Learning to skip.

A sure sign of spring is skipping ropes!

Rocks and twig ice cream

No, we didn't have rocks and twigs in our ice cream, but they added to the fun at the ice cream parlour. It was such a beautiful sunshine filled day, we all enjoyed playing in the rays while the winds blew mightily.
JJ was thrilled with the big rocks to climb....
and Sister gathered twigs for her collection.
Then they both started bringing smaller rocks over to where Buppa and I were sitting. I didn't think the owners of the ice cream shoppe would appreciate having a pile of rocks beside their garden...
so we moved the pile over to the field area...
and we made an Inukshuk before heading off for home.

Ice cream and mountain climbing on a windy day

For a special treat on Smudge's 5th BD, Buppa picked her up as school at lunch time and took her out for lunch. JJ and I didn't go out for lunch, but we did join them for ice cream after lunch.
Surprisingly, they both did a great job of getting the ice cream in their mouth and not all over their clothes. Amazing!
After the ice cream it was time to play.
The ice cream shoppe is on a busy highway, but the wooded area beside the shop, is a great place to let imaginations soar.

Mountainous rocks were summitted.
Trees were pondered, but not climbed.

Twigs and rocks were gathered in abundance.
We were there for almost an hour, and had to drag the kids away when it was time to go home. I think we will be back there again soon and often.

The Birthday Girl...

...is five years old today.
Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

A treat

Smudge had a holiday from school the other day, so we took the kids out for breakfast for a little treat. I enjoyed a fresh hot cup of coffee while Smudge waited patiently for her pancakes to arrive.
She thought that we should have a snuggle...
while JJ and Buppa posed for a picture...
and made creamer towers.

MMMM, it was a yummy breakfast, but the making of sweet memories was the best part of all.

The Princess...

...is Five years old this week.
She is pretty excited about that.
The little cutie!
She is having a party with her school chums next weekend, and the Grands aren't invited to that one (thank goodness), so last weekend a quiet pre-party party was held to celebrate the big day with the grands. A good time was had by all.

My Mary Poppins bag of tricks

I was rummaging around the basement the other day looking for my Mary Poppins bag of tricks, and when I dumped it out on the floor, many happy memories tumbled out of the bag along with the toys. Oh joy! Yes, my Mary Poppins bag of tricks, has been put to good use over the years, and I thought it was time to dust it off, and let JJ get his hands on some of the treasures.

Many years ago I remember carting it up the street when I had to cover for Althegal, when she was held up at work, and couldn't get to her babysitting job on time. I would grab the bag of action figures, transformers, construct blocks, and various other favorite toys our girls played with over the years, and report for duty at the house of two small boys. I felt like Mary Poppins standing on the doorstep with my bag of tricks in hand. I didn't have the fabulous hat though...oh well! The boys eyes would light up when they saw me at the door with the toy bag in hand, and the fun would begin. Some toys belonged to the Thesha, but most of the toys were Althegal's favorites.

Whenever other babysitting duties arose, or friends came to visit with small children in tow, I would bring out the bag of toys, and it was always a big hit. Many many little munchkins have let their imaginations run wild whilst playing with the treasures within the bag, and I knew it was time to let JJ delve into the magic contents.

When he pulled out toy after toy, he followed the same path all the other children over the years had trod. The bag has many expensive robots and action figures in it, but every child always gravitated to the same three inexpensive plastic Power Ranger figures that Althegal bought at the bargain store. Here we see JJ with the black one.
Now the red one joins the fight against the insect monster.
Oh my goodness, it is a battle royal.
Time to retreat and think about another attack.
Now the red figure is engaging the Transformer that changes from a cassette deck into a robot.
Then it is on to the truck that transforms into a robot.
I'm not sure who had more fun the other day, JJ or Amma! Hmmm?

Hope this brings back some happy memories for you Althegal.

Here we go for another round...

The Smudgster was sick all weekend with a tummy upset, so lots of Gravol was consumed, and a puke bucket was always at the ready... and she hit it every time. Good girl!
Parents went back to work yesterday, but schools were closed, so we did double duty for the day. Smudge's tummy was almost back to normal, so we took the kids out for breakfast as a special way to start the day. They each had a pancake, but neither had much of an appetite. On returning home, Smudge said her tummy didn't feel good so another dose of Gravol was given just in case. We put her on the couch, wrapped her in a blanket, gave her a puke bucket and let both kids watch TV. Her tummy settled down, but after lunch JJ's tummy took up the task and gave us a merry chase for our sanity all afternoon.
He didn't have a puke bucket close by, so his bed got a thorough dosing the first time his tummy erupted, and the second time he threw up, the couch was the unlucky recipient of a donation. Groan! I did get most of the upchuck in a towel though, as I had taken the precaution to cover the cushions near his head with it. He had a puke bucket, but just didn't get to it in time.

Sheesh what a day. I haven't heard yet this morning how last night went, but a short email at the end of the day yesterday said Mommy would be staying home with the sick little guy today, so we have the day off. I need it after the circus we endured yesterday. I slept the clock around last night, and think I might need a nap today.

Will you play with me?

After Amma finishes fixing your hair, will you play with me? I have my Robin Hood hat on, and my bow and arrow at the ready.
My hair is finished, but my game isn't. Answers Sister.

OK, I'll wait patiently on this chair until you are done. Says JJ
I want to watch some TV for a while. Sister says as she lounges on the easy chair.
OK, I'll watch TV with you, but I'll keep my hat on, and my bow and arrow handy just in case any bad guys show up.

Just because...

it's a cute picture

Jack-in-the-box?

Nope, it's JJ in the box

She makes us smile

Telling Amma a story...
then working on some lessons with Buppa.
This little one makes us smile.

The Magician

"I'm going to perform a magic act for you Amma. Do you have a magician's hat I can wear?"

"Hmm, let me see what I can come up with JJ. How about Buppa's hat, will that do?"

"Well, it's not a real magician's hat, but OK, I'll give it a try. Now let me see if I can get my magic wand to work."
Abracadabra....presto..... here is the number 1 appearing like magic from behind my back!
OK, that's enough of that, now it's time to make some pizza, and I'll be the pizza delivery man.
The fun just never ends at our house when JJ is around.

Hide-and-go-seek

The kids love to play this game, but they don't have all the intricacies of game down yet. There are limited places for an adult to hide, so we play the game using Winnie-the-pooh. The kids have to cover their eyes while we hide Winnie, then we cover our eyes while they hide Winnie. Lots of times one of the kids will tell us outright where the other one has hidden the silly, willy, nilly ole bear, but they never tire of the game and we go round and round and round in the bear-hunt.

The other morning AC was covering his eyes in the living room while the kids headed down the hall towards the bedrooms to hide the bear. After counting to 10 AC shouted out "Ready or not, you must be caught" and went on the hunt for W-the-P. The last time he had hidden Winnie in the bedroom, he had put him behind the bedroom door.

He burst out laughing when he rounded the corner into the hall and saw the kids both standing in the bedroom trying to look nonchalant.
Where do you suppose they had hidden Winnie?
Yep, behind the bedroom door!