Wordless Wednesday: Preview Post to Why My Blog is Failing This Fall

Mommy and Me Monday

Helping my daughter climb up the slide.  This ended with mommy being pulled down the slide!

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

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ROAR

I love Target.  I found these dinosaur wall stickers in the dollar bins a few weeks ago and HAD to buy them.  Now that my son is into trains AND dinosaurs, it only seemed fitting to have a dinosaur themed wall in his room. 

Wordless Wednesday: So Proud

Extra-Curricular Activities with Preschoolers

In the past 4.5 years that I have been a mom, I have yet to sign either of my children up for a class (excluding preschool and summer camp).  No baby gym, no baby music, no mommy and toddler swim, no dance.  Nothing. We've had museum memberships, zoo memberships, that sort of stuff, but I really hadn't seen the point to carting around two small children back and forth between activities that they probably really didn't care whether they were signed up for or not.

Until now...

The community center down the street from us offers three programs in the fall for ages 4-5.  Soccer.  Dance.  Tae Kwon Do.  Apparently I waiting too long to sign my daughter up for soccer, so I gathered up information about the two remaining classes.  Dance was one day a week and $35/month.  Tae Kwon Do was 2 days a week and $30/month.  WELL. I am the sort of person who wants to get the most for her money, and my daughter really didn't care which I signed up for, so I picked Tae Kwon Do. Thankfully you pay per month, so if she doesn't like one class, the next month we can sign up for the other!

Last week was her first week and, although she didn't quite grasp the concept of how to punch, she did really well. She followed directions about as well as you can expect from a 4 year old, and she really did try.  This week she will have her cute white uniform like the other kids, so I will make sure to have my camera ready!

I hope she sticks with it for awhile. She looks too cute!!

Instagram

I am usually pretty behind on most iPhone App crazes.  I only recently (the past month) downloaded and started playing around with the Instagram app. It is a fun way to tweak your photos and make them look fun, old school, unique without knowing anything about photography.  This is the app for someone like me who can only handle the camera on her phone or a point and shoot camera.  If you like taking photos but don't have an "eye" for it, this is a fun app to get.

My kids having a picnic with a friend before instagram:

 My kids having a picnic with a friend after instagram:

Sunset during my run before instagram:

Sunset during my run after instagram:

View of the Pittsburgh skyline from my car before instagram:

View of the Pittsburgh skyline from my car after instagram:

Autumn Is Upon Us!

Pants, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, fleece jackets... all these items have been taken out of closets and put into our dressers.  Temperatures have dropped, apples are being picked off trees, pumpkins are in the grocery stores.  Kids are back in school.  Hints of yellow, orange, and red are appearing on leaves. 

It is becoming autumn, my favorite season of the year.  I love the feeling of the crisp, cool air.  I love wearing sweatshirts.  I love hearing little feet crunch fallen leaves with every joyful step. I love taking my kids to the local apple orchard and watching their faces as they glow with the delight of doing something so simple as picking an apple off of a tree.  I absolutely LOVE fresh apple pie!  I love hearing the kids talk about Halloween and what they want to be, changing their minds every week because they are too excited to pick just one costume.  I love that my daughter ONLY wanted to get Halloween books and cds from the library because she is so excited about a holiday that is over a month away.

What is your favorite season?  Does it bring you as much joy as Autumn brings me? 

Wordless Wednesday: I Just Don't Even Know How To Respond To This

Wordless Wednesday- Flashback!!

my dad.... circa 1970s

Wordless Wednesday: Food Art

Day Out With Thomas... Take 3!!

Today we got to see Thomas the Tank Engine up close and personal... for the THIRD time! 

My husband was promptly fired from picture taking...Seriously, why take a picture with Thomas if you can't SEE Thomas??

Some may ask why we've gone three times... it is not like each time was terribly different and it was fairly expensive.  Despite the fact that me and my husband find it a little boring and we already know that the actual riding on Thomas is lame, this is an activity that is truly just for the kids and they can't remember the previous visits, especially our train obsessed little boy!!

Waiting in line to board the coaches... Ben said we were on Annie

So, because I love my children and spoil them rotten, I was able to convince my husband to purchase tickets for Day Out With Thomas.  When we went 3 summers ago, we got the tickets to ride on Thomas.  My daughter was 2.5 and loved it!  Last year, she wasn't as into trains and our son was only 1.5 so we paid to enter the railway museum but not actually ride on Thomas.  We got away with it probably because our son wasn't vocal enough to say "Hey mom, why are you depriving me of this awesome experience?"  This is probably our last summer in Illinois, and our last summer seeing Thomas up close.  So hey...what's another $80 to feed into my son's obsession? 

You know what?  That money was TOTALLY worth it!! He was awestruck!! Seriously, the kid barely made a peep the entire time! He didn't talk full sentences until we got back to the car!

 

Ok... Maybe my husband wasn't fired after all!  

 

Stalled

I am still taking photos every day, but I am FAR behind on getting them up on the blog since I can only use my phone camera.  Our real camera broke.  To be more specific, we lost the battery charger.  Even if we COULD find the charger, we still could  not use the camera because a certain toddler spilled juice on the camera so the shutter no longer opens. 

But we are still around, still busy, still snapping photos when we remember, and occasionally videos.  But my whole existence seems to be stalled right now.  Aside from day to day functionality, everything else is ignored. The kids are a handful due to chilly temps and lots of drizzle and massive amounts of pent up energy.  I don't have much help since my husband is working nearly every day and not regular business hours.  So I do what needs to be done to keep them happy and fed, but that's about it.  After that I can't seem to muster the energy to focus on me or our house.  Minimal cleaning is done... enough to keep us clothed, ants away, and visitors not disgusted. 

I don't intend this to be a venting post... I'm not really sure what my intentions are at the moment.  Kids are entertaining themselves and I have found myself having a few free moments to let my mind ramble on, and my fingers seem to be following suit!  That seems to be happening a lot lately, the mind wandering, keeping me up at night thinking about all I wanted to accomplish but didn't, thinking about all I am ignoring, lists of things I want to do but just don't have the energy to do.  I've been here several times before... sometimes harmless, others...well, lets just say interventions were in order (don't worry, nothing like that now!!).  But that fear of "oh gosh...I don't want to go down this road again" are creeping back into my mind as it goes around in circles.  So long as I can keep the day to day going smoothly, things will get back on track, or so I hope!

But right now, with that "single married mom" feeling going on, it is a little difficult to get myself grounded and put my foot down and yell "this is ENOUGH! Go do what you need to do already!!"  So stalled is a good word for me and my life right at this moment.

Forget Spring, Hello Summer!

Apparently Chicagoland has forgotten a very important piece of information that most of us learn in preschool... the seasons go Fall - Winter - SPRING - Summer... How on earth have we gone from temperatures in the 40s/low 50s to 90?!  I actually like the mid to high 60s, thank you very much!

Thankfully my kids don't seem to care about the missing season.  They are quite content to dive into summer and all summertime activities.  I am pretty sure my daughter will be living in bathing suits the next few months except when clothing is not optional! Tonight, after dinner, Jordan declared it "water play day at our house!" and we filled up the kiddie pool and water table.  The sandbox got opened, bubbles were played with, and daddy got the fire going for (MINT!!) s'mores.  It is definitely summertime!

2010 - Year In Review

January:

Big event... the boy's first birthday!! He was a pro at eating cake right from the beginning.
At the end of the month we went to El Paso, TX. Jordan and Ben met their second and third cousins for the first time. Although we were there for a sad reason, it was nice to catch up with Dave's family and have them finally meet the kiddos.

February:

Jordan turned THREE! She also became fully potty trained!

March:

With warmer weather approaching, we were able to go to the playground and for the first time, Ben was able to PLAY! It was great having two little ones running around the playground.


April:

Jordan got her first bout of lice... EEK! Hence the shortest hair cut she's ever had. It was a disgusting experience I hope to never repeat!
We also took the kids on a train ride, which was definitely awesome in Ben's opinion!

May:

Dave got his first ever grill. YUM!

June:

The kids took their first trip to California for Grandma Luisa's wedding. They also had their first beach experience. They were excited and had a lot of fun. Definitely worth the plane ride. They got along great with their new grandpa!!

July:

Acquired a red wagon. This made all our trips to the zoo and Six Flags much easier! Loved this yard sale find!!


August:

August was a busy month. We went to Pittsburgh to see my parents and my sister+family.
Then my friend from college came to visit. We saw THOMAS!!
And finally I got to meet lots of lovely ladies from my February 2007 Baby forum! It was amazing getting to see a bunch of people that I "knew" so well but had not actually met in person. They came from Illinois, Ohio, Arkansas, and South Africa!!

September:

September was a pretty laid back month. Dave and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary, I had my 29th birthday. We were busy with Jordan's first month of preschool, so no major outings.

October:

We got to visit my best friend in St. Louis this month. We loved visiting so much that we went TWICE! Jordan and Ben fell in love with their new friends right away. During the second visit, we saw the St. Louis Arch and went up!

November:

Ben is a full blown train lover so we went to the Museum of Science and Industry for the first time and he went NUTS over the train exhibit. Here he is trying to kiss the trains.

December:

My parents were able to come out and visit in December. They hadn't been in over a year, so it was great to have them visit.
Christmas was so much fun this year! Both kids were really into the holiday and it was a delight to celebrate with them!


I don't know what 2011 will bring for our family, but I cannot wait to find out!

Happy New Year everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - New Chair

Dino Bones

What mommy? You mean there is a museum that is only for dinosaurs?!

My kids like dinosaurs... just a little bit. They aren't obsessed, but they definitely like them. My daughter has outgrown them slightly, not playing with all the figurines that we have acquired over the past 2 years. My son, however, has just discovered dinosaurs over the past 3 months and thinks they are the bees knees. Can you see the excitement on his face??

There is a museum not too far from us that is all about dinosaurs, and is FREE. SWEET! Granted, it is incredibly small. One big room of bones, and one room with kids crafts, dino bone digging, and books about dinosaurs. But that's ok, to an almost 2 year old and almost 4 year old, two rooms was just right. And the price was just right for mommy and daddy - only the cost of two Starbucks. ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Santa's Arrival

Trip to the Firestation

One of the great things about being part of a moms group is having wonderful women who organize the group and group outings. Recently we joined our friends for a tour of a local fire station. I can't recall if I got a tour of a fire station when I was little, though I did get a tour of the Heinz Factory and got a free pickle pin (those rock!!)

We got to see where the fire men sleep/eat/work out/what the do when waiting (nice tv... Ben approved of the recliner). Then the kids got to walk through an ambulance and fire truck.

"you can't make me move"

"That'll teach you for trying to make me move!"

"I said IM NOT DONE!"

After the tour the kids got stickers that look like badges, and those plastic hats that you always see OTHER kids wearing and wondering where they got them.

"That was fun!"