Nah-nah Nah Nah, Nah-nah Nah Nah ...

Hey Hey Hey ... Goooood Bye!

That's what we said to Phillip as we banned him from our house for life almost three weeks ago. It has been pure bliss to say the least ... and I'm sad that we didn't do it sooner! I was worried that Kadin would ask for him to come over, but it has been quite the opposite ... he now asks to play with Phillip's sister Christina and no longer mentions Phillip at all. I think it really proves that Kadin didn't really like that kid anyway ...

So, I'm sure you're wondering what Phillip could possibly have done so we would #1 - ban him from the house for good and #2 actually stick with banning him from the house for good.

Well, well, well ... it all started when Brian saw Kadin and Phillip on the deck together. He was watching the kids through an open window so they didn't know they were being watched. They were playing doctor ... with a small doctor kit Bella had gotten ... anyway as Brian is spying on them he sees Phillip pull Kadin's pants part way down and appeared to look at his private parts.

Brian semi-freaked out when he saw this so he went out there and asked Kadin to come in the house. After Brian had the talk with Kadin about how it isn't appropriate for other people to see or touch your privates ... he then went out and had a talk with Phillip, after which he sent Phillip home.

So, I got a call at work. Brian told me what happened and we mutually agreed that Phillip didn't need to come over anymore ... that was it. I also thought that perhaps Phillip's parents needed to know what happened and urged Brian to go over there and have a talk with them.

So Brian hangs up with me and immediately Bella comes up to him and tells him that Phillip had pulled down her underpants and put things in it. At this point Brian was furious and asked Bella to show him exactly what Phillip did ... she proceeded to pull her pants away from her body and drop a helicopter (from a tree) down her pants.

So ... I realize that Phillip didn't actually touch either of their privates, but something about an older boy doing this to young kids just creeps me out!! I mean this kid is 9 years old ... he should know better ... he should certainly know that type of behavior is not acceptable.

It gets better ... Brian goes over and talks to "the dad" ... the ruler of the roost ... the enforcer of the rules ... and he shrugs it off like it's no big deal!!!

"I've raised kids for over 20 years and they will experiment with this type of thing. My other kids went through it as well."

Ummm .... excuse me??? We just told you that your kid is a creepy molester (ok - maybe not quite a molester) and that is what you have to say? Where is the "Gee - I'm really sorry" ... or "I will definitely have a talk with him"?? Instead we got parenting advise from a man who is so involved with his own agenda he doesn't even see the obvious problems with his own child.

I do agree ... children will experiment with their sexuality at some point ... and yes I'm sure they will experiment on each other as well. BUT I certainly hope that if/when my children do it ... it is not on a toddler that is many years younger than them. I don't care what Randall has to say, that is creepy and wrong ... no matter how many years you've raised children.

The truly only good thing that came out of that ordeal was peace and quiet ... aaahhh. No more fighting or broken toys ... no more gum smeared on my cars ... Phillip has left the premises to never return again.

Life is good.

Introducing Orange White

We attended the Amherst fair this weekend. Brian and I took Kadin several years ago when he was still a baby ... that's when we thought that kids his age would get a kick out of seeing cows, pigs and sheep. In reality ... he could've cared less about the animals ... and he was too little to play any games or go on any rides ... it was a waste of time.

Now that the kids are older ... they can appreciate the fair a little more. This kids beg to play all the games and ride all the rides. $100 dollars later you have a car full of cheap crappy toys that will break 10 minutes after you get home and your tummy is turning circles from the vat of grease you just ate.

So we arrived a the fair around 1:00 ... only to find that the thing didn't officially start until 2:00. I have to admit I was a bit puzzled why on a Saturday, the fair wouldn't start until 2:00, but ok ... so we wound our way around all the stinky animals before hitting the fairgrounds.

They had cows ... my personal opinion about cows is if you've seen one cow ... you've pretty much seen them all. They had sheep and pigs ... rabbits and all kinds of poultry ... many of which I couldn't tell the difference between. I felt like I needed a course from the 4-H club ... "What kind of bird is that mommy?" ... "Ummm .... a chicken ... no wait it's a rooster ... ummm ... I'm not sure sweetie." Gheesh ... it was horrible!

Bella particularly liked the roosters (which I knew were roosters only because they made the cock-a-doodle-doo sound) and she refused to leave the area until she heard them crow at least 10 times. It was quite cute to see her ear-to-ear grin each time they would let out their call.

I made friends with the goose from Charlotte's Web ... and enjoyed listening to her honk. I tried getting the kids as excited about her as I was, but they didn't seem to care ... I knelt next to her cage thinking "T double E, double R, double I, double F, double I, double C, C, C ... and when I snapped out of my childhood haze ... my kids were long gone staring at fuzzy rabbits.

So, we left the animals and headed over to the fair which was now up and running. The kids dragged me through a "fun" house ... which I didn't find much fun. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the rides ...







We ended with games. The sad thing about carnival games is they are expensive and don't take very long to play. I mean how long does it take to pick a duck or pop a balloon with a dart? (If you're Bella ... it takes a bit longer than most) All these things take minutes ... and when they are done with one, they are off to the next. A parent could seriously go broke!

I ended the fair with the goldfish game. Let me preface this story by telling you that Kadin has already been the proud owner of two carnival goldfish (Goldie & No Name) ... that I forced my mother to take care of because I am very anti-pet. Those last two attempts at winning a goldfish required Grandma and Grandpa to shell out mucho-dollars because a five-year old's aim isn't the greatest.

I figured my chances were pretty great that I could spend $5 on a bucket - oh yes a bucket - of balls for Kadin & Bella and there was no way in hell either one of them would come close to those tiny bowls. I watched Bella chuck a couple of balls that didn't even make it near the table ... and Kadin, although his aim - better ... wasn't even close.

But wait! Oh ... the ball ... it's teetering ... it rolling around the rim like a basketball on the basket ... is it in ... nope ... wait ... IT'S IN!!!!

Son of a @#$# ... that darn kid just won a stinkin' goldfish ... and this time I can't even make my mother take it because it was my stinkin' idea!!! So that is how we acquired Orange White (I know my kid has a way with names) the newest member of our family .. and that my friends was the end of the fair.

Say What?

So we were browsing around Hobby Lobby this last weekend ... awesome store by the way ... and Kadin noticed a nut cracker doll on one of the lower shelves. He began to move the lever up and down so the doll's mouth would open and close ... I said to him ...

"Kadin ... that's not a doll buddy, it's a nut cracker."

"Yeah? Well it could crack my nut!"

In his defense he did have a peanut in his mouth at the time ... I'm just sayin' ...

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Yesterday Bella runs in the house from outside, barrels past me and yells - "I have to poop mom!"

"Ok - tell me when you're ready to wipe." She doesn't really have the whole wiping process down yet.

"Mom! You've got to come here and see this!" Ummm ... great

"What sweetie?"

"Look at the giant poo-poo! See? Look at all that poo-poo mom!"

"Oh, yup ... that's great. Are you done?"

"No ... I just wanted to show you all that poo-poo. I really had to go ..."

"Yes ... it appears you did."

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Tonight we were eating steak for dinner ... sitting out on the patio enjoying the evening weather. Brian asks me if I would like more steak ...

Kadin: Don't say hate daddy.

Brian: I didn't say hate.

Kadin: Yes you did.

Me: Kadin, Daddy didn't say hate ... he asked me if I wanted more steak.

Kadin: Oh, it sounded like hate.

Bella: I don't want anymore hate - I'm full.

One L O N G Weekend

Damn it's a busy summer! I think we are booked every weekend until Brian goes back to school. Here's what we've been up to ...

The 4th of July holiday was jammed packed with summer fun. My very best friend had her wedding shower. It was great to get together with friends and celebrate Julie and Jake's marriage. It was at a park, which was great for the kids since they could run around and play ... it was great for the adults because we could actually hold a conversation because the kids were occupied! I seriously had a blast. Here are some photos ...

Me and my very best friends ...



The bride and her bridesmaids ...


The proposal ...


Ok - I know what you're thinking ... why in the world would he propose to her when they were already getting married?? That is a great question ... and the answer is that Jake always does things his own way in his own time. I think in his heart he knew that he wanted to marry Julie and make it official, but I really think the thought of actually proposing to her terrified him. So, he didn't do it ... they basically agreed that they would get married without the formal proposal.

Now if you talked to Julie ... she would tell you that it was no big deal. Fortunately for her, I know her well enough to know that as much as she didn't want to admit it, it bothered her that she didn't have "the ring".

Well - she isn't bothered anymore!! He got down on one knee in front of everyone and officially made her a bride ... I loved every minute of it ... and I cried like a baby ... ahem.

The next day was spent out at the cottage with Jake & Julie. It was gorgeous weather and the kids took advantage of the water ...

Jake and the kids built a crazy sand castle moat ... they had such a great time. Jake has such a way with them ... he adores them and they adore him. I watched them interact together and he's truly a natural with them ... I know he'll make a great dad some day ... maybe some day soon right Jules??? HA!

Here they are creating the moat ...




And destroying the moat ...



I don't know which they enjoyed more!

Then Sunday was another day spent at the beach ... this time with the extended family. We went swimming, boating, more swimming ...

It was seriously the l o n g e s t weekend, but it was so much fun. I went to work Monday morning tired as heck ... longing for several more hours of sleep!

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Oh, and since I've devoted a majority of this post discussing Jake & Julie's wedding details ... I have to share with you this too cute dress I think us bridesmaids are going to wear ...

I'm off to David's Bridal over the weekend to try it on ... so exciting!!

Too bad I won't look like her in it!

The One Stall Rule

I'm interrupting your regularly scheduled day with an impromptu post ...

I was working today and was on my way to the restroom. I ended up following a lady in ahead of me and I was making my way to "my" stall ... because I always seem to use the same stall when I'm in there ... don't ask me why ... seriously don't ask.

So I'm heading to "my" stall when the lady in front of me makes a turn and heads right in to the stall I'm heading for. Great ... so in mid-stride I try and change my course, but I end up looking really weird ... Why you ask?

I could have easily turned and headed into the stall next to her ... but this is when I realized something about myself ... I always leave a courtesy stall in between myself and anyone else using the bathroom.

Why I do this ... I have no idea. But it got me to thinking ... is this just some weird thing only I do ... or are there other courtesy "one stallers" out there?

Now back to your regularly scheduled life ...