Crack Creeper

Rachel "what swimsuit should I wear to school Friday?"

Me "I don't know...which one do you want to wear?"

Rachel "probably the flower one...cuz it doesn't creep up my crack. That would probably be important."

That girl can't keep her "cheeks" covered no matter how hard she tries. Last summer the only sunburn she got was on her rear end (I failed in my sunscreen duties)! I guess I should just be grateful that she realizes it's important to TRY to keep her booty covered up!


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Glimpse of Retirement

Hurray for business trips! Rob had a conference in Orlando and I got to tag along for the week. We went out a couple days early and hit Disney World. Now let me just say that humidity & I don't get along very well. It makes my hair CRAZY curly and I feel like I'm being smothered when I breathe. But that considered, I had a magical time!

You may be wondering what we did with the kids for the week...Happy Mother's Day to my Mom. She got all four wild things for all 8 days! To her credit, she survived!

I'll admit Disney World just wasn't the same without the kids...

We didn't have to stop to talk to even ONE character. I didn't have to console anyone when a line took longer than it should have-although there were times I worried about Rob;). We skipped Fantasyland and Toontown without any heartbreak. The ONLY thing we did in Hollywood Studios was ride Rockin' Rollercoaster again, and again, and AGAIN!

I confess I did miss them a tiny bit. We kept taking pictures of the things the kids would have loved. I missed them most at Clearwater Beach. Rob was at meetings with his boss, Dean, for the latter part of the week; so Marla, Dean's wife, and I ventured to the Gulf. We got lost in Tampa (thank you Google maps for that detour) but eventually found our way to Clearwater. It was BEAUTIFUL! The waves were so small it made me want the kids there to play with down in the water. They would've loved it. I was happy there was no oil in the water or on the beach from the BP oil spill.

We considered going to Cocoa Beach out on the Atlantic, but the space shuttle launch was scheduled and we decided not to try to fight the crowds (the news said they predicted over 300 thousand people would go out there to watch it-and to get to Cocoa Beach it's a single lane road...YIKES)!


One of the highlights was that we got to visit with some long, lost college friends. As luck had it, Craig & Tammy Youngs were in Orlando for a business conference at the same time we were there. We met them for magic hours at Hollywood Studios and rode Rockin' Rollercoaster with them for awhile, then headed to Downtown Disney for dinner. We sat outside talking for hours. I wish they didn't live in Michigan-they'd be fun to hang out with more often than once every 12 years!


We got to go out on an airboat ride and see some gators. The amount of bugs that were in the air freaked me out-I just got the creepy-crawlys thinking about it. Not my favorite thing we did, but worth doing once. We saw more alligators in the lobby of the Gaylord Palms, the hotel where Rob's convention was, than we saw out on the airboat.

On a random side note: Rob has become the king of self-photos. We worked our way through Florida with Rob's long arm snapping pictures along the way. It's very useful since we hate asking random people to take our picture.

I think I've caught a glimpse of what retirement can hold...and I'm looking forward to it! But in the meantime I will be content for the occasional getaway. I don't think it can be more than occasional, Hayden wouldn't let go of me all day Sunday. He kept his little arms around my neck and kept saying "Missed you mom". Always glad to know I'm missed!

Drawback to Digital

Rachel was looking through the photo albums at some Disneyland pictures and kept saying things like "oh I'm so cute".


I realize it should have been obvious to Rachel that these pictures were not of her (if nothing else I was a dead giveaway-my hair is short & blond & I was thinner then*sigh*). But I was not about to burst her bubble.

Enter Ben. "That's not you that's Lauren. There aren't any pictures of you...or Hayden!"

Thanks for throwing me under the bus Ben!


Rachel demanded to know why and I tried to defend myself. "We have lots of pictures of you & Bear. They're on the computer."

"You need to get them unstuck from the stupid computer so I can see them."

I think I've discovered the drawback to digital cameras-a ticked off 4 year old! Here is exhibit A that I do indeed have pictures of the younger children (and Rachel was right she is so cute)!




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Sharks & Animals

I went to get Hayden's & Rachel's birth certificates today (I know it's extremely late but better late than never right?). I parked in the parking garage & Hayden began chanting "animals & sharks" over & over again. After a few minutes I realized he thought we were at the Mirage hotel going to see the dolphins & white tigers. (That is the only parking garage he's ever been in.)

He ran in the revolving doors, still chanting. Inside the office was a big wall of windows which he pressed his face against anxiously looking for the "animals & sharks". When all he saw were people walking by he threw me the stink eye, shook his head and angrily asked "sharks? animals?".

Such a disappointing day for the poor boy!




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Rachel the Bearded Hippo

Today at preschool it was hobo day. Dress like a hobo & bring a lunch wrapped in a bandana attached to a stick-it sounds easy enough right?

Rachel came to me this morning and asked if she looked like a hippo. Do you mean a hobo?

No it's hippo day. Does my beard make me look like a hippo? Yep it sure does!

This will probably be the only time in her life that she will be happy to look like a "hippo"!

Inside Out & Backwards

Hayden helped get himself dressed today & chose the dirty shirt he wore yesterday. I told him he couldn't wear it because it's dirty. He proceeded to turn the dirty shirt inside out & put it on backwards. He nodded his little shaved head once & confidently pronounced it "clean".

Foolish me-I thought I had to wash the clothes after each use! Leave it to a two year old to simplify the neverending chore of laundry!

P.S. I did manage to get him out of the dirty shirt before leaving the house!


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Only Gas?

When I was 8, I had to get 8 cavities filled. It was traumatizing! Dr. Pain (I can't remember his real name, but in light of how much it hurt I feel the nickname is suiting) didn't use ANYTHING to numb me and he wouldn't let my mom stay in the room with me. When I cried and protested he "reassured" me with phrases like: it didn't really hurt, they were just little cavities and to stop crying. Thanks to this experience I refused to go back to a dentist until I needed a root canal when I was 17 (sorry to all the boys I kissed prior to this...I did brush & floss A LOT though).

Fast forward 25 years from Dr. Pain. After testing out several dentists, I've found one we love...Rachel likes him so much she refers to him as Uncle Brian!

I sat in our beloved dentist office with my kids today and heard the dreaded words..."looks like you have a little cavity here Ben." I began to feel the panic set in, so I plastered a smile onto my face trying to be upbeat for Ben. I have to admit I am grateful it was Ben with the cavity not Lauren. He can take stuff like that, whereas Lauren would have used a toothbrush as a shiv, and kicked out the window to make her escape from the drill.

Dr. Brian got out the nitrous mask and told Ben he wasn't going to give him a shot that the laughing gas should be good enough. My breathing grew heavier...no numbing...only gas? I trust Brian, but I did want to know why & explain my concerns. He listened, answered & proceeded. Ben sat there like he was sunbathing under the dental lamp. Relaxed, content, and pain-free!

When he was finished Ben proudly told Lauren "I had a cavity and I got laughing gas. But guess what-I didn't even laugh once! And I have another cavity so I get to come back again next week! Cool huh?"

The boy is kinda nuts, but I am thankful that his experience at the dentist was SO different than mine. So I say hallelujah-I won't have to drag him into the dentist office. I mean let's face it, I've got enough other phobia battles that one more would have probably thrown me over the edge!