All About Angie

Pictures and Stuff

And now, for your viewing pleasure, a photo montage of the past weekish….

My Garden…which is full of zinnias and sunflowers (the daisies and forget-me-nots did not come up for some reason)

Birthday boys

Broken toe # 739

AIGH!!!!

Mark found him in the yard and chopped him up…his head was barely hanging on, but the silly little thing still tried to coil up. It took him about 15 minutes to give it up. He coiled around and around and stuck his little snakey tongue in and out and opened his mouth a few times. Very bizarre. Marky with his new dead friend…

So that’s the week in a nutshell. I also have Kindergarten Graduation pictures and Last-Day-Of-School-Playing-In-The-Sprinkler pictures, but none that I wanted to post. You understand, right?

Ah, Summer!

Today was the last day of school. Susanna’s class had a little program (which was as cute as buttons, by the way) and then they had “graduation”, complete with caps (but not gowns). Then cake and pictures and we all left. All by 10:30AM. Now that’s what I call a school day. Anyway, we had been home approximately 2 hours when this occurred during lunch:

Me: Eat your sandwich.
S (picking at sandwich): No! I don’t like sandwiches.
Me: You said you would eat it. Now eat it.
S (shoving Craisins into sandwich tops): No. I don’t like sandwiches.
Me: Are you going to drive me crazy in the first 2 hours of summer?
S: No. You are the one driving me crazy and it’s only been 2 hours.
Me: I thought you said I was your favorite momma (10 minutes before this conversation)…Who is your favorite now?
S (giggling a little): You. But you’re still driving me crazy!!

It was funnier when it was happening. And now that I read it back, it would appear she was being sassy, but that was not the case. Hmmmph. Anyway, here it is. Summer, that is.

I have exuberant plans for this summer. We’re going to have some school time. Everyone needs some handwriting help as well as Bible memory/catechism help. Some love math, so we’re throwing in some math to keep the interest level high. And reading, because the math lover needs to read (and like it). Then, we’re doing a Housework Primer….my little people are of the age that they have the ability to do a few unsupervised chores, but they need a refresher course. To my shame, I haven’t been very dedicated to (or enthused about) the teaching of the household chores. Until now. We’ll also throw in a few fun field trips, as well as “Fun In the Kitchen” times, for good measure. As for Luke, I have no idea how to entertain him. Does anyone have any ideas? And please don’t say “videos”, because he is a TV addict, who is slowly and reluctantly being weaned. He likes to color, but loses interest quickly (like, within 5 minutes). Thanks, in advance, for any tips! [UPDATE: You know, I think we will work with Luke on sharing and playing independently. And toss in some very vague potty skillz. I’m wacky like that! Tips or ideas; still wanted!]

So I might be biting off way more than I can chew. And the kids may deplore it. And this whole plan might bite the dust by early June. But it’s only a little more than 2 months of summer (S goes back the first week of August!). And I’m feeling very organized..I even have a big 3-subject notebook for planning and recording! (Ooh! A notebook! And planning and recording! Ooo!!) And hopefully, they will enjoy the time I can spend with them. I’m looking forward to it!!

And now, I leave you with Susanna’s current favorite joke:
Q: What gets wetter as you get drier?
A: A towel!

Knowledge for the Kind Reader

Puff pastry is not phyllo dough. No matter how much you want it to be, this is simply not true. When the recipe calls for “puff pastry”, do not substitute phyllo. You will be severely disappointed.

Elephant ears are more like egg rolls. Just a tip!

The Twos Have It (Sort of)

Conversation with Toddler Boy (pronounced “Dah-doh”) this morning:

Me: Hey, Luke! When people say, “How old are you?”, now you can say, “I’m two (holds up two fingers)!” Try it!
Luke: (holds up two fingers and one thumb) Three!
Me: Uh, no. You’re two (demonstrates correct number of fingers)!
Luke: Yeah. Three (waves two fingers and thumb)!!

We reviewed the numbers from 1 to 10. He said them all by himself. We reviewed 2, then 3. See, Luke…here’s the difference. Yada, yada, yada. Then….

Me: How old are you?
Luke: Three (holds up 2 fingers)!!

Well, we’re making progress…..

Today my dah-doh officially becomes a 2 year old. Two years ago today, we looked like this:

Now, he is 2.

He has the most infectious laugh of anyone I know. He likes to dance and sing; his current favorite hits are “The B-I-B-L-E” and anything that comes out of Barney’s mouth, all the while waving his little arms around and shaking his little tushie with the beat (even to the B-I-B-L-E song!). He loves to hide from me (which is sometimes problematic, because he is good at it). He spontaneously gives me fantastic kisses and close, tight hugs. But he is all boy, building towers out of blocks and Legos and then smashing them to the ground with small toy hammers, laughing his little baby brains out the entire time the hammer is flying. Mark has taught him a manly handshake and gives him plenty of opportunities to practice it. He has a special relationship with both Grandpop (Pop-op) and Grandpa (Pah-pah!). He talks a lot. And he usually needs a translator, but I know what he’s saying. Usually. (Which makes me the translator)

Oh, he has his Terrible Twoness moments. Sometimes he gives me reason to wonder why on earth we had 3 children. But in truth, he is a wonderful little person who has blessed us and we love him very much. He adds a ZING! to our family, that no one else can.

Here’s to you, Lukie! Happy Birthday, Dah-doh!

This Is What Losing Brain Cells Will Do To You

What’s that, you say? I’ll tell ya.

I went on this great trip to Austin with my kind and loving family (See a previous post–“5/03, The Saga You’ve Been Waiting For”) and I forgot about one of the high-high-highlights! The one place I wanted to go more than anywhere else in Austin was…..

Amy’s Ice Creams.

We went (Thank you, Pregnant Lady*, for encouraging the familial participation!).

It was DEEE-licious. Yummy. Creamy. Like butter. Except with lots of sugar and cream. And without the butter.

I had “Darth Chocolate” with Peanut Butter Cups. “Darth Chocolate” turns out to be Dark Chocolate. Mmmmm….dark chocolate…..

Did I mention it was yummy?

Austin is chock full of freaky weirdos, but those Amy’s folks surely know how to make some ice cream worth eating!

*Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m going to be an aunt again! Yay! (For those of you keeping track, that’ll be twice for me this year! Yay for babies!)

On the Friendship Lollipop……

So I have this friend. We’ve been friends for almost 17 years. I met her while I was fresh on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. I didn’t know a single soul in town yet and found myself walking around campus trying to orientate myself before classes started. This strange girl (as I first thought) was walking a few paces in front of me. She kept turning around and looking at me. After a few minutes she turned to me and said, “Does it always get this hot in Oklahoma?” Within a few hours, we had walked all over campus, just talking and laughing and getting to know each other. Somehow I knew we would become friends. We’ve laughed at most of the same things; cried at them, too. We roomed together for 3 or 4 years. We’ve seen each other at our worst, as well as at our best. We joked (with a few other friends) that when we grew old and never married that we would all live together by the seashore and read books to each other (I don’t know why…your guess is as good as mine). She used to jump on my bed in the early morning hours and drag me out to go running around the track with her (this is one of the areas in which I am missing her most right now!). Up until about 10 years ago, we probably finished each other’s sentences (that’s when we both got married). We’ve been in each other’s weddings and called each other on our birthdays. Held each other’s babies and laughed at the children’s antics. We’ve known each other almost half of our lives. I can’t believe how blessed I am to know her and count her as my friend. (She will probably want to call me after she reads this and jokingly gripe me out for making her the subject of this blog, because she is not one for the spotlight. She graciously reads this stuff I post and tells me how I make her laugh.) To most of our friends, she was always the nice, sensitive, cute one and I was the “unlady-like (I have been called that before)” oaf with a loud mouth.

Well, time passes and things get busy. The time between phone calls gets longer and longer. As of this week, I think it had been almost a year since I spoke with her last. I can’t believe how time gets going so quickly.

Her birthday was this past week. I called her a day late (typical of myself, ha!). It was as if I last spoke with her yesterday. It made my day to talk with her. And the only way I could tell it had been a long time since our last conversation was the topic. “How are the kids?” “What are you crazy Dishmans doing for fun these days?” But our friendship picks up right where it left off. And it’s just as sweet.

Happy (Late) Birthday (Again!), Al!

Picture via Google Images, Arthur Lobel, Illustrator)

Side Note: Yes, this is quite sappy, but I think I’m due for some sap, yes?

The Saga You’ve Been Waiting For!

Hey! Look!! It’s only the 3rd of May and I already have one entry (this one, which at this point isn’t written yet. Ho hum.)!!

Part 2…
We went on a Weekend Family Vacation a few weeks ago. The 10 of us Dishmans (from Texas, Mexico City, and Brooklyn) gathered in Austin, Texas for a happy fun weekend of merriment. We even watched a movie in our hotel room on The Projector one night. We (or rather, “most of we”) swam in the hotel pool and went to a big park to veg and went out-to-eat all weekend long. The Five of Us plus Uncle Peter enjoyed a trip to the capitol building in Austin, because Susanna just finished up a Texas history project at school. Throughout the weekend, we took lots of pictures–more than I thought I would take–and simply had a superb time enjoying each others’ company. Here are some shots (BIG SHOTS! WHOOPSIE!):

Notice the star at the tippy-top of the dome…The people who built this capitol building had an obsession with stars and sticking the letters “T”, “E”, “X”, “A”, and “S” in between all of the points of such stars. These letters are all stuck in every chandelier, as well. Basically, anything on the ceiling (or walls or floor) was fair game. Just a little Texas trivia….

Here are some of our group doing what we did the most of, which was relax. Yay!

Ok, I have some more pictures, but none that are very good. Peter took a ka-jillion pictures, but I haven’t seen any of his yet. I can’t believe I didn’t get any more people pictures. Ah, well. Maybe next time.

Part 3….
While in our hotel room, Lydia fell down and landed on her arm funny (but was not laughing). She seemed to shake it off pretty well, so we didn’t think too much of it. Until she complained and whined about it at convenient times throughout the weekend (convenient to Her Majesty’s Agenda, if you know what I mean). I took her to the doctor when we got back, just to be safe. Her arm was A-OK, but she said something about her throat, so The Good Doc took a lookie-see and concluded that she had strep throat. Well, dog my cats! I couldn’t believe it. I figured I would have heard a LOT more about that from her on the subject, but no! Weird! (She has since recovered completely.)

Part 4…
Well,….there isn’t really a Part 4. Unless you count a small birthday party as Part 4. It was a garden party with just a few close girlfriends. I made LadyBug Candy (no ladybugs were harmed) and we painted flower pots and then planted petunias in them. It was low-low-low-key. Last year was fun, because we had so many friends that came and helped us celebrate, but it was a lot of work and we were exhausted after it was over. This year was nice and simple and non-tiring. And I’m all about not being tired.
Here are pictures of our LadyBug Candy (recipe from FamilyFun.com):

And fun was had by all. And I have a 6 year-old. As she says, “Now I need TWO hands to show how old I am!”

What? No rant? Well, I will spare you my rant (today, at least), as I can’t really remember exactly what I was going to babble on about when I mentioned it in an earlier post. Escaped that bullet, eh? Today, my pretties. Today.