Will riding his bike

Here's a video Rob shot from his phone over the weekend of Will riding his bike. (Notice how I have to hold on to the seat while running....Not the best look for me. Eventually I made Rob do it.) He's able to get on the bike and go with a simple push. We worked on stopping a bit-something more than the curb of course- and braking. This week, if it ever stops raining, we'll try to turn. Until then, long straight stretches are where we're at!

Tonight we rode bikes

Tonight we ate at Sweet Tomatoes because stuffing your face with salad is the perfect remedy to not wanting to cook dinner for your family. After a deciding vote in the MV (minivan for short) which involved Will asking "raise your hand if you want Red Robin"? "raise your hand if you want Shawi's"? "Raise your hand if you want to go to Sweet Tomatoes?" will all votes equaling Sweet Tomatoes but then Will rigs the vote to win because he wants to go to Red Robin to eat the marchino cherries that they give him in his drinks. So this voting thing goes on long enough for me to get annoyed and decide that we are just going home. But this makes everyone mad because home has no ice cream. As a side note....we are watching Rob's favorite show Community and we are laughing out loud. And why did he kiss her? And, while we are talking about shows, run to the nearest computer and got to HULU and watch Moderen Family. Hilarious. The mom....she just had twins - in case I haven't told you already.

So we go to Sweet Tomatoes and we eat and it's delicious which is odd for a salad bar but it is. Will filled his plate with spinach and peas and corn and tomatoes and we wondered who's kid he was. Then we go home and the plan was pjs and bed -it was 6:00 - maybe a bit early but whatever-kids needed early bed time (which equals tired, whiny, and grumpy) So we get home and our sweet little neighbor who is 4 is riding his bike without training wheels. We've been talking about it for awhile - taking off Will's training wheels - but haven't done it. So...skip bedtime and pjs and take of the TRAINING WHEELS!!!!!! I can't imagine being my child sometimes because here's how the conversation goes. (I can not do quotes because I am typing on Rob's iPad and the quotes require multiple button pushing which is hard so imagine me starting the convo...

Will...want to take your training wheels off?
No. Can we watch The Upside Down Show .... Pause...it is so cute that he still watches preschool shows and loves them.
Let's just try.
Ugh!....Training wheels off...no bike helmet that fits so we compromise with his t-ball helmet which fits snuggly although lacks a chin strap. Parents of the year award right here people.
Get on Will
Please don't let go mom
Ok..... Pedal, pedal, pedal...mom let's go and Will goes down.
MOMMMMM! Only let go when I say stop bike which means let go of bike - as a side note... STOP means stop bike altogether and STOP HO!D means stop the bike but don't let Will fall over -he just needs a breather.
Pedal, pedal, pedal.......stop bike...mom lets go....and will pedals for a moment, albeit wobbly, but pedals then falls. It's actually quite funny and I laugh and that's when my neighbor steps in-much to the delight of Will.


Bottom line, Will rode a bike tonight. He pedaled a good 30 feet all by himself. It was so cute...in his t ball helmet which will be gone by this weekend. The evening ended in tears as all good first bike riding experiences should..he ran right into the curb flew over the handle bars onto his belly. I laughed because it looked like he was flying, he cried. But then I told him he looked like Superman and he laughed to. Then we went in and watched The Upside Down Show.

photo courtesy of this yummy looking online bake shop Decadent Sweetz which also makes Cake Balls (which are delicious) and are harder to make than you think.

Last night we went to dinner. Just Rob and I at the Cheesecake Factory. It was delicious and quiet. There were moments when we didn't say anthing and marveled at how there were no questions being asked of us. Ahhh...the little things. We also planned out a new Star Chart for the kids.

We were of course stuffed because the Cheesecake Factory serves portions larger enough for an entire family to eat and thus we took cheesecake home (what's a trip to a factory of cheesecake without eating a piece right?) Rob snagged the Red Velvet Cheesecake, I opted for Peanut Butter chocolate-I'm a chocolate girl any day. We got home, decided to share.....the funny part of the story comes when Addison decided she wanted berry cake. We said...no...it's actually red velvet.

"how does it get red" she asked (actually it came out 'how it get red mommy?'.

"It's dye" we say. I went on to say that if she ate it, she would eat dye.

This is the part where the panic sets in.

Will's face drops and his eyes get huge. "She will die!"

"no, she will eat dye'

"You can eat die?????"

"Not die like in the ground die, but dye like food coloring" i say.

"oh, the stuff we put on cookies?" asks Will.

"yes." (we eat a lot of sugar cookies)

And then ...all was well. Why is the english language so funny? and why does red velvet cheesecake taste like nothing? Both questions, I have no answer for. You'd think something so red would have a burst of flavor. But no....just dye (or die)...

3 things I love

This little man who seems to be growing up more each day...

My partner in crime and best friend.... Little do people know but he is the glue for this family.
This little lady who makes the coolest sidekick ever. I love her spunky attitude, the evil looks she gives when she's mad, and the way she says NO so sweetly.
Feeling pretty lucky over here in our little world....

Ahhhhh....summer's here

sore muscles, tired legs, feet stained with dirt, doors open with the air gently blowing, exhausted kids barely staying awake to bedtime and the faint smell of BBQ lingering...ahhhhh...summer is HERE! I love this time of year.

This is yummy:

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

1 package softened cream cheese
2 cups cooked chunked boneless skinless chicken breast
chunky bleu cheese dressing
hot wing sauce
1 package shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Spread cream cheese in bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Mix hot wing sauce with the chicken and pour on top of the cream cheese, spread the chunky bleu cheese dressing over chicken mixture and top with Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I used cheddar cheese because it was all I had on hand. Dipped some veggies in it for a delicous dinner. YUM!

we've added more animals to the party

And Will invited people. Would you think it weird if you got an invite to a stuffed animal's birthday party in the mail? Would it be weirder if the parents actually threw the party? Let me know, I'll leave you off the guest list because I think we'll be those people...

On June 1st...

We're having a birthday party for Moonkie. Moonkie is a stuffed animal. That's how we roll people....we have parties for stuffed animals. You know you want to come.....

This was Will's idea-because Monkie is his favorite stuffed animal (I call them lovies to which he says MO-OM!). We know Moonkie's birthday because when we found him in Will's brand new back pack (unpaid for-Moonkie, not the backpack) we registered him online and the computer said his birthday was June 1st. It's like a different world. When I grew up cabbage patch kids had birth certificates included. These days, their preloaded with a life via the Internet.

If you have any suggestions for stuffed animal birthdays, throw them my way. I've always drawn the line at humans!