My Go-Getter

All it took was just one step, and now Conlee is so sure of herself! The pics below show a glimpse into 2 minutes of my life.

Attempt to take a pic of my 2 adorable children together - IMPOSSIBLE.
This leads to a "race" down the hallway. When will Crawford feel shame for smoking his baby sister in a game??? All signs point to - not any time soon!

Conlee grabs my leg for a little "help" up.
Then she just lets go and literally stands there for like 1 1/2 minutes.

I think you can tell by the look on her face that she still can't figure out what to make of this whole standing thing (or it could be the bright flashbulbs in her eyes?). My "big" girl - I am so proud of her. I know that times are really about to get interesting (aka - challenging) but I LOVE this age!

First Steps!

So the day started out a bit strange. Eager to get back to work, I was up and "ready" for work at 6:15 this morning. At 6:40 my cell rings. School is closed again today - this time due to a power outage. So, today it was my turn to take the morning shift. I plow in and get a lot done before the kids wake up and finish breakfast. But after that - it was a downhill slide.

The entire time I am thinking - how long can a power outage last? 30 min? Try 3 1/2 hours!!!! Here we are "playing" restaurant - I was desperate to entertain them and I was feeling guilty for the "unsupervised" 1 1/2 hours of t.v. time I gave them :)
At 10:30 - the school calls and they are open for business. I swear my kids were the first ones there!

When I went to pick them up, there was big news. Conlee took her first step today! Look out world - here she comes!

School Closed!

On Saturday, I got a call from a teacher at the kids' school to say they had a teacher that was diagnosed with swine flu. I knew this was coming - but really wasn't prepared for it to hit so close to home. The message was just a heads up.

Then on Sunday, cell rings again and its the same teacher. This time calling to say that school will be closed on Monday because 3 other teachers were feeling sick! Love that the school is so pro-active and taking the steps to try and be as safe as possible. But, this is what every kid dreams of and every working parent dreads - school closed on a "normal" day. Bo and I discuss and decide to split the day. He took the morning shift with the kids and I took the afternoon.

We have a "little bit" going on at work, so this afternoon, Amanda and I thought we'd be smart and have a play/work date. It's amazing how much "harder" work can be when you are chasing 4 kids! Here we are out front (Cade is inside napping).

The funny thing is that the pic was all Crawford's idea. The boys went and sat with Conlee and Crawford said, "Take our picture please!"

When Bo got home, he was messing outside with Crawford when Crawford said, "I want a picture with my dog." How can you resist?

I am so raising kids that are "featured" on a blog! They have a camera in their face 24/7 - ha!ha!

I just had to post the "patio" update. As you can see in the pic above - it was covered in green slime from the summer. Here is a 1/2 and 1/2 pic that Bo took.
Amazing thing is the change in color really is as dramatic as in the pic above! Thanks for the face lift Bo!

Pressure Washer = Lots of Fun

To round out our weekend of "to-dos," Bo finally got around to pressure washing the front steps and the drive way. I feel like the house has had a face lift. No more green slimy steps!

Of course, Crawford LOVED the washer. In order to get something done, Bo had to hook up Crawford his own hose just let him go at it. Poor Sue-Sue got caught in the cross-fire and got drenched!

Not sure what it is about a man and a pressure washer - but I think Bo could do this for hours on end. I'm not complaining because next up is the patio. Can't wait to see it all clean! Gonna have to go get some mums and pansies to really get ready for fall.

Big Girl

There aren't many pictures from today - because Bo and I were working hard on our "to-do" list! We made good progress and took a little break to watch the Hogs (so sad). But, I just had to post these few pics of Con. In the pic below, she found Crawford's whistle from his fireman set - and she actually made it blow. It was hilarious!Con got her first lift on Daddy's shoulders as we got ready to cheer on the Hogs.
Despite the funny look in the pic, she loved it so much. She would bounce up and down.
After "enduring" the Hog game, we finished with our chores. I'll have to post pics because the kid's bathroom is really starting to come together. It's so hard to get a Jack-n-Jill bath to be the perfect balance of boy/girl!

The Perfect Fall Day

So, I can't believe that I am posting a no-makeup pic on the blog - but I just had to capture this for my own memories! This is what I look like every morning (well on days I work I'm not sporting my jammies) - 2 kids in tow. The good thing about pint size kiddos - I could walk for miles like this!It was the perfect day for a morning at the park. We met Amanda, Cole and Cade for a walk and some play time. It was 55 degrees when we started - but warmed up to mid 60's by the time we stopped to play. Gorgeous.

Cade and Conlee are in the same class at school and from the pics below - I think Cade recognizes Con!
Look at the smile on Cade. Amanda and I got a good laugh that they are almost the same size!!!!

I wanted a good pic of the boys - but they only stopped long enough for a "milk" break.
After the park - we ran a gazillion errands. This is one of the first times that Crawford was wearing underwear and we had a long list of "t0-dos." But, he did great. He went on the go and we had no accidents (he even stayed dry during nap time). One stop was Old Navy to exchange some jeans. Crawford spotted the shirt below and we just had to get it!
After nap, Sue-Sue came and got Crawford and they went with J-J to Bikes, Blues & BBQ. Crawford LOVED it and wasn't ready to come home. I got some work done and then Con and I ran some errands (Hobby Lobby, Richard's and Harp's). It was so weird (but kind of fun) to just have one kid to tote around!

All-in-all - it was a day that you dream about! We've got a long list of honey-do's to get through this weekend - so wish us luck!

Party Time

I can not believe that it is already time to start planning Conlee's 1st birthday party! We are going to have a dessert buffet (all pink desserts). I've found the perfect photo invites, but needed the perfect photo of Con. She LOVES to "play" with Crawford's play foods. So I thought it would be cute to get a pic of her with her sweets! I'm having a hard time choosing because I think they are all so cute!

S stands for Spaceship!

Crawford is pretty much obsessed with dinosaurs and spaceships. So, today our letter was S - specifically so we could make a spaceship. I can't believe how much fun this was. We literally worked on this thing for 4 hours. We'd do a little, play a little, nap a little (the kids not me), and then we'd add some more. It just kept growing and growing and I loved that Crawford got involved in the creative aspect of it. Aside from the cutting and hot gluing - Crawford truly did a lot of this on his own!

We started with an empty clear 2-liter of Sprite and dumped paint in it.

He shook and beat this thing for 30 minutes. We'd add more paint and shake it some more!After nap (and drying time) it was time to paint, color, glitter and sponge all of the accessories. Conlee joined us and I even let her "color" with the baby crayon.
But, she definitely preferred the puffs to the crayon. She would clap her hands when Crawford would do something. Adorable!
I completely wanted the spaceship to say USA to cover the label. I thought we'd sponge a few letters and move on. How wrong I was! Crawford LOVED dipping the letters in the paint and sponging them. He'd pick out the letters I asked him to and go to town. We even got into "mixing" colors and learning that yellow and blue make green!
He was so excited to play with it that we forgot that every good "airplane" needs wings.
So, apron back on and crayons, glitter and paint - here we come.

The finished product.
His favorite part is the fire coming out of the "engines."
The "finished" spaceship displayed on his "big boy" chest. We finally took the changing table off - since he's potty trained (or training).
Spaceships weren't the only thing we did today. We also had a blast playing with the $5 "fireman" set I got at Neighborhood Market. Who knew that the "junk" aisle could bring so much joy! He can actually blow the whistle (which makes him die laughing) and he wants to wear the watch 24/7.

Crawford and Conlee also got to play with their friend Taylor. She is always "right" on time. I had a little bit of work to finish up and like magic - Taylor rang the doorbell. I finished my work and the kids had a great time playing hide-n-seek. I so can't wait for Taylor to be 16!

Accessories!

Conlee looked so adorable this morning - I just had to snap a few pics.

This look completely explains my theory that a few "good, key" pieces can make an outfit. She's wearing an adorable dress from where else - Walmart! Seriously $5.50. But, her shoes were a "tidge" more expensive (as was the bow from Bella Jacks).

But let's be real, people will remember the dress so you only get a few wears out of it anyway (not to mention spit-up, etc)! But, the accessories - the accessories! You can mix and match and get a good season out of them. This is the justification I give Bo for my shoe, purse and jewlery purchases at Mason's. At least I "merchandise" them with tops from Target :)

My Big Boy

Today marked a big day for us - Crawford wore big boy underwear to school. We've been potty training for almost a month - but I still have been putting him in pull-ups to go to school. On Thursday night, the school had a parent's night and the teachers promised that they were up for it and that Crawford was ready. So this morning we donned our Batman undies and headed out the door (with a few "extra" clothes just in case).

They both looked so cute that I wanted a pic of them together. But, sitting still is not something Conlee is so good at these days. You'll have to take my word for the fact that her jean capris are adorable. The belt is a big red bow!
I was anxious to pick him up and get "the report," but - they said he did great! NO pee-pee accidents and only 1 #2 accident. I consider this a BIG win and was so proud of him. I asked him what he wanted to do to "celebrate." His answer, "Wear my fireman costume to eat dinner." So of course - he donned the full gear while we enjoyed pickle tacos. Thanks Amanda for a great, fun dinner idea!

Sunday Honey Do's

Today - something amazing happened - the sun decided to shine! So, after a yummy breakfast of - what else - waffles (Crawford wants them EVERY day) we started going through a rather long list of honey dos.This shutter has been loose for 2 years! Thanks to Pops for finally getting it fixed.
While the boys worked, Con and I lounged. It's tough work, but someone has to do it.
J-J brought over the pressure washer. Bo didn't lift a finger to use it, but Crawford put it to good use.

Conlee had to "try on" the hat. I think it's a perfect fit.
Dinner for Crawford was dinosaur shaped pb&j'. How adorable? You can get your's at Harp's. Who knew?

I forgot to mention that Bo and I owe Babe and Pops a HUGE thank you for keeping the kids on Saturday while we went to the game. We had 8 hours (thanks to a really long game) out of the house - just the two of us. We may be sad the Hogs lost - but it was still so much fun.