Grandma, Grandma Every Where

Any time we tell the kids we are going somewhere and "grandma" is mentioned, the questions start flowing. Which Grandma is it? Well, let's see. There is:


Grandma C - the one with Uncle A



Wita



Grandma B - the one that lives with my cousins



Grandma H - the one who calls G "hetta face"



Grandma P - the one with the dog named Bella



Nona



Grandma B


and that does not include the adopted-along-the-way...


Auntie J


Grandma K - the one that turned ** (**= how old she just turned)


Grandma - the one from next door

We've got trouble!

About a month before his first birthday, this little guy...

decided it was in his best interest to find an alternative to crawling. Having 3 older brothers is tough when you're slow, especially when they take your toys and run. Not any more! Watch out brothers, here I come run.

Slow, choppy baby steps quickly turned into running. Nearly 3 months later, Z can keep pace with all the big boys. Looking for the next challenge, he decided he ought to dedicate a little more time fine-tuning his climbing skills.

I was doing the dishes today and turned my back to put the silverware away. When I turned back around, I had a little boy standing in the open dishwasher. Mission complete! And so it begins.

"Any Guesses?" Reveal

***Original Post***

There is never a dull moment at our house. Being that there are a few weeks between semesters, we've got to find something to do around the house. Would you like to take a wild guess at what our latest project is? [Those who already know, you're not allowed to guess!]

Here is a hint:

The second hint (of which I don't have a picture to post): a big-o smile on this Momma's face.

Look forward to more pictures either later tonight or tomorrow.



***Update***

It started when

was introduced to a 60-lb

and went out to the

and made it look like this

[which was exciting to more than just Mommy]

and when Uncle B can to visit, he was included in the festivities.

At the end of day 1, this

then looked like

and after working day 3, our space looked like

There are 3 types of people.

Type 1 - People who have a pool and hate all the things that [always] go wrong with it. Every time something breaks or doesn't function properly, there is always a "piece of ....." comment uttered, whether it be verbally or internally.

Type 2 - People who love having a pool because they hire a pool company to look after it. These people don't mind paying $40+/month for chemicals alone, $8 for EACH o-ring when they break, $250 for a new motor, $100+ for pool sweep repair/replacement, etc. These people generally tend to work so much anyways, they don't always have an abundance of time to enjoy their pools.

Type 3 - People who do not have a pool and really want one. [Clearly they have not spoken to enough type 1 & 2 people to truly understand what pool ownership is like!]


We are type 1 people. We were paying decent money to maintain something that yielded a small amount of satisfaction. We can [could] only use our backyard for 3 months out of the year. We had a stained concrete slab and an over-sized bathtub play pool crammed into a teeny tiny backyard, and that is it. The remaining 9 months of the year, weeds looking to multiply found refuge out back. And of course a higher electric bill for running the sweep to keep the pool clean for ..... ? [scorpions?] For many months, we had gone back and forth between leaving it as is and ripping it out and making a more 4-boy-friendly environment.

It was around the time fall semester started (and swimming season ended) that our feelings towards parting with the pool grew. Boys need to be boys, and boys need a place where they can be free and roam play. After weighing the pros and cons, we decided our pool-owning season had indeed come to an end. Hopefully within the next three weeks our project will be complete and we will have some

and I won't feel like

.

In the meantime, this

has become a bad word at our home.

Any Guesses

There is never a dull moment at our house. Being that there are a few weeks between semesters, we've got to find something to do around the house. Would you like to take a wild guess at what our latest project is? [Those who already know, you're not allowed to guess!]

Here is a hint:

The second hint (of which I don't have a picture to post): a big-o smile on this Momma's face.

Look forward to more pictures either later tonight or tomorrow.