wrote a few weeks ago.  She is in the midst of a challenging time with one of her three (soon to be four), and she kindly expressed this challenge as being a time of great opportunity for spiritual growth in both her life and her daughter's life.  Both have the opportunity to become more like Christ daily.  This about sums up some challenges on our front too.  The terrible threes are truly a bit fierce.  Lots of temper tantrums, deceitfulness, and an overarching defiance. She displays her heart so well when she wails (quite frequently) "I want to be the Mommy!"  However, I too have displayed quickness to anger and complete frustration in a way that does not please the Lord either.  We are both being stretched in a very uncomfortable way.  And in the midst of this, E has decided that she no longer needs naps.  This month distinctly has brought an end to them almost entirely.  This explains the difficulty getting in any time to post or even think about posting to the blog.  Quiet time in her room is almost as hard to enforce, but especially with all the battles going on, we both need the time to decompress.

Other than that, we have a rather pleasant month with a more relaxed pace.  We have even gotten outside in our "big" pool as well as the neighborhood pool once.

All the kids have gotten their free book from the summer reading program at the library (as well as several other places).

And there has also been quite a bit of dressing up!

 

May we both grow in beauty and grace this next month.

the only reading...

...I can manage these days is all the kid's books we read several times a day.

Here are some recommendations based off of several months of library finds.

Mr. Tuggle's Troubles by LeeAnn Blankenship.  It is a humorous story about a disorderly man who can't ever seem to find his clothes.  Gradually he goes to work with replacements for shirt, hat, pants, shoes etc...  I laughed because it reminded me so of my kids.  He realizes he can't find his clothes because his room is such a mess.

Mrs. Pig's Night Out by Ros Asquith.  Once again, humorous because so often true to my life.  It is about a mother that goes out and leaves the father in charge of the kids.  They, meanwhile, stay up all night and end with a pillow fight and Dad Pig falling asleep.  As they hear mom come in, they all jump into bed and pretend to be fast asleep.  And the sweetest part?  Mother Pig compliments her husband on taking care of the kids well even though it is readily apparent what had been going on while she was gone.

Wiggle by Doreen Cronin.  I like this author anyway.  She has fun books about talking animals etc...This book was just a fun rhyming book that got everyone moving.

Not All Animals Are Blue by Beatrice Boutignon.  Various animals on each page are dressed similarly with only subtle differences.  The descriptions have the children guessing which animal they are describing on the page.  Fun for younger kids.

Gobble Gobble Moo Tractor Book by Jez Alborough.  The various farm animals make their sounds representing various sounds a tractor makes.  It is also very fun for younger children to repeat.

The Donkey and the Rock by Demi.  It is an ancient Tibetan folktale that has an interesting moral at the end.  It is rather humorous and gently teaches that idle curiosity ("busy-bodyness," if that is a word)  is not profitable.

When the Wind Blew by Alison Jackson.  A mixed-up nursery rhyme tale that has fun illustrations. For an older child or adult, it is fun to spy the different nursery rhymes alluded to.  It went past my kid's heads but, they enjoyed it nonetheless.

Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul Zelinsky.  Probably my favorite (or close to)  of those reviewed today.  It is humorous both for kids and adults.  The storyline shows a play rehearsal where different letters are represented by various items, but there is an overly eager moose who wants his time in the limelight and keeps interrupting.  It is really funny!

Sixteen Cows by Lisa Wheeler. I think this was amusing primarily because I live in "cowboy country."  It is the tale of two cowboys who fight over boundaries but end the book joining more than their cows.

Five Little Monkeys with Nothing to Do by Eileen Christelow. Another favorite!  This author has done several "Five Little Monkeys" stories.  They are all quite hilarious.  Maybe best appreciated by someone who has several kids because, once again, I can see myself and my 3 little monkeys in this story.

A Moose that Says Moo by Jennifer Hamburg and Sue Truesdell.  A little girl's imagination runs away with her as she imagines what her zoo would look like.  In the end, she decides maybe that zoo would not turn out so well.  And then, she is back to daydreaming.  It is very reminiscent of "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.

And maybe, just maybe, one of these days I can finish my own "grown-up" books!

random nothings

A friend went with us to pick strawberries in late May.  The kids had a great time, although I am not certain of the quality of the berries we came home with! :)

Wow had a fun standup for the kiddos.

Grinning after finding E's shoes...we had prayed to find these!

two "cheeses" and one cry

We attended cousin Colin's birthday party again this year at Chuck-E-Cheese.  Bizbeth was the largest change.  She loved it!  She independently wandered from ride to ride and was ready and willing to give a "cheese!"  David spent most of his time with his Daddy shooting the "bad guys."  And Abigail was not so happy about any of the rides.  But cake time changed everything!