the question box

Mr. Cooper enjoying some Veggie Chili and his canned-goods race car track. He had cans swirled all over the table and was driving cars on top of them because I asked him not to scrape the cars along the table.

This boy is made of chili lately. He asks for it all the time, but I draw the line at chili and chips for breakfast. That is just wrong. So I was not surprised when he came to me at 11 AM holding a can of Trader Joe's Vegetarian Chili and asked if he could eat his "mechanical chili" now. I had a good giggle about the word he substituted for vegetarian. Although there is definitely something mechanical about chili. For the record, it's pretty good as canned chili goes.
While driving home in the Jeep with the boys and Syd, Logan asks from the back seat, "Dad, where does Chinese food come from?"

Dad: China.

Logan: No, what animal does it come from?

Dad: Oh, chicken and pigs and cows and ducks....

Logan: And Pandas?

Dad: No, people aren't supposed to eat Panda's, buddy.

Logan: Then how come there was a picture of a Panda on that sign?

Then I realized we just passed Panda Express where we have gone for Chinese food before. Smart kid. ;)

Dad's the MAN!

Sydney loves saying Da-Da! When I ask her where Daddy is she repeats his name and points to the door. I love seeing the big smile on Daddy's face when he gets home and Syd says, "DA-DA!" as loud as she can. I imagine she is saying "thanks for putting in another long days work for us. I'm glad you're home to play with me." Then she toddles over as fast as she can, hugs his legs, and reaches up for him to give her a real hug. I know it helps Dave work so hard for our family when the kids show how much they love him, even our sweet toddler. Maybe I should switch Dave for a week or two so Syd will say Ma-Ma, a word that is sadly absent from her limited vocabulary at this point. I ask her to say MaMa and she gets a wicked grin on her face and whispers...........Da-Da. Little stinker.

We missed our Daddy last weekend because he was at a seminar for continuing-ed credits. It's fun to see Dave come home from a seminar reenergized and excited about what he does. Logan still asks him every morning if he has to go to work and when Dave answered "Yes" on Saturday morning there was quite a revolt. We made the best of the day by playing and avoiding chores all morning. ;) We got the basic chores done in the afternoon which consist of garbage/recycling (Toby), dishes (Mom & Logan) and sweep/mop (Jessie), clean the bathroom (Jessie), laundry (everyone) and vacuum (everyone). I'm tired just thinking about all that.

(It doesn't help that it went from 65 to 92 degrees here in a matter of 2 days, and the heat sucked all my energy today.) I'm currently sweating in front of the fan and wondering how hot it's going to get this summer.

I'm still keeping up with Project 365. I have missed taking pictures a few days in which case I just cheat and take a picture of something that represents what I want to say for that day. Considering the constant craziness I'm okay with that. I love knowing that those little things about my life/family that will be forgotten soon are now being recorded because I am in the habit of writing them down. I am really trying to see this through for the entire year and look forward to thumbing through the pages of our 2009 album often.
I was so lucky to catch this picture. Jessie is not asleep, but she would have been if I had left them alone. Dave is home late on Wednesday's, usually 7:30-8 PM. Syd was overtired and crying and I honestly don't remeber what I was doing, but I couldn't get away to put Syd to bed just yet. I asked Jess if she could help her sister be happy until I could get to her and this is how I found them. J was pretty pleased with herself.I got a little sentimental as I was loading the dishwasher tonight (Sunday) after the kids were in bed. Those little stacking cups in the middle of the rack were given to us at a baby shower before Jessie was born. They have been a staple in the bath for all the kids all these 8 years. I remember each baby trying to drink out of them and play with them in all the different bathtubs we've lived in. They have been used as a princess tower, to hold snacks at the table, and always find their way back together after one or two get lost. They are just a little reminder of how fast time goes by when you don't think about it and how much our family has changed in all these years.

Back to our regular scheduled program............

Today wraps up our Spring Break from school and the kids are having so much fun they don't want to get back to work. Isn't that how we all feel sometimes? Jessie said today she wished she had another week of vacation. We still did chores and work, but the week was much more laid back.

Yesterday at the zoo we were walking to the last few animals before going home when Logan said, "My legs are so tired they need to sit down and watch a movie." My master plan worked. The boys were pooped after walking around the zoo and we had an enjoyable time even though the zoo was, well a zoo. I knew I was asking for trouble going on a Friday, but we just didn't make it earlier in the week, and I promised the boys we would go. Grandma Evie came with us to help with Syd and ultimately to help fight the crowd. For those who have been to the Oakland Zoo, you know the top parking lot and overflow? It, along with all the lower parking lots, were completely filled. They even started parking cars in one of the access lanes at the back of the parking lot and all down the back exit. I have never seen the zoo so crowded. Thankfully, the crowd seemed to spread out well and we still had a nice trip.

Sydney LOVED being close to the animals. We might have a future veterinarian in this sweet little girl. She squeeled and bounced at the aviary, pointed in awe and said "wow" at the giraffes and elephants, and wanted to hug the goats. She loves dogs just as much, but we have a hard time finding dogs that love her back. Uncle Dan and Aunt Lauren's chocolate lab, Simon, is one of the only dogs that will let Sydney get close to him. Aunt Tori's little puppy Sasha also loves to play with Syd. Sasha will lick Syd's face while she giggles and hugs her closer. If or when we ever get a dog, which the kids ask about all the time, Sydney will be so excited.

Jessie was MIA from the zoo because she slept over at Great-Gram's house on Thursday night and wanted to spend the next day with Gram and her Uncle Sam. Uncle Sam sounds a little deceiving since he is only 3 years older than Jessie. Friday afternoon Jessie spent a few hours with Aunt Tori at City Beach so she could rock climb. Jess said she climbed to the top of the wall at least 6 times!

We also spent the last of Toby's Book Bucks from school and went to Kennedy Park in Hayward. It's a nice park and fun adventure that is a short drive, but far enough that the kids thought it was a really special trip. The Book Bucks went towards rides on the merry-go-round, a "real life pony ride," according to Logan, and entrance to the petting zoo. Again, Sydney wanted to hug all the goats she could and loved that they would eat out of her hand. She didn't flinch once when the local bully goat almost knocked her on her tush.

I would have loved to pack up the car to go on a mini-vacation with the fam, but it wasn't possible this year. We made the most of our Spring Break by playing a lot! Our day trips turned out to be the perfect break from the usual routine.

Is that Tea you're drinking?

I've got the solution to our country's money problems. All the people who think that these bailout bills are a good idea need to put their money where their mouth is. Media influences like this rude reporter, Obama and all his socialist cronies in sheep’s clothing, and all those who want America to continue to give out increasing handouts can be the first in line for the tax hikes. Let’s gather all those sympathetic to taking more of American’s money without better accountability for how it’s spent and have the government rape their paychecks more than they already are. I bet they would change their tune faster than you could write out $1.7 Trillion. I know, it’s not very fair or Constitutional but it would get the message across.

I have been casually following the Tea Party coverage from states around the country today. My Mom and I talked about going to one in Pleasanton and I wish we would have. I love the sentiment among supporters that calls for the government to scale back and keep their greedy, inefficient claws out of our money. Some of my favorite signs from the day are as follows:

“My piggy bank is not your ATM!” attached to a baby stroller

Obama Lies, Capitalism Dies (I understand Bush started the bailout nonsense but Obama is happy to keep that money pit growing)

Next Time, Read the Bill

Born Free But Taxed to Death

If You Think Health Care is Expensive Now, Wait Until it's Free (this one hits close to home for us)

TARP = $750 Billion
Stimulus = $870 Billion
2009 Deficit = $1.75 Trillion
U.S. Dollar = WORTHLESS!!

and my personal favorite.....

America Needs More Unemployed Congressmen

And I'm happy to say that we stuck it to the man and got a tax refund this year. Although I better keep quiet about that in case they come looking to take it from us again.

And no offense, Mr. President, but if you really want to reform and rewrite the tax code please find a Treasury Secretary who CAN figure the correct amount to pay on his own taxes. It really doesn't gather support for your cause or bode well for that endeavor when the guy in charge of the country's money can't even handle his own with accuracy. Scary.

Eggs from the springy chicken

It's spring break for the kids this week. So far we have had an uneventful week, but the things we have done were necessary. For instance, today was a completely free day. The kids got to do whatever they wanted at home which worked out because it was too windy and cold to go out. I didn't plan on not enforcing any routine until Dave left for work at 10 AM. The kids were all playing well with each other which gave me some time to just chill out. I didn't feel like doing any housework or things on my to-do list, so I wasn't about to make the kids do them. We played games, read stories, watched a movie (Milo and Otis), colored big pictures on the kitchen floor, ate the kids favorites for lunch, ate ice cream for dinner, and enjoyed the day with nowhere to be. I even stayed in PJ's all day. It was fabulous!

Dave was kinda slow at work last week, but slammed this week. I half teased him that he should have switched those weeks so we could do more together as a family while the kids are home. We are slowly learning the small nuances that come with Dave owning his own practice where business has highs and lows. Sometimes it makes it harder than I would like to plan family outings. Really though, I can't complain when Dave only works 4 1/2 days a week, on average.

We were low key for Easter this year as far as the stuff you find in the stores goes. Now that I think about it, we usually are. Let me first say that I think worrying about filling Easter baskets with loads of candy and toys that will be broken or discarded in a week is ridiculous. No judging here if that's how others do things. I just don't think it's necessary to the holiday, and I certainly don't want to hear kids asking for stuff to put in their Easter basket. I'm not a complete prude, though. :) We set out a small basket for each chilly with a couple small treats and some muffins. Last year, I wanted to surprise the kids with a basket and needed to fill space in their basket of a few treats. I decided to make some muffins that they could eat Sunday morning without getting their clothes dirty. To my surprise, they loved getting those muffins in their baskets. I made muffins again this year and will probably do so from now on. It's funny how some traditions start in our home. This year little Syd devoured mini muffins two at a time and the kids thought it was nice for the Easter Bunny to leave them breakfast.

While we were getting ready for church J asks, "Is the Easter Bunny real? I think you and Dad just filled our baskets when we went to bed." ;) She took me by surprise because she didn't ask that about Santa this last Christmas. The only thing I could come up with was, "Sure. If you think he exists then he does." That was good enough for her.
Saturday was busy with preparations for church and family coming over for lunch and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. We dyed eggs and had a review of the real story of Easter using these eggs from FamilyLife.com. I had a handmade set from a church activity that got destroyed quickly once the boys got bigger. This set was at Walmart last year for $10 which was worth it to not have to make another one myself. It's a great idea that makes it easy for youngins to put together details about Jesus and his last week.

We busted out colored crayons and egg dye to create our masterpieces this year. We are a pretty crafty bunch when it comes to these sort of things. The kids all enjoyed making up different designs and Dave showed us all how it's done this year with his animal-inspired eggs. This was what we saw most of the afternoon- his nose stuck in creating his eggs.