1.31.2009

Deep Thoughts With Zach Fu

Rick and I have been half-heartily trying to get Zachy to stop wearing diapers. Honestly, after all the stress and pressure I put on myself and JT to get him out of diapers, I really could care less is Zachy stays in diapers until he is 18.
Ok, I do care a little. I care because what comes out of Zach is disgusting and I am tired of dealing with adult poop. We are well passed the cute baby poop stage.
That said, we have resorted to the time old tradition of bribery. I tried the poop/potty treasure bags that worked wonders on JT but Zachy doesn't really care about what is inside the bags. Rick tried to take the Wii away but that one didn't work too well because it meant JT had to give it up as well. Which brings us to our latest attempt, I announced to Zach that if he could start using the potty and wearing underwear during the day, I would take him to a toy store and he could get whatever Star Wars toy he wanted (ok, except the $200 Millennium Falcon - there are actually limits). This seemed to interest Zach but not enough to really start using the potty.

Today JT asked if I would take him to Target to see the new Legos that are out on the market. Being the best mom ever, we headed to Target. We checked out the Legos and then headed to the Star Wars aisle to see what was new. Zachy found the Sand Pit set (you know the one where Jabba is going to push Luke over the edge to the big sand snake thing). Zach is hugging it and talking about how cool it is and this conversation happens:

JT: Mom, can Zachy get that cool Star Wars sand set (note here that JT is trying to pretend like he doesn't like Star Wars nearly as much as Zach but he secretly does like it).
Me: No, not today but if Zach learns to use the potty and wear underwear he can get it.
JT: Zachy did you hear that? If you use the potty you can get Star Wars toys.
Me: (important to clarify the loop hole JT believes he has discovered) Zachy has to be out of diapers and wearing underwear during the day to get a new toy.
There is a pause in the conversation and then Zachy jumps in.
Zachy: Mom, can JT get this Star Wars toy? He wears underwear and uses the potty.

1.18.2009

Crime Scene

I started my annual closet cleaning, junk rearranging, crap removal process. I have been focusing on the front room that acts as my office/guest room/spill over play room/craft supply storage. Most of the toys are in the boy's room but there are a few that remain in my office including my Ginny doll. Pete and Judes held on to Ginny for the past 20-plus years and then when Ginny and I were reconnected I thought it would be cute to leave her in the playroom for when the boys have friends over so there is at least one girlie toy (for anyone interested).

I opened Ginny's house to check on the order of things and was shocked to see the following. I've alerted the Pflugerville Police Department and they are launching a full investigation. The photos are graphic, so I suggest you remove small children and ensure you are sitting down. I've already been contacted by Dick Wolfe for the story rights as a two-part Law and Order special.










































1.11.2009

Christmas 2008

I have finally had time to review my photos from Christmas. I was going to pick my favorite to post but I couldn't stop with just a few favorites. Instead I tried dividing them up based on theme and then you can decide to stop reading now or go forge ahead and look at the slide shows.

But before that, just a quick update to let you know we are all well. Our first week back was hectic but we made it. JT got his kinder report card and he is right on track. Zachy got back to school and had the special surprise of getting to have his dad as a subsitute teacher for a day.

Alrighty, here are lots of photos for your enjoyment.

Christmas
These photos are mainly from Christmas morning. As you can see Zach was overly excited about getting lots of Star Wars stuff. one of my favorite is Zachy comparing the back of the package.



Food
It is no surprise that part of the reason Rick and I run is because we like to eat. And one of the reasons we really love visiting Pete and Judes is the phenomenal food Pete makes; we can't explain it but everything just tastes better at Pete's house. Ok, the Buche Noel wasn't made by anyone in the family but it was made by a local chocolatier and it was fabulous.



Zoo
After Christmas we took Grandpa Pete to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. This is probably one of my favorite zoos because of all the space the animals have. The elephants have this incredible open field; it almost feels like you are out on safari. I wish I had a shot from the overlook of the elephant area but with a big zoo comes lots of walking and we were definitely getting tired. We had a fabulous time though and both boys were troopers. My favorite, which is obvious from this slide show was the Aviary. We also really liked the gorillas mainly because when we showed up the handlers had just arrived to feed them. The handlers basically climb up on the outside of the wall and toss vegetables over. The largest gorilla (seen in photos with Zachy) picked up a muddy carrot and walked over to where the handler was, dropped his carrot, and waited for the handler to toss his clean ones. He would catch the carrot, stick it in his mouth, and then stick his hand out for another. JT decided that the gorilla would make a great addition to his t-ball team.



Children's Museum
This is the final slide show. We all took a trip in to Charlotte to the Discovery Center. Their exhibit was "The Circus" which I was honestly very skeptical of. It actually turned out to be loads of fun. The highlight was JT waiting in line for over 30 minutes to get his chance to walk the tight-rope. The rope was about 9 feet off the ground. JT did a phenomenal job and the crowd cheered. He is definitely keeping tightrope walking on his list in case he flunks out of kinder. You can tell from the photos that the next best part was the dress up area. The weirdest item was the collection of fake poop. There were about 6 samples and you had to guess whose poop it was and then read about the poop and the animal that created it. Zach of course thought the poop was fascinating. There are a couple of photos at the end from our walk in Charlotte after the museum. The day before was the bowl game and they had decorated the statues with jerseys (no real clue why I only took one of West Virginia).



One final note, I realize there are not many photos of Grandpa Pete and no photos of Nana Juju or Nanny Sue. I do have a few but I am saving them for something a little later.

1.06.2009

Happy Birthday to Two of the Lucas Boys Favorites

Our sweet friend Isabella is during 5. We are so excited that we get to help her celebrate such a momentous birthday and we look forward to celebrating many more with her.


JT's favorite girlfriend Emily (I want to add here that JT told me that he knows when you call someone your girlfriend it means that you are going to marry them and that is why he only says that Emily is his girlfriend). I know this isn't a current photo of JT and Em and I know that I used it in October but it is so dang cute. You can go visit Em's blog if you want to see more recent cute photos of her.



And not to be outdone by two fabulous little girls, we want to give a shout-out to Chandra and Josh who are celebrating their anniversary. It takes a lot to put up with Josh so Chandra definitely deserves some congratulations!

1.05.2009

New Orleans

What more could we want than great friends in a fun city with some fabulous food. We will definitely go back for more, soon.

3200 Miles

Happy 2009!

The Lucas family is officially home and back in to the swing of things.

We traveled through a total of 10 states during our holiday road trip. We got to visit friends, spend time relaxing with family, and of course ate lots of delicious food. I have lots of photos to upload and I'll get working on those this week.

We are thankful for our friends and family. With all the craziness going on lately, we enjoyed getting to spend time with the ones we love the most (ok, with the exception of Lauren who couldn't make it from Portland this year; I guess we have something to look forward to for next year). We hope everyone's new year is off to a fabulous start and that this year is filled with even more joy and happiness than the last.

Thanks for staying withe the blog; hopefully I won't disappoint this year.