what is on your sandwich?

I'm the queen of strange sandwiches. Right now my fav is organic apple + organic celery + carrots (sometimes organic, too) with extra crunchy, natural pnb on whole wheat or some other dark, nutty bread. Yum.
Langston "made up" this sandwich for lunch today...
It's a scrambled egg, mayo, carrot stick, olive on whole wheat. He had cheese & pickle on the side. :) Crazy kid. Takes after his mama. :) (It sounds like he's pregnant...I know!)

No moe for Zoe

Once again, a big "THANKS" to all those who have donated clothes for my fast growing girl!! Here is her very full closet (complete with about 15 or so items that will have to be given back to Erin for Amelia). As you can see, she is NOT in need of any 2t-ish clothing items. These are just the outfits. Her p.j. & undershirts are in separate drawers. She's doing well, grandmom & grandmother! :)
Thank you Tova, Savannah, Kate, Allie, Madeline, Amelia, & all the other small fries who are giving stuff (via your mommies) to big Zora! I think of you all when I dress her! :)

The Sound of Langston

Here's my sweetest guy ever singing his version of the "Doe a deer" song. (Jessie, what's the title?) It's funny he seems so reserved doing it on here (I think he gets nervous in front of the camera)...he's usually belting it out. Oh well. Enjoy.

That's enough...thank you!

Don't worry, my house wasn't robbed. My living room just threw up on itself. Actually it's just post some morning playing by the kiddos. The "funny" part is Langston & Zora are both watching a 20 min. show (Zora didn't last very long into it) as I prepared lunch. And then getting him to help clean up was like "pulling teeth," as they say.
I recently read a book that described a mom's plight to keep her house picked up with small children. My favorite line in the whole book was about how dismayed she felt when she spent so many hours of the day straightening only to find that in the end..."the house won." AHHH! Yes! I sometimes surrender my will to "the house" & go to bed exhausted & depressed about all the @$@# all around. And sometimes I try like crazy to make it look okay. (While ignoring my kids or chugging caffiene to stay awake & have some super-human get go to do it while they are sleeping.)
I think I'm going to build some shelves in each of their rooms/closets soon. I also think I'm going to try to "basket exchange" that my doula, Tammy did with her kids (fill several baskets with various toys, bring only one out per week...a different one each week). I already use baskets, so that should be okay. Any other ideas? I wish I could afford to use those "cute" baskets, but what I have will do! I once added up the cost of JUST the baskets in a Pottery Barn mag ad for organizing your kid's room. When I got to about $700 I stopped counting & starting laughing. After I spent over $1000 (at least) on orgaizing my kid's room, what in the heck would I even put in those baskets?!
And now, here's the reason for the title of this post. I've been wanting/needing to do this one for a while...

First of all, I would like to say "Thanks SO much" for all the little things that friends & family (esp. Grandmothers) give L-town & Z-ford. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And now that we have plenty of things, I would like to ask you to come & visit us or give us a call or send us a card or picture of you! We really enjoy people more than things...& things are driving me NUTS! :) Below are some of the "exceptions to the rule."
**Langston & I talked about this post & he thought the title should have been "No more plastic things." :)

Above are various art supplies. Most are labeled. Some are not. There is a basket FULL of coloring/activity books. There are also CDs, extra craft paper, etc. I have a crafty boy. I don't mind art supplies since I think it helps him use his noggin & become more creative. Hands on is a go.
Books, books, books. We will always accept a book. As M. Wise Brown once wrote, "Read to your bunny...and your bunny will read to you." One of my bunnies already reads to me some. I believe it is because we have read to him a ton.
In conclusion, please don't be offended! But please don't send us anymore toys! Thanks!!

snap happy before nappy

Yesterday prenap sillies. Poor Z. She's still slightly sickly.

pearly whites

I finally got a shot of 'em all (except the top left speck that just cut through yesterday). Hooray, smilely girl! We love her!

Please don't disturb

Langston is doing his work. In his room. By himself. (My 40-year-old-4-year-old.)

watching t.v.

by Langston

little me

These are pix of me at 9-10 months! I think I see where Zora gets the sometimes squinty eyes. :) We were thinking they were all Grandma Gray 'til I saw some of these. I was a much smaller gal, but I think Z. & I look a little alike.

10 months!

Zora! She is now 10 months old! Here is a little list of what she's doing now...

• stands/pulls up
• crawls everywhere...quickly!
• has 4 teeth & is teething 1 more
• just got her 1st (double)ear infection (& is on her 1st antibiotic)
• says mama about me!
• pats my chest & signs to nurse
• repeats sounds
• says "hi"
• waves hello & goodbye
• looks for Langston
• tries to snap :)
• eats all paper products she can get her hands on!
  
• plays patty cake or claps for people
  
• eats finger food
  
• drinks from a sippy
• takes 1-2 naps
• sleeps in 3ish hour chunks at night
• wears a size 2T :)
• smiles at everyone ;)
• is the sweetest girl I could ask for!
  

the windy city vacation

When can you get a cheap hotel in Chicago?...apparently in February! Barclay got us a steal at a great hotel downtown & we planned a two day adventure for our little fam. We hoped that Z. would be over her croupy cough & weren't aware that L. was getting it too when we began planning, but (*sigh*) both kiddos ended up being a little sickly for the trip. We went anyway & visited the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium, Garrett's popcorn (thanks, Robin!), Elephant & Castle, & a neat Japanese restaurant. We also played a little old school Mario bros. in our hotel room, watched some movies (including a 4-D Spongebob complete with bubbles & back poking seats at appropriately timed places in the movie). It was fun, but slightly miserable, as all vacations with small people can be. :) The both kids sick thing was the main thing that made it yucky. Travel, hotel, food, etc. were all awesome. We probably won't be trying that again any time soon...at least not 'til Z. is walking well & fully into the 1-nap phase. Thanks again, Jerrod, for the homeopathic advice! :) We're now doing eardrops & chamomille.


L.town magnifies stuff at the Crown Playlab. It was a neat area for lots of "hands on" activities.
Look! Catfish bones!
Digging for dinos
Yes! We finally got to "meet" Sue the much talked about Dino. She was gi-normous!
Ele-phun with mom, Zora, & L. taking in an educational video.
This was the one of the two pix of mom & Zee.
Daddy making a serious baboon face. Zora's not into it.
Everybody getting goofy with the gorillas, baboons, monkeys....
The "reflective bean" sculpture in downtown Chicago. It was weird. I think the person who made this was the strange kid who played with spoons at the dinner table & wondered,
"What if....?" :) Barclay really liked it.
Bus stop babies. We did lots of public transportation while we were there.
Yummy seafood at a Japanese restaurant downtown...I wish I could remember the name!
Sushi! L. did grrrrreat with chopsticks for a 4-year-old! He also ate up all the food, except my spicy cilantro-veggie dish. He tried it, but it was pretty darn spicy.
Here is the fam at the Shedd Aquarium. We had a nice morning discovering things. Zora even flapped & talked about the fish...until about 11a.m., when she began crying...and she cried off & on, but mostly on for the next day or two. We found out a few days later that she has a double ear infection. :( Poor baby! We're doing antibiotic shots so that she keeps the meds in (unlike when we try ANYthing that goes in by mouth...she barfs it back at us.)

The next set of pix were taken by Langston H. Key, resident photographer & storyteller. He has been "studying" hotels at school lately & we realized that we didn't previously take pix of our hotel rooms. (um, why would we?) So, Mr. L.H. Key took pix of what he deemed interesting in our room. :) Notice how the t.v. played a key role in all this...maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder? Does that mean we should get one now? Nahhhh.
"the wallpaper looked like leaves"
"this is where our big t.v. was"
"the menu, telephone, nightstand...between our two beds"
"another nightstand pic"
"our remote control for our t.v."
"mommy always cleans our rooms before we sleep in them"

stuck standing

Zora just started pulling up on everything. She knows how to stand, but hasn't figured out how to sit from standing. :) This is the funny phase where she pulls up, stays up, & screams for someone to come & "fix" here (help her sit down or pick her up). Langston was the "fixer" this time & he didn't do what she wanted. The look on her face in pic #2 is priceless! Grrrrr!

shake it, baby!

This is one of the funnier things Z-ford does when she gets sleepy. :) Langston & I laughed so hard at her doing this just before nap a few days ago. It was even funnier that she'd repeat it if we said, "Do it again." Now all we have to do is say, "do it again" and she does it. Smart cookie.

Kid-cation

I need a kid-cation. Both mine are sick & I haven't really gotten out of the house this week. That plus the fact that I don't sleep when they are both croupy coughing is making my mind crazy. Langston just pulled Zora's head into a fold-out chair. Help!

Toys...what toys?

We have been making the transition to "healthier toys" (& hopefully less toys) for a while. A few days ago we purchased some nice Melissa & Doug wooden blocks while planning to phase out the plastic ones. Every couple of months I "clean out" the toys bins & donate or consign whatever isn't so healthy, can be swallowed, has been played with only twice, etc. Usually L. helps. This day was no exception. He picked out some things he could live without (& some that can be replace with non-plastic items) & made friends with a few things that have fallen down to the bottom of the bucket & been long forgotten.
The favorite toy of the day was, however, the bin. 'Goes to show...all those sayings about how kids play with the box the toy came in over the toy. And Zora tried to teethe on the cord of L's sound machine rather than the teethers. Of course. Lament with me parents! Our kids do not need half the things we own! And yet, materialism is such a part of culture that we don't even notice 'til the toys are coming out of our ears (& living rooms). It reminds me why we all need to read a little Solomon every now & then.

no more "lil' miss two teeth"

the top two have pushed their way through! this is the only pic i've gotten of them so far.

Wrocky's wreport

This is a snippet of a story about "Wrocky" doing a school report...we hope it didn't turn "bwright bwrown," which meant it was no good. ;) If you get motion sick easily, you might want to divert your eyes & enjoy the audio-only experience. (L. must move when he tells tales.)
Like I said, this is a small portion of this story. We get LOTS of Rocky-the-brother tales.
Other recent Langston-isms...
"Holy Pow"
"Holy Schnikies" (sp?) (Barclay's phrase)
"What the...?"
and I'm sure that "Mother Hubbard" will follow...B & I have said this jokingly for years...since I saw some kid in a parking lot in G'ville run headfirst into a cardoor mirror & announce, "Mother...Hubbard!" I laughed SO hard!
and...I got to hear a whole story about people who lived in toilets & fought monsters a few days ago. Pretty interesting. And it lasted about 15 min.
Long live Wrocky!

Moving forward...

Yet another long awaited post...the Z. moves forward! She has been going forward for about a week or so. (Only reverse gear prior to that.) She loves it! I like it so that she can get where she wants without me, but then there's the whole eating EVERY crumb or piece of lint off the hard wood floor thing. Yeah, that thing...
Anyway...I only got a few seconds without her crying. She's a little sickly right now. It seems to be a cold with the beginning of croupy cough. :( I hate it when babies are sick. It's the worst.

Class reunion update

For all y'all (yes, I just said, literally, "all you all") out there who need this info
& have yet to locate it on Facebookor MySpace, here it is!

If you attended Brooks High, graduating in the blessed year of 1999,
you should join us for a lovely "adults only" dinner
on Saturday, July 25th at Dale's Steakhouse.
The menu will consist of your choice of steak (ribeye),
chicken breast, or fish (snapper) with a salad,
baked potato, rolls, & beverage.
The cost for the event is $30 per person.
Please mail checks to me at my home address
(which can be found via FB, MS, or just email me).
There will be a cash bar.
Anyone interested in providing music or taking pix of the festivities,
please let me know.
Also, please send answers to the survey questions below
to my email address (sonyagraykey@aol).
There will likely be a "family picnic" (bring the kiddies!)
earlier on th 25th at Killen Park.

Here are a few questions for our potential "book" of c/o '99 members...

 1. What is your current name? (some women have changed theirs...)
 2. What is your current marital/relationship status?
 3. Do you have or want kids?
 4. Where are you currently living?
 5. What is your current occupation?
 6. School:  finished? Still attending? Going back later?
 7. What have you been up to for the past 10 years? (1 paragraph, please.)
 8. Have you traveled or worked anywhere interesting?
 9. What will you being doing in 5 years?

 Please give your current email address.  
 Thanks!
See you in July!

doin' the wave

Zora waves "hi" and "bye" now. She's been doing it for a couple of weeks, but I've been lazy about recording it. She knows to wave at Barclay when she sees him putting on his hat/coat or getting his keys (she waves at him & screams if she sees me doing the same...I'm not suppose to leave, right?). She also loves patty-cake & "yea Zora" (which is for anything remotely good). She & I took "Shake, Rattle, & Roll" baby class at Early Beginnings recently. She loved playing with other babies (most of them her age) & showing her waving & clapping skillz. :)



Please, oh please forgive my singing. ;) It's the tone only a mama's baby can love.