little rascals

summer has hit us hard; in a good way. who can resist ripe strawberries, warm, sunny days, weeds to pull, ice cream to eat...

& i have a few things accomplished recently: the county/state/federal services list--done! amelia in preschool--done!

my rug: not done. i'm still cutting the t-shirts, holy hell did i get a lot of those. but...i guess i can make several rugs out of what i have.

anyway, where to begin? let's just say i am an emotional wreck half the time (insert PMS plus my mom's stupid cancer treatments & how they tear her up, me starting a home-grown business in the midst of chaos. no worries, i am still seeing a therapist, ha!).

wait, have i not mentioned yet on here that i'm starting a bakery? a gluten free bakery? well, i am. i have just decided it's time to put myself out there, try a hand at something...& i love baking & there is a need for gluten free goodies, especially the things i'm going to start with: cake pops & cupcakes. i am still working on all the details...

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so the other week i was driving addy to school. i know i've complained about the otterbein students, how they just walk out in front of cars, jabbering away on their phone or just totally oblivious to their surroundings. actually, it's almost as if their level in college is shown in their ability to notice their environment. a senior will stop & wait for a car to go by; a freshman will just walk out in front, glaring at the driver. a grad student waves the car on, then walks along.

anyway, i was driving & waved a few otterbein students across the street (not on a crosswalk...). addy shouts a hooray from the back: yea mommy! you didn't say they were stupid!

racing on mini bikes. quintessential summer, eh?

yea, addy, uhm, think that bathing suit is on backwards, hon.

bri's graduation! some gerbick gals, in action...knocking down the pinata. fun day & night! *wink*

my mother's day present!

i have been practicing my balance yoga moves so i could begin riding my bike again (well, that's just one of the reasons). so now i have even done a wall-head stand! twice! last year when i got on a bike i felt still like the world was going by 100 mph. TA-DA. this is what 6 months of geriatric yoga gets me: my overcompensating right balance nerve, finally.

my favorite picture

my parents stopped by after my mom's chemo treatment one wednesday...& amelia snuggled right up, savoring these moments like nothing else.

two of the w'ville little rascals (amelia pushing S.)

this would be me, trying to have fun in 90+ heat at addy's preschool graduation party. hot. uncomfortable. lots of humidity. ugh.

my sweet adeline

addy & her pre-k friend, abby. addy/abby, addy/abby. i'm not sure how many times the similar sound & appearance of their nicknames were talked about. maybe 1K? & yea, amelia banging a drum (not shocking, she's sorta into making the loudest noise possible right now)

a quieter moment. the millie-bean.

a few more friends at the graduation party (puppet show!)

addy's teacher for 3 years, mrs R. her & i both shed some tears as addy walked away from preschool...

some more little rascals.

addy: "hey we have an idea, we want to do a lemonade stand"

me: {without much thought, stupidly}, sure! 

ah well, it was a fun one. $12 isn't bad for a few hours, their first try, eh?

splash park!

another little rascal moment: amelia left alone with paint in the garage. i think we're lucky it was just her leg & shoe & parts of the garage floor.

after hearing some recent stories my parents suggested we could re-make a little rascals movie with the girls & some other neighborhood friends.

i DID have most of them typed up here but then blogger went all haywire & lost it. GAH!

but i'll put a few about my rascals here.

addy & c (neighbor boy friend), playing in the backyard. i told them not to do something, it's too dangerous. addy gave a loud oh DANG! with a little stomp. i was ready to go into the value of not talking back when she walked a bit closer to c, & audibly whispered: oh damn! with a sly grin.

c then replied: oh damn! with the same sly grin.

i turned my head so they didn't see my laugh, gained control & asked what they thought damn meant. as in, the dam for water?

adeline calmly replied: nope, i know about that one. from curious george! it's tall & holds water back & has some bridges on it! i meant the damn to say when something bad happens (a-hem, wes. i'm totally the f-bomb person--but i don't use it around the kids...wes lets his low-key swear words fly).

then yesterday, getting ready for the pool...amelia wanted to only wear her winter slippers. i tried to get her interested in any of her other 4 or 6 or 10 pair of shoes, but, nah, they were all too ouchy or prickly or scratchy-itchy. exasperated, i got up & said: then get your freakin' slippers on, it's time to go.

wes comes in from the back door, not hearing the end decision of mine to let amelia wear her slippers. he asks her to get her shoes on & she replies: but mommy said i could get my freakin' slippers on!

*sigh*