Backwards?

Yeah, the shoes are on backwards. That's normal for her. More times than not when she slips them on they're on the wrong foot. And usually when you try to put them on the right foot ~ right as in correct ~ she gets mad.But my question is, was it backwards of me to buy her Crocs? Backwards as in going "back" in time. Aren't Crocs so three, four years ago?

I had no intentions of buying them. At the beginning of summer I bought her an adorable pair of Nike sandals. She loved them. She didn't notice that they made her feet stink really bad. She wore them everyday with everything. But they were pink; bright pink. And because I'm an old mom, I wasn't comfortable when she wore them with something, say, blue. I really felt that she needed something more neutral for that one day of the week that she didn't' have something on that was pink, accented with pink, or pinkish-hued.

Then one day I was walking through Big Lots and I saw a bunch of Crocs sitting there. Most of them were in adult sizes, but hidden in the back I saw a small pair. A little too big for M, but they were only 10 bucks. She kind of needed something that was easy on/easy off for when she went outside. They were the perfect, leg-lengthening neutral I had been wishing for, which could mean only one thing: They weren't pink! A few minutes later they were hers.

The second I slipped them on her feet I realized they were like a match made in non-stinky rubber Heaven. Like I suspected they were a little too big, but to her they fit like Cinderella's glass slipper.

It brings the whole family great joy that she can slip them on and off all by herself; albeit backwards. And I love that they go with everything she owns.

It's almost time to tuck them safely away in the back of the shoe closet. I've already bought her sandals for next year from the Keen sale at AKs work. Those were 10 bucks too. They're pretty cute. But they're pink. And unless I go backwards in age, say 20 years, I'll be looking for a neutral pair once again. I sure hope I'll be able to go back to the back of the shoe closet and dust these off for another go round.

Backwards idea? Heck no...the best purchase I've made all year.

The Invasion Continues

This is one of those entries that was supposed to happen back at the start of summer; back when I thought Toy Story 3 Mania was at its peak around our house. The paraphernalia had been out for months in anticipation of the June 18 opening.

June 18 was also J's last day of Kindergarten. I decided to go with an all TS3 theme for his celebration. I bought him a shirt; got up early to get the tickets for his and Daddy's movie date that evening; and because I couldn't find the perfect TS card, made him one.

My mom sent him TS2 a week or so earlier, and after watching it to his heart's content, he was ready to tackle the 3-D experience.

Summer got off to a good start and quickly other things to blog about upstaged the Toy Story story. The kids were still interested, but I figured I'd throw it into the "To Scrap" file and get to it in about 10 years.

But those toys -- oh, those toys. They're nonstop, those toys.

They're gigantic with expanding wings and a voice...

They're medium-sized and they're tiny.

And they're everywhere! On any given day at any given time, no matter how many times I pick them up, one will always show up again.

I told this to D the other day and he said the folks over at Pixar must be onto something. He's making a believer out of me. Now, if only the same folks over at Pixar would make a toy that cleaned house or did laundry while I'm not looking.....

M's caught the bug too. She calls anything Toy Story Bize (Buzz), except for Jesse, who is Sesy. She has a soft Buzz; a Buzz cup, which is the only cup worthy of her milk; the Alien (A-Yen) pictured above is hers; and although she has her own t-shirt, an adorable pink one with Jesse on it, she prefers to wear her brother's.

School starts next week. We've checked off all the items on the supply list. And it looks like we'll be joined by the same friends we started summer with.

In addition to all that he's also coerced me to buy him a new t-shirt as part of his back-to-school gear. M did too ~ and she ain't going nowhere!

Those toys -- oh, those toys.

I'll be picking them up To Infinity and Beyond.

SilverWould

SilverWould be in the State of Idaho; its patrons in a State of confusion bordering on frustration.

SilverWould have several great roller coasters. With long lines and one operating car.

SilverWould and does call itself a theme park. SilverWould be better serving its visitors if they informed them that the theme of their park is "Inefficiency."

SilverWould have a wait of almost 45 minutes to get what one would normally call "fast food."

SilverWould employ a kid that made a mistake at said fast food joint giving a certain customer too much food and a side of redemption for the long wait.

SilverWould also employ filthy Garfield as its mascot; a great choice given the lazy nature

of both the cat and the establishment.

On a positive note,

SilverWould have a great water park...

at which SilverWould make you wait in yet another long line to pay $5 for a locker when similar places charge about half that much for a self-serve deal.

I'm thinking that SilverWould be doing Garfield a big favor if it made the ammenities, along with a bar of soap, part of his benefits package. Just a thought.

Other than all of that, SilverWould make some cute little kids pretty happy.

And wet!




But unless we just happen to be driving through Northern Idaho without air conditioning
on a very, very hot day,
SilverWon't be seeing the Koongs again any time soon.

Lessons Learned

The weather today called for rain in Olympia so we decided to go somewhere where the sun would shine. Multnomah Falls outside of Portland is about a two-hour drive. Our master plan consisted of getting up early, checking out the falls, and going to Costco to buy both our headboard and the dual DVD player for the kids -- Tax Free. We'd then head over to AK's house to pick up some shoes he had bought for us.

Once my in-laws got wind of this they decided to join us. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little annoyed, and I'd be lying if I said I was surprised. I was just hoping that they would prove me wrong.

Multnomah Falls are the second highest year-round falls in the United States second only to Yosemite Falls back in my neck of the woods. When D was relaying this piece of information to me he said that although they are very popular, they aren't very secluded; that they're kind of there for the world to see -- even if you're just driving down the highway on your way to Target.

Once I saw them for myself I understood. While they are beautiful, I wouldn't call them breathtaking.We hiked a little ways all the while J was bugging about going to the gift shop one minute and AK's house the next. M was just happy to be out of the car.

Up next was Kenny's Noodle House. We'd been there once before back in December and D had been talking about going back ever since. This time, however, both D and I decided that it wasn't as good as we remembered.

J was a little out of sorts today, not unusual when he's around his grandparents. On our way out of Kenny's establishment, he leaned on a table and knocked down all the stuff atop it which caused a loud ruckus that had everybody turning our way. He managed to embarrass my MIL and I'm sure she was glad to say goodbye to us a few minutes later. My FIL, being the educator that he is, saw this as a lesson, one he wasn't going to let go untouched. He was overheard asking J what he learned from the incident. Js answer was simple: "Not to play around on the tables again."

With all of that behind us we were ready to embark on our Costco shopping spree. "The more you spend the more you save," was D's quote as we pulled into the parking lot. We weren't there more than five minutes before we found out they were all sold out of portable DVD players. Another five minutes after that we realized that they didn't have our headboard either. Also missing: D's keys.

I was sure that once he retraced his steps he would come back with them in hand. But he came back with nothing. He didn't find them and nobody had turned them in. And so it went. Costco closed 2 hours later and still no keys.

In the meantime, D called the dealer who said they would be able to make another key, on Monday. He called a locksmith that showed up and unlocked the door but couldn't make another key because only the dealer could. He finally called his parents who luckily were still in the area. J and my MIL stayed at AK's while my FIL drove D, M, and me to Oly and turned right around after picking up the key. It is now 10:50 and they just picked up the truck. What a relief. I was starting to worry that the person that found the key was going to go back and take it.

I think that like J back at the restaurant, we all learned a lesson or two today. Among them:

1) Don't inform in-laws about any upcoming trips to Portland unless you want company.

2) Any "nature" site close to a highway where cars zooming by can be heard is not really relaxing.

3) Just because a restaurant was good the first time doesn't mean it always will be.

4) My set of keys should always join us on long trips from now on.

5) Being greedy doesn't always deem you goods -- you'll probably walk out empty-handed.

6) Don't try to cheat your home state out of its due revenue. Buy your stuff there no matter what the taxes will be.

7) Make sure to inform in-laws of all upcoming trips to Portland in case you need them to rescue you.

A Day in the Life

She woke up about 7 yesterday morning. Right at about the same time Brother started asking if we could go get her. I ignored them both for about half an hour at which time Brother went into her room and yanked her out of her crib. "Tee-Tee, Jay-Jee," she says. And then the demands started: Bize Nook! AKA: Buzz Milk, AKA: Milk in her Buzz Lightyear sippy cup.

Breakfast was See-Yo, cereal, just cereal, because all the milk ended up in her hair. She spit up her medicine -- the pink antibiotic stuff that's been around for a hundred years -- and it ended up all over her clothes.

I changed her and we went to the park with the other moms from our church. She ate salami and cheese, rode somebody else's buggy, followed a five-year old boy around to the point of annoying him, climbed on the playground equipment, and crashed the boys' only club meeting going on underneath.

After nap she woke up hungry and asking for Ah-mas, hummus....she ate about half of the container. The other half, along with the crumbs of some Cheetos, ended up on her face:

And, of course, her hair.

It pairs nicely with the dried milk already there.

Next up was the track meet. And although it's Js event, she acts like she owns the place.
When we saw Js Kindergarten teacher she immediately ran up and waved hello.
Colleen has a very obvious afinity to M and was thrilled that she recognized her.
A short while later we saw another friend that hadn't seen her since she was a baby; she charmed her way into her heart as well.
She has a way of doing that, that M.



Once things got rolling she helped herself to his water bottle.

And never mind that he'd already clocked about two miles in the last 30 minutes,
she chased him around the field while he waited for the 400 to begin.


And he just complied.

He's a pretty fast kid who wants to win every race, but he slowed down enough
to let her trample all over him

until she declared herself victorious

and made her way over to the long jump area
that in her mind was a giant sandbox.

where she played and threw sand to her heart's content.

We got home about 8, gave her a much-needed bath, her Bize Nook,and put her to bed.

The wonderful life of a child!