Still Here

Yes, I'm still here.  I haven't really had anything to write about the last couple days unless you want to hear about my 4 year old wiping my 2 year old's bottom after going potty.  Or, about Grace trying to fill her water bottle from the fridge not once, but twice and succeeding to flood my kitchen both times.  I guess I will just share this picture with you.  Andrew woke up in the middle of the night (friday morning) and came into our room.  He never says anything, he just stands there and stares until someone wakes up.  Well, nobody woke up this time and so he found a comfortable spot to sit and wait (or sleep).  David found him here at 5 am when he got up to get ready for work.  No telling how long he had been there.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  I am going down to Loma Linda to visit my friend whom is in the hospital on bedrest and monitoring.  She is pregnant with identical twins and it is a high risk pregnancy because the girls share the same sac.  A lot of things can go wrong so if you don't mind, please pray for her and her family.  They have been through a lot trying to get pregnant again. 

Flashback Wordless Wednesday

These are from last September when Daddy was washing the car!

Best Friends

Click here to see all of the pictures from our trip to Big Bear.

Big Bear Lake

*yawn* I am so tired. I feel like I've said that a lot lately but I am. We are on the go so much it seems and the days that we don't go anywhere we are trying to play catch up on the house. I have dinner in the oven which makes me kind of ahead for today. Now I just have to finish my laundry and get to the grocery store and back to church for my night service.

Yesterday we went to Big Bear Lake. We wanted to check it out to see if we would want to take the boat there next summer. It was really nice but a long drive. David is not the most decisive person in the world (Heather, I hear you laughing), so I'm not sure what he is thinking. He went back and forth about 3 times in one conversation so we'll see what happens with that. I got to go into a really nice scrapbook store. I sure wish I had more money...I could have spent so much time and money in there. It was a lot of fun. Too bad Stephanie had other plans and couldn't go. It would have been even more fun. I can't wait to go back when I can save some money (stop laughing David). The kids had a great time playing on the playground and going to see the lake. I couldn't get Andrew to walk down to the water with me but Grace did and she had a lot of fun taking pictures of me. I have some great pictures but can't find my camera to download them. I will keep looking and get them on here soon.....I know how much you can't stand the wait! Have a great rest of your Sunday!

Brownies and babies

So the other night I was multi-tasking...making brownies with the kids, peach freezer jam, and dinner. I was busy chopping and chopping and chopping peaches when I remembered that I wanted to make brownies with the kids. I called them in from outside and let them pour in the ingredients (I did the eggs, Andrew wouldn't touch them and Grace, well, I didn't ask her) and gave them a spoon to stir and went back to chopping peaches. David came in and helped them stir while Andrew asked if he could have some from the bowl. I said just a little taste b/c of the eggs and went back to what I was doing. After Andrew tasted it he said "That was delicious!" David and I kind of looked at each other b/c really? Andrew said that? It was incredibly cute. So I took the mix and poured in the pan and put it in the oven and about 30 seconds later I heard "Are the brownies done yet?" No, Andrew go play outside. Off he went but was back and I'm sure you know what he asked...."Are the brownies done yet?" Once again, I told him to go play while we waited and he said "Can I get my hands dirty?" Of, course Andrew but why do you ask? He said "Well, we just washed them to make brownies and I want to eat some!" Innocence

Oh, and just so you know, all that chopping of peaches was a disaster. I did it wrong and ruined everything. I could have made a cobbler or something else with the peaches but it was late and I was tired and really, really mad.

Today we went to church because I had a meeting. The kids went to childcare and some friends that they see regularly in class were also there. Andrew played and played and played with his little friend. He was so sad to leave that he was really whining (almost crying) and when I asked him why he was so upset he said, "I just want to stay and play with him because I love him." He said that the other day about the neighbor that he played with. He is so loving.

Grace has been a lot of fun today. Well, maybe not while I was trying to do her hair but everything else has been fun. She has been very loving. She has been taking turns, sharing toys with Andrew, cuddling with mommy, and even took her nap without protest. It's been a good day around here. I pray that this afternoon and evening will be just as enjoyable. We'll see after her nap. I've been trying to get Grace to name her baby doll since she goes everywhere that Grace goes. She even sits with us at the table most meals and Grace pretends to feed her while smacking her own lips for added effect. We were talking about it (well, I was) and I kept trying out different names and she would just say "No, baby!" So, I guess we will just have to keep calling her baby. Andrew named his baby 'Bubba'. (That's what Grace calls Andrew) Have a great day!

Three Musketeers

I uploaded some pics from our trip to Vegas here. Today we went to David's company picnic. It was a little crazy and definitely some fun people watching. It was really hard for me and my nosey self to stay on track and focus on the kids and conversations with people. I thought it was cool that 2 of the guys that David works with pulled out their blackberries (cell phones) to show me pictures. One showed me his new dog and the other his grandson. Amazing how some men can really open up to strangers. It was neat to talk to them and meet some of his co-workers. I have met quite a few and they seem to remember me but I am terrible with remembering faces and names. Every time I meet them (or see them again) I just say nice to meet you and they just smile and say oh we've met before. Oops! It's not like at his previous job...I would just show up and visit with everyone and they loved seeing the kids. I've never even been to this office, except in the parking lot. Anyway, it was nice to go and support the company but I'm also kind of happy that in a couple years Andrew will be in school all day and I just might not be able to go. Sorry, David!!!!!

The kids had fun. They got to see police cars and eat lots of candy. They played on the playground for a little while at the end but mostly we just hung out and talked and they just ran around and played with the stress balls that they won by spinning a wheel. I think they could have just spun the wheel most of the day and that would have been fine with them.

Andrew had school this morning before we left and he did really good on his work that she sent home. Next week if he does all of his work he gets to go to the treasure chest. He seems to like going. He doesn't cry when I leave, in fact I don't think he even cares. He just walks off and finds his friends. Today he actually cried when we left b/c he wanted to go home with Carlie. There is something about that little girl that he just loves. Here is a pic of Andrew with his arm around Carlie and the next one is of Andrew, Carlie, and Bella.

Do the pictures look like poor quality pics??? They look really terrible on my computer when I upload them to my blog...any suggestions? They look fine in the folder where I download them from my computer. I've noticed this with the last few pictures I have put on here.

Flashback of Andrew

Remember when I told you the other day about the little boy that got away with everything just because he was cute??? Well, here he is at 1 and at 2. I know the quality of the pictures is really bad and I'm not sure why. I scanned them into my computer instead of having to search for them on cd's. Anyway...just wanted to flashback and show you some old pics of Andrew.

Whirlwind

It's been a whirlwind of a weekend. On Saturday I had a baby shower for Heather in which I was in charge of the games. The shower was very nice. We had a lot of fun and she received a lot of really nice gifts. After we got home I had to go to Target to find a birthday present for Andrew's friend Carlie.

On Sunday, we all went to church and then I stayed for more training at the 11 o'clock service and then went straight to Carlie's birthday party. The kids had so much fun. They had a HUGE bounce house with a slide. Andrew played hard in the bounce house resulting in a bloody nose and two very skinned up knees. They had someone making balloon animals for the kids and they each had a few made. It was a lot of fun and Andrew got to play with his school friends. I have a couple pictures on my camera that I will post when I get a chance to download the pictures. I had to leave the party early to go back to church and work the evening service. I work this service every week so the kids are used to me being gone on Sunday nights although it is getting harder for Grace when I leave. She is fine once I'm gone but she always wants to go with me...that's a new thing b/c before she didn't care as long as daddy was around. Anyway, by the time I got home last night both kids were asleep. Grace had just gone to bed and Andrew had fallen asleep at the table eating his snack.

Today has been rough with the kids fighting and Grace climbing, but Mondays are always hard around here. Andrew didn't want to go to the store b/c he said his knees hurt too much and he was all hunched over when he walked so I called Stephanie to see if he could play with Nicholas and I took Grace with me. Of course, he walked over there just fine and when I told him that he so innocently said "Thank you." I wasn't complementing him but whatever it was cute. So Andrew got a little playtime with Nicholas which was nice. Grace was awesome at the store but hasn't been since. I'm praying that tomorrow will be better for her. She's just had a rough day trying to climb on the counters again and we have clashed a lot.

Well, that's our weekend. This week isn't too busy. Preschool on Wednesday and that's about it. Hopefully I can get back into blogging regularly again. Hope you all have an awesome Tuesday!

What to write about????

I have no clue what to write about but it seems once I start I just keep going. This will definitely be a random post...

It's been a good week around here. The kids haven't fought nearly as much. God knows that I need a break and what a blessing it has been. I did a lot of housework yesterday and the kids were awesome. I've also been finishing up on my part of a baby shower for Heather. I made the invites (a long time ago), handled the rsvp's and potluck, & prepared the games and prizes. The shower is tomorrow and am so excited to see it all come together. Heather's mom and Grandma are in charge of the rest.

The kids have been busy playing cars, baby dolls, and outside in the evenings with daddy. Grace is talking so much more. Her newest words the last couple of nights have been "Baby Einstein." Sounds more like 'bebe dinetine.' I love how her language is coming alive. She repeats so many words now and claps for herself and laughs as she says a new word. We have been waiting for her to really start talking as she turned 2 in April. Andrew was a late talker as well. Grace has also slowed down considerably on her climbing. I took away the little pink chair to her table and maybe that has helped or maybe it's the communication. We haven't had as many temper tantrums either. Such a blessing! She is cute, funny, imaginative, and so in love with her daddy!

Last night we picked peaches and a few apples from our neighbor's tree. I'm going to try some peach freezer jam but I was told it would be too sweet b/c the peaches are so sweet but I guess I'm stubborn and have to try it for myself. Gee, I wonder where my kids get it from?

Speaking of stubborn....Andrew is becoming more so. I had 2 of Heather's kids here yesterday and in and hour and a half I had to talk to him about sharing about 4 times. He doesn't like sharing(what kid probably does) and he is so bossy. And yes Papa Rick, he gets it from me. I can be controlling and really don't like to share either (it doesn't really get easier as an adult). I'm trying to work with him on this concept and I'm sure his teacher will be helpful as well. Pretty soon we will also go to the church on Tuesday and Thursday mornings so he will have to be around a bunch of kids 3 days a week and will have to deal with it. Part of the problem has been his cuteness. He always had blonde hair and curls and he was just so cute that everybody (including daddy) let him do whatever he wanted. Now, we have this 4 year old little boy that is having trouble sharing and not getting his way. He cries about so much and it truly makes my heart ache b/c I think of what we should have done differently with him. Anyway, I'm praying for guidance in this area so we can try to get past this issue. Other than that he is a great kid. Very loving and cuddly. Hmm, I have to try to find a picture of the cute little curly hair boy so you can what I'm talking about....well, that's all for now. Enjoy your weekend. It will be a busy one for us!

(almost) Wordless Wednesday-1st day of Preschool

What a handsome little boy...

Little Miss Grace thought she was going to school.
He won't have homework but he is catching up on the work that he missed last week when we were gone. Such a sweet little boy! He had a great time and his teacher said he was really good.

Preschool

Andrew starts preschool tomorrow. It is only one day a week for 4 hours. I'm a little nervous because he keeps telling me that he doesn't want to go. I know that it will be good for him and for Grace. I'm very excited for him to be going and meeting new friends. A couple of his best buddies are in the same class. I'm sure those of you that have seen pictures in the past know their names....Carlie and Bella. We met them when Andrew was about 19 months. They were in his mommy and me class. Bella's little sister is the same age as Grace and they were in class together as well. Andrew's teacher will be Ms. Tammy, the same teacher as his mommy and me class so it won't all be brand new. I will take a picture of him tomorrow morning with his lunch bag ready to go.

I uploaded new pictures to my picasa site.....click here. I added them to the new page which is ourlittlefamilyoffour. I'm going to add captions to the photos as soon as I can. I hope you enjoy seeing our vacation. The kids had a blast at the pool so that's most of the pictures that we took.

Yesterday I got my hair cut and so did Andrew. He was terrible though. He screamed and cried and I had to hold his head to keep him from jerking. From now on I will just take him somewhere that he can sit in a car and play instead of doing it at home. I've never had a problem taking him somewhere but he throws a fit at home, even with my mom cutting his hair. Mine is short again...I'll get a picture and put on here for you...maybe tomorrow. I'll try to have David take a picture tonight.

This week I am busy getting ready for Heather's baby shower. I can't believe it is already time for the shower nor can I believe that I procrastinated on getting it all done. Wait, yes I can believe it....I always do. Grace and I will be running around like crazy tomorrow getting everything that I need. I'm also making dinner for our neighbors tomorrow evening. They were so kind to look after our dogs and plants so this is my thank you.

Grannylou left today and the kids were sad this morning. It seems like they never want her to leave but don't pay much attention to her when she's here. I think they just don't understand that it's a short time. To them it's just like she is here and always will be. Of course, they had daddy and they don't even pay attention to me when he is around. Well, that's about all the boring stuff I can think of. I will update tomorrow about Andrew's first day.

Home

OK, so we are back. We actually got back on Saturday afternoon but it has been a whirlwind. I unpacked and did a few loads of laundry on Saturday and then Sunday we went to church at the 9 am service, I trained for coordinator at the 11 service, got home after 2, ran across the street to a birthday party, got home at 4 and changed into comfy shoes, went back to church to train again for a different area to coordinate. I was very overwhelmed with info but hopefully next week will be better.

Vacation was great, of course. We were very busy and went to the pool twice daily. Well, we skipped one day b/c it was actually really cool and incredibly windy. The kids had a great time! My mom met us out there last Saturday, we picked her up at the airport which was really exciting for the kids. Then Papa Wayne came to visit for a day and we went to Circus Circus and won lots of stuffed animals and Andrew got to ride a lot of rides. Grace wasn't tall enough to ride anything but she was just as happy having Papa Wayne carry her around everywhere. I will add more as I have time and obviously will get you some pictures but for now I have to go get started on other things. Hopefully tonight I can upload some pics for you to see.