Project: Hello Kitty (aka: Pimpin' Lila's Ride)

Jake took to his 1st trike like a fish to water. Aunt Sally & Uncle Jerry bought him a Lightning McQueen "bike" for his 3rd Christmas and once Bubba got it assembled, Jake was cruisin'. Now 'Lila -- forever her own girl -- wasn't all that interested in the "baby bike". She'd cruise around inside the house on one. But when it came to being seen in public...well, that just wasn't going to work for this little Diva.

When Christopher down the street graduated from the little "big boy bike" to the bigger "big boy bike" we jumped on the opportunity. There was no reason to let a good 2-wheeler rest on its laurels, so we borrowed it pronto! Guess we could have guessed a reused boy's bike wouldn't be good enough for our little girl...even if it was Christopher's. (Yes, little Ladybug loves her some Christopher.) She was OK with it until friend-Sophia showed up with her pinkalicious bike. So what choice did I have? I mean, this is part of a creative stay-at-home-mom's responsibilities, right?

Ladies & Gentlemen, I present to you: Project Hello Kitty (aka: Pimpin' Lila's Ride)

Really...who can expect a girl like this to be happy on a bike like this?

First things first -- build a spray booth in the garage. I knew I hung on to those hideous purple curtains (from the previous owners) for a reason.

Lila really wanted a "pinkalicious" bike. If you're unfamiliar with Pinkalicious, just follow this link to one of Ladybug's favorite books. (Yes, put your curser over the word "link" and a little hand will show up -- allowing you to follow the "link" to a web page telling you all about "Pinkalicious".) And yes, we already have Purplicious (another link), so don't go thinking you've figured out the perfect birthday gift.

I really wasn't interested in painting the entire bike pink, so I taped off most of the red and set to replacing blue w/pink. I added a touch of yellow to tie it all together with the existing wheel rims (cuz I was also not interested in painting rims either). Add a few stickers with some help from Lila and...

Voila!

One Happy Girly!

Thank goodness she hasn't noticed the Tonka Truck training wheels!

'nuggle Time...

...that's what she calls it. It's one of the many concessions I make for Delila -- my unfortunate 2nd born. Snuggle time. It was instituted pretty much as soon as she started sleeping in her "own" room. Things were so different with her. There was almost no one-on-one time. Jake was always around needing something, or there was something to be washed, emptied or laundered. I was amazed at how the 2nd child was so short-changed right from the get-go. Well, the one thing I could do was snuggle with her. Since she was up later than Jake in the early days, it was no problem. After I put him to bed it was her turn. After her last feeding, we'd just schnuggle up on the big bed in her room and have some Mommy/Daughter time. Of course, it's a logistical nightmare now -- especially when Duke's on the road. Whatever. There are harder things to juggle than snuggling with your kids, right?

It was so sweet at first. We'd lay belly to chest and she'd pat my shoulder while I gently rubbed and patted her back. Of course, my pats were motivated -- "Burp, little girl, burp." I suppose it's a tad hopeful on my part, but I always felt like her little pats were her reassurances that she was OK with my short comings as a mother-of-two.

Our postures have changed as she's grown. Now I kick back on the pillows and she starts with her head in my lap. Of course depending on the tenor of the evening, she can be all over the place on that big bed. But she almost always settles back down to the head on the lap position. She still loves to be caressed.

Now Delila is a "Bond". Sure, she's got that red hair -- but there's red on both sides of the family, so it's unfair to say she's got "my hair". Her face shape is all Bond, and she's got those brown eyes. She's stubborn like here Daddy ~wink~ and just like him, she loves a light touch. Me? I'm a deep tissue girl. If someone's going to take the time to rub my back, I want to know it's been done. Knead those muscles! Not 'Lila. She likes a feather touch. And true to form, it has to be done her way. She'll lift her shirt, direct my hand to her back or belly -- never both. Just the finger tips, please -- until her midsection is covered with goose bumps. And don't stop! If you do, she'll just pick your hand up and put it back where it's supposed to be. And if you go too slow, well, she'll fix that too. She's a girl who knows what she likes. No doubt about it!

Truely Wordless Wednesday

Almost Wordless Wednesday...*

"NO FAIR!!! I only got to hit her once!"

(in all fairness to Jake, she did hit him twice)

~♥~

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*For those of you not 'in the know', Wordless Wednesday is blog-thing where on Wednesdays you only post a picture -- no narrative. The picture's supposed to say it all.

Why Mommy Loves OxyClean

A rare evening here in the Lone Star State -- low 70s in JUNE!! And we were fortunate to have an 'outdoor obligation'. Thanks to all the rainy weekends we had last month, we had a t-ball makeup game on what can only be one of the most fantastic weather evenings of the year. And yesterday was the last day of school, so no one had to get up and out first thing in the morning. Post-game al fresco dining was a no-brainer. So we headed over to El Norte with the Coppinger clan for dinner on the patio...and the SnoCone Bar (of course!)

Bellied up to the bar.

1st impressions...

...are positive.

The sugar rush brings out the 'beasts' in Chrisitopher & Michael!

Everyone goes home with a 'red tongue trophy'.

This is why Mommy loves OxyClean!

Memorial Day Weekend

We did it! We choked down our fears, dragged boxes out of the attic, packed the car to the maximum and hit the road for the great outdoors. That's right! We went camping!!

Duke & I always enjoyed camping -- even the time we were playing cards in the tent during a tornado warning up at Lake Texoma. It's fun. It's adventurous. It's cheap. It's dirty. What's not to love, right? Well, we've been talking about taking the kids, but there are all those 'buts'. You know what I'm talking about:

"...but how are we going to get it all in the car?"

"...but what are the sleeping arrangements for the kids?"

"...but what about naps - you know Lila can't make it without a nap?!"

"...but what do we do when the kids have to go to the bathroom?"

"...but it's soooo dirty!"

"...but all those bugs!"

"...but...but...but...."

The boys stoked the fire...

...while the girls did the dishes.

Afternoon naps weren't a problem.

And when 'nature called', we called on nature.

The kids built a beautiful mosquito pond right next to their tent. Because, you know, even though we've had a really soggy spring, and we got a nice rain shower every afternoon on the trip, you can just never have enough mosquitoes.

I have to admit, I was doubtful about the canoe.

Jake wasn't thrilled with Uncle Jack's ski boat last summer, and Delila just plain hates the water. I was just sure my kids would scream and kick up a cap-sizing fuss about sitting in a canoe.

I'm happy to say I was wrong. As you can see, our little paddlers liked the canoe just fine.

We got our fishing gear in order...

...and put on our lucky fishing hats.

We found a perch...

...and caught a carp -- at least that's what I think it was. Whatever it was, we stuffed it with limes, onion & rosemary because that's what we had on hand. The seasonings were nice, but the texture of the fish left something to be desired. But who cares?! We (Duke) actually caught a fish on Lake Texoma!! And I said it couldn't be done. (And he didn't even make me eat crow for dinner - but that smile looks a little smug, doesn't it.)

Really, I think we were just chicken. We needed a little push to get us off our 'buts'. Well, thanks to our friends, the Sporers (who will soon make us very sad by returning to Germany), we did get off our 'buts'. Sure, we looked like the Clampets driving up the road, but we did it! And it was so much fun.

Mother's Day Fun

Today is Mother's Day. The plan was that I would sleep in while Dad & Kids prepared breakfast-in-bed. Pretty standard stuff. But, as is always the case (at least in this mother's life), nothing ever goes as planned. Instead, we woke up early to the sounds of cats yacking. Nice, I know. Then 'Lila pitched her standard fit, and well, it was just kind of one thing after another. So, we opted to head out to the Original Pancake House for breakfast instead. After a yummy breakfast, we were going to hit Home Depot to pick up my Mother's gift, but made a detour to Walmart -- quite possibly my least favorite place in the whole wide world. In spite of that, we managed to fritter away a couple of hours there and came home with some fun stuff:

These things cost $2.99 and were well worth the price. Tons of Bubbles = Tons of Fun!

Jake was the only one in the family to give me something to last a lifetime -- like a head full of grey hair!! But I have to say, it was a very nice Mother's Day...grey hairs and all.