Thank You Judy!

Can you tell these children like the goodies you sent up for them Judy? Despite the fact that the socks have no traction ... and they kept slipping like they were on ice ... my children kept their cool new socks on all night long! Tyler just couldn't wait to show Dennis (a true Star Wars fan) his Yoda socks when he walked in the door. And, Jenn probably told you ... but the pirate shirt was a hit. It will fit great by the fall but Tyler insisted on wearing it last night anyway. Thank you for thinking of us. Hope you like these pictures, because it was like herding cats to get them! You never would have guessed Tyler had been running a very high fever just a couple of hours before these shots were taken.

My Cinco con Ty-o

Cinco de Mayo isn't quite the fiesta I thought it would be around here. Oh, who am I kidding ... it wasn't going to be a fiesta anyway, but I didn't think I'd be spending it at home with a sick child. Poor Ty (or Ty-o as I'm calling him today!) ... he has a fever he just can't shake, and he bounces back and forth between being lethargic ... and clingy. When the fever's down (a good thing), we are trying to accomplish things ... but he wants to be with me CONSTANTLY! If you've received an email or voicemail from me that doesn't make any sense, that's because I have a shadow that is asking incesant questions and wants to hug all the time! Now, I really shouldn't be complaining ... I'm glad I can be here for him, and I want to make him feel better. But, if we're not doing a puzzle, playing Ants in the Pants or another game, or reading books, he's really not doing much of anything but following me around. Fortunately, I just got him down for a nap. Common sense says - start getting some tasks done, but I need to share the sweetest exchange we just had when I was rubbing his back:

TY: (nearly asleep) Mommy, can you call Auntie Jenn and tell her I'm sleeping (FYI - Jenn is coming over this afternoon to deliver a little something for Tyler and she said she'd give it to him IF he napped.)
ME: (playing dumb) Well, why would I do that?
TY: She didn't "knowed" I napped.
ME: Well, why does she need to know?
TY: Because she's bringing a treat if I sleep. (Oh - so he DOES listen sometimes)
ME: Oh, I get it. I wonder what the treat could be?
TY: (eyes practically closed) Uhhhhh.... a toy maybe. Maybe a truck, maybe a tractor ... (pause) ... a toy one, not a real one ... like Grandpa's. (eyes closed but talking very matter of factly) Grandpa has several tractors ... a big one, a little one. They're all green.
ME: (debating whether I should tell him it's a shirt) You're right, I doubt it's a real tractor. Welll, why don't we just wait and see. I love you T ... have a good nap.
TY: I love you too Mommy.

What a sweet little dude. And he cracks me up every time he uses word like "several." I think I say that a lot. Frankly, he can be my shadow any day. Cinco with Ty-o is just bueno by me!

He's Batman!

I'm sorry for writing this in public Martha and Bill, but at times (many times!) ... your son/my husband is QUITE a nerd! Take for instance this stunt he pulls periodically:

He steals my parking space in the garage, backs the car in so it's facing the door. The next morning, he kisses us goodbye and leaves for work, then... a few minutes later, he calls me from his cell and says in an dark, superhero kind of voice: "please open the door to the batcave!" So I open the door to press the garage door button, and ... my nerd of a husband zooms out and up the driveway as if he's Batman!

I guess this is pretty cool if you're a guy ... or an about to be six-year old girl (we'll call her Batgirl) who was riding along in the "batmobile" this morning. But she thinks everything her daddy does is pretty funny. Oh Dennis ... he keeps me laughing!

How about a game of "Memories!"

It's Teacher Appreciation Week at Roberts, which means daily items/projects to show Mrs. Shaw (and Abby's other teachers too I guess, yikes!) how much we appreciate her. I mean REALLY, must we squeeze something else into the month of May? I'm all for appreciating Mrs. Shaw - she deserves it! But, can we do it in March next time, because we Schnittker ladies tend to get carried away, and ... well, small projects end up taking the whole day! Much like this one ...Monday is "note day" - send in a note to show Mrs. Shaw your gratitude. Well, when I suggested making some cards for Mrs. Shaw with pictures of favorite things this year, Abby thought I meant "playing cards." What a GREAT idea. Together, we came up with this take off on the children's game "Memory." But instead of the cards having matching pictures, one has a drawing of Abby's kindergarten memory, and the other has a description that she wrote all by herself. Here's what Abby did for Valentine's Day ... her written portion says: "Valentin's Day was ab-solutley fun! I liked the fruit." It was a breakfast event, remember? So, YES - she spelled Valentine's wrong and absolutely, but those are big words. And, NO, you didn't read it wrong - my girl included a play on words (Ab-solutely ... because she's Abby, get it?!)
Hopefully we won't get as involved when preparing our offerings for flower day, dessert day, school supply day ... and the one other I can't remember now!

Random Kitchen Thoughts

1. Martha Stewart is out of her mind if she thinks people are going to sit around juicing 23 key limes for her Key Lime Bars, when they can just go to aisle 4 and buy a bottle of Key Lime Juice for $2.50! Seriously now! Oh - and YES, I am now aware that regular limes and Key Limes ARE different. Imagine if I had juiced 23 of THESE babies?!? Those would have been some very limey lime bars! 2. I haven't told Nanny in awhile, so I will now. I LOVE my mixer Nanny! Thanks for passing it along to me ... not only does it get the job done more quickly, it's just fascinating to the kids! They love to help me cook when the mixer comes out of the pantry.

3. This one is not at all related to the lime bars, which are for a teacher at Advent. But, I've rifled through my wares, and am using all kinds of pieces I've had in my kitchen and ignored recently! Aren't the little Powdered Sugar Pound Cakes for Abby's birthday party precious? I used my flower cupcake mold (The Pampered Chef), which sadly has been sitting in the box since I received it as a gift last year sometime! I have to make another batch of them though, since they turned out kind of short the first go round. For the ones in this picture, I wised up and added more batter. I want to make sure they don't look teeny in my favorite display piece ... my super-cute cupcake stand (Crate and Barrel). I will freeze them, then for the party, I'll glaze and powdered sugar them! And tomorrow night, I'm going to bake a giant cupcake in this adorable cupcake mold (Williams Sonoma). Lorie borrowed it to make birthday cakes for her girls, and she's right ... it's just the right size for the parent cake at Abby's party. Oooooh ... maybe these three companies will give me freebies for mentioning them on my blog. Not likely, as I only have a half dozen readers! Oh well, now you guys know what I have ... so please borrow these items so they don't collect dust! Oh - by the way - thanks to my mom for all three of these items. I believe they were all gifts she gave to me!

Grandslam Family Fun!

On Friday night, we headed to the ballpark to watch FSU take on VA Tech. Dennis had intended to take the family "out to the 'ole ball game" earlier this season, but it just hadn't happened yet. To add to the fun, Auntie Jenn was there too, so we sat together and got all caught up! The kids DID enjoy the game (which turned out to be a great one ... FSU won 10-2) but they began pestering Dennis about popcorn and ice cream almost immediately. That will teach you about mentioning treats as part of the plan Daddy! They talked about it all day, so homeruns and big Zaxby's chicken mascot weren't even enough to take their minds off of it! Fortunately, I had brought in some chicken nuggets and fruit in to the park, which we insisted they eat first. I also brought a salad for myself, which received much ridicule from Jenn and Dennis! I mean, really, is it a crime to bring a salad to a baseball game? A bit unusual, yes. But, I know someone who wore culottes to an Eagles concert in the early 70s, and brought a Good Housekeeping magazine in to pass the time before the concert started. SO ... I'm not all that odd after all, huh? (oh, and yes, the someone was my mother!) Speaking of odd ... check out this one (the little one) ... The boy has more energy than ten 3-year olds at times, but then it suddenly just wears off. Guess the lack of nap just catches up with him. Good thing there were songs like "Y-M-C-A" playing to get us pumped up. I was actually impressed that we made it through the 7th inning stretch!All in all ... a fun first time at Dick Howser Stadium for Tyler. Maybe we'll get there again before the season comes to a close!

A week late!

Well, I'm a week late posting these photos ... and about four days late in posting a Happy Birthday message to the little one with the big smile below. Happy 6th Birthday Emily Smith! Thanks for inviting us to help you celebrate your birthday at the gymnastics center last weekend. The kids had SO much fun! Hey ... where'd they go? That's a pretty cool disappearing trick ... can we try that in mid-afternoon when I need some peace and quiet. Abby loves her gymnastics class at Trousdell, but you get to try some really cool things when you go there for a party. And Tyler was thrilled that they even LET him in the "big gym!" He has a couple more years to go until he leaves the preschool room.Oh ... look at THAT! Even the adults got to participate. Not really. Lorie just decided to relive her gymnastics days and try her luck at the rope ladder. With two cameras around her neck, you can imagine how successful she was! But she throws a mean party. Thanks Smiths for including us in your SIX YEAR OLD's big celebration. I can't believe we've all been parents for that long now!