Blogging once a month is just too much work. I get behind and feel overwhelmed at the amount of stories and pictures that need to be added. Honestly, I know I’m forgetting a ton of cute things the kiddos are doing. I have actually forced myself to take fewer pictures because I know that eventually I will have to review, edit, down-size, up-load and then re-arrange them for my blog. My memory-capturing obsession is almost bad enough to qualify me for the A&E show about people with addictions. Then I could go on the very next show that comes on about people who hoard things that they don’t use or need. My external hard drive is burgeoning with digital scrapbooking supplies and I haven’t officially scrapped since October of 2005. Unless creating baby shower invitations count, of course!

Well, enough of my whining. I think it’s because I’ve been up all night again to get this posted. The real date is September 22nd and August is a fond but distant memory for me.

To start out the month, Dad drove up with me to visit Laura & Mike in their new home. We had fun, as always. The cousins run around like the monsters in the book “Where the Wild Things Are” and we end up spoiling them rotten. Dad and I took them to “Hands on the Wall” which is what Mimsy calls their fabulous children’s museum. We just don’t get tired of that place. Katy and Allen stood together and watched golf balls spiraling down with centrifugal force in amazement. They ran us ragged, pulling in all different directions. Things settled down a bit once we visited the “town” part where the kids were safe to wander on their own. Laura fed Hannah her first baby food. Uncle Mike bought some rice for her at the store and Laura shoveled it in like a champ. Amy joined us for a bit with her pups and the kids became even more wild! I guess that’s our idea of fun.

Speaking of fun, here is an overview of some random August activities. Allen has faithfully joined Peter in mowing the lawn, and even slept with his mower. Someday he will deny this, so it’s a good thing we have proof. Katy hosted Hannah’s first tea party and at first Allen was not “divited” because he was a boy. Eventually he wore her down and she let him join the party. Hannah modeled her lovely new hat which cracks me up. Baths were shared and boritos (Doritos) were eaten. Mookie brought Allen a key for his dump truck and he would lose it every hour or so, resulting in a happy dance each time he found it again.

Hannah has continued to blossom and grow. We jokingly refer to her as TGO which is code for “The Good One.” She doesn’t throw fits, whine, point fingers at crippled people or stick her tongue out at kids in the Chick-a-Lay play land. Alright, she might do that last one but it hardly can be counted against her. She is delicious in every way! She scoots with an army crawl and rolls as she pleases. Everyone who meets her is charmed. She has the amazing power to pull people from across a crowded Sam’s store with her smiles and giggles. And she seems to know it!

Katy and Allen have really enjoyed having more “at home” time this month and they have played together really well, in short spurts. Allen wants to do all the things that Katy does…and I do mean ALL. He demands to have his toe nails painted (Aunt Amy obliged but Peter removed it). When she dresses up, well…you get the picture. Such a proud boy!

Ben and Marie welcomed their newest little bundle of joy on August 14th. I can’t tell too much from this picture, but I think Sophie Marie might look a bit like Katy. We are SO happy for their family!

Mookie picked up quite a bit of the kid load in the month of August because Warren & Marjean were at Nicole’s wedding in Utah. Come to think of it, I don’t have any pictures of the wedding, yet! What gives? Mom was tricked into joining us for a trip to our local Chuck-E-Cheese. We knew what to expect from visiting the Houston and Austin ones, but this was our first trip to the local one. We were the ONLY ones there. Outside the restaurant there was a mutilated carcass of a baby bird, as well as a live baby bird. After two and a half hours of HARD partying a little bit of eating, we walked past the baby bird again, with no sign of his mother. Katy advised me to call Aunt Kathy, and the result is that Kah (named for Katy-Allen-Hannah) has now lived happily as an adopted child in Kathy’s home for many weeks. She hand feeds him and he’s learning how to fly. We love forcing Kathy to adopt pets for us to enjoy!

Katy had Maggie come over one day. They were supposed to be swimming. I don’t know who had the great idea, but I have my suspicions.

Mom picked Katy up one day as a surprise just to take her along on a dr. appointment. Katy used to always say she was going to be a doctor when she grew up, but now she insists she’s going to be a mama like me and take lots of pictures. My heart swells a little each time. I hope the pay increases by then. My salary is pretty lousy. Anywho, Mom was surprised to find that Katy was dressed as a doc for the occasion, stethoscope and all. Then Mom walked Katy over to let her see her pediatrician, and Mom even took pictures for me. I absolutely LOVE it when other people do that for me! It’s simply the best gift for me…pictures of my kiddos. And now we have a picture of the talented doc who keeps my three monkeys happy and healthy!

Once we heard from our attorney that Hannah’s judge was not requiring us to drive to Utah for her finalization, we felt free to take a second trip to Sea World on our annual pass. It was even more fun because this time we knew what to do and how to do it. By next summer we’ll be experts, for sure. Sarah kept Hannah for us again and she even provided pictures. Ahhhh…. We ate out at I-Hop, one of our favorite places, and the kids ordered pancake faces that came with yogurt to draw hair and mustaches on their pancakes. We asked for a cup of chocolate chips on the side for freckles, and that’s about all Allen would eat. I had to agree that their food looked pretty disgusting by the time they were done playing with it. To make things even more perfect, we drove home via San Marcos and their famous outlet malls and it was Tax-Free weekend! Peter was a trooper because he hates shopping, much less on the busiest day of the year. I loved getting some cute Carter’s stuff for Hanny Banany and some tough boy stuff for my Juice Box. Katy got some school clothes and just about everyone got some shoes. We had to visit TEN different shoe stores to find just the right “sparkly lighting up” shoes for Katy, but the last place finally had it. Thank you, Sketchers, you super expensive store, you! The only bad thing that happened was when we were walking into the Gap store. A bee flew in with us and stung Katy on her hand. At first we thought she was crying because her 6 inch rainbow sucker from Sea World still had some of the plastic wrapper on it. Turns out that we had to ask the store manager (otherwise known as Dr. Gap) for some first aid supplies from his kit. The incident took about 30 minutes from start to finish, but for poor Peter wheeling Allen around in a squeaky stroller, I’m sure it seemed much longer. I also talked Peter into shopping with us at their Big Lots store since ours closed a while back. A couple days after we got home I noticed a sign up that a new Big Lots is coming. Poor, suffering-for-nothing Peter. Dr. Gap was of no help to him.

Katy’s school had its Open House on the last day of August. I didn’t double-check the time so I dragged Peter, Mom and all the kids up there at 8:30am and it didn’t start until 10:30am. Peter had to go to work and miss it. Mom and I took the midgets to McDonald’s for an impromptu breakfast. There were lots of older gents there swapping lies and drinking coffee. I soooo wanted to try to hook Mom up and hand out her digits. I guess it’s a sign that I might be growing up because I actually restrained myself. Wow. Plus they were a little old for her. She hasn’t graduated up to that level yet. Maybe when I mix up Hannah’s Open House time Mom will be ready for them?

The Open House was a blast! Allen carried around an arm full of metal trucks and tractors. Katy got to see her good friend Kalan from last year, as well as some of the other kids she missed all summer. The class room is awesome! Everything is solid and made from wood or metal, no plastic crap. The teachers had lovely refreshments laid out that Katy assumed would be available every day. Dream on. Katy painted a picture (which is now laminated and hanging in a place of honor in our bedroom) and she blew huge bubbles. She sawed on wood with a real saw. I thought maybe they were dull. It turns out they were. I overheard Katy’s teacher asking a Dad to take the saws home and sharpen them. Cool. They trust four-year olds with saws. What could go wrong? I have faith in this school and in Katy’s teacher. They are helping me to be a better parent to my children, to teach me how to guide them without stifling them. They are helping Katy think independently and not look to others for approval. There is no price tag you can put on the value of self esteem for your kids. The only down side is that Katy’s class was too full for Maggie to join her, so Maggie had to sign up for the afternoon class. Bummer. Otherwise, things look great for Katy’s Pre-K school year!

I think that’s it for the month of August. There were trips to restaurants, Super Wal-Mart (our pregnant checker passed out), to HEB, Target, Hastings and more. There were days of cabin fever at home and swimming in the back yard. It was my first summer to experience after having a child in school, and it flew by so fast, just like when I was in school. I’m so grateful that I can be home with my munchkins to enjoy all these moments. It’s definitely not peaceful, tranquil, poetic or even remotely organized. Our time is hectic and fun-filled with hair-pulling-fights and name calling and insincere apologies with forced “kiss and make up” hugs. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Not even for a spa treatment with manicured toe nails, perfectly-groomed eye brows, full-body massage and eight hours sleep.