Hey Papa - You're the Man

Apparently Zoey's Papa, my dad, is quite a celebrity in her class. Any sentence she writes involves him, "I see Papa." And many pictures as well. Do you remember the first one:


So cute... Well, yesterday she came home with a book of drawings she had done and this was in it...



See Papa- you are the man!! Nice picture too, huh?

She does pictures of all family members, but I guess these make me smile the most. She did her Grandpa Bob (Ross' Dad) the other day too and it was awesome, but I don't have a picture. She came home and showed me this picture of him with tons of clippings of blue construction paper hair. (Blue hair!! Funny!) She even had it in a construction paper frame. I didn't get a picture of it, because she said she made it as a present for Grandma Bette. She said we needed to send it right away. I thought it was so cute that I rushed to get it in the mail!

Oh, and speaking of Grandparents... For some reason now, she associates anyone that is a little older and Asian as a Grandma!! And she points it out very loudly!! I am not even talking that old, either. We have a lot of Asian people in our area, so this is becoming a problem. The other day a lady came off the elevator (my guess is that she was maybe in her 40's) and Zoey said, "Hey, a Grandma!" Nice, I bet that made her day!! Or we went to an Asian grocery store the other day and she said, "Whoa, Grandma's are everywhere!!" Definitely an interesting time we are having with her and public outings... between that and learning the word FAT... makes for some interesting moments. Papa was actually alone with her at Panera Bread when she exclaimed a man was not only fat, but HUGE and used her hands to describe it. I gotta say, I am glad I missed that one. Sorry again, Dad!! You seem to get interesting situations

In the genes

Once a week, I volunteer at Zoey's school library. I read the class a story and then help them find books and check them out. The boys always circulate the Scooby Doo books and the girls focus on dogs and cats and Disney books. While in a line, one girl, with her Beagle book, was flipping through the pages and finding cute pictures of dogs. Each time she found a picture, she would show the other girls and they would all go, "OHHH, OHHH". From a couple people back, one boy just looks confused and says, "Why are you guys making that noise?" Just a girl thing, and it can be seen so young!

It's War...

THIS IS MY (JILL) VERSION OF THE STORY:
I admit it, I am a big chicken when it comes to a lot of things. Especially when it is something that might involve getting my kids to safety in odd circumstances... Where is this going? Well, some things really get my heart pumping and did I have an interesting night last night... Whew!
I have to rewind to about two months ago. The kids were in bed, Ross was studying in the office and I was reading or something. We had had a crazy week (those ones we seem to have, where we go to the ER multiple times and everyone gets sick). I remember thinking, what else could happen right? Well all of a sudden we hear something in the kitchen. It is a scrambling sound in the vent above the stove! Ross and I jump up and run in the kitchen. We agree it definitely sounds like an animal is stuck in there... but have no idea what it could be. I will admit that this little part of the adventure was kind of funny and exciting. Ross went all around investigating and finally he just decided to pull down the vent... out falls this...
Just a harmless little guy, really. So we just chased him out of the house. Not too big of a deal.

Fast forward to a couple weeks later. It is 4 am. Ross and I wake to a very LOUD scratching noise. It sounds like an animal is stuck inside the kids closet. We immediately get the kids into our bedroom, far from the sound and Ross goes investigating again. Well, it wasn't inside their closet, thankfully, but we don't know what it is. We get the pest control people out the next day to check all around the house, set some traps and plan to return the next day. They think it is rats (eew, gross right? yeah, just wait). The pest control people return, nothing is in the traps, they reset them, and leave again... This goes on for weeks. No sign of any animal. Now they think it is probably:

That creepy thing is a possum. Nocturnal, but basically, they don't stay around long and just mind their own business. Okay I tell pest control... I can handle that... They eat plants, no big deal. Oh but don't get too close, horrible fleas! Nevermind what I said, I hate these guys too.

Fast forward to a couple of nights ago. We have a sensor light in our back that just keeps coming on. Ross runs out to investigate and comes face to face with this guy:


Ross doesn't want to get close. But the next day, he finds where he dug into our yard, covers the whole and sets a trap. It doesn't work, he digs another hole.

Now it is last night. Ross is out of town (Of course, right). I get woken up suddenly at 3:30. It sounds like an animal scratching on metal. I get up to investigate, don't hear anything and then.. Thump, thump, thump, and then screaming!!! It sounds like the animal got caught in the trap (probably his tail) and is thumping it around and screaming and hissing. And then the smell comes... the skunk, under our house, spraying his scent, and I am ALL ALONE!!! So my heart is pounding trying to come up with a plan, thinking what I need to do with the kids and who I need to call... ( I almost called many of you). But the noise finally stops and I call Ross. I calm down while talking to him and then see the light go off in the backyard again... Ole skunk made it out safely... I saw him through the window. I couldn't go back to sleep again.

Ross is back. We went to Home Depot for supplies... spray and stuff to cover any possible entrance to the house and supplies for a trap. The crazy thing is, there isn't much the pest people or animal control can do if the traps they set don't work... So here is Ross's plan to catch him coming through the fence...It's war now buddy...


I have to tell ya, even writing this post has given me the eebie jeebies...Little creepy rodent animals and I obviously don't mix. And then after I got the kids to school and went to Barnes and Noble (I didn't feel like going back home) I had an encounter with really gross farting guy!! I should send him out after the skunk!

HERE IS ROSS's VERSION (OH, I have to mention too... Ross doesn't smell anything. Gas leak in the house, doesn't smell it; bad milk? Can't tell; But sit him next to a foreign person or get him within two miles of a skunk and he turns into radar nose):

HMMMM..... Me smell skunk... Me SEE SKUNK.... ME GONNA KILL SKUNK!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy Hat Day

Zoey's school had "Crazy Hat Day" the other day. She wanted to make her crazy hat for the big day. So she went to Michael's with a plan in mind, and came home with her supplies to get working:


Here she is with her finished product:


And another one. This is truly her favorite stuff. She loves crafts and art days in school. As soon as she found out about the day, she was so excited. She proudly wore her hat to school eager to show her friends and teacher.

Rain and Baking and Eating

It has been raining and raining and raining. When you aren't used to the rain... you don't know what to do!! So we have been baking. Here is Zoey mixing things up:



We have been making brownies and lots of chocolate chip cookies. Then we have a little snack and send the rest off with Ross to work. The other day we made brownies and I gave a small piece to Zoey and a small piece to Max. Then I left the room. I heard Zoey say she didn't really want hers, but didn't think much about it... then Max comes into the office room I am in, chomping on his brownie. And then he leaves. And then he comes back with another brownie. I think to myself that he got lucky with Zoey's piece... and then he leaves again. And comes back again with another piece! The thing is, they looked like perfectly cut pieces in his hand, so I had to get up and go investigate... hoping he wasn't using the knife (just a butter knife, but still). This is what I found... the evidence left behind...



I was glad he didn't go for the knife. And then packed the rest away!! It was a good day in the world of Max!

Help Children with Autism

Here is an easy way to do something for children with autism. The band Five for Fighting will donate 40 cents to children's autism research for each time this video is viewed online:

What Kind of World Do You Want

This is for real. Click and watch and you will help donate.

Man of Many Talents...

Last year a local radio station was having a contest to promote the radio station and it was being played during the tv show 24. It had to be short, and say the name of the radio station. Here is the entry and Ross' acting debut...



Ross has other talents as well... I mentioned at the beginning of the month that we have been trying to be a little more healthy. One of the things we have been doing is eating more vegetables and trying lots of different kinds. Well, Ross claims this addition to his diet fuels him with crazy amounts of gas. So the other morning we were lying in bed, when Max came into the room. We were both tired so he just climbed up and sat by our feet. All of a sudden Ross rolls over and farts SO LOUD, it sounds like a cannon has just shot out of his derriere. Max was so startled, he FLEW into our arms. Poor guy was so scared!

Zip Cord

Here are some pictures of the kids riding the Zip Cord they got for Christmas.




Unfortunately, there is a weight limit, so I can't ride it. The kids have fun though.

Zoey Rockin' In Church

I know a lot of posts have revolved around Zoey and her new found love of all things rock music and guitar hero, but this one is too funny to pass on. This past Sunday we went to church in the evening. It was the Teen Mass, so it is always a little more lively. The music is more contemporary and fun, definitely a good thing to get the young teens excited for church. I think they even have an electric guitar. So we arrived, went into the pew and settled in. Max was sitting down with a book and snack and Zoey was standing in between me and Ross. When the opening song began and we stood up, Zoey started smiling with the realization that she could do a little "guitar hero rockin"! And that is what she did. She played her air guitar and rocked to the music in church. Ross and I could not look at each other for fear of cracking up completely. It was hilarious. She never ceases to entertain us, in so many ways!!

On the importance of reading directions... and other useful tips

Ross was starting to feel a cold coming on, so I told him to go get some Airborne to try. Now, Ross is not a fan of reading directions on anything. For example, if we buy some furniture that needs assembling, he finds it a challenge to try and do it without reading the directions; or when we are driving somewhere, he doesn't always see the road signs to where we are going (apparently that is my job as navigator (I have been fired before))! Now, he doesn't take any medicine very often, and when he does, I usually just give him what he needs and we are done with it. Well, off he went to the pharmacy to get the Airborne. And being very thoughtful and sweet (I have to say something nice, right?) he stopped by the Starbucks on the way home for me:) Now, just FYI, Airborne is a tablet that gets dissolved in water and then you drink it. One would clearly know this, if say, you look at the directions... otherwise, it may just be a chewable tablet. This was the commentary I got when he got home,

So, I think you are supposed to dissolve this stuff in water and then drink it. (Me, thinking in my head, "oh my gosh! What did you do?") I was waiting at Starbucks and just opened one up and plopped it in my mouth. I started chewing, thinking it was a chewable medicine, when my mouth just started foaming up! I didn't know what to do, so I just swallowed it all!! But the craziest thing was as I was leaving, I had the most incredible BURP I have ever had! It was so long and loud... and then he gave me a demo

The point of this story... if you are young male about to participate in some weird male burping contest type of thing... eat an Airborne tablet right before... victory will be yours.

Rock Star!

So the effects of having our nephew Josh's Guitar Hero game with us for a week are showing up in many ways with our Zoey! Not only is she more interested in certain songs (her song is Pat Benatar's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, which we had to download for her) but she is also showing us her inner Rock Star. And although amusing, a little scary too. She really gets into it. Today, Max and I showed up a little early to pick her up from school. The kids were all in the little play yard right outside their rooms. I peeked through the fence and Zoey was standing in front of the two kindergarten teachers, just talking to them, and then all of a sudden she breaks into her guitar solo. I couldn't hear her, but I could see her. She was playing her air guitar, doing some kicks, and slashing her head around. (She informed me later, that it is important to get your hair in your face when doing that... see, scary right?) The teachers clapped and cheered at the end. I can only imagine what they were thinking. They could probably right a hilarious book on the things kids tell them, but that is another story. Anyway, here is a picture of Zoey in mid song:


You can see her air guitar motion and her lean back getting ready for the kick!

And here is a video:

New Year

A lot and a lot of nothing has been going on around here lately, which is why blogging has been light. As with a lot of people, the new year makes me stop a minute and reflect as well as look forward. So we have been trying to get a little more organized, be a little more healthy, and feel a little more at peace in our home. It is definitely a slow going process. My mom said she read somewhere, "Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling snow while it is still snowing!" I clean up one room, move to the next, and the last one gets destroyed!! And this week we are all back into the swing of things with school and work. It wasn't too bad of a transition considering Ross and I were camping out in the living room for most of the break! (This was by choice, BTW, we had visitors who left and were coming back, so we kept the futon out, stayed up late watching movies and had a jumping room during the day for the kids (Ross and I included, we are often just big kids)) It was fun for all! So, going along with my somewhat organizing and being healthy, I came across this book, that I just have to mention:


I think this book is pretty fascinating. I have always liked nutrition as a little hobby, and totally think that a lot of stuff going on in our bodies health wise (cholesterol, thyroid conditions, even better hair and skin) can be helped just through the foods you eat. Now the obvious is in there... like there are no bad vegetables, and nuts have good fats and lots of minerals, but the author tells you about the vitamins and minerals that are in these 150 foods he has picked and how they help specific ailments and diseases. Some of them might surprise you. Kim chi, anyone? That is right, my ancestors knew what they were doing with that. Bottom line is, throughout history and all the different cultures of people, the main thing is to get as far away from prepackaged "bar code" food, to eating the real stuff. Whatever your diet opinion is, I don't think you can argue too much with that!

Mr. Webster... Help please

Zoey has been going through a little bit of a baby talk phase lately. We try and just correct her and not put too much emphasis on it. Pick your battles, right? The problem is, however, when we don't correct her with the right information. Ross was really sleepy when this occurred (so he claims!) and without a verbal spell checker....

Ross: Zoey it is time to get dressed.
Zoey: Daddy, I don't want to get "DWESSED."
Ross: Zoey, don't talk like that. It is DRESSED, D-R-E-S-T.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year All! I know I am a little behind. I had to take a break from blogging because I was trying to actually turn all of 2007 blogs into a book (through blurb.com, if you are interested)... anyway, this is sort of a virtual scrapbook for us, so I wanted to preserve some of the funniest things. So cheers to you! Wishing you a very faith-filled, happy, and healthy new year. 2008 - TEN years since Ross and I graduated from COLLEGE!! Seriously! Can that be right? It is true that time seems to speed up as you get older.
Photo credit: DOTW