Cool Zebras

Tiring

2010-09-03T06:19:00.002-05:00

Many things tire me. I don't have the patience I once had. In some ways I have more patience...for my kids...for myself. Things that tire my patience include people who speed by me only to find them at the next stoplight just in front of me...or next to me. Also clerks who seem to think they are doing me a favor by taking my money. And telling my kids for the 4,365,892nd time that they need to leave the chair legs on the floor.

These things are tiring.

I said I had more patience for my kids then listed something they do in the things I have no patience for. Contradiction? Meet Heather.

Patience and humor are related. I'm convinced of that. If your child sasses you in a sing-song attitude but you have the patience and humor to retort with a similar sass things are much less explosive than if you yell or punish.

Parenting is tiring. And challenging. And rewarding.

The best parenting moments I've found have been when I've found my sense of humor even in the challenging moments. Laughter helps. Sassy kids can make you lose that sense of humor, but if you can see the humor, if you can make that sassy child laugh, it helps.

Now if only I can keep the humor.

Some Kids Enjoy Hitting the Basement for Tornado Warnings

2010-09-01T07:22:00.001-05:00

A Little Bit of Magic

2010-08-30T06:57:00.002-05:00

It's the same nearly every evening. The kids wind up just before bedtime because they've hit that mark...just a little too overtired. They careen around the house whooping and tackling one another until inevitably someone gets hurt or their mom or dad loses patience and raises a voice a little too loudly. Often things end in tears. It's bedtime at the Zebra household.

Miss M has never been a sleeper. Even as an infant she would fight the good fight until she'd quite literally cried herself to sleep. It was her way of winding down I guess, but as a new mother I found it quite disturbing to listen to my precious baby cry so often. I suppose, in retrospect, she may have been a bit colicky. There were some days that nothing would soothe her until her dad placed her on a portable changing table that came with our Pack N Play and carried her around the house while she lay on the semi-hard surface. We had a rough start at being a family as I've written about before. Her emergent c-section birth was a shock to both her father and I and I long felt like a failure for that and for my failure at breastfeeding. It really was no wonder that she didn't sleep easily or for long. When we finally discovered that she had abnormally large tonsils and had them removed, her sleep improved remarkably.

K Man was a champion sleeper in comparison to his sister. He still took naps at age 4 on days that he didn't have preschool (in contrast with Miss M who gave up all naps for good by 26 months). I've rocked all my kids to sleep as babies and often into toddlerhood. K Man preferred me to hold his feet as he drifted off to dreamland. If I failed to clutch his squarish feet in my hand, he'd grab my hand and guide it to his feet. He still seems to enjoy this if you can get him to sit still long enough. In the last 2 years he's had trouble getting his mind to shut down enough to sleep. He thinks too much. He has too many ideas. He worries about tornadoes.

Ms. D is the best sleeper of the bunch. I'd only heard of kids like her who, when asked if they are tired will answer yes and grab her lovie and doo doo (her word for her binkie...I have no idea how she came up with that one but I love it) and head for the stairs to go to bed. To be honest I was skeptical that such children existed. She is the only child who inherited her father's sleep habits. (Sorry to my other children.) When D is tired she will grab her lovie and doo doo and wrap her lovie around her index finger, murmuring softly to herself as she strokes her lovie with on finger. She's done this since she was probably 4 or 5 months old. I will miss this routine when she outgrows it.

Recently, my mom sent a small bottle of lavender spray home with Miss M. I started spraying all three kids' pillows before bed. It's magic in a bottle. My kids have been sleeping better (most of the time). K Man doesn't come out of his room as much at night. D, on the occasions that she starts to balk at bedtime, will respond to a few sprays on her pillow. M requests the spray. I think it relaxes her.

It is magic in a bottle. I'm spraying my own pillow too.

Fat Limerick

2010-08-26T07:18:00.002-05:00

There once was a girl who was thick
but tried to look less like a brick.
She worked out and walked
until her knees just balked.
Weight loss just isn't that quick.

The Cutest Skirt EVAH!

2010-08-25T06:53:00.001-05:00

Tips for Using the Drop Off Lane at School

2010-08-23T07:03:00.000-05:00

I posted this two years ago, but since school has started for some of us, and will be starting soon for the rest of you I thought it was necessary to re post this. Already I have dealt with all of this again this year.

Do not pull into the lane, get out and leave your vehicle unattended while you escort your child into the building. This is not dropping off, this is taking your child into the school. Park in a designated parking space if you want to take your child into the building.
Pull forward as far as you can into the lane when you come to pick up your child. The people stuck waiting in their cars out in the street can see that if you'd just pull up we could fit 3 more cars in the lane.
Pick up time is not the time for a parent-teacher conference.
Don't get huffy at me because I'm waiting for my children to buckle up before I pull away from the curb. It is the law. And I happen to love my children enough to keep them safe.
Smile and acknowledge your child or children when dropping off and picking up. Your phone call can wait a few minutes.
The bus lane is NOT a drop-off or pick-up lane. The rest of us are waiting in line like we're supposed to. Despite what you think you are not special...even if you think your yellow car qualifies as a bus.

Friendly Advice for Taking Walks With a Toddler

2010-08-19T06:28:00.003-05:00

Do not, under any circumstances, place your expensive camera in the under seat basket and proceed to give your toddler a bottle of water.

Take note of the wind direction if at any point of your walk you will be hiking up a loooooong hill. While the breeze is refreshing and dries the armpits a little, it is more difficult to push a stroller and toddler uphill into the wind.

No matter how runny your nose is because it is ragweed season, try to walk with your mouth closed lest you come upon an insect riding the current. FYI, it also makes you a little chokey for the rest of the walk.

It's not the best idea to go for an hour-long walk when you are on day three of Jillian Michaels' Shred. Your muscles already hate you.

This last point is especially important if you are vastly overweight and attempting the Shred. If you insist on walking anyway a shorter walk is probably best.

Chances are you'll forget all of this by the next time you want to take a walk with your toddler. Well, all except the first point anyway.

New Seating

2010-08-18T07:04:00.000-05:00

Goodbye to a Friend

2010-08-16T07:31:00.004-05:00

When I woke up yesterday morning, shopping for furniture was not at all on my radar but within moments of my waking in the late morning (have I mentioned I have a fantastic husband that lets me sleep in on the weekends?) hour my children were chanting Daddy broke your chair! Daddy broke your chair! in gleeful voices. Apparently the old recliner that I have rocked 3 babies to sleep in finally sprung a spring and has nearly rocked its last rock.

Craig and I went shopping for furniture before we were married. Craig had a hand me down recliner that was wore thin but was still fantastically comfortable and another hand me down swivel rocker that was in good shape mostly but ungodly uncomfortable. We'd decided to take our combined tax returns and buy ourselves new chairs. As it turned out, the chair I chose for myself ended up being Craig's chair after we started having babies and it was much more comfortable to nurse and rock babies in the big La Z Boy. I can remember just how each of my babies fit in my lap in that emerald chair. I can see toddler Miss M eating a bowl of frozen peas, her 2-year-old body dwarfed in the voluptuous chair. I can feel my boy nursing and curled against me, sighing happily and we rock rhythmically off to dreamland. I can hear the clack clack of the chair signaling the need to shift it abruptly to the left so the clacking stops for several moments before the process needs repeating. I can feel D in my arms, my last baby, climbing into my lap and throwing her arms around my neck in the fiercest hugs I've ever received from such a tiny person.

It's just a chair. But it's helped me through many nights. It's where I slept after I had my c-sections when it was too difficult to get in and out of the bed. It's the first place I head with a crying child who has just suffered some sort of minor injury-whether to body or to pride. We rock together, often with a lovie, even at eight years old (without the lovie) the chair soothes injustices (along with a strong dose of Mommy or Daddy). The chair is at least 10 years old and has been used and abused. It has wear marks and tears and stains. It has served us well, probably better than it should have given the amount of use. Yes, I like to sit. A lot. And my butt can attest to that. (I'm starting the Shred today, btw.)

It's just a chair but it's the chair I nodded off in while a baby nuzzled my breast. It's the chair I sat in for months to pump milk for my first born child. It's the chair I've read countless books to my kids. It's the chair I watched LOST in. I've laughed, I've cried, I've napped...all in this chair.

It's just a chair. It's just a chair.

Closer

2010-08-11T22:25:00.003-05:00

The bathroom took a HUGE leap toward the finish line this week. It already looks like a showroom bathroom to me. Paint on the walls and it will really look extra nice. 3000 times better than the baby blue fixtures we've lived with for about 13 years.

Unforeseen Issues Regarding Bathroom Remodel

2010-08-10T06:44:00.003-05:00

Our bathroom was mostly hideous. But if you like baby blue, you'd probably have found it quaint. I did my best to improve the room with cute little touches-- photos of my babies in bathtubs and fancy knobs for the vanity. Slowly over the last year and half the bathroom has been transforming. The baby blue tub has been gone for about a year. The new tub/shower is in a new location, making our bathroom bigger than it was before. Where the old bathroom rested, we have custom cabinets.

Yesterday the first part of the process for laying tile in our bathroom was started. We will be unable to use our main bathroom for the 3 days that the whole process takes, but it will be worth it in the end. It will be wonderful when it's done.

However there were a few unforeseen issues regarding this (specifically floor) remodel. First, when you're used to putting in your contacts just before you hop in the shower it feels weird to insert contacts while standing in your kitchen. When you feel the need to use the restroom and you are accustomed to going upstairs it is against nature to head the other direction. If the man installing your tile hits the floor with the hammer repeatedly, the globe covering your light in the utility room may, in fact, fall and shatter unexpectedly. You will not know what fell and broke until you need to use the restroom. You may actually use the restroom while your toddler follows you and exit to find glass sprayed over the floor. You may have a tiny heart attack realizing your toddler could have severely cut her feet (and you could have too but really who cares about you at this point, right?) and then usher her upstairs away from the owies.

Prior to this drama you may have realized why you actually avoid using this small (literally) water closet in the past. Claustrophobia. Forced to use this bathroom, you leave the door open when you must use it. There presents the problem when the man installing the tile is in the house. Can't really leave the door open. Plus the toddler wants to be in there with you. It's COZY. I'm going out on a limb and suggesting you do your business extra quickly.

Remembering the glass, you call your husband because you can't find a broom or a dust pan. He says he broke the broom weeks ago and the dust pan is in the garage "somewhere." You note to self to buy new broom and dust pan.

You may start to remember the blue bathroom fondly, simply because it was functional.

Then you take a deep breath, pee in the claustrophobic small water closet and hope for the best by the end of the week.

This Doesn't Just Happen to Me, Right?

2010-08-06T06:44:00.004-05:00

Once upon a time there were hundreds of bloggers gathering in New York City for fun, for discussions, for networking. In other parts of the country there were people who either didn't blog at all or perhaps did blog but just didn't have the resources to go to NYC for BlogHer in 2010. There was at least one woman who was a little bitter that she didn't get to go, because she used to live in New York. She wanted to go, but going would require several things that she couldn't sacrifice. First, money. She couldn't see spending that money on herself. It is money she could use to have fun with her kids. Second, she'd miss her family. She's a homebody and loves her family fiercely. If she goes on vacation, there better be a family member in attendance. Third, she's quiet, shy, socially awkward (which I am sure a lot of bloggers are...we are the nerds).

So. Instead I experience #homeher2010.

Here's my Home Her experience yesterday.

My husband told me the cat needed food and litter. There is only one place in town left that carries the litter our cat uses so that requires a visit to the actual grocery store. I had thoughts of visiting the FAIR even though I had decided not to visit again this year.

So D and I went to the grocery store. We bought some stuff. She got her free cookie. She wanted her free balloon but I was (TM) Mean Mommy and said no this time. We bought our stuff and I decided to hit Panera for the chicken wild rice soup. D and I shared some soup and a half of a sandwich. I played Words With Friends (Heather51) and Scrabble. Also I felt really cool since I was the only person who had an iPad. Yes I am that cool.

The chicken and wild rice soup at Panera is mighty tasty.

I took her to the fair and we watched horse stuff. I have no idea what they were supposed to do but it was kind of cool. Horses jumped over crap. Occasionally the horses refused. One rider was thrown off her horse but she was fine.

We may have shared some fries. With cheese on top.

I randomly determined the exit time and just before I was going to strap D in her seat she uttered the words: "Ah Poopered." Nice.

It wasn't long before I realized a few things. One, she had poopered an explosive diarrhea that had soaked through her shorts. Two, there was shit on the stroller and pretty much the lower half of my adorable little girl. Three, I had approximately 3 baby wipes to handle what was clearly a throw in the bathtub kind of poop. Four, I needed to pick my big kids up from school in less than a half an hour.

Improvising as best I could I located the tub of Wet Wipes and figured it wouldn't hurt to use those in such a situation. Then I pulled out the last wipe in the tub. So that plan worked out well.

Apologizing to my sweet baby girl, I threw a clean pull-on on her still sort of dirty butt, trying to ignore her pointed protests about the shit still on her thighs. I know Baby, we have to go home to finish cleaning up. Her agreeable nature made me feel even guiltier Uh huh Mama.

But here's how I make myself feel better. I got home, cleaned her up, threw the shitty stroller outside, got her clean clothes AND made it to school in time to pick up the Bigs.

That reminds me. I should fill up the wipes in the diaper bag.

Hand Me Downs

2010-08-04T06:48:00.001-05:00

Remembering Underground and Above

2010-08-03T07:34:00.005-05:00

The water rains on my head, rinsing away the shampoo and suddenly I'm struck again. I'm young but my age is undetermined.

Here in my grandparents' house I wander from the basement bedroom into the next room. It's a multi-purpose room...there is storage, laundry, a shower, Grandpa's workshop tucked into the very back nook. This is the most unfinished room in the house. It scares me a little but also fascinates. The floor drain sometimes bubbles up when Grandma does laundry. There are lines strung across the room that sometimes hold sheets and underwear. It seems like spelunking mission to visit Grandpa's shop.

I never want to use the shower down there. It gives me the creeps. Later, my parents install one in our house in the basement. Same type. Still creepy. I acknowledge the fact that I have some claustrophobia issues.

At the same time, I love the smell when the dryer is running. It's humid, moist, hot. It smells like heated flowers. Things are getting done. My young mind doesn't understand why some things are hung and others are dried.

A step outside the unfinished room and there is the bookshelf that I plunder for books to read surreptitiously with my flashlight. Next to the bookshelf, the pantry, which holds its own demons. The pantry holds the jarred pickles and whatever else Grandma has jarred. But it too is small, too confined. More claustrophobia issues.

If I wander up the curved stairs I can note the crack in the cinder block wall, ostensibly the result of my uncle's loud music playing during his youth. My fingers run along the painted block, my feet step carefully upon the carpeted red stairs. At the landing I look outside. I see the garage, the back yard, the covered patio. To my left I recall the coat and shoe area.

Three more steps and I reach the kitchen. The refrigerator is in front of me. I want a drink. I see Grandpa's sodas...Tab. Nothing for me. I wander to the sink in the corner of the kitchen. I see a plastic suction soap keeper in olive green. I see Grandma's decorative knick knacks.

About face and I see the dining room table. The table that there was never room for us kids at Thanksgiving. We were blessed to have such a big family in a small house that the kids had to eat in a back bedroom. I always wanted to eat at the big table. Instead I ate at a tall orange table with my brother and often, my Aunt.

There, near the table is the phone. I kind of hate that phone now. It's yellow. It's in a phone nook. It seems innocent. It's the phone my Grandma was talking on when she had her fatal heart attack. The table is where she lay slumped back. I didn't see her but I heard. I haven't forgotten. I was working. I was seventeen.

My mom called me at work and I didn't recognize something was wrong in her voice before I said something stupid. I don't remember what it was but it was something a stupid seventeen year old would say.

Grandma had a heart attack. Come to the hospital.

Grandpa was gone for 3 years by then. It didn't seem right that Grandma might be gone too. I was supposed to graduate high school in the Spring. Grandma was supposed to be there. I was still naive and hopeful. Grandma was going to be alright.

I remember my grandfather's funeral. My young cousin asked to take Grandpa a piece of cake. I was 14. I don't remember what I said to her but her wish crushed me.

Time eases pain. I suppose. We get busy. We move on. We still remember.

The Original Cool Zebras Random Thoughts #49

2010-08-02T07:04:00.004-05:00

I just realized that I missed my blog anniversary again. Proof that I am a crappy blogger I guess. Hard to believe I've been blogging for more than 4 years now. I should be much more famous by now. Ha ha ha ha ha! (My anniversary was back in May.)
I've both missed the internet and blogging and twitter and all that and not missed it at all. You probably didn't even notice that I've been (mostly) gone. I've enjoyed my kids and watched movies and just had fun this summer. I needed it.
Last weekend my two big kids had sleepovers at separate houses. Both Craig and I accomplished a lot this weekend having only one child. We had no idea of the luxury we had when we had only one kid. Of course in perspective since we were rookies when M was born we thought it was sort of hard. But wow. One kid = easy peasy. It helps that D is mostly easy going. Of course I thought M was easy going as a baby but she totally wasn't.
So I tried to organize our basement and did quite a bit of work down there. You can sort of walk through there now. There is more work to be done down there but I am closer to moving junk from other areas of the house to down there so we can move forward with remodeling/reorganizing, etc. The K Man is anxious to move to his new room but there is a lot of work left in there before that will happen.
It's sort of cute when your 2-year-old tells you "I fawted."
I'm really very, very classy.
Now I have 3 kids worth of birthday thank yous to get done. D's birthday was in May. I'm slacking big time. LaaaaaaaaZeeeeeeee.
My husband worked on our bathroom this weekend. You don't realize how much you miss a mirror hanging in the bathroom. I sort of forgot what it was like to have one in there. For the record, it's pretty nice, even though I have to look at myself. It really is useful when you put in contacts, etc.
Snickerdoodle is a terrible name for a ...cough.
When all else fails, ask the freaking out toddler what she wants. You may be surprised that she just tells you.
Storage is key when having children share a room. I calculated wrong but I am working on fixing the situation. And maybe someday the little Ms. D will sleep in her bedroom with her big sister. Probably when the heat subsides. Or something.
It still freaks me out when people I know from very different parts of life turn out to know one another, as discovered on Facebook.
Snickerdoodle.
Richard Roundtree.
You all should watch Two and a Half Men.
I'm a jerk.
I know my kids behave well when they are gone and when they return home after behaving for so long that they will let loose. I know this. It still sucks.

Back to School Haiku

2010-07-30T06:57:00.003-05:00

The end of summer
break always comes way too soon.
Back to the routine.

Even though the kids
have been fighting for two weeks
Mommy will miss them.

But they will have fun
learn, turn into bigger kids.
More fun next summer.

Six Trips Around the Sun

2010-07-29T07:10:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday big guy! We love you very much!

Glory in the Morning

2010-07-28T06:39:00.002-05:00

Summer Swan Song

2010-07-26T21:31:00.005-05:00

Summer, for us, is singing it's swan song. My Bigs start school on Wednesday. I've been absent online, much more absent than I've been in a long time. I marked all read in my reader. More than once. It's not you, it's me. I've been enjoying my family. I packed as much fun into six weeks as I could. We went to new places, revisited old places, hung out at home (rarely).

The kids have been bickering almost constantly for the last 2 weeks. Even Ms. D has joined in the fun. I've said it before and I'll probably repeat myself 436 more times, these kids know one another so well they know just what buttons to push to irritate one another. Probably not a big deal to them in reality. It's annoying to the parent who has to listen to the whining. Such is parenting.

We've hit the Spam museum, visited a nearby Amish community, toured a cave, visited the MN zoo twice (or is it three times?). We've gone swimming several times. We've played at many parks. We went on vacation with our extended family and had yet another fantastic week "up north." There was more. My mind is terrible at remembering so that is why I take photos to remind me of where I've been.

We have had a fantastic summer. I've learned more about my kids. We've had great talks. We've admitted our love and our failings. I've been told I'm the best and the meanest mom on the planet. I know they lean toward the best. I know it. I even tell them that I do things because I am mean and they laugh!

I had some goals for myself that I didn't meet. But my most important goal was to give my kids a fun summer and I think I accomplished that...even with the bickering.

What a difference 8 years make

2010-07-22T07:37:00.005-05:00

Happy 8th birthday Miss M. Thank you for being you.

We love you so very much.

I'm Going to File a Grievance...Not Sure With Whom

2010-07-15T22:51:00.002-05:00

There are several things that people don't tell you that take you by surprise. I've covered a few of these things, especially in regard to pregnancy and parenthood but there is one thing about growing old that has come up more and more often recently.

No one told me that when I got old(er) (I am still 29 dammit.) that I would have pieces of skin hanging off me like little pimples that never go away. Skin stalagmites or stalactites. Skin tags.

I didn't know I'd have this. They are annoying mostly. They don't really hurt but they're ugly. And weird.

Tonight I decided I didn't want my daughter to grow up totally naive. So I told her about skin tags. And showed her mine. She was appropriately disgusted but at least she knows the truth.

Maybe someday they'll have skin tag prevention. We can hope.

These little bits of skin bug me most in the summertime. In the winter I hardly notice them. They're covered, I'm covered. The more humidity in the air, the more the mercury rises, the more the tags bother me.

So tonight I (Mom, cover your eyes!) took a nail clipper and cut them off. Well, one came off completely, the other I couldn't quite get it all off. Gross. I know.

This is my PSA. You can remove your skin tags if you're lucky enough to be old enough to have them. You're welcome.

The Getaway is Over

2010-07-10T22:49:00.002-05:00

I've been lazy writing recaps. Internet was spotty at the cabin and I may or may not have had a couple too many beverages Thursday night. Turns out I'm not so quiet when that happens. Who knew? My husband pretended not to know me...and most of my family probably wanted to disown me. Apparently I can ask personal questions of strangers when I've had a few beverages. Shy me!

We drove home today. It was a relatively uneventful trip. We stopped for lunch and potty stops and one poopy diaper stop. I napped, D napped, K napped. M rode with her Boppa and Amma and I think she even napped a little. Thankfully, Craig didn't nap since he was driving.

But even with the naps we were all tired, hot and cranky. The post-vacation unload and subsequent tasks of putting away and washing kind of stink to high heaven. We also had incidents of breaking things and noting that the shelf in my closet had somehow came unscrewed from the wall. This will be dealt with tomorrow I guess. The fun meters are full tonight. We watched The Blindside and relaxed. I did 4 loads of laundry...only 368 to go!

I put many things away from our trip but got tired. The rest will be put away tomorrow. I think.

I discovered my son brought home approximately 33% of the beach.

Vacations with my family seem to get better every year. I know my kids had a blast and I did too.

It's the coming home that kind of stinks.

The Great Zebra Family Get Together Part 5

2010-07-07T20:55:00.003-05:00

It rained this morning. Early. I got up to use the restroom and could hear the steady patter of drops outside. I also heard the distinct sound of someone sleeping quite soundly. (Later found out it was one of my nephews.) Craig woke me up with a homemade bacon egg and cheese English muffin. I looked at M's twin bed next to mine and saw a lump covered by blankets. I tried to remove the blanket from over her head and woke her up. Guess that is the price I pay for making sure she can breathe.

We decided to head to Walker, MN for our yearly shopping excursion. It turned out to be the perfect day for it since it was cloudy and rainy all day. As we pulled in to town another car was leaving in just the perfect parking spot so we lucked out once again.

Shopping was good except for the fact that I had no stroller for Ms. D and had to carry her all day. Thankfully she is still fairly small and it didn't bother me too much to carry her. She is amiable most of the time. She started to get hungry so we went to one of the local cafes and ordered pizza. It took a while for the food to come so D kept telling us "EAT!" so we were assuming she was hungry. Thankfully the pizza was good and D got fed before she passed to the disagreeable point.

Back at the resort, there was no swimming. (The big kids tried but their lips quickly turned purple and the plug was pulled on any swimming.) Whenever there is a lack of swimming there is the other activity to turn to around here.

Lonely, lonely floaties. Oh wait. Here is how doors get fixed around here apparently. Woo hoo duct tape!

Craig and M went fishing together and M caught more fish than her dad. No keepers but fun for both.

Then Craig went out by himself and brought home 4 bass.

Another lovely view of the pink clouds.

Supper: Courtesy of my Aunt and Great Cousin. Hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, ham and pasta salad, chips and dip.

Fish (keepers): 4

Evening entertainment: ???? What happened to our evening entertainment?

Great Zebra Family Get Together Part 4

2010-07-06T08:16:00.003-05:00

It was a beautiful day. My duties of cooking for the week are done (truth be told, my husband did most of the cooking anyway) and I was in full relax mode. My mom and I launched the Party Dock and I spent most of the day floating on it with various relatives.

K Man refuses to go down the slide. I took him down it our first year here and didn't get my feet under me in time to keep him above the water. I apparently traumatized him so much he won't try it again. Baby D on the other hand has already gone down the slide a half-dozen times or more. She is quite the water baby already.

My son is known throughout the resort. It's kind of funny. Everyone knows K's name. It is a bit of a switch because usually it's Miss M who has befriended most of the resort. Although I think some of K's notoriety is because he's being sort of a pest to all the older kids. (They seem to like it though.) K has been getting the older girls to give him piggy back rides, candy, whatever. I'm pretty sure I'm in trouble with him when he's a teenager. He can get away with some of this stuff now because he's five, but I'm betting that it won't fly as well when he's fifteen. There is another big family gathered here as well. They were here last year with us also. Every year they organize a big kickball game right in front of our cabin. My Bigs and my nephews joined in the game this year. So fun for them and fun to watch as well.

I just enjoyed the irony of this:

Beauty.

Supper: Provided by Boppa and Amma. Taco chili.

Fish (keepers): 4

Evening entertainment: Kids kick ball game, watching Two and a Half Men on my iPad with my aunt and cousin while my uncle tried to remove the mouse from their cabin.

The Great Zebra Family Get Together Part 3

2010-07-05T10:58:00.006-05:00

We set our little fireworks off the day after the fourth. We're a little late. The tradition is that each kid makes a tie-dye shirt every year. I usually end up doing the twisting and putting the rubber bands on then the kids pour the dye on where they want them.

I made D's this year for her of course.

After the tie-dyes, it was off to swim and float on the party dock!

Supper: Provided by the Zebra family. Smoked turkey and chicken, Greek salad, garlic toast, fresh fruit and veggies.

Fish count (keepers): 5

Evening entertainment: Scene It!