What I try to remember when the days are crazy...

I am the mother of a 2 year old and a 3 year old.  Life gets crazy sometimes.  In the midst of things it is sometimes hard to remember to slow down and enjoy it for what it is.  Sometimes when I catch a moment alone I listen to the words of what is becoming my all-time favorite song.  Kendall caught me in the den the other night listening to this song on the computer and said, "Mommy, dance with me." 

"Lullaby"
They didn't have you where I come from

Never knew the best was yet to come

Life began when I saw your face

And I hear your laugh like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough, is forever enough

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough

Cause I'm never, never giving you up

I slip in bed when you're asleep

To hold you close and feel your breath on me

Tomorrow there'll be so much to do

So tonight I'll drift in a dream with you

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough, is forever enough

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough

Cause I'm never, never giving you up

As you wander through this troubled world

In search of all things beautiful

You can close your eyes when you're miles away

And hear my voice like a serenade

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough, is forever enough

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough

Cause I'm never, never giving you up

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough, is forever enough

How long do you want to be loved

Is forever enough

Cause I'm never, never giving you up

Is forever enough

Cause I'm never, never giving you up

Is there an echo in here?

Sidney has started to repeat everything we say.  I am not referring to a word here and a word there.  I am talking about entire conversations.  As we are talking to each other, she is in the background repeating EVERY word.  It is actually quite humorous, except for when Kendall catches on and gets frustrated.  Then we hear Kendall say "Sidney quit copying me", followed by Sidney saying "Sidney quit copying me". 

It has been a rainy weekend here.  One thing I am very please about is that our basement did not flood again.  We had a leak a few weeks ago that we attributed to an outside water spout.  The rain has proven that it was not a worse situation.  Yay!  Here are the girls splashing in the rain before church.  Kendall is not wearing her hood, because she did not want to "mess up" her hair.  She did not get this from me.  I will defer to Grandma Karen for that one.

I have channeled Martha Stewart this weekend.  First by deciding to change the master bathroom colors to spa blue and chocolate brown.  As a start, I have picked out paint colors and tore down the last strip of wallpaper in our house.  Good riddance!  Then I decided to make some yummy maple walnut scones.  Kevin has been spending our life savings on scones at Starbucks (just kidding Kevin, sort of...).  So, I decided to give it a shot.  I was feeling pretty confident after we managed to duplicate the Panda Express Orange Chicken.  The scones turned out pretty good.  Kevin's comment was "They are delicious, but nobody can beat Starbucks".  Seriously?!?!?  I have never been known to shy away from a challenge.  Next on my list are petite vanilla scones.  I think I may have found the perfect recipe...

Hey There, Bucket Head.

Sid thought that it would be fun to walk around the house with her Halloween bucket on her head.  The crazy part is that every time she would bump into something she would laugh and repeat.  Silly girl.

Kendall is really a sponge lately.  She is absorbing everything (good and bad).  Here is a bit of the good.  She worked with Kevin to put all of the letters in order.  Then she counted them.  "26".  Imagine that.

We have had A LOT of crazy mornings around here.  Kendall just does not like mornings, unless they can happen at her leisure.  We have tried many different tactics including early bed times, picture charts, helping her, NOT helping her.  UGH.  Somedays I feel I have run a marathon by the time I get to work.  This week was different.  Introducing "The Good Morning" jars!  I stole this idea from my friend Lorain.  When I was at her house a bit ago, I saw three mugs with each kids name on it.  The mugs had marbles in them.  I inquired about them, and she told me that the kids could earn marbles for various things:  extra chores, behavior, etc.  the marbles could be spent on different things:  TV time, treats, etc.  I liked the idea and decided to adapt it.  We started on Monday.  Kendall and Sidney picked out a glass container from our collection.  For each morning that they get ready without whining OR crying, they get a marble.  They can trade 5 marbles for 2 quarters.  Kendall is REALLY into this.  She has learned that 4 quarters will buy her the new watch she wants from the dollar store.  It has been BLISS!  Kendall earned 3 marbles this week and Sidney earned 4.  Even on the days that they did not earn their marbles, it was MUCH better than before.  I sure hope the excitement continues!

I have dubbed several of the past few Friday nights as "Friday Night Movie Night".  Kevin has been busy supervising the high school football games.  So the girls and I have become excellent couch potatoes.   I pick the girls up from school.  We head to the library.  We load up on movies.  We go home.  We eat dinner.  We put PJ's on.  We pop some popcorn and away we go.  Probably not the best habit to get into, but it sure has been fun!

"Run for the Mountains"

Last Friday night at dinner time, we were talking to the girls about Grandma Karen coming to visit.  Kendall looked at Kevin and said "Run for the Mountains, Daddy".  Kevin and I looked at each other laughing.  I asked Kendall, "What exactly do you mean when you say that?"  She innocently replied, "Well, that is what you do when something is coming."  Hmmm.   Simple enough, but definitely good for a laugh.  My mom came to visit this week.  She got here last Saturday and left today (sadly!).

She is quickly becoming known as the "shoe grandma".  The girls always seem to get a very special pair of shoes when she visits.  Sidney picked out these very awesome pink boots.  She put them on in the store and has had them on since.  She even has a blister on her leg from wearing them, but that has not stopped her.  On that note, I have officially lost the authority to pick out her clothes.  She is definitely developing her own sense of style.  Thus begins the stage where all my pride goes out the window, and I venture out in public with children that find there is nothing wrong with pink cowboy boots and lime green shorts.  Kendall picked out a pair of FANTASTIC Hello Kitty slippers.  They are big and pink and have lots of polka dots.  We will try to get a picture of those later.

Kevin brought home a pumpkin this week and skillfully showed the girls how to turn the fabulous pumpkin into a Jack-o-Lantern.  I must admit I freaked out a bit when he started to carve the pumpkin at the kitchen table without any newspaper underneath.  Much to my happiness, he did a terrific job of keeping it clean and my worry was definitely unwarranted.  I should have known.

One of the highlights of my Mom's visit was that we went to watch Kendall's dance class.  Her teacher, Miss Kim, is awesome.  I cannot begin to imagine sustaining the energy level she had.  Did I mention the patience, also?

Sidney even got in on the fun.  Kendall just loved bossing her little sis around.  "Sidney go stand on your sticker.  Sidney go pick up your pumpkin.  Sidney..."  Really, she is a great big sis, trying to teach Sid everything she knows.

 My mom read the girls a ton of books while she was here.  Here she is reading "The Very Hungry Catepillar".  We started a six-week literacy class at the library.  It is HIGHLY recommended.  We are in week two and have been learning so many things.  They also gave us a book bag with six books (one for each concept) and a bucket of magnetic letters.  Last week we learned about clapping out syllables.  This week we talked about developing narrative skills.  The girls are really enjoying it.

My mom was kind enough to take a picture of me with the girls before she left today.  Thanks for visiting mom.  We wish you lived next door!  I promise Kevin would not "run for the mountains".

Volleyball and Friends

Yesterday I spent the day helping Kevin with the Middle School volleyball tournament.  It was fun to watch him in his element.  One thing is for certain, the man is passionate about what he does and it shows.  The tournament was awesome.  It seems that all of the players and their families had a great time.  At one point all of the girls were bawling (not crying, bawling), because their team had lost and they were out of the tournament.  All I could think was "God help us, we have two of these hormonal machines on the rise".  Good times!

While we were at the tournament, the girls spent the day with my friend Lorain.  They all had a great time.  It is so incredible to have Lorain and her family in our lives.  Lorain and I have been friends since third grade (Mrs. Berry's class).  She is more like family than friend.  It is awesome to see our kids get to know each other.  I still remember Lorain bringing Ben (her youngest) on a road trip down here when he was just a teeny tiny baby.  I think he might have been only 6 weeks old.  It was not until I had kids of my own that I realized quite how crazy that was:)  Now she lives here.  Though I wish she was my next door neighbor, I will settle for a short drive.  Here are some shots of the kids.

Putting together puzzles...

 Katie reading the girls a story...

Sid smiling for the camera...

Kendall and Katie acting wild (go figure).  They also share the same sense of independent style!

Kendall and the boys, riding the "spin thing" as Kendall calls it...

It was a fun day for all!