I'm a crafty mama! Today while Monkey took his nap, now that he is down to one a day I usually let GG stay awake so we can spend time together but it mostly depends on her. She was good today and didn't need a nap plus, she kept saying mommy I want to spend time with you. It just melted my heart. So today we made a necklace, here is the crafty part. We used stale cheerios and a piece of string. GG absolutely loved it. Since I have been packing up things there is less to do so I have to use my creativity and find things still unpacked to do fun things with. Like the other day when we made a self portrait of her using the protective paper for our breakables. She had so much fun. Well after Monkey woke up from his nap we went to the B's for dinner. Then the kids played outside since it was beautiful out. Oh yeah this morning we ran errands and my favorite was the farmers market. We spent $12 and this is what we got. A bag of apples, bag of plums, some peaches, fresh green beans, 4 corn on the cob, a seedless watermelon, and a cantaloupe. I got a lot of stuff! Well that is it from us here tomorrow is our first pre-playgroup :) And J comes home! YAY

The first thing I heard this morning from GG was, "Mommy roll over. Give me some. PT. Good for you. Good for me." She says this all the time now. What a goof. It is all J. This morning GG and Monkey's friend Ethan came over to play while his mom went to a doctor's appointment. Then we went to their house for lunch and to play. Considering our place is all boxes and most of the toys are packed. I know but I figured that the toys would be the hardest to get packed so I packed them early. I do have a few out for them to play with I'm not heartless! We actually spent a lot of time outside today it was nice in the shade! Which Monkey got his first pair of shoes, from Ethan. They fit great and now he can walk outside with shoes on. I think he likes that better?!? The kids took a bubble bath tonight because they were both dirty from playing outside.

I'm starting with last night...GG was talking in her sleep. It was pretty funny. I only remember her saying, "Mommy can I help you?" She said other things too I just don't remember it was late. Then she woke me up at 2:30 or so to go potty. I was sleeping and I heard her say it but didn't do anything until she got out of bed and started walking to the bathroom. She was at the door by the time I got there. No accident! I can't believe she will be potty trained for a year soon. I saved so much money on diapers! Today we walked over to the rental office to tell and ask Rhonda somethings. Then after lunch the kids and I ran errands and I took them too the K's. Monkey was asleep when I left not a good idea. Poor little guy. I had two hours to myself to pack up some stuff I actually got a lot done. I think J will be happy when he gets home on Friday. I am super packer upper! We played outside today because it was so nice out which the kids loved. And GG and I did a craft while Monkey slept after dinner. It turned out so good. Our next door neighbor is a Art Teacher so we took it over and showed her. She was impressed that I did that with GG. It was a craft she does with her Kindergarteners. GG had fun and that is all that matters. The kids are both in bed sleeping right now which is wonderful. GG didn't take a nap today, at the K's. I benefited from that. Well I really should get myself into bed right now.

Happy Labor Day! Well we got to sleep in this morning. It was great. Then we did things around the house all day. Mainly packing things. Uncle Travis came over to play with the kids today they really enjoyed that. This day went pretty fast maybe because we got up so late. Who knows! I'm really tired for some reason maybe from all the hard work I did today :) Four days and I get my hubby back. Oh yeah my step-mom called today to tell me that the downstairs will be ready for us to move in by the 12th. That is good to know because we are moving in on the 20th. They bought carpet for the basement so we don't freeze down there. I am really excited about using the fireplace in the winter. I think it will take some adjusting to living there but since we have our own living space it should be ok. Well I am going to get Monkey to sleep so I can hit the bed too. GG is already sleeping what a little angel! (sometimes)

Rainy Sunday and no church for us! Since it is Labor Day weekend Church was at 9 instead of 10:30am that was too early for us because we have to drive 20 minutes to get there anyways :) The service that was at 10:30 was outside and it was raining so we didn't go. We spent a quiet day inside being a family. We even took a family nap and I actually slept for once. Monkey still isn't up to par but I think he is feeling a little better. GG was cute today I told her that daddy had to go back to police man school and she said, "I'll give you hugs and kisses and tell you it's ok when you're sad." I thought that was super duper sweet of her. I don't think we give little ones enough credit for being so smart. J got to leave here after dinner which was great. More time with him is always better. I can't image my life without him. He was telling me that most of the guys at the academy aren't happy in their relationships with their spouses or girlfriends. He said that there was a guy who had been married for about 15 years and he said that he would take a one nightstand in a heartbeat. I guess J was the only one that said he would never take that opportunity if it was given to him. All the guys told him he was crazy. I know he would never cheat on me. I thought that was AWESOME for him to take a stand against the norm. It just made me sick to think that these are future police officers. But I guess that is just a fact and that is why 52% of marriages end in divorce. Not saying that it is always the guys fault but it mainly is! Are you jealous of my wonderful husband yet? Well you can't have him he is ALL mine :) Have I told you that I love that man with all my heart? I do! Well I am going to spend some time with the kids now it always seems to be hard on them that first 24 hours after J leaves.

Last night was rough! Monkey wanted to nurse all night. When he couldn't he would cry. He ran a low grade fever most of the day. We got him some more medicine for the fever cause we ran out last night. We also bought GG's christmas or birthday present at Wal-mart today. If you are wondering what it is, I'm not telling! Then J and GG went to rent a movie they got Charlie Brown and Winnie the Pooh. J mainly did things around the house today, he cleaned a lot of things and packed some more. I mainly just held Monkey and nursed him. He just wanted me all day. I couldn't even put him down when he was sleeping because he would wake up. Fine with me...getting to just lounge around all day :) I'm glad that this happened when J was home and not during the week. Well Monkey needs me.

Today is Friday! Yeah that means J comes home. But first last night I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep. Monkey let out a giggle. So I leaned into see if he was awake. My face touched his and it made him start laughing. He was sleep laughing. It was super cute. This morning Monkey woke up with a low grade fever. I don't know why he has it, good thing though GG is fine. We just did a lot of things around the house mostly packing and we did play outside for a bit because it was nice. After J came home at 5pm we ate dinner and ran some errands so that we aren't running all over this town tomorrow. One of the errands we groceries. One of the ladies that works there said to J "oh your back from the academy" or something like that! Then J thought that I was telling everyone that he was in the academy and I said when I have a 2 yr old that tells everyone there is no need for me to do it :) J and I rented a movie we are just waiting for the kids to fall asleep.

Another long day here. We went to playgroup from 9:30 to 11 and headed over to the Farmer's Market in the square. It was the first time I had been there. I got a seedless watermelon and a cantaloupe. I just spent 50 cents and GG got an apple too. It was fun. Then we picked up J's uniform. Finally we came home around noon. We ate lunch and headed to the K's. Monkey stayed while GG and I went to her WIC appointment. They did more of that screening to make sure she was fine physically and verbally. She is over a year past where she should be. It is such a joke. They did weigh her and measure her. She was 27.5 lbs and 35 inches. Monkey was weighed and measured yesterday at his appointment and he was 23 lbs even and 29 1/2 inches. He is moving closer to her size! Anyway, after the appointment we did laundry at the K's house. I got to drive Aaron's new remote car. I am really bad at it. He just kept laughing at me. Then the kids got into the dogs pool. So we striped them naked. All three of them took turns playing with the hose. They of course splashed each other with the water from the hose. They stayed cool but Aaron and I were dying of heat! So we went back inside to the a/c. We ended up staying for dinner. Which was great because I didn't know what I was going to eat when we went home. We came home and talked to J on the phone and both kids went to bed early because GG had no nap and Monkey only had one short one. It was nice for me to be able to get somethings done without being needed by two babies :) Well I am now going to go to bed. Before I go I want to tell you a funny story. Today was my friend Kristen's birthday. We called her to tell her Happy Birthday. She wasn't home. GG was sad. But she called back at 8:30 and GG answered the phone. It was cute. She said, "Hi Mrs. B. How are you?" Some more conversation I don't remember. Then all of a sudden she said, "Oh yeah HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" It was so funny.

Today was a very productive day. Monkey had a doctor's appointment and GG went to Ethan's house to play. I am going to miss that. I will not be able to drop GG or Monkey off anywhere while I go somewhere. I will probably have to plan things around J's schedule like we did before. A friend of ours is making us a head board for our bed before we move. It will only be $100 I think that is pretty cheap for good quality work. I did also get about four more boxes packed. The small bedroom is almost finished. I am going to try and do one room at a time. We'll see how that goes though. I cleaned the bathroom today too. Plus, I just went through somethings and threw out some stuff and so on. I feel good about today. I will be crushed if J comes home on Friday and asks what I did. Oh well. I need to get the kids ready for bed. The last few weeks we have been doing massages and I find they sleep better at night. Well I'm off to do motherly things!

Another post for today...just wanted to tell a funny story. Today Ellie was here and we went outside to play with bubbles. Before we left the house GG put Ellie's shoes on for her. It was the cutest thing ever. Monkey does wear shoe otherwise she would probably be putting his shoes on for him too. What a great little helper:)

Ok I tried to get on the internet last night and the server was not working. I was getting so annoyed. Yesterday we played at Ethan's house from 1pm to 8pm it was a lot of fun. The kids even took naps there. Today Ellie is here to play all day, her dad has an interview and her mom is working. If anything funny happens I might update again later. But with all the college students back the computer isn't working as great, I mean the server. I haven't gotten any packing done yet this week but it is only Tuesday. Throughout the days the kids do things I want to write about but by the time it comes to get on the computer I have forgotten what funny things they have done. I will tell you this, they keep a smile on my face all day long!

My family is all asleep right now. We all laid down to take a family nap I just couldn't fall asleep. So here I am updating while they sleep! This morning we got up and had french toast for breakfast before church. It was good. J made it ;) J is going to be going back to the academy today. I hate that. I guess it is only four more times he will have to leave us. I do want to mention how blessed I have been lately. I am apart of an egroup that just rocks. The ladies are wise, wonderful Christian ladies. I'll explain...just recently a friend of mine brought to my attention that the way I parent my babies is called attachment parenting. I had never heard about it. So I asked these ladies about it and most of them are aps but the great thing is that they were able to caution me about a few areas of the ap to be careful with. One is the discipline area. In ap they practice *positive discipline* which is fine but there needs to be a balance between the positive and so called negative consequences to your children's behavior. Balance is a good thing. The other thing they brought to my attention was that we as humans have a sin nature and the parent is responsible for training a child in how to act in certain ways. Most apers let the children have whatever they request. Making the parent compliant. We are the adults and we need to have some form of authority/control. So what I am saying ap is good but with every style of parenting there is negative parts to be careful about. So as for me I am simply going to say that I am not of a particular style because I use many different parenting tools to train my child in the way they should go. So as I parent my children I will remember the true parenting book, the BIBLE! Not that there aren't other good authors but you can't argue with God's word. This is my own thoughts and they are not to condemn or make anyone feel bad. I just wanted to share this wonderful knowledge these ladies helped me find!

Today we got up early and ran a lot of errands together as a family. Then we packed more boxes. It is just so hard when we still have 4 weeks left here. The rest of the day we just had fun being a family again. The kids get so happy when J comes home for the weekend. I think they did just as much of a break from me as I do from them! Well that is all she wrote for today.

We had a great day except for one small incident that happened today. I'll just say I stood up for myself and I won. We played outside today with chalk and bubbles. Then Ethan came over in the afternoon while his mom went to the doctor's. The kids played with toys and playdough. J got home at 3:10 with flowers for me. What a sweetie. I love having him home. We went to All you on the Mall with the K's and I got some rug burn type things on my arm and ankle. Oh well I had fun! Now we are home and getting things settled to go to bed. I think we are going to start packing things this weekend. I did get two boxes done and J did three when he came home. So we have 5 done! It's a start.

This is now the third time I am writing this. Each time it gets shorter! Early morning, went to playgroup and to dry cleaners to drop off J's police uniform. Played with puzzles and memory game. Didn't do much else. Ellie and Aaron came over and woke me up because I was taking a nap with the kids. Funny stories: Phone rang I let GG answer it.
GG: Hi Daddy, How are you? Are you coming over?
I grabbed the phone because I thought it was Joanna or someone else. But it was J! We both got a good laugh.
Last night on the phone I asked Monkey what his favorite thing to do was. Monkey: Nurse! J and I got another good laugh. Kids are great, especially ours!

I feel like crap today. It feels like I have been crying for the last two days from my sinuses. It stinks especially since I have no one to help with the kids. The morning I gave the kids a bath while they were in the tub the phone rang and I answered it. As I was talking Monkey pooped in the tub. It was so gross and hilarious at the same time. He looked at it and just cried. Every time he looked down at it he would cry again. So I had to drain the water and put new in. I am also regretting the day I taught Monkey the word nurse. He has been saying it all day and even when he doesn't want too. It has become his new favorite word. Oh well. It is better then him saying give me the boob! We really didn't do much today as it was so hot outside. But Joanna came over to visit. That was fun to catch up on three weeks of not seeing her. The summer GG was born we saw each other almost everyday. Funny how things change. I am going to end this now and try and get some sleep so I will wake up feeling better?!?

Last night I went to Target and bought Jeff an electric razor while GG went on a walk with Aunt Becky. Today we got up and packed the car after I did a load of laundry so we brought back all clean clothes which reminds me we are back home! I love having all my stuff. We got back just in time to grab a quick bit from Subway and to the LLL meeting. Then we came home and all took a bubble bath to cool us down. Then daddy called and we all got to talk to him. I am thinking that I need to go turn the air on because it is really sticky in here. Plus, Monkey's hair is all wet and it isn't from water! Now it is time to watch COPS! Oh yeah it took us forever to get here. There was so much construction plus there was a big accident on 80 with 2 semis flipped off the side of the road. That was a little scary. I just kept thinking we are stuck here in traffic and GG is going to have to go potty. If that happened I didn't know what I was going to do because I would of had to get Monkey out and then her and run with both of them to the bathroom! Can you see it. That would of been quite a site. Good thing that didn't happen. Ok I am really done now.

The kids are sleeping so I thought I would update again early! Last night my dad took us out for dinner. GG wanted pizza so we went to pizza hut and she ate almost 4 pieces. The little piggy. For today we got up and ran some errands here like I needed gas before our trip home tomorrow and mailing J a letter. Which reminds me if you want to mail me and I didn't send you his address through email let me know by emailing me and I will give it to you. He loves to get letters from people! When Becky gets home from the pool we are going to move some things down stairs to get ready for our big move. It is getting so close 5 weeks left! I need to start packing :) I also have something exciting to tell you about. I have found about 4 to 5 moms with kids the same age as GG and Monkey who live close to my dad's. So we are going to start a playgroup in September. I was really worried about what we were going to do but I have figured it out. Yeah. I am also going to be apart of the LLL meeting here and MOPS. We will make plenty of friends, hopefully. But that doesn't mean that we will forget our old friends! Well that is about it from here. I need to go get the fresh green beans ready for dinner. We are having chicken on the grill, yummy. And the only thing I have to do is the green beans!

Another early post! I want to say that GG is a musical genius. She was playing with a kazoo, making music. I stopped to listen to her and she was playing Jesus loves me. When she got done I asked her what she was playing and she told me Jesus loves me. I could totally make it out. It was really cool to hear her do that. Anyway, J left again today, I hate when he leaves. It isn't even being a single parent that bothers me it is simply that fact that he isn't with us. I love being around him and spending time with him and so on. It just feels like a piece of me leaves when he goes back to the academy. I can't wait for the next six weeks to be over. Just so I can have my husband back. I am really going to miss all my friends but I would rather have no friends and have J then all the friends in the world and no J. Does that make sense? I just want him to be back home with us. Well enough talk about that because it is starting to make me miss him more. We are still at Grandma and Grandpa's house. But the only people home are us and Grandpa. I will update later if something fun or note worthy happens.

The kids are sleeping so I thought I would update early today. My mom-in-law started an online journal. This morning we got up at 9:30am and J and Grandma went to the storage place to unload the van. Now the van has a big dent. Oops. Grandma accidentally backed up into the building. The bad thing is the van is a 2003 town and country. Big money! After they got back J, the kids and I went to the bank to open up savings accounts for the kids. We put their birthday money in them. We still haven't figured out what we are going to do about college funds. GG has a 529 and it is losing money right now. We have time I guess :) After the bank we shopped at Target. Then went to eat at Panera Bread. I am getting excited about moving here. There is so much things to do and so many things to spend money on. J/K After we ate lunch we stopped in at the police department. GG was so funny, everyone we came in contact was in uniform. So she says, "There's a cop, and anther one and another one." and so on. The first guy though she asked if he was daddy friend and the guy said it was too early to tell. He was kidding of course. Who could not like J??? Then we came back here and put the kids down for there naps. Then I started fiddling with the computer because they have DSL I don't have to worry about the phone. I am going to make flyer's next for my pre-playgroup playgroup. I don't think I mentioned this yet. Donnice said that since I am moving and the first playgroup starts the day we leave that I can have playgroup with invitation only for the first three weeks of school. I am so excited! It will be a going away playgroup. Which is really sad to think about but it will be fun none the less. I am also going to look up some playgroups here and LLL meetings. I think they have about 20 different groups throughout the suburbs. I will make friends for me and the kids even if it kills me!!! Well I am off to do more things while my babies are sleeping. No wait I mean my toddlers are sleeping. I have been saying this for about two weeks now but I officially have two toddlers!!!

I'll start with J got here at 7 and not 9 like I expected. That was great. We didn't do much today because it was so hot out. Last night after I updated I looked through the archives to find out when Monkey's first tooth came through. I needed to know for his baby book. I thought since I had four people chomping at the bits to get to both kids I let them play with them while I looked. As I was reading through the past I am so happy that I have written almost everyday. I read somethings I forgot even happened. It was great. I know one day the kids will love to look back at what we did together. Anyway, tonight after J ate we went through the downstairs and loaded up the van of things that are going to the storage. We are only taking one load, which is great because we have so much to do tomorrow. Everything else downstairs is being thrown away! Now I am going to go and spend some time with my wonderful family.

Long day! I got up at 8 to packed up the car and got ready. Then we went to a new playgroup. The kids had a lot of fun and I think we are going to go again next week. I really need to find a playgroup for us when we move, maybe even two! We keep so busy with friends that we are going to get bored after we get settled of course. After lunch we started on our long journey to Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids were wonderful, they had full belly which I think helped a great deal. Monkey slept for the first hour and a half and then we stopped to gas up half way. Then an hour later he wanted to nurse and had a dirty diaper on so we stopped again. Not bad. After the second stop both kids fell asleep so the rest of the trip was quite which was nice because we hit rush hour. Before we went to the grandparents we stopped at the storage place to pay for our unit and the guy was the biggest geriatrics patient. First I had two kids running all over the place and he kept repeating himself about things he was giving me to take home. We spent almost an hour in there. Good thing I told Roberta that we were coming for dinner because it was ready to eat. And I was hungry. Monkey got his birthday present from Aunt Becky tonight it was a little peoples farm. I really like little people things... hint hint! We have the zoo train, farm and school bus. Now GG is eating ice cream with grandpa and having a blast. That is it, tomorrow we get to see the love of my life! (J) Just so there is no misunderstanding ;) Because I do have three right now J, GG, and Monkey! Maybe one day there will be more.

Wow, thanks for the response from my blog last night it made me realize actually how many people read it. I want to start out with something that happened last night. The kids were asleep and I was watching tv and nothing good was on so I decided to use the light to watch Monkey sleep. As I was watching he smiled and had a little giggle with it. It made me feel good that he had fun during the day and dreamed about. Today we got woke up by the phone at 9:40 which is a good thing because we had a play date at 12:30pm. We got ready and ran a few errands before heading over to Grace's house. We ended up leaving there at 3pm. Monkey didn't take a morning nap so he was tired I guess I just didn't realize how tired! When we got home GG had to go potty so when I got to the house I put Monkey down (standing up) and opened the bathroom door for her. I then went to check on Monkey who apparently dropped to the floor where I put him down and went to sleep. It was the funniest thing to see. I mean he was not even two steps from the front door. I laid down and rested didn't actually sleep. After dinner GG played with my hair, I love when she does that. I started packing the car for our road trip tomorrow. This will be the first trip by myself. So please prayer that we make it in one piece.

Where to begin, let's start with yesterday...I had three glasses of caffeine. I don't usually drink caffeine. Needless to say that I was up until 1 something in the morning because I couldn't fall asleep. Then we woke up at 9:40am and Aaron and Ellie were suppose to be here at 10:30 so I ran all over the place getting us ready for them to come. They ended up getting here at 11 right as I was getting Monkey finished. They were here from 11 to 2 just in time for the kids naps. So that made the day go fast. After the kids woke up from their naps at 4pm we got in the car and went to Ethan's house for dinner. Where I got to talk to J on the phone. I am so mad because he told me that they got all of their privileges taken away because about 5 people out of 50 are not following the rules. So this weekend we will get to see him at about 9pm on Friday and he will leave at 11am on Sunday. I am so mad, weekends are short enough as it is. Oh well nothing I can do about it. We got home tonight at 8pm and now we are just chilling! I am sorry that I have been getting bad at telling cute stories. They happen everyday but by the time I get on at night I am too tired to type them or I forgot them. I will start trying to remember more. I do have one for tonight. GG came up to me and said, "Mommy, I love you. Do you love me too?" I told her yes. She then told me, "Then you can't spank me, you can't yell at me, and you can't tell me no." I then had to tell her I do those things because I love her. She didn't like that but she said ok and was off to play. I must say she is doing a great job sharing her toys with Monkey as well as her friends that have came over in the last few days to play. Monkey as I told you yesterday has started to stand on the bed. Well tonight he stood to close to the edge and fell off, only onto a pile of blankets. I think I have rambled on enough tonight and I am going to end this before I say something about someone I shouldn't. If you want to know email me and I'll explain or you can call too. I have decided to take the high road on this one.

Here is our very fun filled day, of course! We got up this morning and ready just in time for Julie and her two boys at the door for our play date. The kids had a great time and we were going to go swimming but it started to rain so the pool closed. For the back up plan we went over to Ethan’s house and all five of the kids played. Came home and both kids fell asleep and I tried to get the book I am making the kids done but they woke up too soon. I am hoping to have it done by the time we move. It is a joint Christmas present for both of them. I must say that it is turning out great. It is an interactive book for them to play with. So I have done a lot of contact papering the objects so they last a long time. Then after dinner Julie and the boys came back to play. GG wasn’t very happy about that because Thomas the baby bit her in the belly and gave her a blood blister he also left a few scratch marks on Monkey as he was trying to bit him. I feel so bad for Julie she can’t get him to stop biting. (my kids aren’t bitters so I didn’t have any suggestions for her) So if there are any mother’s out there that had children that bit let me know how you got them to stop. Julie would greatly appreciate your input, as would my kids! We got to talk to J tonight. I just got done scanning all of the new pictures from Monkey’s birthday party and other various pictures. I know one more day you will have to wait to see my beautiful children :) I also wanted to thank everyone who has sent money in support of J’s fund raiser for the Special Olympics. There is still time if you want to donate so please do if you want too. Oh yeah one more thing, Monkey is getting so confident in his walking abilities that has tonight started standing on the bed. Not a very good thing when big sister is jumping on it. I am so shocked that he didn’t fall off of the bed yet. My daredevil. GG just put on one of my tank tops and it looks like a dress on her. I guess I could use one of her dresses as a shirt!

Well I have officially 7 weeks left to pack up our place. I think I will start in about two weeks! I like being rushed to do things I get them done faster. Today we went to church and then just hung out as a family. The kids and J actually took naps together. Then after J left the phone rang off the hook it was great, because I didn't have to think about missing him. The first hour is always the worst. I am a little upset right now because some people take things the wrong way and don't even own up to things they might have done. Grow up people! Well I don't really feel like typing.

Today we all slept in it was great. This morning J and GG went to get his truck tires rotated. They came home and I gave Monkey his first hair cut. I didn't do the greatest of jobs but it was getting long and needed cut. Next time hopefully will be better. I think I will do it while he is sleeping :) We took the kids over to the K's house at around 12:30pm and then J and I got Subway and rented Just Married. That was our date. We went home ate and watched a movie just the two of us. It was awesome. Then we picked up the kids and ended up talking until after 5pm. Came home made dinner and Monkey and J went to Wal-mart while I gave GG her first hair cut. It looks so much better now. So both the kids had a first on the same day. Something they will always share! That is about it...oh wait I wanted to tell you how cute GG was yesterday when J came home. She walked up to him and said, "Did you have fun at cop school, Daddy?" He said yes and she said, "Oh good" and she was off to play. What a funny little girl.

I LOVE FRIDAYS because it is the day J comes home!!! We woke up at 9:45am even though the phone rang three times before that :) That was great to get a sleep in with the kids. After we got up and ready we made a welcome home sign for Daddy, ate lunch and then went to see Stacy, Matt, and Nick's new house. When we got home we only had to wait about an hour for J to walk through the door. YEAH! We didn't really do much after he got home I did run on a couple of errands by myself that took about 15 minutes. Tomorrow J and I are going on a date! I'll let you know what we do tomorrow we have nothing planned right now. That's it for me.

We have had two very fun filled days! Last night we spent the night at the B's house. But before that my friend Cheryn and her two month old came over that morning. Then we went to see Ellie right before we went to dinner with the B's at Hy-Vee. The kids had a great time playing with Ethan and I had a lot of fun talking with Kristen. I am going to miss her so much when we move. But I know she will be a friend I will have forever! We have already talked about visiting each other after we move. Then this morning after we woke up we made cookies. That was a very long process but we have A LOT of COOKIES!!!! Yummy. We ended up leaving their house at 2pm just in time for the kids naps and I was able to make deviled eggs for the picnic tonight at the Boggs house. At the picnic the kids went swimming and had a great time. We got home at 9pm. Right now GG is sleeping and Monkey is wired. So I need to go get him in bed and sleeping!

Before I tell you about the last two days I want to tell you I had this all typed out and then Monkey unplugged the computer. What a little stinker. I couldn't believe him.
Let's see how do I describe yesterday because the computer wouldn’t let me on the Internet. It was hard I think I have finally figured out what the deal with GG is. After having daddy home all weekend she acts up on Monday. I can't tell you how many times she sat on the stairs waiting for the timer to go off so she could get up. Well actually I could it was two but still it should be none. Tonight we went to VBS or as GG calls it BBSS. She is too funny. She got some playdough to take home and keep. She loved that! Then we got to talk to J on the phone. That was pretty much our day. I do want to tell you a story that happened last night after I got of the computer. Monkey was sleeping, GG and I were on the bed cuddling while watching t.v. I looked at GG and couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not. So I asked her if she was asleep. And she said, "Yes". I laughed so hard because if she was sleeping she wouldn't of heard me and therefore she wouldn't of answered me!
Now for today...we got up and went on a bus ride. Both the kids thought that was the greatest thing in the world. It was only a bus ride! Before we got on the bus GG had her Dora doll and when we got on the bus it was gone. She dropped it. When we got back we looked all over and remembered seeing a neighbor girl riding her bike before we left. So I went to her house and asked her if she had seen it she had it. GG was so happy to get it back...before we looked she laid down on the ground looking really sad and I asked her what was wrong and she said she was sad that she lost her Dora doll. Which is why I went looking for it. After lunch we had a play date with Ethan and Mason at the swimming pool. It was cool because our other friend (John -GG's friend and Thomas -Monkey's friend) ended up being at the pool too so we had a little playgroup at the pool. When we came home the kids slept for two hours. It was great because I got some art projects done while they slept. Then tonight we had the last night of VBS and it was a picnic (no cooking for me!) GG had a lot of fun as well as Monkey. When we came home we talked to J and now we are getting ready for bed.

It is another sad Sunday when daddy goes back to the academy. It is so true about absents makes the heart grow founder. I get the biggest lump in my throat as he drives away. Well anyway, enough of my sad story. Today we went to church and then ate lunch at Hy-Vee. They have some pretty good food. Then J and the kids took naps and I ran to the grocery store. J left here at 4:30pm :( Tonight GG went to VBS at her friend Mason's church. She has a lot of fun. While she was there Monkey and I ran over to the K's house to kill some time and catch up with them. We have a pretty full week and hopefully it will make the time go by fast. I do need to start packing so I think that I will start doing that while the kids nap. They have started getting on the same schedule. YAY!

Well I didn't get to update because when J came home last night we went to Wal-mart and the Hospital (just to visit) and he didn't get into town until 7pm. We had a late night. During the day only two things note worthy happen...Monkey got a new car seat and the kids went swimming with their friends Ethan and Grace. Now onto today, I took some things into the consignment shop, we went over to the B's so J could see their new house, then back to the hospital, came home ate and then took the kids to the park and GG played mini golf while Monkey walked along the course. Then when we came home we decided to video record Monkey walking. He can walk the whole length of the living room and then he just runs out of room!! Well it is bed time :)

I love Monkey's age. Kids do so much at his age and so fast it is fun to watch. This morning after we woke up he pooped in his diaper. The diaper was filled with pee from wearing it all night so I wanted to take it off so the poop did come out of the diaper. The only thing was I didn't want to waste a diaper because we were about to take a shower. So I took it off and put him in the bathtub while I finished getting things ready. Right before we got in he pooped in the tub. It was hilarious what he did. He looked down at it, looked up at me and started to cry, then he pointed at it, looked back at me (as to say do you see this mommy?) and he was so upset about the poop being there. I am thinking that he might be an easy child to potty train. Maybe he will take after his dad and train himself! That's my J a real do it yourself kind of guy :) I know I didn't believe it either when my mother-in-law told me that he trained himself but my father-in-law told me the same story. My husband is amazing! Well after we got ready we went over to the B's house for lunch and to play. We left at 1:30ish just in time for nap time, which both of the kids slept at the same time!!! Then when they woke up we went back to the B's and ended up staying for dinner. We weren't planning on it but I didn't know what I was going to make and they were having lasagna. Yummy. Now we are home and getting things settled down so we can go to bed. Oh yeah I just wanted to say that I think I gave birth to a monkey and not a little boy. He climbs on EVERYTHING!!!!

This morning right off the bat GG said something that was just too silly. We were in the bathtub getting clean. She reached down and grabbed her crouch as she pointed she said, "My poo poo and pee pee lives in there." What a goof. What do you say to a toddler? They come up with some of the silliest things. Then this afternoon she was talking to me and Monkey was standing right next to her imitating her words with sounds. I looked at him and said, "OH yeah Monkey tell me some more." He laughed looked at me and motioned in sign language the word for more. Now you have a little glimpse into his personality. They are both so funny and in such different ways. Other than that we played with playdough, did puzzles, had a scavenger hunt outside, and our friend Joanna came over for dinner. So today wasn't so long. Only two more days and we get to see Daddy!! Can you tell I am excited?!?

The past couple of morning when I wake up the alarm clock is blinking because the power went out during the night. But that is ok because Monkey has been waking me up every morning at 8:30am. Just like clock work. Today as we were getting ready and I was putting GG's hair in pigtails I thought I would do my hair the same way. So I put my hair in pigtails while GG played and when I showed her she thought that was the greatest thing in the world for us to be twins. Monkey and I did laundry at the laundromat while GG played at Grace's house. Then after GG's nap she came up to me and said, "I have a good idea, mom. I think we should go to church and sing songs. We could play games too. Maybe have a tea party outside." I felt bad telling her that we couldn't go because no one would be there. She loves going to church and as you can tell she had so much fun last week at Vacation Bible School. Well Monkey had his first taste of hot dogs and pork chops but not at the same meal. He liked them both. He likes to eat! He hasn't even slowed down on nursing since he's been eating solids. Now it is late and I am tired.

I don't know how I am going to make it through this week. Today was so incredibly long. I do not wish being a single parent on anyone. The kids were fine it just seemed like the day just never would end. GG did do something that made me laugh. She was singing one of the songs from VBS and couldn't remember some of the words so she just made them up. Today the kids and I went to Wal-mart and Hy-Vee, which made me sad because we normally go those places as a family. Like I said early the kids were great today I think that I just really miss having my husband around. Only 9 more weeks. Ok enough complaining from me. A another story but about Monkey this time...as he gets older he gets funnier. He was standing in the living room and all of a sudden he started bending down touching the floor and then standing back up without any help. Now remember he did this a couple days ago. He must think that it is a neat new trick because he did it about 5 times. It was funny watching him go up and down as he laughed. I am so glad that I have these two wonderful children because if it wasn't for them I don't think I could make these 12 weeks without them.

Happy Birthday to J! It is his birthday today :) This morning we got up and went to church. Then my dad took us out for J's birthday lunch we ate at the Parkside. They left at 2pm, which left us with about 2 hours with J before he had to leave for the academy. After he left I was sad and GG asked, "What's the matter mommy?" (in her sweetest voice) I told her I was sad that daddy was gone. She said, "It's ok mommy you still have me here." Then she gave me a big hug. Then she and I had a conversation about liking people. It started because she told me she liked me. I told her I liked her too. Then she said like a grown up, "I love the people in my family but I may not like some of them." Now before you take that the wrong way she was talking about Monkey. Now that he has new toys she has been saying she doesn't like him. We tell her that is ok but you always love him. She doesn't share her toys with him so she isn't allowed to play with his toys until she can share hers with him. It only took a day for her to realize this concept because they are both playing with each others toys now and it is 7:45pm. Well my little man has on a dirty diaper that needs changed so I will end this here. Hopefully I will get in bed early tonight! I know it is wishful thinking but one day it will happen.

Last night I was too tired to get on the computer. I do want to mention a couple things that happened yesterday. J got home at 4:30pm. I was shocked because he told me he got to leave there at 4pm but they let out early. YAY! GG was cracking me up yesterday morning. We were just laying in bed being lazy. We were just talking and cuddling (I love that). All of a sudden she spelled out her name and then said it out loud! I looked at her and said, "yes your right were did you learn that?" She said, "I just know these things." I love the toddler mind. The other thing I want to mention was the last night of VBS it was parents night. They had the pre-school class go on the stage. As GG was standing up there she yells, "there's my DADDY, and my mommy too!" The whole place burst into laughter. She is such a HAM. Then they sang a song and did motions. I watched her up there and she was so cute and comfortable I just began thinking about her going to school for some reason. I don't want her to leave me at home. Anyways, on to today...this morning Aunt Melissa and Kiera came at 11am. Then around 1:30pm Grandparents M. came and we went out for lunch. Then Grandparents A. came around 3pm. Then at 5pm we went to Ball Fore to set up for Monkey's big 1st birthday party. (As I am typing he just stood himself up without holding on to anything!) He got some great presents and we all had a great time. Monkey would like to Thank everyone for coming to his party and celebrating his entering the world. We are all glad he is here! Now we are getting ready for bed, we have church in the morning.

Wow what a day! It went something like this...grocery store, swimming lessons, little lunchers story bunch, to WIC appointment (GG went to Ethan's house to play during that), pick her up (she didn't want to leave), go home (it's 2:30pm), put them down for a nap. I got 45 minutes to myself it was great. When they woke up I took them outside to play. Then we went to Wendy's for dinner I didn't feel like cooking. They both eat really good. After dinner it was time for VBS. She is so funny. Every night they have been getting a little brown envelope for offering. She loves to put money in it and give it to Darcy when we get to church. What a wonderful little girl I have. Then on the way home she was telling me everything they did at church. She really likes the tea party they have every night for snack time. The funniest thing though was the way she was telling me about the magnifying glass she got. Boy do I love my kids. We all got to talk to J again tonight. I can't wait to see him tomorrow. Lately GG has been wanting me to put her hair in pigtails. No complaints from me I love doing her hair. I think having her own brush is why she has taken an interest in doing her hair. She looks so cute with her hair done and in a dress (because she is in a dress phase). Today after she got dressed and her hair was done she said, "Do I look beautiful today mommy?" I told her yes and then she told me that I was beautiful too. Kids are the greatest!!!!!!

Let's see here, today we had swim lessons in the morning. Then after lunch Monkey had a doctor's appointment, my friend Kristen was going to watch GG but she was complaining about her pee hurting and she had an accident last night, which is totally not like her. So I took her with me. She peed in a cup and felt the need to tell everyone about it from that point on. What a goof! Since we had to drop of the pee at the hospital we stopped in and sold some candles to the ER for J's fund raiser. His class has to raise $15,000 for the Special Olympics. So in all reality it means that not only do I have to be super mom I have to be super fund raiser lady too. So if you would like to help me with this please email me and I will give you more information. Donations are greatly appreciated. Anyway, Joanna came over for dinner and then we left for VBS. I am going to be so sad and glad when this week is over. GG loves going to VBS so I will be sad but I will be glad because I won't have to drive 20 minutes to get there. We all got to talk to J on the phone tonight. Well Monkey just mainly smiled.

Today my baby turned one! This year has flown by so fast. He was a great addition to our family. This morning we got up and went to swim lessons came home and showered. When we were done I laid Monkey down for a nap because he was tired. J called us during the lunch break to talk to Monkey. But he was sleeping, I even tired waking him up didn't work. So I held the phone to his ear and J talked to him while he slept. When Monkey woke up we went grocery shopping came home and unloaded the car and GG helped me put the food away. My little sweetie. After dinner we went to VBS and GG's friend Ethan came. She was so excited to see him even though they saw each other that morning at swim lessons. So as you can tell we are having a busy week so far and it is only Tuesday. Oh yeah after we got home from the grocery store we sang happy birthday to Monkey and eat some cupcakes. He really liked that. Yummy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONKEY!

Today...we went to swimming lessons this morning came home and showered. After we ate lunch I took the kids to Joanna's house for her to watch them while I took some clothes to the consignment store. Then tonight we had tumbling at 6 to 6:30 and straight to VBS. GG is loving learning about God. She can say the Bible verses she is learning! She is too cute. Right now both of the kids are sleeping so I got to talk to J the whole time. They fell asleep on the way home from church even though I tried to keep GG awake. I can't believe that Monkey is going to be one tomorrow. The time has gone so fast.

I'm going to start out with a funny story. This afternoon I got a piece of candy and put it in my mouth. GG said that she wanted what I had in my mouth. I told her if she could tell me what was in my mouth she could have one. She said, "I don't know what is it mommy?" So I told her it was a carrot because she had one yesterday and didn't like it. She came up to me and said, "No mommy it smells like candy!" I couldn't believe her. How smart is she? So I of course gave her a piece. Well on to our day. I got up and went over to Joanna's house for the yard sale. Neither one of us wanted to do it. So we put the stuff out and went inside. We had two people come in the two hours but I made $14 I thought that was pretty good for only two people. I must say that I am glad that the yard sale is over!!! After that we went to Hy-Vee to eat lunch and then to Wal-mart for Monkey's year old pictures. J left at 3pm which was sad and it was hard to see him leave. I miss him so much. Enough with that. I watched the movie Maid in Manhattan it was cute. I didn't pay for it so that was good. Tonight we went to Vacation Bible School...GG had so much fun that as we were leaving the parking lot she said, "I want to go to church." I told her tomorrow but she wanted to go back right then. I love the fact she loves Jesus and going to church. Now it is late and I need sleep because this week is going to be really busy!!!!

For some odd reason I couldn't fall asleep last night. I was getting so mad because I had to be up at 5:15am to shower and get the yard sale ready. I think that I got a total of an hours worth of sleep. It just seemed like every time I did fall asleep one of the kids needed me. Oh well that is something that comes with being a mama! So at 6am I went over to Joanna's to start setting up the stuff. Now most of the things were mine...J called at 7am with Monkey screaming in the background. I was shocked because he woke up with me at 5:15am. I thought for sure he would fall back asleep. No such thing happened. So Joanna went to get him and brought him to me. That was great because I couldn't afford to stop doing things to get him. We had a pretty good day as far as sales goes. I didn't do as good as yesterday but I'm happy with the amount. I have to tell this funny story of my sweet and funny little girl. My friend Joanna was watching Monkey climb something and she said, "Oh my God, Monkey you are going to kill yourself." GG pipes in with, "No Joanna! It is oh my goodness." And as she was saying this she was making a face little don't you know that you don't say Oh my God? We got a good laugh at the fact that Joanna got in trouble with a 2 year old:) Oh yeah she did something else really funny today too. Joanna's mom was at the yard sale to help us out. So of course Jo was calling her mama. Well to GG she looks like a grandma, plus she is going to have her first grandchild in a few months so we were talking about that. Even though I don't think GG heard that conversation. Well she wanted to ask her (Kathy, Jo's mom) something and she said grandma, mom. She knew that wasn't right but she didn't know what else to call her. Everyone laughed and GG just thought that was great. It is so funny how kids brains work. Anyway, back to the day...after the yard sale we went to Wal-mart to get somethings like diapers and to get Monkey's one year pictures taken. We got to the picture place and the guy doing the pictures scared him. We couldn't even put him down. So we are going to get them done tomorrow when the girl is working. The rest of the day we spend as a family. It is now 8:30pm we are getting ready to put GG to bed and I think I am going to go to sleep now too. Do remember I only got an hour of sleep last night. My only problem is I don't think Monkey is ready for bed! I'm off to try anyways!

I can't believe how fast today went. We woke up this morning and got ready. All of a sudden it was noon and time to start getting things ready for the yard sale. We had people there at 1pm and it didn't even start until 3pm. We both were getting annoyed. We had just got the tables up when people started coming nothing was even out!!!!!! Then they started going through stuff as we put it out. I guess I shouldn't complain because my first sale was two big items totally $15. Both Joanna and I did pretty well for the first day. We only stayed open until 6pm instead of 7pm. Mainly because it started to sprinkle and was getting the clothes and other things wet. We are hoping that tomorrow will be a better day weather wise and sales for that matter. I guess we will find out tomorrow :) I have four more bags ready to sell tomorrow and Joanna is getting other things ready too. We want to attract a big crowd! I am getting up at 5am so I am going to go to bed. The only bad thing about today was I really didn't get to spend anytime with J, but the kids did.

Today was very stressful. I NEED J!!!!!!!! I'll just say I can't wait for the weekend. Basically the kids took turns crying. Every time Monkey cried is because he hurt himself doing something. He either pulled a toy on top of him, pinched his fingers in a draw, fell off of something he climbed on and the list goes on. I guess this is the way my life is going to be from now on. I jump every time he even whimpers. Every mother I have talked to says its a boy thing to be a dare devil. I just wish he would wait to do these things after J got out of the academy. I am afraid we are going to end up in the hospital before the summer is over. The sad thing is, is that I am always watching him! And he still finds ways to hurt himself. Anyway, GG just was a crank today. Plus she had no nap but the good thing is she went to bed at 8:30pm. That is a first for her:) The only thing we really did today was go to swim lessons at 5:30pm. We got to talk to J on the phone again and I forgot to ask him where the masking tape was so I guess I will have to borrow some from Joanna. Well I am going to put Monkey to sleep and finish pricing my stuff for tomorrow. I do have over half of it done though.

Here is our Wednesday...we had swim lessons this morning came home and showered. Then we really didn't do much of anything. Blow bubbles outside for awhile and Joanna came over for dinner. GG took a nap on her own today. I guess she was really tired! Monkey has learned to move the saucer which is what keeps him from getting to the stairs. That doesn't make my life any easier. I don't want to go by another gate because he knows how to go up and down the stairs, he just isn't the greatest at going down yet. I am just going to have to keep a close eye on him. He also took about 12 steps tonight. It was awesome to watch and I wish I would of got it on the video camera so J could of seen his boy. I'm sure he will see him do it some more this weekend. GG also did something cute today...she was sitting at her kitchen, which has a cordless phone, she picked the phone up and said, "It's daddy! Hi daddy I am feeding my baby doll some cereal." She told him some other things but I am too tired to write them. I need to go get the little ones to bed.

Well day two of the no naps for GlamorGirl. She went to bed at 9:35pm not as early as I would like but we are getting there. Today we had morning and evening swim lessons! After the morning session we went to the B's house for lunch then to pick some sweet corn. GG had a lot of fun putting the corn into the bags, plus she got to spend time with Ethan! Then this afternoon we played outside it was extremely hot. Tonight after night lessons I had a LLL meeting. I took GG over to Ethan's house and Kristen and I went to the meeting with Monkey while Jason watched the toddlers! They both had a lot of fun playing. Oh yea, we also got to talk to J on the phone. I know two nights in a row. I actually gave him our nighttime schedule so we wouldn't miss his call. It looks like it is working:) Well I need to get to bed tomorrow I am finishing the yard sale stuff...there a lot left to do.

First I need to tell you this really cute story that just happened. I put Monkey down by me while I was on the computer. GG is laying on the bed in J's spot which is on the same side as the computer. Monkey walked over to her and couldn't reach her so he went all the way over to the other side that has GG's bed. He climbed up unto our bed, crawled over to GG and gave her a bunch of kisses. What a sweet little boy! I saw him doing this so I asked for a couple which he gave me. He has such a fun loving little personality. I can't believe he is going to be one in eight days!!! Today we had swim lessons in the morning, came home and showered, I put Monkey down for a nap (which he slept 2 hours, he never sleeps that long), GG played in the toy room (so I got a lot of yard sale stuff done), then tonight we went to tumbling class. And we also got to talk to J on the phone. I am going to start writing things down I want to tell him or talk to him about because I always forget when he calls. He got a letter from his mom and grandma today. He was really excited about that so if anyone else wants to write him let me know. Did I mention that I didn't give GG a nap? But it is 10 and she is still awake. But the neighbor is setting off fireworks so we of course watched them, which threw my plan of getting her to bed by 9 way off. Well she is sleeping now!!! I am going to get Monkey and myself to bed.

I had a very hard day today. For some reason my eyes kept filling up with tears. I tried to fight them but no matter what I did they kept coming. I think it was because I knew that J was going to be leaving again for the week. GG noticed the water in my eyes and also the drops rolling down my face and said, "Mommy why are you crying like a baby?" Which of course made me laugh. Talk about confusing for a toddler. Too many emotions! I am doing ok now. So today we went to church came home and ate lunch. Then we played outside together as a family. We blow some bubbles, played at the park and ate freeze pops! 3pm came so fast. Why doesn't it come fast when J isn't here?!? After J left the kids took naps and I did more yard sale sorting. When they woke up we went to get groceries. Came home ate dinner and headed back to church for the VBS meeting. Which also means that we missed J's call. We got home at 9:15 and it started at 7:30. Neither one of us thought it would last that long. Oh well he knows when we will be home the rest of the week so hopefully we will get to talk to him every night! It is late and I am exhausted.

We've had a crazy busy day. We got up around 9am. Well I did at least. Monkey woke up at 8:15 and J gave him a bath. It was great. I woke up and Monkey was ready for the day. I didn't even ask him to do it. He is a wonderful husband! Then we went over to the Beech's to do some laundry. We started it and then went out for lunch. Then went back to fold the clothes and switch over the load. Then to Wal-mart and get J somethings for the Academy. Then all over town looking for black leather dye. No one in this town carries it. Oh well. Then I dropped off J and GG at home. J needed to study and GG was asleep. Monkey and I headed back over to get the rest of the laundry. We came home and dinner was almost ready to eat. I really like having J here but this academy is something that has to be done. Then GG, Monkey and I took a walk. Again so J could get some studying done. I don't want us to be the reason he doesn't do good on a test. Then we went back out...J needed to drop off some things for the dry cleaners and we needed toilet paper at Wal-mart. I know we could of should of done that the first time but I forgot. I am going to start a Wal-mart list during the week so when he gets home on the weekend we don't make more than one trip out there. I also went to K-mart today. Well it is now pass my bedtime and we have church in the morning.

What a great and wonderful day! We got up this morning and went to swim lessons, came home showered, ate lunch and then headed to Springfield with Kristen and Ethan. We got there went to Kristen's doctor appointment which was real quick. When we got to the car the cell phone rang and it was J!!! It was prefect timing. He came to where we were and then we went out to eat and did a couple other things there before heading home. Now we are here! J asked, "Is there anyone who wants to take a shower?" GG said, "YOU!" J and I cracked up. He was trying to get her to take one. What a funny little girl. Well I am going to go spend some time with my family:)

I didn't update last night because we lost our power. I'll explain that in a second. Not much really happened yesterday. Our swim lessons were canceled which didn't make the day go by very fast. But our friend Joanna came over for dinner. After she left I gave the kids a bubble bath. Let's just say that Monkey didn't want to get out. He screamed bloody murder as I was taking him out of the tub. I think he like bubble baths! Just as I got all of us in our pjs. The power went out. Then I could see to figure out how to use the candle lighter. So I went upstairs to call Joanna for help. That was a little difficult considering I couldn't see anything. I had to feel the phone to find the numbers! Good thing I got them right. So both Ted and Joanna came over. Well there were here the tornado warning went off. It was nice to have them here when that was going on. We ended up staying at there house last night. We didn't have any air and it was getting hot inside. There house had power. I think the power came on at about 1am last night from my blinking clocks this morning! So today we went to the Little Lunchers Story Bunch Hour at Chandler. That was a lot of fun. We didn't leave until 1:45 just in time for the kids to take naps. I worked on yard sale stuff while they slept. Then we went to swim lessons tonight and of course missed J's call. I swear if we talk to him one night we won't get to talk to him the next. But tomorrow he will be coming home for the weekend!!!! I am really excited about that can you tell? Well Monkey is sleeping and GG is reading books so I am going to get ready for bed and then get GG to bed.

Today we got up and headed over to Mary and Ben's house for a play date. It was a good time! While we were there GG started to get hungry and Mary offered her a hot dog. I told GG we were going to go home and eat. GG said, "Mommy, Mrs P said I could eat a hot dog here." I told her we should eat at home. She really wanted to eat with Ben so she had lunch there. I love that she is so respectful of adults. Since we woke up at 8am for some reason by the time we got home at 12:30 Monkey was ready for his nap. After I ate lunch GG took her nap. So while they slept I finished the pages in the scrapbook. I am all caught up. It is such a wonderful feeling to know that I just have to one roll at a time now. For dinner we went to the B's house. We left a message on the machine in case J called while we were gone. I told him their cell phone number so Friday he could get a hold of us in Springfield. Instead of leaving us a message he called the cell phone. So we had no message and we werem't at the B's when he called them. So they got to talk to him. Oh well. Tomorrow night I am staying home and Joanna is coming over for dinner. We just have swim lessons in the morning. Which tonights lessons were canceled because of the weather so we will have a makeup one sometime next week. I have a nursing half awake half asleep baby in my arms. I am going to put him to bed and then get GG in bed. I will say that the little ones are being great so far for me. I haven't had any problem with them they are behaving wonderfully. They are the best.

We started our swim lessons this morning and it was great to go swimming. Then we came home and took showers. By the time we were done showering it was almost 1pm. So we ate lunch and then Monkey took a nap and GG and I had time together. Then GG took a nap and Monkey and I had time together. We had a great time together. I felt so bad this morning when GG woke up she asked for her daddy. Then tonight we went to tumbling. The whole time we were there I was worried that J was going to call because we missed him last night. But we didn't, we got to talk to him for about 5 minutes. He got to talked to the kids also. I was so glad to hear his voice. Well now it is late and time for bed.

The first thing I saw this morning was my wonderful husband sitting on the bed as he watched us sleep. We were going to wake the kids up but J didn't want too. We got up this morning and went to church. I don't know why I even went because I spent the whole service in the nursery with both the kids. For some reason GG has stopped liking the children's church. Monkey has never liked being left in the nursery which is why I stayed. I thought that having GG in there with him would help but it didn't. I think that J will be able to go with us the rest of the academy. Then later today after the kids took naps I wrote J a letter while GG painted a picture and then colored a picture to send to J. We went to Belinda's house for dinner tonight and ended up missing J's phone call. I was sad but this way the kids get to hear his voice. So I guess that is ok. I am hoping that he will call us before we have to go to tumbling tomorrow night. He is going to think we don't want to talk to him. Today wasn't very bad, until GG started asking when Daddy is coming home. So I put five pieces of candy in a sandwich bag and told her we would eat one everyday and when they are gone daddy will be home. She seemed to understand and I hope that will make it easier on us. Well Monkey has started doing some new things. He learned how to get himself on GG's bed. That is ok because for the first time he got himself off of our bed and her bed by going backward. I was so happy because we have been working on it. Then he got himself up the step stool we have downstairs it has two steps and it is very steep. He has been working on that for awhile. He is also doing better with walking. He will take a few steps then stop, take a few more and then fall. The total number of steps I think is 7 before falling. It won't be long and he will be a pro. That is it from this end of the world!

Today was a very busy and fun filled day. When we woke up J was already gone running his many errands. So I started unpacking two weeks worth of clothes and other things we brought with us. I got done right as J got home so he helped give the kids a bath. Then we went grocery shopping, for the first time. After we put almost all the groceries away we got in our swim suites and went to the pool. That was a lot of fun. Monkey still wasn't very happy with the water at first but it only took him 5 minutes to warm up this time instead of 20! We swam for an hour or so. Came home and called my friend Crissy. GG and I went over to there place. GG and Carlie had a lot of fun playing together. They don't get to see each other very much so it is always a treat for them. Then comes the second time we went to the grocery store. Apparently we forgot to unpack the meats from the trunk. Gross!!!! Then my other friend Belinda called she had our mail key because she watched our place while we were gone. Her husband Aaron just got back from overseas so we got to see him too! That was cool. When we left their house we went to Wal-mart for GG to pick out a hair brush. Her hair is getting to long for her baby brush. She of course picked out a purple one because that is her favorite color. I also got some scrapbooking items I was low on. Now we are home. GG didn't take a nap today so we are going to be putting her to bed right now! Monkey should be pretty easy to get to sleep too. Goodnight and Goodbye!

The greatest ever...that is the way I would describe my children. Let me explain. Last night as we were going to sleep J and I were talking about something that we needed to do when we got home. GG wrapped her little arms around both of us and said, "I love my family, very much." Then to top it off Monkey gave each of us a kiss without asking for one. They are the best! I love them both so much I can't even describe it. I would also say it is the greatest feeling to be home after being gone for two weeks. This morning we got up and went to see J in the parade. That was a lot of fun. I watched GG (and Monkey, for that matter) charm the pants off of everyone around her. Ok so most of the people were their grandparents but she charmed everyone else around too and Monkey followed suite. They are so much fun to watch grow. After the parade we went back to the grandparents, soon to be our residence. The kids took naps and I got things ready to leave, well as much as I could anyway. I thought we would be leaving around 7:30 or 8 but J got home at 6pm. I was so happy to see him. We left at 6:45pm. So we watched fireworks in the car on the way home. I felt bad because it is Monkey's first 4th of July but we really had no choice. We have so much stuff to get done tomorrow. Now it is bedtime!

We had a really fun day today. This morning after we got up, ate breakfast, and took showers. Funny story about the shower. I said to GG that it was time to get clean and she told me she wasn't dirty. Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own britches. When I finally got her clean we went to the park to play. Then the kids took naps. Shortly after they woke up J was home from work. Tonight we went out for dinner in the town J works at a place called California Pizza Kitchen. The food was okay. Afterwards we went to the Frontier Days. The kids got a bracelets for free rides. It was awesome. They went on so many rides and had a great time. I think that J and GG went down the big slide at least 10 times. They didn't make us pay and the kids bracelets were free!!! I love having connections:) Now we are home and trying to get every thing in order to go HOME tomorrow. I am so happy. Right now Monkey is climbing on top of his Grandparents workout equipment. That is the most use it has seen in awhile ;) Tomorrow we are going to be going to see J in the parade. An early morning and probably a late night for us tomorrow.

Yesterday after I updated J and I took the little ones for a walk and to play at the park. GG made two friends and the three girls played together. Then we came home and had ice cream. On to the present...the kids and I had a very lazy day. We didn't come upstairs until 10:30am. We woke up at 9:30am. Then we ate breakfast and took a shower all three of us. This is the first time I tried doing that here. It worked. Monkey however was cracking me up. He was standing on the side of me and I got the right temperature for the water. He leans over and was trying to latch on to nurse. He did this a few times before I realized what he was doing. It was funny, to me at least :) Tonight when J got home GG did something funny. She has been wanting to wear dresses everyday. So today she had on a Mickey Mouse dress. She stood on the couch and asked J to move. He told her no. She said, "But daddy I want to spin." He said no then she said, "I have a beautiful dress on!" As if that was going to change his mind about her standing on the couch. Then like we did yesterday we took the kids for a walk and to the park to play. This time we were the only ones there. J and I talked about our living arrangement and hopefully we will be able to talk to Dad and Roberta tonight about the details or rules. Basically what we except from each other as roommates. I will let you know how that goes!!!

I am so ready to go home. I miss our place. I guess it is only a few more days. This morning Monkey did the cutest thing. He woke up before GG and crawled over to her and gave her a hug and kiss then started rubbing her back gave her some more hugs and kisses. He did this until she woke up. It was so sweet. Then later today Monkey pinched GG and left a mark. She showed me and I said, "He did a good one." GG said, "No mommy that wasn't good." It was funny. Then Becky's friend came over. I put on J and I's wedding video because I finally found it. I wanted to see if Monkey looked like J or I as a baby. He doesn't really look like either of us. Anyway Becky's friend gave GG a piece of Gum. She came up to me and said, "Look mommy I chewing some dum." I corrected her and she said it right. She of course swallowed the gum. Some how she ended up getting another piece which she chewed for about an hour before J took it away from her. I think she has finally got the concept of gum chewing!!! We also took a 20 minute walk today and it was really hot outside. But it was nice to get out of the house. Now we are waiting for the grandparents to get home to eat dinner. I don't think we are going to be doing much else tonight if we do I will write about it tomorrow.

Nice is what I would describe DSL as! It is so quick. Well we had a very lazy day today. J took the car to work so we were stuck at home all day like we will be the rest of this week. It was so nice of my dad to let J use his car last week while they were on vacation. After we woke up this morning and ate breakfast we watched the movie A Bugs Life. GG really liked it but by the time we got showered and dressed it was 1pm. Oh well we had no where to go anyways. Then J came home at 4:30pm and we took the kids to run errands. It was great to get out of the house. We went to Target (love that store), MC Sports, and then to Jewel. Right now J is talking to a old high school buddy. Which makes moving back here a little bit more exciting I guess. GG is watching A Bugs Life again. I am going to try and get her to take a walk with me and Monkey when Aunt Becky and Grandma get home. They went to take Becky's car in to get fixed. It is a new car and really shouldn't need fixing. I am looking forward to getting home and getting things ready for our yard sale. Then I am going to start the wonderful packing process. I can't think of any funny stories my WONDERFUL children did today. OH wait at dinner GG was drinking root beer and she spilled some on her shirt and J asked her if she spilled and she said, "Just a little bit, Daddy!" She is so funny sometimes. I was watching her today play with her baby doll and she was talking to the doll like we talk to each other. She played the mom and the doll played GG. One last thing last night before we went to bed at 11:30pm GG and Monkey were giving each other hugs and kisses and then they held hands until they both fell asleep. How precious :) I LOVE MY FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We got up early and drove to church. After church we went to J's parents house to eat lunch. They ended up taking us out because they had no food. We went to Denny's and the kids both ate so good. Speaking of Monkey I have a funny story that happened yesterday that I forgot to write. At dinner we had soup. So J and I were both blowing on it to cool it down. Monkey was sitting in his chair with some cheerios. He picked one up and started blowing on it. It was the funniest thing!! He also started to do a new thing yesterday which was blowing kisses. Super cute. Back to today and new things with Monkey at Denny's he drank from a straw. The first time he got the water up it shocked him but then he became a pro with drinking from the straw. After lunch we went back to Grandparents and watched some home movies of J as a baby. What a little cutie :) He still is! Then we went back to my dad's house. When Grandpa and Grandma came back from the family reunion GG was so happy. She was cracking me up tonight. We were in the living room and she went running toward the bathroom. So I asked if she had to go and she said, "No mommy, I don't need to go potty. I need to talk to my Grandma!" I love that little girl so much. She and Monkey make life worth living! Did I mention that I absolutely love them!!!! Anyway, tonight J hooked up my dad's DSL which took longer than it should of because my dad had already taken everything out of their bags so nothing was labeled anymore. He figured it out because he is super duper smart. That is why I married him so we would have smart kids and it worked. It's off to bed I go!

We really didn't start the day until about 11am. We went to the bank and to Wal-mart with Grandma. Then we went to Wheaton to see our friend who's grandpa just died. After dinner we took the kids to the park to play. Oh yeah we rented a storage place. Monkey is really starting to talk. He says about 10 words and signs a couple too. He is becoming more daring with walking but he is still a little scared. GG has been having so much fun with Uncle Travis, Aunt Becky, Grandpa and Grandma. She is not going to want to leave on Saturday. Well it is time for bed and we have church tomorrow morning. Goodnight!

Today we started looking for houses. Let me tell you small houses for a lot of money. Anyways, after looking at houses we went to the grocery store to get some food to eat. This man came up to us and said to GG, "Hi Kid" her reply was "Hi Dummy" She learned that from her aunt Becky. We really didn't do much else today. Monkey is becoming a lot more daring at his walking attempts. It is exciting and a little nerve racking. I just hate when he falls and gets hurt. I guess you can't protect them all the time. Oh yeah Grandma and Grandpa came home from vacation and the kids got new clothes from Door County. Really cute stuff. Now we are going to try and get the kids to sleep. I don't know how easy that will be with all the excitement of grandparents and presents!

Yesterday I didn't update because blogger wouldn't let me in. I will start with yesterday...let's see Monkey is a true boy and going to cause me some problems with the plumbing that is. He threw his car in the toilet. Good thing it was a big one and didn't get stuck. Then last night J, Monkey and I went to the police station. J shot some guns and Monkey and I just watched. GG stayed here with Aunt Becky and they went on a walk and played at the park. GG loved it. Then last night I got on the internet and started looking for more places to live. I came across houses that were foreclosures. Super cheap and big. So this morning I called a company and she said that I need to be pre-approved for a loan amount before she will help us look for houses. So I tried calling banks and I haven't found anything yet. I did find a house ready to buy 3 beds and 2 baths for 49,320. I think that it is a little farther away then J wants to go but I guess we'll see. I didn't get much sleep last night thinking about the houses I found on the internet. I think the last time I looked at the clock it was 2:30am. I have a lot of caffeine in me right now. I am going to try and get a hold of more banks now. I will try and keep you updated.

Well we looked at apartments and so forth. Let's just say that everything is very, very expensive. A place that is 620 square feet is $850 a month. That is a lot of money. Anyway J had his second day today and he got home at 2:45pm with a bunch of stuff for us to go through. It was about insurance, medical plans and other random things. We are going to set up a meeting to talk to the lady. Becky and I went to Toys R Us and got Monkey's birthday present. It was cheaper here than at WIU. I couldn't believe it. That was awesome. Then the kids took naps like normal. After dinner J and I took the kids to the park to play and Monkey and J watched a ball game. It was really hot out so we stayed out for only 45 minutes. Then J went to go work out at the police station and Becky's friends are over just hanging out and keeping the kids entertained while I update this blog. Or I should say that the kids are entertaining Becky's friends!!! Oh yeah Becky thought that it was extremely funny that in Toys R Us GlamorGirl started singing a song from a commercial on tv. It is the one that goes "A O lets Go" about 10 times through the commercial. I really can't think of anything else that happened that was very exciting or note worthy. So later!

This morning J got his badge. It was pretty cool to see the department and meet people that work there and stuff. The swearing in only took about an hour and then he was able to leave. Tomorrow they get their uniforms fitted and take care of a bunch of paperwork. Today we set up a bank account here and did some other things. Then tonight we went out to dinner with J's parents at Maggiano's. I have never been there before and I am stuffed. The food was ok for a chain restaurant. Tomorrow I am going to be calling a bunch of storage places to get prices in case we decide to live at one of our parents houses. We are also going to check into a couple of apartments too. I'll try and keep everyone updated on the living situation. But if I forget I am really sorry.

We woke up this morning after a really long night of barely any sleep. J and I stayed up late getting things ready for the two week trip. About half an hour after I fell asleep GG woke up whimpering and crawled into our bed. I put my arm on her to give her a hug. I felt something moist. So I checked her pants and she had peed. So we all got up and changed the bedding. I was completely shocked by this because she went potty right before we went to bed. But as J reminded me we didn't eat dinner until 8 last night so it threw her off I guess. She only had one glass of milk with dinner. Oh well. Back to today we went to church and then to Belinda's house to give her a key so she could keep an eye on our place while we are gone. Then to HyVee for lunch. Went home packed the car and we were out of there by 2pm. The kids both slept the first half. Then they played the second half. They did really well for being in the car for 4 hours. As they get older they do much better. Plus they entertain each other in the backseat! When we got to my dad's we made dinner on their gas grill nice! I want one. Now we are searching different places for places to live. I am going to look at some more with J now.

Well today was J's last day at the hospital. It was long for us! We ran a bunch of errands, we went to the bank and got our mail held, to the hospital and then to the grocery store. We had a friend over for dinner and he is extremely allergic to garlic. So I bought a special meal for him. He is going to be making us a headboard for our bed. I am really excited about it. It is going to look so good. I did some more scrapbooking today. I have only 5 more pages to do and I will be updated!!! Then I will use the small room for the yard sale stuff. I already have a lot of things I am going to be getting rid of. It should make for moving a lot easier, hopefully. We shall see, right? Anyway the kids and I played outside for about 3 hours tonight waiting for J to come home. I am going to brag about Monkey now. He has started to do a few new things that I have forgotten to write about. He signs the word more. But it isn't for food like GG did. For instance he went down the slide and then signed more. It was really cute so I put him on the slide again. He also says the work gentle. We are always telling him to be gentle with us and GG that he learned to say it. I am tired and we have church tomorrow morning so I am going to go to bed.

Our day really started when we picked up J's paycheck. We went to Wal-mart and then to Farm King. I was so sad to learn that Farm King didn't have the tool bench that I wanted to get Monkey for his birthday and would not be getting it in again. It is a good thing that we will be going to Chicago, hopefully we will be able to find one there. We did however get Monkey some more Christmas presents I figured we should get them before they are gone too. They are tools for him. We played outside today and then the kids took naps. I did some more scrapbooking. I am almost caught up I think I have about 9 pages to do and both books will be up to date. I am really excited about that. Then I am not going to let me get so far behind. Then tonight we had a get together with our playgroup. It was a lot of fun and I got to hold baby Laura!!! When we got home we had two messages on the machine from the guy wanting to buy the scooter. Let me just say it is sold. Not for as much as I would of liked but it is gone and we don't have to worry about it now. So Monkey is such a dare devil. Today we bought him a new bag of diapers. He used them to climb up on the tub we use to put his diapers in. You are probably thinking why didn't we just put them away? Well we are planning on taking them to Chicago with us and it takes up less room if you leave them in the bag. Then tonight he used the bag of diapers to climb on to GG's rocking chair. I went upstairs to get the laundry and GG starts yelling,"Mommy look at Monkey! He being naughty." He was standing on the chair and rocking it. I am so glad that he didn't fall because he would of hurt himself badly. He a little stinker! I know I say that a lot but he is turning into one :) I still love my Monkey. GG had a lot of fun playing with her friends and she ate really good too. She normally doesn't eat good if there are other things she could be doing. But she has been eating a lot lately I think she is growing again. Well goodnight.

We had a wonderfully fun day. This morning we got ready and then went to the park for the little lunchers story bunchers. Last summer they had enough food for all the kids and parents but not this summer. Oh well GG really enjoyed listening to the story. Plus our three friends with new borns were there! After the kids ate they played at the park. It was great because a girl watched GG and Mason so Angie and I could just relax. It wasn't a stranger she came with Angie. We did a lot of things outside today; bubbles, sidewalk chalk, playing at the park (three different ones), and taking a walk. My brain is fried from being tired. I have been sitting here thinking about funny stories that happened today which I know they did because they do everyday! Like yesterday GG talked to Joanna on the phone and she just randomly started singing. She sang the B-I-B-L-E, itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle little star and another song I can't remember. Then when she was done she said, "ok enough karaoke." I did some more scarpbooking which I really should of been going through things for the yard sale we are having in July. I wasn't in the mood to go through stuff. Here is a story about GG that happened today. There was a fly on the window. She screams, "A bug! A bug!" Then she tells the bug to stay there as she runs to the bathroom to get a piece of toilet paper. She comes back with the toilet paper and tries to kill the fly on the window. I guess she sees me freak out about spiders all the time she thinks all bugs are bad. What a goof. Now the stories are just coming...the other day J asked GG where babies come from and she told him the hospital! I thought it was cute. Now Monkey is becoming a very funny little boy as well. He flirts with the ladies I think he gets that from Daddy. He does things that he knows Daddy doesn't want him to do. It is funny to watch because he does it and waits for a reaction from J. The little stinker! Back to today J worked at Ball Fore today so we took dinner to him and we had a family picnic that was nice. Now he is home and we are going to go to bed.

Before I talk about the day I want to say to Joe...Stop quoting the Simpsons!!! You sound like my 18 year old sister that can quote every episode and that is not a compliment. So on to our day. Monkey and I slept until 10am today because for some reason he decided that he wanted to be awake for about an hour last night. I think that he is going to be doing something new in the next few days. Hopefully it will be walking so I don't have to carry him everywhere! He is getting so heavy. J worked out this morning and then this afternoon Joanna came over and we made an ad for the paper, we are going to be having a yard sale! I thought it would be a good way to get rid of somethings we don't use and make money before we have to move. Less packing is what I am thinking. Then we got frostys from Wendy's and went out to Ball Fore to see Ted. Then we came home and played outside while dinner was cooking. After dinner we took a family walk. That was nice. We saw our police officer friend Jason. He was making offers on J's scooter. Every time he said something the price went up. It was pretty funny. When we came inside we turned on the air. Monkey sweats really bad and wakes up in a puddle of sweat. That might be the other reason he was up last night. I am hoping that if it is nice in here he will sleep better as well as the rest of us. Well that is all from this end of the world.

Well we spent most of the day with daddy until he got paged to take a transfer. But it was ok because while he was gone I had things planned to do. I was sad that he wasn't able to come with us but what are you gonna do? We did go to the hospital and clean out his locker that was a little sad too. Tonight for dinner we went to a picnic at Patton Park and then we went to the LLL (La Leche League)meeting. I got to hold two babies there!!!! When we came home J was back. He talked to a guy that might buy his scooter so we'll see. Monkey did take some more steps today. Soon I think he will take off. Right now he is wanting some mommy time so I am cutting this short again. My kids come first!

Ok I have some funny stories from today. Well one has been happening for a long time I am just remembering to write about it. In the bathtub I nurse Monkey in the mornings. GG has a baby doll she brings in the tub with her. As I nurse Monkey she sits in the tub and nurses her baby doll. It is super sweet. The other happened today at the park when we were playing out there. GG always gets rocks in her sandals. Today she said, "Mommy come help me I have a rock in my right sandal." It was great I knew which foot to go to and the problem was solved! Monkey had a first today and you could say a second. He took his first step day. He was holding on to the window and let go to come to me. Then at tumbling tonight he was holding on the roller thing. It rolled away from him and he was standing there and he took two steps before he got to it. I don't know if he would have taken anymore but it was cool to see. So today we played outside a lot, kids took naps (not at the same time), we went to tumbling class, and then got groceries. After we put the groceries away J went to run and lift weights. J just gave both the kids a bath and now we are going to try and get them to sleep. One last thing today at tumbling class I had a mother ask me, she is also a stay-at-home-mom, if I spend most of my day trying to wear the kids out so they will go to sleep. I felt bad cause both of my kids have always been great sleepers. Plus, with two they wear each other out!

I have had the best Father's Day ever! But first Happy Father's Day to all the fathers that read this! We got up this morning and went to church. Then a nice family at the church invited us to a picnic at Argyle State Park. That was great because we need groceries. We left from the Park to come home and change into our bathing suites to go to the Father's Day pool party. Monkey was very unsure of the water. It took him a good 20 minutes to let us put him in the pool all the way. I felt so bad for him. GG of course went wild. So wild that she lost her footing in the first minute and went under water. She didn't jump again in the pool. Just as we were about to leave they had a question for mothers to win a prize it was such an easy question it was what does NFL stand for. I got the prize. A part of it was a free pizza. So we had that for dinner! I didn't have to cook all day :) Then we played at the park as a family and took a walk together. Tonight the kids and I took a bath to get the pool water off of us. Now we are ready for bed. Oh yeah we were so busy today that GG didn't have a nap. I hope she goes to bed and stays asleep. I have noticed the days she doesn't take naps she sleeps bad at night. I know Monkey will go to sleep as soon as I nurse him so I am off to do that. One last thing. GG was the cutest this morning. The first thing she said was, "Good morning, Daddy. Happy Father's Day. Did you get my present?" She made him a card yesterday and I told her that tomorrow we were going to church and it would be Father's Day and that was the only thing I said about it. I couldn't believe she remembered. Just goes to show how much they soak up and retain!

Today J worked all day. We went to see him for a little while which helped waste time. Then we played at the park and went over to talk to the B's to see what they are planning on doing next year with work and all. I have decided that I like the mom but the kid has got to go. She is so mean to GG I mean down right rotten. After about 5 minutes I had to get my baby girl out of there, before I hurt the other little girl for being so mean. Anyways, I have a tired crying baby boy wanting me so that is it.

Well I am writing this blog as a wife of a soon to be police officer. Yeah! He has the job. Well almost he still has to pass the physical part but I am sure he will be able to. He is my strong man. I am so proud of him. Well today the kids and I ran a bunch of errands but mostly waited for daddy to come home. We all missed him so much. He was only gone 2 days. I can't image what it is going to be like for five days in a row, for 10 to 12 weeks. I have pictures back from Monkey's dedication and the zoo and other random pictures we took. I think that I will update tomorrow because I am tired tonight. So I am making this short!!! Oh yeah we got gas in both vehicles at HyVee and there was a 13 cent per gallon discount. It was great because we were both low and it only cost like $25.

Today J had his stress test. I don't want to talk about that though. Anyways, today we didn't do much. We went to the square and GG was the cutest. I put Monkey in his car seat while GG climbed in to hers. Then I got in my door and started the car. GG said,"mommy come click me in!" I had forgotten to buckle her in. Then as I was pulling out another car started pulling out and didn't see me. I honked my horn and she stopped. She was very very close to my car. Then I talked to J about five hundred times today at least it seemed like that. He is still in Chicago by the way. So I was a little stressed out so I called my friend Belinda and we went out for dinner. Then we took the kids to Everly Park for awhile. Now I am getting the kids ready for bed. Oh yeah if J gets this job he starts June 23rd. So we will be gone two weeks before J goes to the academy. That is about it for us.

Long day here. J worked at the hospital all day so I had no help from him. We got back and went to Chandler Park for a picnic lunch with Kristen and Ethan. Then we went back to their house to go swimming. GG really liked swimming which I knew she would. Monkey on the other hand did not like the water at all. It was kind of cold. It also started the bad day for GG. Ethan throw a cup at her head and left a mark. Then we came home and she wouldn't take a nap for the life of her. I was getting so mad. Monkey slept awesome, longer than he normally does. When Monkey woke up GG took a face plant into the floor. Another fat lip for her. So I took her out to the hospital to see daddy, Monkey came too. She wanted him to look at her mouth. She was trying to fall asleep in the car but I didn't let her. So we came home and made dinner and then went outside to play. I was doing everything I could to keep her awake. The plan was to keep her up until 8pm. Well she ended up falling asleep at 7:55 downstairs in the recliner. She was sitting next to me and I was holding Monkey who was sleeping as well. So I took him upstairs first then tried to get her upstairs without waking her up. Didn't work. So she cried for about an hour and now she is finally calmed downed and sitting here watching tv. Oh yeah her crying woke Monkey up. Oh well. I am hoping to get her and Monkey both asleep by at least 10pm. I don't think that will happen. But I can try. J isn't here so I doubt I will get much sleep anyway.

Blogger wasn't working last night so I am going to start with yesterday and then tell about today. Monday we got up and ran bunch of errands. First to the post office to get the mail, J's paycheck, bank, and Wal-mart. I did some scrapbooking and playing at the park. Then GG started her tumbling class at the YMCA. She absolutely had a blast. Then we went over to Joanna's house while J went to the driving range. That was pretty much it.

Today we didn't do very much until this afternoon. We played at the park and then we had to go back to Wal-mart we got the wrong film for our camera. But that was ok because we needed to get little swimmers for Monkey and a picture frame for the picture we got taken at Navy Pier. On the way back from Wal-mart J got my car washed. Then when we got home GG and J cleaned the inside of the car and waxed the outside. Then J went to the Y to work out and the kids and I played in the toy room. We did turn on the air conditioning so it will be cool in here tonight while we sleep. It will be so nice to be able to afford running the air all the time. Or at least more than we do now! That is it.

We are home at last! It was a great week vacation but it is always nice to come home to your own place with all of your stuff (bed). Last night Grandpa took us to see Finding Nemo. GG absolutely loved it. She clapped and cheered when the daddy found Nemo. After the movie was over we asked her what it was about and she really understood the movie. She said that Nemo was taken away from his daddy. The daddy was sad and was trying to find him. Then they were both happy when the daddy found Nemo. Apparently my dad needed some ice cream so he then took us for ice cream. Now on to today...we got up and did some things for Becky's graduation party. It was nice to see family. Then we started the long drive home at 2:30pm (the kids nap time!). We got back here at around 7pm and made dinner. After dinner we went grocery shopping because we had no food in the house at all. So it was a very fun and long day. Oh yeah we unpacked all the clothes too. We had brought all of our laundry home. I am tired and all I want to do is jump in my own bed with my pillow and blankets and go to sleep. However, both the kids are wired :)

Well Becky graduated today. Finally! Anyway I hate when people try and save seats for people when it is a first come first serve seating. Needless to say we got seats but we had to fight for them. It was a good but long graduation. Both the kids did great. GG and J went outside to walk around but I think that was because J's knees were hurting from the tight seating. Now we are back at the Grandparents. We are going to get KFC for dinner and do something for the party tomorrow. That is about it for today. Oh yeah for about the last month or so GG has started asking the Why question. All the time. I am so used to it that I didn't even realize it until Roberta said something about it. She really likes learning!