Who needs to go to the beach when they have this at home?!

I've been wanting to go to the beach for some time now. It always helps me feel rejuvenated and all that. Well today my little family did it. I had a wonderful, beautiful day!!!

Wes is the gardener in our little family, but I wanted a garden for me to take care of this year. I really want to learn how to 'NOT' kill a plant. However, I didn't know what I was doing, so my sweet husband went from explaining it to me to doing it for me. I bought the stuff and put the plants in the ground, but he did everything else. Happy early Mother's Day to me!!! Max insisted on helping Dad. He had a ball walking in the dirt, finding rocks and sticks and carrying the tools for his Dad. Such a great little helper!!!

Once Wes started watering all the plants, 'help Dad time' was all over. He was ready to play in the water. Oh my GOODNESS is this boy CUTE?!!! We laughed and hugged and kissed him. What a crack-up!!!

We put both babies down for naps and finished up on the planting. Then Maggie woke up just at the time I needed to start dinner. Dad volunteered to watch her in the front while he edged the sidewalk for me. I love my pretty yard. It's not completely done yet, but it's well on it's way. I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!

Thank you Grandma for helping while Wes wasn't home. Max, Maggie and I loved having you over!!!

Happy May Day!!!

Friday was a tiring day!!! We were able to take a trip to the storehouse for some food storage with a couple friends we don't see very often. It was so much work and so worth it. I was working on 4 hours of sleep because of a teething baby and then I forgot to eat. Not a good combination I found out. Wonderful Grandma babysat for the billionth time. I'm so thankful for her!!! All I could do when I got home was to lay on the floor with the babies while they watched a movie and climbed on me. There was no more energy to be found, and I looked. LOL!!!
Because Friday was so exhausting, we all slept in Saturday. We woke up to the sound of Max talking and laughing. Words can't describe the feelings that go through me when I hear my babies playing. Soon after Max's sounds, came Maggie's lovely singing. When I got to Max, instead of wanting out of his crib to play in his room, he wanted to play in Maggie's crib with her. So I went to make a couple of bottles. Max crept over to Maggie in the crib and kissed her head softly. When they had their bottles, he moved slowly over to her to snuggle while they both relaxed. Max even shared his blanket with her.

Next thing on the list for the day was to go on a run with the babies. While I got everything together and buttoned down the house, Max continued to work on his bottle. Maggie was past that and on to playing. She rolled right into Max while he was relaxing. I knew in my mind that he was going to have an attitude and push her away. Instead, he put his arm under her belly and pulled her in for a hug and didn't let go. It was as if he thought she was his teddy bear. LOL! ~ I know, I know... No pictures. I failed. It was precious!

The jog went well till we got to the grocery store. Max started having a melt down... at the TOP of his lungs. AHHHH!!! I remember listening to people with the screaming children and thinking, 'Uh... Can you take care of that kid?!' Can you say Pay Back? Yeah, I got what was coming to me. I quickly got him out the door and had a talk. He was reasonable and allowed me to get a couple things before I ran that cutie boy home. I opted to take them in the car to Freddy's so I could shop and Max could drive his sports car shopping cart. One of the best ideas EVER!!! Well, at least for me today. He was in heaven. We were over in the children's clothing and I heard Maggie start to giggle. I looked over and Max was leaning toward her just jabbering away about something. She thought it was hilarious and so did I! Then Daddy stopped by and surprised him. Oh the smile. ;0)

We grabbed some yummy to go food after our shopping and headed home. Max went down for a nap. Maggie woke up from hers and then Grandma Cecelia dropped by for a visit and to bring us a couple of kid sized rocking chairs that she's had forever. They're adorable and both babies already love them. It was wonderful to spend time with her!!! When it was time for Maggie to sleep, Max woke up (of course!). I headed outside to mow the lawn and weed (@ 8pm). One of my sweet neighbors laughed when they saw me out there and offered to loan me a flashlight. ;0) I guess I was just determined to get my lawn looking nice and it totally does. Now I give myself permission to buy some pretty flowers to plant. I'm super excited if you can't tell.

When the yard was completed I gathered the garbage in the house, cleaned the litter box and started the laundry. This all sounds like lists now, but I was amazed at how much I accomplished today. The sun is so powerful. It motivates and makes people happy. Can't wait till tomorrow. Heading out for a picnic at the park after church with the family. Simple things make life wonderful.

(Sorry there were no pictures on this posting!!!)

My Wonderful Painful Exhausting Day

The day was going great. The babies played at their cousins. I went to my sisters birthday lunch. We went to visit Grandma. Then home for the babies naps. While they took their naps, Samantha watched Tangled and I washed my huge truck. When I was putting everything away I clumsily knocked the nozzle into my shin. It hurt so bad, but I went on with what I was doing. Then I made the mistake of looking at it. YUCK! That's when I freaked out. I took pictures so my husband would believe me and then iced it. Sammy was my helper while I rested. She ran around getting me an ice pack, pillow, meds and drink. When she was elevating my leg with a pillow she said, 'Easy, easy, careful'. So cute!!! What a sweetie!!! It looks much better now, but yikes.

I'm super excited that my truck is finally clean (even though I got hurt). LOL!!! That monster hasn't been washed since I was 6 months prego with baby girl, so that would make 9 months. Way too long, but I can't do anything about the weather or the fact that it doesn't fit in a regular car wash. We'll see how long it takes me to wash it this time. LOL!!!

Brotherly Love

Max is constantly taking care of his baby sister. This morning we were going through the usual routine... breakfast, baths, getting dressed, a nap or two for baby girl, yadda, yadda, yadda. I made a couple bottles for them and set them in the livingroom. Then I went to the kitchen to make my breakfast. That's when Maggie started to cry. Before could get to her, Max had brought her bottle to her. She was totally fine and he'd already moved on to playing with his musical card. These kids are ridiculous!!!

Day of Errands Turned to Afternoon of Play and Sweet Naps

Poor Max was not happy about running around town in the car. I COULD NOT get him to smile.

As soon as he realized I stopped the car at the park he started to scream for joy! I'm so thankful the rain stopped for a little while. We stayed till his fingers were cold, which took a while. We ended our adventure with one of his favorite movies 'Bolt' which they both fell asleep to. Awesome day!

Hurry and Play Before the Rain Comes

Today was slightly warmer that the last few have been and it was partly sunny. We had to take advantage of it. In the past month we've been stuck in our house because of rain, snow and sickness. So before the rain came this week I was determined to get these kids to the park. We were so happy my sister and her kids could join us. Can't wait for spring!!! We really had a great time. Max LOVES his little sister so much!

Never thought I'd refer to my childhood as 'Simpler Times'.

I remember when VCRs, cable and satellite weren't in every home. There was no internet, cell phone or ipod to be hooked on 24/7. On Sunday night my family would pile in front of the TV after dinner. Mom or one of my sisters would make popcorn or homemade potato chips and we'd all watch the Sunday night movie together. I think there was only 5 or 6 channels at the time. It was so fun! There weren't many options and no complaints. Of course this all seems wonderful to me 25 years later, but you get my drift. Tonight I felt a little bit of that in our little house. We had a wonderful Sunday at church with friends and family. I mean one of those days where the spirit is just following you around, awesome days. We came home, made food and turned on a Disney movie for our handsome little boy. Not on his TV... on the BIG TV. Dad's TV. LOL! Our sweet little man was still dressed in his white shirt, tie and slacks. He found his bottle and sat 3 feet from the TV and was glued. When 27" TVs were considered big, I'd be the one sitting 3" from it. I'm not the brightest star in the sky. LOL! So 3 feet from our huge TV would be about the same, I think. So, I sat on the living room floor while holding Maggie so I could watch Monsters Inc with Max. I decided not to sit super close to the TV this time. ;0) Max came over and scooted his little body right into me. So there I was with both of my kids, trying not to mess this moment up, when Max decides he needs to be in both my arms. So I pass Maggie to Daddy (he didn't mind a bit) and cradled Max in my arms. He then proceeds to reach up and play with my hair. It went on like this for about 20 minutes while I held my breath. I'm telling you all... my babies are RIDICULOUS!!! Once he realized he'd been sitting in the same spot for more than a second, he decided to play. About 5 minutes later I found him in Daddy's arms petting his arm hair. LOL!!! So, Wes was holding both our babies and this went on for about 20 minutes till Max fell asleep. We both had the pleasure of snuggling with our babies and kissing their sweet heads without them pulling away. I know this won't last, but it sure made me think about my parents and all the times I did this with them and my siblings. Families are wonderful! I'm so grateful that I had such great teachers!!!