Second annual Bingham Children Circus

For the second year in a row, my children have invited the neighborhood to their circus. They spent the last two weeks in preparation. Tickets were made and taken door to door. Posters were hung and costume boxes ransacked.

The girls colored this picture of a lion in a cage and hung it on Toby's kennel.

And here is our ferocious lion jumping though his flaming hoop. (I loved the kids creativity with the "flames"). The girls taught Toby this trick by themselves... It only took a few days.

The critics went wild.

The acrobats were great.

We all held our breath during the high wire act! And to think they did it with out a net!

The clowns juggles water balloons. They were getting pretty good... and then they got wet.

The girls were up at 6:00 am setting up the chairs. We love our supportive neighbors!

Brooke ran the concession stand with a flare.

I am always in awe of the way children's minds work. They created this all themselves and put on a great show! All I had to do was pop the popcorn. If you're in town next summer... it's a show you wont want to miss!

Skeeter bites

Connor got a skeeter bite on his cheek. It wasn't too bad yesterday. But this morning he woke up looking a little different.

When he smiles this is what it looks like. Poor little man... but I have to admit, it looks really funny. He's a tough kid and is not unhappy at all. He just loves to tell people about it.

Intense Training

Potty training should be up there with training for a marathon, triathlon, or Iron-man. It takes a tremendous amount of commitment and discipline... from mommy. You also need a cheerleader in the background while you are going through the most grueling part to the training. Scraping poo off ten tiny pairs of underwear seems like the equivalent of the forty degree grade at the end of the ten mile run. Both make me gag.

My first two children were out of diapers and all done by the time they were two. Then I had boys. I discovered with Ben that it it totally worth the few extra dollars to buy the colored undies instead of whitey-tighties. Today I decided those darling mini size boy's underwear in Connor's drawer were too cute to not to put on his little bum. You know... even mini-size "darling" underwear can make you gag with the right ingredients.

Actually, our "training" has been moving along quite nicely. I was squealing and clapping when he figured out what I was talking about when I said, "try to squirt." He got excited too. So much, that he lifted his hands to clap for himself too... forgetting that he was holding on for a reason. He was a little surprised when his bum fell in, but there was still so much cheering from the crowd, that he recovered quickly and smiled despite the wet, cold bum.

I am not above using bribery for training. Sometimes it has been "potty-mallows"... the mini marshmallows, sticker charts and ice cream... today it was jelly beans. Madi called them "potty-beans." That was a little too much for me... gag, gag, gag... too visual! You know, when my friends are convincing me to do a race with them, they try to appeal to my competitive side. Really all they have to do is give me a sticker chart or an ice cream cone.

Well nap time is over and round two is about to begin. I could use all the cheer leading I could get, thanks for asking. And no, I have never run any of the insane races mentioned above. For now I just run for sanity and am scrubbing out undies in my spare time. Have a happy day!

Remodel

We are remodeling our kid/guest bathroom this weekend. I am so excited!!!! All of those months and months of cleaning that bathroom with its peeling vinyl, flaking caulking, cracked toilet lid, and wiping down the drawer-less (disintegrating) vanity with crooked doors... every time I would say to myself, "It will look great someday." I feel like squealing... we are doing it ourselves of course. (I really do love projects like this). I'm not sure that my husband would agree with me, but he does do a fantastic job of... well, everything.

I can't wait to start the demolition. Maybe I'll start now. Wouldn't Brett love to come home to find things a-muck already!?! Hee hee. I'll have to do some before and after pictures.

Oh, we just found a local cabinet place here that is fantastic. Their prices are comparable to Home Depot... but have WAY better stuff. Custom made, real wood, fantastic counter tops with the seamless sink... Woooohoooo!

Playing Catch-up Again!

We're back! Brett wiped my computer so I think the stupid virus is gone. Now for a little bit of catch-up... this is what the Binghams have been up to.

We ran a 5k as a family. Madi ran a great race. She came in only eight minutes behind me.

I pushed the boys in the jogger (and like eighty pounds of water bottles. Sheesh). Brooke skinned the front of her shin half way through and Brett carried her the rest of the way. What a good daddy! We had a great time!

Madi's last soccer game was only an hour after the 5k. She was really tired but played an intense game.

Oh, she looks exhausted!

Brooke wasn't as excited to play her last game with the front of her shin all skinned up. We are really proud of our girls for their hard work this season!

Brett did a presentation for the girl's school. He had the kids in the assembly help him make a map. (Projecting it on the wall so they could see it as they designed it with him).They all loved it, especially Madi and Brooke. He asked the kids, "Who likes to color? Who likes to draw? Well, I get to do that all day long!" One little boy yelled out, "LUCKY!"

More of the play... the girls played games in the dressing room after their parts.

Brooke and Madi both loved the make up part. In fact that was all they could talk about the first day of dress rehearsal. They got to be really good at letting me put eye liner on them. (Not an easy task I found, with tiny little features).

Most of the cast before the second performance. (I really wanted to get shots of the costumes I made... but my mom has them on her camera. If you're not all sick of hearing about it... I'll post them when I get the cd).

Connor was missing near nap time... I found him on top of the dog house with his blankie. I'm not sure whether to call him Snoopy or Linus.

Chaos, Costumes and Crafts

I mentioned before that things have been a little crazy around here. That is because on top of coaching both my girl's teams... we are in a play. My two little ladies and I debut this Thursday. We are in "The Miracle Worker"... the story of Helen Keller. It has been an adventure, one we have really enjoyed... but will be relieved when it is over. (So we can go back to "normal.")

One thing that has been fun was making costumes. Our seamstress did a great job... but she only made me one shirt and one skirt. So I decided to go a little nuts with the sewing machine. ( I'm playing the part of Mrs. Keller... that means pretty and froofy 1890's stuff. Hats and gloves and parasol... I love playing dress up and now I have a good reason to). I made some of "Annie Sullivan's"and "Helen's" costumes. I wish that I had done some before and after picts.... I'll post more later.

The black shirt was a hideous dress at DI's that I chopped and altered. The skirt was the one the seamstress made for me. (I altered that too...Shhhh. I added pleats in the back to form a sort of bustle.) The cream bustle is my favorite! It buttons on so I can use it for a quick costume change. Wait 'till you see the hats! Gotta run.

Yooouuu-Hallooo

Hello again! I have missed all of you. Lately, I have been cursed with a very stubborn computer virus that refuses to be removed from my laptop... so now I am back to using the old dinosaur computer that we bought when we got married. The poor thing has been made fun of, neglected, and thrashed by the small fry trying to navigate starfall and the like. But as evident by this post, the old Bessy still works.

Our lives have been SUPER crazy around here and it is fun in a totally chaotic way. I have been trying to sum things up, but its too long. Lets just skip ahead.

Yesterday as I was doing the laundry in our unfinished basement/laundry room, I tripped past my roller skates. (Two Christmases ago I found skates for everyone at the DI's -second hand store- and we used our basement as a skating rink). Well as time passed the basement has become a lot less... shall we say "open" and rink-like, and my skates have become very lonely.

I was about to walk past them again and continue with my boring chores. But then I turned around, and so did my chores. Cleaning the kitchen was way more fun in roller skates! My kids didn't mind a bit being served lunch like the 50's drive threw. We all had a good laugh and my kids ran to get their skates too. I did look really funny in an apron and bright blue skates... but crazy is my cup of tea.

Hope your day brings a little bit of silly!