Day 154

We took the kids fishing today. It was beautiful up there (we went to Smith and Morehouse reservoir). Gorgeous. And the kids were really excited and had a lot of fun running around. Fishing with kids however, isn't easy. Especially when the footing by the water isn't suitable for a 2 year old - or even a 5 year old - so that was nerve wracking. And the fish weren't biting so we only stayed an hour.
After naps, we took the kids to a movie. We saw Up, which was cute. And the kids liked it a lot. Tyler was completely mesmerized almost the entire time (and stuffing his face with popcorn the whole time too!).

Day 153

Kaitlyn's Dance Recital!
In the morning she had dress rehearsal and photos. Then she had a hard time waiting until it was time for the main event (even though she claimed to be a bit nervous about being in front of a lot of people she didn't know). Kaitlyn did a fantastic job (no sign of being scared once she got up there, though she seemed a bit too used to looking at the other girls instead of out at the audience) and had a great time. Her favorite part - getting flowers. And the cookies and punch afterward.

Since Mom teaches the class, I end up in charge of the recital (book the hall, make costumes, photos, set up, blah blah blah). And I have to say, I'm glad it's done!

Day 152

This is a photo from yesterday since I didn't take any today (just spent the day cleaning and getting ready for the weekend - nothing great to take photos of).

While Katy and I were planting peas, Tyler the Monster (yes he will agree is he one!) decided to go visit Grandpa's tackhoe. I thought he was in the playhouse but the monkey wandered all the way from the far side of the backyard where we were planting out to the other end of the driveway. I don't know how he climbed up in there by himself. But he alerted us to where he was by honking the horn :) I hated to wreck his fun (and as you can see he was having a LOT of it) but I did get him out of there as soon as I took a photo because it's just not safe. I think he's really going to keep me on my toes this summer because he loves exploring and isn't that great at staying within set boundaries yet.

Day 151

Me and my bright ideas. Remind me not to have any more of them anytime soon because they are EXHAUSTING.
I decided it would be fun if the kids helped me plant peas this year - a fun family activity plus it gets them to eat more veggies. Great! Turns out that Ty had no interest in helping after the first 2 minutes. And Kaitlyn spent most of the time finding worms and putting them in a bucket (that now sits on our front porch. What in the world are we going to do with a bucket of worms??). So all by my lonesome I pulled the weeds, dug the holes, and cajoled Katy away from her worms long enough to plant a 3 foot section before finishing it up on my own. I still need to get Sam to help me put some stakes in and maybe clear another section of dirt for more peas because I don't think our sorry little plot will be very satisfying come harvest time. But I do have to admit that while my idea was a bust, the kids still had fun while I worked and I guess that's all that matters.

Day 150

Kaitlyn loves to cook. And practically every day for the last 2 weeks she has tried to get me to make muffins. I comply at least twice a week and with so much repetition Kaitlyn has learned how to make the mix all by herself. (you just add water and stir) Pretty soon she'll be able to make ME breakfast, right?

Day 149

Day 148

Happy Memorial Day! We decided to spend the morning at the pool. Every time we go the kids are getting more independant and better in the water. Ty even wanted to ride the big slide all by himself a couple of times (wearing a life jacket of course) and Kaitlyn does it completely on her own. We had lunch at Dick's before heading home for naps (we love that the pool is guaranteed to wear them out!). And finished up the day by testing out the chocolate fountain that Sam got me for our anniversary. Kaitlyn had hardly been able to contain her excitement in the three days since I received it. We all loved it - thanks hun!

Day 147

Today we have been BUSY. We finally got around to putting built-in shelves in both the kids' closets. It took the entire day, but I love them. I have to say, Sam is very good at what he does and I'm very glad I get to take advantage of his talents once in a while. And I'm oh, so happy that the kids were having a good day and spent very little time in our way - BONUS! :) Kaitlyn is particularly happy with her new cubbies and insisted on filling them herself.

Day 146

My cousin got married today. So between the wedding and luncheon, naptime, and the reception our day was pretty well filled. I still can't believe my cousin is old enough to get married! I can remember when she was a baby. And babysitting her when she was little...wow time flies.
Congrats Shantay and Katin.
(I didn't take my camera along *gasp!* so here's a shot of the back of their photo-filled invitation)

Day 145

Today is our 10th Anniversary. Wow.
The kids had a sleep-over with their grandparents and we celebrated with dinner and dessert at the Cheesecake Factory (MMMMMMMMM!) and a movie. Not our most elaborate anniversary, but one we both really enjoyed. Love you, hun!

Day 144

Awww how sweet. I love it when I catch my kids in moments like this. And it's very rare that they will actually lay on one another for any extended period of time. (Yes, they seem to be in that "Mom, he's touching me!" stage)
(just ignore their glazed expressions. They were obviously watching TV :) )

Day 143

Day 142

Another of Kaitlyn's plans - Koolaid popsicles! I think she saw the idea on TV probably and has wanted to do it for days. The weather has been really summery this week, so why not?

Day 141

Kids can turn just about anything into a toy.
I finally got the playpen back from Mom's and set it up so I could clean it before putting it in storage. Another Monday spent doing laundry and trying to get things ship shape.

Day 140

It's been a lazy-ish Sunday for us. We took the kids to the park this morning. Then Sam and I got to run errands on our own (what feels like a very rare treat - oh the life of a parent is so boring! lol) while the kids spent time with Grandpa and Grandma. Sam also took the time to fertilize the lawn - yay one more thing to cross off the Spring To Do List.

Day 139

Our Saturday: For me it was Sat with The Girls! Alisha, Beau Dee and I got together at Beau's house to make hairbows for our girls. For Sam and the kids it was swimming at the pool and lunch out with Dad. Then we spent the evening hanging out.
Kaitlyn was so excited about all her new bows she changed into a red shirt and put the red flower in her hair. Here she is standing by the our flowers (the ones I'm so happy actually survived when I split the bulbs last year and am so happy with the sheer number we have this year). She has a fascination with flowers and picks one or two every day.

Day 138

Kaitlyn is in love with the "scrapbook" she got at her preschool graduation. Her project all morning has been to create more artwork to put in it. And she insisted on posing for this photo. I love her enthusiasm.

Day 137

Kaitlyn graduated from preschool today. It was the cutest little ceremony. Kaitlyn was excited, but also nervous to say her Nursery Rhyme in front of "everyone's moms and dads." She did it though, and did a great job at it. We're so proud.
I have to admit though - I cried. More than once. It's harder than I thought it would be to see my tiny girl growing up.

Day 136

Day 135

Day 134

This is what happens when Mom takes a day off - I get to wake up to toys all over the place (because we were too tired to get the kids to clean up before bed) and dishes in the sink that date back to Breakfast in Bed. Can anyone guess how I spent my Monday? (aside from the usual laundry, of course)

Day 133

Mother's Day! My one goal for the day was to get a good photo of me with the kids. It didn't happen, despite us trying and trying two different times - I'm still sad about that part.
Kaitlyn has been planning her surprise for at least 2 weeks, and many times the past week I was instructed to "sleep in until the sun is up" this morning. Hmm...wonder what they were planning?! Kaitlyn woke up at 6:30, right about the time Sam was going to wake her up to help him with breakfast (also per her instructions). He said I should have seen her face as she stumbled out of bed - all rumpled and bleary-eyed but determined to be awake so she could surprise me. My wonderful little sweetheart. They made me pink waffles, and Kaitlyn carried it in to me on her tray, along with a potted flower tree. I spent the whole 20 minutes listening to them bang things about and try to keep my eyes closed :)
Once we were all up and going we headed down to have brunch with Sam's family. And the evening was spent with my family. We went down to the city to treat Mom to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
It was a really great day - except (and I will bug him about this forever) we were so tired when we got home that Sam never washed the breakfast dishes.

Day 132

Kaitlyn has been wanting "squishy pretzels" (the big, soft, yummy ones) a lot lately. We bought a couple boxes of frozen ones and she went through those pretty quickly. So Sam found a recipe online and they whipped some up from scratch. I'm happy to report they turned out really well.
The rest of our Saturday was spent shopping for Mother's Day presents (in the morning) and I got to go to a movie with my family (at night) while Sam and the kids stayed home.

Day 131

Don't we all wish we could bottle their energy?

Day 130

Day 129

Poor Kaitlyn was throwing up this morning - like every 10 minutes. But by the end of 2 hours it had subsided and she was requesting popcorn. And she was fine from that point on. Baffling. Must have been something upsetting her stomach, but I decided to Lysol everything just in case. Actually, Katy did the spraying - she loves that job.

Day 128

My mom has been out of town for a few days so after naptime I took the kids over there for some grandma time. Turns out that Dad was in the middle of one of his projects - this time making headgates with some extra cement a truck had - and I got sucked into helping him out because the cement was drying too fast. Smoothing the concrete was another first for me and I was really not dressed for it. I also ended up with a few almost-blisters. (Sam had NO sympathy - the brat) But we got it done and I guess they will be functional when they dry.
Then the kids wanted to go for a 4 wheeler ride and the 3 of us ended up having a watergun fight while Mom and Dad were getting ready to go feeding (and on the 4 wheeler). I think I won :)
The kids got to spend some time with their dad, alone while I went to my cousin's (Santay) bridal shower. It's nuts that this child I used to babysit is getting married! Anyone else really starting to feel their age?

Day 127

Kaitlyn's craving for today was a "fruit shake" (yogurt smoothie). Ty thought it worked better as finger paints.

Day 126

Don't ask. I don't know what he's doing either.

Day 125

It was a rainy/overcast day and the kids ended up having a "pajama day." They only changed out of the pjs at night, in order to put clean ones on. And I'm not sure what the trick was, but the kids were the BEST they have been in a long time. They played a lot on their own, in seperate rooms, which probably contributed, but still - I was amazed and very happy.
The slippers are from Christmas but today was the first time I was able to get Ty to wear them. So glad they weren't a waste of money after all.

Day 124

Ok so he hasn't been like this ALL day. But more than one episode in a day is certainly enough to drive any Mom crazy. And Ty is definitely in the thick of the 2 Year Old Whining - or in Ty's case crying. A lot. For no reason, or very little reason. Let's hope it's a phase he gets through quickly.