Stunned.

Which is what I was after hearing a knock at the bedroom door Saturday morning, and watching Jack, Charlie and Sam parade in with breakfast for me. In bed. Seriously.

Toast and orange juice have never tasted so good.

Catching up with Depeche Mode

Actually, I'm just catching up with myself. Catching Up with Depeche Mode was the title of the band's November 1985 release, made available only in North America.

And that was your 80s Trivia Minute for today.

Seriously, where has the time gone? Once the whirlwind of activities begin, there's just no stopping until... well, until I absolutely feel like a slacker and make myself quit procrastinating. But a lot has happened since last Friday. For instance, baseball season has officially begun.

See? There's Jack pitching...

... to Charlie.

I will see this happen about 715 times before the middle of July.

If their team performs as well as last years' did, it should be a great season. Last summer, the boys had a terrific team -- too bad they had a bit of tough luck in the final tournament. On the bright side, both Jack and Charlie were chosen for their league's All-Star team. What a proud Baseball Mama I was! That, alone, totally made up for every inning we sat through in the sweltering heat and humidity.

I feel pretty... oh, so pretty...

Sid's guilty pleasures include basking in patches of sunlight and wearing flowers...

April, 24, 2009: Finally!

Finally... a gorgeous spring day. Blue skies and not a cloud in sight. We like this. :)

It's called a WHAT?!

As I'm sure you can imagine, having sons results in a wide variety of colorful discussions. (I won't go into the subject matter I've overheard being discussed when they aren't aware I'm close by. Oy vey.) Last night, as the only female in the company of all males, I learned a new word: Wenis. As a writer and self-proclaimed "word nerd," I love, love, LOVE learning new words. I have even been known to get side-tracked looking up a word in the dictionary and end up reading it for a half hour or so. Anyway, here's what happened...

Random subject: Elbows
Somehow we happened to be discussing elbows, and I asked Jack, Charlie and Sam if they remembered you can pinch your elbow skin as hard as you can and not feel it. (If you didn't know this, go ahead. Try it. I'll wait.) This, of course, prompted a giggling round of the "Pinch My Elbow" game. I have to admit -- it IS a really weird/funny phenomenon.

Jack: Mom, you know that elbow skin is called a "wenis."

Me: Oh, it is not.

Jack: Yeah it is!

Me: (getting irritated because all he wants to do is say a word that rhymes with "penis.") Jack that's enough!

Tyler: (looking up from his video game) Yep. It's called a "wenis."

Me: ?!?!?!

Jack: (giggling) Yeah,... and it rhymes with,... you know... the "down-down..." (gestures to the front of his shorts, giggling even more)

All boys break out in fits of laughter, shouting "Pinch my wenis! Pinch my wenis!" while I shoot Jeff a "please, please help me" look. All he can do is smile. The only one not affected by this brief trip into "boy humor" is sweet Bobby who is sleeping in his car seat.

Boys: 1
Mom: 0

Catching up... from Monday, April 20

Rain, rain...
Go away...

I mean it. GO AWAY!

Because when you live my life, rain brings not a basket of pretty May flowers...

...rather, a basket of muddy clothes.

Worn by equally muddy young boys.

Who happen to clean up quite nicely.

Catching up... from Sunday, April 19

Sunday was day 2 of the great flooring project. (Tearing up carpet and putting in laminate wood in front room.) For those who understand, "How hard could it be...?" Started the day with a special treat... dusting off the espresso machine and making our own lattes.

Little did we know there would be a show while we ate lunch.

That is, indeed, a squirrel.

A gymnastically-talented, limber tree rat stealing bird food.

Num-num-num...

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Kidding.
Without drumroll or other fanfare, Jeff installs the final piece of flooring.
Not to be mistaken for Jeff crouched in a corner, rocking back and forth,
sucking his thumb as a result of this epic weekend project.
That came later.