Good Day, Sunshine!

Last week started off fabulous with a relaxing, but super fun Mother's Day!! Here is a look at what we did that Sunday and the rest of the week. Enjoy!

{Sunday ~ Mother's Day}

Sunday was such a great day! At first, we didn't really have plans other than attending Mass and going to lunch at Salsarita's. But, after an afternoon with FULL sunshine, we headed to Academy to get our much-need, long-asked-for market umbrella. It was on sale (Thanks, Rachel, for telling us!!) for $30 + base for another $30. So, $60 for a good quality 9 foot market umbrella sounds much better than other prices I have seen. Anyway, after grabbing my awesome umbrella, we headed out for dinner at Five Guys, followed by dessert at Coldstone Creamery!

As you can see, the boys LOVED the ice cream :) 

 

 {Monday}

 Another day of perfect sunshine in the shade of my umbrella! 

 Apparently, it was sports day. Lots of golfing, baseball, and football going on in our backyard! 

{Tuesday}

 

 After we got Andrew to school, Alex and I headed to the doctor. We were a bit early, so we waited in the car. He watched The Cat in the Hat (the PBS show) on my iPod while I read some email. Once we got in to see my doc, he couldn't wait to "see" the baby. Only, I tried explaining we weren't going to see the baby, we were going to hear the baby. Of course, he was hoping for a pic...me, too, haha! Anyway, he giggled when we heart the baby's heart and seemed to enjoy that. After some griping from me to my doc (he loves me haha), I finally found out that we will know if this is a boy or a girl the 3rd week of June. YAY! 

 After some errands were taken care of, we headed back to school to get Andrew. And, look was we saw on someone's van!! AND, it was a Toyota Sienna...one of my top 2 choices, by the way! You know this mom is AWESOME. I wonder where she got those decals. They are just too cool! You know you are loving it, too!

 

These two were snuggling together while I was making dinner. I had to see what was going on because they were just too quiet and, well, you know... Quiet usually is not good if kids are awake. But, they were just watching Mickey Mouse together in Daddy's chair just as happy as can be. Love them!

 {Wednesday}

Another day of glorious sunshine!! And, since it was nearly 90 that day, we broke out the sprinkler!

 

 Boys, water, dump trucks, and mud...

 

 Such dirty little boys and their dump trucks... They loved every minute of it!

{Thursday}

 

 Playing circus in the living room after school!

{Friday}

When we ran out to get lunch after a morning of cleaning up, we saw a Mama Turkey with her babies!! The boys were so excited I had to turn around and go back in the neighborhood to get a better look - and a picture.

{Saturday}

While folding laundry most of the morning, I hear the funniest sounds, loud giggles, and trains on the other side of the house. Here's what I saw:

 I know... Not the best quality picture, but I was trying to be sneaky about it. That is Andy's toddler bed and the two chairs lined up to make...a train, of course!! 

Another fun week!  Coming up soon --

Andrew's last day of preschool for this year. He moves up to PreK-3 next school year. And, Alex will start preschool, too! 

We are ready for a super fun summer!!

Jam-Packed Week of Fun!

Just editing those pictures from a couple weeks ago wore me out! We sure did have a super fun time getting in a few outings before the "big kids" are out of school and "mess everything up." No offense...but, come on. Mama with preschoolers know EXACTLY what I am talking about. Those day care, summer camp, day camp wild children and the adults that are just "there." You know... Anyway, we got a LOT of fun done in one week. Here's a look:

{Saturday}

Jason and I went to a dinner party for his college golf coach, Coach Kaufman! We had a great time and it was fun seeing his old friends and room mates. 

 "The House" Guys - At some point all of these guys lived together in "the house." I have that in quotes for a reason... That house did it's job by providing shelter, but wow... That poor house needed - a probably still needs - love. Very cute, but one of those places you would have a blast renovating down in South Side. But, that is just the girl in me. For these guys it was the perfect bachelor pad 

Jason and I with Coach Kaufman :)

{Monday}

We headed out to McWane after nap time - which was a great time to go! All the school kids were heading back to get home and the place was pretty much empty. Awesome. 

 Top row, left: Playing with shadows and "catching" falling rocks. We built a fort!

Bottom row, left: Mini paleontologists. Alex checking out the jellies. Mr. Starfish.

 1st column: Giant light bright toy. Andrew playing with the face mixer-upper LOL

Middle: Alex in the bug habitat.

3rd column: Andy building a tower while Alex does some grocery shopping. 

 

Attempting to make a giant bubble

{Tuesday}

 Getting some errands done while Andy's at school.

 Zoo time after school!

{Wednesday}

Play date with Braxton!!

 How cool is the view from their yard?? COWS!!

 Such best friends!!

 After we headed home for nap time, we headed out once more to Lowe's to fix the "death" lurking at our front door. I made two of these planters - pretty, huh? Purple fountain grass and pink begonias! The boys helped putting in the drainage rock and dirt. They even had their shovels. Such cuties. 

{Thursday}

 Lunch time with Alex at one of our favorite places. Little did I know that Bumblebee was going to join us - good thing he doesn't talk much. ;)

 Look at what my little man gave me for Mother's Day!! Andrew put his hand print on both sides (the other side say "May 2013") LOVE IT!!! Thank you, sweetheart!!

We ran over to Braxton's to drop off an early birthday present - which we ended up buy 2 of LOL. See that little sprinkler? It is the Melissa and Doug Grub Scouts Sprinkler and it is super cute! And, it is was a big hit, too!

 Bubble beards after a fun day in the sun!

{Friday}

Ending the week with yummy popsicles!

We certainly had a fun week, don't you think? We are definitely looking forward to a lazy summer and the many visitors we have coming to town, too! And, of course, we are also gearing up for the big changes coming soon. Stay tuned for more - we find out in June if we will be welcoming a baby boy or a baby girl to our family!

Have a great week!!

 

Chocolate Cake, Obnoxious Song, and Cold Weather - Oh, My!!

Ah, the first week of May. Flowers are in bloom. Birds are singing happy tunes. Treat are being made and movies are being watched. The weather has that hint of frost bite in the air. UM, WHAT?! Yes, the first week of May (the later 1/2 anyway), we were wearing long sleeve shirts, pants, socks, and jackets. Listen, Groundhog... you are out of a job, buddy. I mean, really?! It. Is. May! MAY! Ugh... This is exactly why we ALL still have a cough. It's hot. It's cold. It's raining. It's hot. It's below freezing. No joke. We had a freeze warning. Not. Even. Kidding.

Ok, enough of that. It was a nice, sunny day for Andrew's Spring Program and we had so much fun the rest of the week that it all just evened out somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We made an easy peasy chocolate cake!! Now, that I know that I actually have all of these ingredients on hand (usually), we may have this special little treat more often. It was so moist and delish!

'Round and 'round we go!

 Andrew is clearly in chocolate heaven here ;)

 This is why I have double the dishes to do. Everyone has to have their own spoon. These really are their spoons, too. They picked them out at Publix a while back. Andy said they needed to be able to cook with me and have their own stuff. Fine. 

 Doesn't that look yummy? Well, it is :) 

 Another awesome train track! 

 Playing so sweet together

And then yelling...because the school bus is coming! LOL All the kids and the bus driver wave to them. They LOVE it! During the summer, while out on walks, the big kids we see will say, "Hey, you guys are from the window!" Too funny. 

 Friday's movie night!! Robin Hood - thanks to Julie for this suggestion! The boys loved it! Jason loved it, too. So much that the darn Rooster's Song got stuck in my head the whole weekend. Shoot...now it's back... Here. Let me share with you the Rooster's Song. Enjoy!

(Please note: If you are viewing this post via email, then you need to click through to the actual post to see the video. Thanks!)

We hope everyone had a great weekend (and stayed warm...)!

Spring Program 2013

Last week, Andrew's preschool put on their Spring Program. And, OH. MY. GOSH. So cute!! All of the kids were adorable - the ones who were all in to each and every song, the ones who cried and just didn't want to do any of it, the ones who just stood in stared off, and the ONE that jumped more than the guys from House of Pain (video link here for those who have no idea what song I am referring to - good times)!! Father J said, "He is so happy!" And, yes! He was SO excited for this day (which is hilarious since he hated going to music class). Here is the videos from his Spring Program! Enjoy!!

Some pics from the "after-party"

 Mommy's Little Star! 

 Little Man thrilled to have a "plate of desserts"

Do you love his bandaids? Ugh... This child gets hurt in the most unbelievable ways... 

He was running - while pushing around a giant dump truck - and tripped. 

But, how he tripped was like a scene from a cartoon. He flipped OVER his truck. Nice. 

He will be the next big name stunt man. I just know it.

More of a scrap than a bruise. Luckily he heals fast. Nothing there when we took the bandaid off the next day. It is amazing how fast kids heal!! I'll cry from a paper cut for days... 

Anyway, we hope you enjoyed the show!!

The Last of April

April showers bring? Freezing cold weather, apparently. WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE WORLD?! It was 37 this morning. Ok, fine. 43 with the "feels like" reading of 37. Either way it is totally uncalled for...

We did end it on a good note, though! The farmers market, the ice cream shop, parks, and popsicles. YAY! Let's hope this yucky May beginning gets better soon! We are SO ready for summer!!

{SATURDAY}

 Andrew and I left early Saturday morning for the opening day of Pepper Place. We started out morning off right with a trip to Dunkin Donuts (Andrew even picked out ones for Daddy and Alex to have when we got home). Gotta love a good sprinkle donut! He LOVED that he had his own bag to carry his market picks. We got to this one table filled with his favorite - sweet potatoes - and was DYING for this one huge one the he just had to have. Luckily, the girl working the table switched around the buckets and let him have that specific potato. Too cute! We bought a lot of great items, other than that one sweet potato, of course. Andy's next favorite find was a rather large and decadent chocolate truffle. Oh, my. He may still be bouncing of the walls - and it's a week later! Kidding - sorta... Our other yummy treasures were perfectly crisp salad greens, tomatoes, sweet onions, cucumbers, fresh baked bread (another one of Andy's wants...even though I could just make this LOL) and a TON of strawberries (about 10 cups worth - 8 of those cups are in the freezer now). It was a great morning and we were both very happy that the rain stayed away while we were out. 

We came back home to get Daddy and Alex. After some errands were made and lunch was eaten, it was time to settle down for quiet/nap time. While I had a bit of free time, I flash froze the strawberries and onions. I also made some homemade garlic croutons with the challah bread we never got around to using. And, wow! Jason said that they are the best :) Love it!

{SUNDAY}

 We added a new game to our collection for the boys. Last week, Alex and I found this little dominoes game in the bargain bins at Books-A-Million for $5. The pieces are HUGE and the boys love the bugs all over them. They are pretty good at it, too. Glad it is a winner!

{MONDAY}

  Being silly with popsicles. Remind any locals of anyone???

How about now? Gotta love the Vulcan. 

source - Google Images

{TUESDAY}

 Alex and I at our favorite lunch place on a school day - we love Zoe's!!

 

Alex check out the chinchilla at the library. He was so happy that this one came down to see him. They are usually up top and hiding. Fun!

 After school playground fun :)

  And a happy end-of-April surprise!! Ice Cream Shop!! Alex chose the "Superman" ice cream. It is red, blue, and yellow. I am guessing it is vanilla? I'm not entirely sure. He loved it so that is all that matters to me. Andrew chose the "Smurf" ice cream. It is blue with marshmallows thrown around inside. That one tastes like cotton candy, I am told, by a little guy sitting at the next table. Ice cream shops are so much fun! We can't wait to go back...when it is HOT again!

 

 Playing outside after getting back home to enjoy the weather as much as possible before the yucky, cold rain rolls in to annoy us. These guys are getting ready to play golf - they are just too cute :)

Happy End of April!!