Visiting Family...

Unfortunately I don't have pictures from my adventure North. Basically I didn't bring batteries for the camera. There's a little more to it than that, but that's what it boils down to. I did have an enjoyable trip though, so I thought I'd share some of the highlights. The kids did great in the car, I'm so thankful! Round-trip, we drove almost 1,700 miles.
Lily, of course, had a wonderful time exploring with her great-grandpa and learning about lady bugs, John Deere tractors, and birds nests. She loved hanging out in the trailer, which was where my mom was sleeping. I think it was like a secret hideout vibe or something. She enjoyed meeting my aunts, uncles and cousins. The cutest thing she did was try and comfort Riley. He had a difficult time adjusting to not sleeping in his own bed. As the two were sharing a room, this made things more interesting. I walked in to get him after listening to him cry, and cry....and cry, only to find that Lily had decided that he needed her blankies, his books and her stuffed animal. How sweet of her to try and help.
Riley got his first tooth on the way home. I'm sure that had something to do with his unwillingness to settle. He loved my cousin Heather. He thought she was the coolest. I think the feeling was mutual. His eczema flared up on his face and he gouged his cheek when trying to itch, while we were on the road. Poor little guy! And then, I gave him some cheese.....which by-the-way he HAS had, and broke out in a rash all over his face. I don't know if it was the type of cheese or what. Thankfully that went away quickly!
We came home a little earlier than planned. I surprised Dylan by showing up a day and a half early. It was kinda fun. Riley laughed and smiled at his daddy, which made daddy's night! We were tired and ready to sleep in our own beds! It was really great to see family that I haven't seen in about 4 years, but it is great to be home and settling into our normal routine.

Best Bath Toy EVER!

Our newest addition to the tub...the bulb syringe. Seriously, the sucky ball that they give you in your "bringing baby home" kit, is now the coolest new bath toy. Somehow I ended up with about 3 of these things. So now, we have two for the kidlets to play with in the tub. It started as a way to distract Riley as I was changing his diaper as he has decided that the changing table is the place to roll around. I can't keep the little monkey still. So I handed him the sucky ball to give him something to play with- this technique worked well for Lily so I thought, why not? Anywho, I let him take into the bath tonight and Lily thought it was the greatest thing EVER! So, I gave her one to play with too. Much fun ensued =) It's the simple things that bring the most joy...

Girls are SILLY!

My friend came over today with her daughter, who is 7 months younger than Lily. It was hilarious watching their shenanigans! We went to the park and then when we came back to the house the girls decided it was time to play dress-up. Then, it was time to run in the yard and play with the sidewalk chalk.
Riley of course was too busy drooling to pay attention to the crazy girls....and no, he doesn't have any teeth yet.But the fun didn't stop with the dresses. As you can see, the hats were next...
Lily often walks around with the Hello Kitty bucket on her head (it's her Storm Trooper helmet). For those of you who may be STAR WARS illiterate, that's a movie reference =)

Anyhow, we had a fun day. I got some time with a good friend, and the girls had a blast. Who could ask for anything more?

Nap time!

This was the scene I came home to yesterday. The house was so quiet for a few minutes as Riley was taking a nap too. Aren't they cute? I don't remember the last time Lily actually slept at nap time, so this was quite a surprise. Then, when she woke up, she was so confused. She looked at me with this bleary-eyed huh? look and asked me, "Where's Mommy?". I said, "What?" and she repeated herself. I pointed at myself and she goes, "Oh, you're home from the bank". It was pretty humorous. I just left her alone for a few minutes till she woke up completely =) I tend to say weird things when I'm half-awake too, so it made me smile.

Hangin' at the Park

We spent some family time at the park as an Easter get together with Dylan's side of the fam. Here we have Riley and his Grammy having some cuddle time... He just loved her hat!







Here's Nathan. He is a month older than Riley. What a happy boy! I think Riley is finally starting to catch up in size....maybe.



And then we have Kelly and Lily having some fun. They were both looking in a little mirror. So Cute!






Finally, the guys. Doing the norm...standing around shooting the breeze. I think they were actually solving all the worlds' problems.

Thanks for the input...

After much thought and consideration I think we are going to wait on purchasing a new sofa. One of the main reasons...these two pussy cats. I really don't want Mochie (the black one) to use the new couch as a scratching post like she uses the current one. I don't want cat hair all over a brand new piece of furniture either. Since the scratching is the biggest issue and the cat is about 13 years old, I'm holding off for now. Also, I have the money saving drive right now with the way things are. I just really want to have an 8 month emergency fund in case...just in case (any one else a Suze Orman fan?). Anyway, that's the update. Thanks to all you who voted on my poll. I appreciate the input.

Yummm....BBQ!

It's that time again. Time to fire up the grill and get your BBQ on! I love spring and summer grilled meals. One of my favorite meals, besides the traditional steak, is kabobs. So, we had our first installment this week and they were soooo good.
Don't they look yummy? Yeeessss, I AM trying to make you jealous =)