Days Like This....

Today was a hard day. It was impossible to please my daughter. I guess it is just how kids are when they are turning 3. She has a month to go until her birthday. I (foolishly) decided that one of the things I needed to accomplish before school starts is to get her portraits taken. BIG MISTAKE!

I was laughing this weekend when I was describing my experience getting Travis's portraits taken at 3 years old. He was awful and refused to cooperate. He would sit when they asked him to stand. He would lie down when they asked him to sit. He would look the other way instead of looking at the camera. Good Times! Then when we finally got the one shot done, I packed him up and took him home. I had promised him a ride on the carousel, but his behavior made it necessary to skip the ride that day. When he realized he was not going on the merry-go-round and listened to why I took that priviledge away, he said, "But, Mommy, I am done being fresh now!" Sorry Buddy!

But that was over 3 years ago. I knew the pitfalls, and certainly I had become a more mature and seasoned parent. It would not be the same with Chelsea!

No! It would be worse!

The woman was so patient with us. She let us do two sitting so I could get Chelsea ready for the next time. Travis came along and ended up getting his pics taken also. We only bought one for the livingroom since we will send everyone the ones he gets taken through school. He was so well-behaved and so patient and TRIED to be so helpful. Here is the picture we ordered of him:

Chelsea was a nightmare. She refused to smile. When we told her to smile, she did this:

We tried to help her along by having her brother in the picture with her. Again:
Then she started to cry and whine and scream! Fun. I was losing this battle fast! We went for a walk and I told Travis he could pick out a prize for being so helpful. Chelsea found a horse that she loved. I saw my ticket in... I told her she could have her picture taken with the horse if she smiled in her pictures. Things started to look up:


We also ordered this black and white of the two kids because I thought it was so cute. Their outfits clashed bigtime so black and white was definitely the way to go here. Can you believe the eyelashes on these two??? They must skip a generation!

I was very tired by the time we got home. And Chelsea could not watch TV or play with the neighbors because she was "presh to the picture lady". I took a rest and Chelsea was sent to bed for a long nap. She awoke in a foul mood and so the day went. To quote one of my favorite children's books (and a fine piece of literature) "Some days are like that...Even in Australia! (Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No-Good Very Bad Day).
The weekend flew by. On Friday we met friends at Tougas Farm. The plan was to pick berries but we didn't do it. It was so darned hot that it was borderline unhealthy. The kids played on the playground for a while and we headed indoors to our airconditioned house.




On Saturday I took the kids to Holden Days. It is a little fair with some activities for kids, crafts, and mini flea markets. Unfortunately I forgot my camera. It ended up for the best because we got poured on at one point. It was another hot sticky day. Gross weather. My neighbor Sean took his two kids and we headed out around 10ish. John was golfing in a tournament so I was flying solo. We went with our friends Alyson, her daughter Caitlyn and her mother-in-law. Alyson, Sean, and I kept a watch on all 5 kids, so it didn't feel like I was being pulled in 1000 directions like it usually does when I attempt something like this on my own. The kids got their faces painted and went on a mini train ride. They went in the bounce house and on the inflatable slide. Travis and Tyler dunked the firefighter in the dunk tank. It was a fun little adventure.

On Sunday we got together with John's dad and brother Jeff and his family. We went to Rutland State Park and went fishing and swimming. It was a lot of fun. The kids caught some fish and when they got bored, my sister-in-law Kiley and I took them to swim.
Chelsea and Travis fish with John.
Travis takes a break from swimming.
Nick catches a fish. He was very calm and held it in his hand. EWWWW!
Travis also caught some fish. He is like me. He had his father take it off the hook.
Gwyn, Travis, and Chelsea played in the sand.
Gwyn and Chelsea found a caterpillar and made a little habitat for him on the picnic table.
Chelsea swam with Auntie Kiley.
Here is the motley crew of fishemen.
The girls posed for a funny-face picture while swimming.
Ethan fishes while Bumpa supervises.
Ethan poses with the tub of fish before we released them back into the lake.
***********PROJECT UPDATE***********
I am proud to announce that the contractor is just about finished with the work on the outside of the house. Now we get our hands really dirty. We have been chipping away at projects all summer long. We are currently painting cabinets in the kitchen and my goal is to have the top set done by the end of this week. I am not sharing pictures until they are finally in.

One project I did complete is that I painted the hood over the stove. It was harvest gold when we moved in. I used heat-resistant spray enamel and painted it....
BLACK! We are happy with how it turned out and can't wait to see how it looks with the cabinets.

I start school in 6 days. I guess my yearly stint as a stay-at-home mom is coming to an end. After today you would think I would be thrilled to send Chelsea to daycare and Travis back to school. Actually I am sad about it. I like my job, but these days at home with the kids get shorter and shorter. It is just scary how time flies!

I know I am not alone in feeling like this!