Celebrity sighting in Walmart!!!

OK, so not quite a celebrity.
Kids say the funniest things.
Here is the scene....
We are strolling down the rice and pasta aisle looking for some starches for our next meals. I have Danny "yelling" his way through Walmart on the extra large blue double seater cart(moms, you know the one I am talking about). The cart is really long due to the additional plastic section of seating and not the easiest thing to push. Josh is on my hip, due to the fact that this special cart has blocked off the child seat to make room for the extra seats. I would have gotten a normal cart after discovering this fact if Danny wasn't so happy after we found it. Sometimes a little pain is worth it for a happy kid. As I struggle to push the cart, Danny yells out "Look mommy, it's Nobama" I scan the lane looking for a black man that I will have to apologize to, since now it seems that my child thinks all black men are named Obama(or nobama). Then I noticed what he saw....
Uncle Ben.
Yes, the rice guy.
Apparently the President is not only on every magazine and newspaper cover, but he is also on our rice box.

Danny cracks me up.
And suddenly, my load seems lighter. Smiling can do that to you!

I promise I don't feed my kid hotdogs and ice cream all the time

.....just sometimes. When we visit Sams. ok, so maybe we do go to Sams once a week, but I promise every other day he is a very healthy eater. We actually worry sometimes that he eats too many fruit/veggies and not enough bread. Good problem to have with a two year old.
so, back Sams. This morning Danny was making a pretend meal in one of my pots. Usually he asks me if I want ice cream(of course I do!) and then proceeds to stir some blocks in the pot. Today he called across the room and asked me if I wanted....
...a hot dog combo. haha!
I really think this is funny since I don't ever call it a hot dog combo to him. I just ask him if he wants a hot dog or pizza to eat, to which he usually responds "I want ice cream". Ahhh, a boy after his mommy's heart. Apparently he is always listening, even when I order the food.
I do think it is funny how kids repeat the things they hear. Like how Danny always says "of course" when we ask him to do something. Or how he calls out "Anne" or "Scott" when he needs one of us. He is just repeating what he hears us say. We remind him that he calls us Mommy and Daddy, not our first names. But what I want to know is how little boys know that certain things are funny to say, despite being inappropriate. Like poot. That one cracks us up. And butt. We really have to work on using other words to describe some body parts. Is this a boy thing or just a kid thing? I guess it is just one of the joys of childhood that I have to look forward to!

maaahhhhh

Today we took a trip to Maymont with Grandmommy while she is here in Richmond with us. Maymont is a great property on the James River that has gardens, barns, rescued animals, and beautiful scenery. It is open to the public and is a wonderful place to spend a few hours strolling around with the boys.
Today I brought cups with us to hold the seeds for feeding the goats and sheep. We were having a blast petting the animals, but Danny was refusing to give any of his food to the animals. We kept telling him that the food wasn't for people, so he needed to share it and he would reply "no thank you". At least he is polite! Finally, after about ten minutes, we convinced him to share his cupful. He was smiling and laughing and sharing his seeds until all of a sudden....
THAT GOAT TOOK HIS CUP!!!
Danny screamed out and threw a fit. You would have thought it was a priceless cup, not a cheap paper coffee cup. Of course, in the mind of a 2 year old it was a precious item. And to think that he had tried to keep it to himself, but Mommy and Grandmommy "coerced" him into sharing. Fortunately mommy had brought two cups and he was quickly calmed down. Other than that mean goat, we had a blast and took some fun photos.

here is the goat in the process of stealing the cup, prior to Danny realizing what is happening.

We....need....to.....get....away!

So, I know. It has been a looooonnnngggg time since I posted. I am so sorry, but fortunately I have an excellent excuse. Scott and I took advantage of our Christmas presents from my parents....gift certificates to the ski resort near their home. Add that to the promise of childcare for the day and night and you can bet we were anxious to redeem our gift. We realized it has been over a month since we have had time away from our boys. We love them so much, but I know that personally I treat them much better when I get breaks. And I think a marriage should always come before parenting. And we need a little time together.

I haven't gone skiing in a few years, so I knew my skills were a little rusty. And all of my skiing experience has been in North Carolina(I am not counting that ski trip in North Alabama...ha!), so I know I am not that good. But I distinctly remember being proud of myself for going down MOST the black diamonds in my previous trips.
Here is a photo of the whitetail trails for reference during this story.

We started out slow. First trip down was on the bunny slope just to get our balance on skis figured out. I noticed early on that my skis were so much faster than Scott's, but I just figured it was due to my superior skiing skills(hahaha, funny) Then, we headed up the green circle. For good measure we went down that slope a few times, trying out all the different routes from the top. I knew I was ready for the blue square. I was feeling so confident on account of my "skillz" as I flew by my husband. Scott agreed that we could try the next level and we headed up our third lift option. This lift gave you plenty of routes. After we were spit off the lift, I glided around to check out the slopes to the left. I couldn't even see of the edge. That was the highest point I had ever skied from and I was starting to get nervous. There was no turning back now, so we headed down the hill. It was about 1/4 of the way down when I realized that maybe I wasn't as skilled as I thought and that actually I DID NOT want to go as fast as my skis seemed to want to take me. I know how to turn pretty well(I enjoy cutting a spray of snow behind me) and I understand how to stop myself, but for some reason I was out of control. After two big falls just short of a yard sale(my gear almost came off), I was shaking in my rented boats. When we got to the bottom, I was determined to never go back up that lift.
I was really scared.
After a break and a ski length change I felt much better, though. I never knew what a difference the length of your skis can make on the experience you have. I told the gal that checked me out the first time that I didn't want to go that fast, but somehow I still ended up with longer skis than Scott. My next few trips down the green were much better and I did eventually go back up the blue. But I never set foot on the black diamonds. Maybe I am getting more afraid in my old age(I AM almost 29) or maybe I am more afraid now that I have two little children depending on my survival. OR most likely it is just that we were at a better ski resort than I have ever been to and my previous black diamond trips were not as impressive as I had thought.
We did have a blast and can't wait to start teaching our boys how to ski. And some day we want to go out west and take a trip. I want to try this powder everyone talks about instead of the groomed icy mix that we have in the east. Smiths? Gaskills? Maybe a trip in 2012? HAHA, I could never plan that far in advance. But let's keep it on the possible family trip list.
And maybe after a few trips I can try those black diamonds. I will keep you posted.