Day 62

Clean, cozy and ready for bed. Ah.
PS - don't mind the fingers in the nose. I was trying to get a photo of the kids giving each other goodnight hugs but the little stinker wouldn't cooperate. So I guess it's fingers in the nose or no photo at all.

Day 61

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, stuffy nose and achy body. When Kaitlyn woke up and wandered into my room I couldn't force myself to get out of bed and had to explain why. When I did get up she asked for a box. And a bow. I complied without really asking any questions and after a few minutes this is what she brought out to me. Isn't she a sweetie? Inside was her beach ball (deflated) and a note saying what I think was supposed to be "I love you Mom," but she really only knows how to spell the Mom part. She told me it was to help me be happy and feel better. Ok everyone say it with me now - AWWWWWWW! :)

OK quick side note: I posted a little "giveaway" on my craft blog if anyone wants to check it out.

Day 60

Backhoe pjs he INSISTED on changing INTO this morning. Messy hair. Sitting inside the coffee table. That's my Ty! :)
My other option for today's photo was Katy's bandaids that are covering the marks left from the shots she had to get today (not as interesting, right?). That puts her one step closer to being a big Kindergartener. Now we get to turn in her registration packet and wait for the evaluations in May. I can't belive my little one is growing up so fast.

Day 59

Yep - I went to the gym today. First time since oh...December? I went with my friend Jacalyn. At night. A big "you won't catch me doing it" thing in my book since I NEVER have energy after 2PM. But I felt like I needed to do something active again and since I can't get a babysitter at 5AM I decided to go. And I'm happy I did, even if my mouth got a better workout than the rest of my body :) Thanks Jac! My poor lonely gym shoes thank you too.

Day 58

My grandma turned 77 on Sunday. Since we were out of town that day we (that stands for Mom and I) decided to invite her over for dinner and cake. Kaitlyn did the honors with the candle placement. And Ty blew half the candles out before we could finish lighting them and had to be held back while we sang Happy Birthday. I don't think Gram even tried to blow the candles out with Katy and Ty right there doing it for her...Does that mean she doesn't get her wish?

Day 57

Another day spent in the car on our way back home. And these golden arches have been our best friend. I think we stopped at a McDonald's at least 5 different times during the trip - breakfast both days we were on the road (love the drive-through and Katy loves the yogurt parfaits), lunch at one with a play place (so the kids could stretch their legs) both days, and a quick potty break at another one.

Day 55

He was so exhausted. We didn't get out of the house to play until 11:30 and Ty fell asleep in the car on the way to the bowling alley. Surprisingly he stayed asleep the entire time we were there (under the table so he wouldn't get stepped on). The rest of us had fun bowling (I won!) then we went out for Mexican food. Low key Sunday.

Day 55

Representative of the day? Not so much. But a nice photo isn't it? And Ty would tell you this really was his favorite part of the day. These are the fake train tracks running through the center of the outlet mall where we spent the morning shopping. It was a very productive shopping trip (that means I found cute clothes for myself!) and due to the ratio of 2 adults per kid (I highly recommend this for all outings with small children) the kids were happy and easy to have around.
We went back to Bon's house for naps then spent the evening at an arcade. We've never taken the kids to one before but everyone (including adults) had so much fun we are definitely planning another trip to one soon.

Day 54

We spent pretty much the entire day in the car today - driving to Colorado Springs to visit my sister and her husband. My brother and Mom went with us. Gotta love the dazed expressions on the face don'cha? That's what a day in the car will to do you. But they were great and the ride itself went very well. The kids in the middle seat, me driving, and Mom and Wyatt taking turns in the back seat for a nap. Have I mentioned how much I love the Yukon? (even though with the 3rd seat up there isn't all that much cargo space) Lots of room and a DVD player, oh and cupholders for everyone. And the kids can see out well enough that they don't get bored. Ty had a FANTASTIC time spotting all the semis that we passed and all the big construction vehicles along the sides of the road.

Day 53

Packing. And cleaning. And all the other last minute things you have to do before a trip. That's how we've spent our day. Tomorrow - road trip!
This suitcase is Kaitlyn's. She loves it. And beside it is her favorite "kitty blanket."

Day 52

Have I used a sleeping photo on here yet? I don't remember. But the opportunity to snap one is so rare now that the kids are getting older. So after getting in a little "practice time" with the camera and having many many photos to choose from, this is what I picked. (I really need to figure out what settings to use to capture the snow falling - those didn't work! But the ones of the kids helping me shovel are adorable) I think it kind of sums up the days we've been having lately - a little bit rough and in the end, exhausting. Ty had a late start on the nap today and had a hard time staying asleep. When he woke up crying I of course picked him up and he ended up falling asleep in my arms. Then I transferred him to the couch after a while and started snapping photos. I snuck in and got a couple of Katy too. Here's hoping that all the sleep helps them get over these colds.

Day 51

Tyler spiked a fever last night. So now I have both kids sick. And this is my arsenal - or at least part of it.
On a side note - the sleep deprivation is catching up with me and messing with my brain now. I dropped my keys into the car seat as I was getting the kids out of the car and didn't realize it until the door was shut. And that's only a small part of my rough day. However, to end the post on a happy note - my new washer is in and it WORKS! :)

*Sam says this photo could look bad so I guess I should clarify - no I don't give ALL of them to my child at one time. :) Day cough med, night cough med, Tylenol for fever, back-ups...you get the idea.

Day 50

Phone conversation with Daddy. It's so cute. This usually happens every few days. I talk to Sam every day, but 2 out of 3 of those times is usually after the kids go to bed. I have to say, I'm impressed with how well the kids are handling the separation. They mention him sometimes, and of course they love talking on the phone. But no major meltdowns about it, and when we discuss it it is very matter of fact. Yep, Daddy is gone for a lot of days. We miss him. We will be happy to have him home. Now what do you want for dinner? :)

Day 49

Here is Ty watching my Dad as he fixes our light fixture in the kitchen. The dumb thing has been out for a month but it took this long to get him over here to check it out (just as much my fault on that one as his). The good news is that it was just a loose wire and things are fine now. And there isn't any bad news...except that Miss Kate is sick with a fever and lots of coughing tonight.

Day 48

Happy Valentines Day!
I try very hard to make most holidays feel a bit special all day long. Today's plan was heart shaped muffins for breakfast (yeah they sunk - guess I wrote the recipe down wrong), which Kaitlyn thought were so fun, and Tyler pretty much ignored. The kids got to open their presents and cards - a game for Katy, a puzzle for Ty, and candy and bath stuff for both of them. Kaitlyn was anxious to try out the bathwather tints and excited to learn that the purple one actually turned the water pink! (that's today's photo) Then they got to wear their new clothes (Vday present from Grandma and Grandpa). Grandpa came to pick Tyler up and they got to have fun together while Katy and I picked up Grandma and we ran errands. Poor Miss Kate still wasn't feeling very good but she was a trooper and lunch at McDonald's kept her spirits up. Naptime and feeding time (which was cuddle time for me and Kate today) were followed by a family dinner together, including the chocolate dipped strawberries I made this afternoon. And now that the kids are in bed it is time for me to go watch a chick flick - yay!

Day 47

Sometimes being on a "finally get things taken care of" kick doesn't have a happy ending. It doesn't look like a completely dead washer does it? Well, it is. And of course we had to pay someone to come out to tell us that. The spinner isn't spinning because the transmission isn't ...well doing whatever transmissions do. And would cost more $$ to fix than buying a new one. Happy Friday 13th! UGH!

BTW - not the whole day was bad. I got all my cleaning done first thing this morning and was feeling pretty happy with myself. I also got some scrap/chatting time in with a friend here at the house while the kids played. But I'm stuck on the news of the washer being dead. And the fact that he/we put a load in to test it and I now have a dead washer full of dirty, soaking wet clothes. Oh, and I think Kaitlyn is catching a cold.

*Update (2/14) - the day got worse. Sam's truck was broken into - they took the Ipod and broke the lock. Guess it could have been worse. And Kaitlyn is definitely sick, poor baby. Oh, and Tyler had me up at least 3 times during the night including a 2 hour session at 3AM when he thought it should be play time instead of sleep time. You know, I hadn't given any real thought to Friday the 13th ever before but geesh! We were cursed this year!

Day 46

See me doing my happy dance?! My new camera finally arrived - WOOHOO! I don't have

a memory card so I didn't play with it much. Hopefully soon you will be seeing an improvement in the photos. I already warned Katy to be patient because I am going to take a million photos of her to practice :)
It's been a technology day. I spent the whole morning helping Dad buy a new computer. Then a chunk of the afternoon giving a friend computer/photo organization lessons. And the kids had lot of fun playing with Grandma while I did everything. But now I'm exhausted. G'night!

Day 45

I have been doing so well with eating healthy lately. And the kids have just been doing well in general - no major meltdowns in at least a couple days :) So our little reward was pizza and breadsticks for lunch. YUM!

Day 44

Valentines hair.
Kaitlyn had her preschool Valentine's party today and I thought it would be fun to do something a little special for her. I found a tutorial for this online and decided to try it out. Not bad if I do say so myself.
And yes - this really is the only thing out of the ordinary that I took a photo of today. My days lately really are looking too much the same. If I don't work in a little variety soon somebody...well somebody do SOMETHING! :)

Day 43

This is why I can't exercise at home. I had good intentions this morning, truly I did.

I didn't want to move the furniture so I got down on the floor to do some stomach exercises and what happens? My little monkey thinks it's time to lay on mommy's chest. Then he decides a ride on my legs would be better. That's when I told Katy to bring me the camera because if I wasn't going to get much exercise (at least not the kind I had hoped for) at least I could get some cute photos.

Day 42

The only time I took out the camera today was when Kaitlyn was practicing her dance (tap) steps. As you may have guessed, we pretty much just hung out at home again. Except when the kids stayed with my Dad and my mom and I got to go to a movie - yay!

Day 41

Looooovin' the Netflix. This little baby is my reward tonight for surving a long and arduous day. I don't know what was wrong with Mr Ty but he kept getting upset at the drop of a hat - over and over and over and...
So, as soon as the kids go to bed I'm curling up on the couch with a movie - yay! 3 hours and counting. Hehe - and they are out feeding with the grandparents as we speed so hopefully no more meltdowns for me to deal with tonight.
By the way - if you, like me are one of those people that rarely makes it out to the movies and driving back to the video place to return things is out of reach too, I highly recommend you sign yourself up for Netflix. :)

Day 40

"Hug! Hold!" I've heard that a lot from Ty today. Not that I mind cuddling but what was getting excessive this morning has turned into cranky crying today. Me-thinks the nap didn't do it's job today. But let's focus here - isn't this a cute face? Who could risist picking up this little monkey and giving him a squeeze?


OT - I am posting a little "award" I was given from one of my fellow 365-ers (you can check out her blog here) and one of my other blogs just didn't seem like the right place to post it.


Mom of the year award?

This award is about confessing your mommy sins and forgiving yourself for your fault and moving on. As with all bloggy awards there are rules:
1) Admit that ONE thing you feel awful about involving being a mom. Get it off your shoulders. Once you've written it down, you are NO LONGER allowed to feel bad. It's over with, it's in the past. Remember, you're a good mom!
2) To remind yourself that you ARE a good mom, list SEVEN things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you. These are the things to remind yourself of EVERY DAY that you rock!3)Send this to FIVE other Moms of the Year that deserve forgiveness and a reminder that they, too, are the best moms they can be!!! Remember to send them a note to let them know you've selected them, and add a link to the person who nominated you!I am trusting you my adoring bloggyland public with my dirty mommy confession. NO JUDGEMENT PLEASE!!

My confession:
I get impatient and yell - a whole lot more often than I'm happy with (because I know once in a while Mom's do yell and that isn't a crime). And it's more a product of me being in a bad mood than the kids being extra-naughty. And what ends up happening is they cry then I feel bad and have to count to 10 then suck up my bad mood and go comfort them.

Here's the Love:
1-having my own little ones to hug and cuddle anytime I want is one of the most special feelings ever
2-a smile or laugh from one of my kids always lifts my mood
3-they don't hold grudges at all and when I mess up I am always forgiven
4-I love watching them learn and grow
5-my husband and I have, countless times, watched one of the kids do something incredible and exchange this look that says "isn't he/she the most wonderful thing in the whole world?"
6-My Kaitlyn - my princess, my super smart girl that is always full of plans, my first-born, my angel...I love you!
7-My Tyler - my cuddle monkey, outgoing inexhaustible little boy, full of smiles and teasing...I love you!

The Five:

Beka

Callie

Carrie

Julie

Kathryn http://craftykat-mycraftyplayground.blogspot.com/ (I know I know, I couldn't get the link on this one to work)

Day 39

Can you guess what I did today? Yep. That icky yearly check-up. I should have taken a better photo but I was in a hurry. My doc is pretty quick - once they get you in the room you barely have time to strip before he shows up. I guess I should be thankful I don't have to sit around in the silly paper gown for very long. Anyway - you will all be glad to know everything checks out. And I am glad to know I have an entire year before I have to go back! :)

Day 38

Kaitlyn's Gallery :) She loves to create and display her work and this week she has been tearing out and coloring pictures from her Hello Kitty coloring book. And somehow she had the bright idea to start taping them to the wall. She has steadily added to the collection all day. I wonder which she will run out of first - Hello Kitty pictures or wall space?

Day 37

As you can see, today Tyler and I went to the grocery store. We dropped Katy off at preschool and just did a quick trip. Have I mentioned lately how much easier it is to tote one kid around a store vs two? Yep. That's why Ty and I do our errands on preschool day, at least the ones that aren't too far away from home.

Day 36

On a day like today, that I personally view as uneventful and a bit blah (because I put myself under house arrest on Mondays so that I will get the laundry done) I can walk through the house and discover that the kids have found plenty of ways to keep busy. Like their entire collection of trains tracks that is strewn all over Tyler's room. And the trucks and puzzles and stuffed animals in the living room. The butterfly wings (dress ups), Barbies, and cars that I made Katy clean up before bed. The...well you get the picture.

Day 35

Kaitlyn and her tea parties. We had at least 3 of them today. She gets it all set up then makes Tyler and me sit down and have tea. One of these days I'm going to get her to use her dolls and stuffed animals as her guests - but for now she won't go for that and I have to squeeze myself onto those tiny chairs. Ahh the things we do for our kids. Note to self - I also need to get Katy a tablecloth and some tea trays. Right now she is using blankets and the lids from some of her boxes and while I admire the ingenuity, I am worried those box lids are in danger of being ruined.

So yeah - lazy Sunday. That's really all I have to blog about. Bring on the week!