Just another day...

A little cleaning



a few errands to run



play time, of course



bedtime comes so quickly!



And this one is just for giggles

Whooohooo 2 A's

Ya, I just got my grades back for this term. I got 2 A's. I had high A's before my finals (which I bombed!) so I ended with low A's. But seriously an A is an A! Yippppeeee! Now if I can keep this up I will graduate with honors come October!

Next term starting in the beginning of June I will be taking English 306 Professional writing and Management 440. Ya, I am getting closer to the finish line!

Another toy!

So last week Mike found another toy....it's a 1963 Chevy II aka Nova. It ran a little rough when he first test drove it but he went home and did some research and figured out he could tackle the problems and he did. He did the necessary work right in the drive way of the family who sold it. And now it runs very smooth and it seriously feels like you are riding in a couch!


I took it out for a drive by myself the other night and it goes really well. My only complain is that it doesn't have power brakes, so it takes leg muscle to make it stop. But if he decides to he can add that feature. Oh my other complaint is that it's a 63 so there are no seat belts. I told Mike that he will be required to put them in, for my sanity's sake.


The dashboard looks like it is brand new. Very clean and everything works, even the radio and speakers. So this is going to be his daily driver...so if anyone is in the market for a 1997 toyota tercel with about 70,000 miles we will be putting it on the market.


Here is my little ham. She doesn't usually pose for pictures but she kept asking me to take one of her so here it is.
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Here is my new hair cut. Not a great picture but oh well. I haven't figured out how to take a picture in the mirror like all the myspace fools :) Oh well here is my best attempt

While Mike was tinkering with the car I took the kiddos to the mall play area. (I think I got the better deal, but I am sure he would beg to differ.) The kids had a good time but it was a challenge to keep them both in the toy area. I swear they need to add a little gate so that they can't just run out.!


Ashley climbing up the big wolf. She was a little monkey.

Finals are done!

Yippee, I just finished up my finals this morning. I have a few more assignments that are due this week and then I get close to 3 weeks for summer break! I am so ready for a break! The house is a mess and the sun is out so I am ready to get some stuff done!

August Rush

So tonight we chose to watch August Rush. So cute. I really liked it. It was a bit slow at first and Mike got bored and ditched me but I am really glad that I stuck it out because it was a really sweet movie that left me feeling happy and hopeful!

I got my hair cut yesterday and so did Ashley. I got about 4 inches cut off and long layers added and Ashley got a mid-shoulder bob. She was really iffy about the whole hair cut thing and so I went first and she sat in the chair next to me and read some stories with another hairdresser. By the time I was almost finished she needed to "cuddle" so she sat in my lap. They cut her hair right there while she sat with me. She was so still and well behaved for them. I was so proud of her. It took a bit to warm up but then she did great. I don't have pictures at the minute but I will post some in the next few days.

edit: here are a couple of Ashley and her new hair do. Mine will have to come later.


Ben took a break from walking, almost like he forgot he could do it. But within the last day he is doing much better. He keeps shocking us cause we are not used to seeing him walking. I was in my room and heard a noise in the hallway so I glanced over and there he was toddling down the hallway! yay Ben!

Here is Ben with his new discovery

Juno

Mike and I watched Juno last night. He put up a fight cause he wasn't into some movie about a 15 year old who gets knocked up for our "date night" movie. So I said fine and put it in to watch while the kids were still up. Hahaha, He sat through the entire thing even though he said he was going to "rest". In the end he agreed that it was a good movie. Guys can be so stubborn sometimes......but I am NEVER stubborn :)

Lysol?

Seriously, I hope this is not the same "disinfectant" that I have under my counter.

Update, no pictures though

Yippee, I just finished my research proposal for my social research class. That was a big one that I put off far too long....but now it is done and holy cow I have 2 days to spare. Whoohoo Go ME! Now on to my last big project due next week...oh and studying for my finals....

I have my finals next Wednesday, booohooo (I'm whiny tonight, can you tell?). But the kids are going to the CDC, which Ashley loves, and I mean LOVES! Ben is not so much a fan but he did better the last time he went.

Mike had to go to the neurologist today for his migraines. They have been getting so much worse lately. No fun. Plus the guys at work have been hassling him about it which makes it so pleasant. Anyway they put him on a new medication that he takes all the time instead of at the onset so hopefully that will help.

Ben figured out how to unlatch the cupboards today. So fun. Can you believe he taught Ashley how to do it because she has never figured it out. Nice! So now they are both digging into my cupboards and dragging my Tupperware all over my house. Sweet!

Kids say the darndest things

Today Ashley told me she needed to go potty so I hurried her to the bathroom where she told me......"no, I want to go pee pee in the grass like Boca" hahahahhahaha Just made she smile! I love her!

back inside again...

Can you believe it snowed again yesterday. Yup, we woke up to the white stuff again!!!! Snow is getting old. It was depressing not exciting as it used to be. Right now it's 31 degrees out, brrr. All I want is warmer weather where the kiddies can go outside with having to be all bundled up!

Here is ben listening to music. He thinks it is pretty neat.


Here are the kiddies walking together. Ben is still choosing to do most of his moving by crawling. He'll take a few steps and then sit and crawl. But he has hit an explosion of verbal skills. His new words are: stinky, poopoo, diaper, hungry, grama, hi, doggy, and ball.

A walk, an impromtu playdate, and a nap

We hit almost 70 today so you can bet we ventured out to enjoy the weather. We decided to take a walk because I saw a few signs for garage sales. yay, the first of the season. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without but Ashley found the playground so we decided to make a detour.

Ben loved the swings. He was all smiles! While at the playground we met up with 2 other moms with kids very close in age. We played for a while and then they invited us to their backyard to play in the sand box/water table. We joined them and the kids had an absolute blast. Plus the mommies got to sit and chat which was really nice. The sunshine was a huge bonus!


We headed home and the kids were so beat. I ended up carrying Ashley and pushing the stroller, yikes. But thankfully we were only a few blocks from home. After we got home I got busy making dinner. When dinner was ready I called to Ashley and....no answer. I figured she was getting into trouble because she was quiet and this is what I found. So sweet!

Sound asleep on the coffee table. Priceless

Snack Time

Geez the boy is getting so big he is able to join his sister for snack at the "big kid" table. I didn't think it would be such the hit as Ashley usually gets mad if he nears her food. But apparently it's great to have company....as long as they each have their own food.

Popcorn Dance

We've started letting Ashley stay up a little later than Ben now. He goes to bed around 7pm and Ashley is now going around 8-9pm. It's kinda nice because I can get a chance to spend some time with her, just the two of us. So fun. Tonight we made popcorn! I don't think she's ever had popcorn before...anyway we were sitting on the floor munching and she got up and started doing her "hop" corn dance. I asked if she would do it for the camera and she said "yes" so here is her dancing debut. hehe

Ben is walking!!!!

Ben is finally walking now. He's still very shaky but he started tonight while Mike was home for dinner. I am so glad that Mike was able to see it cause he missed it with Ashley. Excuse the messy living room in the background. Milestones never happen when the house is clean :)

Springtime!

We have had teases of springtime and have tried to take advantage of those warmer days. The kids absolutely love going outside to play. They have been deprived all winter long!


Ben still prefers crawling everywhere which makes it a tad frustrating when I have to try to get the stains off the knees of his pants. But I am sure that these stained knees are only a sample of what I will see as he grows!

Ashley jumps in front of the camera all the time now. I'll be taking a picture of something else and just as I click the button, here she is! It's really funny. Most of the time they turn out all fuzzy but this one actually worked.

Ben in the car. He liked the horn and the steering wheel but was still more interested in getting out and exploring. It is so much harder with 2 rugrats to watch. I've got to make sure Ashley stays in the yard because she likes to run off at the same time as making sure Ben doesn't eat things that he's supposed to. As you can see I didn't succeed too well.


Daddy bought the kiddies new sunglasses this week. He saw Dora and Diego ones at the shoppette and just had to get them. They both love them. Everytime we put them on Ben he says, "Hi, Hi, Hi, Hi" it's really cute.

Happy Birthday Sheree!

Happy Birthday Sheree, my big sister. I hope you had a great birthday! You are a wonderful sister and mom and I am so blessed to have a partner in crime like you!!!!

Halfway to 100!

We hit 50 degrees today!!! The last few days we've actually warmed up a bit and we have ventured out to the park a few times. Here's Ben's new shoes! We finally found some that were wide enough that we could get them on.

He really liked it but it doesn't quite show in this picture....

He was definitely a fan of the slides though!

yay, after a few times he got the hang of pushing off and doing it himself




Leaves: big leaves, little leaves, daddy leaves and baby leaves

She's finally interested in posing for a picture.



feeling the breeze!

I'll join you in the crazy house, T.

Yup I had one of those days today lately as well. I didn't end up going to bed last night until after 2 am and of course A was up at about 7:30 am. Not enough sleep for me so I started the day out cranky.

No more than 10 minutes later Ben was crying so I went in there to get him to learn that he was poopy again. He has been dealing with the poops for almost 3 weeks now. Other than that he is acting fine so I have stalled on bringing him in. I did end up bringing him in yesterday only to find out that there are multiple kids with the same junk and it just needs to run it's course. Thankfully he is eating and drinking so well we are able to keep the dehydration at bay.

Later I had to put away the clothes in our room so of course both kids were in there. Ben fell off the treadmill and got a bruise on the side of his head. Ashley dumped the bowl of dog food in the toilet. They collectively opened a bottle of apple lotion while my back was turned and poured it on the floor. "we're painting..." That was the point where I decided it was a lost cause, now I wonder why it took that long.

We did managed to break out the jogging stroller and headed down to the shoppette to fill up the air in the tires. On the way home we stopped by the playground and to let the munchkins run off some energy. They had a blast. Ashley even asked if she could put on her swimsuit to swim in the puddles.....um, yes it was pretty out today but still I don't think 40 degrees is swimsuit weather.

I am really starting to feel better from my tonsillectomy. It really knocked me on my butt much harder than I expected. But I am now on the mend and feeling much better. Heck, as long as I can eat real food, I am happy. Plus I lost about 4lbs added bonus.