It's an Adventure (Oasis)!

Yesterday was the second day of the Incredible Summer of Fun. Outing: Adventure Oasis, a small water park in Independence. Lucky for us, it was "toddler town" day, which meant that it was FREE! I love free!

The kids had a good time. Sam's about the only kid there that will stand under the huge bucket that dumps over the entire water playground area and not run away or scream. He loves it. We took his little friend Bashir from across the street, and he wasn't so sure about that part. Sam went down the slides and played non-stop, mostly solo. He did help out with Kate when needed, but after falling, she decided that Mommy was a necessary accessory.

About Kate: When we got there, I was turned putting down my bag and towels and stuff, and the minute I took off her cover-up, she was gone. She ran out to the playground-- which required wading into the water, climbing up the stairs through splash and spray. No problem. In fact, i had to run after her, because she was following Sam to a tube slide. I was totally panicked because she didn't have on a single floaty or lifejacket or anything. Obviously, being 19 months, she doesn't know how to swim. So I left her at the top with Sam and RAN down to the bottom (through the sprinklers, dumping buckets, very cold water). Down came Sam.

"Where's Kate?" I asked in my calmest, most in-control voice. (Ha)

"I don't know."

So I run back up and she's chickened out. Whew.

She is relatively undeterred, though, until she slips off a step a few minutes later and dunks herself. After that, mommy was required.

It's funny the things you do in the name of motherhood. I really would rather not get into a freezing pool of water, then climb playground equipment only to have buckets of freezing water dumped on my head and sprayed up my skirt. I have very little desire to sit on the slide and go down. Much less do it multiple times. Yet, off I went, cheering the large bucket of doom and laughing when I got water in my face, so that Kate and Sam would know that this was the definition of fun. And it worked. They had fun. I don't think Bashir was buying it, but we all ended up having a great time.

No pictures-- are you kidding?! No photos of me getting drenched allowed.

Never Too Young

When we were getting ready this morning, Sam and Kate were watching Playhouse Disney, of course. Sam came into me and said, "You know, mom. They said that you're never too young to start saving energy. Or water. Or electricity. I'm not too young mom. So I'm going to do it."

A little tree-hugger is born. Thanks, Disney.

The Mess Maker

We have a few nicknames for Kate. Everyone gets them. Sam had some doozies. Stinky Pants Man became Pants Man and then Pants. I call him Sweet Pig and Mr. Nice Guy. You get the idea. Well, Kate has a few. Most aren't very flattering-- not the kind we'll put underneath her senior picture. One of infamy is The Messmaker.

The Mess Maker can be used in many ways. As in, "You're being messmaker." Or "That's messmaker." or "Don't be Messmaker."

A perfect example came last week. We were eating strawberries (most examples do involved eating, but not all) and angel food cake after a yummy dinner at Grandma's. The strawberries had a glaze on them. Apparently, not all natural coloring used in that glaze.

The pictures were taken AFTER we had washed her hands and face. And, the damage was not limited to the hands and face. We were pretty sure she had just gotten her first tattoo. I warned Stuart via phone that she'd been permanently dyed.

Two bits of good news: a little scrubbing in the bathtub did the trick right away. And, she's not allergic to strawberries.

The Incredible Summer of Fun Begins!

The Incredible Summer of Fun has begun! What?! Haven't heard of it!?! Impossible!

I decided that there were so many fun things to do during the summer in Kansas City that I needed to map out a plan to get the kids to some of them on Wednesdays. And then (here's where it gets good), I decided that if I could go, we could invite other moms who are home on Wednesdays. And so it begins: Jaime's Incredible Summer of Fun.

Our first event was going to the zoo. I figured early in the summer would be less hot. If less, it was certainly humid. We had 6 moms total, and who knows how many kids. I had two. That is who I was in charge of.

Sam took off leading the pack. No, not just the kids. The moms too. Like he knew where he was going. And at one point, he said as we passed by a worker, "Nice day today, isn't it?" Amy cracked up, but that's my son. 4 going on 84.

Kate enjoyed what she could see. I've decided she's earned a new nickname: the trash collector. A few nights ago, I wiped the extra bites of leftover pizza into the kitchen trash can and finished cleaning up the table. Kids were playing elsewhere when I walked away. Just a couple of minutes later, I see Kate eating pizza. No pizza is out, so I asked if she got it from the trash can. Uh-huh. Great.

At the zoo, she dropped cheerios on the floor (and by floor, I mean dirt), and that didn't stop her. Just kept eating. Also, she worked the moms, picking off snacks from poor, unsuspecting 'friends' and hoarding her own. What a woman. Don't say she got that from me. She didn't. I may be messy, but I don't eat messy.

All in all, it was a successful day. A hot, sticky, snacky successful day.