Brownies

We decided to make brownies today. Yes, from a box. Is there another way to make them? I've heard you can do it from something called "scratch" but darned if I know what that is. Domestic Goddess I am not.



Now, I know that health and human services may have a fit about this, but honestly, you can't make brownies as a kid and not lick the bowl. Isn't that what the whole experience is about?



Danny, of course, dove right in. Jayden wasn't so sure. He had to wait to make sure that Danny didn't keel over from Salmonella poisoning before he'd try some of the batter. Once he saw that Danny was okay, he braved the gooey stuff and took a bite.



He wasn't as into it as Danny, but Danny didn't mind. More for him anyway.

So Pretty....

Danny came across my headband the other day and just had to try it on.



For those Trekkies out there - this is the Jordie LaForge look. Did I just completely date myself? I know I just admitted that I'm a sci-fi geek. :)



After many different styles, Danny finally decided that it looked better as a beard than a hair accessory. What can I say? He's all boy.

Can we fix it?

Jayden has rediscovered Bob the Builder and has been "fixing" everything in the house lately. Good thing most everything in my house is durable.



I'm just hoping he doesn't take it to the extreme and join the Village People!

Who said my baby could grow up so fast?

Today was Danny's "graduation" from preschool. They did the cap and gown thing and even though I thought it was a bit over the top, he looked absolutely ADORABLE. You all should be proud of me, I didn't even cry. I'm saving those tears for the first day of kindergarten. My parents went to the graduation and Danny was really happy they were able to be there.

Here is Danny walking to the area where they had all the kids sit and wait for their "diplomas." Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but that boy was POWER WALKING. Definitely a man on a mission. Either that or he was trying to outrun the heat. At 10 AM it had to be 90 degrees already! Gotta love summers in Sacramento!



The kids finally took their seats. I was surprised that they put Danny and his buddies all together in the front row. To give you an idea on how close they are, the teachers at the preschool have nicknamed them "the boy band." Maybe they thought that the kids would be less disruptive if they were next to each other? Either way, us moms had a good laugh about the teachers keeping the boy band together.

Here is the entire group of kids:



And a close up of the "boy band" (right to left is Danny, Nate, Jadon and Rider)



Danny was one of the first to be called up. Of course, I could only get a picture of the back of him as he decided to do that power walk thing of his again.



I did manage to get him to slow down enough for a picture with my parents



And one of him proudly displaying his "diploma"



He even stopped for a quick picture with his buddy Rider



And Rider's mom was nice enough to take a picture of me and Danny. (YIKES I look scary!)



Another shot of the "boy band" from left to right, Danny, Nate, Rider and Jadon



Danny showing off his graduation picture. Not sure if you can read it or not, but on the bottom it says "most talkative." Do they know my kid or what?



Posing for a picture with his teacher, Ms. Shannon:



Finally it was time to eat.



After lunch, Danny left for his weekend with his dad. I still can't believe that my baby is starting kindergarten. Man, I feel old.

Pathetic

I should be mad. But I'm not. Dan is literally a joke at the daycare. Both of us were there today for Danny's graduation (I can't believe he's going to kindergarten in August!). Dan and I were civil to each other both during and after the ceremony. After he left with the boys (it's his weekend) I went to talk to the principal about Jayden's move into the 3 year old room and find out when I need to get serious about this potty training thing I've been procrastinating on.

And that's when I found out....

Dan submitted paperwork to enroll Raith (Crystal's son) into daycare with Jayden. Now, Dan and I have gone round and round on this issue. Needless to say, I'm not on board. There are many reasons for this. First, Jayden is already having to share his daddy with this new child. Asking him to share his daycare providers just isn't right in my opinion. Second, on days where I pick up the boys, how will Jayden feel if daddy walks in, takes Raith and leaves him behind? Third, how awful would it be for everyone if it just so happened that Crystal and I showed up at the same time to pick up our kids?

Anyway, despite my concerns, Dan has submitted this paperwork. Luckily, the principal of the school told him that without express permission from ME she can't accept the application. Thank goodness for small favors. I already told them that if Raith started preschool there I would be finding alternative care for Jayden. I just can't do that to my little guy (and myself).

I was also told that on the paperwork he filled out, he listed himself as Raith's Step-Father. And from what I was told, everyone there thinks that's tacky to say the least. Considering our divorce is nowhere near complete (and they know this) they thought it was ridiculous that he was calling himself Raith's step father. They also told me that if Dan is calling himself Dad to her son, it's pretty obvious that the opposite is happening as well. It gave validity to my complaints about Crystal insiting my kids call her "mom."

The joys of having to deal with a stupid ex and his bimbo new girlfriend. Seriously, I should be mad, but honestly, I'm just embarassed for the two of them. Just proves the old addage - give someone enough rope and sure enough, they'll hang themselves.

This is what an extra hour of sleep gets me

My kids woke up extremely early today. I basically begged them to play for another hour because I was so tired. Waking up at 5:30 was not my idea of a great way to start the day. They actually let me sleep, but this is what I woke up to....



They even went so far as to take out all the clothes I had put away for Jayden.



But notice, THEIR room is immaculate!



Well, sort of....



I can definitely tell that Danny is MY child. Hiding the mess is much easier than actually cleaning it up. Yep, that's my boy!

Sometimes they can play nice....

So, after cleaning up the carnage from the previous post, I decided to take some photos as proof that my kids CAN occasionally play nice together.





I guess forming a united front against meanie mom for making them clean up their mess can also buy me a few moments of peace (as well as some silly faces).



The boys have also found a favorite hiding place. Considering all the toys that fall behind the bed and the ones they stash there for safe keeping, it's like a treasure hunt every time they crawl under there.



And they are happy, until Danny kicks Jayden out.



And then all bets are off.