Week 21

This week was a long one for us. On Monday we were going to wrap up our visit with Aunt Jess with a trip to the beach, but it was too chilly. So we spent the day in the backyard instead. And no trip to California is complete without a visit to Yogurt Factory. Well, Lincoln sat down at the table to eat dinner, refused to eat, and started slurring his words. Then he fell asleep at the table.




















So we packed the kiddos up in the car and went to get yogurt in shifts. Lincoln was so out of it, that he didn't even know what was going on. I noticed he was really warm to the touch, then he was still running a fever the next day. He kept refusing to eat, saying it hurt "my owies in my mouth". However, he wouldn't let me look. He even refused icecream---so I knew something was up. I took him to the doctor and we found out that hand, foot and mouth disease is going around. It is viral, so it would just have to run its course. But she also thought it looked like Strep, so she called in an antibiotic to go ahead and treat it just in case and we will wait for the lab results later. Both are no longer contagious after being 24 hours fever free. He started feeling better instantly and was as good as new on Thursday morning and ready for swim lessons. Luckily Corinne showed no signs or symptoms of whatever Lincoln had. But most of our week was spent recovering from the illness, drinking Carnation Instant Breakfast for meals, and watching a lot of Cartoons on the couch

Colton was having an off day from being overly tired.














So Lincoln got a somewhat private lesson.















He is practicing keeping his head above the water and making it to the side of the pool.















Hopefully next week Colton will be well rested so the two wild boys can have some more fun in the pool. And we definitely have to bring Colton here-------->





















On Friday we met with the Mommy and Me group out in Hemet at the Aquatic Center. It was so much fun. I wish I could have gotten some pics of Linc actually playing and coming down the slides, but random water shoots out from everywhere and I didn't want to risk soaking the camera. Not to mention I had Corinne on my hip the whole time and was in a constant search for Lincoln among the chaos. Here is a pic of him saying "Cheese! Get back in the water!"




















We can't wait to go back. It was only $6 for the 3 of us for 2 hours of play---not bad considering the drive is much shorter than our usual commute to other activities for the kids. Corinne really enjoyed it too. I think it is the first time she has been in deep water, but been able to touch. She kept trying to shake my hand loose from hers so that she could roam free. Too bad for her, that I am an expert on the hand holding death grip.




















Dealing with Linc being under the weather put off our trip to the grocery store and we started to run low on food. Corinne decided to improvise and just eat her foot.




















She says "What Mommy??? It's yummy, here you try!"




















Lincoln has also developed a big passion for snuggling with Corinne and giving her big "squeezies" and kisses. (This might be because he earns a bean in his jar for being nice to his sister. 25 beans = a trip to Yogurt Factory at the end of the week. Bad behavior = a bean lost) Either way, I love these moments.
















There is something so sweet about sibling love and seeing how happy Corinne is to get extra attention from Lincoln that she works so hard at all day.
















I also tried to get Corinne used to wearing a head band this week.






















She had a slight Flapper look to her, but I will do anything to control her mane.




















This is her pissed off face--Lincoln just stole a toy from her.





















But she was back to being ever so sweet only moments later.




















We did find some time to goof around on Saturday.
















And our "Little Guy" got a haircut. It was getting a bit too unruly like Corinne's so he ended up with a flat top. Next week, we might try a mohawk, but I think any sort of fade is out of the question.




















We are super excited for next week when the Hackney's are in town! Last time we saw them was October 2008. Both Lincoln and Cami were in diapers and we both have added a member to our crew.
Here they are at our last visit to Cincinnati. They were such itter-bitters then.















Although I am pretty sure Jason will put a halt to bathing together, we hope to have lots of fun with them at the beach, pool, zoo, etc.
















Let's just hope they are both still as loving as they were back then!

















QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Quote 1:
After I see Lincoln jump from one couch to the other in the family room.
Me: "Lincoln!"
Lincoln: "I was just flyin'"
Me: "Well, little boys don't fly."
Lincoln: "Yeah, we're not airplanes!"

Quote 2:
While I was trying to get him to eat anything.
Lincoln: "I want Lucky Cheerios for dinner!"
Me: "Huh??? Oh Lucky Charms?"
I was hopeful that my kids would eat and enjoy the entire contents of the box, so I had a stupid moment and bought a large supply from Sam's Club the other day when Lincoln said he wanted them. At that point I just wanted him to eat SOMETHING--so I folded. And like most kids, mine just pick out the marshmallows and "save the rest of later". Corinne at least throws hers on the floor for Chomper to finish off. Now I am left with 2 huge bags to get rid of, but Chomper is a very happy dog. Everyone seems to think that I starve him to death, so you all can rest assured that Corinne sneaks him all kinds of goodies!

Quote 3:
While skyping with Nathan, he shows us his "owies" on his hands from lifting weights outside in 120 degree heat---leaving him with major blisters. Luckily his gloves arrived in the mail and they are healing.
Nathan: "See Dada's owies?"
Lincoln: "I will take care of you when you get home." To me "We need to get Dada a band-aid and some medicine for his owies when he gets home."
Me: "Are we going to take care of Dada when he gets home?"
Lincoln: "No! I am going to take care of Dada. Not you, just me!"

Week 20

Wow, it is July already! Where has the time gone??? Who knows, but we are that much closer to Nathan coming home. This week started out slow with just some normal chores and errands, then my cousin Jessica came out for a visit over the holiday weekend. We were on the run a lot, but had a great time. It was unusually cool this week and dare I say "pleasant". Knock on wood, but I hope I can keep my AC off for a few more weeks and avoid another $475 electric bill in August! Yikes, that was a scary one!



On Monday Lincoln made a few craft projects for Daddy while I worked on letters for my cousin, Ruth's baby girl Madelyn. (Stay tuned for pics, I don't want to ruin the surprise now.)















The kids played in the pool some, but decided it would be more fun to play in the mud.

It was a little messy, but it was bath night, so no worries.

Then a 4th of July package arrived in the mail from Mimi and Grandpa Jinks---complete with Curious George fruit snacks, glow sticks, "Stickers!" (Corinne's favorite part for sure), a hairy/glowing ball, and patriotic outfits.

Did I mention my mom slipped in some July 4th cookie cutters and her recipe for sugar cookies, complete with sprinkles??? I could go on and on about the hours---or more like days, of my life that I have wasted mixing, rolling, baking, and decorating these dreaded sugar cookies. For some reason my family decided long ago that I was the cookie expert, therefore holding me responsible for rolling out the dough just thin enough and so elegantly decorating each cookie for every freaking holiday you can imagine. On and did I mention each batch makes around 300 cookies??? So needless to say, I now hate sugar cookies. My mom gave me the recipe when we got married and I threw it away. Back to my story----Mimi includes a note with the sprinkles and the recipe saying that maybe Lincoln could talk me into making some cookies for him. So I gave in and made an alternative recipe with pre-made icing, hoping to restore my love for sugar cookies. The verdict is back---I still hate them. I am scared for life and the only sugar cookies I truly enjoy these days are the ones bought from the grocery. I lived off of those things when I was pregnant with Corinne---maybe a slight contributing factor to gaining 60 lbs.

We did have fun mixing up the ingredients.

I even let Corinne lick the beater bars.



















Lincoln enjoyed cutting out the cookies, but kept sneaking handfuls of flour and saying "yummy". Is this an indication he is going to be a carb lover?

In between batches, we hung the red, white, and blue lights up around the kitchen window. Lincoln felt it was his responsibility to turn them on at every meal. He has not yet mastered the art of using question words so every meal would begin like this "I turn the lights on while we eat breakfast Mamom?" (complete with a head tilt and one hand up).

On Thursday morning we went to Lincoln's first swim lesson with Colton. Corinne enjoyed watching and I liked that I didn't have to get in the water.



















One of the first things they learned was that they need to wait to get into the water until an adult gives them permission. Here they are practicing being patient.

















Then they practiced their kicks.






















I could tell they had a great time and loved having this special activity with a friend.

After swim lessons, we headed out to Orange County to pick up Jess. It was right in the heart of rush hour, so we killed a few hours at a nearby mall.

Lincoln had just as much fun riding the escalator after eating lunch at the Rainforest Cafe as he did on the carousel.

Then we hit up a park to have a bit of fun in the sun before heading out into traffic.

Friday morning we headed down to the Del Mar fairgrounds for the San Diego County Fair. Linc and Jess enjoyed feeding some very greedy goats and sheep.





















Lincoln got to check out a tractor, but was not too happy about not being able to ride it.















And what fair trip is complete without a corn dog. He was not too impressed and asked me to "pick that stuff off of my hot dog".















Then we settled in for a Monster Truck show.
















The trucks were VERY loud and I was a bit unsure on how Corinne would do, but she enjoyed it.

Lincoln kept saying that he wanted to drive the "tiny monster truck". It did look just about Lincoln size!

He loved every minute of the show---especially the big jumps off of the hills.






















Next we headed to Kiddieland to take in a few rides. Lincoln got to drive a big truck of his own.















And take a small trip in a canoe.

















We spent Saturday relaxing out back and taking Aunt Jess to the mall and Harley shop. Then we headed to church for the outdoor In-N-Out Burger service. Linc played on the playground while we ate.

















And did a bit of roughhousing in the bounce house.

July 4th started out with some tanning in the backyard. I think Jess left here 20 shades darker than she came.

Corinne was on official "cool off" duty.

After naps, I dressed the kiddos in their special outfits from Mimi and Grandpa Jinks.

Corinne practiced her flag waving....

And flag chewing.

And I tried to get the kids to cooperate for a photo of the 3 of us.
















Next we headed to the beach bash on Camp Pendleton. Lincoln got an inside tour of this thing---not really sure what it was. I know Nathan would be disappointed in me. It was some sort of vehicle with tracks that looked slightly amphibious. Anyways---he seemed to like it.





















Then we did a bit of people watching as we strolled the beach. It was hard for Lincoln to resist a swim in the ocean.















And the kids played in the sand while we waited for the show to start.

It was super chilly, so Corinne got into her jammies a bit early while she and Aunt Jess waited for Linc and Mommy to come back from the bathroom. The worst part about the night was taking Lincoln to go potty. We were brave enough to attempt the Port-O-Potty, only to open the door to a urinal overflowing with pee---then we hopped into the line for the real bathroom that was only about 50 people deep!















Snuggled up, ready for the show!





















Corinne saw the first few "booms" then apparently found them very soothing and slipped off to sleep in the backpack carrier.














Here is Linc "oohing and ahhing" with Aunt Jess.
















Remember our "Little Guy"??? He has a head full of hair now---and a widow's peek!





















QUOTES OF THE WEEK

Quote 1:

Very loudly announces as we approach the checkout line ran by an oversized man at Walmart.

Lincoln: "That guy is fat!"

Me: "Shhhhhh! That is not nice to say. We will talk about this in the car."

I blame that iccident on Mimi and Grammy for calling themselves fat to my son. We later had a discussion about how people come in all shapes, sizes, colors, with hair and without---but that we don't have to announce what everyone happens to be stuck with.

Quote 2:

While snuggling up for story time at night.

Lincoln: "I want to sleep on your boobies."

So he is definitely his father's son.

Quote 3:

Me singing to Corinne in the kitchen. Some of you 80s kids might recognize the song from the Elephant Show.

Me: "Skinnamarink--adink--adink. Skinnamarink--adoo."

Corinne: "I love" Points to herself.

Quote 4:

While Lincoln is watching TV.

Lincoln: "This is mine and Daddy's TV."

Me: "Yes it is, what about Mommy and Sissy?"

Lincoln: "Ummm, this is mine and Daddy's TV."

Okay, point taken. Too bad for Lincoln that Corinne has made it her sole responsibility to constantly find and deliver the remote to me. Let's hope this habit continues once Daddy gets back!

Quote 5:

Randomly after going potty.

Lincoln: "I'm gonna poop on your princess!" Laughs in a deep cackle.

Quote 6:

While waiting in line for food at the beach bash.

Lincoln: Very loudly "You're not a mean Mamom. You a nice Mamom."

Me: "Thanks kiddo."

Lincoln: "That's nice to say to you. That makes you sooo happy!"

Quote 7:

While Jess pushes Linc in the stroller back to the car carrying the cooler and the diaper bag and while I haul Corinne in the backpack and haul the beach blanket and sand toys.

Me: "Wow, you're lucky. I wish I could get a ride now and that someone would push me in the stoller."

Lincoln: "Mamom, your hiney won't fit in here. It's too big!"

Quote 8:

While taking a potty break in the car before hitting the road after the fireworks show.

Me: "Are you done? Are you making pee or poop?"

Lincoln: Yells super loud so everyone around us hears. "No just pee. My poopy is stuck in my body!"