My sister Katie dropped off her five kids (aka “The Jackson Five”) with my parents while she and her husband went on a little Italian excursion.  And it was a week and a half full of endless fun for all:  Building ladders, climbing ladders, climbing trees, water games, playing on the tanbark hill, walks in the woods, playing with the new baby chicks, putting on dance shows in the basement, playing on the hammock,  trips to Lake Tobias, the cherry festival, Hersheypark, and Annies,  and most fun of all - Camp night.  Phew! It really was a lot of fun to hang out with family that we don’t get to see that often.  And Eppie and I will never forget Daniel and Megan’s goodbye - Their secret handshake (it was sooo cute).

Now we’re all on rest mode for when the next set of Utah cousins show up next week - I can’t wait!

We went to the library today (surprise, surprise).  While I was gathering all the library books I could manage to fit into my red library bag, Lizzie was on the computer playing games.

Hanging out in the children’s section was a mentally retarded man ( I’m not being mean - just stating the facts) and he was sitting on the floor looking at books, when he started humming “skinnamarinky dinky dink” to himself.

Lizzie, still focusing on her computer game, starts singing in her loud voice (because she doesn’t have a soft voice) “skinnamarinky dinky dink.”  I look over to see the man’s reaction.  He looks up at Lizzie in amazement, like “How does she know that song” and he continues to watch Lizzie in awe.  After singing the last line, “I love you,” Lizzie looks over at the man, smiles a huge smile, and laughs.  The man looks at me, then Lizzie, then lets out a big laugh.

A mother couldn’t have been any prouder.  That is what life is all about.

Elizabeth is NUTS when she’s very tired - Like she’s possessed by the devil kind of nuts.  Let me tell you what I just went through:

I was over at my parents house letting my kids play with their cousins, while I (ironically) read my new Dr. Laura book “In Praise of Stay-at-home Moms,” meanwhile thinking just how wonderful it is to raise my own children and thinking all is merry and bliss.  

But then I notice Elizabeth getting tired, so I said it was time to call it quits and go home to rest.  Lizzie was naked (don’t ask why - she likes to be naked) and I asked her to get dressed.  She didn’t like that idea and started throwing a fit.  And I mean a fit.  So after attempting to get my daughter dressed without success, I decided to put my screaming, hot, sweaty child in the car completely naked.  Lizzie didn’t like that idea either and fought me with all her might.  I was laughing so hard that I could not fight her anymore and released her from the car.

Lizzie now wanted to get dressed.   So back into the house we go.  But here comes fight number two:  She wants me to get her dressed.  So I attempt to get her dressed.  But no - she wants to do it.  ”Okay, you do it,” I say.  Nothing.  “You do it mom!!!”  Okay, so I do it.  “No, I want to do it.”  I’m not kidding - This was our conversation for about ten minutes. 

So. . . back to the car car with my hot, tired, screaming naked toddler for attempt number two.  But for the life of me, I could not buckle her in. 

Back into the house a third time. (By the way, my dad was the only home at this point.  He was watching all of this with a twinkle in his eye, I’m sure.  Actually, I’m sure what he was thinking was, “If that were my kid, she’d have a good whopping if you ask me”).  Same conversation as before:  “You get me dressed.  No, I want to do it myself.  No!  You get me dressed.”  Very, very, very frustrating. 

Then Elizabeth’s tantrum died down just enough for me to understand a few words.  “Shoes?  What about your shoes?  You want your shoes on?  Oh, you want them on first?  Okay I’ll go get your shoes in the car.” 

“No!!!!”

“But Lizzie.  You’re shoes are in the car.  I have to get them.”

“No.  Stay here.”

“Okay, then let’s get dressed.”

“No.  I want my shoes on first!!!!”

And hence we have the next battle that lasted, oh, five minutes or so until I just decided to leave my child in the house to get her shoes.  Was she mad! But then so happy to see her shoes.  Yeah! we got her dressed.  Now we can go home. . .so I thought.

Now Lizzie was hungry and wanted cereal.  “No Lizzie.  I’m not getting you cereal.  You can wait till we get home to eat.”

The tantrum starts all over again.  This time I said to myself that’s it, we’re going, and if I need reinforcement from my dad, I’ll get it.  I think Lizzie weakened up a little cause I was able to buckle her this time.  And for the next five minutes all I heard were screams of “I hate you mom.  Your stupid.  Your dumb.  I HATE you!  Your dumb.” etc.

And now I’m going to go back to my book, “In Praise of stay-at-home Moms” cause, really, isn’t being a stay-at-home mom great!? 

So there is a celebrity among us - Someone in the family (I will keep it private for his/her sake) just got his/her test results back from when they were sick a few days ago, and they had the SWINE FLU!  (I think if anyone were to get a flu around here, it would be the bird flu - ha ha).

And speaking of sicknesses, Eppie and I just got back from a little date night at HersheyPark.  After downing extra-large cheese fries, Ep made me ride the Farenheit.  It was terrible - I thought I was going to die.  I was so nauseous afterwards I had to lie down on a park bench in the most unlady-like position, and prayed that no one I knew would notice me. 

And even now a few hours later, I’m still queasy.  I told Eppie that we’re sticking to The Boardwalk from now on when we go to HersheyPark for date nights or we can just ride The Lady Bugs the whole time, but no more coasters for me please - at least not right after eating a million cheese fries! 

Two days ago I made an abrupt decision to discard all my baby/children clothing.  The towers of bins filled with baby clothes that may never be worn again was driving me crazy.  (And the day I made this decision had nothing to do with the fact that that day Daniel dropped a gallon of orange paint onto our sidewalk, and Lizzie got stuck under a car trying to get a ball, getting burned in two spots.  Really.)

So I did it - Seven full bags of clothes given away.  Only my very favorite outfits have been saved (along with all coats and shoes). 

Was is hard?  Indeed!  Is is liberating?  Very much so.  Does this mean no more kids for us?  Let’s put it this way - By the time Eppie and I have a desire to change our lives of ease and contentment to one of mass chaos again, our baby clothes will have been outdated anyway.  (At least that’s what I kept telling myself - I had to convince myself I was doing the right thing).

Daniel took this much harder than me - I knew he would.  Which is why I told him before hand, “I am the boss.  I decide what goes and what stays.”

I had to take a break in between all my rooting and sorting to go the eye doctor.  As we were driving back in the car listening to a little Richard Marx “Hold on to the Night,” Daniel started tearing up. . .

“I just want to do what this song says.”

“What’s that?”

I just want “to hold on to the memories.”

“Daniel, you are such a drama queen!  Daniel (Queue music), ‘I wish I could give you more.  Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!’”

I let him keep one thing - A bib with his name on it.  I told him it was a  half-birthday present.

Happy half-birthday, buddy!!

Today at the dinner table Eppie gave everyone an Indian name (Eppie’s note: yes, we are the coolest).  We came up with Chief Loud-Whisperer for Lizzie, as Lizzie seems to have no volume control (Don’t know where she got that from.  Hmm?) 

But besides the fact that Lizzie is loud all day long, Lizzie is also pretty witty.  Eppie and I especially love the way she’ll change the lyrics or add her own lyrics to songs.  Here are some that I can remember off hand:

From Taylor Swifts “Our Song”:

Our song is the slammin’ screen door,
sneaking out late, tappin’ on your window with my tap shoe. . .

From The Reading Rainbow theme song:

Butterfly in the sky.
I can go twice as high.
Take a look.  It’s in a book.  Reading Rainbow.
I cannot do anything. . .

The Alphabet:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P 
P?  But what about Poo?  Q R S T U V W X Y Z.

The song “Candy Girl” mixed together with “Disturbia”

Sugar.
Bum bum be dum, bum bum be dum dum
Oh, honey honey.
Bum bum be dum, bum bum be dum dum
You are my candy girl.  And you got me wanting you.

The primary song, “I am a child of God.”

Lead me.  Guide me.  Walk beside me.
Help me find the way home because I’m lost.

A rare post from Eppie.

At work, I make websites (I do some other stuff too).  In my spare time… I also make websites.  What can I say?  It’s an exciting life I lead.  Lately, I’ve been tracking some domain names that were scheduled to drop that would make good niche websites.  One name I ran across was AviationManagementJobs.com — a little long, but it “does what it says on the tin,” if you will.  I picked up the domain on Thursday night, built out on Friday, and launched today.  Check it out - Aviation Management Jobs.

This is a bit of a soft launch - I built out just the basic features for the site.  I plan on adding an option for companies to add more prominent featured listings (free to start, may charge later), but right now I wanted to get something up to evaluate total traffic and site use.  I’m working on about a half dozen other side projects — I’ll post details as they come close to launching.

 These are some pictures from the Dress Rehearsal  - They’re not the best pictures cause they were taken from the balcony, but they’ll suffice.

There are a gazillion reason why I love living in Hershey, but I think I would have to say being a part of my brother’s dance studio, teaching and taking classes, is easily one of my top favorite things about being here.  It’s just fun stuff.

This morning as I was gathering the chicken eggs for my parents, I laughed as I thought about all the bird adventures we’ve had these last few weeks.

First the duck eggs that we tried incubating.

Then the two-dozen chicken eggs that I’m in charge of incubating.

Then, of course, taking care of the chickens while my parents are away on vacation.

And lastly, Chirpy.

Daniel found Chirpy Sunday Evening, caught him with his orange cone, and insisted that he have a pet bird.   Chirpy lasted less then 48 hours with us.  I knew chirpy wasn’t going to make it when, well, he wasn’t acting his chirpy ol’ self.  It was sad  - We held a little funeral for chirpy, and a few tears were shed - mostly because eppie’s eulogy was overly dramatic (eppie’s note: Holly, are you trying to tell me I’m a bad eugoogolizer?  You think I don’t know what a eugoogoly is?).

Daniel:  Did you know baseball was a really popular sport back then.
Eppie:  When was “back then?”
Daniel:  The 1980’s.

Daniel:  Can you play with me Lizzie?
Lizzie:  Yeah, in twenty minutes.
Daniel:  When will twenty minutes be over?
Lizzie:  In thirty minutes.

Daniel:  What are you wearing for your date tonight?
Holly:  What I’m wearing now.
Daniel:  Wow, you look fancy with that shirt and those fancy earrings.  I bet dad will be kissing you all night long.

Daniel:  We’re going to play Star Wars.  I’m going to be dark vador and you’ll be whoever you want to be.  Now get your life saver so we can fight.

Daniel:  What are you making the brownies for?
Holly:  Daddy and I are “graduating” from our marriage class tonight.
Daniel:  Cool.  So when is Prom night?

Holly:  Elizabeth, you need to share your milkshake with Daniel.
Lizzie:  No.  I don’t want to share.
Holly:  Don’t you remember your nursery lesson this last week?  It was on sharing.  And you all said “I like to share” three times.  I was there.  I heard you say it.
Lizzie:  Yeah, but I didn’t mean it.

Daniel:  Guess what.  We’re incubating some chickens for grandpa, and we get to keep some.
Uncle Dan:  Really?  Where are you going to keep them?
Daniel:  In the house.
Uncle Dan:  Your mom is going to let chickens run around your house?
Daniel:  No.  They’ll have to walk.

While sharing a Frusion:

Lizzie:  Are there strawberries in here?
Eppie:  Yup.
Lizzie:  Yum.  Is there milk?
Eppie:  Yup.
Lizzie:  Yum.
Eppie:  And…it looks like there is artificial flavoring too.
Lizzie:  Yeah!  I LOVE artificial flavoring.