Whoohoo!

My 2 littlest girls and I went on a road trip.  It was a bit of a spur of the moment thing.  On Friday evening, Dan and I (or mostly I) decided we (or again, perhaps just I) wanted a particular Toyota Sienna which was located in NJ.  Now, time might not have been a constraint, but this happened to be an Ebay find and we needed to get hopping on it if we really wanted it.  And I really wanted it. So, Monday morning, I packed Callie and Delaney into the car.  I want to mention that we purchased the Mazda MPV off Ebay and we have loved it.  It has been a really great van for us.  But as it was nearing the 10 year mark and the 100,000 mile mark, Dan wanted to get something more worry free.

Here are my girls on the drive out.  They were pretty good.  It was suppose to take about 4 hours according to Google Maps.  Apparently they do not take into consideration that all the roads around DC suck and the navigation of those roads is rotten difficult, even with their lovely (and not always helpful) directions.

Did I mention that it also poured rain the entire day?  The whole drive was in the rain, and I am grateful that we had no real delays or issues from it. 

We got to the dealership about 2:45pm.  The girls had a snack.

Then Callie proceeded to get her wiggles out by doing a very funny Butt Dance.

Delaney preferred to mess with the water dispenser and she filled 4 cups and spilled a bit.  When I took a break from paperwork, I discovered she had gotten soap out of the bathroom so she could wash her hands in it.  Sigh.

Anyway, I LOVE this van!  It is a 2007 Toyota Sienna, with more room and fun stuff than the Mazda.  Yes, we got it, and I was sad to say goodbye to my traded-in Mazda.  I would have taken pictures, but again, it was pouring down rain.  (And if you happen to be interested in a car and are near NJ, I can recommend a good place!)

Once the negotiations were over and titles transferred, it was dinnertime and we lucked out with a McDonald's with a Play Area.  So the girls had a good day.

We stayed the night there, rather than make the drive back.  I don't like driving that much and I was already tired out.  The girls had a marvelous time at the hotel.  I must now mention that I took them to the room, and Delaney decided she needed to pee on the potty.  So she sat on the potty.  Then I realized I had no more diapers with me, but they were in the car in a bag.  So I went out to get the bag.  Delaney followed me out- bare bummed and all!  Silly pickle!

She also didn't want to go to sleep, and once asleep, decided that 3am was wake up time.  She woke me up by opening the door!  Eek!  Thank goodness for the chain latches!  Delaney then spent the next 2+ hours chattering like a magpie while I tried to get us both to sleep. Not my best night, but since it didn't involve vomit, it was still a good night!

This morning we were on the road shortly after 8:30 and we were home before 12:30.  A good day of driving and mostly rain free.  I love this van!  It is so sweet and it drives so nice.  It is quiet and smooth, and I'm really excited about it!

Here are my 2 co-pilots in front of my new, fabulous van!  Aren't they cute in their matching shirts?  (Delaney kept talking about this shirt at 4am- "Strawbee shirt?"  "Cupcake shirt?"  She likes the "strawbees" on it.)

So, I had a good trip, all went very well, I love this van, and now I need a nap!

Highlights

Life is never dull around here.  I try to make it photo-worthy, but I slacked and I did not take a lot of pictures this week, so I have fewer to share.  I will deliver some of the highlights, and low-lights of the week though.....

* A certain child in the house neglected to get to the bathroom on time and his father told him to put the soiled undergarment into the sink in the basement.  The problem with that is that the washing machine drains into the sink and the underwear covered the drain and I ended up with water all over the basement floor.  Bad enough.  The girls had left a ton of toys all over the basement floor (because, well, that's where they play!) and I had to clean up wet toys and a wet floor.  Not a happy me.  Not a highlight.   (The next time he had an accident, he tossed the thickly skid-marked underwear directly into the washer..... onto my freshly washed whites.)

*  We are trying to purchase a Toyota Sienna.  I spent the afternoon cleaning out our Mazda MPV in preparation for a trade-in.  I'm so glad my dad makes me thoroughly clean out the inside every time I visit!  It sure looks good right now!

*  I have an ultrasound scheduled for May 20.  So those of you who want to know, we hope to inform you if we're having a boy or a girl that day.  To be honest, I don't even care which it is now.  I've had so many girls, it might be nice to not have to worry about something different.  But another boy might be nice.  Either way, I'll be thrilled!

*  Marian read her entire book to Dan. That meant we had to take her to Chuck E Cheese as a reward.  Even better than that, the next morning, before she saw me, I saw her reading a book, all by herself!  It was at her level and she was sounding out the words. I was so thrilled to see it!

*  Joshua had 2 projects for school.  He had to make a mask out of a brown paper bag, and he had to make a costume or puppet of an animal and give an oral report on it.  I was worried these would be tough, but he was excited about both and got right to work on them!  Both came out looking great.  He decided on a Scorpion for his puppet and we managed to make a pretty cool sock puppet!  Okay, I got to do most of the work, but it involved a lot of glue-gunning, and I wasn't confident enough that Joshua could do it without burning his fingers.  Which is exactly what he did when given the chance.  His oral report went really well and he was quite pleased with his puppet.  He told me he got lots of compliments on it.

*  I think I killed most of my seedlings.  I had sprouts of everything, but after letting them sit in the hot 90+ degree weather last week, I seem to have lost all my cucumbers and this week I'm losing my corn.  1 is down, 1 is on the way and I'm worried about the rest.  I did get the very healthy and LARGE zuke plants into the garden.  Everything else is still in the house being pampered.... or not.

*  Mice nibbled into 2 of my flour bags in the basement.  My food storage is no longer safe and I'm a bit freaked out by it.  Small furry animals are in my basement eating my food and pooping on my shelves.  The ick factor is pretty high on that for me.  I have put all the non-canned stuff into a tupperware bin.  If the wee beasties make it upstairs to the kitchen I don't know what I'll do.  Cry, I'm sure.

*  Our block had its annual garage sale day today!  We walked around and had a marvelous time this morning.  I acquired a super-cool new stroller.  I'm really excited about that.  Joshua is more excited about the 2 sleds we found.  He was quite upset when it snowed this year and I refused to buy him one.  Today I was willing to pay $3 for 2 of them!

*  Delaney wants to sit on the potty.  She likes to sit like the big kids and she wants to wipe like the big kids.  However, her wiping consists of grabbing great wads of toilet paper and stuffing it behind her into the toilet. Totally a good news/bad news thing here!

And I think that is enough.  I have pumpkin pie in the oven that needs to be checked (because I LIKE pumpkin pie!) and then I'm going to channel surf and go to bed.  Fun times for me!

Family Photo Fun

I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to get a good family picture.  Part of the problem is that there are so very few opportunities for family photos.  Well, without going through the trouble of scheduling an appointment and paying gobs of money and quarrelling with your spouse about it, then there are very few opportunities.  

I decided that as Aunt Miranda and Uncle Dan were here, by golly, we were going to make them take a picture.  Alas, I had forgotten that it requires some semblance of simultaneous cooperation from all parties involved.   I'm not sure if an "accurate" picture is really as treasure-worthy as an attractive one.  Miranda took about 7 pictures.  Here is a sampling of them, and unfortunately, the first one IS the best!

Yes, this is as good as it gets for us.  Okay, maybe I just like it because Dan and I look best here! Delaney looks confused with no thumb in, and Callie looks zonked. Heh heh heh!  Marian wouldn't put on her sweater and I decided it was not worth the fight.  Once we got to church it became worth the fight, so she did wear the sweater once we left the house.

Yeah, I'm a goof.  Miranda was being silly, and I could not resist. Marian and Callie look cute....

This is our Silly Shot.  Delaney didn't get the memo.

And yes, the chaos of getting it all done.  Good thing I know I have a cute family, cuz you sure can't tell just how cute from our family picture!!  (Thanks Aunt Miranda!!)

Callie's fun day

I actually meant to blog about yesterday;  It was my 10th Anniversary, you know!  Dan and I had a fantastic date, but the pictures are inaccessible right now, so you get to see what Callie did this week.

Uncle Dan and Aunt Miranda took Callie to the Zoo!  They took the bus to the Metro and the Metro to the Zoo.  Callie had a marvelous time.

Callie had fun with Aunt Miranda on the Metro.

They met friends at the Zoo.  It rained off an on, but that didn't dampen the fun!

Super-cool!  A fuzzy pelt they could touch.  Callie said she liked everything.  She had a "gweat day!" with Aunt Miranda and Uncle Dan.

And she fell asleep on the way home, marker in hand.  So cute!

Okay, totally out of order.  This is Callie, waiting for the bus, and it should have been the first picture.  But I am in a hurry and I'm hungry, so this is what you get!  If you are lucky, I'll get our anniversary date pix up soon.

Miranda's Fault

My sister Miranda is visiting! She brought her husband too. I like them both, very much. They have been pretty busy doing fun things in the area and I have gotten to spend time with them. We have feasted upon such divine tastiness as chocolate cookies and chocolate truffle pie (I'm sensing a theme here!). And I introduced them ti Five Guys. Mmmmmmm..... 5 Guys burgers.....

I have neglected to take pictures, and I have neglected my blog. For that, I heartily apologize to the 3 people who get excited to read it. I shall repent immediately and go take more pictures. For now, you will have to make do with some recent pix of the kids.

Joshua at the park during Spring Break.

Marian in her favorite fuzzy purple shirt, enjoying a donut and wearing a donut goatee.

Fabulous Callie at the park!

My 3 funny girls in the tub. Marian always asks to make "soapy solution" in the bath and last week I said she could. She poured half a bottle of shampoo in the tub. Ug. It certainly was soapy!