Quarterly Update

Apparently keeping my blog updated has fallen low on the priority list. For those of you keeping track it has been almost 5 months since my last post. The kiddos have really changed a lost in the last few months. Zachary celebrated his 4th birthday in July. We had a little party for him and he had a great time. He is counting down the days until his next birthday. He started Pre-K this Fall, so we are getting adjusted to his new schedule of being at school every morning. He is doing great and making lots of new friends. Mostly, he is playing in the sand pit though. He comes home coated in sand every day. He also started swimming lessons this month. He doesn't want to go back because he doesn't "know how to swim." I am struggling with not letting him quit. It is hard to get motivated about dragging 2 tired kids to the pool so I can sit in a smoldering room with a sweaty little girl who has to pee every 5 minutes while Zachary sits on the edge of the pool and pretends the noodle is a tuba while his class swims around. Hopefully he is learning a little bit about commitment and maybe he will get interested before the month is over.

Addie has also started MDO this year. She LOVES it! Every day is a good day for her. Her teacher calls her the "mother hen" of the class. She makes sure every one has juice and a snack before she sits down and eats hers. She has also started using the potty consistenly this week. She has consistently used the potty when we were at resturants for a few months now, but at home she didn't care. Tuesday she just decided to go at home too. Yea!! No more diapers!! (but lots more laundry)

I am busy driving the kids around, doing some work from home for a couple of people, and watching Oliver Walden a couple days a week. I am also getting ready to start a 2nd bible study with some ladies, which is about the only thing keeping me sane right now. We are studying A Woman After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George. So far, it has been really good. I just finished reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. They were so good! The first one was a little deep, but the story picks up at the end and continues on throughout the series. The take place in Bostwana, so I have learned a lot about the culture and a lot about how much we take for granted in America. It makes me want to visit Africa, except I don't think I could handle the snakes.

Four Generations

If you have known me very long you know that Mother's Day is a very special day for me.....well, now it is. This year was extra special because I actually got to see my mom. She was in town for a wedding, so we took the opportunity to have a 4 generation picture taken. I also ended up getting a few of Addie and I that are sweet. I love the 4 gen picture and I'm sure I will really cherish having in the years to come.

Best Job in the World

I said I would update my blog, but the majority of our news consists of kids being sick. I think we are averaging at least one kid throwing up twice a week since January. At 1:00 this morning I am praying that the washer (with all of Zachary's freshly puked on bedding in it) won't get off balance and wake up Addie who has just settled down after crying for the last hour and I realize that I should be praying for the sickness to end before McKenzie goes on a 10 day business trip next month or (more importantly) before summer school starts for both them. That's right, my first time alone in at least 4 years is approaching and I am starting to worry my plans for cleaning out my closet are being replaced with cleaning up well, you know. I have warned them both that they have 6 weeks to get well or else. Despite everything, this is still the best job in the world.

The kids and I did manage an uneventful trip to Houston to visit the family with a couple nights in Dallas with Tim and Jill. For Easter we decorated eggs, but we didn't make it to church Easter morning because Addie threw up before we could leave. I did manage to get their picture taken in their Easter outfits without incident. Addie had the decency to wait until we were in the car on the way home before getting sick.

So, that pretty much sums it up. I hope you are feeling better than us.

I Love Old Friends

Last weekend the kids and I loaded up the car and headed to Tulsa to visit some old friends. I don’t mean to imply that my friends are old, simply that we have been friends for years rather than months. I love it that I can still walk in the back door of a friend’s house when I haven’t seen her in several months. I love that after the initial “how’s everything going” conversation we can pick up where we left off. I love that I can visit my church family there and still feel like family and not a visitor. I love the new bathroom at the church building! I hate that everyone’s kids are two years older than the last time I saw them, but it is still fun to see how they are turning out. I love that I am close enough to hop in my car and make a weekend trip whenever I want to see them. I promise to do it more often and to do a better job of keeping in touch (or at least of updating my blog). I miss you!

Fall Pictures

I know, I know. It is still August, but only for 3 more days and I really love autumn. These are Addie's 9 mo. pictures and Zachary got to jump in a couple since they had matching shoes. This session was relatively painless AND we were entered in a cute kid contest - maybe we'll win that $3000 at Gymboree.

Big Helper

Zachary is really wanting to help around the house lately. This afternoon I left Addie in her high chair with a jar of carrots next to her. This is what I came back to. After helping Addie eat, he wanted to do the dishes like his Uncle Doug always does. He was so proud of himself and his Mommy was pretty proud too.

Road Trip

We have just returned from our first roadtrip with all 4 of us. We drove down to Houston to visit most of our family. It was crazy trying to squeeze everything in, but we did it. Addie even managed to cut two new teeth. Zachary had his birthday party with our family and friends as well. Turns out Addie is a pretty good traveller. I guess she gets it from her brother, who after the 8 hour trip asked to get right back in the car.

Picture Time: Round 2

This shoot turned out much better than the last one. Addie did wonderful and we got some great shots. Here are the two I ended up buying.

Picture Time

It is once again time for our kids pictures. After an hour of bribing, chasing, scolding, and making ridiculous noises we ended up with a couple of good shots. Addie's weren't so great, so we will try again a few days and see if we can do better. If not, I am packing everyone up and heading to Jenny's..rain or shine.

Zachary

Zachary is almost 3 and is a lot of fun...most of the time. His hobbies include watching Dragon Tales, making Addie laugh, showing off in front of a mirror (or any other reflective surface ie: spoons, Daddy's glasses, fireplace doors) eating cheeseburgers, waking up early from his nap, not staying in bed at night and asking to go in the car. He pretty much says what is on his mind, so he is constantly talking or making sound effects. Potty training is still not on his agenda despite the "new and improved Cool Alert" pull-ups (is it just me or do these pull-ups actually hold LESS??) This summer he is taking gymnastics and swimming lessons and, of course, having fun wherever he goes.

In DC

A couple weeks ago Addie and I took a trip to visit Tim and Jill before they make their move to Texas. Turns out Addie is a great tourist. We had a good time shopping and staying up late and even had time for a little sight seeing. We missed being in the middle of the Capitol lock down due to a well placed rain storm at just the right time. The rest of the pictures are on our flickr site - just follow the link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/86721326@N00/

i don't like peas!

After putting off starting solids as long as possible ( it's such a mess!!) Addie has now entered the world of veggies. She actually shutters when she eats a bite of peas. I am trying not gag on the smell and Zachary is standing next to her making his "yuckky" noises. Maybe she'll grow up to be a vegetarian.

Here I go!

As usual, I am running late. But I'm finally making a feeble attempt at blogging. I'm not very good at journaling, but I'm great at taking pictures, so this may turn out to be more of a portfolio of my life. Here goes!