First Allowance

Harper got her first allowance today. After marveling at the two stacks of shiny quarters, her sole purpose in life became spending all of them immediately. So after lunch we walked down to the corner drug store so that Harper's wildest fantasies could become a reality.

After much debate, she settled on one imported plastic, glowing kitten night light-like thing. It changes colors. Oh, and it's covered in hearts, so she had to have it. Obviously. 

On the way to the register, Will spied the diecast metal cars (I should have had the foresight to take the next aisle over, and I have regretted my decision ever since.) and refused to proceed until he had thoroughly perused them. As I had just cleared out the toy bins of several gruesomely disemboweled vehicles (thanks to our future engineer), and Harper was purchasing something for herself, I decided to let him pick one out. He sweetened to a cherry red ambulance which we purchased in haste.

Not two and a half minutes after leaving the store Will LOST it. "School bus, mama! Not ambulance! Go back! Go back!" he wailed for the next ten minutes. He clearly had pre-nap buyer's remorse and my patience was wearing thin.

I reasoned: two year olds cannot possibly comprehend the weight of their decisions. If he were to calm down I might consider exchanging the offending ambulance for the school bus that he now pined for, and then my burgeoning headache might subside. So I asked him, "Will, would you like the school bus and not the ambulance?"

He brightened immediately. "Yes, mama."

"If you are calm and sit in the stroller, we will go back to the store and buy the school bus, but there will be no more ambulance."

"Yes, mama! Yes! School bus! New school bus!" He chanted cheerily, and handed me the ambulance. I kissed his sticky, tear-stained cheek and we headed back to the store.

It turns out that, shockingly, two year olds are fickle. He found the beautiful school bus for which he was longing not quite so spectacular upon our return. Finally, after an inordinately long decision making process, he chose a police jeep with a shiny light bar and articulated doors. We thanked the cashier for being so accommodating and exited the store.

Then, not thirty seconds after leaving, Will began bawling.

"Go back, mama! Fire engine! Not police jeep!"

And that, my friends, is why you don't negotiate with a terrorist.        

  

Island Vacation

Brad's parents very generously treated his entire family to a week long family vacation on Anna Maria Island. We just got back and are still de-vacationing. 

The weather was a little cool but, for those of us who have experienced an unseasonably hot winter this year it was a welcome change. And, except for the tornado, it was beautiful. 

The kids spent all week alternating between playing at the beach and swimming at the beach house in the (barely) heated pool. They ate nothing but fruit and cheese sandwiches and were perpetually shivering. Basically, it was the happiest I've ever seen them. Plus, it was Uncle Ed's birthday, so that made it extra celebratory. (Photo Credit: Ed Booker)

Brad's mother made matching skirts for Harper and cousin Zoe, and picked out a complimentary country-western shirt for Will so Uncle Ed could get some portraits of the kids together. 

Our attempt at a family photo. Nailed it.

Cousins.

I think Harper's face says it all here.

This is the only one of Nana smiling. I love it.

The Bookers. 

After the photoshoot, we headed down to the beach and I got a couple of quick shots. 

It was such a relaxing week I simply didn't get my camera out to take the pictures I wanted to take, so on the final day I got a couple of final shots of Brad and the kids before we headed out.

It was wonderful to see all the Bookers! We need to figure out how to make this an annual event. Thank you again for a wonderful week, Ann and Daryl! 

Excerpt from a Homeschool Log

10:00 am              Start Time

10:01 am              Give puppy chew toy. Put puppy in the kitchen and lock baby gate.

10:02 am              Put Truck Tunes on TV and Mighty Machines on computer for toddler. 

Also place a dozen of toddler’s favorite toys strategically around the living room.

10:05 am              Tell schooler to finish with morning chores and sit down at the table.

10:06 am              Empty dishwasher.

10:07 am              Toddler wants a snack. Get toddler milk and graham crackers.

10:12 am              Finish emptying dishwasher. Start folding laundry.

10:16 am              Check on schooler. Schooler informs me she needs to use the restroom.

10:21 am              Folding laundry. Smell something coming from the kitchen. Clean puppy pee and poop. Put puppy outside.

10:31 am              Toddler needs milk refill.

10:36 am              Where the heck is schooler? Find schooler engrossed in a book on the commode. Give schooler 4 minute ultimatum. Set timer.

10:40 am              Begin schooling. Review homonyms.

10:48 am              Notice smell emitting from living room. Change toddler’s diaper. Yell from the changing table to have schooler start on handwriting book.

10:51 am              Realize puppy is unusually quiet. Check on puppy. Puppy has dug a hole the size of a basketball in the middle of the lawn. Feel sick to my stomach. Let it go.

10:53 am              Check on schooler. Work through mistakes.

11:00 am              Money puzzles.

11:03 am              Toddler is afraid of trucks- wants cuddles. Bribe toddler with alphabet cookies and new video.

11:05 am              Check on puppy. Puppy is chewing on unidentified mushroom. Run to the neighbor’s house to borrow Hydrogen Peroxide.

11:10 am              Administer Hydrogen Peroxide to puppy. Move homeschooling outside. Draw food webs in chalk on the patio while puppy vomits the contents of her stomach.

11:32 am              Puppy has finished vomiting. Clean remaining vomitus. Crate puppy.

11:37 am              Back inside. Write short captions for each of schooler’s drawings from the night before.

11:40 am              Hear toddler in the bathroom. Find toddler playing with favorite toys in the toilet.

11:42 am              Bathe toddler.

11:43 am              Instruct schooler to just do some pages in her mazes and puzzle book.

11:58 am              Dry and clothe toddler. Add bleach to tub. Throw toys in tub.

11:59 am              Reconsider going back to work full-time.

12:00 pm              Lunch!

The Booker Annual Holiday Update 2015

Where has the past year gone?!?!?! I can't believe that 2016 is almost upon us!

As has become the Booker tradition, this is our Official Annual Virtual Update. I have come to accept that I will never plan far enough in advance to get a holiday-themed photo shoot done, cards ordered and mailed before Christmas. It has a lot to do with the fact that I refuse to start anything Christmas-related until after Thanksgiving. I know, I have issues.

I took the kids out for a holiday-themed photo shoot yesterday. It was complicated by the fact that...

1. The beautiful, perfectly lighted, overcast day turned into blinding sunshine just as I got the kids dressed in their festive regalia.
2. It was 83 degrees. In December.
3. Will refuses to look at the camera these days. I have to shout things like, "Look! A bear!" and then snap a shot while he swivels around in confused horror.

Luckily, my dear friend Narelle let me volunteer her to be official kid distractor/wrangler, so I could focus on the camera for the entire twelve and half minutes the kids tolerated being photographed. It was a Christmas miracle! (Thank you Narelle! You are the BEST!)   

Anywho, life was good to the Bookers this year. We're finally in the swing of this two-kid thing (and by that I mean we've come to welcome perpetual chaos.) We recently lost our sweet Maisy Joonbug but have been blessed with not one but two new pack members this year: kitten GiGi and, more recently, our new pup Mayflower. I keep telling Harper and Will they are the luckiest kids on the planet. I mean, how many children get both a kitten and a puppy in the same year?!?! Score! 

Brad and I have been plugging along. We got outside the house more this year, and are looking forward to TWO REAL family vacations in 2016, including a trip to New York City! (!!!) I am beside myself with anticipation!  

Harper has been "homeschooling" this year (if you can call pre-K homeschooling) with the help of a private tutor a couple of times a week. It has really benefited her and we're very happy with her progress. In addition to school work, our little dynamo is still swimming as well as attending a weekly science class at the Florida Aquarium (AKA, our second home) and she switched out ballet for gymnastics ("Mom, I LOVE gymnastics. I want to do gymnastics until I die."). While paleontology and marine wildlife biology remain her passions, she has added art to her list of interests (at this time, crayon and chalk are her preferred mediums). She also enjoys interrupting anyone who is on the phone and playing/squabbling/plotting with her younger brother. They have become quite the duo. I look forward to witnessing their exploits in the coming year. I think.

Wilson has developed quite a strong sense of personal taste this year. While he prefers his truck videos he does enjoy the occasional full-length washing machine wash-cycle video on youtube (you can find anything on that site). His t-shirts absolutely must have some sort of heavy machinery graphic on them, and he had better be wearing his red fire engine pajamas come bedtime or everyone within earshot will pay the price (truly, you will come to regret the day you were born if those PJ's are in the wash). Also, the pre-bedtime ritual may or may not require his sparkly snowflake-fairy tutu, depending on his mood. And he has developed a full-blown phobia of the vacuum cleaner, so that has complicated life. As much as he has blossomed into a BOY with a capital B this year (where has my baby gone?), he is still such a sweet, silly, happy kid who idolizes his big sister. He is an absolute delight.

To all our friends and family, we thank you for all your love and generosity to our family over the years. We cherish you all, and look forward to sharing the upcoming year with you! 

May peace and love find you this holiday season!

 Love, 

the Booker Pack

Bradley, Leah, Harper, Wilson

Willa, Mayflower, Hemlock and GiGi 

Pics

I got the camera out today to get some photos of the kids for the Booker Annual Holiday Update (coming soon!). Afterward I took the kids to the park to work off their crazies (don't worry; it didn't work.). 

When I uploaded the photos to the computer I realized there were a couple I had never posted. So here they are... 
 

On The Subject Of Introducing Two Dogs...

Many of you have been wondering how Willa and May are getting along. So far it's a lot of this: 

For those of you not in the know, that's a heated game of what we professionals like to call "Snarky Face." It's the new post-evening walk/pre-bedtime ritual.

I haven't seen Willa this happy since before Maisy got sick. I'm so pleased she loves her new puppy!

Outback

I will stop posting about the new puppy soon. Probably. But not yet because this morning the kids wanted to play outside with the dogs while I made breakfast, so I got a couple of short videos of the melee.

Check out her hind end... she's got the legs of a kangaroo! And that tail kills me! She's already as tall as Willa and much longer. 

We're so crazy in love with her. She is absolutely the calmest, most responsive, most engaging puppy I have ever seen. We couldn't be more pleased with our sweet, lanky Mayflower!