Low Inventory

Yesterday afternoon, I babysat two boys whose mother was having a baby. Upon greeting the oldest, Jackson, who is three, he said a quick hello in his Texan twang and ran into my house and did a quick toy inventory check. As he was doing his inspection, I had a brief chat with these boys' morning shift babysitter. While this lovely lady and I were chatting, Jackson came running back and said,
"Miss Vonne?" (the morning babysitter)
"yes, Jackson."
"ya know what? These guys don't have any boy toys. It's all girl stuff."
So, I ran quickly to Matthew's room searching for whatever boy toy I could find. In the mean while, Chrissie was trying her best to play/be a hostess with Jackson. She first showed him her beautiful, pink, princess umbrella, which he looked at rather appalled. And then Chrissie went into her land of make believe. She opened up the umbrella and said, "hurry, its raining." He, of course, replied in his very matter-of-fact voice, "It's not raining. We're in the house." So, then, Chrissie ran to her play kitchen and asked Jackson, "Would you like some tea?" He looked at the empty tea cup and he didn't reply. So, she asked again, "some tea, tea?" He looked at me for an explanation, which I didn't give him, then he replied, "um, no."
So, then I jumped in feeling quite satisfied with toys I had rounded up. Should him the basket of what I considered boy toys, he inspected them and said disappointingly, "these are baby toys."
I gave up and sent them outside to play where he was satisfied with the tricycles.
Then came craft time where we were going to make some paper pumpkins. He of course replied, "Why are we making paper pumpkins?" I replied, "Because it's fun." That became my answers to a lot of his questions:
"Miss Vanessa, why do you have pumpkins in your house?"
"Because its fun and festive."
"Miss Vanessa, why do you have cobwebs in your house?"
"Because its fun."
And that was the manner of our conversation for the rest of the day.
Jackson and Chrissie got along quite well. Chrissie did an exceptional job sharing. Something we've been working on. She is not the best sharer (not sure that's a word). However, she did very well that day I believe for two reasons one, because we've been talking about being polite for months now and two, because her toys were never really threatened, since they were too girly for Mr. Jackson. Fortunate for the pumpkin craft, which he did end up enjoying despite it was paper, and for painting. I rolled out some paper, taped it to the table, and he and Chrissie and a blast painting.

Jackson definitely taught me what Matthew needs for Christmas.

Ode to Rick

Chrissie had been talking about "daddy's birthday" all day and kept shouting "I love him! I love him! I LOVE HIM!!" And the moment she heard the garage door open she bolted to the door with pigtails in her hair and a birthday hat on, yelling, "Happy Birthday Daddy! Happy Birthday Daddy!" So a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the man who can do anything.
Besides the fact that Rick is extremely good looking, he can do anything. He is incredibly handy inside the house and out--from the plumbing to the electric to tiling our floors to building the bookcases to landscaping our yard to operating on a person's brain.

Not to mention he can sing, play the guitar and the piano. The list can go on and on, but, the quality I love most is his absolute devotion to me and his family (both immediate and extended).

Taking care of the kids doesn't overwhelm him. Oddly enough he wants to give them a bath, play, read to them and snuggle with them at bedtime. He prefers doing these simple activies over golfing or other manly activities.
Involving the kids in everything he does comes naturally to him. You bet Chrissie is right there helping him with whatever project he is working on: from fixing the sprinkler head to building a piece of furniture.

Nothing makes him happier than to be with family. And nothing makes me happier than to be together. He is the most loving person I know. He has such a tender heart. I absolutely adore and admire this guy. And I feel so blessed to have him apart of my life.

Orlando

A few weeks ago, Rick and I, along with the kiddos, met Rick's entire family out in Orlando for a week of fun.
We had a wonderful time. We spent two days at Walt Disney World. We went to the Animal Kingdom on one day. Another day we went to the Magic Kingdom and had lunch with the princesses in Cinderella's castle. Chrissie was a wee bit worn out and hungry, so, she was a little "shy" (to put it politely) with the princesses. However, now, she talks fondly about that lunch completely forgetting that she absolutely refused to interact with the princesses.
And another day we went to a water park where Chrissie was in her element. I was amazed at how brave she was going down the big slides. She loves the water.
I would have to say that the best part about this trip was hanging out with family and playing at the pool. I'm so blessed with wonderful in-laws who have amazing kids. And Chrissie was a fish and I just loved watching her swim. I, especially, enjoyed spending time with Rick who is so busy otherwise.