After School

Well, I have entered a brand new world. The world that exists when kids come home from school. They are worn out, but still want to have fun. They don't seem to notice that I spent the entire school day cleaning, as they come home and get toys out! They immediately have to have right this minute a snack! Their memory is fuzzy and somehow can't recall how they have spent the last 6 hours, but most definitely DO remember what happened on an episode of Scooby Doo they saw a year ago. And best of all . . . they don't protest at bedtime and sleep really well!

Here are a few pictures of how we have spent our last two after school afternoons:

Yesterday, Matthew's book order came. I had ordered a Tinkerbell book for Moll and a Scooby Doo book for Matthew. They sat on the couch and read for at least 30 minutes. So precious. I love that they love to read!

They play with the cat!

They missed each other!
They play hide and go seek!
It's almost time to start the next phase, known as dinner, bath, and bed! Then off to watch the premier of The Biggest Loser! Yippeeee!

Here we are . . .

So see what we've been up to! We have been busy having lots of fun! Over the weekend, Mike's cousin, Kate, came to visit from Chicago. We loved having her here. I also took the kids to a local hotel with my mom for a couple of nights and we had a mini-vacation, swimming, swimming, and more swimming, room service, etc. It was wonderful!

Here's a little video of the past couple of days. Matthew learned a new skill! (Only the first few seconds of the video are sideways--sorry!) Then check out Little Miss Personality! Molly isn't always "herself" with other people. They see the quiet, soft-spoken, sweet girl, which is definitely one side of her, but in this video, you can see a little more of what we see everyday. So cute!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy Wednesday! Love you!

Evidence

Evidence . . . that there is a little girl running around in my house. Her brother is at school, and she has discovered a new-found freedom. There isn't a big boy to tell her what to do (or what NOT to do), to boss her around, to play BOY games with--and I think Little Missy is discovering a whole new world.

Little People!

(I know, I know. . . the paci! We're working on it!)

And I even had time to make this while she was playing:

and to see if I could hand-embroider her name.

We've had a great day, complete with Molly's favorite lunch: macaroni and cheese. The house is quiet--she's napping--and I actually have a little time to myself. This is a very strange feeling, indeed!

Ahhhhh . . . sweet summer memories

Look at my little blogger! Moll loves to sit at the computer and watch a video on Hollie's blog over and over of Miss Ky. She dances right along with her. I love how she's just running around the house in nothing but a swimsuit. Fun with the cousins!

Mike took the kids to visit his parents while I was doing the photography workshop in Santa Fe. They had so much fun with Grandmom and Grandad!

More fun in Alabama at Adventure Land! Just the boys got to go, and this was so special for Matthew.

And of course, no trip to Alabama would be complete without the trip to the beach! I wish I could have been there!

I love these sweet summer memories. But I also can't wait to see what sweet memories we have in store!

Big Day for Little Missy

Today was Little's first day in the big girl room at school, aka: The 2 Year Old Room. She has loved going to "school," but Matthew has always gone there, too, and this year it's just Little. She was a wee bit more cautious than usual this morning. She didn't cry, but she held my hand a little tighter and a little longer than usual. But, she has some little friends that she knows in her class, so that helps.
I just love these little shoes! When we found them, we knew they were the ones!
Missy going into school--carrying her Minnie Mouse backpack all by her self! What a big girlie!

When I picked her up, she said "Mommy, you posed (supposed) not leave me!" Ug! I can't stand it! But tonight putting her to bed, I told her that she didn't have school tomorrow and she was going to stay home with me--and she let out a squeal of delight (that warms my heart). When I asked her what she wanted to do tomorrow, she said "Go to mall. Ride the horsies (the carousel). Eat lunch at mall. And. What else?" Hmmmm. Sounds like a plan to me!

By the way, my 2 Year Blogoversary is only 4 days away! Holy Moly!

Football, Fun, and Morning Walk

Well, life has now changed forever--Matthew has discovered football. He's in love. He had his first flag football practice last night and that's where it happened. And, he's good. One of the dads that was helping with practice, who just happens to have 3 college championship rings, told me that Matthew is a natural born football player. Now I realize that he might have said that to all the kids' parents, but I'm just saying . . .
Here's a shot of my dad, Molly, and Mike on the sidelines. I was suprised when I saw this because I thought Mike was on the field the whole time. Guess not. And Miss Molly thought she was one of the players. She was so sad when practice was over!

Here's Matthew in action. Check out his moves!

We also played at the pool yesterday with Hollie and her kids. Too fun! I tried to get a cute shot of Matthew and Molly together, but I was clearly interrupting their fun. This is as close as I got.

Mollie with Ky and Alexie. She loves those girls! Can you see the adoration?

I took the kids out for a little walk yesterday a.m. (note: Molly still in pj's). I just thought they were cute!

Molly got an owie on her finger, and her sweet big brother gave it a kiss to fix it up!

Sillies!

Lovies!

Yesterday was a great day! Can't wait to see what today brings! Love you

A new 'do

Last night after Molly's bath, Matthew and Molly were doing something very quietly. They came running in, so proud of themselves! Matthew said "Mom! Look! I fixed Molly's hair! Come see how beautiful she looks! Isn't she beautiful?" Oh yes! She is beautiful! (Can you see Matthew in the background showing off his work)?

Molly's favorite "P's"

The Pool!Her Paci!

Puppies!
Sweet Mol still isn't feeling well. She has a viral sore throat (according to the doctor). If you ask me, it just means that she's a sickie and she can't have antibiotics to help her get better. Baby girl has a high fever (103.8) and I can't stand it. Hopefully she'll be back to herself in a day or two!

A Day in My Life (and 4/52)

It was very, very early this morning when I was awakened by "Mom! Mommy! I need to tell you something! Come here!" That was at 6:11 am. By 6:17 am, this was the scene in our bed:

Molly has quite the fashion sense. She put together this little ensemble all by herself. Quite talented!
We watched cartoons for a few minutes, played a bit with Mike before he headed out the door, and then met my dad at Denny's for a special breakfast treat.

After Denny's we headed through the Lightening Car Wash (a family favorite)! The kids love it because they get to stay in the car while it goes through the wash.

Then off to Sports Clips (Matthew's new favorite hair cut place) for Matthew's hair cut. Here's the before picture:

And here's After (Mom, I want it spikey!)

We headed to Blockbuster, where Matthew rented Fire House Dog, and Molly picked a My Little Pony movie. Matthew watched his movie while Molly napped. This was about 11:30 this morning--and we'd already had a full day!

Or So I Thought! After napping/movie time, we met Matthew's friend, Preston, at the pool for a couple of hours of summer fun! Matthew got a new snorkle last week and has gotten way more than $5 worth of fun out of it already!

And look at sweet Molly! She's loving the goggles. Work it, baby!

Preston may be Matthew's friend, but Molly adores him, as you can see!

After our fun time at the pool, we went home, changed clothes, and headed for Matthew's T-Ball game. The kids are getting really good! I can't believe how much they have improved! Check out the look of determination on his face!

Another great thing about tonight's T-Ball game was that Uncle David and (soon-to-be) Aunt Jessica got to come! Matthew loved it!!!! And so did Miss Molly!

We ended up this super-busy day with Mexican food. This was the latest Molly had ever been out. It took both of the kids about 3 minutes to fall asleep tonight.

What a busy, wonderful day. I think this is what summer is all about--those great times with friends and family doing things you don't normally get to do. I can't believe we squeezed all this fun into one day. Maybe we'll get to sleep past 6:11 tomorrow!