When I found Austin in the bathroom with the Kleenex box again, it was almost like he was saying, "Well, you're the one who put it back in the same place."
This time he managed to chow down on a few pieces before I caught him.Don't worry, it's not what you think...
...just a little girl who loves her some chocolate!
**Although it WAS what my husband thought when he went to get Mikayla from her crib Sunday morning and discovered what she had on her hands. So glad I wasn't the lucky one!
As I have experienced this last week, we all have some bad days.
Let it out, my sweet babies, let it out!
Can anyone else relate that there is always that one thing on your "to do" list that always seems to be there? No matter if you rewrite your list, it's always there. Because you just rewrote it from the list you just had. Sometimes you add it to the top of your list, and sometimes you sneak it in the middle. But no matter what, you put it on the list because it needs to eventually get done. It's most often the last thing you want to do. Case in point: that's why it's always there.
Well, today, in my new found motivation (don't ask me where it came from), I conquered that one thing: cleaning the doors and baseboards in my house. To an untrained eye while visiting, you may not be able to notice, but for myself who that's all I notice as I walk into each room, it needed to happen. Trust me. Grimy two-year old hands + white trim = a need of a good scrubbing. After about 1 1/2 hours of scrubbing (yes, you read that right...no wonder I've kept it ON the list) and using the Magic Eraser (those things are a miracle!), I finally felt content. The pearly whites of the door frames, closet doors, baseboards, our fireplace, and anything else that I had touched suddenly looked crisp and clean. It felt good. It felt complete. And, do you know how much joy I am going to get from crossing that long overdue "to do" off my list. More than you can imagine because if you know me, I am a big fan of crossing things off the list.
And, tonight, as my husband walks into the house after a long day at work, I desperately hope the toys scattered on the floor, the magazines spewing out of the rack, and the pile of papers on the dining room table do not distract him from the sparkling whites of my one "to do" of the day.
And, in true Austin-boy fashion, while I was doing all of THAT, he was doing all of THIS...
Thanks, son, I was hoping to make a little bit more of a mess today.
This last week I have been a little bit down in the dumps and my motivation has been lacking in so many areas. It's something that is hard to explain, but it's not fun. Tonight, I wanted to do something that I enjoy and haven't had the chance to do much this week...talk about my sweet babies. There's nothing I enjoy better than sharing about the day to day fun with my little ones!
Nothing is sweeter than...
...watching your two babies hold hands while they are sitting in their car seats.
...snuggling with your 2-year old while laying in your bed.
...having your 10-month old lay his head on your shoulder and fall asleep.
...listening to the sounds of your two babies playing and laughing together.
...a hug from your husband and him telling you that he loves you.
Thank you to my blue eyed blessings who have helped put a smile on my face this week despite me feeling a little down.
My friend, Kendra and her two kids Noah (6 months older than Mikayla), & Emma (1 month older than Austin) came over today and we headed out for a walk to the park close to our house. It was already pretty hot to start out with, and only after about a half hour or so of the kiddos playing and having a good time, we noticed the redness of their cheeks and thought instead of suffering in the heat any longer that we would head back to our house for a little lunch. We spread a couple of blankets out on the living room floor and had a picnic lunch there (we were going to have a picnic lunch at the park anyway, so of course it had nothing to do with the fact that my dining room table was covered in junk). We spent another hour or so chatting while the kids played around us. It's so fun to have good friends with little ones that enjoy playing with each other. Mikayla always enjoys having her friends around...and so do I!
Seriously. How cute is she?
Noah looking quite serious.
Emma being her adventurous self and climbing UP the slide.
A few minutes after this picture, Austin was a little too intrigued by the barkdust and decided to give it a taste.
Loving the swings!Austin is trying to get the hang of this whole sippy cup thing. He is a big fan of his bottle, so he's not too much into it, other than chewing on the spout making a great squeaky sound. It does make for some cute pictures! We'll just keep trying...
No, that wasn't a typo in the title...
Every Wednesday night as I am packing the bag for swimming lessons, Mikayla notices and shouts out "fwimming"! That girl starts jumping up and down and gets so excited, which is usually why I wait to tell her until right before we are leaving that today is the day for swimming. She just doesn't have the patience to wait that long for this fun weekly event.
This summer we chose to spend a little extra money on swimming lessons at Children of the Sea for both kids since we wouldn't be going on many summer getaways. Other than having to put on a swimsuit, it has been a real treat to be able to get in the water with both kids each Wednesday night. They both are huge fans of the water and love splashing around!! Mikayla started swim lessons when she was just 4 1/2 months (if you can call them lessons at that age), but we waited a little bit longer with Austin and he started when he was 8 1/2 months.
Austin's favorite thing to do in the water: splash with his hands and scream with excitement
Austin's least favorite thing to do in the water: go underwater (but he's getting used to it)
ONE of Mikayla's favorite things to do in the water (there are so many): go down the slide
Mikayla's least favorite thing to do in the water: having me let go of her when she has her arm floats on
Last week, Mikayla's teacher said that she is ready to move on to the Advanced Parent/Tot class for the Fall Session, but that I wouldn't have to get in the water with her because Mikayla is such a good listener and follows directions well. I couldn't be more proud of my little water baby!
I was a huge fan of this year's So, You Think You Can Dance as I have been for the last 3 seasons. It's an incredible show that inspires so many people whether they are dancers or not...and I am NOT a dancer (although I am a "wannabe" that's for sure!) While watching the season finale last week in anticipation of who the winner might be, Mikayla decided to join in and show me some of her dancing moves. And, to be honest, they weren't too shabby.
Maybe I can live my dancing dream through my little girl?
I'll be signing her up for dancing classes soon.
No pressure, M.
Well, not really, but our little Austin sure does like to hang out under the table while his Sissy eats...just waiting for some crumbs to drop.
I love my little man!
For this week's Tackle it Tuesday I FINALLY tackled all the papers (and more) piling up on our bedroom dresser. It seems like this is always the place to put things to get them out of the way from the other parts of the house. Today was the day I was determined to get it done! So, while the kiddos were taking a nap, I conquered the mass amounts of papers, caught all the dust bunnies lingering around, and did quite a bit of filing. It felt so good to get this all done and check yet another thing off the list.
It's been a busy day and not much time to post, so it's perfect that it's Wordless Wednesday!
Do firemen wear boas to bed? No, but fireWOMEN do!!Well, if it wasn't for those bloggers out there who posted challenges for some of us mommies who stay at home all day, I don't know if I would get any of the housework done! It always just seems like so much more fun to take "before and after" pictures to share and show off what you accomplished.
Today, I took part in Tackle it Tuesday sponsored by 5 Minutes for Mom. Every Tuesday, they encourage you to tackle a project in your house (or whatever is on your "to do" list) and show off your accomplishment. There is always so much on my list, but I desperately needed to clean out the pantry! (Does anyone else relate in that this is a hard area to keep organized?) I had already done the "big clean" once before, where I added some organizing containers and such but it really needed to get reorganized so I knew what I actually had in the pantry. It didn't take me that long, but I feel so much better that I accomplished a much needed "to do"!
So, here's to another project crossed off the list!! If you haven't visited my other blog about how I organized my bathroom cabinets and drawers, check it out here. Also, go visit Tackle it Tuesday and see what other mommy bloggers tackled today.
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