a black thumb, jazz hands, and EVOO

Wow, it's been a while since my last post. I've been up to many things, I guess. Lincoln was supposed to have his first swimming lesson this afternoon. However, his teacher called saying that the pool was closed. A kid pooped in the pool yesterday, forcing them to drain the pool & clean it. Yes, please do. Our homeowner's association fees have to go towards something. Can we not have our kids swimming in poop please? Thank you McKay's Mill.
We tried to explain this to Lincoln. I tried telling him that his swimming lesson was not happening because someone pooped. This got us nowhere. All Lincoln said was, "You like poop in the pool?" So finally, Ben used another tactic. Kevin is our neighbor who is 4 years old. Lincoln LOVES Kevin with all his might. Ben said, "Kevin was the one who pooped in the pool. They sent him to jail. If you poop in the pool, they take you to jail. That's why you haven't seen Kevin in a while. " Kevin's really at the beach on vacation with his family. But Lincoln got this horrified expression on his face & said, "Kevin in jail? Poop in pool? Oh no!" Mission accomplished. Ok, Ok, so we suck at being parents. But we got the job done. As of this moment, Lincoln will never poop in the pool.

On another note, my parents came to visit us this past week & we had a great time. Many of you may not know this, but I have a black thumb. Seriously. No greenness here. You might be saying, "really? not even one measly plant? not one flower?" No folks, everything I put into the ground dies. I choose to believe this is due to my being a bit overzealous to keep them alive...so I water them. And keep watering them. And so on and so forth. So they die of over-watering. When my mom & dad arrived, my mom had it all planned out. She knew exactly what flowers we would plant, where they would be, & had explicit directions for me to keep them alive & well. So off to Home Depot we went. We came back with beautiful flowers & I planted them all around our yard. Ben was quite impressed, even though he did think it was pretty much a waste of money because of course, he knows my death history. Here's some photos of the blessed day.


There are flowers on the right side; you just can't see them because of the shadow. Don't doubt it.


Here I am with jazz hands showing off my handiwork:

And here's the mastermind in all her glory. Can you tell we're related?

And here's the tired gardener, pooped from her planting:

Then here are some cute photos of my parents spending time with the boys. Lincoln loved having my dad give him a bath every night & then cuddle with him on the couch. This is them watching TV on the couch before bedtime:


Here's Mimi with sweet Levi. Here's a funny story about the two of them. Levi has had severe cradle cap within the past few weeks. My mom couldn't believe it when she saw him. So to rectify the dry skin, she applied extra virgin olive oil (EVOO, if you will) on his head every evening before his bath. It was hilarious. All we needed was some rosemary focaccia bread & we'd have been set for a killer appetizer. Thankfully, her plan worked & his scalp is no longer peeling. Even when you're a mom yourself, your mom still always has the best plan there is. Moms know best.

Oh, and let's not forget Lincoln's end-of-the-school-year gift to me. It's a begonia flower in a pot he painted. Actually, it's a his fingerprints painted on it, & then another artist prettied it up. But make no mistake...it means the world to me that it came from him & I'm proud to show it off.


So let's hope that I keep the watering can at bay until the flowers really truly need a good watering. May I keep those flowers alive to prove Ben wrong, dammit.

No pooping in the pool...you certainly don't want jail-time,