It's All Because of You

Something amazing hit me smack dab in the face the other day, last week, earlier this summer. 

Probably when my face was covered with pureed sweet potatoes thanks to the fun new trick our 6 month old (now almost 1-year-old) discovered of spitting her lips together just after getting a mouth full, and my ears could only hear the screaming of our two-year-old because I wouldn't let her color with the sidewalk chalk inside on our wood floors.

I was probably still in PJs... at lunch.

And hadn't showered.

Or redone the messy bun on top of my head from how it looked when I rolled out of bed before 6 AM on my summer "break."

I have everything I have ever prayed for.

Everything.

Wow.

That kind of realization takes time to process.  Weeks, even months, before I can fully grasp how awesome it is.  

I say it over and over in my head...  I have everything I have ever prayed for. 

And it's all because of you.

You. 

7 years ago you came in to my life.  

I know now, God had planned on this.  He knew when I prayed for someone to love, to want a family and build a home, that you would be the one.

And as I sit here tonight on the couch with you and our stubborn, independent, and beautiful little toddler as our almost one-year-old sleeps quietly in her crib, I can't help but think again.

I have everything I've ever prayed for.

And it's all because of you.

Happy Birthday You.  

Two Weeks to a Top 10

So you know what I figured out last week?  When I go back to work all day and the girls are at daycare, the number of things that happen that are worthy of a blog post decrease SUPER fast.  And for those of you who say "You're just not looking hard enough" or "I bet things are more blog-worthy than you think."  Really, I can only post about playing outside, dinner, and silly messes the girls make so many times...

Hey!  Guess what three things the top 10 includes this week.  Yup.  Playing outside. Dinner. Silly messes.  :)

10.  Baby Preston - Baby Preston is officially not a "baby" anymore.  Born 9 weeks early, on August 11, my little nephew has just thrived ever since.  He is TALL and has the best little face. Ohhh, those eyes.  My brother, Joe and his wife, Stacy along with big brother, Bryson had a very nice party for baby Preston.  Cake. Ice Cream. Giraffes.  It doesn't get much better than that.  Whether you are turning 1 or 101!

Jackie right there, making sure he figured out how to eat that cake!

9.  Setting the Table - Jackie has taken to helping with a few jobs around the house.  I am pretty easy going in most areas of my life, and I definitely became more relaxed with any OCD tendencies I thought I might have at one time. Basically if someone will do something for me, whether it is folding laundry, vacuuming the floor, unloading the dishes out of the dishwasher, or setting the table, I am not going to complain about the way it was done and I'm not going to go and fix it behind them.  However, Jackie has now decided to set the table for MANY more people than we have in the house and at random times during the day.  Here are a couple of her latest table decor.  Maybe I should pin them on Pinterest :)

I went to put Katerina to bed and came out to, what Jackie described as "A lot of bowls. Jackie did that. For animals."

The result of overhearing me ask Ethan if we wanted water or beer with dinner.  She didn't give him an option :)

I think she just grabs a handful and puts it on the table because it is easier than taking one over at a time :)

8.  Speaking of Messes - For the life of me I CANNOT seem to figure out this "clean as you cook" thing so you don't have this huge mess after dinner.  I hear other moms talk about how they basically have the kitchen cleaned up before they sit down to dinner.  H-O-W!?!?!  This weekend I tried everything I thought to keep it cleaned.  I had the kitchen cleaned before I started, began one thing in the crock pot HOURS before dinner time and slowly made one thing at a time before we sat down for dinner at 5:45.  I did dishes during and after EACH dish was complete.  And I still ended up with this.  I don't get it.

Seriously, how did this happen???

Oh well, at least I have this to keep me company while I clean :)

7.  School's Back - I mentioned above that I went back to work full time again.  I am a teacher, and summers are golden.  I refuse (while my kids are little) to spend much time at the school during the summer time.  This is OUR time, and I have to have that separation from work and family.  However, in order to feel prepared and ready for my students to walk in the door on the first day of school, I HAVE to do something outside of the two work-days we get scheduled into our calendar.  My solution the last few years has been to return the girls to daycare a week early and just start my school year a few days before everyone else.  It is a life saver!  I had my room ready to go before the official "first day back for teachers" and then could spend my work days on curriculum.  Here are a few shots of my first week and the first day of school!

All clean and ready to go!

First day selfie with the sister.  She is literally right next door.  Pretty flowers sent to us from our mama!

First day with my Advisory.  Super excited for an awesome year!

6.  Daddy and His Girls - When Katerina was first born, Jackie did great with the new baby.  She didn't seem to mind that she wasn't getting enough attention.  Or so we thought.  It wasn't until she thought DADDY was spending too much time with Katerina that she creatively started to figure out how to get what she wanted.  If Ethan was holding Kat, Jackie would look up at him and smile and say "Kit Kat wants mama."  Which meant.  PICK ME UP DADDY.  She is and has always been a Daddy's Girl.  After that little maneuver Jackie has decided that Katerina may get to spend some time in daddy's arms, but it won't be alone.  "Jackie want daddy and his girls" has become a frequent phrase spoken by our 2 year old.  I have to admit, it is pretty cute.  And gives my hands a chance to work on cleaning up the kitchen from dinner. :)

5.  Popcorn Outside - We had some pretty spectacular whether around here this last week, and we took full advantage of it.  Even enjoying our bedtime snack outside.  I think this was the highlight of Jackie's week.  She could eat popcorn and not have to worry about staying on the blanket. 

4.  Miracle Treat Day - We are Dairy Queen fans.  We grab that red spoon and give in to our sweet tooth more than any other ice cream place.  We always make sure to try and hit DQ on Miracle Treat Day, where 1 dollar is donated for every Blizzard purchased.  Why not enjoy creamy soft serve mixed with cookie dough or Reece's for a good cause.  The girls loved being part of this tradition :)

I could barely give her a bite and attempt to get one of my own before she was screaming for more!

I think the girls got more ice cream than we did!

3.  New Park - While we were back in my hometown for Baby Preston's birthday party we made a stop by one of the parks in town.  Jackie was super excited to see a "New Park" and play on all the different toys.

2.  Happy Plate - I had never heard the term "Happy Plate" until I married into the Weber's.  I now hear it at least three times a day.  A happy plate is when you clean you plate completely.  Luckily, I was able to capture just how proud Jackie gets when she can say "Jackie got a Happy Plate!"  Plus, she knows that she only gets a treat if she has a happy plate!  That alone has helped her finish carrots, broccoli, and green beans.

1.  Jack Attack - For at least the last 6 months, Jackie has been referring to herself in the third person.  Jackie does this, Jackie wants that.  It has now evolved.  Thanks to the cute little nickname she received at daycare and a summer of mommy calling her by said nick name, she now refers to herself as Jack Attack.  The Karate chop arm actions that accompany it are totally her own.  I'm definitely foreseeing a rocking awesome Halloween costume out of this fun little phase :)

This Week's Top 10

Again...no particular order.  That takes extra time and organization to prioritize what happened this week, and quite frankly I'm about ready to finish a mystery novel I've been reading so I need to get this done :)

10.  Tomatoes - If there is one thing I love about summer...HA, that's funny.  There are about 15,000 things I love about summer.... But the food is one of them.  I crave a home grown tomato like a pregnant woman craves, well, anything. (I'm NOT pregnant, just an example!)  My brother, Joe and his wife planted a great little garden this year and they had an abundance of tomatoes.  He was kind enough to share the wealth.  Which I promptly ate right up.  First thing on the menu?  BLT.  Classic.  Awesome.  Soooo good.

9. Katerina's Car - If Katerina had a "to-do" list.  Each and every day at the top of that list would be.  Chase after Jackie.  But since Kat can't walk yet, she has to resort to either being "walked" by holding our fingers or playing in her car.  Her car is one of those little walker toys I bought when we realized that she wanted to follow us everywhere but couldn't.  I have a serious love/HATE relationship with this little toy.  I love the amount of time she spends in it and that is keeps her somewhat happy...until she gets stuck in a doorway that's not big enough.  But I HATE how bad it hurts.  That thing is the devil for your feet.  Even Jackie knows when we put her sister in the car that it kills your feet when she bumps in to you.  Jackie makes a bee-line for the couch or the Tupperware cabinet or anywhere else that is out of reach.  I either put on my tennis shoes or Ethan's slider shoes.

8. Nine Months - Yay!  Our little Kit Kat turned 9 months old this weekend.  Hard to believe we are on the countdown to ONE :)

7.  Dolly gets a bath - Jackie loves her little dolly that Papa gave her.  Dolly goes everywhere with Jackie.  I could watch her "play mommy" to that little thing all day.  I was finally able to sneak dolly away for a bath.  Washing the doll in the machine was out, so hand wash it was.  Thankfully it was going to be a hot day and I found a fast way to get the baby dry before nap time came around and Jackie had a meltdown because she couldn't have her doll.  Of course...Ethan did say it looked creepy.  Whatever works...right?  :)

6. Ladybug - Apparently any brown, black, or red spot is now a ladybug.  Tonight while eating her ice cream, Jackie delightfully announced that there was a ladybug in her ice cream, and then ate it.  Turns out, it was a chocolate chip.  She proudly showed me another one she found.  Amazing how many "ladybugs" are in chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream.  :)  I don't know whether to be happy that she is no longer afraid of ladybugs or concerned that she would eat them so easily...

5. Finding a balance - One of the biggest challenges (OK...probably THE biggest) for me to solve in my mommy role has been trying to find that balance of keeping the house and spending time with the little ones.  I have really struggled with this.  Clean up after dinner or go outside and play with the girls on the swing.  Sweep up the floor or build a castle out of blocks.  I know.  I know.  I know.  I have heard the "They're only young once" and "spend time with them while you can" and "the mess will still be there, someday they won't" speeches a hundred times.  I say them to myself every time I load a dish into the dishwasher.  But here's the thing.  The mess is still there.  And I still have to clean it up.  So if I don't do some picking up and cleaning throughout the day, then I'm left with this HUGE MESS at the end of the day...which 9 times out of 10 I will leave until the morning because I am so tired and don't want to clean the house up at 8:00 at night.  I don't know if anyone ever figures out that balance, and I'm NOT wishing time will move any faster, but I do look forward to the day when I can have Jackie help load the dishwasher and Kat sweep up from under the table without it just making a bigger mess. 

4. Baby Joseph - Jackie has a few obsessions at the moment.  One of the cutest is her love for baby Joseph.  Joseph is a three month old little cousin (2nd cousin if you want to get technical).  To Jackie, he may as well be a living, breathing doll.  Joseph has an older sister, Elizabeth who is just a few months younger than Jackie.  When we get together with them, I wait for Jackie and Lizzie to go off and play together.  Nope. Jackie is totally taken by Joseph.  We saw them again Saturday for a wedding, in which Jackie went all around the reception looking for Joseph. She was so excited when she finally found him and even got to hold him.  Thanks Cyndi for being a great sport!

I don't think baby Joseph was as happy to see Jackie. :)

3.  New kicks - Jackie had to get some new shoes.  Call me cheap or tight or whatever (you are right) but I will not spend more money on my two-year-old's shoes than I will my own.  So.  We are hitting up any clearance sales we can to find shoes that will work.  Thanks Academy Sports for our 5.99 deal. 

2.  Daily Routine - I finally feel like we have figured out a fun daily routine that works for all of us.  Wake up, eat breakfast, go for a walk, clean up from breakfast, go to the park, lunch, play a little, NAP, play some more, fix dinner, DADDY'S HOME, eat dinner, bath, books, and bed.  This was our last week with that summer routine so here are some final shots at the park :)

1.  Miss Rose - Tomorrow morning we will be getting back into the swing of our school time schedule.  Girls will be heading to daycare.  Jackie has been saying "Miss Rose. Next week. Addie and Ella.  Willy too.  Mariah too." all week long.  I think she is excited to see all her friends again, but I'm not so sure she is ready to share with them.  She has definitely been more protective of her toys now that Katerina is mobile.  Speaking of Katerina.  She left at the end of May not quite sitting up and now she's sitting, crawling, and getting in to everything she can.  We are so lucky to have such a wonderful place for the girls to go while we are both at work.  I know, even if there are tears at drop off tomorrow, that they love being there and love Miss Rose!

Bunnies

About a week ago, Jackie saw a bunny sitting in our backyard by the swing.

It was so cute how Jackie just stood there looking and watching that bunny.  The bunny stayed a long, long time.  We didn't think much of it because it was a warm evening and it was sitting in the shade of the swing.

Jackie, loved it.  And watched for the bunny to return constantly.

And return she did.  Last night she got even closer and sat right next to our back porch.  We let Jackie outside to sit on the steps by daddy and watch the bunny.  It was so cute to watch her try to inch closer and closer to the bunny.  Ms. Bunny would hop a few feet away when Jackie got close, but never take off.

Odd.

Even more odd.  She was there and stayed there the entire time that Ethan was mowing the lawn.

Then he saw it.

A little fur-ball sitting in the grass by the slide.

So he got down from the mower and took a closer look.  Sure enough, he saw a little baby bunny.  He investigated further and found the little nest where mama bunny and the babies had been staying.  Right under the slide.

Jackie and Katerina came out to peek at the bunnies.  Kat cared about as much as a 9 month old can care and Jackie said, "ahhhh, cute!" 

Brings me back to two very distinct memories of my childhood and bunnies.




*************************

First story.  Good.

My brother, John, (the creature lover...snakes, frogs, salamanders, anything else slimy or found in a creek...) found a baby bunny that had fallen in our window well.  It was a regular task for him to check the window well for any of the above creatures that may have fallen.  A bunny was a super cool find.

For some reason, my mom was gone.  I don't know if she was coaching volleyball or out for a walk, or just running errands, but in the days before cell phones John decided to call my dad at work to ask if we could keep the bunny.  This was a gamble.  We NEVER called dad at work so we didn't know how he would appreciate us bothering him, BUT when it came to asking for things (cake for breakfast, ice cream while at the grocery store, etc...) dad was the easier target.

It paid off!  He said we could keep it!  John scurried off to get the bunny while I tried to find something temporary to put it in.

John with Bugs

I'm not quite sure what mom's reaction was, but she came home to four very excited kids and a new baby bunny we dubbed "Bugs."  Real original, I know :-)

The next few weeks found us feeding the bunny from a bottle. Really...mom went to the vet and asked what to do, gave us milk and a teeny tiny bottle to feed it.  We played with him as we watched him grow.  Our dachshund at the time, Fritz, caught Bugs once on the butt.  Bugs was fine and we thought it was hilarious that he was bit on the butt. 

Eventually Bugs got to be a really good jumper (imagine that...) and he wouldn't stay in the laundry basket home we created.  It was decided that he should be set free.  So we found a little wooded area around the creek John liked to play in and said our good byes.  I like to think that Bugs lived a happy, full, Rabbit life.

Me with Bugs shortly before we returned him to the wild.

**********************
Story Two.  Not good.

This story won't take too long... But I will say, that had Google been around at the time, a quick search on the smart-phone would have given this story a much better ending.

My best friend just happened to live across my back yard.  I like to think that I could still walk to Jessica's house in the pitch dark missing all the trees because I had memorized the path after so many years...but between the shops and boats and campers our parents have acquired after we left, I would probably struggle.

One day we found a nest.  A cute little group of baby bunnies in her back yard.  We watched all day and mama bunny never came.  Of course we decided they must be abandoned.  Thanks to the recent success of Bugs I told her that we could "save" the bunnies. 

We went to the vet.  Got bunny food and those teeny tiny bottles.  Rescued the bunnies and started working on getting them ready to be set free.  Her mom refused to let us keep them in the house, so we set up their little home in their garage. 

Then my family set out on vacation. 

And a few days later, so did hers...

I will not go any further into our story, but I will say that her parents were very mad at us when they returned.  And I still can't go in their garage without thinking of that smell...

*********************
After searching Google on my smart-phone today we now know that the baby bunnies in our back yard are perfectly cared for, and probably a week or two from being out on their own.  So for the time being, Ethan will not be mowing under the slide and we'll continue to go check on the babies each day while watching for mama bunny in the evenings. 

:-)

Mystery Weekend Top 10

A little change to my Weekly Top 10.  Today it is all about Mystery Weekend.  Because something as awesome as this deserves a post all it's own.

10. Carpool - Thanks to my sister deciding to relocate literally 15 minutes from my driveway (if all the red lights are hit, which happens way more often than hitting all green...) we were able to drive together to Burlington to meet mom and learning our destination.  She requested that we be there by 7:00 on Wednesday night.  The trip found us brainstorming ideas on where we thought we were going and what she had planned that night.  We decided on the monthly Bunko night and a trip somewhere in Missouri. 

9. We were WRONG! - Oh wow, were we wrong.  Mom decided to leave Wednesday night in order to break up the trip a little.  We would be staying in Kansas City with my brother and then heading off in the morning for...

MALL OF AMERICA!

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mall_of_America#mediaviewer/File:Schriftzug_moa.jpg

8. Seven Hours - was the time it took us to reach Minneapolis.  We weren't rushed to get there, we had two whole days to spend at the mall.  We stopped to go to the bathroom whenever we wanted, ate when we were hungry and enjoyed the time in the car.

7. Souvenirs - Each Mystery trip we try to get some piece of memorabilia from that city.  The last couple times have found us getting coffee mugs of some sort.  I think this is a tradition that is going to stick. 

6. Mall of America HOLLA! - We came with one purpose.  To shop.  And shop we did.  We were all the mall from 11 AM on Thursday until 8 PM.  (We did stop to eat twice).  The family we sat next to on the shuttle to the mall Friday morning called us "Professionals."  We were there again Friday from 10AM until 3PM. 

PS... We still didn't make it to all parts of the mall.  It is HUGE people.  And they are adding on more!  Craziness!!

5.  Think Happy :)

4. Coach - So my dad has this thing about Coach purses and the ladies in his life.  It all started quite a few years ago, when a lady at work had been to the Coach Outlet in Branson.  She brought back a bunch of bags and dad got each one of us one.  He loved the feeling of spoiling us with something we would never buy on our own.  We loved that he did that for us (something so out of the blue).  Since then he's bought different pieces from Coach at different times.  He shocked us again this trip when he said he would give us some "fun money" to get something.  Totally unexpected.  And the best way we started our day on Friday.  The sales ladies were AWESOME and made the hole experience worth it.  We took a selfie to celebrate.  Or is it an Us-ie? 

3. Recommendations - We love to ask for recommendations on what to do, where to eat, and what to order.  The people in Minnesota know how to answer.  (At least all the ones we asked).  The Catholic Church recommended to us was so welcoming and friendly.  Seriously.  They started Mass with having everyone introduce themselves to someone new.  So cool!  The sales lady we asked for a recommendation on where to eat sent us to Pizza Luce.  Oh wow, was she right.  I feel sad when I think that we could have missed out on this super yummy place.  And our ROCKING AWESOME waitress (who is also a Special Education teacher during the school year...bonus!) helped make our meal so great by suggesting spectacular items for each course.

Drinks.

Salad.

Pizza.  Seriously.  So good.

Dessert. 

Happy.

2. Reactions - I will never get tired of telling people about Mystery Weekend.  To see their amazement and listen to them gush about how awesome it is just makes me smile from ear to ear. 

1.  My Support System at home - There is no way Mystery Weekend would happen if I didn't have some amazing people to help out.  Ethan is such an awesome dad and the girls love him so much.  I never have to worry about them.  I have visions of my childhood and how much fun we had with our dad when mom went out of town.  (Not that we didn't love having mom around), but just "dad" time was special.  I know our kids will feel the same way. 

 
And my in-laws who graciously take the girls during the day when Ethan has to work.  Jackie had been saying all week that she wanted to go see "Papa and Gama"  and even today packed her little bag and said she was going bye bye to see Papa. 

Every year Mystery Weekend is one of the highlights of the summer.  And I know that this trip will be one for the record books.  Until next year...

Weekly Top 10

I like to take ideas that other people create, tweak them just a bit, and then pass it off as a cool "new" thing.

What???

I'm a teacher.  It's what we do.

I always give due credit to where the ideas come from.

As the title suggests the idea comes from Letterman's "Top 10" segment.

My tweak is that it is all about us here at Weber Haus.  What we did, who we are, and what took place around our not-so-picture-perfect home.

My purpose of this is twofold.  1:  I want to get more consistent with my blogging.  This is probably one of the only records my kids will have of their childhood.  This and an unorganized file of a bazillion pictures.  I'm not that great at all the milestone charting and scrapbooking stuff.  2:  I want this to be a real picture of what goes on here.  I feel like so many times what we (society...) post online is not a true representation of ourselves or our home.  We put out this picture perfect, all smiles type of life.  That's not reality.  So while much of the weekly top 10 will be some of my favorite things, I hope that it also paints a true, honest picture of how cool we are...because of our imperfections and unfolded laundry.

So here we go.  My first "Top 10"

*These are in no particular order, just when I thought about them at the time.

**This is long.  No apologies.


10 - Rock.  When we first moved in to our house over two and a half years ago, my parents offered to buy us a housewarming gift.  They wanted to get us one of those cool rocks with our last name chiseled out of it.  Cool!  I love those rocks.  We wanted to wait until our landscaping was finished before getting it so we would know right where we wanted to put it.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, found here, it took us a few years to get that done.  Ethan and I planned a day to travel to the town of Larned to pick it up.  We arranged for my sister to watch the girls while we headed out for a kid-free day.   We are SUPER happy with the way the rock turned out and would recommend the guy to anyone, so fee free to ask.

See our lovely landscaping... That pretty grass-like stuff that surrounds the rock.  Want some??? Super easy to get and low maintenance.  They're weeds.  Ugh!

9 - Cooler days.  Oh my this is awesome!  Thanks to the Polar Vortex in July I got to bust out the leggings and shirts with sleeves.  (Seriously...sleeves choke me in the summer.  I don't wear them.  It's tank tops and cut-offs all summer long!)  This also meant spending a couple of days inside, because along with the cooler air came a steady drizzle of rain off and on for the majority of two days.  Life at home with two little one shoots up to cabin fever mode REALLY fast.  That meant breaking one of the major rules of summer at Weber Haus.  NO OVEN.  Thanks to 68 degree days we got to do some baking!  Banana bread on Wednesday...bad move on my part.  I love banana bread (I think I ate the first loaf before it completely cooled off) and it just added to the mess and dishes in the kitchen.  And Jackie needed a second outfit.  But hey...the house smelled like fall and I was in leggings!    We also made some cookies.  It takes every single ounce of my attention to keep my two-year-old out of the uncooked batter before getting all the ingredients in.  She then enjoys the spatula while I scoop out yummy cookies onto the baking sheet.  Again, I ate too many and it made a mess.  BUT it kept us busy for a portion of the day.

 
8 - Folding Laundry.  I, like most mom's I have ever met, hate, Hate, HATE folding laundry.  I can wash and dry it fine, but when it comes to folding it... Well, I usually have to be prodded by my hubby saying he is out of boxers...  Finally on Friday I gave in and put in a movie for the girls to watch so they would be distracted so I could fold the 5 loads of laundry.

 

I really, really wish my girls were in to princesses, Lion King, or any other animated form of entertainment.  That's Jackie in the chair and Kat sitting on the floor fully engrossed in movies of themselves.  Oh well...the laundry got folded.  And put away!

7 - Morning Walks.  We try to take a morning walk each day.  I love it.  Jackie... gets bored.  The only way I can keep her going is "the animals."  The walk is divided into four legs; duckies, deer, horses, and bunnies.  The Duckies are usually a given, and when we see them we have to get as close as possible.  Jackie says "hi duckies" and "bye duckies" and we move on.  The deer are a constant. Every single day they are there.  They are fake.  She loves them and says "hi" and "bye" just the same.  The horses are usually "hiding" but sometimes we get to see them.   The bunnies are my lie to get her to last a little longer.  She saw a bunny in our yard one night and looks for them constantly.  I tell her to look at the end of the last cul-de-sac on our walk.  Then we head home.  This is the extent of the exercise I get.  I will say what I have to.

 
6 - Nap time.  Enough said.

5 - We are working on cutting out little Katerina's morning nap, and what I have found is she will sneak a quick little 10 minute snooze on our way to or from the park, pool, or store.  Basically whenever we are in the car.  That usually gets her to 1:00 when I can put her down for at least an hour and a half (and always hoping for 2).  However, if we don't go anywhere...like during the polar vortex...she hits a wall about Noon.

See that shirt I am wearing.  I think it's from high school, maybe middle school.  Cut off sleeves.  I'm rockin' it, don't ya think?! :o)

I even tried sitting her on the floor to get her to stay awake.  Yeah... it didn't work.

4.  The Park.  I have attempted to take the girls to the, very cool, Sedgwick County Park.  Lots of fun places to play, lots of shade...but LOTS of people.  I have discovered that small town parks are the way to go.  Few people and fun toys to play on.  The girls love it, it is easier than trying to wrangle them both at the pool, and it tires them out for a good afternoon nap (refer to number 6).

3.  The Pool.  Sundays have become the pool day for us.  Why?  There are two of us for the two of them, and if we go to early Mass and then head to the pool after, the girls pretty much get the pool to themselves.  No pool pictures.  Obviously.  (Not Obvious?  Try taking a two-year-old fish and an 8-month-old kind of fish and getting pictures with your smart-phone.  Yeah, not happening.)

2. Katerina is Crawling - I am pretty sure this is good news.  At least I feel like I'm supposed to think it's good news...  However, she doesn't like it.  She wants to be walking, but lacks the balance and strength to do so. So she crawls and gets in to things, but is whining and crying half the time because she doesn't like it.  Jackie is screaming the other half of the time because Kat just touched her blankie.  Oh, Lord it's going to be fun watching them fight for toys...  Eh...I'll just put in their movies and they can sit and watch TV all day.  Kidding.  Kind of...

That is were she ended up.  Got stuck, then got mad.  We took a picture before helping her.  Naturally.


1. Peaches - Two years ago we planted trees.  Two apple trees and one peach.  To be honest, I was REALLY doubtful of the peach tree.  We were in our second summer of record heat and drought and I just didn't see it happening.  Well, I have been proven wrong!  And I've never been happier.  This year we got 8 whole peaches on our peach tree...well, 7.  One fell off :(

Tonight the girls enjoyed the "fruits of our labor."  Those peaches were SO YUMMY, I suggested we get another tree so we can have more! 

Stop by next week (hopefully) for another Top 10!