Updates

• I did plant the seeds (finally).  Only now I can't remember which seeds went into which pots.  I don't have high hopes that I will be able to distinguish a basil plant from a tomato plant, but with the help of my trusty friend, Google, I will hopefully get it figured out at some point.

• Ben had his 2 year appointment.  Our "husky" boy weighed in at the 33rd percentile - what a chunk!  It was not a happy experience for Ben.   When the doctor came in the room, Ben said, "Go AWAY!"  To which the doctor responded, "Well, at least we know that he can say two-word sentences!"

• The opening day for the t-ball season is this Saturday.  Josh has had two practices.  Michael has had ZERO.  Thank you very much April Showers.

• Virginia trees have really started to bloom and everywhere you look there are trees and bushes covered in lovely blossoms of varying shades of white and pink.  However, in the midst of all this beauty, there is some plant here in Virginia that stinks and for the life of me, I can't figure out which one.

• We still love our van.  We did, sadly, have to finally get VA plates.  It isn't that I was sentimentally attached to the UT ones - they just made it easier to find our van in a sea of silver Honda Odysseys in the parking lot.  A few weeks after we got our plates, I actually tried to get into someone else's silver Honda Odyssey and was perplexed as to why I couldn't get the remote to unlock it and open the doors.  To make matters worse, the owner of that car walked up with her kids in the middle of my confusion and I had to apologize and explain to my kids why we had to go find another van (ours this time) to go home.

Cherry Blossoms in Winter

Yesterday we went to DC to see the Cherry Blossoms.  It wasn't Winter, but it might as well have been.  We are well past the first "official" day of Spring, but Virginia seems not to consider herself constrained by such trivialities as conventional seasons.  It was cold!

But lovely.

Unfortunately, in a family of boys, beauty doesn't compensate for cold.  And my boys were very cold.  Even in their Winter coats.  It turned out to be a short trip.

But still lovely.

The First Dandelion of Spring

If you take care of a large lawn, this picture probably makes you cringe in anticipation of a summer battling it out with these weeds.

For me, dandelions are the "flowers" that my boys love to bring me.  This the flower my sweet oldest son brought me this afternoon - the first dandelion of Spring.

Notes to Self

• While the red table cloth is much prettier, it shows a million times more of the food crumbs than the ugly cream colored with sundry roosters table cloth.
• I should probably take a valium before grocery shopping with two boys.  It won't stop them from screaming, but it will stop me from caring.
• If one wants snow, the best way to get it is to put away one's winter clothes.
• My house is in a state of entropy.  I should probably stop fighting it.

New Beginnings

I have grand plans of starting my own garden from seed this year.  So, I got my pots ready and placed them next to the only windows that get a decent amount of sun during the day.

I guess it would help if I actually put some seeds in the dirt.  Leaving them on the counter next to the pots hasn't been very effective thus far.

Someone needs to tell me to get my black thumbs in gear and get moving on this!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Better late than never - here is my birthday post for Ben!  Ben turned two last Saturday.  We forgot to mention to him that his birthday was at the end of March, so he took the initiative and started acting like a two-year-old several months back.  But now it is official.  

Ben is our sweet boy who thinks he is already six years old.  He loves his brothers, Ja and Mik-nal-way, but most especially Daddy.  He is very bright and a quick learner, having already learned pretty much everything Michael has to teach him about torturing an older sibling and loving to "read" books just like Josh.

We kept our celebrations small on Saturday as we have a big, combined family birthday party coming up for our boys and two of their cousins next month.   

On Saturday, my creative juices and decorating supplies ran dry, so instead of a Diego cake (Diego is his most favorite cartoon/toy/word in the world) we had a dairy/nut/egg free Blue's Clues cake (Blue coming in a close second with the Backyardigans, but being an infinitely easier cake to make).  Plus the kids enjoyed calling dibs on the cupcakes early in the cake making process.

Sitting with his most favorite person in the world, Ben huffed and he puffed and...

...Jason Ben blew the candles out!

We have a rather tortured history with cake in our little family.  Michael, a child after my own heart, took to baked goods immediately.  And the more chocolate the better!  Josh and Ben, however, approach cake with a great deal of reticence and suspicion.  I have seen both of them eat vegetables with less anguish and drama than eating a dense, moist, chocolate, scrumptious piece of cake.

So, yes, there were tears from our birthday boy when he was confronted with a piece of his cake.

He got over it though.

Until he got to the frosting.  Then there were more tears.

Until we coached him to lick his fingers.  Then, and only then, did he decide once and for all that maybe this birthday cake thing wasn't an attempt to poison him after all.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!  I guess I should probably stop calling you Baby Ben!

Great Falls

Last summer, my dad, the boys and I went to Great Falls Park with my sister.  It was freakishly hot.  We had a nice time, but I have wanted to go back when the weather was much cooler.  This last weekend was the perfect opportunity.  We went to the temple in the morning (thanks to Dad and Diane for watching the savages) and we, well I really, thought we might as well head over to Great Falls Park since we were close by.  There are waterfalls, rocks to climb on and nice walking paths there.  The boys had a fun time and Ben and I got to work some more on our sunburns.

This was actually phase one of Operation Hike-A-Lot.  I would love to do a lot of hiking this summer.  I suspect that we'll be slowed down by Ben, but I want to develop the habit in the boys now.  Ben actually is a little trooper when it comes to hiking.  Michael is the whiner who complains on the way there, complains the entire time and then tells us afterwards how much fun he had.  Josh does pretty well, just so long as we manage to confiscate any books he has brought along before we get out to hike.