Gettin' Jiggy Wit It

The boys were allowed to wear hats to school the other day, and Harry chose this hat that his Aunt Kim bought him several years ago to go along with the family JB vibe....

Here's his explanation....with my apologies to JB ;-)

Lots of things are changing, and I had to take this picture to remind myself that he actually CAN get dirty ;-) The boy has a knack for keeping himself out of messes (he once threw up while sitting in Dean's lap without getting anyone yucky)....this just seems to scream BOY, including the juice stain

This is one of his recent letter books

and he was so proud of 'making you this rainbow necklace, Mommy!' :wub:

He has never been a fan of the writing or homework, but look at all those N's!

and all those - yikes, my hand cramps just looking at all that LOL

Will Smith

Have a little Coca-Cola, Really, it's a lovely drink

This is how I celebrated the granite being installed.....

...earlier that day I'd unpacked a box that has been in storage for a long time and remembered how many fun bar things I have, including this adorable musical decanter from my dear Aunt Libby's bar. It plays this song...

Irving Berlin's How Dry I Am

Move It On Over

This peaceful scene...
became this muddy chaos on Thursday
They're not just pretty faces anymore! They've learned how to put some muscle into it

They've also become excellent QC assistants

Moving requires a lot of skills beyond the strong back and project supervision....Ty Pennington better watch himself ;-)

....and if you weren't totally convinced of their decorative flare, check out this recent creation - they said they were decorating for Christmas, so it's apparently about to get interesting!

I just have to say that they've both been amazing troopers thru all this. If you ever want to move with kids in tow, I'd recommend 5 as a great age!

George Thorogood, and just about everyone else

HE Kissed A Girl (and HE liked it!)

Jack had his foray into the world of kissing girls (at least I *think* it was his first attempt)...ugh, SO not ready for this. Her parents and I watched this little PDA at a school event this week and eventually broke them up LOL
He tells me that she kissed him first and he wanted he to know he likes her....is anyone ever ready for this when their son is 5?!?! Good luck teaching them, Ms. J :-)

Katy Perry's I Kissed A Girl

So, I Write A Little

Harry has decided he loves to write, draw, and do all those other art-y type things he never had any interest in during all those forced mommy-and-me type activities we both suffered thru....thank you, Mrs. R! Several of his friends' moms have told me the same thing is happening all around, so hats off to Daddy's mantra about 'all in good time'

Unfortunately, he's taken it a bit far with the chalk at the new house. He's on a week's probation for his latest attempt at getting his art ON, and here's the letter he wrote Dean and I to apologize to us and the house ;-)


Thank you to all those people who gave us sidewalk chalk before we had sidewalks....it is being put to great use these days, and I'm considering taking out stock (if he learns to limit it to groundwork)

So, at school they've been working on the thankful theme, and this seemed pretty true to him these days - thankful for both houses!
Ambidextrous, much? The boy is a *little* impatient, not sure where he gets that ;-)

Alabama

Surf City, here we come!

The boys' bathroom had this fun wallpaper boarder (get it?!) and I lucked into this great surfboard artist (Thanx, Josh!) who made these boards that I am making into benches...we'll see how this little project goes, but so far it's been a great purchase, witness:

Jan & Dean started it but who can deny the Ramones' Surf City?

So you'll have to mind the mess

This is what November looks like at the new place:

Library-to-be
Eventually, a dining room

Kitchen and Family RoomEIK will hopefully be filled with Dozen Roses tomorrow

Our bedroom is set to be painted by the amazing Mr. Jay later this week

Who knows what we're going to do with this hot mess

the rest of our room - yikes, that's a lot of high ceiling work!

Dean's office/guest room - it was also bright red a few days ago

the boys' bathroomwill wait for a while, but cool boards are on the way

the laundry room is our current dumping ground

the boys' room - beds and books, what else do they need?!

Their playroom in transition from all pink to all-boy!

I hope to tackle the yard when it's warmer and plant the lovely new things, keep clearing the weeds and spruce the outside a bit.

Thanx to all the friends who have stopped by to see the before's and share your good wishes and kind gifts - we can't wait to make it ours!

No Doubt's Under Construction

BEDS To Build

The boys' room is well on its way, thanx to my hard-working men!

Harry and Dean finishing the slat work yesterday
Jimmys (thumbs up) all around after a quick test-drive yesterday

The boys both earned their teachers' top behavior ratings today, so we're CAMPING OUT at the new place tonite - maybe I'll revamp the blood donation sticker to say Be Nice To Me, I slept on the floor!

Clothes set out for the morning rush - the new bus leaves at 7:10 AM - OUCH!

Harry is a *little* excited - his teacher is a little tougher on the top honors, so he was the one who pushed us over the top today .... yay for Super Dooper Red days!

Those faces are what will make the aches worthwhile, right?!

JB & AJ's Boats To Build

Turn The Page

This is my typical view of Jack these days....
...or if I'm lucky I can catch some portion of his face ;-)

The boy devours books! Often with a panache, that you may be able to see here:

Dean and I both love to read and it seems the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! This is one of his favorite books of late: Benjamin McFadden And The Robot Babysitter. He's also loving all things robot these days, so it's a great combination

Typical multi-tasking...doesn't put the book down (and yes, he often walks while reading), even for a race on his old blanket

Harry's right there lately with the books - he especially likes the ones that allow for silly voices and fun dialogue....like this sequel to Put Me In The Zoo entitled I Want To Be Somebody New (um, love that smile, and the pizza sauce that's left, too!)

They both look so serious

I didn't think fast enough to turn on the audio....but he was digging bustin' da rhymes ;-)

And, yes, I wish my lashes left that much of a shadow on a neighboring wall!

Bob Seger