This is the best $1 I ever spent! I had read about Toobers and Zots in a parenting magazine once but never seen them in stores. When I was at a local resale shop last week I found a bag full of them, and it was only a buck! The boys and I had so much fun building a dog, a robot, a dinosaur, making crowns and masks. They are such a cool creation and such a fun way to use your imagination and problem solve!

Dominic is six now! AND he lost his second tooth! No doubt about it, he's growing up!

He still loves kindergarten and is looking forward to Christian & his birthday party in two weeks (see invites above).

Happy birthday to my sweet boy!

Christian started school last week as well. I am doing a preschool cooperative with a wonderful friend I've made here, so he gets his academic stuff at home but his extracurriculars elsewhere. He has started soccer at an indoor soccer complex and having a blast. He really likes having a uniform! He also attends a class at a local comunity conservatory where he gets a taste of music, art, and drama. He is so proud to be a "big boy" and going to school like Dominic!

Analysis: McCain's claims skirt facts, test voters

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080911/...hing_the_truth

I really want to get this info out there, especially for the undecided voters out there. McCains campaign has been flat out lying, and people are getting duped. It's one of those sad facts that if people keep hearing a mistruth again & again they begin to think it's fact.

The biggest one is this:


Quote:
Surveys already show that most people believe Obama would raise their taxes — a regular McCain claim — even though independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under his proposals.


HELLO!!!

Here's another:

Quote:
McCain and his running mate Palin, the Alaska governor, were defiant this week in the face of fact-checking news reports. Day after day she said she had told Congress "no thanks" to the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, a rural Alaska project that was abandoned when critics challenged its costs and usefulness. For nearly a week, major news outlets had documented that Palin supported the bridge when running for governor in 2006, and she turned against it only after it became an embarrassment to the state and a symbol in Congress of out-of-control earmarking.



PLEASE consider this info when making your decision on who will receive your vote!! We already have a president in office who knowingly LIED to us about "weapons of mass destruction" to dupe us into a war with Iraq. Do we need another administration that is already boldly lying right to our faces, even before they are elected to office??

Where did summer fly to????

I guess we stayed so busy that the days just zoomed by. I need to go back and post about Sesame Place, Duthc Wonderland, our heavenly labor day weekend in Ocean City...but first things first: Dominic is a kindergartner!

He started school on Wednesday and loves it. His favorite part of school is recess. Go figure!

I decided to plant a garden in place of our flowerbed this year, and it's turned out to be a fun project. The boys and I picked out plants & seeds in the spring to plant. We went with zucchini, tomato, basil and strawberry plants, and later planted some pumpkin seeds. You can see the before & after pictures here. Actually, the "after" picture is 3 weeks old...the pumpkin plant is MUCH bigger now and has three pumpkins thus far. The boys really enjoy taking care of their garden and LOVE picking the goodies and, in the case of the strawberries, eating them ASAP. I'm glad they're enjoying gardening so much!

I created this image to show my hopes that peace can be restored in the Republic of Georgia. If anyone is interested, the image is on products being sold here: http://www.cafepress.com/forthischild 100% of the profits benefit humanitarian projects in the orphanages in Georgia and Armenia. Please spread the word!

Our big boy.

Last Monday Dominic lost his first tooth. He was thrilled!

The week before that we attended his preschool graduation ceremony. He was surprised and delighted at the festivities and to receive a diploma.

Yesterday, what I thought was a minor injury turned into emergency surgery for my sweet little boy. Thankfully, he is doing wonderfully today and, in typical Dominic fashion, acting as if nothing ever happened. He had the nerve to ask my if he could climb a tree tonight! I reminded him of his stitches and the fact that he has to take it easy for two weeks. That will be nearly impossible!

What a week! With the graduation and the lost tooth, I worried that my baby was growing up too fast. Yesterday I was reminded that he is still my baby, and probably always will be.

Geez...I am soooo behind! We've been staying busy this summer having fun at lots of new places. I'll start with two weeks ago and try to work my way forward.

We spent the day at Belmar beach in New Jersey. It was weird to have to PAY to go to the beach (they all seem to do that here) but the beach was nice, clean, and PACKED. It was a gorgeous day, in the mid 80s, but the water was a chilly 69 degrees. The boys have been asking to go to the beach all summer so they could build a sand castle like Curious George. They had a nice one built, but high tide rolled in just before we left and took the whole thing out. They laughed about it, because it's exactly what happened to Curious George's castle.

We can't wait to go back again. This time I'll be sure to be more accurate in applying sun block to MYSELF, though. I missed a patch on my back and got the mother of all sunburns...ouch! The good thing is now the boys don't argue with me about sunblock anymore, after seeing my nasty burn!

Here are some pics from our day:

Happy 4th of July!

We had such a good time on the 4th!

We went into town (North Wales) to catch a parade. It was a tiny one but just enough to keep the kids entertained with fire trucks, police cars, candy catching, kids on bikes, motorcycles, etc. We then followed the parade to the park where they had an old fashioned get together. No blow ups or high tech games. There was a bean bag toss, sack race, three legged race, greased pole climbing contest, pie eating contest, water balloon toss...the boys participated in nearly everything! They received tickets at each event that they could trade in for prizes like little flags, gliders, etc. It was so much fun! I didn't even realize that there WAS a party after the parade, so I didn't have my camera on me. Next year!

That evening we went to a nearby town for fireworks. It was raining so that delayed things a bit, but in the end it was a great display. Happy Birthday, America!!

A sad, sad day.

I feel like I sold my soul to the yankees. LOL. Today I (well, Andy) put PA plates on the car and I got my PA driver's license. I really enjoyed being the only Texan on the road. Sigh.

72 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

I am soooo behind...my apologies!

Here are some pics from our Memorial Day weekend trip to Washington, DC. We really had a good time. I found the most fun hotel to stay at, the Hotel Helix, which is decorated with this crazy retro pop art theme and has Austin Powers answering the phone line. There is so much to see in DC...we can't wait to return! When Obama wins the election I hope to be in DC again to witness his historic swearing in ceremony! :)

Here are some pics from our trip. I will add more ASAP! I took over 400 pics, plus my brother took some, so it's hard picking my favorites! The mud pits at Vulcano Solfatara. This volcana is at the base of the hill where my grandmother's home is, and I feel like I grew up with this volcano! The boys loved it (but it was stinky)!
The main vent of the Solfatara smoking.
Running through the steam.
At a small park with my cousin and her daughter, Martina.
Dominic and Martina with a swordfish head, at the Pozzuoli fish market.

Casale Nunziatina, where we spent 5 nights in Sorrento. This was such a beautiful place!!
One of the public paths in Herculaneum, a city destroyed with Pompeii in the Vesuvius eruption in 79 AD. So much of the city was so well preserved!
The Amalfi coast. We stopped here to picnic before walking down to the beach at Positano.
On the isle of Capri, with the Faraglioni in the background.
With my cousin Angela & her three kids.

more pics to come!

Saluti da Pozzuoli, Italia!!

We have been in Italy for two weeks now and have one week left. We're cramming a lot of visits to family and shopping into this last week. :)

It's just the boys and I...Andy couldn't join us this trip. Dominic is a natural Neapolitan and is having a blast hanging out with my cousin's kids and playing soccer with the neighborhood children. The language barrier doesn't seem to bother him and he's picking up a fair amount of Italian. Christian is still pretty clingy and nervous with all the new things and people he's encountering but is still having fun. He looks forward to getting gelato in the afternoon!

I wish I could upload pics but I'll do that as soon as I get home. We got to spend a week with my brother who flew down from Germany and we spent several days in Sorrento. The boys really enjoyed visiting the city of Herculaneum and hunting for skeletons. hee hee. They point out Vesuvius everytime it's in sight. They LOVED the beach at Positano and got soaked in their clothes. I had to buy a towel and dry clothes there. They enjoyed the trip to Capri and riding the funiculare and the bus over to the Marina Piccolo where we watched the huge waves (there was bad weather that day). Since returning to Pozzuoli we've mostly been visiting my relatives and getting caught up with them. I took them to the Solfatara, a volcano at the base of where my grandmother's home is, and they LOVED it. Not so much the volcano (Christian and I both got a little scorched when we got to close to one of the vents...ouch!) but climbing the smelly hills of sulfur, running through the steam clouds, and throwing rocks in the mud pits. Quite a unique experience! I can't wait to upload the pics!

Tomorrow we're going to a market because I got carried away today and bought some larger items and now have to buy another suitcase (I only brought one medium and one small one). I also want to take the boys to the fish market in Pozzuoli as I know they will LOVE that since most of the fish and other critters (especially octopus) are still alive and swimming in tubs! I also still have two uncles I haven't seen yet and another cousin I want to visit so we'll squeeze those visits in to the few days we have left.

I'll be home on the 29th and will share pics when I'm not sleep deprived anymore! LOL!

It's amazing how prayers get answered in unexpected ways. I'm still running into little problems that make me want to stick my thumbs in my eyes BUT I am feeling so much more positive thanks to the little messages, packages, e-mails, and phone calls I've received. It reminds me of how lucky I am to have such a wonderful support system in tough times. THANK YOU!

On to happier things. Here are some pics from our fun trip to the Dixie Dude Ranch this Spring Break. yeeehaw!!!!