The Ball Farm

-- We got chickens. We decided to do chickens on our own and got 4 full grown ones. They are pretty cool and have already laid their first egg. Between our newly planted garden and these birds we are feeling pretty agriculturey.
-- Our boys love the out of doors. James would live in the "woods" behind our house if he could. A few days ago he and Daniel took off through the open gate and we didn't end up finding them until we walked about a block from our house playing with some other kids. James is a little afraid of the deer however and told Mike that he doesn't want them to eat him.
-- Pancakes have been the food of choice this week :) For the boys anyway. My magic recipe gives them a majority of their daily nutrients in a couple of servings. Unlike cereal, they are fast, easy, cheap, and easy to clean when thrown on the floor. Here's a list of ingredients of my most recent ones: Oats, Kamut, wheat, flax, tahini, chia, banana, beets, kidney beans, dates, milk, eggs, baking powder topped with butter and red syrup (jam) and a little syrup when they ask for it. Surprisingly they aren't that nasty, though Mike and I never eat them...
-- We went swimming for the first time this season. The Boys love, love, loved it and we are looking forward to many more days in the sun and water!
-- Potty Training is in full force. We have tried different things and now we are going "cold turkey" with the diapers (except for pull ups at night). I'm done, James totally gets it and should be done. As for a reward, funny thing is that we thought we'd tried everything. Stickers in a really cool talking sticker book, fruit loops, jelly beans-- even from a pooping pig that looks like Babe,  jumping up and down celebrating, and I even bought the song Shake Your Booty (his favorite) from iTunes to be followed by a family dance party. Nothing. What works? This 2 minute video on YouTube about Tall Tale Mater as a Fire Truck. He loves it and the video makes everything okay...