so so so sorry....

one would think...okay you have checked off one major thing on your list
graduate from grad school
and we all assumed that would mean more time to relax and enjoy the sites and sounds of summer right???
well no
not in our family what that means is mom has 5 more minutes in which to take child #1 or #2 to the doctors, or the park or the beach or to the library
that means those 5 minutes are going to be filled with about 5 hours with worth of activities....
so why have you not heard from us in about 2 weeks?
i will only list the good things right?
no i will give you the entire long laundry list of
"this is what the kooncle family has been doing"

1. we have learned that dear aaron has an allergy to wheat...which if you have ever tried to eliminate wheat from your diet things get a little tricky and very creative because on top of that....
2. Silas is lactose intolerant - so yes that means we are on a no salt, no wheat, no milk some cheese diet...and if Sadie could have her way everything would be french fries and pizza

3. Silas has had a bad tummy flu for almost 2 weeks straight - so as much as i love to take time off of work and snuggle sick babies i actually miss the lazy days of going into work and spending the entire day in front of a computer being numbed stupid - by the way Silas is much better even though he has issues with milk

4. our computer has died - and yes i twitter (@paintingblue) my personal hatred to and about HP computers since the computer is only 1 yr 2 weeks old - and yes that means ALL warranties expired and the computer broke 2 weeks after expiration - ah the life of a kooncle - so we are trying to fix it and we are trying to recruit anybody to help us b/c at this point i am so about to buy a MAC

5. we are mentally getting ready for our journey across the US to RI...and no this does not seem like a real big adventure but when you have 2 toddlers and a 12 hour car ride to think about it does take some mental exercises in patience and tolerance (i will let you know how it goes with the exercises)

6. our bathroom - yes i know we started it WAY back in may and yes it is still a work in progress we are at the point that we have one more sand and mud, prime wood work and paint so hopefully it will be done this week (i say this gritting my teeth and knowing full well that what will happen is another trip to the dr. for a sick kid)

that is the list so far....in a nut shell though we have had some really good and fun days the past few weeks
our community garden has given us a bunch of eggplants and cucumbers
sadie helps aaron water ALL the plants
silas has discovered a new word which he says ALL the time "NNNNOOOOOO!!!!"
he is talking a mile a minute still have no idea what he is saying but he does love to follow babe around telling her stories
sadie has taken on the mothering role since silas has been sick and loves to give his tummy little kisses
sadie starts pre-k next week and silas starts toddler school next monday
what this means is a cranky silas
no binky, no crib, and just one nap...this will be interesting but we embrace change at the kooncle house hold
we are still plugging away on various other projects
put in a new bed in the backyard for lavender, cleaning up clothes, closets and basement...still hoping to get the porch stairs painted before the weather turns and a few other little projects
it is hard to find 5 minutes alone with a project unless that project is laundry of course...though i think this week we have only done 5 loads instead of 3 loads a day (oh the tummy flu)
so i will let you all be to look at cutie pictures and i will try not to let this much time lag between posts......
enjoy the days of summer as the maters are red and ready to eat!!!
PS. sadie starts her first dance, theatre, music and art class in September at the Willoughby Fine Arts Center
also hoping to get them both signed up at the YMCA for swim classes
even though i am sad to see summer go there are so many things to look forward to..personally i am really looking forward to halloween
sadie has told me that she is going as a tree, aaron will be a chair, and bubby will be a big diaper so personally i better get started on the costumes now right?

i will include text on the next post

but really do you look at this blog to read or stare at cute children??
so here ya go the cute pictures of this week
and yes we are still hot and fussy
cleveland has actually sold out of AC units
sadie can ride her bike ALL by herself!!!

summer when little attitudes turn fussy and hot

i actually do not have a lot of pictures this week
oddly enough i was running after 2 feral children all week and weekend i did not have time to take pictures
we went to the natural history museum on sunday which was great fun
Silas ran around the museum with his arm out stretch screaming at the top of his little bubby voice
"WOW!!! WHAS THAT??"
his favorite of course was a swan
which he had to repeatly talk to
"QUACK QUACK QUACK" "WHAS THAT?" "WOW" "QUACK"
so i saw aaron and sadie occasionally while running after silas who was pushing people aside to look at ALL the neat stuff
it was a good day
and of course that meant walking to the botanical gardens to play in ALL the fountains
sadie was more reserved and did not want to get wet....Silas decided to walk into and through every fountain he could...even the ones that were not built for little people to play in
we will be heading back this week for more fun
sadie's new big thing is to play mommy
she likes to give me medicine kisses and watch me cry when she leaves to go to work
she is being a great big sister
I MEAN GREAT!!!
not sure how i could handle bubby without her help
we got some flash cards so she could teach silas his ABC's
and she is
she plays with him as much as he will let her and they love to play footsie
this is the new favorite activity before bed
they wrestle, dance, and LAUGH which is great to let them get all wired up before bed
(smart move on my part...but afterwards we usually sit down for some reading and quiet time...this can last up to an hour depends on how much dancing was going on)
new favorite movie in the house
"Totoro"
which if oyu have not seen is a must.....even if you are over 4 ft tall
that is all for today i will try and snap some good pictures this week
ps. sadie has her first dentist appt today!!! wish us luck