Replenished Sleep

The kids fell asleep yesterday in the car coming back from my mom's, and that was 6pm. That was it for them, they didn't wake up and Stu and I didn't feel like waking them up. Katie ended up coming into our room at around 7 this morning and slept with us for another hour, while Sophie was still asleep when we woke up at 8:30. They probably needed that long sleep since we've been busy this past week.
One of my favorite things to do is to pick Katie up from school and we go to Sonic. It's great because they have 1/2 price drinks during that time, however, it's not great when thinking about all the calories. She loves to push the red button for ordering. That's our thing we do together at least once a week. She gets to sit in the front seat with me and we have a little snack. After Sonic this past Wednesday, I had to go drop off a movie at Kroger, and when we came out, we just sat on their patio chairs for about 20 minutes just talking and enjoying the beautiful weather. It was so fun and she had a good time. Yep, hanging out at the grocery store with Katie and having a great time on their patio swings they have for sale...priceless!
A friend of mine is taking me out to lunch today for my birthday and then we're headed to the shops. Tomorrow, my mom is coming over and we're going out for lunch at Brio with the whole family. Katie told daddy that I wanted a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting (I've been rehearsing that with her). I'll have pictures up soon with Birthday pictures.

Catching up

It's been about a week since I blogged last. I've been trying hard to keep this updated, but boy it's hard! I don't know where the time goes. I used to go to playdates all the time, but with Katie in school (even though it's only a few hours a couple times a week), I don't have much time go anywhere since I have to drop/pick her up. It suits me fine because I have so much to get done. I survived last week with the 3 day conference I went to. I didn't enjoy waking up so early in the morning, and the traffic was horrible. However, I enjoyed seeing and listening to Dr. Carbone again and catching up with Gail.
Mother's day was really nice. Stu and I slept in until 10am, and the kids were left to fend for themselves :) Katie did wake up really early and came into our room, and I have to say, I am not a morning person, and wasn't so cheerful towards her when she kept coming in asking where the glue was, help her get the paints, and so on. Katie is such a good girl though. When I woke up, I saw her cleaning up her art supplies and putting them back in the closet. She was so excited to tell me that she made me 2 Mother's day cards, and 1 for grandma. She said she was like Santa, because while I was sleeping, she made me the cards to surprise me, just like Santa does when he brings presents. Needless to say, I felt guilty being so grumpy with her earlier. Thankfully she forgot all that, especially when I said that I was so lucky to have her as my daugher. That day we went to a little shop called the Diamond shop in McKinney and I replaced my broken pandora bracelet finally, and got 2 charms to add to my bracelet. I love them. Then we went to Le Madeleine and had my favorite cream of potato soup. Then we went to my mom's to have dinner with her. It was a nice day.
Here are some photos I've been meaning to post in the past.

Katie wearing her cowgirl hat for Western day at school. Unfortunately, I had a dentist appointment that day, and daddy forgot to take the hat with them.

I painted Katie's finger nails and put polka dots on them. She loved them so much and was showing them off to everyone, and I mean everyone.

Katie being a show stopper and pushing Sophie in a baby stroller. That poor stroller.

The kids over taking the car. Sophie knows what's next and she doesn't want to get out of the front.

Instead of going to bed, we were acting silly and having a great time.

This is what Katie and daddy made me at the Home Depot Workshop. It was so sweet.

She was so proud of it.

Sophie with grandma. My mom has so much energy, I need some of it!

Busy Week

This will be a short post. I say it'll be a short one, but knowing me, it'll be lengthy. I have a lot to get done, and I have to get to bed early. I have the 3 day conference starting tomorrow, and I have to be up by 6:30am. Those that know me, that is early! I am excited to go, it's been over 2 years since I've worked, so it'll be a great refresher for me.
Sophie went to the potty at least 5-6 times today. She loves pouring out her pee in the toilet, I think she's living for that moment right now.
So, my mom and I are going to Vegas at the end of this month. It's a nice birthday present she's giving me. She figures we deserve to have a relaxing and fun vacation. I can't wait! We booked the tickets today, and now we're on the hunt for a hotel. My mom wants to go all out (for once) and stay in a nice fancy hotel. We'll see what we find.
My mom is staying with us for the next 2 nights to help out with the kids while I'm gone all day. I still have to finish sewing 2 shirts that have to go out tomorrow for my customers, and then Stu and I will likely watch some shows we recorded tonight. Good shows too...American Idol, Biggest Loser, and Dancing with the Stars. We are reality show junkies!

Sophie's potty report

Sophie started going pee pee in the potty as of last Thursday! I've been leaving her "commando" during the day, and when she does have a diaper on, she'll try to take it off to go to the potty. She'll tug at it and start her wimpering noise while tugging on it. The greatest part is that she LOVES to go pour her pee in the toilet so much, that she wants to keep going in it. She'll say "bye pee pee" and then she has to rinse it out in the sink. (Sorry, I know this is a lot of talk about pee but us moms know what a big deal this is!) Can't say that she's always making it in the potty because we had an accident today, but still I'm so happy that she's interested in the potty!
Today I'm storing all of the kids winter clothes, and organizing their dressers and closets. I'm tackling the guest room which has been over taken with things we need to donate or sell. I've been cleaning for the past 2 hours, so this is my break. Stu on the other hand is de-weeding (is that a word?) our lawn. Now, time to make lunch and feed the gang.

Random Pictures

Our second year to go to the Carson and Barnes traveling circus. We get box seats so we have the best seats in the house. It is a little circus that travels around the states and we love it. We went with all our friends this year.

My mom bought Katie a little clothes pin paper doll kit from the bookstore, and here she is with her 2 dolls. She was so excited to make a Rapunzel doll (one on the right).

I know this picture is very random, but this is one of our favorite foods. It's Indian food from our favorite Indian restaurant here. Chicken korma, chicken tikka masala, samosas, some garlic naan, and rice. My mouth is just watering from seeing this picture!

She loves to "talk" on her Cinderella cell phone and sweep with the broom, but this time she's sporting some crazy sunglasses. Ok, so I might be on the phone a lot during the day but I at least get some housework done :)

Having a picnic with her babies and furry friends.

Sophie's favorite activity....eating! At least we're having something healthy of yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, and granola.

Katie loves art. She was making a card for me.

Sophie "painting" her room today with me with her little paint brush.

It's been a long week

It is finally Friday. This week seemed to go by slower than usual, maybe because I started coughing which caused many headaches. My coughs would be horrible at night, but I'm better now. Just some sinus headaches, but thankfully no fever. I'm feeling back to normal now. Yay! The swine flu that's going all around is really scary and we've been trying to stay away from large crowds. I don't know whether or not the media is hyping up the whole situation, but knowing that there are several schools around our county that have closed due to positive cases, we're taking precautions. So, that takes us to last Sunday when we wanted to go to the zoo, but decided not to at the last minute. That's ok, because we ended up packing up a picnic and had several hours of fun at the park. Katie got to fly her barbie kite that she loved, and we had the perfect weather for it.

Today I finally finished painting Sophie's room. We started it many many months ago, but with so many things happening in our lives, it has taken us a lot longer than expected. Even though it would have been ideal to have it done when Sophie was a baby, I'm still very proud that I finished it. Stu painted the room a couple of months back, and I painted the scallops on it today. All I have to do is decorate the room, which will take me about 3 years at this rate :o)

Tonight was mom's night out and had a nice time with girlfriends. We went to have a light dinner, then went to Barnes and Noble to get some Starbucks coffee and read magazines. I'm thankful for them, they are like sisters to me and I know they would do anything for me, and vice versa. They helped me through when my dad was sick by watching the kids, and my good friend even came at 2am the night before my dad passed away to come stay the night so that Stu could be with me at the hospital. Speaking of dad, tomorrow will be 2 months since my dad passed away. It feels like time is going so slowly. Maybe because I want this pain to go away. I don't feel it everyday, but I think of him several times during the day, and especially at night. At night, it's the worst because all I think about was the last day and minutes of his life. The whole experience was awful. No one wants to see their parent pass, not like this at least. I wish my dad could have gone peacefully in his sleep, not having to experience all the pricks from the needles, and having trouble breathing from all the fluid in his lungs. It's the worst sound to hear, and then the last minutes of his life will always be forever in my mind. I know there is no "good" way to go, but I wish he could have been one of those people who died in their sleep peacefully. I know this is probably morbid to talk about this, but it is a release for me to talk about it. Otherwise, I feel like I'd be supressing my emotions and then it'll be worse for me. So, anyway, tomorrow we're going to pick up my mom and have lunch, and then go to the cemetary. I told Katie tonight our plans for tomorrow, and she said she misses grandpa. I tell her often how much grandpa loved her and how much he adored her. He really did live his life for her, and that's when my tears start flooding! I have to keep telling myself that my dad is with us and he can see her too. I miss him terribly. How can life be so hurtful? I am however so proud of my mom. She lives in her big home by herself and I feel guilty at times to think that she's alone in that house. I have days when I get sad and I'm thankful that I have Stu and kids around me to keep me company, but then I feel sad when I know my mom is by herself at her home. She is strong. She joined the gym last week and goes with her friend. It's cute. I know she has rough days and I know she has a hard time especially at night, but she is getting through it. I am thankful to have a mom like her! I was so proud of my dad and honored to be his daughter, and I feel the same with my mom.