Apparently it is time for some personal care for me....
"Mommy, look - I have hair on my legs just like you!!"
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Erim Family Vacation (Minus One)
This last week we took a family vacation - minus one very important member: Raif. Several months ago my parents rented a cabin in the mountains for us for the week. Unfortunately, Raif's work beckoned and he spent the last three weeks visiting hospitals in Utah. Ugh. But the rest of us went and had a wonderful time. I think it was a good distraction for the kids on the last week of three of Daddy being gone. They have missed him A LOT (and so did I). Hopefully our next family vacation includes all of the family.
We spent the week in Gatlinburg, TN which is one of the most interesting dichotomies I have ever experienced. On one hand are the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge which by most accounts are the two largest redneck vacation destinations of all time (one dinner we sat next to a couple who had matching airbrushed Bride and Groom T-shirts - if only Raif and I had thought of that). A quick tour of these two towns and you would think that the only thing to do on vacation is to eat pancakes, play putt-putt and ride go-karts. These places are jammed packed with just plain crap. Ripley's Believe It or Not museums abound along with haunted houses and more souvenir shops than I can shake a stick at. But surrounding them are the Smoky Mountains which are truly the exact opposite of the consumer driven drivel. Pristine, quiet, beautiful acres of nature - unspoiled by Ripley's and cotton candy. So you can only imagine where we spent our days.
Each day we would get up, pack our pack and head out to the mountains before the shops opened their doors and the cars clogged the streets. We hiked to waterfalls, and old log cabins, saw an old working grist mill and ate our lunches under the shadow of mountains. Some days we got further than others but our destination really wasn't as important as enjoying nature and having fun. We threw more rocks than I could ever imagine into rivers, waterfalls and streams. Then there was the never ending search for the perfect stick. In the afternoons we relaxed at the hotel's swimming pool or the small playground. One rainy morning we did go to the aquarium, which was actually pretty decent and one other morning we just hung out after Greyson declared "Mommy, I am tired of walking." But most of our time was spent in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park enjoying nature.
BC (before children), Raif and I actually really enjoyed hiking and I am hoping after this the kids have caught the hiking bug too. On the way home Quinn said she wanted to go hiking with Daddy - here's hoping next vacation he can actually go.
We spent the week in Gatlinburg, TN which is one of the most interesting dichotomies I have ever experienced. On one hand are the towns of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge which by most accounts are the two largest redneck vacation destinations of all time (one dinner we sat next to a couple who had matching airbrushed Bride and Groom T-shirts - if only Raif and I had thought of that). A quick tour of these two towns and you would think that the only thing to do on vacation is to eat pancakes, play putt-putt and ride go-karts. These places are jammed packed with just plain crap. Ripley's Believe It or Not museums abound along with haunted houses and more souvenir shops than I can shake a stick at. But surrounding them are the Smoky Mountains which are truly the exact opposite of the consumer driven drivel. Pristine, quiet, beautiful acres of nature - unspoiled by Ripley's and cotton candy. So you can only imagine where we spent our days.
Each day we would get up, pack our pack and head out to the mountains before the shops opened their doors and the cars clogged the streets. We hiked to waterfalls, and old log cabins, saw an old working grist mill and ate our lunches under the shadow of mountains. Some days we got further than others but our destination really wasn't as important as enjoying nature and having fun. We threw more rocks than I could ever imagine into rivers, waterfalls and streams. Then there was the never ending search for the perfect stick. In the afternoons we relaxed at the hotel's swimming pool or the small playground. One rainy morning we did go to the aquarium, which was actually pretty decent and one other morning we just hung out after Greyson declared "Mommy, I am tired of walking." But most of our time was spent in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park enjoying nature.
BC (before children), Raif and I actually really enjoyed hiking and I am hoping after this the kids have caught the hiking bug too. On the way home Quinn said she wanted to go hiking with Daddy - here's hoping next vacation he can actually go.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Rhyme Time
Greyson has really been into rhyming lately. Pretty much everything has to rhyme now - I am Mommy Glommy. He is Greyson Bo Beyson. Sometimes he rhymes with a real word (like fat cat) sometimes not (tass glass) and sometimes...
"Hey Mommy can you move my chair into the bitchin' kitchen??"
"Hey Mommy can you move my chair into the bitchin' kitchen??"
Saturday, June 13, 2009
It's Claire's Party...
Quinn went to her first birthday party for a friend today and I thought I would share some pictures with you because well, honestly, I just love the dress that she wore and needed an excuse to take some pictures of her in it!
Soccer
This picture pretty much sums up our soccer experience.Yes, that is my son in the corner with his hands covering his face. Maybe next year....
Friday, June 12, 2009
Summertime
There is something magical that happens when you combine kids, water and a hot afternoon.
MOMA Here Quinn Comes...
Some of my favorite works of hers from this week....
Submarine
Rainbow Fish
Dragonfly - her favorite because she got to use pink glitter
Submarine
Rainbow Fish
Dragonfly - her favorite because she got to use pink glitter
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Things Adults Just Don't See
So Raif is gone on a business trip and in an attempt to keep my kids from realizing it I have been trying to do something fun with them every afternoon. Today we went to the park down the street. It has a great flat path, unlike the horrendous hill we live on, and so the kids can ride their bikes in more than just a big circle. I assumed it was just a path through the trees but oh how wrong I was.
Here we are entering the scary woods. While we were there the kids managed to spot not only a giraffe but also a flamingo. There were several brief spottings of the Big Bad Wolf but thankfully he was scared away probably by the giraffe. There were also lots of stop signs and oncoming traffic that I completely missed. Thanks to Greyson for pointing them out to me and helping me obey all traffic laws.
Here is Quinn cruising her way out of the forest.
I know that you may think that this is just a chain link fence. I did too, but it is actually a craftily disguised gas station where we stopped to get more gas for the bikes (by the way bikes take gas - who knew?). I also learned that bike gas generally takes on the form of rocks vs. the liquid form for automobiles.
After our grand adventures in the forest we relaxed with a good ride on the tire swing. Thanks to Greyson and Quinn for showing me all the things I would have missed if I had just been walking by myself.
Here we are entering the scary woods. While we were there the kids managed to spot not only a giraffe but also a flamingo. There were several brief spottings of the Big Bad Wolf but thankfully he was scared away probably by the giraffe. There were also lots of stop signs and oncoming traffic that I completely missed. Thanks to Greyson for pointing them out to me and helping me obey all traffic laws.
Here is Quinn cruising her way out of the forest.
I know that you may think that this is just a chain link fence. I did too, but it is actually a craftily disguised gas station where we stopped to get more gas for the bikes (by the way bikes take gas - who knew?). I also learned that bike gas generally takes on the form of rocks vs. the liquid form for automobiles.
After our grand adventures in the forest we relaxed with a good ride on the tire swing. Thanks to Greyson and Quinn for showing me all the things I would have missed if I had just been walking by myself.
The Next Georgia O'Keefe
Quinn began art class this week at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Art Gallery. She is having such a good time. I mean who wouldn't love an hour of just getting messy with paint and glue? I think her favorite part is wearing the painter's apron. As you can see it is getting good use.
Here she is putting glue on her fish to make sure the scales stick.
I will take some pictures of the best projects and post them at the end of the week. Thus far we have made a sun, a sandbucket (see above), a submarine, and a scaly fish. I can't wait to see what we are going to make tomorrow.
Since it has been a long time since I've ranted about something (what has it been like a week?). I thought I would do so today. So there are about 8 kids in Quinn's 2-year olds art class. Let me say that again - this is an art class designed for 2 year olds. Like every other 2 year old my daughter has an attention span of a 2 year old and the artistic skills of oh yes a 2 year old. So the projects sometimes aren't painted all the way or the fish only gets half of its scales. That's what 2 year olds do. She is no less proud of her work and I am certainly no less proud because it isn't perfect. In fact, I love it because it is hers and hers alone. So both yesterday and today I noticed the majority of the other mothers (probably 60% or so) finishing up their kids art work. The kids were suppose to paint a brown paper bag yellow to make the submarine. When the other kids said that they were done their Moms picked up the brushes and finished them - perfectly- for them. When the kids were done with the scales on the fish, the Moms finished for them. At the end of the day what do they have? They have a pre-schooler art project that the Moms did. What is the point in that? Admittedly, the submarines were pretty cool but if I really wanted to make one myself I could do it at home. I don't get why these mothers would try to fix a two year olds art project which then doesn't make it the child's anymore. So needless to say Quinn's project was one of the sloppiest ones there but to me and to Quinn it was by far the best.
Here she is putting glue on her fish to make sure the scales stick.
I will take some pictures of the best projects and post them at the end of the week. Thus far we have made a sun, a sandbucket (see above), a submarine, and a scaly fish. I can't wait to see what we are going to make tomorrow.Since it has been a long time since I've ranted about something (what has it been like a week?). I thought I would do so today. So there are about 8 kids in Quinn's 2-year olds art class. Let me say that again - this is an art class designed for 2 year olds. Like every other 2 year old my daughter has an attention span of a 2 year old and the artistic skills of oh yes a 2 year old. So the projects sometimes aren't painted all the way or the fish only gets half of its scales. That's what 2 year olds do. She is no less proud of her work and I am certainly no less proud because it isn't perfect. In fact, I love it because it is hers and hers alone. So both yesterday and today I noticed the majority of the other mothers (probably 60% or so) finishing up their kids art work. The kids were suppose to paint a brown paper bag yellow to make the submarine. When the other kids said that they were done their Moms picked up the brushes and finished them - perfectly- for them. When the kids were done with the scales on the fish, the Moms finished for them. At the end of the day what do they have? They have a pre-schooler art project that the Moms did. What is the point in that? Admittedly, the submarines were pretty cool but if I really wanted to make one myself I could do it at home. I don't get why these mothers would try to fix a two year olds art project which then doesn't make it the child's anymore. So needless to say Quinn's project was one of the sloppiest ones there but to me and to Quinn it was by far the best.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
On it's way to Number 1 on the Charts...
Greyson was playing his piano today. "Mom, ask me what the name of my song is."
"Greyson, what is the name of your song?"
"It's called 'The Happiest Mermaid in the World, Then the Tractor Got Her' "
With a title like that it is sure to be a hit.
"Greyson, what is the name of your song?"
"It's called 'The Happiest Mermaid in the World, Then the Tractor Got Her' "
With a title like that it is sure to be a hit.
The Art of Procrastination
After spending a little time with Raif and I, I am sure that most people say "Really, they are married? They have nothing in common." And they aren't far from the truth. I am the saver, Raif the spender. I am the bean counter and Raif the deal maker. I am the introvert and Raif is the extrovert. And while there is a lot that is different about us, we do have one common personality trait. We are stellar procrastinators.
Last year Raif built a really nice sandbox for the kids as part of our jungle gym in the backyard. "We should probably get a cover for the sandbox." That was in May. June: "We should probably get a sandbox cover for the sandbox. Let's use the cheap plastic leftover liner in the meantime until we get a sandbox cover." October: "We probably aren't going to use the sandbox again until next spring. We should probably look into buying that sandbox cover." January: "Hey look our cheap plastic leftover cover has a big rip in it. That is probably going to let lots of nasty things in. We really ought to get that cover, you know." Last month: "I am really worried about what is in our sandbox. We probably ought to get a cover." And low and behold we did - a year later.
Since it has been warm and the kids have been playing on the jungle gym a lot we keep getting "Mom, can we play in the sandbox?" Hell, No I think - "Oh sweetie it is too cold to play in the sand today - it is only 80 degrees outside." But finally we ran out of excuses both real and imaginery and so Raif and I put the kids down for their afternoon nap on Sunday and went to see the state of the sandbox. Considering that last week we found 2 4 1/2 foot snakes in our backyard I was a little nervous to see what was under our ripped cheap plastic cover.
We ripped the cover back to find a wonderful little colony of mice inhabiting our sandbox along with about 30 different species of spiders and other insects. The startled mice scurried for cover, a bit shocked by the sudden burst of sunlight. One unfortunate fella seemed a bit startled by it all and sort of froze in his tracks - he was soon put out of his misery by Cooper who I think was as surprised as we were that she actually killed something. So Raif and I set to work. We scooped out the top layer of sand and threw it over the fence. We destroyed various webs, nests and homes of a myriad of creatures that had taken up residence. I scrubbed and rinsed all the various sandtoys and Raif raked and cleaned the rest of the box. Luckily, last year we bought too much sand and were too lazy to take it back (see procrastination sometimes does work to your advantage). So we now have fresh clean sand to add to the sandbox. Since we had a very rainy spring and since we had lots of holes in our cover the sand was one wet mess. We have left it open to dry it out before we add our new fresh layer of sand. I went to Target today and bought a storage bin for the sandtoys so hopefully they will fare a little better this year. Raif needs to go to Home Depot and get some fasteners to tie on our new sturdy sandbox cover on and then we are good to go. Hopefully we won't be hearing "We probably need to put that sandbox cover on now that the sand is dried out." for very long.
Last year Raif built a really nice sandbox for the kids as part of our jungle gym in the backyard. "We should probably get a cover for the sandbox." That was in May. June: "We should probably get a sandbox cover for the sandbox. Let's use the cheap plastic leftover liner in the meantime until we get a sandbox cover." October: "We probably aren't going to use the sandbox again until next spring. We should probably look into buying that sandbox cover." January: "Hey look our cheap plastic leftover cover has a big rip in it. That is probably going to let lots of nasty things in. We really ought to get that cover, you know." Last month: "I am really worried about what is in our sandbox. We probably ought to get a cover." And low and behold we did - a year later.
Since it has been warm and the kids have been playing on the jungle gym a lot we keep getting "Mom, can we play in the sandbox?" Hell, No I think - "Oh sweetie it is too cold to play in the sand today - it is only 80 degrees outside." But finally we ran out of excuses both real and imaginery and so Raif and I put the kids down for their afternoon nap on Sunday and went to see the state of the sandbox. Considering that last week we found 2 4 1/2 foot snakes in our backyard I was a little nervous to see what was under our ripped cheap plastic cover.
We ripped the cover back to find a wonderful little colony of mice inhabiting our sandbox along with about 30 different species of spiders and other insects. The startled mice scurried for cover, a bit shocked by the sudden burst of sunlight. One unfortunate fella seemed a bit startled by it all and sort of froze in his tracks - he was soon put out of his misery by Cooper who I think was as surprised as we were that she actually killed something. So Raif and I set to work. We scooped out the top layer of sand and threw it over the fence. We destroyed various webs, nests and homes of a myriad of creatures that had taken up residence. I scrubbed and rinsed all the various sandtoys and Raif raked and cleaned the rest of the box. Luckily, last year we bought too much sand and were too lazy to take it back (see procrastination sometimes does work to your advantage). So we now have fresh clean sand to add to the sandbox. Since we had a very rainy spring and since we had lots of holes in our cover the sand was one wet mess. We have left it open to dry it out before we add our new fresh layer of sand. I went to Target today and bought a storage bin for the sandtoys so hopefully they will fare a little better this year. Raif needs to go to Home Depot and get some fasteners to tie on our new sturdy sandbox cover on and then we are good to go. Hopefully we won't be hearing "We probably need to put that sandbox cover on now that the sand is dried out." for very long.
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