Well here are the significant events of yesterday. Monkey woke up with a low-grade fever so he stayed home with J while GG and I went to work. I think it was due to him teething. Remember I was invited out for "girls night out" they were going downtown Chicago for dinner and fireworks. Well since Monkey wasn't feeling good I didn't want to take him with and I didn't want to leave him either. I needed to do what was best for my babe! Even though I really wanted to go, I didn't. There is always next time. We stopped by the department for dinner with DAD before heading to my in-laws for the night! I stopped at McDonalds for some food first, I know really healthy. We were at the police station for a little over an hour. That was so nice to see him during the night and eat with him! When we got to my in-laws grandma wasn't feeling good so we just had a relaxing time there hanging out, it was fun.

This morning we went to Sunday school and church. It was such a gorgeous day!!! Sun shining and warm...I can't wait for more permanent spring weather. On the way to church Monkey was in his seat just talking away. He kept naming things he saw through his window. So it was mostly car, tree, car, tree, plane, car, tree, house! Too cute. GG went to her Sunday school class and Monkey came to ours. Then they both went to the nursery during church. GG wanted to go there instead of children's church because she wanted to play with Monkey. Who I am to stand in the way of siblings bonding! Monkey did great again today in the nursery he didn't cry at all not even 2 minutes like last time :) It is so nice to sit in church with my husbands arm around me while listening to the sermon. We went back to J's parents and ate another yummy lunch. Monkey got all wet at lunch trying to use a big boy cup. Then J left and the kids and I hung out for awhile. I ended up getting a much needed hour nap! Monkey's mouth was bothering him last night so he nursed ALL NIGHT LONG! Now we are home and GG is in bed sleeping and Monkey is going to bed soon. Side note: GG has been really into her dress up clothes lately. She is too cute in her dress, shoes, and tiara! What a little princess :) I love my life...I have I said that lately???

I am going to try and make this post short. This morning I took Monkey to work with me and GG and J had together time. They couldn't wait to tell me all the things they did together...they called me at work! I left earlier then I was schedule because I wanted some time with J. We got to talk and it was much needed on my part, I had a somewhat bad week. Then this evening I went back to work with both kids. I met the most awesome person. She has 6 kids! We talked about nursing, co-sleeping, and being responsive to our kids. She gave me so many compliments :) It is always nice to hear that you are doing a good job being the best mom you can be. Then we got home and made homemade pizza. Grandma had a bunch of her church friends over for dinner and GG ate up all the attention. When the first person came in GG said, "Oh family is here!" What a goof. She loved talking with everyone and they all said that she was adorable. Monkey just kind of just hung out by me...he was being shy. Then I brought them downstairs and put them to bed. So we had a good day!!!

Lets try this again. It is official that I have my sweet GlamorGirl back because she said the same thing again this morning! Gosh I love that girl so much. I look at her and think to myself she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, the smartest little person I have ever known and she has the greatest personality of anyone I have ever met. I know I am a little bias...but it is so hard not to think that when everyone tells me the same things I think about her! I'm not only talking about family members when I say everyone...it is mostly non-family that give me compliments on both of the kids actually. Ok enough about that! GG went with me this morning because she had her "preschool" class. She painted and did a craft today, very excited to show daddy when he came to pick her up! J and Monkey got to work the same time I went to pick GG up and so Monkey stood at the window screaming, "Bay! Bay! Bay!" I love the connection they have with each other (at least today anyway!). Man I tell you Monkey's vocabulary has really taken off. He says new words everyday. He is learning so much everyday too. My favorite is that he is starting to sing songs! I love singing with them. This afternoon Monkey took a nap and GG watched a movie and I took a nap. I felt so much better afterwards. I was going to go to bed last night at 9 but I ended up going to bed at 10 because Swiper the fish died. I couldn't believe it. We bought him Monday and it died Wednesday. So we got our money back, which was nice. J thinks that GG's fish Princess is toxic and is making the other fish die so we are going to wait until Princess dies then get two new fish and start over. I have a feeling that Princess is going to have a long life too. Good thing Monkey doesn't really care. Lets see I believe that is about all I have to write about. Both the kids are playing with their micro machines! Soon it will be bed time for all of us :)

I'm really not in the mood to write much. But I will say that GG had such a better day today. This morning the first thing out of her mouth was, "It's a beautiful day today!" My little sweetheart is back. She had dance class today also. Well I have more I could write about but I really don't want to write about it.

Man I tell you what, GlamorGirl woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. She had the worst day of her entire life today. I think it was due to lack of sleep but man am I glad it is over. She was super sensitive to everyone today...crying, not listening, just having an all together bad day. I wasn't going to take her to work with me but I did anyway...big mistake on my part. If a kid looked at her the wrong way she cried, poor girl. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Today J got called into work. He went in because it is good money. I was sad because we planned on checking out a sale and making a fire tonight. Oh well. While I was making dinner tonight my friend Amanda (from work) was outside making a bunch of noise to catch my attention. Her and another girl Lisa were standing outside waving their hands like crazy! Lisa has a little boy born the same day and year as Monkey. I opened the door and we "yelled" back and forth. GG thought that was so neat except she cried when she couldn't give Amanda a hug, go figure. Amanda and her sister Elyse are at war over my kids. Last Saturday Monkey gave Elyse a hug and so Amanda wanted one from Monkey, which he gave her today. After dinner I gave both kids a bath and put them to bed. I talked to our friends about going to the hockey game and they can go. I am super excited about it. We got invited to an event tonight but I didn't feel like driving so I stayed home. But maybe if J is home next time they get together we will go. I also got invited to a girls night out with our Sunday school class. They are going to watch the fireworks and then out for dinner in downtown. I haven't decided if I am going yet...maybe if I can find someone to watch GG. I would bring Monkey because it would be too long for him to be away. I guess I am just going to wait and see how much my paycheck is Friday. If it is good I will have money to go out to dinner!!! I got off track today...

Wow what a day! GG and I got up and went to work and the boys had guys day in...they even ran a few errands together. We came home and did the usual! Then we went to Wally world to get Monkey a new fish. This time his fish is all black and his name is Swiper. Which reminds me...do you remember when I said Monkey was saying something that sounded like shut up??? Well it turns out he wasn't say that or stop it he was saying Swiper from Dora. So when he says Swiper it sounds like he is saying shut up so J and I say Monkey's version of Swiper when we want the other to be quite! Also this morning Monkey was laying in the bed half awake half asleep saying "Shubup shubup shubup...ooooh man!" J and I laughed :) Another Monkey thing he has been so into the toilet. Today he put the fish net in there after we put his new fish in the bowl. The other day he put the plunger in the toilet,(moving it up and down) it was funny to see him using it in the right way. But gross at the same time! Yuck. This evening we went grocery shopping as a family...just the four of us. That was so nice I can't wait to start doing that again on a regular basis...when we move out! GG fell asleep in the cart! She looked so uncomfortable, she can sleep anywhere I tell you. Well now we are home the food is put away and I just gave GG a bath. Now it is bed time...even though J is winding them up really good right now. They are jumping on the bed and laughing hysterically. I am going to watch my show I recorded while we were gone. Oh one more thing, last night I nursed Monkey then let him fall asleep on his own. Well he woke up about an hour later crying. I asked J to take him out and rock him, he wouldn't do it. J said, "Monkey can you stop crying?" and he stopped crying. Then J said, "Now go to sleep." He went to sleep. I couldn't believe it. If I try talking to him he cries harder and louder. So from now on I will let J talk to him at night. It worked perfectly!!!

I have a little sad news...we lost Fred today. He went to fish heaven! We just got home from spending the day with J's family. I'll get back to that later. For the fish we told the kids the fish died. I think it is best to be honest with them about life and death. When we told Monkey it was funny because he shook his head no, as if he was saying this can't be true. Then we put Fred in the toilet and said goodbye to him. We let Monkey be the one to flush the toilet. Then GG started crying saying that Princess was going to die too. I told her that we would wash the bowl and get new water and Princess should be ok. She seemed pretty ok with that. We are going to go to the store tomorrow and get Monkey a new fish...hopefully this one will be healthier! This morning we went to church only, I wanted to go to Sunday school but we just didn't get up in time :( On the way to church GG had her Bible and she was looking at a picture of Jesus with all the children around him. She said this is God. It was actually Jesus, when he was on Earth. How do you go about telling a 3 year old that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (the trinity) are the same but at the same time different. The trinity is a hard thing to grasp so how do you explain it to a 3 year old? We tried our best to explain it to her. One day she will understand better. At church Monkey stayed in the nursery the whole time and had a blast. They said he cried for about 2 minutes and then played. I think he is finally over the separation anxiety! GG went to children's church and J and I actually got to sit in the sanctuary together!! That was so nice. Then we went to J's house and had a yummy lunch. It was shrimp something or other? I forgot the name. I don't usually care for shrimp but Sue did a great job and I actually liked it! Then we just hung out talking about tons of stuff with his parents. They are great to talk to about anything and everything. I miss that with my mom, her living so far away it is hard to talk to her because it has to be on the phone and anyone with kids knows that when mom is on the phone the kids go bonkers! We left the J's parents and went out for pizza with a free coupon! I love free stuff, can you tell? I really am not cheap...even though it may sound like it. After dinner we went to the store to pick up some mousse for me. Then we came home and did the whole fish thing. Now we are getting the kids ready for bed and us adults are going to watch ER from Thursday.

I am in a better mood now. It is amazing how kids can help you smile again :) This afternoon we just sat on the couch telling each other secrets and goofing around mainly just laughing together. That helped so much. GG also told me that I am a supermom! She has been into superheros lately, so I thought that was nice she thought of me like that...mom can do anything I need her too. Then after dinner I gave them a bath so they are ready for church in the morning. I just let them play in the tub having fun with each other and me just watching. They are such great kids and I am glad they are mine! I did take some pictures of them in the bath too I think they will turn out really good. Now the kids are clean and smell so sweet. They are still playing nicely with each other. It seemed the last week they fought more over toys then normal and now they are back to playing together, thank God! Oh yeah the Y called today and said that GG can go to the next preschool session again free of charge! That totally rocks :) It is the closest thing to date that I have found that is somewhat similar to the playgroup we used to go to. The only difference is the parents aren't there :( But she has fun and it is FREE!!!!!

The internet got disconnected last night...GRRR. The only one who knows how to router it is J and he was working. So we had to wait for him to fix it this morning. Two things I want to write about yesterday. The first is Monkey fell asleep last night without nursing, yay! And GG has quite the imagination :) At work yesterday she was pretending that pillows were babies and her and Rachael were playing house each being the mommy. When we got home and Monkey was sleeping she was pretending she was performing for imaginary people. It was too cute! She was talking to them and just having a blast. Oh yeah Becky came home from college to do laundry which she hasn't done yet. I think she is waiting for her mom to get home from her retreat so she can do it. How lazy. Speaking of Becky she ate J's dinner for work tonight. I was extremely pissed at her, I put his food in a container and said to everyone this is for J. She was like I can make him dinner now. He had to leave for work in an hour, plus why would he want to eat her food, she can't cook. Just makes me think this summer is going to totally suck. I have a feeling that we are going to have to hide our food down here or Travis and Becky are going to eat it all. They eat like pigs. And I am not joking, Travis eats a half loaf of bread in one sitting and Becky just eats all day long. Ok enough of that, this morning both the kids went with me to work so J could fix the internet. Actually GG's presence was requested by Elsye. While we were there GG's pants kept falling off of her so my other co-worker Wiesia (she is polish) made her two belts they are really cute! So when we came home we ate and J and I had some alone time. That was much needed. I am so happy that he is off tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday! I have a new title at work too. I am the green snot nazi. If the kid comes with green snot we are getting the parents and the kid is leaving the place. I am sick of getting sick from working there. We have a sheet when you sign in that says no green burgers allowed. So it is a rule! Well I am going to sign off of here and maybe take a nap...I got one yesterday and it felt so good!

I have a lot to write about tonight I just hope I can remember it all! This morning J unexpectedly had to go to court so both kids went with me to work. Before we left Monkey sneezed and had snot running down his face. He said, "mama tistue, tistue!" I was so proud of him that he wanted a tissue instead of wiping it across his face :) GG had her last class of preschool today at the Y. She brought snacks for the class and was really excited about that. Afterwards when I went to pick her up the teacher told me how smart she was. I, of course, had to ask what she did. She was talking up a storm like always and was telling her teacher where we live. She gave the address...number, street name, and city. The teacher repeated it back to me to see if she was right and she was! Soon after J became a police officer we thought it would be a good idea for her to learn where she lived in case she ever got lost or separated from us. She also knows if someone asks her what her mommy's name is to say Tonya and our last name. Same for if they ask about daddy. I know I sound paranoid, well I am, I don't ever want to lose my children. Since we are talking about GG I have been forgetting to write about how she can zip her own coat. She hasn't let anyone zip it for her in a month...when she learned how! Very proud of herself for yet another feat that makes her more independent! J came to work after his court to pick up Monkey and met my friend and co-worker Amanda. GG was a little upset that she couldn't go with daddy so I let her help me in the baby room. She is such a little mother! If a baby started to cry she would go and try to comfort it. We had 8 babies under 12 months and only two employees in there...so some babies just had to cry until we could comfort them. She was a great help to us today. I think her favorite part was holding the bottle for one of the babies, it had breastmilk in it too! Then we came home and spend some time with J before he had work. This afternoon Monkey didn't take a nap because he slept for J in the morning. Anyways, I noticed that Monkey's hair was getting long over his ears so I gave him a quick haircut. GG then wanted me to cut her hair. So I trimmed the ends to make her happy and I think her hair needed the trim. Then the kids played with their toys and I shaved my legs...I know you really wanted to know that...hehehe. I did get Monkey to take a nap later on about the time for me to make dinner. Then tonight GG went to bed at 8 not bad, oh yeah remember she went to bed at 7 last night well I had to wake her up at 8:30 this morning, I don't know how long she would of slept?!?! Then Monkey said he wanted to nurse and I told him only if he wanted to go to bed. So naturally he said he wanted to go to bed so I nursed him, he didn't fall asleep. I changed his diaper to get him completely ready for bed. Then I saw his poop face. I grabbed him and put him on the potty...I just changed him! He pooped and peed in the potty. We clapped and he was very excited he did a big boy thing. Maybe he will be ready in a couple of weeks or so??? Wouldn't that be nice :) That is all she wrote for today.

Busy busy day today. I got up before everyone and got ready then I woke GG up and dressed and fed her. Then us girls went to work together. It was really busy today. My co-worker Chris' little boy Noah, the one Monkey loves to death, got bit. I was the only one who saw it and I had to write my first incident report. That was fun, not. Then we got home just in time to pick up our boys to go to GG's dance class. She did great today in the class, no wanting me to be in the room. Then we came home and ate lunch as soon as we were done eating it was time for J to go to work. Then the children and I cleaned the fish bowl. They had so much fun helping me...I am glad they are interested in taking care of the fish. They feed them and help take care of them. Then I put Monkey down for a nap and GG and I watched another movie together, that is becoming our afternoon together time. I love snuggling with her. Then we made dinner, ate and I gave GG a bath while Monkey watched. After her bath she went and laid in the bed it was only 6:45! So I told her she still needed to brush her teeth, let me blow dry her hair, and read books. I was doing everything I could think of to keep her awake longer. I couldn't believe my baby girl wanted to go to bed so early. She went to sleep at 7 and Monkey followed shortly after at 7:45pm. I don't know what to do with myself, hehehe. I was going to scrapbook but I didn't get a nap today so I am pretty tired I just might go to bed. Hmm...I don't think I have been in bed before 9 in the longest time. ~Julie if you read this I loved your journal entry about Jonathon! I actually got the idea from someone else but I liked it all the same :) Tell him Happy birthday from us~
Well that is all for tonight. Peace Out!

We just got home from the LLL meeting it is 9:40! Anyways both the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. I brought GG in the house first in case Monkey woke up and wanted to nurse I didn't want her sitting in the car. So I laid her on the bed and covered her with the blanket I made her, as soon as the blanket was on her she smiled and said, "Mmmm". That just made me feel all warm inside. The blanket I made her gives her comfort. Before the meeting I told GG that if she didn't listen to mommy she couldn't go to work with me tomorrow. She was the best behaved little girl even more so than usual. Today she didn't go to work with me for a punishment she did the other day. When she asked if she could go I told her no because of what she did yesterday. Of course, I was a little more specific with her. It clicked! She loves going to work so if she misses it because she was naughty she makes sure that doesn't happen again. I did take Monkey with me today. We got home and ate then I put him down for a nap and was too tired to do anything really special with GG so I asked her if she wanted to watch a movie and cuddle with me on the couch. She loved that idea so we put in Rugrats and watched together. I fell asleep during it but she didn't know, so got rested and she was happy. Then when the movie was over and Monkey woke up we put on my new CD and danced together. Then time for dinner and out the door for our meeting. So that was our day in a nutshell.

No work today, which means I got to sleep in! I am really tired right now so I will try and give you highlights from today that I can remember. This morning GG decided that her dolls needed to wear diapers. So she got into Monkey’s diapers and put them on her dolls. It was pretty funny. She is my little mother in the making. She didn’t ruin any of the diapers either, which is a plus. Both of the kids took naps at the same time today. I was going to do some scrapbooking but I figured that by the time I got all the stuff out they would be awake. My plan is to start scrapbooking after they go to bed at night. This afternoon GG and I made a grocery list together again. She thinks that is pretty neat to be included in what we buy for food. The way I see it, I would rather buy things she wants to eat then things she won’t touch. In the store she helped pick out the treats for her class on Thursday, we got apple juice boxes, fruit snacks, and string cheese. I will say that I am so thankful that my kids aren’t allergic to peanuts. I picked up a couple things I thought would be good snacks and the ingredients in big bold letters said might contain traces of peanut. I really wouldn’t know what to do if they were allergic considering they eat pb &j for lunch all the time. We got home and unpacked the groceries, the kids helped. Then we came downstairs and watched “our” show we watch together every week. It is probably the only show on tv that is still kid friendly. GG played with my hair too. This evening has been interesting. Monkey went to sleep so I laid him in bed (GG was laying there wide awake) then 15 minutes later GG comes out wanting to snuggle with me on the couch. I knew I shouldn’t but I really wanted to snuggle with her so I let her stay out with me. Then 45 minutes later Monkey woke up. We are still working on him going back to sleep without nursing so I rocked and rocked and rocked until he fell asleep, took about 30 minutes. GG was lying on the couch still, while I handled Monkey, she fell asleep. So I laid him in the bed and got GG and took her in too. Then 15 minutes later Monkey woke up and came back out. I gave up and nursed him back to sleep and now it is 10 minutes later and he is coming back out here. This is so abnormal.

Our day. We didn't go to church this morning because J worked last night. So we slept in until 9am!!! That was nice...even though the kids were awake at 7:30 they watched cartoons. We went and did lots of things today. We bought some Christmas presents, I know it is a little early but it is easier on the budget when we buy throughout the year. We took the kids to McDonalds for being good while we were shopping. Then we went to J's parents, GG walked into g & g's room and said, "Look at me. Don't I look super cute!" What a little stinker. On the way to there house she said something funny in the car. She had a hat the string had broken so she asked, "Hey can you my parents fix this hat." We just looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. She normally refers to us as my mommy or my daddy. Come to think of it she has said a lot of silly things today. Like she had to go to the bathroom so we stopped at the station. She said, "Are we going to have some more pizza?" We ate pizza last night when we went. Oh yeah both the kids loved being at the police department. We got to meet some of daddy's friends and they got to see where he goes to work when he leaves home. GG kept saying, "This is so neat!" Anyways, J put together GG's big wheel, she and Monkey had a lot of fun taking turns riding it through the house. We ate dinner there and then went to night church. That was awesome. They had a harpist come and do a concert. He played and we sang it was so uplifting. I was just mesmerized watching his hands move across the harp. It is such a beautiful sound. He had three size harps too and GG call the littlest one the baby. Monkey even played in the nursery without crying!!! I think it helped that Aunt Liz was in there. J's parents went out to dinner for V-day because they were busy yesterday. After church we gave Elizabeth a ride home, we dropped her off and drove away only to run into J's parents a block away coming home. We stopped and talked. They said they had ice cream if we wanted to go back and have some. We asked the kids if they wanted ice cream and Monkey screamed. "I KEEM!!!" So that was a definite YES! We had ice cream and hung out for awhile. We left and dropped off the movies we rented and got gas in my car ended up getting home at 9:45pm. I had two messages from co-workers wanting me to work. They already found replacements...Thank God. I didn't want to work, Mondays are one of the craziest days. Speaking of work my car got hit in the parking lot on Saturday. I wasn't really mad about the car getting hit as I was at the person who hit it and ran. From the dents the person knew they hit me (come on they left their white paint on my car) and didn't leave a note. So J told me to look for the white vehicle with my paint on it...more than likely they will go back to the Y, and get the plates. He will try and get the persons name so I can ask them about it. If they lie to me I can find out from the Y if they swiped in to work out or if they are an employee if they were working at the time. It was significant damage on the driverside passenger door and rear fender. Oh well if I find them I do if not it is only a car, right? If I find out anything I will update you, if I remember.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today turned out differently then we thought it was going to be. I worked this morning at the Y, I took both the kids with me. Then we came home and J went to work. Originally we both had the day off but he got called last night to come in today and so did I. We watched both of the movies last night and just talked and hung out with each other. That was so much fun, it was like a date. So we really celebrated V-day last night...you know what we celebrate our love everyday, in all honesty. J sent me a card from the kids which was super cute. Tonight we are planning on going to eat with J at the department. The kids fed their fish this morning before we left and they both got a big kick out of it. Monkey's fish is so much like him, in that he is goofy. Last night before I went to bed I noticed Fred had his face down and tail up. I thought he had died. I went over and looked, he was still breathing but just sleeping. I have never seen a fish sleep like that. Then I went to get in the bed and Monkey was laying across the bed instead of up and down. See I told you they are alike, they don't sleep the normal way!!!! Princess was also chasing Fred the other day and it reminded me of the kids...GG is always wanting Monkey to do what she wants. Ok I know I am reading too much into the fish but it is interesting to me, how the 2 fish interact like they were siblings! Anyway, we aren't spending the night at J's parents like planned either because J is working and we don't want to take two cars for church tomorrow. So we are just going to go to night church. Elizabeth is working in the nursery so Monkey will go in there with no problem because he knows her :) I can't wait to get our refund check...we will be almost half way to a down payment. J has put me in charge of the money for a few reasons; 1) I am good at making sure we save from each check 2) we also get to do fun things with it without spending too much 3) He is terrible at balancing the checkbook and 4) I want to do it and he doesn't. Ok well I am going to get off of here and get the kids ready to go. Wow I was just reading over this post and it is all over the place! Sorry about that. Later all.

The kids and I went to work this morning and I got my first paycheck! Tons of parents and staff brought in candy for Valentine’s Day so we have so many sweets here :) J came to get Monkey around 11 and he took a nap at home. Then GG and I got home around 1 and had lunch with our boys. As we were eating Aunt Becky came home from college. They were both excited to see her. Then I got the mail and the kids got mail from their Nana and Grandpa K. they carried the cards around until we had to leave. We went to the bank (cashed my check), got my car washed, went to the video store and rented five movies (three were free kids movies) and a game, and then went to Wal-mart. We bought the kids each a fish for Valentine’s Day. Since we didn’t have anything for fish we bought the two fish, a bowl, net, food, and water purifier. I had a small fish tank when I was in college but I got rid of it and everything I had for it :( It would of came in handy today because it had a water filter, rocks, and scenery. Oh well it was only $15 for everything and they both thought it was the coolest thing in the world to get to buy all of that stuff for their pets! GG named the fish she picked out herself Princess, she is gold and black and Monkey named his fish Fred, he is all gold, we helped him pick it out…remember he loves fish!!! This evening for dinner we had a full house. Grandparents, Becky, J, the kids, and I all ate dinner together. GG did more chatting than eating. She loves being the center of attention and at dinner tonight she was definitely that. I couldn’t get her to stop talking long enough to eat, oh well one bad meal in a week isn’t bad. Tonight J is going to give the kids a bath and I will get to relax and then when they are done we are putting them to bed and watching the movie J picked out The Italian Job. I got How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days not very Valentine’s like but I want to see that movie! We will watch it tomorrow.

I corrected the spelling mistake my wonderful husband pointed out to me, if you didn’t catch it then don’t worry. I worked this morning and took GG with me, and Monkey and J had father/son time. GG went to a class today, which they call preschool but isn’t anything but a playgroup. They had a Valentine’s Day party GG loved that. What they do is play games, have snack, read books, sing songs, and make a craft. It only lasts an hour and a half in the room right next to the nursery. Then she came with me to teach the sports bug class I got recruited to teach. She was really shy during that class I think it was because I was the teacher?!?! Who knows, she is a 3 year old with her own mind! Everyone I have talked to say that 3 year olds are harder to handle than 2 year olds. The only difference I see is that she is starting to stretch her wings and wanting to be more independent. The: I can do it myself mind set. But she has to learn to do things on her own sometime, right? One more thing about work! As we were leaving GG said to Amanda, “Do you know the line from the Wizard of Oz? It goes like this I’ll get you my pretty. Do you know that one? That is what the wicked witch says to the pretty girl.” She went on more about it but I was trying to get us ready to leave! But she has only seen that movie once and it was about 4 months ago. I don’t know what sparked that memory but it was pretty darn funny to listen to her tell Amanda. Enough of that…when we got home we ate lunch as a family. J is really enjoying being on his own except that he says he gets lonely. Maybe we will get a cell phone and he can call me. Nah they are too expensive and everyone has one, we want to be different :) After lunch Monkey crashed and I put on the RugRats movie for GG. I laid with her on the couch to watch the movie and I ended up falling asleep for about half an hour. It felt good to take a catnap. Speaking of sleep I slept like a rock last night. I woke up in the middle of the night with a big drool puddle on my pillow! I told J I slept good and he said, “I know, I told you to move Monkey too many times to count and you never did.” I don’t understand why he can’t move him. Monkey was buggin J not me so J should move him, at least I think. I told him that and he said that he was too comfortable to move him. Well obviously J wasn’t too comfortable if he was awake to tell me to move him because his feet were digging in his side. Ah men! Anyway we made homemade pizza for dinner. The kids both helped. I also made some lemonade and asked GG to help me count the 8 scoops needed. When we stopped at 8, Monkey said 9. I have been working on counting with him, I tell him when I get to 10 we stop nursing. In those times he must be learning to count! What a smart little guy. After dinner the kids took baths and soon after GG was in bed asleep. Monkey just went down about 20 minutes ago. I am ready to go to bed too.

Ok so here goes! GG had her dance class today. For some reason she didn't want to do the tap part of the class. But she loved the ballet part. Ms. Julie said they will start with ballet first next week, that's cool. After the class they had a valentines party. GG was very excited about that. She even shared the candy with Monkey when we got home. I thought that was really sweet of her. Then J left for work, bummer. He has his own car tonight for the first time. I'm sure he is doing fine. This afternoon I was going to give Monkey a bath, he wanted a bubble bath so it turned into a bubble bath. Of course, GG wanted in the water as soon as it was ready so she got in. I let them play in there for a long time. Their hands were wrinkled! After the bath GG had to go potty so she got up and said she had to poop. It is so funny how you can have a conversation about poop! She said, "I have a big poop coming out mom. It is a monster poop! Here it comes. Do you see it. I told you it was a monster one!" I ask if she is done. "No I have some more little poops left to come out." Too funny and of course out of all the funny things she says a day I remember this, right? Today the kids played with Monkey's trains, listened to music, played with my hair, GG painted my toe nails (she used red so it looks like my feet are bleeding) and they both water painted and colored. Fun times! More about the toe nail painting...this is the first time I let her do this and so I had to close my eyes while she painted because she was messy!!! GG also decided that some of her crayons needed to be broken into two. So needless to say they didn't fit back in the boxes so I got a Tupperware for them. Monkey painted too and it was really funny because I thought he was done, he put the brush on the table and I picked it up to put it away and he made the funniest noise like...hey I wasn't done, yet so don't take that. I noticed that noise the other day but I now know why he does it :) How goofy are my kids?!?!

I can't guarantee how long this post will be or that I will get to type everything I want to. I'll start with last night. My little Monkey-man decided that he wanted to be awake from 1:30ish to a little after 3am. It wasn't my decision but I had to live with it! This morning I took both the kids with me while J slept. He came to get Monkey around 11 and when he walked in I could tell he just woke up. Must be nice!!! GG and I got home a little after 1 and ate lunch. Monkey had taken a nap while I was at work, which I told J to do. So after we finished eating we went shopping. We had so much fun just looking at things. GG and I looked at dresses, hats and purses for Easter. It is so fun shopping with her. She picks out things she would like and I tell her I will keep them in mind and that is good for her. Then when I actually buy the thing she picked out awhile back she knows that I listen to her and love her! After the clothes we just walked around looking at whatever we wanted too. I was getting ideas for gifts, that I am going to buy with my first paycheck that I get this Friday! The best part about looking was that we spent less than $20. I will say though I have a list of things I want to get now...hehehe. After about 2 hours we came home and started a nice fire. I didn't have to make dinner tonight either because we had leftovers. So that was nice, we laid by the fire with our feet towards it to warm them up, it really worked. GG tried to blow the fire out too. It was pretty funny, she thought it was like a candle. The evening we spent doing laundry, with the kids help. J and GG played a game together, also. I ordered our friend David Thiele's CD, can't wait to get in the mail!!! Right now I am watching Monkey play with the fire screen, J is messing with the fire. He just amazes me at how fast he is starting to talk. Everyday he says new words and uses them in the right way too. I love when they can communicate with words, less of a guessing game! So all in all we had a wonderful day together as a family.

Our adventures for the last two days! Sunday we didn't go to Sunday school (too tired) but we went to church. At church we were in the parents room, with all the babies, J was holding Morgan who is about 3 months old and Monkey wanted to see the "baby" so I picked him up. I told him to blow her a kiss and instead he started playing peek-a-boo with her. I thought that we really sweet. He and GG both love babies so much. Then after church to J's parents for lunch. J left for work and the kids and I stayed...we spent the night. The kids played with their grandparents and aunt Liz, who they just adore. I was sitting in the living room with Monkey, and GG was in grandma's bedroom helping make cheese blintzes, she loves to help. I was listening to GG and Sue (grandma) talk. I was laughing so hard at their conversation...even though I don't remember any of it now!!! I should really start walking around with a notepad to write down all the funny things they say and do throughout the day, because by the time I get on here I have forgotten a lot of it. Anyways, I really am glad that the kids are spending more time with their grandparents but I am so sad that my mom and step-dad live in New Mexico now. We could of taken day trips to visit them before they moved. Nothing I can do about it, right. But we *all* miss you guys. I just hope one day they will move back here and the kids can have a good relationship with them. I am really looking forward to going there and seeing them for a week!! I guess it just goes to show that no matter how old you are you still need your mom near :) That takes care of the happenings of Sunday!

This morning we hung out with grandpa, he didn't have to work until this evening. They are lowering the walls in their living room and so the kids were hanging on the 2x4s! Very cute. Then we went looking at some more cars...I know we should just give up :) The kids stayed with grandpa while we drove the car and had it checked out by our mechanic. We didn't like the inside of the car but everything else was good. It was a 96 Camry that we could of got for 4,000 with only 67,000 miles. Those cars run for 200,000 easily. Who knows when we get more serious maybe it will still be there?!?! When we got back the kids were fine and Monkey didn't cry at all!!! Usually when he can't see me or find me he starts to cry. He is becoming more independent. On our way home I got my wedding rings cleaned and checked. Flora the lady who sold J the ring, about 6 years ago, always is happy to see us. Today she told me she has enjoyed watching us get engaged, married and then start a family, and J get a job. We have known her for 6 years through buying, cleanings, repairs, and check ups. Then we went to Toys "R" Us to exchange GG's trike...long story. Then we came home. Tonight we still need to go grocery shopping and to Wal-mart which might happen tomorrow. Just depends!

Today was my Friday, so to speak. I don't work tomorrow or Monday. I had a lot of fun with the people working today. So that was cool. I took Monkey with me and GG stayed home with J. Oh yeah J stays on the afternoon shift until April 13th so that is awesome news. I am so glad he isn't going to midnights!!! Oh yeah at work today I was in the baby room and Monkey was in the big kid room and about 10 minutes later I heard him crying. He looked around and couldn't find me so he started crying. He than came in the baby room to play. One of these days he won't care where I am so for now I'll just enjoy the fact my baby boy likes to be with me...all the time :) Both of my kids are mama's children, they love spending time with daddy but when push comes to shove they almost always choose me. This probably won't last though, bummer. Anyways, my college friend Marni, also one of our bridesmaids came over and did our taxes. She totally rocks! We are getting money back just not as much as I had hoped. I think that J is happy with the amount though. He really wants to buy a second gun. After she finished we had ice cream and just hung out and talked. GG was entertaining her most of the time and Monkey just watched, go figure. Right after she left my dad came home and we ate dinner. I packed a bag for tomorrow and then bathed the kids so we don't have to do it in the morning. Then grandma came home from church and watched the kids while I ran out to get gas. I was running on fumes. When I came back GG talked her into playing shuts and ladders and candyland. I only play those games with her on a good day because she is a 3 year old that likes to change her mind...all the time. It can drive you crazy when playing a game with her. But she did good and then she went to bed like a good little girl. Now I need to get Monkey to sleep so I can go too...

I was going to say that today was prefect. For the most part it was! I worked this morning and Monkey came with me and GG stayed and had daddy time then J picked up Monkey and left GG. I came home with GG and we ate lunch together. Then J left:( After lunch the kids and I all took naps. That was super duper nice. I felt so good after sleeping that hour and a half. Then we decided to go to McDonalds for dinner. My dad walked in right as we were about to leave. He hadn't eaten so he came with and bought! Then the kids played at the playground for a little while and then we came home. Now I just need to wear them out so that they will go to bed at a reasonable time! So the only not prefect part of the day was that J had to go to work. I feel like I don't see him anymore, which I don't really. But he has Monday off and so do I so we are going to go, possibly, to the car show in Chicago and maybe check out some more cars?!?! I just miss him lately, but this will only last a season. Oh I forgot to mention GG has started taking naps again, yes! The other day she actually let me rock her to sleep and I got to hold her in my arms while she slept like when she was a little baby.

This morning the kids went with me to work. It was crazy there two people called in sick. So we were down two adults, we handled it though. My co-worker Amanda thought GG was just the cutest little girl ever. She gave her a big hug and told Amanda that she was super cool. Then she told her about her great grandpa being able to take out his teeth. She still can't get over that and it happened about 6 months ago, what a sharp little girl to remember that. We came home and J had lunch ready for us that was so sweet of him, he also vacuumed. I ended up staying an extra hour...long story. This afternoon GG painted a picture to send to her grandpa, we danced to songs, and the kids helped with laundry. I swear that I do laundry every other day. Ok Monkey was nursing this afternoon and he was done with the one side and sat up and screamed, "other side, other side, other side, other side" until I switched him. What a little stinker :) Tonight while I made dinner both of the kids took a nap, it was a really late one but a very needed one all the same. I made lasagna and so after dinner they went right to the bath tub. I bathed them and we read books and did the bedtime routine and now GG is in bed, awake, just laying there.

AAAHHH another day down. This morning Monkey and I went to work while J and GG stayed home and had daddy/daughter time. They played games and did all kinds of fun things. Monkey was great today at work. The little boy Noah, that he just loves to death, did not get beat up by my him today. I think the problem sometimes is that Monkey really likes Noah and just can't figure out how to express his like towards him...but today he gave him lots of hugs. Good job Monkey! Anyway we got home right in time to pick up daddy and GG for the dance class. GG was so cute this morning when I told her she had dance today. Last week Ms. Julie was sick so this morning she was like Ms. Julie isn't sick anymore? Then she started dancing around, she really loves her dance class. We got home just in time for J to leave for work. Monkey went to sleep and I ate lunch and then GG went to sleep. The two of them have not taken naps at the same time in the longest time. I didn't know what to do with myself!!! Shortly after they woke up grandma and grandpa came home and I made dinner. We all eat together...that has happened like four times since we moved in over 4 months ago. Tonight GG helped me shave my legs (she likes doing that for some reason) and put lotion on them. Oh tonight Monkey decided that he was going to get on the couch and jump off of it. Yeah he got hurt. I watched him do it and just couldn't get to him in time to stop it, I hate when that happens. Which reminds me on Sunday after church when we were eating lunch in the gym Monkey was sitting next to me and I was talking to someone and out of the corner of my eye saw he was going to fall and grabbed him just in time. It was instinctual...so I have times where I can get there fast enough and times I can't. Timing I guess?!?! I just couldn't believe he leaped off the couch. I have a dare devil on my hands as well as a monkey. Well I should get off of here and go to bed I have to get up tomorrow for work. That still sounds weird to say. I am going to take GG for sure but maybe both...

This morning the kids and I went to work. GG does so great there. She does her own thing, plays with other kids and is just so well behaved. I am so proud of her. Other staff members have commented on how great she does...most of their kids have a hard time being there, not my GG! Now Monkey on the other hand has a harder time, but I must say today he did pretty good. He didn't ask to nurse while we were there. J came to get him at 11 so he was only there 2 hours. He has started this new thing tonight. He holds up one finger and says something that sounds like he is saying shut up but we don't use those words so I was trying to think of what words he could be trying to say. The only thing I came up with was "stop it" and so I asked him and he shock his head yes. What a silly little boy. My dad took the day off and so he bought us lunch. That was nice. J left for work and the kids and I did our normal...dancing, singing, reading, painting, you know fun stuff! J came home early tonight which was a great surprise. Tonight GG asked to go to bed at 8:30. This routine is working! I am so happy and she even went to bed with the lights off...she must of been really tired :) That is all I can think of until tomorrow.

Let's see...we had a late morning which was nice. GG got another birthday present in the mail. She loved it! It was a crown and purse. Then we went to get Monkey's 18 month pictures taken this afternoon. The girl that took the pictures wanted to put Monkey in a cute baby contest. She thought my baby boy was cute enough for the contest. That made me feel good. I think he is the cutest ever but for someone else to think that is such a nice compliment. We got home and I had to go to a staff meeting for work. J kept the kids home while I went, it was a good thing because it was snowing and just plain yucky out. They will go with me tomorrow anyway so they can play then. After I got home I got the kids ready for bed while J snow plowed the driveway. I also finally got a hold of my friend Marni, she is going to do our taxes this year. J had 5 - W2s this year. That is just plain crazy!!! So we are going to get them done and hopefully get some good money back :) Oh yeah J got a call from the department tonight saying that he has to be in court tomorrow morning, the suepena came in on a fax to the department, I'm glad they called. That is why the kids are coming with me in the morning. I think that is about it...

Super Bowl Sunday! This morning we went to Sunday school and church. After church they had a lunch in the gym. It was really good beef sandwiches, salad, pasta, and dessert! We ate with our friends Megan and Chett. We also got the new phone directory from church. So now we will have everyone's number! Monkey got a present today from grandpa A. it was tutter from Bear in the Big Blue house. He has carried it everywhere. GG has learned a new song that she just loves to sing. It goes like this: Only a boy named David. Only a rippling brook. Only a boy named David and five little stones he took. And one little stone went into the sling and the sling went round and round. And one little stone went into the sling and the sling went round and round. And round and round and round and round and round and round and round. And one little stone went into the air and the giant came tumbling down. She sings it so cutely...is that a word? When we got home from church the kids both took naps and it gave J and I some alone time :) We started a fire tonight and it feels so good. I love the way fires look and smell. We are having banana pancakes for dinner, yummy. We watched a little of the Super Bowl but neither one of us are that interested in it this year. We normally watch it. The rest of the night we will be doing family together things, so much fun. Later