Wow what a wonderful Christmas we had. I am so excited that I got Miracle Blades with block and a juicer! That was my big present from J then he and the kids also got me a book, socks, gum (I wanted it), more hair ties and an alarm clock. The kids got so many toys and clothes I don't even think I could list everything!!! So I will list a few things I can remember...GlamorGirl: (from us) a wooden doll house with furniture, 6 summer outfits, swim suit, 2 pairs of dress up shoes, 2 my little ponies, beads to make necklaces, train tracks, and some stocking stuffers; (from grandma and grandpa A. and Liz) 5 winter outfits, a jump rope, princess makeup/dress up kit, princess movie, doll with backpack and some games; (from g&g M. Travis, Becky, Kevin and Melissa) The Cuties game, 2 winter outfits, 2 t-shirts, dress up shoes and gloves, 2 bead kits to make necklaces, and candyland; (from g&g K) a winter outfit, snow white dress up dress, and play food. Now I know I didn't get everything but close enough. Together they got, wooden building blocks, leap pad learning system with 2 extra books, Aladin movie and some other things. Monkey: (from us) little people ramp around garage, 6 summer outfits, swim suit, train tracks, view master and stocking stuffers; (from g&g A and Liz) 6 dinosaurs, hot wheels cars, 2 big trucks, 3 winter outfits, pj's, little people car wash and a tool bench; (from g&g K) little people airport, winter outfit, and blue's clues toy; (from g&g M plus people mentioned above) I know he got Don't Break the Ice game, micro machines, and then everything else I am clueless about, I helped GG and Jeff helped Monkey. Next year will be fun with a new child to open gifts! The kids had a great Christmas and we had so much fun spending time with family. Until next year ;)

So many things have happened since I last wrote! Friday the 17th was our last day of school and the kids got me so many presents, it was so sweet. We had our Christmas program and J was able to come in his uniform to watch the kids sing. Then he also came back to their rooms for the party afterwards that was really great. The kids also got presents from their teachers and they were really excited about opening them!

Saturday the 18th was J and I's 5th anniversary!!! Wow it has been 5 years we have been married??? It seems like yesterday, I love him so much. We went out to dinner at Chili's as a family to celebrate us being a family for 5 years. Then we came home and packed for our vacation!

Sunday we got up early and traveled to my grandparents house for Christmas with them. I love seeing my grandparents! It was crowded in their house with almost 30 people but GG ate up all the attention she got from great grandma and nana (my mom). We also got another 4 generations picture taken to update the one we got when she was about 6 months old. The kids had a great time. Then it was back in the car for some more traveling to Lake Geneva's Timber Ridge Indoor water park. We got there an hour before everyone else so we went swimming!!! It was so cool. When everyone else got there we ate dinner and then everyone went swimming :)

Monday the boys went skiing and snowboarding and us girls took the kids back to the water park. This place was awesome. There was a kiddie area with 3 slides, another pool with a slide and a rope thing that you go across as well as basketball hoops, a lazy river, a hot tub, and outside hot tub, a green tube slide used with a raft, and a yellow tube slide (adults only). We never got bored! That night we opened presents with my dad, step-mom and some siblings. We almost didn't have enough room in our car to bring all the presents home!

Tuesday was the day we checked out but you are able to use the water park until 10pm that night! We only stayed until 3pm, we were getting a little water logged. But it was so much fun and we are already talking about going again. We are thinking GG's 5th birthday?!?! We'll see...

Today we are unpacking, doing laundry and getting groceries along with some other errands we need to run.

The last three days J was off and now he is at work. This weekend was really fun. Saturday J had training and the kids and I went to get his Christmas presents which are all done now! If he asks them what we got him they both reply, "NOTHING!" Very funny. After J's training GG and I went to get other presents for J I didn't want to take both to the other stores. We got home and J left for a progressive dinner at the school, his mom asked him to drive a bus. The kids and I ordered pizza for dinner. Then Sunday was our fun day. We got up and went to church, after church our sunday school class had lunch that the guys made the girls. We played a game and the boys lost so they had to make us dinner. It was really good food. Then we took the kids downtown Chicago to see the big Christmas tree and all the lights and the windows. The windows this year were Snow White, really cool and they both loved it. I think they enjoyed the ride there and back as well as we took the train! When we got back we grabbed a quick bit to eat at Subway and then went back to church for the Choir Concert Comfort and Joy. We came home and the kids went to bed. Today we started our last week of school before Christmas break. I got a present from one of the little girls in my class. Her mom is one of my co-workers so she got my something I was telling her that I asked J for but he won't buy me. It was very sweet and I am super excited about it! I need to go try and call the doctor's office again. I have to switch doctors because where I am going can't deliver babies at the hospital 5 minutes from our house.

Oh more quick story about GlamorGirl. We were in the car and the song Our God Reigns came on the and she was singing her little heart out then she stops and says, "Mom, He reigns means that he is in control." I was amazed that she grasped that concept, some adults can't! God is in control. I bet if you have a 3 1/2 year old and asked them what God reigns means they would tell you something like it is raining outside. She is such an amazing little girl and she has Jesus in her heart!

Today was so nice because it was teacher appreciation day at school. They gave us each a sports chair with the school name on it and they made us lunch, with appetizers and dessert! The lunch was so delicious! Speaking of delicious it is really cute when Monkey says that word, usually talking about my food :) J told me the other day when he took GG to the store for Christmas presents and groceries, she was yelling at the top of her lungs, the song We Wish you a Merry Christmas. He said everyone looked at her and just smiled. I thought it was cute. Then when they were at the deli waiting she had the number J gave it to her, she looked at it and said, "I'm number 11, I'm number 11..." He said it was hilarious and I can only imagine it was given her spunky personality. Tonight at dinner time GG asked for something and said, "But I don't want to pay taxes." J just looked at her and she said, "You know taxes means money dad!" What a little smartie...where did she learn that?

This afternoon the kids and I went through all their toys, got rid of some and moved others into GG's room. In the afternoons they play with the toys while I do whatever needs to be done around the house. Some days they are best friends and others I have to go in there every two minutes, siblings! So from now on they are going to spend quiet time in their own rooms playing with their toys. Afterwards they will be able to play together. Hopefully this will solve this problem...

One more thing, I promise! Monkey has stopped taking naps so far this week. It is awesome he goes to sleep around 6:30 to 7pm and he sleeps all night long. Then GG goes to sleep at 7 to 7:15pm so J and I have time together. I really hope they don't change this schedule.

Ok this is a new day so I will try posting again. Yesterday the kids and I went to church and afterwards I took them to Wendy’s for lunch we ordered off the 99 cent menu. As we were standing in line GG pulls up my shirt and tells the lady behind us that I have a baby in my tummy. Yes, I do have a baby in my tummy but do we have to show a complete stranger??? I couldn’t be mad at her because she is so excited about the baby and it is so cute to watch her talk about the new baby, she lights up!

Last night we took the kids to the Ark program at church, Aunty Liz was in it. It was really good they sang, danced, and talked about the birth of Jesus. You have to be in 1st grade to be apart of Ark and GG has kept talking about when she is old enough she wants to be in it. This was no surprise to J or I as she loves to sing and dance now. She has actually always loved to be the center of attention and she pretty much always is!!! As for Monkey I think he enjoyed it too. He sat on grandma or grandpa’s lap the whole time so I didn’t get to see his reaction I just know he sat and watched the whole thing.

Well I updated the other day then the page froze up and I didn't feel like re-typing. So let's see we have started back to school and the kids were extremely excited to be back at school with all their friends. Tuesday night GG throw up in her bed and didn't even wake up to tell us we ended up smelling it. It was nasty. J took care of cleaning up the bed, her pillow, her baby doll, blankets, and pj's. I gave her a bath. As I was washing out the chunks I throw up. It was a bad night. I had to wash her body and hair twice to get the smell off of her. Then we made her sleep in our room just in case it happened again. I actually made her stay there last night too.

Also we have mice in our house and it is grossing me out. J has done all the filling of wholes to keep them out but they got in again. So we set traps. The last two mornings there have been a mouse in it. This morning when I saw the trap I told J he needed to come take care of it so the kids didn't see it and when I started to talk to him the mouse, still alive, started moving around and shaking the trap. I freaked out and woke up the kids. It really scared me I thought it was dead. So today J found the whole they have been coming and filled in that one too. Now we are going to set some traps in the crawl space and see if we have anymore or we finally got rid of them. I really hope they are gone now.

Today J and I are going to the Christmas banquet at church. Liz is coming to watch the kids and spending the night. I got to get a new outfit for the event, I justified it because we have a wedding in January to go to so I can wear it there too. I really like it so I will probably wear it to church all the time! Well that is about all I can think of to write about.

Remember how I said GlamorGirl wanted to build a snowman in the snow? Well that night J promised that she could play in the snow in the morning, which is Thanksgiving morning. It was very convenient of him considering he had to work in the morning. Well I couldn't disappoint her so on Thanksgiving morning GG, Monkey and I got bundled up and we went outside to play in the snow. Our neighbor from across the street came out to play with us and so did our neighbors behind us and across the street from them. So there was a 7 yr old, almost 4 yr old (GG), 3 1/2 yr old, 3 yr old, and 2 1/2 yr old (Monkey) along with 3 adults. The kids had fun! And so did I actually :) After the snow we came in the house and had some hot chocolate to warm up. We snuggled in a blanket on the couch and watched a movie! When J got home we went to some friends house for Thanksgiving. There was about 35 people there and the kids had a blast. These friends have known J since he was Monkey's age so they are very much like family. Every year we go around the room and say what we are thankful for the year...it usually ends in crying. I know I did some. But it is neat to see what is going on in our peoples lives. GG and Monkey even shared what they were thankful for and it was mommy and daddy, but very sweet! We didn't get home until 9 so the kids had a late night two nights in a row, we didn't get home from church until 9 the night before. Last night when J got home we put up the Christmas tree, which is a tradition, it is always done the day after Thanksgiving. The kids did a great job helping. Our house looks so homey and Christmasy! The stockings are hanging on the fireplace. I believe the only presents J and I have left to buy are my dad and step-mom and each other. Everyone else is done and that is a wonderful feeling and the bank isn't completely broke, yet. We charged most of the presents!!! We have two days left of vacation and then it is back to school we go. I think then we have 3 weeks of school and then Christmas break. Sounds good to me!!! Happy Holidays to everyone :)

This week off has been great so far, we have gotten to sleep in every morning! Monkey and I took a trip to Rockford on Tuesday and GG and J had daddy/daughter time. Today is J's last day off of work, which has also made the last couple of days great, so we took the kids to McDonalds to play. Right now I am looking outside and it is snowing like crazy. I think we already have 2 inches. Also we got our blinds today!!! I was so excited about that and J put them up right away too. We were planning on going to church tonight but with all the snow I think we might just stay home. GlamorGirl has been begging to go outside and build a snowman ever since it started to snow. Very hard to explain to a stubborn almost 4 year old that there isn't enough snow on the ground yet. She could probably make a snow angel :) I honestly don't want her going outside to play until she is completely healthy. I think she is going to kick her cough this week though...I can tell she has gotten better. Well J and I just decided we are going to church tonight. Have a happy Thanksgiving...

Last night we had company over for dinner. It was so much fun. Two couples were from our sunday school class and the third couple were friends of our friends and they had two girls so that was awesome. The kids each had a play mate to play with while us adults played Battle of the Sexes. That is a long game to play but very fun and entertaining. This morning we had church and then to J parents' house for lunch and finally we returned home. That is about it. The next 3 days J has off and so do I. I am hoping to get family pictures taken one of those days. Well that is it...

Not really going to update but have a cute story! Monkey was in the living room spinning around. All of a sudden he says, "Woooh, I'm busy!" We started laughing and said, "do you mean dizzy?" Then he started back up spinning and fell to the ground and said, "I'm too busy this time. I fell down!" It was very funny!

Wow! It has been forever :) Our computer was being fixed and when we got it back I had so many emails to catch up on that I just didn't feel like writing in my blog. We have one more week of school before Thanksgiving break. I can't believe that. J and I finished the kids Christmas shopping on Saturday when his parents watched them. It is so much easier to get their presents when they aren't there! We only have a few more people to buy for but the kids can be with us for those. Oh another great thing that happened Saturday was that we ordered some blinds for our dining room. I am extremely excited about that, obviously because I wrote about it! Today we looked at a Mazda MPV it was really nice. We are planning on renting a van for our trip in Dec so we might just rent one of those, if possible. I really liked it, not as big as a normal van but seats as many. The kids got their lines for the Christmas program at church so that was exciting. Oh and we had friends from WIU come stay with us last week. They have a little girl 6 months older than Monkey and a newborn. The kids loved to hold the baby especially Monkey. Monkey was very adorable with the little girl. I could go on but I'll stop for now. Until next time...

I am officially another year older. Yesterday was my birthday, it is a great one too. We had a wonderful weekend! Company came to our house on Friday spent the night and then left Saturday afternoon. Then Saturday night we went to a Costume party at the M's house. GlamorGirl was a "Barbie" Princess (she had a wand, glass sleepers, and a tiara...couldn't decide which one she wanted to be!) Monkey was an army guy with binuclears and a radio. They both looked super cute. J was a soccer player and I went as a pregnant lady. It was funny because so many people actually thought I was pregnant!!! It was a good costume! The kids and J went swimming. We ended up getting home real late...good thing we gained an hour. Sunday we went to church where I was embarrassed by the intern pastor. He made me stand up as everyone wished me a happy birthday. After church we went to grandma and grandpa A's house for lunch and some trick or treating. The kids kept saying "Happy Halloween" instead of trick or treat and then Thank you! By the time we got home to our neighborhood they started saying trick or treat. They had one guy tell them he was going to do a trick. You should of seen the look on their faces! Priceless :) Then we went out for my birthday dinner and to our friends (M's) house again. GG was so excited to see her sunday school teacher there! I must mention also the kids carving pumpkins...too funny. They didn't like the gooey insides but got used to them. Today is a rainy day so we will be doing a lot of indoor fun things. I don't know if we will get grocery shopping done though.

Let's see...Friday at school we had a firefighter come and talk to the kids. They loved that. They each got a coloring book and hat from him. Then after school I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch and to play. It is so fun to watch GG make friends with kids. She truly has a sweet spirit. She walked away from the playland with about 5 new friends. And Monkey is so independent he just did his own thing. But he also made a friend, a little girl. He was trying to hug her and she pushed him away. When she realized all he wanted to do was hug her she gave him a hug back. Her mom said she is in daycare and not used to little kids wanting to be nice to her. That is just so sad. When J got home from his training we went to Wal-mart and grocery shopping which we were suppose to do on Monday. Oh well. Today the kids and I are having a movie day. We are in our pjs still and we are on our 3rd movie! We have been snuggling on the couch together watching the movies. We just got done eating lunch so I wanted to update real quick. Now I am off to watch Peter Pan with my two sweeties.

Well it is Wednesday "hump day"! Yesterday was quite busy. We had tumbling and then the volleyball game. After the game they had a pizza party. Just in case I forgot to mention the game was against the parents and Liz had asked J to play. I kept score and that was more work then I thought it was going to be, had to watch two kids in the process. Monkey got stuck in between the bleachers, don't ask I don't know how, and he was sitting right next to me. I had to call a timeout!!! When we were eating pizza and deserts the players got in a cupcake fight. So today after lunch when I gave GG a cupcake to eat she put it all over her face...like they did last night. Good thing it was easy to clean up! Well that is it for now I need to start laundry and make dinner.

So today is Sunday...I last updated on Thursday. Hmmm where did the time go? I have to keep this quick because J is cleaning the house and wants my help. So Friday we went to see Liz play her last volleyball game against another team. Tuesday they play their parents, J is playing in the place of their dad. We are going to go watch the game and cheer J on.

Saturday J worked so the kids and I went to the library in the morning. It was fun they had a drop in craft project. It was a spider. So they each made one to bring home. They took turns on the computer and played with the other games. On the walls of the library there is a outdoors scene, there is a tree with a raccoon in it. Monkey wanted to touch the raccoon and I told him it would bite him. He looked at me and said, "Mommy it is a pretend raccoon." Can't get anything by him these days! Then we picked out books and movies. On the way out I realized that they had a leap pad for the kids to use. Next time we go one can be on the computer and the other can do the leap pad. We got home had lunch with J (he came home to eat) and then both kids took naps. But not at the same time! While Monkey slept GG and I worked on her homework. While GG slept Monkey and I played in the toy room together. So that was fun. When J got home we went to the grocery store to pick out some food. Oh and Monkey decided that our cordless phone belonged in the kitchen sink. It fell right into a dish filled with water. We need to go buy a new one now. Ooops! Here is another Monkey story...while we were playing he was pretending to be a doctor and took the tool that you use to look in ears and noses put it up to my ear and said, "No monkey's in there mommy!" It was very funny. Then I remembered that is what the doctor said at their last appointment when she looked in their ears. What a smartie. The other thing that was interesting today was that the door bell rang and when I answered it there was a lady outside asking me if the house was still for sale. Umm...we have lived here for 3 months now. It was off the market about 4 months ago once we made the contract.

Today is Joe and Sue's anniversary! So Happy Anniversary to you two! We went to church this morning and now we are in the process of cleaning the house. Tonight my dad and step-mom are taking the kids out for dinner, at McDonalds with a playland. J and I are going to hopefully go to the department and shoot. We'll see...not really my idea of fun.

What is today? We had a great day today. Ran some errands when J got home from work. I love doing stuff with him and so do the kids. They love their daddy. On our errands we were at the store and GlamorGirl asked to get a small lint brush...it was purple and small her two favorite things. I asked her what it was...she said she didn't know but wanted me to tell her what it was so that she could get it. So I told her and then asked her what it does. She took it and showed me. Very funny. Tonight GG is at Awana Cubbies and Monkey has been running around the house like a mad man. I think he loves having us to himself as well as the toys! He just cracks me up. Well I should go need to go pick GG up.

I just realized that I haven't updated in a few days. I tell you my life needs to slow down or it will be over before I know it! For example: Yesterday we went to school got home at 12:30, ate lunch and GG got dressed for tumbling, then to tumbling from 1:30 to 2:15 (she loves this class and I am glad she is in it) then to the court house to drop off our appeal to the assessor's office. It was the last day to turn it in so I had to go. Came home and rested for about 30 minutes and we packed everyone up and headed over to school for Liz's Volleyball game. GG played with her friend Krystal and Monkey slept. Then came home and made dinner at 6pm ate and then it was time to get ready for bed. The day just flew by.

Today it has been slower so I thought I would update while I had the chance. GG is having quite time in the playroom and Monkey is taking his nap. Oh and the movie that J and I went too was good. Very sad. But it was good nonetheless! Ok it is time to write my grocery list. We were suppose to go on Monday but we were too busy. The sad thing is I can't even remember what we did!

We had such a fun day today. Got up early and picked out some pumpkins...they are huge! Then we went to the Home Show at the Race tracks. We watched different demonstrations on cookware, cleaning supplies and many more. There were tons of booths set up. The kids had fun too. They got balloons GlamorGirl got a flower (purple) and Monkey got a motorcycle. They got to make slime, play in a ball pit and jump in the moonwalk. And they got tattoos! J and I bought really good smelling candles. We got roasted coffee, baked apple pie, fudge brownie and juniper breeze! We needed candles and we still do but these buys are helping restock our supply. This afternoon the kids and I took naps. It felt so good to sleep. After the nap we played outside. The kids rode bikes and played with the neighbors parachute guys. Now the kids just got bathed and are getting ready for bedtime.

Yesterday J and I played the board game Battle of the Sexes. It is really hard. I knew none of the answers, at least it seemed like it. The questions J got were name the six cast members of the hit series Friends. I mean come on. Then he also got a question what is the national group of breast feeding called? Seriously if he got that wrong I would of beat him ;) I go to the meeting once a month for heavens sake. I think it will be more fun with more players. We are planning on having a couple over from our sunday school class so they can play with us.

Just in case I don't have time to update tomorrow here is the plan for the day. Church in the morning, lunch with J's parent's sunday school class, Liz is coming home with us and J and I are going to go see the movie Ladder 49, finally. I need to figure out a good time to go Christmas shopping with J and leave the kids home.

Now that it is the end of the week I will just do some highlights of the week! J and I got dressed up nicely and went to the police department for the New Chief to be sworn in to office. Now J has a new boss. But he hasn't made any changes. From what everyone said about this guy he will make good changes like getting a bike unit, horses for parades and things like that. Specialty things! I guess time will tell how this guy is.

Wednesday we had a friend over for dinner. So that was a lot of fun. Speaking of friends I talked to an old friend from WIU and she was telling me about the school she sends her daughter. It made me think about the school the kids go to. Since I work there I see everything they are learning and how they are taught and so on. But it made me think about it and see that this school is the right school for my kids and for J and I. They have learned so much in 4 weeks it is amazing. And they are smart kids to begin with. The one thing I love the most is that the children get one on one time with the teacher and then with the assistant each day. So they are learning and experiencing things at their own pace and are learning to listen to a teacher. I just love that school too because there are Bible stories and memory verses each week. It also helps that there success rate in college is outstanding, great self discipline among other wonderful attributes.

Thursday it was absolutely beautiful outside! I took the kids to the doctor because GG has had a cough for almost a week. Yeah it was a virus nothing they can really do for her. But the doctor prescribe something to help her sleep at night...the coughing was keeping her up. Monkey also got a well baby check up and they both got tested for lead. I will find out those results next week. So after that they got ice cream at Mc Donalds for being good at the doctors...and I felt bad about them getting poked for the lead test. We did them both at the same time. They sat on my lap and the nurse did one and the doctor did the other. While I held their hands. They both screamed and I felt super bad. But they only cried for about 30 seconds. That is because they knew mama was right there to hug and comfort them. I hate seeing them hurt. Then we spent the afternoon outside with the neighbors. GG had Cubbies and got her first patch for her vest. She is doing so well keeping the verse for Cubbies and the verse for school straight. Smart little girl, sometimes too smart if you know what I mean!

Then today GG and I went to school and Monkey stayed home with J. They went to the Library and Police department. GG got to eat dirt for snack, smashed oreo cookies, chocolate pudding and a gummie worm. It was D week! Well that is about it.

What day is again?!?! I just can't believe it is Oct already and today is the 5th. All I remember about yesterday was all the crafts GG and I did while Monkey slept. We made an airplane, caterpillar, and colored so many pictures! We also played with playdough. It was a fun day. Then we went grocery shopping which we needed desperately. Today GG had tumbling. Then it was homework time and more coloring. She is so much like me as a kid. My mom said I could color for hours on end. She had to make me stop. Well I need to go make dinner...

Yesterday was a very productive day. I went through all the winter clothes from last year to see if any fit. Then reorganized both of the kids dressers. J and I went through the toy room and got rid of some toys we are going to donate. Then we moved the room around. It looks so much bigger in there now. The kids have enjoyed the new look too because they have more room to play! The thing that helped the most was finally hanging up the green organizer(ok that word looks wrong but I'm not in the mood to do spell check) that Monkey got for his birthday. When that was finished I cleaned the house. It looked good for a day!

This morning the kids and I went to Sunday School and then church for me, children's church for GG and nursery for Monkey. Then to grandma and grandpa's house for lunch and hanging out. Tonight J and I were suppose to go see that new movie Ladder 49 but Liz wasn't feeling good (she was going to watch the kids) and J got the chance at some overtime. We are going to go another day. The kids and I got home around 5:15 and I called J and he came home from work to eat dinner with us then he had to go back. At least he got to see us for that 30 minutes! If we were still living with my dad he couldn't have done that. Oh and GG is getting sick. So far all she has is a cough that won't go away. No fever or anything else but that horrible cough that keeps her up at night, at least I think it does. She has taken a nap the last two days and she doesn't take naps. Ok I need to go do some other things...

Today was great. This morning J came to school in his uniform and talked to the kids about police officers. They each got a coloring book and a badge. They kids were pretty wired from that! When we got home we did the usual lunch and naps. Then we took library books back and went to the courthouse to register to vote. The kids thought that walking through the metal detector was pretty neat. Our courthouse is really nice…first time I have been there. Registering to vote was so easy so if you haven’t registered yet I suggest you do it. You only have until Oct 5^th, I believe. The last election I was registered but couldn’t vote because they couldn’t find my name on the registration. Turns out I was in the wrong building. Oh well. Anyway, then later we went to watch Liz play volleyball. They played a team of 4^th through 6^th graders. They killed them. Our team is 7^th and 8^th. It was funny too because the coach made the girls play position that they aren’t used to and hit over hand instead of under. Another funny thing that happened at the game was Monkey. He stood up on the bleachers and started yelling. “GO CLA GO CLA…” It was more funny because he had his hands cupped around his eyes instead of his mouth while he was cheering. At one point he put them in a diamond shape on his forehead! What a little nut. After the game there was a high school reunion for the public school that used to be in the building, before our private school bought the building. That is about all the exciting things that happened today. Oh yeah GG got to play with her friend Krystal who is 5. That made her day.

I can't believe it has been two days...I thought I was doing so good! Anyway, J has been off the last couple of days so we have been keeping pretty busy with things. Right now Monkey is sleeping and GlamorGirl is having quite time so I thought I would update real quick before I start in on the laundry. Today at school the kids got to wear their new slippers and drink out of their new water bottles that we bought especially for school. They loved that! GG just asked to paint her toe nails so that is what I will be doing in about 2 minutes :) Tomorrow at school they are getting a special guest. They have been talking about the letter C and what sound it makes and words that start with it. Well the focused on Community Helpers. So J is going there tomorrow in uniform and talking to the kids about Police Officers and giving them each a badge. I think the kids are going to go nuts when they see him. They absolutely love having a daddy who is a police officer or peace officer as Monkey would say! Tonight GG has Awana Clubs so we will get some special time with just Monkey who eats up his special time!!! That is it for now.

My days have been so riveting that there isn't anytime to write about them! I am making time today since J is starting his 3 days off. Funny story...because it just happened and that is about all I can remember! Monkey asked J for some milk. Then J said you want some klim? Then told him it was milk spelled backwards. He asked Monkey if he could say milk backwards. Monkey then turned around so that his back was to J and said "like this, daddy?" It was funny. Ok you might have had to been there but we thought it was funny :) Today was quite busy as was yesterday and the day before and so on. We had my brother, his wife, my niece and step-mom over yesterday for company. After an already long day. Then today after work it was eat, change GG into her tumbling clothes and rush out the door. After tumbling a friend came over for a play date. We all left the house at the same time because she had a Cubs game to go to and we had a volleyball game to get too. Then came home and made dinner, ate and gave kids a bath because we had french toast and they were both sticky. Now it is 15 after 7 and I am going to get the kids to bed and then crash!!! Tomorrow is another long one....

Wow I just can't believe how fast my days are getting away from me. It is already Thursday...the week is almost over. GlamorGirl is doing wonderful in school and the teacher give her rave reviews. She told me the other day after answering one of her many questions that I was a genius. Then I asked her if she knew what that word meant. She did. I haven't ever used that word in front of her! Her vocabulary is just incredible. I can't believe it sometimes...which is why I ask her for the meaning of the word and she always knows. She is seriously like a little sponge. Then there is Monkey who is keeping up with the 3 year olds in the preschool. The kids in my class have just turned 3 so we have the youngest group of students but it is amazing to see him interact and join in with the class. HE just turned 2!!! And he loves going to school, and absolutely dislikes it when I leave him home with J. As for me I am hanging on for the ride! Last night I was laying in bed trying to watch the season premiere of Law and Order and I kept falling asleep. I don't even know what happened. Oh well. I was obviously tired. Well I need to go work on something....

Imagine with me for a second my 2 yr old son, Monkey, singing "Come on feel the noise" then my 3 yr old daughter, GlamorGirl, singing "Girls rock your boys!" It was stinking hilarious. Later on Monkey tried singing the whole thing and ended up saying..."come on feel the noise, girls (pause) shake your booty." J and I laughed so hard :) Another little song J taught the kids was "Here I am...Rock you like a hurricane." Today GG and I went to school and Monkey stayed home with J. After we ate lunch we took the kids outside, it was beautiful out! As we were outside in the back we decided that we needed to take the fence down. So J proceeded to take it down. We only have a section down but in a few weeks it will be all down. I am glad because it was falling down and now it can't hurt anyone or cause damage to anything! Our neighbors got a new 57 inch tv that we went to check out and the kids got to watch Clifford on it. It was huge and expensive. This evening my dad, Roberta (my step-mom) and Kevin (my brother) came over. It was the first time Kevin has seen my new house. So that was fun showing it off to him. His wife and daughter, Kiera, are coming to town this weekend so they will come over again! I am going to start jotting down funny things the kids do that make me laugh because by the end of the day I have forgotten most of them. I really want to have those memories. Ok until tomorrow...

Well we had some technical difficulty with our phone so we weren't able to get online. Friday ended our first week of school. Thursday GG started Awana Clubs and Liz spent the night after her volleyball game. Friday afternoon Princess died and we flushed her. GG was super sad about that but I told her we will get another pet. We just haven't decided on what it will be yet. Yesterday the kids and I took a trip out of town for the day and that was so much fun. Today we went to church and spent the whole afternoon with J's family. After dinner we went on a family walk/bike ride. The kids rode their bikes and J and I walked. Now that our phone is fixed I will be able to update regularly again.

Yesterday was exhausting! We had school in the morning came home real quick for lunch then out the door again for GG's tumbling class. We got home and the kids played in the sprinkler for about 30 minutes with J so I could get some down time. Then it was off again to the school volleyball game. The school goes from preschool all the way up to 12th. So we went to cheer for Liz (J's sister) at the game. She loves going to school and going to activities...it is just so neat to watch GG make friends with kids that are older than her. Like at the game she made friends with a 5 year old that was at the last game we went to as well. I was happy because it occupied her while I watched the game and Monkey!

Today we went to school and just got home. I am in the process of making lunch. Then we are going to take it easy. J is water skiing with some guys from the department. So I have the kids all day today. After lunch it will be naptime/quite time and then we will play outside until dinner!

Our first day of school was AWESOME. This morning we took the kids pictures with their book bags and their new school clothes. They each looked so adorable. Then J took us to school and we all walked into GG's class room to drop her off. Then Monkey and I went into our room and waited for the kids in our class. We had 11 kids today and most of them just turned 3 or aren't even 3 yet. We have the youngest class and so it was a little more unruly then the other ones. I am glad GG is in another class with kids more her age. With all considered we had a good day. J came to pick us up and he brought me flowers for my first day of work. He is so sweet! GG came home with homework. It was a worksheet to fill out all of her favorite things and about her family. She enjoyed doing that. We got home and my world went nuts. J laid down and slept for over 4 hours...why I'm not really sure?? But I think that is why he might of bought the flowers so that I wouldn't be mad at him...hehehe! Anyways, I got all the laundry cleaned and put away, dishes done, my legs shaved, the fishes bowl cleaned, and the kids and I played outside! We were busy. After dinner the kids and J went to return a library movie and then took baths. GG is sleeping and Monkey is on his way to dreamland. I need to head there too.

This morning we got up and went to Sunday School and then church. I love that SS has started back up. The kids both did very well. Then we went to the grandparents house to see the new redone rooms. They look great. So much bigger and brighter. Then we came home. We went to the store and got each of the kids a new outfit for school tomorrow. After dinner some friends stopped by. They wanted to see the landscaping that we have done to the house. They are the friends that helped us move in so they know all the work we did to the outside. Then they came inside and hung out for awhile. I am glad that they dropped by they are a great couple. Tonight is an early night because the kids have their first day of school tomorrow. Which means I have my first day of school so I am going to go to bed.

Ok so today was my very last day of working at the YMCA. I brought all my cleaned shirts in and left the one I wore today there. I filled out my time card one last time. It was sad but this new work environment I think will be great...only 10 kids at a time, organization and structure!!! We got home around 1:30 and had lunch. Now GG is watching the movie from the library and Monkey is napping. When he gets up we are going to a house warming party for a lady J works with and immediately after that we are headed over to our Sunday Schools BBQ. We have to pick up some pop on the way though. So I am going to get myself ready to have some fun :)

Yesterday one of my co-workers brought in doughnuts for me since it will be the last time I work with her. That was very sweet I thought. Today was my last day working with the weekday people. My co-workers brought in bagels and brownies and I got a goodbye present. The present was two awesome picture frames and a bunch of pictures of kids from the Y's Mazing Kids room. Very cute. I also got Monkey's coat that Jen had made him...she made one for GG too! It was kind of sad saying goodbye to those people who I know I will probably never really see again. Unless I go to visit. Then we came home and had lunch. This afternoon we went to the Library. The kids each got their own cards which they thought was super cool. The whole basement of the library is for children. They had a computer for the kids to play on and different activities and games for the kids to do while there. They love going to the library and it is only 2 blocks away so we will be going a lot more now. My neighbor told me that they do a craft day once a week so I need to find out what day that is and take the kids! We checked out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the movie and about 10 books! GG and I got a special book that we are going to read every night until it is done. It is an older kids book and she loves it! It is about a mouse who dances in the ballet. After the library it was a rush to get the kids fed and off to school for the preschool orientation. They each got to see their classrooms, met their teachers again, and met the kids in their class. Then they made bags with their hand prints on them. I really like the teacher I am working with, she is very organized and on top of things. I think we will work great together! So that made me very happy. On the way to the car we walked by the office and grandma was still there working so we stopped in for a few minutes. Then came home gave the kids baths and put them to bed. And that was our day!!!

Yesterday was quite busy and I was not motivated to write. I went into work and found out that I was suppose to be there until 1. I swear it said 12 the week before. Anyway, I got to leave at 12:15 thanks to a co-worker. GG had her first tumbling class at 1:30 and I wanted to get the kids home and fed first. There were about 10 kids in her class and two were boys. It was fun watching her class even though we couldn't hear what was going on. They did the spring board and at the end she raised her hands like the Olympiads did. One mom said she looked like a little princess. I think so. Toward the end of class the kids took a turn walking across the high beam. She walked across with no help from anyone and only 2 kids in the class did that. She is definitely coordinated. During the class they were on there hands and feet walking in a circle. The teacher told them that was called an elephant walk. GG stood up, while picking her wedgie, and said, "no that is called a wedgie!" (she was also moving her hands while she said it, she is so animated). Everyone in the room laughed, so I had to ask the teacher what she had said that made everyone laugh. She makes us laugh all the time, I love that little girl so much. Which reminds me of another story. J sings this song to Monkey...it goes, "I want to Rock. Want to Rock...(then he makes a noise)." Well the other night Monkey started singing it back to J and the noise he made was hilarious. I started crying I was laughing so hard. After the class we talked yard work and did some. Then we hung out with the neighbors, so that J could sleep. Being in the air makes me super tired. This morning the kids and I went to school to drop off my W2's so I can get paid! I can't believe that school starts in less than a week. While we were there GG got to meet her teacher Mrs. Sherry and Monkey got to meet his Mrs. Barbie. Friday they have the orientation and the kids will get to see their rooms. Now we are going to the store to get food and other random things we need. Also today GG has been potty trained for 2 years, just thought I would mention that little cool fact about my brilliant little girl.

After I posted on Saturday GlamorGirl helped me make the cookies for the church picnic. She is actually becoming a big help with baking and cooking! Then she helped me label all of her and Monkey's school supplies. We adjusted her book bag so it would fit. She is growing up so fast. She starts her tumbling class tomorrow...I hope I remember to bring her. Anyways, after I got all the things I needed to get done I went into my room and turned on the tv, J was playing playstation in the living room. About 5 minutes later he came in and wanted to play games with me. We played Racko and Boggle. It was a lot of fun. The kids colored at the table while we played.

Sunday the kids and I got up and went to the church picnic. They had a bouncy thing that the kids could jump in and water games for them to play. They had a lot of fun it was hard getting them to leave! We came home and I took a nap and J played with the kids. Then we spent the rest of the night hanging out outside.

Last night GG woke up and came in our room. She was talking in her sleep and laughing. It was funny listening to her. She was telling Monkey he was funny because he had on a silly hat or something like that. Her laugh was the best part! Then this morning she woke up at 6:30 not feeling good and she throw up 3 times. She took a nap at 9am and woke up at 11 feeling better. Now I am going to get the playdough out for them so I can jump in the shower! I will try and update later if anything exciting happens...or at least update again tomorrow.

I have started getting behind on this posting. I hate that because I really like being able to look back and see what we did on a certain day. Yesterday I took GG to work with me and Monkey stayed home with J. After work we spent the afternoon cleaning up the house. It looks good! Then we took the kids to a park after we ate. They had so much fun. We even remembered to bring the camera and take pictures ;) On the way home we asked if they wanted to go to bed or eat ice cream? What do you think they said??? Ice cream, of course! So we had ice cream outside as a family. Then they got baths and into bed they went. Here is a cute story... at dinner we pray before we eat. We take turns praying, like tonight was GG's turn and tomorrow will be mine. She was praying and all of a sudden Monkey says Amen in the middle of her prayer. It was too funny! J and I had a hard time keeping ourselves from laughing. GG seemed unphased by it and just kept praying. I love when the kids pray. They thank God for things we adults take for granted and it is so refreshing.

Today even though it is only 2pm we have gone to the teacher store to get the kids paint smocks for school, the bank, and to Target. We bought Monkey another Christmas present while we were there. I love buying Christmas presents. The only thing is sometimes I can't decide on what I should get the kids. Like GG...should I get her a leap frog or a learning computer? And the other decision I have had to make is should I get it for her birthday or Christmas? She is so easy to shop for because she loves everything anyone buys her. Plus, she is a girl! Monkey is a little harder for me but I mange! Well enough of my rambling for one day. I need to label the kids school supplies and make chocolate chip cookies for the church picnic tomorrow.

This morning I didn't work but J worked last night so I needed to get the kids out of the house. So we got up and went to the Park District to register GlamorGirl for a tumbling class. As soon as I walked in a girl said my name. I thought I didn't give my name to the lady on the phone how do they know me. I looked up and it was a girl I went to college with. She was in my major. We talked for awhile and just caught up with each other. That was really nice. Then we went to school to fill out my tax forms for working there. The kids were so happy to see Grandma...I don't know if it is because she *always* seems to give them candy when they see her at work. I really don't know ;) Then we picked my dad up at work and went out to lunch with him. We went to Bakers Square (Monkey's choice) and had a good time with grandpa. Then we came back home and woke J up. The rest of the day was spent doing family activities, like shopping! Well and spending time outside with the neighborhood, and I really mean the whole neighborhood! I keep forgetting to mention this but Monkey learned a new skill in the past few days. He learned to open the car door. So he has to open it everytime we leave. hehehe Tonight after dinner we took the kids to get ice cream because they behaved so good while we were shopping we treated them for their great behavior. They didn't even know that they were going to get the reward either! We went to the McDonalds with the playland and let them play too. There were two big girls there that GG played with. At first I thought she wouldn't fit in with them but they really wanted to play with her and included her in the game they were playing! Monkey also learned how to get up the maze. I think he grew a few more inches that have helped him to be able to do that now. I think that is great because now I don't have to go up in that smelly thing ;0 Well GG is in bed sleeping and Monkey is waiting to be put to bed.

We got back from our vacation early this morning! We had so much fun spending time with friends. On Wednesday we left here at 1pm and got to WIU at 7pm. Long trip huh? Well this is what happened...we had a potty and gas break, then Monkey had to go potty so we pulled over on the side of the road and J held a bucket for him to pee in. Well that didn't work Monkey just kept telling J that "pee pee goes in the potty, daddy" Then we got about 10 miles and GlamorGirl took her sandals off and her feet smelled bad. So we stopped at Shopko to buy the kids some new shoes! It was an unplanned shopping trip :) Then we went to McDonalds for dinner and took it to the hospital so J could see old co-workers. Then to the Beech's house. The kids played and were absolutely wired. GG tells everyone that Ethan is her boyfriend and that she is going to marry him.

Thursday we got up and went to see our friend Julie who is pregnant with twins. She has a little girl Grace a little older than Monkey. Then we went to lunch at HyVee...don't ask. When we got back to the Beech's we got the kids ready to go swimming. Angie and her son Mason came over and went with us. The kids were exhausted from swimming and took naps when we got back. The rest of the day the kids played and didn't go to bed until 10pm.

Friday we went to playgroup while J went to his old department to see his teachers. The first thing GG said when we walked in the building for playgroup was, "I've never ever been here before." Donnice told her, "yes you have and I have plenty of pictures to prove it!" So she got out her pictures of playgroups and different activities. It was really fun to look through and see GG so little and with no hair. She had quite a few pictures of her and even some of Monkey. GlamorGirl also got bit on her arm. But other than that she had so much fun playing and seeing all of her old friends. We went to Pizza Hut for lunch with the kid's friends, Ethan, Gavin, Mason, Laura, and Noah. Yeah there was 7 kids and 4 adults! Then we went to Ted and Jo's house and it was non-stop talking for about 3 hours! They have a super nice house, I am so happy for them. Ted is a police officer for campus so he and J talked cop shop. Jo and I talked about anything and everything! We're girls:) Then that night we went to All U on the Mall on campus. We took the kids on the inflatable rides, trampoline thingy, got a caricature for each of them (Monkey was a soccer player and GlamorGirl was a ballerina princess ~ she couldn't make up her mind so the lady did both!) they got tattoos, and we got a family picture taken. Then we went to Subway with Ted and Jo for dinner. J went to the bars that night. We had a great time with the A's despite Jo needing to go to the hospital.

Saturday we visited my college friend Jill who had a baby in July and I didn't even know she was pregnant. Some friend I am right? She is coming up this way and was so glad that we got a hold of them because she wanted to see us when they came. I can't wait to show her our new house!!! Then we went to the hospital to see Joanna and bring her some flowers. It was nice because we got to see Sharie, the midwife that caught GG and Monkey. We went to Burger King for lunch and then to see Joe (J's friend) who lives in the dorm. That was actually kind of fun. It has been a long time since I have been in a room full of guys playing playstation. The kids had fun too. Then we went to the K's for the rest of the day.

Sunday we went to church and got to see all of those people! We hung out at the K's all day until it was time for the Mom's Night Out. We meet at Rocky's for dinner and then went to DQ. I can't even tell you how much fun that was. We were gone for 3 hours!!! J and Aaron went to Jason's house and the men played pool so they had fun too. The kids got to play with Ethan one more time before we left. I feel bad for the other husbands that were at home with the kids all by themselves. Oh well! Sunday night we left and that leaves us at today. We got home around 2am last night. So we are pretty tired today.

Today we really haven't done much but get groceries and get the house into order! And I think this post is already long enough...

Ok Monkey is super cute and funny! At night we have been watching the Olympics...well Monkey the other day was in the living room and he put both feet together and then raised his hands in the air. After that he did a somersault. It was the cute and funniest thing in the world to watch. What a character!!! Today the kids and I went to work. When we got home we spent time with the neighbors, shock shock! At 3:30 we loaded up my car and went to the school. We brought the toys for the pre-school class and watched Liz play volleyball. They won so that was cool. Then we went outside to the soccer field and watched the boys team play. We came home and ate dinner. After the kids bath we played our favorite game of hide-and-seek. Now we are watching the Olympics, GG is sleeping and Monkey is going shortly. I have so much stuff I need to get done tonight before I go to bed.

Well we had a rough night last night and didn't get much sleep so the kids and I didn't make it to church this morning. I really wish we would of so that J could of gotten better sleep. I tried to keep the kids as quiet as I could. They had other plans, unfortunately. This afternoon we all went to the K's baby shower. It was really fun to see them and it is making me even more excited about getting to see all of our other WIU friends. I need to write out our schedule and all the people we want to see so that we don't forget to do something or see someone! At the shower there was a little girl Abby who is about 4 months older than GG and Ellie, a year younger then her so the 3 girls played nicely. Then there was Monkey and Abby's brother Caleb who is 6 months younger than Monkey. It worked out really good with the kids!!! I know that GG had a blast with the girls and Monkey just had a blast being there :) Then we came home and hung outside with the neighbors. All the kids were outside playing and there were two new kids same age and sex as ours. They were from out of state, which is a bummer. But they got to play for the night. Then we had to come inside to eat dinner...a late one. Now we are getting the kids ready for bed and planning on watching some of the Olympics.

We had a really fun day today. The kids and I went to the Y to work and then to the fire department. They were having an open house. The kids got to see them put out a fire, slide down the fire pole, spray the fire hose, go in the fire truck and ambulance, and see a EMS demonstration with a dummy. GG thought that the name "dummy" was pretty funny. They also got balloons and a hat. Then we went to my dad's for lunch and the kids told Grandma all about the firestation! Then we came home and J and GG worked in the yard, Monkey took a nap and I cleaned the whole entire house. By the time we were finished with everything my dad got here and we ordered pizza. Then Grandma came after church. The kids got their presents from grandma and grandpa's trip. They each got glow-in-the-dark shirts. They love them! Then we went out for some ice cream. Yum Yum. Monkey and I dropped off GG and J (they went to sleep) and we went to Wal-mart to get a present for the K's baby shower. I got a couple more things as well but we were going to get them eventually anyways! Now I am the only one awake but in a few minutes I have to wake J up. I think I am going to get ready for bed, wake him up and then go to bed myself:)

Alright here is a rundown of the day. The kids and I got up and went to work, got off and went to my dad's for lunch (so J could sleep), came home and we all slept. Both the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I was able to move them into the house and keep them sleeping so I decided that I was going to lay down. I crashed. I woke up drooling...I was tired. Actually I have a funny story that I am able to remember to tell :) At my dad's house I made the kids some noodles for lunch. They were sitting in the same chair eating them while watching cartoons. About 10 minutes after I gave them the food I looked over at them and Monkey had fallen asleep sitting in the chair. He had his hand in the bowl of noodles but was sound asleep. It was funny. I laid him down on the couch and gave GG a bath then woke him up to give him a bath and then we came home, which he fell back asleep in the car. When we got up from our naps we went outside to hang out with all the neighbors. I love this neighborhood, everyone is super friendly and always outside! I hate when people stay in their houses all the time, which is what my dad's neighbors do. Then tonight we went out to eat. Nothing fancy, just Wendy's! Now the kids are watching a movie that our neighbors rented and are letting us borrow. Well I need to get off the computer so I can make some phone calls.

Wow I just re-read my last post and it jumped all over the place! Sorry about that. I have a lot of things on my mind and I guess I was thinking faster then I could type and so it made for a jumpy post. J has started the midnight shift and I hate it. So the last couple of days we get up go to work and come to my dad's house for a couple hours so that J can get some sleep. It has been ok because the kids get to see Travis and Becky. Travis goes back to school this weekend so they won't see him for awhile. I am so excited I have gotten replies back from my friends WIU and everyone so far is able to go to the Mom's Night Out!!! It is going to be so much fun. I can't wait. Other than that J planted grass in the area that we worked in the other day so we will see if the grass will grow there or not. I really hope it does because I don't want to pay for someone to do it. The key is doing as much as we can ourselves so that we save money. Well that is about it from this end of the world.

Jeff and I are nuts...we are the talk of the neighborhood. We have done so much work in the yard it is nuts. The people who lived here for 27 years didn't do as much work in the yard as J and I are doing and we have only lived here for almost 2 months. It will look nice when we get finished. The kids will have a nice place to play and ride bikes. Yesterday all four of us were outside shoveling and working in the yard. It was a family bonding day. J said that he doesn't like that kind of bonding! Other than that we are getting ready for our trip! I am so excited and I can't wait. Tonight Monkey and I are going to the LLL meeting. Oh I have a funny story about Monkey. We were watching the Olympics and swimming was on. Monkey started cheering for Micheal Phelps but he wasn't even in the water. He remembered his name from the night before. J and I got a good laugh out of that one. Also Monkey got his hair cut today and it is super short. It doesn't even look like he has hair. I also cut GG's hair too. Monkey and I are in the process of weaning. He asks me if he can nurse and I act like he wants to nurse me. He says, "No mommy, don't nurse on me. I want to nurse on you." He is quite a little stinker...he is still sleeping in our bed not by our choice. We move him in his bed and he keeps coming back. GG really likes playing with kids that are a few years older than her. It is really funny to watch because she is so much like me...poor girl ;) The older kids do everything she wants them too. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing. But she makes friends so easily and kids (of all ages) seem to like her. We were outside earlier today and a lady across the street, she stays home, asked how old I was. She was amazed that we were so young and have 2 kids, our own home, and 2 cars. She said we have accomplished a lot in our young age. I never really thought about it but we are doing things a lot earlier then most people. Most people aren't even married at our age. I wouldn't change a thing. I love our life and our family. Well it is time to get the little babe ready to go. Until next time...

I feel like we (I) have accomplished so much. I cleaned out my car and vacuumed it and we have done tons of stuff with the yard. J and a neighbor cut down about 6 trees and 5 bushes. Then we had to move it all to the edge of the street. We also bought some tools to use in the yard so we don't have to keep borrowing other peoples! We have so much to do in the yard still but it has come along way. The next two days both J and I have them off so we will hopefully be able to get a ton more done. Tonight we are going to sit down and get a game plan for the work that needs to be done. Other than that we went to church today. The kids got to play with their friend Alyssa. Monkey has started wearing underwear now and is doing pretty good with them. I love owning a home! It is so much work but it is all worth it :) We are getting excited and ready to go on our vacation to WIU. We can't wait to see all of our friends. It is a much needed vacation for us. Well I am going to go be with my family and watch the Olympics! Have a Go(o)d night...if you go to our church you will understand that! If you want to know about it email and I will explain it to you ;)

Last night was so much fun. We took the kids, after dinner and more weeding, to the car show. We walked around the parking lot looking at all the old style cars. They loved it. They pointed out each purple and green car they saw.

Today the kids and I went to work then picked up Travis from his surgery. Then we came back to dad's house and had lunch. We are hanging out with Travis before we head home. The next three days both J and I have the days off so we are going to have some good quality time together. I really wish I had more time to write about the funny stories my little ones do...I am planning on getting better at this journal again. My life just needs to slow down but it doesn't look like that is going to happen for awhile.

Things at work are getting better they aren't completely fixed but they are getting there. At least things are going in the right direction! Last night we had some friends over and we had a great time. They brought us a house warming present and it was really cute. It was a bowl for salsa and a bigger bowl for chips and they also got the chips and dip for it! The kids loved having company. When they first got here the kids were doing things that they knew wasn't allowed like jumping off the couch and stuff. It is very hard to discipline children when your company is laughing and encouraging the behavior. Matt and Sarah are fun to hang out with and talk to. They aren't engaged but they talk about their honeymoon and wedding. Very funny to listen to. Not much else to report I need to go make dinner...the kids were acting good so I thought I could update real quick!

Wow it is amazing how time goes by so fast when you are busy doing things with our house! The last few nights we have done so much stuff with our backyard. It looks tons better I can't wait to get it all done. We are so blessed to live in this house! Our neighbors have come over to help us with the yard work two nights in a row. We didn't even ask they saw we *needed* the help and they helped. Not only did they help but they let us borrow their tools! One of our neighbors has a little girl who is 7 and she has come over everyday to play with the kids. GG absolutely adores her :) Alyssa's mom said that she loves playing with the kids. That is fine with me because they play so well. I should bring her to work and see if GG gets picked on...

On the down side to everything that is going good in our lives is a situation I have at work that totally stinks. There is a little girl that just bullies GG with words and physically. J and I are sick of it. So tomorrow hopefully something will finally get done. The sad part is that the girl that picks on GG picks on other staff kids as well. So when I do leave there the problem will continue and it will be a new kid that gets picked on and that is NOT right. She is a little terror. I will keep you posted on what happens with the situation at hand.

Yesterday the kids and I went to watch J play soft ball and that was a lot of fun. And today I spent the day doing laundry and cleaning. We are having company tomorrow night!!! I guess of all the days that we had to stay in the house today was a good one because it was chilly outside.

Also we got our cable hooked up and they messed it up and we have a hole in our wall now. But they are going to come and fix it, so that is good. I am just glad we finally have cable and I don't have to keep playing movies and rewinding them. That is such a pain in the butt.

Ok yesterday was a bad day. I left work early because I was in pain. And spent most of the day laying on the couch while the kids watched movies. I hated doing that to them but I really had no other choice.
Today was a great day. My in-laws came over for dinner. Joe and J fixed our shower and now we have awesome water pressure!!! I am super excited and we didn't have to spend any money...the best part. This morning the kids and I went to work and then the fun began. After work we went out to eat with my co-worker Jen and her 3 kids. Then we went to her house and the kids played and I picked out material for the kids coats she is going to make for them. GG's is going to be purple on both sides, the coats are reversible, light purple and then dark purple. It is going to have Cinderella on it. It will be very cute. Then Monkey's is going to be forest green on one side and a dark plaid on the other side. The green side is going to have a soccer ball on the back and a 02 on the front. That was J's soccer number and it was the year Monkey was born! They are going to be so cute in those coats :) Then we got home and we had our company. After they left I had to call my boss and give her the bad news about me not working there anymore. I hate doing stuff like that because I feel like I am letting her down. I just hope they find someone to fill my spot, I know what it is like to be short staffed. That is all from this end of the world.

Our day! The kids and I got up and J had already left for work. We ate breakfast and headed out on our errands. First we went to the bank to pay our first payment on a loan. Then we went to the R's house but they weren't there so we just dropped off the stuff, they leave tomorrow for 6 weeks. Then to school to see grandma and drop some stuff off for the preschool program. J has the rest in his truck. Then the last stop to the cable company. I had to show that we just bought the house because the people who lived here before us had an outstanding balance with the cable company. Then I had to ask them to put cable hook ups in the house. They didn't understand why there wasn't any if the people had cable before. The only thing I can think of is that the people who rehabbed the place took them out. They weren't the brightest people in the world...they claimed they didn't know they had to have a permit to work on the house, yeah right! Anyway the lady was nice and gave me the second hook up free. She was going to do the first but the computer wouldn't let her because it said the house was cable ready. Well it was but not anymore. Then we came home and had lunch then Monkey took a nap and GG and I looked through her school supply list and talked about her going to school. It should be interesting to see how she does. Then when Monkey woke up we had freeze pops and got in the pool. Then J called from work to tell me he was going to be a long time and he has been...still not home at 8 and he was suppose to get off at 3. We were going to have steak on the grill but instead we had pizza, the kids were fine with that because they got to help make it. Oh and we went over to the neighbors house across the street today, I needed some info, and Monkey peeped on her pergo floor. Then we came home and a couple hours later he did it again. I don't know what the deal was because this is the first time since we lived here he has had an accident. Oh well he was having an off day, kids can have them too ya know. We also spent some time at Jack's house at the request of the children and they got ding dongs and balloons while there. Can you see why they always want to go over there? GG fell asleep on the couch about an hour ago and now is in bed so I need to work on getting little rug rat in bed.

Ok this is so cool to my world. Last night Monkey slept 8 straight hours!!! It has been a few nights that he has started to sleep longer periods of time and I can tell that my body is getting more rest at night. It makes me so happy. Well today we got up and got ready at no special speed which was nice. I received a phone call from my work telling me that I was suppose to work today and I told my boss that she told me not to come in. I was subbing for someone else and she didn't think she was going to need me, well someone called in sick, of course. I didn't go in. So the kids and I went grocery shopping at Aldi and then at Jewel. I wish we could get everything at Aldi because it is super cheap but they just don't carry everything and somethings aren't good to get there like their bread. We got home and ate lunch then we all took naps. After our nap my dad came over and we went to buy a tv for our house it was his house warming present. We got a 27 inch panasonic flat screen one. We both like it so that is a plus. Then we went out to eat with my dad at Baja Fresh a mexican restaurant, it was pretty good, first time I had eaten there. Then we came home and put the tv away and got the kids to bed. Tomorrow my plan is to go to the cable company and get our cable hooked up sometime soon. Then the rest of the day we will probably spend in the pool!!! Oh yeah I officially excepted the job as a Teacher's Assistant in the preschool department. That should be fun :)

We were late to church this morning. I don't even know why because I got up before the alarm went off. Oh well. After church the kids and I went to J's parents house for a huge lunch. It was awesome. Sue makes the best food. Then we came home and both the kids fell asleep in the car and stayed sleeping when I brought them in the house so I laid down too. I got an hour at least of sleep. Then my dad and cousin Cory came over to bring me an organ. I just found out that my cousin is going to be staying with my dad for awhile. That should be interesting! After they left the kids and I got in the pool and played for about an hour in it. I really like the pool it is so big :) Then we hung out with our next door neighbor. The ice cream truck came down our street like it does everyday and Jack bought the kids and I a treat from it. We have already adopted him and his wife as our grandparents! They are so nice and generous...they gave J a power washer. Anyway J didn't get home until about 20 minutes ago. Which is good but not so good. The money is nice but I would of liked to see him more. And that was our day...

I have exciting news! At least for J and I it is. Monkey slept from 8:45pm to 4am last night. That means I got at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That was super exciting for me. Since we have moved in here the sleep issue with Monkey has been quite difficult. He prefers to sleep in our bed but since we don't have the twin up next to our bed we really don't have much room for him. I don't want him falling out of the bed either. Needless to say last night was AWESOME. Then this morning Monkey woke up at about 6am saying that he had to go pee pee. J was up getting ready for work so he put him on the potty and realized that he had runny poop in his diaper. Poor baby couldn't help it. He sat on the potty and went some more. Then the kids and I went to work. At first it was dead at work then all of a sudden tons of people showed up and it became crazy. Of course, that would happen on the day we are short a staff person. We had a mother come in for the first time to "check it out" and she seemed unhappy. So I asked her if she had any questions, that was a big mistake...she bombarded me with about a million questions about the place. I answered the best I could but some of the questions I had no idea about. I was just glad that she came after Monkey flashed everyone! Then we went to my dad's for some lunch. After lunch we went to Target to take back a present that was a duplicate. I got Monkey the toy that he really really likes. When we got home our neighbors were having a garage sale so I walked over and talked to them. They ended up donating tons of the toys, books and videos that didn't sell to the new preschool. I was very excited about it and I can't wait to tell my new boss on Monday when I tell her that I am taking the job! Then we set up the pool and let the water fill it up while we ate dinner. Then you guessed it we got in!!! Wow was it COLD...brrr. So that didn't last long. Tomorrow will be better once it gets warmer. Our pool is awesome I must say, it is 10 ft by 7 ft. A great birthday present for Monkey!!! Now we are winding down and getting ready for bed. I so hope that we have another night like last ;)

This morning the kids and I headed to work. But instead of taking GG with me to work I dropped her off at Emily's house for a play date. She had so much fun. The rest of the day she talked about having Emily over to our house. I told her that us mom's would work that out!!! She is so happy to be able to have play dates again. Then when we got home we really didn't do much but talk about our landscaping and what we wanted to do with it. But that is stuff for my other journal :) The kids road their bikes outside and we had freeze pops. J got some OT and for dinner we grilled out on our new grill. It is super nice. When people ask what gift we got from our realtor they don't believe us. Amber is just the sweetest, nicest person and I am glad she was our realtor...because she is now our friend. Oh yeah Jen called to find out if I was going to take the job but J and I are still in the process of talking about it. However, it is leaning more towards me taking the job. It will be a set amount of hours a week and closer to our house. I think we would be fine just on J's income but it is nice to be able to have the extra for the unexpected stuff, ya know what I mean? Plus I think the preschool program would be good for the kids. GG would be in the other room and Monkey would be with me. It is only a few hours in the morning. Ok that is all I can think of to write about.

 
Ok here is a cute story for you: This morning GG wakes up before I left for work and asks me, "Can you drop me off at Mickey Mouse World?" Apparently she had been dreaming about going to Disney World! She was telling me all about the fun things to do at Mickey Mouse World as she called it. One day maybe we can take the kids there??? GG stayed home with J today and did a lot of fun things. They got gas in the truck, went to Wal-mart and got GG gloves for helping weed the flowers, paid some bills, and made banana bread! Monkey went to work with me and that is always fun ;) When we got home we ate lunch and then went to Toys R Us. I really like that store. We ended up not buying anything even though I wanted to buy tons of stuff. I really want to start my Christmas shopping...it is already July and I have nothing. I usually am close to being done by now. Then we went to Target and J let me buy some presents for the kids. It was summer clothes that are on sale. Great deals!!! Then we came home and opened up some more of Monkey's birthday presents. We opened the Little People things he got. The kids played so nice with all of their LP stuff. I really like those toys. I want to get them the airport and the one that has the ramp (I can't remember what it was called). It is so bad because I have so many ideas of what to get them for presents but just not enough money. I am going to try and talk J into getting them a joint present of a swing set but I don't know if he will go for that. They already have a pool in the backyard. I first should find out if I would have enough money to get them one. Anyways, then we ate dinner and now it is time for baths and bed. Right now J is in the living room with the kids flipping them. They are laughing that wonderful belly laugh that sounds so good. I really love the sound of laughter!    

I was going to update last night I was just too tired. I ended up going to bed at 9pm! That is super early for me. I am glad that I went though because Monkey woke me up twice before it was even midnight. Anyways, yesterday the kids and I went to work then got home in time to eat lunch with Daddy on his break. Then when J got off he took the kids outside to play while I paid bills and balanced the check book. That is always so much fun. Then we bathed the kids before bed. Instead of putting them to bed right away we played hide and seek. It was so much fun. The kids would hind in the same spot each time, which was their tent in the playroom. Then J and I would hide and they would try and find us. We would yell "we're hiding" to help them find us. I tried to hide in places that I could see them looking for us and I would end up laughing so hard that they found me. J, I would have to say had the best hiding spot of all. He waited til the kids found me and then ran into the playroom and hid in their tent. After about an hour of playing that we stopped. By that time it was dark outside so we gave the kids each a flashlight and had flashlight wars on the ceiling. It was so much fun. This is going to sound redundant but now that we live in our own place we can do whatever we want, when we want, and be as loud as we want. It is GREAT! I kind of forgot what that was like after living with my parents for almost 10 months. On to today...

Today is J's Birthday!!! Happy Birthday wonderful husband of mine :) I love you so much. In my best Monkey voice!!! This morning the kids and I hung around the house for awhile and we called the Fish radio station to request songs and GG got to talk to the man on the phone. It was too cute. She was singing him the songs she wanted to hear instead of telling him the name! Then we went to the grocery store to buy daddy a cake and a special dinner. While we were in line the guy in front of us flipped out. He told the cashier that he didn't want his groceries. It was pretty funny. Then we came home and the R kids came over Grace, 5, Jake, 3 1/2 and Noah 2. They brought McDonald happy meals for the kids for lunch. So we had a picnic lunch! Then the rest of the afternoon the kids played. I pulled GG and Monkey out separately to help make daddy's cake. I even got Monkey to take a nap during all the busy-ness. Then J got home from work and all five of the kids jumped out from behind the chair and screamed "happy birthday!" Now we are heading out the door for dinner. J decided he wanted to go out to eat! I don't have to cook so I am there :)  

What a great and busy day we had yesterday. We celebrated Monkey's birthday with a party. Most of the people that came over hadn't seen our new house yet so I spent most of the day cleaning and cooking for the party. Then everyone came over and I played host. Monkey had a great time. He loved all of his presents :) I still can't believe that my baby is 2 already. Where in the world did the time go? GG did pretty well during Monkey's party too. She helped by giving him the presents to open. She loves her little brother and he loves her too. Friday night GG stayed at my in-laws and Monkey was so sad that she was gone. I took him out for a special dinner just the two of us and when we got in the car he said, "Oh no where is GG's carseat?" I told him grandma had it because she was with her for the night. They gave eachother a big hug on Saturday when she came home. I must admit I really missed her a lot and it wasn't even a whole 24 hours. She had fun at grandma's and Aunt Liz gave her a makeover with makeup and did her hair too. Such a little princess! Today we went to church and then hung out at grandma and grandpa's for lunch and relaxation. Next month they don't have Sunday School class so the kids will probably go to the nursery together. So I have thought about my other journal that I really haven't written in for a long time and I have decided that it will mainly be about our new house and things we do to improve it or that brake and need fix. Stuff like that! I LOVE being a homeowner!!!! Well time for dinner.....   

Yeah we finally have internet! I am so excited to be back online :) We love our new home. It feels like we have lived here forever. The next door neighbors are the best. They are a retired couple and just are the sweetest people. They have lived in this neighborhood for over 40 years and know everyone. So they have introduced us to so many people on the block. Jack the husband told me that they have block parties on this street. I think that is so cool and I can't wait to be apart of it. The kids are adjusting great to living without grandparents, aunt and uncles. It is just so nice to have our own place again. Not that it was horrible living with my parents but it is SOOOOOOO nice to be alone sometimes. Yesterday was Monkey's 2nd birthday. We are having his party tomorrow and so I am in the mist of getting things ready for that. Everyone is coming over here so we get to show off the house and have our first party in our own back yard!!! That just sounds so cool. Can you tell I am excited about the house? I just can't believe we have only lived here a week and we are completely unpacked and have pictures hanged and everything. J is such a work-a-holic that he won't stop til we were done. Oh I had an interview at the school that Sue works at in the preschool. J and I still need to talk it over and see if that is really what we want for our family. Well I should get back to doing things. I will start updating more again now that we are connected! 

I don't really remember much of anything since I found out that my grandpa passed away yesterday evening. All I know is that it totally stinks. It was only 12 days that my grandma had been gone and now my grandpa is gone too. I just keep thinking about all the fun things we did with "grandpa candy" as we called him. He always had candy and was always willing to share with his grandchildren. I remember grandma getting so mad at him for giving us candy before dinner but if we asked we got it. We were a little spoiled by grandpa. Last night all the memories hit me like a ton of bricks. He was only 69 that is so young. But he is now with his wife so he is happy again. The worst part of it all was he was healthy and still farming everyday. Well that is really all I want to say for now.

Well we still don't have phone or internet so I am at my dad's house. I worked today and came here for lunch and for Monkey to take a nap so that J can get good sleep at home. He has been running himself ragged. We are almost done moving in!!! Now we are getting things ready for Monkey's 2nd Birthday :) I can't believe my baby is turning 2. So much has happened the last few days I don't even know where to begin so I am not going to write about any of it. I will say that we are all loving our new home!!! The key is OURS :)

We are here at my dad's house getting a few more things and cleaning up the basement. It stinks because his A/C went out. He over uses it and so it doesn't last as long as normal people! We totally love our new house. Yesterday we had a truck to move our stuff and friends from church and J's parents came to help. We have almost everything unpacked but we still have a long way to go until it is completely done! Today we got up super early because we don't have window treatments and the sun shines in so the kids get up. The whole morning we spent unpacking boxes. Then the afternoon we bought things we need for the house. We went to 3 stores and we still have to get 2 more things for sure we just got tired of shopping for things we need. So we will get them another day. I feel like a walking zombie...moving is tiresome.

It has been awhile since I last updated...we have been crazy busy. I really don't have a lot of time right now. But I really want to update. Monday we had the visitation for my grandma, Tuesday was the funeral and I was one of the pall bearers, Wednesday I worked and spent time with the family, Thursday we had our final walk through on the house, and today we closed on it. Then we moved all of our kitchen stuff in the house and unpacked it. Another great thing that happened today was that I got my wedding ring back! It looks good. Tomorrow we are going to be moving everything else to the house and unpacking it. We don't have internet there or even a phone number yet but that we will be getting soon. We are just both excited to be owning our first home. Our realtor gave us a house warming gift. It was a grill! Very nice. Ok I need to go now.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!! I am sitting here listening to fireworks going off. Both the kids are in bed asleep. I feel bad that they didn't get to watch them this year. But they needed to go to sleep, they were tired. This morning we went to church and J was super tired. He worked the midnight shift and only had 1 hour of sleep before church. The kids went to sunday school class together and when I went to get them Monkey said, "Mommy! Mommy! I missed you." It was so sweet. Then I took GG to children's church and Monkey went in the nursery. He went right in and didn't even cry. This morning I prepped him for it. I told him that he was going to sunday school with GG and then she was going to children's church and he was going to the nursery to play. He does better when he knows what to expect. After church we came home. J went to sleep and I tried to keep the kids as quiet as I could, he is a light sleeper. GG was super cute today too. We told her about my grandma her grant grandma dying. Today we looked at pictures and I pointed out her great grandma. I told her happy stories about her grandma and how she has many people in her family like us! Of course, she had many questions for me which I answered the best I could to a 3 1/2 year old. GG wrote a letter to great grandma, I just wish it wasn't on my phone list for work. The letter was sweet too. Then she said she wanted to paint a picture for great grandma. I think it will be good for her to give it to grandma as her goodbye. I think I might have Monkey color a picture too? We'll see. Well I am getting tired and we have a long next couple of days. You won't hear from me until Tuesday.

We are still here at J's parents house. This morning after we got up and moving we went to Shore Galleries for J to buy a holster for his secondary weapon. While we were there one of the workers gave the kids each a little flashlight that shines a green light. They loved it. The best part was they gave them to the kids and we didn't have to pay for them. Then we took the kids to the pool that J grew up going too. There was only 5 other people in the pool when we were there. We went when it was only parent and tot time. No kids over the age of 5 allowed in the pool. As we were leaving it started to down pour...good thing we had our swim suites on! Then we came back here and ate lunch then J and Monkey took a nap and GG and I talked, played and ate ice cream :) J's parents came home around 4:30 so the rest of the night we have spent hanging out with them. Oh I think I figured out what is wrong with GG...I think she may be allergic to something on grandma. I am thinking the laundry detergent?!?! Sue said she didn't have any lotion or perfume on. She was fine all day and then they get home and she starts braking out...hmmm makes me wonder. J starts midnights tonight. Kind of bad timing if you ask me. We move into a new house and he is going to be gone at night. I don't think I like that too much. That is it for me.

This may be long...
Yesterday morning I got up and went to take a shower to be interrupted by Monkey at the door saying he had to go pee pee. He woke up, got out of bed, came up stairs, and knocked on the door. So I jump out and take off his diaper and put him on the potty. His diaper was wet...but it wouldn't of been if J would of woke up to help him. Good thing he had a diaper on! Then I took both kids to work with me because they were awake and wanting to go. J came to get Monkey and took him swimming. GG got to go with the big kids to the gym to play. She loved that. Then when we got home we ate and the kids both took naps. We made GG lay down because we knew we were going to have a big night. After they woke up we went to the storage to do somethings and then to the mall. We had to go to the mall because my wedding ring broke. I was at work and I looked down and the diamond was gone. I was so upset. My boss ended up finding the diamond on the floor. Get this the diamond did not fall out of the setting, the whole setting came off of the ring. When we showed the jewelry store where we bought it they had no idea what code to put in the computer to tell the person what to fix. Apparently this doesn't happen often! I couldn't believe it. I am just so happy that we found my diamond. A co-worker lost her diamond two days before and she never did find it. After the mall we took the kids for dinner at McDonalds, even though J and I wanted Subway. Then to the police department to drop off the car and then to the festival. We got the kids wristbands and they got to ride as many rides as they wanted too. They had fun. GG went on the dragon roller coaster 3 times. She had her hands in the air for most of the rides too. She is fearless with those rides. She went on the pumpkin patch ride with me and she wanted me to spin it faster!!! The last ride of the night was the ferris wheel. That was cool because the Gin Blossoms where playing on the stage and we could see all the people and the band from the ferris wheel. J and I calculated how much we would of spent with out the wristbands and it would of been more then 60 dollars for all the rides they went on. That is crazy...a dollar a ticket! We didn't get home until 10pm last night. So the kids didn't go to bed until late without baths.

Since the kids didn't get baths they both stayed home with J so they could be bathed. Before I went to work I got a phone call from my uncle telling me that my grandma passed away this morning. She was almost 70. Then I had to be the one to call my dad and tell him that his mom had passed. That was not something I really wanted to do. Then there were some issues with my siblings at the home front so J and I packed up some stuff and headed over to his parents house. When we got here we decided to go to this store called Meijer...it is huge. We walked around looking at stuff and got something to eat for dinner. While we were there GG started scratching herself like crazy. She broke out on her stomach, leg, and arms with hives. We got some cream to put on her and it helped. On the way home she started braking out again. I put more stuff on her and when we got back here she took a aveeno bath. That helped for a little while and then she broke out again. It is crazy because she brakes out in different spots. It was on her face at one point, feet, her hands, everywhere! My poor girl. You could just tell it itched her like crazy too. Monkey is sleeping now and GG is eating ice cream. I also found out the visitation and funeral plans, so that is what we will be doing Monday and Tuesday. Well I hope anyone who is reading this post was able to get to the end. Until next time...

Well I was going to say that Monkey only had to change his clothes once because he spilled on himself, which is true. But he also had an accident after his nap...he was half awake and half asleep. This morning GG went with me to work. This afternoon GG and I finished that puzzle together while Monkey slept. After dinner the kids rode their bikes. J has the next 3 days off and I am really excited about them. Tomorrow we are possibly taking the kids to the Fest. Last year they got wristbands that let them ride on all the rides free. I hope they will get to do that this year too! Then Friday we are taking the kids to a baseball game (the Flyers) then spending the night at J's parents house. Saturday we are then taking them swimming at the pool near J's parents. It is free and has water slides! So we should have so much fun!!! Well that is it for me.

Another day of dry pants! I am so excited about that. It is 10 minutes to 9 and both kids are asleep. Yay! So this morning we got up and went to wal-mart. We dropped off some film and bought something that we really didn't need but are useful. Like I got an organizing set of drawers that I put all of my scrapbooking stuff in it. I am glad about that, it will make scrapbooking so much easier and faster. Then J left for work after lunch. GG took some quiet time (we ended up doing her puzzle after I did my scrapbook stuff) and Monkey took a nap. Then we went outside to blow bubbles. I thought for sure they were going to want to ride bikes but bubbles was what they wanted. After being out there for about 20 minutes I was getting hot so we came in and put on our swim suites. The kids ran through the water. Then I got a good idea...I got the biggest tub I have and filled it up with water like a pool. They loved it. They played in it for about an hour. For Monkey's birthday Becky is suppose to be getting him a pool. That will be great! They got out and we had dinner. Then the kids got bathed and GG went right to sleep at 7:45! Then Monkey was in bed asleep by 8:30. I really want to let the kids play outside at night and catch lightning bugs but they are usually tired by then. Well I am going to go work some more on GG's puzzle. It is a circle puzzle the picture is of a bunch of chocolate ice cream scoops. So the pieces are all the same color...I have been putting it together by shape.

Today was a complete success! Monkey had no accidents. YAY! This morning we got up, ate breakfast, I showered then we went to the park to play. Came home and made a picnic lunch that we ate outside on the deck. Then Monkey got his fingers slammed in the door by GG. Poor little guy cried for over an hour. J and I were concerned that they might of been broken because he screamed when we asked him to bend them. I took him outside to blow bubbles trying to get his mind off his hand...worked somewhat. I finally got him completely calmed down and put him to sleep. When he woke up he was fine. He even bent his fingers without realizing it...they were still swollen but at least they didn't hurt him anymore. While Monkey was asleep GG and I played candyland, the ABC Dr. Suess game and she played with playdough while J and I talked about some things, mainly our new house. When Monkey woke up J and I took the kids outside to fly kites. Oh yeah J didn't go to work because he wasn't feeling good this morning and didn't sleep well last night. We weren't having much success with the kites, not enough wind. J took the kites home and I took the kids to the park to play. Then we came home to make dinner. After dinner our insurance guy came over for us to sign some papers. We got homeowners insurance (that sounds so cool) and we got quotes on life insurance. We have some now with J's work but I think this route will be cheaper in the long run. J shaved his head and took the kids with him to the shower. They got bathed and GG went to sleep. Then I got Monkey to sleep and GG woke up in pain. She said her mouth was hurting her. J thinks she burnt it at dinner but I don't think that is possible. I gave her something for the pain then she started complaining about her ear hurting. I don't know what her deal is. She finally just went back to bed. It is 10:30 and I need to go spend some alone time with J...

Here is the run down of our potty training day. This morning Monkey had diarrhea...yeah it got on the floor. This is before we left for the family reunion. I packed about 6 pants for the day just to be safe. We drove for 2 hours and stopped for a potty break. He went. He went potty 3 times while we were at the park from 11:30 to 3:30. We were about 2 minutes away from home and Monkey had to go potty. He told me he had to poop. It was diarrhea again and he didn't make it. He tried to keep it in though. And he actually got most of it in the potty too. So two accidents today that are sometimes accidents adults have...DIARRHEA!!!! He didn't even use any of the extra pants I brought him. The kids had so much fun at the reunion playing at the park and meeting family members. I got to talk to my cousin Rachel who I haven't seen in awhile and she is moving to near us from North Carolina so that is exciting. We already have plans to get together! Growing up we had many sleep overs, she is a year younger than me. We didn't get home until 6:45 so we ate and I gave the kids baths, read books, and they went to bed. Now I am doing things on the computer while I try and wait up for J. I really wish he could of went with us today. Tons of people asked about him. Oh this was cool too. My dad's cousin Dawn said when she saw me she thought I was my mom. She told me that she did a double take and at first she said to herself "what is Kathy doing here?" Then she realized it was me! Dawn and my mom were in the same class in highschool. Actually a lot of this side of my family call me Kathy without even noticing sometimes. My mom hasn't been apart of that family for over 20 years now! Well that is it for me.