Moving Day

Today is moving day! Ok, not for us, but for my brother and his wife!! They just bought their first home and so....we are helping them move! The kids and I are going to go and help clean and unpack boxes while Trent helps move the stuff.

Yesterday we took our kids and the neighbor kids to Irvine Park. It was a beautiful day to be outside. Unfortunately, the petting zoo had closed the day before so there was a little less for us to do. But we still saw the animals, played at one of the playgrounds, took the scenic drive and played in the fountains. Overall a very good day! I'll try to post pictures next week sometime.

THE RUN!!

Well, I've officially started running....again! This time I really want to stick with it though. My lower back is bugging me and I know that with exercise and stretching it will get better. So Trent, who does a better job at sticking to something than I am, and I are going to try to get in shape this fall and winter and run a 1/2 marathon again next spring. If all goes well, we may try a sprint triathlon next summer. It will be fun to do it together and hopefully we'll both reap some benefits from exercising...aka losing my last 10-15 pounds of baby weight. Yes, I know she's 2 and he's 6, but I still have weight on from both of my last 2 pregnancies....about 6 from Aleah and then another 9 from Evan!! Grrrr. Anyway, so today was day #3 of running. Oh, I really had to talk myself out of bed this morning, but I did it and now I'm done for the day. It feels good. And the best part....my back did not hurt this morning when I woke up!!! The exercising is working and that's what moved my butt from the bed to the treadmill!

Today we also went as a family to help Trent get his room ready for school. I'm soooo ready for school to start. The boys need to get back to some structure soon. They just pick at each other constantly and Aleah needs a little less brotherly influence and "guidance" :). We'll just spend lots of family time together this week doing fun things and preparing to start our school routine! Guess that means going to bed a bit earlier....that's such a hard habit to change.

Incidental Happening

Ok, well the event of two days ago with Aleah was an incidental happening! She hasn't done it again and is back to her up and down actions! It's ok. She is only 26 months old and I certainly don't want to push her. I waited until the boys were ready and they were both trained in 3-4 days. This doesn't need to be a neverending process. So I'll wait a little longer and try again. It might be easier once school starts and no one else is home during the day.

So today I decided to do a fun activity with the boys (the 3 neighbor boys that we babysit and my two)....we tie-dyed shirts. I'm excited to see how they turn out, and I'll be sure to post pictures once they are dried! It was quite messy and very interesting how the oldest child was the messiest and it worked it's way down to the youngest, who made the littlest mess! Hmmmm, go figure. I think it would have worked a little better if there had been two adults, but we managed just fine and the boys had a great time. That what matters most!

Tonight Trent and I are taking the boys school shopping....they're excited. We'll treat them to dinner and then we'll hit the stores. Supplies and clothes...especially for Carter. We cleaned out his closet last night to find he has 2 pairs of pants - a pair of jeans and sweatpants. And 4 long sleeve shirts! Hmmmm...guess he's grown since last spring! At least Evan acquired some new clothes. Thank goodness for hand me downs!

WHOOHOO!!

I'm sure you're wondering what all the excitement is about.....We had a successful trip on the potty chair with Aleah!! She has been very willing to sit on her princess potty chair for a long time, but she's always up and down, a lot. Today she again told me she needed to go potty and she ran into the bathroom and sat down. I stearnly told her to sit and go pee and not to get up until she was done. No more than 10 seconds had passed when I heard the music from her potty chair.....she did it!!! Yeah! Now if she can just do it again. Oh to be in the world of NO diapers!!

Dentist Day!

Today was Dentist day for the boys! They both did great and the dentist said their teeth look great. Evan has a little cross-bite, but the dentist is thinking it may correct itself once his adult teeth are in. Could we possibly have 2 children that won't need extra work done?? I'm knocking on wood! To celebrate a good visit, we stopped at Sonic for their 1/2 price slushies (from 2-4 pm). Unfortunately, we arrived at 4:08. Bummer. Oh well, a small is still only $1, so it's still a yummy but CHEAP treat.

The Case of the Missing Purple Deedee

On Wednesday evening, we realized that we could not find Aleah's purple blanket (which she affectionately calls her deedee). She LOVES her purple blanket and it's an extra special blanket because her great-grandma made it for her. The missing blanket stressed me out A LOT! And I spent a lot of time looking for it, knowing that it had to be in the house somewhere, because I knew we had it Monday evening at bedtime and we didn't take it anywhere on Tuesday or Wednesday. But where was it? It was like it had disappeared. So Friday afternoon, I called my grandma to ask about having another one made. That evening I was in her room, looking through everything again.....the play kitchen set...of course....she put her blanket under the sink!! Yeah. When I showed it to her, she grabbed it, snuggled with it and said, "oh, my pupo deedee". How sweet!

SPLASH!!!

Here it is...8:58 and I'm up. It's the earliest Aleah has been up all week and the latest that the boys have slept. Carter just got up and Evan is still sleeping. Not complaining, just amazed that we've had a little role reversal. Today we're planning to hit up the water parks and the rest of the family will be joining us at some point today. Amanda and Jayson will be here until Saturday and if Josh and Amanda come, it will be just for the day. (For those of you that are slightly confused, yes...I have a sister and a sister-in-law named Amanda! And to really get you, my mom and my mother-in-law are both Sue and my sister-in-law Amanda is married to my brother Josh and also has a brother Josh....ok, ok, I'll stop). :) So back to activities....water, water, water.

Yesterday the five of us, along with my parents went on a jet boat tour of the upper dells. Wow!!! It was a bit spendy, but the kids LOVED it and I have to admit, so did I. Instead of the traditional Wisconsin Dells Ducks, this Jet Boat goes fast....supposedly 40 mph. Fast enough that my hair was constantly in my face! But it doesn't just go fast...the driver does fast stops, 360 degree turns, etc...plus you get to see the beautiful scenery! I would definitely recommend it if you come to the Dells! Even Aleah, our squirmy 2 year old did great!

Last night the kids and I went to the waterpark until it closed and they kicked us out! So after a few games and showers, we all hit the hay a little earlier than normal (or normal for this week). Trent and Carter both had upset stomachs and just weren't feeling the best. Hopefully it's just a combo of sun and lack of sleep. Pray for them, though....it's awful being sick on vacation and it was a year ago that Trent ended up with Rheumatic Fever!

Off to make breakfast and convince Aleah that she does not need any Oreo cookies yet!

You know you're a parent when....

Every once in awhile Trent and I talk about how we should write a book titled, "You know you're a parent when...." Well I probably won't ever write a book, but I do think it's time to keep track of them. Feel free to comment and add more to the list. Parenting is fun and full of adventures and sometimes we just need to laugh to keep ourselves sane! So here it goes.... by the way, everything on my list has occurred in my household, so they are all REAL!

You know you're a parent when...

1. You climb into bed after a very long day, ready to crash, only to be greeted by little green army guys. Guess we invaded their camp!

2. You find not just a little bit of toilet paper in the toilet, but instead the WHOLE roll.

3. Your laptop has red crayon scribbles all over it. Grrrr.

4. Wearing a shirt to Target that has food particles on it and dirt smudges doesn't bother you as long as it doesn't stink.

5. Everytime you have a conversation about food, you start singing the Wiggles songs...Hot Potato or Fruit Salad.

6. You know which episodes the Backyardigans songs belong to.

7. Over 3/4 of your DVR is filled with kids shows.

8. You have permanent bases in your lawn, for the daily baseball game. By the way, these "bases" are not the plastic ones you buy....they are just areas that have no grass!

That's just a little start. I know there are hundreds more and I would love to hear how you know you're a parent! I'll add more later, but now it's off to change the wash. Yes, I'm washing while on vacation. But it's in the condo and that just means I have to pack less!!

Games, Games and more Games

I think after this week, I may be completely gamed out for awhile. Evan is taking full advantage of having me around with nothing to do. He LOVES to play games and so he and I have played lots of Racko, Farkle and Pass the Pigs (this is a great little game for school age kids, though I'm not sure where to get it).

Trent and my dad went golfing again this morning and are planning to golf 36 holes, so my mom and I are on our own again with the kids. It was nice to sleep in this morning until 9:20! The boys are in a separate bedroom and are old enough to stay quiet and entertain themselves until I get up and Aleah.....she is an awesome sleeper!! Love it!! So now that we've successfully passed the morning...what to do this afternoon? I'm guessing swimming will be on the agenda. Maybe a bike ride and more swimming this evening when Trent returns.

So a quick story before I play another game of Racko....

This morning after I changed Aleah's diaper I handed it to her and asked her to go throw it away in the garbage can by the toilet. She's normally very reliable when it comes to throwing her diapers away, so I didn't question where she had put it. That is until about an hour later....Carter came out of the bathroom (after using it) and said, "Uh mom, I flushed the toilet but there's a problem." I said, "what's the problem?" and he responded with, "well, there's a diaper in the toilet!" I was a bit dumbfounded....really???....my 10 year old not only decided he should pee on the diaper, but then attempt to flush the toilet? I really thought I taught him better. Grrrr. Hopefully after having to fish it out of the toilet, he learned his lesson.

What A Week!

This past week has been a busy and exciting week for us! We finished the lovely brick retaining wall - I'll post pictures later, we have a new addition to the family and we left for vacation. On Thursday, my brother Josh and his wife Amanda welcomed their baby girl, Ellisha Ann, to their family. Isn't she cute?? The kids think she's a keeper for a cousin and Aleah, who has only seen her once, recognizes her picture and knows that she is baby Ell!

After the excitement of a new baby, it was time to head off on vacation! A good majority of our time in the Dells, will be spent in the water, but today (Sunday) we decided to make it a day of horses! Aleah loves horses and Evan really wanted to go horseback riding. Carter was indifferent, but ended up having a great time! First we went on a wagon ride around the grounds....then it was time to go for the real thing!

Carter was old enough to ride his own horse - which was cool for him to experience! Evan opted to ride with Trent, but after riding double for an hour, he quickly made the decision that next time...he'll get his own horse!! The trail guide even let us trot quite a bit and each time we finished, Aleah would quickly say, "again". All of the kids got a thrill out of trotting!! It was so fun to see them excited and lovin' it!

After the trail ride, we were able to visit their petting zoo. Aleah would walk right up to the goats and look them in the eye and talk with them. It was really cute.

Evan was able to hold a baby goat. Aleah tried also, with a little help from the owner.

They also had a llama that was very friendly. He didn't spit, but instead would come up to you and get really close to your cheek and smell you. Then he'd kind a nuzzle in. Odd!!

Baby bunnies. The boys liked them. Aleah was more interested in the buckets of water nearby. She thought the bunnies needed to go swimming in the buckets.

We had a great day as a family, making lots of memories!