The Freddie Monster is 4! We had a great day together with lots of fun. Granted, he was much more concerned with when his party at the "swimming park" was going to happen! Sweet boy, he's really funny and wonderful. He also thinks that I'm the "silliest mamma I ever saw my whole attire (entire) life, ok?" I'll post more about our day and some pictures!

Addie can say lots of things with signs and she can finally say lots of things with her mouth. I need to write them down anyway, so why not do it on my blog where I can't lose it! ;)

Sign

Please
Water
Milk
Cat- BRAND NEW!!
Eat
Horse- Also brand new, like just today, but she doesn't do it right. It's really cute!
Bye Bye
Juice
Soft/Pet
Share
Sorry
Bath
Up
Sleep

Hmm....I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of them all.

Say
Milk- she just said this for the first time at dinner tonight!
Ball
Nana
Mamma
Dada
Bubba
Bob
PaPa
Dog - 1st word
Cat
Thank you (sort of)
Cookie
No- new favorite and she says it with about 3 syllables!
Addie (she knows and says her sweet little name and it makes me so happy)
Baby
Blankey (bankey)
PeePee
Eye
Shhh (does that count as a word)
Meow (mowww)
Quack Quack (she can also make the sound "mmmmm" for a cow and "ahh ahh" for a monkey and "ffff, ffff" for a dog, all of which is really cute)

I've racked my brain and that's all I can think of. She's just over 17 months now and is getting super rotten. She has evil looks, rolls her eyes at me, is constantly filthy and then rubs food in he hair, slaps, hits, runs away, screams at her brother, tells us "naaaaooooo," and refuses to share or be patient. Does this sound pretty typical to everyone?! :) She also gives big hugs and kisses & high fives, runs like Frankenstein, giggles hysterically all the time, tickles herself in the floor while saying, "Tickle, tickle, tickle" (add that to the list!), she's gone pee pee on the potty one time, plays with her hair when she's tired to get to sleep, carries around her blanket I made for her, has such a sweet little voice, and amazes us constantly with all she can do and how much she loves us and we all love her. Freddie definitely gets the big brother of the year award putting up with all she puts him through. He handles it pretty well though and reminds her often that she's just a "lil' tiny baby and I'm a big boy." He also tells her when she's being "wude," and when to share and not to hit, etc. We try to keep him from taking on so demanding of a role, but I know it's hard when you're the oldest and those little ones just don't respect you. So, I think we're going to teach her to respect and obey her big brother while also trying to make sure he knows that it isn't his job to correct her or make her do right. It's way too big of a responsibility, even for me some days!

So, let's start with Klappenbach's. It's a delicious bakery in Fordyce, AR. Jason's hometown! I've never been despite all the trips down there, but when you're a native you take these things for granted. Here are the kids cheesing outside. I wish that they would both look at the camera at the same time someday.

I also wish that my darling little girl wasn't so beautiful that I want to cry all the time! ;)

The food was sooo good, this is their Philly Cheesesteak on Sourdough, yummmm!

He is such a little man these days, he'll be 4 on Thursday!!

Now, on to the christening....we christened summer at the pool. Excuse the lack of pictures of Freddie. He wouldn't stand still long enough, nor would he get out of the water long enough for me to snap a decent picture! ;)

This is Addie's "Cheese" face that comes along with a nice baby talk, "Cheeeeeee"





CHEMISTRY: Making Laundry Detergent

I've discussed this before and posted a link, but here is the tutorial I use again. It's great and easy. You just grate up a bar of soap, I used cheapo Ivory on this one.

Melt your soap flakes a little at a time in about 4 cups of boiling water, stir until they are all dissolved, then pour this into a 10 gallon bucket. Add 1 cup washing soda & 1/2 cup of Borax, stir well. Then add about 3 gallons of cool water & stir for a few minutes.

Then you put your lid on and let it sit overnight. It turns out like really watery jelly and it smells great and works like a charm, as well as any laundry detergent I've used. We still use stain remover and bleach when necessary, but this is a teensy fraction of the price of laundry detergent. This batch will last us for over a month!! You only use 1 cup per load.

CRAFTING: Father's Day Gift

The kids had "fun," but I raised my voice a few times and there was a HUGE mess afterward. The end result was too precious though. I got the idea from a craft blog a friend linked me to. Here's the link. Mine are smaller, but it was better with little ones!

Notice those sweet arms & hands are the "tree bone" as Freddie called them! ;)

Other Crafted Goodies:

Knitted baby caps for a set of twin girls, due any time now! One is sort of pointed, but I got better by the second one. Oh well, I think they turned out just darling. I'm so excited to meet Paige & Peyton!


And Finally.....Freddie's Birthday Banner! It wasn't nearly as time consuming to do his as it was Addie's and I had a lot more fun watching it all come together. It's just perfect for him and I'm super pumped to make another for a friend's little girl next month!

Disclaimer: All of these crafts have happened over a course of weeks/months and I just haven't gotten around to posting so don't go be aghast! Ha!

Yup, shot the top off of an inch thick rake from at least 20 yards away. I did this at Jason's dad's house with his 22. I had once shot a tennis ball off the top of a bird house that was wayyyyyy further away but they took the bird house down so his dad told me to shoot the top of the rake. I shot and it blew off, who would have ever known I was such a markswoman?! Jason said he's scared but I have to remind him that I don't actually have a gun, nor do I want one. However, after our midnight ride back home after a belt blew out on our car on the dirt road....I would not mind shooting me a few deer. I've decided I agree with Louis CK, deer are not beautiful and majestic, they are nocturnal rats that can do a lot more damage to your car. We saw at least 20 either in the middle of the road or waiting by the side to dart out in front of us. Stupid deer.

Summer has officially hit the Allen household. We have been swimming 3 times now and I took the kids to S.P.L.A.T. (Summer Preschoolers Learning Activity Time) at a local church. It was miserably hot and I came close to death, because we walked there and then the activity was outside. I don't think any of us made many friends that day, because we scared people off with our red faces. I felt like an old woman because I was wiping my sweat off with paper towels and baby wipes the whole time. It was pretty sexy.

There are lots of swimming pics of the kids on facebook that Nana posted, so feel free to check 'em out sometime! I may get up the gumption to take pictures again soon, who knows?! ;) Oh, and Jason is finished teaching his first year of high school, woo hoo! I've been attempting to grow tomatoes, but I just don't know if they are going to do anything. It's been about six weeks now and there's no evidence of tomatoes. I started from 6" plants too, so I'm not very hopeful. My basil is doing quite well though, so at least I'll try making some pesto. I'm knee deep in crafts, a superman cape and Freddie's birthday banner. Only two more weeks until my deadline!

Keep us in your thoughts next week, as the trial for Freddie's abuser is scheduled for the 16th & 17th. This August will be two years since it happened and there has been talk of a possible plea bargain and now the man is trying to stall again by saying he wants to hire his own attorney instead of using the public defender. Talk about a waste of money considering they have been preparing for this case for two years now! Anyway, I have been struggling with this need for some time of justice as if our legal system is the great distributor of such things. I never thought I was vindictive and I felt forgiving, but I realize that I'm just not there yet. I have been able to let it rest in the back of mind thinking that the person responsible for Freddie's horrid abuse would "get his" and be sent to jail forever. We're looking at probably about 3 years of actual time served and that's it. Is anyone else disgusted? I just have to keep reminding myself that God forgives and has forgiven so much more than I am capable of. There is forgiveness and I have got to muster up the courage to ask God for it so I can give it back, lest I be consumed with bitterness beyond what I can carry. Like I said though, I'm not there yet and I'm so grateful that my sweet Jesus is waiting beside me, just waiting for me to give Him the load.

I love my darling Natural State, but I am already ready for the majestic flames of autumn to light up the horizon. Instead, I just have the muggy, mosquito ridden flames of sun reflecting off of asphalt. I do not like the summer here. I miss Spring already. I love the smell of honeysuckle. It is one of my favorite scents in the world but it can not be reproduced in candles, lotions, or sprays. That smell is bittersweet though, it means that summer is coming and my cool night breezes and sunny greenery of spring is soon to turn.

Here are some things to be thankful for this summer...just to keep me going for the next three months.

1. The Pool!
2. My blooming Camelias scratch that, Gardenias, they smell so pretty
3. Hopeful tomatoes
4. Lightning Bugs
5. More daylight
6. No school
7. The urge to read something as if I'm preparing for next year's Honors English class ;)
8. How cute my kids are with sweaty brows and those curly hairs at the nape of their necks & clinging to their foreheads
9. Grilling outside all the time
10. My alternative to a New Year's Resolution...the June diet, it's happened for years!

11.... one more. I love being a Southerner and the summer makes me think about it more. I feel heavy and constantly damp, like a huge weeping willow just hanging under the weight of the humidity. I have never tasted a mint julep, but I feel I should have a big wrap around porch to sit on and drink one while waving a huge paper fan. Jason picks on me at times when I get a little too girly, and says, "Oh I do declare, I believe I'm comin' down with the vapors." I laugh every time, mostly because of his hand fanning motion and hysterical high pitched southern drawl. This is no Savannah, but it will certainly do!