Ready or not- the kids are growing up.....

Today was a bit of a milestone for us- while Kylie was watching a Princess movie, I let Ethan & Kaitlyn play outside in the yard for the first time unattended. Mind you, although I was inside doing things, I was running out to check on them every 2 minutes and was watching for them out the window every minute.... OK- So maybe they weren't unattended but still I wasn't right there like I usually am. They played happily in their sand box and were gathering buckets of water from a wheelbarrow that had collected water from the sprinklers. It was very sweet and I was really excited for this bit of independence.

Strangely, on that same note though, tonight after their tubby (bathtime), all 3 of the kids got themselves out of the tub on their own and insisted on drying themselves off without any help from me. For some reason, this bit of independence made me really sad.... Playing outside alone-no problem! Being able to dry themselves off unassisted with a towel- a tragedy! I can't figure out why it bothered me so much but it just did.

Who's Liam?????

Last night after I tucked Kaitlyn into bed, she started talking about her friend Liam and how he was sleeping in Emma's crib so I had to be quiet. Mind you, the only Liam we know is from our Mom's club and I can guarantee he wasn't in Emma's crib......So apparently, Kaitlyn has an imaginary friend. Why she needs someone else to talk to is beyond me, but that's ok.....



This morning while we were driving around town killing time (per previous post), Kaitlyn began talking about Liam again and how he had gone home and was now busy shopping with his Mommy. Kylie, who has a fantastic imagination and can play Princess with the best of them, asked Kaitlyn who she was talking about. Kaitlyn replied "My friend Liam, he slept over last night- didn't you see him?". I looked in the rearview mirror and burst into laughter at Kylie's priceless expression. She was staring at the back of Kaitlyn's car seat with a truly perplexed look on her face, crinkled eye brow and all. Apparently Kylie can't grasp the concept of an imaginary friend and why he would be sleeping over our house.

Are we too early or really late????

Last night the thunderstorm that moved through knocked our power out just after I went to bed at 11:30pm. Of course, I slept fitfully for it to come back on so I could reset my alarm clock for work. It finally came on as I was nursing Emma a few hours later. When we finished things up, I checked JP's battery operated travel alarm clock which said 4:33. I set my clock to 4:33 and the alarm to 5:45.

The next thing I remember is waking up to daylight and looking at the clock which said 7:27---- we overslept and the alarm never went off! I nudged JP to start getting the kids dressed while I jumped into the shower. After we were all in the car, a half an hour later, I picked up my cell phone to call the babysitter to let her know we were running late. I started the engine at the same time and the car clock read 6:50am..... I just stared at it- mind you we don't leave for work until 7:30am. So now we are no longer late- we're absurdly early!

I hung up the phone quickly- good thing- because Cristi would have thought I was crazy calling so early while apologizing for being late.

We ended up running some errands to kill time. I deposited my paycheck, bought the kids a box of Munchkins to share with their friends at the babysitter's house, picked Cristi up an ice coffee and swung by Starbucks for an early Iced Chai.

We arrived at the Bean's right on time........

Lesson learned: It's a good thing that nursing a baby isn't too complicated or else Emma would be in grave trouble since I apparently have no technical ability so early in the morning.

The Incredible Shrinking Pool......

Today was another HOT day! By 3:30 the kids looked like they were melting inside (we hadn't hooked up the AC units yet) so we ventured outside and set up their kiddie pool. This pool has served them well over the last couple of years but today it looked incredibly small. The kids didn't seem to notice and had a great time. Even Emma took a little dip (yes, she's still dressed- the kids couldn't wait to get outside so I never got around to putting her in a bathing suit).

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Today was a hot day and after spending a short time outside with us as we were doing yardwork, Emma needed to chill off. She LOVED chewing on an ice pop although she wasn't too sure at first since I'm always telling her to take things out of her mouth ;)

Playing in the Dirt.....

My project this Spring has been to design our Side Garden- the area around the walkway that leads into the Family Room. Last year, JP and his Dad put up a 4' picket fence around part of the yard to help contain the munchkins. JP also worked for many weekends building the kids' play area- a big peastone area with a playset and sand box.

Now I'm beautifying the area! :) I've been buying plants over the last week to fill in the area but needed some loam to make some raised beds along the fence. Yesterday, 5 yds of loam were dropped outside the fence and today in the 90 degree heat, I shoveled, or rather threw, at least 3 yds of the loam over the fence since it seemed easier than shoveling it all into the wheelbarrow and then hauling it around the planting bed. I'm sure I won't be able to move my shoulder tomorrow but it was worth it because the area looks great. Tomorrow I just need to dig out some more hostas, plant a few more shrubs and buy some annuals to fill in some gaps. If anyone needs Hostas- just let me know! We have more than enough to give away.

And of course, Ethan was a big help as usual- our little landscaper in training :)

Emma's New Earings

This morning we went out to breakfast and then headed to the mall to get Emma's ears pierced. She was amazing- she didn't even flinch when her left ear was pierced and then just cried for less than a minute after the second ear was done. She looks beautiful with her new sparklies!