Vote for me!

Shorts on the Line voting is up!

go here: http://imaginegnats.blogspot.com/2012/07/viewers-choice-voting-begins.html and vote for my shorts! Mine are #55 #59 and #64 (pick your favorite)

You can vote once a day per computer every day this weekend.

A little secret

Have you noticed that I finally stopped posting every other week about my latest craft projects? I thought I should take them to a place of their own. Their own little blog. It's not a real blog, but sometimes I fantasize about it becoming something. 

I named it after Zuzzy (The blue guy here, more formally known as zizzer zazzer zuzz)


It's craftingzuzzy.blogspot.com


Zuzzy's given me the chance to participate more in the blogging community. I don't exactly want to send strangers over here to look at my craft projects along with our family stories. I'm just getting it going, I started it two months ago. This week I entered three pairs of shorts that I designed and sewed into a blogging contest called "Shorts on the Line." The event is being hosted by three bloggers, and each blogger is featuring their favorite entries yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Yesterday my box pleat shorts were featured  on Imagine Gnats. Then today my peplum shorts were featured on Small and Friendly. It's an understatement to say I was excited. There are some amazing prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of this contest and for the "reader's choice" award. The reader's choice will be determined by voting this weekend. So I will let you all know on Friday how to vote! 


Now the secret is out!


How many of you thought the secret was that I was pregnant when you read the blog title??? ha ha ha, no prego ladies over here.

Dora

I saw this on facebook and watched in about 5 times, and every time I couldn't stop laughing. 

 

 We watch Dora the Explorer almost every single day. It mesmerizes Christine. It's like a reset button for her when she is in a hyperactive state, or just a great 20 minute distraction that let's me cook dinner.  But it's more than that. Christine's favorite shirt is her Dora Shirt. She drives a Dora truck. Her favorite story book is Dora's Backpack. We eat Dora cereal for breakfast. We color in Dora coloring books. When it came time to buy underwear, there was no question, we were buying Dora panties. I think Dora is slowing taking over our lives.

When we go shopping, if there is something with Dora's face on it, Christine WILL find it. There are lots of stores that I'm surprised to find that Dora has infiltrated. Example: the fabric store. I was buying fabric and Christine goes "Dora Dora!!" I look around thinking, "No, she must be saying something else." Then I see the Dora fleece... then I think "Ooooh! Christine would love a Dora fleece blanket...I need to buy that! (Don't worry I resisted. I haven't bought it yet. But as you can see I sure am a sucker when it comes to indulging Christine's love for Dora)

Loves to Swim

At the end of June Jeff got two weeks off. Two weeks of time to spend with just us! and no study books! It's an understatement to say that it was awesome.  We tried to cram a lot of fun stuff into those two weeks. We went to the zoo where we fed the giraffes, we rode the train at Hermann park, we went to the playground and rode on the slides. Jeff and I even got to go on a little get-a-away while Christine stayed at GiGi's. But Christine would say the best part was going swimming with Daddy every single day.

This girl loves to swim! We bought her a little swimming vest and arm floaties so now she doesn't need any help swimming around the pool. (it really makes swimming a lot more fun for everyone)

Christine doesn't need any help getting ready for the pool. She knows where everything is at, and can pull it all out. Sometimes she just decides she is ready to go swimming and starts bringing me swim diapers and pool toys.

 Come on giraffe, let's go! we are all ready!

Hmmm, Christine, I think you forgot a couple of things.

Rain Boots

This week it has been raining every single day. Not Utah drizzly rain, good Texas downpours. That means it's time to pull out our rain boots!

 Christine LOVES her rain boots. They are a little big on her, so she clomps around as she walks in them. But she always has a HUGE grin on her face when she wears them.

I couldn't get a picture of that grin though, because she kept staring at her pink boots.

Christine-isms

Here are my favorite things Christine says right now-- (I know totally boring post, but I don't want to forget this stuff).

- Mummy: 1. adj.  yummy (must be spoken with a mouth full of food and milk dribbling down chin).

- Dordor: 1. adj. anything with Dora on it.  Common usage Dora bubbles, Dora panties, Dora show, Dora band-aids.

- Mommy and Daddy: 1. adj. anything Mommy and Daddy use.  Common usage mommy spoon (a big spoon), mommy cup, mommy show (whatever season show we are watching), mommy shoes, mommy pool (the bath tub), mommy cereal (Life cereal).

- Cold-wa-wa: 1. noun, cold water.  What she always wants at the store.  I'm not sure how this one got started, but she insists on cold water.  Other derivations include ki-ki-wa-wa meaning water in the Hello Kitty cup.

- Nap-mi-mi:  1. noun, a nap with a binki. 2. verb, to take a nap with a binki.  Often used to get out    of an undesirable activity such as eating, bathing, or picking-up toys.

- Cool-jeans: 1. noun, said surprising clearing, meaning any pair of mommy's jeans.

- Hurry-Hurry: 1. verb, I need to go to the potty.  Can be used at anytime regardless of actual need to go to the potty.  Often used simply in hopes of getting chocolate or the Ipad both rewards for successfully use the potty.

- Ready-go: 1. adj. I'm ready to go, what is the hold up! Said with emphasis on the go.

- Er-are-oo: 1. question Where are you?  Common usage "Er-are-oo chop-chops (lamb chop)" "Er are oo mommy".

- Knee-Knee: 1. command Kiss my knee because I hurt it or bumped it.  Injury does not have to be significant, in fact injury is far too drastic of a word, the knee is usually barely even touched before a kiss is needed.  Knee also is location of all referred pain.  If head is bumped, knee receives treatment.

- Hi: 1. interjection Hello.  Used at random times to say I see you.  2.  warning I'm coming into the bathroom.

- I-of-oo: 1. phrase I love you.  Melts my heart every time.

Lego People

Christine thought it would be fun to make lego representations of her animals and herself! She is very talented with those legos!

Here she is making herself. She even matched her blue short and purple shirt correctly.

(okay, Daddy might have helped a little bit... and he may have changed Christine's outfit so it would match the legos)

Fourth of July Parade

We did not have any special plans for the fourth of July this year, but then Angela heard about the Bellaire Fourth of July Parade, a local small scale parade.  Basically, a bunch of kids decorate their bikes and wagons and ride down the street with a fire truck escort.  Music was provided by the Junior High marching band.

I was not too sure about how fun it would be, but Angela really wanted to go because of all her childhood memories going to the local parades. 

It did not take long for Chrisitine and I to realize why Mommy likes parades so much... 

First there are dancing cows in the back of the Chic-fil-a truck. (I love this picture.  It looks like Christine is whispering in Angela's ear some sarcastic remark about the ridiculous guy in a cow costume.) It also did not take Christine long to figure out that if she looked cute the cars in  the parade would  throw her things

First there was candy!

then necklaces,

then a ball

And finally, this awesome hat!!

It might be a little big.

What did we learn from the experience?  A little flirting can get you candy, jewelry, and clothes!

Afterwards, Angela made us a delicious fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust and delicious cream cheese. 

In the afternoon we went swimming with Christine's new noodle. In the pool we love to pretend to be on Dora adventures rescuing our baby stars from the caves and taking them back to their mothers. It was a perfect Fourth of July.