Mothers' Day

We have had a wonderful relaxing day at our home. I was a little worried about Sloane when she woke up with a 103 temperature this morning, but between Tylenol and Motrin I think she is pulling through. On the bright side...I woke up to fresh bagels for breakfast, a full vase of roses on the table, and a brand new lap top computer that is ALL MINE!!! Yeah!!! The kids and I had fun playing games on it this morning and I am having a blast getting it all set up. I can't believe I am saying this, but I am actually excited to start typing my thesis!?!? Am I crazy?!?! I spent all day Saturday in Grand Rapids for a grad school researching class. It was actually extremely productive and has me itching to get working. Prior to class, I met up with some old sorority sisters. We had a great time catching up and reminiscing. After class, I raced home just in time for a Cinco De Mayo party at Jorge and Jen's. The kids had a blast! Russell was so tuckered out that he slept until 9:00 this morning! I have no pictures to post today, but wanted to share a poem that was presented at our daycare's annual Mothers' Day Celebration. I also wanted to say HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY to my mom...I love you so much!!! And to my mother-in-law, grandmothers, aunts, and friends!!! Thank you and I love you all!!!

Dear Lord, its such a hectic day,

With little time to stop and pray.

Life's been anything but calm,

since you called me to be a mom.

Running errands, matching socks,

Building dreams with wooden blocks.

Cooking, cleaning, finding shoes,

And other stuff that children lose.

Fitting lids on bottled bugs,

Wiping tears and giving hugs.

A stack of last week's mail to read--

So where's the quiet time I need?

Yet, when I take a moment, Lord,

Just at the sink or ironing board;

To ask the blessing of Your grace,

I see then, in my small one's face;

That you have blessed me all the while,

And I stoop to kiss that precious smile.

A Beautiful Weekend!

I have been stressed lately and overwhelmed with all there is to do at work and home. It is my busy time at work with trying to close up the school year and meet all the goals I have set for myself and my students. I also decided to take on a home bound teaching position in which I go to a child's home and teach after school hours. This particular child is too ill to attend school so I teach him in his home 4 hours a week. I am really enjoying this challenge, but it does mean I am away from my own children that much more. I also just began the last stretch of my Master's degree through GVSU. I began this process way back in 2000, but between moving and having children, grad school was put on the back burner. So...I will be writing my thesis this spring as well as taking an additional class this summer. Beginning June 22nd I will be traveling to Grand Rapids two times a week to attend class. The positive side is that I will see a lot of my old GR pals while there!!! Sooooo...I desperately needed a nice relaxing weekend at home with my family! Friday night we had popcorn and sat around watching our favorite PBS cartoons :-) Saturday we met friends for a picnic at the park. The kids had a ball racing around with their friends and showing off their imaginations, but unfortunately the wind picked up and we were forced to take the picnic back to our house. We didn't want to be catching flying napkins all afternoon. We ended Saturday with a walk to DQ and as Sloane would say, "nummy, nummy, nummy"! Today was absolutely GORGEOUS! We have played outdoors most of the day and Aron grilled up the BEST burgers for dinner! It sounds like most of our weekend revolved around food. Good thing I fit two jogs and a killer yoga session into my weekend! I'm off to take the kids to the park (again) before bath time!

Sloane, Russell, and Antonio playing on the horse wagon. Sloane and Alejandro enjoying the double slide together.

Sloane was cracking me up this morning. She lined up all the sippy cup lids and counted them over and over and over again...

Celebrating 2 Years!!!

Our baby girl turned 2 on Friday!!! Aron, Russell, Sloane, and I celebrated the occasion in true princess style with balloons, presents, cake, and outside fun! After the kids went to bed, Aron and I celebrated 2 years of surviving Sloane...our colicky baby...our daredevil toddler...and our independent princess! We sat on the patio until midnight enjoying a warm breeze, quiet night, and a bottle of wine!

Sloane chose a princess theme for her party. I could not resist getting this balloon!

Yes! Another baby doll! Exactly what I wanted!!!

New doll house pieces for Sloane and walkie talkies for big brother Russell!
Sloane's favorites...her new doll and puppy! She spent most of the evening walking them both.

While Sloane played with her new toys, Russell dug for worms in the backyard. (Yes, even us city folks have worms in the backyard!)
Enjoying the cake!

Russell preferred the licking frosting!

Sloane still rides her new bike EVERYDAY!

Grammy and Papa gave Sloane a baby high chair and cradle for her birthday. These items are in constant use by at least one of the babies in Sloane's growing doll collection!

You can see here, Sloane has two dolls in the cradle. By the time she was done, there were SIX sleeping babies in the cradle!

On Saturday, we headed to Dundee, Mi for some water park fun at Splash Universe. The kids had an absolute BLAST! I thought they would need some time to warm up to the idea of swimming since they haven't been in the water since August, but NO WAY! Both kids completely passed by the "Little Squirt" section and headed right for the "Big Squirt" zone! Russell even passed the height limit to ride with Aron on the GIANT tunnel slide. I told Aron, "do not take him on that! He will be scared and cry!" Well, when I wasn't watching they headed straight up the endless staircase with only one intention - THE GIANT SLIDE! When they shot out at the end of the tunnel, Russell was all smiles and announced, "let's do it again Daddy!" He told us that it was "dark and fast like a race car." He went down this at least 6 times. Sloane was all about the "Lazy River." She enjoyed kicking and splashing in the deep water while I held on to her the best I could (she tried very hard to pry my hands off of her). At the end of the day, we were all exhausted, but talking about when we would go again. What a great time!!!

Aron taking the kids down one of the smaller slides.

After an hour of playing, I finally convinced the kids to relax in the "Little Squirt" section so I could attempt to snap a few pictures without damaging my camera.Snack Break!

Spring Break!

I had the past week off for spring break. It was so wonderful to have the entire week to enjoy the kids. I would love to say that I got caught up on house work and checked everything off my to do list, but I did not! Instead I slept in (if you can call 8:00 sleeping in), played outside with the kids, visited my parents, went to the zoo, took some long jogs, indulged in extra yoga classes, and wore pajamas a LOT!!! We even had an impromptu party at our house Saturday with some friends after enjoying a warm day at the zoo. It was nice to end the week with adult conversation (and margaritas)!

Here are a slew of pictures from our spring break week :-)

Playing at the "beach"! Gotta love their imaginations!

A visit to Grammy and Papa's! My dad fixed my cousin's old Barbie jeep so the kids had a ball driving it around my parents' neighborhood! They were way too adorable!!!

My brother and his girlfriend brought Sloane an early birthday present...a Dora bicycle. Sloane was too excited to take it for a test drive that my dad couldn't even finish putting it together! She has taken it for a ride EVERY day! What a great gift!!!

My parents gave Russell a "kid friendly" weed wacker. He has been using it to help Aron with the spring yard work. Don't you love the "safari" outfit that Russell chooses to wear!

Fun at our neighborhood park!

First trip of the season to Dairy Queen...yummy!

We had a wonderful day at the zoo! It was packed due to the gorgeous weather. The kids were most excited to see the gorillas and monkeys. I am so anxious for summer!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its Way!!!

We are getting into the Easter spirit at our house. We spent Saturday morning dying Easter eggs. Both kids had fun, but Russell is at the perfect age for this type of project. He was interested in every step and never left the kitchen from the time I put the eggs in water to the time we cleaned up. We will be heading to Aron's hometown on Friday to celebrate Easter with his family. The kids will participate in their first Easter egg hunt on the bluff in St. Joseph followed by an Easter parade! We are hoping for NO more snow!!!

Russell's Easter Musical

Last night we went to Russell's preschool Easter musical. He was so excited to wear his "musical" clothes! He practically inhaled his dinner and flew to his bedroom to start putting on his dress shirt and tie. After he was all dressed, he stood in front of the full length mirror so tall and proud. He said, "I look like Daddy!" I tried to get a good picture of him, but he was too excited to stand still long enough for me to catch the perfect shot.

This is Russell and his best friend William. They are only 1 day apart in age and have been together since they began walking. The two of them cause some major double trouble at times, but they love each other. I can't believe what strong friendships form at such a young age. The crazy thing is...William is related to my close friend Andrea who lives in Grand Rapids. We did not find this out until about a year ago. What a small world!!!

Sloane sat as patiently as she could waiting for Russell to perform. I think she actually sang and danced more than him. Prior to the start of the show, Ms. Rita, the daycare owner led the audience in prayer. After everyone said "Amen," Sloane announced her own happy tune, "AayMEN!" Everyone around us giggled!

Russell sat great with his friends during the program, but never uttered a word of song. This is strange for the boy who rarely leaves his guitar more than a few feet away at all times. Aron says it's because a true musician sings from the heart not for the audience :-)