let's try this

The kids' preschool has two new classrooms and asked me if in lieu of my parent/classroom hours, I could do the murals instead.

So this is the mural for the kids music and dance room. The director of the school wanted alot in it, probably more than I even put in it. And since it's multi-cultural in nature, I'm probably offending a group unwittingly. (like, is it unlucky to have a Chinese dragon in the bottom left corner? probably?! )

Taj Majal, giant harp, tamborine, it's got it all. I'm crossing my fingers that there won't be be 100 changes to it. It's just a pencil sketch...

Baby Tuesday on Saturday

I was away from the kids for 4 days last week, but I still have plenty of pics and videos!


I've been trying to deter the kids from taking baths together lately, but 1/2 the time it still happens. It gets splashier and fightier when they're together.
Kid C said "Mom! look at me!" and lo, it was funny. She climbed into the bath toy basket.



Their friend Kid D had his 5th birthday and here are Kid R and Kid D's little brother, Kid J playing quietly inside while the party happened outside. It was super hero themed, and the best I could do was put Kid R in a Star Wars shirt. Kid J, however, was really prepared-- Buzz Lightyear deluxe costume!


The birthday boy's grandpa and uncle are both police officers, so there was no shortage of toy guns around. I subconsciously don't buy them for Kid R, so he was excited to be at the "gun show."


My friend Mike, Kid D's dad shows Kid R how it's done. And how to tag the kid in the lawn saying "hit me! hit me!"





Mr. Post-Shots Fatigue. He was so lovable, although I was sad he didn't feel good. It only lasted a couple of hours.

Today is splendidly free of places to be and things to do and it's the perfect California weather day, so after Kevin mowed the lawn, I decided to reclaim the Little Tykes playhouses that have been dormant all winter. I evicted all the spiders with my webber and put a carpet down and some other accoutrements.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9osp13IwF4



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQJ22CvAMRE




And while I was gone, Kevin took this video of the kids squeeling with the dogs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U0vIHh68PY






And this pic

this year's Easter artwork

I did this.

My friend Matt was the camera/lighting/editing person. And his edition of the video was the real one that showed during Easter services, but he didn't upload his to YouTube, and I did, so I'm showing the one I edited (I only used one camera's footage, there were 3 cameras total).

Once you have watched the video, click here for the finished artwork.

Baby Tuesday

Again, a big thanks to Jenn for taking these pics for me. She even had her own 3 kids to keep track of while we did this AND it was COLD out!

I mean seriously, that face.

If he only knew that if he made that face, he would totally get out of trouble.

Kevin makes that face at me alot. It's the you-didn't-think-this-through-face.

Kid C's hair kinda fell apart in the wind. I was trying to go for a sleek look.

yeah, no.

It's her crazy-laugh, but I like it.

I feel like this is a snapshot of him when he's older.

Bellisima, bambina.

So, you've seen this one, but hey.

The boy loves pipes.

After the park became problematic, we moved the photo shoot into the newly redesigned (ahem) lobby at WestGate. I mean, what good is working at a church if you can't just come in any time with your kids and take pics in the good lighting?

Auntie Dianne bought him that hat. I bought the jeans, shirt and tie at H&M and the shoes...well those are WalMart.

Her dress is H&M too. I love that store. Euro couture at Target prices.

Way behind them (not the motel looking building) is the in-progress new children's building, fyi.

Artful dodger.

A big thanks to Jon Talbert who made my kids do all the funny poses. I'm glad he was there, us moms weren't very motivational.

This photo represents how easily entertained she is. I love her.

sticky melty cuteness.

I don't know if Jenn took this on accident or on purpose, but I liked it.

You can still see his R2D2 tattoo that he wouldn't let me wash off(!)

Does anyone recognize that look in Kid R's eyes?

It's the "I WANT TO BITE YOU" look.

And he did. He definitely did.

okay just one!

Baby Tuesday on Sunday

I thought now that Easter is over, that I would have got Baby Tuesday up actually on Tuesday.

Not the case.

But luckily, I have these cute pics of Gilroy Gardens to show everyone!

Gil the Garlic epitomizes the charm of Gilroy Gardens. How funny is it that they make an entire theme park around the idea of produce?! Adorable.

And you should notice that Gil is short, like it's not a regular adult in that suit. It's either a kid or a person-of-short-stature -- either way, also adorable.

I was so glad that the kids went over and stood by him for a picture.

Their friends wanted nothing to do with the giant garlic man, and I can see their point.

This is Kid C and her BFF Kid A. Thanks to my friend, Jenn, Kid A's mom, we got into the park FOR FREE! Her mom and dad live in Gilroy and it was free-locals day, so we got in with them, and then they hit the road, ha. Huge thanks to them. The admission price to the agro-wonderland is steep, so I can't say thanks enough for that.

They have here, the biggest soft serve ice cream cones that I have ever seen, especially for a couple of Pre-K's.

Jenn took this pic of her one the flower boats. We had a nice view of the Artichoke Dip ride, which we rode afterward.

We had some snacky snacks and then the kids examined the map on the [probably filthy] floor to plan our route.

Train ride! I really wanted them to have seatbelts on this one.

Because I could see a hospital visit in my future: mixing a 3 yr old's excitement for trains and an actual train ride.

The little sir with his gigantic ice cream. Yeah, he didn't finish it. And he needed a entire wardrobe change afterwards. (does anyone else's 3 yr old try eating the cone part before he eats the ice cream on top? omg.)

He looks kinda older here doesn't he?

Balloon ride! Me and Kid R were in our own balloon and Jenn and girl-Kid-R were in their own. We let the big girls fly solo. That's the advantage to girls, they can be trusted not to leap out(!)

The goldfish [cracker] ride. Little kid rides that I don't have to get on with them, my favorites.

I have some really cute easter pics, but I'll save those for next B.T. They are excellent!...

Baby Tuesday on Thursday

**UPDATE** I'm saved! Jenn posted for me! Check it out

I still have 20 minutes of Thursday left, and I'm running on fumes, but if I don't do this now, it aint' happenin' this week.

Um and this will be the only pic this week. I'm simply just not going to get up and get the camera cord.

The kids have today and tomorrow off, which I didn't quite figure out until yesterday evening. Not the school's fault, totally my brain's fault.

Anyway, they went to their favorite hourly kid care this morning and I scrambled at work to cram as much "doing" at work as I could before I had to go get them. I know I shouldn't leave Kid R there when it's naptime, bad things happen.

In fact, I was late because of aforementioned scrambling and cramming, and when I arrived, Kid R had a fresh rugburn on his temple from some incident. Fatigue related, no doubt!

There was a need for driving to the shore this afternoon. Very real need. So we went, and they happily watched Oswald episodes on my iPhone in the backseat, and I drank in the mountains on the way over.

We stopped at the wharf. I got a mocha (which is how I am still awake right now) and the kids got ice cream from Marini's and hung around. Seagulls, check. Pigeons, check. Sealions, check.

(this was the one bench that wasn't windy or covered in seagull poop, score!)

Anecdote about sealions: Kid C and R really don't make stuff up. I think they do all the time, and then it ends up, they were telling the truth, I just didn't believe/understand them.

(Like the time that I lost the lid to the apple cider jug at the farmers market and Kid R said it was in his sippy cup. I said "no it's not" and then when I opened it up an hour later in the car, there it was, the lid to the cider inside the cup.)

That kind of thing happens all the time, and I kinda feel bad about it.

This afternoon as we drove on the wharf, I rolled down the windows and told the kids to hush and listen for sealions barking. They barely could stop talking for 2 seconds and then Kid C said "I heard one!" and I said "no you didn't that was just some lady laughing as we drove by her" and she insisted she had heard one. I didn't hear anything so I told them not to get their hopes up, and then parked the car down-a-ways.

And then, it turned out-- she was right. We came across 4 sealions that weren't in the usual perch. Barking. Then, I had to apologize.

-I gotta hit "publish" now before it's tomorrow in one minute!...