The Green Guide

The Green Guide

Videos of the Kiddos

Here are a couple of new videos of the kids. In the 1st one Ruby is making Trip laugh and the 2nd one shows Trip eating with a spoon. WARNING: These are probably only going to be interesting to grandparents.

Sucker Stick Stuck

It appears that Ruby now thinks that Trip's head is the trash can. Before she goes to bed at night I put a sucker on top of her chest of drawers that she can have the next day if she doesn't get out of bed and goes to sleep (Yes, bribery works wonders). Not long after I gave her her sucker today, Trip walked into the kitchen with this sucker stick stuck (say that 10 x's fast!) to his head. He seemed to be oblivious to how silly he looked but I sure thought it was funny!!!

In the clubhouse

The other day Ruby and Trip both carried their snack out to the clubhouse and they were so cute sitting together at the tiny table. As you can see from their jackets it was a cool morning, but I think the warm weather is finally here to stay.

A Day with the Day's

Today, Somer, Vivian, and Bauer came over to play and we had a great time. The girls seem to be phasing out of the "mine" stage (knock on wood) and really played well together. They had a blast riding doubles on the roller coaster. Below, Somer and I got a good laugh when Trip walked into the living room with a big trail of toilet paper that he drug (dragged??) all the way from the hall bathroom. Bauer and Trip were also starting to pay more attention to each other. Trip kept pointing to him and saying "baby." Bauer is now 8 months old and crawling so he and Trip will be running around together soon. Thanks for a fun day, Days!............. and also for wearing both of my kids out. They're both taking a nap. =)

Lunch on the Porch

The weather here is gorgeous today- sunny but not hot, so I thought it would be fun to eat lunch out on the porch. Ruby thought this was super cool and Trip was just excited to have Doritos (they were leftover from a cookout last night so I'm trying to get the kids to eat them before I finish them off myself. I never buy Doritos- YUM!). We went to the park this morning and then to Wal-Mart for a couple of things. Rex started his new job today and will be home "early." For us early means being home at a normal, end of the workday time like 6 instead of 10. Yippy! Better go get to work on dinner...........

Trip the Super Cutey!!

Trip's favorite thing lately is playing in the fridge. He gets very upset if the door gets opened and then reshut without him getting to get in there and rearrange some water bottles. I've occasionally found pacies or some random toy stuffed in the door.......... Here are a couple of quick clips of Trip walking. He started taking steps here and there at around 10 1/2 months but finally in the past couple of weeks he decided to give up crawling. He's so cute toddling around.

The Roller Coaster

We got a Step2 Roller Coaster with the $ that Trip got for his birthday. This thing is awesome- endless entertainment for toddlers!! I love Trip's smirk in that 3rd pic. He's thinking, "Ha! It's finally all mine!!"

Freecycle!!!

I recently discovered the joys of Freecycling! You can join a local group and locals post items that they are giving away! It was designed to reduce the waste being taken to landfills. One of my best finds so far has been this VW Barbie Power Wheels that I got at the end of someone's driveway here in Maumelle. I did have to buy a battery and charger but it was still tons cheaper than buying a brand new one for nearly $300. Check out www.freecycle.org.

Window Markers

I mentioned in a previous post that we got some Washable Window Markers at the Crayola store in KC. Well, here they are in action. They have been a lifesaver in a couple of instances when I needed something to keep Ruby occupied for a little while and crayons weren't doing the trick. And, since Somer shared Vivian's on their blog, here is an example of Ruby's current face artistry.

Maumelle Family Fest

A couple of Saturdays ago, Rex had to work (hopefully one of his last Saturday's spent working since he starts his new job Monday!) so I took the kids to our local fair. Ruby rode the carousel, some dragons, some cars, played on the jumpy thing, and enjoyed this giant bubble gum snow cone. Trip also rode the carousel, did some jumping, and devoured the snow cone. I was really sad that my camera's battery died because I could've had some cute pictures of Ruby feeding Trip the snow cone. Don't ya hate that!

Trip's macaroni

The other night during dinner, Trip kept pointing and trying to let me know that he wanted the entire bowl of leftover macaroni. Being the cool mom that I try to be on occasion I thought I'd endulge him. He thought that was the coolest thing ever. He stayed in his highchair for much longer than usual just moving the noodles from the bowl to the highchair and vice versa. He also spent a great deal of time attempting to feed himself the noodles with the spoon, but with not much luck. So, if you ever need something to keep your baby occupied, try leftover macaroni and cheese!............ And yes, he did actually eat a few of them.

Pedis on the porch

I combined my desire to be outside enjoying the weather with my need to piant my toenails. Ruby and I had fun being "fancy". She surprisingly chose red polish over pink.

Trip's 1st bike ride

A couple of weeks ago when the weather 1st started to get really pretty, I got an itchin' to go on a bike ride. I was a little nervous to pull both of the kids in the trailer since I had never even pulled it with just Ruby, but it turned out to not be too difficult (excluding large hills). I had a blast and it was a really fun way to get some exercise. I was having to use Rex's bike so we decided that I needed my own so we could all 4 go out on rides together as a family. I got a spiffy new hot pink Diamondback bike that I'll have to post a picture of later. It does clash with the red trailer though. =)

Hi-Ho Cherry-O!

Thank you so much Ms. Sandra for our new game. Ruby LOVES it and I've noticed that it's helping her to quickly pick up addition and subtraction concepts. Thank you!!!....... Trip loves his penguin too but I haven't gotten a pic of him with it yet. Thanks again! You really shouldn't spoil them! =)

Ruby's Gardening

Lately, Ruby is pretty much obsessed with flowers. Anytime we see flowers anywhere she wants to go pick one and she thinks that every scraggly little weed is a flower. Well, I've been trying to create more educational experiences for her- not just do things that keep her entertained. So, I thought it would be fun to plant her own flower seeds and watch them grow. She painted the pots, then put in the soil and seeds, and then watered them. We now have some sprouts coming up but I'll try to do a follow-up post as to how her flowers are coming along.

This and That

How funny are the 2 pics above. I just noticed that it looks like 1 photo was cut in half but they're 2 different photos. I took a picture of the pool because that no diving warning cracked me up. Was that really necessary?........... As for Trip, he wanted to play with the an empty Pringles can and he immediately inserted his juice cup to make a huge sippy cup. It was funny......... Picture below is to show just how shallow this pool is and that diving is definitely not in the realm of possibility.

Kansas City

Thursday we drove up to Kansas City to see the Yankees play and it was the kids first time to a see major league game. I'm sure that they will remember it for years to come! =) It was nice to get away for a couple of days but this definitely won't go down in family history as one of our best vacations. To start the trip off, we got to Conway (about 30 minutes from our house) and realized that we had left the tickets and had to turn around. Then, the weather wasn't cooperative and it was in the 40s, rainy and windy- not the ideal baseball weather. We only made it 3 innings through the game before the kids had had enough. But, we quickly became very pleased with our decision to go on and leave the game. As soon as we got in the van, the hardest rain fell that I think I've ever seen so we were thrilled to already be in the car and not stuck in the stadium with the already fussy kiddos.


I tried to buy some more "happy" time for Ruby by getting her some cotton candy. As you can see, she wasn't into it.
On Friday we had a good time at the indoor pool at our hotel, did a little bit of shopping and then went to lunch at the Crayola Cafe. It wasn't as cool as the KC tourist website made it out to be but Ruby enjoyed getting to color. I did like going to the huge Crayola store next door. We got some window markers and some paint for our easel. I had hoped to get one of those large plastic crayon cases with a handle like Rex and I both had but sadly found out that they stopped making those about 6 years ago. .........We'll definitely be waiting another 2 or 3 years before we take the kids to another Yankees game.

Rex's birthday cake

Pretty self-explanatory post.......... Aren't you impressed with my cake decorating skills?! =)

Cootie

After getting inspiration from an old friend whose blog I just discovered, I realized that Ruby was old enough to play some games. This past week I purchased the old classic "Cootie" which was one of the first games I played and Ruby kicked my tail! She had her Cootie put together before mine even had any legs. I did bend the rules a little bit for her though. I explaind to her that she had to roll a 1 first so that she could get her Cootie body. After several rolls and no 1 she picked up the dice, laid it down with the 1 facing up and said, "Yea! I got a 1!"Also, her first time to roll the dice was funny. She pitched it across the living room and then ran across the room to see what she rolled. Now that I think about it, that would be a way to incorporate some exercise into the game. Anyway, I'm thrilled to now have a fellow lover of board games in the family!

Happy 29th, Rexy!

I'm not sure of the years on these but I can definitely see some Trip in that first pic.
What kind of cake was that? a rabbit? I'm guessing from the candles that this was your 5th birthday.
This was right after we started dating in October 1999.
Here's you adding a little humor to our engagement photo session in 2003.
Hope your day tomorrow is special. Let's make the most of our last year of being twenty-something. We love you! -Steph, Ruby, and Trip

Happy 27th, Jer!

Happy 27th, Jer! It's easy for me to believe that I'll be 29 this summer but it's really strange to think of you as 27! Here we are above at 25 mos. and 5 mos. even though this could pass for a picture of Ruby.
Look at those blonde curls! I so wished that Trip would get those but it just wasn't in the cards. Mom- I nearly fainted when I realized that there wasn't a date on the back of this picture! I can't wait for Trip and Ruby to wear those outfits this Thanksgiving.
Jer- always the ham! He you are taking your visit to the Louvre very seriously. Atop the Eiffel Tower, January 2000. Oh those were the days- when we could spend the holidays traveling Europe. Maybe we can go back in 2030.
This is my favorite pic of us. Why, you ask? Because I look good.........and you weren't looking to shabby either.

You looked so grown-up and professional on Easter in your fancy schmancy attorney attire. Trip looked like he was ready to follow in your footsteps............. Happy Birthday, Bro! Hope you have a great day! We love you!