Before the sickness attacked, we would spend time riding our bikes, going to the playground, etc...Basically any number of activities that would get us out of the house. We have been house-bound far too long and it became very evident today. When Grace was supposed to be napping I found her sitting on top of the bookshelf in her room (the bookshelf is taller than I am). So no only are we crawling the walls (literally in her case), today at lunch Grace really sent the message home. When I put the plate down in front of her, she said, "this lunch was made possible by contributions from viewers like you. Thank you." This is what airs after every show on PBS. Hopefully we will all be well enough to get out tomorrow...

Annabelle Lee and her Daddy

Well, the sickness has struck once again. This time, there is no fever but a nasty cold that has both children stuffy and miserable. Armed with lysol in one hand, clorox wipes in the other and each pocket filled to the brim with kleenex, I am desperately trying to eradicate the sickness from our house. Even Eric is a little under the weather.
There is, however, a sweetness a child possesses only when they are sick. You want to do anything you can to make them feel better, knowing the best thing they can do is sleep. And so when they pour on the charm, in the most nasal voice they can muster, and ask for yet another pack of fruit snacks, you give in. Because, really how could you not?

When I was looking through the new pictures, Annabelle was sitting on my lap and she let out a huge "Bellie" laugh when she saw this one. I felt that made it necessary to share it. The girls had such a fabulous time with Uncle Dave (and so did Eric and I). Grace still thinks that he went to work. She says, "Uncle Dave right be back."

I want to introduce everyone to our new friend. While Uncle Dave was visiting, we became members at The Zoo of Northwest Florida. One of the best parts of the zoo is that you are able to feed the girafes. This is the baby, who was quite comfortable around us, especially when we had bags of food to share.

GOODNIGHT, BELLIE

Last night, Grace decided that she was going to read to Bellie. And what better story to choose than Goodnight Moon. Bellie had been running around their bedroom trying to get someone to read to her and Grace anxiously accepted. They sat down on the floor next to eachother and Grace proceeded to "read" the entire story. She did make a few stops to make sure that Bellie knew where the mouse was on each page.
Ok, so I know she probably didn't read as much as she recited (we have read that book to her a few thousand times), but it was one of the sweetest things I have ever seen. So sweet, in fact, that it almost made me forget about playtime in the potty mentioned in a previous post.
And I know the picture has nothing to do with reading, but how cute is that???

AND SO IT BEGINS

When you have a second child, it is really only a matter of time before the two children start working together. Once it happens, it can be a beautiful thing: one helping the other get dressed, color a picture, etc... But, it can also be a very bad thing. When children use their powers of persuasion for, shall we say "evil", instead of good, only parental frustration can result.
This afternoon we were all a little sad due to the departure of Uncle Dave. Leave it to Grace to spice things up a bit. I left the girls in their room with the Legos so I could make them some lunch. About halfway into putter jelly samiches, I hear this:
"Put it in the potty Bellie!!!"
I drop everything, run to the bathroom and find the following senario:

Annabelle sitting on the back of the toilet with her feet inside the bowl (imagine lounging at the pool, dipping your feet to keep cool), swirling a cell phone in the water (luckily it was a toy phone).
Grace is standing against the wall laughing so hard I am looking for a puddle to form underneath her.
As soon as I appear in the doorway, Grace immediately stops laughing as says, "Bellie, why are you playing in the potty?"

OH BABY, IT'S HOT OUTSIDE

And unfortunately it is also hot inside. Poor Grace is acting like a space heater with her 103 temperature. She woke up this morning at about 99 degrees and had WAY too much energy. Then early this afternoon she crashed. After quite a struggle and who knows how many tears, we were able to get her to take some Tylenol and currently, she is sipping on juice, snuggled into her favorite Elmo sheets watching "Scratch" (aka Shrek) from her bed. Daddy set up the portable DVD player in her room. It will be fun when we try and take that out!
So, we were supposed to be headed to a BBQ this afternoon. Needless to say, Grace and Mama will be staying behind while Bellie and Daddy go have fun. Annabelle had the pleasure of being sick at the beginning of the week, so now she is ready to run around and play outside.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARA!!!

Grace's Quote of the Day

This morning Grace was typing on the keyboard, which she knows very well she is not allowed to do. When I told her to get down and away from the computer she replied,

"Mama, I am not a CHILD."

Today I learned a valuable lesson that I thought I would share: What NOT to do when cleaning out the car....

On our way home from brunch we forgot to go to the car wash so we could wash the car, but more importantly so that we could vacuum out the inside. It has become a crumb factory, and we were quickly being overrun with half eaten goldfish and other kiddie snacks. So when we did get home, I decided to clean the inside myself (or at least get started and then head out to the car wash do the rest later). I removed the larger items: about 5 shoes that belong to Grace, 10 or so books, about 57 legos, I dare not count the number of sippy cups, etc... Then I took out the car seats so that I could remove the covers and wash them.
I got as far as removing the seats and setting them in the carport when I was summoned inside for numerous reasons, mostly concerning diapers, juice and the like. I was confronted by one thing after another (to include about 7 "check ups" by Dr. Grace) and eventually I simply forgot.
Fast forward to about 6pm, by this time Eric is running out to do something, Bellie has developed a fever pushing 102 and Grace has come in from outside where apparently she was wallowing in the mud because she is FILTHY. (Just another typical day at the Rogers).
What does Eric encounter in the carport? Two car seats SWARMING with red fire ants. Totally covered. Which he doesn't realize until he picks one up and his hands are covered and he is being bitten all over the place.
So the moral of the story is DO NOT start to clean out the car, get distracted ( but really, I had valid reasons to get side-tracked) and leave two car seats filled with a crumb-y feast for creatures like red fire ants.

Gracie Gracie Gracie

Sometimes kids really make you shake your head, whether it is in amusement, bewilderment, amazement, or because there simply are no words. Today I was looking at the blog with Miss Grace. She loved to look at all the pictures and it was amazing to me how connected she was to them. She was upset because she could not see Grampa in the photo of her riding the pony (he is the one leading). She pointed to the helicopters and said, "Daddy flies helicopters." And of course she knew Leroy and "Georgie." But Grace also brought something to my attention: that there is no picture of Elmo. And she did not want just any picture, but a picture of her Elmo birthday cake from last year. She said, "Oh my GOSH! What happened to my Elmo birthday cake?!!"
So, I am here now to right the wrong, to add the missing piece. And I am sure that the next time she sees this she will point out something else that Mama has overlooked.

PLAYDATES....NOT JUST FOR KIDS

These days, playdates are not just for kiddies. Lately our dog, George, has been having a blast playing with his friend, Leroy. Leroy is a Bull Mastif and this picture was taken when the two were first introduced a couple months ago. Now, they are both alot bigger, but the size difference is still roughly the same.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Nami today as she has surgery on her wrist. Here she is with Nana and Cara at Cara's graduation. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and there will be no complications. We love you, Nami!