LOVE TIMES FOUR

??? thermometer ???

2011-06-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

I’m not prepared. My daughter is sick. Being the person that is home and having a husband that is pretty busy I usually stock up on all the items you need for a sick kid/me (7up, juice, chicken noodle soup, apple sauce, meds, banana’s, bread, frozen popsicles). We keep most everything for the BRAT diet. That way when someone gets sick we have it and I’m not wondering how to take a sick child to the store. Well, today I am not prepared. Since we just moved, and let me note everything is unpacked I still can’t find the thermometer. So I am sitting here wondering about the unknown. How sick will she be when she wakes? Will we be able to make it to the store? When will I have the friendships here that I left behind in MO where it was apparent that everyone was there for each other at a drop of the hat? I could simply pick up the phone and ask for help. And mostly… why wasn’t I prepared… oh yeah… it’s summer… not sick season.

New Home

2011-06-16T07:17:00.000-07:00

A new home or should I say a 14 year old home offers a lot of work.

I didn’t originally like the house. Eric completely talked me into it and I had hesitations all the way up to our first week here. He told me after a week I would love it here and he was right. I love it here now.

Our backyard backs up to a beautiful forest and a creek. The trees are very mature and reach about 40 to 50 feet high. They originally draped down to about 4 feet from the ground so we cut a number of branches off so we could enjoy the beauty of the forest and see the remainder of the backyard. We also hung a swing and a rope for the kids.

Inside the rooms were kind of small so we decided to take out half the wall to open it up. I’m sure many of you have heard me say how awesome my father-in-law is but again he’s amazing and I’m so blessed he taught his kids/Eric how to do a number of things. Both Jack and Eric sat down for a few hours and constructed a plan to take the wall out. A few days later we started the project. We are so close to finishing. We are mudding, sanding, painting and adding molding and a shelf. Then it will be complete and it’s beautiful already.

We found these bugs which we originally thought were flees but lucky for us they turned out to be Springtails. You all know how I like bugs. We had the bugs examined to determine what they were and the best way to treat the area. Then my husband went to work finding the nest of the Springtails and spraying. He found a few nest. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more.

The carpets were pretty discussing. I guess we didn’t notice how bad they were when we came out to find a place to live. Eric was allergic to something in the carpet and his hands would swell up after doing his workouts. For a few days he moved to the bathroom to do pushups and such. It was not long before we were shopping for carpet. Our new carpet is awesome and feels like silk.

Well that is what we have been up to. Mostly house projects.

What we love about the house…
The sunroom – wow didn’t know how awesome these were.
The backyard - breathtaking
Remodel - ½ wall being cut down – more space
The kitchen, the playroom, the living room.
The laundry room being on the same floor as the bedrooms.
The layout of upstairs.
My kids laughing and playing and loving it.
The neighbors and all the kids
Swimming pool a few doors down.
We will have a paycheck to pay our mortgage.

Thankful

2011-04-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

There are a few things in life where I actually take a step back and hand everything over to my husband that is related to the family. We love doing things together. I love being in the middle and helping out in matters and listening to whatever the topic is and yes having my say too.

But I have to say that when it comes to owning a home he is the one that truly makes it happen. I am the one that would be perfectly happy renting a apartment for the rest of our life. I guess it comes to trust (from the current owners) and risk. I am not a risk taker when it comes to homes. If there is any risk I would rather back out.

My husband on the other hand makes the process of owning a home look easy. He takes it by the horns. I have told him many times today that I am so grateful that he is taking over on this because I would have put my foot down at the beginning. He returns by telling me that if it were not for me he would let a lot slide so I guess we are a good pair. But all in all… I am so thankful for him being the man of this house and dealing with everything.

Expensive piece of furniture

2011-04-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Yep, that is what I feel for. I have been searching for a certain piece to turn a dining room into a playroom. My whole idea was to come up with something from Pottery Barn without purchasing the “name” itself. I spent hours looking for the right piece that could pull off what I had in mind. And you know what…. My awesome father-in-law will be making my dream into a reality. I’m so excited that I just had to share. Here is a picture of it…. I can’t wait!

Life has been busy!

2011-04-23T17:17:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy! I spent many hours researching schools, homes and the Greenville area. We spent last week there and were greeted by a wonderful family who happens to be a resident at Greenville Memorial Hospital. They were ever so kind and took us in and shared their beautiful home with us. We spent all day with our realtor, traveling the town and becoming accustomed to the surroundings. After walking through 20 plus homes and about 5 apartment complexes we made a offer on a home and have a signed contract.

In 2 weeks, Eric will complete medical school. In 3 ½ weeks our family will be here to celebrate Eric and his accomplishments as a DOCTOR. My husband will be a Doctor! Looking back I have to say that the last 4 years have flown by. That anyone can do this. But in reality, I know there were times that were slower and harder than others.

Perks about Greenville…
1. My family/friends are coming to visit.
2. Sweet wine.
3. My brother and cousin Ash are a hop and skip away.
4. We will have a pay check.
5. My hubby and kids are there.
6. New memories will be made.
7. It’s God’s plan.

On top of spaghetti...

2011-01-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

On top of spaghetti
All covered cheese
I lost my poor meatball
When someone sneezed.

This song filled our house a few weeks back. We are big readers here and that so happened to be one of the books that we checked out. Around the same time, one of my friends posted a recipe for meatballs. I have never been a fan of meatballs and have never had any inclination to make them. But with the power of my kid’s musical voices and the responses of thanks and appreciation my friend received from posting her recipe I thought that one day I would have to make those meatballs.

That day came… and for anyone that is interested… spaghetti will never be the same. Who eats spaghetti without meatballs, anyways???

Oh ya… US!

Here is her blog/recipe if you just so happen, to want, to question, Who eats spaghetti without meatballs?

http://scottyandnatalie.blogspot.com/2010/12/wanna-meatball.html

M&M’s

2011-01-18T15:11:00.001-08:00

Did you know that M&M’s were given to given to soldiers in the World War II? They were a easy packed snack full of energy.

I would be very interested in how they advertised these in the 1940’s. Did they use the appeal of the war? I can’t seem to find anything on it.

For 7 years they were sold in cardboard tubes. Like these….

In 1954, the famous slogan of “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand" was introduced.

The history of advertising has always appealed to me. There is so much in marketing. It’s not just artwork but you have to understand you audience. If you are a good marketer you will know what your customers value but more importantly you will know how to create a demand to those customers.

Life Simplicities

2011-01-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

I have this new fascination of wearing eye makeup lately. (That’s another story… maybe I’ll get to it in another post.) My problem is that I have not found the right removal. The products that I have tried leave my eyes oily. It’s frustrating because I have those days, where a bubble bath is just the right thing after dinner. Perfect for relaxing. In which case, the eye makeup is removed but the oil remains.

Today, I was introduced to a new Simplicity. Ever since I was a child I was told do not get soap in your eyes. If I did it would burn and I would learn my lesson. Well the lesson today… My friends… is to grab that shampoo, rub it in your eye and your makeup will be removed, pain free and the best part… No oil left in your eyes. Can you believe it? Well, I do! I have not tried it but it’s on my next shopping list. What is it? You might ask…. Johnson and Johnson, No more Tears. Life is so much simpler than we give it credit for.

The next simplicity I am looking for is the cure to removing water marks on the glass shower… anyone??? I just know it’s out there… It must be and when I find it I’m sure my mouth is going to drop open and the same wonder will come over me.

Here’s a list of some of the simplicities I know of, off hand….
Sunscreen takes off Permanent mark
WD40 takes off crayon from paint.
Hairspray removes ink from fabric and furniture
Peanut butter is the key to separating gum from hair.

I would love to hear others Simplicities that are out there.

Genuineness

2011-01-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Madeline has always loved giving gifts but she really takes it to the heart. In the last year, she has started picking out her friends gifts. She loves the gifts that she picks out and really thinks of the person. I love that about her. But what I love more is what happens at night.

This afternoon, we wrapped Eric’s birthday gifts. Each of the kids picked out a special gift for Eric. They were a $1 but what matters are that they are from the heart. We came home and wrapped them. Madeline immediately said, “I am going to hide mine. Mom, want me to hide yours.” I said, “Sure.”

Fast forward till bedtime, Eric walks in and she is holding Eric’s gift, wrapped in Ironman paper (her choosing). She pulls the gift into bed with her and says dad, “I want to sleep with it. It’s your present daddy.”

She is pure genuine. So if you ever wonder after reading this if my daughter sleeps with your child’s birthday gift… the answer is yes. I’m sure it’s been hugged and kissed too. ;)

Hello

2011-01-17T15:29:00.000-08:00

I really don’t know if I have any readers any more. It’s been months since I last posted. Yes, that would have been Aug when my son went off to school. And though people might believe that when a child goes to school you get more time… WRONG. What happens is your world speeds up… you jump from a having a nice slow paced day with both of your children to realizing that you now have to get everything done before 4 o’clock so you can spend time with the child that you just gave to the school system. Don’t get me wrong the school system is great but from being a stay at home mom to giving up your child for 8 hours a day… well… lets just say it’s a huge adjustment. You might ask who the adjustment was for and if you are pointing your finger at my child you are wrong… just direct it to me! Yep… that’s right!

So here I am; 5 months later getting back on track. Funny hu? Well, there’s no excuses but just the plain old fact that this mama was sad and yes I would say maybe a little depressed but now I’m back, in full swing! And here I am! (Waving hello)

Boat Race

2010-08-21T03:53:00.000-07:00

First Kiss

2010-08-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

If they knew what they were doing I would call it a make-out session. Of course, after the initial shock, I had to get a picture of Maddie’s first kiss (I think this was the 5th) and then we stopped it. We might have to keep an eye on the two of them.

Kindergarten

2010-08-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

I like to think that this is his way of saying, “Mom, I got this.” When he got on the bus he said, “Mom, wave to me.”

Of course, I followed the bus and went to his class to make sure he made it. ;) The boy next to Caleb is Drew. He lives down the street. We do not know him very well but that will change will all the time they spend together.

End of the day... looks pretty happy. He ran straight for Eric gave him a hug and then looked for his friends. It was really cute!

Water Olympics

2010-08-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Mom put on water Olympics for the kids. They each had to participate in 3 events. They didn’t compete against each other but did events at their own levels. After their event, all the adults would score them. Everyone received 10’s. They were giving gold medals.
The kids were also given charts that included swimming, reading, learning and a few other things. The kids would get stars for each thing completed. Mom did a amazing job at putting this together!!!

5 hours a day in the pool or more…

2010-08-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

What a awesome time!!! We lived in or besides the pool from early morning hours till the evenings. Caleb regained all of his swimming skills and both kids excelled in the water. The videos below will show them doing flips into the pool. They also did back flips off of Papa. The whistle that Papa is wearing was a huge hit. All the kids loved to swim to him and blow it.

2010-07-27T04:59:00.000-07:00

It’s been a long time since I have posted anything. Eric has had the last 3 weeks off. Well honestly, he has had anatomy. He loves anatomy and is very good at it. He was able to make up his own schedule and he finished his dissection way before the 3 week marker so it is what I call vacation and it was awesome!!!

Posted below are random photos of the last 3 weeks… I forgot my camera on a number of them so I’m kind of bummed about that. Here’s the events from the last 3 weeks.
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We were at a BBQ/birthday party and the kids were having so much fun. All the boys were having so much fun. One time Caleb bounced out of the blow up and landed on the grass, hoped right back up and joined in on the fun. Caleb was getting so much air that Eric ran home to grab the camera. Madeline also loved the slip n slide and both kids got a kick out of the water balloons.

Caleb has been asking Eric to build a bird house for awhile now so Eric just had to build it with him. The spent a couple hours going to the store, measuring, cutting, and then building it. It was really cute to see them work on this together.

We have been having fun at the library. We picked up a book on how to build airplanes. They are intense airplanes that require a lot of direction, cutting and glue. Eric and caleb put these together.

Another book we picked up was how to draw. This is Caleb’ first official drawling. I’m seeing my side of the family in the picture.

We went to Castlewood State Park with Doria and her family. We had a picnic and enjoyed playing in the water. Eric and Caleb took off down stream and found all kinds of bugs and such.

DAMN YANKEES -THE MUNY
Eric and I had a awesome double date at The Muny. My friend’s husband was given 4 tickets from work and we were the lucky ones that went with them. We had a picnic dinner next to the water with live music and then we went inside to find that we were sitting in box seats. We watched Damn Yankees. It is now my favorite show and I am beside myself for living here for 3 years and not going before. The acting, singing, dancing, backdrops were amazing.

This is the first time we took the kids to the Sting Ray exhibit at the zoo. We were there for over a hour. The kids loved it!

Madelines loves butterflys!

Hermann, MO
We took off for the Pettijohn’s house. They live about 1 hour away from us now. We had a lovely weekend hanging out, swimming at their local pool, (the kids LOVED the diving board) and I put on Keely’s baby shower.

Madeline’s Dance Recital

2010-06-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

In the dressing room. She was pretty excited to get her hair and makeup done in here. She told me that she doesn’t like mascara because she can’t see. Daddy gave her those wonderful long eye lashes… one day she will LOVE them. She loves lipstick and was very happy to have that applied.

She was pretty darn excited when it was her turn. Her name was called and she made her way to the stage and started to climb it. She had a great time on stage dancing her little heart out. They danced to Wings (A childs gift to Lullabies and Do It Again (The Beach Boys) The video is not uploading so I will try it again in a few days.
Madeline is on the far left.

The finale was all the children dancing to I Got Feeling. Madeline is the 4th one in on the left

11 years

2010-06-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

We spent our morning running around doing our regular routine.

Madeline finished up her last dance class. Soon she will have a recital. How fun it that?

Then we signed the kids up for the reading program at the library. They only need to read 5 books which is already complete to get a goodie bag. But each time they check out books they get entered into a bigger drawling. I am going to try to have Caleb read his 5 books and well I guess Maddie is done because there is a lot of reading in this family.

Caleb’s Coach Pitch game was canceled. It seems to me that the coach really doesn’t want to coach and is just looking for way out of practice and the games. I’ve been thinking about calling and asking to be put on another team or for a refund.

We ran to Sam’s so Eric could get his much needed coffee.

Our AWESOME friends took the kids and we had a afternoon to ourselves. We watched a movie, Daybreakers cuddled up on the couch and then went to St. Louis Bread Company for dinner. St. Louis Bread Company is now my all time favorite! There salads, soups and bread are so yummy! We could see ourselves there together when we are old and grey eating lunch once a week.

Madeline’s swimming lessons

2010-06-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

We put Maddie in swim lesson to off set the time that Caleb would not be here. As you can see, she loves it! She is always the first kid up to jump into the teachers arms for a turn and even when it’s not her turn she tries hard to squeeze in. She gets away with it too because she is too darn cute! Today she was jumping all over the place and submerging her head solo. She is also the first one out of the pool before the time is up due to her being cold. When she is done, she is just done!

Treasure Hunt

2010-06-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I put together a map for the kids with lines and a X marking the spot that we were going to. Along the way they drew the surrounds that they saw and loved every minute of it. On their individual pictures you will find our home, trees, the sun, birds, a forest, cars, ice-cream (had to reward them), a fire truck and much more. I was so surprised at how much they put into their maps and was very impressed.

Pre-Kindergarten Summer School

2010-06-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

Caleb’s first day in pre-Kindergarten summer school. He was so excited about going. Yes, I cried a few times that day. I also followed the bus and waited until Caleb had enough time to find his classroom and then I walk inside the school and peaked in at him. Caleb loves school. He is so excited when he comes home to show us what he has done each day. He hides his work and Maddie and I have to close our eyes on the couch and wait for him to bring it over. He is just so overjoyed. He loves it! When he gets home he wants to color and is trying to write sentences out on his paper.

Catching Lighting Bugs

2010-06-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

The funniest thing I have seen in a long time is my son running after lighting bugs. I laughed so hard that night. The kids love catching their lighting bugs and they slept in their room with them that night.

Fishing with Daddy

2010-06-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Coach Pitch

2010-06-10T10:55:00.000-07:00

We moved Caleb up to Coach Pitch this year because he was taking over the field last year. Don’t get me wrong it was a lot of fun for him but I felt bad for the other players. Coach Pitch is from the ages of 5 to 7 and let me tell you a 7 year old is BIG. The few 5 year olds are pretty small. Caleb is still enjoying playing.

Butterfly House

2010-06-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

The butterfly house is pretty small but we still spend hours there watching butterfly’s fly, learning, exploring and playing. Madeline especially loves butterfly’s and has been talking about them non-stop for weeks.

Giving Time = More Time

2010-06-04T05:02:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I’m in a hurry I end up rushing the kids. Yesterday we stopped by Stop in Save and Caleb was asking for the car cart. He wanted to walk back into the parking lot and show me. I really wanted to say “Come on, Caleb. We are in a hurry” but I didn’t. We took a few extra minutes to see what he was talking about. It ended up being exactly what he was asking for... a shopping cart that was a car. Can you tell we never go to Shop in Save? The kids jumped into it and loved it. It made the whole shopping experience fast, smooth and easy.

Note to self: Sometimes giving time, gives you more time in the end.

My boy

2010-06-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

My little boy will soon be going to kindergarten. I can’t help wonder if I have been a good mom to him. I know this is silly but I just have to wonder. The last 5 years I have been at home with him 24/7 and I just can’t help wondering if I have made every moment count. If I have taken all the things that have mattered to him and made them into something BIG. Something that he can hold onto, remember and know that his mommy loves him even though I am not with him as he adventures out to Kindergarten.

Virus

2010-06-01T17:07:00.000-07:00

This past week our laptop got a computer virus and not just a simple one. We used our nifty AVG to try to remove it. It got rid of a lot of the problem but not the virus that really mattered. I was beginning to worry about certain documents that were on the laptop (resident research and our budget.) Lucky, I found The Computer Guys who were awesome and corrected the problem and my computer is back to normal!

Good bye HuGe virus; don’t come again.

Backyard Camping

2010-05-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

We went camping… if you can call it that. Though as I always say “it’s not camping unless you have Smore’s.” We had the Smore’s and the tent so I think that counts. We set the tent up and the kids played in it for hours. They were so excited to sleep in it that it took awhile to get to sleep. In the middle of the night Madeline said, “Mom, I’m done with this.” We went inside and slept the remainder of the night. Caleb and Daddy slept there all night long.

Building Cars – Lowes

2010-05-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

The kids ask me all the time when we are going to Lowes to build something. They really enjoy these projects and if they are really into the outcome they will play with whatever they made for the remainder of the day and continue into the week.

Today we built cars, places stickers on them, painted them at home and had race after race.

Grocery Store – Magic House

2010-05-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

Magic House

2010-05-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

Sand Castle Fun – Magic House

2010-05-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

We could have spent all afternoon here. I am looking forward to going back with a good book. Sitting in their lounge chair and sinking my feet into the sand and letting the kids play, play, play. We had a lot of fun in the sand. In one of the pictures below you can see our want-to-be castle.

Last Day of Preschool

2010-05-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

Caleb is so ready to be done. He has told his teacher over and over again with excited actions, gestures and expressions that he ready to go to Kindergarten. It has made me feel a little sorry for his preschool teacher having to hear his excitement for leaving. He has truly concluded his preschool years and is eager to move on.

Does it get better than this for kids going to bed???

2010-05-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Caleb’s School Picnic

2010-05-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Caleb had a blast at his school picnic. The kids had a sack race, don’t drop the egg, hot potato, the parachute and a number of other activities. During it I told Caleb that I was having so much fun with him and he said that he was too. I asked him what his favorite game was up to that point and he said the one that I had to put a ball in-between my legs and hop across the grass. It just touches my heart to see my child having so much fun with is mommy and for me to be a part of his life.

Water Play

2010-05-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Caleb got this new water toy for his birthday. It’s great not only do the kids have fun but it’s also awesome at watering the lawn. Love duel purpose gadgets.

Caleb's Spring Program

2010-05-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

The Tent

2010-05-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Friends

2010-05-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

Target Practice

2010-05-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Each night before we read to the kids we let the kids pick out a game to play. Sometimes it chase, hind in go seek, or they choose a board game (they love board games) but lately it’s been a nerf shooting game that Caleb got for his birthday. The guys are pretty darn cute in this picture.

Mini Golf and Cars

2010-05-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

Sushi

2010-05-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have been craving Sushi for a couple of months now so I got up the ambition and made some. Oh my… it’s really good and I think I will be making more this week.

Caleb's 5th Birthday Party

2010-05-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

Caleb picked everything out for his birthday from the games, to the cake topper all the way to the balloons. It was a lot of fun letting him decided what he wanted to for his birthday and to watch the excitement in it all. He chose to play tag, play with water balloons and hit a piñata.

2010-05-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Master Furniture

2010-04-25T18:35:00.000-07:00

This was original a light soft oak stain. It was beautiful but we were interested in something darker. So I of course got to work. This project seemed to last forever! I had a dresser with 9 drawers, a night stand, a desk, a chair and a mirror. Oh, I was pretty darn excited when it was done!

Caleb's dresser

2010-04-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

This was Eric and I second project. This was originally a dark a cherry stain. We decided to make it lighter. For the knobs, I went to Michaels and purchased wooden cutouts, painted them and outlined the paint with a black permanent marker. Eric drilled a hole in the middle and placed them behind the knobs. I don’t have a picture of the dresser beforehand.

Madeline's Dresser

2010-04-25T18:15:00.001-07:00

I was originally going for a soft oak stain but ended up painting it white which I really like. For the knobs, I used fake flowers behind the wooden balls that I painted white. The colors in the flowers bring out the colors in her bedspread. This dresser is especially special due to it being passed down in the family.

Before Picture

Finished Piece

Easter

2010-04-06T17:31:00.000-07:00

We decided to stay home from church this year. Eric explained the resurrection to the children and it was lovely hearing him lead the children in this understanding. The Easter bunny made a stop here and it was all we could do to get the kids in some clothing before going out doors. We had a nice day at home, did a couple of crafts, dyed Easter eggs and had a amazing lunch at Sho-gun. The kids love to eat hard boiled eggs and after dyeing them they only lasted about 3 hours and they were all gone.

April 2nd – Turing 3

2010-04-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

Madeline birthday was on Friday so we decided to make her a special breakfast… her choosing… chocolate chip pancakes. We sang her happy b-day and then she open family gifts.

Madeline 3rd Birthday Party

2010-04-06T13:04:00.000-07:00

As many people know Madeline just loves princesses. So we put a princess party on for her. I even dressed up for her. The kids made tiaras and the boys crowns. We played a parachute game with a king size sheet. Madeline loved the princess cake I made for her and truly enjoyed opening all of her gifts.

Mommy and daughter matching… Cinderella’s

Madeline loved her princess cake! Can you tell?

Impressed

2010-03-27T08:58:00.000-07:00

That about sums it up! :) All the girls in Madeline’s dance class are under 3. All the girls except 2 had been in it during the fall lessons. I was told in December by a friend that she was amazed what Mrs. Trish could do with the girls at this age and I have to say that after today I am pretty darn impressed. These girls are doing dance moves and they are all doing them together.

Madeline decided that she wanted to be tinkle bell today so she really stands out in the green.

Bike Rides

2010-03-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting warmer which means we are outside. When we were outside last year we would hang in the drive way as the kids played in front of the house and go for walks where the kids would ride besides my friend and I. This year I kind of feel that it’s not enough. The kids need a open path to take off on. They love to peddle fast and fast they go. Now instead of the leisure walks I have taken up leisure bike rides. I have a great friend that I walk with and I’m really not sure how we are going to be able to walk when the kids need to just burn some energy, cut loose and ride. It amazes me how fast they are going and to just watch them ride makes me realize how fast they are growing up.

Rewards

2010-03-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Colgate had a really cool promotion going on where the kids could click on stars for items that they completed… brushing teeth, reading a book and washing their hands. This lasted 2 months. We put it in their bedtime routine at night and the kids loved it and have been looking forward to the reward at the end… a toothbrush. The promotion ended in December so I went to the store and got toothbrushes for them, boxed them up and waited until the postman came. Caleb has been running to the mailbox the last few days awaiting their toothbrushes so the kids are pretty excited to have finally received their package.

Highlights from our week

2010-03-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

I thought I would try to start to do highlights from our weeks since there are so many moments that touch my heart.

Madeline went poo poo on the potty tonight. HUGE party here!!! We celebrated with suckers… Madeline’s choice. After all the dancing, praising and congrats she was pretty proud of herself. Hopefully she will remember how amazing it is to go on the potty.

I took the kids on a bike ride this week. I thought I would just walk it like I did last year but was presently surprised that I ended up walking, jogging and running the whole thing. Yesterday, I dusted off my bike and we all went for a ride. It made me think of all the times mom (janice) would take us for bike rides. It also made me realize that my kids are growing up. I look forward to biking as a family. Though I’m really not quite sure what I will do with my leisure walking. Humm…. Might have to go out in the evenings for that one.

At B&N this week, Caleb happened to come across the book, “How to Train a Dragon.” He really wanted to take it home and read it but I told him the same response I give him every time… we will check it out from the library the next time we are there. Today we went to the library and he asked for it. I didn’t write down the author so we had to ask a librarian about the author and she said there might be a wait since the movie just came out. As soon as we found it, Caleb grabbed it and said, “mom, we found it. We found it mom” as he jumped up and down. It was really cute. I love how the kids are really getting into books.

Colgate had a really cool promotion going on where the kids could click on stars for items that they completed… brushing teeth, reading a book and washing their hands. We put it in their bedtime routine at night and the kids loved it and have been looking forward to the reward at the end… a toothbrush. They are so excited to get them in the mail. Well, tonight was the final night of 8 weeks of clicking the stars. We made a huge deal out of it and were so excited to see what our winnings were to discover that the promotion ended in Dec 2009. Bummer… They will still be getting their toothbrushes in the mail as soon as I get them and throw them in the mailbox when the kids are not looking. The kids liked this so much that I need to find something that they can click and do.
http://www.colgate.com/app/HealthyHabits/US/EN/HomePage.wsp

We gave away our patio table today. A friend’s husband came and pick it up. The kids and I watched Eric and the husband take it to the truck through the window. Caleb was really upset that we were getting rid of it. I told him that we had not used it in years and it was just taking up space. He starting crying and said we used it when he was 3. I stop, thought for a moment and said on your birthday and he said yes. The memory of his 3rd birthday came to mind. We made Spiderman masks on it. Eric walked in and Caleb proceeded to tell him that he wanted the table and he last used it when he was 3. Eric replied… Caleb that was 2 years ago. He eventually got over it but what an attachment.

Free Table

2010-03-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Orchid Show

2010-03-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

Hair bow holder

2010-03-08T05:09:00.000-08:00

It just tickles me pink how cute this turned out. I got a really cute frame (the one in the picture) last summer but all I knew was that it would be great in Madleine’s room. This weekend I came across this idea so I re-painted it white and found a great ribbon that brings out all of Madeline colors in her room. It turned out so cute that I thought I would leave it just as it was but this morning I put her hair bows on it to see what it would look like. I just think it’s adorable!!!

Take 2 – Ciabatta Bread

2010-03-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

I decided to go again with the bread. This time I made my 2 loafs completely different from each other. The first I followed the recipe to a T. The second I decided to have some fun with a few different spices and WOW… I DID IT. I created the taste I was looking for. I am so happy and pleased!

Princess, Tea and Make-up Party

2010-03-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful girl party yesterday. We invited just a couple of Madeline’s friends over. Madeline was so excited to have them here to play, do make-up and have tea.

Pretty Princess

Madeline was fascinated with herself in the mirror.

The girls absolutely loved applying their eye shadow, blush and then we helped them with the lipstick. They were sure beautiful and so proud of themselves! If you look closely at the pictures you can see the darker eye shadow, in lines, across the girls faces. Way to cute right!?!?!?

We then had a Tea Party. They were able to (with help) pour their tea and milk into their cup and spoon some sugar into it. Maddie had like 8 cups of tea. They really enjoyed it. Before, between and after the girls ran around being girls, enjoying each other and us mama’s had a really nice time chatting.

As you can see Caleb is not in the pictures… he is at school. I wanted to do something special for Madeline since I have done some one on one dates with Caleb. It was so much fun and I can’t wait to do it again. It just blessed my heart to watch these girls.

Cravings… Ciabatta Bread

2010-03-05T09:59:00.000-08:00

A dear friend of mine made this wonderful, delightful, heavenly bread and if anyone knew me before a young adult there were two things I couldn’t live without… chocolate ice cream and sour dough bread. These two things were eaten by me, devoured and simply didn’t last long in our house.

Back to my story… I just happened to be at her house after she had baked a loaf and ever since I ate a slice, it is what I have been thinking about non-stop. I have even been simply clicking on her blog just to look at it… yes I am abscessed with this bread and you can see a lovely picture of it here http://scottyandnatalie.blogspot.com/2010/02/conversation.html.

I decided to try my hand at it and this is what came from it (picture below). I found two recipes on the internet and intertwined a few things to come up with mine. It was pretty yummy. I’m looking forward to making some homemade sour dough bread but I just have to get this one right first.

Bowling

2010-03-01T05:05:00.000-08:00

The kids went to a Bowling birthday party. It was their first time bowling and they really enjoyed it. I found it really interesting that both of them wanted the heaviest ball which I think was a 8 or 9 lb ball. I’m really surprised Maddie didn’t drop it on her toes. Caleb loved to throw and really got into the game. He even had a strike. Maddie need help pushing the ball and just wanted to roll the ball and didn’t care about the outcome. It was really cute to watch both of them. I have also discovered to not have pizza at any of Madeline party’s because it’s her favorite and she will sit there for over a hour cramming pizza into her tummy and not caring what is happening around her.

Cheese It’s

2010-02-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to put a plug out for Cheese It’s. They are making letter’s now. On the back of the box you can find this awesome scrabble game.

Papa & Nana…

2010-02-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

...visit was full of love, laughter, fun and the kids saying, “Papa lets go down stairs and wrestler.” We celebrated my parent’s 22nd wedding anniversary and Valentine’s Day. Time always fly’s with them.

Mommy and Son Date - Ice Skating

2010-02-21T05:34:00.000-08:00

When we signed up for the Magic House they were doing a promotion and we ended up with 2 free ice skating tickets. Thanks Brian and Daisy!!! As many of you know Caleb LOVES ice skating so it was the perfect mommy/son date. The day had a few bumps in the road due to Madeline’s friend being sick when we showed up to drop her off but lucky one of my sweet, dear friends took Madeline in with minutes’ notice. Thanks a bunch girl! Anyhow, back to our date. It was awesome. I have come to the conclusion that if I EVER want to put a smile on my sons face just to take him skating. He was smiling and laughing the whole time. This smile was the full open wide smile to… the whole time. I loved seeing him enjoying something so much. We laughed so much and the kids doesn’t mind falling, laughs at the challenge and gets right back up and enjoys. (He gets that from his mommy). While we were skating Caleb did a whole turn. I don’t think he meant to but I was sure darn surprised to see that he did it with ease. He also decided that he wanted to skate like his mommy so he turned around and went backwards and didn't fall might I add. Our date was a lot of fun.

Madeline Dance/Valentines Party

2010-02-21T05:21:00.000-08:00

Madeline had a little Valentine party at her dance class. They had dance class and then decorated these hearts. I have to say that I am really impressed with Ms. Trish. She loves children and it really shows. She totally gets on a 2 yr olds level and gets them to dance and do certain posses by using all kinds of prompts. Last week it was a Barbie. Maddie really enjoys her class. She runs up and is ready to go. Once they begin she likes to watch but has a smile on her face. Once she gets warmed up she is hoping, jumping and dancing around. It is really cute to watch her.

Caleb's Valentine's Party

2010-02-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

Another mother and I were in charge of the Valentine’s Party for Caleb’s class. We decorated cookies that Caleb and Madeline helped me make. I placed frosting and heart decor in bowls and the kids used plastic knifes to decorate their cookies and then ate them. Caleb’s teacher said it was the first time the classroom was that quiet. We played musical chairs using heart cut outs. When the music stopped the kids had to lift the heart up to see what letter they had. The letter that we called out won candy… of course all the kids won one. Then we did a really cute craft. The kids weaved their ribbon through the holes around the heart. Then we painted their hands and they placed them in the middle. All the kids had a good time.

Playing School

2010-02-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of Caleb. Check out what he is doing.

Kids being Potato Heads

2010-02-10T15:14:00.000-08:00

Should I say more...

Bird Feeders

2010-02-10T15:10:00.000-08:00

The kids ended up making birdfeeders from their classes. They were so excited to put them out so the birds could eat their makings. You should have heard Madeline talking up a storm about how birds were going to eat what she made. It was really cute.

They are both hanging off the trees that are next to them. Hopefully it will warm up again so the birds will come back.

First Dance Class

2010-02-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Madeline actually got to wear her new dancing shoes out of the house today. It was heart melting and just too darn cute to watch her warm up to her new class. Soon enough she started hoping, dancing and having a lot of fun. Honestly, my eyes filled with tears many times as Eric just smiled at me with love.

Fire Station

2010-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

My best friend from High School gave us a tour of his fire station.

Suicide Hill

2010-01-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

Eric grew up sledding here and really wanted to take the kids

Ice Skating with Santa

2010-01-11T13:09:00.000-08:00

We had a fun few hours of ice skating with Santa. Madeline loved to be pushed holding the bucket and Caleb needed some help but ½ way through they picked it up and skated. Once they got the hang of skating time flew. After skating we stayed and watched a Christmas holiday performance in the rink.

Christmas

2010-01-11T12:47:00.000-08:00

I have so many Christmas pictures that I’m really not sure where to begin so I am just sharing a few. We had a great time hanging out with family and friends.

Christmas Crafts

2010-01-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

Caleb's & Scott's Day (Grandparents Day)

2009-11-24T17:21:00.000-08:00

Caleb had Grandparents day at his school. Since all of the Grandparents are out of town I asked him who he would like to have and he said Scott. Scott is our next door neighbor and he was so graciously willing to go to Caleb’s school and support him. I have to tell everyone that Caleb loves Scott. When he see’s him outside he talks about him until he is asleep. So Caleb was extra excited today to go to school because he knew that he got to hang out with Scott. I can’t begin to tell everyone how much I appreciated him stepping up and making my little boy smile. Just seeing the Joy from Caleb made me one happy mom. Here are some pictures that Scott took.

Caleb and Scott

Caleb and Alex.

Caleb served Scott muffins and ice-cream

Getting ready to go on stage

The kids sung 14 songs.

The Zoo

2009-11-03T04:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful so I decided to take the kids to the Zoo. We met a SAHD (stay at home dad) Kevin that is part of one of the playgroups that we are in. We walked the Zoo together. Caleb missed his son Gavin (now in school) but we had a nice time and it was very nice to walk the Zoo with someone else.

Below are 2 videos of the kids playing in the leaves.

The 31st

2009-11-03T04:30:00.000-08:00

We hooked up with a friend in the neighborhood and went door to door. The kids LOVED all the candy that they received. We trick or treated for about 1 ½ hours and then all of us were getting cold. We asked the kids if they wanted to go a little more and to our surprise they said that they wanted to go home. We were really impressed so we went home, finished dinner, handed out candy and took a really warm bath so they could warm up. It was a nice night.

The kids got another hayride. They were so excited and talked about it until they went to bed. They really enjoy those hayrides.

Fall Harvest Festival

2009-11-03T04:24:00.000-08:00

On the 30th we took the kids to a Fall Harvest Festival that was run through a Baptist church that Caleb plays soccer through. I also know the kids pastor wife from the bible study that I attend at my church. Eric and I decided to take the kids and they had so much fun. We all had pizza for dinner; the kids played in bouncy houses, played games for candy and had a hay ride. The kids LOVE hayrides!

B&N storytime

2009-10-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Halloween Performance

2009-10-30T11:09:00.002-07:00

Caleb was so excited to find that 2 other boys in his class were also Spiderman. Check out the school performance. As you can see Madeline also likes to play Spiderman.

Party

2009-10-30T11:09:00.001-07:00

We went over to a friends house so all of the kids could play in their costumes. We had a wonderful lunch, decorated cupcakes and pumpkins. All the kids had a good time.

Making Pizza

2009-10-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Art with Wine Quarks

2009-10-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

library story time

2009-10-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Carving Pumpkins

2009-10-29T14:56:00.000-07:00

Caleb has been asking for days to carve the pumpkins. We actually started out with 2 of them but one of them rotted. Caleb drew the face and was so proud of it. Madeline liked to play with the seed just like last year. Once the pumpkin was complete Caleb awed over it and was very proud. Madeline also really like it too.

Mini Pumpkin Pies (YUM)

2009-10-29T14:47:00.000-07:00

Yummy, Pumpkin Pie. This year we decided to make mini pies. Mostly because I had already used ½ the can for pumpkin/chocolate chip muffins. Anyhow, the kids LOVED working the dough, using the bowl to make the pie crust fit into the muffin pan and the cut outs of the shapes. The kids enjoyed preparing the pies more than eating them. Eric and I ate pretty much all of them and enjoyed each and every bite. I can’t wait to make them again.

Theis Farm

2009-10-25T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last year I learned of Theis Farm but never made it there. One of my friends went 4 times and now I know why. If this was not the last week I would definitely take the kids again. We played there for 3 hours. They had a corn maze, 2 hay mazes (that you needed a flash light for but we had Eric:), a zip line, pedal tractors for the kids to ride on, a hayride, swings that were made out of recycled tires that look like horses, animals, and more.

The pirate boat that the kids loved. On the deck they could crawl down a later and run through the boat and come up on the other side.

Caleb loved the Zip Line

Eric thought it would be fun if we both did the zip line together. I was all sport about it but honestly I totally hesitated when it was our turn. That is a lot of trust you give a rope when you jump off and glide. I kept thinking… my son is watching I better jump and enjoy. But here is a picture of Eric and I am hesitating for a few seconds.

Proof that I made it through.

Villa Antonio Winery

2009-10-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to go to Hermann but we were not sure if Caleb was coming down with something or not so we decided to stay around home. Eric really had his heart set on going to a winery so we did just that. After a soccer game and building Frankenstein’s at Lowes we headed out for a picnic to a place that is noted for being one of Saint Louis best kept secrets, Villa Antonio Winery. It was really beautiful!!! Eric and I decided to do their wine tasting but they had it set up that we could walk around and enjoy things and return for our next sample. It was so peaceful and enjoyable that we were there for 3 hours and it took those three hours to complete the sampling. I think we end up with 3 to 4 glass of wine by the end of it. The kids were with us but they were having such a wonderful time that it was perfect. They loved running around and finding new things to explore. We saw butterfly’s, grasshoppers, a caterpillar, ducks and a goose. We found deer foot prints that Caleb was really excited about. We found another set of prints that took us a long time to figure out they were Caleb’s soccer cleats. Ha, ha, ha… we all had a good laugh at that one. Oh and live music. It was a really good day.

Frankenstein

2009-10-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Roughhousing with Daddy

2009-10-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

A little girl…

2009-10-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

...coming out. Madeline found a blush brush today so she has been playing makeup with her teddy bear. Too cute, not to take the picture.

Officer Caleb

2009-10-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

Have I told everyone how much I love Caleb’s school. They had police officers come to the school and talk to the kids. They went outside and were able to see the police car and hear the siren go off. Caleb also became a officer himself. They made police hats and badges with their pictures on them. All day he was known as Officer Caleb.

Date Night

2009-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

We went on a amazing date… to the Melting Pot. One night when my parents were here they sent us off for a date. It was so nice of them and we truly enjoyed our night out. It was our first time at the Melting Pot and it was totally amazing, so much fun and wonderful, yummy food. We had fun making our food and ate so so so much. It was a lovely time.

Batman

2009-10-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Batman PJ's, homemade mask and cape from 6 flags = BATMAN

Decorating cookies

2009-10-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

The kids had so much fun eating (oh, I mean making/decorating) cookies with their friends. Ok… I meaning mostly eating the yummy stuff but they did do some decorating too.

Beautiful gymnast

2009-10-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Madeline is just way to cute. She love gymnastics and has so much fun in her class.

For those who are not aware Madeline does this on her own and everyone is very impressed because kids her age can’t do this. (above)

One cold morning…

2009-10-21T12:47:00.000-07:00

Caleb had a soccer game. We bundled up with many layers. Eric of course being the CO boy that he is made a few jokes with the way we were dressed. On the way out of the house I asked Eric to grab some blankets which only bestowed upon future stories of when the family goes hunting together. It was kind of funny but I do prefer to be warm and not freeze. I was very happy to see when we arrived at the game that every other mother had blankets draped around themselves and their children but I do have to say that Eric was just fine, happy to be in the brisk fresh air. He was the only man not shriving.

Caleb played a good game. There team is kind of ruff. They all go for the ball at the same time which cause a little bit of a issue when the kids trip over each other and such. But they get back up and continue to play. Caleb really enjoys soccer and is excited to see his teammates and play the game.

2009-10-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Madeline having a blast at gymnastics…

Caleb sits here in the chair and practices whatever learning objective I have put into the folder. I put the papers in plastic pages and he uses a dry eraser marker so we can reuse the pages. They are mostly abc, numbers, matching, and colors. He has mastered the majority of what I have him working on so I’m going to have to find some other stuff cause he digs it.