tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-856161077905034432024-02-21T22:46:11.896-08:00Kara's KornerKarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-41007667356485342512013-07-24T12:05:00.000-07:002013-07-24T12:05:50.574-07:00Adventures in Cooking with 3 young children running aroundAfter watching an episode of "The Pioneer Woman" from season 2, I was inspired to try her "Broccoli and Cheese with Ham Soup" recipe for lunch today because I had all the ingredients already if I substitute potatoes for the broccoli so that more people in our family would probably eat it. So I typed out the general directions for her in Notepad and printed it out.<br />
<br />
<u>Cheesy Ham Soup</u> (my edited version)<br />
1/4 c butter, onion, 1/4 c flour, simmer, add 4 c milk 2 c half and half, bring to boil, add potatoes, add ham, simmer until cooked, add cheese<br />
<br />
I went into the kitchen, pulled all the ingredients from the refrigerator and pantry, and set them on the counter by the stove. I added 1 stick of butter to a warming pot on the stove, and then decided that was probably too much, so I used a wooden spoon to break about half of it off and pull it out again.<br />
<br />
I washed my hands with soap (#1), and began dicing an onion. Kelly (turning 3 next month) runs through the kitchen yelling "I have to poop." Oh, joy. I tell her that my hands are covered in onion so she needs to do it by herself. Then I ask her almost 5 year old sister Alyna to go check on her and help her.<br />
<br />
But no, Kellyn doesn't want her sister, she wants Mommy.<br />
<br />
So I finish dicing the onion and add it to the simmering butter. I wash my hands well with soap (#2) to get the onion off, wash my eyes because the onion is causing me to tear up, and go into the bathroom to help her wipe and get dressed.<br />
<br />
I then wash my hands well with soap (#3) before returning to the kitchen. I resume the soup process by stirring the onions, and adding flour to the pot to make the base of the soup. I begin peeling red potatoes for the soup, when Kellyn runs through the kitchen once again yelling, "I need to poop." Aaaahhhh!<br />
<br />
I reach over to stir the simmering ingredients once before following her into the bathroom again. I help her, and then I wash my hands with soap (#4).<br />
<br />
Returning to the kitchen I add the milk ingredients to the soup and turn the burner up to med-high to bring it to a boil. Then I continue peeling the potatoes. Hearing playful screaming and loud banging sounds coming from the living room I call out, "Please don't do anything that would hurt some one."<br />
I hear back, "Okay Mom."<br />
<br />
The pot is boiling, so I add the potatoes and stirring occasionally while I chop the ham steak into little cubes.<br />
<br />
It's at this point I realize I should have just used chicken broth instead of milk, because it would be lower fat overall and the half and half would still make it creamy. But it's too late to change that now. So I add the ham, and reduce the temperature on the burner so it will simmer until the potatoes are cooked. Then I add the cheese and stir it while it melts.<br />
<br />
<b>Here's the end product: Cheesy Ham Soup</b><br />
<br />
<img src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/148542_10200540425848185_229341215_n.jpg" /><br />
<br />
As I retrieve bowls from the cabinet I hear banging followed by screaming, crying, and Kellyn yelling that she can't get down from where she was because Ryan had moved a big box right in front of her. So I go in to help her down, and then go back into the kitchen and ladle the yummy, creamy soup into bowls.<br />
<br />
Alyna starts screaming and crying in the other room because Ryan pushed her off her perch on top of one of the boxes. She walks in, followed by Ryan, and when I tell them the soup is ready both start to complain about not liking soup. What? Soups of all kinds have always been part of their mealtime favorites list.<br />
<br />
I put the bowls on the table and tell them it's a new soup and they should try it. Alyna, my cheese loving girl, takes one bite and says she doesn't like it. Ryan won't even approach the table. So Kellyn and I sat down to enjoy our soups together. She asked me about where soup comes from, where muffins come from, and what every chunk in her soup was. I cherish these moments of quality time with just one of my children.<br />
<br />
So now, an hour later, Ryan and Alyna still haven't eaten anything. I guess they just aren't hungry today.<br />
<br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-12527524062873896562013-04-06T05:23:00.000-07:002013-04-06T05:23:17.495-07:00Drama Queen vs Gymnastics<br />
1 hour before gymnastics class yesterday, Alyna's big toe nail tore down the middle into the fleshy part and started bleeding. So I wasn't going to make her go to class if it still hurt her. I trimmed it down, and put a baindaid over it. She sat on the couch for a while to watch TV.<br />
<br />
When it was time to go, I brought her suit to her and said, "If you don't go today, you won't get to do gymnastics until next Friday, and you won't get to flip on the bar or jump in the pit. But Ryan will because he's going."<br />
<br />
So she promptly put on her suit because she wasn't going to miss an opportunity to flip on the bar.<br />
<br />
When she stood up, my little Drama Queen put her foot gently on the floor then pulled it up fast and started hopping around on the other foot.<br />
<br />
I said, "If you can't walk, then you can't go to gymnastics."<br />
<br />
She put it down and walked just fine over to put her shoes on.<br />
<br />
That's how much she LOVES gymnastics. It overcomes all her drama queen tendencies (which is probably a good thing in this or any sport).<br />
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-23955224879640388882013-03-24T11:58:00.000-07:002013-03-24T11:58:12.115-07:00Scary AllergiesMost food allergies can just be avoided, but the PEANUT ALLERGY is just scary. At least now I know that just touching a peanut doesn't cause a reaction in Kellyn, my 2 1/2 year old. But that sure was a scary thing to find out.<br />
<br />
We took Kellyn to an allergist at 10 months old because she had already shown allergic reactions to eggs and red food dye (in medicine). On the prick test, she also tested positive for the dreaded peanut allergy. It was a borderline reaction though, so we just were told to avoid giving her any peanuts or peanut products. A blood test at 2 years old confirmed she still has a very low level allergy to peanuts.<br />
<br />
Our home has been peanut free for almost 2 years now, we just don't have it in our home, and I don't let anyone in our family eat it when she's around. We found a great almond butter, called Barney Butter, that tastes just like peanuts butter, but is made in a completely peanut free way from start to finish.<br />
<br />
We put out warnings at our church too, because she and another little boy her age are allergic to peanuts. But group gatherings are always a little scary for us. The boy's mother carries an EpiPen for him just in case.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, the kids were in the Firestone store in Lubbock with me picking up the van after having some maintenance work done. There was about an inch gap between 2 of the cushions on the couch in the store, and Kellyn reached down in between them to pick something up. She held it up to me and asked, "What is this?"<br />
<br />
Oh, no, a peanut. Of course, she wouldn't know what a peanut looks like because we go the other direction anytime we see them.<br />
<br />
I took it from her and threw it in the trash can. I told her not to touch anything, while I grabbed a wipe from the bag. The only thing she did touch was her other hand, so I wiped them both thoroughly Then I picked her up and took her to the bathroom to wash her hands with soap. I watched her carefully for the next 15 minutes, ready to dose her with Zyrtec I'd brought in the van. And then I watched her for reactions all evening too, I couldn't help myself. What kept going through my mind was the news story last week about a 19 year old dying from eating a cookie that contained peanut oil, but didn't have a proper label.<br />
<br />
I thank God that she did not have a severe reaction to the peanuts, in fact she didn't show a reaction at all. I'm also very thankful that she asked what it was without just eating it first. There were probably a dozen peanuts down in between those cushions. I told the manager, and he said he would clean it up soon (but he didn't do it in the next 10 minutes we were standing there avoiding the couch).<br />
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I don't think you appreciate the Fear factor that comes along with this particular allergy until your own child has it. So please, if you know a child with a peanut allergy, take it seriously and help their parents protect the child.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-33024078883628794502013-01-10T07:05:00.000-08:002013-01-10T07:05:33.548-08:00The Not So Fun Questions of 4 Year Olds<br />
The deep questions have started coming from our 4 year olds...<br />
<br />
"Are we going to die?"<br />
me: yes, every one dies, and then we get to go to Heaven and be with God, but hopefully it's not soon<br />
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"Jesus is in heaven, but he's alive?"<br />
me: yes, that's right (silence is golden)<br />
<br />
"How did the doctor cut me out of your tummy?"<br />
me: with a very sharp knife called a scalpel, but not all baby's are cut out, it's just because you wouldn't come out the normal way (oops I said too much)<br />
"How does a baby normally come out?"<br />
me: (ya, we actually had that talk... and then I added some stuff about these things being private things to only talk about with Mommy, Daddy, and the doctor.)<br />
<br />
"How does a baby get in Mommy's tummy?" <br />
me: God puts babies in the Mommy's tummy (theologically correct, the whole "God knit me in my mother's womb" verse)<br />
<br />
Oh ya, fun times... thankfully they are satisfied with simple answers for the moment.<br />
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-25285086211620952422012-11-03T11:36:00.005-07:002012-11-03T11:36:51.905-07:00November Thankfuls<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On every day in November up to the Thanksgiving Holiday, I'm going to write one specific thing for which I'm thankful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I already posted the past 2 days on Facebook... so here they were.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nov 1:<b> </b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><b>I'm very thankful for all of my kids Bible class teachers...</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;">In this picture Kellyn has all her babies sitting nicely in their spot for Bible class.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A few minutes later she was patting a book and singing "Jesus Loves Me"</span></span><div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Photo: All of Kellyn's babies are sitting nicely in their spot for Bible class. I'm very thankful for her wonderful teachers.
At a later moment she was patting a book and singing "Jesus Loves Me"" src="http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/c133.0.403.403/p403x403/560750_4051361397452_1998680959_n.jpg" /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nov 2: <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Today I'm thankful for homemade, banana muffins... yummy.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I may not even bother with dinner since the kids are filling up on them right now :D</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Kellyn asked for another one, and before I got there to get another for her, she'd already used the step stool to get one down from the counter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Nov 3: I'm thankful for the technology in my mini-van and this automobile era I live in.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Today the gas light reminded me to fill up with gas before I went too far. It said I had 16 miles left, so I might have made it to the community breakfast and back to my house, but on my next trip I might not have even made it to a gas station.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">I'm also currently reading a novel set in 1916, and the main character owns a Ford Model-T, and drove it from D.C. to Idaho at about 20 miles an hour. They also have to have gasoline sent by train to their town so they don't run out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">So I am thankful for my local gas stations and their supply for my mini-van.</span></span></div>
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-2319204908244011602012-09-11T14:44:00.003-07:002012-09-11T14:46:03.269-07:00In Remembering ... 9/11As I sat down this morning at the first fall meeting of my Ladies Bible Class, I wrote this at the top of my notes page.<br />
<br />
9/11/2012<br />
*Remember*<br />
<br />
But then I stopped and thought about our topic for the class this fall... "Forgiveness".<br />
<br />
So I added on to the heading<br />
<br />
9/11/2012<br />
*Remember* ...but also Forgive.<br />
<br />
That was a hard thought for me to write down.<br />
I believe it is important for us to learn from things that happen to us, and things that happen in our world. In order to learn from those larger things in our history we MUST remember.<br />
<br />
But we must also forgive. Jesus taught us to pray to God by saying, "forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." Wow. I sure want God to forgive me, so I need to learn to extend that grace to others as well. It is for my own spiritual health that I have to let go of the hurt.<br />
<br />
On 9/11/2001, there were specific people who hurt other specific people. I hope those vicitms and their families have learned to forgive, even in the remembering. I also see that our entire nation, and perhaps the entire non-muslim world was hurt by the actions of a handful of people. Have we forgiven them?<br />
<br />
I don't want you to think of this as a political issue right now, remember that it's a personal one.<br />
<br />
So I'll ask again. In remembering the events 11 years ago, have you fully forgiven?Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-17917381891645311882012-09-03T17:17:00.002-07:002012-09-03T17:17:19.631-07:00To color or not to color...<br />
I'm going to a meeting on this Saturday with the homeschool group from our county. It's just a roundtable discussion of ideas, but I'm excited.<br />
Barry and I are still not sure what our choice will be for next fall, but it's one of our top options. Alyna and Ryan won't turn 5 until mid-September so our only options are private schools that will test and allow them early entrance, or homeschooling them.<br />
<br />
We've already had an experience with their preschool that makes me consider homeschooling even more, which is partly how I got invited to the meeting this weekend, because of discussions with other moms on Facebook about it.<br />
<br />
Alyna came home with a worksheet where they used a pencil to draw a stem down from the flower bud to the base stem at the bottom of the paper. She did excellent lines and even drew some extra leaves herself that looked just like the ones printed on the paper.<br />
I had said as I looked at it that I bet she colored some of the flowers in too, and then looking at it said, "Oh, she did a couple."<br />
But then she said to us, "We don't color with pencils."<br />
<br />
Her teacher had stopped her from coloring with her pencil. She's been so excited since getting a pack of pencils from her Sunday school teacher last month, and colors pictures with them all the time. I think she's going to follow in her Daddy's footsteps with a love for creating charcoal drawings.<br />
I was astounded that the teacher would halt her creativity by limiting her to coloring with crayons. I told her, "Well, you don't color with school pencils, but you can color with home pencils." <br />Since that day, that flower worksheet is almost completely colored in with pencil shading (within the lines). It may not be colorful, but she uses color in other pictures regularly. This is a different kind of creative outlet for her.<br />
<br />
Other moms have suggested to me that "maybe there wasn't time for coloring", or "maybe they are worried that kids will switch their grip to color and not hold the pencil properly." So, I understand. If it's time to move on, just tell her that she can finish it later. And her grip doesn't change. She paints, colors, and writes with the correct finger positions on the item, and has done that since she was 2 1/2. <br />
<br />
Another mom suggested that maybe it wasn't a "correct" color for a flower, so the teacher didn't appreciate it.<br />
My response to that was, "Well, that kind of talk just makes me want to home-school. Why do we suck the creativity out of our kids?" <br />
<br />
That's when another mom invited me to the meeting, and I'm glad she did. I'm anxious to see what kind of outings/special activities the group here does together.<br />
<br />
Today, Ryan and Alyna and I worked on some sight words and putting them together to make different sentences. We had cards with our family names: Daddy, Mommy, Alyna, Ryan, and Kellyn... they already mostly recognized those. Then we learned "loves" and "me."<br />They had big smiles as they read the sentences I put together for them. "Daddy loves me", "Alyna loves Mommy", "Kellyn loves Ryan", etc.<br />
Then they both played on www.starfall.com for about 40 minutes. <br /><br />And oh yes, it's a holiday, so we went to a park early this morning before it got hot. <br />
Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-47475193404629709482012-09-02T20:43:00.000-07:002012-09-02T20:43:14.794-07:00Like a child...<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Tonight, my daughter Alyna, who is almost 4, was sitting at her little picnic table eating a snack. She turned around toward me and randomly said, "Mom, God is even in Strawberry Shortcake Land. God is everywhere," and she spread her arms out wide.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Matthew 19:14</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Luke 18:16-17</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Thank you God for the creativity and imagination you have blessed us with. May we use it to grow our faith, and receive your kingdom.</span>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-197674085004331302012-06-22T12:20:00.000-07:002012-06-22T12:20:02.821-07:00Road Trip 2012 - Part 1, Headed East20 days, 5 states, 4404 miles<br />
<br />
Trip Outline - Hobbs, NM --> Keller, TX --> Columbia, TN --> Roanoke, VA--> Gordonsville,VA --> Virginia Beach, VA --> Gordonsville, VA --> Washington, DC --> Lexington, VA --> Columbia, TN --> Searcy, AR --> Gurdon, AR --> Hobbs, NM (home sweet home)<br />
<br />
<b>Day 1</b> - May 31, Just me and the kids, pack up and head out by 8:30 central time, 5 minutes later it was already 9:35 as we crossed the border from New Mexico into Texas.<br />
We stayed in Keller, TX (suburb north of Fort Worth) that night with my cousin's family for the night. 30 minutes from her house we stopped at a Chick-fil-a because the weren't at their house yet. We played and ate ice cream.<br />
5 minutes away from my cousin's house, Kellyn threw up. She's been known to get car sick since she was 4 months old, but had done much better not getting car sick since we moved her car seat to the middle where she can see out the windshield.<br />
The next week when we were eating at Chick-fil-a again, I thought to check the ingredients of their ice cream. The cashier printed out a full list of ingredients on the cash register, and sure enough, whole eggs is listed in both the ice cream and the ice cream cone. So she wasn't car sick after all, it was her allergy to eggs that did it.<br />
The kids had fun playing with their extended cousins, 2 girls of elementary school age. We also had dinner with my aunt and uncle who live in the area. It's always great to keep those family connections alive.<br />
<br />
<b>Day 2 </b>- left my cousin's house at 8:30 central time, and drove through Arkansas to my parent's house in Columbia, TN (just south of Nashville).<br />
The kids traveled great, and we made great time until we got stuck for an hour in construction on I-40 between Little Rock and Nashville.<br />
My parents actually met us about 2 hours from thier home, so my mom could drive the rest of the way. Being tired from driving that far by myself with the kids, I didn't want to drive that last hour on the windy, hilly TN back highway in the dark, watching for deer.<br />
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<b>Day 3 </b>- Saturday, lazy day at Grandma's... it's so much fun to watch the kids play with the toys I grew up with. I love the old style of Fisher Price little people sets.<br />
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<b>Day 4 </b>- Sunday, church with Grandma and Grandpa, except I stayed home with Ryan who had a 100 degree fever all night. He seemed fine by lunch time.<br />
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<b>Day 5</b> - play date at McDonald's in Spring Hill, TN with a friend of mine from college and her 5 year old boy. We mostly just keep in touch with Facebook, so it was fun to catch up face to face.<br />
That evening, I went out shopping, and had dinner and a movie all by myself. It was nice to just go on my own schedule, and not have to take anyone else to the bathroom or share my food.<br />
<br />
<b>Day 6 </b>- Nashville Zoo at Grassmere with Grandma - they had a dinosaur exhibit that scared the kids some, but that's what they still talk about from the zoo.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"> Here's how we traversed the zoo... double stroller with a hitch hiker board attached to the back for one of the big kids to stand on.</span><br />
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />They also enjoyed seeing the elephants, giraffes, gibbons, and petting the goats.
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<b>Day 7, 8, and 9</b> - lazy days at Grandparents' house because the kids all had constant coughs. Grandpa got it too.<br />
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<b>Day 10</b>- Saturday, left at 8:30 am to drive to hotel in Roanoke, Virginia. Grandma rode with me in the van, and Grandpa followed behind in his car.<br />
I had ridden through VA as a teenager, but never realized how beautiful it is there. The thick woods around everywhere give a small town feel even to the bigger cities.<br />
We went to Panera Bread for dinner but found out that just about everything there that kids will eat has egg in it (breads and mac 'n cheese). So we left and went to a Cheddar's restaurant around the corner. It was delicious food, and had lots to order that Kellyn could eat.<br />
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<b>Day 11 </b>- played at a park, and then at the indoor play area at the mall in Charlottesville, VA wasting time until checkin at our resort later in the afternoon.<br />
We did grocery shopping just before going to the resort and I cooked chili for all of our arriving family in our cabin.<br />
Barry (my husband) flew into Charlottesville that night, and my brother-in-law graciously picked him up. The kids and I were very glad to have him with us on the rest of our adventure.<br />
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<b>... To be continued...</b><br />
<br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-89333164104428454642011-11-24T09:30:00.001-08:002011-11-24T09:40:02.115-08:00A Monkey Trade<br />
Last night Ryan traded his green cuddly monkey, that he has slept with since he was 6 months old, into the box and got a stuffed monkey. The neck on the monkey cuddly was stretching off of the blanket part, and it was about to fall apart. Plus, as he gets older I didn't want his special thing to look so babyish, so I thought it was time to trade it in.<br />
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Here he goes putting the green monkey cuddly into the box.<br />
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His new monkey (actually a chimp as Barry has informed us) looks like Curious George. I convinced Ryan not to call him George because he has a friend named George that we play with. So his name is Bongo. Ryan loves that he's a full monkey with arms and legs... but no tail because he's a chimp. </div>
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His was really excited about it, and ready to sleep with it, until time for sleep actually came. Then he wanted the green monkey, but he was gone into the box "because he was old" Ryan said.<br />
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Bongo ended up sleeping at the end of the bed which was actually a blessing when Ryan woke up at 2 am throwing up. Yes, our Thanksgiving feast will be greatly pared down because not only is Ryan sick but so is his dad today.<br />
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But even though Ryan is sick this morning he hasn't cried for green monkey like I thought he would. That's a good thing because he's already in the trash can in the alley.<br />
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It went so well, that we let Alyna pick an animal this morning on Amazon.com to trade for her bear cuddly. She picked a plush white dog. I'll let you know next week how that trade goes.<br />Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-59299769333721174742011-09-26T15:42:00.000-07:002011-09-26T19:00:41.464-07:00littlest singer<br />
Alyna sang her first recognizable lyrics to a song when she was 15 months old... I thought is was remarkably cute and smart of her to sing "row row row bo" over and over again.<br />
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But Kellyn, who is very verbal already, is only 13 months old and sings multiple lines of multiple songs.<br />
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"buh rou rou rou" (while rolling her arms in a circle)- wheels on the bus go round and round<br />
"bee bee bee" - horn goes beep beep beep<br />
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"row row row bo" - row row row your boat<br />
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"upa buh buh wa" (while opening and closing her hands) - up above the world so high (from Twinkle Twinkle)<br />
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"a face, ooray" - face will surely show it, if you're happy and you know it shout hooray<br />
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:E-I-E-I, ah ah" - E-I-E-I-O, and a dog says "ah"<br />
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She also knows where her eyes, ears, mouth, belly button, hands, and feet are. She's a sweety too, and loves to laugh and be tickled.<br />
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It's amazing to watch God's development plans for each child as they differ. Each child seems to have talents that also compliment their personalities. I look forward to seeing all their talents develop further over the years.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-35527514632979316112011-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:002011-09-22T13:10:38.351-07:00fall clothes<br />
Grandma may remember an outfit Alyna wore at Christmas when she was 15 months old, playing on the slides outside... it's a long sleeve white shirt with pink and green hearts all over it, and a green fuzzy hooded vest over it. Kellyn wore it today and looked so cute.<br />
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I also realized on Monday that the capri pants Alyna was wearing were starting to look more like bermuda shorts. I looked at the tag, and they were 18 month size (she's so skinny). So after washing them they became Kellyn's and she wore them yesterday. Alyna had a little trouble with that at first but finally relinquished them to her sister's wardrobe when I told her she had lots of capris but Kellyn needed them.<br />
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Kellyn is also about to outgrow the really cute shoes I just bought for her 2 weeks ago in Austin... I guess I should have gone up a size, but she needed some to wear right now.<br />
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We're having a gorgeous fall day today with a high of about 70 degrees, a cool wind, and lots of cloud cover. I love when seasons change and the kids get to wear things for the first time. Ryan and Alyna looked super cute this morning in their new light-weight zip-up hoodies I found on clearance at Target earlier this summer. Alyna's is chocolate brown with a pink sparkly stripe down each sleeve. Ryan's is royal blue with a yellow car on the left side. <br />
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I feel very blessed for the clothing choices we have for our children.<br />
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-34496744515550166942011-09-19T20:07:00.000-07:002011-09-19T20:07:08.226-07:00big kids nowIt's very different only having one toddler, even though I still have twin 3 year olds. With Ryan and Alyna I always worried they would take off in different directions and one would get hurt. With just one toddler I can keep an eye on her more closely, and her siblings are now old enough to know what they should and shouldn't do. That doesn't mean they don't often need assistance or supervision, but it's at a different level.<br />
<br />
Kellyn is walking all over the place, and falling often right now. She's testing her balance and strength daily. She now giggles and eagerly complies when I put her shoes on because she knows we're going outside or away from home. She's always eager to go out that door. S<br />
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Alyna and Ryan are acting a lot more like preschoolers now and have lost that toddler look altogether. I'm working with them a few times a week with worksheet pages on colors, shapes, patterns, etc. They love when Mommy is the teacher and we do "school" at the big table. Last week we got out a bucket of coins and counted pennies and quarters. They liked playing with the "moneys". We also use some online educational tools for preschoolers. I also use their toys to have them find things of certain colors and shapes. Their newest favorite activity is painting with water colors. They actually don't make as many messes with it as I was expecting, aside from the occasional spilled water cup.<br />
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We recently visited my cousin's family in Keller, TX, and my brother's family in Austin, TX. It was a wonderful trip, and also very tiring. The kids loved playing with their cousins all week, and Ryan didn't even want to come home.<br />
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The smell of fall is in the air as the temperatures are finally starting to cool off, at least at night. It's wonderful to be able to play outside with the kids without worrying so much about the heat. I'm looking forward to the fall as it gets physically easier to take the 3 on outings since Kellyn is walking now. It is such a blessing to watch my kids grow and explore their world.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-30148274151429817552011-09-02T09:25:00.000-07:002011-09-02T09:25:59.648-07:00Road Trip TImeWe leave tomorrow for Kellyn's first road trip. We flew with her to Tennessee in March, but she's never done a trip more than a 2 hour drive away for shopping or appointments in Lubbock or Midland. I suspect she'll be as good a traveller as her siblings who love to go places, and only occasionally get so tired of their car seats that they start screaming about it.<br />
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I took some of toys over to a friend's house this morning and brought some of their toys home with us to take on the trip. With those "new toys", and the DVD player in the van, hopefully the trip will pass quickly.<br />
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We're off to the Dallas/Ft Worth area first (about 6 hours away) to visit my cousins, aunt and uncle, and some old friends for a few days. Alyna's been asking to go to the zoo all summer so, weather permitting, we will go to the Ft. Worth zoo on Tuesday. After that we'll have nap time in the car as we drive the 3 1/2 hours south to Austin. We're staying with my brother and his family through the weekend, and plan to also spend some time with Barry's brother and his wife while we're there.<br />
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Ryan and Alyna are very excited about spending time with their cousins, and that includes my cousins' kids whom they've never met before. We also plan to have their 3rd birthday party while we're in Austin, it'll just be a few days early.<br />
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Pictures and more descriptions are sure to follow after the trip...<br />
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Other News:<br />
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Now 1 year old Kellyn is walking all over the place, except when I put shoes on her. And she's gotten her 4 front teeth in last 4 weeks. Fun times...<br />
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Alyna is starting to understand math concepts like that a $20 bill is bigger than $1 bill. So smart.<br />
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Ryan is still not pooping in the potty very often despite being pantless all week at the house... not sure what to try next.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-82569305747463007702011-08-18T07:50:00.000-07:002011-08-18T07:50:16.649-07:00Happy 1st Birthday Kellyn!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yK-2aff2b13m5OwyNfbEJZM7DgqE6m5odEZLM99SDHFUtvw0Hy0Axj28vco8wBgjKgI3m__HUQv70Qr6bKMoqvxYdnIapDgZWtMCvamdESXihmhoYY_u8rktzP9sUA-tkTOX7ZLliIY/s1600/100_3583.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0yK-2aff2b13m5OwyNfbEJZM7DgqE6m5odEZLM99SDHFUtvw0Hy0Axj28vco8wBgjKgI3m__HUQv70Qr6bKMoqvxYdnIapDgZWtMCvamdESXihmhoYY_u8rktzP9sUA-tkTOX7ZLliIY/s320/100_3583.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Kellyn loves singing, especially "Happy and You Know It" and "God Made the Big Round Sun". She even does most of the motions along with Mommy, except when other people are watching of course. She loves reading books, but is very picky about which one to read next. She also loves to play with her brother's cars much to his dismay. Kellyn loves to play outside, and cries when you take her out of a swing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She's toddling around, but still working on being able to walk everywhere. She loves visitors, and has some speical friends at church that she goes to immediately and never wants to leave. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We love her more than any other 1 year old girl in the whole world.</div><br />
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-80824042433286296192011-08-09T22:15:00.000-07:002011-08-09T22:15:48.912-07:00This is seriousI was on duty in the nursery during the worship service the week before last and was talking to Kellyn who was playing a toy. Alyna, who was playing with a baby doll, came around from behind my chair and said, "You're waking my baby up." Then she balled her fists in front of her and said in a stern, serious voice, "This is serious."<br />
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I laughed and played along with her, hushing Kellyn. And the scene repeated itself several times as Kellyn wouldn't stop making loud, happy noises playing with her toy.<br />
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Tonight I finally remembered at dinner to tell Barry about it, and he laughed and asked her, "What does serious mean?"<br />
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Alyna replied, "Mommy was waking my baby up, and that was serious." Again she balled her fists in front of her and used that stern voice, and we just laughed.<br />
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She's quite the little drama queen, and loves to dress up in her fairy dress and princess tiara.<br />
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Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-8587847099308817912011-07-22T08:08:00.000-07:002011-07-22T08:08:36.715-07:00Baby's NameAlyna's baby finally has a name, instead of just being "baby". <br />
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Meet "Amy". <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Amy... as in "A for me" which is what Alyna always says when she sees the letter A somewhere because A is the first letter in her name. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I kept asking her what her babies name was and what her favorite name for a baby was, and she just kept saying "A for me". So we decided A-Me was a good name.</div>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-64421188145630448802011-06-29T13:44:00.000-07:002011-06-29T13:45:43.784-07:00Chichen Itza<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our tour of the Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza picked us up on our hotel early on Tuesday morning. It was a nice big chartered bus and wasn't close to full. It was about a 2 hour drive inland to the ruins. Our tour guide was Rafael. He was witty and knowledgable, and we learned a lot about the Mayan culture and ruins from him. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAaQNqnbBOti355H4WTANESSwynevk4IJgOlMTDFifIQ00QpLvzkTJIdd6CYc7TFdarGtvo9zaOIs82bD9qcWynmUIG8KHm0j8f-GhigRJqdYtoNL6aHwzLgfzqn1Ib3Hs9_RpoEfnxk/s1600/100_3387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyAaQNqnbBOti355H4WTANESSwynevk4IJgOlMTDFifIQ00QpLvzkTJIdd6CYc7TFdarGtvo9zaOIs82bD9qcWynmUIG8KHm0j8f-GhigRJqdYtoNL6aHwzLgfzqn1Ib3Hs9_RpoEfnxk/s320/100_3387.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
Chichen Itza actually means "at the mouth of the well of the wizard". You can imagine that any source of water in that area would be a valuable asset to the people who controlled it.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxv-1Gu2Vh6WJX_MjEqFo5uMXOtZYAVncNAiHwJ38_2GIdZrLCArattpOE3N2myzyIeY34ofIsbSBhumiuAVdG14jySvmuPP46AbisGP8ZdOusFMes5uzgm65-GxPmotN3ZSWlAbuFu0/s1600/100_3454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioxv-1Gu2Vh6WJX_MjEqFo5uMXOtZYAVncNAiHwJ38_2GIdZrLCArattpOE3N2myzyIeY34ofIsbSBhumiuAVdG14jySvmuPP46AbisGP8ZdOusFMes5uzgm65-GxPmotN3ZSWlAbuFu0/s320/100_3454.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The large temple is the centerpiece of the area, surrounded by other platforms buildings, and structures to create a wide city center. The temple has 4 sides representing the 4 seasons. Each corner has 9 platforms corresponding to the 9 months of gestation in the birth of a child. Each side has 90 steps, with the 91st step being the top platform, to represent the days in each season. Each side is also aligned perfectly north, south, east, and west, according to the poles of the earth. And all this was built without use of any modern tools. In fact, scholars have no idea how they managed to build it.<br />
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When our guide was asked about the Mayan calendar ending in our year 2012, he responded that the Mayan people didn't mean for that to indicate the end of the world. They understood that life comes in cycles and seasons. Mathematically they came up with some 5000 plus years when creating their calendar. That signaled a changing in life cycles, or a significant event in the life of the people after that. It didn't mean the end of the whole world. Phew.... I was scared there for a moment.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The serpent head and jaguar appear as symbols on the structures and in their writings.</div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The skulls in the picture above are on the walls of a large platform. This platform is wear the king would display the decapitated heads (impaled on sticks) of enemies or slaves as a warning to any who would try to cross him. He would do this at times when visiting peoples were coming for trade or for games.</div><br />
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Yes, games. The ring in the picture above is in a large rectangular field with a high wall and ring on an opposite wall as well. The object was for the two teams of men to get the ball made from a rubber tree through that ring without using their hands. The legend has it that the winning team would then be given the "honor" of being sacrificed to the gods. I'll take the losing team any day...<br />
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The acoustics were amazing in there. Each sound echoed off the four walls bouncing around and around. And you could whisper at one end and be heard clearly all around.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These are some well preserved hieroglyphs under a ledge on one of the walls in the games arena.</div><br />
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Much of the Mayan culture, religion, science, mathematics, and architectural knowledge is lost to us today because the Catholic church burned many of their manuscripts in an attempt to wipe out the paganism. I think that's why much of what we see and hear about them is just the savagery that was part of their survival as a strong people. They are a people of peace now, and the crime is very low where the Mayan descendants live.<br />
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</a></div>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-42633160560522091452011-06-19T12:51:00.000-07:002011-06-19T12:51:09.760-07:00nuestros excelentes vacacionesBarry and I just returned from a 5 day trip to the Mayan Riviera (near Cancun, Mexico). We left a little after 7 am on Sunday and arrived in Cancun at 7:30 pm. It was so much less stressful traveling without our kids. Bathroom stops took only a few minutes as opposed to 20. We were very tired and both had headaches by the time we arrived at our hotel.<br />
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Our room was luxurious, and there was even a couch on the balcony that was great for enjoying our ocean view.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk40vbemsrHby4VXDp3bZ7ZlYMfrMHVU_9itmOyLvVdTTHUXeYbJ6nhyphenhyphenuBqxhoTVZYrXpjSLtxURLg8t47qhcSXq-DvgkemiZKoa1U04dOR2jLdDIQTRUe2_grAUJ0NGYtu8LWQs59mWQ/s1600/100_3378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk40vbemsrHby4VXDp3bZ7ZlYMfrMHVU_9itmOyLvVdTTHUXeYbJ6nhyphenhyphenuBqxhoTVZYrXpjSLtxURLg8t47qhcSXq-DvgkemiZKoa1U04dOR2jLdDIQTRUe2_grAUJ0NGYtu8LWQs59mWQ/s320/100_3378.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The shower was a rainfall shower dropping from above you in the middle of the large walk-in area. Our only complaint of the room at all was that it took a long time to get any hot water to the shower, but it wasn't a big deal because once it heated up it felt great and never ran out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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We spent a lot of our relaxation time on the private beach, just reading and enjoying the sounds of the waves. We even received wonderful massages in a hut on the beach where no noise machines or cds were needed to induce the relaxing atmosphere.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The picture below is of us inside a cabana (Bali bed) on the beach one morning. It was only about 80 degrees but the humidity made us sweat because we aren't used to it where we live. There was a nice breeze the whole time we were there though.</div><div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPY5bV8HQmqEjFc8zx2hZU1ubRxjfD_TdY5nueqzM7LPbxWkQ6JR4W7c5G2y6udqsMNQ_v_lYG3erV-4H5FVStpyzMSiFrgt3vHj9UfbR1LmiELBex5rLy4AXwmzqa2Nd_rs0kVi3STZ4/s1600/100_3467.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPY5bV8HQmqEjFc8zx2hZU1ubRxjfD_TdY5nueqzM7LPbxWkQ6JR4W7c5G2y6udqsMNQ_v_lYG3erV-4H5FVStpyzMSiFrgt3vHj9UfbR1LmiELBex5rLy4AXwmzqa2Nd_rs0kVi3STZ4/s320/100_3467.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgiMPJDFt557ZpCJJR_SD9gUiuovttzPEMqfAU7o75p71Uou069e0BRRzohZV9lPKkMqEpGR_TD0TiPI9KYiMNgfQyK4TpSGAtWc1VDV6RnM2kJ4BA5JOdbG2belPIs0-MMHAcQNbjjc/s1600/100_3469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgiMPJDFt557ZpCJJR_SD9gUiuovttzPEMqfAU7o75p71Uou069e0BRRzohZV9lPKkMqEpGR_TD0TiPI9KYiMNgfQyK4TpSGAtWc1VDV6RnM2kJ4BA5JOdbG2belPIs0-MMHAcQNbjjc/s320/100_3469.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I just had to take a picture of the sand tractor for our son Ryan. It went by a couple times a day raking the sand and collecting the seaweed. </div><br />
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It was a beautiful All-Inclusive resort called <a href="http://www.karismahotels.com/resort/azul-sensatori-hotel-karisma">Azul Sensatori</a>, and we didn't have any bad experiences or bad food while we were there. We did learn quickly that you have to be on guard because it is such a high tourist area and everyone has a "deal" for you. You just have to learn when to take advantage of it and when to walk on by.<br />
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The building our room was in was adults-only which was nice because there weren't any kids running up and down the walkways, and there was one whole pool that was adults only too... but every time we saw a family out at the beach or in the restaurants we always said how much fun our own kids would be having. They have a kid pool with shallow area, water slide, and other water squirting apartuses, as well as an indoor playground building with toys for all ages, and playground on the beach. So we definitely will be going back with our kids, hopefully next year. <br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(Note: On Tuesday, we visited the Mayan ruins at Chichan Itza, but that deserves it's own post in a couple days)</div>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-16954781579140797252011-06-11T19:47:00.000-07:002011-06-11T19:47:44.782-07:00And We're OffGrandma and Grandpa are here... and Barry and I leave in the morning for a resort outside Cancun, Mexico for the next 5 days. We're very excited, already tired, and ready to go... hopefully. <br />
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The morning will not be fun since the kids don't know we're leaving yet... but they are in loving and capable hands while we're gone.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-43739914001470502172011-06-05T07:00:00.000-07:002011-06-05T07:00:59.021-07:00Circus Day!!!On Saturday we drove to Lubbock, TX to see the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey circus. It was lots of fun, and very tiring.<br />
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We left our house at 8 am to drop Kellyn and all her pariphanalia off at a friend's house for the day. Mrs. Paul and Mr. John were happy to play grandparents to our "perfect" baby girl for the day (their words, not mine). I think she had lots of fun, and she was sound asleep in her crib at our house when we got home last night.<br />
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We left our city at 8:30 and made the almost 2 hour drive to Lubbock with one potty break stop. I'll say right now that Alyna and Ryan both did very well using the potty all day long, with the exception of Ryan's two poopy episodes. He still won't do that on the potty most days. But even on the long drives they stayed dry.<br />
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Our first stop in Lubbock was their favorite park. It has a big fortress with winding staircases, ramps, and slides. Of course Ryan and Alyna both spent about 20 minutes on the swings as well. By the time we left the park at 11:30 (our time) for lunch, it was already 90 degrees, so I was glad we had done that first.<br />
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We ate at our favorite place to eat with the kids, Rosa's Tortilla Factory. It's our favorite because it's fast, naturally loud, and our kids will actually eat the food. <br />
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After that we went to a used tool store for Daddy to buy a new router he needs for building his very own arcade cabinet in the next few months. Then we killed 20 minutes at Barnes & Noble where Mommy visited the bathroom with assorted company 4 different times.<br />
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Finally we made our way to Texas Tech's campus arena for the circus show. Alyna and Ryan were both very excited to see the elephants.<br />
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At the pre-show, we watched the clowns jump ropes, dance, etc. The kids got circus temporary tatoos on their arms and tried on some glittery costumes.<br />
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We found our seats and Ryan looked through the program. They had never been in a big arena before, so just watching all the people was enough to keep them busy until the show started.<br />
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We enjoyed the usual circus snacks... cotton candy, popcorn, and fresh squeezed lemonade. All outrageously priced of course.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOBt41TLMIpEqayohpsSSACIW0oaSLqcZPAY5r8uagC9CcDcPiukFYbWBQsqsWVMJoG0fK3NTPlJdvF0Zr-HB5i747SP9qN4JJX7-z8PB_6cxOYGTmzU48a0eLeZTo8E9N4Na6Ead5tE/s1600/100_3358.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjOBt41TLMIpEqayohpsSSACIW0oaSLqcZPAY5r8uagC9CcDcPiukFYbWBQsqsWVMJoG0fK3NTPlJdvF0Zr-HB5i747SP9qN4JJX7-z8PB_6cxOYGTmzU48a0eLeZTo8E9N4Na6Ead5tE/s320/100_3358.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Ryan actually fell asleep in my lap just before the part he'd been waiting for... the motorcycles. It was also the loudest part of the show just before the finale. I was very glad we hadn't brought Kellyn with us. <br />
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We decided against fast food for dinner, and ate at Johnny Carino's, bringing 3 boxes of leftovers home with us to eat for Sunday lunch. Yummy! The 2 hour drive home was uneventful, especially since the kids were engrosed in finishing watching "Monsters Inc." and then "Cars". <br />
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I was very proud of the kids' behavior all day. It was an exciting adventure for us.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-4748497804728117532011-05-21T16:59:00.001-07:002011-05-21T17:05:35.156-07:00Just an update...I haven't posted in a while, but everything here is going fine. We had a long weekend visit from Nana and Aunt Robyn, and a visit the next weekend from Uncle Joel. The kids all love when people come to visit because they get special attention during that time. <br /><br />As the school year finishes for many families, our MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group is also finishing up it meetings. We've got just as many activities planned for the summer though. There's a music class on Tuesdays and a story and play time on Thursdays. Fridays will still be park days when the weather permits. <br /><br />We're super excited about plans to see the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus show in Lubbock in a couple weeks.<br /><br />This weekend I've been working on photo books on <a href="http://www.snapfish.com/">Snapfish.com</a>. I finally finished the one for Kellyn's first 2 months, and now I'm going back and doing books for our Europe travels from 2007. <br /><br />It's fun to look back at pictures and remember the good times. It helps me remember to photograph as many of these precious moments with my children as I can.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-1348188475484912532011-04-28T09:04:00.001-07:002011-04-28T09:16:09.095-07:00Some Spring PicturesHappy Easter!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRgn5uTeByU07HiaAiF8TEwQt6jM4hn505hholNkan9SjRGWSoRdqJkPR1ZBjgaBBwrspA2-dHIuWkgupuHyfjllIG4b9m1vhYVpyr8TKHRvBfqcCC8W3v5l69hibvw2PbdDaW8eTAuU/s1600/100_3259.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZRgn5uTeByU07HiaAiF8TEwQt6jM4hn505hholNkan9SjRGWSoRdqJkPR1ZBjgaBBwrspA2-dHIuWkgupuHyfjllIG4b9m1vhYVpyr8TKHRvBfqcCC8W3v5l69hibvw2PbdDaW8eTAuU/s320/100_3259.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600666601101968386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhJU7BlzFnZaOr2m0-JMWRdyUDW8l4RlUcWzRYTh8qNjMbqoPKhr1Veed4WzjmiEaBFqY5yC9oRUj5ZYAhQU8gBAPBx7qkI_5jLoUH-lWkJvEWYivR6i0W7y8GxcTcTH19Zi8QdMdcsQ/s1600/100_3256.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhJU7BlzFnZaOr2m0-JMWRdyUDW8l4RlUcWzRYTh8qNjMbqoPKhr1Veed4WzjmiEaBFqY5yC9oRUj5ZYAhQU8gBAPBx7qkI_5jLoUH-lWkJvEWYivR6i0W7y8GxcTcTH19Zi8QdMdcsQ/s320/100_3256.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600666593289533490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPhyqfv6iFzI0LD5LQmlG1A0EbtPYCu4zfAzRQRj1ORqBzlh0jMuaSnTMPfmPwqqqwSl-MrfnQ2kROSpHMucmMl7NplpUqwwfaRCdZNPRWmrUc6El20ouyvLTT02vfAhHLBSMKm-yknk/s1600/100_3250.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgPhyqfv6iFzI0LD5LQmlG1A0EbtPYCu4zfAzRQRj1ORqBzlh0jMuaSnTMPfmPwqqqwSl-MrfnQ2kROSpHMucmMl7NplpUqwwfaRCdZNPRWmrUc6El20ouyvLTT02vfAhHLBSMKm-yknk/s320/100_3250.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600666584361220674" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn1ngshoqxp7AodmfP_Cwf2lqlnotsXXP1FVbKgg-U9fzQS86-A5CA9DX_2RmDACTgXqne4vAvvcg60XWUGjlMLR1Wo9xVYp_v6Cfbb42mn5ApbgEyZ68_y40UWZOf_KffF5ASaEP7kA/s1600/100_3243.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAn1ngshoqxp7AodmfP_Cwf2lqlnotsXXP1FVbKgg-U9fzQS86-A5CA9DX_2RmDACTgXqne4vAvvcg60XWUGjlMLR1Wo9xVYp_v6Cfbb42mn5ApbgEyZ68_y40UWZOf_KffF5ASaEP7kA/s320/100_3243.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600666572717576450" /></a><br /><br />We had an easter egg hunt with some friends at the park on Good Friday. Ryan is the kid at the top of the photo (above) standing by the stroller. He had absolutely no interest in picking up the eggs. Alyna picked up about 6, and then she was done even though there were several just lying at her feet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIuOXkRNz0VSnSmmjufuXXMdAJlHe_QSz9Lt6poSbpNZzh2xjwNMCmuotG9Gfu3ZnPAMPkjATMayj9vKbnJ3NqmnNM7gWDs9LnWLbpqakEfu1v8jI_FrdkXUF80yLDC9inKf84DBjAE4/s1600/100_3239.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUIuOXkRNz0VSnSmmjufuXXMdAJlHe_QSz9Lt6poSbpNZzh2xjwNMCmuotG9Gfu3ZnPAMPkjATMayj9vKbnJ3NqmnNM7gWDs9LnWLbpqakEfu1v8jI_FrdkXUF80yLDC9inKf84DBjAE4/s320/100_3239.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600666569594890722" /></a><br /><br />Kellyn's first time in the big bathtub... 8 months old. Right after I took this picture both Ryan and Alyna joined her in the tub. They actually saved their splashing and wrestling for when Kellyn got out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNSSdmgLfb5TO6a1x0fF945imQcZkA_oYKYLYoKYFlvG0UuF5E41nP0LWAtOzi8yEvfYmSB0MT3zqQiQsO7H6E-BXJd8eurd_ye0uBqx_N6T8zxE2Ru7ro7hz9vB034aTfry3oQPbt1I/s1600/100_3266.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNSSdmgLfb5TO6a1x0fF945imQcZkA_oYKYLYoKYFlvG0UuF5E41nP0LWAtOzi8yEvfYmSB0MT3zqQiQsO7H6E-BXJd8eurd_ye0uBqx_N6T8zxE2Ru7ro7hz9vB034aTfry3oQPbt1I/s320/100_3266.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600667804922395186" /></a><br /><br />Splish, splash... we've already had some 90 degree days...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3APKkkdWkLxjfZBzgBPbmHJ2JmNoCI4n3Rn6LDTCLTQzeJ7LUwqP9Ebx5hrewVpz36KtTFJ5f22q44naFb5KnXk0A5ZCl0gxpsl0dP4T1EM6SVdN0z5PqojDtnqPEzB44xmhyJMpMkA/s1600/100_3248.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3APKkkdWkLxjfZBzgBPbmHJ2JmNoCI4n3Rn6LDTCLTQzeJ7LUwqP9Ebx5hrewVpz36KtTFJ5f22q44naFb5KnXk0A5ZCl0gxpsl0dP4T1EM6SVdN0z5PqojDtnqPEzB44xmhyJMpMkA/s320/100_3248.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600667795432360370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kHRxlD1mxAI0D-R4XJrPq2NnjQ8LdRyvMmWN0NixqqNUsfxW4Bv7gCaFLra6VsvzrG3PK_zNtGGWVeqSnfayl3EQW2T3HgFaNdQh2BSsbEd5-Qlifm3oN4lyaG0DMUrP-LS_-HxFZJI/s1600/100_3249.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kHRxlD1mxAI0D-R4XJrPq2NnjQ8LdRyvMmWN0NixqqNUsfxW4Bv7gCaFLra6VsvzrG3PK_zNtGGWVeqSnfayl3EQW2T3HgFaNdQh2BSsbEd5-Qlifm3oN4lyaG0DMUrP-LS_-HxFZJI/s320/100_3249.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600667785434630914" /></a><br /><br />Kellyn gets her own little pool this year... she loves to sit in it and play with her toys.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXr6HBGBENVIxcvtWtu8A9FZE2ncC9RYBdQoUXKb572vjOkM58JkUgTp3a2xNTmjpRxrzZYCL7hVZJZoVzhjIPenq8KulyzOejJebA3psPJHfO3NwFFTn-L4Hz7UkyEYdXJzT5dls3Lo/s1600/100_3244.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXr6HBGBENVIxcvtWtu8A9FZE2ncC9RYBdQoUXKb572vjOkM58JkUgTp3a2xNTmjpRxrzZYCL7hVZJZoVzhjIPenq8KulyzOejJebA3psPJHfO3NwFFTn-L4Hz7UkyEYdXJzT5dls3Lo/s320/100_3244.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600667775042609522" /></a>Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-51169304174085284502011-04-13T12:24:00.000-07:002011-04-13T12:52:39.243-07:00Picnic Fail... but it was fun anywayYesterday we called a service to have our yard sprayed for weeds (because they get so bad in our area). They said it would be 2 weeks... and then the guy shows up at 9:30 this morning. The spray is animal and kid safe once it dries, but I still don't like the kids to play in it for a couple days after the spray because Ryan still puts things in his mouth that he shouldn't.<br /><br />The kids had been playing outside for a while and didn't like it when I picked up all their outside toys and made them come inside. So I figured we better go have lunch at a park so they could run off some of that 2 year old energy.<br /><br />We go to the park on Fridays at lunch time a lot, and I usually just hit the Wendy's drive thru and put some chicken nuggets and fries in their cup holders to eat while we drive to the park. Then when we get there they play while I eat my lunch and feed Kellyn hers. <br /><br />But since we ate at McDonald's yesterday, I didn't want to do yucky fast food again. So I took a container with ham, turkey, and chunks of cheddar cheese, and another container with strawberries and bananas slices. <br /><br />It was the perfect spring day weather for the outing. Warm and sunny with a nice soft breeze blowing through the trees. <br /><br />The kids immediately went to the swings, and I put Kellyn on a big blanket with some toys in the shade of a large tree nearby. A school group had left just as we pulled up, and we were the only ones at the park. I pushed them on the swings for a while, and then went to feed Kellyn her bottle while they played on the slides.<br /><br />The picnic part didn't work out so well. Ryan only wanted to eat the cheerios that are Kellyn's little finger food snack. Then at one point while I was looking over at Kellyn, ALyna tried to step over the container of meat to reach for a strawberry, and she tipped all the meat onto the blanket. When I had laid the blanket out I realized that it had dog hair all over it, and then our meat did too. The kids all kept fussing because the bugs were buzzing around their heads if they stayed still for too long.<br /><br />Then some friends showed up. I had put out on Facebook right before we left that we were going to the Harry McAdams state park, but I didn't really expect anyone else to meet us there on such short notice. I've met Kelly and son George through the MOPS program and also the Friday park playdates. George is just a couple months younger than the twins, and they seem to get along really well. Ryan always comes home from MOPS talking about playing with him.<br /><br />So the kids played for a while, and then we all walked over to the pond to throw some bread to the ducks. We did that until the kids started wandering too far away from us and then we headed back to the playground. <br /><br />Alyna and Ryan were exhausted and cranky by the time we got home which was right at their normal nap time. After quick potty stops they both climbed in bed. Kellyn had fallen asleep in her car seat, so I just brought the carrier inside the house and put it in her room. She woke up just a few minutes ago and I moved her to her bed.<br /><br />I sit here under the cool breeze of a ceiling fan, looking out the big window at the red flowers, pink roses, and green trees. I can faintly hear sound from the lullabies playing in the kids room, and I feel supremely blessed by God.Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85616107790503443.post-49747714579218400192011-04-07T08:01:00.000-07:002011-04-07T08:09:26.798-07:00Doing well so far...Note: We currently only have 3 pair of underwear in the 18 month size that will stay up on Ryan's hips. The Cars underwear I bought to entice him are size 2T and just fall right off. I've ordered more of the 18 month size, but they aren't here yet, so I'm working with 3 pair for this week.<br /><br />Monday: quickly went through all 3 pair of underwear and went to pullups the rest of the day, no successful potty trips<br /><br />Tuesday: our outings day with Ladies Bible Class and lunch, so I put him on the potty several times but we just used Pull-Ups<br /><br />Wednesday: peed all over underwear and the floor mid-morning, peed in his Pull-Up at nap time, mid-afternoon I saw him start to wiggle and put him on the potty... success. Wore Pull-Up to church and stayed dry. Peed at home before bedtime. = 2 pees in the potty<br /><br />Thursday (today): woke up wet, put on "dinosaur" underwear, saw him start to dance around snack time... Success again. He had peed the slightest amount before making it to the potty, but at least it didn't end up as a mess on the floor.<br /><br />It's working. Of course, then there's the pooping issue...Karahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12921571161499497551noreply@blogger.com0