10 on Thursday...

1. Haha- I bet some of you were betting I would forget and would not do this today :)

2. Goodbye Binkies! On Monday the binkie fairy came and took Sarah's binkies for all the new babies. In its place she left a stuffed boots doll (the monkey from Dora). Sarah wanted nothing to do with it and screamed bloody murder at bedtime for the fairy to GIVE IT BACK!!! I GET THEM ALL BY MYSELF! Its getting better but its taking some time...

3. While Sarah wanted nothing to do with Boots, Katie cried that she did not have a stuffed boots doll. Not the reaction I was expecting to say the least. She keeps trying to get Sarah to give it to her and Jim and I keep interfering....

4. Since the binkie was gone I have been running the girls hard during the day to ensure that Sarah goes to bed and sleeps better at nite. Its been working between the hot weather and playing outside in the sprinkler and with all our outdoor toys. Sarah has after crying for her binkie been going to bed and sleeping really sound through the nite. On Tuesday I apparently played with them really hard because both kids were sound asleep and in their bed by 745 pm. Jim and I were in a state of shock that we actually got to watch NCIS in real time instead of off the DVR.
5. The only down side of being able to watch TV in real time- not being able to forward the commercials.....

6. Yesterday while Katie was at pre-school, Sarah and I ran to the store and I bought a few things. Among them more apples and bananas for my fruitaholics and I saw slices of watermelon and bought that too. Katie was beyond thrilled and got so excited for watermelon- its her favorite! I really love that she gets that excited for watermelon- more then for candy!

7. Last weekend we had Courtney down to watch the girls while Jim and I worked down at the old house- clearing it out and doing some touch ups for sale.... Courtney and Bear took both kids to Super Jump- a local place here that has the inflatable obstacle courses and slides.... Both kids had a blast! And God love Courtney. Sarah is still kinda small and a little afraid. So Courtney carried her through the obstacle course and the up the slide - Sarah went down by herself but Courtney did all the hard work! And apparently they once again wore those girls out because both of them took good naps (Its rare for Katie to nap and Sarah has been on a nap strike for about a month now.

8. I have started walking with my next door neighbor around the neighborhood. WE do the lap around 3x. Let me tell you that ends up to be about 2 miles all together.... Plus I push a double stroller with 60lbs of kids in there on some days!!!

9. When we went to get Courtney last weekend the girls had been busy playing with their dress up clothes and tea set so I told them they could ride in the car in their dress up clothes. On the way home, Katie had to go potty. Luckily there was a gas station near by and I pulled in and took her into the gas station in full princess dress and her cars shoes... Lol- we definitely earned lots of smiles that day.

10. Tomorrow the girls and I are going over to the Penn College Earth Science Center for the annual garden sale. Kids grow stuff for classes through the semester and then they sell it at the end of the semester.... Should be a fun "field trip".

Have a great weekend!

10 on Thursday

So I am borrowing this from a few on my online friends who in an effort to blog more do a 10 on tuesday. Since I missed Tuesday I will do a 10 on Thursday....

1. The binkie fairy is coming in a few days and I am extremely nervous on how Sarah is going to do but its time and if anything I think she is more attached then Katie was. The fairy is bringing her a stuffed Boots to use to comfort herself instead of the bink.

2. I cant beleive what a personality Sarah is beginning to have. Her newest phrase is No Tank you to everything you say- even when you are not offering something. Like Sarah its time to go get dressed- No Tank you Mommy....

3. I love listening in when the girls play with their baby dolls or little people. Their imaginations are so amazing!

4. I am struggling with Sarah right now to get her to eat more veggies. I can get her to eat raw carrots or celery at lunch with dip and she will eat corn and salad at dinner but that is it. Even the bribe of dessert does not work. When we tell her the only way to get ice cream is to eat a grean bean she says- you guessed it- No Tank you and walks away....

5. Katie is growing up on us again. She likes to be my helper and she will help me fold laundry, get the mail, set the table you name it... It makes me sad because she is soon moving beyond the pre-schooler stage and into the the little girl stage.

6. That said- we are starting to have some big girl issues with Katie where she does not listen when we tell her something... She ignores us and does what she wants which usually leads to trouble. Needless to say she has been doing some time outs in her room lately.

7. I took the girls to Indian park last week. I brought their buckets and shovels and they played for almost an hour in the sand box there. I was really proud of them too because they shared their extra shovel and bucket with the little boys that were there....

8. When I say something to Sarah that she likes she tells me HMMM thats a good idea Mommy... Cracks me up every time.

9. 10 things is harder then I thought...

10. ITs going to be in the mid 80s here this weekend and Monday and even though we have a busy weekend I am hoping I can get my hands in the dirt and do some planting in the next few days....

Whew! To quote Dora - I did it!!! LOL

Take care and hope you have a great weekend.

Splash Lagoon

So we left Monday morning to go to Splash Lagoon in Erie with the Harmon clan and Bear. After a grueling car trip- gotta love rt 80 in the spring (all construction), we arrived at our destination. The girls had a blast and really loved the place. The loved going down the slides in the toddler area and playing with the water pipes there too.... Sarah also loved getting in the float and going with Momma in the lazy river and going under the water tunnel.... We had a blast singing "I want my River Back" from the Backyardigans and then every time we went through the water tunnel we would sing "we did it" from Dora.

So where are the Pictures you might ask... Ummm yeah- its a water park - filled with pre-teen boys who love to climb this tower in the center where you can shoot water from water guns and dump water from buckets.... Yeah and they are NOT disconcerting on who they shoot. So there was no way I was taking my camera down there and getting pics....

Here is the link if you want to see what the place is like:
http://www.splashlagoon.com/waterpark.html

I was really proud of how well my girls did. They loved the slides and kept going down them.. Jim and I felt like factory workers by the end because one of us each took a girl and would catch them take to them to the side and they would run up and go down again. I was especially proud of Katie who by the end of our stay was going down the slides all by herself and was not upset if she went under a little bit( the deepest part of the toddler area was 18 inches deep).

I also have to give a big shout out to Courtney and Christopher who spent a lot of time catching the girls as well and helping out. They did not have to stay with us but were happy to stay there and play with the girls.... I have such a great niece and nephew!!!

We loved the place so much we are thinking of going back in the fall.....

Happy Easter!

Hopefully your Easter was a happy and joyous one. The girls were beyond thrilled this moring when they got up and the easter bunny had been here. The Easter bunny brought them some yummy candy treats and they did an Easter egg hunt with mommy and daddy that brought more yummies. Along with the candy the Easter bunny brought them roller skates... Spiderman for Katie and Dora for Sarah. They were so excited.... After breakfast we got them dressed and went outside to try them out..... Katie did awesome - skating on her own after a few minutes.... Sarah struggled a little more but still loved skating... Here are some pics of them....

Hmmmmm????

I think someone had a photo session with my camera... Jim and I found these pics on our camera- in fact I think I see one of the culprits in the background.... :)

Cinderella?

Both girls are in my cousin's wedding this fall. We already have their flower girl dresses and Sarah begs to wear her "princess" dress.... I told her she could not which brought on a full blown tantrum... So we settled for a fancy dress instead.... Then both girls wanted to help Jim clean while I was at the grocery store... Here are the photos as a result of that cleaning session... Disclaimer- Katie dressed herself that day- its one of her favorite outfits that she puts together :)

Here they are cleaning Sarah's room....

Move Over Picasso....

The girls do love their art.... As I said in the last post, they painted these wooden hooks for their room... Below are some pictures of them painting and showing off their art work. In the bottom pics- Sarah's masterpieces are on the left- Katies are on the right.....

Adjusting to my new role

So its been about a month now that I was laid off and I have to say I am adjusting.... And actually enjoying it. The girls seem to be enjoying it as well. Katie cries every week when it comes time for pre-school although she always comes home and tells me how much she enjoyed seeing her friends...

We have been having fun making our own adventures here at home. Yesterday started out very wet and rainy. When I went for the paper I noticed the worms were all over the driveway from the rain so I got the girls dressesd and we went out to look at the worms. Sarah kept saying hi and bye snakes! I guess we have to work on that with her!

We painted these wooden hooks for their rooms and they were so excited and proud to hang them up. They show them to everyone who comes over.

Its funny cause I have never considered myself a creative person however staying at home with the girls is bringing out my mom creativity. To make lunch more exciting the other day, I made bologna sandwhiches and used my easter cookie cutters to make cut outs of their sandwhiches! They LOVED it and devoured the whole sandwhich... Katie even asked for it again the next day. I highly recommend it to anyone with small kids.

We are getting excited because next week we go on vacation with Jim sister and her family and the Bear is coming too. I think the adults are all looking forward to some time away and the kids are all looking forward to the indoor water park we are going too....

Take care and Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it.....