Is it ice cream... or cool whip....

NO! It is DESITIN! YUCK! I walk out of the room for 2 minutes to check on dinner & i come back to see Eli into the Desitin. First of all, i didn't even know where the desitin was, but apparently Eli did! He had it on his hands, clothes, & lip - not to mention the rug! Does this sound familiar, Peto? I know you accidentally brushed your teeth with desitin... at night...in the dark... in a hotel room... when we were kids! Did i say, Yuck!?

Playdate!

Yesterday we had a short little playdate with "cousin" Aedon! At first, Eli wasn't so sure about sharing, but once we got a reciprocal car game going, things got better! Aedon enjoyed playing with the big kids & has grown so much in the last couple of months! He is coming up on 9 months fast!!

Hi cutie! (Little Bastian, Jr!)

We will have many more of these playdates after school gets out & the lazy days of summer hit! I am ready for some easy going weeks!

We love Ms. Missy!

Jackson only has 1 day left of his first year of preschool & we will miss his teacher immensely! I, personally have no idea how i would have gotten along without her this year. I was so nervous about leaving my baby with someone & worried that he wouldn't be understood & somehow overlooked because of that. But i was so wrong! Ms. Missy has been so wonderful with Jackson & patient with me! Jackson just loves her & is already wondering about what this "new teacher in the fall" thing is i have been talking about. He said tonight, "Kaleb & me trade teachers?" I had to explain that Kaleb might get Ms. Missy next year because he is now three, but since Jackson is four now, he needs a new teacher! I think he is still considering this! I already asked Missy to move to the fours!! PLEASE! And Jackson has learned so much at preschool & has really grown & blossomed in this past year, that i can hardly believe it. He has NEVER gotten into trouble or followed with the crowd (who was getting into trouble) & Ms. Missy always has a great report for us. He saves his wild behavior for us at home, which is fine by me since i would much rather him be good for others, anyday! So hats off to Ms. Missy for teaching him so much & taking such great care of my boy!

So Sneaky!

We had (have) so many strawberries from our recent trip to pick them that i have had to come up with creative ways to eat them! I made waffles the other night & decided it would be yummy to puree strawberries to pour over the top instead of syrup. Sounds yummy, right? Not! It was too tart & it really needed syrup with it & i guess that makes sense since when i eat fruit on top of waffles i do usually have syrup too. Jackson refused to eat it (he doesn't like veering from the norm) & Eli tried it & made an awful face before spitting it back out (this was after the tantrum that made him leave the table when he saw me pour "red" syrup on top of his waffle- apparently he doesn't like veering from the norm either!) So- i thought things over & decided that i was NOT trashing the strawberry puree- i just couldn't! So i improvised & turned it into frozen popsicles! Now, THESE were a hit! Isn't it interesting how the same exact thing can look so different (& so much better) under a different circumstance? It's a lot like life, huh?

They have become such a hit, that i made a second batch the next day just so we would have a good lot of them in the freezer for the next several weeks. I have to say, it brought back lots of memories of making baby food cubes! They are baby food cubes with a stick! And i feel good about giving my kids these popscicles since they are 100% fruit & they think it is "ice cream!" Anyone for a serving of fruit??

Change is a coming.......

Beginning in June, our family will have a new company to thank for the food on our plates. Randy was offered his new job Friday & accepted yesterday so he starts the beginning of June & while we (he) are excited, we (he) are also very nervous. When you have been with a company for so long, it is hard to say goodbye even if you know change is what you need to better your future for you & your family. Neither Randy nor myself are good at handling change. We just like the status quo, so hopefully MESCO will become the status quo quickly!! But, Congrats to Randy on the new job. We know he will like it there (eventually!) And praise to the Lord for providing for us, as always .

Simply Ridiculous....

On my way out to work this morning i saw a gas station & was astonished that gas was $3.79 & then during the day i passed this...... $3.84?! There are simply no words, so enough said!

Happy Rainy Mother's Day!

Through the rain & dreary mess, i managed to enjoy my mother's day! I managed to fit in all my mother's in one weekend which was no easy task! We did lot's of traveling but it was worth it to spend some time with each one! And the boys got to hug each one too! And we know that Nanny, Grandma Tee, & Mema can't resist these sweet boys hugs & sugars! When i got home from Wilmington, Randy had flowers waiting on me (& i can't remember the last time i saw those, so he got a big hug too!)

Fun at Grandaddy & Grandma Tee's House

The boys got to visit & spend some fun time with Grandaddy & Grandma Tee while we were in Wilmington this weekend too. Jackson especially likes to play with Kenneth & Eli likes to eat & play! Grandaddy grilled yummy porkchops & grandma tee made her yummy baked beans so dinner was a success! After dinner, I convinced Grandaddy to get out the four wheeler for a little spin. I hadn't been on it since i was a teenager & of course there has been an upgrade since then! I let the boys take a spin with me (of course i didn't go over 5 miles an hour & i held onto them for dear life the entire time!!) but i had to convince Jackson to get on & Eli wanted to get on, until we moved, then he wanted OFF! He didn't like the wind in his face i don't think.

Part of the highlight of the visit for Eli too, was "Playing" with Pete. He kept going to the fence & letting Pete lick him. If Eli were a little bigger, we would have let him run in there & play with him, but Pete has LOTS of energy & might knock him over!Fix your lip, Pete! You tell him this, & he will fix it! Seriously!Once we finally convinced Jackson to get on, he didn't want to get off. He kept saying, "I want to go again!" everytime we came back in from the field. BUt 5 miles an hour got a little boring for Mommy, so 3 trips around the field was enough & she was ready for a little more juice!

We tried one last time with Eli sandwiched between Mommy & Grandaddy & he liked it this way! The wind was off his face & he was looking around & pointing to everything. (And mommy got to squeeze him tight the whole time!)

Thanks for the dinner & entertainment Grandaddy & Grandma Tee! It was yummy & fun!

Strawberry Pickin'

This weekend we went to Wilmington for the first time since February! It was a trip long over due but with gas prices, & our busy schedules, it just took us a while to get down there again. Mother's Day weekend was the perfect opportunity & excuse to go, so we did! While we were there we took the kids to pick strawberries. I used to go (to the same place) with my Memaw when i was a kid, & hadn't been since i went with her myself, so it was a fun time building new memories with the boys. They had a great time, even though we pretty much had to throw back most of the strawberries Eli picked (a.k.a. squished)! But he absolutely loves strawberries so he was in heaven!

After we picked berries, we indulged in some fresh homemade ice cream that the strawberry farm made & i think it was the highlight of the outing for the boys. You can tell from Jackson's face!!

Daddy's nifty new tool...

Okay, for the first time ever, i am actually impressed with a toy Randy got! He got a "micrometer" this week & was testing it out by measuring the thickness of tiny things like a peice of paper. (He needs this for the mandolin building). Well, he started quizzing me saying "tell me something to measure!" so i thought i would stump him & said, "Measure a strand of my hair." So he did & so help me, it worked! Each strand of my hair is .o46 millimeters & each strand of Randy's hair is .051 millimeters! Isn't that crazy!? What i immediately thought of is how God knows the number of hairs on each of our heads (matthew 10:30, "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered") & i am certain He knows that mine is only .046 millimeters!