Pigtails and Pigpens!

The house is a wreck.  I need to clean.  I need to clean out.  And the kids love to make messes and not quite clean them up so I'm cleaning up behind them as well.  Sure, we've taught them the "Clean Up!" song, but that just doesn't always cut it.  And then there are those times that they need to go down for naps or bedtime and you just can't insist that they drop it all and clean up before you run them upstairs.  Heck, if they are willing to go and it isn't World War 3, then I'm ready to run them upstairs. 
But it means that I clean up a lot of things though I never really get to clean house.  Sometimes I find myself cleaning up their bathroom while they take a bath.  I worry that I'm distracted and not watching them like a hawk, but they usually keep their heads above water.
Today I cleaned the baking table.  It's a small area that has the toaster oven, cutting boards, etc on it, but was covered in flour and stray sugar so I scrubbed away.  It's small, but it's still an accomplishment and that will have to do for now.
Tomorrow I will..........................................

A Better Day

OK, it's true that I went to work today, so I wasn't at home with the kids for the entire day, but rumor has it that they had a much better day.  Is it because I wasn't here?  Who knows.  But I'm glad that it went better.

We had a fun time going to dinner at Cracker Barrel with Poo Pa, Uncle Stevie and Uncle Albert.  Poo Pa has surgery scheduled on Friday, so we are trying to fit in some extra time with him (and the kids) as it might be a little while before he can get in and good off with them.

Afterwards, we realized that they needed to burn off some energy, so we played in the front yard again.  They really love exploring and finding new things.  Plus it's super cool to try to ride the bikes through the grass and it's even more fun to get Teddy to run around with them!

I was hoping to have some really great ones of Kendall and her big smile, but I had the shutter speed to slow and they are all blurry.  A novice mistake, but I'm disappointed because she had such a wonderful smile going on for about 30 seconds.  I did remember this evening that Auntie Karen sent me some pictures from yesterday when they had a "special" outing together, so that will give me a few more to add of Kendall.

The other two were just minding their own business and staying interested in anything that would catch their attention.  Flowers, dirt, rocks, riding toys, etc.  Nothing ever stays interesting for very long, but that is to be expected at this age.

Here are the pictures from Kendall's outing with Auntie Karen on Tuesday:

It looks like she really had fun at the pet store and a book store.  She loves to find chairs that are just her size.  And she is always fascinated by the presence of other children. 
I'm ready to call it a day, so I'll be back for another round tomorrow. 
See you later, alligator. (This is one of their new favorite phrases.)

Treacherous Tuesday

treach·er·ous/ˈtreCHərəs/Adjective

1. Guilty of or involving betrayal or deception.

2. (of ground, water, conditions, etc.) Hazardous because of presenting hidden or unpredictable dangers.

Today was rough (see above definition #2).  I'm worn out and just don't want to blog about it.  Here are some pics from our time in the front yard this evening once things had calmed down. 

Good night and here's to hoping for a Warm and Fuzzy Wednesday (not really temperature warm, just happy and sweet moments).

Nana's Meat Loaf

Last night, I prepared a meat loaf according to my mom's (AKA Nana) recipe.  I decided that I could call the sitter and have her stick it in the oven.  Unfortunately, I couldn't reach her, so I had to get it in the oven once I arrived.  This also meant that I had no idea what they would be eating.  It worked out fine and Daddy even shared some of his meat loaf later this evening.  The kids, especially Emma, gobbled it up !  I have to agree that Nana's meat loaf is some of the best around.
Nightie-night!

Plan B

Initially, our plan was to take the kids to the zoo for some outdoor time and a chance to get some exercise.  Unfortunately it was raining when we woke up, so we had to move to Plan B.  What was Plan B?  We had no idea, but quickly started trying to come up with one.  Breakfast somewhere other than the house was first on the list.  IHOP would have been great but it was packed with all sorts of people thinking the same pancake thoughts that we were thinking.  Not far down the road is a McDonald's and the kids were excited.  We all dined on eggs, pancakes, hash browns and enjoyed Uncle Stevie's company. 
Afterwards, we took a trip to Earth Fare for organic fruits and veggies and grabbed some yummy cookies.  Daddy and Clark had a blast playing with the hand sanitizer dispenser.  Everytime it would squirt out sanitizer, he (Clark, OK, Daddy too, but mostly Clark) would scream and giggle.  He even had fun when the girls got their sanitizer doses.
Since it was still a little wet outside, we played on bikes and toys in the garage where we could get indoors quickly if needed.  They also had some fun with watercolor paints again today, although it seems they would have preferred finger paints. 
We were lucky that our sitter, A, was able to come over this afternoon so that we could take some time together to pick out the "ingredients" for our bathroom remodel.  Since we had the plumbing issues, it might stall out the remodel work, but it's still high on the priority list because we only have one usable shower in the house right now.  I think we have finally picked the tile that we like and just need to work on the details of tile work, flooring, etc.  It's sort of exciting and sort of overwhelming trying to make those sorts of decisions since we are NOT designers by any stretch of the imagination!  We also took time for a quick bite of dinner.  It's been a little more challenging lately to find time for just the two of us, so we are very thankful to A for helping us out this evening!
Happy Clean Sheet Sunday!  It's time for me to get upstairs and put the clean sheets on the bed so I can collapse into them.

Saturday in the Park

Aunt Marsha went with us to the park this afternoon.  I had the kids in Halloween garb because I thought it was a little cooler today, but fortunately I had short sleeves in the car because it definitely warmed up.  Not much else to report right now, so I'm going to get this posted and start on bathtime.  Woo hoo for bubble baths!