Jason: 19 Months Old

 Jason might have been a month late for his well baby visit, but he dazzled Dr. B and her nurse with his skills.  He has all of his teeth and was beyond their 5-10 word count.  He climbed stairs to the examining table and ran around naked and had an absolute fit when they tried to measure his head with the tape measure.  Unfortunately, he was due for 3 shots, but he got over it by the time we got to the car.  
Jason's favorite food of all time is yogurt.  He loves the yogurt smoothies and is very good at drinking them with a straw.  He also loves fruit snacks, cheese sticks, apples, and mac and cheese.  He still downs a million cups of apple juice/water and won't touch milk from a cup.

STATS:
Weight:  28 pounds (75th percentile)
Height:  34 inches (90th percentile)--big surprise, considering his gene pool!
Head circumference:  75th percentile

Jason pointing to his nose.  We're very big on pointing out body parts around this house.

Summertime and Strawberries

 We decided on a whim to go strawberry picking on our Monday off.  I had asked Emily if she wanted to go to the playground, and she said "Yes, the one with the goats".  A few more questions from me, and I figured out that she meant the one at Westmoreland Berry Farm.  So we headed off to pick strawberries!

Jay would make an excellent migrant farm worker.

All red cheeked and thirsty from our sweaty experience.  It was hot!

The goats were another "feature" of the farm.  My kids bypassed the corn machine and fed the goats clover from the field nearby.

Who loves his strawberry shortcake?  Jay does!

Lick the bowl clean Jay!

Willow is hoping for a spill.

Whipped cream thief!

Did I mention the goats?!?!  They were needy little things.  It was like they had never seen food!

Garrett Turns 14!

 What the hay?!?!  I have a 14 year old?!  Garrett's birthday happened to be on a Saturday this year, so he was excited to invite some friends out to celebrate.  I drove Garrett and crew to the new Godzilla movie, spent an ungodly amount of moola on soda and popcorn, ran errands for 2 hours, picked them up, spent even more money on Chick Fil A (have you ever seen a teenage boy eat?!  It's unnatural), then brought them all home for cake, ice cream, and presents.  Garrett said he wanted a chocolate cake with butter cream frosting, and he wanted me and Caroline to make it .....awwwww :)  

Garrett's friends Chase and Chris and his...ummmm....girlfriend, Shelby.

Must have been a good wish!

 Garrett cleaned up in the presents department.  Hollister clothes from Aunt Kiwi, cash from Peggy and Joe and Camm and Chase, Game Stop gift card from Chris (his friend, not father), and a box of green awesomeness from Shelby.  She got him a cool shirt that references some video game they both like, a bunch of green apple/sour candy, and other thoughtful things.  Tim and I upgraded Garrett to an I-Phone 4 with Otterbox case as our present, and I think I even saw a tear in the boy's eye.

Loved the card and envelope from Britton

Tim is cheesing hard in this pic and Jay looks like he's in the middle of saying "heeeeeeyyyyy, kids....keep it down now"

Mother's Day 2014

 Our Mother's Day weekend started a little rough, with me at the doctor's office on Thursday afternoon with a wheezy cough, congestion, and a fever.  Diagnosis was not surprising--raging sinus infection.  Doctor prescribed an antibiotic and a steroid because she "didn't like the sound of my cough".  She warned me that I wouldn't feel any better for about 3-4 days, and she was right!  I called out sick for Friday and was able to lay around uselessly for the whole day, watching "Curl Appeal" and generally trying to keep my lungs in my body.  I had so much fluid behind my eardrums that it felt like I was underwater.  I pulled myself together by early afternoon so that I could attend Emily's Mother's Day tea party!  Her preschool really does it up right!  We got little shots of tea and chose some cookies.  I always enjoy sitting on tiny chairs while eating, and Emily thought the whole affair was just a hoot.

My present from Emily!

 Emily's school does a "store" for the week before Mother's Day and you can send in your kid with a wad of cash so that they can go "shopping" at the store and buy stuff for Mom.  Tim sent her with $10 and with each gift being $2, that meant I got a goody bag with 5 presents!  How Emily kept them a secret I will never know!  She never let on to me that she even went to the store.  But when Tim picked her up that afternoon, she told him all about what she bought for me.  I got a bottle of lotion (Emily said "for Dad to rub your feet Mommy"--the girl knows me so well!), a bottle of body spray (Peach Blossom, I think?), bottle of shower gel, a pair of slippers ("bedroom slippers Mommy!" is how Emily described them), and a 2-pack of little cosmetic bags (pink heart print).  It was all too adorable and a memory that I will cherish.
Not wanting to be left out, Tim secured an overnight sitter (thanks, Grandma!) and took me out for shopping and dinner on Saturday.  I woke up Sunday to my presents--Starbucks gift card and a new coffee maker!  Our old one was barely making tepid coffee, so I was thrilled beyond belief!  And I got 2 very nice cards from Tim and the kids, too.  We grabbed C and G and headed over to Peggy's house for a Mother's Day lunch and to pick up the younger two also.  

Teacher Appreciation Week

 As usual, Teacher Appreciation Week around my school was a dud.  Showering teachers with gifts pretty much dies off once you hit middle school.  Parents don't want to buy for 6 teachers, and I don't really blame them, but seriously, how expensive is a stinkin' candy bar?  Buy me a PayDay and include a little note that says "Since you haven't had a raise in 7 years, Johnny and I wanted to give you a PayDay to thank you for all you do!"  I would have thought that was a hoot.....but I digress.
For Caroline's teachers, I hit the tried and true--Pinterest.  Most of those ideas were either "too cute" (like for kindergarten teachers) or too expensive, so I took several ideas I found and add my own special twist.  I printed out the label you see below and bought the teachers water cups, erasers, 2 pack of sharpies, a highlighter, 2 scented markers, a pack of Extra watermelon gum, and Hershey's hugs and kisses candy.  Packed those cups full and added some curly ribbon.  Done and done!

Jason was my "helper" but as you can see, all he did was help himself to the rest of my crackers and guacamole.