Memorial

We had quite the weekend. It was jam packed from start to finish!
We started off celebrating Gary's birthday with a babysitter (thanks Aunt Maggie!) and a night on the town. We were able to meet up with friends we had not seen in forever & had such a great time!

Saturday, we started our day off at a birthday party for one of Brooke's friends from dance class followed by a family wedding celebration (post all of its own!). Sunday we got up bright and early and headed to Innsbrook. It was the perfect day with perfect weather. The girls had the best time with their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. I have a feeling that the summer is going to be the best yet-especially with the fun these girls had in the water this weekend :)

Ready for picture overload??

Attempting to be a bathing beauty...but that sun is rough!

Summer Changes

Last year...

 This year!!! 

Sweet Sisters....

that got even sweeter this year...

29

Happy "Golden" birthday to the BEST husband and dad we know...

I have loved spending the last 11 birthdays with you and I know that your 30th year will be amazing!!

Can't wait to celebrate the next 50 birthdays with you and our family.

Brooke in Print

Just in case you haven't seen it on my FB page.....awhile back, I entered Brooke into a contest with one of our local newspapers. We found out a few weeks back that she had been selected as the Winner!! We were thrilled!! She had a photo shoot at the Zoo where she got to wear beautiful clothes and flash her smile all day. Brooke and I had SO much fun doing this together....and....after I pick up 15 copies today...she will never forget it :)

In case you want to view a sneak peak...click HERE. I will try to scan some pictures in after I get my copies :)

Cancun 2011

This trip was amazing. Can I tell you all how much I love the two words "All Inclusive??"

Since this was our first trip to a resort like this...or really any resort period...I don't really have anything to compare it to...but it was great.

Our room was on the first floor and there were literally dolphins outside of my balcony all weekend long. If they were brave enough, they could have jumped right up onto our deck (that would have been quite the picture right??).

Look at Gary swimming with the dolphins!!

No, not really. It was a bit pricey and, lets be honest, I can't even handle the fish at Innsbrook touching me.

Gary spent the majority of his outdoor time playing volleyball and bocce ball...

I spent the majority of my time laying outside and finding magical huts that served drinks all day long.....

The beaches were gorgeous and the water was SO blue. Don't you just want to join us there for our next trip???

On Saturday, there was some entertainment at the hotel-fire dancers. It seriously made me think that this could be my new talent. How awesome would I be to bring to parties.

 "Hi everyone, my names Kelly...and I can dance with fire. What can you do??"

I do not want to forget to mention Karaoke night. Gary brought down the house with Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi. I cannot express to you how disappointed we were that the hotel we were staying at was hosing 'Dreams Idol' Monday night (the day we left). The winner won three free nights at the hotel. We would have been a shoe in....

AWFUL quality...but Desires Night Club didn't offer the best lighting.

I swear...I was on this trip too...but Gary isn't one to pick up the camera and takes tons of pictures. Don't worry though, there was a professional photographer one night that took some shots of us on the beach. Think senior picture poses...but when your almost 30 years old. Are you excited or what??

So glad to be back home with the kiddos....but missing fun in the Cancun Sun! Comments welcome with co-vacationers looking to book for Spring 2012...any takers??

Hola!!

The blog has been pretty quite lately....because we were living it up in Mexico!! It was an amazing trip. Minus missing my kiddos like mad, I would have taken at least 2 more days of relaxation. I have pictures to share, but I am nursing a sun burn and three straight days of margaritas and discotecas. Till tomorrow!

Vacation

I need one.

I think I slept around 4 hours last night...and the 2 cups of coffee this a.m. are not doing their job.

Neither lovely lady wanted to sleep last night and Caroline missed me so much she woke up three times wanting to tell me hello.

Caroline sheets, along with Caroline herself, were soaked upon her 6:30 wake up call. While changing her diaper, she decided to pee all over the floor. Good morning Mom!!

I have 3 loads of laundry to put away and 2 loads to still wash (my mom can keep her, 'it you wash / put it all away immediately, you won't get overwhelmed!' comments to herself).

The dishwasher is running and I have a full load I can put in after I empty.

The house is a mess. The list includes vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms and mopping the kitchen floor.

Did I mention work?? Oh yes-I have to work. Even though I have cut back my actual in store hours to 1-2 days...the work is still piling up. A good thing to be busy...but hard not to get overwhelmed.

Brooke has been in time-out once today (at it is not even 10 a.m. yet). She wants to know if that means we cannot get ice cream later on.

I shouldn't be blogging-I should be cleaning, dish washing, doing laundry and working...but, this blog is the closest thing to a break I can get today.

I love my kids-adore them in fact....but, I need a vacation. Luckily...I have one AND it is coming up...VERY soon. I can almost smell the ocean from my couch (but not really...Caroline needs a diaper change).

Honesty

Yesterday, I decided to actually get dressed. AKA-I did not wear yoga pants and a t-shirts. We were going to our mom's group and I decided to not look like I just walked out of the gym. Since it is quite warm, I wore some shorts and a cute top. While I was sitting on the floor helping Brooke get her shoes on, she asked me a question.

"Hey mom...why do you have grass growing out of your legs??"

Ouch. I guess whipping out the razor every other day isn't going to cut it anymore with this lady in the house.



Where a Kid can be a Kid

This weekend we decided to have a "kids day." This meant a day at Chuck-E-Cheese. We are so lucky to have one very close to our house (insert sarcasm). As soon as we mentioned the idea to Brooke she was ecstatic. It lived up to everything she had hoped. She played every game and won lots of tickets for which she purchased a $5.00 sucker and $3.00 silly band. Include pizza and lemonade in a super cool Chuck-E-Cheese cup and Brooke just had the best day ever!!

Caroline and Chuckie are not friends. She disliked everything about this play land...expect for the aforementioned awesome cup and pizza. She tried out the slow moving rides and I have never heard her scream so loud. I thought she would at least like the Toddler Town area that had a small scale jungle gym / slide and that was a huge no too. It was sensory overload and she wanted out. Luckily, the birthday area had some Wow Wow Wubzy showing which seemed to please her just fine.

After our crazy fun, we decided to check out a new ice cream place in town. They serve frozen yogurt that you pay for by the weight. There were more toppings then I had ever seen and I seriously believe that Brooke thought she had hit the jackpot. This was even better then that $5.00 sucker! After making a total kids sundae made up of both strawberry and blueberry ice cream topped with M&M's and Jelly Beans (??) she was set. Caroline was happy to taste test every ones ice cream (a girl after her Aunt Maggie's heart).

Yay for Kids Day!

*The pics are not from our super fun kids day...I have been so bad on my camera skills lately...

Honesty

Yesterday, I decided to actually get dressed. AKA-I did not wear yoga pants and a t-shirts. We were going to our mom's group and I decided to not look like I just walked out of the gym. Since it is quite warm, I wore some shorts and a cute top. While I was sitting on the floor helping Brooke get her shoes on, she asked me a question.
"Hey mom...why do you have grass growing out of your legs??"
Ouch. I guess whipping out the razor every other day isn't going to cut it anymore with this lady in the house.

Separation

She's got it....bad. Separation anxiety. Brooke never really cared if I walked out of the room. When she went to her Kids Day Out for the first time, her teachers told me that she cried for maybe 5 min and was over it (most likely it was just for show!). Not Caroline.

Today I had my last Mom's Group meeting before summer. As soon as we walked in church..she froze. She knew that coming here meant I was going to leave her in the playroom. That is when the tears started.

When I first joined this group (maybe 3-4 months ago) she did great! She didn't even cry when I left the room! The last few times, though, she has gotten pretty upset when I left her to play. I chalked it up to a doctors appointment (with shots) the day prior to my group meeting and just getting over being sick right before another get together. Apparently, though, it doesn't matter if she is sick, getting sick, perfectly healthy or newly immunized....she DOES NOT want me to leave her with strange babysitters.

Today I thought that she would fuss a bit...and then see all the toys and get distracted. I even asked Brooke to look out for her (yeah right.). After 10 minutes or so...I swore that I heard nothing-silence. I was at ease. About 20 minutes later one of the babysitters brought Caroline back to me. Apparently she had moved into a silent / hyperventilating cry. After 30 minutes of hysterics...they thought that she needed to come back to me. After about 15 minutes she had finally calmed down...and was enjoying a piece of coffee cake with the other moms.

Everyone inquired how old she was...after letting me know she was darling (of course)...and when I said almost 18 months they all said the same thing-that was right around the time that their child started with the SA too. Like I said...Brooke never had this! How long does it last?? Does anything work?? Good thing she doesn't go to KDO right now because I would have to pick her up early every time!! Advice welcome :)

Innsbrook

We had our first visit to Innsbrook this weekend. It was very last minute. My parents called us Saturday afternoon while we were on our way home from a birthday party and asked if we wanted to come to the lake for a few hours. The weather was gorgeous and we couldn't pass up the opportunity to try out our new swimsuits :)

 I was a bit bummed because I forgot my camera which is very un-like me. Camera photos would have to do....

Caroline has turned in to quite the beach babe. Last year she was too little to play in the sand and water...we couldn't keep her out of there this year! She will show Brooke just how fun the lake is this year!

We will be back soon.

Happy Mothers Day!!

I hope that home made Mother's Day gifts never end :)

17

Here we are at 17 months.

Caroline is just as fun as ever!

She is a very busy girl these days. She is really into playing dress up-just like her big sis Brooke. The day does not end without Caroline wearing lots of jewelry!

With her cousin Caden on Easter

She is also really interested in books. Every day they are all pulled off the shelf in her room and she flips through the pages of her favorites. She will actually sit still and let you read her at least two books before heading off to play. I love it! A little quiet time just with Caroline and mom / dad is the perfect end to the day :)

The talking is increasing...big time. Sure...Gary, Brooke and I may be the only ones that really understand her...but she is a chatty girl! She can now say Bella, Bubble, Ball, Baby, Brooke, Mom, Grandma, Dad, Uh Oh and Hello (although only pronounced in a British accent). The other day when I got her out of bed she even said "Hi Bella!" in her own way...

She is even taking after her Dad and loves to sing. Her favorite song is the Elmo song which she can sing on demand. Caroline is also a dancing fool. As soon as she hears music the knee bouncing and booty shaking begin. I strongly encourage this of course. It is so fun to watch her at Brooke's dance class. She copies all of the girls moves. She is ready for a wedding!

She is such a fun 17 month old...I mean check her out...wouldn't you want to play??!!

5K

This past weekend, the whole family participated in a local 5K. We joined many of Gary's co-worked and walked the March of Dimes 5K. It was a last minute thing (since Gary forgot to ask if I was even interested) but it was really fun! There were a few bumps in the road...including a bathroom break in a port-a-potty (for Brooke) and a side of the race diaper change for Caroline (poor girl was totally soaked!), but it was worth it. It was totally fun to do as a family and we got to meet lots of Gary's co-workers and their kiddos! It made me even more excited for our trip this month that many of them will be joining us on.

Eating their bananas post-race. Guess mom / dad pushing them for 3.2 miles made them hungry :)

Shopping Partner

It is very rare that I only take one child with me to run errands. This Saturday, I was able to take Brooke, and only Brooke, to the mall to get a little shopping done. Gary and I are headed to Mexico soon and I was hoping to find a few new things. Little did I know I had brought along someone with quite an opinion!

It seems that the new 'style' of shorts fits you comfortably around the waist, but clings to your legs like a pair of biker shorts. I did find a few pairs that appeared to have a more traditionally fit while on the hanger. I decided to give them a try in the fitting room....with my mini-fashionista Brooke.

While I was trying on my clothes, Brooke was immersed in her snack of cereal (that Old Navy was giving away that day at checkout...totally random). I really didn't think she was even paying any attention to me...until I got those shorts on.

Brooke: "Hey mom...does that hurt?"

Me: "Does what hurt Brooke"

Brooke: "Those shorts."

Me: "Why would they hurt?"

Brooke: "Because...they look really tight."

Me: (holding in the laughter..or was it tears?): "Where do they look tight?" 

        Brooke: "um...on your legs and on your booty!" 

Needless to say, the shorts were returned to the shelf.

We met my mom at the mall the next day. I think that she may have been a little nervous about what Brooke would think of her outfit selections! Brooke did decide, though, that she would like to try on everything that mom tries on-why not??!!

Gorgeous right??
This is why you always carry your camera in your purse :)