Elmo

Kiley is obsessed with the Elmo ABC Ipad app, so when I saw that Elmo was going to be at a local toy store this past Saturday, I thought that she would love it.  Wrong!!!

First of all, as we are driving there it is pouring rain and we had to park on a side street, so we were walking there in the pouring rain.  Then, when we finally get to the store, because it is pouring rain, it is super crowded inside and not much so much the place for a double stroller.  But, of course we are there to see Elmo so we are going to at least see Elmo.  Of course, Elmo is on his break when we get there.  So, we have to wait.  Now, waiting with a toddler in a toy store is just like it seems--she wants everything.  Luckily, it stopped raining out a few minutes after we got there and Elmo soon came out, however, Kiley was not as impressed with Elmo as we thought she might be. 

Now that I look back at the pictures, Elmo does look a little scary.  I guess we will stick to the Ipad app.  I can't wait to see how the Santa Claus pictures come out this year :)

Sleep training

I know some people think that sleep training is somewhat of a controversial topic as they could never imagine letting their baby cry it out, but I think that the reason that my girls are awesome sleepers is because of sleep training.  Now granted we do go to the Weissbluth practice for pediatrics, so sleep is obviously something that they really focus on, but it's amazing how many studies show a correlation between sleep and happy, healthy children.

So, I just thought that I would post a little bit about my advice--and I am by no means an expert on this topic, but as a person who relies on a lot of sleep, I am happy to report that I have two babies that sleep through the night pretty consistently--which means I sleep through the night :)

1.  Be consistent--when I was switching Kiley from two naps to one, I kept trying to alter her schedule so that I could continue to make playgroups, classes, etc. since we were one of the first to switch from two naps to one.  I realized that it was not working for her, or for me because she was just confused as to when she should be sleeping.  I finally had to make the decision that in order to get her on a good schedule, we were going to have to take a break from our playgroups and classes (or try to adjust the times that we took the classes) so that she could be down for her nap around the same time everyday.  Now, with Ella, I am realizing that to get her on a good schedule, I too, must be consistent.  She isn't as portable anymore which is kind of a bummer, but I would rather have a good sleeper than be able to get out of the house whenever I want, so I am starting to realize there is only a short window of time when I can get out to run errands, get to the gym, etc.
2.  Start a nighttime routine early--with both Kiley and Ella I started them on a nighttime routine right around 6-8 weeks.  Our routine consists of bath, dinner/bottle, brushing teeth, stories, and then lights out.  We always do this, well we try to do this (sometimes it is a little different on the weekends), but for the most part this is the schedule.  The schedule has had to be adjusted a little bit with trying to get two girls down, but once I change the routine I really try to stick with it.  The other important thing about sticking with the routine is starting early.  I know it sounds crazy, but we start our bedtime routine at 5.  This gives me enough time to get both girls bathed and fed an in bed by 6 for Ella and 7:15-7:30ish for Kiley. It sounds early, but they both sleep about 11-12 hours at night and I would rather have that time to myself at night since I also go to bed early and have them up early since Kiley has to be at school by 8 two days a week.
3.  They should nap at least 45 minutes-1 hour.  I try to make sure that for their naps they sleep for at least 45 minutes.  Granted, at first, this takes a lot of work with having to go back in restart music, give pacifier, etc, but any less than that is not considered a nap to me and they just wake up crabby so I have implemented a rule that during nap times they have to stay in their cribs for at least 45 minutes.  If after 45 minutes, they haven't slept at all, then I get them up, but after a couple of days of "training" I realize that more often than not, they are down within just a few minutes and will sleep a pretty consistent amount of time each day.
4.  Try not to nap on the go.  I try really hard to make sure that naps occur in their cribs everyday.  I think that this helps them understand that when they are in their cribs, it is time to sleep.  I don't ever put them in their cribs for anything else. I know some people will put their kids in their cribs to play and such, I just never do, but I also think that it helps them to realize that cribs signal sleep. 
5.  If they wake up crying, they probably haven't slept enough.  This is a hard one for me, but usually if they are crying when they wake up from a nap, then they probably haven't slept enough.  I try to give them a few minutes before going to get them because a lot of times they will fall back to sleep if they are crying.

So, with that I have been trying to get Ella on a daytime nap schedule this week, so I haven't made it to the gym or done much else.  Hopefully, we will be in a better routine by next week so that I can start figured out the best times to get out, but with everything else with kids, sleep routines take time. 

Have a great weekend!!! 

Pretty Little Liar

So I'm pretty sure that Kiley lied to me yesterday.  Yes, she is an 18-month old liar!!!!  So, we were having dinner and I put her chicken and veggies on a nice divided plate.  She had eaten quite a bit, but I was trying to get her to eat a little bit more so the bad parent I am told her that she could have a cookie for dessert if she ate three more pieces of chicken.  I put the pieces in one of the divided sections so she could see what she had to eat.  I should have sat there and watched her eat it, but I decided to just do the dishes really quick while she was finishing up.  I came back a few seconds later and the 3 pieces were gone, but I'm pretty sure she didn't eat them.  Now, I would normally have thought she just fed them to the dogs, but the dogs were in the kitchen with me.  I think that she moved the pieces back with all the other pieces of chicken to make it look like she ate them.  When I asked her if she ate the chicken, she responded with a smile, "Yes, cookie please." I couldn't really be sure if she did or did not eat the chicken, so I gave her the cookie, but deep down I think that she lied.  How does that start this early?

Now I'm having visions of her as a teenager and it's not pretty. 

Do not trust this innocent looking face--she's Trouble!!!!

I'm Back!!!!

It feels like forever since I have blogged, but I am back from my blogging break.  Last week was busy--I was busy getting ready for our weekend trip to Florida and while we left Kiley and Ella home with my sister, I was busy getting stuff ready/notes written for them.  Plus, of course, no trip ever goes smoothly and Kiley was still sick all last week. We almost canceled our trip because the night before we were going to leave, she was up pretty much every hour on the hour.  My sister ended up taking her to the doctor because of what looked like a scratched eye, it turns out she had an ear infection.  So, after the croup, she got the ear infection, and now it looks like she has hand-foot-mouth disease again. Ugh!!!!  I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come this winter, but I think that she is feeling a lot better today so hopefully we are on the mend.  Of course, now I am not feeling great, but I would much rather feel sick than have her feeling sick, so I will take the illness off of her hands.

So, obviously we still decided to go on our trip knowing that even if Kiley wasn't feeling great, she was in good hands with my sister, so we made the best of it.  We went to Palm Beach for a long weekend.  It was interesting.  Kevin and I had a great time together and we definitely caught up on relaxing and sleep, but Palm Beach was definitely not really our scene.  I say that because Kevin and I are the same age and I am pretty sure that to live in Palm Beach it seemed like there must be at least a 15-20 year age gap between you and your spouse.  No joke--we saw a couple at dinner on Friday night in which the girl was maybe 25 and the man grandpa was probably in his late 60's, early 70's.  It was so awkward, but that was the norm down there so I guess they are used to it.  I guess my little midwestern self is not used to that kind of lifestyle, but it must work for some people. On Saturday night, we also had an interesting dinner experience.  The second we sat down at our table the people next to us told us to request to be moved.  We didn't really know why, but soon found out they were referring to the extremely loud lady at a table of 10 people.  Now, one would think that with 10 people at the table, I would have been able to hear other people at the table conversing with her, but nope, just her voice.  Kevin thinks that the table may have been part of the mob, and she was one of the mob bosses daughters, I don't know, but it was a little odd that no one at the table told her to be a little quietter (or that maybe telling your child birth story in graphic detail at a nice restaurant is to put it nicely, inappropriate.)  So, after that, we decided to move--along with everyone else that was seated around this particular table. 

Overall, the trip was fun, but I don't think that we will get back there anytime soon.  Thanks again to Abby and Kerry for taking so good care of the girls/dogs.  We can't thank you enough!!!!

So today, we are just relaxing and getting back into our routine.  It definitely felt weird to not be taking care of kids for 3 straight days and not being on a schedule (which we all know that I thrive on) so I am ready to get back to it.  I took about two weeks off from the diet and now I am ready to get back on it full force.  I also haven't worked out in over a week now, so that is on the agenda for tomorrow.  Hopefully, we will all be feeling better by then and we can get back on track.  So needless to say, the scale and I aren't on the best of terms right now. 

While, I have been writing this, this is what Kiley is currently doing.  Of course, the baby doll stroller belongs in the bathroom--and yes, you should sit in it even though the thing looks like it is about to break.  And where is the toliet paper you ask, oh she took that and tore it into little pieces to feed to dog. 

The thing this girl does to amuse herself.  Now, I say that she mimics everything that we do, however, no need to call the animal authorities, I do not feed the dog little pieces of toliet paper.  I don't know where she got that from, but Morgan is still too tired from running with her dog cousins all weekend to even care.

I also took this picture of Ella this morning.  I got out the exersaucer last week.  It totally reminds me of the picture I took of Kiley in at last summer. I think that they are almost the same age in these pictures and they are starting to look a lot alike to me.  Granted, Kiley was about 3 pounds heavier at this age, but their faces are starting to look a lot more similar to me than I thought they did before.  What do you think? maybe it's just the cheeks.

The other things the girls are up to these days. . .

Ella is getting really close to rolling over.  She can though turn all the way around when she is laying on her playmat.  It was a little weird the other day when I went to get her up and she was facing the opposite direction than how she normally is facing.  I'm not sure I am ready to have a mobile baby yet, but I guess I don't have a choice.  Maybe chasing two mobile kids will help with the weightloss?

Kiley's newest thing is going up and down the stairs and opening and closing doors.  She has gone up stairs forever now, but just recently she has decided to start going down them by herself.  She was playing quietly one day and then I turned around and couldn't find her--oh she was downstairs.  It about gave me a heart attack, so now I know that the gates must be used again.  And, she also loves to open and close (and sometimes lock) doors.  We had to move her crib away from the door handle because she was opening her door at nap time by sticking her arm through the crib.  Then, the other day, I was feeding Ella in Kiley's room.  I heard our bedroom door shut, which normally isn't a big deal, however, then I heard the lock of the door.  So, I had to pick open the lock with both girls screaming on either side of the door.  Oh the joys of toddlerhood!!!

So, that's what's been going on in our world for the past week or so.  I promise to be a better blogger this week. 

Appetizers, Random Pics, and Camera Question

Kevin and I had a SUPER healthy day of eating on Sunday.  To Kevin, the start of football season is one of the best days of the year.  If I can remember how he put it, it was something like "aside from my family and friends, football may be one of the things that I love the most."  However, after the weekend I was having, I was actually excited for football Sunday to have an excuse to eat like crap.  Hey--if I was going to make the appetizers for him, I was going to partake of course.  So, here are two of our staple appetizer receipes. 

Mexican Dip

1 8 oz. cream cheese
1 can chili with beans
3 or 4 green onions
1 small can chopped green chilies
1 small pkg of shredded cheddar cheese

Soften cream cheese in a 9" shallow baking dish in microwave approx. 30 sec, spread to cover the bottom of the dish.  Chop green onions.  Then layer the rest of the ingredients (except cheese) in order.  Heat in microwave approx. 1 min 50 sec.  Add cheese after heated.  Serve with tostito rounds--Kevin must have the rounds for some reason to eat the dip. 

Cucumber Appetizers

1 loaf fresh white bread
8 oz. cream cheese
1 pkg good seasons dry Italian salad dressing mix
2 skinny cucumbers
2 spoonfuls of mayo

Use a small bowl, soften cream cheese in microwave approx. 30 sec.  Mix in entire package of Dry Italian Dressing Mix, add mayo.  Cut crust off of bread, cut into squares--I use the top rim of a larger shot glass and press it into the bread to make circles.  You could can really use cookies cutters or anything to make whatever shape you would like.  Peel cucumbers, slice.  Spread bread with cream cheese mixture.  Place a cucumber slice on each piece of bread.  Place on large platter.  When platter is filled, sprinkle with pepper.

Definitely not the healthiest day of eating, but I'm taking a little vacay from dieting this week.  Next Monday it is back on, but I am going to enjoy my vacation to the fullest and yes that will include eating whatever and having cocktails by the pool in a few days.  I can't wait! (but I have a ton to do before then, so I must be going as the pile of laundry sitting on my bed is not folding itself)

I haven't posted any pics in a while though, so here are a couple of recent ones.  I have realized that I need a new camera and I think that a dslr in on my birthday/X-mas list.  Any recs for good ones?

Weekend Update

I am TIRED today. The weekend was not great.  I got sucked into watching every single 9/11 memorial show/broadcast that was on tv, so it already seemed like a somber weekend.  Then, Saturday morning Kiley woke up sounding more hoarse than normal.  She was crabby at her first soccer class, but I figured she was just tired from already being at the gym daycare that morning.  I got her McDonald's for lunch to help make her feel better-ha (or maybe I just wanted McDonald's).  When we got home, I gave her some ibprofen (unbeknownst to me at the time that the medicine dropper that I was using actually gave her a double dose). After her nap, I realized what I had done and got all freaked out.  I made Kevin call the doctor to see what we should do.  Luckily, our doctor said she should be fine and what I had given her wasn't that far off of the dosage for her age and weight, but I felt soooo guilty.  FYI--always check the syringe that you are using and make sure you look up the dosage for concentrated drops vs. the syrup.  So, after that it seemed like Kiley was feeling better.  We went for a walk, had dinner, and got her to bed.  She woke up a little while later burning up and the coughing seemed to be getting worse.  We gave her some more medicine (I made Kevin give it to her this time) and she went back to sleep, but was awake almost every hour.  Kevin actually even slept on the floor next to her crib.

So Sunday morning, I took her to the doctor and low and behold she has croup.  Luckily, she should be fine in no time and there really isn't more to do for it other than wait it out as it is a viral infection and clears up just like a cold would, but she was definitely pretty miserable yesterday and still this morning.  I think that she is finally starting to feel better now as she has been playing all morning and is now down for a nap, but it has been a long couple of days.  We are laying low at home again today and she has been fever free since yesterday morning so hopefully she will be ready to go again tomorrow.  It makes for a LONG day when you are home all day long with a toddler and a baby-especially when the toddler doesn't sit still for a minute, even when she is sick.  On top of that, Ella decided last night, that between 3:30 and 5:30 she didn't need to sleep so I am hoping it was just a one night thing and she goes back to sleeping through the night tonight.  So, needless to say, I am really looking forward to a few days away later this week!!!!! 

So today during nap time, I am sitting and doing nothing.  There are plenty of things that I could be doing, but I think that I deserve this time to surf the internet and watch tv, so that is what I am going to do. 

Hope everyone's weekend was a little better than mine and hopefully my week only goes up from here.

Kiley's first day of school

Kiley had her first day of "school" today.  She is going two mornings a week and I think that she is going to love it.  She was a little unsure of it at first and cried for a few minutes as I was leaving, but she was such a big girl and stopped crying pretty quickly after I left (that is what the director told me, they may just tell all the first day parents that though to ease their minds). 

But, when I got back, she was happily playing and came running up excited to see me and Ella, so I think that it was a success.  She did have a change of clothes on as this classroom is working on drinking only from a cup (no sippy cups), so I was told she had a little trouble with that.  We will keep working on that at home :)  She fell asleep almost the second that she got in the car. 

I think this is going to work out really well for us, which is funny because I really struggled with this decision for awhile.  I'm not going to lie, it is expensive, but I think that she is going to really love it there and learn so much. Plus it gives me some time to get some stuff done around the house and errands run, which is just too hard to do with a baby and a toddler.  I'm glad that I made the decision because I really think that it is going to make me a better mom to have a little time just for me and Ella-and just myself when Ella is taking her morning nap. 

So, overall, I think it was a success.  Now, we will just have to wait and see how she does on Tuesday once she realizes a little more that she is staying there by herself.  I think that she will do great though, her teachers seem awesome and she loves being around other kids, so I am pretty proud of her!

In other news, we went to the doctor yesterday for Ella and Kiley's well visits.

Ella gained two pounds in the past month!  Granted, she is still under 10 pounds, but she is close 9 lbs. 14 oz.  She is also 22 5/8 inches long.  She is actually on the charts for her lenth (5%), but still under for her weight and head circumference, but she is just a peanut all around.  The dr. was happy with her progress and said she looks good!  Funny thing is she is the same length as Kiley was at her 4 month appointment, but Kiley was 3 pounds heavier--so Ella seems a lot longer to us because she is still so skinny.

Kiley weighed in at 23 lbs. 8 oz. and 31 3/4 inches.  She is pretty much average for both height and weight--even a little above average for height which is funny to me because I always think that she is pretty short.  She looked good too.  So all in all it was a good visit. 

We I don't have much planned for the weekend (Kevin has a lot of plans football watching).  Kiley is starting her first day of "soccer" tomorrow. That should be pretty funny.  A bunch of 18 month olds trying to play soccer.  Kevin is going to do it with her, but I'm sure that I will go along for the ride, plus I have to take plenty of pictures.  Wow, now that I write this, it has been a big week for Kiley.  School, soccer, doctors--I think that she will be ready to hang out with dad on the couch on Sunday for some football watching as well. 

Random Thursday

1.  Halloween Costumes--I know it is the beginning of September, but I feel like I need to get these finalized and ordered before places start running out of sizes.  I wanted Ella to be an elephant this year, but then I thought maybe Kiley and Ella should do something together, but the only thing I could think of for Kiley that went with an elephant was a peanut and that's just not cute.  Kevin wants Kiley to be a moose, but I think that's too similar to her costume last year.

So, I still think Ella will be an elephant--Old Navy has a cute one that I think will work.  Now, the question is what should Kiley be.  And, what should Morgan and Madison be.  I saw a pretty funny Wonder Woman and Bat Dog costume, so that might work for them, but I am not 100% sold.  Ugh, Halloween--so many decisions.

2.  I am really annoyed with CBS.  My favorite daytime TV show was "The Talk," that is until they got rid of Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete.  They were the best part of the show and now it's just not the same--I keep trying to watch it, but it's just not good anymore without them. I guess I have to go back to my Kathie Lee and Hoda.

3.  Kiley is starting "school" tomorrow.  I signed her up for a two-morning a week pre-school.  I think that she is going to love it and it gives me time to spend with Ella and actually get to run some errands.  She is going to go on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8-1.  I'll probably cry dropping her off tomorrow, but I know that it is good for her and it will be good for me to have that time.

4.  I seriously feel like the next couple of months are going to fly by.  We have Ella's baptism, then I am to Jersey's wedding, then Halloween, then MY BIRTHDAY (my first birthday not being pregnant in two years--yes I will have a drink or two!), Thanksgiving, X-mas.  I can't wait for all of those things, but it is definitely going to be a busy couple of months.

5.  I saw the police at our complex today--it appears as if they were investigating someone who lives here.  The nosy part of me wanted to know what was going on so of course I grab Kiley and try to make it look like she is playing outside in hopes that they would ask me a question. I saw them showing a couple pictures to someone else that lives here, but they didn't ask me when I was outside.  Now, I just want to know what was going on. 

6.  I decided to stop doing Jenny Craig.   I am still trying to lose weight, but I didn't think that I was teaching Kiley any good eating habits when I was always eating a microwave meal, she was having something else, and Kevin was having something different than both of us.  So, I am trying to stick with Weight Watchers and see how it goes.  I figure if I can be consistent with getting to the gym and trying to eat healthy than I am a setting a good example for the girls and hopefully teaching them a heathy lifestyle.  We are also trying to get Kiley to eat with us at night, so hopefully that will get me back in the kitchen cooking again.

7. I am pumped for the new season of tv to start.  Some of my favorites:  Parenthood, How I Met your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Rules of Engagement, and Modern Family. Others that I watch, but multi-task while they are on:  Two and a Half Men, Mike and Molly, and The Office.  I'm sure I will add more to the list as the new shows premiere.  I know, don't be jealous of my busy life tv watching schedule.

8.  This is a pointless post so I will no longer bore you with my randomness of this Thursday. 

I am off to get Kiley who has yet to nap and is just screaming for Ella in her crib.  I don't know what she thinks that Ella is going to do for her, but she seems to always want Ella when she is stuck in bed.  It should be interesting when we try to get them to share a room in a couple of years.  Kiley and Ella both have their dr. appointments this afternoon. 

Hope everyone is having a good Thursday--and if you have any suggestions for Halloween costumes, let me know.

18-months and 4-months

Kiley is 18-months old today--a year and a half, can you believe it.  I can not, she is halfway to two, and I swear we just had here first birthday party.  But, I guess a lot has also changed in the past six months (hello Ella, we haven't forgotten about you). 

Kiley is learning all kinds of new things these days and says so many new words.  It is still somewhat hard to make out what she is trying to say sometimes, but she is getting a lot better and is repeating a lot more of what we say (guess I have to start watching what I say around her now).  Some of her favorite words these days are shoe and go.  First thing in the morning she always wants to get out her shoes and then says go in car.  Where she wants to go, I have no idea, but at least she is motivated!

She also tries to mimic everything that we do.  The other day I caught her trying to shave her legs in the bathtub, ha! She also tries to take care of Ella just like I do, trying to give her empty bottles, putting the pacifier in her mouth the wrong way.  It is really cute, but considering she doesn't really understand the concept of being gentle makes life a little difficult for Ella.  She also loves her purses, and most of the time is carrying around at least one, if not more (the girl has a lot to carry around I tell ya.) 

 She seriously loves dogs--not only our dogs, but every dog she sees she just cracks up.  She is also starting to get into other animals. We have taken a few trips to the zoo recently, and she is just now starting to show an interest in the animals.  The other day at the zoo we went into the children's area where they had some pets at home--guess what her favorite was--the RATS-disgusting!

I think that her favorite color is purple or blue--she says blue a lot but then whenever she is coloring she tends to like the purple one a lot so I'm not really sure which one is really her favorite.  She loves coloring these days and it is confirmed that I'm pretty sure she is right-handed, which is funny since Kevin and I are both left-handed.

She still doesn't really watch any tv--and that is not for me not trying (that sounds terrible doesn't it?)  She will watch a few minutes of Sesame Street, and she really likes Cookie Monster, but other than that she doesn't show any interest in tv.  I have no idea where she gets that from, since Kevin and I both love tv and I have my fall lineup ready to go!  She's been much more into books these days and has a couple of favorites, but she rarely will sit down long enough for me to actually read the entire book.  The kid is so busy all the time!

She moves fast these days--sometimes even running in circles around the house.  Her dancing is pretty cute--it's basically a wide-legged bounce of the knees. I have tried to videotape it a bunch of times, but everytime she knows I am watching, she won't do it again.  She also does the Itsy Bitsy Spider motion with her arms sometimes as her dancing.  As well, she has made me proud, and now will spin when I ask her--now I just need to teach her how to spot.

She is just starting to wear 24 month clothes, still wears a size 4 diaper, and I think is a size 6 shoe.  We have some major fall shopping to do here soon because she basically has nothing for fall. 

So, that is Kiley in a nutshell right now.  She is so much fun, but also so tiring if you can't tell--oh and the tantrums have started big time with her!!!  I need to remember to ask our dr. about that at her appointment because I can already see that she loves any sort of attention, even negative--she just looks at me and laughs or has a giant meltdown. 

And with Ella's birthday only 2 days behind--I decided to put them in the same post so not to bore you with two updates in the same week. 

Ella is the sweetest thing.  She smiles all the time now, and it is so cute when she does the scrunched up nose smile.  She doesn't make too many other faces, but like many people say, she looks just like a doll.  I know I am biased, but she is really cute!

She is sitting up with the help of her bumbo chair and can roll to her side from her back.  We need to do more tummy time, but it is hard to do with Kiley around because again, Kiley and gentle don't really go together. 

She is an awesome sleeper at night--6 pm-6 am and doesn't even have to eat.  She makes up for it in the daytime though as she is now eating 8 oz. bottles for the most part.  During the day, her naps can be pretty inconsistent still, but she usually takes 2 short naps in the morning and a longer nap in the afternoon which works out well for me since both girls will sleep around the same time. 

She is in 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.  She seems to be skinnier and longer than Kiley was, so Kiley's clothes aren't exactly fitting her, especially now that Kiley 3 month stuff was mostly summer stuff and I think that it will be a while before Ella is ready for 6 month clothes. 

Ella is starting to show her personality a little more--the one thing that she really does not like is to be startled by something.  If there's a loud noise or the dogs go barking, she lets out the biggest cry. It's kind of funny because it is definitey a "you pissed me off" cry rather than a hungry or wet cry. 

Here are so of my favorite pics from the last month! 

So, happy 18-months and 4-months to my little babies.  Mommy and Daddy love you guys so much and we can't imagine what we did before having you in our lives to keep us entertained! 

Happy Labor Day

I have a lot of things to post, but I'm a little too tired tonight, so it will have to wait for tomorrow.  Kiley decided she wanted to celebrate all day today so she wore me out (and herself).

Off to eat dinner and relax because I'm pretty sure someone is going to be getting up early tomorrow morning, and I'm pretty sure that someone is going to be a little bit hungry since dinner wasn't touched.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

See you next year Summer

I have a ton of pictures from this summer so I decided not to post a million pictures, but to put them in a nice video montage because everything is better with a little music :)  Enjoy! I will warn you though that it is six and a half minutes long, so I'm pretty sure the only ones who will want to watch this are family, but hey if you are bored--here's a quick way to kills some time.

My favorite blogs

Hi,
I'm linking up to Kelly's Korner again today for Show Us Your Life.  Today's topic is favorite blogs so I will share with you some of my favorites and hopefully you will find some good one's to read. I read a lot of blogs, but  here a just a couple that I read almost daily.

I started out reading blogs when I decided to get into cooking more a few years ago (that has since gone by the wayside, but I still enjoy browsing a blog that has receipes that take more than 5 minutes to prep).  My favorite is Annie's Eats.  This girl is amazing--she's a doctor, has two kids, cooks/bakes all the time and all of her stuff looks amazing, and she is adorable.  Check out her blog.  Everything I have made from her blog is delicious!

Another cooking blog that I have gotten a lot of receipes from is Cooking This and That.  I have actually made a bunch of her stuff and it is all really good and most of it can be made pretty quickly so it is good for me trying to cook, while Kiley is assisting (or raising chaos in the kitchen).

These days, I tend to read more mom blogs because that is what is going on in my life these days.  My favorite is Sunny Side Up.  Erin is the cutest girl, and has the most adorable family.  Plus, she has awesome organization tips.  I check her blog every day, check it out, you will love it too.

Other mom blogs I read:

Bringing up Bug & Bee-her posts are hilarious and she has two kiddos close in age too, so I can relate to a lot of her posts.

The Domestic Wannabe--she has a daughter that is almost the same age as Kiley so I starting reading this blog when I was pregnant with Kiley because we were going through much of the same stuff at the same times.  Her daughter is a genius so it's interesting to see the updates.  Plus, I love her Move It Monday and A Day in the Life posts.

I also love Jenni from the Blog.  I don't even know when I started reading this one, but she also has an adorable family and I can relate to a lot of her posts.

I have recently started reading Clover Lane.  She has really great posts about keeping things in perspective and raising kids.  She has a great attitude and I feel like recently I have turned to her blog a lot when I am feeling overwhelmed because with 5 kids, I'm sure she has gone through a lot worse than me and still seems to have a great outlook on life and parenting. 

I have also been trying to do some more educational stuff with Kiley at home so a couple of blogs that I have found some good ideas on are The Activity Mom and No Time for Flashcards.  The Activity Mom also has an etsy store called Time for Tots in which she puts together different activity kits.  These things are AMAZING.  Kiley loves them and I can easily through one in the diaper bag and it is something that can entertain Kiley for a long time.  I always throw a couple of these in the bag before we head off to church (well that and a lot of snacks).  Check out her store though, it is amazing.  I need to order some more soon--they are honestly Kiley's favorite things to play with.

There are so many more that I read, but those are just a few of the ones that I have read for awhile now.  I don't know any of these people in real life and don't really have time to comment on their blogs, but I love reading their blogs and it is a lot of these blogs that inspired me to start my own. 

And no post would be complete without a picture.  You can put your own caption here if you would like.  There are so many things that can be said about this picture, I just say "and so it begins. . ." 

Hope everyone has a fantastic Labor Day weekend!

She's growing up!

Ugh, so I don't have a lot of time to post today because the girls have decided to ambush me and sleep on completely different schedules during the day.  No joke, the second that I shut Kiley's door to put her down for her nap, Ella woke up from her nap.  I didn't even get a bathroom break.  So now, Ella is sitting here talking to her friends, and in friends, I mean parrot and turtle from her swing.  They usually have a lot to say to each other, today though I think they may be pissing her off-she doesn't seem too happy with them.    Anyways, I guess I should be glad that Kiley is even still taking her nap, she is growing up so fast. 

I'm not ready for the dressing herself.

Or doing her own hair and makeup

But, I guess if growing up means that she will mow our lawn-I shouldn't complain. 

Oh what mom, this is astroturf and doesn't actually grow, what am I doing?  I'm outta here!

Happy Thursday from me and guest blogger Ella!