100+

I have lost count of how many days have been over 100. 101, 102, 103, 104. My car said 107 the other day. It is ridiculous!! I have sank to a new low today. It is so hot that I am not requiring my kids to wear clothes. What is the point? Jillian takes them off in 2 seconds and Rocco is sweating like a pig.

This is Jillian teaching Rocco how to "hide from Mommy."

Under the blankets there are no clothes. (I just noticed how much bigger his arms are than hers. ha ha)

We cannot stay out of the water. We usually swim at least two times a day. In the morning, we swim at our house and in the afternoon after naps, then we swim at Poppy and Grammie's house.

These are her new sunglasses!!

There is a rumor going around that it could be 99 tomorrow! We could only be so lucky!!

Feed Me!!!

Yesterday, we started Rocco with rice cereal. I always have this policy that I taste the foods I give my children. Why do I have this policy?? Gosh, that stuff is disgusting!! I don't know why we make them eat this stuff!!!

At the start.....

At the end.....

Rocco took it like a champ! Well, he took it better than his sister ever did!!

Goodbye Old Friends

I have been struggling for many months about what to do with my dogs. Five and a half years ago, I drove by myself to Denton, TX to buy them from a breeder. They were my pride and joy.

They were the cutest puppies ever!!!!!

and....then....I......had....kids!

With two children age 2 and under, Boscoe and Gizmo were not getting the time and attention they deserved. I just cannot do it all.

So I decided to place an ad in my local paper for two free dogs. I got two responses. I decided first come, first served. I called the first lady back and arranged a meeting for Saturday at 9:00. Nine came and went, no lady. She called twice and said she was coming. 10:30 came and went, no lady. Bryan and I were both so upset and Bryan said "I don't care when she comes, she is not getting these dogs."

So I called the other lady. She sounded nice but she had a chihuaua and wanted to bring her dog and see if she meshed with our dogs. She arrived right.on.time! She was sweet and kind. She lived on 1/2 an acre with a big, fenced in yard. SHE WAS A CHAPLAIN AT OUR LOCAL HOSPITAL. A CHAPLAIN. It was the sign I was looking for. My dogs were going to be loved and taken care of by a chaplain. The Lord had answered my prayers!! All three dogs played for a while in our yard and she said she wanted to take them home. I am so proud. I did not shed a tear. I said goodbye and I know in my heart, dear Madeline the chaplain is going to take care of them.

Here they are in my closet where they loved to chew my shoes.

Here they are swimming in the pool!!!

We even did the cheesy Longhorn jerseys. Why do I do such ridiculous things???

Goodbye my sweet Boscoe and Gizmo, I will miss you!!!

Training

Well, Jillian has stepped up her potty training to a whole new level. She now is demanding two lipsticks when she goes in the potty. She also gets a couple of M&Ms. Grammie has bought her Disney Princess panties and so after she uses the potty then she gets to pick out a pair of panties to wear. There are a LOT of rewards for going in the potty but she is doing pretty good!!

Otherwise, Bryan went back to the Dr. and he has three more "spots" of staph infection that needed to be cut out. To put it mildly, he is miserable.

I leave tomorrow for Austin to attend a teacher kinder conference. Hopefully, it will give me lots of new ideas for the upcoming school year. See ya'll on the flip side!!!

Poor Daddy

Sorry for the delay, we have had technical difficulties with the internet.

Sunday morning, Daddy celebrated Father's Day with an emergency trip to the Dr.'s office to cut out another staph infection. This time in the arm. Totally Awful for him!!!!

Jillian was a good nurse!! They both were tuckered out!!

Since Daddy could not swim, Jillian had to find another swim partner. Thank goodness cousin Roy stepped up to the plate. He must have jumped with her 100 times!!!

In other news, guess who is sitting up??? You got it!! That's big man Rocco!! It is actually pretty easy for him since the biggest part of him (his bootie and his thighs) act as a big anchor on the floor. Ha ha!!

But of course, all good things must come to an end.



See that big bootie I was talking about!!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Yesterday, Rocco and I were playing together while Jillian was napping. He discovered the Fisher Price Stage aka a lighted mirror. He loved it!! He happily played for over 30 minutes. Here are some pictures and a short video:

Hey Mom, look what I found!

It's me!!!

I look good enough to eat!!!!

VBS 2009

We ended the week on a high note. Jillian had a great time with her friends and loved that Mommy got to stay in her class. She got to sing "Bible" songs. We learned about Moses and the "fire" bush. We learned that that God wants us to "Fear Not!"

She played with the parachutes.

She played with her friends on the playground.

She got to go for a ride in the Bye Bye Buggy.

Today was the end of the week finale and Jillian got to go to the sanctuary for the first time.

She had a ball and loved watching the older kids dance. She decided she would dance for Jesus!!! Isn't that what it is all about????

Not Better

Today at VBS, Jillian fell in the potty. Not just a little, but a lot. Her whole little bo-bo down in the water with her feet sticking out. We were having such a rough time that it broke the tension and Mommy and Jillian laughed like we have never laughed before. What I would have paid for a camera!! We were making such a commotion in the bathroom that people came in to see what was going on. Boy, did they get more than they bargained for!!!

A Rough Start

Well, we were very late on our first day to VBS. As I was loading two cute, washed and dressed in their matching outfits into the carseats, I smell not one but TWO poopy diapers. Oh vey! Unload kids, change diapers. While I am changing Rocco, Jillian gets into the Vick's vapor rub. It is all over her. Wash her off, throw away newly bought Vicks.

Get to church, drop off Rocco in nursery, turn around to take Jillian to her class. I hear my son throw up all over his new outfit and the poor innocent childcare worker.

Tomorrow will be better. Tomorrow will be better!!!

5 months old

Technically, Rocco will be 5 months old tomorrow but the kids are BOTH asleep and that doesn't happen everyday so I am taking advantage of the "me" time and blogging.

We had our photo shoot this morning before church and here he is in his "rugby" oufit.

Rocco is still a very sweet, mellow baby but two teeth coming in have changed that a little. There isn't a moment in the day that his hands are not in his mouth.

He really does not "cry" but he does love to scream and to Bryan's embarrassment, they are very girly screams. Ha ha!!

He can roll from front to back and back to front but does not do it often. His body is very strong and he can airplane and put all of his weight on his legs for long stretches of time. He loves to play in his Exersaucer and will stay in it for at least 30 minutes.

He is having problems with bottle, but he always has. Basically, I have gone with the philosophy that if he is truly hungry, then he will figure it out. This is true so far. But it is frusterating when we go places with a bottle ready and he refuses to take it and fusses and such. This week we have VBS at our church and I am not sure how he is going to do???

Here you can see his hair is coming in and how huge his feet are!!

Big sister, Jillian, let Mommy put pigtails in for church today but there was a big disagreement as to the "bows" she was to wear. Mommy purchased special bows to match this outfit, but as Jillian quickly pointed out they were not bows. They were different colored curly ribbons tied together on a clip - clearly not the traditional bows. Jillian refused to wear the specially-bought bows so we had to scrounge around for some bows that would do for Jillian's high standards.

And here are the fearsome twosome together. This was the best picture I could get.

A New Ride

If you remember, this was our old ride.....the front/back double stroller.

Pros:

1. This stroller was given to us from some friends. So anything free is awesome!!

2. Easily fits through doors

3. Jillian loves all the cup holders and other compartments to hide all of her carrots and other things.

Here were the issues we were having:

1. Jillian threw major fits b/c she wanted to sit in the back. The stroller only allows the infant seat in the back so Rocco has to sit in the back.

2. Now that Rocco is older and is physically able to sit without the infant seat in the stroller, this stroller only has a lap belt (no shoulder belts) so we have to recline the back seat so he can lay down strapped in but it is not exactly the easiest way to get around.

Here is our new ride.....side by side double stroller!!!

Pros:

1. Side by side - so no fits over who gets what seat.

2. Has shoulder straps so Rocco can sit up and look around.

Cons:

1. Not free - Bought it used from a teacher friend (honestly, I thought it was weird that she didn't just "give" it since her children are grown and not using a stroller) but whatever.

2. I am not sure how easily I can fit through doors with it. I have only used it for our outdoor walks. (Now if I find that it does fit through doorways then this will obviously no longer be a con)

3. NO cup holders or any compartments. NONE!! Isn't that weird?? So Jillian has to be "creative" to figure out where to put her carrots, cups, babies and all other accesories that come on our walks with us.

Anyways, I actually like that I now have both kinds of strollers. It gives me options and I love options!!! We also still have our single stroller for that occasion when Jillian throws a fit that she does not want to share the stroller. Ahhh!!! To be 2. Bryan says that I just like to have more stuff.

Wicked

This was a belated anniversary present to ourselves but last night, Bryan and I and 11 other couples from our church went down to the theatre and saw Wicked. I LOVED it, LOVED it, LOVED it. I am a musical-lover in general and have seen many. Here are my top ten favorites that I have seen:

1. Les Miserables (I basically can recite the entire musical by heart)
2. The Lion King
3. Wicked
4. Chicago
5. The Phantom of the Opera
6. Into the Woods
7. 42nd Street
8. Rent
9. Grease
10.Oklahoma

So Wicked entered the list at #3 beating out lots of famous musicals. If I had seen the original on Broadway with Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard, it would probably have shot straight to #1.

We had so much friends with our friends and ate dinner beforehand. It was an all over good night.

What is your favorite musical??

I Can't Quite Catch My Breath.....

It is summertime and I had imagined me and kids sitting by the pool, relaxing, me drinking a margarita.....and then I woke up!!!!

We have been go, go, go every since I got out of school. I have so much to tell ya'll about but we are too busy to even stop for a moment to write about it.

We have been playing in the backyard. We got a new zebra pool. It has been soooooo hot for the last couple of days that we needed to cool off!!

Rocco and Daddy are enjoying the sun!!



We went to the library for the first time.

Jillian showed her new books from the library to her babies. Anything about the Five Little Monkeys and she loves it!!

Today we started classes at the Little Gym. We were so excited because Daddy got to go with us. He has been working night routes all week so he had the morning "off" to come to the gym with us!!

Wheeew!! I got tired just writing about all of the stuff we are doing!!

Where there's one, usually there's two

Since I am now on kid #2, I am learning a thing or 2. When my children teethe, they don't just get one at a time, they usually get 2 if not more.

Rocco has gotten his second tooth. He is usually so mellow but with these teeth coming in, he is definitely a little fussy and has a lot of trouble sleeping. Poor Rocco and poor Mommy!!

Exhibit A....

Exhibit B.....still pretty happy in the grand scheme of things!!

Schoooool's Out for the Summer!!!!

Can I be any happier???

The final bell has rung!!

The kids are gone!!!

Pop open the champagne!!!

Nine and a half weeks of paid vacation!!!

I love this job!!!