Good Bye Thomas

The other day, Wolfgang told me that it was time to pack up Thomas the Tank Engine and all his train buddies. It was a sad day for me. I wanted to tell him no, that he needed to stick with his friends but he's a big boy now and too old for his Thomas trains. Geez, Mama, he said, I'm way too old for this stuff. I like real trains and I would like to put up the Model Railroad Grandma got me for my birthday (by the way, thanks a lot Grandma.)
So, we're off tomorrow to look for a big plastic bin to hold the round house, track and engines. I will put them away for when his little boy will play with them. But, I will miss those cheeky little guys and I will forever remember the many many hours Wolfie spent with his English pals.
Good bye Thomas and Sir Topham Hat. You will surely be missed.

Have You Seen Herman?

A couple weeks ago, Hubster and I were able to have a mini vacation alone. Without kids. Did I mention we were alone? It was lovely. We went to Herman Missouri and stayed at a B&B. But, we stayed in the private cottages there. So we had our own space, with a private deck that had a hot tub and grill. We also brought our bikes along and one day we rode on the Katy Trail. It was very nice but terribly hot. We took a nice long bike ride and I was feeling it a bit once I got off my bike. Good thing I could soak in the hot tub when we returned!

This was the view we woke up to every morning and what we looked at from our hot tub. There was a lot of wildlife around complete with small rabbits that would run almost up to our deck.

We also toured a couple wineries in the area. The wine tastings were fun and we brought home a few bottles with us. Notice how relaxed we look? This was at the start of the wine tasting so it really was the time away and not the beverages we were drinking.

Our trip was really a lot of fun and I can't wait for our next visit away.

Mama Mia Pizza

My menu plan this week included pizzas for dinner tonight. But, not your average throw the frozen pizza in the oven and bake it kind, not even the call Papa John's and pick up a hot one (pizza that is) kind. Not even the 'please can we please go to Pizza Hut' kind. Nope, we did it the old fashioned way. We made our own pizzas. Dough from scratch and each of us got our own private pizza.

Wolfgang made a double decker pepperoni pizza.

Princess made a ham and pineapple pizza and so did I (but mine was bigger of course).

And, I made Hubster an onion and pepperoni pizza since he wasn't home from work yet.

The kids bit into them and said "MAMA!!!!!!"

Crap, I thought, here we go with complaining about what's for dinner again and I just busted my butt getting these individual pizzas done. Well, truth be told, the kids rolled out their own dough and put on their own toppings, but still. Don't these kids appreciate my culinary expertise???!

"We LOVE these pizzas!" "Even better than Ruffalos pizza!" my youngest declared and that's high praise indeed.

Guess that's what I get for jumping to conclusions. Too bad that kind of jumping doesn't count as exercise.

Oh, and this is what Maggie did while the pizzas were cooking. Right next to the oven with a forlorn 'all I want is a bite!' kind of look. Darned cute though.

Summer Reading

I just finished two good books. The first was "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and the other was "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven." I liked them both although they were quick reads for me. The first book was for my book club and I'm really hoping I can convince the club to read the second book. I think the discussion would be great.
Now, I'm off tomorrow to the library to find another good read. What are you reading right now and what would you recommend?

Mad Tea Party

In a spur of "if I don't find something for these kids to do, they're going to end up driving me crazy" I decided that we should have a tea party. This was met with much enthusiasm and when I suggested we invite Louisa, our across the street neighbor, the kids were ecstatic. So, Wolfie made the invitation and Princess helped with some decorations. When they tried to deliver the message to Louisa, she wasn't home and it was a sad, sad moment to watch their little faces fall and walk (well, OK, run) dejectedly back home. But, a few hours later, they delivered the invite and she said she'd be right over. Now, what you must realize is that the original invitation gave me over an hour to get ready. So I planned to set up the table outside, make some yummy sandwiches and goodies and get myself all gussied up and the kids to get their faces cleaned and hair combed. When Louisa wasn't home, I figured I was off the hook. But then, the kids spied her and before I could stop them, off they bolted to deliver the message. Holy Crap! She was coming over in a few minutes and I looked like I had stepped out of a tornado and judging by the clothes I was wearing, I was color blind as well. Luckily, I had made muffins for the next morning's breakfast so we could eat them. And, I quickly made up a pitcher of lemonade, a.k.a. kid's tea.
Then I rushed upstairs (which in and of itself was quite a spectacle) and threw on a black skirt and a clean t shirt. Ran a brush through my wild mane and put on my white hat with flowers that I have exclusively for tea parties. (What, you don't keep a hat for such occasions? Well, remind me to tell you about my tiara that I use when I vacuum.)
Anyway, we had the table set up on the deck, the tea accoutrements ready and over walks Louisa. In her tea hat. Bearing mini cupcakes. Oh joy in heaven!
We had a lovely time drinking tea and when the muffins and cupcakes were devoured (guess next time we need to talk about proper etiquette of eating) the kids ran off to play. Louisa and I continued to sit and chat while the kids ended up breaking the trapeze on the swing set. Who knew kids and chains don't always mix?!
It was a wonderful tea party. While I'm no psychic, I predict more of these in our future.

Mother Daughter Tea

In June, we had a mother/daughter tea at church. Princess and I dressed up in our finest and headed off. It was nice to spend time with her, but I must confess, it was not the most interesting event I have attended. I think it was intended for older daughters. So, to pass some time, we did some self-portraits and I must say they turned out all right.

Princess entertained herself as well. Here is how she spent her time while the speaker was talking:

Hey, as long as she was quiet and not bothering anyone, I wasn't about to ruin her good time. I'm not sure if I would go again, but Princess declared it the best one ever (which is not hard when it's the only one you have attended)!

Smores, Fireworks and Reindeer

We had a blast camping! When asked what the favorite things about this camping trip, Princess answered: 1) roasting marshmallows and making smores 2)fireworks 3)seeing the reindeer (which were actually white tailed deer, but hey, who am I to disillusion a little girl who thinks Santa can be checking up on her at any time?!)
Wolfgang answered: 1) making smores 2) hiking and family bike rides 3)fireworks.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to the sparklers so we still have them to look forward to using. We did use the pudgie pie makers, thanks to all those who suggested them.
We also got lots of exercise while camping. We loaded up our bikes (which was an adventure all in itself to be recounted later) and we took Maggie with us in a basket on my bike. She loved riding there! I was concerned that she would jump out but she just sat nicely and looked all around. I can't wait to try the bike trail here with her and the kids.
All in all, we had much success with camping and we have all decided to go back there again next year. The kids were sad we had to leave and truth be told, so was I.
Now, it's off to do all the laundry. Definitely not my favorite part of camping.