Spring has Sprung

The calendar says it's springtime, but it's already starting to feel like summer. I don’t want to complain because at least it’s not cold! But I do wonder if the warmer weather is here to stay or if we will have to get coats back out again next week. In any case, we most definitely enjoyed the lovely weather this weekend. Our windows have been open, the kids have been outside for hours on end, and we even had our first warm weather barbecue this weekend.

Smell that smoke!

Miss M’s Girl Scout troop participated in April Showers over the weekend. We collected 782 personal care items which were delivered to local food pantries and shelters. Remember to use those green bags when the Girls Scouts bring them to your door next April!

I took Big D to get his pants for school next year. It is hard to believe that he will be starting Kindergarten in just a matter of months. He is very excited about it, and he is definitely ready for BIG school. Of course, he’s more ready to go than I am to let him go. It will take some getting used to not having him home with me every day next year. I have a feeling that C.B. will miss him even more than I will. Lately it seems they are really acting as much like friends as brothers.

The boys taking care of their baby cousin

Watching a movie together

I am pleased to announce that there are currently fifteen e-mail subscribers to the Reddy Zoo blog. Thanks to all of you that signed up. I hope that you enjoy receiving these posts by e-mail. If you haven’t signed up yet, but you think it sounds like a great idea, click here to get started.

Enjoy the beautiful spring day…before it rains!!

The Zoo Will Come to You

I recently discovered how to set up the blog so that people can "subscribe" to it. This means that you can receive updates via e-mail instead of having to visit the website. It seems pretty simple. Just type in your e-mail address using the link here

Subscribe to reddyzoo by Email

Or look for the "Enter your email address" space on the sidebar to sign up. Thanks!

The Names have been Changed to Protect the Innocent

It has been over a year since I started blogging on reddyzoo.com. The blog was created in order to serve dual purposes; to journal our family’s experiences and to update friends and family members of our activities. I didn’t really expect anyone outside of our family or small circle of friends to even read it. Up to now the blog has been doing a wonderful job serving both of its original purposes, if I do say so myself.

I’m not naïve…I know that the internet is a very public thing, but people would really have to be looking for my little site to find it. But since I have decided to make cakes for people outside of my friends and family, I thought the blog was a good way to operate that business. Now this blog serves another purpose, which will potentially involve more than just friends and family. I have begun circulating a business card which directs them to this site if they are interested in ordering a cake from me. If a friend of a friend of a friend gets one of those cards, suddenly total strangers are visiting my site!

In addition, throughout the past several months I have been questioned by some concerned friends and family members. “Don’t you worry about using your kids’ real names on the internet? There are some pretty crazy people out there, you know.” Well, I do know. And I have been thinking about that for a while now and decided that it might be better if I used nicknames for my kids instead. It took me a while to make all of the changes, but it has been done. Some would say that if a “crazy” person wants to find you, then having nicknames on your blog ain’t gonna stop ‘em. But keeping their real names off of the internet is a simple way to protect my kids, so I’m all for it. I hope you will still enjoy reading about them: Miss M, Big D, C.B. and Banana.

**Addendum: I love getting comments on my site. I only ask that you will also refrain from using the kids’ names when commenting. Thanks!

Party Weekend

We were quite busy over the weekend. The Christian rock band I sing with had a “gig” on Friday night at a Youth Lock-in. The room was loaded with kids, and we played LOUD. All of them were singing along and enjoying the music. It was a lot of fun. However, it went pretty late and some of the band members went out for a bite afterwards. Long story short…I didn’t get home until 1:30 am.

We had to get started early the next morning, too. We had an out-of-town wedding to attend in the early afternoon. My dear-old-gray-haired-sainted-mother came to stay with the kids for the ENTIRE DAY!! It wasn’t ideal weather for a wedding, or for an hour-and-a-half trip to Perryville for that matter. But it was a very nice ceremony; the church looked pretty, the bride was beautiful, and the flower girls were simply adorable.

AND we didn’t have to wrestle with any children in church. That made it even better in my opinion. The reception wasn’t immediately after, yet somehow we still managed to show up only seconds before the newlyweds made their entrance. We had a fun night. It’s always nice spending time with each other as adults. I appreciate the 13 hours my mom spent with the kids so we could go out and be grown-ups for an entire day. It was quite a change from our usual Saturday. Congratulations, Mark & Erin!

On Sunday morning we went to church / Sunday School and ate at the Pancake Breakfast our Pro-Life group was hosting. We headed home just in time to get the house decorated for Aunt Mary Ann’s surprise birthday party. Aunt Mary Ann is the aunt who never misses a birthday, spends lots of time and money on our kids, and never expects or even wants anything in return. Whether she liked it or not, we thought it was time to acknowledge her birthday. Knowing she wouldn’t come over for her own birthday party, we simply asked her to come over and play games at our house. We also invited my cousin and his family, but we kept that a secret as well. She was surprised, and I think she was also touched that we planned a day just for her. We even did get to play a couple of games, which was tricky with the Banana around. Happy Birthday, Aunt Mary Ann!

Dream Drenched

Remember when I was so excited about C.B. staying dry through the night without a Pull-up? And remember how that all came about because I forgot to buy Pull-ups at the store? Well, I forgot again the next day. (Gimmie a break…it was Holy Week and I was at church 4 out of 5 nights last week.) Anyway, that night both C.B. and Big D went to bed without Pull-ups. Both boys stayed dry. And again the next night. And even the next. I was more than just excited at that point. I thought maybe the Pull-ups were like a safety net, so to speak. It seemed as if having a Pull-up on made it OK to wet your pants, and they no longer had that security. In any case, the thought of not having to buy Pull-ups anymore was very appealing.

That all changed on Monday, however, when Big D wet his bed. Of course I stripped the bed and washed his sheets right away so they were ready for the next night. Unfortunately I had to repeat that whole process on Tuesday as well. There was good news and bad news on Wednesday. The good news: I got a break from the laundry that morning. The bad news: I got to clean up the floor in the boys’ room instead. It seems one of them tried to get up and go potty in the night, but didn’t even make it out of the room. This morning BOTH the boys’ beds were wet, BOTH beds were stripped, and my dreams of not buying Pull-ups anymore were destroyed. And now I say with the passion of Inigo Montoya, “Don't bother me with laundry. After four days, at last my children’s beds will be dry. There will be Pull-ups tonight!"

"Don't bother me with trifles, after twenty years at last my father's soul will be at peace.

There will be blood tonight!" from The Princess Bride

Happy Easter!

The kids had a fun Easter this year. The bunny didn’t bring so much candy, but he did bring Dance Dance Revolution!!

Who could ask for a more appropriate Easter gift? It was a big hit with the kids, though.

Even Banana gave it a whirl.

But Dad was the “Dance Master”.

It was loads of Easter fun!

Click here for even more fun.

Easter Break

Yesterday was the first day of Easter Break for our kids. We weren't able to do a whole lot because we had some guys working in our house the entire day. It was obvious that we were on break, though, because we all slept in. It was almost 8:30 by the time Dad left for work - an hour later than usual. We pretty much took it easy at home. Besides keeping the kids out of the way of the “working guys”, I didn’t accomplish a whole lot. In fact, I didn't get out of my PJ's until 4:15 when I finally got the chance to get in the shower.

Today started much like yesterday, as far as sleeping in goes. This morning, though, Miss M got up with Banana and she helped get breakfast for everyone. She only had to come get us because Banana’s diaper basket was empty and she didn’t know where I hid the extra diapers. I was going to give Miss M a gold star, but I think she might be too old for that kind of reward. I think she deserves a dollar for “babysitting” while her mom and dad caught a few extra winks. Forget stars. When it comes to nine-year-olds, money talks.

We have big plans tonight. We are going to dye eggs, get our Easter baskets out, and take baths. That’s actually a pretty full night for us, as bath time alone can take over an hour from start to finish. But I might have to come up with something creative for the kids to do during the day today. If I don’t, I’m afraid they might do this all day:

Happy Easter!!

They’re getting so BIG!

I have been using "gold stars" as a means of rewarding good behavior at our house lately. It might sound a little old fashioned, but the boys seem to respond to it. We put the stars on them - on their clothes, nose, etc. - so that their good behavior is visible. C.B. got one this morning because he stayed dry overnight. We always get excited when the boys don't wet their Pull-Ups overnight. Those things are expensive, you know! But this was even more exciting. We had unknowingly let our Pull-Ups supply run out, and C.B. went to bed in his underwear. I was sure that I would be doing a load of his sheets this morning. But I was pleasantly surprised when he told us with a big smile that he stayed dry all night. Needless to say, C.B. got a star this morning.
Big D got himself a star this morning too. When Dad asked him what he wanted for breakfast he said, “I already had breakfast” and pointed to the empty cereal bowl in the sink. Not only had Big D fixed himself a bowl of cereal and milk, he had put the bowl and spoon in the sink. And there was no mess to indicate that a five-year-old had been unsupervised in the kitchen at all. This responsible action added to the fact that Big D lost a tooth yesterday equals a BIG boy!

I do enjoy these kinds of “big boy” behaviors, but sometimes I wish they wouldn’t grow up so fast.

Big D's First Tooth

When your kids are babies you get excited when they get their first tooth. When they are around five or six, however, you get excited when they lose their first tooth. Big D lost his first tooth today. It was slightly loose this morning and he played with it so much that it was out before dinner. There is a pretty deep hole there, which makes us think he really helped that tooth along.

Miss M also just lost a tooth yesterday. But hers had been loose since the weekend and she wasn’t playing with it too much. I was actually threatening to take it out for her because she was complaining about it so much. Her tooth was also much bigger – it was a molar – and the new one was already growing in its place. I find it kind of funny that my kids are four years apart and losing teeth together. We’ve definitely been keeping the Tooth Fairy busy around here!

Another New Cake

I made this cake for a sports-loving little girl's birthday party over the weekend. The basketball is actually three-dimensional, which looked cool, but the box I used to transport it wouldn't close.

Click here or here to see some of my other cakes. Remember that if you are interested in ordering a cake, leave me a comment with your contact information. This information will not be published on the blog.