Golfing

What beautiful weather! Coming out of a drought, the rain and cool weather this week has been such a blessing. Who would've thought we would have indoor recess on the 2nd day of school? The kids have been wanting to play outside when we get home so today I took a few pictures. However it ended when Sidda climbed in their baby pool which had about an inch of water in it. She soaked her pants and it was actually too chilly for it to dry, so we stripped her down and headed in.

As you can see Sidda is quite the golfer... in fact she could putt the ball around pretty well :)

Max is all about taking balls out and putting them in. 

This is from this past Saturday. We went to the Johnson County parade and happened to be walking out of the house right when our neighbor was walking down the sidewalk in front of our house. We walked to Main Street with him and then sat with Joy and the kids. My children are LOVED by all the daycare kids. Too cute!

Random 15 month pictures!

So I needed to use up the last of my picture people membership and I happened to come across a Groupon. So with two babies, one on each hip, a diaper bag, and an extra bag of clothes we made it just in time for our appointment. They were running all over the place, escaping the picture room, and Sidda almost shut down their computer, but I caught her hand just in time! We finally got settled with the photographer. Max was not having it... he did not want to sit, stand, or lay down. We tried sunglasses, hats, balls, flowers... nothing was working! We encouraged kisses... but Max didn't want Siddalee inches within his face. The photographer captured this ADORABLE picture of him pushing her away :)

It's always funny though, despite the fact that I was literally sweating from chasing them around during the photo shoot... the pictures turn out cute. Somewhere in the mix we are able to catch some adorable smiles.

Summer Sangria!

It should read Summer SangriaS, because we just made a pitcher of them and they are aMaZiNg! So Sangria is my FAVORITE drink by far, but rarely do I order the drink because it has to be just right. Anyway last night Brett and I were enjoying some Mexican that I had slaved away making (actually it was made in a crock pot... easy peasy) and we were wishing we had a nice Mexican drink. So tonight.. while eating leftovers we enjoyed some homemade Sangria.

 Here's how we made it:
 1 bottle of cabernet sauvignon
2 shots of flavored brandy (we had cherry, but next time I would do apricot)
 1/2 cup of sugar
 3 strawberries
1 orange
 1 lemon
1 lime

 Let it sit for at least an hour and serve on ice. On a different note I only have two weeks of summer left... AHHHHH! Honestly, I am ready to go back... need some adult social interaction. I think my kids are extremely bored as well. I am too scared to venture out by myself with two terrors angels. We went to the public pool once and Wonderscope (when I was armed with 2 other adults). A few trips out and about with my buddy Jenny, but she has a baby too so it's still pretty crazy!

 Today we had our 15 month checkup. They tested Sidda and she does NOT have celiacs. Thank goodness! I am not sure if this totally rules out a wheat allergy or just celiacs, but based on blood work she's good! She has also gained 7 oz. in two weeks! So she is at 17 lbs. 1 oz. and Max weights 23 oz. Doctor said we need to focus on getting him to talk, apparently his word count is low :) You would think with me being a teacher they would be pros... but with two they are impossible to get focused. They just feed off of each other and not in a positive way :) I also took the kiddos into school and they really did a good job keeping entertained, Sidda did rip down part of my bulletin board but I can fix it pretty easily! They were so exhausted after lunch they took a 2 1/2 hour nap! Woohoo!

Noodles and Company

We have had a very busy week and so this morning once the kids realized we were stuck at home they began to go stir crazy! They were being ornery and I couldn't keep them entertained. So I went to the pantry and pulled out a couple of bowls and some noodles. Wa-la! They were busy emptying and filling bowls for a good 20 minutes. That is a new record for sitting in once place and staying busy! It was a lot of fun and then even helped pick up all the noodles when we were done!

This afternoon we went to the city pool for the first time this summer. Shortly after we arrived everyone had to sit out of the pool for 30 minutes due to an "accident." After another 15 minutes of swimming the kids were getting tired and ready to go home. Perfect timing because as we are heading out it started thundering and then lightning as we reached the car they had everyone evacuate the pool again! Now the kiddos are in dry clothes and nestled in the beds for nap time!

We love our friends!

Today the kids and I drove to Topeka to spend time with our friends. Kelly and Kevin are in town from Chicago for Kinsley's birthday. We went to the Discovery Center in the morning. It was really fun until the 2 bus loads of kids came in, which was really funny because they ended up being from Gardner... small world! So I got/ had to see several of my past students! Then we headed to Cici's for lunch and topped it off with naps and some swimming. Before heading home I swung by my dad's house so they could see "papa."

Aren't they such great artists?

Celiac disease?

Well we took Siddalee to Children's Mercy today, because the doctor was concerned with her not gaining weight. I was sad to hear she still has not gained an ounce in 3 months!!! She has been drinking 16 oz. of pediasure a day and we have been trying to beef up what she eats. Without going into too much detail she has also been struggling with some nasty and frequent stools, which has also resulted in yeast infections. The poor girl is miserable due to her bottom! We are stopping the pediasure to see if that is what is causing the diarrhea. We are also wondering if she may have a wheat allergy or Celiacs Disease. If the absence of pediasure doesn't heal the bottom we are going to an allergy specialist to check on the wheat allergy. Another strange piece of advice was to show her how to use her back teeth. I told the doctor's she tends to spit out a lot of food after chewing on it for awhile. They said she may be getting frustrated or is not confident with her chewing. My job now is to show her how to use her back teeth and see if she mimics. I am to observe how  she eats over the next week... hmmm, interesting. Here is the site where I found information on symptoms about Celiac's and honestly a lot of them are hard to tell with a child, but it was still interesting information.
We'll keep you updated!

South Dakota, 4th of July... I LOVE SUMMER!

We have had a busy last couple of weeks. Last week we went on a little adventure to Deanna Rose Farmstead. We tried to beat the heat and get there right when they opened at 9 am, but it got hot quick. Within the first 5 minutes Sidda got her hand pecked by a chicken, and therefore was a little timid the rest of the visit. Shortly after a goat got a hold of her dress and wouldn't let go. And being the great mom that I am I took a picture before pulling the goat away.

They both toddled all over the place seeing the cows, ducks, goats, and other animals. Halfway through the trip we picked up a wagon to lessen the walking. Afterwards we grabbed a quick lunch at Culvers with Jenny, where both of my children threw their entire lunch on the floor and refused to eat :)

Later that week we headed towards South Dakota. To break up the trip we stopped in Omaha to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. All I can say way... awesome! I am not a big fan of zoos, in fact I hate going to zoos. But this zoo was so cool and I could tell the animals were happy! The environments and space this zoo has designed for animals is awesome. All the animals were busy moving about and fun to watch. We saw otters swimming, monkeys swinging, jelly fish swirling, and sharks pacing!

By Friday we had made it to South Dakota, for Brett's family reunion. It was great to see Grandma Lucy and all the cousins. Since Lucy moved in with Curt and Joan the family has not had their usual meetings in Salina. The kids had a great time as well. My favorite part was Bear Country. If you ever got to Rapid City, SD you must go! There were all kinds of animals that walk right up to your car as your drive along the designated path, but the best part was the bears! There was nearly 50 bears just hanging out... we watched the bears scratch their booties on logs, go swimming in the pond, take a nap on a fallen tree, and chase each other across the field.

Here is a picture of the 4, one year olds. North was born in March, my two were born in April, and Mabel in May. We got about 5 picture of this shot and this is my favorite, as North goes for the outlet :)

And finally the Fourth of July! One of my favorite holidays of the year. We decided to head to Topeka. We started at the lake for the arts and crafts, plus kiddy activities. Then we went to my mom's and grilled burgers. We hung out for the afternoon shot of some fireworks and then headed to my dad's. Over there we had grandpa Eells and crazy aunt Shellie. We grilled again. Played Uno and Croquet and then, of course, shot off more fireworks. Siddalee and Max stayed up until 10:00 as they were so mesmerized by all the fireworks in my dad's neighborhood. I was so happy they were not scared!

There is no time to rest!

Whew! Yesterday was go, go, go and now today is slow, slow, slow. I guess that's the way it is. I am falling behind on my list of to do's for the summer and so I really got focused yesterday. Me, myself and I was able to drag the kiddos through wal-mart (which I have to say they did wonderful!), finished painting my rocking chair, setup several appointments for next week, laid out by the "pool" for an hour, made dinner, and read from Teaching with Intention. Not to mention I have been cleaning like a mad woman because Siddalee lost my keys. At the moment I thought it was harmless to let her play with them and now they are gone forever! I seriously have looked in every drawer, picked up every toy and it has officially been 24 hours of missing keys! Keep you posted on whether I ever find them :)

Well I was on a roll with working on my master's class so I better bet back to it!

What to do?

Well I about lost it yesterday! I had no idea what to do to keep my children busy... we have ran out of songs and are bored with our toys. So to Pinterest I went... I found LOTS of ideas but am still in Topeka and therefore stuck to limited resources. One of the ideas I found from Productive Parenting had a long, long, list of things to do depending on the age. So we stuck some pretzel bits (it had suggested cheerios which we didn't have) into a plastic bottle and boom they were entertained for 10 WHOLE minutes! Not only the challenge of getting to the snack but making all the crunching noises and seeing how well it bounces off a sister's head :)

Now on top of things to do I mentioned running out of songs, so I stumbled across a very cute song today! I sang along with this mommy and few times and then shared it with my kiddos. Max loves it and immediately tried sticking his tounge out too! Thank goodness for a new song... I will be on the lookout for more!

Summer = Cooking

Most people think of grilling when they think of summer and I have to agree! However, my summer is a time for me to try all those recipes that I haven't had time to make. Today I tried some Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, with life cereal in them.

They were delicious, of course I was craving cookies at the time! The life cereal seemed to add an airyness (if that's even a word). They are crispy (not crunchy) cookies, so if you're a soft cookie fan don't bother. I got the recipe from the side of a Kroger brand box of Life cereal and I have to say I may just have to cut that off of the box and keep it for future use.

Well we completed our 2nd day of swim lessons and the kids love it! It's been a great time to try some new things and really experience the water beyond sitting in a floaty. The instructors are HORRIBLE, but we are making the best of it. By the end of the 30 minutes the kids are tired and cold, but they love every minute of it.

A dip in the pool.

So Sunday we took our first dip in the pool at Amanda's house. We were filling up her pool and the water was ICE cold, but it was so hot it felt good. So we just sat in it as it filled up and enjoyed the sun. When the kids woke up from their nap we let them try it out. Max did not like the cold so we sat his floaty on a raft and he barely touched the water. Siddalee wanted to jump right in, however she didn't last long :)
Then on Monday we filled up the baby pool at our house and got in that evening. The kids LOVED it! We got in again today, but the water was almost too warm. The temperature was like bath water, so I ended up splashing half of it out and adding some cool water. Kids liked playing with the hose anyway. It's hard to get them to come in the house after playing in the pool! Summer fun!

And now we begin our adventure tomorrow of not being home for almost 3 weeks! Long story short we have reason after reason to be out of town. My poor husband will be quite lonely, but I am sure he will enjoy every bit of it!

Summer is here!

Well, after yesterday I was feeling a little unsuccessful after my first day home with the kiddos! It was hard to keep them busy and it was difficult working out a schedule. However, I have to say today was a 100 times better. We finally got a schedule down and I can only foresee a little bit of tweaking. But I have to also keep in mind with all the traveling and other activities we have these first few weeks it will be hard to keep with it. I am really looking forward to this summer with my two beautiful babies!
I am also trying to keep up with my 2 masters classes which are fun classes but boy do they have a lot of work to go with them! I also saw the email that the district sent out about the workshop I am teaching mid June. So I was also starting to think about how and what I want to do for that.

Sidda is walking!!

So all of a sudden in the last three or four days, Siddalee has just taken off in walking. She walks everywhere and when she falls down she just gets right back up. I knew it was just a matter of time, but now that she is actually doing it, it's hard to believe! I just smile every time I see her wobbling around. Max is definitely got his eye on her, he's been showing a few brave moves of his own. I think he'll be walking sooner now that Sidda is. Her walking has also made her more brave in being a little bully to Max. Now that she can get away faster she just walks by bops him on the head and keeps on walking by. It's actually pretty hilarious!

Aww... a night to myself!

...well sort of. After taking a kids on a walk, feeding them dinner, showing around the Friday babysitter, and getting the kids bathed, a night to myself. Brett is out test driving a car and I am sitting in front of the tv watching Grey's Anatomy. Laundry is going. My glass of wine an arm lengths away. I am so relaxed it's amazing.
I wish I was posting some cute craft or new recipe I have tried but this me time is absolute bliss!

Mother's Day

Well my morning didn't start off as dreamy as I had hoped, with a baby running a fever and a sleepy husband, however it ended nicely. We had a wonderful trip to the Legends. We ate at Famous Dave's, which I love, love, love! Then we headed over to the shopping area. Ended up buying 4 pairs of shoes for the kids, how did that happen? OH well they were super cute and one of the pairs was only $1.89 and that was with tax!! Ended the day with a glass of wine and some blog reading.
Today Max is feeling a little better, no fever, but a sleepy guy. I almost think maybe he had mono or something of the sort. Dr. said it was nothing they could see. 
Tonight Sidda was very lively, she was singing and walking all over the place! I ran to go order a pizza and when I came back she had emptied a box of kleenex. Instead of scolding (after all I am the one who left the box in her reach) we made it into snow. We threw it up in the air and watched it float down. She does know what the kleenex's are for because she was pretending to blow her nose, which was totally cute (especially because she did have some nasty green ones hanging around). 

Well once again I have realized maybe this blogging world isn't quite for me! Quick Update: My wonderful babies turned one just 4 weeks ago. Sidda is walking all over the place, Max is still taking his time on the whole walking thing. They are getting pretty rough with each other: pushing, biting, hitting, pinching. Yikes!

On for career news... I am switching to first grade next year! It will be a huge change, but I am looking forward to it, in fact I am totally excited! I also just finished up my 2nd semester of my master's!

Might be blogging more often to sort out my thoughts and plans for first grade :) Plus summer time should allow for some more free time!

March Madness

Well spring break is here and I am officially "on break." It hasn't been too enjoyable so far... report cards and sub plans today. Then after the kids went to bed I cut out laminate for review centers that we will be doing after spring break. Needing to start on my weekly tasks for my graduate class, but not feeling the motivation. I was really wanting to go home and visit my parents, but not sure I can make that happen. We have a 1st birthday to go to tomorrow and church on Sunday. Then I really need to get laundry, house cleaned, and everything packed in order to be ready to leave for Chicago. The kids are going to Joy's part time Mon-Wed, just so I can get something done! We leave for Chicago on Thursday morning... once I am on that train I think it will really feel like spring break! I am excited and nervous about our first trip! It's going to be a wild experience, especially because Amanda will be traveling with me! With the kids being so mobile I am worried the train ride is going to be a LONG one :)

Speaking of the kiddos they are changing every so quickly. Every day they seem to find a new nook or cranny in the house to explore. They are busy bodies and I love it! They keep me on my toes and enjoy every giggle, scream, and smile! They will be 11 months soon, which totally freaks me out! Brett is supposed to be working on their invitations this weekend, so hopefully their birthday party will be official soon!

Leap Day on its Way!

Wow, here we are leap day.... February 29th and my babies are 10 months old! We have been preparing for their 1st birthday, which has been a lot of fun! I have made a cake stand, birthday pennant, and working on birthday outfits! We have decided not to pick a theme, but just use a fun color scheme. It's funny because we have a million ideas for future parties but just felt they were all much more fun for when the kids were older.

Brett has been pouring his life into the "ground breaking" project in the web world. He says he is finishing up as of tomorrow. Hopefully that is the case, because I have definitely got a good taste of what it would be like if I were a single mother.

I hope to post some pictures of my cake stand, but that will require some motivation. Today our counselor informed me we only have 10 Mondays left in the school year, woohoo! I can't wait for summer, in the meantime I am looking forward to our trip to Chicago in a few weeks!

2012

So far this new year has been full of new endeavors! The twins not only are crawling EVERYWHERE, but are also pulling up on things. Siddalee loves to get on the laptops and bang around, daddy always says she trying to set up her own facebook account. Max loves crawling under/through things. His favorite places are under Joy's coffee table and under our exersaucers or chairs. They are both so much fun! They are happy, funny, and just too darn cute!

We finally made it to church after several weekends in a row of failed attempts. They kept falling asleep or throwing massive fits (because they were tired) right as it was time to head out the door. This time we tried for the 9:00 am service and made it! They loved playing in the nursery!

I am working away on getting ready for their first birthday. I made a mock up skirt for Sidda last night... thank goodness I decided to do a practice skirt, it is way too big! I have also decided to attempt a vest for Max. Trying not to leave my big guy out :)

My next task is to make a banner to hang up on their big day. I bought some paper to match the colors of their party now I just need to get started.

Want something like this just can't make it too girly!