The way to a kid's heart.....

Jokes!

I found this little book at a local shop and we have been ROTFL ever since.

My kids are too young to do as this book says, "tear out a joke and place it in your kid's lunch box" so we've just been giggling over dinner as I read the jokes aloud.

Some of our favorites:

Q: What do mermaids use to wash their hair?

A: Clam-poo!

Q: What does a butterfly sleep on?

A: A cater-pillow.

Q: What do you call a fairy who needs a bath?

A: Stinker-bell.

Q: How does the ocean say hello?

A: It doesn't. It just "waves".

Q: What did the tree say to the squirrel?

A: Leaf me alone!

I recently went on a field trip with 1st grade. I was in charge of 3 boys. I pulled out my secret weapon (read: jokes!) and by the end of the field trip, the boys wanted to sit by me, an ol' Mama, on the bus ride home. Simple and always a hit, take it from me--jokes are the key to popularity. :-)

Fun Stuff

Doing some Christmas shopping? You should totally check out uncommongoods.com. These quirky earrings were under my tree last year. These are on my wishlist this year. OK and these too. This cute thing was featured in one of my mags and would be happy on my counter. Gummy Bear lights, felted soap, shower curtains that make you sing and dance.....oh how I love a unique piece!

Happy Shopping!

My Twins

I snapped this photo of Max and Mae tonight at 4 1/2 years of age. It reminded me of the mountains of pictures I used to take when the twins were young, and when being 'twins' was more noticeable. I'm walking down memory lane for a minute. Won't you join me?

Here come 10 sweet pictures from the past. I could have added SO MANY more, but I was getting teary eyed, so I stopped at ten. :)

And speaking of twins, don't these two look alike?? Love it- like father, like son.

Kids!

I took the kids to the book fair at Quinn's school. If you want a glimpse into a kid's personality, take them to a book fair. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched them each choose a book. Quinn spotted a mysterious Scooby Doo story and was set. Mae waffled between Dora's Christmas Parade and Fancy Nancy, The Nanc won out. Max perused the book shelves and fell in love with Teeny Tiny Animals. Kids are so hilarious. And awesome. And unique. And fantastic.

Another good personality test is the grocery store bakery. Take your kids to Dick's, line them up in front of the frosted cookies and let 'em pick. Mae treasures butterflies (sadly the butterflies are pretty scarce as of late), Quinn just finished his first 6 week session of basketball, and oh how Max loves a chiwawa.

There is a billboard we pass on the freeway--a woman holding her small dog close to her face and every time we pass it I hear you-know-who coo; "Awwwww! Look at that cute doggy!". Crack me up!

Having kids is such a treat.

My Get-Away

I just got home from Florida!

My parents and I spent 5 days on Sanibel Island, FL.

Shells! Shells! More shells!

Sanibel Island is known for its shelling beaches.

I brought all these home in my carry-on. :-)

On Sanibel Island many shell lovers do what's called, the "Sanibel Stoop". Here I am, doing what tourists do.

Dad was teaching at a conference held at the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge--that's the reason we were able to embark on this gorgeous Florida adventure. Dad's work has taken me so many wonderful places. Thanks for always letting me come along for the ride Dad!

We drove the 4 mile loop through the wildlife refuge and walked a bunch of trails to get a good feel for Southwest Florida. Where Dad is walking in this picture, we heard alligators-in the wild-bellowing in the bushes near us. I was spooked. Did I mention we were the only 3 people around?? Hello Alligator Bait!

The mangroves were really neat and different looking.

230 kinds of birds live in this refuge. Look at Mom & Dad--we were checking them all out.

My favorite was the roseate spoonbill.

Alligators! Inside the refuge there were some areas where the gator watching was gooood. We saw this guy swim right past us.

After he swam by us, he crossed the road--right where we were standing!

Reading this sign kinda gave me the goosebumps.

There he goes, swimming away on the other side of the refuge.

We left the island for a day and went into Fort Myers. The winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford are right there in Southwest Florida. We had a great time touring the historic grounds and houses.

Here are some light fixtures in Edison's home that he designed.

Great views of the Caloosahatchee River from the estates. It was good fun to spend time with 2 of my best friends.

Oh and it was wiiindy--the wind whipped us around our audio tour.

Thomas Edison planted hundreds of Royal Palm trees on and around his estate. They are gorgeous and so majestic.

We celebrated Mom's birthday while in sunny Florida (what a way to spend your big day, right?!). Lunch on the beach.....

Famous ice cream on Sanibel....

A tasty seafood dinner....

Watching the sunset on Bowman's Beach (OK, so we actually missed the sunset by like 60 seconds, but the afterglow was pretty lovely)....

Happy Birthday Mom! Love ya!

I had a ball in Florida!

Three cheers for Mike taking time off from work to care for the kids while I was gone. I loved my R&R and came home renewed. I could have used a few more days (read: months!) of 80 degree weather, but the people I love live where its cold, so I happily threw on a scarf and boarded the plane for home.

I leave you with a picture of some beautiful, rose wrapped toilet paper. The luxuries of room service (sigh) I will not soon forget.