a few more pictures from the beach

Ansley practicing piano

This is one of her new songs.

Petti-cares and Egg Drop Soup

So I think Stephen will make an excellent husband one day. Of course, I am sure I am biased. But it can not hurt that he has spent the last year or two with mostly girls. Abby, Madeline and Juliet are his playmates each day. Baby Parker (a boy) and Baby Elle (a girl) are also there.

But spending so much time with girls can only help him later I think.

Stephen: Today we did not learn our letters.
Me: You didn't?
Stephen: Nope. We learned about petti-cares.
Me: Petti-cares?? What is that?
Stephen: You know, a petti-care. When you take care of your toes. Girls love it. Abby and Madeline and Juliet love petti-cares. They tried to petti-care me. I said, NO WAY.

In other news, my girl was upset after school today b/c a certain little brother got ahold of the DS and reset one of the games. She was not mad at him, but just cried to me. which is not like her at all. 99% of the time, if we see tears from Ansley, it means she has not eaten enough. And we act quickly. There was never any connection between what or how much she ate to the passing out episodes, but I don't like her to be hungry. My mom says Ansley is just like her mom. Food is low on the priority list. My grandmother used to "forget to eat". I mean, who does that?? Not me! Ansley would forget to eat quite often if I didn't remind her that we have three meals a day. So when I saw tears this afternoon after school, I knew food was a priority.
On Monday nights I go to class at South so Jamey and the kids are on their own. And last night for dinner? Take out Chinese (Jamey and the kids LOVE it)

Crying Scene in the kitchen:
Me: Aren't you hungry? Don't you want something to eat?
Ansley: (sniff, sniff) Yes, I want Egg Drop Soup.
Me: That is what would make you feel better?
Ansley: Yes - Egg Drop Soup and sweet and sour chicken is what I need.
Me: You need it?
Ansley: Yes. I need it. (sniff, sniff)

Good thing for leftovers.....

Easter Eggs!

Ansley's Easter Eggs - Stephen was just plain uninterested in decorating this year. "You do it, Mommy. And then I will come and look to see how I did." Stephen tells me.

 

 

 

Hard at work. She worked on each egg with great care.

Picnic breakfast before the Easter Egg Hunt. Ansley and her friend Bailey.

The kids gathered for a prehunt picture.

The hunt is on!

finding more eggs

Stephen, Ansley, Bailey and our friend Shannon

checking out the inside of the eggs

beach trip

The two sides of my brain....

So siblings are going to fight with each other - I know that. I myself am a sibling, so I know that it happens. 99% of the time, my two kids play really well together. For example, this morning I ruled the tv off limits and they have happily played all morning long including an extra sweet time of Ansley reading books aloud to her little brother.
We spent the past 5 days at the beach (pictures to come) and they played in the sand, jumped waves together, swam in the pool. On the ride home from the beach, they sat next to each other in the truck (as in, within arms reach of each other) and were still happy enough with each other's company. We were home about 5 minutes and I sent them to the back yard so I could begin to tackle the post beach piles of clothes mixed with sand. I looked out the back window and saw Ansley on top of Stephen, her little fists ready to go and Stephen with his foot up ready to kick her off. Admittedly, I probably stood there frozen for a few seconds because I had never seen this in my own family - EVER. I pull kids off each other regularly at school, but my own two kids?!?!?!? I was shocked! I opened the door and they immediately jumped off each other."Did I just see the two of you actually fighting?" I asked.
"Yes." they both replied with little faces turned down but eyes looking up to see my reaction. I was still so stunned, I wasn't even sure what to say. So I sent one to face one wall and the other to another wall.

"Are we in time out?" Stephen asked. "YES." I said. "And it may be a while because mommy has to process this."

Jamey entered the scene at this point and called Ansley in to talk with him. Long story short, there was a disagreement about whose monkey was eaten by Tilly (strangely, no one cared that the poor monkey was Tilly's afternoon snack - apparently just the ownership of the now in pieces monkey was in question) Ansley said Stephen hit her, so she pushed him, and so the fight began. Jamey then called Stephen in to talk to him and received pretty much the same story.
"Did you hit Sissy?" Jamey asked him.
"I did." Stephen said sadly.
"Why did you hit her?"
"Well, sometimes my nice brain gets blocked. And then my mean brain is not blocked. So that is what happened and then I hit her."
Well, there you go. Stephen will be working on getting more control of his "nice brain" in the near future. This is certainly not an easy task for a child or an adult.
Jamey finished out his talk with Stephen with a straight face. He sent both kids to their rooms to retrieve a beloved toy which was now lost to the top of dad's closet for a week.
Here is to a violence free end of Spring Break week.

First attempt at using what I am learning in photography class....

Backyard practice time....I am supposed to work on a few things - so these pictures are my attempt at a few new skills. Who knew you didn't have to keep the camera on automatic all the time???? I am going to try and post pictures I take over the next few months to see if there is any improvement.
:)

Little baby cherry tomatoes growing in the garden - aren't they cute???

Flower basket in the back yard

stop action - karate chop!

showing off her tongue talent

basket of flowers in the backyard

swingtime

more swinging

and again swinging....

Cheese!

My Little Man

A night at the ballpark

These are a few pictures from Stephen's game last night. I have not quite mastered the settings on this camera so they are not the best pictures, but I AM taking a class at South on Monday nights so I hope my pictures start to get better as the weeks go by! I have always wanted to take a photography class.

The Windup...

Stephen's own gigantic cheering squad...

Cousin Eli came to cheer Stephen on

Ready for Action

Silly Pose - His glove is actually on his head - silly boy

Sweet face

Stephen and Eli high fiving between innings

Go Marlins!

Ansley and Eli sharing a snowcone - Eli is more worried about his next bite than smiling for the camera :)

His Grandad is making him laugh in this one

Are you STILL taking my picture, mom???

Eli was a good fan!

Action shot - Stephen hits the ball!

Go Stephen Go!

Happy Boy after the game

Stephen and Mamaw Jo

Stephen and Papaw

Stephen and Aunt Peggy

Stephen and Mamaw Judy