The PB&J Club

In honor of Uncle T, G-Mawie and Em's arrival, I ordered these friendship necklaces for Em and Ray from Violet Gumdrop:

The entire weekend the girls referred to themselves as the Peanut Butter and Jelly club. Em was Peanut Butter and Ray was Jelly. I was an honorary member of the PB&J club because I bought them the necklaces. Chay was also an honorary member because he, well, just wouldn't go away. E tried to join the club by being the bread. That was nixed immediately by the board of directors (aka, Peanut Butter and Jelly, aka, Em and Ray).

Someone somewhere wants to know what they are doing...

At one point, the PB&J club became superheroes. "Peanut Butter to the rescue!" Followed by, "Jelly to the rescue!" And then, two little girls ran full speed ahead through the hotel room.

Put the two pieces together and you get a superhero!

G-Mawie and Uncle T were gracious hosts and allowed Ray to spend the entire weekend in their room. Peanut Butter and Jelly would fight like crazy, but when we tried to separate them, they immediately wanted the other one returned to the room. Their bond must be something in their blood -- Ray moved away from Em when she was one, yet it is like they were never separated. Just like their Peanut Butter and Jelly necklaces.

I can't wait until Peanut Butter & Jelly are together again.

Uncle T, You Don't Scare Me!

I'm too tired to make a good post tonight so I'll leave you with this...

Hey, at least you have your shirt on (grin).

My Daughter, The Photographer

We went to our favorite dive beach bar for a sunset one night while Guns and Kim were here. Unbeknownst to us, Ray managed to sneak the camera and take a few shots. In my humble opinion, she provided us with some interesting pics with a unique perspective.

A motorcycle in the parking lot

Me and a mini-van

My personal fave: the sunset

However, she also provided us with this delightful shot, which I'm not so excited about.

Eye level = butt level

They Are Fish

Guns and Kim are Ray's Godfather and Chay's Godmother, respectively. They came down for a visit, and seeing how our home is not a 4 star hotel and the Hyatt resort is, that's where they are staying. There are four pools, a golf course, fountains galore, tropical foliage, and a pool bar. What more do you need?

Ray and Chay spent Sunday night and all day yesterday in the pool. And, when I say all day, I mean all day. They even refused to get out to eat. Their favorite pool is the kind you can walk into like at a beach -- you walk in at an extremely shallow point and it gradually gets deeper. This made it very easy for us to sit back and relax while they swam.

At one point, however, Chay decided he didn't want to be in the shallow end any longer and he proceeded to walk deeper, and deeper, and deeper. One minute he was up to his chest; the next he was up to his eyeballs. But he kept walking. And walking. And walking. The only reason he stopped was because I dove in to keep him from drowning. Oh, and was he ever mad at me for pulling him out. He just didn't see why I wasn't going to let him walk until he could no longer breathe. Hurrumph.

This is what he looks like tonight after two days of non-stop swimming:

This was taken at 6:30 pm today. He's been like this for an hour. We were supposed to go to the hotel again tonight but I just don't think he could handle it. (Oh, and big sister Ray made sure he had some stuffed animals to help him sleep...)

Mother's Day Rocked

So, it turns out I was just PMSing. We had a great mother's day. It just started a little late! Guns and Kim got in around 2:30 (welcome, guys!). The kids gave me some very cute cards (which Ray had to color almost every inch of). We went to Ted's for Bison burgers and then took the kids swimming at the hotel. I drank wine and relaxed. The kids had a blast swimming. E is forgiven. All in all a good day.

Happy Mother's Day

Its 10:21 am on Mother's Day.

No card yet.

No "Happy Mother's Day" yet.

I've cleaned the bathroom, dusted, changed one poopy diaper, and cleaned two poopy butts.

Happy Mother's Day indeed.

ETA: Its now 1:32 pm. No card yet. He did take my car to be washed and vacuumed. But that's just because Guns and Kim will be here soon and he was embarassed by the state of it. I am not liking today.

She's a Kid Now

I never pictured myself as the mother to a kid. Sure, when I was pregnant with them I could imagine being a mom to a baby. At their first birthday parties, I looked forward to the toddler years. But, I have never looked far enough into the future to actually imagine having a KID. A school aged kid -- never. A teenager? Not gonna happen.


So, when the seven year old neighbor girl rang our doorbell last night, I was not expecting the question that came next. Oh, no, I thought, what is she trying to sell? Do I have any cash to appease her? Or did Chay leave his toys in their yard again?


"Can Ray come out to play?"


Smack! That's me being hit in the face with reality.


Wait, what? Ray is old enough to go outside to play? Other kids want to play with her? Without me?


I didn't think the fact that Ray is no longer a toddler and is actually a kid now would hit me so hard. But it did. She's growing up. She's making friends. She's getting an identity that isn't all about me. And she's only 3 1/2. What is she going to be like at 6? What is it going to be like to be a mom of a school aged kid? How is school going to change her?


At least Chay is still a toddler -- its all about me and him. This time though, I will be a little more prepared when he starts to gain his independence.