My baby has a backpack for school

I took Maggie to Target to get her school supplies yesterday. She was so excited. Of all the backpacks and lunchboxes she could choose, she picked SuperMario. Obviously she wouldn't go anywhere near the pink Disney Princesses or Hello Kitty. She insisted on taking her backpack to day care with her today and then of course she forgot to bring it home. Wonder if she'll ever remember to bring it home from school.

A major haircut

I decided I was going to get my hair cut yesterday morning. Ben & Maggie wanted to go with me. Maggie's hair needed to be tidied up a bit and taken out of her eyes, so I got hers cut too. Ben insisted he wasn't getting his hair cut even though he wanted to go with me. Then, when he got there, he decided he wanted it all cut off. He would not be persuaded to have it cut any longer than buzzing it all over. He's definitely a child of extremes. I think he's so cute with it cut like this, it really makes his eyes shine out. It is definitely much easier to take care of.

Grocery store

Ben decided to make his own grocery store yesterday, so he fished everything out of the recycle bin and a bunch of stuff out of the pantry and set it all up. He organized things into categories, just like he does when he makes a library out of his books. After he had everything set up, he got Maggie to buy things from the store. It takes him ages to set everything up and put everything away afterwards and he can never get anyone to buy things/check books out for very long, but obviously to him it's worth the effort.

Peach picking at Eckert's

We went peach picking for the first time this year. The peaches were great as usual. Maggie has decided to add peaches to the list of things she does not like to eat!!! It turned out to be a cool & cloudy day and we just got back before it started to rain (pour). We got a little wet, but the people in the wagon behind us got absolutely drenched. As usual, the kids loved to climb all over the old trucks and tractors that they have out there.

History repeats itself

I have said for a long time that Ben & Maggie fight just like my sister & I did. The final similarity appeared today. Ben wouldn't let Maggie go in his room to pet his toad, so she grabbed his arm and scratched it with her nails. My sister did the same thing to me. Ben & I have the same handicap, bitten nails.....

Pet lover's camp

Every year Ben does pet lover's camp at the YMCA. They have a great time each week. They get to visit PetsMart, PetCo, the APA and Purina Farms. They have a pet parade on Friday morning and Ben insisted on taking his toad for the parade. He said all the kids loved it.

Each year, they decorate a goldfish bowl & bring home a goldfish. Each year, ours lasts a matter of hours rather than days. This year, the "bowl" that they decorated was the size of a small water drinking glass and I knew it was way too small for a fish to live in. You have to wonder why they think it's a good idea to give kids a goldfish that's unlikely to make it through the weekend-I wonder how many tears get shed?

Sam had exactly the same thought as I did. We decided we might as well get a decent tank for the fish and give him a fighting chance. We went to PetsMart and ended up with a goldfish starter tank, complete with filter and light. We put it in Ben's room as it's the only room in the house that has a door shut to keep out the cats. Now, Ben has a goldfish on one side of his bed & the toad on the other. So, now we have a 13c fish in a $50 tank!!!! I am planning on having to replace the fish with something else very soon (probably a beta), but the fish made it through the night.

The funniest thing is that we saw another YMCA family in PetsMart looking at fish supplies and another one walking in the door as we were walking out. We're not the only ones that have given in.....

The beginning of the "this is the last day"

Yesterday was the last day that we picked Ben & Maggie up from 2 different places. Even though Ben is still in Summer camp & Maggie is at day care, Ben will be at the YMCA from next week and Maggie's day care is in the same building. So, for the foreseeable future (about 3 years) we will be dropping off & picking up at the same place every day. You can bet we'll be making the most of that....