Why it takes 45 minuets to vaccuum one room!

Hey Mom! Are you going to vaccuum?

Do you need some help? I'm really good at it!

Don't worry, I won't miss a spot. Go ahead and take it easy. I'll take it from here.

I've missed you vaccuum. Come here. I want to give you a hug.

It tickles my tummy.

This is hard work, I think I need to sit down for a little bit.

Hey, I've got an idea.....I'm going to sit here and not move until you push me around on this thing. I can wait aaaaallllll day, beleive me! But I'm cute, right? How can you say no to this face?

Congratulations Graduate!

On Wednesday Haylee graduated from her first year of preschool. Isn't she gorgeous? (thanks Grandma Herbert for her beutiful dress!)

She made so many new friends and had such a good time at school. We decided to put her in preschool when she was three for a few reasons, but mostly so that she would learn how to play with kids. Being the first child of the family, she was always around grown ups and was having a hard time just playing and being silly. Fortunately, she learned how to be silly very quick and she now loves playing with kids. She's still super shy, but she'll eventually warm up and want to play.

She's so shy and timid that I was worried when her teacher called out her name to come up and get her graduation certificate that she wouldn't. I didn't think she would want to be the center of attention in front of that big crowd. But as soon as the teacher called her name she marched right up there like it was no one's business. She's really grown up this year. I'm so proud of her!

She was in a fun class with a fun teacher. Now we just have to keep her busy this summer until school starts again this fall.

Congratulations Haylee. We're so proud of you!

Happy Birthday Haylee!

Can you believe Haylee is four? How could my baby girl already so old? Look at her, isn't she the cutest little four year old you've ever laid eyes on? Maybe I'm biased, but I think she's absolutely beautiful. She had a fun-filled day. I asked her the night before her birthday what she wanted for her birthday breakfast. Right away she said "blue waffles!". On St. Patrick's Day I told her that I was going to make her green waffles. She said no, she wanted blue, not green. I don't think she quite understood St. Patricks tradition of green. But she didn't get over her craving for blue waffles so on her birthday she got her wish....blue waffles. And she was so happy!

Then, she was off to preschool. While she was gone we decorated the house with streamers and lots of balloons. For weeks we've been talking about her birthday and we always talked about having balloons. She was so cute, when she walked in the house after school she looked around and got the cutest grin on her face. Then she looked up at me and whispered "Mom, it's my birthday!". I had been telling her all morning that it was her birthday but I guess it didn't seem real until she saw her birthday baloons. It was so cute!

Then we headed to Chuck E Cheese for lunch. Well, I guess it was lunch for Mike and I. The kids were not interested in the pizza one bit. They were too excited to run and play. No time to stop and eat. They had a blast! It was my first time ever going to Chuck E Cheese but we had such a great time, I'm sure we'll be going again very soon.

Haylee did not want to leave, so we had to bribe her with ice cream to get her out. Worked like a charm!

Next we headed home to open presents! She got lots of new clothes, a DVD (The Princess and the Frog).....

And a bike helmet. She was a little confused about the bike helmet. When we put it on her, she said quietly to herself "helmet for a bike". She didn't realize what was waiting for her out in the garage......

A new bike!!! She was so excited! She got on it right away and insisted on riding it all by herself. She's not the most coordinated child. She couldn't figure out how to peddle it and REALLY couldn't figure out how to peddle and steer at the same time. She finally decided that it was okay for me to push her around while she learned how to steer. She's coming along but won't he riding by herself for some time still.

When I could finally pull her off her bike we came inside and watched her new movie in the theater room with popcorn, candy and drinks. She was in heaven! Then we had dinner, and of course, birthday cake.

We had a fun day. I sure love that girl. She's such a sweetheart and we're so lucky to have her! Happy Birthday Haylee!

Mess after mess after mess.....

If you're a Mom, you know exactly what I'm talking about. While I'm cleaning up one mess, the little devils are making another one. And I only have TWO kids, how do you Moms with more kids keep up?? Gage is predictable, he likes to empty my kitchen cabinets. Haylee is a little more creative. She is an artist and the world is her canvas. I really have to keep an eye on her. Here's a picture of their most recent mess.

They got into my hot chocolate mix. Oh, what a mess. It cracks me up how pleased Gage is with himself. Haylee knows better, she has that guilty "I know I'm in for it" look on her face. They went right to the bath tub, which turned into a giant tub of hot chocolate. Some day I'll look back and laugh, right???

Dear Bloggy World,

Alright, let’s just get this out in the open. You know you’ve been thinking it.

I’M A BAD BLOGGER.

There I said it.

Do I have a good excuse? I do! Several, in fact.

1. Work. I’m a working mother. I go to the office 25-30 hours a week. I enjoy going to the office, but trying to take care of everything that needs to be done in the week without those hours at home is difficult. Very, very difficult. Not to mention, when I’ve been sitting in front of a computer all day, it’s the last thing I want to do at home.


2. My camera. It’s slow. And I have two wiggly little kids. By the time the camera actually snaps the dang picture, I’m left with an image of the back of their cute little heads as they’re running away from me (well, crawling in Gage’s case). Or, I get a picture of Haylee trying to snatch the camera out of my hands. And really, what good is a picture-less blog entry? I find them to be very disappointing. (Mike, if you’re reading this….HUGE hint about what I want for Christmas!!)


3. Time. It’s been a crazy busy summer. We sold our townhouse in May and begrudgingly moved into an apartment with our fingers crossed that the short sell we had put an offer on would actually happen. And….IT DID!!! It only took FOUR MONTHS from the time we put an offer on the house until we actually closed the deal. On July 31st (my birthday!!) we moved into our dream home. It’s absolutely beautiful and we’re so lucky to be here. But two moves in two months is enough to make a woman crazy. Life is settling into place. Life is good.


4. Envy and Inadequacy (is that even a word?). I’m a huge fan of the bloggy world. I religiously follow many, many blogs. Most of those blogs are written by moms just like me. I envy their creativity, vocabulary, and profound messages. They keep me laughing and crying. They motivate me. And then I sit down at my computer and have nothing more to write about than snotty noses and potty training.

So, there you have it. I considered giving up on blogging all together, but I have hopes of someday having a lengthy, fun, detailed blog for my kids to read when they’re old enough to appreciate it. And that will keep me going. And as long as you don’t mind rushed, picture-less posts about our simple lives, then please keep reading. All three of you.

A couple of samples of my awesome photography skills:

Mini Vacation

It's a rare occasion when I get a break from my kids. Haylee is a night owl and Gage is an early bird. So, I go to sleep right after Haylee each night, and then I wake up with Gage. He's been getting up between 5:30 and 6:30 every morning. Every. Morning. I don't mind getting up early, especially to that adorable smiling face. He's so happy and content in the morning and we get our Mommy/Gage alone time. It's great. But secretly I always hope each morning that he'll sleep in just a little bit. And today it happenend!! I woke up at 6:30 and realized that he was still asleep. I was too giddy with the hopes of possibly sleeping in.....I couldn't go back to sleep. So I got up early and GOT READY ALL BY MYSELF! No kids at my feet, no noise but the chirping birds outside my window. It doesn't sound like much, but it was like lounging on a sunny beach sipping a cool drink. It was marvellous. And it lasted about 25 minutes. And then? I missed Gage and went and woke him up. What a fun little guy.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Moms out there, I hope you have a wonderful day. I know my day started out great. My wonderful husband had flowers waiting for me when I woke up. I told him once when we first started dating that I think flowers are a waste of money. I'm glad he didn't listen and suprises me with them every now and then. True, they die within days and cost waaaaay too much (especially on Mother's Day) but I love to know that he was thinking about me and wanted to do something nice for me. It's a gesture that goes a long way.

The other day I heard a mom say "I have no free time on my hands but tons of free time in my head". I know exactly what she means. I'm busy ALL the time. Some days it seems I never stop. But my brain never seems to be stimulated. I read kid books, do kid puzzles and play kid games. I love it, don't get me wrong. I just have lots of free time in my brain for day dreaming. Mostly of a new home. (If you didn't already know, we've sold our townhouse and we're desperately searching for a new home.) I think about how to decorate, what furniture to buy (what furniture we can afford to buy), what will the kids think, how hard will it to be to make the mortgage payment.....is it all worth it? YES! I think we'll be house poor for a while, but that's just part of life, right? Eventually our car will be paid off and raises will come in (hopefully!) and everthing will work out. I have my eye on one particualr house, and it's all I think about. Its' perfect and I don't want to get my hopes up, but I already have. I hope it works out and I hope when we're settled you all come to see it. Just don't make fun of our lack of furniture to fill it up, after all, it's three times the size of our current home.

(Sorry for yet another picture-less post. I'll get better.)