No more Binki!

This week marks a special week for us!  The pacifier or "binki" fairy came and took all of Ashley's binkis!  Including her pink princess one.  So of course, she did fine without them.  Pacifiers (esp at age 2) are so much more a habit and crutch for parents than truly a necessity for a child to soothe themselves.  She did fine without it.  Occasionally she'll see one in someone else's mouth and ask for her binki, but "the fairy took them." When Ash looked in her beloved little drawer full of binkis and it was empty, somehow having a fairy take them softened the blow.  

The "binki fairy" not only took the binkis, but left something for her.  The day after she paid her visit, we came home one afternoon and there

on the front doorstep was a pair of beautiful purple fairy wings!  Ash was so excited and has danced around the house with the wings on ever since.  What a sweet binki fairy!  My dear friend Jean left the wings! Thanks!

This week was also monumental for Austin too.  He stopped all of his acid reflux medication.  After his surgery April 8, we've been weening him off all of his meds.  And he's officially off.  He still takes asthma meds due to the scarring and damage done over the years, but he is MEDICINE FREE!!!!

While Jonathan was home, we visited Paramount Kings Dominion theme park (Nickelodeon) and rode great rides, ate funnel cakes, ice cream, pretzels, icees and anything else you'd junk up on at an amusement park.  The kids loved meeting SpongeBob, Patrick, and visiting Scooby Doo's haunted mansion and Ghoster Coaster.  Ash loved the Dora's sing-along adventure!  She gave Diego and Dora big hugs.  Jonathan and I even rode adult roller coasters!  The Volcano rocked.  Jonathan loved the freefall ride.  Yikes.  It was so much fun.

In closing, I had to accent some things that as a mom, made me laugh this week.  Austin was having a rough day and told me that he wanted to move to California.

Mom: Why do you want to move to California Austin?

Austin:  Because I want to see new things.  Visit new places.  Meet new people.

Mom:  Isn't Virginia good enough for you?

Austin:  Life's too boring.  I just need bigger spaces.

Also, I made the family healthy sandwiches with light lunch meat and fat-free cheese.  Austin threw the wheat pita away, threw the light cheese away, and asked me to cut off some "fat cheese" off the block for his meat sandwich.  Sure enough, the boy ate meat and cheese alone.  No bread.  He told me, "this is the way MEN do it."

We are in the middle of summer and I'm loving it.  Enjoy these days at the pool now, they won't last long.

Angie