Days at Home

Spring Break is over and it is nice to back into our routine at home. Our day starts around 6:30 when Cody get up and Andy heads to work. Cody plays uninterrupted with all the toys until his sister gets up around 7:30 or so. He is so happy in the morning and loves all the attention he gets before Kali gets up. When Kali gets up we have breakfast and my kids love breakfast and eat a ton! Today was scrambled eggs..8 of them between the 3 of us and I barely had any! We play in the morning until Cody naps and then Kali and I color or do something fun while Cody is napping..( sometimes it is really fun like laundry!!) Cody only sleeps for like 45 minutes or so then we head out of the house. Maybe we just go the health club so I can run and shower in peace as the kids play in the Kids Club there. Sometimes we might go to play date with friends, Target, Cub...somewhere..anywhere to get out of the house for a little bit..

Then we come home and eat lunch, play a little more, and attempt naptime. I use the word attempt because Kali is pretty hit and miss on the nap lately. For example, right now (during naptime) she is in her crib singing, "Old McDonald". Cody is sleeping, but again not for long, 1 hour or maybe a little more if we are lucky. If she is not sleeping shortly we give up and go to bed early.

This next section of the day is the longest part of my day...after nap until Andy gets home. It often feels like century from 3:00-5:30 or so. We have a snack, get dinner ready, and try to fill the time with playing. I love when it is nice out so we can go play outside. Every Tuesday I signed up for a ECFE ( Early Childhood Family Education) class from 4:15-6:00. This has been nice to have in the winter. We get to do crafts, have circle time, and play in the the gym.

When Daddy gets home it is very exciting. Both the kids run to the door screaming with excitement ( as does the dog!!). He scoops both of them up in his arms and gives me a kiss and I know I have loved the day I just had, but am so glad to see him as I am also exhausted!

Swimming at Monticello Community Center

As Spring Break winds down we decided to hit the Monticello Community Center today for a little swimming with the kids. They have a little water slide for Kali and 0 depth entry for Cody so he could just sit in the water and splash around. The kids had a blast.




At first Cody was a bit unsure.





Kali loving the red balls they had there to play with.

Hide and Seek

One of Kali's favorite games is Hide and Seek. At home when she hides she giggles and laughs and says things like, " Mommy, Daddy, I am hiding in your closet!" This is a picture of her playing at the mall. She is counting to 10 to come and find me around the corner. Adorable!

Mall of America

We spent the day at the Mall of America. Our first stop was Underwater World. Kali was very scared of all the fish and sharks swimming over her head. I had never been there either and it is kind of freaky. You walk through a glass tunnel and the fish are all around you. Cool, but a little scary. After we got out of the tunnel she was pretty excited to touch this starfish, which she did many times.



Then we went went around the mall where Kali got to pick out her first girl thing at Claire's. She got a striped headband which she has yet to put down. We then played at Lego Land. Kali enjoyed building and Cody of course tried to put every tiny piece into his mouth! He had a blast walking around the big bins of legos.





Next we went all the rides. Kali had so much on all of them. She is such a daredevil she will go on anything At one point she said, "Daddy, I want to go on that orange rollercoaster!" ( Umm..yeah, the huge one that goes upside down!) We said, " You have to wait to go on that one until you get bigger."





Much of the day was spent she kept saying," No want to go by myself!" Well the rules are you have to have an adult with you if you aren't tall enough, but this one she got to go by herself and boy was she proud!



Cody spent much of the day in the stroller just watching his sister, but for the most part he was pretty good sport as you can see here!

Enjoying the Weather

Today was 60 degrees and sunny. Kali spent the entire morning playing outside with the neighbor girls, Vada and Lainee. After falling in the mud and crying,(Kali doesn't like to be dirty!) Daddy told her it was okay to get dirty outside. They did everything...drove the John Deer Tractor around the yards, rode bikes, played in the sandbox, pulled each other in wagons, watched the bubble machine make bubbles, played on their swing set, had a snack, and did lots of laughing. Cody also played outside. It was his first time in a swing this spring and he LOVED IT!! He was in it for like 30 minutes! What a wonderful day!

Spring Break is here

Ahh...the first day of spring...today! Although this year we aren't going anywhere warm like the picture above, it is nice to have the break off together. Spring Break has begun. Andy and I will both be home for a week with the kids. We really have nothing planned. Maybe some fun outings some with the kids and some without. We might go swimming, to the Maple Maze,( never been there before), or to the Mall of America. Our Girls Basketball Team is the State Finals tomorrow night so we have a babysitter. Andy and I are both excited to go and cheer on the girls we coached or taught. GO STMA!

11 months and walking

My son...11 months old today..hard to believe in one month he will be a one-year old. It seem like he was just born. I remember saying to Andy in the months before his birth. "Do you really think I can love this baby as much as I love Kali." What if I don't? How do you have that much room in your heart to love another as much as your first-born." He would say, " Yes,honey you will and God just makes more room." Man, was he right. I love this this little boy with all my heart. He is such a good baby. Yesterday, he took about 4 or 5 steps until Kali jumped up and hugged him in excitement. Today he walked across the room. WOW!! He is so happy and oh..so adorable.





Cody playing in Kali's Kitchen and loving it!



Cody and Mom after bath.

Beautiful Weekend

We enjoyed a beautiful sunny weekend. On Saturday we went to a ECFE ( Early Childhood Family Education) family fun day. The Teddy Bear Band was there performing, Kali danced with her friend Marek. Then on Saturday afternoon we pulled out a bunch of the toys in the garage and the kids went down the little slide and Kali drove her car, played with her bubble machine, and ran around outside. Today we went for a walk. I pushed Cody in the stroller, Andy walked Riley, and Kali rode her trike all the way around the loop in our neighborhood. (Half a mile..no help from us either!) It was about 55 degrees here today! Awesome, tomorrow it is suppose to hit 60! Hello Spring!!

Best of Both Words

I love the idea of working part-time. I have just spent the past 5 days at home with my kids and today got to go to work. All the full-time stay at home moms know what I am talking about. My opinion about working is that no matter what you do nothing is as hard as being at home full-time with your children. Now, don't get me wrong I love being home, but it is hard. From 5:30 AM-8:00 PM ( or whenever your children get up and go to bed) you are working the entire time. Now we can pray and hope for naps so we can get something done or sit for a minute to relax and read a magazine, but it is still exhausting but the rewards are endless. When Cody crawls to me and says, "MAMA..." ( yup!! A new Word) or Kali says, " Mommy, I love you" and kisses me, there is nothing more rewarding, but then on the days I work I get to go school and teach kids. Today I got a card from one of my third grade students that said," To: Mrs. M., Thank you for teaching in me in school! If it wasn't for you I would still be learning 1+1=2. Ha! Ha! Ha! ( Oh... the third grade humor!) Thanks again Love, Your student PS. You are so nice and kind.

I truly love being home and truly love teaching. I am very blessed.This is what I mean about the best of both worlds.

Swimming with Dad

Kali has just completed her first swimming lessons with her daddy. They went every Saturday to the Buffalo Middle School for the past few months and took a class through Community Education. She had her days when she was so stubborn, " I don't want to do that, " as the instructor told them to do something. But then had many days of, " Going swimming with my daddy on Saturday!" By the end the instructor said she did great!

She learned how to get water in her ears by practicing in the bathtub. ( the above picture is her practicing.)However, getting it in her eyes is another story.

First Day of My Blog!

Welcome to my new blog! I have been pressured by many of you to join Facebook, but really thought if I did anything I should start a blog so my family and friends that don't see me and the kids very
often can see them often. So here is my first post! Let's see how it goes. Let me what you think so far! Keep checking!


Cute picture of Kali and her pigtails!
Cody showing off his skills!