What do to when Daddy is gone?

During the week when Daddy is busy with work and has late nights or is out of town, usually doesn't throw us off too much we just might have a more kid friendly dinner or one that leaves Mommy with less dishes. But when Daddy is gone over a weekend, well that leaves me with a new hurdle.
My role as Daddy kicked off with Soccer Practice on Friday night which left us for the 3rd night in a row getting home at 6:45 and teetering on the edge of meltdown with more then one little person.
Saturday morning was fun, we left the house happy and only about 30 min after I would have liked to.  We went to the High School Yard Sale, I had been looking forward to, and nothing on my list was found :( But we enjoyed the morning walk and got to the soccer field early, good thing traffic was NUTS! I forgot my camera but let me tell you, Daddy missed a killer game! Not that we keep score, nor does it really matter "its all about having fun" BUT William scored 4 goals!!! The second and third one were right in a row! He did such an amazing job. I'm not sure what clicked but today he was fast, he was aggressive, and he was COORDINATED! After Soccer we came home and let AbyKate take a nap, and to my surprise she spent more then two hours in her bed playing. Finally we gave up on her nap so we could make it to our Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and Party. We were there from before it started till after it ended (2+ hours). We did all the activities! 

As soon as we arrived it was time to get ready for the hunt!

WOW!  Look at all those eggs!

"A hunting we will go..."

"A hunting we will go!"

"Look at all the eggs we got!  A hunting we will go..."

A rare, quick picture with the kids (and just so I remember, 24 week prego belly)

After the hunt the first stop was the pony rides...

How did she know to wear her boots?  YEEHAAAA!!!!

GIDDY-UP Boy!

Once AbyKate spotted the GIANT Bunny that was all she wanted to see...but we pulled her away for a few other activities like, eating, face painting and the petting zoo!

Who you calling chicken?

Wil was loving the petting zoo.  The llama and some of the goats/sheep were eating right out of his hands :)

And yes, I did torture them all to get this mommy shot.  How could I not, they all have their faces painted like bunnies, ears included!  Not to mention the fact they were all happy to go...not sure why AbyKate wouldn't smile, I think she might have been 'Star Struck'.

With all that fun just on Saturday what was I going to do on Sunday? 

Sun is shining, Kids are happy, Lets go to the ZOO! So I packed us snacks, water, lunchs, diapers and off we went. We arrived a little after 10 and did our first stroller free day at the zoo. AbyKate did awesome, and kept up with the big kids.

The big kids also did a good job going at her pace looking at all the animals she wanted to look at. This was the first time she has been verbal enough to not just express an opinion but, the first time she has even shown one. I think the birds and primates top her list. Sorry the picture is on its side, oops!

My little orangutans

What was very fun, was we got to spend part of our outing with our neighbors and best friends. Oh happy times!

The special event today was a baby shower for one of the elephants who is due to deliver, they think a boy, any day now. I think these happy little elephants might belong in the zoo.

But with all that monkeying around Claira still found time to smell the beautiful spring flowers
We miss Daddy terribly but I have to say we had a wonderful weekend and I'm bushed!  I'm going to call it a night because these little animals will be up before I'm rested and ready.  

Wee Monster is 18 Months!!!

AbyKate turned 18 months a few weeks ago and let me tell you she is the cutest, most mischievous little monster you've ever met.  About two weeks ago she decided to start talking or at least she is trying to talk :)  She has joined us at the table and is using a regular cup for her milk at dinner time! Some of her favorite things are animals, the "itty" (Kitty), the dog to which she signs and pants when she is talking about him, and OH lets not forget her strange obsession with birds. It goes so far that more then once she has woken up in the middle of the night asking to go look out the window and see if there are birds outside. I take her frequently to the pet shop near the kids preschool so she can scream at the poor little birds, it is so cute to see how excited she gets.
She is also finding a little time to sit still and watch TV, this gives me a chance to unload the dishwasher without having her climb into it or fold laundry before she can unfold it. Her favorite shows are Blues Clues (aka. "Boo Boo"), Elmo and this morning she discovered Curious George.

When those few cherished moments of AbyKate sitting down is over she is off climbing and getting into what ever she possibly can.

Dancing on the Tables!

Stealing Claira's PlayDoh

Filling up the Picnic Candle with Sand

Happy scream when she discovered she could climb in the swing!

Another happy scream when she climbed out of the stroller straps and climbed into the back, all while I read a sign about some frogs to William...she is FAST!

and now that she has figured out how move chairs and get stools out of closets to get to what she wants nothing is out of her reach.

If you can't tell she keeps me on my toes...and sometimes we loose her, I know BAD MOMMY! When this happens everyone has to stop and go looking, the worst is when you realize someone left the laundry room baby gate open and she is digging in the litter box, EWWWW! Or after a few times of calling her name you hear splashing and William or Claira says, "OH NO! I forgot to close the bathroom door!"...you never know where you might find her.
BOO!!

Sometimes 'her nothing can stop me' attitude gets her hurt. This weekend she managed to get a total of 6 splinters in her hands and had to have Daddy pull them out with not just tweezers but he had to use a needle! She is so brave, not even a tear...I think the lolly pop helped.  William was very impressed :)

Time is flying by and I know soon she will be driving a real car!

but for now we'll cherish all the reading time cuddles

and all the silly moments that get me through my day!

So busy!!!

Sometimes life gets away from you and before you know it months have passed.  We have been busy and the monsters have been wearing me out.  Needless to say I have been whooped and crawling into bed many nights not even getting a chance to watch TV.  Here is what we've been up to...
After a lot of effort the new hardwood floors are in and we continue to put in the quarter round every weekend. The kids are a great help!

We have had very few sunny weekends, but whenever we can we head to the Houston Zoo



The kids love to go to the Target shows, they are lectures, story times, or feedings sponsored by Target. William is an addict and we find that our trips now to the zoo are really a day of running from Target Show to Target Show zig zagging our way around the zoo. We have learned more then I ever needed to know about bats, and this last trip we learned lots about snakes.

William has been working very hard in his Takewondo. He really seems to love it. I don't really understand the fun in the sport, but its not rare to hear him bust up laughing during his workout kicks. He made it through his first belt test and has moved up to the Yellow Belt class but he can't get his yellow belt till he breaks his board. I'll be sure to post when that day comes. His kick is strong enough but he hesitates in fear of stubbing his toe or it hurting. He'll get over it and bust that dumb thing soon, I know it!

Over Presidents day we ventured off to Alabama! It was a great time...great friends, snow, smores and a Valentines Day Pedi!
We camped on our friends property outside of Birmingham in Kimberly, AL. They had a nice little RV for us to make home. It was all we needed, a place to eat, a place to sleep and a heater to keep us warm. Apparently it is uncommon for it to snow but it snowed our second day there and it snowed ALL day.
William and I made a snow man.

We hunted around to find to find something to use as a sled. We tried a Rubbermaid lid, that worked well for a single rider.

The best was a large piece of cardboard that we found just as the snow was starting to melt and they got a few good rides out of it.

The Dads did a great job chopping wood

and keeping the fire going for us to keep warm and make smores when ever we felt like it :)

The snow was not all we did. We also managed to find a little time to wander around Birmingham and see the sights. We visited the windy, freezing cold Vulcan Park

and we hiked around a cave known as Bangor Cave which has lots of stories going way back in history.

It is full of graffiti now but once long ago it was a place of fancy parties with a dance floor, bar and bathrooms!
I was very proud of Claira hiking around deep inside the cave with just her flashlight. It was creepy with skull monsters painted on the walls, lots of trash and there were bats!

And now we are home! Settling back into our daily routine of swimming lessons, school, Takwondo, library time, soccer, reading, and playdates! I hope everyone is keeping busy, staying healthy, and finding themselves as happy as we are.

Christmas Has Come and Gone

The holidays were filled with such magic around our house this year. The kids had so much fun decorating

Having hot apple cider by the fire

and receiving boxes in the mail...which like most kids they found the boxes more fun then the contents. There was the box car.

The fort with a box table for their hot coca 'tea' party

And when you have kids you have all the adorable Christmas shows. They had one at school that lasted over an hour! It was long, loud, crowded, and late, but I am pretty sure I had the cutest kids in the whole show!
This is my dorky mom picture, "come on guys, just one picture that's all...smile!"

Here is Claira singing "This Little Light of Mine". Oh how she practiced, and practiced AND practiced!

And here is William, who we weren't sure if he would get up on stage and sing or if he would get up there and just stand there. Not only did he make it on stage and sing, he did all the movements and you could hear him loud and clear :)

Now if all that singing didn't do you in for cuteness then you should have gone to see Claira's dance recital.

and just in case you didn't get the full adorable level from the picture I have a little video clip, HO HO HO...

When I was little my Aunt and my Mom would make cookies with all us kids and we would decorate them with as much frosting, sprinkles and hard silver ball candy we could make stick. I remember eating so many that now I don't really like sugar cookies. And really most of the fun in the whole event was not eating the cookies, it was licking the frosting off my fingers, making a mess with sprinkles, and laughing with my cousins. I don't get to see my cousins much but I have tried to keep a little bit of the giggles and decorating tradition alive with my kids. We have for the past 4 years invited friends over to decorate Ginger Bread Houses. Each family gets one and I have to say its a great time. No matter how old the kids or parents are everyone has a great time and it is wonderful to see how each families house come out different. Here are my kids, take note of AbyKate in the back ground picking up anything and everything she found on the floor.

Grandma and Grandpa finally arrived and Christmas Eve was upon us. The kids made their first, ALL by themselves, Pumpkin Pie. It was Yummy even if Claira rolled the dough a bit thin and it got a little burnt. I just couldn't convince her it was rolled enough!

Then it was Christmas!
a little pie for breakfast

and lots of time to play with new toys...this is Wil with his new Hot Wheels Snake Ramp that Claira bought him. Not only did I manage to capture the joy on his face but check out the car!

The neighbors gave the kids their old, but in perfect condition, playhouse! Aby was all about the door and windows...open, close, open, close and on and on!

Then there was the giant Giga Ball that the Flach's gave us. Basically its a human hamster ball...some person thought wouldn't it be fun to be inside a ball! It is!

They got lots of other fun toys too. Claira got a Pink Razor Scooter. William got some Walkie Talkies that Claira has already 'washed' and broken BUT he really has been very understanding. AbyKate got a grocery cart and has enjoyed pushing everything around in it. And I have to say they all have been amazing at sharing all their toys. There are new puzzles, new books, new movies and Williams new obsession LEGOS! I hope to take some more pictures of them with their new toys but with Daddy on vacation and the events of putting in new floors I have lacked on the photo taking. But I did take some pictures of us on a family outing to Inflatable Zone! Now that was a fun rainy day activity

On your Marks, Get Set GO!


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!