Who's that kid with the Oreo cookie?

This picture pretty much sums up how I feel about Oreo cookies. They are almost Ode-worthy, but they are a little messy. I am glad I can share their black-teeth (or in Hannah's case, gums) messiness with Hannah. Shaelynn taught me the coolest way to eat Oreos. You take a fork (a small one works best), stab the white filling so the Oreo is firmly on the fork tines, then dunk for about 20 seconds. Mmm, hmmm. I will have to teach Hannah that method so perhaps she can be less messy.

This week has been eventful, but not really.
Mike gave himself a summer haircut
(isn't he handsome?),
and we planted some bushes and some flowers and a tree in our front yard (hopefully they will grow and prosper in spite of my brown thumb), and Kenzie practiced trying my patience.

I think I am going to have to try reading some books on good parenting, because my methods are not succeeding. Any good suggestions out there? I have read "Positive Discipline" and liked it a lot, but I guess I need a refresher, or some new techniques, because everything is a fight. I even caught myself saying, in a not patient tone, "Get your bum over here, right now." (At least I said "bum," right?)

These are our beautiful bushes and flowers in the front yard. We are so excited to see if they grow. Mike has already started digging a new sprinkler line to water them and is planning a total revamp of the entire system. Nothing makes him happier than diagramming and calculating and then digging and getting dirty. :) We have lots of plans for the house and yard this summer, but we will be proud if these just grow. They look tons better than the black tarp and random rocks theme we had going before.

Now that the weather is somewhat nice I suppose I should repent of my Spring-hatred. Many things in spring are marvelous. Let's see. . . I love Easter (Peeps are my personal absolute favorite, but I love Easter for the resurrection aspect). Tulips are pretty. Daffodils, too. Ummm. . . the heating bill and gas bill lowering is a pretty good one (thanks Kristen), and rain puddles are marvelous. So there you see, I suppose it's all in the attitude, but I still despise wind.

This is how Kenzie has insisted on dressing the last three days. She comes out in the morning all dressed. . . like this. I wouldn't let her go outside until she changed, but every morning it was the same cute outfit. I had to hide the fabulous swimsuit. She looks so cute and innocent. Don't let her fool you. She's plotting her next crying attack. Someone please tell me how to get my happy child (and my patience) back.