Stories

This morning I went into the kids' bedroom as soon as I heard them talking to each other. I was scared that Josiah would wreck more of the room or worse, hurt himself by trying to jump off the changing table.

As it turns out, I was too late. Even though I was in their room a half hour earlier than I usually am, the remote was confiscated, the toys were thrown from the cribs and there he was, perched on the changing table saying "button, button". Oh my crazy monkey.

Once we were out in the living room and diapers were changed, I made the decision not to put on our morning Sesame Street. I gathered all the books on the shelf and one by one we read through them though none were more interesting to them than Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

After playing for quite some time, I put on the movie Happy Feet. Since the kids (especially Lilly love music and love to dance) I though it could be a new favorite. Lilly started freaking out once the music came on. It was adorable. We twirled and tapped around the room. Even Josiah was dancing and waving his arms. In between the movie, I bathed them and gave them a pretzel for snack. They ate as much as they dropped on the floor.

Towards the end of the movie, I escaped for a -super- quick shower then packed everyone in the car. It was too muggy to do our walk outside, so we power walked around the mall with a much needed stop at Annie Anne's Pretzels. The snack we shared was delicious. The kids must've thought so too because they polished off their half and most of mine!

Once home, we ate a quick lunch. That was the uneventful part of the day.

About 5 minutes after I put a (very) tired Josiah down I heard him banging at his door.

(SIGH)

I rewrapped him and in a precious miracle he fell asleep on my shoulder. As soon as I laid him down Jack streaked in, jumped on the changing table and meowed loudly. Up went Josiah.

(Darn it)

I rewrapped him again and laid him down. Screaming.

I ran down to the car and grabbed the pack n' play to set up in our room for Lilly. She was about as cooperative as Josiah.

About 40 minutes later I sat down to eat lunch. It wasn't even 2:00 yet. Yikes.

Sorry I don't have any pictures today. We're excited to visit with my parents tomorrow. It's always a good time when we're up there!

Hot Air Balloon

Several years ago while we were dating, Steve and I went on a hot air balloon ride for Christmas.

It was amazing.

On our ride home today I saw one floating through the sky. I'm so lucky to be married to a man like Steve.

Pictures from the last several days:

Lilly passed out in her crib

Celebrating at our friend's wedding

Our friends, Bryan and Kerri

Watching Sesame Street with daddy

Eating at one of our favorite places, Famous Daves!

She loves to wear her bandana from daddy!

I cut the kids' hair the other day. Thank goodness it went smoothly!

At Wegmans for lunch

Now look who wants to be cool!

After I unloaded the groceries, Lilly confiscated all the bags and played with them for about 20 minutes.

Kitchen helper

We scrubbed the carpet under our table (it was gross) and purchased an area rug. On bad days, the kids dump their plates on the ground and on good days they miss most of what's supposed to go in their mouth.

SWIMMING!

Exhausted.

Found them like this after naptime...

With the slates out of the blinds.

Trying the slide by herself...

He loves the to play with the garden hose

for the love of summer

From 8-2 pm, I worked like mad; laundering, folding, storing, sorting, vacuuming, scrubbing and cooking our way towards a productive week. The kids and I played and read together, but for the majority of the morning they were on their own, laughing and wresting with each other. After days and days of running around, it was so nice to be productive at home!

At nap time, Josiah went right out but Lilly never fell asleep. It was cherished time with my sweet girl. We must've read every book on the bookshelf twice.

After a couple hours, Josiah woke up. From the time I got him from his crib until the time he feel asleep again for the night, he didn't stop crying. I hate times like this. I feel so bad for him and so frustrated at the same time. We had to put Lilly to bed in the living room until he finally settled down.

This weekend was amazing. It truly felt like summertime.

On Friday, I packed the kids up for the day at my parents. We spent 95% of the time outside, swimming, walking and playing at the park. We had such a great time. Steve took the train down and we had a nice dinner, celebrating my dad's birthday and hanging out together.

Saturday, we went to Steve's parents to spend the day swimming. It was so nice to soak up the sun and splash around with the kids. They're so precious and so much fun.

We spent Sunday running some much needed errands (trip to Stride Rite to purchase good sneakers for the kids, trip to REI to get them bathing suits for next year and hats to protect them from the sun, stop at Babies R Us to look at big kid beds) and a fun trip to the park.

MESSY eaters.

Blog Mania

I've become a blog junkie.

-long sigh-

Somehow I've found myself quietly stalking the lives of people far more interesting than myself. People who create, inspire, educate and beautifully share their thoughts and experiences.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Matt Bites: "A man obsessed with food, drink and everything in between"Check out his Green Chile Biscuit with Chorizo and Chipotle Gravy recipe. Looks divine!

• Smitten Kitchen: "Fearless cooking from a tiny kitchen in New York". A wife, mother, and inspirational chef, her recipes are interesting, hearty and tasty. Check out her Crispy Potato Roast or Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Cake recipes.

• A Cup of Joe: "Magazine writer and blogger in New York City" where she lives with her baby son and husband. She writes on fashion, photography, home design, and motherhood.

• My Sweet Chaos: A 28 year old stay-at-home mom with four children, shares her thoughts and experiences of motherhood and love of photography.

Had a great day with the kids today...

Today the weather was perfect. Seriously, picture perfect! After weeks of soaring temperatures, cloudy skies and high humidity, we spent every spare minute we could outside. I had to run out for a few errands this morning, and Steve's mom and sister came over to hang out with the kids. When I came home, the house was empty, but I could hear their little voices through the open windows. I searched and searched only to find them running around and laughing in the back yard. I joined them and together we played with leaves, stalked birds, smelled flowers and meandered through shaded and sunny lawns.

After dinner, the kids and I went on a walk/jog on our favorite route. We saw tons of birds, squirrels, dogs and a possum. It was a great workout and a fun time.

Here are pictures of the kids swimming yesterday:

What We've Been Up To

It's been a busy, busy summer!

We fill our days with trips to Little Sport, visits with friends, morning walks, trips to the park, errands to the store, swimming, playing at home, reading, learning new tricks, (like putting our toys away, the alphabet, learning noises animals make, etc.).

Some days go by quickly while others seem to tick by. The kids are growing and changing rapidly. I try to enjoy even the difficult moments.

Swimming!

Drinking the pool water

Playing in the pool

...and drinking more water

Daddy & Lilly

Playing in the dirt.

But then we had to wash him off because he started eating it by the handful

Tried my first batch of blueberry muffins

The kids LOVE books. We're rearranged the living room and bought down a book case. We rotate the books, and the love pulling them (all) off the shelves and looking at the pictures or asking us to read to them. It's insanely precious.

Crazy hair!