Catching up

It's been a few days since I posted anything! The week has been busy with swimming lessons, ballet and of course everyday life! :)

Allison finished up her ballet today - turns out ballet isn't really here "thing". On Monday she spent most of the class under the chair she was supposed to be standing next to and today didn't go much better. She did look REALLY cute in here little leotard, tights and skirt though. :)

Tomorrow is the last day for swimming lessons for both kiddos. Jack has had pretty much private lessons and is doing great - jumping in the 10 ft water and getting to the edge (my whole goal). Allison is participating more this week ... I think this one has to do with the instructor's "technique" last week for the lack of participation ... she really does love pools/water/swimming.

I'm working on getting us ready for our St. Louis trip. I am looking forward to getting home. Yes, after 7 years of not living there, I still consider STL my home. Now to get all the logistics of seeing everyone.

We'll be seeing my Grandparents. They are 92 now and doing ok, but not great We always see them when we get home. My kids love them (me too). :) Grandpa's memory is gone, but he is still fun!! Grandma is frail, but still spirited.

We'll be staying at my mom's ... in my old room ... me and my kids. ha ha. (Karl won't be with us for the first 1/2). It always makes me laugh just thinking about it....

Today we went to our church's splash day and then to Chik-Fil-A with some friends. We put our collective 6 kids at one table and we mamas at another and actually got to talk!! It was fun.

It's been a busy day and I'm feeling tired! Surely this Epstein Barr Virus is on it's way out, RIGHT?! I still am not myself, but certainly ready to be! Hopefully I'll get a good night of sleep and be feeling better tomorrow!! Oh - I have a hair appointment tomorrow- yeah. Two or three hours to just chill....ahhh.

J & A are upstairs playing dress up. Jack must have like 57 layers on right now. He's spiderman and Allison is Sleepy Booty (yes that is how she says it).

I need to decorate some tote bags for my MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) leadership retreat, so once the kids go to bed I need to get my creative juices flowing. It will involve a bow I'm sure. I'm excited to have a bigger role in MOPS this year, I'm on the hospitality committee. One other lady and myself are planning/organizing our retreat in August. My MOPS group is actually at our church and between the two I've been able to make some great friends.

If you read this, you know I love Gymboree (kids store) ... they started a big sale today, I have a 25% off coupon and STL will have tax free this weekend. WOO HOOO.

I don't think I have anything else exciting to write about... just a normal week. Oh - I signed both kids up for soccer at the YMCA for the fall. That should be fun/funny!! :)

Our Saturday

Another day, another birthday party! This time it was a 3 year old party. Anyway, they had fun and anytime there is cake involved - they are happy. It did lead to getting home past bedtime ... then still having to get a bath, etc. Oh well, maybe they'll sleep in tomorrow! (Not likely).

I had been feeling almost 100% normal over the past few days, but today I was back to feeling like crap. I was so bummed ... just yesterday I was telling my mom that I was finally feeling like myself again. Oh well - hopefully tomorrow I'll feel better. I plan on doing NOTHING ... except the essentials! :)

I think Allison is fighting some type of little bug - her tummy hasn't been quite right - so hopefully that will go away soon. She woke up a bunch last night and then didn't have a good nap today. When she is just playing she seems fine though, it's slightly baffling!

This one is brief tonight - I'm sleepy and I'm going to bed!

I love Gymboree

Today was my big day with the Gymboree designer!!! As Allison would say, it was awesome! The group consisted of the lead designer for Gymboree/Janie & Jack/ Crazy 8, the district manager, the regional manager and then a corporate big wig from California (headquarters). I was with them the whole time and then 3 other moms were in & out during our conversation. I came armed with a ton of opinions. They really listed to what I had to say and that was so cool! I do ALOT of shopping there and it was just nice to tell them what I like & what I don't. :) One of the other moms that came was snooty and I was glad when she left. :)~ Makes me think *maybe* I might want to look into that area when I go back to work. But, who knows.... then for coming they gave me a great coupon ... which I'll combine and use during the back to school sale and get really good prices - YEAH.

While I was in Gymboree land, Karl took the kids to swimming lessons (Allison participated- woo hoo) and then the library!

I took the kids to their friend Drew's birthday party this evening at Pump It Up (inflatable jumper place). They had a blast, wore themselves out and went to bed without much of a fight!

My house looks like a tornado hit it, but I think I'm just going to leave it that way for tonight. I'm tired and I'm going to bed! :)

It's been another full day! Karl took the kids to swimming today ... Jack did great, Allison didn't participate. {rolling my eyes}

I actually stayed in my pajamas until lunchtime. Ahhhh. Unfortunately one of my bow customers came at 10:30 (while I was in my jammies) to get her bows. Oops....

So we had a little issue with Karl's work schedule which set us in a funk for a few hours, but it's all good now. He has to go to work tomorrow (unexpected and we weren't happy about it) but now he's going to get off for my birthday/Jack's first day of kindergarten. So, that's happy!!

Allison had ballet - her teacher is hilarious. I'm pretty sure she is close friends with a bottle of gin. She's in her 60s and is pretty darn funny. There are 3 teenagers/college kids that do the actual dancing.... Today Allison participated for most of it - woo hoo!!! She's sooooo cute when she's doing it! They played a video of some of the recital dances that the teachers were in and the little girls were mesmerized - heck so were the moms.

Today we have just been hanging out. The kids should be in bed - but for some reason they are in the backyard with Karl. Oh well, whatever....

Tomorrow is my big Gymboree meeting!!! Woo hooo!!! I've been compiling my notes today. :)~ I really am excited for this opportunity...who knows where it will lead me. I am in Gymboree A LOT - not because I'm always spending $$$ but because as part of my bow business, I need to match all the new line colors. I end up buying a small accessory (like socks or something) to start. Anyway, my bow orders then fund my Gymboree shopping. :) Oh and I only buy on sale, or with a coupon. I work at it so it is around the same cost as other stores. Anyway, because I am there alot - they know me. And because Allison always has gigantic bows in and because Jack is a sweet boy that sits nicely and watches their TV. :) I'll post how it goes......

Oh - apparently the kids want me to go outside. Guess we aren't making bedtime tonight. :)
Overall the day turned out ok ... bummer that Karl has to work tomorrow and Friday though. Oh and Saturday and Sunday......

Alright...outside I go!

It's been a full day!!!

It's been a busy day! Karl got home from his "red eye" flight from Equador at 7:00am...the kids woke up at 7:02am and somehow I had to keep them quiet so he could sleep. LUCKILY we had swimming lessons today and had to be out of the house at 9:00am. We did swimming, then went to the donut store (yum) and then to Target. We seriously wandered the aisles and visited the potty twice.... FINALLY Karl called about 12:15 to tell us he was up and we could come home! Thank the Lord!!!! $90 later and a cart full of randomness - we left!!

Karl and Jack were supposed to visit Jackson, MS today, but due to a lack of seats on the flights ... they didn't. Jack was seriously bummed, so Karl took him to Kung Fu Panda while Allison napped. You can imagine the scene when Allison woke up and found out what went down while she slept.........

Maggie had a playdate with the new puppy across the street ... all dogs & kids enjoyed that.

I talked to the manager of my Gymboree today and was invited to meet with the new corporate designer. Ok - anyone that knows me and my shopping habits knows that is HUGE. I love that store. If you are reading this and have no idea what I'm talking about - it's a children's clothing store and I make made to match bows ... well to match their clothes. My bows that I sell fund my shopping habit. ;) SOOOO on Thursday I get to go in and give my opinion!! I posted a question on Gymboree forum (yes such a thing does exist) and I'm up to 248 replies in like 9 hours!! I just asked for people's opinions that I could pass along. It cracks me up. :)

I also got a "rush" bow order ... Karl laughed. Hey - when you need a matching bow - you need a matching bow!! That particular Mama needed 4!! So ... that's what I did tonight. ;)

Karl's taking the kids to swimming lessons in the morning ... woo hoo!

Ok, I am now going to finally hang out with my husband!! :)

ballet princess

We need a little Allison video on here!!

Just what's been going on today

Today started off a little on the rough side - kids up to early, me not feeling so great, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera!! Then Karl calls and gives me his *lovely* schedule for August. Ok, as if you hadn't guessed, it's not lovely. It flat out stinks. So... that was a wet blanket on the morning!! I am going to attempt to remedy that situation tomorrow morning ... there is a 2 minute window each month where the pilot can *try* to drop (get rid of) a certain trip. Well, Karl is in Equador and can't really wait on hold for 25 minutes, kwim? Anyway, we'll see if I can be his proxy and drop those CRAPPY trips!! I know I should just be thankful he has a job ... but boy do I want him home when our baby boy starts kindergarten!!

The kids and went to church this morning. Jack happily goes (makes me so happy) but Allison isn't so thrilled. They have a series going on in their Sunday school that involves two characters dressed up with crazy Einstein hair. Well, Allison does NOT like them. I was solo, so after I did my preschool check in volunteering, I just decided to accompany Allison. I wanted her to know it was ok and have her not associate church with scary!! She had told me over the past two weeks that she didn't like the monsters...well this week it dawned on me what the "monsters" were. Anyway, I joined her for their Bible lesson and we danced and sang and made sure everything was ok. Ironically, the verse this week was about being brave. She was happy the whole time and hopefully this will carry through to next week because mama needs to learn some stuff too. :)

My neighbors watched the kids so I could attend a meeting for *the* consignment sale around here. I'm selling some stuff for my MOPS group, but also want to get rid of some of our toys. They are TAKING OVER THE HOUSE. Anyone that's been to my house, heck anyone that knows me ... knows this is soooooooo true.

I should be getting to bed, but when Karl's out of town, sleeping is sometimes a struggle. I'm least excited when he's in another country ... heck another continent. My routine is to lay in bed and watch my tivo'd Jon & Kate + 8 ... but I think I'm out of them!! Oh no! :)

I read a lady I knew back in Columbus' blog tonight. She lost her husband in a plane crash in the Spring. Reading her posts just makes you sooooooo appreciative of your family. I'll give my babies an extra pat tonight and wish I could give my hubby an extra hug. Do me a favor, go love on (that sounds like something that lady would say) your family!

Tomorrow we start swimming lessons (again). This will be Jack's 2nd set this summer and Allison's FIRST. I will let you know how that goes...... We also have ballet again...poor Jack will get dragged to that. :)

The other blogs I read are often so profound. Mine: not so much.

A low key day!

I can't believe it's Saturday - somewhere in the week I lost track of what day it was!!!

Yesterday we went to the Barnum & Bailey Circus!! The kids really enjoyed it -- heck the grown ups did too! Allisons says her favorite part was the elephants and Jack hasn't decided yet. We went with some of our neighbors and all the kids really enjoyed being there together. So, the most astounding part to us was that the cotton candy cost more than a ticket!!!! Seriously, we had the YMCA discount, so they were $8 each and the cotton candy was $10!!!!!!!!!! Something's not right about that ... you know it cost like $0.02 to make. I took some video, but I seemed to have lost my uploading skills...so we'll see if I can post it! They really did put on a great show though! The "star", Bello, was this crazy-talented clown that had so many different skills!! It was fun - I'm sure we'll go back next year too!

Jack has 95% mastered riding his bike without training wheels! It's amazing to watch ...also makes me a little sick to my stomach because I'm afraid he'll get hurt!! He just needs to be "launched" by a grown up and then he's good!

Today the kids, Maggie and I went and checked out a different dog kennel. We're going to St. Louis soon and we really need a new option for Maggie. We've tried 2 other kennels here, but we didn't love either. We've also tried keeping her at the house and having the neighbors let her out and play with her ... she poops in the house and eats stuff out of anger. :( So...we are going to try a new place! The price is STAGGERING though. I miss the days of my friend Nikki watching Maggie at her house for next to nothing. It was the PERFECT set up and we knew Maggie was being loved! This one we looked at today looks pretty good though. They can keep 20 dogs at a time, they let them out to play 5 times a day. The "big" dog area is like 100' x90' - so it's great. All is good ... except the price.

Allison continues to be a sassy pants, so we're working on that. She has been a good girl today, with the exception of a few COMMANDS to me. {rolling my eyes} Our neighbor gave the kids some hand-me-down toys, so they've been enjoying their "new"things. :)

Both kids start swimming lessons on Monday at the YMCA. This will be Jack's 2nd round this summer, but Allison's 1st! She likes swimming, so hopefully it will go well! We continue with ballet also on Monday & Wednesday.

Guess that's it! We're having a low key day today ... it's nice. :)

I'm tired

Well, I'm just plain tired! I have my good days and bad days with this epstein barr virus...this one turned into a not-so-great one....

We did get to enjoy lots of family time today and that's always great. :)

Now, I'm off to bed.

I survived Walmart AND Chuck E Cheese today!

Today has seemed like a long day! It's been good though (with the exception of the trip to Party City). We went to the "donut store" for breakfast...Jack wanted to ride bikes...but I wasn't feeling it!! Anyway, we went for donuts (a family favorite) and then to the library for some "new" books. We were going to brave a family Walmart trip...but decided against it. We did our standard lunch & then nap for Allison. Oh, we are taking care of Goose, the neighbor dog again...so our day also included several trips to his house. Karl went to work around noon ... but it's a short trip-- yeah!! Some neighbors were also husband-less, so we took the kids (6 of them) to Chuck E. Cheese. It went suprisingly well!!! whew....

So, we did get to Walmart today ...it was the kids & me. Although I'm the only one feeling sentimental about it ... I bought my baby boy's first school supplies today!!!!!!!!!!!!! We picked out #2 pencils, Elmer's glue, new crayons, etc.... you get the idea. Makes me all mushy just thinking about it!! Anyway, it was fun. :)

Now Party City ... well they suck. They send out this big flashy ad claiming 50% off. Well, that my friend was a bunch of BS. It's the normal everyday price there. They said, oh it's off the "MSRP" ... anyway...makes me want to cuss, but I'll refrain!!!!!!!!!! Who in the WORLD would pay $5.00+ for 8 paper plates?? Um, NO ONE. MSRP my ....well you know....... Anyway, we left without buying anything. I'll show them!!!!! ;)

My other mind-numbing activity was figuring out what to spend my Gymboree Gymbucks on tomorrow. I know about 1% of people have any interest in that ... but I love that store. I love feeling like a got a good deal. Karl just rolls his eyes!!

I need to fold laundry and then I think I'll go upstairs and watch some Tivo'd Jon & Kate + 8. I love that show...but Karl hates it...I can only watch it when he's gone. Oh wait...have to go do one more Goose the dog run.....

Ok, obviously not an earth-rattling exciting day ... but it was still a good one. :)

Allison's new bike!

Now that I have figured out how to A) take video on the camera and B) post it on here ... here is another one! My mom gave Allison a new bike for her birthday.

no more training wheels!!

Jack is becoming a big kid!!! :)

It's been a few days since my last post, so here's what's been going on...

Mommy & The Birthday Girl
Allison's new bike from Grandma

We're having a low key day today...and it was MUCH needed! We took mom to the airport today so she could fly home. Karl's at work today and Ying & Dottie headed out yesterday.

My baby girl turned THREE on Friday - crazy! We took her to dinner at Red Robin and she LOVED her huge ice cream sundae that they brought her - she wasn't so sure about them singing to her though. My mom gave her a new big girl Princess bike for her birthday, so she enjoyed riding that. AND Jack learned to ride his bike without training wheels!!

We had her big party on Saturday at one of our favorite pools. It was a success. :) Everyone seemed to have a good time at the Ariel-themed party. Our house is populated with more Princess stuff now!!

On Sunday Karl & I did childcare at church. I was going to do it by myself, but when I was up to over 20 + kindergardeners I knew I'd need his help! I had a not-feeling-so-great day yesterday...so that experience pretty much zapped me!! I did squeeze in a nap ...and then we had another birthday party last night!

Allison has ballet this afternoon...so hopefully she wakes up from her nap in a ballet mood! She wasn't feeling it last week....

I need to make some bows for an order...so that's all the excitement from here!! :)

Beach Babies

Yesterday we drove down to Galveston so the kids could experience the beach. They LOVED it. It's not exactly the beautiful beaches of Florida...but they still loved it. They each were "buried" in the sand and then LOVED burying Daddy. We stayed at the Hotel Galvez, which was cool, but we had a little "issue" with the thermostat. Karl would like to blame that one on me...but I am innocent!!!!!

We went to an old time ice cream parlor after dinner which everyone enjoyed! We took some video of them riding on a horse & boat inside, I'll try to figure out how to upload video!! Hmmm...

We drove back today and then Allison had her 2nd ballet class. Apparently today she wasn't feeling it... Oh well. It's still cute.

My mom flies in tonight for Allison's big THIRD birthday (which is Friday)! How can she be 3?!?!?

I need to post more on my lovely epstein barr virus...but maybe tomorrow. I have to go finish dinner! :)

Boy, I'm tired!

And now I know why!! Yesterday I was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr Virus! Fun times! I get to experience this fun for 6 to 8 weeks!!

Ok, on a HAPPIER note, we are taking the kids to the beach today!! Yeah! We are driving down to Galveston. The kids are SOOO excited. :)

I should be packing up, so it's a short post today!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! It seems like it was just the beginning of June! Crazy....

We had a nice day today. We met our friend Tiffany and her family again today for a little pool time. If you hadn't gathered, that IS our entertainment here! Anyway, we went to Crainbrook Pool today. They had a fun jungle theme today and did hot dogs, lemonade, etc. We had a good time...until Jack scraped his toe and then it started to rain.

Our awesome neighbors Bob & Ann had the kids and I over for hamburgers tonight. They are so good to us! Their kids are 10 and 12 and they are so sweet to J & A!!

The kids are in bed and I'm going to relax for a little bit and then go to bed myself! No fireworks for our family this year......

Out of the mouths of babes

So here is a random funny story...
So yesterday before Karl left for work we were all upstairs hanging out in our bedroom. Jack calls it "family time". Anyway, we were watching the show "Dirty Jobs" because my husband and children LOVE that show. Usually it's very kid-friendly. I don't even know what the segment was about ...but at the end Mike Rowe says "and now I have crap in my pants". So Jack says "he has crap in his pants?!?!" ...then Allison says "CRAP IN HIS PANTS" (she says everything loudly). By then I am DYING but trying to be the responsible parent and emphasize we don't SAY that word. Karl was just trying to hold back the laughter. So then Jack says -- "what's crap anyway?". So Karl tells him ... it's another not nice word for poop. So Jack says "crap means poop" ...then Allison says "CRAP MEANS POOP!!!!". Eiy yie yie. I was really having a hard time with being that responsible parent...but we just ended the conversation with that fact that kids don't say the word "crap".........

We spent a good part of the day at another pool -- one we hadn't been to this year. We met our friend Tiffany & her kids. The kids had a BLAST together. It was fun -- I got way too much sun and I'm sleepy. :)

We drove down to the airport tonight to have a quick dinner with Karl ... then back home. :( When he saw that the 4th would be spent in Vancouver he thought that would be cool and then I reminded him Vancouver was in CANADA.

Alright...I'm going to let Maggie inside and then head to bed. My pillow is calling my name.....

Happy 4th of July y'all!!!

I should be...

...well the list is long. I should be getting clothes out of the dryer that just buzzed, I should be emptying the dishwasher so I can reload with last night's dinner dishes, I should be wrapping Allison's presents, I should be ... well you get the idea.

Instead, I'm just sitting here. Ok, well I AM typing,but that's it. It's been crazy around here. I do not know what has gotten into my kids, but holy cow. Allison is napping now and Karl took Jack with him when he went for a haircut. Alas...quiet ... just the hum of the computer. It's wonderful.

We went to the new "aquatic center" today - still very cool - but Allison just whined the whole time, so that wasn't so fun. Oh well.

Alright, I may post more later ... but right now I'm going to get myself a cold Dr. Pepper and just veg out on the couch. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh