I've got a bone to pick...

...with the Gu*ness Book of W*orld Rec*rds. Why, you ask? Well, let me relate a conversation Reed and I had a few days ago.

The Scene: Reed just arrived home from school and is rapidly shedding all accouterments of civilized life (shoes, socks, shirt, etc...).

Reed: Mom, how can a man have a baby in his stomach?

Me: He can't Reed. Only women can have babies.

Reed: Uh-uh Mom, I saw a picture today in the GBofWR and it was a man and he was pregnant!

Me: (in my head) Well, great.
(Out loud): Well Reed, that wasn't really a man. On the inside it was still a woman or she
couldn't have a baby in there.

Reed: Why only women?

Me: Because only women have a special part inside called a uterus and that is where the baby
grows. (in my head) Please let this be enough.

Reed: But Mom, he looked like a man with a beard and all. How could a woman look like a man?

Me: Well, she wanted to look like a man so she had special shots and stuff to help her grow hair.

Reed: What kind of shots?

Me: (in my head) For goodness sakes...can't we just let this go?
(Out loud) It is called testosterone and it can make hair grow and muscles get bigger.

Reed: Mom,...

Me: (interrupting)Reed, let's just move on. What did you eat for lunch today at school?

So, there you have it. Some things don't need to be world records!

And here are some completely unrelated photos from the last couple of weeks:

Astronaut Cassidy at her school's Space Day
At the ball field

Coach Randy and Reed.

I'm #1!

As Reed and I were sitting at the table doing his homework this afternoon, I was joking around with him about how much I love him....a little, as a friend, not at all, etc...

I always end this exchange with telling him that, "of all the little boys in the world, you are my favorite and I love you the most because God gave you to me!"

So we keep working, and after a few minutes he says, "Mom, of all the girls in the world, you are my #1 favorite. And my #2 is....(are you ready for this)...

...Harriet Tubman!

I laughed and laughed, but hey, I am keeping GREAT company!

And yes, February is Black History Month.

Thawed!

Team Blankinship was very happy to spend a nice day outdoors yesterday after the last few weeks of freezing weather! We explored Alafia River State Park about 45 minutes from our house. We hiked a few miles and the kids kept the whining to minimum. Well, at least they quit arguing about who was the "leader" when I finally woke up and started timing their turns with my watch. The kids shimmied up the hill and then slid down on their bums. Yes, their Dad agreed to the plan. No, he doesn't do the laundry.

I love to see all the palm trees and old growth forest. Oh...and I love to see these two cuties in the forest, too.

Cassidy took our picture. She did a good job. She really enjoys taking pictures and does a surprisingly good job with centering and all.

Can you believe this?!? Same song...second verse. Reed's other front tooth came out last night! He has quite a HUGE gap in his smile. The tooth fairy is going broke. Yes, Reed is wearing the same jammies as last week...the pictures look practically identical. Well, with the exception of teeth. And yes, I washed those jammies during the week.

A New Year...A New Smile!

Friday fun!

We took the kids to the downtown Palmetto Halloween festival last night. They got to dress up in costumes, play games, trick or treat, get their faces painted and...IT WAS FREE! Now that speaks to me!

I've actually been somewhat annoyed with all the "Fall Festivals" going on around the area. There is a big one nearby that so many people go on and on about. We went 2 years ago and it was okay. My biggest problem is that you have to pay to park, pay to get in, pay to ride any ride or play any game, pay to eat, pay to bounce in the bounce houses, pay to get lost in the corn maze, pay to pet the animals...pay, pay, pay. So, by the time we left, with children crying because they didn't get to do all of the fun and exciting things they wanted to, we had spent $75.00! And, we live in Florida, so it was 85 degrees and humid. So there.

But we had fun last night. The kids had their baseball and soccer games this morning. Randy cleaned mold out from behind the dishwasher (long, sad, Arwen has dishpan hands story), I weeded the front bed (can you hear my neighbors rejoicing?) and now I have to go fix supper. All in all, a good Saturday.

Here they are in front of the pirate ship. Yes, it was Reed's favorite attraction. No, that is not a storm trooper Bobble head...its Reed.
Cassidy getting her face painted.

My cutie lil' pumpkin!

Reed getting his face painted. What should he have painted?

A blue light saber, of course. We're in the Star Wars phase. Reed cried last night

after his bath because he forgot that he wasn't going to wash his head (ha...little did he know) and he laid down in the bathtub. By the time he remembered his plan to save his light saber, it was too late. Poor little guy. But it did save me from having to force him into good hygiene.

Unlocking the treasure chest. What was the treasure, you ask? Why, it was plastic fingers with long pointy nails that you stick over your own fingers! Treasure is in the eye of the beholder!

Wow! We can really BIRTHDAY!

My little Cassidy is now 5 YEARS OLD!!!! She had a great birthday that seemed to go on and on and on! We had her party a few days after her "actual" birthday, so she really was able to celebrate MANY times. In fact, at final count, she had 3 birthday "cakes": cupcakes at school with her class, a cake a Chik-fil-A on her birthday with the fam, and cupcakes at her party.

Here she is the morning of her birthday with her new, big-girl bike from Dad and Mom. She was able to take it for a quick spin in her jammies before getting ready for school.

We had a family party on Wednesday afternoon where she could open ALL of the fabulous gifts her grandparents and aunts and uncles sent!

Hog heaven!

Playing with some of her loot.

Cassidy chose dinner at Chik-fil-A (big shocker) for her birthday dinner and requested a...

PINK (shocking...I know) cake. Of course, Mommy complied! Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing is actually quite yummy!

Cassidy at her birthday party. We loved having Grandma Jane here to celebrate with us!

Cassidy was SO excited to wear a crown and sit on a "throne" to open her presents.

All I can say is...well, there is really nothing to say about this.

Blowing out candles!

I was finally able to get her to slow down to get one picture in the actual bounce house area!

Randy and Reed sliding down the big slide.

Fun was had by all. Cassidy felt very special. She is extremely happy to be 5. All in all, a success.

Busy days

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks. Life has been the usual hectic "start-of-school"
pace, thus the blog has suffered. Or maybe it is me that is suffering. Or maybe it is the floors that are suffering. Well, at any rate, here are some pictures of 2 kids who are NOT suffering (unless you count having to practice addition facts as suffering...and you might have point.)

Reed's first day of 2nd grade at Rowlett. Can you see my "fake it 'til
you make it" staging of this picture!Cassidy's first day of 4 year old preschool!
She LOVES everything about school!

Grandma Jane is here and we are loving it - especially Miss Cassidy who has found

a willing audience for her ENDLESS chatter! I'm loving it too! Grandma is such a positive person and a HUGE help to me!

Here is Miss Cassidy at her first soccer practice.

She was one big ball of energy! I loved seeing her run

and run and run and run! Click on the picture to see

her look of concentration as Coach was teaching them toe taps.

And here is red and sweaty Cassidy at the end of practice!

She loved it and I loved a channel for some of her energy!