One Hundred Shades of Happy....

I am one hundred shades of happy right now.

Just found out my Brother and Sister-in-law have just met THEIR NEW DAUGHTER!

In ETHIOPIA.

Yep, they have met the sweet baby girl that they will take home to be theirs. So very exciting, God is SO good. Yep, she is my second Ethiopian niece/nephew. The joy doesn't stop there. We have ANOTHER brother and sister-in-law who are on the waiting list for THEIR baby girl too! Our family is growing by leaps and bounds!

Just finished booking an AWESOME hotel deal (with an indoor heated pool for Mr. Energy to swim in) in a few weeks to go and meet our NEW NIECE.

We will be waiting to welcome her home to her forever family in the airport baggage claim area. Love it. Love it all.

Just scheduled a late morning coffee date with a dear friend where I can squeal and gush all about my NEW NIECE.

God is GOOD...

A

Me Loves the Toddler Food...

It doesn't matter how old I am...I will always love toddler food.

Macaroni and cheese?

YES PLEASE.

Tall glass of ice-cold chocolate milk?

YES PLEASE.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

YES PLEASE.

Chocolate pudding snack pac?

Hand it over!!

How sad is it when you get a little too excited that the littles didn't finish all their lunch and you need to help finish it?

That'd be me.

May explain the residual post baby...uh...ISSUES that I have. And yes, as I have explained before, I am claiming the "I just had a baby" excuse for five years. FIVE.

Sounds reasonable to me...

A

** Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

Wearing Tomato Cages And Eating Dirt...

I FINALLY got my garden in earlier this week. It was a glorious weekend and my seeds would have germinated...had they been in the ground on time. Oh well, at least they are in now!

Bubbalu helped me pot and stake the tomatoes while Daddy worked on building a gate:


("Look Mommy! I'm a ROBOT SPACESHIP!!!")

I'm hoping that tomato production and consumption will be good this year. Well, as long as my Tomato Bandit leaves them alone, that is.

OY.

Lil Chick was nearby and discovered that she was VERY fond of the potting soil and "helped" me plant my pots:






("Hey Mommy, this brown stuff is F.U.N. to play with! It looks like chocolate cake, but doesn't QUITE taste like it. But that's OK, I'll still eat it.")

* Did you happen to spot a chair revamp in the background? I honestly forgot to post about it. Will post it soon!*

The kids have been LOVING being outside in the sunshine. Mommy has been loving it too. The perfect kind of day for lunch on the deck:



Little did I know Bubbalu would steal Lil Chick's sandwich when I went back inside. Oh, the brotherly love...

A

** Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

My Special Custom Costco Cart...

Dear Costco,

In addition to the drive thru that you will install for me, your #1 Customer, I have another request.

I would like to request a special custom cart saved just for me and a select group of my friends who make the list. (Am currently compiling the list and will deliver it to you upon completion of my request).

My Special Custom Costco Cart must include:

1. A plexiglass divider between the two seats in the front of the cart. It must be at least 4 feet tall so a certain 3 yr old cannot reach over to pummel his 1 yr old sister.

2. A plexiglass kick plate on the front under the shopping cart handle that extends down a good 3 feet or so to protect my legs and stomach from being kicked by aforementioned 3 yr old.

3. Why don't we just go and enclose the entire child-holding part of the cart while we're at it. Please let it be completely soundproof as to mute the sounds that comes out of my 1 yr old when she opens her mouth. (Lil Chick screamed so loud today in Costco that the elderly woman in front of me jumped clear out of her orthopedic shoes. Then she glared at me. Right before Bubbalu threw my Costco coupon book at her. Lovely. Mother of the year.)

4. I NEED a cup holder. And maybe you could make it keep my hot mochas hot and the frozen ones cold. Why don't you just put two or three of those hot/cold cup holders on there while we're at it so I can sip one while I shop and keep one or two more the appropriate temperature so when I arrive at my Sister's house they will be the perfect temperature for an hour long impromptu chat/playtime.

5. I could use a small mirror so I can fix my hair that gets hopelessly disheveled when I walk through the wind tunnel at the entrance to the store.

6. A receipt holder clip on the side of the plexiglass child enclosement so that the receipt isn't in a sweaty crumpled mess in my fist by the time I get to the sharpie wielding checkers at the exit.

7. A map of the store complete with current location of the Starbucks Frapps and Tostito's queso cheese. Yes, I could NOT find the queso cheese today. Very disturbing.

8. A priority checkout pass. Ya know, because I'm your #1 Customer and all.

Except for your Kirkland Signature Macaroni and Cheese. You missed the mark on that one.

Please let me know when my cart will be ready. I'll be waiting.

Yours truly,

A

** Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

The Flute Got Flushed...

I was all excited last week to give the kids a toy flute and harmonica to play with. After all, we are excellent parents providing our offspring with creative, mind enriching toys.

That flute was LOUD. VERY LOUD. It kept getting "lost" on top of the piano and on the highest shelf in the cupboard. Sad, very sad.

However, Bubbalu kept finding it and playing with it. And yes, the flute did get flushed down the toilet last week. It wasn't the ENTIRE flute, just a four inch mouthpiece that makes the remaining pieces of the flute...well...NOT like a flute.

More like a blue stick with holes in it.

And guess what?

It's a Mute Flute.

Yep, completely quiet. He can try and try to make it whistle, but nope, that thing is mute.

And I'm not ONE bit sad about it.

Fast forward a few days to 9:30 pm Saturday night. I'm busily scrubbing down the bathrooms in anticipation of hosting a family BBQ right after church Sunday morning. (What?!? Doesn't EVERYONE scrub their bathrooms at 9:30 on Saturday night? SUCH a life of luxury I lead...)

Scrub the toilet and flip the flush lever. And the toilet is hardly draining. It SLOOOWWWLLLLY finishes flushing and I remember that stupid flute mouthpiece.

Argh.

Which leads to a 9:35 PM Saturday night phone call to my dad, "Uh, Dad, how do you take apart a toilet?"

And what does he say? "I'll be over in five."

Awww, thanks Dad!

Mom came along to witness the fun and helped me finish scrubbing the house. After we made a much needed Dairy Queen run for refreshments we reviewed the pics I'd snapped of the Toilet Flute Incident of 2010:



Dad pointing to the place where they found the flute mouthpiece:



And we've sealed our Classiest Neighbors on the Block status by using our FRONT LAWN as a toilet hosing out location:



Extra fertilizer, right?

I'm just glad it was dark:



After the whole thing was over my husband says to me, "Do you have ANY idea how disgusting it is to pick up poo with your hand?"

UMM.

Did you REALLY just ask me that?

A. You got to wear gloves when you cleaned up poo

B. You got to haul the whole thing out the front door and hose it off. Can't really do that with the kids. Well, I COULD, but that's a little harsh.

C. I'm a Mama with two kids under 3, so yes, I DO KNOW what it's like to clean up poo with my hand...and it happens on an alarmingly frequent basis.

But, I've gotta give him props, he fixed our toilet!

I'm watching Bubbalu like a hawk around the toilet. Especially if he's been playing with musical instruments. I REALLY don't want to have to call my Dad at 9:30 at night explaining that his grandson flushed the harmonica, bongo drum AND maracas down the crapper...

A

** Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

The Swagger Wagon...

My new favorite song:



OK, Chevy, we need the Tahoe version. I'd be willing to do a cameo if the price is right...

A

Some Sewing Inspiration...

I'm feeling all crafty today. Time to unearth the sewing machine and get back to it. Just a bit of inspiration for ya:












Aren't they beautiful?

I'd better get to it before the laundry and housework changes my mind...

A

**Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day! **

My Plunger and I Are Going to Be VERY Good Friends...

No no, not because I have malfunctioning bowels. Besides, do you really think I'd BLOG about having intestinal issues? Goodness gracious. That's just disgusting.

Anywho...

Destructo Boy has been VERY busy this week.

That, combined with Lil Chick's new found love of dancing on top of the dining room table while screeching her little lungs out has greatly affected my frequency of blogging.

Oh, you noticed I've been a bit absent?

I'd love to stay and chat but I've got to go and figure out how to get a flushed blue flute mouthpiece out of the toilet.

I'm going to hope that the plunger works some miracle flush-reversal for me.

But you can bet on one thing: If I DO manage to unflush that flute mouthpiece you won't catch ME playing that flute EVER AGAIN.

Nastyness!

Also, I need to pick the remainder of my wall decal off the wall. And yes, that'd be because Destructo Boy thought it would be fun to peel a few necessary pieces off first.

Come to think of it, I haven't found all the parts he peeled off the wall. Wonder if he flushed them too?

Off to plunge...

A

*Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) **

Busy BEIGE Bloggy Break...

Well lookey there, took another bloggy break. Mama's been busy.

Busy painting some walls. Now, don't get all excited about a special color or anything, it's BEIGE. Boring boring BEIGE. I had to paint over the ugly non-flattering brown-red sludge that the "interior designer" picked for our home when it was built. It made the woodwork look orange. Not just a tinge of orange, but IN YOUR FACE orange. I was o-so-happy to get rid of it. Even if it was to paint it BEIGE. Had to make the room ready for our new chocolate brown sectional couch. The family room is coming together nicely. Except for all the BEIGE.

Can you tell I'm not a huge fan of the BEIGE? But it's worlds better than the sludge.

Busy feeding the children. Because they are food disposal professionals. They HAVE to be going through growth spurts because this is crazyness.

Busy cleaning and organizing the home front. Yep, unpleasant, but someone's gotta do it.

Busy building some gates for our yard. You know, a child backyard containment assistance device. The hubby and I have been having fun doing some carpentry. Power tools make me smile. I've got a bunch of projects on my list.

Busy getting the boy allergy tested. Let's just say skin pricking tests aren't Bubbalu's most favorite pastime. Mama and Bubbalu were both exhausted after that appointment. Starting to wonder what shenanigans Bubbalu will be getting into once he's healthier. Note to self: Hide the sharpies in a better location.

Busy helping Bubbalu and Lil Chick make my sister Sallie a birthday video. Not your average Birthday song, but oh well...



OK. The bloggy break is now over, nice to see your lovely faces again...

A

**Didja know you can find me HERE on Facebook? True story. Become a fan (or like) and see the latest Vintage Dutch Girl posts in your news feed. Oh, and it'll make my day :) **